2019-12 Sydney

PUBLISHER

Pawan Luthra

EDITOR

Rajni Anand Luthra

SOCIAL MEDIA

Suruchi Sehgal

MELBOURNE COORDINATOR

Preeti Jabbal

CONTRIBUTORS

Jyoti Shankar, Farzana Ahmad, Janani Karthik, Emie Roy, Shafeen Mustaq, Ancil Kappen, Vinaya Rai, Melissa Domingo Rawat, Janine Hollgate, Shania O’Brien, Petra O’Neill, Dhanya Samuel, LP Ayer, Minal Khona

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Charuta Joshi 02 9279 2004

Indian Link is a fortnightly newspaper published in English. No material, including advertisements designed by Indian Link, may be reproduced in part or in whole without the written consent of the editor. Opinions carried in Indian Link are those of the writers and not necessarily endorsed by Indian Link. All correspondence should be addressed to:

2020: Clearer vision or Ind a A stral a

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

The Indian government’s invitation to a foreign head of state to be the main guest at the Republic Day parade on 26 January, is said to be a barometer of its e ternal affairs thrust in the short term.

In his first term in 2015, it is telling that Prime Minister Modi invited former US resident arac ama. n it as then rench resident rancoise ollande. Wanting to build a stronger presence in the regions o er the ne t t o years the focus as on the leaders of these countries to e centrestage ith odi.

This year it as the turn of the ra ilian President Jair Bolsonaro to be accorded this privilege as India turned its attention to the resource rich country hich can hel meet its long term energy needs.

In recent days, there has been much media comment in major publications ( eter artcher and ennifer e itt in the Fairfax press and Greg Sheridan in the e s td sta le) a out the forthcoming visit to India by Australian Prime Minister cott orrison.

While the hope is high for a deeper engagement et een the t o countries an ac no ledgment from the ndian side of their desire for a stronger relationship ith ustralia ould ha e een to see the Australian Prime Minister at an ath atching the e u lic ay arade alongside rime inister odi. nfortunately orrison ill arri e and de art a fe days rior to this e ent of national significance. or the record no Australian Prime Minister has scored an in ite to this olitically significant e ent. onetheless might ell e the year in hich the ustralia ndia relationshi could hit a higher gear. inally done ith the musical chair scenario of prime ministership, Scott Morrison does ha e clear air in the to o . is former leader Tony ott as a le to stri e a good friendshi ith arendra odi than s to their strong right ing olitical and religious eliefs. ith a similar hiloso hy erha s cott orrison ill e a le to forge a similar ond ith his ndian counter art.

oth countries are ary of the gro ing might of - and interference by - China in their o n ac yards (the outh acific for ustralia ri an a and a istan for ndia) and the increasing a dication of its glo al duties y the nited tates. There is

enough common ground for the dialogues to e more meaningful.

Will it all translate to increased trade and usiness et een the t o countries Peter Hartcher in the SMH has tried to analyse the reasons for hy this has not e entuated to date. ne he o ser es is that unlike Canada, Australia has not effecti ely utilised the strength and connections of its 700,000-strong Indian dias ora seeing that there are fe ndian origin arliamentarians and t o that the ie in ndia is that dani has faced problems in Australia because it is an ndian enter rise.

f course the more o ecti e ie may be that the Adani Carmichael coal mine issue is an environment issue that needs sorting rather than a discrimination issue. Regarding Indian-origin parliamentarians, that ill e entuate hen suita le candidates arise ho can or through the arty ran s and sho sustained assion for a career in politics, rather than parachuted candidates ho are elected for little more than their ndian origins.

The relationshi ill only mo e on from the three s of ommon ealth curry and coal - to the Ds, Es and Fs of digital, education and financial services, if you ill if there is sustained attention at the highest le els of oth go ernments.

YOUR SAY

WILLIAM DALRYMPE ON ‘THE ANARCHY’

PAWAN LUTHRA interviewed the Scottish writer on the Indian links in his life and work, with particular reference to his latest book on the East India Company.

Rosemary Mula wrote: It was a great night with fabulous food and enlightening discussions. I haven’t had time yet to open it, I need a good length of time to really get into it and enjoy the complicated content.

Chandra Kishore wrote: Read the book, quite interesting.

Kalyanaraman wrote: Absolutely brilliant, this book kept me engaged deeply for almost a week. Reads like a novel. Monumental work!

Arni Narendran wrote: A great story teller.

Protyush Ghosh wrote: Company Raj vs British Raj? They were equally bad. The two together were a 200-year holocaust. They gave India nothing but suffering. The British colonisation of India should have been tried as a crime against humanity at the International Court of Justice.

BANANAS FOR PACKAGING

UNSW academic Assoc Prof. Jayashree Arcot made it to the news for her research on using banana waste to create packaging material.

Dr Shyamala Vishnumohan wrote: How exciting. Great recognition for Dr Arcot who cares about her students and about rigorous science. Profoundly grateful to have been your PhD student.

Meenakshi Chopra wrote: Congrats Jayshree. Great research.

Vijayalakshmi Kannan wrote: That is fantastic. Wonder what it is that attracts Indian-origin scientists to innovating in recycling.

Chitra Iyer wrote: Congratulations, Jayashree.

MY INSTA

Send us a photo (or Instagram one) of Indian Link in your daily life, and we’ll pick one to feature here.

Seema Nair wrote: Feels great to see my Diwali Rangoli creation featured in Indian Link’s November Edition. Thanks for this opportunity.

SAY IT AGAIN

FINANCIAL ADVICE FOR JOB ENTRANTS

PAWAN LUTHRA had some sage advice for millennials on how to manage their money.

Vinay Nair wrote: Great points. The Moneysmart website also has some great tools around budgeting and nancial advice. Also remember that if an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I dedicate this award to King Khan. You are the reason why I became an actor. I hope I can meet you.

Muhammad Khan, an Indonesian actor who won the Piala Citra for Best Actor in a Leading Role

Now that I’ve been through three 'apocalyptic' Delhi winters — known here as pollution season — I have an idea of what the end of the world might look like.

Siobhan Heanue, ABC South Asia correspondent

MORE STOLEN STATUES TO BE RETURNED

You liked our post on Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement that when he travels to India in January 2020, he will take back with him three statues currently in the National Gallery of Australia. These include a pair of door guardians (dvarapala) from 15th Century Tamil Nadu, and a serpent king (Nagaraja) statue from 6th to 8th Century Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh. Anita Sam Robert wrote: That’s great to know. It will be good to have them where they belong.

Kala Raghunath wrote: Theft is nally out of fashion, at least in some countries. Neelu Bhambi wrote: Beautiful, thank you!

CAPTION CONTEST

What’s the chitchat here between Sunny Deol and Narendra Modi?

Sweta Shah wrote: Modi: Sunny, I’ll never shake hands with you when we meet, instead I’ll give you a hug. Sunny: I only need to show my hand in Parliament if people don’t listen to what you have to say.

Raj Saneja wrote: Our country does not believe in the concept of ‘my God’ or ‘your God’. We believe that all Gods are one. We have different ways of accepting him, but all ways lead to him.

Arix Bishnoi wrote: Close your eyes Sunny, and relax.

Next 100 years tak apni he sarkar hai.

Jasveen Kaur Gosal wrote: Focus Sunny, stop day dreaming. Look, close your eyes like me.

Tejas M Vaidya wrote: Sunny is thinking, “How do I convince Modiji to change the party’s symbol from lotus to a hand-pump…”

Wicky Choudhary wrote: Did you bring the hand - pump from Pakistan or not?

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

WHERE IN OZ

We asked you to identify this spectacular cactus garden. Readers Sourav Biswas and M Sehmaann correctly identi ed it as Cactus Country, Australia’s largest cactus collection, in Strathmerton, Victoria.

WHERE IN INDIA

We asked you to identify this ancient Indian temple. Readers Payel Ray, Sandeep Satapathy and Tanya Sahoo correctly identi ed it as the Shanti Stupa in Dhouli in Orissa, Tanya Sahoo adding that it is her birthplace.

Could the NASA team that found VikramLander also help us nd the cricket balls hit by ABD & Virat?

Royal Challengers, IPL team

This Australian Team in these conditions are going to take some beating ... Only India have the tools to do so at this stage imo. #AUSvPAK

Michael Vaughan, English cricket commentator

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. (Mahatma Gandhi) It’s not important what other people believe about you. It’s only important what you believe about yourself. David Warner 335 notout

Candice Warner, wife of David Warner

T HE YEAR IN

Trends and trendsetters n Sydney s Ind an o n ty th s year

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

It s een a crac er of a year. The tal ing points in the community have been more like ‘shouting’ points, coming from a hole range of issues that im acted us directly and indirectly. Politics has been at the top of this list, es ecially as e e had elections oth at the state and federal levels, and also in our country of origin. ur rise outcomes at each only served to heighten the intensity of the discussions.

Many significant events in our home country ha e also affected us dee ly here in ustralia ul ama hinandan a ne loo ashmir handrayaan safety for our omen some strongly enough to ring us out in the streets in rotest. nd that itself became a point of discussion: ho should the dias ora sho dissent

India-Oz

The ush to ards ndia from the mainstream ent u a notch this year articularly in go ernment efforts (the Prime Minister is set to travel to India ne t month) and in the uni ersities rushing to offer scholarshi s to ndian students.

usiness effort on the other hand continued to sho characteristic reticence even though Peter Varghese’s report on a proposed strategy for Australia to engage economically ith ndia continues to e in o ed regularly. (The re ort is ins iring a similar document from the Indian side its author nil adh a currently touring ustralia.) f re orts are true that Barry O’Farrell is to be the next High Commissioner to India, it remains to be seen ho the usiness relationshi ill change, given his previous roles as NSW’s Special Trade Envoy to India and on the ustralia ndia ouncil.

Community achievers

In Australia Day and Queen’s Birthday Honours this year, a record number of members of our community, eighteen in total sa themsel es decorated. hile the honourees ere mostly from the traditional fields of medicine, academics, scientific research and community service, a elcome addition this year as a personality from the performing arts in the mainstream: the Pune-born Cyrus Meherom i musicologist and record e ecuti e. and ictoria oth sa ndian origin representatives enter Parliament (Gurmesh ingh and aushaliya aghela res ecti ely).

As year-end approaches and various

industry sectors announce their annual a ards of e cellence ne s is currently coming through of more achievers in the IT, sciences, health, sustainability and usiness sectors.

The Mela scene

The Mela fatigue from last year continued this year. The large scale nde endence ay fairs ere a dam s ui yet again ho efully forcing a rethink at our organisations (more so in the light of a much more successful smaller affair y the ). nd if e lamented that nde endence ay no goes on for a fortnight i ali traditionally a fi e day affair ut not in contem orary times ent on for nearly a month this year, the last event taking place on 16 Nov, t enty days after the festi al itself on ct. The indu ouncil of ustralia as the major proliferator here, presenting to the community literally a festival of festivals at various locations, even though its flagship e ent mo ed to a less glamorous enue. The stage e ents at these day long affairs attract fe er and fe er eo le lea ing one Indian Link report to conclude that the audience members for the cultural events are often families of those performing, ho lea e immediately after and that the o cial segments ha e more eo le on stage than off it. s it correct then to claim that

the community is the real inner at these multi le fairs s fresh a roach to i ali a street fair in arris ar as a re eat success this year, and is our pick for Event of the Year (see box).

n terms of im act lac to n ouncil s i ali ights com etition also made its mar . dding to the ela scene this year ere t o s ecial e ents. andhi t as o ser ed ith some fer our here strangely ith more community in ol ement than ac home in ndia. ur risingly the made no special commemoration, even though it has been marking the Gandhi dates 2 Oct and an for many years no . The e ent at Parramatta, at the location of the Gandhi statue in Jubilee Park, created much interest ith its multi thronged homage including an e hi ition a lay and a mo ie screening. Organised by a successful collaboration et een ocal ouncil local usiness and community stakeholders, it attracted a large cro d for a ednesday night.

uru ana t ent off ust as ell.

The Divine Steps Festival, organised as a multifaith devotional music event, paid tribute to the founder of the Sikh faith also ith art langar and se a including a fundraising bike ride from Canberra to ydney. The acti e in ol ement of the

REVIEW

youth in the organisation as ell as in attendance as articularly commenda le. t as the smaller niche e ents ut together y grassroots efforts rather than the larger organisations that on the day.

Community trends

The Government of India’s changes to the OCI card caused some chaos as travellers ere re ented from tra el at chec in. The confusion continued as clear-cut information as not immediately a aila le forcing harried tra ellers to ta e emergency isitors isas. Domestic and family violence continued to e on the agenda es ecially ith the horrific murder of dentist Preeti Reddy, allegedly at the hands of a former artner. ean hile health concerns too their lace on the agenda sho ing increased impact, community health initiative Pink ari too on a ne cam aign this time against o el cancer. n another trend families ith s ecial needs mem ers are also beginning to associate and advocate collecti ely for ser ices.

Seniors’ issues, particularly elder abuse, dementia and the need for culture-specific retirement facilities, are also claiming the s otlight and ill ste u in the near future

In education, a commendable trend is the increased take up of Indian languages at our schools. ( e e had more re orts in Indian Link this year than ever before, of Indianthemed celebrations at our public schools,

focusing on oli i ali and andhi.)

The restaurant scene sa interesting trends hile leading eateries an it s at the harf and r an Tad a held s ay for their fi e star dining e eriences as ell as their strengths in outdoor catering, eat street in arris ar sa the cro ds throng in, especially for its communityfriendly casual late night i e.

The arts

egarding the erforming arts hile the theatre scene has gro n ith increased participants, perhaps the same cannot be said in terms of im act. nstead the dance scene seems to ha e ic ed u ith some stellar presentations this year (Hamsa Venkat’s Abhigyanam Shakuntalam, asti ance s Taj Mahal ). hat has impressed most though, has been the flashes of brilliance in mainstream entertainment ith young ndian origin creati es a ing the ay ( a itha Anandasivam of SBS TV’s The Hunting; t ins ed and rund ao and riter Mithila Gupta in ABC Me’s The Unlisted; musicians arts and The ion riya errao as iss ustralia).

In film, good to see some great samples of ‘thinking’ Hindi films felicitated in the mainstream here. ano a ayee claimed his second APSA for Bhonsle, and the critically acclaimed Andhadhun and Gully Boy scored T nominations for est sian ilm.

Celebrity visitors hah u h han led the cele s at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne this year, seducing the audiences at multiple a earances such as at the o ening at a Trobe University and in the mainstream media. eedless to say social media as hah struc . s e ected other in itees aled some hat in the ac ground ith the ossi le e ce tion of Ta u aran ohar alai a rora and i ay ethu athi.

The Indian cricket team brought much cheer for the fans early in the year ith their historic test series ictory.

rom the usiness orld atya adella and ndra ooyi ere high rofile isitors. Writer William Dalrymple dropped in on the ay to at delaide aying us a isit at Indian Link.

Other highlights included singers Sonu igam and and actors ee ti a al and areena a oor in successful small scale e ents.

Taking stock of these highlights, it’s clear that in the community as a u ith acti ities of interest and causes to s ea u for. s e start a hole ne decade in a fe ee s time here s ho ing e can gi e etter direction to the trends that ill see us e ol e etter as a community and ta e ac to the dra ing oard that hich arrants a closer loo .

I NDIAN L INK’ S E VENT O F THE Y EAR : L ITTLE I NDIA D IWALI

The annual i ali e ent organised by the Council of ndian ustralians ( ) and the Harris Park Business Forum, is our ic for the ent of the ear. fresh a roach to i ali celebrations in our community, it sees Wigram St, the main thoroughfare in Harris Park, loc ed off to tra c and ta en o er y i ali re ellers. o ens of stalls line the street offering the est the region has to offer in terms of food as ell as mainstream companies like oles. on sto cultural sho s on stage and late night fire or s com lete the i ali feel. ncluded this year as a light procession to mark the esti al of ights. Held for the third year this year the e ent has gro n impressively in design, e ecution and im act.

IT or so al change

Perth ased IT ro ess onal s tak n te hnolo y to the ost nder served se t ons o A stral an so ety

BY JYOTI SHANKAR

Nilesh a ana founder and of Perth-based ICT consultancy Illuminance Solutions, has been named a Gold Disruptor in the Australian Computer Society’s CXO isru tor of the ear a ards this year.

true change ma er ho elie es in harnessing the o er of technology ( T) to change society for the etter ilesh has on acclaim for his ro ect ant are.

The platform is designed to help local ( ational isa ility nsurance cheme) ser ice ro iders com ly ith the changes in the regulations hile deli ering uality ser ice for their customers.

The latform on him icrosoft s artner for ocial m act ard earlier this year only one of t o ustralian usinesses to in a ards.

Nilesh encouraged Microsoft to reduce their soft are licensing costs for not for rofit organisations ( s) ho struggle to ma e their dollar stretch.

nitially they did not li e that as lobbying against them after they gave me an a ard ut they listened and agreed to release ten free ce licences for s he told Indian Link hen isiting ydney to listen to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote address at the nno ate conference.

Nilesh has consistently used technology to ro ide solutions to societal issues. is company and the University of Notre Dame ( ) oined forces to launch an initiati e designed to boost digital literacy in the ndigenous community in roome .

Nearly 50 per cent of Indigenous households in remote Australia have no access to the Internet, resulting in increasingly lo digital literacy rates. ommunities there re ort di culty in accessing vital services related to medical needs, finance, housing, mental health

and legal matters most of hich can e accessed online.

“Technology should be an enabler; instead, it is currently unintentionally marginalising some eo le in our society said ilesh.

This free initiative is focused on providing a practical understanding of a range of Microsoft business programs and is open to all u lic not ust students. igital literacy layed a ig role in my life so no the difference this ro ect can ma e.

A Year 10 drop out, Nilesh’s IT journey started hen his father got him to train at his

friend s sho to learn com uters for a year. e asn t aid ut uic ly got the hang of technology and soon started his o n e site usiness.

“Then the dot-com bubble burst, so I decided to finish school. had a real life conte t no and it all made sense.

ilesh ent on to com lete his education in ngland and also or ed there for a it. n 2012, he moved to Perth to pursue Masters in Information Management Systems and stayed ac to start lluminance olutions.

He observed that the most disadvantaged in terms of technology as the area as most com anies in erth ere focused on mining or the go ernment sector. oing something meaningful and purposeful drives our organisation said ilesh ho elie es in armic hiloso hy.

y focus for lluminance has al ays een on ho e can create and a ly technological solutions for social im act ilesh mused.

“While others have been focusing on the ‘big end of to n e e een usy transforming the not for rofit sector ith tech that ma es a real difference in eo le s li es.

Nilesh believes that IT should be “a cost sa ings centre not a cost centre. etter technology can free NFPs to be more roducti e e cient and deli er im ro ed ser ices to society he adds.

Since its inception in 2015 Illuminance has gro n from a four erson com any to a em loyee or lace that em races di ersity. t em loys staff from nationalities eo le ith disa ilities Indigenous Australians, people of varying ages ( et een and ) and is also gender alanced.

et inning the usiness e s ising tar ard for i ersity came as a sur rise. e al ays loo for eo le ho e thin can deli er on their romises and hose alues align ith ours. don t thin of being diverse but rather of being inclusive,” says ilesh ho asserts that his team s di ersity ha ened organically ithout any deli erate intention.

esides the a ard inning ant are platform, Illuminance also designed the original Trust anagement ystem hich helps Indigenous people manage royalties for land titles from mining com anies. re iously records ere e t manually and there ere issues of corru tion and go ernance.

When invited to speak at the Australian Computer Society’s Young ICT conference as a keynote speaker recently, Nilesh asked his audience to or on their eulogy rather than their resume. hen you die eo le ill remem er you for eing a good father mother, husband, friend, community mem er neigh our colleague oss. They on t recall that you ere the of com any or that you o ned a . our resume uilds hen you focus on your eulogy.

“If you are ridgy didge, a good bloke, ustralia is ery elcoming ac no ledged ilesh ho lo es the culture of mateshi and olunteering here. hen mentoring international students and ne migrants in Perth, Nilesh advises them against complaining about not finding a job; instead, he as s hat can they offer this country that has provided them safety, free parks, clean ater health care and so much more.

“You get a lot already just by landing here,” he noted, encouraging all to make olunteering a ay of life instead of a ath ay to a o sage ad ice from someone ho has himself al ed the tal .

The business o ar n

FARZANA AHMAD re orts

An Indian migrant father-andson duo from Geelong, Abhay and Ishan Sinha have bagged the egional ort ard at this year s ustralian ort ards for their medical device manufacturing and e orting usiness are ssentials.

The inhas hard or and dedication has seen the com any hich once su lied reusable blankets to just one hospital, blossom into a leading manufacturer and distri utor of arming de ices to medical facilities in over 60 countries including ermany e ealand a an and anada.

“My father Abhay Sinha and I purchased this business in 2011,” Ishan Sinha told Indian Link. t that time it as a much smaller and business, floundering and mo ing to ards administration.

The main product at Care Essentials is the atient arming ystem hich includes ocoon lan ets and arming machines. These are used in operating theatres around the orld for tem erature management during surgeries. They re ent and treat hy othermia inhi it infection and uic en the reco ery rocess after rocedures.

shan e lained that ith the use of arming lan ets ost o erati e reco ery has become faster, substantially decreasing the duration of hos ital stay for atients. This helps in reducing stress on the hospital system and decreases the financial cost to the atients.

Care Essentials produces 6 types of machines and different ty es of lan ets.

Ishan explained, “Each market can have different rigorous standards ut since e manufacture the machines and blankets in ustralia e can e fle i le to meet our customers needs and their urisdictions.

The com any as nominated for the a ard y an em loyee and shan admitted he as leasantly sur rised at ha ing on. i en the high cali re of the com etitors as not e ecting to come out ahead he re ealed.

e ac no ledged the i otal role Austrade is playing in boosting local usinesses. ustrade has een a great hel

for our usiness. e enefit from the ree Trade greements in arious countries e e ort to. e ha e also een the reci ients of the Export Market Development Grants hich allo s us to attend im ortant mar eting e hi itions hich are great platforms to introduce our products and sign on international customers.

In return, Care Essentials provides

jobs for local people from Geelong and has raised the Australian profile as a manufacturer on the international stage. The ustralian ort ards ere launched in 1963 and are the longest running usiness a ards rogram in the country. This year s e ent recognised excellence in thirteen categories including E-commerce, Sustainability, Technology and nno ation and nternational health. inners ere selected on the asis of their international gro th mar eting and financial strategies measured against other contenders. The ustralian Trade n estment ommission ( ustrade) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and ndustry ( ) ty ically colla orate ith all the tates and Territories ho each run their inde endent e ort a ards rogram. ocal inners are then entered into the national a ards hich is su orted y leading corporations, industry groups and e ort facilitators.

Co-presented by Austrade and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the arliament ouse the a ards ere held in an erra on ecem er.

The Sinhas arrived in this country from ndia t enty years ago.

Ishan disclosed that his company employs eo le in ustralia and a in ndia. is com any s re enue is currently gro ing at 30% and exports account for 65% of total re enue.

nding on a reflecti e note he offered a ord of ad ice to his community. e come from a culture that places a lot of importance on education and encourages hard or . ustralia is full of o ortunities for anyone illing to or hard.

t is uite clear that shan ractises hat he reaches.

are Essent als, the Geelon ased an a t r n and ex ort s ness r n y A hay and Ishan S nha, a s an A stral an E x ort Award

The Sinhas’ company, which once supplied reusable blankets to just one hospital, has today blossomed into a leading manufacturer and distributor of warming devices to medical facilities in over 60 countries including USA, UK, Germany, New Zealand, Japan and Canada.

THE TEAM

Se ond t e lory at APSA

Mano Ba ayee w ns Best A tor award at APSA 2019

Mano a ayee has on the Best Performance by an Actor a ard at the th sia acific creen ards ( ) held in Brisbane, for his role in Devashish Makhija’s Bhonsle.

The thespian created history by ecoming the only actor to ha e on the a ard t ice re iously earning the recognition in 2016 for his underrated performance in the brilliant Aligarh.

India also created a record of sorts by inning in the same category for four years in a ro . a umar ao and a a uddin iddi ui on the a ard for their performances in Newton ( ) and Manto ( ) res ecti ely.

Bhonsle is a film that sensitively explores the nuances of political and regional conflicts unra elling in ndia.

Bajpayee, 50, took the opportunity at the a ards night to shed light on the numerous financial obstacles the film had to endure before finally going into production; a sad fate many independent Indian films have had to endure consistently. hen e ashish the director came to me ith the scri t fi e years ago lo ed it he said. ince then e had een loo ing for financers to roduce the mo ie. Those ho ecause of me initially sho ed interest in the ro ect also ran a ay. inally e managed to get a grou of eo le ho ere ready to in est.

e added inning this a ard is oetic ustice for e ery team mem er many of hom

or ed on the sets for days ithout ay.

Manoj is also one of the producers along ith iyush ingh hayanand ingh aura h u ta and andii a oor. e also than ed his co stars ho also gained ra e re ie s antosh u e ar and shita ha ra orty ingh and other nominees.

ould li e to congratulate a id ohammad adeh ( ran) and others for giving such remarkable performances in their films. ha e learnt a lot from all of you.

edicating the in to his daughter ano said as raying that in an a ard this e ening not for anyone ut my little daughter. he is at home ho ing for my ictory he added.

n a ost a ard inter ie the actor reiterated the importance of the

recognition. or me eing nominated at APSA itself is a great achievement and I can t elie e ha e on it t ice. The films nominated here are atched glo ally and are judged by a panel of accomplished ury mem ers ho don t com romise on uality and e cellence. lso this a ard is a testament to the lood and s eat of my colleagues and the years of aiting the ro ect had to undergo.

In Bhonsle, Manoj plays the titular character, a retired Mumbai Police consta le hose monotonous life goes a ry hen he finds himself shielding a young ihari oman and her little brother against the vitriol of his Marathi neigh our. The film is a commentary on the ramifications that hate-filled politics and jingoism resorted to by politicians have

on the general public and is set against the background of the long-standing simmering tensions et een arathi residents and ihari migrants.

The a ard is another feather in the ca for ano ho has had a stellar year including inning the adma hri and gaining ra e re ie s for his first e series The Family Man, no streaming on ma on rime.

Another Indian, emerging filmmaker idham an e on the oung inema ard for The Gold-Laden Sheep and The Sacred Mountain (Sona Dhwandi Bhed Te Suchha Pahad) hich as also nominated for Best Feature Film and chie ement in inematogra hy. (The film tells the story of a remote mountainous culture under threat from modernity. hen a jet fighter crashes in the region, an old shepherd leaves his flock to find and save sur i ors. o e er the et has crashed in an area considered to be sacred - the shepherd stops short, fearing that it might mean bad luck for his animals if he enters holy ground.)

The region’s highest accolade in film, the uni uely ustralian initiati e ignites and celebrates the cinematic excellence of the countries and areas of the region. Stories encompassing 13 countries and areas ere a arded at the annual e ent ith the ma ority of the inners also eing their country s o cial su mission for the cademy ards in the est nternational eature ilm ategory.

Manoj Bajpayee receives his award from veteran Aussie actor Jack Thompson

Bhonsle Sona Dhwandi Te Sucha Pahad

Manoj Bajpayee and fellow-nominee Navid Mohammadzadeh of Iran

Manoj Bajpayee and Ridham Janve

Break n the language arr er

Pr ary st dents at G rraween P l S hool sh ne at na ral o n ty lan a e show ase on ert

confidently. t actually or s ecause at the end of ear the ids ant to continue their language lessons.

BY JANANI K ARTHIK

Girra een u lic chool turned a lot more colourful than usual recently as Tamil/Hindi language students turned up in traditional attire for their annual sho case concert.

Some 700 primary school students learn an Indian language at the school, 300 in Tamil classes and 400 in Hindi classes, in ears to .

t the recent sho case students performed to popular Tamil and Hindi songs, and presented beautiful recitations of Tamil and Hindi versions of English rhymes such as Wheels On The Bus, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and Baby Shark.

“This is the second year of this celebratory event,” Premala Nadesan, a Tamil teacher at the school, told Indian Link. “The kids are e cited not only to ear their traditional garments, but also to see their friends and teachers in theirs! It is a great feeling for the children to see the hole school in ol ed in their culture e en if for a day.

Even Principal Glenn Walker participated, joining the language teachers in a dance performance to the current Hindi hit Aankh Maare. t as a resentation that ent do n ell ith students as ell as arents in attendance.

About the significance of learning languages indi teacher anu Tandon said anguage classes hel to reach out to the third generation children. f e don t create the a areness for them a out their language no they may e entually lose it altogether. In our culture-integrated language classes, kids share their experiences from home more than they ould out in the layground and so it all adds u .

Anjali Dhond, another Hindi teacher, added, “These classes also help in relating better to their extended families back in ndia es ecially grand arents.

ids attend community language classes

for an hour e ery ee during school hours in hich they erform a ariety of language tas s. n ali said The ids or on s ecific reading listening riting and s ea ing tas s designed by us and get to analyse and explore the language. e assess their a ility through final tas s in hich they erform acti ities such as a role lay and resent a iece.

Tamil teacher Heerthayini

Janapalachandran chimed in, “Our teaching techni ues are uite different to ho e learned languages oursel es as ids. The Tamil indi sylla us that e teach here is modified to cater to the children brought up in ustralia. er and a o e en and a er e ma e our lessons fun and engaging e are responsible to instil interest in the kids first and then gradually get them conversing

n re arations for the sho case the students actively engaged in project-based learning or ing in grou s to de elo u les and games.

Archana, a Year 4 student, said, “I think it is im ortant to read and rite my o n language. m en oying my language classes. or ed on a ro ect a out different Tamil festi als. y fa ourite Tamil festi al is Tamil e ear.

Another student Chitrita said, “I'm originally from angladesh. learn indi here. am thrilled to learn a ne language. For her project, Chitrita created a book of flo ers ith their names in indi. Anokshikhaa learned the names of animals in Tamil for her ro ect.

Talking at the event, Principal Glenn Walker said, “By learning an additional language students ill de elo s ills in areas of communication, intercultural understanding, social cohesion, language and intercultural a areness. ommunity language classes are an important link to our community. e t year e ill e and the language classes y including Telugu.

Heerthayini agreed that language learning results in enhanced cogniti e s ills. ot only is there better speech and hearing, she shared ut also greater focus e cient memory a ility to uggle et een tas s manage conflicts, and better information rocessing o erall.

For migrant kids, such programs also help in identity formation, foster self-esteem, and ee at ay feelings of social isolation. ur son did not no a ord of Tamil before joining this school,” admitted Hema, a arent ho attended the sho case. o he is increasingly using Tamil at home. e lo e it that he is able to learn his mother tongue at school.

alyani another arent said e are Telugu speakers but have enrolled our child in the Tamil class. e figured it ould e good to learn at least one ndian language. We are thrilled to hear the Principal’s announcement regarding Telugu!”

Girraween Public School’s Community Language teachers (L-R) Premala Nadesan, Kanu Tandon, Anjali Dhond, Heerthayini Janapalachandran

Delh oy w ns rst Sydney s holarsh o $60,000

Gro ing u in the slums of Peera Garhi, Northern Delhi, India, pursuing Master’s from an internationally reno ned academic institution located in a land far a ay as ne er on hishe anda s to do list. ut fate had sur rises u its slee e for this youngster. hishe s ingenuity talent and dogged determination sa him ecome the first recipient of the Sydney Scholars ndia uity cholarshi formed y the ni ersity of ydney in colla oration ith sha ociety in ndia. The scholarshi one of the most generous postgraduate course or scholarshi s e er offered y an ustralian uni ersity ill see hishe start a degree in aster of anagement ( ) from at the ni ersity.

orth ( ) a year, the scholarship covers the cost of postgraduate tuition fees, a place in one of the University’s residential colleges, flights te t oo s and health co er. t is only available to current residents of communities in elhi ndia here the sha ociety o erates.

Speaking about the scholarship, an elated hishe said e er in my ildest dream did I imagine getting an admission to such a prestigious university! I consider myself lucky to not only be the first recipient of this scholarship but also be the first student from the slums of Delhi to go to Sydney for a aster s rogram.

ro ing u going to a uni ersity as

the farthest thing from my mind because no one in my family had gone to one. eeting the Asha team in my slum motivated, encouraged, and inspired me to go to the ni ersity of elhi for further studies.

Abhishek completed his Bachelor’s degree in ommerce earlier this year.

He added, “I began to study at the Asha centre instead of my home because they offered a uiet and safe en ironment for me

to concentrate. They mentored and ro ided me ith study materials hich hel ed me e cel in my e ams.

The young student acutely understands the destabilising impact of crippling poverty on education and ants to use his story to ins ire and em o er others in similar circumstances. t is my goal to hel other youngsters living in disadvantaged communities, and I sincerely hope to inspire

hundreds of kids to pursue higher education and uild strong careers hishe said. hishe as greeted y the ni ersity of Sydney’s Vice- Chancellor and Principal Dr ichael ence ho as in elhi to launch the scholarship and meet its inaugural reci ient.

“We created the India specific scholarshi s ecause e recognise the vital importance of Australia’s relationship ith ndia an im ortance that ill only increase in the coming years. reating an opportunity for the future leaders of India and Australia to study together at our ni ersity is one small ay of su orting this relationshi r ence said.

“We also recognise that talent is not restricted to any particular social or economic background and that for many, the dream of studying internationally is just that, a dream. e ho e that this scholarshi ill mean that financial need does not prevent a young person of outstanding talent from realising their otential.

r iran artin founder and director of Asha Society, started the organisation in to em o er disad antaged communities in Delhi and provide families a ath ay out of o erty. ducation is the only ay to rea the cycle of o erty fore er and transform not only the individual but also their families and community. ro er education ill lead to good em loyment ros ects and they ill e a le to access and en oy a different orld r artin said.

AISRF ellowsh s or 2020 anno n ed

Food and ater security disaster management, premature cancer mortality, neurodegenerative disorders: these are but some of the areas that the Australia India Strategic esearch und ill hel fund fello shi s in the year .

Nineteen early to mid-career researchers in Australian universities have received ello shi s under the ustralia ndia Strategic Research Fund Early- and Midareer esearcher .

They ill recei e u to in funding to conduct research at some of India’s leading research institutions.

The Australia-Indian Strategic Research und ( ) su orts scientists in ndia and Australia to collaborate on leading-edge research and is supported by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, ustralian o ernment.

Associate Professor Ravinesh Deo of the University of Southern Queensland, one of the reci ients of the ello shi ill e aluate ho latest artificial intelligence technologies can e em loyed to tac le drought and ater resources management issues.

Dr Alison Pearce of the University of ydney ill study the loss of roducti ity resulting from cancer in ndian o ulation.

r ergey ru researcher at the

Australian National University is heading to ndia ne t year to or on de elo ing ne technologies in hotonics to create miniaturised optical systems for use in the telecommunications industry.

Other successful recipients of the ello shi s are

r umeet alia T ni ersity

Harness atomically thin materials for ollution sensors and e cient industrial lubricants

r agendra umar inganallur

Balasubramanian, CSIRO: Systems-

immunology based approach to study early immune responses to foot-and-mouth disease accination in sian uffalos

r orte a a eri ni ersity of Technology Sydney: Scholarly solution support system

r iona c ay ea in ni ersity

Documenting the food insecurity experiences and nutritional status of omen in ndia

r u ash aha ni ersity of Technology

Sydney: Respiratory particle transport: ageing effect and targeted drug deli ery

r egadesan u iah ni ersity of Melbourne: In-situ vibrational spectroscopic studies on the electrode interfacial rocess for rene a le energy storage devices

r huaifei hao ea in ni ersity

Closing the CO 2 loop in biogas production by innovative membrane technology

r i a rishna aruturi ustralian ational ni ersity e generation materials for lo cost and high e ciency solar hydrogen generation

r Thanh Thi guyen ea in ni ersity

human machine teaming frame or based on deep reinforcement learning for disaster management

r oni a Tyagi onash ni ersity sing

machine learning to develop robust and reproducible miRNA biomarkers to detect preterm labour

r an ay im al ar ni ersity of Technology

Sydney: Sustainable performance of future high-speed rail and hea y haul freight corridors effect of climate change and mitigation measures

r hristina ggar outhern ross

University: A mobile digital learning program to support nurses’ leadership and communication skills in chronic disease management: a primary healthcare initiative

r e ecca art ni ersity of outhern

Queensland: A genomics approach to understanding root-lesion nematode resistance in chickpea

r ency Thomas a Tro e ni ersity

Metabolic syndrome influencing neurodegenerative disorder (MIND ro ect)

r shmita engu ta e elo ing functional en ironmental flo s frame or to enhance resilience and improve ater security under climate change and urbanisation scenarios

r aya lo To er ni ersity of e castle dentification of frog and disease diversity in a remote part of India ( agaland).

Abhishek Handa (back row, R) with the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney Dr Michael Spence (front L), Founder and Director of the Asha Society Dr Kiran Martin (centre) and representatives from the University of Sydney.

Assoc Prof Ravinesh Deo of the University of Southern Queensland (USQ)

The do tor as spokesperson

The A stral an Ind an Med al Grad ates Asso at on seeks greater community role

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

"Iould li e to ecome more forceful as an organisation in coming years alu alao alla ne resident of the ustralian Indian Medical Graduates Association said recently.

At the association’s annual dinner, she s o e of a longer term lan hich included tac ling ider social in ustices and perhaps not so cheekily - being on Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s fingertips as an agency to call in times of need.

Highlighting the year’s activities, she listed the proactive measures taken in the areas of community-based health programs, health a areness and fund raising. The association raised $10,000 for Cure Cancer Foundation Australia this year (an issue close to alao alla s heart gi en her o n ersonal history ith it) and has set lifestyle e am les ith endea ours such as ity urf in the mainstream, and dancing as a form of leisure as ell as hysical acti ity in our o n community. ( glim se of said e ercise as resented later on that e ening y the self styled olly ood doctors .)

The coming together of agendas mainstream and community as a theme

that uietly underscored much of the e ent including the entertainment.

Special guest Manish Gupta, Consul eneral of ndia ( ydney) congratulated ndian origin doctors ho first came to this country in the 1970s and earned the res ect of the local community ith their rofessionalism and dedication.

There is no much you can do to contribute back to your motherland,” he said. The o ernment of ndia s yushman harat scheme announced recently ill see free healthcare programs rolled out to some million eo le. re enti e healthcare of such high uality here in ustralia is one of the areas in hich you can hel .

No doubt the doctors have taken note, even though many in the association have for years been contributing back to their country of origin in many ays and here er else the need is felt such as in i i and the islands of the outh acific.

Member doctors Nagamma Prakash, ra ha handra and urushottam a ri ar ere felicitated on the night for their long term ser ice to the association.

ecial guest eoff ee inister for Skills and Training, thanked the doctors for their ser ice. ou ma e a tremendous contribution to the health system and to the community. congratulate for ringing doctors together for your or and your charity.

inger amahl admittedly as an

unusual choice for keynote speaker, given the tradition in recent years of having leading medical communicators address this flagshi e ent. et his story touched a chord articularly ith the early arri al doctors ho must ha e had similar e eriences of fighting to fit in. er the story teller the year old amahl regaled ith his recounts of e celling in sport to counter the social isolation, and reinventing himself as an entertainer to gain acce tance. e resented nuggets from his life story ith self de recatory humour imitating at ing ole going to the Conservatorium of Music and not being able to ‘handle Handel’, an unusual marriage proposal, and meeting members of the British Royal family and Australian royalty on radman. is cle erly ic ed song for the night, My Home, knocked back repeatedly by the record companies, spoke for everyone present: This is my home, this is my country, a land I’ve grown to love. So did his recital of Invictus by William Ernest enley a recent lo e that as resented at last year s n ictus ames. y the time amahl resented his ell no n trac Desiderata on the lessons for life, he had the audience eating out of his hands. li ing legend that e should hear more from certainly.

Wrapping up the event later, Vice president Smita Shah observed, “AIMGA has seen an increased collegiality hich is

hel ing us all in our day o s. e are also gro ing in num ers ha ing reached out to e castle ased doctors recently.

learly alu alao alla rings much enthusiasm to her ne role as resident and has on the admiration of the grou she leads. oth these as ects should ser e her ell in her lofty aim of getting on to the Prime Minister’s speed dial, but she has her or cut out for her.

For an organisation that has been around since 1984, it is time the boundaries are expanded to participate significantly in de ates of national as ell as community im ort erha s ith the ustralian edical ssociation as a model. limate change as a health emergency, asylum seekers, antivaxxers, aged care, private health, data sharing, e-cigarettes and vaping are all contem orary issues to hich meaningful contributions could be made by a medical organisation that is seeking greater e osure. seems ell e ui ed to do this: membership is high-profile, and includes some decorated doctors ho ha e made significant rofessional contri utions. Clearly lacking, though, is the presence of early and mid-career professionals, and a more ro ust use of ne media. oth of these ill hel not only in the ne aim of increased community outreach, but also in the organisation’s originally stated aim of liaising ith other rofessional odies to enhance the interests of its mem ers.

Invest n n Ind a has never een easier

The Indian diaspora in Australia continue to maintain surprisingly strong ties ith the country of their irth.

Family and friendship bonds are resilient, and thanks to social media, the major trends in the society they have no left ehind continue to e at their fingerti s. t ould e safe to say they are uite ndia a are .

And yet, to invest in India, especially the stoc mar et is ut in the too hard as et.

The ndian ustralian community no has an o tion to connect ith the long term gro th story of the ndian economy through an ustralian fund hich in ests directly in the Indian stock market - the llerston a ital ndia fund.

The major investments include blue chip Indian companies like Reliance, TCS, ICICI, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC and a a inance. To tell us more a out the llerston ndia fund e s o e to r ary anning ortfolio anager.

Why should India be in everybody’s portfolio?

There are reasons hy ndia should e in e eryone s ortfolio si e gro th and

di ersification.

ndia is one of the fastest gro ing economies in the orld unli e ustralia hich is struggling to achie e

gro th. o in esting in ndia gi es in estors e osure to a high gro th economy and high gro th stoc s. Secondly, India is getting too big to ignore. y ndia is e ected to be the 3rd largest economy after China and the . ost in estors in ustralia have exposure to the other 2 economies either directly or indirectly ut ery fe ha e e osure to ndia. ndia also has a ra idly gro ing middle class and a

We really like Reliance. This stock has been an amazing performer in the last two years.

young o ulation ith o er million millennials so from a consumption ers ecti e in estors can t afford to ignore ndia as a mar et.

inally ndia offers di ersification es ecially for in estors ased in ustralia. ustralia is a commodity e orter hile India is not, so the structure of the economies are ery different. ndia is also one of the best and most developed IT ser ices sectors in the orld ith glo al leaders li e T and nfosys. ustralian investor don’t have access to large cap IT services companies in domestically so ndia offers di ersification.

Why did Ellerston Capital start the Ellerston India Fund?

Ellerston Capital has an Asia fund and a lo al fund. ndia is less than of sian enchmar s hile hina is ell o er . o in estors in an sia fund get significantly more China than India and the benefit of India often gets trumped (no un intended) y hina s macro. Similarly, India is less than 2% of MSCI AC World index so investors don’t get meaningful exposure to the Indian mar et ia a glo al fund.

Therefore, investing directly in ndia is the est ay to go but as you and your readers no ndia is not an easy mar et for offshore retail in estors to access directly.

o e started the ndia fund to provide that access to in estors in ustralia.

What are your favourite stocks in India right now?

The large cap private banks, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, have been very strong performers in our ortfolio. oth and a a ha e dou led since . In the large cap IT services

com anies T is our to ic . t remains attractively valued even though it has erformed ery ell o er the last fe years. T ser ices should continue to do erform if the de reciates due to t in deficit concerns.

nd e really li e eliance. This stoc has een an ama ing erformer in the last years. e li e it for the o tion alue if and hen it s ins off io and eliance etail into se arate entities. eliance is no a illion mar et ca com any hich is great for ndia a home gro n mega ca national cham ion. The stocks I’ve mentioned above are all ery ell no n ndia com anies. ess ell no n stoc s that e li e are the movie theatre company and Britannia, the biscuit com any.

What are your 1 year returns and thoughts for medium to long term?

Over the last year the Ellerston India fund is up . (as of ct ).

Since inception our per annum return is . and e expect this to be maintained in the medium to long term. We have outperformed the benchmark on a 6 month, 1 year, year and since ince tion asis.

Can you tell me a bit about your investment process? How much time do you spend on the ground and how do you decide what stocks you invest in?

llerston ndia is a gro th fund and e only in est in high uality gro th stoc s ith aluation u side good management and good . ou can thin of our rocess as a hurdle race here the athlete needs to jump over a series of hurdles to stay in the game. f they tri o er one of the hurdles (gro th aluation management ) they are out of the game.

What are you expecting from Modi’s second term and how will this impact your portfolio?

So far the policies in Modi’s second term have been disappointing and some of the reforms of Modi’s first term, like demoneti ation and T ha e started to have delayed negative impacts on the economy. s a result of this the economy has slo ed materially since before the election and policy makers do not seem to be proactive in addressing the root causes of the slo do n. o er interest rates, addressing the NBFC issues and a ersonal income ta cut ould e elcome olicy changes in the near term. That said e remain e cited a out Modi’s second term and expect a focus on Infrastructure and Make In India to be im ortant hallmar s.

Who should invest in the Ellerston Capital India Fund?

nyone ho ants gro th and di ersification in their ortfolio.

The minimum investment amount is $10,000, so the hurdle to invest is not e tremely high.

We believe everyone should have some ndian e osure in their ortfolio. For more details, log in to www.ellerstoncapital.com.au or email india@ellerstoncapital.com

The minimum investment amount is $10,000, so the hurdle to invest is not extremely high.

Over the last year the Ellerston India fund is up 21.7% (as of Oct 31, 2019).

ast erformance is not relia le indication of future erformance. llerston a ital imited is the res onsi le entity and issuer of units in the llerston ndia und . ny information is general and does not ta e into account your ersonal o ecti es financial situation or needs. ccordingly you should consider the roduct isclosure tatement efore deciding hether to ac uire or continue to hold units in the und a aila le from ellerstonca ital.com or y contacting us on .

Dr Mary Manning, Portfolio Manager, Ellerston Capital India Fund.

BY PREETI JABBAL

It too a istani or ers only a fe months to uild the artar ur orridor creating a pivotal moment in the history of ndia a istan relations. n the other side of the orld a el ourne artist ainted a li eness of it ithin hours to be presented to the Chief Minister of Punjab during his isit to irmingham . oth ere managed in record time. aneet ro er hu a ( itu) of el ourne rt cademy as commissioned y ndian o ernment o cials in to create a special piece of art to be gifted as a token of a reciation to a tain marinder ingh. The ft ft acrylic on can as no adorns

Gateway to her DREAMS

Mel o rne ased Delh tra ned art st a nts the on artar r orr dor

as part of her real estate business, Nitu or ed through nights to ring to fruition her friend s ision. The com leted or as then couriered from Melbourne to China, via Germany, Paris and Birmingham to finally find ride of lace in ndia.

t as an emotional time for me as am very proud of India, my country of origin,” said itu. To create the ndian tricolour and the a istan flag as a great honour and li ed through the ourney of those ho isited the religious site.

The artar ur orridor connects era Baba Nanak Sahib in Gurdaspur of Indian un a ith ar ar ahi in artar ur in aro al district of a istan s un a . t is the last resting place of Guru Nanak Devji, founder of i hism.

es ite inning many a ards and seeing her paintings picked up by art collectors in India, she struggled to find her niche in ustralia. nitially had no contacts no avenues, no galleries and no artist friends and it as hard to ad ust here after coming from the hu of arts in elhi she recalled. he decided to su ort her hus and hu a ith his real estate usiness and e entually o ened her o n el ourne rts cademy.

“I felt that the community in Melbourne ere ready for a change itu o ser ed. ndian arents ho ere inclined to underestimating arts in general ere suddenly keen on sending their children to learn from institutes li e mine.

the all of the inister s o ce in un a along ith a s ecial la ue ac no ledging the ustralian ndian artist.

friend of itu ho or s in the ndian consulate in initiated this glo al collaboration by calling her from Amritsar to in ite her to create the or . e anted both India and Pakistan to be seen in the same frame.

Explaining to Indian Link ho it all came a out itu said ne a out the artar ur orridor and its huge significance, but it took me an entire day of looking through hundreds of photographs and ideos to research the su ect matter. he added t as challenging as time as short and the illustrati e conte t had to e olitically correct. t the same time as excited because painting is a natural gift to me and do not feel ressure hen aint. uggling her a ointments ith clients

Despite the labyrinthine politics of India and a istan the artar ur orridor is considered to be a positive step in making eace et een the t o neigh ouring countries. a istani rime inister mran han o ened it on o this year allo ing isa free access to i h ilgrims from ndia. The arta ur urud ara co ers acres, making it one of the largest in the orld.

This ainting as totally in my comfort one as the re uirement as monochromatic and realistic,” said Nitu hen as ed a out her artistic e ression. s a style she tends to gra itate to ards naturalism as she does not like distorting any likeness, and prefers natural, accurate and detailed re resentation of her su ect.

Nitu has been teaching art for the past years and her or has een dis layed in many exhibitions including the top 100 artists’ exhibition in India and the restigious alit ala cademy. fter ac uiring her degree in achelor of ine Arts from Delhi she took a Masters’degree in ine rt from T in el ourne.

She teaches both adult and kids in a relaxed, positive environment through her ne ly launched rts cademy.

According to Nitu the emotional release of dra ing and ainting can ha e a thera eutic effect on adults and children. t can help relieve stress and positively impact someone’s behaviour, development and sychological ell eing.

The ids ho come to my classes are happy kids because they are motivated to learn and discover and can visually express their emotions claimed the talented artist. “Incorporating arts into your child’s life is very important for their development, and I am delighted that can contri ute to ards their rogress.

er o n arents encouraged her from childhood and for as long as she can remem er she has een ainting. itu feels her artistic genes are inherited from her mother ho as a rilliant artist ut sadly never got to further her dreams after marriage. itu on the other hand lans to transition full time into pursuing her artistic assion. The artar ur orridor ainting couldn t ha e come at a etter time for her.

Women's safety a high priority, says govt, listing measures

In the backdrop of the Hyderabad gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old veterinarian and several other similar cases of sexual violence against omen eing re orted the go ernment has said omen s safety is a high riority and it has taken several initiatives for their safety across the country.

nion inister of tate for ome . ishan eddy in a ritten re ly in the o a ha enumerated the steps taken by the government to re ent crimes against omen including launching a data ase on se ual offenders.

t said the riminal a ( mendment) ct as enacted for effecti e deterrence against se ual offences.

i e years later the riminal a ( mendment) ct as enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl elo the age of years.

The Act also inter-alia mandates com letion of in estigation and trials ithin t o months each.

The Emergency Response Support System provides a pan-India, single, internationally recognised phone number ( ) ased system for all emergencies ith computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress.

It said that through the use of technology to aid smart policing and safety management, Safe City Projects have been sanctioned in the first Phase in eight cities - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, ol ata uc no and um ai.

The inistry of ome ffairs ( ) launched a cyber-crime portal on September for citi ens to re ort o scene content.

The MHA also launched a 'National ata ase on e ual ffenders ( ) the same day to facilitate investigation and trac ing of se ual offenders across the country y la enforcement agencies.

In order to help States/UTs, the MHA on February 19, 2019 launched an online analytic tool for police called 'Investigation Trac ing ystem for e ual ffences to monitor and track time-bound investigation in se ual assault cases in accordance ith the

riminal a ( mendment) ct .

t said a ne to entre ( ) scheme is being implemented across the country since ril hich is e clusi ely designed to provide integrated services such as medical aid, police assistance, legal counselling/ court case management, psycho-social counselling and tem orary shelter to omen affected y iolence under one roof.

It said 728 OSCs have been approved by the o ernment of ndia hile such one sto centres are o erational in the country.

IIT Kharagpur offers scholarships for Australian students

In a significant boost to its ongoing academic e change rogrammes ith ustralian institutions T harag ur has instituted competitive high-value scholarships for students from the University of Melbourne enrolled under the Dual Doctoral Programme ( ) ointly conducted y the t o institutions an o cial said in early ecem er.

T harag ur s irector ( ciating) riman umar hattacharyya made the announcement at the launch of the Melbourne India Partnership Program and cademy onference at el ourne.

ach student ould recei e an annual funding of AUD 30,000 (approximately s . a h) an amount e ual to their home scholarshi s hich ould co er their tuition and other fees, living expenses and travel cost for the programme, according to an T harag ur statement.

The highly com etiti e scholarshi ill e offered initially to t o in ound foreign students from the prestigious Australian University starting from academic year .

T harag ur conducts oint doctoral rograms ith se eral orld class ustralian universities such as Curtin, Wollongong and James Cook, designed to build academic and research colla orations from the grounds u .

During the programme, students carry out research under the joint supervision of faculty members from both institutions and need to spend a minimum of one year at the partner institution. single thesis is ritten and su mitted to oth institutions ho then re ie

it to their o n e acting standards. f the thesis is accepted by both institutions, the student is a arded the oint doctoral degree.

Since its launch in 2018, nine students from T harag ur ha e enrolled in the oint doctoral rogramme ith ni ersity of el ourne hile one student from the ustralian institution came under the .

"We realised that there is a need for providing financial assistance to the foreign students as many of them support their families ac home ith their sti end.

"Just as our students studying in top foreign universities are funded under arious scholarshi and fello shi schemes if e ant to attract high uality international students, it is essential that e ro ide com etiti e scholarshi s said Baidurya Bhattacharya, Dean, International elations at T harag ur and art of the nstitute s delegation to el ourne.

n addition to ustralia T harag ur is also setting up joint doctoral programmes ith ni ersity of uc land in e ealand and the ni ersity of l erta in anada. The Institute is further exploring to expand the scope of such dual degree programmes and funding opportunities to other foreign students, es ecially in and regions.

Urdu Mahabharata e-book in Rekhta’s virtual library

t s a irtual li rary here some titles in rdu including the aha harata and the Quran, as also autobiographies, fiction, travelogues, translations, manuscripts and o maga ines ha e een digitised and made available on an internet portal for academicians, scholars and researchers to enefit from. n addition the e hta. org ortal offers a collection of shers and ‘shayaris’ and an essential collection of iconic oets all this for free

“Our e-book project took birth in 2013 after the idea of an Urdu virtual library as discussed y me and a fe uni ersity rofessors hen the a sence of an rdu archi e as collecti ely felt y all. e then embarked on a journey to overcome the barrier of inaccessibility and lack of resources in Urdu learning and reached out to various sources, both public and private across India,

ma orly co ering cities li e elhi uc no Rampur, Bhopal, Allahabad, Hyderabad, Aligarh, Patna and others,” the portal’s founder, Noida-based entrepreneur Sanjiv araf told in an inter ie .

“Without archiving, an ageless language ith its long due recognition and res ect ould ha e died long ago de ri ing our future generations from cherishing the rich heritage of rdu araf added.

The 90,000 e-books - a staggering 19 million pages - are classified into diverse categories including children’s literature, banned books, diaries and translations and can then be accessed by students, scholars, researchers, litterateurs and lovers of the language anytime and from any here around the orld.

“We are continuing to scout libraries and private collections for more books that can e digiti ed and made accessi le to readers across the orld. are out of rint oo s that are totally inaccessible to the masses as they are stored in various libraries all across the country hich are rone to damage and destruction due to termite ater and fire damage are eing sought araf e lained. ost of the oo s ere secured through cam s organised y e hta at hich se eral u lications and ri ate arties illingly donated century old rdu scri ts. uc no s a al ishore ress founded in and arguably Asia’s oldest printing and publishing concern as a ma or contri utor rendering some oo s hich included translations of the Mahabharata and the Quran and rare manuscri ts starting from the th century. any of the te ts recei ed ere tattered and torn due to negligence and oor handling. e hta assem led all such te ts hich ere then reprinted, re-dyed and recreated for audience consum tion araf said.

“The same kind of archival has begun for indi readers ith a different team attending to Hindi texts and scripts available for digiti ation. The ro ect has een running successfully in its attempt to virtually reincarnate Urdu literature as Western scholars and professors make use of Rekhta’s e li rary in their studies araf ointed out.

Plastic warrior: Andhra Kid’s Robot makes it to Dubai Expo 2020

A small robot built by a nine-year-old United ra mirates ( ) ased ndian child hich segregates aste ill e sho cased at the Expo 2020 Visitor Centre in Dubai, it as re orted.

ine year old utsala arshith ho originally hails from Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, is a class four student at the Bright iders chool u ha i. is ro ect called o otic aste segregation to organic com osting as chosen to e art of the o oung nno ators rogram. y ro ot esgre ot segregates aste into green et metal a er ood and lastic. The et and ro n aste li e a er and ood ill e shredded. Then the aste is con erted into organic com ost hich turns into soil hen mi ed ith sand the halee Times re orted citing arshith as saying.

y turning aste into something that ould e useful for farming he see s to “turn the desert into a garden”, adding that

Visitors shake hands with a robot during the 22nd edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit 2019 in Bangalore, India.

Photo: AP

his ision for the ro ect as to romote chemical free agriculture .

He has also made a cleaning bots using old cars card oard and motor. had made a smaller ro ot to hel my mother. o ha e made a igger one to hel ith cleaning. or the ast fe years arshith is also leading a cam aign against lastic use. e ma es a er ags to re lace the lastic ones. e ill continue and e and his dri e hen he isits ri a ulam during acation. “I have taken my campaign to 20 schools in ri a ulam.

ISRO Spy satellite launch to piggyback 9 foreign satellites

olar atellite aunch ehicle ( ) roc et ill launch the country s latest s y satellite RISAT-2BR1 and nine foreign satellites on ecem er .

According to the Indian Space Research rgani ation ( ) the roc et num ered as ill lift off at . .m. ith T a radar imaging earth o ser ation satellite eighing a out g.

The roc et ill last off from the first launch pad at Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh and place RISAT-2BR1 into an or it of m. The satellite ill ha e a life of fi e years.

Piggybacking on the Indian satellite

ould e nine foreign satellites from the (multi mission emur satellites technology demonstration Tyvak-0129, earth imaging T) srael (remote sensing uchifat ) taly (search and rescue Ty a ) and a an ( a radar imaging earth o ser ation satellite).

These international customer satellites are being launched under a commercial arrangement ith e ace ndia imited ( ). ccording to the the satellites ill e carried y ariant. The roc et ill ha e four stra on motors and the ecem er flight ill e the second s ace tri for this roc et ariant.

Just over 16 minutes into its flight, the roc et ill sling T and a minute later the first of the nine customer satellites ill e e ected. The launch mission is e ected to conclude in a out minutes hen the last of the customer satellites ill e ut into or it.

Till date, the ISRO has put into orbit 310 foreign satellites and if the December 11 missions turns out successful, then this num er ill go u to .

How safe is India for business travellers?

India is steadily cementing its place as one of the orld s fastest gro ing usiness travel markets, but the safety of its business travellers remains a concern, according to a survey by SAP Concur, an American company providing travel and expense management ser ices to usinesses.

The sur ey uestioned usiness tra ellers to ndia to understand hat factors dominate their tra el lans and ho they rioritise safety comfort and con enience.

n o er helming ercentage of female and T tra ellers re orted eing harassed

or feeling unsafe during their tri s to ndia.

The sur ey as rimarily initiated to gauge India’s impact as an important travel mar et and ho cor orate tra el here is propelled by end-to-end technology-centric solutions references and mindset.

“Societal issues and employee experiences are increasingly im acting the ay e tra el. ith these shifts come ne e ectations from traveling employees that shouldn’t go unnoticed said hristo her . uneau Senior Vice President, Global Cloud Strategic rograms oncur. hile com anies continue to try and maximise traveller satisfaction, the reality is that employees are hungry for more empathy, guidance and better technology as they run into both common frustrations and uni ue indi idual concerns, leaving room for improvement among organi ations of all si es.

Some of the findings of the survey include female and T tra ellers re orting high levels of harassment, and companies ille ui ed to deal ith uni ue tra el ro lems.

87 per cent of female business travellers to India have been harassed on a business tri and er cent say they ha e suffered the indignity of eing as ed if they ere tra eling ith their hus and

early three in four T mem ers admitted to hiding their sexuality on a business trip out of concern for their safety

88 per cent have experienced safety concerns hile on a usiness tri in the last 12 months

Millennial business travellers are more sensiti e to current e ents. n the last months, 52 per cent of millennial business travellers have reduced travel to a location ecause of olitical unrest or health ha ards

77 per cent of business travellers to India agree their em loyers are lagging hen it comes to adopting latest technologies to

manage business travellers

67 per cent of business travellers to India believe in experiencing gap in technology adoption for booking and e ense re orting tools.

Mukesh Ambani 9th richest in the world: Forbes

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani is the ninth richest person in the orld according to The eal Time illionaires ist of or es.

m ani as ran ed th glo ally in the Forbes’ 2019 rich list, released earlier this year. u esh m ani s rise can e attri uted to sur assing the s la h crore market capitalisation mark, becoming the first ndian com any to do so.

According to the Forbes ‘The Real-Time illionaires ist u esh m ani s eal Time et orth stood at . illion. The list as headed y eff e os and ounder of ma on ith eal Time et orth of illion. The list reflects changes since .m. T of the rior trading day or es said on its e site. n early ecem er shares hit the ee high of s . on the rising . ercent. hile gained nearly 40 percent during the last year, the Nifty50 inde ad anced o er ercent.

eliance is follo ed y T as the second most alued firm. an industan nili er and ere the others.

mong s ig tic et announcements ere its aims to e net de t free y the end of . The com any also announced selling of 20 percent stake in refining and etrochemical usiness to audi ramco.

recently announced lans to set u a holly o ned su sidiary called io latforms imited ( ) for all its digital latform initiati es. t ill infuse s . trillion

more e uity into hich ill in est that amount in io. s current e uity in estment is s illion in io. art from s core usiness ro erages said s resence across fashion lifestyle and consumer electronics is far higher than any other layer in the domestic mar et no .

Hinduja Group offers to lift paddy stubble from Punjab

Indian conglomerate the Hinduja Group has offered to hel un a in addressing the stu le urning ro lem hich is causing the air uality to dro se erely y lifting all the addy stra from the fields for use in ethanol lants.

The offer came during a meeting et een Hinduja Group Chairman Prakash Hinduja and hief inister marinder ingh.

During the meeting, Hinduja also sho ed interest in artnering the state s progress through investments in agriculture, transport, banking, healthcare and automo ile sectors.

ffering trans ort and technology solutions to mitigate the menace of stubble burning, indu a ho as to discuss in estment opportunities as part of the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit, assured Amarinder Singh that the tippers of the Group could ensure timely lifting of stubble from fields to su ort the state go ernment s efforts to eliminate the ro lem.

The Chief Minister asked his Chief Principal Secretary to look into the Group's ro osal said an o cial s o es erson after the meeting.

The Group, said Hinduja, could also make investments in the banking sector to facilitate loans for unemployed youth, selfhelp groups and progressive entrepreneurs to esta lish their entures.

IANS

Abhijit Banerjee of India receives the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden during the Nobel Prize award ceremony, at Stockholm Concert Hall, in Stockholm, Sweden, 10 December 2019.

Photo: AP

BY EMIE ROY

Bushfires. urnt trees. looming acarandas. o ies on emem rance ay. These uintessential ustralian motifs ere all seen in eautiful art or s at a recent art e hi ition hildren s ialogue ith ature. The artists ids aged t o to fi e of the uddle hild are ong ay care entre at ua ers ill ydney.

hafiya ainted a ushfire. y mum told me about the scary bushfires, so I decided to paint them,” she told Indian Link.

ther themes ere chosen ased on the children s interests and included everything from familiar o ects li e houses flo ers and eaches.

en an ogh s reno ned Sunflowers made an a earance.

hat as s ecial a out these or s of art as that they ere created using turmeric eetroot ale o der coffee and cara ay seeds.

andan u hariya su er isor at uddle reschool ho initiated this e ercise said ro ing u in ho al ndia atched my mother and grandmother use ra materials li e ground rice turmeric and alash (tea ) to dra intricate art on the alls on s ecial occasions. Those childhood memories motivated me to organise this exhibition to encourage our students to interact more ith other arth.

Seeing the young ones use upcycled materials to create art as uite im ressi e. a materials used to create the art or ots made of papier mache and small hessian ags ere also dis layed attracti ely. Onion and garlic peels, knitting yarn, dry berries, coloured vermicelli, used match sticks and even crum led tissue a ers ecame art on can ases. ichelle o land ederal em er for reen ay the chief guest at the e hi ition commented that the art or left her s eechless. as e ecting some cute dra ings on sheets stuc on the all ut loo at this dis lay o much thought has gone into these paintings, it is hard not to a reciate the effort she said.

lac to n ouncillor oninder ingh as among guests ho dro ed y to see the udding artists or and that of facilitator andan u hariya ho has een organising these e hi itions since . hile it is orrying to see calamities li e bushfires making a lasting impression on young, impressionable minds, observing the youngsters seek ins iration from nature in this manner is heartening. The exhibition did not merely display artistic talent of the young students, it is also evidence of learning so ing the seed in their mind a out a more sustaina le and eco friendly future. e are li ing in times hen human instigated changes are systematically altering the course of our environment for the orse and the earlier e ring this discussion into our schools the etter.

at res hool exh t on

Hijab and the work la e

What is the ro lem ith earing hi a in the or lace s it the fear of judgement, of being sneered at r is it the fear of ecoming the un no a le other that there is nothing in common and ne er ill e These ertinent uestions lie at the heart of the hi a earing narrati e. a ing orn the hi a for o er years, it is as much a part of me as my skin is, and I am conscious that I am udged on oth. e li e in a society that is continuously stimulated, educated and influenced to focus on the visual outer appearance, leading to an ignorance that breeds fear of the other - anyone that loo s or acts different.

started or ing at a time hen ords like terrorism and Islam had become synonymous hen eo le ere too olite to use ords to articulate their feelings ut their eyes s o e olumes. I forged ahead and stubbornly built my resilience to ro e naysayers rong. as committed to my or tal ed to my colleagues ith an o en mind and engaged in heartfelt con ersations e realised e ere not so different after all. nce gained experience in my field, I stopped orrying a out loo ing different ecause no my confidence did the tal ing. Today, I don’t fret about fitting in or im ressing anyone ut myself. am not com eting ith others ut trying to e my est self. o e er acutely understand ho scary it is to enter the or lace as a minority and to try and fit in. hen first put on the hijab, I had no idea about its significance it as ust a art of my

school uniform. s a teenager it made oys a oid me or call me names. s a young oman it ecame a source of both consternation and solace especially hen slam s ung into mainstream scrutiny. ne eo le ere loo ing ut also ne my fello uslims ere smiling at me.

understand ho tem oral life is and aim to ecome closer to od. To attain that goal ear this shield it reminds me of ho am hat re resent and ho can and should eha e. ear a hi a ecause it im ues me ith indness

em athy and intelligence.

The hi a doesn t decrease our . se your acumen to sho colleagues ho intelligent and a le you are. There ill al ays e ell meaning career counsellors ad ising us against utting a in ed n hoto ith our hi a s on as it might hinder our career rogression. Those ieces of ad ice don t matter if you no your self orth. edia feeds eo le ith a negati e ortrayal of uslims. ou can change that erce tion y sho ing them your intelligence, humour, culture, kindness,

confidence and e en fashion sense. f you can sho them that their eha iour reluctance to engage, avoidance of you is unnecessary they ill surely change the ay they conduct themsel es. ut if you confront and attack their attitude, they ill hold on to their igoted ie s rigidly. ou can ma e a difference y modelling a eha iour you ant others to emulate.

More importantly, I stopped thinking, hat ill eo le say ome loo at the hijab and assume you are extremely religious, others might think you are o ressed. Then some ould thin you re resent all uslims. t does not matter hat eo le thin say or do. hat matters is your connection ith od as represented by the hijab; a sacred bond et een you and your creator one that you carry e ery here.

o hat is the ro lem ith earing hi a in the or lace t s eo le s attitudes and behaviours stemming from a misunderstood fear, and that’s the easiest one to address. uch of ho e are ercei ed in the or lace de ends on ho e see oursel es. see myself as a uslim a oman a rofessional and a passionate individual eager to learn and contri ute. f you ant to ear the hijab full time or part-time, cover yourself fully or artially it is your choice on t orry a out hat others ill thin or hat your em loyer ill say. t can e hard ut you are not alone. ou ill e al ing a ath chosen y many efore you and you ill light the ay for those that follo . se that no ledge as your secret ea on and it ill get you through anything.

The h a doesn t de rease y I , says SHAFEEN MUSTAQ

Having worn the hijab for over 20 years, it is as much a part of me as my skin is, and I am conscious that I am judged on both.

The purdah that st never e drawn

Adakar Theatre s latest rod t on rev s ts the a ter ath o the Part t on o Ind a

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA

Perhaps the Indian subcontinent ill ne er come to terms ith the incidents of . i en the fre uency ith hich stories from the Partition of India keep popping up in o ular culture it is clear that it is a ound that is not yet healed or one that ill not e allo ed to e forgotten.

Adakar Theatre picks up on this recurring theme in its latest production Where Did I Leave My Purdah? Prominent Mumbai lay right ahesh attani s scri t it has been claimed, is inspired by the real life story of ohra ehgal a theatre actor ho mo ed to India after Partition and became a leading figure in the erforming arts.

t tells the story of a ia egum an octogenarian ho after years in cinema ants to re i e the theatre com any of her youth ell no n for its roduction of the legendary Abhigyan Shakuntalam.

It is a script that lends itself easily to the lay ithin a lay format and in its ydney ersion the metatheatre of it all as e ecuted not unsuccessfully.

Stage right told the contemporary story; stage left, in dreamy blue lighting, took us ac years.

Directed by Saba Abdi, herself a contemporary of Dattani, the undoubtable star here is the story itself, a very personal tale of the human collateral of this heavily olitical act and its grossly iolent aftermath.

Bobby Mallick as lead actor comes a very close second though. he layed the aging di a effecti ely ith e ery dee throated laugh, every over-confident phone call, every rushing aside of those lo er do n the food chain.

ually she as more than con incing as the tormented old oman ho hides a shameful secret ith e ery tremor of her fingers e ery istful loo into the distance e ery his ered ord.

At the very end, she grabbed the limelight ith a successful amalgam of oth ersonas - a picture of smiling maternal love, but still very much the prima donna: I want to dance, spin me around.

Second leads Aparna Vats and Aparna Ti ori ala oth shone in the first half. Aparna Vats impressed as the feisty young a ia ho ould go to any lengths to e ith her lo e including gi ing u her family and country e en illing someone. nd yet rea ing u ith the lo e of her life not long after, she did not exactly resonate, even though there as lenty of loud histrionics. imilarly arna Ti ori ala as rilliant in the first half as a ia egum s niece u y ho shares a tur ulent relationshi ith her illustrious aunt. s the t o ic ered a ay the o ortunities for laughs came y thic and fast.

Ti ori ala da led in her disdain the light catching the glint in her eye as she plotted to reinstate her mother as the purer, inder more talented sister. ( ore a out the lighting later). nd yet in the second half she came undone fairly uic ly hen it ecame o ious that history had re eated itself in her o n life story. or oth ats and Ti ori ala sadly it s as if their characters ere rushed through to their conclusions after eing allo ed to de elo strongly early on.

The same could be said of the play itself: background being established in an intriguing and elaborate fashion in the first half the second half sa the emotional intensity go u a fe notches and the resolution reached far too s iftly.

leary the lot as s e ed strongly to ards the lead character to the detriment

of others. uc ily o y allic as the aging thes ian rose to the challenge onderfully. ets ere fairly sim le and static ut ser ed the ur ose ell of con uring u a feel of theatre of an older era - trunks of costumes and ro s that a ia egum anted to get rid of almost as if anting to o literate certain as ects of her o n history. othing articularly note orthy in the costumes either, except that some of the cast a eared some hat stiff in their gear ha untala and her girlfriends articularly. ighting for some ine lica le reason dre attention to the feet e ce t on the odd occasion it caught the glint in arna T s eye.

The Shakuntala story meandered through the narrative, not just in the actual staging of bits of the original play, but also in the forgetting of the past, in the moving on ithout the significant elements of one s o n history, and in the ultimate jogging of the memory y a tiny to en.

The ta ea ays from Purdah ere many. e learnt that the effects of ar are felt for generations.

That men can e sa ages.

That e must tal more ith our grand arents.

That e must ma e amends no efore it is too late ith significant others ho are no longer in our li es.

That forgiveness and acceptance have the o er to free us internally.

That as long as stories of Partition continue to e told the in ustice of it all ill ne er e forgotten. nd that is the ery reason they must be retold, painful as they might be at e ery telling.

o ost or a etter environment

BY ANCIL KAPPEN

There is a consensus amongst most scientists that man's negative influence on climate change is for real. ne ay to tac le that at a asic le el is com orting a ractice most people refrain from due to a multitude of reasons. ac yard aste recycling rocess composting can help the environment and also minimise gardening e enditure.

nfortunately the ord com osting conjures up negative imagery: rummaging through decaying itchen aste orm infested soil etc. ut let s e real e ery household produces enormous kitchen and garden aste a large share of hich goes into landfill im acting the en ironment. hile some might find com osting not orth their time, others find the entire mechanism too com le to com rehend. Then there are those oblivious to the very idea of it: a description befitting many Indian immigrants ho gre u in a artments in ndia ne er en oying the lu ury of ri ate garden s ace. n ustralia e are fortunate to ha e erfectly manicured gardens. o e er hat struc me as interesting as that to maintain these s aces e uy massi e amounts of soil

and com ost from sho s hen the same can e made in our ac yards.

nitiating com osting com rises a fe easy ste s the first of hich includes purchasing a compost bin from your local garden store hich is designed as a bottomless container that is kept on the soil surface. The ingredients for the compost are introduced from the top and then e t co ered. They get collected at the ottom and hen ready the lo er ortion of the in is used to ull out the com ost. deally there should e t o se arate bins - for your kitchen and garden aste. Thro all the itchen scra s green aste li e uncoo ed egeta les fruit eels tea o der residue, eggshells, green leaves and the li e into the itchen in. oid meat and cooked products as they do not com ost ell.

Use the second container to store outdoor garden aste ro n aste li e dry lea es la n cli ings ar egg cartons, small cardboard pieces, ne s a ers and the li e. oid eeds as they gro inside the com ost in instead of rea ing do n.

hen the green aste in is full ti it into the compost container and cover it ith the ro n aste ensure the uantity of the latter should slightly exceed the former. dd some soil if you do not ha e

enough ro n residue and our ater on to of the aste mi ture. e eat the rocess until the com ost in is full. Use a pitchfork or any other long instrument to mix the components to allo air to see into e ery layer. n a out t o to three months de ending on the eather conditions rich dar com ost

Composting helps the environment by preventing methane formation in landfills from itchen and garden aste. Methane has a more negative impact on the en ironment than car on dio ide. Also, composting reduces the demand for chemical fertilisers hich in turn decreases chemical see age into our ater ta le.

There are many advantages to composting, like being a complement to fertilisers. se it as a otting mi or a ly it on to of an e isting garden ed. r if you ha e sandy soil mi ing it ith com ost ill enhance its uality. This mi ture ill facilitate the gro th of more tro ical flora along ith nati e lants.

t can also e used as la n to soil dressing; apply it on the dry patches of your la n and le el it ith a ra e ut make sure it doesn’t cover the grass top layer. ater the la n ell for a cou le of ee s and you ill get a lush green garden. lso remem er to consult your local garden supplier or soil experts to learn more about the best practices that suit your gardening needs.

from ottom u ill e ready. ull out as much as you need from the bottom lid and re eat the rocess. f you can manage t o containers at a time you ill ha e a continuous su ly of com ost.

Making composting a habit has numerous enefits. t im ro es connection ith the land and helps us appreciate and empathise ith our ussie farmers ho consistently attle drought and harsh soil conditions. Composting is not a magic pill, but it sure is a sustaina le solution to aste management.

o ost n s one o the s lest ways to hel the env ron ent and ake yo r gardens lush and green

Sw sa e th s summer

The ea hes are all n , and learn n a ew sw n and l esav n sk lls w ll rove ene al

BY VINAYA RAI

Summer’s here and the beach is here e ll head to as much as ossi le o er the ne t fe months. ea shore ri er an s or la es lo ely cool ater and ossi ly ater s orts ma e them the est lace to e. o e er these idyllic thoughts a out summer came to a halt hen read a line in an article that made me sit up and think, ‘One in four dro ning deaths in ol ed eo le orn outside of ustralia. The highest num er of dro ning deaths ere of eo le orn in hina e ealand ngland outh orea and ndia. any of those dro ned ere long term residents too. ccording to statistics er cent of dro ning deaths (not ust eo le of ndian origin) ere those ho had een residing in ustralia for more than ten years. Similarly, 19 per cent had been living here for at least fi e years hile eight er cent ere international students. rres ecti e of the gruesome statistics, even one death by dro ning is too much nd these deaths are considered re enta le.

i en the fre uency of dro ning deaths

it is im erati e to e careful around ater odies. ost of us don t no s imming and those ho do ecome uite o erconfident. e must remem er e en strong s immers need hel if caught in a ri a strong localised and narro current of ater hich mo es directly a ay from the shore. Therefore it is crucial to follo certain practices before visiting beaches, including learning to identify a ri and s imming

et een the flags so if you or someone else is in trou le hel ill e readily a aila le. ne of the ha its e ha e ado ted as a family all good s immers e ce t me is not to s im too far out after the lifeguards ha e ac ed u . e lo e s ending time at the each till dar ut ensure e stay in the shallo area or on the sand.

n a study conducted y oyal ife a ing Australia titled, ‘A 10 Year National Study

of erseas orn ro ning eaths the main reasons attri uted to dro ning include oor s imming s ills and eing under the influence of alcohol. The author of the re ort Stacey Pidgeon says, “Regardless if someone has migrated to Australia recently or lived here for years e urge eo le of all ages and ac grounds to learn essential s imming and lifesa ing s ills to e a are of asic ater safety rules and no hat to do in an emergency.

Try and take responsibility for your safety, consider your a ility o ser e the arning signs and ne er s im alone hether in the sea or a ri er. lso steer clear of ta ing intoxicating substances before going for a s im li e alcohol and or drugs for they ill se erely im act your udgement.

et your children to artici ate in a ater safety rogram and e en if they no ho to s im ee a close eye on them including in ools and onds. l ays ear a life ac et hile out oating.

As summer comes knocking, do consider enrolling in s imming or ater safety lessons if ossi le. can t thin of anything orse than calling the family of a young person to inform them of a tragedy that occurred on a fun day at the each. a e fun en oy the sun sand and ater ut at the same time do ta e care and stay safe.

NS Govern ent and RLS take a t on to r drown n deaths

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO BE SAFE AROUND WATER THIS SUMMER FOR ADULTS

• Never swim alone - it is important to always swim with another person

• Check for currents or rips

• Swim between the red and yellow ags at the beach

• Check the conditions. Ask someone who is familiar with the area

• Follow the advice of lifeguards or lifesavers and ask them for help if you’re unsure

• Look for and read the water safety signs. Ask someone who speaks English to help you understand instructions

The NSW Government has launched seven projects to support international students learning ater safety in under the tudy artner ro ects grant scheme. The announcement as made y e uty Premier and Minister for Trade John arilaro and em er for offs ar our urmesh ingh at ar each offs ar our here there has een high ris of dro ning incidences.

“As Australia’s most popular study destination, NSW has a responsibility to our international students to not ust ensure they ha e a re arding e erience during their studies here, but also that they are e t safe r arilaro said.

A NSW Government grant of more than ill fund one ro ect led y olice ( ) in colla oration ith urf ife a ing oyal ife a ing NSW and the Northern Beaches Council, to create a multilingual video for nonnglish s ea ing students to learn s im safety in ustralian eaches. r ingh said the initiati e ill encourage students to enrol in s imming lessons and familiarise themsel es ith arious as ects of ater safety hether they are in the surf roc fishing or s imming in ools ri ers and other ater ays.

imilarly oyal ife a ing

( ) has this month launched a Cultural Competence Program across the

• Take care of slippery or uneven surfaces around or in the water

• Avoid drugs and alcohol around water

• Be aware of your medical conditions

tate to train u to lifeguards s im teachers and ool staff. The rogram has een designed to assist uatic entre or ers to etter engage ith their local diverse non-English speaking communities ith the aim of staff mem ers to e trained in y the end of . ichael lins y said t ill gi e trainees an understanding of the needs of those communities and help them to provide an inclusive and socially

and their impact around water

• If you are caught in a rip or current, oat on your back and travel downstream

• If you get into trouble in the water, stay calm. Signal for help, then oat and wait for assistance. Float with a current or undertow.

• Wear a lifejacket whenever boating, rock shing, or using a watercraft FOR CHILDREN

Children should never be left alone when near a water body.

• Actively supervise children around water

• Restrict Access

• Teach water awareness

• Learn how to resuscitate

Source: Water Safety, a NSW Government initiative.

responsible environment and to improve safety and en oyment around and in ater. ith the arri al of summer e strongly encourage uatic entre staff across NSW to complete the Cultural Competence rogram as soon as they can. e ho e y ne t summer that e ill ha e a trained or force ready to hel their community en oy the ater he added. adly o er the ast fi e years eo le ho ere orn o erseas ha e dro ned in .

Grown n A stral a, Made in India

Ind an des ner Aneeth Arora reates a Mer no wool olle t on w th H a hal s Bh tt o weavers

In its most recent foray into India, the Woolmark Company has taken Australian erino ool to the handlooms of ullu.

The com any has colla orated ith the Indian designer label Pero and the Bhuttico ea ers of imachal radesh in its ro n in Australia, Made in India’ initiative, for hich designer neeth rora has created a collection in time for the ndian inter. Arora’s artisanal collection, described as “grunge-chic”, is made up of blues, khakis and off hites and is er cent natural rene a le and iodegrada le.

Dilip Gianchandani, Country Manager ( ndia) of the oolmar om any said This colla oration eautifully sho cases Indian craftsmanship using Australian erino ool through the looms of huttico.

The initiati e offers the erfect roduct for mindful consumers concerned about sustaina ility as ell as a out highlighting ndia s hand ea ing traditions.

Aneeth Arora is perfectly suited to a ro ect of this nature. or starters she is ell ac uainted ith the oolmar la el she as a regional finalist for the annual nternational oolmar ri e a fe years ago and has or ed ith them since. s ell her rand ero ( a asthani for a arel ) is ecoming uite the flag earer for the slo fashion mo ement in ndia ith its enchant for hand-made, hand-embroidered, traditional

artisanal or . rora s dee in ol ement ith the traditional ea ers of imachal radesh is just as much about reviving the old crafts as it is a out sustaining communities.

For the Woolmark project Arora chose the uni ue geometric atterns traditionally created on the borders of the pattu sha l. These atterns ere created y the ea ers on their handlooms to e used on oollen ac ets. ( ur) hiloso hy has een to use traditional Indian textiles and crafts to create a glo al roduct that fits easily here er in the orld ithout shouting a out its origins. e try to create the te tiles ith a glo al design language,” the 36-year-old designer said in an inter ie recently. ero s hand o en con ention has re iously gelled ell ith other traditions including, in one instance, Scottish tartan designs.

The label also hit the headlines recently ith its u cycled ac ets denim ac et and trenches from a arehouse that as scheduled to shut do n ere ac uired and u cycled ith em roidery to create a line of limited edition ieces.

Arora’s brand marks its tenth anniversary this year, and is stocked in 350 stores around the orld although it has yet to arri e in ustralia.

From IANS reports

r s n Down The Nile

going no is that there are fe tourists to cro d your ay.

BY PETRA O’NEILL

The longest ri er in the orld the Nile stretches for 6,700 kilometres and in September hen tra elled there the days ere still listeringly hot.

I’d joined a Peregrine tour of Egypt, eginning in airo ith an e cursion to the yramids and hin at i a the airo useum to ie the golden mas of Tutankhamun and other priceless treasures the os ue of ohammed li aladin itadel and the ancient sou han el halili crammed ith te tiles erfume and a e ildering array of itsch sou enirs including lastic yramids.

After boarding an overnight train and arri ing at . am in u or a city on the east bank of the Nile River in southern gy t our small grou of si ere the first to enter the spectacular Temple of arna a ast o en air tem le com le that honours the gods of Osiris and Iris, an ambitious construction dating back to . . e then set off for u or Tem le here standing et een t o statues of amses you are o er helmed y the detail and grandeur around you. e t day e isited the est an and the alley of the ings arri ing at da n to ie se eral of the ancient tombs dug deep into the ground, including Tutankhamun’s tomb, all reached ia narro tunnels. The Tem le of ueen Hatshepsut is breathtaking in scale, and the Colossi of Memnon are massive stone statues thatonce guarded the gates of this ancient gy tian city.

eturning mid afternoon set off to e lore the a aar. er helmed y ealous endors retreated to the serenity

of the grand u or alace otel for hi iscus tea the hall ays and u lic rooms filled ith anti ues and memora ilia.

As our cruise boat set sail, the sky across the est an as lit u in shades of lue in and yello est ie ed from the u er dec efore dus turned to night.

Next morning on arriving at Edfu, I visited the famed Temple of Horus, the falcon god y a horse dra n carriage. Thanks to the desert sand that covered it for centuries the tem le uilt et een and . . is one of the est reser ed ancient structures in gy t.

That afternoon atched life ass y on the ri er as e cruised to ards s an a southern Egyptian city - fishermen casting their nets, egrets flying overhead, banana and mango trees green fields of heat and a landsca e of illages along the shoreline.

t nightfall e arri ed at om m o here the main tem le rises u ards. t as here that crocodiles rested in a end

in the ri er and so a tem le as uilt in 181 BC, one part dedicated to Sobek, the crocodile god and one to orus. t asn t ust haraohs that ere mummified the crocodiles on dis lay ere too.

n our arri al in s an considered the gate ay to frica e too a motor oat to Philae Temple, built on an islandand dedicated to the goddess of love and healing and mother of the uni erse sis.

e t day e e lored u im el. hen a e asser as created the t o tem les ere ainsta ingly trans orted y an international relief effort iece y iece to their ne location a three hour dri e a ay across a s arse and arren desert. The reat Tem le of a ara hte ith its four giant statues of Ramses II, and the Temple of Hathor dedicated to Queen Nefertari, are ell orth the ourney.

Dogged for years by political unrest and terrorist attacks, Egypt’s tourism industry is slo ly reco ering and the enefit of

hile itineraries offered y tour operators on the Nile are similar and ship exteriors cookie cut in design, the main oint of difference is in the le el of creature comforts offered on oard. ur oat as comforta le ith contem orary d cor a sundec ith s imming ool and ca ins ith floor to ceiling sliding doors alcony railing and large athrooms. y last afternoon in s an turned out une ectedly. fter sho ing at the a aar loaded ith u ian all hangings asmine and rose scented perfume and a large bag of hibiscus tea, I arrived at the historic Old Cataract Hotel, the setting of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile, for afternoon tea.

ut the doorman ouldn t allo me to enter, so I returned to my hotel and egan chatting toa oman from lorida reco ering from amoe ic dysentery. he had anted to cleanse herself y drin ing the aters of the ile. That may ha e een ill advised, but there is something sacred a out the ile that you feel hen you see it for the first time.

ur last night as s ent at the home of a Nubian family, on an island of brightly painted mudbrick homes dating back centuries. edding as in rogress in the illage ith dancing and drumming and our night ended ith a felucca ride along the ile a traditional ooden sailing oat the sails illo ing against the ind.

Egypt, the ancient land of the pharaohs, is stunning, and the Nile that provides ater to more than million eo le from frican countries is no less so. ounging on a dec chair on the u er dec as treated to ie s of ancient citadels as a ac dro to one of the orld s oldest civilisations, an extraordinary river ourney unli e any other.

A a t vat n way to see so e o Egypt’s ost o tstand n an ent te les

Sphinx at Giza

Abu Simbel temple, Aswan

TRAVEL NOTEBOOK

Fly to Cairo with Etihad via Abu Dhabi or Emirates via Dubai. Many tour companies now offer tours to Egypt. I liked Peregrine’s choice of centrally located hotels, 4 nights spent on the Nile and small group size.

Egyptian cuisine is delicious, with in uences from North Africa, Middle East, and the Mediterranean, featuring grilled meat, and meze-style salads and dips. TryKoshari, rice and pasta with beans, tomato and onion. Avoid travelling in summer: JuneAugust, Mar-May and Sep-Nov are preferable; Dec-Feb is peak season.

A visa on arrival costs US$25 cash. The currency is the Egyptian pound. ATMs are widespread. Sites may charge a camera fee, mobilesare free. Drink bottled water and use hand sanitiser liberally.

Egypt’s tourism industry is slowly recovering and the benefit of going now is that there are few tourists to crowd your way.

Karnak, Luxor

Detail Hatshepsut temple

Kom Ombo

Pyramids at Giza

Karnak Luxor

Luxor Temple, Luxor

Poolside on the cruising boat

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

The JLF Adela de 201 ex er en e

Scottish writer William Dalrymple traces his family back to Mughal princess Noorjehan, but also has some Brahmin blood in his veins.

Maori healers once told Indian actress Manisha Koirala she must direct ‘loving energy’ to her ovaries. This was way before doctors found she had advanced ovarian cancer.

As James Crabtree, British journalist, took a quick break while interviewing nowdisgraced Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, he found a toilet made of pure gold.

BY SUNILA VIG

My ta ea ays from this year s delaide ere so much more than these interesting nuggets of information resented a o e. Over an illuminating three days, I heard some fascinating riters read from or tal a out their or and got my oo s signed from them (ama ing ho alrym le for instance s ends a fe moments tal ing to you and then rites a ersonal note). admit ent to learn more a out the latest in Indian literature, but I came a ay ha ing heard some enlightening discussions about Indian history going back to the earliest Indians, about the migration experience, about death and dying, and many other to ics.

TONY JOSEPH

(EarlyIndians:Thestoryofourancestors andwherewecamefrom)

Journalist Tony Joseph taught us that India is a ery ancient land. fraction of a s ull of an un no n homo s ecies has een found there by archaeologists from 265,000 years ago and stone tools from as far ac as . million years. hen migrants from frica began to come in 65,000 years ago, India

as already ro ustly o ulated. ndia s Indigenous communities, Joseph observed, probably carry a history in their genes dating ac to ohen odaro years ago.

WILLIAM DALRYMPLE

(Koh-i-Noor:HistoryoftheWorld'sMost InfamousDiamond)

ast for ard a fe millennia and ndia ased cottish riter illiam alrym le regaled us ith stories of oh i noor. ne

of the largest cut diamonds in the orld the stone is elie ed to come from the ollur mines and today is art of the ritish cro n e els.

Dalrymple spoke of the legendary curse of ohinoor tracing its history from a out years ago right u to the resent day. There are at least 8 countries that lay claim to the roc he said.

e ended ith a funny s etch of ndian tourists ho yell out hor chor as they

moon al across the museum room here the ohinoor is dis layed.

That Dalrymple loves India is palpable in many a chance comment. e lo es ndia as she should e lo ed ith all the eauty noise fren y dirt tra c history food colour hich co e ist.

SHASHI THAROOR (IngloriousEmpire;WhyIamaHindu) Tharoor, one of the stars of the festivals,

James Crabtree, Shashi Tharoor, Frank Dikötter and Peter Varghese

Tony Joseph Arundhati Subramaniam Ranjana Srivastava

examined the colonial project in its larger sco e and the remnants ( ghosts ) of m ire. Will India ever be rid of the colonial mindset olonising of the mind as hat the British aimed at, but that is changing,” Tharoor said. f late ( ith) music dance and arts ndia has found its oice. There ere ust t o or three riters in nglish in the s ut they ere influenced y the ritish. n the s our literature came in to its o n same as cinema and T. nde endent ndia uilt on its o n strengths and s ills. et education needs to e sha en u a it and e need to a sor more from our ancient texts like Mahabharata and amayana.

The British caused no dent in Hinduism, though hich continues to thri e. The strength of Hinduism is its multi-theism,” Tharoor o ser ed. t says this is hat follo and you are elcome to follo hat you ant to hich or s so ell in this day and age.

e also had onderful things to say to Vinaya Rai and me about NRIs like us, expressing admiration that diasporic Indians e ery here or hard and are successful ha y and ros erous.

er the ordsmith he o ed that he used to call NRIs either Not Really Indian or e er elin uished ndia ut no he calls

them the National Reserve of India!

JAMES CRABTREE (BillionaireRaj)

Moving on to contemporary times, and to a ra of a different ind ournalist ames ra tree s o e of ndia s nou eau riche. e compared the billionaires of India to the e or oston li eral elite in his ords corru t and unscru ulous in cahoots ith oliticians .

The Ambanis’ Shakespearean kind of family feud; Mukesh Ambani and his billiondollar home; Vijay Mallya’s six homes in the and a castle in cotland and the Tatas all got a mention.

egardless the current scenario it as concluded as one of ho e and ositi e i es.

coming out the other side a stronger human eing.

e ere glad to hear she is ac at or in films, and even aced Everest base camp recently.

hine on anisha.

THE MIGRANT E XPERIENCE (RoannaGonsalves,ShameemBlack, MridulaNathChakraborty)

It’s taken Roanna Gonsalves (The Permanent Resident) 21 years to shed the Australia story she ne efore migrating and to understand and accept the truth of cities built on the backs of dispossessed ndigenous eo le. he s o e ith conviction and from a deep personal truth, her eyes reflecting honesty.

smells of the patronising thought that one culture is etter than the other.

cce tance on the other hand is hat is re uired from oth arties. agree ith the sentiment holeheartedly.

RANJANA SRIVASTAVA (ABetterDeath)

Most people, Ranjana Srivastava said, think of t o things hen they thin of death dignity and hat legacy they are going to lea e ehind.

he should no after more than t o decades as an oncologist caring for people in their final stages of life.

She shared her observations and advice on leading a meaningful life and finding dignity and com osure hen it is time to go.

MANISHA

KOIRALA (TheHealing)

Interesting that many prominent members of the community, notably male, emerged just for this one e ent.

The spell the Ilu Ilu lass had first cast in Saudagar in 1991, aged 21, had people in its thrall e en no .

lthough e did get to see generous s lashes of that olly ood glamour oirala as here this time to tal a out her journey through a debilitating cancer, and

Shameem Black of ANU spoke about her recent or on yoga in an increasingly glo al orld.

The migrant experience, the initial shakiness, the finding of one’s ground and one s o n o er in a ne land and cultural milieu and the su se uent unfurling of a com le ne life rich ith di ersity is hat came through. oud and clear as the message to the migrant - that one has to be true to one’s experience and stay strong at the core.

o as the message to the ne home that the much thro n a out term assimilation

n order to die ell e must e re ared to contemplate our mortality and to broach it ith our lo ed ones ho are often called upon to make important decisions on our ehalf. These are some of the most im ortant con ersations e can ha e ith each other to find eace indness and gratitude for hat has gone efore and acce tance of hat is to come. uanimity r ri asta a said is im ortant. The unsha ea le core has to stay active, making choices and decisions for oneself till ossi le.

The empathy and subtle understanding of the human condition as heartening may her tri e increase.

ARUNDHATI SUBRAMANIAM (LoveWithoutaStory)

Writer Arundhati Subramaniam’s stolid earthy oice as she recited oetry ill stay ith me for a long time es ecially in her or on mitti (mud).

When a leading Indian daily asked her to rite a oem on mitti she thought they anted a iece on chest thum ing atriotism . hen she understood that asn t the case she rote this I figured that the moon was a likely mud-gazer, just as we are moon-gazers! and so I uncovered the old role of poets –to be messengers between moon and mud and the great longing of life to hold and be held.

oose um s.

Festival Co-director William Dalrymple with others

Photos: Dan el P rv s

Manisha Koirala

Roanna Gonsalves

Grow n s a o t self-discovery w th l eral dashes o hearta he

BY SHANIA O’BRIEN

Adulting by Neharika Gupta, is a oo a out lo e. out loving your friends, loving your family, loving your career, loving yourself and lo ing your life. t is a story about millennials Aisha, Ruhi and Tejas; am itious t enty somethings li ing in e elhi ho are eager to succeed in the cutthroat orld of u lishing.

The characters in Adulting are accurate re resentations of elhi s youth. They are less characters constructed for a plot and more real eo le ho ha e een mirrored ithin ages of fiction. Though they may play into stereotypical moulds sometimes, they’re frustrating and endearing, relatable ut yet sur rising.

The sim le diction and synta or ell to esta lish high oints of conflict one of them eing hen Te as ends his romantic relationshi ith uhi ecause he finds himself attracted y isha s charms.

The oo is ritten in first erson cha ters s itching oints of ie et een

the three characters. This or s ell because the reader is able to get a look inside the mind of e ery character and no them on a ersonal le el.

The lot layed out in a some hat redicta le manner follo ing a clear and discerni le storyline. ll though there are no a arent sur rises this or ed ell

because of the character consistency Gupta esta lished for her rotagonists. o e er a sour oint for me as the une lored lot lines that resulted in the core characters’ main traits. hat moti ates arah s antagonistic eha iour to ard her daughter uhi hat caused isha to ha e such negati e ideas of ody image and health

hy does Te as rite

Figuring t o t nd n ea e and ha ness a ter adversity

Ultimately, the strength of the book lies in Gupta’s unpacking of the essential themes that lague today s youth. Through her characters, she talks about body shaming, identity crises, poor mental health, unhealthy relationship dynamics, and famesee ing tendencies. isha s struggle ith her body image and her self-involvement ith her online resence rings out eo le s o session ith social media fame and ecoming online influencers. ut her eventual realisation that being healthy is more important than being thin develops her character arc really ell. Te as and uhi s relationshi challenges traditional ie s of love and relationships and promotes a more esternised outloo on dating. uhi s commitment to her job advocates for the riorities of a modern oman ho leads a alanced and content life.

The book is a good and easy read for rainy afternoons or late night indulging. As a Delhi girl personally, I enjoyed the familiar setting and friendship dynamics in the story. The cha ter titles ere a rare highlight during the course of the oo . I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a light and insightful take on adult life in contem orary e elhi.

BY JANINE HOLGATE

At a time hen readers are more and more often confronted ith a chaotic o ersu ly of clutter and social media stimuli, Angshu Dasgupta has achieved a beautiful balance in this, his first published book, Fern Road.

The story conveys social and cultural re udices around to ics that hilst they are becoming less taboo in our times, are nevertheless still often very controversial, misunderstood and s e t a ay. ngshu asgu ta deals ith these su ects in an ndian setting ithout eing indulgent or atronising hich could so easily e the case. or is the result confronting for his readers. There are no cliches to this original story and it’s impossible to guess hat ha ens ne t.

He leads one through the streets of ol ata here his story is set in such a ay that the e ents and atmos here ecome al a le.

e learn of the a ful ain inflicted on

Orko, the adolescent at the heart of this oo y oth others and himself. es ite this sad undertone hich ermeates the story through Orko’s despair, fear and selfloathing, the text has a surprising lightness a out it so one isn t left feeling ereft. ather e en hen r o is at his most retched and one is concerned for his

safety, there is a glimmer of hope carried by a thread of resilience that peaks and retreats throughout.

n this ay ngshu asgu ta has ritten a no el of fortitude and ultimately eace clarity and ra eness as e follo r o through the di cult and ery confused final years of his high school life. It’s a positive story that leaves the reader satisfied and no ing it as time ell

s ent. n a ay it s also ins irational as e tread through Orko’s perspective and learn ho he deals ith ad ersity am iguity and ugliness - a lesson that potentially serves ell for oth adolescent and adult attitudes and strategies on ho to deal ith these and other human tendencies that lead to similarly destructive emotions and social udgements.

The te t is oyfully sim le. asgu ta s economy of descri tion hilst dealing ith com licated childhood angst of the ery orst ind ma es one ant to return to this oo again.

or e am le he rites n ecem er the mornings are grey, the afternoons short and yello li e the final moments of an ant dro ning in a ar of honey . e descri es the folds of his mother’s saree as being like the folds of a letter that as forgotten for decades et een the ages of a oo .

There is no need to say more about Fern Road. t ill s ea for itself. ts re ity and tone make it perfect holiday reading if one is looking for relaxation, but at the same time a level of seriousness and gravity of thought. t raises the ho e that asgu ta ill soon gi e u his day o as a com uter rogrammer to rite more no els. e deser es a gro ing fan ase.

D k or Xmas l n h

Th s lass d sh ro erala was ada ted to s t the taste ds o the Portuguese

BY DHANYA SAMUEL

Lamb or seafood is often the protein of choice hen it comes to hristmas feasts. ut this festi e season hy not try a different rotein duc ost eo le thin duc is a di cult meat to re are and coo that s a misconce tion. t s just the unfamiliarity that stops most people from trying it out. e are luc y to get e cellent uality duc gro n right here in ustralia so there’s nothing really stopping you from trying it out.

ere s a delicious reci e to get you started. Today’s dish is inspired by a traditional and famous seafood re aration from erala no n as Fish or Meen Molee/Moilee (pronounced olly ) more o ular in the central regions of the state.

The Molee is essentially a coconut milkased curry s iced ith green chillies and lac e ercorns in hich fish ieces are coo ed. The medley of coconut ith chillies and e ercorns is a classic in erala s cuisine and several dishes, both vegetarian and nonegetarian are made using this fla our rofile. ur risingly each dish if coo ed this ay ould taste com letely different from the other des ite ha ing similar core ingredients.

There are uite a fe stories a out the history of this dish, the most popular being that Fish olee as in ented during the ortuguese reign in erala. egend has it that the curries made y local coo s ere too s icy for the ortuguese o cials so coconut mil as added to tone do n the heat. This ersion as first made y a oman called olly hence the name.

The veracity of this story can be contested, but since then, the Molee has become a fa ourite ith locals and tourists ali e. I have tasted or read about all kinds of seafood Molees; the traditional choices being arimeen ( earl s ot) and omfret among others. ut you can find ariations ith ingfish ra ns and lo sters too.

The first time I heard of a Duck Molee as hen came across a reci e y eeth anardhanan ( ha e no clue ho he is ). am glad decided to gi e it a try. h oy it as a totally delicious affair. o e en though the base is same, you really can’t compare this to a Meen Molee as the flavours imparted by the duc ma es it different. ut it s en oya le nonetheless es ecially if you lo e duc meat. hat found most interesting as the contrast of the flavours; the robust meatiness of the duc accentuated y the creamy s eetness of the coconut. The uantity of the chillies and pepper has to be amped up as the duck meat ould a sor more than seafood. used uc Maryland for this recipe, but you can use any cut that you refer. o lea e the ones in as they add more fla our to the final dish.

You can also use the recipe to make a Fish olee instead ad ust the s ices accordingly. Also, tomatoes are a must; another signature ingredient added for that mild sourness.

So let’s get this lip-smacking Duck Molee coo ing. t is est aired ith steamed rice or a ams ( erala style fermented rice anca es).

DU CK MOLEE

I NGREDIENTS

● 4 Duck Maryland; skin on, but excess fat and skin trimmed

● 3 tbsp coconut oil

● 1 tsp mustard seeds

● ½ tsp fenugreek seeds

● 3 sprigs curry leaves (reserve some for garnish)

● 2 medium onion; nely sliced

● 3 medium garlic cloves; nely chopped

● 1 inch ginger; nely chopped

● 6-7 green chillies, slit in half (medium heat); adjust according to heat preferences

● 1 tsp turmeric powder

● 1 – 1.5 tsp freshly milled black pepper (adjust to heat preferences)

● Salt, to season

● 400ml coconut milk (if using fresh, 2nd extract)

● ½ cup coconut cream (or thick 1st extract)

● 1 large tomato; cut into quarters

METHOD

● In a heavy bottom pan, heat half of the coconut oil and sear the duck pieces on both sides in batches. Keep aside.

● In the same pan, add the remaining coconut oil and add the mustard seeds. Allow the seeds to splutter and then add the fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, green chillies, ginger and garlic.

● Cook on medium heat for a minute and then add the onions. Mix and sauté till the onions are light brown and then add the turmeric powder and black pepper powder. Mix well and add the duck pieces. Season with salt and add 400ml coconut milk.

● Mix well to combine, cover partially and cook on low heat till the duck pieces are tender. Check occasionally and if the gravy feels thick, add some water (not too much though).

● Add the coconut cream and the tomato pieces; check and adjust the seasoning. Simmer for another 2 minutes and remove.

● Garnish with curry leaves.

MATRIMONIALS

SEEKING GROOMS

28-year-old girl seeking genuine marriage. Currently in Sydney until January 2020. Tall (5'8”), pretty, fair and medium built. Works as a manager in the nance industry. Potential partner must be above 5'11” in height and have permanent residency of Australia. Call 0416 812 117.

Beautiful, highly educated 33-year-old vegetarian Brahmin girl with excellent family background, soft-spoken, career-oriented, working, well-settled in Sydney, seeks an educated, teetotaller with good family background. Prefer Australian citizen or PR. Please contact rajsyd83@gmail.com

Seeking professionally quali ed, settled match for 46-year-old Sydney based, never married Australian citizen, Hindu Punjabi (Khatri) lady, 5'3" slim, fair and attractive. She is a postgraduate, working in a good position in a government organisation. Please email details with photo Indsyd2016@gmail.com

Seeking professionally quali ed, wellsettled match from Sydney for a 5’3’’ Hindu Punjabi girl born in 1988. She is divorced (concluded) with a brief marriage of 1.5 years, and is working full time with one of the leading universities in Sydney. Teetotaller preferred. Aus PR or citizen only.

Email: matrimonial.ml@gmail.com

Seeking a suitable match for a dynamic, highly-educated, career-oriented 23-year-old teaching professional who is 5’4" slim, fair, and attractive. She is from a well reputed and established business family in Delhi. Caste no bar. Prefer Australian citizen or PR. Contact 0452 225 341 or mverma2001@gmail.com

Telugu girl from a traditional Hindu family, late 30s, working in a reputed company as an accountant, well-mannered and good looking, divorced, seeks caring life partner settled in Sydney. Currently in India, willing to relocate. Interested call 0433 420 918 or email Sampath_sarega2000@yahoo.co.in

Seeking suitable match for a never married Hindu Khatri girl, beautiful, slim, 5'3", very fair, vegetarian, post-graduate, 1985 born and currently in Melbourne. Seeks businessman or professional match based in Australia. Brother settled in Melbourne. Contact +61 456 604 747 or email kapr.matrimonial@gmail.com

Seeking a professional match for a 29-yearold Indian – Hindu (Ravidasia) – girl with excellent family background. She is a doctor doing MD (Pharmacology) in India, with relatives professionally settled in Sydney and Brisbane. Caste no bar. Please contact with details and photo at aeracus29@gmail.com

S EEKING B RIDES

Seeking match for educated, divorced, 5’9", 1975-born Sikh Boy, self-employed, on bridging visa with full work rights. Looking for PR/citizen match from Australia. Phone: 0422 812 939 or email: jas_ghai01@hotmail.com

25-year-old boy seeking genuine marriage. Plans to visit Sydney soon in 2020. Tall 6’, handsome, well-built, wheatish complexion. Works as a Police Of cer. Potential partner must be above 5’7”, pretty, fair, slim, trendy and have permanent residency of Australia. Call 0416 812 117.

A beautiful, slim, trim, tall, well-educated girl from Kumaon, Uttarakhand required for a smart, fair 5’10” tall boy, 36 years, born in Australia, running his own business. Caste no bar. Please send biodata with photos to email: ram@ramworldtravel.com.au

Indian Christian (Protestant) parents of 39-year-old software engineer, born and raised in Australia, seek a Protestant girl between 31-36 years. Email: sammy5073@gmail.com or call 0403 836 360

Seeking match for well-educated, wellsettled Australian citizen Gujarati boy, born in 1980s, 5’9’’. Has his own home in Sydney, earns 180K per annum, and

is divorced. Looking for a suitable match from Sydney who wants to settle down forever and enjoys an easy life (no need to work full time but should have a good work-life balance). Interested invites accepted from students/PR/citizens/divorcees/singles. Phone: 0490 970 281 (SMS if busy) or email patelbrij1980@gmail.com.

Seeking match for educated, divorced, 5’9", 1975-born Sikh boy, self-employed on bridging visa with full work rights. Looking for PR/citizen girl from Australia. Phone: 0422 812 939 or email: jas_ghai01@hotmail.com

Seeking quali ed match for a handsome never-married 36-year-old Indian Brahmin boy, Australian citizen, living in Sydney since 2005. He works in a leading bank, Parramatta CBD. Parents are retd govt engineer/ lecturer from Delhi. WhatsApp details with photos to 0422 361 702, +9198717 35858 or email sharma.brijmohan07@gmail.com

Seeking professionally quali ed, settled match for 45-year-old Sydney based, never married Aus citizen, Hindu Punjabi (Khatri), 6’, athletic built man. Project manager with an engineering background working in a private organisation. Please send details with photo to Indsyd2016@gmail.com

Kashif Harrison leads his team in a Bollywood dance event at the of ce Christmas party

Dr Hari Harinath is surrounded by his family on his 75th birthday

Popular Indian restaurant Dosa Hut does its bit to fundraise for the bush re affected with its series of “All you can eat, pay what you want” events.

Many happy returns, Preeti Thadani

It’s a Frozen theme for Arianna Tater’s 4th birthday

The BU

HOW HOLLYWOOD ADDS SHEEN TO BOLLYWOOD BIGGIES

Did the trailers of Panipat and Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior remind you of Game Of Thrones? Or the action of War and Saaho bring memories of Mission Impossible? Well, that's because the canvas of Bollywood is getting glossier, with the creative geniuses of Hollywood increasingly working on Bollywood projects.

From action gurus, stunt directors, VFX experts, cinematographers, musicians, make-up experts, technicians to physical trainers, talent from the west is being roped in to deliver world-standard content in Hindi lms.

This trend is all thanks to lmmakers acquiring global sensibilities, and the Indian audience becoming increasingly receptive towards foreign content.

HOW KBC REDEFINED THE BACHCHAN AURA

Interesting how the tagline of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) season

11 has virtually de ned Amitabh Bachchan’s career. “Adey raho” (broadly translates to ‘be persistent') goes the slogan and, come to think of it, its iconic host has literally symbolised the trait through a career of 50 years.

KBC 11 ended recently and, given the recent health scare that the 77-year-old Bollywood icon has had, fans are keeping their ngers crossed in the hope that Big B will overcome all impediments and return to the hot seat next year.

For, even as KBC 11 ended, speculations took over, mainly triggered by a cryptic blog entry the veteran actor made a few days ago. "I must retire… the head is thinking something else and the ngers another… it's a message…," he wrote in the early hours of November 28, sparking off a deluge of concern.

Was Big B indeed hinting at retirement from cinema and TV? Sources close to the actor soon dismissed such notions, saying he simply meant that he was too tired to type - that it had been a long day and the word ‘retire’ alluded to - going to bed.

Still, guesswork has continued. Most fans feel Big B, given his incredible energy, will continue shooting for lms. Film assignments, after all, would let him work at his own pace. The hectic schedule of a ve-day quiz show, however, could be more demanding.

The point to note here is those hectic years mark a signi cant phase in Big B's career graph. KBC marked his resurrection as an icon and a brand, at a time when he was struggling to reinvent himself as a Bollywood star.

The year was 2000. The year before, Amitabh Bachchan had four releases - Lal Badshah, Sooryavansham, Hindustan Ki Kasam and Kohraam. Each of these

tried rehashing Bachchan's angry young man image to suit his advancing age, and each fared way below expectation. Coming after a 1998 roster that comprised of Major Saab (lukewarm at the box-of ce) and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (where he was clearly outstripped by Govinda in the slapstick stakes), and the dud Mrityudaata in 1997, Big B was suddenly looking for a script to reinvent himself in the public eye. His last spate of solo superhits had happened in the early nineties, and his sojourn as an entrepreneur with ABCL has soured.

KBC Season One happened around the time. Over a matter of weeks, Big B's stardom suddenly witnessed rebirth. The angry young man of yore, who had rede ned action and drama through the seventies and the eighties, was suddenly rede ning home entertainment. The quizmaster par excellence was a charming gentleman with wisdom to share - far removed from the intense avatar he exuded in his heydays. From the larger-than-life action hero, KBC let Big B become the affable guy who would drop by in your living rooms every evening to serve an engaging spell of wisdom.

If the metamorphosis let Bachchan survive where every other actor of his era faded away long before him, the actor too gave KBC - as well as Indian reality television - a de ning course. Not only is KBC regarded a cut above most other shows on television, Bachchan's style of conducting it set the gold standard of show hosting in India.

It is a reason why, when the muchyounger Shah Rukh Khan tried hosting season three of the show, he could not quite match up to the Bachchan aura.

For the sake of Indian reality TV, we will hope all rumours of Bachchan retiring from television are indeed unfounded.

"Now that we are used to watching global content, from lms to content on Net ix and Amazon Prime Video, people have higher expectations. The production value, the look and lighting has to be on par with the Hollywood standard. It works well for all as it improves the whole get up of the project," trade expert Rajesh Thadani told IANS.

Some notables projects with foreign twist include Kesari with Mad Max: Fury Road stunt coordinator Lawrence Woodward, Bang Bang with Thor stunt coordinator Andy Armstrong, Sunny Deol's Ghayal Once Again with Hollywood stunt coordinator Dan Bradley, Krrish franchise, Prabhas' Saaho with Hollywood stunt master Kenny Bates, Taapsee Pannu's Naam Shabana with Hollywood stuntman Cyril Raffaelli and Rishi Kapoor's Kapoor & Sons with makeup artist Greg Cannom.

When not hiring talent from the west, lmmakers are looking for ways to add Hollywood appeal to their project.

"Our technicians are better trained, our facilities have become better, production values as well as budgets have gone up, and then in many cases we are hiring Hollywood talent. In this case, peer competition goes up and everyone wants to learn new techniques and what eventually happens is that everyone is updated. It bene ts the lm," trade expert Girish Johar told IANS.

Hollywood action director Paul Jennings, who has worked in movies such as The Dark Knight and San Andreas among many others, says the action spectacle in War is on par with lms like Mission Impossible and Fast and Furious.

"What I love about Bollywood is I believe you can push the action a little bit further, and this means you can end up with more spectacular sequences," Jennings said, who designed jaw-dropping action sequences for War, his rst Bollywood lm.

"I think Bollywood is in a great place right now. They are experimenting with culturally different professionals in the camera, stunts, action-directing departments," said

action director Tom Struthers of The Dark Night and Dunkirk fame, whose rst tryst with Bollywood was with Nikkhil Advani's 2013 lm D-Day. The trend will only grow in times to come.

'ATTACK' FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY 2020

Patriotism has become John Abraham’s thing.

He has ensured that he will keep his date with Independence Day again next year. His upcoming thriller Attack has been con rmed for August 14, 2020.

This will be the third year in a row that John will release a lm on Independence Day. In 2018, his Satyameva Jayate opened on August 15, and this year he released Batla House on that day.

Attack is a race-against-time action thriller that also stars Jacqueline Fernandez and Rakul Preet Singh. The lm is written and directed by debutant Lakshya Raj Anand.

"Attack is a taut, interesting thriller with a strong storyline and a genre I love! That it is releasing on Independence Day makes it even more exciting. At (John's production house) JA Entertainment, it is our endeavour to push the envelope and produce lms that entertain and have something signi cant to show to the increasingly discerning audience," said John.

Riding high on the patriotism formula that has clicked for him lately, John once again plays a saviour of the nation in the lm, which narrates the drama woven around a daring rescue operation. It is a ctional story inspired by true events and set against the backdrop of a hostage crisis situation.

LIFE LESSONS WITH ANIL KAPOOR

Actor Anil Kapoor doesn't want to get comfortable with his position in the industry, and says he has a simple plan, which is to be better than yesterday.

"I don't think I ever want to be completely comfortable for fear of complacency.

PARINEETI CHOPRA

It's only when you put yourself in uncomfortable situations that you grow and learn," Anil told IANS.

"So when you nd yourself getting too comfortable and too much at ease, kick yourself out of your comfort zone and try something new," he added.

Anil entered the industry with a small role in 1979 with Umesh Mehra's Hamare Tumhare, and then went on to carve his niche by balancing his stature as a respectable actor and his popularity as a saleable star, with performances including Woh 7 Din, 1942: A Love Story, Mr. India, Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, Lamhe, Beta, Taal, Nayak: The Real Hero and Pukar. His versatility is proved by the fact that he was equally at home in these international projects as he was in outand-out Bollywood outings as No Entry, Welcome, Race, Dil Dhadakne Do, Mubarakan, Fanney Khan, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga and Total Dhamaal. Have his goals changed with time? He replied, "Strangely enough, my goals haven't changed much at all! I'm a simple man with a simple plan - to be better than I was yesterday. So that's what I continue to strive towards," said the actor. We can all learn something from that.

WORTH WAITING FOR? YOU DECIDE!

The Golmaal looks set to continue… Rohit Shetty and Ajay Devgn have just announced Golmaal FIVE.

"The franchise is not only the longestrunning one in Hindi cinema, it also happens to be one of my favourites

WHO WORE IT BETTER?

What’s Rani Mukerji saying to the police of cial here?

because like we said in one of our earliest lms in this series, it's fun unlimited," Ajay Devgn said recently.

Rohit Shetty set the ball rolling in 2006 with Golmaal: Fun Unlimited, starring Ajay, Arshad Warsi, Sharman Joshi, Tusshar Kapoor and Paresh Rawal. It revolved around the lives of a group of friends, and was full of comedy, action, drama and fun.

The universe of Golmaal expanded with Golmaal Returns, Golmaal 3 and Golmaal Again. Names like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Amrita Arora, Kunal Kemmu, Shreyas Talpade, Tabu and Parineeti Chopra have been associated with it.

Also coming up mid next year is psychological thriller The Girl On The Train, starring Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kirti Kulhari and Avinash Tiwary. Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, the lm is an of cial Hindi remake of the Hollywood movie The Girl On The Train, which is based on Paula Hawkins' 2015 bestseller of the same name.

BACHCHAN IN YOUR PLATE

The Mumbai restaurant Hitchki is at it again – creating inventive dish names based on Bollywood stars. This time round, it is honouring Amitabh Bachchan on his 50th anniversary in lms, by naming several dishes on its menu after his songs and dialogues.

So you can order Yeh Dosti, or Jumma Chumma De De, or our favourite Aaj mere paas Paneer hai Chilli hai.

On its regular menu, you have a thali named Gogo Tussi Great Ho. If you don’t feel like a thali and prefer something simple, you can order a Shahrukh Naan, some Alia Bhaat, Kat Rahi Hai Na Salad, Koffee With Garam, Anupam Kheer and Salman Paan.

The rst week of Dec though, is your special Amitabh week, just in case you happen to be in Mumbai this week.

ON TWITTER THIS WEEK

Match the following stars to the tweet that appear below.

Karan Johar, Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar

Last day, last shot, last stunt of 'Sooryavanshi'. It's been an incredible experience to be a part of Rohit Shetty's Cop Universe...

Thank You! What an amazing journey it has been with #TEDTalksIndiaNayiBaat. I've learned and grown so much from these amazing change makers.

I've voiced some strong, amazing characters for Disney. Voicing Elsa was a joy, & working with my baby sister @ ParineetiChopra was an added bonus.

A love of a lifetime within a heartbeat! A lm very close to my heart completes 16 years!! #16YearsOfKalHoNaaHo

Excited to announce my next lm!! Bob Biswas. Can’t wait to get started. Working with many favourites.

What’s the chitchat between Narendra Modi and Sunny Deol here?

Did you bring the handpump from Pakistan or not?

Wicky Choudhary

Congratulations Wicky. You win a movie ticket.

For more caption entries, see YOUR SAY Page 09

JOHN ABRAHAM

AJAY DEVGN

ANIL KAPOOR

PATI PATNI AUR WOH

S TARRING: Kartik Aaryan, Bhumi Pednekar, Ananya Panday, Aparshakti Khurana

D IRECTOR: Mudassar Aziz

H H H

The interesting thing about the reimagined Pati Patni Aur Woh is its setting. Version 2019 is based around a middle class couple in Kanpur. In BR Chopra's 1978 original, the protagonists belonged to the middleclass too, but they lived in Bombay. It seems pertinent how, 41 years on, this remake picks the plot's extramarital core from the mega polis and puts it right in the centre of smalltown India, which is learning to openly discuss sex, delity, virginity and marriage (the idea is wittily underlined in the opening scenes, where the hero asks his prospective bride her hobbies and she replies, "Humein sex karna

pasand hai").

At a time when remakes, reboots and recreations have become the norm, writer-director Mudassar Aziz's reorganising of a BR Chopra comedy classic to woo new-age viewers would seem like an ambitious idea. His credibility lies in the fact that his version holds its own.

For those who may not be familiar with Chopra's 1978 lm, it is a comedy of errors centred on the extramarital ing of a middle-aged man (played impeccably by Sanjeev Kumar). Aziz retains that basic idea in his 2019 redux, but changes everything else in the new lm, including key plot points, character details, plot progression and a lot of what happens towards the end. Like its original, and despite acquiring a new-age irreverent edge, Pati Patni Aur Woh 2019 manages to stay funny without losing out on decency, despite moving dangerously close to the

domain of political incorrectness.

Kartik Aaryan makes an amusing Chintu Tyagi, hero of the piece. He has been papa's boy for most parts and, after topping his engineering exam, has landed a cushy government job, just as dad wanted. Time now to wed, declare his parents, and soon, he nds a perfect arranged match in physics teacher Vedika (Bhumi Pednekar).

The marriage is blissful till Tapasya Singh (Ananya Panday) from Delhi arrives in Chintu's life. He won't cheat on his wife, but Chintu nds the idea of spending a lot of 'fun time' with the gorgeous Tapasya too tempting to resist.

He starts lying to Vedika, in order to spend more and more time with Tapasya, and the situation only gets more complicated for Chintu.

Although funny for most parts, Aziz cannot resist the odd moment of melodrama. Such sequences slow

down the story and also break the rhythm of humour. Overall, however, this is enjoyable fare. Maintaining a simple, straight narrative that does not delve deep into relationship complexities, Aziz's screenplay lets the cast have a eld day.

Kartik Aaryan is fast emerging as one of the most bankable comic heroes of Gen Now Bollywood. As Chintu Tyagi, he once again plays out the believable and harried Indian male with aplomb. His transition from the bumbler with a goofy laugh to a man stylish enough to be spotted at Tapasya's side is gradual and effortless.

Bhumi Pednekar as the patni Vedika gets an interesting twist towards the end, which changes much of the climax, giving the reworked story a contemporary edge. Comparatively, Ananya Panday as Tapasya, woh of the tale, banks wholly on screen presence to rise above her archetypal character. For a two- lm old, Ananya does admirably.

The show-stealer here, however, is Aparshakti Khurana. Essaying Chintu's buddy and colleague Fahim, Aparshakti was reimagining Asrani's inimitable Abdul Karim Durrani from the 1978 original. In every sense, writer-director Aziz hit the casting bullseye with Aparshakti. The actor gets the funniest lines and scenesand pulls them off with gusto.

Pati Patni Aur Woh works well as a one-time watch. The reboot has its funny moments, and it works mainly for its cast.

Vinayak

Dr. Payal Gupta

the lm needs to effectively build the aura of the era it portrays - through look, costumes, music and other props. Finally, the genre banks on strong characters, which need to be essayed with assuredness by the cast.

Although there are the essential bursts of drama, minimal romance, some dialogues worth the rage, and sleekly lmed battle action, the lm could have done with tighter storytelling, especially in the early parts. The screenplay is just about adequate as it sets up a slowmoving rst half, which heads into the spectacular but predictable war climax.

For the lay audience who won't nitpick about historical accuracy, the lm is a visually stunning reconstruct of the past, brought alive by imaginative cinematography (CK Muraleedharan). The war sequences (Abbas Ali Moghul) aren't

PANI PAT

S TARRING: Arjun Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Sanjay Dutt, Zeenat Aman

D IRECTOR: Ashutosh Gowariker

HHH

History tells you Ahmad Shah Abdali was a ruthless conqueror and shrewd battle strategist. He led a marauding Afghan army into India thrice, plundering all that crossed his path and leaving a trail of red in the waters of the Yamuna on each occasion. History tells you Abdali was 39 or 40 when he fought the third Battle of Panipat.

In Ashutosh Gowariker's Panipat, a 60-year-old Sanjay Dutt plays out Abdali as a man without menace, an invader who almost seems apologetic

OUT OF LOVE (HOTSTAR SERIES)

STARRING: Rasika Dugal, Purab Kohli

DIRECTOR: Tigmanshu Dhulia & Aijaz Khan

HHH

For a large part of its playing time, Out Of Love looks like a banal take on in delity. Except that here, the suspicious wife Meera won't take the betrayal lying down. As played by the very talented Rasika Dugal, Meera epitomises the mythic hell of a woman scorned.

So intense is her abhorrence of her husband's in delity that she descends into a kind of vendetta that seems increasingly ridiculous and cheap.

It came as a surprise to know that this hysterical series is adapted from BBC's Dr Foster. I decided to watch some of that. And here is the fundamental difference between the two that makes all the difference. In "Dr Foster", the wife's suspicion and revenge are placed in a cultural and geographical perspective where her actions seem

all through for arriving in India and unsettling its peace. The Afghans he leads in the lm are a bunch of cowards who scamper from the battle eld when cornered.

Bollywood history, of course, is normally written by its screenwriters to serve a very different purpose than enlightening viewers with authentic facts. It's often about what we wish might have happened.

Gowariker's Panipat dutifully follows that diktat, painting protagonists in black and white. At a rumoured budget of Rs 70 crore, and returning after the triple blunders of What's Your Rashee?, Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Se and Mohenjo Daro over the past 10 years, the lmmaker perhaps had to play it safe

with his latest.

Panipat is set in the 18th century when the Marathas reign over most parts of the subcontinent. The Mughal sultanate invites the Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Abdali to Delhi, in order to demolish the Maratha might. As news arrives that Abdali is on his way to India for a third time, the Maratha Peshwa (Mohnish Behl) orders Sadashiv Rao Bhau (Arjun Kapoor, effective in most parts) to march northwards and thwart Abdalia’s arrival at any cost. This sets the stage for the Third Battle of Panipat on January 14, 1761.

A historical drama for the screen rests on three primary factors. First it needs engaging storytelling. Second,

extraordinary but maintain ample drama, mixing facts and ction.

As regards the cast, while the narrative essentially moves towards setting up the stage for the big boys to aunt their swashbuckling wartime machismo, it is interesting to see how Kriti Sanon manages to shine above the others. As Sadashiv's wife Parvati Bai, she scores despite limited footage, with the few scenes of note that the screenplay accords to her.

Overall, Ashutosh Gowariker's latest has its moments. It is spectacular historical ction riding some good performances, and likeable for the way it salutes valour. The impact could have been stronger with more imaginative storytelling.

Vinayak Chakravorty

S PECTACULAR IN PARTS , IF YOU FORGET HISTORICAL ACCURACY B ANAL TAKE ON INFIDELITY

guided by an environment that fosters an aggressive protest against domestic treachery.

In the desi adaptation, Meera's grievance against her husband Akarsh seems unconvincing from the outset. For starters, the setting Coonoor seems like the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else. The narrative deliberately chooses to belittle

Meera's suspicion by perceiving it as paranoia and then twisting it around in a cheesy way to trounce the viewers' expectations. The plot is mired in absurdities and the build-up towards Meera's revenge is scarcely fodder for a solid suspense story.

Not that the series is bereft of all merit. The two principal performers try hard to anchor the unbelievable goings-

on (at one point in the plot Meera sleeps with a family friend just to get even with her husband). Both Rasika Dugal and Purab Kohli are actors who bloom in delicacy. The sledgehammer drama of Out Of Love leaves the players out of breath. Rasika is particularly wheezy when made to perform melodramatic scenes. Sadly, melodrama is the need of the hour here.

While the talented Soni Razdan is wasted in a role that requires her to look as distressed as one would be after binge-watching this series, Anjan Shrivastav's return as a disgraced drunken doctor is the highlight of the show that begins promisingly but quickly plummets into a perverse theatrical treatment of in delity and revenge.

Subhash K Jha

Secrets of the gender pay gap

Gold sh ed ne and ex lod n e s

Does Wonder Woman get paid as much as Thor? NURY VITTACHI tries to find out

Let the l n o ker n k ds and y n o e ts e n Ha y hol days, M s

This columnist, who is also a writer of books, was at a school as a Visiting Author when one of the children asked a question: “How much does Thor get paid?”

BY MELISSA DOMINGO

B“Good question,” I said. “Superhero salaries are never revealed. However, they seem to do just fine. Definitely they get paid more than authors or teachers!” (Always good to get the academic staff on side.)

nuggets than usual. hic en nuggets are an integral part of my daughter’s Wednesday lunches and are therefore my res onsi ility.

oth my kids are having meltdo ns. sol ed their bickering over the television by sim ly un lugging the ca les. hase one o er hase t o uic ly ensued. y three year old di ed a handful of Play Doh into my nine-year-old daughter s hot chocolate. ne of them is crying on the couch hile the other is thro ing a tantrum on the floor. atch them resignedly and simultaneously orry a out our et goldfish eorge.

Then a teenage girl’s hand shot up. “I bet Thor and Iron Man get paid more than Wonder Woman,” she snarled.

“Yeah,” the other girls growled - and so did the teachers. The atmosphere turned to ice. Teaching staff (all female except two) nodded sternly at this timely reminder of evil gender inequality.

“In superhero land, boys and girls get paid exactly the same,” I said, trying to dodge the bullet.

What I was thinking (but didn’t say) was this. Many male superheroes clearly have massive incomes (think Iron Man, Batman, Black Panther, Mr Fantastic, Nighthawk, Professor X, Green Arrow, etc). But Wonder Woman, if memory serves me, was a nurse! Probably earned peanuts!

Why was everyone in a bad mood about this? The previous month, a news report said that in the creative industries generally, male stars get paid more than female stars. Earlier that week, a study of the BBC showed that women presenters earned significantly less than men.

The internet was filled with outrage at what they saw as horrendous sex discrimination, as were the three women in this columnist’s family.

Before I became a mum, regular things occupied my thoughts - career, loved ones and the future. orried a out my hair ardro e music and li stic . once as ed my mum to purchase my favourite lipstick early ude hile she as at the store. he e t as ing for lmost a ed . eedless to say it as una aila le an unnecessary aside, but I do remember feeling dee ly concerned for my mum. o e er after ecoming a mum my mind is o errun ith more di erse and ressing issues. Ta e this morning for e am le. ha e een feeling an ious a out our godfish eorge ho lingers at the otton of his tan . n s ite of our multi le efforts he refuses to return to his normal self. y ids consider him to e a legitimate treasured family mem er. My daughter even threatened to sell the other t o fish li ing ith eorge as she elie es they are mean to him. as supposed to test the pH level of the tank this morning but ran into some delays…

Here’s something else I didn’t say. This writer has spent years in the creative industries (including working for the BBC), and knows full well that financial chiefs of these organisations are heartless automatons who see nothing but bottom

My son only eats ‘exploding eggs’

lines. They honestly don’t care if you are male, female, transgender, hermaphrodite or a googly-eyed alien from the planet Zorg.

So while it’s true that discrimination exists, that’s not the whole story.

Academic studies repeatedly show that women at certain stages earn less money by choice, because they have a superior attitude to work-life balance. Guys sign up for every promotion and burn out into early graves, while women make smart compromises and live happier, longer, healthier lives.

(sunnysideu ). unintentionally left his egg in the pan longer than needed resulting in him ecoming uite e losi e hen the yol didn t e lode . uic ly coo ed him another e losi e egg. The

Researchers call this the “self-selected pay gap.” Journalists never write about this because outrage sells more newspapers and gets more clicks.

The gap between male and female pay at the BBC is much smaller than the UK average, indicating the organisation is unusually successful at finding ways to steer money into the hands of female staff.

Then there s the matter of cu ca es. As I took the banana cupcakes out of the o en ondered if their ra ers ould eel off easily for the comfort of my little highnesses. then changed my son into something arm and al ed across the room to shut the indo on the inter rain. uddenly found myself um ing fi e feet across the room to catch my son as he tum led off a high ile of ego and o es. is talent for falling off things has made me a pro at diving across rooms, running, and catching things e en in my slee . have often saved my kids in a split second one handed sometimes otherhood has certainly sharpened my reflexes beyond my earlier a ility to (mostly) catch the car eys hen thro n at me

“Wonder Woman is a nurse,” he said. I was about to tell him to shut up for his personal safety (female teachers were hovering nearby), when he added something that got me thinking, “She’s an army nurse with the rank of Major.”

My son said, “Mamma, I promise never to rea the layer again. decided not to in estigate the comment further. ressed the s in utton on the ashing machine and settled do n ith my cu of lu e arm coffee and the egg that had refused to e lode. arely armed my chair hen the meltdo n occurred forcing me to get u and disconnect the tele ision. This personal anecdote is not a lifechanging read. This is ust to share an e een there moment ith my fello mums. ome days are for sunny s ies and fish’n’chips but most days are for goldfish medicine and e loding eggs.

Interesting. There is no gender pay gap in the military, and US army Majors earn a fortune, more than $100,000 a year.

e losi e uality of eggs is something must carefully consider these days. also made a mental note to address the issue of chic en nuggets. The cafeteria staff at my daughter s school ga e her t o less

After my school talk, I was signing books when I was approached by a nerdy boy who was a fount of knowledge about superheroes.

Thor, being a minor Norse god, probably doesn’t get paid anything at all.

Oh well, Wonder Woman seems like a nice person - she can buy Thor a drink.

Here’s to all the undercover superhumans ho ha e surrendered their minds to chic en nuggets and cu ca e ra ers. ay the force e ith you as you stir t o ots simultaneously hile uggling tum ling children and flying o ects. nly ninjas are capable of such dexterity!

My son’s talent for falling off things has made me a pro at diving across rooms, running, and catching things even in my sleep.

RAWAT

All I want or Christmas s

It s een a t lt o s year, and o r world leaders are des erately n need o so e ood news

cash to su ly them. ill lea e loads of mil for you since e ha e ought its factory.

BY LP AYER

With all their jobs of making toys for the orld s children having gone to China, the elves have been redeployed to sort out the ram ant flo of re uests anta is recei ing from all around the orld. ears ago these re uests came in the thousands in hand ritten letters no in the digital age, millions flood in as texts and emails, ee ing the el es e en usier than efore. They handle routine calls for computer games, electronic gadgets, dolls and other items ith ease ut ut the ones from the VIPs in the too-hard basket for Mr Claus himself to deal ith.

The first one as al ays is from the ig id in the hite ouse onald. ear anta no the emonocrats are trying to im each me y thro ing e erything at me including see ing my ta records. n my school days, I often told my teachers that my dog ate my home or . This time ill place all my tax records near the fireplace, lease as your reindeers to eat them. do ho e there is no histle lo er among the el es to lea this re uest to my o onents. ill ut out entuc y our on and coo ies for you.

Next email, in Mandarin, is from the top o cial in the or idden ity. omrade laus e are the traditional e orters of re olution ut are no facing one oursel es from ong ong. The renegades there are uilding arricades and ric ing u roads. Our peace-loving soldiers are patiently remo ing them. lease collect said ric s and deli er them to stone elters in ashmir since our all eather ally is running out of

Although not a believer in Christmas, mran han is not a erse to see ing aid from any here for his cash stra ed country. alam anta. ha e itched a re uest to my good friends audi and hina ut they are not gi ing me a good run. do en illion dollars ill do nicely to get us o er the line.

This one from the man ho is as lum as the man in the Red Suit: “I have fired every ind of missile to scare the its out of the mericans. a e had three meetings ith him and still Donald ducks out of lifting the crushing sanctions. othing has or ed. Maybe a mother of all missiles could do the tric . lease dro one not on our land mind you ut through the chimney. our loo ali e im ong n.

Santa is perplexed by the similarity in the ne t t o emails. The first one reads ear r laus once e ere ule ritannia. o the auls ha e the gall to call us ‘Rue Britannia’ seeing our plight to get out of the re it og. nly as can e tricate us from uro e. o lease ring in a hite ash hristmas for my o onent. our elo ed oris. The second email as orded the same ut sent from one omrade or in.

en anta had no di culty in identifying here this one came from o dy anta bhai! (Maaf karna, mere mitr, I’m still in a ouston frame of mind.) efore the ay election mran han had said nly odi can sol e the ashmir ro lem. didn t disa oint him. The yodhya mandir issue too is mo ing to ards a resolution. o ha e nothing to as e ce t one thing. ur economy is lately going south, could I please as you to turn it to ards your direction. Dhanyawad. Aapke liye dudh-malai.”

The elves can handle the routine requests for computer games and electronic gadgets, but put the ones from the VIPs in the too-hard basket for Mr Claus himself to deal with.

Rahul Lachman Commercial Law

Sharon Ramsden Criminal Law

Krystle Wolthers Estate Planning Vayshali Chandra Family Law

Joe Bonura Personal Injury

Amit Kumar Property Law

Simon Kumar Dispute Resolution Law

December 2019

BY MINAL KHONA

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

A RIES

March 21 - April 19

It might be a tough month with blocked progress, stress and discord. A reunion with a romantic partner is on the cards. Some temporary losses and changes might occur, but things will work out. Work is good and success expected. A marriage could end due to in delity on one partner’s part. Depression and emotional problems could bog you down. Stomach or prostrate problems could occur; don’t take health issues lightly. Things look dif cult but will get resolved on their own.

TA U R U S

April 20 - May 20

TAROT

G EMINI

May 21 - June 20

An exciting month is in store for you, as number 8 represents a positive change of mind. You will nd your life’s purpose and meet someone special. An unexpected shopping spree, a nancial break and medical tests are on the cards. You will make money in the long run, and your future prospects look even better. You will no longer waste energy on non-productive matters. Spiritual guidance will give you new insights. Follow your heart and your desires will be ful lled.

V

Aug 23 - Sep 22

Leos might feel anxious or depressed as your progress hits a small pause, but an unexpected source will come to aid. Disappointment in love is on the cards. Money may be blocked, but it will arrive from another source. Despite losses, you will continue with business, but don’t take on more than you can handle. Your indifferent attitude towards people might stem from a deeper state of sadness and hopelessness. Seek medical help if you keep feeling this way.

The card of Pisces has been drawn for you this month, so creative pursuits could interest the pragmatic Virgo. While you prepare for an expensive trip, a romantic situation will progress slowly. This month could see you feeling touchy about being assertive about your feelings. Lots of communication is on the cards, especially in business, social and personal life. You could have problems with your knees and feel emotionally drained. The right answers will come to you for any issues.

C

APRICORN

Nov 22 - Dec 21

Dec 22 - Jan 19

The Virgo card has been drawn for you, leaving the outgoing and gregarious Sagittarian practical and nicky this month. A breakup will leave you despondent and depressed, and a short and sudden trip with lots of changes is predicted. Your work might be hampered, but going with the ow is the best solution. You might face health issues but will forge ahead with your plans. Resolving con ict by cutting ties with someone who is hurting you is on the cards.

The Scorpion card has been drawn for you making the January born uncharacteristically intense and secretive. You might nd love, closer to home, in a new partner. Some things might rattle you; disputes and discord at work and travel plans might need to be postponed. However, new areas of work could open up. For single Capricorns, marriage might be on the cards. Seek medical advice before trying to lose weight. Money and other forms of help will come to you.

The future worries you, but you will settle inner con icts by changing your perspective. Be careful while driving and avoid speeding. Work frustrations may make everything seem like an uphill task but you will complete a project successfully. You or a family member could have an infection or virus. Money matters will keep you worried. Introspection will give you clarity on the issues relating to you and others. Stay detached to be able to see the reality in any situation.

L IBRA

Sep 23 - Oct 22

The strength card has been drawn for you which stands for following one’s passion and winning with love. Use compassion to succeed in persistent issues; even if it is an internal dilemma. Persistence for past efforts will pay off. A nancial con ict with someone might occur, but money held will be released soon. You might undertake short trips and will see positive changes in business. Love life and health show improvement, and setbacks will be a thing of the past.

AQU ARI U S

Jan 20 - Feb 18

It will be a busy month for you as you will focus on expansions, meetings, and new opportunities. If a signi cant and warm love affair doesn’t start, an admirer or an unexpected romantic proposition will surprise you. You will remain upbeat thanks to work and home commitments and a positive and con dent state of mind. You will also notice a sudden improvement in nances. Overall conditions will change for the better, and the universe will give what you desire.

CANCER June 21 - July 20

You will try to understand the whys and hows of destiny and correct an area that has given you problems in the past. In matters of the heart, you will want a meaningful relationship rather than several frivolous dalliances. You will have unexpected nancial gains. A new cycle relieves some tension that has been annoying you for a while. Pay special attention to health especially dental hygiene. Problems will get resolved and turbulent times will end on their own.

Oct 23 - Nov 21

It is all about good health and fresh starts for you. There will be good news in form of an engagement or pregnancy in the family. Those in the arts will have a burst of creativity, and success will come from innovative ideas. An event or person will cheer you up. You might face pressure to perform better at work or go beyond the call of duty. You might meet some nancial constraints, but health will be good overall.

P ISCES

Feb 19 - March 20

An important situation is brewing this month either in your career or personal life; give it time. Single Pisceans will attract romance into their lives. Past efforts at work will bear rewards, and new projects will come your way. Family members or travel plans – both can cause problems this month. There could be a loss of appetite or chances of a sunstroke. However, your inner and outer con icts are coming to an end; expect a change for the better.

S CORPIO