2013-07 Sydney (1)

INDIAN LINK

Luthra

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Lena Peacock

Sheryl Dixit

MELBOURNE COOORDINATOR

Preeti Jabbal

CONTRIBUTORS

Darshak Mehta, Frankey Gerard Fernandes, Komal Jagad, Prashant Dixit, Ritam Mitra, Deeksha Chopra, Shafeen Mustaq, Noel G De Souza, Chitra Sudarshan, Hasnain Zaheer, Petra O’Neill, Rani Jhala, Geeta Khurana, Kalyani Wakhare, Uzma Beg, Nancy Jade Althiya, Sanam Sharma

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DESIGN

Danielle Cairis

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Rudd’s return will slow down the India-Oz relationship

PAWAN LUTHRA

Ahigh-ranking Indian diplomat often expressed his exasperation with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in his first term of office, as to his leanings towards China. The sentiment in South Hall was that under Rudd, the Australia-China relationship was a bit more warm and cosy than it needed to be. India was frustrated at the way the Labor Party under Kevin Rudd rebuffed India’s diplomats, especially in the area of uranium sales. In the dying days of the Howard government, it was announced that should the Coalition return to power, they would initiate steps to sell uranium to India. However, with Labor taking control in 2007, in his first stint at prime ministership, Kevin Rudd made no moves to progress any discussion on this topic; in fact, it was put

without consulting her then Foreign Minister Rudd, who was only informed of this after it was publicly announced. This decision was made in December 2011 and to date little progress has been made in practical terms. One expects that under the reincarnation of Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister, not much will happen in this regard. Interestingly, Rudd supporters, such as current Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Labor stalwart Doug Cameron, both disagreed with the then PM Gillard’s decision. 2008-2009 was the period when the students’ crisis had rocked the relations between India and Australia. An enduring image from the time is that of Rudd’s effigy being burnt by demonstrators outside the Australian High Commission in India. While this was certainly not pleasant, it further distanced Kevin Rudd from all things Indian.

As to how the Indian community in Australia reacts to the change of leadership in the Labor Party will be interesting to observe. Over the past

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weekend fundraisers for the Labor Party within the Indian community and the constant parade of Labor’s marginal seat politicians at Indian functions. These have all shown the importance given to the Indian vote at the next elections. Whether the new (or old?) Prime Minister Rudd will embark on similar gimmicks will be interesting to observe.

However, if history is any indication, PM Rudd will prefer to practice his Mandarin at local Chinese functions, rather than covet the Indian vote. Australian Indians will also remember promises and grandiose statements such as the 20/20 forums, grocery watch, fuel watch, the lack of coherent policy on ‘the greatest moral challenge of our times’ and carbon tax, the dismantling of the Pacific solution of the Howard government, the near breakdown in the working of the government after disagreements in the kitchen cabinet etc. While all these can be forgiven, what the Australian Indian community

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An old head on young shoulders

Devanand Sharma is the new Ambassador to Israel

BY dARsHAk MEHTA

devanand Sharma is his country’s youngest Ambassador.

And, no, he is not representing India. He is unique in more ways than that.

He has recently been designated Australia’s next Ambassador to Israel. Yes, he is a true-blue, dinkydi, ridgy-didge Aussie. And if that means he is half Indian, well, welcome to the new, really, really multicultural Australia.

Devanand, or Dave as he is known, is just 37. When I first heard that, I said “Wow”. And I thought: you @%*^#*! overachiever.

The world is at his feet and barring a disaster, he should certainly be heading The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT) before he turns 50, surely!?

An extremely rare fact: Dave is probably only the second Australian of Indian descent to represent Australia as an Ambassador.

In case you are curious as to who was the first, I believe it must be Peter Varghese who was Australia’s Ambassador to India

between 2009 and 2012, before he was promoted and made the head honcho of Australia’s diplomatic service – the DFAT. He still heads it. Varghese was born in Kenya to Malayali parents and has been one of Australia’s most distinguished and senior civil servants.

Dave Sharma holds a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Cambridge and a Master of Arts in International Relations from Deakin University. He is a senior career officer with the DFAT and was most recently Assistant Secretary in the Africa Branch, and previously, Acting First Assistant Secretary, International Division in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Sharma’s prior international service includes postings as Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Washington, Third Secretary at the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby and as Senior Civilian Adviser with the Peace Monitoring Group in Bougainville. Sharma was also an Adviser to Foreign Minister Alexander Downer from 2004 –2006. His father originally hails from Uttar Pradesh, though they subsequently settled in Trinidad and Tobago, and his mother’s family is from Sydney and Dave grew up in Sydney but remains in close touch with the Indian side of his family.

Sharma will be accompanied to Israel by his wife Rachel and their

three young daughters.

Clearly his young age is the first thing that strikes one about Dave. (By comparison, the average age of an Ambassador or High Commissioner that India appoints, is generally in the 50s). But he himself is nonchalant about it.

He says without hesitation, “My appointment proves that Australia is a meritocracy and even the highest positions are available to all comers”.

“The younger generation should certainly look at opportunities in public life and in the public service,” he adds. “Though there are only a handful or so of Australians of Indian origin in the ranks of DFAT, their numbers are certainly growing in the junior ranks”.

Australia has been a strong supporter of the State of Israel since its establishment, and was one of the first countries to grant official recognition and to establish diplomatic relations. The Australian Embassy in Israel opened in 1949.

Australia and Israel enjoy a significant trade relationship worth more than $900 million a year. Australian exports to Israel include coal, meat and aluminium, with imports including gems, manufactured items and telecommunications equipment.

So, it is an important posting, and the Australian Government would have made it after due consideration about the merits

of various candidates.

Questions have forever been raised about the influence of the strong Israel lobby within Canberra (and Washington/London), so the new Australian Ambassador may have to walk a tightrope and be prepared to tell his hosts things they do not want to hear on the Palestine problem which has defied a solution for over 60 years.

Australia recognises that Israel’s long-term security requires a comprehensive, durable Middle

East peace settlement. Australia supports a negotiated two-state solution, with an independent, viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel.

But in fact, the superior lobbying skills of Israel and the Australian Jewish community has ensured that Israel has had a robust input in the decisions this country has made.

This is something that eludes the Indian community – even though it is four times bigger!

sPiRiTUAL

gopa kuteeram

4th sun of every month 4pm-5:30pm

The Global Organisation for Divinity runs free spiritual educational classes for children aged 4-12 years. Crestwood Community Centre, Crestwood Drive, Baulkham Hills. Parents can join in the devotional lecture by Sri Deepak Vinod. Classes are also being run in Liverpool. Baulkham Hills details: Jayashree on 02 9620 4676.

Liverpool details: Deepak Vinod 0422 127 956.

Chinmaya Mission activities

Classes

Shishu Vihar

Classes for children between the age of 2- 4.5 years, tailored to increase love and bonding between parent and child.

Vedanta Classes In Castle Hill & Epping on Wednesday nights.

Meditation Classes

10-week program at Castle Hill Sanskrit

Classes 10-week program for beginners (Course 1) and advanced students (Course 2) at Castle Hill.

Hindi Classes

Beginners level starting in May at Crestwood Community Centre, Baulkham Hills.

Details: Br Gopal Chaitanya 0416 482 149.

Ramakrishna sarada Vedanta society of NsW activities

Devotional music Avijit Sarkar and Friends

sat 20 July 5.30-7.30pm

Early evening concert of devotional songs at Vedanta Hall. Includes complimentary refreshments from 5.30-6.00pm.

Sri Krishna’s Birthday at Vedanta Hall

1 sept 10.40am-12midday

Program insilent Silent Meditation, Group chanting of the Sanskrit and reading of

What’s on

the English translation of Chapter 8 of the Bhagavad Gita, Talks by Pravrajika

Gayatriprana & Saptarshi Ray.Venue: Vedanta Hall, 15 Liverpool Road, Croydon.

Details: 02 9745 4320 or email: admin. saradavedanta@bigpond.com

Website: www.saradavedanta.org

Swami Vivekananda’s 150th Birthday

Tues 17-Wed 18 sept 2pm & 7pm

Play at Sydney Opera House: OnenessVoice Without Form The Extraordinary Life of Swami Vivekananda.

Details: www.sydneyoperahouse.com

AWgP Australia

If you want Yagya, Satnarayan Katha, various Sanskara (Vivah, Janma Divas, Vivah diwas, Namkaran, Punsavan, Mundan, House warming, Bhumi poojan etc.) at home please contact any one of the Gayatri Pariwar parijan. Donations welcome.

Details: Archana/Anand Jaiswal 0404 430 730 or visit www.awgpaustralia.org.au

shri shiva Mandir

sri Navavarna Pooja, sri Yantra/ Chakra

Pooja sun 4 Aug 8am-1pm

All devotees are cordially invited to participate in the Pooja, but only the sponsors will be blessed with Sri Chakra. Pooja Thali (plate): donation of $21 per family. Shri Shiva Mandir, 201 Eagleview Road, Minto.

Details: Jagdish Chawla 0421 276 384 or jagdish1@optusnet.com.au

swami Vivekananda sat 13 July from 6.30pm

An inspiring talk and dynamic discussion. Meet and greet and participate in a Q&A session on burning issues with Renowned economist and political reformist Dr. Subramanian Swamy, anti-corruption crusader. Dinner gala tickets: $50 (VIP also

available). At Cherrybrook Community Centre, Shepherds Drive, Cherrybrook. 150th Birth Anniversary celebration of Swami Vivekanand sun 14 July from 4.30pm Keynote speaker Dr. Subramanian Swamy and Swami Sunishtananda. Visit exhibition on life and works of Sami Vivekananda at 4pm. Free entry.

Sydney Bahair Centre, 107 Derby Street, Silverwater

Details: Dr. Rajeev Jairam 0439 662 670 or info@vivekananda150year.org or www.vivekananda150year.org

New Bhagavad gita class

Every 2nd Fri starting 28 June 8pm9.30pm

The text will be the Bhagavad Gita and the sevak is Prasanth Ramkumar.  The classes will be discussion based and we will be using the videos of Pujya Gurudev and will be studying His commentary. At 159 Beames Ave, Mt Druitt

Details: Prasanth on 0422 770 541 or www.chinmaya.com.au

guru Purnima

sun 21 July

Know Thyself as Soul Foundation celebrates the auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima and holds weekly Satsang in honour of Param Sant Baljit Ji Maharaj. Details: 1800 462 193 or www.santmat.net.au

sTAgE

soorya Festival of dance and Music

sun 7 July

A fund-raising event for Sydney Ayyappa Temple, at Sydney Baha’i Centre, 107 Derby St Silverwater. Program includes Katahka, Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam dances.

Details: Renga Rajan 0448 757 785.

Maya Youth in Performing Arts

About a Brown: The Musical

Fri 12 July 8pm & saturday 13 July

3pm & 7pm

This production aims to encompass the day to day lives and idiosyncrasies of second generation youth with a sub-continental cultural heritage in a stage musical with live orchestra and dance ensembles. All proceeds will be donated to the International Medical Health Organisation. NIDA Theatre, 215 Anzac Parade, Kensington.

Details: www.mayaarts.com.au

MisC Hindu Council of Australia opportunities available Hindu Council of Australia invites expression of interests from anyone who wishes to expand their horizons and get involved with one of the biggest community events of Sydney. These are voluntary positions.

Details: Raman Bhalla 0401 057 224 or www.hinducouncil.com.au

Apply: info@deepavali.com.au

seniors day Care Centre, Baulkham Hills

Sri Om Foundation is planning to open a Day Centre at Baulkham Hills early Aug 2013 for those resident in Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills and Cherrybrook areas. This will cater to all frail aged seniors aged from 70 and above. Structured programs for the frail aged will be organised. Sessions will be in one of the council facilities and Pick Up and Drop Off from home have been organised. Admission is limited.

Details Shweta 0405 367 238.

Blood donation Camp sat 6 July 11.15am-12 noon

Australia Tamil Association announce their 16th Blood Donation Camp.

Details: Prathap Ramachandran 0432 016 639.

sydney sakhi sangam’s Teej function sun 14 July 11am-onward

This is their 15th year commemorating Indian women and their friendships.

Details: Nandini 0423 684 340, Sushma 0411 967 374.

FiLM gHARA presents Satyagraha sat 17 Aug

GHARA helps adults with intellectual disabilities in the poorest communities of Bangalore India. This movie will be held at Blacktown Hoyts as a fundraiser.

Details: Kylee Davis 0410 657 896, ghara.trust@gmail.com or www.ghara.org

iNdiA dAY iNdAUs Fair

sun 11 Aug 11am-6pm

Indian Independence Day celebration. All proceeds go to the Uttarakhand disaster relief fund. Rosehill Gardens, Rosehill Race Course, Rosehill. Marketing and sponsorship opportunities available.

Details: www.indausfair.com.au

india day 2013 dinner Function sat 10 Aug 6pm-11pm

Join us in celebrating India’s Independence Day and experience the rich cultural diversity, heritage and harmony. Tickets: starting from$45 each. $2 from each ticket goes to Child In Need India Charity.

Bowman Hall, Campbell Street, Blacktown.

Details: Shail Wadhwa 0423 894 531 or shail@ohmtel.com.au or www.cia.org.au

supporting young couples in need

An

Australian doctor helps young women without Medicare see their pregnancies

and it may seem like a disaster but people simply need support”.

BY FRANkEY gERARd FERNANdEs

Nitin and Rekha (names changed) are a young couple who came to Australia to make a better life. A few months after arriving Rekha realised that she was expecting their first child. Her joy however, was short lived, after her initial visit to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, when the couple were told that because they were on the Skilled Migrant Visa, and did not have the medical insurance to cover the cost of the pregnancy, they ought to abort the child or face a hefty medical bill.

The couple were shocked and confused. $17000 was beyond their capacity, as well as the costs of setting up for a child. With heavy hearts and under great pressure they went to the abortion clinic in Woodville. As luck would have it, they were approached by a Good Samaritan who asked if there was anything she could do to help them save the baby.

“Mothers without Medicare” is this service, and their lives were changed.

Today Nitin and Rekha have a lovely healthy child and are thankful to the Good Samaritan who came to their rescue. They have since paid back this loan to enable another couple to benefit.

This is the situation facing many recent migrants to Australia, especially many families from India and those on the Skilled Migration Visa. Often Health Insurance will not cover pregnancy. The average cost of delivery can be from $7,500 or if complicated up to $20,000 and higher. Couples, confused and under pressure, are often directed to the abortion clinic. It will cost $2800, still a large sum, but much less than the cost of delivery and associated ongoing cost of child rearing.

“This is a scandal,” says Adelaide GP Dr. Antonia Turnbull. “To say to someone in Australia that we cannot help you have your baby, is a scandal”.

After receiving many new migrants in such a situation, Dr Turnbull decided to spearhead a campaign in South Australia to help women without Medicare have their child.

“Pregnancy is not a disease as the insurance companies call it,

For many young couples in a new country without the support networks of home, an unplanned pregnancy can be a confusing and very daunting thing.

Dr. Turnbull has seen 20 couples in Adelaide and assisted them through the group Mothers Without Medicare. a formal organisation, nor does she have the time to publicise it, but she sees it as an extremely important service.

“I just respond to situations. Couples are sent to me as they know I try to help and so we do”.

The original idea was to set up a fund as

“The money is not for us to keep,” she says. “It is for us to move around where it is needed. These couples can’t pay now but they will be able to in the future. When they can, they can return the money and help fund another life and another couple’s future. It’s a wonderful thing”

Her first case was very touching. “A young Chinese couple came to me. they were both on Student Visas. Their health insurance did not cover pregnancy. They could not go back to China. They were advised to abort but didn’t want to, and had very little money. Eventually we found a wealthy donor who funded the birth. That child is now 20, a beautiful young woman, all because of that donor”.

It is a powerful story, one that Dr. Turnbull relates with a tear in her eye, obviously inspired by the gift of a life which continues to touch people on and on.

“It makes me angry that in this lucky country, we are saying they cannot have a child. This gave me the energy to do something about it”.

Dr. Turnbull approached Birthline Pregnancy Support Inc. who agreed to the plan and accordingly opened an appeal account with ANZ Bank.

Many people have been happy to help Mothers Without Medicare. Dr. Turnbull’s hope is that more people will donate the cost of a coffee per week to help people give birth.

The loans would cover the normal costs for these couples:

• private medibank insurance for the baby for a year about $1,700.

• a midwife to care for the mother and child through the ante-natal period, for the delivery and for care up to six

weeks postpartum $3,000.

• the hospital cost of the delivery which if simple costs $7,500 and if complicated could be as much as $20,000.

“The basic idea is be part of the solution: don’t allow our country to say to anyone you can’t afford to have a child,” says Dr. Turnbull.

Word is spread by emails to friends and groups explaining to them the idea of raising funds for a good cause. Other than some of her doctor friends, Dr. Turnbull is also assisted by her husband Bob Turnbull who actively shares the responsibility to help Mothers Without Medicare.

One of the major issues Dr Turnbull sees in treating migrant communities is that they often hide their biggest struggles from their closest networks. There is a perception of shame and embarrassment especially in financial hardship. This makes it all doubly worse for people who are in this state of confusion.

“They don’t feel like they can get help or support from their community in fact they just cut themselves off in pain to save face and the social stigma attached to the issue,” Dr. Turnbull said.

“At the moment the challenge is to have more and more doctors come on board to say we shall

help Mothers Without Medicare and give them the best treatment and charge them smaller amounts. We also need to get more donors on board”.

She adds, “We also want to open up the issue and talk to community networks like religious organisations: the gurudwaras, churches, temples and mosques. We need to respond as a whole community: it is not just the responsibility of that community, it is all society that needs to help out, and we can”.

Dr Turnbull is very keen to talk

to these communities and groups about the issue and tell them how to set up a fund and what services are available to them.

This is not just about abortion, but about supporting people. It is another symptomatic issue stemming from the separation of communities. The issues we face are the same across the board, for established Australians and new migrants. Cross-cultural friendships and networks need to be encouraged and actually are essential.

To support MOTHERS WITHOUT MEDICARE contact:

Dr Toni Turnbull, Marden Medical Clinic, Marden SA 5070.

Or: Birth line Pregnancy Support Inc. 412 Magill Rd Kensington Gardens SA 5068 (08) 8331 1223 (ABN 58 798 576 758).

Cheques can be made payable to the Birthline Appeal fund or directly to ANZ Bank (BSB 015-310, Account no. 6360-23558. Any amount above $2.00 is tax deductible).

through

Dr Toni Turnbull with her husband Bob

Horror in the

The state of Uttarakhand reels beneath nature’s flood fury

BY sHERYL diXiT

Mayhem! That’s the only way to describe the current situation in Uttarakhand, over a fortnight since the devastating floods that overwhelmed this picturesque state, leaving behind unimaginable wreckage and destruction.

Uttarakhand, formerly known as Uttaranchal, is situated in the northern part of India, and is a renowned place of pilgrimage for Hindus with an abundance of temples and holy sites. It is also a popular tourist destination, thanks to its breathtaking natural beauty and its location at the foot of the Bhabhar and the Terai in the mighty Himalayas. It was created in November 2000 as the 27th state of the Republic of India, from the Himalayan and adjoining northwestern districts of Uttar Pradesh. Sharing borders with Tibet, Nepal, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand consists of the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions with 13 districts. Dehradun is its provisional capital.

According to the 2011 census of India, Uttarakhand has a population of 10,116,752, with more than 88% following Hinduism, and Muslims making up the largest minority. Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, and Jains are the other major religions.

Two of the most important rivers in Hinduism originate in the region, the Ganga at Gangotri and the Yamuna at Yamunotri. These two, along with Badrinath and Kedarnath form the Chota Char Dham, a holy pilgrimage for the Hindus. The state hosts the Bengal tiger in Jim Corbett National Park, the oldest national park of the Indian subcontinent. The Valley of Flowers, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located here, is known for the variety and rarity of the flowers and plants found there. Besides this, Govindghat in Uttarakhand is the commencement point of the trek to Hemkund Sahib, the holy shrine of the Sikhs. Kedarnath is a

revered pilgrimage site for millions of Hindus, situated at an altitude of 3,586 metres in the lap of the majestic mountain peaks and near the head of the Mandakini river. It can be reached after a steep 14-km-long trek.

Natural disaster

Incessant and intense rains hit the hill state over three days from June 14, triggering flash floods and landslides, leading to hundreds of deaths and resulting in thousands more missing. Though over 100,000 people have been evacuated so far, at the time of going to press, hundreds were still stranded at various points across the state. At last count, approximately 800 people were dead and over 3,000 missing, but these were just estimated based on what evacuated people recounted to the rescue teams and to government officials.

Major pilgrimage centres have also suffered terrible damage. Pilgrimages to places like Kedarnath and Badrinath, home to among the most revered Hindu shrines, have been all but washed away. Entire villages and small towns have simply disappeared in the flood waters, with bridges and roads swept away, cutting off large areas, as well as homes, hotels and businesses. Power lines have been damaged and the loss of life is tragically high. To make things worse, continuous rain and foggy conditions seriously hampered rescue operations in the first week of the tragedy.

Many people had fallen ill because of starvation and staying out in the open in the freezing cold for long hours, so doctors were air-dropped in strategic locations.

It is reported that in one day, 700 people were given medicines for various ailments. Personnel of the Armed Forces Medical Services are working in the state with 29 teams deployed around Kedarnath while an emergency centre has been set up at Joshimath, an official release said.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) declared the Uttarakhand devastation a “severe natural disaster” and requested leaders not to politicise the issue. Inspector Gopal Singh Meena from the NDMA has worked in some tough environments whenever natural calamity has struck, but he said he has never seen such utter devastation. The NDMA team that was air-dropped at Guptkashi, which is located between Kedarnath and Rudraprayag, saw a ghost town with structures smashed to the ground like match boxes by the fury of the flood waters, and twisted bodies of the old and young, men and women simply strewn around, revealed Meena.

Meena also said many people

took shelter in the jungles when the flood water inundated the areas. “There were wailing women and children in hysterical condition. They were there without food and water. They were totally in panic. They were crying for help. We faced a lot of problems, as we had no way to reach them. We then made ropeways and then many of our men carried them on their backs. Our first priority was to reach the women, children and the old,” Meena added.

“Here (Gaurikund), people had taken shelter in jungles. Many just couldn’t walk. Their feet were swollen. They were totally famished and in urgent need of food and water,” said Meena, whose team members were the ones who rescued and evacuated hundreds of people stuck in the entire stretch of Kedarnath valley.

One of the casualties of the rescue operations that shocked

the nation was the crashing of an Indian Air Force rescue plane on June 25. The crash claimed the lives of nine personnel of NDRF, six of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and five of the Indian Air Force. Among the dead was Wing Commander Darryl Castelino, who was piloting the illfated helicopter when it crashed. He was laid to rest on June 30 in Mumbai, with full military honours.

Stories have also been filtering out of looting and rape. Says Anupam Sharma who grew up in most of the areas in which the floods unleashed their fury, “My broken heart skips a beat every time one hears about the victims being looted, helpless female pilgrims awaiting rescue being raped, swami con men conning at the worst time, kids who are orphaned being saved for the child labour market - the list goes on. All in the most holiest

Himalayas

to Nirmal Ashram - all extended help of their volunteers and their resources.

The All World Gayatri Pariwar (AWGP), whose sprawling complex, Shantikunj, is housing many of the rescued people, is being used as a relief camp by many states. At Rishikesh, many of these institutions are offering free food, water, medicines. And some are not charging money for those getting photostat copies of photographs of their dear ones.

for penance!” He adds, “Then there is the plight of the survivors having to take clothes off dead bodies to save themselves, the chopper crash, the noble and honest defense personnel, and some of the local administration. For me, it is a big churning of emotions as each time I hear the name of a place in Uttarakhand, I am taken back to the wonderful memories of childhood.” A poignant and tragic feeling indeed!

Forewarned and ignored

What has come to light in recent days is that an alert was sent to the Uttarakhand government about the rainfall activity for 48 hours before the disastrous rains started around June 14, India

Meteorological Department official N Doraiswamy said recently. An IMD official based at Dehradun reiterated that warnings of heavy rains and landslide were sent to the state government. However, the Congress gave a clean chit to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, who has been facing flak for “ignoring” the advance warnings of very heavy rains by the meteorological department, saying it was satisfied with the state government’s rescue and relief work. The Met Office claimed that the Char Dham Yatra could have been halted in time, saving hundreds of lives. “The reasons (behind the tragedy) will

be examined. The focus right now should be on evacuating stranded people, ensuring relief and rehabilitation and checking the spread of epidemic,” said Maken, spokesman from the Congress.

Maken said thousands of people have been left homeless and their houses uprooted. “We should rise above partisan politics and serve the people,” he added.

The hand of God?

But for the locals, the damage and devastation is the only thing they are talking about. The Haridwar ghats, as well as the temples are empty. The rains and landslides are God’s way of teaching mankind a lesson, they say.

“Rampant illegal construction on the banks of the river, corruption and looting the pilgrims have led to this. God was angry. It is his way. Otherwise, why would thousands of people who had come to pray at these shrines perish like this?” said Man Singh

Upreti of Dehradun. “This is god’s way to teach people a lesson,” added the 70-year-old. Others cite different reasons for the disaster. Neighbouring

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister

Shivraj Singh Chauhan said the central government should declare a national environment policy to stop illegal construction and prevent a disaster like the one that

wrecked Uttarakhand. Chauhan also asked for the Uttarakhand flash floods to be declared a national calamity. “When you tamper with nature, then nature will unleash its fury on you,” Chauhan said. Talking of the mushrooming of several buildings near rivers in Uttarakhand, he said, “Illegal construction and corruption go hand in hand”. Over 5,000 people from Madhya Pradesh were rescued and have returned home by helicopters, buses and trains. Chauhan declared a compensation package of Rs.2 lakh for the next of kin of those who died in the floods, and Rs.5 lakh for those who have lost their entire family.

Saviours of survivors

On hearing of the disaster, help poured into Uttarakhand from all over the country. Many religious and social organisation rose to the occasion, with one of them distributing thousands of food packets and even offering to conduct the last rites of those who died at Kedarnath. As the news of the devastation and deluge started pouring in, many religious and social organisations came out to extend a helping hand to those anguished people looking for their loved ones. From Yoga Guru Ramdev to All World Gayatri Pariwar (AWGP)

The Gayatri Pariwar also distributed food packets. “Of the total 10,000 food packets that were air-dropped, most were sent by Shanti Kunj,” an official of Shantikunj said. And international aid agencies have also come to the aid of the flood-devastated state. Among these are the ‘Waste Warriors,’ headed by Briton Jodie Underhill and a band of volunteers. Known as the ‘garbage girl’ of the mountains, she has embarked on the mammoth task of cleaning up after the disaster. “When I learnt about the disaster, I decided to adopt these hills as part of our next clean-up campaign,” Underhill said. “I was saddened to see how dirty it was everywhere. There is huge human waste. For the local civic authorities, rescuing the people is the first priority. But we will take care of it (removing garbage),” she added. Underhill has also come to the rescue of mules and horses that have been trapped by the flood waters in Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath-Badrinath axis. But it’s time to wake up India, said Underhill.

Search continues

For hundreds, the search for missing family members continues unabated. Photographs of loved ones taken on happier, merrier occasions, showing a family gettogether or celebrations now adorn the walls at relief camps, railway stations and bus stands. For the many hundreds of kin, photographs are the one way to trace their kin still missing even after a fortnight-long rescue and evacuation work carried out in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.

At the Haridwar railway station, relief camps have been set up by many state governments whose people had come to Uttarakhand for the Char Dham yatra when the rain-flood tragedy struck. At the Shanti Kunj complex, headquarters of the spiritual and

social organisation of All World Gayatri Pariwar (AWGP), three states - Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha - have set up relief camps and many of their rescued people are staying in its sprawling complex.

Inadequate training or the lack of it may turn out to be the big gaping hole that let slip a preventive response. It was widely believed that such warnings of heavy rain were routine and nothing really happened most of the time to cause panic

It is time to ask whether it is better to develop well planned urban settlements than to try and support scattered habitations in the fragile mountains of Uttarakhand

The photo of an elderly woman, sitting with a shy smile alongside her husband, or a family of four, who were photographed at a family function, or a mug size photo of a 40-year-old man

One of the casualties of the rescue operations that shocked the nation was the crashing of an Indian Air Force rescue plane on June 25

Laxmikant Sharma, a minister in Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan’s cabinet, said they have heard many a horror story of people being trapped and being swept away in the waters. “A family saw two of its members swept away by the water. They watched in horror. They were mute spectators,” Sharma said. But there were some stories of hope too. “We met three boys,

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) declared the Uttarakhand devastation a “severe natural disaster” and requested leaders not to politicise the issue

- they all tell the story of families torn apart by a force greater than mankind. All of them are missing. For the anguished families, it has been a hellish 15 days.

Fatigued and looking fragile was Rajkumar Singh from Rajasthan, searching for his 50-year-old brother, sister-in-law and their three children. Sneha Sharma, 21, desperately searched in hospitals, police stations and relief camps for her parents, two brothers and two sisters who had gone to Kedarnath shrine. Carrying photographs of her family, Sharma met an army official, who after seeing her 17-year old sister Jyoti’s photograph, told her that they have cremated her. “He told me that they found her body and cremated her. I don’t know about the rest of the family members. No one is able to help me out. Where should I go, what should I do,” she wailed. She said if she had been the only survivor in her family she would have killed herself. But she has to think of a younger sister who is in college.

Similarly, Subhash Chandra Sharma from Ghaziabad was desperately searching for his nephew, his wife and their three children. When he failed to get any news, he registered a missing persons’ report.

Pankaj Pokhiriyal said so far they have registered 794 missing cases. “We are giving people a simple form and asking them to attach photos too,” Pokhriyal said. Ten years in service, the police officer from Tehri Garhwal said he has never ever seen such devastation.

“I have been born here and spent my entire life. But have never seen such a massive destruction where hundreds have died and hundreds are missing. I think it’s God’s way

numbers live on tourism.

According to one business study, the loss to the tourism industry on account of the floods is estimated at Rs.12,000 crores. Uttarakhand ranks eighth among all states on the tourism map. Major pilgrimage centres have also suffered terrible damage and pilgrimages to places like Kedarnath and Badrinath, home to among the most revered Hindu shrines, are unlikely for months, if

situation in the state.

He has spelled out enhanced rates of compensation, which make sense in the case of lives lost, those injured, and property damaged, but are merely symbolic in the case of circumstances such as farm land being washed away.

Rs 10 lakh, each, will be paid to the families of those killed in the IAF chopper crash, and special pensions and other benefits to the deceased members of the Uttarakhand police.

Help has been offered by

who were part of a large group of 18 people, coming back alive. They told us that when the first floor of the lodge where they were staying was filled up with water, they went to the second floor. But when the second floor too filled up, they held on to the window grills and saved their lives. “They were inconsolable. It was difficult for us to make them understand. Their entire families have died,” said Sharma, who leads the team of over 50 state officials tracking and rescuing people. He said they had also come across people who walked for 2-3 days, reaching a relief camp in Rishikesh or were picked up on their way from the main road. “Many people have lost their clothes, their footwear and their vehicles. Apart from offering them food, water and medicines, we offer them chappals, soap, toothpaste and tooth brush,” Sharma stated.

The scene is the same at the Rishikesh too. Large posters of loved ones can be seen from far off. The Rishikesh bus stop does not look like a normal interstate bus stand; as one side of the bus stop wall has been taken over by photographs and posters, the other side has been taken over by the police and by voluntary and religious groups offering people free food, water and medicines.

Station Officer of Rishikesh

of punishing us humans. What else can we call it,’ he said.

Blow to tourism

The devastating floods have strangled the booming tourist industry too, and experts say recovery will take a long time. Mass cancellations by tourists and pilgrim groups have taken place in Uttarakhand, affecting even places that did not experience what has turned out to be one of the worst ever natural disasters in the state.The cancellations extend to the months of July, August and September.

“The impact of the floods is being felt by hill stations like Mussoorie, Nainital, Jim Corbett, Dehradun, Lansdowne and Kasauni,” said Richa Goyal Sikri, director of STIC Travel Group. “Travellers are reconsidering their plans due to exaggerated reports of the bad weather and road conditions,” she said.

The cancellation rates are touching an alarming 50 percent, a huge blow to a region where large

not a few years.

Industry insiders say the state will be able to bounce back by the next tourism season only if all government departments and bodies in the state work in coordination.

“The government says it will take three years for the state to get back to normalcy but the duration will be longer seeing the loss of infrastructure,” warned George Kutty of the Travel Agents Association of India.

Financial aid

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has announced the first round of measures, mostly financial, to deal with the post-disaster

other states as well, with the Andhra Pradesh government announcing Rs.50 crore for relief works and for construction of four pilgrim amenities centres.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy announced that Rs.10 crore would be given to Uttarakhand government for rescue and relief works. Another Rs.40 crore will be spent through Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) for construction of pilgrim amenities complexes, said a statement from the chief minister’s office.

Chief Minister Bahuguna said that children in areas hit by the floods would be given Rs.500 and college students Rs.1,000 each as intermediate relief.

Rescue and rehabilitation

The Uttarakhand government has now set up a reconstruction and rehabilitation authority to oversee relief work in the state, while Chief Minister Bahuguna announced setting up of the Uttarakhand Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority. In a far-reaching decision, the chief minister said no permission would be given henceforth for construction along riverbanks.

Thousands of dwellings and buildings along riverbanks have been washed away or destroyed in the floods. The chief minister announced that water and power bills for flood-affected people would be waived. He also said that kin of all missing people should report to the authorities, so that compensation can be given to them on the basis of an affidavit.

As the rescue operations continue, the authorities are now confronted with the mammoth task of clearing up the debris, searching for bodies and disposing them of properly. The chief minister announced that a team of 200 people, including officials from the police, health, animal husbandry experts and sanitation, are being rushed to Kedarnath to collect DNA samples of bodies. Various state governments have been asked to verify the list of missing people and if they are not traced in a month, they will be declared dead.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has sent a team to the state for locating bodies under the debris and to deal with decomposing corpses of humans and animals, which could pose a severe health hazard and could possibly cause an epidemic. To hasten the process, the state

government has sought earthexcavating machines from the central government. It has also sought 100 tonnes of bleaching powder to help dispose of the carcasses of animals killed.

Commentary

Gurinder Kaur is on the board of Voluntary Action Network India and, having worked for Oxfam, she has first hand experience in disaster preparedness and relief and rehabilitation. Ms Kaur comments, “The Uttarakhand tragedy needs to be understood in its entirety. Natural river courses and other drains seldom respect human-made concrete, stone or tar structures. On the contrary, it must be the other way about. We must keep habitation out of the expected and known ways of the occurrence of natural phenomena. In the case of the Uttarakhand disaster, we now have all the analysis and narratives about what happened, what really could have been done before, during and after the mélange of rain, flood and mud overtook the collective lives of thousands of people.

We know that scores of hotels and other buildings had been built in violation right on the flood courses of rivers rapidly flowing across steep gradients. We know that the timber mafia, the stone mafia and the construction mafia made the region far more vulnerable by taking away humungous quantities of wood, stone, sand and other materials. We also know now that greedy tour operators colluded with equally greedy hotel owners to disregard the actual carrying capacity of the state’s roads, transportation and dwelling units.

Most astonishingly, we know that advance weather forecasts

and flood and landslide warnings were issued by the meteorology department. Officials, leaders and other responsible people were informed about the prediction of widespread heavy rain. Alerts were issued for halting the yatras to the Chaar Dhams for four days and for moving the pilgrims already in the Chaar Dhams to safer locations. Did these warnings fall on deaf ears?

Although it would seem that such was the case, we know now that the warnings were received and read. What then was the matter? The officials and the others responsible for responding to disasters and in charge of protecting and saving lives knew there was a drill to be followed. But it is evident they did not know when or how to kick it in.

Inadequate training or the lack of it may turn out to be the big gaping hole that let slip a preventive response. It was widely believed that such warnings of heavy rain were routine and nothing really happened most of the time to cause panic.

Oddly and simply enough it is all about training. Each and every resident of Uttarakhand, permanent or transient, official or ordinary citizen, must be exposed to appropriate and adequate disaster preparedness and response training. Training must be so good that even if woken from sleep, a response should begin at once.

In a disaster prone and ecologically fragile habitat, expect the unexpected to happen. Community level preparedness and response training need to become the backbone of a statewide disaster management strategy. For the governing apparatus, repeated trainings - at least three a year - must be mandatory. Disaster preparedness and response must permeate our very consciousness”.

Also commenting on the situation, a powerful editorial published in the Garhwal Post on June 18 states “The problem lies with the lack of a comprehensive development policy that focuses on what is sustainable as against mere tokenism… It is time to ask whether it is better to develop well planned urban settlements

than to try and support scattered habitations in the fragile mountains of Uttarakhand. The people are already voting with their feet, taking the first opportunity to get out of the harsh and increasingly difficult life in the hills. It is for the government to meet this challenge in either a positive manner, or waste funds and energy in the futile effort to shore up a collapsing way of life.

The hills can nurture only a limited number of people in the context of modern day lifestyle demands. Funds would be better utilised in developing the urban infrastructure for the people coming in anyway, rather than spending it on building that which will be destroyed in the next landslide, flood, cloudburst, etc.”

The Garhwal Post editorial of June 27 comments on the state’s

post-disaster policy saying, “The shape that Uttarakhand’s development has taken is the cumulative result of historical forces, political and economic aspirations, central and state policies, and the raw energy of the people trying to make a living. All of this needs to be reviewed to establish what the state wants to change and what it will stand by”. It further comments, “The tragedy was certainly ‘man-made’ in that the forces of nature were ignored in the rush for development. However, there is an extent to which the people of Uttarakhand need to be apologetic for the speedy and unplanned growth. After all, what is better? Youth involved in chaotic entrepreneurship; or jobless and Maoist fodder?”

Caritas: www.caritas.org.au

Devotees gather for 12th anniversary at Strathfield’s Shirdu Sai Temple

Sai mere saiya

shree Shirdi Sai Sansthan Sydney marked a significant milestone last month. It celebrated the twelfth anniversary of its Murthy Sthapana (installation of deity) at the Shirdu Sai Temple at Strathfield. Hundreds of Sai followers congregated at the

temple to offer prayers to Sai Baba on this special occasion.

As the deities sparkled in their finery, reflecting joy and hope, the temple itself bore a festive look, decorated with flowers and balloons. The fragrance of incense sticks and the notes of Sai bhajans brought in a spiritual feel.

The devotees gathered for

madhyan aarti, and everyone present took turns to perform aarti Volunteers staged a drama entitled The Blessed Ones portraying sketches from Sai Baba’s life. The play was a platform to educate everyone about the eminent devotees of Sai Baba who are now called ‘The Blessed Ones’. Kids brought to life events from the lives of Sai’s devotees like Mahalsapati, Laxmi Bai, Bapu Sahib Buti, Das Ganu Maharaj, Chandra Bai Borkar, Jayker, Radhakrishna Ayi and others. For the ardent devotees it was a phenomenal experience as ‘The Blessed Ones’ from Sai Baba’s Shirdi darbar came alive in the Sai Mandir.

Also on this occasion Priyanka Bhanushali, budding singer, launched her first album Sai Mere Saiya. With much devotion, she presented it first at the altar of Sai Baba, seeking his blessings as she stepped into her singing career. Helmed by Bollywood

music producer Aadesh Shrivastav, the project sees Priyanka sing alongside Kailash Kher, one of India’s contemporary greats.

Kher’s Sufi tone matches

Priyanka’s soulful voice beautifully, and the album looks set to be a winner.

Kailash Kher is full of compliments for young Priyanka. “She has a bright future; her great voice, with its good tone and texture, will take her far”.

Priyanka has already recorded many songs with leading Bollywood singers like Shaan. Music companies like T-Series are now showing keen interest in her talent.

Priyanka’s particular style of singing touched all devotees as she sang couplets from the album at the Strathfield event. Her humble prayers filled the room in awe as everyone joined in the background singing Sai Mere Saiya.

For the temple management, many good things came together

at this milestone event, as it was time to look into the past and also step into the future at the same time. Not only were they celebrating twelve years of devotion, they were also marking a new beginning by commencing the construction of the new Sai Temple at Regents Park.

Speaking about the new temple, committee member Kishan Tolani said, “Around 3000 devotees visit the Sai temple in Strathfield every week. The new temple will have much bigger space and facilities whereby all devotees can benefit by various services like meditation, benevolent activities and facilities including community centre and hall hire”.

In a unique celebration, a cake was cut to mark the temple’s 12th birthday. The little ones particularly enjoyed this, and their noisemakers, poppers and party hats filled the air with cheery smiles.

komal Utsav Jagad

Kishen Tolani with singer Priyanka Bhanushali

Space for srajan

The sky is no longer the limit for NASA International Space Camp winner

shuttle simulator, having a go at the gravity machine, and the scuba tank which replicates working in micro-gravitational situations. “All of that is going to be just fantastic and I’m really looking forward to it.”

This is just the first step in what Srajan hopes will be the start of a journey towards realising a childhood dream, but he knows it’s a tough road ahead. Although NASA is associated with space exploration more than anything else, there are of course only very few astronauts in the organisation – and Srajan is determined to be part of the latter group.

BY RiTAM MiTRA

space is one of the few things that makes us wonder and dream as both children and adults. The moon and the sun are so intangible; yet so tangible. The mystery of the night sky, the wondrous event of a shooting star, and the desire to experience weightlessness – every one of us is fascinated by these thoughts, and yet such an incredibly small number of people have dared to dream of taking them any further. Srajan Singh is one of those few. Recently, the Year 11 student from Scone Grammar School was one of just two students in Australia selected for a prestigious space camp conducted by NASA at the U.S. Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville, Alabama this month, and he hopes it is just the start of a bigger dream.

The NASA International Space Camp was established in 1990, and invites two students and one educator from 35 countries around the world to represent their country and participate in a comprehensive education program exposing the students to various demonstrations, simulations, activities and projects at the Space Centre in Huntsville. The camp is said to be both academically and physically challenging, with students given a taste of the intense training astronauts go through.

Srajan has grown up in towns such as Parkes and Narrabri, and it’s clear his outback NSW lifestyle has had a big part to play in his interest in space. “Both of [Parkes and Narrabri] have large radio telescopes. And especially when I was in Narrabri, we had friends who worked as astrophysicists for CSIRO. So there were times when they would take us to have a look around the main control for the array and deep in the belly of the telescope itself. As a 7 year old at the time - its definitely a motivator!”

More recently, Srajan has taken a particular interest in his science and maths subjects at school – a must-have for any budding NASA astronaut. He not only achieved a result in the top band of HSC Extension 1 Maths in year 10, but will be taking on the HSC Extension 2 Exam this year – in year 11. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. “I really love music as well and it’s a huge passion of mine. I enjoy reading up on and watching documentaries about space; but more generally science and new discoveries. Recently I’ve gotten into a new series of books and documentaries called the Fabric of the Cosmos – it’s worth looking up!” Given astronauts are required to be incredibly fit, it’s a good thing Srajan loves his sport, too – including tennis, cricket, swimming, archery and hockey. He credits his school for providing the support he needed to manage his busy schedule.

Srajan applied for the exciting camp through the Australian Scholarships Group, which held a competition for its students

aged 16-18 years old. After considering their academic results, achievements, career aspirations, social and community participants, the ASG decided on two students - Srajan and Aimee Parsons from Nowra Christian School, NSW - to travel with the winner of its National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEiTA) 2013 International Space Camp Award, Sophie Fenton of Ballarat Grammar in Victoria. ASG CEO John Velegrinis said of the pair: “Srajan and Aimee both have a passion and great interest in space. They have achieved exceptional academic results and are both involved in a number of extracurricular activities. I know they will be great ambassadors for Australia and ASG at the Space Camp, and we wish them all the best.”

At the camp, Srajan will spend a week going through all kinds of experiences that only a lucky few have been able to enjoy – including the same training undergone by the NASA astronauts who Srajan wants to join some day. Srajan looks forward to flying the space

He hopes that his time at the Space Camp will not only be enjoyable, but lead to important connections and experience in reaching his goal. “My dream really has been to see the Earth from space and to know that I’m actually playing a part in our progress to a new future. The International Space Station is just a way for me to achieve that goal. To reach there, I’ll have to achieve some sort of science degree and then apply to NASA. Having been to the International Space Camp will certainly increase my chances of being accepted. Once in NASA, who knows, maybe my calling will be as a ground scientist; but nothing beats the ISS – it’s a whole different ball game.”

His parents, Anuradha Singh and Dr Sanjay Verma, are naturally very proud and supportive of Srajan’s achievements. Anuradha took the phone call that carried the great news, and Srajan labels it as “One of the happiest moments in my life! My parents would have loved to come, but the centre has strict rules that no one other than the delegates of the 35 invited countries can come in –so unfortunately they can’t.” Srajan’s favourite moment in space exploration history is the launch of the space probe Pioneer 10, which was the first manmade object to reach escape velocity from the solar system, taking it past the asteroid belt, and becoming, as Srajan puts it, “Our beacon to the rest of the universe, to let everyone know we’re here too!”

To any students unsure about what their future holds, Srajan’s advice is simple. “Trying to balance hobbies and studies is hard, but it’s doable. My advice is do what you’ll enjoy and put your heart into it. Then the sky is the limit!”

Srajan Singh and Aimee Parsons

An actor of calibre

Aspiring Indian-origin actor Neil Khare’s talent comes alive on stage

BY DEEKSHA CHOPRA

All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players,’’ these words from William Shakespeare can best describe the passion for theatre that comes across when you meet 35-yearold Neil Khare. Neil has recently received great acclamation for his portrayal of Giles Corey in the classic American tragedy play by Arthur Miller called The Crucible, directed by Dan Graham, produced by the Lane Cove Theatre Company in Sydney.

Neil truly loves being on stage. It’s the rehearsals and auditions that make him nervous, not the actual acting.

“Acting is my passion. It’s an escape from reality wherein I can create this alternate world around me,” he says. “When I’m on stage, I feel a total rush of adrenaline. It’s interesting how actors are required to interpret text, understand feelings behind the text and understand the subtext. Each word needs to be enacted. Just being a part of a creative process gives a new meaning to my life. It is challenging, and at the same time exhilarating and fulfilling,” he adds.

Neil caught the theatre bug early in life. “I remember sitting in my classroom in school and churning up ideas and creating all sorts of scenarios in my mind. On being introduced to Shakespeare, I would tend to submerge myself in the text, and imagine myself to be one of the characters in the story.

I could create explicit visuals in my mind while reading through A Midsummer’s Night Dream, or of becoming Macbeth or Othello,” Neil reminisced.

Born in Kolkata, Neil hails from a middle class Maharshtrian family. But it wasn’t theatre that brought him to Sydney. After finishing his schooling from La Martiniere for Boys in Kolkata, he came to Australia to finish his Bachelors in Hospitality and Management.

“I came to study Hospitality in Sydney in 1996-1997. But actually I was escaping India to follow my dream and my love for the arts. I completed my degree here, but somewhere down the line my passion pushed me to doing theatre as well. I joined the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and did a few short courses to understand theatre better,” he reveals.

After facing several rejections, Neil almost gave up on his dream to be an actor. But with encouragement from his sister Tanya, he was pushed to give an open audition for the role of Giles Corey in The Crucible Director Dan Graham had no qualms about selecting him for the part. “Neil auditioned and immediately impressed me not only with his acting ability, but with his sensitivity and kindness which I thought more important to the character of Giles Corey, than considering ethnicity when casting,” says Graham. “It was mainly a young cast and Giles Corey is an elderly man, but as an actor, Neil adapted his posture and voice accordingly and brought Giles to life on stage. I feel he is a valuable actor in our ensemble,” adds Graham.

Interestingly, the 35-year-old plays a 7-year-old man who is knotted with muscle, is canny, inquisitive and still powerful. It wasn’t an easy portrayal. And he had to prepare intensively for the part.

“Giles, even at 71, is physically a well-built man, so making him seem physically weak wouldn’t do justice to his character. So I would get a bit hunched, greyed my hair, and on stage I’d rub my knees and speak like an old man. I also did intensive voice training and worked on my accent,” he claims. Being the only non-Caucasian in a cast of 18 people was a unique experience for Neil. “In the beginning I put up a barrier, but within the first few weeks that barrier had disappeared. I got an opportunity to work with some extremely talented fellow actors who helped me perform better. We had two months of rehearsals and by the end of the show, the cast became a family,” he states.

Neil’s dream is to finally work in mainstream Australian theatre. “It’s hard, because there is not much diversity in Australian theatre; the issue is colour blind cast or colour blind auditioning. To explain, directors and producers prefer staying true to the original pieces, so if I wanted to play Macbeth, local productions would not be as open to casting a person from an ethnic background. I personally feel that theatre here is fairly close-minded compared to other countries. I have done a number of South Asian plays, but I have a great interest in Shakespearean works. Can you imagine an Indian Antonio with a Caucasian Portia in a Merchant

of Venice rendition at the Opera House?” he asks, tongue in cheek. However, I am very thankful to the Lane Cove Theatre Company for giving me the opportunity to be part of The Crucible which was a challenging and demanding piece,” he adds.

Among his other hidden talents are painting, photography and singing. “I love art, I tend to walk into galleries explore what painters try to depict through their craft. I also hope to be a part of a Broadway musical one day,” he says. During his leisure, Neil loves spending quality time with his family and his pets. His sister Tanya is probably his biggest fan. “I feel

very proud watching Neil perform on stage, and I plan to follow in his footsteps and venture into the world of theatre,” she reveals.

“I want to produce theatre that pulls at every emotion, creating work that is controversial, work that deals with the psyche. Theatre needs to be diverse and reflect our society in Australia, but most importantly it should create work so that folks out there who have dreams, vision and great passion for the craft are able to perform not just for the money or fame, but for the love of theatre,” he says with emphasis

Faces of India

Katy Fitzgerald’s exhibition A Tender Heart is both moving and striking

Sydney based artist Katy Fitzgerald’s exhibition

A Tender Heart was a moving collection of photographs that expressed her love of India, as well as her passion for photography. Fitzgerald recently spent five months in India including volunteering at the Tender Heart School, and the photographs she took during this time form the exhibition, which showed at ArtHere Gallery in Redfern until July 4.

The exhibition aimed to raise the funds needed to bring several children with disabilities from the school to Australia, to participate in the Special Olympic Games to be held in Newcastle in November.

“I spent two months at Tender Heart in the village of Bhatola, working within the women’s program, helping to teach the local slum (I hate that word!) children basic English and Maths, and I spent many hours playing softball with the children with special needs,” Fitzgerald told Indian Link “As a lover of photography, I also spent much time photographing the many aspects of Tender Heart, and the children and staff”. In addition, she took photographs in “Dharamsala, Mumbai – especially the Dharavi slum, as well as in and around Rajasthan”.

Renu Bali is the founder of Tender Heart School, which is linked to Opportunity Education. The school is situated in the village of Bhatola, on the outskirts of Delhi and was created due to Bali’s vision to bring opportunities and education to those less fortunate. The school runs classes for local children including those with disabilities, and courses for local women to learn handicrafts in order to earn a living.

Sandy Edwards, Director of ArtHere, was the curator of this exhibition of 32 images. “I had always known my exhibition would be somewhat of a fundraiser for India; however this gave me a very specific aim on which to focus –hence my exhibition was called A Tender Heart,” says Fitzgerald after she had discovered the need to raise funds for airfares. She also pointed out that donations can still be made.

“As a photographer, I am strongly drawn to photographing people,” Fitzgerald states. “I like to engage with the people I photograph, even a short conversation like ‘hello’ or ‘namaste’, or just a look to gain their permission to photograph them. I found most people I spoke to and approached were happy to pose for the camera, especially children who jostled with each other to get in front, and would then go into peals of laughter when I showed them the image,” she adds with a smile.

Fitzgerald also speaks of her love of India, describing how it has “crept under my skin and into my heart, and refuses to budge!

I’m addicted – happily!” Of her desire to go back to India on this most recent trip she says, “I really wanted to ‘be’ in India - not just travel through, but to work and live with Indians”.

Fitzgerald has a varied background, having worked in social research, counselling, psychotherapy and art galleries. What links all of these together is what Fitzgerald describes as her “high level of working with people,” which is what she values the most. “I am fascinated by people and how they live their lives, especially from other countries. My command of the Hindi language is very poor so I couldn’t speak very much with many of the people I photographed, however I believe that we can communicate with a look, expression and a smile. I like to communicate and connect with the people I photograph,” she reveals. Her photographic inspiration comes from the documentary photographers Dorothea Lange, Sebastio Salgado and the Magnum photographers.

Fitzgerald hopes that visitors walked out of A Tender Heart

feeling uplifted! “I hope they saw the beauty, strength and dignity of the Indian people”. And because this is fundraiser she adds, “I would also like them to have felt a little more connected with India, and perhaps felt inspired to support Tender Heart, maybe even travel to India to discover their own love of the country”. On her desire to keep visiting the country, Fitzgerald explains, “I find Indian people creative, ingenious, entrepreneurial, with a great ability to really live and celebrate life, regardless of what life has handed out to them”. She adds, “I also recognise the many ills in India and don’t wish to gloss over them... India is a land so full of contradictions, incredibly rich people and incredibly poor people, and I would dearly love to redistribute the money a little more evenly. That may be a challenge, however I can do something here, by raising money for a good cause”.

It’s an exhibition full of the many faces of India, which is unlikely to have left viewers unmoved. And even if you missed out on seeing the exhibition before it closed, you can still contribute to its worthy cause.

photography, I also spent much time photographing the many aspects of Tender Heart and the children and staff”

A Tender Heart: 22 June– 4 July ArtHere Gallery: www.arthere.com.au

Tender Heart: www.tenderheartngo.org

PEACOCK

Katy Fitzgerald

“India crept under my skin and into my heart and refuses to budge! I’m addicted –happily!”

Katy Fitzgerald

Images: Copyright Katy Fitzgerald

Fast Food business (Pizzas,Burgers, SandwichesSubmarines,etc.)

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Thank you. – Pujan Sheth (485 to 457 Visa)

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State Sponsorship forIT professionals on a 457

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• Ramneek handled my sponsored migration visa with precision of a surgeon. I reckon, my application’s short processing times was owing to Ramneek’s immaculate understanding of the process, sharp eye for details in reviewing documents & presentation of the case. The first check list for submission that was customized for my professional background & situation) that Ramneek provided served as the ultimate guide in assembling the application. All my queries were answered in less than 24 hours. Such professionalism & efficiency made my visa process a breeze… highly recommended for anyone serious about his/her immigration plans.

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For appointments, please call 02 9745 3106 or 0412 764 660 or email: enquiries@tglt.com.au

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India declines Snowden’s asylum request

India recently said it has declined the asylum request of fugitive former CIA agent Edward Snowden who blew the whistle on US data mining.

“I can confirm that on July 2, our embassy in Moscow did receive a communication dated June 30 from Mr Edward Snowden. That communication did contain a request for asylum,” said India’s external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin in New Delhi.

“We have carefully examined the request. Following that examination we have concluded that we see no reason to accede to the request,” he said.

Snowden, who is holed up in Moscow airport has sought asylum from 21 countries, including India. His US passport has been revoked.

The 30-year-old blew the whistle on massive data mining by America’s National Security Agency (NSA), using its top-secret Prism programme.

India said earlier that it would be “unacceptable” if it is revealed that the cyber snooping has infringed on the privacy laws of Indian citizens.

Snowden has reportedly sent asylum requests to 20 countries, including Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela.

Snowden has been trapped in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport since June 23 after flying in from Hong Kong, from where he leaked top secret documents detailing NSA surveillance programmes.

WikiLeaks recently posted a statement attributed to Snowden on its website, in which he slams President Barack Obama for “using citizenship as a weapon”.

“Although I am convicted of nothing, (the US) has unilaterally revoked my passport, leaving me a stateless person,” Snowden says in the statement. “Without any judicial order, the administration now seeks to stop me exercising a basic right. A right that belongs to everybody. The right to seek asylum”.

“Their purpose is to frighten, not me, but those who would come after me,” says the statement.

SpiceJet to be first to import aviation fuel: Ajit Singh

A year after allowing domestic airlines to directly import aviation fuel to save on costs, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has said that he expected budget carrier SpiceJet to be the first to opt for this.

“We have allowed them (airlines) to directly import fuel by entering into tie-ups with other companies. I expect SpiceJet to be the first to directly import the fuel. When they will start is up to them,” Ajit Singh said in an interview in New Delhi.

SpiceJet was also the first private carrier to get approval to directly import fuel.

The approval was granted by the Director General of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, clearing the airline’s application to source aviation turbine fuel directly from overseas suppliers, a top company official said.

Last year, the company’s chief executive officer Neil Mills had said that the carrier was negotiating with leading oil marketing companies to start directly importing fuel.

A ministerial group headed by then

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had Feb 22, 2012, allowed domestic airlines to directly import fuel, which till that time came under the restricted import list and could only be imported by certain public sector units.

The move was said to enable airlines to cut operating costs by about 10-15 percent.

Even the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had said it will form a joint ventures with airlines, state-run units and Reliance Industries to provide cheaper fuel.

Currently, ATF sold in the country is nearly 50-60 percent costlier than in overseas markets like Bangkok, Singapore or Dubai as an additional 4-34 percent state sales tax hikes the prices.

Ajit Singh also said his ministry was working on a mechanism to bring the sales tax to a uniform four percent, a move the industry says will considerably bring down prices.

Fuel comprises about 50 percent of the total operating costs of airlines in India.

High fuel prices have dented the Indian civil aviation sector as major airlines bleed under the high sales tax regime. Fares are also increased time-to-time on the pretext of the soaring fuel prices.

A momentous week of US decisions impacting Indians

From the passage of a comprehensive Senate immigration bill to a series of US Supreme Court rulings on minority voting rights to gay marriages, the last week of June in Washington was one of momentous decisions with wide implications for Indians.

The Senate immigration bill passed with a 68-32 vote with 14 Republicans joining all the 54 Democrats, for one, is a mixed bag for India with IT service companies like TCS, Wipro and Infosys and US companies doing business with them complaining about higher fees for H1B and L1 visas for highly skilled workers.

Indian techies, on the other hand, are happy over the prospect of wider opportunities with the cap on H1B visas being raised from 85,000 to 195,000.

Students in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and maths), too

have been put on the fast track for green cards, though critics complain it would spur a brain drain from India.

But South Asian organisations led by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) have branded it a “deeply flawed” bill as it limits family-based immigration options for siblings and adult married children and “creates needless barriers in the pathway to citizenship” for 11 million undocumented immigrants, including some 260,000 Indians.

With the Republican controlled House of Representatives working on its own versions of immigration reform, the US corporate lobby, Indian techies as also South Asian organisations are hoping to influence the final shape of the bill before it lands on President Barack Obama’s desk, if ever, after its passage by a deeply divided Congress.

South Asian organisations are also elated over the US Supreme Court decision to declare unconstitutional a key section of the Clinton era Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA), which only recognised marriage between man and woman for hundreds federal benefits.

Desi gays are happy that same-sex couples will be able to petition for the immigration of their partners, despite the fact that those provisions were not included in the Senate bill.

SAALT has also welcomed another Supreme Court decision on Texas University, Austin’s use of race in its admissions policy for promoting diversity within education.

Despite common misperceptions to the contrary, South Asians support and benefit from holistic race-conscious admission policies, SAALT said as “South Asian students, along with all other students, enjoy a richer learning environment when they are immersed in a diverse educational setting.”

However, SAALT has condemned the Supreme Court decision to invalidate a key section of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965 which required several Southern states with a history of racial discrimination to get any changes in voting laws cleared by the US Department of Justice or a federal court.

While the court recognised that racial discrimination continues to plague the ability of many to vote, it asked the Congress to update the criteria for a state to be covered by the special provision in the light of recent increased minority voter turnout.

Noting that South Asian and other voters of colour continue to encounter barriers at the polls because of race, religion, and language ability and restrictive voter identification proposals, SAALT said the community will not be immune from the court’s “disappointing” ruling.

South Asian communities have also welcomed the passage of two bills by New York City Council on community safety, which curb discriminatory policing practices and expand the basis for prohibited profiling and discrimination.

In addition to the current prohibition on profiling on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, and national origin, the ban would now include age, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, immigration status, disability or housing status.

Telecom Commission approves 100 percent FDI in sector

The Telecom Commission recently approved 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector.

A Department of Telecom (DoT) official said in New Delhi that the department will send a detailed note to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), which will subsequently forward it to the cabinet for approval.

Raising the FDI limit from the current 74 percent will help in flushing fresh funds into the sector. Of the 74 percent FDI allowed at present in the sector, 49 percent is done through automatic route and the rest after approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

The Commission also discussed creation of Telecom Finance Corporation (TFC) to address the sector’s funding challenges, and asked for a detailed project report on this.

IAnS

Australian minister for Defence Stephen Smith (left) and Indian Minister for Defence, Mr A K Antony (right) speaks during a press conference at the Department of Defence in Canberra, in June

An outback

How to find serenity and tranquillity in the middle of Australia with a group of friends

BY SHAFEEn MUSTAQ

You know those moments in your life when you step outside of the moment, look at yourself and think, this is perfect. This, I can now tick off my bucket list. Well, I had a moment like that recently when I went on a trip to Uluru. The aura of spirituality and peace out there in the middle of the Australian desert is an amazing feeling which everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.

We city folk are a closed off lot. We get into our black office attire, hop on a train and shuffle off to work in an endless cycle of striving to achieve financial security. But sometimes it helps to take a break from the rat race and appreciate the enormity of the country we live in. While it is tempting to hop on a plane and fly off to Bali to enjoy the sand and surf, experiencing the real Australia is a much more rewarding experience. Besides my trip to Hajj, this has got to be the most fun I have ever had on a trip.

We flew out to Alice Springs from Sydney on at the unholy hour of 6:40am. After a three hour journey we landed at Alice Springs airport which is so cute and quaint, and if you blink you will miss it. We hired a car and drove into Alice Springs (all of which is still smaller than Sydney’s CBD) and stocked up on supplies for the next five days. This saved us from trying to find halal, or substantial food on location (considering petrol was $2.12/L, you can imagine how expensive food was).

From Alice we drove the 446km that is the Stuart highway and reached Yulara (where Uluru is), making cabin number 7 our home for the next few days. Over these days we experienced Uluru up close and personal.

The actual climb was closed due to forecasted rain (and then actual fog and rain) but the base

walk was equally awe inspiring, and 9.8km doesn’t feel so long when you frequently stop for pictures and rest. If you can’t do the whole walk, you can always drive along the looped road around the rock and take the shorter walking trails which lead to some amazing watering holes and art on the rock itself. Walking around the base means you also do not injure any sensibilities, as there is a sign which states the Aboriginals request that the rock not be climbed as it is of spiritual significance to them.

Once we completed our time at Uluru we drove 25km to Kata Tjuta (previously known as the Olgas). Kata Tjuta is a group of rock formations that can be clearly seen from Uluru, and when paired with Uluru, they form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. The park entry fee is $25pp for a ticket that is valid for three days. At Kata Tjuta, there is a walk called the “Valley of the Winds,” which is a challenging trail around the rock formations and takes approximately 3 hours. If you are able bodied then this is a great experience.

The one downside to all great experiences in the Northern Territory are the horrible flies. If you are planning to go, make sure you invest in a fly hat ($6-7 from the local IGA at Yulara), which will save you much needed energy used to swat away the hordes of determined, and unrelenting flies which follow you from the moment you step out of the car.

Both Uluru and Kata Tjuta have sunrise and sunset viewing areas which are located a minimum of 10km from the actual rocks, so make sure you finish your walk with enough time to get to the viewing areas for sunset (or sunrise as the case may be).

Our final challenge was Kings Canyon. Kings Canyon is part of the Watarrka National Park in Northern Territory, Australia.

Sitting at the western end of the George Gill Range, it is 323 km southwest of Alice Springs and 1,316 km south of Darwin.

We headed out early in the morning on a clear skied day

adventure

adventure

Unfortunately it reminded me of stacked pancakes, but that might have just been because of how

A steep slow descent of rock stairs closes the loop and bring you back to the starting point. I’m glad it rained as I don’t think I could have done the walk in high temperatures. There is little to no shade and on a hot day the sun would be merciless on top of a canyon with nowhere to hide. I should also mention that part of the gorge is a sacred Aboriginal site and visitors are discouraged from walking off the walking

and after three hours of driving, arrived at King’s Canyon, which was drenched in rain and fog. Having invested a good part of our day to get here, we were determined to do the walk and set out anyway with our fly hats and rain coats. What we saw was no small sight. The walls of Kings Canyon are over 100 metres high and formidable to look at. We found a very helpful map of the walking trails at the base of the canyon which showed us that several walks exist at Kings Canyon. The 2 km (return) and approximately 1 hour Kings Creek Walk traces the bottom of the gorge. At the end of the walk is a platform, with views of the canyon walls above. We decided to do the 6 km (loop) Kings Canyon Rim Walk which took

us 3-4 hours and traces the top of the canyon. The first part is definitely the hardest and is very deceiving considering the rest of the walk was a piece of cake in comparison.

The walk begins with a steep climb which locals call “Heart Attack Hill” and it takes you 100m up to the top, with spectacular views of the gorge below and of the surrounding landscape (you can JUST make out the carpark).

About half way around the loop, a detour descends to Garden of Eden, which is a small piece of heaven on earth. It’s all beautiful waterfalls and lush plants (if you ignore the steep stairs).

The last half of the walk makes you feel like you are in a maze of jungle and rock, with weathered sandstone domes all around.

The remainder of our trip including a camel ride and a night’s stay in Alice Springs. Going with three close friends meant that our road trip was a lot of fun. Travelling with people always brings you closer, or at least gives you a better understanding of what kind of person they are. This trip was immensely beneficial for all of us as we all needed a break from our lives both professionally and personally. We all agreed that the sense of spirituality and peace at Uluru was no trick of the mind and it was an aura that seeped into the skin and set the heart at ease. The trip eased the aches and tensions of life. Out in the middle of nowhere we all found a serenity and tranquillity that we were hard pressed for in our city life. The Australian dessert is immense in its beauty as it is in its size. At every turn we saw something beautiful, magnificent or fantastic. These memories will last me a life time and what I have learnt from these experiences will educate my future writings and opinions

We all agreed that the sense of spirituality and peace at Uluru was no trick of the mind and it was an aura that seeped into the skin and set the heart at ease

opinion Saraswati symbolism

Indonesia’s gift of a statue of Saraswati to the USA is a profound expression of its heritage and legendary beliefs

Indonesia’s motto, and he set about to create unifying bonds.

BY nOEl g DE SOUZA

Indonesia has gifted a beautifully crafted white statue of Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning and the Arts to the USA, as a gesture of friendship.

Most Western reports have expressed surprise that this Muslim majority country (with the largest Muslim population) has gifted the statue of a Hindu goddess, when Hindus make up only about three per cent of that country’s population.

But such reports have got it wrong. Indonesia cherishes its Hindu past which incidentally, is termed within the country as its ‘Golden Age’ (Zaman Emas). Two famous Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana were declared as the official legends of Indonesia a long time ago. These are taught in Indonesian schools and thus all Indonesians are conversant with these legends.

He did this by making the Mahabharata and Ramayana official legends and by invoking the Buddhist concept of the Pancha Sila or five principles. The statement of the Indonesian spokesperson concerning the non-religious nature of the Saraswati statue is correct, because She emanates from Indonesian legends which transcend all religions and sects in that country.

When Suharto assumed the Presidency, he went a step further than Sukarno, by Sanskritising Indonesia’s educational terminology

The island of Java where a majority of Indonesians live, practice a syncretic form of religion. The legends of the Hindu epics are celebrated in unique puppet shows, drama and dance. This writer saw this fascinating blend between Jakarta and Jogjakarta. On the way to Bandung, there exist places at which puppets are meticulously manufactured.

When Suharto assumed the Presidency, he went a step further than Sukarno, by Sanskritising Indonesia’s educational terminology.

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The choice of Saraswati as a gift does not represent a minority, but a vast majority of the Indonesian people. As the Indonesian spokesperson said, Devi Saraswati was chosen because “Her representation at the Indonesian Embassy was not decided only out of any religious grounds, but more on its symbolised values that parallel with several key principles of Indonesia-US relations under comprehensive partnership, in particular education and people-topeople contact”.

It was Indonesia’s founding President Sukarno who provided official recognition for this already existing situation. He had a Javanese father and a Balinese Hindu mother, and he made Garuda, the vehicle of the Hindu God Vishnu, as the country’s symbol. Garuda also was chosen as the name of Indonesia’s airline.

Garuda, depicted differently, is also the symbol of Thailand.

Freedom Square in Jakarta was erected to showcase Indonesia’s various historical epochs.

Amongst the large statues built, the first one is a chariot showing Krishna preaching the Bhagwad Gita to Arjuna. Indonesian television has shown the entire Mahabharata series produced for Indian audiences dubbed in Indonesian, several times. The Ramayana is very important in the country. In honour of Laxman who led the fleet against the demon-king Ravana, Indonesia calls its admirals ‘Laxmanas’.

Most Indians with whom I have spoken do not realise the Indian-ness and the Hindu-ness of Indonesia. When BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani visited Indonesia recently, he expressed his astonishment at the Indian things he had encountered, including banks with the names of Hindu deities and Ganesha on an Indonesian banknote.

Bali is a concentrated culture house of Indonesia. It has some of the finest craftsmen who create incredible representations of Hindu art. This writer was thunderstruck with their creations. It was fortuitous that the Indonesian Ambassador Dr Dino Patti Djalal came up with the idea of the presentation to the US, along with the regent of Badung.

The choice of Saraswati as a gift does not represent a minority, but a vast majority of the Indonesian people

The statue of Saraswati has four hands which is a common feature of Hindu deities. One hand holds prayer beads (aksamala) symbolising learning; two hands play a string instrument (veena) symbolising the arts; and the fourth holds a manuscript symbolising learning. Saraswati is shown on Her vehicle, a white swan (hansa). This is a faithful depiction of Saraswati as idealised in the painting by Raja Ravi Varma, India’s most famous painter of mythological themes. The adherence to Her symbols has been meticulous.

When Indonesia became an independent nation, thanks to the intervention of Australia and India at the United Nations, it was a large archipelago with diverse cultures, several religions and sects. The founding President Sukarno invented the slogan ‘Unity in Diversity’ which is now

In Bali, there is temple dedicated to Saraswati and an educational institute called Maha Saraswati University. In Thailand, Saraswati is known as Surasawadee.

Indonesia’s choice of Saraswati as a gift to the USA is a tribute to India, from where the concept of Saraswati originated.

He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

Two brothers aim to achieve their dreams, through personal sacrifice and unshakeable determination

as over 400 concerts in India, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

BY CHITRA SUDARSHAn

Wings of Silence (Silverfish, Bangalore, 2012) is a debut novel by Shriram Iyer, a Melbournebased management professional. Bangalore born Shriram Iyer is somewhat of a high-achiever; besides his busy career. He has authored several short stories, theatre scripts and screenplays for short films. Silver medallist under the Shankar’s International Award given by the President of India, Shriram is also a professional singer who has to his credit an Indian pop album, Is Dhundh Mein, (released in 2007 by singer Shankar Mahadevan), as well

Wings of Silence is about two brothers in an Indian-American family and their epic journey en route to winning an Olympic medal for Raj Sethi, who is the elder of the two, but born deaf.

Saurav Sethi, the younger brother, is a tennis prodigy and a Grand Slam champion in the making, but he watches his elder brother Raj fight a losing battle in life and plunge into the depths of depression. All this time, their father Akshay Sethi pours scorn on his elder son’s attempts to make something of his life, and heaps attention only on Saurav. Unable to countenance this injustice, Saurav gives up tennis and his own chances and ambitions to resurrect his brother Raj’s life. Unable to make their father understand, they run away from home together and embark on a rollercoaster ride

that will push their courage and determination to the limit. As the story unfolds, the brothers bond emotionally, and there are a few twists and turns. Fortuitously, they receive considerable help from Sourav’s ‘soulmate’ Shalini, and their rather rich aunt who had been banished from their family circles some years earlier, for an indiscretion.

As Saurav prepares to give Raj a life he deserves, the reader is drawn into the world of the two brothers, and becomes engrossed in their travails and their setbacks, the strength they draw from the enormous trust placed in them by people within their close circle place, and ultimately, their joy and triumphs. The protagonists’ heartaches and their elation at realising the impossible dream of running the marathon in the 1980 Olympics engage the reader, and compels a feeling of anticipation. Will this completely tear the family apart, or bring them together

again? The saga is set against the cold war tensions of the time, and Iyer brings the political landscape of that period into clear relief. The training regimen of a marathon runner is meticulously woven into the narrative – Iyer seems to have had help from the Australian marathon legend Robert D Costella – and this brings a great deal of authenticity

The saga is set against the cold war tensions of the time, and Iyer brings the political landscape of that period into clear relief

Coding for kids

Children can test their creative skills through websites that help them to develop simple games and interactive stories

Programming helps kids express their creativity, learn logic, build objects that are not just ‘be’ but also ‘do’ in nature, test and improvise

BY HAS n AI n ZAHEER

As parents and teachers, we have not adequately realised the need for programming skills as part of children’s education. In fact, some say that it is as important as their literacy and numeracy skills.

Programming helps kids express their creativity, learn logic, build objects that are not just ‘be’ but also ‘do’ in nature, test and improvise. By learning to programme, children learn to solve problems, get over obstacles and collaborate with others. These are essential life skills needed to excel in any profession. As MIT Professor Mitchell Resnick wrote, when kids ‘learn to code,’ they also ‘code to learn’.

Many of us are intimidated by programming, viewing it as endless lines of computer code. However, I look at programming as creative expression that blends logic, technique and art. The details of syntax and programming languages are just incidental, not the core of

programming. It should be taught at an early stage when children’s minds are not consumed by specific streams of knowledge.

These are the skills of the 21st century. In a few years, everyone will be programming, not just programmers. Let’s make sure our kids learn these essential skills while they are still in primary school.

So how do we teach programming to kids (and adults)?

One of your first destinations is Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu/).

Designed for kids aged 8 to 16, it helps kids develop animations, interactive stories and games by dragging-and-dropping blocks. They can select or draw their own characters called Sprites, code in behaviour by selecting blocks of script that can help them move, make sound and doing activities. Their creations are saved, can be described and shared with others.

Scratch is my eight year old’s favourite tool and on a recent Sunday morning, he built a game in which ‘evil alien astronauts’ who try to enter the solar system (complete with a Saturn with its rings in the background) are fired upon by the player who scores points for direct hits, loses points for missed hits and the game is timed to be completed in a minute. He was thrilled to receive

a dozen views a few minutes after he shared the game with the Scratch community. Similar to Scratch is Hopscotch, except that it is an iPad app. The app provides just the right number of controls for kids starting out, which means they can find out and learn how each method works without the involvement of adults.

If you are really interested in only games, are older or an adult, and want to design once but play everywhere, cross-platform in other words, then Stencyl (http://www.stencyl.com) is your choice. Bring your ideas to life with this extensive development platform and then publish your games on Windows, Mac, iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android (Samsung, HTC and other smartphones) and other platforms, so almost anyone can access and play your games. It is a paid software app, but if you become an expert, you also have the opportunity to monetise your creations by selling your work.

For the really young, even pre-kindergarten, there are a few interesting iPad applications. iPad is great for this purpose as its touch interface is intuitive to kids. Daisy the Dinosaur lets the players manipulate the character and solve challenges that involve loops, events and other basic

programming. Move the Turtle is a similar app for very young kids. Making animated greeting cards and basic games can be a great introduction to programming. But here is a review of resources that teach kids how to programme:

• Free courses on how to programme and specifically on Scratch and App Inventor (another game creation software) are available at PluralSight (http://pluralsight.com/training/ Kids)

• For older kids, say 14 years and older, Codecademy (http:// www.codecademy.com) is a great resource to learn programming interactively.

• Khan Academy (http://www. khanacademy.org), the celebrated provider of free Maths education on the web has a module on computer programming that Salman Khan teaches as intuitively as he teaches Maths.

So, it’s time for children to not just play games, but also learn how to design and build them. It’s a skill that they would find to be as essential as reading, writing and counting as they grow up and build their careers in the information age, in which software is ‘eating the world’. I will talk about why this learning is so important to adults in the next part of this series.

So, it’s time for children to not just play games, but also learn how to design and build them

BY P ETRA O’nEI ll

History made in Nagasaki

Set against a hillside overlooking a splendid natural harbour, Nagasaki, a city of under 500,000, lies on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. There can be no better way of arriving here than by cruise ship as I did, on a gloriously sunny day with boats and ferries chugging by. A delightfully pretty and compact city ideal for exploring on foot, Nagasaki was especially impressive in March since the famed cherry blossoms were in full bloom. This was my first visit to Japan and my initial impressions were that the locals were calm, exceedingly polite and fastidiously neat and clean. As I crossed the street using the pedestrian walkway, a woman followed with a broom, sweeping the pavement behind me. In washrooms, hand-basins talked, providing instructions in Japanese, and there were hand sanitiser dispensers throughout department stores. Money for purchases was pushed backwards and forwards with great ceremony on a tray, with even the smallest purchase, in this case a postcard, neatly wrapped. Stand contemplating your map and someone will come to your aid. There was an odd juxtaposition of old and new, of young girls with iPods wearing kimonos, of clacketty old streetcars and bullet trains. And there is no other Japanese city where beauty and tragedy are so intertwined. Missing its military target by several kilometres due to fog, the northern part of the city was obliterated by the atomic bomb of August 9, 1945, three days after American forces destroyed Hiroshima in World War II. The bomb obliterated the Urakami neighbourhood, a slum inhabited by Christians and burakumin, described as the ‘untouchables’ of Japan, killing 74,000 people and injuring 75,000 more. There are poignant reminders in the city, including Peace Park and the confronting

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. Nagasaki was Japan’s most cosmopolitan city from the 16th through to the 19th centuries, though foreigners were kept isolated. In 1549, Francis Xavier and two fellow Jesuits who had sailed from India waded ashore from their ship, the first missionaries in Japan. Receiving a friendly welcome from a powerful lord, they were allowed to preach and convert. Jesuits and later Franciscans introduced Christianity with over 300,000 converts by 1597. But the tide turned on the missionaries. Alarmed at the growing surge in numbers, the government banned Christianity, burnt down 130 churches and crucified six European missionaries and 20 Japanese followers, the youngest a 12-yearold alter server boy. The deaths were a result of the danger of professing the Christian faith in a Buddhist country that had become torn by internal war and a fear of foreign conquest. All 26 were declared saints by the Catholic Church in 1862, and a small chapel and monument were built in 1962, in their memory.

An artificial island was built in 1634 named Dejima, to house Portuguese traders. After 1639, the Portuguese were ordered to leave, replaced at Dejima by traders from the Dutch East India Company. While Japan remained sealed off from the outside world, Nagasaki was the only city that allowed foreign traders, including a few Chinese who built temples on the hillsides, a Confucian shrine in 1893 and a small vibrant Chinatown.

With the cruise ship terminal located right in the city centre, I followed the narrow river that meanders through the city to

After its turbulent past, Nagasaki has rebuilt itself into a charming city of tradition and modernity

Nagasaki

Spectacles Bridge, Japan’s oldest arch-shaped stone bridge. I then turned off to view the temples, walking along hilly cobbled streets of rows of houses and apartments stacked neatly on top of each other like playing blocks.

Built by Chinese traders, the temples are scattered on the hillside. The oldest temple is Kofukuji, built in 1620, which presides over the city below. Its peaked roofs and scattered halls surround a series of pleasant lawns and gardens, while forests begin just behind the temple. Built as a place where they could pray for a safe voyage, and considering Japan’s persecution of Christians at the time, the Chinese traders also thought it prudent to prove they were Buddhists.

Sofukiji Temple was another temple founded by Chinese traders in 1629, and is Nagasaki’s most famous temple. Its Buddha Hall is painted brilliant red and decorated with Chinese lanterns. The temple’s giant cauldron was built by a priest during a terrible famine in 1680, to make enough porridge to feed 3,000 people a day.

After visiting the post office, downtown department stores and train station to view the bullet trains, I headed for HamanoMachi and Kanko-Dori, funky shopping arcades featuring boutiques, cafes and restaurants. South of the city, Hollander Slope is Nagasaki’s prettiest street, cobbled and lined with timber houses built by Europeans, so-

called because at the time, all Europeans were referred to as Hollanders.

A short walk away is the Oura Catholic Church, the oldest remaining church in Japan built in 1864 by French missionaries. Nearby is Glover Garden, a beautiful garden to meander through, redolent of history and containing the homes of prominent European traders. The centrepiece is the home of Thomas Glover, built in 1863, the oldest western style building in Japan. Glover was a Scottish merchant who came to Japan in 1859 at the age of 21, and contributed greatly to the modernisation of Japan through shipbuilding, and coal mining. Interestingly, he is also referred to as the father of Japanese beer!

Far from the impression I’d formed that I would suffer sensory overload in Japan, Nagasaki is relaxed, accessible and welcoming. In just one day I’d encountered many Japanese who inquired or tried to help with their snippets of English, and I enjoyed discovering obscure winding streets and neighbourhoods. As I sat on the hill in Glover Garden, I unwrapped the delicate slice of Castella cake, introduced by Portuguese traders and progressively modified to Japanese tastes that has eventually resulted from the meeting of east and west in Nagasaki. Enjoying my cake and looking out towards the sea, I wished that I could have stayed much longer.

Travel noTebook

n Ag ASAKI

GETTING THERE

Fly to Nagasaki with Japan Airlines and Korean Air. Qantas, Cathay, China Airlines and Jetstar will also get you to major transport hubs in Japan, from where a bullet train will deliver you to Nagasaki at top speed. Alternatively, many cruise ships offer relaxing itineraries that include China, South Korea and Japan, a great way to visit if you have not been here before. I travelled with Azamara Club Cruises on a 14-night voyage. T: 1800 754 500 W: www.azamaraclubcruises.com

GETTING ARO u ND

Nagasaki is one of Japan’s most navigable cities with directional signs to sites in English and streetcars that are fun and affordable.

WHERE TO STAY

There are many hotel choices, with many affordable options including YHA’s, business hotels and traditional Japanese inns. The Japan National Tourism Organisation has a helpful website and will mail brochures on request. T: 02 9279 2177 W: www.jnto.org.au

M u ST TRIES

The most famous and delicious is Castella, based on a Portuguese cake. It can be eaten in coffee shops all over town, but the most famous bakery is Fukusaya, 3-1 Funadaiku Machi in business since 1624.

INSIDER TIP

Changing money at banks can be slow and the rate of exchange quite low. Use ATM’s or 7 Eleven stores instead. English is not widely spoken.

From below left (clockwise) Hamano Machi Kimono girl Sofukuji Temple River walk

Kofukuji Temple (main image) Saints memorial Restaurants, Hamano Machi Hamano Machi

The lucky streak

What happens when the lure of easy money becomes an insatiable and unstoppable desire for wealth

BY RAnI JHAlA

She stood beside the window and gazed out at the landscaped garden and colourful blooms. Serene and beautiful, it was the ideal location in which to sit and contemplate her life, meandering through the pathways that she had chosen, and to that all-crucial moment. Sanita was an addict and like all addicts she had remained in denial for over a decade. During that time she saw her marriage fall apart, her children lose faith and her friends disperse from her life. Of course, she regretted her every act and her every lie. She would always regret those, but despite the many losses she had brought about in her life, she had been unable to take control.

Then one day, feeling lost and desperate, she had stood at the edge of her fifth storey balcony and looked at the concreted ground below. It welcomed her, and it offered her a conclusion. Then just as she prepared herself for the jump, two questions arose within her: What were the odds that she might survive? And if she did, what were the odds that she would recover completely? Busy working out the odds, that decisive moment to jump passed, and Sanita realised that she really did not want to leave this earth, at least, not as a failure.

And for the first time in her entire life, she also admitted that she truly had a problem because even at the moment when she was ending her life, she was betting on the odds.

Carefully she had climbed back onto the balcony and, sitting down in an outdoor chair, she spent the next three hours contemplating on all that had happened. Like the pages of a book, she flipped through each and every moment of her life.

Her birth had been welcomed, her childhood had been happy, and her youth was joyous. Everything about that phase of her life was normal and beautiful.

At 21, Sanita married the man of her dreams. He was everything that she had wanted in a partner – handsome, funny and generous.

Everyone loved him, even the kids in her family. They had a wonderful six months which she treasured even today. If one thing lacked in their lives, it was the freedom to spend what they wanted and the liberty to stay where they liked. Financially they were comfortable, but not rich. With both of them working fulltime they had managed to buy a lovely home, small but quaint and close to her family.

Sanita had always seen her mother dependant on her father for everything. He made all the decisions, and whenever there was budgeting to be done, it was always her mother who made the sacrifices. While Sanita and her husband combined their income, she maintained the liberty of having her own account and she retained the freedom to shop as she wanted. One by one, she had decorated each room in their new home and there had been just two more rooms to go. One of them was a nursery.

In the seventh month of their marriage, Sanita found out that she was pregnant. The initial joy was soon overridden by their financial worry. She would have to give up work and the moment she did that, they would have to sell their home. She was not prepared to make that sacrifice.

She kept the pregnancy a secret from her husband for a week, while she debated on her action. At the end of that week she had come to a decision. The baby must go. Nothing was ready for it. She and her husband had planned a world trip which would have to

have been put on hold. She had also just bought her first car. It would have to be resold. They would not be able to educate the child in a private school, nor offer it all the luxuries they had planned for it.

On the morning of the seventh day, she gave her husband the news. He was ecstatic, but that euphoria lasted just a few moments before his countenance turned to one of worry. His look gave her the courage to give him her second piece of news. This she relayed as a decision. They would not be keeping this baby as they were both young, and could have another baby in a few years as planned. While her husband did not verbally agree, he did not disagree either. And the relief on his face convinced Sanita that she had taken the right decision.

A week later, their life had returned to normal. There was no baby and there was no conversation about it. They worked each week and saved each month. A year later they had cleared the car loan. The second year they had saved enough to go on their trip. By the third year, they had sold their home and bought a larger one. This increased mortgage meant that they had to postpose having a child for another couple of years.

As she turned 31, they were in a position to think about starting a family, but it still meant that Sanita would have to return to work, leaving their baby in childcare. It was this plan that unnerved her. It was also at this time that she befriended a woman at her new

job. Nita was a genius at making money. She called it a lucky streak, and promised that she could solve Sanita’s problems too.

And she was right. On their first outing together, Sanita had made $50,000. Money that would make her year-long maternity leave, worry-free. On their seconding outing just three weeks later, she made another $25,000. The outings became a regular ‘all girls’ event. A year later she fell pregnant again. Two years later she had her second child. Through it all she successfully maintained her two lives.

Her husband never once questioned the ‘bonuses’ that she was frequently receiving, but still she set up another secret bank account and began depositing the funds in there. Not once did her husband delve in the details, and not once did he pick up that she had become a gambler.

The lucky streak lasted nearly ten years, during which she moved from the racing circuit to casinos, and was now well and truly hooked onto internet gambling. They were getting so far ahead in their payments that her husband even spoke of early retirement.

Then just as if the skies had moved and the stars had shifted, that lucky streak ended. In the hope of a recovery she began to draw money from her secret stash. When that was exhausted, she began drawing on their joint account. That too was emptied. Still hopeful, Sanita began using the mortgage payments. It was hard work juggling money around, but she managed for another nine months. She increased the home loan by forging her husband’s signature. She would have been able to get away with it again, had the kids not overheard a call to the bank and repeated it to ‘Daddy’ that evening. By the time Sanita’s husband returned from work the next day, he had found out everything. Every desperate act and every fraudulent deed!

When he did not express either anger or horror, and instead blamed himself for not being actively involved in the financial aspects of their life, Sanita knew the meaning of shame. When the bank foreclosed on their loan, she experienced the meaning of pain. And when her children told her that they hated her for making them lose their home, she knew

As she turned 31, they were in a position to think about starting a family, but it still meant that Sanita would have to return to work, leaving their baby in childcare

the meaning of degradation. They moved into a small apartment and the children even had to move schools. Sanita too had to change her job, to a nonfinancial institution. Through it all her husband blamed only himself. Had he blamed her, life would have been bearable. Had he yelled, her days would have been tolerable and had he told her that he hated her, her marriage would have been workable.

He did none of these; instead he found a second job and she had sought an outlet on the balcony. It was at the balcony that she had that lifechanging moment.

She admitted herself into the clinic in which she now resided. She declared herself as a gambler and she promised her kids that she would never let them down again.

The recovery would be long, the journey hard and the experience unpleasant, but she would succeed because the one person who should have walked away, who was justified to leave her, never did.

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How thin is too thin?

BY Geeta Khurana

If you can you hide behind telephone poles, or pass through cracked doorways, then you are too thin. In this world full of overweight and obese people we sometimes forget that there are too skinny people around. The social pressure to be thin beckons each one of us at all times. Television, magazines, movies, and the internet, all of which are flooded with information about how to be slim, tell us being thin is symbolic of intelligence and beauty.

Advertisers heavily market weight reduction programs and present anorexic young models as the symbols of achievement and sexual desirability. Clothes are designed and displayed for thin bodies in spite of the fact that few women could wear them successfully. In countries where obesity is widespread, young adolescents who tend to remain thin feel that they have achieved a great personal victory. This victory is further applauded by friends and relatives who are heavier and make the adolescent feel the urge to maintain their thin physique even more. Therefore weight loss is viewed as a sign of extraordinary achievement and self discipline, whereas weight gain is looked upon as a loss of self control and determination.

Most of us envy these people but we do not realise that these people might have their own set of problems which might be as serious as being overweight.

Nutritional Deficiencies

Being underweight is usually accompanied by a deficiency of essential nutrients and/ or trace elements. Anemia and lowered immune systems are just two deficiencies that might be prevalent in skinny people. Anemia is a disease of the blood that occurs when there’s a deficiency of red blood cells. Anemia is caused by nutritional deficiencies of iron, B-12, and folate. There is lack of energy and fatigue, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, dizziness, and headaches.

Unaware of risks

We normally associate overweight with diabetes and high cholesterol but sometimes thin or skinny people are more at risk of these problems. It’s very easy to be thin yet unhealthy, as naturally thin people might indulge in fast food, or eat more high fat or high calorie foods and think they can get away with it. No matter the weight though, blood sugar levels and bad cholesterol counts can

be rising. Thin people might also skip out on the regular check-ups and blood tests that can detect these problems because they think they’re in good shape.

Osteoporosis

Being too skinny increases the risk of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, and the chance of breaking bones. Fat fuels the production of the hormone estrogen, which women need for strong bones. Too little estrogen can make bones porous and brittle, and more prone to fractures. As a result, a simple fall or accident is more likely to cause serious injury.

Eating Disorders

Although we all worry about our weight sometimes, people with an eating disorder go to extremes to keep themselves from gaining weight. Although we all worry about our weight sometimes, people with an eating disorder go to extremes to keep themselves from gaining weight. These are mainly anorexia nervosa or bulimia.

People with anorexia are obsessed with being thin. This condition is characterised by selfstarvation and emaciation. They don’t want to eat, and they are afraid of gaining weight. They may constantly worry about how many calories they take in or how much fat is in their food. They may take diet pills, laxatives or water pills to lose weight, or they may exercise too much. Anorexics usually think they’re fat even though they’re very thin.

Bulimia is eating a lot of food at once (called bingeing), and then throwing up or using laxatives to remove the food from the body (called purging). After a binge, some bulimics fast (don’t eat), or over exercise to keep from gaining weight. People with bulimia may also use water pills, laxatives or diet pills to “control” their weight. People with bulimia often try to hide their bingeing and purging. They may hide food for binges. Bulimics are usually close to normal weight, but their weight may go up and down.

There is no single known cause for these disorders though physical, psychological, personal, and social issues have been associated with triggering eating disorders. The gastro intestinal tract is profoundly affected in anorexia as it may result in constipation or bloating. Excessive vomiting in bulimia may cause dehydration and also severe potassium deficiency. In very severe cases medical complications such as seizures, heart failure, or irregular heart rhythms may also exist.

Fertility

Being underweight can affect your chances of getting pregnant. A shortage of fat can mean your

Although we all worry about our weight sometimes, people with an eating disorder go to extremes to keep themselves from gaining weight

body is not producing enough estrogen, which is needed for conception. It’s a form of natural protection – when you get very thin, your body knows that it will be harder for you to sustain a healthy pregnancy, so makes it more difficult for you to conceive in the first place.

It is not bad to be skinny, but those who are underweight should assess their condition with the help of a health professional and work toward attaining a healthy weight in order to minimise health problems and achieve personal well being.

How your weight can affect your chances of getting pregnant, can increase your risk of osteoporosis and more

5 ways to get through winter, stylishly!

By Kalyani WaKhare

ioften get asked about ideas for looking stylish in winter. As the weather cools down and adding layers becomes essential, it can be a bit tricky to avoid looking daggy and repetitive with the same outerwear, unless it is a trench coat (which is a clear winner anytime!) But I guess there are plenty of occasions when you’d like to try something besides the classic trench...

Here are some of the big, hot trends that give you extraordinary styling options with a range of really simple pieces.

Chunky or sparkly knits

The pull over is by far the most reliable and practical piece during winter!

The question is how to work the pullover to make it interesting, trendy and packed with style

Chunky knits: a versatile neutral pullover will go a long way for unlimited styling options. Think about combining it with printed pants, coloured jeans and even over pastel dresses for a polished ladylike look.

Sparkly sweater: sparkle, shine and still stay warm on a cold winter night, plus you’ll never have to worry about how to dress for a winter party with this one. Add that sparkly statement neckpiece for instant glam.

Winter Florals

The floral trend continues into winter and I’m loving the possibilities! I find the idea of working my spring pieces overtime really appealing. So how exactly do you make it work in this harsh weather? Simply layer your floral pants with chunky knits, cardigans, blazers and coats in complimentary colours to the print. Wear the floral dress with a dark coloured coat and bright beret.

If you think the floral look is far too casual, wear everything else all black. Also, think beyond

the floral pants and dresses, even scarves, sweaters, bags and shoes are all part of the floral trend.

Coloured coats

A warm coat is a must have but a coloured one is just perfect for adding drama! A burst of colour peps up wintry black, navy and grey outfits. Keep your handbag and boots really plain and neutral, and contrast your scarf with the coat to make a statement. Stripes and polka dots are perfect too when you have a strong solid coloured outerwear. Try a leopard print scarf or ankle boots with a crimson red coat for that daring look!

Jewel tones

Fiery ruby, rich emerald, royal amethyst or sapphire! Don’t just think jewellery. This trend includes scarves, shoes, belts, clutch bags and even jeans.

Perfect to light up a dreary day and make you stand out and look radiant. The trick to make it work is to combine opposite colours. For example, work your jeans n’ black tee look with plum ballet flats and a mustard yellow structured bag, or a bright red cardigan over the crisp white shirt, teamed with a dark green pencil skirt. If you’re not much of a risk taker, just start off with a jewel toned scarf worn over a beige top or dress and matching ballet flats.

Big bags

Totes, hobos, slouch bags... yes! Tis the time of the year to flaunt these big bags that are roomy and can fit all your prized possessions, including your laptop. Plus it’s handy to have an oversized bag in winter to put away the scarves and sweaters once you’re indoors too.

So what are some of the popular colours? Tan and black are certainly the more predictable choices but this year go all out and experiment with colour. Try a red tote or a teal one! Mustard, coral, animal prints or textures are right on trend too. Ensure that one piece of your outfit matches or compliments the colour of the bag for best results.

The floral trend continues into winter and I’m loving the possibilities! I find the idea of working my spring pieces overtime really appealing

jewel

Top trends winter winter floral tones

Grinners are winners

Everything you need to know about dental health from the experts at Best Dental

When we think of dental health, many questions come to mind. Why do some people enjoy ice cream, yet some don’t? Why do some people have a beautiful smile, while others don’t?

Yes there are lots of questions… and whether you believe it or not, dental care begins even before we are born. Teeth start forming when the fetus is in the womb, and from this age, the formation of the teeth can be affected by the mother’s health. Giving a child a bottle of milk while they are sleeping can also cause rampant dental decay.

It is a must to get children into regular brushing habits from the age of two, with the assistance of parents until they are seven years old. Regular check-ups are not only essential at this age to diagnose dental problems, but also to become familiar with the world of dentistry at a young age.

As children get older and start developing adult teeth, the need to protect these increases. Cavities, sports injuries and “fluoride bombs” are some risks that can develop.

These days lots of preventive measures can be taken, such as regular check-ups, x-rays, fluoride application, fissure seals (coating the teeth), and the use of mouth guards for contact sports. If the tooth comes out as a result of trauma it can be replanted successfully. The tooth should be placed under the tongue or in milk untill you reach the dentist.

When the tooth fairy starts visiting, parents start getting worried. Will the teeth grow crooked, or will overcrowding of teeth be an issue? This can be orthodontically corrected after eleven to thirteen years of age. However, in some cases, early intervention is needed. A common

issue with teenagers is lack of interest in looking after their teeth. Regular check-ups and x-rays are required. Best Dental participates in the government’s Teen Dental Plan (12-17 years old), providing free check-ups, cleans and x-rays, with a no gap payment.

Wisdom teeth usually start emerging between the ages of 18 to 25. However, they don’t always have be extracted. They need to be extracted when they don’t have the space and causing recurrant gum infection and other problems.

At Best Dental, Dr Raj (a visiting dentist) can extract wisdom teeth under local, or general anesthetic. As we enter adulthood, dental care can be neglected

due to our busy lives. If left undetected dental decay can require complicated and expensive treatments. These include root canals, crowns, or even implants, bridges and dentures. If decay is detected early, it is easier and cheaper to manage.

As well as sensitive teeth, a common concern that adults have with dental cleaning is, “Will my teeth will get loosen after cleaning?” This happens to those who have lots of tartar formation. What happens is that the tartar actually replaces the bone that is holding the teeth. Cleaning removes this tartar and you feel as if the teeth are loose. But if you get your teeth cleaned regularly, tartar will not have a chance to eat into the bone. Tartar formation also leads to gum diseases such as periodontitis.

We often neglect the appearance of our teeth, but as we all know a good smile can take ones breath away. There are various methods of orthodontic corrections, veneers, crowns, or bleaching to get this smile.

And remember, you aren’t the only one who is scared of dentists,

Dr Bhanushali of Best Dental has being working in Seven Hills for the last thirteen years. Best Dental has a professional team of dentists and hygienists. It is a modern surgery, equipped with new chairs, digital x-rays, and computerised practice management. They use on-line health fund claims (HICAPS). The practice takes pride in maintaining its high level of patient safety by enforcing quality hygiene and infection control practices. It is conveniently located next Seven Hills station with ample parking. The best part? They provide all of the services mentioned in this article, and proudly support community activities and programs.

Please call (02) 9831 2061 to discuss your dental needs or email reception@bestdental.com.au

but these days dentistry has changed. There are lots of modern techniques that Best Dental makes for the dental experience to be more comfortable. Your teeth are precious, so look after them. Enjoy good food, get half yearly dental check-ups, and enjoy your great smile.

Dr Jayashree Bhanushali

(From left) Dr Jalal Khan, Dr jayashree Bhanushali and Dr Umisha Patel

Morning Masala

It’s a laugh riot on UZMA BEG’s morning show on Indian Link Radio, and yet there are some life-changing moments

If you’re looking for a show with a twist, tune in to Morning Masala! On Mondays we go from jokes to poetry to discussions about children and what on earth to do with them once you’ve had them!

Every Tuesday on Morning Masala I tell you what to do with your kids so you’re not tearing your eyes, out when they’re tearing your house down! Relax, I am not telling you what my grandma told me; I back my advice up with a lot of research.

Wednesday is a very special day on Morning Masala not because the weekend is two days away but because our show brings hope to a lot of people. I encourage people to share their troubles so all the listeners can come together as a family and lend a helping hand. Those who want to remain anonymous most certainly do. Together we’ve helped so many unfortunate men and women find their vocation in life!

What’s a show without celebrities and gossip? That would amount to Mornings Without Masala! Hear the most candid interviews of celebrities and their juiciest gossip right here on Morning Masala. Well, they have it all, so I am sure they won’t mind!

For instance, my dear friend Rahat Fateh Ali Khan came on air with no notice at all and I can never thank him enough

for that. People loved hearing “Rahat the Friend” on air as opposed to Rahat the celebrity who thinks before he speaks to the press. People were blown away by the humble man behind all that talent. His amazing self deprecating sense of humour shines through when you know him as closely as I do, and people loved the interview! He told us the uncut version of how he lost his manager Chitresh Shivastav in a road accident while touring the US and how he escaped injury - or worse, death - by a last minute decision to sit with his musicians in their van.

Johnny Lever may be a comedian to the world but my listeners got to know him as a healer. The way he prayed for me day after day when I lost one of my twins was at the time unbelievable to me. The fact that he called me everyday during my pregnancy from Mumbai, right from the time he met me to pray for me and the safe delivery of my baby, just blew me away. He may be a comedian to his fans but to me he’s the most amazing healer who helps people through the power of prayer.

Wasim Akram agreed to give me a very rare interview where he was at his candid best and had me in stitches with his amazing sense of humour. My listeners got to know him for the direct, frank, candid and humorous person he is. He narrated the whole horror

of being accused of match-fixing in the Cricket World Cup of 1999 when Pakistan reached the final and lost to Australia. He couldn’t believe that his people were so ready to blame him for the team’s loss instead of congratulating him for leading the team to the finals. Cricketer Shahid Afridi gave only one personal interview when he was in Sydney last and that was to me. His spirit of charity and his compassion for the underprivileged really struck a nerve in me. When I got to know him better I realised what a lovely, obliging, fun loving and patriotic person he is.

I was thrilled to bits when multiple award winning director of award winning TV series East West 101 Peter Andrikidis came to my show along with lead actor Don Hany. We talked from Bollywood to Hollywood, to all aspects of acting and directing including the episode of East West 101 I had acted in. It was a pleasure to act for Peter Andrikidis a treat to see him in action and learn so much from him. An even bigger treat was to have him on my show and get to know him as a person. Most definitely one of the most humble, down to earth and unassuming people I’ve ever met.

Some memorable moments:

• When the listeners all got together as a family and helped a grieving sister find her missing brother.

• When we helped a young man through wedding jitters and convinced him to go ahead with his marriage. Soon we heard all about his happily-ever-after from India!

lady that the man she was giving it all up for was nothing but a fraud and life had much better in store for her! Each show done for people on Wednesdays is a memorable one because it changes someone’s life. So if you’re looking for a show that gives you fun, laughter, seriousness, gossip and a chance to lose your inhibitions and be crazy, tune in to Morning Masala

We do it all here, from Antakshari to composing poetry together, to making a movie script from just a couple of lines! Bored of your mundane daily routine? Well, no more... pick up the phone and participate your heart out. I am just a phone call away!

Morning Masala with Uzma Mon-Tue-Wed 9am-12 noon Listen here: www.indianlink.com.au

Uzma with Wasim Akram

Uzma with Johnny Lever UzmawithPeterAndrikidis andDonHany

Uzma with Shahid Afridi

Uzma with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

mat r imonials

SEEkINg BrIDES

SEEkINg grOOmS

Looking for a suitable match for my beautiful sister of a Sikh family, 37-yearold, divorced with a child living in India at present. responses welcome from India as well as Australia from educated, well settled man from Sikh/Punjabi family. Please call with serious enquiries only on 0433 141 284.

Well settled family in australia invites alliance for a 26-year-old, 5”7,  Punjabi woman (Aust citizen), who is working as a lawyer for the Australian govt. Seeking Indian man, caste no bar. Please send biodata/ particulars of man to fordsyd88@gmail.com

Parents looking for suitable match for their 37-year-old, 5’3” tall daughter, Hindu, Gujarati, vegetarian, (never married), who has worked as a bank executive for 15 years in Nairobi, Kenya. Our daughter has completed CAIIB (uK) and MBA from Cape town university. We are looking for a well-educated man, settled either in Sydney or Melbourne. Please email proposal with education, job details and recent photo to: sunilruparelia@yahoo.com or lalitj@hotmail.com

Seeking bride for a 27-year-old well settled Catholic gentlemen 5’6”, permanent resident, studied Electronics Engineering and working in a steady job as a technology officer earning a good salary. living in Canberra. Please email: catholic_guy_1985@outlook.com

I am a 50-year-old Hindu , 5’4’’, Australian citizen, never married, and issueless. I am looking for a lady to share life with. Contact Arun: arun9tiku@yahoo.com.au or 0470 626 483.

Bangalorean gentleman 43-years-old, born in Coorg, India. Sincere / God fearing. Alliance for genuine girlfriend aged 27-45 yrs, possibly early marriage, student, tourist, Pr ladies interested. Please call Mr davha for appointment on: 02 9676 2512 or: 0458 153 193.

Seeking match for highly educated, never-married, 5’ 9”, 1975 born Sikh Khatri boy. Full-time permanent job with decent income in customer service role. looking for well-educated, never married Sikh girl from Australia. Early marriage. Phone: 0422 102 242 or email: jas_ghai01@hotmail.com

australian Citizen Indian man, educated, with a government role, in early 50’s . Seeking honest Indian lady for marriage. Contact: 0424 015 249 or tamavu@hotmail.com

Work area: Audio PunJaBI PrODuCer

language Content

3: $53, 580 – $69, 991

SBS’s audio and Language Content Division is looking for Producers for the Punjabi Language Program. these are Part time ongoing & casual positions.

in creating and broadcasting audio content for the Punjabi community. You’ll be required to research, write, produce, sub-edit, and present audio content on radio and online. You’ll need to be proficient in written and spoken Punjabi and English (successful applicants will be required to pass a language assessment). A background in journalism and broadcasting is preferred. These positions involve rostered shift work and successful candidates must be able to undertake shift work (which may involve early morning, evening and weekend work).

To view the Duty Statement & Selection Criteria and to apply, please visit our website at www.sbs.com.au/jobs. For further information about the position please contact manpreet singh on (03) 9949 2264.

TAROT

ArIEs March 21 - April 19

The cards show very passionate times in your life this month. You will need to make some important decisions regarding land or a house. Try not to rely on advice from close friends. Take time out as you will be stressed because of having so many things to deal with. A young child in the family will suffer from tantrums, spend time with them. make sure your car brakes are checked and that the oil and water are topped up adequately.

TAUrUs April 20 - May 20

You need to be careful how you communicate to loved ones this month. There may be some extra expenses coming up, but there is an indication that more money will come your way. Be careful of all documents that you sign, read them very carefully. There will be extra pressure at your workplace, and changes around the office. You may be blessed with a promotion. make sure you have a medical check up, as you are feeling low on energy.

GEmINI May 21 - June 20

The cards indicate a time of real intensity and meaningful conversations with your loved ones. You will plan short trips or quality time with your partner. Financially, things will look up too. Avoid important decisions until the end of the month, as you need to be prepared and get your facts together. There is an indication that you have impressed your superiors. If planning for a child, good news is on the way.

cANcEr June 21 - July 20

Your cards indicate a lot of energy around you this month. You will be on full force with your life, and your energy will remain high. You will be keen to maintain this pace, but others will find it hard to catch up to you. There will be some news regarding a new job or promotion. Do not forget to maintain or start an exercise and healthy eating regime. Take care of your bones, keep up the vitamins or supplements.

LEO July 21 - Aug 22

Your cards are showing that you will be a really busy social butterfly this month, and you will be meeting and attracting all kinds of interesting people. Enjoy yourself and the moment, it will be hectic but don’t get too involved at this stage. At work, it will be imperative to maintain teamwork and keep everyone motivated. Be careful not to waste money this month on unnecessary and frivolous expenditure.

VIrGO Aug 23 - sep 22

The cards indicate a time when you may not be feeling your usual self. There will be a lack of energy around you, which is affecting your attitude and motivation. There have been some stressful situations lately, you are advised to take it easy. Take time out to relax and recuperate before heading back into the situation, this will help you deal with it better. You will look at how to improve your work/business situation.

predictions for JULY 2013

By NANcY JADE ALThIYA www.cosmick-aura.com

LIbrA sep 23 - oct 22

This month is filled with excitement and new ideas. Your mind will be like a buzzing tornado. Do not upset anyone with your (at times) blunt speech. You will make new friends, who will turn out to be close alliances in the future. red is very significant for you, so if you are thinking about buying a new car, consider this colour. You will also be thinking about taking up some outdoor activities.

scOrpIO oct 23 - nov 21

This is the time for impressing your superiors, and your charm will certainly pay off. New deals and ventures will be bagged because of your magnetic personality. You may think about writing a book or article. You are looking for something that takes your fancy. Look after your hair, you may be losing some of it. There will be some testing times with a neighbour this month, deal with them with diplomacy.

sAGITTArIUs nov 22 - dec 21

Your cards indicate that you will be travelling this month, and important decisions will be made with regard to matters relating to the home. You will wonder whether to re-locate or stay where you are. This is a time of confusion in your love life, Be very careful, as there will be some unexpected expenses coming up. make sure your health insurance policies are up to date.

cAprIcOrN dec 22 - Jan 19

The cards indicate a time when passion and love are high on your agenda. There could be some hot steamy nights, but make sure that you remain in communication with your lover. You may be thinking of making a commitment and marrying. Health needs attention, as previous ailments may return. You will be trying hard to maintain a friendly cooperative disposition with colleagues. There will be some tension around work colleagues.

AqUArIUs Jan 20 - feb 18

The cards indicate a time of difficulties in close relationships. You may be stressed out about a friend who is going through some major difficulties. Your work life will be demanding. You may be thinking of moving into a new residence, with interesting houses to choose from. keep your options open, but you are keen to live close to water and greenery. There will be some over bearing relatives wanting your attention.

pIscEs feb 19 - March 20

You may be trying to arrange a loan. The education of a child will cause stress. Work will take up a lot of your time, keep your focus and attention on every detail. Take care of your back, because of problems with it. You will worry about a situation from the past. Travel is indicated with work, along with news about extra responsibility. A friend starting a new business may need your advice.

cINE TALk

cONsUmErIsT qUIrks Of ThE GrEAT INDIAN mIDDLE cLAss

Ghan C ha KK ar

he is a lazy lad. And she is one helluva crazy Punjaban whose kookie cooking drives her sullen husband up the nearest wall. disgust on the dining-table camouflaged in tons of table-salt, Sanju (Emraan Hashmi, pitchperfect in his spousal indolence) would probably have gone on tolerating his wife’s appalling culinary skills, matched only by her hideous fashion sense, if only he didn’t decide to pull off one last heist that would make him and his inept cook of a wife rich for the rest of their life. Take-home food, here we come!

Oh, I forgot to tell you... Hashmi plays an expert lock-picker, the kind of safe-bet who can crack safes faster than we can say ‘Saif Ali Khan’. Forgetfulness comes easily in this crazily unpredictable dark comedy about an ordinary delhi couple’s life going unimaginably out-of-control when they decide to mess around with two self-styled bumbling baddies, who seem to have modelled their crime life on pirated video prints of Guy ritchie and Quentin Tarantino crime flicks. really, they suck at their job. Every character in this out-of-the-box comedy is a bit of an ineffectual selfimportant clown. In trying hard to be cool, they end up looking like fools. And they don’t even know it!

Ghanchakkar is a domestic comedy that gets progressively dark and sinister. Some of the film’s most riveting moments find our amnesiac hero searching for his own identity and trying to locate the trust factor in his marriage that is threatened by his lack of cogent memory. director rajkumar Gupta is the master of straight-faced whimsy. There are no laugh-out-loud moments in Ghanchakkar. Its humour is the kind that hits you in hindsight.

Characters such as Parvin dabas keep popping up for no seeming purpose. But then we begin to realise the plot’s larger design is to tell us that there’s no real larger design in life. Very often things happen haphazardly and inexplicably because that’s the way life is.

The characters and situations in Ghanchakkar neither relatable nor particularly likeable. You really don’t want to run into these people even for fun.

Many chunks of Gupta’s storytelling seem excessively quirky capturing in languid motions, the vagaries of everyday life without whipping up an overpunctuated drama either through the background score or fancy editing patterns. Setu’s camera looks at Mumbai’s middleclass with affectionate disdain, not judgmental, but certainly not aloof either.

Some ongoing gags, like the Namit phone-sex and the guy on the local train returning home with vegetables for his wife who is repeatedly intimidated by Namit just don’t hold together. That may be because this is not comic cinema as we know and acknowledge it.

Gupta creates a world high on eccentricity in the uncaring city. If the truth be told, we’ve never seen anything like this film before. Gupta’s third film is wacky, whimsical, dark, scrumptious and though not as lightly humorous as your average comedy, wonderfully innovative in the sparing use of dramatic devices, including music.

Its sinister thrusts, especially towards the end, eat ravenously into the comedy. This may not work for those who are comically regaled by the Golmaal series or even the wacky wit of Fukrey. The comedy in Ghanchakkar is entirely reliant on the principal characters’ ability to penetrate and make sense of the squalid world of greed and acquisitiveness that they seem to inhabit so casually.

The film’s heist-quotient is substantially sustained and aggrandised by the crackling, hissing and snarling

Their mutual suspicion of one another’s marital integrity is delightfully irreverent and yet disturbingly relevant in today’s times when distrust is a dowry gift in a majority of marriages.

In their delightful lovemaking sequence, Gupta and his astute co-writer Parvez Shiekh turn the politics of the bedroom on its head. Hashmi appears seductively at the bedroom door wearing the nightwear that his wife has brought him... underwears and condoms are shyly mentioned. What follows is funny and, er, unforgettable.

The incidental characters - an inquisitive neighbour, an over-friendly real-estate agent, a nosy mother/motherin-law whom we only hear on the phone, et al, appear unannounced. But then

depicting the scary but savagely funny underbelly of the Great Indian Middleclass’ consumerist caprices, Ghanchakkar gives Vidya Balan another chance after The Dirty Picture and Kahaani to create an unorthodox heroine. You may not think much of her loud attitude to life, but then you have to hand it to Vidya for staying constantly unpredictable in her characterisations.

Emraan Hashmi seems to instinctively grasp his forgetful character’s obstinacy and anxieties. He brings calm to the breathless proceedings.

Ghanchakkar may not be every moviegoer’s cup of tee-hee. But this comedy of arrears, monstrous arrears, is quite simply one of the most unusual comedies in...er, living memory.

Su B ha S h K.

Jha

STArrINg: Emraan Hashmi, Vidya Balan, rajesh Verma and Namit das DIrECTOr: rajkumar Gupta HHH

ThE pAIN Of UNrEqUITED LOVE

r aan J hanaa

STArrINg: dhanush, Sonam Kapoor, Abhay deol, Swara Bhaskar, Mohammed

Zeeshan

DIrECTOr: Anand l. rai HHHHH

this hugely enriching film about the pain of love has four heroes: dhanush, Sonam Kapoor, A.r rahman’s music and the city of Varanasi. Not necessarily in that order. He loves her to death. Cross his heart and hope to die. And it’s their wedding day. But they’re not getting married to one another. As he returns exhausted from messing up her marriage to another man, the slumbering band-baaja wallahs at his own wedding hasten awake and begin playing a wedding song wearily.

It’s a brilliant moment defining the contradictions and savage ironies of romantic associations.

Sometimes it’s not so cool to fall in love.

This non-derivative take on unrequited love set amidst the bustling river-bank politics of Varanasi, tells us that love can kill your spirit, soul, self esteem and

finally, your physical presence as well.

Raanjhanaa is an opulent, epic, seductive, raging and rippling ode to love. The script by Himanshu Sharma, journeys from lover-boy Kundan’s childhood when he first sees his object of adoration doing her namaaz, and follows him to adulthood, much in the same way as he follows Zoya around.

In seductive spirals of song-filled rhapsody, we see Kundan pursuing his lady-love through the robust gallis and mohallahs of Varanasi. It’s a beautifully charted journey, made vastly enjoyable by the director’s confident and unhurried control over his lover’s uncontrollable passion. It’s as though rai knows that the heart is more prone to betrayal than redemption.

She slaps him? That’s fine. He loves her all the more for it. She turns his proposal down? That’s okay. He’ll do it again...and... again. It’s the protagonist’s single-mindedness that navigates this enchanting love story through a series of circumstances that make Kundan look as brazen as they make destiny look cruel.

Throughout Kundan’s self-destructive odyssey into the heart’s darkest regions,

we are made privy into his agony and ecstasy. We know exactly how his heart beats. Maybe partly because it beats to the sound of A.r rahman’s evocative songs. We see Zoya just the way Kundan does: tall, creamycomplexioned, warm, seductive and unattainable.

dhanush, as the worshipping loverboy, lets his face become the map of his heart. So transparent are his feelings for the girl that every kind word or gesture from her brings a response of teary gratitude in his eyes.

The characters dither, stray, falter and lose focus. The narrative never does. Every performer, including bit-player rahul Shankliya who the forlorn hero encounters at the river ghat, seems to have come into the picture knowing not only his or her own lines, but everyone else’s as well.

There is an air of unrehearsed preparedness in the way the actors pitch their characters. dhanush’s performance would go down in cinematic history as one of the most consistent and compelling portrayals of single-minded ardour.

As for Sonam Kapoor, she is a

A cOOLLY crAfTED cAT-ANDmOUsE GAmE

Sh O rtC ut rOM e O

STArrINg: Neil Nitin Mukesh, Ameesha Patel and Puja Gupta

DIrECTOr: Susi Ganesh

there are two ways of doing a fullon masala film.

You either turn it on its head and poke fun at ridiculous cinematic conventions. Or you treat the stereotypical characters and sacred cows of our cinema with full seriousness.

Shortcut Romeo takes the midway route. It seems so full of the old-world formulistic flavour and the stench of the familiar that parts of the pulsating aggressive storytelling actually feel like a spoof.

So, we have the film’s unfaithful wife Monica (Ameesha Patel) and her slimy lover (Jatin Garewal) making out on a golf turf: it is beyond logic why an affluent couple, who could afford the poshest of duplex to meet, would choose such a spot.

And then the lover tells the unfaithful wife, “First time you do it, you feel bad. Then it becomes your style”.

Er, how stylish!

But please don’t laugh. First-time Hindi director Susi Ganesan is dead serious. The film shot at the speed of sound is filled with bizarre twists and turns. It’s basically the story of a woman who cheats on a saintly tycoon of a husband (effectively played by rajesh Shringapure) who has a massive portrait of rabindranath Tagore in his bedroom, and a cheesy blackmailer named Suraj (Neil Nitin Mukesh), who believes in taking risky short-cuts to get rich.

This is not the first film about a cheating wife and a blackmailer. reena roy and Naseeruddin Shah had done the roles with heart-stopping tension in Bezubaan Shortcut Romeo scores in the way the plot paces out its drama in the ongoing friction between the cheating wife and the blackmailer.

Neil plays the cheesy go-getter with a schemer’s delight. His eyes glint when he talks of teasing more money out of Monica. He drools when she transfers cash into his trashy life. Alas, excessive hedonism is just an excuse for African tourism.

The Kenyan expedition reads like a botched-up touristic brochure. Bad idea, Ganesan. Even worse is the director himself showing up in the

second-half as the cheated husband’s detective-friend.

Ganesan’s accent is so thick, it slices the gamboling narration into smithereens. At least for a while. But then again the film gathers momentum towards the end-game. The finale is a breathless whammy with Neil making a run for his freedom, quite literally, with the narrative panting behind him.

Shortcut Romeo is redeemed by a strong message on today’s 20-somethings yearning for materialism. And when our Shortcut romeo finds his short-skirt Juliet (Puja Gupta) there is a delicious irony attached to the association. The film’s most vivid interludes go back to Neil’s childhood to show how he learned to be corrupt, acquisitive, and inquisitive, at a tender age.

Some of the action sequences with Neil, specially one key fight with African tribals, are first-rate. But then the songs - oh my god! - they pop up at the most inopportune moments.

complete revelation! In a bornagain performance she sparkles, creating a kind of sunshine-girl who is so taken up with herself that she doesn’t get the chance to see what effect she has on the other until it’s too late.

Swara Bhaskar as dhanush’s devoted ill-treated girl-pal and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as his loyal friend, once again prove themselves natural-born scene stealers.

Raanjhanaa is a very simply-told story of a love so intense, durable and destructive, that it hurts.

Su B ha S h K. Jha

In spite of its massive flaws, including the cheesy dialogues, Ganesan’s stylish shocker of a thriller manages to stay constantly one step ahead of the audience. A coolly crafted cat-and-mouse game Shortcut Romeo finds Neil giving grit to the gripping goings-on. The last half-hour is a knock-out.

Su B ha S h K. Jha

THE BUZZ

IIFA and women empowerment

The 14th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards has added women empowerment as a cause that it will pursue under the programme ‘Power of 49’.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce that IIFA from this year onwards has taken upon itself, in addition to climate change, as a cause it wishes to pursue - the ‘Power of 49’,” veteran actress Shabana Azmi announced recently at a press meet.

BLAsT fRoM THE pAsT, BoLLwood’s goINg vINTAgE

Call it the filmmaker’s confidence in the bygone era or their love for the romanticism of the retro look - Bollywood’s forthcoming offerings like Lootera, Gunday, Bombay Velvet and Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai Dobara have oodles of the past in their look and feel.

Old world charm has gripped Bollywood, a key element of Indian cinema that is celebrating 100 years of its existence this year. But it requires the right mix of research and vision to hit the bull’s eye as far as styling such projects is concerned, designers say.

A retro look can be described as anything from the 1930s to the 1960s or even the 1980s, said designer Pria Kataaria Puri, who is responsible for actress Priyanka Chopra’s look in the remake of the 1973 film Zanjeer. Research is the key, claims Puri, stating that when styling an actress according to the fashion of the 1960s, knowing the way women wore saris and eyeliner, and made the beehive hairdo, is crucial.

There are different examples of films experimenting with some distinct looks of the past - some focus on bell-bottoms and some on fitted short kurtis, while others are inspired by the Sadhana cut, the bouffant, the cat eye makeup, the oversized glasses and the hairbands, as well as the unique sari drapes.

Lootera, a period romance drama set in the West Bengal of 1950, spells the vintage flavour from the word go - Ranveer Singh sports a clean-shaven, hatted and neat look, complete with crisp white shirts and chic braces to hold up his trousers. His on-screen lady love, essayed by Sonakshi Sinha, is seen in simple saris teamed with quarter-sleeved blouses and a big round bindi Fashion from the past years also reflects in Gunday, set in the Kolkata of 1971 to 1988. True to its time period, the film’s lead actress, Priyanka Chopra, dons a stunning retro look, with sensuous saris, sleeveless blouses and long tresses.

Similar is the case for Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobara, with the story backdropped against Mumbai of the late 1980s.

In her new film Bombay Velvet, actress Anushka Sharma will reportedly go retro as the movie chronicles the evolution of Mumbai over a period of two decades.

The trend is surely up and coming!

Ace designer Anju Modi, who has designed costumes for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama Ram Leela, co-starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, said it is the “romanticism of the retro look” which inspires filmmakers to dig into the past.

“They like to recreate the old world charm. While there is no dearth of stories that they can derive from the modern era, there is a certain glamour that constantly draws Bollywood filmmakers to the retro look,” said Modi.

Globally known designer Ritu Kumar said of the trend, “It is a measure of confidence in India’s history and identity that any industry goes looking back to recreate a bygone feel and touch.”

Designer and stylist Pernia Qureshi, who was behind Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor’s uber chic style in Aisha, believed “Indian films have now started taking fashion more seriously”. “People have realised how styling can play a key role in portraying exactly what is needed,” Qureshi said.

“To go deep into a character, the clothing, accessories and the overall look are vital. The retro look is about imitating the styles from the past without losing out on the modernity of the clothing and the looks so that it is relatable to the people of today’s day and age,” she added.

“Fortynine percent is the figure of the women we have in our country today, and as a nation we can call ourselves civilized if this 49 percent gets empowered,” Shabana added.

Filmmaker R Balki believes films can promote the cause in a lot of ways - for instance superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s initiative to name Deepika Padukone first in the credit roll of their upcoming film Chennai Express

“It’s always ‘starring somebody’ and then the heroine. I think Shah Rukh was good enough to be the first person to say I’ll do it differently and Chennai Express will be the first film where Deepika’s name will come first and then Shah Rukh’s. So it’s a signal and not an end by itself, that focus on the 49 percent,” Balki said.

“So films can do it in a lot of ways and the same thing will happen at IIFA. IIFA plans to surprise you at the show. There will be a change which will signal something extremely significant as far as this cause goes,” he added. Well, at least the IIFA is now recognising the contribution of women in Bollywood. There’s a long way to go, but at least it’s a start!

What’s the drama about D-Day?

Spies and patriots, not gangsters and villains, says D-Day director Nikhil Advani. He vehemently asserts that his film is not a regular underworld or ‘bhaigiri’ one, but a serious espionage thriller based on the country’s intelligence agency RAW and its operations. Actors Arjun Rampal, Irrfan and Huma Qureshi are playing RAW agents in the film. “There is no connection to the underworld. It is about terrorism, it is about bringing back India’s most wanted man. It is an espionage thriller. All three of them and Aakash Dahiya, they are spies, they are RAW agents,” said the director recently. “There is no ‘bhaigiri’ in the film. It is about India, it is about four patriots,” he added. Shruti Haasan will feature in it, with Rishi Kapoor in the role of an antagonist. With that kind of impressive star cast, D-Day could well enjoy a V-day at the box office. It releases soon, so let’s wait and see!

AmitAbh bAchchAn

Hirani’s not running races

Director Rajkumar Hirani has a slew of successful films under his belt, like Munnabhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munnabhai and 3 Idiots, which makes the curious compare his success to his contemporaries. But Hirani insists that he is not running a race with any director, instead his endeavour is to tell good stories. Currently, he is busy shooting P.K., starring Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma in the lead.

“I don’t think any of us is running a race. I don’t think I am running a race with any other director or his films... I don’t think we are in a race at all,” Hirani stated recently, rather repetitively. Fortunately he elaborated, saying “All of us are telling stories which are completely different. If we tell good stories, if it connects with audiences, all the films will work. So there is no race!”

According to Hirani, there is no formula to make a successful film. “I don’t think any of us can make a formula. If we could, then every film would work. So the best thing is not to worry about whether your film will work or not. Try and make what will work for you. So my effort is to try and tell a story that works for me, I connect with, and which I believe in,” said the 50-year-old filmmaker. Well, Aamir can make any story work, so race or no race, Hirani’s onto a winner!

Intimacy, but in front of mummy

Sonakshi Sinha was in the news recently, when her lovemaking scene with co-star Ranveer Singh for Lootera was completed in the presence of her mother!

Apparently Poonam Sinha was there to make sure that the scene didn’t get too raunchy. Sonakshi usually has a nointimacy policy with her films, but this one scene is the plot twister, and couldn’t be avoided. So mum came along to keep

it all clean. And what was her verdict? Well, no more acting lessons for Sonakshi! Poonam was so in awe of her daughter’s performance in the film, she admitted that even Sonakshi’s father, veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha, will think twice before advising her on anything after the film.

Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, Lootera is a period romance set in the 1950s. Poonam was also generous in her praise for Ranveer. “Ranveer and Sonakshi, both have done brilliantly well. A mother doesn’t consider her children that talented, but when outsiders say so, she agrees. But I think I have to bow down to Ranveer and Sonakshi’s work in the film,” she said.

So while Sonakshi had mummy, who did Ranveer turn to for reassurance and inspiration? Director Vikramaditya, of course, who made both actors comfortable for the intimate scene. “Sonakshi is so cool that I never felt awkward. We all are professional actors and this is our work. Vikramaditya made a closed set for our comfort where there was only cameraman, Vikram, myself

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and Sonakshi. He gave us our own space and was very supportive,” said Ranveer, perhaps conveniently forgetting the presence of mummy Poonam. The actor said the director made it clear that if an actor is doing an emotional scene “then respect him or her so that they can perform”.

Ranveer’s look in Lootera has been inspired by late Hollywood actor James Dean and Bollywood legend Dev Anand, he said. “Vikram was very clear it had to be an amalgamation of James Dean and Dev Anand. So those were the references that he used to send me,” revealed the 28-year-old actor. “I did not do anything, he knew the kind of look he wanted, the kind of hair he wanted. Every detail he looked into, so I really didn’t give any input this time, it was all Vikram’s,” said Ranveer who is happy with the appreciation his clean look is garnering, especially from his female fans. Both stars are expecting the usual barrage of

questions speculating about their offscreen romance, but are taking this in their stride. “Earlier, when I used to read such stories it used to bother me and I used to think how can they write such things about me, this is my private life. Then I realised such things will happen in the industry, so now I don’t even read these stories,” said Ranveer pragmatically. Lootera is co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor, and will hit theatres soon.

Time for theatre? Big B thinks not!

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says the stage is the most trying and difficult of all performing arts, and that it would be wonderful to get back to it. The thought came to the 70-year-old after he came back from watching a play at the Prithviraj Theatre recently. He says the experience reminded him of work in school and college.

“It would be wonderful to get back to it, but now it is frightening to get up there... a controlled environment is suitable to us today,” Big B posted on his blog. “We can make countless mistakes not so on the platform of the stage ... not so also the immediate reaction of the audience, not so also the immediate reaction and applause of the people sitting in front of you. That attraction is something only those that experience it can say,” (sic) he added.

Acting on stage is tough job.

“The stage is the most trying and difficult of all performing arts, a wonderful place to learn to get initiated of what may follow some of the greats have migrated from the stage to greatness of their own elsewhere, but have never forgotten the days of the smell of the wood work,” he wrote.

Bollywood actors Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Anupam Kher are often seen entertaining live audiences with their plays. But will Amitabh make a theatre comeback? Seems unlikely, but you can never know with the Big B!

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Hallmark cards and the thrill of the chase vs Facebook relationship statuses and online stalking

Just “unfriend” (or “block” for serious hurts or infidelities) and reset your social media status to “single” and you are ready to “mingle”, yet again

BY SanaM SharMa

Social media has been a game changer at a lot of levels. Reading the tweets and Facebook updates of youngsters these days, it seems that cupid has gone digital as well. Falling in love these days, and expressing it to the other person, is convenient, discreet, and “online,” thanks to smartphones and a galaxy of social media platforms.

If your heart skips a beat for someone then all you have to do is find (or shall I say “search”) his or her online avatar. A click of a button and you are “friends” with that person. A few online chats and a bunch of “pointed” comments on status updates of the other person, and you are officially in love – or as Facebook would prefer to call it “in a committed relationship”.

Not much extra effort is needed to call off this “committed relationship” or more casually known as a “break-up”. Just “unfriend” (or “block” for serious hurts or infidelities) and reset your social media status to “single” and you are ready to “mingle”, yet again. Love via the

“pokes,” “emoticons,” “tags,” and “hashtags”. Like everything else that has gone online, love, falling in love, and expressing love these days must therefore seem quite effortless, risk-free, discreet, and from my perspective “extremely boring”.

So youngsters, romans, countrymen, allow me to reintroduce you to the thrill and adventure of being in love, as we did it in the 1990s. No smartphones, no social media, and no internet (for most part of that decade). Just good old emotions fuelled with a healthy dose of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (aka DDLJ).

I say thrill because in the last decade of the previous millennium it used to take people a good two to three months (on average) to fall for someone. I reserve the definition of “people” for the purposes of this write-up specifically to the nation of India (and perhaps our neighboring nation towards the west). This time frame had nothing to do with any sort of “cupid complacency” on the part of the people involved.

You see, in the absence of online profiles, you had to cross paths on city streets, college corridors, adjacent terraces, and even places of worship, and prayer to get a decent glimpse of each other.

Once you got past the initial

people through random glances, disguised smiles, and high-speed chases on scooters (you would be booked for stalking these days), the next challenge was to express the “love” in some tangible way. Archies gallery came in quite handy at this juncture.

Dish out a Hallmark card dripped in over the top romantic poetry and you could not have gone wrong (well, most of the time). However, it was not as easy as attaching the card to an email and sending it through ether. This is the precise moment when (in the case of guys) the best friend of the ladylove came in ultra handy. Pamper her, get her on side and you had a “mediator” acting as a pigeon delivering your love notes (usually tucked inside school books), for the rest of the romance.

As the “in a committed relationship” equivalent phase of those pre-social media times commenced, catch-ups between the love stuck souls were few and far between. Landline phones were the most sophisticated medium for communication, however, not the most discreet.

The entire household had one phone at their disposal and often sat in the bedroom of the parents. If by any luck there was another extension of the phone line stretched out to a relatively

remote and private location within the house, you always ran the risk of someone else dropping in on your “love talk” from the other room. So when you young lot of today take for granted the luxury of calling each other in exquisite privacy of your very own smartphones, spare a thought for us who struggled our way through getting busted every so often. A lot was said with ink on paper. The moon and the stars featured a lot in love notes hidden amongst notebooks. Accurately timed and frequent drive-bys by a guy through the girl’s street on his scooter helped fetch glimpses of each other through the day (something that has been made ridiculously easy by “face time”).

Love and romance in my days may have been slow, tedious, and “Bollywoodish,” but it was the way it ought to be, intense, overpowering, enduring, and at times dramatic. Lovebirds longed to be with each other (in person and not online with a green dot next to their names), wrote to each other, and stole secret moments out of their days to be with each other.

So my young friends, next time you are in love, do not lock yourself in a room and make it a social media experience. Get on a rooftop and let the world know about it. Stand next to the person who makes you go weak in the knees, look into their eyes and tell

Dish out a Hallmark card dripped in over the top romantic poetry and you could not have gone wrong (well, most of the time) them how you feel. Write a letter to them, a hand written one and not an email. Charm the girl’s mother. Tell the girl that “bade bade deshon mein aisi choti choti baatein hoti rehti hain, Senorita,” (watch DDLJ if you do not know what I am saying). Go watch a rom-com together (Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani will do perfectly fine). Hold hands. Go for a long drive.

Take love and romance “offline” for a while and leave Facebook for the oldies to hook-up with their old flames so that they get through their mid-life crises.