2012-03 Sydney (1)

FREE Vol. 19 No. 6 (1) • MARCH (1) 2012 • www.indianlink.com.au • FORTNIGHTLY

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Victoria at the crease

Premier Ted Baillieu leads super trade mission to India Level 24/44 Market St, Sydney 2000 • GPO Box 108, Sydney 2001 • Ph: 18000 15 8 47 • email: info@indianlink.com.au

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EDITORIAL INDIAN LINK PUBLISHER Pawan Luthra EDITOR Rajni Anand Luthra ASSISTANT EDITOR Sheryl Dixit

Carr Canberra elevation is good news for India

MELBOURNE Preeti Jabbal CONTRIBUTORS Komal Utsav Jagad, Sujith Krishnan, Usha Ramanujam Arvind, Shafeen Mustaq, Arveen Sharma, Prakash Subbarao, Chitra Sudarshan, Noel G deSouza, Tim Blight, Geeta Khurana, Thomas King, Talia Kaur, Shraddha Arjun, Liz Gaete, Rani Jhala, Nancy Althea, Uzma Beg ADVERTISING MANAGER Vivek Trivedi 02 9262 1766 ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Nitika Sondhi 02 9279 2004 DESIGN Danielle Cairis

Indian Link is a fortnightly newspaper published in English. No material, including advertisements designed by Indian Link, maybe reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent of the editor. Opinions carried in Indian Link are those of the writers and not necessarily endorsed by Indian Link. All correspondence should be addressed to Indian Link Level 24/44 Market St, Sydney 2000 or GPO Box 108, Sydney 2001 Ph: 02 9279-2004 Fax: 02 9279-2005 Email: info@indianlink.com.au

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NATIONAL EDITION

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

T

he new Foreign Minister of Australia, Bob Carr had this to say in his blog of 15 Feb. 2012 “The Federal Government has expanded uranium mining and opened exports to India. South Australia boasts what will become the world’s largest uranium mine. The ban for NSW reflected the anti-nuclear sentiment of the 1980s and it is irrelevant today when to beat global warming we urgently need every available source of carbon-free energy.”

His appointment would have pleased many in the Indian government, none more so than the former Consul General of India (Sydney) M. Ganapathi. Gana, as he was popularly known, is now Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs in India. Many a time, both the then Premier of NSW Bob Carr and the Indian Consul General were seen enjoying a cup of coffee in a coffee shop at Sydney’s Bligh Street.

Both vociferous readers, they enjoyed

stimulating debates about historical and contemporary issues. Carr was always keen to understand more about India and who better than one of India’s finest diplomats to enlighten him on this aspect.

Bob Carr has often expressed his admiration for the democratic traditions of India. In a conversation, he expressed his amazement at the peacefulness of the 2004 elections in which over 670 million voted, the incumbent BJP lost and handed the keys of the country to the Opposition Congress party without any bloodshed. He marvelled at the maturity of the system. His admiration of the local Indian ethic of hard work and desire for higher learning was a mantra he often repeated at Indian community events. It was during his tenure as premier that the NSW Parliament was introduced to Diwali celebrations, now such a highlight of our community’s annual social calendar.

Bob Carr travelled to India a few times, both before and after becoming Premier.

He is known for his love of bush walking and lists his time on the foothills of the Himalayas as one of his fondest memories. His wife Helena also has her Indian links, with an Indian father, Lourdes, and Chinese mother, Regina,

who both met in Malaysia.

So how will India feature in Australia’s pages now that Carr is in charge of Foreign Affairs?

While PM Julia Gillard was able to push through the sale of uranium to India at the recent Labor party conference, it had evoked a strong reaction from the then Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd. Whether it was a reaction to the snub which was directed at him as the PM had not consulted him prior to this change of Labor policy, or whether he believed that India did not deserve to be sold uranium, Rudd’s post conference comments indicated quite clearly that the actual journey of transition from policy to sale could be arduous for India. Due diligence and monitoring aspects with India will have to be agreed upon, but with Carr at the helm, there would be a balance in this direction.

Foreign Minister Carr needs also to visit India sooner rather than later. The mood towards Australia is quite friendly at the moment after months of bad press. The students’ issue has largely died down and uranium sales are on the way forward.

It is time to engage once again and forge deeper friendships.

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SPIRITUAL Chinmaya Mission Events 11 Mar Holi Festival at Crestwood Community Centre, Crestwood community centre, Cnr Crestwood Drive and Chapel Lane, Baulkham Hills. Bring Holi colours and a plate of vegetarian snacks.

Sat 17 Mar Garba Bhangra Night 6.00 pm to 11.00pm, Hills Basketball Centre, Fred Caterson Reserve, Caterson Drive, Castle Hill.

Fri 30 Mar – Sun 8 Apr Grand Celebrations - Transform and Let Go: Talks on Chapter 18 of the Bhagavad Geeta with Swami Swaroopanandaji and Bal-Yagna Geeta for children with Br Gopalji, at Sydney Bahai Centre, 107 Derby St, Silverwater.

Sat 31 Mar Rama Navami celebrations at Chinmaya Sannidhi from 10.00 am to 1.00pm (includes lunch prasad and performance by Balavihar Castle Hill and talk by Swamiji).

Chinmaya Talent Quest Competition is open for participants of all ages in the following contests: Chinmaya Art Competition, Chinmaya Bhajan Competition, Chinmaya Writing Competition, and Chinmaya Geeta chanting Competition.

Details Nidhi 02 8850-6263 and Shubra 0417 264 689.

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What’s on

Spiritual head of Yogi Divine Society visits Sat 10 Mar Yogi Divine Society is a non profitable organisation which crusades for global peace and harmony. Its president and spiritual head Shree H.D.H. Hariprasadswamiji will visit Sydney to hold an Atmiya Youth congregation. Granville Town Hall, 5.00pm to 8.00pm.

Details Jagjit Singh 0412 409 134 MISC International poster competition India’s biggest international queer film festival KASHISH has launched a contest for artists and designers across the world to design its official poster. The theme this year is ‘For Everyone’. The winning design not only gets a prestigious award, it will also be featured as hoardings, print and online advertisements, catalogue cover, banners, cinema slides and delegate cards.

KASHISH 2012, the third edition of the India’s first and only mainstream queer film festival, will be held between May 23-27, 2012 in Mumbai at a city multiplex.

Details at http://kashishmiqff.blogspot.com Mail your entries to: info.kashishmiqff@gmail.com Harmony Day Sun 11 Mar Hindu Council of Australia, in partnership with Auburn City Council, is holding a Harmony

Day Forum with the aim of bringing together people with various religious and cultural backgrounds to share their ideas and experiences towards promoting harmony between people and communities in the wider Australian society. Auburn Centre for Community, Macquarie St, Auburn, 12.30pm - 7.00pm.

RSVP by 29 February to Prof Raja Jayaraman at rajajayaraman@hotmail.com

Hindi studies for high school students Hindi Language is offered by the Saturday School of Community Languages - DET at Liverpool Girls High School, Hills Sports High School and Strathfield Girls High School.

This provides opportunities for high school students to study Hindi language to Higher School Certificate levels as it is not available at their day school. Board of Studies syllabus is followed. The classes are free of charge and are run on Saturdays from 8.30 am to 10.30 am for Years 7 – 10, and 8.30 – 11.45 am for Years 11-12.

Enrolment forms can be accessed from the School Principal of the mainstream school of your child or can be downloaded from www.curriculumsupport.education. nsw.gov.au/secondary/languages/ sscl/ Details 02 9886 7505 / Fax. 02 9886 7514 / Saturdaycl-h.School@det.nsw.edu.au

Seniors Week celebration Sat 24 Mar The NSW Indian Welfare Association will celebrate Seniors Week at Dundas Community Hall by hosting a “Vegetarian Masterchef” Competition. Visit www.nswiwa.org. au for more details.

organisation will be hosting a stall to fundraise for neonatal care by selling lassi, biryani and tea as well as our artwork and doing mehendi. Seddon Park in Glenfield, all day event.

Details email probashi_incorporated@gmail.com

Holi Mela 2012 23-25 Mar Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Australia announces the 10th anniversary of its annual Holi Mahotsav at Sydney’s Darling Harbour. The three-day long festivities will include events for school groups, musical performances, art exhibitions, cultural diversity workshops, yoga and meditation sessions, and the playing of Holi with coloured powder.

Details 1300 242 826.

Ajay Unni and the Three Peaks Challenge Mar 22-25 Ajay Unni will participate in Whitelion’s Three Peaks Challenge, in which participants will aim to reach the summit of the three highest peaks in Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in just 33 hours. This charity event aims to raise funds for Whitelion, a notfor-profit community organisation that supports and empowers young people at risk to reach their full potential. Support Ajay in raising funds for his participation by donating to Ajay Unni’s fundraising page for Three Peaks Challenge 2012 at www.everydayhero.com.au/ ajay_unni

EXHIBITION Mother India: Video plays

by Nalini Malani 11 Feb – 20 May A powerful five-screen, 15 metre video installation by Indian artist Nalini Malani, Art Gallery of NSW Love Lace Until April 2012 Powerhouse Museum presents groundbreaking lace works in a variety of materials.

Indian artists Yogesh Purohit and Golnar Roshan are featured.

FUNDRAISERS Probasy Charity Stall at Cultural Fair Sat 24 Mar Probasy charity

BOOK LAUNCH Sun 11 Mar Anand Bapat (specialist in chronic illness and sports injuries) launches his book The Complete Suryanamaskar at Homebush Boys High School, Bridge Street, Homebush (off Parramatta Road), 5.00pm.

Details Anand Bapat 02-9763-5924.

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NATIONAL EDITION

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STAGE

The Kurbat Bond...

There’s a new boy band in town.

hey call themselves Kurbat (‘togetherness’), and at their premiere live show, it was very obvious why.

An up and coming band in Sydney’s Indian community, Kurbat impressed not only with their own close-knit ‘sharing-thesame-passion’ feel as a band, but more so with how they brought an audience of young people of diverse backgrounds together.

The Riverside Parramatta event titled ‘The Kurbat Show’ was a multicultural performance with some of the best-known songs stretching from Bollywood, Sufi rock, Tollywood to pop albums.

The band enthralled the crowd with all-time favourites of A R Rahman, Shaan, KK, Atif Aslam, Michael Jackson etc with seamless fusion – even throwing in an old classic Mohammad Rafi number or two.

Just like seven vibrant colours of a rainbow, Kurbat is made up of seven members, Will Bhatnagar (vocals/keyboards), Mayank (guitar), Sid Bose (drums), Sameer Sharma (percussion), Nikhil Fegade (vocals/keyboards), Bharan Narula (vocals/guitar) and Nivi (vocals), who have together painted their way into the hearts of the community’s youth.

Effortlessly glamorous, dressed in smart casuals, modish jeans, cool shirts and voguish blazers with Derby hats, the band was primed to set the stage on fire.

With a songlist of hip upbeat numbers such as Bachna ae haseeno, Haal e dil, Give me some sunshine and Thriller, the energy was high, and Kurbat well and truly won the audience over.

Not surprisingly chatty, the band was interactive and urged the audience to come alive and feel the music. Aashayein from

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oops, Band!

Photos: Dev Singh

T

BY KOMAL UTSAV JAGAD

Iqbal was sung beautifully by Will Bhatnagar: a short anecdote about the movie helped, and reminded the audience of the strong cricket-connections between Australia and India. Encores were shouted out for Tujhko jo Paaya from Crook and I’m yours by Jason Mraz. The pure romanticism in KK’s Ab to aadat si ban gayi hai touched a chord with the young hearts in the audience, filling the air with romance and ardour.

There were catcalls after golden oldie Khoya khoya chand which was an accolade to Mohammad Rafi, and A R Rahman’s Vande Mataram brought in a vibe of patriotism in the crowd.

Casual banter between the performers kept the show pepping along, which led to an unplanned but welcome tribute to the ‘angry young man’, Big B. Nikhil Fegade, the band manager, with his tall and thin Bachchanlike persona, mimicked that trademark dialogue Risthey mein to hum tumhare baap lagte hain, naam hai Shahenshah. The audience roared with appreciation. Nikhil went on to create magic with his cover of Ankhon mein sapne by Shaan and Papa kehte hain by Udit Narayan.

It seemed like no stone was unturned by the band when Bharan and Nikhil attempted to woo the audience with that recent craze Kolaveri Di… but of course, how could this drooly number have been left out? Beautifully presented.

But leave aside the covers, what about their own numbers? The original compositions of the band equally revved up the crowd which was obviously too excited to be one of the first ones to listen to the soon to be recorded album numbers Bar Bar and Bhule Nahin The tracks are inspired by the feeling of losing someone special. Humming the tunes and repeating their notes, the crowd encouraged the band with cheers and applause.

Bharan and Nivi concluded the evening with a blast of pulsating energy, singing and dancing to

the rapchik tunes of Dhinka Chika from Ready.

Speaking to Indian Link later, Bharan Narula revealed that the group was founded in 2009.

“Our robust passion for music brought us together. We have since had wonderful opportunities to perform at Holi Mahotsav in Darling Harbour, Cultural night, Diwali Mela at Parramatta Stadium… It’s been an incredible journey, discovering not only the beauty of music but equally the impact it can have on people’s lives.”

The Kurbat team donated all

the funds collected on the night to the Australian Red Cross.

Kurbat has won mass appeal of the kind that has rarely been seen among our community’s youth. The buzurgs have their ghazal scene and ‘memories of yesteryear’ kind of events which try to bring alive the sound of bygone stars such as Hemant Kumar, but this music is alien to today’s youth. Kurbat seems to have filled this gap by bringing them the sound of today, which effortlessly mixes Indian sensibilities with an international feel. Kudos to Kurbat’s kamaal and dhamaal!

Casual banter between the performers kept the show pepping along, which led to an unplanned but welcome tribute to the ‘angry young man’, Big B.

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Affiliated to colleges offering Certificate & Diploma courses in Information Technology, Accounting & Business Management for overseas students - Pathway to University Programs; Confirmation of Enrolment issued to prospective students in a week & very competitive course fees; Entry Requirements: Completion of 12 Years schooling and IELTS 5.5 Business Long Stay and Skilled Regional Sponsored Provisional visas for people with qualifications recognised in Australia and sponsored by Standard Business Sponsor or Regional Certifying Body - Both these visas are pathway to Permanent visas under Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS) & Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS).

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Palagiri Sanjay Mobile: 0403909982 or Email: psanjays@yahoo.com Migration Agents Registration No: 1101055 For appointments call Susan Mobile: 0432906048 or Email: soosanshirani@yahoo.com.au Western Suburbs League Club 10 Old Leumeah Road, Leumeah, Campbelltown Next to Leumeah Railway Station

NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (1) 2012 9

Engaging COVER STORY

Victoria Premier Ted Baillieu leads a massive trade delegation to woo India

I

t has been an immense journey for the Victorian Government, just back from what is being hailed as a resoundingly successful trip to India. Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu and his contingent of over 200 delegates travelled to India on a week-long super trade mission from February 21 to 26, as a part of the Coalition Government’s economic strategy which aims to focus on trade engagement into new markets to generate more jobs for Victorians and substantial new export opportunities and investment for Victorian businesses.

Victoria’s largest ever trade mission to India showcased the best of Victorian industry capacities in its education, automotive, aviation and aerospace, cleantech, food and beverage, ICT, life sciences, professional services, sustainable urban design and tourism sectors.

The mission began its tour of India in the country’s capital of New Delhi, and progressed to key centres including Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune.

Education One of the primary goals of the premier’s visit to India was no doubt to undo the damage done to the state’s reputation in 20092010 when the attacks against Indian students took place.

International education is Victoria’s largest export sector, currently worth $4.8 billion to the economy each year, and responsible for an estimated 50,000 Victorian jobs. Baillieu was out to win back the market share his state has lost from India.

Prior to his departure, he had announced a 24-hour 10 MARCH (1) 2012

International Student Care Service, a Welcome Desk at Melbourne International Airport at the start of each semester, a free Culture Card that provides access to the many great experiences on offer in Victoria, and upto-date information at www. studymelbourne.vic.gov.au, now available in Hindi.

Another interesting initiative was the establishment of the Victorian International Education awards, to recognise best practice and outstanding international education providers that deliver outstanding educational content and best practice student care. This initiative is aimed at encouraging educational providers to set new standards and recognise best practices, and presumably, to weed out the companies that treat the students as ‘cash-cows’.

Mr Baillieu also reiterated that his Government was advocating reform to the student visa regime at a national level.

The message was quite clear in India: the Government is working towards ensuring the safety of international students in Victoria.

Victoria’s position as the leader in education in Australia was also pushed unabashedly. “Victoria is one of the world’s leaders in providing exceptional education,” Mr Baillieu said in India. “This is a key competitive strength that was reaffirmed recently when the London-based QS organisation announced its first global grading of major international student cities, ranking Melbourne fourth in the world - behind only Paris, London and Boston”.

More than 160,000 international students from 165 countries, he reiterated, were

enrolled in Victorian education institutions by the end of November 2011.

Mr Baillieu revealed that under the Victoria: Leader in Learning initiative the Victorian Government has committed an additional $2 million to support Victoria’s international education sector.

The delegation of Victorian higher education leaders who formed a part of the trade mission was the strongest ever to travel to India and included representatives of eight Victorian universities, six ViceChancellors from Victoria’s most prestigious universities, 14 of Victoria’s pre-eminent TAFE Institutes (including dual-sector), and other leading education providers.

Vocational training 125 teachers from the Indian state of Karnataka took part in a Vocational Education Teacher Training program delivered by Victoria’s Kangan Institute. The program, which was completed on 17 February, involved modern methods of training and assessment to help prepare their students to be work-ready.

The training was delivered as part of a three year education agreement between the governments of Karnataka and Victoria.

The Victorian Government provided $440,000 to Kangan Institute of TAFE to deliver Vocational Teacher Training Programs in the Indian states of Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Mr Baillieu also announced an expansion of the collaborative Victoria-India Vocational Training Programs, similar to

those already in place in the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra which will enable thousands of people to be trained, and will help support the Indian Government and industry’s mandate to skill 500 million people by the year 2022.

PhD scholarships Seven of ten Victoria India Doctoral Scholarships were awarded to leading Indian PhD students in New Delhi, by Premier Ted Baillieu and the Director of the Australian Indian Institute Prof Amitabh Mattoo, who travelled with him.

Research topics that will be studied under the program include diabetes prevention, investor protection regulation in the financial services industry, novel means of drug delivery, optical broadband technologies and treatment of livestock diseases.

The scholarships are offered in partnership with Victoria’s universities and provide an attractive new incentive for India’s high-calibre students to come to Victoria to pursue doctoral studies.

Each scholarship is worth $90,000 over three years for doctoral research at one of Victoria’s leading universities that will waive tuition fees for the successful recipients.

Mr Baillieu also announced an additional ten scholarships f or the commencement of study in 2013.

Research links The premier Mr. Baillieu repeatedly emphasized the growing demand in India for high quality education and “Victoria’s ability to meet this demand,

boost exports and assist India in its next stage of development”.

He witnessed the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between leading Victorian and Indian education institutions following a historical bilateral education meeting held in New Delhi.

The new global partnerships are broadly for collaborative research and development, conducting joint projects and recruitment, knowledge exchange and cooperation in academic areas of research and teaching, and the sharing and dissemination of information and documentation in areas of interest. Deakin University, La Trobe University, University of Melbourne, among others, will collaborate with their counterparts from the Indian Institution of Management (IIM) Indore, Birla Institute of Technology (BITS) Pilani, University of Calcutta, among others.

Victoria’s Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business Louise Asher also announced three new partnerships between Deakin University and three Indian organisations, Bharat Forge, Indian Oil Corporation and the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, covering a range of range of areas including metal processing, oil and biotechnology research and cell biology.

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with India India-Victoria nano-biotechnology research centre opened A new world-class India-Victoria project focused on cutting edge technology to tackle critical issues of global importance was opened recently in India

by Victorian Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business, Louise Asher.

The TERIDeakin

University Nano-Biotechnology Research Centre is a joint venture between The Energy and Resources Institute of India (TERI) and Deakin University.

Ms Asher joined Nobel Laureate and TERI Director Dr R. K. Pachauri to inaugurate the New Delhi facility during the Victorian Government’s Super Trade Mission to India.

The Centre will address issues including food security in changing climates, environmental remediation using natural products, better health through novel molecules and better life quality in developing communities.

Around 70 researchers, including up to 50 PhD students from Deakin, are expected to be using the facility within five years. Students will be cosupervised by both Deakin and TERI staff, further strengthening education ties between Victoria and India.

ICT A new partnership between Victoria’s La Trobe University and India’s HCL Technologies, a major Indian IT company, will deliver high-caliber research and industry benefits to both countries.

A MoU was signed in New Delhi to collaborate in research, development and commercialisation activities, and was witnessed by Mr Baillieu and Minister for Technology Gordon Rich-Phillips.

“ICT in Victoria is dynamic, globally-focused and competitive, generating around $29 billion in revenue and $2.45 billion in exports annually,” Mr RichPhillips said.

NATIONAL EDITION

La Trobe University ViceChancellor and President, Professor John Dewar, said as well as recognising La Trobe’s key role in leading-edge ICT research, HCL Technologies would also provide opportunities for La Trobe University students to undertake internships on community and government ICT projects.

Ravi Bhatia, Chairman Customer Advisory Board HCL Australia, said HCL was delighted to have signed the partnership with La Trobe University.

“We look forward to continuing our conversation on how HCL can extend its expertise to some of Victoria’s finest young minds, which in turn will play an important role in improving Victoria’s transport infrastructure,” he said.

The collaboration between La Trobe University and HCL Technologies will focus on research and development for Intelligent Transport Systems.

Using innovative ICT, the project will look at problems associated with traffic management, infrastructure management and security, enhanced driver safety and logistics support for transport operations.

Expected outcomes of the project include improved traffic flow for commuters, better transport information for city planners, increased productivity of businesses, reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, and better quality of life for citizens.

Aviation and aerospace A MoU between Aviation Aerospace Australia (AAA) and

the Society of Indian Aerospace and Technologies Industries (SIATI) was also signed at the trade mission, formalising a long-standing agreement between Victoria and India to work together co-operatively to grow their aviation and aerospace industries.

Victorian Minister Responsible for the Aviation Industry Gordon Rich-Phillips said this signalled a new level of co-operation and exchange between Victoria and India in aviation and aerospace.

The agreement will make it easier for their respective organisations to share knowledge, develop expertise and transfer skills, while tapping into new opportunities in India.

Around 20 of Victoria’s leading aviation and aerospace companies were a part of the trade mission.

Software engineering Another announcement was the establishment of a new Australia-India Research Centre for Automation Software Engineering (AICAUSE) at RMIT University. Premier Baillieu announced that up to 300 highly skilled software engineering jobs will be generated in Victoria as a result of this new partnership between RMIT, ABB Australia, ABB Corporate Research Centre (CRC) and Global Industries and Services in India.

The new facility is set to become Australia’s centre of excellence in automation and robotics, which will not just significantly boost employment in Victoria but also strengthen the state’s global reputation as a leader in ICT and R&D. It will support ABB Australia and other

MARCH (1) 2012 11

Vidya Balan is announced as Ambassador of the Melb Indian Film Festival Premier Baillieu and High Commissioner Peter Varghese visit India Gate

businesses in sectors including advanced manufacturing, energy generation and distribution, utilities, building automation, and mining and natural resources.

Academia and researchers will together develop solutions that tackle issues core to industry, such as improving energy efficiency, raising productivity and addressing climate change.

ABB India CEO Bazmi Husain commented on the benefits of this alliance in its ability to draw on the global expertise of a company that invests more than US$1 billion a year in R&D globally - much of it directed at ABB’s seven Corporate Research Centres.

Banking products

Victorian company GRG International Limited (which supplies and distributes GRG Banking ATMs and management software and additional banking products and services) signed a MoU with the Madhya Pradesh Consultancy Organisation (MPCON) to supply ATMs and cash dispensers for eligible recipients to access payments using transaction cards that will also be issued by GRG. One of the key outcomes will be a distribution system for payments made under India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which will substantially improve the efficiencies of government welfare.

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The agreement will create 50 new jobs in Victoria and another $500 million in Victorian exports over the next 10 years.

Subject to final contracts GRG expects to deliver 5,000 ATMs, 25,000 point-of-sale terminals and four million cards, to be deployed over three years under a 10-year agreement.

Defence and aerospace

A major Indo-Victorian joint venture in Bangalore was also launched diring the premier’s trip.

Vyoneesh Rosebank Technologies (VRT), will manufacture, maintain and provide product support for components and equipment used

by India’s defence and aerospace industry.

The Victorian partner, Rosebank Engineering, is a leading supplier of defence, commercial aerospace and land systems products and services, with customers including the defence forces of Australia, USA and Malaysia.

Mr Baillieu unveiled a plaque to mark the start of construction on a new facility for VRT in Bangalore, that will operate stateof-the-art design, manufacturing and engineering technology.

“Rosebank Engineering will be responsible for training VRT staff, and provide its great expertise and skills to help ensure VRT becomes an Indian leader in defence and aerospace services,” Mr Baillieu said.

This project will deliver approximately 10 new jobs in Victoria in the near future.

Clean technology vehicles

Another MoU was signed with Indian automotive pioneer Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles to support a feasibility study exploring the potential for research, supply chain development, and manufacturing of clean technology vehicles in Victoria.

Mr Baillieu said Victoria was a driver of the Australian automotive industry and offered companies such as Mahindra Reva a comprehensive suite of capabilities, from initial concept and design right through to manufacture and assembly.

Mahindra Reva is a pioneer of electric vehicle technologies and was one of the first companies to introduce electric vehicles worldwide.

Mr Baillieu also welcomed new partnerships between Mahindra Reva and three distinguished Victorian research institutions: the Victorian-based Automotive Cooperative Research Centre, Latrobe University, and Swinburne University.

Mahindra Reva has entered into an MoU with the AutoCRC to establish an operational framework for an Applied Research Program.

The two-year MoU will facilitate

the sharing of relevant confidential information and enable the two parties to establish specific project agreements under the Applied Research Program.

The company has also entered into a three year MoU with La Trobe to facilitate collaborative research and development for new energy management technologies.

The research program will develop new concepts and techniques for high-efficiency building design, electric vehicles, and vehicle-to-grid technologies.

Energy management systems for commercial buildings would encourage employees to use electric vehicles, which could in turn serve as a source of energy for the workplace or help to stabilise renewable energy sources.

Mr Chetan Maini, “the man behind Reva”, will become Swinburne University’s first Entrepreneur in Residence, and will be engaged in the excellent work being undertaken by the Swinburne Electric Vehicle Group.

Victoria’s automotive excellence showcased

The Future Technology Trends in the Automotive Sector Conference held during the Victorian Government’s trade mission to India showcased the state’s technological prowess in the automotive sector. 17 leading Victorian automotive companies and research organisations with world-leading capabilities were a

part of the delegation who met with leading Indian automotive operations to discuss new opportunities for industry and research partnerships.

Mr Richard Dalla-Riva (Minister for Manufacturing, Exports and Trade) said Victorian ideas, technologies and components were found in hundreds of automotive models worldwide.

“Our home-grown innovations such as the ute and variable ratio rack and pinion steering have had a significant and lasting impact on the industry around the world,” he said.

“Our local automotive industry has also been quick to participate in the global trend towards low and no-emissions vehicles. It has developed unique skills to produce multiple model variants on a single production line and innovative products that are profitable at niche volumes”.

“Today Victoria is one of only 13 locations in the world with the capability to take a vehicle through the entire production process – from concept, design and engineering through to manufacture and delivery to the showroom floor.

“One of our recent successes in the global market was the Ford Figo, India’s own 2011 International Car of the Year and the most awarded car ever - designed and engineered in Victoria” Mr Dalla-Riva noted.

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Ravi Bhatia of HCL Australia oversees the signing of a partnership between his company and La Trobe University

Ten PhD scholarships are announced for Indian researchers to work in Victorian universities

$500,000 support is announced for Melbourne’s annual Indian Film Festival led by Mitu Bhowmick Lange’s Mind Blowing Films

Urban design and clean technology

Premier Ted Baillieu highlighted Victoria’s skills and expertise in urban design and clean technology while speaking at the Building Sustainable and Liveable Cities of the Future forum held in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry, the India Green Building Council and the Victorian Government in New Delhi.

He stated that with its wealth of knowledge and experience in urban design and related technologies, Victoria is wellplaced to assist India in meeting the challenges of sustainable urban development.

During the visit, Victoria’s award-winning urban design business LAB Architects announced that it would be establishing its first office in India.

The ‘Victorian Connection’

As part of a new Trade Engagement Program, the ‘Victorian Connection’ was launched as a new initiative to develop investment and trade opportunities in global markets. The program will help Victorian expatriates and people who have lived or studied in Victoria and who now live and work overseas stay connected with each other and everything Victorian. It will support them in forming professional and personal NATIONAL EDITION

networks that can provide market intelligence and identify and develop new investment, trade and joint venture opportunities between Victoria in their respective regions.

Members will be encouraged to become ambassadors for Victoria, helping to raise the State’s profile and awareness of what it can offer in global markets.

Following the launch in India, the Middle East and North Africa, The Victorian Connection will be launched in other markets identified by the Victorian Government as priority areas.

The program will also be extended through The Victorian Connection Business Insight Series, an annual event in key international markets, with one event per year held in up to ten countries and will position Victoria at the forefront of innovation and cutting-edge knowledge through exclusive functions for Victorian alumni with leading thinkers from industry and/or academia as speakers.

Films

A Bollywood biopic on one of one of India’s greatest sporting heroes will have key scenes shot in Melbourne, announced Premier of Victoria and Minister for the Arts Ted Baillieu, during the trade mission to India. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (Run Milkha Run) will tell the story of the legendary Indian runner Milkha Singh, known as

the ‘Flying Sikh’, who won 77 of the international footraces out of the 80 that he entered.

Milkha Singh first represented India at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics which introduced him to the world stage and launched his international running career.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag will be directed by one of India’s most celebrated filmmakers, Rakeysh Mehra, and will feature two of India’s biggest film stars - the multi-talented Farhaan Akhtar and style icon Sonam Kapoor.

The shoot in Melbourne will take between two and three weeks, and generate more than $1 million in local economic activity.

“As with other Indian films shot in Melbourne, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag will raise our profile in India and showcase Victoria as a great tourism destination,” Mr Baillieu said. “Tourism Victoria will leverage the release of the movie through a marketing campaign in India featuring the key locations from the film.”

Mr Baillieu said that as part of the Victorian Government’s Trade Engagement Program - India, screen industry ties were being strengthened between Victoria and India.

“We have committed $500,000 to deliver an Indian Film Festival in Melbourne in 2012, 2013 and 2014; we are establishing fellowships for young Victorian directors and producers to travel to India, and we will appoint

a well-known Indian Film Ambassador,” Mr Baillieu said.

“We have signed a VictoriaIndia Co-production initiative which will see 10 Victorians travel to India’s FICCI Frames in Mumbai and support up to three Victorian screen companies in joint ventures with Indian production entities,” he added.

Mr Baillieu said Milkha Singh’s story was an inspirational one, and its strong ties to Melbourne were an excellent opportunity to expand Victoria’s relationship with India in the realm of the arts.

Also present at the announcement were the film’s director Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, Vikram Malhotra, COO - Viacom18 Motion Pictures, and Mitu Bhowmick, Director of Mind Blowing Films, the Victorian line producer.

And a bit of cricket

Mr Baillieu joined in an informal game of cricket with children on his tour, with cricket legends like former Indian captain Kapil Dev, Victorian cricket star Dean Jones and Cricket Victoria CEO Tony Dodemaide also participating.

Afterwards he revealed, “In May this year, up to 20 Indian students will take part in an upcoming pilot program in Melbourne run by Cricket Victoria’s ongoing Sports Business Program, where I am certain they will receive a warm welcome and gain valuable skills and experience”.

Each PhD scholarship is worth $90,000 over three years for doctoral research.

An additional ten scholarships were announced for the year 2013.

The program is an initiative where participants develop skills in a range of sports-related fields, including administration and training, marketing and major events management.

Mr Baillieu also announced on the occasion that the Victorian Government will be working hard to secure the 2015 ICC World Cup final for the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). He said that Melbourne is the sporting and cultural capital of Australia and has been voted both the World’s Most Liveable City and the Ultimate Sports City on numerous occasions.

The ICC World Cup is the fourth-largest international sporting event, with 14 nations participating and an estimated television audience of 953 million people.

MARCH (1) 2012 13

ARTS

The power of colour A first-time film-maker makes it to the finals at this year’s Tropfest

K

BY SUJITH KRISHNAN

alias Prasannan has loved M&Ms since he was a kid. By habit however, he eats them one colour at a time…

Now you might think this is eccentric, but it has opened up a whole new world for this young engineering student.

What if we could see only one colour at a time, the thought occurred to him one day. He turned that thought into a film, which was picked as a finalist in Australia’s most popular short film festival Tropfest.

Tropfest, ‘the largest short film festival in the world’ and one of Australia’s many symbolic cultural events, presents a unique platform to aspiring filmmakers in the country. What makes Tropfest distinctive is that the films created are wholly for the festival and include a different Tropfest Signature Item (TSI) every year.

For instance, the TSI for 2012 was ‘Light Bulb’. (For 2013 it is ‘Balloon’). 16 finalists are selected from an average of 700 entries 14 MARCH (1) 2012

every year and one such finalist this year was the extremely gifted and creative Melbounre-based youth Kailas Prasannan for his film RGB (Red, Blue & Green).

Having watched the film, I can vouch that it’s a work of art and is sure to transport you to a completely different world.

This short film, just five minutes in duration, encompasses a very interesting concept in that it is about a young man suffering from total colour-blindness who can see three colours - red, blue and green, but only one at a time.

Who would have thought a weird fondness for M&Ms would be the starting point for a criticallyacclaimed short film!

Kailas notes, “We take colour for granted…we all must take a moment in our busy lives to pause and admire everything around us”.

According to Kailas, advancement in technology was another decisive factor in making the film. He explains, “I stumbled upon software that could highlight just a single colour from an image and I then incorporated this into a story of a person being able to see only one colour at a time”.

What makes his story even more intriguing is that he has

no background in film-making: his only technical knowledge came from editing home videos and pictures in the past which ultimately came in handy. He was driven purely by confidence, passion and desire to make RGB a reality.

However, as a beginner, he’s had his share of challenges during the entire film-making process and is very thankful to his team, Jason Palmer (cinematographer), Rob LaTerra (actor) and Abin Thomas (production assistant) for standing by him through tough times – he admits he thought of abandoning the entire project, not once but twice.

RGB was made on a shoestring budget of $600. Kailas purchased the audio rights for the film for just $80 online and the film was shot during weekends in Melbourne. It took four months to complete. To explain an idea in five minutes is no easy task as Kailas agrees, “Conveying the story in a few minutes while trying to maintain a good pace was indeed a challenge and moreover, I found it hard to stay constantly motivated”.

The multi-talented Kailas is a professional Fire & Safety Engineer who hopes to complete his Masters degree in Engineering by the end of this year but doesn’t

rule out the possibility of making the switch to show business. “If the opportunity does come along to be a filmmaker, I’ll definitely take it up. I have a few ideas but need to be smart to accomplish them one at a time. The ultimate goal would be being a part of feature film productions”.

Looking ahead, Kailas has several upcoming ventures which are in their early stages at the moment. He claims, “My next project would be a short film with a touch of horror. In regards to Tropfest 2013, I have an idea which Rob is currently helping me with and I hope to produce another short film this year. Tropfest has boosted my confidence as a budding filmmaker and although we as a team lack technical expertise, we know that we can still achieve what we want. RGB’s success has motivated us to attempt more short films”.

Many congratulations to Kailas on his stupendous run at Tropfest 2012. He is inspiration-personified as he has shown us that we can achieve our goals if we work towards them with ceaseless enthusiasm irrespective of where we are and what we do. You can follow http://www.facebook. com/ManjadiEntertainment for updates.

“We take colour for granted… we must take a moment in our busy lives to pause and admire everything around us” Kailas Prasannan

Kailas has had no background in film-making: I love the warm, his only gooey, technical melting knowledge came chocolate feeling from editing the endings give home and me, videos and I love pictures swooning overin the past the handsome, yet sweet and sensitive heroes.

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MARCH (1) 2012 15

Science

Working with the wind An enterprising young man makes his contribution towards a greener world BY USHA RAMANUJAM ARVIND

W

hen city-bred Ankit Shah was deputed for a year to an onsite project in remote rural Western Australia, he considered it a godsend.

The alumnus of UNSW School of Civil and Environmental Engineering was thrilled to take on the mantle of site civil engineer for the largest single stage wind farm in the southern hemisphere – Collgar Wind Farm (CWF).

Not only was it an opportunity to diversify his repertoire, the prestigious project enabled the budding structural engineer to gain valuable experience in the much sought after green energy sector.

Renewable energy is certainly the buzzword of this century as global economies grapple with the dire issue of energy security and resource depletion. Many nations, including Australia (albeit belatedly), have already jumped onto the smart energy bandwagon, exploring avenues like wind farming, geothermal, solar and hydro electricity.

Currently electricity production from burning fossil fuels accounts for nearly half of Australia’s greenhouse emissions. As the government implements urgent initiatives to battle climate change, wind energy is fast emerging as the frontrunner in this sunrise industry.

Clean, economical and inexhaustible, it has immense potential in this windswept continent, particularly along the south-eastern and western coastal fringes.

Identified by Windlab Systems and jointly developed by international investment bank UBS and Australian superannuation group REST, Collgar Wind Farm is a $750 million renewable power project. Built on a land envelope of 18,000Ha in the WA wheat heartland and powered by 111 Vesta V90 turbines, the project was completed in October last year and is expected to double the level of renewable energy output from 5 to 9%, according to industry sources.

CWF is equipped to meet the energy needs of at least 125,000 homes by producing an average 792,000 MWh of power annually.

Besides delivering clean sustainable energy, this project 16 MARCH (1) 2012

will also significantly contribute to reduction of greenhouse gases.

It is believed that the reduced eco footprint is equivalent to “taking 160,000 cars off the road and planting 1,000,000 trees”.

Working for Aurecon, the “owner’s engineer” for the prestigious project, Ankit Shah was stationed at Merredin, a sleepy town with a headcount of less than 1000.

“I was always interested in how things work. But it was clearly Providence that brought me to the energy sector,” Shah who is now back in Sydney, told Indian Link.

“Once in, it was a deliberate move to go towards renewable energy because I strongly believe that it is the place to be. I think most of humankind’s successes this century will come from an efficient use of the limited resources we have,” he added Aurecon’s role was to provide “project management, technical and contractual consultancy services for CWF to ensure a longlife, durable and operational wind farm”.

“My job entailed monitoring and managing the construction of 111 turbine foundations and hardstands, 80 km of access tracks, erection of each of the turbines, construction of the substation; along with other site critical issues like safety, the natural environment and the local community,” Shah explained.

“We used 200,000m³ of soil to make the pavements and hardstands and over 40,000m³ of concrete for the foundations,” he elaborated. “That’s almost 100 Olympic sized swimming pools of soil and concrete – a logistical nightmare! But we got through it with little difficulty,” he added.

From a technical perspective, those in the industry would be particularly interested to know that there were some innovations on this project, Shah noted.

“For example, we used pre-cast sacrificial formwork, which meant we could pour concrete faster and get steel fixers to prepare the reinforcement well ahead of the pour,” he explained.

“Likewise, the dimensions of the turbine were interesting too”, he added. “The tower, once fully erect, reaches a height of approx. 120.

The blades (wings) on the turbine span 40m but weigh only about 4 tonnes and are made of fiberreinforced polymers (FRP). The main tower structure is made of 4 cm thick steel.”

According to Shah, the electricity

generated from each turbine is transmitted via underground and above ground cabling to a central cable marshalling point at the onsite substation, which is located next to the 220kV power line that runs through the site area. The substation will then connect directly into the grid network on site.

Besides the immense professional fulfillment, the young engineer, who specialises in infrastructure projects, undoubtedly enjoyed the X factor that working in the bush offers.

“I took the road less travelled – quite literally,” he confessed. “It was fun because during construction we worked amongst snakes, foxes, rabbits, wedge-tailed eagles, wild flowers and paddocks of wheat and canola. I particularly miss the open spaces around Merredin,” he added.

As well, the laid back atmosphere of a hospitable country town has charmed the impressionable youngster. “There are no traffic lights, often people parked on the street with their keys still in the car.

I got to know almost everyone in Merredin by the end of my stint,” he reminisced.

It is no doubt then that he misses the warmth and intimacy of a close-knit community where everyone knows each other.

An unexpected bonus was the tete-a-tete with cricketing legend Glenn McGrath who was in the remote town to promote McGrath Foundation’s work in breast cancer.

“The Aussie icon is a cool guy, totally relaxed. It was wonderful to get one on one cricket tips,” he quipped.

Having gained considerable insight in the industry, the godfearing engineer is quick to rebuff naysayers, who criticise wind energy for high sound pollution.

“I’ve been inside and next to operational turbines, they emit noise – this is true. But I can tell you that beyond a distance of 200300m, the noise is difficult to pick up even if you focussed on nothing else. Over 1km, there is no noise,” he declared emphatically.

“My experience,” he claimed,

“I think most of humankind’s successes this century will come from an efficient use of the limited resources we have” Ankit Shah

“I’ve been inside and next to operational turbines, they emit noise – this is true. But I can tell you that beyond a distance of 200300m, the noise is difficult to pick up even if you focussed on nothing else.

Over 1km, there is no noise” Ankit Shah

“is that people who have wind turbines on their properties don’t complain, yet their neighbours do!”

He attributes this to envy that arises from the ‘missed opportunity’ syndrome.

While the CWF experience was a true eye opener in many ways, Shah is not totally convinced that wind and solar are the only solutions for long-term renewable energy.

Modern consumption trends, Shah forecasts, are unsustainable.

“Without innovation in energy efficiency, the demand for energy would be so great that we’d need thousands of wind turbines and solar farms,” he pointed out.

“In comparison, a handful of gas or nuclear power stations would satisfy the demand over a smaller land footprint,” he stated. “Accidents will always occur but we need to be smart about how we mitigate the risks.

It’s about developing an attitude toward continuous learning and improvement. I get excited every time I think of the opportunities available for someone wanting to take on an enterprising adventure.”

Shah believes that steady government policy rather than the current “on-again/off-again” approach is essential to stabilise and fuel the sector. “There needs to be strong vision and leadership to get us to our goals,” he stated.

Shah, who has a degree in civil engineering and a Masters in structural engineering and project management, is currently enrolled in AGSM’s executive MBA programme which he hopes to complete by 2014. Shah has previously worked as trainee surveyor at City of Sydney council.

He is the founding chairman of I love the warm, Limelight - a graduate forum at gooey, melting Aurecon, and was nominated for chocolate feeling Consult Australia’s ‘Future Leader endings give Award’ inthe 2010.

“The outlook engineering me,forand I love graduates isswooning extremely bright,” over he said, “and I for one certainly the handsome, hope to make the most of yet sweet and the professional opportunities sensitive heroes. presented by my parents and employer.”

www.indianlink.com.au

NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (1) 2012 17

fundraiser

An Indian summer The Taj Foundation pulls off a glamorous event for its maiden fund-raiser

Brett Lee performs with his band

By SHRADDHA ARJUN

T

he philanthropic dreams of four young members of our community took off in fantastic style as their maiden fund-raising event contributed a whopping $150,000 to charity last month.

Bobby Singh, Elora Das, Junita Mushenko and Danny Bhandari formally launched the Taj Foundation in late February as a not-for-profit organisation to raise funds for charitable endeavours.

Their debut event, which raised funds for Aussie cricketer Brett Lee’s Mewsic Foundation in India and for the Steve Waugh Foundation in Australia, attracted bigwigs from the corporate world, politics and sport.

The guests were treated to the sounds and flavours of India on a glowing summer’s evening.

It was silk and sequins galore at the Sydney Convention Centre overlooking the glistening waterfront at Darling Harbour, at the special event titled An Indian Summer. Rajputana furnishings, tabla beats and mehendi artists created a feel of India.

The guests included cricket legends Steve Waugh, Brett Lee and Glen McGrath, as well as Gina Rinehart, Sanjay Reddy, Jack Cowin, NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and former NSW 18 MARCH (1) 2012

Premier Kristina Keneally. Consul General of India Amit Dasgputa, recent Miss Earth from India Nicole Faria, Peter Cummings and Dan Christian were also present.

But without a doubt, it was the celebrity cricketers who were the main stars of the night.

Brett Lee came wearing his ‘musician’ hat and brought along his band White Shoe Theory. He played the guitar and sang with the lead vocalist a new song In My Shoes. (A foot tapping number, it was an instant hit with the audience). Recalling his first visit to India in 1994, he declared he was so moved by the country that he had decided to give something back. His charitable foundation Mewsic “aims to heal, educate and empower marginalised children in India through music therapy”. It provides children a creative learning environment where their self-confidence can be nurtured. Six Mewsic centres have so far been launched, three in Mumbai locations and one each in Lucknow, Surat and Hyderabad.

Of course Brett also spoke about cricket (the following day was the scheduled India-Australia one dayer). “It’s an Indian summer tonight, but hopefully won’t be tomorrow night,” he quipped.

(India beat Australia convincingly the next day, although the win did nothing for the team’s campaign in the series). He spoke of his regard for Steve Waugh, who he described as “revered as a god in India”, and his inspiration for charitable works.

He added, “I think the Taj

(From left) Dr Harry Harinath (Cricket NSW), Paul Brinsmead and Rikhab Jain (Pearls Australasia), Barry O’Farrell (Premier of NSW), Peter Madrers (Pearls Australasia) and Brett Lee Foundation will strengthen ties between South Asia and Australia, by forging relationships between second-generation South Asian-Australians and the homelands of their parents. That can only benefit each country culturally, economically and most importantly philanthropically”.

In his address, Steve Waugh spoke about meeting with Mother Theresa - the inspiration for his own philanthropic activities and for the creation of the Steve Waugh Foundation. He also spoke about what his charity does in Australia in their work for children with rare diseases. Cricket featured in his speech too: his anecdotes with his team-mates elicited much laughter, such as Brett Lee practicing a bowling technique (sans the ball of course!) at the Sistine Chapel on one of their trips there.

“Brett and I were part of some great sides on the field and

it is fantastic to team up with him again to support the Taj Foundation,” Waugh concluded.

Both cricketers thanked Taj Foundation for the initiative and for bringing people together.

When one speaker mistakenly referred to Steve Waugh as Shane Warne, one couldn’t help but think, why is Shane not here, given his India connections…?

Liz on his arm, in a glamorous sari, would have made headlines for sure!

Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara sent a video message wishing the Taj Foundation well in its endeavours.

Why were there no Indian cricketers present?

“The Indian cricket team were invited but unfortunately due to touring commitments were unable to attend,” Taj Foundation director Junita Mushenko revealed. No one from the Indian team sent a message either –

was this another sampler of the general apathy they showed on the field? Who knows!

Taj Foundation Ambassador Dr Sam Prince presented an inspiring address as well. He spoke about his journey as student to becoming the owner of a chain of Mexican restaurants in Australia and graduating from medicine much earlier than most at 22. He spoke about the most ambitious goal of leading a team of individuals to eliminate scabies from Australia. This happens to be the first phase of his philanthropic efforts through a program called ‘One Disease At A Time’. He received a resounding applause by the audience who were moved by his speech.

Barry O’Farrell, Premier of NSW detailed his recent visit to India and stressed the need for fostering strong relationships with the Indian subcontinent. He congratulated Taj Foundation and spoke in praise of charitable organisations such as Steve Waugh Foundation and Mewsic which work for the betterment of children in Australia and the Indian subcontinent.

Guests pledged their support in a grand auction and in donations.

Indira Naidoo was MC for the night, and entertainment was provided by Justice Crew, Platinum Dhols, tabla artistes, Sirens Bollywood dance group and DJ Kish.

Speaking with Indian Link later, director Junita Mushenko revealed how the idea for the night originated. “The think tank evolved over the months, as black tie ball, charity and cricket took centre stage as key concepts.

February 2012 was an opportunity that could not be missed as the Indian and Sri Lankan cricket teams toured Australia. Involving the star power of Brett Lee and Steve Waugh was a natural choice as they are so well regarded locally and abroad, not only for their sporting achievement but also for their philanthropic programs”.

Regarding future activities, Mushenko said, “The Taj Foundation hopes to increase its membership base with a view to providing community events which promote South Asian culture in all its richness and complexity. In addition, opportunities will be provided for professional networking, linking key enterprises and individuals to strengthen economic relations between Australia and South Asia”.

www.indianlink.com.au

k n i L n e a i m i t d r n u I e spend o W

R U O Y G N I L EL

stories

T

Noel G de Souza

Sheryl Dixit

Minnal Khona

Preeti Jabbal

Vivek Trivedi

Thomas E King

Darshak Mehta

Rajni Anand Luthra

Shivangi Ambani-Gandhi

Nitika Sondhi

Saroja Srinivasan

Hasnain Zaheer

Vidya Muthanna

Chitra Sudarshan

Farrha Khan

Usha R Arvind

Uttam Mukherjee

Sukrit Sabhlok

Sujith Krishnan

Auntyji

Shafeen Mushtaq

Roy Lange

Azal Khan

Pallavi Singhal

Priyanka Tater

Anusha Menon

Talia Kaur

Dilip Jadeja

Danielle Cairis

Sanam Sharma

Dinesh Ramanan

Akriti Goel

Avijit Sarkar

Sreedhevi Iyer

George Thakur

Tanmayi Chari

Tim Blight

Sai Narayan

Neelam Vasudevan

Deepa Gopinath

Jyoti Shankar

LP Ayer

Noopur Singhal

Komal Utsav Jagad

Mark Sharma

Nancy Sood

Arveen Sharma

Shraddha Arjun

Gaurav Surati

Ritam Mitra

Sandip Hor

Tanveer Ahmed

Ruchi Lamba

Pawan Luthra

Gerard Fernandes

Geeta Khurana

Petra O’Neill

Rani Jhala

Priyanka Rao

Sydney Srinivas

Sunil Ranadive

Malli Iyer

Sanjiv Dubey

Uzma Beg

Farzana Shakir

Drishti Nanwani

Sudha Natrajan

Raka Mitra

Malavika Santhebennur

Ashita Vadher

NATIONAL EDITION

The team at Indian Link

MARCH (1) 2012 19

20 MARCH (1) 2012

www.indianlink.com.au

NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (1) 2012 21

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MARCH (1) 2012 23

communityscene

Sale of lassi helps save tiny lives

H

ow good would you feel by knowing that buying a lassi or jhal muri (bhel puri) could help save tiny lives halfway around the world? That’s exactly the opportunity non-profit charity organisation Probasy provided to hundreds at a fair held on February 19. Volunteers of Probasy hosted a stall for the eleventh consecutive year at the Ashfield Park Bangladeshi Boi Mela organised by the Bangla Boi Mela academy.

Probasy is a run by a group of young girls who aim to provide support and empowerment to the disadvantaged in Bangladesh, with special emphasis on their health and wellbeing. Probasy works with Prothom Alo newspaper to raise much-needed funds to support impoverished men, women and children, especially acid victims, through rehabilitation and reintegration into the social sphere, post acid-related violence and discrimination.

To this end, Probasy hosts stalls at fairs as well as organises fundraising events throughout the year, to raise much needed revenue for their projects and causes. At the Bangladeshi Boi

Mela they sold mango lassi, jhal muri, samosas and chocolates, raising almost $600. The food was all prepared by them for this event, but in the past they have been helped by the kindness of their mothers and aunties who donate or assist them in preparing these delicacies.

Probasy also showcased their artworks on canvas and photography donated by Manu Tejomurtala which were on sale, with proceeds going to fund their latest project: Project Incubate.

When Probasy members heard that 24 babies died on a single winter’s night at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital due to malfunctioning incubators, they resolved to raise funds to purchase incubators which will be made available for use free to the public, and assist in the improvement of neonatal care in Bangladesh.

Probasy realises it is not possible to expect sustainable self-reliance without meeting the emotional and physical needs of those we assist. As a result, the group supports various other causes which ensure the continuous improvement of the community, both physically and

mentally. Working with medical practitioners and supporting their causes is just one example of such programmes. Probasy is working to create a thriving society free of exploitation, discrimination and gender based violence that prevents the disadvantaged from achieving their full potential.

In 2011, Probasy raised $5,000 for 20 fistula operations in Bangladesh for impoverished women, thanks to the efforts of Dr Hasan and his team who conducted these operations at no cost to the patient. Closer to home, Probasy also raised $10,000 for the Queensland flood appeal which was donated to help flood affected Queenslanders rebuild their homes and lives.

Probasy is currently in its eleventh year of operations, with

a total collection of $43,840 (TK. 33,000,000) to date. It has had a successful run of campaigns and projects with consistent energetic efforts from its members and support from the community.

Probasy’s main project for 2012, Project Incubate, will raise $6,000 to purchase two incubators and related equipment to donate to a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Towards this goal, Probasy has several exciting fundraising events planned for 2012 including a Mother’s Day film screening event, a walkathon, a Cancer Council breakfast and a Probasy re-launch party where they will showcase their progress and efforts in their eleven year tenure and what they have planned for the future. This exciting night will include dinner, dance performances and speeches

from supporters.

Probasy’s next fundraising event will be at the Loko Mela organised by the Bangladeshi Welfare Association in Campbelltown.

Probasy will be hosting a stall selling food, as well as their artwork and doing mehendi at the Mela on Saturday March 24 at Seddon Park in Glenfield. You are welcome to come along and show your support. We would welcome assistance in the forms of donation of food or sponsorships from individuals or restaurants.

Please contact Probasy via email probashi_incorporated@gmail. com for more information on their events and projects, or to find out how to join the mailing list, or make a donation.

Shafeen Mustaq

GOA whist drive is a success

T

he Goan Overseas Association (GOA) NSW organised a Bumper Whist Drive competition for its card playing community on February 12, at the Reg Byrne Community Centre in Wentworthville. The event was open to all and was well patronized by the Goan community and their friends. A total of 60 participants took part in the competition and it was encouraging to see not just the young, but also some seniors well into their eighties, hone up their card-playing acumen and bring out some old card tricks from their repertoire.

Whist drive is a game of cards where one pair comprising of a male and a female compete with another pair to make maximum tricks consisting of 13 tricks in a game. Each player is given a score sheet and the number of tricks made is recorded for each game.

At the end of each game, the winning lady moves to a higher numbered table and partners with the losing gent on that table and the winning gent moves to a lower numbered table and partners

24 MARCH (1) 2012

the losing lady on that table for the next game. The losing lady remains at the same position and the losing gent moves to the right of the losing lady. The competition comprised of two sessions of ten games each.

The competition started after the Social Director Ralph Vaz officially welcomed all the participants and read out the rules. The game was keenly contested with the top honors going to Colleen D’Silva among the ladies with a score of 169, and to Patrick among the gents with a score of 150. A total of 15 prizes were given away comprising of top 3 winners among ladies and top 3 winners among gents, the top score among ladies and the top score among gents at half time, the lady and gent with maximum games won by making 10 tricks or more and the lady and gent with the least score.

During the break, lunch was served with mouth-watering dishes catered by Indo Lankan Restaurant, followed by a quick game of Bingo and raffle draw.

President of the Association

Tony Colaco, gave away the prizes to the winners of the Whist competition and Vice President Alwyn Henriques presented prizes

to the winners of the raffle draw.

At the end of the day, it was a well-organised event which was enjoyed by all who attended, as

they met and mingled with old friends, and caught up with the latest news.

Abel Do Rosario

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Strong Indian presence at NMF in Canberra

T

he 2012 National Multicultural Festival (NMF) in Canberra was a whole weekend event, which commenced on Friday, February 10 at 4.30pm, with the last of the performances ending at 5pm on Sunday, February 12. This festival celebrates cultural diversity in Australia and is held annually in Canberra. Prior to the festival, the ACT Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Ms Joy Burch MLA said, “Australia’s premier celebration of all things multicultural will again take centrestage in the national capital, giving us all the chance to indulge in music, dancing, cultural heritage and of course fantastic food.”

The NMF brings Canberra to life with exhibitions, craft, and local groups performing a range of dance, music and theatre. The festival’s objective is to celebrate the rich multicultural diversity of the Australian Capital Territory. This is achieved through participation of multicultural community groups showcasing their respective cultural traditions and heritage.

28 MARCH (1) 2012

The festival has continued to grow as 240,000 people attended the event last year, and this year it attracted a much larger crowd of 260,000. The three-day extravaganza provided excellent socialising opportunity for people of all ages. This was evident throughout the day and evening, as attendees enjoyed a weekend of ethnic food, dancing, enjoying, and learning a bit more about the many different cultures that exist in Canberra and the rest of Australia.

The success of the festival was due to the immense community involvement from across Canberra’s multicultural spectrum, with many thousands of people dedicating their time and energy to prepare for the event. The ACT Indian community is once again proud to have actively played a role at the festival and in the community. Half of Akuna Street in Canberra mostly had South East Asian food stalls and a beer bar serving the famous Indian Kingfisher beer. On a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon,

this corner was my favourite spot at the festival.

Half of Akuna Street was allocated to the “India in the City” programme, which Deepak Raj-Gupta, President of Australia India Business Council (AIBC), has been successfully organising since the last four years. His tireless effort was recognised by the ACT Government last year when Deepak received an award from the Minister for Multicultural Affairs at the ACT Multicultural Ball.

On the opening night, Bombay Royale presented excellent Bollywood entertainment, with funky, bizarre and mysterious music from vintage Indian cinema productions. The programme continued to be sensational on the weekend as well, as the entertainment at the Akuna Street stage from late afternoon to 11pm, ranged from an Indian fashion parade, classical dance items, items from the Mandir Society of Australia and the Bengali Association. Some of the most entertaining items

Deepak Raj-Gupta with a buddy serving at the Kingfisher bar

Lotus Dance Group with the choreographer, Purvi Desai were: garba, bhangra and two Bollywood performances by Shiamak Davar. A member of the Sikh community entertained the audience with his tabla skills and the young ladies from the Lotus Dance School were outstanding with their dance performances, which were perfectly choreographed by Purvi Desai.

“India in the City” not only attracted westerners, but also

brought together Indians from all over Canberra for a relaxing day at the free open-air entertainment venue, surrounded by food stalls of many ethnic varieties. The organisers, artists and leaders of various Indian associations can be proud of yet another successful “India in the City” programme during the National Multicultural Festival in Canberra.

Arveen Sharma

www.indianlink.com.au

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INDIAN NEWS Northern Sumatra, while it was Santiago Del Estero in Argentina,” he added. The intensity of Northern Sumatra quake and Argentina quake was 5.1 and 6 on the Richter scale, respectively.

SpiceJet foresees tough times

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell presents Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar with honorary life membership of the Sydney Cricket Ground – the first overseas player to receive much an honour.

Panic as 4.9 tremor shakes Delhi, adjoining areas

A 4.9-magnitude tremor shook the Indian capital and its adjoining areas recently, startling people in offices and homes as the ground shook and windowpanes rattled.

The quake, centred near Bahadurgarh town close to the Haryana-Delhi border, did not lead to any casualties.

The epicentre was just 35 km from New Delhi, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

“The Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) felt slight intensity tremors, which measured 4.9 on the Richter Scale.

The epicentre was in the Haryana and Delhi region,” R.S Dattatryam, director, Seismology Division, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, when contacted.

According to the IMD, the tremor was felt at 1.11 p.m.

As the ground swayed, many residents and office-goers in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida ran out of their buildings into the open.

Sources in Rohtak said the boundary wall of a school in Mayna village of Rohtak district collapsed. The district authorities, however, could not confirm the incident.

Some people working and living in highrise buildings in Gurgaon, which has the offices of several MNCs and leading Indian

companies located there, were asked to vacate the buildings as the tremors were felt for over 10 seconds.

“Sitting in an office on the 12th floor in Nehru Place, I felt it very strongly like somebody shaking my chair. There was a general air of panic. Luckily there was no repeat tremor,” Mahi Singh, a MNC employer said.

“I was in bed recovering from surgery when I was shaken awake by the quake. I tried to rush outside, limping,” Ramkant Mahant from east Delhi said.

“All the small objects on tables started shaking, I felt it for over five seconds, followed by a rumbling noise,” said Rumu Banerjee of Chittaranjan Park in south Delhi.

Throughout the city, people called up relatives and friends, and asked after their well-being.

The IMD official asked the public not to panic as it was a slight intensity tremor.

“It is a slight intensity tremor, which was felt in the Delhi and NCR areas. No infrastructural damage is expected from the tremor of such low magnitude. At most, there may be some plaster falling off in weak buildings,” Dattatryam said.

“The possibility of aftershocks are very minimal for such a low intensity quake,” he added.

However, the quake did not seem to have affected the concentration of students appearing for their board exams. Many, however, complained they were not given extra time to finish their papers disrupted by the 10-second tremor.

“We did not have the time to react as the main concern was finishing the Physics paper which was lengthy. We were left wondering what was the noise, and realised it was a quake,” said Mrinalini Mahajan who was writing her Physics paper in St Mary’s School in Dwarka area.

Smridhi Gupta was upset over not being allowed extra-time to revise her answers.

“We all were taken aback with the tremor.

The windowpanes of the classroom were rattling. Though the tremor lasted only for ten seconds, it took us almost ten minutes to get back to writing. I wish we were given extra time,” Gupta said.

Another student who appeared for her board exam in Shri Ram School in Gurgaon said: “There was a bit of panic but we were done with the paper.”

Tremors were also felt in Indonesia and Argentina.

“They were two separate quakes that shook Indonesia and Argentina at 12.25 p.m. and 1.16 p.m., respectively. They are not linked,” stated Dattatryam.

“The epicentre in Indonesia was

Budget carrier SpiceJet’s chief executive Neil Mills feels the aviation sector, marred by high fuel and interest cost in the coming fiscal, will continue to face “tough operating conditions”.

“I think the tough conditions will continue for a while in the coming fiscal.

Our futures are pegged with oil prices and they are very high right now,” Mills said in an interview.

“There are some decisions on new policy like direct import of fuel and foreign direct investment. We are evaluating them and will do what is best for us.”

According to Mills, the low cost carrier (LCC) was in touch with fuel suppliers for logistical support to allow airlines to directly import jet fuel.

“We are evaluating the impact of the decision whenever it comes. We are in touch with them (fuel suppliers), but I cannot comment on how much savings would emerge out of this. But it will be substantial.”

Mills’ views come as the government had on Feb 22 notified direct import of jet fuel and called upon interested carriers to apply for licences.

This came after the Feb 7 decision by a group of ministers (GoM) headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to roll out a plan to help domestic carriers, allowing them to directly import aviation fuel.

The move will enable airlines to cut operating costs by about 10-15 percent, saving on sales tax, which ranges between three percent and 35 percent and is levied by state governments.

Jet fuel now constitutes about 50 percent of the total operating cost of airlines in India. Domestic airlines are estimated to have lost around Rs.3,000 crore in the first six months of this fiscal.

On the issue of foreign capital by foreign airlines in domestic passenger carriers, Mills said the airline was not looking for a foreign partner but was evaluating the proposal.

Mills’ confidence is evident as the airline’s promoter Kalanidhi Maran decided March 2 to infuse Rs.100 crore into the carrier in lieu of five percent equity or additional 42.9 million shares.

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“This decision shows the confidence of the promoters in the company and its viability. The board has taken this decision and will allot 42.9 million preferential shares to the promoters,” Mills said.

“This is the second time in eight months when the promoters have infused equity.

Last September, we received Rs.130 crore and five percent of the equity shares were allotted to the promoters.”

Fresh funds should come as a relief to the airline, as the whole sector is facing tough operating conditions like high interest and fuel costs.

“This (fund) will go into the normal working capital and for general growth. Our debts are affordable, we are paying the oil companies, salaries and we are not behind any schedule. We will get through these tough times,” Mills said.

The budget carrier had Feb 6 reported a net loss of Rs.39.26 crore for the quarter ended Dec 31 from a net profit of Rs.94.44 crore in the like period of 2010-11.

The company’s auditors in a review report said that accumulated losses have eroded the net worth of the company.

“As of Dec, 31, 2011, the company’s accumulated losses of Rs.107,781.3 lakh has substantially eroded the net worth of the company, indicating the existence of a material uncertainty that may cast doubts about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the auditors said.

Now, cabbies, maids can learn while they earn

A couple of years down the line, Mumbai residents may be dealing with cabbies and auto-drivers who are full-fledged graduates.

Thanks to an open university, deprived sections of the city’s huge workforce will get a chance to enhance their skills.

The Nashik-based Yeshwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) has designed special short-term and longterm courses for working classes like cab and auto drivers, private drivers and even maids to enable them to compete better in the job and money markets.

The special preparatory and degree courses shall be inaugurated Tuesday in Mumbai’s All India Institute of Local Self Government at Andheri by eminent Bollywood actor Kader Khan, according to a YCMOU official.

“Given our social objectives, the courses shall be extremely simple but equip the ‘students’ to handle them without disturbing their crucial work schedules as most are the sole bread-winners of their families,” said Shrinivas Belsare, YCMOU head of corporate communications.

There are an estimated 400,000 cabbies in the city. According to Belsare, around 200,000 cabbies from Mumbai, besides a potential 1.5 million elsewhere in Maharashtra, are expected to benefit from the new course, enrolment for which starts in June 2012.

YCMOU’s format for the experimental course would be unique, using CDs, FM radio programmes and a few books to enable the cabbies to learn while on the go - driving.

It is expected to similarly help housemaids, who number around 800,000 in the city.

Besides, the courses would not burn a hole in the pockets of the ‘students’, considering they are at the bottom rung NATIONAL EDITION

of the people contributing to the national economy, Belsare said.

“The preparatory course will cost Rs.600, with a 50 percent discount for the target category of cabbies and it is equivalent of HSC. This will be followed by a diploma course, advanced diploma and a degree, each costing Rs.1,500, and recognized everywhere,” Belsare explained.

“Accordingly, if a person completes one year, that is, two modules, he gets a diploma, after two years an advanced diploma and a full-fledged, recognised degree after completing the full three-year course. It means a win-win situation for all, even those who drop out after a year or two,” he added.

The new courses are expected to be a boon for the next generation of cabbies as the state government plans to soon make HSC-level education compulsory before issuing new permits for autos and taxis.

Kader Khan, who himself played a cabby in several movies like Aa Ab Laut Chalen and Naseeb, was impressed with YCMOU’s new course and readily agreed to inaugurate it, Belsare said.

A graduate, the 65-year-old Khan, after taking a break from his acting-writing career, is now engrossed in designing a new syllabus from nursery to post-graduation in Islamic studies for the benefit of students in thousands of ‘madrassas’ in India.

Given the large, semi-literate migrant population in Mumbai, YCMOU will offer its new course in Hindi, Marathi and English for the cabbies, with the approval of the powerful Bombay Taximen’s Union.

Its existing BA degree course in Urdu have got over 2,000 students on the rolls and proved beneficial to migrants, mostly school dropouts, coming here in search of employment opportunities.

YCMOU has around 400,000 students on its rolls in the state, including 50 percent women, who would otherwise have had no opportunity to educate themselves, he said.

The course modules are comprehensive and wide-ranging including soft skills, road safety, tourism, health, first aid, civic discipline, transport rules, insurance, traffic scenario, networking with courier companies and basic banking.

“This will enable them to get a proper perspective of life and help them consider other lucrative professional options rather than spending their lives driving cabs,” Belsare pointed out.

The YCMOU course is billed as the first of its kind among the 14 open universities around the country which have been silently spurring literacy levels among the most unfortunate sections of Indian society.

Playing with a splash of safety this Holi

Amid the riot of powdered hues and watery splashes that Holi brings, experts say people should not ignore safety issues as toxic chemical colours could bring on severe skin infections, eye injuries and other problems.

The festival of colours was celebrated on March 8 this year.

“The use of synthetic colours during Holi can cause severe irritation, dermatitis, burning, redness and also in some cases blister formation. It can also lead to irreversible pigmentation,” said Amit Bangia, consultant dermatologist at the Asian Institute of Medical Sciences.

“Besides, many water colours have an

Photo: AP

INDIAN NEWS

Oscar winning director Kathryn Bigelow, on the sets during the filming of her upcoming film about Osama bin Laden in Chandigarh, India, March 2, 2012.

Right-winged Hindu nationalist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad have protested against the hoisting of Pakistani flags during the filming. Bigelow and cast are in India shooting at various locations over the next few weeks, local media reports. alkaline base capable of causing temporary blindness and severe injuries. Colours in the form of pastes sometimes have toxic compounds mixed in a base of engine oil or other inferior quality oil,” Bangia added.

Chemical colours have been in vogue for a long time, and the cost-effectiveness and easy availability make them more preferred than natural colours, say experts. But often people are not aware of their harmful effects.

But one can prepare organic colours at home.

“Turmeric can be used for yellow colour.

Henna can act as a green colour and dried rose petals can be substituted for red,” Bangia said.

The dangers lie not just in colours.

Throwing water-filled balloons can also cause injury if targeted at the eyes or ears.

“The balloons used by children during Holi are most dangerous and can cause blunt eye injury. An injury can lead to the loss of vision or loss of the eye. These are all eye emergencies and should be taken care of as early as possible,” said Nikhil Seth, consultant opthalmologist at the Asian Institute of Medical Sciences.

“Eyes are extremely susceptible during Holi because of their strategic place in the body and also because the use of harmful chemicals is known to cause eye irritation,” added Seth.

While the best precaution remained use of natural colours, people were also advised to reduce their hours of playing Holi or

take breaks when playing it at a stretch.

“If it is played for six to seven hours at a stretch, he/she is vulnerable to acquiring irritants such as burns, blisters or contract allergy, mild discolouration (which is reversible) and acne. It’s best advised to take a break in between,” Bangia said.

Another set of precautions was to use a protective barrier between skin and colour. A layer of sun screen could help prevent direct contact of chemicals with the skin. After playing with colours, use of lukewarm water to clean your body was recommended.

“People must realise that the colours have been added to Holi to make the festival more joyous and enjoyable and not to cause inconvenience to others. So, the next time you play with colours, use good quality or natural colours and play according to the convenience of others,” suggested Seth.

North Delhi resident Moti Lal Ganju, 45, said he has always played the festival with natural colours. But with synthetic colours flooding the markets, it is best to make the colours at home.

“These days, Holi colours are sold loosely on the roadside by small traders who often do not know the source. Sometimes, the colours come in boxes that specifically say ‘For industrial use only’,” Lal said.

“We should make sure our family celebrates the festival with organic colours.

Let us not allow hard colours to spoil the charm of gujiyas and music,” Lal quipped.

IANS MARCH (1) 2012 31

indiadiary

T

BY PRAKASH SUBBARAO

he majestic Himalayas have always attracted me with its range of snow-clad peaks, deep gorges, green valleys, and the fast and furious rivers carving out their course over varied terrain since thousands of years. I have travelled to both, the Indian and Nepal side of the Himalayas by motorbike and car in the past, so I yielded easily to my brother’s invitation to join him and Vandana on a trek to the Markha Valley.

Anita worked out all my logistics, and Apoorva volunteered to take care of herself, Casper and our home.

Soon I was watching the Kullu valley zooming up quickly as we began our descent in the turbo prop plane.

We went on an acclimatization trek to the Solang Valley, to get our legs and lungs into shape for the change in altitude. The climb was steep and we had a few hairraising moments crossing a raging stream over a log of wood which served as a foot-bridge.

We crossed Rohtang by road and faced a big setback at the base

was dry with sparse vegetation in the valleys and highly prone to landslides and rockfalls. The days were hot and the nights, windy and cold. We followed the trail and camped at Rumbak, the base camp of GandaLa, Shingo base camp, Skyu, Sara, Markha, Thochuntse, Nimaling and Chukmaro. On an average we trekked for about 4-5 hours each day, and some days were unbearably hot as the canyons turned in to heat radiators at noon. We climbed two mountain passes at GandaLa (5100 mts) and GongmaruLa (5300 mts).

Fortunately, acclimatization happened without any dramas.

“See that shirt hanging from the branch over there?” asked our knowledgeable guide, Gyan pointing. “It was from the photographer who was shooting here when the floods swept him away last year.” We quickly moved to higher grounds!

I felt claustrophobic in the sleeping bag and on some nights, I crept out of the tent to gaze at the sky with a million stars till the cold winds forced me back to the relative comfort of the tent.

I came across mountain goats walking fearlessly and nimbly over steep ledges where even the thought of being that high made me feel faint. I came face-to-face with a chameleon who let me

In the heart Trekking through these majestic mountains is an intensely fulfilling experience for the soul and senses camp as it snowed heavily in the night, and the way to Chandrataal became unpassable. So we moved to plan B, and drove to Leh by road, a distance of approximately 300 kms through treacherous mountain roads, crossing two passes at BaralachaLa and TanglangLa, which is the second highest motorable pass at 17,600 ft. We camped at Tsokar (4400 mts); snowfall followed us here, and was the cause of a photographer’s nightmare – that of a bleak, whitewashed landscape.

A few quick steps and fast movements caused me breathing difficulty, as I had not yet acclimatized to the change. It was a strange feeling to breathe, but not get the O2. We finally reached Leh and started off on the Markha valley trek from Zingchen. We continuously followed riverbanks and climbed hills in the high arid mountains of the Himalayas. The landscape 32 MARCH (1) 2012

of the

crawl within a foot to catch a nice portrait! Other wildlife included the Himalayan fox, wild ass, marmot, king vulture and many colourful butterflies.

There were many spectacular moments each day, such as hundreds of sheep trying to cross a rickety foot-bridge in the evening light at Nimaling. The last day of the trek came quite quickly, and we left the mountains with heavy hearts.

The next day we drove to KhardungLa pass (18,380 ft) which is the highest motorable road in the world. It was a strange feeling, and soon a slow snowfall began, forcing us indoors for lemon tea at the highest café in the world.

I have returned tired and boneweary, but with many cherished memories from the most magical mountains in the world. And I will be back!

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Himalayas NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (1) 2012 33

BOOKS

Epics retold!

India’s great literary heritage extends itself to modern young readers through the efforts of three highly talented writers

By CHITRA SUDARSHAN

I

ndia’s two greatest epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have struck such deep roots in the country’s moral and cultural consciousness that they infringe into every aspect of Indian culture. For generations they were not only the favourite bedtime stories of Indian children, but they also captured the attention of great philosophers and theologians who have written extensive commentaries on them. A few new translations of these timeless epics by two very talented women have brought these tales to a yet newer audience.

Arshia Sattar, a Sanskrit scholar, translated the Valmiki Ramayana into English to much critical acclaim a few years ago (1996).

This, and her abridged translations of the Sanskrit Kathasaritsagara had been published earlier by Penguin Books. Her new book Lost Loves: Exploring Rama’s Anguish, is a series of essays on Rama’s love for Sita, also published by Penguin recently in 2011.

The other is a rendering of the Mahabharata by the very accomplished writer and novelist, Namita Gokhale. Unlike the Ramayana, the Mahabharata is a more complex and multilayered epic, with narratives inside narratives inside narratives.....

I have a few of the classic renditions on my bookshelf, by R K Narayan, C Rajagopalachari, CV Narasimhan, William Buck and many more. Gokhale’s Puffin Mahabharata has been written expressly for young people and is beautifully illustrated by the well-known artist and animator Suddhasattwa Basu. His lusciously beautiful drawings are a visual treat for the young – as well as the not so young.

Gokhale has retold this great epic for young readers without reducing the complexities to a simple choice of black and white; she points out, for instance, that Bhima’s bullying of Duryodana and Dusshasana contributed, to some extent, to their animosity towards the Pandavas. Neither

34 MARCH (1) 2012

does she ignore Yudhishthira’s weakness for gambling that precipitated a disastrous chain of events; nor does she skirt around unpleasant incidents such as the disrobing of Draupadi. The heavier philosophical sections of the epic as such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Shanti Parva are explained in a lucid style. Arjuna and Karna emerge as the heroes in this author’s version.

Gokhale discusses these - and several other moral dilemmas and ambiguities inherent in this epic, with disarming ease and simplicity. She begins with the background, explaining the cycles of times and the various ways in which the epic has been told and retold, before delving into the story of King Shantanu and the river goddess Ganga, and the chain of events that lead to the great Kurukshetra war. Every young reader must have a copy.

Arshia Sattar’s translation of Valmiki’s Ramayana first published in 1996, was an abridged version which successfully adapted this ancient classic and made it accessible to the presentday English reader. An added attraction was her superb introduction which provided new insights and background information for both the general reader and scholar alike. In her translation, Sattar had taken care not to use the archaic language preferred by the Sanskrit scholars of the 19th century, but a very contemporary rendering which focuses on the narrative, rather than on the text. For instance, the author points out how ‘gaja gamini’ (a phrase used to describe Sita) is better translated as ‘she walked liked the swaying gait of an elephant’ rather than the literal ‘she walked like an elephant’, for few people today can imagine and understand the graceful gait of an elephant.

There have been several other English translations of this epic including the abridged version

by RK Narayan, the concise one by C Rajagopalachari, and more recently, the multi-volume version by Ashok Banker as well as the brilliant translation of the Tamil Kamba Ramayana by Sundaram – to name a few; but Sattar’s translation is informed

by her great scholarly grasp of Sanskrit. Her new Ramayana, Lost Loves is a little different and unusual for it attempts to explore the psychological mindset of Rama. As a Sanskrit scholar and translator who studied Rama in all the different versions and renditions, she is singularly equipped to undertake this task.

In this collection of essays, Arshia’s Rama is ridden with angst and torn between love and duty, divinity and humanity. Wendy Doniger reminds us that this book makes us see how conflicted Rama really was, and therefore how he is such a good role model for us lowly mortals in the twenty-first century.

Sattar has a PhD in South Asian Languages and Civilisations from the University of Chicago. Her areas of interest are Indian epics, mythology and the story traditions of the subcontinent. Her articles appear in various national newspapers and magazines. Her book reviews and articles have appeared regularly in various newspapers and journals. She has also worked with documentary film and theatre, and taught Indian Studies at the Mahindra United World College of India in Pune for five years. She currently works as a freelance writer and researcher Finally, a tribute to GK Anantharam who was the brains behind the creation of the Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) illustrated and dramatised popular books on Indian epics, puranas, biographies and histories – which shaped and influenced a few generations of children’s reading in English in India. Although the public equates the ACK phenomenon with Ananth Pai and his Mumbai creation in 1967, it was really GK Anantharam who produced the first version in Kannada – not English – in 1965, in Bangalore.

Moved by the idea that it was about time Indian children were exposed, in popular writings, to their own history and mythology, he began in a small office in the Bangalore office of the India Book House. He was also influenced by the stirrings of Kannada literary renaissance at that time, and he wanted to see children reading more books in

the local language. After repeated nagging of his IBH boss GL Mirchandani, Anantharam was allowed to publish books in Kannada. Finally, he managed to goad his boss to shell out Rs

10,000 for his new baby - which turned out, after some ups and downs, to be a popular comic series, named Amar Chitra Katha

by Ananthram himself. The rest is history.

In her translation, Sattar had taken care not to use the archaic language preferred by the Sanskrit scholars of the 19th century, but a very contemporary rendering which focuses on the narrative, rather than on the text.

Arshia Sattar

Neither does (Gokhale) ignore Yudhishthira’s weakness for gambling that precipitated a disastrous chain of events; nor does she skirt around unpleasant incidents such as the disrobing of Draupadi.

Namita Gokhale

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NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (1) 2012 35

opinion

The games are truly afoot!

While computer games test skills, their content can promote violence and create an unwanted addiction a cheap outsourcing hub. It needs local producers to supply games for both the local and global markets. And that is beginning to happen.

BY Sony’s Playstation consoles are very noel g de sOUZA powerful devices which become even more potent by being linked to the internet. One can then play a game with someone who is long time ago India realised the far away. If anyone spends a lot of time in value of games as aids for mental such a virtual world, there exists the risk of development. The Mahabharata becoming isolated from the real world. story of Nala and Damayanti revolves Computer based programming has around the casting of dice and the science gone far ahead of what the designers have of mathematics. Nala wins a crucial contest achieved in games of less than a decade ago. only after mastering the science of numbers. A new virtual world has been fashioned in The Mahabharata refers to a game called which participants create their own fantasy Chaturanga which was then said to be world. A good example is Second Life. This played between two sets of rival cousins very popular program has created a virtual (the Pandavas and the Kauravas). Anga world for its “residents”. It is no child’s refers to the four wings of the army. In play. One needs a credit card to enrol. Once India this game (now known as chess) was permitted to enter, one needs to learn the played on a board of eight-by-eight squares rules of this virtual world. Whole manuals with four sets of pieces which are elephants, have been published (such as Second Life for horses (cavalry), chariots (chariotry) and Dummies) about how to operate in the Second foot soldiers (infantry).

Life world.

These pieces are replaced One of the most in the modern version by interesting Second Life bishops, knights, rooks and ventures is to create an pawns respectively. image of oneself, the term Chaturanga quickly spread being used for such a Numerous computer to the Middle East where fantasy is rightly called an games based on it was first referred to in avatar. Such avatars can be that revered sleuth Persia as ‘Chatrang’ and enhanced or altered as time later as ‘Shatranj’. From are available, albeit goes by. thence it spread to Europe This avatar concept is of varying quality; through the Arab world. reminiscent of the last three hopefully these can Significantly, the Spanish steps of the meditative instil in young minds named chess ‘Ajedrez’ which process of Patanjali’s a love for the science is a translation of the Arabic Yoga sutras. These include ‘Al shatranj’. In recent of deduction. focusing on a desired times, chess has become creation through dharana computerised and it is now (meticulous building up of possible to play the game an image), dhyana (getting with a machine. absorbed into that image) One of the favourite and samadhi (identifying with topics of computer games are newly the created image). The process of creating concocted stories of Sherlock Holmes the image can be helpful for enhancing which fascinate the young, particularly visualisation. However, the stage of totally young males. Numerous computer games identifying oneself with the created image based on that revered sleuth are available, could be fraught with difficulties because albeit of varying quality; hopefully these can one might lose a realistic image of oneself instil in young minds a love for the science and of one’s real world. of deduction. As the time-revered sleuth Computer games are here to stay. This Sherlock Holmes would have said: “The multi-billion dollar industry needs both games are truly afoot!” regulation and moderation. Violent games The exploits of the righteous warrior can be banned just like violent movies and is a favourite theme in computer games.

TV programs. Many justifiably believe that Hanuman was one such Indian mythical too many violent programs slip past the warrior. Aurona Technologies (Hyderabad) censors and self-regulators. A University developed Hanuman: Boy Warrior for Sony’s of Missouri study found that those who Playstation2 console. Based on Indian play violent video games get desensitised to mythology, the story concerns Hanuman violence, and that they even experience an freeing lifeforms which have been turned increase in aggressiveness. into stone by the forces of evil. That gives Video games are a powerful medium. A the game a universal appeal. The game can study conducted by East Carolina University also be played in its Hindi version. found that non-violent video games like India has abundant talent for developing Bejeweled, Peggle and Bookworm actually computer games. Sony has turned to Indian reduce depression. The emphasis is on nongame developers to produce input for its violence. Others note that addictive playing prestigious Playstation consoles. This is with video games can create depression and another example of developed countries irritability. using Indian outsourcing. But India’s talent Computer games are too powerful to be cannot be satisfied by merely becoming left to self-regulation.

A

36 MARCH (1) 2012

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38 MARCH (1) 2012

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indophile

Power to the people!

There’s a reason why India is hailed as the world’s greatest democracy, which is apparent in every aspect of the daily lives of its citizens

I

BY TIM BLIGHT

ndia’s lively political scene has always appealed to my inner journalist. Say what you want about Indian politics – the Indian people do not take their democratic privileges for granted. In fact, I often wonder if India’s bureaucracy, regardless of its (many) faults, constitutes a more democratic system than that of many western nations.

Let’s not forget that democracy might be undermined, but is not abrogated by corruption; democracy is fundamentally ‘the rule of the people’ in all its manifestations, beautiful and ugly. The Indian people do, to a large degree, dictate the direction of their nation.

This makes for a clear contrast with Australia, where political apathy has become a national epidemic. The huge crowds drawn in by anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare’s campaign are testament to the Indian populace’s political engagement. Even the media gets on board – all of this is a far cry from many Western democracies where a moral obligation would fail to garner such widespread support.

Take the American invasion of Iraq; while many took to the streets, it wasn’t enough to sway governments who had the mainstream media wrapped around their fingers. In many countries celebrities and activists, all potential spokespeople, were nowhere to be seen.

It’s yet to be seen if people power can (or will ever) cure India of its corruption problem, but it certainly feels like a fight which the people want. After all, modern India was founded on a public movement of civil disobedience and protest.

The very face of social activism is to be seen on every ten rupees I handle, regardless of how grubby the note is. Perhaps we will have to wait until the newer, more globally aware and more financially mobile generation comes of age until we see a significant change in India’s politics; it has always baffled me that India’s very young population (according to some estimates, up to 50% are under 25 years of age), are ruled by an ancient group of elite survivors.

One place where the power definitely isn’t, however, is in Chennai’s electricity grid. As the subcontinent heats up, the

NATIONAL EDITION

regular power cuts, known as ‘loadshedding’, become ever more frequent. I don’t have the pathological hatred of loadshedding that most Indians possess – I actually find the unscheduled silence that graces the neighbourhood to be a rather calming experience. The frustration felt by many Indians is understandable though, because the lack of electricity is indicative of a much deeper problem. As one Chennaiker so eloquently stated; “Why should we go without electricity every time Jayalalithaa rolls over? There’s no shortage of power lines lying around the shoddily constructed footpaths!”.

This anger is palpable in many conversations. The answer, perhaps, is to be found in the number of Indians who talk but don’t act. In other words, how many people complain about corruption but still pay bribes to evade traffic fines?

If corruption is as rampant as we are led to believe, and the anticorruption movement enjoys as much support as we are told, then there must be some overlap.

Conversely, there is something to be said for the corrupt justice I recently saw meted out to a neighbourhood thief. My neighbour caught the pilferer and tightened a chain around his neck. I thought he was going to lynch him, but the chain was used to restrain while an uncle threw punches and yelled obscenities.

When police arrived they pulled him away from the thief, and then the policeman stepped forward and took his turn at beating up the criminal while the house owner watched on. Wrong, I agree – but I wonder if many Indian victims of crime would be satisfied with a more westernized ‘rehabilitation’ process for criminals? I doubt it – so whether it’s right or wrong, maybe Indian democracy really is more representative of the people’s will than we assume.

At the end of the day, the idea of ‘India’ always seems to prevail – the idea that everyone gets a say, that the nation is somehow, if not obviously, cohesive, and that the Indian people are free. In the battle of the rising superpowers, it’s easy to compare India’s progress with that of China. “Look at how well they’re progressing” I hear many Indians say. Suggest to these people however that they should be limited to having one child, that they should be highly taxed (or taxed at all, in many cases!), or that they should be subject to rigorous

Gandhi’s benevolent face adorns the bank notes

Power lines (below) and politics (above) are two facts of life in modern India

media control and a cry of protest arises. That cry is exactly why India can’t be China – and nor should it try to be.

A common stereotype of Indians is that they talk too much – and as with most stereotypes, there is an element of truth there. But this is what makes India great – let’s tackle corruption, but let’s not forget that many countries got to where they are by shutting people up. I hope the Indian people never stop talking, because without dialogue, what else could hold 1.2 billion Indians together? I love that in India I can express my views in a public forum and protest if I want, with the distinct hope that I might just change something. I can even type whatever I like on the internet, and watch whatever I want on the TV news. Except for when there’s loadshedding, of course.

Modern-day activist Anna Hazare spearheaded the fight against corruption Gandhi’s benevolent face adorns the bank notes

MARCH (1) 2012 39

wellness

The white Foods

Foods white in colour can provide you with minerals, vitamins and all-round health benefits

Garlic is rich in sulphur-containing molecules called polysulphides that help in improving blood pressure.

White Beans

I

BY GEETA KHURANA

n previous issues we have discussed the health benefits of eating black and red coloured foods. Now let us discuss the important nutrients in white coloured foods, and how they help to improve or maintain our health.

White foods have earned a bad name and have been labelled as a culprit for obesity, as well as increasing our blood sugar levels and cholesterol, but does that mean we should eliminate foods that are white in colour? Some white foods such as sugar or refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta may not be as good for us as the high fibre wholegrain ones, but there are certain white foods that are too healthy to be ignored.

Bananas

White Fish

Most white fish such as cod, bass, sole, perch and haddock are very low in fat. It is recommended to have fish at least 2-3 times a week. Even though white fish is very low in fat, the calorie and fat content will increase if you decide to cook the fish in an unhealthy way such as by deep-frying. The second way to pile on the calories is by serving fish with a fattening sauce that contains butter or cream, for example.

While oily fish contain higher quantities of vitamins A, D and E, they are also rich in a number of B vitamins such as niacin (B3) needed to promote healthy cells and to help eliminate toxins from the body, and pyridoxine (B6) which keeps the skin, nervous system and red blood cells healthy.

White fish is also rich in several essential minerals such as iron, phosphorous, selenium, and iodine.

Bananas are rich in potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. In addition to these cardiovascular benefits, the potassium found in bananas may also help to promote bone health. Bananas contain pectin, a soluble fibre (called a hydrocolloid) that can help normalize movement through the digestive tract and ease constipation.

White beans also known as navy beans have many health benefits. These are low GI and loaded with trace mineral molybdenum. These are also a good source of magnesium. Being low in GI, white beans avoid triggering high blood sugar levels and thus help improve blood sugar levels. White beans are said to produce alpha-amylase inhibitors which help regulate fat storage in the body.

The magnesium in the beans helps you to handle stress levels better and is also good for healthy bones.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a non-starchy cruciferous vegetable containing sulphur-rich compounds called glucosinolates, which activate the body’s detoxification system.

These may play a role in preventing various types of cancers. Cauliflower contains the second highest amount of glucosinolates, after broccoli. Cauliflower is also a good source of vitamin C and potassium.

White Meat

Garlic

Garlic has always been considered good for health, but in recent years it has become a food for study for researchers.

Garlic contains the powerful anti-oxidant allicin that also gives garlic its aroma and flavour. It is rich in sulphur-containing molecules called polysulphides that help in improving blood pressure. Garlic still helps to protect against heart disease by reducing the risk of abnormal platelet clumping that can lead to a heart attack.

It also has anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects, which may help to ward off colds and other minor infections.

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There is always controversy about which is the healthier meat: white meat like rabbit and chicken, or red meat like mutton and beef, which come from the flesh of big mammals. Lean red meat is an excellent source of iron and protein, but we have to be careful with the portion sizes since it is high in fat too, whereas white meat is lower in fat. The bottom line is that no matter which meat you eat, you can guard yourself against health problems if you eat in moderation.

Turnips

Turnips are usually white in colour from the bottom until halfway up and become light purple, red, or green according to the sunlight that has fallen on them, until the top. Turnips are a good source of C and B vitamins. They also contain manganese which helps metabolize fat and carbohydrates and keeps your brain functioning properly.

Even though white fish is very low in fat, the calorie and fat content will increase if you decide to cook the fish in an unhealthy way such as by deepfrying.

Mushrooms

White onions

White onions have sulphur compounds that give them not only their strong odour, but some excellent health benefits as well. Sulphur compounds help to reduce abnormal blood clotting and also help to reduce blood cholesterol and blood pressure. White onions contain flavonoid quercetin, known for its anti-inflammatory properties and cardiovascular health benefits. These are good for the digestive tract and also have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects.

Mushrooms are loaded with nutrients. They have high levels of anti-oxidants and are low in calories, fat and sodium, yet provide important nutrients like selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D and more. Antioxidants like selenium protect body cells from damage that might lead to chronic diseases and also help to strengthen the immune system. Mushrooms also provide ergothioneine, a naturally occurring anti-oxidant that may help protect body cells. Mushrooms are also a good source of vitamin D. Antioxidants like selenium, protect body cells from damage that might lead to chronic diseases.

They help to strengthen the immune system, as well.

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NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (1) 2012 41

TRAVEL

ASIA: A There is a charm and serenity about Asia that enchants the mind and soul of a traveller

E

BY THOMAS E KING

ncompassing the great cultural diversity, historic differences and scenic variety of Asia in a just a few words is not an easy task. Even for someone like me who has spent much of his life tiptoeing across mountain highs and waltzing along valley lows, it’s still a mind-daunting undertaking.

After much deliberation I can only say that Asia is truly a place of infinite mystique where visitors can indulge all of their senses.

Just as difficult as defining Asia, is illustrating my fascination for the continent. These few snippets with Indian links, however, may provide intriguing clues.

Pokhara Pictures

It’s early morning in the Pokhara Valley, 200 km west of Kathmandu. Even though the first rays of the sun are yet to leap over the hills, Hindu pilgrims are preparing for puja at the most sacred temple in the serene vale.

Set on a wooded islet in the middle of a picture perfect lake, the Barahi Temple also provides an unobstructed vantage point for an incredible vista of water and mountain.

The mighty Himalayan Mountains span some 2560 km from northern Pakistan and India into China. The 8854-metre high Mt Everest can’t be seen from Pokhara but eight colossal peaks are often visible from selected locations in and around Nepal’s largest second largest city. Stretching from east to west, the 140 km long panorama of 42 MARCH (1) 2012

the Annapurna Range seen in Pokhara includes Annapurna I to IV and Annapurna South.

Though it’s not the tallest, the sharp triangular peak of Machhapuchhre stands out distinctly from the pack of mountains. Some of the other peaks are higher, but being farther away they are dwarfed by its fishtailed pinnacle.

The magnificent massif of Machhapuchhre has not been conquered. Consequently, the pyramidal façade of this 6993-metre mountain marvel can only be admired, and that’s what tens of thousands of domestic and foreign visitors do each year.

It’s doubtful that there is any place other than Pokhara where so many great Himalayan peaks can be seen from such a close position. Annapurna I is just 50 km away, while Machhapuchhre is 30 km down the road. A sense of awe swept over me as I stood at the lakeside vantage point 900 metres above sea level gazing at an icy summit nearly 7 km high.

It was mid March and the rhododendrons were in full bloom, adding splashes of red to the white of mountain snow and the blue of the sky. March and April are ideal times to visit Pokhara as the winter chill has gone. The only disadvantage is that afternoons can be cloudy with occasional thunderstorms.

Though colder, midOctober to December is the other optimum period.

Autumn is the season when Nature wields a colourful brush of transition over the landscape. Oranges, reds and yellows and patches of pure gold enliven the scene.

I’ve visited Pokhara in both seasons and prefer spring as it’s warm and sunny. It’s comfortable to sit and leisurely gaze at mountains reflected in the glassy waters of Phewa Lake, a 2½ km long body of pure

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All Senses in Action Himalayan water that has its origins in not so distant ice fields.

Sensations of Sabah

A stark mountain-top thrust above the lush tropical greenery of Sabah is the sole destination for many tourists who visit this activity-packed state of East Malaysia. Kota Kinabalu, the state capital, is the entry point for Malaysia’s most far flung realm and as I discovered, the best starting point for a thrill packed journey to a mountain called Kinabalu.

Park headquarters for the sanctuary that encircles the fabled mountain are 88 km from the city.

A wide highway puts the abundant flora and less visible fauna of the 754 sq km Kinabalu National Park within an hour’s drive.

Many day trippers from ‘KK’ as it’s commonly called, come for these attractions with the added inducement of being able to spend a few calm hours strolling in cool mountain air.

Wild orchids, lovely bluebells, daffodils, rhododendron and the giant Rafflesia with a flower measuring up to a metre across are found along walking tracks.

It’s not very likely you’ll spot wildlife, though sightings of flying squirrel, barking deer, bearded pig and even orang-utan have been recorded. A few

It’s comfortable to sit and leisurely gaze at mountains reflected in the glassy waters of Phewa Lake, a 2½ km long body of pure Himalayan water that has its origins in not so distant ice fields.

Clockwise: Konarak’s incredible Sun Temple is an outstanding backdrop for an annual dance festival.

This ‘tribal’ maiden is a talented artisan performing during cultural evenings near Mt Kinabalu.

Central Vietnam’s splendid river and mountains unfold a few km outside imperial Hue. The ‘fish tail’ of Machhapuchhre is best seen at sunrise from a lakeside vantage point in Pokhara.

The rice god of the Philippines watches over the awesome world heritage listed terraces.

Quaint French traditions remain in Yanam where there are ‘jumbo’ ambitions to develop tourism.

(Photos: Thomas E. King)

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hours of relaxation among 1200 odd varieties of orchids and 325 varieties of birds may be enough for some, but others won’t settle for anything less than the buzz of scaling the usually cloud obscured mount.

The first recorded ascent of the highest peak between the Himalayas and New Guinea was made in 1851 by Sir Hugh Low, a British government officer.

Assaults on the 10 million year old, 4095 metre high granite massif don’t make headlines these days because thousands of visitors annually make the climb. No special mountaineering experience is required if the main route to the glacier scarred summit is followed, but the climb is very tiring and tourists must be in good shape to complete the two to three day trip.

Several huts with basic cooking and accommodation facilities strategically located along the way have been established to make the journey more comfortable.

The driest and sunniest part of the year is from February to May but even then stout shoes, a warm hat, gloves and warm clothes are needed plus food for the entire journey. A sleeping bag can be rented at the huts. Climbers must utilise the services of an authorised guide and porters can be hired.

Visitors who simply want to slow down for a few days and not test their endurance will enjoy the serenity of the area and the variety of pleasant options available.

My wife and I, for instance, traipsed along the path winding through the park’s extensive botanical garden, went golfing at a picturesque course located on the mountain slope, and spent hours at our heritage resort sitting opposite an amazingly cloudless peak and watching the last rays of the day cast a pink hue over this geologic wonder.

Hue: No hurry

Located roughly midway between the unbridled frenzy of Ho Chi Minh City - more commonly called Saigon - to the south and the more conservative Hanoi, the

capital of the 86 million-strong Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the north, the provincial capital of Hue (pronounced Hway) has long been one of the nation’s main religious and educational centres.

I gained a valuable introduction into its cultural attributes and saw a variety of its historical landmarks during a pleasant excursion on the Huong (Perfume) River in a boat ‘guarded’ by twin dragons. “They symbolise double power,” said Ngoc, my genial and ever-smiling guide who provided detailed commentary on 400,000-strong Hue. We chatted while the aluminium craft cut through the water and then coasted to a rustic riverbank jetty where scores of other dragon boats were temporarily moored.

Rising beyond several brilliant Flame of the Forest trees lining the river bank, was an octagonal tower. Hue is a metropolis of pagodas with more than 300 sacred Buddhist buildings gracing the city. Built in 1844, the seven tiered Thap Phuoc Duyen Tower was constructed on the grounds of the older Thien Mu (Heavenly Lady) Pagoda.

Buddhism came from India and then spread throughout Vietnam. Today 90 per cent of the population profess the gentle faith. Several dozen adherents currently live at the monastery beyond the tower. It’s a place of peaceful contemplation once tourist hordes leave. The sweeping scene of river boats and the purple hue of the Troung Son Mountain Range beyond was enticing, but another major point of interest was only a few kilometres upstream.

Also set above the river, the Tomb of Minh Mang is the most typical and best preserved of all the royal mausoleums in Hue. Said to be modelled after the Ming Tombs in Beijing, the 18 ha. complex is filled with statues, temples, terraces and stone bridges. In the middle of it all is a

large hill of earth where the emperor rests, shaded by pines. The exact location of the tomb is unknown because, Ngoc explained, much gold and silver was interred with the revered royal ruler.

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

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

I walked unhindered through this passageway, across the stonebuilt Golden Water Bridge which spans a fish-filled lotus pond, and into a still splendid palace where emperors would confer with advisors, meet other nobles and issue royal decrees. The elevated red and gold throne where this occurred takes centre stage in the Thai Hoa (Supreme Peace) Palace, a spacious hall with an ornate roof supported by 80 carved, gold inlaid and lacquered columns. I briefly paused before this grand spectacle sensing that what lay beyond would also be a feast for the senses.

MARCH (1) 2012 43

FASHION

Oversize is all the rage!

Make a statement this season with bright, dramatic, bold jewellery

T

BY TALIA KAUR

his season, jewellery has been super-sized. It seems necklaces should completely cover your chest, headpieces should dazzle and empower, earrings should be the size of miniature chandeliers and chunky bracelets should be stacked up high.

Bigger is definitely better when it comes to this season’s trend of oversized statement jewellery and as the name suggests, these bold, bling and beautiful pieces are designed to be attention-grabbers.

Statement jewellery first came into fashion couture as a strong trend in the spring/summer of 2009, but is making a comeback and was recently seen in Chanel’s pre-autumn/winter 2012-13 ParisBombay collection. It featured countless Indian inspired statement necklaces, bracelets and headpieces which were made of gems, studs, diamonds and pearls.

Despite Indians having worn this trend for centuries, Chanel’s modern interpretation has led the way for other Asos black designers to statement headband experiment with $49 jewellery.

Buying a new piece of jewellery is a simple and effective way of updating an old look or dressing up a casual look, and is a clever way of protecting your personality and individual style.

Also, when purchasing from stores like Lovisa, Colette, Sportsgirl, Witchery or PeepToe, it doesn’t put pressure on your wallet. So how do you wear this over-the-top jewellery? And what kind of clothes do they effectively team up with?

Well, I have a few suggestions.

But remember, the key is figuring out how to make statement pieces work for you, instead of feeling overwhelmed by them.

1

Start by easing your way in. Choose one key piece: a necklace, earrings, bracelet or even 44 MARCH (1) 2012

a headband. By wearing the one piece, it becomes the focus of your outfit and won’t have to compete with any other jewellery.

Be sure to also keep the rest of your styling, such as hair, makeup and clothes, relatively simple. If you don’t feel your outfit is complete with only one item of jewellery, try not to wear statement pieces too close to each other. For instance, avoid showy earrings with a dramatic necklace. Instead, wear the earrings with a matching cuff bracelet, or wear the necklace with small and simple studs.

EzzaExclusive crystal embellished earrings $85

2

When it comes to elaborate pieces, try teaming up with casual clothes. This acts as a blank backdrop for more complicated jewellery. When teaming a multicoloured, chain or bib-style necklace with a pair of your favourite skinny jeans, t-shirt and boots, it keeps the outfit casual and allows the necklace to really ‘pop’.

Too casual for you? Try pairing it with a plain silk shirt and neutral tailored shorts or pants instead.

Make sure you pay attention to necklines on your outfit. Halters and really high necklines compete with big necklaces, so it’s best to go for large earrings or an armful of bracelets instead.

3

If you feel confident wearing several bold pieces at once, try wearing different textures and sizes together on only one part of the body at a time. Pair thin bracelets with chain styles, studs or cuffs, and layer pearls, chains, or colourful beaded necklaces together. This instantly creates an eye-catching and fashionable look. However, try not to mix too many colours in either the jewellery or clothes, and if you do break the rules a little and wear more than one statement piece, make sure they complement each other.

If you’re going for black or white clothing, experimenting with colourful accessories and even nail polish can add a fun and playful mood, which screams summer.

Karl Lagerfeld’s Paris-Bombay range

4

Lastly, it’s important to realise that a single statement piece of jewellery worn can emphasise or de-emphasise parts of your body. For example, if you feel self-conscious about your bottom or mid-section, wear a striking necklace or an elaborate pair of earrings, and this will ensure that all the attention is focused up top. Wear a statement bracelet or anklet to draw attention to your waistline or below. Just remember, whichever way you chose to wear your statement pieces this season, wear it with confidence and you’ll look and feel like a million dollars!

Equip green ring $12

Diva feather necklace $20

Samantha Wills double navaho gold bracelets $160

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NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (1) 2012 45

SPORT

On your marks...

Nosh Mistry continues his exploits at the velodrome BY USHA RAMANUJAM ARVIND

I

ndian Australian cycling ace Nosh Mistry has won a bronze medal at the 2012 Cycling Australia Masters National Championships.

The prestigious annual event was held at the Dunc Gray Velodrome in Bankstown recently.

Representing the St George Cycling Club in the Masters 2 age category (35-39 yrs), Mistry competed in the 3000m Individual Pursuit as well as 10 km Scratch Race, winning bronze for the former.

The CA Nationals are the highlight of the Masters racing calendar in Australia and will be followed up by Masters World Championships at Manchester in October.

“It feels good to have reached a level where I am able to compete with peers of very high calibre in a very intensive sport”, Mistry told Indian Link. “It also feels good to be able to set an aim and achieve it”.

“Of course, I have gone faster before, however given the conditions, it was my best effort on that day,” he added. “You learn from every race you ride and adjust certain things in training and testing which hopefully translate into better and better times. In a sense you are always racing against yourself, trying to go better than the last time”.

According to Mistry, the 3000m pursuit, which takes place with 2 riders on opposite ends of the track, “looks deceptively simple, in that all it seems like is you get on a bike and pedal as hard as you can for the specified distance”.

However, the training, the preparation, the diet, the mental aspects, the actual race, the lap timing splits, the aerodynamics, the body positioning, the bicycle, the attention to detail - all need to be dealt with. It tests the contestant’s mental and physical endurance.

Usually the results go to the people who have put in the required time to address all the criteria, he stated.

In contrast, the scratch or mass start race involves 24 people, who ride at the one time, with the fastest person over the line winning.

These races are a bit of a lottery as it is not necessary that the strongest rider wins, observed Mistry who finished overall fourth 46 MARCH (1) 2012

in the category. Positioning in the race, tactics and the final sprint determine the winner. This is not a timed event either. However the average speed over the 10 km was about 55 kmph, so it was still a quick race, he noted.

The professional cyclist has a grueling training schedule, clocking an average of 60-80 km daily. Typically his training year is broken down into specific phases of endurance, strength and speed building.

In the endurance phase his daily weekday sessions generally include 2 - 2.5 hours of riding, while weekend races cover approximately 150 km, he indicated.

The strength phase involves a similar session on hilly terrains to build up stamina. Finally, the speed phase, which is normally six weeks prior to an event focuses on target racing at a velodrome.

Mistry’s competition year is split into A, B and C category races with A of course being the most important races where he strives to be at his peak.

Thanks to a well-coordinated schedule from Cycling NSW and Cycling Australia, this is possible.

And of course all this needs to fit around work and family commitments and very soon it become an exercise in time management, he quipped. Mistry’s wife and daughter are not only very supportive of his rigorous schedule but also accompany him to most interstate and overseas events, enjoying a working holiday in the process.

As well the St George Club, of which he has been a member since his arrival in Australia over a decade ago, has been very supportive.

The club has been a great source of inspiration, particularly several members who are current and past world and Olympic champions, he acknowledged.

“Their candor and willingness to share what they know and a genuine attitude to help is not something you get access to everyday” he revealed. “This has helped me learn a lot and apply it to my racing and training. Even though I live far from the club, I am still an active member”.

Nosh participates in around 75 races annually, his flagship events being individual pursuit and the road time trial. These events, he explained, require a similar physiology and training regimen and are classed as endurance events. This includes weekly races at the club, competing against Olympics level riders as well as

state and national championships.

The avid cyclist’s tryst with the sport goes back three decades when Nosh got his first bike from his uncle as a preschooler. “He still follows my career closely, offering pointers. Since then, I have been attracted to high tech bicycles,” Mistry confessed.

As an adolescent he took up competitive cycling, winning his first national medal in India.

Ironically, this was five weeks after a bad training accident involving a learner driver, he remembers.

Having dabbled in a number of sports, cycling, Nosh discovered, was a perfect fit. Swimming and long distance running followed and Nosh went on to win state championships in both. He thus took up the triathlon and was soon named the national champion.

This led to a job with the Indian Railways, representing them in numerous national events, while pursuing his MBA. “It was good to be paid to do a sport I loved and also continue my studies,” he admitted.

In that sense it was both a passion and profession for a while.

His only regret about competitive cycling back home, is the total lack of calendar management and information coordination.

“In India, I wouldn’t know when state or national events are until a fortnight before the race. So there was no chance to be at your peak. This unfortunately continues to this day, preventing Indian competitors to perform their best at global levels”, he lamented.

However, when you love doing something, it is not very hard to keep yourself going. When it brings results, which are recognised at a high level like the nationals, that is a bonus, he indicated.

On a philosophical level though, it is just the simplicity of the activity of cycling and being completely absorbed in the moment that keeps him going.

This motto gives Nosh a complete sense of purpose and involvement with life in general.

So what drives the keen sportsman to sustain the momentum?

Pursuing any activity to the highest levels requires tremendous physical and mental stamina. There are days when things will seem harder, however as with anything, persistence is the key. If you have discovered you have a talent for something, never ever, ever give up, he emphasised.

Mistry is already setting his sights on the next event.

Nosh Mistry takes the bronze in the 3000m Individual Pursuit event in the 2012 Cycling Australia Masters National Championships. Adam Simonelli wins gold and Rob Carlisle, silver.

After “two easy weeks”, he hopes to get back into the endurancetraining phase and build up the volume of training and aim for a better outcome next time he competes in the same event. An action packed sporting calendar notwithstanding, Mistry also juggles a full time career in event photography.

Meanwhile, if his performance targets are on track, a shot at World Masters in Manchester could well be in the offing.

Nosh took up competitive cycling as an adolescent, winning his first national medal in India.

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MARCH (1) 2012 49

FOOD

Afternoon tea time

Feeding your hungry brood when they return from school isn’t such a chore with these easy and delicious recipes

BY ELIZABETH GAETE

I

t’s 3.30 in the afternoon. The kids fly in through the front door, dump their school bag wherever they see fit and before mum even gets a chance to close the door behind her, she hears those predictable statements: “I’m starving mum!”, “What’s to eat?”

It’s easy to grab packets of processed food from the pantry, but by putting in a little effort and a bit of forward planning, handling your child’s 3.30-itis doesn’t have to be a big chore.

Here are a list of recipes that are easy to make, delicious to eat and are sure to fill those hungry tummies until dinner-time.

Pikelets

This recipe is so easy to remember, you will soon be able to do it blindfolded.

1 cup self raising flour 1 cup milk 1 egg Pinch of salt Cooking oil spray Sift flour into bowl, add salt.

Make a well in the centre. Add milk and whisked egg. Stir until combined. Spray a frying pan with cooking oil spray. Once the pan is hot place about three separate spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan. Once bubbles appear on the top of the pikelets, flip them over for about another minute or so, until golden brown.

Top the pikelet with fresh fruit i.e. bananas, strawberries, add a dollop of yoghurt and a drizzle of honey.

The pikelet mixture itself is not sweet, so be creative with your toppings!

For a savoury option, spread with cream cheese and top with sliced tomato or cucumber.

TIP: Put milk in microwave prior to adding to flour, until it’s lukewarm. This gives the mixture a better consistency and helps speed up the cooking time.

Pizza muffins

The base to these pizzas can be changed depending on what you have in your pantry. This recipe uses English muffins, but Lebanese bread or tortillas can also be used.

50 MARCH (1) 2012

2 English muffins cut in half Tomato paste or pizza sauce Grated cheddar cheese Spread tomato paste onto cut English muffin, top with a favourite topping combination i.e. ham and pineapple or a vegetarian mixture of capsicum, sliced tomato and thinly cut mushroom.

Cover with grated cheese and place under the griller of your oven until the cheese has melted well.

Pita pockets can also be used and filled with the kids’ favourite pizza topping and cheese. Place in the oven and bake until cheese has melted.

Fruit kebab sticks

The kids will always be on hand to help make this snack!

Kebab sticks or bamboo skewers Fruit of choice: strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, rockmelon, sliced peach, sliced nectarine, apple, banana, grapes.

Use whatever fruit is in season.

Cut fruit such as watermelon or rockmelon into bite-sized squares of about 3cm in length and width.

If using apples or peaches make sure slices are thick enough, at least 2cm wide, so they can be pushed onto the skewer stick.

Use fruit like strawberries and blueberries whole.

Thread fruit onto the skewer sticks. It can be served plain or with the kids’ favourite yoghurt as a dipping sauce.

Bread pillows

Simple and delicious, these are a winner for hungry tummies 6 slices of wholemeal, white or wholegrain bread Butter or margarine spread Small can of corn Small can baked beans Grated cheddar cheese 12 cake cupcake tray Cooking oil spray Spread margarine or butter onto bread. Cut crusts off bread and cut each piece of bread in half. Lightly spray cupcake tray with cooking oil.

Push the half piece of bread into each cupcake hole. Place in preheated oven, and bake until bread is slightly crispy.

Take cupcake tray out of oven. In six bread halves, place 2 spoonfuls of corn, top with grated cheese on top of the baked

Banana smoothie

This can also be called a banana milkshake for those children who are “allergic” to anything healthy. It’s quick, easy and a nutritious snack the kids will really enjoy.

2 cups of milk 1 banana roughly chopped ½ cup of yoghurt 1 tablespoon of honey Place all ingredients into a blender. Blend well until smooth. Place into 2 glasses with a straw. If your child likes cinnamon, this can be lightly sprinkled on top.

bread. In the other six place 2 spoonfuls of baked beans onto the bread, and top with grated cheese. The baked beans should

be placed in a bowl and heated in microwave until warmed through beforehand. This will help speed up the cooking process. Place back

into the oven until cheese has melted. Cool slightly before serving.

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Commonwealth Bank launches NRI banking in Australia

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MARCH (1) 2012 51

52 MARCH (1) 2012

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the Buzz

54 MARCH (1) 2012

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Nathalia Kaur

Anupam

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Kher

Shekha

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an

MARCH (1) 2012 55

entertainment

Cine Talk Making and breaking

jodis J

ust when you think you’ve seen them all, from the hit jodis to the split jodis comes Jodi Breakers. A jodi-daar pair, Madhavan and Bipasha Basu set up a business of splitting couples…until they end up splitting the wrong couple. That’s when all hell breaks loose.

Interestingly the wronged couple is played by two modelturned-actors Milind Soman and Dipannati Sharma who are a class act, together and apart.

Dipannati specially, whom we saw some time ago in a chic avatar in Ladies versus Ricky Behl, makes you wonder why some ladies get left behind in the rat race.

Or why any man would be stupid enough to leave a wife like Ms. Sharma. That’s the thought which holds the shaky screenplay of Jodi Breakers together - that we often end up giving ourselves a wrong deal in the bid for love.

The concept of a pair falling in love as they go about breaking couples is interesting enough to hold a two-hour long romcom together. Lamentably, the episodes showing a pile-up of desperately-estranged couples seeking to find an escape from marriage are hardly as amusing as one would expect them to be, given the situation.

At various places, the screenplay simply slithers to a standstill waiting for the writer’s next brainwave.

Until then, there’s always the song break. The music is all of the safe variety, expansive ballads, a sexy item song… download-able waste.

Madhavan and Bipasha Basu’s screen presence goes a long way in covering up the film’s frail passages. They seem to vibe well together and bring a kind of shared empathy to the proceedings that seem to suggest there’s much more going on here than meets the eye. Madhavan in two dramatic key sequences holds the camera like a lover. Rest is brat-boy-funtime stuff.

This could have been the perfect rom-com about an imperfect couple trying to make money out of brokendown relationships. Sadly, director Ashwini Choudhary fails to go the whole hog.

Somewhere down the line the characters stop thinking and begin shrinking. They go through motions that are written for them.

And not very convincing motions at that.

If the film works at all it’s because Madhavan and Bipasha make a cute couple and try to extract the maximum enjoyment from their under-written smarton-top-shaky-at-the-bottom characters. Besides them you really won’t find too many sidesplitting moments in this film about jodi-splittng.

Subhash K. Jha

Film: Jodi Breakers Cast: R. Madhavan, Bipasha Basu, Dipannati Sharma, Milind Soman, Helen Director: Ashwini Chowdhary

56 MARCH (1) 2012

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Palpable but understated chemistry

S

Film: Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D’Souza, Om Puri, Tinnu Anand, Smita Jaykar Director: Mandeep Kumar

ome love stories are just so sweet, more so, when real life couples romance on reel. Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya is one of those.

No extraordinary story, no unique formula, no major histrionics, yet, this romantic-comedy entertains and touches your heart.

Mini (Genelia D’Souza) is an educated, fun-loving daughter of businessman, Bhatti (Tinnu Anand), who wants to marry her off to a rich jaat, Sunny, who in turn wants the permit Mini holds as his entry into “Caneda” aka Canada.

But the feisty Mini, who loves life and adventure, will have none of that.

Viren (Riteish Deshmukh), who drives Bhatti’s rickshaw, is a simpleton with dreams of starting a travel agency with a fleet of cars for which he is painstakingly saving money.

Bhatti sells off all his rickshaws one day with Viren’s savings of Rs.60,000 in it. Egged on by his friends to drown his sorrows, Viren guzzles a few drinks and in a drunken stupor lands up at Bhatti’s doorstep demanding his money back, while Mini’s engagement is in progress.

An argument ensues and Viren lays his hands on a pistol. In the commotion, Mini seizes the opportunity and forces Viren to kidnap her and makes him drive them off in the waiting vehicle.

The spunky Mini makes a deal with Viren that he will follow her instructions and will demand a ransom of Rs.10 lakh from her father. He can then have his Rs.60,000 and she will keep the rest as she does not want to go back home and marry.

While the ransom letter goes to Mini’s father, the couple enter into someone’s home and try to make ends meet. In the process,

they fall in love and are happy being with each other.

The story takes a twist when Mini’s fiance along with her father comes to pay the ransom amount but actually fools them and starts firing, hoping to take Mini back.

Suddenly, Mini and Viren are kidnapped by another person and taken away to the Chowdhary’s haveli.

Chowdhary (Om Puri) is a notorious kidnapping kingpin, who makes a living out of demanding ransom. Just when you think Puri is a villain of sorts and some never-ending torture drama a la 1980s Hindi films, will unfold, we discover that Viren alias “Chotu” is Om Puri and Smita Jayakar’s son.

Disapproving of his father’s ways, Viren has left home six years ago to work in Patiala as a rickshaw driver.

Follow your heart and not your head when you watch this comedy directed by debutant Mandeep Kumar.

The sincere effort to make a light hearted, fun, love story shines through.

Genelia as the spirited Mini is adorable and delivers an energetic performance. She looks fresh, gorgeous and does full justice to Mini’s insanities and pranks. Riteish plays Viren to the hilt. He is earnest, restrained, but you have seen him do this before.

The duo lights up the screen with their palpable, but understated chemistry. Tinnu Anand and Om Puri expectedly deliver good performances.

Sachin Jigar’s music compliments the film. Main vaari janwa tugs at your heart strings. The title song Tere naal also brings out the flavour of the film.

However, Veena Malik’s item number - Fan ban gayi - fails to elicit whistles or fans.

Cinematographer Chirantan Das impresses by beautifully capturing wonderful locales in rural Punjab and scenic Himachal Pradesh.

Enjoy watching a sweet love story with the now Mr and Mrs Deshmukh as the lead pair. Trust me, it is entertaining enough.

Troy Ribeiro

A rare cinematic treat S

ome films are meant to run that extra mile to go beyond being a mere cinematic experience. As we see names of real-life athletes who died unsung flash across the screen at the end of Paan Singh Tomar we realize what we’ve just witnessed in the past 190 minutes of taut playing-time is not just film. It’s a treatise on what destiny has in store for people who do not conform to sociallyacceptable definitions of success.

Indeed Irrfan Khan as Paan Singh Tomar typifies that criminal neglect of all athletes in our country barring cricketers who, as we all know by now, are grossly overrated.

Tomar was a steeplechase runner. Not that it made any difference to his destiny.

In the army for the long innings Tomar, we are told, took voluntary retirement to look after his family and land in his native village.

This is where Dhulia’s riveting screenplay, where not a moment is squandered in self-indulgent editing, gets truly astounding. Abandoning the manageable hurdles of the steeplechase Tomar took to the gun to avenge the wrong done to his family.

There are hurdles, and hurdles - some impossible to overcome.

The two lives of Paan Singh Tomar, in the army as a celebrated sportsperson and as an outlaw on the run in the Chambal valley are brought together in a stirring blend of the brilliant and the haunting.

While Dhulia’s earlier works suffered for the lack of a suitable budget Paan Singh Tomar is technically a polished piece of

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cinema with the editing (Aarti Bajaj) and background score (Sandeep Chowta) adding a dimension beyond the drama of the driven athlete.

The film is shot by cinematographer Aseem Mishra with an intriguing blend of a bleeding authenticity and a poetic resplendence. Indeed, Tigmanshu Dhulia’s training as a racounteur of a tale of social injustice and damnifying outlawry, harks back to the director’s association with Shekhar Kapoor’s Bandit Queen.

In portraying Paan Singh’s leap from celebrated athlete to wanted bandit, Dhulia avoids the ostentatious brutality of the circumstances that made Phoolan Devi a social outcast. Paan Singh Tomar has very little on-screen violence. It’s the heart that bleeds profusely and invisibly in almost every frame.

The unspoken question, why do we treat our athletes so shabbily, trails the narrative, as does the other larger question of social inequality and the subversion of law.

Unlike other films with a strong social message Paan Singh Tomar never stops being a truly liberating cinematic experience. Of course much of the credit for the film’s sledgehammer effect goes to Irrfan Khan’s central performance. As Paan Singh Irrfan is in one word, flawless. There is not a single shot in the film that he gets wrong. He follows his character’s destiny with an intuitive alertness that leaves no room for ambiguity in the interpretation of the character’s complex life. And it’s not just about getting the character’s spoken

language and body language right.

Irrfan goes way beyond.

Would the other grossly overrated Khans of our cinema kindly watch Irrfan’s performance?

The beauty of watching Irrfan transform into Tomar is the seamless leap the actor takes into the character. Irrfan is blessed with first-rate supporting actors, many of whom we haven’t seen much on screen before. They add to the film’s high level of authenticity by just not looking like and speaking their lines like actors.

The scenes showing Irrfan running with other actors are beautifully captured as moments of metaphorical significance.

Somewhere down the line the scenes showing Tomar jumping over hurdles on the race track merge into the larger picture to tell us, life on field and life outside the race track have one thing in common. You have to keep running, no matter what the odds.

Paan Singh Tomar is a terrific edge-ofthe-seat entertainer. The synthesis of two

Film: Paan Singh Tomar STARRING: Irrfan Khan, Mahie Gill, Tinnu Anand, Smita Jaykar Directed by: Tigmanshu Dhulia

genres - the sports film and the dacoit drama - is done with such confident ingenuity that we hardly realize when one ends, the other begins.

“No one gave a damn about me when I won medals for the country. Today when I’m a baaghi (rebel) everyone wants to know about Paan Singh Tomar,” Irrrfan says caustically.

Hopefully after this film we’d learn to care for our unsung heroes a bit more.

Oh yes, a word on the stunning soundtrack. From snatches of old Lata Mangeshkar melodies to radio announcements on Nargis Dutt’s demise, time passages are achieved through incidental snatches of voices caught in mid-air.

Life’s life that. You never know what you will experience in that raga we call existence until a snatch of a line hits you from a distance.

Subhash K. Jha

MARCH (1) 2012 57

m arti m onials Seeking suitable Punjabi Brahmin match for Seeking Grooms 1972 born (looks younger), divorced, issueless

Well-settled professional alliance invited from Australia/India for 40/165 unmarried charming Punjabi Khatri girl, family oriented and responsible, IT professional, working in Sydney. Australian citizen. Early marriage. Can relocate. Serious proposals only. Email profile with recent photo: sydgirl09@gmail.com

Seeking suitable match from Australia preferably PR/citizen, student can be considered as well, for Hindu / Punjabi Khatri girl pharmacist, B.SC medical, 5’5”, ‘84 born, slim and fair, living and working in India (Punjab).

Brother well-settled in Melbourne. Parents in India. Contact Abhishek Seth on 0433 322 666 or email seth.abhishek@yahoo.com Well-settled Hindu family in Sydney seeks a mature, well settled, good natured, professional boy from a cultured family for our charming daughter, ‘79 born, 5’2”, IT professional (Masters IT). Caste no bar. Please respond with photo and particulars to sssvjp@hotmail.com Seeking qualified Gujarati match for sister, 5’1”, 28 years, vegetarian, B.E. (Electronics & Communication), working with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at Vadodara, Gujarat. Email profile with recent photos on kunalshah@y7mail.com or call 0433 255 228.

Serious proposals only. Well cultured and well to do family.

Seeking well-qualified match for very fair, young looking Hindu lady, 54, veg, divorced, daughter living with her. He must be aged 49-55, non smoker with strong moral values.

Contact lifepartner@hotmail.com.au or call 0404 043 904.

Suitable well-settled, professional match for Punjabi Arora girl, beautiful, never married, 38/165, qualified IT professional. GSOH with good family values. Brought up in India.

Working in MNC Sydney. Australian citizen. Early marriage. Serious enquiries only. Email details with photo: ausgirl101@gmail.com

58 MARCH (1) 2012

registered nurse currently in India. Groom preferably between the age of 35-40, Hindu vegetarian, non smoker, non drinker. Only serious persons contact on nitishsharma_18@ yahoo.com

Seeking BRIDES

Seeking Hindu girl, preferably Gujarati, good family values, for my son, dob: 7/8/75, divorced, no children, fair, 5’8”, vegetarian, down to earth, genuine, well-built, non-smoker, light drinker, Australian citizen, tax consultant, lives with parents. Contact 0423 328 800 or sydau714@ hotmail.com Compatible match for 1975 born, clean shaven Sikh Khatri boy, 5’ 9”, two Post-Graduate degrees from India and recently finished Masters in IT from Australia. Currently on temporary resident visa (with full work rights) and doing 3 months Internship at Optus Sydney. Living with elder brother (Australian citizen) and parents, who are on a 1-year visitor visa. Girl should be tall, well educated with pleasing personality and must be from Sikh background. Early marriage and serious proposals please.

Contact 02 9476 4570 or email: jas_ghai01@ hotmail.com Seeking a suitable match with Indian values for 27-year-old, 5’6”, Punjabi Khatri boy, Permanent Resident, permanent job, parents in Australia for visit. Please email sunaina_aqua1@ yahoo.com or call 0421 959 861.

Seeking Hindu/Buddhist girl from Bali, Fiji, India, Nepal ,Sri Lanka or anywhere else for 29-year-old, 6 ft., handsome Hindu boy, working in Health Services. Looking for educated working girl, with strong family and cultural values. Teacher, health service worker preferable but not necessary. Serious proposals only with a view to marriage and building a family. Please send photos and correspondence to P.O.CP Box 343, Condell Park, NSW, 2200.

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starsforetell

TAROT

predictions for march 2012 By nancy JADE ALTHEA www.nancysood.com

Aries March 21 - April 19 This month the cards indicate a time for communications with everyone, so you will be busy and also very popular. There are many different plans to travel and this month you are going to be really busy.

There is a combination of cards showing that you need to be careful with family members and misunderstandings, as you have been feeling very unhappy with certain family members lately. You may be looking at starting something new and prospects are looking good.

Taurus April 20 - May 20 The cards show here that your financial situation is getting better, and there is no shortage of money flow. However, you have to be careful about being too generous with your money, as you have a problem and cannot say no. Romantically you will be feeling good and also thinking about a particular person with whom you want to make things permanent. Be careful of spilling the beans with secrets you may be holding about someone - hold your tongue.

Gemini May 21 - June 20 The cards show that your sex appeal is oozing and you will be like a magnet attracting the opposite sex, but without any problems.

You also have some thoughts about changing your car. You are currently putting a lot of effort into work and will also be gaining recognition and rewards this month. You will be thinking of taking on a new health regime. There is an indication that you need to look at your diet. Take an allergy test.

cancer June 21 - June 20 You have been working quite hard lately and the cards indicate a need to take it easy. Take some time out and just relax. Be careful and don’t keep taking what your boss may be expecting from you.

You need to learn to stand up for yourself, otherwise you will be working 24 hours a day. There may be a romantic liaison at work, so watch out as it could end in upsets. Also, be careful of arguments with people.

Leo July 23 - Aug 22 The cards indicate that you have some jealousy around you in regards to your love life or its progress. Be patient, as you are feeling the pressure in work and life. Be clear in your mind as to what you would like to do, as you are being urged to make some firm choices. There are some work issues that need to be addressed. You should take time to eat well and do not indulge in alcohol or nicotine.

Virgo Aug 23 - Sep22 The cards indicate that you will be concentrating on your career.

You will be praised a lot at work but you need to decide what you want to do, as you have itchy feet to change jobs. You will be thinking of going to another city or state. You have some paperwork to deal with, things you have been putting off for some time. You will be making some investments and looking at ways to make your money go further.

NATIONAL EDITION

Libra Sep 23 - Oct 22 The cards indicate that you will be looking at choosing a holiday destination this month. You have plans to travel and have some ‘me’ time. Things are looking good, if you are waiting for news of a promotion. Your love life needs a spring clean and to make things interesting, you need to start communicating more with each other. There may be a minor operation for one of your friends or a partner this month, but all will be well.

Scorpio Oct 23 - Nov 21 You are like a ball of energy with lots of plans and thoughts this month. You are worried about a loved one who has been showing signs of being distant and not very open with you. You are feeling left out and need to talk to each other. There may be awaited news, about a job in another city. You are looking at a way to start a new life. This month is going to be full of many changes.

Sagittarius Nov 22 - Dec 21 The cards show that this month your relationship will go through ups and downs. Both of you seem to have some minor misunderstandings: you need to look at what is causing this. You might have to re-evaluate your behaviour to keep things flowing smoothly. If you are strong you will keep things together; if not you will break up. Money is coming in but you have some expenses to deal with. Health is okay, but take care of your back.

Capricorn Dec 22 - Jan 19 The cards indicate new opportunities around work with new plans and more challenges knocking on your door. You need to be able to communicate what you want to your superiors. A long-term relationship is in trouble, and you need patience and a clear mind to work through these problems. There will be some major revelations after the 24th. The health of an older member of the family will also be a concern. However, try to keep your stress levels down.

Aquarius Jan 20 - Feb 18 The cards indicate that your love life will be going through a whirlwind this month. Sit down with your lover and ask some serious questions about what they want. There seems to be a feeling of instability around work, as you are not getting what you deserve. There are plans to take up a hobby, you are looking for some excitement and fun, but need to relax. Time to start meeting up with friends and getting your social life active again.

Pisces Feb 19 - March 20 The cards indicate a time for refurbishing your house or flat. You will be thinking of home improvement projects. Your job needs attention as you are not in the mood to work lately, and you could have major problems with your boss and colleagues. You have lost interest in your current role. Take time out to decide where you want to be. Life is not great with your lover as you are getting mixed signals. Talk and clear the air.

MARCH (1) 2012 59

backchat

Fuel Frenzy Female emergency situations are dauntingly different when you step into a predominantly male domain, UZMA BEG discovers

D

on’t know if it’s a subcontinental thing or the case with women everywhere... or just an Uzma thing... but there are some things we girls can do and others that just don’t seem to come naturally. Men seem to be naturally wired to do certain things, while women do others to perfection. No offence to any of the sexes but there seems to be a bit of “his” and “hers” going on in daily life. The whole hunter/gatherer mumbo-jumbo makes a lot of sense sometimes!

I have a million and a half such “his” and “her” moments in my life which, if nothing else, provide some comic relief later when the frustrating part is over!

Coming from a reasonably wellto-do family in Pakistan, I had led a very sheltered life. When I arrived here I had never seen the face of a bill and wouldn’t have known what to do if one hit me in the face. I had never cooked or cleaned, never parked my own car or filled fuel in it (what are drivers for?), never washed a dish or used a dishwasher.

I was a blissfully ignorant laundry and fuel-filling virgin!

The laundry part sorted itself out soon after my arrival, but despite my husband teaching me how to, I had never filled fuel in the car...well, not until recently anyway.

It was a regular morning, the usual mad dash to school, breaking my neck to get my daughter there on time! I drove off in a frenzy, breathing only when I stopped at the first traffic light. I looked down and saw the fuel gauge light blinking frantically at me. I looked again...could it really be? There was no fuel in the car? And then it all came rushing back to me like a bad allergy – my hubby had said that there was no fuel in the car the day before when we were driving around with the fuel gauge light on all day. He’d said he’d fill it up, could he really have forgotten? A feeling of panic engulfed me and I had to find out what was going on. I called him as soon as I hit the second traffic light. I was so hysterical he thought I’d run someone over!

Complete hysteria took over when I found out that he’d actually forgotten to put fuel in the car the night before. My daughter’s school is about a 30-minute drive 60 MARCH (1) 2012

from my house, I wasn’t even halfway to there and we’d already been driving around on an empty tank for a whole day – which meant there was probably nothing left in the reserve tank either!

I drove the entire way sitting at the edge of my seat waiting for the car to stop at any minute.

Throughout the miserable journey I kept trying to figure out my “plan B” in case the car stopped.

There wasn’t a minute to spare; I was already going to beat the school bell by the skin of my teeth and there was no way I could take a diversion to get fuel.

“Get fuel...oh Lord, who’s going to get fuel for me?!” was all I kept thinking as I flew us to school.

I managed to get my daughter there on time and made another hysterical “How could you do this to me” call to my husband.

I arrived at the fuel pump looking like a ghost! Hell, in Pakistan even the men don’t fill up their own cars, the fuel pump attendants do! I remembered my hubby mentioning in passing once that our car takes diesel only - so I went to the pump that had diesel. I stopped the car and stumbled out clumsily, feeling completely out of place and very conscious that normal people might be staring at me.

I went around to where the nozzle is and realized that I had parked too far ahead of the pump, and the nozzle wouldn’t stretch to the car. So I unlocked the car, got back into it and reversed. Got out to find I had reversed too much and the nozzle still wouldn’t reach he car! So back in I went and drove it forward just a wee bit. I got out a third time and discovered my hard work had paid off. My car was finally in place!

I tried to yank the nozzle out of the pump but it seemed to be stuck, so I yanked and yanked till it finally came free. With the nozzle in one hand I tried to open the fuel tank inlet, but it had no lever with which to pull it open.

I pushed it, tapped it, even tried knocking to see if it would respond but… nothing! I then proceeded to return the nozzle to the pump and went back into the car to investigate how to open the fuel tank! I felt around for a good 15 minutes! I looked under the steering wheel, around the gear box, near the drivers seat, under the driver’s seat,

on the steering wheel, near the dashboard, but for the life of me I couldn’t find anything that would open the fuel tank. I opened a few other things in the process, but definitely not the fuel tank. I was actually at my wits’ end when I spotted a small lever on the car door. I pulled it in desperation and heard a popping sound! I rushed outside and to my utter joy, I saw the little fuel tank window open!

I quickly locked the car for the fourth time and went back to my business.

The nozzle seemed to be stuck again because I yanked for ages but it wouldn’t come out of the pump. I finally thought that it had been “locked” by the “fuel pump people” so I went inside to ask why they had locked the pump’s nozzle and how on earth was I supposed to fill diesel in my car without a nozzle? A very pretty Indian looking lady informed me that she didn’t know what the hell I was talking about! I ran back to the car in frustration and yanked again and again and again and after what seemed like the hundredth yank, the nozzle finally dislodged and fuel sprouted out of it, flying all over my car, myself amd basically everywhere but inside the fuel tank. I felt like Mr. Bean!

Once I’d got the nozzle in the tank I filled away very confused as to how much I needed to fill

and how I would know when to stop, all the while cursing my poor hubby for putting me in this ridiculous situation.

When it was all over I asked the guy behind me who was tearing his eyes out in frustration to take a photograph of me so that I could capture my triumph to prove to all and sundry that “I did it”! I think that might have been the only time I smiled in the entire hour that I was there...for the photo. I may have ended up with permanent frown lines from this gruelling process!

I hope no one lit a match around that area after I left because there was a lot of fuel everywhere, not to mention myself as I arrived home an hour later, stinking of diesel. I found a parking spot right outside my house and bumped right into my neighbour’s car. When I heard the thud I pulled out of that spot and parked somewhere else. Shaking and sick of my adventures I checked my neighbour’s car to make sure I hadn’t damaged it... relief swept over me when I saw that it was fine!

I rang the doorbell to my house and almost exploded when my husband said, “Where have you been and why did you take so long?”

My response to that is too delicate for the eyes of our refined readers!

I had never cooked or cleaned, never parked my own car or filled fuel in it (what are drivers for?), never washed a dish or used a dishwasher.

When it was all over I asked the guy behind me who was tearing his eyes out in frustration to take a photograph of me so that I could capture my triumph to prove to all and sundry that “I did it”!

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