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S R U O N O H Y A D A I L A R T AUS

Prof. SARVADAMAN SINGH, OAM

Dr. SADANAND LIMAYE, OAM

INDERJIT (INDY) SINGH, OAM

TASNEEM CHOPRA, OAM NATIONAL EDITION

SY D N E Y

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EDITORIAL

A reason to distrust: Our corporate and political leaders are letting us down

PUBLISHER Pawan Luthra EDITOR Rajni Anand Luthra SOCIAL MEDIA Suruchi Sehgal MELBOURNE COORDINATOR Preeti Jabbal CONTRIBUTORS Vinaya Rai, Simmi Singh, LP Ayer, Minal Khona, Chitra Sudarshan, Salma Shah, Anubhuti Madan Singh, Petra O’Neill, Nisha Sreenivasan, Vinayak Chakravorty, Gaurav Masand, Auntyji ADVERTISING 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:

INDIAN LINK MEDIA GROUP Level 24/44 Market St, Sydney 2000 GPO Box 108, Sydney 2001 Ph: 02 9279-2004 Fax: 02 9279-2005 Email: info@indianlink.com.au

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

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020 has started from where last year left off – with a trust deficit in those who lead, both in politics and corporate life.

But what is trust deficit? Simply speaking, it is the inability to have reliance on, or confidence in, a relationship or an organisation or an institution.

As an example, the financial planning industry took a hit on the trust factor when reports of misdeeds came out in the Hayne Royal Commission last year, the after-effects still making headlines.

People remain wary of the banks: a Deloitte Trust Index-Banking report released last year confirmed that more than half surveyed saw a trust deficit in the ethics of senior management of the banks. The banks were looking at short-term profits, whereas people were looking for relationship and a feeling of community. The report pointed out that

customers want to be shown respect, want banks to listen to their gripes, to admit mistakes, and to be open and honest.

And the same can be said of our politicians. Nationally, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has to work hard to win back the trust and confidence of the Australian people after his initial mishandling of the bushfire disasters. From his Hawaii holidays to laying the blame on the states, the public was clearly unimpressed. The daggy-dad-from-theburbs persona was quickly replaced by a bumbling leader who could not take control while the national burned – literally. Much to his credit, the PM has been a man of action in the last two to three weeks, with the mobilisation of the army reservists to help in the relief efforts and the quick allocation of resources to those most effected.

With two-plus years to go to the next election, he does have time to narrow that trust deficit.

Internationally, there is a trust deficit in the ongoing shenanigans of the US President Donald Trump. With the

impeachment trial still on, the truth is being divided along party lines.

Evidence that’s emerging which could make it difficult for Trump, is being held back by those in his own party.

Truth be damned, it is survival at any cost.

The reality revealed by both contemporary US politics and our own, is that the broken moral compass needs fixing. Faith in politicians is steadily eroding: honesty and morality, two important pillars in the trust factor are non-existent.

The silver lining to it all, and there definitely is one, comes from regular folk. The outpouring of community support during the recent bushfires was wonderfully heartening and truly uplifting. Whether contributing financially, knitting pouches for the animals, donating filled backpacks for schoolkids, or sending food and clothing, coming out loud and clear was a great spirit of sharing and trust. No deficit here; instead, a surplus – and an opportunity for the corporates and politicians to learn from the ‘quiet Australians’.

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NATIONAL EDITION

FEBRUARY 2020 5

CONTENTS SPECIAL FEATURES MAINSTREAM Coronavirus: The impact

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KIDS Going to Big School

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BOOKS Australian and Indian writers in short story collection

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FIRST PERSON Fighting for my baby

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TRAVEL On Hotel Club Lounges

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COVER STORY Our community in the 2020 Australia Day Honours list

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YOUR SAY

OFFICIAL WELCOME FOR INDIAN WOMEN’S CRICKET TEAM Governor General David Hurley hosted a morning tea for the visiting Indian team at Admiralty House, his home in Sydney.

Rajesh Shah wrote: Welcome down under. Best of luck. Will see you on 7 Feb at SCG Ashok Surati wrote: Excellent, all the best Mahajan Gaurav wrote: Best of luck for upcoming tri-series and T20 World Cup Anant Jain wrote: Best of luck, team… chak de phatte!

Chandr Wadhw wrote: Welcome to Australia and our best wishes.

Rochelle Fernandez wrote: Scotty from Marketing didn't show? I thought the cricket was what we were all supposed to be watching while the country burned? Or is it just how good is the (men’s) cricket?

GROWN IN AUSTRALIA, MADE IN INDIA You liked our story on Indian fashion designer Aneeth Arora’s new collection that brings together Merino wool and the traditional weaves of Himachal Pradesh.

Vandana Suri Mehra wrote: So good to see this. Merino wool from Australia and designed and manufactured in India!

Michelle Parmar wrote: Yay! Finally our Bhuttico made it!

SAY IT AGAIN 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Virodh desh bhakti hai. Protest is patriotic.

Ian Woolford, La Trobe academic

AUSTRALIA DAY HONOURS Our pieces on this year’s Australia Day honorees went online on 26 January.

Shalini Purohit wrote: Congratulations Mitra, so proud to have known you.

Atiya Gazali wrote: Congratulations, all.

Fiducian Financial Services wrote: Thank you Indian Link. We are so proud of the work Indy does and his passion to help change the lives of others.

Gowarappa Nagaraj wrote: Congratulations, Indy Singh.

Ashwini Mahajan wrote: Congratulations Dr Naker. What a wonderful achievement Mukund Shah wrote: Wonderful news.

Congratulations to Gunubhai for his contributions in so many activities.

Chandr Wadhw wrote: Heartiest congratulations to Dr. Naker from Wadhwana Family.

Shirish Mahajan wrote: Congratulations Dr. Naker Nirupa Prasad wrote: Congratulations Gunu Bhai, well deserved.

Manoj Ahuja wrote: Congrats Gunu Naker uncle Anil Bhatia wrote: Loved Preeti Jabbal’s piece on Tasneem Chopra OAM. Obviously a great thinker with a flair for effortless and effective communicating. An excellent line up of pertinent questions helped too. Makes interesting and motivational reading.

INVESTING IN INDIA

We brought you the story of the Sydney-based Ellerston Capital’s work in Indian equities.

Mukand Kaushik wrote: Good of you to provide us information about investments in the Indian Stock Market through Ellerston Capital. Appreciate it, and also the other subjects of interest to us.

Fellow humans who are Sikhs, I am as moved by the sacrifices your relatives made as I am by the loss of all those who die in war, whatever creed or colour. Please accept my apology for being clumsy in the way I expressed myself."

British actor Laurence Fox, who had spoken about "the oddness in the casting" of a Sikh soldier in Sam Mendes' movie 1917, describing it as “forcing diversity” on viewers

www.indianlink.com.au

KOALAS IN CRISIS MELISSA DOMINGO RAWAT wrote about an Indian family in Hyderabad who have adopted sick koalas in treatment at Port Macquarie’s Koala Hospital.

Dhanya Samuel wrote: An incredible gesture!

Sriganesh Srihari wrote: Just adopted Anwen koala who has suffered burns on hands and feet from the #AustraliaBushfires.

She is being treated at the Koala hospital in NSW. Get well soon, Anwen!

CAPTION CONTEST What’s Taimur Ali Khan thinking as he returns to India from his Australia trip?

Nisha Bharadwaj wrote: When I grow up I’m going to go back to Australia, work as a chef, live in a beautiful house on the Great Ocean Road too fancy for a chef, and find myself a radio personality girlfriend.

Saloni B wrote: Will I get TimTams in India?

Riya Chaurasia wrote: I want to hug another koala! Take me back!

Sudharshan Bachil wrote: Aa gaye mere dost photu khichne!

Meena Lad wrote: Australia airport ke bahar kyun kisi ne mera photo nahi khicha?

INDIAN LINK POLL Harry and Meghan’s decision to split from their family formed the basis of this poll. Would you ever take a similar step and move away from your family?

Never. I’ll find a way to reach consensus with those I’m not currently seeing eye to eye 52.5% Yes, if it’s the last resort and staying becomes unbearable 47.5% Padmini Sunderaj wrote: You are better off having a more meaningful poll on the very purpose of monarchy in 2020 generally, and more specifically, the need for Australia to become a Republic and leave the veil of a Queen far behind.

I think we’ve seen something very special today in Yashasvi Jaiswal.

First time for me watching him live. A young guy who can pace his innings to the team’s needs. He understands batsmanship.

Ian Bishop, cricket commentator NATIONAL EDITION

MY INSTA Send us a photo (or Instagram one) of Indian Link in your daily life, and we’ll pick one to feature here. Reader Peter Lucas sent us this pic of his dog Mili: Can I eat my Indian Link now that I have finished reading it?

A few weeks ago, I met a group of Sikh volunteers in Bairnsdale. They'd left their homes in Cranbourne and hit the road to help feed the thousands of people who had been displaced by the bushfires. And they weren't the only ones. Everywhere I've been, ordinary Victorians from all walks of life are on the frontline fighting fires, cleaning up, fundraising – and providing comfort to those who need it. Yesterday morning, I joined members of our multifaith community on the steps of Parliament. We came together to acknowledge the incredible work done by Victorians – and by our overseas friends – over the summer. And to say thank you.

Dan Andrews, Premier of Victoria FEBRUARY 2020 9

COVER STORY

U O N O H Y A D A I L A R T S AU

GIVING THE GIFT OF SIGHT INDERJIT (INDY) SINGH, OAM For service to the international community through eye care programs

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f you can give the gift of eyesight, you can give new life. So says Inderjit (Indy) Singh, Sydney-based entrepreneur and philanthropist, who has done exemplary work with his charitable foundation Vision Beyond Aus. “For the poor and blind, life is not worth living,” he told Indian Link. “Family members go out to work leaving them alone, with no one to help them with their most basic needs.

The effects blindness can have on children in this section of society, girls in particular, is even more heartbreaking.”

Some 38,000 people have had their lives turned around thanks to Vision Beyond Aus, although its founder Indy has his aim set firmly at 100,000.

Indy was first introduced to the idea of charitable work in eye care idea by close friends Dr Jay Chandra AM and Dr Shailja Chandra.

“As an ophthalmologist, Jay was running eye care programs among the needy in different parts of the world that Shailja helped organise,” Indy recounted. “It was very

inspiring. Later at the Rotary Club of Sydney, I was able to take this up myself in a major way, and set up the foundation in 2011.”

No doubt the legendary Fred Hollows was an inspiration too.

“Yes most definitely, but we go where Fred doesn’t always go – and our model is different. I raise the finds here, and we work in association with local hospitals and doctors. I’ve realised that local knowledge and expertise is vital to our program.”

The initiative has been taken to cities across India, Nepal, Myanmar and Cambodia, and plans are afoot for Ethiopia next.

“Nepal has been particularly welcoming and our program has been most successful there,” Indy revealed. “We’ve now started screening schoolkids in rural areas - 6000 screenings were performed last year alone.

Our free gift of two notebooks each to the kids with the large kangaroo design on the front probably helped bring the kids in!”

As well, said Indy, when the doctors in the program come to Australia to present at conferences here, such as a brilliant young doctor from Ayodhya recently, it is enriching for them too in a whole new way.

There are many tales that Indy can tell from his work with Vision Beyond Aus. In one, a doctor told a recovering patient in southern India that funds from Australia had helped her to see. She replied, “I don’t know where Australia is, but God must live there.”

Indy Singh is well-known in the financial services industry in Australia as Founder and Executive Chairman of the Fiducian Group. Last year he was recognised by the

Money Management magazine with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Launched in 1996, Fiducian offers funds management, financial planning, platform administration, financial planning software and administration systems development.

A Lucknow lad, Indy was educated at the prestigious Doon School and then IIT. “My family owned a steel rolling mill and a transport business,” he revealed. “But I had different aspirations from the family, and from the business world in India then. I worked briefly in Mumbai and Kolkata, and then in Nigeria. My wife and I came here for a holiday and liked it so much we decided we must bring up our kids here. We moved here in 1984.”

Fiducian has been a particularly satisfying career highlight. “I was able to compete with the big banks and institutions and operate in a similar marketplace. In the end, it helped me to help humanity in my own small way.”

The seed for social justice though was planted at an impressionable age. “At Doon School, the boys were encouraged to get into remote communities, clean, build, teach, and serve in other ways. The students came from families of multimillionaires and maharajas, but we all did it. For me particularly, it set me on the path to humanitarian work.”

Indy hopes to use his OAM honour to motivate New Australians.

“I’d love to mentor young migrants from India. I’m quite impressed with those I have met, or worked with, in recent years. I’d love to be able to guide them towards helping those in need, and for them to know that if I can get this honour, then they can too.”

He continued, “I’d say to them, make a commitment to this country. Learn to love it.

Put aside the ‘one foot here, one foot there’ feeling. Adopt this country as your home, without forgetting your origins.”

Rajni Anand Luthra

BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER WITH FOOD PROMILLA GUPTA, OAM For service to the Indian community and to multiculturalism

C

reativity, cooking and community service are the 3 Cs that keep Promilla Gupta going. She has been involved not only with the Indian community, but with the wider multicultural community in two states.

Pammi Gupta as she is affectionately known, is that friend or aunty who is always enthusiastic, ready to join in or help out. As President of the Indian Australian Association in Adelaide in 2007-2009, and more recently in Newcastle, she is well-known for her event management skills, easy-going manner and ability to bring the community together.

“Sharing a meal is a wonderfully enriching communal experience,” Promilla Gupta told Indian Link. “Food brings friends, families

10 FEBRUARY 2020

and communities together. Cooking has been my lifelong passion, and through it I have found a way to give back to the Australian society that has given me so much.”

Over the last 35 years, Promilla has used her love for food in a multitude of ways – running a restaurant, writing books, doing radio shows, teaching cooking, cooking to fundraise, and simply feeding newly arrived migrants and international students nutritious meals.

Promilla and husband Satish Gupta migrated to Australia in 1983 to the steel town of Whyalla where they lived for nearly 20 years, before moving to Adelaide in 2002. In Whyalla Promilla ran an Indian restaurant and

also taught cooking at the local TAFE College.

She also gave Indian cooking demonstrations and held classes at Migrant Resource Centre, community centres, schools etc.

She also got involved in community work.

She organised various cultural functions, with 'Brides of India' and 'International Fashion Parade' proving to very popular. She also helped raise funds of about $20,000 for the Spastic Centres of South Australia.

Promilla has written 2 vegetarian cookbooks and is now writing a third. She has popularised Indian cooking everywhere she has lived, conducting classes and cooking shows, publishing recipes, giving radio talks and teaching at the University of the Third Age. In Newcastle, she started the Indian Super Chef competition which is likely to become an annual event.

Promilla’s creativity and love for life can be seen in the movie she made and acted in called Five Spices in Adelaide. It was a multicultural short film about five women from different ethnic backgrounds who learn to live together in harmony.

Teaming up with Salvation Army, Promilla volunteered to cook for about 120 homeless

people every month. She also took many international students under her wing, teaching them cooking, helping them settle and cope with life.

Amongst her many accolades, Promilla lists a Pride of Australia Award in the Fair Go category (2006); Campbelltown Council’s Citizen of the Year (2007), and being a finalist in the Irene Krastev Award on International Women’s Day (2007).

She is a chef, an author, an anchor, a tutor at WEA, a tour leader for tours to India and runs her own business named ‘Promilla’s Kitchen’.

How does she fit so much in? “I am just a positive minded person,” she replied simply.

Pammi can’t praise her family enough for the encouragement they give her.“I’m particularly indebted to my husband Satish without whose encouragement and support (and recipe tastings!) I would not have been able to achieve so much.”

She greatly enjoys helping her kids (Nitin, a paediatrician, and Shivani, a motivational speaker), and four grandchildren acquire cooking skills too.

Vinaya Rai

www.indianlink.com.au

URS DIVERSITY CHAMPION TASNEEM CHOPRA, OAM For service to the community through a range of roles

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ctivist, writer, speaker, curator, cross-cultural consultant, anti-racism campaigner, the Melbourne-based Tasneem Chopra has emerged as a huge creative force in recent years. Speaking and writing about diversity, cultural competence and intersectional discrimination, she’s a regular on ABC TV, ABC Radio, SBS Life, The Guardian, The Age and The Australian.

With a soft-spoken demeanour that belies an underlying courage in conviction, her trademark turban and Africaninspired attire, which sometimes draw first attention, quickly pale into insignificance by the sheer power of her words. It’s as if she’s trying to say, stop looking at me and listen to what I have to say: I am more than the colour of my skin.

It’s what put her on many women-towatch, movers-and-shakers, and topthinker lists, and on the board of a variety of organisations such as The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), NOW Australia, Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights, Luke Batty Foundation and Lentil As Anything.

Congratulations on the OAM honour. How do you think this will help further your cause?

Receiving the honour is symbolic. If the premise is to acknowledge the platform that diverse Australians have, to draw attention to their accomplishments or their achievement or struggles or disadvantages, then it’s a positive. I think there are some highlights that have definitely been overlooked by mainstream media and acknowledgement of the success of diverse Australians in this capacity is very educative.

What draws you to activism on diversity and religion?

I wanted to be a catalyst by having the opportunity to represent the narrative of a particular community that was being misrepresented. In the case of women of colour or Muslim women or women of different cultural backgrounds, often the picture can be quite negative or overlooked. I had the privilege of education, employment and networking here in Australia and I felt that it was my responsibility to use that to communicate what the people of my community are capable of and have done. We need to take the role of leadership and media and use it responsibly.

In your opinion what undermines the democratic process most when it comes to mainstream media as it is today?

It is the monopoly of Australian media NATIONAL EDITION

that is owned by a few individuals: their personal vision is shaping how media responds to issues, and their take on everything from immigration to climate change. It is particularly difficult to tackle this and this is the experience of a vast ‘minority’ of Australians.

You are involved in a variety of causes and on the board of several organisations like Ambulance Victoria and ACMI. Is there a common thread that attracts you to these eclectic fields?

I am particularly proud to be associated with Ambulance Victoria. The work of that organisation in providing health care to Victorians is something to be proud of. I have a strong interest in ACMI particularly in a climate where the value of the arts is being affected by cuts in funding.

These organisations are pushing the agenda of story-telling and their voices are very important. The interest I have in them is being with people - the inclusion of community - as these are issues that both these organisations address.

Pertinent to my interest is the fact that it is increasingly important for diverse Australians to be seen as representative voices on all platforms, and not just be experts in their cultural field. The opportunity to sit on boards from a variety of backgrounds is reflecting the fact that diverse Australians have a variety of capacity and we should not just be pigeonholed within the ethnic point.

How do you measure the success of your efforts? How do you know that a change is being generated?

The small-picture indication would be the feedback I get, especially from young people.

During presentations in schools people

often come up to me privately or send me a message online saying “I am so glad that you came and spoke at our school today as we never get a speaker that looks like us”.

The big-story validation is when in the space of culture-conscious training, many corporate organisations are increasingly seeking diversity in their leadership. This is also on the agenda for councils, marketing organisations, media and many others.

Diversity was not on the agenda fifteen years ago but it is now and it is a clear indication that the issue is finally having traction and making change.

What would you consider as the most rewarding part of your work?

I really enjoy working with students, particularly from high schools. Their appetite for knowledge is enormous. We tend to underestimate how open minded, inquisitive and critical their young minds can be. When I speak to them about identity and belonging, their maturity and understanding is very sophisticated and I find I grow with that transaction. I go to give them a presentation but I come out of it richer and wiser.

One of the causes you support is Lentil as Anything. Tell us about your experience with this unique concept.

One of the most exciting, enlightening and educating boards that I have ever been on, is Lentil As Anything. I went there to attend a meeting with my friend Shanaka Fernando, the founder of Lentil and eventually ended up chairing the organisation for a few years. There were many challenges but the strength of the people involved and their ideas and efforts kept the organisation strong and going.

It is very inclusive and you can eat there

no matter what your background. It’s an amazing concept relying on the goodwill of people. The pay-as-you-feel movement created by Lentil as Anything is one of the first modern social enterprises, a restaurant that provides food to anyone that drops in. Their contribution model where patrons are encouraged to donate what they can through labour, skill or money promotes social cohesion.

How do you achieve work-life balance despite hectic schedules?

I have some wonderful colleagues in the sector who understand the politics of the climate we work with and have shared interests and experiences with me. My kids are grown up and are young adults now and they keep me grounded. I also draw strength from my mother, a proud Indian Kenyan woman who migrated to this country, settled down and succeeded so well in raising a family against the odds in a country town where we lived. She continues to inspire me.

What would you suggest to someone who wishes to become an activist starting from an area of disadvantage, be it their gender, minority status or religious affiliation?

My suggestion would be not to underestimate minority experience.

America by 2030 will be a majorityminority country. Australia seems to be behind the eight ball but with the amount of diversity we have, I can definitely say that diverse Australians will be incredible game changers in all sectors.

My suggestion is, don’t hide, and don’t look at diversity as a liability - it is the most underutilised asset that we have, so embrace it and put it forward.

Preeti Jabbal FEBRUARY 2020 11

COVER STORY

U O N O H Y A D A I L A R T S AU

WHY WE NEED ASIAN STUDIES Prof.

SARVADAMAN SINGH, OAM For service to tertiary education and to the community

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risbane-based historian and academic Prof.Sarvadaman Singh is thrilled to be named in this year’s Australia Day Honours.

“I’m very happy to be honoured by a country that I chose to move to and call my own; it’s a matter of great gratification to have my work recognised,” he told Indian Link.

He taught Asian and South East Asian history at the University of Queensland until he retired in 1999.

“I taught courses at university and delivered public lectures on the art, culture, philosophy and religion of India and other Asian countries, and supervised research,” he said.

He has been Director of the Institute of Asian Studies in Brisbane since 2001.

Prof. Singh studied at the University of Lucknow and then took a PhD from the University of London. After teaching at various universities in northern India in senior positions, he moved to the University of Queensland in 1975 where he took a second PhD. A prolific writer, Prof. Singh’s works have been of interest to the academic community as well as the general public. A wide array of topics caught his attention as subject matter, including his native Lucknow, ancient Indian warfare, polyandry in ancient India, contemporary art, architecture and diasporic Indians.

He is particularly proud of his latest work Understanding Gandhi: A Mahatma in the Making 1869-1914 (Vij Books India, 2018), produced in time for the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma

Gandhi.

“I urge you to read it,” he said. “I know there’s much written about Gandhi already, but I have something new to say about him.

I view the book as a service to Gandhi and to the nation.”

Prof. Singh lamented that in recent years there has been a downgradation of Indian studies at Australia’s universities.

“At a time when Australia wants to engage economically with India more than they did before, there’s just not enough attention to the study of its civilisation any more. They’ve scuttled that early legacy,

and that is saddening.”

Perhaps this is the lack he is attempting to fill at the Institute of Asian Studies, by stimulating a deeper awareness about Asia and India.

“The lectures we organise are given and attended by academics as well as others who have an intellectual curiosity about the world around them,” he revealed.

How does Prof. Singh hope to use his OAM honour, going forward? “I’d like to keep serving the community. To continue contributing to my knowledge area and thereby increasing the understanding of –

and goodwill for – India.”

Within the Indian community in Queensland, Prof. Singh has had high profile. He served as the Honorary Consul of India in Queensland from 2003 to 2011.

Before that, he founded the Indian Cultural Association in 1982, and was the President of the Asian Australian Action Committee, 1984-1986.

To new migrants, Prof. Singh has this to say: “Come and live here in peace. Learn.

Adjust. Be honest and sincere. And don’t waste your time.”

Rajni Anand Luthra

EDUCATING AUSTRALIA’S FUTURE DOCTORS Dr. SANGHAMITRA GUHA, AM For significant service to medicine, and to medical education.

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he Adelaide-based Dr Sanghamitra Guha AM told Indian Link, “I feel very honoured to be receiving the AM. It is a recognition of my role in training junior doctors.”

Dr.Guha has spent a significant portion of her career in training the next generations of physicians.

Mitra Guha is currently the Director of Physician Training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia’s leading public hospital, and Associate Professor

at the University of Adelaide’s School of Medicine.

The Kolkata-born Mitra finished school in Malaysia before moving to Adelaide in 1971. She studied medicine at the University of Adelaide and obtained her MBBS in 1978.

After further studies as a physician, she decided to specialise in endocrinology as she felt “it is intellectually stimulating and professionally challenging.”

She became a senior Consultant Endocrinologist in 1987, Director of Post-

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URS LOVE ALL, SERVE ALL Dr. GUNVANTRAI PREMJI NAKER, OAM For service to the international community and to medicine

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sk Dr. Gunu Naker what his proudest achievement has been in his 50-year career as a GP, and he’ll say with characteristic modesty, “Respect from my patients and their confidence in me.”

Having been felicitated with the OAM in this year’s Australia Day Honours, Dr Naker told Indian Link he felt “humbled and honoured.”

Dr. Naker currently works at Eastbrooke Medical Centres, Carlton NSW. Born and brought up in Arusha Tanzania, he took his medical degree from the University of Bombay’s prestigious Grant Medical College. He arrived in Australia soon after.

As a dedicated doctor, he has constantly upskilled, in order to provide the best care for his patients.

“I did a fellowship in acupuncture FAMAC (Fellowship of the Australian Medical Acupuncture College) as I realised that NSAIDs (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs) have many adverse reactions. I also took an MPM from UNSW for upskilling in mental health.

Seeing that many of my patients needed after-hours care, I got involved with the St George GP After Hours service at St. George Private Hospital and also provided voluntary service on the committee.”

Within Sydney’s Indian community, he is well known for his voluntary work with various charitable organisations.

A deeply spiritual person, he found his own values in sync with those of Indian spiritual movement the Sathya Sai organisation.

“Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi, Prem and Ahimsa (Truth, Duty, Peace, Love and Nonviolence) had been guiding principles in my own life,

and I felt drawn to the organisation’s ‘Love All Serve All’ maxim.”

Indeed, to this day, he signs off his emails with these very words.

Dr. Naker has been involved in the Sathya Sai International Organisation since its inception in Australia in 1983.

As a doctor he has been able to use his skills in communities that have most needed help, serving as Co-Convenor of the Sai Medical Wing since 2003, and as Team Leader of the Sai Medical Camp in Fiji since 2006. Today he is the driving force behind the Sai Medical Camp that is conducted every year. He has encouraged other doctors and allied health specialists such as physiotherapists to volunteer their services in numerous outreach programs in Fiji. The large group that accompanies him to Fiji every year, conducts medical

checks and provides much-needed support and assistance.

“Our future plan is to upskill local medical and allied workers,” he revealed.

“We have been able to establish relationships with Fiji’s Ministry of Health to be able to do this. I have also had the opportunity to serve at Sathya Sai’s charitable hospitals in Gujarat India on a volunteer basis.”

Dr. Naker’s passion, drive and great skill not only as a doctor but also a leader have also come to the fore in his activities at RAIN (Resourceful Australian Indian Network). The group first approached him in 2007 to help raise funds for a seniors’ centre, a service for the frail aged in the Indian sub-continent community. Very shortly, Dr. Naker was on the group’s executive committee. Working tirelessly to raise funds to get the centre at Penshurst

up and going, he has helped set RAIN up as a model organisation as it serves the needs of some 150 seniors. His garden project and meditation initiatives have seen the seniors engage positively. RAIN also provides social support and home care packages with funding from the Commonwealth Government.

What attracts Dr. Naker to social work?

“I’ve been involved in charitable activities since childhood. The Scouts in my younger years and NCC (National Cadet Corps) at university are some of my fondest early memories. I’m still moved by the words ‘to do my duty to my God and my country’. They will continue to inspire me towards selfless service till this body allows me.”

Rajni Anand Luthra with Sudha Natarajan

graduate Education in 1990 and Director of Diabetes Services in 1996.

Apart from a year overseas at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston USA on a fellowship programme, all of her medical career has been with the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

As a Fellow since 1986, Mitra has played an active role in the Adult Medicine division of the RACP (Royal College of Physicians) for a number of years, including being Member of the Advanced Training Committee in Cardiology, Pharmacology and Neurology. She is the recipient of

the College’s Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Education in 2016 and, in 2010 Excellence in Mentorship Award in Physician Education category.

She was also Chair of Accreditation Committee of SA Medical Education and Training for eight years since 2010.

All of the above roles speak eloquently of her commitment to training and education of medical professionals. When asked to identify a career highlight, she was quick to respond: “Watching my interns emerge as well-trained and qualified physicians.”

What does she have to say, though, about the allegedly draconian laws for admitting India-qualified (or overseas-trained) doctors?

“There are many who have passed! It is not unreasonable to expect that the authorities must be confident that the doctors coming here to serve are capable and confident, and comfortable in their roles. My advice to those who are going through the process currently would be to keep persisting. Be confident of your clinical skills; familiarise yourself

with the clinical setting rather than merely concentrating on theoretical understanding.”

Belying the erroneous belief that professionals in scientific fields are less inclined towards things related to arts, Mitra has had deep involvement with the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society of Adelaide, having been its Deputy Chair and then Chair for two years. You can’t separate a Bengali from the love of arts.

LP Ayer

NATIONAL EDITION

FEBRUARY 2020 13

COVER STORY

S R U O N O H Y A AUSTR ALIA D OPEN HEART Dr. SADANAND LIMAYE, OAM For service to medicine, and to the multicultural community

I

am greatly honoured,” Dr. Sadanand Limaye told Indian Link, full of humility. “I don’t know what I have done to be bestowed this great honour, but someone thought I was worthy of it, and I feel immensely honoured!”

A cardiologist and humanitarian, Dr. Limaye is well-known in Adelaide’s Indian community, of which he has been a part since 1974.

He is just as well-regarded at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, which sponsored him when he first came out here, and where he continued to work until recently.

“It was where I became a cardiologist in 1979,” Dr. Limaye recalled.

In 1985 Dr.Limaye requested that he would like to work part-time at the hospital and start his private practice.

They easily agreed and the practice that he

started nearly 25 years ago as a one-man service, Northern Cardiology at Elizabeth Vale, had 16 cardiologists when he left. He only retired fully from his practice about 18 months ago at the age of 76.

Sadanand Limaye was born in Naldurg in Maharashtra. His father was a civil engineer and transferred from place to place quite regularly, so young Sadanand did not attend school until he was 10 years old.

“My dad taught me English and Maths at home and that was it!” Dr. Limaye recounted, laughing. “When I was in Year 10, my father

decided to settle down in Aurangabad. I finished school there and went on to study at the Government Medical College.”

In 1971 his wife Shobha (also a doctor) and he moved to the UK. He did his MRCPA in London and the plan was to go to the US. However, he would have to start as an intern in the US and this did not appeal to them. Then, his neighbour, who was Australian, suggested Australia. “You land in the morning and you will have a job in the afternoon!”

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide sponsored him, and Dr.Limaye says they arrived with 10 pounds in his pocket. “I was the 10-pound non-pom,” he laughed.

Dr. Limaye retired from Queen Elizabeth Hospital several years ago, but still went as a volunteer and taught students, registrars and others, sharing his years of knowledge and experience. For 25 years he has been going to Port Pirie once a month to provide a cardiac service there. In his private practice he did not charge the gap and bulk-billed patients so that they wouldn’t be out of pocket.

Dr. Sadanand Limaye was also the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by South Australian Indian Medical Association (SAIMA) in 2010. A great honour indeed to be recognised and feted by his peers.

Upon retirement, Dr.Limaye has devoted his energies to community work and the study of Hindu philosophy and religion and the Sanskrit language as an auto-didact.

“There is so much to learn,” he mused, “especially Sanskrit grammar. And the scriptures.”

Today he conducts weekly classes at his home on the Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita etc. He also performs pujas upon request. When Adelaide’s Ganesha Temple first started in 1985 and there was no regular priest, Dr. Limaye was one of the people conducting the worship. He also solemnizes marriages. He has conducted more than 25 weddings - two in India, two in America and some interstate in Australia!

How does he find the energy and inspiration to do so much?

“My wife and I lead active lives,” he replied with a smile. “I have everything I want, no complaints!”

He recounted an incident when, as an 18-month-old baby he had trachoma in his eyes and his parents thought that he might become blind. His mother took him to the TuljaBhavani Temple in Tuljapur and prayed for his recovery. Soon thereafter, he was able to open his eyes, and, he says, he has not had to wear glasses until very recently. And even then, just for reading.

“I am happy. My name Sadanand means ‘happy forever’. And I am!” he laughed. “My greatest happiness is my family. My wife is always by my side. Our two daughters Vidya and Sandhya have professionally done very well and this is a great satisfaction for us.”

Vinaya Rai

President of the Australian Association of Group Psychotherapy. In 2000, Sabar was elected President of the International Association of Group Psychotherapy, having already served as Treasurer. She held this post till 2003, and has been on the Board of Directors till today.

Recalling a career highlight, Sabar recounted her work with psychosis. “As part of my research I carried out a unique 22-month experiment in the treatment of first and second episode psychosis with 35 patients. The results were dramatic, curing all but one patient.”

Delighted to have received the Australia

Day recognition Sabar shared with Indian Link her interpretations of Freudian concepts with stories of dream symbolism, the unconscious, fixations and defense mechanisms. She also dwelt on the highlights of her long and distinguished career.

Communicating hope and optimism formed a major part of Sabar’s professional life. She recalled a patient who was admitted to the Casualty Department at Monash wanting to commit suicide and jump to death along with her young son.

With warmth and compassion Sabar was able to convince her patient that taking her own life was not the solution. Her creative approach to problem solving helped improve many lives.

Sabar has travelled the world extensively giving lectures on Group and Individual Psychotherapy, particularly in Japan, UK, USA, Italy, Greece, India and Spain.

Her published works on subjects like Containment and Failures of Containment, Creativity of Social Dreaming, Solitude and Agony of Unbearable Shame, and working between Eastern and Western cultures have been well-received in professional circles.

Sabar has now retired but continues to contribute to her field in various ways. She is currently in the process of publishing her book on Analytic Psychotherapy titled From Contempt To Dignity.

Simmi Singh

HEALING WITH INNER WORK Dr. SABAR RUSTOMJEE, AM For significant service to psychotherapy, and to community health

S

he has spent a lifetime listening to people’s stories with empathy, compassion and respect. In a career spanning over 50 years, Melbourne-based psychotherapist Dr. Sabar Rustomjee has helped people navigate some of the most challenging times in their lives. Dedicated to redefining possibilities and improving lives, she is a proud recipient of the OAM honour this Australia Day. Speaking with Indian Link Sabar detailed her life story. “I was born in Sri Lanka in a Parsi family of doctors. Even as a young child I knew I wanted to be a medical practitioner; I would wear my father’s stethoscope and parade around the house pretending to be a doctor.

My father’s untimely illness caused the family to move to Mumbai, India for his treatment. I was only six years old when we lost him to cancer. My Indian mother raised my sister and I in Mumbai providing

14 FEBRUARY 2020

us the best education and upbringing despite struggling on a paltry pension.”

Sabar qualified, by scholarship, to enter the prestigious Grant Medical College, graduated with honours in 1959 and became a medical practitioner. Soon after her internship she migrated to Sri Lanka to marry Dr. Piloo Rustomjee, a trainee surgeon. After a decade of working in Sri Lanka, followed by a stint in studying Pediatrics in Liverpool UK, Sabar moved to Shepparton in Victoria in 1969 with her family. She started working with the Mental Health Authority, Victoria, in March 1969. It was during that time that she was introduced to Individual and Group Psychotherapy by her ‘brilliant’ supervisor Dr. Tom Murray.

Profoundly influenced by Sigmund Freud and his theories Sabar continued to grow the breadth and depth of her knowledge by obtaining a Diploma of Psychological Medicine and Membership of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry.

In 1986 she joined the Monash Medical Centre as Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. Her work there included Liaison Psychiatry in the Renal Unit and in the Breast Cancer Group of Patients.

Her interest in Group Psychotherapy grew and in 1996, she was elected

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NATIONAL EDITION

FEBRUARY 2020 15

Tougher laws Safer workplaces

Everyone Every workplace

From July, workplace manslaughter will be a jailable offence.

It’s every employer’s responsibility to make sure their employees stay safe at work and return home every day. If you fail to do your job, we’ll do ours, and make sure you face the law. Because from July, workplace manslaughter will be a jailable offence. We’re enforcing tougher laws to ensure safer workplaces. worksafe.vic.gov.au

16 FEBRUARY 2020

www.indianlink.com.au

MAINSTREAM

2019 nCoV: Local tourism operators feel the crunch The nation’s tourism economy is suffering billion-dollar losses with its largest tourist demographic facing tight travel restrictions

W

ith Chinese travel restrictions set following the recent corona epidemic, concerns have been raised by Australia’s tourism industry about a potential revenue loss of one billion dollars.

Following the novel coronavirus (2019nCoV) outbreak, the Department of Home Affairs announced in late January that Australia will deny entry to anyone who has left or transited mainland China from 1 February.

Mainland Chinese travellers who managed to reach Australia from 1 February 2020 have had their visas cancelled and have been placed in a detention area for quarantine.

The travel advisory to China currently stands at Level 4 - Do Not Travel - and includes travel to all of mainland China.

Travel operators have already begun to feel the crunch. Simrranjit Siingh of the Sydney-based Fortune World Travel told Indian Link, “With cancelled operations, passengers who had booked have been affected already. The advisory against travel is until 29 March so until then we will feel the impact for sure.”

He added, “The travel industry is usually the first to feel an immediate impact by issues such as communicable diseases or NATIONAL EDITION

Sudhir Warrier of Australian Cruise Group

terrorism. With China involved, it is even more impactful, given they are a huge market in our industry. The China-US trade wars alone saw IATA projections down 25-30%. In recent weeks, we’ve seen the Chinese New Year traffic affected.”

Sudhir Warrier, Executive Chairman of the Australian Cruise Group, a major Sydney-based travel business, agrees there are there are significant concerns at this point.

“The impact I believe could last upwards of three months,” he told Indian Link.

“In fact I think it has been underplayed for two reasons: one, the travel ban has been extended, and two, no one in China is booking a holiday currently. With this double effect, it will be some time before we regain momentum.”

Warrier’s fleet of cruise boats - including Sydney Showboat, Magistic Cruises and Clearview Glass Boat - take a significant share of the China tourist business.

“Travel is down from other countries like Japan and Korea as well,” he noted.

“There’s a level of paranoia. Other

destinations within the country such as Cairns that don’t see much domestic travellers will be severely impacted.”

“My other concern is for the huge logistical infrastructure in our industry; the travel buses, the tour guides, the support staff, the supply chains - there will be significant disruption there.”

That the virus has come on top of the bushfire crisis has been an added worry for the travel industry.

Simrranjit Siingh observed, “With the bushfires, we could influence the consumer by saying you won’t be travelling to the interior. But when there’s a global health issue, travellers are rightfully wary, no one wants to risk it. To have had such a bad start to the year, the next six months will be difficult.”

Luckily, he notes that there’s been no change in passengers coming inward from India. As well, the T20 World Cup is round the corner, and there are hopes from there.

The government has announced that the travel ban will be reviewed soon. Extension of the ban is subject to the advice of medical professionals.

Latest reports show that 12 cases of the virus have been confirmed in Australia.

Rajni Anand Luthra and Nisha Sreenivasan FEBRUARY 2020 17

INDIAN NEWS A handout photo made available by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) shows Indians who returned from China, playing table tennis at a quarantine centre set up at Chhawla, New Delhi, 03 February 2020. The ITBP is taking care of 404 people, who were evacuated from China in view of the coronavirus outbreak at the special facility at Chhawla.

Photo: AP

Group of ministers formed to tackle coronavirus threat A Group of Ministers (GoM) has been formed to deal with the coronavirus on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It includes Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Foreign Minister S.S. Jaishankar, Minister of State for Home Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Health Ashwani Kumar Choubey and Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Lal Mandavia.

The GoM constituted by the Prime Minister will look after operations related to the preparation, management, review and evaluation of the prevention of coronavirus in the country.

The first meeting of the GoM took place at New Delhi on 4 Feb chaired by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. In this meeting, a thorough review of preparations for prevention of coronavirus was made.

Relevant authorities made a presentation on the current situation of coronavirus before the GoM. Members were given updates about the three individuals infected with coronavirus in Kerala. Steps being taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus across the country were discussed.

The GoM was also informed about the two camps run by the Indo-Tibetan Border Force in Delhi and by the Indian Army at Gurugram near Delhi. 645 Indians have been kept in both these camps after they were brought safely to New Delhi from Wuhan province of China.

It was reported at the meeting that a total of 593 aircraft passengers coming from abroad had been tested so far. Thermal screening of 72,353 passengers has been undertaken.

Thermal screening is now being done at 21 different airports of the country. As of 4 Feb, 2,815 aircraft passengers from different countries have been put on surveillance.

Samples of 338 people have been sent for testing, of which 335 have been found completely safe.

The Union Health Ministry has appointed the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune as the nodal centre for testing coronavirus. Currently, samples of coronavirus are being tested at 12 different locations in the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad.

Notably, 361 people have died of coronavirus in China so far. At the same time, 18 FEBRUARY 2020

more than 17,000 people are suffering from this infection.

Arvind Krishna: IBMer joins elite Indian-origin CEOs club Indian-American Arvind Krishna, the newly-appointed CEO of the world's oldest technology company IBM, has joined the highprofile league of Indian-American honchos who are calling the shots at the $1-trillion strong companies in Silicon Valley.

Krishna, 57, joins Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Alphabet and Google’s Sundar Pichai, Adobe’s Santanu Narayan and Mastercard's Ajay Banga in an elite Indian-origin CEO club.

Arvind Krishna will take over from longserving Virginia 'Ginni' Rometty upon her retirement.

Currently IBM's Senior Vice President for Cloud and Cognitive Software and principal architect of the company's acquisition of Red Hat, Krishna will also be a member of the Board of Directors, effective from 6 April.

An IBM veteran who joined the company 30 years back, Krishna did his schooling from Stanes Higher Secondary School in Bedford, Coonoor.

He earned his BE in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (1980-1985) and took a PhD in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

His current responsibilities also include IBM Security and Cognitive Applications business, and IBM Research.

Previously, he was general manager of IBM's Systems and Technology Group's development and manufacturing organisation, according to the company. Prior to that, Krishna built and led many of IBM's data-related businesses.

Last year, he led the largest acquisition in IBM's history - the $34 billion takeover of open source software giant Red Hat. "Arvind is the right CEO for the next era at IBM,” 62-year-old Rometty said. “He is a brilliant technologist who has played a significant role in developing our key technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud, quantum computing and blockchain."

"He is also a superb operational leader, able to win today while building the business of tomorrow. Arvind has grown IBM's Cloud and Cognitive Software business and led the largest acquisition in the company's history,"

she added.

"I am thrilled and humbled to be elected as the next Chief Executive Officer of IBM, and appreciate the confidence that Ginni and the Board have placed in me," said Krishna.

"I am looking forward to working with IBMers, Red Hatters and clients around the world at this unique time of fast-paced change in the IT industry," he added.

The company also announced that James Whitehurst, IBM Senior Vice President and CEO of Red Hat, will now be IBM President, effective April 6.

Nicknamed Big Blue, IBM is one of 30 companies included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and one of the world's largest employers, with over 350,000 employees, known as IBMers.

At least 70 per cent of IBMers are based outside the US, the largest being India.

Meanwhile, Narayen, Banga and Nadella were among the top 10 best-performing chief executives in the world, according to the latest Harvard Business Review (HBR) list.

While Narayen ranked 6th in the list of bestperforming 100 CEOs, Banga was placed at 7th position and Nadella at 9th.

Meanwhile, another India-origin technocrat has joined this elite CEO club. Co-sharing workspace company WeWork has named Indian-American real estate veteran Sandeep Mathrani as the new CEO of the company.

IIT Madras, UK researchers develop technology to make AI fairer Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) and Queen's University Belfast in UK, have developed an innovative new algorithm to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) fairer and less biased when processing data.

Companies often use AI technologies to sift through huge amounts of data in situations such as an oversubscribed job vacancy or in policing when there is a large volume of CCTV data linked to a crime.

"AI techniques for exploratory data analysis, known as 'clustering algorithms', are often criticised as being biased in terms of 'sensitive attributes' such as race, gender, age, religion and country of origin," said study researcher Deepak Padmanabhan from Queen's University Belfast.

It has been reported that white-sounding names received 50 per cent more call-backs than those with black-sounding names.

Studies also suggest that call-back rates tend to fall substantially for workers in their 40s and beyond.

When a company is faced with a process that involves lots of data, it is impossible to manually sift through this.

Clustering is a common process to use in processes such as recruitment where there are thousands of applications submitted.

While this may cut back on time in terms of sifting through large numbers of applications, there is a big catch. It is often observed that this clustering process exacerbates workplace discrimination by producing clusters that are highly skewed.

Over the last few years 'fair clustering' techniques have been developed and these prevent bias in a single chosen attribute, such as gender.

The research team has now developed a method that, for the first time, can achieve fairness in many attributes.

"Fairness in AI techniques is of significance in developing countries such as India. These countries experience drastic social and economic disparities and these are reflected in the data," said Savitha Abraham from IIT Madras.

"Employing AI techniques directly on raw data results in biased insights, which influence public policy and this could amplify existing disparities. The uptake of fairer AI methods is critical, especially in the public sector, when it comes to such scenarios," Abraham added.

Our fair clustering algorithm, called 'FairKM,' can be invoked with any number of specified sensitive attributes, leading to a much fairer process, researchers said.

In a way, FairKM takes a significant step towards algorithms assuming the role of ensuring fairness in shortlisting, especially in terms of human resources.

FairKM can be applied across a number of data scenarios where AI is being used to aid decision making, such as pro-active policing for crime prevention and detection of suspicious activities.

The research work is scheduled to be presented in Copenhagen in April 2020 at the EDBT 2020 conference in Denmark.

Ola goes to London Indian cab hailing major Ola has announced it will launch its operations in London on 10 Feb with over 20,000 registered drivers.

The ride hailing platform will be fully operational from day one, with its fleet of drivers having registered on the platform since it began onboarding a month ago.

“The overwhelmingly positive reception to Ola since launching in the UK in 2018 illustrates the significant demand from drivers, riders and communities. We are working closely with drivers to build a high quality and reliable service for Londoners,” Simon Smith, Head of Ola International, said in a statement.“Launching in London is a major

www.indianlink.com.au

India's Central Reserve Police Force Marching Contingent marches during the 71st Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, India, 26 January 2020. The Republic Day of India marks the adoption of the Constitution of India and the transition of the country to a Republic on 26 January 1950.

Photo: AP

milestone for us and we are keen to offer a first class experience for all our customers.”

The company aims to offer a differentiated experience on the platform with features such as 24×7 helplines for drivers and customers and an in-app emergency button, while providing the best quality of service through its large network of drivers across the city of London.

Ola’s passengers will benefit £25 worth of ride credit for signing up in the first week after the launch, the company added.

Ola, operating in the UK since 2018, obtained the licence to operate in London in 2019.The firm has expanded rapidly throughout the UK since its launch and will now operate across 28 local authorities.

Cities including Birmingham, Coventry and Warwick have seen more than double-digit growth in rides in the last quarter. To date, Ola has provided over 3 million rides with more than 11,000 drivers already operating on the platform in the UK.

Jane and Kito de Boer's Indian art collection to be on Christie's NY Items of Indian art from 'A Lasting Engagement: The Jane and Kito de Boer Collection' are set to go up on auction at Christie's South Asian Modern + Contemporary art sale in New York on 18 March 2020.

Numbering over 1,000 pieces, the collection is one of the largest and most varied collections of Indian art in private hands. It presents a survey of Indian painting from the late 19th century to the present day, covering major art movements, particularly the Bengal School, and includes significant works by Ganesh Pyne, Rameshwar Broota, Sayed Haider Raza, Francis Newton Souza, A. Ramachandran, Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, MaqboolFida Husain and K. Lama Goud among other artists.

Living between London and Dubai, Kito De Boer and his wife Jane Gowers are two of the most well-known international collectors of Indian art.

They have put together a remarkable collection with a broad historical scope and wide range of artists.

The couple began collecting more than 25 years ago when they moved to New Delhi, NATIONAL EDITION

and have continued their journey as patrons of Indian art and culture since then.

Describing how their interest in Indian art developed, Kito said,“We came from London in 1992 but it wasn't until we started living here that we were overwhelmed by the culture.

It started off with visiting places like Hampi, where you get a sense of what an extraordinary civilization India is. We then started to discover Indian classical music, classical dances and of course the food which was the easiest to learn.

Part of the culture was the visual culture, and that's when I suppose we chose to focus on art, because you can actually collect it and make the culture a part of yourselves. It was in the early days just one component of many, in terms of how do you engage with a society that is as dynamic, big and complicated as India as an outsider.”

Jane added,“The first work we bought is Bengali artist Ganesh Pyne from the Kumar gallery. I wanted to see more of his works there's a good one at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, but beyond that it was tough to source more of his work. Back in the day there was no internet, you couldn't find pictures of art you were trying to collect… there may have been pamphlets with terrible quality.

So I found out about who the collectors were of Pyne and then asked if I could visit their collections. The response was unanimously warm and positive.

People welcomed me with open arms and I went around looking at all these collections which was such a pleasure.”

Deepanjana Klein, International Head of Department for Contemporary Indian & Southeast Asian Art at Christie's, said of the collection, “It's an honour for us, the collection is so unique. As an auction house we see different kinds of collections - some have only trophy pieces, some speak and reek of great investments - people put together collections for various reasons. This collection is unique because it's got these few artists that they've collected in depth and you know it's all driven by the passion the two of them have for these artists.”

Two disused train coaches turned into classrooms in Mysuru You’ve heard of fine-dining on trains, hospitals

on trains, even exhibitions on trains. But have you ever come across a school holding classes in a train compartment?

Well, the Government Primary School in Ashokapuram Railway Colony within the Central Workshop in Mysuru has put creativity to good use to transform two disused coaches into classrooms, christened 'Nali Kali' in Kannada, which translates to 'joyful learning' in English.

South Western Railway Spokesperson E. Vijaya told IANS: "In Ashokapuram Colony, a government school was established in 1936 for students for Years 1 to 7 in three Type-II staff quarters. With the condition of staff quarters deteriorating over the years, two abandoned train coaches have since been refurbished and transformed into classrooms."

The refurbishment like wall panels, fans and lights - otherwise used in regular coaches - was undertaken voluntarily by the Mysore Central Workshop staff with a minimal expenditure of Rs 50,000 from the workshop account.

While one carriage serves as a classroom for children enrolled in two classes, the other serves as common place for lunch or other classroom activities.

"Both coaches have been re-painted in eyecatching colours, with alphabets and numerals painted on their exterior to inject an element of 'joy in learning' among the young minds," Vijaya said.

Bio-toilets have been installed outside the two coaches for students.

The school has 60 students in Years 1 to 7 on its rolls, mostly from families below the poverty line.

"We’re expecting the number of students to rise after the addition of two new classrooms," she said. “Next, we plan to reuse metal scrap from disused coaches to construct a roof over the entire premises."

In a similar project in another part of India, authorities in Madhya Pradesh's Dindori district had last year remodelled a government school to look like a train, in order to attract more students.

According to railway officials, since the district has tribal-dominated areas and no rail connectivity due to lack of development, a train is a sure-shot attraction among children.

Painted in shades of blue and yellow like iconic Indian trains,the doors and windows

resemble those of train compartments.

The school building's front portion was built to look like a train engine.

Interestingly, school teachers pooled their own money to build the unique building.

Schools in Madurai, Chennai and Rajasthan have also undertaken similar projects to attract students.

Sabyasachi teams up with H&M for 'ready-to-wear' collection Fashion brand H&M has announced its first global collaboration with the iconic Indian label Sabyasachi, to be launched on 16 April.

The Sabyasachi x H&M collaboration themed "Wanderlust" will present hand-crafted, eclectic travel pieces that will resonate with the modern global nomad wanting to add that "extra" to their wardrobe.

“I am happy to announce the collaboration with H&M, as it gives us the opportunity to spread the Sabyasachi aesthetic to a wider audience in India and worldwide,” Sabyasachi said in a statement. “Having done couture for the majority of my career, it is very exciting to bring that finesse of craft to 'ready-to-wear' and create whimsical and fluid silhouettes that bring relaxed sophistication to everyday life."

"At H&M, we are thrilled to announce our collaboration with iconic Indian designer Sabyasachi, known for his dynamic use of indigenous crafts and textiles - a language so stunning, that it permanently altered the fashion and design landscape of the country," added Ella Soccorsi, Concept Designer at Collaborations and Special collections, H&M. The collection takes cues from India's rich textile, craft and history, and mixes modern and traditional silhouettes with a nod towards athleisure and glamping.

A key highlight of this collection will be Indian textile and print traditions brought to life by the Sabyasachi Art Foundation, meticulously crafted, embroidery and multicultural silhouettes.

The collection will offer a complete fashion wardrobe for both ladies and men, including accessories. The collection will be available in all H&M stores in India as well as selected H&M flagship stores around the world and online.

IANS FEBRUARY 2020 19

KINDY KIDS

a m ’ I ADVIKA KISHORE

I finished all the tasks my teacher gave me. I liked colouring in. In the afternoon, I cried a little bit, not much, but I didn't know why I cried. I liked my teacher’s dress – it was red and yellow with flowers.

SABREEN SINGH

SAISHA MEHROTRA

My brother said school is six cruel hours of our lives every day.

Can I sit in my brother’s class in Year 4?

IVANA AURORA

Mum made me pose for photos.

20 FEBRUARY 2020

SIA SRINIVAAS

I want to go to big school in my new uniform. www.indianlink.com.au

now

ARIANA SARPAL

I want to see my friends and have fun but I hope they don’t teach maths today.

PARINA LANGE

VERONIKA SINGH

First day of school and guess what, Mum forgot my bag.

School is so cool.

AARAV VERMA

I’m going to have lots of friends.

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RAINAA KALIA

I love my school. I love my teacher. We play at school.

FEBRUARY 2020 21

BOOKS

On China and India in a dominant Asia As an upwardly mobile Asian supercontinent emerges, how will the China-India rivalry play out?

Smith

BY CHITRA SUDARSHAN

T

he rapid rise and rise of China, India and other Asian countries in the last 50 years has prompted several writers to reimagine a world where Asia will be ascendant. A seminal work by Stewart Gordon, written in 2007, titled When Asia Was the World, was a reminder to the world - especially the West - that before the advent of colonialism and European empires, Asia was the centre of the world that beckoned Europeans. In the ‘dark ages’ when intellectual, cultural and commercial life stagnated in Europe, Asian societies were brimming with ideas, excelling in new scientific discoveries and spreading their religions far and wide. Gordon argued that Asia was simply reclaiming its position in the world stage today after 500 years. Parag Khanna, in his new book The Future is Asian (2019) has argued something similar. Although for many in the world, the very mention of ‘Asia’ merely conjures up images of China, Khanna reminds us that Asia is a great deal bigger than just China, and encompasses everything from the Middle East to the Philippines, Indonesia to Korea. Although China has taken the lead in Asia, Africa and Latin America through its Belt and Road Initiative, Khanna argues it will not dominate Asia - or the world. While China is a major player in a broad Asian system, it is simply a feature of a highly prosperous Asian supercontinent now resurfacing on the world stage.

Be that as it may, China looms as the largest Asian giant today, its economy already the second largest in the world, and slated soon to become Number One in a decade or so. On a different tack, author Bertil Lintner in his thought provoking new book The Costliest Pearl (2019), highlights the struggle for supremacy in the Indian Ocean as the new Cold War, brought on by long-term Chinese strategy to replace the United States as the preeminent world power. China is using its economic power to gain a strategic foothold in the Indian Ocean with present or potential military bases that has been termed the

‘string of pearls’ - which has deeply unsettled India.

The costliest pearl that Xi wants is the Indian Ocean itself, and China’s re-entry into the Ocean after 600 years is part of its Belt and Road mega project - so much so that it has led to an informal ‘grand anti-Chinese alliance’ consisting of the US, India, Australia and Japan - and even France. So the future may be Asian; but there are some underlying and deep rivalries that cast a long shadow. What does it portend for intra-Asian interplay, particularly for China-India relations? John Garverhad predicted in 2001, in his book Protracted Conflict: Sino-Indian Rivalry in the Twentieth Century, that China would be so dominant even in South Asia that India would have to acknowledge Chinese hegemony at some stage. Almost two decades on, the Chinese economy is 5 times the size of India’s, and China has assumed a swagger once seen in Imperial European and newly emerging economies: a kind of disdain for those who haven’t quite made the cut when they have done so.

[One author has called it ‘Developmental Racisim’ – an example was the sort of looking down on other Asians by the ‘Asian Tigers’ whose economies had ‘taken off’ in the 1980s].

Another new book that examines the China-India rivalry and is quite perspicacious in its assessment of where it’s headed, is Jeff Smith’s Cold Peace: China India Rivalry in the Twenty-First Century (2014). Jeff

observes that while Beijing and Delhi have spent the past half-century free from armed conflict and enjoy cordial diplomatic relations, elements of rivalry have cast a shadow on the relationship ever since the border war of 1962.

In the twenty-first century, that rivalry has evolved in unpredictable ways, advancing in some arenas and retreating in the face of growing cooperation in others. Smith examines a whole swathe of rivalries and disputes bedevilling this relationship besides the border dispute: these include the Tibetan government in exile, their maritime relationship, Tawang, the role of the United States, Pakistan etc. Nevertheless, despite the two nations’ longest ongoing border talks since World War II, the author concurs with Indian and Chinese analysts that it is extremely difficult (nearly impossible) to resolve the border dispute in the short to medium term. Both Lintner and Smith have argued that increasing Chinese Navy (PLAN) presence in the Indian Ocean has triggered new confrontation between China and India. Smith makes it clear that it is ‘not a rivalry of equals’, and that ‘China can threaten India more than India can threaten China, which limits India’s ability to influence Chinese behaviour.’ How India manages this in the decades to come will be one of its greatest foreign policy challenges.

In the twenty-first century, the rivalry has evolved in unpredictable ways, advancing in some arenas and retreating in the face of growing cooperation in others.

22 FEBRUARY 2020

www.indianlink.com.au

Binders and dividers Tales of inclusion and exclusion in a new anthology from India and Australia

G

lass Walls offers readers a compelling collection of short stories by a wonderfully diverse group of writers from Australia and the Indian subcontinent. Editors Meenakshi Bharat and Sharon Rundle have successfully compiled a series of provocative pieces of short fiction that are not just reflective of human nature and behaviour - but which can be held up as a mirror for everything that each of us are, and can be.

Each of the short stories has at its heart a core message that even in our ignorance and selfishness, there are moments of incredible self-awareness. In this awareness lies hope that our collective intolerance of others, or a distinct exclusion of those different from us, is slowly being eroded to a more enlightened perspective.

Was Washed Ashore: Of Other Worlds by Sue Parker is a wonderful example of this insight. Gilbert Tucker catches a sea creature, a fish so out of the ordinary that he hauls it ashore in the hope that perhaps there would be publicity from the catch.

As Gilbert guards the fish overnight, his boredom causes him to stab the fish absentmindedly, until a milky white fluid oozes out

of the fish and it makes a soft moan.

Was there a baby fish in the sea, waiting for its mum to return?

Gilbert spends the rest of the night keeping the fish drenched in the hope it would stay alive.This incident ultimately shapes himas a better man and father.

Of course, the saddest part of the story was at the end when marine specialists reveal that the fish was indeed lactating.

Another story that touches the reader deeply is Absence, by Julia Mackay-Koelen.

A young military mother with an absent husband writes emails to him that swing from details of humdrum family life to heartbreaking loneliness. As the story progresses, we realise the anger and frustration which appear as selfishness or neediness, is really a cry for help.

But it is only at the end of the story that we understand the depth of despair felt by the lonely mother - as this despair is the fuel that galvanises a set of actions - unspoken, but implied. There has been much attention on the mental health of new parents, often with tragic consequences when these concerns are not addressed - that we realise that this story is not all fiction, and that the pain expressed in the emails are often the pain of the unheard.

In other stories, we meet a female Indian international student in Australia, exploited; a trans-dressing new boyfriend; a gay uncle cast out of the family; a parliamentarian feted for his speeches on multiculturalism who

wouldn’t practise what he preached; a love that blossomed across the divides of religion as communal tensions raged on.

These and other tales give the thoughtful reader a nuanced view of people and their lives. They provide a perspective that on surface level is compelling and insightful, but at a deeper level, provide an opportunity for reflection and learning.

The stories of tolerance and intolerance in Glass Walls offer us optimism and leave us with a crucial message - provided we are ready to see ourselves in each of the stories.

The fundamental message is that each of the characters is no different from their readers.

A casual comment that demonstrates a bias, the fleeting look that instantly diminishes, an unbidden thought that betrays prejudice - each character is each of us. There is no 'other' here. It is 'us' and 'we'. And as we progress through each story, the 'we' slowly becomes 'me' - until each story becomes about who 'I' am. In that instance, Glass Walls achieves its ultimate goal - to show us who we are. Implicit within that showing is the idea that there is redemption for all of us, and that enlightenment is only a thought away.

Salma Shah

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You could save over $10,000 a year if you quit smoking.

YOU QUIT. YOU WIN. For tips from real ex-smokers visit NATIONAL EDITION

FEBRUARY 2020 23

FIRST PERSON

I believe in angels, the kind that heaven sends Following her baby’s shock diagnosis of Angelman Syndrome, a young mum picks herself up and dives headlong into raising funds and awareness.

BY ANUBHUTI MADAN SINGH

F

or as long as I can remember, I have wanted a daughter. A daughter who would talk non-stop, sing with me, dance with me, who I would doll up in pretty frocks, and who would someday share shoes and dresses with me.

When she arrived, I named her Arika. It is one of the names of Goddess Lakshmi.

(Lakshmi ghar aayi hai, it is said in our culture when a daughter is born, the goddess has come to your home.) Also, with her older brother named Atharv, one of the names for the god Ganesh, we had our own Lakshmi-Ganesh duo at home to complete our little world.

She didn’t cry much, smiled a lot, and I thought we were blessed to have a no-fuss baby. She did not sleep well though, and had a bit of reflux, but I dismissed these as minor issues.

24 FEBRUARY 2020

At 15 months of age, Arika still does not respond to her name or sit unsupported.

My husband Mohan and I could not have been happier.

Until one fateful trip to the doctor’s turned that dream into a nightmare.

At five months of age, Arika had yet to hold her head up and that was when I decided to bring her to a Maternal and Child Health nurse. I hoped she would dismiss it, saying I was just another overcautious mother. How wrong I was.

Instead, we were referred to the children’s hospital, from where began our journey no parent wishes to be on. Three months of cranial ultrasound, countless blood tests, gruelling paediatrician visits and a genetic test determined that Arika had a rare neuro-genetic disorder, Angelman Syndrome (AS).

Named after the UK doctor Harry

Angelman who first reported the condition, AS has devastating effects such as global developmental delays, feeding and sleep difficulties, movement and balance deficiencies, lack of functional speech, severe cognitive impairment and seizures that are difficult to treat.

Typically, AS children have an excitable demeanour, are always laughing and smiling, have short attention spans and, interestingly, a common interest in water.

They also need less sleep than usual.

People living with the syndrome require 24/7 life-long care, intensive therapy and close medical supervision.

We were baffled. We had done every inutero genetic test there was, yet nothing had come up. Now here we sat with the news that our beautiful baby was an “angel”.

Arika is severely delayed in her motor skills. At 15 months of age, she still does not respond to her name or sit unsupported. She only weighs 6.5kg and has no speech.

‘MUMMA, WHEN WILL ARIKA WALK?’ To say the least, we were traumatised. It took away from us as parents the healthy and happy future we envisioned for our family. It took away from our son a chance to build and live an amazing childhood with his sister. Worst of all, it took Arika away from a chance at a normal, full life.

I went into a shell, isolating myself as I tried and failed to see the good beyond this fate. I cried everyday for months at the thought of never hearing Arika’s voice. I was inconsolable.

Each day, I lived in fear that the seizures might take my daughter away for me, forever. I would have done anything to have the “normal” problems of parenting like a fussy eating infant, toddler tantrums, terrible twos, or teenage dramas!

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Dark questions loomed. Who will take care of Arika when Mohan and I are no longer around? Will the onus of a disabled sibling fall on my son’s shoulders and ruin his dreams and aspirations?

The simplest encounters beyond my family saw me dissolve in a mess of tears: a little girl screaming in the mall; a disabled person in a wheelchair, a mother and daughter shopping. Even the beautiful dresses I bought for Arika before she was born, hoping she would start strutting in them on her first birthday.

Every now and then, Atharv would ask me, ‘Mumma, when will Arika walk?

Mumma, did you hear Arika say Bhaiya?’

I could never find the words to respond.

He looks forward to his sister walking, talking and playing with him, just like all his friends’ sisters.

We decided to go to India in the tough time, which helped. Being around family helped a lot. They allowed me to cry my heart out so I could move forward. Soon I felt as though it was time to gather myself.

My son needed me. He was starting school and could not understand why Mumma was crying all the time. Lost with how to explain the heartbreaking news to him, we just told him that Mum wasn’t well. And the sweetheart he is, Atharv would come up to me, hug me and say, ‘Mumma don’t cry, you will get well soon.’

Arika needed me too, more than ever, more than anyone.

As for Mohan, much as he was breaking on the inside, he remained the rock of the family. Shortly after the diagnosis, he went into problem solving mode, so typical of him. He started exploring options, therapeutics, therapies and speaking with community members to find anything we could do for our little girl. From researching Ayurvedic medicines to diets to medications recommended by other AS parents, he made sure he was all over it. He pushed me to resume “normal” activities like meeting up with friends and going back to work. I had doubts about scheduling and being present for all her NATIONAL EDITION

therapies. But he was persistent.

Once back in Australia, we started Arika’s therapies. She needed physiotherapy, speech and occupational therapy. Additionally, AS patients need behavioural and music therapy.

FINALLY HOPE CAME IN THE FORM OF SCIENCE It has been eight months since the diagnosis and I still cry everyday, this time with a reason to hope. While I have come to accept that I will never completely make peace with the situation, hope came to us in December 2019 in the form of the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics (FAST), an AS community of families and medical specialists.

They announced at their annual gala in the US that not one, but three pharmaceutical companies are taking gene therapy to human trials in 2020.

Hollywood actor Colin Farrell, who has

a son with this condition, has been actively involved with FAST raising awareness and funds to help facilitate research and support families.

In Australia FAST is working to make the organisation more visible and bring the clinical trials here. (These trials will cost about $10,000 to $15,000 for each patient.)

The only issue is, the organisation needs more “angels” to be registered for trials.

Because AS is so rare, it can go undiagnosed or be incorrectly diagnosed.

In Australia, it is suspected that this may be the case with as many as two thirds of individuals. For FAST to advocate for trials in Australia, we need to find where these families are and connect with them, we need them to be counted. FAST needs to build a strong network of professionals willing to run these trials for us and to do that we need more money. There is so much hope for a brighter future for all our families that they might not even be aware of yet!

So, this International Angelman Syndrome Day on 15 February, Mohan and I are on a quest to find the others, to help raise the funds needed for these trials.

Help us fight the fight, a chance for a better future for our daughter, and all her special friends suffering from AS. People have taken to calling me “strong”, and commend me for “handling this situation so well.” Little do they know that these words are like a dagger to my heart.

I am not strong. I did not want to be strong or live through this pain each day. But I do not have a choice. I brought this baby girl into this world; how can I let her down?

INTERNATIONAL ANGELMAN DAY (IAD) IAD is observed on 15 February to raise awareness worldwide for Angelman Syndrome. It helps to • Mobilise people to action, to encourage fundraising • Promote research and organisational resources • Remember the Angels we have lost along the way #KIK-AS #CureAngelmanNow #CAN2020 Together we have a stronger voice.

Source: cureangelman.org.au

ANGELMAN SYDNROME: SYMPTOMS • Delayed development • Intellectual disability • Severe speech impairment • Ataxia • Epilepsy • Microcephaly • Excitable demeanour/ hand flapping • Sleep difficulty • Short attention span Source: cureangelman.org.au

INTERESTING CHARACTERISTICS OF ANGELMAN SYNDROME (AS) An interest in water and shiny reflective objects This commonly prevalent characteristic is thought to be related to their sensory seeking behavior, where they are driven by a preference for certain stimuli.

Happy, excitable personality Teeming with smiles and laughter, it is hard to tell whether an “angel” really does feel what they portray.

This is because of their restrictions in expression or reduced insight.

Nevertheless, research reports that most AS individuals have an “excessive positive effect” with, believe it or not, no negative emotion according to Further Information Neurogenic Disorders (FIND). Of course, while the latter can vary, reports also show that no changes are shown in the mood with age.

FEBRUARY 2020 25

Himalaya Spice Centre

‘You name it, we have it’ Your one-stop spice shop

1 Station Street Thornleigh, NSW • 9481 8200

RESOURCEFUL AUSTRALIAN INDIAN NETWORK APPROVED PROVIDERS FOR COMMONWEALTH HOME SUPPORT PROGRAMME (SOCIAL SUPPORT GROUP) & HOME CARE PACKAGES Activities: Sightseeing outings , temple trips, centre based chair zumba, stay standing exercises, art & craft, recipe sharing, entertainment, music & dance, prayer sessions, informative talks, health awareness sessions.

MUSTER

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

SATURDAY TIFFIN TAKEAWAY & WORKSHOP Supported by: Community Resilience and Inclusive Communities

grants.The Mutual Understanding, Support, Tolerance, Engagement and Respect (MUSTER) initiative is a sub-activity of the Strong and Resilient Communities Activity - MUSTER aims to build cohesion and create a sense of commonality around everyday issues to further understanding and acceptance of diversity.

We acknowledge our gratitude to:

The Department of Social Services, Australian Government.

26 FEBRUARY 2020

RAIN COMMUNITY CENTRE AT 501 FOREST ROAD, PENSHURST, NSW 2222 LIFE LONG LEARNING HALL, COMMUNITY KITCHEN, COMMUNITY GARDEN & ACTIVITY CENTRE.

Contact: Sudha Natarajan (042 027 1570)

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FEBRUARY 2020 27

CULTURE DIARIES

Loving right now A list of Indian Link’s current favourites

READ

EAT

Life’s way too short to waste time on insane recipes that just end up in the trash… and missing vada pau from Bombay’s streets doesn’t make things any better.

So, famed Irani Bombay restaurant Dishoom has saved us with the holy grail that is their recipe book. Part cookbook, part history and travel guide, this culture package is going to help you slay in the kitchen with recipes from Bombaymade simple. You can now make your own Dishoom classics – Jackfruit Biryani, Prawn Moilee and yes, House Black Daal!

Locally made, high prana, home style Indian vegetarian food! This is Tiffinly, a Melbourne based food service. It was co-founded by Hemil Deshmukh and Kapil Sheth, both high-flying corporates with wives in similar demanding jobs, and who had no time or energy to cook a fresh meal every night. When Kapil went through a spell of bad health,the penny dropped that fresh food is essential for good health. The freshrotis here are a highlight, as are the undhiyu, panchratnasabzi, baigankabarta, sevtameta and aloo tamatarjhol.

LISTEN Nothing could have prepared Neil A. Miller for the completely foreign, chaotic world of Chennai when he moved there in 2010 for work. Today, the American expat hosts his podcast on his website Learning India, hoping to bring a new and insightful taste of the country to those trying to understand it the way he did. From interviewing other expats, to digging knee deep into the social webs and cultures of Indian businesses, join Neil in feeling more at home in the thriving world of India.

28 FEBRUARY 2020

WATCH We all love “mind blasting” funny guy Russell Peters. Well, good news! Our favourite Indian-Canadian comedian and his staple ethnic humour are back in his new special Russell Peters: Deported on Prime Video. We’re all “gonna get a hurt real bad” laughing as he takes us on a humorous trip to his motherland, Mumbai, tackling more personal issues such as age and fatherhood. The show also gives an exclusive deep dive into the Russell we think we know, as he describes it as his ‘most personal and introspective set yet’.

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FOOD

BY GAURAV MASAND

T

hanks to veganism, the humble jackfruit has become trendy in recent times. In its newest avatar, jackfruit is being used as a vegan ‘pulled meat’ substitute – and is apparently now a pizza topping too.

Of course we in India always knew it as a wonder fruit: it is full of antioxidants and contains almost every vitamin and mineral you need.

Here I prefer to handle jackfruit in the time-honoured desi way. To prepare these recipes, buy it fresh at your local Asian store or try a frozen variety.

Jai ho, Jackfruit!

Meat substitute? No thanks! We like jackfruit the way it is.

JACKFRUIT PICKLE INGREDIENTS: 250 gm raw mango, grated l 500 gm jackfruit, chopped l 2 tbsp salt l 6 tbsp fenugreek seeds coarsely ground l 6 tbsp fennel seeds l 3 tsp nigella seeds l ¼ cup red chilli powder l 3 tsp turmeric powder l ¼ cup apple cider vinegar l 2 cups mustard oil l

Instructions: l Steam the jackfruit pieces for 15 minutes or until soft. l Mix the jackfruit, grated mango and salt. l Cover and keep in the sun for 6-8 hours. l Mix all spices along with fennel, fenugreek seeds with oil, vinegar and mango-jackfruit mixture. l Transfer to an oiled and clean jar. l Tightly close the lid of the jar and keep it out in the sun for a period of 1 month. l Stir the contents at intervals of 5-6 days with a clean dry spoon. l Once ready, store it indoors in a cool dry place.

INGREDIENTS: For marinating jackfruit: l 500 gms jackfruit pieces l 1/2 cup yogurt l 1/2 tsp turmeric l 1/2 tsp red chilli powder l 1/2 tsp salt l 1 tsp each grated ginger, crushed garlic and chopped green chillies

JACKFRUIT PULAO For Pulao: l 3 tbsp oil l 1 tsp cumin seeds l 1 big cardamom, crushed l 2 small cardamom, crushed l 2 cloves, crushed l 2 -3 large onions, finely sliced l 1 tsp each grated ginger, crushed garlic and chopped green chillies l 1/2 cup each fresh coriander and mint, chopped l 1/2 tsp turmeric l 1 tsp red chilli powder l 2 tsp garam masala powder l 7-8 saffron strands in 2 tbsp warm milk l 2 tbsp ghee (optional) l 2 cups basmati rice soaked in water for 30 mins l 100 ml coconut milk l Salt to taste.

METHOD: Steam the jackfruit pieces for 15 minutes or pressure cook to 1 whistle. l Mix the yogurt with spices and introduce the jackfruit. Keep to marinate in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. l Heat a pan with heavy bottom and add 2-3 tbsp oil. l Add the whole spices with cumin seeds. l

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Add onion with ginger, garlic and chillies with little salt; cook on medium flame until golden brown. l Add the marinated jackfruit pieces.

Cook for 10 minutes. l Add the chopped coriander and mint with remaining spice powders and salt. l Add half of coconut milk and let it all cook. l Meanwhile, heat a pot with good 5-6 cups of water and salt. l When it comes to a boil, add rice and let it cook for 7-8 minutes (or until it is about 70% cooked). l Once the jackfruit is partially cooked (70%), start taking out the rice and stack it in a pulao pan. l Spread the ghee and saffron milk using a spoon on top of the rice. l Add remaining coconut milk on top of rice, this will help jackfruit to be moist. l Cover with a heavy lid. This will help the biryani to cook with steam. l Let it cook on the lowest flame for 10 minutes. l Turn off the heat, and let the pan remain covered for 15 minutes. l Remove the lid and slowly mix the rice and jackfruit pieces. Serve warm with a raita and a garden salad.

*** l

FEBRUARY 2020 29

The office of Julia Finn MP will be temporarily relocating in order to renovate our current premises.

From Monday 10 February 2020, our new address will be Suite 38/285 Merrylands Road Merrylands 2160.

Our phone and email remain the same.

P: 9637 1656 | E: Granville@parliament.nsw.gov.au

WE ARE HIRING! FULL-TIME HOUSEKEEPING STAFF to stay and work at our motel in Snowy mountains (Batlow, NSW).

Motel is in business for 50 plus years. The applicant must have excellent communication skills. Prior experience in housekeeping or hospitality is desirable but not mandatory.

INTERESTED! then please send us your resume or query at nyssmotelsandresorts@gmail.com

GET SOCIAL WITH INDIAN LINK

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MATRIMONIALS SEEKING GROOMS Seeking suitable match for good looking 49, 5'1" Brahmin, never married girl. Looks younger than her age. Working as fashion designer/stylist in Mumbai. Currently visiting Sydney. Please contact via email: rishta.hinduindian@gmail.com.

Looking for professional well-settled match for my sister. Australian citizen, Punjabi, Saini, 33, 5’4”, well educated and working in real estate, divorced. Caste no bar. Only prefer someone from Sydney, PR or citizen.

Please contact at 0432099350 or email shiva125@hotmail.com Beautiful, highly educated, 33-year-old girl with very good family background, soft spoken, career-oriented,vegetarian, Brahmin,working and well-settled in Sydney, seeks an educated, teetotaller match with good family background. Prefer Australian citizen or PR. Please contact rajsyd83@gmail.com Dubai-based 40-year-old, single girl, never married, seeks suitable match.Born and educated in Mumbai, Gujarati, 5'4”, and working for MNC. Seeks Hindu groom.

Please contact brother on 0412346590 or email directly on komaldxb@gmail.com Seeking response from tall, never married grooms only, for my niece, beautiful, 31, 5’ 4”, fair, charming personality, Manager (MBA) in Ernst and Young, Singapore, caste no bar.

Only child in family, both parents, 30 FEBRUARY 2020

doctors. Contact lalitm67@gmail.com, phone: 0411 058 064” Seeking professionally qualified, 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 Professionally qualified match for ’88-born, 5"3" Hindu Punjabi girl, divorced (short

marriage, issueless). Working full time with one of the leading universities in Sydney.

Prefer match working in Aus with PR. Email: matrimonial.ml@gmail.com

SEEKING BRIDES Seeking professionally qualified, 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

Indian Christian Protestant parents seek a suitable match for their 39-year-old son, a software engineer, born and brought up in Australia. Seeking a Protestant girl between 31-36 years.

Email: sammy5073@gmail.com, Mob 0403836360.

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

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FORETELL

February 2020

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.

TAROT

ARIES March 21 - April 19

TAURUS April 20 - May 20

GEMINI May 21 - June 20

CANCER June 21 - July 20

The usually fiery Aries behaves like a Sagittarian this month – so expect a lot of action. Discussions, sports, treks, and the enthusiasm of the young will keep the March-April born busy this month.

A happy surprise awaits you; and a new approach to work can be profitable. For those stuck in a rut, change your thought patterns and act like a 20-something would if you are stuck. Your current relationship lacks depth; pursue intellectual hobbies.

Unforeseen problems could crop up in work, health or your love life. Be prepared for dilemmas to come up after you have made a decision; selfdoubt might make you second guess yourself. People who fail to deliver on promises made will disappoint. A recurring illness might just be here to stay and you will have to learn to live with it. You must stay positive and accept defeat where you have given your best and nothing has worked.

Singles could meet someone new, leading to a possible relationship.

Work is good as you are flush with new ideas; this is especially true for those in creative professions. There could be a wedding or news of a pregnancy in the family. If there is a setback, it is only temporary. Health is good and despite money being tight, you will start a new project. Go ahead and act on new ideas and something you wanted for long will finally transpire.

A long term condition could change suddenly. A powerful love affair could change your life in a big way.

A prosperous time at work and a promotion is indicated. You could hear of someone falling very sick or of a death in the family. A new business venture could increase your income. You change your mindset and realise that it is better to let the universe guide you. Luck in love, work and money is predicted. Problems will get resolved.

LEO July 21 - Aug 22

VIRGO Aug 23 - Sep 22

LIBRA Sep 23 - Oct 22

SCORPIO Oct 23 - Nov 21

You will make an important decision regarding a relationship – essentially whether you want to go forward or not.

A new business opportunity could come your way. Travel for work or personal reasons is successful and those in business will do well this month. Marriage is on the cards for some. Take some rest if you have been working too hard. Money comes through a business deal or through increased sales. Focus your energies on constructive ideas and hope for the best.

A chance meeting or phone call will bring financial gains. You seek happiness but this time on your terms. Work sees ups and downs but the outcome is positive.

It is a month of feeling loved and content for some. Watch out for troubled or lack of sleep. Money that was held up will arrive shortly. You will focus your energies on areas that will give you creative satisfaction. You will achieve what you desire though it may be in a different form.

Librans could waver in decision-making this month as the card drawn represents Capricorn. Even if a relationship is on shaky ground, you handle it in a mature way. A friend will be a catalyst and initiate a new business offer. If work has you in a slump, an event or occurrence will uplift you. You could have problems with backaches or your stomach. Speak your mind if you have problems with your throat. Money will be slow but the situation will improve.

Though you might be very busy this month, avoid burning the candle at both ends and don’t take on more than you can handle. New projects, finishing old ones and possibly even moving house is on the anvil. Some of you might even be looking at a different profession.

Trying to revive a failed relationship will bring no results. A loss of income could occur because a project or deal falls through. A new lifestyle is emerging in your personal and professional life.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22 - Dec 21

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 19

AQUARIUS Jan 20 - Feb 18

PISCES Feb 19 - March 20

You are determined to overcome any negative situation and you can use your mind to do so. Think before you take any action this month. You might withdraw into a shell in a difficult situation; this could be happen in your love life too. Avoid travel for now. The work environment can be unpleasant due to tension. If unwell, seek medical attention. Finances will be slow in coming. Legal matters could cause you anxious moments. A heartfelt desire will be realised.

A close friend or your spouse could disappoint you and it will take you time to get over it. There can be delays or setbacks in work or your personal life.

Take adequate rest as you could end up physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted. If in a relationship, you are not in a happy place right now. Be assertive in money matters. Apply spiritual principles to your everyday life to turn any negative situation around. Wait till you have clarity before taking a decision.

The usually practical though dreamy Aquarius displays uncharacteristic stubbornness and single-mindedness this month. Expect positive developments in relationships, finances and your career. Try and stay detached in difficult situations. Drive cautiously; travel plans fall through. Avoid straining muscles and don’t ignore dental problems. Money matters will take a while to get resolved. Success comes through unexpected social opportunities.

Pisceans will be on the horns of a dilemma; one that will require you to take a decision or some action.

A separation from a lover will make you anxious; but there will be positive changes in your love life. If your work is not being appreciated, you will have new avenues opening up.

You will dedicate time to getting fit. A project falling through could disappoint you but think positive as what you think is a loss will prove to be a win.

NATIONAL EDITION

FEBRUARY 2020 31

TRAVEL

Ritz Carlton Singapore

Are Hotel Club Lounges worth it?

Give them a try if you’re a frequent traveller or have had an ambitious sightseeing plan BY PETRA O’NEILL

W

ith my cruise ending in Hong Kong, I wanted the final night of my trip to end on a high note. And it did. From enjoying evening cocktails and canapes, to taking in expansive views of twinkling lights across the harbour, the Club Lounge at the Shangri-La Hong Kong Island hotel gave me an experience that I’ll never forget.

And while I regularly visit Singapore, one stop over stands out. On arrival at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, I was ushered past the hotel’s world class contemporary art collection, into the Club Lounge. The views of Marina Bay were so extraordinary that I could have spent the entire day there, and almost did, cocooned in luxurious comfort while being fussed over by attentive staff.

At the Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur, staff reconfirmed my onward reservations, and with several hours to pass before my flight, I enjoyed savouries in the Club Lounge high up on the 24th floor with the Petronas Towers just metres away.

32 FEBRUARY 2020

The Cornwallis, Eastern and Oriental Hotel, Penang

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Ritz Carlton Singapore

On arrival in Penang, at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, I ended my day in the hotel’s Club Lounge with a cocktail, just as the sun was setting over the sea.

If you’re heading to a city where views up high will allow you to experience a breathtaking panoramic skyline, take my advice and consider splurging on an upscale hotel that offers a Club Lounge. Your stay could well be nudged close to perfect.

There are other benefits too that you’ll enjoy if you access a Club Lounge.

I’ve landed in cities that have been overwhelming - chaotic, noisy and overcrowded, or I’ve had a hectic work schedule, or set myself overly ambitious days of sightseeing that have left me feeling exhausted.

I’ve regretted those times when I chose not to upgrade and I’ve felt grateful for access to a Club Lounge when I did. Are treat with reassuring smiles by friendly staff who welcome you by name, in a city where you may not know anyone, the Club Lounge becomes a home away from home, where you can relax in pleasant surrounds of plush carpets, artworks and appealing décor with newspapers and magazines to enjoy.

If you're taking long-haul flights, also consider a hotel with a Club Lounge. When I arrived at the Taj West End Bengaluru late at night, I was led to the Club Lounge and felt instantly revived after a platter of dips, crackers and herbal tea were brought to me.

Having food and beverages available is a great bonus if you’re adjusting to time zone changes, so that whenever you feel peckish, you can enjoy a complimentary light meal or snack at any time during the day. A la carte breakfasts, afternoon tea, and evening canapes are all included with the cuisine so appealing you can skip dinner altogether, returning for a nightcap instead.

And if you need it, a concierge is at your disposal to provide information on your destination and will take care of everything from travel planning to basic translation services. A business centre is also available NATIONAL EDITION

Island Shangri-La Hong Kong; Taj West End Bengaluru

VA Planters Lounge, Eastern and Oriental Hotel, Penang

with support staff to help you, including arranging conference rooms that you can use for meeting clients and business associates.

So, next time you travel, narrow down the hotels where you’d like to stay.

Compare the cost of upgrading to a room with Club Lounge access, and compare what’s included. A wide raft of benefits may include your own coffee making machine, round the clock butler service, complimentary shoe shine and pressing of at least one suit or dress, complimentary

laundry, airport transfers, express check in, late check out and a higher category of room. Choose your hotel based on the benefits that are most important to you.

High end hotel chains that offer Club Lounges include Hilton, Sheraton, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, Hyatt, Mandarin Oriental, Shangri-La, Intercontinental, Taj and Sofitel.

If you are a frequent traveller, inquire about their loyalty programs that may include complimentary Club Lounge access.

Club Lounge category rooms are well

If you are a frequent traveller, inquire about their loyalty programs that may include complimentary Club Lounge access. worth the splurge providing you with the feeling that you are experiencing perfection. On arrival in Beijing, after being met at the airport with my name on a paddle board and presented with a bunch of flowers, I was whisked away to the Shangri-La China World Hotel, with green tea and moon cakes promptly delivered to my room. On my pillow were a box of Belgium chocolates and my own monogrammed Pyjamas “P.O.”This is how luxury travel ought to be, and to this day they are still my favourite PJs. FEBRUARY 2020 33

ENTERTAINMENT

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

AND ANOTHER SPORTING BIOPIC: HAWA SINGH?

Alaya F.

BOLLYWOOD'S CLASS OF 2020

I

t is time to take a look at the new talent that Bollywood will introduce over the next few months. The mix looks interesting, comprising outsiders as well as youngsters with filmi bloodline.

With every new year, the stakes become tougher for Bollywood newcomers. Can the class of 2020 manage to pass the box-office test with flying colours?

Here’s a look at the B-Town entrants who might create a buzz in 2020.

MANUSHI CHHILLAR Ever since Manushi earned the Miss Universe crown in 2017, the Indian audiences has been waiting to hear the news of her B-Town debut. It's finally happening. Manushi is all set to make her Bollywood debut in 2020 opposite superstar Akshay Kumar. She plays Sanyogita in Chandraprakash Dwivedi's period drama Prithviraj, which stars Akshay Kumar in the title role. The YRF flick is slated to hit theatres in Diwali.

ISABELLE KAIF Being Katrina Kaif's sister can be an advantage, but there is also the drawback of expectation. Isabelle has done a brief role in a 2014 crossover film titled Dr Cabbie before this, and has featured in cosmetics brand endorsements. She makes her Bollywood debut in Karan Butani's movie Kwatha, a drama set against an Army backdrop and starring Salman Khan's brother-in-law Aayush Sharma.

deal even before her debut film releases, with producer Jay Shewakramani of Northern Lights Films. We’ve just seen her in her debut film, playing Saif Ali Khan's daughter in his co-production, Jawaani Jaaneman.

AHAAN PANDEY Even though no official announcement has been made, the grapevine is abuzz that Chunky Pandey's nephew and Ananya Panday's cousin Ahaan Pandey will make his Bollywood debut in an action flick backed by Yash Raj Films.

Reports claim that the youngster is preparing hard to make himself suitable for the industry, and is undergoing acting and dance training. Looks like YRF might make an announcement soon.

SHALINI PANDEY Shalini impressed with her performance in Vijay Deverakonda's Telugu superhit Arjun Reddy a couple of yearsago, and went on to feature in several Tamil and Telugu films including the critically acclaimed Mahanati. The 25-year-old is now all set to foray B-Town as Ranveer Singh's heroine in the YRF comedy drama Jayeshbhai Jordaar.

KEERTHY SURESH National Award-winner Keerthy will make her B-Town debut alongside Ajay Devgn in the biographical sports drama Maidaan. The Amit Sharma directorial is a biopic of football coach Syed Abdul Rahim, who changed the course of the game in India.

AHAN SHETTY

KRYSTLE D'SOUZA

Suniel Shetty's daughter Athiya has already forayed into Bollywood, and now it is the son's turn. Ahan will make his debut in the Hindi remake of the 2018 Telugu film RX 100. The MilanLuthria directorial is titled Tadap and features Tara Sutaria opposite Ahan.

Television actress Krystle D'Souza makes her Bollywood debut in the psychological suspense drama Chehre, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Emraan Hashmi. The film is directed by Rumi Jaffery. Krystle, 29, has been a popular face on TV thanks to her daily soaps such as Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai, Brahmarakshas: Jaag Utha Shaitaan and Belan Wali Bahu.

Ahana Bhattacharya

ALAYA F. Unconfirmed reports state Pooja Bedi's daughter Alaya F. has signed a three-film 34 FEBRUARY 2020

Sooraj Pancholi is all set – read beefed up – to play his next role, Hawa Singh, the Father of Indian boxing.

As a young boy from a small village Umarvas, Hawa Singh transformed himself into a champion boxer, in an inspirational story.

The film goes on the floors this month.

Director Prakash Nambiar is convinced the young actor fits the role, and not merely in terms of the look.

"Sooraj is young and fits like a glove into the character,” he said. “His efforts, approach and honesty towards the role surprised me and made my belief in him stronger."

Hawa Singh is a recipient of the Arjuna Award and the Dronacharya Award. He dominated the Indian and Asian amateur boxing scene in his weight class for a decade. Singh won the Asian Games gold medal in the heavyweight category in consecutive editions at the Games in 1966 and 1970, a feat unmatched by any Indian boxer to date.

The champion boxer also created a record of being the Indian heavyweight boxing champion for 11 consecutive years from 1961 to 1972. He is the only boxer, possibly in the World, whose three generations have excelled in Boxing.

BEEFED UP ADITYA ROY KAPUR Also beefing up in recent months, has been our favourite boy-next-door kind of guy, Aditya Roy Kapur.

In order to fit into his role in the upcoming film Malang, Aditya needed to transform his physical appearance.

In the trailer and promos of the film, he can be seen flaunting his muscular body.

Aditya revealed it was not easy for him to bring about the changes in his body. "(Director) Mohit Suri and I were clear that there will be two different looks, and the character had to go through both mental and physical transformation.

Changing physicality actually started changing my state of mind as well, and helped me find the character. All the people I consulted told me that when you're training and building muscle, you need eight to 12 weeks completely off everything else. We started the shoot with the younger portion (of the character), which required me to be lean.

I psyched myself to hit the gym even though we were shooting for 12 to 14 hours," Aditya told IANS. Malang also features Anil Kapoor, Disha Patani and Kunal Khemu. It is scheduled to release on 7 February.

February.

No prizes for guessing that the film is based on a slap: a young wife gets slapped by her husband in front of guests at a house party. She decides to walk out of the marriage.

Hmm, strange how this reminds us somewhat of the ABC TV show The Slap, based on Christos Tsiolkas book of the same name…

But perhaps the similarity ends there, given that Taapsee has been waxing eloquent about domestic violence in her recent interviews.

Playing the protagonist Amrita in Thappad was a huge challenge, she has claimed. "It was tough for me to get out of my firebrand image and mindspace and get into the skin of this character.

The character was suffocating for me in the end and I took it as a challenge. After 15 days of shooting, I started feeling claustrophobic," she revealed.

She described Amrita as a "goodhearted, loving and homely girl", who finally decides to walk out of a relationship that she has invested all her emotions in."She took all the typical nonsense of ‘girls should compromise’, ‘little physical violence is part of love', ‘and the girl should do everything to save her marriage'. As Taapsee, I cannot take such nonsense at all," she shared.

Given her "no-nonsense" image on and off the screen with films like Naam Shabana, Soorma, Mulk, Badla and of course Pink, we’ll have to wait and see how Thappad resonates.

COMING SOON: MUNNA BHAI 3?

Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra says his latest film Shikara, based on the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from the Kashmir Valley, was an intense experience, and that he will now focus on a new Munna Bhai project because he wants to make a fun film.

The Munna Bhai franchise comprises the blockbusters, Munna Bhai MBBS

THAPPAD, THE SLAP The critics’ current favourite Taapsee Pannu is gearing up for her upcoming release Thappad, directed by Anubhav Sinha, and scheduled to release on 28

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us on our Facebook page /IndianLinkAustralia (2003) and Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). Both films were directed by Rajkumar Hirani, and starred Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi as Munna Bhai and Circuit respectively.

Asked if, as producer, he would bring back the same cast and crew after nearly a decade and a half, he replied, "It will be with Sanjay (Dutt) and yes, hopefully, all of them will be there."

Worth waiting for? You decide!

INDORE TO HOST 21ST EDITION OF IIFA AWARDS The 21st edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards will be held from 27 to 29 March in Indore. Bollywood star Salman Khan who was born in Indore, made the announcement at a glittering press conference in Mumbai recently.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath who joined Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez at the press conference said he had a 16year connection with the IIFA and was delighted to see the state getting the very second opportunity to host the ceremony in India after Mumbai that hosted it last year.

The other events of the academy have been held in major cities across the world like New York, Madrid, Singapore and Bangkok over the years.

A pre-event will be held on 21 March in Bhopal.

For the first time, Salman Khan will host the ceremony and Riteish

Deshmukh will co-host. Katrina Kaif and Jacqueline Fernandez will perform.

The Awards events will be attended by more than five thousand people from the film industry, including over 400 film artists. Nehru Stadium is the most likely venue for the event. The event management company Wizcraft has also seen the locations of Holkar Stadium and Daily College.

Kamal Nath bought the first ticket for IIFA Awards.

Political gamesmanship began even as the press conference was on to announce the event.

Leader of the Opposition Gopal Bhargava accused the Kamal Nath government of wasting money.

State Revenue Minister Govind Singh Rajput retaliated by saying the event would add to the pride of Madhya Pradesh.

Rajput said, "The IIFA Awards are very prestigious awards and the ceremony has been hosted in India only once in 20 years and that was in Mumbai last year. With the efforts of the Chief Minister, this event will make Madhya Pradesh a talking point in the whole world. Gopal Bhargava should expand his horizon and look beyond politics. This is my suggestion."

According to the information, the IIFA Awards ceremony will be broadcast in 90 countries. The expenditure involved on the event is expected to be Rs 30 crore.

The first IIFA Awards ceremony was held in 2000 in London.

TAPSEE PANNU

ON TWITTER THIS WEEK

Match the following stars to the tweets below.

Alia Bhatt, Aamir Khan, Anurag Kashyap, Deepika Padukone, Rishi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi No @IndiGo6E..on @airvistara .. in solidarity with @kunalkamra88 Dear family, friends, foes and followers.

I have been overwhelmed by all your concern about my health. Thank you. I have been filming in Delhi past 18 days and because of the pollution and my low count of neutrophils, I caught an infection whereby I had to be hospitalised. People seem to have assumed a lot different.

I put to rest all those stories and look forward to entertain and love you. I am now in Mumbai.

What’s the chictchat between Susanne Khan and Malaika Arorahere?

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Thank you for all your prayers and wishes for my recovery. I’m back home now.

Thank you Tina Ambani and Kokilaben Ambani hospital for the sterling care provided by the doctors team and the nursing staff. I’m indebted and grateful.

It’s final! Brahmastra releases on 4 December 2020 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

Thrilled to present my next! The Indian adaptation of #TheIntern Sat Sri Akaalji. Myself Laal… Laal Singh Chadha.

RISHI KAPOOR

What’s Taimur Ali Khan thinking as he returns to India from his Australia trip?

When I grow up I’m going to go back to Australia, work as a chef, live in a beautiful house on the Great Ocean Road too fancy for a chef, and find myself a radio personality girlfriend.

Nisha Bharadwaj Congratulations Nisha. You win a movie ticket.

ROY KAPUR

NATIONAL EDITION

SHABANA AZMI

For more caption entries, see YOUR SAY Page 09

FEBRUARY 2020 35

ENTERTAINMENT

cineTALK JOLLY GOOD SHOW

JAWAANI JAANEMAN STARRING: Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Alaya F DIRECTOR: Nitin Kakkar

HHH Jawaani Jaaneman turns the classic coming-of-age drama on its head.

Reversing formula, here is a parent who grows up to appreciate the values of commitment and responsibility, upon the entry of a child in his life.

If Saif Ali Khan has been struggling to reinvent his cool dude image for a while now, this self-produced project lets him do so with aplomb. Here, the actor plays out what his trademark lover-boy of so many of his past films of the past (eg Dil Chahta Hai) even though he is single and ready to mingle at 49.

Nitin Kakkar's new directorial effort centres on a father-daughter equation to create a new-age relationship dramedy that thrives on quirky characters and situations. Outstanding among these is Tabu's cameo act. She essays the most maverick movie mom you have seen in a while, and proves once again that the ability to steal the limelight from among an assorted cast is an innate talent that has nothing to do with footage.

The script, however, was always written for Saif Ali Khan, imagined here in a Casanova mode as Jassi, a spirited property broker in London.

Life is an unending party for Jassi, for he loves to live it up. Everything goes haywire when the feisty young Tia (Alaya F) pops out of nowhere in his

life, claiming he is her father. Indeed, DNA tests prove the fact too. It turns out she is the love child he conceived nearly two decades ago with a woman (Tabu) who is a hippie of sorts. Even as Jassi is learning to deal with those facts, Tia throws a second bouncer.

She announces she is pregnant.

Jawaani Jaaneman is a feel-good fun film on the subject of generation gap, without getting too heavy about it.

Kakkar's treatment works well in this context, as it sets up a sweet fatherdaughter drama riding humour that ably balances witticism and slapstick.

A character-driven plot with wellpenned roles makes it easy for a credible cast to score. Tabu and Saif are excellent living out characters that are wholly entertaining and yet rooted

in realism. Alaya F renders a winsome edge to her happy-go-lucky youngster with a rebellious streak. Indeed, the confidence with which she matches the screen presence of seasoned players as Tabu and Saif belies the fact that this is her first film. Kubbra Sait, Kumud Mishra and Chunky Pandey are impressive despite limited footage.

An asset as far as characterisation goes are the film's dialogues. Set to woo Gen Now audiences, the lines mouthed by the protagonists render a contemporary feel to the narrative as well as an endearing quality to the characters.

Well, the movie has its warts. For all its cool quotient, the storyline mostly prefers staying within the limits of what's safe. It picks a few interesting topics like commitment and value of love in the new age, and motherhood for an unwed young woman, but mostly uses these as tools to push forward the story and little else. While the film admirably avoids being judgemental about anything or anyone, it fails to take a stand, too.

The other letdown is music.

Bollywood's newfound reluctance to churn out quality original music continues to baffle. Like almost every Hindi film in recent times, Jawaani Jaaneman banks on remixed mediocrity for its highlight songs. For a mainstream comedy that rides the formulae of love and relationships, a solid original score would definitely have been an advantage.

You won't mind those flaws, though.

Jawaani Jaaneman packs in some hearty humour, a suitably controlled stock of melodrama and mush, and some fine acting. Overall, a jolly good show.

Vinayak Chakravorty

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ENTERTAINMENT

MALALA BIOPIC IS HALF-BAKED FARE GUL MAKAI STARRING: Reem Shaikh, Atul Kulkarni, Divya Dutta DIRECTOR: HE Amjad Khan

HH Om Puri's two-scene cameo is a dead giveaway. Given Puri passed away in January 2017, this film must be at least three years old. As the minutes pass, the incessant loud filmmaking that hits you has you wondering if this is some sort of a B-grader straight out of three decades ago.

That's sad, given the subject at hand.

The story of Malala Yousafzai deserved a far more professional treatment in terms of character and narrative nuances.

Instead, director HE Amjad Khan takes an incredible life story and turns it into a mere excuse to spin out standard commercial cliches.

To be fair, Bhashwati Chakraborty's script does reveal an intention of going beyond merely narrating the life of Malala. It tries gaining a perspective of the milieu in which she grew up, in Pakistan's Swat Valley of the late 2000s when the place was overrun by Taliban terror, and tries utilising that backdrop to lay bare the socio-politics of that era.

Yet, it soon becomes obvious that director Khan seems more interested in using that backdrop to merely create scope for unending violence and melodrama, and little else. A proper character sketch of Malala never really happens over the film's runtime of around 130 minutes, and the life story of the film's titular protagonist remains a shallow side show in her own biopic.

The title Gul Makai (‘flower of corn’) refers to the pen name Malala used to write her fiery columns against fundamentalists.

WHERE ARE THE PANGA MOMENTS? PANGA STARRING: Kangana Ranaut, Jassi Gill, Richa Chadha, Neena Gupta, Yagna Bhasin DIRECTOR: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

HHH Panga is the sort of film you easily fall in love with. It has a stellar cast in fine form, is directed by a filmmaker who knows her business of storytelling only too well, and it manages to deliver a topical comment without getting too preachy about it. It is an entertaining film that effortlessly reaches out to the wider audience, and at the same time doesn't lose connect with basic cinematic aesthetics.

In short, Panga ticks all the boxes a good Bollywood mainstream film should.

Co-writer and director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari's third film, it underlines what we had realised after Nil Battey Sannata and Bareilly Ki Barfi - she is one of the most exciting filmmaking brains in newage Bollywood.

Tiwari once again takes to a smalltown milieu to draw her plot and characters. We are introduced to Jaya NATIONAL EDITION

Nigam (Kangana Ranaut) of Bhopal, who blissfully balances a doting husband and son with her job as a railway ticket clerk.

Nitesh Tiwari's screenplay establishes Jaya's extraordinary past at the very outset. She was a star kabaddi player who even captained India once, before she gave it all up for marriage

and motherhood.

Yet her passion for kabaddi still lurks subconsciously – deep in sleep once, she literally throws her husband (Jassi Gill) off the bed with a barrage of kicks.

When her little boy discovers she gave up her dream to raise him, he suggests innocently that she must return to the sport.

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari has successfully served up an inspirational package.

Jaya's gradual comeback takes shape despite hurdles in the way. Credibly, the narrative imparts its message of women’s empowerment without inyour-face vibes.

What comes across as a downer of sorts is the film's lack of genuine panga moments, despite the realism that sustains its plot and characters. Panga could have done with a few strong conflict points. Essentially, what you get is a feelgood portrait of struggle. Everything and everybody in this film seems so nice at all times. Jaya is nice, so are her husband, kid and mom. Her best friend is nice and so are the coaches, selectors, even rival

Reem Shaikh is cast as Malala, and she never really manages to emerge beyond the half-baked role she is given to play out, in a screenplay that reveals no attempt to look at the pervading Taliban situation from the eyes of its protagonist.

Indeed, the storytelling suffers owing to the narrative's inability to decide what it must focus on - the Pak army, as it struggles to reign in the Taliban, or Malala herself, or her father Ziauddin Yousafzai (Atul Kulkarni), a liberalminded school principal who advocates education for women as well as their right to live a life without shackles.

The years around 2007-2008, when most of the events of this film take place, was a time when Swat was plundered by strife, and Khan was perhaps trying to set a grim tone with the odd gruesome peek into battle mayhem. He could have ensured that the film went slower with the hamming quotient. The sheer loudness in execution robs the film of all impact.

Even seasoned actors as Atul Kulkarni and Divya Dutta (cast as Malala's mother Pekai Yousafzai) cannot fully rise above the sheer mediocrity of their characters.

Other familiar faces such as Arif Zakaria, Mukesh Rishi and Abhimanyu Singh, cast as Talibani fundamentalists, settle for one-dimensional villain roles - they play out filmi terrorists reminiscent of nineties stereotypes in this half-baked fare.

In 2015, American filmmaker Davis Guggenheim made a documentary titled He Named Me Malala. While that film is no scintillating exercise on the subject either, it still gives you a concise idea of who Malala Yousafzai is. For an even more authentic idea, you could always pick up a copy of her autobiography.

Vinayak Chakravorty

players within the team.

The lack of ample grey shades also deprives the script of desired depth, and gives it an easy predictability.

Such warts, however, are covered up easily by the film's brilliant cast.

Kangana Ranaut shines above all in an author-backed role, balancing with aplomb the various streaks that define Jaya - from being an overprotective mother and caring wife to the quietly resilient sportsperson out chasing an impossible comeback. Jaya is a nuanced mix of emotions, and Kangana relishes playing out every detail.

While Jassi Gill essays Jaya's husband with an understated quality, child actor Yagna Bhasin is simply outstanding as her son. Richa Chadha, as Jaya's best friend and comeback mentor, and Neena Gupta as her mother add value to the narrative despite minimal footage.

Panga is effectively filmed, with Jay I. Patel's camera complimenting the overall mellow tone of the film, although the editing (Ballu Saluja) could have been tighter in places. The film reiterates the idea that it is never too late to start chasing your dream - which gives it instant likability.

Vinayak Chakravorty FEBRUARY 2020 37

BACKCHAT

o

ENTERTAINMENT

S

ASK AUNTYJI

cineTALAc

Road rage desi style

Out of the mouths of babes

DEAR AUNTYJI Mai to museebat mein phas gayi hoon. My Australian-born beautiful husband of Indian descent has started a really really bad habit which he has been doing for 6 months and it's driving me crazy. So this is his habit and I am really really hoping you can provide me with good advice on what I should do.

Each time we go driving, especially in Parramatta in Sydney, if another driver upsets my husband, he rolls down his window and shakes his fist and yells profanities in a desi uncle ji accent. Oh you bloody basket, can't you drive properly? Or, arre pagal, do you have eyes or aloo - can't you see my lane? Now normally he speaks with a very broad Australian accent, but his uncleji accent is almost too perfect. At first it was funny but now I am alarmed that other drivers will not see the humour of this. Are you able to please provide me with guidance?

DEAR AUNTYJI We are a fairly close family and I get along really well with my brothers’ wives - who are all in Adelaide. Fortunately, we all have kids the same age and so there are many sleepovers etc. Now even though we are close, I have been given the impression my sisters-in-law have some misgivings about me. And I learnt this from their children, who are 7 and 8.

The past few times they have slept over, they have - out of the blue - told me things that they had heard their parents discuss. For example, little Manya told me her mum did not want to give their cleaners number to me because then my house would be cleaner then hers. And chhutki Nadia told me that my samosas aren't as tasty as her mum’s because that's what her mum told her dad. Now, what do I do, Auntyji, should I confront my bhabis with this information and ask for a please explain? Any advice is welcome.

AUNTYJI SAYS Ok, tell me this. When little kishmish Manya and little gulabjamun Nadia innocently told you these things, what was your reaction? Did you show them a whole lot of interest in what they were saying - and they could see that you were very interested in what they had to say? Or, like a good nanad, you told these little gossip mongers that repeating what their parents said is not a nice aadat? And afterwards, did you tell your bhabis that they should watch what they say around their kiddies? No, I bet a kalmoohie like you did none of these decent things, and you probably encouraged the kids to tell you more. Well, while Naughty Nadia and Mischievous Manya were telling you gossip from their homes, your own little laddoo was telling your bhabis some choice nuggets that you had discussed with your husband. So my advice to you is this. Tell the bhabis that the kids have been repeating their private conversations to you, and tell Manya and Nadia that achche bacche ghar ghar ki baat nahi failate. So don't be a kalankani. What goes round comes round. So mouh band, and Bura mat suno, Bura mat dekho and Bura mat karo, samjhe na?

AUNTYJI SAYS Arre, tumhara patidev tho bahut hi gunda nikla. Which Aussie-born nayak takes on a panga with other drivers by yelling at them like a demented uncle high on ganja? This is exactly the type of behaviour that could get him beaten up. Sydney drivers are notoriously crazy - so your husband is playing with aag. Could it be that he behaves like this because tumhe bahut hi maza aata hai listening to hubby do his best impersonation of a sharaabi uncle high as a kite on charas getting the crankies with other NRIs? So if aapko yeh tamasha achcha lagta hai, tho he must be doing it for your benefit. I suggest you curtail all encouragement of this behaviour, and advise patidev to stop behaving like a lafanga mawaali. Nothing achcha will come from this. Baat maano and apne aadmi ko kuch akal do.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR AUNTYJI? EMAIL INFO@INDIANLINK.COM.AU

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