Salaam Bahrain August 2021

BD 1.500

SPECIAL ISSUE

AUGUST 2021 - VOLUME 12, ISSUE 12

we speak your language

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Dancers Sneha Ajith (India) & Khalil Al Ashar (Bahrain) represent the synergy between both countries and Youth Power for the Future.

15th AUGUST 2021

th Independence Day

REJOICE IN THE GLORY OF THE NATION

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ALL FELLOW INDIANS

Note from the Chairman Every Indian Independence Day is special and we at Salaam Bahrain celebrate it with a rich tapestry of stories emerging from the heart of India that continue to inspire and amaze us. However, this one is a milestone issue and what makes it different is that along with the 75th Independence day we are also celebrating the Golden Jubilee - 50 years of Diplomatic ties between India and Bahrain. To highlight the best of both nations we have invited several noteworthy achievers to contribute to the magazine and this has created a mosaic of new knowledge and information about both countries.

Our cover of this month reflects this diversity and richness with Khalil Al Ashar, the Bahraini Kathak dancer posing for our cover alongside the expressive Sneha Ajith, dancer & aspiring film actress. Together, they showcase youth power and the cultural closeness that both countries share.

At Salaam Bahrain we try to reach beyond the shores of Bahrain to bring India and its perceptions from across the world to our readers so that we don't stay trapped forever in our own echo chambers.

All of us need inspiration. And inspiration comes from all over the world because we are so interconnected and if this pandemic has taught us anything it is to enjoy this virtual connection and learn, change and adapt as we move forward.

Just as we have here at SB - a selection of our interviews are available on video on our popular Facebook and Instagram channels.

Capt. Mahmood Al Mahmood

BRINGING AYURVEDA THE ANCIENT GIFT OF GOOD HEALTH FROM INDIA TO THE WORLD We are in Bahrain since 2003

HAPPY INDIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY

On this glorious occasion of Indian Independence Day, we pay homage to the visionary leaders of India and this great nation for strengthening the bond of friendship for unity and prosperity.

LONG LIVE INDO-BAHRAIN FRIENDSHIP

we speak your language

Highlights August 2021

• ON OUR COVER

A CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP

Classical dancer and aspiring Indian actress Sneha Ajith and Bahraini Kathak exponent Khalil Al Ashar represent exploring of India’s timeless culture and its interpretation by young people in India and Bahrain.

A fitting tribute to the 75th Indian Independence Day and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Bahrain and India.

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CUISINE Bounty of the Indian seas India’s nearly 8,000 kilometre coastline and amazing culinary diversity ensures a fascinating gourmet seafood journey.

FASHION NEWS

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Taking Chanderi to Champs Élysées Vaishali Shadangule inspires with her revivalist textile craft and personal story of triumph over struggles.

..PLUS BOLLYWOOD GUPSHUP Bonus: Please check our Facebook and Instagram pages for video interviews with our special guests in this issue

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COLUMNS • 54 Chandan S

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SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

SPECIAL INTERVIEW: • Indian Ambassador Piyush Srivastava

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In a wide-ranging interview, Ambassador Srivastava talks about the role of the Indian community and Bahraini friends in the celebrations this year and the synergy between both countries.

• India’s Youth Rewrite the future

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We bring inspiring stories of 25 successful entrepreneurs and achievers who have reinterpreted success and set new benchmarks for the future.

• The Inspiring Olympic saga

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Indian sportspersons have battled prejudice, patriarchy and huge odds to win medals for India and usher in a new era of sports achievements.

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friendship

Leading figures talk about their connection with India and Bahrain and their role in the ties between both countries.

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INDI

A SPIRE - INDIA@75

“India-Bahrain relations have moved beyond traditional sectors due to a convergence in interest” - Ambassador Piyush Srivastava

As the Indian community in Bahrain prepared to embark on year-long celebrations of the country’s 75th Year of Independence and democracy, Salaam Bahrain met Indian Ambassador to Bahrain H.E. Piyush Srivastava for his views on the achievements of India and the role of the Bahrain Indian community. Here are excerpts of the wideranging interview: Your Excellency, as we stand at the start of the year-long ‘India@75’ celebrations of Indian Independence, what do you see as the role of the Indian community in Bahrain in marking this milestone occasion?

Ambassador Srivastava: The Indian community makes up around a quarter of the population of Bahrain. The Kingdom’s liberal and tolerant policies and welcoming society have made it the preferred destination for Indians, which is reflected in the steady growth of Indian community in Bahrain.

The professionalism, hard work and work ethics of the dynamic and vibrant Indian community in Bahrain, have been recognized by the leadership and the people of Bahrain. They have significantly contributed to the economic development of the Kingdom and played an important role in promoting our bilateral ties and further strengthening the existing goodwill between our two countries.

As responsible residents, the Indian community has followed the Kingdom’s COVID protocols and guidelines, and a large majority of them have already been

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vaccinated to support the Kingdom’s efforts in fighting the pandemic.

The Indian community has been an integral part of our celebrations of 75 years of India’s Independence. I am glad to see their overwhelming participation in various events organised by the Embassy as well as the community events. I look forward to the active participation of our community members in the series of events planned over the course of the next year or so, for celebrating the occasion in a befitting manner.

In your view, how has India’s relations with the West Asian neighbourhood changed under PM

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Modi’s special attention to the region?

Is the new perspective also a result of the younger generation of GCC leaders such as the His Majesty the King of Bahrain, HRH the Crown Prince and PM of Bahrain and other leaders such as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi?

Ambassador Srivastava: India’s relations with the countries in this region

are historic, deep-rooted and close, forged by generations of travellers across the Arabian Sea and people to people connect.

The GCC is also an important region for India, given the large diaspora and its trade, energy and security interests. The Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has visited almost all GCC countries. The regular interaction and exchanges at the highest level between India and GCC countries have been the hallmark of our relations. As a result, these interactions have diversified beyond traditional sectors, and now include maritime security, robust trade and investment cooperation especially in the sectors of technology, energy, food and agro products, engineering goods, infrastructure, health, and education.

The GCC region is among the top five trade and investment partner of India with trade figures reaching around US$ 160 billion. During the India-GCC political dialogue held in virtual mode in November 2020, the Foreign Ministers of GCC countries and India undertook the detailed review of India-GCC ties and appreciated the upward trajectory witnessed in the last few years.

India and GCC countries have continued their close cooperation even during the Covid-19 pandemic. India had ensured that the supply chains from India to the Gulf were not disrupted despite the lockdowns

during the pandemic. India had also taken special care to ensure the return of Indian health professionals to GCC countries and for supply of medicines, vaccines and other essential items during the pandemic. GCC countries took care of the Indian diaspora in their respective countries by providing medical and other assistance, vaccination as well as in facilitating travel of stranded Indian nationals back to India.

I am sure our robust and multifaceted partnership with GCC countries will continue to deepen and diversify in the coming years.

Can you tell us about India’s growth story of the past 75 years?

Ambassador Srivastava: This year we are proudly celebrating the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence - 'Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav' which showcases the glorious journey of 75 years of India’s Independence, and its impressive growth story. The celebrations were inaugurated

by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 12 March, 2021, commemorating the historic Dandi March.

India’s progress in its journey of 75 years after its Independence is there for all to see. India, the largest democracy on earth has made tremendous strides in socio-economic development, and industrial, scientific and technological advances in almost all sectors of economy – from agriculture, heavy engineering, infrastructure, services, health, education, to hi-tech areas of space, IT, big data,

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pharmaceuticals and medical. Indian economy, the 3rd largest (PPP terms) in the world today, is well poised to become the growth engine of the world. This been reflected in India’s response to the COVID pandemic as well. India has lived up to its reputation of being the 'Pharmacy of the World'. India has been a leading manufacturer of medicines and vaccines and has shared them with the global community in their times of need, in line with India’s ancient philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', which regards the world as one family.

The clarion call of 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat' by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi is the idea of an India which focusses on making India self-reliant and contributing towards a more prosperous and resilient world. It aims at India becoming a much stronger part of the global supply chain and global value chain. During the pandemic year in 2020, India received US$64 billion in foreign direct investment, the fifth-largest recipient of FDI inflows in the world.

The announcement of long term investment plan by Google, Amazon and Mubadala Investment also reflect the resilience of Indian economy and the confidence of investors in India. India’s GDP growth rate for 2021-22 is projected at 9.5%.

As current President of the GCC, what are the expectations from Bahrain on widening Indo-Bahraini ties commercially and culturally?

Ambassador Srivastava: Our two countries have a tradition of regular high level exchanges, and as a result, our relationship has further strengthened and diversified in all sectors including political, economic, security, culture, education and people to people connect.

The deep-rooted historical links between India and Kingdom of Bahrain date back to Dilmun civilisation of Bahrain and Indus Valley civilisation of India. Our strong and cultural people to people links are visible in

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all walks of life, be it cuisine, language, dance, art, theatre, music etc.

The deep cultural connect between India and Bahrain is showcased in the 'Little India' in Bahrain at the heart of Manama. The cultural ties got a big boost after the signing of the Cultural Exchange Programme between two countries during the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Bahrain in 2019.

India and Bahrain have robust trade and economic ties. Despite restrictions imposed by COVID, the relationship at all levels have remained stable and strong, including in trade where the bilateral trade figures have remained around US$ 1 billion. Total investment from India to Bahrain including that of Indian community in Bahrain is over US$ 1.25 billion, making India the 6th largest investor in Bahrain.

The investment from Bahrain into India has also shown increasing trend. As of March 2021, total investment figure is US$181 million. There are encouraging signs for this year’s trade figures so far.

With Bahrain as GCC Chair, I am sure that our close and strong ties with Bahrain and other GCC countries as well as the region will further be deepened in all areas.

Besides the usual trade figures and traditional lines of business such as energy, aluminium and food security, are there new areas of mutual benefit that India and Bahrain are exploring such as solar energy, technology transfer in space studies etc.?

Ambassador Srivastava: Both sides are working together to promote bilateral cooperation in the new and emerging areas of space, renewal energy including solar, wind and clean hydrogen, FinTech besides traditional areas of tourism, hydrocarbon, infrastructure and construction. Several measures taken by both governments for post COVID economic revival has opened up opportunities for further collaboration in sectors such as health & pharmaceuticals, IT/data centre, education and food security,

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I am sure that our multi-faceted bilateral cooperation will reach newer heights in times to come.

In recent years, there is no denying that while Indians have made huge strides in Bahrain as CEOs and entrepreneurs, few Bahrainis have been looking East to India for education and important support such as medical knowhow and tourism.

Now that we have such a strong presence in the global stage in these areas, how can we make Indo-Bahraini relations reflect this changed India?

Ambassador Srivastava: As can be seen by everybody, India has made tremendous strides in all spheres of life.

We are celebrating the glorious journey of our country during celebrations of the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence.

Our bilateral cooperation with Bahrain has also seen this trend in contemporary times. We have a number of CEOs and entrepreneurs working in Bahrain and giving valuable contribution to the country and its economy. India is a preferred destination for medical tourism. Both sides are also working to step up cooperation in the education sector as India has world class institutions which I am sure will be attractive to Bahraini students. On similar lines, cooperation between universities of two countries will benefit students of both countries.

India holds great fascination for many Bahrainis-especially of the younger generation, whose knowledge of Indian culture, cuisine, yoga and Bollywood is amazing. However, right now, our events and happenings are largely limited to within the community and there is no real crosscultural sharing. Will there be any plan for such a sharing space in this 75th year?

Ambassador Srivastava: The Indian diaspora in Bahrain has been instrumental in spreading Indian culture and values in

this recovery, and the role India is playing in global recovery. Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 'Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav' on 12th March, 2021 this year.

The Embassy commenced its celebrations soon after, with a curtain raiser event on 20th March, 2021 followed by series of events in partnership with various Indian associations. The celebrations so far have mainly been virtual due to the COVID situation. As this situation improves, we hope to hold some events in the physical format as well.

Bahrain. Since the time I arrived in Bahrain, I have been really impressed by the knowledge of Indian culture, cuisine, yoga and Bollywood among the Bahraini youth.

Footprints of Indian culture are visible in all walks of life in Bahrain viz. cuisine, dance, art, theatre, yoga and traditional medicines.

We have always believed that participation of our Bahraini friends in our events is a great encouragement for us. The presence of Bahraini dignitaries and friends in the event and their enthusiasm towards India is always inspiring and satisfying.

While there may be some events organised at a smaller scale which are limited to the community, majority of our events have seen active participation of our Bahraini friends.

I would like to specifically mention about the month long celebration of International Day of Yoga by the Embassy in June this year. All the major events were graced by dignitaries from the Government of Bahrain and Indian as well as Bahraini yoga practitioners and enthusiasts.

I look forward to celebrating with a series of events lined up over the course of next couple of years, in collaboration with the Indian community and organisations, with the support of concerned agencies and together with our Bahraini friends.

2020 was a challenging year for whole world and India too suffered because of the pandemic. How do you think the setbacks of 2020 will be made up in the months ahead so that we can truly be ready for August 15, 2022?

Ambassador Srivastava: Last year, the global community faced the biggest health challenge of our times – the Covid-19 pandemic. The risks presented by Covid-19 pandemic are unprecedented in its expanse, so is its overall impact on the society and economy. India had successfully handled the first wave of the pandemic and has also now swiftly recovered from the severe second wave.

By providing speedy medical care to the infected people, enhancing existing medical infrastructure and creating new ones as well as accelerating the pace of vaccination, we have now been able to contain the spread of the virus. As of today, India’s cumulative Covid-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 480 million. The recovery rate stands at around 97%. India’s active caseload presently constitutes 1.27% of total cases, daily infection rate has come down drastically to about 40,000. India is opening up to itself and to the outside world, slowly but steadily.

Our ‘Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav' festival celebrating India’s achievements in 75 years of the glorious journey is a testament to

Your Excellency, once the pandemic is declared ended, shall we be looking at any major visits between top government officials between both countries?

Ambassador Srivastava: The high level visits and interactions between our two friendly countries continue despite the pandemic, though mostly in virtual format.

Despite the constraints posed by COVID-19, high level physical visits also took place. Hon’ble External Affairs Minister of India, Dr. S. Jaishankar, visited Bahrain in November 2020, which was among his first physical visits abroad as soon as the opportunity opened up for the same in these COVID-19 pandemic times. Foreign Minister of Bahrain H.E Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani visited India in April 2021 for the 3rd meeting of IndiaBahrain High Joint Commission which reviewed and discussed ways to further push the diverse areas of our bilateral cooperation.

I am sure that with constant improvement in the COVID situation in India and in Bahrain, we would see more and more high level visits and exchanges from both sides.

(Bonus: Check out our interview with the Indian Ambassador and his message to the community on our Facebook and Instagram pages)

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INDI

A SPIRE - INDIA@75

Grit and courage at Olympics – the Indian sports story They rose phoenix-like from personal ashes of patriarchy, prejudice and personal loss to triumph for India

By Achint Sharma

India’s Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal on Day 15 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

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wenty-three year old Neeraj Chopra from Panipat, Haryana created Indian sporting history when he won an Olympic gold medal with a mammoth throw of 87.58 meter in his very first attempt in the final on Saturday. This was India’s first ever athletics gold medal & only second ever individual gold after Abhinav Bindra’s gold in shooting in 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Chopra, who had taken up sports as a way to go from fat to fit, set a billion hearts racing with his win and helped the Indian Olympic contingent return from Tokyo with the highest ever points tally in history – a fitting celebration of this month when

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India embarks on the 75th Independence Day tribute to the nation’s progress.

Indeed, the Tokyo Olympics has shown Indian athletes in their best light as they overcame the challenges of maintaining focus and fitness during the pandemic and also battled personal issues to triumph.

With Olympics being postponed in 2020 and country going into complete lockdown, Indian athletes were among those who were hit the hardest. No more training at the venues, no more in-person coaching sessions, no more practice runs ahead of the premier competition. Things seemed to be improving in the second half of the year as lockdowns were slowly lifted.

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Cut to 2021 and the situation only worsened as the deadly second wave crippled the Indian healthcare system forcing the country to again go back into a state of lockdown. However, the ongoing Tokyo Olympics have not only managed to show the resilient human spirit against a deadly pandemic, but it also is a big step forward in uniting the world through sports.

Rewriting history

India started the campaign with a bang on Day 1 with weightlifter Mirabai Chanu winning a silver medal. Debutant Lovlina Borgohain then won a bronze in the

welterweight category. Shuttler PV Sindhu made it three as she won a bronze too in the women's singles rewriting history books as she became the first Indian woman and only the second Indian athlete after Sushil Kumar to win two individual Olympic medals. Another Olympic debutant, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, a second silver medal for India with his fearless display on the mat in men’s 57kg category in freestyle wrestling.

Both men's and women's Indian hockey teams rewrote the game’s Indian chapter with their meticulous yet attacking gameplay on the pitch – the men’s team ensured India a much-deserved bronze medal – India’s first medal in 41 years and while the women may have lost the match but won hearts with a nail-biting game in the semi-finals: the first time an Indian women’s team has reached this stage in the Olympics. Post-Olympics, the Indian

men's and women's hockey teams jumped one spot each to achieve their highest-ever world rankings at number 3 and 8 respectively.

Haryana’s Bajrang Punia won a Bronze for the country beating Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov 8-0 in men's 65kg freestyle wrestling bout. The medal tally stood at 6 with 2 silvers and 4 bronze medals before the 23-year-old Neeraj Chopra stunned everyone including the world No.1 Johannes Vetter to clinch the Gold on Day 15 of the Olympics.

It has been heartening to see the athletes from Indian heartland shining through. What makes these athletes' effort so special is the kind of infrastructure they train in, the lack of media coverage and nation's overall apathy towards noncricketing sports. Since 2008, India has won over a dozen medals in the world's premier sports competition and slowly but

steadily India seems to be awakening from its deep slumber.

Small town, big promise

A look at where these medalists hail from - shows a promising picture of the Indian hinterland producing some of the finest talents in the nation. While cricket, especially IPL, seems to be best hunting ground for the small-town athletes to shine in India, Olympic games too has had its fair share of heroes from the so-called 'tier 2 and tier 3' cities. India has also witnessed a spurt of growth in sports infrastructure development in recent years. With improved infrastructure and investment, sport leagues in India have been growing in popularity. Since the inception of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, more and more league models of popular sports have been initiated. The country has witnessed an emergence of leagues, such as the Pro Kabaddi League, Indian Super

Mirabai Chanu won the silver medal on Day 1 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (AFP Photo) SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

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League, Ultimate Table Tennis, Pro Wrestling League and Pro Badminton League, to name a few.

Apart from national leagues, city and state level leagues have also been launched over the last few years. Be it wrestler Ravi Dahiya from Nahri village in Haryana’s Sonepat district, discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur from Kabarwala village in Punjab’s Muktsar district or boxer Lovlina Borgohain from Baro Mukhia village in Golaghat (Assam), or Panipat’s Neeraj Chopra, India is learning that it's the investment in the grassroots that yields greatest stories of success, inspiration, aspiration, and that of perseverance.

Overcoming the 3Ps

The very journey of these athletes, qualifying for the pinnacle sporting event in the world, is that of defying all odds - be it Khelo India - inspiring a new respect for sports

By inviting the whole Indian Olympic delegation to the August 15 celebration of India’s 75th Independence Day regardless of whether they won or not, PM Narendra Modi has sent out a welcome signal of encouragement to all sportspeople to keep their hard work going. His reassuring words of comfort to the Indian women’s hockey team after their loss was also a sign of change – a celebration of effort, grit and the spirit of sportsmanship as much as of victory.

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poverty, patriarchy and also prejudice. It's no secret that India has a massive talent pool in its hinterlands, waiting to be discovered or unearthed.

The big idea of sports boom in India lies in its small towns. Various initiatives taken over the last several years is beginning to show the results on world stage. Be it the Fit India movement or Khelo India program or Reliance Foundation Young Champs initiatives - these ventures have given an impetus to reviving the sports culture in India at the grassroots level by building a strong framework for all sports played in the country and establishing India as a great sporting nation.

Quite frankly, for years cricket has been India’s forte and the country has now

come to a level where it can ensure great results in the sport with the incoming talent from all corners of the country. In other words, India has become selfsufficient when it comes to its cricketing talent. Academies at school, college and national level are helping identify these talented athletes to flaunt their cricketing prowess. If India were to become a global

powerhouse in the sports arena, especially when it comes to Olympics – its going to be a slow, tedious affair where a lot more planning and execution needs to be in place in order to nurture the talent and turn them into world class competitors.

Meanwhile, the great Indian success story continues!

LITERATURE

Decoding the Partition In 1947, after 200 years of control, the British finally quit the Indian subcontinent. Before leaving, the colonizers drew a line in the sand that formed two new dominions: Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. Some 15 million people migrated (the largest human migration in history) and one to two million perished in the communal violence that followed.

Several decades passed before a widespread effort was made to document survivors’ testimonies about their experiences. One of the first, the Oral History Project by the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, began collecting stories in 2007. A few years later, others, like the 1947 Partition Archive, followed.

Thankfully, there were also books. Partition literature encompasses a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction published in multiple countries and multiple languages. They capture some of the most harrowing events of the era, but also the courage, sacrifice, and generosity of the human spirit. Urvashi Butalia, author of The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India, writes: “How do we know this event except through the ways in which it has been handed down to us: through fiction, memoirs, testimonies, through memories, individual and collective?”

And that is where the burgeoning list of Partition literature comes to our aid. Butalia’s family members were Sikh refugees from Lahore, a city in the new Pakistan, who were forced to escape to India. One of the survivors she interviews is her own uncle who stayed behind. Her family did not have contact with him for 40 years until she reached out.

Butalia is a feminist activist and scholar, and in the book, she highlights the violence against women during Partition. Some 75,000 women were raped, she writes, though some sources put this figure closer to 100,000. In order to keep them from being kidnapped, raped, and converted, men killed the women in their families to “martyr” them. Butalia writes about the fustrating silence around Partition’s gendered violence, and the inaccurate ways it is often described.

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“BIS - Helping to create a new economic partnership between Bahrain and India” - Abdulrahman Juma, Chairman of Bahrain India Society

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s Bahrain and India mark 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic ties, Salaam Bahrain spoke to the Chairman of the Bahrain India Society, a unique organisation made up of professionals who are dedicated to taking forward the commercial and technological ties between both countries.

A respected businessman and the Chairman of UNEECO, an awardwinning electromechanical firm and a director in many other notable business entities, Mr. Juma brings a sharp vision of development and business engagement to his work in the BIS.

“In our family, which is an old and established merchant family, there are letters almost a century old from my uncle to my grandfather,discussing trade consignments from Mumbai to Bahrain. These are valuable historical records of the relations between Bahrain and India.”

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Excerpts from his interview: What do you see as the role of BIS in future Bahrain-India relations?

Mr. Juma: The Bahrain India Society was formed to build on the great heritage of warm ties in all fields between Bahrain and India – historically, commercially and culturally, we have always been close. But in modern times, we all felt a need to re-cast the relationship in contemporary ways.

Our forefathers travelled to India for trade and shared the common threads of commerce and culture also. Later, in post-oil GCC, Indian muscle power and management power helped alongside Arabs to build our new world.

Today, the BIS wants to help take the technological and I.T. skillsets that India has become famous for and also create a new economic partnership with Bahraini-Indian strengths at the centre. To do that we need to build awareness and encourage the growth of new trade ties with the help of both governments.

Would you say Bahrain, as a country, is cognizant of the potential of India as a commercial and regional power? Because we hear so much about Bahrain and USA and UK but very little of Bahrain and India even though both countries share such warm ties.

Mr. Juma: For the new millennial generation of Bahrainis, India’s potential has

BAHRAIN INDIA FRIENDSHIP

not been fully explored. However, Crown Prince and PM His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa is leading the Kingdom to look towards India and Asia once again with new eyes.

He himself has visited India thrice officially and was even the first GCC leader to visit the State of Kerala exclusively on an official visit.

His Majesty King Hamad made a state visit to India in 2014 and of course in 2019, Prime Minister Modi became the first ruling Prime Minister of India to make an official visit to Bahrain.

Prime Minister Modi’s West Asian engagement, has underscored the fact that India is one of the fastest growing economic powers in the world today and we in Bahrain are well-positioned to build on our historic ties.

Our leaders are aware of that and I believe that is why we have not one but multiple offices of the Economic Development Board of Bahrain in India. I think things are changing and I am very hopeful of a brighter future for Bahrain-India commercial relations.

You are a technocrat and businessman noted for working with Indian companies and have a large Indian workforce at all levels. What would you say are India's strengths? How can Bahrain leverage these strengths?

Mr. Juma: I am very convinced of the excellence of Indian technology. As the country embarks on celebrations of 75 years of independence, I think the self-reliance which Indian built out of indigenous technology and superior management institutions is the country’s greatest strength. Bahrain has similar commitment to knowledge – we have a rich tradition of education and training and I believe we can harness the Indian experience and together both countries can shape a promising future for their people.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Indians everywhere a Happy Independence Day and we in Bahrain join you all in celebrating 50 years of a shared diplomatic journey.

Bonus: Please log on to Salaam Bahrain Facebook and Instagram channels to watch Mr. Abdulrahman Juma in conversation with us.

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Executive committee wishes all Indians

HAPPY 75th INDEPENDENCE DAY

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Record of friendship Modern Bahrain and India have a warm history of friendly visits by leaders of the nations to both countries. Salaam Bahrain has been privileged to be a part of the media entourage of these visits and seen the leaders and people take forward ambitious bilateral agenda for progress and change.

We bring you a few glimpses of these visits. Beyond these recent exchanges, there have been visits of the Late Amir Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa to India in 1981 and of Indian President Giani Zail Singh to Bahrain in 1984. On the warm fires of such exchanges are forged the ties of the future.

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2014 - HM King Hamad's historic visit to India

2007 - HRH the Crown Prince & Prime Minister, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa inaugurates the Bahrain Embassy, New Delhi

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HRH the Crown Prince & Prime Minister showcases Bahrain's inclusivity & top business ranking India in Bahrain - high-level visits & new diplomatic synergy

During his 2019 visit to Bahrain, PM Modi launched a $4.2 million renovation plan of the historic Manama Shreenathji Temple, the oldest Hindu temple in the GCC

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The inauguration of the imposing new Indian Embassy premises in Seef District, Bahrain by the Foreign Ministers of both countries

BAHRAIN INDIA FRIENDSHIP

The diplomatic spouses who shaped India-Bahrain relations

By MEERA RAVI

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s Bahrain and India mark 50 years of diplomatic ties which began in 1971 just after Bahrain became an independent Arab nation (co-incidentally declared on August 15, even though the official National Day is on December 16), there has been much walking down memory lane especially for old-timers who still keep in touch with former ambassadors who served in Bahrain.

Bahrain being a close-knit community, the ambassadors and their spouses often made good friends with Indians as well as Bahrainis here. Since the pace of life here is not as hectic as some other places, diplomats found the time to truly make lasting friends and also contribute richly to the understanding of India through an exploration of the country’s soft power. In this, more than the ambassadors themselves, the spouses were often in the forefront.

Indeed, wives of the Indian ambassadors who have served in Bahrain over the fifty years, have left an indelible mark on nurturing people-to-people relations and tapping the community’s talents to showcase the culture and art of India. As a student visitor to Bahrain in the early ‘seventies, I too remember being roped in with

other older children to perform folk dances for charity events and cultural shows by Mrs. Malik, the wife of then Ambassador PMS Malik. In those days, there was no internet or YouTube and even TV was limited to six hours of black-and-white a day. Programmes needed live music by local musicians and hours of choreography and practice – something that Mrs. Malik and her dedicated community helpers did with enthusiasm.

Spouses of ambassadors are often the unsung heroines of the relationship-building exercise between countries. Said Mrs. Bharti Bhatnagar who is remembered for organising many colourful cultural programmes during the tenure of her husband Ambassador Sharad Bhatnagar, “We had often heard during our stay in Bahrain that at that moment of time there were two Indian Ambassadors, one of course the accredited one and the other 'cultural'.

You could perhaps say that I played the latter (role).”

She added that her cultural events were aimed at generating an understanding of various facets of Indian society.

“India’s unique cultural diversity became the theme for my cultural shows, whether it was a show of the regional bridal costumes of India or colourful folk and contemporary performing arts. To our delight they were much appreciated by our Bahraini friends and repeats were requested. We even staged a programme called 'India Through Children's Eyes' where the community’s children enacted little skits, performed dances and recited poetry - it was an effort to project our next generation's hopes and aspirations without forgetting our past.

The depiction of Gandhiji's march in this programme was symbolic of our past struggles and future efforts to realise our goals in a peaceful manner.”

Through literary work and cultural activities, Bharti Bhatnagar forged new ties in Bahrain

“We had often heard during our stay in Bahrain that at that moment of time there were two Indian Ambassadors, one of course the accredited one and the other 'cultural'. You could perhaps say that I played the latter (role).”

- BHARTI BHATNAGAR SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

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A poet, artist and writer, Bharti Bhatnagar also worked closely with the late Shaikh Lulwa Al Khalifa to support the Al Noor Institute for the Blind and translated a book of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s “Letters to Children” into Braille.

Shanta Menon, wife of the much-admired Ambassador MPM Menon is still remembered – and kept in touch with – for her innate warmth and efforts to enfold the community in a sense of belonging that complemented her husband’s diplomatic work.

By the time Mrinalini Verma and Raman Gill came to Bahrain as the spouses of Ambassador Rajnikanta Verma and Ambassador Gill, much of their community interaction could be channelled through the active and imaginative Indian Ladies Association. With their support, the ILA put together many stellar cultural shows and events reflecting an ambitious change in how the diaspora saw itself and a gradually changing profile of Indian expat women – from the late ‘eighties, the women of the community were increasingly educated and career-oriented and this was reflected in their superior organisational skills.

Bahrain has also interacted with Ambassadors’ spouses who helmed important community milestones. Vasundhara Shetty, wife of Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty was Patron of the Indian Ladies’ Association (ILA) in its Golden Jubilee Year and left no stone unturned to make that year a memorable celebration for the grand women’s organisation which is the oldest on the region. In 2006, Ambassador Shetty and Vasundhara Shetty helped to secure the prestigious National Museum grounds (the Heritage Village stood where the National Theatre now stands) for a one-of-a-kind interactive show of Indian and Bahraini crafts called ‘Suq Al Hind”. The ILA flew down craftsmen and artisans from India for the event and collaborated with Bahraini artisans – a total of 7,000 visitors enjoyed the event over a two-day period.

In recent years, one of the most active spouses to serve as the community’s First Lady has undoubtedly been Mala Kumar, wife of Ambassador Dr. Mohan Kumar. Contemporary and chic, Mala Kumar brought a very modern vibe to cultural showcasing by the embassy.

“Diplomats’ spouses play a very important role in presenting the image of their country,” Mala says, “They need not necessarily remain behind the scenes but make an effort to do their best to create an impact and become the unofficial ambassadors of their country in many ways-cultural, social or community service. I did this to the best of my ability by breaking stereotypes of India and presented a modern, progressive India along with our rich, cultural heritage in many of the activities and events I hosted for Bahrainis and in my interaction with them.”

To Mala goes the credit of creating a new image for India with a series of events titled “irresistible India”. She helped to show a cosmopolitan audience in Bahrain a glamorous and yet cultural side of India through curated classical dance programmes, a glittering event to mark 100 years of Bollywood with a vintage movie poster show and dances by the famous Shiamak Davar dance

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troupe organised with the help of local event management companies for charitable causes. She also participated in more meaningful events like visits to the labour camps and organizing the Indian stall at local International Bazaars for charity.

“I do believe that’s true, as today, many Ambassadors’ wives are highly educated, pursue careers and have identities of their own in addition to the role of the Ambassador’s wife,” she says, “Their knowledge of international affairs and awareness of cultural diversity helps them interact better with other wives from the Diplomatic circle and the general public. My education & skills in teaching English came in handy when I contributed to preparing Bahraini students for the IELTS exams & the Crown Prince Scholarship Programme which was another way of giving back to the host country.”

“The beautiful memories of Bahrain are etched in my heart. The highlight of our tenure was HM King Hamad’s first-ever State Visit to India where I accompanied the Bahraini delegation.

Besides this, the visits by Former Indian President Abdul Kalam, two foreign ministers of IndiaSalman Khurshid who laid the foundation for the new embassy premises and Sushma Swaraj who participated in the Onam celebrations, , watching the Formula One races from the Tower at the Bahrain International circuit with the Royal family members and diplomat friends, the many social events by the Indian community including the Diwali celebrations by prominent members of the Indian community in the presence of the Crown Prince, the Onam sadyas …the list is endless!”

- MALA KUMAR

BAHRAIN INDIA FRIENDSHIP

“India has a strong legacy of technological skills to offer the world and each of us is an Ambassador of Indian Excellence” - K.G. Babu Rajan, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awardee 2021 Chairman & Managing Director of QEL & BKGH

"I

would like to wish my fellow Indians everywhere a glorious year-long celebration of our motherland’s Platinum Year – 75 Years – of Independence, democracy and development.

As a long-time resident of Bahrain – I came here in the early ‘80s – and as a person whose work has helped to literally lay the foundation of modern Bahrain’s urban spaces, I owe a lot to leadership of Bahrain for not only hosting expats like me for such a long time and exercise our creativity and business development skills.

This year is especially significant for me because I was honoured by the Government of India with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman which is the highest civilian award to recognize the efforts of Non-resident Indians like me.

Since the ‘80s, I have been associated with all major construction projects in Bahrain - like the Shaikh Isa bridge, Shaikh Khalifa bridge, Sitra bridges, Almoayyed Tower, Bahrain Financial Harbor, World Trade Center, City Centre, Seef Mall, Seef flyovers, the industrial side, Alba Line (3-6), Airport modernisation programme , Bapco modernisation project, and most of the power stations since the 1980s.

Therefore, this year, when Bahrain and India celebrate 50 years of modern diplomatic relations is really a complementary occasion to the technological contribution of Indians to the building of a new Bahrain and the strong commercial links between both countries.

Going forward, technocrats like me would dearly love to see home-grown Indian companies take centre-stage in the development of Bahrain just like companies from S. Korea, China etc. We in India have a strong legacy of technological education – our IITs and engineering colleges and management institutions are world-renowned and entrepreneurs like me have shown that we stand shoulder to shoulder with the

world’s best in supporting our host countries.

I believe that each one of us is an 'Ambassador of Excellence' for India and for Bahrain – the two countries which have shaped our achievements.

I wish the leaders of both countries and the friendly people of Bahrain the very best in this special year of double celebrations".

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Indian Youth: Re-writing the future

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very year, we at Salaam Bahrain explore the idea of India’s Independence Day with excitement and seek to bring new aspects of the development and progress of this fascinating, sprawling country to our readers. You see, so many of us have crossed the decade mark of our stay in Bahrain or outside India. There are families who have been here for centuries and matched step with their Bahraini friends in the forward march of progress here – to them the idea of India is of a country which they left behind or which their families have been watching from a distance although they are emotionally and

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culturally deeply connected to it.

This year, the Government of India has declared that August 15, 2021 will see the start of year-long celebrations of ‘India@75’, culminating in a grand Platinum party on the actual 75th Independence Day on August 15, 2022. We decided to cut the usual review of the thrilling but oft-repeated story of India’s freedom struggle and the parade of familiar personalities who built India in the early years and fast-forward to the future by focusing on India’s youth, with their immense promise and their new vision for a millennial India which will be global in its reach.

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There are 360 million youth (categorised as between 18 and 29 years of age) in India, making up about 22% of India’s population.

They are facing a world that changes as fast as the kaleidoscopic wardrobe effects of a singing Bollywood heroine – by one estimate, 65 percent of primary school students today will be employed in jobs that do not currently exist. The average youth of today will change jobs 10 times or more in their lifetime, compared to three to four times for their parents’ generation. Smart machines and technology has changed the workplace values and the social patterns that guide all our lives – especially for the youth.

Millennials (or generation Y) have fundamentally different values and outlooks on life. This is a generation that prizes autonomy and self-expression; has less institutional trust, such as in policymaking bodies, the judiciary, police and mainstream media, than previous generations; and increasingly prefers to pursue personal passions in favour of conventional notions of success. However, they are strongly engaged in volunteerism and in non-electoral participation such as lobbying and activism.

The growth of Non-tier 1 cities since 2020 to now has resulted in a vast talent pool emerging from cities with inadequate corporate infrastructure. Our Fashion Spotlight on designer Vaishali Shadangule, a small-town girl who became the first Indian woman designer to show her collection in Paris is a fine example of this.

The so-called ‘gig economy’ where people worked largely on freelance projects was a big chunk of internet activity in 2020.

Owing to the lockdowns and restrictions, many people found ways to make money online through the gig economy. An estimated 15 million Indians relied on freelance work in 2020, a number

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expected to exceed in the coming years.

Isn’t it wonderful then, how India’s young people have adapted to these brave new times and risen to the challenge? Our special Independence Day focus is on 25 bright young entrepreneurs – most of them under 35 and all under 40 – who have put Indian innovation and progress at the centre of their work and, in the process, are re-writing the values by which we measure success.

There is a steady rise in numerous Indian startups and social enterprises over the past 5 years, where the average age of startup owners is reported at 31 years. The COVID-19 pandemic set a lot of layoffs in motion. Yet, the slow revival of the Indian economy was aided by the positive hiring intent of small, medium and large businesses.

We believe that the time has come for all of us – especially the diaspora which lives away from the ground reality of India and tends to be stuck in a ‘mental space substitute’ of India to go beyond the older generation of Ambani-Tata-Adani and old guard to acknowledge the amazing work of Young India in re-fashioning this 75-year young and vibrant world of our motherland.

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CATEGORY: Digital News Media NAME: Dhanya Rajendran COMPANY NAME: Co-Founder & Editor-in-Chief, The News Minute

Journalist-entrepreneur Dhanya Rajendran co-founded The News Minute (TNM) with her fellow journalist husband Vignesh and veteran investigative journalist Chithra Subramaniam. She is the Editor-in-Chief of TNM.

Dhanya is also a member of The Network for Women in Media, India through which she has raised the issue strongly of violence against women journalists and workplace harassment.

In 2018, Dhanya was named one of ‘India’s 40- Under-40’ by Fortune India. She made headlines for her fearless grappling with a trolling attack by fans of Tamil actor Vijay, for giving his film a thumbs down.TNM is a digital news platform which reports on issues in India, with a specific focus on the 5 South Indian states.

It has grown very quickly since starting in 2014 due to 'its distinct voice' on regional issues. The platform’s coverage of the Kerala floods and reporting of allegations of sexual abuse by godman Swami Nityananda elevated the quality of independent journalism in India and created a new benchmark.

Bonus: Watch out for Dhanya’s exclusive video to Salaam Bahrain followers on our Facebook and Instagram channels.

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CATEGORY: Social Entrepreneurship NAME: Upasana Makati COMPANY NAME: Founder & Publisher, White Print

White Print is a unique Braille mag for the visually challenged.

Upasana set up India's first (and only) English lifestyle magazine in Braille at the age of 25 in 2013. The monthly 64-pager printed at the National Association for the Blind, Mumbai, carries articles from politics to Bollywood to sports. Even the ads are text-based since images and colour are difficult to convey in Braille format. The magazine also seeks editorial contributions from the visually-impaired community to share their voices, opinions and stories. White Print showcases success stories interviews. Upasana is now writing a series of basic books in Braille for kids.

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INDI CATEGORY: Edtech NAME: Byju Raveendran COMPANY NAME: Founder & CEO, Byju’s

The son of math and physics teachers, in the village of Azhikode in South India. As an engineering student, he discovered his own knack for teaching, helping friends with their entrance exams to engineering and management schools.

In 2011, alongside fellow twenty-something co-founder Divya Gokulnath, he founded Byju’s — The Learning App. Raveendran holds a 21% stake in the company, which is backed by investors including the Qatar Investment Authority, Tencent and Mark Zuckerberg.

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Raveendran helms the edutech company Byju's which was started with an initial capital of $2700 and has now become India's most valuable unicorn startup with a valuation of $16.5 billion. An online education platform for children aged five to 16, Byju’s teaches predominantly maths and science concepts to kids from classes 6-12 along with test prep for several entrance exams.

CATEGORY: Medtech NAME: Leo Mavely COMPANY NAME: Founder & CEO, Axio Biosolutions

35-year-old Mavely’s Bangalore-based Axio Biosolutions makes single-use bandages with a material obtained from crustacean (mostly shrimp) shells. This breakthrough product 'Axiostat' is a ‘Smart Bandage’ that helps stop profuse bleeding within minutes of its application.

Axiostat counts Indian Army and BSF as their biggest clients where the use of this revolutionary trauma care product has helped save thousands of lives.

Leo reveals that the idea for the product came from a 'eureka' moment he had when he was in college in Delhi and witnessed a road accident

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where the victim would have died of excessive bleeding had he not been rushed to the hospital in time. After college he started Axios at Nirma Labs in Ahmedabad The company is the first in India to design, develop and commercialise an emergency hemostat for trauma care and now with US FDA approval under its belt, Axio Biosolutions raised $6 million to build out its commercial presence in the United States and the European Union (EU), as well as strengthen its India operations.

On the

75 Independence Day of India, th

The Management, Principal, Staff and Students of NEW MILLENNIUM SCHOOL offer prayers

for the progress of the nation

Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in Man - Swami Vivekananda

KMG

New Millennium School Kingdom of Bahrain

BUILDING 399, ROAD 3009, BLOCK 330, BUGHAZAL, MANAMA, KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN TEL. : 1727 2700 | FAX: 1727 5151 | EMAIL: nmsedu@nmsedu.bh +973 17272700

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www.nms.edu.bh

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nmsbahrain

newmillenniumschoolbahrain

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INDI CATEGORY: Actress, Entrepreneur & Tech investor NAME: Priyanka Chopra Jonas COMPANY NAME: Founder, Purple Pebbles Production

Constantly upping her game and evolving, she is a perfect example of someone who is always hustling - model, actor, singer, soap star, influencer, humanitarian and philanthropist and now tech investor.

Priyanka has recently (Jan 2021) invested in US-based rental marketplace Apartment List where she joins a star studded board of investors including American singer Lizzo and baseball star

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas has come a long way from the gawky 18-year-old who was once crowned Miss World.

One of the only Bollywood stars who was successfully able to crossover to American TV screens, she has become a truly global star and an inspiration to millions the world over.

She has constantly broken out of her comfort-zone to do things many would consider foolish. But with her sheer grit, determination, never-say-die attitude, Priyanka has managed to reinvent herself in roles that were considered seemingly impossible for a 'Desi girl' from Bareilly.

Alex Rodriguez. She had earlier invested in the dating app Bumble and coding education startup Holberton School.

CATEGORY: Entertainment, LGBTQ+ Rights, Policy Maker NAME: Nartaki Natraj COMPANY NAME: Member of Tamil Nadu State Development Policy Committee

Narthaki's struggle for inclusion began at a young age, as she started performing as a child artist from the tender age of 7. At 12, after facing stiff opposition & lack of support, she left home to pursue her passion for dance. She lived under bridges and struggled for every meal but never stopped believing in her ability to write her own story.

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She took the name 'Narthaki' during her debut dance performance as a woman in 1983. She had been stopped at many passport offices as her passport denoted the alphabet "U" for her gender (it represents eunuchs for transgender people in India). But that did not stop this pioneering transgender Bharatnatyam dancer from pushing for the recognisition of LGBTQ+ rights. In 2002, Nartaki Nataraj took part in one of the earliest campaigns for the rights of transgender people. She pursued Union Home Ministry to change the alphabet "U" for eunuchs to alphabet "F", representing female.

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CATEGORY: Entrepreneurs NAME: Siddhi Karnani and Anurag Agarwal COMPANY NAME: Founders, Parvata Foods

When Siddhi Karnani and Anurag Agarwal discovered that the organic farmers in Sikkim were being paid less than their due for their superior produce - especially spices like ginger, turmeric and buckwheat- the duo decided to start their own social-commercial enterprise Parvata Foods. It aims to uplift the living standards of the farmers of Sikkim and other Himalayan Indian states while empowering them with knowledge, technology and techniques.

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Eventually she convinced the dance teacher to the stars - Kitappa Pillai ( he has taught Hema Malini and Vyjayantimala). Today, as an accomplished dancer and teacher, she now teaches students in several different countries and staying true to her roots sets aside 85 per cent of the income from her dance trust for the empowerment of the transgender community.

For her efforts she was awarded the Padma Shri in 2019 and this year she made history by being chosen by the Tamil Nadu government to become a member of the State Development Policy Committee.

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With more than 2,000 marginal & small farmers on board, Parvata Foods runs workshops teaching modern agricultural practices and helping producers to implement them.

INDI It has redefined how spices are processed, implementing an innovative dehydration technology to replace the traditional sun-drying method and providing on-farm collection services to farmers,

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with higher prices and spot cash payments - thus empowering an entire ecosystem. Their inspirational story also found recognition in PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat'.

CATEGORY: Entrepreneurs NAME: Suhas Gopinath COMPANY NAME: CEO and chairman of Globals Inc.

This was at a time when computers had just been introduced into the Indian market and owning one was a pipe dream for the middle class. As a student interested in programming and computer science, Suhas made a barter deal with an internet café owner in his neighbourhood, where he used to take care of the shop during lunch hours and get free access to the computer.

Today, his company Global Inc is a multimilliondollar company with offices in the United States, India, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the UK among others.

European parliament and International Association for Human Values have conferred the 'Young Achiever Award' on him. He was also invited to address European parliament and was awarded the 'Young

'World's Youngest CEO' sounds like a cool sobriquet but behind it hides the immense chutzpah of the person who created his first company at the age of 14 and took charge as the CEO at 17. Suhas Gopinath is a name to reckon with in this digital start up era. It is actually a wonder that this man established his own bootstrapped start-up when the industry was not even established in India.

Global Leaders' for 2008-2009 by the prestigious World Economic Forum. Thus becoming one of the youngest members in the World Economic Forum.

Suhas has accomplished at 33, what many take a lifetime to do.

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CATEGORY: Entrepreneurs NAME: Kotta Keerthi Reddy COMPANY NAME: Co-Founder and COO StaTwigs

During these stressful pandemic times, the importance of the work her organisation does cannot be stressed enough. Consider this - The company’s signature product, VaccineLedger, allows for end-to-end tracing of vaccines from manufacturers to the end customers, providing tracking ability to all the involved stakeholders through blockchain, recording, and providing real-time tamperproof

Kotta Keerthi Reddy’s family may be in the transportation and logistics business but the young woman has taken the operation to a completely different level with blockchain technology. The 24-years-old and the firm she cofounded - StaTwigs, have won the World Economic Forum's Global Innovator Award for their work in supply chain management. In simpler words - her firm looks after the supply chain management of different products including COVID-19 vaccine supply across the world. data to improve transparency. In 2018, Unicef invested $100,000 in StaTwig as part of its plan to ensure smooth delivery of vaccines to children in need. The company was among six of the 50 companies that received the investment.

This Date in History - Aug 15 1769: Napoleon Bonaparte was born on this day.

1947: The Indian Independence Bill creates the two independent states of India and Pakistan.

1961: As workers begin constructing a Berlin Wall made of concrete, East German soldier Conrad Schumann leaped to freedom over a tangle of barbed wire in a scene captured in a famous photograph.

1971: Bahrain became an independent nation.

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INDI CATEGORY: Actor NAME: Keerthi Suresh

A talented actor, Keerti Suresh has been the talk of the town for her spectacular performance as the actress Savitri in the critically acclaimed biopic Mahanati for which she won the National Award in 2018. But this is not what defines Keerthi's brilliance - her broad appeal stretches across south cinemas as she has found appreciation from Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu cinema lovers. Unlike other big stars (cue Scarlett Johansson-Black Widow controversy) she is not afraid to experiment with mediums and in 2020, she appeared in the thriller Penguin, which released on Amazon Prime due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in the drama Miss India which released on Netflix.

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Sure, she comes with a film pedigree - she is a star kid raised in the middle of glitterati, daughter of actress Menaka and producer Suresh Kumar.

However, with her sheer talent she has positioned herself in the extremely small pool of talented actors who will carry their parents’ legacy forward.

CATEGORY: Actor NAME: Vikrant Massey

Mumbai-born Massey is a veteran of the small screen, most famously Balika Vadhu, and has done web series like Broken But Beautiful; the infamous but immensely popular Mirzapur and Made in Heaven. The role of Nawab Khan as a

gay person in Made in Heaven, the web series by Zoya Akhtar, was brief but explicit and potent in delivery, and so very real. Very much like Vikrant himself whose latest on Netflix Haseen Dillruba has everyone raving about his skill and versatility.

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Vikrant Massey is your average Joe whose welcoming smile and relaxed vibe invite conversation. But, boy, does his acting pack a punch! Mumbai is littered with the dreams of chocolate-boy good looking actors who want to transition from TV (or now web series) to mainstream Bollywood. Only very few like Shah Rukh Khan, Sushant Singh Rajput have made the impossible journey and Vikrant is right there on that list.

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CATEGORY: Transgender success - Indian Police Services NAME: Prithika Yashini

She is India's first transgender police officer. take a moment for that title to sink it. Take a moment to think about the the level of hardship someone like Prithika Yashini would have had to go through in a country where till a couple of years back transgender people had minimal rights.

Breaking barriers, Prithika Yashini became the first transgender subinspector though it took her close to six years to fulfill her childhood dream. It was a long and arduous process as when she first applied for the post she was rejected on the grounds that Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board doesn't have a third-gender category.

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INDI Not willing to give up, she moved the petition in the Madras High Court, which has led to her recruitment as a police officer through an interim order. But even a Court order was not enough to convince the recruitment board, which kept rejecting her application citing various flimsy grounds, including saying that her name did

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not tally with original certificates. It took another round of litigation before she was allowed to participate in field trials in August. Here, too, she was disqualified by 1.1 seconds in a 100-metre race. She and her lawyer, Bhavani Subbarayan, who is believed to have taken her case pro bono, persisted till Yashini was recruited.

CATEGORY: Sportswoman NAME: PV SINDHU

Focussed, resilient, talented, consistent... that's PV Sindhu. The golden girl of Indian badminton, PV Sindhu has become the only Indian woman athlete to have won two Olympics medals after her latest bronze win at the Tokyo Olympics. Interestingly, she was also the first Indian woman athlete to win a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016. It can get very isolating as an athlete competing at the elite level, the rigorous training, giving up material comforts and small pleasures to achieve the larger goal. From a young age, Sindhu has displayed the mental strength to persevere. So much so that in 2012 when her elder sister P Divya was getting married, Sindhu could not attend the wedding because she was playing the finals of an international tournament.

Her victory will serve to fire up the imagination of thousands of girls who aspire to compete at the highest level despite the odds.

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CATEGORY: Sportswoman NAME: Mirabai Chanu

Mirabai Chanu ended the 21-year drought in women's weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics after overcoming severe odds where at one point she even thought of quitting. It all started well for the Manipuri weightlifter who shot to fame when she won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. But at the 2016 Rio Olympics, she lost her nerve and failed to win. The disappointment almost became too much to take for Mirabai but Olympians like her are made of sterner stuff. She got the physical and mental help she needed, analysed her game, was able to pinpoint her weaknesses and work on them.

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In 2017, by lifting 109 kgs in clean and jerk, Mirabai stunned the world and became the first Indian weightlifting champion in over 20 years to win gold. In Tokyo, Mirabai was relaxed and calm, a far cry from Rio and became the first Indian athlete to strike silver.

CATEGORY: Humanitarian NAME: Sonu Sood

Actor Sonu Sood, better known as a ‘popular villain’ in Hindi and Southern movies, carved a new persona for himself at the forefront of COVID-19 relief efforts. His work has touched and saved thousands of lives.

Whether through providing bed and board in his Juhu hotel for overworked health workers who couldn't go back home to rest because of the social stigma of the virus or his initiative ‘Shakti Annadanam’ which supplied food to at least 40 SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

45,000 people every day in Mumbai, Sonu rapidly became the go-to pandemic hero.

He is best known for launching a blitz of transport vehicles – trains, buses and even chartered airplanes to help thousands of migrant labours and

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daily wage workers as well as stranded students abroad to return to their far-flung village homes.

This was done at a time when even government authorities were turning a blind eye to the largest civilian migration on foot across India by penniless and unemployed workers. Sood personally underwrote most of the funding and even staffed a back office to co-ordinate the efforts.

He helped create employment opportunities for the migrant workers through a platform called ‘Pravasi Rojgar’.

Often, all that was needed was to tag him on Twitter for Sonu to help with arranging transport, hospital beds, medicines and oxygen for people across the country - oxygen concentrators at the doorsteps of those in need.

Reel-life heros may come and go but Sonu Sood has provided us with an everlasting template for a real hero.

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CATEGORY: Agro-Innovators NAME: Ullas Samrat and Dhruv Khanna COMPANY NAME: Co-Founders, Triton Foodworks Dhruv and Ullas co-founded the start-up Triton Foodworks to leverage hydroponics technology and age old Ayurvedic practices to grow large yields of pesticide free food with minimum input.

Triton Foodworks has become a leader in Indian hydroponic industry , having saved more than 3 billion liters of water since its inception in 2014and produced more than 700 tons of fruits and vegetables every year Their proprietary hydroponics systems which allows the growing of plants without soil but with nutrients SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

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supplied through water, has allowed Triton Foodworks to be price competitive.

Over the last year they set up their first farm in the US. During the lockdown, launched an online store for their brand ChopChop—that sells their own produce. They have also expanded from 18 to 30

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stores in Delhi-NCR and are hope to touch over 100 stores by the end of 2021.

(If you noticed Ullas' good looks you aren't alone, while researching this piece we found that he's actor Pulkit Samrat's brother)

CATEGORY: Food Entrepreneur NAME: Manvir Singh Anand COMPANY: Knight Gourmet Services

Entering an extremely competitive business with no prior experience, just Rs 30,000 as starting capital and building it into a company with Rs 4.6 Cr turnover requires serious street smarts and business savvy along with a huge dollop of nerves and Manvir Singh Anand is someone who has all three in generous doses.

In 2013, he launched Knight Bites, a midnight cloud kitchen food delivery startup and in 2016, followed it up with Knight Gourmet, a catering and event hospitality company. The idea was to break the catering cartel that held event organisers in their grip and offer top-quality food service with complete transparency and business clarity.

“I saw an opportunity to start a catering business that provided clients access to operational manuals, detailed workflows with day-wise menus, staff allocation, and better inventory control measures,” said the entrepreneur.

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Despite the odds, Knight Gourmet got its first big break when it catered the Indian Super League (ISL) franchise in New Delhi. Today, his clients include Delhi Capitals, Premier Badminton League, Microsoft, Facebook, and BMW. Operations are spread across Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and Knight Gourmet is galloping to even greater success.

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CATEGORY: Beauty & Fashion entrepreneur NAME: Falguni Nayar COMPANY NAME: Founder, Nykaa

August

the editorial team P.O. Box 50650, Arad, Kingdom of Bahrain Licensed by the Ministry of Information Publication Licence no : GASB 740

Chairman Mahmood Al Mahmood Chief Editor Ahdeya Ahmed Managing Director P.K. Ravi Editor Meera Ravi Contributors Digital Consultant: Sonorita Chauhan Maharaja Features Pvt. Ltd.

Only one Indian unicorn has a woman founder-CEO and just five Indian unicorns have a woman co-founder. Falguni Nayar stands alone in this elite club as billionaire startup category with a much-anticipated IPO round the corner.

Founded in April 2012, Nykaa is a young company but Nayar herself has been a force in the Indian business world for more than 2 decades.

At 50, when most people are thinking of retirement, this IIMA alumnus decided to quit her cushy job as managing director of Kotak Mahindra Capital and dive into e-commerce. Even in the bleak 2020, Falguni showed strategic nimbleness to stay strong in the game, even managing to raise funds and become a unicorn in the process and all this without layoffs and pay cuts.

In 2020, Nykaa managed to raise ₹166 crore as primary investment at a valuation of ₹9,100 crore ($1.2 billion) that catapulted the eightyear-old venture to unicorn status. Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif are both investors, Katrina even launched her cosmetics brand Kay Beauty in partnership with Nykaa. If the IPO goes as planned, Nykaa will be India’s first women-led unicorn to go public. Nayar owns about half of the company with her husband and their twin children (who work alongside her), meaning the value of their stake could exceed $2 billion.

Designer Mind Storm Media Marketing P.R.M. Marketing Consultancy w.l.l Advertising Sales Contact: +973 3668 4011 advts.sb@gmail.com Published by Al Ayam Publishing Promoted by Ajyal Consultations w.l.l Advertising / Editorial / Circulation Enquiries +973 3668 4011 e-mail: salaam.bahrain@gmail.com advts.sb@gmail.com

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All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.

The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the publisher and Editor. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, the publisher & editor cannot accept legal responsibility for any error, content or omissions.

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CATEGORY: Cricketer NAME: Shubham Gill

Is Shubman Gill for real? This young Indian cricketer’s name is being whispered in the same breath as the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. The gritty opener has already impressed the cricketing world with his exceptional temperament in Australia.

Gill is gasp-inducing for two reasons: the rate at which he scores runs and the style in which he scores them. Of the eighty runs he scored at Melbourne, sixty of them came off fifteen boundaries, eight fours in the first innings and seven in the second.

The right-hand batsman from Punjab is known for his penchant for big run scores. He shot to fame with 418 runs in the 2018 ICC U19 World Cup, where he served as Prithvi Shaw's deputy

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CATEGORY: Gaming NAME: Poornima Seetharaman AWARD: WIGJ Hall of Fame

Poornima’s interest in games developed when her parents bought her a PC and her friends introduced her to Age of Empires II (AoE) and Warcraft III. Having studied software engineering and with a passion for gaming, Poornima joined the gaming industry in 2006 and has since worked on BioShock, FarmVille and How to Train Your Dragon franchises, among other games. She is the 44

and batted at No. 3 to play a crucial role in India's record fourth world title.

By churning out runs for fun in his brief First-class career thus far, Gill has now staked a claim for a spot across formats.

Although it's still early days, Gill's heady mix of passion, hard work and genius promises to cultivate a career that should serve Indian cricket well in the times to come. Until then, it's a nervous wait time for Gill and the many observers of cricket.

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lead game designer at Zynga, a developer of social games played by millions around the world.

Poornima has broken stereotypes and given girls and women an inspiring role-model in the otherwise male-dominated world of gaming.

She is one of the content committee members for the India Gaming Forum (formerly, NASSCOM Gaming Forum) and also an Ambassador of

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In November 2020, Bengalurubased Poornima Seetharaman, 36, became the first Indian to be inducted in the Women in Games (WIGJ) Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame by WIGJ is a leading global force on gender equality in the gaming business. It is considered the ultimate recognition for women in the industry.

Women in Games (WIGJ and a mentors at Google’s Indie Game Accelerator, India.

One of her dream projects is to create

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‘Madhuram’ (Sweetness), a Carnatic music (classical music form originated in South India) inspired puzzle adventure game as a homage to her late aunt, T.R. Balamani.

CATEGORY: Social Entrepreneur and Innovator NAME: Dr Binish Desai COMPANY NAME: Eco-Eclectic Technologies

Swachh journey started when he was only 11 when he came up with the idea of making bricks with discarded (sanitised) PPE kits and masks. The bricks are a boon for building social infrastructure in rural India.

Dr Binish Desai, the 'Recycle Man of India' developed P-block bricks made out of waste produced by paper mills. In 2020. At 27, Dr Desai created an upgraded version of P-block which contains bio-medical waste the kind that the pandemic has forced us to SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

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create - single use surgical masks and PPE kits.

These bricks are changing the destiny of villages one by one by creating sustainable infrastructure like toilets and roads using his patented technology.

A year into production in 2017, the P-block bricks have been used to build more than 1,000 toilets

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across India and benefitted around 3,000 people.

In the same year, Binish was able to divert around 1996 metric tonnes of waste from entering the landfills by merely recycling trash into usable commodities.

CATEGORY: Technology and Start ups NAME: Piyush Verma COMPANY NAME: Founder & CEO, Manush Labs

Verma helps entrepreneurs and innovators from Tier 2 cities and beyond get access to mentorship, network, markets and funding. his organisation Manush Labs is a social impact accelerator that wants to foster an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem by exposing innovators to global experts through a series of programmes and services. His team includes Harvard University and MIT alumni, and are supported by several national and international programmes, including MIT Sandbox and Harvard I Labs.

For its first programme, Manush Labs onboarded more than 60 mentors from 11 countries from organisations like Google, Facebook and more, while partnering with leading organisations such as Gates Foundation, Social Alpha, Kaplan Foundation.

Earlier this year, Piyush and his team concluded Manush Labs’ first accelerator programme of 46

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25 startups from across India. They included entrepreneurs from more than 30 towns and cities across the country.

Manush Labs ensures that no great idea or ambitious startup in India isn't successful for the lack of access to proper technical knowhow and ability to raise funds.

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INDI CATEGORY: Teenpreneurship NAME: Shravan & Sanjay Kumaran COMPANY NAME: Go Dimensions

A SPIRE - INDIA@75

What does it take to be a teenager who is CEO or president of his own company? They

Chutzpah, inventiveness and parental support. Shravan and Sanjay Sukumaran have oodles of that. The two have been identified as the youngest app developers and co-founders of a company in India. started their own company in 2012 when they were just over 10 years of age and have developed over 11 applications and also released a couple of Windows apps. Their first app was 'Catch me Cop' on the iOS

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that involved capturing an escaped convict. The brothers have gone beyond apps to create their own VR device.

The duo are determined to make their apps run on at least 50% of the world's smartphones. That is audacious, but then if the Kumaran boys have proved anything - it's that they are nothing if not audacious.

CATEGORY: Femtech NAME: Manish Kelshikara COMPANY NAME: WoLoo

Manish's start-up is a blessing for women on the move - it helps them locate the nearest hygienic restroom.

WoLoo is a game-changer for women across India who know the struggle of finding a clean public restroom all too well. Woloo is a mobile application that helps women locate and use the nearest WoLoocertified washroom facility. It was initially aimed at functioning like a powder room, a place where women can use the facility for a number of purposes, like using the restroom, changing napkins, feeding a baby, waiting for a friend, changing clothes or just to relax. The first SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

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WoLoo facility was established in 2019 in Mumbai.

However, after the lockdown, the start-up changed course and basically became the Airbnb of restrooms. The entire app is based on maps.

Every location is geo-tagged. So, when you open the app, it will geo-tag you and show you the nearest restrooms and then, navigate to it.

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CATEGORY: Youtuber NAME: Ishak Munda

Ishak Munda who used to be a daily wage labourer before the first pandemic lockdown hit has managed to turn his life completely around with the help of his wits and technology.

Isak's channel, 'Isak Munda Eating', has done so well on YouTube (800k subscribers) that he doesn't need to work for wages anymore, and has left his labour-intensive job. At one time he used to distract himself from his hunger by watching food videos and eventually decided to make his own. He documents his everyday life in the small village of Sambalpur, Odisha. He took a Rs 3000 loan to buy a smartphone to start filming and today makes lakhs of rupees each month as each video has an average viewership of 220K.

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After a facility is certified and on boarded they are fitted with an IoT device for 'stink sensing'.

Every hour, if the stink scale is beyond the certified level, there is a trigger. If any facility crosses three triggers, they are taken off the list!

By 2022, WoLoo plans to expand to 100 cities.

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The impact of his popularity has been such that a video he uploaded of his decrepit mud house got so many views, an organisation in Bhubaneswar offered to help him build a proper home.

BAHRAIN INDIA FRIENDSHIP

“A celebration of a 75-year journey to self-sufficiency & 50 years of friendship” - V.K. Rajasekharan Pillai, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awardee (2017) Managing Director, National Group of Companies

"I

t is a proud moment for me and the employees in my National Group of Companies to share greetings with Indians ever ywhere for our 75th Independence Day. The Government of India has announced that this Platinum Year will be a year long celebration and we should all remember the historic freedom movement and the development and achievements of our beloved Mother India in this year.

From a countr y that found it difficult to even manufacture toothbrushes in 1947 to one which sends satellites to the Moon in 2019 and produced vaccines for the world during the pandemic, it has been a long and amazing journey.

As expatriates, our duty towards India is no less than that of Indians living in the countr y. We have the responsibility of building the strong bridges between both countries, of helping the countr y of our work to progress and also our homeland.

We are seeing new interest in India as an economic par tner and His Majesty the King has led from the front to with decisive leadership to encourage this. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa has also brought new vision to match the leadership of Indian PM Narendra Modi to build upon these ties.

In fact, NRIs are at the centre of Bahrain and India relations and our love for both countries is the result of the close ties between them – we are celebrating 50 years of diplomacy between Bahrain and India this year. May these links remain strong for a long time.

I wish all Indians a ver y productive and prosperous 75th Independence Day and I look forward to the promise of close ties between Bahrain and India in the future too."

Bonus: Please log on to Salaam Bahrain Facebook and Instagram channels to watch Mr. Pillai in conversation with us.

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BAHRAIN INDIA FRIENDSHIP

Dr. Kishore Mathur wins AsiaOne Award

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successful business leader and a recognized corporate trailblazer, Dr. Krishan Kishore Mathur has done the NRI corporate world of Bahrain proud by winning the AsiaOne Global Indian of the Year 2020-21 Award.

The annual award given by the corporate magazine out of India, has already seen Dr. Mathur take the message worldwide of how Bahrain enables modern business success.

Under the joint leadership and supervision of AMAK Managing Director Mohamed Al Khaja and Dr. Mathur as Director, AMAK has developed a prestigious track-record that stretches from government contracts to blue-chip companies such as the brandnew Bahrain International Airport, Bahrain Petroleum Co. (Bapco), Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA, Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co. (GPIC) and VVIP clients who engage the company for palaces, private resorts and industries. It has also spurred a growth of new business ventures in the Group.

Over a 27-year period, he has helped to grow the business of AMAK by a stunning 1700% with exports representing a major portion of the total business. In recent times, Indian technology and expertise has increasingly been chosen by Bahrain to pace its development and CEOs and professionals like Dr. Mathur are at the vanguard of the new Bahraini boardroom. He has found a responsive business environment in the Kingdom of Bahrain, widely celebrated as the best place in the GCC to do business in because of its cosmopolitan and inclusive lifestyle, transparent and strong legal framework and relatively low business cost.

“The Kingdom of Bahrain is very welcoming of new ideas and we all know that a successful business thrives on diversity,” he points out.

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“Bahrainis are highly educated and hard-working. They are open to innovation too. This makes it easy for expats like me to share our expertise and be a part of the progress of the nation.”

Going forward, Dr. Mathur, like most senior businessmen, is keen to realign priorities in the company’s growth.

“We are working to position ourselves as front-runners in the regional solar energy shift. We have already invested in a factory manufacturing solar energy panels and have implemented plans that bring together our existing business in car parking shade solutions and solar panels that generate solar energy electricity.

We see this as the future, especially in a region where solar heat is in abundance and untapped.”

“2020 was a year like no other. It tested our endurance as human beings and forced businesses to re-design their working relationships across the board – with employees, customers, suppliers and how they will stay relevant. Because what will define our future success will be our ability to adapt, to change and innovate, ” he says.

Bonus: Please watch our corporate interview with Mr. Mohammed Al Khaja and Dr. Kishore Mathur in our Facebook and Instagram pages.

INDIA ASPIRE

The new executive committee of Bahrain Chapter of the Institute of the Chartered Accountants of India (BCICAI) affiliated Bahrain Accountants Association under the leadership of Chairperson CA Santhosh TV. Seated (from left to right) - CA Natasha Gopalakrishnan (Joint Treasurer), CA Vivek Gupta (Treasurer), CA Sharmila Shet (Vice-Chairperson), CA Santosh T V (Chairperson), CA Sthanumurthy Viswanathan Meera (Secretary) and CA Gaurav Agarwal (Joint Secretary) Standing (from left to right) – CA Ekansh Agarwal (Member), CA Abraham George (Member), CA Arun Samuel Mathew (Member), CA Flenil D’Souza (Member) and CA Radhika Zinzuwadia (Member).

BCICAI: the face of Professional India

A new committee helms the CA professionals body and have plans to prepare for the challenges ahead

Established over two decades ago, Bahrain Chapter of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (BCICAI) is the largest body of CA professionals in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Since its inception in 1998, BCICAI has provided an excellent platform for its members to contribute to the economic development of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

The BCICAI has a new committee this year led by CA Santosh TV as its chairperson and unveiled plans for the months ahead.

CA Santosh TV: Our theme for the year is “Unleashing the Potential”. We plan to use our resources and potential for the benefit of our members and the Bahraini community at large through: - Events focused on professional and personal welfare of members, including activities for their families.

- Upliftment of Indian community in Bahrain - Skill development of Bahraini youths and improved relations with Bahrain business community.

SB: What are the updates for people who want to pursue CA in Bahrain and how can BCICAI help?

CA Santosh TV: During the last term we were able to achieve the milestone of setting up an examination center in Bahrain helping

students facing problems due to travel restrictions. It has now become easier for a student living in Bahrain to pursue the CA course.

We at BCICAI plan to conduct orientation programmes among students to promote awareness of the course. We aim to help aspiring students throughout their journey and to establish coaching classes for Level 1.

SB: What do you feel about the changes in profession on CAs? How does BCICAI help members stay abreast of these changes?

CA Santosh TV: As the world changes laws, regulations and practices evolve and adapt to newer surroundings constantly. CA is one such profession that has to be right up there in the forefront with these changes.

With BCICAI’s members large skillset there is immense scope of inhouse knowledge sharing. Apart from this, we also conduct regular technical sessions to cover prominent topics and updates around the globe.

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HEALTH

BSH Apollo Heart Centre providing quality Heart Healthcare in the Kingdom BSH Apollo conducted 300 Cath Lab procedures with Exceptional Success Rates in less than 2 years Coronary heart disease is ranked as the number one cause of death in Bahrain, both among citizens as well as expats. The large Indian expat community here in Bahrain is particularly at high risk of heart disease due to multiple factors.

To address the local burden of the disease, and fill the lacuna in existing cardiology services in the private sector, Bahrain Specialist Hospital, the leading private hospital in the Kingdom partnered with Apollo Hospitals from India, who have a proven track record in cardiovascular health care in India as well as globally.

With this background, BSH Apollo Heart Center was formally launched in December 2019 with advanced state of the art infrastructure, consisting of third generation Cath Lab, Cardiac Critical Care Units, Intensive Care Unit, Operating Room for Endovascular Therapy and Cardiac Surgery and a Cardiac Rehabilitation Center.

The Centre has been providing exceptional health care to cardiac patients, especially with citizens and residents alike relying on healthcare in the Kingdom so as not to risk flying during a pandemic. Dr. Kasim O. Ardati, Bahrain Specialist Hospital’s Managing Director says, “It is pivotal to provide emergency care to patients suffering from heart attacks. Interventional cardiologists at Bahrain Specialist Hospital strive to provide prompt treatment for better clinical outcomes. We have managed to keep our door-to-balloon time well above the world-class standards. This accomplishment especially in the midst of a pandemic is testament of how far we’ve come in medical care in the country.”

Dr. Abdul Azeez Asad Mohammed, Interventional cardiologist, who has been leading the BSH Apollo cardiac cath lab, shared that in less than two years, the hospital has performed close to 300 successful cath lab procedures on 200 patients. Notably, almost a third of these patients have been from the Indian expat community. The procedures themselves have been diverse, including coronary angiogram, coronary angioplasty as well as peripheral procedures, where blockages in the arteries supplying the hands or legs are treated. Also, special procedures like embolizations were done to stop acute bleeding in internal organs. A lot of the procedures were done on critically ill patients, including those with acute heart attacks, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia and with very low blood pressure. This tremendous success repositions the country as experts in treating high-risk patients in cardiac care.

Dr Shaikh Bux, who has recently joined the interventional cardiology team, added that the burden of cardiovascular diseases has in-

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creased greatly in the COVID era. Patients who have recovered from COVID-19 infection have higher possibilities of heart diseases.

Lack of awareness among the general public along with delayed access to Interventional Cardiology services complicates the matter further. BSH Cardiac Team has not hesitated to take up acute cardiac emergencies throughout COVID-19 era.”

Additionally, keeping in mind the economic burden COVID-19 has brought to the people of Bahrain, Bahrain Specialist Hospital endeavours to accommodate patients with heart diseases at affordable rates as low as BD 250 for a coronary angiogram. The aim is to provide comprehensive cardiac care at affordable cost giving the community a stronger chance of pulling through these pandemic times with access to quality healthcare they would’ve otherwise have had to travel outside the country for.

ABOUT BAHRAIN SPECIALIST HOSPITAL BSH is a highly specialised medical center that provides up-to-date medical services by experienced consultants and specialists, using the latest technologies with the-state-of-the-art medical equipment and systems. It is the first hospital in Bahrain that availed the Joint Commission International accreditation (JCI) and the only private healthcare facility that has been visited by HM King Hamad Bin Salman Al Khalifa, the ruler of Bahrain.

Dr. Abdul Azeez Asad Mohammed Interventional Cardiologist, MD, DNB Dr. Mohammed completed training as a Fellow of the National Board in Interventional Cardiology, India.

RETAIL THERAPY

Mega Mart offers Asia in a trolley There’s only one place you can find all your needs and shop in the confidence that the quality is top class, the pricing just right – and that’s the Mega Mart chain which consists of Mega Mart, Macro Mart and Babasons. Now completing 28 years in Bahrain, the chain has recently strengthened its customer service and quality with General Manager Anil Nawani heading the new management team.

“We are proud of our service to our loyal multinational customers and are popular across all communities – Indian, Arab, Pakistani and western,” Anil Nawani said. “Over the years we have built up a range of excellent and reputed Asian food brands that include food grains, masala as well as our own Baba brand of packed foodstuffs. In addition, we have added the value-for-money Tesco brand of household goods which have become very popular among our customers.”

From honey, drinks and chips to frozen meals and baking goods to household cleaning products, the superior TESCO products are available across all aisles in Mega Mart and Macro Mart.

In addition to branded foods, Mega Mart Group also offers fresh premium meat from India and vegetables and fruits from Pakistan and India. To complement the ingredients, the retail chain also prepares fresh-baked bread in their in-store bakery, all golden crust, soft on the inside and in a range of healthy ways – multi-grain, bran, brown, soya and the all-time favourite, white bread also. Along with this, the chain has developed a line of Indian snacks that are proving popular as starters for all occasions – samosa and pakora with a range of fillings from chicken to potato and the flavourful potato-mung dal combo.

The Riffa branch of Macro Mart has a food-to-go counter that serves up tasty

and freshmade Arabic Indian and Chinese food.

The store also undertakes catering orders by taking advance bookings from customers.

To continue its journey of success, the Group has opened its 11th outlet at Amwaj Island, with a modern European-style layout and atmosphere as well as a sleek, well-stocked, state-of-the-art Mega Mart Express store in the Bahrain Financial Harbour.

“Having met with great success with our Asian and British brands, we have planned to welcome customers in this new geographic area by extending the emphasis on muchloved Western brands, wide range of products and goods and our friendly staff,” Nawani said.

Recent addition to the Mega Mart Asian trolley is the famous Vadilal Ice Cream brand to Bahrain. In amazing Indian flavours like Anjeer (fig), Raj Bhog, Tender Coconut and the exotic Paan as well as classics such as Vanilla and Chocolate. This

ice cream brand is one of the many Asian palate-pleasers that Mega Mart, Macro Mart and Babasons specialise in stocking their aisles with.

“Affordability and convenience are buzzwords for families and at our stores, shoppers can be assured of the best goods at very affordable prices. Our friendly sales staff and managers are happy to assist shoppers to find products or even order them if not available in store.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A friendship across centuries As the two countries celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties, a local historian explores the ancient bilateral relationship that pulses with timeless bonds and great warmth.

CHANDAN SEN GUPTA An engineer by training and an avid historian and novelist, our guest writer Chandan Sen Gupta has two published novels to his credit: his first novel, “Land of Two Seas,” (Notion Press, 2016), a thriller based in Bahrain and “Unforeseen: A battle for his daughter’s life,” (Amazon, 2018). In the course of his research for his novels, Sen Gupta has become a passionate gatherer of data, facts and interesting trivia about Bahrain and India relations and history.

I

n 326 BC, after his famous battle with King Porus on the banks of Jhelum, Emperor Alexander sent a fleet down the river into the Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf until it reached Babylon. On the way, his childhood friend Nearchus, whom he had appointed the commander of the fleet, landed in Dilmun or Bahrain.

The settlements that followed, ushered in the Hellenization of the island and rechristened it Tylos.

The expedition sponsored by Alexander had been a novel one for him, a man who

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detested traveling by sea and conquered the world on horseback. His feat, however, was nothing but a replication of what had been a regular feature of trade between the Indus Valley Civilization and Dilmun, more than a thousand years before the Greek emperor was born. With the decline of the ancient Indian civilization, this maritime trade had fallen into disuse, but was soon revived by Kutchi sailors setting off from the port of Mandvi.

By the time the Portuguese explorer Vasco-da-Gama charted a maritime route from Europe to the subcontinent, trade between India and the Arabian Gulf countries had reached its zenith. Bahrain, thanks to the availability of fresh water, had

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been at the centre of this trade as an entrepot from the very beginning, causing it to be identified in Sumerian inscriptions on clay-tablets from 2000 BC as the land where people from all over the world brought their goods and wares.

The stiff competition from the Portuguese, which led to the establishment of the Qalat-al-Bahrain fort and military presence on the island from 1521 until 1602, notwithstanding, trade between India and Bahrain continued to thrive. Pearls from the island, famous all over the world for their lustre, were a much sought-after product by the kings and princes of India, while grains and spices from the subcontinent were exported to Bahrain.

Old world camaraderie - Bhatia merchants like Chaturbhuj Mulchand (left) Dhamanmal Issardas (right) and Lalchand Charutbhuj (in the back row centre) with the elite of Bahraini society.

One of the prominent Indian trading communities, toward the later stages, was the Thattai Bhatia. Originally a martial race from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, this community migrated to Thatta in Sindh toward early 1400 CE and with the passage of time transformed, first, into agriculturists and then into traders. Starting from the late 19th century, these people embarked on expanding their horizon by emigrating to lands away from home and with their arrival in Bahrain, a new chapter in relationship between the two countries was established.

With their sincerity and honesty, the Thattai Bhatias soon established themselves as major financiers of Bahrain’s pearl trade and exporters of food products from India.

The interaction between the Bahrainis and the Bhatias revolved around sound human relationship and while the former trusted the latter with all their heart, the immigrants from India lost no opportunity to repay the faith of the locals to the best of their ability.

Close to the spot in Manama where Aradous Hotel stands today, was Beit DI. The initials refer to Dhamanmal Ishardas, a prominent Thattai Bhatia who had made Bahrain his home in the first half of the twentieth century. His sprawling house, with a majlis that had 17 windows, 3 doors and a ceiling 30 feet high, was a regular gathering place for Bahraini pearl traders from Muharraq who gathered there every afternoon for a chat on the affairs of business and life in general. When World War II broke out in 1939, food trade between India and Bahrain came under threat. At a time when shipping lines plied only under an exorbitant premium, Dhamanmal Ishardas, on the request of the rulers of Bahrain and Kuwait, took it upon himself to keep the supply of rice to the two countries going by foregoing a formal contract and advance payment.

Bahrain and India, both, contributed their might in fighting fascism during World War II. While India was a major supplier of resources and manpower to fight in the war, Bahrain, a British Protectorate, declared its support for Britain with a cheque of £ 30,000 collected from its citizens. In 1940, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the then ruler of Bahrain, travelled to the summer capital of British India, Simla, to present Viceroy Linlithgow a further Rs. 30,000, with the words, “...Our sympathies in this war which is now being waged against the evil forces of Nazism are with Great Britain. If we possessed an army, we would offer it to the British Government.”

From these rich beginnings that are millennia old, India and Bahrain established diplomatic relations as modern sovereign nations in 1971 and in 2008, a formal Bahrain Embassy was inaugurated by HRH the Crown Prince and PM Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

A thriving contemporary friendship has been built on the ancient ties and today goes from strength to strength.

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Enamored by the Indian Classical Arts

By KIRAN JAVA

There’s mystery and magic in the Indian Classical Arts, an art form that dates back to the 2nd century BC. It has powerful narratives and a highly emotive quality and fortunately for us, it is still as relevant today as ever.

More and more people are turning to the Indian classical arts for various reasons including mental peace, physical fitness, and the sheer joy of performance. As India gears up to celebrate ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', marking 75 years of Independence, former Bahrain girl Kiran Java, who has re-located to India to pursue a passion for Kathak, gathered the stories of 8 people who have chosen to make the Indian Classical art form a part of their lives to stay connected to the Indian heritage.

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hat sets these millennial classical art practitioners apart is that many have come to their chosen art forms late in life – and the arts sustain their spirit and intellect even though they have full-time careers other than their pursuit of dance and music.

Is this then the new way for these ancient arts to remaining relevant? These artists may not always have the time to pursue their artistic calling full-time, but their passion is undimmed and they are reinterpreting the arts in unique ways by sharing it with the world.

For Pia Bannerjee-D’souza, based in Bahrain, it is the historic connection that attracts her. “The classical art form is rooted in history and culture and calls out to me”, she says. Her newfound passion for Kathak (she has learned Bharatnatyam before) is symbolic of the universality of the appeal of Indian dance – she is learning Kathak in Bahrain from Bahraini dancer Khalil Al Ashar, the only Arab Kathak exponent in the world.

Dubai-based Deepa Dhutia started learning Kathak four years ago. She has a full-time job that involves traveling to the Far-east and Europe. But that did not deter her from pursuing the classical art form whenever she was back in Dubai. She says

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it gives a connection to our Indian heritage and a sense of rootedness. With her group, Gurukul Divas, she has even participated in an international contest. “We were thrilled when we secured Gold in the Senior category,” she says.

Sameep Kulkarni is an engineer by profession but has always been enamored by the classical arts. He started with learning the tabla but when he was 6-years-old his parents took him to a concert of Ustad Vilayat Khan and then he decided that he wanted to learn the sitar. He has passed on his love for the sitar to both his daughters Sanavi and Sohana.

During this pandemic, he has taken time out to teach the sitar to aspiring students from across the world. Today 35 students are learning from him and enjoying their experience.

Another former Bahrain-based dancer, Meenakshi Ravi, now a journalist in London, teaches Bharatanatyam and also finds the time to continue learning new pieces although she ruefully admits that the time needed to practice for a performance is not possible on a regular basis. “I stay connected to dance through my teaching. When I first came to London around 15 years ago, I remember how much this art form gave me a sense of my own identity and bolstered me with its familiar rhythms. It gave me strength, contacts in a

Deepa Dhutia (second from right) with her group at International Contest

SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

Sameep Kulkarni keeps the musical traditions alive with his daughters welcoming community and a space of comfort in a new environment. This is a big reason why art remains such a potent force for so many of us outside India."

Just before he left for Pittsburgh to enrol for his Ph.D. in Biology, Nishant Panicker, from Bangalore, performed his Rang Pravesh or stage debut last week. It was a milestone in a journey of arts that began as a child when Nishant attended a concert

by Khayal vocalists Rajanand Sajan Mishra and Kathak Maestro Pt. Birju Maharaj and decided then that he wanted to pursue both art forms. Nishant’s guru, Vibha Ramaswami says that rhythm is natural to him and ‘laykari’ is his strength.

Across the ocean in the US, Shambhavi Dandekar has been teaching Kathak

Kathak dancer Shambhavi Dandekar

dance for the past 15 years. She imparts training mainly to young working adults.

She feels that more and more young people these days are attracted to the Classical form because she says, “it is a great way to connect to one's roots, to one's culture. Classical arts are meditative and bring respite in a work-loaded routine.

Classical arts require consistency and regimen; great qualities to develop to succeed in life. In an international setting, people of colour need to own up their history and study their origin to stand with pride.” Shambhavi’s recently launched Distance Learning Program is so popular that registration is now open for her third batch.

Dr. Sunil Sunkara who graduated with a PH.D. in Chemical Engineering has a successful career in the performing arts.

“Science has logic, analysis, and codification of technique, and the same is with art. So in a way art also is science and science is also art and therefore it appeals to me,” he says.

Sunil has performed at the Krishna Temple in Manama along with Pt. Birju Maharaj. He is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Kathak classical dance. During the pandemic, he has used technology to enhance dance presentations.

Dr.Sunil Sunkara as Ram SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

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Kiran Java As for yours truly, I, Kiran Java, took up the classical form at a late age and was told by professional artists that it was never too late to take up a classical art form. I enjoy collaborating with musicians to visualize traditional rhythmic patterns in various time cycles.

There is a certain excitement in a live performance which is pure magic. The pandemic doesn’t allow us to practice live with our musicians which is a challenge.

But through Zoom and music recordings we are able to keep learning and enjoying the art form. In the absence of a stage, we have social media which allows us to showcase our dance recordings to a wider audience.

The pandemic has not stopped people from learning the classical dance and music forms. If anything it has motivated more young people to achieve their dream of pursuing a classical art form. In fact, both students and teachers say that it is better because it helps everyone focus on the movements and if they save the class recordings, they can view them over and over again to practice the movements.

Some, like Deepa and her group, have even done their exams online through the ISTD London board with examiners based in London.

As for the millennial teachers like Meenakshi, the parents of her students in UK often say they are thankful for the role model that she gives their kids – that one can be a cool working woman and still pursue a passion for an ancient dance form.

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Nishant Panicker at his Rang Pravesh

Meenakshi Ravi with her young dance students in the UK

HEALTHCARE

AMH - Oldest hospital served by Indian healthcare professionals With a heart to serve, a few medical missionaries from the USA had come to Bahrain in the 1890s, and had set up the facility we now know as the American Mission Hospital (AMH).

In the last 70 years, however, it is the growing number of Indian healthcare professionals in the hospital, who have contributed significantly in its continued care for the community.

In fact, for the first time in its 120-year history, the hospital is being led by an Indian, Dr George Cheriyan. He is the 13th CEO and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the hospital, after a line of twelve Americans. And he has been actively involved in the hospital’s expansion by ensuring that an AMH medical facility is available today, in each of the four governorates of Bahrain.

After Manama, Saar, Amwaj and Riffa, a fifth and the most futuristic, state-of-the art AMH facility, the King Hamad American Mission Hospital, is getting ready to open in A’Ali, in October 2022.

In 1950s, Dr Abraham Koshy from India had been AMH’s principal surgeon who was also overseeing the hospital operations, whenever the then CMOs - like Dr Harrison and Dr Storm - were away from Bahrain. His wife Dr Annie Koshy too, was a part of the hospital’s medical fraternity.

In 1980, Dr Gupta, a renowned general surgeon who had worked in India and Ghana made a short visit to Bahrain. After a somewhat informal interview, with the then AMH CEO Dr Pennings, Dr Gupta made a decision to join AMH, and thereby altering the course of the next two generations.

For, ten years later, in March 1990, his son Dr Sanjay Gupta too, joined the hospital as a young surgeon. And soon, his wife Dr Alka Gupta – earlier with the BDF hospital, also moved to AMH as an Obstetrician and Gynecologist.

Dr Susan Isaac came to Bahrain when she was barely 27-years-old.

She delivered her two sons in the very hospital she served. After

Dr Abraham Koshy and Dr Annie Koshy over 40 years of dedicated service, she retired in May 2021. Her husband Dr Samuel Isaac too served in AMH for many years, after a long stint with the government of Bahrain, as a senior medical doctor.

In June 2020, sadly, Dr Solomon V Kumar became the first physician in Bahrain to succumb to the COVID-19 pandemic. He had been seeing patients in AMH’s Zwemer Clinic in Manama and may have contracted the virus there; thus, sacrificing his life in the line of duty.

Dr Babu Ramachandran, a prominent name in the Indian community, was recently appointed as the Chairman of the Indian Community Relief Fund (ICRF). He has served at AMH for over two decades and is currently Head, Amwaj Medical and Wellness Centre. He not only cares for the patients who visit him at the hospital, but also for those hundreds of patients he treats as a part of his community outreach activities like free health check-ups in labour camps.

Besides medical doctors - right from 1960s and 1970s - along with Bahrainis, several Indian staff of AMH, in nursing, pathology, radiology, pharmacy, finance and general maintenance have all been contributing to the hospital’s growth.

But that will be another story, at another time.

Pic. 1: Dr George Cheriyan, CEO; Pic. 2: Dr. Babu Ramachandran

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FASHION

Vaishali Shadangule takes Chanderi to Champs-Élysées!

Vaishali S. is a label that showcases the beauty and versatility of Indian handloom weaves – a story that exemplifies Young India and the power of the country’s heritage and history to inspire new dreams

By ADITI NAGAPPA

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arly in July 2021, Vaishali Shadungule, an enormously gifted fashion designer became the first Indian female designer (and only the second Indian since Rahul Mishra) to showcase her brand’s couture collection in Paris at the invitation of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.

What makes Vaishali’s fashion oeuvre extraordinary is her story and her vision for Indian handloom.

Here is a fashion designer who came to the high-octane world of haute couture from the Indian hinterland – the weaving town of Vidishi in Madhya Pradesh, home to some of the finest weavers of the gossamer Chanderi fabric since centuries. According to insiders, Vaishali ran away from home as an 18-year-old and reached Mumbai as the proverbial penniless migrant. She tried her hand at many jobs and stumbled upon her talent for fashion design when she was giving style tips to clients in the gym where she worked as a trainer.

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FASHION

Crafting design identity

Vaishali’s story is one that exemplifies Young India and the power of the country’s heritage and history to inspire new dreams. From a small boutique in the unfashionable Mumbai suburb of Malad, to formal training in Delhi and Milan and then a flagship store in Kala Ghoda, the epicentre of the glittering fashion scene in Mumbai, she struggled with the English language, with the cultural shift of big city business and financial pressure.

Through it all, Vaishali diligently crafted her own creative identity, rooted in the fantastic handloom heritage of her hometown. Her constant dedication towards reviving the old Indian textiles and giving it a modern appeal while staying true to the craftsmen’s vision and skills are a rare combination that imbues her fashion creations with honesty and imagination.

A devoted Indian textile revivalist, Shadangule recalls that before getting her formal training in fashion, she had set out to discover the weaves of India in far-off villages of the North East, West Bengal and Karnataka. Back home, the historical town Chanderi, three hours away from Vidisha, left a lasting mark on her memory; she was fascinated with

the beauty of the delicately hand-woven Chanderi fabric which forms the mainstay of her craft today.

Shadangule is now giving voice to hundreds of local craftsmen on a global platform through her eponymous label Vaishali S, founded in 2001. Her label has two beautiful boutiques, one in Juhu and the other in Kala Ghoda and also houses her new line of sustainable home décor and lighting that are made from the discarded materials left over from making apparels.

The designer insists that the heart of the brand is its large group of the workforce, the weavers.

“When I ventured out to seek weaving communities, there were barely 40 Khun weavers who practised the craft. Now, over 900 weavers across the country work with me.” She strongly believes in the irreplaceable contribution of these artisans, and every time she visits a weaving village, it is an eye opening experience.

It would be safe to say that Shadangule’s expertise lies in creating wearable art from century old handloom weaves, patiently gathered from around the country. Initially, for her, it was a challenge to SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

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FASHION

appeal to the new generation, but, she soon won them over by mixing Indian and western styles.

Global handloom revival For someone who describes her personal style as extremely simple and majorly ingrained in Indian weaves and sarees, Shadangule’s biggest milestone in her career has evidently been reviving authentic textiles and showing them on a global platform.

“I think the Indian design fraternity has done some great work internationally. However, I think, our incredible potential including the rich weaves, crafts and the quality of loom is still not tapped into. We have time and again underestimated ourselves.”

FASHION She sees India as a profound fashionable country and believes that by giving the age-old textiles and crafts a contemporary touch, the country can dominate the global fashion narrative.

“My focus is to modernise the silhouette with handloom weaves and give it an urban crispness while also retaining the inherent elegance in the revival of the textile.” The power play of visual art and unconventional patterns in all of Vaishali S’s

collections stands out from the typical run-of-themill garments and exude a new design language to millennial women who love to experiment.

A loyalist of her art, Shadangule has also showcased her collections four times at the New York Fashion Week, consecutively from 2016 to 2019. “Today the story of Indian weaves is still a fable for most of the international world, while many are finally beginning to recognise the potential of our heirlooms.”

“I make sure that each collection has its unique touch to reflect the craftsmanship, written strongly within the thread narrative.”

INDI

A SPIRE - INDIA@75

“ILA reinvents itself to continue serving community” - Monika Srivastava, Patron of ILA,Wife of Ambassador Piyush Srivastava

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ince the time of its founding, the char ter of the Indian Ladies Association has had the wife of the Indian Ambassador ser ving in Bahrain as the Patron.

It is an official duty that Monika Srivastava, the spouse of the present Ambassador takes ver y seriously – not least because the ILA’s motto “Ser vice Before Self ” and its various outreach and community ser vice programmes resonate so much with her academic training in social work.

“I think women in the Indian diaspora so far from home and family are the strong binding factor in keeping the community together,” Monika Srivastava says, “Having seen how the ILA has reinvented itself to rise to the challenges of the pandemic and its restrictions, I have great admiration for its members.”

She is par ticularly admiring of how the ILA worked with blue-collar workers for the teaching of English through its

Speakeasy classes and of course the way the association recast its Sneha Recreation Centre activities for online sessions so that the children with special needs did not get left behind in the isolation of the pandemic.

As patron, Monika has been actively par ticipating in the ILA’s workers’ welfare and community suppor t programmes and recently, she has guided the Association to expand its scope of ser vice and explore environmental programmes such as planting pocket forests and the planting of herb and Ayur veda gardens in Bahrain.

“In these difficult times, the work of organisations like the ILA is the thread that stitches together the community with compassion and each one of us has a duty to suppor t their work,” she said.

Bonus: Please watch Monika Srivastava’s Independence Day inter view on our Salaam Bahrain Facebook and Instagram pages.

Monika Srivastava (in blue, holding flowers) - helping ILA to set new environment support agenda SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

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“INDIA@75” Celebrating Indian Independence Day August 15, 2021

North-South-East-West, For Indian taste, Mega Mart is the best

Lulu Centre Tel : 17 250 334 • 17 826 884 • Muharraq : 17 343 266 • Hamad Town : 17 412 563 Salmaniya : 17 252 624 • Galali : 17 32 00 25 • Segayya (Al Hayat Shopping Centre) : 17 00 30 61 MegaMart Express : 17 382 511 • Lagoon, Amwaj Islands : 16 030 106 • Budaiya : 17 00 10 24 Al Esteglal hwy : 33 00 47 95 • BFH : 332 449 10

OPENING SOON IN ALSAYAH SQUARE, BUSAITEEN!

CUISINE

India's bounteous cuisine from the seas The seafood on India's plate is varied, tasty and comes with a fascinating history

By MEERA RAVI

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ith a coastline of nearly 8,000 kilometres and criss-cross of rivers and water bodies, India has a marvellous and ancient fishing tradition. The fish, is part of Hindu mythology, as the first avatar in the ten avatars of Lord Mahavishnu and in folk culture, it symbolises longevity and prosperity, turning up as stylised motif in textiles, ancient coins, paintings and stories. In contemporary

Women on landside

It is natural that a sector which provides employment to over 14.5 million fisher people and indirect employment to thousands more should propel India to No. 3 as exporter of fish to the world. The sector also contributes to the food security of the country and there is a separate Department of Fisheries, created in February 2019. The Indian coastline is delineated into 22 zones, based on the ecosystem structure and functions. The Indian boat type ranges from the traditional catamarans, masula boats, plankbuilt boats, dug out canoes, machwas, dhonis to the present day motorized fibre-glass boats, mechanized trawlers and gillnetters.

And what do these fisherfolk catch? The bulk of their catch comprises oil sardines, followed by shrimp, Indian mackerel, Bombay duck, croakers, smaller quantities of cephalopods (octopus, squid, cuttlefish), other sardines and threadfin breams. Despite the oft-repeated picture of vast seas and fishing fleets setting off to sea, the fact remains that there is a separate culinary culture for fish caught in rivers and lakes. And yes, just like in agriculture, although men do the actual fishing out in the sea and rivers, women are an

popular art, there are many films, books and songs about the lives of millions of people engaged in this vital aspect of our food security. Till today, the awardwinning Malayalam film Chemmeen and its song ‘Kadal-in Akkara Ponorey’ (“Having gone to the distant horizon across the sea, what have you brought back?”) or the Marathi Koli song ‘Mi Dholkar-ae Dhariyacha Raja’ (“I am the King of the Sea in my fishing boat”) can set feet tapping and the body swaying.

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Skipjack tuna fish worker in Lakshadweep

integral part of the fishing workforce, responsible for all the landside tasks: cleaning, sorting, preserving (drying, salting etc) and selling the catch.

“Every different region comes with its own special preparations and the waters of the region really does change the taste of the food, depending on where you are. For example, fresh water and river fishes are of sweet taste and sea fish has the taste of salt,” observed Bahrain-based food enthusiast and popular blogger Manisha Chakraborty, “The produce of the region is always integrated into the traditional fish recipe: the use of coconut, kokam and tamarind are quite commonly seen in fish recipes of the western and southern regions of India while in the Eastern region, mustard and vegetables are commonly used. Again in the North Eastern region there is lot of use of fresh herbs and vegetables in their fish recipes. The fish recipes of the Northern India is mostly tomato and spice based.”

Dream bounty

Although there are regional favourites, which is the fish that fishermen dream of catching? Each season has a specific piscine bounty and cycles of breeding determine which fish should be consumed when. From choice crustaceans like prawns, crabs and lobster to regional favourites like bekti, pomfret and seer—it is a complex interplay between demand, supply, quality

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and size of catch that determines the price of fish and other seafood.

Fisherfolk of course dream of the Big Catch which will net them the biggest profits. Every year, Bengal's hilsa or pulasu as it is called in the Godavari, notches new highs in the market, retailing between Rs 1,400 to Rs 4000 a kg and those with a love for the fish, adjust household budgets to accommodate this delicacy. But in terms of actual record-breaking returns, it is the ghol fish (Protonibea diacanthus or the blackspotted croaker) that breaks the records at fish auctions, emerging as India's most expensive fish. And very little of it has to do with its actual meat.

While the larger sized ghol is generally found in the deeper waters, it occasionally arrives near the coast and in creeks off Maharashtra and Gujarat to feed or breed. Weighing between 35-1kg, a single fish can be way more profitable than a larger catch of expensive fish like the pomfret. Oddly, the ghol is prized for its constituent parts and the actual meat is not so widely eaten.

"It is the larger sized fish that fetch the highest price in the market and this is due to its highly prized swim bladder," says Ganesh Nakhwa, founder of Blucatch, an online sustainable seafood startup. The bladder is dried and used for clarification in the wine and beer industry

CUISINE and its superior quality fetches anything upwards of Rs 50,000 per kg in the market . The larger the fish, the larger this swim bladder.

The heart of the fish is colloquially known as "sea gold" and has several uses in traditional medicine associated with everything from virility to glowing skin. Its fins are used to make dissolvable sutures while its skin with its high collagen content goes into beauty products. The gelatin extracted from the ghol is used in food applications and is a good substitute for porcine and bovine gelatin for those whose religious propensities do not allow them to consume the same.

Although large-sized ghol are rare, the smaller sizes are always available in the market in some quantities.

Despite this, the ghol is consumed mainly by the Koli fisherfolk of Maharashtra and Mumbai’s Pathare Prabhu community. Caterer and Pathare Prabhu cuisine expert, Soumitra Velkar says that the ghol is eaten across forms as a pickle, stew or curry. He says that "the ghol head (bagad) and the spine (kanta) are highly revered and are bought and cooked separately."

These bits have a unique gelatinous texture that add a new dimension to any curry prepared with them.

Changing culture

Unlike other national fishing industries, the Indian industry is still largely tradition bound and dominated by semi-motorised vessels. Yes, there are large and extralarge fleets of fishing trawlers which use the destructive purse-nets for fishing which catch huge amounts of juvenile fish and destroy breeding stock. However, most fishing communities are strictly governed by their caste and even when they travel cross-country (fishermen from Andhra working in Maharashtra, for example), they

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Parked fishing boats at Anjarle Creek

find common ground. Working conditions for individuals are tough and the work itself is back-breaking with little cushion in the form of financial bonus or health benefits.

The establishment of cities with an ever-increasing population and changing food habits created an obvious demand for large-scale fish culture in the 20th century. Fish production from natural waterbodies trended downward during the later decades of the 20th century. Meanwhile, the technologies of induced breeding and polyculture virtually revolutionized the freshwater pisciculture sector over the last 50 years, and Indian fish production registered excellent growth.

“No matter how much I fancy a fish dish in a fine dine restaurant, my heart and soul will always long for the traditional, local and rustic recipes,” says Manisha, “From my home state of Assam, Assamese style fish curries make minimum uses of masala or spices and use more of fresh tender vegetables and herbs making it really healthy and nutritious too.

My favourites are the signature Masor Tenga or sour fish curry, where large chunks of fish are cooked to melting perfection with of Ou Tenga (elephant apple)

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and fresh Dhekia (Fiddlehead ferns). Or it could be a simple fire-grilled local fish mashed with chopped onions, chillies, ginger, salt and few drops of mustard oil. It simply tastes heavenly!”

Of course, the coastal areas are well-known for their amazing seafood – Goan Prawn Recheado, Kerala’s Fish Mappas, the spicy-tamarind tangy Tamil Nadu Meen Kozhambu and Bengal’s Maccher Jhol are wellknown. But India also springs surprises: In Gujarat, known for its vegetarian cuisine, you will find some palate-pleasers like Gujarati Fish Fry and even the Parsi Patra Ni Machi. From Nagaland, known for its forests and exotic meat, spicy fish steamed in bamboo tubes is making culinary waves. Or you can try a Kashmiri fish curry with lotus stem slices and an improbable cinnamon flavour. In Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, Machli ka halwa – a dessert made out of pounded fish - is no ordinary dish, for not only is made of fish, but it is also associated with royalty.

So let your next meal come swimming to you for India’s bounteous seas!

CUISINE

ANDHRA CRAB MEAT MASALA

A hearty snack that is easy to make and can be adapted to vegetarian or vegan diets by using paneer or tofu.

INGREDIENTS 200 gms processed crab meat

A big pinch each of the following:

60 gms refined oil

- coriander powder

2 gram curry leaves

- cumin powder

10 gms garlic, chopped

- turmeric powder

6 gram green chilli

- garam masala powder

40 gms onion, chopped

- Kashmiri chilli powder

15 gms ginger-garlic paste

2 gram salt

10 gms coriander, chopped

1 Lemon

20 gms tomato, chopped

PREPARATION 1. Take a pan, add oil and saute onion, garlic, green chilli, curry leaves along with ginger-garlic paste. Saute till light golden brown.

2. Add the processed crabs and saute for 5 minutes.

3. After the crab changes its colour to deeper in 10 minutes on a medium heat, start adding the dry spice powders- turmeric, coriander, red chilli, Kashmiri red chilli, cumin, garam masala powder and salt as per taste. Stir in the spices to ensure the crab is coated well with the spices.

4. Add chopped tomato and lemon juice. Stir them into the crab mixture. Add half cup of water since crab cooks from its own moisture in the meat as well.

5. Cover with a lid and cook on simmered flame for 5-6 minutes, until the water from the meat starts oozing out.

6. Remove the lid and check for the spice levels and adjust if needed.

7. Once done, garnish the Andhra crab meat masala with chopped fresh coriander and serve with steamed rice and rotis.

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CUISINE PIA BANERJEE D’SOUZA’S

BHAAPA MAACH

)STEAMED FISH IN MUSTARD SAUCE(

INGREDIENTS • 6 pcs firm, white-fleshed fish fillets (e.g.: trout, haddock or mahi mahi) • 2 tbsp black mustard seeds • 2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds • 8-10 green chillies, ends cut off • 2 tbsp white poppy seeds (can be substituted with sesame seeds or cashewnut) • 4 tbsp yoghurt, beaten • 2 tbsp freshly grated coconut • ½ tsp turmeric powder • Salt to taste • Mustard oil

PREPARATION 1. Soak the mustard seeds and poppy seeds in 4 tbsp water each and keep aside for 10 min.

2. Clean and pat dry the fish, then rub it with turmeric and salt and keep aside.

3. Drain the water from the mustard seeds and grind it to a fine paste along with 2 green chillies. Add the grated coconut and pulse again to make a paste. Scrape it out of the jar. Drain the poppy seeds and place it back in the same jar and make a paste, adding a little water, if needed. Stir it into the mustard & coconut paste, along with the yoghurt.

4. Add 3 tbsp mustard oil and a little salt to the paste and mix it all up.

5. Take a large, shallow steel bowl with a tight-fitting lid, or any other heatproof shallow bowl, wide enough to fit the fish pieces in a single layer. Pour the mustard and yoghurt mixture into this bowl. Add the fish pieces in, one at a time, coating the pieces on all sides with the mixture, and placing it in a single layer.

6. Place a green chilli on each of the fish pieces. Drizzle 1 tsp mustard oil on top and cover it with the lid. (If you are using a bowl without a tight-fitting lid, cover it with foil first and then place the lid on top.)

7. Take a wide bottomed pan with a lid and fill it up to ¼ way up with water. Place a heatproof stand inside the pan and bring the water to a boil. Carefully place the bowl with the fish on the stand and cover the pan with the lid. Steam for 15min. Then remove from heat and let it sit for another 5 min.

8. Carefully remove the bowl and open the lid. Drizzle another spoonful of mustard oil and serve with plain white rice.You can also cook it in the microwave. Make sure you use a microwave safe bowl and place it in a water bath. Cook on high for 5min then at 40% for 25min. Drizzle a tsp of mustard oil on top before serving.

Sunanda Gaikwad’s

WHITE PRAWNS IN COCONUT MILK

INGREDIENTS

• 200 grams fresh cleaned prawns • 1 cup coconut milk • Salt as per taste

FOR PASTE

• 2 tbsp fresh coconut • 2 small green raw tomatoes • 1 small chopped white onion • 2 tbsp chopped garlic • 1 tbsp chopped ginger • 5 to 6 green chillies • 1 tsp jeera • 1 tsp coriander seeds • 1 tsp pepper • 1 tsp mustard seeds • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

FOR SEASONING • Few curry leaves • 1/2 tsp jeera • 1 tbsp oil

PREPARATION 1. Clean the prawns and keep aside.

2. Take a pan, add oil and all paste ingredients. Fry on low flame 3. Once it cools down, blend it into a smooth paste. If required, add a little water.

4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat.

5. When the oil is hot enough, add the curry leaves and jeera. Stir till fragrant, about 5 minutes.

6. Add the paste and fry for 3 minutes.

7. Now add the prawns and allow to cook until they are opaque - about 5 minutes 8. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil - about 1 minute.

9. Add coconut milk and salt.

10. Serve hot with white rice.

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CUISINE

Chef Sachin's

MAHI ZAFFRANI KOFTA INGREDIENTS

• Salmon 180 gms • Coriander 20 gms • Ginger 15 gms • Garlic 15 gms • Onion 100 gms • Almond 30 gms • Cashewnut 30 gms • Shahi jeera 5 gms • Green chilli 5 gms • Turmeric powder 5 gms • Deggi mirch powder 10 gms

• Salt to taste • Mint 10 gms • Coriander powder 8 gms • Hyderabadi garam masala 5 gms • Food essence (Kewra) 2 ml • Saffron 0.01 gms • Cardamom powder 5 gms • Cooking oil 20 ml • Fish stock 50 ml

GARNISH

• Mint leaves and fried onion

PREPARATION KOFTA RECIPE: 1. Clean the fillet of the fish and make fine mince.

2. Add chop coriander roots, chop chili, chop mint, salt to taste and make round dumplings.

3. Make fish stock and blanch the fish dumplings in the same and keep it aside.

GRAVY RECIPE: 1. Take a pan add cooking oil and make it hot.

2. Add shahi jeera let it crackle then add onion slice and make it brown.

3. Once the onion is caramilized add ginger garlic paste once cooked add almond and cashew nut paste.

4. Cook the gravy slowly and add little fish stock and cardamom powder, deggi mirch, Hyderabadi garam masala and saffron.

5. Steep the fish dumplings in the gravy and simmer it for 2 mins.

6. Serve hot with naan or steamed rice.

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BAHRAIN INDIA FRIENDSHIP

Soman Baby presenting his book on Bahrain to the Crown Prince & Prime Minister during the opening of the Bahrain Embassy in New Delhi

"A privilege to have a ringside view of the emergence of modern Bahrain"

"T

he year was 1981. As an eager young reporter in Bahrain’s only English language daily, the Gulf Daily News, I was assigned to the enviable task of covering the first state visit of the ruler of Bahrain the Late Amir Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa to India.

The trip was memorable for me, a lad from the quiet backwaters of Kerala because it gave me the opportunity to occupy a front row seat in the drama of the strengthening of ties between two friendly nations whose association stretched back across the dusty centuries to the Dilmun and Indus Valley civilisations. I was able to witness national-level talks and even got to interview the Late Amir as well as India’s charismatic Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.

As a journalist, Bahrain offered me an opportunity to rub shoulders with the best of people and consider ministers, royalty and community movers and shakers as my friends. This year, India and Bahrain celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations – I have had the privilege to be a link in this chain of friendship for much of these years. It has been fascinating to see how Bahrain shaped itself to fit the contemporary contours of the 20th and 21st centuries without losing its traditional warmth of heart and its compassion.

His Majesty the King had paid his first state visit to India in

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February 2014. The Late Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa also visited India. Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa also paid a visit to New Delhi in May 2012. A year later, the Crown Prince had also visited Kerala. I was privileged to accompany Bahrain’s delegations on all these occasions.

In July 2003, His Majesty the King invited me and my daughter Nisha to Safriya Palace. Earlier, I had shown His Majesty the photograph of Nisha holding the Bahrain National Flag at the Parade of Nations at the university in Chicago. He said he would meet her when she visited Bahrain. At the end of the conversation, I told His Majesty about my plan to write a book on Bahrain as a gesture of gratitude to Bahrain which hosted our family for more than 25 years. Thus my magnum opus 'Shukran Bahrain' was born.

My family and I owe so much to this beautiful island, its rulers and people and I believe that the two countries will forever continue their march into a bright and prosperous future.

I take this opportunity to wish all the people and residents of Bahrain and my fellow-Indians a year of many achievements and deepening friendship."

COLUMN

Taking wing with the Birdman of Bahrain GIS specialist Dr. Ajay Kumar Singh may have a career grounded on terrafirma, but his exquisite photos of Bahrain’s birds lets us all fly

By S. Mehta His perfect picture of dreamy pink flamingos on the waves at Bahrain's Askar coast won him international accolades including praise in Nature’s Best Photography Asia 2019 competition. Dr Ajay Kumar Singh is famous on the island for his love of birding and photography. However, surprisingly this Geographical Information Systems specialist at the Ministry of Interior only started 'birding' in 2009.

It is rare for expats to immerse themselves in Bahraini natural delights – the usual conversation does not go beyond how hot it is or winter dust storms. “Not many people from the Indian community explore Bahrain's nature simply because they are unaware of the hidden treasure that exists on the island,” Dr. Singh says, “For those interested in starting out in this rewarding adventure, I advise them to start out with reading relevant books about Bahrain. Visiting various sites in Bahrain and following veterans will also be very helpful. For nature photography, one should start with basics and expand their understanding with experiments.”

Astonishing birdlife Dr Singh says he too was astonished by the wealth of bird-life in Bahrain because unless you are an active birder you do not notice that Bahrain has more than 300 species of migratory birds. "This is mainly because Bahrain lies in the 'Central Asian Flyway' as well as 'West Asian-East African Flyway' for migratory birds.”

(A flyway is a flight path used by large numbers of birds while migrating between their breeding grounds and their overwintering quarters. Flyways generally span continents and often pass over oceans. There are four major north–south flyways in North America and six covering Eurasia, Africa and Australasia.)

For such an avid photographer of Nature and wildlife, he came to his hobby rather late. " I started photography in 1994 while doing my PhD field work with my first SLR camera. I purchased my first DSLR in 2009 and started wildlife photography in 2011 because I found it interesting, challenging and thrilling. I like to capture animal behaviour, their habitat and try to present it to create awareness about wildlife among people. " To be an avid birder you have to find 'birdy' places. Even within a SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

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specific habitat, there are places that are especially attractive to birds: places that have lots of food or that are safe to nest or to roost overnight. If you want to see lots of birds, one has to be on the lookout for these special locations and follow a specific routine and be patient.

"I usually go for bird photography in the morning hours during weekends and public holidays. I am in the field for around 3 hours.

I carry light snacks and enough water specially in summer. Most of the times, the problem of loo breaks comes in winter. I try to drink less water during that time", explains Dr Singh.

Unforgettable Most people would list a rewarding experience but true aficionados tend to remember a missed opportunity. "The most exciting but unfortunate morning I experienced was during the solar eclipse on 26 December 2019. I worked on a plan to photograph 'greater flamingos' with the backdrop of solar eclipse at Asker beach. I reached the site at right time as planned. But it was dark and unfortunately, I could not judge the correct distance of the flamingos. I went so close that they flew away the

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moment the sun started coming up. I missed a great opportunity that I think I would never forget”, reminiscences Dr Singh The birder's rulebook • Be quiet and careful. If you make noise, talk in a loud voice, or get too close, the birds will get scared and fly away.

Be stealthy and sneak up on birds, so they stay put and you can look at them.

You can get fairly close if you try! And when you do, you might be able to snap some photos.

• Don’t disturb nesting birds, their nests, eggs, or baby birds. If you come upon a baby bird on the ground that is not yet able to fly, leave it where it is. Chances are, the baby bird’s mother knows where it is and will come to feed it. If it has left the nest, it may be close to being able to fly.

• Respect private and public property.

Make sure your kids ask permission before going onto private property—like yards, country clubs, or private beaches—to look at birds. While in parks or nature preserves, stay on paths, trails, or boardwalks, and don’t do anything to damage the environment.

SALAAM BAHRAIN | AUGUST | 2021

Birder or birdwatcher?

Though the terms 'birdwatcher' or 'birder' are often considered synonymous, don’t tell that to a birder! Dr. Singh explains that a birder is apt to nurture a long bird list, and is willing to suffer bad weather and travel distances to see that rare bird.

The birdwatcher seldom venturing beyond a local park, and most familiar with the birds that come and go from the garden feeders.

Wikipedia says that the term 'birdwatching' was first used in 1901 and that the verb 'to bird' was recognized in 1918. While the term birdwatching is widely understood, birding is not. Some prefer the term 'birding' because it includes recognising birds by songs and calls. But mostly it appears to be, according to Wikipedia, a matter of 'scope, dedication, and intensity.'

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YOUNGISTAN

Bhavans-Bahrain Indian School: synonym of quality education Bahrain Indian School - Bhavans is counted among the most prestigious institutions in the country and even the pandemic did not become a hurdle in sustaining quality education.

The major achievement of the year was the spectacular performance of the first batch of Grade 10 students in All India Secondary School Examination 2020-21.

The School topper, Mahima Susan Thomas registered an outstanding score of 99% to make the result an iconic one. The other outstanding performers were Amruta Phadke & Ritisha Bisht scored 94.8% and 94.4% respectively.

Mahima Susan Thomas scored the 100% in Mathematics.

BIS has added another feather in its cap by securing CBSE Affiliation up to Grade XII. The first batch of Grade XI classes commenced this year successfully. All major steam options (Science, Commerce & Humanities) with a variety of subject combinations are offered to suit the individual interest of the students. To make quality education affordable, BIS

The Management, Staff and Students of Bahrain Indian School (BIS) Wishes all Indians a

Happy Independence Day Admissions Open 2021-22

P.O.Box : 31595,Budaiya,Kingdom of Bahrain.

Ph: +973 17598000, +973 32327655 Fax: +973 17598080 Email: info@bhavansbahrain.com www.bhavansbahrain.com

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Fee discounts, career advise and special coaching for entry exams give BIS students an edge

Management has announced attractive FEE DISCOUNTS to all students seeking admission in Grade XI in 2021-22.

Facilities for regular career counselling to prepare students for various competitive examinations like IIT- JEE, NEET, SAT and availability of admission experts to support students with their University Applications make BIS the most sought – after school in the Kingdom.

Admissions are continuing for the academic session 2021-22 from Pre- KG to Grade XI. Application forms are available online at www.bhavansbahrain.com along with detailed admission procedures.

MONEY TALK

Planning your child’s future

Sunil Kumar Takur, CEO & MD of LIC (International) The unpredictability of the pandemic has taught us all the need to plan a proper insurance cover for our child’s education.

Every parent wants to have a sound financial plan, guaranteeing availability of funds for the professional career development and higher education of the child in any eventuality.

The first step is to recognise that the college education costs a lot! The corpus you save up could pretty much determine where and what your child studies. So you will need to think about what it would cost to get your child a college degree today. Even if your child is very young, do talk to parents whose children are in college.

Then to estimate the cost of similar education for your child in the future, add 10% inflation cost annually as a basic inflation cover. That is how much college education would cost when your child is ready for it. Remember, college fees do not increase each year. Every few years or so there would be a big jump. Sometimes the fee could even double. Such a jump

could happen when you child is about to enter college and the corpus would typically get spent over 2-3 years.

For NRIs living abroad, the trust and facilities offered by L.I.C. International, one of the most trusted insurance brands in the world, is a safety net that will not only build a vital nest-egg but also be accessible if one were to return to India.

For this, L.I.C. offers Plan 219 – Professional Education Plan (PEP). This popular tool for saving for a child’s higher education, can be taken by the parent or gifted by grandparents, elder sister, brother and uncles. Customer can choose to pay premiums for first 5 years of the policy under limited term premium payment option. Under Regular premium payment option, future premiums can also be paid in advance by availing either premium sealing option or by paying in one lump sum under premium commutation at a discount. The attractive features of PEP is that the plan is a Cash Back Plan for children. The sum assured under this plan will be paid in instalments from the policy

anniversary falling due after the child attains the age of 18 years upwards.

As for the payment of Sum Assured to the child, Customer can opt for survival benefits at 20% or 15% of the sum assured annually. If you choose survival benefit option of 20% or 15% of sum assured, the child will receive 20% or 15% of sum assured for 5 years starting from the policy anniversary falling after the child completing 18 years of age and on 23rd year of the child, guaranteed additions for the entire duration of the policy is paid to the child along with loyalty additions, if any and 25% of sum Assured additionally in the second option. Additional protection riders like: Premium Waiver Benefit Rider and Family Protection Benefit Rider can be added to the policy.

The main reason that we should invest in our children’s education fund is that it is important to ensure our children do not start their career burdened with debt (education loan). Hence, we will have to start early, invest right, and manage the portfolio smartly. To do so through a children’s education policy is to be doubly assured that not only will your child have access to funds for a good education but that the protection will continue for the family if anything untoward happened to the breadwinners .

PEP is just one plan out of over 20 plans (all L.I.C. International’s plans are issued in US$), which can cater to the needs of customer, like family protection, Savings, Health and Pension. In these challenging economic conditions, it becomes very important to save money and invest it to generate returns and not risk losing money which was saved through hard work.

For more information about various products and services, contact LIC International’s experienced Life Insurance Consultants, visit the website at www. licinternatinal.com, write an email to bah. lici@licinternatinal.com or WhatsApp & call on +973 39936618 or +973 17210610.

SALAAM BAHRAIN | JANUARY | 2020

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CELEB CHAKKAR

Krishna Shroff's love for tattoos is evident in her sizzling pictures Tiger Shroff's sister Krishna Shroff is a tattoo maniac and her pictures prove it. Krishna Shroff is the daughter of Bollywood's famous actor Jackie Shroff and movie producer Ayesha Shroff. Unlike Jackie and Tiger, Krishna is more into sports and does not want to pursue her career in acting. The shapely lass loves to flaunt her toned bod on her Instagram account and one can see the detailed tattoos of birds, galaxies of stars and other delicate body art highlighting her curves.

Krishna Shroff loves to have tattoos – and we love them on Krishna!

'Alia and Ranbir Kapoor to wed this year' Their fans have been waiting with bated breath for these A-listers to get married. They've been dating since 2017, and last year Ranbir had said that had it not been for the pandemic, the two would have been married by now.

It was Lara Dutta who let the cat out of the bag in an interview where she said that she believed that Ranbir and Alia are getting married this year. Her words got more credibility as Neetu Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were papped visiting Krishna Raj Bungalow’s construction site in Bandra, Mumbai, which is expected to be Ranbir's new residence.

On the work front, Ranbir and Alia will next be seen in Ayan Mukerji’s supernatural film Brahmastra. Alia has a slew of films lined up, including her debut production venture, Darlings. The actor is currently awaiting the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi.

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FOCUS

CELEB CHAKKAR

Arunita’s secret crush Just like Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy is every girl’s secret crush, it seems ‘Rahul’ the hero portrayed by SRK in most Dharma films, is the idol of many Indian girls. During the latest ‘Indian Idol’ when special guest Karan Johar teased Arunita and Pawandeep about their much-talked about romance, Arunita quickly quashed the rumour by diplomatically wishing Pawandeep all the best and saying her ideal husband would be ‘Rahul’.

Quick thinking from the musical star!

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CELEB CHAKKAR

Son Ye-Jin creates own ‘method’ acting They count the likes of actress Kajol among their fans and yes, the world is swooning over their global smash hit series 'Crash Landing On You (CLOY)' – now South Korean actress Son Ye-jin and her co-star Hyun Bin have also dropped many hints of an upcoming real-life wedding in 2022 to seal their romance.

CLOY, a 2019 K-drama series enjoyed a cult following as it traced the story of star-crossed lovers; reserved North Korean captain Ri Jung-hyuk (Bin) and confident South Korean chaebol heiress Yoon Se-ri (Ye-jin). In India, it gained a huge following, with fans relating it to the oft-repeated India-Pakistan scenario and even calling it a S.Korean Veer Zara!

The series received a huge fillip when actress Kajol revealed that she was a big fan of K-dramas and specifically CLOY. "I find (K-drama) highly entertaining. I thought the idea of the whole North Korea-South Korea love story (in CLOY) was fabulous, and I loved the way they did it. It was a superb idea and fantastically executed," Kajol gushed.

Today, Son Ye-Jin is one of the most recognizable Hallyu (S. Korean showbiz – similar to the term Bollywood) stars. Those who have followed Son's career since the early 2000s would see her acting in English, Chinese and Japanese.

Son clarifies,"I don't actually speak them, but I practice very hard to get the pronunciation correct. I've been trying to learn English for 15 years now. But then once I start working on a project and I don't get to use the language anymore, I'll forget, so I feel like, for 15 years, I've kind of been in the same spot."

Beyond the language, an admirable trait of Son is her ability to cry on cue. She shared she was able to do this by putting real emotions in make-believe scenes.

"I really attribute this to perhaps a deep sense of empathy for the character. When I see someone who is sad, I also feel sad. It helps me act out this sorrow."

It hadn't been this way early on in her career but taking on varied roles helped Son develop her acting method.

"In the beginning, it was really just a matter of following what was in the script, what the character was. But eventually, as I ventured into different genres and roles, I started to feel like I don't want them to feel like I am acting out a character - I want to speak as this person."

She adds, "And so to act from that depth, it is very difficult for me to do that. But of course, I enjoy this work so much."

However, this world-famous celebrity, as it turns out, still feels like any ordinary person and has her own insecurities.

For one, when asked for her beauty secrets, the actress says, "I'm not innately born with good skin, so I actually put in a lot of effort [to have] good skin."

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Allu Arjun the doting father!

Allu Arjun is not just a humble superstar but also a doting father who loves to spend time with his kids. His daughter Allu Arha is making her debut with Shaakuntalam – a mythological drama. Shakuntalam is directed by Gunasekhar and stars Samantha Akkineni in a lead role. Recently, Allu Arjun who was touched by this gesture, took to his social media and said, “It was nice visiting the sets of #Shaakuntalam. Very heartwarming to see Allu ARHA at the shoot, it’s something I never thought I would see so soon. Thank you @Gunasekhar1garu, @neelima_guna garu and @Samanthaprabhu2 for taking such good care of her.”

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EDITOR'S VIEW This time of the year comes laden with so much promise for those of us in the subcontinent. The birth of India which we are celebrating represents a fabulous opportunity because every second, every minute nations renew themselves through their people.

India, of course, has one of the youngest populations and this year, that is the focus of our Independence Day special issue.

Not enough is written to mark the successes and achievements of the young Indians who make up a huge chunk of the country’s population.

In most conversations and in popular depictions of youth, we hear of them as carefree, tech-obsessed people who are not too thoughtful and unworried about the future. Well, nothing could be further from the truth as the Greta Thunbergs and Disha Ravis and Umar Khalids of our world have taught us. As we explored the ways in which young people are interpreting their world – our world – we came away with beautiful new ideas and visions. Whether they launched businesses to save the planet, to support entrepreneurial ecosystems, to explore ancient classical arts while juggling full-time careers or whether they re-imagined the world of fashion with India’s ancient textile heritage set to millennial design, we have a Class of Winners to lead us into the years ahead.

At the same time, these young people are thoughtful and keenly aware of the injustice and bloodshed that underpinned the horrific Partition and fighting which tore through our country and set in motion the song of freedom at midnight. More and more young people are investigating why our generation had not recorded the unutterable grief and pain that accompanied the birth pangs of our new India and of Pakistan. To move on into a world that is gentler and more compassionate, we need to process this pain and to heal.

As we pay homage to the thousands who lay down their life for India, let us add a heartfelt prayer to all those innocent ones who were caught in the crossfire of two nations at birth. Only if we remember their pain and pledge to do all we can not to repeat the mistakes of our forefathers, will we live a life of promise.

Salaam Bahrain wishes all readers a great onward journey of independence and friendship.

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BAHRAIN & INDIA TOGETHER IN FORGING A TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP OF EXCELLENCE

As India begins its year-long journey “India@75”, and Bahrain & India celebrate 50 Years of Diplomatic Ties, we wish both countries progress, friendship and prosperity

Universal Electro Engineering B.S.C.C Bldg # 389, Road # 1507, Block # 115, HIDD Main Line : 00973-17826644 Fax No : 00973-17827090, Web: www.uneeco.com, Email : uneeco@uneeco.com

Unique Power Switchgear W.L.L Bldg # 1308, Road # 1516, Block # 115, HIDD, Main Line : 00973-17826941 Fax No : 00973-17826592, Web : uniquepowerswitchgears.com, Email : unique@uniquepowerswitchgears.com