Winning moves

“And the winner is Adelaide Agni!” delaide gni was first conceptualised in 2013 as a part of a South Asian university society I founded while I was a student at the University of South Australia. By 2015, a majority of the founding members of both the university society and Adelaide Agni had graduated and it was time for Adelaide Agni to come out of its shell and into the public as an independent group.

As Bollywood celebs Malaika Arora and Karan Johar announced the name, it was a moment of ecstasy for us. After all, this was the People’s Choice award in the Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition (TBDC) at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. he cream o the indi film industry was there when IFFM took place last month, and to have impressed the judges and won the competition was indeed a big deal for Adelaide Agni and a validation of the members’ hard work.

The year 2016 saw reconceptualisation of the dance team from a university-based one, into a professional collective of choreographers who worked together to blend their individual styles.

Adelaide Agni’s team returned to the in a ter first participating in 2016 as a much smaller group of four.

That performance had been a great learning experience and we knew we had to bring our best in terms of choreography, costume, theme, music and props for the next year. This year had seen the expansion of Adelaide Agni, with the group now bringing 10 members to Melbourne.

The competition day started out with great excitement, as we got to see the most beautiful woman in the world Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and her daughter Aaradhya raise the Indian flag to cele rate years o Indian independence.

The vibe of the participants and the crowd was electric but we rushed off to find a uiet spot to ha e last minute rehearsals. Our performance was scheduled first in the adult dance group section and nerves were high as we prepared to take the stage. However, that all vanished when we were up on the stage performing in front of the judges and the warm Melbourne crowd.

Before we knew it, our routine was over and it was time to watch the remaining performances. The performances in 2017 had all stepped up from previous years and we knew it was going to be a tough competition to come out on top.

As the competition concluded and the judges came up on stage to announce the winners, we held our breath and our hearts. However, the ecstatic moment when our team’s name was finally announced y Malaika Arora and Karan Johar is one we will never forget as we raced down to get back onto the stage.

That moment of standing on stage, being able to meet these celebrities and accepting our award was overwhelming for the founding members of the original university team, myself and Jyoti Shrestha. We had never dreamt of this in our university days. Being able to share this moment with the incredibly hard-working newer members of the team was an extremely happy - as well as emotional - memory for all involved.

The resulting celebrations dancing to the dhol of the adult group winners Ranjhe Bhangra in Federation Square was unforgettable for our small team from Adelaide as we suddenly became small town celebrities for the day and received wishes from the Melbourne locals and our friends and families.

We would like to thank Mitu Bhowmick Lange for conceptualising such a fantastic Indian Film Festival and providing us with the opportunity to spread our wings outside of Adelaide.

As performers, it’s always exciting to see talent and ideas that you haven’t before and be inspired to become better and better. For now, even though we return to normal dance activities in Adelaide, we are grateful to take home with us this fantastic memory as we count down the days to IFFM 2018.

TIA SINGH Young Journalist of the Year

Indian Link’s Tia Singh brings home the honours at the NSW Premier’s Multicultural Media Awards 2017

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA er work reflects the need or di erse voices to be heard in our media landscape, just as much as it does for community youth to tell their stories - whether they are of dancing the bhangra in gay abandon, or angsting about growing up “different”, or even calling out the idiots amongst us who openly treat women as less than equals. very traumatic marriage. Domestic violence. It is a taboo topic, almost like a dark cloud hanging over our community. When someone comes out and says they are, or were, in an abusive marriage or relationship, we feel confronted, and often don’t quite know what to say. The saddest part, and the hardest perspective to change, is the unintentional victim blaming. When a woman comes out of an abusive relationship people ask, why did she stay with him for that long? Why did she take it? Why didn’t she speak up earlier? Nobody’s first concern is that the man has the audacity to hit the woman. a marriage counsellor. She hoped he would change and that her nightmare would become a distant memory. But it didn’t. After months of suffering, with the support of her family, the young woman woman was able to take the brave step of ending her

Huge congratulations to Indian Link contributor Tia Singh who took the Young Journalist of the Year honour at the NSW Premier’s Multicultural Media Awards 2017.

Tia received the award from the Minister for Multiculturalism Ray Williams at a ceremony on 30 August.

Tia’s work at Indian Link has straddled many genres: literature, Sikh history, entertainment. Yet, it was her work on gender equality and domestic violence that stood out this past year.

As the community reeled under the shock news of yet another case o horrific domestic a use this time in a high profile ydney amily ia vented her frustration in a piece that was widely read and shared. (‘An open letter to my fellow Indian-Australian youth on violence against women,’ Indian Link August-1 pg 39).

“My connection with Indian Link has reiterated my flair or writing and oice the issues of my demographic,” Tia observed.

Tia, 24, began her association with Indian Link in . er first appearance on our pages, though, was way back in 2010, and on our cover, no less. It is an edition that her mum has preserved carefully, even displaying it at the family home’s formal room. (Tia was one o the high achie ers we profiled that year.)

It is quite clear that family support has been a huge deal for this up and coming youngster.

“I owe a lot to my mum; her belief in me has been unwavering,” she said. “But I dedicate my award to my grandad, my Nanu, who we lost six months ago. As a lover of the arts - he was a poet and a photographer - he encouraged my creative endeavours ever since I was a child, especially to write.

‘‘ ‘‘

concerning how the jokes regarding violence against women come so naturally. It has happened with me: sitting in a group of friends, banter flying here and there, when in response to a joke I made, a generally warm-hearted male friend retorted Mein jooti laava?” (“Should I take off my shoe?”) Do we really find jokes that demean one sex to elevate another, funny? We seem convinced that domestic violence cannot and will not happen to us or our peers. We are educated, we are independent, we live in a civilised society. However, the stories NATIONAL EDITION

Kaur was articulate and spoke confidently, warmly and openly answering questions posed by host Sara Mansour, and reading to the audience from her bestselling book. Towards the end of the “In-Conversation” session, Kaur laughingly told her fans that “this is the most I’ve shared in an interview!” An acclaimed poet, 24-year-old Kaur initially appealed to Generation Y as an ‘Insta-poet.’ She took to social media platform Instagram to post her photography and her poetry about issues that she felt passionately about – a step that has now amassed to a 1.3 million strong following. Writing about women’s experience, Kaur taps into what may be considered ‘taboo’ subjects such as menstruation, abuse, and sex, as well as love, loss and survival. our backs tell stories no books have the spine to carry “I wanted to give a voice to women’s experience, not just my own, but my lineage,

On violence against women Discovering her selves Breaking barriers, one poem at a time In a sold-out session, new age poet Rupi Kaur sat down in front of an audience of over 200 as part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival, to talk about her work and her journey. Kaur is a Canadian- Indian poet, spoken-word artist and visual artist, whose collection of poetry Milk and Honey has sold over 1.4 million copies worldwide. Half expecting to see a room full of young Indian women, it was refreshing and inspiring to see the auditorium brimming with young women - and men - of all cultures, clutching their copies of Milk and Honey. It is a testament to her role in inspiring the younger generation to fall back in love with poetry.

He kept cutouts of every single article of mine. I wish he was here to see me win the award.”

Congratulating her, CEO Pawan uthra said, “ ia’s knack or finding leads and seeing them through to conclusion is commendable. She has also impressed with her infectious enthusiasm, goodnatured vivacity and ready smile.

I congratulate her on behalf of the Indian Link family and wish her and women in general,” she said. “I wanted to give a voice to trauma.” She went on, “Writing is deeply cathartic. Studies have shown it has the ability to heal physical wounds, so imagine how powerful it is for mental or emotional trauma.” Kaur said that growing up, she was a “fly on the wall,” and posting to social media was a “way of expressing [herself] almost silently.” She claims she accidentally fell in to writing, after reading the works of poets like Khalil Gibran. “I felt seen for the first time, and this was through other people’s words,” she said. It is apparent that the same sensitivity in her own poetry has all the best.” enabled it to resonate with so many people. Having been told that there was no space for her and her writing in the Canadian literary sphere, Kaur decided to self- publishing in 2014. “I never paid any mind to those who said I did not fit the mould. I didn’t do it in the traditional way… I didn’t smash the gate, I just created a whole different gate,” she told her smitten fans. Milk and Honey was later rereleased by Andrews McMeel Publishing, and it became New York Times bestseller. Kaur moved to Canada with her family at age 5. Unable to speak English at the time, she began to paint. An ode to her humble beginnings, all the illustrations in Milk and Honey are Kaur’s own. Kaur is currently editing her second book and touring the world, speaking about her journey and meeting fans She credits her success to her dedication to the art, and the unaffectedness in her work. “I wasn’t born a great poet,” she said. “It took discipline and hard work.” ‘My heart aches for sisters…’ so Rupi Kaur writes for their pain BY TIA SINGH I didn’t do it in the traditional way… I didn’t smash the gate, I just created a whole di erent gate ‘‘ ‘‘ Photos: Prudence Upton

At Indian Link, we are proud to be able to provide a platform for emerging talent. This latest award marks our third for young journalists, following Ritam Mitra (2014) and Namita Gohil (2016).

It also boosts our reputation of being Australia’s most awarded multicultural media group, taking the group’s tally of media awards to 21.