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The current month of Shravan is an auspicious time in the Hindu calendar

For 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 yea r.

This month is said co be ded icated entirely to Lord Shiva, and during this month man y 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 vegetarian ism duri ng mis rnondi.

le is said diac die churning of the oceans or che Samudro Ma11tha11 took place in mis month, during w hich the water was rid of all irs harmful qualities: me poison was consumed b y 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, m onth in the Hindu calendar, and is considered to be me holiest mondi of die year as it come s w ith innumerab le religious festival s and ceremonies. This month p lays host to major festivals such as KrishJ/(J Jan111ashtami, which celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna and is ce lebrated with great joy a nd fervour, not ooly in India, bur

Raksha-bandhan, the festival celebrating the brother-s ister bond, falls in the month of Shravan across the world. RDksha Ba11dha11 also cakes place during diis month , which celebrates che rel ationship 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 da y 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 ba s 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 we l fare and escape of chil dren and others from measles and small pox.

Another very auspicious clay celebrated during the month of Shmvan i s No1i-11e111, which is celebrated on die ninth day. This ceremony and 11ml is carried out by women, mainl y m other s On this day women offer prayers for the safety, good health and overaU deve lopment of dieir children. The inceresti ng part of this festival is diat die wo rship is directed towards a mongoose. Th e stor )' goes that when by acciden t, a young infant ,vas left home alone, a deadly sna ke got into the cot. A mongoose clo se by engaged the snake io a fight and

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

''saved the child. The mongoose, dien on, became the model of die protector of i nfants. Us uall y a Brahmin is asked to make a mode l of a mongoose, which the wome n 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 t here i s a 15 day difference, depending o n die calendar followed. In the following scares the lunar cale nd ar is followed: Andhra Pradesh, Maharashca, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. While in the n ordiern 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 2 1sc August. Meamvhi.le for those following the lunar calendar, shmva11 began on Wednesday 7th August and will end o n Thursday Sm September.

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

Salaa,11, 11a111a.rte, sat sr!Jakaa/. Main hoon aapki dosf aur host

Pr!Ja11ka Tate1: l like to keep my shows fun, fast and full of en tertainment, w id1 me righr dose of in for mati on, discussi ons and interaction Wearing yo ur thinking caps is an option!

The line with which I kickscarred m y very first show o n Indian Link Radio, is the o n e I choose to begin this article with.

It's been almost two years presenting on-air fo r Indian link and the journe y has been an abso lute roller coaster. I ber you'd agree rhat radio can be cathartic for those listening as well as for those presenting. And one of the most appealing things abour the voice without a face (that is, the radio presenter!) is that d1e voice gets the opportunity to speak d1e hearts and minds of d1e " common man" o ur d1ere. The personalised touch of radio can never be replicated by any other fo rm of media.

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

But when it's an interview \vith anybody who is a 'somebody', I try and make sure that thv1 p ut on drnr cap and don't get away easy! We as presenters are a voice of o ur listeners and it is a given chat we act as the bridge ro get tbe message across from both ends of the spectrum.

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

Yes interviews Gill be tricky, espec iall y when you have some controversies to tackle. Like the one char 1 did with Neville Roach, AO. t ow chis was about the annual Gandhi Oration at d1e UNSW 2013 which had Sir Michael Kirby make some controversial remarks about Mahatma Gandhi And yes, I happened to question them. Mr Roach, as patron o f the Australia lndia Institute ar Ur S,x,; is one of the brains behind the annual ftmction. \X'har happened can be best described as a robust discuss ion 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 enrerraimnenr reporter on lndian television, on an early assignment for Indian Link Radio: an interview w ith Vidya Balan. She was here for INDIAN the Boll ywoo d Film Festival. AU the joumos, includi ng yours truly, waited patiently for our respective mrn to interview India's favourite actress. Since I had interviewed her earlier on various occas ions in lndia, Vidya recognised me as soo n as she walked in. Calling out to me, she started a conversation.

Alright, so T had au edge over others in room and I could sense tbat my interview would go off smooth! Take it from me, if the celeb is comfortab le with the interviewer, half d1e job is done

Bur it's not always d1e celebrity who dictates rhe terms. More often d1an not I have found, the celeb's PR and managers and ass istants are the o n es who lay die rules. Often they are the ones who decid e when the interview scares and when it needs to finish, which question is "roo personal", where the interviewer is crossing the line and when tl1ey need to ch.ip in ro cut short an otl1erwise smooth Rowing conversation

It was no different this time with V id ya Balan's manager. After the interview when .I req uested Vidya ro record a message for Indian Link Radio (something along the lines of " HeHo

Australia, dus is Vidya Bahn and yo u are li s tening to Indian Link Radio"). I was rudely stopped by her m anager: it was time for photo ops, thank yo u. So Vidya, li ke an obedient child followed her manager and posed pretti ly for the s h utte rbugs, while m y ream from Indian Link Radio packed up quietly. And just as we were about to leave, I heard a voice. "Pr iyanka, yo u wanted an ID for yo ur radio tJaa, let's do ir now".

Thar was the adorable V idya Balan, winning om hearts w itl1 her humili ty Sh e mosr definite ly challenges rhe norms both in reel and real life.

While you heard mat interview on-air, I got to rake a bit extra with me, some behind die scenes experiences and memor ies Ah! These are some of the perks of the job!

And yer some interviews can be quite a challenge, just getting one at diat. The powerhouse singer Sukhwinder Singh cho se to wear his heart on h is sl eeve on- air and it felt like 1 was just chatting w ith a buddy, who had allowed me and the listeners a free rour into his mind and heart. But only God, Neelam Vasudevan (our Creative

Director), Ashish Chawla (o ur l\farketing Manager in Melbourne) and m yself, know how we skipped a few h eartbeats when d1e singer just did not pick up die phone for a live -on-air interview! So i t was m e calling him , his manager calling, and tl1en t he promoter of lus show, and then me trying again to call and repeatedly call the singer. The interview that was s upposed ro go on air at 7pm finall)' kicked off ar 8pm. Those 60 minutes in bet\veen the less said of them , the better! As ir mrned our, our s tar singe r happened to be taking a shower and you see, you don't question scars or their idiosyncrasies You just go with die flow!

W ith no pretensions of modesty, I'd admi t that there is a lot of sweat and blood which goes into each show d1ar we bring to you, our listeners, as you are the reason fo r our existence on radi o And I can vouch for myself and pretty much all my colleagues, that we love every bit of it. We love to chat with you o n -air and off-air \Ve love it when you share yo ur joys and we rry our best to share your sorrows. W/e tr y co bring smiles co your faces

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

That was the adorable Vidya Balan, winning our hearts with her hum ility She most defi nitely challenges the norm s both in reel and real life and be your stressbusters.

Jaate jaote ek gee! 111eri taraj se aop sun lena: Ytm hi katjaqyega sefor saath chalm se (Hum Hai Raahi PyMr Ke) l11di.a11 Link can be heard wireless by subscription radio in Sydney a11d Melbourne 011 the internet (i11dia11link com a11) or doumload ourfree app from i'fimes or the Android phone market place

Toh ftlhaaa/ aapki dost a11r host Pr!Ja11ka Tater leti hai aapse ijaazpt.

Stay tu ne d and enjoy the music a.nd the 1110.sti! Catcl1 m e live every Tuesda y and T hursday between 6pm ro 9pm on your very own Indian Link Radio.