2011-06 Melbourne

INDIAN LINK

Luthra

PUBLISHER Pawan

EDITOR

Rajni Anand Luthra

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Sheryl Dixit

MELBOURNE

Preeti Jabbal

CONTRIBUTORS

Gaurav Pandey, Sydney Srinivas, Ritam Mitra, Malli Iyer, Neeru Thakur, Chitra Sudarshan, Kudrat Singh, Sai Narayan, George Thakur, Pallavi Sinha, Priyanka Tater, Manpreet Kaur, Noel DeSouza, Roy Lange, Usha R Arvind, Dilip Jadeja, Shailja Chaturvedi, Malli Iyer, Minnal Khona, Geeta Khurana, Rani Jhala, Malavika Santhebennur, Sandip Hor, Nancy Sood

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Vivek Trivedi

02 9262 1766

ADVERTISING ASSISTANT

Drishya Sharma

02 9279 2004

GRAPHIC DESIGN AND LAYOUT

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The dangers of hot housing

Ask your average Indian migrant why they moved to Australia, and you will get the answer, “Better opportunities for the children”. By this they mean that they are going to push their children at school, so that eventually they take on one of the “professions” such as medicine, law or accounting. To accomplish this, they often “hot house” their kids from an early age.

As a form of education for children, hot housing involves intense study of a topic in order to stimulate the children’s minds. They receive an excess of “enrichment,” such as special tutoring both in the arts and in fast-paced educational programmes.

There are those who believe it is important to hot house a child so that they can gain more in-depth knowledge of subjects which will augur well for them in higher school exams. These proponents of hot housing also believe that the school system does not offer adequate standards of education and so it needs to be supplemented by external factors. Those who oppose the system argue that hot housing might well achieve superior results in the short term, but it detracts from the all-round growth of the child. Unfortunately, in addition to the burden of an overscheduled daily program, this only results in the children having to answer to high expectations in skills and knowledge.

The importance of a balanced

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

perspective in parenting cannot be overstated. We must ensure that our children face only the regular pressures of a normal school life, while still giving them exposure to a wide variety of other programmes such as sport, extracurricular and outdoor activities. We also need to promote the option of “down time” where there is no preplanned structured activity, so that the child can just “chill”. The Indian Australian family does get pulled in different directions concerning the welfare of their children. Parents face the challenge of bringing up the kids in a completely different social environment in which they were themselves raised; and they also have to weigh up the options in extracurricular activities as compared to the pressures of special study options. Often the parents make these decisions without understanding the psyche of their child (and the child’s views of their Australian environment). Rather, the decisions are made on what the Raos, Guptas or Singhs are doing for their children. Such pressures may be harmful to the mental and physical welfare of children and deny them more fitting pursuits. This must be avoided at all

costs because there are grave dangers of burnout in the child. There have already been a few cases in our community where young Indian-Australian adults are now finding it challenging to continue in their professions as they succumb to a feeling of emptiness in what they are doing. They squarely blame this on not having had the opportunity to explore options to which they felt drawn instinctively. This is in sharp contrast to new trends being observed in India, where entire new worlds of opportunity are now opening up. In recent years, youngsters are increasingly choosing more and more non-traditional career paths such as in entertainment (in which there is an unprecedented increase), in the aviation industry, and even in sport, with the full support of their families.

Here in Australia, there is a greater possibility to allow our youngsters to explore their full potential in whatever paths they wish to follow.

Perhaps parents need to learn to trust their children a bit more and themselves a bit less.

It’s Mother’s Day, Balagokulam style!

An entertaining and exhilarating session of Balagokulam was held on May 29 to celebrate and honour mothers in the traditional Indian way. Motherhood is considered as the greatest glory of Hindu women, and the Taittiriya teaches, “Matridevo bhava” or, “Let your mother be God to you.” In Indian culture, a mother holds a very high position and is worshipped no less than a God. She is the one who protects, nourishes, consoles, cheers and nurses you, so the bond between a mother and a child is divine. has completed six months very successfully by promoting and sharing the right values of character building among children of all age groups. Some people believe that contemporary education is missing the plot and young minds are simply wandering with the machine, with values taught that are highly selfindulgent. This education has been called very aptly, “bread-winning education” by Sri Ramakrishna. in Melbourne is trying to resuscitate young children through a spiritual awakening. Balagokulam is where children try to practice Surya Namaskar, chant ’ and sing national songs.

Motherhood, being the theme of Balagokulam this session, has been the leading topic for all the discussions and activities. Younger children from the age group of 2-5 were told about the sweet things mothers do in very simple words for their understanding. Children between the age group of 6-9 were asked how their mothers play important roles in their lives. When asked about ‘what makes them love their mothers’, all the children brought up the best and different qualities of their mothers. They were also told a story of Mother Kunti from the Mahabharat. For the 10-15 year olds, a small discussion was conducted about the importance of motherhood followed by a brainstorming Q&A session with a questionnaire including questions from science to history.

The final session of Arts and Craft had the children each making a card by drawing some pictures and

sticking flowers on it. It was their present to their mothers on Mother’s Day. Children were also served with homemade muffins and fruit juice as an energy booster.

The best part of a value-laden culture is depicted through the celebration of birthdays. During the closing session, children who had their birthdays during the month of May were called on the stage and were given flowers and certificates. Their birthdays were celebrated as per the Hindu ritual: parents put tilak on their child’s forehead and the child touched their parents’ feet. The whole atmosphere seemed very spiritual and pure. As per feedback from many parents, they feel very satisfied when they see their children learning their culture and taking these values home.

It’s not only the children who show their enthusiasm and interest in Balagokulam, but even parents are very supportive and eager to actively participate in activities which are run simultaneously for them (mahila and purush) for two hours.

The popularity of Balagokulam has helped us immensely to associate ourselves with a large section of community with hidden talents, including the passion of working with children and helping them to nurture their upbringing and connect with Bharatiya Sabhyata and the core values of Hindu dharma. Preparing kids for the forthcoming Ramlila program is in pipeline, and Ms Deepti Pandey is looking for children interested for the roles of Ram, Ravan, Dashrath, Sita, Lakshman etc. Interested parents are requested to contact us at the earliest.

Mr Abhijit Bhide is a designated coordinator along with volunteers, who will respond to all your queries and concerns about Balagokulam. Please feel free to express your wholehearted support and write to us at balagokulam.melbourne@hotmail.com

Neeru Thakur

Honorary doctorate for industry scion

One of India’s leading lights in IT is felicitated for his contribution to global development

BY CHITRA SUDARSHAN

Mr N R Narayana Murthy is one of the most recognised names in India.

As the Founder-Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies, a global software company headquartered in Bangalore, he was pivotal in designing and implementing the Global Delivery Model which has become the bedrock of the huge success of the IT services outsourcing from India.

Recognising Mr Murthy’s efforts, Monash University conferred an honorary doctorate on him in a grand ceremony at the magnificent Robert Blackwood Hall recently.

An exemplary career

Amid pomp and pageantry, Mr Murthy was accompanied to the hall by Chancellor Dr Alan Finkel, Vice Chancellor Ed Byrne, Deputy Vice Chancellors, Deans of various faculties, Pro Vice Chancellors and other dignitaries. Professor Ed Byrne then read out Mr Murthy’s record of achievements.

Mr Murthy graduated in Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Engineering and went on to complete his Masters in Technology from IIT Kanpur in 1969. Later, working at IIM Ahmedabad, he was convinced that engineering was not just about theory but also the application of it to resolve practical problems. Consequently, in 1981 with six other software professionals, he founded Infosys and led it through several key decisions, including listing its shares on stock exchanges in India and NASDAQ.

He is Information Technology adviser to several Asian countries; serves on the board of HSBC, the Ford Foundation and the UN Foundation; and has been on the board of Unilever, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, the Rhodes Trust and the International Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore.

International reputation

In 2005 The Economist ranked Mr Murthy among the ten most admired global business leaders. He topped the Economic Times list of India’s most powerful CEOs for 3 consecutive years between 2004 and 2006. His long list of awards and accolades includes the Ernst and Young

“Indo-Oz cooperation is the key”

It was an honour to meet Mr Narayana Murthy, however briefly, on May 9 at the ACMI Centre in Melbourne. Here are excerpts of our interview:

Indian Link: You identify cooperation in higher education between Australia and India as having the highest priority. What is India doing to enhance the image of its universities to welcome Australian students?

Narayana Murthy: The government has recognised the need for rejuvenating our institutes and universities, so it has set aside a decent sum – $17-18 billion – to ensure that higher education in India gets back on the rails. However, of greater importance

‘World Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award; the Max Schmidheiny Liberty Prize of Switzerland; and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008, the second highest civilian award in India. Besides, he has also been awarded the ‘Officer of the Legion of Honour’ by the government of France, and the ‘Commander of the Order of the British Empire.’

Introducing Mr Murthy as “one of the world’s great citizens,” Professor Ed Byrne went on to highlight his many achievements. Closer to home, Mr Murthy heads the Research Advisory Council, a joint venture between IIT Bombay and Monash University Research Academy, an independent and autonomous research institution designed to enhance research collaboration between India and Australia.

Prof Byrne acknowledged that Mr Murthy’s willingness to serve in this capacity has considerably raised the profile of the Academy and brought together the best minds in a unique global research partnership.

Garage to global Professor Tam Sridhar, Dean of Engineering at Monash University praised Mr Murthy’s remarkable career – which began in a humble garage – as ‘symbolic of a new and resurgent India that has delivered societal prosperity by means of intellectual capital’.

Professor Mohan Krishnamurthy, CEO of IITB-Monash highlighted Mr Murthy’s integrity and humility – qualities he has brought as Chair of the Advisory Board to IITB-Monash. Mr Peter Varghese, Australian High Commissioner to India, acknowledged Mr Murthy’s contribution to both Indian and Australian science.

Strong work ethic

In his acceptance speech, Mr Narayana Murthy recounted how Infosys began in 1981 in a small apartment in Pune – as the brainchild of 6 men who were inspired by an idea. Each had borrowed a princely sum of $250 from their wives to start the company. The common philosophy that guided them was their value system. They chose to be transparent in their transactions, adhere to the highest principles, and work with a clear conscience.

This was underpinned by the belief that “progress comes from positive change.”

As far as work practices were concerned, Mr Murthy and his partners decided to adopt global standards and proceed with confidence in what they were doing, while

than the physical infrastructure is the state of the faculties of universities: many of them are aging or quite old, and finding younger staff to replace them has been difficult; however, that is being addressed now, and hopefully we will see some progress.

IL: How can India, with its poor infrastructure – a product of its dual economy – cooperate on a footing of equality with Australia? Isn’t there a great disparity between them?

NM: There are areas of common interest to both Australia and India – water, energy and climate change issues are common to both the countries. We can come together to pool our research resources and find solutions that have value to both the

company, and this has been borne out by some impressive statistics: the company has grown continuously in the last 72 consecutive quarters since it went global in 1993. Even today, the company keeps asking itself how it can reduce costs, increase productivity and respect and learn from its competitors.

Mr Murthy looks upon the management of the company as trustees of investors, who have a moral responsibility: so the policy has been to remain transparent: “When in doubt, disclose”, has been their motto. His conviction has been that corporations must be in harmony with the larger society and the environment in which they operate.

Indo-Oz partnership

On May 9, Mr Murthy presented the

countries. Indeed, that is the main theme of my lecture today.

IL: Infosys is well-established in Australia for some time, what is its progress and future plans?

NM: Infosys in Australia has been doing pretty well. We have been here for a few years and are headquartered in Melbourne. We work with a lot of Australian corporations; Jackie Korhonen took over a couple of years ago and has done a pretty good job. The future of Infosys in Australia looks pretty good.

IL: India is Australia’s third biggest export market – what are its main exports and how can they be increased?

NM: Natural resources form the major

is now shifting to this field, he said. When asked about attracting corporate funding to Universities and Higher Education, Mr Murthy inveigled Indian and Australian academics to emulate the US model – where corporations fund US universities in a big way. In his own experience, he argued, US corporations respond much more quickly and positively to suggestions than corporations in India. Mr Murthy acknowledged the ‘digital divide’ in the world. When asked to comment on Friedman’s book The World is Flat, which extols the positive developments in rapid globalisation across the world, he drew attention to Pankaj Ghemawat’s book Redefining Global Strategy, which critiques the idea of a ‘flat world.’ As for India, he feared an increasing urban-rural divide in the coming years.

export from Australia. As far as India is concerned, we export software – that is the main thing. We get coal and other resources from Australia; and apart from software, India exports apparel, silks and others.

IL: What kind of research do you aim to promote as Chair of the Research Advisory Council of IITB-Monash?

NM: The Monash–IITB Academy is working together in Bio-technology, Computer science, Nano-technology and a few other areas. The programme is going pretty well – we have 60 PhD students now, and we hope to take it to 300 soon. Both (the institutions) are happy with this child. We believe it will help bring researchers from the two countries closer.

I belong,

Although Australia is making serious attempts at bridging the multicultural gap, isolated incidents undo a lot of the good work being done

BY PREETI JABBAL

A recent incident where a Sikh student in Melbourne was allegedly forced to shave his beard by a teacher caused considerable concern within the community. According to reports, the young Sikh boy who does not wish to be identified, is a student at Marymede Catholic College in south Morang near Epping in Melbourne’s north. He had recently started growing facial hair and his teacher asked him to shave it off in adherence to school rules. The boy refused and was forcibly taken to the bathroom by the teacher and another student, where his beard was shaved off against his will.

An incident of ignorance?

The Principal of the school has since issued an apology; however it is unclear at this stage whether any action has been taken against the teacher involved. Speaking to John Faine on ABC Radio recently, the Principal Paul A. Fumei said the teacher involved did not know that the school had earlier agreed not to make the boy shave. “Our process has brought us to the conclusion that facial hair will be permitted by Sikh boys at the school,” he said. “I apologise for any harm that (the boy) might have felt or any hurt that he might have felt. That’s not our intention, to cause harm to anybody” he added. The parents and the boy do not wish to pursue the matter further, however the incident has shocked the Sikh community and a debate has raged yet again on how secular Australia really is. The

kerfuffle about violence against Indian students has barely subsided when this incident sparked another controversy. “It was very disturbing to hear about the Sikh boy being shaved forcibly,” said Manpreet Singh from SBS Radio Punjabi. “There are many schools in Australia that are willing to accommodate everybody’s belief; however I feel that the good work done by hundreds of people comes to naught by the action of one misguided individual. It’s like taking two steps forward and one step back,” she added.

There are many schools in Australia that are willing to accommodate everybody’s belief; however I feel that the good work done by hundreds of people comes to naught by the action of one misguided individual. (Manpreet Singh)

It’s your decision

Young Aman Dhingra from Glen Waverley said, “I think it’s really quite sad that we live in such a multicultural and accepting society, and yet incidents like this still occur. I made the decision myself and with my family about 18 months ago to cut my hair, and I am happy with it. However that was my decision and I don’t put pressure on anyone for or against keeping long hair, nor does it change the way

Avtej Singh

See Beyond Race campaign participants and Cr Rex Griffin

I Belong campaign

do you?

I think or feel about anyone.” He added, “I think it’s really important that people have the right to choose and the boy in this incident had this right taken away from him. It’s a sad fact but those who are different are more likely to be targeted.”

An individual identity

“I feel that Australians in general are quite accepting and willing to embrace cultural diversity. I have never once felt that I don’t belong,” said Avtej Singh from Rowville. Avtej or Avi as he is called affectionately is a 13-yearold youth whom many Melbournians would recognize. Avi is the face of a new exhibition in the Immigration Museum, and his image can be seen in press advertisements, banners that hang outside the Museum, posters and cards.

Promoting the changing face of Australia this exhibition titled, Identity yours, mine, ours is about Australian identity and challenging its stereotypes. Launched on May 9, it is expected to be a permanent exhibit at the Immigration Museum for many years to come. The exhibition focuses on how our cultural heritage, languages, beliefs and family connections influence our self-perceptions and our perceptions of other people – ones that can lead to discovery, confusion, prejudice and understanding. Personal stories, objects, images and interactive multimedia experiences invite visitors to find connections with others, as well as challenge the assumptions we make about each other every day.

Unlike the pensive Avi seen in the ad, the real Avi is a cheerful student and a keen sportsman. He is known for the colourful patkas (traditional Sikh headgear) that he dons to show allegiance to his favourite footy or cricket team. He recently led his cricket team of under 13’s to a grand final victory at Eildon

Park and was also selected to play at district level in cricket last year. Avi said he was very excited to be part of the exhibition, which features a short video of him playing cricket. The exhibit also displays a patka and other Sikh objects of faith.

Seeing beyond race

In another part of Melbourne the Whittlesea Council has recently launched a campaign the first of its kind in Australia to be delivered as part of a council-wide programme to reduce race-based discrimination. Whittlesea is one of Melbourne’s most diverse areas. The See Beyond Race campaign features five locals including a Sikh man Rashminder Singh, and invites the community to identify blatant forms

We are convinced that migrants have the right to maintain their cultural and racial identity and that it is clearly in the best interests of our nation that they should be encouraged and assisted to do so if they wish. (MSCA)

of prejudice as well as subtle, indirect versions. According to the Council, the residents from culturally and religiously diverse backgrounds have shared their stories and photos to counter race-based discrimination in Whittlesea. Their stories will be seen in newspapers, on buses and bus shelters and at shopping centres until August. A similar campaign was also launched in Shepparton, Victoria this month.

Speaking at the official launch of the See

Beyond Race campaign on May 17, Whittlesea Mayor Rex Griffin said negative stereotypes and prejudice were key factors contributing to race-based discrimination. “Many negative attitudes towards diversity are subtle, and people may not even be aware that they are holding them,” he said. “People may discriminate without the intent to do so,” he added. Rashminder Singh is a nurse by profession and has called Australia home for the past 11 years. He can be seen on all the promotional material of the campaign at various locations in Whittlesea. “This is a very good initiative taken by the Council and it reiterates that we should see beyond race and embrace differences,” said Rashminder. He migrated to Australia from Chandigarh in India just after the 9/11 disaster. “It was a scary time to be here as people mistook me to be Muslim and they did not want to know me. When I returned from work some people at the station would make offensive comments about me, and I have even had things like beer bottles thrown at me during that time. My early days in Australia were marred by these negative experiences,” disclosed Rashminder.

Long way to go

“Things have improved a lot since then; however on a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate Australia around 5 or 6 in terms of embracing cultural diversity. There is a lot more acceptability than a decade ago, but we are only halfway through our journey towards secularity,” said Rashminder. “Australia will rate on top only when my family and my daughters will not be considered as ‘Indians’, but first as Australians. At the moment despite being born and brought up here, even second generation migrants are still classed as ‘Indians’ by the mainstream community. This could stem from people’s ignorance of other cultures, but

can also be due to a lack of communication from us. We haven’t expressed our identity or shared our beliefs. It is up to us as individuals to educate the community and make them aware that even though we may look different, we still belong and are no less Australian than anyone else,” added Rashminder vehemently. Multiculturalism in Australia is a work in progress. The main principles underlying Australian multiculturalism are evident in the quotation from the following report created by the Migrant Services Commonwealth of Australia (MSCA), which states: “We are convinced that migrants have the right to maintain their cultural and racial identity and that it is clearly in the best interests of our nation that they should be encouraged and assisted to do so if they wish. Provided that ethnic identity is not stressed at the expense of society at large, but is interwoven into the fabric of our nationhood by the process of multicultural interaction, then the community as a whole will benefit substantially and its democratic nature will be reinforced. ...We reject the argument that cultural diversity necessarily creates divisiveness. Rather we believe that hostility and bitterness between groups are often the result of cultural repression.”

Efforts are in place to ensure that differences between individuals and groups are considered to be a potential source of strength and renewal, rather than of strife. However, every now and then incidents like the Sikh boy’s forced shaving create impediments in the path of embracing cultural acceptability.

Immigration Museum

Aman Dhingra

Rashminder Singh with his poster

Mummoorthigal festival

The Mummoorthigal festival was held over two days at the Kel Watson Theatre in April. It started originally as a Tyagaraja festival, but has evolved into a music fest celebrating the 3 great carnatic music composers, the other two being Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri (who lived between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries). The corpus of their compositions forms the basis of any carnatic music recital today.

Ravichandhira and Narmada Ravichandhira – the power couple of carnatic music in Melbourne – have honed the festival format in recent years to make the two days of musical experience a feast of the best that Melbourne has to offer. For those interested in classical music, this is the closest one can get to the Margazhi music season in Chennai. As always, the congregational singing, together with violins, flute, veenas and mrudangams, was the highlight of the festival. This is the one hour or 90 minutes of divine music that this reviewer looks forward to every year, when all the music teachers of Melbourne sing the Pancharatna kritis of Tyagaraja – together with one of Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri.

The special invitees this year were Atul Kumar on the flute (he is the grandson of the flute maestro N Ramani) and A.G.A. Ganasundaram, a leading violinist from India, both of whom gave major solo performances; the TYME concert (an ensemble of senior young musicians of Melbourne) was an impressive display of the musical prowess of young musicians, and everyone in the audience was visibly moved by the virtuosity of Melbourne born youngsters.

Keerthana School of Carnatic Music, Raaga Sudha Music School and Laya Vidhya Centre all held their Annual Concerts at the Chandler Community Centre in May.

CMC concerts

The Carnatic Music Circle held two feature concerts in the last 2 months: both at the Kel Watson theatre. The first was a flute recital by Sikkil Mala – the daughter of Sikkil Neela (of the famous Sikkil sisters who were legendary flautists in their heydays).

The concert was steeped in classicism, and for the purists, it was an evening of blissful music.

CMC’s next major feature concert was a scintillating kathak recital by the dance duo Nirupama and Rajendra of Bangalore. They have studied kathak and Choreography under eminent Gurus such as Dr. Maya Rao of Bangalore, Padma Bhushan Kumudini Lakhia of Ahmedabad, Pundit Arjun Mishra & Nahid Siddiqui from Pakistan.

They have not only studied Dance Choreography, they have both learnt bharatanatyam as well, and trained in the expressive elements (abhinaya) from bharatanatyam greats such as Guru Kalanidhi Narayanan and Guru Narmada & studied special movement vocabularies of Natyashastra under Mrs. Sundari Santhanam – a senior disciple of Dr. Padma Subramaniam. It is no surprise, therefore, that they have produced several dance works fusing various styles from classical to the modern featuring an extraordinary range of creative expressions.

Their performance was breathtaking – and their dance was at the same time both elegant and energetic, whether the theme was the traditional one of Rama and Sita’s fortuitous meeting in the garden of Mithila, or the abstract one about the monsoon in different malhar raags

This was preceded by an “Emerging artistes” segment in which Tara Rajkumar’s students presented a very traditional and polished Mohiniattam rendition; Ushantini Sripadmanathan’s students presented some bharatanatyam items; and Sruthi Sharma of Sydney presented a bharatanatyam solo.

Chitra Sudarshan

What’s On

Bhagawad Gita lectures

10 & 11 June, 7:45 – 9pm and 12 June, 11 am – 12 noon at Monash University Clayton campus (Melway map ref. 70 F11)

LAW, Building 12, Lecture Theatre L1, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria 3800. Free lectures on the Bhagawad Gita by Sw. Sridharanandaji, President, Vedanta Centre of Sydney on Ch 9 Raja Vidya Raja Guhya Yoga: The highest knowledge and the highest mystery. Contact Suresh Ravinutala Secretary, Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of Victoria on 98036154

Master class tabla performance

June 11, 7:30pm onwards, at Vermont South Community House, Karobran Dr, Vermont South VIC 3133. Avirbhav Verma, tabla wizard from India will perform. Son of illustrious tabla player, the late Shri

Bharatanatyam arangetrams

Melbourne witnessed four bharatanatyam arangetrams in the six weeks: two from Nrithakshetra – the 53rd and the 54th presented by Smt Shanthy Rajendran, its director. Both were held at the George Wood Performing Arts Centre just a week apart in April. Smt Shanthy Rajendran was on the nattuvangam and Sivanandan Ahilan was the main vocalist for both the arangetrams, as were Suresh Babu on the violin and Athulkumar on the flute. Both the orchestras were outstanding.

Kandasamy was on the mrudangam

She began with the Puhpanjali, and kept the lively pace up in the next item: Oothakadu’s classic kriti in Naattai, Sri Vignarajam bhaje

The varnam in reetigowla in praise of Lord Shiva (composed by Madurai Muralidharan) was a new item and Abbarna did justice to it – rising to the occasion with some complex footwork and adavus

Precise, crisp and accurate adavus are a hallmark of Nrithakhetra, and Smt Shanthy Rajendran has an enviable reputation for being a perfectionist. This was evident in both the arangetrams, and the quality of the school’s dancers must be evident to even the most uninitiated.

Natya Kalanjali presented two arangetrams in May: one was by the young Lakshanya and Vasish at the Alexander Theatre. Not often do we get to see a brother-sister duo – so it was an aesthetically different experience. Under the able guidance of their teacher Radhika Mahadeva and the well-known and talented dancer-choreographer from Chennai, P T Narendran, the young dancers put on an impressive performance.

As most of the items in the repertoire were either choreographed or taught to the children by P T Narendran himself, it must have been heavily quality-controlled, and hence had the stamp of authenticity. With both Smt Radhika Mahadeva and P T Narendran on the Nattuvangam, nothing was left to chance, and the items progressed smoothly.

sleek and polished solo. She breezed through the three hours of rigorous routine with the confidence and panache of a professional: It was obvious this dancer has had a lot of performances under her belt. She excelled in the pure dance items as well as the padam and keertanas. Her abhinaya was as good as some of the most difficult adavus she executed – as in the keertanam Adalvallor (composed by Madurai Muralidharan). The Tulsidas Bhajan Sri Ramachandra was also rendered beautifully and Jenani brought out all the majesty of Lord Rama in her dance. The varnam was impeccable, and Mrudangam was by Sri Balasri Rasiah, who, as one of the best percussionists in Melbourne, was a great anchor in the live orchestra.

Abbarna Mahindajit’s arangetram too was a competent debut performance, and Yogarajaj

Pawan Kumar Verma, Avirbhav has toured all of Europe where he gained priceless fame and exposure. Tickets for $7 available at the door.

Sounds of strings

18 June, 8pm at Waverley Meadows

Primary School, 11 Columbia Drive, Wheelers Hill VIC 3150. Gurmeet Singh (Melbourne’s Rafi), Saby (Sarod) and Radhey (Sitar) will perform with Avirbhav Verma. Charity Event for AIDContribution $10 at the door (All proceed will go to AID - www.aidindia.org)

Balagokulam June

26 June, 4 – 6pm (3:45pm registration) at Clayton North Primary School, 1714 Dandenong Road, Clayton North, 3168, Melway Ref: 70D11. Organized by Hindi Swayamsevak Sangh (Australia), for children of all ages. Refreshments provided, Guru dakshnina: $2. Contact Abhijit Bhide 0402

081 193 or email: Balagokulam.melbourne@hotmail.com

Flights of Musical Imagination

June 25, 7:30pm at Prana House, 1/885 High Street, Thornbury. With Bikram Malhar (vocal) and Murli Kumar (violin). Khayal singing, tabla solos and kirtan. Tickets available at the door - $20/15 Conc.

Mehfil Night

17 June, 8-10pm at Cnr Victoria St & Louisa St, Coburg. Organised by Australian Indian Society of Victoria (AISV). Open night. For details contact Dr Saratchandran on 9366 5444

Swar Sandhya

2 July, 8pm onwards at Waverley Meadows Primary School, 11 Columbia Drive, Wheelers Hill VIC 3150. A new event by the organizers of Sangeet Sandhya. Modern music based programme on Karaoke, bring

The renowned singer OS Arun led an impressive orchestra, which included the budding Athulkumar on the flute; Ravichandhira was on the mrudangam

Natya Kalanjali’s other arangetram was that of the three Kumar sisters Annapurani, Ashritha and Ashraya at the Besen Centre on 21 May. In some ways they were the first debut performers to have been trained by their teacher Radhika Mahadeva from the very beginning. The Ganeha Vandanam was an impressive opening item, and the girls rendered the varnam Angayarkanni (Lalgudi composition) competently.

Apart from OS Arun and Radhika Mahadeva on vocal and nattuvangam, Murali Kumar on the violin and Balasri Rasiah on the mrudangam made up a very lively and impressive orchestra.

Chitra Sudarshan

your own (BYO) music and enjoy listening to other good singes. Free entry, tea/coffee provided.

Sri Hariji’s discourse

6-7-8 July, 7:30 – 9pm at St Scholastica’s Community Centre, 348, Burwood Highway, Bennetswood, Melway Ref: 61D6.

Sri Hariji’s discourse, Dasama Skandam.

10 July, 10-11am at the Shiva Vishnu Temple, Rukmini Kalyanam.

Spiritual talks organised by the Vedic Society of Victoria Inc, a non-profit organization. Hari Katha by Smt Vishaka Hari on July11. Programmes are in Tamil, and free to the public.

10 July, 4 – 7:30pm, at St Scholastica’s Community Centre, 348, Burwood Highway, Bennetswood, Melway Ref: 61D6 Smt Vishaka Hari’s Hari Katha, Sundar Kandam. Accompanied by Sri B Anantha Krishnan on Violin, Sri Sridhar Chari on Mridangam

Sruthi Sharma

BY PREETI JABBAL

This winter, Melbourne and Sydney were blessed with spectacular performances from the dancing duo, Nirupama and Rajendra. The dancing couple’s debut Australian performance proved revelatory of rhythmic and conceptual complexity in which identical movement paradoxically revealed individual qualities. Nirupama clearly led the way with her charm and grace, while Rajendra matched her with his seemingly effortless expertise. Their kathak and fusion dance segments were a remarkable tribute to the past with visions of the future that were presented with great artistry. Audiences in both cities were left wanting more.

Nirupama and Rajendra currently head their own Abhinava Dance Company in Bangalore. They nurtured their skills in kathak and choreography under eminent gurus. Graduating in dance choreography, they have also trained in the expressive elements (abhinaya) from renowned exponents. They travel extensively performing in various parts of the world. Winners of several national and international awards, the duo was awarded the Karnataka Kalashree award recently by the state government (Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy) in Bangalore on April 15. Their performance in Melbourne was hosted by Carnatic Music Circle in association with Melbourne Kannada Sangha.

Preeti Jabbal spoke to the dancers in Melbourne while they were on their way to enjoy the beauty of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

Preeti Jabbal:You have been quoted as saying that Indian art has a great spirit and content, but it needs better approach and has to be projected at a certain level. Can you elaborate?

Nirupama & Rajendra: In the journey of ‘dance’ we have travelled a lot. We graduated in dance choreography, we learnt how to create a production and we have worked with international choreographers. When we went to UK, we did a lot of educational

Creative kathak

work. We noticed how westerners focus so much on the presentation of art. Besides the dance itself, they focus to every other aspect of a production like entry, exit, music, costume and backdrop. Our Indian art form also needs that outlet. Traditionally, most practitioners performed dances like kathak in small sabhas and social events, but now the world is our stage. We believe that traditional art form needs to be presented in such a way that it appeals to the masses. Today’s audience has a limited attention span and we have to be mindful of that while presenting. Ideally we would like our audience to get into the spirit of the dance and this will not reach everyone unless it is repackaged and re-presented. We want to bring in excitement and variety and give a new dimension to classical art.

PJ: You work dance, create, rehearse and live together, what effect does that have on your relationship?

N&R: We introduce ourselves as two bodies and one soul .We are together 24/7 and we have one common love that is dance. For us it is work-cum-pleasure and we celebrate this togetherness and life. I have known Rajendra for 23 years now and have been married to him for 16 years. There has never been a single dull moment.

PJ: What is your opinion of the numerous dance/ reality shows on TV?

N&R: We don’t like reality shows. They initially boost your confidence, but it is such temporary fame. We have also seen many good artists cry after being rejected, which is not good for their morale. I think art should be poured out of inspiration, not competition.

PJ: Is there any type of dance that you don’t like?

N&R: Dancing is an expression of joy, it is the best way to display emotions so I love to watch all dance forms.

PJ: You are young, attractive and popular; would you be interested in acting in movies?

N&R: No, not at the moment. We love the stage and we want to share our energy with a live audience. We have consciously kept away from acting, we have been involved with dancing in documentaries, but we do not intend to enter into any commercial venture at this point of time.

PJ: What is the nicest thing a fan has said to you?

N&R: One of the biggest compliments is when people who don’t know anything about our dance, appreciate our performance. Quite like the Spanish mother and daughter duo who attended our show in Belgium. They came to us, shook our hands and could not speak; they just held our hands and cried. They later told us how inspired and touched they were by our performance. We also remember performing to a group of Afghans and they asked for an encore. We were to reach Geneva that night for another performance, and we joked that we would repeat our performance only if someone drove us to Geneva, and they did! We danced again despite our fatigue and then were duly driven to Geneva, as promised.

Once a German technician was working with us and she had a fever. After our show finished she told us that she was so charged up by our performance that she was ready to do another show straightaway. Another nice comment came from Amla Shankar, wife of renowned dancer Uday Shankar. She commented that she wasn’t very keen on kathak but after watching us dance made her start loving the dance form. Appreciation of our dance and technique means much more to us than just getting complimented on the costumes or make up

or external beauty.

PJ: Is it hard to strike a balance between commercial and artistic validity?

N&R: It is definitely a challenge. The world is constantly looking for creativity and we are trying to reach out to a larger audience, therefore we need the commerce, sponsors and financial backing to sustain the scale that we work on. We are not Bollywood or temple worshippers; we are performers on a unique path. Our aim is to bring classical dance into the limelight and interpret it in audience-friendly terms. In India art is still struggling for funds in comparison to cricket and sports. There is a huge imbalance. Unlike the West we do not get many grants or funding to promote our art. We present everything in such a spectacular way that it needs commercial validity therefore we charge a fee, but we also perform for charity and festivals in temples free of cost. We serve society and make money at the same time.

PJ: What is your concept of success?

N&R: If we are happy in our work, if we enjoy the whole process and people who come to watch us go back with a smile, then we consider ourselves to be successful. We do have a dream however, and that is to present our show in the best theatres around the world. We would like to perform in places like Sydney’s Opera House, Vienna’s State Theatre, New York’s Carnegie Hall etc.

“Ideally we would like our audience to get into the spirit of the dance and this will not reach everyone unless it is repackaged and re-presented”

“We present everything in such a spectacular way that it needs commercial validity therefore we charge a fee, but we also perform for charity and festivals in temples free of cost.”

Bangalore-based dancing duo Nirupama and Rajendra made a spectacular debut in Australia recently; they talk about thier art and aspirations.

To tax or

About carbon tax

‘Carbon tax’ has become the Labor Party’s watchword, and the Liberal’s bugbear. So what exactly is the background behind the debate? Here are some facts that put the issue into perspective, and could possibly help us decide on what’s best for Australia.

The government plans to tax the carbon pollution caused by burning fossil fuels, including coal and petroleum. A carbon tax puts a price on the carbon released when fossil fuels are burned, and this includes the cost of the environmental damage caused.

Taxation of liquid fuels and coal takes account of both their energy content and carbon dioxide emissions, and also emissions into the local environment that have adverse health effects.

With such a tax, businesses will be forced to develop and use technologies that reduce carbon emissions. These could be in the form of fuel-efficient cars and renewable energy sources. Individuals too, will have to consider their use of fossil fuels, including the cars they buy and the appliances they use.

But emitters will be the hardest hit, as using carbon-based fuels would eventually cost more than reducing their use of fossil fuels.

With a price on carbon, the government will tax each tonne of carbon pollution released when fossil fuels are burned. The carbon price is a tax rate set by the government; the Gillard government is yet to finalise this price.

The Australian government’s proposed tax on carbon emissions has led to widespread debate about the viability of the measure. To add to the confusion, the charge and counter-charge between the government and the opposition have sent conflicting signals to the country.

Even supporters of the move are concerned that the initiative may fall victim to political complexities. On the other hand, sceptics have been arguing that the proposed move will hurt the country’s economic growth.

Indian Link sought to gauge the mood of the Indian community on this contentious issue, and as expected, opinions differed. While many termed the introduction of carbon tax as a positive step, others seemed to question its merits. Here are some of the responses.

Say no to carbon tax!

It’s hard to believe anything that politicians say these days. Four days before the election last year, Prime Minister Julia Gillard had declared that “there will be no carbon tax under the government I lead”. But as soon as it was clear that the Greens held the balance of power in the Senate and had a crucial role in Julia Gillard getting “The Lodge” in Canberra, the Labour Party and their first female Prime Minister backstabbed Australia and announced that they would support the carbon tax.

This will bring Australia to a complete halt. Just think about the present situation. Our electricity bills have doubled in the last four years and will undoubtedly increase further even without a carbon tax. Add a carbon tax and it will be impossible to use any electric appliances in future. Then there is the case of rising petrol prices. Next is your all-important grocery bill. The price of raw food in Australia is one of the highest in the world, and it has been increasing faster than inflation. The carbon tax will undoubtedly push grocery prices through the roof.

We are already paying some of the most expensive mortgages and taxes in the world. All of us are affected by these increases. Some of us have cars and

mortgages, but almost all of us pay income tax and buy groceries. A further tax without any extra source of income is just pure insanity.

What is even more evident is that unlike GST that John Howard introduced, the carbon tax would not be a constant figure. It will very likely start from a low price and will continue to move upwards. Labour party honchos like Greg Combet say that the government will compensate families with generous handouts, but does anyone really believe him?

What is the guarantee that the compensation by government would be enough to pay for increased expenses?

I’m not a climate change denier nor do I think pollution is all-natural. Of course, humans are playing their part too. But what I really don’t understand is how Australia can achieve anything by destroying its industries, economy and way of life for something that is supposed to be a global problem?

The latest figures show that the Australian economy is going backwards. The Aussie dollar is way too strong, and as a result key industries like mining are losing ground. We all know that the Australian economy heavily relies on the progress made by the mining sector. A small change in the Australian dollar is causing reduced growth in exports. Imagine what will happen when we will tell the rest of the buying world that now our exports are not only expensive due to a strong dollar, but we would also charge an extra carbon tax.

I don’t think I have to explain what will happen next. The time has come for ordinary people like us to speak up and tell the government that enough is enough. Say “No” to carbon tax before it’s too late!

Mark Sharma, Sydney

Yes and a hefty one at that

Climate change is certainly one of the most complex issues facing man-kind. Unfortunately whilst everyone is happy to acknowledge that, no one wants to be the first to move – be it to make energy cleaner, or to stop exporting “dirty” coal or to pay more for electricity.

And yet it is apparent that for us to really make a

Pro and anti carbon tax protests are becoming commonplace, Indian Link gauges the mood of the Indian community on the issue

Photo: AAP

not to tax?

difference, we can’t just sit on our hands and do nothing.

The Government’s proposed carbon tax has been great political capital for the Federal Liberal party which refuses to be constructive on any issue facing this country. The mother of all scare campaigns has been launched and if one were to believe it, the carbon tax will obliterate industry, agriculture and mining and turn Australia into a wasteland full of unemployed people. The “direct action” campaign of the Liberals is a big joke. Green army, planting more trees etc. – this is subjuvenile stuff that 7 year olds dream up!

The truth is that there needs to be a carbon tax and a hefty one at that. People are not going to change entrenched and wasteful habits or lessen their huge carbon footprints (one of the largest per capita, in the world) without punitive taxes and consequences.

Of course, vulnerable sections of society will and should be compensated – but, this fact is being conveniently overlooked by vested interests opposed to the tax.

This is not a tax that the Government is raising to spend – it is a zero sum game wherein all of us need to do our bit and change our way of life so that the planet can survive many decades of our past abuse.

On its own, the Labour Government would have been pusillanimous and rather avoided this issue, but the Greens have stiffened their spines and good on them!

Darshak Mehta, Sydney

Yes, as soon as possible

If I were to speak considering the economy, I’d say no as it might affect the mining companies and the economy is driven by them.

However, as a citizen of this country I feel that the tax should be applied as soon as possible. Globally, we are buying so much fuel to generate power. All this is affecting the climate very badly.

I think the carbon tax will make people more conscious of the climate and the need to protect it. I understand there is a political side to the story, but at the end of the day it’s a good measure which will help the environment.

Utkarsh Dubey, Sydney

For the sake of coming generations

The proposed carbon tax will benefit the country and the environment. I think we shall all play a part in ensuring that our coming generations can breathe in a better environment.

Its financial impact on people can be limited when it’s implemented on a wider scale. There is an urgent need to bring in such measures now, before it is too late.

We should also request other countries to tighten their carbon norms. The failure of the Copenhagen Summit tells us that we need to build a consensus on such issues.

Need for a cleaner world

It is a fact that we need to reduce pollution and tackle climate change, which has been proved as a factor destroying the world’s ecobalance. However, the only way we can produce food, use transport, build houses and make clothes is through methods that are polluting in themselves.

Navjeet Matta,

Sydney Education is the key

My biggest complain is that the government has not done enough to educate people about the need to implement the carbon tax. It is a difficult issue, and Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s flip-flop attitude has not helped. Many see it as a ploy to ensure Gillard continues to enjoy the support of the Greens. Other countries in the world are not doing it yet, because their economies don’t allow it.

Even if Australia implements it, emissions from countries such as China and India are not going to come down. So I wonder how much of a direct difference it is going to make globally. However, it is a positive step. If we manage to implement it, maybe other nations will be influenced to follow suit as well. So it’s not such a bad thing, considering how many natural disasters we see these days, which are related to global warming. I think common sense needs to prevail here.

Syed Kabir, Sydney

It’ll help us focus on cleaner energy

Carbon tax should be implemented without any further delay in order to reduce CO2 emissions. The disadvantage at the moment seems that the cost of living will increase for households by this tax, but in the long term, quality of life will improve in terms of having cleaner environment. Implementing the carbon tax

Continued on page 14

We need to switch to clean energy sources like wind, solar or geothermal power. Australia has the means and ability to support these new technologies and in time, we could become a clean superpower.

But the crux of the problem is that with our current economy, clean technology is much more expensive than the old, outdated technology that creates pollution. And this is why we lack the incentive to switch to cleaner technology.

Australia’s efforts to tackle pollution are falling behind other developing nations.

Australia’s emissions projections had increased by four percent since 2007 to 24 percent above 2000 levels by 2020, due to its surging resources sector.

Heavily reliant on coal-fired power and mining exports, it is one of the world’s worst per capita polluters

A carbon tax can be implemented by taxing the burning of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum products such as gasoline and aviation fuel, and natural gas in proportion to their carbon content.

Photo: AAP

will also reduce dependence on coal energy and will pave a way for focusing on cleaner energies such as wind and solar energies, which have been underestimated and underinvested in till now.

Sanjay Goel, Sydney

Will not achieve anything

In principle I agree that there should be a carbon tax. Something needs to be done about the poor health of the environment. But a tax is not the solution. What the government’s proposed tax will achieve and how, is not clearly defined at all. Will it go towards R&D on alternate sources of energy, for example? Overall, I don’t think the carbon tax is going to achieve anything.

Shyamal Bhatia, Sydney

Carbon pricing an urgent necessity

Given the incontrovertible evidence that the planet is in danger as a result of excessive levels of carbon emission, I simply can’t wait to see a carbon pricing scheme in operation. The scheme, as it is conceived, is actually the second best but I am hoping that it will eventually lead to a full blown market-based pricing scheme such as the Rudd government’s ETS which derailed a year and a half ago.

I don’t buy into the argument that a carbon tax will impose an unacceptable burden on struggling families because the way the scheme is being constructed, there will be inbuilt compensation for low-income household. But even if this wasn’t the case, I am confident most Australians would accept the sacrifice as a cost of world leadership, pretty much as they are accepting the costs, both

Winners and losers

The tax will include the stationary energy, transport and the industrial processes sectors, but agriculture will not be included in the scheme.

By putting a price on pollution, we are aiming to make clean technology cheaper in the long run.

Governments, economists and business leaders around the globe agree that levelling the economic playing field by placing a price tag on pollution is one of the best ways to reduce pollution.

If it’s cheaper to produce clean energy than it is polluting energy, businesses will invest in solar, wind and geothermal projects across the country, thus creating new jobs within new industries.

But introducing the carbon tax would mean that goods and services that rely on carbon emission will become far more expensive.

Electricity in Australia comes from coal, so prices of electricity will increase significantly, thus affecting the common man.

A carbon tax could disproportionately affect low income groups, but this can be addressed by using tax subsidies to support these groups.

in terms of lives and money, of our participation in the Afghanistan campaign. Australia is proud of its reputation as a nation that punches well above its weight, and it is well understood that means making more than just a proportionate contribution to global projects.

Nor can I accept the you-go-first approach that wrecked the Copenhagen climate conference and is apparently supported by some of our short-sighted politicians; nor the puerile view that Australia need not act because any reduction it can achieve in carbon emissions will not make a jot of a difference to overall levels. That is not the stuff of leadership. Had that view always prevailed, we would not have fought side by side with other responsible nations in the World Wars or in Iraq and Afghanistan. We did that simply because morality demanded it.

I sincerely hope that the climate change committee will quickly reach a deal and get something moving.

Om Khushu, Melbourne

It will hit small businesses

Australia is home to some of the most beautiful natural environments on earth and it’s imperative to our economy that we protect these. The World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef alone is worth about $5 billion to our economy. It is a precious natural icon and we are its guardians.

It is fair to expect that any tax will have to be passed on to the consumer. But the simple fact is that small businesses don’t need this. We have just endured the GFC, multiple interest rate rises and multiple natural disasters with lasting impacts in the business community. The consumer is already shying away from the retail market. For this to be followed up with an added tax adds insult to injury. The tax will hit small business in the hip pocket with higher costs for electricity and fuel, and that’s at a time when some businesses are struggling to stay afloat. Just walk down to your local shopping strip and see the number of ‘To Let’ signs. We need clarity on the carbon tax objective to reduce carbon pollution, but I’m concerned that the current proposal could be tainted by the political imperative to do a deal, rather than what’s best for the nation and the people. I’m not saying we should do nothing. We should do the right thing. The issue of climate change is something we need to get right because the cost of doing nothing is just as high.

Harvin Dhillon, Melbourne

Leading by example

This debate has been going on for some time now. Sadly, the carbon debate has been politicised in this country, instead of moving towards a consensus on the issue. It is true that coal is one of the primary pollutants, but it is also the golden goose for Australian economy. This tax will affect the mining sector. Having said that, in the long run, a viable solution to curb carbon emissions has to be found. Ordinary Australians, including the Indian community here, I believe, would not have a problem with paying a little for a good cause, and would look at the tax as doing their bit for a better environment. I think more than the tax, it is the way it has been handled that

has left us asking a lot of questions. By implementing the tax, Australia can send out a message that it is a responsible country which does not mind taking the lead in tackling issues of global importance. I think it will raise our standing in the world as a forwardthinking and responsible nation.

Lakshya, Canberra

Across the world

Finland introduced the world’s first carbon tax in 1990. Initially the tax exempted a few industries and fuels. In 2010, Finland’s price on carbon was €20 per tonne of CO2. Natural gas has a reduced tax rate, while peat was exempted between 2005-2010.

The Netherlands currently levies a general fuel tax on all fossil fuels. Fuels used as raw materials are not subject to the tax. Tax rates are based on both the energy and carbon contents of fuels.

Sweden introduced a carbon tax in 1991 and raised it prices on fossil fuels. It cut its carbon pollution by 9 per cent between 1990 and 2006.

India introduced a levy on coal producers in 2010, and is expected to raise $535 million from the tax, the first measure used by the subcontinent to reduce companies’ use of fossil fuels.

Norway began the tax on carbon in 1991; but its carbon emissions increased by 43m per cent per capita between 1991 and 2008.

Denmark’s tax came into being in 1992 and applies to all energy users, including the industrial sector. However, industrial companies are taxed differently depending on how and for what the energy is used, and whether or not the company has entered into a voluntary agreement to apply energy efficiency measures. Denmark’s per capita carbon dioxide emissions were nearly 15% lower in 2005 than in 1990.

Switzerland introduced a carbon incentive tax in 2008, including all fossil fuels, unless they are used for energy. Swiss companies can be exempt from the tax if they participate in the country’s emissions trading system. Overall, greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland remained stable between 1990 and 2007.

Ireland’s tax on oil and gas came into effect in 2010 and was estimated to add around €43 to filling a 1000 litre oil tank and €41 to the average annual gas bill.

Costa Rica enacted the tax on carbon pollution in 1997, set at 3.5 per cent of the market value of fossil fuels. The revenue raised from this goes into a national forest fund which pays indigenous communities for protecting the forests around them.

Major global economies like the United States, Japan and the European Union are making ambitious, if not strong pledges to reduce emissions.

China, the world’s largest emitter, has already made considerable progress in reducing emissions.

Casual journalists

So you have a passion for writing…. Indian Link Newspaper is seeking reporters in your city, to cover Indian community events, as well as India-related events in the mainstream.

Having been successfully operating in Sydney for the past 17 and Melbourne for the past 10 years, Indian Link has now established a presence in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

We would like YOU to be part of our exciting growth! Appropriate remunerations paid.

Contact info@indianlink.com.au

Running in red for MS

I am never too shy to make a statement, whether verbal or visual. However, never has making a statement given me as much satisfaction as joining this year’s red brigade for Multiple Sclerosis. The MS fun run fundraiser saw more than 5000 people pound the picturesque Albert Park pavement for a great cause. My cheeks are still red from the warmth I felt at being able to contribute, in my small way, towards supporting people suffering with Multiple Sclerosis. On a windy winter Sunday when most of us struggle to emerge from the doona, thousands of enthusiastic participants clad in red headed towards Palms Lawn to run or walk around the scenic track surrounding Albert Park Lake. The sea of red comprised of all varieties of the human species, along with several canines who added to the eclectic mix. Red shoes jostled with sneakers, red hair competed with sparkly red hats, wheelchairs strolled along with prams and roving entertainers mingled with the rugged-up crowd. Runners in sporty gear kicked off the event early in the morning and were followed by a more leisurely lot that walked routes of 5 and 10 kms. Certain teams of volunteers put on their creative hats to stand out amongst the already red hot crowd. Dave’s Dashers, Greg’s Gang, Mario’s Mates and plain old Joe Blo whatever their name, they were all helping the thousands of Australians living with MS. The event raised around $851,219 at last count.

Multiple Sclerosis can have devastating effects. MS Australia offers services and programmes to those living with MS and the fundraising helps support approximately 20,000 Australians affected by the disease. At the fundraiser there were awards for top team and top individuals, also for best dressed. However for most of us the award was that as family, friends and carers, we could participate in, visually supporting people living with MS.

Preeti Jabbal

Photos: Preeti Jabbal

WA Citizen of the Year Award for Indian-Australian researcher

Professor Ralph Martins’ extensive research on Alzheimer’s has led to a new insight into the disease and its causes

BY SAI NARAYAN

An Australian researcher of Indian origin Professor Ralph Martins has been awarded the WA Citizen of the Year Award 2011 under the ‘Professions’ category for his work

The State’s premier awards were introduced in 1972 to recognise the contribution of outstanding individuals and service organizations. The 2011 recipients were announced at the 39th annual awards presentation dinner on Saturday 28th May 2011.

For more than a quarter of a century, Ralph has been a dedicated researcher and world leader in Alzheimer’s research, during which time he has been part of medical teams who have made a number of internationally recognised discoveries which have contributed not only to the understanding of the disease, but also to its early detection.

Ralph’s other discoveries include the genetic risk factors and lifestyle factors which contribute to the disease. On the back of this research, he has published more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including some of the most prestigious international journals such as the Journal of Biological Chemistry and the Journal of American Medical Association

Ralph continues to develop the clinical capacity of Western Australia with active links to his international peers who are at the forefront of the battle against Alzheimer’s disease

Through his leadership, commitment and tenacity Ralph has built, and continues to grow, a body of substantial and world-class research. He also continues to develop the clinical capacity of Western Australia with active links to his international peers who are at the forefront of the battle against Alzheimer’s disease.

For more than 20 years, Ralph has been the Director and Head of the Sir James McCusker Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit, and is also the Foundation Chair of Ageing and Alzheimer’s disease at Edith Cowan University.

Ralph, who has previously been named Western Australia’s Australian of the Year 2010, shares Australia’s breakthrough research on Alzheimer’s disease with specialists in India. Currently he is collaborating with Dr. Jacob Roy, President and Founder of the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI).

ARDSI is involved in running Alzheimer-related clinics and research centres in India. He works closely with Indian researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore; the National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon; and with Dr. Benny Antony of Arjuna Natural Extracts Ltd, based in Kerala, with whom clinical trials will begin shortly in Australia to evaluate a novel formulation of the Indian herbal extract ‘curcumin’.

Ralph is also collaborating with Dr. Radha Murthy and her Nightingales Foundation, which is involved in understanding risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease in the Indian population. One of the projects he is working on is starting collaborative Alzheimer research centres in India in some of the major metro cities to work together with Indian researchers and scientists. As he says, “India is on the verge of an Alzheimer’s explosion of 100 million people affected by the disease in the near future and there is not enough government funding or awareness of the problem.”

Ralph was born in 1957 in Bahrain, in the heart of the

Middle East, to parents who hailed from Goa in India; his mother was a stenographer and his father an air traffic controller. As a Catholic, his parents found his education opportunities were restricted in Bahrain and so he was sent to a boarding school in Quetta, in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan, where he completed his “Senior Cambridge” secondary qualifications. Interestingly, to facilitate his frequent visits home, he was given a Pakistani passport (although he was never considered a Pakistani citizen).

It was his Catholicism that eventually led him to Australia, as there was no possibility for him to become a Bahraini citizen. He had an uncle who had migrated in 1960s; in June 1974, aged only 16, Ralph came to Perth and the rest of his family followed three months later.

While they had never felt quite at home in Bahrain or Pakistan, the family immediately felt at home in Perth. Ralph appreciates the choice, freedom and opportunities that Australia has given him. He was interested in science and medicine, but when he couldn’t get into medicine, he enrolled in biochemistry at the University of WA, where he met his Burmese-born zoologist/microbiologist wife Georgia, who now also works with the foundation. They married when he was 20.

Ralph went on to do research on the action of insulin on diabetics. “My mum had diabetes so that had driven me towards medicine,” he says. But it was Georgia’s father’s very different disease that ultimately determined his direction. “My father-in-law had Alzheimer’s, so I changed to neuroscience and started work with Colin Masters.”

On being asked how he felt about receiving the award, Ralph says, “I feel very proud of being West Australian and to get this award”. He acknowledges the McCusker family in standing behind his medical research and supporting him. Also acknowledging his wife’s support over the years, he adds, “Medical research is not a 9 to 5 job and can be very demanding”.

He believes the most important trait for success is self-belief and points out that many years ago when he started off with research into Alzheimer’s, there were many in Melbourne – then the ‘Mecca’ of medical research –who tried to dissuade him, but he was determined to go ahead. The success he has achieved is a testimony to his determination, self-belief and perseverance.

Ralph is recognised as a leader of research in Alzheimer’s disease. His team made the first significant discovery, showing that the beta amyloid protein that coats the brain is the foundation of Alzheimer’s. He has been instrumental in bringing to Perth new technology that makes it possible to determine if a patient has deposits of the toxic beta amyloid. He continues to work to develop an early diagnostic blood test and is of the opinion that an early diagnostic test is just five to six years away given the current rate of research is sustained. In his words, “I would like to have a blood test for Alzheimer’s just like we have a blood test for any other disease, and I’d like the disease to be detected at least 15 years before the onset of symptoms”. At the moment, by the time the disease is diagnosed, brain cells have already sustained damage which is often irrecoverable. With lifestyle a surprisingly large factor in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, Ralph suggests some basic warning signs GPs can pick up in their patients to get them onto a preventative course of action. Alzheimer’s risk factors include many of the usual suspects: lack of physical activity, obesity, high cholesterol, vascular-associated diseases (particularly type-2 diabetes), high blood pressure, and poor diet.

He says, “What’s good for the heart is good for the brain”. He recommends physical activity of around 30 minutes a day which includes a mix of cardio and weight training. His research has shown fish, turmeric and green tea to be deterrents against Alzheimer’s. He is collaborating with an Indian herbal product manufacturer to create an “anti-Alzheimer’s” pill which can incorporate all of these ingredients in a form that’s easy for the body to absorb.

According to him physical exercise is an excellent preventative strategy because it breaks down amyloids. However, the “use it or lose it” maxim (advocating stimulating and challenging the brain with mental activity) keeps the brains pathways strong but does not dispense with the damaging amyloids. He is actively involved in the St. Vincent de Paul organization (he is president of the Bentley

Ralph shares Australia’s breakthrough research on Alzheimer’s disease with specialists in India. Currently he is collaborating with Dr. Jacob Roy, President and Founder of the Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India

branch) and spends several hours a week volunteering and visiting the needy.

It is in work that he finds an enjoyable release: “It is more instantly rewarding, the joy of people being happy, just seeing their response, rather than doing research, which is a long road.”

Ralph is also an active member of Rotary International, and recently helped set up a micro-credit project in Kerala, India. Notwithstanding his international engagements, Ralph’s role as West Australian of the Year requires him to deliver about three lectures a week to local community organizations. “It’s busy, but it’s an enjoyable busy-ness,” he says. “In terms of raising the profile of Alzheimer’s and the work of neuroscientists, it has been a huge benefit.”

When asked about the projects he is pursuing actively for the future, Ralph mentions the collaborative Alzheimer’s research centres to be started in India, the anti-Alzheimer’s herbal pill collaboration with an Indian manufacturer and the development of an early diagnostic test as the most critical projects for him in the next few years to come.

Professor Ralph Martins is currently involved in a research group study on the impact of Alzheimer’s on Indian migrants living in Australia and is actively seeking healthy members of the Indian community aged 65 or above with perhaps some memory lapses, to come and participate in the research group. The contact details for anyone wishing to participate in the research group are Dr Amit Singh, Phone: 08-93866379

Email: amarjeet@astron.net.au

azz jadoo at festival

Boston Globe, LA Times, Detroit Free Press, Denver Post and Philadelphia City Paper, among many others. His previous Pi release Kinsmen featuring carnatic saxophone legend Kadri Gopalnath (September 25, 2008) was named one of the Top Jazz CDs of 2008 by over 20 news sources including the New York BBC, Boston Globe, slate com, JazzTimes Village Voice to name just a few. As a saxophonist, Mahanthappa has achieved international recognition performing regularly at jazz festivals and clubs worldwide. As a composer, he has received commission grants from the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund, American Composers Forum, Chamber Music America, and the New York State Council on the Arts to develop new work.

Mahanthappa holds a Bachelors of Music Degree in jazz performance from Berklee College of Music and a Masters of Music degree in jazz composition from Chicago’s DePaul University. Mahanthappa currently lives in New York where he is clearly regarded as an important and influential voice in the jazz world. Rudresh K. Mahanthappa is a Yamaha Artist and uses Vandoren reeds exclusively. He is also a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow.

Okay, so what does this all mean?

It means that Rudresh Mahanthappa is supremely talented, not only at performing but in leading and producing contemporary jazz music. And, as his illustrious career suggests, he is definitely one musician to see perform live. In his words, “The music that I make is a direct expression of my identity and my experience as an Indian-American. There is no way to compromise or impede that fact. Anyone coming from any sort of hybrid cultural background should acknowledge and embrace this inherently unique world perspective and take advantage of the richness therein.”

To sample a taste of his music, log on to http://rudreshm.com/about .

America in his younger years. He holds a Bachelors of Music Degree in jazz performance from Berklee College of Music and a Masters of Music degree in jazz composition from Chicago’s DePaul University. He is a Guggenheim fellow and Downbeat International Critics Poll Winner. Mahanthappa is one of the most innovative young musicians and composers in jazz today, and has been named Alto Saxophonist of the Year for 2010 and 2009 by the Jazz Journalist Association. More importantly, Mahanthappa has incorporated the culture of his Indian ancestry and has fused myriad influences to create a truly groundbreaking artistic vision. As a performer, he leads/co-leads seven groups and his most recent release Apex for Pi Recordings with alto saxophone great Bunky Green featuring Jason Moran and Jack DeJohnette was named one of the top jazz releases of 2010 by NPR, JazzTimes, Village Voice,

Similarly, Vijay Iyer, is a much noted and highly regarded individual in the contemporary jazz music scene. Iyer was born in the state of New York and grew up with a desire to play and perform music. In his early years he learnt how to play classical violin, later discovering the school jazz band and teaching himself to play the piano by ear. He graduated early from high school and went on to study the sciences at Ivy League universities. Alongside his practical studies, Iyer continued on with his music, finally choosing between the two. He admits that the choice was difficult for both himself and his family, though ultimately he had to follow “his calling”. Iyer is a perennial critical favourite, he won the Jazz Journalists Association’s Annual Jazz Award for 2010 Musician of the Year, and the 2004 Up & Coming Musician of the Year. He has repeatedly won multiple categories of the Downbeat Magazine International Critics’ Poll, including Rising Star Jazz Artist (2006, 2007), Rising Star Composer (2006, 2007), Rising Star Pianist (2009), Small Ensemble of the Year (2010), and Album of the Year (2010). He

Multicultural meet is well attended

Deepak Vinayak JP hosted a community gathering and lunch on May 15 at his residence in Craigieburn. The event was well-attended, and guests included by Liz Beattie, Member of Parliament; Cr Helen Patsikatheodorou, Mayor - Hume City Council; Glenn Parker, Senior Sergeant Officer In ChargeCraigieburn Police Station; Rakesh V Kawra, Vice Consul, Consulate General of India; Anne Baudinette, Hume City Library; and Councillor Adem Atmaca, among others.

The guests were from different walks of life, and showed appreciation for the idea of organising

such event. The main aim of this meeting was to establish stronger links and understanding between Victoria’s diverse communities and the government, and to promote and strengthen multiculturalism in Victoria. This rare gathering was organised by Deepak Vinayak, and was also attended by members from the Indian, Australian, Filipino, Turkish, Italian, Pakistani, Singaporean and Chinese communities. At the end of the evening, gifts and awards were presented to prominent social and community personalities to appreciate their contribution towards the community.

has appeared on the covers of five international music magazines: Downbeat (US), Jazzwise (UK), JazzThetik and JazzPodium (Germany), and Concerto (Austria). His many other honors include the prestigious 2003 CalArts Alpert Award in the Arts and a 2006 Fellowship in Music Composition from New York Foundation for the Arts. As a composer/performer, Iyer has received commissioning grants from the Rockefeller Foundation MAP Fund (2000, 2001, 2005, 2009), the New York State Council on the Arts (2002), Creative Capital Foundation (2002), Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust (2002, 2004), American Composers Forum (2005), Chamber Music America (2005), Meet The Composer (2006), and the Jazz Institute of Chicago (2008).

Iyer’s music is all-encompassing and even to the most untrained ears, it elicits emotions and responses which make you want to listen some more. It is easy to understand, after carefully listening to his music, why he has repeatedly been recognised and rewarded with nominations by his peers.

Find links to his music from his website: www.vijay-iyer.com

The Melbourne Jazz Festival is on upto June 13 at various locations around the city, hosting a range of performers, as well as Iyer and Mahanthappa.

Kudrat Singh

Photo: Guruswamy

Vijay Iyer

Rudresh Mahanthappa

Pagri tying evokes amusement at Rajasthani hour

The Rajkov Club of Melbourne (RCM) founded in 2001, recently enthralled members of the Indian Senior Citizens Association (ISCA) with ‘Rajasthani Hour’, a combination of dances, colourful costumes, local customs and typically endemic food from this vibrant state in India.

Copies of the day’s program were placed on tables for members to get an idea of the events as they unfolded. In the absence of a formal dressing room at the venue, a riot of colour filled the front part of the hall as performers prepared for the show, while ISCA President Dr. Prem Phakey welcomed all and made brief announcements.

Rajiv Chaudhary took to the stage, wishing those present Ram, Ram, Sa, the traditional Rajasthani greetings with hands folded, and in story-form related the equally colourful history, background and significance of the Gangaur Festival for Women. President Prabhat Mehta took to the stage and complemented Rajiv’s discourse in his own words. There was no pressure involved in any performance; in fact, it seemed as if the performers wished simply to perform, and equally simply to please! Narrators Vikram and Kalpana Jain green-flagged the journey of Rajasthan with smiles and alluring words, their prose garbed in poetic vehemence.

Sumita Verma articulated her very obvious love of all things Rajasthani when relating the attributes and brief history of the main cities in Rajasthan through a visual presentation. Jodhpur, the docile Blue City; Udaipur, the picturesque Lake City; Jaipur, the Red City of Hawa Mahal; Ajmer, the Mazaar City in which all faiths agree to shine in matching brilliance; and Jaisalmer, the City of Golden Sands.

Needless to add, each city boasts its own fort and enviable history of personal valour and patriotism-dipped bravery.

At this stage Mr. Rakesh Kawra, Vice Consul General, and his family arrived, and were warmly welcomed. Mr. Kawra briefly praised the Rajkov Club’s endeavours in Melbourne. Then came three beauties who danced to the fervour of Rang De Basanti, to our absolute delight. Shubhi, Srishti and Suman performed a highly demanding Krishna dance. To inject divergence, a number of tugs-of-war; not with ropes but pagris, were held; in the women versus men, by Mother Nature’s rule, the women carried the prize virtually in a second. The second bout was women versus women, and the third that instigated cat-whistles was Rajasthan versus ISCA members. Let me not spoil your day by announcing this result!

Next came the Ghoomar Dance, traditionally performed by six ladies, but accommodating an additional dancer specially for ISCA. To change the pace again, Shwetank and Srishti presented Rajasthani folk dances via primitive and so very rural Rajasthani kathputlis. The club ladies even had a ghoomar dance workshop for ISCA seniors right on the floor. They then seated five ISCA menfolk on chairs and asked their wives to tie threemeter-long, utterly unmanageable pagris on their heads. A total disaster, as witnessed, but yet thoroughly enjoyed by the 150 attending members. Only ex-president Krishna Arora excelled in tying the pagri on Dr. Kanwar Raj Singh, but they are not related!

I wonder how Club President Prabhat Mehta came to know of Rose Thakur’s presence calling her to the stage. She is

originally from Ajmer. It was impossible to recognise Prabhat, a friend of old times, for he was not attired in a business suit and tie, but sported an elaborate Rajasthani pagri and costume. Prabhat ended the day with a vote of thanks to highly appreciative audience. This was entertainment at its best!

ISCA member Thakur Yaduveer Singh from the royal family of Geesgargh, seemingly questioned the authenticity of lunch served, but himself clarified that this was traditional staple food a majority of Rajasthanis enjoyed every day, and which may not necessarily be served on royal dastarkhuans.

ISCA next meets on 11 June, at 11:30 am. Member Khalid Arsalan Ali, a senior ex-Indian Air Force Officer who now calls Melbourne home, will display and detail the model aircraft he assembles as a hobby. Please call President Prem Phakey on 03 9560-9607 for more information.

George Thakur

Nawabi

Melbourne-based designer brings in a touch of Indian royalty at Australia’s most prestigious fashion event

It’s an opportunity of a lifetime, and the thought of covering the Resort & Swimwear line at the prestigious Rosemount Australia Fashion Week (RAFW) 2011 showcasing Indian-born designer Roopa Pemmaraju, among others, wakes me up from the stupor of an otherwise lazy day.

A heady ambience

It’s Day 3 at RAFW, the venue is the Overseas Passenger Terminal, against the spectacular backdrop of Circular Quay. Unlike the fashion weeks that I have covered in Mumbai which revolves around Bollywood and only Bollywood, RAFW was definitely a welcome change, with fashion being the focus and designers, the stars. So here I was, all geared up to watch the 3:30pm show, the Resort/Swimwear group collection. (Perhaps at this point I am the envy of all the men reading this, but read on and you’ll experience it like it happened to you!) Four designers were showcasing their collection: Foxton Danger, Karen Neilson Collection, Terri Donna and Roopa Pemmaraju. Did that last name strike a chord in your heart? Well, it did in mine. Being Indian, it certainly was a proud moment to see a fellow Indian showcase her collection at the RAFW, amidst a group of well-known Australian designer labels.

On the catwalk

It was Foxton Danger’s bohemian charm and the relaxed, carefree Australian attitude that kickstarted the show. Followed by handairbrushed prints, neon colours and a lycra swim collection, kimonos, jumpsuits, wideleg pants, one-piece shapes such as catsuits, lace-up fronts, bare backs, cutaways and sexy sliding bottoms, all which exemplified the Karen Neilson collection.

Terri Donna’s beach goddesses exuberated effortless style and confidence, celebrating everything Australians love, summer, fashion, fun and pets! Oops! Yes, the dog on the ramp was the one who stole the show!

Desi chic and charm

And then there was our very own desi collection infusing the ramp with the old world charm of the Nizams. Flowing fabrics, intricate embroidery, splashes of colour and barefoot models in stylishly flowing kaftans sipping coconut water, brought in a much-needed exotic flavor to all things Australian! This was Roopa Pemmaraju showcasing her collection for the second consecutive year at the RAFW.

A packed house of almost 500 fashionistas, connoisseurs, critics and experts of fashion scrutinized every designer’s offering. And yes, Roopa seemed to have held her own.

Beyond black!

Roopa Pemmaraju shared the history of her success, her creations and future plans with me in a short chat. Priyanka Tater: You were the only Indian designer selected to showcase at the FAFW for the second consecutive year. What really clicked for you?

Roopa Pemmaraju: It’s hard to say, but I was excited to showcase my designs for the second time. It does take lot of hard work to be a part of such a prestigious event and literally compete with the Australian designers.

PT: Tell us about your journey so far. How did fashion designing happen, that too in a foreign land?

It’s my partner who got me here. He got a good job here and I followed him. Though before coming to Australia I showcased my collection at the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) in Mumbai and my runway shows were styled by one of the mainstream Australian stylists, named Kelvin Harries. He was the one who encouraged me and said that my clothes would do well in Australia. My colour sense would win over the clichéd blacks and grays that dominate fashion here. He gave me a lot of ideas in terms of how I could move forward to the Australian Fashion week. Coincidentally at the same time, my partner decided to migrate to Australia and that’s how things came into being. Having said that, I took almost two years to decide if I really wanted to be a part of the fashion world, or if I should start a regular 9 to 5 job. It took a while for me to understand the Australian taste and what they like to wear. So finally, when I applied for

major differences between the two?

RP: Fashion in every part of the world is about glamour, style and making a statement. But in terms of LFW, the focus is Bollywood. Almost every big actor or actress is a part of it and it’s all about them, they are the ones who hog the limelight. But here at RAFW, it’s about business. One gets to meet buyers from all over the world and selling is the focal point.

Roopa Pemmaraju

splendour

PT: Can you describe your resort and swimwear collection for those who weren’t able to witness the splashes of colour on the ramp?

RP: I can vouch for the quality of my collection. I use pure fabrics such as chiffons, georgettes, silks etc. I do not use polyester mix or synthetic, and poor quality fabric. My collection is very thematic; I look for look for a concept or theme in everything I design and work on it. Since I originally come from Bangalore and have my studio based there, I make all my collections in India. This time, my collection was inspired by the Nizams from Hyderabad. That era boasted of intricate work, detailed embroidery, flowing fabrics and colour and my resort line reflected the same. Resort wear needn’t be structurally fitted clothes; it’s more about comfort and loose, flowing fabrics. Also this year I had lot of sponsors coming onboard, as opposed to last year. I couldn’t believe it because last year I was struggling to put my name out there and make myself known. But just one show at the RAFW, and things had changed for the better.

PT: How different is Australian fashion from the world over?

RP: Australian fashion is really different. It’s just too different. People coming from overseas to Australia are shocked to see the amount of black that dominates. If you’re looking down onto a street from a high-rise building, all you’d see is black with a sprinkle of grey or white. I understand it transcends from the European culture, but even there people have started experimenting with colour, whereas here we are still stuck with black!

PT: Who is your fashion guru/idol?

RP: Amongst international designers, I really like Etro. I look forward to see Etro’s designs, season after season. Etro brings in a lot of prints, colours and styles. Manish Arora is an Indian designer who I feel is brilliant with colours and concepts. He’s doing very well internationally, and I really appreciate his work.

BY PRIYANKA TATER

PT: So what’s next for renowned fashion designer, Roopa Pemmaraju?

RP: (Smiles) I will only be thinking of how many orders I will get from this fashion week (laughs aloud). I believe that for every designer this is the most crucial phase, when one looks at how many buyers really come up to you and place their orders, and what the agent feedback would be after a particular show. I am looking forward to this as I have got some great feedback from my agent and a few of my buyers. Also, there’s been a huge demand from outlets in Brisbane and Sydney, saying that they want to stock my label. In the next few weeks I will also start selling my collection online.

PT: While I was happy that you were the only Indian designer to showcase your collection, I found myself asking why just one, and no more. What does it take for more Indian names to feature on the RAFW list?

RP: It’s just the mindset and the fact of whether you really want to focus on the Australian market. I think India has some brilliant designers, but Australia is a small market in terms of demand and stocks. So it’s about whether one really wants to cater to this island.

PT: Finally, your fashion tips for readers of Indian Link?

RP: We should show how colourful we can be. We shouldn’t blindly follow the Australian trend as we Indians know how to dress up and go beyond ‘black’. We need to come out and make a style statement that the Ozzies can follow. India has the best variety of fabrics, such beautiful embroideries and palette of colours.

Goddess gaffe

While day three of RAFW, was a peaceful affair, day five was embroiled with controversy. Designer Lisa Burke’s swimwear line sparked outrage, flaring Hindu emotions. She used images of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi on skimpy bikinis for her label Lisa Blue at the Australian Fashion Week. In India, sentiments poured out on streets as activists burned the Australian flag and demanded an apology from the Australian designer and the government. While the designer has apologized and promised that none of the swimsuits would ever make it to store shelves, spokesman Brett Galvin said: “She really just wanted to celebrate the culture and bring that to people through fashion, and obviously she got it so wrong. As soon as we found out we acted immediately and we have halted production.”

Though India resorted to violence in order to protest, Indians living in Australia have been showing mixed reactions. While Rakesh, one of the callers on my show on Indian Link radio, blamed the issue on mutual cultural differences and ignorance of the others’ beliefs and faith, he stressed that resorting to violence is not the solution; instead, it is important to be aware of other cultures. Another listener Gargi sounded helpless, claiming that had she been in India, she would have joined the activists and protested; but here, all she can do is feel bad and lament.

But the question that irks me is: if Lisa Burke could find a picture of the goddess Laxmi to adorn her swimwear line, sure the same Google search would have indicated to her the importance of the deity in terms of religion. So was she blind to have overlooked it, or was she being knowingly ignorant? After all, any publicity is good publicity and in that sense, she’s got it bang on!

Working towards

Empowerment of rural regions of the world is critically important for inclusive development, sustained peace and shared prosperity of the world, says Dr. Abdul Kalam

BY GAURAV PANDEY

described Dr. Kalam as “one of the great figures of modern India, who has met 11 million youngsters in the course of the last 10 years.”

It is well-known that Dr. Kalam enjoys interacting with the youth, and this occasion was no different. “Ignited minds of the youth

Thiruvalluvar, “The important elements that constitute a nation are: being disease free; high earning capacity; high productivity; harmonious living and strong defence.”

“I will work with integrity and succeed with integrity,” he asked the crowd repeat after him. They readily complied.

The following day, Dr. Kalam was invited to deliver a lecture under Sydney Ideas, the University of Sydney’s premier public lecture series programme that aims to bring some of world’s leading thinkers to the wider Sydney

The event saw an overwhelming turnout, and many had to be persuaded to leave the overfilling hall. The disappointment in the crowd was palpable: some protested, some pleaded, and many continued to wait outside the hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

Empowering 3 billion, peppered with anecdotes and examples, focussed on the need to bring inclusive growth and integrated development to the

Today when the world is connected through environment, people, economy and ideas, problems are no longer confined to individual nations, he said.

“The economic turbulence originating in one part of the globe shook the whole world,

Dr. Kalam stressed the need for Australia and India to evolve a plan of action for a thoriumbased nuclear reactor

and a volcanic eruption in an island country brought the entire airline industry and more than 5000 commercial flights to a halt,” he said.

Dr. Kalam said that the flow of ideas has also led to increasing importance of global human rights and the idea of democracy. He recalled an experience: “When I walked into a multinational software company in Bangalore, I was fascinated to find that it truly presented a multicultural environment. A software developer from China, a project leader from Korea, a software engineer from India, a hardware architect from the US, and a communication expert from Germany, were all working together to solve the banking

towards a better world

2,3.

extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds, your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, you will find yourself in a new great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and

University towards creation of an Australian society where individuals, regardless of their backgrounds and circumstances, have equal opportunity to realise their full potential,” he said in his acceptance speech. Later, he spoke on Global Energy

Dr. Kalam highlighted the need for the two nations to evolve a plan of action for a thorium-based nuclear reactor using thorium reserves available in the world with “adequate safety systems in place.”

1. With Professor Archie Johnston, Dean of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Sydney

Meeting members of the Indian community at Shangri-La hotel in Sydney

4. Interacting with students at the University of Sydney

5. With Year 8 and 9 students from Fairfield High School

Today when the world is connected through environment, people, economy and ideas, problems are no longer confined to individual nations, Dr. Kalam said.

Photos: Drishya Sharma

Indians here should work for a better Australia: Kalam

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, one of India’s most loved presidents and a renowned scientist, is essentially a man of ideas. He speaks with honesty and absolute conviction. Dr. Kalam was gracious enough to share his views with GAURAV PANDEY from Indian Link during his recent visit to Sydney

called PURA, which means providing urban amenities in rural areas. There is a need to establish about 7000 PURAs in India. Under each PURA, a cluster of about 20 to 30 villages is provided with physical connectivity, electronic connectivity and knowledge connectivity. This will lead to economic connectivity. There are number operational PURA in India initiated by many educational, healthcare institutions, industry and other institutions. The Government of India is already moving ahead with the implementation of PURA on the national scale across several districts of India, with an intention of establishing two PURAs in every district of the country. So, under this programme, the economic prosperity of urban areas will reach the rural areas. Our focus is to empower villages with earning capacity, because unless earning capacity is there, healthcare and other facilities have little meaning. One of the requirements of this program is to spread knowledge through satellite communication and other media. For example, mobile clinics in India have taken health facilities to rural areas.

IL: The subcontinent has witnessed widespread violence and civil unrest in recent years. Often these conflicts are a result of the injustice meted out to citizens. What can we do to ensure there is greater harmony in the society? This problem springs up in different places at different times. It is a world phenomenon. The Arab nations are going through the some problems. In the past, there have been terrorist attacks even in the US. I am convinced that the prosperity of a few nations will not bring prosperity to all the

Therefore, I talk of evolution of enlightened citizens. First, throughout the world, we need to provide education with value system to our citizens. This is missing in today’s society. Second, in religion there are two components, one is spirituality and another is theology. Theology is unique for a religion, but spirituality is common to every religion. So, we can connect religions using the common spiritual element in them. When we are able to bridge religions in this way,

In the company of greatness

He came, spoke and he conquered the multitudes of students, academics and citizens, wherever he went. Almost everyone wanted to take a picture with him. He smilingly obliged, and then charmed them with his inimitable conversations. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was almost reminiscent of Mahatma Gandhi in his simplicity and appeal.

Dr. Kalam believes that the tendency to “take” is the main cause of all the corruption and evil in this world; his message was simply to “give, give and give.”

These aspects of his life are well known. But I interacted closely with him during his 4-day visit to Sydney, and these are my main experiences of this special man.

Dr. Kalam came past the customs gate at the Sydney Airport, with the ever-present smile on his face. He was accompanied by the High Commissioner of India, Mrs. Sujatha Singh. He saw me and came forward with his hand outstretched, saying “Srinivas!” I was totally astonished! He knew I would be there because of the detailed programme that had been sent to him. Such affection!

On checking into his suite, Dr. Kalam sat beside me and said, “Come on, Srinivas, let us discuss the schedule.” He went through every bit of the detailed programme, clarifying a number of small points and showing no signs weariness after a 12-hour flight.

He asked questions – a lot of them – with a childlike innocence.

“What is meant by ‘graduation’? Is it the same as ‘convocation’? What do they expect me to say at this

function? What does ‘provost’ mean?” Seeing him work, I realised how meticulously Dr. Kalam prepared his speeches, which required several drafts. Then the text was projected on a small computer screen, to which he could refer.

I was awed by his simplicity, soft-spokenness and that innocent smile. He spoke to everyone in the same genteel manner - be it a child, a layman, a dean or a chancellor!

Not once during the four days did he express anger or utter anything unpleasant. One day, after finishing a tour of the University of New South Wales, we returned to Sheraton on the Park where he was staying. I accompanied him back to the hotel, while his staff following us were a little delayed. His secretary Mr. Sheridan informed me that the keys to his suite did not work properly, and that I should collect a new key from the reception. When I approached the desk with this request, the girl at the reception demanded to see ID for the guest. I told her that he was the former president of India and does not carry any ID. But she wouldn’t budge. Dr. Kalam then came to me and said, “Don’t bother, let’s just wait for Sheridan.” He waited patiently till his staff arrived, produced the old key and a new one was provided!

After the graduation ceremony where Dr. Kalam was honoured with a doctorate by the University of Sydney, we returned to the hotel by around 10:30 pm. To my surprise, two people came unannounced to meet him, stopping him at the entrance and beginning a conversation. Those accompanying the ex-president were a bit annoyed as Dr. Kalam is 79 and he was visibly tired after a very hectic day.

tolerance will come. Third, we need to alleviate poverty. So, the evolution of enlightened citizens will happen with the summation of education with value system, bridging religions through spirituality and removing poverty. This is what I propose.

IL: You were an eminent scientist and a well-respected figure even before you became the President of India. How do we encourage India’s intellectual wealth to play a more active role in governance and nation building?

Dr. Kalam: An important incident took place in India many years ago which can serve a role model for our citizens. In 1954, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, invited Professor CV Raman to receive the Bharat Ratna. Professor Raman wrote a letter to Dr. Prasad expressing regret that he would not be able to accept the invitation as he was guiding four PhD scholars, and his priority was to ensure their thesis was completed on time. This shows that for Professor Raman his students came first. (Professor CV Raman was awarded the Bharat Ratna in absentia) This is a great example. We need more such teachers in India. A great teacher should feed creativity. We need this kind of dedication and selflessness in our people and future leaders.

So, to answer your question, we need to feed creativity. Creativity leads to thinking, thinking provides knowledge and knowledge makes you great.

IL: Do you have any message for the Indian community living in Australia?

Dr. Kalam: My message to Indians living in Australia is, wherever you are you contribute to the betterment of that country. Your knowledge and experience is important, but it is very important to work for your chosen country. You are the ambassadors of India in this country. Indians here should focus on giving their best here for this country and if they succeed in doing that, their name will spread in both countries. As human beings they should have great thoughts, and back those with actions to achieve success.

When he was due to leave, we accompanied Dr. Kalam and his staff to the airport to see them off. The formalities for Dr. Kalam and his secretary were finished quickly. However, there was a minor problem with another member of his staff who needed to be upgraded. After half an hour had gone by, it was getting late as the party had to be taken to security clearance. The police escort suggested that he should finish with security immediately and offered to accompany him there. But Dr. Kalam insisted on waiting until the upgrading was confirmed, and the boarding pass issued. He showed a very high degree on concern for his staff.

Dr Kalam loves to talk to anybody, especially youngsters who he likes to share jokes with and advise. He was happy whenever he had an opportunity to interact with people. He is a light eater and seems to love fruits. A vegetarian, he prefers Indian food, especially the south Indian variety.

Being with Dr. Kalam reveals that simplicity is the nature of great souls

Sydney Srinivas (left) with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Sydney Srinivas

Campaign for Hindi gathers momentum

The Indian community has stepped up efforts for Hindi to be included in the list of national languages

BY GAURAV PANDEY

The newly formed Australian Hindi Committee (AHC) has strongly argued for Hindi’s inclusion in the list of languages by Australia Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority’s (ACARA) list of foreign languages for Australian national language curriculum development.

In a submission made on behalf of the Indian community to ACARA – the body responsible for developing a national curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12 –AHC has sought to address the criteria for the inclusion of a language in the national curriculum, stressing that Hindi meets all the requirements to make the list as a “first stage” language.

In what many in the Indian community see as a glaring omission, Hindi or any other Indian language failed to make it to the list of national languages in ACARA’s initial draft released for consultation and feedback from the public. Tara Chand Sharma, the coordinator of Australian Hindi Committee said that the omission means that Hindi’s claim as a language of global significance and culture was not recognised by ACARA. “It’s our responsibility to look after our interests and we need to make a decision today to support Hindi.”

AHC, in a media release, said it “strongly demands” that Hindi be included in the list.

“The long-term cost of not including Hindi, in terms of missed economic opportunities and emergence of Australian identity in the community of Asian nations, would be too high. We as Australians of Indian origin strongly urge ACARA to include Hindi in National curriculum in the first stage without losing crucial time,” the release said.

AHC appealed to the Indian community to indicate Hindi as the language spoken in their homes in the coming census as official policy decisions rely heavily on census figures. This, the release adds, will help in ensuring the census figures are a true representation of reality.

In the past, owing to a bizarre misconception among many in the Indian community that marking Hindi as the language spoken at their homes would bring into question their ability to speak English, many have done Hindi a disservice that’s reflected as a comparatively lower number of Hindi speakers in Australian census data.

Highlighting the fact that officials often cited “lack of demand” as the reason why Hindi was not being taught in schools, AHC appealed to parents to insist that the language be taught at schools and encourage their children to take up Hindi in the HSC.

AHC’s submission highlighted the global importance of Hindi, stressing that it is the second largest spoken language in the world

and that learning the language was in the long term strategic and economic interests of Australia, as by 2026 India would be one of Australia’s largest trading partners. AHC also stressed that language is synonymous with culture and that IndianAustralians should be proud of their Indian cultural heritage as much as their Australian identity. The need for wider acceptance of Hindi is also accentuated by the increasing migration from India and other Hindi speaking countries such as Nepal and Fiji.

In a media presentation, Mr. Sharma said that the current provision of teaching Hindi outside the school hours during weekends through Saturday Schools of Community Languages and the NSW Community Language Schools program is inadequate as it involves unnecessary cost for parents and extra travel time for students.

Under the current proposal released by ACARA, Hindi does not find mention in any of the three stages of language development. The first stage, which implies that the language is taught during the normal school hours, currently includes Chinese and Italian; the former cited as “a national priority” and the “language with greatest range of learners,” and the latter as “the language learnt by the largest number of students in the primary years.” The second stage includes French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish; while Arabic, Modern Greek and is also currently under way to put pressure on the administration.

International student ambassadors help raise Brisbane’s profile as multicultural city

Brisbane has always been known as a Multicultural City. It is a city that welcomes everyone who has potential to grow and contribute to its multicultural society. Different languages can be heard walking along its streets and in short the whole world can be seen in Brisbane in terms of having people from different nationalities. Recently, a true and real picture of cultural diversity in Brisbane was seen at the Lord Mayor’s Multicultural Round Table-Masquerade Ball. People from various nationalities showed their presence there, clad in their traditional dresses.

For the last five years, the Lord Mayor’s Multicultural Round Table has been hosting the event to raise funds for the projects of the Round Table. It has raised more than $100,000 so far to explore, facilitate and implement strategies to grow Brisbane’s Multicultural Business sector. This year, the Lord Mayor Councillor Graham Quirk, in conjunction with the members of Lord Mayor’s Multicultural Round Table invited multinational people to join them at an exclusive fundraising event. The event was held at the Victoria Park Golf Complex this year.

Brisbane International Student Ambassadors from Brisbane Marketing did a great job in selling raffle tickets and masks throughout the night and played an important role in collecting

INDIAN LINK

money for the charity. The Lord Mayor himself appreciated the work of all the ambassadors and happily posed for a group photo with them. These ambassadors helped in promotion of Brisbane among international students by sharing their experience through global networking websites by writing blogs and posting photographs etc.

Proceeds collected were contributed to the continuing development of multicultural projects in the city of

Brisbane. Funds raised at the event are allocated to the Lord Mayor’s Multicultural Round Table Business Scholarship Program. This program operates in partnership with Queensland University of Technology and Southbank Institute of

Technology

In the past three years, new and emerging entrepreneurs have gained knowledge of and furthered their skills in business management.

The Lord Mayor admired the hard work of people from different nationalities in Brisbane and thus awarded the Entrepreneur to the following winners: Mario Alfieri, Mario at the Dining Room (Italian), Elena Gosse, Australian Innovative Systems (Russian) and Wolfgang Kelke, King of Cakes (German).

Manpreet Kaur

Photos: Leong Ming En, Mohammed Badiul Islam

Tara Chand Sharma

India clears deal with US for C-17s at $4.1 bn

India recently approved its biggest defence deal with the US for 10 Boeing C-17 strategic heavy-lift planes for $4.1 billion, in a major step to augment the capability of its air force to swiftly move troops and equipment over long distances. The cabinet committee on security, at a meeting in New Delhi chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, gave its nod for the deal to equip the Indian Air Force (IAF) with the aircraft.

“The cabinet committee on security approved the C-17 deal at an approximate cost of $4.1 billion,” a senior defence ministry official said.

The clearance comes over six months after US President Barack Obama visited India and announced that the deal was through and less than two months after Boeing and Lockheed Martin lost out in the $10.4 billion deal for 126 combat jets for the IAF.

The US Congress had approved the sale of the fully loaded aircraft for $5.8 billion under the Foreign Military Sales government-to-government route last June. However, since India is yet to ink a key military pact with the US, the aircraft might come without some critical communications equipment.

India is yet to sign the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMoA), a pact mandated by the US law for the transfer of hi-tech military equipment to friendly countries.

The final contract is expected to be signed within a couple of months after India issues a letter of acceptance to the US government. The contract entails an offset clause under which Boeing will reinvest nearly $1 billion back in the Indian defence, internal security, aviation and related training sectors.

“The offset clause under the Indian Defence Procurement Procedure mandates ploughing back of 30 percent of deals over Rs 300 crore ($65 million). Though the final cost of the 10 C-17s will be over $4 billion, it will include training and other add-on equipment costs too and hence, the offset percentage will be calculated on the basis of the basic price of the 10 aircraft will be slightly over $3 billion,” said an official, familiar with the intricacies of the deal.

Obama, while addressing the media with Manmohan Singh in New Delhi last November, had said: “Today, I’m pleased to welcome India’s preliminary agreement to purchase 10 C-17 cargo planes, which will enhance Indian capabilities and support 22,000 jobs back in the US.”

The C-17 Globemaster III is capable of carrying a payload of 75 tonnes after taking off from a mere 7,000-feet airstrip. The four-engined aircraft can transport battle

tanks and combat-ready troops over 2,400 nautical miles without refuelling.

“The aircraft’s purchase is in tune with India’s aim to have swift power-projection capabilities in a region spanning from the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Malacca, seen as the country’s primary area of geostrategic interest,” a senior IAF officer said.

India is likely to opt for an additional six C-17s after the contract is signed for the first lot of 10 aircraft as the IAF is keen on increasing its heavy-lift capability, the officer added.

At present, the IAF has a dozen Sovietera IL-76 ‘Gajraj’ aircraft for heavy-lift roles and a medium-lift fleet of over 100 AN-32 aircraft, also of Soviet origin.

The US Air Force, to showcase the C-17s capabilities, had flown Obama’s security paraphernalia, including armour-plated cars and helicopters, on the aircraft. It had also brought the aircraft for India-US CopeIndia air exercise in 2009.

The biggest defence deal between India and US till date has been the $2.1 billion contract for eight P-8I Poseidon long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft signed in January 2009.

The US had earlier bagged orders for six Lockheed Martin C-130J medium-lift aircraft for IAF for $950 million in 2008. The first of these aircraft was delivered in February. In January, India had placed a $647-million order with the US-based BAE for 145 M777 ultralight howitzers.

Boeing is also in contention for IAF’s requirement for 22 attack helicopters and another 15 heavylift helicopters. Both tenders are expected to be finalised by India this fiscal before March 31, 2012.

India receives combat management systems for Scorpene submarines

French shipbuilder DCNS has delivered two highly sophisticated combat management systems for the first two Scorpene submarines being built in India. The system forms the “brain” of the vessel.

DCNS India Managing Director Bernard Buisson told India Strategic defence journal that both the systems had been delivered to Mazagaon Docks Ltd. (MDL), which was

in the process of integrating the first one at present. There are about 20 to 25 French engineers assisting in technology transfer and work at MDL was maturing to mutual satisfaction.

The first Scorpene submarine, under the Indian Navy’s Project 75, will be launched end-2013 and commissioned in 2015. The second one would be a year later.

Buisson said that MDL was actually doing some work, at different levels, regarding all the six submarines under the project and that all the six submarines would be delivered by 2018.

MDL had built the hulls of first and second submarines, and begun work on the hulls of third and fourth submarines. Simultaneously, other systems were being tested and installed on them progressively.

Buisson said that DCNS has had technical discussions with the Indian Navy on installing air independent propulsion (AIP) systems on board the last two submarines. There would be a cost, but the AIP would increase the submergence of the vessels by three to four times, thereby making them hidden and more lethal.

The company was awaiting the navy’s response, as well as an order for the new line of six or more submarines under Project 75-I, all of which would be equipped with the AIP systems. DCNS had already responded to the Indian Navy’s request for information (RfI) in this regard.

Buisson said that DCNS’ AIP system was based on the MESMA steam AIP used on board all the French nuclear submarines. France as only nuclear-powered submarines and accordingly, proven for technology, he added.

Asked about local participation in the Scorpene project, Buisson said that DCNS was also talking to private shipyards as per the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) and offset requirements.

“We are also in the process of finalising the selection of our industrial partners for indigenization of MPM (Mazagon Purchased Materials from other companies) items,” he said.

MPM items include pumps, valves, air conditioning equipment and various subsystems.

Pakistan war-gaming to counter India’s military plan

With the Indian Army perfecting a short but power-filled warfare doctrine intended against its western neighbour, Pakistan too is war-gaming a counter-strategy in an exercise that has been on for a fortnight, a few kilometres from its borders with India’s Rajasthan state.

The Pakistan Army’s Karachi-based V Corps launched the exercise a fortnight ago in the desert terrain between its Sindh and Punjab provinces that abut the Thar Desert around Sadiqabad, senior Indian intelligence sources said.

The war game, described by the Pakistan Army as a collective summer training exercise, will be completed soon and is primarily focussed on testing its man and machinery in both defensive and offensive warfare manoeuvres, the sources said.

The corps’ infantry, mechanised infantry and armoured units, along with other battle assets such as their artillery units, were pushed to the limits in searing heat in the Thar Desert during the field exercise.

The corps commander, Lt Gen Mohammed Zahir-ul-Islam, too witnessed the manoeuvres of his troops last week, sources added.

The Pakistan Army has conducted a couple of major exercises in the last four years to train its troops to counter an Indian strategy, loosely termed as ‘Cold Start’ doctrine by Indian military think tanks and the media.

Though the Indian Army chief Gen. V.K. Singh has stated that there was no such strategy called ‘Cold Start’, Indian armed forces have over the last seven years since 2004 held over 10 major military exercises in the Rajasthan desert and the Punjab plains.

Based on its experience during the 200102 Op Parakram when troops mobilised over months, the Indian Army war games have focussed on validating the army’s latest doctrine of mobilising troops in shortest possible time and for launching an offensive using its mechanised forces and artillery of its strike corps and division-sized formations within its defensive pivot corps.

The Pakistan Army’s V Corps has among

Activists of Jammu and Kashmir People Democratic Party protest against Indian government’s action against yoga guru Baba Ramdev.

Photo: AAP

its formations a mechanised division with battle tanks and armoured personnel carriers, two infantry divisions, and an independent artillery brigade.

Raised in 1975, the corps, known as the Victory Corps, would be Pakistan’s first line of defence, as it is spread over the Sindh and southern Punjab provinces, along its eastern borders.

This corps had been mobilised by then Pakistan president and army chief Gen. Ziaul-Haq in 1986-87, when India carried out a major war exercise, Operations Brasstacks, in the Rajasthan desert under then army chief General K Sundarji, viewing the Indian war gaming as a major threat.

It also had a role to place in the coup by then Pakistan army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 1999, soon after the IndiaPakistan Kargil conflict, to oust then prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Government nod to centralised database to tackle terror

The Indian government recently gave a green signal to the setting up of the controversial National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid) that will help law enforcement and intelligence agencies to get quick access to information about terror suspects and internal security threats.

The home ministry’s ambitious intelligence database project got “in principle approval” at the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) that met in New Delhi with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in chair, according to an official statement.

“On the direction of the CCS, a detailed briefing and presentation about the Natgrid project along with safeguards and oversight mechanisms was given by (the home ministry) to the members of the CCS,” the statement said.

The home ministry has been asked “to proceed accordingly”.

The Natgid will integrate 21 databasessuch as railways, airlines, stock exchanges, income tax, bank account details, credit card transactions, visa and immigration records, telecom service providers and chemical vendors.

These databases will be linked and pooled at one centre to enable security and intelligence agencies get any information at the press of a button. The proposal is reportedly the brainchild of Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

All this data is currently gathered separately by different ministries and agencies. So far, security and intelligence agencies have been complaining that the lack of real-time information sharing was a major hurdle in following terror suspects.

According to home ministry officials, the information grid will help the government agencies “combat terror threats” as it is expected generate “actionable” intelligence inputs.

It will have a command centre which will also be used as “anti-terror hotline”, they said.

The access to the centralised data will be given to 11 agencies including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Intelligence Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, Defence Intelligence Agency, Directorate of Air Intelligence, Directorate of Naval Intelligence, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Enforcement Directorate, the official said.

A home ministry official explaining the significance of the system said if a terrorist is arrested from somewhere and police want some information about him from some other state or agency, “they have to go through a winding process of reaching out to different officials to access the information and this sometimes takes

months. But now this process will be simplified.”

“The grid will also enable the law enforcement agencies to coordinate their strategy in following any case.”

With a whopping budget of Rs.2,800 crore, the Natgrid is headed by Raghu Raman, an ex-serviceman who previously headed the Mahindra Special Service Group, a leading player in risk and governance consulting.

The Natgrid was first proposed by Chidambaram after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack for Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley had filmed targets in Mumbai during his unsuspecting India visits prior to the strike.

The officials believe that had the Natgrid been there, Headley wouldn’t have had a free run in India for his terror trips.

The Natgrid project was hanging fire since December 2010 because of objections of the defence and finance ministries. The ministries had objected, saying the home ministry with the centralised database will have uninterrupted access to all information.

Maharashtra’s ‘Mother of Orphans’ wins Woman of The Year Award

Born as an unwanted child and bred in poverty and obscurity, eminent social worker Sindhutai Sapkal, who is known as the ‘Mother of Orphans’ in Maharashtra, has been conferred the Woman Of The Year Award by the Ladies Wing of the Indian Merchants Chamber. The award was presented to Sapkal at a glittering function in Mumbai recently, by President of Innovation Society and Industrialist Pratima Kirloskar, who was the chief guest at the ceremony.

Born in a poor family, Sapkal was nicknamed ‘Chindi’ or a rag, and could attend school only till fourth standard. She was married off at the age of nine and abandoned by her husband at 20 - she left her home with an infant daughter in her arms.

Sapkal eked out a living begging on the streets and trains where she met thousands of orphans and abandoned women like her.

She started her social work by adopting the orphans and has adopted over 1,000 children till date and nurtured them through donations and charities.

She has set up around a dozen orphanages throughout the state. Later,

without bitterness.

In her early days, she donated her own daughter to an orphanage to remove the distinction between her biological child and orphans.

Her life was immortalised in an awardwinning biographical Marathi movie “Mee Sindhutai Sapkal” in 2010, made by Anant Mahadevan.

Responding to the felicitations, Sapkal said that people must bravely face all the hurdles that come in their way in life.

“Life is its own reward. There is a God in every grain of sand who takes care of you - live on with love and face the world with a smile,” Sapkal said amidst thunderous applause by the gathering of eminent business personalities, social leaders, diplomats and other invitees.

Crowds throng Ajmer for Sufi saint’s Urs

Courted by emperors and commoners alike to have their wishes granted, Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti still draws pilgrims centuries after his death, with people of all faiths in Ajmer for his 799th Urs, or death ceremony.

The saint’s tomb is the site of one of India’s largest fairs, drawing more than five lakh devotees belonging to different communities from all parts of the subcontinent for the Urs during the first six days of Rajab, the seventh month of the Islamic calendar.

Followers of the saint, also known as Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (benefactor of the poor), have reached Ajmer, set amidst the sylvan surroundings of Anna Sagar Lake adjacent to Pushkar temple. The saint lived from 1141-1230 AD.

The celebrations kickstarted with the hoisting of a white flag. The ritual is swiftly followed by opening the jannati darwaza or gates of heaven. According to popular belief, one can ensure a place in heaven by crossing the gate seven times.

The saint’s resting place is sanctified by rose water and sandalwood paste and perfume is sprinkled on it. This is followed by shrouding the tomb with an exquisitely embroidered silken cloth. Fatiha (funeral prayers) and salamti (prayers) are read at the tomb.

Much awaited by connoisseurs of literature are the poetry sessions, where compositions dedicated to the Moinuddin

held in the large mehfil-khana. Presided over by the sajjada-nashin of the dargah, they see qawwalis being sung in praise of the saint and the hall is packed to capacity. There are separate places reserved for women who attend the mehfil, which terminates late in the night with a mass prayer for the eternal peace of the khwaja in particular and mankind in general.

The shrine is a pillar of the philosophy of religious tolerance and cultural and social synthesis that has been the essence of India for centuries. The flowers laid on his grave come from the Hindu flower dealers of Pushkar while most of the chadars to be placed at the shrine too are made by nonMuslim artisans.

Credited with introducing the Chishti Sufi order in South Asia, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, according to legend, turned towards India after a dream in which Prophet Muhammad blessed him to do so. After a brief stay at Lahore, he reached Ajmer and settled down here. Soon he attracted a substantial following amongst the residents of the city, with his practice of Sulh-e-Kul (peace to all) concept to promote understanding between Muslims and nonMuslims.

For many years his abode was a place of pilgrimage for millions of people of all castes and creeds and crowds, both Hindu and Muslim, thronged to find spiritual solace.

It was during the reign of Emperor Akbar (1556-1605) that Ajmer emerged as one of the most important centres of pilgrimage in India. The Mughal emperor undertook an unceremonial journey on foot to Ajmer to wish for a son to be his successor.

The Akbarnamah chronicle records that the emperor’s interest was first sparked when he heard some minstrels singing songs about the virtues of the wali (god’s saint) who lay “asleep” in Ajmer.

According to the saint, religion is not merely based on rituals and ecclesiastical formalities but “service of humanity”.

Once asked about the highest devotion to god, the saint remarked that it was nothing but: Dar mandgaan ra fariyad raseedan wa haajatbichaargaan ra rawa kardan wa gursingaan ra sair gardaneedan (To redress the misery of those in distress, to fulfil the needs of the helpless and to feed the hungry).

Australian cricketer Brett Lee with slum children in Mumbai. Lee recently launched his foundation, ‘Mewsic,’ with an objective of healing, educating and empowering marginalised children in India.

Photo: Innovaid

There’s no stopping

Despite viewer

and

of

contests,

BY RITAM MITRA

Dhoni hit a decade-defining 6 to win India its first World Cup in 28 years, and it seemed that within minutes of that brutal stroke, he was leading the Chennai Super Kings in their opener against the Kolkata Knight Riders in season 4 of the IPL, resulting in a victory that set them off on an unbeaten run at home and the eventual defence of their title. Although it carried with it all the glitz and glamour of previous seasons, as well as two new franchises in Kochi Tuskers Kerala and the Pune Warriors, IPL 2011 began less than a week after the culmination of one of the most riveting World Cups in recent memory, and thus seemed destined for mediocrity from the outset. With 74 matches to be played in just under 2 months, there was always the risk of oversaturation, and declining crowds and television audiences seemed to reflect this lack of interest amongst the masses. But, putting aside the negatives, stripping this year’s IPL down to its barest minimum reveals some fantastic cricket – which is in itself a success.

The Tons

Paul Valthaty’s scintillating 120* off just 63 balls set the tournament alight, not least because it came from an unheralded Indian in a tough chase against the eventual champions, Chennai. Few would have given Punjab a chance of chasing down 189 against King Dhoni and his merrymen, but Valthaty exploded with 19 boundaries – five more than were hit in any other innings this season – and hung around to finish the job, too.

were no doubt keeping a close eye on things from the Caribbean after leaving him out of their squads.

Virender Sehwag has never quite taken the IPL, or the T20 format for that matter, by storm. But he whipped up a storm of his own against the Deccan Chargers, blasting 119 off 56 balls to lead his team to victory and finally notch up his first T20 ton.

Adam Gilchrist is the eldest IPL centurion at 39 years of age, and he wound back the clocks with 9 sixes in 106 runs of sheer, obnoxious talent. His 206-run partnership with Shaun Marsh is a record for all T20 matches. The scary statistic: Gilchrist faced only 8 balls for 2 runs in the first 6 overs…

Sachin Tendulkar’s to-do list must be the smallest in international cricket, but even so he finds ways to better himself. Scoring a suitably rounded 100* against Kochi, Tendulkar brought up the landmark off the last ball of the first innings. Characteristically, Tendulkar’s ton was also the only one not to result in victory for his team. Some things never change.

The Players

Lasith Malinga continued his stellar run of form from the World Cup, taking more wickets than anyone else, at a better average, and with an economy rate second only to young legspinner Rahul Sharma. The Sri Lankan slinger was on the money from just his second ball of the tournament, sending David Warner’s bails off for a long-distance flight with a searing yorker. Malinga’s 28 wickets were paramount to Mumbai’s progression to the playoffs.

With 74 matches to be played in just under 2 months, there was always

risk of oversaturation,

Chris Gayle’s twin centuries – a somewhat traitorous 102* against his previous teammates at Kolkata followed by a typically murderous 107 against Punjab at a strike rate of almost 220 – were within two weeks of each other and each, unsurprisingly, resulted in an easy win for Bangalore. In the course of these two knocks, Gayle hit 16 sixes and 20 fours; the West Indian selectors

declining crowds and television audiences seemed to reflect this.

Chris Gayle won the orange cap, as the tournament’s highest run scorer, even though he played far fewer matches than the others who were in contention. On top of this, Gayle hit two centuries and three fifties on the way to 608 runs at an average of 67.55 and a phenomenal strike rate of 183.13 – outdoing even Sehwag. Add to this his handy off-spin earning his side 8 wickets at 6.77 runs an over, and Gayle takes the cake as IPL 4’s best player, even though he wasn’t originally expected to play this year.

Iqbal Abdulla was one of the main reasons Kolkata made the playoffs for the first time ever, with 16 wickets at an economy rate of just above 6. The

fatigue

lack

close

the recently memorable performances. Here’s a look at some of the highlights

the

and

stopping the IPL juggernaut!

concluded IPL season did see some highlights of the tournament.

young left-arm spinner took the new ball four times this tournament – a clear measure of his courage and confidence. He was announced as the IPL’s under-23 player of the tournament, and won two man-of-thematch awards – both when opening the bowling.

The Teams

Chennai have been the most consistent team throughout all the IPL seasons, and within IPL 4 they were head and shoulders above the rest. Retaining several players and buying many back, Chennai kept the core of what was a proven winning unit, and indeed, as they showed in the Champions League last year, the best T20 team in the world. Unbeaten at home, and with homegrown local talents in Badrinath, Vijay and Ashwin that no other IPL side can boast, Chennai exude confidence from every aspect of their set up. Add to that the most influential and commanding leader of this generation, and MS Dhoni’s boys emerged as deserved victors. Dhoni also hit more sixes than anyone else whose name wasn’t Chris Gayle. Bangalore were coming off a threegame losing streak in the middle stages of the tournament and did not look like a strong unit at all until a marauding Chris Gayle made the tournament his own, taking the Royal Challengers onto a record 7-match winning streak.

Although Virat Kohli was impressive, de Villiers and Dilshan underperformed, and Saurabh Tiwary was a shadow of his 2010 self – Bangalore was thus considered by many to be a one-man army. However, one man does not make a cricket team and Bangalore pulled

IPL 4 may have been the least successful on television and at ticket offices, but the world’s best cricketers coming together for a 6-week exhibition of talent and prowess is always attraction enough to keep fans tuned in

together well to be runners up to a superior Chennai. Mumbai had the two leading wicket takers in the tournament in Malinga and Munaf Patel, along with the ever-miserly Harbhajan Singh. However, even though they have looked like a strong side for a couple of years now, their batting never seems to find its feet. Tendulkar was in a class of his own as usual, and as the third-highest run scorer in the tournament he backed up his orange-cap winning performance of 2010. Rayudu, the next-highest run scorer for Mumbai, was unfortunately 10 places below his captain. Mumbai continue to underperform, although by less critical standards, reaching the semifinalsis not the worst situation to be in.

Kolkata finally made the playoffs, having been the only one of the original

8 teams to have never been in the top 4 at the end of the group matches. They looked like genuine contenders for the title, and will be unhappy at falling early in the knockout stages. After doing away with Ganguly, the pressure was on to perform, but the Knight Riders were led fantastically by Gambhir, who was supported by a selection of smart and stweady performers, not least of whom were Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee and Shakib Al Hasan. Kolkata were probably good enough to go all the way, but a shocking final over from Balaji in a crunch-match against Mumbai in which he conceded 23 runs – completely derailed their campaign and sapped all visible motivation.

IPL 4 may have been the least successful on television and at ticket offices, but the world’s best cricketers coming together for a 6-week exhibition of talent and prowess is always attraction enough to keep fans tuned in. Whether it is, in this year, Gayle’s message to the selectors, the unearthing of Paul Valthaty, or the ruthless and flawless nature of MS Dhoni – the IPL continues to capture the imagination and it is hard to see this juggernaut slowing down anytime soon.

Need to understand the changing immigration norms

The recent Announcement made few months ago by the new Immigration Minister Mr. Chris Bowen, has not only taken many prospective migrants by surprise but has also caused a lot of confusion among the International student community in Australia. The current Australian Government has toughened the requirements for general skilled migration with a shorter skilled occupation list - making it very difficult to achieve the required points under the new points testing System that will be presumably forthcoming from 1st July 2011.

International students are already confused as they are under the wrong impression that the new rule applies for even Graduate Skilled Temporary Visa Category Subclass-485. The new points Testing system will apply only to independent General Skilled Migration visa categories such as Subclass 885 onshore, 175 Offshore and other state sponsored and Family sponsored Visa categories. One of the biggest hurdles for any prospective migrant in the new points system would be the IELTS score as one has to score 7 bands each in all the four components in order to score 10 points. The minimum IELTS score remains the same, i.e. 6 each in all the four components, but the applicant would not be getting any points for it.

The Recent slump in the International student market has further worsened the situation as no student would like to take any risk in the rapidly changing immigration regulations of the system which gives no guarantee of any further stay or residency. The recent review done by the Immigration Ministry in regards to the new points table in tandem with the Immigration Industry has not shifted its firm stand of going further and implementing it. This

would be done in spite of lot of opposition from the Industry experts. Now, keep in mind that under the new points testing system anyone who wishes to qualify for permanent residency will have to score 65 points which is a bit difficult to achieve when compared to the existing points testing system where one has to score 120 points.

The Immigration Minister has announced a large cut in the intake of skilled migrants for the coming year 2012, and it is likely to be extended till 2015, making it one of the most Interesting Chapters in the History of Australian Immigration since the “White Australia Policy” in 70s.

The International Students community would be largely affected by the sweeping changes which will come in effect from 1st of July 2011, but having said that the Business sector, which plays a major role in the economy of the country, would be affected too because of skills shortage. The Labour Government under the leadership of Ms. Julia Gillard is trying to slow down the whole Immigration process of the nation in order to divert as many skilled workers, rather migrants, to the regional areas of the country. As an expert immigration advisor myself, I think the only industries which would gain a lot in this rapid transition would be the regional industries who would be getting the cream of all the skills under the Governments New Enterprise Migration Plan. The plan will help address the problem regional skill shortage and, in turn, encourage Regional Migration under the Forthcoming Immigration policy changes which would be taking place in the year 2012.

Now, Students whose occupations are not listed in the New SOL Schedule 3 of the DIAC will have to look out for other alternate pathways such as Regional Sponsored

Migration Scheme (RSMS-857) or opt for 457 Long stay Business Visa which is popularly called as Work Visa.

The Employer Nomination/Sponsored Visas (ENS) is being extensively promoted by the present Government in order to reach the target of Sustained Migration and Eventually Sustained Population growth. I would suggest people with lesser English skills to seek regional pathways which would be much easier and which would eventually get them the permanent residency.

It is very important for International students to have a proper career plan in order to avoid any further confusion in the future but unfortunately it is a fact. I would suggest that proper planning and right guidance would be vital for a flying start in their respective careers. So, it is very important to seek right and genuine advice from an expert immigration advisor which will allow prospective migrants to make informed decisions.

RAHUL SINGH

Principal Migration Consultant Career Education Consultancy Australia (CECA)

MARN: 0901266 IAANZ: 201002333

MIA: 3682 QEAC: G009

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Reducing Carbon Emissions

Alternative sources of energy to oil and coal are now being explored and exploited, and India is actively seeking these solutions

BY NOEL G DE SOUZA

Modern societies are big electricity consumers. Fossil fuels contribute 81% to the world’s electricity production (oil 33.5%, coal 26.8%, gas 20.8%). Oil and coal are major carbon emitters. However, many countries have been taking measures resulting in lower carbon emissions, the most important being the installing of nuclear power plants. Renewable sources (such as hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal and biofuels) currently contribute only 12.9% to electricity generation.

The Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan has sent a psychological shudder about the use of nuclear-sourced electricity. This has been exacerbated by the celebrations to commemorate the Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine. These events provide fuel to the antinuclear lobby, but this has not slackened the determination of nuclear power nations to continue with their nuclear power generation. Currently worldwide, there are 441 nuclear power plants in operation and 53 under construction.

Making the Green Journey Work (Feb 2011), the Forum highlights the advantages of gas.

Noting that “Europe can reach its 2050 80% greenhouse gas reduction target at a lower cost, with less risk, and with less challenging implementation than has been suggested by other recent studies such as that of the European Climate Foundation’s Roadmap 2050”, the above report claims that “on a household level, these improvements would translate into annual cost savings of €150-250”.

This is exciting news and is an option which Australia should pursue as it has enormous gas reserves which it currently largely exports. Australia produces some 42 billion cubic metres of gas annually. The figures for the top five producers in billion cubic metres are USA 593.4, Russia 583.6, Iran 200, Canada 161.3 and Norway 103.5. The world’s total production is 3,127 billion cubic metres. China and India produce 82.9 and 38.6 billion cubic metres respectively.

Although nuclear power provides only about 13% of the world’s energy needs, in several countries it is a significant source of energy.

Nuclear power, considered economic and reliable, does not produce carbon emissions. Had it not been for nuclear power plants, global carbon pollution would have been much higher. Although nuclear power provides only about 13% of the world’s energy needs, in several countries it is a significant source of energy. For example, France has a 75% dependency on nuclear power, Ukraine 48%, Belgium 51% and Hungary 43%. Amongst those who rely on a substantial generation of nuclear power are Japan 28%, Britain 18%, USA 20% and Russia 17%. Australia, which owns abundant uranium ores, is a loner amongst the developed world in not having nuclear power.

Asia is also going nuclear: South Korea is 31% dependent on nuclear power, Taiwan 20%, Pakistan 2.7% whilst Indonesia and Thailand are planning to install nuclear power. China and India with just 1.9% and 2.9% of their power supplies being nuclear, have major expansion plans to satisfy their accelerating power needs. China has 13 operational plants, 50 under construction and 110 proposed; whilst for India the figures are 20 operational, 4 under construction, 20 planned and 40 proposed. Neither country has shown any desire to water down these plans after the Fukushima disaster.

The European Gas Advocacy Forum argues that by using natural gas to reduce carbon emissions, “societal acceptance could be easier as a less extensive build-out of wind and solar generation capacity would be needed. The resulting power-system would require less transmission and back-up capacity to be sufficiently robust …”.

Significant gains in both research and development have been made in wind and solar energy particularly in the USA, India and China. These alternatives are the ones most advocated by green party politicians, though such alternatives still supply only a minor part of energy requirements. The USA meets ten percent of its energy needs from alternative sources. The USA is today’s leader in wind power generation (25%) followed by Germany (18.5%) Spain (14.5%) India (7.2%) and China (6.2%), followed by Britain, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, and France (all below 3%). India has fast itself tracked into the fifth rank of wind power generation.

From producing just 1% of its power needs from solar power, India has grandiose plans to generate 20GW from this source by 2022, thus producing threequarters of the world’s total solar energy production

The European Gas Advocacy Forum is pushing the use of natural gas as a power alternative. Strictly speaking, natural gas is not a green alternative but it certainly is greener that either coal or petroleum. In a new document

India has also big plans for generating solar power. From having only tokenistic solar development just two to three years ago, India now ranks number one on par with the USA. From producing just 1% of its power needs from solar power, India has grandiose plans to generate 20GW from this source by 2022, thus producing three-quarters of the world’s total solar energy production. It is building the world’s largest solar energy project in Gujarat. India is already the world’s second largest consumer of photovoltaic energy and solar hot water products. Tata Power is building one of India’s largest photovoltaic based solar power plants near Pune in Maharashtra.

A new era of alternative fuels to oil and coal is opening up and the future looks exciting.

Judicial jolt

BY ROY LANGE

Chief Commissioner

herculean effort to initiate change in Victoria Police’s cultural outlook towards Indian students has been given a kick in the guts by Judge Gaynor.

As a County Court Judge she has given a youth a suspended sentence for participating in an intense series of attacks on Indians in Melbourne. He drove a gang of seven thugs who viciously assaulted six Indians over a four-day period in 2009.

She heard testimonial evidence of the gang “Punji hunting”, a term coined by the goondas for hunting Indians. Despite this, and this is where you will think someone has spiked your chai with an Old Monk Patiala, she judged that the attacks were not racially motivated, but simply they attacked Indians because they were perceived by the gang as “soft targets”.

This is not the forum, but this is where the reader can let loose with some chaste Punjabi abuse. I certainly did!

I believe Judge Gaynor may have got her law degree from a guy I know in Nizammudin market, and then hit her head on a speeding rickshaw. I wouldn’t let this woman judge a Methodist Church cake baking competition, never mind cases of grave violence.

Listen very carefully, Gaynor. When a gang goes ‘Punji hunting’ it is racist. When a gang attacks people because they are perceived as “soft targets” based on their race, it is racist!

I cannot convey the seriousness of this miscarriage of justice. It is a near mortal blow to a hope that the police and students can work together.

I was asked to brief the Victorian Police high command, with student leader Dayajot Singh, during the massive Indian student protests in Melbourne. Chief Commissioner Overland was not what I expected. He looks like he will knock you out with the butt of his gun, shove you into a car boot and bury you under the West Gate Bridge in a shallow grave. But he proved to be highly sympathetic to the students’ plight and very international in his outlook.

In fact, he became too sympathetic. On the morning Overland rang me to say he was calling a press conference

Food grain distribution needs an overhaul

to ensure the State Government finally accepted the fact that many of the attacks were racist, he swiftly allocated enormous resources to sensitive areas. Sunshine, with mounted police, circling helicopters and regular patrols, was reminiscent of the Indian President popping out for a curry.

All of this constructive effort was in the face of blistering personal attacks from the Indian media. But he soldiered on. He suffered terrible clashes with the State Labor Government who made billions of dollars annually from foreign students, but couldn’t find it in themselves to spend a pittance on the most basic transport security or indeed, to increase police resources. Which was infuriating as the Government demanded that the police protect those very students.

Overland’s greatest attribute has become a terrible weakness.

The Chief Police Commissioner has a code of honour that has no place in the seedy world of politics. During the high-pressure days of the Indian student attacks it is hard to convey how intensely he was besieged by a rabid media, both Australian and Indian. That code ensured he refrained from telling the media the litany of sexual assault cases perpetrated by the student community. Recently that code has ensured his refusal to bring internal police politics into the gutter, putting his job in mortal danger.

This positive attitude gave impetus to policies that embraced multiculturalism, despite being wholly unfairly painted as a 1970s South African death squad commander.

I will never forget his heartfelt reply to a south Indian student who, on the verge of tears at the Flinders Street protest, confessed to not knowing if Australians wanted him in the country. “I want you here, son!” was his response. Indeed, contrary to popular belief, Victoria’s police led by Overland have made a herculean effort to apprehend a great number of perpetrators of attacks on students. Despite a lingering racism that still fouls Australian society of which Police are members too.

But now this!

What cop is going to even bother to take a report from a bleeding Indian student when he knows with certainty that the judiciary are just like them, but only more so?

BY DILIP JADEJA

For most of the past 50 years I thoughtquite wrongly - that there was not enough food in India to go round. Now I know that is not the case. That begs the next question: why is hunger so rampant? State and central

So why is the world silent about the gross mismanagement of food - its pricing, storage

crop starts reaching government godowns. Ms. Vrinda Karat of CPM came to the Parliament with ration shop supplied wheat which had rat droppings in it to show to the Speaker her “evidence” on live TV!

surprised if the Congress government in India is thrown out for mismanagement of food.

There is but also an opportunity for the Congress government, and for India’s opposition parties to address the critical food supply and storage issue. Let’s take the example of wheat. It is the staple food for majority of Indians. This year, in Madhya Pradesh (MP), bumper wheat crop was produced. However, there is no space to store that wheat. In India, government buys lot of wheat in the open market as a backdoor subsidy to prop up prices but partly also to create a buffer stock for the poor. It then stores the purchases in government godowns. But the godowns are full and the wheat, rotting uncovered, rots in blistering heat.

This makes one wonder whose fault is it. A recent TV report showed how 62,000 tonnes of wheat brought to Itarasi Mandi was flung on the bare ground. Other 303 godowns in MP are also overflowing after the state government reached its purchase target of 3m tonnes.

Considering that the wheat inflow was expected to reach 4.5m tonnes, the state government’s Civil Supplies Corporation now wants to store the surplus in unused jails and cinemas, notwithstanding the rat problem! It’s likely that tens of thousands of tonnes of this wheat will be destroyed but the governments – state and central – will not distribute it to those who desperately need food. This is a significant failure for both the Food and the Agriculture ministries. The report warned the government of inadequate storage space once the new

Government godowns had 45.8m tonnes of grain against the buffer limit of 21.2m tonnes, and the new crop arriving in the godowns was expected to swell the figure by another 25m tonnes. Given that wheat production in 2011 was expected to be 81.4m tonnes compared to 80.8m tonne in 2010, the Government has no excuse for not anticipating the situation. Worse, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said “we just accept we could not create storage facility,” as if that was enough! One MP rightly said in the Parliament that “the country is sitting on a grain bomb.”

Recent reports suggest that under the new Food Security Bill proposals, there will be a need to store 68.7m tonnes of wheat!

Biraj Patnaik, advisor to the Supreme Court commissioners on the right to food, said the government was minimising (direct) subsidy but was buying huge stocks to support farmers; however it failed to promptly distribute the food grains to the poor. To me, this begs the question: Why is the Manmohan/ Sonia Government not supporting the hungry?

Last year, a government Minister admitted on national TV that Rs. 22,000 crore (A$4.5billion) worth of food stock was lost due to rat infestation and during storage. The Government of India needs to completely overhaul its policy on purchase, storage and distribution of food grains. Its public distribution system is actually working against the poor, and helping black marketers.

The economists and the marketing experts of the world need to come forward, review India’s food control and distribution systems and come up with a better system. Control or decontrol, food cannot be allowed to be reduced to a commodity to collect election cash for ministers, which some say it has become.

When the justice system takes a contorted view on obvious misdemeanors, it spells disaster for those seeking nothing but security and protection

Some food should be better given away to the poor for free rather than allowing it to rot for want of better prices or more godowns

A large quantity of food grain stock that the Indian Government buys to create a buffer for the poor goes waste due to lack of adequate storage facilities

India’s public distribution system is actually working against the poor, and helping black marketers

Simon Overland’s

When a gang goes ‘Punji hunting’ it is racist. When a gang attacks people because they are perceived as “soft targets” based on their race, it is racist.

During the highpressure days of the Indian student attacks it is hard to convey how intensely (Overland) was besieged by a rabid media, both Australian and Indian.

Touching conversations

BY CHITRA SUDARSHAN

Some years ago Abraham Verghese, a doctor who graduated from the Madras Medical College, went to the US and worked at the University of Iowa’s outpatient AIDS clinic. He turned his experiences into a book, My Own Country, which was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Last year, Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote a book on cancer titled The Emperor of All Maladies, based partly on his experience as an oncologist and partly on his research into the history of the disease. Now Melbourne’s own Ranjana Srivastava, an oncologist who has worked at various city hospitals, has written a book about her experiences with some of her cancer

While providing basic medical aid and counselling to the afflicted population, Ranjana wrote about her experiences and attracted sufficient funds to buy the island inhabitants their first boat

patients. Tell Me The Truth: Conversations With My Patients About Life and Death (Viking, 2010), is now shortlisted for the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction – part of the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards for 2011.

Ranjana Srivastava has had an exemplary academic record and a stellar career: she was educated in India, the United Kingdom, the

United States and Australia. She graduated from Monash University with a first-class honours degree and several awards in medicine; after which she undertook her internship, residency and specialist training at various Melbourne hospitals. In 2004 she won the prestigious Fulbright Award, which she completed at the esteemed MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago. Ranjana was admitted as a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2005, and started practicing oncology in the public hospital system. She is married with three young children. Yet somewhere between this extraordinarily full and busy life and career, she has found time to volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity whilst in medical training in Kolkata in India, where she provided street-based basic medical care; she was appointed by the Commonwealth Service Abroad Program to assist in the tsunami-ravaged Maldives in 2004. While providing basic medical aid and counselling to the afflicted population, Ranjana wrote about her experiences and attracted sufficient funds to buy the island inhabitants their first boat. Local philanthropists helped build the boat as the island’s first community-owned medical transport vehicle, which was used to ferry sick patients to the nearest hospital located on a different island. She has worked with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne with refugees and helped them negotiate community and hospital-based care at a time when they were granted minimal access to these services. This would have been a lifetime achievement for anyone, but not for Ranjana Srivastava. This young doctor published her first article as a medical student in the Lancet and has since continued a productive career in writing, including in such prestigious publications such as Time,

the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical and the Journal of Hospice and Management. In 2008 her story Patient won the Cancer Council Victoria Arts Award for outstanding writing. She writes a regular column for the Indian edition of the international magazine, The

This young doctor, therefore, has accumulated such a magnitude of medical experience in her young life – and an even shorter span as a doctor or an oncologist – that she decided to share them with others. In some ways, the idea was sown several years ago as a child when her dear Nanima died of cancer in Bihar: the family had little idea of how long she would survive or what the prognosis was. She died suddenly, without giving her family time to come to terms with the disease or to grieve. This left an indelible impression on the young Ranjana, who realized early on in her career, the importance of telling

Indeed, the author shows us that in most of the cases, all that patients or the immediate family want is for an oncologist to simply listen to their stories or what they have to tell

the patient the truth. In her book

The Truth, Srivastava has, in each of the chapters, described a particular cancer patient who has somehow endeared himself or herself to her, or at the very least, left a deep impression. She reflects on the very human side of the medical profession - the moral dilemmas and the angst - and shows

Lessons on Life

and complain the least,” Ranjana says; and when doctors listen to them, their patients teach them a great deal about life, and help them see “the big picture”.

A self-help book that makes you understand the basic principles of leading a balanced and tranquil life

BY SHAILJA CHATURVEDI

That victory goes to the dedicated, determined and disciplined human beings who achieve it by their perseverance, intellect and wisdom is one of the powerful messages evident in Software for Your Soul by Dr Muthukrishnan.

The book is almost an encyclopedia for happiness, contentment and fulfillment in life, which is the ultimate accomplishment for each of us. Be it through meditation, hypnosis, NLP or quantum science, the longing for peace and happiness has not changed in millennia.

Dr Muthukrishnan has formulated a condensed tool which should become a reference book for daily living. He has tried and tested it on himself, and from becoming healed, he is now a healer.

There is ample scientific evidence to convince us that our conduct, thoughts and actions have an impressive and lasting impact on our self-refining, neuroplastic brain. The same biological changes are brought about by medication, meditation, hypnosis and psychotherapy.

In this book, there are useful tips and recipes for managing your life and world to your satisfaction and freedom. The section dedicated to relationships is especially important, as it is the most significant chapter of human life.

It is a very readable book structured around chapters and themes. The message is simple and universal which will be as useful for the professional, as much as for seekers of balance in their life. The recent trend in the readership of motivational and self-improvement literature has been a positive change. Software for Your Soul in the human potential area will facilitate personal growth in order to accomplish the desired path in life with happiness

and a sense of contentment which naturally leads to strength, self esteem and productivity.

The courage of self-revelations in Chapter 2 is indeed thought-provoking, as is the need for personal healing by the simplest measures which reside within us and not outside, in many forms. Although an ardent follower of hypnosis, Dr Muthukrishnan has gradually incorporated many other human potential

Dr Muthukrishnan has been able to condense his lifetime experiences, both professional and personal, in this thoughtful and practical life manual which is indeed, a comprehensive account of good life.

options which evolve through hypnosis into his practice, and is the secret of his unrelenting success.

His prescribed patience for the ‘Latent Period’ with the analogy of a seed becoming a plant is one of the many strategies that he elaborates throughout the book.

Vedic philosophy and the Bhagawad Gita have remained timeless scriptures for an accomplished life. It is pleasing to see the emphasis he continues to make of their relevance to the generation of today and the future, with a belief in the most powerful person within yourself.

Dr Muthukrishnan has been able to condense his lifetime experiences, both professional and personal, in this thoughtful and practical life manual which is indeed, a comprehensive account of good life.

For the price tag of under $40 it is an economical ladder to help balance life at the very basic level.

The sympathy and understanding of a doctor is sometimes the best thing that a cancer-suffering patient truly needs

Photo: George Thakur

Mastering maths

An Aussie maths teacher has developed a fun new way to tackle age-old numerical concepts

BY USHA RAMANUJAM ARVIND

The terms “Podometic” and “Australian Hindu Arabic” (AHA) numeral system may sound blasphemous to purists, but these could well be the hottest additions to the maths lexicon, when Geelong-based Jonathan Crabtree unveils his dream project - The legend of Podo and the Secret Numbers.

Maths made easy

Three decades in the making, the picture web book Legend of Podo is a novel concept in

Along the way, Podo and his friends Math and Lakeesha tackle fundamental numerical concepts like addition, subtractions, timestables, place value, dimensions etc, laying the foundation for higher order thinking.

maths teaching. Aimed at young children and their parents, particularly those with learning difficulties, Crabtree believes it will demystify the subject and make learning “fun, fast and easy”.

“AHA not just a new number system, it’s a new visual way of learning numbers that matches the way children’s brains function through geometric concepts,” he claims.

According to Crabtree, because of the left-brain biased education system, students are taught maths inadequately. This inhibits their natural ability to enjoy and understand numbers. With AHA, he hopes: “The clever parent and the astute teacher can now seize upon my insights and leverage them to help their young children and students do better at maths than their peers, yet more importantly, in much less time and with many more smiles!”

About Podo

The book, which has been illustrated in Kolkata, is available for download free. “I would particularly like to dedicate this book to the millions of children in India as a

token of gratitude to a nation that gave the world the positional decimal numeral system (0-9). India values STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering & Medicine). And maths is essential for all of them,” added the Indophile.

The main character in the book is an affable, hyperactive, numlexic puppy named Podo, who overcomes his own fear of numbers and helps many others too. The outcome of a genetic predisposition or quite simply the inability of the brain to process complex number structures, numlexia or dyscalculia is a learning difficulty that relates to numerical concepts and procedures.

Dubbed SP or Stupid Puppy, Podo lives in Metic territory of Australis, a continent in Halo land. Never progressing beyond the number 9, he is often punished by his teacher and scorned by his peers. So he embarks on a numerical adventure across the planet to rediscover his Hindu Arabic roots and in due course, masters them to become Super Puppy. Podo eventually replaces his mentor Arith, as the ruler of Metic Land.

Using creative visual aids like Bumps, Holes, Power Ups, Circle, Lettumbers, Dig Its, Pig Its, he comes up with the secret number code to unscramble the magical figure of one million – Rain On your Garden Brings It Vegetables (inverse VIBGyOR). Along the way, Podo and his friends Math and Lakeesha tackle fundamental numerical concepts like addition, subtractions, times-tables, place value, dimensions etc, laying the foundation for higher order thinking.

Beyond the conventional

An autodidact, Podo’s creator has been teaching Maths to young children since the 80s, making headlines for his unconventional methods and approach. As well, Crabtree has researched and published extensively on the subject, his forte being memory and brain training.

“Back then I taught children arithmetic by getting them to close their eyes and imagine fun stories that also represented mathematical algorithms. Children could remember the story and therefore remember how to do mathematics that their parents and teachers couldn’t do,” he explains.

Ironically, Crabtree - like millions worldwide - developed a dislike of maths while at primary school. Arithmophobia or fear of numerical concepts is a common phenomenon among students, which if left uncorrected, has a domino effect eventually resulting in aversion and hatred.

“Shy by nature, I do not believe I had any particular learning disorder other than simple lack of interest,” he says, recalling his own formative years. “I failed in Maths and had to repeat a year. Yet like most kids, I could focus for hours on what I enjoyed – building and designing with Lego.” At school, Crabtree was taught maths with coloured blocks called Cuisenaire rods. Also known as Dienes or MAB blocks, they were a common teaching aid. “To me though, it was like my teachers weren’t playing the game right. I didn’t like being told a unit had to change into a long to be ten times bigger. Then my teacher made a unit a thousand times bigger into a 3D cube, when many children still hadn’t grasped 2D maths and place value. Way too abstract and early for young brains,” he adds.

A creative approach

The father of three believes our brains come hot-wired for geometry before we learn to speak. The use of this type of instruction taught at the same time we learn digits, he adds is, however, the wrong way to teach mathematics. According to Crabtree, the written words and symbols should be taught after the visual maths processing is completely understood.

“By day most people are ‘left brain’ dominant, processing verbal and numerical language via symbols. Then just as the sun sets, out come the stars and we engage in a more creative and visual right brain thought process, which we call dreaming. That is why I teach maths with bumps and holes, and then morph that idea into left brain symbols and words,” he asserts.

Back in the 80s though, his lessons were based on the “same number system, giving children grief for centuries”.

“Current teaching techniques have failed despite calculators and laptops. ‘There just has to be a better way,’ I thought. So I stopped teaching a ‘faulty’ form of maths and worked on a new enhanced and simpler number system that is so easy, it actually makes sense to young children!” explains Crabtree.

Rather than forcing kids to learn, they should be asked to play - Podo, he quips.

The history behind Podo

So, what got the Podo process

going?

“In 1983 I smashed my spine like a violet crumble when a truck sent me spinning through the air. At 21, my surgeon told me I might never walk again. Bedridden, I prayed for a miracle. Having been a failure in Maths,

the deal I made with God was simple. Give me back my life and I will change the way the world does maths,” smiles Crabtree.

He learnt to control pain through meditation and mind training, and barely three years later, life was back on track.

“My maths teacher wife and I were expecting our first child. I researched about maths at the Melbourne State Library during lunch breaks, without making much headway. Then our daughter died and I felt guilty about my promise,” he recollects.

Crabtree quit his job to teach children maths - with no experience or qualifications. He soon made headlines for his unconventional approach and visualisation techniques. Since then, there has been no looking back.

The biggest hurdle yet for Crabtree has been to convince conventional teachers to adopt his methods. “Teachers like to stick to rules and do not encourage creativity. They follow the linear production line approach where children are batched by age and taught numbers step-by-step over seven years. My goal is to let children learn seven years of number theory in as little as seven hours,” he says enthusiastically. “I had a tutoring session with a young girl with Downs Syndrome and her mother. For the first time ever, the young girl got every maths question right! I taught this girl maths while we both had our eyes shut! The mother was ecstatic. Yet she discontinued the session as the girl’s teacher disapproved of my methods,” he says regretfully.

Just as Hindu Arabic numerals were only accepted after much debate and controversy, so too will AHA. “It will become the biggest breakthrough in numbers and arithmetic since the era of Aryabhatta,” says Crabtree hopefully.

The Legend of Podo can be downloaded free at www.podo.in/free

Arithmophobia or fear of numerical concepts is a common phenomenon among students, which if left uncorrected, has a domino effect eventually resulting in aversion and hatred.

Shrinking service

BY MALLI IYER

The name ‘service provider’ is associated with electricity, telephone and internet companies of whom there are several, since privatisation of public utilities has become the norm. Ask any member of the public and they will dub them as ‘service dividers’ instead. The ‘age of information’ has heralded advanced satellite-linked telecommunications, multimedia, voicerecognition software and real time data transmission, but if everyone expected service levels to go up by harnessing the power of technology, they were sadly mistaken. Most of us would be unanimous in our opinion that the level of customer service we receive has severely deteriorated. The absence of human interface in our day-to-day lives has deprived us of a basic right to send and receive communications as a customer. As far back as 1890, Mahatma Gandhi expressed his thoughts on serving customers when fighting apartheid in South Africa. He

memorably said, “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider to our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so.”

The relevance of this message seems to have been lost on businesses globally, judging by the ever-shrinking service levels in every walk of life. The increasing incidence of queues on telephones (sometimes for half hour or more) only to be directed to an automated menu which is programmed to confuse callers, is the order of the day – whether you are calling banks, restaurants, insurance companies, government departments or airlines. In most cases customers feel frustrated and cornered due to poor satisfaction from such sessions. The control of the conversation and the service provided is with the supplier, rather than the buyer.

You start to wonder what has happened to “Service with a smile” – an oft repeated cliché from not so long ago!

In several cases, customers are bound

Matrimonials

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Punjabi Arora parents seeking well-settled/ professional match for beautiful, slim, unmarried, 37/ 165, IT professional, with strong family values. Brought up in India, settled in Sydney. Australian citizen. Status family. Caste no bar. Early marriage. Email with photo: ausgirl101@gmail.com

Punjabi Hindu Khatri, good looking, smart, homely girl, never married, 33, 5‘11”, looks very young, seeking tall Indian boy settled in Australia. Two brothers well settled in Sydney, caste no bar. Contact with photo and details on 0425 910 007 or ricky.bhalla@gmail.com

issueless divorcee girl, Australian citizen, born and brought up in India. She is very caring, homely, responsible, loving and a sincere girl. Seeking a non smoker, teetotaller, Australian PR/citizen. Caste no bar. Contact with photo and details on perfectindianmatch@gmail.com.

SEEKING BRIDES

by contractual arrangements, whether it is insurance, mortgaging institutions like banks, telephone companies or healthcare providers, and there are penalty clauses for breach of contract designed to prevent easy switching to another supplier if their services are unsatisfactory. The customer is no longer able to choose where or how they spend their hard-earned dollars to obtain the best value services for their money. The government departments that provide essential services like water, electricity, municipal services are monopolies in any case, and have no ear for customer grievances. Poor public transport, road signage, the appalling state of some of our suburban roads, parks, public facilities such as pedestrian walkways, urban housing and town planning are areas that, the public feel, lack adequate thought and consultation. Business and real estate lobbies frequently govern the decisions of urban development.

Persistent complaints from customers and attempts to redress their grievances are blocked by reasons such as computer failure, security, power outages, even raw material shortage, all of which leave the customers with a Hobson’s choice. Subcontractors of services are frequently blamed for poor service and upkeep of facilities by government departments.

H

indu Punjabi business parents invite alliance for a beautiful educated girl for their highly qualified son 30/6’3”, a very well placed financial consultant with a leading MNC in UK. Will be in Australia in July. Caste no bar. Send bhp to ukshaadi@hotmail.com

Match required for an Australian citizen, Sydney resident, north Indian, 26 years old, 5’7”, slim, handsome and very fair engineer boy from Kayastha family. Looking for a suitable well educated Indian girl with family values. Caste no bar. Please send details to akhilsns@gmail.com or contact 0412 487 801.

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eeking a suitable match for young looking, very fair Hindu lady, 53, 5’2, living in Australia for 25 years, works in a government dept. Groom must be between 47-55, well qualified, non-smoker, occasional drinker and vegetarian. Contact sydaus@hotmail.com.au

Alliance invited for clean shaven Sikh/1972/5’11”/ very decent, responsible, handsome/BE/MBA boy, working as head of marketing in a software company in India, issueless divorcee. Kindly contact Manisha Bakshi on 0401 542 550 / manishabak@gmail.com

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eeking match for 39/165, unmarried, fair, slim, beautiful Indian Punjabi girl, family oriented and responsible, traditional values, IT professional, brought up in India. Australian citizen. Early marriage. Can relocate. Serious enquiries only. Caste no bar. Email with photo: sydgirl09@gmail.com

Alliance invited for a very fair, very beautiful, MBA, 33 years, Hindu Punjabi

Educated Indian man, Australian citizen, financially secured, mid 40s, seeking honest Indian lady in view of marriage. Reply 0406 688 262 or email tamavu@hotmail.com

Aussie ocker Christian seeks Christian bride. I am in the fifties, 5’10”, 110 kg, own home, a full head of hair, pensioner. Tel: 0459 919 717. Email: nottattached@aol. com

Servicing aids such as ‘self service’ booths, scanners, automated teller machines, vending machines and parking meters provide the absolute minimum service when they are maintained properly. We hear about security failure in protecting public property from theft, credit card frauds and broken down machines all too often, to the extent that customers fear for their accounts and bills received at the end of each billing cycle. Most of us are not averse to paying a fee for a proper service, but when banks close branches and substitute them with ATMs it amounts to downgrading an existing service. They then have the audacity to charge an ATM fee, a fee for using the teller service and a cheque-issuance fee, all of which essentially pushes the customer towards stuffing their dollars in a pillow, or resorting to a cash economy instead. It would seem that expecting the banks to pay you interest for using your money is a thing of the past. Instead, they are more focussed on inflating their profits.

There is a trend among businesses to introduce a premium for even a moderate level of service which is sometimes tagged on to the product price. Hotels and travel companies are known to resort to this charge – a credit card fee is already a very common occurrence. Airlines introduced a premium for business and first class travel many years ago, but they have now gone ahead and introduced a premium

refreshment and travelling with checked-in baggage. They even have plans to charge a premium for using overhead racks for hand-luggage. In some cases you could use an airport lounge of an airline for a price, since internet facilities and some refreshments are provided by them. This could be called “service with a hand in your pocket, but not necessarily with a smile”. Governments are increasingly resorting to recover the cost of a contracted “visa and passport service” by increasing their fees for consular services provided to the public. Some of these measures have reached ridiculous proportions –a car hire company will not only charge you for the car hire, insurance and fuel, but they will levy a fee for providing you with a GPS or an electronically fitted navigating instrument. In the past, at least you were supplied with a Street Directory to help negotiate your way when travelling in a strange city. Now they do not feel obligated to provide you anything other than a car, but levy extras for everything else.

There used to be specialised training programs for customer service staff who were recruited for their friendliness and customer-oriented approach. We see little evidence of this and hardly any ‘eye contact’ when we visit service-oriented businesses such as banks, restaurants, insurance companies or even department stores. Lack of proper training and skills required for the job are a casualty, but this scarcely worries the owners of these businesses. Any semblance of a service is more the exception than the rule, but it is a sad state of affairs when we are confronted with an upfront fee for service, even before we have made a decision to buy a product or service!

Technology may have advanced, but there’s no doubt that customer service has seriously deteriorated, leaving the consumer feeling bewildered and cheated

The absence of human interface in our day-today lives has deprived us of a basic right to send and receive communications as a customer.

Colouring their world

A riveting and thought-provoking short film by a debut director explores the paradoxes that exist across cultures, in a new film festival

BY PALLAVI SINHA

Vijay Boothalingam is one happy and excited filmmaker. His debut film The Traveller is one of the movies nominated for Best Film, currently screening at the annual Colourfest Film Festival (CFF) in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. The CFF showcases short films created by culturally diverse film-makers from around Australia.

Written and directed by Vijay who now lives in Australia, The Traveller is the spiritual and emotional journey of an Indian couple who provide refuge to a stranger one night. Set in suburban Sydney, the short film has a superb screenplay and cast, with direction is

time. After 15 years in Australia, he finally got his first break.

“Last year I came across an opportunity by Metro Screen who were supporting film-makers to make short films, and submitted the script I had written. Of the 200 applicants, I was one of the 11 whose script was accepted and I had the chance to make my first short film,” he says.

The Traveller is Vijay’s debut film and its basic theme is about absolution. “I wanted to make a film which shows common ideas that we share as humans. I wanted to project themes like crime, tolerance, absolution and forgiveness which are common across cultures, and bind us together as humans,” says Vijay.

Metro Screen provided some funding, offered good mentorship and training. But it was the support from his family that helped push the project through to completion.

“My wife produced the film, so she was instrumental in making sure we could cast people and get the right crew on board. The film was shot over 3 days and filmed in Sydney. My family and my wife’s family supported us all the way,” says Vijay.

So how did he manage with the tight schedule, especially as he juggled full time work and making the movie? The debut director has managed to balance work commitments with his creative pursuits, but admits that it hasn’t been easy.

considering going to India and working with a director there,” says an optimistic Vijay who is happy to have had the opportunity to showcase his talent.

And has the exposure to the Colourfest Film Festival (CFF) helped?

“Yes, certainly,” says Vijay enthusiastically. “The CFF is a very unique festival. It’s a dream come true, and I’m really proud that my film got selected to be showcased, because I don’t think there are many festivals that support culturally diverse film-makers. CFF is a growing festival and provides recognition that there are a lot of ethnically-themed films that people don’t get to see in some of the more popular film festivals like Tropfest,” he adds.

reminiscent of the brilliance of M. Night Shyamalan. Apart from being deeply passionate about films and film-making since childhood, Vijay comes from a family of film-makers, which could well explain his talent at direction. “My late grandfather in India used to be a film producer, who introduced Hema Malini into films in the 1960s,” he reveals. Although Vijay was interested in film making when younger, he didn’t have the chance to do something about this yearning at that

“It was a challenge!” he says. “Film-making is not something you can pursue as a full-time career option, unless you make a hit film. Though the Australian film industry is fabulous and they create wonderful films, it’s not as massive as Bollywood or Hollywood. There also seems to be limited funding for films which have ethnic themes; however there are always opportunities for people who want to make films”.

The audience response to The Traveller has been so positive that it has encouraged Vijay to study Film & Media production at the University of Technology in Sydney.

“I’m working on a feature script at the moment and some more short film scripts. I am seriously

Despite Australia’s immense diversity with people here originating from over 230 countries and speaking over 300 languages, it is rare to see ethnic faces on TV or in films. The advent of the Colourfest Film Festival (CFF) in May 2010 was dedicated to the works of culturally diverse Australian film-makers. Now in its second year, the CFF reflects the reality of contemporary Australia represented through Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Samoan, Spanish, Iranian, Arabic and Greek stories; with the shared values, trials and tribulations faced by its ethnicities presented to the wider community. According to the founder and director of CFF, Sri-Lankan born Australian Gary Paramanathan: “I founded Colourfest out of disappointment at the lack of cultural diversity on Australian TV and film, and the discovery that there are many film-makers of diverse backgrounds producing works that are beautiful, relevant and needing to be seen. I wanted to set up an avenue to share these stories with the broader Australian community, so we can move to an open and accepting place for all communities to live and love Australia.”

For Vijay, this is just the beginning of a journey into the heart of film-making in Australia, and although the trip will be hard, there’s no doubt that it promises to be an immensely rewarding one.

“I wanted to project themes like crime, tolerance, absolution and forgiveness which are common across cultures, and bind us together as humans”

Vijay Boothalingam

“CFF is a growing festival and provides recognition that there are a lot of ethnicallythemed films that people don’t get to see in some of the more popular film festivals like Tropfest”

Vijay Boothalingam

A scene from The Traveller, a film by debutant director Vijay Boothalingam

Vijay Boothalingam

Calendar for cosmetics

We tend to ignore the fact that cosmetics too, have a use-by date and resurrecting them to use after a long time could lead to skin complications

BY MINNAL KHONA

Most of us buy a lipstick or a moisturiser and use it without giving a thought to its expiry date. But it is important to know when to chuck your cosmetics, even if you haven’t run through the bottle or the tube

We all love to use those fragrant creams that leave our skin soft, lipsticks and eyeshadows that add glamour to our look. But how many of us recall when exactly we bought that mascara or lipstick.

If you are one of those compulsive shoppers who buys every new shade of lipstick that appeals even if you have a dozen sitting in your cosmetics cabinet, or are ever ready to try out the new moisturiser or foundation being sold as a special at Target, then this one is specially for you.

Unlike medicines which come with expiry dates on every pack, not every cosmetic company will mention in fine print whether the product is good for the next three or six months of use. And most people unthinkingly use these cosmetics until the product itself starts to smell funny or precipitation occurs (in the case of lotions).

Curb the cosmetics

So what’s the solution to ensure that you’re not applying cosmetics well past their use by date?

For starters, don’t buy too many of the basic essentials. Make do with one foundation stick or bottle, one compact, one loose powder box and a handful of lipsticks and eyeshadows. And because you’re using the product daily, it is likely to run out well within its expected shelf life. Then go and

especially, are known to cause eye infections as they may develop a chemical reaction or the pencil could end up with some fungus on its tip if it has been unused for some time. Mascaras are a little more obvious in that sense as they dry up with disuse, and you know that the product is unusable.

Spot the difference

So how does one tell whether the product is still good to use or needs to be discarded?

There are telltale signs but the most important thing to remember is that with most products, the moment you open them and start using them, the process of deterioration begins.

With a moisturiser or a foundation, sometimes the product will precipitate and there will be a watery liquid floating on top while the heavier components of the product settle at the bottom, much like curdled milk. In some cases the product will become lumpy and not spread evenly on the skin. That’s when you know that the product should not be applied on

If you choose one of each category with a few coloured cosmetics that go with most of your clothes, you will protect your skin and save a few dollars too

up kit. That’s when it’s time to throw away these lipsticks as they could cause irritation.

Powder problems

When it comes to blushes and compacts, if they are the matte, dry ones, they will develop lumps on the surface. This happens because the puff we use to apply the powder on our face sometimes absorbs sweat or moisture on our skin. Resting on the compact, the powder absorbs this moisture and sometimes leads to the product going bad. Which is why it is better to use loose powder than compacts, as that problem doesn’t occur with loose powder. You can avoid this problem by regularly washing and drying your puffs and brushes.

The same may not happen with a blush, so the best way to check if a product is still good to use is to test it on your elbow or your wrist. If there is any kind of burning or itchy sensation, you will immediately know that the product is past its use-by date.

Eye care is important

your skin at any cost. It can result in skin infections, irritation and even boils and rashes.

In the case of lipsticks and glosses, they develop a funny waxy smell which is not normally present in them. I have seen this happen several times to lipsticks that I may have forgotten in some handbag or make-

The products one has to be most careful about are cosmetics for the eyes. Being sensitive, our eyes can react instantly to an eye pencil with some bacteria on it, or an eyeshadow whose chemicals can cause rashes on the eyelids. Mascaras too, can result in you losing eyelashes if they have gone bad. Besides going dry, mascara can also smell funny if it is going bad. So remember to be frugal with your basic skincare and cosmetic shopping. If you choose one of each category with a few coloured cosmetics that go with most of your clothes, you will protect your skin and save a few dollars too.

There are telltale signs but the most important thing to remember is that with most products, the moment you open them and start using them, the process of deterioration begins

Your friendly neighbourhood GPs

Waverley General Practice, which opened in 2010, is situated opposite Waverley Private Hospital and is staffed by doctors who have worked in the Waverley area for 10-20 years. The newly renovated premises are light and airy and there is a colourful children’s playroom to keep the little ones entertained. There is also generous on-site parking.

Their team is committed to providing quality personalised care from the cheerful and competent receptionists, caring nurses and experienced doctors. There are 6 doctors who all provide a full range of family medical care; from acute emergencies, pediatrics, men’s health and women’s health through to ongoing comprehensive care of chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. In addition, Dr Banerjee, Dr Parker and Dr Takkar are registered with local hospitals to provide shared antenatal care. Dr Takkar speaks Hindi and Punjabi. Dr Banerjee and Dr Riseley run a dedicated skin cancer clinic aimed at the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancers. Dr Jayarajan takes a special interest in sports medicine and adolescent health. Dr Singh is experienced in travel medicine and men’s health.

The doctors are complemented

by various specialists, psychologists, physiotherapists, a dietitian and diabetes educator. There is on-site pathology collection and radiology is conveniently located across the road.

The Practice is open 7 days a week, with extended opening hours and is private billing. Medicare claims are processed on site. Full aged pensioners are bulk billed. New patients are welcome.

Waverley General Practice

370 Blackburn Rd Glen Waverley. Phone: 9802 8155 or visit www.waverleygp.com.au

SUPER SPICES

A look at 10 traditional Indian spices and their health benefits

BY GEETA KHURANA

Indian foods have evolved over thousands of years, taking on the flavours of various cultures yet maintaining the aroma and benefits of condiments and spices that are the hallmark of Indian cooking. These come in different colours and flavours and just brighten up the food palette. Just a pinch here and there can make a big difference in our cooking. The word ‘spice’ comes from Latin species meaning a commodity of value and distinction. Traditional Indian cooking almost always uses fresh ingredients and involves making dishes from scratch using spices such as turmeric, cloves, cardamom, cumin seeds etc., all of which have medicinal and healing properties. Bark, leaves, roots, seeds, and bulbs of plants are used to create innumerable flavors and combinations. The beneficial properties of a few spices are listed below:

1.Ginger (Adarak)

disease-preventing, and health-promoting properties. Nutmeg has many therapeutic applications in many traditional medicines for its anti-fungal, anti-depressant, aphrodisiac, and digestive properties. It is also rich in many vital B-complex vitamins including vitamin C, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin A

the intestines and the stomach. Infections, indigestion, and flatulence can also be alleviated by taking 2 pinches of salt

soups, curries and rice. Bay leaf has essential oil, tannins, and flavonoids and is helpful in treating diarrhea, flatulence, and indigestion. It is also used for treating scabies and itchy skin.

Ginger has been used for more than 2500 years as a flavouring to the food as well as a medicine and herb. Ginger has been used in many herbal decongestants and can help in minimising the symptoms of respiratory conditions such as cough, cold, and allergies. Ginger root is fast becoming a medicinal herb. Ginger is packed with many active compounds, including gingerols and zingibain. It helps in treating morning sickness nausea and nausea related to motion sickness without any side effects. The anti-inflammatory properties in ginger help ease muscle and joint pain.

2. Garlic (Lahusun)

Garlic has been used in Ancient India and Eastern Medicine. Garlic is commonly used around the world for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It has been used as an antibiotic and as well as a cooking ingredient. It has generally been thought to stimulate the immune system.

the nutrient that has received attention in the media because researchers are interested in curcumin’s possibilities in fighting cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. The curcumin in Turmeric is thought to have anti inflammatory properties. Apart from curcumin, turmeric contains high levels of iron and manganese and moderate levels of vitamin B6 and potassium – all these are part of a healthy, balanced diet.

reduce congestion and stimulate digestion. Whole cloves are used as a flavouring in curries, meat dishes, and soups.

cure bad breath, and relieve gas and bloating. It contains the antioxidant cineole. These aromatic seeds contain oil that helps to stimulate digestion and relieve flatulence. It is thought to contain potent antioxidants and often used as a detox for the liver.

In addition to delivering antioxidant and other benefits, condiments and spices can be used in recipes to partially or wholly replace less desirable ingredients such as salt, sugar and added saturated fat in, for example, marinades and dressings, stir-fry dishes, casseroles, soups, curries and Mediterranean-style cooking. Vegetable dishes and vegetarian options may be more appetising when prepared with herbs and spices.

Hearty and healthy

Adding a few high-protein, low-carb food options to your diet will help you stay healthy and keep diabetes at bay

I learned recently that migrant Indians, particularly in Western countries like the USA, UK and Australia have a higher preponderance of Type 2 Diabetes, insulin resistance and coronary artery disease than other ethnic groups. Now although we can’t change the fact that we’re Indian, we can change our lifestyle especially as we now live in Australia.

Nunchinundé

Here is a traditional Karnataka dish from my grandmother that is delicious and nutritious as a snack. It is full of lentils and best of all, it is steamed, not fried. So you can eat almost as much as you would like, guilt-free!

1 cup toor daal (pigeon pea)

½ cup moong daal

½ cup channa daal (split chickpeas)

3-4 green chillies, chopped or according to taste

Pinch of asafoetida

½ tsp turmeric

1/3 cup fresh coconut

½ tsp grated ginger

Salt to taste

1/3 cup fenugreek leaves

1/3 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp olive oil

Apart from getting more exercise, we need to change our diet for the better too. Switching to low GI foods such as multigrain bread, oats, low-fat milk and yoghurt, and most fruits can aid in reducing the risk of diabetes. We should also eat less carbohydrates, and more protein and nuts. Lentils do have cabohydrates in them, but these are good

Soak all three lentils in a dish for two hours. Drain and add salt to soaked lentils. Add green chillies to taste. Put the mix in a grinder and grind coarsely. Keep aside. Chop fenugreek leaves finely, add ginger and fresh coconut. Add to coarse mix with a pinch of asafetida, turmeric. Next, heat the oil in a small vessel and add mustard seeds. Add to the coarse mix when they crackle, mixing well with your hand. Shape the mix into small ellipse-shaped balls.

Fill the bottom of a large vessel with water and boil. Place a colander on top of this dish. Place the balls gently into the colander and close with a lid. Cook for six to seven minutes. To check if the balls are cooked, wet your fingers slightly with water, and then touch the ellipse-shaped balls. If none of the contents stick to your fingers, it means the nunchinundes are ready. You could also use an idli cooker to cook the nunchinunde.

Rotti

My mother is always on the look out for recipes that don’t call for a lot of carbohydrates and oils, as she is quite health-conscious. Here’s another recipe she picked up from a family member in India which is high-protein as it has been made purely from pulses.

1-2 handfuls green gram

1-2 handfuls brown chickpeas

1-2 handfuls of black eyed beans

1-2 handfuls of brown beans

3 onions

1 tbsp cumin seeds

Salt to taste

½ cup coriander

1 large potato and freshly grated coconut (both optional)

Place all the pulses/legumes in a large dish and soak in

Saagu

This recipe is a traditional one and my personal favourite as it is filled with fresh vegetables and flavoursome spices. I learned this one from my grandmother, although my mother makes it as well.

½ kg beans

4 carrots

1 large potato

1 turnip

½ kg fresh peas

1 chokos

1 tomato

For the masala

½ tsp white poppy seeds

4 half inch pieces of cinnamon

1 tsp cumin

1 medium onion

6 cloves garlic

2 pieces of ginger, 2” each

4-5 green chillis

1 tsp fresh coriander leaves

1 pinch turmeric

1 pinch asafoetida

12 almonds, soaked in water for 2 hours

1 tbsp grated coconut

½ tsp powdered jaggery

1 small cup water

Salt to taste

For the tadka/tempering

1 tsp olive oil

¾ tsp mustard seeds

Pinch asafetida

Chop all the vegetables evenly into half inch size, so that they are all roughly of the same size. Grind together poppy seeds, cinnamon, cumin, garlic, chopped onion, ginger, green chillis, turmeric, asafoetida and grated coconut. Drain the almonds and peel off the skin. Add to grinder mix. Grind the ingredients without adding water until the mix is a coarse, slightly wet powder. Next, add a small cup of water and coriander leaves to the coarse mix in the grinder, and grind once more. The consistency should be a bit more runny than chutney, and it should remain coarse.

BY MALAVIKA SANTHEBENNUR

carbs, needed by the body.

It might be surprising to learn that the traditional recipes I am sharing below are healthy, tasty, filling and a good option to deep fried, high-carb foods that dominate the Indian palate.

water for 3-4 days. Make sure you change the water every day, draining thoroughly and refilling. After this time, drain all the water from the pulse mix and sieve through a colander, making sure the pulses are dry. Place the pulses in a separate bowl in the fridge for 2 days. When ready to cook, grind all the pulses in a dry grinder. Don’t add water when grinding, so it is important to grind it in a dry blender. Empty the mix in a dish and add finely chopped onions, and finely chopped coriander. Add cumin seeds and salt to taste. If you don’t have cholesterol issues, add fresh grated coconut to the mix. Next, take a large handful of the mix and pat it flat onto a pan until the mix covers the pan in a layer. Spread oil evenly over the flat mix on the pan. Cook on stove until crisp and golden brown. Flip over and roast.

Serve with a fresh vegetable salad. End the meal with yoghurt or buttermilk, either by itself or with rice, to aid digestion.

Fill a large dish with water and boil beans and turnip for about a minute. Following this, add all the other vegetables. There should only be enough water to immerse the vegetables. Pour out any excess. Add the ground coarse masala to the vegetables. Next, add salt to taste and powdered jaggery, and mix well. Cook the mix, stirring until boiled well and you see bubbles. The consistency should not be too thick, nor should it be too runny. Garnish with cut curry leaves. Add oil to

Refugee

And knowing that your ultimate destination was going to be chosen by the luck of the draw, only true refugees would find their way to the offshore sites.

corpses in a foolish attempt to give them a dignified farewell. I say foolish for I only lost three fingers as I made my trek across that perilous area.

had left hell and come to paradise. I smiled as I lifted my daughter to take in the beautiful view.

Our breakfast arrived with the morning paper. Hot tea! When had we last had that? Neither of us could remember. And bread, white and soft, not dusty and hard, that bakers would sell to us for a small fortune.

go of our haunting past and those associations that had long been severed. I too now am a social worker, helping refugees who are granted visas with their assimilation process.

We did not come on one of the boats that so often break through international borders and bring an alien population to an even more alien land. We did not jump over barbed fences or squeeze through gaps into un-manned domains.

No! My family and I were plucked from a war zone and transferred for safe keeping into a country that promised us security. We did not ask for the war, nor did we ask to be moved; relocated by destiny’s hand we found ourselves in a land where bombs did not kill and mines did not maim.

My daughter was four years old when we reached the shores of the new land.

As our group of seventy-five was ushered towards the waiting coaches, we noticed a group of protestors

And then my wife read the papers. Yes, we could read and write! I had been a professor and my wife a journalist. Prized professions until war make a mockery of our qualifications. In a land that battled to survive, education was no longer of value. As she spread the newspaper on the table we saw ourselves on the front page – all huddled together as we rushed to the coach. The caption below said, ‘Carrying the child in so alien a fashion’. Alien? How did it become alien to hide a fearful baby and cocoon her within what little security we could offer? We knew then that not one of us was wanted in this new home. Our souls were destroyed by those that brought war, our hearts by those that offered peace.

“Can we not go back?” my wife asked

“To what? To abuse and death?” I asked.

“Is abuse not greeting us here?” she questioned again, and I had no answer. I was a husband unable to protect his wife. I was a father unable to defend his child but even defenceless, I could sense safety.

That group of protestors were our first and last encounter with what we feared was an unfriendly nation, for soon after, we met our social worker, a

If I have one suggestion to give to the nations of the world, it would be this. Set up islands in various parts of the world and let the refugees get there quickly so they have a chance at survival. Then let the central body clear their papers, one made up of staff nominated by the Refugee Council of the world. Let them man it while all developed nations contribute to the cost. Let each nation take a certain number of refugees, each drawn by lottery and chosen by luck.

Maybe in knowing that each country was taking their fair share after security clearances, nations would not resent the influx of refugees. And knowing that your ultimate destination was going to be chosen by the luck of the draw, only true refugees would find their way to the offshore sites.

Ask most refugees and they will say that they would have preferred to arrive as migrants. They would have liked to have the immigration officer say ‘Welcome to our country’. But sometimes life does not offer those choices. The wars are not of our making. Our title is not of our choosing. But until a solution is found, ‘the word ‘refugee’ will remain synonymous with ‘unwanted’. And it will continue to propagate fear. And we all know, fear is the root of all evil.

We did not ask for the war, nor did we ask to be moved; relocated by destiny’s hand we found ourselves in a land where bombs did not kill and mines did not maim.

The flights of a prodigy

Like him or not, it cannot be denied that Shane Warne’s skill and charisma made for fascinating drama both on and off the field

BY GAURAV PANDEY

Pure talent in action is one of the most compelling sights. When Shane Warne bid farewell to his cricket career at the Indian Premier League – a tournament he was associated with for the last four years as a player and coach of the Rajasthan Royals team – he left behind a list of accomplishments only well-refined talent can achieve.

Warne’s longevity has challenged the notion that decline is a part of life. Even at the age of 42, he was hardly a pushover on the cricket field. Warne’s 4-year IPL stint brought together, and added to, his experience as a player and his larger-than-life image. It was apparent from the very beginning that he was going to be the sole commander of an untested bunch of players, who he went on to lead with aplomb to victory in the inaugural IPL tournament in 2008.

Warne’s 16-year-long international career was a fullthrottled journey, rising from the idyllic Victorian beach life and ending in the epicentre of the madness of a cricket crazy nation. His magical fingers turned the dying, neglected art of leg spin bowing to one of cricket’s most riveting aspects, bringing hordes of fans to the stands in the process. Even in times when a spinner’s loop and spin were fading by the day, victims of T20’s ruthless slogging, Warne never shied away from giving the ball a real rip, reminding us of the difference between a spinner and a slow bowler. His bowling repertoire had astonishing variety including the ‘zooter,’ a ball that dipped suddenly before landing and hurried on to the batsman; the ‘flipper,’ which kept deceptively low after bouncing; the ‘googly’, which turned

He turned out to be the best brand ambassador for Australia in India, reciprocating the almost infantile obsession of fans with a genuine contribution in honing the skills of youngsters

disguised as a leg spinner; and of course the leg spinners of varying degrees and the top spinners.

The vicious spin and deception in his bowling made even highly accomplished batsmen look utterly ridiculous, provoking in some a crisis of confidence so severe that they were reduced to his ‘bunnies.’ Warne’s English contemporaries – especially Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussein and Mike Atherton – feature prominently in the list, along with perhaps the most derided batsman of them all, the otherwise-prolific South African Daryll Cullinan.

Warne’s coach and mentor, Terry Jenner, who passed away recently, had a deep influence on him. Jenner’s advice to Warne that the primary role of a spinner is to turn the ball, stood him in good stead throughout his career, and as his ball-of-the-century-victim Mike Gatting would confess, he could turn them a mile.

He made mistakes – plenty of them – and paid the price for his indulgence: he lost his Australian vice-captaincy after publicly admitting to lewd phone conversations; was fined for accepting money from a bookmaker; had to undergo an extended ban for taking banned diuretics; and his marriage ended in a messy divorce after his marital infidelities were exposed.

However, grave as they were, controversies never pegged him back. In fact, he seemed to thrive on them, for beyond the women and the recklessness, he was essentially a man of supreme ability. In 2006, returning from a 12-month ban, he produced the most outstanding year of his career, grabbing a staggering 96 wickets with the control and precision that belied human ability.

Warne turned out to be the best brand ambassador for Australia in India, reciprocating the almost infantile obsession of fans with a genuine contribution in honing the skills of youngsters from little-known regions of the country – an objective that the bottom-line-driven IPL had seemed to lose sight of.

His understanding of India’s culture and its people also helped him play an important role in soothing the tensions between the two nations during the time when reports of attacks on Indian students in Australia had threatened to snowball into a larger conflict. “They live in our country. We have so much in common. Our cultures have a great love of cricket, music, families, good friends and strong communities. We are all human beings; let’s move forward together and rise above this,” he had stressed then, acting as

Warne’s career was a full-throttled journey, rising from the idyllic Victorian beach life and ending in the epicentre of the madness of a cricket crazy nation.

a much needed bridge between Australia and India.

Now, with the IPL responsibilities all but gone, he is reported to be considering a career in Bollywood - an industry well suited for him given his chutzpah and the surprisingly-good reputation he enjoys in India. And if the media attention he continues to receive with Liz Hurley is anything to go by, he should be getting used to the trappings of a film-star’s life.

Perhaps the primary attribute that has kept him afloat is his innate honesty – the kind that could withstand all the hype around it for years without being affected. Known to have a big heart, he has been involved in celebrity matches and various other activities for charity, including those held for his organization, The Shane Warne Foundation, which endeavours to collect funds for seriously ill and underprivileged children. He also supports other causes such as human rights, fight against AIDS, and disaster relief.

In a world of clichés, his candour has always stood out. He could be guilty of many things but pretence won’t make that list. To his numerous fans, despite his diametrically competing impulses, Warne is not only one of the greatest bowlers to have ever played the game but also an admirable human being.

Animal Kingdom

Africa with its abundance of wildlife is a treat to any nature lover

BY SANDIP HOR

11,000 species of mammals, some 2400 varieties of birds and over 100 types of reptiles.

However, when planning the trip to the Mecca of wildlife safaris, an irrational fear gripped my mind. It wasn’t about a lion grabbing me for breakfast or a mozzi-bite leading to malaria and the thereafter; rather it was panic that I might not be able to see much of the wildlife, as sighting the animals is a sheer matter of luck, which at most times, does not cruise on my side.

For that reason I included six national parks in my itinerary - in Botswana, Kenya and Tanzania, giving me plenty of time to view game in different geographical settings, thus maximising my luck factor.

Thank God, it worked very well!

I saw abundant wildlife, including the ‘Big Ten’ - hippopotamus, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, lion, cheetah, leopard,

visitors include Lake Nakuru in their itinerary mainly to see thousands of flamingos that paint large patches of pink on the blue waters of the shallow lake, proclaimed as “the most fabulous bird spectacle in the world”

what differentiated the experience was the setting under which we observed them; the natural characteristic of each park, in some lush green rain forest covered the land, while limitless grass plains sweet others. Add to this the luxury and comfort of the lodges that we stayed in.

These are the parklands where beauty and the beasts are the central theme and in their element.

Chobe National Park, Botswana

Nestled along the banks of the Chobe River and sprawling across 12000 square kilometre of sun blistered grassland, mopane, baobab and acacia terrain, the Chobe National Park is one of the world’s largest remaining wilderness areas, best known for its large herds of elephants, though that’s only the tip of the iceberg. You can have the opportunity to witness a diverse array of wildlife, including predators such as roaming lions in the open plains. A great way to enjoy the safari is on a river cruise when you whisk past submerged hippos and large crocodiles, while watching elephants, impalas, waterbucks and sometime lions and leopards crowding the riverfront.

Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

The acacia and cactus-like, euphorbiadominated parkland area of less than 200 sq kms offers excellent bird-watching and game-viewing opportunities, but visitors

paint large patches of pink on the blue waters of the shallow lake, proclaimed as “the most fabulous bird spectacle in the world” by famous American ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson. Another key feature of this park is the presence of myriad white rhinos which cannot be sighted that easily anywhere else in Africa.

Amboseli National Park, Kenya

The highlight of this 400 sq km park is the inspirational sight of Hemingway’s snow-crowned Mount Kilimanjaro, which provides a superb backdrop for the land, dominantly belonging to some of the region’s oldest and bulkiest elephants mingling with a prodigious variety of wildlife. Its expansive open plains and swamp vegetation support an abundance of herbivores – elephants, wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, while giraffes and impalas browse amid stands of countless acacias. Maps of the park show a vast lake inside; in reality it is a barren expanse of cracked clay filled with water only on a few occasions in the last century. While there, you could meet the red-robed Maasai people and experience their traditional way of living by visiting one of their villages nearby.

Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

You have the best chance of sighting

Africa’s famous tree-climbing lions in the wilderness of this is 200 sq km park, a rare flash of green edging the shallow soda waters of Lake Manyara, set against the splendid 600 metre high backdrop of the Great Rift Valley. Spring-fed groundwater forest combining with swampy fan delta, acacia and baobab woodland and grassy plains provide an oasis for elephants, buffalos, antelopes and giraffes, although the thick bushes sometimes make spotting harder.

Ngorongoro National Park, Tanzania

The centrepiece of this 8,000 sq km park is its 19 km wide crater - a vast unbroken caldera that resulted millions of years ago from the collapse of an enormous volcano. Its grasslands, swamps, glades, lakes and forests are packed with large herds of wildebeests, zebras and gazelles which draw large numbers of predators, especially lions. Its terrain makes it a natural amphitheatre for an exciting wildlife spectacle on its 300 sq km floor. It is here that you have the best chance of coming across the rarest mammal on earth, the black rhino, the numbers of which have drastically reduced over the years, due to poaching.

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

If you have time for only one game park,

then it has to be Serengeti, the 14,700 sq km wilderness which, with its topography of mountains, rolling hills and limitless grasslands, provides one of the greatest concentration of ‘plain’ animals left on earth. While experiencing its vastness, this is where you have the best chance to sight every animal that you can think of, including the difficult ones like cheetahs and leopards. A distinct feature of Serengeti is its million-year-old round-shaped granite rock formations known as kopjes, which provide shelter and store water for animals and plants. Without that, large animals such as lions wouldn’t be able to survive the dry season on the plains.

1. Tree climbing leopard

2. Sunset in Africa

3. Spectacular birdlife

4. Simba brings traffic to a halt

5. Rhino parade

6. Hippo poses

7. Leopard mother and child

8. Wild buffalo

9. Lion King

10. Cheetah looks for lunch

11. Elephant family

12. Flamingos in lake

13. Spots and stripes

Photos: Sandip Hor

Travel notebook AFRICA

GETTING THERE

South African Airways (www.flysaa.com) have flights from Sydney and Perth to Johannesburg and then onwards to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe from where Chobe National Park in neighbouring Botswana is 2 hours by road; to Nairobi from where Lake Nakuru is 3 hours and Amboseli is 5 hours by road; and via Dar Es Salaam to Arusha, the Tanzanian wildlife safari getaway city, from where all the parks are accessible by road. If you are covering both Kenya and Tanzania, you can go from one to the other by road, crossing the border at Namanga.

ACCOMMODATION

A range of modern and comfortable lodges with impeccable service, gourmet food and swimming pools are available at all parks. For the best, stay at Chobe Chilwero Lodge (www.sanctuaryretreats. com) at Chobe, Lake Nakuru Lodge (www. lakenakurulodge.com) at Nakuru, Amboseli Kilma Safari Camp (www.madahotels.com) at Amboseli, Serena Lodge (www.serenahotels.com) at Lake Manyara and Sopa Lodges (www.sopalodges.com) at Ngorongoro and Serengeti.

TOUR OPERATOR

Contact Sydney-based Wildlife Safari Consultants (0418443494) for all your travel arrangements.

VISA

All Australian Passport holders require visa to enter Zimbabwe, Botswana, Kenya and Tanzania.

VACCINATIONS

Yellow fever vaccination is mandatory to enter Tanzania and re-enter Australia.

KNOW THYSELF AS SOUL

Sant Mat is a practical spiritual path based on meditation, ethical living, service to others & love for all creation. Its goal is to enable the soul to return & merge into its source; the purpose of human life described by mystics of all traditions. Discipline & dedication are essential, as is the help of a competent living master. Entry is via a preparation program. There is no charge at any stage.

ARIES March 21 - April 19

Tarot

Tarot ‘n’ You Tarot ‘n’ You By

Tarot predictions for February 2010

Tarol predictions for June 2011

LIBRA September 23 - October 22

This month is going to be a highly emotive month for you, where the cards indicate that your patience and tolerance are going to be tested. There will be a lot of activity around you, and important decisions around work and finances are also suggested. There is significant news coming to you regarding a project or idea that you have been working on, which is going to make you feel more balanced.

TAURUS April 20 - May 20

The cards indicate here that you need to feel the positive vibes that surround you at the moment, making anything achievable around you. There are suggestions also that you may be feeling a little agitated and upset at times, as things are not moving as fast as you would like them to move. There are some changes around your work area which need to be addressed. Take time out to have your eyes checked.

GEMINI May 21 - June 20

The cards indicate that you are feeling more settled this month and more in control. The Ace of Pentacles also suggests a small increase in your financial situation. There is a sign also that you will be trying to sort out things with an emotional relationship which has been causing you some stress lately. There may be some positive developments where you will start making plans together for the future.

CANCER June 21 - July 22

The cards indicate that you are going to take a long hard look at your life. You have been worrying about life and how to go forward with plans and are worrying about the health of a loved one, who has not been feeling well for a while. Take a look at speaking to a spiritual healer to help them feel better and less stressed. Look at making some health changes too this month.

LEO July 23 - August 22

There is a strong indication with the presence of the Tower card here that major chances are taking place within the love, work and self-development areas of your life. A new force is around you to change things and focus on what is important. You have also decided to put some major purchases on hold for the moment. A work colleague may be leaning on you a bit more than you would like, so concentrate on yourself.

VIRGO August 23 - September 22

The cards indicate a time of increased energy and motivation. There is also a sense of focus around, and you are in the mood to deal with things on a priority basis. Of late, you have not been able to concentrate on matters relating to the home and work balance. Work has been a bit slow and you are looking at other ways of bringing in finances. Take care of yourself as headaches are being shown here.

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The cards indicate here that you are concerned about the changes within a love relationship around you. There is a feeling of not knowing what to do, with the presence of the Two of Cups around you. A past influence seems to have come back, which is causing confusion and hesitation. There is also a feeling of increased energy around you and it is time to make some decisions and stick to them!

SCORPIO October 23 - November 21

There seem to be a lot of changes this month with the Two of Swords around you, with some matters leaving you a little confused. The cards are pushing you towards making some major decisions and having confidence in yourself, with the assurance that you can do anything in the coming months. You have kept yourself back for some time now and it seems that your confidence and self-belief is returning.

SAGITTARIUS November 22 - December 21

The cards indicate new beginnings for you, and you seem to be changing your attitude towards everything. Lately you have not been feeling that good around home and work. You will also see a change within your personal relationships, as there has been tension between you with the Three of Swords leaving you wondering what to do for the better. The cards indicate a phase of relaxation around you too.

CAPRICORN December 22 - January 19

The cards indicate a time of confusion and decisions. There are major changes coming up and the universe is forcing changes on most areas of your life right now. You have not been content for a while, and this is the time to make up your mind about work, love life and future. You have all the ingredients to change your life and the Sun card indicates success, once you take the leap into unknown territories.

AQUARIUS January 20 - February 18

The cards indicate a wonderful time to get your point across and show that you can make major changes around your life. You need to communicate with someone very clearly, as you have not been expressing yourself lately. Work has been full-on pressure, and you are feeling quite exhausted. Take good care of your health and make sure you are eating well and sleeping properly, as there are indications of irritability and small arguments.

PISCES February 19 - March 20

The cards indicate here with the presence of the Queen of Cups that you are about to spill the beans on something that has been troubling you for a while. There have been some tiffs with someone who has not been supportive of you and your needs, and you are about to put them right. Finances are about to become more settled and there is an indication that you will be moving into a more balanced time.

Bob Christo: Bollywood’s Aussie star

He was the bald foreign baddie who would get beaten to Bob Christo’s life was perhaps as daring as his stunts on screen - he once cut off a vulture’s head and drank its blood in a fit of rage on home turf in Australia.

In a memoir published posthumously, he turns the pages of his life.

“There were happy times, and sad times, but it was a life fully lived,” Christo writes in his autobiography, Flash back: My Life and Times in Bollywood and Beyond (published by Penguin-India). He died March 21 this year at the age of 72.

For the civil engineer-turned-screen villain who adopted India as his homeland, the tryst with Bollywood began with an encounter with yesteryear actress Parveen Babi at the launch of The Burning Train in 1977.

On his second day in Mumbai, the actor saw some people filming on the streets.

“I started to talk to them and found out that the director’s name was Prem Kapoor...I asked him if anybody could help me meet Parveen Babi,” he said.

“I described how I had found the Time magazine in Rhodesia with a big write-up about the Indian film industry and Parveen Babi,” Bob remembered.

A few days later, a cameraman told him that there “would be a mahurat for The Burning Train and Parveen Babi was one of the heroines”. The villain met Babi at the Bombay Central Railway Station where the movie was being shot.

He recalled: “Zuber (the cameraman) ordered me to stand where I was, in front of a pillar, and said ‘Parveen

Babi will come here’.”

“After about 15 minutes, a lady appeared in front of me and said, ‘Hello, I am Parveen Babi’. I looked at her for a moment and then answered, ‘You are not Parveen Babi,” he wrote.

“Pulling the Time magazine out of my pocket, I pointed at it and said, ‘this is Parveen Babi’. The lady laughed and retorted, ‘In the magazine, I am with makeup and full get-up. Normally, I don’t wear make-up,” the actor reminisced.

Born in Sydney in Australia in 1938, Bob has appeared

For the civil engineer-turned-screen villain who adopted India as his homeland, the tryst with Bollywood began with an encounter with yesteryear actress Parveen Babi at the launch of TheBurningTrain in 1977.

in at least 200 movies in 20 years and in 15 television serials, including The Sword of Tipu Sultan Bob’s metamorphosis into a villain from a unit hand is interesting. At an outdoor shoot of the movie Abdullah starring Sanjay Khan, Raj Kapoor, Danny Danzongpa and Zeenat Aman in Rajasthan, Bob impressed the actors with his “skill as a masseur”.

He gave a massage to Sanjay Khan, who went on to give him a role.

“While Sanjay was talking about the day’s shot with Zee

(Zeenat Aman), which was the picturisation of a song between the hero and heroine, he mentioned that the previous night he had decided on the casting of an evil tantrik (occultist) who keeps advising the robber (Danny) in Abdullah,” Bob said.

“Sanjay looked at me and asked if I would like to play the character. I asked how much work it entailed?” he wrote in his memoirs.

Sanjay said, “Three important scenes and climax fights”. And for that Bob “had to shave his head and grow a full beard”. Bob agreed and the villain was born.

If language was a barrier, weekly lessons in Hindi by Qadir Roomi helped Bob bend the block.

“As soon as I started taking tuitions in Hindi, I tried to translate everything I could see written in Hindi script,” Bob said.

By then, he had also married a local Parsi woman, Nargis, and settled down in Mumbai.

A stream of movie offers followed till the beginning of the 20th century. Bob played Bollywood baddie scores of times, including in hit movies like Qurbani, Namak Halal, Mard, Mr India and Agneepath.

“I was ready to give up working in Indian films as an actor,” Bob said.

He left Mumbai for Bangalore to join the Golden Palms Resorts and Spa as a gymnasium manager and yoga master.

But a series of spinal injuries and a surgery in 2006 changed his life. Bob returned to his calling - building until his death.

Madhusree Chatterjee

Baap re baap!

Apparently the star added his personal style to his screen style, but sad to say, the promo visuals that have recently been released indicate a certain lack of style. Now perhaps we’re biased. Perhaps we’re too used to seeing the Big B in dignified casual or formal wear, tastefully designed to suit his 6ft+ lanky frame. We accepted his face foliage, we thought it suited a man of his age and stature, and added to his charm. The hair, we thought, a subtle salt-and-pepper falling over his forehead in a subtle cowlick, doesn’t he look wonderfully distinguished?

And now, there go all our visions and ambitions as our Bbuddah turns up in a flashy, flamboyant avatar, which, I’m sorry to say, doesn’t seem to suit him at all.

Okay, so it’s just a movie, one may argue. But hey, if one is to believe that the Big B writes his own blogs, he’s certainly taking some of the lessons learned on screen into his personal life. After riding a ‘beast bike’ in the movie, he’s thinking of getting himself nothing less than a Harley Davidson. Yep, he’ll fit right in there with the leather and studs, but please, please do stop at the tattoos!

avoid looking foolish or tripping over himself.

And a final word on the singing. Yes, the Big B has done a good job on Rang barse and Main yahaan tu wahaan, but what’s going to be the outcome in Bbuddah-Hoga Terra Baap? He sings the title track in ‘a Capella’ style, which means solo or a group singing without any instrumental sound. Amitabh has added vocal beats to create the sound of instruments. Hmmmm….

The brainwave of music director duo Vishal-Shekhar, they did the basic setup and the Big B replaced every track with his voice, recreating the sounds of approximately 10 to 12 instruments, from drum to bass to the snare to the chorus.

Amitabh shared his experience, once again on his blog, saying: “So Shekhar, of Vishal and Shekhar, have composed something that caused each one that heard it, the goose phenomena. And now that it is done, comes the improbable part. They want me to sing it! And this is where things shall go horribly wrong.”

Oh dear! He may be India’s most prolific superstar with megahits to his name, but perhaps its time Amitabh Bachchan toned it down just a teeny-weeny bit.

Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap is the star’s latest homeproduction, and no guesses for who’s in the lead. This time the Big B plays an old man who feels young, but his wardrobe leaves much to be desired. Trendy eye gear, colourful scarves, bright shirts, designer denim, two watches may seem a bit much even for his die-hard fans.

Of course, it’s not all fun and games for this 68-yearold, and I quote from his blog: “Running at 70 is a bit of a bother! You feel you can move with some fluidity, but no! The legs do not respond to what the mind is telling it to do and you suddenly realize that the weight of your body is not that lithe anymore.” He penned this cushioned with hot water bags and electronic heating devices to ease out the numerous folds of muscles, that had remained dormant and in retirement for a very long time.

And dancing was no joke either, admits the star. “My knowledge of dance has been excruciatingly minimal. And now with the modern day choreographers and dancers that have developed a style of their own, it is tough going for me!” Amitabh posted on his blog www.bigb.bigadda.com. Matching the dance steps of the younger lot has been a nightmare, with the actor desperately rehearsing to try and

“I am trying to resist this compulsion from them and find myself losing at the moment, but I know for sure that I will remain in that state and lose. May god help all the music purists in bearing up with me and for overlooking this great farce that is about to take place over the weekend,” he posted.

Well, he may have lost it a bit, but fortunately Amitabh’s sense of humour still seems to be firmly in place. Now once we’re up against the movie, we’ll know for sure if the Big B has finally admitted to senility!

Produced by Viacom18 and AB Corp, Bbuddah-Hoga Terra Baap will release on July 1. The movie is written and directed by Puri Jagannath, and features Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Raveena Tandon, Sonu Sood, Sonal Chauhan, and southern actors Charmi and Prakash Raj.

Sindhura Vyas

Amitabh in BbuddahHogaTerraBaap

Cine Talk

Being human in a way only Salman can

Film: Ready

Cast: Salman Khan, Asin, Paresh Rawal

Directed by: Anees Bazmi

She’s a runaway bride. He’s a runaway rogue, a little rough around the edges but a good hearted lovable soul. Salman Khan can play this character over and over again with his eyes closed. In Ready he is back to playing the lover-boy clown.

“Mr. Fix-it” and “Ms Hum Apke Hain Conwoman” flirt and get naughty in exotic locations. They don’t generate chemistry. They are just being around.

Jeez, these two never tire of saying cheese! And when the going gets cheesy there’s always the family to fall back on. There are three families, living in homes that appear to have been built to accommodate over-sized families. The setting is almost laughably anachronistic.

Salman Khan and his director Anees Bazmi pay a hefty comic homage to Hum Aapke Hain Koun. The Salman-Asin romance unfolds against the backdrop of a commodious joint family where every family-member seems determined to have a good time even at the expense of good taste.

True, Asin lacks the gamine charm of Madhuri Dixit. But then the Salman Khan in Ready is not quite the Salman Khan from Hum Aaapke Hain Koun. He hasn’t aged. He’s just become more smug and self-confident. Many times we catch him looking bored on camera. But that is this iconic star’s style statement.

When you are Salman Khan, you can slip out of a character when you want. No one is complaining.

Bazmi’s script, a shoot off of a Telugu hit, accommodates more characters than Goa during the tourist season.

Every character is over-dressed and overthe-top. Then men are constantly looking for reasons to say goofy corny things to one another. That’s the required mood of this panga-’mirth’-lena comedy with an attitude that stretches from one end of the lengthy narration to the other with hardly a break for the plot to gather together its thoughts.

Bazmi keeps the proceedings neatly on the side of good taste. Innuendos are avoided, and partly so because Salman has an image of the good-bad boy. He never offends refined sensibilities with his wildly bratty antics, though he never shows any inclination to be one of those refined types himself.

He is happy being human in a way only Salman Khan can be. He gets able support from some solid performers like Akhilendra Mishra, Sharad Saxena, Manoj Pahwa, television comedian Sudesh Lehri and Mahesh Manjrekar whose hilarious act as Salman’s dad is lifted from Sanjay Chhel’s Khubsoorat.

Strangely the women performers are all vapid to the point of seeming sedated. This is a men’s comedy with women welcome to join the fun.

But nobody minds. And not because this is a mindless comedy. The quality of the gags is often higher than what we usually get in Bollywood comedies. But the film suffers from an overloaded narration.

There is too much effort to cram in “entertainment” at every possible level. There is also a rather lame attempt to define the status of women in feudal households. But the attempt is so hurried and cursory, it’s almost farcical.

Replete with tongue-in-cheek references to many earlier blockbusters including Sooraj

Barjatya’s Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Ready is like one of those familiar tunes sung to a new set of lyrics that you may not approve of but you empathize with because it offers the comfort of the familiar.

Having said that, the film, it must be confessed, doesn’t really offer even diehard Salman fans the fun-quotient expected from the mega-star. Too many people colonise

this domestic comedy. Boisterous uncles, over-dressed aunties, under-intellectualised gangsters and irksome henchmen are all greedy to be noticed. The trouble is, they aren’t doing anything that is terribly exciting or engaging, except playing the foil to the star of the show.

Taking the horror genre the x-tra mile

Film: Haunted3D

Starring: Mahaakshay Chakraborty, Tia Bajpai

Directed by: Vikram Bhatt

The best thing one can say about this riveting romp into the kingdom of the eerie is that it really didn’t need the 3D format to make an impact Haunted works just as effectively without the 3D. It takes the horror genre in India as far as it can go. And then it goes that extra mile in search of the shivery feeling that most films in India from the genre seem to give the miss.

Vikram Bhatt reinvented the horror genre eight years ago. In its intuitive amalgamation of Hindu mythology with horror Raaz was a threshold-crosser. In Haunted Bhatt goes full-throttle in search of that language of supreme scares that somehow we furtively enjoy even when we

pretend not to.

Haunted brings back some of Bhatt’s patent horror motifs… The scenic Ooty landscape shot with panoramic panache by Pravin Bhatt. The tranquil location perpetually secretes untold terror and horror. And here, if the terrible truth be told, the terror is untold. The fear of the unknown is explored to the hilt, as the screen explodes into a series of episodes where the boy and girl try to escape Satan’s latest reincarnation, a piano teacher with lust on his mind. Aarif Zakaria as the ghoul has little playingtime on screen. But his eerie sordid imprint is all over the plot.

In the tradition of Vikram Bhatt’s other horror films there are very few incidental characters claiming our attention. Brent Robinson’s screenplay restricts itself to the predicament of the main characters. There’s an interesting attempt to play with time passages as the hero Rehaan (Mahaakshay) goes back 80 years to save the dainty damsel from the perverse pianist.

Mahaakshay Chakraborty shows a certain composure for

a chance to dance.

The narrative flows smoothly and some of the special effects are to die for. If you are a fan of the horror genre you really can’t afford to miss this one.

Subhash K. Jha

Subhash K. Jha

BUZZThe

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

Sonakshi kicked!

Sonakshi Sinha is one smart girl. Following the runaway success of Dabangg, she’s now bagged a pretty meaty role in Kick, once again paired opposite Salman Khan. And this time, she’s going to get much more screen space to make her presence really felt!

“Kick is a remake of a south Indian film. The girl has a lot more to do. It’s a damn good role. I’m very kicked about it. Yeah, there’s definitely much more scope for me in Kick than Dabangg and I am going to make the best of it!” says the confident newcomer. And she’s not the only Sinha in the news. Brother Kush plans to assist Dabangg director Abhinav Kashyap. “Kush wants to direct films. He’s assisting Abhinav in directing ads. I don’t think Abhinav is directing another feature film right away. As and when Abhinav makes a film, I’d love to be part of it, provided he wants me to,” says Sonakshi, subtly pushing the point.

She also talks about how her father Shatrughan Sinha hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati in the Bhojpuri language. “I had never seen him talk in Bhojpuri. He did it very well. I’m looking forward to doing a film with my dad,” says the enthusiastic youngster who seems keen to take her career places.

And why not, with three films in the kitty?

“There’s Kick with Salman Khan, Rowdy Rathore with Akshay Kumar and Vishwaroopam with Kamal Haasan. Then there’s Dabangg 2 coming up,” reveals Sonakshi. For Vishwaroopam she will sport both, the Indian and western look, and she’s looking forward to seeing herself in lots of saris.

But for now, the new babe in Bollywood will have to wait a year before committing to any other projects, because Sonakshi’s just too busy. And wiser, she admits. “I’ve realised many things about myself. Like when pushed to the wall, I can fight back. I can handle all the pressure. Yes, there were lots of attempts to corner me. But thankfully, I could take the beating on my chin,” says this feisty girl. Well, there you go, Shatru, a real chip off the old block!

GUESS WHO

SRK backs a winner

her future as well.

actor back in Bollywood.

(Find the answer under Caption Contest)

Kanika Dhillon is just 28, has written a book, is a London School of Economics (LSE) alumnus and has penned the screenplay and dialogues of Shah Rukh RA.One, touted to be Bollywood’s costliest film. And as creative content head of Shah Rukh’s Red Chillies Entertainment, she firmly believes that King Khan is among the few producers in Bollywood who nurture young talent. “SRK is among the few people who nurture young talent in the industry, without looking at the background, the experience, age and other such things. He is one of those few who is so clued in with what the younger generation likes and dislikes...and that’s what makes him what he is!” she says enthusiastically. The star magnanimously agreed to unveil her Bombay Duck Is A Fish, which traces the journey of small-town girl who leaves her cushy corporate job and comes to Mumbai to make it big as a Bollywood filmmaker. Shah Rukh is portrayed as a phenomenon in Kanika’s book, and it looks likely that he’ll be a guiding light in

Kudos to SRK for spotting talent and giving it wings to fly!

Desperately seeking Raj Kiran

Jog the memory to Bollywood in the mid-‘70s and ‘80s, and it’s quite likely that you’ll remember an actor called Raj Kiran. With his trademark thick moustache and traditional good looks, the actor appeared in movies like Arth and Karz, before suddenly disappearing from the filmi duniya

Friends like Deepti Navel made a concerted attempt to find Raj since the past few years, but with no success. Until Rishi Kapoor took on the job and finally found the missing actor in a mental institution in Atlanta, USA. It certainly was a relief, as rumours about Raj Kiran’s demise were making the rounds, and the industry had begun to accept that they were indeed true. Raj Kiran was remembered as a charming, polite and cultured actor, a persona that came alive on screen. And now, thanks to Rishi, it’s quite likely that we may, in time, see the

On his trip, Rishi Kapoor met the missing actor’s elder brother who told him that Raj was still alive, and the news was a huge relief. Apparently Raj has been confined to an institution in Atlanta because of health problems. However, what’s also shocking is that his family seem to have given up on Raj, and they don’t even bother to keep in touch with him. His wife and son abandoned him a long time ago, and the shock was more than he could bear. Things went steadily downhill after that, and Raj’s career ended with being incarcerated in a mental institution. However, Rishi Kapoor confirms that the actor pays for his own treatment thanks to sensible investments in the past. But the story is just beginning. Rishi intends urging the actor to come home to Bollywood, to jumpstart his career once again. He feels it will be the best way to instill confidence in Raj, and let him know that the industry hasn’t forgotten, and still cares. Good luck Raj, here’s hoping to see you in Bollywood soon.

These days, this actress is known for her strong mindset

SONAKSHI SINHA

Who’s got Delhi belly?

Aamir Khan, who doesn’t ever do anything without a style of his own, recently threw a party to celebrate the success of Bhag D K Bose, a song from upcoming flick Delhi Belly. Now methinks Aamir must be battling butterflies in the tummy, as it’s the first time anyone has had a party for a song! Perhaps it’s the hottest thing in film marketing, but it certainly seems to be doing the trick.

However, all’s not well for one particular item number for this long-awaited, muchpublicised movies. Katrina Kaif was originally roped in to do her oomph act in the item song, but she’s backed off citing date issues and other work commitments. Bollywood’s buzzing that the hot Sheila took one dekko at Imran Khan and got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Now it’s great to act opposite Aamir, but Imran…well, he’s not that popular and probably looks younger than Kat! So that was that!

Well, next in line was item babe and strong contender for Kat’s crown, Malaika Arora Khan. But for reasons unknown and not much speculated, she’s refused to do the item number of Delhi Belly too. A frantic search revealed that Deepika Padukone’s out of the running too, as she’s shooting overseas. And besides, Deeps doesn’t have the dum of a Sheila or Munni, so the matter wasn’t pursued. So what’s going on? It seems that Delhi Belly’s number is going begging. Any takers?

38 years of marital bliss for Big B, Jaya

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan celebrated their 38th marriage anniversary this month and Big B shared the memories of his wedding day and honeymoon.

“It’s the 3rd of June... and its our anniversary... 38 years since 1973!!” Big B posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com. “Still remember the speed with which everything happened on that day. It was a quick decision. Marriages generally are”.

“And before long I was heading across to a common friend’s place with my family for a simple Bengali wedding ceremony. Not many people at all. Just family and a couple of personal friends. There was a gentle quiver in the skies and a few drops of rain fell just before setting off. Some of the neighbours exclaimed that it was a good omen - the Gods send their greetings they said - and we were off !” he added.

The two had worked together in movies like Abhimaan, Chupke Chupke and Zanjeer and after their quick wedding they went to London for their honeymoon.

“Off on a plane to London, for the very first time. In fact, for me and for Jaya too, the very first time out of the country - minus my short visit to Nepal in the mid ‘50s,” he posted.

“I remember being invited by Rajesh Khanna and his wife Dimple, also recently married, to the hotel they were staying in for dinner and a celebration, and some of us, so taken up by the city, going out to the balcony of his suite and playing L O N D O N … LONDON !! A very innovative

little game that we had all played when we were kids,” he added.

Our very best to the Bachchan jodi: more happy times!

Lata’s not ready to call it quits yet

At 81, the Nightingale of India is still to sing her swan song, and she assures fans that that day is nowhere in sight on her horizon.

Yes, Lata Mangeshkar has worked for seven decades, recorded songs for over a thousand movies and sang in more than 36 regional Indian languages, but she’s still a force to be

A newspaper recently reported that Lata was planning to retire, sparking a touch of outrage in the evergreen singer. Her passion for music was evident in her response, as she also Mera maanana hai ki mera janam gaane ke liye hua hai aur jabtak mere praano mein praan hain, main wahi ”.

Lataji’s repertoire is astounding as she takes light classical to film songs to bhajans and pop in her stride, since starting her career as a playback singer in 1942.

Lata’s move to Bollywood in 1945 marked the beginning of a career that has only spiralled upwards, and she is undoubtedly one of the most talented and respected singers in the industry. Some of her more memorable renditions include Dil mera toda from Majboor, Aayega aanewala from Mahal, Aaja re pardesi from Madhumati, Pyar kiya to darna kya from Mughal-eAzam and the title number from Satyam Shivam Sundaram Her versatility came through in romantic numbers like Tumhen yaad karte karte, Ajeeb daastan hai yeh to naughty songs Main kamsin hoon, Bahon mein chale aao, as well as devotional tracks like Payoji maine Ram ratan dhan pao and O palan hare. It is said in 1963, when Lata sang the patriotic song Aye mere watan ke logon, it brought tears into the eyes of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Lata also featured in the Guinness Book of Records from 1974 to 1991 for having made the most recordings in the world. Although the Bharat Ratna awardee has cut down on her singing projects, she remains the eternal favourite of Indian film song lovers. And we hope the Nightingale of India continues to spread the sweetness of her song for a long time to come.

between John Abraham and Hema Malini? Send

Last issue Caption Contest winning entry

What’s the chitchat between Imran Khan and Ranbir Kapoor?

Imran: Dude, you’ve got to do something about your Casanova image…

Ranbir: Sorry, I’m not the marrying kind like you!

Shreyansh Chadha Auckland NZ

Shreyansh wins a one-year subscription to Indian Link newspaper

Another good one Ranbir to Imran: “You are one step away from joining the league of Bollywood top heroes, grow a stubble”

Raj

AMITABH-JAYA

SHAHRUKH KHAN

AAMIR KHAN

Saneja Castle Hill NSW

Thank God for American pie!

big guns in uniform said in unison, “We have now lost our trump card we used to yank a couple of billions a year from those dumb Yankees who think we are fighting on their side.”

With a wry smile the President said, “Don’t you worry, chaps; we can still milk them by threatening to let our all-weather friends in Beijing to get a dekko at the crashed helicopter tail with secret stealth shield”. “Wah”, the top brass applauded.

The PM asked what if the enemy on the eastern side did a copycat job, to which the ISI chief said, “The baniyas don’t have a backbone. I have threatened that we have identified targets to attack all their IPL grounds. And that should keep our own cricketers happy too…”

Next day, newspapers all over the world carried the big story of the vanquishing of the WMW, and rambled on about how the SEALS had smoothly sallied so far inland. A couple of weeks later the entire plot was panned out for the whole world by a baby-faced blonde Aussie guy Assange through his WikiLeaks.

The story went like this.

Usually the VP is a useless person sent around to attend funerals of heads of states. Was his presence a portent that this meeting had something to do with someone’s death?

Who flushed him out? Was it the CIA or its ‘trusted’ and ‘co-operative’ ally ISI? Neither. It was the KFC. No, not that fried chicken conglomerate founded by the genteel-looking colonel from Kentucky! What was it then? Patience, dear readers...

On that quiet Sunday morning when other parts of the world were celebrating May Day, a few nondescript cars arrived at short intervals at that famous house at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. It happened so early in the day that even the usual suspects from the Fourth Estate, who keep an eagle eye on the building bearing an elaborate eagle on its crest, did not take much notice of the activity.

A day earlier the walls of the building’s Situation Room, where critical decisions affecting many parts of the world are taken, were washed and wiped for the May Day D-day.

“EKIA is a Swedish store; they must be sending new furniture for the old man. Haven’t you seen him watching videos on that decrepit desk for years…”

The first to arrive was SOS: no, nothing to do with May Day, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The following vehicles brought Homeland Security Adviser John Brennan, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, the top military brass and Vice-President Joe Biden.

Now, the VP is a useless person who is sent around to attend funerals of heads of states. Was his presence a portent that this meeting had something to do with someone’s death?

The dedicated dozen watched every move and listened to every word sent over satellites from two dozen daredevils, several thousand miles away, as they stormed a high-walled mansion right in the middle of a military cantonment combing for the world’s most wanted – WMW – who was turning out to be as elusive as Iraq’s WMDs.

Watching this drama from his den at CIA

headquarters a few kilometres away, the mission’s mastermind Chief Leon Panetta was providing a running commentary to the Situation Room. When one of the MH helicopters hit the high wall and had to be scuttled, the White House watchers’ collective hearts almost collapsed, as did Obama’s reelection hopes. But a few moments later when the words “Geronimo EKIA” were relayed, they jumped with joy and did a jig.

A few blocks away, ISI operatives, monitoring this hide-out 24/7 at the command of some of their present and former bosses, puzzled over the cryptic message.

Junior operative Pasha asked his senior Gul what the word ‘Ekia’ meant. Gloated by his superior status, Gul replied, “It is a Swedish store; they must be sending new furniture for the old man. Haven’t you seen him watching videos on that decrepit desk for years…”

“Gul sab, what is ‘Geronimo’?”

“It may be a kind of chair. You know that store gives fancy names to their mundane flat pack stuff, all made in China”.

“I heard EKIA, not IKEA”, junior said.

“Arre bewakoof, we write everything left to right,” Gul wore a smile, satisfied with his smart replies.

“But how could seals get here? We are nowhere near the sea!”

This seemed to have stumped the normallyinventive Gul, who merely scratched his head, signalling no more questions.

In the capital, some 50 km south of this monitoring station, a much more serious discussion was going on in the Cabinet room among the PM, ISI Chief and the military moguls.

On entering the room, a surprised President queried why everybody looked so glum. The

Last August when the CIA got a tip about WMW’s possible hideout, it swung into action. CIA had truckloads of clues on their lean and mean target since he was created and crafted by them in the Cold War days to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Senior sleuths specialising in South Asia, viewing reams of data cascading from laptops, looked for every detail from the turban to the toe of their tormenter – his temperaments, tactics and tastes. Ah, tastes! Something clicked in Chief Panetta’s brain and a plan to open a chain of KFCs all over the Indus plain was born.

During his salad days in Saudi, young Osama was brought upon al Kabsa, a traditional Bedouni dish of camel meat. During his nomadic years fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, he developed a special liking for the Kabuli kind of fried camel patties.

Check-out chicks – all CIA trainees – in the new KFC outlets were asked to keep a keen eye on buyers of this special dish. Punjab, the culinary capital of the sub-continent, spurned this hard meat and the take-away venture didn’t take off.

However, at one particular outlet a couple of chaps kept coming every night for the takeaway Kabuli Fried Camel. Word was sent to CIA HQ. A tail was put on these two couriers; it led to a high-walled mansion in the midst of military bungalows.

On Sunday night, the manager of the KFC outlet in Abbotabad gave the couriers a huge bucket of nuggets as a gift for their patronage, besides the usual patties to the chief resident. A secret signal went westward. The bucket, mildly laced with sedatives, took care of the two dozen occupants in the first two floors. And a little later the stealth helicopters flew in. The rest, as they say, is history. So kudos to KFC!

Osama’s death has revealed that even for the most hardened souls, a temptation is a temptation, VIRAMANI reports from Abbottabad.

Illustration: Prashant Dixit