2013-08 Sydney (2)

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Come September (7th)

devastation were once being bandied about, now it seems to be a much closer contest.

PAWAN LUTHRA

Come September is a 1961 romantic comedy film starring Rock Hudson and Gina Lollobrigida.

The local version at the moment is a comic, ho-hum election movie starring Kevin “selfie” Rudd and Tony “action man” Abbott. There seem to be no romantic leads and yes, there is no love in the air between the two major stars. In fact, spite and vitriol often surface between the two. While the critics have awarded the gong of “Best (better?) Actor” to the Coalition leader Tony Abbott, the People’s Choice Award category is still seeing Labor’s Kevin Rudd as the forerunner.

With the election campaign officially on the other side of the halfway mark, the Liberal-National alliance seems to be ahead in the polls. The experts at this stage are calling it an election for Tony Abbott to lose. That this is the analysis shows how well Kevin Rudd has changed the equation after replacing Julia Gillard. While terms such as annihilation and

An interesting side-show in this election campaign is the open hostility between the News Ltd media and the Labor Party. While the Labor Party tried to muzzle the press under former communications minister Stephen Conroy and failed, it seems that News Ltd is enjoying their potshots at the ALP through their tabloid Daily Telegraph. “Throw this mob out” screamed the headlines as the elections were announced. PM Rudd has been openly critical in his opinion of News Ltd; it will be interesting to see the kind of revenge he will seek should he be returned to power. As Julia Gillard found out, Kevin Rudd neither forgets nor forgives!

At the same time, if ALP loses the elections, it will be interesting to see what happens to one K. Rudd. If the Coalition were to lose, it is clear that Tony Abbott will be the fall guy and there will be a shoot-out between Malcolm Turnbull and Joe Hockey for leader. Under the Labor Party, the lines are not so clear. If Kevin Rudd is forced out, who will replace him? The strong union leader turned politician Bill Shorten at the helm will further bind the party to the union movement, the very image they are trying to change. There are few

charismatic leaders in the Labor camp with a number of them electing to bow out, and so it will be an interesting conundrum for the ALP. But cometh the hour, cometh the man (or woman) and perhaps a new face leading the party post elections is just the tonic required to rebuild.

Having said that, whichever mob comes in next will have to sort out the financial mess that the Wayne Swan-Chris Bowen team leaves behind. It is a bit rich for the ALP to pressure the Coalition to reveal their costings, when even with the full might of the Treasury, they did not get a single number right in their budgets. With the mining tax turning out to be one of the worst government deals ever negotiated with the private sector, and total disconnect between overall earnings and expenditure, the Labor Party has racked up huge amounts of debt in their six years in government. Someone needs to pay it back. One expects this will be our future generations. We may have escaped the global financial crisis, but unless the right measures are put in place, one only has to see the state of some European economies to understand the crises which can unfold.

Pawan Luthra is the current Parliament of NSW Multicultural Journalist of the Year.

Ritam Mitra, Deeksha Chopra, Hasnain Zaheer, Komal Utsav

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Australian Indians must win this time!

Who will form the new Government in Australia? Whether it is Labor or Liberal, it will be known on 7th September. The Australian Indian community needs to win this time at least, and the Australian Indians need to reinforce the growing community strength by pressing community needs with the parties and candidates in respective constituents, particularly in marginal seats. Considering the fact that key marginal seats including Western Sydney will be a key decider in this close fight between the two major parties: Labor and Liberal; now is the time, when a window of opportunity exists for the following “Wish” list for the Indian community in Australia:

• Funding for ‘culturally sensitive’ senior homes and senior care programs.

• Fast tracked visas for visiting parents; cutting down processing time.

• Allocation of land for building Indian community centres in Western

Sydney and all other state capitals.

• Working visas for skilled students.

• Building or funding of student accommodation close to educational institutions.

• Increased 457 visas with no strings attached.

• Revisit current English language requirements for potential migrants.

• Better recognition of Indian language skills in multicultural Australia for Jobs.

• Increased funding for addressing social issues in the Indian community, such as domestic violence, single parent issues etc.

• Funding for Australian Indian community organisations for multicultural programs.

• Fast track Free Trade Agreement with India.

• Revisit quarantine requirements for Indian community needs, including “Rakhis”.

• Involve or consult with Indian community in major policy issues.

Vish Viswanathan Kings Langley, Sydney

1. Urgently required, presentable waiter/waitress for a busy Indian restaurant in eastern suburb. Full time or part time(evenings). Weekends & English language essential. Must be able to work under pressure.

2. Urgently required, presentable staff for Indian food demonstration. Full time/partime (33 hours) including weekends. English language essential. Must be able to travel various locations in Sydney.

SPiRiTUAL

Chinmaya Mission events

Sun 1 Sept 10.00am-1pm Shree Krishna

Janmashtami Celebrations, Crestwood Community Centre, Baulkham Hills.

Sun 15 Sept 10.00am-11.30am Ganesh

Chaturthi Festival / Visarjan, Crestwood Community Centre, Baulkham Hills.

Sat 28-Sun 29 Sept Family camp

Managing the manager at Bundilla Campsite, Reilleys Rd, Winston Hills. Details: Br Gopalji 02 8850 7400 or visit www.chinmaya.com.au

gopakuteeam

4th Sunday of every month

4.00pm-5.30pm

The Global Organisation for Divinity runs free spiritual education classes for children aged 4-12 years, at Crestwood Community Centre, Crestwood Drive, Baulkham Hills. Parents welcome to join in. Details: Jayashree 02 9620 4676.

Events at BAPS

Shri Swaminarayan Mandir

Spiritual discourses

19-26 Aug Sant Parayan: Spiritual Discourses on Shreemad Bhagvat, delivered by learned BAPS Sadhu Pujya Adarshjivan Swami. 40 Eleanor Street, Rosehill, NSW.

Shri krishna Janmasthami

Sun 25 Aug 4.30pm-6.30pm

Function at the Mandir, in the presence of BAPS Sadhus, Pujya Adarshjivan

FUNNYSIDE U p

What’s on

Swami and Pujya Jnanpurush Swami. Mahaprasad will be served after the event.

Details: 02 9760 2277.

FUNdRAiSER

EkAL Vidyalayas Charity

Sun 15 Sept 2.00 pm-5.00 pm

Ekal women’s high tea at Mercure Paramatta Hotel from.

Highlights include dance performance, special guest speakers, trivia game, lots of prizes and an open discussion on the goals and objectives of Ekal Women. Details: Vineeta Bansal 0425 371 413 or www.facebook.com/ekalwomen

STAgE

An indian Embrace

21 - 25 Aug Nautanki Theatre presents Carol Dance’s play An Indian Embrace, directed by Lenore Robertson. Riverside Theatres Parramatta. Bookings 02 8839-3399, www.riversideparramatta.com.au

MiSC

NdiS and Person Centred

Planning in disability

Sat 31 Aug Samarpan Inc presents an information session on NDIS. Dundas Community Centre, 27 Sturt St, Telopea NSW.

Details: 0432 798 938 or www.samarpan.org.au

kavi Sammelan

Sat 14 Sept 4.00pm-6.30pm

Indian Literary Arts Society of Australia Inc (ILASA) presents a kavi sammelan at Epping Leisure and Learning Centre, 1 Chambers Court Epping.

Details: Rekha Rajvanshi 0403 116 301.

Hindi divas

Sun 15 Sept The Australian Hindi Committee (AHC) and IABBV Hindi School jointly present Hindi Mela at Thornleigh West Public School, Giblett Ave, Thornleigh NSW 2120. This will include a student session with a short Hindi skit, display of student work, poetry recitation competition, awards and light snacks followed by two short Hindi plays Taj Mahal ka Tender and Mere Pati ki Shaadi. There will be a Children’s Photo-Essay Competition for students in Yrs 6-12. The topic is “Friendship: What it means to you”. Children are to submit a collage (consisting of 2-5 images) and write an original short essay (125-200 words) based on this topic in HINDI.

All entries are to be sent to hindi_ school@hotmail.com. Top three entries will receive a prize.

Details: Mala Mehta 0412 283 677.

Thank you Sakhis!

Nandini Thadani of Sydney Sakhi Sangam wishes to thank all her friends and well-wishers, all her Sakhis, who have supported her during her recent bout of ill-health. Thanks to your prayers, she is now hale and hearty and ready to see you all at next year’s event.

SENiORS

Due to high demand Sri Om Foundation is starting another day of seniors’ care at Toongabbie Community Centre on first and third Tuesdays of the month. The sessions will be from 10.00am2.00pm and for seniors over 65 years. This is in addition to first and third Wednesdays already operating at the same place.

Details: Shweta Sharma 0405 367 238.

indian-Australians call it for Liberals

PAWAN LUTHRA analyses results of Indian Link’s online election survey

The Indian Australian community has come out strongly in favour of the Liberal-National coalition in an online survey conducted by Indian Link. Data was gathered over four days between 16 and 20 August 2013, from just over 500 people across the country. Midway through the 2013 election campaign just over 50% of those surveyed indicated their support for the Coalition for the September 7 election.

The ALP secured 43.28% of the votes, compared to 50.75% for the Coalition, with the Greens picking up the balance.

An interesting observation however came from the question on preferred prime minister. Surprisingly, Indian Australians believe that Kevin Rudd will make a better prime minister, giving him a comprehensive preference of 52.6% of the votes over Tony Abbott at 47.4%.

Indian Australian voters seem to view the leadership style of Rudd - or at least the public leadership style - as much more likable.

It seems that the change from Julia Gillard did not make much difference to the voting intentions of the community. Over 70% of the respondents confirmed that it did not make a difference to them who the leader of the ALP is during this period. It appears that all the troubles with Labor, particularly with policy and not just with the personality issues at the leadership level, have turned Indian Australian voters off.

What was surprising was the strong gains that the Coalition has made into the perception of who will do more for the Indian Australian community. Traditionally, Labor has been strong in staking its credentials over the migrant vote. However, in the Indian Link survey, both Labor and Coalition seem to be neck and neck in securing just over 47% votes, with the Greens picking up the balance 5%. Palmer United Party did get a mention as working better for Australia’s Indian community.

As the community matures from the working class migrant group to those establishing, growing or being involved in small businesses, there seems to be the emergence

of a shift away from Labor towards the Coalition.

While we have certainly grown in numbers in recent years, it is also clear that entrepreneurial activity has increased within our numbers with the new arrivals, who are small to medium business owners rather than those in the professions. The doctors and academics made up the early Indian settlers of the 1970s and ‘80s, whereas among the newer settlers a larger number are entrepreneurs. And to them, Liberal is a better fit than Labor.

Influencing this decision is perhaps also the perception that the Coalition will forge better relations between India and Australia. With the Labor Party stalling on the progress of uranium sales to India, their heavy-handed approach to the international students’ issue of 2009-’10, and their clampdown on

457 visas, the Indian community seems to be leaning slightly toward the Coalition with a 51.5% vote as compared to 48.5% for Labor. This is also reflected in the respondents’ answers to which party will offer better immigration policies.

State-based affairs - whether Campbell Newman’s cost-cutting measures in Queensland or the Eddie Obeid-Ian MacDonald ICAC saga in NSW - seem to have played a marginal role in the decision of the final vote. Only 25% have indicated that state politics influenced their decision.

Interestingly enough, the debate on asylum seekers ranked the highest among various issues of concern to the voting intentions, with education close behind.

The Australian economy was third as a factor, while cost of living ranked fourth in order of importance. In the marginal

seats in Western Sydney, a region which a significant number of Indian Australians call home, the refugee issue is a hot topic, and it seems that the party which settles the asylum seeker debate most effectively will strongly gain from the Indian Australian vote.

At the last Federal elections in 2010, Indian Link polling had the election too close to call. Days later, the election results vindicated this finding.

This time round, the Indian Australian community has called it for the Liberal-National Coalition, opting to vote out the Kevin Rudd-led Labor Party.

It will be clear in just under two weeks if the Indian community in Australia gets it right two elections in a row.

Whatever the results, we urge the entire Indian Australian community who can, to go out there and make your vote count!

With the Labor Party stalling on the progress of uranium sales to India, their heavy-handed approach to the international students’ issue of 2009-’10, and their clampdown on 457 visas, the Indian community seems to be leaning slightly toward the Coalition with a 51.5% vote as compared to 48.5% for Labor

Record number

For the first time in Australia’s election history, we are witnessing the largest number of South Asian candidates actively participating in the 2013 elections. A total of 26 candidates of Indian and subcontinent origin will represent political parties, or stand as Independents, for seats in both the Senate, as well as the House of Representatives. While this may seem like an unimpressively low number across a wide range of political platforms, it does indicate that the Indian diaspora is taking a greater interest in Australian politics and that they are lending their voice and efforts towards better understanding and acceptance of their communities within Australian society.

Conducting research for this report on the Australian elections has been an interesting and enlightening experience. For instance, how many of us were aware that some of the registered parties on the Australian Electoral website are the Fishing and Lifestyle Party, Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party, Australian Sports Party, Bullet Train for Australia, No Carbon Tax Climate Sceptics and Shooters and Fishers Party? Would we vote for the Australian Sex Party, Coke in the Bubblers Party, Help End Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party, Smokers Rights Party or the Pirate Party Australia? We certainly aren’t spoiled for choice, are we?

We are all aware that the 2013 Elections is bound to be dominated by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Liberals (Coalition), with Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott respectively, jostling for the throne of Australia. The Greens, a growing and seemingly dedicated group have finally found themselves in the reckoning, as more and more Australians seem to support their policies for climate change and a cleaner, greener world. And of course, a plethora of parties such as the Palmer United Party and the WikiLeaks Party, not to mention Independents, are trying to have their say in the future of Australia.

Current trends indicate that multicultural communities in general are confused about the

current political scenario. The ALP, with their leadership issues and their suspect policies in relation to asylum seekers and the economy, have lost them the vote of confidence with the public.

The Liberals are faring no better. They come across as indecisive and conservative, to say the least. Their policies are unclear and they seem adept at circumventing topics of controversy like the budget deficit and gender parity issues. And while both parties have reasonably strong candidates in the background like Joe Hockey and Penny Wong, neither leader inspires confidence in voters.

For the Indian community, it’s a matter of waiting and watching. There are many issues in the balance, such as progressing Indo-Oz relations, visa issues, trade and bilateral relations – the list is endless! But the increased representation of south Asian candidates in the 2013 Election is an indicator that times are changing, and that the voice of multicultural communities are being heard. It is a significant development and one that we must embrace with enthusiasm, as a sign of better things to come.

Both the major political parties have made an attempt to inculcate Indian-origin people into their campaign strategy.

The Australian Labor Party has the support of two candidates, Manoj Kumar, candidate for Menzies in Melbourne, Victoria, (House of Representatives), and Bhupinder Kumar, candidate for Chibber, New South Wales, (Senate). However, it does seem like Labor doesn’t seem to have made a strong enough pitch to recruit more candidates from one of the fastest growing migrant communities in Australia.

The Liberals have done better, recruiting four candidates to the party, three of these from Victoria. Dr Ali Khan, Jag Chugha and Shilpa Hegde will all contest from areas in Victoria. Following close behind are the Greens, with four South Asian candidates representing the party. Prominent among these is Alexandra Kaur Bhathal, who will contest from Batman in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

But it is the newer and lesser known parties who have a strong Indian presence among their

There are more South Asian candidates standing for the upcoming Federal elections than ever, find SHERYL DIXIT and RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA, and surprisingly most are not from the two major parties

Clive Palmer (PUP) with Gary Loke

Jag Chugha (Liberal)

Shilpa Hegde (Liberal)

of candidates in the fray

candidates. The Palmer United Party has a total of nine Indianorigin candidates. Headed by Professor Clive Palmer as their Federal leader, the party was formed on the ashes of the United Australia Party (UAP), an Australian political party founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. Now in 2013, the UAP has been re-launched by Professor Palmer, with the slogan of ‘Reunite the Nation’. It’s probable that as a newly formed party, they needed the numbers from a cross-section of candidates, but whatever the case, it is a fact that the Palmer United Party supports the largest number of Indian-origin candidates in these elections.

South Asian origin candidates in the 2013 Federal Elections

SENATE

NSW

Bhupinder Kumar Chibber (Labor)

Sam Swami Nathan (Independent)

VIC

Gurminder Sekhon (Greens) Binoy Kampmark (Wikileaks Party)

WA

Suresh Rajan (Wikileaks Party)

ACT

Indra Esguerra (Greens)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATiVES

NSW

Ammar Khan, Chifley (Independent)

Mohandas Balasingham, Grayndler (Palmer United Party)

Raheam Khan, North Sydney (Palmer United Party)

Ganesh Loke, Parramatta (Palmer United Party)

Kalpesh Patel, Parramatta (Independent)

Mohhamad Ashraf, Reid (Palmer United Party)

VIC

Alex Kaur Bhathal, Batman (Greens)

Ali Khan, Calwell (Liberal)

Dinesh Jayasuriya, Gorton (Greens)

Jatinder Singh, Holt (Palmer United Party)

Avtar Singh Gill, Isaacs (Palmer United Party)

Nihal Samara, Lalor (Liberal)

Manpj Kumar, Menzies (Labor)

Jag Chugha, Scullin (Liberal)

Shilpa Hegde, Wills (Liberal)

WA

Vimal Sharma, Cowan (Palmer United Party)

Vashil Sharma, Fremantle (Palmer United Party)

Kim Mubarak, Sterling (Independent)

SA

Balwinder Singh Jhandi, Barker (Palmer United Party)

Bikhar Singh Brar, Mayo

The WikiLeaks Party was incorporated as a political party in 2013. According to its website, the party ‘stands for unswerving commitment to the core principles of civic courage nourished by understanding and truthfulness and the free flow of information’. The Constitution of the WikiLeaks Party lists its objectives which include the protection of human rights and freedoms; transparency of governmental and corporate action, policy and information; recognition of the need for equality between generations; and support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination. Naturally, Julian Assange is its leader and is supported by two Indian origin candidates, Binoy Kampmark, a respected academic and Suresh Rajan, a renowned economist.

Most of the South Asian candidates standing for election are from across Australia but unsurprisingly, none belong to the Northern Territory, Canberra and Tasmania. What is surprising though, is that none are from Queensland, with its relatively strong Indian migrant base. The candidates still do not seem to have a strong presence, but the fact that they have one at all is promising from a long term perspective.

So what kind of policies do these candidates support and what are they striving to achieve?

Jag Chugha is the first Punjabi Sikh to stand for a Federal Seat of Parliament in Australia. About his candidacy Jag says, “Scullin is a great place to live, but things should be better. Under Labor the cost of living has sky-rocketed, small businesses are doing it

Alex Bhathal (Greens)

tough and people are worried about their job security. These are issues that people are talking to me about daily. I want to give my community a strong local voice and fight for our fair share”. As a long-time resident of Scullin, Jag feels he understands the local community’s needs and can represent local families to deliver real results.

For Alexander (Alex) Kaur Bhathal, Greens candidate for Batman in Melbourne’s Northern Suburbs, it is her fourth candidacy for this federal seat. “I am standing for a vision of a future in Batman where we can all thrive, she says in a statement on the Greens website. “I will work for a flourishing small business sector, combined with a renewed manufacturing base which could provide hundreds of local jobs in the renewable energy industries… building a strong focus on renewable technology research and design manufacturing in our suburbs which have great manufacturing infrastructure and plenty of people looking for local work. We are the most progressive electorate in Australia, with a combined Greens and Labor vote of 78.5%”.

50-year-old Sam Swaminathan is a relatively new migrant who came here in 2003, and is standing as an Independent. “I stand for economic growth, employment, the abolition of carbon tax, services for senior citizens and tax concessions for working parents,” says Sam enthusiastically.

“We’re standing for three key things at this election,” says Dr Binoy Kampmark of the WikiLeaks Party. “These are issues of transparency, accountability and justice. I call this the ‘holy trinity’ of our platform. In terms of accountability, Wikileaks is well known for its slogan of ‘We open governments, everywhere’. As a party we want no hidden deals, no backdoor deals. We want transparency in funding, in accounts. By accountability, we refer to surveillance. We believe the state has become too powerful in relation to citizens. Is it necessary to spy on us to keep us safe? We want to generate an interest amongst the public, as to what Intelligence does with

protection for whistle blowers, and want to stop abuses of state power”.

For Ganesh Loke, candidate for the Palmer United Party, a solution to the Carbon Tax and the problem with asylum seekers is paramount. “We want to have the Carbon Tax abolished; to have a humanitarian refugee policy whereby Australia is protected while at the same time refugees have opportunities to enhance their lives, and to do away with paid political lobbyists,” says Ganesh. “Both major parties are against refugees. That’s against international law, which states that genuine refugees must be resettled. Mr Palmer’s policy of onshore processing is the most humane policy in the debate,” he adds.

Shilpa Hegde is a candidate for the Liberal Party from Wills in Melbourne, and she says that Liberal has a plan to put Australia back on track. This plan includes generation of one million new jobs within five years by delivering lower taxes, more efficient government and more productive businesses. “I’ve noticed many families have become burdened by the rising cost of living and the lack of essential services in their community,” she adds.

“As a part of the Liberal team, I have the real solutions to lower the cost of living and fight for improved services, like schools and hospitals, for our community. I want to represent my community in Parliament and make sure the residents of Wills get their fair share,” she adds.

What was the ‘X’ factor that convinced these candidates to join the party of their choice?

“The protection of human rights is paramount to me. WikiLeaks Party delivers this,” succinctly states Suresh Rajan from the WikiLeaks Party.

“I’ve been involved in the Liberal Party for a number of years now, and this combined with my interest in helping out my local community, influenced my decision to run for Parliament,” says Shilpa.

“I was first introduced to the Liberal Party several years ago by my father and at that time realised that I too shared the beliefs of the party,” says Jag. “Everyone should be free to pursue their goals and

extends my (passion) for being critical of power. “It’s a party of review, if you like, a watchdog part, so important in today’s world. That’s the first reason. The second reason is the party’s diversity is remarkable. Membership extends across the left-right divide. It’s a broad eclectic group of people with similar interests”.

A former Labor Party member, Ganesh claims he was completely disillusioned by the Party in recent times and so decided to seek a new platform.

“We are the most progressive electorate in Australia, with a combined Greens and Labor vote of 78.5%,” states Alex. “People in this seat value social justice, human rights and the environment. I would be proud to represent the people of this seat”.

The campaign trail is a rough and challenging one, which certainly needs the benefit of strategy to reach out to as many voters as possible. How did the candidates deal with this aspect of the elections?

Jag is out campaigning every day, listening to locals. “I’m meeting people at shopping centres, schools, markets and train stations,” he states. “I’ve been out door knocking and leafleting, trying to let people know that the Liberals have a plan to reduce the cost of living for families, help small businesses get ahead and strengthen the economy. I’ve also been attending community functions where I’ve had the opportunity to meet many people of different cultures and backgrounds”.

Sam, a chartered accountant by background, has been reaching out to the Indian community through various associations, and has been meeting people at cultural functions, and places of worship. He has also been emailing Indian associations in Newcastle and Central Coast.

Binoy has been campaigning across various forums, particularly in social media, “I’ve also participated actively in forums such as at the Fitzroy Town Hall recently which was received well. We’ve had a variety of debates and meetings in our effort to gather a support base. There has been interest from the community because of the Indian background

(my mother is Bengali). And also Indian connections overseas have brought good and positive coverage for both Suresh Rajan, our candidate in WA, and me,” he claims.

Ganesh has been campaigning at community functions such as the IndAus Fair and the CIA Independence Day Dinner, as well as at shopping malls, local stations, and places of worship such as the Swaminarayan Temple. Ganesh also participated in the Daily Telegraph debate to put forth his views to a wider audience. “Being a techie, social media is one of my strengths,” he reveals. “My Facebook page has 3,200 likes, more than other candidates in my constituency”.

Shilpa and her team have been following a similar strategy of letterboxing, door knocking and meeting people in shopping centres, community hubs and train stations. “I’ve been listening to locals and many people have been telling me that the cost of living is having a real effect on their household,” she says. “I want people in Wills to know that the Coalition has real solutions to lower the cost of living, create job growth, strengthen our local economy and get the Budget back on track”.

All the candidates are involved in various charitable activities, including support for specific charities, volunteering their time and efforts for the betterment of the community.

Most of the Indian origin candidates contesting in the Federal elections have a strong background and would be more than proficient at their role, if elected.

Suresh Rajan from WikiLeaks Party has had a distinguished career in economics as well as having been a vigorous advocate for ethnic communities and people with disabilities. He served for several years as head of the Ethnic Communities Council of WA and is currently the President of the National Ethnic Disability Alliance, the peak body for the CaLD Disability organisations in Australia. Suresh holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a double major (Management and Accounting) and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia, and is a regular commentator on television and radio in his role as a financial planner and economist.

Alexandra Kaur Bathal is a well-known and respected member of the community. She has 25 years of experience working in the social welfare sector, with families and local communities. Alex is a former

Welfare Spokesperson for the Australian Greens Victoria and is active in the refugee rights movement, anti-nuclear and environmental campaigning. As a qualified social worker, Alex’s professional experience includes clinical practice with young people, community development, research, management, program and policy development.

Jag holds qualifications of Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Laws. He is a practicing lawyer with over 15 years of experience and is currently the senior counsel at a top 100 ASX Australian listed company.

Sam Swaminathan, the NSW Senate Independent has extensive work experience within the mainstream, through his dealings with charity organisations in the north shore, churches, aged care and retirement facilities.

Binoy arrived in Australia in the 1990s but has been living in the US and in the UK where he worked towards a Cambridge PhD. Dr. Binoy Kampmark now teaches core legal courses within the Legal and Dispute Studies program for the Bachelor of Social Science at RMIT University.

Ganesh arrived in Australia in 1999 as a student, and took degrees in IT and education from Charles Sturt University. He is currently an IT entrepreneur in Sydney. Shilpa is an Electronics Engineer who currently works for DWS as an IT consultant.

So finally, why politics, and will this be a career for these candidates, regardless of whether they win or lose?

“Politics is a platform by means of which you can bring real change to society,” says Ganesh Loke. “If you want to change the system, come forward, get involved”.

“Politics is a way of serving the people. There’s been nobody from the India community so far who has risen in this field. I feel it is time to take some responsibility and start to give back,” says Sam.

“I’ll answer that question by quoting from French writer Andre Malroux: Politics is justice; if you can’t have them together, it’s an empty mission,” emphasises Bijoy.

With the election fast approaching, these 26 South Asian candidates are worth keeping an eye on. To date there have been a very small number of Indian-origin parliamentarian, including the serving Senator Lisa Singh from Tasmania, and the recontesting Alex Bhathal. It will be interesting if the community can add to this on the night of September 7th.

Sheikhs of spin

BY RiTAM MiTRA

Spin bowling is one of the most unique crafts in world sport. It requires a mastery of technique to mesmerise a batsman with flight, deceive them with drift, confuse them with turn and unsettle them with bounce. Then there’s the mental aspect – spinners always have to think two or three steps ahead of the batsman, because their bad balls generally disappear over the boundary far more easily than their fast-bowling counterparts. It’s no surprise that it takes years of practice and experience to become a successful spinner – and a new spin bowling academy titled Spin Foundation Australia, located in Western Sydney, hopes to send young cricketers on that path.

Spin Foundation Australia is the brainchild of Indian Link’s very own Sanjiv Dubey, and was recently formally inaugurated at its home, Glenwood High School. It is the latest project in a long list of successful and exciting sporting endeavours for Sanjiv, who teaches PDHPE at Rouse Hill High School. Sanjiv also runs a T20 cricket competition in winter, which recently enjoyed its most successful-ever season. Meanwhile, for the last six years, he has been working with primary schools in the Western Sydney region through a sports development program that is targeted towards the large number of children in the area with a subcontinental background.

From there, Sanjiv and his team looked to expand their horizons and venture into working with 1016 year old children.

“We were looking at different places and opportunities that were good for us and the kids,” revealed Sanjiv. “We went to Glenwood High School in Glenwood and this time, instead of going to the school and doing the program, we have invested in the school’s cricket facilities. We have built cricket nets and facilities and we have an ex-Pakistan test spinner on board as the director of spin bowling - Arshad Khan, who has 60-odd international caps

and was also part of the Indian Cricket League”.

Setting up the academy was by no means an easy project, but Sanjiv’s track record in working with primary schools made things a lot easier when he was making his pitch to the school.

“It took a good 6-7 months to set up because it was a public and private partnership, between Glenwood High School and our team,” he stated. “They saw the value in it as well, because of course, school kids would benefit from the facilities during school hours, and they have many subcontinental kids studying there. I felt it was time for me to give a little more, and I was very optimistic with the subcontinent population at the school. With my experience and knowledge in

education and sports sciences I have sort of floated the project in a scientific way, following the principles of sports improvement - we’ll see if we can get the results”.

The academy already has close to 200 enrolments, and will initially accept one and all, to give staff the opportunity to assess the potential of each athlete. There is a pool of roughly 4,000 children in the area, each of whom Sanjiv is interested in looking into – but he hopes to bring that number down significantly.

“Eventually we’ll be working with 40-60 kids max and we’ll see who can come out on top. We’ve already identified three kids to whom we will offer scholarships. We’ll be reaching out to the local primary schools, and each and

every kid will receive a flyer,” he added.

And it’s not just spinners who are being targeted. Although the academy will naturally have a focus on spinners, Sanjiv cites the ‘battery of coaches’ who will be looking at all aspects of an individual’s cricketing nous. Sanjiv, who is a handy pace bowler himself, hopes that along with the other coaches, he can be helpful to the children and their parents in all aspects of the game.

For Sanjiv, setting up the academy is just a small first step towards bigger and greater things.

“Fingers crossed, but we have done all the preliminary structural development within the school and we are looking for bigger investors who will come and further improve the facilities – such as making all-weather floodlights and different types of wickets which we haven’t been able to fund at this stage. We’re looking for investors such as MRF in India (as in the MRF Pace Foundation) to come on board. We’re trying to showcase ourselves to Cricket NSW and Cricket Australia – of course they’ve got great programs running all around, but we’ve gone into a sector of the population where I thought strategically we’ll have more opportunities to find the next Shane Warne, Harbhajan or Kumble. We have got a very positive response,” said Sanjiv.

Eventually, Sanjiv hopes that Spin Foundation Australia will

my experience and knowledge in education and sports sciences I have sort of floated the project in a scientific way, following the principles of sports improvement

The academy already has close to 200 enrolments, and will initially accept one and all, to give staff the opportunity to assess the potential of each athlete

“become a Spin ‘beehive’ (the academy) in which bees (the kids/ players) will work hard towards their goal, which is designed so that the keeper (Australian cricket) can collect the honey (world class spinners) they produce. I feel that in the next 2-3 years Glenwood will become the hub of cricketing kids and that’s the ambition that I believe in – that I should be able to turn the school into a sports school. It’s a big effort, but step by step hopefully we should reach there,” he added.

So what are you waiting forcould your child be the next Shane Warne?

If your child possesses exceptional cricketing talent, there’s a sporting chance to develop these skills

“With

“ Sanjiv Dubey

Pakistani off-spinner Arshad Khan on a visit to Glenwood High School

Sanjiv Dubey with Principal Erla McMaster

The future of

A forum discusses unbundling education in Australia and India, in order for it to be ready for a changing world

BY HASNAIN ZAHEER

Leading education and skills training experts across Australia and Asia got together recently to discuss trends in education, a sector pivotal to the Australia-India relationship.

Pradeep Khanna of Global Mindset pulled this event together as part of Integrating Australia with Asia initiative. Earlier in the year, his Future of higher

education and skills training had covered the key technologies making waves in education, as reported in Indian Link (April (2) 2013 issue).

At the event, the keynote session by Saad Rizvi, Director of Efficacy at Pearsons, one of the largest educational publishers, was a presentation of his paper, The avalanche is coming. He compared the situation in today’s universities as akin to just before an avalanche in which a big change is about to come, even though it cannot be seen.

With fast-paced changes in the global economy due to mobile, digital and other technology driven

initiatives; the global economic downturn; an increase in higher education costs faster than the rate of inflation; the relative fall of value of a degree; and free, ubiquitous content; an unbundling is taking place in universities.

As a result, the imposing structures of the world’s top universities no longer seem to be so durable. To escape this avalanche, standing still and waiting for it is the option of ruin. Universities need to look beyond the standard offering of a 3-4

universities, and jobs and skills mismatch.

If you are a parent, the content of this conference must alert you to be open and ready to embrace change, guiding your children to navigate the new world of changing education and job conditions, when education may no longer be going to university for four years; rather a mix of online and classroom learning. Jobs may not be longer, rather contractual and freelance; and there will be an emphasis on lifelong learning. It is also important to not impose on them the values and decisions based on the current systems and structures.

Jobs may not be longer, rather contractual and freelance; and there will be an emphasis on lifelong learning

years degree to an 18-24 age group, and diversify it. Rizvi prescribed many other solutions. There were panel sessions on value proposition of

Panel discussion on Is there a mismatch between jobs and skills? From left to right in the panel are: David Sadler - Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Tasmania, Paul Wappatt, CEO, Open Universities, Robin Shreeve - CEO, AWPA (Australian Workplace Productivity Agency), Scott Cassin, Asia Pacific & Japan Chief Technologist & Strategist, Hewlett Packard, Sean Gallagher, COO, US Study Centre, University of Sydney, Prof. Iain Martin, Vice President & Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of New South Wales (UNSW), and Pradeep Khanna, CEO, Global Mindset & Executive Director, Integrating Australia with Asia

of education

Avalanches ahead

Indian Link caught up with Saad Rizvi, Director of Efficacy at Pearsons, London and author

Hasnain Zaheer (HZ): You have studied and worked in South Asia (in Pakistan) and in the western world. What are your key insights on how South Asian countries can improve higher education?

Saad Rizvi (SR): The avalanche presents a phenomenal opportunity to South Asian institutions to take advantage of the changes to rapidly evolve and leapfrog the traditional universities. To bring true and irreversible change, our higher education systems need to do (1) system reform - looking at the system across quality of teaching, and output such as graduation rates, comparing it to globally benchmarked best practices and then applying evidencebased interventions to raise the quality of the whole system; and (2) systemic innovation to create the conditions for the system to identify, support and ultimately scale and capture opportunities for disruptive innovation. Putting the two together will put our countries onto a journey of continuous improvement.

HZ: What is your message to people of sub-continent heritage - parents, students and professionals?

SR: My first message is to demand excellence from every institution. We are key clients of the higher education system and often invest savings accumulated over a lifetime

Aus-Asia links

Indian Link chatted to Pradeep Khanna, the organiser of Integrating Australia with Asia events

Hasnain Zaheer (HZ): What is your goal and philosophy behind the Global Mindset and Integrating Australia with Asia?

Pradeep Khanna (PK): Global Mindset is a thought leading consulting company focused on increasing services trade between Australia, India and other Asian countries. Integrating Australia with Asia (IAA) is its initiative to enhance links between Australian, Indian and other Asian entities.

HZ: What are the key high level insights from discussions, interviews and events engaging people from Australia and Asia, across disciplines?

PK: We are living in a world which is getting increasing flattened by globalisation and digitisation and new disruptive business models are emerging in every industry. We have to continuously re-invent ourselves as well as keep innovating to succeed in this environment.

HZ: What is your message to NRIs and other people of sub-continent heritage - parents, students and professionals?

PK: Future work in a globalised and digitised economy may necessitate changing careers 4 to 7 times in a lifetime. Lifelong learning will be the norm. We have the advantage of having familiarity and access to ecosystems both in Australia and India that we should use to excel in whatever we are doing.

into universities. You can’t be passive consumers anymore. Encourage change, ask for more and ensure you’re getting high value for money from every institution. The second message is to not be complacent. In today’s world, you can’t expect to go to a university and be guaranteed a job for the rest of your life. You need to continuously up-skill yourself whether it’s through formal or informal learning. You need to seek out opportunities to explore your interests and passions independently of the institution you go to. You need to find mentors and supporters who can guide you towards achieving your goals.

HZ: What should today’s high school or university students do to ensure their education is relevant in tomorrow’s world?

SR: Seek out your interests and passions inside and outside universities and be entrepreneurial in how you capture them. If you’re interested in engineering for example, it’s not sufficient to just get a degree. You should reach out, work with and partner with the engineering firms around you. You should learn everything even outside of your university curriculum and discover ways of practicing it. In today’s world of online courses, blogs and YouTube, it’s increasingly easier to achieve that. Just getting a degree, even from a prestigious university, isn’t sufficient in the global marketplace for jobs anymore. You have to go the extra mile to prove your passions on the path to getting that dream job.

Pradeep Khanna

Saad Rizvi

Revised visa and PR regulations impact students

Over the last six years there has been a drastic decline in the number of Indian students coming to Australia for further studies, which has slowly started to impact the international education sector in the nation. An analysis by the immigration department shows the number of Indians studying in Australia dropped by 71% from 2007/08 to 2011/12.

According to international student data at year-to-date (YTD) May 2013, the number of Indian student enrolments for all sectors was 33,484 compared to 40,601 at the same time in 2012. This reflects an overall drop of 17.5% in 2013, in comparison to 2012 in the number of Indian students coming Australia.

Interestingly, the most popular field of education for Indian students continues to be management and commerce across Vocational Educational Training (13,394) and Higher Education (3,790) sectors.

So what are the reasons for this sharp fall in numbers? After speaking with Indian students and professionals, it is obvious that the tightening of new student visa regulations, the sluggish job market, changes in the general skilled migration rules leading to permanent residency, coupled with the high value of the Australian dollar has been a big dampener on many Indian students achieving the big Australian dream.

27-year-old Kirti Sharma who is a permanent resident feels the primary reason for the drop is the new stringent rules to get permanent residency in Australia.

“The majority of students who come to Australia come with the purpose of settling down here once they have finished their studies. You can’t get permanent residency anymore for studying cookery or hairdressing; accounting probably still exists in the list of courses which will give you a residency, but the IELTS (English test) score requirement is 8 which is a very high score for someone to achieve if English is not their first language,” said Sharma.

“Let’s not forget the strong

Australian dollar which could also be a factor for lots of students, because it makes the course more expensive for students compared to say five years ago. In Indian rupees the course which I studied about six years ago will now cost you about 30-35% more because of the strong Australian dollar,” added Sharma.

Another daunting factor dissuading Indian students from selecting Australia as their first preference for higher studies is the lack of job opportunities available for them here after completing their degree.

“Indian students may not want to invest in an Australian university because getting a degree here does not necessarily convert into getting a job when one is on a student visa,” said Mandeep Singh, an MBA student from University of Technology Sydney. “Australian employers prefer local experience instead of relying on Indian work experience. This is where I fail to understand that even in an era of globalisation, a developed country like Australia is still way behind in infusing a multicultural talented workforce into the economy”.

Unfortunately for Singh and many like him, their fate solely lies on the visa they currently hold. “I will be graduating with a Master’s degree this year and wish

to apply for graduate roles in big companies, but a temporary work visa doesn’t allow me to sit for interviews in such companies,” said Singh. “However, I am definitely eligible to apply in the same companies back in India where my degree is of utmost value”.

Danish Ali, another MBA student echoes the same feeling, “I have been living in Australia for the past five and half years. Despite my education here, I’m still not being considered for permanent residency; it is most unfortunate and frustrating for me”.

Alison Jenkins, Deputy Director, UNSW International reaffirms that permanent residency requirements is one of the reasons for the drastic drop in the number of student enrolments since 2008.

“The VET sector has been impacted the most due to changes in the PR requirements,” stated Jenkins. “The drop in numbers was also due to safety concerns after the highly publicised student attacks in Melbourne and the high Australian dollar”.

“Approximately 200 students have enrolled mostly in postgraduate programs at UNSW last year. India constitutes about 5% of our incoming international

students. Approximately 50% are from South East Asia and the remaining from the rest of the world,” she added.

With tuition fee and the cost of living in Australia becoming more unaffordable, the demand for scholarships from India is on the rise. “There is always a demand for scholarships but unfortunately we have been unable to provide additional scholarships due to the higher education budget cuts this year,” said Jenkins.

Radhika Budhwar was among the four Indians invited from India to be part of a show called Dumb, Drunk and Racist back in 2012. The initiative behind this series was to project the true picture of Australia to a number of disillusioned Indians, who felt that this was not the safest country for their denizens. After the furore of negative media reports of crimes and robberies against Indians in Australia in 2008-09 that were described as racially motivated crimes, the issue of safety became a global concern. Radhika, an education advisor, did have a negative image about Australia and had stopped encouraging students to enrol for higher education in 2009; however her perception of Australia changed for the better after her visit.

Another daunting factor dissuading Indian students from selecting Australia as their first preference for higher studies is the lack of job opportunities available for them here after completing their degree

“I wouldn’t label Australia as racist, but a few people are still a bit ignorant,” she said. “Australia is a fortunate country. Indian students have once again started to apply to Australian universities and the numbers have started to pick up again”.

In fact, an India-Australia 2013 Poll, conducted by the Lowy Institute for International Policy, disclosed some surprising results (previously published in Indian Link). To summarise, it revealed that Indian students had broadly positive views towards Australia, but still have lingering concerns about student safety. The survey highlighted that the controversies over the safety of Indian students a few years ago have not damaged the overall perceptions of Indians, and Australia is still considered as a place to gain an education. According to the survey, Australia ranks only second after the United States as a good place to be educated, according to 75% of Indians; and rates more highly than Canada, Singapore, Britain and Germany. Among its findings, 62% of Indians think Australia remains a dangerous place for Indian students, although 53% say it is safer than it was a few years ago, and 64% say any country can be dangerous for Indian students if they are not careful.

For Indian students choosing to study and live in Australia, the choice is no longer an attractive option

kSHA

HOPRA

Happy Birthday, India

The Indian Australian Association of NSW celebrates India’s Independence Day at Rosehill Gardens, Rosehill Racecourse

Photos: Vivek Trivedi

Touch of patriotism at BAPS

BY kOMAL UTSAV JAGAD

As the Indian communities gathered in various parts of the world to celebrate the country’s 67th Independence Day, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir organised a very special celebration in its newly renovated temple here in Rosehill, Sydney. 500 members of the community joined the celebrations where the Deputy Consul General of India, Dr Vinod Bahade was the guest of honour.

The cultural show of the evening began with a warm welcome by MCs Ketan and Hardik. A passionate speech by Praful Jethwa successfully kindled patriotic vibes amongst all present. Pratik took everyone back to the era of the struggle for India’s independence which was led by true sons of our motherland including revolutionaries like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and such others. Given the long struggle undertaken by the revolutionaries and the challenges

they overcame, one should say the achievements are truly remarkable.

The BAPS Sydney Kirtan Mandal paid tribute to our heroes with patriotic songs and national anthem acknowledging this achievement.

This patriotic mood complemented the sacrosanct spirit of the temple beautifully, as the deities’ statues shone amidst Indian and Australian flags. The temple was decorated at its best with saffron, white and green balloons reminding everyone of the true essence of the colors in our flag - saffron for courage, white for peace and green for prosperity.

As far and deep as the prosperity of India goes, it is nearly impossible to fully exemplify it; however, the audience was not bereft of a sneak peak at our prosperous heritage and achievements. This came in the form of a quiz that kept the audience intrigued every time the quiz host Mayank shot out a new question. The quiz revolved around subjects like India’s constitution, politics, parliament, freedom struggle, freedom fighters and achievements. The audience excitedly guessed and murmured answers to each other, even as Team A emerged the winners

up on stage (well done, Nikhil, Chintan and Rutul).

The dignitaries were then invited for a presentation ceremony and to address the gathering, followed by the aarti. Deputy Consul General of India, Dr Vinod Bahade in his address acknowledged Swaminarayan Mandir’s efforts in organising cultural events and activities all over the world and opening windows for the world to our culture and heritage.

BAPS Sydney’s Public Relations Coordinator, Yogi Savania said that the event was to recognise the glorious history of India, its culture and traditions and was inspired by Param Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

“As Australia charts its progress in the Asian century, it is critical that the historical contribution of India to civilization as a whole is not overlooked,” Mr Savania added.

Although it was a celebration of India’s liberation, it was also time

for a reality check. A video on Indian civilization was played to portray how our country evolved from the Mughal era to the British raj and ultimately the freedom struggle and independence. The concluding message in the video left everyone with critical thoughts.

Paradoxically, the term ‘independence’ still remains a subjective issue as there are still many glitches from which our country needs to be liberated.

Thinking about these, everyone sang a heartfelt national anthem. The prasad, our very famous pav bhaji and lassi came right in time to lighten everyone’s spirits. Isn’t it said, “Assi, tussi aur lassi banaye hassi” i.e. good company with the right drink can only create happiness! There of course was no other better way to conclude the formalities, as everyone hailed Lord Swaminarayan.

Reaching out to the homeland

CIA’s annual India Day Dinner celebrates India’s culture while highlighting some of its contemporary challenges

BY SUNIL GAUTAM

The India Day 2013 Dinner function by the Council

Of Indian Australians was held on August 10, 2013 at Bowman Hall, Blacktown. It was an evening marked with patriotic fervour, cultural showcasing and the spirit of charity. In addition to hundreds of community members, the function was also attended by Consul General of India Arun Goel, and prominent political leaders like Geoff Lee (state Member for Parramatta), Matt Kean (state member for Hornsby) and Labor MP and Parliamentary Secretary Ed Husic.

Efficiently anchored by MCs Sonia and Subhash, the function was like a ride through India – its colourful culture, arts, achievements and of course, its challenges. The first part of the show kept the audience spell bound as one scintillating performance was followed by another. Young Indian Australians, some as young as four years old, performed an exciting array of dances from all corners of India.

CIA kept the community involved by means of a keenly contested dance competition, for which preparations began weeks in advance. The participating dance groups were Melody Moves Singing & Dance School, Samskriti School of Dance, Agni Nakshatra Dance Group, Nupur Dance Group, the Indian Dance School, Expression: Priya Dewan’s Bollywood Dance Acedemy and the Panjabi Sangeet Centre FBI Bhangra Academy. Their performances were judged by a panel comprised of many well-known personalities from the Indian community in Sydney, Kumud Merani, Rajni Anand Luthra, Anupam Sharma, Madhvi Mohindra and Deepa Gupta. The judges may have differed in their scores but there was little disagreement on how hard it was to declare a winner since all performances were impressive. In the end, the Panjabi Sangeet Centre FBI Bhangra Academy was judged as the best group thanks to their pulsating Bhangra performance that infused new energy into the evening.

Along with all the fun and enjoyment, there was a sombre note to the evening when the guests were reminded of the havoc in Uttrakhand which resulted in thousands of deaths early this

year. In keeping with the spirit of serving the community, there was a special presentation on CINI (Child In Need India), an organisation that works tirelessly towards improving the lives of disadvantaged children as well as women in India. Guests were encouraged to donate generously since all proceeds from the evening were pledged to the Uttrakhand Relief Fund and CINI. It was indeed heartening to see that the CIA has not only worked hard for local causes such as the Queensland floods, NSW Cancel Council and Clean-Up Australia Day, but has also extended the scope of its efforts to help people in need in India as well.

In their speeches, all distinguished speakers hailed the India-Australia ties which are growing stronger by the day. There were ‘Namastes’ galore, and the usual references to cricket and Commonwealth.

Geoff Lee, Member for Parramatta, encouraged all to participate heartily in the upcoming Parramasala festival of South Asian arts, to be graced by the mighty Shahrukh Khan this year.

Ed Husic read out PM Kevin Rudd’s message, and the Liberal candidate for Greenway Jaymes Diaz delivered the message of the Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott. Both leaders spoke of how Australia is enriched by migrant communities like

the Indian community.

The young Jaymes Diaz was riding off the wave of his newfound internet popularity, thanks to a Channel Ten interview in which he could not name the six points of his party’s six-point ‘stop the boats’ policy. Yet it was fantastic to see his seniors support him on this occasion as they each called out to him from on-stage (once apparently, to reveal that Jaymes had declared he would participate in CIA’s next Bollywod dance contest if he won the upcoming elections).

It was interesting to observe the low attendance of Labor on the night: Ed Husic departed fairly quickly, but did manage to shake almost every hand he could get a hold of. And of course, the mandatory salwar-kameez or sari, on a non-Indian guest, that was missing too!

CG Arun Goel invited all guests to take part in the upcoming Bhartiya Pravasi Divas and congratulated all overseas Indians for being good citizens in their adopted countries. In his address, CIA President Subba Rao Varigonda reiterated the need to continue the good work because as the size of our community increases, so do our challenges and responsibilities. The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr Balu Vijay, CIA Secretary.

In the end, there was an auction to raise funds for the Uttrakhand

Flood Relief Appeal, followed by the Raffle Draw. The evening brought a rousing finale with a DJ-led performance, Music Masti and Dance.

The entire CIA team, Mohit Kumar in particular, deserves to be

congratulated on putting together a superb function. It is events like this which present the Indian Australian community in the right light and pave the way for better integration with the mainstream society.

The CIA team

Geoff Lee

Ed Husic Subba Rao

Bharat Mata

CANBERRA

Representing our motherland in our new home R esponding to an invitation from the High Commissioner’s office, a group of retired service officers made a trip from Sydney to Canberra to attend the Independence Day celebrations. Apart from the fabulous weather, the great drive and very engaging company, the day is one to remember.

The ceremony was held at the Commonwealth Club in Canberra and the guests were received by the High Commissioner Mr. Biren Nanda and his wife and other members of his office.

The atmosphere was electric and there was excitement in the air. It was great to see the Indian

officers mingle with their serving counterparts from the Australian defence forces. As finger food and soft drinks were served, guests from the two countries mingled with each other sharing their thoughts and views.

Then it was time for the official ceremony. A toast was raised to the President of India which was followed by the Indian national anthem. A toast was then raised to the Queen and this was followed by the Australian national anthem. The true essence of being an Indian Australian dawned on me as I sang both the anthems with equal fervour and pride. The High Commissioner Mr. Nanda addressed the August gathering which included the chief guest Senator Lisa Singh

and Andrew Leigh representing Foreign Minister Bob Carr. In his speech Mr. Nanda spoke about the bilateral ties between Indian and Australia and how the visit of former Prime Minister, Julia Gillard to India helped improve and tighten these ties as it opened a ‘new chapter’ in the Indo-Australian relationships. He also spoke about Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s visit in 2009 that prompted the growth of relations between India and Australia in the fields of education and trade. He hoped that these relations would continue to grow and strengthen as ministers from both the countries continued to visit each other.

Senator Lisa Singh quoted lines from Nehru’s famous ‘tryst

with destiny’ speech as she spoke about her Indian connections.

She articulated that the IndoAustralian relations were strong, healthy and ever-growing. She spoke about the large number of Indian students studying in Australian universities and about the formal agreements between Australian and Indian universities, including student exchange, staff exchange and academic research. She also spoke about the Australia India Institute established in the University of Melbourne which has helped enhance the understanding and cooperation between the two countries. The senator’s speech was inspiring and delivered a strong message of continued friendship.

In his speech, Andrew

Leigh spoke about his Indian connections, his visits to India and the vibrancy of the Indian nation. He spoke about the interesting Indian politics and was amazed at the way elections were held and offices formed in the largest democracy in the world. His speech was very refreshing and laced with humour.

As the ceremony concluded the feeling was one of exuberance and pride of being Indian Australian. As Indian Australians we make positive contributions to the fabric of the community that we are currently a part of. It is the Indians in Australia who create and build platforms for better ties between the two countries. We are the representatives of our motherland in this adopted

Lucky Singh is all ears as CG Arun Goel speaks in Sydney

Is that Nehru…? No it’s Oscar Oberholzer with his wife Marie and their grandson

Mata ki jai!

country of ours and we should always be conscious and aware of this responsibility.

Nima Menon

SYDNEY

A song for azaadi

T he Independence Day flag hoisting ceremony in Sydney did not follow tradition this time round.

In a change from routine, the event was held around midday, as opposed to 9am in previous years. Those of us who had to leave work on a weekday to attend, expected to see a thin crowd but we were pleasantly surprised indeed. Gathered at the

Consul General’s Pleasant Ave residence in East Lindfield, on a pleasant winter morning, were some 300 members of the Indian community, all geared up to sing the national anthem, many dressed in suitably Indian colours.

Lucky Singh wore her cherished tiranga jhanda as a dupatta over a plain white churidar suit (ok, not really, we know she’s way too patriotic for that: her chunni was daintily dyed in the national colours). Rekha Bhattacharya, an Allahabad University alumnus who has always worn white on Independence Day, brought out her pearl-white Assamese silk sari for the occasion. And the adorable Oscar was there again this year, as

he is every year, in his trademark Nehru cap and swashbuckling khadi suit worn over his favourite Gandhi-themed t-shirt.

Consul General Arun Goel was no doubt tickled pink that his little experiment had worked. He said at the outset that the change was in keeping with local demand as community members found it hard to get to the north shore at an early hour. As well, he declared, the new timing coincided with the timing of the real celebration back home.

Not changing tradition however, he unfurled the Tricolour, led the gathering in a rendition of the national anthem, and read out the message of

the President of India on the occasion.

The President’s missive was a call to rise up to the many challenges that face the nation today. He spoke early on about the declining morals within society, a cause for concern for every rightthinking citizen. “We have allowed unbridled personal enrichment, self-indulgence, intolerance, discourtesy in behaviour and disrespect for authority to erode our work culture,” he declared. “The ideals of patriotism, compassion, tolerance, selfrestraint, honesty, discipline and respect for women have to be converted to a living force”. He spoke of the need for a “judiciary that gives justice without delays,” and the need for world class universities as entitlements that will lead to empowerment of the people. The Uttarakhand tragedy and the Maoist violence in Chhatisgarh also found mention.

To end, he reminded his people of their democratic duties in terms of the upcoming general elections, and somewhat spiritually, placed responsibility directly in their own hands if they wanted to see change in the larger society. Afterwards, the gathering moved to an adjacent community hall for a cultural show. The regular culprits were up on stage, Vinod Rajput, Rekha Rajvanshi and others. But it was newbie Dawa Dolma that stole the show. Her strong Ae mere watan ke logon literally brought the house down. Dear Rekha Bhatta was reduced to tears in a hall that came to an absolute standstill. And if you thought it was because she is one of the older members of the community, what would you say to the twenty-something Deepa Gupta who openly jabbed away at her eyes with a tissue. CG Goel revealed later that Dolma rang his office out of the blue, to say she

Honorary Consul Archana Singh unfurls the tricolour and addresses the Brisbane Indian community

wanted to present this particular number on the occasion. Our very own Lata Mangeshkar was inundated with offers afterwards.

The brunch that followed - or should we call it a filling lunch - was very welcome after that emotional interlude. The fresh bhature, the biggest samosas you have ever eaten, the gulab jamuns and the masala chai were all lapped up eagerly.

Hurray for azaadi, a newfound singing sensation, and… oversized samosas.

Rajni Anand Luthra

MELBOURNE

And where were you on 15 Aug 1947?

A crowd of about 50 gathered at the India Consulate at 344 St. Kilda Rd, Melbourne to celebrate India’s Independence Day. The early morning ceremony saw the acting Consul General Raj Kumar unfurl the Indian national flag as the members of the Indian community collectively sang the national anthem.

Mr Kumar also read out the message of the Indian High Commissioner in Australia Mr Biren Nanda, to Indian nationals here.

“India’s relations with Australia have grown from strength to strength since the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries in 2009,” Mr Nanda observed.

“Last year people born in India were the largest segment of new immigrants in Australia. The 400,000 strong Indian community in Australia is acting as a bridge between the two countries. They have the potential and the capacity to qualitatively transform our bilateral relations in the future”.

Community members then took the floor. The eighty-something Krishna Arora, everyone’s favourite “Aunty”, spoke warmly about her memories of mid August, 1947.

“I was a teenager in Delhi,” she recalled as everyone listened, enthralled. “There were feelings of happiness sweeping over

the entire city. We sat glued to the radio, our only source of information. I remember the city all lit up in celebration. The India Gate area was decked up like I had never seen it before”.

No doubt the description was of the days before the religious riots between the Hindus and the Muslims broke out. Or perhaps, Mrs Arora cleverly chose to ignore that part of our history on this particular occasion!

84-year-old Gurminder Dhingra took the opportunity to remember Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first and most popular prime minister.

A poem presentation in Hindi by Aviti was another highlight.

Over snacks, the discussion was all about the upcoming Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held in Sydney later this year.

Ashish Chawla

ADELAIDE

Independence: To wish for glory

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge…..At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long supressed, finds utterance”.

These immortal words of Pandit Nehru delivered an ancient and proud nation into independence. Almost seven decades from that day challenges and promises remain with the country now truly established on the world stage and one to be reckoned with and not taken lightly.

Across the world, Independence Day is celebrated by Indian communities big and small.

In Adelaide the celebrations were conducted with pomp and ceremony with the Indian community out in force, many proudly resplendent in national dress. The proceedings, organised by the Indian Australian Association of South Australia (IAASA), started with the singing of the Australian and Indian

national anthems. Dr Rakesh Mohindra, the incoming President of IAASA reminded us of how our forefathers had to fight long and hard for the freedom we are enjoying today. That it was a day for us to reflect on the sacrifices made and our opportunity to pay homage to those brave souls. Guests included Mr Jay Weatherill, Premier of South Australia, Mr Hieu Van Le, Lt. Governor of South Australia, other ministers of the State, and local government representatives. South Australia has singled India out as a country with which it would like to establish trade links so it was not surprising to have the Premier, Jay Weatherill, state his desire to establish a broad-based economic and cultural approach on an institutional basis with India. Other speakers present also extolled the positives to be had in a relationship with India. Recognition was also paid to the large number of migrants from India who call South Australia home.

Following the speeches, the mood was lightened by music and dance from all corners of the country highlighting the variety of language, race, culture that is India. The programme commenced with the Bharatanatyam prayer dance Pushpanjali in welcome to the audience. This was followed by a touching performance of a patriotic song in Telugu by Sharda who dedicated the song to her mother and to her childhood when she was taught this song. A simple delivery, a lovely voice coming from the heart was quite captivating. The Temple of Fine Arts bravely put on a Gujerati Dandiya dance with children some of whom were of pre-

school age. The brightly coloured clothes, the clicking of sticks and movement in dance could only be applauded by an appreciative audience. We had the aptly named and very accomplished Murali Ramakrishnan playing a haunting melody on the murali. The cultural programme came to an uplifting end with the Guru Nanak Society performing a blazing bhangra with energy, colour and carefree abandon.

The importance of celebrations of the Independence Day cannot be overstated as one can easily forget in the daily humdrum of life the sacrifices made by many for our futures. The roll-call of our saviours such as Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, the debonair Bhagat Singh, Maulana Azad, Dadabhai Naoroji to name a few, goes on and on. But I leave you with the words of the mysterious, the enigmatic and the one who inspired fierce loyalty, Subhas Chandra Bose: “Mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azadi doonga”.

Avi Chandiok

BRISBANE

Celebrations as well as soul searching T he 66th anniversary of India’s Independence Day was observed on a warm sunny Thursday morning at the Honorary Indian Consulate in Brisbane. Although the turnout was a mere few people, it did not dampen the patriotic spirit burning strong in the hearts of those present.

The Indian flag was hoisted at 9am sharp by Archana Singh, Honorary Consul of India for Queensland along with Prof

Sarva-Daman Singh, former Honorary Consul of India for Queensland. The Indian national anthem was sung with fervour.

Speaking on the occasion, Archana Singh, Honorary observed, “India can be very justifiably proud of all her achievements in all fields of industry, infrastructure, education, research and technology. Economic performance and growth rates are no doubt an important indicator of our tremendous achievement. However, hand in hand with the celebrations, some soul searching is also crucial to India’s future progress. It is only when every citizen becomes an integral part of the journey into the future and partakes of the benefits of freedom and development that we will be true to the memory of all freedom fighters. There is so much to be done. The mother that has nurtured and sustained us through trials and tribulations over the centuries, now more than ever needs careful attention”.

She further said, “We may not live in India, but in our own small ways, we can all honour and sustain her great traditions of social harmony, religious pluralism and freedom of thought and belief. This is the true essence of independence”.

Signing off with a Vande Mataram and wishing each other ‘Happy Independence Day’, people dispersed to either run to work or grab a bite of the fresh hot samosas. Not to forget devour sweet syrupy delicious gulab jamuns prepared by Archana Singh, Honorary Consul of India for Queensland, herself.

Tasneem Zavery

The Indian High Commissioner Biren Nanda with Senator Lisa Singh and guests in Canberra

A song for the motherland

Empowering girls in India

A new charity launched in Australia seeks to educate young girls in rural India and turn their lives around

BY DANIELLE MATHIAS

At the age of five, Mariyam, a village girl from Rajasthan met with a terrible accident in which she lost her right leg. When Mariyam turned seven she decided she wanted to go to school. Her parents were helpless as the school was quite a distance away, and they could not carry Mariyam to school daily. They also feared she would get hurt at school. Mariyam felt dejected because of her situation.

When not-for-profit charity iIMPACT opened a girl’s Learning Centre near Mariyam’s home in Mahua Bas village, her life changed forever. After a few years at the centre, today Mariyam is a confident girl who reads well and loves to recite poetry.

Still, Mariyam missed out on running around and playing games like the other kids. She shared her feelings during a team visit by iIMPACT members. Within a few days, an iIMPACT member had arranged for an artificial limb replacement for Mariyam. After an operation in 2009, Mariyam was able to walk again. By 2011, Mariyam could run faster than many other children at the upper primary school where she was enrolled by iIMPACT.

Recently, Mariyam participated in iIMPACT’s 10-year anniversary celebrations at Gurgaon in India, where she was awarded for her courage and achievements.

On August 9, in light of its 10year celebrations, iIMPACT was formally launched in Australia at the City Hotel in Sydney. Since its foundation in 2002 by the 1978 alumni of the Indian Institute of Management, iIMPACT has had the vision ‘to transform the lives of women, families and entire communities in India by the education and empowerment of the girl child’.

The mission of iIMPACT is ‘to mobilise and motivate non-school-going girls, aged 6-14, from economically and socially backward rural areas of India, and put them firmly on the track for formal education through quality primary education’. iIMPACT has established over 760 learning centres and has educated over 30,000 girls in India.

iIMPACT gives priority to villages with no existing educational facilities and the highest amount of out-of-school girls, where female literacy rates are extremely low.

During the Sydney launch, iIMPACT India Trust CEO Nirmala Tandon made an emotional appeal for support via Skype video-link from her offices in Gurgaon. She said that the greatest strength of iIMPACT learning centres is that they are within easy access of villagers. The lack of commute equals less hesitation for villagers to send their daughters to school. The average distance a child has to walk to an iIMPACT learning centre is 120m. The average walking distance to a government school is 1.8km.

Nirmala emphasised that iIMPACT is different to other NGOs, as the organisation remains connected to the girls even after they graduate from the learning centres. It helps integrate the girls into the government education system so that they can go to university after finishing their primary education at the learning centres, which are then handed over to the community.

Such networks, like those created between iIMPACT and the girls, has the potential to unite the whole country. Chief guest at the launch, - Mr Arun Goel, Consul-General of India in Sydney said, “We need a level playing field for progress. Poor people need to be given the opportunity to shine”.

He emphasised iIMPACT’s goal to empower women by providing them with the ability to read and write, so that they can gain more respect and determine their own future. iIMPACT also differs from other charities in that 100 per cent of donations go directly towards benefitting the education of girls.

Nirmala stated that there is a high level of transparency in the financials and accounts of iIMPACT, saying each corporate sponsor receives complete statements regarding spending every quarter. Internal audits are also conducted every three to six months. iIMPACT works with 18 partners including the Bryan Adams Foundation and Give India.

President of iIMPACT Australia, Dilip Rao, said that it costs each girl Rs 2500 per year to attend the learning centre. There are 30 girls in each learning

The mission of iIMPACT is ‘to mobilise and motivate nonschool-going girls, aged 6-14, from economically and socially backward rural areas of India, and put them firmly on the track for formal education through quality primary education’

centre, and there is currently a 75% attendance rate.

“Educating a girl can transform a community,” said Rao, “Rural India is suffering from a problem of exclusion”.

76% of the girls that graduate from iIMPACT learning centres continue onto higher education, with 16% of the girls in college. These girls are daughters of landless farmers who were once vulnerable to child marriage and human trafficking. According to Nirmala, the girls want to leave their villages and go find a better quality of life in the city after being educated. Some even become teachers at the learning centres, she said.

iIMPACT is currently in talks with organisations about imparting vocational training to girls, which goes hand-in-hand with their primary education. Its goal is to educate 60,000 girls by 2016, in response to the growing demand for schools in India.

“For this goal to be achieved, $13 million needs to be raised over the next four years,” said Nirmala. “This milestone contributed to the decision to launch iIMPACT in Australia, as dollars have more leverage over rupees. The first cheque from Australia would go towards funding a learning centre in Delhi”.

If you are interested in educating the girl child in India, visit iimpact.org.au. A donation of just $50 can educate a child for a whole year and significantly improve their quality of life.

BJP blocks Sonia’s food bill, three states roll it out Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s pet welfare measure, the food security programme was launched recently in three party ruled northern states - Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand - even as the bill could not be taken up in parliament with the BJP disrupting the proceedings on its demands regarding alleged irregularity in coal block allocations.

The government’s hopes to pass the bill in the lower house on Aug 20, the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, were belied as the Congress managers failed to gauge the opposition strategy.

However, Sonia Gandhi, while launching the rights-based ambitious food scheme in Delhi, described it as “unparalleled in the world”. Delhi is among the first states to roll out the programme after the government got the president to approve an ordinance in June.

“We decided to formulate a food security bill so that the poor do not remain hungry, their children do not sleep hungry and they do not suffer malnutrition,” Sonia Gandhi said at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi.

“The guarantee of food provided by the food security scheme on such a large scale is unparalleled in the world,” she said in her speech beamed live by TV channels.

She gave away food security ration cards to women beneficiaries along with a 5 kg packet of rice.

Speaking at the function, Food Minister K.V. Thomas accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of delaying the passage of food security bill in parliament.

The party was dissatisfied over the statement made by Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal over the missing files on an issue that was being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for alleged irregularities.

Though the BJP did not say it was opposed to the bill, party spokesperson

Prakash Javadekar said they will not give up the demand for the prime minister’s statement on the “missing files”.

The “missing files” pertain to decisions taken at various levels in the coal allocations where the opposition alleges large-scale corruption at ministerial levels.

Congress managers hope the bill will be passed in the current parliament session, saying there still were three working days left in the week and four in the next.

“We will be trying our level best to get the food bill passed. We are talking to everybody (all political parties),” Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla told reporters.

Congress managers said if the opposition deliberately blocks the food bill, they will go directly to the people and explain things to them as to who had opposed this legislation.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has said it will support the bill and the Samajwadi Party has given conditional support, saying that its amendments should be accepted.

BSP supremo Mayawati said: “We support the bill as it is for the poor, but we want certain changes for which we will move amendments”.

The Food Security Bill - seen as both a major welfare as well as populist move designed to swing votes for a beleaguered Congress in upcoming elections - aims to provide subsidised food grain at prices much below the market rate to around 67 percent of India’s 1.2 billion people. The bill is expected to benefit about 800 million people.

The party is hoping that the bill, which was a part of the Congress manifesto for the 2009 polls, will bring electoral benefits just as the rural job plan, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, is credited with swinging the party’s victory in the 2009 polls.

The bill will cost the government around Rs.124,723 crore, the Congress has said.

The bill was first introduced in parliament in December 2011. It remained with a standing committee for a year, before it was taken to the Lok Sabha for consideration and passing in the budget session that ended May 8.

In the national capital, the bill will provide benefits to 3.2 million people in the first phase and later cover 4.1 million people. It will come into effect Sep 1 in Delhi and the beneficiaries will be get a fixed amount of food grain at Rs.3 a kg for rice and Rs.2 a kg for wheat.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna launched the food security programme in their states. More Congress ruled states are slated to launch the programme in the coming days.

India, China discuss ways to maintain peace on border

India and China recently discussed ways to maintain peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as well as the recent incidents of incursions.

The two sides discussed issues of mutual interest including ways to reduce trade deficit during the 5th round of India-China Strategic Dialogue, a ministry of external affairs release said in New Delhi.

“The discussions covered bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest,” it said.

The Indian side was led by Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and the Chinese side by Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin.

The two sides discussed ways to enhance understanding on using trans-border river waters, expanding bilateral trade and investment and ways of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LAC.

There have been Chinese incursions in Ladakh sector including the stand-off in April after Chinese troops pitched tents but pulled back after 21 days following flag meetings and talks at official level.

The two sides also took stock of

developments in bilateral ties since the visit of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to India and discussed ways to boost cultural cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and expansion of scientific and technological cooperation.

They also prepared the ground for a possible visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to China later this year. The two sides also talked about the potential and prospect for Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) cooperation.

India and China also discussed future cooperation in the BRICS framework and ways of ensuring an open, inclusive and transparent architecture in the Asia-Pacific region.

The two sides also discussed the outlook for Afghanistan in 2014 and beyond.

Later, Liu called on External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

It was also decided that the 6th IndiaChina Strategic Dialogue will be held at Beijing at a mutually convenient time, the release said.

Bihar train tragedy: Victims’ kin blame lack of road

A day after at least 28 Hindu pilgrims were mowed down by a speeding train in Bihar, the survivors and families of victims blamed lack of road access to a temple near the accident site for the tragedy.

They alleged that as there was no foot overbridge, the pilgrims were crossing the track at a railway station to visit the temple when the Rajya Rani Express train hit them on the morning of August 19 in Khagaria district, over 150 km from Patna.

Babulal Yadav, who lost his 10-year-old son Ramgrish in the tragedy, said: “Pilgrims are forced to take the risk of crossing the track to visit Katyayani Temple as there is no road access”.

“In the past, former chief minister Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi promised to construct a road but nothing happened. The present Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also promised to build a road to the temple, but it has remained on paper,” said Yadav, a resident of Dushmudhi village.

Madhuri Mahto, who lost two young sons Prem Raj and Ram Raj, in the tragedy, said: “Pilgrims cross the tracks during festivals to reach the temple because there is no road facility”.

“A road access to the temple could have saved so many lives,” Mahto, a resident of Dhariyavas village, who himself was injured while saving his wife Sangeeta Devi during the accident, said over the telephone from a government hospital.

Suresh Singh, a villager from the area, slammed the delay in arrival of medical help and rescue teams after the tragedy.

“The family members and relatives of the victims carried them on their backs over seven km to reach the nearest highway and take them to hospital,” Singh said.

Additional Director General of Police (law and Order) S.K. Bhardawaj admitted that rescue work at the accident spot was also delayed due to lack of road access.

National Disaster Response Force Director General Krishna Choudhary said in Patna that all states must develop disaster response structure down to the village level.

“There is a need to develop effective and accountable disaster response structure at the state level” said Choudhary, who is visiting the flood-hit state.

Nitish Kumar told media that road

An Indian girl ties a Rakhi or a sacred thread on the wrist of an Indian policeman at Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus railway station on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan festival in Mumbai, 20 August 2013. Raksha Bandhan is a Hindu festival celebrating the bond between sisters and brothers and is observed all across the country

construction department had been directed to build an approved state highway on a priority to improve connectivity of the temple area and the spot close to the train accident site.

“I visited the temple during my tenure as railway minister. It is a very remote place. The terrain is difficult. There is no other means to reach the temple, except trains,” he said.

Chief Public Relation Officer of East Central Railway Amitabh Prabhakar said that six seriously injured pilgrims were undergoing treatment at a hospital in Khagaria.

“Both the drivers of the train, who were thrashed by angry pilgrims after the accident, are undergoing treatment at a hospital and their condition is stable,” he said.

According to district police officials, the pilgrims were going to the temple to offer holy water to Lord Shiva on the fourth and final Monday of the holy month of shravan (July-August) when the tragedy took place.

India’s Aakash tablet in US pilot projects

After a few minutes on the Aakash, a fiveyear-old American kid proudly announced he had achieved Level 4 in an addition game. He’d started the day at Level 1.

These poorer kids in North Carolina were already picking up skills they’d be learning in the next school year, which was unprecedented - they would usually start off the year at a disadvantage.

The world’s cheapest Made-in-India tablet, nicknamed Aakash (sky), had promised to transform Indian education. Instead, the government project got mired in delays and controversies in India. Meanwhile, the $50 Aakash tablet was creating a buzz in a dozen countries, and in the United Nations, where it was showcased last November.

Now, the Aakash has just completed a pilot in the US state of North Carolina, with 100 units of the Android tablets deployed in summer camps for poorer schoolchildren (mostly under age 10) to help them prepare for next year’s studies. And there are other projects under way, with 2,000 tablets - DataWind’s Aakashequivalent UbiSlate models - already deployed.

The man behind the North Carolina pilot is software entrepreneur Chris Evans. After hearing about the Aakash from Valleybased entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa, Evans agreed to fund 100 tablets for the American non-profit Communities in Schools (CIS), which was running the summer camps in North Carolina. Evans is on the board of CIS. “(The richer kids) were already using smartphones and tablets at school,” Evans says, “and I thought the Akash would be an affordable way to keep them in pace with their classmates and engaged with their studies”.

Wadhwa is an evangelist for low-cost tablets. He has written extensively in the Washington Post, ForeignPolicy.com, and elsewhere, about their potential to transform education. He also saw the Aakash “As a way to force US tablet prices to drop - bring in some competition from abroad”. Along the way, Wadhwa spoke about the Aakash to Lotus Corp founder Mitch Kapor, Obama’s former CTO Aneesh Chopra, and to others including Evans, to bring them on board for different

projects involving the low-cost tablets.

The tablets in the pilot shipped with apps mostly developed by New York-based Mango Learning, an educational games venture. Mango’s chairman Prakesh Ahuja offered access to their entire suite of apps, including a management and evaluation system that tracks student progress.

The sub-$50 price of the Wi-fi was a game-changer, Evans says, adding that free wi-fi was available in many of the students’ neighbourhoods. “We discussed giving the tablets to the students for the pilot, but the staff preferred to keep possession of them to make sure they stayed configured consistently,” adding that several parents now want to buy the tablet--even though they all live on public aid.

The Aakash, which costs about $50, was designed and developed by Londonbased DataWind for India’s ministries of human resource development (HRD) and information and communication technology (ICT).

About 100,000 units were supplied in the first phase, ending in April 2013, mostly in the form of Aakash 2, a tablet well received even by critics who had panned the first Aakash.

Initially meant for engineering college students at a subsidized $35, the Aakash was to be later given to other students - with ambitious plans of giving them to all 220 million students in India over seven to eight years. That rollout is now planned for 2014, with what the Indian government now calls Aakash 4.

The US isn’t the only country with Aakash pilots. DataWind CEO Tuli reports deployments in a half a dozen African countries, Mexico and Afghanistan, spanning NGOs, government departments and UN agencies. Most deployments, he says, are in the hundreds of units, while Mexico and Zambia “are in the range of tens of thousands of units”. Wadhwa says those projects are good to have, but for technology, the world looks to the US.

“That is why what happens here matters more than anywhere”.

“The 2,000 tablets in the US so far

reflects the equivalent of just a day of shipments in India for us,” Tuli says. “But we’ve not yet commercially rolled out there. A US rollout could easily exceed a million units in the first year. These initial deployments are in support of NGOs and educational institutions”.

Draft guidelines for corporate gender parity soon: Sachin Pilot

In an important step towards gender parity in the workplace, the government is framing guidelines for a new rule making directorship of women in company boards mandatory and these will be made public very soon, says Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot. But many women feel this step is too little, too late.

“We are already framing guidelines along with the chambers of commerce and industry stakeholders and once the draft rule is ready we will put it on our website to seek opinions. Following this the new rule will come in place. We will try to put the draft guidelines as soon as possible,” Pilot said recently in New Delhi.

The guidelines will give the draft rules a proper shape.

Pilot said, “There is a lack of gender parity in most of the workfield. Women have done enough work to prove their mettle. This (the bill) is just a first step we have embarked upon”.

The new Companies Bill holds that at least one woman be made a company board director. This has, however, evoked a mixed reaction. There are some who feel that too little has been done towards giving women their rightful place in companies.

“Why ensure position of only one woman in a company? Is it a charity? What about other women who work in various other positions in a company?” asked Annie Raja, General Secretary, National Federation of Indian Women.

Akhila Sivadas, Executive Director, Centre for Advocacy and Research, said the need to have a rule was felt because women are bringing a lot of strength to many businesses.

The “Professional role of women is changing, said Sivadas. “It cannot just be a male world. Specially the way business world is fashioning itself, can you ignore women? It makes sense for them to have more women on board”.

Sivadas said there are also pressure groups, which contributed towards this decision, like the women’s wing of many business advocacy organisations. “This decision has given some kind of policy shape to women’s position. It was a conscious look at the diversity of the working mass by the government. It is a politically correct, progressive step. This will help bring some change to the pretence of diversity”.

Anasuya Gupta, chairman and managing director, CICO Technologies, said she was happy because at least the government had taken the first step. “If we see universally, in India women are far, far below compared to where women globally are,” Gupta said.

She pointed out it is important to have a “Venus aspect” in every company board as women have a different perspective and views on every matter.

Arun Duggal, chairman, Shriram Capital, who has started an initiative to train women directors, felt this decision is a good small step.

“It gives out a signal. But it is not a sufficient step. There are certain things in the bill which need to be made clear. It will take a while to become clear which type of company will need women directors,” Duggal said.

He, however, pointed out that the bill does not say whether ‘woman director’ also meant independent woman director. “If it has meant so then we might end up seeing wives and relatives of businessmen becoming board directors. But that will not solve the problems”.

Duggal added: “The number of women represented is very low. Sixty percent of BSE 500 companies do not have any women directors. Just having a law without preparatory work could lead to a scramble to get women on the board”.

An Indian Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules kicks up a cloud of dust after landing at the high-altitude Daulat Beg Oldie military airstrip in the Ladakh region of the Indian Himalayas on August 20, 2013. The C-130J aircraft made its first successful landing at the airstrip, the world’s highest at 16,614 feet (5,065 metres), which is serviced by the smaller twin-turboprop engined Antonov An-32 and military helicopters

Adelaide temple Heritage honour for

BY LP AYER

Whenever one sees a picture of the Opera House, Sydney pops up on our mental screen. And the Taj Mahal transcends you to tantalising India. Every major city in the world has a structure that represents it, or the country where it is located, like the Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower or Big Ben, to name a few. Travel brochures are living proof of their value as tourist magnets. Such buildings have attained iconic status due to their age, design and character unique to the era of their construction. Their socio-cultural

values have been etched into their community’s heritage canvas.

Being a young nation, Australia may lack such spectacular age-old structures. However, most states have buildings ranging from little cottages to magnificent mansions that give a narrative of the lifestyle, social and cultural values of the early years of settlement. To ensure that such a narrative is not lost to future generations, state governments have used legislation to protect some of those buildings by listing them on a heritage register. Generally those buildings are of considerable antiquity.

But one building that got the gong is only 13 years old –South Australian Hindu Society’s Ganesha temple in Adelaide.

Number thirteen has proved lucky, in its case. Adding the temple to the register, the SA Heritage Council states, “The place meets the criterion 16(1) of

the Heritage Place Act of 1993. It has strong cultural and spiritual association for the community...

The temple is significant as the State’s first traditional Hindu temple... since late 1990s it has provided the State’s Hindus, from different sects, with a place for both spiritual worship and cultural studies. The design of the temple resembles the human body lying on its back with the head to the east and feet to the west and houses 25 hand-crafted deities...”

Understandably, the Hindu Society is elated at receiving this badge of honour, and also being the first Hindu temple in Australia to be felicitated. How it achieved this, can be explained by following its 30 year journey. Like most public organisations, it started from humble beginnings. Way back in the mid-‘70s, about a half dozen families would meet at weekends to chant ‘bhajans’ under the banner of the Hindu Seva

Samaj. It was the brainchild of Moti Somers, an arts teacher from South Africa. Around the same time Rajesh Chandrasekaram, a teacher from Malaysia, organised Vedanta Society meetings for similar spiritual purposes. Both these informal groups used to meet at individual residences.

In 1985, Dr Ravindran, an orthopaedic surgeon of Sri Lankan and Indian origin, sowed the seed for the Hindu Society, inviting three members from each of the above two groups, including Dr Janan Easwaran (Sri Lanka), Baghwat Sharma, Mohan Odhavji (Fiji) and Ken Soman (India).

With the number of migrants of Hindu faith increasing, the need for a common place of worship was keenly felt. Just four months after its inception, the Society purchased a vacant Lutheran church hall in Marion, 15km south of the CBD. It was

a very basic single-storey cement brick building that would seat around 80, with a small office room. At one end the hall was a metre-high wooden platform with a Cross placed on it. The gravel car park outside had space for 10 vehicles. The society opted for this austere building since it had no funds; any green field option was out of the question. Announcing its decision on the purchase at a meeting in November 1985, the Society received pledges for a third of the purchase price and the balance at the time of settlement two months later, with no need for borrowing. It was a remarkable feat. The local Hindu population might have been small, but its enthusiasm high enough to make Adelaide the second city in Australia to have a temple.

The austere building’s transformation to what it is today is simply amazing! However, it was not without a few bumps along

From humble beginnings, Adelaide’s Ganesha temple has grown into an icon of the community

The temple at Oaklands Park, built on the site of an old church (inset)

the way, as could be expected with any public organisations of its kind. Initially a framed picture of Ganesha adorned the platform; it still hangs on one of the walls and is fondly revered. Within six months of buying the building, a metre-high granite statue of Lord Ganesha – as He is universally accepted by all sections of the Hindu community – was brought from India and installed on a concrete pedestal after a simple but authentic prathishta ceremony witnessed by a full house in July 1986.

Now being a house of God, there arose a need to open the location and offer puja every evening. In the absence of a traditional priest, some volunteers like Dr Ananth Rao, a mathematics professor and scholar; Dilip Chirmulley, a university lecturer; and a couple of others well-versed in scriptures undertook this job on a rotational basis for over a year.

In 1988, Skandaraja Kurukkal from Malaysia was appointed the priest. A handful of generous members undertook to fund the priest’s accommodation and other expenses, as the temple had limited resources.

With all the religious features of a temple in place and more migrants arriving, devotees started attending in large numbers. On major festival days there was not enough space, and devotees had to stand outside to obtain darshan and partake of prasad. As the building was surrounded by houses on all three sides, there was no room to expand. It was proposed to build

a temple at the car park, shifting the idol there and converting the temple building to a hall. Moving the consecrated did not find favour with some sections. Lack of space and resources confronted even the Almighty. No solution could be found until 1992 when an opportunity arose to buy the backyard of an adjoining house, and it was taken up even though it cost as much as the original church building! It was only made possible thanks to a generous donor. Lord Vigneswara, described as a ‘Remover of obstacles’ knows how to spot kind-hearted devotees.

The next few years were mainly taken up in raising funds with the annual Diwali dinner being the main event. Mr Dilip Chirmuley and Dr Jagan Mazumdar, during their terms as president, tried to move the project along. In the general community, opinion was divided as to which of two proposed plans could be adopted. Counselling was sought even from overseas experts including Subramaniya Swami from the Kauai (Hawaii) Hindu temple and Prof Kailasanathan from Jaffna University. One plan involved placing deities representing the aspirations of all regional groups in a single file, whereas the other plan was to keep Ganesha at his present place and build shrines for the other deities. The latter plan was approved at a general meeting. From then on things moved fast, with Dr Jagdish Saraf taking the reins in 1998 as president, with good support from Siva

Selvakulalingam as vice-president and Dr Janan Easwaran as a largehearted donor. Sri Natarajan, a renowned stapathi (chief temple artisan) and six craftsmen arrived from India in early 2000. Working long hours seven days a week, they transformed an unassuming old building into an astonishing place of worship. Their accommodation and living expenses were all borne by a generous donor. In November 2000, all the deities were installed according to vedic scriptures and consecrated at a four-day kumbabishekam ceremony witnessed by thousands of devotees. An icon was born and a dream of all those noble souls involved since mid-‘70s was fulfilled.

A captivating feature of the temple is its gopuram (dome) adorned with colourful statuettes from various Hindu mythology, all constructed by hand by the Indian craftsmen. This dome is visible from quite a distance and has become a traffic-stopper. Even more astonishing is the glass roof surrounding the gopuram. Besides letting in plenty of light, this unique feature acts like a divine window to the upper world. On moonlit nights, soft rays filtering through the glass give it an unparalleled feeling of peace and tranquillity. These two features would not have escaped the attention of the Heritage Council officials during their inspection visits before granting the temple heritage status. The many glowing comments about the temple in the visitors book would have also impressed them. During the second kumbabishekam

earlier this year, they observed the rituals and noted their religious and socio-cultural significance to the community.

Selva, president since 2001, takes pride in pointing out other features such as the level of community support that helped to complete every stage of the temple, without borrowing a cent.

“By having idols specific to major sections of the Hindu community, the temple serves as a haven of harmony with each group taking ownership of major festivals of particular importance to them,” he says.

Marble idols placed on one side and granite idols on the other, in line with the custom in North and South India, provides a unifying edifice. More than a religious place, the temple serves as a cultural centre by holding classes in Hindi and Tamil, classical dance performances and spiritual satsangs. Volunteers explain Hinduism principles to visiting groups from schools and service clubs. It functions as a social hub too, for new migrants to establish their network with people from their regions.

“All these aspects were made known to the Heritage officials during meetings with them in the course of six years since an application was made,” says Selva.

The Adelaide Hindu community and their temple may be small compared with their counterparts in the eastern states, but they have become the pace setters.

Understandably, the Hindu Society is elated at receiving this badge of honour, and also being the first Hindu temple in Australia to be felicitated

BY NOEL G DE SOUZA

The Western prescription for good health, such as for those who have diseases like diabetes and heart problems, is to remain active; practically, this means walking or jogging. More energetic versions are cycling and swimming.

In contrast, the Eastern prescription (Hindu-Buddhist) for good physical and mental health is staying still and includes emptying the mind (pratyahara). Emptying the mind is no easy task; the mind is naturally designed to flit from one thought to the next. Memory consists of a jumble of mind-images which are an imprint of the world which one has experienced. Patanjali counsels against modifying such images, as that would mean being active and not passive, as pratyahara should be.

In these troubled times, worry and fear are widespread. The almost instant transmission of troubling news exacerbates the effect of events which may be far away, but nevertheless relevant. Emptying the mind from the effects of such emotions is no easy task. Events like the horrendous bombing in Boston and the tragic explosions in Texas have traumatised people even in far away places.

living

psychosomatic illnesses mean that we need to guard against allowing unhealthy emotions to permeate our way of life. Permitting emotions such as sadness and fear to dominate our thinking can be detrimental. Instead, making happiness and hopefulness a part of our meditative process could mean good health.

There is an obvious age factor which can dictate the exercises an individual chooses. Young athletic-oriented individuals with reasonably good health may opt for jogging and cycling, whilst older persons may choose relaxing exercises and hope that inner calm develops. A variant of active exercise is the military goose-step movements which were seen so often in the news relating to the threats from North Korea. Similar parades are also common in the Balkan states, such as in Greece.

Aged persons who choose relaxing exercises could possibly benefit from the Chinese Tai-Chi system which can be performed by individuals of all ages. Its main aim is apparently to achieve inner calm through graceful movements. A variant is the martial style movement invented during Mao’s time. It was political in character and was meant for galvanising the Chinese people.

Emptying the mind is no easy task; the mind is naturally designed to flit from one thought to the next. Memory consists of a jumble of mind-images which are an imprint of the world which one has experienced

Hindu scriptures liken the mind to a raging bull which needs to be controlled by holding its horns. Chapter 6 of the Bhagwad Gita extols: ‘In a fair still spot… Having his fixed abode… There restraining heart and senses, silent, calm, Let him accomplish Yoga, and achieve Pureness (of) soul, holding immovable Body and neck and head … Tranquil in spirit, free of fear… That Yogin, so devoted (and) so controlled comes to the peace beyond… ” (E. Arnold’s poetic version of the Gita).

Modern workplaces demand a lot of mental activity and alertness. Indeed, this places stress on individuals who long for calm and often go on holidays to distant places. International tourism has become the order of the day.

Of course, the Eastern and Western systems often contain elements of each other, but predominantly the Western way is to activate one’s muscles and breathing; whilst the Eastern way is to de-stress the body and slow the breathing to calm the mind (the highest version of this practice is dhyana, a term common to both Hinduism and Buddhism).

It is being accepted in the West that emotions have their effect on health. Such

Hospitals in Australia bar visitors during certain hours when patients are encouraged to rest and to sleep. Such supposed ‘inaction’ is said to help in the curative processes. This coincides with the Eastern way. It is possible for all individuals, whether sick or not, to set aside a period when they can rest with no interruption. It is then that they can stop worrying about the workplace and other matters, and try to ‘empty their minds’.

Modern medicine has produced a whole range of medicines for inducing sleep. Amongst these, barbiturates have a reputation of being habit-forming. Milder versions for helping one to sleep are periodically being announced by drug companies.

Some practitioners of yoga developed a type of yogic rest or trance called turiya which is absolute rest with the organs going into a feeble state of activity. Such a trance is obviously difficult to achieve. Modern medicine has its variant in the form of induced coma, which is used in very serious medical cases.

Every individual needs to make a conscious choice depending on what suits that person’s ability. For example, someone who cannot have a daily run might still be able to swim. Even someone who mostly lies in bed can engage in mental exercises. The above exercises might be decided upon by consultation with someone or by reading books, but the choice is entirely left to the individual. It is based on freedom of choice and on self-discipline.

De-stressing and rejuvenating the mind and body takes different forms globally, but serves the same healing purpose

The great East-West contrast for healthy

Mastering mental health issues

Mastering mental health issues

BY TANVEER AHMED

Working in an area adjacent to Parramatta and Harris Park in western Sydney, a region commonly called Little India due to its large South Asian population, I am regularly referred patients from Indian and South Asian backgrounds. Being a psychiatrist, the patients do not come willingly. They are usually desperate and often come at the urging of relatives. Worse still, a portion are referred after falling foul with the law, usually a sign they waited too long for treatment.

Asian cultures. Mandarin does not even have a clear translation for the notion of depression, highlighting the strong cultural flavour of mental health.

Mental health has a significant cultural component, so it is not unreasonable that many of the older generation find it a little foreign

The stigma has great consequences. I often see patients when they are extremely unwell, and have been so for many years. There is a great deal of shame within families when relatives have the likelihood of diagnosable mental illness and there can be forces of pride, saving face and preventing embarrassment that lead to withholding the appropriate treatment. I have learnt of some relatives essentially hidden from view for many years. This is simply not acceptable in the modern world and overlaps with some of the worst practices in the poorer sections of India.

Mental health is simply not an area that is particularly well understood or even accepted, in our cultural sphere. There is a great deal of stigma and ignorance. For example, even my specialty of psychiatry in the language of Bengali is known as ‘pagol doctor’, essentially translating as crazy doctor. The reference to ‘crazy’ intentionally overlaps with both the treating clinicians, as well as the patients.

Some of this stigma is reduced after spending time in Australia, where there is much information and attention upon the issue. Mental health has a significant cultural component, so it is not unreasonable that many of the older generation find it a little foreign. It is really a synonym for human emotional distress and becomes an illness when it hampers our functioning with regards to relationships and work.

Coming from traditional cultures, many of us are more likely to view any distress we feel in relational or cultural terms. Treatment must also encompass the broader family and cultural situation. So a lot of my job is trying to translate the very notion of mental health for patients who simply do not view their distress in those terms.

Because our culture has little discussion or even the language for mental health, patients are far more likely to present themselves with physical problems. For example, headache, high blood pressure or unusual tingling of the limbs is very commonly related to underlying anxiety or a depressed mood. Expressing our distress through physical symptoms is more acceptable in our cultures. It is also more common in the elderly, among white Australians, so it is far from limited to South

India has a huge burden of mental illness which is increasing. In 2005, the National Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (NCMH) reported 10-20 million persons (one to two per cent of the population) suffered from severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and nearly 50 million or five per cent of the population suffer from common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. These estimates are now nearer to 3 and 10 per cent respectively.

The prevalence of mental disorders is higher among women, the homeless, poor and those living in urban areas. More than 75 per cent of people with serious disorders living in middle and low income countries receive no care at all, according to global mental health surveys. There are now Australian efforts to help India with their mental illness issues. Associate Professor Chee Ng is Co-Director of Asia Australia Mental Health (AAMH) and he’s working closely to offer an Australian contribution to reducing the mental health burden in India.

There needs to be a greater, culturally appropriate discussion surrounding emotional distress in our communities, and better engagement with health and social services

While the services are much better resourced in a place like Australia, the stigma and shame is often unchanged.

The reality is, in spite of our emphasis on family, clan and tradition, modern urban life with its frenetic pace and social isolation has a tendency to dilute and weaken age old bonds and practices. This can lead to a feeling of not belonging or not having any role amonge those most vulnerable, such as the elderly or newly arrived partners and wives.

There needs to be a greater, culturally appropriate discussion surrounding emotional distress in our communities, and better engagement with health and social services. A lot of potential is being lost amonge our loved ones and members of the community because of stigma and shame.

Feeling good

Self-respect and self-esteem are commendable qualities to possess, except when they become obsessions

By SAROJA SRINIVASAN

In a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Hugh Mackay, social commentator says, “Every part of our society has become infected with the virus of self-promotion, obsessed with recognition. In the name of encouraging one to ‘feel good’ about ourselves, as a society we seem to have gone a bit too far”.

We see adults clamoring to be photographed with celebrities, children are rewarded for even the smallest of efforts made, and certificates and praise are lavished for almost everything. Unless this is done with a sense of moderation, all it does is to build a bloated sense of self-worth that fuels egotism.

Gone are the days when verbal praise and acknowledgements were the reward, instead of material things or public accolades. The incidents of edification have reached such enormous proportions that it has become a source of embarrassment. In an era where feeling unique and special is encouraged almost constantly, be it fashion or the owning of rare material possessions, the constant war-cry of being ‘special’ is often taken to the extreme.

An illustration of this extreme marketing of one’s uniqueness can be seen even in sports. In an effort to encourage individuals, the team’s contribution that is intrinsic in the success of the individual, is relegated to the back seat. It seems we have developed an almost unquenchable need for recognition and the belief that public reward would somehow encourage better and more successful efforts.

What this does is create a false expectation that not only is one unique, but one has the right to be seen as unique and be endorsed by others. The fact is that each of us is unique and special by virtue of just what we are – humans endowed with special faculties that make us stand apart from other

species. Within our own species, each individual has a very singular DNA that makes us unique. This also bestows on us the capacity to think, act constructively and conduct our lives as a community, not just as individuals or tribes of animals. Somehow, we seem to have moved away from the fact that we are inter-connected and inter-dependent.

So, why are we descending further into this vortex of selfgratification? Is it a sense of intrinsic insecurity? Why do we post selfies on Facebook and metweets on Twitter? Perhaps this self-grandstanding gives a sense of control in an increasing world that seems beyond one’s control. The truth is that no one is any more superior or inferior to any one else. As the saying goes, ‘What you win on the swings, you lose on the roundabout’.

On the other hand, we have individuals who are so self-critical, that they discount their own self-worth. They are reluctant to speak up even when they have something worthwhile to say, they take the back seat always, and

sometimes become too dejected and discouraged at the smallest disappointment, instead blaming themselves. Often they also descend into self-pity. Sadly, these negative emotions only destroy their confidence further.

A common lament is that many are too concerned about ‘what others might say’. In traditional cultures, one often hears the phrase, ‘What would other people say?’ When we look into the origin of this phrase, it seems it came about to illustrate the idea that in the final analysis, what matters is how one’s life is evaluated posthumously when those left behind would be able to say, ‘there goes a great person’. This is falsely understood to mean that we should somehow bow to other people’s opinions, discounting our own ideas. While this concern about the views of others does produce some cohesion in norms being maintained in social interactions, it also stifles individuality to a certain extent. It would seem that it requires a fine balance to maintain a sense of self-worth, while still being aware

of maintaining cohesion within the family/society.

The idea of an intrinsic sense of self-worth that results from the pursuit of basic values such as kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity and compassion in everyday life seems alien to many. It is the response from our fellow-beings when we practice good values that validate our selfworth. Self-esteem and self-worth are both intrinsic, and cannot be sought externally. A sense of satisfaction in behaving in a ‘human’ way is something that is within the experience of everyone. Generous giving, be it of our time, money or help brings with it its own reward.

Hugh Mackay’s summation best illustrates this: “Self-respect is a very private concept, easily overlooked in the noisy contest to construct and promote an ‘image’. It is a thing we earn by the way we handle disappointment, tedium and loss, as well as those fleeting moments of happiness. There is no shortcut, and no amount of self-promotion will get us there”.

It seems we have developed an almost unquenchable need for recognition and the belief that public reward would somehow encourage better and more successful efforts

The idea of an intrinsic sense of self-worth that results from the pursuit of basic values such as kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity and compassion in everyday life seems alien to many

The spreading streak of Indian ink

The joy of expression through art comes at a subtle, yet painful price

shadow and meaning from the crumbling powder of charcoal and the quivering, spreading streak of black India ink. To watch my own face grow from curving lines as I sat across from her, to see tones of reflected daylight bloom on my cheeks as she rubbed round and round...it was mesmeric.

The paintings depicted an aerial view of a street. A bridal procession snaked its way down houses garlanded with shimmering fairy lights. Men on horses, a crimson red and gold palanquin, a firework frozen in mid-air, drummers adorned in silk, and there were people like me who danced their way down a painted street. One could see vendors heaving laden carts of amulets and souvenirs, beggars sprawled on the street, and a boy gazing at the skyline – all radiating a spectrum of colours.

until I met the owner.

“Fifteen?” He guessed.

“No, twenty!” I lied.

“You’re too young. Look at the other men, they’re old enough to be your fathers. And what does a boy your age want to work here for anyway? Go home!” Mr Chana turned to leave.

“Wait! Look, I need the work. Why does it matter to you what age I am?” My voice rose as Mr Chana’s figure retreated towards the office.

“I’ll take half of what the others ask you for!”

The figure stopped. Paintbrushes hovered in mid-air – all eyes turned to me.

He grinned.

“Make me some samples; we have a new client coming in today. If I like your samples, you can paint his bus.” He turned to me. “But first, I need tea… from that stall at the end of the lane. Don’t walk slowly... it looks like rain”.

Rolls of soiled paper stretched across the yard table, unearthed from the cupboard between cans of paint and turpentine. I worked vigorously whilst the other men furtively glimpsed at what looked like bursts of colour dancing on a black surface. Days later, three completed panels surfaced, its pictures celebrating Karachi city’s vitality.

The first thing she said to me, “Did you know that black can glow?” It was hard to look away while she was drawing. She knew how to build light, depth,

“The less a painting contains, the more the content communicates,” she continued. “It’s like a blank painting says as much as an intricately painted canvas”. I smiled at her while trying to untangle the meaning of what she’d just said.

I turned to the workers. They were astounded by the artwork’s intricate perfection; it was unlike anything they’d ever seen on a Karachi bus. They plunged into the commotion of a city that never slept, one that transformed into a luminous spectacle with harmonic music and inviting crowds. It may have been certain circumstances involving lovingly harboured delusions that really punctuated this love of a place. They scuttled away, whispering the implausibility of Mr Chana allowing me to direct the painting of a bus as my first project. Strands of rumbling clouds leaned in to hear the conversation.

My eyes travelled across the panels, looking for some minute detail I’d left out. Drained, I propped them against the yard wall while Mr Chana remained in his office, slurping his endless cups of tea. I wandered outside into the workshops, passing men with welding guns and metal cutters, fashioning velvet tapestries and mirrors onto buses. Madly careering buses paraded down Karachi’s streets, each a moving gallery of images that exhibited religious iconography, voluptuous

women reclining in gardens of pillars, and proverbs written with ornate calligraphy. Peacocks, flora in full bloom, veiled faces of women with coy kohl-rimmed eyes; these were recognised images in the language of bus-art. Bus owners paid small fortunes for their vehicles to be decorated. I imagined Mr Chana’s response to my panels; I pictured my bus being whispered about on the streets… more work orders would come in. She took me out for a drink for the first time. Our teeth clattered against martini glasses repeatedly, urgently, like we were trying to reach a goal. It was not even about the drink, but the orchestral story that unfolded, which I conducted in rapture. I even ate the skewered olive. When my mouth formed that perfect ‘o’ - the dream of polished floors, ballroom dancing and the gentle swish of embroidered fabric flourished.

“Hi, I don’t think I introduced myself, I’m Abdul”. She took my proffered hand in her cool palm and held it in a way I imagined suggestive. “Aisha,” she said, looking amused as if I’d done something particularly silly. “What’s the point of it,” she began, “It’s all for fame… they all end up where they’ve started from anyway, don’t you think?” She turned to me and I smiled weakly.

“Hey you!” I turned to see one of the men from the workshop. “Mr Chana wants you in his office,” he said sullenly, before walking off.

I followed with a knot of anticipation in my stomach. I

barely observed the man who stood sternly in Mr Chana’s doorway. His watch lit the room, and fumes from his cigarette hung in the air. I didn’t know how long I stood before he noticed me.

“He’ll be doing my bus?” asked the man sceptically.

“Yes, sir. He looks young, but has such skill at a tender age,” Mr Chana was assuring. “And… and he’s cheaper than the other men…” his voice trailed off hopefully. Within minutes I was nodding at Mr Chana’s request to bring in the panels for display. I leapt from the corridor into the yard.

A distant sound accompanied me as I sprinted through the archway and into the open. I felt my hair, drenched and matted, stick to my scalp. Men scurried around heaving their work into the shade.

Chatter suffocated the dampness of the air. Mr Chana and the man approached me, their thunderous voices fading as they sighted the panels.

Black paint ran down drenched paper, swallowing every colour in its wake. The wedding procession, the boy gazing at the skyline, the turmeric in women’s carts, the flickering fireworks - surged onto the yard floor.

Some people see the future in a ball of blinding white light. Some see the past in the black cracks between moments. And me? I don’t see anything at all.

Peacocks, flora in full bloom, veiled faces of women with coy kohl-rimmed eyes; these were recognised images in the language of bus-art

(Above) W-11 (Gyarah) Bus in Karachi. Decorated mini-buses travel the Karachi route called W-11, characterised by brightly coloured plastic and metal collages, illuminating light patterns, music beats and exuberant conductors

Exploring colonial Chennai

Monuments still stand to mark the location of the British’s first intrusive foray into India

The British left India in 1947, but their legacies are still a powerful drawcard for tourists in Raj-strong cities like Kolkata and Chennai; the latter is even marked by some historians as the birthplace of the colony in the sub-continent. During my recent visit to this metropolis, formerly known as Madras, it was intriguing to wander around the Fort St George precinct and discover how the British crept in as a trading company and ultimately laid claim to the territory.

Dotted on Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal, this fourth largest cosmopolitan city of modern India was nothing but a tiny fishing village called Madraspattnam 500 years ago, occasionally touched by Armenian and Portuguese traders, before arrival of the British in 1639.

Francis Day, then an employee of the East India Company bought a strip of seafront land

from the local chieftain to establish a factory and warehouse, to undertake trading activities. He built extensive fortifications around the property that was supposedly completed on St Georges Day, thus giving the walled area its name: Fort St George. It was from this location that the British rolled out their momentous empire that ruled India for the next 350 years. Fort St George remained throughout, as a silent witness of the evolution of a cosmopolitan settlement that is presently home to 4.5 million people.

When visiting Fort St George, don’t expect see a typical citadel with walls and ramparts. They are all gone, and the short and squat remains are hidden behind shrubbery grown from the dry moat which surrounded the bastion to keep away invaders. The quarter is now replaced with huge government office buildings and the first thing that drew my sight was a soaring flagpole with India’s tricolour flying proudly at its top. My local guide Srinivasan, told me that the mast was erected in the 1600s by Elihu Yale, the then governor of Madras, to hoist England’s Cross of St George, marking the advent of their occupation of the land.

In case you are wondering if this Yale has any connection with the world famous university in America, the answer is yes. He was part of the company and after becoming governor in 1684, played a lead role in developing the Fort St George quarter. The story goes that while doing so, he also amassed a huge pile of personal wealth. Later, on returning to England, he donated some of his precious belongings to a small Collegiate School in Connecticut. Those were later auctioned and the proceeds aided the realisation of the university, named after its generous donor. Other than reminiscing about history in the air, the attractions that draw visitors to the Fort quarter are the Fort St George Museum and the St Mary’s Church.

The two-storey building in which the museum is located is very important in history. Built in 1795, it was named as ‘The Exchange’ because of its use by English merchants and traders to do business. A room on the ground floor served as the office of Madras Bank, which later became part of the Imperial Bank of India, which in 1955 ended up as the State Bank of India, a financial pillar in the country. So

according to Srinivasan, the fort can claim to be the birthplace of the nation’s modern banking system.

While wandering along its lonely corridors engulfed in silence, I could imagine myself hearing raised voices of buyers, sellers and agents haggling over prices or the quality of the merchandise, occasionally interrupted by the

shrill sound of sirens from ships crowding the harbour.

The two floors of the museum house an ensemble of artefacts – portraits, busts, documents, porcelains, coins, aquatints, arms and textile pieces that present to the interested, an informative panorama of the British in India, particularly in Madras. A large marble statue of Governor

SANDIP HOR

General Lord Cornwallis welcomes visitors. British history celebrates him as the man who contained the powers of Tipu Sultan, though earlier he suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of George Washington. The views from the roof are now obstructed, but in earlier times, a clear view of the sea was possible, so the first lighthouse of Madras was built there to navigate the Company’s ships safely to shore.

A large oil portrait of Robert Clive, whom many regard as the key founder of the Empire in India, immersed me into the interesting history of British-India around the mid-18th century.

Clive came to Madras as a petty clerk, but burst into prominence when the settlement was invaded by the French. He was the rescue man, and that success built him a reputation. He was sent to Bengal in 1756 to fight against Siraj-Ud-

Travel noTebook

C H e NNAI

Daula, Nawab of Bengal, whom he defeated at the infamous Battle of Plassey, “by promoting treason and forgery,” as written by Pandit Nehru, independent India’s first Prime Minister.

“Unless you visit Fort St George, you will not understand history of modern India,” said Srinivasan rightly. “Here every stone and brick has a story to narrate of lust and passion, obedience and conspiracy, power and greed”. The house where Clive lived inside the Fort still exists, a plaque outside commemorating his years of residence there. He married there as well, at St Mary’s church next door, also the wedding venue for Elihu Yales.

St Mary’s is one of the earliest Anglican Church to be built in Asia. Completed in 1679, it was witness to several weddings, baptisms and funerals of

Gett I n G there

Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com) has convenient flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane Adelaide and Perth to Chennai via Singapore.

ACCOMMODAt IO n

Conveniently located midway between the airport and the city, 91-room Radha Regent, a part of Sarovar Hotels & Resorts (www.sarovarhotels.com), offers high quality services at a reasonable price.

MO re I n FO r MAt IO n Check www.incredibleindia.org

Europeans who have earned space in the history of British-India. There are numerous memorials and tombstones around the church that are reminiscent of the time: a 1660 Bible, a 19th century organ; and the original marriage register which testifies Yale’s marriage as the first to be held in the church, are just a few of them. While aimlessly wandering around the complex, which was and continues to remain under the army, I come across street names still bearing English names like

Charles and James street. That surprised me! I couldn’t think any reason to stick to colonial names after six decades of independence. I mentioned this to the omniscient Srinivasan, who nicely explained that as history can’t be changed, maybe these names serve as a reminder of colonial powers and the extent of the struggle by freedom fighters to rid themselves of the intruders. I left the premises saluting him for his passionate answer, as a proud Indian should!

Fort St George remained as a silent witness to the evolution of a cosmopolitan settlement that is presently home to 4.5 million people

Pictures (clockwise)

Inside the Fort complex

Lord Cornawallis

The historic St Mary’s Church

The Fort Museum Building

A period monument

Old buildings from the past

Silenced Cannon

Inscription outside St Mary’s Church

Completed in 1679, (St Mary’s) was witness to several weddings, baptisms and funerals of Europeans who have earned space in the history of British-India

Travel award

Gaura Travel: One of The Top Travel Agents in Australia

gaura Travel has recently been awarded by Singapore Airlines the title of being one of the Top Travel Agents in Australia.

“Gaura Travel had set two benchmarks right from day one - bringing the best price to our customers and bringing best travel experience to the subcontinent travellers,” said Ashwini Sonthalia, Director and Founder of Gaura Travel, after winning

the award. “This award is dedicated to the staff and our customers who have helped us achieve those benchmarks. Most importantly, we believe this is just the beginning”.

The company has long been one of the leading Indian subcontinent specialist travel agents, and has over 50,000 satisfied customers.

www.gauratravels.com.au

Stardust on my sleeve

Indian Link Radio broadcaster PRIYANKA TATER takes us behind the scenes of some of her hit interviews

Salaam, namaste, sat sriyakaal Main hoon aapki dost aur host Priyanka Tater.

The line with which I kickstarted my very first show on Indian Link Radio, is the one I choose to begin this article with.

It’s been almost two years presenting on-air for Indian Link and the journey has been an absolute roller coaster. I bet you’d agree that radio can be cathartic for those listening as well as for those presenting. And one of the most appealing things about the voice without a face (that is, the radio presenter!) is that the voice gets the opportunity to speak the hearts and minds of the “common man” out there. The personalised touch of radio can never be replicated by any other form of media.

Now before you conclude that this piece is a thesis on the radio, let me get back on track… sorry, no soundtrack this time!

I like to keep my shows fun, fast and full of entertainment, with the right dose of information, discussions and interaction. Wearing your thinking caps is an option!

But when it’s an interview with anybody who is a ‘somebody’, I try and make sure that they put on that cap and don’t get away easy! We as presenters are a voice of our listeners and it is a given that we act as the bridge to get the message across from both ends of the spectrum.

So let me take you behind the scenes of some of my interviews.

Yes interviews can be tricky, especially when you have some controversies to tackle. Like the one that I did with Neville Roach, AO. Now this was about the annual Gandhi Oration at the UNSW 2013 which had Sir Michael Kirby make some controversial remarks about Mahatma Gandhi. And yes, I happened to question them. Mr. Roach, as patron of the Australia India Institute at UNSW, is one of the brains behind the annual function. What happened can be best described as a robust discussion and was certainly stimulating for all those tuning in.

As a newbie in Australia, I got a chance straight up to relive my career as an entertainment reporter on Indian television, on an early assignment for Indian Link Radio: an interview with Vidya Balan. She was here for

the Bollywood Film Festival. All the journos, including yours truly, waited patiently for our respective turn to interview India’s favourite actress. Since I had interviewed her earlier on various occasions in India, Vidya recognised me as soon as she walked in. Calling out to me, she started a conversation.

Alright, so I had an edge over others in room and I could sense that my interview would go off smooth! Take it from me, if the celeb is comfortable with the interviewer, half the job is done.

But it’s not always the celebrity who dictates the terms. More often than not I have found, the celeb’s PR and managers and assistants are the ones who lay the rules. Often they are the ones who decide when the interview starts and when it needs to finish, which question is “too personal”, where the interviewer is crossing the line and when they need to chip in to cut short an otherwise smooth flowing conversation.

It was no different this time with Vidya Balan’s manager. After the interview when I requested Vidya to record a message for Indian Link Radio (something along the lines of “Hello

Australia, this is Vidya Balan and you are listening to Indian Link Radio”). I was rudely stopped by her manager: it was time for photo ops, thank you. So Vidya, like an obedient child followed her manager and posed prettily for the shutterbugs, while my team from Indian Link Radio packed up quietly. And just as we were about to leave, I heard a voice. “Priyanka, you wanted an ID for your radio naa, let’s do it now”. That was the adorable Vidya Balan, winning our hearts with her humility. She most definitely challenges the norms both in reel and real life.

While you heard that interview on-air, I got to take a bit extra with me, some behind the scenes experiences and memories. Ah! These are some of the perks of the job!

And yet some interviews can be quite a challenge, just getting one at that. The powerhouse singer Sukhwinder Singh chose to wear his heart on his sleeve on-air and it felt like I was just chatting with a buddy, who had allowed me and the listeners a free tour into his mind and heart. But only God, Neelam Vasudevan (our Creative

Director), Ashish Chawla (our Marketing Manager in Melbourne) and myself, know how we skipped a few heartbeats when the singer just did not pick up the phone for a live-on-air interview! So it was me calling him, his manager calling, and then the promoter of his show, and then me trying again to call and repeatedly call the singer. The interview that was supposed to go on air at 7pm finally kicked off at 8pm. Those 60 minutes in between…. the less said of them, the better! As it turned out, our star singer happened to be taking a shower and you see, you don’t question stars or their idiosyncrasies. You just go with the flow!

With no pretensions of modesty, I’d admit that there is a lot of sweat and blood which goes into each show that we bring to you, our listeners, as you are the reason for our existence on radio. And I can vouch for myself and pretty much all my colleagues, that we love every bit of it. We love to chat with you on-air and off-air. We love it when you share your joys and we try our best to share your sorrows. We try to bring smiles to your faces

I like to keep my shows fun, fast and full of entertainment, with the right dose of information, discussions and interaction

That was the adorable Vidya Balan, winning our hearts with her humility. She most definitely challenges the norms both in reel and real life

and be your stressbusters.

Jaate jaate ek geet meri taraf se aap sun lena: Yun hi kat jaayega safar saath chalne se (Hum Hai Raahi Pyaar Ke) Toh filhaaal aapki dost aur host Priyanka Tater leti hai aapse ijaazat.

Stay tuned and enjoy the music and the masti! Catch me live every Tuesday and Thursday between 6pm to 9pm on your very own Indian Link Radio.

Indian Link can be heard wireless by subscription radio in Sydney and Melbourne, on the internet (indianlink.com.au) or download our free app from iTunes or the Android phone market place.

Sweet and spice success

The miracle combination of honey and cinnamon is a cure for countless ailments

By VISHMA MISTRy

Do you find yourself going through medication after medication to cure a cold, an upset tummy or other illness but nothing seems to work?

Look no further! You can zap diseases and boost your health with two miracle ingredients that are probably sitting in your kitchen –cinnamon and honey!

Honey and cinnamon have been used in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries, and now scientists across the world also accept honey and cinnamon as effective medicine for all kinds of diseases and disorders.

The nutritional values of honey have been documented in Vedic, Greek, Roman, Christian, Islamic and other texts for centuries; all mentioning honey to be ‘good’. According to scientists honey contains powerful anti-bacterial properties which can fight against at least sixty species of bacteria, unlike antibiotics which are useless against many types of bacteria.

Honey is made up with a number of vitamins and minerals such as calcium and iron amongst many others, as well as vitamins such as vitamin B and C. When used topically, for wound dressings, as the honey dilutes with the bodily fluids hydrogen peroxide is produced acting as an antiseptic.

Every time I have fallen ill with a cold my parents always tell me to have a spoon full of honey. As a young girl, whenever I fell ill, I remember how I absolutely used to dread that spoon full of honey

first thing in the morning and before going to bed and never quite understood their fascination with honey even though it use to do the job. Now I do. So the next time you’re ill and someone tells you to have a spoon full of honey think of all of the good that one spoon of honey, is doing to your health and body.

Cinnamon on the other hand, is an ingredient I absolutely love, whether ground or whole, cin namon is one fragrant, warm and versatile spice which can be used in both sweet and savoury foods.

Cinnamon is obtained from the bark of several trees and for centuries has been believed to have medicinal properties from the essential oils found in the bark, and was used to cure snakebites, common colds, and kidney troubles to name a few.

So you might be wondering how these two miracle ingredients can benefit you?

Here are a few of the benefits when both ingredients are combined together.

Heart disease Create a paste of honey and cinnamon powder and apply to bread/toast or chappati regularly for breakfast. This will reduce cholesterol and keep you miles away from a heart attack. This also revitalises the arteries and veins and strengthens the heartbeat.

Insect bites A paste of one part

Cholesterol Mix two table spoons of honey with three teaspoons of cinnamon powder. It is also said that having a spoon full of pure honey with a meal daily relieves cholesterol.

This is one that I’m familiar with, although instead of cinna mon, I was always given a spoon full of honey with turmeric powder or made to mix honey into warm water and drink...

Colds Take a tablespoon of luke warm honey with some cinnamon powder regularly. It is said that this will instantly cure coughs and colds and help you breath easyily once again.

Infertility

For men: It is said that taking a tablespoon of honey before going to bed will solve all problems. For women: In countries such as China and Japan, women who are unable to conceive take a pinch of cinnamon powder and half a teaspoon of honey and rub this on their gums. This is said to strength en the uterus.

There are many other factors for which these two ingredients are said to work as miracle healing aid, amongst which are: stomach upsets, pimples, skin infections, hot olive oil, a tablespoon of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder to your hair before taking a bath, and keep in for approximately 15 minutes.

Bladder infection Take two table spoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink. This will kill bacteria and germs in the bladder.

Toothache

Make a paste using these two ingredients and apply to the affected area at least three times a day.

cancer, bad breath, hearing loss and many many more... the list is almost endless!

So the next time you fall ill and find medication just isn’t doing the trick, try giving your body a spoon full of sweetness and spice!

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eat the election

Whether you’re voting Lib or Labor (or any other party), why not get into the mood with these over the top red and blue treats?

By leNA PeACOCK

While us Aussies don’t get quite as overexcited when it’s election time as our American friends do, we can take a leaf out of their book when it comes to election themed food. And if you’re completely over hearing anything about the election by now, why not view it as just another excuse to have a party involving lots of delicious food? And if red (Labor Party) or blue (Liberal Party) don’t quite float your boat, just use them as the colours of the Australian flag.

It’s a wrap: The Prime Minister is…

These are nice and easy to eat while watching the election on tv, and are so versatile, they can be stuffed full of any of your favourite fillings.

Tortillas

4 cups of flour

1 ¾ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

90g butter

1 ¼ cup of water (or a little more if needed)

Red food colouring

Blue food colouring

Place dry ingredients and butter into a bowl. Using your fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the pieces become the size of peas. Add water until it becomes a soft dough. Separate dough into three balls. Work red food colouring into one of the balls and blue into another. Break each colour into about 4 dough balls. Roll dough balls into thin tortillas. Remove

excess flour from each tortilla as much as possible. Cook in a nonstick pan on medium heat just until each side is done – this won’t take long if you rolled them out thinly. Roll with sandwich fillings, or a curry that doesn’t have too much liquid to it.

oTT election beverages

Although there are plenty of alcoholic versions, here’s a child friendly version, which will hopefully keep the election talk tempers down.

Cranberry juice

Non-alcoholic pina colada

Blue Gatorade

Simply combine ingredients in different layers to achieve desired effect.

Election jelly jiggle time

1 box of blue jelly

1 box of red jelly

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

Make jelly as per instructions on packet. Once red and blue layers have set, combine with chilled layer of condensed milk.

Sweet strawberry voters

1 punnet of ripe strawberries

1 bag of white chocolate melts/ or chips

1 cup of white sugar

1 tbsp of milk

1 tbsp of light corn syrup

Blue food colouring

Cooking paper

Wash and completely dry the strawberries. In a pot, simmer 10cm of water and place a glass or metal bowl on top of the pot to create a double boiler. Slowly melt half the bag of white chocolate. When they are melted, remove from heat, and add the second half of the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Once the white chocolate is completed melted, dip strawberries about 3/4 of the way in and then set on top cooking paper for chocolate to harden.

After you’ve dipped all the strawberries, in a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, corn syrup and milk. Then add as much blue food colouring (two drops at a time) to get the right shade of blue you want. Spoon icing into a piping bag (or a ziplock bag with a hole cut in it). Once chocolate has completely hardened, drizzle the icing back and forth on the strawberries until about half of the white chocolate area is covered.

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PNg: Problem never Goes

By lP AyeR

Ring ring.

Caller: Hello, is this the Prime Minister’s office?

PM’s Secretary: Yes, it is. Who is calling please?

Caller: This is Sultan Dhow Dinghy from Cisarua, currently the busiest coastal town in south Java.

Secretary: Excuse me, how did you get our number?

Caller: We picked it up from one of your many navy vessels that come here every day. In fact we have all the numbers of your Immigration, Customs and Emergency Services, senators, lawyers and many more.

Secretary: Ok…. why do you want to talk to our PM?

Caller: I can stop the boats and save him billions of dollars.

Secretary: Wait a minute... (doing a hurried check on the computer)

Did you say your name is Sultan Dhow? We will call you back in ten minutes. What is your number there?

Caller: 011 62 420 420. Click.

Secretary to colleagues: Guys, the leading people smuggler has made contact. Get the treasurer, immigration and defence ministers and the defence chiefs of Navy into the PM’s office asap. Ring ring.

PM: Sultan, this is the Australian

PM: What can I do for you?

Sultan: Not much you can do for me, Prime Minister Sir. But I can save your job and billions of dollars.

PM: Not even my treasurer can do that. How can you do that for me?

Sultan: By stopping the boats.

PM: Our Opposition has been saying this three-word slogan for months. But they are not sure now. By the way, our intelligence tells us you are the one sending the boats out.

Sultan: True. That’s why I can stop them. You can tweet to your hordes of followers that your tough stand did the trick, and win their votes.

PM: Brilliant, Sultan. But what’s in it for you?

Sultan: It’s simple. Every boat I send out makes me a million but costs you hundreds of millions. So for every boat I stop sending, you

THE BOATS

pay me two million. Imagine the savings. VIP jaws drop in unison. Buttons on calculators are tapped furiously. No word exchanged for a few minutes.

PM: Sultan, two million a boat a day, is a bit too much!

Sultan: Think of the savings I am making for you. Now that we choose all the immigrants, you can abolish the Immigration Department. Customs too, since these arrivals bring in their own customs. Look at the ones we send – well-fed and in designer clothes. They won’t be a burden. Quite affluent. They pay 10K per head for such a short journey in a leaky boat, almost the price for a

world cruise in a luxury liner.

PM: Yes but two million … Foreign Affairs Minister: Look, we have PNG to help us. We are scouring new islands too.

Sultan: Listen Sir, PNG stands for ‘Problem Never Goes’. Look at the work we do for you. We provide valuable training for your navy chaps calling them over here every other day. That’s the only exercise they get to do. Without that they may get into their old games, sexual harassment.

The Navy Chief in a very low tone: Mr PM Sir, let me give you a couple of bullet points for bargaining.

PM: I can do with cannon-size

points. What have you got?

Navy Chief: Tell him we will undercut his business. We now go almost 10km close to their shore. We can pick up his cargo right from the port at half the price. We can even provide aid to build that port to world class standard. The journey will be risk free. We’ll take out full page ads in the papers there.

PM: Brilliant. Any other points?

Navy Chief: Our defence budget is severely cut. This discount offer will bring in millions. We can also pick the brains of the boat crew that will become idle.

PM: In what way?

Navy Chief: Many of their boats

start sinking within minutes of setting off. Our Collins class subs can’t dive. We can ask their technical know-how to make our subs ‘hole in’ class.

PM: Excellent suggestions.

PM to Sultan: You there, Sultan? OK then. Two million bucks a boat.

Everybody cheers to a done deal. The applause goes on and on… and on.

The PM wakes to see he is in the midst of an election rally, having dozed off as a result of extreme exhaustion.

Sultan Dhow Dinghy… was but a dream.

The PM finds a dream solution to the asylum seekers’ issue

THE BUZZ

success Chennai Express runaway success

there’s no doubt that Chennai Express trailblazing tracks all the way to the box office. In just ten days since the release of the movie it was well on its way to hitting the rs 200 crore mark, a coup for this entertainment extravaganza.

And now, superstar Shah rukh Khan has come up with another clever idea to ensure that it does reach that target – on Raksha Bandhan 20), the King Khan offered the audience a ‘buy two, get one deal’. A clever ploy to build up the numbers. Patrons who buy two tickets to the movie will get the third free!

A source close to the superstar said this is SrK’s brainchild. the offer was valid only on that special day because the 47-year-old wanted to celebrate with everyone. the source added: “ we have celebrated eid and Independence Day with the entire country and this is his way of celebrating Rakhi as well. this is his small way of giving back the huge amount of love and support he has got from the people”.

If viewers enjoyed SrK’s new avatar in the romantic comedy, they also found Deepika Padukone’s tamil girl act thoroughly entertaining. the film created a record, earning the fastest rs.100 crore at the box office within the first weekend. not bad for a movie that cost rs.75 crore to make!

Seems like SrK is as adept at marketing, as he is at acting!

Arjun Rampal rocks on

Like so many hopefuls in Bollywood, actor Arjun rampal did not have a glorious start, but shot to fame with his bravura performance as a rock star in Rock On! Since then, there has been no looking back for the national Award winning actor. he feels that he has grown with each film and finds his 12year journey in the industry ‘great’ and ‘enjoyable’.

HAppy 50TH SRI!

It was party-time for Bollywood recently as Boney Kapoor threw a bash to celebrate his wife and actress Sridevi’s 50th birthday. the filmi revellers kept the party going well into the night. From rishi Kapoor to Shilpa Shetty and Sushmita Sen, filmdom’s best and brightest came out in full force to wish the birthday girl. hema Malini came with her daughter esha and son-in-law Bharat takhtani, while Juhi Chawla was seen with her husband Jay Mehta, and Anupam Kher was spotted too. Manoj Bajpayee and Vinod Khanna were also spotted along with rishi, who worked with her in successful films like Nagina and Chandni. Sridevi’s brother-in-law Anil Kapoor, who worked with her in hits like Mr India, too came for the do with his wife Sunita.

Last year Sridevi hogged the limelight for her comeback film English Vinglish, in which she gave a credible performance. Before retiring in 1996 after marrying Boney Kapoor, she enjoyed success with hits like Sadma, Himmatwala, Chaalbaaz and Judaai well, 50’s not a great age to start sizzling on the screen again, but Sri seems to have achieved this. Good on her!

the journey for Arjun has been an evolving one. his began as a ramp model and his acting career took off with a dud, Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat in 2001, followed by a string of flops. But the actor refused to give up and reinvented himself successfully with Don in 2006, finally taking off in Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd and Om Shanti Om

But the icing on the cake was his award-winning performance in Rock On! and the success of Raajneeti and Chakravyuh cemented his position in filmdom.

encapsulating the lows and highs of his career, Arjun simply said, “It has been a great journey”.

“I see myself evolving from film to film. It is good to be in that space. I am

enjoying that part,” said the hunky actor in an interview recently.

So what is his criterion while selecting films?

“I look at what’s my scene and part. I need to see what is the starting point of my character and where he reaches. If I can identify with the journey, then I go ahead. this is for all films,” he said.

A convincing story is equally important for the 40-year-old.

“I think you should be a part of a different kind of cinema as long as you have conviction in it and you can believe in it. I would like to be a part of comedy, provided I think it is very funny. the films, which I choose, are the films which I would like to watch,” said Arjun.

he acted in Housefull which had an ensemble cast, and his forthcoming political thriller Satyagraha directed by Prakash Jha, also has a host of actors, the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Manoj Bajpayee, Kareena Kapoor and Amrita rao.

Arjun admits working with a talented director and star cast makes it easier. “It is about the film - what is the director trying to say and if he is able to do this without the film becoming dry and boring. when you are working with good actors, it makes your job easier,” he said. talking about future projects, Arjun will shoon be shooting for Villain and then Roy

From ramp to rock star, Arjun’s certainly come a long way!

Lucky nargis Fakhri

Actress nargis Fakhri considers herself particularly lucky to have enjoyed so much success in Bollywood, and to have had the opportunity to work with A-listers. nargis says it’s tough for an outsider to make a place for themselves in the industry, but it was her debut film

Arjun rAmpAl

that shot her to the top. Playing ranbir Kapoor’s love interest in her debut film Rockstar catapulted the actress into the limelight, but that was just the beginning.

In her second film, the Shoojit Sircar directed political thriller Madras Cafe which is scheduled to release soon, nargis she will be seen with another top actor - John Abraham.

“I’m still in awe of how I got so lucky to work with the actors like ranbir and John. I hope to continue to work with more A-listers,” nargis said recently.

“It is pretty difficult for a newcomer to make it in Bollywood. you need guidance, and I was fortunate that agencies took me on. If it wasn’t for the team, I think I might not have been here,”

she confided. “In this industry, you need to know people or have family that is already in it, to make it big. I still have so much to learn and so many people to meet”.

the actress, who likes donning a chef’s cap while at home, is essaying the role of a foreign journalist in Madras Cafe nargis feels when she did Rockstar, she had no clue about the industry, but acclimatised herself while working on her second film.

“ with every new film you hope that you have grown, and I think I have grown a bit. I have put in a lot of hard work and time into Madras Cafe. As the time moves forward, you start understanding and learning more when it comes to the craft,” she said.

Sharing her experience of being a journalist in the film, nargis stressed, “It was difficult as I am not a real journo.

wHO wORE IT BETTER?

But with the help of workshops, people, documentaries as well as footage from on the field war correspondents of BBC and Cnn, and my own effort, have helped me understand my characterJaya,” said nargis.

the actress will soon also be seen in an item number with Shahid Kapoor in director rajkumar Santoshi’s Phata Poster Nikla Hero

“It’s my first item number. It was fun, but at the same time very difficult. I have learned so much from this experience. I’m not a trained dancer. I had taken classes though,” revealed nargis.

On being asked the kind of roles she is looking forward to do, nargis responded, “I’d love to do an action film where the woman is some kind of hero. I just want to kick some b***. But I’m open to all sorts of roles, because with each role your portray, you learn something new about other people as well as yourself”. nargis certainly seems to be on the path to success. hope she’s as tough in real life as she is in reel life!

Sallu’s Marathi movie debut

riteish Deshmukh and Salman Khan have always been close friends, claims the buzz around Bollywood, but now the superstar actor has proved it! Salman will be seen in a special appearance in riteish’s second Marathi production venture titled Lai Bhaari, in his debut in Marathi films as an actor.

kangana r anaut or keira knightley in burberry Prorsum?

Share

CApTION CONTEST

What’s the chitchat here between Naseeruddin Shah and gulzar?

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

“It was extremely gracious of Salman to himself offer to be part of our film Lai Bhaari. It was great to do a Marathi scene with him,” riteish said in a statement. Apparently Salman was very intrigued by riteish’s approach to his production venture and enjoyed hearing about the film and the story. he then came forward and suggested being part of riteish’s production venture. riteish was overjoyed with the idea and a special sequence was created for Salman, which will be one of the highlights of the movie.

Good for Sallu, he’s proved to be a real friend!

LAST

ISSUE CApTION CONTEST wINNING ENTRy

What’s the chitchat here between Sonam Kapoor and dad Anil Kapoor?

Anil: And I have another funny story to tell you about Sonam when she was a baby…

Sonam: Oh no, I’m leaving! Never going to go out with my dad again!!

Nicky Pradhan St.Marys NSW

Nicky wins a CD of the new film Chennai Express

SrK-DeepiKA

nArgiS FAKhri

CINE TALK

SAMBAR AND SANDALwOOD

C H e NNAI e x PR e SS

STARRInG: Shah rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone

DIRECToR: rohit Shetty

HHHHH

Dammit! no out-takes!! Is this really a rohit Shetty film? every film of the Gol Maal director has so far ended with out-takes giving us entertaining glimpses from during the making of the film. here those trademark Shetty out-takes are replaced by a honey Singh track which celebrates rajnikanth and the lungi

the rest of the film resembles those typical sambar-and-sandalwood creations by K. raghvendra rao, and worse still, raj Kanwar’s Dhai Akshar

Prem Ke where Aishwarya to escape her parental wrath at her elopement, introduces to her family a man she has just met as her soul-mate.

Of course, there are the flying cars exploding in the air to make sure we know that all said and drummed, this is a rohit Shetty presentation.

Packaged with pickled precision, peppered with just the right doses of naughty jokes and precocious pranks that go well with Shah rukh’s 40-yearold brat’s act, Chennai Express is the kind of non-toxic comic entertainer where the most damaging double-entendres you’d get is a tamil word that sounds like Angelina Jolie’s name.

Come again?

that brings me to another major hurdle in the heap of hilarity that Shetty builds so meticulously in the first-half. the generous outflow of tamil that seems initially engaging (more so, since Shah rukh shares our noncomprehension of the rapidfire tamilian cloudburst that accompanies Deepika’s quicksilver character) begins to come in the way as the narration grows older and runs out of energy.

But then there is the sprightly Deepika as the runaway tamilian girl who piles on to the north Indian mithaiwala stranger to escape marrying the boorish fiancee back home in her village in tamil nadu.

we’ve seen Kareena Kapoor do the chirpy runaway train traveller in Jab We Met. Deepika brings a special filteredcoffee flavour to her chirpy character. even that broad hammy accent grows on us.

yes, we like! here she is the only rohit Shetty team member (and I use the term

‘team’ since Shetty generously credits the direction to himself and his team) who seems to have a firm grip over her rudderless dithering character.

Deepika plays Meena Amma with flavourful flourish. She is specially delightful in three key sequences, two of them comic and the other unexpectedly sombre.

In the sequence where her character turns into a sleeping, kicking and convulsive zombie, she’s unbelievably goofy. It’s not just Shah rukh who gets a kick out of that scene.

would rohit Shetty please do a fullfledged out-and-out comedy with Deepika? that, Chennai Express is not. It is a half-hearted but laugh-hearted effort that makes the fatal error of taking itself too seriously.

towards the end when the utterly shammed climactic fight ensues, we even have a long speech by Shah rukh on the social status of the girl child. not now, please!

As we squirm at the attempt to turn comedy into a serious business we look back at the rest of the film with some amount of warmth and affection.

Some of the long shots of the train winding through green acres are breathtaking. And Shah rukh’s first meeting with Deepika’s father over a bridge over a fast-flowing river is shot with amazing brio.

there’s a wonderfully-shot sequence where Shah rukh has to carry Deepika to a temple over hundreds of steps. Deepika here goes from amusement and mockery to a sense of belonging and pride in her man’s arms. It’s a moment built with care and love.

But then, such tender affection really

has no place in this comedy of cultural dispossession where the Punjabi boy rahul gets embroiled in tamil girl Meena’s family affairs and comes out... well not quite wiser, but filled with selfmocking laughter.

Shah rukh pokes a whole lot of goodnatured fun at his now-aging lover-boy persona. there are tongue-in-cheek references to Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and several other Shah rukh Khan films and songs including the introductory South Indian lines from the Jiya jale song in Dil Se

All these self-tributes work better than what Puri Jagganath did with the Bachchan persona Buddha... Hoga Tera Baap.

rohit Shetty is more in command of his canvas here than in his last comedy Bol Bachchan. But the self-deprecatory laughter is still not good enough. Somewhere you feel the one-line plot (okay, if not one then two-line plot) is stretched into an unwelcome secondhalf where nothing really happens. even the humour tracks stops short beyond a point.

But there is some genuine steam and spark in the early part of Chennai Express.

towards the beginning of the train journey when Deepika and Shah rukh play a kind of antakshari of hindi film songs to put the goons off her trail, Deepika completely overshadows her kingly co-star, who should be okay with being upstaged by his female co-star.

After all he has given Deepika priority over his own name in the credit titles. And Deepika takes the lead very

seriously. She has never looked better and never been funnier on screen without even trying too hard.

But then the plot and the situations let her down. the antakshari-speak that was amusing in the beginning recurs during a stale fight sequence in the secondhalf.

we are no longer laughing. not when Shah rukh’s purported big chase sequences end in embarrassing dead-ends. not when an item song with incoherent words and even more misguided logistics pops up like a joke whose punchline has gone missing. through all of this, Shah rukh Khan braves it with a delicious sense of self-mockery bordering almost on a masochistic absence of heroic pride.

yes, he likes it when the joke is on him. But that happens once too often here.

So it’s finally here. the film that all Shah rukh Khan fans (which covers half the hemisphere) have been waiting for. the good news first.

Chennai Express is a pleasant and likable film in parts. the bad news is, it does nothing for Shah rukh Khan’s imdomitable star power except to tell us he can still play a 40-year rahul without faltering. that we already know.

Su BHASH K. J HA

AN ILL-TIMED GANGSTER DRAMA

O NC e uPON A T IM e I N Mu MBAI D OBAARA

STARRInG: Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha; Director: Milan Luthria

DIRECToR: Milan Luthria HHHHH

How do I put this politely? this is arguably one of the most awful, ill-timed gangster dramas with most performances so loud and unassimilated that these characters could easily be contestants in an eid special segment of Comedy Circus where the theme is ‘Gangsta rap’.

Such utter crap, and done with heartbreaking seriousness.

Milan Luthria has never been a great filmmaker. At least his earlier films like Kachche Dhaage and Dirty Picture had some interesting conflicts between characters who are driven by a desire for revenge but are frustrated in their malevolence by their love for the very same people they want to hate.

the problem with ...Dobaara is that the two main characters who love each other

to death are people we have met over and over again. Most notably in ram Gopal Varma’s Company where Ajay Devgn and Viveik Oberoi played gangster and protege with great conviction and ballsy velocity.

the subsequent spinoffs have gotten seriously diluted.

this one is a sequel to Luthria’s notso-engaging film where Ajay Devgn’s imposing personality had made the pale and unintentionally funny proceedings bearable.

except for Sonakshi Sinha playing a starlet who talks too hard and too much and gets the male protagonists (who need to be spanked for playing with guns when their IQ level suggests video games would be more apt) into a serious conflict merely because she’s too dumb to see they both love her, ...Dobaara has no redeeming qualities.

Akshay Kumar as a Dawood doppelgang(st)er is a laugh. his dialogues, meant to show his mastery over the hoary art of rhetorics, come out sounding like wimpy words of wackedout wisdom picked up from messages in Chinese cookies.

where the protagonists seem bold, sexy and even brazen but are actually cardboard versions of the triangular lovers in raj Kapoor’s Sangam and Vinod Kumar’s Mere Huzoor. But at least love triangles of the past were honest about their melodramatic intentions. you can almost smell the cheap perfume and the discount-rated champagne trying to pass as the genuine stuff in Shoaib’s party. this guy thinks he is menacing. he is actually a joke. And if the real Dawood is anything like the way he is portrayed here we have nothing to fear except his cheesy dialogue-baazi.

the gangster-villain (Akshay insists he is a villain, and who are we to argue with a guy who keeps smashing up furniture and appliances every time he doesn’t get his way?) and his cronies

STARK, BRUTAL SAGA Of SEDUCTION AND BETRAyAL

B.A. PASS

STARRInG: Shilpa Shukla, Shadab Kamal

DIRECToR: Ajay Bahl

HHHHH

Somewhere towards the end of the protagonist Mukesh’s descent into a self-created hell, we see him standing shamelessly at the roadside soliciting sex, being picked up by three drunken burly men.

A little later, Shadab Kamal sobs in the bathroom, blood dripping to his feet in a trail of tell-tale brutality.

the implicit violence that underlines this sequence reminded me of a similar process of sexual debasement undertaken by Mark wahlberg in Paul thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights that was a film about the porn industry in the 1970s.

B.A. Pass is set in present day DelhiPaharganj, to be more precise. Bustling with sights, sounds and smells of doom and despair, it is a gripping story of a young financially-challenged man’s journey into a world of prostitution. we could say, we have never seen this before. And we would be as close to the truth as this film tries to get.

the taut screenplay by ritesh Shah never allows room for superfluous moments. we follow Mukesh’s descent into a life of compromised morality with an absence of condemnation and censure. Mukesh’s environment and his circumstances as a displaced orphan are not exploited to generate pathos.

no one in this film allows us to feel sorry for the derelict lives. the characters fit into the film’s wretched karma with disturbing inevitability, as though everyone we see in this motion picture was pre-ordained to suffer and fade away.

By the time we arrive at the finishing line, we know the protagonist has exhausted all his options. It is the end of the road for the film’s achingly young gigolo-protagonist. hard choices have to be made at this penultimate juncture.

As we watch the talented Shadab Kamal lay bare his character’s soul, we are suddenly reminded of how far we have come in his 95-minute journey from innocence and anxiety to despair and doom.

Debutant director Ajay Bahl puts forward a little gem of a story which radiates the colours of life’s grim and harsh reality. there are so many young

dreams dying every day in the metropolises. As one struggler in Bollywood once told me, “I came to Mumbai to kick ass. Instead I ended up licking ass”. to envision the withering away of innocent aspirations in the merciless light of reality without a shred of self-pitying melodrama is not an easy task. Bahl does it with great confidence and sensitivity. that he has personally done the film’s cinematography is such a beautiful circumstance for the film. I doubt another cameraman could capture those places in these troubled characters’ lives that Bahl captures with such force and vitality.

A part of the film’s riveting charm originates from the authentic faces that populate Bahl’s nation of damnation. these are real people living out of authentic homes that exist beyond the director’s domain of ‘action’ and ‘cut’.

appear to have walked out of ‘loin’ Ajit’s den in the 1970s, not quite sure which way to head in the present day milieu of such awe-inspiring gangster epics as Luc Besson’s Taken and Amit Kumar’s Monsoon Shootout.

except for a train robbery sequence featuring Imran Khan at the start, it has too little to offer in the way action and adventure.

And really, what this film has done to the Mohd rafi Qawwalli Tayyab ali pyar ka dushman would make Manmohan Desai wince if he was alive.

Dobaara done. Please, no third helping.

Su BHASH K. J HA

is a stark and brutal saga of seduction and betrayal. It is that unusual work of cinema which explores the darkest depths of the human consciousness without losing sight of the light that underscores life.

It would be erroneous to treat this film as only a serious noire effort. It is that, yes. But it’s also a film that makes an impact in unexpectedly blithe ways, creeping up into our conscience when we least expect an intrusion and lodging itself cosily in a corner.

Su BHASH K. J HA

Ask Auntyji

Dear Auntyji

I was hoping for your insight. I am somewhat perplexed by a recent turn of events and I needed your sage counsel, as you are so old, so wise, so sagacious. My work colleague, a contractor who was in our large division for two and a half years recently resigned and left. She was one of those friendly people who was always smiling, always the first to say hello and was always amusing us with her insights and nuggets of information. She left without a fuss. not a goodbye. not a parting word. And not even a backward glance. Granted, our division is 65% contractors, but still I would have thought that after all that time, she would have sent a goodbye note to all. I am disappointed that she did not say goodbye, Aunty, and each day that I think of her, I wonder what kind of a cold-hearted person she was that she didn’t see the need to say goodbye. I feel like tracking her down on LinkedIn and Facebook, and asking how she could just leave us like that. what are your thoughts on this?

Auntyji says

Just listen to yourself – what kind of a person, a nasamaj, na akl are you? now let’s dissect the information you have provided. you say she worked with you for two and a half years. how is it that in that time, you did not take the time to learn that she had resigned? Granted, if you were her close friend, she would have said something. But if you were one of those people who is always thinking of themselves and rarely focus on the other person (and it appears to be this way), then you would have definitely missed the signs that she had resigned. Ask yourself, when was the last time you had a chat with this lady to ask her what she was doing, whether she was unhappy, or was she thinking of leaving, or whether her role was keeping her satisfied. If you had known these things, you would have known of her leaving as well. It seems to me that you are the type of person who is always happy to take from others – so you were happy when she was always smiling and talking, but it would appear that you never took the time to get to know this person better. Just because she was friendly to everyone, does not mean that you were friends. So, this person left quietly – with no reason for fanfare because she did not have any real friends in the place. you were all acquaintances. now to the most important lesson – did you make every encounter with her meaningful, where she felt you were really interested in knowing her? I doubt it – which is why she left – in a zen state of mind. the problem was not with her, my dear ignorant little bulbul, it’s with you. If this lady had been hit by a bus and had died, would you have felt the same way? Probably not, because you would have seen it as a sudden departure. So if you were not going to be upset if she had suddenly died, then you have no reason to be upset because she left without saying goodbye.  So in future, perhaps instead of looking at someone’s smiling face and only seeing the superficial, perhaps you should take the time to listen to someone, to understand them better, to know them at a deeper level. So when they depart – through choice or otherwise – at least you will have the knowledge to say that you knew this person, and were close to them. As for this person, don’t bother tracking her down – if you were important to her, she would have befriended you on Facebook.  But she has left you with a lasting gift – of knowing that your interaction with her was at a superficial level, and if you want someone to say goodbye to you when they leave, you need to learn to be a friend. And not just an acquaintance who laughs of witticism and shares vague stories about what happened on the weekend. Samaj me aye baat?

Do you have a question for Auntyji?

Dear Auntyji

My wife and I have recently bought a lovely house, and we have hit an interior decorating conundrum. I want to decorate our home with items from our heritage, which is mainly Indian. I also love Islamic art, but I feel that when I place Islamic antiquities in my home, I will somehow be appropriating artefacts from a culture or heritage which is not quite mine to take. I feel the same way about gora people who take ancient Indian artefacts and place it in their homes - with no connection to the land or its people. this also applies, in my opinion, to ancient european works and Asian items also. Do you think I am being insular in my thinking, and perhaps I should open my mind? Or do you feel that I am on the right path here? Please tell me your thoughts - I’d love to hear them.

Heritage hype

Auntyji says hmm, you have posed an interesting conundrum, and I can totally see both sides of the argument. On the one hand, we have the superficial amongst us, who take artefacts from here, there and everywhere and place it in their home, as though to give it meaning, but making it meaningless while doing so. I feel that this applies to today’s badge of dubious honour - the ubiquitous tattoo. Once upon a time, the tattoo was part of a cultural heritage and was symbolic, with a rich and varied history - such as those of the Polynesian peoples, or the yakuza. then along came random folks and appropriated this cultural signifier for themselves, and today you see a whole bunch of men with tatts all over the place - with neither artistic nor cultural merit to their body graffiti. Anyway, this also applies to artefacts from across the globe. what meaning could an antique jharoka have for a suburban house in newtown? Probably not much, but then, we get to the other side of the argument. that intricate craftsmanship and the objects of beauty - regardless of their provenance - belong to all of humankind. hence a jali or a fine bronze statue of the Nataraja can be admired regardless of one’s background. Artistry and craftsmanship belong to all of us - and an item of beauty is human heritage. So while a marble bidri may have meaning for you because this is part of your culture, the admiration of it should not be confined to this alone. this means that anyone who sees the beauty of an artefact should be able to keep it in their home without feeling like they are appropriating symbols. So to answer your question - whether you should be able to keep Islamic artefacts without feeling like a phoney - is quite simple. Ancient Islamic art is about to enjoy a renaissance, so get it while you can. Further, being of Indian descent, your background is intertwined with Islam - you can’t be Indian without acknowledging our Mughal past, and its Islamic influence on India.  Finally, how do you really know who your ancestors were - and what your background really is? Unless you can trace back your ancestry to hundreds of years, it’s possible that way, way back one of your hindu ancestors probably married his Muslim neighbour - and this detail was lost in time. So, I say go for it - decorate your home with Islamic art if you want to - in a silent, yet powerful tribute to a fictional or real ancestor who may have been Muslim. By the way, if your friends have differing opinions about this, just tell them your great-aunt seven times removed was a Muslim lady from Allahabad - hence you are entitled to have Islamic art in your house. that will make you even more exotic and interesting, nah?

House for Rent