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INDIAN LINK

PUBLISHER

Pawan Luthra

EDITOR

Rajni Anand Luthra

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Lena Peacock, Sheryl Dixit

MELBOURNE COORDINATOR

Preeti Jabbal 0423 242 522 melb@indianlink.com.au

CONTRIBUTORS

Chitra Sudarshan,

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Ashish Chawla 0468 389 272 dient@indianlink.com.au

ADVERTISING ASSISTANT

Nitika Sondhi 02 9279 2004

DESIGN Danielle Cairis

PROUD MEMBER O F: • x!Wmb'~

Indian Link is a monthly newspaper published in English. No material, including advertisements designed by Indian Link, may be reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent of the editor. Opinions carried in Indian Link are those of the writers and not necessarily endorsed by Indian /ink: t'-11 correspondence should be addressed to

INDIANLINK

Level 24/44 Market St, Sydney 2000 or GPO Box 108, Sydney 2001 , Ph: 02 9279-2004 l=ax: 02 9279·2005 ' E!').iil: info@indianlink.com.au

www. indianlink.com.au

Victoria steals the limelight

well as to its contractua l company, Mind Blowing Films

Bollywood is an in tegral part of the Indian DNA: lndians carry tbis 'gene ' with them ro whichever part of the world they travel, and this is pas sed down from one generation to another.

A great leve!Je r, Bo!Jywood brings cogether people not only of differenc age groups, but also of different li nguistic, social, cultural and educational backgro unds.

Mel bourne's Indian commuuity is set ro bring in a ceiebration of a!J things Boll ywood shortly. The state o f Viccoria has manage d co win the hearts of the local Indian community through their support of tbe Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. No ocher state has offered such support to their Indian c o mmunity.

Only in its du.rd year so far, the Film Festiv al has grown in stature by leaps and bounds. Tc has beco m e one of tbe m ost anticipated events in the social calendar of Victoria 's Indian communi ty. For this, c redit needs co go botb t o the politicians wid1 a vision as

As head of Min.d Blowing Films, Mini Bhownuck Lange h as constan tl y delivered co tbe state o f V ictoria on this venrnre. The festival bas b ee n ab le co bring in India's l ead accors to Melbourne on a regular basis

A - lis t names such as Rani Mukherjee, Vidya Balan, Shahid Kapo or, Prii1aoka Chopra, Malaika Arora Khan etc have trekked down under to link b oth the s tate of Victo r ia and L1dia through B o llywood. Quality events such as d1e cliru1er at the residence of one of Austrnlia's most prestigious families the Pratts, the interaction and invo lvement of high society witl1 Boll ywood, and th e public events sucb as th e dance c o mpetitions, shore fi l m conrests and master classes with film - makers have brougbt in the masses not only from w it hin the community bu t from d1e mainstream as well.

Like witb m ost other e ndeavours, there has been some debate o f tl1e value and people. behind th.is veomre (ch e no -show of the iconic scar Amicabh Bachchan at last year's event was one such controvers y) However, the success o f the past IFFM functions have vindicated th e confidence whicb t he

AUTHORISED AGENT

Victorian government has placed in Miru B howmick L ange and her Mind Blowing Films. While most detractors have had vested interests in g rabbing a headline, it seems chat no o ne has yet been ab le to share their vision of bow an alternative can be established. Till another formula is found, o ne which is working ought to be appreciated

Thi s brings us to an interesting o b servation about Indian links in Victoria. W hat Victoria ha s done well, with t he efforts of well-meaning indi\7 idual s, is to b lo ck at least two hig h profile events in the calendars of the local I ndian community The Victorian Festival of Lights at Federation Square (with its team h eaded by d1e dynamic and visionary ArLu1 Sharma) and the Indian Film Festival of l'v[elboutn e executed by Mim Bh own.uck Lange have established a new qu orum o n successfuI public events in tbe Indian communi ry in Australi a. The w ider lnd ia n communiry in Australia needs to appreciate these offerings and emulate them.

Of course, i f Vi ctoria ever tires of tbese co rnmuniry endeavours, other s tates (es pec ially NSW which is sadly b e reft of anyth in g subsrnntial Bollywood -based), could grab these great o ppo rru1-uties co en gage w ith local Indians who are bonded by all things Bo llywood.

a,oc?< International Express

Courier & Cargo

Neha Jain, Pinky Bhatia, Carl Buhariwala, Sukrit Sabhlok, Tim Blight, Sanam Sharma, Roanna Gonsalves, Ajit Singh Chauhan, Dhanya Samuel

Sangeet Sandhya

Yugad i cel ebr ati on Sat 5 April 7.30pm for a Sun 13 Apr il 10am-2pm sharp 8 p m start

Murrumbeena Pavillion, 28 Gerald At Waverley Meadows Street, Murrumbeena. Yugadi

Primary Schoo l Concert Hall, celebrations organised by the Col umbia D ri ve, Whee le rs Hill. Melbourne Kannada Sangha

Child ren's seg m e n t followed by with games, food and a special perfo rmance by Pooj a Gupta attraction Nalapaka Nalapaka and Gurmit Sahni. Free event, (men's cooking competition). associat ed with the Register before Apri l 6. Participants

Sha rda Kala Kendra will have to prepare one vegetarian

Deta i ls: Vivek 0402 438 654 or dish at the venue. The winner will Neeraj 0439 980 551 be decided by the judges, based on presentation, creativity and All lecture featu ri n g taste of their dish.

(MCEC Jeff's Shed), Sou t h Wharf. ASHA Mother 's Day Dinner

Start meeting point in front Sun May 1 1 5-8pm of India at Home/

At Brighton Town Hall, Jaipur Sweets 8.30am Carpenter Street, Brighton. Det ails: Shashi Kochhar 9564 8228

Organised by ASHA, a / 0411 415 490 / kochharshashi@ newly formed not-for- profit hotmail.com, AshokJamini organisation, which aims to 95581663 /0432 8 16 557, improve the quality of life of Ratan Mulchandani Australian and South Asian 9546 2221 / 0407 559 113, communities. All proceeds will go Kiran Rewal0408 266016, towards providing basic school Suvinder Sawhney 0413 406 101, supplies and basic meals for school Indy Jasa l 0418 872 614 and students in the slums of Bhopal. www.friendsofthechildren.org.au Tickets: $40 per head, or $150 per family.

Suresh Pr abh u

Details: Sharma 0401 900 080, Ravi Tues 8 Ap r il 6pm onwards Nan di 0403 134 306, Usha Ravi

Four-t i me member 0423 763 224 or visit of the Lok Sabha, Suresh Prabh u, www.mks.org.au will give a public lecture on India's two biggest challenges, Royal Childr en s Hospital water and energy. Prabhu will Good Friday Appeal Walk discuss how a mix of technological Fri 18 April 9am-4pm innovations, global best practices, Friends of the Children Foundation and India's traditional wisdom can presents the 16th Annual Royal be used to overcome them. Children's Hospital Good Friday Free event. Appeal Walk This fundraising event

Details: www.aii.unimelb.edu.au/ will raise donations for"the children events/ indias-two-big- of our future" The 28km walk will challenges-water-energy- commence from Clayton Stat ion suresh-prabh u to Melbourne Exhibition Centre

Community congratulates Indian Link

Well done!

Congratulations for receiving the Premier's Multicultural Media Awards. It was pleasing to see the faces of the award winners on the front cover of the Indian Link February (2) 2014 issue.

When I walk into any Indian shop I look around for your paper and have been its reader for the I ast few years.

Your paper maintains a high standard of writing and informs us about news in the Indian community in Australia and publishes articles on Indian culture, cultural events, spirituality and entertainment. The manner in which the Indian Link presents itself with quality paper and colour photos, invites us to read the issues. It is apparent that hard work has gone behind all of these.

Mr Pawan Luthra's editorials, which I enjoy reading, are well written and deal with contempor ary issues fort hrightly and where appropriat e, diplomatically They remind me somewhat of Arun Poorie's editorials

Other writers write equally well. I, as a person who likes to know about Indian English works, find t hat reviews of selected Indian English writ ings are missing, of late, from the paper TVallal

Canberra

From the Editor

Thank you for your letter TVallah and your congratulations. We have taken your feedback on board. Please turn to the Books and Literature pages in this edition

Enjoy1

Congratulations on winning

3 awards!

Pawan Luthra: My heartiest congratulations to you and your team at Indian Link, for winning three Multicultural Media Awards.

It is indeed commendable that Indian Link won the awards for the Best Prin t Report of the Year, Best Use of Online & Digital Media and Young Journalist of the Year: Ri t am Mitra

As t he publisher, I am sure it must be very gratifying to provide leadership to Indian Unk, which is now the most awarded multicultural media group in Australia assisted by a very able team including Edit or Rajni Anand Luthra and Preeti Jabbal (Melbourne).

It is indeed deserving recognition of the high quality, frank and free community journalism work t h at has been the hal Imark of Indian Link over many years in promot ing diversity, community harmony and crosscultural tolerance among the com munities of t he Indian subconti nent, communities from other countries and the broader Australian community.

Keep up the wonderful wor k!

CS.Sriniva san ( Srini ) Commi ss ione r, Victori a n Multicultural Commi ssion Melbourne

Greeshma 2014

Sat 3 May 4.30pm-7pm

Details: www.ashacharity.org

At the Chandler Community Centre, Lions Club of 28 Isaac Road, Keysborough. Lyn dhurst Greeshma is a f estival of dance & Distr ict 201 VS and drama. Be prepared for a fun p resents Autum n filled evening with one act p l ays Breeze2014 by ch ildren in English and Hindi, as Sat 17 May 7 30pm well as folk dances. Note: Children With Sri Lanka's no. 1 dance band: under 12 will not be allowed to Mistry Music, magic and view the Hindi play, but activities memories+ DJ Naz. At Springvale for them will b e available during Town Hall, 397 Spri ngvale Road, t his time. Tickets: S15. Springvale Dress code is formal.

$85 www.ka lavishkar.com.au/register.

Details: Manasi 0419 815 323 or

Can you Help?

There are many c hildren with ind ividual needs w ho due t o a disability req uire constant care. This care falls d irect ly on the shoulders of th eir fam ily.

It is hard and they cannot do it alone.

Children's charity OzChild needs you.

We need someone like yo u - Someone who is cari ng and patien t ; who won't see the disabi lity, but see their own ability to help.

With training and support you can help give these families much needed res pite Two days a month is all it takes to support a family.

on erc1

A forum focuses on the unfair treatment of young girls across the world and looks for solutions to their plight

I BY ' ' PREETI JABBAL

Do you know tha t according to the United I ations, 200 million girls across che g lobe are missing? D o you k now that iu countries like India, China and several other parts of the world girls are killed, aborted and abandoned simply because they are girls? Have you heard about the .l.ndian woman who strangled eight daughters as soon as they were born, and lived in the hope of havin g a son? Do you know that even today in villages in India, some peopl e kill d1eir girls at birth by feeding them poisoned mil k or putting a wet cloth on their moud1s so the y stop breathing?

Now did you shield your eyes with horror, did you feel bad fo r so me time or did )'Oll simp ly shrug indifferently as 'i t does not happen in Australia'? Whatever your reaction may have been, you cannot escape the awful fact iliac 'gendercide' is still prev alent across the g lobe and that die three deadliest words in certain parts of

the world are, 'Ir's a girl ' The South Asian Community Link Group (SACLG) celebrated lmema tional \~omen's Day recently by zooming in on mis issue ch.rough display and di scussion.. Shadowline Films' diougbt-provoking movie It's a girl was shown ac tl1e event, followed by a panel discussion mode.rated by Dr Manjula

O'Connor from tlie Australasian Centre fo r Human Righ t s and He.alch (ACHRH), w h o is also die cu rrent Se cretary of SACLG. The Women's Day dinner was held at the Spirit Of lnclia Receptions

in Preston

Directed by Evan Grae Davis, die lilm, released in 2012, is a documentary chat captures the personal stories of people, and die systematic and deliberate destruction of girl s in India an d China. The film foc u ses on culnual norms, India's dowry system llnd its patriarchal society, where, despite a ban on u ltrasounds, the practice of determining die gender of the fetus is srill commonly available widi die help o f bribes. The documentar y also looked at China's one child policy, incl uding forced abortions, human traflicking and in creasing race of female suicide in the country.

To knm.v is not enough, but it's definitel y a start in creating awareness of a disturbing decline in the population of girls in both these overpopulated coLmtr ies "Bringing about tl1is awareness was the main intent behind s howing this film", said Molina Asthana from SACLG. The pa nel d iscussion time ensued cited examples, offered insight and sough t sol utions from a variety o f peop le in tl1e audience. It concluded that the world com m unity n eed s to unite and bring about a mange in cultures that prac tice genderc id e, a nd compel di em to val ue women and end. injustice towards them

The mood turn ed sombre after wa tching the m ovie as tl1e audience was left digesting sh oc king statistics an d clisturbing footage o n genderc ide.

The sumpn1ous dinner that foll owed, however, triggered a ch a nge back into party mode ru1d several people took to the dance floo r in die course of the c e lebratio n.

Prior to the film viewing , the audience was entertained with a multicultural fashion show tliat was beautifully ch oreographed by R ashi Kapoor. Local girls from all walks of life kept a fluid pace o n stage to promote culnual diversity

The group showcased outfits from Punjab, Rajasman, Bangladesh, Sri Lank a, Afghru1istan, China and otl1er South E a stern regio n s. The outfits incorporated both a:aclitio n al and modem clothin g, and customs m at have bee n passed d own through ages were celebrated th.rough clothes that are worn every day. The participants of the show performed tl1e ir complex carwalk routines quite well under the able guidanc e of Kapoor. Dh aoan jay Kapoor who also doub led up as the DJ for the night, provi d ed appropriate eth nic m usic to accom pany the catwalk.

Liz Beattie M P from Yuro ke (A ustralian L abor Par ty) was tbe gu est of honour for tl,e eveni n g, and cogedier with Deepak Vinayak JP, fotmcler of SACLG, felicitated Dr O'Co nno r for her wo r k wi tl1in the In dian community. ln her acceptance speed1 Dr O'Con n or requested the au dience to suppo r t h e r cause by signi ng a petition tl1at she had initiated recentl y Ir urged judicial au thorities ro ban and criminali se che demanding and receiving of cash and g ifts by Australia n residents in connection wi th a m arriage, irrespective of i ts location for up to seven years Io addi tion , it also urged dowry rela ted offe nces to be ptuushab le

''Directed By

Evan Grae Davis, It's a girl was released in 2012 and is a documentary that captures the personal stories of people, and the systematic and deliberate destruction of girls in India and China

with seve re crimin al and civil penaltie s to apply.

PLm eec Gulati, upcoming a c tor and )'OLlth C Ltltur al A mba ssador SAYCA (South Asian Youth Connect A us tralas ia) wrapped up the evening by thru1king all the guests and spo n sor s especially tl1e Victorian Multicu.lrnral Commission fo r funding tl1e eve n t.

Guests enjoy a Bollywood-themed party to celebrate the launch of IFFM2014

ALW visit to the h istoncal Raheen Mansion in Kew in Mel bourne is about the whole experience. The Italianate style, heritage -listed building that belongs to billionaires Jean and A nthony Pratt, has a wealth of character. From the imposing gates and lush manicured lawns through to the ritzy decor and tastefuUy done interior, the mansion bas been the venue o f choice for many o f :tvfelbourne's high society parries. It was the perfect location to host a BoUywood themed par ry to celebrate the launch of the 2014 prog ram of the Indian Film Fesrival in Melbourne (IFFM).

Louise Asher, Minister for Innovario n, l\lliuis ter for Tourism and Major E~,ents, and l\{inister for Employment and Trade attended the dinner event in a beaurifully handcrafted smi presented to her b y festival director "tvliru Bhowmick Lange. Many other guests also made an efforr to spo rt fodian Boll ywood style dothiug and looked magnificent, thanks to all the colours and bling. Former Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu cut an imposing figure in his orange gold siU, k11rta teamed up unusually w ith a natty tie. Orange was also the d10ice for V idya Balan, BoUywood 's re igning actress, who was the gues t of honour at the event. The rest of the invitees comprised of a select group of festival spo nsors, supporters, organisers aud media representati ves

Ms Bhowm.ick Lange invited V idya Balan, braud ambassador of the festival to join her on stage ro announce the program. Gracious as ever, Ms Balan thanked the hosts for their hospitality and complimeuted Minister Asher and other guests oo their Indian attire, particuhdy Ted Baillieu who she claimed could be 'the Arnitabh Bachchan of Me lbourne'.

''Amitabh Bachcl1an will be here in :Melbo urne soon, perhaps we could make both o f you stand together to see who is taller", she said w ith characteristic chutzpah.

i\lfs Balan continued to share the va riou s highlights that festival attendees could look forward to, including details of the inaugural awards presentation scheduled to be held in May. She claimed that she had a love affair with Me lbourne that made her want to come back to visi t this 'wonderful city full of warm peopl e' again and again.

The entertainment for the night was in the form of some beautifully rendered songs by Austral ian actor Simon Gleason and bis wife actress atalic O'Donnell John Molloy, festival co- director,

offi cially thanked the guests for their contribution towards making this festival happen. \l{lhile l isting the main spons ors. John also took the opportunity to thank Visy and rl1e Prates for their generosity in hosting this event. He then went on to acknowledge all the lndian commilllity .leaders and the media sponsors for their ongoing support in promoting the festival. According to one of the great things about this festival is that both sides of rl1e politic s come to enjoy and celebrate the festival together w ith everyone. As the executive chairman of Visy, o ne of Australia's largest privately owned companies,

rAnthony Pratt is an avid supporter of the festival and is also on the advisor y board along with M iss Manika Jain, Consul General of India in Melbourne. The festival ad visory b oard also boasts names like Ronnie Screwala, founder of UTV group; Vikramjit Roy head of publicity at Sony Pictures E nte rtainment, lndi.a; actress Simi Garewal; aud Pamela Chopra, wife of iconic lilrn maker the l ate Yash Chopra. W ith over 40 fi lms on offer, several renowned festival guests iocludiog legendary actor Amitabh Bad1chan, an acco mpli shed jury and many festival favourites on offer, this year's IFF.l'-.f promises to be quire an exc itin g event. See yo u there!

Big B to open IFFM 2014

Moviegoers and aspiring filmmakers will enjoy a range ofcinematic treats and activities during the film festival

The lndian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is not only Vidya Balan's favourite event (as she herself ad.mies), over che last three years it has created much interest in the co1nmunicy as it has continued to evolve and grow The latest announcemenr of Amirabh Bachchan's participation has offe red another n ew dimension t o d1is festival tha t is likely to attract lovers of Indian cinema like never before According to Nlinister Louise Asher, "Victorians and all visitors to Melbourne are in for a treat of Indian fi lms this year. We have a stellar international guest list starring Bollywood screen legend Amirabh Bachd1an who will open the festival on May 1 It \\,ill be an honour tO ha,, e Amitabh Bachchan here, just a year after he opened the Cannes F ilm Festival with his The Great Gatsby co -scar Leonardo DiCaprio"

After the disappointment of lase year where Amitabh Bachd1an did not attend the festival despite being announced as a guest, the news of his expected arrival this year was received with predictable speculation. "Yes, Big B is definitely coining to the Festival in Mel bourne," confirmed a beaming V idya Balan, speal~ing at

INDIAN LINK

the formal launch of the festival recently Vidya ,vas in Melbourne at the IFFM, as the festival's brand ambassador. "He could not say 'no' to me as l p layed his mom in a film called Pa," she added jokingly.

"We now have confirmation from i\fr Bachchan's office," ass u red M itu Bhowmick Lange, the festival's director. " Having Vidya as our brand an1bassador has opened doors fo r us and her name and association with our festival makes it eas ier for us to gain access and get support," she added whil st introducing the 2014 festival program

Vid ya was at her charming, effervescent best at the morning tea and subsequent press launch chat was h eld ar the A l Z Investment Centre. The meclia seemed parti cularly interested in her marriage and pregn ancy as most of the questions at th e press launch bordered around her latest fihn Shadi ke Side tjfects, or sought to m ake comparisons with her marriage to UTV head

honcho Siddha rth Roy Kapoor

(Managing Director of The Walt Disne y Company India) Media

savvy Vidya took all the questions in her sa·ide and answered chem with re.markable ease and qnick wit.

"No, I am not pregnant,"

emphasised Vidya for the record adding, "lam planning o n a two month break mainly co rejuvenate before 1 start promoting my next movie, Bobby Jasoos''. In response to how realistic she found Shadi ke Side Effects as a sto r y and how she ma n aged both her career and marriage Vi.dya said , "The movie Shadi Ke Side Effects seems to have fo und resonance with most people, even though I did not find any parallels in ilie story wirh my own m arriage". Vidya claimed to be equally passionate about her work and her reL'ltionship with her husband SRK. " \Ve lead very hectic lives so there is joy in doing little things with each od1er and in sharing things Like travelling and reading, among others. So I feel tl1a r we are stiU in the honeymoon phase of our relationship even t hough it has been over a year since we got married," said V id jra Extending a warm welco m e co those present at t b e press launch Vidya said, "Every year at the festival we like co push ilie enve lope further and tbi.s year we inte n d ro ho.tel an awa rd s ceremony w h ere we would like to acknowledge the special work of Indian filtn makers and Indian talenL On May 2 we will be ho ldin g a special awards ceremony at the Princess Theaue here and

you will be able to see many people from Indian c inema whose work you have enjoyed over the years". Vidya comi.nued tO express bet pleasure ac being invited to be the bra nd ambassador of the IFFM tl1ree yea rs in a ro", "Melbo u rne has always been wonderful co me and 1 feel very much at home when I vis it here for the festival every year. I am hoping to come bac.k ,vitb my husband soon, as I am sure he will also enjoy v isiting the city as much as I do," she said

Following Vidya's bt:ief address, the official program of tbe IFFM 2014 was distributed amongst th ose present. The program promises an exciting range of acti v ities and events between .May 1 - 1J that will celebrate the cliversicy and vibrancy of Indian cinema. This year's program includes festival favourites like t he Western llnion Shore Film Competition, Boll yw-ood Dance Competitio n to be judged b y 1falaika Arora Khan, mastercl asses ·with renowned Indian artists and a new section called New Voices that will feamre si.."< films from first tin1e filmmakers in l ndia. "The V ic torian Governmenr has funded and supported the IFFM as it wis hes to engage wi tl1 India at a cultural level , besides being friends in

terms of trad e and investment," said Minister Asher. "Tb.is understanding and appreciation of Indian culture will benefit the relationship between our two countries," she added.

Preeti

Jabbal

All you need is merit. ..

IFFM Brand Ambassador Vidya Ba/an chats exclusively with Indian Link

Indian cinema's most awarded actress Vidya Balan was in cown recently to l atmch the lndian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFF.M) 2014.

'Vidya has made a stellar career and carved an enviable niche for herself _in tl1e Indian film industry.Just before returning to India co receive the prestigious Padmashri award, India's highest civilian honour on March 31, Vidya spoke to Indian Li11k in an exc lusive intervie,v.

Preeti Jabbal (PJ):

This is your foutth trip to Melbourne and the third as Brand Ambassador of IFFM. What has been different this time?

Vidya Bal an (VB ): (La ughing) Th is year has been m y shortest trip co Jl,'1elbourne and mat'.5 different! But the main difference tl1 is year is that we are introducing competitive awards at the IF™, and we have a fabulous jur y who will decide on the winners.

W i m each year we try to add a ne\v layer, and we are very excited about these upcoming awards Overall me IFFM will showcase about 40 films in 20 different lang uages, there will be so me fabulous master classes, a short lilm competition and a Bollywood dance competition.

T he Festival will host some very importam guests like Amirnbh

Bachchan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, and SL1basini Maniracnam, among others. The IFFM 2014 promises to be full o f exciting activities and events.

PJ: There is a lot of excitement

in India as many actresses have joined the election fray like Kira.a Kher, Rakhi Sawant, Gui Panag, a mong others. What 12 APRIL 2014

is your opinion on the coexistence of films and politics in India?

YD: I tl1ink people leverage meir stardom b y entering poli tics, but 1 am not abom to join the fray. I believe that if there is ever going to be a time when 1 am ready to do more for tlie country than m ys el f, that is when l may emer politics; however, currently I do not

have a political beur of mind at all. M y contribution will be that of an average citizen as I am hoping to cast m y vote and help e lect me r ight representatives, and hopefully have some good leadership in tl1e counrcy.

PJ: In recent times lnclia has earned a bad name in Australia

on the issue of women safety, do you think this situation will 1ntprove?

\' B: Yes, mere have been lots of unfortunate incidents of violence against women and rapes in India, however it's not something tliat will change overnight; we will req Lute attitudinal changes and more

stringent law enforcement Fo.r women to feel safe in general, tl1ese two need to be ou.r main focus.

PJ: There have been sonu: recent con tcoversial issues on the 'No Pregnancy Clause' in the lnclian film industry. How do you feel about signing this clause?

VB1 I don't have a problem with it.

PJ: Don't you think this is an infringement on women's rights?

VB : 1 think it's unfair if you are in the middle o f a film tl1at d oes not require you co play a pregnant character, and i f 5rou get pregnant, it staHs the project. It's about commitment and l do not see how it is an i nfri ngement on women's rigb ts. \XTe a.re new age women and we lead our lives the way we want to, we are unapologetically professional. so l do not see any harm in signi ng a clause, if required. You need to plan rou life accordingly. In any case I do not want to be working when Tam pregnant as I am sure I would want co take it easy Most women like to be pampered at that time.

PJ: Traditionally in the Inclian film industry once an actress marries, she tends to get insignificant roles o r she simply fades away Has your experience been any cliffereat?

VB : B y God's grace I have even beccer opportunities than I had before Igor married. I am tnvolved in some ,,ery exciting projects and have a lot co look forward co. l'vfy marriage has 11or changed anythi ng fo r me. I am sute of my relationship with films, and people a re sure of my commitment to films. I feel things are changing ra~idly and tliankfolly within tlie i ndustr y, but I can only speak for myself, not for otl.1ers. Being an actor is a

non- negotiable part of me even if 1 was to take a break, and no matter what happens, I will always be passionate about acting.

PJ: Melbourne gir l P a llavi Sharda has done well in In dian films with out a go dfa t her, similar to you Can other peo p le also be assured that they too c an be successful b a sed o n merit in this in d ustry?

V B : Abso1utel)7 ! l was forn1.nate ro have God, my parents and m y family who have always supported me. Merit is the one and o n ly thing that goes a long

way cowards being successful. I strongly believe that mer it is nonnegotiable. That's the only thing chat takes you far. For exampl e, belongi ng co a star family can give you the initial opportunities, but beyond that you have to prove yorn own credentials 1 am Jiving proof of the fact that aU you need is merit.

rifffpJa,

Vidya With fnd, ·--:--------M."

an Counsu/ G

1tu Bhowmik L enera/ Monika J ange and Minister Lo . a,n, festival director u1seAsher

He ld on 21\farch, the Friends of the Children Foundation (FOTCF) Walk for Monash Children chai:it:y event was h ugely successful, managing to raise $30,597.81. The majority of the funds raised from this fun nm / walk at Jells Park wiJJ go cowa rds purchasing beds for the parents of sick child ren ro use when their child is staying at Monash Children's Hospi tal. The POTCF volunteers helped

Walk for the children

Charity walk for Monash Children's Hospital successfully raised over $30,000

to cook up a sausage s iz7Je storm fo r partici pants after they had crossed the finish line. Eve r yone seemed co b e in great spiri ts and were delighted abour the amount of money raised towards the hospital.

All FOTCF e~•ents revolve around their belief that "childre n are our future". The foundation was created in l 998 and held their inaugural walk to raise fun ds for Monash Children's Hospital in February 2013. Participants could do a 5km, 10km or 15km wal k or run.

PARKE RBRENT

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Growing concerns a al terrorism

India's intelligence services are capable of handling terrorism threats, but the government should be focused too ;

I BY f , CHITRA SUDARSHAN

Ajic Kumar D oval has a n imp ressive professional track record s pa nning a ch alle ngi ng career in incellige nce. Belonging to th e Kerala Cadre of IPS, he won the Kit-ti Cbnkm in 1988, t he fi rs t to receive cha t ho nour outside the m ilir,'lry He was a field operative, acq uitting h imself well in several postings in India 's north -ease for seven year s an d in P akistan for six yea rs, before caki ng o n t he role of Chief of the Intelligence Bureau's Operations Wing between 2004-2005. Doval's explo its are legend ary- he was the Indian negotiaror with d1e terrorists wh o hijacked the Indian Airlines plan e to Kan dahar in 1999 - an d is by far o ne of d1e m ost successful I n telligen ce C hi efs ln dia h as produced. He is now me Directo r o f the Vivekananda Internatio n al Founda tion and is often invited t o s p eak o n India's int elligenc e and security, as well as counter terrorism efforrs

S p eaking a t the Australi a lndia Institute at the University of Me lhourne o n March 11, D oval impressed everyone present w ith his cla ri ty of th ought, a n o - n o n se n se approacl1 to Ind ia n

national security, and an uncanny ability to so rt the whea t fro m the c haff, honing in on wha t is truly sig ni fican t.

Speaki ng abo ut ' T he Challenges of G l obal T er ror.i sm,' D oval i n his c h aracteristic style, began by de clari ng th a t d1e world is in many w ays less secure fro m terro 1:ism tod ay than a t the tin1e of 9 /1 1 , despi te

President Ohama 's claim s to t he co ntrary Yes, rne Al Qaida is in disarray; yes, d1ere has bee n a robust response to terrotism b)' the internation al comnmnity; yes, the US took cbe battle co p laces fro m where ter ror emanated; yes, even smaUer natio n s have now built up im migration and other co ntro ls and anti- terro r operatives

D espite these positive developments, the world today is in m any ways mote vulnerable than in 2001 because fastly, in Afghanistan, n one of the ob jectives of the US in terve n tion have not b een realised.

Th e T alib an is o n d1e verge o f retmn ing to power; states c~mti.nue to give free passage co terrorists witl1 impunity; and most in1portant of alJ, nothing h as bee n clone to counter the lslamisr .ideology d1at has been h.i jacked b y terrorists

Iron ically, Al Qaicla is m ore widely known today d1an in 2001 , an d there h as been no c.l1an ge whatsoever in ics core strategic goals or in. its strategy of using te rro r ro ach ieve diem O ne

A.I Q aicla opera tive w rote in an

Ajit Kumar Doval

Arabic n ewspap er in D ecember 2001, how small s p linter groups s h ould o rganise themselves in the afte rmath of 9/1 1 an d hmv Islamic disconcenc aroun d t he world m use be merged with the Al Qaida strategy. T here is en ough ev iden ce to s uggest tl1ey bave mor p h ed a nd ad ap ted q uire successful.ly to new con ditions.

T he T aliban are dictating terms in A fghanistan; th e strategic go al s of Mullah Om ar are n o t contested ; and tl1e fo urth genera tion warfare - that of fighting extremist political Islam in t he civ il society of Afgh anistan a nd P akistan is being lost, to n am e a few There

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is today a greater degr ee of unity among the diffe rent factio n s and off- shoors of Al Qaid a, and they are more economically an d tech no logicall y resourced than before.

D espi te t his very gloomy progn osis, D oval b el ieves that me Indian Intelligen ce Services are very capable of meeting d1e challe nges th a t India faces from g lob al terroris m. It is th e political leadership d1a t mu st b e clear in its objectives an d have the will an d the vision co develop a co he rent strategy to co1m ce.r i t. The times call for c lear- hea ded dec ision m akers w ho have w h at it takes.

D oval answered several q u estions from d1e audien ce: about In dia 's ab ility co d eal with the Taliban in the event of its takeove r o f Afgh anistan (he believes India is eq u al co th e ca sk); ho m e grown terrorism i n and h ow it c an be add ressed at the political, civil society, comm unitarian and in telligence !eve.ls. D espite Pa.l,isran /ISI's strategy of pro m oting terror in India (a cheap option co n sidering the bigger strength of t h e fad.ian econ omy and militar y) ; he said despite Pakistan's best attempts co drive a wed ge b etween Indian Muslims a nd w id er so c iety, th e fo rmer have rebuffed P akistan's over tures and are working b a nd in hand with a UIndian s to thwa rt the export of terror In tlus, all are mi.iced in d1e pursuit of a common purpose

Doval began by declaring that the wor ld is i n many ways less secure from terrorism today than at the time of 9/ 11 , despite President Obama's cla ims to the contrary

Doval believes that the Indian I ntelligence Services are very capable of meeting the challenges that India faces from global terrorism

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Balance for better living

PS3 forum discusses maintaining balance in life for a positive existence

chil dren in a wescem society ro information abo u t lifethreatening d iseases l ike cancer. There is a distinct tone of oprimism and inspiration in the mission of chese ladies ro reach out to their compatriots

Iwas privileged ro be a part of the first event hosced b;r PS3 in 201 4, held ac Notting Hill Neighbourhood House on the 27,. of Feb 2014. PS3 (Positiv ity. strength, support and synergy) is a volunteer group of fout empowering women w i th the

m ission of bringing together lndi,w women of alJ ages living in Melbourne, to empower chem th rough a series of forums that cover relevant copies that will make a difference in their lives.

These topi c s relate m anythi ng from bringing up

The first forum of the PS3 invited Ranjana Goel as guest speaker. Raojana is a professiona l, but also a celebrant, a he al er, and an empmvered woman with a great personality Her top ic was on 'How to maintain balance in one's life'. She spoke about how to rake care of the self while understanding chat life experiences, learning a n d cho ices matter in creating a healthy balance in an individual. She provided great insights on how to create awareness in oneself whi ch not only alds in enhancing balance, bm also helps in making a differ ence ro soc iecy.

Ranjana's topic generated a l ot of discussion amongst the 12- 1 5

attendees with lots of d iscussion. Questions such as "How can we achieve balance?" and "What factors lead to achieving personal balance" received adept respo nses. She created an atmosphere of lively clrnner, interaction and ideas char helped attendees chink be yond the box. ln con clus ion, Ranjana provided derails abouc her program ca!Jed S1vo)'at11 which bas helped numerous people 1ind balance in their lives

"Thank you Ran jana, for giving us such a great insight on maintaining balance in our lives", was the general sentiment of those attending the forum at irs conclu sion.

\Xle !J done to PS3 for c reating such a forum that is free and empowering for Indian ,vomen, and to Rnnj,rna for sharing her insights and making the event a successful one.

NehaJain

It's physical as well as sp iritual nourishment in the practice of the Surya Namaskar

0;a:::::

d1ings

ro do is take a break from the confines of a gy m from time to time and exercise out in nature It's hard to describe the difference of physical activity clone indoors versus in die open. There's the fresh air, wonderful views and the naru.rn l and serene sound tracks of nature - the wind, the birds, the waves Are you feeling the exhilaration yet?

On a recem weekend, some 150 participants rook a break from their Sunday morning routine t o come and e.xperience the collecrive energy o f 108 sun salutations at beautiful Elwood beach.

The 3'' SIIIJ'O)'q/110, a ritual that tal.::es place on the last Sunday of summer every year, was organised by Vasudev Kriya Yoga.

A cloudy grey sky met the calm and white waters around che cool brown sand, as calming

Sanskrit chants reverberated in the air. The soft voice of a young energetic man on the tnicrophone, encouraged a group of enthusiastic parricipants of alJ ages co make yogic postures to tbe 'Surya Namaskar', or Sun Salutation moves Ir was a perfect opportunity to practice in the gemle warm th of tbe rising sun. I did quite a few rounds ro unwind, relax, and stretcll my stiff, sore legs and shoulders. What] particularly love about t he Sutya Namaskar, is that it is accessibl e to the beginner and seasoned pracritioner alike. It is the meac and potatoes (or for vegetarians, tofu and sprouts) of many osa11a practices. Witb the waves gently ro lling on to the shore, it was a very meditative and peaceful tin1e.

It is often said chat Surya Namaskar contains the enrire pracrice of yoga within ir. But whal does iliac mean? If you e.xamine the postur es that make

up the sun salutations, you get a wide range of m ovements, forward bend, back bend, being still, lengd1ening the spine, grounding tl1e feet, stre ngthe ning the upper bod y, stretching tlie hamstrings, expanding the lungs and more That is why Surya Namaskar is tbe ideal way LO warm tbe body at the beginning of a yoga practice. Even if you do not intend to practice yoga, the sun salutation is a great way to scare che day, as it also works on tbe mind. B y hearing che breath and ho lding the gaze (d,isbtt), these move ments aUow us to centre ourselves and ro quiet our wandering tnind.

Like many rimals in yoga and in Hinduism, the Sun Salmarions are repeated 108 rimes (die number is sacred and refers to che wholeness of existence).

As we finished the 108'h round, there was a sense of achievement and radiance o n our faces as the

swear trickled down, balanced hr the brighmess of che light around us witl1 the sunrise and the sounds o f the birds and waves. Participants reached our ro one another smilin g, some wall.::ing onto the beach to relax o n tbe inviting sand, some of us rushing ro partal,e in die food served by students and volunteers, and some reaching out to buy boqks on the practice o f yoga ar the s tall in the front.

I took the opportunity to catch up with the founder of tlie

Vasudeva Kriya Yoga, Rajendra Yenkannan1oole. Although he has Masters' degrees in Chemical Engineering as well as Business Administration, Rajendra has been reaching yoga in Melbourne since 2004. He began practicing yoga ar the tender age of I 0.

" I believe diac acquired know ledge must be passed on to ochers for the beneli.r of the society," says Rajendra like a

''Rajendra in stru cts a p a r ticipan t

true yogi.

Rnjendra reveals thaL he was happy ,vich the rumour of more tl1an 150 participants at this year's mass SLtrya amaskar evem.

"This exercise ba s many heal di benelics," he notes. " J ts regular practice helps with increased energy levels, increased radiance, stre ng thening of die immune system, improved digestion, eyesight and life span and improvement in overall healdi. Above alJ we are invoking tlie grace of ilie L otd in the stm m illuminate our path. As we nourish our outer personality, we must also n ourish our inner personality".

Pinky Bhatia

''Ranjana spoke about how to take care of the self while understanding that life experiences, learning and choices matter in creating a healthy balance in an individual

aunc

A policy to measure the success of multicultural affairs and citizenship has been welcomed with enthusiasm

Victoria is known and has been acknowledged by the other states of Australia, to be the leading multicultural state

I, BY t' 'cARL L 6,; ,BUHARIWALA

Victoria's Premier, Dr Denis Napchine MP, joined the Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship, N icholas Kotsiras i\fP on March 3 to launch a landmark policy char will measure the success of multicultural affairs and cicizens h.ip in V ictoria

The policy, Victo,ia} Advantage - Uni!)\ Diversi(y, Oppo1t1111ity, bas received bipartisan support and is a plan to s upport social cohesion and citizensh ip that ensmes the continuation of Victoria's commitmenr to divers ity. Minister Korsiras wanes to see V ictoria commit to screngthening its h armonious reputation for future generations.

The polic y focuses on three major themes : maximising the benefits of our diversity; citi2enship, participation and soc ial cohesion; and respons ive and access ib le services. Victoria's

p rogress made across these three pillars will be measured and assessed against key indicators, co e n sme constructive action is taken.

The evening of the launch opened w ith a speech from Indigenous Ausu·alian Elder Carol yn Briggs. Briggs acknowledged the traditional owners of the land and explained how the state of V ictoria is filled with vast landscapes ''\v'ith every different landscape there was a different tribe that spoke a different language," she s aid. "They had a great con n ection to their p lace of belonging. During their time, Indigenous A u stralians learned to integrat e and were strengthened through adaptation".

From the days when Indigenous Australians occupied Victoria, they integrated with each other.

Vi ctoria continues to carry on that legacy and bas been open for man y decades to a diverse range of people Erom all over the world.

More than 26 percent of Victorians were born overseas, and 47 percent have at least one parent born overseas. Victoria is known as, and has been acknowledged by the other stares o f Australia, to be the leading multiculmral state.

Now, Victoria has moved beyond integration. Mini s ter Kotsiras d.iscussed bow Victoria's next pbase is interaction "The policy will help to strengthen a migrant's partic ipatio n in local activities, ensure that they are able to access essential services and, most importantl y, develop a society chat promotes respect and underscandiog," he said. " Thls initiative will develop and enhance engagement by all members of the community. Not onl y will foreigners interact with locals, bur locals will continue to share their time with migrants " , added the Minister

So me of che key issues th e policy will address include, amongs t others; increasing skilled migrants access to jobs, having a compulsory second laf1b>uage caught a t school up to Yea.r 10, enhancing international engagement through u·ade miss ions; addressing special complaints about discrimination through legi slation, improving literac y and numeracy skills of migrants, supporting crossculcure and mu lti - faith inceracti,7 e communities, improving access to the justice system and health care system, improving culcural

competence of th e members of cbe public sector, and, showcasing Victoria's cultural, religious and linguistic d.iversi cy Fostering greater interaction is irnportanc for the community and tl1e economy. More people with various backgrounds provide greater potential. Victoria ha s benefited and will continue co bene6t from d.iver sicy. Thi s investment in social cohesio n h as helped V ictoria to g lobalise and i nteract with other co u ntries.

While a rise in population will pose a challenge for Viccoria today, Victorians will be grateful when the state realises its fol.I potential through a growing multiculrural commu nity. The oppormnity co socialise w ith migrants and learn from their experiences is sometlung tha.t should not be nu ssed

lvfPs, senior members of rnulticulmral conmiissions and organisati ons, :md members of local communities attended the event to commemorate V ictoria's step towards a culcurall y diverse society. Throughout tl1e eve1iing, a Latin American duo played traditional cunes on their classical guitars.

Prem ier D r Denis Napth ine an d M in ist e r Nicholas Kotsiras

''

"The policy will help to strengthen a migrant's participation in local activities, ensure that they are able to access essential services and, most importantly, develop a society that promotes respect and understanding"

Minister

Nicholas Kotsiras

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Excited winners were chosen from a bevy of beautiful people at the MIQ 2014 event

aBY NEHAJAIN

It has always been cny ch ildhood dream co walk t he rnmp dressed co the nines, with photographers clicking away. By participating in the recently held Miss, Mrs, Mr lndia Melbourne quest (J\UQ) 2014 event, I realised m y dceam and it is a n experience I will always cherish.

l\HQ 2014 is an arnmal pageant hosted by Anamika Sri of Chatismix events, who also coordinated tl1e preparation sessions tl1at included fitness training, choreography, public spea king and photoshoots. The final event was held at ViUage Green R.otel in Mulgrave.

In preparation, February was busy with fitness sessions where we worked hard and got training tips. " It was a wonderful session and it gave me great tips on how to have a bod y like Salman Khan," said Simran Sethi (Mr Me lbourne lndia MIQ 2014). Next followed the o utd oor photoshoot, at which Ramya looked abso lutely stunning and went on to carry off the title of Ms Pashionisca in the finals. At the indoor photoshoot, Ashleen (!vfrs Universe fodia MTQ 2014) provided nmch oo m ph witli her g lamorous poses. We practiced walking on che ramp and displayed our performing abilities .in the talent rollnd An indoor photo shoot was organised where Ashl een (!vfrs Universe India MTQ 2014) provided the gl amour.

On the day of the event, there was a Au.rry o f excitement in the green ro0m while the contestants got make- up and hair done for our big moment. We had all worked very hard and everyone was enthusiastic about finalJ y getting an opporrunic:y to showcase their beautiful clothes, while strutting d own tl1e ramp.

When called, I wall,ed on stage in a beautifully designed sam b y Niket and Jain ee and in tli e Q&A round 1 was asked, "\Vh at wou ld you do if you only had five minuces to live?" I replied saying, " They say that you should live each day as i f it is yo ur last, and

if I only had five minutes to live, l would spend it with rhe most imporrant people in m y life, m y family and ensure that each of the five minmes was spem making memories and being happy" I walked away feeling like a winner to thundernus app lause from the audience. All tlie contestants performed weU, walking the ramp successfuUy and answering tl1e questions with confidence.

ext, tlie contesrants wall{ed the ramp dcaped in ethnic we;u from Salwar Point and Royal Sarees. Pooja (11fs BeaucifuJ Skin

Q 2014) looked stunning in a red A11mkali suit and walked tlie ramp with panache. The Jase round was evening wear, w ith female contestants dcessed in red gowns from Leie la and male contescancs in suits from Envoy London. Evet'}'One felt and looked like a million dollars in their creative designer outfi rs, including Merry (!v[s Pirness MlQ 2014) lt was a night full of gli tz and glamour for the contestant-~ and

tlie appreciative audience.

Finally the results were announced. Everyone had done a great job and there was a definite ai.r of anticipation, but as is tl1e case in aU competitions, not everyone can be a winner The IvlIQ 2014 winners i n the 'Miss/ Ms' caregory we re Ms Sheet:,1..l ChaiJ (Miss India Global United 2014) and Ms Shagoon Bhasin (!vis India G lobal U niced 2014) who will both be ttavdling m Jv1innesoca to participate in the international pageant.

"I feel g read I am very happy thar 1 won this title," said Ms Sheetal, smiling emhusiasticaUy. " I worked reall y hard in the lasr few months and i r has certainly paid off. My future goal is to change society's perspective on Lndian woman. I want to encourage ever y single female ro love and believe in themselves, as thjs wi.lJ result in internal happiness and confidence, and then the sky is truly the li.111ir (for then1)"

The 'Mrs' category winners were Mrs Ashleen Dhamija

(Mrs India Unive rse) and Mrs Francesca McMillan (Mrs Australia Universe), who will both be travelling to Kua la Lumpur to take part in the international pageant.

Thi s year, i\HQ 2014 a lso introduced 'i\lfale' categories and die winners were: 1lr Roh.it Dhillon (Mr Multicnl rural Melbourne (Australasia); Mr Simran Sethi (Mr Indian Melbourne) ; and Mr Aakash Yuvraaj (.Mr Melbourne). "It's been a great learning curve fo r me, I worked hard in each session to prove my W01'd1 and people have appreciated tliar," said Aakash on being crowned with the tide " l have also g ained a lot of confidence and made many new friends I als o believe char the event could have been better organised, but overall it has been a great way ro showcase my talen t. Congratulations to aU die ,vinners".

The audience enjoyed entertainment in che form of dances and songs from talented local artists between rounds.

Anamika thanked die exhaustive list of sponsors for their o ngoin g supp ort and generosi ty. She also commended MCs for the evening, Kritika Srivastava and Muknl Relan.

The guest of honour and exclusive fashion des igner of tl1e evening was JN Collection (Niket and JaL11ee Mishra). According ro designe r s from India, their des~s have a a cosmopoli ta n .look, bur don't shy away from experimentation, reaching ouc to tl1e wocld with tlieir creations. "The JN look is all abom gusto with the right twang of feminine flirtatiousness," claimed Jainee lvus lu:a

The most difficult job for tlie evening however, was that of d1e judges who had a rough job cho osi ng fro m so many eager and able contestants. The judging panel including AJoke Kumar, businessman and owner of Thornbury Theatre; Bindy Rayac, model and entrepreneur; Jvfary Bernadette, former Miss Bombay and dance school director; and Lucy Laurita, director of tl1e fashion brand Leiela

Straight from Melbourne to the Rashtrapati Bhavan: Actress Vidya Ba/an receives the prestigious Pad

one of India 's highest civilian honours, from the President

'

Unrecognised ' poll debut by motley group

A former senior Maharashtra cop, a breakaway member of the AAP and an activist working among Sikkimese people - these are among the 24 people who have formed new po litical oudits that will make their elecroral debut, albeit as '\mrecognised parti es", in the coming elections.

The 24 political parties, \Vith names as diverse as Hurn Sabki Parry, Rashttiya Vikalp Party, Apna Dal Uni ted Parry, Ex-Sainik Vikas Parry, Awa.mi Vikas Parry and eveo Free Thought Party, have been registered as U nrecognised Parties by the Election Commission for the April 7-May 12 L~1 k Sabha p o lls.

With e lectoral promises ranging fro m introducing digital currency to tackling corruption, and working for tbe downtrodden to increas ing participati o n of people in law making and administration processes, these new outfits have beg un campaigning among voters across t he country

A leading news agency ttied co track these " new" political outfits - with many n o t even having webs ites - and was able co trace three.

The Awami Vikas Party was formed last year by Shamsher Wazir Khan, a former t-.lfaharashtra assistant commissioner of police. " ln order to work for uplift of tbe downtrodden sections of socie ty, there is no other option but to enter the poll fray," Khan said in a phone interview from Mumbai. The Mumbai - based parry is co ntesting for 22 Lok Sabha sears in Maharashtra and one in Uttar Prades h.

He said that though 85 percent of the people in the country come fro m t he Scheduled Castes and backward classes, they are always kept away from the mainstream o f society

"So wha t if our party is ne\v? The par ty's ideology and our work an1ong the people will help us win seats," said Khan, adding that he formed the political ourfo co work for d owntrodden sec tio ns of society, especially the mino rity communities, ro bcing them imo the mainstrean1

Llke his part}; the re are a staggeri ng 1,617 unrecognised outfits in the country so far waiting co ge t the poll panel's nod.

At the moment, the re are six national parties and 47 state partie s

According to a senior official of the Election Co mmission, " Registered uurecogni sed policical parcies are th e ones who neither come under sta re- based, nor national parties. Therefore, tbey are nor even eligible for a permanent par ty symbol during the e lections"

U nder the rules, these parties w ill be allotted symbols from a list of 87 'free symbo ls' only when they fulfil th e criteria of contesting 10 percent of rbe total seats in a st,'lte o r the co untry

Added the Election Co mmissio n offi cial: "If they win the Lo k Sabha elections, d1ey w ill represent the ir party in tl1e parliament. But tl,e parry will not be acknowledged as s tate - based or national"

They will then need to be engaged in political activities for a continuous period of fi ve years, a n d bag six percent o f tl1e valid votes polled, with at least tl1ree members elected to a legislative a-ssembly and one to the L o k Sabha to ge t recognition from tl1 e poll panel.

Once recognised , the parties are eligible for allo 1ment of permanent symbols

Tbe only Delhi- based party to be registered among the 24 new outfits is the Garib Aadmi Party (GAP / Poor Man's Par ty), wbicl1 ha s fielded 50 candidates across rbe cow1try

The par ry was formed rwo m o mhs ago b y Shyam Bharti, a former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member. Among his poll promises, Bharti has proposed replacing paper currency with digital currency to "aboli sh corrupti o n" and provirling ration cards and Aadhar cards to every poor individual in the coumry.

"Formatio n of Garib Aadmi Par ty was necessary as AAP, which initially clain1ed to work for poor people, has devia ted from its objectives," said B h arti, who is to file hi s n o mination fro m Varanasi - from where BJP prime ministerial caudidate arendra Modi is contesting.

A H yderabad - based omfil, Mahajan Socialist Par ty, is focusing on ''injustice" to tbe Dalir Christians io southern India and is targetcing its campaign among chem

ln eastern India, the Sikkim Liberation Party (SLP) is campaigning among the "original" Sikkimese communities in tl1 e nor t heastern state in a bid to include tl1em i n tbe development process.

"No ne of the p oli tical parti es fighting in tbe elections are serio us abom resolving the important issues relating co tl1e development of Sikkim," said SLP president Duknath Nepal over the phone from Gangtok.

" Our party's aim is co develop Sik kim , and tl1e people of Sikk..i.n1 understand this ve ry well. So tl1is rime we are confident of a win," said Nepal, a former social activist.

In their b id to bag as many votes, these new pol itical oudits a re focussing on speci.fic communities and raising issue s that concern them during campaign time Bm only time will tell whetl1er they will even o pen tl1eir accow1t in this election

RUPESH DUTTA

Children do not vote, hence ignored by parties

C hildren cannot vote, they ca nnot make political demands and tl1erefore do nor have any say in electoral outcomes fa th.is the reason why, year after year, p o litical parties have been ignoring the needs of children in their poll promises?

This despite the face rbat children constitute over a tli.ird of India's 1.2'l billion population. Children appear ro be tl1e m ost neglec ted segment in l ndia, wi th their rights being vastly ignored.

"l t is time t bat our manifes tos realise that we have an India with 4 40 million children below l8 years U nfortunately elections ate about parnpecing the elecmrate and children d o n or vo te. Bu r o ur p olitical parties need co remember rbat o ur electora te values the se children, politicians may no t" ,Jayakrnnar

C hristian., CEO of Wo rld Vision India, a grassroots organisatio n working for children, said recendy in New Delbi..

"Children cannot attend election rallies,

tweet or engage on social media Bur our children will vote witl1 their di sconten tm ent rhxo ug h rbeir parents a nd comm unities," h e added.

"If o ur finance 111.iniscer is able to .include child budgeting in the mi.ion budget every year, why not in th e mrui.ifes tos," Jayakumru· as ked.

A n analysis o f the 2009 general eleccio n rnanifestos of p olitical parties by NGO Child Rig hts and You (CRY), reveals that the space received b y children's iss ues range from a mere fi ve percent to 14 percent across parries.

Th e Communist Par ty of India-Marxist and tbe DMK are at rbe lowest at 5 and 6 percent respectively w li.ile th e Nationalist Congress Parry (NCP ) scored t he h ighest at 14 perce nt

Pragya Vats, campaign manager ar Save the C hildren, ano ther NGO wo rking for children, told IANS: "Government5 have rare ly prioritised cli.ildren, and fail to recognise that they have rights. l.ndia continues to hit the headlines for our staggel"ing s tati stic s o n all indicators relating to childre n's we ll- being

"For a country whi ch loses 1.4 million children w1der fi ve yea rs of age every year to death and disease and where eight million children still remain o ut o f school , tl1e wel fare of children i:arely finds a men tion in the campaign of a ny political parry:' she said.

Indi a has the largest child population in the world: Over 1 7 percent of the wo rld's child ren live in India.

Of tl1e 430 millio n children in the 0- 18 age-group, a b out 1 60 milli o n are belo,v t he age of six and abo u t 270 million are between 6 and 1 8, acco rding to tl1e 2011 census.

"Children constitute 40 percent or a third of India's popuL'ltion but these statistics reflect that we as a nation are n ot doing enough for our children B y ignoring child1·en, we are nor o nly putting o ur present at peril but also ()Ur future," Vats maintain ed. She said issues conc erning children n1ust emerge high on the political agenda and translate int0 cornmiunents.

In February, a delegation of children, under tl1e aegis of Chetna, an r GO working for street children, mer Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik and G. Moha n Gopal, b otl1 members of the manifes to drafting comni.ittee, ru1d presented a charter of demands. However, none of tbe d e mands were included in rbe party rn,'lnifes co released Marcl126.

"We were surprised to see that the Congress manifesto did not mention a single tl1ing w hich these leaders prom ised," said Chetna di.rector Sanjay Gupta

" Th e parties should rake the issues o f childre n se r iously," he added.

Recently, World Vis ion India released a manifesto for children which included the right to good health , heal th services in v illages a nd free and quality health services for all vuL1erable children in hospitals.

It also d emanded strict enforcemenr of laws against trafficking and child labo ur ru1d be tter o ppo rtunities for disabled chil dren Add ed Gupta, "Children are rbe fumre of this cow1try. They are potential vote rs and their issues also affect the adult elecro rare. l e is high cin1e political parties tho u g h t a bout them".

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ma Shri award,

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Osama bin Laden is gone, but terrorism is not

New solutions need to be sought to eradicate terrorism, as a/Qaeda grows stronger in North Africa and the Middle East

0n March 1 1, 1 attended a lecture by Aj it D oval held at the Uaivetsity of Melbo urne's Australia India Institute. Doval spoke on 'The Challenges of Global Terrorism', a ropic on which he is eminently qualified to speak, g iven his past role as director of India's Central lntelligence Bureau.

Assurning one believes the o fficial story about tl1e May 201 1 Jcilling of Osama bin Laden by the American military, it wou ld be tempriag to think chat we are e n tering an era of safety and !hat groups such as al - Qaeda are on t he brink of being defeated. However accorcling to Doval, such a v iew is the opposite of the truth. To the contra r y, .i tis ti.me to brace omselves for a world t hat is 111ote unsafe dian the world which existed prior to the attacks of September 11 , 2001.

There are several reasons for Doval's pess imistic outlook. Fi rst, there are the te n s of th ousands in Nord1 Africa and t he Middle East who suppo r t al- Qaeda

and i ts objectives. The organisation has become stronger and its reach now extends further. Al -Qaeda now operates as an almost global o rganisation, despite the efforts of the American

Central Intelligence Agency, Fed eral Bureau of Investigation and equivalent agencies in the United Kingd om and Australia

Doval aad other inte lligence chie fs appear to have forgotten one of the fundamental rules of solving cria1es - t he impor t ance of establis h ing a m otive In order to ensure tl1e '\Xfar on Terrorism' is more successful tl1an the '\'v'ar on Drugs' or the '\Var on Crime', that is, in order for i t to lead co a definite outcome rather cl1an c o n tinuing o n indefini tel y for anocl1er 100 years, it is imperative that the underl ying reason s fo r terrorism be addressed.

There i s a wealcl1 of research largel)' ignored by the heads of the major intelligence agencies chat directl )' addresses t he question of how best co prevent in dividuals &om turi:Ling to ter rorism in the fus e place. Most of this scholarship is by inclividaals w irl1 significant experience in counter- terrorism and polici ng.

J'vt:ichael Scheuer, a former head of the CIA's Bio Laden unit, a rgues tl1at Islamic terrorises are angered by America's support for corrupt and tyrannical Mus lim govern m en ts, western troops on the Arabian Penin su la, western s upport for fame!, A m erican pressure o n Arab e n e rgy p roducer s to keep oil prices low, the occupation

''First, there are the tens of thousands

in North Africa and the Middle East who

support al-Qaeda and its objectives.

of Iraq an d Afghanistan, and the support for Russ ia , India, and C h ina against d1e ir Muslim militants In other words, Is lamic terror groups are nor all irra tional religious fa natics. They bave rational obje ctives chat capitalise on the public resentment caused b y western meddling in the internal

The organisation has become stronger and its reach now extends f urther affai rs of Arab nations Such meddling has led to many atrocities against residents w h o are then inspired co sup p ort insurgent g ro ups. Scand,11s relating to the Abu Gharaib

The American -led war in Afghanistan against al-Qaeda's leadership has hurt d1e o rganisation, yet Doval is worried about what will happe n o nce Western forces have withdrawn from the Middle East

"We thought the antidote (to g lobal te rrorism) was cutting off their finances and the peop le's support, bm it turns out the antidote was really denying tl1em sanctuaries," he stated in his lecture "They have had sanctuaries in Pakistan in the past. Now if they get a Taliban -inAuenced governme m in Afghanistan d1ey could get sanctuaries in Afghanistan again and the simatio n could be very se ri ous".

Despite spending billions of dollars and sacrifici n g hundreds o f tho u sands of lives, experts such as D oval admit that anti - terrori sm efforts have not led to st ellar results Yet Doval does n ot appear tO offer any so lutio n s apart from doing more of the sam e. He wants the US to be harsher on Pakistan for harbouring terrorists; for there to be greater international cooperation; and for intelligence capabili ty to be s ignifican tly enhan ced. But these are aU attempts at tinkering with a syste m cl1at needs raclical root-and - bra nch reform.

''prison, rorture, rapes by American and British soldiers, and collateral damage caused by drone stri kes are just the rip of an iceberg tha t goes back to America's ove rcl1row of the democratically appo inted leader of Iran in 1953. It is practical concerns such as these t hat have allowed al-Qaeda to thrive.

Scheuer's thesis is su pported b y R obert Pape of the University of Chi cago. Based on an analysis of 3 15 suicide attacks between 1980 to 2003, Pape finds "little connecti o n between suicide terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, or any o ne of tbe world's religions R ath er, w ha t nearly all suic ide terrorist attacks have in common is a specific secular and strategic goal : to compel modera democrac ies co w i thdraw military forces from terr itory that th e terrorists con sider to be their homeland". This 'logic' of sui c id e terrorism applies just as well in Sri Lanka as it does in cl1e US, Saudi Arabia or Iraq.

In the long term, lasting gains against terrorism will require all nations to truly u nderstand their enemy. From this undersrancling wm arise a .s trategy for reducing the support that groups such as al-Qaeda obtain from the public in Arab nati o n s. Thi s can be done wi thout appeasing terrorises, giving up legitimate strategic targets or compromising n ational securit)r.

A mix of colours at All I Holi Fa • 1r

Celebration and co/our brings Australians and Indians together for a fun filled event

The annual All] I-Joli Fair was held o n Sund ay March 16, with fun, fe.stivities and above all, colour for alJ! Held a d ay before the ac mal date of Holi, the AIII Hol.i Fair is in its sixth year, and attracted a huge number of attendees showing up to spread the love a nd the powder!

O n e of several Holi events ar ound th e c ity in March, the AUl Holy Fair was attended by several high profi le personages including Comm iss ioner Ch.in Tan, Chai rperson of the V iccor ian Mul ticulmral Commission;

Vi ctorian La b or lead er Daniel Andrews; and Liberal Member of the Legislative Assemb ly Inga

Peulich.

The event kid,ed off at 11 :30am w i th the rimal sp reading of coloured powder, followed by a short pause while th e bolik11 bonfire was li t. Then it was back o n to more 'battles of colour ' ; Australia's own Desi D i sc Jockeys warmed the crowd u p as more musical a n d comedy acts prepared to h it the stage. Also present was Mumbai ker Sikander Khan, known for h is i.m.itatio n of the voice of Bollywood royalty Amicabb Bacbchan.

As day turned to evening, Mumbai-based singers Ab h i.nanda Sarkar and Indian Idol final.ist Yas h raaj Kap il rook to the stage. Hilarious Pa kistani comedians

Irfan Malik and Ali Hasan kept the crowds entertai n ed, w hile various government represematives spoke co the excited audie nce, and the party rocked on T hose who weren't dancing were being jolted a round on the dod gem cars or other rides , and eve r yo n e \Vas lapping up the rich variety of Indian and .international food o n offer at stalls.

Aill Chairperson Vernon

Da ~ma called the Holi event a n opportunity to "showcase Indian multicultural.ism w ithin multicul.tutal Austral.ia," something chat ,vas truly o n s how with a h.igh level of participation from non-

Indian Australians.

Speaking to Indian Liuk , J\III

Vice Chairperson Harj Yellina explained bow attendance at this annual event had be,,=n as a predominantly Indian and SrLLankan affair, but bad now grown to in cl u de Austral.ians of various ethn.ic backgrow1ds.

"If you look at the crowd, Indians have very much gelled witl1 the Aussie community as well," sa.id Yellina, adding thar the festival "is a lot of fun for new m igrants to gel w itb Ind.ian Aussies or Austral.ian Aussies they're p laying cogether - you don't see this in the restaurants or on the foory groun d"

" Th e A1II festival i s one of the largest Hol.i ce lebrations i n Australia," Stated Yellina adding, "tl1e event i s set to grow in tl1e future. It is now attracting musical, comedy and dance acts Erom Indi a, Pa kistan and the wider subcon ti n ent, as well as local artists. l pred.ict a doubling in the size of the festival"

Ail1 is Australian Indian Innovations Incorporated, a Melbo urne- based group aiming "to pro m ote, foster and empower the Indian presence in mul ticultural A u srral.ia". Holi dates bad. to p rehiscoric tirnes in the subcontinent, where it has strong links to the celebrations surrounding the cntting of the harvest in agLiculnual regions. oting that f-loli i s ac its biggest in Northern I ndia, J\Ill Executive Member Neeraj Na n da commented that the ce lebratio n s ate also enjoyed by communities ac ross the religious spectrum.

Sensational Sunidhi rocks Holi Mela

The renowned playback singer enthrals her fans and adds to the excitement of Holi

Recenrly on a Sunday afternoon, hundreds of Sunidhi Chauhan fans from all parrs of Melbourne descended upon Wercibee Racecourse to enjoy the Holi Mela and to listen to their favour ite playback singer. With her ability to eJectr.ify a hall from tbe front pews to back, Sunidhi was at her dynamic best on the open stage that was created for Holi revellers by the organisers Siz7Jin Events.

Sunidhi's power packed performance is designed for spaces beyond walls and chairs and the famous, multi -award winning playback singer was able to galvanise the audience with her exttaordinary stage presence. It was clifficnll to sit d1ere and simp ly tap one's feet as Sunidhi's effervescence had the abili ty to stir all music fans. The undisputed queen of Bollywood item n umbers engaged the crowd into high spirits whi le belcing out hits Like Knn;/i, Sheela and Beed1; among others.

In the swarm of new and old pL'lyback singei:s in India, SunicUu has carved a niche for herself with her impressive voice and ability to express volub lr in both Hindi and E ng lish. Irr additi on to ber continued successes in Bollywood, Suruclhi has collaborated w ith popstar Enriqu e lglesias on his song H e"rtbeat (Jndia l\tfix) whi ch featured on h is album E11pho1ia (speciaJ lndian edicion). She was also the only Indian arcist asked to be a parr of llie Weste rn Union World of Bette1:r campaign in collaboracion with internacional recording artists Alicia Keys, K'Naan, Qohn Legend and Pitbull).

You couJd sec why people were prepared to drive alJ the way to Werribee to revel not only in the

fescival of co lours, but to relish d1e acoustic treat offered by Sunidhi and her Jive band. '1f only the show had gone on for a little longer and i t couJd have started a li ttle earlier", commenced one of the VIP ticket ho lders as a beautifuJ black Porsche whisked the singer away. This probably was the hrst time that Holi was being held at this venue and a free bus s huttle service was on offer co take people tO and fro. There were plenty of food staJls and treats to tuck into, aJong with staJls from service providers, media outle ts a nd financiaJ services. Tt may not have met the claim of being the biggest Holi Mela in Me lbourne; however it sure met me cri teria for being o n e of the best, thanks mainly to Suniclhi Chau han's crowd -engaging performance.

The great political showdown

India is gearing up for its federal elections, but severely lacks worthy contenders

The world 's biggest democracy will go co elections soon, co choose a governn1en c for its billion p lus citizens, for the next five years. The voting process will start on April 7 and its r esults will n oc be announced w1til mid - Mar Such is the enormity of this process. Righc now India stands at political crossroads Perhaps, the most po li tically fragile India 1 have eve r known. VuL1erab le, edgy and unsure. Politically, that is. There are th e two craditional political g ian ts heading this nation in a face-off. The once- mighty and che party currentl y in charge over the last d ecad e, the Indian Nation al Congress (lNC). And tl1e Bharatiya J anata Party (BJP), that is furiously kn ocking on the doors of power in these upcoming elec ti ons

The BJP is iu this position of slight comfo rt goi ng into these elections mainly because of me overwhelming grudges held b y people againsc tl1e Congr ess parry over meir rnle for me last d e cad e, rather tl1an any evident merics of tbe BJP itse l f.

P eop le are seeking a change, aod chat sen timent is daorn clear! You do not have to be a political analyst to feel thac.

Alleged corruption scams, and l mean, mega corruption scams

Massive ones! Perceived inability to lead from me front and address these scams. The rising cost of li-\~ng And a 'puppet' of a Pr im e 11inister a re some of the major ailments haunting t he Congress Party. And mese may eventually spell their fall from grace soo n.

More recently, a chird dimension has bee n added ro mis political paradigm in India. A very serious third dimension. This is a political parry in its infancy, but riding on a massive wave of citizen goodwill.

A quasi- revolution in itself. It's called the Aam J\adm.i Party (/\AP )

Headed by a maverick, an activist, or as someli ke to caU him, an anarchi st, Arvind Kejriwal.

Love him or loame him , tl1e fac e remains time h im and his Party are serious contenders in these upcoming electio n s. If nor to wi n a majoricy a nd form a governmem

tl1emselves, b u t certainl y co cause enough collateral damage to dent the chances o f botb the BJP and Congress ro grab a c lear majoricy. And both parties feel threatened by tl1 is la st m inute wildcard enrry .i.mo lndian. politics They are deeply threaten ed. And they have themselves to blame for their predican1enr.

Now here is m y rake o n what all of this means for the people of India. No matter which way p eople voce in the upcoming elections, my view is that lndia will end up w itl1 a 'sub- sta ndard ' regime. And a severely substa ndard o n e at chat.

l n a recent incerview o n national TV, tl1e second in command of the Congress Party demonstrated h is lack of substance, charisma and leadership to tbe entire woi:ld. His naivety and inaptitude for tl1e top job was on display in full sple n dour during this incer view.

'\'<Tomen empowermem' is a g r eat concept and has grea c engagement potential, but only if yo u mink ic tl1rough and not use it as a tag p h rase (20-plus times) wimout any rational thou g h t on national televisio n. Perhaps it was s uggested to Mr Gandhi by his media advisor. \'{feU, it backfired, and rightly so. A Congress victory is highly unlikely, it seems However, if by a m iracle tl1e Con gress does win, a gove rnment under Rahul Gandhi or any other

leader for time matter, will spell yet anoth e r five years of naive experimen tation, sub- standard leadership, la c k of accountability and n o real cl1ange from me status quo.

The BJP have fielded Mr Modi as ilieir tru mp card. His sta ke to tl1e top job is being touted as the great economic transformatio n of his home stare of Gujarat, and a chord he seems to have struck wim the Indian youth, allegedly. Also haunting 1\fr Mod i is his pasc. The rio t s, tl1e b loodshed, the carnage. The courts may have p rovided hi m a clean chit, bur those communal taints linger o n, vividly Add chat to che already relig ious ly p olarised image of the BJP, tl1ey are bo1md to leave some serious doubts in tl1e minds of 'secu lar' citizens. The BJP is m ost likely to sweep the elections if yo u go by rnedia reports. But a sbi ft from che Congress ro BJP will merely mean a s hift in religious and political ideologies There is no real benefit for th e ordinar y ci tizen.

Then comes tl1e AAP. The dar k h orse, t he wild card. They tasted power in Delhi for aLuost a month And tl1ey now crave the nation. They claim to cl1ange it all. Free me nation from corruption. Provide subsidised utilities Encl corruption in India. l or l ee corrupt politicians wi n. And that's pretty much what chey are all about, free

the nation from corruption. I agree it has to happen. But to form a government and run it for five years wi thout n o real po.lic y or vis io n outlined on a n , major federal matters other t h an corruption is inadequate in m)' opinion. Kejriwal may be a wellmeaning person in his own right, but personally I have some serious do ubts abom h is capability and intem over time. I will be happy to be proven wrong, bur he has noc got my tic k (n or t hat it matters). Yer.

India needs a change, a significant change. lt needs respon sible and accountab le gove rnance. It needs a progressive, secular and ente rprisi n g lot of politicians. Ones who will address intrinsic matters w hile keeping pace with the rest of tl1e world. However, as pessimistic as it may sound, none of che current parties fighting for power in the forth coming election s will offer the balanced aod progress ive government that India needs a c tl1is momem They will all offer a government that is half-baked and inadequace India will not achieve the change it so badly needs The Congress and BJP are stuck in their craditional ban te r with little regard for che intellige nce of t h e voters The AAP on tl1e other hand is the lone alternative for people to turn to An untried alternative with noc much to offer than verbal bravado, for n ow

1ron1c, •

one- ens1ona

A succinctly written novel unfolds the not- uncommon life ofpeople in a mohalla

namesake of Imran Khan the cricketer, not the po litician. There's also Wasim , Javed, Benazir, Zia, ZulEkkar, Navaz Sharif and Yahya, among a colourful array of characters. We see the 111ohalla through lmran's musings from jail and one can't help loving Vanity Bagh the way he does. The author uses the right tenor of optimi s m and resignation; dark, bur , vry humour that we are lulled into tl1inking d1is is a 'slice o f life' - of families, neighbou rs and the community.

An

eesSalim

professor's widow; the troubling r ole his father may have played in the killings, haunt him.

The author uses the right tenor of optimism and resignation; dark, but wry humour that we are lu lled into th ink ing this is a 'sl ice of life' - offamilies, neighbours and the community

January and February

see m to h ave been the season for literary festivals everywhere -

Chennai's The Hindt1 Uterature far Ufa festival was he ld ove r three days between Januar y 13- 15 Thi s was foliowed by che now famous and established Jaipm· Utemfure Festival held between January 17-24, which has ac its he lm celebrity writers N amita Gokhale and William Dalrymple. The lisc of authors who attend chis festival every year must be the envy of lit fests everywhere. The Labore Literature Festiwl, the most

glamorous in Pakistan, was he ld berween February 2124, was attended by Vikram Seth, Mira Nair, Amit Chaudhari and a host of other well -known authors from around the world.

The 2014 Perth Writm' Fcsti1'tl! and the recentl y concluded Adelttide IViite,:r' Festival were attended b y authors _Ja.5pteet Singh and Jeer Thayi l. Jeec Thayil's book

N11rcopolis was reviewed in chis column a coup le of yea rs ago

Heli11111 is a novel by Jaspreer Singb, which has as its backdrop the a.nti-Sikb riots of 1984 When his business a:ip to Iceland en route to Dell1i is prol o nged b y a volcanic eruption, sc ientist Raj Kumar begins to obsess; the killing of his former professor in the 1984 anti-Si kh riots, the day after lndira Gandhi's assassination; the whereabouts of the

Vani!J Flagh (Picador India, 2013) by Anees Salim won Th e Hindu Prize for Best Fiction in 20 13, announced at The Hindu's Utemture for Ufe writers' festival in Chennai. le is the tale of a young man, Imran Jabbari and h is friends, who, partly out of boredom and partly inspired by their local legend and aging Don, Abu Hathim, decide to form a 'gang ' to emulate him. This ragtag group doesn't really do much by way of big- time crime, u n til one day when they are hired to despatch some stolen scooters to different parts of the city. Nai:ve as they are, they think this is their big break, and agree to do it. Only after bombs go off in all the locations where cbey parked their scooters, do tl1ey realise they have been conned and inadvertently invo lved in a terrorist act.

Sentenced for 14 years, lmran. is assigned to the bookmaking section of the p rison, where each time he opens a book and stares at its b lank pages, the memories of Vanity Bagh come alive and we are led gently th.ro ug h tl1e notuncommon lives of the 111ohalla's inhabitants.

Lmran Jabbari is the son of the local /1//(/1/1 and like everyone e lse in the lllOballa, he was named after the successful, rich and famous of Pakistan. Lnran is tl1erefore, the

It is an extremely readable book, written with wry, understated, self- deprecating humo ur, which will resonate well w itl1 Austral ians.

However, what I found tmsetiling was the entire Muslim community in r7ani[y Flagh identified with Palcistan, and that the only 'other' was Mehendi, a nearby suburb which is represented as a monolithic, unvariegated Hinduextremist neig hbourhood

The only idiom of interaction between the (only) two groups is a.long a binar y divide, and of tense confrontation and perennial distru st teetering o n commu n al riot; there was simply no otl1er form of inter-digitation, even of the commonplace everyday life. This may have served the author\ narrative, but such reductionism, even for tl1e purposes of storytelling, seemed too simplistic and unrepresentative to me.

However convenient this is for a stor yline, such reductionism, and one-dimensional narrative is a little disquieting This was my only real grouse with the novel.

Anees Salim i s an advertising professional in Kochi who has written four novels and is working on bi s fifth. Vani!J Bag/.1 is his second novel. Others on The Hindu B ook Prize shortlist i ncluded Manu Joseph (The Illicit Happiness ef Other People) , :Manjul Bajaj (A notherMrm's Wife rmd Other Stmies), Sonora Jha (Fonig/1) and Amandeep Sandhu (Roll ef l-Io110111').

The on ly idiom of interaction between the (only)two groups is along a binary divide, and of tense confrontation and perennial distrust teetering on communal riot

The truth behind hair loss

The most effective way to treat hair Joss is to address both external and internal factors and choose a natural solution

Most medical hair loss centres use a very limited form of rream1ent, such as the drug Propecia (finasceride). Thi s reduces male hormone levels to treat hair loss U nfortunacely male hormones are only one of many factors chat can cause hair loss. Therefore this u:eaanent is very limited.

Further problems with finasteride use include decreased sex drive in males and a slow therapeutic response time where visible results can only be achieved afte r 6- 12 months. Finasteride bas also not been indicated for use in women because o f possible sid e effects.

]vunoxicW is another medical hair loss treatment thac only works temporarily. J\fter stopping use, hair loss will once again occur, often even worse than before. Side effects o f Minoxidil include swelling of the face, blurred vis ion, chest pain, irreg ular heartbeat, rapid weighc gain and increased hair loss.

Because t here are so many d ifferent medical causes of hair loss, doctors often focus o n u:eating the di sease onl y. Unfortuna tely; these treatments usually do n or regrow the.it patients' hair back. Por example, some specialises treac skin disorders to treat hair loss. This results in delayed treatment for che acmal hair loss.

Causes of hair loss

Hair loss is no t only a simple skin or scal p problem, it is also associated with b lood circulation, nervous su pport systems, endocrine. glands, dice, nutrition, stress, emotional shock, medical disorders and even ge nes.

External Factors: Sebaceou s glands, blood vessels and dermal papilla Wichin d1e scalp there are two ducts that connect to the hair follicle, sebaceous g land and blood vessels. Excessive sec retion from the sebaceous gland and restricted b lood flow chrough che b lood vessels will affect healthy hair growch cycles. The dermal papilla is t he major communi cation point

between tbe follicle and the rest of d1e body and is like soil for the hair follicle.

Internal Factors: Genes

Genetic hair dunning or baldness is due to the male hormone dil1ydrotestosterone (DHT) acting on genetically-susceptible scalp hair follicles. DHT binds w receptors on hair follicles obstrUcting che b lood supply to the follicle preventing ab sorption of essential nutrients.

Emotion al stress and shock

E motional stress and shock increase the production of five hormones; gr owth hormones, d1ytox.ine, adrenaline, g lucocorticoids and glucagon, whidt affect blood sugar leve ls chat can cause cliffu se hair loss Imbalances in endocrine gland secretio ns also lead to hair loss.

Diet and Nutrition

Deficiencies of i.ron, zi.nc, calcium, magnesiw11 and chromium affect hair follicle healch High levels of copper can lead to dry hair as well as hair loss. Poor proce.in intake and essential fatty acid deficienc y are od1er faccors.

The solution

Medical disorders

L iver disorders such as hepatitis and cirrhosis can cause an imbalance of sugar levels a nd lead to di ffuse hair loss. Kidney failure, diabetes and anemia can al so cause diffuse hair loss

Endocrine glands and n ervous system

The following endocrine dysfunctions can lead co diffuse hair loss; pituitary gland hormonal imbalances, small quantities of male sex hormones in women, under or overproductio n of thyroid hormones, under production of parathyroid hormones, overproduction of glucocorticoids b y che adrenal glands, or too little/much insulin

Other: Medications, surgery, high fever, infections, cosmetic hair treatments and products, menopause, oral contraceptives (especi ally after stopping), post p regnancy, hysterectomy and more.

Prom cheinformation jusc described, we can see iliac hair loss is often a symptom of an internal medical disorder. However, hair usually d oesn't grow back ,vhen doctors only treat che i nternal disorder. Hair regrowch requires specific treatment. Also, further hair loss wiU occur if we only treat the hair and scalp (e.xternal condition) and n ot treat the internal body cau se. So we also muse address all relevant internal causes of hair loss.

Therefore, the most effective way to treat bait loss i s m address boch excernal and internal factors, adjust body imbalances, activate hair foUicles, improve the hair and scalp environment and enhance hair nouri shment. The safest way to achieve all of this is to choose a natural/herbal b ased treatmenr solution

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" I used to think that all mortgage brokers are the same unti l I met Swati" - Koma/

aA tribute to the 'son of a gun; now immortalised through his writing

went to Oxford, practiced la,v; was awarded the Padma Bhusban in 1974, and controversially supported the E merge ncy. However, he remrned the Padma Bhusban in 1984 in protest against 'Operation Bluestar' where thousands o f inn o cent Sikhs were killed during and after the siege of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. He was a Rajya Sabha Member at that time, from 1980 to 1986 He was also co.nsulcing editor of the newly established Pe11g11in India, and along with David Davidar, set up the foundations of what would become a powerhouse for contemporary Indian writing. He was awarded tl1e Padma Vibhushan in 2007.

t hose who more than others craved forgiveness for having lied, stolen, fornicated and made illicit money"

.,tI BY ROANNA GONSALVES

MysonJadyn went missing in .Mumbai

last year. We were at the Tata Literature Live Festival 2013 at the r ational Centre for the Performing Arts and we had lost each other in the fllda, so to speak. After looking for him in various comers of the building, I found him seated on a sofa near tables laden \vith books, his focus trnwavering from the book he was reading. U pon closer inspection , I realised it \Vas Khusbwant Singh's Big Fat Jok<! Book. An acquaintance who noticed what was going on raised his eyebrows to suggest drnt Khushwant Singh's jokes were not exactly suitable for a ten year old. When l asked Jad)' t1 what he liked about it, he said with trademark h o nesty, "It has many rude words in idn

It is for tl1e rude words, four-

lettered and fearlessly multi - lette red, re.11 and symbolic, that I ,-vill remember Khushwaat Singh. The 'son of a gun' i s dead. And with h im an era has ended too. In the contemporary popular imagination , the nan1e of Khnshwanc Singh conjures up the image of 'the sul tan of sleaze'. To be fair, one could be forgiven for thinking li ke this ab out a man who has writeen much that is sexist, much that treats women merely as objects of lust. But it will be a monumental shame if be is only remembered as a ' celebrated lecher', as die late Dhiren Bhagat cheekily called bim in a pre-obituary of Khushwanc Singh written in 1983.

In our contemporary rimes of paid news scandals erupting everywhere, the passing of Khusbwant Singh marks the encl of a more principled age in the med ia.

As the founder-editor of Yqjana, edicor of the l//11strated lP'fekg ef lndia, chief editor of New Delhi, and edicor of the Hi11dt1stan Times, he was irreverent and made no bones about bis views, saying he used "no condom on bis pea". He was born 99 years ago in Hadali village in what is now Pakistani Ptmj ab He

ln his masterful two volume History of the Sikhs, Singh pres en ts a social, religious and political history of the landscape, and Sikh communities o f Punjab. Apart from being meticulously researched, the works are fuU of love for the geographies of Punjab, the poetry o f Guru Nanak, the music of kirla11. Yet these two volum es are far from hagiographies of the Khalsa Singh minces no words in cl1ronicling the 'holocaust' of Sikhs in I 984, and the b lood on tl1e hands of all sides of the political spectrum. 1-Iis novel Train to Pakisttm introduced a generation of readers to d1 e scories of the Western partition of India, and to rbe sorrow of Partition lireratute, more broadly. H is co lumn With Jvlafice To1vards One and All in the T-findwfa11 Til!les was widely read for its irreverence and humour. It is this irreverence and the courage to say as be pleased without fear o r favour, aka, the 'rude words', that is an inspiration co us.

Singb's work o n religion and agnosticism are like roucbsrones for our age, especially in a communally charged lndia juse before tl1e ge neral elections later this year.

ln h is essay The Nefdford Neu, Religion - Without a God, he says, "On rare occasi on s whe n I visited ag11md1JJara of a temple, J made it a point to watch people making obeisance before the Granth Sahib (the holy book of the Sikhs) or their favourite God. Those who cook the longest cin1e co rub their noses on d1e grotu1d were usually

If you scratch below tl1e surface of his reputatio n as a dirty old man, you will find a who loved women., beginning witb bis grandmother. In the title story of his collection of short stor ies, The Portrait ef a Latfy, he paints a render picture of his grandmother who raised him: " her face was a crisscross of wrinkles running from everywhere to everywhere. No, we were certain she bad always been as we bad known her O ld, so terribly o ld chat she could nor have grown older, and had stayed at the same age for twenty years. She could never have been pretty; but she was always beautiful " Death was o fte n splashed across bis work. In his tongue-in-cheek story Porth11mo11s he imagi nes his own funeral and decides to die, "just for the fun of it," expecting his numerou s friends and wellwishers to grieve pub licly and long for their dearly departed friend. However, bi s tiny ob ituary notice appears at the bottom of page three in the newspaper, and only a few people mrn up to condole w i th his w i fe. B y the time the hearse nears tl1e cremation grounds, there is no o ne witl1- him on bis final journey, except t he driver, and ''even he seemed to be oblivious of tl1e enormity of the soul whose decayed mansio n be was transporcing on irs last voyage". Thankfully, this is not so in real life. In Australia, he will be remembered by those who have read him, and by those who have beard of bis larger-than-life personality. Ha.rwinderj it Singh, a prominent memb er of th e Sikh community in Brisbane says, " He had a knack of seeing, appreciating and writing about th e simplicity of God and religion. He would speal, up against bad praccices and 'man made' rituals, and habi L~"

Traditional and social media are abuzz witl1 tributes to Khusbwam Singh, from former subordinates gushing about the ir boss, to prominent media personalities acknowledging a great debt. However, n o n e can com e close co the epitaph he wrote for himself:

In his masterful two volume History of the Sikhs, Singh presents a social, religious and political history of the landscape, and Sikh communities of Punjab

Singh minces no words in chronicling the'holocaust' of Sikhs in 1984, and the blood on the hands of all sides of the political spectrum

Here lies 011e who spared neither 111a1111orGod

!Waste not)'Ottr tea,,· 011 hi111, he was t1 sod 117riti,l!: nasty thi11g.r he regarded as g-eatj,m

Thank the Lord he is dead, this son ef a gun.

''Vale Khusbwanc Singh! Tbank you for the rude words.

Khush w ant Singh ( 191 5-201 4 )

Thrilling kabbadi finish

Half a point was all that separated the winners from the losers in an exciting tourney final

If you are of Indian origin an d even if you're not particularly in t eres ted in sport, you would be familia r with the game of krJbhadi T his sttenuous sport is still p layed enthusiastically in India, an d for the third year runni ng it was p layed in Melbourn e ar the Brim bank Kabb addi and Indian Cultural Festival at Erringtoh R eserve, St Albans o n March 16. T hi s an n ual festival brought together the Punjabi community to watch team s p lay to win th e crown, as well as to celebrate n orth Indian culntre.

Underdogs Brisban e Kabbadi Club tri umphed over Singh Sabha Spor ts C lub (SSSC) b y h alf a p oint in a thrilling m atch The competing tea.in s were Melb ourn e clu bs Sin gh Sabha Sports Club, Yuwa Kran ti, Azad & Ymm Kab badi Clubs; Brisbane w as rep resented by Brisban e Kabbadi C1 Ltb and Brisb a ne Sports Clu b; an d Sydn ey was represented by D ash mesh Sports C lub

An enthusias ti c crowd o f 4,S00 peo p le witnessed the i ncen se

competitio n wi th host and favourites SSSC looking co defend its title, b u t they los t 40.5 to 40 in the final to a deter mined Brisbai1e team led by cap tain Lad Johal

"Wh at ai1 ama7J ng final at1d

1 can't believe we wo n th.is tourna ment over t he always stro ng Singh Sabha Club Thanks to the organisers and sponsors for making us feel so welcom e," said the visibly exci ted Johal.

T h e award for 'Most Valuable

Player' was So n y Kau nke from SSSC who said, "I congratulate Brisbane on their vic tory in suc h a tigh t gan1e in a great atm osphere We look forward to next year".

Masters of Cerem ony Ch arnamat Singh at1d Rai1jit Kh ai ra perform ed a dual role of keeping t he c rowd in good humour while providing ei,qJetc commentary o n the k.11hhadi action. T h e Presid ent of Craigieburn Gurndwara, Kulwant Singh atten ded th e event which was offic ially o p e ned by

1\faria Mamva kiniou, Federa l l'vfP for C alwell, an d closed b y Chin

T an, Commission er, V ictorian Multicultural Commission. Variou s dignicaries also graced the o ccasion, wi t h rep rese n tation fro m the Indian Co n sulate of Melbourne, the Sca re governm ent o f Victoria, Brimbat1k Council, Victoria Police, and th e Metrop olitan Fire Brigade.

The crowd s at me event were also entertained witl1 joyous hhm1gra d a nc ing, traditio nal mus ic and poetty fro m Baba! Rai, Jass i Gil and D adhi Jarha 'rhe Punjabi movi e indus tr y was represented wi th scars in attendan ce, inclu ding R a j Kakra. D elicious food was pr ovided by volrn1teers fro m the Craigieburn Sikh Temple w hile ch ild ren e nj oyed a variety of activ ities like face painting, a ttackless t rain, a jumping c astle ai1d sport s clinics ru n by th e Melbourne Victory and Essendon Football Clubs.

"\Vhar a thrilling finale to a nother great event and congratulation s ro Brisbat1e

Kabbadi Club who showed great heart co wi n . A special than k you to our volun tee rs, Brimban k Counci~ all o f our sponsors and we were thrilled to lau nch SSSC's new partnership with Mo neygram at the eve n t", said SSSC Sec retary General A ji t Singh.

" l have bee n invo lved with the SSSC for the past 16 years but tlus event h as b een t he best", stated SSSC Club President T e jpal Singh

D hillon , also acknowledging an d mauking sponsors and m embers for making the event p ossi b le.

Established in 1994 , SSSC is o n e o f tl1e old est and proudest lndian sporting cl ubs in Austtalia. Ir has contributed en o r mously toward s helping the Pun jabi communi ty to betre.r in tegrate i nto Australian spo r t and culture while still maincaining tradi tio n al an d cultural values.

Ajit Singh Chouhan

Record number of AFL ambassadors

This year sees 183 multicultural community leaders join the Multicultural Community Ambassador Program

Marc h 19saw l 14 of t h e 183 multi c ultu ral co mm unity le ade rs fro m aro un d Austtalia jo in the APL M L1lticuJmra l Community Ambassador Progra m of 2014. Contimung to grow since it began i n 2013, ilie program aims to f u rmer e ngage multi cul tu ral c omm u n ities in Au sttalian footb all through a n etwork of dedica ted vohrnteers.

''The amb a s$adors represe n t

me mai1y di verse culrn r es in A u stralia," said D orothy Hisgrove, APL gen eral man ager, peop le, custo m er and com muni ty. She is p leased to see a record number of volun teer s mis year and its widesp re ad national interest. " It will more th an do u b le in size in 2014 wi m over 180 ambassadors appointed, representing 44 cornuries of birt h, 65 n ation alities an d aro und 100 lan guages," she no t ed "Each ain bassador h as been

selected based o n ilie ir com m m1ity leadership skiUs a nd e n thus ias m to share tl1eir p assion for i\FL w icb d iverse communities, Ltsi n g Au strali an foo tball as a vehicle fo r engagem e nt ai1d inclusio n ," co n tinued Hi sgrove lfldia11 Link's very own As hish Chawla was on e o f the commUiuty leaders chosen by t he program. "\W h a t a ple asure an d h o n o u r itis to be a part of Sllch a popular sport i n Austtalia a nd help the co m mu1_u ty to en gage

in m ore ac tivi ti es for APL," he di sclosed. Ambassadors will attend an induction sessio n before comm encing t heir ro les d uring the Toyota APL Premiers lu p Seaso n. 2013 National Multicul tural Am b assad or o f t he Year Su e Yeon was delighted to win th is honour as sh e is proud o f the role s h e is playing in co nn ecti ng people in h e r com m unity w ith 'Austtalia's G am e ' Finge rs crossed that Ashish is the 201 4 w in n er!

Lena Peacock

Indian Link's Ashish Chow/a

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Fee in ot, ot,

An unusual use for chillies adds a touch of spice and sweetness to warm up your winter

- :.ANYA ::, SAMUEL

The practice of making jams is an ancient one, dating back as earlv as the 16' " century. There is a lot of hisrorical d ebate about the origin of this process, but it is believed to have started in the l'v1iddle East, where cane sugar grows naturally. Sugar was first discovered in Asia, bur there is no documented evidence of jammaking from this region. It was the J\rab traders who introduced jams to European society and since then, the popularicy of this sweet p rese rve has risen to become the multi -billion dollar marker that it is today.

It is believed that the idea behind making a jam or any fruit preserve began wit h a re al need to preserve food Before the advent of refrigeration, this was a key method to keep fruit and some vegetables from spoiling.

\Xfhat is a jam ? As per the culinary definition, a jam is prepared by using the pulp and ju.ice of a whole fruit (crushed o r chopped) which is then heated with wa rer and sugar. This process releases pectin, wh ich gives the jam its jelly-like consiscency, a n d the h igh concentration of sugar acts as the preservative These days, artificial pectin is added to jams co boost it5 commercial value which detracts the natural taste and sweetness of the fruit, making it unhealthy for our body in the Jong run.

Jams were considered to he a royal delicacy in early Eu ropean society and were often prepared using the d1oicest of fruit grown in the royal garden o r orchards. Today, it has become the common man's food and you can find so many different varieties of jams on our superma r ket ais les made with almost every kind or combination of fru it.

Chilli jam - sounds quite retro, doesn't it? And probably the lase ingredient that we might think of us ing to make a jam Though this may sound quite contemporary and a modern twisr to rraclitional fr uit jam, i t is nor so. Chilli jam is actua!Jy a traditional preparation of South Africa, especially from the Cape Town region.

\\:/ hen you hear the word 'chilli,' all you can think of is fiery hotness burning your tongue. But chilli jam i s a revelation, a burst of flavours for those who have never experienced it before.

A jam which truly capture~ the real flavour and texture of chilli, wid, out i ts Gery heat.

Both the reel and green varieties can be used co prepare this jam, though the red one gives a more delectable appearance when made into a jam. lt is important that you use only the b ig chilli varieties, since these have relatively less bear. The smaUet ones usual.ly pack a punch and can land

Chilli Jam

8 big, ripe red chillies, sliced or chopped fine

2 sha!Jors; sliced or chopped 6ne

½ cup brqwn sugar; add more for extra sweetness

A pinch of salr

2 cups of water

you in some serious 'bot' troub le!

Pick out ripe, yet 6rm chillies to make this jam. The p ith and seeds need nor be removed as d,is imparts ju st the right amount of hear, making this jam a spicy sweet one But if you are alitde wary or doubtful about the heat quotient, then take off the pith aod seeds You could either slice the chillies iota rea!Jy di.in juliennes or finely chop them up - the difference is only in the appearance of di e encl product.

Here's bow you make this quirky Soud1 African jam

Add aU the ingredients ro a pan and bring to boil. Reduce beat and cook rill the sugary water begins ro thicken an d forms a syrup coating the chillies and sha!Jots. Cool and store in an airtight container. Can be refrigerated for up to a month.

Traclitiooa!Jy, the chilli jam is served as an accompaniment to grilled meats or fried fish. Bur iL i s a wonderful accompaniment to many starters like potato tikk.is, vegetable cudets,pakoms and other snacks. Jr i s amazing when spread i n side a grilled cheese sandwich; a sweeter spin to the Indian chilli cheese toast!

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SEEKING GROOMS

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SEEKING BRIDES

Alliance invited for well educated nevermarried 5' 9'; 1975 born Sikh Khat ri boy. Looking for compatible Sikh girl from Aust ralia for an early marriage Phone: 0422 8 12 939 / 04 15079 724 or email : jas_ghaiO l @hotmail.com

Well settled family in Australia invit es alliance for a 30-year-old 5'10, who has a Bachelor in Software Engineering (honours) He is a Sood Punjabi boy, who works as a senior IT consultant for t he Aust ralian government (EL2) He i5 seeking an Indian girl cast e no bar. Please send bio data and recent photo to: soodaust@gmail.com

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ARIES March 21 - April 19

The cards indicate that that this month you will not be bored. You have a lot of things going on which will be very exciting, and you will be feeling passionate and motivated. The presence of the Fool card shows that you are ready for anything. Be carefu I not to overdo anything that may cause you to have small accidents and annoyances. Watch your temper and make sure you pay attention to loved ones and matters on the home front

TAURUS April 20 - May 20

The cards indicate a time when you will be feeling stressed out with relationships, and you will be thinking about how to make things more comfortable. Your partner may be suffering from health issues, with the appearance of the Moon card. There may be fear about some situations. Work will be challenging, but you will be gaining recognition and respect. There will be some Interesting meetings with old friends and you may even bump into someone from the past.

GEMINI May 21 - June 20

You will need to strap yourself in tight this month. However, you will be feeling totally loved, and feelings of sensuality and attraction for someone will dominate your thoughts In mid-month. Work will give you the results you require, with a possibility of promotion and recognition for your efforts. You may decide to book a holiday and be amongst nature and water. You may also look at changing your car or accommodation. You will be feeling very adventurous.

CANCER June 21 - July 20

This month you may be looking at getting married, with the appearance of the Empress Card. There will be some beautiful moments when you decide to propose to your lover. You will be feeling love and contentment. However, it is very important to take care of any excesses. Keep up the physical activity to keep yourself calm and balanced and in good health. There may be a female member of the family who may be unwell, have tests carried out.

LEO July 21 - Aug 22

This month you will be feeling distressed about a relationship you have lost There wiU be some memories of a past love and how you could not get things sorted out. With the appearance of the Three of Swords, you ate feeling rather disappointed. Work will help take yout mind off issues, but frustrations may heighten so take it easy with people around you. Your health needs to be taken care of, with aches and pains in your body.

VIRGO Aug 23 - Sep 22

This month you will be feeling very happy, and sociable. There will be a lot of invitations and events that you will attend. The appearance of the Tower means that you will want to start meditation and keep yourself grounded, as it's going to be very busy. Life at home is also a little strained, as you need to keep a balance. Your partner may be feeling ·· ignored and wanting attention. Your relationship may go through some tests.

LIBRA Sep 23 - Oct 22

This month you need to be careful not to be over-sentimental with situations and circumstances. You will be drawn Into some discussions and family inddents. You will be taking time to exercise mote and wil l be walking and looking after your health. There will be issues at home with building problems that will need attention. Some family members will be coming to visit you. The 3 of Pentacles shows that you are doing well financially, and feeling at ease.

SCORPIO Oct 23 - Nov 21

This month you will be in a very flirtatious mood, your desire for fun and adventure will keep you available for love and romance. If in a relationsh i p, you will need to make sure you take your partner on some romantic trips. You will be feeling happy and bal.anced. There will be some colleagues at work who will be making life a little difficult for you, so make sure you keep calm and watch how you speak to them.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22 - Dec 21

This month you are feeling very restless and may wander to find new and exciting opportunities and adventures. You have a lot of ideas and dreams to travel extensively, and ideas about pastures anew. The appearance of the Ace of Wands shows that you are now on the road to making many changes and decisions about your life. You will be looking at trying to relocate from where you are currently living. An increase in finances is indicated here.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 19

This month is all about new opportunities and meeting new people. Single Capr icorns will be meeting new partners with whom they will find a romantic connection, and will pursue a new journey together. There will be many offers from the opposite sex. You will concentrate on work and making many new p lans and decisions about business. You will concentrate on your family and children. With the appearance of the Lovers, it wlll be a great month ahead.

AQUARIUS Jan 20 - f=eb 18

This month you will be feeling very excited and full of energy. There will be some people of the opposite sex who may be trying to get your attention. You will need to be very strong and resist the temptation, especially if you are married. Work will be busy and will require your full attention. You will be looking at a new property to purchase or may be planning to invest in another l and. Your fam i ly will need your help.

PISCES f=eb 19 - March 20

This month your love life will be very important to you. You will be feeling full of energy and excited, as you will finally find the courage to move your relationship to another level. You have the Ace of Cups, wh ich is a great card for relationships. Your health will be a lot better and you will be feeling less stressed and able to handle any situation that may come up. Work will be busy and demanding, so be prepared.

I-IARROWING TALE OF SURVIVAL

INAM

STARRING: Sugandha Ram, Karan, Saritha and Karuna

DIRECTOR: Santosh Sivan

War stories are challenging to narrate without being controversial. But cinematographer-filmmaker Santosh Sivan has crushed that notion to pulp with his film lnam, a war-drama which explores the lives of a group of orphans during the Sri Lankan civil war.

Without taking sides and not provoking political sentiments, Sivan tells an emotionally arresting tale of human barbarism, hope and survival. Even with a documentary style narrative, mostly slow, lnam tugs at your heartstrings and presents the story from two different perspectives.

Rajni (Sugandha Ram), a lone survivor of the Sri Lankan civil war, shares her harrowing story of survival to an interrogating officer (voice by Arvind Swamy). We are taken back in time and introduced to a group of orphans between age groups five and

20, homeless, living under the care of 'Tsunami akka: played by Saritha. From then on, the story takes us through the lives of these characters, their struggle for survival, moments of joy and a lot more. What happens to these characters during the course of the war?This becomes the crux of the story.

From celebrating human spirit to capturing the worst bomb exp losions, lnam tests human endurance on battleground. The wi llingness to survive is stronger than the fear of death. This philosophy is reinstated throughout the film, which is built around an array of anecdotes that take place in the orphanage

While the story is told to us through Rajni's past, Sivan also wants us to see his work through the eyes of Karan, a special child, who plays the role of Nandan to perfection.

Through Rajni's story, he shows us exactly how inn ocent lives are lost in a war, children are orphaned, and young girls are molested Through Nandan's story, we see that even in warfare, there's room for optimism, care and affection. For instance, in a scene where bombs are being air-dropped and everybody

JAANE BMI DO...

h is aimless ramble.

OTERI

STARRING: Pulkit Samrat, Bilal Amrohi, Anupam Kher and Sara Jane Dias

DIRECTOR: Umesh Bist 'yc,,._"f'):f

ucki ly, this is not an official remake of Kundan Shah's classicJaane Bhi Do Yaaron. If it was, the makers of the original could have sued for defamation.

0 Teri borrows the concept of two bumbling, very unprofessional professionals who chance upon a scam from Kundan Shah's film and turn it into an extended Santa-Banta joke It was Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Baswani i n the original. It is Pulkit Samrat and Bilal Amrohi in this remake, designed to give ulcers to a civilisation doped on the hope that cinema can shake the corrupt through satire

0 Teri is like a stretched-out political joke where the raconteur forgot the punchline and is hoping he would rediscover it in the process ofundertaking

Samrat and Amrohi are given lines that sound like bulk SMS messages. They try to enjoy the banter. But, poor freshers, they can't really savour the unpalatable. If television anchoring was meant to be as brainless as shown in this film, then our tainted politicians would safely find alternative employment.

And really, Sarah Jane Dias doing a Bhakti Bharve from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron? That is funnier than anything this film has to offer.

Anupam Kher doing Pankaj Kapoor's role from Kundan Shah's original, is cast as a Suresh Kal madi kind of brazenly corrupt politician who cannot be amusing unless given some kind of a humour platform beyond the ordinary rites of laughter.

Tragically, the intended satire is so frumpy and baggy that it collapses under its own weight.

is runn ing for cover, Nandan takes the effort to save a turtle. He befriends a human skull and calls it'Mr.

Frien d ; builds a strange relationship with it and even saves Rajni from her molester towards the end of the film.

lnam is backed by wonderful performances by an almost unfami l iar cast. From Sugandha to Karan to Saritha, Sivan has extracted raw performances from everybody. And the reas on the actors are believabl e in their respective roles is because they are unfamiliar.

The rea l star ofthe film undoubtedly is Karan, who entertains at regular intervals with his innocent mischief He carries the film on his shoulders and you root for him more than you root for others.

Sivan's striking cinematography makes even remorse moments in the middle of a war-zone, a visual splendour to gaze at. One particular shot that stands out in the entire film is when we see a group of foreigners leaving Sri Lanka in a hurry with a polythene bag full of fish with a dead one floating inside.

You understand this particular shot little later when in another scene, people

pass through hundreds of unattended bodies in search of cover during the war because nobody has the time to even bury these bodies.

Vishal Chandrasekhar's music helps you connect with the film on an emotional level. Even though there are three songs included merely to give the fi l m a commercial touch, it's h is background score that draws your attention lnam, coming straight from the heart of Santosh Sivan, deserves to be accepted, embraced and celebrated.

HARICHARAN PUDIPEDDI

Debutant director Umesh Bist would have done wel l to study Kundan Shah's cult classic for its contoured, sly comicality. Bist attacks the material with wolfish relish, making a hash of the politica l satire, much in the way that the Kai ma dis of politics are

doing of our nation.

Save yourself the agony of watching this masala-mix version of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. Just watch the ori ginal again.

SUBHASH KJHA

AND Tl-IE KELA GOES TO...

It was an unmagical m o ment for stars Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn and Sonakshi

Sinha as they were winners of the Golden Kela Awards (Indian Razzies) held recently The sixth annual Awar d s honoured the wo rst actors of 20 13. Aamir won an award for his performance in Dhoom 3, while Ajay carried away accolades for Himmatwala which was also named the worst film, and Sonakshi was cited for R. Rajkumar An impr essive l ist indeed!

"In Bollywood today, the box office figures have no correlation to the quality ofthe film Our sincerest hope is that 10 years down the line, the figures wi ll be forgotten, whi le the'Kelas'they got are remembered," said Anant Singh, creative head, Go lden Kela Award s

The honour for the worst actor in supporting role went to Aditya Roy Kapoor for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandes and Amisha Patel jointly won the worst supporting actor (female) for Race 2

As part of the special awards, Deepika also won the Dara Singh award for the worst accent for Chennai Express

The Kel a for the worst director went to Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Goliyon Ki Raas Lee/a Ram Leela

The Baawra Ho Gaya Hai Ke award went to Aam i rfor Dhoom 3

"Aamir Khan once said that he loves the Kela Awards, because all other awards are rigged Wonder what he has to say about us now," quipped Singh Dhoom 3 also shared the Ra One Award for Worst Premise with Krrish 3. Voters chose Party all night from Boss as most irritating song.

But a ll was not lost. The Anti- Kela awards honoured some ofBoll ywood's good efforts like Saheb Biwi aur Gangster Returns, Go Goa Gone, The Lunchbox and Shahid

Nice to see a touch of creative reality in Bollywood!

Waheeda's tribute to Nanda

It pains veteran actr ess Waheeda Rehman to talk about her 'soul sister' Nanda in the past tense She says she will always remember her friend of 55 years as a 'thoughtful, caring and loyal ' person, who loved to cook and never l et'an iota of professional insecur ity' come in the way of their unique friendship

Nanda died on March 25 in Mumbai aged 75, fo ll ow ing a heart attack The vete r an actress led a reclus i ve life except for meeting her close friends

Waheeda recalled her last meeting with Nanda, when they had lunch and coffee together.

"We were friends for 55 years, from the time when we worked together in Vijay Anand's Kala Bazaar After marriage, friends, specially women friends, tend to drift away as they've their husband and chi l d r en to look after But Nanda and I remained close fri ends even after my marri age;' she added.

Waheeda shared that she and Nanda were very different individual s.

"Quite a study in contrasts, and yet we were very close friends. Or maybe we were close friends because we were so different so we found t h ose personality traits lacking in ourselves within each other': explained Waheeda

Waheeda , 77, says people used to wonder how two leading actresses could be so friendly

"There was not an iota of professiona l insecurity between us Both of us believed in destiny and that whatever wo rk was meant to come o ur way, wou ld come. We were both very secure about our careers': expl ained Waheeda

"Nanda and I never discussed work. Our work never came into our friendship We were b oth down-toearth and very Indian We didn't quite fit into the glamorous image on screen We both attempted glamorous roles, but we realised it's better to do roles close to our personalities': she added.

"She was an introvert Basi cally she was a loner. She was ner vous of crowds I am a l ittle more outgoing But l i ke I said, we were like-minded peop l e We shared the same va l ues She went suddenly She deserved a l ot more than she got': said Waheeda

RIP, Nanda , may you live forever in the anna l s of Bollywood!

Evelyn's positive Bollywood experience

She's a newcomer to Tinseltown and speaks with an accent, but Evelyn Sharma's half-Indian and half- German l ineage has given her an edge in the Hindi film industry which has warmed up to foreigners over the past few years She says being a 'foreigner'in Boll ywood has been a boon for her

Over the years, the g l obally popu l ar Indian film industry has opened up to

EVEL.'IN SHARMA

ta l ented fore ig n beauties with open arms Cases in point are Katrina Kaif (Br itain), Jacqueline Fernandez (Sri Lanka), Nargis Fakhri (US), Elena Kazan (Russia-b orn German), Elli Av ram (Sweden), Lauren Gottl ieb (US), Hazel Keech (Br itain) and Kristina Akheeva (Russia)

"It's been a positi ve (to be a foreigner in Bollywood). It is up to the directors - ifthey dress me up in western, I can carry off the look we ll, and I can al so carry the trad itional l ook in Indian wear for an Indian character", said Evelyn enthusiastically

In fact, th is flex ibility has opened more doors for the 23 -year-old, who turned to acting after a sti nt in modelling for Britain-based brands. She was born to a Punjabi father and German mother, but her dad died earl y. Comi ng to India three years ago helpe d Evelyn discover a love for chai, parantha, biryani and 'drama'.

Evelyn hasn't been in the industry that long, her first bit role being in From Sydney With Love in 2012, but she has played a m ix of desi and videshi parts since Her role as a sexy, glamorous beauty w ithout brains in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani led to a role in the forthcoming Main Tera Hero.

And in the pipeline i s Bhaiyyaji Superhit, in wh i ch Evelyn says she plays a cute, trad itiona l very desi g i r l - with an accent! She is brushing up on her Hindi as well , and has discovered yoga

Well Evelyn, here's wish i ng you success in Bollywood, accent and all!

Acting is sati sfying, says Sunny

He has been wearing grease paint for over three decades and actor- producer Sunny Deal describes his jo u rney as an actor as 'satisfying'. The 57-year- o l d began his journey with Betaab in 1983 and over the past 3 1 yea r s, he has wo r ked i n about 90 films. Sharing his experience, Sunny acknowledges that "acting is a very satisfying profession"

"As an actor you get an opportunity to portray different characters and experi ence d ifferent things Acting is the best thing that happened to me As far as a producer's job is concerned, it is to keep the team happy;' said the actor,

SALMAN KHAN

who recently featured in Dishkiyaoon, a gangster drama.

The film is actress Shilpa Shetty's maiden production venture and Sunny clarifies that he did the film because of its story. And although the actor is best recognised as the 'action hero'with the 'dhai kilo ka haath: Sunny says these are merely tags, which he can do nothing about

"My persona has become such because of the films, but I am not like that in real life;' said the soft-spoken hero "I don't like tags like action hero and 'dhai kilo ka haath; but we (actors) can't do anything. The characters that I had portrayed were strong, so maybe because of that (I have been g i ven these tags)': he added.

But regardless of whether he's in a gangster or action-packed flick, Sunny sure lends his presence and personality to the big screen Here's wishing him box office success with Dishkiyaoon!

Salman snippets

Salman Khan has covered almost the entire genre of Bollywood films, from drama to action to comedy But what his impressive repertoire seems to be

ALIA BHATT

lacking is a movie inspired by sport And now the actor is keen to rectify this situation.

"I would like to produce a film based on sports,"Salman said recently, at the music launch of sports-based fi l m Khwaabb " I have played almost all kinds of sports. I have done swimming, have played football. I even used to play cricket;' he said, adding that "sports should be encouraged"in the nation. Salman, 48, lamented how due to lack of encouragement and facilities, sportspersons in the country are sometimes unable to deliver their best, and then face the wrath of their countrymen

"Khwaabb showcases the life of two athletes, their struggles, ambitions and aspirations, and stars Navdip Si ng h Simer Motiani, Rishi Miglani and Nafisa Ali. When you watch such fi l ms, you realise that there are no facilities for training and without these, how will our sportspersons perform better?"he asked rhetorically

"And when they (sportspersons) do not perform in the Olympics, then we criticise them and say ' You didn't win even a sing le medal'. There is no

WI-IO WORE IT BETTER?

encouragement," he lamented. Salman i s also keen that small films should be given fai r release His own movies often mint over Rs.100 crore at the Bol lywood box office, but the actor feels that small - budget films deserve as much fair visibi lity i n theatres as b i g budget entertainers, as they too i nvolve money and passion "Peopl e make small films with a lot of passion, they put their own money in it and if these films are not supported, then they would never see the day of light and hence, lot of money is lost'; Salman added.

The actor has earlier supported films like Chillar Party and Nati onal Award winning film Filmistaan Well, Salman's certainly making dreams come true by supporting small quality films like Khwaabb. Good on him!

Buzz about the Bhatts

Actress Alla Bhatt, who has filmed some intimate scenes with Arjun Kapoor for her new movie 2 States, says she is an actor on screen and not anybody's daughter. Asked how her parents reacted to her intimate scenes, Alia said, "Have you seen my father's films? I am an actor on screen and not anybody 's daughter. And anyway, I don't think my dad has any problem with it''.

As daughter of fi l m -maker Mahesh Bhatt, Al ia certainly knows her dad! The talented young actress plays a Tamil girl in the film, and says her character is very mature

"Ananya is much more mature She is very intelligent after all, she is an MBA I relate to the ch aracter She can do anything for the peopl e she l oves'; explains Al ia

Meanwhile Daddy, a film by her father Mahesh Bhatt is be ing adapted to a play by theat re and television actor lmran

Zahid The highly- acclaimed Daddy saw big sis Pooja debut on the big screen in 1989. Zahid has al ready created a p l ay from Bhatt's compelling fi l m Arth, but Daddy will be a tougher propositi on to adapt.

" lmran Zahid is on a high after tasting the success of Arth The Play Daddy is a tough screenplay to adapt as a stage play But lmran has the resolve to hit the bull's eye': says Mahesh.

Share

Let's hope the play is as successful as the film

Deepika Padukone or Lady Victoria Hervey in Gaurav Gupta Couture

SUNNY DEOL

It's an unequal contest when one opponent has the stronger serve, and rightly so!

volley itself, but here I am dishing out another low speed second serve straight to her strong forehand.

"So you took out the garbage b ins and men checked your Facebook updates! Flicked through tl1e TV cl1annel s while seated on the sofa! Cursed and uttered opinions about the political chaos in lnd.ia!" was her account of my evening And an accurate o n e coo! A voice in my head urged me to shm up and keep a check on my stupid utterances She was making sense and I was fast numi.ng out of responses, bang on, 'excuses'.

Score: 15-40. Gome Point.

By mis stage l am well aware of my deficiencies. I am no match to tl1e skill , commitment and workload of my opponent. And rightfully sol So I plan to retreat. Withdraw myself from the bou t mat I shouldn't have initiated in me first place Bur the game point was yet to be scored

After a hectic day at work, running after our little boy and his dad as well occasionally, and getting thin gs organised in the kitchen in the evening, my w ife u sually tries to s neak in a few quiet

moments. Jl.iloments of peace, on her own. Fiddling with he r phone, watchin g something on TV of her own choic e, reading a book, or sirring silently by herself and catching h e r breath. She caUs it her 'me time' for tl1e day. Her space to regain her 'sanity' as she sometimes puts it to me, when I try and be a 'typical man' crying to in trude on tliose moments.

r often p rotest tint I 'deserve' some 'me tin1e' too. Caution, be mindful of the liberal use of the word 'deserve' wi th your wife, iL

can lead to a very complicated argument of its own, if m ishandled. A cliscussion that you can not win, ever!

So yes, I often stake my claim to 'me rune' as well. After all, Thad worked ha.rd all day. 1n my office, rbat is. "I have worked hard too Same hours, same effo r t!" she says, as she serves a strong forehand volley tight pa.st my backhand.

Sco1·e: 15-AII

I scamper fo r a quick response in indignant defence. "I came home before you and bad tea ready fo r

us," I say, valiantly stating my case. Here's tl1e response I am rightfully served "l picked up our boy from school. Did the gro ceries on my way home (wirb the kid hanging off one knee), filled up the car ta nk," she retorts. Now mat.is a 250kmph ace right through me centre of rhe court. I do not even a ttempt to return serve.

Score: 15-30.

''1 took o u t the garbage b ins," l respond yet again, a bit sheepishly this rune. I know I s h ould have conceded me gam e at th e previous

As I tried co rush out of the door having conced ed my shortcomings, I heard a final power- packed volley launcl1ed at me. I deserved i tl "\'v'h.i.le you were b u sy po n dering o ver world matters on me TV and if you failed to n otice, I did me dishes, m ade sure the kid was fed, made the beds for the night, o rganised m yself for the next day, sorted out the lam1dry, and put up ,,;, ith the ta n trums of the b oy," were her parting words. 1 did nor have a response as l hu r ried towards the door, making for a quick exit. I would n ot have attempted to respond even if I had half a response ro that She had been the better player and deserved her ' me tin1e\

Gc1111e. S et lv[atch

:birth Anniversar~ ot the Architect ot the Constitution ot )ndia

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar