2015-01 Adelaide

PUBl.:ISI-IER0

It'sgameon (hopefully)!

Radhika Bhatia, Ajay Naidu,Sandip Hai; GrahakCunningham, Royston Rebelid;; Shampa Bhattacharya Bruwel�ii; Petra O'Neiii;

PROUD MEMBEROF:

Indian Link is a monthly newspaper published in J;.nglish. No material, including advertisements designed by Indian Link, may be reproduced in ;part or in whole without the written consent of the :editor.

With the Indian team's amazing abilicy to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory,as evidenced in rhefirsttwo test matches against Australia this summer, one can only hopethat they fare betterin the ICC Wo.cldCupmatcheslaterthis quarter to keep thehopes of not only theirfans inIndia,but the30 million strong non-resident Indian communicy, alive.Theupcoming OneDay matches againstAustralia should give them a good feel for what theyneed to do,bm the true test will startfrom 15Februarywhenthe big competition kicks off.

For us Indians u1 Australia,it is always adifficult question to answer as to which team we support, India or Australia.Oneanswerwhich is outright disloyalty ro our country of adoption is ''You can takethe man out of Indiabut you cannottakethe Indian out of the man." Now, consideoog that c cicket is the only sport i11whichIndiaexcels (at

tunes),whileAustraliahas mgby(union and League), tennis, swrn1rningand so many other sports to bringhomethe gold, it maybe alright to be disloyal. The other answer hedges yourbets,"If Australiawins, we throw a shrimp on thebarbie;if Indiawins,it's tandoori chicken (or paneer) on thebarbie." Th.isway rhere isan answer which says nothing and yetsatisfiesthe inquiry.

Either way, the challenge oftenis howto balance theextremely parochial commentary on Channel 9, where Australiacan do no wrong on the cricketfieldand thevisitors can do no right.A prime example of th.is was the commentary by cheer leaders of Australian cricket such as Shane \'v'arne,IanHealeyandMichaelSlater, who could not finda thing right with Indiancaptain MS Dhoniin the Boxing DayTest.His field placing was wrong, thebowlingchanges werestrangeand the overall gameplan was a mystery. It was only guest commeutacor, the injured Australian captain Michael Clarke,who was able co explain why Dhon.i was doing what he was doing, and the purposebehind those field placementsand strategies. Channel 9 cricket commentary could well do with abalance- or viewers will switch to watchingtheirvisualbut withABC radio commentary in thebackgrou11d.

TheIndian ream Looks good- they areyoung and with youth comes a certain level of aggression.Newly appointed captainViratKohlienjoys confrontation as was evidencedin the 2011-12 tour with his famous middle linger salute to the crowdsin Bay 20 at the SCG who were having ago at hiin.Thathe bas succeeded in rattling tl1e Aussies is clear when the temperamentalDav.id\Varnersuggested heshould cool it down.Nevertheless, interestiJ1gtonote that aspell check on 'Virat'comesup with 'brat'.

\X/ithIPLin India allowingrhe Aussiesandotherinternational cricketers to interact with their Indian counterparts,.it is also good to know thatfriendships getfotmedacross the playing boundaries.During rhe current rour,MSDhoni catching up with Michael Clarkefor a private BBQ and discussingDhoni'slove for motorbike� is good to note.Perhaps there's hope yet for Kohli and\.'("/arner to be cliscussing thetanni.nsin good red wme.

Till thathappens,wishing all the teams a terrificWorldCup. lndian Australians will befortunate enough to back two teams to win time to get a new wardrobe reflecting the green and gold of Australi.a and the deep blue colours of India.

Hindi language campaigner winsIndiangovernmenthonour

TheSydney-based Hindi languagecampaigner

MalaMehtahas won this year's Pravasi BharatiyaSamman (Overseas Indian Honour).

She was one of 15 diaspora memberswho were conferredthe award bythe Vice President of India HamidAnsari.

Tbehighesthonour conferred on overseas Indians, the award is presented bytbe Government of India annually as pareof the Overseas IndianConference in eadyJanuary.Theevent was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, chis year. Theotherrecipients this year wereGuyanese President Donald Rabindernauth Ramaotar;KamaljeetBakshi from ew Zealand; Ashraf Palarakunnummaland BharatkumarJayantilaJShah. from UAE;Essop EsoopGoolam from SouthAfrica;RajmalM.Parakh from Oman;JusticeDoraikannu Karunakaran fromSeychelles; SanjayaRajaram fromMexico; Lord Raj Loomba and athuRarn Puri from Britain; Mahendra anji Mehta fromUganda andNanclin.i Tandonand KamleshLulla from theUS.

Also from Australia, lastyear's winner LisaSingh acceptedher award thisyear.

MalaMehtais a well-loved personalityinSydney'sIndian community. As founder of the fodo Australian Bal Bharatiya Vidyalaya,Malahas campaigned bard for theinclusion of Hindiin theAustralian schoolcurriculum. Severalhundred sn1dems atber Sydney-based schoollearnthe Hindilanguage onthe weekends, scarring from age live andmany continueup rotheYear 12 level.

J\fala has also been responsible for taking to primary schools acrosstbe Sydney region, an awareness of Tndiaand its culnu:e as part of the'1ndiaCalling" program.

"This is agreat honour forme butreallyI accepted the award on behalf of allthose who have travelledtheHindi journeywith mein Australia,"MalatoldJ,,ditm Unkon thephonefromIndia.

''AsI walkeduptothestage, allI could see weremybachchas

andwishedmy HindiSchool parivaarand otherswho had taken thisjourney withmehad been there toolI missed mydadwho would have felt only as a dad can.

1 wouldhaveloved to ha\Temy mum andchildrentheretoo but washappy that they were watching it live."

Of course dotinghusband TeddyMehtawas in the audience asMalareceived the award from Hamid Ansari,anold friendof theMehras fromwhenheserved asIndia'sHighCommissionerto Australiayea.rs ago.

Mala was thankfulfor the government's acknowledgement of the efforts forthe Hindi language in Australia.

"This is the first government Ln Indiathat has extended supportco ourcampaign and I am ever so grateful,"she said."I amelatedalsobecause theawardcame at snchan opportunemomem.I've just startedwork withtheAustralian Curriculum, Assessment and ReportingAuthority (ACARA) onthedevelopment of the new Hindicurriculum,andI needed the support of theIndian go\Ternment.The awardwill on.I)' boost my efforts."

Soon after thee\Tentin early January,MehtaanendedtheWorld Hindi Day celebrations inNew Delhi on 10 .January.

"Iwas amazed coLnteract

7�9 January,

2015

with many foreign dignitaries who spoke in Hindi -the ambassadors of Uzbekistan, Khazakastan,Romania, Iran, Thailand I couldn't help thinking, this isexactly what my life'swork has been about!"

The year has begun on a great note forMala. HerHindi students from HSC2014finished with exceptionally high ATARs (andoneeven topped thestate

inHindi);news has comein tbat twonew centres will commence Hindi teaching (\X'aitara PublicSchool and John Purchase PublicSchool),andon a personal noce,herson announced weddingplans.

The HindiSchool'smotto, H11t11 HongeKa11tyaab(I.WeShallOvercome) hasindeed stoodin good steadfot Mala in her 30-year crusade for Hindi.

Our heartiest congratulations, Mala.

IBY RADHIKA BHATIA -

Arrheendof Decemberlase year, studentsaround rhecounttvwere franticallylogging onto theneetoperform rhefinal task of their lastschoolyearcollectingtheirATAR. I know this becauseatthe verysame time one yearago, 1was oneof chose frantic students.1 wasinIaclia and it wasfartooearlyin themorning whenI wasroughlyshakenawake bym;rparencs and handed an iPad.The Boardof Studies page glared at me menacingly. One tense minute passed.Myparents srood over me, waitingas thepage loaded. I surpassed myaim.Igm into law.

It's a lot easier for me to talk aboutmyexperiences,looking backar myownHSCyear.I've justfinishedmyfirstyear of university,doingacoursel love, andnot once since unistarted haveI been askedmyATAR.

The HSC has becomea clisrant memory.

What 1 do remember of that yearisthefreepass I was given at home.Allof a sudden I was unassailable.I yelled at mypoor, innocentlittlesister, andir was her Emir. I stayed uptill 3am, andit was okay.Dishwashing duty was no longer mine.The smdy was left in aconstant stare of disarrayand myroombecame ano-entryzone. All becauseit was 'Radhika's HSC yea:r'.

Schoollife also changed.All of a sudden,1 was notsurrotmded bypeers,butbyopponentsin themost important race of my younglife.The toprank ,vasin contention.'How manyhoursof srndyingclidyoudo last night?'

'How much of that3000word essayhaveyoucompleted?' 'How many1narks clidyouloseinthe latestrnarhs test?'

Andthen,as soonas I found ommyscores: How manyof my friends got onto theclistingu.ished achievers list?How many gotonto theall-rounders list? How many got99+ ATARS?

Everyone'sexperienceof his or her final year will be different.

Year 12finishers look backatthefinalyearofschool

BurIcan guarantee youthat everyonewill go through some sky-high upsand rocky downs.I can alsocellyou,witha claritythatonlypresentedir.,elf followingthewholeordeal,that forme, thoserockydowns would not have beenquite so rockyif I had liftedjusr a littlepressure off myself.

'So what?' I wouldquestion my stressedan.cl angry2013self.

'What does it matter if you lost a couple of marks in tliat English essay? There will be more essays (nor necessarily acomforting thought,I admit) where, after a chat to your teacher and a litde hard work, you can more than redeemyourself.Seriously former Radhika, just calm clown.'

Duringthis year, family becomes a fantastic support base. However, sometimes this support can rranslate into an unspoken pressure. So nowI address rhe parents.Those few parents who belong ro the 'tiger mum or dad' category: bearing downon their children,imagining an end of year result that diey can boast about for years.You know who youare. Please srop.This year is not going tobe easyfor your children; that is undeniable.Bur, if youstep back and lee your childjust do theirthing, it can definitelybe pleasant.

ObviouslyI don't condone letting go completely.Sometimes a lirtle push away from the suddenlyfascinating outside world andtowards themounting pile of homework isexactlywhat an easily distracted teenager needs. But this yearis already heavy with anever-before-seen amountof work and a thus far unparalleledlevel of stress. Adding morepacks to diesaddle willonlyslowyour child down.

All of the students I've interviewedhave done incredibly well in their final yearof high school. Butthat isn't rhe only parallelf can draw. Each one of chem managed tO march hard workwith anabundance of extracurricular activities and relaxation.t\ndfor them,itwas a fantastic year.

So, ro everyone starting the HSC,theVCE, the SACE, or finalschoolexams: GoodLuck. Thisyear will be a big one; that isundeniable.Bur big doesnot necessarilymean bad. Make sure you enjoyit!

Mahendra Chitrarasu

ATAR: 99.9, SACE

Subjects: Biology, Chemistry., English smclies, Psychology, integrated learning School: Rostrevor College

Appurva Raaj

ATAR.: 96.60,SACE

Subjects: EnglishStuclies, Chemistry,Mediasmclies and Psychology School: Ladyof theSacred Heart College

NehalJain

ATAR: 97.35, (37 TB)

Subjects: MachsHigher Level, PhysicsHigher Level, Economics HigherLevel,Chernistry Higher Level, EnglishStandardLevel, Hindi StandardLevel School: GlemmgaInternational HighSchool

Rahul Malhotra ATAR:99.7,SACE

Subjects: Biology,Chemistry, Physics,Maths Smdies,ESL Stuclies,HindiContinuers School: EynesburySeniorCollege

Prajna Vidyasagar

ATAR: OP2, Queensland (equivalent to98-99)

Subjects: EnglishExrension, English,MathsC,MathsB, Physics, Chemistry. School: SaintJohnsAnglican College

AbhishekGoyal

ATAR:99.95, HSC

Subjects: EnglishExtension,

EnglishAdvanced,Machs Extension l,2UnirMaths Chemistry, Physics,Biology. School:JamesRuseAgricultural High School

SangitaIyer ATAR: 99.85, VCE

Subjects: English,Machs Jv[ethods,Australian Hisrory, BusinessManagement, Psychology, French. School: Sacre Couer

What were your expectations going into the Year 12? How clid reality compare?

Rahul: Iknew chatir wouldbe achallengingyear.Therewould beassessments andtestsand time wouldhavetobemanaged efficiendy. Realitywas not much different! SoI was kind of prepared.It turnedoutchat teachers wereveryhelpfol, andI hadagood circle of friends who supportedeachother.

Nehal: Myexpectations were quire sirriilar to reality.Just as I hadrhought,Year 12 was much harder andfaster paced, with moreassessmenrs I hadevet done before.But Ilearnt how to managemytime and it all worked well.

Appurva: I wascollege vicecaptainso tl1ere wasa lot of excitement.I was doingsubjecrs chatI reallyloved.Ididn't really worryaboutthe social aspectI became quireclose witl1 allmy

friendsbecause we weregoing chroughthesamethingWegrew closer byhelpingeach oilier out. If someone hada baddaywe'd talk about ir andsupport each other.I tl1ought itas going tobe chebest year of mylife.1 was really sad whenitended.

Prajna: T rhought Year 12 would be just like Year 11, quitechilled.Bur it wasquite stressful,competitive. You see die competition andyouwaneto bear ochers, youwantto bethe cop.My familyand teachers really helped me though. I wasnot used tothis amount of studyandsrress.My suppott system reallyhelpedme bringit together.

Mahendra: Therewas that sort of outsidepre.�sure,it's going m be hardetc,etc.But it sort of Aucniatedhow difficultit really was.Itwasn'tlikeI hadtogive up goingout, taU,ingto my friends, that sort of thi.ng,in order todo well.lewaslike makea decision between,sometimes, going to a partyor workingonsomething due soon.Bur having those other things in your life made you realise that school gradesaren't the most important thinginthe world.

Abhishek: I didn'texpectmy HSC year to be roo difficulL I foundthat movingintoYear 11wastougher thanYear12. Therewas a bigjumpinthe syllabusbetween Years 10 and 11.MovingintoYear 12,1wasn't tooworried.Mygoalsweren't focused a.roundgettingahigh ATAR.I justwanted to do the bestI coulddoforeach subject, andthen theATARwouldcome with it.The most important thing to concentrateonis learningthe contentfor eachcourse and dien marks came withthat.

Sangita: Everyonebuilds it upbut it's really notdiat biga deal.I imaginedhavingto smdy several hours everynight.But it didn'tendupbeingthatbad. J\,fostweekendsI wasn't even workingreallyhard at it.I was just waitingfor it togetmore intense. Youneverreally realisethat the workloadincreases.Youjust rake

it on.TheyteUyou it'sa bigdeal, bmthey don't tell youtoget on widi it.

Whatdidyoulearnabout yourself?Didyouexceedyour expectations?

Mahendra: Everyyear youlook back andthinkabouthow much you'vechanged. Lookingbacknow, 1 diinkit'sbeen apositivechange. 1'm quirehappy.Itwasn't somuch mar l got aparticularATAR, but more matItried doi.nglotsof different things.

Abhishek: Irealised bow muchI likespendingtimewithmy family. Throughoutdie year Iwould procrastinatestudyingbyspending time wimmyfamilyin me lounge roomwatchingT\ZIndirectly,I learntmoreaboutwhatgoesonin d1eirlives-mymum,dad,sisters. Ilike spending time with diem. Evenduringdieexamperiod,1 usedtositdownwidimymum andwatchTV whileweatedinner. We watchedreruns of TheB;g13,wg Theoryandcomplained that d1ey playedthesameepisodeeveryfew days. Ievensat andwatchedsome Jndian dramas.Ididn'teven know what mey were caJled,justsome crimeserialsonYoutube.Exceed e."qJectationsdidyousay?Yes, definitely Ineverexpectedtodoas wellas I did.I don't dii.nkI studied hardbmmy studytechniques, especiaJlygroup studying,were effective.

Rahul:I learntthatI must believe inmyself. I would often doubtmyself,butI knownow that if l workhard,applymyself, l can overcome any challenge that life throws at me.l feel confidentto trynew things, and experiment. I've learned that I havegood timemanagement skills andcan organise myself well!DidIexceedmy expectations? \):.1eU, I've always wanted to do medicine so I knew I'dneed a highATAR 1 pushedmyself hard and maybeIcould've gotten ahigher scorebur I'mhappy. Gettingthe Governor'sCommendationas wellasDux of theschool, were born thrilling, diough.

Sangita: I'vesort of beenthe kind of persontosailalong somewherei.n themiddleof the group.I wasnevet· thekindof person d1at received many,awards. Tocomeout of d1eyear asDux of theschoolis kind of insane.It taughtmematif 1 apply myself, l cando well.Youdon'thaveto be diesmartestpersontosucceed.

Nehal:You know,lookingback,I learntthatIcanwork hard. Ican try new anddifferentmingsand do them well.I'vealso learned dieimportance of activitiesodier thanstudies-extracurricular activitiesandevenphysicalactivity. Theseaspectsreally helpedme last year,and perhaps diat'swhyl finished well.

Whatwentwrong?Didyou makeanym.istakesthroughout theyear?

Nehal:iYlistakes, of course! Perhaps the biggestone was losing interest in one of my subjectsand thennotworking as much onit. Whichsubject?Mad1s!

Rahul:1 did make mistakes,yes. There were timesI didnot score \veil, but Itold myself to stay positive.Nopoint gettingbogged down by one bad mark, better tosee itas achance to improve yourself.

Appurva: I probably hypedit up waytoomuchinmy head.I would bereally hardon myself, likeI'd say, 'This isn'tgood enough for Year12'.IthinkI underestimated my abilities to do well.Ijust pm mrself tmder an unnecessary amount of pressure.

Mahendra: Of course therewere mista_kes.Year12 was something new.I wasn'tsmashing everything atthe beginning of the year.It was all alearningcurve.The way1 saw itwas,it's not really importantwhatgrade youreceive, but appreciate the learning that's taking place. BylearningI meannew ways of thinking.It's inevitablediatyou're goingco mal(e mistakes,butdon't stress over it. The sunis goingtorise tomorrow,lifegoes on. That's die way I took it.

Prajna: I hada hardtime answeringEnglishquestionsin Year 11.I want to tell people, especiallyinYear 12,if you're having a hardtime, keep writing, and keeppractising.Write your own questionseven, andpractice them, mat's whathelped me.This workedwidiMaths as well.1 woulddo a1Ithe questions in my Maths textbook and dienI looked formore.Itmadememore confident.Alsotry different types of questions; this will give you meexposure toexam style questions.

Sangita: I've hadtimeswhereI've srudied morethanI.neededto, or stayed uprevisingdungs diatI never ended upneedingtoknow.1 wouldn't getenough sleepbefore exams sometimes.I would stayup doing I don't even know what1 was doing- readingor beingon dieinternet.Justprocrastination, really.

Didyoufeeltherewasmuch competitionwithin yourcohort?

Mahendra: Notreally acruaJly. For the group of friendsI hung outwidi,it wasn't somuchthat youwouldbeprotectingyour answers.If someone asked you something,you would let him or her know.

Appurva: There was alittle competition.Li.l(e 'whois at the wp of die class',andwho would

getdux for each class.lewas healthycompetition though.And I learnt alot frommy peers. If we had doubts, then we'd helpeach other.Wedidabit of giveand take. I'd teachthem something they wouldn't know andvice versa.1endedupgettingDux of myschool!

Nehal: Yes,theredefinitely was competition,butI'd callit healthy competition, and it was encouraging forus all.

Abhishek: Definitely.There wasalwayslotsof competition cowards mp half of the grade. Especiallyjnthings like Maths andsciences.For me, I ropped the State inBiology. However up until the external exams, competition for the topspot wasquite_fierce.Itwasalways the same five peopleneck to neck atthetopof the class -gettingthesame exact mark or one off each other. After the trials,a lotof my srudybecame group study.I reallyendorsefr.I organisedsessionswith my friends whetewe discussed syllabusand try and teacheachotherbitsof material.Teachingother people is one of themosteffectiveways of learningitself,and fixing problemsorissuesspecificro your understandingof asubject. Usually this would happen just beforeassessments (even internal ones).But it happened considerably more after the u·ials in preparationfor the external exams.

Prajna: Ourfinalyearbrought out aJoeof competition between allthe students.We wanted to beat eachocher.But whatI likedabout my cohort was that we also really helped each other.Weshared notes and discussed questions.I recommend helpingeach other as well asstayingcompetitive.

Did you do anything alongside studying?

Nehal: I was debating club captain as wellas coach. 1 continued to takepart in public speakingevents. In sportI did swimming and cenrusandat the communitylevel,1 participated inthe1vfela.1 figuredit was important to keep upall myusual activities.

Rahul: I kept upmy other activities asbest asI could.I was part of socialjusticegroups, working for thehomeless and for theWorldWildlifeFund.l took part indebatingandat school open days.I keptnpsporting activitiesthroughtennis and cricket.

Appurva: As college ViceCaptain,I organised a lotof socialjustice work.\Xie ran campaigns andraisedawareness for organisations involvedin socialjusticei.e.StVinnies and ran soupkitchens.Wealso organised a silent vigil for asylum seeker children inimmigration,

for theeducational rightsof childrenin detention.Itwas called'AChildLikeMe' and Channel 7 Newscoveredus and we havea Facebook Page. I also do Bharatanatyam andKarnatic singing. I performed infestivals aroundAdelaide,likeMela.

Abhishek: Ispentsometime volunteeringatVinrues.We weretrainedaschaperonesfor disadvantagedkidsbetween theage of 5 and16.Theyweremainlykids who wereexperiencinghardships athome.I wishI'ddonemore.I didn'tdo verymanydaysbecause of studies.\'(lewouldgo around to funplaces: iceskating,magic shows,parks.InschoolI wasthe leaderof thecl1atit)'club.SoI spenttimeorganisingfundraisers for things likeDaffodilDay,Pink RibbonDayandtheRedShield Appeal.Itwasa great waytospend time besides studying.

Mahendra: I was Deputy Head Prefect; thatwasoneof the major things.I would helpout with theschool community and the wider community.Themost significantthing,Isuppose, was that weestablished a peer support network.Wegotone or twoprefectscochat toyounger studentsandhelpwith homework. Ir wasprobablythemostsatisfying partof my role; the teachers were keen to continue with ir so ir wasa greatlegacy to leave behind.I also played badminton, tabletennis, debating and was in the 3,dA team for football.

WhatYear 12 perks did you enjoy?

Rahul: My parentstreated meas usual,really, andonlywent easy on me sometimesregarding my share of household cho.res.

Nehal: Achome,I gotgivenfood whereverI wanted,and of course whatever I wanted!ButI did my bit too-I kept myroom clean and helped with the gardening.At school, Ireally enjoyed tl1enew

srudy centreforYear 12s,with kitchen facilities so that wehad hotlunches.Irwasprettycool!

Sangita: Webad abigcommon room with akjtchen andcouches tosit on,and astereo where wecould playourmusic.It was a great way to relax and bring everyone together.

Was there anyi:h.ingyouwoulddo differently?

Mahendra: Not really, and that's probablyoneof themost satisfyingthings.I had a great time and wentout a lot.l\ifumwould getangry,she thoughtI was going ourtoo much.Whatever mistakes I made weren'tlife changing.

Rahul: I'd probablyget morehelp whereIneeded it,assometimesI was reluctant.

Sangita: I actuallydon't tl1ink therewasanythingI'ddo differently. I balanced my lifewell. BeforeresultscameoutI thought Iwasgoing to regret relaxing all thosetimesI choseto have fun instead of study.ButIreally don't chink1couldhaveworkedharder. 1don'tthink l regret anything.

Nehal: I couldhavedone more work inMaths!Also,1 could have organisedmyself a bitbetter,so thatI could fitinmoreof my extra-curricular activities.

Prajna: I don'tthinkso.I think 1worked as hardas I could.I've never workedchishard before.

Do you have any advice for .funue Year 12 students?

Rahul: Get asmucl1 help as you can, don't beafraid to ask.Don't getbogged down bythe pressure of the siruation.

Mahendra: Realise thatattheend of tl1e dayit'snotso much the grade thatyougeebutmoretl1e personyou've become. lf you can

judge your success on thatrather than thegradethatyou've got, that wouldbeanachievement. Enjoytl1e )•ear.Year 12isso much more than just your studies.

Appurva: You've reached Year 12 so youare capable of doing whateverYear 12 tl1rows at you. Don'tget workedup overit.You aremoretlian capableof handling it.Make themost of the lastyear you haveat school.

Prajna: Makesureyoukeep upthemotivation.Inever lost fajth inmyself.Make sureyou share time with yourfamily.And relax! Forpeoplewho are not academically motivatedrightnow, likeI was,startpushingyourself now.You will surprise yourself!

Nehal: Aimhigh.Don't underestimateyourself.You can acrueve if you pm your mind to it.Andof course, keep up thoseexu·a-curricular activities besidesstudying.At home,involve your famjJy;ask for support. Importantly,learn comanage yonr time.

Abhishek: Makesure you pay attentioninschool,especially to your teachers. I know lot.5of people dorncoringso theybelieve there is no point paying attention in class.However,I feelschool offersyou alot of knowledgethat tutoringdoesn't.It'simportant becausea.I.Iinternals aremade and markedin school. Youneed ro know specificnuances, unique focus your teacher places on specific part.5 of the syllabus. Also, studyingr9ups.This is oneof themain reasonsIsucceededin thewayI did.It really helpsyou craftresponses in your own words whenyou're in exams.It alsohelps youtroubleshoot specific types of problems.

What do you want to do now?

Mahendra: I'm takinga gapyear

to work andmeet new people. The school offeredme a job asa boarding house coordinator,so I'U do that.Andmaybetutoring.I might pickup a job hereor there. Later in the year l wantto travel, maybeSoucl1 America.I want to enjoythe year off. f'm not a hundred percent sure yetwhat I want to do ac Lilli.

Appurva: Bachelor of Law/ InternationalSrudies atAdelaide University. I wanted to get imo journalismbutI'm not sure.Bue I'm definitelyinterestedinhuman rights.I'dloveto work forthe UN.1 wantto be the voiceof peopledeniedtheirhuman rights. I wantto do my part in helping build a better society.

Rahul: Medicine. Probablyat Universityof Adelaide orat Flinders.Later on,I'dlike to get intocardiology,maybe.

Nehal: Probablymedicine.If not, then software engineering.

Prajna: I want to becomea visionscienceprofessional.Like optometry.My course is a 5-year course integrated witl1M.asters. I wasreading an article about how in old age,eyes andmuscles are thefir'5t partsof the body to deteriorate.l tl1i11k it wouldbe really rewardingtohelpoldpeople with their eyesight.The planisto go places inAfrica andIndia,less fortunate places,andhelppeople out-everyoneneedstoenjoy life, andsightisa big part of that.

Sangita: Arts/Commerceat MonashUniversity.WithinArts I want to do History orEnglish, but I've reallygot to experienceit abitmore beforeImake any big decisions.

withtheIndiancricketteam

Thetouringteam enthrals thelocalIndiancommunityat officialsocial engagements, writesPAWANLUTHRA

If Bollywood sweetheart

AnushkaSharma had any plans to keepa low profile in Australia as she joined her special friend Indian cricket captainVirat Kohlion tour here,shecertainlydidnot do a good job at arecent Sydney Harbo1tr cruise.

At aneventorganisedbythe High Commission of Indiain Australia, the rouringIndian cricket team mingled with guests from Australian policies, cricketing greats, ci:icket tragics and afew membersof the local Indiancommunity.

As the Indian teamwalked down KingStreetWharf in their darkblueT-shirts and black pants, the hottestactress on

theBollywood circuit,enjoying the phenomenal success of her current movie PK, stood out in abeautifully tailored white knee-length dress and high heels.Towering above d1e other parmers and wives of the cricketing tean1, one feels that if the role for afernale secret service agent is on offer, Anushka would bagit hands down.

Butonceon boardthecruise ship,Anushkacharmed everyone with her readysmile and grace. Perhaps part of drnt rubbed off on the Indian captainVi.rat Kohli who willingly posed for photographs with the guests as hechatteredabouthis time in Australia.

"Iquite enjoy mybanter with

ilie Australian team,"he coldme with a twinkle in his eye.

"I do not want to take a step backwards on this rour and want co giveit mybest," he said,as he moved backwards to allow girlfriend Anusbkato be photographed byacoupleof adoring fans.

Onlyafew days earlier, on NewYear'sDay,theIndian and Australian cricket teams were hosted by Prime Jvlioister 'TonyAbbott and wife Margie at Kirribilli Houseona bright and sunnyafternoon.

Kohli has justbeen named as the Indian captain,afterMS Dhoni's surprise resignation,

andit was clear that hewas relishing d1erole.Speakingon the occasion,he expressed his happinessin his new position and then, putting on his diplomatic hat, hadwords of praise for Australiaandits people, adding that his teamloves touring down under and exploriJ1g the country.

"\�e loveiliecompetitive nature of the people-ingeneral,"he concluded, perhapsensuring that archrival M.itchellJohnson didnot givehimaNewYear'shug.

WhenI mentionedthis to ]'vlitcbellJohnsonlater,he smiled cheekilrandsaid,"Oh,butI sent hima Christmas card seems like it got lost on the way."

Perhaps to create abetter understanding between the two

teams,Prime:Minister Abbott had a few words with die. two captains, Steve Smith and ViratKohli, amoment capturedfamously bythe photographers.As to what was discussed is anyone's guess:suggestionsforyogaand meditation sessionsforboth teams, perhaps, to helpcreatea more harmoniousatmosphereout in themiddle?

Till chatadvice is followed,it seemedthattl1eIndian cricket team spentmore time on d1eeast side, while the Australiancricket team was happyon the west side of Kitribilli lawns.

The only person who sauntered across for abanter was Indian opener ShikharDbawan who playedthedoting dadwithbis

one-year-oldsonZoravarin his arms.ThenameZoravar means 'brave' and 'powerful' andas such, perhaps the tot gave dad Shikhar some moral suppord BothIndian cricketambassadors werereceivedwarmlybythe Australianside.Therewereafew cricketers atthe PM'shousewho werestrangely silent,or itmay notbe that strangein hindsight, as they mayhavebeenfeelingthe effects of a late uight at theIvy night clubonNewYear'seveata BoUywooddanceparty organised bySydney partykingRa Khanna. The bachelors of theteamsuch as Isham Sharma,Ravichandran Ashwin,Bhuvenshwar Kumar were seen shaking alegand

enjoyingtheirchampagneas rheywelcomed2015on their day off on tour. CaptainKohJj and Anushkadiddropinbut decided tohead off to Cafe Sydney for a more intimate dinner.

Back on board theSydney Showboat cruiseship,team directorRaviShastrichatted aruiablywithHornsbyMP and a greatfriend of India,Matt Kean andhisftanceeGabrieUe and turned outtobequite the storyteller.

"One of myfavourite memoriesinAustraliawasthe Man of the Seriesaward in 1985,"Shastrirevealed."I took home theAudi, bur didnot even bave a driver's licence when they handedme thekey! Still, I

decided to driveit aroundthe MCG. BeforeI knewit, Kapil Dev and Sunny Gavaskar bad jumped onto the bonnet and in someway, theentire team was able to fit or cling on to rhe car, as an unlicenseddriver drove around the MCG (kids, do 11ot do this at borne)! In fact, it was a bir of hassle to take the car back horne.Therewas aduty of 320 per cent on imported vehicles to lndia and Rajiv Gandhi, then a minister in theIndian Government,wasable to waive it through a specialamendment to the constitution.Io fact,when the car arrived inIndia, 10,000 people gatheredinthe docks ro seeit unloaded.Audigotsuch greatpublicitythatsince1985, I havebeen the brand ambassador

for AudiinIndia."

Meanwhile,dinnerwasbeing served andatrhemaintablewere India's veryown Poshand Becks, Anushka andVirar.The organisers had cleverly scatteredthewhole teamacross thetables,so that therewasa chance for d1e guests to interactwith thecricketers and tl,eir families.ButaUeyeswereon YouKnowWho.

WhileViratcharredwiththe guests around him, turning his considerablecharms on Bollywood srarAoushkawas the Chair of the Commuuity Relations Commission and former beadof CricketNSW,Dr HariHarinath.

WithwifeGayathri keepinga close eye on the proceedings,Dr Harinathwashappy to dohis bit

for comrnuuityrelationsbetween NSW;BoUywood andcricket.One suspectsthattherewereothers on board whowouldhave foughthim for hisplace.

The cruisewas a fantasticway for the Indian cricket team to relax andenjoy Sydney Harbour. Good weather, foodandwine a.long wid1aroamingmagicianwho kepteveryoneentertained,made itaveryspecialevening. Having theAustralian cricket team on board asweU,would haveresulted eid1er in someonebeingthrown overboard,orlots of ChristrnasDiwalicardsexchangednextyear. After all,on aboat, youcan run, but youcannothide!

a1nc

Mahi quitsamid deafening silence

, BY AJAYNAIDU

No seaof emotions amongdevoted fans in the stands. o guardof honour from his grateful colleagues.No lap of honour from rhe man himself!

Inastyleso typicalof theman, MahendraSinghDhoniwalked into the sunset, quirtingTest cricket and1eavingthe cricketing world stunned and she!Jshocked. For someonewhofollows his own wisdom, and wears his humility on his sleeves, Dhoui hasbeen a manwho isn'tgiven to displayhisemotionsopenly.

Perhaps the only hint hegave duringthedaywasat the end of theTestwhenDhoni plucked a stump and put itunder his armon hiswayback.

"\Vhywouldhecollecta stump inadrawngame?"askedIan Chappe!JonChannel ine.''\Vhy nor, repliedDeanJones.He has nine victims from theTest. some sort of a record."

WeU,nowweknowwhyDhoni tookthestumpasasouvenir!

Andwho knows? Perhaps, Dbonimightstill come backfor a galafarewellat thesameMCGon 29March,2015- theday of the World Cup final!

Soon afterthe post-match ptesent'ltion,Dhonicame upfor thecustomary pressconference smiling.Someof hisanswers hadhis usualwit.Once hewas through,vithic,he jokedwithrhis writerandsome other journalist friends.

However, till then,noone had imagined that soon theywould be hearingbreakingnews fromIndia aboutbis retirement.

Thenewsspreadlikewild fire and, havingspoken to a chosenfew, icbecameapparent that Dhoni'sdecision bad taken everyoneby surprise.

"Hadweknownthathe was retiring,wewouldhavegiven him a guard of honour or afareweU befittinga player of his stamre," saidasenior co!Jeague.

lshant Sharma,whowould havebeen history long back but for Dhoni'srelentless backing, tweeted:

''A hie shocked atDhoni's test retirement,Wassurehe would leave it until the toss in Sydney to announcehewouldn't be playing."

One of Dhoni's closestfriends, SnreshRaina, tweeted: "Valiant

whileyouled.Valiant in your departure."

It is understoodthatDhonibad madeuphismind to retirefrom Testson this tour.Bmalmost everyone tlJougbtitwouldbeafter theSydneyTest.

It has beenlearned fromreliable sources that Dhoni spoke to the BCCISecretary,SanjayPatel, informing himof his decision to quitwithinunecliateeffect. Again itwasDboni's wishthat thedecision bemade publicfrom India at tl1e end of the thirdTest.

TheBCCl pressreleasegives thereason of Dhoni's retirement as "scrains of playing a!J forms of cricket".

Thosewho havebeen privileged to know Dhon.i closely knew that hiscurrent pacein cricketwas taking a heavy toll on his body.In fact, soon after the2011World Cupwin,Dhonicold a television channel that hewould giveupone form of cricketin ayear's time.

A couple of years back, during the 2012Incl.ia-WestIndies series, theIndianteamhad justreached Mumbaifrom Kolkara for the final Test.Ac the team hotel Taj, Dhoniwasrestinghis tired knees. "Itis verytaxingfor a wicketkeeper,"he toldthiswriter.

In anotherconversation during thesameTest,hiswifeSakshi cold me,"Idon'twant my husband to collapseon acricket field." Indeed on that clay,l had first-hand knowledgeof howta..xingDhoni's workloadwas.

Then again, onethingthat Dhoniwouldneverforgetco tell meduringourdiscussionswas that hewon'thangaroundfor long.''ThedayI decidetoretire,I will still beoneof theEttestguys in the team," said Dhoni. And he has kept his word.

Tobe sure,Dhon.i'sbody bas been complainingfor a couple of years now.A lesser mortal would havegiven uplongago.

There's anod1ertheorywhich says chat,wich the teamconcinuing to perform badly overseas, pressurewasmountingon Dhoni toquit the job,withformer playersandcriticsquestioning his defensiveleadership in tl1e longer format.

Theonly answer tothatis that Dhoni is hisownman. Hewas seldombotl1erecl abouc tl1emedia or biscritics. Had he wanted, he could have given up the captaincy and stayed on to playanother10 Teststo complete aca!Jy of 100 Tests.Butheis not one tobe

seduced by thelureof statisticsor landmarks.

'rhecriticism notwitl1stancling, Dhoni is nowd1e leadingn111scorer as captainwith a tally of 3454runs, goingpastSunil Gavaskar (3449),Mohammad Azbaruddin (2856) and Sourav Ganguly (2561).

lemustbemade clear chat apart from Suresb Raina, Virat Kohli is also Dhoni's closesLbuddy in the team. 1n fact,Dhonichose to ignore Moh.inder Amarnad1's dictateto dropKohliand play Roh.iLSharma in the2012 AdelaideTest.As itwere,Kohli wenc onto notchup hisfirstTest hundred inthatgame.So,aU talks of friction among dietop players issheernonsense.

Infact,oneof Dhoni's major contributions to thelnclianream is tl1ar,as captain,he ensured therewas no'groupism' in his team.Therewas no senior-junior business either. His relationship withhis teamwasbased on crust andmutual respect.

AsSunilGavaskar rigbcy pointed our, "Dhoni sti!J had three years of cricketleft in him."Bur theonedunghe alwaysbad in bismindwas hewouldquit long beforepeople asked 'why' rather

than'whynot'.

Forthesimplereasonthat Dbonigaveahundred percent, played hiscricketwithgrace and humility,we shouldrakehis sudden decision to retire atface value.

Welldonel'vfahi! Ichas indeed been a privilegeknowingyou; asa good cricketer,as a goodfriend andmost of allas agreat hunian being!

Thefall ofInd

1anfootball

AstheAsianCup getsunderway, we lookatthechanging state offootballinIndia

ustraliais currently hostingthe 16th AFC.Asian Cup Footballtournament. From its hw11ble beginningsin 1956, tl1e Asian Cup event has grown into the region's biggest footbaU bonanza whichstands proudly alongside anytoplevel competition around tbe globein terms of excitement, entertainment and organisation. lebringstogetherAsia's cop national teamseveryfour years in afantastic feast of top-notch football.Australiahas been part of Asian circuitsince2006.

Witl1 16top regionalfootball nations Qapan, Australia,Korea Republic, DPR Korea,Iran, Kuwait,Oman,Uzbekistan,UA.E, Bahrain,SaudiArabia,Jordan, ChinaPR,Iraq,Palestineand Qatar) participating,this23-day, 32-match tournament is set to be afeast forfansinAustralia. Unfortunately tl10ugh,anda bit disappointingforthe half a million strong Indiandiaspora clowntrnder,TeamIndiafailed miserablyto get intothe final16. India'scmrentworldranking an1ong 199 football-nationsis 159, while inAsiatheirequivalent positionis 30among46. The numberdoesn'tlook great,butan entirely different picmre emerges if we go backto the 1950s and '60s whenIndiawasconsidered one of iliecop20 nationsinthe footballworld.Atthattime tllere wasno formal process forranJcing teams globally,it was largely based on performance.

Footballwasintroducedinthe sub-continentby ilieBritishand, after gainingindependence from chemin 1947,Indiainadeits

Olympicdebutin football at the 1948 Londo□ Games, but lose1-2 to Francein thefirst match.The national team thenqualifiedfor the 1950 WorldCupinBrazilhut werenotallowedto participate asIndian playersplayedbarefoot, whilethe wearingof bootswas amandatory requirement.Inthe 1956MelbourneOlympics,lndia became thefirstAsian nationto reachthesemi-finals defeating Australia4-2in thequarterfinals. Thehallmark of thewin was thehat trick bycentreforward Neville D'Souza,who became the first and, Lt11cilnow,only Asian to achieve tl1e featin theOlympics.

Achievingthe pinnacleinAsian football,India peakedduringthat periodwinninggoldat theNew Delhi andJakartaAsianGames in 1951 and1962 respectively,

followed by.finishing runnersup at the MerdekaCup inMalaysia in 1959 and1964 and then the3"1 Asian CupinIsraelin1964.

A downhill journey has taken place since the□,iliough the national team managed to snatch the bronze medalat theBangkok Asian Games in1970.

So,what really contributedto thismassivefail,fromthe topto thebottom,inthespanof afew decades?

"Perhaps complacency anda lack of forward planning,"said septuagenarianfootballerClrnoi GoswamiwhenI caughtupwim himduring myrecent visitto Kolkaca.

Chuniistmquestionablya livinglegendof Indianfootball. Celebratedas one of mebest inside-forwardsIndiahasever produced,hemadehis fust internationalappearancein 1956andthenplayedinover50 matchesinmajor tomnaments like theOlympics,Asian Games, Asian Cupand Merdeka Football Tournament.Oneof the best in his categoryinAsiaduringhis heyday,hecaptainedIndiatowin theAsianGames goldmedal in 1962andmerunners uptrophies at theAsianCupandi'vlerdekaCup in1964.Duringiliactin,ehisname wasalmostpermanenton the list of AsianAll ScarsXI.Hewasalso agood cricketer.He played46fi.rst

classmatches, captainedthe stateteamand finisbedoff withabatting andbowling averageof 28 and 24respectively. Outsidesports,he spentamajorpart of his workinglife asaSeniorManager withtheStateBankof India.

Accordingto Chuni Goswami, a key factor for India's success duringthe early1960s was ilie presence of several great footballers in tbe team. Alongside him, thatincludedail-time greats likePradipBanerjee, TulsidasBalaram, Ram Bahadur, Yousef Khan,Jarnail Singh, .Arnn Ghosh, Varadwaj and PetetTbangaraj. They were allregardedas wocld-class footballers and had the potential to achievemuchmore if they had the appropriate opportunity of weighingthemselves former atinternational levels beyond the OlympicsandAsian Cup every four years.But it didn't happen that way, mainly because of the inward focussedattitude of football administratorsof the time.Only Chuoiinhis prime hadanoffer fromilie famous English Club Tottenham Hocspur,but declined it in order

Regarded asthearchitect of modernIndianfootball,Syed AbdulRahimwas mecoachof ilieIndiannational team from 1950 trntil his death in l963. He wasa greatmotivatorand understood tl1e game very well.It is saidwhat he taught his players in the50s were subscribed to in Brazilalmost a decade alater. He hadtheextraordinaryendowment of spotting talent. His deathcan beregarded as a significant trigger forthe collapseof Indian football asmanytalentssinceilien passed unnoticedor werenot amply nurtured.

Sinmltaneously, thedynamics andstyle of thegaineilien started changing worldwide. Speed andphysicalpower took over dribblingskillsand grmmd play, which were me sn-engths of IndianfootbaUers.Science andtechnology were introduced to analyseown andopposition team strengths and weaknesses. Physical exercise with weights and moderninstTun1ents became an integralpareof n-aining. Diets werechanged forhealthierlifestyles.

Top players mrned professional- joining clubs ailarotrndthe globeand starting to learnfrom each other, vastlyimprovingme standardof the game.

to avoidlosinghis job with the bank.

"i'vfoneydidn'tdriveusat all," Chunisaid.""i'vlost of us men had ajob-either with a hank or a stateor central government agencylike the Railways or Services.We werehappy withir while rigorously playing for om localclubs oroffice teamsin Calcutta, Hyderabad, Chennai or Mumbai.Inter club rivalry was immenseandwinningtheIPA Shieldor DurandCLlp for the club wasimaginablymoreimportant than thinking of playingfor any European side."

"However,whenplayingfor India,we werea unified team withstrongnational pride," Chuni continued."That passionate hunger for achievingsomething for our country gave us the killerinstinct," he added,while reminiscingabout the golden daysof Indian footbaU."Off course to chis, weneed to add the contributions of our coachRahim without whom theresultscould havebeendifferent"

"Weregrettably fell backin alinost of all of iliem," commentedChuni. Todaymany,io particular some of the football bureaucrats in India,inaneffo.rc co hide fai.lures,pointfingersat the rise andtiseof cricket as acatlSefor ilie demiseoffootball.Chuni himself,beingan established cricketer,doesn'tagree with that position. He strongly believes me reason for the decline has been largely dueto lack of suitable youth developmentprograms and aninabilityto comeout of socalled comfort zones.

However,ClmniGoswami sees some raysof hope, citingthe example of thenewlyintroduced IndianSuper League where local footballers aregetting decent exposure co transnational benchmarks wiilirespectco trainingandskillsin1provemencs, while playing competitively andprofessionally wim some reasonably practiced international players. " evertheless, atotal comebackmay require the whole fr_ameworkbehind footbaUi.n India to be changed and valueadded,"he concludes. Perhaps Primei\liinister Modi maybeable to progress footballi.n thesame way asheem7isions movingIndia forward.

AtennistourtoIndia morethan80yearsago sowed the seeds oftruefriendship

memoirs!Quitedifferentfromme sleepysuburbsofPerth.There wascertainlynotthecultural connectednessweseenow.Not muchwasknownabout.Indiaby Australiansandviceversa.

WhileAustralia andIndiabattle itourond1e cricketfield thisseason,iris obviouseverybatsmenwantsto reachaTestcentmy.Forusmere mortals,theclosestthingwecan aspirecoistocelebratea100"' bird1day.WilliamStevens('Chum') reachesthatmilestoneonTuesday 13January.

Outsideofcricket,Chum, wholivesinthePerthsuburbof \X'oodlands,wasoneofthefirst WestAustralianstovisitIndiato playhigh.levelsport.Tenniswas histalentandbewasoneofthe state's,infactoneofthenation's, topplayersinhisrime.Hewas just18\Vhenhewasselectedto joinacouringgroupofplayers wherehewouldgettovisit Indiaonwhatwasasmuch anambassadorialvisitasa sportingone.Theyoungster wasobviollslyexcitedabout theprospectwhenhefu:sr heardofchepossibility.

"Therewererun1ours ofaninvitationbeing receivedbyWest AustralianTeru1iscoming fromIndiasuggestingd1e possiblevisitofaream offourplayers.During October1933theteamwas chosen.Onthe27"'ofNovember wesailedfromFremantle,"Chum said.

Therewasnoquickflight acrosstl1eIndianOceanintl1ose days.PassengerairlinesonlrAew domesticallysotheteamoffom tennisplayersboardedthe21,000 tonneSSNioolta11forSriLankaen routetoCalcmta.

Asianoceanictouristcruises certain.Lyweren'tabigindustry. Tbeshiphadrooinfor700but only40wereonboard.lrtook ninedaystoreachColombo whereChw11andhisteammates playedafewexhibitionmatches beforedisembarkingtothesmaller BritishIndiavesseltheD11111m1a andsailedontoIndia.

Youcanonlyimaginewhat itwaslikefortheyou.ogChmn landingonAsianshoresfor thefirsttime.Snakecharmers, elephants,festivals,theGanges, evensomeofthelocalsmanaging totransportapianoootheir headsareallrecordedinhis

"Theyspeaksuchgood English,"saidMr.Mookerji, meclubsecretaryoftheSoutl1 CalcuttaTennisClub,referring tod1etouringAustraliansand theirsurprisingmasteryoverthe Englishlanguage.

ArtheSoutl1Calcurraclub tournament,Chum

didwell individually, winningalmost allhissingles.and takingourthe mi.xeddoubles championship. Hisstilltreasured trophywas presentedbyme Viceroy'swife, L'<ldyWillingdon, whosepalacecl1e playershadtoured earlier.Afterthetournamentthey commencedsomemoreexhibition matcheswhereIndiadefeated the\'X'estAustralianTeamfairJy convncingly.

AfterCalcutta,whereChum celebratedhis19'"birthday,Chum andhi1,teammatestravelled the1000milestoMadrasby train.Admiringthesimplebut fascinatingvillagesandme timelessagricultmepracticesfrom hiscarriagewindow,hearrivedio Madrason3January,1934.The

Aussietennisreamwastreated likeroyalty,byroyalty.Theywere drivenbytheRajaofPitaPoran inhisRollsRoycetocl1eirmany gamesandfonctions. TheMadrastournamentwent foroveraweek,butChum exitedmetournamenteadyh1 botl1thernixeddoublesand singles.Hemusthavehadan offday.Theoverallwinnerof cl1emen'ssingleswastheplayer (IslamAhmed)whomChmn haddefeatedinCalcutta.Itwas adifferentgamebackthenand

William'Chum'Stevens turns 100thismonth; AyoungChuminaction; Chum'smixeddoubles partnerMissParrott; Competitorsinthe1933 Calcuttainternational match

itwouldbeunderwmdable tohaveabadday.\':v'ithnoball boysthey'foxed'theirownballs. Thesportinguniformwasalso modest-fulllengthtrousersfor themenandlongdressesforthe ladieswered1estandardplaying attire.Theadventofshortsinthe gamedidn'tevenmateu.oti.lrbe late1930s.

"Irwasn'taproblem," commentedChurn."Ttwasall weknewbackthen."Silll,itmust havemadeforalong,hotgame andd1etopplayerswouldhave beeninexcellentshape.

Mid-tour,theoppornmityof atourextensionwasofferedto

thereammanagerbythe1ndian Associationbutitwasturned down.OneoftheWestAustralian playerscouldn'tgetanymoretime offworkandfearedhemight losehisjobbackhome.Under managementorderstheteamwas notgoingtobesplitandtheoffer wasdeclined.It'sunclearwhed1er Chumwaspleasedornot.Itwas suggestedmarifdieyhadtaken uptheoffertheyweretobe takenonaPantherhuntondie backsofelephants!

Thelongtourcontinuedas originallyplannedandthey wentontoBezawada,north ofMadras,andTrichinopoly visitingSrirangam'sfamous templeswherethetemple jewels,accmnulatedover centuriesweredisplayed. Thetouringpartyreturnedto Perthagain\7iaSriLanka.After ninedaysatseaandoverrwo monthsawaytheteamreturned home.

TheteanireceivedJettersof correspondencefromthetennis clubsd1eyhadvisitedthanking tbeplayersfortheirfriendship andcourtesy.Theymadelifelong friendshipsoverseasandamongst themselvesandmetyearlyafter theIndiantourforanother50 years.

Chumactedasagreat ambassadorforhiscountryand stateanditisvisitsliked1ese, separatefrompoliticsand boundaries,thathelpedcultivate theseedsoftruefriendshiptlrnt existtodaybetweenAustralia andIndia.Theysaybehindevery greatchampionisanotherhalf. ChumandbiswifeLillianwillbe remarkablycelebratingtheir75'h weddinganniversaryh12016,but fornowhappy1001,birthdaytoa trueAustralianicon.

Victoria's Deakin Universitycelebrates20yearsofengagementwithIndia

Waybackin 1893, formerAustralian Primel\,(inister andleaderof theAustralian FederationMovement,Alfred Deakinalsoknownas'Affable Alfred' predictedthatsmdents from Australia andIndiawouldtraverse internationalbordersandform lastingintellectualpartnerships.His longstandinginterestinirrigation andculmraldiversitymadehim tourIndia.Hepublishedaresearch report,InigatedIndia(1893),while hisexplorationsof thespirirual centres andarchitectureof India werepublishedi.oTemplea11dTo111h inIndia.

AlfredDeakin's foresight and desirefor collaboration betweennations borefrn.ition twentyyearsagowiththe initial forayof hisnamesakeuniversity into Ind.ia.hestoryof Deakin Un.iversityinIndiahasbeen one of collaboration,friendship andstrategicpartnersh.ipsthat transcendgeograph.icalborders to create avibrantculture of research excellence.

Locatedinthestateof Victoria, Deakinis apublicuniversity, establishedin 1974\\athd1e passageof theDeak.inUniversity Actof thesameyear. lt combines researchandteachingwitha strongfocusonstrengtheningme communitiesitserves.

Around 50,000students currentlysmdyatDeakin,.indud.ing almost 8,000international students from127 countries,includ.ing 1,150 studentsfromlodia.

1n 1994itwasmepursuitof excellenceandeffectivepartnershjp thatledtoDeakinUniversity settingup ajointventurein lnd.iawithd1eAssociation of Professional Engineers, Scientists andManagers,Australia (J\PESMA)to offermanagement programmes through distance !earning.Deakin Universitywasme firstinternationaluniversityjn_ the worldroset upan officeinlnd.ia, cwo years laterin 1996.

In menascent stages of its Indianoperations,Deaki.n's focuswasprimarilyonsnide.nt enrolments;witbtherelationsbip gracluaUyevolvingtoinclude partnersbjpswid1 someof India's leadinguo.iversities,research instirutions andbusinesses.

Oneof thegreatmilestones of me20year journey,alongsideme educationof manyhundtedsof Indianstudents i.nAustralia,is the DeakinInruaResearchInitiative (DIR.I), createdro helpto bridge meinnovationgapbetween academia andinduscry.Underthe DIRlmodel,aHigher Degreeby Research (HDR)candidateisbased atanInruauresearchinstitution with day-to-daysupervision providedbyalocalresearcher.A Deakinacademicstaff member servesasprincipal supervisor for dieproject andmecanrudacevisits Australiaforaroundsix:mond1s to conduct research.

"OurInd.iaofficeisoneof the jewelsin mecrownof our growth and success over the40years of Deakin'sexistence fromhmnble beginnings onagreenfieldsireat WaurnPonds in 1974," saidViceChancellorProfessorJaneden HollanderinJ1er address atthe

AustralianHighCommissionin e\V Delhl, heldto commemorate De."1kin'stwo-decade journey .in Indiaattheendof 2014."Itis agreathonour co beJead.inga delegationcoIndiaandhaveour 20 year journey inthiswonderful country,a risingrapidly-growing power,recognisedinsuchaway."

"Atalltimeswehavetriedro complementourstrengthsro theneedsof lud.ianstudents, mstitutions andindustries," explainedDeakinIndiaCountry Direccor,NewDelhl-based RavneecPawha."lnthatway wehavealwaysworkedas atrue partnerandthatis d1ekeytoour sustainedgrowthandsuccessin India;' sheadded.

Deakm markedthebiscoric Indian-Australianmliesconeby announcingmeexpansionof its operationsin SouthAsiato include strengthening cheuo.iversicy's profileandenrolment share from omernations including1epal, BangL"1desh, Burma,Bbutanand Mauritius.

The industry-academia fratern.ity fromboth India andAustralia haveacknowledgedDeak.infor itsresearchinadvancedmaterials, nanotechnology, life sciences

and health; helpingto developsolutions to combat meworld's most pressing problems.

'Llve mefuture' is theDe.akinUniversity ph.ilosophy.Ir endeavours to nurture meper.sonal development andwe!Jbeingof jts smdeocs and sea.ff,co foster a vibrantandinclusiveculture wh.icbcrosses djsciplineand organisationalboundaries.

In2014,DeakinUniversitywas recognisedwiththeGovernor of ViccoriaExportAwa.rel foreducationand train.ing-a testamenttothequalityof itsinternational researchand education,notablyinlud.iaand ,vid1 Ind.ian institutions.

ln d1elasttwo decades,Deakin hascomm.ictedover AU$10 million coresearchinitiatives infod.ia, with 20 strategic academic partners,20 research partnersand15 corporate partnershlps.leis hailedbythe Indo-Austra:lianfraternityforbeing accessible,helpfulandfriendly.

Therelationshjpbetween Australia and India is sec to continueto expand foryearsco come.

Above:Staffandstudents from Deakin UniversityattheirannualDiwalicelebration

Left:Australian High CommissionerinIndia PatrickSuckling with Deakin University Vice-ChancellorProfessorJanedenHollander

Diaspora's strength can be driving force for India: Modi

PrimeMinister NarendraModi saidevery RIis like a"shaktl' and if the strength of theentire diaspora canbeconsolidated,it couldbecome a drivingforcefor India's progress.

Inaugurating the13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the world'slargest annual gathering of peopleof h1dian origin,in Gandhinagar, Gujarat,Modi also said thathe hasfulfilledhispromisecothe diasporaof merging thePersons of Indian Origin (PIO) and OverseasCitizenshipof India (OCI) cards.

Heexhortedthe diasporato come and contribute to India's successin any way possible, includingknowledge,expertiseor skills. Hementionedin particular, theNamaami Gangeprojectto clean.River Ganga, andsaid40 percentof Indialivedby and smvivedon theriver.He said he was sure all NRls wouldbe inspired co contribute to this cause.

Modi said theworldis ready to "embraceIndia"andcited asauexainple the fact that his proposalat theUNtoinstitute an inter.national yoga day was supportedby a record 177nations and in just100 days.

"Wehavea lotcogiveco the world, we only lack the confidence," he said, calling upon NRis across the world toforge andtakepride in acommon identity andheritage,and to use this sn·engd1 collectively.

He saidevenif asolitary RI

is presentanywhere in d1eworld, Indiaisaliveandpresentin that corner of the world through him or her.

Modi said he had met representatives of 50countries sinceassuming office inMay last year, andhe could say with confidence that allnationsrich or poor across the world today feel that their goalsand objectives can bemet in partnership with India.

He saidthenprimeminister AtalBihariVajpayee badproposed che ideaof starting aPBDandit was begun in 2003.

Referringcotheapparent slackeninginenthusiasmduring the past few years to the annual gala, Modi said [bat"in between, people didnotfeellikecoming. Pew would comeandafew came because they badto come;butI wouldcome regularly," to laughter amongthe crowd.

"Weare e::ftremely proud of ow: diaspora.They have madeIndia globalandd1eir strongvalueshave endeared d1em wherever theyhave gone," he tweetedlater.

Earlier,Modi welcomed Guyana PresidentDonaldRamotar,South African Foreign Minister Maire Nkoana-Mashabane andMauritius Vice PrimeJ'v[inisterShowkutally Soodhun who were on thedais wich him. He later heldbilateral meetings wid1 them.

He recalled bow lndian festivals such as Holi and Diwali are enthusiasticallycelebratedin Guyana, thatJan8 also happens to be d1e foundingday of the African National Congressin Soud1AfricaandMahatma

Gandhi'sbirth anniversary Oct2

isobservedinMauritiuswitheven greatervigour than inIndia.

APBD Kendra isalso coming upinNewDelhi and would be inauguratedsoonfor thebenefit ofpravasis,besaid.

Overseas IndianAffairs i\finister Sushma Swaraj said the government isdeterminedtowork closelywith itshugediasporato "leverageeachod1er'sstrengths for mutual benefits and urged professionals fromthe diaspora to join in efforts to developIndia and"restore it co its pastglory".

"Asuccessful,prosperous and politicallyinfluential diaspora isan assettoIndia, much asa strong and self-reliant India would bea sourceof strengd1 and inspiration for cbe diaspora.This synergy acts asavibrant bridgebetween usandsustains our relationship," shesaid.

Guyanese President Ramotar, chief guest at the13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas,urgedIndia to play amore active role on the global stage andbe the voice of the developing world.

SouthAfrican Foreign Minister koana-Mashabane said she was happyto join in thecelebrations of d1ecentenary of Mahatma Gandhi toIndia fromSouth Africa. She describedIndia as her second home havingspentsix yearsas a high commissioner here.

The government also announced alistof 15 !\.TJUs who would be conferred the Prnvasi BharatiyaSa.mman awardsfor 2015. The list includesRamotar andSatyan-arayanaNadel.la, CEO of J\lficrosoft.

The event is held everyJanuary

There's a leopard inmy bedroom:Aninjuredmale leopardtakesshelterin inside ahome in Gauhati, India, on 7Jan,2015. The animal, seriouslyinjured afterbeing ensnared byan iron cable, was tranquilizedbyforest officials andtransported to thestatezoological park. Due tohabitatloss, leopards sometimesenter populatedareasinsearch offood.

Photo:AP

The ordinance allows registration as d1eOCI of the spouseof a citizen of India or d1espouseof an OCIregiscered under Section 7A andwhose marriagehasbeenregistered andsubsisted for a continuous period of not less than two yearsimmediatelypreceding the presentation of the application under dus section.

ThelndianCitizenshipAct, 1955, provides foracquisition, termination,deprivation, de[erminationof Indian citizenship and other related aspects.

7-9co mark d1ecentenary of the returnto thecountry of India's "sarvasreshthapravasiBharatiya" or foremostIndian diaspora member,Mahatma Gandhi from SouthAfrica.

Earlier,Modiinauguratedthe 'Dandi Kutir' museum located opposite theMahatmaMandirin Gandhinagar. Thethree-storey exhibition, housedin a dome shapedSaltMountain structure, traces thelifeandtimes of Gandhi.

early 4,000delegates from 44 couna·ies aL1:endedthe Pravasi BharaciyaDivas2015.A mega exhibition spreadover1.1 million scifrwas also organisedas panof theprogramme.

President promulgates Citizenship (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015

The Citizenship (Amendment) Ordinance,2015, which seeks to integrate the benefits given to Persons of lndianOrigin(PIO) andOverseas Citizen of India (OCI) has been promulgatedby PresidentPranabh Mukherjee.

"The president hai,promulgated the Citizenship (Amendment)

Ordinance,2015,Jan 6,wid1 immediate effect," an official release said.

Theordinanceal.lows registration as anOverseasCitizen of India (OCT) of a minor whose parenrs areIndian citizens.

Jr alsoal.lows registration as d1e OCIof a child ora grand-child or a great-grandchildof such a citizen, therelease said.

The act provides for acqui">irion of Indian citizenshipbybird1, descent, registration,naturalisation andincorporation of terricory undercertain circumstances, and also for the [ermination and deprivation of citizenship. At present,one year's continuous stayin Indiaismandatory for Indian citizenship which has been relaxed, staring thatif the central government is satisfied thatspecialcircumstancesexist, itmay, after recordingsuch circumstances in writing,re.lax the period of twelvemonths specified up co a maximum of thirtydays whichmay bein differentbreaks, it added.

Working to remove bottlenecks in doing business: Rajnath to diaspora

Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh told the13th Pravasi BharatiyaDivas here that the Narendra Modi government isworking tirelesslytoremove botdenecks andcutred tape in order toimprovethe business environment in India.

Chairing asession on lovestment Oppornmitiesin Indian States at d1ePBD, the world'slargest annual gathering of peopleof Indian origin, Singh saidthe countryis "moving towards anera of cooperative federalism, givingvoiceto states in shaping theeconomic destiny of thenation".

Hesaidwitb this objective in mind, the government had replacedthe Planning Commission wim theNiciAayog fromJan 1 this year.

"lo democracy,we follow the dictum of collectivewisdom andcollectiveresponsibility.I amconfident chatomcollective wisdom will helpus in overcoming any differences," besaid.

Hesaidthenew government

headedbyMoctihas al.readytaken a series of measu.res tore-ignite theeconomy.

"�le have reasons to be optimistic aswe areconstantly making cou.rsecorrections to gaininvestor confidence," he said.

Singh saidthe 'Make in India' initiative is a"missionto transform thiscountry froman importer of manufactureditems to anexporterof manufacmred products".

Tbeobjectiveis toincreasethe share of manufacturingin the GDP from thecurrent levelof 14 percentto 25percent.

Singh saidtheprimeminster "is focusedonimproving thebusiness environment in thecountryand has stressed on the mantra of 'M.inirnum Government,Maximum Governance"'.

He said thegovetnment is seriously pursuing early implementationof the Goods andServicesTax (GST) wh.ich "willcreate a buoyant source of revenueand create a large commonmarket by eliminating internalbarriers".

He saida decisionhasbeen takento allocatenaturalresources only through e-auction co ensure transparency."Such measures are necessary co rebuild confidence and trust that iseA'tremely important to revive investments and drivehigher growth,"Singh said.

Thehomeminister saidlnctia "has avastpoolof natural resources and skilledhuman resources co make thiscountry a 'NewManufacmringHub'.The peopleof Indianoriginand the NRis shouldinvest inactuali1ing thedreamof 'Make inInd.ia'.

India's progress cannot be achieved only bythe people living withinthecountry,"hesaidand urgedthed.iasporato"come and invest" inthecountryandbecorne an"activepartner in our definitive ma.rchcowards prosperity andin making fodia a global superpower".

India demands greatersayin UN peacekeeping mandate

Ur SecretaryGeneralBan Kimoonthismonth held "expansive talks" with External Affairs

M.inisterSushma Swaraj who raisedtheissueof theneed for troop-contributing coLmtries to have greater sayin theUN peacekeeping mandate.

Indiais thelargest contributor toUN peacekeepingmissions with8,000 persormel, deployed in 10 of the16 countries where theUNpeacekeepingoperations are on.

SushmaSwaraj raised the view thattheroleof troop-contributing countries shouldhavea sayinthe U peacekeepingmandate.Right nowthernechan.ismis fairly frail in terms of mandate of role.

Ban saidagrouphas been set up to reviewthemandate and it has anInd.ianrepresentative in aformerpeacekeeper,the

spokesperson said.

Both sides alsod.iscussedtbe forthcomingcongress onclimate changeinParislaterthisyear.

SushmaSwaraj pointedout that lnd.iahas sca.rred ventures to ensure sustainabledevelopment.

She explained thegovernment's in.itiativesinrenewable energy and the cooperation witb neighbouring countries like NepalandBhutan onhyd.ropower generation.

"lndiaconveyed thatir is puttingina!or of effort and char the governmentis beingresponsiveto global environmental concerns," she said, accordingco the spokesperson.

Sushma Swaraj also raised the issueof reformof the UN, which is tocelebrate its70th anniversary chisyear.

"Ir wouldbe.anappropriate occasionformember stares to tryandrenewanorganisation whichisincreasingly being seen asnot beingable to act in terms of peace andsecuritydue to theanachronisticnamreof the SecurityCounciland its actions lad<.credibility," hesaid.

The budget of the UN was also discussed.

Ban appoints Khare as under-secretarygeneral forfield support

UNSecretary-General BanKimoon appointed aveteran]nd.ian diplomatand UN official, Antl Khare, as theUnder-SecrecaryGeneral for FieldSupport,making himone of therwo highescraukingInd.ians at rheUN.

Khare willjoinVijayNarnbiar, the Secretary-General's Special Representativefor Nfyanmar, on thewotld body'sSenior Management Group.

He succeeds Ameerah Haqof Bangladesh as bead of theU_ Department of FieldSupport, which backs uptheextensive networkof peacekeepingand political fieldmissions.

India's UN 1v1issionwelcomed hisappointment andsaid ic "has full confidence tbatDr.Khare will d.iscbarge the.important responsibilities entrusted to him with completed.istinccion."

InearlierUN assignments, Khare was chosen ro head the Change i'vfanagementTeam tasked with find.ing ways to reform tl1e organization's operations and improve efficiency.He has been the assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations and the Secretary-General's special representative forTimor-Leste.

A medicaldoctor by training, Khare graduated from theAll Ind.iafostin1teof MedicalSciences beforejoining theIndianForeign Service in1984.He also has a master's degree.inmanagement from tl1eUniversity of Soutl1ern Queensland.

During his lnd.iand.iplomatic career, Khare obtained experience in many troubled spots in Africa where theUNhas extensive involvement. As theCharge d'affairesof thelnd.ianembassy in Senegalhe was concurrently

accredited to Mali,Mauritania, Gambia, GuineaBissauand Cape Verde.

He also served as the Deputy HighCommissionerinMauritius, aCounsellor at India'sUN 1-lission,tl1edireccorof the External Affairs i\iliniscry'sUN Division,and theDirectorof the ehru Centre in London. He also d.id a stintas the Chef deCabinet of tlieForeignSecretary.

Exhibition highlights

Indian soldiers' contribution in WWI

Through mundaneobjects like matchboxesand utensils,rare monochromatic phorographsof lndian soldiers cookinganda few silentmoviesdepictingtheir life duringthe FirstWotldWar a□ upcomingexhibition here willpay tribute to their unsung comribution clt1 cingtheGreat War.

The exhibition "India andthe First WorldWar"jointlyorganised byRoliBooks,the French Embassyin New DeU1i and the Ind.iraGandhiNationalCentre for theArts (IGNCA) wiUrunJan12-Feb10 to commemorate die100d1 anniversaryof the beginningof theWar.

Ir wouldn't be wrong to suggesttliat the exhibitionis thebrainchild of Roli Books publisher and CEO Pramod Kapoor, who first thought of thought of publish.ingavolume ontl1econtributionof theIndian soldiers duringthe War when, at the Frankfurr Book Fair,several Europeanexhibicors threw light onthislesser-known subject.

Aftercomingbackhe got in touch with Vedica Kant and AmarinderSingh,who researched and petmed Indiaand theFirstW1m'dWar(prefacedwith "If I clie Here,whowillremember me?'')andHo11011ra11dFideliry: Jntlja�-MilitmyContributiontothe G,-ertt!Far1914-1918.

"Thar interactionwith the exhibitors at the fair ledco these cwo books becauseI realised these stories need to be cold," Kapoor coldTANS.

But what exactly shapedupthis exhibitionwasatriptoYpres and LilleinFrance,where he learned thatIndianwar heroes suchas KhudadadKhanarehousehold names andeach familyhas a story to share about the warmth and bravery of the L1dian troops stationedin this region.

''It wasso fascinating ro see how many collectors had items used by the lnd.ian soldiers whileonthe Westernfront. It was duringthetrip I realised thepotentialandgravity of chis project," saidKapoor.

''Iwalkedalongthefieldsof Flanders where youcan still pick outpiecesof spent bullets embedded inthe soiland was moved by rhe sight of the tricolourand Ashoka's lion capital atMen.in Gate,"he added Kapoor thengotin couch with the FrenchEmbassy,which made arrangements to bringthefilms

andmemorabiliato India for th.is exhibition. Apa.rt from tbis,rare photographs of lnd.ian sold.iers will also be displayed.

However, Kapoor hopes rhis exhibition reachesout to many people as books are readby afew, but visual imagery has the ability toreach out to manypeople.

Indian student loner convicted ofcyberstalking deported

AnInd.ian sn1dent, who"hada bardtime socialising,"hasbeen convictedof cyberstalkingand deportedafter socialmed.ia threatsof a copycat massacre cargetingwomenarthe University of Washington(UW0inSeattle, authoritiesannounced.

KeshavMukund Bhide,24,left onaninternationalflightfrom Seattle-Tacomafotetnational AirportDec24under tl1e watch of special,agents,accordingto theUSImmigrationandCustoms Enforcement (ICE).

Usingthe sa-eenname"Foss Dark," he had made severalthreats onsocialmed.iainJune to atrack womenlike a Californiakiller. BhidewasconvictedonDec. l1 in aWashington state-level court of cyberstallcingand sentenced to six months. Federal prosecutors, whohadalsofiled charges against hii:n,agreed notgo ahead with the federal caseif he left thecountry.

Bhide's outbursts appeared to havebeeninfluencedby Elliot Rodger,a22-year-old manwho killedsixpeopleandthenh.imself near theUniversityof California atSantaBarbaralaseMarBefore theattacks,Rodger announcedin aYouTubevideo tbatheintended to killwomenforrejectinghimand sexuallyactivemenforbeingbetter off tlianhim.

Inthecomplaint cothefederal courtinSeattle,FederalBureauof Investigation (FBI) Special Agent MichaelLouisBaldino saidBhide said "that he'sympathised' with Rodger'spersonal struggles."He also admittedafterhisJrn1e arrest "tl1at he hada hard time socializing at schoolandbad fewfriends;' Balctino said.

Inhis socialmectiapostings as"FossDatl,,"Bhide defended Rodger'sactionsandin a comment onJune9said, "Ilivein seatde and go toU\�tliat's all ill give u. Ill make sure Jkillonly women, and many morethanElliot accomplL�hed (sic)."

That tl1teat came atatimeof heightenedinseatrity in Seattle as only four daysearlier agunman had attacked the SeattlePacific University shootingdeadone sn1dentandwoundingtwopeople beforebewas overpowered by othersrudents.The shooter, Aaron Ybarra, had written of his hatred for everyonebut h.is familyand friendsandthreatenedco"kill everyone."

Bhide'scasebroughtechoes of a2003 case.inwhich an lnctia.nlaunched an attackat Case We.sternReserveUniversityin

Cleveland,Ohio,killinga student and wounding aprofessor and a

researcher

Aformersrudent there, Biswanath Halder,waged a seven-hourgunbattlewithpolice beforehewascaughthidingina classroomcloset.J\tHalder'strial, his own lawyer describedhimas "thebizarrelittleman whonoone befriends."Hewas sentencedco Iife in 2006for tbeattack.

Indian-American alumni offersupport for US university

Two lndian-American families have offered financial support for the constructionof a new research and engineeringbuilding in theUniversityof Houston campus.

TI1eMehtafam.ily witb four siblings who all are alumni of the university's Cullen College of Engineering, together wich engineering graduate Durga Agrawal and biswife,Sushila,have made significant contributions to constructionof the $51-million Multid.isciplina.ry Research and EngineeringBuilding sd1eduled tobe ready for occupancy in 2016, accordingtOa varsity press release.

Thenew researchfacilitywill house "corefacilities shared by researchers fromdepartments arotmdthe campus, includ.ing high-performance computing facilities,anuclear magnetic resonancespectrometer laband imaging facilities".

Renu T<haror,Universityof Houston president, saidthe gifts highlight the university's global studentbody.

"Wecontinueto cake pride intheUniversityof Houston's internationalstamre,serving students,scholarsand researchers from aroundtlie world who are worlcing to address global problems," she said.

''Tbe enlightenedgenerosity of theMehtaand Agrawal families ishelpingto build a wotld-class facility that allows UH toremain a welcoming andinnovativeplace for chisimportant work," l<hator added without giving details of thecontribution made bythe Indian-Americanalumni.

TI1egroundAoor of the buildingwillbenan1ecl tl1eMehta Family Engineering Research Centre,while the second floor will bethe Durga andSusbila Agrawal Floor.

Bocbfamilies have high regards for "theenvironment"offeredby the university co itsinternational srudents.

"Itinfluencedus, andit gave us theabilitytoadjustto tlie UnitedStates.And it wasn't justus.They wereded.icatedto every.international srudem,"Jay Mehta, who earned his mechanical engineering degree from die varsity, wasquotedas saying.

"The University of Houston wasuoiqlle, because I was able to continueworkingonmy education and alsomy life,"said Durga Agrawal, who has a longrecord of involvementas aUniversityof Hollston benefactor.

IANS

In 201 5, Modi must resolve inner contradictions

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AMULYAGANGULIonthebalancetheBJPneeds tonegotiatebetweenitsrevivalistfactionsand developmentagenda

TheBJP'supward mobility last yearwas confirmedwhenthe allianceJed byit securedamajority in theJliatkhaud assembly and the party put up itsbestever showinJ&K.

Buttherejsahiminboththeelectionsthat theparty's ascentmaynot continue tobeas smooth andeffortlessin 2015 as it hasbeen in2014.

InJhark.hand,for instance, theBJP could crossthehalf-waymarkinthe 81-member legislatureonlywiththehelp of itsally,the AUJharkhandStudentsUnion,which added fiveseatscotheBJP'stally of 37.

Whatismore,theBJP'svictory rath (chariot)cameto ahaltoutside theMuslimdon.1.inatedKashmirvalley,showing chatitis onlytheparty'svote bankof theHindusof Jammuwhosupporteditwhilethel\foslims gave itawidebertli,sincetlieBJP could secureonly2.2percent of thevotesin tlie valley.

The reason for therebuff bythe minorities

is clearenough.Theyare angeredand disheartened bytheaggressiveantiMuslim andanti-Christian camprugnsof the Hindu supremacistRSSand its rabid affiliatesliJ,edie VishwaHinduParishad (VHP)a1id theBajrang Dal.

These fundamentalist outfits haveseentheBJP's riseco power at tliecentre asthemostoppornme tinieco pushtheirfascistic ideaof convertingsecular lncliaintoatheocratic Hindumshtm(nation). TI1ereislittledoubt

theproselytizingghar1vapasi(homecoming) canipaignstowoo die minoritiesback into theHindu fold.

Modiisnotunawareof what'shobbling him.But,inaway,heis helplessbecause havingspentallhislifein tliefundamenta]jsc environment of theRSSsbakhasand among its kmyak.a1tas(workers)-Modirurnself was onceaprachamk (preacher)-itmustnowbe difficult forhimto rum againstd1em.

AJtl1oughhehas partiallysucceededin tanungdiehardliners bypersuadingtliem toput off theissue of constructingthe Ram tenipleby ayear, in keepingwith hls IndependenceDay call for amoratorium on sectarian a.rumosity,he doesn'tseem to have reckonedwith tlie penchantof the e..xcremists toconceiveof onedivisivejdeaafteranotlier -lovejehad,gl1ar1v,ipsi, bahttlao-betibachaoand soon.

''Asaresultof the xenophobiapropagated bythevotariesof Hindutvawithclaims thatIndia exploded anatonucbombin prelustoricti.mes,asstated by Ramesh Pokhriral Nishank,MP,and inventedplastic surgery

WhiletheBJP's -an assertionmadeby Modi llll1self -Indiais passingthroughasurreal atmospherewhereapromarketeconomyreAected bythe glitteringmallsand multiplexesiscoexisting witharticulationsredolent of anunscientificand unsophisticatedworldview.

successstory canbesaidtobe

continuing,its mainadversary, theCongress,is goingsteadily downhillandhas Thiscont:.rasrisalso evidenti.ndie govemmentformingnegotiations between dieBJP and Muslim-majority parties

nowreacheda that if NarendraModi

stagewhenits revivalseemstobe nearlyimpossible of theKashmirvalleylike thePeople's Democratic js unablecoreinintlie HinducvaGestapo,thenhi5 memorablevictorymthe generalelectionwill begin to unravel.

While tlieBJP'ssuccessstory canbesrud to becontinuing,itsmrun adversary,tl1e Congress,is goingsteadilydownhillandhas nowreachedastagewhenitsrevivalseemsco be nea clyimpossible Thereasonisitsinept leadership:botliSoniaand Rahul Gandhi lacl< politicalcharisma(whicl1 used tobethe Nehru-Gandhifamily's forte),incellecLUal acuityandaneconomic visioninsyncwith the modernworldwhich haslostpatience witl1socia]jsm,wh.icliilieGandhis seemm prefer.

As aresult, tlie Congress has lostvirtually all themajorelectionsformore thanayear whilethe BJP hasforgedahead.Only in severalby-elections,notablyin Rajasthan and,surprisingly, in GujarathastheCongress faredwell but theyhavebeen too fewandfar betweento rejuvenateiliepatty.

In contrast,Modibasallthereguisites of awinner-charisma, oratory; aforwardlookingeconomicagendaandadministrative acumenwithahands-onapproach.But hls Achilles heel comes from the RSS,VHP and other Hindu militantgroups like tlieDharma JagranSa.mjti,whichhasbeen organising

Party andtlie National Conference,which the saffronhawks regard aspro-separatist and, tlierefore,anti-national.

UnlessModicanresolvethese contradictionsbetween a21st cenn1ry governmentand dieHindur:varadkals by comingdownheavily on the latterand resolutely pursuingeconomicreforms,the em:lieroptimismassociatedwithllill.1will disappear.

Thegainerwillbetheopposition parties, whosestalling of parliamentover theantics of thesaffronactivistscompelledModico take theordinance route topasscrucial pro• reforms laws.Butsuchbull-dozingtactics areasign of tlieprimeminister's,andtlie democraticsystem's, failure.

If Modineverthelessopted for them,it wastodivertartentionfromtlie Hinducva fanatics.Hewillhavecopursue tlieeconomic reforms -theroadcomiddleclasshearts -evenmore energeticallyif tlieBJPfruls tostaveoff d1eAa.m Admi Party's (AAP) challenge intheDelluelections,likelycobe heldinFebruary.

Mocliwill have to confronttliesaffron brigadehead-oninaface-off remiruscent of ffitler'snight of the knives.

In downtown Worli,it is common tobearthestrange greeting of !/1.rsalt111Jt1Alqykum, Gttrttii'whenever an 80-year-oldMuslim man stepsout of his modest home.

Heis noneother than renowned Sanskrir scholar Pandit Gulam Dasragir,who O\Ter six decadeshas impressedtheShankaracharyas, lateprimeminister lndiraGandhi, RSSleaders andIslamicscholars, aU withe9ualelan.

Armedwitha deepknowledge of bothIslain and Sanskrit, Pandit Dasragi.r can speak with authority on any religious copic-andearn their w1abashed adm.iration.

Born in ChikhaliyilJagein Solapur district,Pandit Dastagir completedhis schooling d1ere beforejoininga goYernmem Sanskrit institution.

"1 was theonlyNfuslimstudent in a classof arou.nd four dozen Brahmins.My Brahmin Guruji developedaspecial likingforme andencouragedme.1 ac9uiredmy entireSanskrit knowledgeof the scriptures,Vedas andod1ertexts d1ere;' Pandit Dastagirrecalls.

In themid-1950s,he shiftedto Mnmbai,andjoined theMaratha i\fandirSansthan'sMarathimediumWorli High School asa Sanskritteacherfor allclasses.

Twodecades lacer,cocomply withprofessionalre9uiremenrs,

he appeared directly for a Masters' degree in Sanskrit fromMysore University.

Afterthe Emergency,when theJanataPartyruledIndia, PanditDastagirwas suddenly targeted."Theysuspected l was a namesakeMuslim propagating the RSS andJanaSanghideology throughSanskrit. It wasonly after a longinvestigation chat they were provedwrong," theman chuckles.

When Indira Gandhireturned topowerin1980, she summoned him andwassurprisedto discoverthatPanditDastagir was actually a 'Syedvanshi',or belongingto a clan considered the directdescendants of Prophet Mohammed.

"Shemet meseveral timesand appreciatedmy knowledge and lovefor Sanskrit. In1982, she told theeducationministryto appoim me asa 'RashtriyaSanskrit Pracharak'."

When baffledofficialsasked Gandhihow hisdutiesshould beclassified, shereportedlyshot back: "He will teach us what needs to be done.Let himfunction independently."

Fortwoyears,hetouredIndia extensively andpropagated Sanskritingovernment andprivate institutions.He9uitthe postafter Gandhi'sassassinationin 1984.

"Iac9uiredMAinSanskrit

only in1987 whenI was aronnd 50 years oldald10ugh l was proficientinthelanguage long before."

Since his retirement,Pandit Dastagir lecn1resonthe similaritiesbetweenIslam and Hinduismwithreferenceto variousaspects of one of theworld'soldest andrichest languages,Sanskrit.

"Sanskritis not onlyfor Brahmins.Buttl1isperception made themasses reluctantto studyit.Icreateawareness aboutSanskritallover India amongdifferent castesand religions,"he says.

Pandit Dastagir explained that Hinduism does not recognise 'conversions' or thecaste syscem."The currentcraze for'conversions' has no basis in Hinduscriptures.Ac best, you can change a person's name, norhis soulfromthe religion of his/herbird,," he notes.

An old darli1.1g of d1eRashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS),Pandit Dastagir credits the group with givinghimfullencouragement to pursuehis vocation without havingcochangehisreligion. HefeelstheRSSis notagainst anyreligion."Butif anybody threatensHinduism, they will hitbaclt,irrespectiveof the

opponent's religiousbeliefs," Pandit Dastagi.rsays.

He bas also neverencountered objectionsfromfeUowMuslims over hispassion for Sanskrit "Comparative smdyof different religionsmakesyoumore reasonable. I aninotafanatic, just an ordinaryMuslim."

Hislovefor Sanskrit d1ough hasnot madehim lose hisIslamic identity.r-le prays daily atthe mosque."lhave built up ahuge library of thousands of books on Sanskrit andIslam which I smdy andpropagate,"Dascagir says.

He laments that there are manyotherMuslim Sanskrit scholars in the country bur financial constraints prevent chem from propagatingthe ancient Indian language.

PanditDastagir'swife Vahidasupportshiscalling wholeheartedly. Theirson Badiujjamaisa businessman butis Sanskritscholartoo,and daughter Gyasunissa Shaikh runs aSanskrit researchcentrein Solapu.t. !ANS

Biryanibonanzaforvegetarianfamily!

TheUdeshishavecarved outa niche for themselves withMughlaicuisine, writesQUAIDNAJMI

It wasleft to a pure vegetarian Gujaratifamilyin l\fombai co whipup andserve some of themost popularnonvegetarian Mughlaicuisine -speciallytheir lipsmacking ChickenBiryani,MurtonBi.ryani and other varieties.

The renownedBorivali Biryani Centre- or simply,BBC-started in 2002 asasmallmobilehawking stall on amain roadcorner near d1eBorivali railway station, with tbehome-cooked biryanisselling like, well,hot cakes[ "\Y/e stressedon9uality and tasteandthereby,rotalcustomer satisfaction. lewas a tiny start andwe could barely managethe floodof ordersfromourmix of customers,"PradeepUdeshi,who started thestall withhisyounger son Hardik, says.

The nameandfame,rhe wiique tasteof d1ebiryani with d1e perfect blendof all thespices spreadlike wildfire andwithin five years, theUdeshis opened asmaU restaurant inMalad.

Again,that proved too small for thecustomer and business volumesandthey moved to a larger space in Malad and by 2010 inBorivali, the birthplaceof the family's biryani business.

"Today, wehaveseven outletsin MumbaiandThane.Twoare run byus andtherestare franchises, bm we ensure thatsame casteand quality wid1ouc fail," assureselder son Maharshi, a cateringgraduate.

TheUdeshis prepare andtaste all the non-vegitems daily for quality reasons, but otherwise they remain avegetarian family.Their simpleviewis, "Biryaniis our bread andbutter, so wespareno efforts."

Mallarshipersonallytrainsall the chefsrigorouslyforfourSL'Cmonths at theBBCBorivali headquartersto makecertain iliey follow the fan1ily traditionswhich have made theirspecial biryani ahouseholdname in northern Mmi1baiand Thane in the past one-and-half decade.

The fad1er-sontrio is credited

with bringingthe good old biryani, once the monopoly of d1eroyalty,onto the commoner's palate, at affordable rares.

Iofact, in most classy restamanrsin Mumbai and other places, biryaniis notthe mainitemonthe menu,but one of d1eexpensi\7especialities, they explained.

Thespic-n-spankitchen .in Borivali hums wid1acti\Ticy fromdaybreakas d1echefs and theirassistantsstart preparing the biryanis andother Mughlai itemsfor the ravenous lunchrin1e crowds andcontinue d1eprocess unbroken for the evening diners. There are occasional corporate/ bulkotders.

The Udeshis saidthat aU the biryanisare cookedon charcoal flames bythe d11111p11khtmethod which emits the special aromatic fragrance-it spreads out onto the main road,luring more hungry patrons!

Interspersedarehundreds of

take-away or home-delivery orders for their yum.mychicken, mutton, fish andvegetablebiryanis,besides a hostof otherMughlaiofferings.

"The secret of biryani is chat it mustbeconswnedimmediately, failingwhich the patrons don't enjoy the taste,as the flavour

of therice andmasalasmi.'Ced coged1er rends to go flat,"says Mal1arshi.

The Udeshis' 'BBC' brandname isprotected andit wonthe rights to use it even from die venerable BBCmediaconglomerate,besides other five-star hotelsin Mumbai. !ANS

Here's toalife devoted toIslamjustas muchas toHinduism, writes QUAIDNAJMI

Sn akesin

Reflections ofawhite winterinGermany

,BY SHAMPA \.J BHATTAC':fARYA

BRUWELEIT

Thethought of falling snowflakes iothe context of today's South Australian climateis rather f:U"fetched.Snowin theheight of summer?!Nevertheless,I havechosen this antipodal topic withintent.The temperatures aresoaring and therehave been bushfires acrossour stares.So,for ashonwhile,1 escapewithmy thoughts to the coldclimesof the northern hemisphere,anddwell on the memory of my first frozen winterin Europeneatlytwo decades ago. Perhaps,mymusings willacton you likeamentaltreat of ice cream,helpingto chillouc fromthe heat, albeit fora fleeting moment!

As the newyear of 1997 approached,I set out in a car with three Germans fora short year-end holiday in theeastern partof Germany.Wemotored southwardsfromDresden, the beautifulcapitalof the state of Saxony, into the snow-laden terrain of theErzgebirge.These gentlerangesareknownin English as the OreMountains. Our descinationwasa srnall resort called'Schellerhau' inthese mountains, closeto theCzech border. Iris here chatmyfirst encounter withsnowflakesrook place.

Outside the temperaturewas minus 17 degrees,and at that lace afternoonhour allwasquiet and still,exceptfor the cars passing nowand then.However, the frozen scenery appealedtomy lndianeyes immensely;the lines of rail, snow-ribbedevergreen treeszigzaggingwithsnow-topped

mountainslopes,and theneat littlehouseswithsnow-covered slanting roofs, their lace-curtained windowstwinkling,vith Christmas lights, presenteda picturesque scene straight outof theseason's greeting cards.

Itwasmyfirstwinter in Germany.Iwas far away from thewarmcliinesof western India whichwas then our home ]\[)' husbandandI had spenttheearlier partof our vacationinwestern Germany, in aquaint historic town on tl1eriverRhine.Despitethe favourable forecasts for snow, to our utter disappointment, the heavens refusedto partwith their niveous supply and denied usa white Christmas.The expected snowfall did not materialise in the followingdays either, evenwhile the thermometerdroppedlower in rhe minusrange.

Buefinally,afterhurtlingdown theAutobahneastwards across the countryforhalf aday and picking up our two companions enroute, here1was upintheOre Mountains,witha feast of snow all around for theeyes to behold, the feetrofrolic upon and tl1e heart to thrillabout.The biting coldcouldnot dampenmyspirits wereachedour destination and stepped out on acarpet of sno,v several inches deep,just before nightfall. \Ve lodgedin the small but comfortablehouse of aretired elderly couplewho supplemented theirincome bytakingin ronrists.

Iwas even moreenchanted when my eyesbeheldthepristine whitepanoramaof the mountains thefollowingmorning.More snowhad fallenduringthenight, andthetranslucentsky above promisedmore to come.The daylight that managedto filter infromabove bouncedoff from every surface, castingan eerie glow.The branchesof tl1e evergreen trees stolidly held up their tl1ickwhite burden,while

smaUer busheswer transformedinto nn figures.Overnight, acquiredthe look of i frosted cake for achildren' Thiswasmyfirst forayinro 'Snowland',and it felt so good, especiallywhenI could stand in the open andcatch somefalling Rakes!

For thenextfourdayswe traversed upand down the white countrysideto visit nearby villages, shoutingout greetings to travellerswho crossedour path, as if wewere lost in some remote frazenwilderness andwere glad to comeacrossocher human faces. Thesewerestillearly clays of the German reunification, andwe were deepinerstwhile communist territory, so Iwas uncertain of local attitudes to aforeignface, butthecamaraderiewhichgreeted uswasdeeplyheartening.The slopes thatwediligentlynavigated in thicksnowshoeswereeasy, though slipperysometimes, and we couldcoverlongdistances withnot toornuchdifficulty.W/e came uponseveralrestaurants witl1interiorse.."\'.udi.ngoldworld charm,whereour sromachs fared very wellon the robustGerman cuisine,washeddownwiththe equally robustlocalbeverages. Thesno,vunderfootwas sometimes soft andcrunchy, sometimes hardandicy,so that themere act of walking became a sport.1 couldfeelevery part of my body bracing to cope withtl1e temperatureeachtime westeppedoutdoors,and itwas a relief co start moving.There was nowind, fornmately,and the mercurydroppedno further than minus20degreesduring our visit. The air had a keenedge to it,with afreshness that acted like tonic uponmy body. Any kindof open-air physicalactivity was invigorating, and you could understand ,,,hy thisrelatively unchallengingterrainwasdotted

withhealthresorts thattourists Hockedto in the height of winter. Weletgo of allrestraintsto enjoythesheerexhilaration of accelerating downtheslopes on sleighs,seated cosilydouble on thesmaUcontraption. \V/e watchedthe skiers in thedistance, marvellingat their swaying, daring movements.lcarer,littlechildren romped happily in the snow,free from their schoolroutine,and sometimes therbigpet dogs joinedin the fun. There had been no freshsnowfall,andtl1esky remainedclearandblue,letcing theweakwinter sunwarmonly ourheartsand nothingelse.

Myfirst sojourninthesnowy mountains ended all too soon. However,namre's white blanket was nowspreadallalong our 600kilometre-long route back home,with only the Autobahn remainingclear throughhuman intervention.Atone placewe drove through gently fallingRakes, much to myfascination, even as my better half cursed from behind the,vheel.Reachinghomeat midnight,wehadro shoveloff all theaccumulatedsnowfrom the gravel beforewecould drive into the garage. An activity thatothers might considera boring chore, but broughtmemuch delighteven at that hour!

Theenchantment of my first encounterwithsnowhas remainedfirmlyetchedinmy memory even afterthe passage of many years. I confess there's something inthis soft, white, woolly stuff that appeals to

the childinme,as reAectedin thelinesthat crystallisedin my mind, shortlyafter a particularly spectacular downpour in Dresden some years later,when itsnowed nor in Rakesor sheets, but in thick billowing blankets:

Thes110111_fal!swithsttchmq.jesticmight, Ukecascadingfoldso stalactite, Beholdthisheovm(ydelugei11JlJhite! I trulymissedthe snow in the NewYear seasonsfollowingour landi11ginAdelaide.Ultimately, I found a degree of consolation by stickingself-made paper snowflakes on mywindow panes at Christmas.These remain in placeduringthehotmonthsthat follow; Ir isaheartwarmingsight, andacooling onefor theeyes as well!

AUSTRALIA DAY ELEBRATE YO UR WAY

Australia Day means something differentto everyone, and it's important you do what's right foryou. So on January 26, reflect on whatyou love aboutbeingAustralian.

australiaday.org.au

A Queenslandschoolboyis theyoungestfinalistinthe TropfestJrInternationalFilmFestival

Atjusc 11-years-old, Jonah Vetticadcan proudlyboastof beingthedirector of a successfulshore film.TheYear Sixsntdentdirected the four-minutefilmICallSeeYoJf, whichwas selected as one of 15 finalistfilmsfrommore than 300 entriesin the TropJr competition, theworld's largest shortfilm festival competition.

Jonah saidhe "feltamazing" when he fmmdout hisshort!ilm wasreceivedsowellandwould bemaking itto the finals of thecompetition."I didn't think itwasreal,that itwasactually

happening.Iwasasconished," he told T!ldian Link.The filmwasone of 15 finaliseshorefilms made by tmder 15-year-olds.Jonahwas the youngestcompetitor amongthe finalises.

Alongwid1 eightfellowstudents from Sc Ita'sPrimarySchool, Jonah co-wroteand directed the film as part of aschool project. Thefilmis aboutan average schoolboy,Jeffrey,whosetask co grab afewbooks from the old school libraryrums into a terrifying adventure.

'1wassittinginthe library whenabookfelloff theshelf and onto myhead,"Jonahsaid of his inspirationfor d1e film."I thought,'whynot make books Ay inthemovie."'

Jonah'sdad Alexander Kaduthanansaid he andwife SuoitaAlexanderwere veryproud of their son'sachievement."He has anaturaltalentwith reading

andwritingskills,"Alexander said. "Thiswas anaturalprogression for him."

As part of mec.lass.room project,Jonah's teacher helped allocate roles according ro each child's skills.Jonahwas deemed to have goodleadershipqualities and was given the direccor role.The childrenwerealso givenlessons from a film graduate from me QueenslandCollegeof Arts in filmindustry techniques.

Tcwasn't acompletelysmoom filmshoot,with problems with the boom not recording sounds, and me needfor many takesjn certain scenes."Butitwas greatto learn about moviemaking,"Jonah said. Jonah said theexperience bas motivatedhimro pursue a furnre careerin Ii.Im. "This has beena reallyfunexperience,"he said."If myfirst moviehas gone chis far, I'dlikecomake anod1erone." The buddingdirector alreadyhas an

Know Thyself as Soul

Whoam I?Wheredo I comefrom?Wheream I going?

Sant Mat is a practical and natural path to selfrealisation.

The medtation ontheinnerLightand Sound combined withan ethical lifestye buildsthe foundation to experience and strengthen the connection withthe innercoreof our being, the soul.

Sant Baljit Singh teachesthis meditation to peope searching fora deeper meaning in life.

Weekly spiritual gatherings (satsangs) are available in most metropoltan areas.

KnowThyselfas Soul Foundation is a non-profit incorporated associaton. Itoffersits servicesfree of charge.

Forfurtherinformationcontact 1800 462 193 orvisit wwwsantmatnetau

ideafor hisnextfilm,a comedy coldfroma child'spoint of view. "I getideas fromwhathappensin real life,"Jonah said.

Born.inKerala,Jonah andhis parents,alongwid1 sister Amelia, moved coAuscraLiaeight years ago. He is Anent in Malayalam and English, but heexplainedthat his Indianbackgroundmeans he likes Bollywood 6h11s "best"and mat hisrecent favouriteis HappyNeri, Yem·with Shah Rukh Khan."SRK is awesome.He'sentertaining andgreatl"Jonahsaid heis inspired byLidianmovie director Pi:iyadarshan.'1 likeanyrhingd1at entertains the audience,borrm:, thriller,comedy."

Jonah and thefilm's mainactor, JarvisTrenorden,who played Jeffrey, travelledcoSydneyfor che official finaljsc announcement TheTropJr eventwas held as pare of the Tropfesc festivalin earlyDecember inSydney.

JonahVettlcadwasthe youngestfinalistInthe TrQPfestkcompetition

Jonah,picturedfront left,w iththeyoung film makersatthe OperaHousefinalists announcement

raw1n

There'salonglistofbooksouttherethatcapture thespiritofMumbai

avinglookedat booksonDelhiand Chennaiinp.revious colwnns,wethought weshouldkeep tothethemeandcaseoureyes tobooksthathavebeenwritten about,orsetin,Mumbai.\Ve havereviewedsomeofthese bookspreviously,butmention themhereagai11astheyform partofthecorpusofbookson Mumbai.Noneofthe11ooksexceptperhapsSukecui'viehta's Maxi11111111Ci(J1- setouttocapture thespirit,thezeitgeist,theelan,of thecityasawhole.

Onthenon-fictionfront, editorsJerryPintoa11d1aresh Fernandes'sbookBomh,ryMeriJaa11 (2003)isawonderfullyeclectic collectionofessaysonailthings Mumbai.Oneshortessaycapm.res partofwhatmakesMumbaiwhat itis:"Ifyoureachthestation justasthetrainisleavi11gthe platform,youcanrunuptothe packedcompartmentsandyou willfindmanyhandsstretching outtograbyouonboai-d.Asyou ru.nalongside,youwillbepicked up,andsometinyspacewillbe madeforyourfeetontheedgeof theopendoornray.Therestisup toyou"

ZeroPointBomb'!},:InandAround theHomimt111CirclebyKan1ala Ganesh,UshaThakkarandGira Chadha(2008),isabookthat takesthemagnifyingglassto oneparticularMw11bailocale. HornimanCircleisboththe birthplaceofthecityandacentre ofbusinesslife,and.iscelebrated inthe21essaysinthebook.

JeetThayil'sbookNarcopolis (2009)isabookofopiumdens anddrugaddictioninl'vfumbai.He tracestheriseofmodernBombay intheearlyyearstothepart playedbytheopiumtradeduring theRaj,andchatoftheciryandits merchants.

GregRoberts'Shantr1m111,(2003) isanautobiographicaccountof thetimehespentinaMumbai slum.Morethan10yearsafter itwasfirstpublished,thebook hasremai11ed,sttangely,onthe best-sellerlistinmdia.Evennow Iseethebookbeingdisplayed inbookshopwindowsinlndia andremainspopular;inanABC Radiopolldoneafewyearsago, thisbookshowedupinthe'100 best-lovedbooksofalltime'in Australia.

KatherineBoo'sBehindThe

13er1utifulForevers:Life,Death,and Hopein.aM11111baiU11dercity,(2012) isalsoanauthenticaccountoflife inoneofMumbai'sslums,but coldlikeanovel.

AnitaDesai'stenthnovel, l311umgt11t11er�Bonll;qy(l989),isthe storyofawanderingJewfrom BerlinwhoescapestheHolocaust andcomestoliveinBombay,in aseedyapartmentbehindtheTaj Hotel.fobisoldclothesandillfirringshoes,heisasincongruous astheTajHotelitself,builthy mistakewith"itsbacktothe ravishingsea-front,thusdriving thearcl1.itecc,anItalian,ro suicide".Thisisaverycerebral novelinwhichDesaigrapples withseveralcomplexphenomena: whatishome,andhowdoesone makeahomeinacitythatonly partlyacceptsyou;bowdoesthe cicyitselfchangeasyouchange withit.

VikramChandra'sLoveand Lo11gi11ginBombqy(1997)isa collectionoffivehauntingtales setmostlyinMmubai.The lyricalstoriesdealwithlifeand death,loveandgrief,em7)1and corruption.

ManilSuri'sdebutnovelDeath oVishnu(2001),andKirao Iagarkar'sRa11ana11dEddie(1994) areveryentertainingtaleslocated

inthecity'ssprawlingchmvlsor tenementblocks.Theycapture withwit-andacertainempathy -thepettyquarrelsandfishbowllikeexistenceoflivingin oneofthem.Everyoneknows everythingabouteveryoneelse. ThefollowingscenechatNagarkat describescanbetransplantedco acbaivlortenementanywhere inIndia."Theprimemoveris water,"bewrites.''Yousnapped outofanaesthesia,interrupted coitus,stoppedyourprayers, postponedyourson'sengagemeoc, developedincontinence,took casualleavetogodownandstand atthecommontapbecause water,prese11corabsent,ismore powerfulthantheAL11ighty."

S,mwvatiPm-k,a2010novelby AnjaliJoseph,isnotallthatweUknown,althoughitdeservesto be.TheprotagonistAshish,who comestolivewithhisuncleand auntinSaraswatiPark,aquiet culdesacindusbusycity,isa youngmanonthevergeofthe throesofadultl1ood.Th.roughhis experiences,tl1eamho.rbringsto lifeandencapsulatesthequieter andquirkiersideofMumbai. Thebookislyrical,fLmny,and veryinsightfulaboutthewaytl1e ordinaryMumbaikargoesabout hislife.

Rohintonl'vtistry'sbooksevoke acertainsliceofMumbai-tl1e Parsicommunity.Hiscollectionof shortstoriesS111i111111ingLessonsand OtherStoriesandTalesofF1"t-ozsh"h Bogh;hisdebutnovelSuchALong Jo11rnq,hisnovelFa111i!JiV!titters, andhismagnumopusA.Fine Ba/mice,arec;enttedaroundthe ParsicommunityinMun1bai.To theseIwouldalsoaddFrdaus Kanga'sautobiographicalTryi11gto Gm111(1991)andTh.cityUm.cigar's Bo111bqyTi111e(2003)andTheSpace BetweenUs(2007). T11entl1ere'saseriesofnovels

setintheBoUywoodmovie industty.ShashiTharoor'sSho11• B11.,inessisaveryfunnynovelset inMumbai.SusanKurosawa,a Se1uorEditorwit!,TheAustralian newspaperwrotethenovel Conmatio11Talkies(2004),an entertainingyarnaboutavery feistywomanwhocomestoown acinema.VikasSwamp'snow famm1snovelQandA(2006)madeintotl1esuccessfulmovie Slumdog!Vlillio11aire-islocated largelyintheslun1sofMumbai.

SalmanRushdie'sTheMoor's I.A.rtSigh(1995)isaveryfunny novelwithaMtm1bailocale; hisevocativedescriptionsof ChowpattyBeacharedelightful toread.Rushdie'sepicstoryof Indianidentity,a!\fanBooker willller,Mid11ight'sChildren(1981), isal{;oinmanywaysacelebration ofMumbai.

MurzbanShroff'sbook Bre11tblminBo111h,q(2009)isa collectionof14brilliantshore stories,allsetincontemporary Mumbai.Hisbeautifullyobserved descriptionsofColaba,Apollo Bunder,BallardEstate,Leopold Cafe(oneofd1etragicscenes ofthe26/11terroristattacks) andtheMarineDrivewouldbe savouredbyeveryMumbaikar. Thebookwasshort-liscedforthe 2009CommonwealthWriters' Prize.

PaulTheroux'sElepha11taS11ite (2007),thebookclubbed'The NewPassagetoIndia'(intl1ree novellas),describesattemptsby Americanstocometotermswith lifeinJndia-oneofthemwith Mmubai.

Thisisbynomeansan exhaustivelist,tl1eremaybe scoresofothernovelsonMumbai thatsomeofyoumayhaveup yoursleeve!

'A masrerpiec-c' 11-1[ ACF It

It's impossibletosee everythinginthecityofsuperlatives

Long ago I entered a place of enchanonent. Itwas theSeaLounge of theTaj Palace Hotel with large baywindows overlookingthe Arabian Sea. Relivingthat memory,Irecencly spentan afternoon savouring[he delights of this hotel.Andwhile the teawasof the finestquality and[he cakesquite divine,the best pareof theHighTeawas theBombayToasty, aMumbai comfortfood made to perfection. From a.fishingcolony to one of theworld's largestcities, Mumbaiisburstingwith industry, commerceand finance,whilethe creativeoutput of arr, design and

cinemahas a global presence. The Portuguesewho landed here in 1534called itB0111Bahiaor the 'good bay' that bas since morphed into acolossus,thesixth largest cityin theworld.

Arriving at [hestunningnew airportand equippedwith a prepaidvoucher,l foundmyself ledpast thesleek new[axis toa black andyellowtaxithat couldn't nudge thespeeddial beyond slow.

After two hours wearrivedat the Regal Cinemanear to whereIwas staying.

With the Gatewayof India, the 26metre-high stonearchway erected towelcomeQueen Maryand KingGeorgeV in 191l standingsentinelover the sea, Colaba,ontheMumbai wa[erfront,is theheartbeat of the cityand amajor tourist destination.It'salsoa great area for shopping, themainstayfor the city's glan10ur set. International

boutiqueshaveprominent placement,butit'sthe local purveyorsthatshine.Colaba Causewayis the main drag busy withsome great cafes including CafeLeopoldandCafe1fondegar, but it's alongthe side screets thatyou'llfind upscalefashion boutiques andrestaurants.Further is the gracefularcof Marine Drive,the seasidepromenade also known asthe 'Queen'sNecklace' due to thetwinkling lightsat night, andleafyMalabar Hillwith irs finemansionsand India's most expensive home.

Isoaked up thecultureof MumbaiUniversity, the High Court, OvalMaidan,Rajabai clock-cower,andthemany museums,libraries,parksand galleries of theFortarea,the commercialbubof Mumbaiwith thefinest collection of heritage buildings intbe city.

Mumbai'sCST orVicroria

Oppositepage:UniversityofMumbai,Tea atBoraBazaarStreet, CrawfordMarket; Above: GatewaytoIndia,Highteaatthe

Station is a splendidex.irnple of Gothicarchitecturewith buttresses, domes, turrets and gargoyles peering down.Further north isCrawfordMarket, designedby RudyardKipling's father andbuiltin 1869,chat haseverything fromhousehold gadgets to fruitandvegetables. Across the street isMangaldas Markee, cramped and chaotic; a sprawlingmaze of lanesbrimming \Vithfabricsandsaris.The heavensopened withtheonset of the monsoonsoI cookrefuge opposite at BadshahwhereI hadadelightfullassi andidli11ada while fanulies enjoyedice-cream andother sweettreats. North of CrawfordMarketistheMuslim quarter whereagateminarets niingle with residential cowers. Findingitqtuteimpossible to give good coverage to acity of such hugeproportions, l remrned thenext dayto exploremore of

theFort area.Murnbai's art scene isexploding,anda goodplaceto disco\rer it is attheKalaGhoda Arts district. IvisitedBritannia

Restaurantin theBallardEstate withParsidishes,burfoundI'd lost myappetiteonceI foundic.

"Youmust atleast try someof ourPullan berriesfromlran," saidBomanKohinoor handing measmallbowlbefore showing me with considerablepride a letter fromQueenElizabeth's aide.Iranianssettledin Indiain the Ioh century from Persia to escape religious persecution,and Boman, whose fatherfoundedthe restaurant in1923, scilltakes the orders.

Behindthebustlingboulevards are narrow alleys where goods are sold,haircuts aregiven and the city's frenetic trafficoccasionally comes to ahaltbecause of a wanderingcow.Theartof discoveringMumbai is toexplore

irs differentneighbourhoods and atmosphericstreets such as Perin Narimanand BoraBazaarStreet whereI bought fine cotton rowels and drank flavoursometeamade bya srreetvendor helpedbyhis rwo sons.

AlongMahatmaGandhi Road, lined with curb sidevendors, you'll findKitabKhanaoffering a fine selection of books and Fabindia with a widerangeof kurtas, saris andhomewaresmade of softcottonfabricscoloured with vegetabledyes.Backnearmy hotel onTullock Road a longqueue wasforming.The legendaryBade Miyanhas ameatkebabstand rolledwith paper chinflatbreads anda vegetarian standwell worth a detour.

AsI left for the airport in a sleekwhite taxi thatspedalong the expressway passing Chowpacty Beachandtoweringmodern apartmentblocks, theTajPalace

Hotelreceded inthe background. The industrialistJN Tata built the hotel,now oneof the world's finest,after hewasrefusedentry into the now defunct\Vacson's Hotel.Reveringitsrichhistory whilesimultaneouslygrasping at amodern globalised future, Mumbai isa: colourful vibrant city d1acoffers so muchI keepcoming backformore. · r-

TRAVEL NOTEBOOK

MUMBAI

GETT!NGTHEREAr nesthatflytoMumbai ncludeQantas,AirIndia,Sngapore AirlinesandMaaysaAirines.BeaconHoldayscansuggestthebestoptonsTe:1800667791 www.beaconholdays.com.au

GETTING AROUND Mumbaisstunnng(hatrapatiShvaiInternatonalArport islocatedsomedstancefromthectycentre.AvodpeakhourandoptfortheexpresswayTaxsare inexpensveandpentful.

WHERETO STAYPerhapsthebestareatostayisCoaba.TheAbode,afunkyboutque hoteartfullycombnescoourfu fabricswthquirkytouchesandrecycedtmberswthaninvting communallounge/dnngarea.Skipthebascrooms.www.abodeboutquehotes.com TheYWCAsabudgetchokewww.ywcaic.info

TheTajPaaceHoteisinaleagueoftsown.Thehstoricwingisexquste.HghTea satreat. www.tajhotes.com

DININGCheckoutstes liketimeoutmumbai.netforMumbai\bestrestaurants,barsand events.Forupscaled'ningheadforTheobrama,Moche� ndigoCafeandBas ico.Thereareasomany verygoodinexpensverestaurants.

SHOPPlNG InCoaba,boutques ncludeCottonwordwthdesgnsfromall-naturalcotton fabric,GoodEarthspecalizng nhomewareswthhand-wovenslks,-finechinaandbeautyproducts. BornbayEectrchasunquedesgnsbyestabishedandemerging ndandesigners. OnMGRoadheadforKitabKhanaforbooksandFabindaforcottonclothngandhomewares. FurtherinformationContactIndiaToursmLeve5 GasshouseShoppingComplex, 135KingStreet,Sydney029221-9555www.incredibenda.org

TajPalace;right:TajPalacehotel.

Iscream,you scream, weall screamforice cream!

Thescorchingheatof theAussiesummeris uponus.Keepingcool, hydratedandrefreshed becomesasurvival strategytobeatd1eunrelenting hearwhichwouldod1erwisewreak havoconourbodies.

Thebestwaytoscayhydrated is,ofcourse,bydrinkingplenty ofAuidssuchaswater,freshfrnic andvegetablejuices,buttermilk, orcoconutwater.Stayaway fromorminimiseyourintakeof caffeinatedbeverageslikecolasand coffee;theseonlytendtoleaveyou dehydrated.

\Vhenitcomestofood,itis besttoeatlightforeasydigestion andtoaidyourmetabolism.Seay clearofd1eghee-bdencurriesor therich,thickstewsandinstead includesmnmery,freshsalads madefromseasonalproducein yourdailydiet.

Don'tforgetyoursunsa·een! Thisisthemagicpotionthatyour skincannotdowid1oucind1e Australianhear.

Inspiteofthesoaring temperatures,bushfiresandother undesirablethingsthatsummer brings,thisseasonisalsod1emost awaitedtimeoftheyear.Irisd1e festive,entertaining,holidayseason; atimemeantforsharing,funand lovewithfriendsandfamily

Smnmer'salsothetimeto indulgeinicecreams,icypoles, frozendessertsandallthings deliciouslycool.Herewebavea refreshing,summeryicecream terrinewid1raspberries,white chocobteandpistachios.

Thehistoryoficeddesserts datesbackto400BC,whenthe Persiansusedtoflavoursnow wid1grapeconcentrateandother ingredientsasawayofcooling offduringtheintensesummers. TheArabsandChinesewere alsoknowntohavetraditional iceddessertsoricecreamsusing ingredie.nrslikesaffron,nuts,rice ormilk.

Frozensorbecs,icecreamsand Aavouredicesoonspreadtoomer partsofmeworld.Itwasbrought bytheArabtraderstoIndia,and iceusedcobebroughtdownfrom theHinduKushusingrelaysof horse.mentopreparefruitsorbets fortheJ\fogbalemperors.

Today,therearesomanyice creammakingequipmentsinme marketmatarequiteaffordable andcanbeusedtopreparea rangeoficecreamsandfrozen

dessertsathome.Thebestthing aboutthisisthatyoucanenjoy icecreamsdiatarenarural,free ofpreservativesandchemicals andcontroltheingredientsmat youwouldlikecouse,especiallyif anyoneinyourhousesuffersfrom allergies.Youcanalsoincorporate anyAavoursthatyouenjoy.

Butyoudon'tneedanyfancy equipmenttomakethissimple icecreamathome.Afeweasily availableingredientsandacouple ofsimple,easy-to-followseepsis allthatisinvolvedinmakingthis deliciouslysmoochandluscious.ice creamterrine.Afterall,whowants toslaveawayinmekitcheninthe heat!

Don'tworryifyoudonoceat orincludeeggsinyourdiet;just repL'lceitwid1condensedmilkin therecipeandyoustillhaveagreat icecreamonyourhands.Also,you canuseanytypeofberries,fruits orflavourstotweakrhisrecipeto yourneeds.

So,here'showyoumakethis berryliciousicecreamterrinewith indulgentwhitechocolateand crunchypistachios.

300ml Pura thick cream (use any brand you wish to)

300gm frozen raspberries (if sour, use only 200gm)

1 OOgm white chocolate

2 eggs, separated

½ cup icing sugar

¼ cup pistachio nuts, shelled and coarsely chopped

Thaw halfthe raspberries and crush slightly with a fork.

Shave ¼ of the white chocolate with a peelerand reserve for garnish. Rnely chop the rest.

Also reserve 1 tbsp of pistachios for garnish.

Beat the egg whites till stiff peaks form and then gradually add the sugar, beat to mix. Gently mix in the egg yolks and the thick cream.

Gently mix in the crushed raspberries, chopped white chocolate, pistachios and a handful of whole raspberries into the cream mixture. Do not beat, just mix. Spoon into a baking paper lined terrine or loaftin and freeze overnight or until firm.

Remove the tin 10 minutes before serving; unmould onto a platter and garnish with reserved raspberries, chocolate shavings and pistachios.

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SeekingeducatedmatchfromAustraliafor Punjabigirl5'3,28 years with Indian family values andwell-tunedtowesternvalues. Graduation andB.Edfrom Chandig.irh,Masters in HR fromUK.Currently visitingrelativesinSydney.Contact Anita Kapoor atkapoor.anira1@gma.il.comor 0470702256

Correspondenceinvitedfromawellto do unmarried,vegetarian,established young-man (agedbetween 34to38) for a charmingandpretty daughter of 38, working&sertledinAustraliainIT lndustry,derailprofiles LnJeevansailii.com

TTU0136 andShaacli.comidSH97172911, Hind.imatirmony.com H278580 Please contactwithrecentphoto andprofile on sharad46@tpg.com.au,home phone 02 97132893

Well-settled Brahmin family inAustralia invites alliance for26 year old, 5''5, daughter. BCommerce/GraphicDesign, working fulltirne. Seeking vegetarian, nonsmoker& drinker preferablywell-educatedandsettledin Ausu·alia.Pleaseemail interest to rkvm87@gmail.comor caU fatheron0424251395

Parentslookingfor aHindu boyfor our daughterin Melbourne. She is25 years old, 5 feet 4inches tall, slim, fair, professional in inedical field andAustralian citi2en. The boy preferredto 26 to 31 years old, should havea professional job and should be Australian citizen. Please respondwith photo and details to matchgroom@hom1ail.com

Seeking suitable match for37-year-old Hindu girl, charted account, never married,with Indianfamilyvalues and well-tuned to westernvalues.Pleaseemail with particulars:t:lm1263@gmail.com

Looking for a Punjabi boy for our daughterwho is29years, 5'7 ",slim,very beautifulandworkingin financesector inCBD. Wehavebeensettled inSydney forpast40years.Elder daughteris happilymarriedin Sydney.Looking for a professional Sydney-based boy for ouryoungerdaughterwhoiscloseto Indian culmre.Please email detailswithphoro: ozinclianl1@gmail.com

AUST settled,professionally qualified matches required for our two daughters, 24(Pharmacist) and22(Podiatrist), born andeducatedinMelbomne.Punjabi/ Hindu family respects traditional &modernvalues.Pleasecommunicateinitiallyvia Email: kspooni@hotmail.com

Well settled Punjabi family in Sydneylooking forprofessionallyqualified,very well settled boyfor daughter slim, beautiful 5.4" 1985 born citizen, Government employee. Done aMaster'sinTeaching. Please send recent photo and bio datato schanderchopra@rediffmail.com or phone 0411320014

Hindu lady, Aust citizen, 56, young looking with fair complexion, divorced &vegetarianinvites alliance from ideal match. He should be anon-smoker and preferably agedbetween 52- 60. Please feel free to call 0449623316 anytime or email radiance88@live.com.

INDIANLINI{COMPETITIONS

ARIES tv1arch 21 - April 19

Thebeginningoftheyearwillbepositive,energeticandyouwillfeel verymotivated.Thecardsareindicatingatimewhenyouwillwant togetallyourgoalsinplaceandachieved.Youhaveanabundance ofenergyandfire.Personalrelationshipsneedtobehandledwith careandattention.Asyouwillbesobusywithyourgoalsand work,youmayneedtoremembertogiveyourpersonalliferegular attention.Remembertotakeregularexercise.

TAURUS April 20 - tv1ay 20

Thismonthyouhavetobecarefulwithyourwords theremay beatendencytospeakbeforeyouthink.Youmayneedtoactas asupportsystemforyourfriendsandfamilyandtherewillbea sharpIncreaseinsocialinvitesandfun.Letyourhairdownandgo withtheflow.Taketimeouttobewithlovedones.Thecardsare indicatingatimetoreallyputpentopaperanddecideonsome newprojects.

GEMINI tv1ay 21 - June 20

Youhavealotoffantasticideasthisyear.Makesureyouletyour feelingsofpositivityandoptimismshinethrough Anyworries aboutfinancesandworkneedtobekepttooneside.Youmaybe worriedaboutalovedonewhohasbeenfeelingundertheweather lately.Therewillbesomesmallmedicaltestsneeded.Thecardsare indicatingawonderfultimeforcareerandopportunities.Youneedto beassertiveandgoforwhatyouwant.

CANCER June 21 - July 20

Asthenewyearhasbegunyoumaybethinkingaboutthings thathavehappenedthroughyourlife.Youmaybefeelingalittle emotionalandsentimental.Thisisagreattimetoreflectonyour goalsandambitions.ThereIsanindicationthatyouarethinking ofmovingtoanothercityorcountry.Youmaybefeelingabit restlessandconfused.Relax.Takesometimeouttodecidewhere youwanttobe.Trytogainmoreknowledge

LEO July 21 - Aug 22

Youarefeelingalittlereservedatthemomentandyouwillwantto taketimetobealoneandreallydecidewhatyouwant.Thecards areshowingthatyouwillbefeelingpassionate,andmaywantto movethingsontoanotherlevel.Youwillneedtomakesureyou communicatewithyourlovedone.Beconciseandclearsoyouare notmisunderstood.Workwilltakeonanotherlevelasyoumaybe givenextraresponsibility

VIRGO Aug 23 - Sep 22

Thismonthyouwillbefeelingquiteromanticandwantingtospend moretimewithyourpartner.Youwillalsobeplanningholidaysand quiettimeaway.Yourworkwillbeatoppriority,andthosewho

areself-employedwillfindthatopportunitieswillcometheirway. Youneedtokeepyoursensesaboutyou,asyouwillmeetsome interestingcontacts.Youmaybelookingtochangethedecoration aroundyourhome,andlookintopurchasingnewfurniture

LIBRA Sep 23 - Oct 22

Thisyearforyouisallaboutchanges.Youwillbelookingtochange alotofareasofyourlifeWorkwillbeabitofachallengeasthere willbepressureanddeadlinesThecardsareindicatingatimewhen " youwillberewardedforyourhardwork.Theyearwillpresentmany opportunitiesandhurdles.Withyourhealth,youneedtotakegood careofyourbonesandkeepeatinghealthily.Goodnewsisontheway.

SCORPIO Oct 23 - Nov 21

Thisisgoingtobeanamazingyearforyouwithalotofgrowth andachievement.Therewillbefinancialgainsandsuccessaround youthismonth.Youwillbefeelingverypositiveandmotivated. Opportunitiesandplanswillgowell Youhavedecidedtosaveand makesureyoudonothaveanyunpaidloansordebts.Youwillalso betryingtohelparelativeThecardsareindicatingaverypositive monthforyou.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22 - Dec 21

Thismonthyouwillbelookingtotryandsortoutyourlifeand problemsaroundyou.Itwouldbegoodtomeditateandtryand connectwithyourinnercore.Youhavebeenbattlingtotryand workoutthingsaroundyou,especiallyontheemotionalfront Lovedonesmaybealittlestressedoutanddistant.Youmayfind yourworkloadincreased.Thecardsareindicatingatimetoleave anyimportantdecisionsuntilnextmonth.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 19

Youmaybefeelingveryupsetandstressedoutinyour relationship.Timetotakeaholidayandmakethingsstrongerin yourmarriage/relationship Businesswillgowell,andtherewill beachancetoincreaseyourclients.Usethismonthtoadhereto ahealthylifestyleandmakesureyoulookafteryourbackarea. ��NTNUS Therewillbe�omeconcernsaboutayoungerchildThecardsare indicatingatimeoftravelandanincreaseinactivities.

AQUARIUS Jan 20 - f=eb 18

Asthenewyearhasbegun,youwillbeawareofnewopportunities andchallengesWorkwillbethemostdifficultaspectthismonth withlonghoursandextraresponsibilitiesYouneedtohandle yourloverwithsensitivityandpatienceTheremaybesome misunderstandingsThecardsareindicatingatimetolookatyour - financesasyouwillbeplanningsomemajorpurchasesthisyear i:.............

Thisisayeartomakechangesandtherearemanydecisionsahead.

PISCES f=eb 19

fvlarch 20

-

Thisyearyouwillbeverymotivatedandfeelingfullofenergy.You willwanttomakemanyplansforthecomingmonths.Youwould liketochangeyourworkandarelookingforanewopportunity.You maybethinkingofinvestmentsandmakingmoney.Financeswill beyourprimeconcernasyouwillbekeentomakethisyearavery prosperousandprofitableyear.Thecardsareindicatingsuccessand harmonyLoveandworkwillbesteady.

PK

STARRING: AamirKhan, Anushka Sharma;Sushant Singh Rajput DIRECTOR: Raj Kumar Hirani ****-).{

Noticed how the word god rhymes with fraud?

Sowho hasn't seentheyearend heart-warmer aboutthefraudthat's pulled on unsuspecting humanity inthe nameofthat overworked miracle-maker called god.

PKis a film designed towarmthe cocklesofthe heart.And I usethe word'designed'on purpose, and with emphasis. Manytimes youfeelthat the aura ofchildlike innocencethat emanates fromAamir Khan's character, is deliberately manipulating our feelings byquestioningthesacredcowsand hallowed institutions inthattonewe oftenhearlittle children adopt in adsfor insuranceschemes.

Let'sstraightawaysay this. Rajkumar Hirani andAbhijatJoshi's writing is smooth, skilled and sexy. Quite like KatrinaKaifas Chiknichameli.Youcan seethewords being polished, sparkled andflaunted,just likeKatrina's waist line. She gyrated with her hips.Aamirdoes so from thelips.

In his state ofinnocence,accentuated by his Dr. Spock ears, Aamir looks as spaced out as Munnabhai on speed. Andthat is not an undesirablething at all.Thefilm requiresthe outsiderto be chronically bewildered by all the things thatweearthlingstakeforgranted.

Whydo wedepend on god-men to take us to god when god is supposed to beomnipresent? This is notthefirsttime that theological questions have been raised in a satiricalfilm.Umesh Shukla did itwith a lot of to use atermfrom

Haider, chutzpah.

PKdoes itwith a lot moretenderness. In fact,themood gets perceptiblytreacly especially towards the end when our alien hero turns all moony-eyed over thetelevision-journalist. He'sin love although he thinks it's'bhest oftime'.

The storymovesforward in episodic abundance, not caring whether itwould all finallycometogetherattheend or not. Ofcourse,itall does. Effortlessly.The plot winds breezilythrough episodeslike 'PK MeetsBhairavSingh'(cueforSanjay Duttto get all bovineand boisterous as atraditionally-dressed Rajasthani),'PK Challenges GodmanTapsavi'(Saurabh Shukla playsthe religious fraud without cheesy overtures).

This could well havebeen atelevision serial about an alien who delivers some down-to-earth homilies. While Aamir owns most ofthenarrative as though bornto playthe alien,thefilm'smost tightlynarrated episodeistheSushantAnushka lndo-Paklovestory.The efficacy ofthe relationship is substantially dependent in Sushant Singh Rajput, who brings an endearing and effortless warmth towhatwould otherwisehave beenjust a boyfriend's role.

Watchoutforan amusing cameoby Ram Sethi (the Big B's sidekickin many Prakash Mehra blockbusters) in the Sushant-Anushka episode. And yes, watch out for a very prominent mention ofthefatherand son Harivansh Rai Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan in this episode.

Thereare dozens of brilliant actors makingfleetingappearancesin what must haveseemed like a god-sent opportunityto workwith one ofIndia's finestfilmmakers. I wish Hirani wouldn't beso conscious ofhis reputation as a creativegeniuswhosefilmsare extended jadookijhappis. Manyofthebenign

characters in PKseem likethey arespilloversfrom Munnabhai and 3Idiots, making an all-out effort to be good souls.

Sadly, even the brilliant Boman Irani is reduced to a playing a minuscule part as Anushka's channel boss. But here'sthething. Watch Boman respondtoAamir's blatantly glorifiedtheological arguments in theirsequence together, andyou realisewhycapablestarsneed brilliant supportingactorsto shineon screen.

And shineAamir certainly does, in spite oftheexaggeratedBhojpuri dialect that seemsto havebeen putthereto get applause.And yes, those crimson-red lips look likethey'vebeendesigned by lipstickratherthan stained bypaan.

Andwhat,pray,isthatcameo by Ranbir Kapoor in the end? Asignal for a sequel? Not such a bad idea.

EventhoughPKleftme underwhelmed attimes, there is no denying itsutter sincerityofpurpose.

In PK,directorRajkumar Hirani makes

usfeel good about life.And that, inthesetroubledtimes, is not short ofa miracle. Following the zany, kooky escapades ofan alien, PKtakesus into everyday lifeas seenthroughtheeyesofagentle compassionate outsider.This is revisionistcinemaatitsmost inspiring.

Ittells us, lifeis beautiful even when itseemsto suck. Provocative and yet gentle, evocative and quite often, heartbreakinglyartless, PK isjustwhatthehealers ordered afterthe savagery inPeshawar,and indeed,theSydneysiege.

SUBHASH K.JHA

Ofgodsandgodmen

Significant portions of Rajkumar Hirani's latest directorial PK, which has seen a string of controversies, have been shot atRavi Shankar'sArt ofliving Foundation ashram in Bengaluru.

Hirani has said in a statement: "I'm being asked that ifI'm against religious gurus, why have I expressed gratitude to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the filmtitles.My answer isthat I'm not against religious gurus, I'm only againstfakegurus:•

"Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is a courageous man. He gave methe location to shoot, knowing well that this is a film on god and fake godmen. He is beyond pettiness ofreligion. He canseethe largerpicture. I admire his workand havetremendous respectfor him. Wewill be showing him thefilm soon,"headded.

Starring AamirKhan and Anushka Sharma, the movie has already crossed the Rs.300crore-mark inthe domestic market.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court dismissed a PIL filed against the film, saying"thefilm wasnot offensive''. It refusedto entertain theplea which sought a ban on thefilmfor alleged derogatory remarks against Hindu gods, Hindu beliefs,faith and worship in the movie.

Thefilm may have impressed critics and audiences but the portrayal of Hindu sentiments in the film has drawn the ire ofright-wing organisations which say the movie disrespects Hindu religion.

The Hindu wayofworship has been criticised in a most unwarranted manner, the complainant had alleged.

HansalMehtaconfirmsbiopic withKangana

Its biopics galore in Bollywood all ofa sudden.A genreneglectedforfartoo long,we'veseen a spatein recentyears, including The DirtyPicture, PaanSingh Tomar, BhaagMilkhaBhaag, Rang Rasiya, and even Guru.

SRK GETS I-IIS LIFE-SIZE 3D MODEL

It'sthefirst

ofits kind inthe world. Ashiny silver statue ofShah Rukh Khan, in his classic hand-outstretched, face-to-the-skies pose, hasjust become thefirst-everlife-size3D printed statue.

Agift,the model has made its way intotheofficeoftheactor's Red Chillies EntertainmentsPvtLtdin Mumbai.

Themodel wascreated byAutodeskIndia, a 3D design,engineeringand entertainment software company, atthebehest ofRed ChilliesVFX.

Theactor, who has won epithets like 'King Khan;'Baadshah'and 'King of Romance'thanks to films like Di/waleDulhania LeJayenge, Veer-Zaaraand KabhiKhushiKabhieGham,tookto social networking siteFacebookto sharehis gratitudeand laud theintricacies in themodel.

"Even thefolds inthe shirt andtrousers arecaptured in such detail... and ifl mayadd thedimplestoo. 1st ever in theworld!! Madein India!"

"Howfantasticis myTeam Red ChilliesVFX. My bestB'Daypresent,"he added. The actor, who had a bumperreleasein 2014withHappyNewYear, also feels that the model sums up his entirejourney in the film industry.

"I am grateful to be apartofthis amazing technology.It (encapsulates)the work I have donefor all these years,"he said in a statement.

Thelatestis Kangana Ranaut, who hasbeenroped in byNational Awardwinning directorHansal Mehta for a story on amountaineer-but it's notthe legendarymountaineer Bachendri Pal, India'sfirst womanclimberofMt. Everest. MehtatooktoTwitterto clarify details about the new project.

"On recce while I'm seeing news ofa biopicfeaturing Kangana directed by me. News is partlytrue. I will be doing afilm with Kangana Butthebiopicis NOT about Bachendri Pal. Will share details soon;'Mehta tweeted.

Kangana will undergo extensive training to get into the skin ofthe character. Given her slender frame, one would guessthat Kangana would be moresuited to playing Arunima Singh, thefirstfemaleamputeeto reachthe top ofMt. Everest. Neithertheactor nor her directorareconfirming this news as ofnow.

Currently Hansal Mehta is busy with his film Aligarh, based on the real life affair ofa gay professorand a rickshaw

\(UMAR HIRANI RAJ

puller.

The Hindi film industry is finally realising there are manyinteresting storiesto befound inreaI life, ifthey look closely.

Amitabh's Shamitabh

Amitabh Bachchan recently unveiled thetrailer ofR. Balki's Shamitabh inthe presence oftheentirestar cast ofthefilm. The71-year-old actorwillbeseen in a rugged new look with grey unkempt moustaches and beard. His song Piddly, strangelyfilmed in thetoilet, has also been released.

Big B,who hasworked with Balki inPaa and CheeniKum, says Balki always comes with"interestingscripts''.

"Balki neverfails to surprise me;'hetold reportersattheevent.

Amitabh also revealed thatthey worked somewhat differently onthe project.

"Theentire script ofthefilmwas recordedfirst.All the dialogues I recorded in myvoice. When we started tofilm, wewould playtherecordingsandthen shoot. Afterthefilm wasready,wedid the dubbing again. It was a lot ofwork. It's a different filmformeas I havenever worked likethis beforeand thecredit goesto Balki:'

Tamil actor Dhanush who co-stars, said he is readyto experiment with roles in Bollywood as he has nothing to losehere. Asked why he was doing unconventionalroles in Bollywood as opposedto his larger-than-liferoles down in southern cinema, Dhanush said:"I have beentryingto mixmy characters as much as possibledown south. Overthere, one imageisstuck,so I am restricted. Buthere in Bollywood, I havenothing to lose, so I experiment with mycharacters. I am thankful to Balki who has given methis film:•

"It's an amazingexperiencetowork with Amitabh. I don'tknowifI havedone enoughworkto deserveto beworking withAmitabh. God has blessed mewith thisfilm,"Dhanush added.

Thefilm also starsactorKamal Haasan's daughterAkshara Haasan who makes her debut.

Veteranactress Rekha also features

l<ANGANA RANAUT

in thefilm. Amitabh Bachchan however revealedthatthey don't share screen spacein thefilm.

"But, yes it's always greattohavesuch great luminaries in thefilm;'hetold reporters.

And then he added,"Balki keeps saying hewantsto design a film with us both ifsomebody comes up with an interesting script, thenwhy not?"

All'swell forAllIs Well,thanks toSupriya Pathak

UmeshShukla'sAllIs Wellseemsto be backontrack.Veteran actress Supriya Pathak will soonjoin thecast,the director has said.

Themoviehadbeen left in thelurch whenactressSmritiIrani, theunion human resource development minister, decidedto step out ofthe project after filming nearly halfthe movie, to devote her time to her cabinet duties.

AMITABH BACHCHAN

Now, Supriya has stepped inforthe role ofAbhishek Bachchan's onscreen mother.Smriti'sscenes will be re shot withSupriya.

TanviAZini and Shefali Shah werealso consideredfortherole.

Nowthat all'swell, theshoot ofAll Is Well, which also stars Asin and Rishi Kapoor, will resume 15Jan.

Aish's all forred

Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who is the brand ambassador ofL'Oreal Paris, recentlylaunched thebeauty brand's "Collection Star PureReds Lipsticks''.

The signature collection ofseven matte shades were chosen by seven L'Oreal Paris ambassadors, including Aishwarya Rai, Sonam Kapoor, Freida Pinto and BlakeLively.

"For me personally, red lips exude powerand elan. Congratulations to L'Oreal Paris for introducing a rangeof

WI-IO WORE IT BETTER?

red lipsticksthat areat once urbane, classy and radiate confidence as itflatters every skin tone and adds a beautiful dimensionto the lips,"Aishwarya said. "Everywoman should find herperfect red lipstickfortheaddedtouch of glamour and flair to her overall look. I say this -becauseyou'reworth it!"she said.

Talking aboutthe shade red, shesaid it was a growingtrend thesedays.

"Thetrend has been growing and red has already hit out and itis only growing popular.I am confidentred is accepted increasingly as a colour;' she said.

Theseven shades arepricedat Rs.995 in India.

#Tevarin3days: Arjun Kapoor hostsTwitter Q&A Topromote his upcoming film Tevar, Arjun Kapoortookto Twitter to host a Q&Achatwith hisfans. Naturally, thousands oftweetsflooded the through asking the heartthrob literally anything-from how hetakes his coffee, to his opinion on toe-socks, to his career aspirations.

Ofcourse,Arjun only had timeto answer a handful ofquestions. And to add tothat, he'd beenfacing some technical difficulties over thepastfew days with hisTwitter notifications not coming though. Still the star persisted for his fans.

Here arethe toptweets that showoff that AKcharm we love so much.

@meinchamkili asked,"Ifyou had to choose onefoodto eatfortherestof your life, what would it be?"In showing his loveforthe simplethings, Arjun replied:"Biryani I guess, orshawarma:'

Arjun also discussed his respect forwomen, his desire to"sleepfor a week"afterthe releaseofTevar, and his favouritesong ofthe moment Bo/na HalkeHalkefromJhoom

ShareyourviewswithusonourFacebookpage

He concluded his chat session within the hour on account ofmore promo duty,thistime in Patna. Arjun's clearly in promo overdrive. Only yesterday was he in Delhi. And bytoday's end hewas tweeting piesfrom Hyderabad! Maybe he is Superman after all.

Jacqueline Fernandez or Helen Mirren in Dolce and Gabbana?

SUPRIYA PATHAK

Hairtoday,gonetomorrow

Findinga new hairdressercanbeanerve-wracking experience

For a personwho likes to go with the A.owwhen it comes to most things in life, I amextremely hesitant co change the relationshipwith threeimportant peoplein mylife;mydentist, accountant,andhairdresser.I have heldonto my accountant since he filedmy firstever ta."Xreturn. Withthedentist,I didchange once afewyears ago,bur that wasbecause thepreviousdentist packednpshop andmovedto another town.I have been going to the samehairdresserfor almost a decade now.I have movedhouse twice, and thesalonis nowmore than a 30-minuredrive away,but Ifeelit'sworth it to hangon to her.Thereisa simplereasonfor stickingwiththesethreepeople inmylife -everytime youvisit them,they can justpick up from where theyleft.You don't have co go throughyourentirehistoryall overagain.

Unfortunately for me, onmy last,7:isit, my haLrdresser toldme thatshewaspregnant and would beawayfromwork for more than a year.Therewas a lot of silencebetween thetwoof us during that trim. As she finished my haircut,I congramlatedher, wished her luck andleftthesalon in a daze.NowI was forced into alingeringsearchfor someone newtocut my hair for at least one fullyear!

Ileftmyhair to growabitmore thanmyusualfourweeks, justto defer the impending changeto a newhairdresser.But themoment finally camewhen mywife,Jassu, told mein no uncertaintermsthat ] needed ahaircut,pronto.

Aswewalkedpastdifferent

salonsin the shopping centre, I spenta good fiveminutes peering into each of them from the outside They alllookedsnazzy enough,butsomehowIresisted goinginto any of the threewe'd seen. Iwas not readyto have that initial conversation."Howwould you like thehaircut today?What munber of clippers?Howshort on the sides? How short at the back?'' Aud thenwhatif they still cut it 'theirway'andnotthewayI wantedthem col

SoonJassusensedmy reluctanceandfinally donned her 'boss' hat,heldmyhandandled meinto a salon.Iprotested!Even tried co run away! But thencame that ''look" from her..Andthe next thing,Iwas perchedin the

seatwiththat blackcape around myneck.

Thencamethe dreaded questionfrom mynewhairdresser, "HowwouldyouJi.keit?"I so wished I couldsay, 'Just the usual, please." With aheavyheart and a softvoice,Iexplainedmydesired cut.I felt thespray of water and then a gentlerun of fingers throughmy hair.They clid not feelthesan1e.I lookedatJassu fromthe cornerof myeye.She wassittingmerrilyinthewaiting area,browsingthrough agossip magazine,unaware of my trauma.

ThenI heard a 'snip'as I looked upin themirrnr.Shehadclipped off thefirst strand."Too late nowbuddy,"I thought to myself, and tried to settlein thechair.

Tobefairto my new hairdresser, sheexercisedextremecaution in manoeuvring around my bead while cutcii.1gmyhair, andasked me anumberof timesif] was happywith the progress shewas making.

T11ehair cutlasted just 15 rninutes,burit felt likean eternity. I even hadmy fingers crossed underneaththat sillyblack cape!

i\.ndthenshe dusted off the hair frommy shouldersand set mefree.Jassu camerunning over to me,looked at mein the mirror andsmiled."Looks niceeh?"she exclaimed.I just smiledback.

Iwasgladthat anxious 'fust time' was over.Hopefullynext time allIwill have to sayis "Just theusual,please."

or[drfrave[Jfu6 Travel

•AverifiablewrittenquotefromanotherAustralanregisteredtravelbusinessesmustbeprovidedandfarequotedmustbegenerallyavailabletothepublicinthemarketandmustbeforthesamedate.seatclass, farecategoryandairlineandgiventousbeforewemakeabookingforthecustomer.ThequotemustbeforbookedfaresoriginatingInAustraliatoIndianSubcontinent.