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EDITORIAL

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PUBLISHER Pawan Luthra

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EDITOR Rajni Anand Luthra MELBOURNE COORDINATOR Preeti Jabbal CONTRIBUTORS Bageshri Savyasachi, Rhea Nath, Ritam Mitra, Manan Luthra, Jyoti Shankar, Petra O'Neill, Mina Khona, LP Ayer SALES Charuta Joshi

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av1our e e •

BY PAWAN LUTHRA ven before the Siraj-Bumrah scandal at Sydney's Pink Test had been fully investigated by authorities, the nature of the discourse was clear for those watching the larger India-Oz equation. How is this going to be reported in the Indian media, and what repercussions will it have on the broader relationship?

It was not that long ago, only ten years in fact, when the two nations stared at a stalemate following the international student fiasco. Headlines of a racist Australia screamed across the front pages of Indian media.

Australia then spent time and 1noney in reinforcing its multicultural acceptance of India and Indians. Some states did it well. Victoria successfully created this goodwill and has benefitted with larger inflows of Indian students and tourists. NSW did take up the challenge but sadly, has lost interest in this area. The arts festival Parramasala which was initiated for the Indian

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community after the 2009 student riots, is now a sad mishmash of all things multicultural with no standout features to what was originally intended.

India and Australia are both aware that a smooth relationship is mutually beneficial. It's now understood at a deeper level, given strategic defence and geopolitical elements have been thrown into the mix. The newly appointed Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan is desperately looking at new markets after China has shut down major Australian exports. The nature of China's aggression in this part of the world has also forced India and Australia in closer defence cooperation.

And yet, it is lamented, a sporting spat can put a spanner in the works and stall years of soft power diplomacy.

The jury's still out on whether the spectators' behaviour was racist or just lads knocking back a few beers.

Either way, it was disrespectful. And unpardonable.

In what should be considered 'another day in the office' for the players as they step onto the field, this kind of behaviour from the crowds can amplify personal demons. Consider Siraj, who lost his father while on tour here and

could not make it back for the funeral due to COVID restrictions. His tears at the Indian national anthem prior to the start of the Test took social media by storm.

Perhaps even more reprehensible was the spat out in the 1niddle, as two of Australia's most respected and admiration-worthy stars let a tough day get the better of them, for all to hear (and see) thanks to stump-mies and stump-cams. Both Australian captain Tim Paine and senior member Steve Smith should know better than to allow their frustrations to take over instinct.

As regards the crowd behaviour, what we need is education on casual racism - meaningful discussions on how words can hurt. Otherwise, Siraj's stance midfield, pointing to the crowds in the very same manner as AFL legend Adam Geodes when an audience member called him an 'ape', will become a more common occurrence - as it rightly should, because such behaviour needs to be called out loud and clear.

As far as repercussions go, perhaps Paine and Smith will feel the brunt more severely than the broader bilateral relationship.

ADVERTISEM

Wishing the Indian-Australian community a very Happy Republic Day. Gladys Berejiklian Premier of NSW

NATIONAL EDITION

JANUARY 2021 3

SPECIAL FEATURES CLASS OF 2020 Learning in lockdown: Valuable new life lessons

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CALENDAR Holidays and observances in the Indian and Australian calendar

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ARTS A Tamil classic in the Blake Art Prize

FUNDRAISER Succulent love CINEMA South Asian cameleers of the 1800s in The Furnace

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EVERY TEST HELPS US STAY TOGETHER Every test for coronavirus (COVID-19) is helping us keep our families together and our communities open.

If you have any symptoms, get tested.

Even if you have been tested before.

Every test helps.

STAY SAFE STAY OPEN For translated information in your language, visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au/translations Authorised by the Victorian Government, Melbourne

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NATIONAL EDITION

JANUARY 2021 5

YOUR SAY

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RAKSHITHA LIVES ON IN NINE OTHERS

RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA shared the moving story of international student Rakshitha Mallepally, who saved nine Australian lives with organ donation after a tragic accident on New Year's Eve Sukhpal Sangha wrote: Proud of her.

Naresh Sharma wrote: Hope it inspires others to become organ donors too.

If we can't help others while we are alive, this is the very least we can do. A request to everyone - please consider becoming a donor.

Rekha Kanth wrote: Very saddened to read about the fatality. At the same time, feel extremely proud about the support that has been extended. Her devastated parents giving consent for organ donation. Her friends collecting $62,000 to pay off loans. Makes me believe that there are still many that are very human. Om Shanti.

Ramanl Dokka wrote: She lives on... true to her name.

Chltra Iyer wrote: So sad to hear of her death, but how magnanimous of her friend and her parents to overcome personal feelings and donate her organs.

Sadhana Khare wrote: Great service for mankind.

Shlvkumar Mahallngam wrote: She stilt lives in the form of nine persons.

Hats off to all the help by fellow Indians and friends. Great work by Sreenadh for the timely response and in convincing her family to agree to the organ donation. Our heartfelt condolences to Rakshita's family and friends. Om Shanti.

Deepa Somasundaram wrote: RIP Rakshitha. May all the recipients live a healthy life through you.

Thakor Patel wrote: May Almighty appreciate Rakshitha's invaluable donation and grant her peace.

Jacob Modayil Oommen wrote: For the parents, the decision was a very tough one. For Sreenadh, the decision to get involved was a tough one. The accident itself was a bad and undesirable incident. But three people who had vision beyond themselves turned the whole thing around. Skilled doctors did their bit, and nine people received a fresh lease of life. Sreenadh, thanks for the big lesson. Kudos to the parents. RIP, young one.

Shivkumar Mahalingam wrote: She still lives on in the form on nine persons.

Hats off to all the help, fellow Indians and friends. Great work by Sreenadh for the timely response and in convincing her family to agree to the organ donation. Our heartfelt condolences to Rakshitha's family and friends. Om Shanti.

Sivashanmugam Natarajan wrote: Sreenadh, proud of your services as always. Noble deed. May Rakshitha's great soul attain Sadgathi. May God give strength to her family (to bear this) inconsolable loss.

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#WHEREININDIA

This famous temple covered in snow last winter was popularly featured in the Hindi film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani in 2013. Perhaps it was an easy one - readers Meet Kaur, Ramneek Sharma, Aashna Mlttal, Jlljilmary Augustine, Charuta Vaze and Ashhlma Verma got the correct answer: Hidimba Temple in Manali.

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#WHEREINOZ

This large whale sculpture can be found in Australia's whale-watching capital on the east coast. Deepak Vincent and Seema Chauhan had the right answer: Hervey Bay, QLD.

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SAY IT AGAIN 6 JANUARY 2021

Come on spectators, we can all do better.

The game of cricket is about celebrating EVERYONE and not abusing. #Unacceptable.

PS: Getting to watch cricket live from the stadium is a privilege in these difficult times, honour it.

Shikha Pandey, Indian cricketer

The other element that hasn't been mentioned is that Siraj & Bumrah, who copped racist abuse over MULTIPLE DAYS, are both from minority groups within India. If you're from a minority, you're hyperaware about prejudice & discrimination, knowing it ain't something you raise lightly Oz, Twitter user

Ah yes, summer in Australia where it's hailing but the sun is still out and shining, I would like to be knocked out by hailstones and get a tan at the same time please Emily, Twitter user

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TEMPLE MAKEOVER

After nearly 10 centuries, a Shiva temple in Maharashtra is all set to be revamped Sachin Wakhare wrote: Fantastic! #heritage #preserve #restoration Ajay CV wrote: Please don't touch them... You have no idea how hard our ancestors have worked to create this.

Eric wrote: Please stay away from our temples. And don't even try to give them a "makeover". Seriously. Stay away .

Ananda S Jayant wrote: Why does a temple need a makeover? Who decides what's to be done or not? What structures will change, removed, in the name of makeover? What will the Archaeological Survey of India do in the name of makeover?

Sal Priya wrote: I don't trust the Archaeological Survey of India's sense of aesthetics (or frightful lack thereof) in the least. They struggle even with simple preservation - I beg of them not to give any ancient temples "makeovers".

Dhanashree wrote: Oh no! Brace yourself for ugly cement patchwork and gaudy oil paints.

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RACIAL ABUSE AT SCG

Readers weighed in after reports emerged that Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj faced abuse from some spectators on days two and three of the Vodafone Pink Test in Sydney.

Lynda Blair wrote: I am so sorry this happened. Those who engaged in this behaviour represent the dregs of Aussie society. I've joined some of the Indian pages as well as Aussie this year because I've been so impressed with personalities and skill level on the Indian side. I've decided if Australia is playing they're my team. If AUS isn't playing but India is, I'm cheering for India. When we're playing each other I'm just in awe. I know I can't make up for what has happened. I just want you to know that this Aussie loves you.

Steve Roach wrote: Let's wait for the enquiry.

Renu Datta wrote: Strongly believe the culprits will get the lesson from the authorities.

David Adcock wrote: I don't believe them.

Brad Smith wrote: This from the team who called Andrew Symonds a monkey!

On the Sydney Test draw James Peter Lalor wrote: Best fifth day in a test. Well done, India.

Ashim Sinha wrote: Absolutely!! A heroic performance.

Sandip Hor wrote: This draw is bigger than a win Priyanka Nijhawan wrote: Well done Team India. What a brilliant effort to

pull off a draw despite the injuries, the dramas, the restrictions. This was a win for us in all aspects. Great captaincy coupled with great resilience. A fitting response to all the bullies out there on and off the field.

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BATAO BATAO!

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Indian Link Radio's RJ EKTA asked on her show Good Morning Australia: Baar baar poocha jaane wala kaunsa sawaal aapko most irritate karta hai?

Saurabh Saste wrote: Party kab doge?

Meenakshi Kalia wrote: Aaj shift hai?

Dheeraj Saxena wrote: The wife asking, Aaj khane mein kya banaoon??

Nishant Menon wrote: Kya hoga is desh ka?

ShubhangiBhaleraoKamble wrote: 2020 se ek hi sawaal ne sataya hai. Log puchhte rehte hai bar baraur hume jawab nahi pata: India kab aa rahe ho?

Manish Godbole wrote: Question from wife: Meri maa se tumhari kya dushmani hai?

Dheeraj Saxena wrote: When injured, Oard to nahin ho raha??

Dheeraj Saxena wrote again: On the phone: Aur batao?

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Really looking forward to the all - Anglo panels and commentators on TV & radio weighing in on whether Siraj's treatment was indeed racism and how@ CricketAus should respond. It's the kind of nuance and lived experience we've come to know and love in Australia Antoinette Latouf, journalist and diversity champion NATIONAL EDITION

It is wild to be living through a historic moment every 6 minutes.

Kimeko M,

reporter

Anyone else missing Trump tweets already? Ironically of course... but still, this place just got a little more boring.

Vir Das, comedian

Gotta tell ya Sydney, I am loving this mandatory mask situation. Whew.

I feel much more comfortable on public transport now.

Omar Sakr, poet

I wish fat girls were taught that they deserve kindness, decency, respect and affection just as much as non-fat girls do. We're taught that we're just lucky to have someone interested in us and we should be grateful for the attention.

We're taught to let so much slide.

Harnidh Kaur, writer and poet JANUARY 2021 7

COVER STORY

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• Former Australian Test opener and ex-Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards on his ambitious p roject to reu nite Australian cricket with a long-lost a rc hive of historic Fairfax Media cricket photos instrumental in developing women's cricket, including the era-defining 2015 launch of the Women's Big Bash League.

Part of Edwards' legacy also lies in the controversial centralisation of power in cricket amongst the "Big Three" nations of Australia, England and India, and unsurprisingly his relationship with his Indian counterparts during his ti1ne at the heln1 of Cricket Australia was a strong one.

"J n1ade [dealing with the BCCI] a high focus of mine," says Edwards.

"As soon as I beca1ne chairman, I went to India to meet [former BCCI President] N Srinivasan and others. I think we got on very well and I think we achieved quite a lot in terms of reforming the ICC. We broke the Test club up, introduced the concept of 'meritocracy' and made it a lot easier for teams like Afghanistan and Ireland to become Test match playing countries. It used to be highly political - and it probably still is - but now there's processes in place so that if a country is good enough, they can become a Test match playing nation. l enjoyed working with Srinivasan, 1 found him a very engaging and intelligent man.

He certainly bad Indian cricket at heart, no questions about that. He's helped bring Indian cricket to the fore."

BY

RITAM MITRA hen forn1er Test opener and chairman of Cricket Australia Wally Edwards was made aware of a long-lost archive of 38,000 Fairfax cricket photographs ready to be repatriated to Australia fro1n the United States, he knew the opportunity was too good to pass up. With no other takers for the photos, Edwards, a Board men1ber of the Bradman Foundation, bought the photos hin1self for $1 apiece, and promptly donated the1n to the Brad1nan Museun1.

Famed for his unwavering "all-or­ nothing" approach, Edwards then con1menced the publication of four books aimed at bringing the photos to life, with the flagship book - India's 71-Year Test being launched by Ravi Shastri ahead of the third Test between India and Australia this sun1mer. It marked the end of a saga that threatened to rob from Australia a large chunk of its cricketing history, while opening a new chapter for the long­ forgotten - and fleetingly unwanted photographs. The first half of this saga was a tale of cross-border deceit, indictment and imprisonment, but the second is of history, culture and art. At the heart of it all lies the gentlen1an's game.

A new life for the photographs

The photographs

In 2013, Fairfax Media entrusted American businessman John Rogers with the digitisation of Fairfax's priceless photo archive. The project would see Rogers' con1pany, Rogers Photo Archive, scan and tag the 1nillions of photos and negatives in the Fairfax cricket archive, in return for the right to sell the originals. What Fairfax didn't know at the time was that Rogers Photo Archive was under investigation by the FBI for fraud, and was ultimately placed into receivership, with the vast collection of photos left to sit idly in a warehouse following raids by authorities.

As the dust settled, it emerged that only a quarter of the photos appeared to have been digitised, with n1any originals unaccounted for, including after it e1nerged that Rogers' wife had sold many originals on eBay before they had even been scanned. Rogers hiinself was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison and ordered to pay US $23 million in restitution to his victims, thought to be the most significant sentence ever for sports­ memorabilia related fraud.

It was not until 2017, when Duncan Miller, the director of an art gallery in 8 JANUARY 2021

R Kaushik (author, India's 71-Year Test), Harsha Bhogle and Phil Bonser (Managing Director, Churchill Press) discussing an early draft concept of the book in Mumbai, August 2019.

California, purchased the archjve from court-appointed receivers, that there was any renewed hope of bringing the archive of Fairfax cricket photos back to Australia.

Miller shopped around the collection - now valued at a staggering US $82 million - but struggled to find interest fron1 cash-strapped media organisations, let alone the charitable Bradman Foundation who could not justify spending the cash required to acquire the cricke t -related photos in the archive, especially with no guarantee of making a return on the investment.

Enter Wally Edwards

This is where Edwards stepped in. A cricket tragic by any measure of the term, Edwards' love affair with the sport started with a ball tied on the end of a string in his hometown of Muchea, a small town some

50km north-east of Perth. Yet by the time he was 15, Edwards was playing juruor cricket in the morning and senior A -grade cricket in the afternoon, with good form driving his selection for the embattled Western Australia state team. On the back of an excellent start to his Sheffield Shield career, Edwards was selected for the Australian national side.

Edwards' ti1ne donrung the baggy green may have been brief - he is the first to tell you he was perhaps a touch fortunate to play Test cricket - but his time as an administrator was anything but. A long­ serving board member of the Western Australian Cricket Association, Edwards also served 19 years on the Cricket Australia board, including four years as Australia's board member on the ICC executive committee. During his time, Edwards was

With cricket all but running through his veins, it was natural that Edwards pounced at the opportunity to buy the archive of Fairfax cricket photos through his co1npany, Holman Industries. "I thought this sort of stuff is why the Brad man Foundation is around: to collect these photos, protect them, and use them," says Edwards. "But running a museum, you don't make any money, so l bought the photos and donated them to the Bradman Museun1. I also gave a commitment to see what we could do to get them out of the archive and into some form of book or other things that might be able to generate some revenue for the Brad1nan Foundation as well, rather than leave the photos sitting in an air-conditioned clin1ate­ controlled environment."

The natural pathway to achieve this was through the publication of books - again, a venture Edwards needed to self-fund.

Edwards' first port of caU was Phil Bonser, the Managing Director of Churchill Press, with whom Edwards inspected hundreds of photos from the vast Fairfax archive of cricket photos.

The pair initially decided to publish two books - Clearing Boundaries, a book about the history of women's cricket in Australia, and, with a nod to India's first-ever away Test series win over Australia, India's 71-Year

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,._ Sunil Gavaskar (1977) Test. As it turned out, Edwards and Bonser also published two smaller books, telling the tale of Shane Warne's baggy green which raised over $ 1 n1illion at auction during Australia's tragic 2019/20 bushfire season and is now housed at the Bradman Museum, and a Justin Langer-authored reinvention of Sir Donald Bradman's famous 1958 book The Art of Cricket.

"When we started the whole process of buying the photos, that was around when India won [the 2018/19 Test series]," says Edwards on the decision in December 2018 to publish India's 71-Year Test. "It was a huge achievement for India, and I don't think it got enough airtin1e. I t needed to be celebrated, and the fact that the photos were there, we wanted to do something a bit NATIONAL EDITION

different. We didn't want to just do another book on Australian cricket - we didn't want to just trace the history. We wanted to present cricket in an enjoyable, easy to read way, so that the average person can turn the pages and even in half an hour get a good handle on the history of what we are talking about. That's what photos do, when acco111panied by some nice commentary, and that's what the style of these books is."

Edwards' comments are echoed by Bonser, who references a chance meeting with Harsha Bhogle during the second Test of the 2018/19 Border Gavaskar series in Perth. "(Bhogle] agreed with my inkling that, should India take out the series in Australia for the first time, it would be a momentous achievement

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Ravi Shastri (1985)

Ravi Shastri (1985)

worth documenting in its entirety," says Bonser. "At that point he introduced me to author R Kaushik, and we started £rom there - with [designer] Matt Bonser and I digging through the same trove of historical images in the Bradman Museum's Holman Collection that underpinned Clearing Boundaries. Twenty-four months later, COVlD notwithstanding, India's 71-Year Test was launched by Ravi Shastri at the SCG."

its place in cricket," he says. "I regret that when 1 was chairman of Cricket Australia, I didn't show more interest in the Bradman Museum and the Foundation. It's only now that I've been involved with the Foundation for half a dozen years that I appreciate that it's very important for Cricket Australia to have an archive like this.

"We are very lucky to have a museu111 to tell stories about our past and collect history as it happens. In England they have Lords, and we would like the Bradman Museum recognised in everyone's eyes as where cricket's heritage is housed and looked after, and its stories told. It is about more than just Australian cricket, and it has to be enhanced, not diminished," concludes Edwards.

Preserving cricket history

Speaking about the ongoing importance of preserving cricket's history, Edwa1·ds reflects on lessons be learned during his time at the helm of Australian cricket. ''In a way, the Bradman Museum is looking for

JANUARY 2021 9

COVER STORY

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The recently l unched coffee table book I ndia's 71-Year Test i nc l udes over 2 0 0 p h otos rescued from the U SA BY

RITAM MITRA or a sport with as storied a history as cricket, books on its past are unsurprisingly a dhne a dozen.

Given its origins, the game has always been blessed with extensive, often romanticised writings from son1e of the most eloquent doyens of the English language.

But long-established tradition has its foibles, and in the world of cricket publishing, the biggest of these is inaccessibility, with only the 1nost ardent of cricket supporters likely to casually pick up a book traversing the game's history.

India's 71-Year Test, recently launched by former Indian all-rounder and current national team coach Ravi Shastri at the Sydney Cricket Ground, subverts the genre; it tells the history of Indian cricket in Australia primarily through an expansive collection of over 200 photos, many of which were rescued from the USA as part of the Holman Collection.

Taking the reader through a chronological, tour-by-tour journey of the history of the Indian cricket tea1n in

10 JANUARY 2021

Australia, India's 71-Year Test is perhaps one of the most visually stunning books ever in its category. Contrary to the usual modus operandi of cricket history books, where photos typically occupy a small section of dedicated glossy pages in the centre of the book, lndia's 71-Year Test is scattered with photos on each of its beautifully designed and large double-page spreads.

This accessibility is one of the main reasons author R Kaushik expects the book to be successful in India. "In the last few years, the reading culture in India bas mushroomed exponentially, and there is far greater literature on Indian cricket than used to be, say, even a decade back," be says. "I am sure people will especially love the fabulous black and wbjte pictures of legends fro1n the past, though only time will actually tell bow it is received here at home."

The journey begins with a foreword

by Shastri, who opens by saying, "Of all countries I've toured, Australia has easily been the best." Shastri cites the quality of cricket, the facilities, the weather, the culture and the love of the game amongst the reasons he found tours of Australia both enjoyable and challenging. He comments also on the rarity of success in Australia: "As a professional sportsperson,

you know that when you win the hard way, you command respect," he writes.

It's no wonder that Shastri has committed to provide copies of the book to every member of the Indian squad currently touring Australia.

Shastri's foreword echoes both the theme and conclusion of the book, and indeed its genesis: that India's achievement of winning its first-ever Test series on Australian soil on its 2018/19 tour was as big an achievement as any other in the nation's sporting history, and deserved to be chronicled.

The n1ain body of the book breaks into four sections: Initiation, covering India's 1947/48 and 1967/68 tours, Progress, spanning 1977/78 to 1991/92, Confluence, covering 1996/97 to 2014/15, and Glory, describing the successful 2018/19 tour.

It is in the earlier tours however, that the Holman Collection of photos truly shines.

Describing his favourite photos within the Holman Collection photo archive, former Cricket Australia chairman and Test player Wally Edwards (who funded the collection) says, "I enjoyed all the photos of the old players, like Lala Amarnath. 1 can remember all these old players as a kid listening to the radio broadcasts, through to the early 1970s. [The photos] make you

recap on your early life, seeing photos of people you knew only through radio".

Some of the photo highlights in the book - and there are many - include the Australian and Indian teams with their heads bowed in respect during a two­ minute silence for the passing of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948; BS Chandrasekhar being chaired off the field by teammates after his 12-wicket haul in 1977/78, handing India its first ever win on Australian soil; and a young Australian fan patting an ice­ cold Bisban Bedi on the back after India defeated Australia by an innings for the first time on Australian soil, in the very next match after Chandrasekhar's heroics.

Sir Donald Bradman once mused, "The game of cricket existed long before l was born. It will be played centuries after my den1ise". If that is to prove correct, authors and publishers alike must continue targeting newer, wider audiences and do away with the "too niche" category into whlch many cricket books inevitably fall.

India's 71-Year Test does exactly that.

India's 71-Year Test is available through various online retailers, including the Bradman Museum's online store, and will be available in bookstores throughout Australia From mid-January.

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3

,, The RN Legal team did an excellent job. They were professlonal. friendly and helpful. ,,

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Contact Harjit today! Call: 0412 254 015 Fax: (02) 9920 1044 web: virdiengineers.com.au

NATIONAL EDITION

JANUARY 2021 11

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I nternational student, 20, helps save nine Austra lian lives with organ donation er very na1ne speaks volumes for her last act in this world.

Following a horrific accident on the night of 3 1 Dec 2020, Rakshitha Mallepally's donation of her organs has now saved nine Australian lives.

'Rakshitha' is Sanskrit for 'protected, guarded, saved and preserved'.

The twenty-year-old international student had stepped out to buy herself son1e dinner at Wentworthville NSW when she was involved in a traffic incident.

Sreenadh Brahmpuram, a co1nmunity worker who assisted in the case, told Indian Link, "She finished work at Hello Fresh at 1 am and had a telephone chat with her n1other. She hopped on to her scooter with a friend to go buy a snack at the local 7-1 1 . Caught in the headlight flash of an oncoming car, she lost control, throwing her pillion rider off and shortly thereafter falling to the road herself. She hit her head on the pavement."

Rakshitha

Her heln1et wasn't strapped on.

Her friend rang for help, but police and ambulance could not revive her.

She was transferred to Westmead Hospital.

As she lay in induced coma, the doctors suggested organ donation.

Rakshitha's parents in Telangana, devastated, rejected the idea.

'That was the story when [ arrived at the hospital at 3 pm," Sreenadh recounted.

He got on to the phone with her family in Telangana, and with a mutual friend, began to counsel the family.

"Rakshita will live beyond death, I said to them."

As the hospital finally began its procedures, the sun had risen on a new year.

Sreenadh Brahmpuram, an IT professional from Telangana hin1self, is well-known in Sydney's Indian con1munity for his welfare activities.

He was contacted by the Indian Consulate to assist in the n1atter.

He is pleased to report that many others like him have stepped up to help Rakshitha in their own ways.

Rakshitha was a student at the Sydney-based IIBIT ( International Institute of Business & lnforination Technology). The I nstitute put in $8000 towards repatriation fees.

Meanwhile, Rakshitha's friends have collected $62,000 to send to her family back in India, to help then1 repay the loans they took out for her Australian education.

Rakshitha's mortal remains reached her home in Meerpet Hyderabad India on 9 Jan on a Qatar Airways flight, and the funeral was held soon after. " I n the end, l think it was a timely decision to donate Rakshitha's organs," Sreenadh 1nused. "I would like to thank her parents Venkat and Anitha for giving their consent, and to save the lives of nine others. More people should come forward to donate their organs."

Rajnl Anand Luthra

Labor

12 JANUARY 2021

www.indianlink.com.au

• Mel bourne H i g h School student ends one VCE subject on a high note - i n Yea r 11

BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA ankeert Kapatkar has received a perfect score in VCE Music, playing the traditional Indian instrun1ent tabla. "l was not expecting to get a perfect store - only one other student has got it, I believe," the Melbourne High School student told Indian Link.

Sankeert took to the tabla at 8 years of age, inspired by a friend who played, learning under Melbourne-based musician Pt. Ajit Nimbkar.

Two years ago, musicologist Dr Sam Evans began guiding him for the VCE. Sankeert took his Tabla VCE as a Year 1 1 student, and wiII co1nplete the rest of his VCE subjects in 2021.

VCE Tabla has an investigative as well as a perforn1ance element, Sankeert described. For the investigative, he wrote a paper co1nparing tabla representations in classical style and in the modern context (in jazz or world tnusic).

"For my final perforinance, required to be 20-25 minutes, I picked four pieces - a table solo in teen taal, a jugalbandi with sitar, Five Trains by San1 Evans, and Farha

by Dhafer Youssef."

For that last piece, a conte1nporary jazz piece typically played on the pear-shaped string instrument oud, Sankeert composed a tabla component, adding a tisrajati.

It was not however his favourite piece in the perfonnance. That position is reserved for the jugalbandi with sitarist Denis Phelan. He confessed, "I do prefer the traditional approach - it is n1ore structured.

It is only recently I've been introduced to modern music."

The young student, who counts Pt Zakir Hussain and Pt Anindo Chatterjee as his great influences, will soon present at Top Class, the VCE showcase where the state's top perfor1ning arts students strut their stuff.

No doubt he will wear his brightest kurta, like he did for his final exan1.

His teacher Sam Evans will probably be there to see hitn. "It is a prestigious event, and amidst the piano players and the opera singers and the string quartets, it will be beautiful to see a traditional Indian

instrument," Dr Evans told Indian Link.

"I think it speaks volumes for the diversity in Victoria that Indian music is accepted and valued."

Guru is quite pleased with his shishya.

"Sankeert did a really great job. He worked very hard, especially in the last six months.

In the last few weeks I was actually going, wow!"

Dr Evans, who received Australia's first doctorate in tabla studies in 2018 from Monash University, saw three students through the VCE this year.

VCE Tabla is a program for which he can take credit entirely. The only one of its kind in the country, Dr Evans launched it in 2009.

"I worked with the board of education to have it recognised - they were very open to having a non-Western instrun1ent in the curriculum. It's definitely possible to do this in other states. It'll just take someone to do the job I did - contact your education board."

The VCE has seen at least one tabla student through every year since it began to be offered as a course of study - there are three kids this year, and two the next.

Dr Evans' only beef is that tabla is still called an 'alternate instrun1ent'. "At what stage do we stop calling it that? It's just an instrument!"

How would he advise students wishing to take up the tabla in Year 1 2?

"J'd say to them, this is an opportunity to use the skills you've gained since your childhood, towards your university entrance score. Mainstream kids who may have learned a western instrument for long, can make a VCE subject out of it, but Indian-origin kids who have learned an Indian instrument \vere not able to do so until now. I'd also suggest, do it like Sankeert - he finished it in Year 1 1 , and that too with a perfect score, so it should set him up well for his final result."

We cannot let Dr Evans go without asking him this: how important is the tabla in world 1nusic?

"Very important: this was the subject of my PhD. lt is readily accepted, and easily collaborates with other instruments. In pitch, tonality and rhythm, it translates well. lt can take on harmonic and melodic roles. It is at the forefront of eastern instruments accepted in world music today."

Sankeert Kapatkar

NATIONAL EDITION

JANUARY 2021 13

C LASS O F 2 0 2 0

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Lea rning in lockdown: The Class of 2020 picked u p some additional - and va luable - l ife lessons

ADARSH PAREKH (SACE)

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ATAR: 97.75 Subjects: Mathematical Methods,

Research Project, Tourism, English Literary Studies, Psychology, Micro-Business Operations (VET).

BRINDA MURLIKRISHNA (SACE) ATAR: 99.4 raw (99.95 adjusted) Subjects: Mathematical Methods,

Specialist Mathematics, Chemistry, French, Korean, RP, Integrated Learning Awards/State Ranks: School Awards in

Methods, Specialist Maths, French and RP State Award for Korean Beginners School: St Mary's College

School: Aberfoyle Park High School

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BY

MANAN LUTHRA

With your HSC/VCE/SACE now done and dusted, you've probably had much opportunity to look back at it all with some wisdom. What did you learn about yourself in the academic year and 2020 overall?

Arnav Katra: This year was, without a doubt, extremely difficult to confront, but with any difficulty in life comes an opportunity to grow. I really learnt of n1y potential to re1nain resilient in de1nanding conditions. I was constantly under pressure in both the online and on-campus environments throughout 2020, and I think 111y ability to come out of it well attests to 1ny capacity to retain a dete1·n1ined and concentrated mindset, which is something I'm sure will be of use in future studies.

Bhawan Dillon: Throughout the HSC, 1 learnt how important it is to be adaptable and that J have the capacity to be flexible depending on the circuinstances. We often view change as negative and a burden, but this is not the case if we condition ourselves to constantly evolve and plan

14 JANUARY 2021

for the worst, like going online during COVID. Keirath Singh: This year has shown me the importance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle and n1aking sure you have outlets outside of school to keep you occupied.

Sitting behind a laptop screen all year made this especially challenging, however it forced me to focus on being organised and staying ahead of schedule.

Aryan Bhatia: I've learnt that I am capable of achieving things I've never been able to do before. I am very pleased with my perfect study score in Specialist Maths and high scores in 1ny Methods and Physics and Che1nistry subjects. I have achieved this through sheer dedication, hard work, self-study and without any external tutoring. I was a bit challenged by English, to say the least but J was able to write 3 con1plete essays during the exam which l a1n very proud of.

Adarsh Parekh: With 2020 throwing the lives of Year 12 students into chaos, l learnt that SACE students this year have been able to effectively adapt through the challenges faced. Personally, I have become n1ore disciplined, self-sufficient and independent, taking my learning more into my own hands.

Sharanya Karnath: I learnt that although there were n1oments of difficulty which

demanded n1ore time and hard work, it was these challenging experiences that were the n1ost rewarding. Every effort matters - you can't expect results if you don't put in the effort. This encouraged n1e to refine my assignments and strengthen the quality of my work.

Brinda Murlikrishna: The biggest thing I learnt would be to lower my expectations of myself, especially during tough times.

As soon as I lowered my expectations and accepted that it was just an extremely hard year, 1 felt better about myself and my results and ultimately ended up doing better. It's important to know that everyone is in the same boat as you, and everyone has their own challenges to overcome.

Akul Saigal: To have such an unpredictable year coupled with the already challenging Year 12 meant that I was certainly pushed and given that the stakes seem so high, the only option was to cope. And l did. l also began to understand the mental and physiological signs of burnout and stress.

Even when l did not feel stressed or tired, my body would exhibit signs that told me I had to rest to regain the energy and drive to continue.

What were your expectations going into the year? How did COVID reality compare?

Arnav Kalra: Honestly, I wasn't too sure what to expect going into Year 12. I knew there would be a heavy workload, and I think online learning actually helped alleviate some of that pressure. I had more time to dedicate towards my studies at home, whilst also being able to relax more as 1 was able to pursue Year 12 study from the con1fort of 1ny bedroon1. lt was disappointing to lose out on n1any school events and activities due to COVI D, but l was fortunate enough to end the year with a formal which was thoroughly enjoyable.

Bhawan Dillon: 1 expected quite a linear year comprised of going to school, assessments, and the final HSC exams.

However, these expectations were undercut by the social parameters in1posed

by COVID as classes went online and assessment were altered and 111odified to fit the current paradigms. lt just went to show that you can never know what's ahead and having a broad focus on all aspects of life is the most reliable way to adapt.

Keirath Singh: There was a lot of hearsay about the challenges of the year. In retrospect, J do believe that the year is much less stressful than past students make it out to be. One benefit of COVID (dare 1 say) was the amount of extra time that l had. It decreased my study load and

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BHAWAN DHILLON (HSC) ATAR: 93 Subjects: Punjabi Continuers, English Advanced, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry Band Gs/State Ranks: Band 6 in English Advanced and Band 6 and 1st in State in Punjabi Continuers School: St Marys Senior High School

SHARANYA KAMATH (SACE) ATAR: 99.35 Subjects: English, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematical Methods, Information Processing and Publishing Awards/State Ranks: English Merit, Information Processing and Publishing Merit School: Wilderness School -

made the year considerably less stressful than expected.

Aryan Bhatia: I had expected a normal school year, filled with regular interaction with fellow students, including social events and physical activities. COYID was a disruption, but it had positive consequences. I did not expect that I would be using my co1nputer n1ore than 8 hours every day for nearly two full terms or nearly giving up on all outdoor activities, but I tried to make the best of the situation. Every cloud has a silver lining- COVID ended up being a blessing in disguise as I ended up having more time on my hands to study.

Adarsh Parekh: I was expecting it to be a memorable year. And it was, in a different way. Instead of being a year of celebration filled with focused study, school events, practical classes/assessn1ents and other Year 12 'rites of passage', COVID resulted in the cancellation of almost everything­ except the 'studying' bit.

Sharanya Karnath: Although there were stressful times, especially when multiple assignment deadlines coincided, it was overcon1e through prioritising and time 1nanagen1ent. In a year where COYID created a stressful and alarming atmosphere, resilience was a crucial quality that helped me adjust

NATIONAL EDITION

to the situation. Several school and extracurricular events were cancelled; however this was viewed with a positive attitude and allowed 1nore ti1ne for personal life.

Brinda Murlikrishna: To be honest, I was initially worried about year 1 2 because I believed we were at a disadvantage because of the panden1ic and that we would struggle more than previous years.

I thought online classes would derail the year 1 2 experience but the year went quite well. Even though COYID had some negative impacts such as tests pushed forward. ultimately it was a fair year.

Akul Saigal: Con1ing into Year 12, I felt anxious. Even having done a ¾ subject in Year 1 1 , I was still unsure about what the year would entail. Setting such a high standard for 1nyself didn't help. But once I opened the booklet and my pen hit paper, all of that uneasiness melted away. As the year went on, I began to realise that in the end, it really is just a number. A number that in no way defines you.

What was your initial response to online classes, and bow did you make them work for your learning style?

Arnav Katra: I actually enjoyed online learning, as it meant I could sleep in longer and not have to change into school

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uniform every day! It was annoying not being able to interact with friends and teachers physically which is something I really enjoyed about high school, but with everyone's webcams switched on on Zoom, online classes got a little less strange. I'm a very visual learner, so I appreciated the use of YouTube videos and whiteboards to make the lessons more engaging.

Bhawan Dillon: Initially, everything became very distorted because my internet connection wasn't the best. But thanks to the staff at St Marys Senior High School, especially Mr Anil Sharma and Ms Danielle Ervine, I never fell behind with my schoolwork. Tbey would help me out through email and 200111, and upload the classwork and video tutorials onto Google Classroom to ensure that I could continue learning the content. ln the end, 1 adapted my schedule to sleep during the day and study later into the night when all the content would be uploaded and available.

It ensured! wasted very little time and increased 1ny overall productivity.

Keirath Singh: Initially I found it very difficult to adjust to this new way of learning. I was forced to be more independent which contrasted the past 1 2 years of schooling. Making sure that J spent enough tin1e away from my screen

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each day considerably helped me to adapt to online learning.

Aryan Bhatia: The concept of online classes was both sea ry and exciting. I believe online classes are effective as long as students remains motivated to study for then1selves. Computers have a host of tempting video games, so it's admittedly easier said than done. But after a n1onth, I managed to get into a routine and focus more on my studies. Having used my time more efficiently, I was able to be productive.

Adarsh Parekh: I was neutral to the concept of online classes. Although a learning environn1ent such as a school is obviously 1nuch preferred, I made online classes work with my learning style by taking down notes, highlighting the key points from the lesson and asking the teacher when I had questions.

Sharanya Karnath: At first, I was excited for online classes as this approach was more flexible and relaxed, yet I was quick to recognise the challenges, especially for subjects like biology and chemistry where we had to undertake practicals. These limitations were overcome by applying the flexibility of the course to focus more on theory and knowledge during online lessons, allowing the practicals to be conducted when face-to-face classes resu111ed.

JANUARY 2021 15

C LASS O F 2 0 2 0 AKUL SAIGAL

{VCE)

ATAR: 99.7 Subjects: English Language, Further mathematics, Mathematical Methods, Specialist mathematics, Physics, German Awards/State Ranks: Dux of Mentone Grammar School School: Mentone Grammar School

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KEIRATH SINGH

{VCE)

1

ATAR: 98.45 Subjects: English, Maths Methods, Chemistry, Economics, Biology, French School: Haileybury College -

Brinda Murlikrishna: r did not like or support the idea of on line classes as r tend to get distracted when I'm online.

T was, however, lucky enough to only do one week of school online. During these online classes, l made sure to write down notes so I could better remember what was being taught, as personally, typing things on ,ny laptop did not seen, to help.

Akul Saigal: I was certainly not chuffed, but my school did handle it very well. I did force myself to leave n1y desk as often as I could and exercise most mornings - in fact, I felt more fit and regin1ental during iso than l had been before, which was something J was not expecting.

What was your study technique?

Arnav Kalra: I arranged my desktop such that each folder represented a subject, which contained subject notes from the year, as well as n1arked hon1ework tasks and projects. This made studying much easier, as all my revision material was well organised, and I was under no added pressure towards the latter part of the year.

Bhawan Dillon: My study technique was very simple. I would learn the content and then make sure I knew everything about the subject matter at hand by doing my own research like reading papers, watching videos, and listening to podcasts.

Then I would take a break before returning to do past paper questions on the topic. After this l would prepare for future content to study, as per my school's scope and sequence. This wasn't anything too hectic, it was just reading so1ne pages fron1 the textbook and preparing questions that I may need to ask my teacher when we covered the content during class.

Keirath Singh: I wouldn't say that I had a studying technique per se because online learning was so new to me. I would recomn1end future students create a study timetable and try to stick to it as much as they can.

Aryan Bhatia: I managed to remain motivated by setting reasonable goals that I would finish by the end of the day, such as an essay per day. For maths, l mostly did questions from the textbook. Often students contacted n1e with math problems 16

JANUARY 2021

they found challenging, that I could solve. It was a bit of a win-win situation: I got to solve the most challenging problems while they got help with the solution. By the end of the year, I would do practice exams on a regular basis, correct my exam responses, and look for con1n1on mistakes. This also allowed me to get familiar with the exam content and structure.

Adarsb Parekh: I set personal deadlines for assignn,ents, completing them before their actual due dates to do other things, keep organised and maintain a work-life balance. l also used the flashcards app 'Quizlet' during exam periods which effectively helped with content-heavy subjects.

Sbaranya Karnath: Organisation is crucial for success. Following a schedule ensured that J was keeping up with my assignn1ents and was especially important in planning my exam revision. After each lesson, I reviewed my notes to consolidate the information. Leading up to tests and exams, 1 aimed to attempt as many practice questions and past exams as I could.

Brinda Murlikrishna: J'm an avid note­ wri.ter. I love taking nice notes on paper as I tend to recollect more infor1nation. I was also tutored quite a lot after school which forced me to put in extra time into each of my subjects. I liked playing some calm background music while I studied.

What helped me the best was teaching and helping other people learn the content.

Akul Saigal: My study timetable saved my life. Okay, 1 n1ight be exaggerating a little, but without it I would have been so lost.

In the last two months before the exan1s, I had a plan that showed exactly what subjects I wanted to do and for bow long.

This 1neant I was able to give equal time to every subject. Of course, I was not able to follow it to a T. But it still gave me son1e much-needed structure and meant I did not feel overwhelmed with the prospect of exa1ns being right around the corner.

What extra-curricular activities, hobbies, or TV shows helped you through this year?

Arnav Kalra: Staying fit was really

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important to me, not only for physical means, but because it really helped me concentrate and also relax. Playing basketball and going to the gym (COVfD allowing) were my main ways to do this.

I definitely binged a few shows on Netflix and Amazon Prime as well!

Bbawan Dillon: f participated in a lot of volunteer activities including service at Langar (free congregation kitchen) at my local Gurdwara and some charities. It helped me develop a deeper connection to my Sikh faith and allowed me to help people during times of hardship and despair. l felt the satisfaction and internal pride associated with providing for others. Apart fron1 this, l used to listen to Sant Jarnail Singh Ji's and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam's speeches that further instilled determination within me to do my personal best and stretch boundaries imposed by society and challenge political norms.

Keiratb Singh: J made sure to call my friends and organise Zoom calls every now and then to keep in touch and talk about our lives. I followed the AFL quiteintensely and always made sure to block out time to watch my team, the Saints, play every week.

Aryan Bhatia: 1 joined more clubs in Year 1 1 than any other year in school.

I had joined Arn1y Cadets, Robotics, and even Chorales as extracurriculars.

1 also used to run every Saturday in an activity called ParkRun. 1 used to detest it, but I have to admit 1 felt refreshed and invigorated afterwards and it helped me to focus better. At one stage l even got Park Runner of the n1onth. I would highly recommend these kinds of activities in Year 12. As for TV shows, I used to watch a lot of space and science documentaries, world history andWorld War I I related videos, National Geographic and the like They really helped to relax when I got a bit tired of studying but fed my brain's appetite for trivial information.

Adarsh Parekh: As a violinist, I was the concertmaster of the Secondary Schools String Symphony (orchestra) and found that 1nultiple activities such as karate, gym exercise, tennis and badminton helped me

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to destress.

Sharanya Karnath: In order to keep n,yself motivated and focused, I took breaks between studying to re-energise myself.

This would allow me to return with a relaxed mind and in turn, maxin1ise my productivity. I enjoyed playing badminton or watching movies. I also found that spending time with family and friends was important for my wellbeing and helped relieve stress.

Brinda Murlikrishna: I danced three times a week, learnt a language outside of school, and I would take long walks at night to destress. At home, I often played Minecraft whilst listening to gaming music for hours at a time, but it was a good break from all the studying. My favourite TV shows to get me through all the stress probably would have been Lucifer and Gossip Girl. I also spent a lot of weekends with friends and went out. It was good for me as I was able to balance out my social life with my school workload.

Akul Saigal: I stayed involved with activities from previous years. I was still leading a platoon in cadets, playing saxophone most days a week, playing soccer, volleyball and tennis, debating and - most importantly - spending lots of time with family. Sadly, as we all now know too well, Ms Rona wasn't too kind, so a lot of my activities got cancelled. Debating and band did move online and they became necessary to maintain balance and break from study. 1 also made an effort to play with my little brother as often as I could.

Only now have l begun to realise how important it was for me and my sanity.

What moments from the past year do you remember most?

Arnav Kalra: Definitely the last few weeks of Year 12, as I think that it was an opportunity for all of us at school to reflect on the past six years together. It was really enjoyable to be able to spend that time together, engaging in different activities and events organised by my school.

Bhawan Dillon: I remember stressing out a lot but life goes on, so I don't really give much thought to individual moments. If I had to recall, it would probably be fighting

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ARYAN BHATIA

{VCE) ATAR: 99.25

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Subjects: Specialist Maths, Maths Methods, Physics, Chemistry, Accounting, English School: Melbourne High School

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ARNAV KALRA

(HSC) ATAR: 99.70

Subjects: English Advanced, Mathematics Extension 1, Mathematics Extension 2, Chemistry, Biology, Italian Continuers, Italian Extension School: Sydney Grammar School -

a fake plagiarism case someone tried to in1pose on me for my English assignment, but in the end, I got a band 6 in English and they didn't. It's been an interesting year filled with challenges which allow you to grow and become a better version of yourself, so it is so1nething I definitely en1brace.

Keirath Singh: The last day of school was quite 111en1orable for me. J thoroughly enjoyed celebrating it with my friends and teachers. Additionally, throughout lockdown, we had organised a few online 'Year 1 2 games nights' as part of the leadership committee which were very enjoyable.

Aryan Bhatia: J re1nen1ber getting A+ in 1nost of n1y subjects. That was really heartening. But J also remember one poor score in English, I was a bit heartbroken at first but I. took it as a lesson and 1noved on.

Sometimes one might get low grades, but we should just learn from it and not lose sight of the destination, which is the YCE exam.

Adarsh Parekh: The 6-day state-w ide 'circuit breaker' lockdown which resulted in the cancellation of both formal and graduation for our school's Year 1 2 students.

Sharanya Karnath: The challenges of learning online made me realise the value of learning face-to-face and increased my gratitude for n1y friends and teachers.

Finishing my last exa1n was another memorable moment as this created a sense of achievement and relief. Graduation day was another highlight which allowed us to reflect on our achievements throughout our school years.

Brinda Murlikrishna: The memorable moment for 1ne would have been Year 1 2 graduation, as it was the one day we did not have to hold back with the size of the event. I said goodbye to my peers, son1e of whom I had spent the last 13 years with. Saying goodbye to some of my a1nazing teachers was hard, but also really touching. It made me reflect on all the years spent learning fro1n them and beside them.

Akul Saigal: A lockdown 18th birthday made special by my fa1nily that my 9-yearNATIONAL EDITION

old brother likes to take credit for.

What would your advice to future final year students be?

Arnav Kalra: Stay organised. lt is very easy to get caught up with stress and panic in your final year. Keep your notes together, seek help if you need it, and look out for your friends.

Bhawan Dillon: Don't worry about it, just do your best and everything else will sort itself out. As long as you do your best, it doesn't matter. There are many pathways to university. I personally know qualified doctors and surgeons who received ATARs below 75 and still got into medicine.

Always remember to take care of yourself first before your grades.

Keirath Singh: My main advice would be not to stress too much about the year. Even if you don'tachieve your desired ATAR, there are different pathways to reach the end goal. I would maintain the importance of keeping a balanced lifestyle and making sure that you keep other interests outside of study.

Aryan Bhatia: Year 12 is a stressful year and it pays off to practice techniques to cool your mind. I've noticed that when my mind is cool, I an1 able to perform better.

Please don't study one subject for more than 2 hours a day - it gets tiring! Break the monotony with other subjects or some fun activities.

Adarsh Parekh: For future final year students, I would advise to manage your time and 111aintain a work-life balance, enjoy the little things, minimise procrastination, appreciate your high school friends and teachers, take breaks and have fun. Also, start preparing for final exams early in the year rather than leaving it to the last minute.

Sharanya Karnath: Things start to pile up if you fall behind, so stay organised.

Create a schedule that can help you dedicate enough time for each of your subjects. It's also important to maintain a balance between studying and your personal life. Don't forget to take son1e time off to relax.

Brinda Murlikrishna: I would recommend future Year 12s to have a healthy routine.

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Studying all the time just will not do it, so learn to have fun and make new friends.

Learn to have a life outside of school and distract yourself sometimes. And finally, develop a good sleep routine of at least 7-10 hours each night. When I slept well, I did well. It's about how well rested you are, not how many hours you studied the night before. Even on the night before exams, I was really stressed but I decided to sleep early and ended up recalling more content. So good luck!

Akul Saigal: Take a deep breath. Jt is such a powerful tool. Take one now and you'll see what l n1ean. Whenever J felt stressed or overwhelmed, I would take a few deep breaths. It helped put everything into perspective. lt's such simple, quick and powerful tool and l would recommend it for everybody!

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forward to studying at university, tneeting new people, the flexibility of the learning schedule, and the range of opportunities that are offered at university.

Brinda Murlikrishna: As I am moving interstate soon, I look forward to starting a new life in Canberra where [ will be undertaking my degree at the ANU. l am looking forward particularly to making new friends and going on lots of adventures around the world (if restrictions permit) and in Australia. I will be studying computing and languages, two subjects that J thoroughly enjoy, so I am super excited to begin my degree.

Akul Saigal: The unusual freedom and challenges of university. Lt will be a totally different experience and I'm excited for this new chapter to begin.

Favourite quote from a teacher'?

What are you most looking forward to in 202 l?

Arnav Kalra: Starting university will be a lot of fun. I'm excited to meet new people and experience a new learning environment. I'm also looking forward to travel, hopefully.

Bhawan Dillon: I am looking forward to exploring new things, meeting new people, and expanding my network at university. l am also excited to pursue more volunteering opportunities. I'd like to partner with more charities to undertake more social justice and contribute to improving society.

Keirath Singh: 1 am most looking forward to the additional freedom and independence that uni will provide.

Online university will be another challenge, but I am looking forward to hopefully being on campus soon.

Aryan Bhatia: I am very excited to see what the future holds for me, especially the opportunity of getting into the university and the course of my choice.I'm hoping it will be enjoyable and will open up many venues for me. I'm also excited to take on a part time job and get into more outdoor activities post COVID. Adarsh Parekh: For it to be even just slightly better than 2020.

Sharanya Karnath: In 2021, I'm looking

Bhawan Dillon: Bhawan, put your safety goggles on. (Ms Lidija and Ms Rosemary) Aryan Bhatia: It is what it is.

Adarsh Parekh: Practice is everything.

Sharanya Karnath: Year 12 is like a tennis match - each term is a set, and the final exams are the tiebreaker. At times you may be falling behind, but by overcoming these challenges you will win the match.

And just like tennis or any other sport, it's important to have fun along the way.

Brinda Murlikrishna: Life throws you many challenges. But what matters is how you deal with then1.

Akul Saigal: VCE is a marathon, not a sprint.

Describe your academic year in three words.

Arnav Kalra: Unusual. Challenging.

Rewarding.

Bhawan Dillon: An interesting journey.

Keirath Singh: Challenging but enjoyable.

Aryan Bhatia: Unprecedented. Perplexing.

Enjoyable.

Adarsh Parekh: One wild ride.

Sharanya Karnath: Challenging.

Rewarding. Memorable.

Brinda Murlikrishna: Challenging, Encouraging, Successful.

Akul Saigal: Challenging, rewarding rollercoaster.

JANUARY 2021 17

I N D I A N N E WS A health official conducts routine checks of the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (EVIN) ice line cold storage refrigerator at a state vaccine storage centre in Bangalore, India, 10 January 2021.

Photo: AP

89 Delhi hospitals chosen for COVID vaccination drive's first phase

With the world's biggest vaccination drive slated to roll out across India fron1 January 16, the Delhi government has announced that it has made all preparations and finalised 89 hospitals for the first phase of COVlD-19 vaccination.

Of the 89 Delhi hospitals, 40 are government-run and 49 are private, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told a press conference.

The Central Government has finalised around 5,000 vaccination sites across India.

Jain said that the Delhi governn1ent will focus on healthcare workers, frontline workers and then people aged above 50 in the first phase of the vaccination.

As many as 2,25,000 healthcare workers will get the vaccination in the first phase of the 1nammoth exercise.The Delhi government will also include teachers in the exercise as they worked as frontline workers in the time of COVlD-19 pande1nic, the 1ninister said.

Jain said that the vaccines for the COVlD- 19 will start arriving between January 12 to 14 and the Delhi govern1nent has prepared a "very strong and robust storage syste1n to keep the vaccine".

'Proud moment': India begins 2-year stint at UN Security Council

India kicked off its two-year tenure as a non-permanent me1nber of the UN Security Council (UNSC) with the country's tricolour being installed at the indoor stakeout area during a special ceren1ony on a wintry afternoon at the United Nations headquarters in New York City early in the new yeru·.

"This is a proud moment for my country and for tny delegation," A1nbassador T.S. Tiru1nurti, India's Pern1anent Representative to the United Nations, said, in prepared remarks.

"India comes into the Security Council as the largest democracy representing one sixth of humanity and with a strong commitment to reformed multilateralis111, rule of law, a fair and equitable international system and to peace, security and development. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, we stand united as one, bound by our ethos of democracy, 18 JANUARY 2021

pluralism and cornn1itment to fundamental rights," he said at India's Oag installation cere1nony at the UN Security Council.

Tiru1nurti framed India's role as one that brings "human-centric and inclusive solutions to matters of international peace and secu1;ty".

"India will be a voice for the developing world," he added, echoing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks at last year's UNGA. India will preside over the council as UNSC President in August 2021 and again in 2022.

The presidency of the UNSC is held by each me1nber in turn for a month. Lreland, Kenya, Mexico and Norway joined India in the latest cohort of non-pern1anent UNSC members.

Outlining New Delhi's "very ambitious agenda" for its two-year term, Tirumurti told lANS, "We wilJ be raising our voice against the enemies of humanity, particularly terrorism."

In a polarised Council, India will be bridge-builder, especially when the world emerges fron1 the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

"We are also entering the Security Council when the COVID pandemic is on.

Therefore, we are hoping that we will play a role not only during the pandenlic, but also in the post-pandemic world, where I think there is a lot of healing to do. There are fissures, (and) I'm confident India will be a bridge to overcome these fissures."

At a global level, India is already helping countries with fighting the coronavirus, he said citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge at last year's General A5sembly session to "be an ilnportant player in the context of the COYlD pande1uic" and to share "the vaccines for the sake of hu1nanity and mankind".

"We have already assisted more than 150 countries, by way of medical aid. And I'm confident that during the pandemic we will play an extremely important role," he said.

An Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1985 batch, Tirwnurti took over as the Permanent Representative last year just as India was getting ready for the Council election ru1d guided the ca111paign to an in1pressive victory, polling 184 of the 192 votes cast.

India is historically the biggest conh·ibutor to the UN peacekeeping operations and he indicated that the topic will be high on India's agenda.

Peacekeeping is "an extremely important

component of our engagement with the United Nations, as well as peace-building, which has come into pron1inence in recent years", he said.

The peacekeeping mandates are issued by the Council mostly driven by the permanent members who are oblivious of ground realities and India has complained that the troop-contributors were not consulted. Now India, which has sent more than 200,000 peacekeepers in 49 missions, will be able to contribute to the framing of missions.

"We will also be advocating reformed multilateralism, the rule of law, women and youth in the context of conflict situations," he said.

On the terrorism front, India will be able as a Council member to participate in the discussions about terrorism and terrorists, where China has given Pakistan cover in the past.

For example, Beijing for several years protected Masood Azhar, the Pakistan-based terrorist leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, who was behind several terrorist attacks • the most recent one in Pulwama in 2019 that killed 40 Indian security personnel.

At least 20 Indian­ Americans now appointed to Biden-Harris administration

Following Joe Biden's election victory last November, the US President-elect has proceeded to fill his government structure in a way that will "look like the country". With the support of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, at least 25 Indian Americans are set to hold roles in the new administration, with at least 1 5 in key policy positions.

The most important appointment in the health sector can1e when Biden picked Vivek Murthy to be the United States Surgeon General. Murthy had already served as Surgeon General during the Obama-Biden Administration, making him uniquely qualified to lead as America's Doctor.

Tru·un Chhabra, a first-generation American and a graduate of Stanford University, Oxford University, and Harvard Law School, wilJ serve as Senior Director for Technology 811d National Security. Sumona Guba, a graduate of Johns Hopkins and Georgetown University, has been appointed as Senior Director for South Asia and former journalist Shanthi Kalathil wilJ be Coordinator for Democracy

and Human Rights.

Additionally, Mala Adiga, Director for Higher Education and Military Families at the Biden Foundation was named as Policy Director for the next First Lady, Dr Jill Biden.

A week later, Neera Tanden, a controversial close confidante of the Clintons, was appointed to head the powerful White House Office of Management and Budget (0MB) 811d Ali Zaidi currently serving as New York's Deputy Secretary for Energy and Environment will be the Deputy National Climate Advisor.

Among other appointments, Dr Arun Majumdar, former Google executive, Obama official, and UT-Bombay graduate, will lead the transition team for the Energy Depart1nent; Dr Rahul Gupta will lead the transition with the Office of National Drug Control Policy; Kiran Ahuja has been nominated for Tean1 Lead for Office of Personnel Management; Bharat Ramamurthi was named as Deputy Director of the National Economic Council (NEC) for financial reform and consun1er protection; Vedant Patel will be assistant press secretary of the White House; Bhavya Lal will lead the transition at NASA; Punnet Talwar will be on the agency review team for the US Departn1ent of State; Pav Singh will help transition the National Security Council; and Seema Nanda will be with the US Depart1nent of Labor; and Civil rights activist Vanita Gupta will serve as associate attorney general.

Latest in the series of appointments is Sabrina Singh, a longtime aide to US Vice President elect Kamala Harris, who has been named White House Deputy Press Secretary.

21-year-old Arya Rajendran elected mayor of Thiruvananthapuram

Arya Rajendran, a 2 1 -year-old Comn1unist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) councillor from Mudavanmugal, has been sworn in as the new Mayor of Thiruvananthapuran1 city corporation.

Arya, a B.Sc Mathematics second year student at the All Saints College, will continue with her studies along with handling the responsibilities as Mayor.

She had a definitive lead over her Congress rival candidate in the elections, with her nomination for the post being seen as a signal of encouragement towards youth involvement in politics, especially in her state of Kerala.

Now the youngest city mayor in India, she has beaten the record previously held by Devendra FadJ1avis who had been elected mayor of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation at the age of 27.

Apart fro111 her newest accolade, Arya Rajendran is also state president of Balasangam, the children's wing of the Left party, and is a state coffilnittee n1ember of Students' Federation of India.

Along with Rajendran, two other women were elected mayors of their respective city corporations in the recent elections.

In Kollam, Prassanna Earnest of the CPM was sworn in as the Mayor. This is her second stint as the Mayor of Kollam.

In Kozhikode, retired teacher Beena Philip of the CPM was sworn in as Mayor.

IANS

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NAVJOTPAL KAUR and SUMEET SEKHON discuss the em powering nature of women's activism a nd protest in I ndia s temperatures plummet, hundreds of thousands of 1nen, won1en and children continue to spend bone-chilHng days and nights in makeshift shelters across multiple protest sites encircling New Delhi.

These widespread fan11ers' protests have entered their second month to rage against new contentious farm laws passed by the Indian government in September.

Fanners are de1nanding the Indian government retract the laws, introduced during COVID-19 lockdowns without consulting stakeholders. According to experts the laws, ai1ned at "liberalizing" Indian agricultu1·e, will gradually drive out small and mai-ginal farmers by creating private monopolies in the 1narket.

Given that 86 per cent of farmers in India are small landholders (owning less than two hectares), strong opposition to the laws is hardly surprising at all.

The protest has garnered huge community support from India and abroad. It has also managed to include and mobilize women.

In this way, the farmers' protests show how 1nodern protest sites can be spaces of resistance and power but also of gender equity and e1npowerment.

Democratic alienation and an increasing distance between citizens and decision makers seems to be the hallmark of the Modi­ led Indian government. An example of this was seen during the Shaheen Bagh protest to NATIONAL EDITION

the Citizenship Amend1nent Act. Shaheen Bagh and the ongoing farmers' protest are a1nong the biggest protests to rock India in recent tilnes. A noteworthy feature of both these protests is that they have challenged the stereotypes of Indian women that have been do1ninated by their supposed passivity in the face of victiln hood.

The farmers' protest, however, is distinct from the Shaheen Bagh protest in the sense that it has garnered unprecedented coLnmunity support. Mostly led by Sikh fanners from Punjab, the protest space reflects the Sikh ethos of langar (free meals), sewa (service), and charhdi kala (high spirits).

The seismic waves of the protest are not only being felt in India but in different countries across the world where the Indian, and particularly Punjabi, diaspora are holding massive rallies against the farm laws.

Women lead protests

Punjab and Haryana, the two states leading the farmers' protest, are characterized by deeply entrenched feudal, patriarchal structures that place significant, deliberate and inadvertent constraints on women.

Furthermore, both Punjab and Haryana continue to be counted a1nong the country's worst-performing states in terms of female- t o ­ male sex ratios.

Usually, in typical agrarian patriarchal societies, women and n1en do not have equal access to household resources. This

inequality is worsened during tin1es of economic hardships as intra-household bargaining for meagre resources intensifies.

In other words, decisions are more likely to be skewed in favour of men's interests when household resources are inadequate to meet the needs of all men1bers.

A decrease m farming incomes is likely to have a disproportionately adverse ilnpact on the lives of women. Fu1thermore, a decrease in farm incomes is likely to lead to more people going into debt - one of the primary causes of farmer suicides in India. Women belonging to suicide-affected families are particularly vulnerable to poverty. They are left to fend for themselves due to deep­ rooted ideas of patrilineal inheritance, which preclude women from owning land.

Against this backd1·op, it is remarkable that thousands of women are exercising theil· agency, braving the biting cold and not only participating in but leadmg the protests.

When asked about their motivation to participate m the protests, won1en told journalists about their active involvement in the farming process. Indeed, women of rural India contribute directly towards agricultural production in the form of labow· on family­ owned farms, as well as mdirectly through cooking, cleaning and caring for children and the elderly within the household.

The long working hours and gruelling daily lives of women in rural India are well documented. Monumental contributions to

farming notwithstanding, wo1nen are yet to be acknowledged as farmers by society.

The women at the protest sites, however, are comfortable with thefr farmer identity.

Perhaps the protest is an opportunity for them to pubJjcly clait11 this identity.

In addition to protestil1g, women have taken on the entire responsibility of managing their farms and households back in Punjab.

These women are also ensuring there is a continuous supply of rations, blankets and other essentials needed at the protest sites.

Without this logistical support from the women m their families, and the knowledge that their farms are bemg tended to, the men could not have camped on the borders of Delhi for more than a month.

Moreover, in the absence of men, wo1nen are managing about 100 protest sites in Punjab to keep up the momentu1n in the home state.

The dedicated participation of women in these protests shows that wo1nen's activism and protest has become an empowering space in and of itself.

Navjotpal Kaur is a Ph.D. Candidate, Sociology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. Sumeet Sekhon is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Development and Gender Studies, University ofBritish Columbia, Canada.

This article first appeared in The Conversation. :JANUARY 2021 19

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28 Shemini Atzeret

29 Simchat Torah

15 Dussehra

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4 Labour Day (ACT, NSW, SA)

20 Maharishi Valmiki's Birthday

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Australian holidays and observances are listed in colour.

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JANUARY 2021 21

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A contemporary video artwork reinterprets a 2000-year-old Tamil tale to resonate with life today

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BY BAGESHRI SAVYASACHI

annagi begins as an ordinary woman; well not that ordinary, and then transforn1s into a goddess of justice!"

So says Sydney-based artist filmmaker Zanny Begg, whose video Stories of Kan.nagi has been no1ninated for the Blake Prize, an art prize that engages artists creating works about spirituality, religion, and justice (or their lack thereof).

"It's about the central female character Kannagi, who is known to be a chaste and docile woman for a long time, but when she is confronted with injustice,she transforms into a fiery character who delivers a strong speech to the king," Zanny told Indian Link. "Her speech is so powerful that the king gives up his power and the city is consu111ed in flames."

She was introduced to Kannagi when Jiva Parthipan, cultural developn1ent officer at a non-profit called STARTTS (Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors) approached her with the idea for the project. Jiva has been working with the Tamil co1nmunity (including Tamil refugees) for the last 3 years teaching them about filmmaking.

The idea itnmediately appealed to Zanny, all of whose works are defined by strong female leads.

The story of Kannagi

Kannagi is the protagonist in a 2000-year-old Tamil epic called Silappathikaram 111eaning 22

JANUARY 2021

seeking asylum in Sydney which made the rounds at film festivals, and later collaborated with linguists to create Stories of Kannagi, a video artwork for exhibitions.

Aside from 1naking a few calls to casting agents, it was difficult to find bilingual -o actors and actresses for the project.

"It had to be people fron1 within the [ project we were working on and nearly all of them were untrained actors," Jiva a. ro Parthipan added. u Even the visual language in the video lends g itself to a beautiful and vibrant landscape.

3 Q) Stories ofKannagi shows an incredible wedding sequence which was filmed at a anymore because he hasn't been a just wedding reception venue in Pendle Hill. "l did all the drawing which formed all ruler, resonated with me. J felt a powerful attraction to the story." the drapes for the mandap of the wedding.

We kept that background even with the The power of language contemporary interviews with the writers to The video also features Sri Lankan maintain a visual link between the old story and the contemporary context," Zanny sajd.

Tamil writers Niromi de Soyza, Shankari The music in the film was created by local ChandaTan and Srisha Sritharan, to interpret the idea of love in Silappathikaram composer James Brown in collaboration in current tin1es. All three writers are based with Srisha Sritharan, a Sydney-based poet in Australia and prominently use language who lent her voice to the co1nposition.

Being named as a finalist for the Blake Art as a form of dissent.

Prize was moment of great pride for Zanny. "l was interested in the power of language and Jiva was creating an exhibition called "I'm just proud of the whole team. I feel Older Than Language which was about the like the story has this incredible spiritual role of language in exiled communities," dimension and looks at justice, exile, and colonialism through the prism of stories, Zanny Begg said. "So, I chose to focus on culture, and spirituality. Feels lovely that three writers who were using language to there's that kind of recognition for this challenge injustices whether it was through books, memoirs or slam poetry. I thought project. I feel like I got to know the Sri it was a nice bounce point between this Lankan Tamil community in Sydney more 2,000-year story of Kannagi and the way in and I'm so grateful to Jiva for asking to me which these women were using language as to come onboard."

See Stories of Kannagi at the Blake Prize a form of resistance today."

Exhibition at Sydney's Casula Powerhouse Begg initially created a film called / am Kannagi about a young Tamil won1an Art Centre, 13 Feb - 1 1 April 2021.

t

:Jiva Parthipan 'the tale of an anklet' in Tamil. A classic, it is taught in local language schools as part of the Tan1il curriculum in Australia.

There are Kannagi temples all over southern India and Sri Lanka to this day.

Devotees visit these temples to ask for divine intervention when faced with problems.

"In Sri Lanka, it took on another angle.

In 2009, at the end of the war, the UN bad departed and there were no external witnesses. So, people believed that Kannagi was the sole witness to the war and will give them justice and to the people who are still missing," Jiva Parthipan explained.

Stories that stand the test of time, especially stories of suTvival and resilience, deeply interest Zanny. Additionally, Kannagi is not perfect, and flawed characters, Zanny muses, are "the most interesting".

"Hers is an ancient story which resonates with life today, particularly in the Australian context, where we have total injustice towards refugees and migrants," Zanny stated. "So, having this powerful figure who basically tells the ruler of the land that be doesn't deserve to rule

www.indianlink.com.au

F U N D RA I S E R

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Sydney's Preeti Sawrikar has converted her love for succulents into a fundraising effort BY

JYOTI SHANKAR reeti Vijaya Sawrikar is no stranger to pain. So1ne of our readers might remember reading her story in 20 l 9, The Power of Petals. The story of bow the restorative effects of garde11i11g helped Preeti fight a painful condition caused by a degenerative neck, was inspiring. Many operations latei-, the pain still Lingers and is often quite unbearable. 1-fowever, Preeti has found a new way to continue to help herself, as welJ as spread the love for plants while supporting a noble cause in her home country.

The seed of the idea ca1ne to Preeti when she visited her hometown Hyderabad to meet friends she had been to school with.

She was n1eeting them after 49 years and there was n1uch catching up to do. One of the childhood friends she met was Dr Anant Reddy, now a reconstructive surgeon for a leprosy hospital.

"Anant had this caln1 and radiant aura about him," Preeti recounted to Indian Link.

"Speaking to him, it was cleai- that it came from his years of dedication to a noble cause, the leprosy hospital he worked at since be became a doctor. I wanted to know more."

On her return to Sydney, Preeti saw videos of the Sivananda Rehabilitation

NATIONAL EDITION

Hon1e that Dr Reddy sent her. The heartbreaking and touching stories 111oved Preeti so much that she decided this was a cause she had to support.

Already an accon1plished hobby gardener, Preeti decided to combine her creative skills in arranging succulents to contribute as best as she could to the cause.

The Sivananda Rehab Home fund-raiser project was bon1.

The logistics of collecting plants and pots and hauling bags of potting mixes wasn't an easy one. Succulents are hardy plants easy to look after but a tiny plant can sometimes cost up to $10. Her personal collection of hundreds of plants helped to some extent, but she often drove for hours to pick up bargains from online sellers. Explaining the process of creating unique arrangements of these plants, Preeti says, "Succulents come in a variety of shapes, colours and sizes.

It wasn't just a matter of throwing them togethei-. 1 had to consider the water and light requirements to match similar plants together in an arrangement which was also aesthetically pleasing".

She then contacted her friends and put a word out to the community about her project. Many were surprised to knov, that leprosy was still a prevalent disease in India.

"Until I met Dr Reddy, I myself did not know 1nuch about leprosy," confessed Preeti.

Her project helped in raising this awareness. Leprosy, a bacterial disease, affects the body's nervous system. Affected

I I I I I

areas are skin, eyes and muscles of the hands and feet. As the disease progresses, sensations are lost, 1naking the patient vulnerable to cuts and infections. Stiffened muscles cause clawed hands and the loss of the blinking reflex could even lead to total blindness. Amputation of fingers, an arm or leg becomes necessary at times.

However, it is not just the physical impacts of the disease that are significant; leprosy carries with it a social stigma which impacts the social and economic well-being of patients and families.

Sivananda Rehabilitation Home, in the outskirts of Hyderabad, was founded in

1958 by Rani Kumudini Devi, to provide a refuge to such patients. Today it houses over 500 patients and treats thousands each year.

It also provides patients with rehabilitation and occupational therapy necessary to integrate back into their community. Dr Reddy's work in reconstructive surgery not only returns the function of sloughed body parts but also restores normality to their appearance, increasing social acceptance of leprosy patients in the community. It also helps them to perform daily tasks and live independently.

Preeti was overwhelmed by the support of her friends and community to this cause.

With in a matter of weeks, over 300 to 400 of her plant art pieces were snapped up, raising over $8000 to date. As Preeti puts it, "The satisfaction of having 1nade a difference bas helped n1e forget tny own pain. That is priceless. A therapy session costs $200 per hour but the benefit this project has given me is invaluable."

Most of us live a privileged Ufe in Australia, and a little support can go a long way. A set of specialised footwear for people affected by leprosy costs less than $10. With $200, reconstructive surgery of deformed bands and feet is made possible, and $100 can cover the annual 1nedicine cost for one patient.

And while providing this invaluable support if you want to take home a lovely plant arrangement too, please get in touch with Preeti on vijay.sawrikar@gmail.com.

JANUARY 2021 23

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Minnal Khona

Preeti Jabbal

Indian Link ::g::,

Carl Buhariwala

Saroja Srinivasan

Grahak Cunningham

Shafeen Mustaq

Dlnesh

Kira Spucys­ Tahar

Sandeep Hor

Devna Luthra

Komal Utsav Jagad

Vinaya Ral

Vish Chilumkurtl

Gaurav Masand

Ritam Mitra

Kashlf H

Sahibnoor Singh

Prlyanka Tater

Pawan Luthra

Kalyanl Wakhare

Charuta Joshi

Nikita Kulkarni

Slmren Samrai

Radhlka Bhatia

Anubhuti Madan Singh

Raka Sarkhel

Jyoti Shankar

Frankey Gerard Fernandes

Beheshta Wasseh

Mohan Chall

Auntyji

YeshaJoshi

Sydney Srinivas

Rani Jahla

Neelam Vasudevan

Sagar Mehtrotra

Rajnl Anand Luthra

Dhanya Samuel

LP Ayer

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JANUARY 2021

Raweena Raval

Niraj Pandya

Sukesh Thapliyal

Royston Rebello

Neha Malude

Tarini Puri

Apama Ananthuni

Sai Narayan

MohanThite

Deepa Gopinath

Suniia Vig

Nanditha Suresh

Oilip Jadeja

Avl Chandiok

Virat Nehru

Farzana Ahmad

Uttam Mukherjee

Dipanjali Rao

Anup Kumar

Puneet Anand

Petra O'Neill

Mital Parekh

Saroni Roy

Oarshak Mehta

Sukrit Sabhiok

Astha Singh

Emie Roy

Hamida Parkar

Nisha Joseph

Aneeta Menon

Sudarshan Arvind

www.indianlink.com.au

VIC GOVT ANNOUNCES $50,000 FOR H I N DU CELEBRATIONS

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·:· ·:-IN IAN REPUBtlC DAY •

announcement comes as a welcome move.

The initiative is part of the Andrews' Labor Government's election co1nmitn1ent to invest $200,000 to support multicultural celebrations.

In March, Victoria's Greek cornmunity will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Greek independence - a significant occasion on their cultural calendar. Minister Shaun Leane said, "The $200,000 funding will help it be COVIDSafe but in1portantly, a rnilestone to ren1en1ber."

Applications close 3pm on Wednesday, 3 February. For n1ore information or to apply, visit vie.gov.au/mu lticultu ra 1-festivals­ a nd-events-progra m.

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he Victorian Govern1nent has announced $200,000 multicultural festivals and celebrations. $50,000 of this amount is set aside for Hindu celebrations, events and festivals.

Early in the new year, Acting Minister for Multicultural Affairs Shaun Leane opened the Multicultural Festivals and Events Progra1n, inviting organisations to apply for funding for events to be held between March and June this year.

The funding will support events held either in person or in a digital fonnat.

1 n-person events must ad here to the COVIDSafe Public Events Framework.

With the entertainn1ent and events industry one of the hardest hit because of the panden1ic, this funding

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NATIONAL EDITION

JANUARY 2021 25

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Kaushik Das, Ahmad Malek and Baykali Ganambarr •

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Roderick MacKay's fi l m The Furnace offers a peak into the toi ls a n d travai ls of o u r forebea rs who came to this cou ntry 150 o r more years ago BY RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA any Indigenous people today continue to have Sikh or Afghan names. This message at the end of the fihn The Furnace brings

home the deep historical connections that people of South Asian origin have had with the original inhabitants of Australia.

26 JANUARY 2021

Known as the 'Ghans' - short for 'Afghans' even though they did not all hail from Afghanistan - they worked the can1el trains in the outback in the late 1800s, transporting goods and n1aterials as a young nation came into being.

Later the history of the cameleer 'Ghans' becan1e lost to modern Australia, their work and contribution - indeed their very existence - only coming to the fore in a substantial way early this century.

Now, a critically acclaimed Aussie film is helping to make them mainstream.

Roderick MacKay, director of The Furnace told Indian Link, "I certainly wasn't taught about the cameleers in high school or university. It was six years ago that l first stumbled upon some black and white images of the cameleers in the outback in a book

by Emeritus Professor of History, Geoffrey Bolton. With what little information was available, I began to research into who these extraordinary men were and why they were here so long ago. That's when I began to fully appreciate that the cameleers are the unsung pioneers of Australia's inland."

He added, "Australian history has typically been written front a very narrow Anglo-Celtic perspective and so sadly, it doesn't surprise me that our Muslim, Sikh and 1-Iindu pioneers have been swept under the rug."

I n his film - the lone Australian film at last year's Venice Film Festival - a group of cameleers in the Gold Rush era becotne involved with white settlers and the local Aboriginal com111unity. Admittedly their relationship with the latter is much smoother, given their similar spiritual and psychosocial perspectives and their

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David Wenham with Ah

readiness to share culture and language. In their own separate ways, each community is forging its own sense of identity; together, they are building a notion of nationhood. ln a stroke of genius, MacKay has his characters speak their native tongues so that there are some six different languages to be heard in the film, including Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto, Cantonese and the Western Australian Indigenous language Badimaya.

Set in the gold 1nining town of Mt. Magnet, six hours away from Perth, the film brings together a multicultural cast to support lead actor David Wenha1n's character, a gold thief on the run. As his Afghan cameleer Hanif, the brilliant young Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek becomes parallel lead.

Indian-origin actors Kaushik Das and Mahesh Jadu play Jundah and Sadhu respectively- Sikh can1eleers and family figures to Hanif.

"The film itself is historic, starting a conversation about an era not discussed much," Das told Indian Link. "With their remarkable work exploring the outback, and with their blood, sweat and tears, the can1eleers opened the frontiers to the rest of the country."

Unlike anything he has ever done before, the highpoints from the experience were many.

"Being at Mt. Magnet, still an active mining site, was roughing it, but as spiritual Indigenous land, 1 felt the energy of the place. Meeting the original descendants of the characters we were playing was special too - many were part-Indian. I also felt a great responsibility in learning to speak Badimaya, NATIONAL EDITION

a sleeping language, as its last speaker died a year ago. He knew though that efforts were being made with his language in this film, so that was special.

And of course, the camels - I fell in love with the amazing creatures."

The challenges? "Filming in the 40-degree heat, with the flies. Every time we opened our mouths, we took a few flies in!"

Particularly special however, was playing a Sikh character, being a Bengali himself.

The Australian Sikh Heritage, serving as Sikh consultants, advised with names and attire of the times. Most importantly, they tied the turbans, which they insisted must be kept authentic.

Jundah was apparently the name of a real cameieer, Das revealed. "l-le operated one of the largest camel trains from the 1890s to the 1930s.

When motorized transport came, he lost his livelihood and took his own life. His name probably came from the word jhunda which n1eans flag. l like to think of him as flag bearer of the community."

It's clear that Das is quite taken with this period of history. Coincidentally, this criminal lawyer­ turned-actor-producer-writer was himself writing a script set in this era, inspired by Adelaide artist Peter Drew's "Aussie" posters, when he scored an audition with The Furnace.

Roderick MacKay is convinced we need to tell more stories of the time. "The Furnace only scratches the surface of the history of our very fascinating Sikh, Muslim and Hindu cameleers.

I hope it encourages people to go on their own research journey and awaken more inclusive notions of Australian identity."

JANUARY 2021 27

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28 :JANUARY 2021

www.indianlink.com.au

S P O RT

The Starr family - mum Kareena, sons ::Jason, Ashwell and Leander, and dad Carlton Starr.

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13-year-old Ashwell Starr is making waves in the Australian youth soccer league BY

RHEA NATH shwell Starr still reme1nbers that he scored over ten goals in the first soccer match of his life as a young boy. Ever since, the now 13-year-old has been hooked to the beautiful ga1ne.

"I love the thrill of the competition and scoring goals," Ashwell admitted with a cheeky grin.

Over the years, he's garnered a few feathers in his cap, playing for big clubs in Sydney like the Parran1atta Eagles and Marconi Stallions. The left-wing striker impressively ended the 2019-2020 season as the highest scorer in his age group in the league.

This year, the budding soccer star is all set to commence a new stage in his career, playing for the U-14 team of the highly competitive Western Sydney Wanderers.

"It's a testament to his skills that he was scouted by the Western Sydney Wanderers.

You don't typically try out for the Wanderers - they scout you," proud father Carlton Starr told Indian Link.

By most accounts, he could be the most successful 1ndian player in the Australian youth league so far. Of course, the accolades don't come easy.

"Ashwell undertakes specialised training once a week with one of the best academies in Australia called Futboltec," Carlton explained. "Then he trains three ti1ues a NATIONAL EDITION

week with the Wanderers. And there are games over the weekend."

With the whole family involved in Ashwell's training, including older brother Jason who played soccer in India and England, the game is very much a family affair for the Starrs. (Even their pet dog Diego is named after the late Argentina soccer legend Maradona.)

As part of his soccer career, Ashwell has travelled all over, such as to the Cairns Cup Yanmar Cup in Japan last year. With such a busy lifestyle dedicated to his game, the unwavering fanuly support helps.

"It's not easy to train eaTly mornings and

late nights. At times, we've had to make sacrifices, but Ashwell has an undeniable talent. Others train very hard to reach this level of talent that he's born with," said Carlton.

It's this talent that continues to fuel Ashwell's Socceroos ambitions.

"I'd love to play for the national team, of course," he shared with Jndian Link. "I'd also love to play for the Indian Super League (ISL); there are a lot of Australian players doing well there."

Like most boys his age, Ashwell counts Neymar, Messi, Renaldo as his favourite players. When asked about the English

Premier League, the exciten1ent in his voice is hard to contain when he states that he's an Arsenal fan.

So what has he learnt about hi111self fro1n the game?

"Soccer, like most sports, teaches discipJj11e and respect for the opposition. l've learnt to remain hun1ble with victories and with losses," he said.

His father couldn't agree more.

"Ashwell is a really respectful boy. He's learned a lot about the importance of teamwork and conducting yourself well, on and off the field," Carlton elaborated.

The Starrs, originally from B01nbay, migrated to Australia in 1995. As Ashwell's soccer careers continues to reach new heights, it's easy to acquire naysayers. To this, Carlton Starr has one simple philosophy - hard work and results should do all the talking.

"It's a great sign that there's an increasing number of Indian boys playing soccer at the grassroot levels. I believe we're going to see a lot of Indian talent coming up the ranks in the next few years. As l frequently tell Ashwell, no one can argue with dedication and talent," he said.

Like with many aspects of life, COVID has put a dampener on Ashwell's soccer plans too, but the Starrs are keeping a positive outlook.

"Ashwell has been contacted by Genk, a celebrated soccer team in Belgium. But we've been unable to travel because of border closures," Carlton revealed.

With this many exciting things in the works, it's no wonder the Starrs are eager to see what 2021 holds for the talented lad.

Onwards and upwards, we say!

JANUARY 2021 29

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• An old Sydney-to- Melbourne train service takes on a fascinating new avatar

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BY PETRA O'NEILL ith a focus on offering rail tours to explore regional New South Wales, I recently joined the inaugural tour of the Golden West with Vintage Rail Journeys as the train's Tour Director.

Over five days travelling 1500 kilometers we visited historic townships, wineries, gardens and 1nuseums, and viewed the ever­ changing landscape through the windows of the train.

The train

In its heyday fron1 1962-86, the Southern Aurora provided a first class overnight train service between Sydney and Melbourne.

After the service ceased, many Southern Aurora carriages ca1ne to form part of the collections of rail preservation groups. In 2017, Vintage Rail Journeys acquired 14, renamed the carriages Aurora Australis, and scrubbed and polished them back to their original condition. Together with the dining and lounge cars, the decor is like that of an old-fashioned diner, featuTing laminated walls, and fluted stainless steel exteriors, allowing guests to revisit the past.

Humming along to the tunes of Frank Sinatra, bar manager Dan serves drinks with 30 JANUARY 2021

flair. Passengers are offered quality wines sourced from vineyards along the journey.

Chefs Belinda and Scott prepare hea1ty country fare, with an emphasis on fresh local produce. After a long day's travel, passengers can tuck into mains including rack of Cowra Lamb or slowly braised Beef Cheeks served with lentils and sweet potatoes, followed by lemon pie with a dollop of cream or sticky date pudding with caramel sauce.

Twin-share cabins have seats that fold back to become bunk beds at night with a steep ladder to clin1b and a compact en-suite with fold down basin and toilet. The small single cabins have shared toilets and showers.

The journey

At Sydney's imposing Central Station, we welcomed 124 guests onboard. The whistle blew and the Aurora Australis headed north, past rugged sandstone cliffs, dense bush land, and stunning coastal scenery. At Brooklyn we joined the Riverboat Postman that since 1910 has delivered n1ail and essential supplies along the river, for a leisuTely three-hour cruise of the Hawkesbury River and Broken Bay. Rejoining the train, we travelled on to the picture- perfect village of Paterson, nestled on the banks of the Paterson River. Volunteers from the Rail Motor Museum and Historical Society guided us around the towns lovingly restored historic buildings, many dating back to the early 1830s.

The next day, we joined a hop-on hop-off

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bus to visit the H.untei- Valley Gardens with the med gardens includiJ1g an Indian garden.

Stops wei-e also made at the Watershed Gallery showcasing local artists, and at several wineries to sample wine at cellar doors. Re-boarding the train, we travelled onto Werris Creek, and were met by volunteers to view the fascinating collection of 1nemorabilia at the Railway Museum. Later that evening, with a band playing, we met friendly locals at the renowned Werris Creek Railway Hotel.

An early departure bad us travelling on freight lines, with the train turning at Binnaway Junction, before passing towns including Dubbo and Wellington. The gently undulatiJ1g landscape gradually changed fron1 lush green to golden, around bends and through tunnels as we passed by canola fields, rolling hills, fruit orchards, viJ1eyards and paddocks. Many different birds flew overhead and horses flicked their manes. It was a relaxing day, with guests gaziJ1g out of their cabin windows to view the ever-changing scenery.

Arriving in Orange, a city of 40,000 overlooked by the iinposing Mount Canobolus, guests could self explore with a map in hand to view parks, Federation-era mansions and historic buildings. A tour was also offered to visit Adagio Mills that specializes in alpaca wool, to learn more about how the wool is processed.

The following day, we visited Bathurst, and NATIONAL EDITION

explored local sites such as the impressive Fossil Museum, featuring rare crystals and fossils fro1n around the world. We then travelled by coach towards Oberon to visit May field Garden, the prettiest private garden I've ever seen. With meandering pathways, waterfalls, lakes and streams, surrounded by oak, maple and birch trees, this was a day to re1nember, with a picnic lunch by the lake.

This being our final night, our jow·ney continued to Kandos, a small settlement tucked in the foothills of the mountains.

Greeted with a Welcome to Country by men1bers of the Wiradju1·i people, volW1teers led us to view aboriginal art galleries and the Rail Museum, before arriving at the Kandos Community Hall, for a spit roast dinner and live band that soon had us clapping and stomping our feet.

At sunrise the next morning, the huge sandstone cliffs of the Caper tee Valley gave off a golden glow, as we followed the Gwabegar line, across the Great Dividing Range to Wallerawang. The scenery was breathtaking and on a line that is seldon1 used, the overgrown tree branches almost stroked against the train.

On our way to Lithgow, we crossed a series of brick viaducts built in the 1920s, before arriving at Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains. Passengers spent the day self­ exploring on the hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus before re-boarding the train and ending our journey at Central Station.

TRAVEL NOTEBOOK

• The five-day Golden West journey costs $3995 per person, twin share or for a single cabin. Other itineraries to the North Coast and Riverin a are also available. Contact 1300421422 for details. The journey provides an introduction to regional NSW. • If you'd prefer to explore in greater depth, a short break is easy to organise. Many expertly designed road trips are available to guide your drive there, or choose a town to serve as your base, and make day trips from there. My picks are Orange or Tamworth that are both buzzing right now. Regional towns

offer so much to see and do, and while based there, take scenic drives to visit national parks and quaint historic villages, made easy by tourist drive maps that can be easily downloaded.

• If you'd prefer to catch the train and hire a car on arrival, NSW trains are comfortable, affordable and relaxing. Go to NSWtrainlink. Visitor Information Centres are located at all major centers with very helpful staff.

• To get you started, go to visitnsw.com Before making plans check the latest advice for travel In NSW.

JANUARY 2021 31

N I RICE

Talk about bi ryan is, and you'll encounter way too many FAQs ...

Do you cook the rice and meat separately, or together? Do you use the oven or do you prefer to place your pot on top of a hot iron tawa on the stove?

Do you use boned meat, or does boneless come out better? How do you prevent your biryani sticking to the bottom of the pan - do you cook on low heat, or do you layer the bottom with sliced potatoes? The correct answer to each of these of course, is to try them out both ways, and find out for yourself! While you're at it, why not taste the different regions of India this Republic Day, and try different variations of the biryani? It'll be a pleasure if you do it with Fortune Rice

Bom bay VEG ETABLE B I RYAN I For the Rice

Whole spices

Plus

• 250grams (roughl y 2 cups)

• 4 pods black cardamoms

• ½ cup yogurt, whisked

Fortune Biryani Rice rinsed

• 3cm piece cinnamon

• A few strands saffron,

and soaked for 1 5 minutes

• 8 whole cloves

• 2 tbsp oil

• 8 whole peppercorns

soaked ,n a tbsp of warm milk

• 1 tsp shahi jeera

• 1 tsp shahi Jeera

• 4-5 black pepper pods

• 3 fresh bay leaves

For garnish

• 2-3 cloves

For the Masala

• Tomato slices and coriander strips

• 2-3 green cardamom

• 3 tbsp ghee or oil

• 1 large fresh bay leaf

• 4 medium onions, sliced

• Salt to taste

• Green chillies to taste

• 2 onions, fried crisp • Chopped mint and coriander leaves

• 3 tsp g,nger-garlic paste

• Lime or lemon wedges

• 1 -inch piece cinnamon

For the Vegetables

• ½ tsp turmeric powder

• ½ cup green peas

• Red chilli powder to taste

• ½ cup carrots, cut into

• 1½ tsp garam masala

long pieces

powder

• ½ cup green beans, cut

• 1½ tsp coriander­

into long pieces

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cumin powder

• 2 medium sized potatoes,

• Salt to taste

cut into four pieces each

• Oil for deep frying onions

• 4-5 dried plums or prunes • 3 large tomatoes

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32 JANUARY 2021

To cook rice, heat oil and add in the whole spices. When they begin to crackle add in the drained rice and saute briefly. Add water (equivalent to double the rice) and salt, and cook until 75% done. Sieve through a colander.

When well-combined, add the vegetables and prunes cook until vegetables are just about al dente.

Add a tiny amount of cooking water if necessary. Cool, and stir in yogurt to keep it all moist. Keep covered until needed.

Heat oil and deep fry onions until well browned. Remove from oil and cool, then grind to a paste.

Assemble biryani in a large baking dish.

To cook the veggies, heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and throw in the whole spices and green chillies.

Allow oil to infuse flavours until spices crackle, then introduce the onion paste, ginger-garlic paste and saute. Stir in tomatoes. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and coriander­ cumin powder and salt. Saute until it all comes together.

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Arrange alternate layers of rice and prepared vegetables. Pour over the milk infused with saffron.

Cover tightly with alfoil and bake in a moderately hot oven for 20 minutes.

Serve decorated with garnish.

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Hyderabadi CHICKEN BI RYANI • 1 kg chicken, cut into medium pieces

Whole Spices

• 1 kg (roughly S cups) Fortune Biryani

• 2 tsp shahi jeera

• Rice; rinsed and soaked for 1 S minutes

• S black cardamoms

• Juice of 1 lime

• 6-7 cloves

• 2 cups yoghurt

• 1 large stick cinnamon

• 2 onions, sliced

• 3 large fresh bay leaves

• 1 cup oil (add a little ghee if you prefer) • S tbsp oil extra

Green Masala (chopped fine)

• Salt to taste

• 5-6 green chillies

Lucknowi

• 1 bunch mint leaves Grind to Paste

• 1 bunch coriander leaves

• Green chillies to taste

• 1 kg goat pieces, large (retain bones and

• Salt to taste

• 7cm piece ginger

some fat)

• 4-5 garlic pods

• 250 ml milk

• 750 grams (roughly 4 cups) Fortune Biryanl

• 4 tbsp cream

• 2 onions, sliced

Rice. rinsed and soaked for 1 5 minutes

• 3-4 pods green cardamom

• 1 tsp turmeric powder

• ½ cup oil

• 1 tbsp ghee

• 2 sticks cinnamon

• ¼ tsp sugar

• 4-5 cloves

• 1 tbsp rose water

• 1 tsp salt

Rub chicken with salt and let sit for 1 0 minutes. Then add the ground paste and yogurt, mix and set aside for 20 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and throw in whole spices. Add water in 1 :2 consistency, salt and turmeric and bring to a boil.

I ntroduce the rice, cover and cook until half done. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat 4 tbsp oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and fry sliced onions. Remove with slotted spoon and keep aside.

In the same oil, put in the marinated chicken. Layer single file if possible.

Spread half the rice on top. Then add the fried onions, the green masala and lime juice. Layer the rest of the rice on top. Now pour in the cup of oil and ghee if using.

Cover with teatowel and tighten with lid. Place on a hot iron tawa and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.

(Alternately, cook in oven. Seal lid with dough. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C before putting your pot in and then reduce heat. Check in 20 minutes.)

• 1 medium-sized onion, sliced • 4 tsp ginger-garlic paste

For Masala Powder: grind together

• Red chilli powder to taste

• 7 pods green cardamom

• S0g yoghurt

• 2 tbsp white pepper pods

• A few strands saffron

• 8-1 0 blades of mace

• 1 tbsp kewra water

Heat oil in heavy- bottomed pan and add cinnamon and cloves. Stir until flavours are infused in the oil. Add onion and fry until golden brown.

Introduce meat and saute on high flame, stirring constantly. Add ginger-garlic paste and continue to stir. When nicely browned, add red chilli powder, salt and yoghurt.

Mix well and let cook for 3-4 more minutes. Then add 500 ml water and the kewra water, stir and then cover and cook until meat is beginning to separate from the bones. Turn off heat and cool completely.

The oil will by now have risen to the top, and will be infused with the colour of the spices. Use a deep spoon to siphon off all the excess oil - this will be come to use a bit later.

• • • ••

Add milk, cream, saffron and the ground masala. Mix well and cover tightly to incorporate.

To cook rice, heat water in another pan and add a stick of cinnamon, the cardamom pods and salt to taste. When hot put in the soaked

NATIONAL EDITION

._

rice. Cook until 75% done, and then sieve through a colander.

Meanwhile, bring out the siphoned­ off cooking oil and add to it ghee, sugar and rose water. Mix well.

Assemble biryani in a heavy bottomed pan. Put in a layer of rice at the bottom, and then spoon some of the meat and gravy over.

Spoon some of the flavoured oil over.

Repeat with another layer of rice, meat and gravy, and flavoured oil.

Finish off with a final layer of rice and pour the rest of the flavoured oil all over.

Cover tightly with teatowel or alfoil and cook on high for five minutes .

Then cook on low heat on top of a hot iron tawa for 20-25 minutes.

(Alternately, cook in oven. Seal lid with dough. Preheat oven to 1 80 degrees C before putting your pot in and then reduce heat. Check in 20 minutes.)

JANUARY 2021 33

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I

I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I

I AK VS AK (Netflix) I STARRING: Anil Kapoor,

I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I

Anurag Kashyap, Sonam Kapoor, Harshvardhan Kapoor DIRECTION: Vikramaditya Motwane

***1

Half the trick lies in the casting. Anil Kapoor plays Anil Kapoor. Anurag Kashyap plays Anurag Kashyap. They get to badmouth each other exposing the other's fallacies in the build-up to an engaging thriller overflowing with wry wit.

AK Vs AK has to be the quirkiest film Bollywood made this year.

Vikramaditya Motwane's film thrives on its sheer absence of genre­ specifics. It involves real people playing out a fictional storyline, and yet the narrative coldly draws from their lives to set up make-belief. The mockumentary-style narrative plays

I I I I I 1

out with the clinical precision of a true story, except that none of it actually ever happened.

Avinash Sampath's story is a twoliner. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap (as himself) and veteran Bollywood star Anil Kapoor (as himself) are at loggerheads. The filmmaker kidnaps I Sonam Kapoor (as herself}, daughter I of the star, and sets off the senior actor on a frantic search, in a bid to 1 teach him a lesson. As Anil Kapoor I gets going on a desperate hunt for I daughter Sonam, Kashyap films the in real time. He is sure it's ready I action material for his next blockbuster film.

I Experimental entertainment that I toys with the real and the fictional is 1 rare even in Hollywood, leave alone Hindi filmdom. One can at random I recall the Spike Jonze gems Being I John Malkovich and Adaptation.

I I 1 I I 1

Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami I made Close-Up, about a crazed I cinephile who passes off as the I maestro Mohsen Makhmalbaf and scams people saying he will cast them. I In AK Vs AK Motwane uses the genre I specifics well, to craft an original story.

I Sonam Kapoor's appearance is I boosted by an accompanying cameo I I of her brother Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor. I Harsh's casting, in fact, is used by 1 director Motwane to add cheeky I I humour, taking the joke on himself.

I I Budding actor Harsh is seen telling I Kashyap at one point of Vikramaditya I Motwane's I Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, I which ended up a flop. Harsh wants I I Kashyap, who was a producer of that I I film, to make a sequel.

I The fun really lies in savouring I the way these 'real' characters are I I presented, even as the fictional I

M AT R I M O N IALS

♦ t ♦ • ♦ ♦ • ♦ • O • I ♦ • O ♦ O ♦ ♦ • O ♦ t ,o • O' ♦ ♦ • I ♦ -. • ♦ ♦ • ♦ ♦ ♦ O O I • ♦ 0 ♦ t t ♦ O • O 4 • O • I ♦ ♦ O O ♦ I • ♦ • I ♦ ♦ O • -. O • O t • ♦ • O ♦ I O ♦ • • • t ♦ O • O t • t • • ♦ ♦ O O ♦ t ♦ ♦ ♦ I I ♦ -. ♦ ♦ O ♦ • I •

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SEEKING BRIDES

Seeking a professionally qualified match, teetotaller, with a good family background, preferably Australian citizen or PR holder for highly qualified career-oriented Brahmin girl 35, 5'2", vegetarian, with good family background, working and well settled in Sydney.

Please contact Aussyd08@gmail.com

Sydney-based 46-year-old, PR holder, down-to-earth, sweet natured, healthy, slim, attractive, cool-minded, well educated, spiritual, issueless divorcee, vegetarian, North lndianKayastha Hindu man, working in IT company, seeks a girl from India / Fiji / Australia / other countries for marriage. Have a well­ paying stable job. Healthy habits: swimming, non-smoker.

Have never drunk alcohol in life. Language, nationality, state, caste, food habit (veg or non-veg) no bar. Call 0415 063 532.

Professionally qualified match required for '88-born 5"3" Hindu Punjabi girl, divorced (short marriage, issueless).

Working full time in Sydney. Pref teetotaller. Must have Aus PR. Email: matrimonial.ml@gmail.com.

Seeking a professional match for Hindu-AdDharmijRamdasia, 27-year-old engineer on TR visa, doing customer service job in Sydney, with an educated family background, family relatives professionally settled in Sydney and Brisbane.

Caste no bar. Please contact with details and photo at hsruby_ 2000@yahoo.com / 0401324862

34

JANUARY 2021

suspense unfolds. Motwane keeps the narrative suitably fast-paced, with Swapnil Sonawane's cinematography delivering the impact.

The credible tech-specs complement smart screenwriting that draws from personal aspects of the celebrities in question (Anurag Kashyap's asthmatic fits in real life, for instance, are woven into the story), just as feats and failures of their professional lives are tossed into conversations to render drama to the dialogues.

Good writing is also the reason the actors get to play the field as themselves. The irony is you never quite know in which scene a particular cast member is actually 'acting' , and in which they are just being themselves.

That sort of a fluidity is Motwane's triumph as a filmmaker.

Vinayak Chakravorty

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I I I

I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

AMAZON PRESENTS 45th film of DAVID DHAWA

1

1 COOLIE NO. 1

1 (Amazon Prime) I STARRING: Varun Dhawan, Sara Ali Khan, Paresh Rawal, Javed Jaffrey, I Rajpal Yadav, Johnny Lever, Sahil Vaid, I Shikha Talsania, Vikas Verma, Manoj Joshi, Anil Dhawan, Bharati Achrekar 1 DIRECTION: David Dhawan

I ** I

I I I I 1 I I 1 I I 1 I I 1 I I 1 I I 1 I I

I I I I I 1 1 I

I I I I The joke's on all of them really, you realise as the muddled mess plays out. I Varun Dhawan tries to do a Govinda I - and a Mithun and a Bachchan and 1 a Nana for good measure. Sara Ali Khan hits frantic mode with her pelvic I thrusts; she was out to prove she can I be darling of the masses, too. David 1 Dhawan comes out of some sort of a time warp thinking this is 1995.

I

Well, Varun better stick to doing a Varun - that's the way his fans like him. And Sara doesn't look cool with the coolie. The gyration gig is simply not for her, she can give the pelvis some rest. On Dhawan senior, someone tell him what year this is.

In it"�lf, the first Coolie No. 1 was no great comedy - not even by David Dhawan's loony yardstick. But at least the film had the singular asset that made it stand out - Govinda.

You shouldn't get into such ditsy misadventure in the name of comedy filmmaking unless you have Govinda to justify the chaos.

The big problem about the recreated Coolie No. 1 is not that it is utterly brainless (the 1995 original was no intelligent entertainment either). The problem with the remake is it fails to hold your attention from almost the time it gets going. Boring and brainless can be a lethal combo for a 'comedy'.

Owing to any obvious intent to narrate anything original, the cast is a one-on-one array of substitutes. So if Va run does a Govinda and Sara takes over the naach-gaana duty from Karishma Kapoor, Paresh Rawal steps into Kadar Khan's shoes as the heroine's father, Shikha Talsania (what a waste) tries fitting in as the heroine's sister as Kanchan did in the old film.

Rajpal Yadav does his own version of the heroine's mama, which Shakti Kapoor played in the original. There's Sahil Vaid for Harish as the hero's buddy, and Javed Jaffrey for Sadashiv Amrapurkar as the matchmaker panditji. None of them manage to emerge from the shadows of the original's cast, as the jaded rehash

I I I I I plays out.

I Okay, not all of it is a rehash.

I Govinda was a coolie wearing a I I blue shirt at a bus terminus. Varun I I is a coolie in a red shirt at a railway I I station. Some originality, right?!

Screen writer Rumi Jafry re-hauls I I the storyline of the 1995 original I I almost in entirety. David Dhawan I I calls the shots on a familiar chain of events as attempted slapstick, I I overdone mimicry, some melodrama I I and the mandatory fight scenes I I unfold.

It's all about deja vu as rich I I businessman Rosario (Paresh Rawal) I I insults pandit Jai Kishen (Javed I I Jaffrey) over a matchmaking deal for his daughter Sara (Sara Ali Khan).

I I The livid pandit picks up Raju the 1 I coolie (Varun Dhawan) from the I station, packages him as a millionaire I and presents him before Rosario as a I I loaded, prospective groom. Raju and I I Sara fall for each other before you I can spell 1-o-v-e, and Rosario happily I marries off his daughter to the 'super I I rich' Raju.

I At a convenient point in the I I I narrative, Rosario discovers Raju's reality, so the guy invents a twin.

I I Almost everything that follows is a I blind repeat of the 1995 screenplay. I As all of 134 minutes play out, you I I would frequently find asking yourself I I - why was this film made in the first I I case? There is no evident effort to I I cater to contemporary tastes.

Amusing how you tend to I I subconsciously recall Govinda I I in specific scenes as Varun tries I I repeating random antics. That can surely be the biggest failure for a I I remake.

I I Vlnayak Chakravorty I

-------------------------------------------�

1- 1 KAAGAZ (ZeeS)

I STARRING: Pankaj Tripathi, I MonalGajjar, Amar Upadhyay, Satish Kaushik I DIRECTION: Satish Kaushik

I ** I The merits of Pankaj Tripathi's new I outing are dwarfed by the cliches that I the film fails to resist. It is something I that prevents Kaagaz from living up to the potential its storyline had promised.

I Tripathi, one of Bollywood's most I incredible success stories in recent I years, continues with his glorious run as an actor in the OTT domain, this I time returning with a starring role in I Satish Kaushik's new directorial. Among I the film's advantages is also the fact that the plot draws from an intriguing I true story. The fact that writer-director I Kaushik tries giving his tale of blatant I corruption a satirical spin would only seem to add to its credence.

I Yet, as the minutes roll and the I narrative stuffs in everything from an I item naach to a Shashikala-prototyped scheming chichi to a very filmi portrait I of the bhrasht sarkari office, the film I begins to lose its purpose.

NATIONAL EDITION

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Kaagaz starts failing early on in its

effort to create an emotional tug over the protagonist's plight, owing to its sheer lack of storytelling depth.

Tripathi plays the Lal Bihari, a bandwallah in a village. With workflow increasing, Lal Bihari decides to expand his business, and for this he decides to sell a plot of land he owns. Except that when he tries to, he realises that conniving relatives have usurped the land by legally proving he is dead.

---

I I I I I I I I I

--

When Lal Bihari tries to set things right, he discovers he must wage a fullon war with a system that is corrupt to the core. The narrative that follows is about his indefatigable struggle that lasts for years, to prove he is alive.

The theme of a rotten system bearing down upon a common man's bid to assert his identity has been explored with far more assuredness in the past. Random recall would bring back Mazhar Kamran's Mohandas, or Anant

I I I Mahadevan's Gour Hari Dastaan. Kaagaz suffers from serious dearth of conviction I I I in its storytelling, in comparison.

Pankaj Tripathi is adequate in the I 1 central role, but clearly that is not I I enough. You wonder which was a more I difficult deal - the on-screen protagonist' s I struggle to prove he is alive, or Tripathi's I I effort to keep a dead narrative going.

I I Storytelling has always been a weak I I point about Satish Kaushik's direction.

Somehow, after confidently building up I a narrative in the first half, Kaushik fails I I to sustain the momentum post interval I I I (think Tere Naam, Hamara Oil Aapke Paas Hai, Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai or I I Badhaai Ho Badhaai). In Kaagaz, like his I I more recent releases Gang Of Ghosts I I or Karzzz, the break point happens I I much before interval. Long before the first hour is over, the film struggles to I I hold attention. No surprises, Kaushik's I I turn as Lal Bihari's lawyer is far more I I effective than his filmmaking.

That is sad actually, for this could I I have been a relevant film.

I Vinayak Chakravorty I JANUARY 2021 35

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STREAMING

radio

YOUR LIFE • YOUR MUSIC 36 JANUARY 2021

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F O R ET E L L

January 2021

BY M I NAL KH O NA MinaI Khona has been reading tarot cards for the last two decades. She uses her intuition and connect with the cards mostly to help people.

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I An exciting start to the new year for I There could be new avenues opening I Capricorn as they could have intriguing I up on the work front You need a break interactions, a new romance or even from home and work to recoup. The new I travel. In your personal or professional I year brings a positive outlook and the I life, expect a dilemma with two tempting I quality of work improves. Be careful of I options; think before you choose. A I what you eat; you could end up with food current setback is a blessing in disguise. poisoning. Money owed to you still doesn't I Money comes in through various sources. I come through. But it comes in from other I There seems to be no way out for those I sources so you will have enough. Success trapped in a bad marriage. A problem comes from education related areas.

I gets resolved due to a right decision you I Solve problems b yjust letting them be I make or with the help of another.

I sometimes.

A balanced month for Aries without too many ups a nd downs. But, as a number 5 , it could lead to some change or unresolved issues. An ex could return a nd it may help you find closure. Focus your energies correctly for faster resolution of problems.

Cruising at work despite frustrations no longer works, so when things get unbearable, the change you seek will come. An old health condition could recur due to stress. Transformation on all fronts is foretold.

The ten of swords indicates a situation of extreme stress and clearing out of dead energy. If a relationship has hit rock bottom, it can only get better from here on. You are on a self-improvement drive in all aspects of your life this month. You might even quit your job or get fired. Dissatisfaction with your current situation can cause stress.

Finances are on an upswing. An infatuation could also end. Don't lose hope and accept what is.

•---------

You could be in need of healing this month, on various fronts. A new romance may be in the offing but it may not be the one you want. An engagement or a pregnancy in the family is foretold. Health is good this month and despite financia l constraints you may go a head with a business plan.

It will help add to your kitty. A troubled relationship could improve. The more creative your ideas, the higher your chances of success.

NATIONAL EDITION

I I I I I I I I I You may have taken on more than you I can handle this month. Changes are predicted; you are in the mood to tie I up loose ends and start on something I new. Additional responsibilities could I be thrust upon you. A relationship going nowhere is not going to improve I so let it go. Take it easy to avoid I fatigue and exhaustion. All this additional flurry of activity will lead I to a new lifestyle. Don't accept less I than what you deserve - in love or I profession.

I I I I I I I I I I Stay on guard against office politics and I deceit from someone you trust. While you I do have the mental strength to fight back, I it is a waste of resources. Plans regarding the home don't proceed smoothly. A I stroke of good luck in your love life or I finances is coming. Don't take on too much as it could lead to illness. Let go a I little; perfection can be exhausting. Any I disputes at work will be resolved. Go slow I with everything and have a balanced perspective.

I

I I I I I I I I I The practical Capricorn appears for I you this month, indicating a more realistic approach to everything from I you mercurial Geminis. You want to I make more money but the road seems I blocked. A sense of being responsible in your relationship will leave you content I no matter which way the relationship I goes. A rocky marriage could end.

Express yourself or you could end up I with throat and ear related health I problems. Money may be slow right now I but more will come.

I I I I I I I I I I A slightly difficul t month; you spend as you I earn amid business losses. Ever ything I seems blocked; controlling your emotions I in a difficult situation will be hard. A problem at work will get solved if you think I differently. Surmounting of an emotional I problem is possible this month. Tr y not to take on too much this month. Stress can I cause aches and pains. Hang in there, I positive changes are coming - these could I be due to a change in perspective or the entry of someone into your life.

I

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I I I I I I I I I You could have experiences this month I that leave you feeling powerless or confused. They may even change your I life in some wa ys. Praise at work makes I you feel valued. Drive carefully as an I accident could occur. Plans to set your paperwork in order will be I successful. Business improves a nd I so do returns on investments. Your legs could give you trouble, take some rest if I it is not a serious condition. Shed your I ill usions about people you think are on I your side.

I I I I I I I I I I A time to plan the year a head and I focus on areas in your life that need I improving. A promotion at work or expansion in business keeps you I motivated. An estranged friend or I lover may try to win you back. A family I reconciliation could take place. Profits in business increase. Eat more of I high energy foods. You might lose out I on some funding or a project being Trust your instincts when it I cancelled. comes to a new idea or offer.

I

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The queen of wands stands for the zodiac sign of Leo so the dreamy Pisceans could find themselves in a gregarious and extroverted frame of mind this month. They might even meet someone who is a Leo. A sudden whirlwind romance could come along.

Your career gets a fresh boost of life. If a relationship is rocky, an occurrence could take it to the point of no return. If undecided about a dilemma, the right decision will come to you.

JANUARY 2021 37

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

BAC K C H AT

RHEA L NATH on battling homesickness (and sunburn) during her -first Aussie summer he new year is here, and the summer of 2021 is underway... or is it? As an international student spending my first summer in Australia instead of running off to India to enjoy that extended vacation, I expected blistering hot days. I was pro1nised cool waves, endless beach days, and sitcon1-esque su111n1er adventures. Instead, as 1 sit down to write this, a cold bottle of water within arm's length, it's con1e to my attention that it's been comparatively tin1id weather.

Sundaes have remained intact upon exiting the ice cream parlour and the occasionaJ jacket has snuck its way out of the closet on an overcast day. The 'bloody hot' Sydney sumn1er hasn't quite bared its teeth.

Growing up in Bangalore, a city known for its n1oderate cli1nate and cold beer year round, I've never had to experience particularly hot weather. To me, anything above 22 degrees is hot - and anything above 30 degrees is outright burning. But, I was ready to test n1y mettle against the Aussie sun.

Perhaps a boon rather than a bane, this year's sun11ner has stayed a n1anageable affair, sparing n1e fron1 those a1nusing incidents of checking 1ny seat for sweat-stains or needing to duck into a convenience store to take shelter in the A/C. (Or air-con, to use the lingo of the land). As I soon came to realise, it also offered a chance to salvage unproductive days with the seemingly never-ending daylight. Is 8 PM too late for a workout? ls 9 PM too late to run errands? Surely not, if you can make hay while the sun shines, in its most literal sense.

Even as the dust settles on the last leg of AUSvlND 111atches, the pleasant weather has also 111eant a relatively good su1n1ner of cricket. l'1n hardly the 1nost ardent

.. ,

supporter, but it's a terrible mistake to discount the electric stadium atmosphere.

Any homesickness gets wiped away sitting in the stands when, for a brief 1noment, the loyal fans transport us to Wankhede Stadium, flags, chants and all. This time, of course, with the welcome option of a mid-game beer.

Still, the most amusing anecdotes have con1e from conversations with family back in India as I complain about the rare humid day... before I notice their jackets and shawls, scarfs and hot teas, and remen1ber that we are, of coui-se, in the southern hemisphere.

Sumn1er activities in Dece1nber and January - it still takes a second to wrap my head

• he day has finally arrived. 1t is the 1norning of 19 January and some well-armed guards are dragging a hefty man out of the expansive White House, even as he kicks and screams, "I want four more years on this lease!" A huge crowd gathers outside on Pennsylvania Avenue, watching this scene with great amusement. A few protesters (ahem, rioters?) wave hand-n1ade placards, all the while cribbing about a 'robbed' election.

Inside, the classic black suits of the Secret Service can be seen clearing the Oval Office. They expect to find a great pile of sensitive documents.

Instead, they're surprised to unearth an assortment of unusual items in the drawers of the 38 JANUARY 2021

mahogany desk.

In the top drawer are golf balls with the names of VIP players inscribed on them, along with precious score cards of games.

(They all have one lead scorer: Trump.)

In the next drawer, there is a half-empty bottle of disinfectant, presumably the same treatment that helped dear Donald recover from such a short spell of COY JD. Beside that, there's a saffron­ coloured shawl. You know, the special gift from the Howdy Trump gala with NaMo that reads 'Ab ki barr, Trump sarkar' in Devanagari-esque cursive. Peeking out from underneath the shawl, hidden to the untrained eye, is a huge pile of pink slips used to sack White House staff. Alas, no one from the Secretary of State to the lunch lady was immune.

around it! (still #freshofftheboat, guilty as charged.)

Discovering my version of Oz summer fashion has been an interesting affair. What does one wear for those sweltering hours in the sun? Jeans are but an abomination, socks are an unwanted nuisance beneath our soles, and during a heat wave, even a dress feels like far too much clothing. This year, we have had cloth masks to add to the equation.

Every day as I lather on the sunscreen, l think of next season's potential trend - sporting strategic tan lines across half our faces.

But J can't rea1ly complain. Maybe it's the lingering New Year spirit hangover, but 1

find that it's almost comlorting to be able to enjoy this summer. To savour the days. After all, from bush fires and protests, restrictions and all sorts of distance, the past year was a challenging one. As the vacations rolled around and we were able to venture outdoors (staying COY ID-safe, of course), it almost feels like we weren't being handed anything we couldn't handle.

Will 1 be cracking eggs on the paven1ent to see if they cook in the heat? Nah. Instead, almost like a mantra for the new year, you can find me looking out for n1ore suntan and less sunburn. (PS: Seriously, don't forget the sunscreen though.)

LP AYER is a fiy on the wal l as Trump exits the White House A special key is exchanged between the Secret Service agents to unlock one last goody on the table: the personal computer of the President, now padlocked by Twitter, Facebook and more. With the graceful turn of a key, it falls to the ground, putting an end to Trump's reign of misinformation.

To prepare the house for the next occupant, maintenance men wash the walls, doors, and door handles with gallons of sanitizer. No one has the heart to share with poor Trump that it's all imported from - you guessed it - China. As if cementing the man's nightmare, a new shingle is also placed at the main gate: ' J Biden'.

Even as dozens of removal trucks move out with loads of designer frocks, shoes and other accessories of Melania Trun1p, a lone truck pulls up with dozens of hot idlis specially cooked for Kamala by her chithi (mum's younger sister) in Chennai, speed-posted for her Inauguration Day breakfast. There's also a small packet

of ten1ple 'prasad' sent by the people of Tulasendrapuram, Kamala's ancestral village. (But do they hear some of her pronouncements are not that India-friendly, according to those in the know?)

Across the pond at Downing Street, Bo Jo is expecting Jo Bi to keep up the tradition of visiting Britain first as a mark of respecting Anglo-American bond. Meanwhile, in far off Beijing, the sphi11x-like Xi Jinping has already begun drafting an invitation to Joe Biden to visit the 'ForBiden City'. New Year, new beginnings, perhaps...

Cartoonists all over the world plan an online wake on Zoom, one last ode to the man whose catchphrases and actions were their staple diet for four long years. 1, too, will 1niss Trump, having written more on him than anyone else. But I've learnt not to count him out, the man who has 1nastered the art of the comeback.

For now, though, we can all agree to hope not for the comeback of 2020.

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