2014-02 Sydney (2)

TOP Of TH£ STAT£

IN EXT 1 ENGLISH

rhe BEST in HSC English Extension 1, AGAIN

In 2012, North Shore Coaching College produced a champion in HSC English xtension 1.

Last year, North Shore tops the HSC English Extension 1 AGAIN. A Year 12 student, Helen Chen, at our Chatswood Centre received the top honour Helen was born in Australia and attended a local primary school. Her academic potential was demonstrated clearly in her phenomenal success in Year 6 exams. She gained entry into North Sydney Girls High and was offered a ful l scholarship into Pymble Ladies College. She, together with her parents, chose Pymble Ladies for its superior facilities and wider choice of subjects. Obviously her stellar success in HSC proved that she made the right choice

From an early age, Helen loved read i ng, lots of reading from classical novels to trendy magazines t o newspaper articles. She loves reading everything written Her mum remembered an incident when Helen disappeared du r ing a family shopping tr ip on ly to be found standing next to a newsstand reading magazines Helen stressed that it is through read ing a wide variety of books/publications that she managed to pick up lots of different ideas, often opposing and unique ideas Helen revealed that reading w idely is one of h er secrets of success i n English Extension 1 Another ingredient o f success is writ ing a lot, from diaries, assignments through to critiques It is through th is end l ess cycle of reading , writing, further reading and rewriting that has g iven her insight into some un ique ideas It has additionally given her the skills to present her ideas clearly and succinctly.

Helen revealed another ingredient to her success: self- motivation and developing a good study habit at an early age Many students think preparing for HSC exams is stressfu l yet Helen realized that careful planning can circumvent stress. Apart from excelling academically, Helen also likes playing musical instruments and participates in debating.

Helen's mum mentioned that North Shore Coaching College has made an extremely positive contribution to Helen's success. She started attending the College from Year 3 and has since received a lot of positive stimulation and encouragement.

Congratu lations again to Helen Chen's superb achievements and we wish her every success in her future studies.

To find out how North Shore Coaching College can help YOUR child realize their full potent ial, p lease ring our Head Office on 9415 1860 Tuesday to Sunday or visit our branches for details

T he Management congratulates the students and teachers on yet another successful year. Our 2013 Year 12 students have again excelled in the HSC . A high proportion of our HSC students achieved an ATAR between 95 - 99 .95.

info@indianlink.com.au

The winds of change

workers and their families going forward. They will need co be retrained and cry their future in the job market. Those on the more e lderly side will find it more c hallenging.

GJobalisation of the world econo my can have bitter side effects. The advantages of g lobal conn ections by a fast internet or cheaper telephony also come wirh tbe disadvantages of cheaper forms of labour and tbe ease of movement of capital. Capitalism is not limi ted co geogr aphical boundaries as corporates seek out oppormnities around the world. Resources flow to options which best meet the demands of production and capital. Labour is a commodity which now can be sourced global ly.

Australia has been hit hard by companies closing down the i.r operations in this country. Ford, Holden and Toyota are all closing their manufacturing operations in A u stralia ,vichin three years. Engineering group Forge has cut 1,500 jobs and recently aluminium giant Alcoa announced the closure of its ageing Point Henry aJLllilinium smelter and associated rolling works at Geelong and its rolling mill and recycling unit ar Yennora in Sydney.

Ir is going co a rough time for the

The question whicb emerges is, is manufacturing in Australia on its lase legs?

The reality is chat it is in a tough spot. The loc al labour market is high ly regulated; tl1e consumer market is very small and be ing on the doors teps of some of the most popuJatecl countries of d1e world makes it difficult co compete on pricing \Xlhile the government has been able co prop up some companies witl1 handouts in the past, it just does not make sense to continue doi n g this in th e future.

There needs to be a radical rethink as co what we wane furn.re Australia to be like, especially for the next generation of Indian Australians. A big picture needs to be thought through and true leade.rship needs to be shown in forging this path forward. The government needs to decide also if it wants a 'big Australia' or a ' sustainable Australia'. Former NS\"J Premier Bob Carr shut the debate on dus effectivdy a few years ago when he stamped h is authority on wanting Australia to slow d own on population growth C iti ng environmental reasons, includ ing scarc ity of land, d1is fai led co

take in to account how co1mtries like Singapore and Japan have coped well with limited land bur large populations With clever planning, a larger Australia will allow for greater domestic constm1p tion and innovation with opportunities co succeed nationally.

\Xfhi le a road map for tlus objective can be mapped out, d1ere needs to be more work in building a clever AL1stralia. lt has been raised in the past that opening d1e dqo.rs to higher educated PhDs to settle in Australia will allow for more research and development options Perhaps it is time to set up a platfo rm for this to happen.

Anod1er lead which can follow is co encourage inn ovation and foster a culture of entrepreneurship wid1in young A u stralians Allow funding for srart-ups be it in information technology or pharmaceutical or biotechnology. Rarher than pushing young entrepreneurs to Silicon Valle y to experiment w i th d1eir ideas, create options tl1rough federal fw1ding and encourage tl1em to start up locall y \V/ e do live in changing times indeed. The winners will be those who can innovate and work with the chan~es A v ision and conviction by our .lead ers is important if Australia needs co w in in the long term.

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Nestled amongst the foothills of the Brokenback Ranges in the heart of the Hunter vineyards i s Hunter Valley Gardens, one of Austra l ia's premier tourist destinations.

The Gardens include 60 acres of spectacular displays including 10 stunning internationa l feature gardens, sensationa l sights, co l ours, fragrances and adventures for the whole family

Accommodation available at harrigans.com.au

HUNTER VALLEY

MISC

Help 3 -Year-Old

Kamal Walk

Melbourne's Samyuktha and Ashok Pothireddy ar e parents of twins Kamal and Nayan who turned three on Christmas Day

They are reaching out to the Indian community to help their son Kamal learn to walk He has cerebral pa lsy

The twins were born at 23 weeks making them possi b ly the youngest premat ure twins to survive in Australia

They were only 524 grams and 554 grams respectively at b i rt h They spent 131 days i n hospital and had numerous operations But Kamal was not reaching the milestones that Nayan was doing with ease He was d iagnosed with cerebral palsy Kamal still can't crawl or sit up He is undergoing numerous therapies but stern cell treatment in the US could possibly help The Reddys are l ooking to raise $40,000 for this

Details: yukthareddy@gmail.com or

Bumper Whist and Bingo

Sat 23 Feb 11 am -4pm

The Goan Overseas Associati on announces its annual Bingo night, Reg Byrne Commun ity Centre, cnr Fyall Ave and Darcy Rd , Wentworthvi ll e

Detai ls: Abe l do Rosario 02 8814 9258

Volunteer interpreters required

The Refugee Advice and Casework

Ser v ice (RACS) i s in urgent need of voluntee r interpreters for many different languages RACS will

WHA.T'SON

provide training and support i f you are interested assisti ng refugees and asyl um seekers

Details: (02) 91141600 or adrn i n @racs org au

3 rd Australian National Hindu Conference

Sat & Sun 26-27 April

8 30arn -5.30prn

Workshops, networking and discussions O rganised by Vishva Hindu Parishad of Australia Inc.

Both days registr ati on fee: $50

Detail s: www vhp o rg au or email: conference@vhp org au

Tamil Show Terekutu

Sat 15 March 6 30pm

Shakti Terekutu Team Sydney w ill perform the traditiona l terekutu dance in a fund raiser organised by the AusreliefFund Inc, at Serbian Cent re, 259 Hyatts Rd, Plumpton.

D eta il s: Rarnlu 0 400 608 795 Ashok pothi@gmail.com or ca l l Sarnyuktha on + 61 0469 109 308 or facebook com/Help k amalwa l k

The BETTERMAN Pledge Campaign

Mon 3 -Fri 7 March

The recently founded nation al not-forprofit organisation, The BETTERMAN Foundation is ca lling on Austra lian men to take The BETTERMAN Pledge during M arch It i s a men's v io l ence and sui cide prevention campaign and is a timely and thought provoking initiative, wh ich aims to empower young men to make positi ve cho i ces; delivering li fe - skil ls promoting

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Community congratulates Indian Link

Congratulations on such great recogniti o n Totally well -deserved Best wishes for many future accolades !

Neville Ro ac h

By awarding Indian Unk in three categories, namely Print Reporting, Online & Digital Media and Young Journalist of the Year (Ritam Mitra) in the multicultural media awards th i s month the NSW Government has also honoured the Australian Indian community Indian Unk was also in the final nomination in many other categor ies by the independent j udges. For years, Indian Link has been contributing to the community silently to create awa reness of complex community issues and need for participation in t he Australian multicultural environment Bringing out timely editions over a long number of years, r ain or no rain, is not an easy task. This speaks of a lot ofteam effort commitment to commun i ty welfare an d also reflects the support from the commun i ty e specially the younger generation and emerging young writers such as Ritam Mitra

The awards to Indian Unk highlight the growing importance of the role of the Indian media in multicultural Australia

Another important po i nt as stated by Mr Pawan Luthra CEO of Indian Link during the awards night, is that it has become more than important to be c onnected with the younger generation using curr ent and emerging

cyber technologies and front end tools such as Face book

Well done Indi an Link and best of luck moving forward in your efforts for t he recogn i t ion of the Australian Indian d i aspora Vis h Vi sw ana t han

Huge congratulations on scooping the pool at the NSW Prem ie r's Multicultural Medi a Awards Warm wi shes and kudos to you r capable and award-winning t eam To win the Young Journalist of the Year Best Online Digital Me d i a and Best Print Report of the Year i s something to be proud of, not to mention being short-listed in numerous othe r categories Well done!

Nl hal G upta

Congratulations on winning t hree awards at the Multicultural Media Awa r ds night You doa gre at j ob and deserve all the accolades.

Harr y Har inat h

Congrats once again, Pawan , Raj ni and theteam

Anupam Sharma

Great news Congrats on being so consistent.

Pra dip Pandya

I congratulate heartily the Indian Link team for these awards. Please congratulate Ritam Mitra also Malli Iye r

programs and more D etails: Michael Colling 0431 817 130 or michael. colling@betterman org au www thebettermanpledge com

FOOD

Taste of Sydney

13- 16 March

There will be a fantastic line-up of restaurants, over 100 food and wine exhibitors, including AKl's Indian Restaurant, and a host of interactive foodi e attractions and classes At Centennial Par k Details : www.tasteofsydney com.au

MUSIC

Sydney Nadaka Priya's Sondha

Bandham

Sun 30 March 4pm

Sydney Nadaka Priya presents a Tamil drama Sondha Bandham wi t h l ocal tale n ts in aid ofUNNATI, a voca t ion al training and social transformation progra m Venue : Castle H il l High School Castle Street, Castle Hi ll

Details: Krish 04 18 200 724 or Jayshree Sank ar 041 0 169 112

Music Training Workshop by Sri Ramachary

12- 24 April

Letsgivehope (A u stral ia) is proudl y sponsoring a "Learn to sing"workshop in partnership with Littl e Musicians Academy (LMA), India. The workshop will be followed by a Musical Night w it h perform ances by the students and Sri Ramachary

Detai ls: lma.sydneya u stra lia@grnail. com or www facebook.com/pages/ Littl e -M usicians-Academy -Australia

HOLi

Holi M ahot sav Festival o f Friendship and Harmony

Fri 21 11am -2pm, 5 30 -7prn, Sat 22 & Sun 23

11am- 7pm March

Hundreds of artists from India and al l over the world w i ll be perform i ng, alongside delici ous Indian vegetar ian food stalls and craft sta ll s at D arling Harbour

Detai ls: www holimahotsav com au

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Tbe Indian Link Media Group

h as woo vet another three awa rds at the 2014 Premier's Multicultaral Media Awards held ar Doltone House in Sydney on 13 February, 2014 They cook home the Best Print Report of rbe Year, Best Use of Online & Digital Media a n d Young Journali st o f the Year: llirarn M iera

Three wins at 2014 Premier's Multicultural Media Awards

The Sydney-based Indian media group was nominated in eight of the 12 categories. Ia o n e category, Best Print Report, all three finalists came from l11dia11 Link.

The awards were judged by an independent panel of academic and working rnedia experts, with some ca tegories varying from last year.

Pawan Luthra, CEO of Indian Link said he was proud of the ongo ing recognition rbat the media group has received, from within the co nummity as well as from the mains tream.

"To claim three awards yet again this year, reveals nor oaly o ur dedicatio n but also t he high standards we sec ourselves," said

Luthra. "1 congratnlate m y teain for their talent and their efforts".

After this awards night, Indian Link has now become the most awarded multicultural media group in Australia.

The event was opened by NSW Premier Barr y O'Farrell, who said the growth of the State's mul ticultnral media reflects NSW's status as one of the most nml riculrural societies in the world

'1 was impressed to see more than 110 e n tries were received for the 12 categories covering print, radio, TV and oaline media in di.is year's awards, which are in their second yea r," said Premier O'Parrell. He also commenced on

the trend within the multiculrural commuruty which is see ing its med ia expa nd as compared co d1e main stream where it is contracting.

The Prem.iei:'s l'vfolticulmral

Media Awards are one of d1e feamte events of Mu lticultural Mi!rc h, a celebration of what the Seate call-5 one of its greacesc assets, its cultural diversity

"Co ngratulations ro foditm Link, wid.1 the fortnightly pL1blicacion taking oucBest Print R eportet, Pawaa Luthra, Best Young Journali5t, lliram Mera, and the categqry of Best Use of Oaline and Digica l Medi a," Minister for C iti2enship and Corrmmni ties Victor Dominello

said after Li.is moving speech

"The awards proudly recognise the ro le m u lticultural media p lays in promoting I SW co aud ie n ces around the world," he furthered Dominello's speech in wb.ich be urged the gathered mulriculmral .media ro put the spotlight on the unacceptable treatment of girls ai1d women erupted imo a loud applause. He implo r ed che multicultural media gathered co co n tinue tackle the " tough i ssues".

"We would like to congrarulate tl1e other media 9rganisarions that won or were nominated on the n ight," lrtdian U11k Edito r R ajni Anand Lmh ra said. " \X!e also acknowledge the Government of NSW in providing a platform

such as [be Mulcicultw:al Media Awards to showcase our talents and efforts".

Pawan Lurhra added, "At lndim1 U11k, we like co call ourselves ' observers of the trends fo Australia's Iadiaa community'. Our clea r grasp of issues in the community for 20 years n ow ha~ earned us much. respecr n ot o n ly witbin the community but in th e mainstream as well. W/e pride ourse lves on our 9uality of content, our design, as well as regular.icy of production. Our cote ream of 10 staff rnembe(s, and some 70- odd c ontributors act()ss the co tmcry, ,vork ve ry hard to see that a 9uality publication goes out every fortnight, even as we struggle with the drastic upheaval that our industry i.~ going through".

The company produces two fortnig htly publications for its Sydney audience, and monthlies for Me lboutne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth On the airwaves, it brings audiences rogether thro ugh Indian Link Radio. This was laund1ed l J years ago o n a 'pay-raclio' forma l for listeners in Sydney and Melbourne only but is no~· accessible 'round the world round the clock' via a downloadable smarrphone app as well as online s creaming. Online, the company's presence encompasses an iateractiYe website, formigbuy e-newsleners that reaches the targeted audience direcLly, a busy Facebook page, and cegular 'twitter feeds.

The Indian Link J\,[edia Group is no stranger lO wiruJing awards. Just lase year at the inaugural NATIONAL EDITION

Preinier's M ul ticul tural J\1fedia Award 2013, India11 Li11k also won three awards: Best News Report, Best Onlin e "Pub lication of the Year and Best Image of the Year. ln addition to th.i s, India11 U11k also rook out two awards at rl1e 20 13 Pacliamen t o f NSW Multicul tural Media Awards, three awards at rl1e 2012 Parliament of NS\'v' Multiculrural Media and the 201 I NS\XI Premier's Harmony Award. Thi s multi- media group ju st tnighl have to b u y a new shelf co display all of the awards wo n.

BEST USE OF ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA

www.indianllnk.com.au

Always a step ahead, Indian Link has been on the cutting edge of technology since its birth The stylish website is now availab le across all platforms, inclucling smartph ones for 'news on the go' and links the latest news to their 24 /7 cligirn l raclio station, and integrates their social media outpuL

By crearing a highly effective digital strategy, t.he Indian Link Media Group has been able to Sta)' up-co-date with the latest digital trends. W/e don't just create conrent for users, we also engage and listen to chem in order to conrinue our media group's innovative use o [ the latest tedmo logy.

BEST PRINT REPORT OF THE YEAR:..:.--------------=-~=-=--~ dian-Austra\ians

The 2013 Federal Election: An Indian community poll

Pawan Luthra's piece o n the ana lysis of an lr,di,m Link election survey, co nducted in the lead up tO the Jast federal elections, was a clear and conc ise report on the issues which matter to the Inctian community, aod their perceptions of w hich political parry would best fulfil their need s. No doubt it helped the u n decided vote r s in the communi ty co make

their 6oal electo ral decision.

"Our pre-electi o n surveys are conduc t ed objective ly and provide valuable insight in m the manner in which the community is thin ki n g," Pawan said "This i s part.icuJarl y important as large sec tio n s of our com mu nity's voters live io marginal seat areas. It turned om, we wer e right on target. In fact, this was the third time io a row that our pre-election po ll was right o n target".

YOUNG JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR: RlTAM MITRA

Th eYouog

Journalist of the Year Rita m

Miera, is a perfect example of the mentoring cbat Tndian Link does for young writers.

"I definite.I)' wasn't expecting to win, and it was an honour simply co be shortlis ted for the award," says R itam of his award '"T he other nominees were of very high ca.Lib re".

Ritam was 17 when he first began to contribute to T11di1111 Link. To day; at 21, fioisbing a law degree at uni a.ad working for a leading Sydney law Ii.rm. he is one

was a fair bit of anticipation around it," tecalls MiLra of the award nig ht. "I'd spent most of tbe night enjoying tbe speeches, cu ltural performances, and celebrating the Indian Link team's win in rwo otber categories, so I ctidn'r dunk roo much abom the award, as l knew there were some very impressive nominees who deserved the honour. From tbe moment mr name was called up, everything became a bit of a bl ur. It was a big surprise and a very humb ling

moll:leot.

«Bm it was a moment I'll

of the most prolific writers on never forget ,..-, our ream. and an award

" Indian Link has given me a L'll bold very

wide range of oppormnities, dearly co me". ,

which I'm exLremely grateful

for," says lVlitra._Ritam's earliesL writings were on \t'.,,.so""a\\ aboU -pers_.~pectW ,, --~- e--youth issues and h is great ,\. , b hi I d ,,,~l'lll'lg ',W,., ff'l' passmn sport, ut s )O y

of work now includes pieces oo politics, science, 1 technology, media, new .-:-..:.=...::.

traditions as he sees tbe.m__ through his Australia-raised ~.:;-

eyes. :-_,_ g::.~ S" __

"The Young Journalist ...-

RESULTS

OUTING AN UGLY TRUTH

Manpreet Kaur Singh's enlightening and realistic report on domestic violence has won two prestigious awards. FARZANA AHMAD reports

SBS Radio Punjabi's Executive Producer Manpreet Kaur Singh added more feathers to her cap recently by dinchiug two awards in t.he 2014 NSW Premier's Multicultural Media Awards held in Sydner, Manpteet's multi -mvard winning fearnre Tbe Bnl!llQ' [Vithin Wl"\S recognised as che Best Radio Report and Best Feamre of the Year (any medium) during rl1e ceremony.

The reporl whim ,vas first aired in December 2012, confronts the issue of domestic violence within the 1\uscralian lndian co=unity. It is a compelling dissection of family abuse through the voices of rl1e victims, the police, experts and rl1e court system, and it has struck a chord with the community on manr different levels.

"The documentary was commissioned by SBS in 201 2", i\lanpreec told Tndia11 Li11k. ''It took around four months of intensive investigative work to complete. Doring lhis time we consulted with authorities, e.."perts and victims in Melbourne and

Sydney to portray an honest picture of domestic violence within the Indian community in Aus tralia. W/e presented seven stories b y imerviewing victims directl y; o f them, one couple and one victio1 are now deceased as a J.irect result o f domestic violence".

The report aimed ro determine whether Indian culture and circumstances like arrang ed marriages am! migracion make domestic viol ence unique in this community.

"\Ve have asked th e experts and the victio1s, and il is up to the people to decide", she added.

Regarding rl1e rooction of the lndian community to this report, ]'\'lanpreet said, "lt was an honest appraisal of questions everyone asks. The respnnse has been strong and mostly positive where people have realised d1at d1ey have co stop being in denial and do something about iL But at che same rime, there has been some negative reaction with people arguing rhat the victims are partly to blame LOO. For die wider community though, the

documentary ha s been an eye opener".

Manpreec regards the documentary Tbe Ene11!Y fr/ ithin as the most difficult and c o mp lex s tory she's handled professionally.

She rs deeply moved b y the plight of victims of domestic violence in theL1ellan community and feels a need co make a difference. She believes chat although a lot is being done in this regard , it is nOL enough.

'

·there is a need for community orgaaisacions, governmem agencies and ,velfare groups to come together and work as a unit in understanding the intricacies of die Indian culture and address fami ly violence accordingly", she averred.

"Cw:renrly in cases of domestic abuse, the government wants the police to be the first point of contact, but most Indian victio1s will not do that a$ it escalates rl1e issue to a poior of no remrn. Culmral orientation is necessary to handle di fferem cases appropriately and sensitively", she added After the resowicllng success of

the Punjabi bro adcast, Tht Et1611D' IVithin was remade in Eng lish and aired in August 2013. It received che United Nations Ass ociation of Australia Media Award in lhe special category 'Increasing Awareness and U nderstanding o f Women's Rights and lssues ' and was also a finalis t for rl1e Walkley Award in the same year. This makes Manpreet the first Indian- origin journalist in Australia to be nominated for the Walk.leys.

i'vlaapreet insis t~ that though i t is gra 1jfying to be recognised, she didn't make The Enet!Q' lf?itbin t o win awards. She maintains thar she bas done many stories on sensitive issues, and purity of intention and compassion has been her strengrl1 in getting tl1e message out.

''l have uanost respect fot ever1 victim who spoke to us in making this documentary," she said. "We can't imagine what they go through, so let's nm waste their bravado and do something to bring about a change".

Even though she is best known in J\ustr.alia as a radio broadca~ter, Manpreet's contributio n to other

b ranches of jo urn alism , in p rim, te levision , r adio a nd m ed ia, cannot be igno r ed. But radio is h er m e dium of d10ice

"T o b e hone st it was th e o nl y m edium rlrnt g ave me a break w hen I came to Aus tralia;' sh e revealed. " Tli e work we do is to tall y sp o ntaneous and w1scrip ted. P eop le Jet u s in ro th eir h o m es w h ere we h ave intimate co n ver sa tion s w ith t hem rl1at are s traigh t fro m the h eart. P eo ple o p e n up more on radio as it provides th e elemem o f an o nymi ty I wouldn' t ch ange an yth ing about it"

Her 2 l -ye ar invo lvement ·with SBS ha s seen her go fro m being a ' o ne-man sh o w ' to heading a team as Executive Producer of the Punjabi bro adcast The SBS Punjabi bro adcas t went fro m being aired once a week to Ji ve rime s a week since last year.

F or someo ne who has re ceiv ed cons id e rable recognitio n, Manpreet is surprisingly down- toearth and friendl y

She has received many awards indudiog th e Media Award at V icto ria's 201 3 Multiculmcal Awards for Excellence in December 2013, and the s tate's Award for lvfedia Excellence in 20 I I.

Manpreet is passionate abouc preserving the history of Indian arci,,aJs in Australia and contributes artides to the repmed website Sikhchic.com.

A significant highlight of her career bas been fulfilling the last wishes of a Sikh hawker Pooran Singh who died in Australia in I 947, and wanted his ashes ro be returned to lndia and spri:n.k.led in the river Ganges. l'\fanpreet was insm.uneatal in fulfilling1.bis wisb through uniting people from India, Australia and England in this goodwill m ission. This story has now been commissioned by Educational Services Australia as an educational resource for high school Students in Australia.

BAPS temple inaugurated

BY KOMALUTSAV JAGAD

Ic was a historic week for the Flindu community in Sydney as 3,000 devotees gathered together for the inaug ural celebrations of the newly renovated temp le ar BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Ma ndir a t Elea nor Street in Rosehill.

The week-Jong festivities began on 6 February with a Swag"t Sabha (welcome assembly) and continued rill l2 February, packed full of holy celebrations including Vedic ptijas per formed by priests who travelled from fodia and the United States for this special event.

NS\XI Premier Barr y O'Farrell with Param Pujya Ishwa rch aran Swami officially inaugurated the temple at its JYbirti Pmna Pratishth" cerem o n y, in the midst of a number of dignitaries and communi ty leaders ,vbo attended tbe festivities. Amon~t these were Dr Geoff Lee MP, Jttlie Owens MP and CounciUo.rs Julia Finn and Jame s Shaw.

Pa ram Pujya Ishwarcharan

Swami consecrated the temple ido ls according co traditional rites. In this ceremony a de ity's statue is infused with its soul and power to awaken its holiness and br ing it to life within the temple.

The ho ly event continued on the second day, with Ki,tcm Amdhna (prayer), and a cul tural program prese n ted by the children and yo ungsters of the temple. For devotees, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of this landmark event. The Mabapl(ja (grand prayers) and the Min-ti Pmna Pmtishlha were of major reverence. Mahapzija is a Hindu worship ritual that allows many devotees to sinrnl t aneous ly participate in prayer s Du_ring the rimal, devotees offered t heir humble pra)'er s to seek ha rmony and world peace as they bowed to their ido l and offered flowers.

The BAPS Mandir (temple) has been a part of Sydney's muJticu.lturnJ landscape since 1996, a n d m oved to its cmrent location in 2000. The original temple de ities had humble beginnings, hav ing been i nstalled and inaugurated back in 2002 b y his H oliness Pramuk.h Swami Mahar aj. His leg ;icy continued

as t he temple grew, marking an exceptional journey over the past 14 years As the influx of visitors grew each year, it was imperative for the BAPS communi ty to embark ou tbjs project and rebnild the temple. The construction of the temple began in mid -201 1 a nd it was recently completed in Novem ber 20 13, resulting in tl1e grand weeklong ce lebratio n s.

Not o nly i ts effe rvescin g spicimality, bur the Rosehill temp le's special amenities are also sin1ply extraordinary. Its aesthetic d esign is remarkabl y unique, witl1 dramatically large front gates made of very intricate designs. A large dome design ed in the centre of the main shrine seems to bring in the ambience of a shiny moon in the sky. Th e temple also boasts a state-of- the- art con1JI1tuiiry centre with facilities like a di ning area, activi ty rooms, prayer hal l and ample car spaces.

The Premier heartily congratulated BAPS and the hundreds of volunteers on t he comp letion of tl1e l\fandir.

"

lt is a wonderful ac hievement reflecting the hard work and conm1itmenc of tl1e entir e c o nununiry,''

Mr O'Fa r rell said. "lt i s certain to continue to se rve this community as a p lace to come together iu support of ro u r culmral and spi r itual growth".

The Mandir in Roseh il.l is one of the tl1ree BJ\PS Mand irs in A u stralia, in addition to the ones in Melbourne and Perth. A new BAPS Mandir will open in

Brisbane on 15 Febrnary, while construction is underway for a Mandir in Adelaide

The i nauguration of tl1e temple was a surreal exp erience for all the arrendees as they basked in tl1c glory of tl1e sacred celebrations Yogi Savania., Public Affairs Coordinator of the Mandir said, " le is a landmark event for Sydney and the entire credit goes to Lord Swaminarayan and hi s Holiness Pramukh Swami Mahara j". He als o ac.knowleclged tl1e support of the 270 vol unteers

For all devo tees, this unbelievabl e spiritual journey through the corridors of the BAPS Mandie was ind eed a true experience to be kept in their beans for rest of their Lives, as everyone hailed the gl ory of Lord Swamioarayru.1

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Destination NSW's India campaign treads safe ground

Will it be hugs all around as the new travel promotion is launched across India? lt4•,1

r~ BY \ PAWAN LUTHRA

Destination NSW has d ecid ed to pick th e low hanging frui t as i t attempts to woo Indian tourism co chis sta te.

L au nching i ts cam p aign Jbappi Time, Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase b uilt up the n eed to use the connections of the Indians in NSW to attract thdr family and friends to thi s state and its major attractio ns. Ala s, rather than seeking to reach out to the upper cla ss travel - savvy Indians, Jbappi Ti111e limi ts its campaign to those who may alread y b e sold on th e ide a of visiti n g this Australian State.

Researc h by To11rism Aus tralia Researc h ( fRA) indicates that NSW received 77,700 visitors from India for the ye ar en ded Se p t 201 3. This was an increase o f 9 4% over the previous ye ar.

Of the 77,700 visiti ng l S\'v; 38% were here co visit frie n ds and reJatives.

The Indian tourist market is growing By 2020, the U nited Nations ' World Tourism Organisation forecasts 50 milli on outbound trav elle r s from lndia In fa ct b y 2030, predicts a report by Amadeus, the 4 5 million lndian s w ho travelled to th e Asia P acific regio n in 2011 will grow to a staggering 70 million. Acco rding co research, I ndia n travel preferences are changing and the youn ger affluent Indians are keen o n exp eri men tal, eco a nd outd oor adventtu·e tourism.

De stination SW is tbe first Australi a n touri sm body to target tourism from India.

Jhappi T im e or 'rime for hugs ' , directe d b y world famous Bollywood dir e ctor A nupa m Sharma, fe amres four ' Bo llywoodscyle' vignettes i n popular courist locations around NSW including Sydney, Manly Beach and the Blue Mo w1cai.ns A cast o f local Indian da nce rs, actors and m usicians feature in tbe campaign. Filmed agai n st th e backdrop of famous land marks in Sydney and arou nd NS\~~ the Jhappi Time skits feamre ac to r s and key members o f t be indian community in NSW

incl uding Mala :lvlehta OAJ\,[, head of GOPIO Luck y Singh, founde r of TiE Dilip R ao a nd two finalists of Australia's first Bollywoocl reality show, SB S's Bollywood Star.

The four vigne tt es include s t ories of Si kh parents wan ting to v is it their daughter w h o is stud ying at t he University of Sydney; a husba nd and wife mi ssin g t heir ad u lt children w ho all live i n Syd ney; a woman w h o is becoming a gra ndmother for the first tim e and wants to visit her new grandchild in Sydn ey; and a yo1mg woman w ho wants to visit her b est friend in Sydney.

The p lan i s co promote this

digital can1paign through o nlin e m edia, as weJJ as thr ough cinema adve rti si ng, w here they were res t ed across different demographics It will also s upport .in dustry partn ers and travel wholesal er s co promote trave l packages and airfare offers to Indian travel agents and visitors

Th e campaign is warm and fuzzy. Ir hinges o n the value s chat regul ar Indians hold dear, su ch as famil y rogetherness and the importance o f education , and the s heerJoie de uiure tha t t ypifies the Ind ian way of life Sharma has cl everly used these 1ndian themes to sell his adopted home state to audie nces in bi s n ative cotuitry

Regard less, it does leave a few gaps i n its missi ve While the use of local Indian Aus tralian p eo p le i n the ad s h el p s id enti fy wjch the message, the campaign ha s reso rted to the stereotyped Bollywood image, rather than to bui ld o n what t he yo ung Indian afHnent traveller is looki n g for - adventure, excitemen t, ecoroucisrn ere. The glaring absence of cricket tour.ism is al so n ota ble, espec ially in the lead up ro t he World Cup.

A major issue whi ch holds India ns back in travelli n g to Australi a is th e travel ti m e, b ut with more flights and connectio n s between the two countries now in place, this sh ould n ot be as much

of a concern. U n fortunately, th.is facet has to tally been ig n ored in the new campaign. Th e tyranny of distance s till persists i o the mind s of lndiaos wishing to trave l h ere. The target of d oubling th e Indian visitors to NSW by 2020 is rather tame especially i f g r owth i s expected at 9% pa. D oub li ng the figures will almost be achieved by o rg ani c growth, rather th an b eing campaign -driven D estinatio n NSW is to be commended for caking this in itiative to bri n g m ore In dians ' d own under'. The relationslup between lndia and NSW is improving constantly with Premier Barry O'FarreJJ making tliree visits to l od.ia in three years, as well as the recent v is it by :Min ister V ictor D om.in ello to build on the connections and agreements reached durin g the Premier's visit. NSW has been a b it slow in worki ng on atu·acring tl1e India n tour.i sm doUar, witb Victor ia having stolen tl1e marc h o n this. Whether Sharma's jbappi turns out to be the proverbial jaadu ki jhappi for D esti.natio n NS\XI, o n ly ti.me will tell Meanwhile, Indians ' dow n under' need to ge t on their ph o ne s and start sp ruiki n g the m essage of welcoming famil y and friends here. Your scare now needs ymL

Parents advised of tutoring accountability

Tutoring service providers can be held accountable for the quality of their services

Fair Tradi ng Fa,r Trading

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

(UD HR) articulates in Article 26(1) chat it is a basic entitlement that all children receive an education at least in the 'elementary and fundamental stages'. ln Australia, this aspect of the universal right is left ro the mainstream schooling sector. Article 26(3) states tl1ac pa.rents have the prior right to choose the kind of education diat shall be given to their children. Private tutoring and other personal educational choices e.xercised by parents fall into d1is category of hLu11an rights.

An issue inherent in the use of private tutors is that of the commercial imperative associated with the tuition providers. The providers are businesses and the main aim of businesses is to generate profits. Profits are best earned when costs or expenses are minimised and when income is maximised. This can lead to compromises that affect the 9ualiry of the service being provided. Issues of rights arise for parents and their chi ldren, when the focus b y private tutors is too srrongly on the commercial and not enough on the educational.

In every national jurisdiction where there is a p rivate mtoring sector, common issues arise i n regards to the accountability of tutors to fair trading, consumer protection and educational laws.

The SW government bas been particularly proactive in assisting the private tutoring sector to improve accow1tability for nirors. Annually, the Office of

Fair Trading through die releva.nr

.i\.finisrer and the Commissioner of Fair Trading, i ssue a warning to parents in regards to the use of tuto ring services. This year, in a notable initiative, Stuart Ayres, Minister for Fair Trading has made it a priority co reach out co vulnerable communities where the use of pri vate tutors is on the rise. Most notable of t hese are die Indian, Chinese, Korean and Arabic-speaking communities

It is well known <liar education is highl y valued amongst lndians across the world. fodi.a.n families are classified as 'aspirational' and man y families prioritise study at

school and at ll.Iliv ersity, for dieir sons and daughters. In such a conrext, che Indian community use private tutors and value additional or supplementa ry education. This makes me Indian comm1UI.ity vul nera ble, particularly if d1eir rights in regards to die provision of mtoring services, are not weU understood.

On February 6, Ayres and Member for Parramatta Geoff Lee, inv ited a.round 30 attendees o f the Indian media to a function at the new Office of Fair Trading (O PT) in Patra.matta. The purpose was to advise the media about d1e rights parents have when they take

''TI1e OFThas had reievanr documems relr1ting to the Jaw translated lnto Hindi, wimarilyto c1chieve the purpo s~ of protecting the lOl!1munity and educating parent s about th eir rights reganJiny iutorir,g servtce providers

on private mtors for the ir children.

The Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe, ministerial staff and several media gro ups were also in attendance.

The OFT has had relevant documents re lating to die law trans lated inro Hindi, primarily to achieve the purpose of protectin g die commw1ity and educating parents about their rights regarding tutoring service providers. The Ausrralian Tutoring Associatio n (ATA) has also realised the immense importance of having its Code of Conduct u·ansl ated, and this is now available in Hindi fn the next fe,,•

''weeks, it will also be translated into Telegu and Gujarati.

"

\Xie encourage parents ro seek only J\TJ\ mtors and we support a self- regulation model," said Ay res

It is extremely important diat all parents understand their rights and ensure that they seek proper in formation and accountabilities from prh7ate mmrs. Parents can go to W\V\\'1:tta.edu.au a nd \VW\\, fa.irtrading com.au to .find useful fact sheets.

fo tbe first instance, the OFT recommends that parents only take on mtors who a.re registered \vith the ATA and are accredited. ln chis way they can ensure best practice standards a.re being upheld and that they have an avenue of support in the event o f an issue aris ing from the standard of servi ce being prpvi ded.

ATA CEO Mohan Dha/1 (extreme left) with others at the Office of Fair Trading Indian media function

Brother-sister duo Arnita and Akshay Rao impress in debut performance

To hear abouc the nuances of classical Indian music in t:be words of young ones, is always a p leasure for connoisseurs of tbe a:rt.

As Amica Rao spoke abom the purpose of ragas in Indian classical music, you c o uldn't help thinking about what other girls her age spend their rime listeoing to.

As Akshay Rao spoke about alaaps and how they prepare the listener to receive the emotions from die singer, you goc a sense of die man y Saturdays spent in practice.

Despite hectic school and universicy studies (A l;:shay is a commerce-law s tudent ar universicy and Amica, a Year 12 student), the brother and si ster

duo prese nted a commendable show in their debut performance i n m id -J anua ry W i th Sanskrit prayers, Tagore compositions, ghazal.s, mgc,- based film songs and Marathi and Kannada creations, the singers show- cased their repertoire in elegant style.

Bod1 singers presented the traditional invoc ation to Lord Gauesha in the Sanskrit Aja111 Neervi .Kalpa111. Amica impressed just as much w ith her Bengali A11lara !Vf.ama, a compo sition widi underpinning of m ysticism and sp irimalit:y, as she did with the ghazal Aq;jaane ki zid in rag,1 Ya1na11 Kabm1. In Bo/ere prippi hara she managed to keep all the ornameutacions intact, and she tackled the popuhr song Di/ cbeez l;,ya bai with careful and

smooth navigation, especially widi die very high notes in the third anh"a.

Akshay Hrutred his stuff with Poocho 11a kaise 111ai11 11e in raga Ahir Bhaimv, inducing the right moods associated w irn ch is raga i.e peace, sadness and love. He also showed off his nuanced n,ga Ya111t111 Kabm1 (Mana 1·e) and raga Khtwuy (/ /yo kaba11 se Gha11sqya111).

The Marntb i duet Nt1111agetba and A.mita's Kannada compositi o n Bandaalo 11a1m11a 111anege were also well received by t:be audience.

lvfadbuban mei11 radhika in raga F-Ia111invas t he concluding so ng for the evening and there was no sign of weariness as Akshay delivered the classic Mohammad Rafi song wbicb was quite challenging in rerms of tam11as and

the sargaJJ/_S involved. As d1ey sang o ne composition after anorner, diere was no doubt di ar born had a firm contro l on t he notes and rhythm. A great connection was builc between the audience and the artistes as introduction was g iven abom each song including mga and /tJti/by die artistes d1emselves. Tbe brilliant, lively tahlr1 accompanimem b y Abhi jic Dan and die perfect h.armooium support by Med ha Padiak uplifted the atmosphere. The sound, managed b y Abdul Sajwani ensured a well-balanced output.

Earlier in the evening, Aksbay and Amita to uched the feet of d1eir reacher, d1e eminent Medha Padiak, as well as the

musicians on stage, to seek their blessings. The proud teacher was seen nodding ber head in appreciatio n as her smdencs delivered some very challenging compositions, sharing d1e srnge with her Parents Hema and Sudhakar welcomed me guests and Sudhakar spoke about his children's desire to demonstrate d1rough a performance, d1e knowledge that they had acquired during their pursuit in music. He also acknowledged music personalities Pushpa J agadish, Aparna Nagashayana and Avijit Sarkar for their mentoring of Aksbay and Amira during their journey ill mUSIC.

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A female leopard sits inside a snow covered enclosure at Dachigam Wildlife Sanctuary, outskirts ofSrinagar, India, Jan. 23, 2014. Wildlife authorities in Indian Kashmir are making special efforts to provide food t o the endangered stags known as 'hangul,' as they face difficulty in finding vegetation following heavy snowfall

Joy in Telangana as Lok Sabha passes bill to divide Andhra

Amid pandemonium and a television blackout of the proceedings, the Lok Sabha recently passed a bill to carve out a Telangana stace out of Andhra Pradesh, triggering joy in the Telangana region and protests elsewhere in tl1e southern state.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill was passed by voice vote in the face of noisy protests by M"Ps from Seemandh.ra - as tl1e orher C\VO regions (R.ayalsee ma an d coastal Andh.ra) a.re coUectively known - as weU as a section of the opposition parties.

The passage of the b ill, moved b y Home. !vlinister S L1sbilk-umar Shinde, took a total of 90 minutes.

If the b iUalso get5 the approval of Rajya Sabha, the Tel ugu -speaking peop le will have C\vo states w ith Telangana becoming India's 29th state.

Telangana will have 10 districts inclucliug Hydernbad, which will serve as a common capital for a period nor e.,'{ceedi.ng LOyear s The res iduary state of Andhra Pradesh will have 13 districts.

In a move to assure protection to Seemandhra people living in Hyderab ad, the bill proposed that common governor of the two scates will have power of maintaining law and orde r in the city, but ignored the demand from Seemandhra leaders that the city be declared a union territory.

The bill, when passed by Rajya Sabha, will bring curtains on Andhra Pradesh, which can1e into existence in 1956 with the merger of TeJanga.na, then known as Hyderabad State with Andl1.ra Seate, which was earlie r carved out of Madras State.

With an area of l.14lakh square km and a population of 3.52 crore, Telangana will be 12th largest stare in terms of both area and population.

The bill was passed amid dramatic scenes. Those opposing the bill massed near Speaker Meir a Kumar, some shouting slogans and others holding placards. But they were simply ignored as amendments co d1e bill s were taken up and then the bill was finaJJy declared passed by the lower house.

So higb were the tempers in the ho use tbat a group of Congress members from Andhra Pradesh stood near Sh.i.nde as he read out tbe clauses in a bid to pro tect him from anciTelangana MPs

Congress president Sonia Gandhi watched the p roceedings with v isible dismay Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not present.

Participating in the debate, Leader of Opposition Sushma Swa.raj said her BJP supported d1e creation of Telangana 6-m not the way ir was being done.

"I and my party support the bill Telangana should be formed We r ise to prove our credibility and to see wishes of youth of Tela ngana are fulfilled", she said, accusing the Congress of delaying t he process.

Science and Technolog y Minister S. JaipaJ Reddy sai d the. demand fo r separate Telangana was raised for last 60 years.

"I don't think any demand has been raised for such a long period with such an intense feeling", be said.

The passage of the bill and the manner in which it was done came w i der severe criticism from various parrie s.

A fuming Y.S. Jaganmoha.n Redd); leader of d 1e YSR Congress which i s bitterly against the creation of Telangana , d ubbed it " a black day" for the country and called a genera l stri ke in A n dhra Pradesh on Feb 19. The reaction to the development was immediate w:ith cemraJ minister D. Purandeswari reponedJy sen ding her resignation to Sonia Gandhi.

Three Anclhra Pradesh ministers from Seemandhra resigned in protest whiJe Chief lvli.nister N. Ki.ran Kumar Reddy is aJso set to quit soon. Pitani Satyana.rayana, one of the ministers, said Ki.ran Reddy would submit his resignation on Feb 19

Central ministers from Seemandl1.ra hit out at d1eir own p arty-led government for passing die bill in " undemocratic" manner.

"Ir is totally undemocratic, immoral and uned1ical", said Te.xtiles r.1unister K.S. R ao, w ho like other ministers from Seemandhra hope that the bill will be stalled in Ra jya Sabha. Human Resource Devel o pment ~[inister .M.M.Pallam Raju said the bill was passed against all democratic norm s

Another minister I<. Chi.ranjeev.i said after die meeting with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi last night, they hoped char justice would be done to Seeman dhra. He said the BJP also disappointed d1em Vijayawada 1-fP L. RajagopaJ, who bad used pepper s pray in Lok Sabha last week to protest tabling of the bill, announced that

he is retiring from po li tics for failing to stop bifurcation

Telangana erupted in joy on heari n g the announcement, while protests broke our in Seemandh.ra. Telangana supporters in Hyder abad and nine other districts of the region burst 6recrackers and distributed sweets

Rajiv assassination conspirators escape noose, release demanded

The Supreme Court recently commuted the death sentence to three key conspirators in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, h olding the 11- yea.r delay in deciding their mercy petitions "unreasonab le and dehumanising".

Political parties in Tamil Naclu a s well as the elated families have now d emanded the trio's release

A bench of Chief Justice P. Satbasivam, Justice Ranjan Gogoi ROd Justice Shiva Ki.rti Singh said, ''\Xl'e commute d1eir death sentence into imprisonment for life. Life imprisonment means te end of one's life, s ubject to an y remission granted by the appropriate government''.

The decision takes to four the n umber of deatl1 row convicts in the case whose se n tences have been commuted.

The three who escaped the gaJJows are V. Sri.haran alias J\1[urugan, A G. Pera.rivaJan alias A.rivu and T. Suthendraraja alias Santhan, currentl y lodged in Tamil Nadu's VeUo re pr ison. They had sough t commucacion of tl1eir death sentences due to tl1e long delay in deciding dieir mercy petitions.

Rajiv GandJ1i, ,vho was tbe prime. minister 1984-89, was killed by a Tamil suic ide bomber Dhanu at an election raUy in Sriperumbud ur near Chennai May 21, 1991. Fourteen otlier people also lost d1eir lives in tbe blast.

ln 1998, aU the 26 accused in die case were sentenced ro death by a special triaJ court.

In 1999, the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentences of four - Murugan , Santhan and Pernrivalan and Nalini - whiJe the capitaJ punishment to the others was redL1ced ro varying terms of imprisonment.

While Perarivalan and Nali ni are Indians, the othe r C\Vo a.re Sri Lankan Ta.mils.

was a member of the inte lligence wing of the. now vanquished Tan1.iJ Tigers, whose leader V. Prabhakaran ordered Gandhi's assassination

The death sentence of Nalini, who is married to lvfurugan and who became a mother in prison, was commuted to life imprisonment after her mercy petition was accepted The petition h ad d1e reco mmendation of Gandlii's widow Sonia Gandhi.

The mercy petitions of the d1ree men were rejected by the Tamil Nadu governor April 25, 2004, and forwarded to tl1e union home ministry J\fay 5, 2004.

After over five years, d1e ministry forwarded the petitions to the president but recaJJed them Feb 23, 2011. EventuaJJy, the president rejected di e mercy petitions A ug 12, 201 1, after m ore than 11 ,ears of the apex court judgment.

The reject.ion was chaJlenged in the Madras High Court Aug 29, 201 1. In May 20 12, the Supreme Courl transferred d1e case to itself.

In its verdict in Chennai, the apex court said tlie delay in dec iding di e mercy petitions was ".inor dina te and no.reasonable".

C hief Justice Sathasivam, junking the government's contention that the death row convict needed to prove that he suffered dur ing the prolonged dela)' in deciding his mercy petition, said tl1at there was no such requirement in Indian law as well as in internatio nal judgments.

The court addressed two questionswhether the nature of delay caused was reasonable or inordinate and whether the dehrnnanising effect on the accused due ro delay has to be ascertained or mere delay on the face of it ,vas Sllfficienl for commutation of death sentence to life.imprisonmenr.

Divya Iyer, a researcher at Am.nesty InternacionaJ India, said, "The posi tive rulings of commutations of January 2014 and those of today offer context and imp etus for India to move rowa.rds a direction of a society that can be free of the death penalty"

Expressing happiness at the Supreme Court's decision, DMK pres ident M. Karunanidhi urged die central and state governments to release tbe convicts from jail.

Iv!DMK leader Vaiko said the judgement should be etched in go lden letters i n lndia's judicial history and also demanded their release.

Communist Party of India's Tamil Nadu secretary D. Panclian also urged the state government to release t he convicts as they have spent more than two decades behind bars.

Elated at the news, Perari.vala.n's mother ArputhammaJ told the meclia that she now hoped tl1e Tami.I Nadu ch ief m inister would help in her son's release.

Murugan's mother Somani also met her son .in Vellore She thanked the media and others for their su pport.

How realistic are Chidambaram's fiscal projections? Obiter Dicta by Arvind

Padmanabhan

One would have expected Finance Minister P. Ch.i.damba.ram to go a litde easy on the fiscal deficit front, given that he presented an interim budget in an election year. But far from it, he has promised to keep the fiscaJ deficit - the difference beC\veen total projected expenditure and reve nues from

sources like ta.'s:es, loan recoveries and other receipts - on a tight leash Are d1e numbers realistic?

The target for fiscal deficit for the next year has been kept at 4 1 percem of the countty's gross domestic product (GDP), as opposed to the revised estimates of 4.6 percent for the current fiscal It is equally noteworthy that the finance minister feels the deficit for chis fiscal will be at least 20 basis points lower than his budget estimates

But the above calculations are based on several assumptions. Among them he expects the nominal gross domestic product - the final monetary value of all goods and services produced within a councry - to grow at 13.4 percent i.11 2014- 15, against the official estimate of l 'I .9 percent for this fiscal.

Here, if d1e inAation rises beyond expectations, it will cert-unly boost the nominal GDP, but the real GDP growth , which is what is looked at, will suffer.

That's the reason why he has managed to keep the actual fiscal deficit in monetary terms higher at Rs. 528,631 cror e, against the rev ised estimate of Rs. 524,539 crore for t he current fiscal.

Another pro jection is on tax revenue. He has assumed an increase of 18 percent in the tax revenues next fiscal , against the projected 12.9 percent growth in the currenr fiscal - even though there has been a sho rtfall between the revised estimated for 2013 - 14 and what he h imself had projected in d1e budget presented last year

Tax revenues being one of die key components in determining the fiscal deficit, a shortfall can send the projections haywire. One cannot igno re the fact that d1ere is a tlirect correlation bet:\veen GDP growth and tax collections, if other faccors remain the same.

Compared with the b udget estimates, there has been a shortfall in the revised numbers for this fiscal on account of all sources of ta.xes, collections of corporate tax, income tax, customs, excise and service tax have a ll been lower.

Accordingly, one isn't sure how this sbarp increase in ta.x revenues as projected can be achieved. More so when i:be economy has still not p icked up much and the bulk of d1e growth so far has been contributed b y the agriculture sector which remains a non- tax entity in India

On the revenue-g eneration side, anod1er area where there has been a substantial increase in projection is under d1e head mi scellaneous recejpr, which primarily includes sale of equity in state-nm and nongovernm ent companies. This year, against a projection of Rs 54,000 crore under these two heads, d1e realisation has been only Rs.19 ,000 crore - a shortfalJ of Rs. 35,000 crore. Yet, d1e pro jection for next fiscal is Rs. 51,000 crore.

One may argue drnt money raised from divestment goes into tbe special National ln vestment Fund. But d1e proceeds can be used towards capital addition for state-nm commercial banks and capital expendimre of dJe railways Despite that, there has only been a marginal increase i n d1e budgetary support for the railways, while Rs. '11,200 crore is being provided for the railways.

Subsidy is another area where the finance minister appears to have played with numbers. He has cut the petroleum subsidy from Rs 85,500 crore to Rs. 63,500 crore. At d1e same time, while absorbing d1e rollover of fuel subsid y worth R s. 45,000 crore of last fiscal in d1e cnrrent year, he has only factored in a

Tourists visit a large snow sculpture called "Tomb ofltmad-ud-Daula" of India, during the 65th annual Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan on February 5, 2014. The Agra mausoleum is called ''Jewel Box" or "Baby Taj" and is considered to be an early draft of the iconic Taj Mahal. Some 200 snow statues were on display at Sapporo

roll -over of Rs. 35,000 crore from this year to d1e next.

Fuel subs id y, like the doles on food and fertilisers, remains a sensitive issue. Remember, die government bad to roll back even that small. measure of limiting the release o f subsidised cooking gas. In that event, it i s anybody's guess how this massive, real cue of Rs. 32,000 cmre in fuel subs id y will be ac hieved.

In conclusion, one has to concede that Ch idambaram presented the interinl budget with o ne hand tied - he had litd e room for manoeuvrability as far as the receipts side of ch.is exercise was concerned. But it is he who has made the projections - t,-tlJ, modest or understated a s one rnay deem them.

1n any case, it i s tl1e ne.xt government that will p resent the final budget after general elections. All these projections are more li kely to change , even if Chiclambaram comes back to die o rd1 Bl ock as finance minister.

Conseq uendy, when a compari so n is made bet:\veen the projections for the next fiscal with the revised estimates, it will be on the basis of the final budget. What Chi.dambaram presented on Feb 17 will remain, at best, an ac ad emic e.xercise w ith litde meaning or purpose.

India, US to cooperate in fight against terror funding

India and the US have agreed to co operate to crack t he financial network and fimdraising activities of Paki stan- based terror outfits and also in tackling counterfeit currency and illegal financial ttansaction s

This was stated by i\1inister of State for H ome R.P.N. Singh in the Lok Sabha in New De lhi recently.

He said India and the US have agreed to work togedier under the framework of the India- OS (ministr y of home affairs and deparm1em of homeland securiry) bilateral discussions.

A bilatera l meeting held in October 2013 facilitated d1e exchange of such information

b etween concerned agencies of both the counrnes

India and die US have agreed to have cooperation between their agencies in fighting against counterfei t currency and illegal financial transactions under the aegis of die India-US Homeland Security d ialogue, said an official statement.

A sub-group on "illicit finance, illegal smuggling of cash, financial fraud and counterfeiting" has been formed to work in d1e areas of information exchange, capacity building and technical/ research cooperation US H om eland Security and Indian agencies are workil1g toged1er to investigate sources of material and technologies llsed in d1e production of fake Indian curren cy n o tes, said the statement.

BEL to invest $100 mi llion in e lectronic warfare products

State-ru n Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) will invest R s 620 crore/$100 millio n over the next five years in developing electronic warfare produces joind y w i t h d1e Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), a top official said recently in Bangalore.

" We will invest $ 100 m i llion fro m ensuing fiscal year (201 4- 15) over tl1e next five years for funding joint programmes witb DRDO to develop electronic warfare products required for our armed forces", B EL chairman and managing director S K. Sharma said at a conference in the city

As the country's leading electroni cs major, BEL manufacture s and suppl ies a range o f pro ducts, inc luding radars, electronic warfare system, sound an d vision broadi;:asting, missiles and sonars to t he Indian army, navy and air force.

W ith nine manufacturing facilities across the country, tl1e company had joindy developed a mobile integrated electronic warfare system 'Sam yukta' with DRDO, E lecu-onics Corporation of ]ndi.a Ltd (EC1L) and me army's signal corp s for tactical

batdefield use.

Covering a wide range of frequencies, the system is used for surveillance, analysis, interception, d irection finding and position fixing, listing, prio ritisi ng and jamming of alJ communication and radar signals.

"In v iew of our capability to manufacture electronic warfare systems, we bave decided to associate with DRDO in developing advanced and ne.'s:t gen eration electronic warfa re products from inception to avoid delays in production", Sharma said at the th.ird Jntemational Conference on Electro nic Warfare (E\XTCI 201 4)

As a force multiplier system, an electronic sys tem needs bigh level of secrecy to maintain an e lement of surprise against an adversary. le ensures racticaJ and strategic advantage for armed forces during an operation.

"\Xie sold electronic warfare systems to the armed forces to the value o f Rs.2,000 crore over th e years The market poten tial is about Rs. I0,000 crore i n view of d1e growing requirement for such warfare by tl1e armed forces in the coming years", Sharma added Earlier, delivering a keynote address, A ir Marshal M. Mad1eswaran of d1e Inregraced Defence $t,'lff told about 600 delegates from acros s tl1e country and overseas ma t information operation and information warfare were inseparable.

''Armed forces tend co put electtonic warfare o n backbur ner and information operation in d1e forefront. Gathering information, building u pon mat information against adversary by deception or jamming g ives tactical advantage", he said.

Stressing on tl1e need to educate and tJ"aia mo re engineers on operating electronic warfare systems, he said the academia and .i ndustry should take advantage of d1e policy change to invo lve the priva te sector in d eveloping die technology and products to gather information and use it for national security.

IANS

Brea ;...211

BY ,t - ~ PRAKASH ' SUBBARAO

Itwas 5.45am and a bi t cold when 1 arrived at Haleb idu with my daughter Apoorva. The sun was just breaking through the horizon, and I was excited to explo.re and phocograph the famous sculptures of Halebidu and Belur.

Halehid is 16 kms from Hasan and approximately 200 kms from Bangalore by road.

As tbe sun sta.rted to cast its golden rays on the temple, the effect was surreal. The 12'h century sculptures sta.rted to come to life with a warm glow, as I srnrted to click away. I began at the ease- facing fa<;ade, shooting with the camera in my hand as l was informed that tripods/rnonopods should not be used as they may damage the floor. 1 also had no flash, so 1 bumped up the ISO, trusting d1e sensor of m y camera.

When I visited the same location to phocograph it for the first rime about 20 years ago, it was with my mento r who knew the history of d,e temples as well as the best shooting angles and composirion. I still remembered the beauty of the sculptures and imagined the bard work that must have gone into producing such life from stone with ancient imp lements.

Halebidu temple was consu·ucted during die Hopala rimes, and was dedicated to Harshava rdhan and h is wife Sbantala by the famous architect Jakanachru:ya. The temple and sculprures are can7 ed in soapsco ne and date back to 112 1.

AU the panels dep ict Hindu gods in various forms. There are various sculprures of shi!abct!ikas or dancing figures, which have been re- produced on canvas many times. The postures of the .rhilabalikas on swne are great sub jects to be captmed on canvas or camera. The temple was never compl eted because of an attack from di e north by Malik Kafur, a Mughal king. His army destroyed the beautiful sculpmres by disfiguring the idol s.

While I focus on the panels to captllCe t he iorricate details on the stone, my mind is shocked to see the drunage caused b y religious into lerance! The andi bull carved out of monolithic stone was never comp leted due to repeated plunder. The beauty of Shiva> Arjuna, the dep iccion of the Mahabharata battlefield,

(2) 2014

different avatars of V ishnu and Ganesha a.re beautiful beyond words!

As the sun rose, differem panels lit up, displaying the weather- beaten stone sculptures as ir bas been do ing for cenru r ies. Here and tl1ere a shafc of light penetrated the shadows and brought life to a panel. I enjoyed solitude in the company of those sile n t scul ptures and figllCes; this is hiscory yo u can touch and feel.

B y 8 30am the sunlight was too ha.rsh for photography, and it was time to pac k up and head for a cuppa at a nea.rby cafe.

I left wid, a feeling o f not having captured the full b eauty of Hale.bid which was imprinted inmy mind.

\Xle then drove towards Belur, which carries the same signature of sculpting, to get more photographs.

The 12th century Halebidu temple is a photographer's delight with its intricate and beautiful sculptures

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OPINION

By any standard, a barbaric act

The decision to allow an animal to be killed despite strong protests, has resulted in global anger and disgust

and knew nothing about the matter.

Lr has just been annotmced on febrnary 13 that an individual who .lured a baby great white shark into his boat and then beat it ro death with a metal pole bas been fined over $18,000 in New South Wales.

Justifiable outrage. has followed the. public killing of a healthy and peaceful baby giraffe. by zoo staff in Denmark. Done. in front of large. groups of supporters of the. baby g iraffe named Marius, the

audience included numerous children. A m ember of the. zoo staff shot the. ani.Lnal w ith a r ifle and its tender flesh was thrown to lions and other carnivores. The act smacks of be.ing done in a hurry as worldwide protests as well as offers to take away the animal, were beginning

The barbaric and senseless deed of killing i\ifarius must nor go nn investigated. It seems to be based on the so- called ' science of eugenics' expounded by Francis Galton, incidentally a cousin of Charles Darwin. The idea of eugenics became tbe justification of racism ju st prior to World War ll. Groups of Jewish people and

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''Before the public 'euthanasia' of the

gypsies considered intellectually inferior or as carry ing ph ysically und esirable. traits were made to gain momennun. Social media has been saturated with condemnation, both before and after this senseless deed.

to suffer under the l azis and laws were enacted in sever al countries, including S()me states in the USA, to prohibit o r restrict marriage with such groups known as ' miscegenation', a concept which found its way to the aparcheid era of South Africa. This barbaric act soured

unfortunate anima l, a petition by 27,000 people to save the harmless animal was ignored

many pet lovers. The action was justified by Lesley Dickie, the Executive Director of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, on the grounds of limited space. The Copenhagen Zoo says it was prev enti n g in- breeding. Was it? We have hopefully not heard the end of the story.

There are rumours that zoo staf~ including Bengt Holst, Director of Research and Conservation, have received warnings and even death threats. What e lse could one expect? Before the public 'euthanasia' of the unfortunate animal, a petition by 27,000 peop le to save che harmless animal was ignored. After the outrageous act, another pe.ti rion signed by 16,000 people have called for Bengr Ho lst ro be sacked.

''Charles Darwin's ideas are quite the opposite to those of eugenics, however much the e ugenics camp cries to say otherwise. ln Darwin's The Descent of lvl,m, he wrote : "With savages, the weak in body or mind are soo n eliminated; and those th at survive commonly exhibit a vigoro us state of health We civilised men build asylums for the imbecile., the maimed, and the sick our medical men exert their utmost skill ro save the li.fe of every one The a id which we. fee.I impelled to give to the helpless i s mainly [a] result of sympathy".

There had been offers co house the animal such as by Yorkshire \'(i iJdlife Park which has state-of- the.

scrutiny of the followers of eugenics

Some of the introduced fauna in

Darwin knew the value of human sympathy. He had personaJly suffered when looking after his own children's maladies The. Narional Disability Sc heme, enacted in 2013 in Australia m ight have gained approval under true Darwinian princip les, but it ,vould not pass the arc facilities for giraffes, but they received no response which raises the susp icion that the. Cope.a.hagen Zoo was determined to publicly kill the animal. If that is the case, were d1ey crying to prove that they

alone have the right to determine which animal li ves or dies?

Fairfax Media reveals that some sixty- five animals were put down in Sydney's Taronga Zoo last year. TF1ere was no p ublic fanfare or provocative announcements.

Australia have gone 'feral ; which is an emotionally loaded word used to malig n animals who have moved into the bush and become

naturalised

In Australia we a re taught by our educarion system to be kind to animals. Those who ill- treat animals have been taken to courts and petpetracors of in fl.icting cruelty have even been jailed. In one well- reported case, a former Premier of NSW eville \\7ran, was taken to court because stray donkeys had wande red into a property owned by him. Those donkeys were in an emaciated condition, and Wran pointed o ut that he did not visit the property

''Some of the introduced fauna in Australia have gone 'feral', which i s an emotionall y loaded word used to m;ilign animals who have moved into the bush and become naturali sed. Animals Ausu·ali;i writes: "The word 'feral' is incorrectly used [it] accu rately refers to native as weU as non - native animals However, i t also has overtones of 'savage' and 'brutal'. 'Pest', 'noxiou s' and 'vermin' are similarl y emotionally loaded words which have no place in a sound and scientific d iscuss ion of these issues".

The emotional use of words with regard to introduced species is found in the paper The Gret1t Feral Ct1! Con Joh: The Ungentle Ait Of Srt1pegoating t111d Scarev1011ge1ivg by Frankie Seymour. The paper debunks myths li ke "Rabbits may have caused extinctions in arid Australia". Public acts of barbarism s uch as that meted out to d1e innocent Marius, muse no t be allowed to be repeated.

China dream comes true

An Indian -Australian teacher spends a year volunteering at a Chinese university

Acursory look at an indiscreet ad in the daily ne\vspaper one lazy afternoon, took an Adelaide woman away from her horne to China where she did voluntary wor k for a y ear.

'Ar an age when many are probably thinking about recirement, I was looking for a dream job char would give me personal and profess ional satisfaction," Rajni Madan, an Adelaide-based teacher, sa ys. "\Xlich m y China sojourn organised by rhe AustraliJm Volunreers International (AVI), I was able to do just that".

Placed as an ESL reacher for Life -Science students a t No rth\'v'est University for r ationa.lities in Lanzhou, c apital of Gansu province adjoining Tibet, Ra jni claims she has had an an1azi11g year.

"I've always had an inherem pull rowards China and wamed ro visit," Rajni reveals "So to go there, and for a year, doing what I love best, was a dream come true".

A keen craveller and one who is always looking for n ew challenges, sh e was on the loo kout fo r pro jects char would suit her quali..6cations and skills , when she chanced upon two returned AVI volrn1reers from Fiji and lndones ia speaking about thei r experiences Her m ind was made up.

Not long after, she found hersel f in a classroom in China, smrounded by students eager to learn.

"Ir was a ple,'lsure reaching in Lanzhou," Rajni tells Tndian Lit1k. "The students are hardworking and p o lite and ve r y respectful of their teachers. All the other volunteers thought so roo: many felt that they had never experienced such respect in their careers! The students had only one objective - ro learn Since there were no behaviour prob.lems to deal with, all my focus was o n my goal, that is, to reach. I felt I had made an impact on a number of sn1dents who ini tially thought English was too difficul t a language to learn, but became enthusiastic learners during t he course. At times my cl ass had 168 students, the la rgest I have ever handled Some studen ts are still i u couch".

Rajn i Madan is a multi- faceted

With s tude nts in t raditional dress

personality in the rrne sense of t he word Arriving in Auscralia in 1993, armed w id1 a Bachelor of Education and Masters in Life Sciences degrees, she went on to obta.i.n a PhD in Biology. Finding opportunities limited in that fie ld, she used her B.Ed to rake up relief teaching at schoo ls and, at die same time, r un a small business besides managing a family of three sc hool children an d a husband wh ose job often took him tO the bush.

Today she is all for organsations like the AVl. that help people realise their dream o f working ro make a difference in the lives of people. But it ,vas n o wall, in rhe park, she soon found om. Interview after imen7iew assessed

not onl y her skills but also her capacity ro survive in a foreign land and leve l of family s upport, besides medical and psychological evaluations. Ir took more than six months to get that final nod.

''\X'hen I landed in China, l was received by an AVI support officer and a university staff member. I felt l was wid1 friends".

F-1.er accommodation, however, was a bit daunting, bur she claims all the concerns disappeared when she ope n ed her fourth floor windows out to a beautiful hillside view.

"The unive rsi ty paid me local wages, and though this was not comparable to my Au ssie wages, it was enough ro live comfortably. Vo lumeer colleagues stayed in d1e

same building as me and b efo re I knew ir, I was o n my way ro becoming a 'Foreign Expert', a tennin ol ogy used to describe us all".

Outside the classroom, the students became friends and local guides.

"They inform ed us regularl y on issues such as when die power or water supp ly would be cue, sin ce such instructio n s were always in Chinese The encire cit y had an efficient heating sysrem ,vith oil heaters for the biting cold weather. Some students accompanied us ro di e marke t helping us tran s lating to d1e stall ho lders and even bargaining. ln:vitatioos to dinner at their homes were numerous, in line with Oriental hospi tality"

China i tself was a revelation.

"Al though the population is larger d1an that of India , 1 never saw crowded streets o r rail stations because of its large land mas s. Generally the streets are clean and safe ro walk at any time of the day. I t:tied to learn Chinese too, in week ly lessons. I cried m y Chinese on so m e students with Jim ired success. W riting d1e Chinese script however, proved to be a kind of medi tation. And when m y famil y v isited , we saw the sights, such as the Great Wall"

How did she cope with food?

"Food was a major fear, yes. Be ing a vegetarian how would I cope in a land where they say, anything that creeps or crawls is eaten. Bur that fear was soo n overcome: the markets were foll of fresh produce, vegetables, fruits and varieties of bread. It was a delight for a home cook like me. T-lowe\7 er there were problems when 1 wen t out w ith colleagues or to students' home s The y had no concept of how anyone could live without eating meat. bas Buddhism failed in this regard, one is rempred to think".

And finall)7, an y regrets?

"Probab ly that I ended up teaching ESL rather than life sciences!" Raj n i laughs. "But overall, it was an amazing experience l will avidly support anyo ne d1inking of taking this p lunge!".

"Ninety

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We'll miss the Maruti 800

Discontinuing manufacture of the car of the people will leave behind many memories, and a tinge of sadness

'Papfl, 111ere koMamti khoreed do no'. 'fro beti, kol chfllenge'

This conversation won't be bappening anymore, as Maruti Suzuki has taken the decisio n to stop producing the original, muchloved Maruti 800 It was cheap, affo rdabl e, the yo ung loved i t and the old felt in control driving it. lf it broke down, it was light enougb to push along, and almost any worksbop in rhe country could repair iL It was miserly with petrol and was known to carr y a whole baraot, well almost!

'So J1Jhat is cot11111011 het1J1em a 1Waruti {l!I(/ fl hae111on1Joirlproblem?'

'Everyone gets it soo11er or late,'.

Tbe reality is that almost everyone did have a 1-farnci, and a long the residential streets of Delhi it seemed as i f rbeir numbers grew overnight, like mushrooms in the dark. The Maruti seemed to be a part of the family and eaougb jokes were told

about it to fill vol L1mes.

But it was nor always such lightbearted fun. Go ing back in histor y we mi ght recall the dour days of the stagnantlndian economy, infl uenced by the Soviet style 5-year plans when the only cars on the streets were the Fiat 1100 and the Hindustan Ambassador from Italy and Englan d, respectively These models, already th rown onto the scrap heaps in their countries of orig in, were introduced in to India in the l 950s and 60s and for decades, were the only vehicles co be seen chugging around tbe streets Surely, this discouraging state of affairs could not continue forever.

The public was disenchanted.

The cars available were expensive, one had to join a waiting list when placing an order, and then accept whatever colour of car chat was offered. New cars were already out-dated, did noc have pleasing designs, had little cllaracter and were basic in tl1e extreme. The public was being taken for a ride! Then along came the swashbuckling San ja y Gandhi, son of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi This young ma.n

had taken to tinkering with motor vehicles in his younger days and co consolidate bis learning, he served an apprenticeship w ith Rolls Royce in E ngland. He came back to lndja with a vision of produci ng an indigenou sly made car from scratch that woL11d be affordable for the masses. The favourite son was soon given a licence to produce an automobile. The name 'Maruti' was chosen and Gandhi set about making the automobile he had visualised. Regrettabl y, his efforts came to naught as he underestimated the complexity involved in producing a road- wo r thy m achine.

In Mrs Gandhi's second term as PM she resurrected her son's id ea which clearly had a lot going for it, and set about rnaking i t a reality, in earnest. The rest is history!

1n 2012, the 10 millionth Maruti was sold. Of the series, abouc2.8 million Mat u ri 800s were sold i n all, and this car has been exported co man y cOLmtries. Even th e Kathmandu ta.xi Aeet is almost entirel y made up of these cars.

The introduction of the Maru ri 800 was more than jus t another car from which to choose. It

,

was a breath of fresh air. The countr y was being released from tbe shackles of cbe Fiat and Ambassador. There was now a choice, a more modern, u p -todace design and e ngine. \'\Then a country is used to carrying a family of four o n a scoote r, the tiny 5 -door hatchback felt more like a limousine. Ar a price of around two -thirds of that of a Fiat, the demand for ch is car simply skyrocketed!

After using it for a few yea rs, m y aunr wanted ro sell her Maruti 800. "You can't do that, we'll have it", said ber children. So the 800 wen t down the line from parents ro children and o nto fr iends Like a per, one ju st doesn't hmTe the heart to gee rid of i t.

But the time has come! Maruti Suzuki announced that they are discontinuing production of their original Maruti 800. Maybe chis sho uld be a time of sadness in India. Now with a choice of almost I 00 cars, the 800 bas bad its rime and goes om q uietly.

Bue surely it will be the one remembered, when many ocher models have faded from memory.

From $49 Online Tax return

An open letter to cricket great Mahendra Singh Dhoni begs him and the team to try just a little harder

,r

BY SANAM SHARMA &,c

SDhoni,Ihad

Mco write this letter to you, mate. For my own sanity. And perhaps also for the sanity of a few million others. We are those who cheer for you and the team of men you lead. Cheer you relentlessly, at home and ove rseas alike.

We are the most optimistic race on the planet. Un.fl.inching optimism, mostly, in the face of extreme sporting adve rsity usually inflicted b y your men upon themselves And in turn on us.

D o not get me wrong \'(/e stand by yo u Always have, always will Your success, although sporadic an d often inconsistent, makes us proud We wake up at odd hours to watch you guys p lay Tin1e zones do not maner much to us. They just ensure we set the correct alarms on our clocks. If we can get a chance to get

down to tl1e ground, we do so in all out splendour, co.lour, and Hamboyance.

A bad day at tl1e office is expected and widely acceptable. However, don't you th ink a bad tour, after a bad tour, after a bad tour (especially on foreign shores) is a tad bit frustrating?

And annoying And as it would seem watch ing from far away, the inability to l earn from previous m ismkes, may enhance the grievance that us lnruan cricket fans h arbor.

You are n ot individually respo nsible fo r the misery the Indian fans und ergo whi le watching your team dish out su bstandard performances (again, more frequently on overseas tours). However, you are the skipper and hence, the obvious "go to" man. Even for the fans ow, witl1 m y personal rant out of the way, he re's wh at I wouJd like yo u to address, please.

First and foremost, scout so me feisty balling talent. I beg yo u.

And .L mean, the Johnson, Steyn, Morke~ Harris, Siddle, Akram and Younis equivalents. Io skill, f:itoess, and temperao1eot. Fast, brutally fast, bullish, and in your

face. Pro nto. Tt's 11ot yo ur role to select players, you may protest. If yo u know some in domestic Indian circles, or the IPL, pus h the BCCI to cut the red rape for such selections. Speed them tl1rough the ranks.

Go on a dhama (protest) for this cause, if you have co. The current Delhi CM may lend support coo (not for tl1e cause i tself, but in o rganising a suitable ve nue, a mob, and utilities needed fo r the protest).

I will, and l know that sco res oiliers roo, will come our witl1 you for chis cause. And for on ce, ir will not be an trnconstinitional protest Let's make fast bowling in the Indian cricket team ranks a 140 kms p lus proposition Consistently. An d of course, with precision and accuracy

Secondly, grab all those batsm en in yo ur top o rde r who look and bebave like ''Bollywood" fol k most of tl,e time. Steroiy instruct them tl1at they will score more by Hi.rting with Bo.ll ywood ladies (in their spare time), and nor w ith balls outsid e the off stump (yoursel f in cluded). I have n ever held a bat in a competitive cricket g ame of any creclibility, and eve n T get tlnt d elive_ries o u tside off in rest

matches have to be left a lone, most of th e times. This obsession has for a long time brought t be downfall o f Indian batters So isn't it hig h time tl1e top order learnt their lesson? And applied it to their batting perfor m ances? Didn't it work recently fo a test match in South Africa when they dug in and held gro1md? Gave us a chance co win a rare overseas test match. Well, al m ost. U n til our "fast" bowlers let it drift away, yet again

You and your team have sufficient technical advice at your di spos al. Perhaps more than you lot may require or seek at times, you may argue. Coaches, consulrams, media con1menrators, and menrors of all so r ts pour out unending technical w isdom and o pinion towards e.n.banci ng (or sometimes critiquing) your performances

However, at the ve r y core of it is a human eleme nt of grit, determination, and purring up a light. The basic iliread of any spo r ting encounter. And this is where me perspective of a fan must matter and must be conveyed to you

We seek a iig bt. An earnest

effort. Not an occasional o n e, but, ever y si ngle time. We yearn for sustai ned aggression from tl1e playing eleven. Io all departments of the gan1e

We want to stand up and scream our our lw1gs from tl1e stands when suc h aggression brings victories A nd men if a victory i s denied, we will still smod and applaud because your men v.rent down trying To meir very last b reath

Lastly, I am aware that tl1is letter may never reac h you. lt is insignifican t in me larger scheme of tl:ungs that matter for the Indian cricket team, or indeed, i ts captain. Yet, in life, if you feel strongly about something and you have a mess age, t hen l firmly believe it's wonh mking a leap of faith, putting a message like tl1is in a bottle a nd throwing i t our into tl1e ocean \Vho kn ows one day it may catcl1 a favoura b le wave on the social media and reac h you.

If it does, d o give it a thought. A good long thoug h t. Un ril then, we will all get back to w hat we do best. Support the Indian cricket team.

Cricket fans attending the ICC Cricket World Cup will be granted entry into Oz and NZ with just one visa

Cricket fans will only need one vi sa for entry into Australia and New Zealand when attending the ICC Cricket World Cup in 20 LS. This is welcome news for crici{et fans, as well as the Australian and New Zealand tourism industries

" This announcement means cricket fans wil l o n ly have ro secure a single visa ro be able to see games on bmh sides of the Tasman ," Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) Chief Execurive Ken Morrison said.

"It will make the process simp ler and cheap er, encouraging more visi tors to travel to both Australia and I ew Zealand, benefitting the tourism sectors in both c ountries. We cong ratulate Au sttalian Prime :tvI.iniste r Tony Abbott and New Zealand Prime :Minister John Key on this commonsense decision. The timing is perfect, too, with tickets to go on sale from ne."\t \Veek".

TIF and Tourism Industry Assoc iatio n New Zealand (TIA) are pleased that their campaign for the single visa was successful, as fan s will save time and money.

"Visi tors fro m countries like Lidia and Pakistan will o nl y have to apply and pay for one v isa instead of rwo," s aid TIA Po licy and Research Manager, Simon Wallace

Wal.lace also com m end s the "Aus tralia and New Zeala nd governments o n their fores ight in appreci ating the mutual ben efits this decision will bring. We alread )T have a close relationship with New Zeal and and reducing the barriers to travel between our two countries would serve to further d eepen tho se bond s" This is also important for next year, which is the centenary o f tbe ANZAC la ndings at Gallipoli "We believe an agreement to further streamline trans-Tasman travel would be an ideal way to commemorate that important anniversary," furthers Wal.lace

For Information on the above Hstlngs and numerous other businesses please emall

Chakrapani on ck@sbx.com.au www.sbx com.au /m.sbx.com.au

sco~

The mystery and oppressiveness of the Soviet rule has disintegrated to reveal a friendly and modern city

As I was about to enter the historic Red Square in Moscow with hundreds of others, I saw Stalin - not exactly, but an impersonaror who appears to me almost like the Soviet dictator as seen in photographs. Dressed i n a milir.a r y uniform embellished with red straps, the man with a perfect moustache, back-brushed hair and carrying a smoking pipe, waved at the crowd While 1 captured h im on camera, a few young Russians standing aroLtnd giggl ed but an eldedy lady came forward and asked me in poor English, why am I taking p ictures of a killer?

This small incident imrnediarely m ade me a\vare of rwo messages - that today's generation doesn't care about the past, but the older ones can't fo rget Stalin's atrocious rule from 1924 till his death in 1953, when over a million people were executed and 1S million more were sent co rem ote camps where death came from hard labour and starvation. However what struck me as most amazing is the people's freedom of speech, which was very restricted in the past. Locals were happy a n d keen to tal k a bout anything from the revolution and policies, to literature and food, though language is still a b ig barrie r However, in almost every conversation, a fondness for India came through as they referred to names such Nehru, Raj Kapoor and Mithun Chakravartil

The Red Land has profoundly changed since the dissolution of the former Soviet Union in 1991, a n d its effects can be exp licitly seen in the capital Moscow, which appears no different in character and lifestyle to an y other Westerninfluenced metropolis W i th the traditional red flag rep laced by a blue, red and white one, the emerging wealthy elite called 'New Russians' have vastly improved the standard of Moscow living, m aking it one of the most expens ive cities in the world. Our omniscient tour manager Anna from Insight Vacations informs us that after Perestrnika, car ownership quadrupled in the city and today the streets are clogged

with vehi cles, many of which are the top brands of the industry l ike Mercedes, B:MW and Lexus The city is now peppered with flashy restaurants, cafes, discos and nightclubs whe re vodka flows like water, and glittering shops that sell nothing but high fashion from famous design ers.

The cit)' was heavil y dented by severe bombing during World War II; however in 1997, much of Moscow was renovated back to its o.ciginal past grandeur, as a part of its 950'1 anniversary program. This included reb uilding several churches which were des troyed d uring the Soviet e:ra. Religion, which was practiced underground during the Soviet era, has regained its prominence with churches again being used for weddings, baptisms and other religious ceremonies

From her 12' 1, century origins as a murky defensive outpost, Moscow at it zeni th governed almost one sbah of the planet's surface and present;; a sto ry of rising and falling, laced with g lory and setbacks. Having endured imperialism, wars, revo lution s, communism and drastic social changes, tl1e metropolis today is a Lm iq ue blend of the past and present that captivates and charms. Visito r s are often surp.cised by the wealth and varie ty of its architectural marvels - fo rts, palaces, cathedrals, monuments - spread throughout the city, and th e magnitude of art housed in its several museums.

I read i n a guidebook that there are over 100 p laces of interest in Moscow But while exploring the city, there are countless and it is impossible to savour, even the main ones, in a single vis it. Sol ve ntured to view the icons which are regarded as almost mandator y - Red Sq uare and the Kremlin.

Derived from the Russian word Kramry meaning 'red and beautiful', the 500111 long paved square started as a m arketplace and becan1e a familiar location since tl1e Soviet era, when it was used as the \7 enue for government addresses and military parades.

Adding Aavour to its name, red - coloured buildings like the Hisrorical M u seum and tbe Resurrection Gates Aank tbe square. However, the highlights of this domain are tl1e 16'1, century built Sr Basi l Catl1edral wi th its twisted onion domes, Lenin's Mausoleum where the former leader's body is preserved

and the GUM departmental store that is cel ebrated as one of the world 's lar gest shopping are nas Also unique i s the Kremlin which has re m ai ned a sy mbol o f power of t he State si nc e it was b uilt in the 12 " cenmry as a woode n fo ru:ess (kre711/ in Russian, m eaning 'fortress'), at th e conAuence o f two rivers Moskva a nd Negliru1ya. The Kremlin is also th e confluence of several periods of R uss ian history. I t began its humb le jo urne y when b uilt to kee p the Mon gul in vaders away; next , ir bec ame the citadel of the T sars; even later, i t was the head q uarters of powerful Soviet Unio n; and it now exists as di e administrative seat of die Ru ss ian Federation and the resi de nce of President Vlad imi r Pu tin. Relics from me p ast are visib le at every corner. Th e expans ive complex, with jus t h alf ope n to public NATIONAL EDITION

viewing, houses several p alaces and cathedrals, an ensemble mat depicts sta tel y g randness

I visi ted the famous Cathedral of An nunciation and C athedral o f Ass ump tio n , two of d1e m ost important churches in Russia, wand ered inside the Great K remlin P a lace, browsed through the royal artifacts in the State Armoury Museum, an d watched an evening balJ et performance at the State Kremlin Palace, a nice alterna tive venue to the prestigious Bolshevik Th eatre w h ere tickets are extraorclinatily expensive and h ave to be booked monrh s in advance

Following a pa th along the red brick walls that surround d1e Kremlin, I witn essed the Chan ge o f Guards ceremony at no on, a nd walked past graves of many Sovi ets including the ruthless Stalin and astronam Yu ti Gagarin,

the first man to orbit space.

T a..'i:..is are exp e n sive in Moscow, but tra nsportation b y the metro railway is c heap and very rewarding for arr love rs, a s rhe concourse and platforms of some underground statio n s resemble miniature mu seum s, with mosaic art\vork o n walls and ceilings, s culpmres ornamen ting spaces, and grand chandeliers il.luminati.ng

t he works on disp la y.

As t he fo rmer Soviet U nion w as always circled by a sen se of m ystery, I en ter ed Moscow w ith an eerie feeling whi ch soo n vanis hed as I was e ngulfed in a friendly environment, offering me ch e sp ace and ti m e co e nj oy mis historic c ity in safety and co m fo rt. l'v[y trip co the Red Land ended on a h appy n o te

TRAVEL NOTEBOOK MOSCOW

GETTING THERE

Singapore Airlines (wwwsingaporeair.com) fiies daily from Austra lia to Moscow, with an aircraft change i n Singapore.

TOUR OPERATOR

Insight Vacations' (www.insightvaccations.com/au) escorted tours to Russia incl ud ing Moscow, offer convenience value for money and extensiYe gu ided sight'i'!'ing. Th isincludes acmmmodat ion at lux ury hotels like riverfron t Crown Plaza (www.crowneplaza.com) at the World Trade Centre

VISA Austra lian passport ho lders wi II requirea visa to enter Russia. Checkwww.australia.mid.ru/ b r details.

It's

W:~:i~::1d eve r ything w ith scant regard for the damage the food we eat cm~lcl do to our ski n from wi th in So while you slap o n mo ismriser and have yom reg ula r facials, it is impo r tanr to eat right so thar you look younger fo r lon ger.

I remember see ing a photograph on Fac ebook of Nigella L awso n and another lady who had e limina red all dairy products fro m her diet. Whil e Nigella looked, well, her usual gorgeous self, the other lady loo ked like s h e was in her 60s, despite the copy below sta ring thar they we re of t he same age! So unless you are a die h ard vegan or, like this lad y, have re m oved all dairy products from yom diet, it is best to ear the right kinds of far and eliminate foods tliat are high in sugar.

Healthy fats

There is much to be said in favour o f eating heal thy fat as it is viral to our skin's yo utl1 fu.l app 1,arance. '11 moderation, bu tter and g hee a re also good fo r you, as m o n ounsaturnted fats are whar p r eve nt your skin from premarure wr ink.lin g Olive oil, nu ts and avocados are good sources of

monmmsaturated fats. ln fact, you can mash a ripe avo cado and apply it to yonr fac e for 15 m inu tes, it is a namral moisturiser and its oils acts as emollients for rhe skin So n ext ti.m e yo u are tempted to h ave a pastry, maybe you should g ive in to yonr temptation.

Eat sal mon and other fis h t ha t are rich in omega 3 which also help retain youn ger looking skin. For vegetaria ns, Aax seed is a good source o f omega 3

Sugar facts

\\Th ile sugar in excess is b ad fo r all of us, ir also hastens the

More veggies please

Yes, yo u wo uld have heard chis b efore, b Llt it's tm e - die more vegetables you ea r, di e better i t is for your ski n. While the starchy mbers must be had i n moderation, every o d1ei: vegetable is good for you Ca r ro t s, beans, mrnip s, spi na ch, fe nugreek, pnmpk.in, cabbage, gourds, among oche rs, aU help iu nourishing yonr skin wit h di e vitamins and minerals they coma.i n Of course, try not earing too many of t hem in a fried state, as the excess oil wi.l.l cause breakours on yonr face.

Protein protection

Proteins are vita l for retaining the skin's h ea.lthy cone They are important for every function o f our body as bui lding blocks. Beans, ch icken, cereals and dais are heal di y sources of protein.

Make it spicy

''In moderation, butter and ghee are also good for you, as monounsaturated fats are what prevent your skin from premature wrinkling

ageing process, the main reason b ei n g co llage n fibres can lose their elasticity if your body has too much sugar. This is a pro cess known a s glycation, w hich o ccurs due to pro lo nged exposure to sugar and glucose Instead o f regular sugar, use hon ey as a sweete ner, bur artificial sweere n ers are a strict no-n o. Eat m o r e fru it that are not coo sugar heavy. Oranges, kiwifrui t and dark be r ries are rich iu a u tioxidants. You can even apply fruit to your fac e - an overrip e banana or papaya make excellent face packs.

Th e re is much co be said abour the benefits of spices in improvin g the quality of our skin. T he curcumin in turmeric is a potent an tioxidan t, while garlic, rosemary and cinnamon, amon g o d1er s, are all good aid s to hea.lchy skin They coma.in substances ,vhich work as detox agen ts and i n some c ases, help in weight reduction too Turmer ic can even be m ixed wi th cream and applied o n th e face for removing a tan and rno ismrising di e skin.

Minimal carbs

Th e whole mul tigrain, whole grain trend has everyo ne believing that grai ns are good for you,

The curcumin in turmeric is a potent antioxidant, while garlic, rosemary and cinnamon, among others, are all good aids to healthy skin

bur eventua ll y, the search and carbohydrate in grains gee converted to sugar a nd make the skin age faster. So while you have to eat bread, rotis, pasta and rice, make sure yo u eat them in m oderation and concentrate more on salads and fresh vegetables

Maintaining the right kind of healthy diet can work wonders for your skin, from within

Renowned chefs from 'God's own country' serve up modern variants of age- old traditions

A~:~:i~n;e~ 0 1:ore and more popul ar, n on-1\,fallu s are learning chat there is more to it than merely id/is and rlosas A n d fish moi/ee a n d :tvfalabai prawn curq.

If you 're a food ie or if yo u've travelled to the state that's called 'God 's own corn1tr y' , you 've probably hea rd of Kerala's appams and p11tt11.r, pathiris and tfpperis, and stews a nd bi1yanis. And you're aware that ove r and above that ever-present coconut (in the form of o.il, or milk, or graced vegetabl e, or garnish, or some or all of t hese together!), t he other essentials in thi s cuisin e are curry leaves, mustard seeds, tamarind and asafoetida. O h, and you can boast to your friends chat tb e clistinct sourness in dis h es from Kerala comes fro m k11rlam!J11li, not kok11111which is really Konkani / Marathi - surely you knew that! No t content w ith having 'edu cated' the re st o f Inclia abput their real cuisine, some of the sta te's m ost renowned chefs are

now sprucing u p their centurieso ld traditions, presenting an a.tra y of d ishes to internatio n al tourists descencling on their s tate in droves. E lan govan Shanmugam of Kovalam and Mi chael Saju of Kocb.i for instance, bave experim e n ted successfuJly with variations of the tradition al , co make their c uisin e so much m ore intern atio nal.

Elangovan's particulai passion is to appl y e lements of European cuisine, in which he trained, co everyday fare. While does it in bis cooking technique, Mic ha e l Sa.ju does it wi th great Aa.ir in his styl e of presenration.

Elangovan has been a T aj c hef for over ten years, having served in the iconic hotel chain's man y properties not only in India, but also in Ma laysia Currently he i s at Vivanta by Taj at the l mru rious Kovalam Resort. The resort's swanky restaura n t ' Bait', known a s the state's best s eafood restaurant, serves up some of Elangovan's man y novelties, such as fi sh firebaked on s labs of wood.

"Yes, slabs of wood ," E langovan tells Indian Link. "Mango wood, to be p rec ise! A gentle mango Aavour infu ses into the fish as ic cooks You serve it smoking hot, on the slab. The a.im .is co introduce a fa.int mango

2 gms g inge r and garlic paste

I gm turmeric powder

I Ogms tamarind puJp or juice of o ne lime

S rnl coconut oil

I slab mango wood

:Mix together red chilli powder, ginger and garlic paste, turmeric powder and tamarind pulp or lime juice. Add iu grated on.ion and coconm oil ro make marinade for the fish

Keep fish maiioated iu th.is for about l S minutes

G r iU the fish briefly on a bot skillet, bod1 sides

Elangovan Shanmugam's Wood Fire-Baked Fish

300 gms red snap p er filler

IO gms red chilli powder

Salt to tasre

I small onion, grated

1 sprig curty leaf

Place the fish on the mango wood slab then bake in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes

Serve smoking hot, garnished with a sprig of curry leaves

For accompaniments, cry roast baby potatoes and char-grilled vegetables.

aroma as you present it before d1e guest Not too overpowering, bur just a whiff of it".

l t makes for p icturesque presentation, d1e smo ky wood and hint of mango bringing in an exotic and earthy appeal.

(fn much the s,1me sryle , another Kera.la chef Nibu James of the eco -resort Greenwoods in The ka ddy, prepares a var iation of the famed Parsi d.ish Patrani 111achchi, iu which fi s h is barbecued in banan a leaves. Living a nd working in the d istrict which is called Kera.la's 'spice basket', c ibu replaces the banana lea f with the long leaves of the carda m om bush. The aro m a is unmistakable).

Elangovan also likes to cookand serve - meat o n s tone s labs. "A thick stone slab is heated to 600 degrees some three h ours in advance," be explains " Tbe marinated meat i s first sealed on a pan and then p laced on the slab ins ide the oven. It is served on the sto n e slab, bu t of course the g u ests are warned tha t the slab is pi p ing b ot!"

The slab meals are served wi th p otatoes a.ad vegetables in continental style.

Ela ngovan's othe r i nnovati ons a t Taj Kovalam include some magnificent breakfasts Passionate about changing food habits in India g iven the increase in

diabetes, he bas deve loped an en tire range of low Gl b reakfast foods Along with your traditional Indian an d weste rn fare, you can tr y bi s low GI lndian: who lewheat 11pma, cornmeal 11pma, mgi dostJ, red rice rlosa, green l!l0011g dosa, barley pongaL l ow; how health y i s that!

Meanwhil e at Kochi , Mic hael

Saju of Holiday Inn fame i s creating b.is ow n modernisms. Stationed in lndore in India 's n orth early in bis career, n ot only did th is Malayalee learn to speak Hindi, he also began to p lay with north -south fus ion in cuisine.

Southern- flavoured ch icken , coo ked in the f.tmdoor, why not?I

"I loved it!" i\liich ae l tells 1nditm Ll11k "I worked and rewor ked it to perfection, and then began to expe riment with internation al fusion Chicken wi th olives, cooked in the tandooil Potato s11hzi wi th peanut butter. Hot and cold combi n ations. The possibilities were e ndless!"

Soon be was trying fusio n in desserts: paa11-Aavoured desserts such as paa;1 paonacotta, andg11/ab ja/mousse.

Some of his creations are now regul ars at his Holiday lnn brunc h buffet, so popular with Kochi locals that it is alm ost becoming an i.nstimtio n.

T bese culinary masterpieces

are all immaculately presented. "Presentation i s vital to m y d ishes", l\.fich ael reveals. " I want you to fall in love wid1 the food before you eat it!"

Pl a ting up bas n ever b ig .in In clian cuisine, largely because d iners sen'"e themselves, and also because pre- plated food is seen as an 'i n sult' But it is catching on, as our lifestyles change gradually to reAect a growi n g internationalisation. Adopting techniques of presentation g leaned from h.is training , ntiichael firml y believes tl1ac food ought to b e a feast for t!1e eyes just as much for the mouth and n ose His sign ature d.is h (fried fish wid1 potatoes and green mango sauce), the rec ipe of wb.ich is presented h ere, is distinctly Kerala.n in Aavour, but i s presented in contemporary style, bu.ilt up on the place architecturally in tl1e 'ver tical ' fashion tl1ac is in vogue these days Michael i s a figure ha.id co miss at Ho liday Inn. As h e bustles aroun d in b.is busy at this new five- star hotel, be won't hes itate to scop and chat if you call out to b.im with a question about the food.

"Can't yo u tell by looking at me tl1at I love food?" he says w i d1 a sm.ile.

Michael Saju's Fried Fish with Masala Potatoes and Green Mango Sauce

Forjish

600 gms fish fillets (red snapper or any firm Aeshed white fish, skin on)

30 gms Kashrni.r.i red chilli powder

2 eggs

5 gms curry leaves, chopped

10 gms rice flour

5 ml vinegar

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Nlix 1:ice Aour, eggs, curry leaves, vinegar, salt and red chilli

powder into a fine paste Marinate fish in this for half an hour Cook on a hot barbecue or skillet till skin is crispy.

.Forpotatoes

20 gms mustard seeds

30 ml coconut oil

30 gms garlic (peeled and s liced)

10 gms ginger (peeled and chopped)

100 gms shallots (peeled and sliced)

10 gms green chilli (slit whole)

20 gms curry leaves

15 gms turmeric powder

15 gms fresh coriander

Salt to taste

20 gms clarifi ed butter

Peel boiled poracoes and mash with hand. Heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves, mustard seeds, s liced onions, mrmeric powder and salt. Scir till onions start to lose col our but are still crunchy, a few minutes only. Add potat0es and mix wel l. Add clarified butter and fresh coriander.

Forgreen 1110ngo sauce

50 gms green mango (peeled and grated)

20 gms mustard seeds

30 ml coconm oil

.30 gms gatlic (peeled and sliced)

10 gms ginger (pee led and chopped)

100 grns s haUots (peeled and sliced)

10 gms green chilli (s lit whole)

20 gms curry leaves

15 gms mrmer ic powder

15 gms fresh coriander

Sall to taste

50 gms coconut milk

Hear coconut oil in a pan and add curry l eaves and mustard seeds. \Xlhen seeds pop, add in sliced onions and scir briefly. Then add ginger, garlic and green chilli, and turmeric powder and salt. Stir ro combine and then introduce green mango and fresb coriander. Cook for some time, rhen add coconut milk. Al.low to thicken.

To serve

A.rtange the potatoes on plate in a neat circular mound. Place fish on cop, one or two fillets depending on size. Drizz le mango sauce over. P lace some vegetable batons oo top as garnish if desired, and some tender greens or coriander. Use some sauce m decorate plate

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MINDLESS, CLUELESS CRIME PORN

GUNDAY

STARRING: Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, lrrfan Khan

DIRECTOR:

~

X'/''r

Ali Abbas Zafar

Seriously, this is the funniest Yashraj film in the distinguished banner's range of existence Tragically the humour is mostly unintended Li ke the gaffes and boo-boos that litter the decked-up garbage masquerading as a pseudo-historical depiction of Bangl adeshi migrants in Kolkata post the 1971 Bangladeshi war of liberation

Two boys, Bikram and Bal a, crawl across the border i nto Kolkata and become some kind of messianic outlaws Shamelessl y, the film g l orifies a life of crime to a level of embarrassing exultati on until we see the two "heroes" (ha ha) constantly on the run from the "the law" (as represented by the insanely sane and sensib le lrrfan)

But Bikram and Bal a, who grow up to be two blobs of brain l ess brawn played by Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor, are no ordinary criminals on the run They run in slow-motion sometimes shi rtless most-times brainless, their biceps and 6-packs glistening in hairless glory They are the Milkha Singhs of the internet generation, meant to eulogize wanton materialism by flaunting their physicality without inhibition or reservat ion

They are the greedy generation from befor e greed was invented

Gunday (Gun Day? Gun De? Gande???)

is the kind of subverted cinema that reduces every incident, historical or fictional, to a dramatic distress After the fairly impressive opening that seems to be shot and edited by a different director, there's no narrative stru cture, only a

series of clumsily punctuated episodes meant to spotlight a kind of heightened yearning for a life freed of moral expectations and obligations.

J 1

The two leads think they are cool when in fact the scri pt highlights thei r stupi dity in the clumsy conflicts of interests when they fight Chests waxed in the 1970s when wax was used only to make idol s.

A major portion of the narrative is devoted to the triangular courtship with Bikram and Bala wooing Kolkata's hottest cabaret dancer (w h o isn't what she seems, but shhhhh!) Nandita (Priyanka Chopra) first meets her two sl eazy suitors in a l oo when they have their dhotis hitched up to their thighs to relieve themse lves

Yes, you heard right That's the acme of below-the -belt humour in this downright absurd and offensive crime drama Priyanka Chopra's character is partly seductress partly Mata Hari and wholly preposterous in trying to be many things i n a script that isn't sure of what it wants to be

Just why an actress of Priyanka's calibre shou ld agree to be part of a film so wobbly and wei rd is beyond comprehension Perhaps she really saw this film as an authentic chronicle of the wages of the Bangladesh war There is no end to how optimistic an actress can get when she puts her heart where her mind shoul d be and mistakes kitsch for art.

As for the two leading men it's a tossup between Ranveer Singh and Arjun Singh as to who ha ms it more to the flashy finale where they both make a desperate run for their l ives: we do the same in our own far less exciting wor ld outside the rid i culous rea lm that this

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artificial film, l it up w ith fake bon homie and bogus bravura, tries to create for ou r entertainment.

Th is is not the first time this fi l m's director has made a royal hash of a potentially promising premise He had messed up big-time in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. The damage done in Gunday is far more ominous and dan gerous

It exto ls the i ll icit presence of acrossthe-borders migrants and attempts to sanction them with a kind of l egitimacy, m u ch in the same way that it glori fies the two scummy protagonists as heroes of our times rather, their t imes

The film unfolds in Kolkata circa 1973 Peri odicity is showi l y generated through a poster of the Big B's Zanjeer here and a snatch of R.D Burma n's Keh doon tumhe ya chup rahoon from Deewaar there Beyond these the film doesn't make any pertinent point of periodicity

Of course there are Priyanka's low- cut b louses ending many inches above her waist in a neat bow

Alas, Priyanka's blouses are the only neatly tied -up component in this anarchic wor l d of guns goons, guffaws and gaffes. l f l was a Bengal i I'd be seriously offended by the lou d caricatura l ambi ence created in the name of Bangla culture

Of course the Howrah bridge l ooms up on location and as studio-props every once in a while But t h e astounding amount of garish colours that Ani l Mehta's cinematography is compelled to shoot just numbs the senses

The dialogues range from the strange

to the very strange.

At one point wh il e ki lling a friend -turned traitor Arjun Kapoor (making more faces in every frame than Sridevi did in her entire career) says, "Never trust a Benga l i who doesn't like football''. Huh???

Gunday is a dumbed-down vers ion ofYash Chopra's classic Deewaar where the boy from the world of poverty grew upto a l ife of g l amorised crime There was a strong matri archal figure i n Deewaar frowning deeply in disapprova l of the anti-hero's anti-heroic antics.

In Gunday, there are no moral obstacles as Bikram and Bal a whoop it up in org i astic rit u als of disorganised crime Th ere is on ly the very talented Saurabh Shukla looking embarrassed uncertai n and defeated trying to te l l the heroes they've l ost the plot. He probably saw what the makers of this film couldn't.

Gunday wastes acting talent as though it was ava il able at discount rates The very talented Victo r Bannerjee and Pankaj Tri pathi show up in wa l k- on parts and are hastily packed off to focus on the two studs on steroids in the 70s sl itheri n g in slippery motions across the rai l way tracks stealing koy/a from the carriages

l r rfan's voiceover tries to keep the plot together But brilliant actors have their l i mitations too

SUBHASH K. JHA

Chitra's Classes

com. a u P.No: (M) 0412750347, (R) 0286280522

"Success

your door step"

WATCI-I OUT FOR PARINEETI CI-IOPRA

HASEE TOH PHAS EE

STARRING: Parineeti Chopra, Siddharth Malhotra, Adah Sharma

DIRECTOR: Vin ii Mathew

he is certifiably wacko, eats toothpaste, hobnobs with foreign powers, steals from her father, talks Mandarin and bluntly asks her sister's fiance to marry her.

"I promise I won't run away Life-time guarantee,"Parineeti Chopra, as the zany fey and mad Meeta tells Siddharth Malhotra in a beautifully written and directed sequence in an empty bus. Ab bus bhi karo! How many more commercial Indian films are going to be set in the Great Big Fat Indian Wedding? And really, Jab We Met, Tanu Weds Manu and Mere Brother Ki Shaadi, there's nothing runaway brides can do to shock us anymore

The good news here is, there is no runaway bride in Hasee Toh Phasee.

But don't break into a Bhangra just yet. Because there is a runaway bridegroom. Set during a Gujarati wedding between two souls who are not meant to be together, the fi lm at heart is not a comedy at all... unless you think a grown-up girl who is locked up for hours in a room peeing in her pants is funny so I wonder why it was promoted as one!

Though the surface mood of the film is skittish and cheeky, this is a sombre study of dysfunctionality as seen during a time of tremendous festivity

So here's the all-too-familiar scenario. Nikhil (Siddharth Malhotra) is about to marry Ms Money Luckily for Nikhi l and for the audience Karishma, as played by the sweetly believable Adah Sharma, is not a rich bitch like the hero's embarrassing fiancee in this week's other release Babloo Happy Hai. She is rich. But not a bitch. Got that?

The characters in this darkly humorous tal e of misfits and other adventurers steadi ly remain within the realm ofthe believable even when the situations

handed to them by the uneven script wobble dangerously out of control.

Nonetheless there is so much here that just warms the innermost spaces in our hearts.

The longish sequence where Nikhil takes Parineeti outside her home so she can get a glimpse of her estranged father, orthat moment when Nikhil picks her up from a dingy guest house these are bravely written scenes.

There are many sluggish moments in the storytelling. You wish the editing was tighter, and the film's setting and festive moo d less cliched. And you wish there wasn't so much stress on catching the characters in a constant condition of quirkiness. It's like watching decent people on pot and on the potty all the time.

But then there is Parineeti Chopra, so wonderfully articul ate even as she grapples with the gibberish grammar of her character's screwed-up persona l ity It's not easy to play a wacko with such steadfast empathy.

Siddharth Malhotra seems more taken with putting his best profile forward on screen. He struggles to subjugate

his innate vanity and look sincere in his space. But it's a losing battle. One doesn't see the actor identify with his character's wayward entrepreneurship and his sudden discovery of a protective warmth towards the zany girl who jumps in to his life.

Mohan Joshi as the father of the bride gives a first-rate performance. To me this is more a father-daughter drama than a loverboy-wackogirl rom-com.

No matter how you look at it, the fi lm and every rich resplendent moment in it, belongs to Parineeti Chopra. She irons out the rough spots in the storytelling, hides the wrinkles in the jaded plot and makes her character seem far more empathetic than it would have been in a lesser actress' hands.

Yup, if the film gets your undivided attention it's because Parineeti won't let us l oo k away.

SUBHASH K JHA

STVLISM CAREER RELAUNCM l=OR ADMVAVAN SUMAN

HEARTLESS

STARRING: Adhyayan Suman, Ariana Ayam, Deepti Naval, Om Puri DIRECTOR: Shekhar Suman ***

You really can't put a good man down. Even when his heart breaks he bounces back stronger than before.

So it is believed. But watching actorturned-director Shekhar Suman's directorial debut I am not too sure. His vulnerable ailing protagonist Aditya (played by his son Adhyayan) goes through a series of life-changing knifein-the-heart experiences that leave him disenchanted and shattered

Heartless is no ordinary coming-of-age story. It tells the powerful, if illogical story of a young heir whose urgent need for a heart transplant puts him in an incredible medical and emotional crisis.

The screenplay by Nina Arora weaves the story of love and betrayal into a tenable if somewhat far- fetched medical condition known as anaesthetic awareness.

The film is subtly sleek in appearance. The first half when the romance between the weak-hearted Addy and the girl at the hotel reception (treacherously sweet newcomer Ariana Ayam) unfolds has a zipped -up classy quality to it. The courtship is cluttered with unwanted songs. And just this once, they are excusable.

How can we have a modern day Devdas without the music flowing in his veins?

The Dubai landscape is glamourised by cinematographer Derrick Fong only to the outer limit of believability. The star son gets to drive sleek sports cars and wear designer suits only because he plays rich.

The film's biggest USP is its restrained narrative. Nowhere does the director allow the inherent melodrama of the plot to overpower the characters.

The actors grapple successfully with characters that seem to belong to a daytime soap opera.

Adhyayan Suman makes a confident comeback in the author-backed role. His eyes are fi lled with a pain that seems more existential than physical. He brings to his borderline -ludicrous character a sense of bridled tragedy and a stifled desperation evident in his breathless speech and anguished body language. He plays a life threatened with annihilation, stopping itself from falling apart in the nick of time.

Adhyayan's scenes with his screen mom Deepti Naval ring true even when they go from the real to the surreal to the other worldly. Shekhar Suman plays a k ind of mentor-friend to Adhyayan with that jaunty gaiety that comes naturally to him.

lndeec.:l if this week's other release Hasee Toh Phasee is at heart a fatherdaughter story, Heartless is a mother-son saga told with a tearful wave of the hand by a director who doesn't weigh down the narrative with excessive characters. The plot restricts its manoeuvres to just a handful of effectively etched designercharacters, in clothes to match.

While Adhyayan's character remains on its feet, the film works effectively and cogently Once he is horizonta l on the operation table, the narrative suffers a rush of woozy incredulity requiring herculean amounts of suspension of

belief from the audience Tragically the so rt of going-with-the-flow that the film demands from us is not justified by the thinned-out proceedings.

But all said and done Heartless works within its ambitious realm of love, betrayal and mortality. It makes an endearing departure from routine romances about broken hearts and mended morale. Director Shekhar Suman doesn't quite manage to hold the audience's attention in that spellbind i ng grip which the plot suggests. But the drama never sags SU BHA SH K. JHA

PRIYANKA'S GOING GREAT GUNS!

Priyanka Chopra star of Gunday earned over Rs.40 crore in its opening weekend, and is expected to do wel l going forward, whispers the industry buzz Director Ali Abbas Zafar's action thriller starring Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra has managed to draw crowds to cinema halls The songs, the genre and the two young actors with Priyanka were all well received The film was made on an approximate budget of Rs SO crore, so it's l ikely to break even, if not rake in a fat profit

So how does Priyanka feel about yet another success in Bollywood? Well, in an i ndustry dominated by the Khans and the Kapoors, the actress is proud to have made her own space without the support of any guardian angel.

"I came into the movie business with no help and no one to guide me. I take pride in the fact that I am self-made and I have become tough over the years'; said Priyanka recently

The desi girl's first brush with showbiz came when she stormed her way to success at the Miss World pageant in 2000. A career in movies was waiting to happen, and she was noticed with the 2003 film Andaaz.

The versatile actress has essayed various roles and even pocketed a best actress National Award for Fashion But Priyanka believes she stil l has a long way to go in the industry.

"There is so much more that I have to do and which I wi ll do As long as people watch me or want to be entertained by me, I will find ways of entertaining them as I am a performer and that is what I intend to be'; said Priyanka.

She is also one of the few new-age Indian actors to diversify and take up a career in singing A trained singer, Priyanka has so far launched two singles titled, In my city and Exotic and hopes to stri ke a balance between both careers.

"I think as women, we can multi-task really well. I hope to be able to balance both my careers. Both are very important to me'; said Priyanka, who recently released a teaser of her thi rd single in London.

But Bol lywood can be a tough battleground, and the actress seems geared to combat any hurdles which may come in her way

"This [Bollywood ] was also very tough I am not someone who came from here. Doing anything new is hard That [a music career] will be difficult as well. I don't know how or where it will go all I am doing is trying'; said the 31 -year-old

2013 proved to be a good one for Priyanka, al though a blot was her father's demise She enjoyed success with Zanjeer and Krrish 3, fans enjoyed her two item songs - Babli badmaash hai from Shootout At Wada/a and Ram cha he lee/a from Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram -Leela, and she even did a voiceover in Hollywood animated film Planes

For now, the shooting of a biopic on Olympic medal -winning boxer M.C. Mary Korn is keeping Priyanka busy. Let's hope success continues to follow this multitalented actress.

Anil 's all for America!

Actor An il Kapoor has always been a strong advocate for Indian cinema going international, and he feels at l east some l evel of success in this has been achieved in the US. The fact that the US has opened its doors to host the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards is test imony to the growing awareness about Ind ian cinema in that si de of the world, states the veteran actor

The 15th edition of llFA, a fourday event wh ich celebrates the grandeur and glitz of Hindi cinema, will be held in Tampa Bay in Florida this Apr il. Preparations are on in full swing to make the stars feel at home and to bring fans closer to their big screen idols

Anil was in Tampa Bay recently to spread the word about the event, and also to source shooting l ocations for his next film venture Saat Hindustanis, believes that there's a 'sense of business' in everything that happens in the US. "One of the reasons that IIFA is happening in the US is because there is awareness about Indian cinema , which is popu l arly identified here (in the US) as Boll ywood'; Anil says "People here are now more aware of what Indian cinema is than before They also know the reach of Indian cinema'; he adds.

"Also, they know about the kind of films we make, the amount of movies we do and the way that our film business is increasing. It is these things that are making a difference;' states the 57-yearold, who feels hosting the event is a Iucrative 'opportunity' for the country Ani l himself has wide experience of both Bollywood and Hollywood " Over 1 2 billion Indians wi ll watch the show and it will spread awareness about the region to the Pakistanis, Bangladeshi s, Asians and to the Indian diaspora all over the world. The one stroke through the awards wi l l make so many people aware ofTampa Bay So, there is a sense of business involved in llFA and that's why they are going all out to host us'; he further explains

The actor -producer shared how officials at Tampa Bay are encouraging him to fi l m his next home production at picturesque l ocales, in the culturally rich city in Florida "America is America Once you succeed here, then you make a great impact, especially as far as showbiz is concerned. It has a tremendous impact'; he says with confidence

After a long and successful career in Bollywood, Anil's brush with Hollywood began with his star performance as quizmaster in Danny Boyle's 2008 big screen feast 5/umdog Millionaire, which won a coveted Academy Award. He then won a part in the eighth season of the Kiefer Sutherland- starrer TV series 24 and a cameo in Tom Cruise's actioner Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

So what's in the offing for the actor?

"So far everything has gone well as far as

ANI\... l(APOOR

my international assignments go. So if I do anything next, hopefully that also does good, if not better'; he said in h is inimitable suave sty l e, yet g iving away nothing! Kudos to the star for promoting the cause of Indian cinema!

Gyrating Govinda's gratitude

We've seen him performi ng some unusual contortions on the big screen through t h e'80s and ' 90s, so it's no surprise that actor Govinda is grateful to younger actors who copy his dancing style in these modern times Ranveer Singh for i nstance, is an unabashed fan of Govinda and he has often copied his sty le for songs and performances Govinda says he is grateful to such young ta l ents who feel his inimitable dancing styl e is worth being imitated Now Ranveer will get a chance to match steps with the senior actor in Shaad Ali's Kill Oil In fact, Ranveer even paid a tribute to Govinda's dancing ski lls in Sanjay Leel a Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, as well as at an awar ds funct ion

Showering pra ise on the younger talent, Govinda said, "Yes, I saw Ranveer in the song lshqyaun dhishqyaun in RamLeela. He was in fu ll form. I am grateful to the younger actors who think my sty l e is worthy of being copied''.

The duo is said to be shar ing a great bonding on the sets of Kill Oil, prompting Shaad to incorporate a full-on GovindaRanveer dance number where the fan will try to match steps with his idol.

Meanwhile, Govinda has lately l ost a lot of weight to look convincing as Ranbi r Kapoor's father in Anurag Basu'sJagga Jasoos

The actor i s also excited about his first villain's ro l e in Kill Oil. "It's my first fu ll -fledged negative role I had played a negative part in N. Chandra's Shikari years ago Ti mes h ave now changed Back then there was a past history for my character 's dark deeds Now i n Kill Di/, my character i s the way he is because he chooses to be';

he said

AISHWARY A RAI BACH CHAN

Well, Govinda as a dancing villain will certain l y be a sight to see!

Ash is back maybe!

Speculation has been rife about when Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan intends returning to the big screen, after her sabbatical following the birth of her daughter Now southern filmmaker P Vasu, known for films such as Chandramukhi and Chinna Thambi, let the cat out of the bag, saying that he has finalised Aishwarya Rai for his upcoming untitled multilingual, which will feature the former beauty queen as a Kalari fighter

"Aishwarya was r eally impressed with the script. She liked the never-seenbefore powerful role She will essay a Kalari fighter in the film and for the same she will undergo special stunt training'; Vasu said in a statement. Vasu, who has been scripting the film for over two years, says it will be high on visual effects and

RANVEER SINGH

will be shot in exotic locales ofnorth India and some important portions in Cambodia

The film, to be shot si multaneously in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, will be produced by K. Ramesh of Global One Studios.

But here's the catch - Ash is yet to confirm her participation in the Vasu venture. She has previously starred in southern films such as Jeans, Enthiran and Raavan, is reportedly also being considered for filmmaker Mani Ratnam's next project.

But will she or won't she? Ash is stil l keeping fans and followers guessing

Beyond Bollywood for Yo Yo Honey Singh

After churning out hit after Bollywood hit in 2013, rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh is al l set to take a break from Hindi film songs, to focus on his non-film career He is also excited about breaking new ground and working with names like Amitabh

WI-IO WORE IT BETTER?

VIDYA BALAN

Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan

"After I did Lungi dance with Shah Rukh bhai, I felt I had achieved everythi ng there is to achieve But then I am getting to work with Amitabh Bachchan sahab now And it's really the ultimate Bollywood experience for me It really can 't get any better for me'; said an elated Honey Singh recentl y. But after wo r king with the Big B, he's definitely taki ng a break from Bollywood

"I need to now focus on other things before I carry on in Bollywood. I can't be doing what I've done in Lungi dance and now the song Party with bhootnath with Bachchan saab over and over again. I've to reinvent myself for Bollywood'; he said

Honey has flown in director Giftie and choreographer Big Dance for the Big B's music video. And he's impressed with the veteran superstar. "My team and I have been working on the song with Bachchan saab Believe me, Bachchan saab is the youngest member of our band I am having the time of my life'; said the perfo r mer, who believes that working with Big Band SRK h as been a life changing experience.

"I thought I was passionate about my wo r k. Then I saw Shah Rukh bhai and Bachchan saab at work Their spi rit was so infectious! I felt I had so far been just fooling around. It's time for some serious work now'; he said.

"I have fulfilled all my dreams in Boll ywood. Now I have to find new dreams for Bollywood before I strike again'; he added

Well , good luck Yo Yo, may you bring better beats to Bollywood!

Baby fo r Ms Balan?

No, says Vidya Balan firmly, squashing rumours of her pregnancy. The actress has said that 'right now' she doesn't see any possibility of starting a fami ly.

At a recent event to promote her forthcoming film Shaadi Ke Side Effects in which she stars with Farhan Akhtar, the actress was asked when she plans to start a family Vidya said, "lnshallah one day I will be able to answer your question, but right now I don't see any possibi lity''.

Priyanka Chopra or Naomie Harris in Alexander McQueen?

Share your views with us on our Facebook page

Vidya is married to UTV Studios CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur since 2012, and rumours of her pregnancy have been rife lately. So only time w i ll tell if her shaadi produces a bonny side effect!

Dear Au ntyji

I have a particular problem and I really am in a bit of a pickle, so I want your help. I am 24 years old, and people say I'm hot. I am doing a l aw degree, so some people say I have brains and beauty. Plus I can cook dosas and id/is too. Anyway, I have two friends from uni who are also studying law and they are twins called Vicky and Nicky. Both of them are tall, goodlooking and smart. Recently I went to a party and had too much Smirnoff Doubl e Black and the next morning I woke up next to Vicky. We didn't say much to each other but about a month later, I went to another party, had too many Bacardi Breezers and this time I ended up with Nicky. Now both ofthem are showing an interest in me and while I love this attention, my best girlfriend thinks it won't work out for me. She sees trouble ahead. What should I do? Both boys are just so nice - and either would make a good match for me. There have been other occasions too when I find myself intimate with one twin or the other. Can you tell me how to choose the right twin?

Dear Auntyj i

'Tt,l VV\- t,l 5 h. t,l lfJLth. tlfJLV\ 5

Auntyji says

Besharam! Behaiya!Why are you even writing to me- mere mind ko corrupt kar rahi ho. Tum auratzaat per ek kaali daag ho! Hamay koi evidence nahi dikh raha hai of your intelligence. Aki kedushman, tumhare kale kartoot won't remain hidden for long. You are a shameless young dayan, and boasting about your drinking, carrying on and sleeping around would make all your ancestors hold their ears and say'tauba'! Now think of this. You are a plaything for those chiknajudwa boys. You are playing with them, and I think the only one who will end up hurt is you. In fact, I can just see Nicky and Sh icky or whatever their names are at 50, sipping on their cognacs, puffing on their cigars and reminiscing about this besharam laundiya who was a plaything of their youth. So stop abusing your body and start respecting it - and stop monopolising the affections of those boys.Jaanti ho, there was a time when there was this cheez called izzaat and maryada. Obviously, ye sub baatein are Swahili to you. Kalankani, wake up and smell the coffee. Start learning the meaning of respect. Write back to me when you have something decent to say.

f roVV'- tt stth.8ll

I sew clothes for family and friends, and charge very well for it. Recently my friend bought some expensive lace for a nice dress, and my daughter fell in love with it. It was 3 metres in all, so I displayed my usual genius and made the dress for my friend who was delighted with it, and because I had cut the fabric sparingly, I had enough left to make a top for my daughter. Anyway, the next time my friend came over and saw my daughter wearing the lace top, she made a face but didn't say much. She has not returned since, and I don't know what's her problem. It was leftover lace, and because I was dever with using the fabric, I could get two items from it. Why do you think my friend has an issue? Have I done something wrong?

Auntyji says

Have you done something wrong? What kind of nasamajh asks me this question! Listen here chomi, while I explain the basic principles of morality to you. Your nadaan saheli paid for teen gaj of lace. Whatever was left over from the expensive lace belonged to your friend - because she had paid for it. Now, if you had not charged for the sewing of her dress, then perhaps you could argue that the leftover lace was fringe benefits. But you charged her and stole from her. Tum sirf ek common chornl ho. So, of course, your saheli is pissed off. You took something from her, without her permission. Tum ne chori ki hai unse. If you want to make good, l suggest you cal l her and apologise, and say that you should have asked her for the leftover lace. Then say you wil l make her next garment for free, that should be good recompense Of course, if you are a busd/1 and can't do this, then dekhna karma tum ko kya dikhati hai. Prepare to have something stolen from you. Obvious ly not your integrity because you never had this in the first place, but perhaps something else. Like your eyesight which you need for sewing those delicate fabrics Go and beg Ganesh's forgiveness for stealing because he is the only God wise enough to forgive you.

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