osa success

Manju orchestrates her ingredients into the finale of Recipes to Riches

''Tb.ink M anju, chink StllllOStlsl" shouted an enthusiastic ManjnJebu as she reached out co us through our television screen s from t he secs of tbe recently concluded T{ecipt to Rirhes series aired on channel Ten.

The show was a twelve part series w h ere J\usu-alians brought to the tab le their homemade recipes, and the winner of each episode saw their produces on the shelves of \Voolworths ac ross Austra lia the day after the episode was aired.

Brisbane-based Manju who has been a radio convenor for over 26 years and who currently is the Honorary Ambassador of City of Ipswich for India, made it to the fi nale of the show for her produce, Manju's Vegetable Samosas. Tndian Lillk caught up with Indian -born Jvfanju co find om more about her expe riences on Recipe to Riches and ber love for cooking a particular sc1111osa which impressed not only cl1e judges, but also the rest of Australia.

"Anything I do is our of sheer love and passion, and the same holds true for cooking," says Manju passionately, bur w icl1 a smile. '·Cooking is like music co me, l am t he direcror and I have to orchestrate ingreilients accordingly co create a dish. I can create food out of anything".

However, this did not hold true when i\fanju first moved to Australia in 1978. "f did not know how to cook when. I first got to Australia," she says with a laugh. "The only dis h I knew was sp iced potato curry and this was because of a photographic memory of sitting long hours in my kitchen in India waiting for the food to be cooked and se r ved co me by my mother," she adds "Spiced potatoes berween toasted bread was like a st1111osa to me then".

It was not until 1982, w h en a health shop Manju was browsing through made her an offer co deliver a dozen .ra111osa fo r $6 ·•1 remembered talking ro God and aski ng Him how this would be poss ib le. And the answer l gor was 'Do unco me and I'U b.less you ' ," s he reveals. This was the beginning of her learning process of making a sa111osa. :tvlanju remembers that h er first batch was with Aaky pastry. "I goc better ar making the dough for tl1e .ra111osa, and my sa111osa.r were so ld in few shops within my area," reminisces Manju. "l ,vas unaware that l had scarred a catering b u siness of sorts, wh ich went on for ten years".

She continued to make samo.ras for her friends, ger- togethers and family friend Greg Chappel, former Australian cricketer who is a big fa n of Manju's homemade samosas.

"1 came across the application for Recipe to Riches and filling in the form was the most difficult part. I told myself I would give it a go and see what happens next," states i\l[anju who shared her homemade samosa re cipe along with a photograph of the finished product.

Man ju eventually got a nod from the judges for her so/110.ra.r and received the Golden Ticket, an entry to the competition.

Up against other homemade recipes, l\ifa n ju was asked to produce a large number of sa!l1osas in a commercial kitchen. Having never worked in. a kitchen of this magnitude, the task ahead seemed daunting. But "wirb a focussed, confident and positive attirnde I went ahead and prepared the samosCl.r," she says

After getting a go -ahead from the judges, Manju was then asked to market her product ro Australians. "During this

ID11fJ

section I felt very disheartened and thought this journey was finished, but it was my daughter Tabitha who offered me words of encouragement and this kept rne going," sh e reveals.

Manju's samosas were a bit among the locals and she was announced the winner of tl1at particular episode, wicl1 her sa111osCls made available on the shelves of \Voolworths. "fr was a dream come true to see my sa111osas in the frozen section," stiys l\ifaojn. She qualified to participate in the finale with ten other contestants, each vying for a life-changing parmership wicl1 Woo lworcl1s.

"Being in cl1e grand Enale of Recipe to Riches I was a Little shaken up, I had to pinch myself co

Her own cooking sho,,, someday which will showcase both Indian and multicultural cuisine, and cl1e production of a range of frozen food products, are whacManj u aspires to and hopes co achieve in tl1e future.

Performs

Chidambaram pegs eco nomic g rowth at 5 percentfor 2013- 14

The Indian econ o m y is on the path of recovery Growth wi Uaccelerate in the coming quarter and is expected to be around five percent for the current financial rear, Finance l\linister P. Chidambaram said recently in New Delru.

Tbe country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rose to 4.8 percent in the quarcer ending in September as compared to 4.4 percent in the previous quarter, according to latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CS O).

Average growth in the fitst two quarters of the current financial year srood at 4.6 perce n t.

Addressing a press conference in the capital , Chi dambaram said tbe economic growth perfo r mance in the second quarter of tl1e currenc financial year was in line w ith tl1e government's expectation and was likely to improve significantly in the second half of the year.

''The secon d quarter GDP growth rate indicaces that the economy may be recovering and i s on a growth trajecrory again," tl1e finance minister said.

Apart from the second quarte r GDP growth numbe r s, Chidambaram also based bis o ptimism on recovery in e..xports and a very good improvement in current account deficit simarion.

"\'\lirh d1e recent impr0\7 emenrs in some important sectors li ke manufacmcing, better pe r formance of expo r ts and w ith the measures taken by tl1e governmenc, the econo my can be expected co show further improvement. \'Ile expect the growtl1 fo r tl1e financial yea r 2013 - 14 co be 5.0 percent," the finance m inistry said in a statement.

India's cu rrent account deficit

fa lls to $5.2 bi llion

in Q2

India's cur rent account deficit declined to $5.2 billion in July-September quarter o f the current financial yea r as compared co $2 l billion recorded in tl1e corresponding quarter of las r year, on cbe back of rise in exports and decline in go ld imports, government da t a showed recently

As a proportion of tl1e country's gross domestic product (GDP), the current accounc deficit d uring the quarte r un d er review is 1.2 percent, sharply down from 5 percent reco rded in the cor responding quarter in 20 12- 13, according to data released b y the Rese r ve Bank of India (RB[).

The current account deficit (C AD) was reco rded at 4.9 percent of the councry's GDP i n me April-June quarter of tl1e current financial year

''Tbe lower CAD was primarily o n account of a decline in tbe trade deficit as merchandise exports p icked up and imports moderated, particularly gol d imports," t he RBI said

On a balance of payment basis, mercha n dise exports increased by 11.9 pe rcent to $81.2 billion i n the second quarter of 2013 -14 on the back of significant growtl1 especially in tl1e exports of textiles and textile products, leatl1er and Leather produ ces and chemica ls

On the otl1er hand, merchandise imports at $1 14.5 billion recorded a decline of 4.8 pe rcent in tl1e second quarter of tl1e current financi al yea r as compared witl1 a decline of 3 percent.in tl1e second quarter of 2012- 13 year-on -year, pi:imarily led by a steep decline in gold imports, whicb amounted to $3.9 b illion as compared to $16.4 billion in the first quarter o f 2013- 1 4 and $ 11. l billion in tl1e second quarter of 2012- 13

As a resulr, the merchandise trade deficit (BoP basis) contracted to $33 3 billion in tl1e second quarter of 2013- 1 4 from $47.8 billion a year ago.

29 years later, Bhopa l gas victims still wait for justice

It was on the night of Dec 2 -3, l 984, that a toxic gas leak from the ll nion Carbide Corporation's pesti cide p lant in t he Madhya Pradesh capi tal killed and maimed thousands of people. Nearly three decades later, victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy are stiU fighting for justice.

The v ictims have been waging legal battles demanding more compensation, better treatment facilities and removal of haza rdous waste from the sire, and jobs for affected people.

Various social gro ups fighting for justice for the victims of one of the world's worst industrial d isasters are p lanning to ho ld a meeting in Bhopal to reiterate tl1eir demands.

Most of the vicrin1s bl ame the state and cenu al governments for not paying heed to theii: needs.

' 'ln tl1e past 29 years, we have been fighting witl1 ! inure d resources bur nothing substantial has come out yet Botl1 tbe state an d central governments have been eye-washing tl1e world on tl1e matter," said Rachna Dhingra , a member of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action.

Dbingra s aid 25,000 metric tonnes of toxic waste stiU lies inside the locked Union Carbide plant in Bhopal.

"So far, o nly 350 tonnes of waste bas been removed and the rest continues to lie inside the plant w i th none h aving any answer to when wil l it be removed," she said.

" The Madhya Prades h government has accepted the contamination of g roundwater in tl1e regio n , bur no steps have been taken for i ts disposal ," she said.

The Bhopal gas traged y killed over 3,500 people in a single night. An estimated 25,000, who \Vere maimed have clied ove r rwo decades.

Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas PeediL Niras hrit Pen sio n Bhogi Sangharsh Samiti said tl1e worst part is tlrnt the culprits behind ilie tragedy are still at large and tl1e government has failed to put them behind bars

" The peopl e who were responsible for the who le traged y have gone scot free and our government did not take any action co punish those responsib le for taki ng so many innoceoc lives," Namdeo said.

Victims say the impacr of the tragedy can be seen even today as hundreds of cluldren born in the area even now suffer from disabilities

"There are no jobs, victims are being given substandard medicines in hosp itals and children continue to be born witl1 disabilities of all kinds. We have been fighting and will coocinue for our rigbrs," seated Rashida Bi, head of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh.

Indian Mars craft crosses

moon o rbit

Becoming tl1e farthest object sent by tl1e country into interp lanetary space, the 1ndian spacecraft co Mars crossed the moon's orbit on Dec 2, on its way towards tl1e red p laner, ISRO officials said in Bangalore recently

" The M ars Orbiter has crossed the distance of the moon's orb it around 8am and is now tl1e farthest object of India in tl1e interplanetary space," said a senior space agency offi c ial.

As earth's only natural satellite, tl1e moon i s around 384,400 km away and is tl1e fifth la rg est of its kind in the solar system.

Cruising at 32 km pe r second in the 680- million km solar orb it, the Orbiter Flew over the satellite, cross ing its orbit where lodia's moon craft Cha ndrayaao - 1 orbited in 2008 -09 The spacecraft has crui sed a distance of 536,000 km from eartl1 by 5 pm on Dec 2

"The Orbit is on course and cruising to escape the earth's sphere of influence, which extends up to 9 I 8 ,347 km in the deep spa ce," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) di.recror Devipr asad Karnik said in Bangalore

Scientists at the In dian telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) in Bang alore and tl1e In dian Deep Space Network at B ylalu, abollt 40km from Bangalore, are monitoring the spacecraft's movement in the sun -synchronous orb i t and checking its subsystems.

"The Orbiter bas crossed tl1e rubicon never co remrn, as it was freed from the earth's gravity on early Dec 1 and is on way for a rendezvo us with the red p lanet," Karnik said.

T he craft was Aung into outer space 1.11 am Dec 1 after irs engine was fired for 22 minutes for the cruc ial trans -Mars injection at a velocity (speed) of 648 metres per second.

T h e deep space network will conduct the fust of the four mid- course corrections Dec l l to ensure the Orbiter stays on course in the su n orbit.

After a nine- momh long journey, tbe spacecraft wiU ente r in mid -September 2014 the 1\fars sphere of inAuence, which is around 573,473 km from its surface, in a hyperbolic trajeccory.

" \Xl hen the spacecraft is closest co Mars i n mid -September, it will be captured into tl1e Ma r tian orbit through a crucial manoeuvre," Kar11ik said.

Transition from the eart h's fina l orb it to solar orbir was programmed in line w ith sun's gravity and laws of the universe to ensure the Orbiter reaches precise ly on time co sling into the Martian orb it in midSeptember.

T h e 1,337 kg Orbi ter was launched Nov 5 from Sriharikota spaceport off the Bay of Bengal, about 80 km nortb east of Chennai, on board a 350- tonne rocket wicb five scientific instnunents, l\ifa r s Colour C amera, Methane Sensor, Th e rmal Infra red Imaging Spectrometer, Lyman Alpha Photom et er, and Mars e.wspheric Netmal Composition lndia became the fuse Asian country and fo urtl1 nation in tl1e world to leap into d1e interplanetary space with its Rs.450-crore exp lo ratory mission to Mars, about 400 million km fro m earth.

A nalyser.

So far, only Russia, USA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have nndertaken such missions.

Japa n's impe rial coup le floo red by g rand reception

Japanese Emper or Akihito and Empress Michiko we re Aoored by the "gorgeous and colourfuf' ceremonial reception accorded ro them at Rashtrnpati Bhavan in New De lhi recently.

The presence of smartly- turned out personnel of the tliree Services as well as tl)e horse- mounted Presidential Bodygnards in their red -go ld liver y, left me Japanese imperial couple "ve ry much impressed". Sakuram Tanino, press sec retary co tbe empero r and former envoy ro India , said d1e ceremonial reception was "very big in scale".

The imperi al couple, who are on a six-day state v is it to India, late r went to Rajghat ro pay Aoral tributes at the samad hi o f Malrntma Gandhi.

They had paid tribute at Rajghat dui:ing their visit 53 years ago, when they were in India as crown prince and princess of Japan and were in their early 20s, said Tanino.

The emperor and empress during their visit to the Japanes e embassy were very impressed at h ow big the peepul tree, known in Japanese as ho, had grown in the 53 ye ars since they planted it.

Need more American investment into Ind ia, says Sibal

Com1mrnications Minister Kapil Sib al recently called for greater investments from US -based companies in India to create jobs and buying capacity for d1e local population

"You need co invest in agriculture, medical (sector), electronics and education. Unless you help Indian econ omy, you won't be abl e to foc rease buying capacity of L1dian consumers," Sibal said at the ninth Indo -US Resurgence Summit held in New Delhi recently

"The (U S investo r s) are interested in selling their aircraft, defence equipment, but that is not the wa y to converge in this partnership".

According to Indian government estimates, the Indo- US trade in merchandi5e goods for the calendar year 20 12 stood at $62 85 billion wid1 balance of trade surplus of $18.18 billion in favour of fodia.

On the other hand , civilian and military orders placed by India w itl1 American companies have created tl10usands of jobs in the US. 1 otwithstanding d1e growi ng trade ties, t b e US Lrnder its strategic partnership wants co co-develop ne w systems for civilian and military purposes wid1 India.

The minister, who was speaking at the event organ ised by the Inda -American Cha mb er of Commerce (IACC), also attacked d1e US government policy o f restricting visas ro Indian information technol ogy (IT) professionals

"You are a countr y mat talks about liberalisation of g lobal economy and ye t yo u are .increasing cost of our IT sector by trying to i.mpose restriction on our people trying to go ro US. I don't think m is is the r ight attitude fo r partners," Sibal said.

Sibal added tl1at the u·ade between the two countrie s can rapidly expand, and pointed at the enormous opportunity for tl1e companies of t\VO sides to collab o rate in areas like manu facmre o f consumer durables as there is exponential demand in lndia.

" Today because of high wag es cost in China, manufacturing facilities are sh ifting to India. Japanese are very keen to invest in India, I don't know w h y the Amer icans don't come forward," Sibal said

"

The present in1port bill of crude o il is about $140 billion Do you th ink Inclian economy can afford to import $300 billion of consumer electronics? We will become bankrupt. We have no choice to bui ld manufacturing sector in our country".

The dar-lon g summitin the national capital was attended b y more than 200 delegates representing companies and institutions from India and the U S, including top dipl omats and officials from government level s

According to IACC's regional president Lalit Bhasin, the summ it focussed o n enhancing the partnership bet-veen the rwo countries i n me sphere of aviation, aerospace, security, serv ices, tiade, media a nd entertainment.

"Our resurgent summit seeks to provide more depth to commercial ties behveen t he world 's most powerfuJ and the world's largest democracies," Bhasin said.

"The idea t o enhance the partnership to the next .level of business, t he middlelevel enterprises d1at are d1tiving hubs o f innovation and emp lopneor".

End travel curbs, demand Pa kistan , India jo urnalists

Journalists from India a nd Pakistan bave demanded an end to res tricti o n s on comm1rnications and travel between the two COUntJJ eS.

The demand was made in a joint declaration by the Karachi Press Club (KPC) and the Mu mbai Press C lub at d1e end of a week-long visit by an Indian jomnalists' delegation to Pakistan recently, the Dai!J Times reported KPC prc:siden t lo1ciaz Khan Faran and Mun1bai Press C lub president Gurbir Singh signed the declaration.

The declaration said the limit of allowing only hvo accredited journalists in the capitals of e imer country on a reciprocal basis was "ir.rational and restrictive"

Jc said tl1e severe travel res trictio ns imposed on journalises have made comprehensive and crmhful reporting imp ossible.

The Indian declaration called me restrictions imposed by bod1 countries on disu·ibution of print editions " archaic and resttictive," es pecially since internet ed itions were freely availabl e dirough o ut th e globe

Bodh Ga ya te mple dome in laid with gold

The dome of Bodh Gaya's 1 , 500-year- old Mahabodhi temple, Buddbis m's holiest shrine, ha s been inlaid wid1 nearly 300 kg gold donated by devo tees from Thailand, giving tbe s hrine a new look.

"A tean1 of technical exper ts from

Japan's Emperor Akihito shakes hand with the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee during a meeting in New Delhi, 2 December. The trip of the Japanese Emperor is to commemorate the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties between the two countries

Thailand ha s com pleted work to gold- pl ate the dome and .final touches we re gi ven co it recently," the te mple's chief monk Bikbshu Chali11da said.

Chalinda said in a telephone interview from Bodh Gaya, about 110 km from Patna, that the temple's dome had become more attractive and beautiful after it was inlaid witl1 gold.

"Thanks to the 289 kg of gold donated by tb e Thai King's treasury and Buddhist d evotees from Thailand, the temple has not only become richer but it has a different look," h e said.

According to him , more than 200 Thai devotees, mostly mose who donated gold, were can1ping in tl1e temp le premises to o ffer prayers

N. Dorjee, secretary of tl1e Bodb Gaya temple management committe e, said work on ilie dome started in November. A Thai compan y carried it o m , overseen b y me Archaeological Survey of India (AS]) le was lost and rediscovered in tl1e 19th century by Alexander Cunning ham, who founded the 1\SI in 1861.

The go ld was flown in a special plane fro m Bang kok.

Dorjee said it was Thai King Bhumib ol Atulya who decided l ast year to cover the temple dom e with gold. Bur it took rime to get me ASI's clearance.

The first phase of the wor k involving chemical treatment was co mpleted in August co prepa re die foundation for g old placing.

The anciem 180 feet structure of the Mahabodhi temple is estimated to have been built between the 5th and 6th century AD.

Scientific validation of ayurvedic medicines begins in Ke rala

CARe Keralam, which r ecently scientifically validated the anti -diabetes ayan1edic formulation N ishaakathakaadhi Kashaya m (NKK) thus facilitating its sale abroad, is going ahead with the same process for ocher produces coo, an official said recently in Kochi.

The scientific v alidation of d1e diabetes form ula tion was a 6rst-o f -its-kinu attempt in the hisrory of f!)'llrveda Such validation is necessary for the marketing and sale of qyur11edir products in fore ign markers.

CARe KeraL1m, a co mmon fac ili ty set up as a joint venture behveen qy11rveda units and d1e Kerala government, will id entify 20 popular formulations for scientific validation with a view to ensuring wider acceptability fo r '!)'1trvcdi,- medicines

Man y ayurvedic formulations are mar:keted mostly as fo c>d supplements.

CARe Keralam (the Confederation of Ayurvedic Renaissance Keralam Ltd) will be supported b y the acional Innov ation C ou ncil and the Council for Scientific and lndustrial Research (CSIR) in du s attempt co bring international recognition to qy11111edic medicines.

"We have been entrusted this p ioneering sc ientific study b y tl1e ational Innovation Council. We are read)' to t ake up more such studies to promote the standardisation of ayurveda products, to bring them on par with modern medicines," CARe Keralam managin g directo r Karimpuzba Raman said CARe Keralam, along with CSIR and other natio nal ag enc ies, is also planning a g rand qytwucda summi t t o place this age -o ld Ind ian system of medicine in tl1e limelight and identify key produces for scientific validation, w id1 tbe support of tl, e industry Spurred by d1e huge response to its dossier on NKK, d1e group is also planning ro h o ld a clinical cri al o f the form ula tion with a minimum o f 500 subjects, co establis h tl1e efficacy and safety of the produc t and offic ially declare it safe, ru1d in accordance witl1 global standards.

CARe Keralam was establ ished in. Koratty in Thr:issur d istrict o f Kerala witb the s uppor t of the Department of A yurveda, Yoga, Nanuopatby, Unani, Sidda and Homeopathy (Ayush) o f the government of India It has conducted a comprehensive multidisciplinary sn1d y on NKK 's eight raw materials, and the Cf)'lltwtdic product formulated from them, demonstrating its efficacy o n rats

Sachin Tendulkar's retirement from cricket earlier this month marks the end of a 24-year Jove affair

hen I was 12, I went to the Indian cricket team's hotel .in the ci ry in the hope of c a tching a glimpse of my sporting heroes ahead of the 2004 SCG test ma tch. I wasn't alone - jt was a stron g cro wd, and there we re a t least 50 o the rs wafring patientl y for th e team's an:ival \)(/ h e n the team b LIS pulled up to the hotel , I was unceremoniously pu sh ed to o ne side b)' p eop le o lder, taller, and apparentl y much s tronger than me. l watched playern like La.xman, Dravid and Yuvraj enre r t he hotel lobby one by one after signing all the cricket b ats, books and random p ieces of paper being thms t in their faces

After some time, the most p opular of tbern all, Sachi n Tendulkar, had don e as m uch signing, posing , and p oli t e chjtcbatting as possibl e - and he turned and began walkfog towards the lo b by. 1 called om after him, as did many oth e rs "Sachin, p lease!" I s houted in despera tion. He paused. There w as ju st a moment's hesitation as t he concierge b e ckoned him toward s the peace and qLtiet of tbe h ote l. But it was a b r ief moment. The Little Master turned ar o 1md, came towards me and quietly signed my cricke t bar.

T he relationship b etween

Tendulkar and h is fans is one of unbridled electricity, overwhelmi ng passion and m ost of all, uncontained i n tim acy Everyo n e has his or her own Sachin Tendulk ar story to share - whet her it is watc hi ng him o n t elevision, seei n g him play live, o r m eeting him in perso n. They say t hat India stood still when Tendulkar ,vas batti n gbut it was in tliose moments d1at the com1try's, and ind eed cricket's love affair wid1 him , reached a crescen do f t was a n affair only partly based o n his feats on d1e cricket held His ba tting was mag ical, make n o mistake; b ut h is statistics are a mere by- product of the roman ce -a love c hild that everyone knows about, bm wouldn 't mind living wicl1out. After all, d1e ' mo st memorab le T e nd ulka1· moment' question is not answered with 'His 34,347 nm s in .international cricket' 9 r ' His 100 ioremational centuries' Th e c ricketing world's romance with Tendulkar ha s been built around stolen m o m ents r hat will stay frozen in rime: his lo n e stan d against th e might of McD ermott, Hugh es, Whitn ey and Reiffe l o n a dicey Percl1 dec k in 1992; hi s devastating assauJ t o n \Xlame in Sharjah, 1998; his bru t ally flayed cut shot for 6 against Shoaib Akhtar in tb e 2003 World Cup. le ha s been a somewhat d ysfunc tional relati o n s hip. After 24 years in the spotlight, none of u s can say we really knew Sachi n Tendul.kar at all. On w h at would b e his las t day of international cricket, hi s wife A n jali gave a n interv iew time reve aled an almost mundane l ife w ith h im at home. W hen he spe nt those rare p eriods of tim e with his famil y, h e would anno y her immensely with hi s kn ack for finding faults - pointing om peeling paint here, cracks there. Harsha Bh ogle later to ld viewers that t he first time he visited the T endulkars, An jali ma de him tea while Tendullrnr brough t out the tea cups , " just li ke any otl1er midd le-class lndian fam.ily".

Bm this was n ot the TenduJkar we knew, and perhap s it was best that way. Sachin 's rise coincided with India's rise as an econo rnic pO\ver - not just in cricket, b ut on the world stage In a country traditionally disillusioned by p o li tics - exe mpli fied even in the h eavy emotio n following Tendu lkar's last rn atch, when Maha.rashtra Ch.ief Minister Prith viraj C havan and National C o n gress Party President Sharad Pawar were greeted wi th jeers and booing fro m d1e crowdTendulkar was the hero lndia n eeded Not for his straight drive or back- foot punch tltrough the covers, neither for bis Pep si commercials, n or fo r the time less stories of bis early- morning drive s around the streets of Mum bai in his Fe r rari, although those are the things we m ight well remember m ost about him. la the end, India n eeded Tendulkar fo r h is h um ility As the na tion found its voi ce oo