WHAT’S ON

Cricket

Indigo Crew at 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.

Community

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.

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.

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.

Bangla Utshob

Sat 19 Jan (12.30pm)

Music, entertainment and lots more at 2019 Bangla Utshob. At Belmore Sports Ground 3 Edison Lane, Belmore NSW, Newcastle.

Details 0416 784 471.

Entertainment

Bollywood Nights

Fri 7 Dec (9.00pm)

Feel The Punjab Vol 1 In Sydney. At IVY Level 2, Den, Lounge & Terrace, 330 George St, Sydney.

Details 0412 739 020.

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.

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.

NYE Gala diner

Mon 31 Dec (8.30pm - 11.30pm)

New Year’s Eve 2018 Gala Dinner with 4-course dinner, champagne on arrival and lots of prizes. At The Colonial British Indian Restaurants, 118 Crown Street, Darlinghurst.

Details 02 8084 6700.

NYE Bollywood Masquerade

Mon 31 Dec (9.00pm onwards)

Adorn your masks, dress in your finest and prepare for a night of nonstop fun. At IVY Level 2, Den, Lounge & Terrace, 330 George St, Sydney.

Details 0412 739 020.

Sridevi tribute

Sun 24 Feb (2.00pm – 6.00pm)

Adrian’s Orchestra Presents Remembering Roop Ki Rani, a tribute to Sridevi. Live concert with one show only. At Bowman Hall, 35 Campbell Street, Blacktown.

Details 0432 108 287.

SPIRITUAL

Foundation Truth Retreat

Sun 9 Dec (10.00am – 6.00pm)

A one day retreat to understand the power of acceptance and learn to make better choices in life. At 71, Stromeferry Crescent, St Andrews, NSW. Details 0423 644 082.

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 7.00pm)

Swami Uditramanandaji of The Divine Life Society of Australia offers free Yoga classes every Tuesday from 7.00pm-8.15pm at Strathfield Girls High School. All levels of fitness welcomed. Entrance via Oxford Rd.

Details Karo 0413 535 157.

Lunch-time meditation session

Thu 13 Dec (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.

Miscellaneous

Indian Traditional Medicine Systems

Thu 13 Dec (6.30pm – 8.00pm) An event that will outline opportunities for Australia-India collaboration related to India’s rich medical traditions, including Ayurveda and yoga. At UTS Peter Johnson Building, Harris Street, Room 22, Level 3, Building 6, Broadway. Details 02 9514 1652.

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.

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 02 9392 5966.

Go veg cooking class

Wed 9 Jan (5.30pm – 8.30pm) After this class, you won’t find any excuse to not eat and enjoy vegetarian fare. Sue Kumar presents a class to learn India’s traditional vegetarian curries. At The Essential Ingredient Newcastle, Junction Fair Shopping Centre, 200 Union Street Newcastle. Details 02 49 261991.

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 selfexpression 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.

Indian Bridal Expo

Sun 3 Feb (10.00am – 2.00pm)

The Indian Bridal Expo is an event to assist couples with all their wedding needs. It will have a number of stalls ranging from outfits and jewellery to caterers and videography. At Liverpool Catholic Club, 458 Hoxton Park Road, Prestons. Details 0431 005 869.

Fundraiser

Hakimi Trust Christmas drive appeal

The Dawoodi Bohra Muslim Community in Sydney as part of their registered charity trust called Hakimi Trust are doing a major Christmas Appeal drive in collaboration with The Salvation Army in Dural to assist and support families in tough times by collecting toys, clothes, electronics, gift cards, non perishable food items and cash. Drop off your donations at these venues:

Hills District: 41 Ashmead Avenue, Castle Hill. Any day after 6pm. Details 0414 282 703.

Newington: 32 Watt Ave, Newington. Any day after 6pm. Details 0409 408 897. Auburn: 6 Castle Street (off Raglan Rd), Auburn. 10th, 11th and 12th Dec. Between 5.00pm and 7.00pm. Details 0434 679 072.

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 7 December 2018. At T1 Theatre, Building Y3A, Macquarie University, 10 Hadenfeld Ave, Macquarie Park. Details 0432 832 311.

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.

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

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

WhatsApp says ‘Spread joy, not rumours’

Facing flak for the misuse of its platform, WhatsApp has launched its first-ever TV campaign in India as part of its efforts to address the challenge of misinformation and pernicious rumours.

The popular messaging platform earlier launched two phases of a radio campaign to create awareness among users. For the TV campaign, WhatsApp said it worked closely with filmmaker Shirsha Guha Thakurta to develop three 60-second films that each convey real scenarios about dangerous rumours that can spread among users.

Timed to start just prior to the Assembly elections in Rajasthan and Telangana, the films will be available on TV, Facebook and YouTube in nine languages, the Facebookowned platform said, adding that it would build on this effort to prepare for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

“We’re humbled by the impact that WhatsApp had on people’s ability to freely connect with their loved ones. We recognise at the same time connecting people can also lead to the spread of misinformation, which has to be confronted,” said Bosco Zubiaga, who led production of these films for WhatsApp.

The rumours spread on the popular messaging platform which has over 200 million users in India have been linked to several lynching incidents in the country, forcing the government to send a stern message to the company.

Over the last several months, WhatsApp has made a series of changes including labelling forwarded messages to inform users when they have received something not from their immediate contact and set a limit on how forwarded messages can be sent.

In addition, it bans accounts that engage in unwanted automated activity. “We hope this campaign will help educate people how to stay safe on WhatsApp,” Zubiaga said.

Each film’s protagonist teaches someone important in their lives to not spread rumours and to use WhatsApp controls such as the ability to leave groups where rumours are spread and block unknown senders.

Chatbot Shakti to help fight workplace harassment

In the wake of the recent #MeToo India movement, Silicon Valley-based bot and messaging platform Gupshup has launched a chatbot called Shakti to help women in India find a voice against sexual harassment. Chatbot Shakti will help guide women on necessary measures that could be taken during an unfortunate event of harassment along with the details of relevant authorities they can reach out to.

It can be used by people to understand what constitutes sexual harassment, details that a survivor should keep ready to report an unfortunate incident, who in the organisation should the incident be reported to and the contact details of the concerned authorities to whom a formal complaint can be made.

“It is encouraging to see courageous women from a cross section of industries raise their voice against workplace harassment. We feel technology can play a role in offering information that many survivors seek, when something like this happens,” Anindita Guha, Head of Product and Product Marketing, Gupshup said.

The bot is available 24x7 and can be accessed by logging into one’s Facebook account and sending a message to the page ‘MeToo India’.

The #MeToo movement, which began in the US over a year ago in response to accusations of sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in the entertainment industry, gained traction in India late September after actress Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of inappropriate behaviour on the sets of a film they were shooting in 2008.

Since then, the hashtag has become a rallying cry against sexual harassment, with multiple women coming out with their #MeToo stories on various social media platforms.

India’s Train 18 on track to improve travel

Train 18, developed indigenously by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), offers not only a fast and comfortable mode of transport but also safety, thanks to coaches that are fitted with fire-resistance fibre composites.

“The interiors of the coach have been made up of composite materials, which are fire resistant,” ICF General Manager Sudhanshu Mani said.

The interiors are manufactured in the country and the ICF gave sourced the fibre- reinforced plastics (FRP) from manufacturers in Chennai. “After the manufacturers delivered the FRP materials, it was fitted into the Train 18 at the ICF plant in Chennai,” he said.

The ICF GM said that all the panels inside the Train 18 coaches are built with composite material. A senior railway ministry official said that the FRP has been used in the Train 18 sets to make it more power efficient and light weight which enable the train to move faster as compared to other train sets currently in service in India.

Train 18 is currently undergoing trials under the supervision of Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Lucknow. It has successfully completed the trial up to a speed of 180 kmph. Train 18, which is self-propelled on electric traction like metro trains, will start replacing the existing train fleet of the Shatabdi Express next year.

The new train boasts inter-connected fully-sealed gangways, automatic doors with retractable footsteps, on-board Wi-Fi and infotainment, GPS-based passenger information system, modular toilets with biovacuum systems, rotational seats which can be aligned in the direction of travel (available only in the executive class), roller blinds and diffused LED lighting, and disabled-friendly toilets.

Pavwan Droliaa, Managing Director of Asterix Reinforced Limited which manufactures composite materials, said that in case of fire these composite components do not generate poisonous gases, collapse, or spread molten material or droplets, thus keeping escape ways open for passengers to get out.

Indian app becomes iPad App of Year

Froggipedia app from Ahmedabad-based e-learning company Designmate has become the iPad App of the Year, Apple has announced.

Froggipedia is an interactive learning Apple Augmented Reality (AR) app that helps explore and discover the unique life cycle and intricate anatomical details of a frog.

“This year, Battle Royale-style games like Fortnite and PUBG Mobile dominated global gaming culture with exciting, last-playerstanding action.

“Innovative apps like Fabulous, Shine,

Supporters and surviving victims of the 1984 Union Carbide Bhopal gas leak carry out a protest on the 34th anniversary of the tragedy in Bhopal, India, 03 December 2018.

The gas leak on 2-3 December 1984 killed at least 15 thousand people in what is considered the world’s worst industrial accident. Photo: AP

10% Happier and Headspace expanded the practice of wellness around the world to make self-care more accessible than ever before,” Apple said.

Oxford Dictionaries scouts for Hindi word of the year

After choosing Aadhaar as its first Hindi word of the year, the Oxford University Press has begun its hunt for another such word from one of the most spoken languages on the Earth that occupied the minds of the people for much part of the year and reflected “ethos” and “mood” of the nation. “Following the success of our inaugural Hindi Word of the Year in 2017, Oxford Dictionaries is now calling on Hindi speakers across the country to help choose a Hindi Word of the Year for 2018.

“The Hindi Word of the Year will be a word or expression that has attracted a great deal of interest over the last 12 months. The chosen word should reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the year. It should not necessarily be a new word, but should be one that is strongly linked somehow to 2018,” the publisher said in a statement.

The press has invited submissions from the general public which can submit a word at hi.oxforddictionaries.com/hindi-word-of-theyear till December 9.

“Last year, we launched the Oxford Hindi Word of the Year and received an excellent response, both in terms of numbers and the vast variety of words that were submitted as entries. We are delighted to invite suggestions for the Hindi Word of the Year 2018 - words that have resonated with Hindi speakers over the course of last 12 months,” Sivaramakrishnan Venkateswaran, Managing Director, Oxford University Press India, said in the statement.

The 2018 Hindi Word of the Year will be announced in January 2019 at the Jaipur Literary Festival.

Delhi: No more heavy school bags for kids

The weight of a school bag in Delhi is officially fixed, according to a recent Delhi government circular. It says school bags for students in Class I and II should not be above 1.5 kg; for Classes III to V (two-three kg), classes VI-VII (four kg), Classes VIII-IX (4.5 kg), and Class X (five kg).

The circular also asks schools not to assign any home work to Class I and II children. It asked schools to inform the students in advance about the books and notebooks to be brought to the school on a particular day.

The decision of the Delhi Directorate of Education follows Centre’s order and guidelines for capping the weight of school bags for Classes I-X.

“Heavy school bags are a serious threat to the health and wellbeing of the school students. It has a severe adverse physical effect on the growing children which can cause damage to their vertebral column and knees,” said the circular.

The load of the school bag, according to the circular, is increased by bringing textbooks, guides, homework/classwork notebooks, rough work notebooks, water bottles, lunch box and sometimes the heavy bag itself.

“Three textbooks (of Hindi, English and Mathematics) have been prescribed for Classes I and II. There shall not be any homework for these Classes,” it said.

“As per the curriculum, six textbooks have been prescribed for Classes VI to X - three textbooks for three languages and one for Maths, Science and Social Studies each,” said the circular.

“There shall be one notebook for each subject for exercises, projects, Unit Test, experiments etc. which the students need to bring as per timetable. Students should not be asked to bring additional books, extra material to the school.”

“The students should always use both straps for carrying the bags and should not sling the bag over one shoulder. The students should keep the bag down while waiting for the school conveyance or in the school assembly,” it added.

Kolkata writes to Imran Khan for participation of Pak publishers

For the first time in the history of the International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF), the organisers have written to the country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan asking him to ensure participation of publishers from Pakistan.

“We have written to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan on November 28 and am hopeful of the country’s participation for the first time as six publishers have shown interest in our invitation,” secretary of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild Tridib Chatterjee said.

Chatterjee recalled that Khan, World Cup winning Pakistan cricket captain, was one of the speakers at the Kolkata Literature Festival, a highlight of the IKBF, in 2012.

“He came to the Book Fair in 2012 and experienced the gathering and footfall himself. So we requested him to look into the matter,” he said.

The organisers are hopeful as the participants and publishers have already applied for the Visa. “We wrote to him reminding about 2012 when he was a special guest and visited Kolkata Literature Festival. That time he was a participant but not a Prime Minister, now things have changed,” Chatterjee said.

IIT Kharagpur confirms ‘Antarctic ozone hole healed’

A study conducted by scientists at IIT Kharagpur has come up with new data that they claim confirm ‘healing’ of Antarctic Ozone hole.

The research is the first of its kind, providing detailed long-term (over four decades) analysis of Antarctic ozone loss saturation in terms of its occurrence and timing, using high-resolution ozonesondes - a balloon-borne instrument that measures concentration of ozone - and satellite measurements inside the vortex (a whirling mass of fluid or air) for the said period. The researchers have collected data from 1979 to 2017.

“We have observed over the past four decades the Ozone layer depletion peaked during winters each year except the warm winters of 1988 and 2002. However, our analysis shows a clear reduction in the frequency of occurrence of ozone loss saturation over the period 2001-2017 consistently throughout various datasets,” Prof Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath said.

Explaining if it will affect the existing protocols and regulations for industrial emissions of ozone depleting substances, Kuttippurath said: “The recovery indicated in the loss saturation layer, robustly suggests that the Montreal Protocol has definitely saved the ozone layer and climate of the Southern Hemisphere”.

The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty to protect the ozone layer.

However, “The ozone recovery process is very slow and it will take a few decades to get back to the pre-ozone hole levels,” said P.C. Pandey, another member of the team said.

Tyeb Mehta’s art fetches

Rs.20.49 crores at Sotheby’s auction in Mumbai

Sothebys inaugural auction in Mumbai Boundless India, featuring seminal works by Tyeb Mehta and Amrita Sher-Gil, has achieved a total of Rs 55.40 crore, the auction house has said.

“The top price of the evening was Tyeb Mehta’s Durga Mahisasura Mardini which sold for Rs 20.49 crores, reflecting the strong market for the artist in recent months,” it said in a statement.

Another work by artist Amrita Sher-Gil The Little Girl in Blue - only the seventh oil painting by the artist to be offered anywhere in the world - sold for a record price of Rs 18.69 crore.

“The work had remained in the same collection for 80 years, since it was selected by the artist for her first solo show in 1937.”

An untitled 1950s bronze sculpture by Sadanand Bakre achieved a record price for any 20th century Indian sculpture at Rs 1.88 crore, said the Sotheby’s statement.

As per Sotheby’s International Head of Indian and South Asian Art Yamini Mehta, the sale enabled them to “connect with scores of new and existing clients” and at the same time deepen their understanding of the Indian art market.

Himachal becomes first state to launch single emergency number

Himachal Pradesh recently became the first Indian state to launch a single emergency number 112 which will connect to police, fire, health and other helplines through an Emergency Response Centre (ERC) in the state.

This obviates the need for citizens to remember multiple numbers. Under the project, one ERC has been established in Shimla along with 12 District Command Centres covering the entire state.

“The ERC has been integrated with police (100), fire (101), health (108) and women helpline (1090) services to provide emergency services via single emergency number 112,” said a Union Home Ministry statement.

The service is part of the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) which includes a ‘112 India’ mobile app integrated with panic button of smartphones and ERSS state website for ease of citizen in availing immediate assistance.

“Ensuring safety of women, a ‘SHOUT’ feature has been introduced in ‘112 India’ mobile app to seek immediate assistance from registered volunteers in the vicinity apart from the immediate assistance from ERC. The SHOUT feature is exclusively available to women. The ERC has also been integrated with location based services provided by telecom service providers,” said the statement.

It said the ‘112 India’ mobile app will be subsequently rolled out in all states and Union Territories to help people across the country access the unified emergency services.

Handmade tribal jewellery sparks empowers these women

Dependent on the forest for their day-today needs, women of Bandha Tola faced an uncertain future when their whole village, along with hundreds of other such Baiga tribal villages, was moved out of their traditional habitat in the jungles of this famous tiger reserve in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state.

But now, thanks to their culture and traditions, these women see a ray of hope: in jewellery. A brainchild of the Kanha Tiger Reserve’s administration and the Last Wilderness Foundation (LWF), this initiative has also brought tribal jewellery into homes of people who have started appreciating the dying art.

“We (Baiga) make our own jewellery. It hardly takes a few hours to make these necklaces. If we work as labourers, it gets us Rs 100 for an entire day’s work, time and energy; beside there is no honour as those contractors and other people from big cities look down upon us. But to make necklaces is something we can do at home while doing other household chores,” says Sunita Dhurve, a 25-year-old mother of one.

“It’s great to have our own source of income. Now I am not dependent on my husband for money. I have my own savings and I don’t have to make him happy for every small thing that I need,” quips Sanju Bopche, another tribal woman.

While the foundation provides them all the material that they require, they earn some Rs 50-100 per piece. The jewellery is, however, sold for Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 at different souvenir shops and resorts in Mukki zone of the Kanha Tiger Reserve, as well as on e-commerce platforms. However, the initiative is aimed at preserving the Baiga culture and to reduce their dependence on the forests, says S.K. Khare, assistant director of Kanha Tiger Reserve.

Vidya Venkatesh of Last Wilderness Foundation adds, “It’s a brilliant experience. We received a really good response, but the best response came from online stores and foreign visitors.”

Wear your Team India shirt, grab funky Sachin-style wigs from us, and get ready to make some noise and colour at every game! Boundaries, catches, drops…. We’ll cheer them all !

The cricketers have to wear white, but not us! So let us dazzle the crowds on Day 3 of every Test Match by turning out in our best saris, sherwanis and kurtas! The best dressed will win fantastic prizes!