A LIFETIME IN EDUCATION

person., seeing his own awa.rd as recognition not just of himself, but of all those who make such outcomes possible and who str ive unrecognised to better the conditions of od1ers

Sivakurnar retired as die deputy di.rector of me Northern Sydney lnstitute of TAPE where he had worked from 1995 to 2000. His earlier position was that of director of several of the colleges of that Institute.

Amongst me otl1er notable posttions held br 1fr Sivakun1ar at ilie TAFE of NS\X/, are as the principal of the Seaford, and Cessnod-: TAFE colleges (19801990) and me deputy principal ar Granville TAFE college (1980 -1986).

Service to education

BY NOELG.DE SOUZA

simple life and att.imde bide years of experience in several prof~sional fields.

INDIAN LINK

Kumarasamy Sivakurnar was honoured with the O.Alvl (Order of Australia in the General Division) on Australia D;1y this year, for services in tl1e field of education.

Sivakumar is a significant achiever in the provision of mainstream technical education, and also in striving to better the educational and mereby social conditions of less fortunate communities at1d individuals.

But he is also a humble

Sivakurnar has an impressive wealm of experience which led to these higher positions. He was the General Studies teacher at the Sr George TAPE CoUege (19681973); late r the head of General Studies at Wollongong TAPE (1978 - 1980); and bead teacher, English/Humanities, and senior head teacher, Sydney TAFE, 1975-1977.

Sivakurnar has always shown a desire to interact wim people from diverse backgrounds and in different countries. Of Tamil descent and born. on. a rnbber phntation in Malaysia, he speaks several languages and this facilitated imeracrion wim people of different communities.

Sivakumar's activities have nor been confined to Australia alone. He has been .independent director, Sustainab le Development Board, Papua New Guinea (2008 -2009) at1d an advisor of the India Benevolent Charitable Trust since 1985. In this capacity, he has fostered educational opportunities for members of isolated communities in Lidia, wim the aim of .improving their future opportunities in l ife.

Sivakumar is, above all, a practical person He organised the introduction of a training centre in NSW TAPE co produce well-groomed and experienced graduates in cooking and catering to ilie internationally accredited standards of Le Cordon Bleu. This commercial training school is located at me Ryde TAPE College, and operates in barmony with ilie Tourism, Hospitality and Catering Institute of Australia, of which he was the director. Sivakurnar bas been an honorary judge, Restaurant Caterers Associariot1 (1994-2002), and an honorary director of me Hospitality Training Network since 2012

Sivakumat has not forgotten his roots. He was the president, Malays ian/ Singapore Sn1dents Association., University of Sydney, for rwo years.

A lso included in Sivakumar's biography is his Knightl,ood of tl1e Order of tl1e Kn.igh rs of Rizal.

"This is a fraternal organisation created to honour and uphold the ideals of national hero Jose Rizal from d1e Philippines," Sivakumar says. "It is a fraternal organisation whid1 is nonsectarian, non-partisan and non- racial, operating with over 10,000 members. I see its role as a charitable body which helps poor students or poor schools witb ilie provision of textbooks, computers, among oilier requirements".

In particular, he has observed that educational items such as textbooks mar might be considered as om-of-date in one country, can be perfectl)' useful in another.

Sivakurnar sees his own work as exemplifying his phi losophy tl1at an individual can make a difference.

"'\Xfe should stop looking at the past, bur rather use lessons of me past in dealing wim me present, so that we can make a difference for die future," he says sage ly.

Bollywood tours: In its centenary year, India's film industry opens its doors to attract tourists through a unique tour package. Drive around Mumbai to see the homes of the stars, and get to see how film and television show sets operate. With some luck, you could spot your favourite stars at work.

Lok Sabha expresses sol idarity with students from northeast

Lok Sabha members across the spectrum recently e.xpressed d1eir concern over the dead, in New Delhi of a youth from Anmachal Pradesh, with Speaker Meira Kumar s tating rl1at the entire house was "one in protecting cbildren from the norrl1east".

Responding to concerns of the members on rl,e dead, of 19-year-old N ido Tania, Meira Kumar said that incident should be condemned by rhe entire house.

"A clear message should go rl1at parliament of India, members of Lok Sabha are one in protecting children and people of the north east. We should send this message everywhere," she said.

Tania, son of an Arunachal Pradesh legislator, was beaten up by shopkeepers in a south Delhi market following a quarrel over his appearance and cloching. He died in a hospital Jan 30. The victim's friends say it was a racial attack.

The speaker made her remarks amid din in the house. She later adjourned Lhe house for rhe day.

Raising the matter after the house mer at noon following an adjournment earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sus Luna Swaraj said rl1at Tania died following a quarrel after being taunted on bis hair st:yle.

"I \Vill1t to raise an issue with great pain rhe dead, of a yourh from north east rhar shamed us," Sushma Swaraj said.

She said two women from Manipur had also been molested in the national capital.

" The child be longed to Arunachal Pradesh, a state -whose every residenr bas st0od as a soldier against China," she said.

The BJP leader said students from d1e northeast come to Delhi and other parts of the country due to lack of quality educational institutions at their places.

"1ndia is a diverse country People in Delhi should understand that if there are people wirh sharp nose, there are those wirh fla[ nose," she said.

Taking a dig at Delhi Ch ief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress v ic e pres ident Rahul Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj said they participated in protest by students from d1e norrheasr when d1ey should have been taking action to book those responsible for Tania's clead1.

Sh e also took a dig at Congress over rhe din in the house.

Sushma Swaraj demru1ded creation of hostels for smdencs in rl,e capital and said it should have students from the northeast and other parts of d1e cotmtry Minister of Stare for Minority Affairs Nino Ering said that the issue was not political.

Ering said he had given a notice for suspension of question h our bur withdrew it after a word with the speaker.

The minister said that "racial discrimination" suffered by studenrs of rl1e northeast was a sedous issue.

"A stron g law should be passed so that such incidents were nor repeated in fumre," Eriog said.

He also suggested creating a committee to deal with complaints of smdents from the northeast.

Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav said the entire house should condemn the incident.

Commt mist Party of India-l\farxist leader Basudeb Acharia said the incident was nothing bur "racial discdmination".

He sa id every sh1dent has the right to go, study ru1d work in any part of the country.

India entering moment of extraordinary opportunities: Expert

India j5 entering a moment of extraordinary oppornmities that will enhru1ce its global standing and in1prove its diplomatic and geopol.itical links, foreign polic y expert Kishore Mahbubani said recently in New Delhi..

" Since we cannot tell the future, we can never tell how long this moment will last.

Hence, Lldia should seize this moment while it can," said Mahbubani, dean of d1e Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.

Delivering d1e K. Subrahmanyam memorial lecture for 20 14 at me lnsritute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) here, he said several powers in cluding the US, Japan and Russia were concerned about d1e rise of China.

''As a result, mese cotmrries are looking for countries to balance China. As they look around China's neighbourhood, several have corne ro the con clu sion that lndia is the best candidate to provide such a bafance. This is why, for example, both the U S and Japan have begun courting India," he said.

The India-US nuclear deal was a geopolitical gift America gave ro ch-aw India to its side, he said.

He said India should respond to rhis new courtship by being "cu nning".

' 'It should welcome the courtship and take advantage of all the offers that come. Hence, it should welcome Japru1's proposals for closer trade and invesm1ent links. Similarly, it should welcome a rrade agreemenr with me US, although this is unlikel y to surface soon.

"However, even while ir accepts all d1ese offers , fodia should not allow any of these great powers ro assume that they can take India for granted. The best way for India to demonstrate this is to develop equall y close relations wid1 China, especially on the trad e and economic front," he said.

He said India should u se this opportunity of g reat courtship by tl1e powers to push its case fo r a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

"No great power wants ro say no ro India at d1is moment However, India cannot get in alone. L1dia's entry will have ro be part of a package deal d1at also acids a permanent seat for Africa and Latin America. These two regional groups will b lock reform if they are not included. Hence, lodia should reconsider its policy of working with d1e G4 group (Brazil, Germru1y, India and Japan)," he said.

India could be as cunning in its policy towards Pakistan as China has been in its policy towards Taiwan

Since Lldia has a lot of " s0ft power" ro deploy, especially tl1rough Boll ywood , ir ca n use i t to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Pakistanis even if and when it has difficulties with the Pakistani government, he added

Cabinet okays Rs 17,631 crore-worth port projects

T he union cabinet recently approved development of infrastructure at five ports d1at will require invesunenrs of Rs.17,631 crore.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), cl,aired by Prime :Minister Manmoban Singh, approved the proposal at a meeting in r ew Delhi.

Under the proposal five projects four container terminals - one each in the major ports of Kanclla,Jawaharlal Ne hru Port Trust QNPT), Ennore and Kolkara - and one multi-purpose ca rgo berth project in Mw11bai Po rt - are [0 be developed

T h e five projects will email an investment of around Rs .1 7,631 crore in port infrastrucmre, according roan official statement re.leased after tl1e cabinet meeting here.

'The proposed container projects will double the container handling capac ity of ruajor ports and will add capacity to the mne of 11 6 million twenty feet equivalent units (MTEU)

Microsoft's new CEO Satya Nadella calls for change to drive innovation

Shortl)' after he was named the new CEO of Microsoft, Hyderabad-born Satya Naclella shot off a lette r to emplo)'ees asking the software giruJt to "prioritize innovation" and "help driv e cnlmral change."

' '\Vhile we have seen great success, we are hungry to do more," wrote Nadella, only d1e third CE O in the company's 39-year history, after taking over from Steve Ballmer with foL111der Bill Ga tes by hi s side in a new role as " technology adviser".

"Our industry d oes not respect traditionit only respects innovation. This is a cri tical rime for the industry and for i\,iicrosoft," wro te rhe 22 yeru· Microsoft vetera11, who before his elevation beaded one of its fastest-growing divisions - the C loud and Enterprise Group.

"Make no m istake, we are headed for greater places - as technology evolves and we evolve wirh and iliead 0f ir. Our job is to ensure tlrnt Niicrosofr thrives in a mobile and cloud - first world."

Shari ng "some background on m yself ru1d what insp ires and m o tivates me, " Naclella, 46, who has been married for 22 } ' ea rs and has 3 kids, wrote: ''J\fany who know me say I am also defined by my curiosity a11d thirst for learning."

" l buy more books thw I can finis h . I sign up for more online courses man I can com plete. I fu n damentally believe that if you are not lear n ing new things, you stop doing great ru1d useful things. So family, curiosity ru1d hunger for knowledge all define me," he wrote.

Naclella said be was at Microsoft "for tl1e same reason I think most people join i'vlicros0fr - to change d1e world t h rough technology that empowers people to do amazing things. I am here because we have unparalleled capability ro make an impact."

Paraphrasing a quote from Oscar \'(liJde - we need to believe in die impossible and remove die improbab le - he wrote, "This starts with clarity of purpose and sense of m.ission that will lead us to imagine the impossible and deliver it."

But, would Nadella, who attended Hyderabad Publ ic Schoo l in Begurnpet and earned a Bachelor of Engineering in E lectronics and Communication from d1e Manipal University before coming to the US, be free to cake fo1ward his plans.

The W'a!! Street Joumalhad some doubts. Gates' return to the compan y in his ne\v role ' raises questions as to how free a hand j\fr. Nadella will have in setting bis own strategy as tl1e company responds to an array of business challenges."

"1'Ir. Gates, while known for hi s technical expertise, is also linked to past Microsoft product stumbles and has little track record in areas such as smartphones, which are critical to the company's future," it said.

Technology magazine Comptrtmvodd also suggested that Nadella was toeing tl1e Ballmer line in reiterating die company's strategy of becoming a provider of hardware devices and cloud services.

'

'\~hether diat's a good first sign or a bad one depends, of course, on whether one believes tl1at Microsoft is generally on tbe right trad< or that it needs instead to be shaken up," it said

Kashm i ri student gets NASA approval for two projects

A Kashmiri student bas received approval for l:\vo of his projects from the ational Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Kennedy Space Centre recently. A defence statement said in Srinagar: ''A youth from a remote village in Kashmir, Asif Ali, has brought laurels to the Valley, as bis two projects on astronomy have won approval from tl1e Kennedy Space Centre, NASA, the US.

'~'\sif, who comes from a humble bad<ground from a village in !Vfattan area of Anantnag d.iscrict in south Kashmir is studying astronomy at rhelndiao Institute of Space Science and Techno logy (IIS'I) in Thlrnvananthapuram, Ketala.

"The two projects Asif will work on include chose on estimation of asteroids (also e,'llled minor planern made up of rock and metal and forming part of the inner solar system) and tl1e effect of gamma ray emissions (emitted from tad.ioactive isotopes).

''.Asif, who has done B.Tecb from JIST and is currently doing M.S. in astronomy from the same college, said he would be Aying to NASA soon to start his project work."

The statement said Asif did his basic schooling from the Army Goodwill Sdiool, Aishmuqam, Anantoag, and later Government Higher Secondary School, i'vlattan.

Ind ia - born politician keeps powerfu l portfolios in new Danish cabi net

J ndia- born Danish politician Manu Sareen, 46, continues to hold some of the most powerful and sensitive portfolios in the new Danish cabinet announced in Copenhagen by incumbent Prime l'vfinister Helle ThomingSchm.idt recently

Sareen is the first male ministe r in Denmark to ho ld tl1e portfolios of social we lfare, gender equality, church and Nordic cooperation affairs since his induction into the cabinet in 20 I I.

A social-activist leader of the Danish left Social Liberal Party (die Rad ikale Venstre Partiet), he bJ:ings to tl1e coalition of Thorning-Sdimidt's Social Democrats and cl1e Socialist People's Party g reat influence and muc h welcome electoral confidence, particularly an1ong the divisive ethnic immigrant minorities in me country.

Although a smaller party, tl1e Radikale Venscre is considered by the country's political pundits as tbe veritab le cornerstone of the coalition

The premier Danish daily, Tid11igC11 Ber!i11sk.e has edicorially bestowed a lot of praise and great hope on Sareen.

"There exists a direct bridge between the Social Democrats and the Dansk (Danish Liberal) Fo lkparti whereby the voters tend co vacillate - albeit, mostly in one direction from left to right," says tl1e prestigious paper's political editor, Benr Winther.

"However, with tbe integration affairs/ policies in the capable hands of l\fanu Sareen, it can be safely left for many tumultuous Aip- Aops and conAicts between cl1e two (major) government parties witl1ouc fear of collapse," Wind1er stated.

Born in Ind ia May 16, 1967, Manu Sareen's family moved to Denmark in 1970, and settled in the Danish island of Ao1ager, in the stair of Oresuod that forms pare of Denmark's capital Copenhagen.

A trained social worker and disputes med iamr, Sareen is also a prolific autl10r and much sought after lecturer.

Also active in numerous socio- political and culmral fields, Sareen was nominated for Politician of tbe Yea1· in 2003, 2006 and 2007 by the National Association for Gays and Lesbians, a prestigious, respected and much loved lobby as well as a coveted political asset in liberal Denmark.

On Oct 3 , 20 11 , be was appointed the first male minister for equality. Sateen is the first minister of Denmark with a non-European ethnic background.

Sareen is married co Anya Degn Sareen and the couple have three children.

Indians have drifted away from Bapu:Tushar Gandhi

Indians have "inherited" tl1e divide and rule policy of me British, Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi said in Kollrnca recently, ruing that society has drifted away from tl1e belief of peace and 11011-violence and from the Mahatma himself.

Drawing a comparison between aotiapartbeid icon Nelson Mandela and Mabamia Gandhi, the autl10r of Let} Kill Gandhi said the South African leader used tl1e Gandhian way of healing in his country after tl1e apartheid.

"Today, we have inl1erited tl1e divide and rule policy and so we keep dividing ourselves Every time there is an election, we find new division in our society. lnstead of healing the society, it is fragmentising the society more and more," he said.

''That is where we have gone away from Bapu and that is where we have gone away from tl1e belief of peace and non vio lence," he said at the D. Mehra memoriallecture on " Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi: The Long Road to Freedom" at tbe 38th International Kolkata Book Fair in Kolkata.

"He (Jvlandela) cl.id not impersonate Bapu, he did not try to copy Bapu, he actually studied die Gandhian mediods and distilled what he fel t was good enough for his people and his nation that he was crying to build out o f tbe ravages of apartheid.

"He cl.id a unique Gandhian experiment of truth and reconciliation , where on one side the perpetrators of tl1e atrocities were invited to come and mal<e a confession of repentance for their deeds and the victims or d1e victims' families were req uested to come and purge themselves of their grief and anger and forgive tl1cit oppressor," Tushar Gandhi said.

'

'This was the magic that J'-.fandela cliscovered in the teachings of Gandhi ," he said.

However, be lamented that Gandhi's assassination in 1948, a year after Independence, was d1e reason that India is yet co "move on" from tbe events.

" U nformnately, because Bapu was removed very soon from our midst after we got 1ndependence, the process of healing tl1e scars inAicced by Partition was never completed.

"Even 66 years later, Partitio n is a memory tl1at evokes such passionate responses we should have healed, we should have moved on. The elements mat thri ve on that hatred continue to poison the society," he added.

Vivek Murthy breezes through hearing for "America's doctor"

President Barack Obama's pick for surgeon genera l, Vivek Murtl1y, breezed through his confirmation hearing before a Senate panel in Washingcon recently, even as several Republican senators expressed concern over his support for Obama's signature healtl1care law.

Murthy, 36, who would be me first .Indian-American to become "A.merica's doctor" i f confirmed by tl1e Democratic controlled Senate, was an early supporter of Obama and his bealtl1•care law.

A physician widi the Brigham and \'(/omen's Hosp ital in Boston and an instructor at Harvard Medical Schoo l, he co- founded an advocacy group in 2008 called Doctors for Obama, a national organization of 16,000 doctors and medical scudems.

It later became Doctors for America and promoted the Affordable Care Act niclmarned Obamacare.

Murthy co ld the Senate panel he would focus on commrnuty health prevention projects, especiaUy combating obesity, and nor primarily on political issues. ' 'The role is not to be a legislator or a judge," he said. "The role is to be a public health educator."

Murthy said he believed the surgeon general should focus on areas where tbete is broad agreement, including prevention of chronic diseases, efforts to curb smoking, and programmes to improve d.iets.

He also said he would try to work at the co1nmunity level, recmiting religious groups and even arts organizations into public healtl1 education programs.

As tl1e US Surgeon General, Murtl1y will be the leading spokesperson on matters of public healm in the US and me operational head of the 6,500-strong US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, one of the seven tmiformed services including army, navy, ai.r force and marines.

A budding Indian filmmaker captures facets ofAustralia's unique beauty

B~:tie;!~;;:k. Karnataka, India. A crimson sun sets o ver a herd of Samba deer, and a young, aspiring wildlife photographer captures an artful s h oe of the setting SWl between che antlers of a deer.

It's a turning point of sor ts for A moghavarsha, software eng ineer turned photographer, storyte ller and filmmaker. "There were 20 otl1er phorographers tl1ere, and I was the only one to get that shot. today, people identify me by chat pa r ticular shot", he says enthusiastically.

Today Amoghavarsha is a successful, full - time w ildlife photographer and filmmaker. He was part of the Indian delegation at the Australia- Lndia Youth Dialogue in 2013, which gave him an opportunity to visit Australia for the first time.

"\v'hen I knew someone was picking up the rnb, I decided co make the most of it" , he says cheekily

And he did. He travelled for 5 weeks, from the Tarkine rainforest to che Great Barrier Reef, filming remote wilderness and urban landscapes The resul t is a 4- minute independently funded video called One A mtralia that he released, to perfect rimi ng, on January 26, 2014: Australia Day and India's Republic Day.

Ic's noc been an easy journey for Amoghavarsba. He gwt che comfort and srnbility of a job in software programming in Bengalu.ru, and plunged headfirst inco wildlife photography.

" The fir st six months were really, really, REALLY difficu lt, even to just make ends meet", he says. " The biggest issue was money One copes by making lifestyle changes. \Xlbac was harder was finding and bui lding a market for my work. Then die financial crisis hit in 2008. I questioned myself, wondering if Twas good enough. Tbat was the hardest bit". 20

Commercial op portunities like wedding ph orography came along where Amoghavarsha had che opporrunity to make guick money. Tempting th ough it was, he d idn't give in And it paid off. In six m o uth s, things s tarred falling into p lace. He started teaching short-term courses in photography, and got oppo r tunities to work wich Karnacaka Tourism and the Centre for Envi ronment and E ducation.

''\"With photograph y, I realised chat there was a lot of focus o n the tiger," he exp lains. "So J started photographing snakes and frogs, some of whi c h are so rare, on1)' 4 or 5 photos of chem in tl1e wild ex.is t!"

He landed an assignment w itl1 Nat11ral Geographic, where he worked on a 61111 called S ecrets of the King Cobra.

This was another mrning point of sorts. " l realised that l l ove te lling stories," he reveals "Film as a medium seemed very natural to me''.

And so a film of his Australian travels was the obvious choice for Amogha,1arsha. A riveting montage of his travels, the films plays more like a fastpaced thriller than a travel film. The musi c - contempo rar y, fresh, and laced with a se nse of m ystery - was composed for and inspired b y the film. Covering 7000 kilometres, the Ii.Im features Philip Island, Apollo Bay, che Great Barrier Reef, the Tarkine rainforest, Bruny Island, Airlie Beach, South Stradbroke lslaod and much, much more. Amongst the urban landscape is a rimelapse feature of the Sydney Opera House. Amoghavarsba laughs and recalls shooting it from the 18'h Aoor of che Shanghai Hotel in Sydney wich fr iends. Yes, tl1ere was beer involved And yes, he does mix business wich pleasure.

Talking of beer brings us to Me lbourne, and a beer shop be visited in St Ki1da chat stocked 600 types of beer from all over world.

" I love beer", he chuckles, "and che sheer variety at tllis place was amazing I guess I work hard and J party ha.rd!"

Amoghavarsha adds,

Amoghave rsha

"Melbourne's a bit like Bengaluru. Very arty a.ad cultural"

When asked about Australia i n general, he says he was captivated by the beach culrure.

"We don't have tl1is sorr of a coa~tline in lndia", he e,,:plains, " I loved the beach, and che seafocussed cultnre. l loved the Great Barrier Reef, it was something] bad always dreamt o f. Plus I did divi ng for tl1e firs t time Now l'm hooked!"

Talking about achievements, Amoghavarsha says taking hi s work across lndia across different mediums and reaching a mix of peopl e, is ve r y satisfying H is work was exhibited on a mobile train exhib ition organised by the lndian government which aimed to reflect India's biodiversity and spread awareness about conservation.

"Two million people saw m y phoms and were able to connect with the \'(/escern Ghats. To dunk peop le in remote parts of the world know me through m y work it's humbling", he states. One Au.stmlia c1m be viewe d at http://bit.ly/011ea11s o r visit www. amogh avars h a.com