SAY IT AGAIN

Definitely not your typical Bollywood flick. Really enjoyed the film and now have greater respect for India's former Prime Minister. Hopefully many more films will be shot like this and released on Indian politics.

Charles Thomson, YouTube journalist (the Delhi-based autowallah)

Kindy Kids

At the start of the new school year, we ran a photo feature of young kids from our community who started ‘big school’. Preet Singla wrote: Your page on the little kids who started school this year, was pleasant to read. It brought it all back to me, having been through it as a stay-at-home mum with three kids, who are now all grown up and in the work force. I wish the ‘kindy mums’ all the best and hope they will enjoy their children’s school years.

An observation, if I may. The children have such fascinating -and different - Hindustani names! I suppose it is the trend these days, but am I to assume Anil, Sunil, Rakesh, Praveen, Ajay, Vijay (names from my generation) are now dead, never to be resuscitated? Couldn’t help noticing also, the overabundance of names starting with A: Aaryan, Aarya, Ayushman, Ayaan, Anahat, Aum, Atharv. (Surely that last one would be a difficult name in an Australian setting.) Makes me wonder what names my as-yet unborn grandkids will have!

Nimisha Modi wrote: Year after year it is the same feeling on their first day when the little ones go back to school. All parents must feel proud to see them. I see a little me in my child when I drop off now outside the gate, and he walks in with his school bag.

WHERE IN AUSTRALIA?

We shared a pic of this haunting tunnel, shining with glow worms. Readers Bipsha Poddar Saha, Chitra Iyer, Dale Moon, Sachin Wakhare, Anurag Singh, Amal Wilson and Utsav Patel correctly identified it as Picton tunnels in Helensburg NSW.

The school executives of Aranmore Catholic College (Perth) should go and consult Sisters of Mercy operating in India about cultural acceptance. They are the founders of the school and I am sure you need to learn a few things from them.

Waggacrow

Being A Pravasi Bharatiya

Love Kumar Nagpaul wrote: Last month I attended the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Overseas Indian Conference) at Varanasi India, on the invitation of Government of India, along with delegates from 120 countries. It was a wonderful experience. The opportunity to interact in person with Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister of State Retired General Dr V.K. Singh, CM Yogi Aditya Nath and the many foreign invitees over three days was very valuable indeed. The other great attraction was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to an audience of some 12,000.

Going to the KumbhaMela at Prayagraj, the dip at Triveni, and seeing the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath, New Delhi were equally memorable.

The arrangements by Government of India and Government of Uttar Pradesh were impeccable. Travel to and from the venues of the conference, food and sight-seeing trips were all of the highest quality.

Having lived out of India now for more than twenty years, the experiences at PBD 2019 further instilled in me the desire to give back to my country of origin in whatever way I can.

Caption Contest

What’s the chitchat here between Ranbir and Alia?

Rishi Singh wrote: Hope this is not another 'Deepika' prank that you are playing on me, Ranbir.

Shweta Dogra wrote: Where do you want to go for destination wedding?

Rachna Gupta wrote: As long as that’s our wedding card in your hand, with my name on it, I'm all smiles.

Vandana D'souza wrote: Ranbir: I have the book of life in my hands. I think you’re in it. Alia: Ditto.

Ash Ash wrote: What you doing tonight after this?

Sanjana Vyas wrote: Alia: So awkward having these cameras in our face… I’m just going to pretend to read this. Ranbir: Me too.

Sahdev Vani wrote: Aayla, Aalia, apna time aayega, apun dono bhi shaadi baaneyen ga.!

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

ALIA BHATT OR DAISY RIDLEY IN MONSE MAISON?

Clean Energy

You loved our little feature on 75-year-old Selvamma, street-side vendor in Bangalore, who uses a solar energy powered technique to cook her sweet corn Global Solar World shared the post:Real distributed and innovative use of Solar Energy.

I know this observation is hardly new but the digital economy still has the power to stun me.

I'm on a long bus ride in rural India and via a hotspot to my laptop and cheap data, dealing with HR contracts & student admin in Sydney, while listening to the Sunnyboys via bluetooth.

Bill Pritchard, USyd Prof (Human Geography)

Wherever you go in #IncredibleIndia you are met with incredibly warm, generous and welcoming hospitality, which is incredibly nice – on this occasion my neck needed to grow to receive all of it!!

Rod Hilton, Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner to India