2019-01 Melbourne

PUBLISHER Pawan Luthra

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Veni Vidi Vici

Preparation and belief seemed to be the keys for this epic success.

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

14 months after India gained independence in 1947, its cricket team sailed from Mumbai to Darwin to undertake their first tour of Australia. The Indian cricket team, in spite of some outstanding players such as Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad, Lala Amaranth and Dattu Phadkar, were thoroughly thrashed by the Aussies, losing the five-Test Series 4-nil with one Test drawn.

Since that 1948-49 contest, India has never won a test series here, till Virat Kohli’s team did so just over a week ago.

For Kohli and his band of 18 players, what an absolutely thrilling moment after the near-total massacres which the Indian party in tours past has endured in Australia. Even for the Indian Australian fans, there was much to cheer about after years of dismal performances by their team.

For a team which is known for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the focus and dedication shown this time around was indeed commendable.

In 1948-49, the great Sir Don Bradman playing for Australia noted this about the Indian team: "I first saw them play in Adelaide when South Australia were their opponents. I made a century in this match, and in doing so formed the conclusion that our Test team would make a lot of runs against them for two reasons: firstly, their bowling, whilst reasonably steady and sound, lacked a really fast bowler, and what is probably more important, a really high-class spinner. Secondly, to my surprise, they were weak in the field."

Fast forward 71 years and there was a rich choice for the selectors in picking their pacemen and their tweakers. With five fast ball specialists and three spinners, the team had a depth which was seldom seen in their line-up.

Over the years, the focus on fielding, largely driven by the players’ commitments to IPL, has also been razor sharp.

Yes, the Australians were without their dynamic duo of Smith and Warner, serving out their punishments after sandpaper-gate. Between the two, they were probably good for about 150 runs per innings; in fact, David Warner has the prize of scoring the 4th fastest Test

century against the Indians on their last tour. Be that as it may, if the situation was reversed, with Kohli and Pujara sidelined from the Indian team, there would still have been enough depth in the team to progress the cause. That the Australian team was caught short with the lack of good options to select the national team from, is something which the administrators need to attend to beyond the return of the sidelined Smith and Warner.

Success also wins you new friends. The support which the Indian cricket team got from their adoring fans was at levels never seen before in Australia. Be it the Bharat Army or the Swami Army or the lone brand of the tricolourturbaned Gurnam Singh, the chants, the songs and the flag waving created a buzz around the various grounds. Well done, folks, your excitement was certainly infectious.

And finally, to the Indian captain Virat Kohli: you came, you saw, you conquered. Not only did you win the Border Gavaskar trophy, you also won the hearts of the Aussies, who, to borrow a phrase from the Federal Minister for Sport Bridget McKenzie, have all but declared they have a cricket crush on you.

Well done, Team India.

The reasons are black and white

Paradise lost

BY APARNA ANANTHUNI

Ididn’t realise it until now. The title of NGV International’s current temporary South Asian exhibition is problematic.

When I first read it, Visions of Paradise: Indian Court Paintings, it slid over me innocuously, as exactly the kind of title this exhibition of 17th, 18th and 19th century paintings - produced mostly in the princely courts of Rajasthan - would be given. I am, after all, accustomed to the grandiose, exotic titles under which South Asian culture is consistently packaged to a Western public.

But Visions of Paradise? Of course, there are paintings in the collection depicting the love-play of the romantic divine couple Krishna and Radha, paintings that show the worship of Shiva and the goddess Annapurna, visits of women to holy men and women of various sects. However, the exhibition displays these in their own separate sections. This vast and diverse collection of paintings is in the main rich depictions of highly ceremonial and symbolically weighted scenes of secular court life in the erstwhile states of Bikaner, Marwar (now Jodhpur), Jaipur, Kota and Mewar (now Udaipur).

And arguably, the sacred and profane, courtly and mystic, poetical and political aren’t discrete categories in South Asian art forms at all – they wind together comfortably, aesthetically, free from hard lines that we draw between them in our

current denominationally-obsessed world.

So what is with the Visions of Paradise thing?

By now you might think I’m overthinking this. These paintings are undeniable treasures, gloriously vibrant, glowing down from the walls, a happy blending of Persian, Mughal Indian, and pre-Mughal Indian materials, techniques and visual vocabulary.

They are made for intense looking – for poring over their incredible detail, their vast scope, in scenes of polo games, elephant fighting, alligator feeding, hunting, Diwali celebrations. For sighing with pleasure over the delicate lines and soft, gemmed colours

of single figures of exquisitely costumed men and women, offering prayers, longing for lovers, sharing glances with a paramour or consort, looking down from a window, smoking a water pipe. For stepping back and enjoying the quirky, unsteady depictions of perspective, a technique taken by South Asian artists from their Western visitors and trading partners, and, with typical creativity, turned on its head and played with however they saw fit. For going in as close as you can without touching the centuries-old paper, and looking for the unexpected, a reward for those who take the time to do it: a tiny gold figure waving its arms from the pond that female musicians are assembled around, the vivid rage on the quarter-inch length face of a virahini (female mourning over separation from her lover), the vicious devouring of a deer by a falcon. They are transportive in their beauty and vitality - visual windows to whole, complete, miniature worlds.

And yet, that title is important to interrogate. These paintings certainly are stylised works, offering us a splendid ideal, a politically and culturally crafted image of (male) power and sensuality. They

are certainly the product of a vision. But Visions of Paradise obscures the historicity of these kingdoms, their individuality, the personalities of their rulers, the world that the works were produced in, and the modes of their production. It sounds like the title that 19th-century British colonial collectors would come up with for this exhibition.

I also wish that there was more creativity and imagination in the curation and display of these exhibitions, a desire to really open up this world that is constantly offered up as exotic and ‘other’, and consumed as such. The paintings are grouped into sections like “play”, “hunting”, “poetry”, “harem”, distinctions that aren’t useful, as I have said, to really getting into the heads of the premodern men and women that inhabited and ruled these courts. The informational panels are equally superficial, and perhaps even misleading – one thing I object to heavily is the distinction between ‘Mughal’ and ‘Indian’ art: once again, it’s a false one.

Go see the paintings, just for the pleasure of seeing them. Look at them closely, marvel at them, as the courtiers and rulers of their time would have done.

But I think they deserved more.

When the title of an exhibition does little to capture the essence of the subject area

Visions of Paradise obscures the historicity of the kingdoms (of erstwhile Rajasthan), their individuality, the personalities of their rulers, the world that the works were produced in, and the modes of their production.

1: Maharana Jagat Singh II attending a Raslila performance (Jai Ram, 1736), 2: A musical mode, Bilawal Ragini (c. 1670),

3: Maharaja Madho Singh I of Jaipur (Bakhta, c. 1760), 4: Maharana Amar Singh II of Jaipur (early 18th century) , 5: Maharana Ari Singh II and Rapaji riding elephants (Jiva, 1767), 6: Maharao Ram Singh II of Kotah and companions playing Holi in a street (Kisan Das, 1844)

YOUR SAY

THE WALL

We shared a Facebook post lauding cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara for his brilliant play during the series.

Leigh D’Silva wrote: Trump definitely needs him to build his wall.

Manjunath Aradhya wrote: Backbone of Indian team and suitable replacement of The Great Wall (Rahul Dravid).

PERSON OF THE YEAR

On B Vanlalvawna being honoured as Indian Link’s Person of the Year. Livingston Chettipally wrote: Congratulations Hon Vanlal Vawna, Consulate General of India and Mrs Rosy, may God bless you with abundance and grace.

Saba Nabi wrote: Without a doubt he is the favourite amongst the Indian diaspora.

Mala Mehta wrote: Excellent choice Indian Link, congrats Rosy and Vawna!

Shantha Viswanathan wrote: What a great choice Indian Link. Congrats CG Hon. Vanlal Vawna.

Vandana D'souza wrote: Excellent choice Indian Link.

Sreeni Pillamarri wrote: Wow congrats.

Chandra Kishore wrote: Congratulations.

Anagan Babu wrote: Right selection, well done, Indian Link.

Congratulations Hon. Vanlal Vawna.

Mittu Gopalan wrote: Wow, what an amazing selection, Indian Link! You have everyone’s unanimous support in this choice!

People’s choice is definitely our absolute favourite CG Hon Vanlal Vawnaji and his amazing wife Dr Rosy Lalmalsawmi Khuma, the incredible woman behind it all. This team does India so proud and we are honoured that Australia was blessed to have them for a term. We are grateful for all your tireless services.

Indu Harikrishna wrote: Congrats!

Rosy Lalmalsawmi Khuma wrote: Thank you Indian Link for this honour bestowed on Vanlal Vawna. You are the best in class!

SAY IT AGAIN

I think we are going to set a new record here. The maximum amount of time lost for the minimum amount of rain!

Harsha Bhogle, Indian cricket commentator

WHERE IN INDIA

We posted a picture of this temple in southern India that’s famous for ‘granting visa wishes’ of Indians. Most of you guessed it right: it’s Chilkur Balaji Temple in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Well done, Arumugam Gokulraj, Roopa Avasarala.

Forget how bad Australia have been, with this attack India would have been a good chance of winning even if Smith and Warner had played.

Brydon Coverdale, Australian quiz personality

Well done guys. Enjoy the no packing day tomorrow. One week here has been hectic with 3 time zones.

Ravi Shastri, Team India coach

If like me you have been coming to Australia since 1991 with no hope of winning a series, then this is a huge moment.

Harsha Bhogle, Indian cricket commentator

India beat Australia by 2-1 in 4 match series. That's Team India's way of wishing us a Happy New Year 2019.

Ravindra Jadeja, Indian cricketer

OLD IS DEFINITELY GOLD

RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA’s article on 94-year-old Kailash Bhatnagar’s first art exhibition received a tremendous response.

Suman Mathur wrote: I missed your exhibition! You are still so sharp of mind, skilled and persevering. May God give you the strength to continue with your creative pursuits.

WHERE IN AUSTRALIA

We shared this breathtaking picture of a very special 'pink' water body in Australia and asked people to guess where it was. Jillian Abery, Varada P Shinde and Sachin Wakhare got it right: it's Spencer Lake in Western Australia. Good guessing!

Time to leave Manchester .. By the time I arrive in Sydney I will have watched a Big Bash game .. Had a few vinos .. watched 6 movies .. Had 8 hrs kip .. watched the Aussies lose another Test Match ..

Michael Vaughan, former English cricketer

Test match batting at its best by Pujara. @cheteshwar1 has been the difference between the 2 teams for me.

Sachin Tendulkar, former Indian cricketer

SCOMO MEETS TEAM INDIA

Indian Link’s snapshots and videos from the traditional afternoon tea hosted by Scott Morrison for Team India got over 200 likes and 60 shares.

Gary Bhinder wrote: Very nice!

Gauram Berry wrote: Cha gaye ji!

Ramesh Chand wrote: When chips are down all helps. Haven't seen that in the past but positive. Trophy goes to India. Good game well played, healthy competition. Loved every minute of it.

Sanjay Anand wrote: Very nice.

Arun Pandit wrote: Super!

Steven Knight wrote: The PM looks fat! Too much taxpayers’ money. Pushpak Saglani wrote: Mast bat karta hai Kohli. Hope it turns well in Sydney.

Aman Nigam wrote: Pushpak Saglani Yes, we definitely need to win, at least for the sake of the bowling unit!

Neha Devarakonda wrote: I nearly started applauding at my laptop screen!

Seema Chopra wrote: Kohli, you are the best!

Rosy Lalmalsawmi Khuma wrote: The day I got Kohlified!

My brave, bold prediction is that I think Virat Kohli is not going to get a hundred and we’re going to knock India off over here.

Australian cricketer Pat Cummins in July 2018

Loved #Viratkohli press conference after winning 3rd test against Australia. Agrresive, Super Confident and just the right amount of Arrogance.

Shekhar Kapur, Indian filmmaker

What a day for Indian cricket! To think the Aussies would pray for rain to save them!

Rajdeep Sardesai, Indian news anchor

It's spinning out of control for the home team. Made to follow on in Australia for the first time since 1988.

Champion performance by our boy @imkuldeep18

Suresh Raina, Indian cricketer

History, without the asterisk

Reflecting on India’s historic 2-1 series victory over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

BY RITAM MITRA

India’s journey to win its first Test series on Australian soil began 12 months ago, when Kohli’s team lost 2-1 against a South African side featuring the now-retired AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel. The tourists’ only victory came in the dead rubber in Johannesburg, albeit on the most difficult of the three pitches served up to the visitors. In that win, both Mohammad Shami and Jasprit

Bumrah took 5-wicket hauls. It was the first sign that India’s exciting crop of fast bowlers were finally up to the challenge of bowling India to victories in foreign conditions, even where their batsmen failed to provide any advantage.

Fast forward 12 months, and India fields teams in Melbourne and Sydney that retain only 5 or 6 players from its successful Johannesburg XI. In years gone by - and indeed for most teams today - that would be a sign of chaos, of instability. Yet for this Indian side, it means one thing: depth. And more so than the indefatigable Pujara, the explosive Bumrah or mastermind Kohli, depth is what eventually wins India their first series in Oz.

Photo: Ravinder Singh Jabbal

It was a lack of depth, conversely, that ended Australia’s ambitions of defending history, but the scale of the problem was not clear until the fat lady had sung and Kohli was lifting the trophy. Even when it was announced after the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal that Australia would be without Steve Smith and David Warner for the home summer, it was not seen as a completely fatal blow. After all, Australia as a team have never been reliant on one or two players; Australia is the land of a first-class competition that has been the envy of the world, an endless treasure chest of fast bowlers and aggressive batsmen who thrive on flat and hard pitches. This is the country where a player as good as Matthew Hayden had to spend several seasons averaging above 50 in the strongest-ever Australian domestic cricket competition before being given an extended run in the national side.

And in the first two matches of this series, it seemed as though that vision would hold true. On the very first day in Adelaide, the Indian top order was dismantled, as the tourists slumped to 5/86 shortly after lunch,

then limped to 250 courtesy of a lone hand by Pujara. Then, even as stalwarts like Khawaja and Marsh failed to deliver in the hosts’ first innings, new blood in Travis Head, Peter Handscomb and Marcus Harris all contributed to bring Australia within touching distance of India. Australia ran close in the end, but lost by 31 runs on a pitch that was always widely regarded to be India’s best chance at winning a match.

In Perth, normal Australian service seemed to have resumed as the Indian batsmen twice succumbed to relentless pressure on a diabolical but excellent pitch. It was not the usual Australian blueprint of success, but it was effective. In fact, without Kohli’s sublime first innings century, the margin may have been humiliating for India, as have been many of its losses in Australia.

But it is funny how long a few weeks can be in cricket; that lofty image of Australian cricket now seems like a distant mirage in the rearview mirror.

In Melbourne, reeling from the ignominy of the loss in Perth, India replace both their

failing openers. It is an almost unheard-of decision in the middle of a tour like this, especially with the series tied 1-1. The local papers report that the Indians are panicking, but the panic button works; debutant Mayank Agarwal is the most assured of all the Indian batsmen, posting a fluent 76 in the first innings, and 42 in the second innings as the rest of the team collapsed around him. The promoted Hanuma Vihari blunts the new ball effectively, scoring 8 off 66 in an innings that Kohli praises as equally important as Pujara’s marathon century. The other replacement, Jadeja, takes 5 wickets from 57 tight overs on an unresponsive pitch as India retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India rubs salt in the wounds in Sydney as the hosts crumble, their bowlers now on their knees. Again, Agarwal and Vihari impress, and Pujara continues Pujara-ing. Rishabh Pant (159*) slams the highest-ever score by a visiting wicketkeeper at the SCG, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja who scores a blistering 81. Then Rohit Sharma’s replacement, Kuldeep Yadav, takes 5-99, the hosts capitulating

and following-on before the Sydney weather invokes the mercy rule.

Even still, some have questioned whether an Indian side without Pujara and Kohli would beat Australia.

The answer is that, in home conditions, India could actually lose most of its top 6 batsmen, including Pujara and Kohli, and still comfortably beat an Australian side with Warner and Smith. With batsmen such as Karun Nair, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill waiting in the wings, along with the more experienced hands who did not feature in the most recent Tests such as Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, India’s batting riches know few bounds. Even the loss of one of its all-time great spinners in Ravi Ashwin did not hurt India’s cause, as Yadav and Jadeja proved. All of these players could walk into the Australian XI today.

The upshot of it all? There is no doubt that India’s series win is historic, but it is also an unqualified one; there will be no asterisk next to this achievement, as much as some may desire it.

Nearly there: Victory at Melbourne

Up close and personal with the King

RITAM MITRA

No visiting cricketer - and possibly no athlete - has ever toured Australia with as many arrows trained on his back as Virat Kohli. Whether it is the niggly opposition, the provocative Australian media, or the hostile local fans at the ground and on social media, everyone wants their pound of flesh. For his part, Kohli has doubled down, perfectly at ease with his role as pantomime villain for as long as the results keep permitting it. Off the field and away from the spotlight, however, Kohli’s relaxed demeanour belies the hungry fire that rages within.

Troubled by a back injury throughout India’s victory in the Boxing Day Test - a victory that ultimately proved pivotal in ensuring India’s historic 2-1 series win, given the inclement weather in Sydney - the Indian captain spent much of his free time at the team hotel under the watchful eyes of team physio Patrick Farhart and strength and conditioning coach Basu Shanker. Each morning and evening, Kohli’s relaxation came in the form of rehabilitation exercises in the hotel pool and spa, offering those around him a fascinating insight into his off-field persona.

Despite being by some distance the most worshipped cricketer in the world - a title that, admittedly, is all but promised to an Indian player - it is obvious to even the casual observer that Kohli does not walk as a Colossus, detached from reality as one might expect of someone with over 28 million Instagram followers. The laugh of a child playing in the pool, the fleeting moment of agony upon dipping into a 40 degree spa, the serene Melbourne sunset; each brings a smile to his face, as it would to the rest of us. Even as Farhart sits by the pool, engrossed by his phone, Kohli calls out to him, “It’s a beautiful pool, no?”

Yet even in the peaceful ambience of a secluded and near-empty rooftop pool overlooking the Melbourne skyline, there is one thought firmly at the forefront of Kohli’s mind: the battle at hand. And like any fan, Kohli loves to talk cricket, no matter when and

with whom. As much as Kohli asserts that he does not read the news media or otherwise indulge in the court of public opinion, it is difficult to believe, given the extent to which he lives and breathes the game.

“Did you hear Ravi Shastri’s comments back to Kerry O’Keeffe the other night?” he says to me, then proceeding to recount in detail Shastri’s on-air riposte to O’Keeffe’s commentary likening a Ranji Trophy bowling attack to “canteen staff”.

Kohli then turns the conversation to the declining strength of Australian shield cricket, with more than a hint of indignation and disbelief in his voice that it was the quality of India’s domestic circuit that was being questioned. It is no secret that O’Keeffe’s remarks lit a fire under the Indian camp; bowling coach Bharat Arun later labelled the comments “offensive” and admitted they “hurt”, while Kohli made it a point to lavish praise on the Indian first-class set-up in his post-match interviews following the team’s win in Melbourne. Ironically, much of the home team’s post-series dissection has hinged on how to overcome perhaps Australia’s worstever Sheffield Shield stocks.

You could sense that Kohli was in his element now. He spoke of an ex-Australian player who had been seeking an interview with him during the Test series, a request that Kohli declined until at least after the conclusion of the series. According to Kohli, this did not sit well with that player. “Only when they want something, they [certain ex-players] will speak to you a certain way,” he says. “But it doesn’t matter to me if I’m talking to you or someone who has 15,000 runs, at the end of the day it’s a human interaction. I’m not going to go above and beyond just because you have 15,000 runs. They don’t see it that way, but I do.”

Kohli’s self-reflection continued, but it was candid, rather than contrived. “To be honest, I don’t care what people have to say,” he says. “I don’t have to hold up a banner and say, ‘This is me’. There’s always someone up there watching and judging,” he concludes, gesturing to the skies above.

On each of his visits to the pool, Kohli entertains conversations with anyone who approaches him, even as the hotelier and team minder watch on closely, ready to intervene should it become necessary. He is polite, respectful and his smile and eye contact do not waver. He also listens with the kind of intense attention with which he regards a ball hurled at him across 22 yards.

Kohli’s generosity goes beyond conversation; in the euphoria following the Indian team’s win at the MCG, he pauses to give away a set of signed pads to a delighted young Indian fan. Even in the denouement of what he crowned the biggest achievement of his already illustrious career - hoisting the Border-Gavaskar trophy to celebrate winning a series on Australian soil for the first time - Kohli stepped aside almost immediately, handed the trophy to India’s most inexperienced player, Mayank Agarwal, and did not once seek to take centre stage.

This gesture, more than perhaps any other, proved this much: this Indian captain is every bit as invested in his team as they are in him. As long as that equilibrium is maintained, the inferno within Kohli will burn for years to come. It can be no surprise that Kohli has referred to the series win merely as a “stepping stone” to greater heights ahead.

After dressing, and before leaving the pool, Kohli comes by to say goodbye. At the end of such an exceedingly normal interaction, for just a moment it was easy to forget that you had been in the presence of royalty.

describes the other side to the most worshipped cricketer in the world

He is polite, respectful and his smile and eye contact do not waver. He also listens with the kind of intense attention with which he regards a ball hurled at him across 22 yards.

Ritam shares a rare selfie

Seen, heard and overheard at the cricket From the sidelines

Rubbing salt in it: Cape Town wounds live on

A former Australian coach and a respected commentator were overheard discussing Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith’s controversial decisions to give further interviews about their involvements in the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal. The interviews were aired during the first day of the Boxing Day Test and were an unwanted distraction on the biggest day in the Australian cricket calendar.

During lunch on Day 4 at the SCG Test, the commentator was heard to say to the ex-coach, “Can you believe those two?

Mind-numbingly stupid.”, while the ex-coach replied, shaking his head, “Mate, no idea”. There may have been some more colourful language used, but this much was clear: the entire Australian cricket fraternity is astounded at the interviews, and the wounds from the events in Cape Town 10 months ago still remain well and truly open.

The exchange between the pair also proved that the Indian bowlers have left a serious impression on the hosts, with one of the pair remarking “They’re getting so much out of the pitches, they’ve been much better than our lot”.

Is it still banter?

Aakash Chopra has never been the most

popular of commentators. Unflinchingly parochial and at times almost argumentative, Chopra’s style has not washed too well with local audiences or his fellow commentators during his time with Channel 7, with the exIndian Test opener regularly clashing with the likes of Michael Slater and Damien Fleming on air (although admittedly it does not take much to get under Slater’s skin).

The banter spilled into the lunch room during the SCG Test, when Fleming walked past Chopra and said “Do you ever stop talking mate?” He then gestured to Chopra and said, “He never shuts up!” Chopra retorted with “I’m paid to give my opinion”. We’re sure it was all in good humour, but there was certainly a little bit of bite in this banter.

As an aside, we think James Brayshaw missed the mark with his on-air comments that Chopra must not know where his wages were coming from, given Chopra’s notoriously pro-India stance. After all, while an Australian broadcaster may be paying Chopra’s wages, India is the reason cricket has any money at all.

A struggle for relevance

Mitchell Johnson was a fearsome fast bowler in his prime, but for much of his career, he was pilloried for his wayward bowling.

Things have not changed much in

Johnson’s retirement, with the former Australian quick struggling to make his mark in the world of cricket journalism. Penning a piece for Fox Sports Australia, Johnson heavily criticised Virat Kohli, arguing in his very first line that the Indian captain did not make eye contact with Tim Paine when shaking hands after the second Test match in Perth. The claim was demonstrably false – a simple review of the video made it clear that Kohli had in fact made eye contact.

In a private exchange on Instagram, Johnson first denied his mistake, stating “That’s your opinion, your Indian captain is childish”, before apparently reviewing the video and commenting “Okay maybe there was or wasn’t eye contact but I am still entitled to me [sic] view and opinion”. Johnson’s recent run of social media warfare even led one current Indian player to remark in confidence, “Mitch has lost it”. We don’t think so, but we think Mitch is definitely still hurting after the “childish” Kohli hit Johnson to all corners of the MCG in 2014.

Yadav’s new toy

Fresh from taking 5 wickets in his first Test on Australian soil, Kuldeep Yadav had earned a hard-fought break when rain intervened on Day 4 of the SCG Test match.

Yet even the darkening Sydney skies could

not keep the young spinner off the SCG soil, with Yadav spotted having a grand play with Fox Cricket’s “rover” vehicle as if it were Christmas morning, while his teammates relaxed in the dressing room away from the cold, the rain, and the hordes of Indian fans crowding the front of the away dressing rooms in the Members Pavilion. Yadav’s smile was a dead giveaway for his friends and family: his next birthday present simply has to be a high-powered remote-controlled vehicle. Although Yadav was not required with the bat in his only appearance in the series, he still managed to hit a four – by driving the rover straight into the boundary rope. Oops.

Kasper the Friendly Bowler

Former Aussie player Michael Kasprowicz claims quite proudly that he has contributed significantly to India’s GDH – ‘Gross Domestic Happiness’. Talking at a sideline event during the Border Gavaskar Trophy, he explained that TV snippets of Sachin Tendulkar smashing him relentlessly to the boundaries continue to this day to give India much cause for happiness.

Vegan Virat

So you think Virat was less pugnacious this time around? Word has it that wifey Anushka must take credit - she’s converted him to a vegan, apparently. And Virat himself is all

for this new love for ‘clean living’, claiming it helps him recover faster on game days.

Pakistan’s hand in India’s win Sanjiv Dubey, a Level 3 coach and founder of the Western Sydney based cricket academy Sports Foundation Australia, has been doing his bit for the visiting Indian cricket team, helping at practice sessions. Last month he had organised for four of his wards - high school kids and up and comers in NSW’s pathway program - to test their mettle against India’s greats. This month, he did the same with some Pakistani players he is currently training. Harris Rauf, Salman Irshad and Abbas Baloch, players from Pakistan Super League’s Lahore Qalander team, bowled to Indian batsmen at the nets at SCG. Top-level teams like to practice with what they might expect on match day, and so Harris and Salman - who bowl consistently above 145 kms per hour – were no doubt very welcome at the nets. To emulate Mitchell Starc, Sanjiv chose left-arm fast bowler Abbas Baloch.

Fundraisers galore

The bidding on McGrath Foundation’s Pink Test items continues as we go to press. Virat Kohli’s pink baggy has attracted the highest bids by far of all the items donated by the players, at just under $4000. Looks like there are many fans out there who want to own a bit of cricketing history. Nathan Lyon comes in next at the $2000 mark, followed by Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb and Rishabh Pant.

Meanwhile, the Chappell Foundation has also been the recipient of a Kohli gift – a set of his pink gloves and a shirt, both autographed, made personally to Greg Chappell (GC). Will raise a

tidy sum at their forthcoming charity annual dinner on 20 March, you can be sure.

Both Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli were seen raptly listening to GC when he dropped by to say hello to them, on their Dressing Room balcony. GC was actually there to visit former cricketers of Sydney’s Indo Australian Cricket Club (IACC) who were having an annual reunion in the Members stand, five rows away from the Indian Dressing Room.

Iconic Indian Broadcaster Harsha Bhogle also did his bit for the Chappell Foundation. In Melbourne, on Boxing Day, despite his hectic schedule, Harsha fronted up for an event hosted by the Swami Army which will be donating a tidy sum of money to help The Chappell Foundation ameliorate youth homelessness in Australia. Harsha was mobbed by the 100-odd Indians who attended the event and patiently interacted with them for a couple of hours. A true rock-star!

A selectors’ soiree

Talking of GC, he was seen deep in conversation with MSK Prasad, his India counterpart (ie chief selector for the Indian cricket team). Were they sharing trade secrets, tips maybe? Appears GC was passing on a bit of gyan – not about cricket, but about the Three Sisters at the Blue Mountains. And MSK came away fascinated that the stone siblings had Indian-sounding names: Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo. Later, MSK confirmed that sporting facial hair does not give cricketers bonus points for selection to the team. (If you’re an old-timer, you might recall MSK’s last visit to Oz in 1999: he opened the batting in Sydney alongside VVS Laxman).

Special place for the little fans

Looks like Kohli’s love for his youngest fans is going to see many more of them flock to the grounds.

Both at the MCG and the SCG, Kohli went out of his way to give a gift to his littlest fans. In Sydney, six-year-old Atharv Nautiyal is now the proud owner of a batting pad that once belonged to his idol, the captain of the Indian cricket team. A budding cricketer himself who plays - and quite skilfully if reports are to be believed - for the Carlingford Waratah Club, he has been a long-time Kohli fan. The Nautiyal family were in their seats close to the dressing room. “Rain had stopped play and we saw Kohli walk out with a friend,” dad Anuj recounts. “He saw us and smiled and waved to Atharv. Then he went back in. We were thrilled to bits, but imagine our surprise when he came out a few minutes later with a batting pad in his hand. Atharv was a little distance away with my wife Monika by then, so he asked his colleague to walk round and hand the gift over. Virat then blew him a kiss, waved and walked back.”

It’s a great moment for the Nautiyal family and they are still on cloud nine, to use Anuj’s words. “Atharv has been telling everyone he was on TV, and rang his grandparents back in India to tell them – literally shouting into the phone!”

The Nautiyals have been having the discussion recently about whether to expose their little one to more sport, since he has a talent, or stick to academics at which he also excels, bringing home great reports from

school. Hmm, wonder what Virat would say…

They are quite decided about the treasured batting pad, though: it’s going to be encased in a solid frame and take pride of place on the formal room wall.

Here’s hoping this little routine of Virat’s with the little bachchas, is a regular occurrence.

A little party never killed nobody

The stewards in the Members area at the SCG have come in for strong criticism due to their lack of good sense. They are there to make sure the players sitting in their dressing rooms are not disturbed, but it seems that after the wash-out for most of Day 4 and seemingly ongoing for Day 5, the players were more than keen to sign autographs and take selfies with their gathered fans. The stewards thought otherwise and their rude behaviour towards fans and some of the players was noticed by those gathered there.

But no one could have stopped the celebrations – not even the stewards. The warm welcome given by the Bharat Army to the winning team at their hotel lobby has probably now been seen a million times. There’s an interesting tidbit there, revealed by Rajul Sharma, the Bharat Army’s Australia Country Head, to broadcaster Ekta Sharma on Indian Link Radio. “A similar reception had been organised by the Bharat Army in Melbourne, following the MCG win. Captain Virat Kohli was warm and gracious, but had refused to dance with us then. I’m holding on for Sydney, he had said with determination –I’ll dance with you at Sydney.”

FOLLOWERS

KOHLI’S BAGGY PINK IS AN AUCTIONER’S DELIGHT

BY MANAN LUTHRA

What goals did you set at the start of the year, if any? Did they change? Did you achieve them?

Monish Puri: My only goal was to look back from where I am today, and have no regrets about the amount of work I had put in, and consequently my overall score. I secretly wanted to get enough to get onto the Honour Board at our school (97+), but at the time, it was more like a dream to me. I definitely did not expect it to be anywhere close to a 99, let alone a 99.05. So, I definitely surpassed my expectations.

Misha Sethi: My ATAR goal that I told everyone was to get at least 95 but as the year went on I decided that I wanted at least a 98 to be a scholar at my school. I also started the year expecting to get in the 30s for both English and Methods but as the year went on I realised if I worked hard enough I could break the 40s so I set my mind on that as well as achieving a 50 in Further. I’d say I achieved the goals I set.

Sohaan Nath: I did start the year with a goal ATAR score in mind and a first preference course. Expectations were low at points during the year because of how hard it was, but thankfully I did end up achieving my original goal.

How did you manage stress throughout your final year of high school?

Monish: It really depends on the individual. In terms of what I did, whenever I would become stressed out, I would honestly just step away from my work and take a break. I found it difficult to work with an overwhelmed mind, and hence I would just calm myself down. I loved talking with my friends, as they were experiencing the same emotions and workload as I was. The fact that they are also going through the same journey as you, really makes it feel that someone else understands how you are feeling now. I think having a really strong and good network of friends in your final year is really beneficial.

Misha: I kept working my part time job and was involved in school productions which gave me many hours throughout the week in which I was forced to completely switch my mind away from school. I also am quite diligent with my plans for each day so I would set an amount of work to be done each day, and wouldn’t sleep until it was done, which I found allowed me to feel

Very competently earned

2018 school leavers share their stories

accomplished and therefore less stressed by the time I went to bed, even if it was quite late some nights.

Sohaan: I always aimed to surround myself with supportive people such as my family and friends. Their positivity really helped me get through this year.

Do you think technology and social media make studying more helpful or distracting overall?

Monish: Depends on how you use social media. If you use it to perhaps connect with other VCE students, and even share some tips, advice and notes, then I think it is definitely worthwhile.

However, if you use it for unrelated activities, then I guess it does help get your mind off work. But it does become the main reason for procrastination.

Misha: I’d say it depends on the individual, as it can be really helpful to get online help from peers and teachers at home. I know I used to email my teachers a lot near exams as well as use our online resources which helped me. For students that don’t switch off from social media when they’re studying or doing practise exams, it can be extremely distracting. I watched many of my friends do this, and simple tasks would take them much longer than they should have because of the constant distractions. I’d say just utilise technology to your advantage wherever you can to gain extra resources, but switch social media off when you’re studying to get the best out of your time.

Sohaan: I think this year would have been much harder without access to online resources, but during exam time especially I did find it difficult to pace myself with social

media and other platforms.

In 2018, South Australia and the Northern Territory trialed an electronic version of their end-ofyear English exam. Do you think this is a possibility for Victoria, and what kind of impact do you think it could have on study patterns and the exam in general?

Monish: It is true that nowadays, students tend to type their essays electronically, rather than write their essays out by-hand, despite our exam currently being on paper. If the electronic version did become implemented for English exams, it would definitely support those students who are more comfortable and well-versed in typing on the computer, as well as be beneficial in terms of time.

I plan to mentor future VCE students in an academic and holistic manner. Sohaan Nath

Balwyn High School

ATAR: 99.05

Subjects: English, Chemistry, Further Maths, Mathematical Methods (CAS), Accounting, Hindi.

Achievements: 2nd in the state for Hindi

MISHA SETHI

Caulfield Grammar School (Wheelers Hill Campus)

ATAR: 99.45

Subjects: Accounting, Mathematical Methods, English, Further Mathematics, Psychology, Extension Units at Monash University (Accounting and Finance)

Achievements: Dux of my Extension Studies at Monash University; achieved a perfect score of 50 in Accounting and Further Mathematics

Typing an English exam would definitely cut down on time, hence leaving students with more of an opportunity to go back and refine their work. Also, in terms of study patterns, the students who were firstly creating practice essays electronically will continue to do so. And the students who were practising by hand will shift over electronically.

I believe it would actually be quite difficult to implement. Firstly, the 3-hour time duration would have to change as students will not need as long to write the same essays that we had to do by hand. Further, some students may be faster at typing, and others may be slower which would be quite difficult to time. Are you timing speed of typing or your ability to write an essay?

But more importantly, I think there is a certain ease and beauty about writing with hand, which cannot be replaced electronically. With the next generation relying on technology a lot more than us, typing up their exams would really take away any practice and use of their handwriting skills. By having an electronic

English exam, students will not be used to writing by-hand, which is a key skill to have for other exams and other opportunities in life as well.

I still remember how some of my friends complained about their hand cramping one hour through our English exam, which shows the lack of practice students already have with handwriting. Now, take away handwriting exams, they will have very limited practice in hand-writing.

Also, writing by hand in the exam really allows us to do a quick 2-minute plan before an essay to throw out our thoughts, which is so much easier by scribbling on a page, rather than trying to type up a plan.

Also, if they are doing their exam electronically, there will be spell-check, which really defeats the purpose of the “correct and accurate spelling” as well as grammar, punctuation and comprehension rubric in the exam. They would have to disable this feature too.

I honestly do not feel like it would be a great change to the state, and the traditional paper exam for English should stay.

ERIC MOON

NORTH SYDNEY BOYS HIGH SCHOOL

ATAR: 99.95

STATE RANKS: 7TH IN CHEMISTRY

Misha: I personally wouldn’t like to see the electronic exams trialed in VCE, because I think it would take away a lot of the value of the written study required currently for our English exam. From annotations to practise essays, a large portion of my study for English was done with pens and paper which was hard for me to motivate myself to do as English was never my favourite subject; however as our generation’s reliance on technology is growing, I’d hate to see students unable to even sit a three-

JAY PATEL

SYDNEY BOYS HIGH SCHOOL

ATAR: 99.90

STATE RANKS: 7TH IN CHEMISTRY

hour written exam in the future as I think online exams would decrease their resilience and work ethic. I know from experience that you don’t fully take in the content which you are learning unless you handwrite it in some form, and I think that you’d see a decline in both students’ attention span and their ability to write for long periods of time.

Sohaan: I think electronic exams are a possibility in the near future for Victoria. While this may improve results for students hindered by bad handwriting and improve

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I am working on a project with 2 friends where we are creating a VCE Hindi textbook, to really support the future Hindi students who graduate.

Monish Puri

Caulfield Grammar school

ATAR: 98.70

Subjects: Business Management/Economics/Further Maths/Accounting/English Language

Achievements: Received Business, Management/ Economics/Further Maths/General Excellence award at Caulfield Grammar school

necessarily have to study for huge periods at one time. Doing tasks without distractions and with set plans can cut back your studying time, and for me this meant that I didn’t have to give up on going out on the weekends or working my part time job up until the last few weeks before exams.

Sohaan: Don’t take yourself too seriously throughout the year, just ensure you think for yourself and try your best.

What are you most looking forward to now that school is over?

Monish: Definitely going into university and meeting new people. I think it would be interesting to finally find my passion, and hopefully, my future career goals. I am also looking forward to signing up for many clubs at university as well. In terms of outside academics, I am working on a project with 2 friends where we are creating a VCE Hindi textbook, to really support the future Hindi students who graduate. There is this common misconception that you have to have schooled in the Indian sub-continent or just be very fluent in the language to do well, and that is definitely something that we are looking to put aside. But what many do not know is that the course is written for second-language learners who benefit most by studying the course. From firsthand experience, I was not well-versed in the language at all whatsoever, with limited resources and my parents were not fluent. I think having this book published, and really assisting those students who need it would be something to look forward to.

Misha: Definitely the freedom because I found school too constrictive and I’m excited to now be able to plan my life around what I enjoy both academically and socially.

Sohaan: I’m definitely looking forward to a long break without studies, but also the freedom to pursue personal projects such as Impart Mentoring (assisting Year 11 and 12 students) with some of my friends.

Do you plan to stay involved with your school in any way?

Monish: We have the Honour Board Ceremony coming up this year, which I am definitely looking forward to going. Long-term, nothing has been decided as such. But I would love to still stay connected, whether it may be through alumni group (including reunions) or perhaps even training for extracurricular activities (i.e. debating).

Misha: I’ll definitely keep in touch with some of my favourite teachers and of course all my friends from school, but honestly probably not so much the actual school itself.

marking methods for assessors, it also no longer forces students to develop the lifelong skill of handwriting.

Favourite quote from a teacher?

Monish: “What is our greatest enemy?

Time-wasting”. This question by my English Teacher was thrown at us whenever we went about wasting our time, basically at the start of and during every lesson.

Misha: “I would say good luck for tomorrow but ‘luck’ plays no part in your result.”

Sohaan: “Work hard that you may rest content” - school motto perpetuated by a teacher.

What would your advice to future final year students be?

Monish: If you are heading into VCE, then explore all the options and subjects that you can choose. Rather than just choosing what others want, choose what you want to do, because at the end of the day, it is your VCE journey. Many people told me not to take Hindi, as they thought it would be identical

to what they did in India. Not only were they incorrect, but it also turned out to be my best scoring subject. If you like languages, drama, arts, sports or any other subject field, do not be afraid to take a stance and make a decision.

Also, do not stress about the end result. Just do your best, and make sure you work hard so there are no regrets at the end of the year. Also, working hard does not equate to doing well. It is working smart which equates to improvement, which I really did realise throughout my VCE journey.

Lastly, your teachers are excellent sources of knowledge and wisdom. I am very thankful for every teacher that has helped me. Each and every single teacher I have had, especially at the VCE level, has really supported my learning through marking many essays and discussion questions, explaining many concepts one-on-one and calming my stress nerves. They are there to see you do well in your VCE journey, so do not undermine this resource.

Misha: If you study smarter you may not

Sohaan: Yes, I plan to mentor future VCE students in an academic and holistic manner with the support of the school. Otherwise I will pop in once in a while to catch up with some of my favourite teachers.

How do you think university will compare to high school socially and academically?

Monish: Socially, I know that there will be a lot more people to meet and interact with. I guess that gives us more of an opportunity to mingle with others in our university and make friends.

I have also heard that certain universities have a lot more extra-curricular clubs and activities than high school, which will really allow us to interact with students in other faculties.

Of course, the friends we have now may slightly change, as our lives will transition into a new phase.

In terms of academics, I think studying at university will be very different compared to studying at high school. Firstly, it would be a lot more of independent studying,

where you would be self-learning through your experiences in the lecture halls, classrooms and in your study time. And intertwined into this would be that there would be less teachers support. In high school, teachers would constantly remind you about your SACs and exams, and really guide you through your journey. However, in university, I think it will be more about taking initiative, and your lecturers and teachers will not be necessarily following you down to complete your work and attend class.

Misha: I’ve already gotten a taste of university as I did two units at Monash last year, and I definitely appreciated the academic freedom more as I was able to work in any way that best suited me rather than being “spoon fed” in a sense at school. The social aspect will be quite different as well as rather than solely interacting with the same group of people for 6 years there’s a whole world of different people to interact with, depending on what subjects and extracurriculars I’ll choose to do so I’m looking forward to that too.

Sohaan: I am really looking forward to university, especially the opportunity to meet like-minded people and develop skills in my area of interest. I do feel University will provide a more personalised experience, but I am grateful for high school for providing me the backbone in my education.

What moments from Year 12 will you remember the most?

Monish: The main highlights of Year 12 would definitely be Formal and Graduation. They were great moments where our whole friendship group would come together and really enjoy the night, despite the stress we were going under.

More importantly, I will remember the funny and worthwhile moments we had with our friends and teachers, which makes the whole process of leaving school tough.

Misha: All the ‘lasts’ I spent with my friends (last formal, last production, last house events, last assembly etc.) as well as the feeling when I put down the pen at my last exam and realised I was finished.

What did you learn about yourself in your VCE year?

Monish Puri: That I can actually achieve my goals if I put my head down and work smart, because at the end of the day, it is about working smarter, not harder.

Misha: Beginning the year and refusing to give up on my other activities (such as work and productions), I basically thought I had forfeited the 98+ ATAR and settled on my goal of 95. However, as the year went on I realised that as long as I managed my time and worked in the way that worked best for me I would be able to achieve higher than what I had initially thought without having to give up on work or going out throughout the year. I basically learnt that as long as I was in tune with how I worked best (which was different to how a lot of people worked) I was able to manage everything together and didn’t have to give up on the things which I enjoyed.

What was your jersey name?

Monish Puri: Mosh. Halfway through Year 7, my History teacher accidently called me Mosh instead of Monish, and this nickname has stuck with me since.

Misha: Mish

Sohaan: Buds

Describe your VCE year in three (or four) words.

Monish Puri: A rollercoaster of emotions.

Misha: Fast learning curve

Sohaan: Humbling. Challenging. Laughable.

SOHAAN NATH

I was quite diligent with my plans for each day so I would set an amount of work to be done each day, and wouldn’t sleep until it was done, which allowed me to feel accomplished and therefore less stressed by the time I went to bed, even if it was quite late some nights. Misha Sethi

Singing to his own tune

HSC 2018: Kiran Gupta tops the state in Music 1

BY MANAN LUTHRA

HSC 2018 is all but finished, with one final agonising wait yet – for that ATAR, due tomorrow.

Kiran Gupta of Sydney Grammar School is experiencing mixed feelings alongside every single one of his peers. However, he can rest a little easier knowing his hard work in Music 1 has earned him a coveted “First in Place” award, beating thousands of other students across NSW.

It must be particularly satisfying, given that enroute to that top rank, he had to overcome a serious medical condition that struck unawares.

“I was absolutely overjoyed and quite

blown away [when I found out],” he tells Indian Link

“Music is such a personal thing, it felt quite validating when people connected with my singing.”

A singer since he was 10 years old, and influenced by Delta Goodrem, Kiran’s love of music comes from an interest in -people.

“I find music to be a really good tool for connecting with both yourself and society. When you do this, it allows you to flip [social] boundaries and inspire social change.”

Inspired to study music because of his passion for it – “I wanted to do subjects I would enjoy (as much as you can enjoy an HSC subject)” – Kiran’s course is a highly practical one, where upto 70% of a student’s mark can come from a live performance of 5 pieces of their choosing. They may choose to perform these pieces either vocally or with their preferred instrument.

“My friends were doing more typical subject patterns, very maths- and scienceheavy. I find those weren’t really for me – I’m not particularly strong at them. Music was a good choice for me for that reason and also because it was a good break from the monotony of my other subjects.”

In the lead-up to his final music exams, Kiran’s study method was simple but effective.

“For the practical component, I was performing as much as I could to get as

much experience as possible. Doing that allowed me to increase my confidence for the final day.”

The numbers he picked were Why God Why (Miss Saigon), I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues (Elton John), She Cries (Songs for a new World), Anthem (Chess)

“For my theory exam, I listened to a wide variety of music and made sure I was comfortable with any type of music they could ask me about. I’m glad I did – in the HSC exam they had a few questions on a Bollywood remix of Swedish House Mafia’s Don’t You Worry Child that many students hadn’t expected!”

However, right before his performance assessment, disaster struck.

“One day I woke up completely dizzy, throwing up and unable to walk. The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital put me right in the stroke ward. They found a lump under my tongue, and fearing lymphoma, put me straight into surgery. Later, I was diagnosed with acute cerebellar syndrome, a neurological condition. This condition affected my stamina so much I had to change one of my performance pieces that I had been working on for months before a week before the assessment.”

Going through this journey made this outcome even more special for Kiran, who would also go on to be nominated for Encore, a showcase of the best performances by Music students across the state held at the

Opera House.

“It was quite a euphoric feeling, knowing that my hard work had paid off.”

How would he advise other youngsters in our community who want to do creative-type subjects but are discouraged because ‘they don’t scale well’?

“I would say, go for it. I go to a selective school and many people advised me not to do music because it doesn’t scale well. Yet it ended up being my best scaled mark - which shows that if you have a passion for something, that is the most important thing. If I did 4U Maths, I would not have got the results I got. I would say, follow your passions and the ATAR will come, because if you enjoy a subject you are going to do much better.”

As a singer, what tune has he caught himself humming today?

“Red in Black from Les Miserables – I’m currently performing at Manly Musical Society’s production, playing Joly one of the students.”

With his ATAR result still to come, Kiran has high hopes for the future.

“I would like to study Arts/Law at Sydney University, majoring in Media and Communications, but would still like to pursue music as a performer. My ultimate goal is to get a record deal and hopefully land a reality TV show or end up in musical theatre.”

His HSC in three words? “Challenging, stressful, doable.”

Never too late to shine

Late-blooming artist Kailash

Bhatnagar proves age is no barrier

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

When Kailash Bhatnagar first encountered Aboriginal art, she was reminded immediately of the drawings that she made annually for the festival of Ahoi Ashtami back in India.

These drawings are created for the festival dedicated to the Goddess Ahoi, the Hindu version of the patron saint of mothers. The main figures in these drawings are simple depictions of little children and animals, but they are enclosed in elaborate decorative borders made up of dotted lines and patterns.

Having created these drawings every year for this festival of the bond between mothers and children, Mrs Bhatnagar was drawn immediately to the undulating dotted patterns in Aboriginal art. Not only did they take her back to her childhood, they also inspired her to paint.

Some six years later, at 94, she presented her first art exhibition.

Held earlier this month at her Epping home, it gave her an opportunity to talk about how she first picked up the paint brush not so long ago.

“It was definitely a spiritual connection when I saw my first dot painting up close,” Mrs Bhatnagar said. “It made me certain that there is a deeper link between Australia’s Indigenous people and our own people, a link that goes back thousands of years.”

She was visiting Broome in WA at the time. In her six-month stay there, she went to many art exhibitions and galleries, spoke to artists, and read extensively.

As creative possibilities began to suggest themselves to her, she resorted to the comfort of an old skill - embroidery - to present her own versions of the new ideas to which she was being exposed. In Anant ki or (Towards Eternity), her skilful use of chain stitch, beading and delicate stem stitch, relay the underlying message effectively.

But by now, a whole new passion had been ignited.

Already in her late 80s, at a time when regular people are slowing down, she felt an urge to try an entirely new skill.

“I had never painted in the modern sense before,” she revealed. “My painting was restricted to the Ahoi drawings that were made on the walls, and on paper later.”

There was no stopping her now.

Completely self-taught, she experimented with landscapes in oil, but it was with the abstracts that she found her true love. Acrylic also allowed her an ease which helped her to become prolific.

In her work, Mrs Bhatnagar brought into play the new concepts that allured, as well

as bits from her heritage, to create her dot paintings.

The swastik symbol and the Om sign are unmistakable elements in her pieces, as she finds novel ways to express herself. So are the mandala patterns - the Hindu and Buddhist representations of the universe, and the cyclical nature of life.

The elemental nature in Mrs Bhatnagar’s works is clearly derived from her deeprooted Hindu spiritualism.

The piece Staircase to the Moon depicts this very philosophy. The painting comes

from the natural phenomenon of the same name, a common occurrence in Roebuck Bay WA when the full moon rises over the exposed tidal flats.

Describing, Mrs Bhatnagar recounted, “There was pin drop silence as the moon ascended - in well-calculated steps in a straight line. Dil itna khush hua, ki aisa laga ki lapak ke chand ko godi mein le loon It filled my heart with such happiness that I felt like jumping up to the moon and embracing it.”

Painting the moon, another worshipped

deity in Hinduism, in this new avatar gave Mrs Bhatnagar not only much pleasure but also increased confidence.

“The black in this painting beckoned to me, and I decided next to paint on a black canvas,” she revealed. “And that is how the painting of the dancers came about.”

Of course it was a challenge - as she discovered that she had to paint the figures in white first, and then paint the colours over! Indeed, the learning continues for Mrs Bhatnagar, late-blooming artist.

Diamonds: Chunks of coal that stuck to their job

BY PREETI JABBAL

When passion and skill come together expect a masterpiece. For Reet Phulwani, one of the very few Indian female gemmologists and jewellery valuers in Melbourne, a lifelong interest in gems set the course for a sparkling career.

“I have always been fascinated by the shape, colour and clarity of gems, however the trigger point to start something of my own occurred when both my husband and I lost our jobs around the same time,” said Reet explaining the trajectory of her niche career.

What had started initially as a bit of a ‘side business’ to help a university friend soon turned into a flourishing jewellery valuation and diamond wholesale business.

“My friend belongs to the 4th generation of a family based in Thailand that sells and sources gemstone. When my friend decided to expand her business into Australia she asked me to help her. I started by selling pieces for her through ebay and gradually branched out to jewellery market and retailers,” Reet recounted. Putting in the hard yards to demonstrate competence in valuing,

Reet acquired the academic learning and gemstone appraisal experience required to become a Member of the Australian National Council of Jewellery Valuers. She is also a member of the Gemmological Association of Australia.

Members of the National Council of Jewellery Valuers (NCJV) are highly skilled experts trained in providing accurate assessments of all types of jewellery. Their detailed reports are essential when claiming insurance for lost, stolen or damaged items, when seeking a fair price at a sale or if you want to purchase a new piece of jewellery. NCJV valuers can provide an assessment that is based on accredited education.

As a registered valuer, Reet ensures that she completes ongoing training to keep upto-date with market trends, which can affect prices. Like the diamonds that she grades, Reet flourishes under pressure.

Juggling her time between three young kids, actively supporting her husband’s business, designing house and connecting to the community, she claims that there is no stop button on her life’s agenda. She may pause here and there to reflect and reinvent, but mostly she powers on.

“When I started studying for this course, part time, my second child was just born. I continued to sell gemstones on ebay and getting formal qualification but the bulk of my time was spent in helping my husband to establish his new business. Both of us are in niche businesses that come with their

own unique set of challenges; however, we persevered,” said Reet as she continued her story.

Reet’s husband Kamal Phulwani (Kam) established Medsurge Healthcare Pty Ltd a pharmaceutical company offering specialized lifesaving medicines to healthcare professionals in Australia and New Zealand. The company began as a wholesale pharmaceutical distribution business, and has also begun its own brand under the name Medicianz Healthcare Australia.

Sharing entrepreneurial dreams as a pair today, the two met and fell in love instantly many years ago and decided to immigrate to Australia after their marriage in 2002.

“I wanted to pursue further education and Australia was the only country at that time that allowed spouses to accompany on a student visa. We arrived with very little and I still remember spending our first few nights in Melbourne in an obscure motel near Monash University recommended to us by the taxi driver who picked us up from the airport,” recalled Reet.

“The taxi fare seemed like a lot of money to us at that time,” she continued with a laugh. “Like many migrants we started from scratch and copped our share of troubles but we are glad we chose Melbourne instead of our original choice to settle in the USA,” said Reet.

“As they say, the bigger the country bigger, the problems and I feel we may have

got lost in the vastness of America. Here in Melbourne, however, we have experienced a peaceful existence, derived pleasure from its natural beauty and grew with the opportunities that came our way.”

“It wasn’t always easy, especially when we were both faced with unemployment when I was forced to quit my job by my employers after the tragic loss of my father and Kam was also jobless. We decided we would rather work for ourselves. I am from a business family and I often accompanied my father to work, I guess I must have picked up his entrepreneurial spirit by osmosis,” claimed Reet.

“I started with doing little but doing it nicely,” said Reet not shy of talking about her achievements. She also worked with an Italian designer builder recently to build a magnificent home that she now resides in. Reet and Kam did not let their circumstances define them; instead they continued to be super supportive of each other in their respective niche choices.

With her business skill set and ability to strategise, Reet is now all set to take her venture to the next level. “I will continue to support Kam with his business however I have realised that medicines and pharmacies are nowhere near as exciting as gemstones and jewellery stores. It’s time for me to focus on my passion that is my profession. I hope to have a future that is dazzling, like the diamonds I value and sell,” she concluded with a laugh.

INDIAN CALENDAR

1 New Year’s Day 13 Lohri

14 Makar Sankranti

15 Pongal 26 Republic Day

*26 Australia Day

*28 Australia Day holiday

6 May Day (QLD, NT)

12 Mother’s Day 18 Buddh Purnima 27 Reconciliation Day (ACT)

10 Basant Panchami

14 Valentine’s Day

3 Western Australia Day (WA)

5 Id Ul Fitr

10 Queen’s Birthday (all states except QLD and WA)

1 Father’s Day

2 Ganesh Chaturthi

10 Muharram

11 Onam 30 Queen’s Birthday (WA)

2 Gandhi Jayanti

6 Dussehra Maha Saptami

7 Queen’s Birthday (QLD)

7 Labour Day (ACT, NSW, SA)

7 Dussehra Maha Ashtami

8 Dussehra Maha Navmi

17 Karwa Chauth

27 Diwali

29 Bhai Duj

CALENDAR 2019

WHAT’S ON

FESTIVAL

Lohri mela

Sun 19 Jan (4.00pm onwards)

Enjoy the festivities of Lohri with Punjabi Club of Victoria at Lohri mela. Cultural shows, DJ, Punjabi food stalls and a lot more. At Mt Waverley Community Centre, 47 Miller Cres., Mount Waverley.

Details 0411 710 194.

Officer Gurudwara

18-20 Jan Sri Guru Nanak Durbar

inauguration (33 Officer Road, Officer) and celebration of Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Gurpurab. Akhand Path Sahib Arambh followed by Bhog and Kirtan. Langar Sewa on all 3 days. Pick up available from Officer station. Details www.sgnd.com.au

EXHIBITION

Visions of Paradise

Till Apr 26 (10.00am – 5.00pm)

The exhibition features a selection of works from a major 1980 Felton Bequest acquisition of over 270 paintings that document the princely lifestyles of the Rajput courts of Bikaner, Marwar (Jodhpur), Jaipur, Kotar and Mewar (Udaipur). At NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road. Details www.ngv.vic.gov.au

MUSIC

Haadu Baa Kogile

Melbourne’s first ever Kannada musical event held every last Saturday of the month. All welcome. Organised by Ankura Music School. Details 0432 192 424

The Indian Music Collective Melbourne

The Indian Music Collective Melbourne provides space for practice/jamming in a friendly environment for musicians to

meet and practice. Anyone who plays a Hindustani classical music instrument or can sing Hindustani classical music at any ability/level is welcome at St John’s Catholic Primary School, 77 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill. Listeners are also welcome. Gold coin to contribute towards tea/coffee/snack costs.

Contact Harjinder Bhogal at oldmanindia@gmail.com

COMMUNITY

Indian Professionals in Victoria (IPV) A not-for-profit, membershipbased and member-owned association that aims to train and support Indian professionals and entrepreneurs through workshops, seminars, webinars and mentoring programs. Membership details www.ipv.org.au

Indian Community Mental Health Support Group

For families and carers both who are experiencing mental health concerns. Every First Friday of the month. From 2.00pm-4.30pm. At Yarra Plenty Reginal Library (Mill Park Library), 394 Plenty Rd, Mill Park.

Details Carer helpline 1300 554 660 or email carers@mindaustralia. org.au

Let’s Feed

A volunteer-driven campaign and fundraising group working to organise activities, source food and deliver it to different agencies and also assist family violence victims with food related needs. Let’s Feed fills food-related gaps in existing services using micro donations. Let’s Feed collects non-perishable food from local groups at temples, participating grocery stores and delivers to Youth Resource Centre, Asylum Seekers Resource Centre and

MATRIMONIALS

SEEKING GROOMS

Seeking professionally qualified match for Brahmin, vegetarian girl born in 1985, and working as a doctor in Sydney. The family are well settled in Sydney and prefer boy with Australian citizenship or PR. Please contact aussyd08@gmail.com

Well-settled/professional match invited for Sydney-based Punjabi girl, IT professional/business analyst, never-married, 44/5'6"; attractive,

fair, jolly nature and a good mix of Indian and modern values. Working in an MNC. Australian citizen. Educated family. Parents well settled. Send details with photo: sydgirl09@gmail.com

Wanted a suitable match for 39 year old Brahmin girl 5’-4’’ fair complexion well settled in Australia having government job and has own residential property. Contact kumar. sham@bigpond.com

other agencies. Visit: letsfeed.org or email: jasvinder.sidhu@letsfeed.org

Indian Young Women’s Group Fridays 12.30pm-2.30pm

The Indian Young Women’s Group is organised free by Wyndham Community and Education Centre (Wyndham CEC) every Friday afternoon at the Wyndham Park Primary School, Community Hub Room, Kookaburra Avenue, Werribee. Contact the Wyndham Community and Education Centre, 3 Princes Highway Werribee, wyndhamcec.org.au or call 03 9742 4013

LANGUAGE

Gurukul Hindi Classes Saturdays

11.00am-12.00 noon

Connections@Craigieburn, 59 Craigieburn Road, Craigieburn VIC 3064. These weekly classes are taught by Manisha Gard and Bhupinder Kahlon. Contact Narinder Garg 0431 123 045 or infothegurukul@gmail.com

Let’s Talk: Conversational English Saturdays 10.00am11.30am

Practice and develop your English speaking skills in a relaxed small group that has a warm and friendly atmosphere. Meet every Saturday at Werribee Church of Christ, 200 Tarneit Road, Werribee. This is for people who want to gain confidence and practice their English. All are welcome to attend, morning tea is provided and it’s free. Contact 03 9741 6051 or visit werribeechurchofchrist.org

Pronunciation Workshop

1st Sunday of the month

12.00 noon – 3.00pm

Are you learning English as a second language and are interested in

working on your pronunciation? Join Kaled – a friendly ESL (English as a Second Language) expert who will help you work on your English language skills for free at the Library at The Dock, Activities Room, 107 Victoria Harbour Promenade, Docklands.

UNIVERSITY

Australia India Institute’s Drop in Chai

First Friday of every month (2.00pm to 3.00pm)

Come chat to other South Asia enthusiasts over samosa and chai and catch up on what different people are doing in relation to India (feel free to bring announcements or new publications!).The chai and conversation is free and open to students, staff, faculty, and members of the public at Upstairs Seminar Room, Australia India Institute 147-149 Barry St, Carlton. Details 03 9035 8047 or visit www.aii.unimelb.edu.au

MISC

Sari sale

12-28 Jan Kay Collections is holding a two-week sale of Chanderi, Linen, Kota and Cotton sarees at The Vicarage, 4 Charlemont Lane, Olinda. Details Kushma Ram 0401 526 133

ENTERTAINMENT

Goa Full Moon Party

27 Jan At the Ceown, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank. Details info@ bollywoodclub.com.au

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

SEEKING BRIDES

Indian Muslim man, 43 years old, divorced, lawyer, Australian citizen, based in Sydney, seeking a practising Muslim bride below 35 years of age. Contact: 0424 457 180.

Indian Christian Protestant parents seeking a suitable match for their 38-year-old son, a software engineer, born and brought up in Australia. Seeking Protestant girl between 28 and 34. years. Email: sammy5073@gmail. com or call 0403 836 360.

Suitable match for handsome, 1986born, 5’7”, Mair Rajput Goldsmith boy (Punjab born), Australian citizen. Working as a manager in Melbourne. Caste no bar. Please share bio and photos on Whatsapp 0470 388 064 or email: ronr275@yahoo.com.au

Wanted suitable match for 35 year old Brahmin boy 5’-8’’, fair complexion well settled in Australia having his own successful business. Contact kumar.sham@bigpond.com

BY DIPANJALI RAO

Ayoung boy, aged about 7, is playing with his toys. He’s set up a small toy classroom, and has just finished the play roll call when his father walks in.

The father looks at his son and asks, in a loving tone, “Beta, what do you want to be when you’re grown up?”

“A teacher,” the boy replies.

The father pauses, then asks, “Sir or madam?”

The child hesitates, and then in a soft tone says, “Madam”.

The film Ek Aasha (Hope), symbolises this hope that young trans-girl Ashish has, of becoming a teacher.

Its Melbourne-based writer, co-producer and director Mayur Katariya won the ‘Best First Time Filmmaker’ award at the Australia Independent Film Festival in Brisbane recently.

In the film, Ashish struggles with her gender identity from a young age, and dreams of growing up and being a teacher just like her teacher at school, wearing a red salwar kameez, pretty earrings and lipstick. Bullied at school for being girly and effeminate, and berated and abused at home by her mother for wanting to be a girl like her sister, her only support is her classmate and best friend, who is also a transgender girl. Ashish’s father, though sympathetic and reasonably progressive (he takes Ashish to see a doctor as opposed to the local spiritual leader) seems unable to give Ashish the support she needs.

The film charts Ashish’s struggle as a young child and her transition to being a woman. Ashish leaves home to join the kinnar or transgender community, where she is welcomed generously by the guru and is given the name Aasha. They take care of Aasha and teach her the skills she requires to be a part of their community, which involve collecting money from local businesses and blessing marriages and new-born babies.

Aasha is educated and wants to be a teacher, but as she says in the movie, most transgender people in India aren’t even literate, much less able to pursue dreams such a teaching.

The film follows Aasha’s trials and tribulations, experiences of acceptance and rejection, love and heartbreak. While doing this, it attempts to educate the audience about the of the kinnar community in India – their long history as a part of Indian society, religion and mythology, their sudden change in status when they were criminalised by colonial law, their experiences of violence and exploitation, and the Indian government’s recent moves to grant them equal rights.

Katariya shot the film over 45 days in Surat, Gujarat, his home town.

The cinematography is rich and captivating and makes the film a visual treat, matched by sharp music. Most importantly, all the transgender roles are played by nonactor transwomen, with Disha Yadav, a young transwoman from Mumbai, in the lead role. The film advocates for education and work rights for transgender people, so it was on principle that Katariya wanted the actors to all be transgender.

“I wanted to create roles for transpeople,” he tells Indian Link

Living in the margins

Melb-based Mayur Katariya wins Best First Time Filmmaker award for his take on India’s trans community

A well-known actress wanted to play the role of the guru in the movie, he reveals, but he declined.

“It was a difficult decision; it would have made funding for the movie much easier!” he laughs. “But I didn’t want to deprive them of the opportunity.”

A tough but sensitive decision for an independent filmmaker, and one that strengthens the movie and its social impact program of promoting education for the kinnars

He adds, “India’s approximately 5 million transgender women have no access to education and career, despite its progressive policies (on paper) for transgender people.”

Sadly, Katariya reported that his actors faced discrimination and abuse while they were filming in Gujarat. Though Indian law is changing to make the lives of its trans population better, societal and cultural attitudes are harder to change.

All the more reason for a movie like Ek Aasha, for it is cultural change along with structural change which will move transgender people from the margins to the mainstream.

“I wanted to create roles for trans people.”

Mayur Katariya

It is cultural change along with structural change which will move transgender people from the margins to the mainstream.

Why Kerry O’Keeffe’s “blackout” is a

BY RITAM MITRA

You may have missed it amidst the sheer volume of batting records India broke during the first two days of the SCG test match, but early on during the match, Indian broadcaster Sony quietly switched off Australian commentator Kerry O’Keeffe, blacking him out from Indian airwaves. Instead, Sony (which passes through the feed from Australian broadcaster Fox Sports) opted to replace O’Keeffe’s stints at the microphone with commentary from a local commentary team whenever the 69-year-old was on air, blacking him out from Indian airwaves.

First, to O’Keeffe’s comments. They were not well thought-out and were clumsy at best; but they were by no means malicious. First, O’Keeffe joked that Mayank Agarwal’s first class triple-century against Railways came against the Railways “canteen staff”, a comment for which he apologised on-air on the very same day. Then O’Keeffe remarked, poking fun more at his own inability to pronounce the Indian players’ names than anyone else, “Why would you name your kid Cheteshwar Jadeja?” It was a comment so benign that, were it said on the field, no one would have batted an eyelid. Nevertheless, O’Keeffe penned a generally well-written apology letter to Indian fans, where the matter ought to have ended.

O’Keeffe’s sledgehammer wit centres around regular self-deprecation and a steadfast refusal to take anything – especially himself – too seriously. Commentary in Test cricket is a difficult art; it is not easy to keep the viewer engaged and occupied in a game where there are often long and meandering periods of nothingness. To adopt O’Keeffe’s approach is to acknowledge the vicissitudes of Test cricket, which ebbs and flows perhaps more than any other sport in the world.

It is worthwhile noting also that O’Keeffe is one of the most well-researched

commentators in world cricket; in fact, he is known to have researched club statistics even before visiting local club trivia nights at which he makes occasional appearances. It is a trait that puts O’Keeffe squarely outside the box of “ignorant foreigner”.

In recent times, the BCCI’s response to even the mildest criticism – however harmless – has been nothing short of Orwellian in nature. In fact, sources close to Sony and the BCCI are reported as saying, “We cannot have someone making snide remarks on Indian players”. It is a stern reminder of the BCCI’s clout over local broadcasters and harks back to the Board’s controversial sacking of popular commentator Harsha Bhogle in 2016.

Bhogle, who has for some time been one of India’s most respected commentators – and incidentally commentates alongside O’Keeffe on Fox Sports, as well as ABC Grandstand – had been calling a March 2016 match between India and Bangladesh for Star Sports. Known as a fair and polite commentator – far less parochial than the likes of the myopic Manjrekar and Chopra – Bhogle was presenting, as ever, a balanced view of the game, praising the Bangladesh team and players. This is hardly a laudable feat, given it is something most international commentators are accustomed to doing. Yet to some, Bhogle’s conduct was unacceptable; and unfortunately, some of his detractors happened to be the most influential people in India.

Amitabh Bachchan commented, “With all due respects [sic], it would be really worthy of an Indian commentator to speak more about our players than others all the time.” This was then retweeted by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with the latter commenting, “Nothing to add”. Within days, Bhogle was sacked by the BCCI, speaking volumes of the inability of some Indian fans – and players – to see the bigger picture.

The removal of Kerry O’Keeffe’s commentary from Indian feeds is the latest example of the BCCI’s increasing aversion to any scrutiny and criticism.

But it goes hand in hand with the BCCI’s ongoing governance woes: a milieu in which transparency has become the first victim of power.

BCCI’s response has been nothing short of Orwellian in nature

step too far

Photo: Facebook

Out of this world

Arvind Ramana on his work in Australia’s emerging space industry

BY SUDARSHAN ARVIND

Chennai-born and Canberra-based Arvind Ramana leads a team at UNSW Canberra Space that is helping to propel the Australian space sector into the stratosphere. Its pioneering BRMM (Buccaneer Risk Mitigation Mission) satellite, produced as a collaboration between UNSW Canberra Space and the Defence Science and Technology (DST) Group has been fully designed, built and tested on Australian shores. Travelling at an eye-watering speed of 7km/second and orbiting at an altitude of 550km, it has sent back the first ever image of Australia captured from space by an Australian satellite.

The stunningly compact, “milk-carton sized” machine will provide “valuable assistance to the Australian Defence Force in safeguarding the borders”, Ramana told Indian Link, helping to calibrate the Jindalee Operational Radar Network which is currently in place to monitor sea and air movements in Australian territory.

He added, “The satellite also has key applications in Space Situational Awareness and Ionospheric research, which will propel our ever-growing knowledge-base in the field.”

Since migrating to Canberra from Singapore in 2015, Arvind Ramana has headed the Embedded Systems and Flight Software Team at UNSW Canberra Space, the UNSW’s campus at the Australian Defence Force Academy, a world-class conglomeration of academics and professionals that has spearheaded the emergence of Australia’s space industry on the global stage. Graduating with a degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Anna University (Chennai), Ramana’s academic and professional journey has taken him from India to Singapore and finally Australia.

“Coming from the land of APJ Abdul Kalam, space has always been of huge interest to me,” Ramana revealed when looking back on the origins of his passion in the field. “When studying at Nanyang Technological University Singapore, the opportunity to work in the sector presented itself, and I haven’t let go of it since.”

While at Singapore, he worked on designing and developing various hardware subsystems including mission critical on-board computers and digital design for TeLEOS-1 satellite (Singapore’s first commercial earth observation satellite).

He is a strong advocate for Australia’s involvement in space and acknowledges some of the crucial contributions the country has made over the years.

“Australia has played a huge supporting role in major space programs including the famous moon landings. The industry has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years with successful satellite missions, cutting edge research in Space situational

awareness and the recent establishment of the Australian Space Agency,” he explained.

According to Ramana, Australia’s strengths in the field derive from its “facilities and skill sets in spacecraft operations, radar technology, data processing and analysis (which are) phenomenal and recognised worldwide”.

Speaking about the motivation behind his team’s BRMM satellite, he stated that “UNSW Canberra Space has always been interested in applications of space research that are directly beneficial to a better Earth.”

Not merely satisfied with the incredibly high quality of research data produced by the UNSW Canberra Space laboratories, he pointed out that his team is also deeply entrenched in a mission to develop a local ecosystem of space capability in Australia.

“We are working very closely with the local scientific community and organising various STEM outreach events to make sure that the younger generation also gets inspired by Space Engineering and Research”.

Ramana is particularly excited about the local Indian community’s enthusiastic involvement in this field.

“Many of our outreach events see a good share of local Indian community participation and I can also see a lot of local Indian uni students showing initiative to get involved with our team’s projects as well.”

Looking beyond the operation of the BRMM satellite which is one of the key current priorities of the UNSW Canberra Space labs, Ramana’s team has been “busy developing the [upcoming] M1 and M2 satellite missions. M1 will be launched in the next couple of days while M2 is anticipated to launch in June 2019.”

Both satellites will have wide-reaching applications including ship and aircraft detection, as well as providing an opportunity to test “in-house developed technology”.

Photo: Facebook

Ramana with Buccaneer, a “milk carton” sized satellite that has just marked its first birthday in space

Cricket fans that had their eyes peeled on the hallowed grounds of the G during the recent test match series, would have caught a glimpse of the colourful turban, neon bright safety vest and massive long distance lens sported by our photographer on ground RAVINDER SINGH JABBAL. Capturing action shots, sideline huddles, spectator joys and defining moments of the sport that is currently the nation’s grand obsession, Ravinder shares his experience of working within the inner sanctum of the most iconic sporting venue in the world.

My ticket

As a cricket tragic I find cricketers and cricket spectators to be the most interesting subjects for my lens. Whether I am attempting to capture a batsman running towards the crease or a fast bowler in flight or a spectator in crazy getup, I enjoy the energy, passion and emotion.

On an average I take between 500-800 shots depending on the game and how it’s going. It’s pure adrenalin that keeps me going through the day as I wait to grab the perfect shot - and end up with hundreds of not-soperfect ones in between.

I try to be across the game including the history, scandals and statistics or I could miss an important moment. Sometimes it can get long and arduous but never boring. It’s a highfocus job with not many breaks but the thrill of watching the sports from the other side of the camera is unparalleled.

Out of the game, the players and the crowd, the best images come from the fans. During

ticket to cricket

this year’s matches, particularly the Boxing Day match the Indian supporters were highly visible, with thousands attending all revved up and noisy. The Swami Army and Bharat Army offered full throttle support to the visiting Indian team.

From young girls holding placards for Virat Kohli to take selfies with them to Aussie fan club The Richies, there was never a dull moment at the G. I got amazing response from the crowd. They tried to capture my attention, offered high-fives when I walked past them or went delirious with posing when I aimed the lens towards them.

The cricketers, particularly the Indian team, did not warm up half as much to the cameras though. Despite our close proximity the established players avoided eye contact, remained aloof and mostly unsmiling. Some of the newcomers however would acknowledge my presence amongst the group of press photographers and occasionally smile at me.

I recall that the Paksitani cricketers when

they were in Melbourne for the last match were a friendlier lot in comparison. I would often get asked, “Ki haal hai, bhaji?” (How are you brother?)”.

Indian cricketers like Kuldeep Yadav, Mayank Agarwal and K L Rahul, however, were more willing to hold or slow down to allow for a better shot. Jaspreet Bhumra even posed for photos with his fans in front of the bays. The superstars, on the other hand, did not seem as accessible. Virat Kohli who presented his signed cricket pads to a young boy in the audience recently made an exception.

As India dominated the attack in Melbourne, the crowd was abuzz with excitement and

that made for some great photos. The stadium erupted with deafening chants of “Kohli Kohli” or “India India” and the Indian tricolour flew everywhere. Creative slogans and posters popped up in the bays and little children were swept up on shoulders to allow for better viewing. There were opportunities everywhere to capture the sweeping excitement and I went completely trigger-happy. As a sports photographer I have my fair share of blurry images whilst trying to capture someone in action but the inspiration and drama of the game keeps me sharp and focussed. Just like the sportsmen that I capture with my lens, I also rely on practice, practice and more practice.

Out of the game, the players and the crowd, the best images come from the fans.

Singapore

BY PETRA O’NEILL

Go exploring

While tourists head for the famed retail stretch of Orchard Road with every conceivable designer brand and gadget, discover instead the unique neighbourhoods where the real charm of Singapore lies. The Colonial District, Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam all have their own identities.

At the Raffles’ Landing Site, Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, landed in 1819. Trace the river along Boat Quay, and view St Andrew’s Cathedral and other colonial buildings including the Supreme Court and Raffles Hotel.

To see how Chinatown was before the towering skyscrapers, head for Amoy Street to view Siang Cho Keong Temple built in 1867, Telok Ayer Street, Ann Siang Hill and Keong Saik Road, home to hole in the wall bars, cafes and boutiques and the best place to go late at night.

At Kampong Glam go past the fabric shops and gold domes of the Sultan Mosque and seek out great street art and quirky local fashion finds at Haji Lane.

Colourful Little India is a bustling, dazzling incense burning neighbourhood with temples, pastel-coloured shop-houses, exotic vegetable markets, and restaurants including my favourites Komala Vilas and Mavalli Tiffin Rooms. Along Serangoon Road you’ll pass Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple built in 1881 and Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple built in 1855.

Go Green

One of the world’s largest greenhouses, futuristic Gardens by the Bay is an amazing 101-hectare fantasy park with towering high tech super tree sculptures of up to 16 floors high showcasing exotic plants – ferns, orchids, bromeliads and vines that light up at night.

Slip on the trainers early and head out to the 74-hectare Botanic Gardens, established in 1859, a cool retreat filled with joggers, dogs and tai-chi practitioners. Wander through the rainforest, palm garden, and lakes before visiting the National Orchid Garden.

If you want to hike along a nature trail there are many options. Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve offers mangrove swamps, ponds and forests and 140 bird species including kingfishers and herons. At MacRitchie Reservoir, the Treetop Walk is a 250m suspension bridge that looks out over the reserve. Southern ridges is a nine km trail that connects several nature parks while at Pulau Ubin you can explore trails to old

rubber plantations and beaches.

Set in lush secondary rainforest, the Night Safari at the Singapore Zoo allows you to see over 900 nocturnal animals – including lions and leopards – in a natural habitat without barriers.

Fabulous food at affordable prices

Cheap and cheerful dining is easy thanks to the hawker markets that exist in every neighbourhood that are clean, crowded and noisy. You’ll be spoilt for choice food-wise with Peranakan, Indian, Malay and Chinese cuisine on offer. Unique to Singapore try chicken rice, carrot cake made from white radish, and rojak consisting of bean curd, potatoes and vegetables smothered with sweet sauce. For an authentic dose of old school open air hawker centres, two of the best are the Maxwell Food Centre and the Victorian splendour of Lau Pa Sat, where Chefs wok fry, griddle, grill and roast their way through preparing delicious food. Along Orchard Road you’ll also find Food Republic with a great offering of authentic food.

Start the day with coffee (kopi) and Kaya toast, green coconut and pandan jam sandwiched between toast and served with runny eggs and soy sauce. Seek out an old style Kopitiam coffee house with marble topped tables and whirring fans.

Drink at altitude

Singapore now has a thriving nightlife with bars and clubs but for glamour, head to 1 Altitude, the world’s highest rooftop bar, offering incredible views 63 levels up. Alternatively Lantern at the Fullerton Bay Hotel has views across the water.

Art and culture

It may seem odd to head to a hotel to look at artwork, but the Ritz Carlton has a museum worthy collection of modern and contemporary art featuring Frank Stella, Dale Chihuly, and Andy Warhol. The National Gallery of Singapore has a world class collection of contemporary Asian art housed in the historic Supreme Court and City Hall buildings, while the Asian Civilizations Museum has an exquisite collection. To learn about the origins of the Straits Chinese stop by the Peranakan Museum or visit Baba House built in 1896. Known as the garden city, Singapore is a destination rich in contrast and colour with a souring skyline that rises above shophouses, colonial buildings and lush tropical parks.

A perfect stopover destination, here’s a run down on the best sights to see

Photos: Singapore Tourism Board Clockwise from top left: Ritz Carlton, Orchard Road, Chinatown, Gardens by the Bay, Haji Lane, Lau Pa Sat Hawker Centre

FACT FILE

Changi International Airport is super-efficient and enormous boasting four terminals, with food halls, endless shopping, pay as you enter lounges, gardens, waterfalls, a butterfly sanctuary, and outdoor swimming pool. If you’re on a layover, this is the world’s best airport to be stranded in. For transit passengers flying Singapore Airlines, until 31 March 2019, enjoy a S$20 reward to spend at the airport.

Getting Around

From Australia fly with Singapore Airlines, Qantas or low cost Scoot. From the airport, the MRT will whisk you to the city centre for around S$2.30. The MRT trains are clean, safe, frequent and cheap, with tourist passes available. A taxi from the airport will cost around S$20.

Stay

At the airport, the award-winning Crowne Plaza Hotel. For budget stays, try the Hangout@Mt Emily or capsule hotels near Bugis and Chinatown. The centrally located G Hotel caters for solo travellers with single rooms as well as offering double rooms. The Ibis Bencoolen is another centrally located choice. But if its glitz and glam you’re after, the Ritz-Carlton with views of the city skyline, is sensational and the Club Lounge hard to leave.

Insider tips

The exchange rate is close to parity with the Australian dollar. Money changers, ATMs and banks are everywhere. Singapore is safe, ideal for families and solo travellers and the cruise terminals are ideal for joining a cruise.

Ithink my grandmother, Nani, is secretly an Australian millennial in disguise. She likes surfing Netflix, watching YouTube videos on her iPad and bops in time to Ariana Grande songs. I learned these things about Nani whilst she has been staying with us in Sydney this summer. She hasn’t been to Australia for almost 20 years. And since she landed Down Under, what’s the thing that’s impressed her the most?

The avocados.

Although she’s had them many times before, the avocados she’s had on this visit have been the best, she says. She likes the taste and texture, but the thing she likes most is the dishes that her granddaughter makes with them (her words, not mine!). Like rice and daal is a staple for Indians, avocado toast is a staple for Australian millennials (and now a staple too for visiting Indian Nanis who masquerade as Australian millennials).

Of course Nani had heard about avocados in Australia, because the Indian newspapers had suggested that young people in Oz cannot afford to buy houses because they eat too many avocados.

But at least they’ll be healthy, I tell her, because the avo contains abundant amounts of B Vitamins, Vitamin E and Vitamin K; and are loaded with fibre, healthy fats and antioxidants. At this time of year they are plentiful in supermarkets around Australia, so here are some recipes that my Nani and I have been enjoying.

AVOCADO SALSA ON TOAST

‘Ave an av

Time for DEVNA LUTHRA’s daily dose of avo-cardio

AVOCADO PESTO PASTA

AVOCADO MOUSSE

(Serves 1)

Ingredients

Half a medium-ripe Hass avocado

2 pieces of bread, toasted to your liking (rye or sourdough are my top picks)

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 stems coriander and their leaves, chopped

1 tbsp Danish feta

Squeeze of lemon

Salt and pepper (or chilli flakes) to taste

Pinch saffron

Method

Stone, scoop and mash avocado in a bowl. Add tomato, coriander, lemon, salt and pepper and mix.

Spread on toast and sprinkle with feta.

Gobble up quickly before other family members ask for a bite.

If you are fancier than Nani and I, you can top with a poached egg or balsamic vinegar.

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado

½ cup fresh basil leaves

2 smallish cloves garlic (or biggish…up to you)

1 heaped tbsp pine nuts

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Chuck all ingredients in food processor and blitz. Stir through fresh cooked fettuccine pasta. Serve with parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil on top.

(Serves 4)

(or sometimes just 1 if you are sneaky enough)

Ingredients

125g cooking chocolate, chopped (I use half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate)

2 large ripe avocados

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ cup almond milk (or regular milk)

1-2 tbsps sifted icing sugar OR 1-2 tbsps

maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Melt chocolate over bowl of boiling water on the stove or in the microwave; and allow to cool.

Stone avocados and scoop flesh into food processor.

Add melted chocolate, cocoa powder, almond milk, sugar (or syrup), vanilla and salt. Blitz to mix, and taste to see if you need more sweetener. Spoon into glasses and chill for 2 hours.

To serve, top with cream or fresh berries or both.

January 2019

BY MINAL KHONA

TAROT

ARIES

March 21 - April 19

You’re in the limelight this month as the Star card comes with many benefits. If single, practice creative visualisation for a significant other to manifest in your life. A property sale or lease comes through. Financial gains are predicted and future prospects also improve. Some medical tests could lead you to the root of a health issue; an old condition could flare up again. A friend, teacher or mentor provides guidance and you will focus your energy on worthwhile issues.

LEO July 21 - Aug 22

Change, fluctuation and a fine balance is what the start of the new year for Leos is all about. Every issue you thought you had a handle on will rise up to challenge you. Everyday irritants propel you to maintain an emotional balance even if the situation is difficult. A moderate amount of success in finances is foretold. Everything in your life is soon to be transformed and you will move in a different direction, which is a very positive shift.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov 22 - Dec 21

A major disappointment by someone you love causes heartache and will make you question your equation with this person. You long for a real relationship based on care and trust and won’t settle for less. Your emotional attachment to a situation or outcome will end. Watch out for fatigue or stomach issues. Setbacks force you to take control of your life. Your success comes from applying metaphysical principles to everyday life. Finances improve suddenly and in time your desires will be fulfilled.

TAURUS

April 20 - May 20

It is a time to heal any inner wounds that are holding you back. Work keeps you engrossed this month, though creative pursuits tempt you in your down time. If you are in the initial stages of a relationship, be patient, as things move slowly. A happier and relaxed social life is predicted; you just might meet the love of your life this month. Watch out for problems with your knees or feet. A long term problem will get resolved.

VIRGO

Aug 23 - Sep 22

A busy month with focus on planning, executing and tying up loose ends to move on to something new. Additional responsibilities might be thrust upon you and you might consider a short trip to take a break from them. A relationship that needs some revival will flounder and it will add to the run down feeling you are experiencing. An unexpected career opportunity will come your way. Whatever you do, wait till the course of action is clear before you do anything.

CAPRICORN

Dec 22 - Jan 19

A seven indicates spiritual growth and introspection. But the Tower card can be God’s hammer breaking down your cocoon – devastating conditions, a divorce, or health and financial problems. It is a destiny related card so least resistance would work best. Have faith that any drastic occurrence right now is the worst that can happen and things will only get better. New beginnings and improved conditions are foretold which help you regain a sense of peace, emotional balance and you get your mojo back.

GEMINI

May 21 - June 20

The focus is on promising enterprises, career opportunities and investment potential this month. Make the most of it. Travel for work or social activities is predicted. New elements at work leave you unsettled. Even if you are with someone in a relationship, you might feel a distance between you. Guard against accidents on the home front and what you eat. Money owed to you remains blocked but it will come through. Your best success comes from a new way of working.

LIBRA

Sep 23 - Oct 22

Unforeseen problems and setbacks could cause depression. A struggle with your conscience could occur after you have taken a decision. A secret sorrow keeps you low but don’t let circumstances defeat you. The outcome is favourable for medical tests though a chronic health issue causes problems. Finances are stable but you still feel insecure. Save some more if that is the case. A negative situation will soon end. Stay positive: don’t let an indecisive attitude get the upper hand.

AQUARIUS

Jan 20 - Feb 18

The new year brings its own challenges for Aquarians and January will be difficult. Blocked progress, anxiety and depression bog you down. In a relationship, your fears are largely unfounded, and any separation is temporary. Expect supreme success at work and financial gains as well. Be careful of what you eat or you could have stomach problems. Don’t ignore any health issues you have. New awareness about your future and relationship make you hopeful. Wait for things to resolve themselves.

CANCER

June 21 - July 20

You feel the need for a break from responsibilities though unstable conditions, work and health all demand attention. Watch out for office politics or someone deceitful in your personal life. Don’t postpone that mammogram, ladies; and don’t take on too much or it could affect your health. Deadlines and striving for perfection will only aggravate you further. A business dispute ends amicably and unexpected financial gains come your way. Maintain emotional and mental balance and keep things in perspective.

SCORPIO

Oct 23 - Nov 21

A Capricorn mindset might hold sway over Scorpios this month, making them practical, studious and less intense. A friend plays matchmaker or troubleshooter and you handle any issues in your romantic life with maturity. Health will bother you with problems related to your back, stomach, ears or throat. Express yourself more if it is the latter. Money will be slow in coming but there are unexpected financial gains round the corner. Be willing to listen and act upon new ideas.

PISCES

Feb 19 - March 20

Nines indicate that certain events or situations are nearing completion. Personal issues, material well-being and health dominate this month. A chance meeting could lead to financial gains so keep an open mind. The hollowness you feel within is but temporary so hang in there and keep the faith. Don’t let your challenges affect your health; you could suffer from poor sleep. Focus your energy into areas that fulfil you and see how your cup of happiness overflows.

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

cineTALK

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A protection we cannot afford to lose

THAT WAR FILM WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR

PLAYING THE MARKET

These are soldiers who have lost loved ones in terror attacks, and their blood boils.

Machiavellian stockbroker is everything that Harshad Mehta would have wanted written and performed part, meaty witty and wicked. He chews into it exposing a sacred hunger that I didn’t notice in his

Uri brings the blood of cross-border tension to a boil but avoids a spill-over. There is a rush of patriotic pride in the product - and why should there not be? - but it is reined-in, curbed and never allowed to spill over in a gush of irrepressible jingoism. If you want to see soldiers dancing around a bonfire singing about how much they love their country and how much miss their loved ones, then you've got the wrong war film.

BY mATT KeAN

Yes, these soldiers love their country. But family comes first. And when Vihaan's brother-in-law (Mohit Raina, making a striking big-screen debut) is killed in a vivid recreation of that reallife murderous attack at the Uri army base, Vihaan channels his personal loss to seek revenge on behalf of the country. It may not be the most patriotic of purposes. But it gives a certain disingenuous credibility to the mission.

Australia is a country of great diversity. You can see it in the faces of the people that you work with. You can see it in the restaurants that line the main streets of our towns. And you can see it in the variety of religious and cultural events celebrated around the country: Chinese New Year, Diwali, Hanukkah, Ramadan and Christmas to name a few.

All through its roomy yet tightlywound running-time Uri confidently gives us people and situations from that golden chapter in BJP's existence when India voluntarily forefeited the politics of pacifism to take on the enemy headlong.

However, the treatment of the Aboriginal peoples in this country stands as a chilling reminder that tolerance has not always been embraced. The Cronulla riots similarly reminds us how quickly what we have achieved can be put at risk.

him - a very dangerous ambition to have. And who knows this better than Rizwan’s wife Chitrangda Singh, who in a role severely conscripted by the plot’s bristling sinewiness, manages to find her redemptive moment in the grand finale.

of us who have resigned ourselves to substandard VFX in our cinema.

the mentor and the protegee together.

A flourishing society also requires more than just freedom of speech; it requires security, stability, a just legal system and a vibrant economy.

Saif and the very fine and confident debutant Rohan Mehra just don’t have enough scenes together. In fact Rohan builds a better bond with Saif’s screenwife Chitrangda Singh in just one scene where the teary-eyed protegee tells his mentor’s wife that sometimes you just need to give the one you love a tight slap. The written word seldom gets to be conveyed with such unvarnished directness in commercial Hindi cinema where everyone either talks florid or over-casual.

Uri is shot with astounding finesse by cinematographer Mitesh Mirchandani. Every frame is a thoughtful recreation of the moment in time when in 2016, Indian soldiers pushed their way into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to seek revenge. There is no pitching for effect. The drama and the fury flow organically.

That is why freedom of speech is not absolute. In this country, it is criminal to disclose secrets which risk the lives of Australian soldiers. It is likewise a crime for a corporate executive to disclose market sensitive information to his mates. The law protects us from slander and protects privileged comments made to our lawyers.

In Baazaar the emotions are tightly reined-in as caustic vitriolic conversations are let loose with not a care about who’s eavesdropping.

Harshad Mehta? How could you forget the podgy stockbroker who made thousands of Indians rich overnight and then it all ended in a financial mess in no time at all?

STARRING: Vicky Kaushal, Mohit Raina, Paresh Rawal, Yami Gautam

DIRECTOR: Aditya Dhar

fications with the unrehearsed cuteness of tycoon, who has long ceased to be cute to everyone, including his own wife and children.

HHHHH

Saif Ali Khan’s Shakun Kothari’s destiny run on the same lines. Except that Saif as the wily ruthless

Wars often rage within the soldiers' hearts, specially when they belong to

When debutant Rohan Mehra enters the plot as Rizwan there is no Shakun Kothari around. We know Rizwan idolizes Shakun and wants to be like

army families. In one of this significant war film's highpoints, Major Vihaan Singh Shergill, played by the selfeffacing Vicky Kaushal, gathers his troop together somewhere in Kashmir before striking surgically in the country next door (okay, Pakistan. There. I said it).

The narrative is stylish and the political figures, from a dapper Narendra Modi (played with a refreshing absence of mimicry by Rajit Kapoor) to a droll Rakesh Bedi (playing a belching Pakistani politician), are all people whom we instantly recognise, not only by the way they look and talk but by their propensity to push the narrative into top gear without toppling the narrative into an excessively zealous jingoism.

The proposed amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act were put forward on the basis that the current wording of Section 18C inappropriately constrains our freedom of speech.

There is no redemption for Shakun. He is showman a ball of fire hurling down an abyss, and enjoying every moment of it. The film takes great pride in being clued into the inside workings of the stock market. Yet it never lets the tone of know-all self-congratulation come in the way of telling us the story of ‘When Shakun Met Rohan’.

That section makes it unlawful to do an act in public which “is reasonably likely… to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people” if “the act is done because of the race, colour or national or ethnic origin of the other person”.

My quibble with the rivetting script (Nikhil Advani, Parvez Sheikh, Aseem Arora) is that it takes its time in bringing

While the actors playing Indian soldiers are uniformly (pun intended) credible, the film's technical polish may come as bit of a surprise to those

Revenge served cold is said to be effective. Writer-director Aditya Dhar serves it up piping hot. The locations and the gunfire exchanges are perhaps the best we've seen in Indian cinema. The sound-design and background score capture the pain of lost human lives without bleeding out a banshee of road signs for our emotional responses. The tone of narration avoids overstatement. Dhar avoids the temptation of selfcongratulation. Barring a dialogue like Ghar mein ghus ke marunga which doesn't really belong to this film of graceful comeuppance, there is little chest-thumping here.

As a society, we recognise that these restrictions do not hurt our democracy or way of life. Indeed, we understand that they are necessary to maintain it. And laws against hate speech are no less necessary, because racism and bigotry tear at the heart of our social fabric.

My favourite line, and the one that says it all about Shakun Kothari, is the one in the run-down Gujarati bhojanalaiya. “You think I come here because I love the food? No, the food is terrible! But it helps me never forget where I came from.”

The brilliance of the line is never forgotten in a morality tale that never pushes its righteousness into our face. In fact I suspect the very assured debutant director Gauravv K. Chawla actually enjoys his grey protagonist’s amorality.

The performances add considerable weight to the drama. While Kaushal surrenders to his character's conflicts without intellectualising them, I must make a special mention of the underused Kirti Kulhari who plays a small enigmatic part as the daughter of a disgraced army officer waiting to redeem her family pride - almost like the war genre in Indian cinema that had gone from Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat and J.P. Dutta's Border to Dutta's Paltan

Racism and bigotry leave people feeling exiled in their own home. They do not improve the quality of public debate nor do they assist the wise completion of a ballot paper. They are insidious because they attack a person because of their identity; their heritage. They imply that a person is inferior because of who they are. They are hurtful, divisive and can lead to individuals and entire communities feeling unwanted, unvalued and second-class.

Saif’s blustering warmth keeps Shakun Kothari from falling apart even when the stakes are heavily weighed against him.

While some of the other supporting performances just don’t match upthe ever-brilliant Manish Choudhary struggles in an underwritten role; Radhika Apte as Rizwan’s go-getting colleague makes space for herself. In a way she tokenizes the film’s morality. In today’s times you have to push your way into attention.

Uri is a work of many achievements. But to me, a film about national pride without a single shot of the Indian flag is the biggest miracle since the invention of the motion-picture camera. This is a glorious beginning to 2019. And if patriotism is the flavour of the year, bring it on, provided it's not about Pakibashing. Just getting even.

As a society, we recognise that restrictions on free speech do not hurt our democracy or way of life. Indeed, we understand they are necessary to maintain it. And

Subhash K. Jha

Subhash K. Jha

Know Thyself as Soul

INDIA TOURS AND TRAVEL SPECIALISTS

Comments today can also revive memories of past wrongs. Unfortunately, few ethnic groups have been spared the pain of racially justified persecution. Examples such as slavery in the United States and the Holocaust are well known. In recent times, the world has seen genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia, while today in North Korea

Mob:

Let

Turramurra, NSW 2074

There is no doubt that freedom of speech is important but it is important the role it plays in our democracy. Freedom of speech ensures that when you or I go to the ballot box we can make an informed decision about who to vote for. Freedom of speech is necessary so that as a community, we can debate political ideas and so that individuals can have a say on decisions that affect them. role to play in that debate.

www.indianlink.com.au

A flourishing society requires more than just freedom of speech; it requires security, stability, a just legal system and a vibrant economy

Australians value freedom of expression but laws against hate speech are still essential

“I

brokers are the

“If you have seen India, you have seen the whole world”

us tailor a holiday of your choice to suit your budget

NOTHING ACCIDENTAL HERE

THE ACCIDENTAL PRIME MINISTER STARRING

Anupam Kher, Akshaye Khanna, Aahana Kumra, Suzanne Bernert and Arjun Mathur DIRECTOR: Vijay Ratnakar Gutte HHHHH

If you enjoy political satires, The Accidental Prime Minister may not be the film that its makers would recommend for you. Outwardly, the intent and purpose of this fiercely political parable is to give us the "real" picture of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's parent party and how it manipulated him into fronting their dynastic designs.

And how much more real can it get than Anupam Kher as Mr. Singh? The beard, the turban, the soft hushed barely audible voice (make sure you get your seats in a Dolby equipped theatre)... Anupam gets the externals so right that we scarcely care about what lies beneath.

And what lies! If we are to believe this film, then Manmohan Singh was a 'baba' in the woods, an angel in disguise, a scholar and academic thrown into the cesspit of politics, manipulated into supporting the Congress monarchy by a scheming mother-son pair. And we all know who they are.

There is nothing accidental about The Accidental Prime Minister. The not-sohidden agenda is to show Sonia Gandhi and her two children in the worst light possible. And it can't get any worse than Suzanne Bernert as Sonia Gandhi. Suzanne arches her eyebrows so sharply, I feared for her facial well-being.

Every actor cast as real-life politicians

BRING BACK HELEN?

CABARET

STARRING Richa Chadha, Gulshan Devaiah and S. Sreesanth

DIRECTOR: Kaustav Narayan Niyogi

HHHHH

Do you remember those gorgeous, sizzling cabaret numbers by Helen in the films of the 1970s? Yes? And do you remember the 1972 Liza Minnelli classic titled Cabaret for which the actress won an Oscar?

Okay. Now erase the memories of Helen and Minnelli. Chances are, after seeing Cabaret, you’ll never want look at another cabaret number. Come to think of it, it would be hard for you to go to the next Richa Chadha film without a shudder of apprehension.

This one drags you down to the dungeons of despair. Windowless and dingy.

Cabaret opens with brutish policeman in Jharkhand gunning down a woman's husband and then asking her bluntly for sexual favours. Vipin Sachdeva, who plays the policeman, doesn't keep it subtle. Why should he, when everything around him screams for attention.

The woman, Razia alias Rose played by Richa, flees to Dubai after gunning down the policeman where in no time at all, we see her dancing to a ruinously subversive remix of Pankaj Udhas' Mohe aaye na jag ki laaj.

Come again? Is this a cabaret? If it is, then Helen is suing. And what is that Richa is wearing? It looks like a corset tied to the ropes that are used to pull cows towards their sheds. Nope. Richa clearly can't dance. But that's okay. No one in this dolorously, dreadful and doomed drama does anything that can be called

remotely cinematic.

The songs that once used to be the Bhatts forte (yes, a prominent Bhatt, Pooja, is associated with this, and we forgive her) here sound like out-takes from a lengthy musical session with an "Indian Idol" contestant.

Sreesanth plays a good-hearted don, and Razia/Rosy's benefactor who runs what looks like a club for grieving women -- an acid-attack victim, a gangrape victim, and so on. By the time Richa finishes her tour of Sreesanth's philanthropic work, she is ready to join the ‘Sree-fam'. That's what they call Sreesanth's fans. But honestly, if he insists on... er... acting in such films, the 'fam' may be reduced to a famine soon.

However, Sreesanth is not the film's leading man. The not-untalented Gulshan Devaiah is. He plays an alcoholic "investigative journalist" who spends most of his time investigating the heroine's anatomy.

As I watched the actors plod through the plot, I wondered how they kept a straight face pretending this film was actually serious business.

Cabaret is a comedy masquerading as a drama of a doomed damsel's distressful adventures. Even the lovemaking scenes are a howl. In one of these, Richa climbs on Gulshan Grover as he groans more in a ‘oh-no' rather than a ‘ah-yes' sort of way. Then she grabs a bottle and smashes it on his head.

Lovemaking techniques are getting dangerously violent these days.

If you have a couple of hours to spare, please use it for more rewarding activities than watching Cabaret Subhash K. Jha

has been given a clear brief to look as much as the real-life politician as possible. The line between acting and mimicry is invisible in the politics that underlines this political charade. In the theatre, I heard delighted exclamations of recognition, the kind we hear when a stand-up comedian does an Amitabh Bachchan or a Shatrughan Sinha on stage.

If you want to play spot-the-politician, this film is huge fun. My top prize for the most enjoyable mimicry goes to the talented Arjun Mathur and Aahana Kumra as Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. If ever the real Gandhi siblings need duplicates while they holiday abroad, they know where to go.

The only actor not doing an impersonation is Akshaye Khanna. Playing Sanjaya Baru, Akshaye brings to the proceedings a gravitas that this film doesn't need or deserve. He is like that one honest bureaucrat in an office filled with bribe takers. But he has his uses.

Akshaye and Anupam anchor the plot (and I am not talking about just the screenplay but the plot that underlines the raison d'etre of this film). Their exchanges exhibit sparks of unexpected irony and intelligence, as if two actors recognise the potential in each other, knowing fully well their collective wisdom is unsupported by anything else around them.

Both these actors make the hullabaloo over Singh and the Gandhis look more tenable than it would have without them.

The Accidental Prime Minister works well as a pantomime of power politics. Beyond that, we will have to wait for another day, another time, another regime.

Subhash K. Jha

The BUZZ

RIP KADER KHAN

Kader Khan rose from the depths of a Dickensian childhood in the Bombay of the 1940s, surrounded by drug peddlers, prostitutes, pimps and assorted thugs to eventually embody the essence of Hindi cinema.

Growing up in Kamathipura, Mumbai's notorious red light district that is at once cruelly heartless and touchingly heartfelt, Khan absorbed a vast range of human frailties and poured them in to 700 films that he acted in and wrote.

A MASTER FILMMAKER WHO CHALLENGED SOCIAL SENSIBILITIES

Mrinal Sen is known as a film-maker who challenged prevailing social sensibilities and mores, holding a mirror up for society.

Sen (95), who died in Kolkata on 30 Dec 2018, was the last surviving member of the 'trinity' from Bengal - including master filmmakers Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak - who gave birth to the parallel (or new wave) cinema in the country.

The troika gave a new direction to the idea of filmmaking in India, with their intellect, spontaneity, knowledge of world cinema and deep understanding of the nuances of the medium that made the world look up in wonder and respect their creations.

A Marxist in belief, who, however, never took the membership of any communist party in India, Sen regaled in breaking age-old stereotypes, highlighting issues such as exploitation and erosion of values.

Take for instance the film Kharij (The Case is Closed), where the servant boy, a minor, working in a middle class family in Kolkata, dies by carbon-monoxide poisoning after being made to sleep in the kitchen. Fearful of facing retribution, police case, and weighed down by guilt, the young employer and his wife go all out to please the deceased's father. The bereaved man, however, displays great dignity, and returns to his village quietly, leaving the employers morally shattered.

Kharij shook the urban middle and upper classes so much that many changed their treatment of servants, particularly giving them better places to sleep.

Kharij was made in the 1970s - a time of great turmoil and political unrest in Calcutta with the Naxalite movement spewing blood on the streets - during which Sen’s films provoked urban society,

subtly capturing the political upheaval.

The highlight of the genre was the trilogy Interview (1970), Calcutta 71 (1972) and Padatik (1973). All three films are regarded as masterpieces for their social messages and political overtones.

Born on May 14, 1923, at Faridpur (now in Bangladesh), Sen made his first Bengali film Rat Bhore (The Dawn) in 1953, but it was his second directorial effort Neel Akasher Niche (Under the Blue Sky) that received acclaim in the country for its lyricism and humane qualities.

His next, Baishey Shravan (Wedding Day), earned him plaudits from the critics beyond Indian shores.

In 1969 came Bhuvan Shome regarded as an important milestone in the new cinema movement in India.

And then there were the gems Ek Adhuri Kahani (1971), Chorus (1974), Mrigayaa (1976), Oka Oori Katha (1977), Ek Din Pratidin (1979), Akaler Sandhane (1980), Chalchitra (1981), Khandhar (1983), Genesis (1986) and Ek Din Achanak (1989).

His last film Aamaar Bhuvan came in 2002.

Sen leaves behind a rich repertoire of 27 feature films, 14 shorts and four documentaries during a career spanning six decades.

Widely feted, Sen received the Padma Bhushan in 1981, the Dadasaheb Phalke in 2005, the French government's Commandeur de l'ordre des Arts et letters (Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 2001, and Order of Friendship from the Russian government in the same year.

Sen served as a member of International Jury at various film festivals, including Cannes.

His autobiography Always Being Born was published in 2004.

There is no comparable figure in cinema anywhere in the world where a civil engineer juggled his writerly and actorly talents with such consummate ease in hundreds of movies for close to four decades. By Khan's own reckoning, he acted in 450 movies and wrote dialogues and scripts for 250 films. That is an astonishing output even by the generally prolific standards of Hindi cinema.

Since Khan made writing and even a certain type of performance look so effortless, he often does not get his due for his remarkable contribution to Hindi cinema. Although born in Kabul, Khan went on to capture the quintessence of India's everyday pluralism in his writings. It was under the tutelage of director Manmohan Desai, who commissioned Khan to write for his movies starting in the early 1970s, that he went on to powerfully capture Bombay's street swag as reflected in its language.

Desai said in 1986, "When I first met Kader Khan I told him, 'Tum miyabhai khali sher-o-shayri aur nawabi Urdu likhta hai. Hum ko kuchh gully ka chahiye. (You Muslim writers write only poetry and Urdu of the royal court. I need some street stuff.)'

It was under those promptings that in movies such as Roti (1974) and Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) Khan brought in the now famous Mumbai street patois into the Hindi cinema lexicon. Although his personal preference was high-minded and refined Indian and Russian literature, Khan perhaps subconsciously drew on his childhood memories to capture some of the street cool that audiences saw in movies such as Muqqadar ka Sikander (1978), Laawaris (1981), Coolie (1983) and somewhat later, Agneepath (1990).

At the time of the making of Agneepath Khan was at the peak of his craft and used to write and act so much that it was easy to discount his talent. The movie's default temperament was the kind of sauciness that one routinely experiences in Mumbai's streets, especially among the young population that has no option but to live by its wits. Social resentments of the dispossessed and disenfranchised in Mumbai often result in very distilled bitterness which gets articulated in the kind of lines that Khan wrote for

the film. What made them particularly striking was that it was against his known literary tastes of someone who loved high-minded Urdu poetry of the calibre of Mirza Ghalib and others.

His passion for education, which he was to fondly recall as a gift of his mother Iqbal Begum's backbreaking struggles, stayed with him throughout his life. Khan loved mathematics, physics, engineering, machine drawing and well into his latter life, a serious study of Arabic. Those who knew him well said he was at heart always a teacher even on the movie set.

Soft-spoken, polite and unusually internally drawn, Khan had the gift of the gab and could converse across many subjects and themes. In his passing Indian cinema has lost someone who straddled the three distinct worlds of the written, spoken and performed with rare ease.

THRILLED WITH URI: VICKY KAUSHAL

Actor Vicky Kaushal, who plays the role of an Indian commando in the recently released Uri - The Surgical Strike, is thrilled at the success of his latest film, which collected Rs 8.20 crore at the boxoffice on the first day of its release.

The movie is based on the 2016 Indian Army's surgical strikes inside Pakistan as a retaliation for the Uri terrorist attack.

"I’m really happy for the entire team especially director Adtiya Dhar as it is his first film," he said. "In today's age, it is very difficult for a debutant director to get backing from producers for his story and then to get a huge release for his film. Ultimately, when audiences appreciate the film then, it's a special thing for the entire team."

The film unit hosted a special screening for Army personnel. Interestingly, members of the Sikh Regiment trained the actors who play the commandos in the film. Tough on the actors during the gruelling routine, they were pleased at the outcome on screen. “It was a special moment when they appreciated our performance,” Vicky said. “Our film is but a tribute for their work."

BANDIT DRAMA

Sonchiriya, a dacoit drama, has been

KADER KHAN

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VICKY KAUSHAL

causing a bit of buzz since its gripping and power-packed trailer released recently.

The Sushant Singh Rajput and Bhumi Pednekar starrer takes us back to the stark and dusty ravines of Chambal in the 1970s, as dacoit groups fought to take control of central India.

The Abhishek Chaubey directorial also features Ashutosh Rana, Manoj Bajpayee and Ranvir Shorey.

After successes with Ishqiya and Udta Punjab, Abhishek Chaubey takes us into a simmering war raging at the fringe of society where what we see is not always pleasant but never uninteresting.

Talking about the film, Bhumi said, “The expectations are extremely high. It's hard-hitting but at the same time it's very relevant and important. I think it has some really great performances and a lot of craft.”

Brutal to the bone, Sonchiriya touches raw nerves in our socio-cultural DNA which has allowed inequality to foster for generations. Now it's too late to even try to rectify the economic imbalance.

The film shows fringe people accepting their place and fighting for what they believe to be their fundamental right to survive.

ELEPHANT TALES

We haven’t had an animal drama since… Haathi Mere Saathi? So now, let’s wait for… Haathi Mere Saathi.

Yes that’s the name of the new Rana

A trilingual, the film is being made simultaneously in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil with a different cast across languages.

The film also stars Pulkit Samrat, Vishnu Vishal, Zoya Hussein and Kalki Koechlin.

back in 2009.

PITY ABOUT PAK BAN: SHABANA AZMI

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FARHAN’S

FIRST ACTING ROLE

Farhan Akhtar’s The Fakir of Venice finally hits the theatres on 18 Jan, a full decade after it was made. A comedy based on a story by Homi Adajania and set in Venice, it is directed by Anand Surapur and also stars Annu Kapoor and Kamal Siddhu.

In the film, Farhan’s character tries to pass off a Mumbai slum dweller (Annu Kapoor) as a holy man who can bury himself in sand as part of a live art performance.

In the lead up to its release, a song from the film was released recently. In the song Wako Naam Fakir, 15th century poet Kabir’s doha Had had so auliya is turned into a blues song by AR Rahman. With lyrics about the dichotomy of things, it seems a perfect introduction to the film.

Believed to be Farhan Akhtar’s first ever acting role, the film premiered at the Indian Film Festival in Los Angeles way

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

ALIA BHATT OR SOFIA VERGARA IN ZIMMERMANN?

+ Share your views with us on our Facebook page /IndianLinkAustralia

Veteran actress Shabana Azmi has reacted to Pakistan Supreme Court's decision to ban Indian content in their country terming it as unfortunate, saying it is the decision of Pakistan's politicians and bureaucrats and not their audience. She was interacting with the media as she hosted a painting competition for children to celebrate 100th birth anniversary of acclaimed poet, lyricist and her father, Kaifi Azmi, in Mumbai earlier this month.

Pakistan's Chief Justice said recently the country's supreme court will not allow Indian content to be shown on Pakistani TV channels as it "damages our culture".

"It's an unfortunate decision because art connects and not divides people,” Azmi said. “The people of Pakistan don't want a ban on Indian content in their country; it is their politicians who want it. In our country too, politicians want to ban their art and artists."

"When we visit Pakistan, we get much respect from their citizens and when artists from that country visit our land, they say they feel like they’re in their own country. People-to-people connect is really necessary."

IANS ON TWITTER THIS WEEK

Match the following stars to the tweets below Anupam Kher, Karan Johar, Anushka Sharma

They came. They conquered. History written and created by this bunch. Huge congratulations to all players, coaching unit and support staff; it takes undying perseverance and solid conviction to focus on what's important and shut out the rest.

A first for koffee!! CRICKET!! With these young forces I had a blast!! They hit it out of the park!

While we are dealing with the trailer issues of #TheAccidentalPrimeMinister on @YouTube, here is a small request from our team with the link. Please retweet as much as you can. Thanks

SRK: “Yaar, Katrina, ye picture ka naam bhi Zero, aur box office collection bhi!”

Congratulations, Hetal Shah, Croydon NSW You win a movie ticket!

For more caption entries, see YOUR SAY Page 8

LAST ISSUE CAPTION CONTEST WINNER

FARHAN AKHTAR

How to cheat your Fitbit in creative ways

BY NURY VITTACHI

Many folk stupidly spend their lives trying to impress other people, when what they should really be doing, of course, is trying to impress their step-counters.

Smartphone health apps and Fitbit-style wristbands not only monitor your activity level but constantly encourage you to post it on the Internet for the world to see.

So of course people become competitive about never letting a single step go uncounted. In an Internet discussion, a reader from Mumbai lamented, “I lost my Fitbit so now I can’t move.”

If you are a step-counting addict, here are four ways to boost your score.

•Put your Fitbit in your child’s pocket and then feed him or her a sugary snack.

•Every time you hear music, indulge your inner Barenboim by conducting it.

•Hang the thing on your dog’s collar and send it out for a run around the park.

•Get a ladder and hang your Fitbit from the ceiling fan.

Most attractive advice I ever got was this: if you eat three meals a day at buffet-style

restaurants, your Fitbit will think you are an exercise nut.

Now THAT’S an exercise program I could really go for.

The leaders on some website health pages are recording 80,000 steps a day each - which is pretty impressive, since running an entire marathon only gets you about 45,000 steps.

How do you achieve those kinds of scores?

I got interested in this after a reader wrote to me about a restaurant in Harbin, China, which provides “fool your step counter” gadgets to customers. You stick your phone or Fitbit or pedometer into a little cradle which swings around while you eat, drink and sleep.

On Chinese web-shopping pages, there are now hundreds of these devices for sale.

Now I know what you’re thinking: why fool a device that makes you healthier? What if you are not a stupid, immoral egotist who hates exercise? (Such people exist, allegedly.)

Well, some folk justify cheating with specific arguments. “Some health insurance firms offer a discount for active people who can prove they walk 10,000 steps a day,” said reader Derya Bey. “And some schools in China require a minimum amount of active movement every day from each student.”

The alternative, of course, is to actually do some exercise, and some people need to. One rather overweight male friend of this columnist, referring to Japanese

ASK AUNTYJI Bargain

All in the family

DEAR AUNTYJI

Hello Auntyji. I just saw Kedarnath and thought Sara Ali Khan was quite good for a newcomer. But I can’t help feeling she got lucky because of the gene pool from which she comes. Recently, you will have read all the Bollywood news about nepotism - that so-and-so got into a movie because his or her father or mother was a star. This just means that other people don’t get a chance and the celebrities control all the good roles and who gets to be in films. This makes me so angry because this is exactly what the problem is with our society. People get all the opportunities because of who they know and others who have more talent or who are working harder don’t get a fair chance. I think this is a major problem and I am totally against nepotism in Bollywood. What do you have to say on this issue?

AUNTYJI SAYS

Well, well, well. Here is an interesting topic and I definitely have a view on this. Now Bollywood is a special place. We can all agree that nepotism is everywhere, but it’s in Bollywood that this gets played out and decided most fairly –much like the Catholic church of yore from which the term originates. I have two things to say about nepotism in

Bollywood. First, star children will always get their first break because of who they are. So yes, Alia Bhatt, Abhishek Bachchan, Sara Ali Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Jahnvi Kapoor - all got breaks because of their family name. And no doubt so will Aryan Khan, Suhana Khan, Ananya Pandey, Khushi Kapoor, even Taimur Ali Khan and Roohi and Yash Johar, all of who are waiting in the wings (im) patiently. However, guess who decides whether these stars/wannabe stars are worthy of the considerable burden of being a celebrity? The junta. You and me. It’s true that these kids got their first breaks because of whose kid they were, but if the junta feels they don’t have the talent - then the junta stops seeing their films. Just ask Twinkle Khanna. Or Esha Deol. Or Mimoh Chakraborty. And others who came and went with hardly a bang. My second point is that everyone’s success is based on kismet. If it’s written, it will happen. If it’s not meant to be, then it won’t happen. People survive in Bollywood because of their destiny (just look at the talentless Katrina Kaif) or because they are talented and destiny took them to Bollywood (just look at Kangana Ranaut). So don’t worry about nepotism - because at the end of the day, everything equalises.

price

DEAR AUNTYJI

A friend and I went shopping at a store in the Strand Arcade in Sydney which sells antique and vintage jewelry. I was looking at some items and when we left 30 minutes later, I realised my friend had bought a beautiful coral bracelet. It was so stunning main to dekti rahe gayi. Sanjana seemed very pleased with her purchase and when I asked her why she said that she had admired this bracelet for over a year, but it was $3000. The owner of the shop was on holidays, and her staff weren’t aware of the value of the bracelet, so had sold it to my friend for $300 only. Hamari rai me, Sanjana ne najais faida uthaya ye salespeople ke ignorance ka. Ab two weeks later, I wonder if she had done the right thing. Mai kya karoon Auntyji, Sanjana meri saheli hai, mai usse kya kahoon. And what should I even be thinking about this event?

AUNTYJI SAYS

Oh my goodness. Your friend, your kaali saheli is a paapi darinda, a chorni. She bought something that she knew was more expensive and she took advantage of the salespeople’s ignorance. That is essentially chori -

electronic pets, commented: “Step-counters are like Tamagotchis; only, the stupid creature you have to keep alive is yourself.”

And then of course, there are the people who get high scores by accident. I know of one woman who accidentally put her step-counter through a washing machine and drier and it credited her with climbing 84 flights of stairs that day.

Warning: Use health apps too much and your brain starts to perceive them as judgmental finger-pointers. One colleague got such a low score one day that she faked an illness and went to bed early so her Fitbit wouldn’t judge her.

Reader, you don’t want to get into that sort of situation. I hope you’ll be sensible about your use of health apps.

In which case, I’ll see you at the buffet table!

and your girlfriend will pay for it one way or another.

I mean, who thinks like this? Who comes to Australia and lives here for 30 years and then engages in this level of fraud and deception? Please tell me that Sanjana does not work in a bank, because if she does, first, I would not be surprised, but second, I can prepare to see a news article any day.

Now, about Sanjana’s kaale kartoot

What else is she deceptive about?

Does she steal money from the fountain at Hyde Park? Does she take chocolates from the primary school fundraisers without paying for this?

Does she use public transport without a valid pass?

So just so we are clear, you should be upset about what your friend did, which is essentially theft. She took something without paying the right price for it, so it is deception.

Should you have a conversation with your friend? Well, if you are going to be judged by the company you keep, then yes, you should have a chat. Otherwise, you can just dump her because sooner or later, I am sure your friend will convince you to become a thug just like her. Is that what you want to be, a chorni?

Two weeks into the New Year, you’re probably over your ‘get fit’ resolution

Photo: teespring

One colleague got such a low score one day that she faked an illness and went to bed early so her Fitbit wouldn’t judge her.

NSW SCIENCE SYLLABUS UPDATES

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