2018-02 Sydney (1)

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PUBLISHER

Pawan Luthra

EDITOR

Rajni Anand Luthra ASSISTANT

EDITOR Harshad Pandharipande

MELBOURNE COORDINATOR

Preeti Jabbal CONTRIBUTORS

Kalyani Wakhare, Sachin Wakhare, Nanditha Suresh, Manan Luthra, Madeleine Lovelle, Petra O’Neill, Ritam Mitra, Emie Roy, Minal Khona, Virat Nehru, Nury Vittachi, Vikas Datta

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Charuta Joshi 02 9279 2004

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India being outplayed by China

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

When a newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, there seemed to be much promise for a future of closer contact and much collaboration. Increased engagement was the plan.

And so when seven months ago, a standoff occurred between the two countries over the Doklam plateau, a disputed area claimed by both China and Bhutan, diplomatic channels were opened to resolve what was labelled as a highly volatile situation.

However, recent events seem to reveal new patterns in the manner in which China views its neighbour, with whom it shares a 2,500-km border.

In a recent CNN interview on the China-India relationship, Yvonne Chiu of the University of Hong Kong, said, “I think China doesn’t see India as a genuine long-term rival. I think it

looks at India and sees a classic case of democracy gone wrong. India is incredibly corrupt , its infrastructure is terrible, and it is riddled with religious and demographic problems. Except it is very large. It does have a big population as well and it’s on the border. So it’s a regional rival, but I don’t think they take India seriously as a global rival.”

Commercially, China does well out of its trade relationship with India. India is its largest trading partner with over $100 billion of bilateral trade ongoing, largely in China’s favour. Chinese companies are supplying trains for the Delhi metro projects and have major stakes in Indian companies such as Paytm, Ola and Snapdeal to name a few. In fact last year, Oppo, China’s top mobile phone maker, paid $200 million for a five-year sponsorship to place their logo on the uniform of the Indian cricket team, displacing that of India’s leading broadcasting company, Star India.

But it seems that while it benefits from the economic prosperity of India, China wants to undermine India’s role as a regional super power. China is isolating India from its traditional allies (Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives), notably through its Belt and

Road Initiative (BRI).

The BRI is a program for increasing infrastructural, economic, and political connectivity between China and other countries in Asia, Africa and Europe. BRI has irked India as China positions itself in the centre of the new world order and also forges closer ties with India’s traditional rival Pakistan.

That China has shown a willingness to meet the growing infrastructure needs in nations that have long been India’s allies, is also worrisome for India. These needs are met at the investors’ terms, as was evidenced recently in Sri Lanka. Unable to service a $2 billion loan for the development of the port city Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka, its government was forced to sign a 99year lease with a Chinese state-owned company. While the lease is purportedly for commercial use, the recent Chinese navy stopovers at the port have concerned the Indian government.

India needs to shore up its strategic stakes with its neighbours, and it needs to implement long-term solutions which will allow it to be a player in the global political scene.

Currently, it is being out-manoeuvred and outplayed by China.

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YOUR SAY

THE PADMAAVAT DEBATE

Deepika Padukone spoke to Indian Link’s PREETI JABBAL about her controversial project

Deen Parast wrote: As per the original Su poem, “The victorious Alauddin re ects on his Pyrrhic victory, and the nature of insatiable desire. He picks up the ashes of Ratansen and his wives Padmini and Nagmati, lamenting that he ‘wanted to avoid this.’ Alauddin continues, “Desire is insatiable, permanent / but this world is illusory and transient / Insatiable desire man continues to have / Till life is over and he reaches his grave.”” (Source: Wikipedia). A very important spiritual teaching on lust. This is the most important part of the poem, but wonder if the director has included this part. In past adaptations of the Mahabharata for Indian TV, the last episodes of Yudhishtira and his loyalty for a faithful dog were left out.

We asked our readers: As Padmaavat protests continue, which other Indian lms can you recall that caused a furore?

Preeta Nair wrote: Jodha Akbar

Rajni Luthra wrote: There was also Deepa Mehta’s Water. I distinctly remember a protestor’s placard which said: “Ganga water nahin, hamari maa hai.”

Vandana D’souza wrote: Fire

Rajani Sagar wrote: Bombay

WHERE IN INDIA?

Our photo of this beautiful lake got some close guesses but not the exact answer

Jillian Abery guessed: Kerala. Maybe Lake Vembanad.

Vandana D’souza wrote: Kumarakom

The correct answer was Vellayani Lake in Kovalam, Kerala

BIRTHDAY SUGGESTIONS FOR ABHISHEK

With the Bachchans in Sydney for AB Jr’s 42nd birthday on 5 Feb, we asked our readers to suggest some ideas for celebration

Parveen wrote: I wish the Bachchans would take in a movie at a local theatre like regular people, popcorn and all. They probably don’t get to do that back home. How about Padmaavat, guys?

Leyla Singh suggested: They could go to Harris Park for dinner!

Wilson Rishi joked: Yeah, they’re having some drinks with me in Manly.

Arti Asthana wrote: Just give them space and let them enjoy Sydney

Chetan Bembi wrote: They can go to the Mandir and thank the lord for what they have.

Ashwin Deo wrote: Who cares? They are just human beings. Leave them alone for god’s sake.

SAY IT AGAIN

THE MAHATMA AND ANARCHY

On Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary, we posted on article by AMIT KHANNA about his thoughts on anarchy - a state governed by law and freedom without force

Krish Na wrote: Excellent piece! Gandhi was a free thinker, one who shifted a paradigm in a colonised world. Hard for someone like that to come again even though we desperately need him now.

We have brought the World Cup back… The plan was well executed Prithvi Shaw, India’s U-19 cricket captain, after winning the World Cup nal against Australia

Great to see #Bollywood actor #AishwaryaRai take part in the Queen’s Baton journey across #Sydney Harinder Sidhu, Australia’s High Commissioner to India

She came, we saw, she conquered

One of India’s best-loved personalities drops by in Sydney

BY KALYANI WAKHARE

For Sydney’s Aishoholics, it was Christmas - and Diwali - all over again.

The news had gone out only days before, that India’s sweetheart Aishwarya Rai Bachchan would be in town for Swiss watchmaker Longines again this year, to launch a new store in Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building.

Keen observers had already spotted her in the ad for the luxury watch - especially that giant drop-down inside the QVB.

And so on the appointed date, they thronged the building, people of all ages, as close as they could get to the newest Longines store in Sydney.

As the stipulated time approached, the quiet chatter was that Indian celebs always take their own sweet time to arrive… (eye roll). And that in 2016, she was nearly two hours late (even as ambassador for a timekeeper. Oh, the irony!).

But very shortly after, as the grand clock struck 6:30, there was a loud cheer and to everyone’s surprise, ‘the queen’ was walking down the aisles of QVB.

As she sashayed in style towards the stage, she stopped briefly, only a few feet away from me, to wave to the crowd.

My heart almost skipped a beat, which is exactly when I realised what the words ‘star struck’ mean in the real sense!

She blew kisses to the adoring fans who screamed, wide eyed and amazed by her stunning looks.

Yes, her beauty is amazing. And we swooned.

She looked impeccable - not a strand of hair out of place, not one pleat of her Gauri and Nainika dress out of kilter, not one wrinkled brow even as people thrust their camera phone at her.

The gathered media-wallahs, informed of the boundaries beforehand, still chose to disrespect the special guest’s privacy somewhat, and had her minders in a flurry. But it was not as bad and mad as the 2016 event, when the media pack behaved exactly like that - a pack. Either the security was better prepared this time round, or the reporters were better behaved.

And yet through it all, she remained graceful as ever, as though far removed from it in some divine sort of way.

When Aishwarya addressed the crowd the response was phenomenal, her fans clearly lapping up every moment, and furiously clicking away with their phones. She spoke politely, acknowledging the Longines Vice President and Head of International Marketing Juan-Carlos Capelli, and the stunning athlete and model Amy Pejkovic, new ambassador for Longines. She also welcomed the Queen’s baton for the Commonwealth Games, carried to the event by Amy. Longines is the Official Timekeeper of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and Official Partner of the Queen’s Baton Relay. Aish’s not-so-subtle comment that she would of course be cheering the Indian

athletes at the Games in April this year, was received with big smiles and a loud applause!

She then proceeded to cut the ribbon for the official store launch, delighting the photographers and fans every moment with graceful waves and warm smiles. She looked picture perfect as she autographed her poster in store with the trademark ‘God Bless.’

Aishwarya may have stunned us with her grace and poise, but she truly won us over with her warmth. All requests for autographs were graciously accepted, and she was especially generous with kids, posing for photos as beaming parents couldn’t stop admiring and clicking. Some fans were overcome with emotion. One young man appealed to Aish to sign a sketch he had made of her, and she indulged cordially.

And that, in a nutshell, is my take-away from my brief encounter with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: that beauty is as beauty does. It’s a lesson I would like to teach my own two daughters - a lesson that perhaps millions of young women who idolise her could learn too.

The event wrapped up neatly in 30 minutes, not a single minute more, very impressive indeed. The fans continued to scream, of course, and some even ran down the stairs in the hope of catching one last glimpse of her as she exited the lift. Security had the challenging task of constantly managing the crowd and even being appropriately forceful. The star’s popularity was evident and so was her down-to-earth, humble nature and love for children. Aish is an icon loved by generations and people were singing her praises long after she had left.

If ever there was a brand ambassador

delicate finger food, oysters and crystal closely,

with my daughter’s name! It

It was a privilege to be in the store with her as she treated a select few to selfies and more autographs. Amidst the white flowers, delicate finger food, oysters and crystal champagne flutes, as we got to mingle more closely, she came across as self-assured and confident, yet a warm human being - with good old-fashioned values like politeness and humility. I handed my little sheet of paper too as requested by my daughter and to our great delight she actually personalised her autograph with my daughter’s name! It is now going to be a keepsake for sure.

Aishwarya may have stunned us with her grace and poise, but she truly won us over with her warmth

Photos: Sachin Wakhare and Ken Leanfore

How Gandhi would navigate a post-truth world

Acclaimed Indian journalist and political commentator

Shoma Chaudhury presents the 7th annual Gandhi Oration at UNSW

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

For a man obsessed with Truth as the ultimate guiding principle in life - “Truth in thought, word and deed” - how would today’s posttruth world be bearable?

Mahatma Gandhi’s antidote, Shoma Chaudhury suggested at this year’s Gandhi Oration at UNSW, would be to look within himself.

Chaudhury, an award-winning Indian journalist and political commentator,

set the backdrop to her address quite succinctly, describing the post-truth discourse that has come to dominate our social consciousness.

“A post-truth world is a world where evidence and fact have no value; where public discourse is defined by hypernationalism and a dizzying hatred of others, and driven by appealing to hyper-emotion and to fear-mongering,” Chaudhury described. “It is a world where there can be no disagreement, only denunciation; where there’s a refusal to dialogue, and a refusal to evolve. It is a world where there can be no range of emotions or positions, complexity or multiple perspectives, and where the idea of individuality is lost.”

This systemic breakdown - infiltrating government, economy, the justice system, education - is fuelled by social media, which reinforces the prejudice.

How do we navigate this dangerous, dehumanised world?

A Gandhian perspective, suggested Chaudhury, would be to become selfaware and active citizens, not selfinterested ones. To engage in scrutiny and dialogue with our moral selves, and to bring the soul force back into public life. To reclaim agency and speak up for moderation and maturity and a more reasoned discourse. To have the audacity, like Gandhi, to think new thoughts. The pushback must come from us regular folk: we must be the change agent.

“We must reclaim the sovereignty of the self and ask ourselves daily: do I pass the humanity test?”

That is Gandhi’s legacy, and leaders as well as citizens can benefit from it.

By the end, Chaudhury had the audience convinced that the onus to break free from a dehumanised post-truth world lies squarely with each one of us. Stability will be restored if we all do our bit: we are each the “grain of salt” with which Gandhi urged an entire nation, some 70-odd years ago, to make a difference.

Indeed, to paraphrase Gandhi in one of his most-quoted utterings, we must be the change that we want to see in society.

Chaudhury might rest assured, the world is slowly but surely cottoning on.

On an individual level, there is a gradual understanding seeping in that social media can have addictive and socially corrosive qualities; that we must tidy our newsfeeds; that we must ‘like’ and ‘share’ mindfully.

On a larger social movement level, last year’s global March for Science on Earth Day saw people across the world sign a pledge (https://www.protruthpledge. org/) to reclaim the truth by “sharing”, “honouring” and “encouraging” it. One stated commitment in that pledge - to “reevaluate (and retract) if my information is challenged,” shows that Gandhi may have been prescient when he himself claimed to have changed his position on various issues, thanks to his deeper understanding of them, urging readers to take the later of his pronouncements as true; a fact that Chaudhury highlighted to some amusement.

Articulate and insightful in her analysis of both Gandhi’s methods as well as the forces that are shaping today’s socio-cultural narrative,

Chaudhury stamped her 45-minute address with characteristic imprint - a penchant for scrupulous research, capacity for perceptive debate, and a keenness to examine all sides of an issue.

These very characteristics have won her many Excellence in Journalism awards and places on women-of-influence lists.

Chaudhury has worked in some of India’s leading English-language publications, and was co-founder of the much-acclaimed investigative magazine Tehelka. Tehelka folded in 2013 after 16

years in operation, when allegations of sexual misconduct were made against Chaudhury’s colleague Tarun Tejpal. Today she runs Algebra: The Arts and Ideas Club, a forum for critical conversation which she likes to describe as “an instrument for intellectual and emotional persuasion.”

Yet, she was a surprising choice as speaker at the Gandhi Oration - only the second woman in a line-up of illustrious orators, and in her early 50s, one of the younger ones. She came across as graceful and dignified - in a handloom sari that would have won Gandhi’s approval, no doubt - and yet sharp and surgical, as she cut through to the nitty-gritty of what

ails contemporary society. She based her observations in her native India just as much as in the Australian milieu in which she delivered her address.

We are used to hearing platitudes about what is common between India and Australia - cricket and commonwealth; curry and coal; the coincidence of our national days falling on the same date. But when a careful observer and analyst like Chaudhury casts a Gandhian eye over the state of our two nations, other parallels emerge. We may celebrate the coincidence of 26 Jan, but Chaudhury brought out

incarceration rates of Indigenous and mainstream Australian youths that once even eclipsed those in Apartheid South Africa, the turning back of the boats from Australian shores, the billions of dollars spent in keeping asylum seekers locked up, and Victoria’s ‘African’ crisis.

The insights that can be gained from these observations? “That democracies are precarious, contingent and flawed, needing constant ‘demajorification’ and repledging.”

The take-away for both societies, then, could be that in order for the mutual relationship to move beyond the three

the deeper and more real commonality of a brutal truth: that the wounds gained from nationhood have not healed in either country. That while both may be proud and robust democracies, there is a latent desire for supremacy in the dominant sections in our societies. That a sense of fair play, and compassion for the weakest in our society, is lacking.

More than a few feathers in the audience may have been ruffled as she proceeded to list the inconvenient truths about YouTube-d love-jihad attacks, the working conditions of ‘hell-diving’ sewage cleaners, the marginalisation of Dalits on the one hand; and on the other, the comparative

Cs - toward the Ds, Es and Fs if you will - perhaps they need to step back and fix their own Democracies first, by bringing in a greater sense of Equity and Fairness in their respective social fabrics.

In a Gandhian sense, both India and Australia need to work towards “a society where there is no discrimination; a society where a fight for the underdog would also salvage the powerful.”

As Chaudhury concluded, Gandhi is relevant wherever there is an unfinished project of humanity.

(The Gandhi Oration is held every year on 30 Jan at UNSW)

The pushback must come from us regular folk: we must be the change agent

Democracies are precarious, contingent and flawed, needing constant ‘demajorification’ and repledging

#PowerOf Youth

BY HARSHAD PANDHARIPANDE

What is the Australia India Youth Dialogue? How did it originate?

AIYD is the leading Track II bilateral young leaders’ dialogue between Australia and India. Each year we bring together 15 young Indians and 15 young Australians under the age of 40, all demonstrated leaders in their fields, to engage in a four-day dialogue about matters that affect the bilateral relations between the two countries with a focus on youth engagement. This year was the seventh dialogue.

AIYD has its origins in the 2009 student attacks in Melbourne. The thesis of the founders was that there was no (existing) mechanism to bring young leaders together to discuss in a proactive and constructive way such issues that were misconstrued in the media. AIYD has grown beyond that and has now become an important forum to bring young leaders together and start to inform government on both sides on how to shape policy and create opportunities going forward. It takes place every year, alternating between India and Australia. This year, it took place in New Delhi and Mumbai from 21 to 24 Jan.

Who can apply to participate in the dialogue?

Anyone who is a citizen of India or Australia under the age of 40. Our selection criterion is quite rigorous. We are specifically looking for people who have demonstrated leadership in their field. We take a diverse set of delegates. This year, we had politicians, CEOs of for-profit and not-for-profit companies, bureaucrats, diplomats, corporate senior executives, a couple of people in the sports space, and many in the arts space. We keep a 50-50 male-female proportion and try to have balanced regional representation.

What have been your main focus areas?

This year the theme was Digital Disruption, with three sub-themes - Future of Democracy, Future of Information and Future of Work. The reason we picked digital disruption was because it’s high on the agenda of both Prime Ministers Modi and Turnbull - in India, with initiatives such as Startup India and Digital India, and National Innovation and Science Agenda in Australia. It’s also an area where the senior leaders look towards youngsters for guidance as we are already at the forefront of shaping the digital economy - not just at the periphery and inheriting it, but doing the thinking around it. Last year, the theme was ‘innovation’ with a focus on health, start-ups etc.

Who were some of the most interesting people you had this year?

All of them were interesting! We had two sitting members of parliament - Scott Farlow MLC, Parliamentary Secretary to the NSW Premier and the leader of the Liberal party in the Upper House, and Matt Keogh, a Labor MP from Burt, WA. We also had Sachin Kumar, the head of strategy and scheduling, Cricket Australia. On the Indian side, among the notable participants were Madhav Singhania, special executive with JK Cement and co-chair of the Young Indians branch of the Confederation of Indian Industries; Bhakti Sharma, one the youngest and the only female panchayat leader in Madhya Pradesh; Tasneem Fatima who is a wheelchair basketball player and founder of the Delhi State Wheelchair Basketball Association; Shaili Chopra, a former news anchor and founder of an online women’s platform called SheThePeople.TV; and Bindu Subramaniam, an outstanding musician who is the daughter of violin virtuoso L Subramaniam and singer Kavita Krishnamoorthy.

How do people such as Bindu and Tasneem fit into the digital disruption discussion?

A musician like Bindu would be interested to know about the rapidly changing business models of music. For Tasneem, the topic on Day 1 - The Future of Democracy - was quite relevant as it talked

about building awareness through social media about challenges faced by disabled athletes in India and build a positive dialogue around it.

What have been some of the most tangible outcomes from the AIYD?

We do document our outcomes that have been sparked either directly as a result of discussion within AIYD or the people-topeople collaborations that are generated by the relationships formed during the dialogue. A lot of outcomes are from what we call the Group Challenge, an initiative we started two years ago.

In this, we divide up our delegates into six groups of five and give them eight hours to work together, over the course of four days, to unpack a problem related to the theme and solve it. The reason it is compelling is that it allows us to have something tangible at the end and it really talks to the enterprise of youngsters. At the end of the four days, the team has to pitch the idea to a panel of judges.

So, the winning idea in the 2017 dialogue was based on the fact that there is a huge imbalance in the two countries in regard to incidents of drowning. The number of people who drown in Australia is a very small fraction of the number of people who drown in India. Also, Australia has a strong culture of surf life-saving. So, there’s this group that is trying to mobilise a partnership with Surf Life Saving Australia and piggybacking on some

As the Aust India Youth Dialogue concluded in India, Chairperson Karan Anand told us of the role the organisation can play in the bilateral relationship

initiatives in Karnataka and Goa where some Australians have already made the first steps to industrialise and essentially export life-saving from Australia to India. These people are connected to the Coogee Lifesavers Club. Then, there is the instance of the 2014 alumni of the AIYD. A delegate called Hakimuddin Habibulla, a former Indian Olympic swimmer, has a partnership with Aust Swim around training swimming teachers in India. And in fact, the people connected to Coogee Lifesavers Club and Hakim are finding a way to work together. They came together at AIYD 2018 to take it forward.

There is the example of Talish Ray, our 2015 alumnus and a Delhi-based lawyer, who has developed an online resource girlsgottaknow.in, with help from the University of Tasmania, for women seeking legal assistance in India, with information on everything from renting to dealing with harassment.

So, it’s not about just those four days of the dialogue but what it can activate and the on-the-ground outcomes it can deliver.

So what was this year’s winning idea?

Both countries have a strong culture of indigenous art, but those who create that art aren’t always fairly compensated for the hard work they put in. There are other challenges they face such as the fact that you can’t always attribute who the original artist is and some fraud takes place. So the

programme amongst high school students in regional parts of both countries.

How do you interact with governments of the two nations?

One is an informal feedback mechanism,

between Australia and countries such as the US, Japan, Vietnam, China and Indonesia. We have good relationships within the governments and these continue to develop as we move mature as an organisation.

politicians don’t necessarily do or have to do. There was also a very good discussion about how digital disruption impacts the structure of democracy itself: ‘Do we need representative democracy going forward?

idea is to put a blockchain type of system to validate and verify authentic pieces of art so you can trace who the original artist is. The idea like that is not intuitive and it comes from the enterprise of youth. So, it’s thinking about something that the governments aren’t necessarily contemplating in their formal meetings, but something that is of significant mutual value using, in this case, blockchain which is significant digital disruption in the world right now.

Some other good ideas from AIYD 2018 were about sharing cultural intelligence and experiences and another around piloting a critical thinking exchange

but the other is a formalised way. So, for instance, we worked with the Victorian government to bring out the VictoriaIndia Strategy. We hosted a round table with our alumni and provided formal feedback that went into the drafting of the strategy. A section of the Strategy does talk about AIYD and the importance of youth engagement. We provided a formal policy submission to (retired diplomat and public servant and current Chancellor of University of Queensland) Peter Varghese AO who is currently putting together an India Economic Strategy. We have also contributed to a few youth dialogues

One of the sub-themes this year, The Future of Democracy, seems quite interesting... Yes, it was. Substantively, we had a panel discussion involving three MPs, one from Australia and two from India. They were Tim Watts from Gellibrand in Western Melbourne, Jay Panda from Kendrapara in Odisha and Meenakshi Lekhi from New Delhi. The two points of discussion were the impact of social media and how it has changed the way politicians communicate with their constituents and how Indian politicians use it as a way of on-thespot problem-solving that Australians

If you have direct citizenry, why do you need public representatives?’ It was very interesting to contemplate a future without politicians, although the resolution of all and sundry was that democracy is the best governance model yet.

So what’s next for AIYD?

Seven years in, we have a cohort of about 210 alumni. If we are to be successful and impactful, the way we manage, engage and mobilise our alumni is really important. My plan during my tenure as Chair is to unlock the opportunities of an alumni programme. And using the dialogue is the way to stimulate that.

It’s not about just those four days of the dialogue but what it can activate and the on-the-ground outcomes it can deliver

AIYD has become an important forum to bring young leaders together and inform governments on both sides on how to shape policy and create opportunities

WHAT’S ON

VALENTINE’S DAY

Valentine’s Ball 2018

Sat 17 Feb (6.30pm onwards)

Buffet, drinkas and live entertainment. Concord Function Centre, 138-144 Majors Bay Road, Concord. Details Preeti 0402 034 959

Valentine’s Day

Sat 17 Feb (7.00pm) Food, welcome drink, dance oor. Spoons Function Centre, 97 Main Street Blacktown. Details Mahen 0401 656 183

Thodasa Roomani Ho Jaaye

Sat 17 Feb (6:00pm-9:00pm) The Shaam-e-Pancham team is back with the best romantic songs of Bollywood and joining them with their live band is the AKS team of musicians. Paci c Hills Christian School, 9 Quarry Road, Dural. Details Maha 0430 026 484

Valentines - Love Continues

Sat 24 Feb (7:30pm-12:30am)

Hosted by Aus-Indo Cultural Group Inc. Net proceeds will go towards Lifeline Fiji Project. Rooty Hill RSL 55 Sherbrooke Street. Details 02 9677 4916

FESTIVAL

Holi Festival of Colours

Sat 24 Feb (12 noon- 7.00pm) CIA and The Ponds and Kellyville Ridge Community Association present Holi, a free event featuring Holi colours, food, stalls, music and entertainment. Plaza Park, Pebble Cres, The Ponds. Details Praful Desai 0411 964 506

Holifest (Festival of Colours)

Sun 25 Feb (11am-4pm) Apart from colours, this multicultural festival will also feature live on stage performances, food stalls, children’s fun rides and entertainment activities, non-stop music and heaps of entertainment. Castle Hill Showground, Doran Dr, Castle Hill.

Details 1300 338 368

STAGE

The Ramayana

Sun 18 Feb (2:00pm- 4:00pm)

Storytellers NSW present The Ramayana. A multi-national cast tell the story of a 2500-year-old Indian epic, about love and loss, trials and triumphs, karma and dharma. Venue: The Friend in Hand Hotel, 58 Cowper Street, Glebe. Details www. storytellersnsw.org.au

YOGA

Free Yoga with Divine Life Society (Tuesdays 7.00pm) Swami

Uditramanandaji of The Divine Life Society of Australia offers free Yoga classes every Tuesday from 7.00pm8.15pm at Strath eld Girls High School. All levels of tness welcomed. Entrance via Oxford Rd. Details Karo 0413 535 157.

Yoga: The way of life (Saturdays 8am; Wednesdays 7.00pm) A retreat for body, mind and soul, join weekly yoga sessions at Glenwood Public School (Saturdays) or Moorebank Community Centre (Wednesdays).

Details Meera 0433 125 708.

Spirit of India Yoga (Saturdays and Sundays) Yoga classes are held in Ryde, Wentworthville, Quakers Hill and Epping. All levels incl. beginners, senior citizens, children. To enrol in this 15 week course email spirito ndia2002@yahoo.com, visit www.spirito ndia.org.au or contact Suresh 0412 202 182

ENTERTAINMENT

Unity Bollywood Concert

Sat 24 Feb (7:00pm-11:00pm)

An impressive line-up of performers will inaugurate Bollywood Livein-Concert. Diamond Showroom, Blacktown Workers Club, 55 Campbell Street Blacktown. Hosted by Fame Events. Details 0412 779 418.

Gujarati Comedy Factory Show

Sun 25 Feb (6:00pm) Hosted by Star Alliance Entertainment. 42 Campbell St, Parramatta. Details 02 9191 963

SPIRITUAL G.O.D. Events

Sat 17 Feb (4:00pm-6:00pm) Workshop on Building Resilience and Mindfulness (For students in Year 5-12). Children will learn about developing the right mindset towards cultivating resilience and dealing with stressful situations and about mindfulness meditation.

Sun 18 Feb Eco Art Fest - ‘Climate Change’ (Competitions for children from kindy-Year 12 to showcase their understanding about the

environment. Dundas Community Centre, 21 Sturt Street Telopea. Details Jayashree 0420 522 629

Life enrichment program (Fortnightly) G.O.D. Australia Sydney Chapter invites school children to Gopakuteeram, A life enrichment program imparting universal values through stories from Indian scriptures, slokas, bhajans, choir, games, drama, art festivals and more. These twohour, fortnightly classes start from 4 February at 4.00 p.m. Namadwaar 44 Oakes Road Winston Hills.

Details Jayashree 0420 522 629

LANGUAGE

BSK/SVP classes, Saturdays A local initiative of VHP Australia, Bala Samskar Kendra (BSK) holds weekly Sanskrit language lessons as well as a culture and heritage program at Oran Park School, 390 South Circuit, Oran Park. Details Akila 0450 117 372

MISC

Indian Bridal Expo

Sun 18 Feb (10:00am-2:00pm)

Hosted by Shirleen’s Events Management. Stalls selling out ts/ clothing, jewellery, accessories, mandaps, decoration, photography, videography, make up/stylists, cakes/ caterers, henna artists, food and drinks. Belhaven Manor 82 Station St, Wentworthville. Details 0431 005 869

To list your event email: media@indianlink.com.au

Creating women leaders

networking and self-doubt - contribute to women not aiming high in their careers.

BY NANDITHA SURESH

Vaishali Vijay is a woman on a mission - to get more women involved in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and see them thrive in higher ranks and in the C-levels in the industry.

A leader in her trade, Vaishali has continued to prove that women can achieve what they set out to do if they keep their self-doubt aside and their ambitions high.

With a background in engineering and international business, Vaishali has spent a good part of her decade-long career dealing with data, analysing it and making it more insightful and less boring. She has found her place in data analytics, data visualisation and business intelligence. She currently serves as the Director, Head of Analytics and Data Visualisation Australia & New Zealand, at Capgemini. She is one of those rare few women in the higher ranks in her industry and intends to change the status quo.

“We see a lot of women in ICT in the graduate and junior levels but somewhere along their career paths, the number shrinks,” says Vaishali. She believes that several factors - family focus, inadequate support in personal and professional life, lack of mentorship and guidance, limited

This Sydney executive is no different.

“I belong to a simple and conservative family. Despite many objections from the extended family to not let women chase a career outside of India, my parents provided me with a strong support to believe in my choices and me,” she says. She credits her parents, especially her mother, for breaking stereotypes in her family and standing by her decisions.

“I have beat myself up and doubted my abilities but have been fortunate to be surrounded by a supportive, familyhusband, parents and sister, co-workers and mentors who believed in my ability to excel in my career,” she muses.

Often, women are their own worst enemies and are severely weighed down by self-doubt. Vaishali asserts that a successful career in any field a woman chooses needn’t be a unicorn hunt and that opportunities are waiting to be grabbed. “If you are in a junior position, and are aiming for a career in the higher ranks at your workplace, go out and seize the opportunity to do a bit more than your assigned work. More importantly, don’t shy away from speaking to people and networking,” she says. “Want to be a manager? Think like one, dress like one and take on additional responsibilities like one. Sure enough, you’ll be noticed for your dedication,” adds Vaishali.

Vaishali clearly walks the walk and talks the talk when it comes to taking on additional responsibilities. When an

opportunity came to host the Stanford Women in Data Science (WiDS) Conference in 2017, she grabbed it with both arms. “Stanford hosts this event every year and for the first time they took it to countries outside of the US for which they were seeking ambassadors to host the conference,” she shares. It was the first time WiDS was held in Australia at Capgemini with Vaishali being the ambassador for the conference. Nearly a hundred attendees including men and women, eight woman leaders in the world of technology and several speakers from some of the top companies in the globe were present at the event. “It was held on Women’s Day 8 March, 2017, and I couldn’t be more proud,” beams Vaishali.

“It was wonderful to see so many women networking, interacting with industry leaders, setting new goals and keeping their career sights high,” she shares. “While the speakers were all women at the event, there was no shortage for men crusading for WiDS. This was great assurance that the trend is shifting and men too are all for women in leadership positions,” adds Vaishali.

Upon witnessing the response and success of Stanford WiDS, Vaishali, along with Capgemini, will again host Stanford Women in Data Science (WiDS) Conference 2018 for Australia. “My main aim is for women to get talking, networking and break the barriers to be in leadership positions. My happiest moment was when one of the attendees came forward to host the conference in

New Zealand next year,” she shares. Her contribution to the industry has not gone unnoticed. Vaishali won The Rising Star award in the ARN Women in ICT National Award in 2017 and was a finalist at Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards. “It is gratifying to be recognised for hard work, but most importantly, awards such as these are here for women to know that they are recognised and valued for their work,” she assures.

The busy executive has her plate full with many side projects, aside from her main job. “I sometimes find it hard to take time for myself but self-care is important,” she says. She enjoys keeping her mind and body active with Bollywood dancing, playing tennis with her husband and spending quality time with her family. “In the quest for success and finding a work-life balance, women often don’t take care of themselves. Find time for things you enjoy besides work,” she advises.

This International Women’s Day, Vaishali is all set to host the conference in Sydney and Melbourne for the second time around. “I can’t wait to see the many opportunities open up for women and young girls in the field of data science, analytics and STEM technology. It makes me immensely proud to be part of a forum of this scale to help women find their way up in the corporate ladder,” says Vaishali.

To know more about Wids: https://www. capgemini.com/au-en/events/stanfordwomen-in-data-science-wids-conference/

Vaishali Vijay is one of the few women in the higher ranks of ICT industry. She hopes it doesn’t stay that way

KIDS

I’m a big kid now

AARAV SEDHA

Jasper Road Public School, Baulkham Hills NSW

Enough of this kindy now. I will come back some other day

AMORA TRIPATHI

Parramatta NSW I had THREE lunch breaks, yay!

REEHA PANDHARIPANDE

Summer Hill Public School, Summer Hill NSW

I feel a bit like crying when I go to school, but when I see Mrs Thompson, I feel happy. I think I love her

KRISHAY SHAH

Blacktown South Public School, Blacktown NSW

Daddy, I didn’t cry at all but mum cried when you dropped me to school in the morning.

SRADDHA SHAILESH

St Antony’s Primary School, Girraween NSW Finally I get to go with my BIG brother to BIG school

AISHANI SINHA

Glen Huntly Primary School, Glen Huntly VIC

(When her Mum said she would miss her): Maa don’t worry, I will be back soon. That’s my school, not my home

Christ the King, Warradale, South Australia I love playing in the playground

ATRI TEJA

SHANAYA ANAND

Kellyville Public School, Kellyville NSW

(Singing her favourite rhyme) Look at me, I am going to school!

SOURISH BHATTACHARYA

Seven Hills North Public School, Seven Hills NSW

I am excited to go to big school but I will be super happy if Mamma and Daddy can stay with me!

Beresford Road Public School, Greystanes NSW

I am a big boy so have to go to big school

SIDDHI PURANIK

Campbelltown SA

I like my new uniform. I also like playing in the playground

AYAAN PURI

Riverbank Public School, The Ponds NSW Maybe 1 week and I’ll become a pilot

MEERA SHITOOT

Ash eld NSW

Mum, you can go catch the train if you want. I know everything about school!

Stella Maris Parish School, Seacombe Gardens, SA

I like to play with friends and with my star board

HAMISH SUNERAM

St Ives Park Primary School, St Ives NSW

Do I have to go back to school again today? But I went yesterday

TISHA PATEL

AYAAN PATEL

India hits out at secretive operations of UNSC, demands reforms

India has hit out at the secretive functioning of Security Council sanctions committees, which operate in a “subterranean universe” with no accountability, and called for reforms to make their decision-making transparent.

The “decisions of the Sanctions Committees are taken beyond the gaze of public knowledge, with no explanation of the inputs that go into their decision making,” India’s Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin told the Council in early February. “For want of a better depiction, it would appear these committees form the ‘subterranean’ universe of the Council,” he said.

The criticism was directed primarily at the UN’s failure to declare Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a global terrorist because of China’s veto in the so-called 1267 Sanctions Committee that deals with the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and associated individuals groups. However, Akbaruddin did not directly mention the committee or China. Akbaruddin focused on the 14 Sanctions Committees during the session on the working methods of the Security Council convened by its current president, Kuwait.

“The principles of anonymity and unanimity reign in this subterranean universe” unlike in the Council where vetoes are cast openly and explanations are publicly give, he said.

“None, except the members of this subterranean universe, are aware of the use of a veto while deciding on a reference made to any of the Sanctions Committees,” he said. And “no rationale is provided for such anonymous vetoing of a submission.”

“Such is the effective impact of this anonymous veto that a proposal that has been blocked is not even made public.”

Even though the decisions are binding on all the members of the Security Council, countries outside the Council are not aware of the total number of decisions made by these Sanctions Committees, he said.

He estimated that last year 53 individuals and 19 entities were added to the sanctions list but said that it is not known how many were blocked from being listed.

The committees do not have uniform rules about how they operate and about the appeals or oversight, he said.

Seven of them have provisions - some of them vague - for referring cases when there is no consensus to the Council and only one of them has an ombudsperson, he said. The 1267 committee has an ombudsperson to whom appeals can be made.

“Clearly, there exists a case for the Council to address the anomalies in the working methods of its subterranean universe of Sanctions Committees,” Akbaruddin said. “These anomalies not only affect the efficiency and credibility of the work of the Council, but also impacts on the larger membership who are to implement Council’s decisions.”

US patent office honours Indian-born Stanford don AJ Paulraj

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has inducted Indian-born Stanford University Emeritus Professor Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj into its National Inventors Hall of Fame for developing wireless technology to transmit and receive data at high speeds, the agency of the US Department of Commerce said in early February.

The agency awarded Paulraj a patent in 1992 for inventing Multiple In-Multiple Out (MIMO), which enables transfer of data, including videos through broadband and mobile technologies like 4G and the upcoming 5G.

“We honour people responsible for the greatest technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible,” noted the agency.

The Patent Office will formally induct Paulraj at a special ceremony on May 3 in Washington.

Though the agency has honoured five other Indian-origin scientists in the past,

Paulraj joins eight other world famed inventors in the wireless technology field, who were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“I feel humbled to be counted among the inventors who have made the modern world possible. When I joined Stanford in 1992, I had not worked in wireless technology, as my prior years in India were spent on sonar systems,” Paulraj said.

The other Indian wireless pioneer holding a patent for breakthrough work in radio and microwave optics was Jagdish Chandra Bose (1858-1937) in the 1890s.

“It was perhaps being an outsider that helped me come up with this transformative idea. Like other breakthroughs, though MIMO faced scepticism, it took off and is the foundation of all wireless systems,” recalled Paulraj.

The other eight wireless inventors inducted into the Hall of Fame are Guglielmo Marconi and Oliver Lodge (wireless telegraph), Reginald Fessenden (AM radio), Edwin Armstrong (FM radio), Amos Joel (Cellular technology), Andrew Viterbi and Irwin Jacobs (CDMA-3G) and Jan Haartsen (Bluetooth).

The other five Indian scientists honoured in the past in other fields CKN Patel (CO2 laser), Jayant Baliga (insulated gate bipolar transistor), Haren Gandhi (automotive exhaust catalyst), Ashok Gadgil (ultraviolet water sanitation) and Rangaswami Srinivasan (Lasik eye surgery).

“MIMO technology uses multiple antennas as a transmitter and receiver in a wireless link to boost wireless data rates. The 4G broadband wireless internet access and the next-generation 5G will not be possible without MIMO Technology,” Paulraj said.

Set up in 1791, the USPTO has issued 8.8 million patents since the mid-20th century but inducted so far only 561 inventors, including Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, Alexander Graham Bell and Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Born at Pollachi in Tamil Nadu, Paulraj joined the Indian Navy when he was just 15 years old. Impressed with his academic

record, the Navy sent him to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, where he earned a doctorate (PhD) for advances to signal filtering theory.

After a 25-year service in the Navy, Paulraj went to the US in 1992 to work at Stanford and built a MIMO-based cellular wireless technology that became the basis for WiMax and LTE (Long-Term Evolution) mobile networks.

Paulraj holds 79 patents and won many distinctions, including the 2011 IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal and 2014 Marconi Prize and Fellowship.

The Indian government also honoured Paulraj with Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 2010.

The NDA Government appointed the septuagenarian in December 2017 as Chairman of the Telecommunication Department’s Steering Committee to prepare a vision, mission, goal and roadmap for 5G India 2020.

“The Department has asked me to support its efforts to advance the applications and internal value addition in 5G wireless. I always felt that India needs to join the club of countries like the US, China, Europe, South Korea and Japan that dominate communications and computing technology,” added Paulraj.

Google India, NCERT bring ‘Digital Citizenship’ lessons to schools

Reiterating its commitment to make the web a safer place for everyone, Google India has announced its collaboration with NCERT to integrate a course on “Digital Citizenship and Safety” in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) curriculum in schools.

Students from Class I to Class XII across 1.4 million schools in India would now learn how to become good and responsible digital citizens, through structured classroom modules on the social, ethical and legal aspects of Internet safety.

“Users who are coming online for the first time need to be aware of the possible negative experiences that they may incur on the web,” Sunita Mohanty, Director of Trust and Safety at Google India, said in a statement on Safer Internet Day.

“This makes it important for us to start a dialogue on the dangers and threats they can be exposed to when surfing the net. Through our course integration with NCERT, we aim to catch children young and teach them the essentials of staying safe, while exploring the online world,” Mohanty added.

In addition, Google has also created a curriculum for teachers so that they can help students learn all about digital citizenship in their classrooms.

“In an increasingly connected world, the Internet is fast emerging as a learning space for our students and it’s our responsibility as educators to provide them with a safe learning environment,” Amarendra Behera, Joint Director, CIET - NCERT, added.

The programme includes specific resources for kids and educators, enabling them with the tools they need to learn and educate themselves on Internet safety. The

syllabus for online safety presented in

Members of the LGBT community take part in the ‘Queer Azaadi’ (Independence) March in Mumbai on 3 Feb. Photo: AP

the curriculum will be systematically graded and has been divided into four overarching themes - Being Smart; Being Safe; Being a Digital Citizen and Being Future Ready. The curriculum is structured to match the intellectual and curiosity needs of different age group of the children.

As they advance through their classes, they will be taught more advanced topics such as privacy, device management, intellectual property and reputation management.

On the occasion, Google also announced the winners of the third edition of its “Web Rangers” competition - an initiative that is designed to spread awareness about Internet safety and promote digital citizenship.

Slain techie Kuchibhotla’s widow attends Trump’s State of Union address

Sunayana Dumala, the widow of Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla who was killed in a hate crime last year in Kansas, was a Congressional guest at the State of the Union address delivered by President Donald Trump.

“In the very beginning he (Trump) said that we all have our differences but we have to work in unity and harmony,” she told the Kansas City TV station, KHSB. “That is welcome.”

Republican Representative Kevin Yoder tweeted that he invited her to the President’s ceremonial speech “in recognition for her tireless efforts to promote peace and as a message to the Indian community that the US is a nation of immigrants and they are welcome here.”

Dumala is at risk of being sent out of the US because she came in as a dependent on her husband’s H1-B temporary professional visa but the deportation has been stayed. Before attending Trump’s address, Dumala met House Speaker Paul Ryan and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of the House Republican Conference, and other lawmakers, according to KHSB’s Twitter feed from Washington.

Kuchibhotla was killed and his friend Alok Madasani was injured when a former Navyman Adam Purinton allegedly fired on them last February outside a restaurant in Kansas while shouting, “Get out of my country”.

Purinton is awaiting trial on charges of murder and committing a hate crime.

Yoder is the sponsor of a bill aimed at cutting the delays for professional Indian applicants for green cards which gives them permanent immigration status. The wait time now is over 11 years and is likely to grow longer.

The bill, “Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2017”, seeks to do away with national quotas for issuing green cards which leads to long waits for Indians because of the large numbers of professionals from the country - many already in the US on H1-B visas - who qualify for immigration.

The Indian Association of Kansas City thanked Yoder for inviting Dumala to the presidential address and said, “This further strengthens our belief and confidence in

the American system and its constitution that everyone is respected, loved and is welcome.”

And now, a public bike sharing system for India

The Hyderabad Bicycling Club and Smartbike Mobility Pvt Ltd has announced the launch of public bike sharing system, for first and last mile connectivity at Metro Stations in Hyderabad.

Smartbike Mobility Pvt Ltd (Smartbike), through a joint venture with Nextbike GmbH, Germany, will operate Public Bike Sharing (PBS) system on both sides of the new Hyderabad Metro Rail Stations.

It has set up bike stations at Miyapur, JNTU, KPHB and Kukatpally metro stations and feeder bike stations at Miyapur Junction, JNTU Main Gate and Cyber Towers.A

The company said in a statement that it currently has 75 smartbikes in the city and plans to add another 225 bikes in a few weeks. It commenced operations with seven bike stations in the city and plans to add 23 more stations in the next few weeks and eventually plan to have around 300 bike stations in the next three years.

The first set of bikes were imported. However, to cut down on the customs duty, an assembling unit for smartbikes is being set up in Hyderabad.

The company also plans to set up an assembling plant in Delhi to cater to the needs of Delhi, Chandigarh and Jaipur. He said they will be investing around Rs 100 crore for these plans in the next financial year.

People can register online to become members by paying Rs 500 deposit. For members, the ride for up to 30 minutes is free while for non-members this will cost Rs 10. The charges for 30 minutes to one hour will be Rs 10 for members and Rs 25 for non-members. Members can also opt for weekly or monthly passes.

U-19 WC: My team executed plans perfectly, says Shaw India’s U-19 Cricket World Cup winning

captain Prithvi Shaw has lauded his team’s efforts during the tournament in executing their plans perfectly.

“We have brought the World Cup back and everybody, including the support staff, has worked hard for the last year. The way we planned it, it was well executed on the ground and hence we lifted the World Cup,” Shaw told reporters upon his return to India.

“I am very happy and proud. I played a lot of school cricket and scored heavily there and then the Ranji Trophy but when we represent India, it’s a different feeling,” he added. Hailing from Virar, a small down in Palghar district near Mumbai, Shaw said the road for him was not easy and he is finally happy to win it.

“Becoming India’s captain for the World Cup, I can’t express in words the feeling… and thanks to everyone. It was a difficult journey for me starting from Virar. All credit to my dad; he was the one who took me (around for cricket) even though the venues were far from my home in Virar.”

Shaw scored 261 runs including two fifties during the tournament in which India won all their matches and were dominant throughout the meet.

In the final, the Rahul Dravid-coached side beat Australia by eight wickets.

U-19 WC: Real satisfaction was the process, says Dravid India’s U-19 cricket team head coach and batting legend Rahul Dravid has said the most satisfying part of the World Cup triumph was the process the team followed to reach the top.

“The real satisfaction, in my opinion, is the process that was followed over the last 14-16 months, the whole planning and preparation that has gone into, not necessarily for this World Cup, but for developing the U-19 players,” Dravid said after the team’s return to India from New Zealand.

“It was great team work, guys behind the scenes, the selectors, NCA, the BCCI setting up games and series. Winning a tournament like this is a good reflection of the team

work,” he added.

Dravid though felt the team was not at its best in the summit clash.

“We did not play our number one game in the final, that we played in the quarter-final (versus Bangladesh) and semi-final (against Pakistan). Just the fact that they played the final was an experience,” Dravid said.

“I’m really happy that the 15 boys got to wear the World Cup medal. They deserve it. It’s been a lot of sacrifices, the way they played in the World Cup. The way they jelled, the quality of cricket they played - all these give you a lot of satisfaction. We were under pressure in a few games, but there were people who stood up and delivered,” the former India captain added.

Dravid said that the real challenge begins now. “The challenge and the hard work really start from here, we had couple of conversations on it. When we were there they showed a rerun of the 2012 final and I started checking upon a few things. It is interesting... the result of the final is India beat Australia but six years down the line, only one of the Indian boys has gone on to play for India while 5-6 of the Aussie boys went on to play for Australia,” he said.

He felt a lot will depend on how the young players are managed. “The talent is there, the ability is there, it’s about managing themselves, how to deal with pressure and the expectations that will come as U-19 champions,” he said.

“It’s not easy to get into the Indian side. At least if they become good first class cricketers, from then on it becomes a stepping stone to play for India.”

Dravid signed off by advising the boys to quit age-level cricket and take the next step.

“My view is quite well known. I feel that once the boys are good enough they should go on to play men’s cricket, especially those who had played first class cricket,” he said.

“Five boys from last year’s World Cup qualified to play this time. But we made a conscious decision not to pick them as I felt it will be better for them to play U-23 cricket and senior men’s cricket.” IANS

India’s Under-19 cricket captain Prithvi Shaw gestures as the team arrives home on 5 Feb after winning the Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. Photo: AP

A Total Knockout

e punches in Prize Fighter are painful, yet deeply enlightening

on the audience from the onset.

The story of an underdog boxer ghting for more than just a championship is one long past the verge of being clichéd. Plays about boxing have been breathlessly presented since the iconic “Golden Boy”, produced by the legendary Group eatre on Broadway. Cinematically, the theme was triumphantly realised in the classic “Rocky”. What then, is required, to deliver a modern-day Australian production that subverts the clichés of this genre whilst rekindling the ames which made it so compelling? Try a theatrical portrayal of raw humanity with open wounds that bleed truth. Belvoir St eatre’s Prize Fighter enlivens the tired genre with its context of a displaced African refugee who triumphs over the odds in an Australian boxing ring. In short, it works.  e physical and visual energy of the play imposes itself

Heavy hip-hop music, courtesy of Sound Designers Felix Cross and Kim Bowers, subdues preshow conversation by causing the precarious audience space of the Upstairs eatre to vibrate and hearts to pump up – echoing the tremulous but staunch cast randomly scattered around the semicircular thrust stage. ey spar with one another and pound punching bags with ferocious determination but little direction, with no obvious division between the stage and the audience seats. Because of this confronting intimacy, the powerful sweat of the actors elicits uneasily accompanying sweat from the audience. Very soon, the music increases in volume, multi-coloured lights scatter over the audience, and the real play begins – no introduction, no warning, nothing. Powerful scripting and strident characterisation drive the play. Writer Future Fidel infuses his own life experience as an African

refugee into the story of Isa (Pacharo Mzembe). Barely old enough to escape doli incapax but old enough to witness the murder of his family, his journey as a child soldier and escape from war-torn Congo is stark in its honesty. Boxing helps him adapt to his new life in Australia, but he harbours a burning desire to find his lost brother, who taught him the only thing he knows: ‘jab, jab, duck’. e strength of the cast lies in its diversity; the actors are real-life refugees from Africa, bar theatre icon Margi Brown-Ash. e supporting cast deserve praise for their immense characterisation skills. Brown-Ash, as the eccentric trainer Luke, comically channels the likeable unlikeness of Rocky’s Mickey with great e ect. uso Lekwape, Gideon Mzembe and Kenneth Ransom are dynamically uid actors, able to transform from ashy boxing-ring ghters to Isa’s helpless Congolese family with ease. But the memorable performance

comes from Zindzi Okenyo, whose transitions from a crowd-pumping MC to Isa’s scared sister and nally to the tomboyish love interest are so uniquely de ned that one forgets one is watching the same actress in three di erent roles. Unfortunately, Pacharo Mzembe ounders in the lead role of Isa. He faces di culty keeping up with the racing action of the play, providing a thin performance as the timid young refugee but rigorously portraying the character of the audacious boxer, both personas equally key to the story. However, when the actors perform in ensemble contexts, the visual impact is riveting. e chorus sequences give voice to the refugees of Australia, expressing their collective stories of displacement and neglect. e various production  elements are appropriately raw and brutal. Stage Manager Heather O’Keefe and Lighting Designer David Walters employ highly stylised props and lighting to complement

the strong script. e decision pays o in the sequence when the guntoting Kadogo (Lekwape) describes the act of murdering his own family under ominous red lighting, before revealing his shockingly young age, giving harsher focus to the child holding the gun than the gun itself.

Exits are appropriately minimal – actors step o the centre-stage boxing ring into obscure darkness unless a rare costume change is necessary. e simplicity of costume and set elements allows for swift transitions between scenes, driven by the highly physical movements of the actors. e most powerful aspect of the production is the choreography, with Movement and Fight Director Nigel Poulton bringing a visceral quality to the boxing sequences. Each jab, duck, hook and block exudes a testosterone-building tension that is e ective in balancing the brutally compelling physicality with the delicately wrought vulnerability of the refugees who

struggle to survive in a harsh, unforgiving landscape.

At its heart, Prize Fighter is a story of discovery: discovery of strength, of our true desires, of redemption. We enter the theatre expecting a purely visceral, adrenaline-pumping performance.

But we are compelled to realise that sometimes, the most signi cant ghts are the ones inside ourselves. is is the play’s more universal message. Is this production a rehash of the tedious rags-to-riches story of a boxer? Not at all. Does the production leave you wanting more? No. But it leaves you questioning more. at’s what makes it so compelling.

Prize Fighter Belvoir St Theatre January 6 – January 22

Tickets: $72

Holy sh*t, my HSC project made it to OnSTAGE

BY MANAN LUTHRA

It was as a very young child that I first discovered my penchant for performing. The magical world of make-believe beckoned seductively as I wore different costumes to become different characters. You see, to me these characters weren’t names on a page; they were real people with unique personalities that lived perfectly-scripted, larger-than-life stories both on and off stage. The thing I loved most about them was their ability to capture our minds and control our emotions, leaving us on the edge of our seats at times and watching through covered faces at others. I could never get enough.

After many holiday programs at NIDA and school play roles, my love for acting grew into a fascination for all things stage. As an avid theatre-goer with my family, I began to consider how the sets, costuming, lighting and props affect a performance. I was hung up on how one lighting change can alter the mood of an entire act; what each set symbolises in a production; how each word in a script had a deeper meaning waiting to be analysed.

And so there was no negotiation when it came to choosing Drama as one of my HSC subjects, ‘low scaling’ be damned.

By this time, the theatre critic within

me was emerging, taking in the reactions of audience members, studying the actors and directors of the shows I watched, and asking the ultimate question: what makes good theatre?

Throughout Year 12, I was granted the opportunity to answer that question not once, but four times, through my Portfolio of Theatre Criticism (or, in simple language, a set of theatre reviews).

The HSC Drama course is an anomaly compared to other subjects; put simply, it requires 2 Major Works to be completed alongside the study of state-endorsed academic content. With the exception of some other creative arts subjects such as Music and Art, a workload like this won’t be found anywhere else in the high school education program. Yet, compared to my more conventional English, Maths and History classes, having a creative outlet like this provided the ‘escape’ I desperately needed from the stress of Year 12: the chance to see and review four shows of my choosing, assessing what I saw with my own unique voice.

Subsequently, throughout my Portfolio of Theatre Criticism, I sought to review plays that explored a range of forms and styles that drive Australian theatre today - a range that reflects the complexity and diversity of our society. The shows I reviewed included:

*Prize Fighter, a rags-to-riches boxing tale akin to Rocky albeit with African refugees;

*The Testament of Mary, a stage adaptation of Colm Toìbin’s controversial humanisation of Saint Mary and her

fears over Jesus’ reckless actions before crucifixion;

*Still Life, a soporific 80-minute mix of dance, art installation and philosophy, and

*Shit, the vulgar tragicomedy exploring the lives and losses of under-privileged Australian women.

Four guesses which show my teacher and parents were least excited for me to write about.

To “add another layer”, as the creativetype teachers constantly urge, I chose to present my reviews in the style of actual publications. Prize Fighter was written in the style of a review in The Australian; The Testament of Mary as a feminist perspective for Feminaust; Still Life in the cocky and brash style of Honi Soit, USyd’s student publication; and Shit, for the well-known industry blog Shit On Your Play (SOYP). That last one, a great suggestion from one of my teachers, was a wonderful coincidence that I like to believe worked in my favour.

Adding “another layer”, for physical representation, I decided to replicate the layout and graphic styles of the chosen publications.

Having seen all my shows in January, the long process of writing and refining began. For all current Drama students, here is the key to success in the subject: long, hard work over a long, hard time. Between January and the final submission date in August, I edited my pieces a total of 46 times, scrapping paragraphs at a time to start again, laying them out nicely, and agonising over the best order

in which to present the four reviews. Much like an actor would make changes to their pronunciation or body movement, I would amend one word or one comma that no one except me would fault, in order to create that perfect piece.

When I handed in the final, glossy 800-word pieces on 21 August (which my mum had printed out at Officeworks that morning), I was a little more than relieved.

When word came through of my nomination, and ultimate selection for OnSTAGE, do believe me when I say I was surprised. Having received the news earlier that my other Major Work, also nominated for OnSTAGE, did not make it to final selection, I felt my reviews had no chance. Out of 200 students writing reviews in 2017, how could I be among the three selected? Well, the unthinkable happened. Portfolio of Theatre Criticism selected. State rank of 2nd in HSC Drama, with a mark of 99. ATAR above that.

My thanks go to my Drama teacher, Mr Michael Griffiths, my parents, and to the NSW Education Standards Authority for the opportunities I have had, and will continue to be granted, to follow my passion for writing and the creative arts. I wouldn’t be writing this article if it weren’t for them. To students out there considering or undertaking Drama, it will reward you in ways you won’t recognise. No matter what your interests or opinions, Drama has a role to suit everyone. I cannot endorse it enough.

OnSTAGE , a showcase of select Drama works from HSC 2017, was presented at Seymour Centre from 3-9 Feb

When worlds collide: History through art

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

In a cosy family scene from colonial India, the patriarch’s head is morphed into that of Ganesha. It’s almost as if Lord Shiva had performed his fabled head transplant surgery here, in order to create a figurehead of wisdom and tolerance.

In another piece, a romantic interlude featuring a European couple is disturbed by the dream-like advent of warriors Krishna and Arjuna, in full battle mode.

The two art works In the Presence of Krishna and Immigrants From India, are part of a ten-piece collection created by student-artist Ellora Srivastava, called Karmic Colonialism. The work is currently on display at the Art Gallery of NSW, in the prestigious ArtExpress 2018 exhibition that showcases the best from Visual Arts HSC students across the state.

“I was quite surprised to be selected for ArtExpress,” the Gosford High School student told Indian Link. “I’m still quite shocked to think that people might be interested in what I have to say.”

Studying New Australian artists such as Kate Beynon and Guan Wei and seeing their work influenced by their migrant backgrounds, Ellora’s own Indian heritage became fertile ground for her Visual Arts Major Work.

She was surprised to learn that India was colonised not only by the British but also by the Dutch, the Portuguese and the French, each of who left their own stamp on the cultural fabric of the nation.

“I picked an artwork from each of these colonising countries, and then reappropriated them using the traditional Indian practice of miniature painting, as well as the contemporary techniques of Photoshop and digital collage.”

She wrote in her artist’s statement: “My work is an amalgamation of Indian and European art styles through a historical

which Hanuman was my favourite,” Ellora recalled. “For the miniatures, I found brushes with the finest hair possible to make the finest possible strokes – it was quite difficult.”

The project, she took pains to stress, was essentially about technique: the viewers are free to make their own observations about the subtexts within.

In Karmic Colonialism, you’ll find hunting scenes, royal processions and mythological warriors blend seamlessly with European art of everyday work and family scenes that were probably intended

Was Ellora aware that at about the time she was creating this particular piece, an ad for lamb featuring the much-loved elephant-headed god was causing a furore among Indian Australians?

“No I wasn’t,” she admitted. “I remember vaguely thinking that my work might be seen as offensive, but quickly put the thought out of my head.”

Yet there was much that young Ellora

lens - a powerful illustration of the way art can communicate the pillage of culture by colonial powers.”

The final product includes landscape as well as portraiture, with the Indian subtext coming from mythology and miniature paintings - and from the comic book genre that Ellora’s parents’ generation will know of as Amar Chitra Katha.

“Growing up, my home was filled with old copies of the Indian comic books - of

as mementos and souvenirs for friends and family back in Europe.

And so Thomas Gainsborough’s 1750 painting Mr and Mrs Andrews became Mr and Mrs Kapoor.

And Krishna and Arjuna became Immigrants from India.

And Colonel Blair in Johann Zoffany’s 1786 painting Colonel Blair with his Family and an Indian Ayah got his Ganesha head.

learnt about her Indian roots through this entire process.

“I learnt a whole lot not only about colonisation but also about the history of Indian art, and the history of photography in India,” she said.

I picked an artwork from each of these colonising countries, and then reappropriated them using the traditional Indian practice of miniature painting as well as the contemporary techniques of Photoshop and digital collage

Cropping a blow

MADELEINE LOVELLE

In late-December 2017, the Indian Government implemented a 30 per cent tariff on imported pulses, effective immediately. The move sparked concerns that Australian farmers will experience a significant decline in income, particularly after India’s high demand for Australian pulse crops in recent years. In the 2016-17 financial year, the value of Australian chickpea and lentil exports to India reached $1.14 billion and $196 million, respectively. The latest tariff to be implemented follows an earlier decision by the Indian Government in November 2017 to impose a 50 per cent tariff on field peas, and a 20 per cent tariff on wheat.

Since 2011-12, the value of Australian chickpea exports to India increased by 995 per cent. In the last six years, the value of Australian lentil exports to India has increased by 2,003 per cent. Due to the significant growth in both crops, many farmers have been introducing pulses into their crop rotations. The new tariff imposed by India, however, is likely to have a major effect on the Australian pulse industry. According to the Chairman of Grain Producers Australia, Andrew Wiedemann, the impact on farmers could be as much as a 30 per cent immediate loss of earnings.

When the Indian Government announced the new trade tariff, about 200

thousand tonnes of Australian chickpeas and lentils, worth about $150 million, were in transit to India. The immediate decision meant that the value of the pulse shipments in transit became unknown. News of the tariff implementation has been particularly disheartening for some farmers in Victoria after parts of its grain belt experienced destructive frosts and damage to crops, earlier in the season.

Federal Agricultural Minister David Littleproud visited India in mid-January 2018 to discuss, among other issues, advance notice to the Australian grains industry for any future increases in tariffs. While India agreed to provide earlier notice in the future, the commitment cannot reverse the loss and shock suffered from the sudden imposition of the tariff in December. The Australian delegation also hoped to discuss the need for a longterm and sustainable free trade agreement (FTA). While the government has secured a win for pulse farmers, Mr Littleproud was wary of using “megaphone diplomacy” to resolve the current tariff issue because such efforts may impede the progress of generating a FTA with India. Mr Littleproud has stressed the importance of continuing to work collaboratively with the Indian Government while negotiating various trade deals.

Agricultural economist, Ashok Gulati, from the Indian Council for Research on

International Economic Relations, has suggested that Australia should consider exporting agricultural expertise. Australian knowledge exports could help to develop Indian agricultural supply chains, and would help to secure greater trade relations beyond trade in raw commodities. In particular, Australian agricultural expertise could assist in developing processing and storage facilities to help reduce food waste and increase Indian domestic commodity prices. With over 300 million people living in poverty in India (one-fifth of India’s 1.3 billion population), such a tactic could help to improve agricultural production and food security within the country.

While the Australian Government is working to open up access to other pulse export markets, including Nepal, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, some farmers have decided that they will not plant pulses next season. A FTA with India may assist farmers who wish to grow chickpeas and lentils by generating

agricultural expertise to India would alleviate some of the problems associated with tariffs on raw commodities. If the government is successful in securing a FTA, it will make it more difficult for India to impose tariffs on Australian goods in the future. Given that the government is torn between a slow and methodical approach in securing this agreement with India and advocating for Australian farmers’ best interests, however, it seems that local producers are likely to suffer in the short term.

The author is a Research Analyst, Global Food and Water Crises Research Programme. This article was originally published by Future Directions International. You can read the original here http://www.futuredirections.org. au/publication/india-implements-newagricultural-tariff-australia-seeks-fta/

India’s new agricultural tariff will result in Australia’s lentil and chickpea farmers losing as much as a 30 per cent of their earnings, writes

Taking surf rescue to India

A Surf Life Saving Club has been established at Mangalore with help from Australia

BY PETRA O’NEILL

Iwas three years old when it happened. It was a hot summer’s day with picnickers sitting under the shade of red river gums. A teenage boy was pulled from the muddy Murray River. He had told the boys that he could hold his breath for a long time and had jumped into the water to prove it. They waited for him to resurface but he never did. He was dead. I’ll never forget that day.

The tragedy is that many of us have witnessed something just as haunting. Each year around 300 people drown in Australia, a statistic that pales in comparison to the number of fatalities in India, where almost 30,000 drown each year, amounting to 43% of the total drownings worldwide.

When Coogee surf lifesaver Doug Hawkins visited India in 2015, he found out why. Hawkins, who was in India to provide training in surf lifesaving funded by the Australia-India Council, observed that many Indians didn’t recognise the dangers of the ocean. They waded in chest deep, were unable to swim and were weighed down since they were fully

clothed. As well, surfing is a fast growing sport with sixteen Indian clubs now established, but many surfers lack training in swimming and water safety. Doug was determined to do something about it. Fast forward to 2018 and a new organisation, Surf Live Saving India, has been established. A Surf Life Saving Club has also been set up at Tannirubhavi beach in Mangalore. Forty-eight children aged 8-16 have now been provided training based on the Australian model in water safety, rescue skills/CPR, fitness, health and teamwork, and they have adopted the Australian name of Nippers.

“This is a great start for beach lifesaving in India,” says Doug, as he walks along Coogee beach that he helps to patrol. “It’s not just the kids who benefit, but the community as a whole, and opens up the subject of water safety awareness for the people and families who are involved.”

In January, two members of the Mangalore club - swim coach Niroop G R and surfer and coach Srikrishna (Satya) Vasantha - came to Australia to undertake a rigorous training program in beach patrol, gain know-how to run a Nippers program for children and become qualified Australian Surf Life Savers.

And that’s only the start. In August this year, a team of Surf Lifesavers from Coogee and other Sydney clubs will travel

to Mangalore to provide training for 100 participants with the goal of having highly trained local lifesavers who will then have the capability to train others in surf lifesaving. The goal is to establish Surf Life Saving across India to make all beaches safe. That would be a remarkable achievement and one that would foster a spirit of goodwill and collaboration between Australia and India.

“The aim,” says Doug, “is to get a defined Beach Safety Centre Model up and running in Mangalore that other Councils can then adopt along the beaches of India to make the beaches safer.”

In Australia, there are currently around 65,000 Nippers aged 5 to 14. From the Nippers program, hundreds of new lifesavers graduate each season with their Surf Rescue Certificate to assist on the beach. They also learn water awareness skills, how to identify rips and people in danger and how to respond to these situations safely.

Doug Hawkins is a patrolling member of Coogee Surf Club, Trainer, Assessor and Facilitator, and Director of SLS Sydney Nippers.

This project is being funded by Australian Surf Lifesavers. For more information or if you would like to support their endeavours go to https://chuffed.org/project/india-surflifesaving-training-in-australia

DOUG’S TIPS FOR SAFE SWIMMING AT THE BEACH

> Swim only between the ags so lifesavers who have already determined that this is the safest part of the beach can see you. Swim outside of the ags or at an unpatrolled beach and you’re on your own.

> Read the signs for information on rips and other dangers and ask the lifesavers for advice.

> Never swim at night or alone.

> If you go on your own to the beach, stay close to other swimmers.

> If you get caught in a rip, don’t panic. Fight it and it will tire you out. Stay calm, oat on your back and try to attract attention by raising your hand. The rip will not take you under, just out to the end of the break, and may even bring you back on the broken waves.

> If you see someone in trouble in the water, call out for assistance. That’s the best help you can give.

> Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world and each year almost 2,000 people die from Melanoma. So protect yourself from the sun’s harmful rays. Always apply SPF50 sunscreen, wear a hat and sunglasses, avoid the sun during the middle of the day, and wear a “rashie” or swimming top with sleeves. Never enter the water fully clothed.

Doug Hawkins with Niroop G R and Satya Vasantha

My child is in a combined class

There are several positives for learning in multi-age classrooms

peers better in the playground, which will help in their social development.

BY VINAYA RAI

The school year has just begun and a question on social media about combined or composite classes got me thinking. When my children were in primary school, and often in a composite class, many parents (especially migrants) thought gifted children were put in a composite class and were thus able to be ‘extended’. When the same child was put in a composite class with lower class students, for example in a 3-4 class with his year level being 4, then the parents’ angst and anguish were palpable.

No amount of the teacher or principal explaining that composite classes were based on student numbers and not on intellectual ability of the student satisfied the parents. They felt that their child would not progress academically.

In contrast, I found that my son became better when in a composite class with younger children. He helped the younger kids when he had completed his own work. So much so that shy kids who did not like to put up their hand and ask the teacher for help, often asked him.

So if you have a shy child, they will have more people to ask for help and the comfort and ease of having a peer to turn to. This may then translate to being able to relate to

When my children were in composite classes with older kids, I found that they did better probably due to a perceived higher level of competition, and also that they had greater confidence. They learnt better study habits by observing the older kids and had more social interactions, not just with their classmates but with children in other classes as well.

Children also learn cooperation, responsibility and appreciation of individual differences. I rarely heard any child being mocked as being dumb or slow, or given more importance for a talent. They saw that if a classmate helped them with computing, then the same classmate might be helped by someone else in English or another subject.

In fact, younger children find more role models in the older students and are able to integrate better into the class. They also learn the class routines quickly as they imitate the older kids.

When older children help the younger ones, they are reinforcing their own skills and get more practice at what they have learnt. So this not only makes them more confident but eager to learn more. I remember my son was good at computing and by Year 7 was reading magazines like Computers Today only because he wanted to know more. In fact, I think he thought he knew more than the teacher!

Being in a class with older kids helps children socially too. Kids from our

community are often smaller physically than most others in the class. But being in the same class as older kids, they develop ways to communicate better and interact assertively with a wider variety of children in the classroom. They are then more confident and assertive outside of the classroom, in the playground as well as in other places.

Parents’ concerns about composite classes centre around bullying, children not being challenged enough, the

the school. The fault may not be with the composition of the class but there may be other dynamics at play.

It is important to have good communication with your school, and with the child’s teacher first and foremost, but also with other staff and parents too. Make sure you get involved with your child’s school. This makes it easier to ensure your child has good experiences at school and also you get to know more about the school and its workings.

curriculum not being covered adequately for both year levels etc. If any such concerns crop up, the best way is to approach the teacher or principal and discuss these issues openly.

Whether your child is in single-grade class or in a composite class, it is important to keep open communication with the teacher. Don’t be shy to take your concerns to the principal or higher, if nothing is done. Issues can arise in straight-grade classrooms as well.

So if your child who was happy to go to school last year suddenly does not want to go to school any more, or struggles with his or her homework, then speak to

As you can see, I think composite classes are quite good. Research mostly indicates the same. Academically, composite classes don’t seem to make much of a difference to most kids. However, some of the research indicates that socially and emotionally there is a greater advantage.

But we have to remember that it is not so much class structure that influences learning, but the quality of teaching. And the child’s involvement in the learning.

So is your child involved and engaged, not only academically but in other activities as well?

And are you? Are you involved in your child’s education?

Remember that it is not so much class structure that influences learning, but the quality of teaching

Photo: Sacred Heart

Jane Austen, desi-style

VIKAS DATTA reviews a Pakistani perspective on ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and more

Austenistan, edited by Laaleen Sukhera. Bloomsbury India Publishers, 2017

The heroines, living (or aspiring) to settle into stately homes in the class-conscious society of Regency Britain, as we meet in classical literature, may seem distant in time, space and social mores to their contemporary counterparts in metropolitan Pakistan. But what if they turn out to be sisters under the skin?

Could Elizabeth Bennet (of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice), or even her mother, have their equivalents in Islamabad, or Lady Susan (the heroine of Austen’s eponymous novel) be as likely to be found in Lahore as London? And then to be gender-balanced, can Darcy Fitzwilliam only thrive in English climes?

Quite possibly, for “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Pakistani women - and their mothers and close friends - know this truth very well, as Laaleen Sukhera and her Pakistani (and one Sri Lankan) collaborators show in this anthology.

The reason for Austen’s global popularity is not difficult to ascertain, given she was writing about women’s dependence on an advantageous marriage for social standing and economic security,

but also not negating love fully - which can be seen in patriarchal societies, like in the South Asian subcontinent.

As Caroline Jane Knight, a descendant of Jane’s brother and founder of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation, notes in the foreword that in “some countries readers experience similar predicaments to the women in Jane’s novels, with limited rights, independence and earning opportunities. Others can relate to the social norms and family expectations around the finding of a suitable husband!”

While these are universal sentiments that readers may find familiar, the credit goes to Sukhera, a Lahore-based media professional and founder of the Jane Austen Society of Pakistan, for adapting these immortal classics to “desi” conditions and sensibilities.

Pride and Prejudice takes the lion’s share, inspiring five of these seven storiesidentified for readers who have not read or have forgotten Austen, with a telling quote from the work in question. Also, Sukhera and the others also work in digital devices, social media, and other appurtenances, that life now seems incomplete without, to evoke a modern sensibility.

Lahore-based magazine editor and freelance journalist Mahlia S Lone starts with a close approximation of Pride and Prejudice in The Fabulous Banker Boys which has, as its heart, a family matriarch’s attempts to arrange suitable

matrimonial alliances for her brood. The point of view shifts to her second daughter Elisha, who has “bucket-loads of independence, spirit and a strong personality”, at a high-profile wedding they are attending where the targeted suitor, the proud-seeming Faiz Dar (the name is indicative) steps in to save her young sibling from an unsavoury situation.

Pride… also underlies Only the Deepest

economist Mishayl Naek’s Emaan Ever After, a take on Emma

But standing out - and both Pride and Prejudice-inspired - are barrister Saniyya Gauhar’s hilarious but heart-warming The Mughal Empire about a high society doyenne left in the cold when her brother’s best friend (whom she had her eye on) marries a social climber, and Sukhera’s own On the Verge, which takes a society

Credit goes to Sukhera for adapting these immortal classics to

conditions and sensibilities

Love of Lahore-based freelance journalist Sonya Rehman, with some typical - and not so typically exclusive - Pakistani motifs and a range of twists down till the end. It also inspires the poignant The Autumn Ball by Sri Lankan scientist Gayathri Warnasuriya, which moves closer to Austen territory by including a ball instead of the Bollywood-bhangra dances in the rest, though the event doesn’t go the way its protagonist Maya may have liked.

Pakistani-American Nida Elley’s Begum Saira Returns is a sensuous adaptation of Lady Susan, with bittersweet motifs of loneliness and second opportunities for love for a not-so-old widow, and so is

event blogger into Austen’s own territorya English manor house - where she meets a Prince Charming she never expected.

Packed with high society weddings, supportive friends (both male and female), manipulative relatives and rivals, and a gamut of bon mots on contemporary Pakistani life, like “socialising in Islamabad is death by boredom” and “Being thirty-two and divorced in Karachi requires your dermatologist and personal trainer on speed dial”, this is a work that is not only a tribute to Jane Austen, but literature at its most inspired. Thus, it will not only appeal to more than just her fans or romance aficionados.

“desi”

The best of BBL07

Brilliant bowling , lusty hitting , sensational catches and more!

BY RITAM MITRA

This year’s BBL schedule saw 43 T20s played in just 48 days. With so much cricket being played, each match tends to fade into the next, and it is easy to forget the most captivating moments of the BBL season. Chances are, your favourite moment became outdated within the same match. As journalist and author Malcolm Knox noted with no ascertainable hint of pleasure, “In one hour, I saw four of the best catches I have ever seen.”

With the tournament now wrapped up, and the spoils of victory settled in favour of the Adelaide Strikers, here are our picks of some of the more special performances from BBL07.

The boy wizard’s debut spell

At just 19, Rashid Khan may have been one of the youngest players in the BBL, but he was also its most valuable, picking up 18 wickets at 13.83 and a miserly

economy rate of 5.65 an over. Khan’s overall performance may have him at the top of the table in terms of both the first and the last of those statistics, but it is his first match which perhaps most revealed his pedigree.

On debut in front of a packed house at the Adelaide Oval, Khan’s first three deliveries went for 9 runs. In fact, Khan’s figures were an underwhelming 0-16 after two overs - hardly the kind of debut the aspirational teen would have been dreaming about in the lead-up to the tournament. But Khan’s next over broke the game open for the Strikers in a modest chase, with two wickets including a stunning wrong’un to Sydney Thunder veteran Ben Rohrer. Khan finished with figures of 2-22, along with man of the match honours on his muchawaited BBL debut.

Not Short of runs

A baseballer until the age of 13, you could be forgiven for thinking Hobart Hurricanes opener D’Arcy Short never stopped running through the bases. A powerful left-hander with particularly fearsome bat speed across the line, Short is a journeyman in every sense of the word - born in Katherine with indigenous heritage, Short grew up in Darwin, before

moving to Perth, where he was told by WA coach Justin Langer that he needed to lose weight to make it at the highest level.

After spending some time in the wilderness, Short roared into the national spotlight this season - with international selection and now a $775,600 IPL contract to boot - after piling on consecutive scores of 97, 96, 42 and a BBL record of 122 not out. In doing so, Short also broke the record of most runs in a BBL season, piling on 572 runs at an average of 57 and a strike rate of 148. The previous record: Shaun Marsh, with 412 runs in 9 games at a strike rate of 128.

Did we mention Short bowls quality leftarm wrist spin as well?

The smallest of margins

Having never before reached a BBL final, the Adelaide Strikers were once again on the verge of being bundled out before the last hurdle in their semi-final against the Melbourne Renegades.

The Strikers put 178 runs on the board thanks to an unbeaten 85 from 57 by skipper Travis Head, on late release from his international duties. But in the second innings, with two overs to go and 20 runs required, the Renegades seemed destined for victory, particularly with big-hitting

batsmen Tom Cooper and Kieron Pollard at the crease.

In the last over, Pollard crashed the first ball for a boundary, leaving Strikers’ Ben Laughlin with 9 to defend from 5 balls, and then 3 from 1; but Pollard failed to put a hittable last ball into orbit, sending the Strikers to their first BBL final by a margin of just 1 run.

The best outfield catch(es) you’ll ever see

When Dwayne Bravo blasted a lofted offdrive off Rashid Khan at Etihad Stadium, it seemed for all money to be destined for 6 runs. Then, many things happened in a very short period of time.

First, Ben Laughlin ran and dived backwards at the cover boundary to miraculously hold onto the ball, but his momentum was carrying him – at pace – over the rope and into the advertising hoardings. Laughlin then flung the ball with a backwards flick some 30 metres to his right, where teammate Jake Weatherald ran and dived forward to complete a stunning dismissal.

On commentary, Damien Fleming anointed it the “greatest outfield catch ever taken”, but we haven’t yet decided whether it was two catches or one.

Adelaide Strikers won a thrilling semi-final before taking the title

D’arcy Short notched up BBL’s highest score of 122*

Rashid Khan celebrates the wicket of Thunder’s Ben Rohrer

Ben Laughlin and Jake Weatherald combined to take the ‘greatest outfield catch ever taken’

An influx of internationals

Exciting talent from Afghanistan and Pakistan made its mark in this year’s BBL

subcontinental players in the BBL so captivating; it warrants respect and is a genuine mark of quality.

BY RITAM MITRA

The year 2018 marks a decade since the Indian Premier League first kicked off, in a thrilling fashion that many would (with a whisper, of course) say was almost scripted in its perfection.

Since then, geographical borders in the cricketing world have become increasingly irrelevant a concept, bucking the global geopolitical trend. Despite the BCCI’s ongoing refusal to permit Indian players to play in overseas domestic T20 leagues, this year’s edition of the Big Bash League was evidence enough that the league continues to expand its horizons, attracting for the first time talent from Afghanistan in the raw yet brilliant teenager Rashid Khan and the experienced Mohammad Nabi.

Since its inception, the BBL has relied

The Afghani duo are not new to topflight franchise cricket - both played for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL last year. While Khan was successful, picking up 17 wickets in 14 games, such is the demand for marquee players - and, admittedly, the quality of the overseas contingent - that Nabi only played three games. Notwithstanding their mixed success in the IPL, the pair are a natural fit for the BBL, as they are - despite being in every respect the quintessential underdogs - charismatic, aggressive in their approach, and they play for every ball as if they are playing for their lives.

Melbourne Renegades’ import - and this season, a key player - Nabi, is still pinching himself. “It was my dream that I would play one day in the Big Bash League and this dream came true,” said the 33-yearold former captain of the national team. “There was nothing at all, no proper grounds in Afghanistan, when we first

India

heavily on the strength of domestic cricketers, with a maximum of two international players permitted in any playing XI. In comparison, the IPL and Pakistan Super League allow four internationals. This is no small reason that the BBL is perhaps the most competitive of all the leagues - a team’s international players, whose availability is often fickle and allegiance variable, are not as deterministic of its fortunes in the BBL as they might be in other leagues. The balance between bat and ball, too, is vital - scores above 200 are exceedingly rare in the BBL, while they are bread and butter on the small, unforgiving grounds and pitches in India. It is perhaps this distinction which makes the success of

started cricket there.”

Forget the dearth of facilities and resources that characterises even an elite Afghani player’s rise through the ranks though - at the turn of the last century, cricket was only played in hiding under the Taliban regime.

Pakistani players too, have enjoyed significant success down under. From Yasir Arafat, one of the most reliable BBL death bowlers in its early editions, to legspinners Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah this year, players from cricket’s most mercurial talent corner have thrilled Australian and international audiences alike.

With no Indian players having ever taken part in the BBL, it is in some ways surprising that the BBL has generated the

popularity it has, including in India.

Yet although the IPL remains the pot of gold in the rainbow of T20 leagues, even the BCCI would acknowledge the sheer depth of international-standard T20 leagues; they need look only at Chris Gayle, who, after becoming unwelcome in the BBL, has plied his trade in the Bangladesh Premier League, with no damage whatsoever to the BBL brand following his departure.

Naturally, there are scheduling issues: Indian domestic competitions take place over December and January. Also of concern to the BCCI is protecting the IPL brand - and competitive advantageby restraining its players’ freedoms and ensuring that the IPL remains in every

respect the premier league. More unclear is the rationale behind restricting lesserknown players who are either not yet on the radar of national selectors, or have for all purposes retired from international duty - think of the learning curve of playing on hard, bouncy pitches for young guns such as Rishabh Pant or the thrill of playing in front of packed houses for forgotten stalwarts like Suresh Raina.

There have been some positive signs, with India’s female cricketers having been given clearance to play in the WBBL last season - but despite other ICC members making concessions to allow their players to play in the IPL, for now, it doesn’t appear as though the BCCI is interested in reciprocity.

With no Indian players in the BBL, it is surprising that the League has generated popularity in

Mohammad Nabi

Rashid Khan

Challengers to the throne

BY RITAM MITRA

For some time now, many have proclaimed that an end to the long reign of tennis’s Big Four hegemony is nigh; with injuries to Federer and Nadal, followed by Djokovic and Murray, it seemed a mere formality that the next generation would finally usurp the powers that be. Yet a stunning 2017 renaissance by the oldest pair of the quartet saw those claims silenced; it was almost as if the rising stars were reluctant to extinguish the last embers of the trailblazing flames left behind by their idols.

At the 2018 Australian Open, that reluctance has, in a subtle sense, given way to urgency. It is most rare that three of the big four enter a slam and only one reaches the semi-finals. Although it was a very familiar face holding the trophy aloftwith no doubt now that the sporting world

has never seen an athlete of the pedigree, humility and longevity of 20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer - the way the tournament unfolded was proof: a change in the guard is now upon us.

In the lead-up to his truncated semifinal against 21 year-old South Korean sensation Hyeon Chung, Federer noted the wondrous uncertainty of playing, this late in a grand slam, someone about whom he knows so little. Indeed, as intimately as each fan knows and loves everything about their Big Four favourite, there’s a dearth of knowledge when it comes to the next generation - so we’ve picked out a few of this year’s rising stars who fans don’t know quite so well - for now.

Hyeon Chung (South Korea)

Ranked 58 going into AO2018, the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals champion became a household name when he defeated his boyhood idol and former world number one Novak Djokovic in a stunning straight-sets fourth round upset.

The first South Korean to ever reach a grand slam quarter final, let alone semi-

final, Chung only took up tennis as a way to improve his eyesight, having required glasses at a young age.

Although his glasses have now become a signature trait, it would be unfair to label Chung a cult hero; with his combination of movement, mental strength and power from both wings, he is destined for bigger things.

Dominic Thiem (Austria)

One of the few youngsters to use a singlehanded backhand, Thiem’s on-court flair is matched equally by his quiet and steadfastly private off-court persona. A strong baseliner, and the only player to beat Nadal during the Spaniard’s otherwise unblemished 2017 clay court season, Thiem has long been touted as one of the more exciting prospects in the tour, and has locked himself into the top 5 having already racked up 8 ATP titles, with over $10 million in prize money, to boot.

Yet, despite his undeniably abundant talent, the 24 year-old is yet to reach the quarter-final stage of a grand slam other than on his favoured clay. Having fallen in the fourth round to unheralded American

Tennys Sandgren, who was eventually brushed aside by Chung, Thiem will rue having failed to make a deeper run in AO2018.

Kyle Edmund (Great Britain)

Yet another English athlete born in South Africa, Edmund took up tennis at the age of 10 after his exasperated mother attempted to burn off his excess energy on weekend mornings.

Britain’s number 2 began the year by beating two of the most exciting prospects on the tour in Chung and Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov, and then backed it up with a stunning defeat of world number 3, Grigor Dimitrov, in the AO quarter-finals. In fact, if Edmund had reached the final, he would have overtaken Murray in the rankings - a feat that was unthinkable even a month ago.

With British number 1 Murray struggling to return from a debilitating hip injury, 23 year-old Edmund has finally given British fans hope of life after Murray, and may well eclipse his compatriot sooner rather than later.

Yuki Bhambri (India)

This year marked the third time that India’s number one player qualified for the Australian Open main draw, almost a decade since he won the junior title here in 2009. Having lost in the first round to Murray and Berdych in 2015 and 2016, Bhambri may have entertained hopes of finally recording a win having drawn fading Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, but he was brushed aside in straight sets.

A child prodigy, Bhambri was the world’s top-ranked junior in 2009 at just 16 years of age. But if there were a story of unfulfilled talent, Bhambri would be it - with injuries halting his rise into the top 100, Bhambri’s body has so far prevented from reaching the heights that have long been expected of him.

While Federer proved why he’s regarded as the greatest, here’s a look at four young and exciting players from this year’s Australian Open 2018

Yuki Bhambri

Hyeon Chung

Kyle Edmund Dominic Thiem

Beyond Bondi

Sydney’s

BY EMIE ROY

Think beaches and the first name that pops in most people’s head is Bondi. There is no doubt that a day can easily be spent there, just relaxing on the soft white sand and getting up every now and then to grab a nibble or two.

But thinking outside the (sand) box, we decided to visit the northern beaches of Sydney for a change. There are a fair few within the 18km strip, and all of them looked interesting. A fair bit of research on Google later, the plan was charted outdoing beach hopping through the northern coast of Sydney, covering the northern tip of North Sydney council over a couple of days. And what better time to do this than during summer?

There are eight major beaches on the northern coast - Narrabeen, Warriewood, Mona Vale, Newport, Bilgola, Avalon, Whale and the high-end Palm Beach. All we needed to pack was some sunscreen, swimming gear, a picnic rug, and anything water-friendly. Food would be very well looked after by the restaurants and cafés by the bays, and we knew basic amenities were plenty.

Leaving home early from Western suburbs of Sydney on Day 1, the first destination was Narrabeen, the home to the lagoon where the lake meets the ocean. As we stood there basking in the glory of the beautiful sunrise, Martin, a regular visitor of the beach who was

enjoying a bike ride on the multi-use trail beside the lagoon, shared some tips for us. “This is not your typical Sydney beach - it is Northern Beaches’ largest estuary system. The rockpool here is much adored by people of all ages. When the tide is low, the water flows seawards, leaving little islands which are covered in water otherwise. And of course, this place is very much coveted in winter too - the water is much warm here during winter.” Great point, noted!

After breakfast, onwards we went. Warriewood Beach was the next destination in the map. Little in size but known for its rips, this beach offers a secluded getaway. Thanks to its tight access road and smallish cark park lots, this can serve as a rather private beach for the real beach enthusiasts. We decided to skip this and move on to the next in line which was Mona Vale Beach. Mona Vale is known as a safe beach, but maybe not the best option for swimmers or surfers because of the strong water currents and sandbanks. A tip known to the locals in regard to swimming is to look out for surfers. “No surfers, no swimming. They are your best bets to see if the waters are rough,” Margaret, a true local by heart, told us. “And by the way, don’t miss the coffee here.” Being a travel enthusiast has taught me this - every little town has a café that serves as their pride and glory. Not wanting to disappoint her, we checked it out and were quite pleasantly surprised!

Newport Beach was next which is a cosy little village on its own. This is quite a busy beach, but very popular with families with a robust playground. A great destination for a family day out or a picnic, as parking and food options are plentiful. And if you

are lucky, you can catch a glimpse of a humpback whale or a dolphin too!

Spoiled for choice, we had a late lunch at Newport amidst hundreds of beachgoers like us. A coastal walk will connect you to Bilgola Beach if you like. We decided to call it a day, soaking in the evening sun and devouring yummy Thai food for dinner.

Day 2, we resumed bright, fresh and well-rested. The next one on the map was Bilgola. This beach, we were told, is a non-commercial one, unlike Newport, with blue green waters, white sand and tropical leafy neighbourhood. Avalon, the one onwards, is quite popular with surfers.

But our destinations for the day were Whale Beach and Palm Beach - totally different in character. Whale beach is truly a beauty, far from the madding crowd. Cars could be parked right next to the beach, and the front wheels will almost be in the sand. A walk down the beach is a must, and the surf break called ‘The Wedge’ on the northern end of the beach is an interesting thing to look out for. Quite popular with the surfers and swimmers, this is also the perfect place you can relax with a book in hand.

From there, it was on to Palm Beach. Catapulted to fame as the exterior setting for the successful Australian soap Home and Away, this beach is about 41km from the Sydney CBD. Living up to its name, the town was abuzz with boutique shops and gourmet food, and, of course, hundreds of people on the beach. The crowd exhibited an interesting cross section of the multicultural Australian society, something not as obvious in the other northern beaches. We picked up some fluffy beer-battered fish and chips

from the café and drove to the beach. It had blue-green waters with perfect waves, spectacular views and amazing sand… We just had to set up a tent and relax under it. Palm Beach is a must do, the food is pricey and the parking is a bit difficult, but it’s an unbeatable experience for sure! A short walk to Barrenjoey lighthouse provides a unique view of the peninsula as well.

Thus ended our outing for the time being, but I found it to be much of a rewarding experience to hop the Northern Sydney’s beaches; which are much cleaner, up-market and private than most of the other beaches. These are good to be explored one at a time, or there are guided tours covering Sydney’s Northern beaches from $295, which seems a reasonable option too.

Whatever you choose to do, these beaches are the perfect escape from the mundane. Go visit them before summer is out.

Northern beaches offer a cleaner, less crowded and more exclusive feel

Narrabeen is Northern Beaches’ largest estuary system. The rockpool here is much adored by people of all ages

Clockwise from top left: Whale Beach; Narrabeen Head Aquatic Reserve; beside the Narrabeen lake; green moss adorns the rocks at Whale Beach; Palm Beach; catching the sails at Newport Beach; building castles at Narrabeen Beach; a dip in the ocean at Narrabeen

Photos: Geevarghese Kollannur

Heart in the right place

Dance flick Heartbeats is the latest in the string of Hollywood films with an Indian link

BY VIRAT NEHRU

Perhaps it is the Slumdog Millionaire effect, but recently, we have seen a huge uptake in the soft power that India has to offer in terms of cinema for a primarily western audience. The ingredients of cinematic fodder that Indian and western audiences have grown up on are markedly different. Historically, attempts to infuse these two palates together to produce a kind of hybrid curry has often left a bitter aftertaste.

You only have to think as early as the 2000s when cringe-worthy western films like The Guru overtly used Indian cultural elements as a crude and offensive punchline in their narratives. One of the very few successful examples of a ‘crossover’ film of that era was Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. And even that was closer to a guilty pleasure than a film that Indian audiences could genuinely be proud of.

But times have changed. There is a meaningful exchange of soft power happening. Mainstream Indian films

regularly feature among the top grossers in global markets. Aamir Khan’s PK and Dangal have dominated the Chinese box office. Baahubali and Padmaavat have opened in the top 10 for the North American box office, despite having significantly fewer screens at their disposal. Conversely, Hollywood offerings like the latest instalment of The Fast and the Furious and the Star Wars franchise opened above expectations in India, even outperforming local Indian films at the Indian box office.

With Indian actors increasingly getting meaningful roles in mainstream Hollywood and American television, western audiences have also reacquainted themselves with how they see India on the big screen. It’s not just a place to be exoticised or fetishised for western audiences anymore.

Many recent films such as Lion, Victoria & Abdul, Viceroy’s House, The Black Prince, The Big Sick and Basmati Blues have explored the Indian/subcontinental connection.

In this climate comes Duane Adler’s latest offering, Heartbeats. Adler is known for writing dance films in the Step-Up series. Making a dance-based film that infuses elements of western and Indian dance styles is right up his alley. The “dance-based film” as a specific genre

has also gained acceptance among Indian audiences, with success of films like ABCD and ABCD 2

The story is straightforward enough, right out of the Step Up template.

American college student Kelli (Krystal Ellsworth) dreams of winning a dance contest and has no interest in finishing her law studies. She has an estranged relationship with her parents and is

has created magic in films like Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai, Anurag Basu’s Barfi and Jagga Jasoos as well as Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha. Here too, he makes each frame come alive.

And of course, the litmus test for any dance film, the choreography is top-notch. Unfortunately, the music itself offers nothing memorable. The entire dance crew do a fantastic job though. Ellsworth

finding ways to cope with a family tragedy. The family take a trip to India to attend a wedding where Kelli meets Aseem (Amitash Pradhan), leader of a dance troupe and through this blossoming relationship, finds a way to heal and fulfill her dreams.

The narrative template may be beenthere-done-that, but the visual framing makes the film engaging. A lot of credit here goes to cinematographer Ravi Varman. Varman has a distinct visual aesthetic and his compositional style is as unique as it is gorgeous. His camerawork

and Pradhan both shine in different dance styles and have chemistry on the dance floor, but otherwise have no spark as romantic leads. On an interesting sidenote, it was a pleasure to see Chak De girl Vidya Malvade on screen again, even if for a short role.

If you’re looking for a cosy night-in, Heartbeats may not offer anything out of the ordinary, but has its heart in the right place.

(Heartbeats which will be released on DVD and the digital platforms this February)

The narrative template may be been-there-done-that, but the visual framing makes the film engaging

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We are a well settled Jat Sikh family living in Australia and are seeking a professionally quali ed match for our 5’2’’, slim, fair, attractive, 30-yearold daughter working as a lawyer in Queensland. Caste no bar. Please contact Hardev3058@gmail.com

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FEBRUARY 2018

BY MINAL KHONA

Minal Khona has been reading tarot cards for the last two decades. She uses her intuition and connect with the cards mostly to help people.

ARIES

March 21 - April 19

This is a time for introspection and uncertainty. What takes centre stage is family matters, your signi cant other, health issues etc. An unexpected appearance of an old friend, lover or business associate gives you much joy; you will enjoy socialising this month. Be diligent about any paperwork and don’t rush through it. Pressure at work builds up because you are taking on more than you can handle. Con icts at work will get resolved amicably; be on guard regarding of ce politics.

TAURUS April 20 - May 20

TAROT

GEMINI

May 21 - June 20

The focus is on material aspects and physical well-being; mortality and spirituality. If in the initial phases of a relationship, remember that familiarity breeds contempt, so keep a distance and don’t rush anything. Some personal issue brings you despair and you might even consider ending a relationship as it is going nowhere. Avoid drinking or smoking too much. You might have to let go of a project due to a health condition. An offer of employment is on the horizon.

VIRGO

Aug 23 - Sep 22

You are in a creative state of mind and feelings, emotions, intuition rule this month. Something is missing as you long for love, affection and a deeper connection with someone. Relaxation, travel and the outdoors beckon. If trying to conceive, now would be a good time to plan a baby. Patience in nancial matters is recommended for success. You will no longer accept what is counterproductive and take steps to change it. Don’t let distractions affect you at work.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov 22 - Dec 21

A debilitating illness, business disagreement or an emotional issue could cause a loss of income or job. A short trip improves things for the better. Travelling overseas is also possible as is a journey for health reasons. Concentrate on the present. The work environment improves if there are hurdles. Money is tight but an increase in income is predicted. Headaches and tummy issues could be bothersome. If there are family problems, they don’t go away completely but tensions will ease.

CANCER June 21 - July 20

Home improvement is on the cards. You may receive a new business proposal but chances are you will reject it. There could be some turbulence in your relationship, but it is temporary and everything will work out. Take a break from stress, work and other worrisome matters. Negative conditions will clear up on all fronts and something better will come along. Your success will come from venturing away from original plans or ideas. Any delays that happen are in your favour.

LIBRA

Sep 23 - Oct 22

You need to ick that off button and detach from stressful situations. Setbacks drain you and you feel burnt out. Some Virgos will seek a real relationship and may even consider ending an unhappy marriage. Emotional attachment to a situation will end and you will take charge for your own wellbeing. Constipation or haemorrhoids take you to the doctor. Be assertive in nancial matters. A signi cant male in your life could be the reason for a major let down.

CAPRICORN

Dec 22 - Jan 19

Move ahead despite fears, doubts and confusion. A new romance or a potential love affair with a charmer is on the cards. Unexpected problems are a blessing in disguise and the solution will improve on the original concept. You could buy something major for the house. Work gives opportunities to mix business with pleasure. Your energy levels swing high and low; watch your health during the low times. Any kinks in a tense situation need to be ironed out.

AQUARIUS

Jan 20 - Feb 18

A Taurean in uence makes you inclined to be even more practical, patient and security minded than you usually are. There could be unexpected developments in matters of the heart. A break-up is not likely and misunderstandings get resolved. Plans to travel may fall through. Don’t let emotional problems affect work; you could be considering taking on projects that take your career in a different direction. You could have problems with your teeth, gums or muscles. Straighten out nancial matters.

You behave more like a Piscean this month as you channel your inner artist. There are feelings of dread and disillusionment in a relationship. Con icts at work require emotional control to master the situation. Someone close may let you down leading to a huge disappointment. Sleeping disorders, lumps and cysts could cause health issues. Things will end on a happy note but take the middle road as unforeseen changes bring new perspective. Due payments come in but you still feel short-changed.

Work, success, nancial security, obstacles in romance and anxiety take the front seat this month. Logistics, distance or priorities cause anxious moments in a serious love affair, but they can be overcome if you want to be together. A nancial opportunity lands at your doorstep. Any health condition you have may need medical attention immediately as it could get painful. An unexpected inheritance, new car or job could come your way too. Be honest with yourself at all times.

SCORPIO

Oct 23 - Nov 21

Your intense and secretive nature might cause health issues that are entirely stress-related. So stay calm and balanced and if there are internal con icts going on in your head, they will end. A positive change is in store and you will nd a solution to an ongoing problem. If you are feeling stuck in a relationship, you might have a change of heart and decide to end things. A social event could be the buffer that provides clarity.

PISCES

Feb 19 - March 20

A short trip or a change of residence is indicated. A change of routine and practical challenges lead to a new way of life that is emerging, so professionally and personally there is a lot to be nished. Helping others gives you joy; don’t waste time on an impossible relationship that is burdensome. You are taking on way too much responsibility and could feel run down or tired. Go for what you want but only after the course of action is clear.

cine TALK

THAT DOESN’T QUITE BITE

In an author-backed role, he is simply brilliant as the timid and loving person who turns brutally aggressive when pushed to the wall.

Matching him in histrionics is Gulshan Devaiah as the human rights activist and Kuldip’s defence lawyer Pradyuman Shahpuri. Gulshan enlivens the screen with his boisterous, overthe-top histrionics which include his loud Punjabi accent.

Equally effective are Anurag Arora as Inspector Ajay Rathore, Jameel Khan as Kuldip’s friend who frames him, Vikram Kochhar as the politician Mr Goenka and the characters who play Kuldip’s family - his father, mother and wife.

KULDIP PATWAL: I DIDN’T DO IT

STARRING: Deepak Dobriyal, Raima Sen, Gulshan Devaiah, Parvin Dabas and Anurag Arora

DIRECTOR: Remy Kohli

HHHHH

Kuldip Patwal: I Didn’t Do It is a meticulously penned political satire that has lost its effectiveness during its onscreen translation.

Set in the ctitious state of Bharatsar, somewhere in North India, the lm begins on a dramatic note with a staccato, black screen and voiceovers. Prominent among the voices is, “Why don’t you understand, I

am the CM of the state.” This weak and authoritative voice belongs to Varun Chadha, the third term appointed Chief Minister of Bharatsar, who is soon assassinated at a political rally.

Immediately after the assassination, Kuldip Patwal - a bystander at the rallyis arrested and accused of the murder. He pleads, “Not guilty, I did not do it.”

What follows is a non-linear narrative that blends a murder mystery and courtroom drama. It exposes how dreams and ambitions of a common man like Kuldip Patwal are crushed due to “the system” - read corruptionthat prevails in the country.

It is the story of the common man in India. The lm also reveals how

inhuman treatment is meted out to him. And like the insigni cant common man, Kuldip Patwal is not the hero of the tale. The story pits the wrong against the right and right against the wrong thereby giving a holistic perspective of the political scenario here.

Playing the titular role, Deepak Dobriyal is every inch the insigni cant protagonist - Kuldip Patwal. He emotes with sincerity. He is consistent in displaying his character and he maintains the continuity in his transition from a wannabe administrative bureaucrat to a struggling shopkeeper to being a helpless father.

The mis ts here are Pravin Dabas as Varun Chadha and Raima Sen as his wife Simrat who is also the district attorney and the prosecution lawyer. They both are limited with their performances. While Pravin tries to exude some natural con dence, Raima’s efforts seem laboured and her pronounced diction is de nitely jarring.

With sound production values and ne detailing in the mise-en-scene, the lm is technically thorough.

But on the directorial front, debutant Remy Kohli delivers a simple effective tale in the most convoluted, non-linear manner making the entire take on the proceedings lose its lustre. The repetitive scenes add to the sore points of viewing. If only the script was taut, the effectiveness of this narrative would have been tenfold better.

This is the director’s most sensitive lm to date. It hits a hard punch. And not just in the boxing ring.

Troy Ribeiro

the BUZZ entertainment

UP-TO-DATE NEWS ON WHAT’S HOT AND HAPPENING IN BOLLYWOOD

RANVEER SINGH

WANT A BIT OF MASALA: RANVEER SINGH

Having just come off an intense project like Padmaavat, and the equally intense drama off-screen, you can hardly blame Ranveer Singh for wanting to try something different.

How about an innocuous masala entertainer? It’s Rohit Shetty to the rescue, of course!

Ranveer will soon be seen in Rohit Shetty’s upcoming lm Simmba

“A masala entertainer is something I’ve been longing to do for some time,” the actor said. “It’s got all the ingredients - action, comedy, drama, romance, songs. All the good stuff that goes into a Rohit Shetty lm. It’s the kind of lm I grew up on and the kind of lm that reaches out to a broad spectrum of audience. I am very lucky to have that lm coming up.”

He will play policeman Sangram Bhalerao in the lm.

But rst of course he will nish with Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy with Alia Bhatt, based on street rappers.

Also on the cards for Ranveer is the lm ‘83, based on India’s incredible 1983 cricket World Cup victory. He plays star cricketer and captain of the winning team, Kapil Dev.

The lm follows how, under the captaincy of then newbie Kapil Dev, the Indian cricket team defeated the mighty West Indies. It tracks the coming-of-age of not just a cricketing team, but of a young nation in the eyes of the world.

We’ll have to wait until 30 Aug 2019 for that one.

Hmm… historical tyrant, street rapper, star cricketer. Talk about versatility, eh?

NEXT CHAPTER: MANIKARNIKA

Aaaaand the saga continues. Thought you had enough of the Padmaavat controversy? It’s now the turn of Manikarnika, a biopic on the valiant Rani Laxmibai, starring Kangana Ranaut.

A new religious out t has upped and claimed they would like to check out the lm-maker’s version, to make sure there are no improprieties or tampering of facts.

The group claim they will not allow lming to proceed in Rajasthan till such time as all details about the project are aired.

The lm’s producer Kamal Jain has said, “As responsible lmmakers, we have taken utmost care while portraying Rani Laxmibai’s character and have consulted historians and scholars. Rani Laxmibai was a

freedom ghter and one of the most respected leaders our country has seen. She is a symbol of valour and the lm’s story depicts the same. The lm doesn’t portray anything objectionable about Rani Laxmibai and nor has the lm distorted history in anyway. The lm showcases Rani Laxmibai in a most respectful manner and is an inspirational story. We are proud to showcase the bravery, courage and heroism of Rani Laxmibai to the world.”

Isn’t it amazing: every single thing that you’ve just read here, you’ve heard before. And only weeks ago…

Any bets that this project will end up in the courts as well? Who knows, it might even have to change title from “Manikarnika” to “Manikarnik” before release!

WHEN DEVDAS BECOMES DAAS DEV

Film-maker Sudhir Mishra’s latest project, called Daas Dev, has been described as a lm about power, love and addiction. It is set in the Hindi heartland, and stars “thinking” actors Rahul Bhat and Richa Chadha.

So it’s a political thriller, you’re guessing.

Not quite, the lm-maker points out. While all of the above may be true, the basic premise has sprung off that old classic Devdas

“We didn’t want people to misunderstand Daas Dev as a political drama,” Mishra explained recently. “Politics is the con ict in the love story and music is an integral part of the lm.”

Richa also explained the lm’s fresh take on Devdas is an advantage for them.

“We are in a position of advantage because people are aware of the classic ‘Devdas’ story,” she revealed. “Hence, the lm-makers will not have to take extra efforts to establish the characters. Sudhir Mishra has ipped

their personalities and brought them into contemporary times.”

Oh, okay. Interesting.

Daas Dev also features Aditi Rao Hydari, Vineet Singh, Saurabh Shukla, and Vipin Sharma. It is releasing on 9 March.

REMEMBER JUGAL HANSRAJ…

… the cutesy kid in that emotional tearjerker Masoom? Well, he’s all grown up now and still in the industry he has always loved.

After a wonderful childhood debut, Jugal was an easy pick for big banner projects like Papa Kahte Hain and Mohabbatein but his acting career failed to take off. His attempts with direction with Roadside Romeo and Pyaar Impossible! also bombed at the box of ce.

Yet, not disappointed with the failures, Jugal soldiered on exploring new things creatively. Currently, he writes scripts at Dharma Productions and has turned an author by writing an adventure book for children.

He continues to be open to acting though.

“I have been acting, but not that frequently. I was in Kahaani 2 and did a web series Time Out,” he said to IANS recently. “(Happy to look) at anything interesting that comes my way. To be honest, I enjoy directing more than acting. So I would love to direct again. In fact, what I would love is make my own book Cross Connection: The Big Circus Adventure into an animated lm.”

How has his aspiration changed over time?

“When I entered the eld, I was in awe... I didn’t know how to go about the movie business but I enjoyed being a part of it. What has changed now is that I don’t want to stick to one thing. In the beginning, I wanted to act and I only wanted to do lead roles; but now I have matured over time and am open to doing interesting things. There is good content, good writing, good directing and good opportunities, so I am happy as long as I am in the creative eld. I am happy to try different things.”

Jugal’s animated lm Roadside Romeo, for which Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan lent their voice,

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won a National Film Award. He rues the lack of Indian animation projects.

“There is talent. The animators are doing fantastic work and projects are being outsourced to India, but it is something new for the Indian audience. I think it is only a matter of time - the audience will soon get used to and accept these kinds of lms and it will be huge like it is in the West.”

LOOKING FORWARD TO ANOTHER TWO DECADES: KAREENA

Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, who is looking her best these days after shedding all the extra weight following the birth of her son Taimur, says her journey in the lm industry has been enriching and she would like to work another two decades in Bollywood.

“It’s been honourable and I would say enriching,” Kareena told IANS. “Eighteen years and still counting. I hope to work for another two decades.”

Kareena, who made her acting debut in 2000 with Refugee, has many successful lms like Jab We Met, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Talaash: The Hunt Begins..., Yuva, Omkara and Udta Punjab, to her credit. And she is also considered one of the most awless beauties in Bollywood.

Kareena is now gearing up for the release of Shashanka Ghosh’s Veere Di Wedding, a romantic comedy costarring Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhasker

and Shikha Talsania.

Speaking about the lm, Kareena said, “It hits the screens on 1 June and is a perfect summer watch. It is an exciting story about four friends. It was so much fun. and inspiring to be a part of, and even the lm was shot with a lot of fun Also, there are two female producers on board and that is also exciting. It’s a different time in the industry as people are watching more women-centric lms. This is a lot more fun and nothing serious. Hopefully, people will enjoy it.”

Only days ago, the stunning actor wowed us with her turn on the catwalk - appearing for Anamika Khanna as grand nale showstopper at the Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) Summer/ Resort 2018.

AIYAARY FINALLY GETS THE ALL-CLEAR

It’s been a while coming…

Director Neeraj Pandey’s lm Aiyyary will nally hit the screens on 16 Feb. The lm rst bowed out to make way for the beleaguered Padmaavat to have a solo release, and then had to do the same for Pad Man

In the middle somewhere, it got caught up in censor hassles, and modi cations had to be made after the Ministry of Defence intervened.

Set against the backdrop of the military, the lm features Sidharth Malhotra and Manoj Bajpayee playing

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the roles of army of cers over a storyline that brings to the forefront corruption within the system.

But now, with an all-clear from the authorities, the lm-makers must surely be breathing a sigh of relief.

The lm also features Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Rakul Preet Singh and Pooja Chopra in pivotal roles.

TWITTER TROUBLE FOR ANUPAM KHER

Early in February, Twitter had to temporarily shut down the account of veteran actor Anupam Kher, after it was allegedly hacked by pro-Pakistani Turkish cyber army Ayyildiz Tim.

RSS leader and BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav and senior Indian journalist and Member of Parliament Swapan Dasgupta syffered the same fate.

Kher’s account handle was changed from @anupampkher to @anupampkhertc and his tweets bore unusual messages. The messages were later deleted.

After the accounts were hacked, #AnupamKher became one of the top trending hashtags on the microblogging site with 1,221 tweets bearing the actor’s name.

THIS WEEK ON TWITTER

Match the following stars to the tweets that appear below.

Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna, Salman Khan, Anupam Kher

I AM BACK. Thank you @TwitterIndia for your fantastic and ef cient handling of my twitter account getting hacked. Thank you friends & members of the media for alerting me in Los Angles in the middle of the night. As for hackers: I LOVE INDIA. Bharat mata ki jai

Mujhe ladki mil gayi

Happy to share, our lm #PadMan becomes the rst Bollywood lm to be released in Russia on the same day and date. So Russia, see you at the movies on 9th February, 2018!

Thank you @UNinIndia and @smritiirani for all your support and for ensuring that the message penetrates through all sections of society #PadManTalks

What’s the chitchat between TWINKLE and AKSHAY here?

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LAST

What are DEEPIKA and RANVEER saying to SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI here?

Lalmani Kharel

Deepika: Sanjay, you legend! Our movie is such a big hit!

Ranveer: The movie was a hit but somebody is gonna get really hit if they keep coming in between my bae like this.

Congrats, Lalmani. You win a movie ticket!

ANOTHER GOOD ONE Vilas Degaonkar

“Movie released, movie hit. Now for some Chummi Seva!”

KAREENA KAPOOR

JUGAL HANSRAJ

RICHA CHADDA

A win-lose

Boys and girls, remember that it is extremely stupid and dangerous to pour explosive fuel on to the flames of a backyard bonfire or barbecue. Let DADDY do it.

I know a father-of-three who did this and created a fireball of Hollywood proportions that instantly vaporised the bonfire and a nearby tree. The children loved it. (The mothers less so.)

I was reminded of that anecdote by a news item which soon grew into a list of seven examples of things which are too successful for their own good.

1) A “stress-releasing” massage chair relaxed a shopper so much that he fell into a deep sleep - and missed the closing of the shop and departure of all staff. When he eventually woke up in the chair it was dark, the electronics shop in Japan was locked, and police had to be called to let him out. “It was a good advertisement for the chair,” said reader Mark Chinney, who

sent me the news item.

2) It reminded me of that super-scary ghost movie Bhoot launched in India in 2003, after which a cinemagoer was found dead of a heart attack. In a rare case of good taste, filmmakers resisted the temptation to capitalise on it with a challenge: “HE didn’t make it - will YOU survive our movie?”

3) Then there was a Hong Kong emigration advisor whose business appeared to contain the seeds of its own destruction. “We’re losing all our clients,” he told me in his third year of operation. “They’re moving away.”

4) “At the end of last year, the Delhi municipal authorities announced that their anti-plastic bag campaign had been so successful they had collected 1,200 kilos of polythene bags,” said Amithaba Kumar, a reader from that city. “Then they admitted that they had nowhere to put them and were planning to throw them into a

landfill!” Ah. Right.

5) A Reddit user sent a link to a post by a US woman who joined a weight loss group and managed to shed 100 lbs - after which the other members wanted her to leave because she made everyone else feel like a failure.

6) Another sad example came from a stressed woman who pre-paid for a course of relaxation therapy sessions at an expensive hotel spa in Jakarta. “I slept through the first two sessions, so I drank a pint of coffee before the third - but still slept through it,” sighed the woman, Jacqueline Wan. “It was probably very good but I can’t remember any of it.” So basically she paid a fortune for

the same Saturday afternoon nap this columnist achieves on the sofa for nothing. I expressed my deep sorrow for her by pointing, laughing, and feeling smug.

7) “Surely the ultimate example of being too successful is IKEA,” said a colleague, referring to the Swedish furniture shop now found in most countries. “Roughly once a month, somewhere in the world, people are found to have slept overnight in IKEA bedroom display.”

True. I once saw people in a Chinese IKEA store having lunch in the dining room display.

Column done, now it’s time for a sleep. I recommend the IKEA Stockholm 2017 sofa in blue velvet. Good night.

VITTACHI lists seven things which are too successful for their own good

Kids asleep at an IKEA shop in China. Photo: ABC

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