Spectacular @ 70

On Indian Independence Day, Melbourne hosted Bollywood glitterati, Brisbane lit up in Indian colours, and in Sydney, the mainstream went glam-desi imbibe the spirit of sel essness that policemen, soldiers, farmers and disaster relief agencies display while serving the nation. “New India must include that integral humanist component that is in our DNA, and which has de ned our country and our civilisation,” the President said. “New India must be a society rushing towards the future, but also a compassionate society.”

The President’s message, indeed other messages such as those from Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Australian High Commissioner in India Harinder Sidhu, have did the rounds on social media.

The Federation of Australian Indians of NSW (FIAN) welcomed the community at a day-long India Day in Parramatta Park. On the same day, the Council of Indian Australians (CIA) organised a formal India Day Dinner. Both events saw many politicians attending, most of them in Indian attire. The women especially put community ladies to shame with their glamorous saris and the ease with which they wore them.

MPs Jodie McKay and Julie Finn, who attended both events, made an impressive dash back home for a change of costume - hats off, ladies!

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

India may have turned 70, but the celebrations here in Oz may have had you thinking it was a gala

21st

Bollywood stars came down as guests, city landmarks were lit up in tricolour splendour, and mainstream celebs rocked up in all their sarisherwani glory.

The highlight of course was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at Melbourne’s landmark Federation Square. As main guest of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, she unfurled the ag and covered the jam-packed venue in confetti orange, white and green. She saluted the tiranga and sang the national anthem, and minutes after she addressed the crowds, photos and videos began to go viral. Of course there was a bit of drama to it all, but she delivered: no one could take their eyes off her.

Nobody seemed to mind that she was an hour late - if you look closely at her elaborate hairdo and her princess ensemble you’ll know why - but hey, Indian crowds will forgive their beloved Bollywood stars any misdemeanour. And this particular one, had made Independence Day rather special.

Meanwhile in Brisbane, two city landmarks donned Indian colours on 15 August. The Brisbane City Council chose Victoria Bridge and City Hall to wish India on the grand occasion. It was a special event organised by GOPIO Queensland (Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin), and one that we hope becomes an annual event.

The consulates in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth organised their own events of ag hoisting in the morning. A highlight of this annual event is the reading out of the message to the nation by the President of India. This time round, Ram Nath Kovind, the newlyelected head of state, called for a compassionate and egalitarian society that does not discriminate on gender or religious background.

He also called on citizens to

This year, as special events to celebrate ‘India @ 70’, the consulates in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth hosted gala cocktail events for friends of India. In Perth, Consul General Amit Kumar Mishra managed to rope in both the Governor of WA Kerry Sanderson and Premier Mark McGowan, amongst other high-ranking guests.

At the community level in Sydney, two events marked the occasion.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian brought out her own digni ed silk number for the CIA event. The men loved playing dress-ups too, MPs Matt Kean and Geoff Lee looking dapper in their sherwanis.

Great to see this reverse assimilation, especially as there is evidence of increasing polarisation all around us. And if small celebrations of India’s Independence Day - so far removed from India - can do this, then indeed, that in itself is worth celebrating.

Consulate pulls out all the stops in celebration

The Consulate General of India (Sydney) went all out to mark India’s 71st Independence Day with three separate events this year.

As a lead up to the actual event on 15 August, an India Day was organised in the CBD’s buzzing Martin Place on 8 August. With classical dances, yoga, henna tattoos and lip-smacking food, the event was a showcase for India and a start of the Sydney community’s celebration of India’s Independence Day.

Consul General of India in Sydney B Vanlalvawna, along with NSW Multicultural Affairs Minister Ray Williams and Parramatta MP Geoff Lee, kicked off the proceedings by greeting Indians on its upcoming Independence Day.

The organisers also used the occasion to showcase India as an attractive business destination. A screen played promotional material about various initiatives of the new government such as Make In India, Digital India and so on. The acclaimedand goosebump-inducing - Incredible India ad also grabbed many eyeballs. The India ourism stall, no doubt, benefitted from it.

The stalls of various PSU banks and Air India also got a fair few visitors and inquiries.

Sydney dancer Rumki Mukherjee’s Odissi presentation to a mashup of the Game of Thrones theme and Ed Sheeran’s Shape of

You was a standout. In a way, Rumki served as a representative of the new India that is steeped in culture but is still willing to adopt the best of the West.

The event sought to attract the lunch crowd and be an advertisement for India to the wider community. And while it did succeed in doing that to some extent, one would have liked to see more non-Indian faces in the crowd. Better marketing - some popular Bollywood music, perhaps? - may have got more attention.

Still, it was great to welcome a bit of India to the city, in the middle of the work day.

Also on a work day morning, the Consulate s flag hoisting event on August saw a robust crowd get together at its cultural centre at Castlereagh St. The event saw the unfurling of the flag by Mr Vanlalvawna and the reading of the message to the nation by the President of India, followed by morning tea. The event attracted a bunch of diehard deshpremis, many of who attend every year. In previous years, the event has been held at the Consul General’s residence.

The same evening, the CG hosted a gala cocktail event at Pier One. Many members of the community were invited, along with those in the mainstream who are friends of India. NSW Minister for Multiculturalism Ray Williams led a bevy of Parliamentarians, and by now, he is no doubt wising he had gone shopping for a Bollywood-style sherwani. A strictly no-alcohol event, guests enjoyed Indianthemed drinks and fusion finger food put together by young chef Varun Gujral of Manjit’s fame. By the end of the night, the guests had well and truly let their hair down to pose for some seriously silly photos at India Tourism director Kanchan Kukreja’s Incredible India photo booth. Jai Hind!

Soaking in the spirit of freedom struggle at CIA event

Now this was an Independence Day event with a difference.

If you thought Independence Day in our community is marked by a series of repeat melas, parties, similar sounding speeches and the same bad entertainment, the Council of Indian Australians (CIA) brought in a breath of fresh air this August.

CIA’s India Day Dinner at Blacktown raised the standard a few notches higher in community-based events. As special guest, Premier Gladys Berejiklian was treated to a classy welcome, a tastefully decorated stage, a sound system that was pleasant to the ear, and well thought-out entertainment.

Choosing a dignified deep blue silk sari for the occasion, the Premier looked graceful and at ease.

“It’s hard to imagine NSW without the contribution of Indian Australians,” she said in her address.

She also recalled the hugely successful 2014 visit of India’s Prime Minister

Narendra Modi. “He inspired not only 20,000 people in his audience, but 20 million people across this nation,” she added.

Adding to the freshness was CIA President Mohit Kumar’s address on the occasion. In a well-written and beautifully articulated speech, Mohit exhorted his compatriots to adopt the ways of the country that is now home to them, and to contribute to its betterment with wholeheartedness.

As well, in a welcome initiative, Mohit announced that the CIA would be working closely with the United Indian Associations (UIA) in a non-partisan approach to solve the issues faced by the community.

The entertainment was suitably gracious and elegant, with nary a hint of badly choreographed Bollywood dances performed by badly costumed children.

The highlight of the show was the Council s film Freedom Yatra, a 27-minute film that traced the history of India s Independence. Created by Sydney-based film maker Sanjeev Mehra, the film starred local talent, with most of the main roles played by CIA’s executive committee themselves. It turned out to be the showstopper of the event.

Speaking to Indian Link later, Sanjeev revealed the actors were all novices, and he trained then to take on the roles of historical figures such as Laxmibai, atya Tope, Bhagat Singh, Nehru and Gandhi.

Some ingenious work went into make-up and costumes. Mohit Kumar and Balu Vijay impressed in their roles as Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi respectively. For the Indian members of the audience, the patriotic spirit was well and truly invoked.

“The project took three months in all,” Sanjeev revealed. “The scripting, directing, editing and post producing were all done by me. I even made the props myself – the charkha and the guns and the nooses.”

Julian Leeser, MP who was present in the audience, brought the topic up in state parliament. “On Saturday, I attended the Council of Indian Australians’ event in Blacktown organised by Mohit Kumar and Sanjay Deshwal,” he said. “The council produced a Bollywood-style video with local Indian members of the community, retelling important moments from India’s history, from Indian mutiny, through to Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence to the proclamation of Indian independence.”

An actor and film maker with years of experience in Mumbai s film and TV industry, Sanjeev is thrilled with the response of those who have seen the film. I am inspired now to create a series of short films on each of our freedom fighters.

No doubt, Sanjeev’s original cast from Freedom Yatra will play their characters in the fuller versions. We could perhaps then rechristen the CIA as the ‘Council of Indian Actors’.

Also on the occasion, a cricket bat with the signatures of Australian players was auctioned off, to raise funds for the India Development Foundation.

It was wonderful to see the Premier enjoy some freedom herself - from the dreaded selfie hunters. Indian crowds are notorious culprits in this regard; this reporter remembers an event where the poor lady could not even finish her meal in peace, or enjoy the entertainment.

But of course even this time round, there were some serial offenders - you know who you are - who managed to sneak in close to the Premier, mobile phone in hand.

Well done to CIA for a memorable event.

A FIAN a air at Parramatta Park

On stage in a sari in resplendent green, Jodi Mc ay, Member for Strathfield, told her largely Indian audience, “You are woven into us, and we are the richer for it.”

She was addressing the Independence Day crowd at Parramatta Park in a day-long event organised by the Federation of Indian Australians (FIAN).

This was one of two messages that went out that day from all speakers, the other being a commendation of India’s struggle against British colonialism and the advances it has since made as a democracy.

Coming only days before Pauline Hanson’s ill-fated burqa stunt in Parliament, Jodi’s words stood out for their warmth and inclusivity, and were retweeted repeatedly from Indian Link’s Twitter handle.

For FIAN and its president Dr Yadu Singh, it was quite a coup to have secured not only Parramatta Park as venue, but an impressive gathering of politicos to mark India’s the 70th anniversary of India’s Independence.

Just like Jodi, many of the other friends of India present at the occasion, turned up dressed in Indian clothes, in a manner that Indian crowds have grown accustomed to seeing. Jodi has even rocked up to parliament in Indian avatar on more than one occasion, the latest being when she introduced a motion seeking to recognise 15 August as the Indian Independence Day.

The verdant Parramatta Park was soaked in the moods of India. The event had all the trappings on a typical desi mela: games and rides for children and the young at heart, dances, Bollywood music and food. The performances on the stage were the centrepiece of the event, and most were dances –classical as well as the ever-popular filmy ones. he Marathi drummers Shivgarjana were particularly exciting and got the crowd to its feet.

The national anthems of Australia and India were also a goosebump-inducing moment.

Meanwhile, the stalls of food - selling everything from samosas to paan - attracted many. There were a few non-Indian faces in the crowd, but it was mostly a desi affair.

There were some nice warm moments when police officers at the venue shook hands with kids, offered them their caps and posed for photos. he crowds stayed on for fireworks at dusk.

The special guests took to the stage to address the crowds.

MP Matt Kean, looking dapper in his shiny blue kurta and fancy dupatta, wowed the crowd with his line “No one throws a party quite like the Indians”.

MP Geoff Lee, as always, cleverly brought his message around to Parramatta, his electorate, and got a rousing response.

Daniel Mookhey MLC lauded India’s democracy and observed that there could be lessons there for us in this country. MP Michelle Rowland brought up the ongoing citizenship debate.

The Minister for Multiculturalism Ray Willaims walked in late, much to MC Yadu’s joy as he declared tongue-in-cheek that the Minister must be Indian at heart. In his own brief address, the minister couldn’t resist putting in a mention of how smooth his ride on the M4 had been, as a pat on the back to his government.

Pawan Luthra, CEO of Indian Link, mentioned the Melbourne event of a few hours before that had Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as main guest, throwing the bait to Yadu for next year’s event.

Rajni Anand Luthra & Harshad Pandharipande