2012-03 Sydney (2)

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SPIRITUAL Chinmaya Mission events 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).

Bhagavad Gita classes by SVT Learn Chapters 7 to 13 of the Bhagavad Gita as taught by Sri Vasudevacharya, a senior disciple of Sri Swami Dayananda Saraswati, and a respected Vedanta Guru. Commencing 4 March 2012, on first three Sundays of each month, and concluding 9 September 2012, at Darcy Road Public School Hall, Darcy Road, Wentworthville, 3:00pm to 5:30pm No prior knowledge is required. The course is in English and all materials will be provided. The course is free of charge; donations are accepted.

Details at www.srivasudevacharya.org Shree Ram Sharnam society The Shree Ram Sharnam society’s Sydney headquarters are located at 23 Sheba Crescent, South Penrith.

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What’s on

One-hour prayer sessions featuring the recital of the Shree Amritvaani are held daily between 7:30pm and 8:30pm (except Saturday and Sunday when prayers are held from 6pm to 7:15pm). The society’s next prayer-meditation sessions are scheduled for April 1, May 13 and June 3 from 9am to 10am at the Woodcroft Community Centre on 65 Woodcroft Drive.

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

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 not-for-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

SENIORS WEEK Sri Om Care Fri 23 Mar Festival of Indian Food & Indian New Year, 11am to 3pm, at Auburn Botanical Garden, Auburn Sun 25 Mar Festival of Indian Dances & Cultural shows 11am to 3.30pm Details Jayraman 0410 759 906 or Vidya 0433 048 099 Indian Welfare Association 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.

SEMINAR The students’ crisis of 2009 Thu 29 Mar UTS’s Indian Ocean & South Asia Research Network IOSARN presents a workshop entitled Perceptions of 2009: Indian Students and their experience of Australia, 1:00 pm at UTS Building 10 (235 Jones St, Ultimo), Level 14, Room 201. This workshop will examine the 2009 crisis; reflecting on lessons learnt and future

strategies to strengthen relations between communities in Australia.

Panels include Rory Medcalf (Program Director International Security, Lowy Institute), Professor Amitabh Mattoo ( Director Australia India Institute), Matt Wade (Fairfax Correspondent in India during the student crisis), Professor Heather Goodall (UTS), Dr Devaki Monani (Research Scholar UTS ), Amit Dasgupta (Consul General of India), Dr Stepan Kerkeshariyan (Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Community Relations Commission) and Robert Redfern (Superintendent, Commander, Corporate Spokesperson International Students, NSW Police).

Free event but RSVP is required: Cornelia.Betzler@uts.edu.au Details Cornelia Beltzer 02 9514 2768 (www.iosarn.com) Domestic violence Wed 28 Mar India Club together with NSW Police Force are Hosting a Special Information Session on Emotional Abuse and Domestic Violence Awareness. 6.30 pm to 9.00 pm atT he Hills Shire Council Function room, 129 Showground Road Castle Hill (Cnr. of Showground and Carrington Road). Details Shubha Kumar 02 9873-1207, 0402 257 588.

HOLI MELA 2012 23-25 Mar 2012 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.

MISC 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

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mainstream

Local MP joins Indian group at Clean Up Australia event

Julia Owens, Federal Member for Parramatta joins SKLPS volunteers at Parramatta Park

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his year’s annual Clean Up Australia day on Sunday, March 4 found willing participants in not just a large number of people of Indianorigin people, but also from organisations representing the subcontinent here.

The Shree Kutch Leva Patel Samaj (SKLPS) participated in the event for the second year running.

The not-for-profit organisation’s newly established Social Events Network registered independently, booking the site, organising the day’s schedule and inviting Ms. Julia Owens, Federal Member for Parramatta to join the group.

Nearly 70 SKLPS members participated in the clean up, including about 10 children under the age of 12, collecting approximately 30 bags of rubbish in the bush and around the lake at Parramatta

Park. Luckily for the enthusiastic volunteers, the rain stayed away, allowing them to work from 10am to 12noon. The group then gathered together to enjoy a home-cooked Gujarati lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the weather and playing cricket and football.

SKLPS participants enjoyed the experience, with comments as varied as “It feels good to do something for the community” to “Eeww, I found a nappy!” enlivening the day.

Julie Owens was pleased to have participated with a local community group “to spruce up a local jewel”. She said, “We all know the positive contribution Australians that share an Indian heritage have had on Parramatta; this is yet another practical example of their commitment to the area”.

SKLPS Sydney has been in operation since the past four years, organising a series of events through the year with the aim of bringing together the Kutchi Leva Patel community in the city.

Sikh Youth Australia (SYA) also brought together a group of EcoSikhs who teamed up with Glenwood Gurdwara and Revesby Gurdwara to participate in Clean Up Australia.

Devotees of Shree Ram Sharnam at the Woodcroft community centre also joined Clean Up Australia day with volunteers in the area, adding their bit to this great environmental cause.

Clean Up Australia Day has been running since 1989, and this year, an estimated 591,400 volunteers removed 16,199 tonnes of rubbish from 7,363 Clean Up sites across the country.

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e k a m t a h t s g n i th appy h s r o i n e s

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BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

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hey are a generation apart, enjoying their twilight years here in Australia in the company of family and friends.

Our respected 65-plus citizens still play an important, and sometimes indispensable role in our lives, and for the most part, they are content with their lot. So what gives them happiness? It could be little things like helping out around the family home, indulging in hobbies or catching up with friends. Or our savvy seniors spend time surfing the net, keeping up with current affairs or volunteering.

Indeed, the theme of Seniors Week - Live Life! - might as well have been written for the desi seniors we speak with here.

Family

Without doubt, the first thought that comes to mind when you ask seniors what makes them happy, is family. Children, grandchildren and extended family, wherever in the world they may be.

Grandparents are an indispensable part of the family unit here, providing care and support for their grandchildren, as their children pursue work and careers.

Charan Sekhon is a classic case. With three adult children all happily married and living within drivable distance, retired life has come alive with family all over again.

“I have six grandchildren - the youngest is only a month old - and I am happy to be involved in their lives since they were born,” she says. Charan helped out with the 10 MARCH (2) 2012

babies when they were born, while always careful never to impose.

When the young mums were ready to go back to work, she looked after the babies for a day a week, making it easier on the new families.

“This involved feeding, putting to sleep, changing, bathing, walking – the whole job, and I loved every minute of it,” she admits enthusiastically, even while supervising bath-time for one of the kids.

“Now my older grandkids want a different kind of attention, such as food they might not get at home, like parathas. I love cooking for them,” claims Charan.

Her husband, who still works, has also begun to chip in. He spends one evening with the older kids at their home helping with homework, especially maths.

“When I go to pick him up, the little ones come running out to greet me – and it makes my day!” says Charan with a smile.

Charan is just one among the many, many grandparents who play an essential role in the lives of their grandchildren which goes beyond just daily chores. Apart from the bonding, they strive to inculcate a better understanding of their past heritage, culture, traditions and even religious beliefs. It’s a wonderful relationship that we hope will blossom and grow.

Friends

After family, friends are an integral part of our seniors’ lives.

Subhashini Channa migrated here with her young family many years ago, and met a group of happily like-minded families also living in the Hills district. They offered mutual support which blossomed and grew into long-lasting, secure and comfortable friendships.

They have experienced births, childhood years, teens, adulthood,

marriages, grandchildren, career successes, some misfortunes, health issues – together in a bond of friendship which has endured for over 20 years. What could be more rewarding than that?

“We are very close,” says Subashini. “We continue to be totally involved in each others’ lives. If there is ever a problem, we know they are just a phone call away”.

“A healthy set of friends is a very, very important asset especially in the senior years,” Subhashini, 70, says. “Ultimately, we are all in a similar - not same boat. Our kids are busy with their own families, and we ourselves are looking at slowing down. We have similar needs now, and find that we keep each other going.”

Sagely, Subhashini concludes, “Our friends are our family.”

Travel

When Dr Rakesh Sachdev decided to ‘semi-retire’ in 2002, the group Young Active Retirees (YAR) was born. His great idea was to travel around the world in the company of close friends. “We felt we had reached a stage in our lives where we had fulfilled most of our family commitments and now had a well earned opportunity to broaden our life experiences,” he says.

“Some advantages of travelling in senior years are, visiting famous landmarks; meeting a range of people and getting to know their cultures and traditions; gaining a perspective in one’s own life and reassess one’s values; going back to one’s roots, and gaining a new frame of reference for understanding the world,” adds Rakesh.

Rakesh and Sarita Sachdev and their friends have now travelled to every continent of the world, even Antarctica.

“We boarded a cruise ship from Brazil, passed through Falkland Islands, went around the Antarctic Peninsula, touched Ushuaia

(southernmost city in the world), and finished in Chile,” he recounts enthusiastically.

They have gone on cruises in Alaska, and from Sydney to Capetown via Mauritius on the Queen Mary 2. East Africa, South America and China were fascinating in different ways.

On their trip to Lake Mansarvor and Mt Kailash they ran medical clinics in Tibet.

Travelling in Europe, they were caught up in the bomb blast in Madrid, and missed connecting flights, an adventure not easily forgotten.

Another treasured memory is Potsdam where in 1945 the Heads of State of the war coalition (Josef Stalin, Harry Truman and Winston Churchill) met to decide on a deal about defeated Germany.

But very special to Rakesh is a trip to Pakistan. “I wanted to trace my roots, and visited my birthplace. I had the privilege of visiting Nankana Sahib and Panja Sahib gurudwaras, and the Khyber Pass with an Army escort,” he says.

Rakesh and his band of merry travellers will visit the Arctic in August. “We are taking a cruise around Spitzberg and going sightseeing in Norway and Finland. We are expecting 23 hours daylight at that time of the year – it’s going to be lots of fun!”

Now that’s what real retirement is all about!

Work

Work has always defined Saroja Srinivasan. She has been a clinical psychologist for some 45 years now, and continues to work one day a week to this day. “I always knew work would be an important aspect of my life, even before I was married,” she says. But it is the kind of work Saroja does that made her decide to continue working through her senior years.

“Being a clinical psychologist has contributed to me being me – or the kind of person I am. It helps me to understand myself better.

It has certainly influenced my quality as a mother; it has worked to create some great relationships

within my own family,” she admits candidly.

Saroja is now keenly looking at opportunities to work more – as part of the NSW Mental Health Review Tribunal, helping with policy and service provision issues.

Hardika Hirani gave up full time work way back in 2001. But since then she has continued to work two days a week, teaching bookkeeping and MYOB at Padstow TAFE. “I do it because I love it,” she says. “I’m still interested in it and so I enjoy it. It keeps me mentally and physically active. I’m very happy with the arrangement, and have every intention to continue as long as I can.”

Yoga

Veda Srinivasan took up yoga at 50, practicing it daily. Now at 70, she is so passionate about it that she has become a qualified instructor, conducting regular yoga lessons for RAIN seniors, and spurred by their interest, publishing a booklet that was enthusiastically received. Indian associations all around Sydney now invite her to conduct yoga sessions.

Veda claims yoga can have special benefits for seniors, bringing mind and body into harmony and reducing the particular stresses brought on by age. Her lessons include breathing exercises (pranayam) and some simple movements, rather then strenuous asanas.

Living here has induced seniors to also try out Tai Chi, a Chinese form of exercise to balance the body’s harmony. Both practices however, help seniors in keeping fit in mind and body, and lead to a state of contentment necessary at their time of life.

Meditation

Dr Gunu Naker has been an avid practitioner of meditation for some 40 years now, incorporating it into his work as an acupuncture GP – he is another ‘active’ senior who continues to work three days a week.

Dr Naker first observed

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Above: Rakesh and Sarita Sachdev in Tibet Left: Happy seniors are healthy seniors the benefits of meditation in psychological medicine – muscle relaxation techniques were eliminating stress. He built this up into a model which he uses to teach his clients “the value of loving and compassionate thoughts and soft speech in eliminating anger or hate”. The use of “Om” as a meditation aid, he tells non-Indian clients, is not religious – it is merely a primordial sound that will connect you to your spirit and ultimately, to the universe.

For Asha Trivedi, also a meditation practitioner and teacher with the Brahma Kumaris, it is not only important to practice a longish period of such ‘withdrawal’ – she meditates daily from 4 am to 4.45 am – but also to be able to take time off between daily chores for say, five minutes at a time, apne aap to shanti dene ke liye (to give yourself some peace), and to help recharge batteries.

Prayer

While some meditate, others

seem to receive the same type of ‘recharging of batteries’ from prayer.

Mridul Rajeshwar at 71, spends more time than ever before reading the scriptures. “I am currently doing the Ramayan path – reading a designated set of chapters every day at the same time,” she says.

She was never overly religious, she claims, but lately she feels drawn to the ancient texts. “I’m seeing the beauty of it all which I seemed to have missed before,” adds Mridul.

Her son and daughter-in-law have also noticed a change. “She seems to be getting some solace out of it, and we are happy for her,” they say.

For 84-year-old Minna Batra, scripture reading has further fanned the fire of social activism that has marked her entire life.

This firebrand human rights activist may be deeply spiritual, but when she read the scriptures (and she has read most religions, not only her own Sikh texts), she realised that, “Religion has divided more than brought harmony,” and that, “All religions put women down”. Minna is an

active member of the Women’s Interfaith Network, and a longtime member of the United Nations Associations of Australia, travelling within Australia and overseas lecturing on human rights issues. She recently concluded active campaigning for constitutional reform, lobbied by the Aboriginal community.

Says Minna, “I also conduct monthly meetings at home on theosophy. I am deeply interested in religions – whether vedic, puranic, ancient Chinese or even Quakers… and the moral and ethical values inherent in them that help foster peace and harmony.”

Reviving an old passion Young-at-hearts sixty plus Lakshmipathi (Laks) Ayer and seventy plus George Thakur have both rediscovered an old passion – writing.

Laks was Chief Copy Editor of the Financial Express of the Indian Express group of newspapers in Bombay and then Deputy Editor of Gujarat Herald in Ahmedabad in

the 1960s. George was the assistant editor of his college newspaper in Lucknow in the late 1950s.

On coming to Australia, both moved away from journalism, as Laks worked as Library Manager of the City of Munno Para in Adelaide for 23 years, and then as a Medical Practice Manager for 10 years. George made inroads into the hospitality industry.

Retiring after rewarding careers, both found a resurgence in their interest of their younger years – a passion for words. The pages of Indian Link have offered them an outlet, and they are now an integral part of the contributors’ team. They write largely for the Adelaide and Melbourne editions, reporting on community events in their cities, but their feature articles and works of fiction are appreciated by readers nationwide.

“Indian Link motivated me to rediscover my dwindling passion for writing, in the absence of which my twilight years would be bland,” says gregarious George.

“Today, my involvement is with various seniors’ associations,

University of the 3rd Age, and Indian Link.”

LP agrees, “This has given me a wonderful outlet for my creative urge - and a good excuse to escape some household chores, to the chagrin of my partner!”

Developing new passions

When Vimla Luthra first arrived in Australia in her early 60s to be close to her children settled here, she realised almost immediately that she would have to adopt a different set of lifeskills than the ones she had in India. The first of these, she told herself, would be to have to learn to drive.

Lessons began in earnest, and continued till she had successfully cleared her driving test. With the purchase of her first car at 65, not only was she well on her way to an independent lifestyle, but also a much-admired figure in her social circle – which grew larger and larger with every passing year. Learning a new skill such as driving is not easy at a senior age, but it did not daunt Vimla

Friends gather to celebrate the launch of 76-year-old Vimla Luthra’s (centre) first book of poetry NATIONAL EDITION

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coverstory Charan Sekhon loves caring for her grandkids

RAIN girls join in a multicultural choir Cooking vegetarian meals for Meals on Wheels

– her dogged determination in mastering this skill improved the quality of her life. Doctors’ visits, library trips, catching up with friends and going to weekend events became independent activities, and this opened up a world of opportunities.

Interestingly, this mind-set transferred to other avenues as well, and soon Vimla was taking on many new challenges, such as speaking in public on topics of interest. When she tried her hand at writing poetry, she enjoyed the activity so much, and the results were so satisfying, that a book evolved, released last year.

Helping other seniors

Sudha Natarajan started the seniors group RAIN (Resourceful Australian Indian Association) six years ago when she came across an elderly Indian lady travelling with much difficulty to the city, to attend a senior citizens’ meeting.

“I had elderly parents at home and thought we should have something closer at hand,” she says. Today Sudha brings succour to a large group of people, has garnered local council support for her activities, and has raised funds and purchased a property solely for the use of Indian seniors. At RAIN, seniors meet not only for social activities, but also to be socially productive: they cook vegetarian meals for Meals on Wheels, have a Carer’s Support Group, two choirs, a prolific vegetable garden, and engage in cultural exchange and fund-raising activities. A ‘Men’s Shed’ for blokes only, was

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launched this month.

This year, the 60-something Sudha has been named as Ambassador for Seniors Week.

Just like Sudha, others who derive satisfaction from helping their peers are AHIA’s Santram Bajaj, Rakesh Sachdev and Tilak Kalra; Hornsby’s Mira Raheja, and Jay Raman of Sri Om Care group, all of them doing sterling work for our community’s seniors.

Gardening

Seniors at RAIN have been producing some wonderful herbs and veggies in their permaculture veggie patch, Vrindavan Garden.

They designed and built their own garden with the help of experts. The beds are all raised so the seniors don’t have to bend.

There’s also a Ganesha statue, safely ensconced inside a fig tree hollow, looking on at all the activity in the garden! Seniors drop by at various times to check on their beloved plants.

Many of our older citizens enjoy gardening as a soothing activity, and their gardens displaying an abundance of flowers, fruit and vegetables are testimony to this passion.

From coriander to curry leaves, they explore this special gift of nurturing Nature.

Sport

It is good to see seniors indulge in sporting activities. Take Tilak Kalra, who still plays badminton at 72, a sport he first took up as a child. “My club plays on Sunday mornings. We have players of all

ages, and from all nationalities and some of us seniors also mentor the young ones,” he says proudly.

Tilak also “likes to sweat it out” at the gym twice a week.

Hardika Hirani took up social golf after retiring. “I played once a week with 4 friends at different courses,” she recalls. “I had to stop briefly for health reasons, and now my girlfriends have moved on – I’m looking for someone else to play with, someone at my own skill level.” Hardika and her husband also play bridge once a week.

Subhash Rugani gave up playing cricket in his early 60s.

“I was becoming like India’s national team,” he says by way of explanation. Today at 66, he coaches youngsters in orphanages in India when he visits thrice a year. He also organises table tennis, tennis and volleyball games for the boys, besides teaching them English.

Reading

One of the joys of retirement is the simple pleasure of sitting down and reading a book from cover to cover. 74-year-old Ruby Dutta continues to be an avid reader. “I like crime thrillers,” she says. “Lately I have been enjoying Patricia Cornwell. I read Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri recently. Currently I’m reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett.”

Ruby also reads in her native Bengali. “I get magazines from home regularly, just to keep in touch with what’s happening there. I also read Tagore over and over again. Among

Bengali novelists I like Suchitra Bhattacharya, and currently I’m reading Samaresh Majumdar, because he will be visiting here shortly!”

Food

Most seniors enjoy planning their meals and making sure their food intake is suitable for their age. Some have to change their diet to suit medical conditions, and even if there are no health issues, they tend to go in for more wholesome food.

Subhashini Channa (70) has a new interest in sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, linseed and the like. Deep-frying has long been banned in her kitchen; very little oil is used for cooking; daily breakfast is oats; only egg white is consumed, and the daily dinner is grilled fish or chicken with steamed veggies.

Yet Subhashini and her husband Indu are “foodies” – they love eating out, trying various cuisines at restaurants.

“We’re looking for a good Greek restaurant these days – suggestions anyone?” she asks, tongue-in-cheek.

Learning

Imagine going to TAFE as a student in your 60s, only to get furtive glances from your fellow students? It did not faze Subhashini Channa at all. She even went on to win the ‘Best Student’ award!

The course that Subhashini took, clinical coding, is quite complicated. But such is her

yearning for learning, that she not only excelled at it, but also took up a job at Westmead Hospital immediately after.

“My advice to seniors in our community is, be thankful to be in a lucky country like Australia where the opportunities are endless and age is no bar to achieving your goals. Utilize yourself and give to society the wealth of your experience,” says this sprightly lady.

A timeless adage advises that you’re never to old to learn, and this is true with our seniors who take up various courses to learn diverse skills they never knew they had, from art to DIY, from computer skills to gaming. If you think learning is fun, go for it!

Festivals and celebrations

Our seniors love to indulge in festive occasions. Life is worth celebrating, they seem to say!

And not just for Holi, Diwali, Eid, Janmashtami, Christmas and New Year, but also for birthdays and anniversaries, the start of the school term, the all-important soccer final (even if you’re in Year 4) and yes, even when Sachin scored that 100th 100. (“I made halwa early this morning,” listener Gargi Shah declared on Indian Link Radio the morning after Sachin finally reached his milestone).

“My grandma simply loves to make an occasion out of everything,” 13-year-old Anita Jayram says.

“Nani only does it ‘cos she’s

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Far left: Mira Raheja singlehandedly set up the Hornsby Seniors group

RAIN’s vegetable garden is run by seniors

Sri Om Care volunteer Pooja Kohli leads her team of seniors in a Bollywood dance

a happy person,” her mum Simi chides her.

Nani, 69-year-old Kusum Chaddha listens to the exchange and then says nonchalantly, “She never says no to my halwa…”.

Party on!

Whist drives, dinner and dance events, bingo and tambola – the options are enticing for young-atheart seniors.

For Cooma Hiramanek, bingo is a welcome distraction from her daily chores and a great way to socialise. “I play twice a week, and have been doing so for the last 15 years,” she says. “I enjoy it very much. We have lots of fun and have made many friends, both Indian and non-Indian. We chat about home, family and ourselves, and come away feeling light and relaxed,” she says.

Craft

Many seniors especially women, say doing creative work gives them pleasure, and they revive these sometimes forgotten skills as they get older. Vimla Luthra has knitted all her life, deriving joy in making garments of all forms for family members of all ages.

Cooma Hiramanek continues to knit to this day, but mostly for her grandkids. She has even taken orders. “I’m currently making a romper for a friend’s grandchild who will arrive in a few months’ time!” she said happily. Ruby Dutta has been passionate about her creative work with quilting, although she admits ruefully that in the past months her sewing machine has been neglected a bit, as care of the grandkids takes precedence.

And what about the boys? It will be interesting to see what

Subhashini Channa: TAFE in the 60s

AHIA men are all ears at a presentation

wonderful projects come out of the RAIN group’s recently launched Men’s Shed!

discussing major events, specially of a political or sporting nature.

World of TV

There’s a whole bunch of buzurgs who are part of the Indian Link Radio family. Most listeners are by now familiar with regular senior callers who use the talkback forum frequently. Not a single day goes by when you don’t hear Gargiji, Laxmiji, Vimlaji, Shabbiji – all so familiar that most listeners now recognize them by their voices.

“Indian Link Radio to mera jeevan sathi hai (the radio is my life partner), it lives with me all the time,” says 64-year-old Gargi Shah.

“I call in so frequently that the anchors say, entertainment to aap hain, hum nahin (you are the entertainment, not us)!” Laxmi observes with a laugh.

And do you think they are

Radio ra-ra!

Kusum Chaddha loves the soaps on Indian TV. Tell her they are melodramatic, and risk a lecture on how true to life some of them are, particularly the Rajasthanbased, women-oriented ones.

And don’t get her started on the costumes and the jewelry that set off trends among the real housewives of Faisalabad. The quiz shows, the talent quests, and now the food shows, are simply incomparable…

81-year-old Raghubir Singh is addicted as well, but to current affairs. He watches Indian news channels religiously, then browses the sites of major Indian newspapers. A soft-spoken man, he is completely animated while

Playgrounds for seniors Seniors are being encouraged to pop over to the playground to give their health and wellness a bit of a boost.

Sydney’s first ‘older people’s playground’ has just opened at Leichhardt, between the Bay Run and Leichhardt swimming pool complex.

The park aims to provide more recreational facilities for seniors in the area.

With equipment that includes free runners, sit-up benches, push-up bars, a cycle trainer, body flexer, upper body trainer and a rubber soft ball ground, it’s perfect for seniors who would rather be out in the open enjoying healthy exercise.

‘Seniors parks’ or specially designed outdoor playgrounds are already popular in Europe and America, as well as in China and Japan.

But for our enterprising seniors, any park should do to get a bit of that much needed flexibility and movement. So when the slippery dip is finally silent, take your turn and have some fun!

NATIONAL EDITION

Rani Bhasin leads the girls in a dance as her friends cheer her on

requesting bhajans or waxing forth about how wonderful life was in India or how badly behaved today’s kids are, and how our sacrosanct traditions are all being forgotten? Oh no!

They are analyzing the latest news from India, comparing Julia Gillard (cankles and all) with Tony Abbott (speedos and all), dissecting the latest Bollywood blockbuster, rubbishing the style of some new wannabe singer, reciting their most recent piece of poetry, bringing up a sher that relates to the ongoing discussion, winning the antakshari hands down with their singing, relating a funny incident from their family life, describing the most wonderful interactions with the mainstream…. even telling the odd dirty joke! How cool can our dadas and nanas, dadis and nanis get!

And something else that makes seniors happy Sex. It’s a topic that’s taboo in genteel company, even in this enlightened and rather outspoken age. And particularly among our seniors, or so we think. However, recent research findings have indicated that seniors who are enjoying sex are happier than those who are not. Evidence to this effect was presented at the Gerontological Society of America late last year.

Dr. Adrienne Jackson, assistant professor at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, reported that older married individuals who engage in sexual activity are more likely to be happy with both their lives as well as their marriages.

The study was based on survey responses of 238 married people aged 65 years or older.

It’s true then: there is a relationship between sex and happiness.

MARCH (2) 2012 13

SPECIALREPORT

Cricket promotes organ donation

A

rather unique cricket game was organised recently. The two teams that played were an Indian community team sponsored by the Indian Welfare Association (IWA), and the Australian Transplant Cricket Club (ATCC), comprising of players who have received a transplant or a donated organ, which has enabled them to live their lives like normal people.

It was organised by a group headed by Prof. Richard Allen, Director of Transplantation Services at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and Head of Transplant Surgery at Sydney University.

The event was aimed at creating awareness about organ donation within the Indian community.

Since Indians everywhere love cricket, it was natural that a cricket match was the chosen vehicle to do this.

Funded by the Organ and Tissue Authority (OTA), this free event was held on March 11 at the Sydney University Oval No. 1, and attended by about a hundred people.

It is a credit to the organisers from both sides that the match was a resounding success, which will be avidly discussed in the social circuit and local media, and will be the precursor to becoming an annual event in years to come.

The match was played in 2 innings of 15 overs each, a total of 30 overs. The Indian community team scored 194 for 6 wickets while the Australian Transplant CC scored 175, with the Indian team carrying off the ‘Jeevan Dhan’ trophy.

In fact, the event turned out to be much more than a mere game of cricket. Ms Jillian Skinner (NSW Minister for Health), Mr. Harry Harinath (Chairman, Cricket NSW) and Michael Bevan and Stuart Clark, former Test cricketers of Australia, all attended the event.

University of Sydney permitted the use of a helicopter to hover over and dry Oval No. 1 which was flooded knee-deep only a couple of days before the game. The chief curator Ray Hunt mobilised all his resources to ready the pitch for the game. David Sygall, sports correspondent of The Sun Herald wrote glowingly about the sterling efforts of all concerned to get the game underway, with pictures of Sydney University Oval No. 1 before and after the flooding.

The ethnic television channel TVS provided coverage (courtesy Mr. Raj Natarajan) and will create a feature that will help gain wider access to the community. A mouth14 MARCH (2) 2012

watering Indian lunch menu was on offer to the audience. The audience was encouraged to participate in a catching competition during the lunch break, and Michael Bevan offered his services to hit balls to test the skills of the participants.

The Indian cricket team donated a bat signed by the entire team and the Indian cricket legend, Rahul Dravid donated a bat signed by him on the eve of his retirement.

To commemorate Australian cricket legend David Hookes who donated his organs following his premature demise, Mrs. Robyn Hookes sponsored a rolling trophy which is to become a regular annual feature. The glittering trophy was donated by Mr. Deepak Bhownagari of Liverpool to the winners of the match, which happily turned out to be the Indian community team, captained by Prem Krithivasan.

The ATCC team was led by Pat Nolan, with Murray Rose as Vice Captain. Players proudly wore specially created caps and cricket shirts for this event, with the logos of the IWA and OTA. Every participant was presented a copy of the book Remembering Hookesy, a publication by the David Hookes Foundation, about his life in cricket.

It may not be common knowledge that over 60 % of patients queuing up for kidney, lung, liver and other organ donors in Australia comprise of people of South Asian origin. The Organ and Tissue Authority (OTA), which is a federal government initiative to encourage donations, is at pains to expedite organ donations from volunteers.

Unless the demand is matched by supply, the queues will continue to lengthen and more lives will be lost for want of voluntary donations.

South Asian and Indian community organisations are being targetted to ensure that the families of the deceased do not stand in the way of organ donations which must be removed within a couple of hours of the death, which amounts to a “gift of life” for the recipients.

Malli Iyer

Over 60 % of patients queuing up for kidney, lung, liver and other organ donors in Australia comprise of people of South Asian origin.

The Indian Community XI Cricket Team with the Trophy Players and Officials of both the teams after the match.

Michael Bevan and Gundeep Singh (winner of the catching competition) with the Indian cricket team’s autographed bat Harry Harinath chats with Health Minister Jillian Skinner, with Malli Iyer and Stuart Clark in the background The captains Prem and Pat, Jillian Skinner, Prof. Richard Allen, Malli Iyer and Uma Srinivasan

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(02) 9261 9600

NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (2) 2012 15

MAINSTREAM

Indian links for basketball team T

he Australian National Basketball League (NBL) has been through some turbulent times of late.

Having experienced a plateau and even a drop in popularity, media attention, attendance at matches and corporate support since its peak in the mid 1990s, only one of its foundation clubs still remains today – and even this club has had a major revamp of late. The Wollongong Hawks, who were bailed out just two seasons ago by Gujarat NRE during the “Save the Hawks” campaign, have recently announced that they will now be proudly known as the Wollongong NRE Hawks, after the Illawara-based mining company won the naming rights to the team.

In 2009, Gujarat NRE began its relationship with the club as a bank guarantor and a major sponsor – so in many ways, being the naming rights sponsor was a natural progression of affairs. Arun Kumar Jagatramka, the chairman of the company, is delighted to be on board with the team once again, and looks forward to building the relationship further.

“We are committed to the ongoing support of the Hawks and to the Illawarra region,” he said. “Gujarat NRE has played a vital role in the Illawarra community since 2004, when we first arrived after purchasing NRE No. 1 Colliery (formerly South Bulli Mine).”

“In 2009 we had the opportunity to help save the Hawks. I had the pleasure of meeting Hawks Captain Mat Campbell where he outlined the region’s passion for the club that has been a part of this community since 1979. At that moment a decision was made to support the club by providing the required bank guarantee for the Hawks to remain in the NBL. I hope our further commitment as naming rights sponsor from this season will ensure the Hawks’ future for decades to come,” Mr Jagatramka said.

The chairman of the Wollongong NRE Hawks, Peter Bahlman, was also looking forward to the new era – with fresh changes not only headlined by the new name, but a new logo and unprecedented community support, which perhaps began when the club became a not-for-profit community-owned organisation two years ago.

“We greatly appreciate Gujarat NRE’s commitment to our club 16 MARCH (2) 2012

and the company’s support to the Illawarra region, which is second to none.” he said. “It is only fitting to see Gujarat NRE’s commitment progress as our naming rights sponsor.”

Naturally, as a result of the local community encouragement provided by companies such as Gujarat NRE, Wollongong is experiencing much closer ties with India – as a result, the University of Wollongong will be bidding to make Wollongong a host city for the Indian Film Festival next year when it hosts its inaugural week-long “Bollywood in the Gong” festival later this month.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Joe Chicharo, was excited about the event. “This is about the cultural linkages and getting our students to get a better idea of Indian society.” He was also in hope that this would enhance India’s vision of Australia, following the series of attacks on Indian students in Melbourne last year – indeed, last year the university announced plans to open up a campus in Ahmedabad.

On the night before their showdown with the Gold Coast Blaze, the Hawks even had an inaugural Bollywood night as a warm up for the event. There were Bollywood dancers before the match on the 24th of February, in an unprecedented link between basketball and Indian culture.

For Gujarat NRE, the deal backs up their commitment to the sporting community NSWwide – just two years ago, the company pledged $200,000 a year for three years to NSW Cricket in sponsorship of their state age teams. They are already the naming rights partners and major sponsors of the Cricket NSW Indoor Cricket Centre at the SCG, and their banners have begun dominating the advertising around the ground.

This new link has been met with widespread acclaim from the public, who embraced the Bollywood dancers last month at the WIN Stadium. Cricket has been the primary sporting connection the two sides have shared, for indeed much of history – it is refreshing to see such support shown on a much smaller, albeit just as passionate stage.

Ritam Mitra

Gujarat NRE’s Arun Jagatramka with the Hawks’ Mat Campbell

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Science

Iron rich bananas target maternal mortality

The iron-enriched form of a simple fruit will benefit entire nations in the long term

L

BY USHA RAMANUJAM ARVIND

ow in cost and plentifully available, the humble banana could well become the biggest weapon in India’s battle against micronutrient deficiency over the next decade.

India is the world’s largest producer of bananas, all of which are consumed locally.

Packed with high levels of sucrose, fructose and glucose which give both instant and sustained boosts of energy, bananas are a powerhouse of micro-nutrients as well, making it a complete food and valued as much by elite athletes as the common man.

High in potassium, bananas stimulate the brain and prevent stroke and blood pressure, as well as having anti-cancer properties.

The fruit aids absorption of calcium. Full of fibre, it prevents constipation, acidity and heartburn.

It is also loaded with B vitamins that calm the nerves and trigger production of mood enhancing serotonin.

A high level delegation from India’s Department of Biotechnology recently inked a pact with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to cultivate a new strain of banana for the domestic market that would be high in iron levels as well. The biofortified banana, developed by a team led by Prof. James Dale (AO), Director of the Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities at QUT, will address iron deficiency anaemia, which currently causes a high level of mortality in India, particularly among pregnant mothers.

The deal, signed by QUT Vice Chancellor Peter Coaldrake and Dr Renu Swarup of the Department of Biotechnology (DoB), is the first of its kind for the Indian government in the agriculture sector, and has generated a high level of anticipation and optimism in the country.

“Iron deficiency is a huge problem for all developing countries, associated with low nutrition, not just vegetarianism. So the project will obviously have far reaching long-term benefits for us,” Dr Renu Swarup stated.

18 MARCH (2) 2012

(Left to right) Prof. James Dale, QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake, Prof. Arun Sharma, Dr Rakesh Tuli, Michael Finney, Dr Renu Swarup and Prof. Sheel Nuna Prof. Dale will head the project along with Dr Rakesh Tuli, the scientific programme coordinator for India.

“Bananas are a common component of the Indian diet, thus making it an ideal vehicle to increase iron intake,” Prof Dale told Indian Link.

“Our short-term objectives are to demonstrate that we can increase iron intake to a level that will have a significant effect. The long-term objective, of course, is to have a very significant impact on reducing iron deficiency anemia in India,” the international biotechnology expert, who specializes in tropical crops, added.

“While we are not targetting malnutrition as such, we certainly hope to correct micronutrient deficiencies, which are prevalent in many developing country populations, including India,” he clarified.

The latest Indian chapter is an extension of the $5 million Far North Queensland programme funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The parent project (Grand Challenges in Global Health) kicked off back in 2005 to develop a strain of nutrient dense bananas high in both iron and beta-carotene, specifically for East Africa.

“Most developing countries in Africa and indeed worldwide, have high levels of micronutrient deficiencies and these are now rated in the top three or four

public health problems in the world, with HIV/AIDS and malaria the top two,” Dale explained.

“In Uganda for instance, where we are currently working, around 30% of children under 5 and women of child bearing age have vitamin A deficiency and this number shoots up to nearly 80% for iron deficiency anemia. These numbers don’t vary enormously between developing countries and there are probably similar numbers in India. These levels are despite the interventions of food fortification and supplements. This is essentially a ‘resistant population’ and it is this population we are targetting,” he added.

The watershed deal stems from a visit to QUT by a delegation from India’s Department of Biotechnology a couple of years ago.

“I presented the outcomes of the Africa project and there was immediate interest from the Indian side,” Dale explained.

“Since then we have negotiated with DBT regarding the scope of the project culminating in the agreement last week. The project will be primarily funded through DBT with QUT contributing some in-kind contribution”.

The first phase of the project, spanning four years, will involve the major technology transfer component. QUT scientists will develop the technique to generate Australian bananas to be rich in iron and then transfer this

technology to India, so that Indian scientists can generate an Indian banana cultivation rich in iron, while training Indian scientists in all aspects of this development.

Based on the timelines in Africa, Prof. Dale expects the bananas to then become available to Indian farmers in about 10 years.

However, an issue of concern in food fortification projects is absorption. Bioavailability as it is scientifically known, is a very important consideration, admitted Dale. “Just because a food contains a particular nutrient doesn’t mean that nutrient will be available to the ‘consumer’. Part of the project therefore, will also be to assess the bioavailability of iron in banana fruit. Results using a non-feeding model suggest that the bioavailability will be good, but the final result depends on feeding trials”.

Likewise, another thorny issue is the negative perception of genetically modified foods. “In the case of bio-fortified bananas, we are only increasing the levels of products naturally found in the fruit and not introducing new products,” Dale argued.

“This project is directed towards improving health in poor rural families. We believe these points will significantly lessen opposition. Also, these bananas will not be marketed for at least another decade. I fully expect that the current attitudes will be very different in that timeframe,” he concluded optimistically.

The parent project (Grand Challenges in Global Health) kicked off back in 2005 to develop a strain of nutrient dense bananas high in both iron and beta-carotene, specifically for East Africa.

“While we are not targetting malnutrition as such, we certainly hope to correct micronutrient deficiencies, which are prevalent in many developing country populations, including India” Prof. James Dale, QUT

NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (2) 2012 19

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MARCH (2) 2012 23

YOUTH

A yen for YAC A youth perspective is being increasingly sought by those in the upper echelons of power and politics

T

he somewhat unsettled state of political affairs in recent years, as well as a rapidly changing and uncertain world environment has led to an increasing importance being placed on young voices, as the country prepares to welcome the next generation of policy makers into parliament. Indeed, less than two years ago, Wyatt Roy was elected into parliament at the age of just 20, making him the youngest ever person to be elected into an Australian parliament. Running for election is of course, not everybody’s cup of tea – let alone if you have just left school! However, there are several avenues through which young adults can contribute to their community.

The Youth Advisory Council was established in Australia in 1989 under the Youth Advisory Council Act (1989). The purpose of the council is to advise the Minister for Youth, currently Victor Dominello, on matters of concern to young people, as well as Government policies and programs that concern young people. It has established a channel of communication between the community and the Government in relation to matters concerning young people.

Mr Dominello acknowledges the council as a pivotal part of his role.

“The NSW Government is privileged to be able to tap into first-hand experiences of these young people in participating in today’s highly diverse society,” he said. “The 2012 YAC will provide advice to me on issues affecting young people and will be called upon regularly to discuss a range of topics, as well as monitoring and evaluating policy and legislation which affects young people”.

“This year’s council members come from diverse geographic and cultural backgrounds and bring a wide range of life experiences to the table - be it as a student, worker, volunteer, young parent, child of immigrants or even a target of bullying.

One thing all the Council members have in common is a demonstrated desire to take action for positive change in their communities,” he added.

Through the team’s own personal interests, which reflect 24 MARCH (2) 2012

those of the young population, as well as reconciling these interests with the priorities of the government, a work plan has been developed which sets out a few items of focus for the year. A record number of young Australians recently applied for a position on the 2012 Council.

Dev Bhutani, a 21-year-old student from Kellyville, Sydney, is the Deputy Chair for the 2012 Council, and finds it an engrossing experience.

“The most rewarding part of being part of such a group is when you can see the changes that the council have suggested actually being implemented,” revealed Dev. “It is fantastic to think that despite the slow moving nature of government, the youth sector can still have a constructive input into the process”.

Dev is no stranger to being involved in the community, having already been a big part of UN Youth Australia, as well as being UNICEF Australia’s Youth Ambassador. As Deputy Chair of the YAC, Dev provides support to the chair in helping them run the meetings, as well as co-ordinate logistics between meetings. The council is made up of twelve members, half of who must be under 25 years of age. They come from a variety of

backgrounds, and hold up to eight meetings a year.

Recently, the council’s actions resulted in the Board of Studies appointing young people amongst their Board of Advisors in order to make sure that the youth could comment on the issues that mean the most to them.

Previous councils also had a big impact in bringing the issue of young drivers to the government’s attention, forcing them to reconsider certain likening restrictions.

“One surprising thing about liaising with the government is that process means everything.

You may have a fairly reachable and obtainable outcome, but if you don’t go about it the correct way you won’t get anywhere,” said Dev. Often, he recalled, the council has had to reconsider their approach to certain issues in order to ensure their voices have maximum impact.

Asked if he would recommend the experience to others, Dev was unhesitant in his reply.

“Absolutely! I would certainly recommend it. It is a fantastic experience and really gives you a chance to contribute to our community. Whether it be the YAC, your local council’s advisory council, whatever it is, I feel community participation is really important for young people. I’ve

Dev Bhutani

made plenty of friends along the way, both on the council and through external activities on the council.

Working closely with the chair this year has been a great experience and we have become close friends in the process”.

There are many ways for young Australians to involve themselves in the community – the Youth Advisory Council is just one of them. In an increasingly diverse and complex society, it becomes more and more important for the government to represent each and every such faction, not merely the majorities important to election – and one of these such factions is the younger community.

After all, it is as true as it is somewhat melodramatic – the future is in their hands.

Ritam Mitra

“This year’s council members come from diverse geographic and cultural backgrounds and bring a wide range of life experiences to the table - be it as a student, worker, volunteer, young parent, child of immigrants or even a target of bullying”.

Victor Dominello, NSW Minister for Youth

Recently, the council’s actions resulted in the Board of Studies appointing young people amongst their Board of Advisors in order to make sure that the youth could comment on the issues that mean the most to them.

2 012 YAC Members with NSW Minister For Youth Victor Dominello

Youth

Game on for Gurinder!

A talented young cricketer makes it to the U19s international big league

J

By RITAM MITRA

ust four years ago, Virat Kohli successfully captained an Indian side to the 2008 U/19 World Cup title. He is now one of the pre-eminent batsmen of the modern game. The same edition of the tournament featured big names such as James Pattinson, Tim Southee, Wayne Parnell, Darren Bravo – the list is scattered with future international superstars. The importance of the tournament is underlined by these names as the stepping stones the competition provides - for instance Kohli is now India’s oneday international vice-captain, and is already being touted as the future captain.

How it must feel then, for Gurinder Sandhu, a young Australian fast bowler who was, earlier this month, selected in the 30-man squad for the U/19 World Cup taking place in August.

The tournament will be held in Townsville, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, with more than 400 cricketers from 14 nations making the trip to the sunshine state. Australia are the reigning champions, after the Mitchell Marsh-led side won the 2010 trophy in New Zealand.

An international quadrangular series will also be held in April between Australia, India, New Zealand and England, giving the players another opportunity to gain exposure and experience playing on an international stage.

Gurinder was also selected in the 15-man squad for this series.

Cricket Australia’s Talent Manager, Greg Chappell, is looking forward to watching the side in action. “I’m sure all the players are looking forward to continuing their development as part of this preliminary squad,” he said. “Quite a few players already have experience playing at the U19 international level, and more players will get that opportunity over the coming months”.

“Players such as Pat Cummins, Cameron Bancroft, Kurtis Patterson, Travis Head and Meyrick Buchanan have already had opportunities playing at the domestic level, while quite a few more have also played at Futures League level this season,” added Mr Chappell.

Currently a member of Fairfield-Liverpool’s first grade squad, Gurinder has already NATIONAL EDITION

bowled to some big names: Simon Katich, Usman Khawaja, David Warner and Phil Hughes have all faced up to him, among a host of other names, including the touring 2009 Pakistan side.

This is just one of the fruits of a tough training regime, which includes 2-4 days of training a week followed by matches on the weekends.

For Gurinder though, the journey began several years ago through his experiences in the junior representative teams.

“I first played in the 1999 cricket season in the local under10s side,” recalls Gurinder. “My favourite memory as a child would be when I played in under 11s rep side for Blacktown and I took 5 for 28 off 10 overs”.

“I was always in the rep sides as a youngster, but did not think too much about it until I started to make the program called Emerging Blues, which is playing for New South Wales at an under 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and now under 19s level.”

Reflecting on Kohli’s achievements, Gurinder is careful to jump the gun. “I would love to emulate his feats like most cricketers would, but I don’t think I will be captain of the Australia under 19s side! Personally I don’t think it’s too hard to get too cocky and start to think that you’re the best, and get a big head. Some people are good at sport, some are smart and make careers out of doing something educationally - not that I won’t at a later stage!” he says with a grin.

Although Gurinder has grown up playing at such a competitive level, the World Cup brings with it an altogether different sense of accomplishment – as it should. A home tournament is an exciting prospect for his friends and family, who will no doubt be supporting him – although Gurinder knows he would have enjoyed the experience of an overseas event. “I am looking forward to the competition, as it will be my first time representing the country on such a big stage and also getting together and playing with the rest of the boys,” he says. “I think it would have been more fun touring another country but it’s also good that it is held in Australia because everyone in the team will be used to the playing conditions.”

His idol is no real surprise, given Gurinder’s aspiration to become a more rounded player.

“Growing up, Andrew Flintoff would be up there as one of my favourites: he was a big, strong, tall fast bowler who also batted

“I was always in the rep sides as a youngster, but did not think too much about it until I started to make the program called Emerging Blues, which is playing for New South Wales at an under 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and now under 19s level” Gurinder Sandhu

very well - I am trying to become more of an all-rounder now as well”.

As with many elite sportsmen, Gurinder’s immense skill has not come without its sacrifices – because of the time that cricket takes up, for now Gurinder doesn’t have the time to go to university. However, that might well be a blessing in disguise, for this young man is more than motivated to make something out of the game. “I’m just going to give cricket my all for now and see if I can get somewhere higher. I

decided to join TAFE this year because they are more lenient on getting time off but I don’t think I will be able to complete TAFE anymore as these Australian games have come up,” he admits.

For now though, the only way for this talented cricketer is up.

Gurinder loves his Rugby League and likes to spend his spare time having a laugh with mates, listening to music and relaxing.

There won’t be much time for relaxing next month though, when he takes on the rest of the world – good luck!

“Growing up, Andrew Flintoff was up there as one of my favourites: he was a big, strong, tall fast bowler who also batted very well” Gurinder Sandhu

26 MARCH (2) 2012

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Amid pressure, PM says India inclined to vote against Sri Lanka

Amid increasing pressure from coalition ally DMK, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured parliament that India was “inclined” to vote in favour of a UN resolution over Sri Lanka’s “war crimes” and hoped it will ensure the Tamil community in Sri Lanka “equality, justice and self-respect”.

DMK president M. Karunanidhi was quick to welcome the prime minister’s assurance, describing it as “a victory for the Sri Lankan struggle”.

“As regards the issue of a draft resolution initiated by the United States at the on-going 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, we do not yet have the final text of the resolution,” Manmohan Singh said in the Lok Sabha.

He was replying to the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President for her address to the joint sitting of Parliament.

“However, I may assure the House that we are inclined to vote in favour of a resolution. That, we hope, will advance our objective, namely, the achievement of the future for the Tamil community in Sri Lanka that is marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect.”

Manmohan Singh kept a small leeway by saying he was awaiting the text of the resolution, but the statement in parliament has virtually decided India’s stand, which is bound to upset Colombo.

The prime minister’s statement was greeted by thumping of desks by MPs of various parties, including the DMK. DMK president M. Karunanidhi said, “It is a victory for the Sri Lankan struggle and for those who struggled.”

The prime minister said his government fully shared “the concerns and sentiments” raised by MPs regarding the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils and stressed that their resettlement and rehabilitation has been of “the highest and most immediate priority for our government”.

Alluding to the resolution that deals with alleged human rights violations during the protracted conflict in Sri Lanka, Manmohan Singh said India has conveyed to the Sri Lankan government “the importance of a genuine process of reconciliation to address the grievances of the Tamil community”.

“In this connection, we have called for implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the Commission appointed by Sri Lankan government that has been tabled before the Sri Lankan Parliament. These include various constructive measures for healing the wounds of the conflict and fostering the process of lasting peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.”

Manmohan Singh also exhorted Colombo “to act decisively and with vision” to pursue a political process through a broader dialogue with all parties, including the Tamil National Alliance. The dialogue, he stressed, should lead to the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution so as to achieve meaningful devolution of power and genuine national reconciliation.

“We will remain engaged with them through this process and encourage them to take forward the dialogue with the elected representatives of Sri Lankan Tamils,” he said.

The Indian government is under intense domestic pressure to vote against Sri Lanka 28 MARCH (2) 2012

Photo: AP

INDIAN NEWS for the “war crimes” committed against the Tamils during the end of the civil war.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had earlier said the Indian government normally does not vote on a countryspecific resolution. This had angered the DMK, which threatened to quit the central government.

The Geneva vote, which has created a major diplomatic crisis for Sri Lanka, will be decided on soon.

The allegations of “war crimes” against Sri Lanka and the resolution sparked an uproar in parliament recently, with DMK and AIADMK asking the Indian government to vote against Sri Lanka on the resolution.

No combat role for women in armed forces: Antony

The government recently made it clear that it has no proposal to induct women in combat roles in the defence forces, including as fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force.

Parliament was also informed that there has been a 67 percent increase in the recruitment of women officers into the army, navy and air force in the last three years.

“There is no proposal to induct women into combat duties in the defence forces including as fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force,” Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply during question hour.

“Induction of women in combat duties has not been recommended by the studies carried out by the headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) in 2006 and high level tri-services committee in 2011” he added.

He also gave figures to buttress the point that there has been an increase in the women officers recruited since 2009.

In 2009, the three services had recruited 219 women, of whom 70 were for the army, 24 for the navy and 125 for the air force.

In 2010, the services recruited a total of 277 women officers. Of these, 93 were for the army, 39 for the navy and 145 for the air force.

In 2011, the figures showed a 67 per cent increase since 2009. The defence forces had recruited 366 women that year, of whom 164 were for the army, 68 for the navy and 134 for the air force.

In 2011, the total number of women officers in the three services stood at 1055 for the army, 288 for the navy and 936 for the air force.

The number of women officers the previous year (2010) was 999 for army, 191 for navy and 889 for air force. In 2009, there were 1030 women officers in the army, 176 in the navy and 915 in the air force.

Antony noted that there is no separate fixed sanctioned strength for recruitment of women officers in the armed forces and they are recruited within the overall sanctioned strength of the respective service.

Also, there is no proposal to launch any special drive for recruiting rural women into the armed forces, he added.

Indian Americans are influential players in US media

With two of them governors, four billionaires and over a score sitting in high places in government, Indian Americans not only keep making news but have also emerged as major players in American media.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde greets an official before a meeting with Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi. The IMF head Lagarde warned against complacency about global finance despite improved conditions after the latest Greek debt deal and said the world urgently needs more financial reforms. Lagarde will attend an IMF-supported conference on sustaining high-quality growth in India and China in New Delhi.

Take Indian-born Aparism Bobby Ghosh, for instance, who was last week named by Time magazine as Editor-at-Large. In naming Ghosh, Time Managing Editor Richard Stengel, called him “one of Time’s greatest assets and this past year was one of his best yet.”

Then there is Fareed Zakaria, who too was introduced as Editor-at-Large of Time Magazine in October 2010 after spending 10 years overseeing all of Newsweek’s editions abroad.

Called “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation” by Esquire Magazine, Zakaria hosts what has been dibbed one of the most intelligent shows on American TV, Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN every Sunday.

Equally ubiquitous is Sanjay Gupta, the multiple Emmy-award winning chief medical correspondent for CNN. A practicing neurosurgeon, Gupta has reported from earthquake- and tsunamiravaged Japan, earthquake devastated Haiti and covered live the unprecedented flooding in Pakistan.

Vinnie Malhotra, a former programme development executive at ESPN and long-time ABC News producer, has just joined CNN as senior vice president for development and acquisitions.

In February 2012, Raju Narisetti, credited with creating Mint, the successful business daily out of Delhi, returned to the Wall Street Journal, where he had spent 23 years earlier, as Managing Editor of its Digital Network.

Nisid Hajari, Managing Editor of Newsweek is busy writing Midnight’s Furies, a dramatic history of the Partition of India and Pakistan, told through the characters of Gandhi, Jinnah, Nehru, Churchill, and Mountbatten.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran is the National

Editor of The Washington Post, where he has worked since 1994. His first book Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone published in 2006 won the 2007 Samuel Johnson Prize and was a finalist for the 2006 National Book Awards for non-fiction.

ESPN’s sports anchor Kevin Negandhi is the first anchor of Indian-American descent to be on a national sports network in American Television history and Ali Velshi, son of Murad Velshi, the first Canadian of Indian origin elected to the legislative assembly of Ontario, serves as CNN’s chief business correspondent.

Other names include Davan Maharaj, managing editor of The Los Angeles Times; Stephanie Mehta, Fortune magazine Executive Editor overseeing technology, and Nikhil Deogun, Senior Vice President and Editor in Chief Business News, CNBC, the most-watched business TV network in the world.

Peter Bhatia, editor of The Oregonian, one of America’s top regional newspapers, is the first South Asian to run a major US daily.

Hundreds of lesser known Indian Americans are among the producers, reporters, copy editors and production assistants, bringing Americans their daily news - showing how far Indian-American have come in the media world where only a few of them commanded bylines in the 1990s.

Assam ties up with US varsity to document traditional practices

Assam has tied up with the Stanford University in the US for documenting the rich culture, traditional knowledge, customs and indigenous practices of various communities in the state, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said while inaugurating the

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Institute of Research & Documentation of Indigenous Studies (IRDIS) at the International Convention Centre of Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra in Guwahati recently.

“The institute has been conceived to carry out research and documentation on indigenous practices of ethnic and indigenous communities in the state,” he said, adding that the tribal and indigenous communities of Assam are very rich in culture, customs, traditional knowledge and practices.

“All this needs to be researched and documented for posterity of the communities and the IRDIS will go into multidisciplinary research in collaboration with Stanford University on documentation of the diverse ethnic and indigenous communities of the state, which will, in turn, empower the communities socially, economically and culturally,” Gogoi said.

The chief minister also emphasized on the need for sticking to traditional roots in the march for development and said: “We cannot ignore our roots and have to be firmly entrenched in it. For this it is important to link up the traditional system with the modern system and apply those for the all round progress of the ethnic and indigenous communities.”

The IRDIS and the Stanford University would work in close partnership for designing and implementing multidisciplinary research and documentation projects for the empowerment of the communities, and also for preservation of their traditional and indigenous knowledge and practices.

Both the IRDIS and the Stanford University are expected to carry out intensive studies in the way of life of the tribal and indigenous communities including their food habits, their healthy lifestyles, way of traditional treatment, their colourful attires and their traditional judicial system.

Founder president of IRDIS Deepa Dutt explained that research and documentation initiatives would be in a wide range of areas such as indigenous culture, indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices, socioeconomic studies, health, education, and population numbers.

“The knowledge resource that will be evolved from such research work will be stored in a database for developing a modern data archive on indigenous studies based on latest technology,” she added.

Sundance film connects to India with message to adopt girl child

Hollywood producer and documentary filmmaker Linda Goldstein Knowlton is reaching out to the Indian youth and parents with her documentary, Somewhere Between with the message to give a home to abandoned girls. mThe movie, part of the Sundance Institute’s “Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue” programme, a joint initiative by the Mumbai Mantra and the American Center, is trying to promote cultural understanding of global communities in multi-racial societies by highlighting their socio-cultural problems, Knowlton said.

She said that the movie, about four Chinese abandoned girls adopted by American parents, follows the teenage girls across the US, looks at their dilemmas as “Asians being brought up in American NATIONAL EDITION

Photo: AP

INDIAN NEWS

Italian marines Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre are escorted after being produced at a court in Kollam. The two marines are accused of fatally shooting two Indian fishermen from the Italian cargo vessel Enrica Lexie off southwest India. The marines were part of the cargo ship’s security team, and India accuses them of mistaking the fishing boat for a pirate ship.

homes and their search for their Chinese parentage as they grow older”.

Somewhere Between that was screened in New Delhi recently is travelling to Aligarh Muslim University, Amity University and Jawaharlal Nehru University with its message to adopt for a week.

Knowlton is also a mother of a Chinese girl, whose arrival in her household inspired her to make the movie.

“Over 80,000 Chinese girls have been adopted by foster parents in the US since 1992 and more than 175,000 worldwide,” she said quoting figures from her own film. “Like in India, China has a gender preference. A son takes care of the parents as in India because China still has an agrarian society in villages,” she added.

The filmmaker was inspired by an academic book, Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son by Kay Johnson in understanding the gender discrimination and mindsets in many countries”.

“I would love to release the movie in India commercially because the subject is so relatable in India,” Knowlton said. She is raising funds for the theatrical distribution of the movie through kickstarter.com that allows an independent filmmaker a 30-day window to source money for a film.

A Satyajit Ray fan, Knowlton has produced Whale Rider (an Oscar nominee) and co-produced Shipping News.

“There should be more movies about adoption of girl child. In India, such movies help raise awareness about the plight of the girl child in the light of the tragedy involving the abandoned child Falak who died recently. In China, the problem is acute in villages because of the one-child per family policy. Parents leave the girl children in orphanages,” Xeng Li, a Chinese student in the capital, said.

The Sundance Institute wants to return to India with a package of independent movies and workshops to help undeserved culture groups, artists and students access “meaningful cinema”, Meredith Lavitt, associate director of the US-based Sundance Institute, said.

“India is such a big country, we hope this is just the beginning. We want to bridge the cultural divide,” Levitt added.

The programme has been supported by the Whistling Woods International and the

Enlighten Film Society. It is scheduled to go to Morocco, Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Green signal for Kudankulam, Rs.500 crore for region

Doing a U-turn in six months, the Tamil Nadu cabinet recently gave its green signal for the Kudankulam nuclear plant and allotted Rs.500 crore for local area and infrastructure development. And simultaneously, it arrested around 10 people opposing the project.

Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa said her cabinet concluded earlier in the day that “there is no risk of an earthquake or tsunami and the plant (had) best safety features”.

She said in a statement that the cabinet examined the reports of panels of the central and state governments as well as the memorandum submitted by those opposed to the atomic power plant.

She said the water from the plant will not endanger marine ecology or affect the livelihood of fishermen. The central government’s expert panel had answered the doubts of the locals about the plant.

With an idea of implementing development projects without affecting the safety and livelihood of the people, the cabinet also passed a resolution to take steps to start the plant, Jayalalithaa said.

She said the cabinet also decided to allot

Rs.500 crore for setting up a fishing boat repair centre, cold storage to stock the fish catch, housing for the villagers, and roads and other infrastructure facilities.

India’s atomic power plant operator, Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL), is building two 1,000 MW reactors at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from Chennai.

Villagers of Kudankulam, Idinthakarai and others fear for their lives in the event of a nuclear accident.

Their agitation, led by the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), had put a stop to the project work, delaying the commissioning of the first unit slated in December.

The Tamil Nadu government had earlier passed a resolution asking the central government to halt work at the plant and to allay the fears of the locals.

To resolve the issue, the central and state governments set up two panels.

The central panel submitted its final report Jan 31. The Tamil Nadu government set up another expert committee which too favoured the project.

Meanwhile, in Kudankulam, police arrested 10 anti-KNPP protesters with the government changing its stance on the project.

The 10 included advocate S. Sivasubramanian, M. Pushparayan, convener of the Coastal People’s Federation and a leader of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE).

Police declined to confirm or deny the arrest. Tension gripped Kudankulam and surrounding areas as news of the arrests broke. Activists in Idinthakarai village began ringing the church bell to mobile the villagers. Leading activists live in this fishing village. “Around 3,000 policemen were deployed in Kudankulam and surrounding areas,” Pushparayan said.

Two PMANE leaders - S.P. Udayakumar and M. Pushparayan- have started an indefinite fast demanding the closure of the atomic power plant at Idinthakarai near Kudankulam. Udayakumar told reporters that the agitation would continue despite “the betrayal of our trust by the state government”.

He said: “This is a people’s movement and cannot be crushed by police.”

Meanwhile, NPCIL employees at KNPP numbering around 500 have entered the project site after a gap of nearly six months.

“We are going to office now!” an official said, full of enthusiasm.

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MARCH (2) 2012 29

SpecialFEAture

TV wedding for Sydney E Indian Link Radio’s PRIYANKA RAO won the opportunity for her wedding to be recorded for NDTV Goodtimes’ reality TV show Band Baaja Bride

very girl dreams of a fairy tale wedding.

A dream man, guests from around the world, designer outfit, make up by the best in the country… Guess what, for my January wedding, my dream did come true! And what’s more, a few million people joined in the celebrations, watching my bridegroom Kaushik and I wed on TV. Band Baaja Bride is a reality TV show on India’s NDTV Goodtimes channel, which goes around the country recording reallife weddings. My mum casually put my application in, and we were happily surprised to be picked for the second season of the show, hosted by celebrity anchors Ambika Anand and Bharat Arora.

Our wedding ceremony was largely along Tamil traditions, but with mixed influences (my grandmother is Gujarati).

Ours was an arranged marriage that has blossomed into a relationship bonded by love. Our families were introduced by a matchmaker in Bangalore, and met a year before we did. Kaushik sent me an introductory email, and I kept him waiting 3 weeks for a reply. He knew that I moonlighted at the Indian Link Studios as a radio jockey, so he used to wake up at unearthly hours just to listen to me. Later, I wooed him on the sly, playing his favourite Hindi songs over the airwaves.

We knew

each other for around a year before we married, but for the first 9 months we hadn’t even met! I lived in Sydney, and Kaushik was in Bangalore.

We had a 3-day wedding in Hyderabad. The 10-member team from Band Baaja Bride, replete with camera crew, makeup artists, fashion photographers and of course, the host and hostess, had already spent four days with us to meticulously plan it all.

For the pre-wedding Sangeet, they dressed me up in a Kanjeevaram sari, designed by none other than the leading fashion designer of the country, Sabyasachi Mukherjee! He was there, warm and caring, as they draped the sari on me. For the make-over they planned a Rekha look. I broke into a Rekha number Man kyun behka at the camera crew’s insistence when they learned I can sing!

For the event that day, my entire family was painstakingly choreographed to a skit that told our story in tri-lingual songs: in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. And when I walked down the aisle after my bridal make-over at the hands of the Band Baaja team, I could see jaws drop!

In the Pandakkal ceremony the day before the wedding, the groom and his family were formally welcomed. The most important ceremony, the Muhurtham, was solemnized on the morning of the next

day. Kaushik tied the ‘taali’ around my neck even as the in-house orchestra’s thavil, nadaswaram and urumi reached a crescendo.

About 250 of our closest family and friends shared these special moments with us.

My family hosted a dinner reception in Bangalore the following week for Kaushik’s family and friends.

Both our families were excited about the shoot and went out of their way to take great care with all the arrangements.

The shoot was an added incentive for the extended clan to come out looking their best and they danced like there was no tomorrow, all for the sake of that national audience on prime time television!

Because it was a reality show, it was all impromptu and extemporaneous. Nothing was acted or rehearsed. It was an amazing party, and the biggest day in my life ended up being so much fun. Everyone had a fantastic time.

The show was aired on 9 March and we watched it with 15 cheering family members.

Kaushik’s large

family, just like mine, is full of fun. They have welcomed me with so much love that I barely miss Hyderabad and Sydney! I am now seeing a facet of life filled with beauty and leisure. Great family, great friends and a ‘friend, philosopher and guide’ for a husband. . . what more can a girl ask for!

The Priyanka-Kaushik wedding episode is available for viewing on the Band Baaja Baraat website for 4 weeks 30 MARCH (2) 2012

This page clockwise from bottom left: Priyanka, sporting a Sabyasachi saree, enthralling the crowd with a song at her sangeeth ceremony in Hyderabad The rellos ham up the TV cameras!

The decor is beautifully traditional Priyanka wears the traditional koora podavai (saree) given by her in-laws, but tries on the groom’s headgear for fun The newly married couple after the muhurtham ceremony

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y bride!

The shoot was an added incentive for the extended clan to come out looking their best and they danced like there was no tomorrow, all for the sake of that national audience on prime time television!

This page clockwise from top left: All dressed up for the muhurtham Isn’t she beautiful?!

Fun and games after the ceremony The TV crew hovers around Journey together: The couple ready to pedal off on their tandem bicycle towards a new life together The young vouple with family members and the TV show hosts Ambioka Anand and Bharat Arora A picture of perfect

NATIONAL EDITION

harmony MARCH (2) 2012 31

opinion

Family raj in politics causes turbulence Being born into a political family means carrying on the tradition even in the face of resounding defeat BY noel g de sOUZA

T

he Nehru-Gandhi family is often portrayed as a charismatic family which India adores. The other subcontinental nations also have prominent political families.

Pakistan has the Bhutto clan, Sri Lanka has the Bandaranaikes and Bangladesh has the Mujibur Rehmans. These families have made enormous sacrifices and have long, but turbulent histories.

In monarchies, the royal families generally provides a charismatic and unifying focus. India has had its own internal kingdoms wherein the royals sometimes provided a local focus. But these were meaningless for India as a whole. That unifying focus came from Jawaharlal Nehru and his descendants.

In republics, people endow political families which have earned their trust with a royal-like status.

The USA has three outstanding political families which gave the country it presidents and also other politicians: the Roosevelt, the Kennedy and the Bush families.

There are other families which have produced a number of senators like the Gores, one of whom became a Vice-President.

Generations of families participating in politics are widespread in India. India’s largest state Uttar Pradesh (UP), both size-wise and population-wise, is politically a prime trophy. It was the state where the Nehru family, who were Kashmiri Brahmins, established their ancestral home. UP until recently was ruled by Mayawati, a law graduate, who flaunted her “untouchable” (Dalit) origins; in recent times she became famous for building expensive monuments.

32 MARCH (2) 2012

Goa’s Alemao brothers Churchill and Joaquim

Sonia Gandhi with son Rahul Amongst those who attempted to wrest power from her were the Congress Party led by its General Secretary Rahul Gandhi (a fifthgeneration Nehru-Gandhite), his very influential mother Sonia and his sister Priyanka. The UP election was a state affair which was based on state realities. The Nehru-Gandhi family is more important at the national level.

The other contender was the Samajwadi Party which has resoundingly won the elections.

It championed the cause of the other backward classes in UP. Its leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav, was thrice the Chief Minister of UP and once was a central cabinet minister. He has nominated his son Akhilesh, an engineering graduate who has been elected to the central parliament in three elections, as the party chief.

The politics of UP is predominantly based on local castes as demonstrated by the Samajwadi Party gaining 224 seats and the Bahujan Samaj Party 79 seats, both these parties representing disadvantaged groups. These figures dwarf BJP’s

47 and Congress party’s 28 seats.

Another father-son duo in UP is Kalyan Singh and his son Rajveer Singh. Once very influential with the BJP and the Samajwadi Party, Kalyan Singh appears to have burnt his bridges, and his new party, the Jan Kranti Party, is no longer that influential.

Goa, India’s smallest state, had twelve seats allocated for its March 2012 poll to five political families.

This allocation was on both sides of the political divide. Sheila Dixit, the Chief Minister of Delhi found no problem with this allocation in Goa, arguing that applications should not be rejected because there are family links. She pointed out that professions often run within families such as doctors, lawyers and teachers.

In Goa, religious groups form important vote banks. Christians are 25% of the population (at the time Goa was liberated they were 40%) and have been given tickets by the main parties. Muslims, who are important in certain constituencies, were actively wooed.

There was furore when the

prominent Christian Alemao clan were given four tickets by the Congress Party. The Alemaos are wealthy and prominent, and own a football team. Two Alemao brothers were ministers in the outgoing Congress government.

All the four Alemaos were defeated in the election. They were targeted by several candidates, mostly Christian, who siphoned away votes from Alemao’s traditional vote banks. The firstpast-the-post system enabled the use of such strategies.

In contrast, there were two successful duos who were given Congress tickets: the Monserrate couple (minister Atanasio and wife Jennifer) and the former Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane and his son Vishvajeet.

The Congress rout in Goa saw

eight ministers losing seats and the party ending with just nine seats. The BJP has a comfortable majority; it distributed tickets amongst Hindus and Christians and amongst various castes. BJP has 9 Christian members (4 on its own tickets and 4 supporting independents).

A spectacular example of family political clout is found in neighbouring Karnataka where three Reddy brothers have either been ministers or have had considerable political influence. They have become megarich by exploiting iron ore mines.

In democracies, the people ultimately decide which members of which families get elected.

2012 will go down in UP as the year of the highest democratic participation: 60% have voted contrasting with 38% in 1951 and 44% in 1957. In Goa an astounding 81.4% voted in contrast to 70.51% in 2007; in 1977 just 63.22% had voted.

Disenchanted electorates had voted for change. An “anything but this” attitude had developed.

Mulayam Singh Yadav with son Akhilesh

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NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (2) 2012 33

OPINION

The power of one The Stop Kony campaign may have its supporters and detractors, but it has shown without doubt that the world has now evolved to a state where it can be shaped by those without power

I

BY RITAM MITRA

n the past few weeks, the power of social media has been called into action in such a way that, by the time this piece goes to print, the story may have yet changed significantly. If that eventuates, it will further highlight the case in point, and certainly reflect the fundamental keystone of the campaign itself – that the world has now evolved to a state where it can be shaped by those without power, perhaps the first time in history that this situation has presented itself. As a result of their campaign, almost everyone has heard of the Invisible Children organisation and their quest to “Stop Kony”.

The purpose of this piece is by no means to further hype up the Kony phenomenon itself. Indeed, enough has been written and said on the topic in the past couple of weeks and everyone has formed their own opinion. The campaign began years ago, but the storm that has taken over the planet in the past fortnight began with a half-hour documentary titled Kony 2012, that tapped into the power of viral media with the specific purpose of reaching a global audience. Within days, the movie had reached over 50 million views on YouTube alone, along with another dozen or so million on the video streaming site Vimeo. The power of social media networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook was fundamental to this veritable tsunami of sharing.

The video was filmed by Jason Russell of Invisible Children, a human rights advocacy organisation which focuses specifically on the plight of underprivileged children in Africa. According to the group, their story began in 2003, when a group of young filmmakers travelled to Africa on a film-making adventure. They happened to stumble upon Africa’s longestrunning war – the Ugandan military and their struggle against Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), the infamous rebel group, which over a period of 30 years, has snatched thousands of children away from their families and forced them to wield weapons or become sex slaves.

34 MARCH (2) 2012

Kony is number one on the International Criminal Court’s list of most wanted criminals; as a rough guide to where that places him, former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who recently met his demise, was not even in the top 20 on this list. The film focuses on the need to make people aware of Kony, and in Russell’s own words: “Make Kony famous – not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice”. With a host of celebrities, politicians and experts in support of his mission, 2012, Russell insists, is the year in which Kony must be captured.

Russell is clearly a talented filmmaker – indeed, it is no mean feat to make what has been quite easily the most viral video in history. The achievement is even more astonishing given the length of the video; popular videos never tend to be more than 3 minutes long, and indeed part of their popularity is partially due to the fact that they do provide such immediate and accessible entertainment. Kony 2012, at 29 minutes, is, if nothing else, a remarkable feat in firstly, appreciating how the world today works, and then manipulating an idea in such a way so as to bring it to the world.

However questions have been raised, as they will continue to be, over the legitimacy of the Invisible Children campaign. Concerns include the fact that only 31% of donations are going directly to the programmes in place in Africa, as well as the fact that Kony’s reign of terror has shifted towards the Central African Republic, hiding in dense jungle, and that his army has dwindled to the point where it is almost not worth such a great investment in both resources and time. The situation, critics argue, has changed so much since the campaign began in 2003, that the video is akin to misleading information.

Without knowing it though, critics have themselves helped perpetuate the hype (as is often the case). The difference between this and any other instances of critics poking the fire is that the primary and fundamental aim of Invisible Children was to get people talking about Kony – and it is hard to believe that they would have anticipated the extent to which they achieved this. Yes, money is a factor – as it always is. And

This is where the power of social media resides: in the 15-24 age bracket, many would have previously had no idea about Joseph Kony, given their age at the height of his atrocities over a decade ago.

there may be yet problems with the group’s financials – they have been given only 2/4 stars by charity monitor Charity Navigator due to issues with accountability and transparency.

The majority of people who have watched the video will concede they are no experts on social activism and charity programs, let alone on the nuances of a long running war in the most dangerous region of the world.

But it is in this where the power of social media resides – in the 15-24 age bracket, many would have previously had no idea about Joseph Kony, given their age at the height of his atrocities over a decade ago. And it is this demographic which has been the target of the campaign – in other words, through ingenious filmography (a sentiment which even critics agree with) and

unrivalled marketing, Invisible Children has given the world but a glimpse of the power of ambition.

Each and every person has the right to believe what they wish to regarding Invisible Children and the feasibility of their campaign to stop the world’s most wanted war criminal. Millions and millions of dollars have been committed to the programme purely through donations. Entrepreneurs will be keeping a very close watch over proceedings in the hope of applying the same techniques to their own goals. Unquestionable, though, is that the future generation of policy-makers, the young adults who have been fundamental in the Stop Kony uprising, now know the power of the individual – and how this, and future such campaigns shape the world in the years ahead will be well worth being a part of.

Entrepreneurs will be keeping a very close watch over proceedings in the hope of applying the same techniques to their own goals.

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NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (2) 2012 35

India Diary

A struggling species There are dark forebodings for street vendors in India, despite their contribution to society and the economy

L

By MALLI IYER

ife spills out on the pavements in most Indian cities where trading is brisk and there is no dearth of walk-in customers for paav-bhaji, vada paav, pani puri and chaat pakodi, deep fried fish or mutton cutlets with chutney, hot steaming idlis with sambar, chana bhatura, roasted corn on the cob, ganna (sugarcane) juice or coconut water, followed by a Banarasi or Calcutta paan from the nearby paan/beedi shop. Most baby boomers grew up with a lingering taste of street food and would occasionally give their lessons in hygiene a toss to savour their favourite snack.

Millions of non-resident Indians visiting India have low immunity to food sold in handcarts or roadside snacks, but would happily risk a Delhi belly rather than miss out on these street delicacies.

More recently, some of these roadside traders have taken to using disposable gloves and plastic plates and cutlery in an attempt to shed their unhygienic image, but in the foreseeable future there won’t be health/food/hygiene inspectors breathing down their necks. Of course, you can see the odd bribeable policeman throwing his weight around, and happily gobbling down free food offered to him after collecting his hafta from the stall owners. And Indian chai stalls vending bhajiyas and samosas are now internationally known.

Street vending has evolved over centuries, but reliable statistics indicate their numbers in excess of 10 million today. Over 85 % of these are in the 16-35 age group; most have landed in cities in search of employment. Their contribution to the economy goes unrecognised, as also the support role they provide to small manufacturers and thousands of home-based artisans and craftsmen via merchandising and distribution. They add colour and character to the community and are definitely a draw card for the tourism industry. The multiplier effect on employment potential and their net worth to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India will surely run into billions, although governments at all levels don’t give them their ‘squatters rights’.

Women traders and 36 MARCH (2) 2012

Millions of nonresident Indians visiting India have low immunity to food sold in handcarts or roadside snacks, but would happily risk a Delhi belly rather than miss out on these street delicacies.

1.Roasted corn on the cob 2. Snake charmer with cobra 3. Fruit vendor

vendors formulate a significant percentage of these numbers.

Street vendors are much maligned as they have no rights, they are treated as a nuisance by municipal authorities, and with contempt by the police, while being used by political parties. They are victimised and marginalized, despite rendering such valuable services. In the last decade, some organisations, local governments and courts have lent them support, resulting in the creation of a “National Association of Street Vendors in India – NASVI”. A street food festival organised in Delhi in November 2011 was hugely popular and elicited rave reviews in the news media. A National Policy on Urban Street Vendors was agreed by all the state governments in 2004, but implementation of their recommendations have largely remained on the back burner.

Slowly but surely, a semblance of recognition is coming to our street vendors even as they are threatened with extinction.

Indian town planners and economists have scarcely

realised their importance to consumers or recognised the need to create infrastructure for the street vending industry.

Modern retailing trends through department stores, shopping malls, supermarket chains continue to mirror and ape the shape of things prevalent in the western world. They might end up creating soulless, sterile and unappealing environments in glass and concrete towers.

None of them would be able to generate the vibrancy, history or colour that one gets in Crawford Market, Colaba Causeway and Chor Bazaar of Mumbai; Janpath, Jama Masjid or Chandni Chowk in Delhi; Moore Market, Marina Beach, T. Nagar or Pondy Bazaar of Chennai; and the back streets of Chowringhee or the Gariahat Market of Kolkata.

Visitors are struck by the variety in trash and treasure found in street markets. It is not uncommon to see silverware, antiques, wood carvings, oil paintings, exquisite batik prints, handmade curios and small items of furniture being traded. People

welcome the camel-drawn cart vendors that hawk colourful hand woven bedspreads and sheets, providing gainful employment to village weavers. Self-employed artisans have now graduated to vending in the cities, although traditionally they were an integral part of the village economy offering oil massage (champee), ear wax removals and cleaners, hair cuts/trims (the family nayee), shoe shine (boot polish), ironing clothes (istriwalla), razor/ knife sharpening with a grinder mounted on bicycle wheels, flower bouquets and garlands (gajrawallis), mochis who repair all types of leather goods, and last but not least, kabuliwallahs hawking dried fruit from Afghanistan. It is a marvel that their survival instincts enable these traders to carry on despite mounting inflation and costs of living in mega cities. In the longer term they are sure to vanish from our daily life. Milk vendors (doodhwallas) carrying huge urns on their bicycles are already an extinct species due to ‘operation milk flood’, delivering pasteurised milk from mechanised

dairies to most city households.

It would be a glaring omission not to mention the street entertainers like snake charmers and the madaaris (street magicians) with trained monkeys and street urchins who perform acrobatics.

Balloon sellers tout a wide range of tricks and treats to school children. Indians have been believers in soothsaying and foretelling the future, with agents of the trade using Tarot cards or parrots and cows to offer predictions on street corners and community maidans. Another artisan worth a mention is the ‘bioscopewallah’ who usually attracts children with hand-operated movies viewed through a peeping glass. Candy-floss and ice lollies are another hawking trade directed at school children with which most people are familiar.

Of course, haggling is a must at all these pavement shops. I am sure most of us are aware of hawking bartanwaalis (baandiwallis) exchanging stainless steel kitchen vessels for a bundle of old clothes. We have encountered the kabaariwallas who exchange your empty canisters, glass bottles, old newspapers and magazines for money. Even housewives beat down bhaajiwaalas and fruit vendors in their handcarts with their haggling skills.

With the advent of foam, latex and springs, mattresses have undergone a sea change, but one must not forget the old systems of rejuvenating cotton-stuffed beddings by village artisans who converted the flattened mattress into its original fluffy form using cotton separators of animal guts strung to an axe-like wooden structure. They are on their way out, and never to be seen again.

The global financial meltdown and current recession is estimated to cost 52 million jobs around the world. One hopes that our street vendors will spark a renaissance not just in India, but in the western world despite dark forebodings about their existence caused by modern technology.

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Don’t miss out – super performer

Sonu Nigam is going to rock Sydney!

Super performer Sonu Nigam is going to rock Sydney! Don’t miss out!!

The countdown has started. There’s but a month more to go for Sydney’s Indian community to witness a spectacle like never before. On April 6 we will welcome one of India’s most talented stage and playback performers who can sing, act, mimic, dance and entertain all genres of audience – the one and only one Sonu Nigam!

The preparations are already in full swing. Cinestarr, the organiser and promoter of the event, have been working day and night to meet the expectations of Aussie audience. Though they have previously organised sell-out concerts with Sonu Nigam in 2005 and 2008, this time it’s a concert with a twist. The audiences will be entertained by two Sonu Nigams, performing together through holographic projection!

Not only this, there has been a talent hunt already making news in the search for a super singer and super dancer to perform along the superstar. On Jan 28, there were 46 singers and 26 dancers shortlisted from the first audition. In the second audition on Feb 18, 14 top singers and 14 top dancers were shortlisted to contest in the Grand Finale on 4 March at Bowman Hall Blacktown. The competition was tough as all the participants were very talented singers. On the finale, 1 super singer and 1 super dancer will be selected to get the life time opportunity to perform one song with Sonu Nigam. If you want to check out the performances and cast votes for the super singer and super dancer, log on to www.sonunigam.com.au.

An electrifying performer on stage, Sonu Nigam’s fans are spread far and wide. He has sung in almost all Indian languages and touched many hearts with his romantic, sad, patriotic and rock songs. He has performed all around the world and recently wooed audiences at his concert in Sri Lanka. His unmatchable talent comes with his down to earth attitude. Despite being a regular face at Bollywood parties, he is a family man who is very attached to his parents and family. Recently, the 18th Lions Gold Awards honoured him and his four-year-old son Neevan for their contribution to the music industry.

Sonu Nigam won the favourite singer award while his son was declared the favourite child singer for his version of Kolaveri di.

Yogesh Sharma of Cinestarr, the man behind many a successful concert in Australia’s Indian community, has worked with many esteemed artists but can never stop praising Sonu Nigam. “He is not only a great singer and a stage performer but he is a thorough gentleman, therefore I would love to work with him again and again. Last time 4000 people came for his concert and on popular demand he is back again to perform for his Aussie Indian fans”.

So what are you waiting for? Don’t miss the event that will create history in the Bollywood scene in Australia. With his charming looks and graceful mannerisms, soulful voice and electrifying dance moves, Sonu Nigam has never left a stone unturned with his entertaining performance. Young or old, female or male, he has never left his fans disappointed.

After all, it is for a reason he is called a super performer!

NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (2) 2012 37

SPORT

Dravidian determination Known for his stoicism and undefeatable attitude on the field, the cricketing world salutes a stalwart’s retirement

T

he word ‘gentleman’ is thrown around the cricketing world a lot, but it mostly comes as part of the phrase ‘gentleman’s game’.

Rarely, though, has it followed a cricketer as closely as it has Rahul Dravid, who recently announced his retirement from the game.

Let it be forgotten that he is the second-highest run scorer in Test history, and has taken more catches than any other nonwicketkeeper (although he was, for a period, India’s premier gloveman too). Let it go unnoticed that he has over 10,000 ODI runs in 344 appearances, and is the first and only player to score Test centuries in all ten Test-playing nations.

Let us even neglect the fact that he has faced more balls than anyone else in Test match history.

Dravid brought the game of cricket a sense of distinction and class that was, by some distance, unparalleled.

It is tough to avoid waxing lyrical about Dravid – as indeed it is tough to find a place to even begin waxing lyrical about him. All discussions of his abilities on the cricket field though, must begin with his technique. There was barely a more technically correct batsman in the modern game.

Against pace, he was supremely confident of his off stump.

Against spin, it was Dravid’s use of the depth of the crease and his ability to pick up the length early that allowed him to turn his centuries into big ones. In Australia though, Dravid was unrecognisable. Every cricketer has a poor tour eventually, but Dravid has never lost his castle as often as he did in Australia – and perhaps the bowlers’ reactions to seeing his stumps splayed best sums up their expectations of him.

Next comes Dravid’s temperament. MS Dhoni certainly knows how to keep his cool, but it’s tough to recall him being at the crease long enough to lose it. Dravid has a collection of long vigils, and his name is synonymous with some famous Indian wins. Kolkata 2001, Adelaide 2003, Rawalpindi 2004 and a match that should have been a win had weather not intervened – Johannesburg 1997. A feature of many of these matches was an Indian fight-back; and this is a term that Dravid is once again all too familiar with.

Kolkata does not need introduction – his 180 in a magical partnership with VVS Laxman there is the stuff of cricketing folklore – the pair were in a 38 MARCH (2) 2012

seemingly hopeless situation, yet batted an entire day to thwart a despairing Australian attack. His 233 and 72* in Adelaide (once again involving a union with Laxman) set up a series lead for India after Australia posted 556 – Dravid batted for 835 minutes in this match. That is well over two days; indeed, there were barely two hours in the entire game during which Dravid was not on the field.

Going into the final Test at Rawalpindi, the series was level 1-1. Dravid’s epic 270, during which he was at the crease for 12 hours, set up a historic Indian series win on Pakistan soil, in a match where no other batsman even crossed 80. In Johannesburg, meanwhile, Dravid hit 148 against a rampant South African attack, which was one of the best in the world at the time. Donald, Pollock, Klusener and Adams could only watch on as Dravid struck 148 in a six-hour effort, before scoring 81 in the second innings over the course of 146 minutes.

Another side of Dravid was revealed recently in a beautiful piece written by his wife of 9 years, Vijeeta. While it has always been obvious to all that Dravid was intensely private, Vijeeta offered some rare glimpses into just how much cricket meant to her husband.

Dravid would shadow-bat at odd hours of the day or night, so much so that Vijeeta once thought he was sleepwalking. His preparation before each match was meticulous; it has been well documented that Dravid is often superstitious, always putting on his right thigh-pad first – however, Dravid’s quirks stretch beyond that. Just last year, before the Lords Test, Dravid made a point of sitting in the same space in the dressing room as did Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan when he scored a double century there earlier in the season. Fittingly, Dravid finally scored a century at Lords, 15 years after scoring 95 there on debut.

On the night before every match, even when travelling with his family, Dravid would stay in a room alone for some meditation and visualisation exercises. The next morning, he would do the same. He was afforded plenty of space and quiet on match day; teammates did not rush him for the bus, and he would often say he simply needed ten minutes to himself.

It is a mark of his measured and realistic nature though, that

he manages to switch off at the end of every day. Vijeeta remarks on his ability to separate the rest of his life from the game – he would never complain about having a bad day, nor would he ever sit in his room and brood.

Dravid preferred to go out to a musical, walk by the beach, or read a book.

A fascinating revelation is the fact that Dravid recognised his diminishing abilities in the twilight years of his career. He worked twice as hard to keep his body in its best physical condition through strict diets, because he knew that was what it would take. He always sweated profusely – so he had a sweat analysis done to see how it affected his batting. He went to a specialist in eye co-ordination techniques, because he wanted to exercise those particular muscles and keep them up to speed.

These nuances, along with his persona, may lend Dravid the “obsessive-compulsive” tag at first, but this batsman has proved time and time again he is human.

When he celebrated emphatically at scoring his Test century at Lords, even at the age of 38; when he threw a chair in the dressing rooms after India lost a match against England; or when he pumped his fist and roared

His 233 and 72* in Adelaide (once again involving a union with Laxman) set up a series lead for India after Australia posted 556 – Dravid batted for 835 minutes in this match.

Vijeeta remarks on his ability to separate the rest of his life from the game – he would never complain about having a bad day, nor would he ever sit in his room and brood.

after hitting the winning runs in Adelaide.

It is his penchant for the more intelligent pastimes that once again sets Dravid apart from his contemporaries. Before the tour of Australia, Dravid delivered the highly prestigious Sir Donald Bradman Oration at Bowral, making him the first personality from the subcontinent to deliver it. He follows in the footsteps of John Howard, Michael Parkinson and Richie Benaud. Without a doubt, his meticulous desire to learn, improve and quite simply, to know, helped make him the hungry professional that he was. As Vijeeta puts it, “…he would like to find something that fills in at least some of the place that cricket occupied in his life, something challenging and cerebral.”

Dravid’s was a world of dignity, civility and poetry. There are very few cricketers left in his mould today. With him a part of the game will die - it is the part that exemplified the origins of the game and the expectations of the players; the part that few seem to lend the importance it deserves. If cricket is a gentleman’s game, that gentleman is Rahul Dravid.

Ritam Mitra

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Sport

What’s in a century?

The quiet dignity and subdued sense of achievement displayed by the Little Master is the mark of a true sportsman, writes Ritam MITRA

H

NATIONAL EDITION

e’s finally got it. Sachin Tendulkar recently became the first batsman in history to score 100 international centuries, ending a 33 innings drought that had followed his 99th. The story of the last 13 months has been one of diminishing anticipation and fading aura; of a helpless hero and an unsettled team.

However, it’s also been a case of ungrateful fans and unforgiving critics – without whom this drought would simply not have been.

Tendulkar brought up the milestone against Bangladesh in India’s second game of the Asia Cup tournament. He helped set up a total of 289/5, yet India still failed to defend the total, continuing a worrying trend in India’s incapability to field a truly threatening bowling side.

Tendulkar was, however, unusually slow – indeed, out of all his ODI hundreds, this one came at the second-lowest strike rate (77.55), and the lowest in the last ten years. He slowed down as he reached his milestone, but after he turned a ball from

man-of-the-match Shakib Al Hasan through square for the single that gave him the historic century, Tendulkar attempted to cut loose, hitting consecutive boundaries before being dismissed for 114.

Of all the sports on this planet, no fans are as obsessive-compulsive statistics buffs as cricket fans – and it is, without a doubt, this inherent numberloving nature that resulted in the creation of the “100th international century” hype.

For, as significant as the milestone is, and as pleasing as “hundredth hundred” sounds to the ear, it is just that – a nice statistic, the triple figure bringing with it an aesthetically satisfying air.

Indeed, as endearing as it might seem to Tendulkar for the media to follow his every run and prepare reports on his milestones long before he reaches them, some of the more outspoken journalists and television presenters can give themselves half a dozen pats on the back – one for each of the centuries they have probably cost Tendulkar in the past year.

The problem lies herein: Tendulkar was not only the first to 100 international centuries - he was the first to 50, 60 and 70 international tons as well. In fact, he’s the only one to have made over 71. Which means that on at least 50 occasions prior to this, Tendulkar was on the verge of a record-breaking century. Indeed, every time he scores a run, he’s creating history, given that he also has the most international runs. Every time he comes out to bat, he’s creating history, since he’s played more innings than any other.

It gets even better; every time he is even named on a team list, he’s making history, since he’s played more Tests and ODIs than any other player.

The emotion in his face upon taking off his helmet and saluting the supportive Mirpur crowd was subtle, but revealing; and the relief in his voice following the knock was palpable.

Tendulkar remarked that he felt 50 kilos lighter, and after remaining silent through the entire Australian tour and much of the England debacle, he finally conceded

that it had been a very tough period for him, and there was more than a hint of resentment at the attitude that had been cast his way.

“Yes, I have to be honest.

I am human and I have emotions so I was frustrated.

It does play on your mind… nobody talked about my 99 hundreds,” he said with more than a hint of veiled criticism at his detractors.

Indeed, in his first official interview following the achievement, Tendulkar was similarly, and unnaturally stoic in his responses, perhaps finally giving the world a glimpse of the immense mental pressure he has been forced to endure for much of the past 20 years – a pressure which has been intensified further in the past 12 months.

“There are certain people I respect and there are certain people I don’t respect. I don’t get affected by the ones I don’t respect. I don’t bother much about them.

Let them be where they are. I’ve got a bigger job of playing for India, scoring runs and winning matches for India, and I focus on that job instead of reacting to what they are saying,” he retorted.

Following his withdrawal from the West Indies tour, there was speculation that Tendulkar wanted to save his 100th century for Lord’s during the England tour. It appears absurd in hindsight, but there were many who were caught up in the hype during the time – to many, Tendulkar could always control his destiny with the bat. As he pointed out in his interview though, “A hundred doesn’t come as and when you want.”

Calls for his retirement have been rife in the past few months - former teammates have themselves been divided over the issue.

Sourav Ganguly, India’s most successful Test captain, famously remarked that no one had the right to call for Sachin’s head and it was purely his decision to make.

Ravi Shastri, meanwhile, has been extremely vocal about his view that Tendulkar should have retired on a high after the World Cup. Tendulkar’s views were perfectly clear. “When you are at the top, you should serve the nation. When I feel I am not in a frame of mind

to contribute to the nation, that’s when I should retire, not when somebody says.

That’s a selfish statement (saying that) one should retire when on top,” he said emphatically.

Tendulkar’s, though, is a life that is shared with a nation. For two decades he has been India’s perennial wonder boy, still every bit the prodigy he was when he came onto the scene as a quiet, fresh-faced youngster.

No sportsperson, let alone cricketer, carries with them the good wishes of a billion hopes in quite the same way Sachin Tendulkar does.

It makes it all the more remarkable when, all things considered, batting is one of the toughest mental propositions in professional sport – one mistake can end your match, and two or three can end your career.

Tendulkar spoke about the wait for his 100th ton with remarkable perspective. “I am glad about the journey. It has tested my patience, my character. So many people have had questions, but I don’t read any of them.

Somebody who has not gone through this will have only questions, not answers”.

“When I consider retirement, don’t worry, I will not hide it from anyone.

I will play as long as I am enjoying it and as long as I can contribute to the team.

I don’t play for milestones; that is a perception created by a few members of the media. I play cricket because I enjoy it,” he added.

It will be pleasant to watch a cricket match without reference to Tendulkar’s 100th ton. Tendulkar himself will be pleased to see no more banners wishing him luck in making this particular achievement. It might be an agonising wait until he next makes this kind of poetic history, but try to remember that every time he walks out to bat, he’s on uncharted territory.

The cheers when he walks out of the dressing room should be as loud as they are for his centuries - for then perhaps Tendulkar will be able to remember that the applause is for him, and not for a statistic. The great man himself is, as ever, focussed on his country – and the rest of us would do very well to follow suit.

MARCH (2) 2012 39

PSYCHE

Life’s lessons from wise traditions Traditional Indian scripture teaches us fundamental yet valuable lessons about ourselves

By SAROJA SRINIVASAN

M

ost of us who have lived in India have heard the Bhagavad Gita being mentioned in many contexts. The ancient Hindu text teaches us to see even our everyday conflicts as a product of our own mind, however much we may point the finger at others around us or at situations.

It begins with a vision of man as intrinsically happy and the fundamental solution to our feelings of insecurity lying within our own mind: “You can be your own best friend or your own worst enemy” (Bhagavad Gita, Ch 6 V 5).

Our mind is the ‘kurukshetra’ and the ‘dharmakshetra’. The emotional turmoil of Arjuna represents the conflict between one’s values and the actions one has to perform. The student Arjuna’s mind is in turmoil, while the teacher Krishna’s mind is in resolution. The chariot is the body pulled by the five horses, the sense organs. All of these reflect three things that one has to come to terms with: one’s attitude towards God, the world and oneself. Once this is reflected upon and resolved, the individual is better placed to deal with conflicts and crises.

In my teens I understood the teaching to be as making the effort to do one’s duty, without expecting a reward. This was, of course, hard to accept at a young

40 MARCH (2) 2012

age. I remember arguing with my mother, “How can one not expect something when one has to work for money – earn an income?” I would ask. Especially when everyone else is getting paid, how could I work for nothing? I remember my mother trying to explain the real meaning, but it was hard to accept.

Only with life’s experiences have I learnt the real meaning of the main lesson. Over the years I began to reflect on what it really means - that our main goal in life should be to make the effort, despite the uncertainty of the results we seek.

It is not that we won’t achieve what we are seeking. It is just that there is no guarantee of the result. This is not true in small everyday things – like, will I get the bus to work on time? Of course you will get it provided you have given enough time to your morning routine. But all the same, there may be unexpected delays on many occasions and the same effort does not produce a guaranteed result. What this kind of mindset does is to make it possible to be accepting when things do not go the way we want them to go.

The mind-set that is required to pursue this line of thought is often quite alien to people who look at life as being entirely within their volition. Even if we lived in an island with no others around, we would still be under the mercy of natural elements that are beyond one’s control. Hence one’s

effort may not always have the

desired effect.

Life as we know it is an interrelated phenomenon. The famous English poet John Donne quite beautifully expressed it in his poem, No man is an island. What one does, effects another, however small the effect or however distant that effect is in time and space.

What we have to accept is one of the lessons from the Geetha, that making the effort is ours but the desired result may not be entirely in our hands. Secondly, we have the capacity to deal with our problems provided we seek the solution at a fundamental level, and not just at a topical one.

There is always an ‘unknown’ in the equation. Whether they may be major events or trivial everyday

matters, there is a chance that things may not turn out the way we expect. With technology and progress we have become accustomed to predictability in many everyday things. Compared to 200 years ago, if we open a tap, water comes out, or if we turn on a switch, the light comes on and we also have timetables for most things that helps us plan and predict.

This seems to make us expect the same in everything else. Yet, in interpersonal relationships the unknown crops up ever so regularly, unsettling our predictability. If we are not prepared for these unknowns, we become quite distressed or angry. As the essence of the Gita so brilliantly illustrates, it is our duty to make the effort without focussing only on the reward that we want to obtain.

The Bhagavad Gita teaches us to see even our everyday conflicts as a product of our own mind, however much we may point the finger at others around us or at situations

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NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (2) 2012 41

fiction

The ‘over’ never ends

With a new debut begins a new understanding and the promise of a better future, once again

T

BY RANI JHALA

he fence creaked as he leaned forward and put his weight on it. He was a spectator now, having long retired from the game.

He had a seat in the members’ stand, but a group of friends had come to watch and he had chosen to sit with them. The excitement grew in the stands. The toss had decided which country would bat first, and his son was going to make his ‘debut’ as an international cricketer. His son, not yet nineteen, was already showing the signs of becoming a world champion. Yes, it was a proud moment - a father seeing his son stepping into his footsteps and already doing a better job.

He turned towards the pavilion as a movement caught his eye.

His son had just stepped onto the ground. He knew how his son would be feeling. The heart would be racing. The anticipation would be at its highest, and the hope of success would be all pervading.

The walk to the pitch was a walk towards personal victories and it was always welcomed. It was the walk back that everyone dreaded, for it brought with it the ending to that day’s dream.

Suddenly his son stopped and looked directly at him; then he raised his bat in the air and lowered it in front of his dad. Misty-eyed, he returned the salute. Whatever happened, as far as he was concerned, his son had already won!

The opposition was already strategically placed around the ground. His son moved to stand in front of the wicket. It was a sign that the game would shortly begin.

He moved back and took a seat. It was then that he saw her.

Standing behind a column with her back to him, she stood looking towards the pitch. No, not the ground! She was watching his son.

He saw red. How dare she come to ruin the most important day in his son’s life! Did she not realise the damage she had already done?

He got up and began a slow walk towards the lady. As each step brought him closer to the woman, he began to debate about the wisdom of a meeting but just as he was about to turn back, the lady seemed to sense his presence and looked at him. Both stilled. Ten years seemed to fly away. The hurt and the ache seemed to bury itself.

All he now felt was the pain of watching his wife in tears.

“Go back Jay, he will look for 42 MARCH (2) 2012

you in the stand.” Her first words had the same effect as a bucket of iced water.

Instead of complying with her request, Jay moved closer. “For the next over, his eyes will be on the ball and I only need that much time to ask you a question.”

“Where have I been? Is that what you wish to have answered?” she asked.

“No. I just want to know why you have returned,” he said.

“I never left, Jay,” she answered.

“Never left? Ten years ago, you walked away. You left your home, your husband and your child.

You gave no reasons and you left no contact numbers. Is that not leaving?” he cut in.

The over had ended and the wicket keeper was changing ends.

Jay looked toward the crease just as his wife hid herself behind the column. He would have to wait until his son faced the other way before he could continue the conversation.

“So why did you?” he asked.

“Because another, had become more important,” she replied.

“No woman has ever been more important than you. You and my son were everything to me,” he barked.

“Yes, there was us, and then there was your cricket.”

“CRICKET! You left because of my game?” he questioned her in disbelief.

“Jay, maybe the fault was mine to have underestimated your commitment to the game or to have expected more than what you were willing to give. When we married, I saw only the glamour and fame that came with your success,” she said, adding, “I even enjoyed it. But no wife should be expected to give up so much of herself to make her husband whole.

I watched you take part in ‘those bonding sessions’ when you and the team would lock yourselves away before each game. I silently waited at home while you spent months away on tours. I held our baby night after night as he burned with temperature, only to see your photo splashed across the morning paper with a woman’s arm around your neck. I saw your name linked time after time, with woman after woman. I cried lonely tears while you boasted to the press, of your love for cricket. I took calls from strangers who spoke of familiarity. I shared your worry at selection time and I hurt when success walked away at intervals. I heard you moan when the game went badly. I rejoiced when your team won. And I did it all for love but not once did…”

“A love that did not make it past the first inning,” he cut in bitterly.

“My love survived many games Jay, it was just not able to survive the doosra,” she responded.

“Why did you not speak up earlier? I thought this was what we both wanted,” he now spoke in a gentler tone.

“Would you have given up cricket?” she questioned.

“Have I played since you left?” he queried in return and then watched as his wife broke down and cried.

His arms automatically reached out to comfort her, surprising even him.

“Six!” someone shouted. Jay and his wife looked up to see their son lift his bat in acknowledgement to the cheering.

“What now?” he asked fearfully.

“Now? It is time for me to give in to this sport,” she smiled back.

“I have always loved you,” he whispered.

“But I have always loved you more,” she replied.

“How can you say that?” he asked in surprise, for wasn’t it she who had left him? Him and their child!

“I left you your son, and I silently watched as you made him into a cricketer.”

martimonials

Seeking Grooms 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 Punjabi Brahmin match for 1972 born (looks younger), divorced, issueless 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 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

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

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

Seeking BRIDES

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 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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NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (2) 2012 43

Beauty

Daily diet to beauty Simple changes to your food habits could lead to healthier skin

BY MINNAL KHONA

L

ooking good and feeling good cannot only come in a jar of cream or a bottle of conditioner. What we eat is what impacts our skin and hair. Your food intake can, if you are careful, be the best anti-ageing tool for retaining younger looking skin for longer. In the first of this two-part series, I will take you through the tips needed to keep you looking great.

Water, water everywhere!

I cannot stress enough about the importance of this vital ingredient. Our body weight too, has a large percentage comprising of water. We may not even realise this but sometimes, tense shoulder muscles, a dull headache or a very dry skin can all be connected to drinking less water. Dehydration makes our bodies age faster – externally and internally. Our joints too feel better lubricated with enough water intake.

Substituting water with fizzy or energy drinks is not the answer. If you have access to coconut water, a glass a day of that also works wonders.

So don’t wait till your body tells you it is thirsty; drink up, regardless. And if you keep sipping water from a glass every now and then, you will also keep getting up frequently from your chair at work to refill the glass.

This is also good exercise.

Try to consume at least six to eight glasses of water a day.

Salt and sugar

They may be the most vital ingredients to our main courses and desserts, but these can also put you at risk from hypertension, and if diabetes is a hereditary ailment, it can make you vulnerable. Rather than having to abstain completely after becoming susceptible to high blood pressure or diabetes, it is better to go easy on these two ingredients.

Sugar substitutes are easy to find. Avoid processed sugar and where necessary, use a bit of honey. Eat a lot of fruit, if your body craves sugar. Items like cakes, desserts, etc., should be avoided as much as possible.

However, sugar-free substitutes 44 MARCH (2) 2012

like aspartame are not very healthy in the long run. And diet colas are the worst. So minimise your sugar intake wherever possible.

For salt too, use low sodium variants and other spices and herbs to enliven your food. Even low fat and no fat foods have lots of sugar in them so stay away from these. Maintain a healthy BMI and body weight to prevent ageing due to ailments like high BP, diabetes and hypertension.

Fibre-rich foods

The more the roughage in your diet, the better your insides will be. A large part of your diet must consist of carbohydrates – fruit, vegetables, rotis, rice and pasta.

Wholegrain products and multigrain variations are much better than the others. Protein and fat should form the rest of your diet – say 15% protein and 20% fat content. Protein is important as it forms the building blocks of the body. Too much or too little can cause harm, but including proteinrich foods like chicken, pulses and beans in your diet will ensure the right amount of intake.

Fruit is a very good source of fibre and sugar. Fibre aids digestion and the fewer toxins in your body, the better your skin will look.

Eat small portions, eat often

Being overweight leads to its own set of problems because yo-yo diets and binge eating can cause the body to miss out on vital nutrients. Also, some diets recommend eating one kind of food and excluding others which also causes problems. The best thing to do is eat at regular intervals. Missing breakfast is not a good idea because you will most likely end up overeating in the second half of the day. The end result is that you will consume more calories by skipping a meal, than by eating smaller portions throughout the day.

Make sure you have breakfast – it could be cereal and low fat milk, as cereal is a good source of fibre. It could even be eggs and toast, but don’t skip brekkie.

Lunch and a few biscuits or a fruit are a good option for a midday and early evening meal.

For snacking options, fruit is the best bet because a lot of them like melons for instance, are rich in water content and non-fattening, but they give you a satiated feeling and satisfy hunger pangs. A glass

of water half an hour before and after lunch also helps. Celery and carrot sticks can also double up as a mid-morning or late afternoon snack. If you can make the effort, a smoothie is also a good option.

The golden rule is to eat something every four hours.

But make sure dinner is not the heaviest meal of the day.

Right size, baby!

Even if you eat often, make sure that you don’t overeat. Ensure that only the amount of calories your body needs go into it. A good dietician will be able to guide you, and weight loss or gain can be controlled. Excess calories are always stored in the body as fat.

And there is no guarantee that you will burn off the entire extra

calorie intake with exercise for the day.

There are a certain amount of calories you expend in a day. Even 100 calories more than what is expended in your body leads to fat. That in turn leads to other problems and slows you down. By maintaining the right body weight, you will feel lighter and better.

Plus, exercising will help you burn out the extra fat, and sweating during exercise also helps to detox the skin.

Keep these tips in mind and in 21 days (that’s how long it takes to change a habit or develop a new one) you will have adapted to a healthier lifestyle. You will look and feel younger, and will have slowed down the ageing process.

For snacking options, fruit is the best bet because a lot of them like melons for instance, are rich in water content and non-fattening, but they give you a satiated feeling and satisfy hunger pangs.

NAPLAN test preparation

NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (2) 2012 45

TRAVEL

The French This former French town still maintains the charm and traditions of its erstwhile rulers

C

BY SANDIP HOR

enturies back, a small fishing village on the Coromandel Coast in southern India located around 160km south of today’s Chennai, evolved as a favourite spot for Europeans to gain entry into the subcontinent. The Romans touched its grounds some 2000 years ago, many centuries later followed by the Portuguese, Dutch, Danes, French and the British. They fought many battles amongst themselves to lay claim to that tiny piece of land of strategic significance. Ultimately in 1673, the French emerged as the winner and made it their colony for almost 300 years. They named the nest ‘Pondicherry’ and soon turned the laid-back coastal parish into a grand seaside port resembling a typical medieval French township. In no time it became the regional epicentre of French politics, commerce and culture, and remained so till 1954 when power was relinquished to India, which achieved independence from the British earlier in 1947.

A touch of the Mediterranean

Often referred as the ‘Riviera of the East’, Pondicherry, renamed as ‘Puducherry’ since 2006, stands today as a living monument of France in India, the enduring appeal of which constantly lures tourists from the rest of India and overseas.

Greeted by a Mediterranean 46 MARCH (2) 2012

aura, first time visitors like me are immensely surprised to experience that mild Gallic air superimposed on a typical Indian background. Presences of French characters are evident all around. However, what impressively strikes the visitor is the physical layout of the ovalshaped townscape which depicts the emblematic French way of town planning, similar in essence to perhaps Nice or Cannes.

The settlement bounded by a boulevard, expands westwards from the seaside promenade with all roads intersecting at right angles, dividing the entire district into small grids, thus making it almost impossible for anyone to lose their way. A grand canal earlier divided the land into two sections - one for the native Indians mostly Tamils called Ville Noire, or Black Town and the other known as Ville Blanche or White Town designed exclusively for the Europeans.

Parlez vous Francais?

That segregation still exists.

Ville Noire clogged with traffic, crowd, noise and chaos, has turned very much Indian and distinctly separates itself from the physical environment and ambiance of the impressive Ville Blanche that, to a large extent, has retained its image as it was under the French.

This quarter is elegantly dotted with well restored 18th century office buildings flashing large French windows, grand mansions standing inside huge walled compounds, some overlooking the Bay of Bengal or a nice leafy park, while others flank clean and tidy roads made colorful by blossoming

bougainvilleas.

Myriad visitors trundling through the streets, still named as Rue, are deeply absorbed by the “Frenchness” of the atmosphere. With curiosity they look at policemen wearing red kepi, overhear vocabularies like bonjour and merci from passing residents who address them as Madame and

Monsieur, drink espresso coffee from Le Cafe, buy baguettes from tiny bakeries, order French cuisine at local eateries and engage in conversation with some of the town’s 6000-odd French nationals, who affectionately call ‘Pondy - my home’.

Heritage and history

A strong French connection is sensed in the statues of French Governor Dupleix and Joan of

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in India Seeking one’s self

Arc; from magnificent edifices such as Hotel de Ville (Town Hall), Raj Nivas, the former French Governor’s residence, the grand French Consulate and Alliance Francais Office; and via historic monuments like Aaya Mandapam, a white cenotaph built by Napoleon III to honour a local courtesan, and the French War Memorial which is brightly illuminated during Bastille Day in July, a celebration which brings back reminiscences of France into the town.

The French-built churches are an equally significant memoir of the past. There are several of them; however, the Church of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, the Church of the Sacred Heart and Norte Dame des Anges, modelled on the Basilica at Lourdes in Southern France, are the ones regularly thronged by locals and visitors.

Similarly, there are hotels like De L’Orient and Le Dupleix, the former resident of French Mayor in Pondicherry that eloquently exudes fragrances of the past.

However, I noticed that large groups of international visitors, many from mainland France stay at Sarovar Group’s Promenade Hotel, perhaps because of its seafront location and opulent facilities. When sitting at its outdoor restaurant, guarded from the afternoon sun by the 1876-built lighthouse positioned almost inches away from the hotel, I don’t see much of India other than Kingfisher beer on the table.

It is here that I met Evon, a middle-aged woman from northern France. Her ancestors used to live here and she is keen to trace their trail. Her impression of this serene settlement is very interesting. She says, while there is lot to see, there is more to feel.

Perhaps that sagacity of ‘feeling’ comes from Shri Aurobino Ashram, Pondicherry’s internationally reputed site of spiritual pilgrimage, to which people from far and wide flock to learn yoga, meditation and Indian philosophy.

Aurobindo Ghose, a Cambridgeeducated Bengali freedom fighter turned yogi, who in 1910 moved to French Pondicherry to avoid a British-issued arrest warrant in Calcutta, founded this iconic institution in 1926 in collaboration with one of his most ardent disciples, Paris-born Mirria Alfassa, famously known as Holy Mother. She came to Pondicherry in 1920 and remained there for the rest of her life. Under her care the organisation has grown into an abode of peace and harmony.

Today a 2000-strong diversified community lives and works in its several sections ranging from schools, farms, engineering units to libraries, bookshops and guesthouses. This refuge gives them a soulful meaning of self offering, which ultimately results in a sense of divine fulfillment.

Short stay visitors try to get a feel of that devout consciousness from the surrounding ambiance.

One of Mother’s remarkable achievements is the creation of Auroville, an international township dedicated to the ideal of human unity. Located 10km

away from the Ashram, it was built in 1968 using soil from several countries, symbolizing international brotherhood.

It is a ‘must-tour’ destination for all visitors to Pondicherry, though authorities do not tout it as a tourist attraction. Unless you are a dweller of the township or have special permission, it’s not possible to go inside, perhaps considering that outsiders may desynchronize this experimental lifestyle.

Still it’s worth a visit to the locale to soak in its peaceful vibes. You can drop in at the well-serviced visitors centre to pick up all the information you need on Auroville, browse shops that sell handicrafts manufactured by the township’s populace, meet people from all over the world, and finally see from a distance, the 40m high Matrimandir, an enormous sphere covered with gold plated discs where Aurovillians go to meditate, or in Mother’s words, to try to find one’s self consciousness.

As Evon said, surely there is lot to feel in Pondicherry.

Travel notebook PONDICHERRY

What impressively strikes the visitor is the physical layout of the ovalshaped townscape which depicts the emblematic French way of town planning, similar in essence to perhaps Nice or Cannes.

Perhaps that sagacity of ‘feeling’ comes from Shri Aurobino Ashram, Pondicherry’s internationally reputed site of spiritual pilgrimage, to which people from far and wide flock to learn yoga, meditation and Indian philosophy

GETTING there

Pondicherry is 3 hours by road from Chennai. Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com), has convenient flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane Adelaide and Perth to Chennai via Singapore.

accomModation

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts (www.sarovarhotels.com) with 56 hotels across 39 destinations in India and overseas is one of India’s fastest growing hotel chains. They have two properties in Pondicherry: The Promenade (38 rooms) overlooking the sea, and Le Dupleix (14 rooms) with its opulent French character.

Clockwise from Left: Welcome to Pondi

Local residents use bicycles and scooters; however taxis and three wheelers are easily available

Sacred Heart Church

Entry is limited for outsiders, unless staying as an ashram guest or with special permission.

Check www.sriaurobindoashram.org and www.auroville.org for details

View of Sri Aurobindo Ashram

Getting around

Shri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville more information

Check www.tourism.pondicherry.gov.in or www.incredibleindia.org or call Incredible India on 02 92219555.

A Pondicherry street An Aurovillian.

Notre Dame De Agnes

NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (2) 2012 47

WHAT IS SCALING? Competition in the top places for Universities is tough. To get into courses like Medicine, Law, Commerce and other Health Sciences, you need to have very strong ATARs. Your ATAR is your ticket to University, and it is therefore very important you understand exactly what it takes to score the ATAR you are looking for.

In this article, I will show you what it takes to target and achieve any ATAR, i.e. what you need to score in each of your individual subjects in order to score your target ATAR. Why is this important? Many of you who are reading are probably aspiring to be engineers, businessmen, doctors or lawyers – which requires high ATARs (95 to 99). The problem with aiming for an ATAR of, say, 95 is you don’t understand what it means in each subject. By breaking down the scaling of each subject, we will show you how you can actually convert this ATAR goal of 95, into a rank in each subject

WHAT IS SCALING? Scaling is the process of standardising marks so that they can be compared across subjects. In scaling marks, the UAC will adjust the highest mark, median mark and standard deviation so that all subjects are directly comparable. The reason it is needed is that without scaling, it would be impossible to compare a 95 in Economics with a 95 in Mathematics Extension 2.

ATAR VS UAC The UAC basically converts the averaged HSC Assessment and HSC Examination Marks to their own UAC score through a process of scaling to a UAC score. Each unit is converted to a score of 50 and the best 10 units (including English) are used to calculate a score of 500. Most students are unaware that their ATAR is calculated from this base score of 500. The table below illustrate the relationship:

ATAR (approximated from UAI) 99.95 99.5 99 98 95 90 85

SCALING GRAPHS The most important thing to note is that not all subjects are created or scaled equally. Some subjects that are considered harder are obviously scaled higher, whilst some subjects in which it is easy to score high marks will be scaled downwards.

The graph below (fig 1) gives you a good indication of how subject scales. From the previous table, you should be able to see if you wanted to score an ATAR of, say 99, you would need to score ~45/50.

Following those marks, you can see that you would need to score in the top 56% of Maths Ext 2, the top 23% of Maths Ext 1, but in the top 4% of Maths Advanced. For simplicity’s sake, we’ve shown what it takes to score ATARs of 95, 97 and 99 respectively.

What you now have are the relative benchmarks for performance to score any ATAR. Hence, suppose you were aiming for an ATAR of 99.00: If you were in the top 20% for Maths Ext 2, but in the top 20% for English, this graph clearly indicates that your time will be better spent in English, because an improvement to the Top 10% in English is going to deliver much better gains than a similar improvement in Maths.

HOW DO THE DIFFERENT SUBJECTS SCALE? At Talent 100, we’ve examined the scaling of categories of subjects such as Mathematics, English, Science and the Humanities. When you examine the scaling graphs, some clear trends emerge:

Scaling Graph

UAC Score 485 458.1 447.3 432.3 403.2 370.9 345

w/www.talent-100.com.au p/1300 999 100

WE’LL TEACH YOU TO STUDY SMARTER, NOT HARDER In this article, we’ve shown you what standards of performance you need in each of your individual subjects in order to score a particular, overall ATAR. The next step is to achieve those standards of performance.

If you are in Year 9-12, and are studying Mathematics, Physics , Chemistry, and English, our courses can help you do just that.

1 We will teach you every syllabus dot point to a full marks standard.

Our aim here is to help you understand the work, rather than memorize it. This will equip you with the knowledge to answer every question in the exam.

2 We also methodically perfect your examination technique so that you can. It is important that you don’t make careless mistakes, and that you manage your time effectively. That’s why we have exam style homework that conditions students to the rigour of examinations. It is perfect practice that makes perfect, rather than practice alone.

Our concise, straight-forward and results-focused approach has helped the Talent 100 students perform at the top of Sydney’s best private and selective schools. If you would like to know more information about scaling or any of our courses, please register for the free information seminar or call 1300 999 100. Further information about our course can be found at www.talent-100.com.au

Categories

Highest Scaling Subjects

Decision Rules

Maths

3U and 4U

3U and 4U Maths are by far, the highest scaling subjects that are readily accessible students. Because of their high scaling, you should take the be on target for an ATAR of 99+, you only need to be average in 4U Maths, whereas you would need to be in the top 4% of 2U Maths.

English

Advanced & Higher

Where possible you should take at least advanced English. The higher English as a group, scale well above Standard English. For instance, students who scored in the 25% of Advance receive scores higher than those students who score in the top 1% of standard.

Science

Physics & Chemistry

Physics and Chemistry are the highest scaling sciences, and scale

Source: Report on the Scaling of the 2008 NSW HSC

You should use this graph to target the UAC score out of 500 you need to achieve your desired ATAR. This way, you can be fairly certain what ATAR you are heading for well before you sit your exams, and adjust your study patterns accordingly. For instance, if you wanted to score an ATAR of 99, you would need 449, or roughly 45/50 for every subject.

Economics & Modern History

Economics is the highest scaling humanity readily available, followed

by Modern History. Ancient History, Business Studies, Commerce and

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FOOD

The nectarine scene

This prince of stone fruit is a gourmand’s delight in any culinary form Nectarine Salsa BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

N

ectarine season is nearly over.

I have enjoyed this stone fruit this time round like never before, particularly the white-flesh variety. Nectarines are sort of like smooth-skin peaches, and are quite similar to peaches nutritionally and by way of use. They are a good source of vitamin C and dietary fibre.

Yellow-flesh nectarines have more beta-carotene, but both varieties also have potassium and some vitamin E. You can cut up nectarines for use in a fruit salad or a smoothie.

Or you can cook them: you can bake nectarines (halve, sprinkle with honey and cinnamon and cook until tender in a hot oven, cut side up), or grill them (brushed with fruit juices or an appropriate alcoholic beverage), or poach them (in wine or fruit juice).

My favourite way in recent weeks has been to use nectarines in salad. White-flesh nectarines are lower in acid than the yellow-flesh version, and their subtle sweetness adds a wonderful flavour to salads, offsetting beautifully the saltier ingredients.

Nectarine Smoothie

2 nectarines, pitted and chopped 1 tbsp brown sugar (adjust to sweetness of nectarines) 1 cup vanilla yogurt Blend together until smooth.

Nectarine Salad

1 nectarine, thinly sliced 50 gms rocket leaves 2 red radishes, thinly sliced 15 almonds Parmesan, shaved Dressing: 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp lemon juice ½ tsp salt ½ tsp sugar Toast almonds in a dry frying pan and cool.

Put rocket leaves and radish in a deep bowl. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over. Gently toss, and then lay out on a platter.

Throw nectarines, almonds and shaved parmesan over greens.

NATIONAL EDITION

3 medium nectarines, diced ¼ cup red capsicum, diced ½ cup red onion, finely chopped 1 tsp garlic, crushed 2 tsp orange juice 1 tsp honey Fresh coriander, chopped Salt, pepper and red chilli powder or chilli flakes to taste Toss all ingredients together in a deep bowl. Serve over grilled chicken breasts. Also great as a dip for chips.

½ tsp cinnamon powder 2 tbsp butter Peel, stone and cut nectarines into quarters. Marinate in the sherry and cinnamon powder about 30 minutes. Heat butter in pan and fry on high heat until gently charred. Serve hot or chilled with a good quality vanilla ice cream.

Sprinkle crushed macadamia nuts on top to make it fancy.

Barbecued Nectarines

Nectarines with Ham

6 ripe nectarines 25 gms pistachio nuts, blanched and chopped 75 gms unsalted butter, softened

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, ginger and salt in salad bowl. Add ham, fruit and spinach and toss gently.

Halve and stone nectarines. Tear out a large piece of alfoil and spread some butter in the centre.

Pile all the fruit in and wrap up alfoil securely by folding in edges.

Make sure there are no gaps. Place on a hot barbecue and cook for about 15 minutes. When done, open the package onto a platter and carefully pour out the juices.

Sprinkle with pistachios, and serve with a good quality vanilla ice cream, yogurt or ricotta sweetened with honey.

You can add a dash of alcohol (rum or sherry) if you like sprinkle on top of the fruit before wrapping up in foil.

2 cups nectarine slices 1 ½ cups cooked ham, cut into juliennes 3 cups baby spinach leaves ¼ cup olive oil 2 tbsp white wine vinegar ½ tsp ground ginger Salt to taste

Nectarine and Avocado Salad ¾ cup plain yogurt 1 tsp sugar ¼ tsp white pepper 4 medium nectarines, stoned and sliced 2 avocados, pitted, peeled and sliced 1 packet salad greens of choice Chopped fresh chives

Whisk together yogurt, sugar and pepper.

Arrange salad leaves on platter and throw nectarines and avocados over. Spoon yogurt dressing over, and top with chives.

Nectarine Relish

6-7 medium nectarines 1 cup walnuts ¼ cup dark brown sugar 2 tbsp diced crystallized ginger 2 tbsp lemon juice Salt to taste Stone and dice nectarines. Put into deep bowl, add all other ingredients and toss gently. Cling wrap and refrigerate at least three hours before use.

Nectarine Cheeks with Ricotta

6 nectarines 2 tbsp honey 200 gms fresh low-fat ricotta ¼ tsp cinnamon powder Cut cheeks out of the nectarines.

Line a baking tray with foil and place the nectarines, cut-side up, on prepared tray. Brush with honey. Grill under a hot grill for 5-8 minutes or until light golden and warmed through.

Combine ricotta and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix until smooth.

Place grilled nectarine cheeks on individual plates and spoon some of the ricotta over. Drizzle with extra honey (and nuts of choice if you like) on top.

(You can also grill nectarines by simply halving and stoning, then putting into the cavity butter, brown sugar and juice or alcohol, and placing under a hot grill).

Nectarines with ice cream

4 nectarines 1/3 cup sherry (or use grape juice and peach juice) MARCH (2) 2012 49

Panoramic view with delicious food

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BYO and Licenced • No corkage charges Book your next function with us and kids under 10 will get free meal (conditions apply)

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NATIONAL EDITION

MARCH (2) 2012 51

entertainment

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

Kareena Kapoor

Kareena speaks her mind

W

52 MARCH (2) 2012

hile beau Saif Ali Khan has been in the limelight for all the wrong reasons, Kareena Kapoor has been experiencing a completely opposite reaction. The versatile 31-year-old actress recently shared some of her experiences, both professional and personal, at the high profile India Today Conclave in New Delhi.

The actress was quite outspoken on the subject of gender equality in Bollywood. “It’s always between three or four Khans or other male actors. I guess female actors are there for just dancing with them. We have to stand behind Shah Rukh and Salman (Khan) and say, ‘Hey! I’m here too, give me something to do.’ And the paychecks... what Salman gets and what I get... let’s not even go there!”

However, the gutsy gal, reportedly the highest earning female star in Bollywood, doesn’t consider herself a hero among all heroines. “I don’t think I’m a hero because all the films like 3 Idiots, RA.One and Bodyguard that made Rs.100 crore-Rs.150 crore, their producers and all the three Khans took home their money. What am I left with? Chhammak challo?” she asked of an appreciative audience.

However, Kareena’s not one to give up and she is happy to fight for equal rights.

“I don’t get a pay cheque as much as them. But I am going to fight for it, and hopefully one day we will get there,” she said.

On the long-awaited news of when she will finally become Begum of Pataudi, Kareena finally disclosed that she hopes to step into that role by the end of 2012. “We’re not going to announce the date yet. I don’t understand why the entire nation is in a hurry to make me the Begum of Pataudi. There’s no rush.

Obviously people have to be patient,” she said, a trifle peevishly.

She is currently working on Heroine, in which the actress delivers a powerpacked performance and she is giving it her very best. Well, I guess she can’t blame fans who have been waiting for this piece of news since 2007 when the actress began dating Saif, who is 10 years her senior. Let’s hope Kareena works some of her magic in keeping Saif out of trouble… some hope!

Bhatt’s for the butt!

Film director Mahesh Bhatt is pulling his not inconsiderable weight to curb the ban on smoking scenes in Indian movies. The Delhi High Court recently issued a notice to the Health and Family Welfare Ministry regarding Bhatt’s plea, even as the director claimed that the Ministry’s notification was “illegal and arbitrary” and violated his fundamental rights.

Bhatt said, “I am deeply aggrieved by the 2011 amendments as they are not only violation of the freedom of speech and expression but also against the right to carry out profession, trade and business.”

The government has been asked to respond to the plea, but we’re not holding our breath for a quick response.

Stars keeps Bollywood alive, says Zoya

Bollywood director Zoya Akhtar of the hugely popular flick Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara believes that star power keeps the Hindi film industry alive. “I think the star system works on a level. Apart from Hollywood, India and China no other film industry is surviving. We are surviving because we have our stars and our audience wants to watch our people. We would have been eaten up. Europe has been eaten up

by Hollywood right now,” said the 39-year-old recently.

Stressing further upon the importance of stars, Zoya said while the critics loved her first film Luck By Chance, the audience did not come to see it but ZNMD drew them in.

“Luck By Chance got me every possible nomination. I won the best debut, all the critics loved it and they loved me.

GUESS WHO

?

She was a name to reckon with in her industry outside of India, before moving to Bollywood (Find the answer under Caption Contest)

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They actually pushed the film, which they don’t really do. They wrote articles saying people should go and watch it. But people didn’t go and watch it.

That’s where star power comes in. You have a Hrithik Roshan and a Katrina Kaif in your film and it equals bums on seats,” said the pragmatic Zoya.

True, where would we be without our Sallu, SRK, Aamir, Hrithik, Saif, Kareena, Vidya, Katrina, Bipasha, Priyanka….the list is endless!

Louder, racier Race 2!

SONAM KAPOOR

Saif A

li Kha

Sunny hopes to beat Bips

Last issue Caption Contest winning entry

Saif versus Kareena, who will win?

SUNNY L

EONE

Sonam in sensible role

Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has a reputation for being one of the country’s leading education institutions, and actress Sonam Kapoor is set to portray one of its students.

The young actress has landed the role of a Varanasi girl, who studies at JNU in Raanjhanaa. Southern star Dhanush will play the hero opposite Sonam.

The decision was taken after intense NATIONAL EDITION

What’s the chitchat between Saif and Kareena here?

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

Mahesh

Well, the audience will be the ones to decide, but if you were faced with Saif Ali Khan’s item number and Kareena Kapoor’s mujra, which would you choose? The real life couple star together in Agent Vinod, and rumour has it that Kareena’s mujra song Dil mera muft ka, will be overshadowed by Saif’s Pyaar ki pungi, which has been described as a number that catches your attention in the first 20 seconds because of its comic, cheeky notes and free footsteps.

When asked about the song, Saif said, “There is a sequence in the film where Agent Vinod is being watched by CCTV cameras...and he is behaving in a certain way, so we thought we should do an extension to that and we did the song.”

Composed by Pritam Chakraborty, Pyaar ki pungi has been written by lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya and choreographed by Jasmin Oza. Mika has sung it.

Agent Vinod is a sleek spy thriller

What’s the chitchat between Akshay Kumar and Anushka Sharma here?

Akshay: And why are we not working together?

Anushka: I’ve heard about your reputation, that’s why!

Supriya Prakash Supriya wins a double pass to new Hindi film Kahani

full of actions and thrills, so what, you may ask, is a mujra number doing in these hallowed settings? Well, as long as Kareena’s in it, who cares?

So will the Khan overshadow the Kapoor? Let’s wait and see.

Answer to GUESS WHO?

Indo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone who will sizzle on screen in Jism 2, hopes to at least match, if not beat the standard that Bipasha Basu set with the prequel.

“I have seen her (Bipasha) and she is gorgeous and amazing in the first movie. I hope I can live up to her standard and not let her down in Jism 2,” the 30-year-old said recently.

“I want to do a good job and I hope everybody likes the movie,” she added.

Sunny’s debut on the small screen was with reality TV show Bigg Boss 5, and she got lucky when filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt decided to offer her Jism 2. She is set to start shooting soon.

The gorgeous and yet kindly Bipasha, who made headlines for her steamy scenes in the 2003 film Jism, is sure Sunny will do a good job.

“I don’t know her but (Mahesh) Bhatt saab always casts someone who suits the role. So I am sure she will do a good job,” said Bipasha.

Jism 2 also stars Randeep Hooda and Arunoday Singh. Well, you can be sure that with Sunny doing what she does best, the movie will certainly sizzle!

n

CAPTION CONTEST

Sunny Leone

Director duo Abbas-Mustan, who have wrapped up the second schedule of Race 2, claim that the sequel would be grander in scale than the original one.

It will be louder, more opulent and more complicated, from the sound of it!

“Race 2 is in the same genre and will be made on as grand a scale as the original. We will be shooting in Turkey and Cyprus next. The story has plenty of twists and turns and every character will have gray shades,” said Abbas Burmawalla. The original movie Race was released in 2008, and was quite a success.

Race 2 also features an impressive star cast with Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandes and Ameesha Patel on board.

So is bigger actually better? The director duo seem to think so. Let’s wait and see…

discussions between director Aanand L Rai of Tanu Weds Manu fame, and Sonam.

As per the script, Dhanush plays a local Varanasi boy, and Sonam essays a Varanasi girl educated in Delhi. Sonam will now spend time on the JNU campus to grasp the conduct and ideology of students there.

“The culture of education at the JNU is radically different from other universities in Delhi and across the country. At JNU students, both male and female, are very politically aware,” said a source from Raanjhanaa.

“They talk intelligently on national issues. They dress sensibly, hang out at specific cafes in Delhi, attend seminars and protest actively on national issues.

The director Aanand Kumar wanted Sonam to imbibe all of these traits. And they also speak fluent Hindi,” the source added.

When it comes to her spoken Hindi, Sonam, according to the source, needs to work as hard as Dhanush. Sonam’s rendition of the national language is distinctly Bambaiya, as one can imagine.

Dhanush, poor guy, has been working with a Hindi coach, also trying to get the language right.

But for Sonam, in addition to her accented Hindi, the hautecouture look just won’t do for the film. Although she won’t play the quintessential Varanasi girl, her character is that of a local girl who has been to college in Delhi for three years, and returned to her home town as quite the sophisticated small-towner with an acquired metropolitan air, says a source close to the project.

At first the director was not sure if Sonam could carry off the role. But after meeting her, he was convinced.

“I am bowled over by her commitment to get the nuances of the role right. I’ve found my lady,” said Rai. Seems like Sonam’s back in action, after long last!

Bhatt

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entertainment

Cine Talk

A rare film that can claim to be a game-changer

Film: Kahaani Starring: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Nawazuddin Siddiqui Directed by: Sujoy Ghosh

T

his is a great time to be a movie buff. Within a week of Paan Singh Tomar, which should incontestably win Irrfan Khan the National Award for best actor, comes Kahaani in which Vidya Balan is so flawlessly resplendent that one suspects the next year’s National Award too is already reserved for her. Dirty deeds forgotten.

Playing Vidya Bagchi, a nonresident Indian (NRI) who lands in Kolkata heavily pregnant and immeasurably distressed by the disappearance of her husband, Vidya Balan doesn’t hit a single false note in the entire graph of her character’s fascinating journey.

Kahaani is not an ordinary thrill-a-minute film about a search for a missing person.

It’s a lot more. Bringing a virgin vitality to the suspense drama, the film strikes a captivating balance between realism in 54 MARCH (2) 2012

art and the art of courting realism, without losing the entertainment quotient.

From the moment Vidya lands in Kolkata, the colour, vibrancy, bustle and jostle that are peculiar to Kolkata assail your senses. It’s a claustrophobic yet liberating world of intrigue and deception.

A pungent flavour of anxiety and stress qualify the narration from frame one.

Sujoy Ghosh, whose earlier films gave us no clue of the ingenuity that he displays here with such ostensible casualness, cuts the footage with razor sharp economy, leaving no sign of the surgery involved in leaving behind scenes and putting together a tale that pays homage to Hitchcock even while it tilts its topi to the detective films of Satyajit Ray. The complexities of metropolitan life emerge in a kind of bridled flurry. Within a

few minutes of Vidya’s landing in Kolkata we know her search for her missing husband is not going to be a cake-walk. Yes, we will see this spirited woman’s pursuit of the truth to the end.

Ghosh crafts a tale of devious dynamics that do not make a song and dance of their cloakand-dagger intentions. The narrative doesn’t whip up a lather of anxieties. Stock devices of the suspense genre are here thrown meaningfully into the Hooghly. The relevance and resonance of Vidya’s journey into the dark unrevealed bowel of India’s secret service emerge in illuminating details created in Vidya’s character which add up finally to a jigsaw where not a single piece is out of place.

The end-game, shot in an exquisite eruption of Durga Puja’s compelling colours, is so unexpected, it is bound to leave even the most diehard cynics with a sense of satiated suspense.

Indeed so clever is the writing and so stunning yet convincing the denouement that one is persuaded into wondering whether Sujoy Ghosh filched the material from some unidentifiable source.

While it would be criminal

to give away any of the plot details it would be in the scope of permissible praise to say the writing is clearly not meant to strew red herrings in our way.

As we go back to the film, at the end we see every detail, every twist and turn in the plot was meant to be a coherent pointer to the complete picture.

Ghosh’s masterful storytelling leaves no room to doubt the existence of a rather unforgiving God who charts a seemingly cruel destiny for the unsuspecting individual.

Vidya’s portrayal of grace under pressure is so measured and skilled, one at times wonders if she was actually watching herself perform from a distance to make sure she didn’t take her character’s distress into the kingdom of melodrama.

Vidya Balan has splendid support from actors who merge into the Kolkatan conundrum with the seamless inevitability of people who accept extraordinary circumstances as part of life’s ordinary patterns.

Impressive in his own right is Parambrata Chattopadhyay as Vidya’s pillar of support from within an establishment that insists on throwing her off the track.

Parambrata plays his gentle character with such tender affection that you begin to believe goodness is not an extinct commodity.

Nawazuddin Sidiqqui, that brilliant actor from Kabir Khan’s New York and the recent Paan Singh Tomar, brings a steelysharp ruthlessness to his investigative officer’s role.

In one of Vidya’s best sequences where she quietly tells him to keep his menacing advice to himself, Nawazuddin steps back to let the lady have her moment of glory, unhampered.

Vidya Balan takes centrestage with great skill and restrained pride. Her laughter of joy when she bonds with the chai-wallah kid (Ritobroto Mukherjee) and her final breakdown sequence bring her close to the cathartic emotions that Shabana Azmi displays.

Vidya displays a rare understanding of her character’s exacerbated emotional and physical state.

Luckily for her, her co-actors display no outward or inward signs of insecurity in playing roles that are designed to be supremely supportive.

Veteran Bengali actors unknown to Bollywood, such as Saswata Mukherjee as a hired assassin and Kharaj Mukherjee as a kindly podgy cop, fill up the edges of the comprehensive lucid portrait of a woman with a mission, without crowding the canvas.

Kahaani is one of those rare films that can easily lay claim to being a game-changer.

And yet the narrative makes no claims. The destiny of the protagonist is charted in a breathless sweep of urgently persuasive episodes that tumble out as though God wrote Vidya Bagchi’s screenplay.

Enthralling, absorbing and engaging, the narrative never resorts to italicized emotions to get our attention. We are hooked unconditionally from scene one. We surrender to Vidya’s journey. She gives us no choice.

Subhash K. Jha

www.indianlink.com.au

of love

The highway I

Film: London Paris New York Cast: Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari Writer-Director: Anu Menon

f only Siddharth Anand’s Anjaana Anjaani was funnier, warmer, more kindered in spirit and less burdened by the responsibility of making the pair look at home on foreign shores, it could have conveyed the pleasure quotient of London Paris New York (LPN).

Indeed debutante writer-director Anu Menon imparts a talcum-freshness into a tale that has only two principal characters - He and She. And what happened to mama, papa, chacha, chachi?

Luckily, for Anu Menon the lines that she puts into the mouths of her lead pair simply melt in their mouths.

Dialogues that could make or fake a romantic-comedy, seem to work here mainly because the actors promptly absorb the words and make them their home.

Unlike other singers-turned-actors, Ali Zafar doesn’t sound like a singer when he talks. He is, in fact, a big bonus in this kabhi-sassy-kabhi-glum take on that thing called love. Ali gives just that bit of extra push to the less perky scenes. His ebullience and involvement with the romantic aspect of the script seems sensible, cautious but not over-studied.

Aditi Rao Hydari was star material from the time she stood behind Sonam Kapoor in Delhi 6. Come forward, girl, take a bow as we say a collective wow. Here she comes into her own.

This time she has no torrid smooching scenes, no tumultuous moment to show what a bitch that thing called love can be. She

manages to convey a cool coquettishness which is never stagey or annoying.

Quite a pair, this. Having got them in place Menon glides gently if a little languorously through the three cities mentioned in the title creating an arching kinship between her co-stars who look more like pals than lovers.

Nikhil (Ali) and Lalita (Aditi) don’t seem like the kind of couple that would spend too much time in bed once they’re married.

And that suits the audiences fine.

God knows we’ve seen enough couples trying to sleep if not sleepwalk through romantic-comedies. LPN takes the guarded, serene, low-speed lane in the highway of love. The three cities emerge as the true heroes of the plot, thanks in no small measure to veteran cinematographer Sameer Arya. He lenses the three cities with the love of someone who’s been there and done it all, and not on a tourist visa.

The film’s biggest advantage is its casual non-ostentatious calm and easygoing mood. Don’t look for specially-written scenes to spotlight the couple’s journey into the three phases of their life as they seek to find answers to the conundrum of the heart.

Not too many secrets on the emotion called love are unveiled in this comme ci comme ca romantic-comedy. But the going is never amateurish. Most importantly London Paris New York gives us two new dependable engaging stars.

More than another romantic-comedy, we need those.

Desperately.

Subhash K. Jha

Utter scrambles!

D

on’t ask who’s who, what’s what, and why things happen here.

And your life will be much easier while watching this utterly scrambled comedy.

A homage to those magnificent maestros of mirth David Dhawan, Anees Bazmi and Rohit Shetty, Chaar Din Ki Chandni (CDKC) takes the theme of outrageous festivity to a new high.

Characters, all 27-28 of them, are either screaming, guffawing, burping or performing one or the other bodily functions that we are squeamish about when not watching a boorish comedy.

So what’s this Chandni about?

There’s a wedding at the centre of the bustling canvas. As in Karnik’s earlier comedy Yamala Pagla Deewaana you’d be welladvised to focus hard on that wacky wedding because that’s where the army of characters, some loud, others cacophonic, congregate in a combustion of comic compulsions.

Be warned. If you are allergic to toilet humour then you might find Karnik’s comedy a pain in the you-know-what.

To his credit Karnik doesn’t let go of the sur of chaotic satire from the first to the last blast.

His actors too are completely NATIONAL EDITION

soaked in the hilarity. Anupam Kher and Om Puri as the two patriarchal heads of two demoniacally dysfunctional families go through the motions of free-falling slapstick without tripping over the jokes.

The rest of the vast cast features some surprising actors, like Chandrachur Singh and Anita Raj both of whom return after quite a gap. Regrettably the tightly-packed canvas allows no room for any actor to shine beyond the cheesy lines written by Amit Masurkar and Nishant Hada.

Miraculously, the love story between the star-crossed couple survives. Tusshar and Kulraj are no Romeo and Juliet. But then this is no epic love tale. The pair here is entertaining. Tusshar’s Sardar act is amusing. The packaging and presentation of the comic ambience throws forward a certain quicksilver quality of humour that isn’t meant for all tastes.

As far as ensemble comedies in Bollywood go, Char Din Ki Chandni is spunkier and more energetic than what you’ve probably seen in the other recent ha-ha-thons.

Subhash K. Jha

Film: Chaar Din Ki Chandni STARRING:Tusshar, Kulraj Randhawa, Om Puri, Anupam Kher Directed by: Samir Karnik

MARCH (2) 2012 55

BACKCHAT

Ask Ask Auntyji Auntyji Sh o pp i n g wo e s

Li’ l Ch a mps

Dear Auntyji Oh my, have you seen the 2011 winner of SareGama Li’l Champs? Azmat Hussain is just amazing, don’t you think? What are your thoughts on him?

Auntyji says

Dear Auntyji

How are you? Aunty, I have a rather peculiar issue and I need your help with this. My new husband of just two years is the nicest man. So loving. So easy going. No tamasha. No natak. And to think that ours was an arranged marriage and I had not met him before our engagement. Now Aunty, here is my problem. I am working full time and also studying for my masters. So I try to get Vicky to help around the house. One way he really helps is by going grocery shopping for me - seeing that I have little time. Usually, I make a list for him and send him on his merry way, with strict instructions to only buy what’s on the list, and to be mindful of quality of the sabzi. He comes back, proud as punch for having done the shopping, but while he gets everything on the list, he usually returns with something that was not outlined. Now, the shopping list is made with due consideration, and I plan the week’s meals, and I know exactly what I will cook each day of the week. But he comes back with eggplant which neither of us eats, or strawberries which both of us hate, or some other random thing that I will have to throw out at week’s end. It’s not like I can’t be flexible - so if he rocks up with extra eggs I make egg curry, but most of the time, he gets things which have to be thrown out. I absolutely hate wasting food Aunty, but my encouragement has been met with some form of passive resistance. He refuses to comply with my wishes, even though he too hates wasting food. So how do I fix up this issue in an otherwise idyllic relationship?

Well, I came across Azmat Hussain while looking for Asha Parekh songs on YouTube.

That boy is just fascinating and his talent is so awe-inspiring that you have to wonder whether that type of prodigious talent is through nature or nurture. Azmat Hussain is just fabulous, and if we are fortunate, he will get a good sponsor who will nurture his talent by getting him an education which allows him to develop his gifts further. Of course, knowing how the real world operates, I would not be surprised if he was encouraged to be a Bollywood singer and in 5 years’ time, we came across him singing lowbrow Bollywood songs to an auto tune while acting in B grade movies with Rakhi Sawant as his mother and Johnny Lever as his baada bhaiya. Oh dear. This is very sad indeed. I must do something about this.

L o ve t h y n e ig h bou r

Auntyji says

Oh dear - what a fascinating problem you have. And what a fascinating man you have married, who goes out and buys things that neither of you eat. Have you asked him why he does this? Have you tried to solve this puzzle? You know, I too hate wasting food - I find that morally and economically reprehensible. Now, you can’t take back control of the shopping, otherwise you will slowly turn your self crazy trying to manage school, home and work. So here are some options available to you. Next time your husband returns with unwanted produce, you can ask for the receipt and go back to the shop with him to get a refund on unwanted items. Alternatively, you can ask him to unpack the groceries, and ask him to throw away items you will not use. This is indeed a shock tactic - and the act of throwing recently bought food into the garbage will be quite a wakeup call for Vicky. Of course, your other option is to have an agreement with your neighbour to hand over all unwanted food items. This will be your charity act of the year. Either way, Vicky needs to understand that he is wasting hard earned money. I am quite intrigued by why he does this. Maybe he likes to buy things that he thinks you might like. What an interesting man you have there, my dear. Tell me how it goes....

Do you have a question for Auntyji?

Send it in to GPO Box 108 Sydney 2001 or email it to info@indianlink.com.au

Dholera near Ahmedabad is a new Gujarat within Gujarat India has taken a great leap in the development of infrastructure, investments, finance, banking, service sector and industrial growth in the last decade and so has Gujarat. Gujarat has witnessed a paradigm shift in its development in all the above sectors and has contributed in a major way by matching the footsteps of the Pan India development era.

Dholera SIR With the first two phases of town planning and zonation completed, the country’s first Special Investment Region (SIR) at Dholera in Gujarat is set to take off. The endeavour in Ahmedabad district is likely to bring investment amounting to $ 90 billion to the western state over the next ten years.

To be created around the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) with financial co-operation from Japan, the project has already attracted attention for the financial and investment opportunities it will represent. The identified industrial nodes will be developed as global manufacturing and commercial hubs. British infrastructure development Halcrow was contracted as the master planners. CISCO and IBM got the contract to develop Dholera as a smart city.

56 MARCH (2) 2012

About Dholera SIR * Total area: 800 sq kms. * Developable area: 500 sq kms. * Economic activity area: 360 sq kms. * Central spine express way and metro rail to link the SIR with close proximity mega cities such as Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Vadodara and Rajkot. * Asia’s biggest international cargo and passenger airport and sea port in the vicinity. * Kalpsar Dam (sweet water lake) to break ground by 2013. * Close to Guajrat International Finance TechCity (GIFT). * Logistic support of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC).

To fulfill the dreams and aspirations of the investors, Magnanimous Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. has emerged in Ahmedabad Real Estate Market. Bhavesh GR, director at Magnanimous has advised that the demand of residential plots have increased significantly in the last one year in and around Dholera. They strongly believe that there will be significant value appreciation in near future.

Speaking to Indian Link, Sanjay Kariya (Official marketing channel partner and

director of PropertyMania Pty Ltd in Australia) said, “We would like to offer this great chance to the thousands of Indians living in Australia to be able to buy good real estate in Dholera during the initial stage”.

PropertyMania has a good base in India and Australia, with the Sydney and Ahmedabad offices both headed by resident directors.

Nilesh Kariya (Managing Director of PropertyMania Pvt Ltd in India) said, “At PropertyMania, we always choose great projects with great locations in upcoming cities and we are confident of tremendous capital appreciation in short period of time”.

So come and join us at Magnanimous–Greenz (Finest Residential Plots at Dholera–SIR), where you would feel proud of owing it, leaving your mark in writing the history of the growth story.

For more details, please contact Sanjay Kariya on 02-9687-3522 or 0412 840 971.

E-mail: sanjay@propertymania.com, for more information, please visit www.propertymania.com

www.indianlink.com.au

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