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EDITORIAL INDIAN LINK

Come September (7th)

PUBLISI-IER . .

Pawan Luthra , ...

.

EDITOR

Rajrii Anand Luthra , ASSISTANT EDITOR

Lena Peacock Sheryl Dixit MELBOURNE COORDINATOR

Preeti Jabbal CONTRIBUTORS ·

Prashant Dixit, Nima Menon, Ashish Chawla, Avi Chandiok. Tasneem Zavery, Noel G De Souza, Saroja Srinivasan, Vishma Mistry, Purnima Ruanglertbutr, Nancy Jade Althea, Sarah Malik Priyanka Tater, Tracey Lennon

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ome September is a l 96 l romantic comedy fi.lm 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 "acrion man" Abbott. There seem to be no romantic leads and yes, there is no love in the air between the two major scars.

In fact, spite and vitriol often surface between the two. While the critics have awarded the gong of "Best (better?)

Actor" co the Coalition leader Tony Abbott, d1e People's Choice Award category is stilJ seeing Labor's Kev.in Rudd as the forerunner.

With the election campaign officially on d1e other side of the halfway mark, the Liberal-National alliance seems to be al1ead in the polls. The experts at this stage are calling it an election for Tony Abbott to lose. That th.is is the analysis shows how well Kevin Rudd has changed me eguation after replacing J ulia Gillard. \X!hile terms such as annihilation and

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

An interesting side-show in cbis election campaign is the open hostility bet\,,een the News Ltd media and d1e Labor Parry. While the Labor Party tried to muzzle the press under former communications minister Stephen Conroy and failed, it seems d,ar I ews Ltd is enjoying their potshots at the ALP through rne ir tablo id Daily Telegraph. ''Throw this mob o ut" screamed d1e headlines as me elections were announced. PM Rudd has been open])' critical in his opinion of News Ltd; it will be interesting to see the kind of revenge he will seek should he be remrned to power. As Julia Gillard found out, Kevin Rudd neither forgets nor forgives!

At the same time, if ALP loses d1e elections, it will be interesting to see what happens co one K. Rudd. If tbe Coalition were to lose, it is clear diat Tony Abbott wiJI be d1e fall guy and there will be a shoot-our between Malcolm Turnbull and Joe Hockey for leader. Under me Labor Party, tbe 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 d1e party to the union movement, the very image d1ey are trying to d1ange. There are few

chai:ismatic leaders in the Labor camp wid1 a number of them electing to bow out, and so it will be an interesting conundrum for me ALP. But cometh d1e hour, cometh the man (or woman) and perhaps a new face leading the parry post elections is ju st the tonic required co rebuild.

Having said that, whichever mob comes in next will have to sore our d1e financial mess th.at the Wayne Swan-Chris Bo\ven terun leaves behind. It is a bit rich for the ALP to pressure the Coalition to reveal their costings, when even with the foll might of the Treasury, they did not gee a single nwnber rig ht in their budgets. With the mining tax turning out co be one of d1e worse government deals ever negotiated wid1 the private seccor, and total disconnect between overall earnings and expendirure, the Labor Party has racked up huge amounts of debt in their six years in government. Someone needs to pay ic back. One expects this will be our furure generations. W/e may have escaped the global financial crisis, but unless the right measures are put in place, one only bas to see the state of some European economies co understand the crises which can unfold.

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

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SEPTEMBER 2013 5

COVERSTORY

INDIAN LINK

FEDERAL

Which party do you think will forge better relations between India and Australia?

Who will make the better prime minister?

Kevin Rudd ALP

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Australian community?

immigration policies to migrants?

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Has your vote changed after the move from Julia Gillard to Kevin Rudd as Labor leader?

Rank these issues in order of importance to you:

Asylum seekcr:s

cost Of

NO

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6 SEPTEMBER 2013

www.indianlink.com.au

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ELECTION

2013 SURVEY RESULTS

Which po'_t_ 1111cal party . do you support· point in t ime? · at t his

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INDIAN LINK

A litUc

27.61%

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47.01¾

SEPTEMBER 2013 7

COVERSTORY

..

Indian-Australians call it for Liberals PAWAN LUTHRA analyses results of Indian Link's online election survey

he Indian Australian comrnwlir:y has come out strongly in favour of the Liberal-National coalition in an onli.ne survey conducted by Indian Llnk. Data \Vas gathered over four days between 16 and 20 August 2013, from just over 500 people across the country.

M idway th.rough the 2013 election campaign just over 50% of those surveyed indicated their support for the Coalition for the September 7 election.

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

An interesting o bservation however came from the question on preferred prime minister.

Surprisingly, Indian Australians believe tbat 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 n t1t make a difference to them who the leader of i:be ALP

T

8 SEPTEMBER 2013

is during this period. It appears that aJ1 the troubles w ith Labor, particularly with policy and not just with the personality issues at the leadership level, have turned Indian Australian voters off. l..'.v'liar was surprising was the strong g ains that the Coalition has made into the perception of who wilJ do more for the Indian Australian community.

Traditionally, Labor has been strong in staking its creden tials over the m igrant 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 Parry did get a mention as working better for A ustralia's Indian conununity.

As the community mamres 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. \Xl hile we have certainly grown in numbers in recent years, it is also clear tbar 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 ea.d y

Indian settlers of the 1970s and '80s, whereas among the newer settlers a la rger number are entrepreneurs. And ro them, Liberal is a better fi c than Labor. lnfluenc.ing ell.is decision is perhaps also the percep tion 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 i:beir clampdown on 457 visas, the Indian community seems co 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 \Vhich party will offer better immigration policies.

State-based affairs - whed1er Campbell Newman's cost-cutting measures in Queensland or the Eddie Obeid-lan MacDonald ICAC saga in NSW - seem to have played a marginal ro le Ln the decision of d1e final vote. Only 25% have .indicated that state politics .influenced their decision. lnterestingly enough, the debare o n asylum seekers ranked the highest among vacious issues of

concern co the voting .intentions, with education close behind.

The Australian economy was third as a facwr, while cost of living ranked fourth in order of importance. In the marginal seats in \'{/estern Sydney, a region which a significant number of Indian Australians call home, the refugee issue is a hot topic, and it seem s diat the party which settles d1e 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, d1e election results vindicated this finding.

This time round, che Indian Australian commwlity has called it for the Liberal-National Coalition, opting ro voce out tbe Kevi n Rudd-led Labor Party.

It will be clear in just under two weeks if the Indian comrnmlity in Australia gets it r.ight rwo elections ill a row. \X!Jrntever the results, we urge the entire Indian Australian community who can, tO go out there and make your vote count!

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SEPTEMBER 20 13 13

COVERSTORY

eco 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 or the first time in Australia's election hiscory, we are witnessing che largest number of South Asian candidates actively participacing in the 2013 elections.

J\ total of 26 candidates of Indian and subcontinent origin will represent political parties, or scand as Independents, for seats in boch the Senate, as well as the House of Representatives. W hile this may seem like an un.impressively low number across a wide range of political platforms, it does indicate that the Indian diaspora is caki11g a greater interest in Australian policies and that they are lendu1g their voice and efforts towards better underscandu1g and acceptance of their communities within Australian society.

Conducting research for this reporr on the Australian elections has been an interesting and enlightening experience. Por instance, how many of us were aware that some o f the registered parties on the Australian Electoral website are the Pishing 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 E nd Marijuana Prohibition (HEMP) Party, Smokers Rights Parry or che Pirate Party Australia? We certainly aren't spoiled for choice, are we? \'(/e are aU aware that the 201 3 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 comse, a plerbora of parties such as the Palmer United Party and the WikiLeaks Parry, nor to me ntion Independents, are crying to ha\·e their say in the future of Australia.

Current u·ends indicate that multicultural commun.ities in general are confused about the

F

14 SEPTEMBER 2013

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 circumvencing 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 Peru1y Wong, neither leader inspires confidence in voters.

For the Indian communiry, it's a matter of waicing and waccl1ing.

There are many issues i.t1 the balance, such as progressing ludo-Oz relations, visa issues, trade and bilateral relations - the list is endless! Bue the increased representation of soud1 Asian candidates in the 2013 Election is an indicator that ti.mes are changing, and d1at the voice of multicultural communities are being heard. lt is a significant development and one that we musr embrace with enthusiasm, as a sign of better things ro 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 Melboume, Victoria, (House of Representatives), and Bhupinder Kw11ar, candidate for Cbibber, New South Wales, (Senate). However, it does seem like Labor doesn't seem ro have made a strong enough pitch to recruit more candidates from o ne of die fastest growing migram communities in Australia.

The Liberals have done better, recruiting four candidates to the party, three of these from Vicroria. Dr Ali Khan, Jag Chugha and Shilpa Hegde will all contest from areas in Victoria. Following close behind are tbe Greens, with four South Asian candidates representing che party. Prominent among these is Alexandra Kaur Bhatha.1, who will contest from Batman in ]Vfelbourne's northern suburbs.

Bur it is d1e newer and lesser known parties who have a sttong Indian presence among their

Clive Palmer (PUP) wit h Gary Loke

Jag Chugha (Libera l)

Shi/pa Hegde (Liberal)

www.indianlink.com.au

ll

of candidates in the fray

South Asian origin candidates in the 2013 Federal Elections SENATE

Mohhamad Ashraf,

NSW

Reid (Palmer United Party)

Bhupinder Kumar Chibber

VIC

(Labor)

Alex Kaur Bhathal,

Sam Swami Nathan

Batman (Greens)

( Independent)

Ali Khan, Calwell (Liberal)

VIC

Dinesh Jayasuriya, Gorton

Gurminder Sekhon (Greens)

(Greens)

Binoy Kampmark (Wikileaks

Jatinder Singh, Holt

Party)

(Palmer United Party)

WA

Avtar Singh Gill, Isaacs

Suresh Rajan (Wikileaks Party)

(Palmer United Party)

ACT

Nihal Samara, Lalor

Indra Esguerra (Greens)

(Liberal) Manpj Kumar, Menzies (Labor)

Alex Bhathal (Greens)

INDIAN LINK

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Jag Chugha, Scullin (Liberal)

NSW

Shilpa Hegde, Wills (Liberal)

Ammar Khan, Chifley

WA

( Independent)

Vimal Sharma, Cowan

Mohandas Balasingham,

(Palmer United Party)

Grayndler (Palmer United

Vashil Sharma, Fremantle

Party)

(Palmer United Party)

Raheam Khan, North Sydney

Kim Mubarak, Sterling

(Palmer United Party)

(Independent)

Ganesh Loke, Parramatta

SA

(Palmer United Party)

Bal winder Singh Jhandi, Barker

Kalpesh Patel, Parramatta

(Palmer United Party)

( Independent)

Bikhar Singh Brar, Mayo

candidates. The Palmer United Party has a coral of nine Indianorigin candidates. Headed by Professor Clive Palmer as their Federal leader, the party was formed on the ashes of the U nited Australia Parcy (UAP), an Auscralian political party founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945.

Now in 2013, the UAP has been re-lmu1ched by Professor Palmer, with the slogan of 'Reunite the Nacion'. It's probable char as a newly formed parry, they needed the numbers from a cross-section of candidates, bur whatever the case, it is a fact chat the Palmer United Party supports the largest number of Indian-origin candidates in these e lections.

The WikiLeaks Party was incorporated as a political parry 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 Row of information'. The Constitution of the Wiki.Leaks Party lists its objectives which include the protection of human tights 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 I slander self-determination.

Naturally,Julian Assange is its leader and is supported by rwo Indian oi:igin 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 unsmprisiogly, none belong to the orthern 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, bur the fact that they have one at all is promising from a lo ng term perspective.

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

Jag Chugha is the first Punjabi SiJd1 co stand for a Federa.l Sear of P adiament 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, smaU businesses are doing it

SEPTEMBER 2013 15

COVERSTORY

cough and people are worried about die ir job security.

These are issues diat people are talking to me about daily. I want co give my community a s trong local voice and fight for our fair share". As a long- time resident of Scullin, Jag feels be understands the local community's needs and can represent local families co deliver real results.

For A lexander (Alex) Kaur Bhathal, Greens candidate for Barman in Melbot1rne'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 dirive, she says in a statement o n the Greens website. "I will work for a Aourishing small business sector, combined with a renewed manufacnu:ing base which could provide hundreds of local jobs in die renewable energy industries ... building a strong focus on renewab le technology research and design manufacturing in our suburbs which have great manufacturing infrastructure and plenty of people looking for local work. W/e are the most progressive electorate in Australia, with a combined Greens and Labor vote of 78.5%".

SO-year-old Sam Swaminathan is a relarively new migrant who came here in 2003, and is standing as an lndependent. "I stand for economic growth, employment, the abolition of carbon tax, services for sen.ior cirizens and tax concessions for working parents," says Sam enthusiastically. " \X'e're standing for three key diings at this elecrion," says Dr Binoy Kampmark of tbe W ikiLeaks Party. "These are issues of transparency, accountability and justice. I call this the 'holy trin.iry' of our p latform. L1 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. \'(/e believe die stare has become too powerful in relarion co citizens. ls it necessary to spy on us to keep us safe? \'K/e want to generate an

16 SEPTEMBER 2013

interest amongst tbe public, as to what Intelligence does with our data. In terms of justice, we seek protecrion for whistle blowers, and want to stop abuses of stare power".

For Ganesh Loke, candidate for the Palmer U n.ired Party, a solution to tl1e Carbon Tax and die problem widi asylum seekers is paramount. ''\Xie want to have tbe Carbon Tax abolished; co have a human.irarian refugee policy whereby Australia is protected while at the same time refugees have opporrmlities to enhance dieir lives, and to do away with paid polirical lobbyists," says Ganesh. "Both major parries are against refugees. That's against internarional law, which states tliat genuine refugees must be resettled.

Nlr Palmer's policy of onshore processing is die most humane policy in tlie debate," he adds.

Shilpa Hegde is a candidate for the Liberal Parry from Wills in Melbourne, and she says that Liberal has a plan to put Australia b ack on crack. This plan .includes generation of one million new jobs witllin five years by delivering lower taxes, more efficient government and more productive businesses. "l've noticed many families have become burdened by the rising cost of living and die lack of essential services in their comnmnity," she adds.

"J\s a part of die Liberal team, T have the real solurions co lower die cost of living and fight for improved services, like schools and hospitals, for our community. l want to represent my conmmnity in Parliament and make sure d1e residents of \Xlills get their fair share," she adds.

What was the 'X ' factor that convinced these candidates to join the party of their choice? ''Tbe protection of human rights is paramount co me. WikiLeaks Party delivers this," succinctly states Suresb Rajan from the WikiLeaks Party.

"I've been in~'olved in the Liberal Party for a number of years now, and this combined with my interest in helping out my local commun.icy, influenced my decision to run for Parliament," says Sh.i.lpa.

"I was 6rst introduced to the Liberal Party several years ago by my fatlier and at that time realised that l too shared tlie beliefs of the parry," says Jag. "Everyone should be free to pursue dieir goals and develop tlieir talents".

"I've never been in politics," admits Binoy. "I've written e;,.1:ensivel)' about politics though.

And di.is is the first political party I've come across tbat extends my (passion) for being crirical of power. "lt's a party of review, if you like, a watchdog part, so important in today's world. That's tl1e first reason. The second reason is the party's diversity .is remarkable. Membership extends across die left-right divide. It's a broad eclectic group of people with similar interests" .

J\ former Labor Party member, Ganesh claims he was completely disillusioned by tlie Party in recent times and so decided to seek a new p latform. ''\'(/e are tl1e most progressive electorate in Australia, witl1 a combined Greens and L'lbor vote of 78.5%," states Alex.

"People in this seat value social justice, human rights and d1e environment. I would be proud to represent the people of mis 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 campaig11.ing every day, listening to locals. " I'm meeting people at shopping centres, schools, markets and train station s," he states. "I've been out door knodcing and leaAecing, trying to let people know mar die Liberals have a plan to reduce the cost of living for families, help small businesses get ahead and strengthen the economy. l've also been attending com.munity funcrions where I've bad the oppormnicy to meet many people of d ifferent cultures and backgrounds".

Sam, a chartered accountant by background, has been reaching out to die l.ndian community through various associations, and has been meering people at culmral fm1ctions, and places of \vorsbip.

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 wllich was received well.

W/e've bad a variety of debates and meetings in our effort to gatl1er a support base. There has been interest from die commrnlity because of die Indian backgrow1d

(my motlier is Bengali). And also Indian connecrions overseas have brought good and posirive coverage for both Suresh Rajan, our candidate in \'(/J\, and me," he claims.

Ganesh has been canipaigning at community functions such as tbe IndAus Fair and the CIA Independence Day Dinner, as well as at shopping malls, local srarions, and places of worship such as the Swaminarayan Temple. Ganesh also participated in the Daily Telegraph debate to put ford, his views to a wider audience. "Being a tecllie, social media is one of my strengths," he reveals. "My Facebook page has 3,200 likes, more tl1an other candidates in my consrituency".

Sbilpa and her team have been following a similar strategy of letterboxing, door knocking and meeting people in shopping centres, community bubs and train st:.1.tions. "I've been listening to locals and many people have been telling me tliat tl1e cost of living is having a real effect on dieir household ," she says. "] want people io \'{iills co knO\v that the Coalition has real solutions to lower tlie cost of living, create job growth, strengthen our local economy and get the Budget back on track".

AU the candidates are involved in various charitable acrivities, including support for specific charities, volunteering their time and efforts for the berrermenr of die co mmun.icy.

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 experi ence includes clinical pracrice with yOLmg people, commun.it)' development, research, management, program and policy development.

Jag bolds qualifications of Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Laws.

He is a practicing lawyer with over 15 years of experjence and is currently die senior counsel at a rop 100 ASX Australian listed company.

Sam Swanunadian, the NSW Senate Independent has e,,crensive \Vork experience ,vitllin tlie mainstream, through 11.is dealings witl1 charity organisations in tlie norm 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 \Vorked cowards a Cambridge PhD. Dr. Binoy Kampmark now teaches core legal courses witli.in die Legal and Dispute Studies program for tl1e 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 Smrt University. He is currently an IT entrepreneur in Sydney. Sbi.lpa is an Electronics Engineer wbo cnrrently ·w orks for DWS as an IT consultant

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.

Sw:esh Rajan from WikiLeaks Parry bas had a disringuished career in economics as well as having been a vigorous advocate for eth1.1.ic com.11iLuliries and people with disabilities. He served for several years as head of the Edin ic Communities Comicil of WA and is currently die President of rbe National Ecbn.ic Disability Alliance, the peak body for the CaLD Disability organisations in Australia. Suresb holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a double major (Management and AccoLmting) a nd a Masters of Business Admioistration from tbe 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 die social welfare sector, widi families and local communiries. A lex is a former

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 wllich you can bring real change ro society," says Ganesh Loke. " If you ,vane to change the system, come forward, get involved".

"Politics is a way of serving tl1e people. There's been nobody from die India community so far who has risen in tllis field.

1 feel it is rime to take some responsibility and sea.rt to give back," says Sam. "I'll answer tl1at question by quoti11g from French writer Andre Malroux: Politics is justice; if you can't have tl1em rogetl1er, it's an empry mission," emphasises Bijoy.

Witl1 the elecrion fast approaching, these 26 South Asian candidates are worth keeping an eye on. To date mere have been a very small number of Indian-origin parliamentarian, including the serving Senator Lisa Singh from Tasman.ia, and the reconcesting Alex Bbathal. lt \\~11 be interesring if the commmlity can add to tllis on die night of September 7th.

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INDIAN LINK

SEPTEMBER 2013 17

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INDIAN NEWS

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

What's dragging rupee down: Speculation or economics? \.Vhat's fuelling the persistent faU in the value of the Indian rupee? According co experts, there are several reasons. But most of them feel the bottom is yet to be tested.

Tbe rupee, which was valued at around 55 to a US doUar in January, now trndes as much as 18% lower at 65 to the greenback.

Against the British pound sterling, it has breached che 100-mark. Each passing day is seeing a new low.

The Indian currency depreciated almost five percent this month.

Some analyses feel the currency has weakened due to structllfal problems in the economy and the trend would continue if they were not addressed urgently. Others maintain the recent volatility is more due to speculations and external faccors.

"The decline is not just because of psychological factors alone," said Anis Chakravart:y, senior director, Deloitte in India. "This is hard economics," Chakravarcy told lANS. He said structural problems in the Indian economy are impacting investment and growth and must be addressed urgently to ensure stability in the currency and equity markets.

"There are issues wicl1 the Indian economy time need co be addressed".

He pointed out that India's current account deficit - which is the difference between the total imports and exports of goods and services, and also inward and out\vard money transfers - jumped more than 10 times in five years.

1n other words, a net amount of $90

18 SEPTEMBER 2013

billion equivalent went out of India in 201213, as against $8 billion in 2007-08, putting much pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves thar is generally used by central banks co keep currency markets stable.

E quated to cl1e gross domestic product, t he deficit touched a record of 4.8%.

"Foreign ftmds have withdrawn significant amount of money our of Indian markets in the past couple of months. The trend continued during August. It is evident that alarmingly high levels of current accotmt deficit have been core ro this slide," Chakravarty said.

Finance Minister P. Chidamba.ram said the rupee is undervalued and has overshot its reasonable linut due co "unwarranted pessimism" in the markets.

Some analysts also see cl1e recent volatility as a result of speculation. " lt is more of hype and overdone," says Siddharth Shankar, advisor at brokerage firm KASSA. ''There \Vas oo such economic development in the past couple of moncl1s co justify cl1.is volatility".

According to Deutsche Bank and several think tanks and analysts, the rupee will soon couch a new lo\v. " W/e now believe the rupee could couch 70 to the US dollar io a month or so, although we expect $Orne revival by die eod of the year," the German bank said in a report.

Shankar, referring co the Deutsche Bank report, said such statements only add to cl1e volatility that affects tbe economy.

"No doubt, cbere are problems with the lod.ian economy - growcl1 is low, cunent

account deficit is high. But these things have not come abou t in the lase one or two months. They have been there for a couple of years," he said.

India's economic growth slumped to five percent in die financial year ended March 31, 20 I 3. And according co Shankar, growth was likely to remain below five percent in the cmreot fiscal as weU. D.i.nesh Thakkar, chairman and managing director of Angel Broking, said the Indian rupee was slipping due to botl1 weak domestic and international factors. "\Y/e expect the d epreciation in the rupee to continue until the Indian economic scenario stabilises and when tl1e world markets absorb the impact of the quantitative easing of stimulus process by the US Federal Reserve," Thakkar to ld lANS. The US Federal Reserve recently .indicated that .it may resort to quan ti tative easing by trimming the $85-b illion-a~momh debt purchases later this year and eventually end it by next year if the economy performs in line with estimates and the job situation improves.

These comments led to a broad raUy in the dollar, while currencies of other emerging markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand hie multi-year lows.

But the Indian rupee was me worst hit. lt has depreciated more than 15% in three months.

Foreign fonds have also sold over $11.5 billion of Indian debt and equities since cl1e Fed hi.med at cutting tl1e stimulus in late Ma)'.

Trimming of stin1ulus by the US may lead

co furmer outflow from ladia's equity and debt markets and put more pressure on the current account deficit - and ultimately the rupee. A foreign exchange reserve of $275 billion could prove little ro stave it off.

Now, Chennai autos GPS-fitted, costlier Io a first-of-its-kind development in the country, auto-rickshaws in Chen.nai will be fitted with a merer with global positioning system (GPS) and electronic digital printer, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa said recently.

1n a statement issued revising the tariff for auto-rickshaws, Jayalal.ithaa said: "For me first time in Ind.ia, auto-rickshaws plying in C hennai will be fitted with GPS and electronic digital printer, free of cost, by the government, involving an outlay of Rs.SO crore".

She said tl1e travelling public will be given a receipt with the distance travelled and the tariff rate.

"The operation of the auto-rickshaws will also be monitored effectively," she added.

The meter, the chief minister explained, will also have a 'panic button' so iliac a passenger can press it in case of a.ny clanger.

The device enables monitoring by a control centre.

She said the government has fixed tbe minimum tariff rate at Rs.25 for the first 1.8 km and Rs.12 for every additional km.

For night travel (between 10 p.m. and 5.a.m.), the tariff will be higher by 50 percent.

The waiting charges wiU be Rs.3.50 per five 1ninutes, and Rs.42 per hour.

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INDIAN NEWS The revised tariff will be effective from Sunday and the tariff cards can be obtained from the regional transport authority office by the auto-rickshaw drivers.

"One of the barometers of the law and order situation in a state/city is how the auto-rickshaw/ taxi drivers charge their customers and how the governmen t implements the rule of law. In Chennai, auto-rickshaws are notorious for over charging. I hope at least the government will now implement strictly the rule of law," she said. N itya a private sector employee told lA1 S. 1n 2007, when auto-rickshaw tariff was last revised, the minimLUn meter rate was fixed at Rs.14.

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All five Mumbai rapists held, Chavan assures speedy justice tfaharashtta Chief Minister Prichviraj Chavan Aug 26 said the Mumbai gang-rape case would be tried in a fast track court and noted criminal lawyer Ujjwal Nikam has been requested to appear as public prosecutor even as tl1e fifth suspect was arrested.

The last remaining accused was arrested in Delhi, hours after the fourth accused was held in Mwnbai, ending a three-day hunt iliac foUowed the horrific sexual assault of a photojomnalist.

"The case will be tried in fast-track court to ensure speedy justice m the victim," Chavan told reporters in Pune.

Mohammad Salinl Ansari, 27, was nabbed ar Bharat Nagar in north Delhi, a Delhi Police official told IA.J'\JS. An official said four officials from ?vlumbai Crime Branch and a team of Delhi Police trapped Ansari and rook hinl into custody as he was going tO a relative's house.

He was taken to a hospital for a medical check-up and presented before a duty magistrate before being taken to Mw11bai.

The Delhi court granted Mumbai police his transit remand for 48 hours, after which he would have to be presented before a court.

Accorcliug to police, tl1e fourtli accused, Mohammed Kasim Hafiz Shaikh alias Kasinl Bengali, was arrested at Mumbai Central railway station early on August 25.

Co-accused Siraj Rehman Kban was arrested tile night before.

A 1vhm1bai court sent both Hafiz Shaikh and Khan tO police custody till August 30 for questioning.

The 22-year-o ld phot9journalist was raped by five men in an abandoned textile mill complex in central Mumbai o n Augusr 22 after her male colleague was beaten and bound.

The Mw11bai gang-rape m irrored d1e December 16, 2012 sexual assault in a bus in D elhi ou a young woman who evenn1ally died in a Singapore hospital.

The latest incident shocked the entire nation, triggering fresh demands for d eath to rapists.

The Mumbai accused allegedly also shot picnires of the crime o n mobile phones and threatened the victims with dire consequences if tber complained to police.

The photojournalist was on an assignment for an English magazine and had gone to the desolate area to take pictures of tl1e abandoned factories when she and her male companion were attacked.

Disgusted b)7 tl1e sordid details of tl1e gang rape, Hafiz Shaikh's mother told d1e media at her home in Mw11bai that the authorities and courts were free to hand out the most severe

INDIAN LINK

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- 130) 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

punis hment to her son.

"He deserves strong prn:i.ishment," said Chand Bibi in Agripada in south Mumbai.

Two Qllier suspects, Vijay Jaclhav and Chand Babu Sattar Shaikh, are also in Mwnbai police custody riU August 30.

While Shaikh was nabbed within 18 hours of tl1e incident that shocked the nation, Jadhav was taken into custody on August 24.

Tbe photojournalist remains warded in hospital after suffering serious injuries.

On August 25, her family pleaded for her privacy while the Maharashtra government said public prosecutor Nikam, who successfully called for death sentence to Mun1bai terror attack accused Ajmal Kasab, is set to take up tl1e case against tl1e five rapists.

India-born Satya Nadella in running for Microsoft top job India-born Satya NadeUa, currendy heading Microsoft's Cloud and E nterprise group, is listed among likely successors to the information technology gian t's CEO Steve Ballmer, who is set to retire widlin a year.

As executive vice president, Nadella "runs a group that continues tO churn out growth and profits," noted Seattle Times in a story on the start of a guessing game among i\1.icrosoft watchers since Ballrner's impending deparm re was announced.

"There is no single clear successor co a lightning rod of a leader who remains o ne of the most identifiable CEOs in tl1e country," ic said. "\X'hat's more, the next CEO may well have a far different job tlrnn the one Ballmer is vacating," tile Ti1J1es said as "Once tile dominant force in technology, Microsoft now finds itself chasing compa1lies in key businesses such as Google in Web search and Apple in mobile devices".

Nadella, 44, as head of Microsoft's $19 billion Server and Tools Business, is credited with d1e transformation of the business and technology from client-server software to cloud infrastrucnu:e and services.

Before joining Microsoft in 1992, where he initially worked as the se1lior vice president of R&D for the Online Services

Division and vice president of tl1e Microsoft Business Division, Nadella worked with Stm Jvlicrosysrems as a member of the technology staff.

Listing Nadella an1ong potential Ballmer successors, the !Vall Street ]011mal noted he " ran the Server and Tools business successfully from 2011 co this ye.ar and took over ruru:i.ing the company's important cloud-computing efforts iu last month's management reshuffle" . ''Indeed, in reassigning a number of top executives, tl1at reorganisation seems a tailormade b,lke-off for tl1e cop job," it said.

1 adella also figures on ilie New York Tin1es' list o f current Microsoft executives ,vho could be contenders besides Tony Bates, former director of Skype and now executive vice president of business development and strategy.

Speculation by analyses and executives about external candidates included Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook; Reed Hastings, dlief executive of Netflix and a former director at Microsoft; Score Forstall, who ran iOS at Apple tmtil last year and John Legere, chief executive of T-Mobile, it said. r adella holds a .!\faster of Science degree in Computer Science from ilie U1liversicy of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a Master of Business Administration from tile Uni~1ersicy of Chicago, and a Bachdor of Engineering i11 Electrical Engineering from the Man.ipal Institute of Technology.

He is also an alumnus of the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet.

US marijuana streak named after Sanjay Gupta ]nclian Arnet:ican medical journalist Sa.njay Gupta bas bad a strain of cannabis named after him since he suggested a rdook at tlie use of medical marijuana changing his previous position on the controversial issue.

A Colorado medical dispensary nan1ed a new type of medical marijuana - Gupta Kush - after Gupta, CN1 's Cllief Medical Correspt)ndent, adcliug him to a list of celebrities inclucliug President Barack Obama who have namesake cannabis strains.

" Dr. Gupta's recent reporting on marijuana puts hinl at the forefront of the medical cannabis movement, and we thought what better way tO honour his efforts tllan by giving him his own scrain," said Jeff Kless, owner of Helping Hands Herbals Dispensary in Boulder, Colorado, in a media release. "\Xle'd like to ensLLre he remains part of the annals of cannabis cu.lnu:e, and now he will," he added.

Kless called naming a marijuana strain after Gupta as "our way of tipping om hal and honouring hin1 for taking such a firm, science-based stance on behalf of marijuana as 'real' medicine".

"The political and health establishments n ow realise tl1at cannabis bas genuine medical benefits, \vhich we've been saying for years," he said .

"Gupta Kush imparts a very relaxing state that calms the mind without compromising clarity. \Xlhen the mind is quiet and happy, people allow th emselves to heal. Medical marijuana hdps d1at happen," Kless claimed.

Gupta Kush is an inclica strain with its origins in the Hindu Kush mmmtains of South Asia, the reported birthplace of some of ilie world's oldest and most potent cannabis strains, according to tile release.

1t has a rich green colour hidden beneatl1 a deep layer of trichomes, and a thick, hashy, floral taste. O nset is inun ediate and effects are long-lascing, it said .

Since publicly announcing his changed views on medical marjjuana earlier this mond1, Gupra has inspired a mo re serious look at weed and even generated some pressure on Obama to re-examine his position on marijuana laws.

Ho,vever, the White House lase week indicated Obama isn't looking to change current federal laws rdating to marijuana anytime soon in d1e light of Gupta's views.

Obama considered naming CN 's Gupta as surgeon general in 2009, but d1e neurosurgeon later said he withdrew his name so he could maintain his surgical career.

IANS

SEPTEMBER 2013 19

INDEPENDENCEDAV

The Indian community across Australia celebrates Independence Day

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

CANBERRA Representing our motherland in our new home 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

R

and very engaging company, the day is one co remember.

The ceremony was held at the Commonwealth Club in Canberra and the guests were received by d1e H.igh Commissioner M r.

Biren Nanda and his wife and other members of his office.

The atmosphere was electric and there was exci ce men t in the air.

It was great to see the Indian

2 0 SEPTEMBER 2013

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 rime for the official ceremony. A coast was raised to the President of India which was followed by d1e Indian national andiem. A roast 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 ] sang both the amhems with equal fervour and pride. The High Commissioner Mc. Nanda addressed the August gathering which included the diief guest Senator Lisa Singh

and Andrew Leigh representing Foreign Minister Bob Carr. In his speech i\tlr. Nanda spoke about the bilateral ties bet\veen. lndian and Australia and how the visit of former Prime Mfoister, Julia Gillard to India helped improve and righten these ties as it opened a 'new chap[er' in the lndo-Australian relationships. He also spoke about Prime 1foiister Kevin Rudd's visit in 2009 d1at prompted die growth of reh1cions between India and Australia in die fields of education and trade. He hoped that iliese relations would continue to grow and strengthen as mi1iisters from both the countries continued to visit each. other.

Senaror Lisa Singh quoted Jines from Nehru's famous 'tryst

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

She articulated that the TndoJ\.ustralian relations were strong, healthy and ever-growing. Sbe spoke about the lm·ge 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 abouc the Australia lndia Institute established in the University of Melbourne which has helped enhance the understanding and cooperation between the t\vo countries. The senator's speech was inspiring and delivered a strong message of continued friendship. ln his speech, Andrew

Leigh spoke about his lndian connections, his visits to India and d1e vibrancy of d1e Indian nation.

He spoke about t he interesting Indian politics and was amazed at the way elections were held and offices formed in t he largest democracy in. the world. His speech was very refreshing and laced with hwJ10ur.

1\s d1e ceremony concluded d1e feeling was o ne of eiruberance and pride of being lndian Australian.

As Indian Australians we make positive contributions to tbe fabric of the community that we are currently a part of. It is die Indians in Australia who create and build platforms for better ties between the two countries.

W/e are the representatives of our motherland in this adopted

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

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

NimaMenon

SYDNEY A song for azaadi 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 chin crowd but we were pleasantly surprised indeed. Gatl1ered at the

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INDIAN LINK

Con sul General's Pleasant Ave residence in East Lind-field, o n a pleasant ,vinter morning, were some 300 members of the Indian community, all geared up to sing tl1e national anthem, many dressed in suitably Indian colours.

Lucky Singh wore her cherished tira11gCljhc111dt1 as a d11pattt1 over a plain w hite chmidar suit (ok, not really, we know she's way too patriotic for chat: her chm111i was daintily d yed in the natio nal colours). Rekha Bhattacharya, an Allahabad University alumnus who has always worn white on Independence D ay, brough t out her pearl-white Assamese sill, sari for the occasion. And the ad orab le Oscar was there again this year, as

he is every year, in his trademark ehru cap and swashbuckling khr1di suit worn over his favourite Gandhi-them ed t-shirr.

Consul General Arnn Goel was □o d oubt tickled pink that his little experiment had worked.

He said at the outset diat the change was in keeping with local demand as commuaicy members found it hard to get to the north shore at an early hour. As well, he declared, the new riming coincided with the tinling of che real celebration back home.

Not changing tradition however, he unfurled the Tricolour, led the gatl1ering in a rendition of tl1e nacional antl1em, and read ()ut the message o f l

the President of India o n the occasio n.

T he President's missive was a call to rise up to the. many challenges t hat face tl1e nation today. He spoke early o n about tl1e declining morals within society, a cause for concern for every rightthinking citizen. " \Ve have allowed unbridled personal enrichment, sel f-indulgence, incolerance, discourtesy in behaviour and disrespect for au thority to erod e 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". H e spoke of the need for a "judiciar)' that gives justice without delays," and the need for world class universities as entitlements that will lead to empowerment of the people. The U ttarakhand tragedy and the Maoist violence in Chhacisgarh al.s o fow1d mention.

To end , he reminded his people of their democratic duties in terms of tl1e upcoming general elections, and somewhat spiritually, placed responsibility directly in their own hands if tl1ey wanted to see change in the larger society.

Afterw ards, 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. B ur ic was n ewbie Dawa D olma tliat stole the show.

Her strong Ae mere IVClfan ke logo11 literally brought t he h ouse down.

D ear Rekha Bhacta was reduced to tears in a hall tl,at came to an absolute standstill. And if you tl1ough t it was because she is one of the old er m em bers of the community, what would you say to the twenty-something D eepa Gupta who open.ly jabbed away at her eyes with a tissue. CG Goel revealed later that Dolma rang his office out of the b lue, to say she

SEPTEMBER 2013 21

INDEPENDENCEDAV

A song for the motherland

wanted co present this particular number on the occasion. Our very own Lara 1fangeshkar was immdated with offers afterwards.

The brunch that followed - or should we call it a filling lunch - was very welcome after that emotional interlude. The fresh bhat11re, the biggest sa111osa.r you have ever eaten, the gulabjam1111s and the masaia ch"i were all lapped up eagerly.

Hurray for azaadi, a newfound singing sensation, and... oversized S{lfl/OS{IS. Rajni Anand Luthra

MELBOURNE And where were you on 15 Aug 1947? crowd of about 50 gathered at the India Consulate at 344 St. Kilda Rd, Melbourne to celebrate lndia's Independence Day. The early morning ceremony saw the acting Consul General Raj Kumar unfurl the Indian national flag as the members of the lndian community collectively sang the national anthem.

Mr Kumar also read om the message of the fodian High Commissioner in Austral.ia 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 t\vo countries in 2009," Mr Nanda observed. ,cLast year people born in lndia were the largest segment of new immigrants in Australia. The 400,000 scrong 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".

Commllnicy members then took the floor. The eighty-something Krishna Arora, everyo□e's favourice "Aunty", spoke warmly about her memories of mid August, 1947. "l was a teenager in Delh i," she recalled as everyone listened, enthralled. "There were feelings of happiness sweeping over

A

22 SEPTEMBER 2013

the entire city. We sat glued co the rad io, our only source of information. I remember the ciry all lit up in celebration. The India Gate area was decked up like I had never seen ir before". l o doubt the description was of the days before the religious riots between the Hindus and the Muslims broke om. Or perhaps, Mxs Arora cleverly chose to ib>nore chat part of our history on this particula.r occasion!

84-year-old Gurmindcr Dhingra took the oppornuiity ro remember Jawal1arlal Nehru, l.ndia'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.

A.shish Chawla

ADELAIDE Independence: To w ish for glory 011g_)'ears ago I/IC nu,de a tTJ'Sf 1vith desti19; and f!OIJJ the time coflles 1vheJ1111e shall 1·edee111 ourpledge .... At the strok.e qf the 111id11ight hour, 111he11 the 1vodd sleeps, Tndia 111i/l a11111ke to life {llldJi·eedo111. A 1110111ent col/leJ; JJJbich comes but nwe!y in hislo~y, 1vhen we step fro111 the old to the new, 111hen an "ge ends, and 111he11 the soul of a 11atio11, /011g .mpressed, ji11d,s 1llten111ce".

These immorral words of Pandit Nehru delivered an ancient and proud nation into independence.

Almosr seven decades from that day challenges and promises remain with the country now truly established on the wrn:ld stage and one to be reckoned wich and not taken lightly.

Across the world, Independence Day is celebrated by lndian communities big and small. ln Adelaide the celebrations were conducted with pomp and ceremony with the Indian community our in force, many proudly resplendent in national dress. The proceedings, organised by the Indian Australian Association of South Australia (IA.ASA), started with the singing of the Australian and lndian

L

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

national anthems. Dr Rakesh Mahindra, the incoming President of IAASA reminded us of how our forefathers had to fight long and hard for tl1e freedom we are enjoying today. Thar it was a day for us to reflect on the sacrifices made and our opportunity to pay homage to those brave souls.

Guests included J\'LI'. Jay Weatherill, Premier of Soutl, Australia, Mr Hien Van Le, Lt. Governor of South Australia, other ministers of the St.'lte, and local government representatives. Soutl1 Australia has singled l.ndia our as a cmmrry witl1 which it would like to establish trade links so it was not surprising ro have the Premier,Jay \XleacheriU, st.'lte his desire to establish a broad-based economic and cultural approach on an i.nstin1tional basis with India. Other speakers present also e,xcolled the positives to be bad 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 che cou.n try highlighting the variety of language, race, culture that is India. The programme commenced wid, the Bbarataoatyam prayer dance Pushpanjali in welcome to the auclience. Th.is was followed by a couching performance of a patriotic song in Telugr1 by Sharda who dedicated the song to her mother and to her childhood when she w;is caught d1is song.

A simple deli,7 ery, 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 colomed 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 hau.ming melody on tl1e murali. The cultural programme came to an uplifting end wit!, the Guru Nanak Society performing a blazing bhangra with energy, colour and carefree abandon.

The importance of celebrations of the Independence Day cannot be oversrared as one can easily forget in the daily humdrllm of life the sacrifices made by many for our futures. The roll-call of 0L1r saviours such as Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak, the debonair Bhagat Singh, Maulana Azad, Dadabhai Naoroji to name a few, goes on and on. Bur I leave you with the words of the mysterious, tl1e enigmatic and the one who inspired fierce loyalty, Subhas Chandra Bose: "lvllyhe khoon do, main tmnhe azadi doonga ".

Avi Chandiok

BRISBANE Celebrations as well as soul searching he 66th anruversary of India's Independence D ay was observed on a warm sunny Thursday morning at the Honorary Indian Consulate in Brisbane. Although the rurnout 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 witl1 Prof

T

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

Speaking on the occasion, Archana Singh, Honorary observed, "Jndia can be very justi.6ably proud of all her achievements in all Gelds o f industry, infrastructure, education, research and technology.

Economic performance and growrh 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 o nly when every citizen becomes an integral part of the journey into the fun1re and partakes of the benefits of freedom and development tl1at we will be true to the memory of all freedom fighters. There is so much to be done. The motlier that bas nurntred and Sllstained us through trials and tribulations over the centuries, now more than ever needs careful attention".

She further said, "\Xle 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 Va11de l\,ltitara111 and wishing each other 'Happy Jndepe.ndeuce Day', people dispersed to either run ro work o.r grab a bite of tl,e fresh hot sa111osas. Not ro forget devour sweet syrupy delicious g11labjam1111s prepared by Archana Singh, Honorary Consul of lndia for Queensland, herself.

Tasneem Zavery

www.ind ianlink.com.au

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De-stressing and rejuvenating the mind and body takes different forms globally, but serves the same healing purpose psychosomatic illnesses mean char we need to guard against allowing unhealthy emotions to permeate our way of l ife.

BY Permitting emotions such as sadness and fear to dominate our thinking can be NOELGDESOUZA detrimental. Instead, making happiness and hopefulness a part of our medicative process cou.ld mean good healtl,. he Wes tern prescription for good health, such as for those who have There is an obvious age factor which diseases like diabetes and heart can dictate the exercises an individ ual problems, is co remain active; practically, this chooses. Young athletic-oriented individuals means walking or jogging. More energetic wid1 reasonably good health may opt for versions are cycling and swimming. jogging and cycling, whilst older persons ln contrast, the Eastern prescription may choose relaxing exercises and hope that inner calm develops. A variant of (Hindu-Buddhist) for good physical and mental health is scaying still and includes active exercise is tl1e military goose-step emptying the mind (praryahara). Emptying movements which were seen so often in di e 11-und is no easy task; the mind is the news relating to the threats from North naturalJy designed to flit from one thought Korea. Similar parades are also common in the Balkan states, such as in Greece. to the next. Memor)' consists of a jumble Aged persons who choose rela.xing of mind-images which are an imprint of the world wl-uch one has experienced. Patanjali exercises could possibly benefit from the counsels agaLnst m odifying such images, Chinese Tai-Chi system which can be as chat would mean being performed by individuals of aU active and not passive, as ages. Its main aim is apparently praryahara should be. to achieve inner calm tl1roug h In these troubled graceful movements. A variant times, worry and fear are is the martial style movement widespread. The almost invented during Mao's time. It instant transmission of was political in character and Emptying the mind troubling news exacerbates was meant for galvanising tbe is no easy task; the Chinese people. the effect of events mind is naturally which may be far away, Hospitals i.n Australia bar designed to flit from but neverd1eless relevant. visitors during certain homs one thought to Emptying the mind from when patients are encouraged the next. Memory the effects of sud1 emotions co rest and to sleep. Such consists of a jumble is no easy task. Events like supposed 'inaction' is said to of mind-images d1e ho rrendous bombing help in d1e curative processes. which are an imprint This coincides with the Eastern in Boston and the tragic of the world which explosio ns in Texas have way. Ir is possible for all traumatised people even in one has experienced individuals, w hether sick or not, far away places. to sec aside a period when they Hindu scripmres liken the can rest with n o interruption. mind co a raging bull which his then that d1e)' can stop need s to be controlled by worrying about the workplace and o d1er maners, and cry to holding its horns. Chapter 6 of tl1e Bhagwad Gita 'empty their minds'. extols: 'In a fair still spot. .. Hav:ing his fixed Modern medicine has produced a abode... There restraining heart and senses, whole rru1ge of medicines for inducing silent, calm, Let him accomplish Yoga, sleep. Amongst d1ese, barbiturates have and achieve Pureness (of) soul, holding a reputation of being habit-forming. immovable Body and ned, and head ...

Milder versions for helping one to sleep are periodically being announced by drug Tranquil in spirit, free of fear. .. That Yogin, so devoted (and) so controlled comes co compa1-ues. the peace beyond .. . "(E . Arnold's poetic Some practitioners of yoga develo ped version of the Gita). a type of yogic rest or trance called ruriya which is absolute rest with d1e organs going Modern workplaces demand a lot of mental activity and alertness. Indeed, cl-us into a feeble state of activity. Such a trance places stress on individuals who long for is obviously difficult to achieve. Modem calm and often go on holidays co distant medicine has its variant in t he form of places. International tourism has become induced coma, which is used in very serious medical cases. tl1e order of d1e day.

Of course, tl1e Eastern and Western Every individual needs co make a systems often contain elements of ead1 conscious choice depending on what suits that person's ability. For example, someone other, but predominantly the Western way is to activate one's muscles and breatl-ung; who cannot have a daily run might still be whilst the Eastern way is to de-stress tl1e able to swim. Even someone who mostly lies in bed can engage in mental exercises. body and slow tl1e breathing to calm the mind (the highest version of this practice is The above exercises might be decided upon dhyana, a term common to both H induism by consultation with someone or by reading books, but tl1e choice is entirely left to tl1e and Buddl-usm). individual. le is based on freedom of choice It is being accepted in tl1e West t hat emotions have their effect on health. Such and on sel f-cliscipline.

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PSYCHE

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

n a recen t article in the S.Jdmy Morning Hemld, Hugh Mackay, social commencaror says, "Every part of our society has become infected w:ilh the virus of self-promotion, obsessed with recognition. ln the name of encouraging one ro 'feel good' about o urselves, as a society we seem to have gone a bit too far".

W/e see adults clamoring to be photographed w ith celebrities, children are rewarded for even the smallest of efforts made, and certificates and praise are lavished for almost everything.

Unless th.is is done wi th a sense of moderation, all ic does is co build a bloated sense o f self-worth that fuels egotism.

Gone are the days when verbal praise and acknmvledgements were the reward, instead o f material things or public accolades. The incidents of edification have reached such enormous proportions chat 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 o f being 'special' is often taken co the extreme.

An iUusu·ation o f chis extreme marketing of one's uniqueness can be seen even in sports. In an effort to encourage indiv iduals, t!Je team's contribution that is intrinsic in the success of the individual, is relegated co the back seat. It seems we have developed an almost unquenchable need for recognition and the belief thar public reward would somehow encourage better and more successful efforts. \Vhar chis does is create a false expectation tl1at not only is one unique, but one has the right to be seen as unique and be endorsed by others. The fact is chat 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

''

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

I

INDIAN LINK

'' species. Within our own species, each individual has a very singular DNA that makes us unique. This also bestows on us the capacity to chink, act constructively and conduct our lives as a community, not just as individuals or tribes of animals. Somehow, ,ve seem to have moved away from tl1e fact chat ,ve are inter-connected and inter-dependent.

So, why are we descending further into chis vortex of self. gratification? Is it a sense of intrinsic insecurity? Why do we post selfies on Facebook and metweets on Twitter? Perhaps chis self-grandstancling gives a sense o f control in an increasing world 1.hat seem s beyond one's control. The truth is that no one is any more superior or inferior co any one else. As the saying goes, 'What you win on tl1e swings, you lose o n the roundabout'.

On rhe other h and, we have individuals w ho are so self-critical, tl1at they discount ilieir own self-word,. They are reluctant to speak up even when they have something worthwhile to say, they take the back seat alwars, and

sometimes become coo dejected and discouraged at the smaUest disappointment, instead blaming themselves. Often they also descend into self-pity. Sadly, tl1ese negative emotions only destroy their confidence further.

A commo n lament is char many are too concerned about \vhat others might say'. In traditional culm res, o ne often hears the phrase, 'What would od1er people say?' \'{/hen we look into the origin of d1is phrase, it seem s ir came about to illustrate the idea that in the final analysis, what matters is how one's Life is evaluated posthumo usly when those left behind would be able to say, 'd1ere goes a great person'. This is falsely und erstood to mean that we should somehow bow to od1er people's opinions, discounting our own ideas. \While this concern abour d1e views of ochers does produce some cohesion in norms being maimained in social interactions, it also stifles individuality to a certain extent. It would seem that it requires a fi ne balance to maintain a sense of self-worth, while still being aware

of maintaining cohesion wiiliin the family/ society.

The idea of an intrinsic sense of self-worth tl1ac resulrs from the pursuit of basic values such as kindness, ilioughtfulness, generosity and cornpassion in everyday Life seems alien to many. It is the response from our feUow-beings when we practice good values that validate om selfwortl1. Self-esteem and self-worth are both intrinsic, and cannot be sought externally. l\ sense of satisfaction in behaving in a 'hLm1an' way is somethi ng that is within the experience of everyone.

Generous giving, be it of our time, mo ney or help brings with it its own reward.

Hugh Mackay's summation best illustrates tl1is: "Self-respect is a very private con cept, easily overlooked in the noisy contest to construct and promote an 'image'. le is a thing we earn by cbe way we handle disappointment, tedium and loss, as weU as those fleeting momencs of happiness.

There is no shorccuc, and no amount of self-promotion will get us d1ere".

''

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

'' SEPTEMBER 2013 25

SUSTAINABILITY

Sewing the seeds of change An Aussie fashion designer's passion for ethical clothing takes her to a Rajasthani village

eg Wilkinson's passion for textiles and clothing began with arc. She completed a Fine Arcs degree majoring in jeweUery and metal smithing at the University of Tasmania.

"I think 1 was always a bit of a frustrated fashion designer," laughs Meg. After making jeweUery for many years she went back to TAFE to snidy fash ion and costume design and developed the idea of starting an ethical clothing business in India.

Meg's first trip to fodia was 15 years ago. "I landed at 2am and breached in the Delhi fragrance," says Meg. "11[y heart just opened and I knew l'd come home".

What drives an Australian to scare a quest co help people on the other side of the world? A passion for textiles and hand-embroidery, a desire co preserve traditional skills and the perseverance to produce clothing chat directly benefits the workers. ''l met a lot of people who go co Pushkar to ger clotl1es made," said Meg, "because making it in Australia is too expensive".

While working for The Body Shop, Meg was inspired by their ''Trade Not Aid" program, which advocates going inro developing countries and buying products from the source. Meg wanted to buy d irectly from the artists and pay chem a little above tl1e normal wage. She saw tl1e difference it made to their Lives and village infrastructure.

"It didn't cost much more but made a huge d ifference," she says.

A "major life shift" enabled Meg to resume study and travel to India. While staying in a guesthouse in Pushkar she fell in love with irs manager, Savar Ram. She cold him about her b usiness idea and they s carred Beej together in 2008.

Beef is the Hindi word for seed, and \\~tl1 tbis enterprise Meg believes she is "sewing the seeds of change".

Beej employs workers from a smaU village about 20 kms ourside Pushkar. The initial set up was not without its difficulties.

"1 wanted to create clotl1ing that used traditional skills with a modern edge and I was aiming at women 30 and over," says Meg. "l

M

26 SEPTEMBER 2013

Grevi/lea maxi dress thought the lo cal women would be fine co use traditional skills so I was shocked to learn char those skills were dying out because machine embroidery was replacing traditional hand embroidery". iVfeg had to train the women to create the embroidery for her designs. Once the trai ning was underway, many of the women's grandmothers shared their memories about when they practised tl1e craft.

"It was difficult work for the women at first," says Meg. "They are used ro hard work (as the village is a farming community), but now tl1ey can have a break and do work that's more social and less physical".

Meg keeps her collections and runs small, crying to be as sustainable as possible. She poinrs out tl1at tl1e women aren't available all year because o f farm work, so they can work for Beej as ir suirs them. The women can earn extra money as Beej pays Rs 200 a clay minimum.

"Most women make Rs 70 on farms per day and I pay per piece ratl1er than per day as an incentive.

No one earns under 200 rupees and they are nor tied to the job".

Her practical approach is balanced with a desire to educate Australians about fair trade products. Her aim is ro "empower people who have nothing and people who have everytl1ing". She cites the recent building collapse in Bangladesh as an example of why there is a need for greater

scrutiny of manufacturing practises.

"Ethical fashion is talked about, but people are not acting on ir," says Meg. She poinrs out tl1at consw11ers need co be wary of labelling and how fair trade goods are produced. Fai.r trade is a general term and a brand name and buyers need to be aware char "an item is Fair trade cotton only if it's bought from char particular company''.

The same problem exists witl1 d1e label "organic." Cotton manufacturing using child labour bas been reported in six of tl1e seven cop countries chat produce organic cotton. Beej has taken a considered approach co producing ethical clothing. The bright and beautiful clothing is made from surplus cotton and low chemical d yes. "\Y.le wanred to used Khadi band-woven cotton, but couldn't get enough so we buy from local cotton manufacturers who store an excess of cotton tl1ar would otherwise go ro waste," says Meg. " Our clotl1es are dyed with lmv impact cl1emical dyes that don't run and we use Rangoli threads made in L1dia".

Beej aims to use " upcyclecl" material including Gujarat embroidery and employs local arasans.

In five years Beej has shown sceady growth. They sell online and at selected Festivals and markets .including Woodford, Music Festival, WOMAD,

Wattle kaftan

Rajasthani frill bag designer markets like Brisbane's Finders Keepers and tl1e Qlcl Fair Tracie marker. Meg wanes to sell clothes "where people are excited about something that has a story and are giving back ro the community. I want them ro come ro our staU and hear the background, knowing d1ey've

made a difference and started on tl1e patb of buying ethical products and supporting ethical trade. I wane people co think".

She concludes, " If you have a dream and follow it with a pure intention everything falls into place. It's totally possible".

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SEPTEMBER 2013 27

TRADITIONS

•

mont

st1va s

The current month ofShravan is an auspicious time in the Hindu calendar

or many of us when the word Shrav011 is mentioned we instantly relate it co die story of Shravan Kumar, the mydiological character mentioned in me Rat1Jtf)'OJI and for his notable devotion towards his parents. However Shravan is also Lhe name of a very auspicious month of me year.

This month is said co be dedicated entirely to Lord Shiva, and during this month many devotees keep fascs (urats) to please Lord Shiva. Many of die JJl'tlf.r are carried out on a :Monday, as chis is considered co be che most auspicious day in me mond1. .Many of those who do not fast, observe vegetarianism during mis rnondi. le is said diac die churning of the oceans or che Samudro Ma11tha11 took place in mis month, during which the water was rid of all irs harmful qualities: me poison was consumed by Lord Shiva which he stored in his diroat. The impact of mis turned his throat blue, hence the name Neelkantb (meaning 'die blue diroaced one').

ShmvatJ is che fifd, month in the Hindu calendar, and is considered to be me holiest mondi of die year as it comes with innumerable religious festivals and ceremonies.

This month plays host to major festivals such as KrishJ/(J Jan111ashtami, which celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna and is celebrated with great joy and fervour, not ooly in India, bur

''

It is said that the churning of the oceans or the Samudra Manthan took place in this month

F

28 SEPTEMBER 2013

''

Raksha-bandhan, the festival celebrating the brother-sister bond, falls in the month of Shravan

across the world. RDksha Ba11dha11 also cakes place during diis month, which celebrates che relationship becween brothers and sisters, as a sister ties a rakhi (bond of proteccion) on her brother and he promises to protect her in all circwustances.

The celebrations and ceremonies do not end here.

Nagpa11cha111i is celebrated on die fifth day after /i111t11Y1sya in the mondi of Shrova11. On diis day many people worship die Nag (cobra), carrying out various ceremonies, prayers and offerings. In Gujarat, on die sixth

day Ra11dh,111 Chath .is observed in preparation for Shita/a SaMm, which is die next day. This day is when women. in die family prepare a variety of food such as pmi, bhqjfya, a variety of curries and somed1ing sweet such as doodh pak, srikhand or nm; for die next day and once all the cooking bas been done they light a divo by the cooker. The nexr day on Shi!ttla Sata111 cold meals are eaten and prayers are offered co the goddess Shila/a (goddess of measles and pox) for the welfare and escape of children and others from measles and small pox.

Another very auspicious clay celebrated during the month of Shmvan is No1i-11e111, which is celebrated on die ninth day. This ceremony and 11ml is carried out by women, mainly mothers. On this day women offer prayers for the safety, good health and overaU development of dieir children.

The inceresting part of this festival is diat die worship is directed towards a mongoose.

The stor)' goes that when by acciden t, a young infant ,vas left home alone, a deadly snake got into the cot. A mongoose close by engaged the snake io a fight and

saved the child. The mongoose, dien on, became the model of die protector of infants. Usually a Brahmin is asked to make a model of a mongoose, which the women worship, out of j111varflo11r and ha/di. Normally on this day meals consist of rnm1g beans, grams and rotlt1 made from jmvar or htljri.

Shravan begins at different times in different parts of India. Generally there is a 15 day difference, depending on die calendar followed. In the following scares the lunar calendar is followed: Andhra Pradesh, Maharashca, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

While in the nordiern Indian states of Rajasdian, Urrar Pradesh, Madlia Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar; the p11mi111t1JJt calendar is followed.

This year for those following the p11mi1t1011t calendar shrava11 began on Tuesday 23rd July and will ended on Wednesday 21sc August. Meamvhi.le for those following the lunar calendar, shmva11 began on Wednesday 7th August and will end on Thursday Sm September.

www.indianlink.com.au

ll

RADIO

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

S

11/aa111, 11a111aste, sal srfyakaa!. Zvlai11 boon aapki dos/ a11r host Pr!J,mka Tate,: The line with which 1 kick.started my very fu:st show on Indian Li11k 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 ro speak the hearts and minds of the "com.moo man" out there. The personalised tmich 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, Jet me get back on track ... sorry, no soundtrack chis time!

1 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 chat thry put on that cap and don't gee away easy!

We as presenters are a voice of our listeners and it is a given that we act as the bridge to gee the message across from both ends of the spectrnm.

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 rhe one chat I did wich Neville Roach, AO. r ow chis was abom the annual Gandhi Oration at die UNSW 2013 which had Sir Michael Kirby make some controversial remarks about Maliatma Gandhi. And yes, 1 happened to question chem. :Mr. Roach, as patron of the Australia lndia Insrimte at UNS\X'; 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 entertainnient reporter on Indian television, on an early assignment for lndian Link Radio: an interview with Vidya Balan. She was here for

INDIAN LINK

''

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

'' rhe Bollywood Pilm Festival. AU the journos, including yours truly, waited patiently for our respective mrn to interview India's favourite actress. Since I had interviewed her earlier on various occasions in lndia, Vidya recognised me as soon as she walked in. Calling our to me, she started a conversation.

Alright, so r had an edge over others io 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.

Bur it's nor always the celebrity who dictates the terms. More often than not l have found, dJe celeb's PR and managers and assistants are the ones who lay the rules. Often they are the ones who decide when the imerview starts and when it needs to finish, which question is "too personal", where the interviewer is crossing the line and when ther need to chip in co cut shore an otherwise smooch Aowing conversation.

It was no different th.is rime with Vidya Balan's manager. After the interview when l requested Vidya co record a message for Indian Link Radio (something along die lines of "Hello

Australia, diis is Vidya Balan and you are listening co Indian Link Radio"). I was rudely stopped by her manager: it was rime 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 abour to leave, I heard a voice.

"Priyanka, you ,vanted an ID for your radio 11aa, lee's do it now".

That was the adorable Vidya Balan, winning our hearts with her humility. She most definitely challenges the norrm both in reel and real life. \'{lhile you heard that interview on-air, I got to rake 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 Sukbwinder Singh chose ro wear his heart on his sleeve on-air and it felt li ke l was just chatting with a buddy, who had allowed me and the listeners a free tour into his mind and heart. Bm only God, eelam Vasudevan (our Creative

Director), Ashish Chawla (our 1vlarkering 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 die promoter of his show, and then me trying again co call and repeatedly call the singeL The interview chat 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 ic mrned our, our star singer happened to be taking a shower and you see, you don't question stars or d1eir idiosyncrasies. You just go with the flow! \Y/idi no pretensions of modesty, I'd admit that diere is a lot of sweat and blood which goes into each show d1at we bring to you, our .listeners, as you are die reason for our existence on radio.

And I can vouch for myself and pretty much all my colleagues, char we love every bit of it. \Y/e love m chat with you on-air and off-air. \Y/e love ir when you share your joys and we cry our best to share your sorrows. We try to bring smiles to yom faces

''

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

''

and be your stress bus rers.

Jaatejaate ek geet I/Jeri taraf se t1ap sun Ima: 1'tm hi k.Gtja'!)•ega safar saath chr1l11e se (I-fom Hai Raabi J?yaar Ke) Toh Jilhaaa/ a(lpki dost at1r /}{/.r/ Pr!:yanka Tater leti hai aapse ijaazat.

Stay tuned and enjoy the music and tbe masti! Catch me live every Tuesday and Tbursday between 6pm co 9pm on your very own Indian Link Radio. l11dia11 Liuk can be heard wireless by subscriptiun radio in Sydney and Melbottrne, on the internet (iudianlink.com.au) or download ourfree opp frum iTunes or the Android phone market place.

SEPTEMBER 2013 29

FICTION

rea •

strea

•

1an 1n

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

BY .

.

' PURNIMA I RUANGLERTBUTR

Some people see the future in a ba/1 ofblinding white light. Some see the past in the black cracks between moments. And me? I don't see anything. The paintbrush wounds in ways the sword can only dream of It is the sword's mostfervent wish to slice with the brutal subdety of the brush, so that its victim scarcely knows he has been struck. rChana inspected me as l walked into the arr smdio. ! refused to budge until T mer the owner.

"Fifceen?" He guessed.

"No, twenty!" I lied. ''You're too yOLmg. Look at the other men, they're o ld enough to be your fathers. And what does a boy your age want to work here fo r anyway? Go home!" Mr Chana nuaed to leave.

"Wair! Look, I need the work. \\'ihy does it matter to you what age 1 ara?" My voice rose as Mr Cbana's figure recreated toward s the o ffice.

"I'U take halfof what the others ask you for!"

The figure stopped. Paintbrushes hovered in mid-air - ali eyes mrned tome.

He grinned. "l\fake me some samples; we have a new client coming in today.

If I like your samples, you can pa.int his bus." He turned to me.

"Bue first, I need tea.. . from d1at sta.ll ar the end of the lane. D o n't walk slowly... it looks like rain".

Ro.lls of soiled paper stretched across the yard table, unearthed from the cupboard between cans o f paint and mrpenrine. l worked vigorously \vhilst the other men furtively glimpsed at what looked like burst5 of colour dancing on a b lack smface. D ays later, three completed panels surfaced, its picrures celebrating Karachi city's vir.ality.

Tbeftrsf tbi11g she said to Ille, 'Vid J'Olf know thc1t black can glow?" It 11Jas hard lo look a111ay 1vhile she 111as dra111it1g.

She k,11e1JJ bow lo build light, depth,

M

30 SEPTEMBER 2013

shado111 011d meaning.from the ct11111bli11g po1JJder ef charcoal and tbe q11iueti11g, spreadi11g streak of black India ink. To I/latch 1llJ tn/Jf/face gr01vfrom curving lines as l sat across_fiw11 be,; lo see to11es ef reflected dayligbt b/00111 011 llfJ cheeks as she nrhbed ,wmd and ro1J11d...it 1vas 111es!llerir.

The paintings depicted an aerial view of a street. A brid al 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. O ne could see vendors heaving laden carts of amulets and souvenirs, beggars sprawled on the street, and a boy gazing at the skyline - aU radiating a spectrum of colours.

"The less a pait1ti11g co11tains, !be 1110Tf the content co1mmmirates," sbe co11tinfled.

'1t} lih! a blank p,,inting sqp as 11111ch a.ran i11tticate!J painted canvas". I smiled at her rl'!1i!e !tying to 11J1la11gle the !/leaning of what she'd just Jaid.

J mrned to the woi:kers. They were astounded by the artwork's intricate perfection; ir was unlike anyd1ing they'd ever seen on a Karachi bus. They plunged into the commotion of a city that never slept, one d1at transformed inro a luminous spectacle wid1 harmonic music aud inviting crowds. It may have been certain circwnstances involving lovingly harboured delusion s that real]y punctuated this Jove of a place. They scurded away, whispering the implausibility of Mr Chana aUowing me to direct the pa.in ring of a bus as my first project. Strand s of nunbling clouds leaned in to hear th e conversation.

My eyes travelled across rhe panels, looking for some minute detail I'd left out. D rain ed , I propped d1em against d1e yard wall while Mr Chana remained in his office, slnrpiog his endless cups of tea. I wandered outside into d1e workshops, passing men \Vith welding guns and m etal cutters, fashioning velvet tapestries and mirrors onto buses. l'v[adly careering buses paraded down Karachi's streets, each a moving gaUery of images d1ac 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; d1ese were recognised images in che language of bus-art. Bus owners paid srnaU fortunes for d1eir vehicles to be decorated. I imagin ed j\,fr Cha.na's response co my panels; l picnrred my bus being whispered abour on the streets . .. more work o rders would come in.

She took me 011!far a drink for tbe Jii,t time. O11r teeth clattered t1gait1st 111arti11iglasses repeated!J, 11rgentf;1 lik.e 111e 111ere hying to reach c1 goal. TI 1110s no! even abolfl the d1i11k, bHI the orchestral sfOIJ' that H11folded, which l rond11cterl in 1"t1pt11re. I even ate the .rk.ei11ered olive. When "D' 111011th jin7Jled that peifect 'o' - tbe drea111 qfpolished fl.001,, ballroom d,wcing and the gentle sl/lish ef e111broidendJah,ic f/oflrished.

'Hi, I don't think Ti11trot!Hced ll!J.relf, I'm A bd1JI''. Sbe took "D'Proffered band in her coolpal,11 a11d held it i11 a 11!'!)' T imagined mggestive. ':Aisha," she said, looking amused as if l 'd done something particular!)' sil!J. ''Tf>'hat} the poi11t ef it," she began, "[t} allfarfi1me . .. thry all end 11p 111here th~)' ve start,edjiw11 Ol!JIP'!)\ don'!)'OH think?" She llfmed to 111e ,md l s111iled )}Jeak(y.

"Hey rou!" I nunecl to see one of the men from the workshop. "]\fr Chana wants you in h is office," he said su.llenly, before walking off I followed with a knot of anticipation in my stomach. I

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

"Hd/be doing fl(J bus?" asked the man sceptically.

"Yes, sir. He looks young, but has sucb skjl/ at a tender age," Mr Chana was assuring. "And ... and he's cl1eaper than the other men .. . " his voice trai led off hopefu.lly. Widtin minutes I was nodding at Mr Chana's request co bring in the pan els for display. 1 leapt from the corridor into the yard.

A discanr sound accompanied me as I sprinted d1rough die archway and into the open. I felt my hair, drenched and matted, stick to my scalp. Men scw-ried around heaving their woi:k inro d1e shade.

Chatter suffocated rhe dampness of the air. Mr Chana and the man approached me, d1eir thunderous voices fading as d1ey sighted t he panels.

Black pa.int ran clown drenched paper, swallowing every colour in its wake. The wedding procession, the boy gazing at the skyline, die mrmeric in women's carts, the flickering fireworks - surged onto the yard floor.

Some people see thefuture in a ball of blinding 111bite light So111e see the pa.rt in the black cracks between 111oment.r. And me? Tdon't see anytbing ata/1.

www.ind ianlink.com.au

ll

FOOD

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

• • • •

... .••• •

bile us Aussies : don't get : quite as over- : excited 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 : dough. Separate dough into three completely over hearing anything : balls. Work red food colouring • inm one of tl1e balls and blue into about the election by now, why not view it as just another excuse • anotl1er. Break each colour into to have a party invo lving lots of : about 4 dough baJJs. Roll dough delicious food? And if red (Labor • baUs into d1in tortillas. Remove Party) or blue (Liberal Parry) • excess flour from each tortiJJa as • don't quite float your bm1t, just : much as possible. Cook in a nonuse them as the colours of the : stick pan on medium heat just Australian flag.

• until each side is done - dus won't : rake long if you rolled iliem out It's a wrap:The Prime : thinly. Roll with sandwich fillings, : or a curry that doesn't have too Minister is . ..

These are nice and easy to eat : much liquid to it. while watching the election on tv, and are so versatile, they can : OTT election beverages • be sni ffed fuJJ of any of your : Although there are plenty of favourite fillings.

• alcoholic versions, here's a child • Tortillas : friendly version, which will 4 cups of flour : hopefully keep the election talk : tempers down. l ¾ tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder • Cranberry juice 90g butter : t on-alcoholic pina colada I ¼ cup of water (or a little more • Blue Gatorade • if needed) • Red food colouring : Simply combine ingredients in Blue food colouring • different layers to achieve desired • effect.

• P lace dry ingredients and • : Election jelly jiggle time butter into a bowl. Using your •• I box of blue jelly fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the • I box of red jelly •• 1 can o f sweetened condensed p ieces become the size of peas.

Add water until it becomes a soft • milk

W

. .. . . . .

. . . . .

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

Sweet strawberry voters l punnet of ripe strawberries 1 bag of white chocolate melts/ or chips I cup of white sugar I tbsp of milk 1 tbsp of Light corn syrup Blue food colouring Cooking paper Wash and completely dry the strawberries. In a pot, simmer

..• ..••• .• ..•• .• ..• .---------------,--,----: ..••• ..• .•• .•• .• ,._....,,,__ ..••• ..•

1Octn of \Vater and place a glass or :

metal bo\vl on cop of the pot to create a double boiler. Slowly melt half the bag of wlute chocolate.

When r11ey are melted, remove from heat, and add d1e second half of the chocolate, srin:ing 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 co harden.

: : •

• •• •

... ... ~--------------.. :

111.Lx together the sL1gar, corn

: syrup and n1ilk. Then add as :

n1uch blue food colouring (t\vo

: drops at a tin1e) co get the rig ht

After you've dipped aJl the strawberries, in a separate bowl,

: shade of blue you want. Spoon : icing into a piping bag (or a

i.iplock bag wiili a hole cut in it).

Once chocolate has completely hardened, drizzle the icing back and fortl1 on the strawberries unti.J abom half of the white chocolate area is covered.

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SEPTEMBER 2013 31

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ll

n QTPR~o,cr,oNs FOR TA K

By NANCY JADEALTMEA "'":'R~J:~!:df'~uti~H1".ll

ARIES March 21 - April 19 This is a month of social indulgence and making time for special friends. Take care of your limbs, try not to pull any muscles. Your love life is causing you some stress. Work will be demanding, but major changes will benefit you. You will be feeling a bit lethargic, but keep motivated towards a better work situation. Company cutbacks mean keeping on your toes. A pet may be feeling m.

TAURUS April 20 - May 20

LIBRA Sep 23 - Oct 22

·,

SCORPIO Oct 23 - Nov 21

You will be feeling very positive, as finances will be stable.

Expect an increase in income from another source. Friends may request you for money, politely decline as the loan will not be returned. You may have some stomach issues, so change your diet, cut out wheat and try a gluten free diet.

Family and communication will be important. Someone living in another country will cause concern, call them.

GEMINI May 21 - June 20

You will be feeling very energetic, charged and in control.

You wilJ make plans to start new ventures. Your investment in stocks and shares are not giving good returns. Put your cash elsewhere, take advice. Relationships are stressful, ease the situation by spending quality time together. If in an exercise regime, keep persisting even if you are not that motivated. Try to lose weight and keep healthy.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22 - Dec 21 This is a great month for career advancement and new possibilities. You will travel and look at the possibility of a venture overseas. Financially you are saving, and that feels good. Spice up your love life with role playing and fantasy in the bedroom, as Saggis get bored quickJy. Speak to your partner, as you feel they are not taking the initiative. You may start a new venture in the future, so make plans.

It's time for social activities, parties and entertaining. There may be a new job offer or promotion. Debts and bills need to be settled so keep your accounts updated. You may think of a short holiday soon. Your lower back may cause some problems, maybe related to an old injury. Electric items may need attention. You are surrounded by white, guided by protection from a relative who has passed over.

CANCER June 21 - July 20

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 19 You will look at ways of increasing your income. You will feel healthy and relaxed, as health is good and you are trying to lose weight. This is a time for travelling and thinking of buying a house or maintaining your current home. There are exciting changes, so keep motivated. You tend to keep to yourself, as you have been betrayed Jately by some good friends.

It's a time of love and romance. Make a commitment to someone you have liked for some time now. Don't rush into buying, despite wanting new things for your home. Work is positive with a greater interest in social activities and workshops. Expansion and stability is paramount, as well as future investments and property. Your spouse may be unwell, give them rest and support.

LEO July 21 - Aug 22 You will have increased expenses, so do not overspend and control outgoings. Take care when using the stairs. You may think of taking up some creative activity like writing or painting, now is the time to let your creative juices run wild.

Work will be steady; if looking for work, a recent meeting will have a positive outcome. Certain people have not communicated well with you which has been upsetting.

VIRGO Aug 23 - Sep 22 You will be uneasy and restless, with disturbed sleeping patterns. Try to relax before bedtime. Be careful when dealing with relatives in difficult situations and discussions. Take care on the road, people may be careless. There is some confusion and doubt about the future. You are not feeling secure and stable. Financially you want to save more money, but are a bit disorganised and lazy. Look after an old relative who is ill.

You may have a stressful month, with a chance of splitting up with a longtime close friend. You are thinking about how to increase your finances. Try and relax, take up meditation if very stressed, but you will get through. You overreact and get upset quickly, keep cool and calm. You will think about buying new clothes and changing your image, with a new hairstyle. Get involved in community social activities.

AQUARIUS Jan 20 - f=eb 18 J

,

You will feel restless because of work pressure. Take care and get enough rest to handle demanding work projects.

Take care when driving, especially if you drive a red car.

News relating to a health test will be favourable. Spend time out with your family, and make time for yourself. You may be suffering from headaches, and stiffness around the neck. Someone abroad will be in touch.

PISCES f=eb 19 - March 20 You will take more of an interest in spirituality, meditation and chanting of some kind. You are stressed out, so relax your mind and body. Regular massages will be good.

Relationships are on and off, decide what you really want.

Keep finances in check and start saving as you have been overspending lately. Start exercising regularly, spend more time in the gym to keep your health in order.

I'm a clutter-breaker: John Abraham John Abraham, whose latest production Madras Cafe was under attack from Tamil activists for allegedly showcasing LTTE cadres as terrorists, says he always wanted to break clutter with his films. And the courage to do so comes from his audience.

His debut production Vicky Donor dealt with the sensitive subject of sperm donation in a lighter vein, and Madras Cafe is based on the Sri Lankan civil war. While one entertained, the latter is aimed at engaging.

'Very frankly, the courage to be a clutter-breaker comes from the audience. Vicky Donor was widely accepted. It really doesn't matter if some political organisations object to my (new) film. It's up to the audience to accept or reject the film," John said.

Madras Cafe, which features John as a RAW agent and Nargis Fakhri as a war correspondent, released this month.

Theatre owners in Tamil Nadu refrained from releasing either the Hindi or the Tamil version fearing protests from Tamil activists.

Isn't it a tough situation for a new producer like you?

"I am new to the business. But if I've to be a clutter-breaker, I may have to make political statements. As a filmmaker, I must be allowed to have my say in a democratic nation;' he said.

Farah hopes SRK will loosen the purse strings for Happy NewYear

MAPPY SOTM SRI!

I

twas party-time for Bollywood recently as Boney Kapoor threw a bash to celebrate his wife and actress Sridevi's 50th birthday. The ti/mi 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 ful l force to wish the birthday girl. Hema Malini came with her daughter Esha and son-in-law BharatTakhtani, 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 b rother-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 andJudaai.

Well, S0's not a great age to start sizzling on the screen again, but Sri seems to have achieved this. Good on her!

34 SEPTEMBER 2013

Choreographer- director Farah Khan hopes the success of Chennai Express helps her next directorial venture Happy New Year, which she is making with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role.

SRK co-produced his Chennai Express, which had Deepika Padukone in the female lead, with UTV and the romantic comedy is reaping gold at the box office.

Farah is interpreting the success of the film as good news for her movie because the Bollywood Badshah is producing her project as well.

"I am very happy at the success of Chennai Express. It has broken all records.

Shah Rukh is the hero and producer of my film. Now he will come on the sets of my film filled with more energy and hopefully will shell out more money for my film. I am very happy;' Farah told reporters jokingly.

Farah is repeating the hit pair of SRKDeepika in Happy New Year. She worked with them in Om Shanti Om, which also marked Deepika's debut in Hindi filmdom.

Farah also informed Happy New Year, which also stars Abhishek Bachchan, is set to go on floors next month.

"The schedule will start September 1st in Dubai,"said Farah.

For laughing out loud!

Comedy grips Indian TV If laughter is t he best medicine, Hindi general entertainment channels

AHRUKH KHAN ON '/ NIGHTS ... coMED

SH

(GECs) are using it to the hilt to woo audiences. They are serving comedies in new formats, using fresh storytelling techniques, funnier gags and laughing all the way to the bank with soaringTRPs. The demand for light-hearted shows can be estimated from the fact that Comedy Circus is in its 16th season and has also entered the Limca Book of Records for being the longest running reality comedy series.

If that is not enough, stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma's show has caught the fancy of non-traditional GEC-viewers and it has been extended owing to its popularity, while SAB TV has dedicat ed itself to just comedy shows.

"The audience wants to laugh and this is why the trend of comedy shows is on a high on TV;'said Kapil, host and producer of Colors' Comedy Nights With Kapi/.

"I'm the same Kapil who is doing comedy on Indian TV since many years.

But the only difference is that I'm selling comedy in a new way and this is what people are enjoying. My comedy is not, my packaging is new,"Sharma told !ANS. His show boasts oftop Bollywood celebrities and an audience full of youths as he focusses on issues which affect the common man.

It's true that Shekhar Suman's once cult show Movers & Shakers had an almost similar vein - he too picked up issues concerning the common man, but there's something definitely new about Comedy Nights With Kapil.

TV also offers a platform in a big way to stand-up comedians - Raju Srivastava, Bharti Singh, Sudesh Lahiri, Krushna Abhishekand Sunil Pal, to name just a few.

As far as heartwarming 'dramedies' are concerned, the 1980s and 1990s saw many: Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Hum Paanch, Flop Show, Shrimaan Shrimati, Zabaan Sambhalke, Office Office, Tu Tu Main Main, Yes Boss and Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai.

Cut to the 2000s. Shows like Khichdi,

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ANIL KAPOOR JOHN ABRAHAM FARAH KHAN F.I.R., Malini Iyer, Kareena Kareena, Comedy Circus, The Great Indian Comedy Show, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, Lapataganj and Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah cut through the clutter of saas-bahu melodrama to give TV viewers bouts of laughter.

With loads offun and clean content, the comedy makes for a viable familyviewing experience.

Actor-producer J.D. Majethia of Khichdi fame believes the space for comedy shows has grown manifold over the years and it is pleasant to witness the boom in the number and kind of sitcoms and how they have entered the weekend programming.

The direction in which comedy is heading on the small screen is "perfect;' says producer Asit Modi, known for the much-loved Taarak Mehta... However, it is a difficult genre, and sustaining its charm

requires special skills.

'We need actors and writers with special skills for comedy. Everyone can't make people laugh. India lacks adequate creative talent for comedy. There's scarcity, and so the scope of the genre is limited. Moreover, to do clean comedy for TV is even tougher," Modi told JANS. His Taarak Mehta ... has been running successfully for over five years, and it has crossed the 1,200-episode mark.

"New ideas from new people always help. As long as you give freshness and variety, things will work;' explained Modi, who also added that the basic ingredients of a good show are "a good story" and "a promise to entertain the audience''.

Majethia too is all for keeping up with times.

He said, "When we don't wear the clothes that we used to wear years ago, or even live the life we used to back then, why must we be served the same content

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Kangana Ranaut or Keira Knightley in Burberry Prorsum?

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on TV? New times demand new things''.

Perhaps, that's what he is targeting through his new show, reportedly titled Bh Se Bhade, featuring ace comedian Deven Bhojani.

People will identify with flawed hero in 24: Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor is confident that the audiences will relate to his character in his debut TV production 24 and it will cement his place in the hearts of viewers because of its realism.

Anil plays Jai Singh Rathod, the chief of anti-terrorist Unit of India, in 24.

"My character is such that people will identify with it. He is a common man, he is a hero but a flawed hero. He is like any other man. Every man today is trying to balance between his family and his professional commitments. He wants to keep both parties happy and that is tough;' the 56-year-old said at the launch of the show.

"My character loves his country, He is very patriotic and trying to save the future prime minister of the country, while on the other hand his family is also falling apart. So, I feel people will see my character as real and it will cement it's place in their hearts and the show also;' added the actor known of hit movies Mr. India, Virasat.

Anil, who started his stint in the international cinema with Slumdog Millionaire, also featured in the eighth season of the American version of 24.

He said that the Indian adaptation of the superhit American TV series by the same name has been adapted according to Indian sensibilities.

"The story has been successful all over the world and we have adapted it in such a manner that it could hit the sensibilities of the Indian audiences, so they like it," said the actor.

Being directed by Abhinay Deo, the show will go on air in October on Colors TV and the first season will have 24 episodes.

It also stars Mandira Bedi and Tisca Chopra, while Anupam Kher, Rishi Kapoor and Boman Irani will make cameo appearances.

SEPTEMBER 2013 3 5

EXCEPTIONAL POLITICAL TMRILLER MADRAS CAFE STARRING:John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri and Raashi Khanna DIRECTOR: Shoojit Sircar

****--;r f only history could be changed by art. Cinema is a powerful medium for socio-political expression and revolution. Alas, in India, entertainment engages all other aspects of life on celluloid.

But seriously, it's time now to get off the Chennai Express and get into Madras Cafe for a cup of the compelling. We need a reality check. And we need to regain a sense of history in Bollywood cinema which seems lost in the hoary art of streetside tamasha, glorified and aggrandised by cinematics that are perceived to be the elixir of pop culture.

It is time for mainstream entertainment to grow up. Heightened realism is a means to achieve a synthesis of fantasy and history in this deftly scripted semi-fictional account of the processes leading to Rajiv Gandhi's tragic assassination in 1991.

The trenchant script, co-written

by Somnath Dey and Shubendu Bhattacharya, attempts and succeeds in building the same spiral of pseudohistory that Oliver Stone built in JFK. I feel Indian politics, because of the country's multi- culturism, is far more complex than its American or European counterpart. Our cinema tends to dilute, simplify and trivialise history because we are much too wary of and lazy about getting involved.

Not Shoojit Sircar. Not Madras Cafe.

Not John Abraham. What a courageous producer and actor John has proven himself to be! More of that later.

But first the plot.

Let me say right away, that to understand the enormity of the story told in Madras Cafe, the audience ought to be familiar with the violent history of the Sri Lankan civil war. But even if you don't know that thousands ofTamilians died in the war of separatism, it is no sweat off the screenplay's back.

Tucked away in the compelling creases of the plot is a terrific thriller about the assassination of a prime minister, who, let it be known, is not named in the film.

Nor are the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam}, Prabakaran and the other key players. But then this is India. Here, secrecy and stealth are the founding

36 SEPTEMBER 2013

fathers of any political expose.

But you can't escape the clutches of history's tyranny.

Sircar's skilful weaving of fact and fiction leaves little room for scepticism. We know as we watch with helpless astonishment, that the 'Prime Minister'will die, that the hero in this case won't be able to save him.

Such are the heroes in real life. Unsung, sizes smaller than life. John Abraham skips into the part ofthe RAW agent Vikram Singh with an ease and comfort of a naturalborn secret agent. If James Bond or for that matter Kabir Khan's Tiger were to have any truck with real-life politics, they would have been as believably brave and as credibly heroic as John in this film.

Every actor seems to take a cue from the vast resources of authenticity at their disposal. Specially riveting is Prakash Bela wade as John's associate, who seems to drink hard to escape from the enormity of his compromise. Even Nargis Fakhri, so self-consciously affected as Ranbir Kapoor's doomed soul-mate in Rockstar, nails her war correspondent's part with her radiant presence. But I have a quibble with her character Jaya. Why does Jaya speak in English while Vikram answers in Hindi?

The linguistic puzzle never quite obstructs the devastating drama of war violence conspiracy and betrayal.

These are dramatic points of political reckoning. And yet Sircar keeps the proceedings subdued and low-key. It's a miracle how Sircar's narrative voice never gets shrill even when the occasion is so ripe for over-statement.

Much of the credit for the tonaI correctness of the narrative must go to

Kamaljeet Negi's brilliantly unadorned cinematography, which locks in on stunning visuals of violence and espionage-related action without falling into the mistake of making the frames look prettier than the grim situation that they are meant to capture.

Sircar's editor Chandrashekhar Prajapati imbues a documentary style to the footage. But the sense of cinematic expansiveness is retained in the way the camera moves through the characters' restless lives, searching for positions of comfort in a situation laden with desperate anxiety.

There's a whole lot of stifled drama in Madras Cafe. When a key character dies in the second-half, the tragedy is handled without fuss. John's tight-lipped performance gives the film a sense of tragic grandeur. We constantly feel we are in a territory where drama has no place. The soundtrack is exceptionally honest. Shantanu Moitra's background music underscores every scene without hammering in the emotions.

Madras Cafe is a dark, deep and satisfying film about the politics of

separatism. The film doesn't take sides.

If it is against anything, it is the culture of violence that nations often feed into neighbouring countries for their own gains. This film opens up the hitherto unexplored genre of political drama in Bollywood.

After Vicky Donor, we know Sircar is comfortable exploring innovative cinematic territory. Here, he tells an edgy disturbing provocative but rational and fair-minded story that takes mainstream Bolywood cinema kicking and screaming into a new horizon.

This is cinema signifying a comingof-age with unforgettable visuals and drama and a rousing mature careerdefining performance by its leading man.

Get off the train, baby.

This is arguably the best political thriller that Bollywood has so far given us.

SUB HASH K. JHA

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AN ILL-TIMED GANGSTER DRAMA ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAI DOBAARA STARRING: Akshay Kumar, lmran Khan, Sonakshi Sinha; Director: Milan Luthria DIRECTOR: Milan Luthria ~ •,,,,_1,,,_-.,, ~ ~ ;....). ~ ~ ow 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.

This film wallows in a kind of imbecilic irreverence 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 t riangles 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

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 lmran 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.

SUBHASH K. JHA

STARK, BRUTAL SAGA OF SEDUCTION AND BETRAYAL B.A. PASS STARRING: Shilpa Shukla, Shadab Kamal DIRECTOR: Ajay Bahl

****";? omewhere 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 Delhi Paharganj, 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.

S

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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 tit 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-minutejourney 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 w ithout 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'.

B.APass

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.

SUBHASH K. JHA

SEPTEMBER 2013 37

BACKCHAT

•

The fine art of complain 1ng SARAH MALIK pays a tribute to the good o/' evaluation form

omplaining works as a kind of soothing balm to frazzled nen,es. I: absorbs our wor Des, our woes, our anxieties and the thousand natural shocks that Aesh is heir to.

And what better way to complain than the feedback forms that organisations use to assess customer satisfaction.

These assessment sheets bombard the hapless consamer at every nun. From shopping centres to video stores, lecture halls and used car shows, we are finally being asked what we th.ink.

Questionnaires have suddenly become a necessity for corporations who have suddenly clued on co the fact that listening to and addressing customer concerns can actually improve profits.

1 for one am a b ig fan of these assessment sheets and fill them out with a meticulous zeal and solemn gravity, weighing each response carefully like a guru issuing prophetic wisdoms.

These forms pander to the selfimportance that exists in all of us.

It is a nan1ral law of the universe that as soon as any regular Joe is asked for their opinion, they become a self -proclaimed expert swaggering forth with all sorts of gems.

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38 SEPTEMBER 2013

For example recently my local supermarket revan1ped its lairout with flashy colours and rearranged aisles.

No doubt some ingenious marketing hack in accounting bad bloodlessly deduced (after careful study of the psychological make-up of us 'conswners') iliat somehow swapping cat food in Aisle 3 and bread in A.isle 2 and drowning the store in a horrid blood red colour would somehow cough up more pennies for the corporate coffers.

Tb.is method of seducing us to buy more only succeeded however in rormenting th.is customer, forcing me to navigate frightening new terrain after having just figured out where tl1e stationary and hosiery were after the last revamp.

Needless to say I was incensed, and vented m y frustration on ilie assessment form with gusto that no doubt some poor sod in a customer service centre somewhere is still deciphering. Ir went something along the lines of 'Bright colours are infantile and abrasive,' 'Aisle 3 pad<aged goods inconvenient and clumsy,' 'Fruit aisles too big and ove1whelming causing customer co ponder on the boundless and amorphous nan1re of existence, prm7oking existential angst and general despair causing said customer to lash ouc at shiny tomatoes'.

1 must say thm1gh, venting has a brilliantly cleansing feeling, like purgatory or confession.

And tlrns to the heart of my diatribe. l'v[y personal homage to tb.is brilliant shock absorber - tl1e assessment form. l say, thanl< you m y friend, for being there to chart the discontent of our lives. From faulty plumbing, shopping centre revamps, annoying cOJnmercials, wu.nspiring fads, banal celebrities and the hazards and perils of public transport. You were tbere through it all.

Sure you came from humble beginnings. A grumble there, a note here. But gradually you rose. Steadily gaining speed on the backs of whingers and complainers everywhere. You spoke to that deep visceral need in everyone - to have 01u complaints acknowledged, appreciated, accepted.

You took the place of the sympatl1eric friend, the halfliste11.i.ng partner. You did not judge or condemn, you merely listened.

Yes, you bring out the little old granny .in all of us. That dark, complaining, annoying side which sees disturbance and righteous indignation at every possible bwnan error and irritation.

But tl1ankfully you allowed us

to purge d1ese dark and abysmal thoughts. To give a fonun from which our co!Jective consciousness could rid itself of the hundred shocks and injusrices of modern life. You made complaining fun, necessar)~ compulsor y almost.

Rising from the ashes of irre levance, a certain cachet began to be attached co you. Suddenly customer satisfaction became all the rage. Hotlines and focus groups popped up everY'vhere.

You gave complaining a competitive edge, made it an art to be striven for. A cerr.'lin glamour infected the age-old tradition.

Now not only was content important - a certain style was required. There was a race to be the most terribly inj ured, outraged and insulted. To be the most grieved, in the most Flagrantly woe-is-me, helpless romanticheroine style manner.

You created hierarchies in tl1e complainants' code of conduct.

The bitter edge that was the raison d'etre of every true blue complainant started to disappear.

Instead posers started coming in, imposters with the flair and style, but lad,ing in that essential venom count.

Instead of baleful treatises on the ti.1tility of life and the humru1 condition in general, d1eirs was only semi-wistful nostalgic

tracts artfully requesting or gently seeking a re-evaluation of things as they were - more politeness please, more civility in public Ii fe, let's a!J be good citizens and live harmoniously together so all our problems miraculously disappear.

The power of the complaint began to be diluted. Political correctness began to infiltrate tl1e complainer's words watering down d1e pointed whinge to a pitiful whimper.

The true complainant never pleads, never compronuses, never asks ohh so gently for things to change. We are not revolutionaries, in fact we are counter-revolutionaries. Our purpose is to remain in constant opposition. We truly !mow tbat life is a never-ending struggle against tbe 'blows and arrows of outrageous fornme'. W/e shall continue to fight, to complain, to whinge. lf we lived in a veritable uropia, we should find a flaw, a tragic error in the perfection of things.

We work against silence, our style is bombastic, lacking in subtlety and full of contradictions. othing or no one is sacred and immune from our scrutinising glare - full of evaluation and judgment.

We are tbe complainers.

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