YOUR SAY

2017 In Pictures

Our video collage of the best images from 2017 ‘clicked’ with a lot of readers Avi Chandiok wrote: Looking at the YouTube pics just shows how much work you all have done this year and do every year. All to such a high standard. Gaurav Masand said: The compilation of all pictures from the year was wonderful.

GOOGLE HOME: AT YOUR COMMAND

PRIYANKA TATER reviewed a smart gadget

Jack Smith wrote: Had the Echo since late 2014 and now several Google Homes. The big difference is the Echo requires commands that you have to memorize to use versus the Google Home supports natural language for most things. Makes the Google Home far easier to interact with.

Bowled Over

The BBL is a great format to get kids - including his son -interested in cricket, wrote SANAM SHARMA

Ila Upadhyaya Barmola wrote: God bless the future cricketer with abundant happiness, everlasting success n unlimited scores… Lots of love little champ.

Making A Mark

CHARUTA JOSHI interviewed India women cricket team’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur on her selection in the WBBL.

Krishna Neelamraju wrote: The Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) is presenting exciting new opportunities to the Indian women cricketers, helping them expand their horizons and gain crucial overseas experience. More excitingly, with the recruitment of the Indian stars, WBBL has the potential to reap a bonanza in cricket’s hottest media market - India.

India women cricket team’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur broke new ground in 2016 by becoming the first Indian player, male or female, to play in the Big Bash League after being picked up by the inaugural champions Sydney Thunders. Even though the Thunders couldn’t sustain their form in the second edition, Kaur’s stellar performances for her team won all-round praise and she became an easy pick for two more seasons. This success story of the Punjabi lass from Moga will inspire other Indian women cricketers to set sights on the WBBL.

The 2016/17 WBBL02 season saw two superstars of Indian cricket, 21year old Smriti Mandhana and the 28-year old Kaur making their debut. While Mandhana failed to excite and could not renew her contract, Kaur grabbed the opportunity with both hands. She became the Thunders team’s lead scorer for the season with an enviable average of 59.20 and earned a permanent place with the team. The all-rounder is now an integral part of the Thunders’ strategy to reclaim their title.

Overseas T20 leagues present golden opportunities for young Indian cricketers to play in different conditions and improve their skills. Harmanpreet Kaur is a great example for that.

The Indian captain’s experience training with the Aussies in their own backyard helped her rise to the occasion during the 2017 edition of ICC Women’s World Cup Semi-Final against Australia. Coming to the crease with India under pressure at 2-35, Kaur unleashed a monster innings of 171* of 115 balls that included 7 sixes and 20 fours. The record-breaking effort helped India secure a berth in the final. The Aussies witnessed with awe what a formidable player Kaur is and this no doubt played a part in the two-year contract renewal Kaur bagged.

Kaur’s Aussie adventures have serendipitously come at a transformative moment for the women’s cricket. The Women’s World Cup saw record viewership of more than 180 million people worldwide of which 156 million were in India alone. The final between England and India was played in front of a frenzied, sold-out crowd on the Lord’s cricket ground, the likes of which Women’s cricket has never seen before. It is no secret that the hard-core cricket fans of India are driving the game’s popularity worldwide and they seem to have found a new interest in women’s cricket.

A ‘BEHTAREEN’ WAY OF ENJOYING BBL

The Hindi commentary on selected BBL and WBBL games was a superhit and widely heard. A BBL Facebook post about it racked up 23,000 views and over 100 likes

Amy Dixon wrote: I’m surprised at the balance of languages in the commentary, specifically the amount of English for concepts like offside and leg stump. Thanks for posting.

Rani A wrote: Lovely to hear Hindi cricket commentary. Some wonderful insights from Sanjiv Dubey

Aman Agarwal wrote: Fan from Calcutta

Swapan Basu remarked: Nice yaar

Reeti Trivedi wrote: Fun and insightful at the same time. Brought back memories from my childhood

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

A few days ago, we asked who was looking better, Padma Lakshmi or Lea Michele, in a Cushnie Et Ochs dress?

Preeti Jabbal wrote: This dress needs oomph and curves and Lea Michelle is rocking it .Sorry PL

Rajinder Kaur agreed: Lee Michele

Leyla Singh wrote: Lea Michele

Considering this, it will be a very savvy move to include more Indian players in the WBBL line ups. The opening match of the 2017/18 WBBL03 season on 9 Dec 2017 saw Kaur take a spectacular forward-diving catch to complete the Thunders’ win. The Aussie media may not have given it a lot of coverage, but the Indian media rolled out ecstatic coverage of the catch and the contenthungry news channels played the video on loop. This kind of media attention can help WBBL fill a gap in the lucrative Indian sports market while IPL remains restricted to men’s cricket.

WBBL03 season saw another Indian player, the flamboyant Veda Krishnamurthy, join the Hobart Hurricanes. If she is able to replicate Kaur’s success, more doors may open. At a time when interest is fast rising in women’s cricket, seeing a familiar face or a crowd favourite on the TV screens may capture the Indian viewer’s fancy. It will be a win-win for both the Australian and the Indian women cricket if WBBL can break through the Indian market, even for a few years before the inevitable launch of women’s IPL.

Staying Safe In Twilight Years

An event to mark Prevention of Elder Abuse Family Day sought to raise awareness about this issue. CARL BUHARIWALA reported Dilnaz Billimoria wrote: Please accept my personal thanks for always supporting our endeavours to promote harmony in the Indian community and to build bridges of trust between organisations, government bodies and CALD communities. Carl, thank you for attending our Prevention of Financial Elder Abuse Forum for the Indian community and your report in Indian Link. Building awareness of sensitive issues is the way forward, be it elder abuse, family violence, women’s health, etc with CALD focus.

Friends In Deed

HARSHAD PANDHARIPANDE wrote about online communities helping migrants in real life.

Vikramjeet Singh, whose mum’s treatment was crowdfunded by the group members, wrote: Thanks to everyone for supporting me and sharing my problem with others. I really appreciate all IIS members. Thanks to group admin also who allowed me to raise fund from their page. Thanks once again to all of you

Gaurav Wadekar, who was also featured in the article, wrote: It is an honour to be featured along with Desi Referral Network in the cover story published by Indian Link. This is truly amazing in terms of the effort that you are putting in helping people.

Krish Na wrote: A heart-warming article. Great job, people!

Prateek Saxena wrote: So awesome!

Aashish Dube wrote: Feeling proud to be a part of this group!!

Our story on the same-sex marriage result - and the negative reaction to it from some quarters - spurred a reader into penning down her thoughts.

Reeti Trivedi wrote: “All things queer are also part of nature.”

This has been on my mind ever since Australia’s survey/debate to allow same-sex marriage was on. I suddenly realised many people around me had a problem with the idea that all queer things are also part of nature. And the sad part was they thought it’s unnatural. They thought the whole concept is modern, Western or sexual.

While the thought was fresh in my mind, I came across the rather regressive and clearly unscientific views on homosexuality by some Indian spiritual and political leaders. Thankfully, these opinions were quickly countered - at least on Twitter, where the leaders faced quite a bit of criticism.

I also recently came across a piece of news about a woman in the US rejecting a gay photographer for her maternity photos because of the photographer’s sexual orientation. The woman texted the photographer saying that she did not want someone gay to take pictures. She added that she was against it and she did not want her five-year-old child to think that being gay is okay. She said she did not want her child to be influenced by people who think that such a lifestyle is ‘okay and acceptable.’ Hundreds of people wrote comments on the post, saying that just as the photographer chose to be homosexual, the woman reserved the right to pick a photographer she felt comfortable with. My point here is, do people understand that homosexuality is not a choice?

Before the marriage equality survey, I read on many forums and heard many people talk about what would happen if Australia did indeed legalise samesex marriage? Would it be then taught at schools? Would that then result in influencing children?

This fear stems purely from lack of awareness and knowledge about the issue. It may be even pronounced in a large part of the Indian community since sexand sex education - is a taboo subject, not to be discussed with children. To make it simple, nobody can teach your child or influence your child to be gay. It is not a choice they can make. It is natural. On the contrary, people would be well served to start teaching their children - and themselves - acceptance. I was happy when Australia finally came around to saying yes to marriage equality. And just when this took place, I finished reading the book Shikhandi by Devdutt Pattanaik. My Indian friends would know that Shikhandi was the eldest daughter of Drupada and the elder sister of Draupadi.

Drupada wanted a son so bad that he raised his daughter as a son and called her Shikhandi. So much so that she was given a wife, only to be discovered by the bride on the wedding night that her husband was a woman. A yaksha called Sthuna came to Shikhandi’s rescue. He lent her his manhood for one night. Shikhandi then performed his husbandly duties to the satisfaction of his new wife and returned the next day to give back the borrowed organ. Kubera, the king of yakshas, was so pleased with Shikhandi’s integrity that he allowed Shikhandi to use the yaksha’s manhood as long as he lived.

The book tells many stories such as Shikhandi’s. It talks of Mahadeva, who became a woman to deliver his devotee’s child; of Urvashi, who was born of no woman; of Arjuna, who was temporarily castrated for showing restraint; of Bhagirath, who was born of two women and so on. Some tales are touching, some playful and some disturbing - but these stories have been collected from far and wide.

YEH DOSTI, HUM NAHI CHHODENGE

We shared a video of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit Sarthak Kaushal wrote: Turnbull has no clue what Modi is talking, like he has no clue about people of Australia, lol!

Chandra Kishore wrote: Great dosti. Our PM values his friendship with Modiji.

KRISHNA, THE DIVINE PRANKSTER

APARNA ANANTHUNI wrote whether Lord Krishna’s ‘divine love play’ just a euphemism for eve-teasing?

Keedi Tohu wrote: This is an allegory of the love between the soul and God. As Saint Meera Bai once said, all devotees are female lovers of the Divine God.

Mesopotamian, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Egyptian, Persian, Judaism, Biblical… all these cultures and civilisations have copious references to homosexuality and queerness. Homosexuals, transgenders, transsexuals, crossdressers, ‘hijras’ and eunuchs have all been part of our society since eons. They have been part of every possible culture, period, civilisation and mythology.

The book only helped me understand the subject better and validate my thoughts on the issue. Actually, the thought is very simple: Love is love. Long live love.

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