WHAT’S ON

FESTIVAL

Rockstar Dandia by Arvind Vegda

Sat 16 Sept Yuva Gujarat in association with Desi Dreamz presents Dandia Season 2017 Perth at Curtin Stadium, Kent Street, Bentley from 7 pm till late night. Details Raj 0433 698 525, Kunjal Shah 0411 428 860

Indu Patel and Group (Dual Voice Fame)

Sat 23 Sept Dhoom Club in association with Vibrant Gujarat, Toram Finance and Woodvale Tavern presents Navratri dandia 2017 at Curtin Stadium, Kent St, Bentley from 6.30pm onwards. Kids under 10 free. Tickets www.premiertickets.com.au

Navaratri by Malhar

Sun 24 Sept Gujarati Samaj of WA presents Garbha at Willetton Sports and Community Centre, Burrendah Blvd, Willetton from 7pm to 11.45pm. Details Keyur 0412 660 331, Dipon 0434 195 377

Navaratri by Music Mantra

29-30 Sept Gujarati Samaj of WA presents Garbha at Herb Graham Recreation Centre, 38 Ashbury Cresent, Mirrabooka from 7pm to 11pm. Details Vinod 08 9246 4839, Alka Parikh 0402 389 153

Durga Puja

Sat 30 Sept Probasee Bengali of Perth (Ekottro) announces a multicultural evening at Canning Town Hall from 7pm to 10pm. Details Tani 0424 442 549

Shubo Sharodiya

29 Sept to 1 Oct Bengali Association of Western Australia celebrates Durga puja silver jubilee at Vasto Club, 5 Vasto Place, Balcatta, WA. Details www.bawa. com.au

Community

Punjabi Khed Mela

Sun 24 Sept Bertram Punjabi Club and Loan Market Balpreet Singh presents Punjabi sports and multicultural event at Calista Oval, 2 Walgreen Crescent, Calista from 9 am to 6 pm. Entry is free. Join in for Kabaddi, Volleyball, Bhangra, Solo performances responsible for promoting Australia to its home market, local authorities and councils have to reach out to domestic and international travellers.

“Many upcountry local authorities and councils need etter financial planning, tourism investment support and marketing guidance to really get their share of the tourism dollar,” says White.

Labour supply and skill levels will also be a challenge. With a hotel construction boom underway – there are over 125 new properties in the pipeline across the country – MyTravelResearch.com tourism industry members wonder where the workers will come from to sustain the hotel and tourism boom. er eo notes that ustrade had identified the challenge and has commissioned tourism labour force surveys.

Labour and room supply notwithstanding, Merzeo says, “We are in a fantastic place with a lot of positive growth signs. Everyone seems to love Australia.” and many more fun attractions. Details Jagga Chauhan 0423 945 915, Sandeep Gill 0450 413 558.

Hindi Divas

Sat 16 Sept Hindi Samaj of Western Australia in support with Consulate General of India, Perth is celebrating Hindi Divas at Manning Centre, 3 Downey drive, Manning from 4pm6pm. Details: Arusha 0405 491 001, Hema 0430 702 209

Music

Punjabi Virsa

Sun 17 Sept Punjabi Virsa Club live in Perth at Curtin Stadium, Bentley at 2pm. Details Manjinder Gill 0452 439 001

Spring Music Fest

Sat 23 Sept SRI and Zstar entertainment present Vijay Prakash (Jai Ho fame), Vandana Srinivasan, Nikhil Mathew and Neha Venugopal live in concert at Kennedy Baptist Auditorium, Farrington Rd, Murdoch from 3.30 pm- 7.30 pm. Details 0410 141 400; 0422 410 381.

STAGE

Satinder Sartaj

Sat 30 Sept Punjab Ventures and Sarpanch group presents The Black Prince concert, Satinder Sartaj Live in concert at Kennedy Baptist College, Farrington Rd, Murdoch. Details Harpreet Singh 0433 307 518, Prabhpreet Singh 0430 581 080.

SEMINAR

Doctors’ annual conference Sat 16 Sept WA Indian Docs proudly presents 2017 annual scienti c meeting and conference at Novotel, Langley, Perth. Details www. indiandoctorswa.org.au

Compiled by Puneet Anand

To have your event listed, email media@indianlink.com.au

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.

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. ia, , egan 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.

‘‘ ‘‘

(Tia’s) work reflects the need for diverse voices to be heard in our media landscape, just as much as it does for community youth to tell their stories women like Nikita Chawla, whose husband took a meat cleaver to her head, and Deepshikha Godara, whose intervention order against her estranged husband ran out four days prior to her murder. It starts with one misogynistic joke, one aggressive comment, one remark demeaning women. It is common to joke at the expense of women: we hear it in our songs, we see it in our movies, but just because it is common in our society, it does not make it okay. The Australian government recently launched an anti-domestic violence ad campaign, “Stop it from the Start”. I am all for a bit of banter, but it is On violence against women An open letter to my fellow Indian-Australian youth: When it comes to domestic violence, it should be a deeper conversation than “If he hits me, I’ll just hit him back…” BY TIA SINGHand 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 Photos: Prudence Upton

NATIONAL EDITIONHe 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 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, youth 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, ‘‘ ‘‘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 mayall the best.”

‘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 gateKaur 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.”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.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 ying nd nitely an uence JUNEAt Indian Link, we are proud to be able to provide a platform for emerging talent. This latest award marks our third for young ournalists, ollowing itam itra 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.