Memories of Madhukaka

Chit t'lman D atar'. ki_1own affectionately w1 dun the Marathi community as 'Jvladhukaka' and to the rest of the expatriate Indians in Australia as 'Data.rji' passed away on April 7 i n Brisbane. He was 84. Mad hukaka is survived hy his three children, seve n grandchildren and a great granddaughter. His fune ral services were held on April 11 at M t 1l10mson Cremarorium in M o unr Gravatt, Brisbane. It was indeed a privilege for me to conduce the last ri tes for m y Guru.

Madhukaka was born at Kurundwad, a small tmvn on the Krishna River in Maharashtra, imo a Brahmin family who earned their living by per forming various rituals for the p rinci pality of Kurnndwad. For such Brahmins, hardship was the name of the g ame. To add to their woes, his father died when he was seven. The you ng Madhu wanted to learn English, which caused friction wid1 hi s eldest bro ther who wanted him to study only Sanskrit and l\.:[ararhi, and follow in his father's footsteps as a priest. At 14, Maclhukaka moved to Kolkata with his sister a n d brocherin- law, where he com p leted his high schoo l education. He studied the Bengali script and language, later graduating with history and politic s - and a L50 found his life partner Pramila Deshingkar, (known as Akk,1) w h o had come there to work at the National Library. The couple married in Kollrnta in 1952.

After a s tint in London as librarian of the Indian H igh Commission in London between 1968 and 1972, Madhukaka arrived in Australia in October 1972 Akkt1 and the children had arrived some 3 months befo re him. I t is worth noting tha t Akk.11 bad secured the job of 'Computer Services Librarian' at d i e Springvale L ibrary well before computers were part of d aily life down-und er Madhukaka followed her here.

Fro m then o n, the D ata rs took the Indian commmut:y b y storm. Until Madhukaka's arrival there \Vas n o Hindu priest in Victoria except fo r Dr Martand Joshi, who shoul dered the burden for the entire Hindu community

In addition to !us d uties as the chief cataloguer at the State Librar y o f Victori a, Madhukaka plunged hfrnself into commmucy service by offering his services as a Puro lut, free of charge He also gave tt,bla lessons to many aspiring young people He and Akk.a coUected a group of people who s ang bhajans. These were the early da)'S w hen the Indian commLuuty was battling to make their p resence fe lt, and members of the Maradli communi ty could be cou n ted o n your fingertips. Through his cormections in d i e State Librar y, Maclhuka ka managed to get a re1,,ular segm ent on the ABC radio and organized many educational progran1mes about India a n d Indian music, among others. He got in volved LOto 'Oxfam Walk Against Wanr' and raised thousands of dollars over the years for dlis worthwhile charity Their three children were brought up in this giving, cul rural, educational a nd Hindu religio us background.

TI1e D ata.rs were stric t vegetarians and teetotallers Their needs were minimal and because they came very late in their career to Australia, their budget m arched their needs. However, when it came to helping someon e in need, tbey were d1e first to offer a id.

J\.fadhukalrn, during !us life bere, conducted over a dmusand r imais and sacramen ts for che Indian community Every penny he received as daksh1i1t1 went to charit:y. He is the o ne w h o taught us that greed is one's worst e n emy and it is the inner satisfaction d1at matters One can live happily and co ntentedly w id1 hardly any p ossessions, and one must learn to share w hatever little one has.

A firm believer, Maclhukaka kept u ttering die name o f the Lord ( Ht1re Rt1111a) until he was physically unable to speak Mabdu kaka Datar has left a lasting legacy for al1 o f us. His message is profound, yet g uite sim ple: tbere i s a God May He/S h e be C h ristian, Muslin1 or HindtL The only way to serve God is through h elping others who are in need. I migrated h ere in 1965 along w ith a handful of Indians. My wife and 1 were formnate enough to have h ad a long association both w ith Maclhukaka and Akk.11 \\?hat h ave I learned from d1en1? I dunk it is the thought that h o pefully, I might have made a ver y small difference in du s u ncertain world by folJowing his teachings and by working as a community priest for die past 3 2 years

Jayant Bapat

Fundraising for school

Mr Bastu R ege, Founding Directo r of SA TULAN ,viii be in Australia from May 2 1 to June 6 on a spealcing cour to raise fu nds and bui ld awarenes s of the plight of stone gu arry communities in India.

SANTULAN, a.n non-g0\7 ernment organisation in Pune has been working for 1 5 years co address the social, health, employment and human rights issues affecting people living and working on srone guarries across Maharashtra. These la ndl ess labourers undertake m anual ston e breaking a n d crushing work, and experiencing hazardous working conditions, whil e barely earning eno ugh to survive.

SANTULi\N's innovative, childcentred education programm e fo r schools on quarry s ites aims at ending child-labour an d providing gualicy education fo r these c hildren

SANTULAN will build a residen tial school for stone guarry children in Pune, which will prmrid e guali cy education, s kills de\7 e lop m ent, personal support and medical care Completing secondary ed ucation a n d vocational skills de,7elopm enr will help improve these children's lives

Mr Rege's topic of 'Breaking die cycle of poverty fo r children livLDg o n Indian s tone g uarries' w ill also be prese n ted publicly on May 29 at 6pm. Contac t Bastu Rege o n ( +91) 20 3294777 1 or basrurege@samulan.org; or Kl'.isten Wood on 0424 967 174 or h ellokristenwood@gmail com

India, US send strong signals to Pakistan, Iran

India and the US recently signalled common inte nt and purpose, as king Pakistan co take stronger action against te rror, advisi n g I ran to des ist from its nuclear weap o n s programme and pledging s upport to A fgha ni sta n's peace and prosperity.

Visiting US Secretary of State Hillar y Clinton a nd India n External A ffairs

:Minister S.M. Krislma were critical of P aki stan on it5 handling of terror groups operating from its so il and asked it to take "stto ng and more concerted" ac tio n against these omfos t hat du eaten peace and secur ity o f the US, India and th e world at large.

Tbe two leade rs had their bilateral m eeting in New D elhi over a b rea kfast of id/is and vadas at the T aj Palace Hote l.

They also affirmed that they wer e on the same page o n preve nting Iran from acquiring nuclear wea p o n s, though Tehran remains a key sup p lie r of o il to meet New Delh i's energ y n eeds.

On Afghanista n , the cwo natio n s co mmitted to assist Kabul in handling i ts security, develop men t and governance o n its own, withou t inte rference from outside , even after the Internacio nal Security Assistanc e Force moves o ut of the embattled n atio n in 2014.

Ac a jo int press conference a fter their meeting, Clinton said the $10- million bouncy o n 26/1 1 Mwnbai attack mastermind Hafu Saeed was an unmistakab le sign of U S "solidarity" with In d ia o n bri ngi ng the pe rpettato rs o f the a udaci ous attack co justice

Cli nton said the US bad eve ry reason to believe Saeed was the "principal architect" of tbe Mumbai ter ro r strikes time claimed 166 people, including six Americans.

"Co mbating v iolence a nd extremism is one we aU agree on and we n eed to do more. A nd we look to the govern m en t of P akistan co do m ore le needs to make sure its te r ricory i s uot us ed as launching terro ri st attacks anywhere, in cluding inside Pakistan," Clinton sa id.

Krishna n oted that the recent viole n t strikes b y Taliban on diplomatic missions in a nd around Kabul had o nce again highlighted the need for elimi natio n of terrorist sanctuaries in the neighbomhood a n d "for sttonger action from Pakistan" o n te rrorism, in cluding bri nging t o justice the perpettacors o f the M um bai attack.

Clinton n ote d that te rrorism was obviously "incredib ly important ques tio n " o n the minds of b oth the OS and India.

" W/e b oth kn ow the tra gedies and losses th at come w id1 terrorism 0 11 our soil. So we have increased o m cooperation betwee n India and the U S. We are goi ng to continue to d o everythin g we can, not o nl y to prevent terrorists from doing evil acts of violence, but also cry to convince people not t o get recruited into terrorism," she said

Asked about the terror groups, like the Haqqani n etwork, operaring ouc of Pakistan, Clinto n said the OS and t he international community was committed "to going after ch ose w h o pose a direct thr e at to Lhe US, A fg banis c,w and to our allies".

"We are also cooperating closely with India regarding the threats th at ema n at e against them ," s he said.

On tbe sancti ons against Iran over its nuclear weapo ns programme, Clint o n said the U S a nd India "s hare the same goal" o f preve nting T ehran from acqu.icing nuclear weapon s " India is a strong partner in urging Iran to adhere to its in ternation al ob ligati ons," Clinto n said.

Kris hna, n oting chat he di scussed d1e im p ortance of a pe aceful settle m en t of tl1e Iranian nuclear issue, said i t mu se b e based on the p os ition tl1at Iran has its r igh ts as a member of the nuclea r Non - Proliferatio n Treaty (N"PT).

" But it mu se also ab ide b y its obligations as a n o n -nu clear weap o n state und e r the NPT ," he said, asserti ng that "tlus issue, however, is no t a source o f discord" between fodia a nd d1e US.

Clinton said d1e best way to achieve a diplo m atic sol utio n tha t Lhe internationa l community seeks was to kee p up d1e pressu re t hat brought lran to the negoti ating table.

On Afgh aiustan, the two lead ers said their respecti \7 e strategic partnership agreements will pave ch e way for "stability and security" in d1e region.

Clinton said US consultations w ith India o n A fghanista n was "very substa n tive and useful" ai1d that the internatio n a l commmuty w ill remain engaged with Kabul o n its future.

Th e crirical issue of fo rwarding eco n omic ries was discussed too now "e.'<ploring a race for ci tywide office in 2013."

Krishna said India was c omnu ned to providing a " level p laying field" for US companies in nuclear com m erce and expressed the hope th at the calks b etwee n US and Indian companies will soon resu lt in conttacts.

Kr is hna also pointed o ut the difficultie s faced by Indian IT companies in the US.

Clin ton remrned to the OS after her swing throu gh C hina, Banglade sh and India, where s he visited Ko lkarn a nd New D el hi.

"My 15 months at the Pu bli c Advocate's office were tru ly some of t he best o f m y life," said Saujani, currently the deputy advocate for spec ial initiatives in tl1e watd1dog body charged with e n suring that all New Yorkers h ave a voice in shaping the city's p olicies, in an e- mail interview.

"Wb at we were able to accomplish with d1e Fnnd for Public A d vocacy, from encouraging inm1igra nt entrepreneursh ip to providing schol ars h ips to un documented s tudents was powerful," she said

" I ' m commi tted to being a lead er in charting the future of New York City, and 1 wane to keep creati n g opportunities fo r the people who live here."

Exp lai n in g w hat made h e r run for the US Congress in the first place , Sauj ani said: " Things were not getti n g done in Was hin gton, and I wa s frustrated by the lack of leadership and tl1e l ad , of political courage we were seeing in Co ngress."

"I was noticing peop le around me become jaded and l wanted to do so metlung co ch an ge it," she said.

"1 ew ide as are so imp ortant for driv.ing in nov atio n in this c o untry, and l wamed a chance to ge e my ideas out tl1ere, and tal k to voters in ew Yo r k City about theirs "

Bue " the experienc es I bad talki n g witl1 vote rs every day showed m e what a difference could be made by showing up, by be ing ac the senio r cen tre or the street fair and meeting t he people that are working to make a difference in our communities,"

Sauja 1u said

" I 've always been an organizer, and as the d1rnghter of immig rants I have a lways b een es p e ci ally pass io n ate about e ng aging people in the political process, wbo bave bee n exc luded from i t or who felt n o one was listening to d1em. "

New D elhi rece n tly.

" \'<le h ave a we ll-establisbed materi al and training assistance programme with Indi an Ocean region c ountties for t h eir capacitybuilding and enh a nce m en t," he n oted lndian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Ver m a and od1er cop naval command ers were presen t at the conference.

D escribing th e emerging security ma trix in tl1e Indian Ocean r egion as " really complex", with "so me political deve lop men ts " and "wor riso m e faccors", A nton y also as ked the navy top brass to m aintain !ugh le,1els of preparedness at all times

" Today, tl1e secm:ity simation in our imm ediate ne ighbourh ood has become really complex. Con sid ering tbe challenges in the lndiai1 Ocean region, it i s esse nti al to maintain higb l evels o f operatio nal preparedness at a ll ti m es," he sai d.

" On the o n e hand, there are some political developments, and on the od1er h and, a number of other factors are a cause fo r wor r y and need to be fac to red into ou r preparati o n s, botb in the shon- rerm ai1d long-te rm ," he add ed.

Stressing d1e importa n ce of security of mar iti me acrivity d1rough t h e sea-lanes in the Indian Ocean for ec onomic prosperiry of India an d that o f the world, t he defence minister said free m ovement of trade a nd energy supplies and various economic ac tivities such as fishing and extraction o f mineral resource s is equally cruc ial for eco n onuc security

O n d1e navy' s mod ernizatio n programme, Anto n y said d1e inductio n of d1e nuclea r powered sub m arine, l NS Chakra, in A p ril h ad ushered i n a new era of submarine o p erations for Ind ia

Clinton

lauds ' incredible contribution' of Indian

Americans

US Secreta r y of State Hillary C lin to n l auded d1e "incredi b le conttibution" of Indian Americans in her cou n try aild said th e people co peop le relationship was at the heart of the ties between tl1e two countries.

Clinton, who fl ew to Kolkata from Dha ka o n her visit to lndia recen tly said in 2011, 35 percent of all L1 wo rk visas in th e US h ad bee n issued co Indians. A ddcessing a gathering at the La Marriniere school in Kolkata, sh e said m ore th an I00,000 Indian stud ents were studying in d1e US ln her o p ening remarks, she also recalled Rabindranath T agore. " I discovered him when I was in c ollege."

" So many links between us, we w ant to promote even more," Clinton sai d.

She also recalled his quote: "Age considers, youth venn1res".

' Indian - Americans working as change agents'

R esh ma Saujani, tl1e first fodian-American wo man to run for the US Congress, n ow a s a change agent wanes to create o pp ortuni ti es for immigrants w b o have made I ew York City their h ome.

Although Saujani, a l awyer, politician and entrepreneur, l ost her 2010 ambitious run against D emocrat Caro lyn Maho n ey, a nine term member of d1e US House of Representatives from New York, she is

" The L ight of India Awards are a powerful way to celebrate the work Indian Am erican s are doing an d co s how thetr in novations and accomplis hm en ts," Sau jani said noting that they "are in every fo rm of govemmenc from po licy leaders to activists to ch ange agents."

Autho r Jhnn1pa Lahiri, television personality Padma Lakshmi and C N conttibutor an d s urgeon San jay Gupta are among t he nominees for the seco nd arumal Lig h t of India awards, recognisi ng e.xcellence and exemplary achievements of Indians abroad

Th e \\ri nners o f t he awa rds, in stituted by Remit2lndia, a Times Group service, in the fields of business, education, science & technology, arcs & ente rtainm ent and literan1re & journalism, will be announced on June 1 at a gala event in New Yor k.

India natural leader of Indian Ocean region : Antony India positioned itself as a natural l eader of the Indian Ocean regio n in view of its strategic location and operational capability, even a s its navy was asked to be prepared to meet eventuali ties in view of the complex emer gin g secur ity m attix in d1e region.

"In di a's strat egic locati on in tbe Indian Ocea n an d t he professio n al capability of our navy bestows upon us a n atural ability to play a leading role in e nsurin g peace and stability in th e Indian Ocean regio n ," D efence Minis ter AK Anto n y told the conference of Indian Navy commanders i n

"It bas pl aced us in a select group of navies tl1at operate such a p latform. \Y/e mu st ensure that I NS Chakra is utilised effective ly to harn ess its real potential and al so evolve operational concepts for future p latforms ," he said.

A n tony s aid d1e navy is on course to acquire potent p latfo rm s to acid co its blue water capability

" The i nduc tion of 11 S Vikramaditya in d1e ne ar future, d1e potent MiG-29K combat p la n es as well as P8 -I lo n g-range maritim e reconnaissance aircra ft would strengthen the navy further. R ecen tly, the Ligh t Combat A ircraft (LCA) for t he na vy m ad e its successful maiden Aight," he sai d. Commending tl1e navy's commitment to incli genisa tion , A nton y said, "Th is is amply borne by the fact that 44 om o f 48 slups and s ub m ari ne s, presen tly on ord e r, are being constructed in India."

Endangered pheasant species multiply in Himalayan park

Th e presence of the highly end angered , el u sive wes tern ttagopan can now b e felt more clearly in d1e Great Himalayan National Park in Hirnach al Pradesh, wid1 it s numbers m ultip lying

Park auth orities say the po p ulation of chis brilliantly coloured pheasant sp ecies in tl1e park has gon e ltp and so h as its sighting

" Th e de n sity of the western tragopan in d1e park was 6 5 birds per sq km (in this year's census) Last year, it was six b irds per sq km, while it was just five birds in 2010," said Park Director J\jay S rivascav recently in KuJJu.

For popula tion estimacio n , the weste rn tragopan, like other pheasan t species, needs specialised techniques One of the standard census techniques is recording d1eir caU counts at a specified time and location.

Srivastav said mat estimation was done at 18 l ocations " This exercise is n ow p art of regular monitoring prococo l being followed in the park to asce rtain d1e scams of population d ynamics of the western cragopan."

As per me estimation figures of d1e last two -th ree years, it is clear that d1e population of me wes tern tragop an is on the r ise.

Srivastav attrib uted the increase to management strategies in terms of protectio n through regular patrolling of the area

The western tragopan belongs co the family Phasianidae, w hich also includes peafowl and red jungle fowl. lt's the least studied bird in the world

Being a shy bird, it is rarely sighted and is found at an altitude of 2,000 to 3,600 metres in the temperate forests of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand

Jennifer R.B. MiUer, who smd ied the park in April -May 2008 during me US Fulbright Student Research Scholars hip, says the populations of three pheasant s pecieswestern tragopan, koklas and Himalayru1 monal - in the Great H imalayan Nation al Park have grown since surveyed in the lace 1990s.

"Surveys co n ducted in the late 1 990s indicated that pheasant populations in the park we r e declining. In 1999, me government legaUy notified me park and the amhorities began enfor cing the Indian Wi ldlife (Protec tion) Acc. Relative abundances of aU three pheasant species were significantly higher (in 2008) mru1 in previous surveys," says i\fiJle r in her paper titled "Himalayan pheasants in me Great Himalayan ational Park" published in the lndian Birds journal in 2010.

With magnificent g laciers, lofty mountains ruid gurgli ng screa m s, d1e Great Himalayan Na ti onal Park, spread over 754 sq km in K ullu district, is one of the richest b iodivers ity sites in the western Himalayas.

The park is home to 203 bird species and 3 1 mammal species, three reptiles, nine a m ph ibians and 1 27 insect species, besides 425 species of plants.

The famous mammals in the park are the leopard, the Himalayan b lack bear, d1e bro\vn bea r, the rhesus macaque and various herbivores like the goral, a small antelope, and the Hi ma layan cahr, a wild goat that lives o n tl1e steepest cliffs.

One of tl1e most e lusive sp ecies in me park is tl1e snow leopard. It can be sported in the highest portions, ad joining the Pin Valley Natio nal Park.

The best time ro visit the park is AprilMay a nd Se p tember- November

Tagore's birth ann iversary

celebrated across Bengal

Rabindrasangeet was p layed at traffic intersections, in schools ru1d coUeges, events were held across me state a nd television channels competed with one another to air his songs, poems a n d dances as \'«est Bengal marked the end of the ye arlong 150tl1 b irth an niversary celebrations of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore with great cul.rural fervour on May 7

From north Kolkat a's Jorasanko, where the poet-philosopher was born, to the districts and s mall towns, people thronged in hundreds to pay their homage to the literary genius, whose appeal has remained largely undim inis hed even 71 years after his dead,.

Peop le from all walk s of life qu eued up at Jorasanko Thakurbari in n orth Kolkata - Tagore's sprawling ancestral home - since dawn to see me room where he was born and watch a cultural programme, where well- known si ngers, elocutionis t s a nd druicers participated.

T he main official fu nction organised by the state government began in the afternoon on a makeshift stage on Camedral R oad, where Chief I\finiste r Mamara Bane rj ee was present.

Cultural programmes, film festivals, and b oo k fairs were arranged to kick off a fortnight long ce lebration Wicb Tagore son gs, as on oilier days, p layed at traffic sign al s, peop le savo ured a holiday declared by d1e state government.

From me morning, mere was a frenz y of activities ac ross the state, with Tagore's compositions re n de red in man y localities and schools and colleges.

Bo rn on Vaisakha 25 according to the Bengali cale nda r (May 7, 1861 according to Englis h calendar) , Tagore in L9 l3 became the first Asian l obel laureate and the first non - E u ropean to win the Nobe l Prize for literature.

He also hold s the dis tinction of having audiored me n ational anthems of two sovereign nations - lndia and Bangladesh.

T he political " parivartan" in West Bengal le ft its im print on R abindra n ad1 Tagore's 151st birthday celebration, wi th me Mamata Bru1erjee government changing the traditional venue and timi n g of me offic ial function.

For d ecades, d1e state governmentorganised offic ial func tion bad bee n held at the crack of dawn on the bard's birth d ay Linder an open sp ace in d1e Ra b indra Sadan pr emises.

All leading artists and e locutionists used ro partic ipate in me programme to p lay homage to the Nobe l laureat e poet. However, foUowing in structions from Jvl amata Banerjee, the programme th is time was deferred to d1e afternoon, w ith the venue sh ifted to Cathedral Road near Rabindra Sadan.

T his took many s ingers b y surp r ise, though mey were unwilling to come out in the open w ith thei r criticism.

"It was a tradition to p ay h omage to Tagore earl y i n the morning. I do n 't know what prompted d1e new government to ch ange the p lace and time," sai d a R abindra Sangeet e,xponent, on condition of a n o nymity.

The govern me n t has, however, claimed the dec ision was taken for the convenience of d1e Tagore- loving public, who would have bad to wake up in the wee hours

But leader of o pposition ruid Com munist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Surj ya Ka n ta Mishra was at bis sarcastic best.

In ru1 obvio u s referenc e to Banerjee, known as a late riser, he said: ' 'There are some people who are n ot early risers. But tl1ere are auspicious days whe n one should try to wake up e arly "

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton catches up with Congress president Sonia Gandhi prior to their meeting in New Delhi, India, 7 May 2012. Clinton was in India fora three - day tour during which she discussed foreign direct investment in retail, the India - US civilian nuclear deal and Iran.

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Versatile, vivacious, victorious Vidya Ba/an was in the city to launch the upcoming Film Festival of India

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Hot1r lzy boHr fflhot 11Je't,e got is o 11Jo11tt1n'spo1ver

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It's the strength of tl wo111tln hese lyrics fro m Gerri Halliwell's chartbuster Strmgth of ti Wo111a11 were racing th rough my mind as I waited co meet the actress who has been of late proclaimed as the 'Fourth Khan' or 'the female Big B' of the Inruan film industry.

Year 2011 - 12 bas certainl y been big for Vidya Balan, who continues to reap the rewards for her stellar performances in movies like The Dirty Picture and Knba11i. In essaying the ro les of the seductive 'Silk' and the hapless 'Vidya Bagchi', Vidya not only made a stro n g talent statement, but she set a trend for women -o riented films where heroines are not just chosen for decorative purposes le was easy co warm up to the articulate and media savvy Vidya. Looku.1g slimmer than lase year, she was still g lowing with the effect of the success that is currently her travelling compmuon.

This was Vidya's second visi t to Melbourne Last year she was here as a guest of i'v1ind Blowing Films to launch the film No One Killed]essica at the Inruan Film Festival. Thi s year, she i s the brand ambassador of the Indian Film Festival. I asked V idya how things had changed for her personally in the year she mrned from srar to superstar.

"It's nice to hear that peop le think 1 am a superstar," said Vidya, grace folly adjusting her elegant Sabyasachi sari. Taking a momeur m think she continued, "I think Thave got a lot bus ier. There is hardly much rime to breathe, bur.I am enj oying every moment. The fact that The Dirty Pictm·e and Kaha11i have received critical and commercial success is really a validation of my beliefs and] am most grateful for that. I an1 completely hwnbled by all the love and acclaim that has come my way."

\'X'inner of the.National Film Award for Best Actress, five Pilmfare awards as well a~ three consecutive Sore.en Awards for Best Actress, V idya is a fe ted actress in Inrua a nd offers for endorsements, causes, charities come in by the spade-full. So wbac made her accept the oppo r rµn.ity co become the brancl ambassador for the Film Festival of India 1h Melbourne?

"When I came co Melbourne last year I received such a warm welcome chat I decided I would be back soo n," she said " ] am honoured to be the Festival Ambassador this year This festival offers a diverse choice nf cinema not o nly frotn Inrua bm a lso from neighbouring countries like Nepa.I, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri L-anka. Iudi an cinem,i. reaches across many genres and many styles and it would make me proud to introduce Lhis incredible indusuy LO Australian film lovers".

"l am a greedr actress," said Vidya. "I wo uld love co do a ro le in any country, mciurung Ausu:alia. frwill give me an opportunity to work on I.be Ausu:alilin-accennhat I find quire imeresring'·.

E"lvfy o nly con dition," s he added jokingly, "is tha t the film has to be shown in Melbourne and they may want to give m e an honorary cicizenship as well".

During her last vis it to Melbourne, Vidya had waxed lyrical of her affection for Me lbourne and its peop le. Thi s year too she expressed similar sentiments

"What does one of die most talented actresses in India li ke about one of the most live ab le cities in the world?" 1 asked.

Thi s time tl1ere was no pausing co think and her response was quick.

"I love Melbourne because I think it is m ode rn; however ic has retained an old world charm. It is n or cold like other countries that I have v isited. There is a certain warmth and romance abo[Lt li1felbourne and it reminds m e co some extent o f Kolkata. It could be because both cities have trams. I hope to ge t some time from my hectic schedule to take a ride 011 Melbourne's famous tram".

Despite not seeing much of Melbourne on her last trip, Vidya found the people so warm and welcoming that she was happy to return.

"I remember m y trip to MCG last year. People in Iurua loved ph o tos of my visic to the mecca of wo.cld sports," she said.

Even though V idya is not a sports buff and confesses to pos sessing limited know ledge o f footy, she was happy m vi sit the MCG again this year to present the ball to tl1e umpire at the Richmond Tigers versus Sydney Swans match. " Honestly I don't really kn ow much about foory, but where else would 1 ger to see so many hot men in the same place at the same time," said Vidya with a tongue-in-cheek grin.

Speaking of eye candy, the versacile actress confessed that she. al ways wanted to meet Australian actor Hugh Jackman, who she clain1s is quite 'hot'. Her ,vish came true when Hugh visited India for a FI CCI conference and she met him at an awards ceremony there. She even got to perform a little dance. jig with Hugh and Shahrnkh Khan on stage

"It was a memorab le. event for me and hopefully for them:' Vidya good-humouredly quipped Vidya who turned 34 recently, has admitted m dating UTV head honcho Siddharth Roy Kapoor, whom she so metimes refers to as 'SRK'. Wedding bells however, are not co be heard in tl1e near future, as VB wants to focus o n cbe trajectory of her career. An d even d1ough. she loves Melbourne and thinks of it as a romancic place, she was hesirant to commit that she would choose this city for her honepnoon. "l haven't really tlmught about where I woul d like to go fo r my honeymoo n," she said with a smile.

V idya Balan made her debut in the Bengali film, BhCtlo Tbeko (2003), in a role which was much appreciated. She chen made her debut in Bollywood i n Pa1i11eet11 (2006) and excelled in her role, winning tl1e Award for Best Female Debuta.nr. She appeared in the blockbuster L:,ge Roho J\t!Jflmo 13/Jai (2006) 1n 2007, she acted in Mani Ratnam's G11m as a girl suffering fro m multiple sclerosis, and in S,1/at1111-e-Tshq, Bkltl1!)'0: The Rqy(ll G11t11rl, Hay Bai?J.y and Bhool Bhula[)'aa. Ali these films proved her versatility an<l her defiance to not fit into tl1e glrun doll mouJd of Bollywoo<l actre~ses. Vidya then played Lhe role of a young, independent, siogle mother struggling with her son 's progeria syndrome in Paa (2009). He r portrayal of the ro le stood aparc from the usual Bollywood 'ma ' roles and got ber rave reviews from critics as well as the audience. True to her spi rit of doing somethi n g different, Vidya then acted in T.rhq!J'a (20 10) and won accolades for tl1e portrayal of t he seductive widow. Not only are ber roles unconven ti onal, so are her endorsements. Vidya has very recently agreed to become tbe Sanitation Ambassador for an India n Government p r o ject called Nirm al Bha.rnc Abhiyaan The programme i s aimed at spreading awareness abo ut sanitation and cleanliness i n the cou ntry. VB has agreed co campaign for two years, and will be involved i n tl1is restructured vers ion of the Total Sanitation

Cam paign l was curious to know bow she agreed to the not- sog l a m ouro u s o r co n ve n tio nall y safe cause tlrnt invo lved propagating hygiene and opposing open defecatio n "I got a call from the Rmal Develo p ment :Minister Jairam R amesh ro ask if I was imerested. We get offers co espouse a lot of cau ses and I like to limit myself to something mat I believe in;'' explained Vidya "lam a cleanliness freak myself a nd 1 know I will be ab le to push chis cau se strongly and ge nuinely. Sani tation in India is the need of the hour. Look at the infant mortality rares, tl1ey are shocking T h e m ortality rate is often affected by lack of sanitation. Ic also impacts on oilier areas of Life. There are still schools in India that do not h ave toilets. We will be wodci n g :ar various levels :and very basic levels not just ilirough ads, but also by visiting several places It will involve a rime commitmen t, bm I strongly believe that t he sanitarian campaign needs ro become a national obsession," she a d ded

1 am not sure about the future of this campaign but Vid ya Ba.Jan i s currently enjoying a fair bit of internatio nal atten tio n , judging by tl1e mrnour at the opening of her movie The Dirry Picture ac Hoyts Mel bourne rece n tly. Fans from P akistan, Sri L anka, Fiji, A u stral ia, B ritain, Canada and India were present to experience the VB charm in person. And charming she was as s h e ch arred, joked, autographed and photogr aphed witl1 her fans brieAy, befote being whis k ed away to another assignment. The fans were left to watch The Dir!J Pict11re of a clean, ca ndid a nd con scie n tious actress.