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EDITORIAL

China’s tantrum diplomacy: Gains for India?

PUBLISHER Pawan Luthra EDITOR Rajni Anand Luthra SOCIAL MEDIA Neha Malude MELBOURNE COORDINATOR Preeti Jabbal

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

CONTRIBUTORS Ritam Mitra, C Uday Bhaskar, Lindsay Hughes, Usha Ramanujam Arvind, Sydney Srinivas, Emie Roy, Auntyji

T

he Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was founded in 1989 by former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke as an inter-governmental forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies to promote free trade throughout the region. The yearly summits are highly orchestrated events: what most take away from the meetings are the world leaders wearing the national dress of the host country, waving and smiling for the cameras. The summit this year which recently concluded in Papua New Guinea was however held at a time when the heavyweights of the world economy – United States and China – are at a trade war with each other.

The distrust between the two countries spilled over at APEC when for the first time in its 29-year history, it was decided not to release a common statement. All

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20 countries except China finally agreed to the joint statement. As per reports in the media, the Chinese delegation objected primarily to one line that read: “We agree to fight protectionism including all unfair trade practices.”

They perceived that as singling out and targeting China.

Reports from APEC also singled out China as resorting to “tantrum diplomacy”. According to The Washington Post, “Chinese tactics included being thuggish with the international media, busting into government buildings uninvited, papering the capital city of Port Moresby with proBeijing propaganda and possibly even using cyberattacks to stifle the message of Vice President Pence, the US delegation leader.”

Rather than presenting a friendly face to the world, China came across as aggressive and a bully.

It’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) policy was questioned and called a “one-way road into a debt trap”.

Increasingly, the rising debt burdens now being experienced by such countries as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives have raised questions about the viability

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of cheap Chinese infrastructural loans.

Initially starting out as loans, they appear to be accompanied by land grabs.

Commentators have called OBOR ‘an exploitative, colonial stratagem to gain vital assets in small countries’.

India is in a unique position to benefit from the sense of “selling out” that is being experienced by the local population in some of these countries. Its democratic traditions are a good starting point. Due to its history and position in the Indian Ocean region, India also has a shared history with a number of its neighbours.

Reference to the island of Java, off the coast of Indonesia can be traced back to the time of the Indian epic Ramayana, India introduced Buddhism to Sri Lanka in the 4th century, and Malaysia was part of the Chola empire.

India’s cultural diplomacy is an asset which can stand the test of time. It can, with like-minded countries such as Australia, Japan, and the United States, offer an alternative to the Chinese assertiveness. Besides, the line-of-credit rates offered by India to neighbouring countries is 1% or less.

Commercial reality is an attractive way also to win friends in the region.

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NOVEMBER (2) 2018 5

CONTENTS 18

SPECIAL FEATURES CRICKET India, Australia: Governance failures

14

CENOTAPH Sydney tribute for Indian ANZACs

18

DIWALI Blacktown Diwali Lights contest

24

ANALYSIS India, China: String of pearls

28

SURROUNDS Hunter Valley weekend

36

14

24 COVER STORY

36

10

Will India break the Australia jinx?

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Indian Link takes the Publication of the Year at the NSW Premier’s Multicultural Communication Awards 2018 Sriraman Annaswamy wrote: Well done, Pawan Luthra and Indian Link, you’ve made an indelible mark in our Indian-Australian community over the last 25 years or so!

Harish Malik wrote: Congratulations Pawan and Indian Link.

Shivdev Kler wrote: Congratulations, Indian Link truly deserves it.

Meenakshi Sharma Kalia wrote: Many many congratulations to your entire team.

Manju Anand wrote: Congratulations, well deserved achievement.

Sachin Wakhare wrote: Best of the best – Indian Link! Many congratulations to the team!!

Janine Holgate wrote: Wow, well done Rajni, Pawan and team. All your hard work and your service to the community has been justly rewarded.

Gaurang Joshi wrote: Wow! What an achievement guys! Congratulations.

Dipen Rughani wrote: Congratulations @Pawanlink and the whole team at @indian_link!

Well deserved.

IABBV Hindi School wrote: Congratulations Pawan Rajni and the Indian Link team.

Scott Farlow MLC wrote: Happy Diwali to all my friends, particularly to @Pawanlink from @indian_link who won publication of the year at @GladysB’s Multicultural Media Awards last night! It was great to join him and all the team to celebrate Diwali in Little India at Harris Park recently.

Multicultural NSW wrote: Congratulations to @indian_link winner of the Publication of the Year Award at the #PMCA18 Australian Muslim Times wrote: Great job @indian_link!

Rosy Lalmalsawmi Khuma wrote: Congratulations Rajni and Pawan.

Kalyani Wakhare wrote: Awesome Indian Link, very well deserved! Many congratulations to the entire team!

Petra O’Neill wrote: Great work!

Katrina Hall wrote: Congratulations to you!

Emie Roy wrote: Awesome work Rajni and Pawan Luthra!

Raka Mitra wrote: Congrats to the whole team.

Rekha Rajvanshi wrote: Well-deserved Indian Link, congratulations.

Mittu Gopalan wrote: Hearty congrats, guys! Well done and hats off to you both and the entire team Nishaa Singh Lamba wrote: Wow, congratulations on your achievement.

Bhavisha Parmar Bhandari wrote: Congratulations to Indian Link and to the Luthras.

Harshad Pandharipande wrote: Thoroughly deserved! I want to congratulate Pawan, Rajni, Neha, Shriti, Charu and the entire Indian Link family for the award. I felt super proud.

Ritam Mitra wrote: Honoured to be a finalist for Best News Report at PMCA18 for my piece on intercountry adoption in Australia, but even prouder of the Indian Link team for taking out the Best Publication award.

SAY IT AGAIN 8 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

Virat Nehru wrote: It’s a surreal moment seeing your work recognised on a projected screen as a room full of people clap when your name is announced.

Wouldn’t trade this feeling for anything in the world.

My caddie is Australian and he has told me great things about The Lakes, so I’m really looking forward to the Australian Open.

Anirban Lahiri, Indian golfer in Australia for Melbourne World Cup of Golf

FORTNIGHTLY

Vol.26 No.1 (1)

OCTOBER (1) 2018

SYDNEY

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Indian Link marks 25 years Prime Minister Scott Morrison wrote: I extend my warmest congratulations to staff and readers of Indian Link as you celebrate your 25th anniversary year. The Australia-India partnership is strengthened by the many contributions of Australians of Indian descent who, over the years, and through successive waves of immigration, have worked hard, brought new ideas, and helped shape our identity and prosperity.

Australia is one of the most successful multicultural countries on earth, and support for the cultural and religious diversity of this nation is something that should be cherished and championed by all. In this context, quality multicultural media like Indian Link not only provides valuable access to information and entertainment, but has a leadership role to play in sharing ideas around culture and ethnicity, and in building respect and understanding.

I thank staff and readers of Indian Link for your commitment to these aims, and wish you many more years of success.

WHERE IN INDIA

Name this spot in India, we asked in our online quiz, and got a flurry of correct answers. This place - especially in today's unsafe times - is really unique. Not a single house in this village has a door or a lock. Nor do people lock up their possessions or valuables.

The correct answer, Shani Shingnapur in Maharashtra, came in from Sunil Coelho, Punita Udeshi Ganwani, Ajay Sharma, Haniyur Subbaramiah and Arix Bishnoi.

I have to speak a little bit slower, but people are laughing and getting into it. Everyone gets my references.

Brisbane-based stand up comic Mel Buttle in Bangalore

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AUSTRALIA’S PLACE IN THE NEW ASIAN WORLD ORDER

When Stan Grant of ABC News discussed the Asia-Pacific Summit season on his show Matter Of Fact (Thursday 15 Nov 2018), Pawan Luthra joined him as guest alongside Michael Wesley of ANU and Merriden Varrall of KPMG Australia.

See the entire episode on ABC iView, or a snippet on www. indianlink.com.au @crudeoilpeak wrote: Of course China has a strategy to secure it’s oil supply routes after it peaked 2015. Guess where Australia will end up in this game @MCfromPerth wrote: India calls their concept of PRC strategic diplomacy (as it affects them) “The string of pearls”.

With strong PRC influence in Myanmar to E, Pakistan to W, Maldives to SW & Sri Lanka to SE, no-one can accuse Beijing of failing to think strategically! @InfowarsChina wrote: One belt one road is a project, you don’t like the terms, don’t sign it then! Go to a bank, ask them for a loan, and tell them it’s debt trap… go, try it! @Rogerinaustr wrote: Cricket would not be possible with such behavior. They are said to recognise only their team? @renmarkugento wrote: Colonisation and living space by stealth - is this China’s agenda? Looks that way.

Sunil Vyas wrote: Excellent interview and commentary.

Harish Velji wrote: Saw you on Matter of Fact, you were great.

Sudhir Warrier wrote: Saw you on TV just now, your thoughts were well articulated. Good on you, mate.

Karam C. Ramrakha wrote: Could not sleep so watched Stan Grant. When he raised what I paraphrase as the spectre of "Hindu Nationalism", your reply, Pawan, was too self-effacing…

No doubt you are a closed secularist, or possibly an open one.

But resorting to my roots as a UP bhaiya, that question of Stan would have set my hair on fire; your reply was too namby pamby – (it) should have been a rebuke. Hindu nationalism, which CIA has said is the most evil in the world today, is the bedrock on which India must flourish or fall. I don't think you will publish this in your esteemed newspaper.

DIWALI IN BLACKTOWN

Shamila and Vishal Sadhu’s home wins Blacktown City Council’s Diwali Lights contest Chandni Sheth wrote: Congratulations Dr Shamila, belated Happy Diwali to you and family.

Monideepa Pal wrote: Our neighbour!!

Beautiful decorations Girija Krishnakumar wrote: Lakshmi’s heavenly abode!

Madan Puri wrote: Aap sab pariwaron ko dheron shubkamnayein Rana Youkhana wrote: How nice is this!!

Leighton Farrell wrote: This looks amazing.

Stunning.

Sunny Jindal wrote: Amazing.

Ashish Garg wrote: Great decoration.

Melanie Jane wrote: Beautiful congrats.

Nayyar K Verma wrote: Congratulations.

Swati Varun Adlakha wrote: This is just wow.

Nanetta Sadsad wrote: So pretty.

Congratulations.

Blacktown Police Area Command wrote: Now that's impressive!!

Donna White wrote: Polite question, no rudeness meant, why does it look like a Nazi symbol is in the lights?

Ami Lama wrote: Donna White, it’s a Hindu religious icon, it goes clockwise whereas Nazi symbol is anti-clockwise.

Gurmeet Kalsi wrote: It’s Buddhist too, it’s called swastika.

Donna White wrote: Ami Lama Gurmeet Kalsi, thank you, I have learned something today.

Darlene Clinch wrote: Donna White likewise I had no idea of this - learn something new every day.

Trish Caruana wrote: Donna White when I first saw it over a year ago, I was a bit spun out too, lol.

I feel that Australian films are not well represented in India, a country where people are cinema-mad. Masterchef is one of the most popular shows here.

So, it would be great to have more Australian films released here.

Mitu Bhowmick Lange, at the Kolkata International Film Festival

NATIONAL EDITION

BOLLYWOOD DIWALI? NO THANKS

We shared a video online of a British Airways-organised Bollywood flashmob on Diwali at Heathrow Airport.

Kala Raghunath wrote: Indian festivals are not an excuse to start dancing to Bollywood. Diwali, Holi, shrad…

Bollywood everywhere! Terrible!

Krish Na wrote: I watch Bollywood movies and think, ‘wow my real life is nothing like that’. Got the same feeling with this video.

The Diwali I grew up with feels nothing like this. Same probably for most of the people from the south. Not complaining - at least some version of Diwali made it to the mainstream, LOL!

Hello Australia - just landed on my state visit. Glad to have come to the land down under!

Ram Nath Kovind, President of India

Without Steve Smith and David Warner, Australia are like India without Virat Kohli.

Sourav Ganguly, former Indian cricketer on IndiaAustralia Test series

NOVEMBER (2) 2018 9

COVER STORY

Expect the unexpected this summer India are favourites to claim their first-ever Test series on Australian soil, but the path ahead is not as easy as it seems

BY RITAM MITRA

I

n many corners, this summer’s BorderGavaskar Trophy is all but promised to India, with the current level of instability in and around Australian cricket at a level unseen since the bitterness in the immediate aftermath of World Series Cricket in the 1980s. But to adopt such a mindset is to ignore half the equation; after all, the tourists arrive beleaguered by problems of their own.

For once, however, the Indian side has managed to slip under the radar, such is the degree of scrutiny on their opposition. So talismanic too, is the Indian captain, that local broadcasters have adopted the promotional slogan “King Kohli v Australia”, making it very clear where the hosts expect the series will be won or lost notwithstanding all the other battles India will need to fight.

10 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

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Ghosts of the past: The weight of history is against India, whose all-time greats failed to win a Test series in Australia from several attempts together

Batting: With Hardik Pandya ruled out of the series with injury, India’s tail essentially begins at 7 A batting slump

India’s batting line-up is perhaps the least settled it has been in the last five years, and the form of the batsmen, too, is a concern.

Despite coach Ravi Shastri’s assertion that this is the best Indian side in the last 15 years, the simple fact is that no Indian batsman other than Kohli would have been selected in any Indian team in that period.

At the top of the order, India must choose between Murali Vijay, who has recently fallen out of favour, the out-of-form KL Rahul, and the rookie Prithvi Shaw.

After Shaw’s exploits in his debut series, all of a sudden the 18 year-old’s position looks the most assured, but playing against Australia in foreign conditions is an entirely different prospect to playing a lacklustre West Indies outfit at home.

Pujara and Kohli pick themselves at 3 and 4, but are followed by a brittle middle and lower order, only heightening the pressure on the Indian top four. Ajinkya Rahane, who shone on his last tour of Australia, looks a shadow of that player today - loose outside the off stump, with little fluency in his movement or in his scoring. At 6, Rishabh Pant is young and certainly a precocious talent, but has only one gear.

With Hardik Pandya ruled out of the NATIONAL EDITION

Bowling: Bumrah and Yadav, both sharp and in scintillating form, hold the trump cards for India

series with injury, India’s tail essentially begins at 7. Jadeja and Ashwin are not destined to score runs in Australia, while India’s quick bowlers are, for the most part, proper tailenders. Kohli has himself honed in on this point ahead of the series, noting, “As we saw in England, their lower order contributions were much bigger than ours.

That was the difference in the series. That’s where we want guys to be fearless. Actually, that’s the best place to bat. If you’re an allrounder who can bowl as well then there is literally no pressure. If they can get going they can change the course of the whole game or a whole series.”

Add to all of that the rampaging Australian attack of Starc, Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon - at its core the same attack which has terrorised Indian batting line-ups in the recent past - and India’s batsmen face a tougher challenge than many may think.

English conditions, Australia has traditionally been a graveyard for Indian quicks, who have lacked the pace and fitness to consistently hit the deck and extract bounce from often unrelenting pitches. Ashwin and Jadeja too, have been punished in their previous Australia tours, and India would do well to consider instead playing Kuldeep Yadav in all four Tests, given the value of a wrist-spinner on flat pitches.

This time around, Bumrah and Yadav hold the trump cards for India. Both are sharp, and both are in scintillating form, with Yadav taking 10 wickets in an innings for the first time in his last match, and Bumrah enjoying an excellent start to his Test career in South Africa and England. It helps too, that Ishant Sharma has developed something missing from his game since his debut: discipline.

On the bowler’s shoulders

There can be no mistake, all the pressure in this series is on India, and how India responds to that pressure in the big moments will go a long way towards deciding who prevails. When those moments come by, and if India begins to believe it can win, it will promptly start to face a different enemy altogether: the

India’s bowlers acquitted themselves wonderfully in England, regularly picking up 20 wickets and, together with Kohli, keeping India in the contest even in the face of regular batting collapses.

But while Bumrah, Shami, Yadav and Sharma thrived in the cool, swinging

History flatters to deceive

weight of history.

India has not just never won a Test series in Australia; it has, in all reality, rarely looked like doing so. All-time greats such as Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Ganguly and Kumble have toured several times, mostly together, but on each occasion, they tasted failure. On paper, those sides outclass Kohli’s in almost every respect (Shastri’s comments notwithstanding), yet it is in this series that India has its best-ever chance of breaking its Australian drought.

The primary reason for that, of course, is the state of play on the other side of the fence. It is perhaps the first time in a generation that an Australian cricket team carries so little expectation. For the Australian side, this means only one thing: freedom. While India may well play in fear of messing up such a big opportunity, the Australians have nothing to lose. * The last edition of the Border-Gavaskar trophy didn’t go entirely to script, with Australia mounting a fierce challenge in an electric 2-1 series defeat in India. But sport is at its best when it throws up the unexpected, and fans and neutrals alike may be hoping Australia pull a rabbit or two out of the hat in what promises to be a monumental series for the Kohli dynasty.

NOVEMBER (2) 2018 11

CRICKET Nations like Afghanistan stand to gain from the guaranteed matches promised by the ICC’s Future Tours Programme for 2018-2023

Marquee players like AB de Villiers are at risk of being lost to domestic T20 leagues over the international circuit

The dawn of a new cricket era The ICC’s transformative initiatives planned for the next five years of may well determine the future of one or more formats of the game

Y

ou may have missed it, but international cricket is on the cusp of entering one of its most transformative phases since the T20 format was first introduced. Next year marks the start of the ICC World Test Championship, while 2020 will see the commencement of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League, two critical ICC initiatives aimed at giving context to every Test and ODI clash. At the board level meanwhile, managing player workloads and finding the delicate balance between the intrinsic primacy of international cricket and the riches of more than a dozen domestic T20 leagues will also become an increasingly challenging task. Cricket will never stop being played; but how it is played will depend greatly on how players, boards and the ICC alike navigate these untested waters.

The last decade in world cricket has seen the proliferation of meaningless bilateral limited overs series, as boards scramble to arrange their schedules in a way which results in the highest possible broadcasting revenue. From the countless ODI contests between India and Sri Lanka, to South Africa’s recent trek to Australia for a three-match ODI series and what became a solitary T10 match, each series has simply dissolved into the next, with results almost immediately forgotten. From a Test perspective too, beyond the marquee series - the Ashes, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and perhaps the Pataudi Trophy between India and England - matches have held little meaning.

The ICC World Test Championship will see the world’s top 9 Test nations play

12 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

six series in a two-year cycle on a home and away basis. In June 2021, the leading two nations will meet at Lords to play the inaugural final to decide the World Test champions. In practice, this might mean that the otherwise meaningless two-Test series between Bangladesh and Australia slated for February 2020 could be critical in determining whether Australia qualifies for a final that it would no doubt love to play.

Meanwhile, the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League will serve primarily as a qualification pathway for the ICC ODI World Cup, with the 2020-2022 edition paving the way for the 2023 World Cup in India. The top seven sides, plus the host nation (India) will automatically qualify for the World Cup; the bottom five must battle it out against a number of Associate nations through the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier. The upshot of it all is that the future of ODI cricket - as the sport’s most vulnerable format - may well rest in the success or otherwise of the ICC’s initiative.

After all, while the best players in the world regularly recognise the supremacy of Test cricket, ODI cricket is the much maligned middle child.

In the midst of these new initiatives, selectors and administrators will face an uphill battle trying to avoid losing players to the various domestic T20 leagues.

Next year, the turnaround between the gruelling IPL and the ICC World Cup in England could be as little as two weeks, raising concerns over player workload management, particularly for fast bowlers.

Managing this balance is an easier task for some boards than for others – the top Indian, Australian and English cricketers

are already signed up to lucrative national contracts, whereas boards with tighter purse strings such as the West Indies are in an almost helpless positions. Even for boards like Cricket South Africa, it is a mean challenge: take the case of AB de Villiers, a formidable talent who continues to ply his trade in domestic T20 leagues, but would still be playing for South Africa if we were in any other era.

Australia and India, too, are grappling with similar issues. Top Australian bowlers such as Pat Cummins have recently pointed out the inadequacy of their one-year contracts in providing enough security to skip the IPL. In an average career span of 12-15 years for batsmen, and 10 years for bowlers, the mantra for many will be to make hay while the sun shines. In India, captain Virat Kohli recently called for IPL franchises to rest India’s quicks from the IPL, to keep them fresh for the World Cup - but this would rely on the BCCI compensating those players for lost earnings, the mere thought of which is a luxury that other boards do not have.

As an aside, it is difficult to understate how crucial it is for the future of world cricket that Australia rebuilds a competitive team. Cricket benefitted greatly from Australia’s dominance in the 2000s, following the demise of the West Indies, but the sad truth is that a strong Australia is far more important to the game today than a strong West Indies.

Cricket has evolved to survive without the West Indies; but it has done so because Australia has filled that vacuum.

That is what makes the current degree of public antipathy towards the Australian cricket set-up - and the immense loss of pride in what was previously the country’s most valuable and revered sporting brand - so dangerous. It’s of vital importance for Australia and the wider cricketing world that the Australian cricket team recaptures the public’s imagination, as the game begins an exciting but uncertain new chapter.

Ritam Mitra

Managing player workloads and finding the balance between the intrinsic primacy of international cricket and the riches of more than a dozen domestic T20 leagues will also become an increasingly challenging task. www.indianlink.com.au

NATIONAL EDITION

NOVEMBER (2) 2018 13

CRICKET

Good governance gone bad The fallout at Cricket Australia over the ball-tampering saga continues, with no end in sight for administrators or fans alike

Despite the contrasting recent fortunes of the Australian and Indian cricket teams, their respective boards have one thing in common: a litany of corporate governance failures, with more hurdles lying in wait

BY RITAM MITRA

A

s the Australian and Indian players take centre stage in a hugely anticipated summer of cricket, fans will certainly be watching closely. However, administrators will do well not to be distracted by the ongoing governance issues which continue to plague the respective boards. Although the challenges they face are of vastly different scales and natures, the last 12 months has revealed a staggering lack of good corporate governance and oversight in the higher echelons of both of these multimillion dollar businesses.

While Cricket Australia is struggling to regain the trust and respect of fans and players after the ball-tampering episode in Cape Town in March, the BCCI currently run not by the Board, but by

a Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) - continues to resist the Lodha Committee’s 2016 suite of recommendations for overhauling the BCCI’s flawed and corruption-prone governance model.

F

or Australia’s part, the damage to the Cricket Australia brand started at least back in 2017, during its player pay dispute with the Australian Cricketers Association.

That saga began a long-running rot which ultimately culminated in the devastating events in Cape Town. A subsequent review into the culture of the Australian cricket setup revealed endemic organisational issues, forcing the resignations of Chairman David Peever and board member Mark Taylor, and the sackings of high performance manager Pat Howard and executive general manager of broadcasting, digital media and commercial, Ben Amarfio.

Yet even the review and its recommendations were ironically opaque, with the public version of the report

As CA and the BCCI continue their internal tussles, they risk alienating not just their players, but their most important stakeholders: their fans.

14 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

redacted beyond readability in some sections. You would have been forgiven for assuming that the report was in fact Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, rather than a relatively straightforward review into the organisational culture of a sporting body. This was merely the latest in a long string of failures by CA to understand the inherent identity of the Australian cricket team. In addition to its overzealous redaction of the report, CA has been ridiculed for its attempt to associate the team with the nonsensical slogan “elite honesty”, and its ongoing production of a fly-on-the-wall “documentary” on the inner sanctum of the Australian cricket team, in what is surely set to be one of the most sanitised of all cricket productions.

These initiatives reek of meaningless “corporate” values, and point to a basic lack of understanding by CA that its cricket team is most respected when it is winning, not when it is the subject of PR by a thousand cuts. Some may argue that CA’s hand was forced by the public and media’s vitriolic reaction to the events of Cape Town, and certainly some changes are needed; the permanent removal of David Warner from Australian cricket is one such fundamental change. But it would be an insult to the current group of Australian players to suggest that they are incapable of being taught the basic mantra: play hard, play fair.

In such a polarising milieu, CA will be

thankful for this much: at least it managed to agree its landmark $1.2 billion rights deal with Foxtel before the fallout from the ball-tampering scandal became as evident as it is today. If those rights were up for negotiation today, CA would be hardpressed to earn anything close to that figure.

I

n contrast to Australia, the Indian cricket team is a more valuable product than ever. In April, the BCCI secured a record Rs 6,138 crore ($1.16 billion) rights deal with Star, to go with its September 2017 IPL rights deal of close to $3.5 billion. They are staggering figures by any stretch of the imagination, cementing India’s position as the financial hub of global cricket.

Yet, surprisingly, despite the success of the national team and of its marquee domestic T20 tournament, the BCCI is in perhaps an even greater state of disarray than the beleaguered CA. It is, perhaps, a perfect embodiment of the phrase “more money, more problems”.

The Lodha Committee was formed in 2015, in response to the spot-fixing and match-fixing scandal which rocked the IPL in 2013. Its wide-ranging recommendations for reform of the BCCI were approved by the Supreme Court in early 2016, yet the intervening period has been characterised by a bitter feud, lining the pockets of lawyers but leading to very few of the

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In contrast to Australia, the Indian cricket team is a more valuable product than ever Committee’s recommendations being implemented.

Some of those recommendations included setting term limits on BCCI officebearers, including the president; changing the voting rights of its member states; establishing a separate governing body for the IPL; legalising betting to dismantle black markets; and establishing a set of principles designed to minimise conflicts of interest, such as reducing the participation in the BCCI of individuals entrenched in politics. Despite the BCCI’s numerous legal challenges to the Committee’s recommendations over the last two years, India’s Supreme Court has, for the most part, endorsed those recommendations.

Yet the BCCI has remained stubbornly reluctant to implement many of them, leading to stern rebukes from the judiciary.

That is just one of a number of battles currently being fought by the BCCI through the CoA. It is also battling to overturn the Central Information Commission’s decision to bring the BCCI within the scope of a “National Sports Federation” for the purposes of the Right to Information Act 2005, which effectively makes the BCCI answerable to “freedom of information” style requests from the Indian public again, invoking the kind of transparency which appears to be the BCCI’s worst nightmare.

And to top it all off, the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, is facing sexual assault

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Gone: CA executives David Peever and Mark Taylor resigned in the wake of the Ethics Centre’s review into the organisation’s culture

allegations by an ex-colleague, but the CoA has refused to release to the public the results of an independent investigation into the allegations, asking the three-member panel to instead publish an “executive summary” for the BCCI’s website. The allegations have further divided the BCCI, with some sources suggesting the internal turmoil is higher than ever.

I

n corporate circles, culture often begins at the top, and filters down. Whether that is true in the world of cricket remains to be seen; however, this much is clear: transparency and accountability remain fundamental pillars of good governance. As CA and the BCCI continue their internal tussles, they risk alienating not just their players, but their most important stakeholders: their fans.

[The BCCI] is, perhaps, a perfect embodiment of the phrase “more money, more problems”

Guilty: If implemented, the Lodha Committee recommendations will go a long way towards stamping out corruption and influence of the kind carried out by Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra in 2013

NOVEMBER (2) 2018 15

COMMUNITY

Rx: A good dose of positivity Sydney orthopaedic surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis presents a star turn at AIMGA’s annual dinner BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

16 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

Photos: Evergreen Memories

W

alking Free. That’s the name of the book by Sydney surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis, who has successfully used osseointegration, an orthopaedic technique of implanting prosthetic limbs, to change the lives of thousands of people.

In the week when Sydney was hosting the Invictus Games, there could not have been a better keynote speaker at the Australian Indian Medical Graduates Association (AIMGA) annual dinner.

On that very day, Dr Al Muderis had seen his patients win gold and silver at various events, and had had breakfast with Prince Harry, who three years ago had enlisted his aid to help UK soldiers injured on duty.

Of course the title of his 2015 book refers also to his early life in Australia as a refugee, having been incarcerated in detention centres in WA as he fled a brutal regime in his native Iraq.

We’ve heard and read Al Muderis’ story a few times before, at the Sydney Writers Festival, in magazines, in a TEDx talk, on Anh Do’s ABC show Brush With Fame, to name a few. But his remarkable story - of escape from Iraq (after Saddam Hussein’s men ordered his hospital staff to cut off the ears of army deserters), paying people smugglers to get him to Australia on a leaky boat, and even further horrors in detention is worth listening to again and again.

One way to heal a wound, a doctor might recommend, is to keep it exposed.

In its most recent telling at AIMGA, the gasps were heard yet again as he retold his tale, and so was the applause.

It is a tale Al Muderis recounts with brutal honesty – albeit with self-deprecating humour to lighten the intensity. He succeeds each time in leaving his audience

in complete and utter awe, for a boy who watched The Terminator and dreamt of “creating a half-man-half-robot”; for a detainee stripped of his identity and told

by Phillip Ruddock, “You’ll never be able to prove your credentials as a doctor”; for a medical trainee who silently bore the bullying taunts of his batchmates; for an orthopaedic surgeon who realised his childhood dream and took his craft all over the world; for a successful professional who is today feted by princes and presidents.

AIMGA under the leadership of Dr Sunil Vyas has had some memorable orations in recent years. (As he finishes his tenure as president shortly, it is hoped that the tradition that he has established continues on to greater heights.)

The association of Indian-origin doctors (no longer restricted to ‘Indian graduates’ alone) was founded 37 years ago. It undertakes professional, cultural and philanthropic activities. In recent years it has raised its profile to communitybased activities such as health checks at community fairs, and perhaps more significantly, advocacy for members,

especially against the draconian registration rules for overseas trained doctors.

“AIMGA includes medical practitioners who cover a wide spectrum of specialities and who serve in both the community and hospital sectors of healthcare,” Dr Vyas described. “Our membership includes distinguished medical practitioners recognised at both state and national levels for their contributions to medicine and society.”

Medical professionals in other communities have banded in a similar fashion - Dr Al Muderis revealed he was due to address the Iraqi doctors’ association shortly, and the President of the Australian Medical Association (NSW) Dr KeanSeng Lim, also a guest on the occasion, mentioned there is an association of Chinese-origin doctors as well.

Of course in recent months, doctors have been hugely visible with their political pronouncements, such as with the refugees on Nauru and Manus Island. Indeed, at the AIMGA event Dr Al Muderis himself made an impassioned plea for the children to be removed from detention (although

there were murmurings in the audience that he should have extended this to all inmates and not kids alone). The advent of Dr Kerryn Phelps, former AMA head, into the political arena as an Independent representing the high-profile Wentworth seat, and the subsequent announcement of another former AMA head Dr Brian Owler as a Labor candidate for Bennelong, must be cause for cheer among the medical fraternity as they leap from advocacy into decision-making roles.

The current political turmoil did not go unnoticed at AIMGA either: in his concluding remarks Dr Al Muderis made three observations. One, that doctors must strive to channel their expertise towards people that need it most; two, that our politicians must stop bickering and get back to working for the people, and three, that it is high time we looked beyond our ethnic differences and treated each other with respect and love.

Rather telling that he chose to end his moving presentation - of a life filled with incredible highs and the lowest of lows with that particular four-letter word.

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BY PAWAN LUTHRA

J

awan. It is a word that means youth. It also means soldier conjuring up an image of an upright, strong, silent fighter in

Jai ANZAC Jawan

A Sydney memorial to Indian ANZACs brings pride to the community, as well as some criticism 18 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

the army.

In recent days, the term has been used in Sydney’s Indian community in both its connotations, in remembrance of those brave youths who served their adopted home in World War 1 as part of the Australian Imperial Army.

On the eve of the centenary of the Armistice, a memorial was dedicated to these Indian-origin soldiers, the first of its kind in Sydney.

On a sunny spring morning, over 200 people from the Indian-Australian community, the local RSL and Hornsby community gathered in suburban Cherrybrook to mark this special occasion.

A simple but solemn ceremony with many Indian ex-servicemen resplendent in their uniforms and shining medals pinned proudly on their chest, it brought home the point of the sacrifices these men and women make to give both their countries, Australia and India, the privilege of being free.

The initiative taken by the Hindu Council of Australia led by its President Prakash Mehta in creating this landmark in NSW needs to be commended. It gives the Indian-Australian community a special place to gather to celebrate peace, be it India’s Independence Day, ANZAC Day or even Armistice Day when the guns fell silent at the end of World War 1 which left up to 13 million dead.

Speaking at the remembrance service and the unveiling of the cenotaph, the Federal Member for Berowra Julian Leeser summed up the importance of this milestone when he said that the ANZAC Jawan memorial will remind all Australians that the Indian community is not a new community but has been here a long time, and has made contributions to Australia in war and peace. He added, “It will be a reminder that Australia and India have marched together in the past to defend freedom in times of war and we will march together in the future to defend our freedoms.”

On the cenotaph itself, the Ashok chakra is prominent in its nod to an Indian heritage. Above it, the logo of the Australian Army, reminding us in this instance, of the ‘surya’ or the rising sun. The reference to both janmabhoomi (birth place) and karmabhoomi (adopted country), could not be clearer.

Rajeev Maini, the architect of the cenotaph and consulting engineer Vijay Badhwar, both had a unique concept for the design. Maini explained the cenotaph in detail, “The stone plinth represents the high esteem we have for our brave soldiers.

The vertical stone represents our soldiers standing tall and firm in defending the nation. And the missing piece represents the lives cut short, the extreme sacrifice given by the soldiers. The floral decoration at the bottom of the tall stone is our offering of gratitude to the soldiers. A total of 12 flowers carved around the base represent the 12 brave souls. This number is also represented by the 12 plants planted around the memorial. Granite was chosen

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SPECIAL FEATURE

as a material for the memorial to represent their inner strength, commitment and valour, and Indian granite was chosen to represent a connection with their place of origin.”

However the names of the 12 soldiers who have honoured on the cenotaph Davy Singh, Desanda Singh, Ganessa Singh, Gurbachan Singh, Hazara Singh, Johar Singh, Juwan Singh, Linna Singh, Nain Singh Sailani, Nundah Singh, Saran Singh and Sirdar Singh have raised some controversy.

Len Kenna and Crystal Jordon from the Australian Indian Historical Society Inc have been researching the Indian contribution to ANZAC since 1985. They have raised their concerns to the Hindu Council about the 12 names that have been honoured in the cenotaph.

Their opinion is that the names have not been thoroughly researched. “Of the names etched on the cenotaph there are four names of men who were either discharged or rejected a few days or weeks after enlistment, and did not

NATIONAL EDITION

embark for overseas duty with the Anzacs,” Jordan asserted. “They were Juwan Singh, Nundah Singh, Linna Singh and Johar Singh. The list does not include any Muslim names, despite the fact a number of Muslim Indians did enlist, including the famous Cass Mahomet, the ‘Indian Digger’ and Charles Khan, who received a Meritorious Medal at Gallipoli, nor does it include Anglo-Indian names. Several Anglo-Indians did enlist in the A.I.F. including Major General William Birdwood and Charles Henry Fairbeard, to name two, who were born in Kirkee, India.”

In fact, it would have been better not to include any names at all, Jordan suggested.

When these issues were raised with HCA President Prakash Mehta, he clarified that the names were not only taken from an SBS article by well-known award-winning journalist Manpreet Singh, but were also confirmed with research centre in the service records of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

“These names were then given to the Department of Veterans Affairs and local RSL club; no issue or concern was raised by either of them for these names,” he told Indian Link. “This cenotaph is dedicated to all servicemen of Indian origin including these named servicemen as per Anzac archives.

The Indian-Australian community now has its own special place to gather to celebrate peace, be it India’s Independence Day, ANZAC Day or even Armistice Day

All of these persons enlisted for Anzac during World War I period and that was the criteria for selection. Some of them might have been discharged but that does not take away their intent to serve Australia. It was all about the contribution of servicemen of Indian origin in Australia, by enlisting at the time of need during World War 1. An honest efforts has been made to recognise the services of these people on Remembrance Day of Armistice centenary.”

While there may be different views on the names etched in the cenotaph, what needs to be kept in focus is the creation of this landmark which is a watershed moment for the Indian Australian community in Australia.

With the local community reaching almost 700,000 in numbers and a political debate on immigration and immigration numbers, an ANZAC Jawan cenotaph can only bring the Indian community closer to the mainstream.

The Hindu Council under Prakash Mehta, Bhagwat Chauhan, Ashwani Jain, Ashwani Sharma, Pravin Amin, Rajiv Jain and Praveen Gupta need to be acknowledged for their efforts and work in this landmark monument.

NOVEMBER (2) 2018 19

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WHAT’S ON COMMUNITY Tech Savvy Seniors 2019 The Tech Savvy Seniors program provides free or low cost training through a network of community colleges and libraries across NSW to use technology such as computers, tablets and smart phones. Courses are now available in Bengali as well.

For details www.telstra.com.au/techsavvy-seniors.

Art exhibition Sun 25 Nov (11.00am – 6.00pm) A free art exhibition hosted by KJ’s Brush n Canvas Art School at The Ponds Community Hub, 45 Riverbank Dr, The Ponds. Details 0433 473 073.

Pop-up dinner Indian menu Tue 27 Nov (7.00pm – 10.00pm) An event where friends & strangers come together to share a degustation meal. Hear interesting stories, try new food and walk away having made new friends. At One Table Sydney, 1-5 Russell Street, Wollstonecraft.

Details 0403 656 626.

Desi Aussie picnic Sat 15 Dec (11.00am onwards) Desi Aussie Socializer is bringing DAS to the Little India precincts in Parramatta. This one is going to be a day picnic with families. At James Ruse Water Park, Cnr Harris & Parkes Streets, Parramatta.

Photography workshop Sun 23 Dec (6.00am onwards) This class by Smita Nashikkar is perfect for someone who wants to broaden their understanding in the basics of outdoors natural light portrait photography. At Nurragingy Reserve, Knox Rd, Doonside.

Details 0433 565 633.

SCG Bay of Tendulkar Sat 12 Jan (1.00pm – 10.00pm) Claim your FREE Tendulkar wig and cut-out by joining us at the SCG’s Bay of Tendulkar this summer. To unlock the secret password to access the Bay of Tendulkar tickets from Ticketek, just email us at myindigocrew@gmail.com or send us a Facebook message with your email address. At Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Driver Ave, Moore Park, Paddington. For details email myindigocrew@gmail.com.

Kite flying Sun 13 Jan (9.00am – 7.00pm) Celebrate the biggest kite flying festival of 2019 with unlimited entertainment, food and fun. At Castle Hill Show, Castle Hill Showground, Castle Hill. Details 0430 044 255.

Kite flying Sun 13 Jan (9.00am – 6.00pm) Head to the kite flying festival at Holroyd Gardens to fly kites, enjoy traditional Indian street food and drinks. Plus a live DJ and other fun activities like henna stall, face painting and a jumping castle. At Pitt St & Walpole St, Merrylands. Details 0413 712 453.

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Indian Jungle Dance Safari Mon 14 Jan (10:30am) Through story-telling, fun facts and firsthand experience, Shyamla Eswaran teaches students how to move and act like Indian animals in the wild. The workshop encourages self-expression and teaches children the importance of maintaining the natural habitats of these wild creatures. At Concord Library, City of Canada Bay Libraries, 60 Flavelle St, Concord.

Details 02 9911 348.

STAGE Qissebaazi Sat 8 Dec (7.00pm – 9.00pm) Nautanki Theatre Company presents Qissebaazi, or the playful telling of stories. Nautanki Theatre Company and Macquarie University will also run a workshop and film screening followed by a Q & A session with Danish Hussain on Friday 7th December 2018. At T1 Theatre, Building Y3A, Macquarie University, 10 Hadenfeld Ave, Macquarie Park.

Details 0432 832 311.

Summer Samadhi Sat 1 Dec (6.00pm – 9.00pm) An evening of blissful music, mantra and kirtan with world-renowned duo IndiaJiva and acclaimed singer/ songwriter Premananda. At Bamboo Buddha Café, 221 Wattle Tree Road, Holgate. Details 02 4365 5810.

Guards At The Taj Sun 9 Dec (5.30pm onwards) Guards at the Taj, a dark comedy in English written by Pulitzer nominee Rajiv Joseph and directed by Jyotsna Sharma. At Monkey Baa Theatre Company, Terrace 3, 1-25 Harbour St, Sydney. Details 0401 230 046.

Kuchipudi Natyam Sun 2 Dec (4.30pm - 7.00pm) The Shakthi School of Indian Dance presents a Kuchipudi performance followed by dinner. At Redgum Function Centre, 2 Lane Street, Wentworthville.

Details 0403 394 113.

SPIRITUAL Yatra Nankana Sahib Wed 21 Nov – Fri 30 Nov Australian Sangat Nankana Sahib Charitable Org presents Yatra Nankana Sahib tour Australia to Pakistan. A fully insured tour including return fair, accommodation and transport. Details 0451 485 661.

Meditation Sat 24 Nov (11.30am – 1.30pm) Learn how to use the science and power of breath to slip into a meditative state of mind through this intro workshop. At 608/91D Bridge Rd, Westmead. Details 0435 615 604.

Sant Nirankari Mission Sydney Weekly congregations held every Sunday 5:30pm to 7:30pm followed by community meals. Venue: Sant Nirankari Bhawan, 166 Glendenning Road, Glendenning. Details Devinder 0403 216 084.

Free Yoga with Divine Life Society (Tuesdays 7pm) Swami Uditramanandaji of The Divine Life Society of Australia offers free Yoga classes every Tuesday from 7.00pm8.15pm at Strathfield Girls High School.

All levels of fitness welcomed. Entrance via Oxford Rd. Details Karo 0413 535 157.

Lunch-time meditation session Thu 28 Nov (12.15pm – 1.00pm) Sit back, relax and be guided through a mind-body relaxation. At Indian Cultural Center, level 2, 265 Castlereagh Street.

Details 02 9223 2702.

ENTERTAINMENT Ghoomar night Sat 24 Nov (6.30pm onwards) DJ, dance performances, exciting prizes and delicious food at Ghoomar night. At 96A, Railway St, Rockdale.

Details 0452 494 254.

Bollywood Cruise Party Sat 1 Dec (1.00pm – 4.30pm) Summer Daze, a Bollywood Cruise Party with music, live DJs, food and drinks. Only 18 and over. At King Street Wharf 9 Harbour Street Sydney. Details 0412 739 020.

Pankaj Udhas Live Fri 23 Nov (8.30pm onwards) India’s most popular Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas is performing in Sydney. At 9 High St, Kensington. Details 0417 244 724.

Ammy Virk Live Sat 1 Dec (7.00pm onwards) Ammy Virk live in concert at Whitlam Leisure Centre, 90A Memorial Ave, Liverpool.

Details 0452 337 387.

Karaoke and dance party Sat 1 Dec (7.30pm) An awesome night of entertainment that will feature performances from mixed artists, live DJ, food and drinks and more. At Parklands Function Centre, 456 Smithfield Rd, Prairiewood.

Parmish Verma Live Fri 28 Dec (10.00pm – 3.30am) Watch Parmish Verma perform live at Home Bar Darling Harbour Sydney.

Details 0402 931 000.

Jazib Khan live Sat 24 Nov (7.00pm – 11.00pm) Watch Jazib Khan perform live (English, Arabic, Hindi and Punjabi songs). At Bonnyrigg Sports Club, 610/618 Elizabeth Dr, Bonnyrigg.

Details 0426 502 515.

Game Changers Groove to Dr Zeus and Zora Randhawa at Game Changers live performance at Ivy Den and Lounge, 33o George Street, Sydney.

Details 0481 813 013.

NYE Ball Mon 31 Dec (8.00pm – 1.00am) Celebrate New Year with family and loved ones at the NYE Royal Ball Welcome 2019 with a ‘masquerade’ theme. At Parra Villa Function Lounge 42 Campbell Street Parramatta.

Details 0421 259 078.

New Year Mon 31 Dec (7.00pm – 1.00am) Enjoy New Year’s with your family and loved ones at 2019 New Year’s Eve. At Dezire Function Centre, Blacktown.

Details 0430 042 041.

YOGA Free Yoga with Divine Life Society (Tuesdays 7pm) Swami Uditramanandaji of The Divine Life Society of Australia offers free Yoga classes every Tuesday from 7.00pm8.15pm at Strathfield Girls High School. All levels of fitness welcomed.

Entrance via Oxford Rd. Details Karo 0413 535 157.

Yoga: The way of life (Saturdays 8am; Wednesdays 7pm) 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 spiritofindia2002@yahoo.com, visit www.spiritofindia.org.au or contact Suresh 0412 202 182

FUNDRAISER Vision Rescue Fundraiser Sat 24 Nov (6.00pm – 9.00pm) Join us for a memorable night with dinner and a glimpse into Vision Rescue’s impacting work in the slums of Mumbai, India. Proceeds from this night will go to supporting Vision Rescue in educating and empowering the children of the slums of Mumbai.

At BaptistCare Aminya Retirement Village, 6 Goolgung Avenue, #1, Baulkham Hills.

Details 02 8853 5353.

MISCELLANEOUS Launch of Emerging Leaders Thu 29 Nov (6.00pm – 9.00pm) India Australia Leadership Organisation invites you to the launch of their flagship program Emerging Leaders at Suncorp Discovery Centre, 197 Pitt Street Mall, Sydney. Details 0451 507 606.

Film screening Tue 8 Jan (2.00pm – 4.00pm) Enjoy a free screening of a themed movie at Leichhardt Library. This month›s screening is Victoria & Abdul, Stephen Frears› film about Queen Victoria›s unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk. At Leichhardt Library, 23 Norton Street, Leichhardt.

Details 9392 5966.

To add your event email media@indianlink.com.au

NOVEMBER (2) 2018 21

INDIAN NEWS Mahindra Electric’s battery operated e20plus cars stand parked in rows at the company’s manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Bangalore, India, on 15 Nov, 2018.

Mahindra Electric, a part of the US$ 20.7 billion Mahindra Group, inaugurated the company’s new Electric Technology Manufacturing Hub this month. Photo: AP

AIIMS launches research project on air pollution’s impact on health

19 strategic roads, 29 buildings to come up on Chinese front in Arunachal, Sikkim

India will go ahead with the construction of much-required strategic roads and permanent integrated buildings along the Indo-China border in Arunanchal Pradesh and Sikkim as part of a critical infrastructure project worth Rs 25,000 crore.

The crucial decision, approved by the High Level Empowered Committee (HLEC) headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, is slated to be taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) shortly, along with other border-related projects in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.

The decision to fast-track the construction of roads and other critical infrastructure on the Chinese border assumes significance as it is happening at a time when India is looking to fend off the dragon’s threat on its northeastern border.

The final blueprint envisages construction of 19 roads, 29 permanent integrated buildings and other critical infrastructure along the Indo-China border in Arunachal and Sikkim.

The critical infrastructure will come up in a mountainous and rugged terrain, a challenging task for the executing agency.

The job also involves construction of two-metre wide roads, sources in the government said.

Some issues involving forest and wildlife clearance and land acquisition have been resolved now and project will soon be executed at a faster pace, the sources added.

Besides, the executing agency will also take up fencing and road construction work along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.

There will also be 18 coastal border outposts in Gujarat to strengthen the vigil along the coastline.

Air pollution cuts average Indian’s life expectancy by over 4 years: Study India is the world’s second most polluted country, slightly trailing only Nepal, the

22 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) said this month.

Particulate pollution is so severe that it shortens the average Indian’s life expectancy by more than four years relative to what it would be if World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines were met.

This is up from about two years in the late 1990s due to a 69 percent increase in particulate pollution, it said.

Concentrations in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi are substantially higher, and the impact on life expectancy exceeds six years.

Its new air pollution index, known as the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), finds that air pollution reduces global life expectancy by nearly two years, making it the single greatest threat to human health.

For an average resident of Delhi, AQLI estimates that a gain in life expectancy if the WHO guidelines are met, could be up to 10.2 years.

Likewise, it gives numbers of years lost to pollution for every district of India for a span of 18 years between 1998 and 2016.

What makes AQLI unique is that it converts pollution into perhaps the most important metric that exists - life expectancy.

It does so at a hyper-local level throughout the world.

Further, it illustrates how air pollution policies can increase life expectancy when they meet the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guideline, existing national air quality standards, or user-defined air quality levels.

This information helps informing local communities and policymakers about the importance of air pollution policies in very concrete terms.

Loss of life expectancy is highest in Asia, exceeding six years in many parts of India and China; some residents of the US still lose up to a year of life from pollution.

Fossil fuel-driven particulate air pollution cuts global average life expectancy by 1.8 years per person, according to the pollution index and accompanying report produced by the EPIC. “Around the world today, people are breathing air that represents a serious

risk to their health. But the way this risk is communicated is very often opaque and confusing, translating air pollution concentrations into colours, like red, brown, orange and green. What those colours mean for people’s wellbeing has always been unclear,” Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Professor in Economics and Director of the EPIC, said.

The AQLI is based on a pair of peerreviewed studies co-authored by Greenstone that quantify the causal relationship between long-term human exposure to particulate pollution and life expectancy.

The results from these studies are then combined with hyper-localised, global particulate matter measurements, yielding unprecedented insight into the true cost of air pollution in communities around the world.

Seventy-five per cent of the global population, or 5.5 billion people, live in areas where particulate pollution exceeds the WHO guideline.

The AQLI reveals that India and China, which make up 36 per cent of the world’s population, account for 73 per cent of all years of life lost due to particulate pollution.

On average, people in India would live 4.3 years longer if their country met the WHO guideline, expanding the average life expectancy at birth there from 69 to 73 years.

By comparison, first-hand cigarette smoke leads to a reduction in global average life expectancy of about 1.6 years.

Other risks to human health have even smaller effects: alcohol and drugs reduce life expectancy by 11 months; unsafe water and sanitation take off seven months; and HIV/ AIDS four months.

Conflict and terrorism take off 22 days.

So, the impact of particulate pollution on life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, twice that of alcohol and drug use, three times that of unsafe water, five times that of HIV/AIDS, and more than 25 times that of conflict and terrorism.

People can stop smoking and take steps to protect themselves from diseases, but there is little they can individually do to protect themselves from the air they breathe.

As the National Capital Region (NCR) battles poor air quality during winter, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has started a research project to study the effects of air pollution on public health.

“Delhi’s air quality deteriorates every year during Diwali owing to multiple reasons like stubble burning and bursting of crackers.

However, last year, when the air pollution level escalated, we noticed a surge in patients visiting AIIMS,” Dr Karan Madan, Associate Professor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep Disorders, AIIMS, who is part of this research program, told IANS. So the country’s premier medical research and referral hospital decided to conduct empirical research on the impact of air pollution on health.

For the study, titled “DAPHNE” (Delhi Air Pollution Health And Effects), researchers have developed an air pollution sensor technology.

“The device has been developed in a belt format which is very light and it gives clear continuous pollution data. The belt can be wrapped around the waist or on the arms,” Madan said.

He explained that the device is wireless and directly sends data to a monitoring system through a Global Positioning System (GPS). AIIMS is primarily focusing on children suffering from pulmonary diseases like asthma, bronchitis and other breathing troubles - as well as pregnant women.

The device, which is to be worn by children suffering from asthma or bronchitis, will give an idea of the exposure level of air pollution when one is travelling in the school bus, at home, when in school, or outdoors while playing.

“On pregnant women, we are trying to see how pollution might affect the unborn child.

We are also trying to figure out the birth rate issue from this study owing to poor air quality,” Madan noted.

Funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, and Medical Research Council, Britain, the project is a collaborative effort of the two nations.

In India, apart from AIIMS, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, IIT Delhi and GTB Hospital are also associated with the research.

“While the data on asthma in children will be compiled at AIIMS, GTB Hospital will be following the cases of pregnant women,” Madan said.

The research process, initiated last year, began on a pilot basis two months ago. Dr Madan stated that around 10 children have been given this belt across Delhi NCR. “So far, the project is going good and the readings have come accurate. The study will conclude next year and the report will be released,” he added.

Talking about the rise in health hazards among residents in the National Capital Region and its surrounding areas, Madan

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Bird watchers gather at Nagaland’s Doyang reservoir to welcome Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis). The birds breed in southeast Russia and northern China, and stop by in northeast India to roost for two months, enroute to eastern Africa for the winter. Round trip - 22,000 km annually. Photo: AP

said that AIIMS has witnessed an increase of 15-20 per cent in the number of patients with cases of respiratory problems like coughing, heavy breathing, asthma symptoms, and burning sensation in throat and nose.

Smart homes of the future could adjust to your needs

Soumyajit Mandal of Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, US, is working on a technology that could make homes of the future adjust to your activity without the need for invasive cameras.

Such as when you leave a room, sensors hidden in the walls or floors will be able to automatically detect that the room is empty, and switch off the lights.

This system would read not only the vibrations, sounds - even the specific gait, or other movements - associated with people and animals in a building, but also any subtle changes in the existing ambient electrical field.

“There is actually a constant 60 Hz electrical field all around us, and because people are somewhat conductive, they short out the field just a little,” said Soumyajit Mandal, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

“So, by measuring the disturbance in that field, we are able to determine their presence, or even their breathing, even when there are no vibrations associated with sound,” he explained.

His team of researchers call the new system the “Internet of Ears.”

“We are trying to make a building that is able to ‘listen’ to the humans inside,” said Ming-Chun Huang, Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the same university.

“We are using principles similar to those of the human ear, where vibrations are picked up and our algorithms decipher them to determine your specific movements.

That’s why we call it the ‘Internet of Ears.’”

While Huang is leading the research related to human gait and motion tracking, Mandal focuses on vibration sensing and changes in the existing electrical field caused by the presence of humans or even pets.

Huang and Mandal published details of their research in October at the IEEE Sensors conference in New Delhi. A longer version of their results will appear in the journal IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement early next year, according to a statement from the Case Western Reserve University.

The researchers have tested the technology in conference rooms in the electrical engineering department on campus and in the Smart Living Lab at Ohio Living Breckenridge Village, a seniorliving community in Willoughby, Ohio.

Mandal said they had used as few as four small sensors in the walls and floor of a room.

As for privacy concerns, Mandal said the system would not be able to identify individuals, although it could be calibrated to recognise the different gaits of people.

While still a decade or so away, the

NATIONAL EDITION

system could provide many benefits.

“The first advantage will be energy efficiency for buildings, especially in lighting and heating, as the systems adjust to how humans are moving from one room to another, allocating energy more efficiently,” Huang said.

Another benefit could be the ability to track and measure a building’s structural integrity and safety, based on human occupancy - which would be critical in an earthquake or hurricanes, Huang said.

Trump names IndianAmerican woman to prestigious judgeship

US President Donald Trump has announced that he is nominating an Indian-American woman, Neomi Rao, to the senior judgeship that was vacated by Brett Kavanaugh when he was elevated to the Supreme Court.

Flanked by a phalanx of about 20 top IndianAmerican officials in his administration, Trump said at the annual White House Diwali celebrations that Rao was his pick for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals judgeship.

She is a “great person” who “is going to be fantastic”, he said.

Considered the most important court below the Supreme Court, serving on it is considered to open a path to the nation’s top court as four of the nine current justices had risen from its bench.

Of the 13 courts of appeal, the one in the District of Columbia is regarded as the most important as it is based in the nation’s capital and weighty federal litigation ends up before it.

Another Indian-American, Sri Srinivasan, who was on former President Barack Obama’s shortlist for the Supreme Court, is also on the DC court of appeals.

A conservative former law professor, Rao, 45, heads the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the President’s executive office which reviews government regulations and oversees collection of information by government and privacy policy.

The Senate will have to approve her appointment.

As a woman and a minority, her appointment carries a lot of symbolism after the messy elevation of Kavanaugh to the

Supreme Court after at least two women accused him of sex abuse.

Although the Senate approved his appointment to the Supreme Court with a vote mostly along party lines, Trump faced strong criticism for nominating him and protests were held around the nation because of the allegations.

During the approval process, the Senate heard graphic testimony from a woman who said that he had abused her while they were high school students more than 35 years ago.

For Trump, who has been accused of being personally abusive towards women and of insensitivity to them and to minorities, Rao’s nomination could ensure smoother sailing for his nominee in the Senate, although as a conservative she will face an ideological inquisition at the hands of the Democrats.

Rao comes from a Parsi family and her parents, both doctors, migrated from India.

A graduate of Yale University, she received her law degree from Chicago University and went on to be a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

She has worked as a lawyer in former President George W. Bush’s White House and with the Senate judicial committee before becoming a professor at George Mason University.

Trump praised the Indian-Americans in his administration, saying, “I’m grateful to have numerous Americans of Indian and Southeast Asian heritage who fulfil critical roles across my administration. And they’ve done an incredible job.”

About 20 Indian-Americans holding senior positions in Trump’s administration surrounded him at the celebration.

But the senior-most of them, UN Permanent Representative Nikki Haley, who is a member of his Cabinet, was not there.

Haley, who has announced she would be leaving her office at the end of the year, was in New York speaking at a Security Council session on the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Trump proudly introduced several of the officials with individual remarks praising them.

When he called up Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, Trump joked about a decision he had made against the merger of two broadcasting companies, which the President had favoured.

Big B pays off UP farmers’ loans

After Maharashtra, megastar Amitabh Bachchan will pay off the loans of farmers in Uttar Pradesh and will personally meet some of them to give them their bank letters.

He will arrange for 70 farmers to travel to Mumbai and receive their bank letters, his spokesperson has said.

The superstar will be taking care of 1,398 farmer loans from Uttar Pradesh amounting to over Rs 4.05 crore.

Amitabh has done an ‘OTS: One Time Settlement with Bank Of India’ and cleared the farmer’s loans with the bank. He has also invited 70 farmers to Mumbai by blocking an entire train compartment for their travel, to personally give them their bank letters on November 26.

The farmers will receive their bank letters from the megastar at his office in Mumbai.

Earlier this year, Bachchan had helped over 350 farmers by paying off their debts and also helped the families of around 44 martyrs of Maharashtra.

Amitabh and his wife Jaya handed over the amount to the farmers and the families of army martyrs privately in Mumbai a few months ago.

India revokes NRI men’s passports over marital discord

The Indian government has revoked the passports of 25 men living abroad, for abandoning their spouses in India.

Of these, eight were recommended by the Ministry while the rest involved cases where the state police sought the action.

In some cases the police also has the authority to issue Look-Out-Circulars (LoC).

In criminal matters involving NRIs, the LoC can be issued by the investigating agency in cognisable offences when the husband from overseas is deliberately evading arrest.

It could also be that he is not appearing in the trial court despite non-bailable warrants and other coercive measures or that there is likelihood that he will leave the country to evade trial or arrest.

IANS

NOVEMBER (2) 2018 23

DIWALI

Blacktown does Shamila and Vishal Sadhu’s home wins top prize in Blacktown City Council’s Diwali Lights Competition

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

D

ays after the Blacktown Diwali Lights Competition ended, passers-by continued to stop at the gate of the Sadhu family home in Bungarribee’s Steeltrap Drive, and cars slowed down on the street in awe.

They were taking in the magnificent display of lights - at one of the most beautiful homes in the street.

For Shamila and Vishal Sadhu, it’s been Diwali as usual this time round, but with one special highlight: they’ve brought home the top prize in the Diwali Lights Competition organised by the Blacktown City Council, and the cash prize that goes with it.

Their lighting design had it all – the Om symbol, diyas, swastiks, peacocks, Ganesh, even a kalash, all in shimmering electric lights. Fairy lights and cascading lights made up the essential ‘rows of lamps’ that are so typical of this ancient tradition.

24 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

Every bit of the house was adorned with illumination – the walls and the columns, the roof and the gate, even the lawn, with fairy lights snaking tastefully all the way to the backyard.

“Isn’t that the essence of Diwali – that the entire house must be lit up,” Shamila Sadhu said to Indian Link.

Describing the installation process, she revealed, “It was more than two weeks in planning and execution. And so we were very glad when we heard the news. Our hard work had paid off!”

A medico by background, she drew up the plans on paper with mechanic husband Vishal.

“Of course the plans went through

many changes as some of our ideas did not work,” she laughed, and credited Vishal for his ingenious ideas and meticulous way of operating.

Essential to both Shamila and Vishal, was that their kids be part of it all.

Vardhaan (10), Vrinda (9) and Vivaan (8) were involved from the outset.

“The boys even got on the roof with dad!”

The Sadhus’ own childhood in Fiji was filled with happy participation in the rituals not just for Diwali but all festivals, and they are passing on the same fervour to their kids.

“We are now planning our Christmas lights as a family,” Shamila said.

“We are now planning our Christmas lights. Blacktown Council organises a similar Christmas Lights competition annually, and last year our decorations won the Encouragement Award.” Shamila Sadhu

“Blacktown Council organises a similar Christmas Lights competition annually, and last year our decorations won the Encouragement Award.”

This is the second year the Council has held a Diwali Lights Competition, and some 29 homes registered to participate.

Judges, including Councillors Moninder Singh and Susai Benjamin, Council staff and representatives from Indian Link Media Group as sponsoring authority, looked for elements of Diwali in the designs, as well as effort and creativity.

Stephen Bali, Blacktown City Mayor said, “This is one of the many ways we celebrate Blacktown’s rich diversity.”

As the contest kicked off in late October, he had urged everyone to celebrate, not just those of Indian descent, and light up their homes in the spirit of Diwali. “I encourage everyone to get involved in Diwali, whether that is by placing lights around their own homes or simply by admiring the beautiful lights twinkling in their neighbourhood.”

Many of us in the Indian community might remember driving around our suburbs in December to see the homes dressed up in Christmas lights, and wishing people would do the same at Diwali.

That dream has now come true.

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Diwali

Results: Blacktown City’s Diwali Lights Competition Overall City Winner Shamila Sadhu, 72 Steeltrap Drive, BUNGARRIBEE 2nd Place Jitendra Singh, 101 James Cook Drive, KINGS LANGLEY 3rd Place Sylesh Charan, 2 Dumul Close, HEBERSHAM

Ward Winners Ward 1 Kusum Mehla, 148 Sentry Drive, PARKLEA Ward 2 Jitendra Singh, 101 James Cook Drive, KINGS LANGLEY Ward 3 Shyam Sadarangani, 48 Dan Avenue, BLACKTOWN Ward 4 Shamila Sadhu, 72 Steeltrap Drive, BUNGARRIBEE Ward 5 Sylesh Charan, 2 Dumul Close, HEBERSHAM

NATIONAL EDITION

NOVEMBER (2) 2018 25

BOOKS

The Indian effort in WWI C. UDAY BHASKAR reviews a new book that traces the footsteps of the Indian Army’s 1.5 million men who fought for the Allies in 1914-18

W

orld War I was a long and brutal military confrontation between the major powers of the early 20th century, fought across the trenches of Europe and in large swathes of Asia and Africa, resulting in the death of millions of hapless soldiers who became unwitting pawns in the great global “game”.

The four-year-long war that led to as many as 20 million dead and an equal number wounded ended on November 11, 1918, when an armistice was signed and a defeated Germany was compelled to accept closure. Over the last decade, there has been a spurt of interest among historians about the Great War; and the Indian contribution which remained relatively obscured has been brought back into focus. Undivided India, then a colony of the British Empire, contributed 1.5 million soldiers and non-combatants to this war and they served with distinction in all the major theatres. It is estimated that as many as 74,000 of them died in that war.

George Morton-Jack’s book The Indian Empire At War (Little, Brown, 2018) is among the more recent additions to this slim corpus on the Indian effort in the Great War and is both comprehensive and distinctive. The author points out, “This book is the first single narrative of it on all fronts, a global epic not only of the Indians’ part in the Allied victory over the Central Powers, but also of soldiers’ personal discoveries on their four-year odyssey.”

Neatly divided into six major chapters, the book provides the political context, beginning with the Delhi Durbar of 1911, in a lucid introductory chapter and the manner in which Herbert Asquith, then “Britain’s brandy-loving Prime Minister”, declared in Parliament on August 6, 1914: “We are unsheathing our sword in a just cause.”

But when they were swiftly recruited from different parts of British India to be shipped (like lambs to the slaughter) to distant lands in Europe - for many of these young men it was their first foray outside of their villages and small townships - they understood little of the complex politics

about the War, intrigued about the “Jermuns”.

Morton-Jack writes “...the Indian ranks stoically suffered the Western Front’s rain and mud, cruelly catapulted by the fates into a war far from home that was never their own yet winning their fair share of VCs.” (As a contemporary aside, US President Donald Trump chose to avoid the rain and skip the centenary ceremony outside Paris on November 11, 2018.)

The VC (Victoria Cross) was awarded for the highest acts of gallantry in “the presence of the enemy” and this book empathetically records the incredible valour of the Indian “fauji” in the Great War. As the author recounts, in 1927, the Secretary of State at London’s India Office “favourably compared the Indian infantry in France to the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, ‘those whose valour was immortal’”.

However, this book is not only about the battlefield exploits of the Indian soldier but a multi-layered, rigorously researched and empathetically interpreted account of the Indian contribution to the Great War. The author’s objective of shining “a more filtered light on the Indian soldiers” is luminously met.

Pictures and maps embellish the value of this book and one of the more moving is that of an Indian cavalryman sharing his food with a local woman near Baghdad. Another is of a German officer standing over the body of a dead Indian soldier - posing for the “trophy” photograph.

Morton-Jack, to his credit, does not shy away from recording the cruel face of the colonial ruler and details the coercive methods used to recruit the reluctant tribal Indian. He notes that despite all the talk in London of “fighting the World War in defence of freedom”, the unfortunate experience of the Kuki (Assam) and Marri (Baluchistan) tribesmen - where hundreds were killed by British and Indian officers for resisting recruitment - “revealed that as colonial rulers the British had not changed their ugliest spots of colonial control from pre-1914 days”.

This is a splendid book and the author is to be commended for the manner in which he leavens the diligence of the researcher with the objectivity of the historian.

Despite talk in London of “fighting the World War in defence of freedom”, the unfortunate experience of the Kuki (Assam) and Marri (Baluchistan) tribesmen who were killed in hundreds for resisting recruitment - revealed that as colonial rulers the British had not changed their ugliest spots of colonial control from pre-1914 days.

26 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

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ANALYSIS

String of Pearls Redux: Increased Concern for India Background

It was reported that China and Myanmar signed an agreement on 8 November according to which China would construct a port at Kyaukphyu, a strategic city in Myanmar that lies on the Bay of Bengal coast. A Chinese consortium, led by the state-owned conglomerate, Citic Group, signed the framework agreement with the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone Management Committee to develop a deepwater port at the existing Kyaukphyu facility.

The multi-billion dollar project had stalled for years due to financing and other issues.

According to the report, China will fund 70 per cent of the investment for the project and Myanmar, 30 per cent. The initial phase of the project will include two berths with a total investment of US$1.3 billion ($1.8 billion), according to the agreement. A joint venture will be set up to construct and operate the port. The Chinese consortium first acquired the right to construct the

Key Points n

The so-called “String of Pearls” construct has been dismissed as a threat to India by Indian and other analysts alike.

n

China’s acquisition of Kyaukphyu Port in Myanmar after years of negotiation must now give those individuals some pause for thought.

n

China has, simultaneously, persuaded Thailand to revisit the idea of constructing a canal across the Isthmus of Kra that would connect the South China Sea to the Bay of Bengal.

n

If that were to eventuate, China would have immediate and virtually unfettered access to the Indian Ocean.

n

That would also complete the encirclement feared by India, giving New Delhi cause to reconsider its options and strategy.

28 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

If China’s two proposed initiatives in Thailand progress, they could have deep and far-reaching consequences for India because the so-called “String of Pearls” would completely encircle it, leaving it at a decided strategic disadvantage and negating it as a regional competitor to China. An analysis by LINDSAY HUGHES

port in December 2015 but that initiative was closed due to differences between the two countries regarding funding. China initially sought to invest 85 per cent of the estimated US$7 billion cost of constructing the port, which would have given it better terms in the agreement and a stronger say in the management and running of the port.

Increased scrutiny of China’s terms in the wake of Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port fiasco and Malaysia’s decision to reduce Chinese investment in some of its infrastructure projects led to the Kyaukphyu project being stalled.

Almost in sync with the developments surrounding Kyaukphyu, news was emerging that Thai Prime Minister, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, had ordered Thailand’s National Security Council to examine the feasibility of building a 120-kilometre canal across the Isthmus of Kra in the kingdom’s south.

That directive was issued a month after China’s ambassador to Thailand confirmed that the canal would be an integral part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. If it were to eventuate, the canal would enable Chinese warships to slash their journeys to the Indian Ocean by around 1,200 kilometres, give China full and almost unfettered access to the Andaman Sea, complete an encirclement of India, better project its power into the Indian Ocean and, consequently, place New Delhi under considerable pressure.

Analysis

Some analysts have dismissed the so-called “String of Pearls” as unworkable and selfconstraining, but many Indian analysts have kept a wary watch on China’s activities in the Indian Ocean for some time now. It would appear that the caution of the Indian observers was not without foundation.

China currently has acquired Indian Ocean footholds in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Djibouti. It is constrained, however, by its dependence on the Strait of Malacca, the same geographical feature that is controlled to a large extent by the United States Navy’s Seventh Fleet. That, coupled with the fact that over 80 per cent of China’s energy supplies from the Middle East and Africa pass through the Strait of Malacca, has given rise to China’s “Malacca Dilemma”. Little wonder, then, that China has long sought an alternative route for its energy imports from that part of the world.

It is in that context that China’s bid for a deep-water port at Kyaukphyu makes strategic sense for at least two reasons.

First, it remains unclear whether Bangkok

would actually construct a canal across the Kra Isthmus. Thailand remains relatively close to the United States. The two countries recognised each other in 1818 and established a diplomatic relationship by signing a Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1833, a treaty that was renewed in 1966.

Both countries were signatories of the 1954 Manila Pact of the former South-East Asia Treaty Organisation. Even though the organisation was dissolved in 1977, the Manila Pact remains in force and, together with the Thanat-Rusk communiqué of 1962 and the 2012 Joint Vision Statement for the Thai-US Defence Alliance, constitutes the basis of US security commitments to Thailand. In 2003, Washington designated Thailand a major non-NATO ally. It is unlikely that Bangkok would do anything that could damage that relationship.

That notwithstanding, former Second Army region commander, General Thawatchai Samutsakorn, who now serves as the Thai Canal Association’s Vice Chairman, told the Bangkok Post that the aim of his Association was ‘to demand the government set up a panel to conduct a feasibility study of the canal, which would be our first step’, adding, ‘If the canal project cannot be implemented under this government, there is no hope that it will be driven by a future elected government. When there are opposition parties involved, they are bound to oppose it without considering the benefits for the country and the people.’ He made his motivation explicit. ‘We would eventually be left standing in last place among ASEAN countries [without the Kra Canal project]’ but ‘If we make the Kra Canal, we can become an ASEAN leader.’

Second, even if Thailand were to construct a canal across the Kra Isthmus, that, by itself, would only be of partial assistance to China. What Beijing actually needs is to be able to control the canal, its access and to be able to have its naval vessels traverse it. It is one thing to have, say, Chinese submarines berth at a sea port like Hambantota or at Gwadar in Pakistan but quite another to have those same submarines travel through sovereign Thai territory. It would be, again, a major achievement if China could persuade Thailand to allow it to build and manage a deep-water port at the Andaman Sea point of entry to the canal.

It is for those reasons that Kyaukphyu assumes its importance to China. The deepwater port would enable Chinese tankers to dock and unload their energy cargoes, which would then be piped to Kunming in China,

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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during the 2nd Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit at the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related meetings in Singapore, 14 November 2018. (Photo: AP)

thus bypassing the Strait of Malacca.

China has been at pains to point out that its Belt-Road Initiative is predicated entirely on trade and commerce, hence its alternative title – the New Silk Road. It is undoubtedly true that trade and commerce will play a major role in that initiative. Equally true, however, is the fact that it can also be employed as a geopolitical instrument that is aimed at projecting Chinese power in the region and beyond. It is more than likely, therefore, that the strategists behind the initiative include those from the military, who attempt to determine how best China’s military could utilise the entire edifice to prevail in a future conflict in those regions through which the project traverses.

This reasoning would appear to explain why China has persisted in its efforts to initiate such major projects. The projects have not been as economically successful as any other investor would have wished them to be but they have been very successful in one regard: they have enabled Beijing to increase its regional influence while simultaneously restricting that of the US. It would also explain specifically China’s interest in pursuing the construction of a canal across the Kra Isthmus, no matter that the cost of constructing the canal would likely exceed any economic benefit derived from it. In any event, as an alternative route to the Indian Ocean, a Kra Canal would still take Chinese commercial freighters close to India, rendering them potentially vulnerable to action by the Indian Navy.

The construction of a port at Kyaukphyu and the Kra Canal must be viewed in the context of China’s efforts to project its influence in the East and South China seas.

Although the Belt-Road Initiative proceeds westwards, China’s primary goal is to bring East Asia and South-East Asia under its influence. The first step in accomplishing that goal is to “reunify” Taiwan with the mainland.

China has stated repeatedly that it will reunify Taiwan (read “bring Taiwan under the control of the Chinese Communist Party”) by the centennial anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic, i.e. by 2049, by force NATIONAL EDITION

if necessary. But consolidating Taiwan into China is not just a matter of national prestige; it has direct military ramifications for a country that seeks to be the regional hegemon.

As Chinese scholar Lin Zhibo is quoted as saying: Militarily, Taiwan is a potential which the USA could use in the western Pacific. The use of Taiwan could enable effective control of sea lines of communication between North-East Asia and South-East Asia and the Middle East. … Thus the USA sees Taiwan as “an unsinkable aircraft carrier”, giving it a maximum degree of control over China’s East and South Sea fleets.

It could be argued that nationalism presses the Chinese Communist Party to integrate Taiwan with the mainland. While true to a degree, it is equally arguable that it is the desire for hegemony that drives China to achieve that objective, with nationalism being the vehicle used in the process. That logic may also explain China’s pursuit of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. Beijing, as it does with Taiwan, situates the dispute in the realms of nationalism, sovereignty and its long-term access to the resources in the surrounding seabed. While those motivations may be true, a map demonstrates that control of those islands allows China the opportunity to outflank Taiwan, which may also explain Taiwan’s claim to them.

True to its “cabbage slicing” philosophy, China is hardly likely to use massive force to achieve its objectives in those seas. There is every possibility, however, that it will, in time and despite its current protestations to the contrary, seek to create military bases in the Indian Ocean, just as it has done in the South China Sea. Those bases, which were constructed since 2013, the same year that the Belt-Road Initiative was launched, and were increasingly militarised from 2015, now constitute some 3,200 acres of created land with runways on seven of the islands and naval- and air-support facilities on Fiery Cross, Mischief and Subi Reefs. That militarisation was undertaken despite Chinese President Xi’s promise at the White House not to do so. That promise will likely join his others

regarding the opening up of Chinese markets to foreign firms, better protection of foreign intellectual property rights and to desist from pursuing espionage activities that target Western countries.

Further exacerbating India’s cause for concern, two months ago, a little-known private Malagasy association, the Agence Malagasy de Développement Économique et de Promotion d’Entreprises, signed a tenyear, US$2.7 billion ($3.7 billion) fishing deal – the largest in the country’s history – with a group of Chinese companies that plans to send 330 fishing vessels to Madagascar. These fishing vessels are crewed by the same “little blue men” who were commandeered by the Chinese Coast Guard, which was placed, in turn, under the command of the Chinese Navy, to form flotillas in its operations against Japanese naval vessels in the vicinity of the Senkaku Islands and against Taiwan. China, it would appear, is about to employ the tactics that it used in the East and South China Seas in the Indian Ocean.

That issue, viewed in conjunction with the developments in Myanmar and Thailand, gives India reason to be concerned. New Delhi can no longer rely fully on Russia for assistance in the event that tensions rise between China and India since Moscow depends on Beijing to a large extent for its energy and military sales.

China, for its part, learned last year at Doklam that India would be willing to stand up to it.

That resistance, however, is not without its limitations. India faces several shortfalls in, for instance, ammunition for its soldiers and for its field artillery. Should air strikes be required, its front-line Sukhoi fighter aircraft have an availability rate of around 65 per cent.

Spare parts are difficult to obtain from Russia.

Moscow, moreover, relies on Beijing for the sale of its energy products and some military equipment. It would be unwilling to upset that market should fighting break out between India and China. India would probably have few options then but to turn to the US for political and, perhaps, military assistance by way of materiel.

It could be argued that China has already begun the process of attempting to place India

off-balance. In May this year, China initiated large-scale mining operations in Lhunze County in the area of Tibet that runs adjacent to Arunachal Pradesh in India, which is claimed by China as South Tibet, and where a huge trove of gold, silver and other precious minerals valued at around US$60 billion has been discovered. That discovery has led to huge infrastructure projects - roads, railways and electricity networks - being constructed, further setting India at a disadvantage. As the report notes: People familiar with the mining plan say the breakneck pace of development in Lhunze, a traditional military stronghold heavily garrisoned by the People’s Liberation Army, is part of a determined endeavour by Beijing to regain full control of South Tibet, or Arunachal Pradesh – currently an Indian state as large as Austria with original forests, fertile farmland and rich natural resources.

As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang stated previously, ‘I can tell you that China’s position on the India-China boundary is consistent and clear cut. China never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh.’

The issue is very simple: China has used various means to pursue and acquire territory in the East and South China Seas. Having established that precedent, New Delhi would be short-sighted to believe that Beijing would not use it again, this time to claim Indianadministered territory. China, furthermore, seeks regional hegemony and perceives India as a competitor. It would have no option but to eliminate that competition, even to the extent, if it deems that course of action necessary, of following its own precedent of 1962 and waging a short war against India.

India is constrained by its policy of “strategic autonomy”, which is effectively a rebadged policy of non-alignment. It may be wise to reconsider that strategy until such time as it can withstand China’s coercive strategies for a substantially longer period of time than it can do now.

Lindsay Hughes is a Research Analyst at the Future Directions International’s Indian Ocean Research Programme NOVEMBER (2) 2018 29

STAGE

Kuchipudi showcase

A tribute in dance to a guru, mentor and friend

BY SYDNEY SRINIVAS

V

anaja Dasika stood on the stage as Nandanar, her legs bent, her arms stretched and her eager eyes gazing at the sky. There was the desire to see the Lord. Add to it expectation, and frustration, in equal measure. Then as she covered the length and breadth of the dais, she revealed several of her character’s thoughts and emotions: will I see Him or not? How long is this wait? When she finally did see Him, it was a moment of pure bliss.

The number heightened the Kuchipudi experience. The dancer Vanaja was portraying an incident from the life of Nandanar, a saint and an untouchable, who appears in Tamil religious literature and temple lore. He is said to have stood in front of the temple in Chidambaram and appealed to the Almighty to appear before him. God, the story goes, did ultimately surrender.

The vilamba tempo music for the great composition by Gopalakrishna Bharathi, Enneramo undan sannidhi ilena iruka vandum ayya, delivered by a great voice; the equally paced slow movements of lovely Vanaja; the colours, and the appropriate lighting - all converged in creating a memorable experience for the audience.

At the risk of overstating, let me say that a responsive audience would melt into nothing watching her performance.

The occasion was Vempati Narthanam, an exposition of Kuchipudi dance choreographies organised by Sydney’s Kalabharathi Performing Arts in mid30 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

November. It was a glorious tribute to Vempati Ravishankar, one of the greats of contemporary Kuchipudi who passed away earlier this year. It was presented by dancers Shobhana Kambhammettu and Sailaja Kambhammettu (both students of this artform and based in Sydney) along with Priyanka Vempati and Vanaja Dasika from Chennai.

“Dance was the very breath that Vempati Ravi Shankar drew,” Sailaja Kambhammettu described. “His passing is a profound loss, and we wanted to express our gratitude and pay tribute to a guru who gave us so much. We grew not only as dancers, but simply as humans.”

Ravishankar learnt the artform from his illustrious father Padmabhushan Vempati Chinna Satyam.

The dances presented, with pre-recorded music, were choreographed either by Chinna Sathyam or Ravishankar and were a testimony to their “grand vision” for this ancient art.

“It is important for us that audiences see the genius of Vempati Ravi Shankar,” Sailaja went on. “His style is a fascinating transition from Vempati Chinna Satyam’s work because there is a deeper exploration of movement and a shift in aesthetic.

His style is a lot more dynamic, and challenges the dancer to reconsider their

relationship to movement, ie you cannot intellectualise the movement, the body has to be able to flow.”

Indeed, the four dancers on the night did their “Guru, mentor and friend” proud.

The other highlight of the evening was Aalokaye Balakrishnam, a composition of Narayana Thirtha. Krishna is unique to us. He behaves like a child and steals butter, exhibits miracles, shows the entire universe in his mouth to his mother, kills demons and the snake Kalinga, plays with Radhikas, and preaches the Bhagavad Geetha and absolves us. Priyanka enacted

Ravishankar’s style is dynamic, and challenges the dancer to reconsider their relationship to movement, ie, you cannot intellectualise the movement, the body has to be able to flow. Sailaja Kambhammettu

the several facets of Lord Krishna, bringing together all the elements of the Kuchipudi style including dancing on the plate. The audience was on the edge of their seats as she mounted the plate and began to move it around. There was an interesting dialogue between her and the Nattuvangam during this. Her ease and effortless movements here deserve a special mention.

Earlier that evening, the very first item presented, an invocation to Lord Ganesha, was a challenge, being in pancha gathi or a mix of five talas. Shobhana and Sailaja exhibited clever nadais. This was followed by Mansa Sancharare by Priyanka and Vanaja. Shobhana then brought out the lengthy piece Pannagendra Shayana with many episodes of abhinaya and jathis. Narayana Ninna by Sailaja on the other hand, seems to have been a misinterpretation of the great composition

by Purandara Dasa.

In the end, it turned out to be a wonderful evening of classical joy. Kudos to the young artistes for their efforts to preserve and promote our rich tradition of dance.

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ART

Diwali in art

It’s Diwali-themed artworks at a unique exhibition at Strathfield Library BY USHA RAMANUJAM ARVIND

B

ringing together 26 artists from diverse demographics and ethnicities, a unique Diwalithemed exhibition at Strathfield Library showcased the Indian festival of lights. For the wider community, this is no doubt a refreshing change from the plethora of melas that have now become the norm during the season.

‘Diwali Artspace’ has been a successful partnership between Strathfield Council and Hindu Council of Australia in what is clearly the beginning of a long and fruitful journey. Indians are the largest ethnic minority in the LGA, according to the 2016 Census and have made significant contributions across all areas.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Cr Gulian Vaccari, Mayor of Strathfield Council and Dr Bala Subramaniam OAM. The event was attended by Member for 34 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

Strathfield Jodi McKay MP and Councillor Karen Pensabene as well as community leaders.

“Diwali is all about positivity, lights and cheer. Earlier this year, we were approached by Strathfield council to organise an exhibition with a difference,” HCA’s Sonali Pathak told Indian Link.

“There has never been an exhibition organised for the display of Indian culture.

So, for the first time (in Sydney), the Hindu Council of Australia and the Strathfield Council decided to display Indian art portraying Diwali,” she explained.

Members of the community were invited to send in contributions in April and thereafter, artists were shortlisted to create special pieces for the exhibition. From stunning portrayals of Ganesha and Rama

by Shweta Bhargava and Shilpa Sodal, to Radha Krishan by Shelly Chopra, some very global messages of a pollution-free world by Amanpreet Sharma, and cultural integration by Sadhana Desai, the artworks celebrated unity in diversity. Likewise, various mediums ranging from sketches to oils and acrylics by children, professionals and women who have been painting purely

for personal pleasure were showcased.

A ceramic diya set by Vaishali Hingmire and Indian jewellery made of silk thread

by Meenakshi Lakshamanan added to the vibrant mix.

Be it iconography, rituals, customs and traditions that are associated with the popular festival, several aspects of our rich cultural heritage were on show for the mainstream audiences to soak in and enjoy.

A sketch is worth a thousand words, believes Meenakshi Lakshmanan. Her Woman with a Lamp immortalised the enduring power of good over evil.

Likewise, Pollina Van Houten’s graphite and gauche sketches Abundance and Into the Light, depicting Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of wealth and prosperity, reflected the artist’s love of mythology and story-telling. Sydney-based artist Shweta Bhargava’s oil painting on Roop Chawdas celebrated the ancient Indian custom of shringar (bodily adornment). Nivedita’s abstract Ganesha and Krishna used vivid colours and contemporary spin on ancient mythology while Jyotsna Amit Takle’s intricate paper quilting techniques showed

her mastery over not just the medium but also deeper understanding of central Hindu customs. Aruna Kumari’s unique perspectives on female identity were a particular feast for the eyes.

The younger artists of course stole the hearts with their unique interpretation of age-old tales. Six-year-old Aarav’s rainbow diya and eight-year-old Nitish Vijaykumar’s Ganesha for Wealth and New Beginings are a lasting testimony of the fact that Hindu legacy is here to stay.

“The Hindu Council of Australia strives at empowering women, encouraging cultural integration and inclusivity, and celebrating and promoting of the Indian art and culture with a wider audience.

This event ties into all of these. This exhibition has also given kids and amateur artists a platform to showcase their work and more importantly has hopefully given them confidence in their talent,” Pathak pointed out.

The well-attended event also notched a number of sales. A workshop on the opening night taught young children the basics of art. Meanwhile, the popular vote on best artist will be announced shortly.

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18/10/18 3:29 pm

NOVEMBER (2) 2018 35

Wine cheese and chocolate The Hunter may be one of Australia’s prime wine regions, but there’s plenty of other things to do here

BY EMIE ROY

F

riday evening. Pokolbin Hill, Hunter Valley. We had just pulled up at Leisure Inn, our weekend getaway. The lights in most of the cottages had already been dimmed, and almost all of the 25-acre property looked dark. Opening the doors to the warmed-up rooms, the best we could dream of was about tucking ourselves into the crisp white sheets for a good night’s sleep.

We woke up to a magnificent sunrise from behind the little water body right next to our cottage. The ponies that came grazing by the lake were quite a sight, and feathered visitors that dropped in looking for crumbs provided much entertainment. Since the kitchen in the resort was self-contained, there was not much delay whipping up a quick brekkie with some bread, ham and eggs to set out for the (ad) ventures Hunter had on offer.

Home to about 140 cellar doors, it is anyone’s guess what one can best do at Hunter Valley. But with little kids with us, our first destination was the chocolate place instead – Hunter Valley Chocolate Company.

The Chocolate Company has changed quite a lot from when we first visited some ten years ago. It was then a homely shack selling homemade fudge, some chocolate, local produce and curios. This more recent building with

36 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

the factory and store combined looked like a mightier version of that shack, still selling a wide array of fudges, gourmet hampers and heaps of chocolate varieties, some of which were available for tasting too. As the kids went crazy over the rocky roads and fruit mixes, the sales lady asked me, “And would you like your chocolate spicy?” In response to my surprise she explained, “You might find chilli bark chocolates interesting. Or if you’re looking for something smoother, pick a pine/lime splice which is a green chocolate.

Or here’s a pineapple-hibiscus chocolate for you.” Eventually my shopping bag looked like I was about to start a shop myself, back in Sydney!

Chocolate craving satisfied, the next destination was a cellar door. Preservativefree wine was what I was after, no thanks to some nasty headaches recently that very nearly put me off the grog completely.

And so we drove in to Harkham Winery.

It was a pleasant surprise to see that they were not just selling wines, but using part of their proceeds to build schools in third world countries. A winery with a social commitment was quite a unique find.

The place lived up to the expectation of a boutique cellar door, with a small selection of wines. The staff, all members of the one family, made sure that we were looked after, and recounted, with great passion, stories about their wines. I’m no wine connoisseur myself, but their wines did have an earthier taste. We ended up buying a few Rose and Shiraz bottles. But the showstopper was certainly the ‘chocolate hazelnut liquor’, a

creamy blend of milk chocolate, hazelnut and coconut. Wonderful on its own or splashed over some ice cubes, you could even pour it over ice cream for an adult treat. The winery boasts of a private tasting room, a restaurant onsite, and some rooms to stay as well.

That done, looking for a second cellar door, we chose the de iuliis wines, with a Two Fat Blokes cheese tasting facility nearby – expecting to do two things in one go. We were greeted by an elderly saleswoman, who had seen a lot of the world and had her share of travels to India. She welcomed us stating that she has been to the busy streets of India where life is ‘rather involved’, and invited us to relax with a glass of wine. With my limited experience of wine tasting, I have already learnt that white should go before red, and dry should go before sweet. Shiraz was highly recommended but we picked the white Chardonnay after tasting a few different whites and reds which she poured out for us.

The good few sips of wine we had helped immensely in enjoying the cheese at Two Fat Blokes. We sampled cheddar, brie, blue, feta and goat’s cheese; and also some blended tastes. We chose caramelised onion cheese along with some of the cheddar, to save for the afternoon tea. Lunch at Blaxland Inn was spectacular. A superb sirloin steak, and linguine cooked to absolute perfection, proved that our choice was spot on.

After a hearty meal laced with the warmth of country hospitality, we set about to taste some more wines at the McGuigan

Wines, our all-time favourite. With a large assortment of wines, McGuigan never disappoints, and we were told that they had been named International Winemaker of the Year for a record fourth time in 2016 in the history of the International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) in London.

Their Shiraz and Semillion are amazing, but they have an awesome McGuigan Personal Reserve Late picked Traminer 2017 ($40 dollars). And if you like sweet wines, there is no going past their Autumn Harvest Semillion which is a sure winner at all of our parties at home. The mathematical precision and unique passion with which the people at the counter helps us taste the wines has always been a great incentive for us to visit the place, every time we visit Hunter.

Such an amazing day of delectable food and drinking! We headed back to our cottage at the Pokolbin Inn with our pick of crackers, quince paste, fruits and of course a pretty cheese board, to serve ourselves a cheese platter for afternoon tea, inspired by what we had seen and experienced.

A lovely stroll later in the picturesque retreat capturing some snapshots, we called it a day and settled in to the comfort of The Vines, the restaurant onsite that serves pretty much everything from curries to pizzas to risottos and barramundis.

The perfect ending to a gorgeous day.

Epilogue: There are other attractions too, like the beautiful Hunter Valley Gardens, well worth a visit. Try hot air ballooning or helicopter flights to get a bird’s eye view of the region.

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ENTERTAINMENT

cineTALK OVER-DECORATED, UNDERWHELMING

THUGS OF HINDOSTAN

DIRECTOR: Vijay Krishna Acharya STARRING: Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Fatima Sana Sheikh, Katrina Kaif

HHHHH

Not done! You can’t take two of Bollywood’s superstars together for the first time and then make a film that confounds your senses, boggles your mind and tries your patience.

Thugs Of Hindostan does all of this, and more. It is guilty of many crimes, not the least of them being the rather strange attempt to pass off the corny as the epic,

and the dishevelled as the spectacular.

The plot, we are told, is based on an ancient novel by Philip Meadows Taylor which no one seems to have read.

The film, if you ask me, also deserves much the same treatment. It is an overblown, undercooked piece of abomination masquerading as majestic when it is nothing of the sort. Speckled on top and hollow and dull inside, this is the kind of con-job which a door-to-door salesman for an icky brand of perfume sells to you when your olfactory nerves are not working.

There is something pronouncedly

hollow about the plot, as it brings forward two larger-than-life heroes, a wizened buccaneer Khuda Baksh Azad and a colourful con-man Firangi Malla. The latter’s scene-hogging will annoy you to a breaking point. Firangi Malla could serve well in police torture. He confuses us about which side he owes his allegiance to, the British or the native.

Firangi, himself, I suspect, doesn’t know which way his loyalty goes. He is joined in this carnival of confusion by others in the cast who dance bellow and snarl in a clueless mob, indicating some kind of ferocious pledge out to get the British colonists out of our country.

The British are gone. But they seem to have left behind a legacy of hate-filled films that show them to be utterly stupid.

From Manmohan Desai’s Toofan to this latest attempt to downsize and ridicule the goras, wonder how they managed to rule us for centuries when they were so stupid.

Stupidity, however, is not the crux of this film’s vacuousness. Dullness is.

The more noise, colour and computer graphics director Vijay Acharya adds to the bristling broth, the more desperate the film appears to qualify as an epic.

All attempts to infuse the goings-in with gallons of glory remain in the domain of the vain. The plot is a mish-mash of pulpy patriotism and tawdry swash-buckling.

The ships are not the only visible entities at sea. After a point, the writer-director seems to have just given up on the logistics of his purported spectacle, as scene after scene of fireballs exploding mid air weave in and out of the plot in a smoky haze of absurdity and implausibility.

Besides the fact that Aamir Khan plays his over-the-top character with a hammy relish, the film’s other major failing is its pedestrian periodicity. There is no sincere attempt to create an 18th century aura during the British Raj. This failing is most evident in Katrina Kaif’s styling. As Surraiya, the seductress with a permanent nose-ring, who comes

on screen only when she is required to contort her curvaceous body to a tantalizing tempo, Katrina must ask herself one vital question after she finishes asking what on earth she’s doing in this film: did Surraiya have Manish Malhotra to style her chic look?

By the time Manish’s Surraiya starts wriggling and sizzling in front of the (gora) villains while the hero stands enchained, I was thinking of Laxmi Chaya singing Maar diya jay ke chhod diya jaye in the 1970s hit Mera Gaon Mera Desh. Not one to be left out, Fatima Sana Shaikh bursts into a lullaby there and then in the middle of Kaif’s drizzle of sizzle, reminding us that sleep is perhaps one escape from this over-decorated, underwhelming chamber of periodicity.

Sheikh gets a lot of footage. I wonder why! She can’t emote properly and all the dancing has gone to the curvaceous Ms Kaif. The one performance that towers above all else is that of Mr Bachchan.

Silently seething for wrongs done, he was the character I most identified with.

Believe me, no atrocity committed by the British can match what The Thugs have done to us.

Mohabbat Zeeshan Ayyub and Ronit Roy struggle to give some malleability to their characters in a plot that favours the stiff and trite stance even while fighting off the Raj. Not one dialogue, one song is worth humming. At one point, Mr Bachchan exasperated by Aamir Khan’s babble asks wrily, “Are you going to speak more? Or do you have anything else up your sleeve?”

The characters simply speak and snarl.

And when they run out of energy they simply collapse in a heap of smouldering helplessness waiting for the writerdirector to resuscitate them. Alas, the air is so thick and heavy no one gets a chance to breathe except a computergenerated hawk which pops up now and then to remind us that pirates are not only the prerogative of the Caribbean.

Subhash K. Jha

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ENTERTAINMENT

ENGROSSING BUT TEDIOUS PIHU

DIRECTOR: Vinod Kapri STARRING: Myra Vishwakarma

HHHHH

Writer-director Vinod Kapri’s purported thriller Pihu is an attempt to shake parents and guardians out of their stupor and get them to realise the perils of a two-year-old child alone at home. It borrows the concept from Home Alone sans the comic elements of that film and also from the recently released Hindi film Trapped.

While the film starts on a compelling note as Pihu (Myra Vishwakarma) is seen trying to wake her mother who is lying on the bed, the series of events that follow Pihu’s misadventures with various dangers - geyser, balcony, hot iron, gas stove - the film appears to be an exaggerated drama that is intense yet tedious to watch.

The plot is wafer-thin and does not go beyond what was offered to the audience in the trailer. Apt for a short film, the narrative is unsuited to a full-length feature and the amateurish treatment further sounds its death knell.

There is nothing light-hearted about the film and although at most times the director acquaints you with stark reality,

it appears trite and repetitive after a while. Yes, there are moments, when the parent or guardian in you puts at the edge of your seat, worrying about the innocent Pihu’s next move and its outcome, but those moments are few and far between.

A one-actor film, Pihu naturally belongs to Myra, who prods along, oblivious of the camera, shining effortlessly in her character of a child alone at home, challenged by a series of happenings and obstacles as she navigates her way through various activities.

Cinematographer Yogesh Jaini certainly does justice and contributes in a large way, as he adds the element of thrill through the various camera angles which sufficiently scare you at times in the film when Pihu is at a dangerous point.

The voices of the other characters, who are not seen, has been skilfully woven into the narrative. But the sound design and effect are amateurishly mounted and is a sore point of the narrative.

Overall, Pihu is a decent attempt, but should have been carefully thought through if a full-length feature film was to be made on the subject. In its current form, it fails to entice you.

Troy Ribeiro

ASTUTELY MOUNTED BUT VERBOSE AND CLUNKY MOHALLA ASSI

DIRECTOR: Chandraprakash Dwivedi STARRING: Sunny Deol, Sakshi Tanwar, Ravi Kishan, Saurabh Shukla, Mukesh Tiwari, Rajendra Gupta, Mithilesh Chaturvedi and Seema Azmi

HHHHH

One of the opening frames of the narrative tells us that the film is, “Dedicated to Lord Shiva and the people and culture of Varanasi”.

Director Chandraprakash Dwivedi’s Mohalla Assi is loosely based on Dr. Kashi Nath Singh’s popular Hindi novel Kashi Ka Assi. It is a satire on the commercialisation of Assi, a popular locality in the pilgrim city of Kashi aka Varanasi, which is situated on the banks of the holy river Ganga.

While one of the dialogues during the initial stage of the narrative states, “Corruption is our national character”, the satire is about the corruption of the whole mindset, where survival being the bottom line is the only line, and how at Assi, Indian social and moral values are now replaced by the cold cynicism of human survival, in the name of globalisation.

The film is a fictionalised documentation of the degradation of the place and its people, spanning over a decade beginning from 1988 to 1998 and it incisively captures the lives of its people with aplomb. Especially NATIONAL EDITION

Dharamnath Pandey (Sunny Deol) a Sanskrit teacher who is an orthodox, upright “panda” and strictly against accommodating foreign tourists in Mohalla Assi as paying guests. Savitri (Sakshi Tanwar) is his nagging but considerate wife.

Kanni Guru (Ravi Kishan) is a tout and a shrewd opportunist who is ever-willing to make quick buck. Nekram Sharma (Faisal Rashid) is a street smart, sly and crafty barber who later becomes a yogi. And Catherine is an American who authors books on Benaras.

While there have been no discerning changes on the banks of the river or “Pappu Ki Dukaan”, a restaurant where politics is discussed with the same passion and gusto as in New Delhi, it is the evolving attitude of its people that churns the narrative.

The performances of the actors are worthy of appreciation, but it is the plot and the writing that fails to keep the narrative afloat. With no major inciting moments and a meandering, verbose and clunky exposition, the graph of the plot is flat. The dialogues, infused with local cuss words, over a period of time seem irritatingly forced and painful.

Overall, while the film captures the ethos astutely and is relevant in today’s times, the treatment, look and feel of the film seem a bit outdated.

Troy Ribeiro NOVEMBER (2) 2018 41

ENTERTAINMENT

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

SARA ALI KHAN

WHEN DAUGHTERS DELIGHT

H

DEEPVEER JOY

ere’s what friends and colleagues said to Bollywood’s newest married couple

Karan Johar Love and happiness forever... These are such ‘pyaar wala’ pictures! For those of us who don’t have a life partner it’s a very “hai” wala (aww) feeling.

Rajkummar Rao Congratulations, my favourite couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. Wish you a lifetime of love, happiness and togetherness.

Arjun Kapoor ‘Jashn-E-Ishqa’.

Sonam Kapoor Congratulations to both of you! May you always find joy together.

Anushka Sharma Wishing you both a world of happiness and a beautiful journey together. May the love and respect you have in each other, grow leaps and bounds. And welcome to the club Ranveer and Deepika.

Parineeti Chopra Lots of love and congratulations my RV and Dips!

Ranveer and Deepika.

Genelia D’Souza Congratulations to the most beautiful couple Deepika and Ranveer. Wishing you loads of love and happiness as you guys step into your new phase of life.

Poonam Dhillon Congratulations to a gorgeous couple! This is just the beginning, may the years to follow be better, better and the best! You truly make a fabulous lovable pair! Love and happiness always!

42 NOVEMBER (2) 2018

Vicky Kaushal Many congratulations and God bless!

Sonu Sood Mubarak ho mere bhai.

Both of you look so lovely together; have a rocking life ahead.

Bhumi Pednekar Lots and lots of love and tons of wishes as you both embark upon this beautiful journey Ranveer and Deepika. May this new chapter be full of happiness, good health and love.

Congratulations.

Arjun Rampal Smile and laugh through this union, so beautiful you both look. God bless you both. Stay blessed. Love and a big hug to you both.

Congratulations.

Bipasha Basu Love a great love story.

So happy to see this beautiful couple together forever. Congratulations.

Sushmita Sen Beautiful Couple!

Congratulations Deepika and Ranveer May your journey of togetherness be blessed with divine grace, respect, love, happiness and a solid friendship!

Cheers.

Badshah May you love and live like this forever and ever.

Huma Qureshi Mubarak (congratulations)! My dear darlingest Deepika and Ranveer. May you both always smile laugh be together and have the best the world has to offer!!

Neil Nitin Mukesh Congratulations my dearest Deepika and Ranveer.

God bless you both with all the happiness always.

It’s been a beti-oriented time in B-town this past week.

Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi announced the birth of their first-born, a girl, Mehr Dhupia Bedi, on 18 Nov. Then, the media ran amok to present party pics from the seventh birthday of Aaradhya Bachchan – yes, the seventh - and then wrote full news reports about what mum Aishwarya said and did (and wore), what dad Abhishek tweeted (that was enough!) and the gyan that granddad Amitabh disseminated about betis.

But without doubt the star beti has been Sara Ali Khan. We’re talking of course about her star turn on that highprofile couch on Koffee with Karan, where she appeared alongside her dapper dad Saif. The most quotable quote about the whole episode came from stepmum Kareena (please don’t call her that!), who wasn’t even in the episode, but who declared that Sara is a born star.

She certainly came across as one – not merely in the Bollywood sense, but as a smart and savvy young woman who seems well-adjusted despite the (supposed) tumultuous family life, which she described so well that she left many young women wishing they could all have “two happy homes instead of one uncomfortable one.”

Oh, the sheer power of Bollywoodwallahs!

KEDARNATH: WORTH WAITING FOR? YOU DECIDE!

Smart and savvy, now those are not words that are being used to describe Sara Ali Khan’s debut film, about to hit the screens.

You see, the trailer appears way too dakiyanoosi for someone who is, er, so smart and savvy.

Here’s how reviewer Subhash K Jha described it.

“So now we know why the tsunamilike floods occurred in Kedarnath in 2013? You see, a young Hindu girl who looks a lot like Sara Ali Khan fell in love with a not-so-young Muslim boy who bears an uncanny resemblance to Sushant Singh Rajput. When her parents raised hell and vowed they wouldn’t allow the match to happen, she vows, “Then I will do jaap (holy chants) to make sure pralay (catastrophe) happens!” And that’s how the fury of nature pelted down on Uttarakhand.”

He concluded, “Sushant is a Muslim pithu (carrier) and debutante Sara is a tourist who he carried to the top of the mountain. And there they should remain.”

Oh dear.

Bollywood maybe famous for its tales of “unlikely lovers combating the world,” he noted, but “what are the chances of this alliance actually happening in real life? Director Abhishek Kapoor is not keen to tell a realistic story. He just wants to go with the flow. Never mind if the flow is a studio-created tidal wave.”

Ouch.

And yet, many people gave him the thumbs up when he declared, Sara’s real debut was on Karan Johar’s show: “Poised, articulate, relaxed, witty. And very eager to embrace the camera -ladies and gentleman, a star is born.”

KEDARNATH: DIRECTOR EXPLAINS

Abhishek Kapoor has said his upcoming film Kedarnath is “a genuine attempt to create harmony.”

His comments come in the wake of the ‘Love Jihad’ controversy that has flared up, because the film is a romance between a Hindu girl and a Muslim boy.

Even as a BJP leader seeks a ban on the film, poor Abhishek has been doing declaring loud and clear that he is a good Hindu, devotee of Lord Shiva no less, and one who made many trips to Vaishno Devi in his life.

In fact it was on one such trip recently that the idea for the film took shape.

“To see a Muslim porter carrying a Hindu pilgrim on his back, was a vision.

If you see what it stands for, it tells you what this country is all about.”

It looks as through the controversies will not end for this poor film – the project has overcome many hiccups in its making, even changing production houses.

When it releases on 7 Dec, let’s hope Abhishek Kapoor is successful in his ultimate aim – to bring healing.

ANUSHKA, INTERACTIVE

Actor-producer Anushka Sharma unveiled her wax figure in Madame Tussauds at Singapore recently.

It is an interactive figurine, the first ever talking wax statue.

“My fans who visit Madame Tussauds

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Singapore can engage with my interactive figure and also take a selfie,” Anushka said in a statement.

Her life-like figure holds a phone personally inviting visitors to photograph a selfie with her, which can be digitally shared with friends and family.

Anushka’s figure in Singapore joins other Bollywood stars including Kajol, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Ranbir Kapoor in the IIFA Awards experience, and offers you a chance to re-live the glamour of a Bollywood awards ceremony.

KAREENA, ABHISHEK, MADHURI JOIN THE WORLD OF MOWGLI

Stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff will lend their voices to characters of Netflix’s Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle for its Hindi dubbed version.

Abhishek will lend his voice for Bagheera. Kareena will be infusing life to the soft and hypnotic voice of the python Kaa. Anil will be giving voice to the freespirited bear Baloo, Madhuri to Nisha and Jackie to Shere Khan.

In the English version, Christian Bale has given his voice for Bagheera

and Cate Blanchett for Kaa. Directoractor Andy Serkis has lent his voice for the character of Baloo, Benedict Cumberbatch to Shere Khan.

Indian-American child actor Rohan Chand will be seen as Mowgli, Matthew Rhys is Lockwood and Freida Pinto essays the role of Messua.

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle will bring the world of Rudyard Kipling’s 1864 classic The Jungle Book alive on the big screen, splashed with shades of grey.

The Jungle Book tells the story of an Indian boy named Mowgli, wandering in an enchanting Indian forest with an entourage of his animal friends and fighting for survival. Mowgli’s adventures have made way for several adaptations like the popular eponymous 1967 animated film or Jon Favreau’s similarly titled re-imagination.

Netflix bought the film from Warner Bros in July. The acquisition is believed to be one of the streaming giant’s costliest ever purchases.

Warner had planned to release the movie in October.

Directed by Serkis, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle will premiere globally on Netflix on 7 Dec. But before that, Serkis along with Rohan, Bale and Freida will visit Mumbai for the world premiere of their film to be held there on 25 November.

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NATIONAL EDITION

ROLLERBLADES, RECORD PLAYER: PRIYANKA-NICK’S WEDDING REGISTRY

Priyanka Chopra has created a $14,000 wedding registry in association with Amazon with some unusual items on the list.

The list includes items for entertaining and decor, including a Riedel wine decanter, Now House by Jonathan Adler Throw Pillow, and Dorotea dinner plates.

Priyanka said on Instagram, “I had so much fun building a wedding registry guide with Amazon. They have everything that you need in one place!

Amazon has also made a $100,000 donation to UNICEF, a charity that is extremely important to me!”

Er, is this your wedding, or are you in an ad for Amazon, Priyanka?

“A lot of people get so stressed about weddings and I think we lose the charm.

(Wedding planning) is fun - and it should be. Amazon makes sense for a registry because there are such incredible things you can find under one roof. These are the kinds of things I want when I build a home,” Priyanka said recently.

She added, “My home is always bustling with loved ones. I have a very close-knit set of friends and so does Nick and I like being a host.”

Sounds like… endorsement? Who knows. We wish the happy couple all the best.

What’s the chitchat between Deepika and Ranveer here?

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ON TWITTER THIS WEEK

Match the stars to the tweet that follow Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Angad Bedi The last two days have been very overwhelming. Neha and me have been blessed with a beautiful baby girl. Thank you all for your wishes and love that is coming our way. Both my girls are doing really well.

Happy birthday little princess! You are the pride and joy of the family. I pray you remain the ever smiling, innocent and loving girl that you are. Love you with all my heart.

What’s the chitchat between Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas here?

Priyanka: So how far is my green card now?

Congratulations, ANERI UPADHYAY! You win a movie ticket!

25 years of Baazigar. A film that defines my career & gave me lifelong friends.

NOVEMBER (2) 2018 43

BACKCHAT

ASK AUNTYJI Man or mouse, squeak up…

DEAR AUNTYJI

I have a small problem with my wife of two years and I was hoping you could give me some advice. Ours was an arranged marriage, but I love my wife with my heart and soul. I know she loves me the same way.

We have a very happy life here in Sydney and we have a wide circle of friends. Recently, about 10 couples decided that the wives would have a ladies night together, while all the husbands went to a Pakistani mate’s house to watch Australia play Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on TV. So the ladies all got together, and after us men left, I realised I had forgotten to take my wallet and ran upstairs to get it. Now I know that all the wives knew the husbands had left - so they started talking about their husbands.

They started providing particular details, and they were laughing so uproariously that I just had to. Stop to listen. Of course they did not know I was there. Shekar’s wife called him a tiger and said that he was always on the hunt, while Anup’s wife said he was like a water buffalo. Auntyji, some of the details still make my face turn red. But auntyji, here is where the problem starts. When the ladies asked Anita, my wife about me, she just laughed and changed the subject. She refused to be drawn into the conversation and I am now upset. Why couldn’t she have said I was a lion or a horse or even a badtempered wildebeest. I feel she let me down by not extolling my virtues.

I left shortly after the conversation changed, but I have been unable to get this out of my mind. Can you please advise how I bring this up with Anita, please?

AUNTYJI SAYS

Arre, satyanaash…! Have you no shame listening to secret women’s business conversations and then griping about what you heard?

Mein to hairaan hoon ki aap itna pareshaan hai is choti si baat pe!

This was a conversation amongst ladies, and you eavesdropped - and so your punishment is that this will remain on your nasamaj akal for ever. And not only that, now I will seek to punish you further for not just the transgression of eavesdropping, but because you had the gall to get upset with Anita for her restraint and genteel behaviour.

Instead of being proud of her, you have deigned to judge her - so here is your punishment, you anxiety ka maara purush. Jab Anita chup thi, and did not engage in the takaluf ki baatein, all the auratein naturally assumed that Anita’s pati must be a chuha, a mouse, which is why Anita did not have anything good to say.

Now all the other saheliyaan were proud to boast about their sher, except Anita. So all the women now look at you and feel sorry for Anita.

So deal with that, you shakki insaan.

A better husband would have been so proud of his wife for her restraint.

But not you. You deserve what you got, you chuha. Now chup chaap jaa ke apni biwi ko chai bana ke de.

Everyone knows a sher is useless unless they can make chai.

Biwi ka lacey secret DEAR AUNTYJI

My wife of five years and I work in the same building in the CBD and each day, we take the train in. When we get off at Town Hall station, there are lots of shops there, so sometimes we walk past these shops and window shop.

There is a ladies shop there that sells nice things for women - and every single day, my wife Kal hovers in front of the window display, taking her time to look at the pretty lacey items. Now Auntyji, I don’t understand this, and would like to understand this better.

Why is my wife spending so much time looking at these things? I am worried that other people will think I am the one standing there looking at the mannequins - like a backward perverted uncle who has dirty thoughts and intentions. What is your rai on this subject, and what should I say to Kal - I am getting somewhat uncomfortable with this behaviour.

AUNTYJI SAYS

What is it with these insecure husbands writing to me asking stupid questions when they could be communicating better with their wives? Arre, you nadaan puppy of a man, have you considered the many reasons why Kal is loitering in front of Victoria’s Secret? Could it be that she is giving you hints for buying her a gift? Or are you such a nadaan that you think she may be considering some other ulterior motive? For you

not to have thoughts about buying Kal a gift from this store is a tauheen e mohabat. Have you not watched any Bollywood film from the ‘50, ‘60s or ‘70s, when the heroines spoke volumes with their eyes? And expressed their desires without even a word? You need to learn more about your wife. It’s clear that Kal is trying to give you a hint, and an andha, nasamaj like you is missing all the signals.

So next time she lurks near the shop, watch her eyes and see which items she is admiring. Then at lunch time, go out and buy her the item. Then surprise her.

Now if you get the size wrong, that’s ok, because Kal can return the item and get something in the right size. Now of course, agar Kal hairaan ho gayi, and churail ki tarah accuses you of something, then I think we have a bigger problem. Perhaps Kal has issues with her esteem.

Perhaps she is comparing herself to the models. Perhaps she is thinking some other thoughts.

Either way, there is only ek hi raasta to determine kaun sa paap is in Kal’s head. Start by buying her the item. Then write back and tell me what happened. I will give you solid salah after that. Good luck my man. And be brave. Vijay unki hoti hai jo risks lete hai.

Do you have a question for Auntyji? Email info@indianlink.com.au

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