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VOL 24 No. 6
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June - July 2012
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
12: TIDU interviews Radhika, Amer,
Gurmeet and Mahima who went on
a trip down under with ABC pre-
senter Joe Hildebrand to find out
and analyse the stereotypes they
have of Australia
18: Teigan Llyod-Evans wins SBS
Bollywood Star competition
21: Neeru Saluja talks to Malaika
Arora Khan at IFF 2012
28: Census 2011 proves Harris
Park is the Little India of
Australia
44: Is beauty only skin-deep?
Are they really ?
Amer, Mahima, Radhika and
Gurmeet with Joe Hildebrand
02 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 03
04 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 05
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06 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
Editor's Letter
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 7
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T
here has been so much
hype against the carbon
tax introduced on July 1,
its dissection into minute detail,
peoples opinion and polls as if
its impact would have been felt
the moment clock hit 12. It was
like opinions and predictions
before crossing the sound barrier
- that the moment an aeroplane
hit the speed of sound, there
would be a bang, an explosion,
destruction all around.
Is it good or bad to have car-
bon tax? In a similar vein, is it
good or bad to pay sewerage
rates? Are we allowed to pollute
freely; is the industry allowed to
pump their waste into the river
or the sea? If not, how do we
expect not to be regulated, not to
be taxed to pollute the air and
control the emissions.
The argument against the
carbon tax is that other countries
are not controlling their emis-
sions. Why should Australia,
then, impose the tax on its citi-
zens, make the cost of energy
dearer and also be uncompetitive
in the world market.
The fact, however, is that all
developed nations are instituting
stricter emissions controls,
including the US who have more
stringent industry standards than
Australia. As for other develop-
ing nations, they argue that
Australia is the highest emitter of
carbon per capita in the air.
Australia, by taking the ini-
tiative to reduce the emissions, is
encouraging innovation to pro-
duce more efficient energy.
There is justifiable debate
whether carbon tax should be
fixed on price per tonne of
carbon - $23, or there should be
emissions trading scheme to
allow more flexibility. The latter
option is harder to implement
and the discussion is prolonged
that will do any government
more political damage. There is
also political reality that the
Greens who have the balance of
power will never support the
emissions trading scheme.
The Coalition offers the
alternative of direct action to
give incentives to industry to be
more efficient to reduce emis-
sions. The Labor Government
argues that those incentives will
have to come from the pockets of
normal households. This is con-
trary to the Government policy
of taxing the polluters to give
money to households.
The Gillard Government
hopes that the demon of Carbon
tax that Tony Abbott has been
creating will soon fizzle out as
most of the people will find out
that they have been well compen-
sated for increased living costs.
There is a dual purpose to
the Carbon tax of redistribution
of wealth from the rich to the
ones below the line as with two
other reforms that have been
introduced on July 1. The mining
tax and the private health insur-
ance rebate means test are direct
actions in favour of the under-
privileged to bring fairness and
equity in the society. This is to
be applauded.
M
eanwhile, in India the
mix of good and bad
news continued as
before. First the good news:
Pranab Mukherjee, till recently
the Union Finance Minister, is
slated to become the 13th
President of India. Though BJP
and a handful of other parties are
supporting the candidature of PA
Sangma, that is ill-advertised.
United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) nominee supported by
even some parties of the opposi-
tion National Democratic
Alliance, Pranab da will win
handily by a wide margin. He
has a clean image and is widely
respected in political circles.
Congress party is now finding it
difficult to find somebody to fill
in for him. Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has himself
taken the finance portfolio for
the time being.
And that is part of the bad
news. Just when Indias economy
is seen as weakening more than
anticipated, Pranab Da is not
there as a full fledged finance
minister to do course correction.
Indias economic boom, which
was resilient enough to shrug off
the global financial crisis, is
beginning to falter, hampered by
stubbornly high inflation and
years of political paralysis, econ-
omists and business leaders say.
The inflation has hit the middle
and particularly the lower class
real bad, which can lead to social
unrest.
Worse, the confidence of the
foreign has been dented. In the
absence of vocational training for
the millions of young people
entering workforce, the demo-
graphic dividend is feared to
become demographic disaster.
The worst of all is, that in the
absence of vocational training for
the millions of young people
entering the workforce, Indias
much touted demographic divi-
dend can turn into demographic
disaster.
Manmohan Singh has made
some noises that there is no
political paralysis and the
required remedies will push up
the growth rate. Though he was
the originator of the economic
reforms in the first place as
finance minister, now he is
increasingly seen as having run
out of steam.
Hurt from carbon tax for better future
The argument against the carbon tax is that other
countries are not controlling their emissions. Why
should Australia, then, impose the tax on its
citizens, make the cost of energy dearer and
also be uncompetitive in the world market.
A powerhouse seems less powerful: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress Party, face numerous challenges.
Come July 19, and India will welcome Pranab
Mukherjee as the 13th President.
8 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
Interview
By Aparna Vats
I
recently had the opportunity to speak
with the leader of the opposition,
Tony Abbott, in our Paddington based
Radio station. Ready to take on the chal-
lenge of discovering the man, the person-
ality behind the job, this exercise
announced to me loud and clear that
politicians are people, too; they have likes
and dislikes, and most importantly, per-
sonalities. So a word to the wise: don't
judge, overlook or underestimate.
The fact that he is an author of three
books makes us aware of his scholarly
attributes. Then, as a Jesuit he has trav-
elled to India. We also learn about his
sense of vocation developed as a Rhodes
Scholar, his thoughts about the amazing,
magical land called India; his vision and
acknowledgement of the contributions of
the Indian community in Australia.
Here are some highlights from the
interview:
You went to India around the year
1984?
Tony: No! It was 1981. I had just fin-
ished the college of law in June. I was
going to England to start some studies at
Oxford University in October. I thought,
well, India is on the way to England, its
a fascinating country. Id like to spend
some time there, so I had almost three
months roaming around India. I had basi-
cally a month wandering from Bombay,
up through Rajasthan, through Delhi and
into Kashmir and back across to Bihar. In
Bihar, I spent two months with the
Australian Jesuit Mission in India.
Fascinating time! Bit of time in Hazaari
Bagh, some time out in the hill country
where the Adivasis were and the
Australian Jesuits were working out there.
And then I came back to Mumbai for a
week before heading off to Oxford. So it
was a really interesting time and, I guess,
the thing that impressed me about India
even then is that it was a very economi-
cally and technologically sophisticated
country. I can remember on my first or
second day in Mumbai going past a
nuclear power plant, which Australia had
none and India did have one. Sure, there
might have been bullock carts going into
the nuclear power plant. It was still, for
an Australian, a custom to think of India
in those days as a fairly poor country. It
was interesting to think that India had
nuclear power and Australia didnt.
So what is your fondest memory from
that trip?
Tony: Well, I suppose the memory
that is most with me, is of the time with
the Jesuits there and I was mixing with
both Australian and Indian Jesuits and the
extraordinary efforts that they were mak-
ing to lift people up from poverty into
some kind, of what we would say now, I
guess, is a middle class existence. But the
interesting thing is that even then the
Indian Middle class was quite large.
Whats happened since then is that its
grown exponentially and its become
much wealthier and India itself has gone
from being a relatively poor country to
being really quite a wealthy country. This
is one of the great transformations of
world history. We tend to focus on the
transformation of China but the transfor-
mation of India is virtually as substantial
and the great thing about India, at least
from an Australian context, is that India is
democracy, India speaks widely the
English language and it has the rule of law
which really makes India, I think, a very
prospective country in terms of close rela-
tions with Australia. A country that has
such amazing potential to influence the
wider world in the years to come.
Shifting from politics, may I ask,
what kind of music do you listen to?
Tony: Umm, mostly what many of
your listeners would probably think of as
Golden Oldies -the music of the 1960s
and early seventies, the Beach Boys, Elvis
Presley, the big O Roy Orbison. My
kids think I am very, very old fashioned,
and I said to them once when they accused
me of being hopelessly old fashioned
what about Savage Garden? And they said
but dad that was so nineties...(laughs).
And, does Indian music feature in
anything at all, in your iPod collection?
Tony: I am afraid it doesnt really
Aha! I need to fix that then
Tony: Yeah! Look in my three
months in India I spent a lot of time lis-
tening to Indian music obviously; but its
not something that I have yet taken to. I
watched quite a few Bollywood movies
over there, and again, not something that
I have yet taken to. But, you know, the
interesting thing is that modern India is
absolutely holding its own in what might
be thought of as wider Western or wider
English speaking culture. I mean there
have been quite a few Booker Prizes won
by Indian authors in recent times. I think,
if I may say so, India itself is moving
beyond the Bollywood phase, if I may be
so bold to suggest that.
So heres a suggestion for you: you
know the song Jai Ho from the Oscar
winning movie Slumdog Millionaire.
Have you heard that song?
Tony: Look, I watched the movie so I
must have heard the song. I have got to
say it was a really enthralling movie, con-
fronting, but nevertheless enthralling.
You could then perhaps use Jai Ho
as your campaign song, you know in the
off chance you take it on board.
Tony: Not a bad thought.(laughs).
How about the Indian food?
Tony: Yeah! Well there is a restaurant
called the New Indian Times in Bantry
Bay Road, Frenchs Forest, which is
probably the restaurant which more regu-
larly supplies the Abbott household than
any other. I developed a real taste for
Indian food not just in India but when I
was then subsequently a student in
England it was probably the best way to
get an economical decent meal in England
at that time. Incredibly tasty and a palat-
able feast!
If you had an opportunity to cook,
which Indian dish would you make?
Tony: I would probably have a go at
Bombay Beef or maybe a Lamb Madras;
theres butter chicken which is.. (laughs)
one of the favourites of the Abbott
household.
You have done something called an
ultra-marathon. Do you still do it?
Tony: Look, I was lucky enough to
get to do the Port Macquarie Iron Man in
2010. I havent done a full Iron Man since
then. Although I have some hopes of
doing one later in the year in Western
Australia. I dont think people should be
as impressed as all that because I didnt do
a particularly flash time; I just thought to
myself it would be a marvellous feather in
your cap to do it. And the important thing
once you decide to do it is not to push
yourself too much but just to finish. So I
was more of a participant than a competi-
tor. I have got to say that when I went
down the tunnel at the end of almost 14
hours of swimming, riding and jogging I
was a very happy man!
Did you pick up any Hindi while you
were in India?
Tony: Chai.( laughs heartily).
Yes, it is the most important word to
know Tony (both laugh).
In closing Tony, no further ques-
tions, open platform, what would you
like to say to our fabulous audience?
Tony: Please continue to make the
most of your life in Australia. Please
cherish the heritage you brought to this
country. And please continue to be confi-
dent that your old heritage and your new
heritage have so much in common.
(Aparna Vats is a well known broad-
caster on Voice of India Monika
Geetmala 89.7 FM Sundays 10am -
7pm.)
The real Tony Abbott
The author with Tony Abbot, Australian Leader of the Opposition.
We tend to focus on the transformation of China but the transformation of India
is virtually as substantial and the great thing about India, at least from an
Australian context, is that India is democracy, India speaks widely the English
language and it has the rule of law which really makes India, I think, a very
prospective country in terms of close relations with Australia.
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 9
Julia Gillard set to lead Labor fight back
By Rekha Bhattacharjee
For Julia Gillard, the die has been cast.
W
ith new poll figures not showing
any significant sign of going north
in the near future, Julia Gillard led
Labor party is throwing in everything as
they hit the hustings with new vigour.
Labor has committed funds for an adver-
tisement campaign, handout cheques are
being delivered to the traditional Labor mail-
boxes and there is a perceivable change in
the Labor strategy. This is a definite sign of
a political outfit gaining confidence in itself.
The weeks after carbon tax kicks in on
July 1 would be crucial to determine
whether Julia Gillards recovery strategy is
plausible or the Labor is, as most political
pundits would like us to believe, in a termi-
nal mode.
It would not be the first time in the 120
years or so history of Labor party that they
are looking at certain annihilation in the
Federal polling. But the die-hard Labor
backer has not lost hope of a recovery under
Julia Gillard.
As a political commentator pointed out
recently, Labor has repeatedly demonstrat-
ed its resilience and adaptability in emerging
from lacerating splits, demoralising defeats
and philosophical tussles.
The signs of a comeback were visible
aplenty when Julia Gillard confronted a bar-
rage of difficult questions in a recent Q&A
program on ABC TV with a dignified poise
and transparency which is so conspicuously
missing in the modern day Parliamentarians.
The television screens during the afore-
mentioned Q&A program were flooded with
Tweets gushing over the new Julia Gillard.
It is being seen as a turnaround by many of
the Australian PM followers.
Tony Abbotts recent antics in the
Parliament have also helped in the changing
perception over the preferred Prime
Minister. The fact that Labor has changed
strategy while dealing with the Coalition
shortcomings has also registered on
Australian mindsets sickened by Tony
Abbotts negativity.
The conservatives leader in the Federal
Parliament has been relentless in his attacks
on the embattled MP Craig Thomson. There
is a widespread conviction that Tony Abbott
is insensitive to the basic decencies one
should extend to the fellow politicians, for-
get commoners. Labor, on the other hand,
did pretty well in not persisting on a frontal
attack on Tony Abbotts embarrassing flight
from the chambers. Instead of overplaying
the Opposition gaffes, Labor is focussing on
holding the political foes to account for
spreading canards about the impact of the
carbon prince after July 1.
The changing of tacks was also notice-
able in the Q&A when Julia Gillard did not
mention the Coalition even once in her
intense interaction with the audience.
In comparison, as many commentators
have been pointing out, Tony Abbott has
made negativity cornerstone of the Coalition
policy platform.
The Opposition leader has been inces-
santly deriding the Labor Government and
demeaning Julia Gillard personally. Tony
Abbott has been at his negative best when
attacking carbon tax, NBN, mining tax and
the Labor management of the economy.
The way Tony Abbott has been allowed
to go on downplaying Australian manage-
ment of economic matters is surprising as all
antipodeans should be celebrating the way
we have weathered GFC with so many posi-
tives.
After all, is it not a great economic news
that while OECD countries like Spain and
Greece are experiencing unemployment rates
around 25% (even higher in the youth),
Australia has managed to keep it around
amazing 5%? Australians should be relishing
strong growth, low inflation, falling interest
rates and good jobs data.
The outlook is, Labor leaders should be
arguing, equally rosy as the Australian econ-
omy has got a tick in the shape of a renewed
triple A rating by Moody and there is a mas-
sive investment in the pipeline. The RBA is
on a song and so is the Federal Government.
The Labor leaders should be asking their
Conservative counterparts what exactly is
wrong with the Australian economy and how
they would change inarguably one of the
best economies in the world.
Probably the most candid description of
the Australian economy has come from a
2011 book The Sweet Spot How Australia
made its own luck - and could now throw it
all away written by Peter Hartcher.
Australians created the sweet spot for
themselves, Peter Hartcher writes. The
country needs to know that circa 2010-11, it
offers the best living conditions available on
the planet. Not because it started out that
way, and not because of the mining boom,
but through building, through reforms and
through intelligent public-spirited leadership.
And, yes, through a little luck, the book
reads.
But as Donald Horne warned, relying
on luck is an invitation to complacency. And
complacency is a dreadful problem solver,
he writes. If Australia is to have a golden
future, it will not be gilded with the sort of
gold that is discovered by digging deeper
holes in the ground. The necessary gold is
not to be found in the countrys pits but in
its wits, Peter Hartcher concludes.
But who would stop the sliding Labor
fortunes? Not many would concur with this
assertion but Julia Gillard would be the
Labors best bet when polls are called next
year.
Julia Gillard has been fighting an uphill
battle with her back stuck perilously to the
wall ever since she wrested the leadership
from Kevin Rudd.
Gareth Evans honoured
By Rekha Bhattacharjee
G
areth Evans was made a
Companion of the Order of
Australia on 11 June 2012
for eminent service to interna-
tional relations, particularly in the
Asia Pacific region, as an adviser
to governments on global policy
matters, to conflict prevention and
resolution, and to arms control and
disarmament.
To the Australian community
Gareth Evans is known as the emi-
nent Australian Foreign Minister
(1988 -1996). He has written or
edited nine books and now has
been Chancellor of the Australian
National University since January
2010 and a Professorial Fellow at
the University of Melbourne since
July 2009. In December 2011
Foreign Policy magazine cited him
as one of the Top Global Thinkers
for 2011 for making the responsi-
bility to protect more than aca-
demic.
In May 2010 Gareth Evans
was awarded the 2010 Franklin
and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
Four Freedoms Award for
Freedom from Fear, for his pio-
neering work on the Responsibility
to Protect concept and his contri-
butions to conflict prevention and
resolution, arms control and disar-
mament.
Gareth Evans has a soft corner
for India. In his student days he
had travelled around India by train
and had much respect for
Narasimha Rao as the foreign min-
ister.
On the 50th Anniversary of
Indias Independence he had writ-
ten an article in the Indian Post, a
monthly published in Australia for
the Indian community, India: a
fine 50 with an even better century
coming. The following is a part
of his article.
Those who love and admire
India and there are many around
the world are looking forward to
the last strike of midnight ushering
in 15 August this year. Fifty years
ago, at that moment, India awoke
to life and Freedom, in the
words of its first Prime Minister,
Jawaharlal Nehru. At a stroke,
two centuries of European domina-
tion came to an end and a new
nation was born. Not that the
struggle and hardship ended. The
challenges changed but at least
they were Indian challenges.
I spent many months travel-
ling around India as a young man
- in rather less style than was later
the case as Foreign Minister!
And have been captivated by the
country ever since. So Indias fifti-
eth birthday is one that, personal-
ly, I am absolutely delighted to
celebrate.
This is a time to reflect on
the magnificent achievements of
India and its people since August
1947.
India, in the face of so many
challenges and difficulties, has
managed over these years to main-
tain a robust and very open
democracy, a strong and independ-
ent judicial system and a society
remarkably cohesive for all its
diversity. In recent years per-
haps a little belatedly, but no less
welcome for that it has put in
place an economic platform that is
now achieving the growth and
prosperity its people so richly
deserve. All that is needed now
for India to fully realise its poten-
tial is a long period of stable and
effective political leadership.
In the next 50 years, India
unquestionably will be able to
draw upon its great traditions, tal-
ents and strengths to create a great
future for itself and its people,
winning in full measure the
respect and admiration of the rest
of the international community.
It is set to achieve magnifi-
cently in its next 50 years of inde-
pendence, and beyond trans-
forming itself for the future with-
out losing the best of its past. The
international fellowship of Indias
friends among whom I am
delighted to count myself - will
watch with admiration and affec-
tion. We congratulate Prof
Gareth Evans on the highest hon-
our conferred on him (although
hes a Republican at heart!)
The former Australian foreign minister
and a global thinker who has a soft corner
for India, has been made a Companion
of the Order of Australia.
The signs of a Labor
comeback were visible
when Julia Gillard con-
fronted difficult ques-
tions in a recent Q&A
program on ABC TV with
a dignified poise and
transparency. Tony
Abbotts antics in
Parliament have also
helped in the changing
perception over the pre-
ferred PM.
The Third Eye by Rekha Bhattacharjee
Analysis
10 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
India
Indian economy starts to slow down, but PM promises cures
New Delhi: Indias economic boom, which
was resilient enough to shrug off the global
financial crisis, is beginning to falter, ham-
pered by stubbornly high inflation and years
of political paralysis, economists and busi-
ness leaders say.
In developments that parallel events in
the other Asian powerhouse, neighboring
China, rising prices have forced the govern-
ment to steadily tighten monetary policy.
Interest rates rose for the 10th time in 16
months last week.
But business leaders are unhappy. They
say the medicine could be making the eco-
nomic situation worse.
Much of the inflation in India is a func-
tion of higher oil and food prices, factors
that respond poorly, if at all, to higher
interest rates. Instead of depending on the
central bank, the government needs to push
through the kind of agricultural reforms and
investment it has been talking about for
years, analysts say.
Government policy should be focused
on improving agricultural productivity, but
because that isnt happening, the burden is
falling more and more on monetary policy,
said Sanjay Mathur, Royal Bank of
Scotlands Asia emerging markets economist
in Singapore. Consequently, a number of
sectors that shouldnt be getting hurt are
getting hurt.
That means growth could fall back
toward 7 percent, some economists warn,
still faster than that of any major economy
except China but below what India could
achieve and needs, if it is to pull hun-
dreds of millions of people out of poverty.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has
taken the reins of Finance Ministry after
Pranab Mukherjee resigned as finance min-
ister on filing his nomination for President.
Singh has sought to assure investors of
every step, including reforms, to restore
confidence on India while also hoping for
higher growth, lower inflation and correc-
tion in the depreciating rupee.
"We need foreign investment - both
portfolio and direct investment," he told
reporters on his way back from G20 and
Rio+20 summits in Mexico and Brazil,
when asked about the ratings downgrade of
India. "If there are any obstacles which
come in the way, and if there are any policy
impediments, we will address them effec-
tively and credibly," the prime minister
added, when asked about the perception of
policy paralysis in India.
"There are problems with regard to the
fiscal management. We will tackle that
problem effectively and credibly. There are
problems with regard to management of the
balance of payments deficit on the current
account. Those problems also we will tack-
le," Singh said.
The prime minister also felt that there
was no sign of any serious threat to the
Indian economy even as he felt the RBI was
competent to act on interest rates, inflation
and the value of the rupee.
"There is no stagflation. There is a
slowing down. I am still confident that we
can ensure that the growth rate of the econ-
omy in the rest of the year will improve to
about 7 per cent per annum," he said.
"A lot of things that are not going right
they have their origins outside India. The
2008 financial crisis affected our growth.
Our growth rate fell from 9 per cent to 6.7
per cent," he said.
At Rio, India blames it on rich nations, but content overall
Rio de Janeiro: As the Earth Summit began
June 20, India had reasons to be happy,
with its main concerns addressed in the
draft of the declaration to be adopted by the
90 global leaders here, but felt let down by
rich nations for lack of commitment in fund-
ing green programs.
"One significant development has been
the restoration of the centrality of the prin-
ciple of common but differentiated responsi-
bilities," said India's Environment Minister
Jayanthi Natarajan, who was assisting Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh at what is called
the Rio+20 Summit.
Her reference was to the demands of
poor and developing economies that rich
countries, which are seen as having been
primarily responsible for the present envi-
ronmental degradation, must share a greater
burden in restoring the health of our planet.
"Equity and its manifestation -- the prin-
ciple of common but differentiated responsi-
bilities -- are at the heart of international
cooperation for sustainable development.
We are glad that we have collectively
agreed on this key issue," Natarajan said.
But India felt saddened by the lack of
firm commitment by the rich nations on
how to fund schemes, technologies and pro-
grammes that will make planet Earth green-
er and promote growth and inclusion in a
sustainable manner.
But that was not expected given the cur-
rent global economic crisis.
"While we remain disappointed with the
weak political will in developed countries to
provide enhanced means of implementation
to developing countries, we are glad we
have agreed to set up two important mecha-
nisms -- one for technology transfer and
another for finance," Natarajan said.
"Both were Indian proposals and
received strong support from G77 countries,
including those from Africa, the least devel-
oped countries and small island-states. We
are now keen to collectively ensure these
mechanisms are operationalised and deliv-
ered effectively for developing countries."
At the Summit, India also sought to
point out the dichotomy between the envi-
ronmental concerns of the rich countries and
those of the poor and developing
economies, particularly since the latter were
being asked to reverse the consequences of
what had been done earlier by the developed
world.
Manmohan Singh with other world leaders at the G 20 summit in Mexico.
Sangma in ring, but Pranab set
to enter Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi: United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) candidate Pranab
Mukherjee has filed his nomina-
tion for the July 19 presidential
poll and sought the "blessing of
god and cooperation of all" to get
elected to the country's highest
office.
In what was turned into a
show of strength, leaders of most
UPA allies, except for the
Trinamool Congress, were pres-
ent. Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh, Congress president Sonia
Gandhi, Samajwadi Party (SP)
chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and
Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RSD)
Lalu Prasad were amongst those
who witnessed the ceremony.
"I only wish at this time that
we have the blessing of god and
cooperation of all at this junc-
ture," Mukherjee told reporters
after filing his nomination at the
Rajya Sabha secretariat.
As a candidate for the 14th
presidential election, he said he
was being supported by a "large
number of parties who are sup-
porting UPA government like
Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj
Party" as well as by other parties
who did not support the govern-
ment. Listing the Janata Dal-
United (JD-U), Communist Party
of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the
Shiv Sena, he said: "I am grateful
to them as they have reposed
faith in me to occupy the office
which was occupied in past by
great stalwarts of this country."
Opposition candidate P.A.
Sangma, who is supported by the
BJP, the AIADMK and the Biju
Janata Dal, has also filed his
nomination.
UPA candidate Pranab
Mukherjee has wide support to
become Indias 13th President
Sunita Williams heading back to space again
Washington, DC: Indian-American
astronaut Sunita Williams is all set
to return to the International Space
Station, where she spent a record
six months in 2006.
Daughter of an Indian American
father from Gujarat and a Slovenian
mother, Williams is currently mak-
ing final preparations for a July 14
launch from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan,
according to a NASA announce-
ment.
She will be a flight engineer on
the station's Expedition 32 with
Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko
of the Russian Federal Space
Agency and Akihiko Hoshide of the
Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency. On reaching the space sta-
tion she will take over as com-
mander of Expedition 33.
Williams and her colleagues
will be aboard the station during an
exceptionally busy period that
includes two spacewalks, the arrival
of Japanese, US commercial and
Russian resupply vehicles, and an
increasingly faster pace of scientific
research, the US space agency said.
Williams is the second woman
of Indian heritage to have been
selected by NASA for a space mis-
sion after Kalpana Chawla. She
holds three records for female
space travellers: longest spaceflight
(195 days), number of spacewalks
(4), and total time spent on space-
walks (29 hours and 17 minutes).
Air India strike is second longest in aviation industry
New Delhi: The strike by a section of Air India pilots
entered the 57th day on Julu 1 to attain the notorious distinc-
tion of becoming the second longest strike in the country's
aviation history.The Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), the union of
Air India pilots, had also struck work in 1974 against cost
cutting measures when fuel prices shot up alarmingly. The
1974 strike lasted for well over 90 days. In 1993-94, a
strike by Air India flight engineers lasted for 56 days. The
current strike started May 8 when pilot members of IPG
went on mass sick leave, protesting the move to provide
Boeing-787 Dreamliner training to pilots from the erstwhile
Indian Airlines. After putting forth an original list of 14
demands, the aviators are now asking for reinstatement of
their 101 sacked colleagues. The airline has maintained that
pilots must first end their strike and the sacked pilots will be
reinstated on a case-by-case basis.The airline has suffered an
estimated revenue losses of more than Rs.610 crore.
Grounded fleet of Boeing 777s, unused manpower and
absence from key routes have hit the airlines' chances of a
financial turnaround.The strike has crippled Air India's
international operations, stranding thousands set to fly to
East Asia and the Middle East.The striking pilots have start-
ed an indefinite hunger strike since June 24. Nearly five of
11 fasting pilots have been hospitalised.Officials at Airlines
House, Air India's New Delhi-based headquarters, are con-
fident of resolving the situation by hiring new pilots.
Astronaut Sunita Williams
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 11
Gilani removed by court; Raza Parvez
Ashraf is new Pak PM
Islamabad: Pakistan Peoples
Party has elected its leader
Raza Parvez Ashraf for the
post of Prime Minister of
Pakistan after Yousuf Raza
Gilani was disqualified by
the Supreme Court.
Gilani was disqualified as
an MP by the Supreme Court
two months after he was
convicted for contempt, a
staggering verdict that was
surprisingly accepted by the
ruling-PPP which swiftly
moved to select a new premier. Capping
nearly 30 months of bitter feud between the
judiciary and the government, a three-judge
bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar
Chaudhry held that Gilani,
60, "ceased" to be the Prime
Minister from 26th April
this year.
Gilani was then convict-
ed and sentenced for not
obeying court orders to
reopen graft charges in
Switzerland against
President Asif Ali Zardari.
Contrary to expectations
that the PPP will back him
to the hilt, the ruling party
said it would abide by the
verdict and set in motion the process of
selecting Gilani's successor.Pervez Ashraf
was earlier minister of power and water in
the Gilani government.
Raja Pervez Ashraf
India
Shed fear, invest in Afghan opportunity: India
Rajat Gupta's fall 'from lofty board room
to lowly jail cell'
New York: The conviction
recently of the one-time poster
boy of Indian business in
America, Rajat Gupta, on charges
of securities fraud marks yet
another phase in his roller coaster
ride from an orphan to lofty board
room to convicted felon.
A jury at federal court in
Manhattan convicted the former
Goldman Sachs' director of three
counts of securities fraud and one
count of conspiracy. Each of the three securi-
ties fraud charges carry maximum sentences
of 20 years. The jury verdict concluded a
four-week trial that started on May 21. The
sentencing in the case is scheduled for
October and may be light considering
Guptas stellar record as business executive.
It was the highest-profile conviction yet
in a wave of federal cases focused on Wall
Street misconduct.
Ironically, Gupta's fall from grace was
brought about by another Indian American,
Preet Bharara, nicknamed the "Sheriff of
Wall Street", for leading a wave of insider
trading probes over the last two-and-a-half
years, that also fell Sri Lankan American Raj
Rajaratnam, billionaire founder of Galleon.
Gupta joined McKinsey & Company in
1973 and rose to become its MD. He also
served as corporate chairman, board director
or strategic advisor to a variety of large and
notable organizations such as Goldman
Sachs, Procter & Gamble and American
Airlines, and non-profits
including The Gates Foundation
and the International Chamber
of Commerce.
Rajat Gupta was additional-
ly the co-founder of the Indian
School of Business, the
American India Foundation and
New Silk Route with various
partners.
New Delhi: India unveiled its vision of promot-
ing economic rejuvenation and stability of
Afghanistan by asking companies from the
region to invest in that country in the spirit of
solidarity, despite the risks, and called for
CEOs to replace generals to lead the country's
reconstruction.
"We need to offer a narrative of opportunity
to counter the anxiety of withdrawal, uncertain-
ty, instability and foreign interference,"
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna told the
first regional conclave organized in mid June in
India to encourage private sector investment in
Afghanistan.
"India will continue to pursue its vision to
stabilize Afghanistan through trade and invest-
ment and regional cooperation," he said while
jointly inaugurating the conclave with his
Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul.
"We invite international investors and
regional countries to join in this vision for
Afghanistan individually or in partnership with
others," he said.
Afghanistan robustly backed this approach.
"I believe greater investments results in
increased economic national activities in any
country including, but not limited to, additional
revenues, job creation, income generation
opportunities which in turn leads to increased
prosperity and service delivery," said Rassoul.
Hundreds of companies from India,
Afghanistan and other countries participated in
the summit. The Afghan delegation included
five senior ministers. The recommendations of
the day-long investment conclave will be sub-
mitted as a framework at the Tokyo Conference
July 8 where international donors will pledge
funds for Afghanistan after international troops
leave the violence-torn country in 2014.
The key recommendations of the summit
included providing the private sector investment
protection and risk mitigation, providing incen-
tives for investing in Afghanistan, and the cre-
ation of an international fund for SMEs. The
conclave identified key sectors for investment in
Afghanistan that included natural resources,
manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture, IT
and telecommunications.
Rajat Gupta
Himangini Singh Yadu, crowned Miss
Asia Pacific 2012, flanked by 1st Runner up
- Tuyanaa Temenjargal of Mongolia and 2nd
Runner up Diana Kubasova of Latvia.
Himangini is a BCA graduate from Indore.
The beauty pageant was held in Busan,
South Korea, June 16.
Indian girl is Miss Asia
Pacific 2012
Drunk, Dumb and Racist,
are they really?
By Neena Badhwar
T
he poster is provocative, the
punch line by the main presenter
is straight in the face of
Australians who have always tried to
hide the racist accusation by pushing it
away, shoving it under the carpet, so
to speak according to Radhika
Budhwar, one of the four Indians cho-
sen and invited to be part of the series:
Dumb, Drunk and Racist, Are
Australians really?
DD & R makes an interesting six-
part series every Wednesdays 9.30 pm
on ABC 2 that attempts to dissect stig-
mas about Australians through the eyes
of four Indians. Radhika Budhwar is
the wise elder of the four, an education
counsellor from Pune who advises
Indian students seeking to go for high-
er education overseas. Mahima
Bhardwaj works in a call centre in
India who has copped foul language
during her conversations she is
young, innocent yet curious to find out
for herself as she keenly tries to absorb
the experience. Amer Singh is a 21-
year old Law student from Chandigarh
who decided to drop his plans to study
in Australia at the insistence of his
mum and overprotective grandmother.
And Gurmeet Chaudhary is a Hindi
TV channel news anchor who hap-
pened to report episodes of violence
against the Indians in Melbourne and
Sydney at the height of Indian student
flare-ups. They speak how they all
changed or did their bit to change the
perceptions of Australians and other
issues they came across in their three-
week trip to Australia with Joe
Hildebrand, a well-known journalist at
the Daily Telegraph and the ABC,
named one of the most influential
Australians on Twitter.
The series tries to look at the issues
in Australia hands on and let the view-
ers decide as four Indians are invited to
go through the experiences that ABC
producers tried to plan in an unplanned
manner to experience and elicit their
own individual responses by the four
subjects as they came across people in
different locations, settings and
hotspots where the incidents of vio-
lence against the Indian students had
occurred.
And in the process, the presenter,
the director and the producers also
became part of the experiment them-
selves with the series able to achieve
what it set out to achieve that is to
talk about the stereotypes to do with
Australia and dissect them one by one
as things unfold.
Back in Pune with her family,
Radhika Budhwar says that her
Facebook page is sometimes so full of
hate comments that she is scared to
open it but then somewhere the first
two episodes have created a sort of a
debate.
She says, I am a practicing
Buddhist and there was a lot of battle
within myself when I started out.
Every day I asked myself I must have
the courage to say what I believe I
must say. And if my original impres-
sion was what it was, then so be it. It
was from my heart only because I had
a moral responsibility to the students
who came to me for advice and as a
mother and working as an honorary
voluntary education consultant it was
my duty to advise that I give them the
right advice about the places which
were safe and that the parents had
made arrangements or had the ability
to call their children back if the situa-
tion turned sour or unsafe. Before the
series started I got a lot of hateful com-
ments but as the series has started peo-
ple have started to say positive com-
ments and even are supportive of what
I say on the show. Some assure me and
even say to me Good on you and we
are looking forward to seeing you in
the next episode.
At times during the series I said
things which were cutting but it came
from my impressions and my research
that Australia was not a safe place at
the moment and that parents should
rather send their children to UK, the
US or Canada, for example. Even
Singapore seemed a pretty viable edu-
cation destination than Australia.
For me the series was a whole lot
of immersive experience on the outside
as well as within as it made me self-
reflect and process those impressions
that I had of Australia. It required a lot
of courage not to sit on the fence. I
needed to be courageous and wise as
the series and places unfolded. Nothing
was planned as we worked under the
cameras for 13 to 14 hours a day and
then used to unwind with the crew at
night who would try to find us food
according to our requirements, as you
know Mahima is a Brahmin and
Gurmeet a vegetarian.
We discussed things, events only
at nights and it was another day, anoth-
er place or a city the next morning so
we had little time to think our
thoughts. It was as if our first impres-
sions were being recorded and that
needed a lot of courage. We covered a
lot of kilometers in three weeks. It was
quite tiring.
Its been great to be chosen to be
part of the series. While my husband is
jealous of the attention I am receiving
with over 300 comments 80% I must
say are all negative while 20% from
men who just say Vow, Radhika and
some even wager Will Radhika
change her mind.
So did she? Says Radhika, This
was the toughest thing I have ever
done. I think at the end of the show I
feel that Australians are not dumb,
drunk yes to a degree may be racist
I think there are elements of racism
there. But most of all I was moved by
the Aboriginal kids and the stories of
Myall Creek Massacre and what Aunty
Sue told us about the massacre. I could
feel the deep connection with her as
she welcomed me. The aboriginal kids
at school in Alice Springs would not
just leave meI didnt know that I was
being captured cuddling the kids.
She adds, Buddhism is a way of
life for me and to a large degree it
teaches us to have deep respect for our-
selves and every person that we
encounter. And I feel that Aboriginal
experience for me was the most mov-
ing experience and every person that I
came across made me feel worthy of
the respect that Australia and
Australian people were sincerely trying
yet the problem with Aborigines needs
to be looked at seriously.
And would you recommend
Australia as a worthy place for Indians
to study. I think Australia is all right.
Only, one must be careful of certain
places and be safe than sorry.
Mahima Bhardwaj, the young call
centre worker, says, DD& R experi-
ence was really great. I had assumed
things having worked at a call centre
and how the Aussies abused at times
but it was my first time in Australia,
something that I will never experience
really in a life time.
Mahima, who is back in India, is
curious to know how the series is
going in Australia. She says, From
some of the comments I have seen on
the Facebook I must clarify that we
workers at call centres are not always
about sales. It is sometimes service
centre calls we are supposed to make
for Telstra, for Optus, which is that the
providers ought to let the customer
know whether they would like to
extend the contracts once they are
expired. Please tell everyone in
Australia that we are working late
nights to serve the customers and not
haggle or harass them. They must also
be patient as we try to inform them of
things.
She says, I was scared at first
meeting with the Australians and how
they will be to me but when I met Joe
I was satisfied and my parents were
okay with me coming to Australia.
So what was Mahimas impression
at the end.
I dont think Australians are dumb
they are easy going and casual peo-
ple, at times ignorant and they like to
live life to the fullest. Drunk yes they
drink a lot because thats their culture.
And about them being racist I take
my words back. They are not racist
and one should not judge the whole of
Australia by judging the behaviour of a
few people.
Mahima says, I think Australia is
a good place for studies as well as life.
Its a cool place to live. I can see that
the government is taking good steps in
protecting the Indians. I think the
Indian media hiked it up as it is a mat-
ter of TRPs for the TV channels over
here. Even Bollywood movies on
Indian students, like in the recently
released Crook, the director has not
portrayed the abroad right.
About Australia and its beauty, says
Mahima, Bondi beach was just so
beautiful and amazing. And, oh my
God, I had not ever seen so many
naked people. Here we see people fully
clothed on our beaches. If ever, only a
heroine in one piece bikini, hardly ever
in two piece.
She adds, having left the call centre
job and working now in HR, I am so
proud that I was chosen out of whole
of India to come to Australia. There
are too many comments on social
media but I try not to read them.
Any problems she came across in
Australia, herself.
Oh! Finding vegetarian food for
me and Gurmeet was such a problem.
And yes Aboriginal problem does exist
although they have been given equal
rights to vote and to roam anywhere
they like and treat them special noI
am not in favour of reservations for the
backward classes like they have in
India.
In the end, says Mahima, There is
always a good side and a bad side and
it is but human to judge people.
Would she like to visit Australia
again.
Yestwenty days went just like
that and of course I would like to visit
with my family and perhaps settle
there.
21-year old Amer Singh from
Chandigarh, the youngest of the four,
though keenly interested in the beauti-
ful Aussie girls like any young lad
ought to be, was also the most emo-
tional at times but as he is back in
India, he says he is analyzing his
impressions of the trip more deeply.
He says, Yes there are isolated
cases of racism. We were getting a lot
of conflicting stories from the news
channels, from my friends, different
sources. One of my taxi driver friends
in Melbourne had been telling us about
the rude and very racist behavior of the
Aussies. I was quite curious and ready
to explore the entire hoopla the Indian
media was trying to bring up how
true was it really?
Community
12 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
Community
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 13
Especially when I had a plan to
come to Australia to study and had
given it up due to pressure from mum
and my grandma. In the end I found
out that yes there are certain antisocial
elements everywhere. And its a great
thing that we did encounter some racist
and violent behaviour but then we met
some amazing and wonderful people,
some forward thinking people.
In my eyes the problem with the
aborigines overshadowed any problem
they have in Australia to do with anti-
Islamic views or anti-migrant views
and behavior. If you want to see the
racism then you need to see the abo-
riginals and their treatment there. I
think city dwellers dont want to think
about them and have put the aborigines
at the back of their minds. Issues with
the aborigines is, in my eyes, a big
issue.
About Indian students I think it is
the behavior of the young and I know
how hot blooded the Punjabi blood can
be. It is possible that the problems that
erupted could be instigated from both
sides, says Amer.
Dumb, Drunk I wouldnt say
that. We Indians drink a lot too. Its all
relative. To call a country dumb is I
think dumb in itself.
So would he like to come and study
in Sydney?.
Yes, hopefully, when I finish my
undergrad law degree. And for the last
time I urge everyone not to draw com-
parisons between India and Australia.
It can become a vicious cycle. In my
opinion Australians are a beautiful
bunch of people and they have some of
the most beautiful girls. It sure is my
kind-a-place.
Gurmeet Chaudhary, the news
anchor at a TV channel who in the
beginning said that whoever attacks
anyone should be shot, changed his
mind by the end of the trip. It has
helped me to broaden my view. I think
Australians are a Fun loving people
who work hard and party hard. Now
I think they are not dumb or racist but
drunk, yes, because they drink a lot.
Racist attacks of 2008 could be due to
global financial crisis and job insecuri-
ty due to it which can lead to such
problems. Australians, in my eyes, are
racist, not to Indians, but to their own
aborigine people.
And how will he report Australia
now? Says Gurmeet, Reporting is my
job. I will report news about Australia.
But now there will be a soft corner for
Australians because they are really
very good human beings.
Joe Hildebrand, the presenter of the
show, is a well-known journalist of
Daily Telegraph newspaper. Joe is
funny and says that perhaps ABC
chose him because he looks Dumb,
Drunk and RacistWell, Joe has the
courage to take it on the chin as he
says in the beginning of every episode:
Hi I am Dumb, Drunk and
Racistbecause I am Australian. He is
sympathetic, has empathy while
rounding up all the four Indians, assur-
ing their families that all will be fine.
Says Joe about the series,
Amazing stuff came out, some beau-
tiful, most really weird, creepy, dan-
gerous and often naughty.
There were scary moments as
things sprang out of the woods for the
four Indians whose initial perception
was that Australia is a hostile and an
unwelcoming country. We showed
them the good stuff and the nasty stuff.
We took them to Melbourne where the
Indian student protests happened, we
took them to a heated cricket pitch,
showed them 2006 Cronulla riot
scenes. We showed the worst and the
best images of Australia in a fair and
balanced way. That the Indians were
not looking through some rose
coloured glasses.
In the trip there were plenty of
good things and the Indians had a great
time and completely tried to embrace
the culture. Says Joe, Gurmeet and
Mahima came from a very conserva-
tive and sheltered upbringing but they
realized at the end that the very shal-
low view of Australia they had was
often lot more deeper and the problems
more complex and I must say a lot of
their perceptions were challenged.
I am sure there will be plenty of
people offended on both sides. It has
already become a huge topic of debate
on the internet and is the biggest show
ABC TV has tried to do, Says Joe.
Joe Hildebrand himself says that he
fell in love with Australia all over
again as he went through the trip with
the Indians introducing them to some
of the great local customs such as: how
to down a beer, crack a whip, rodeo
and firing at the feral pigs and making
the unassuming Indians go through
many more Aussie experiences.
Says Aaron Smith, the director of
the series, Joe calling himself Dumb,
Drunk and Racist was his idea. The
series is an exercise in putting the ele-
phant in the room, so to speak, an
effort to bring out the debate in the
open, leading to more open discussion
hoping that the change will finally hap-
pen.
We thought how to engage people
in a sort of vox pop yet interesting way
when we made Joe sit with the board
and engage passers by. The board
worked as a good device that opened
the conversation a bit more. It was
deliberately made to look more
provocative asking a question as ran-
dom people came and said things
some careful, others not very nice and
some bit of both.
We took a long time in deciding
about places, diverse range of people
and places in Australia we wanted to
give them a short lesson of Australian
history and there was always a surprise
element at the corner as at times the
schedules were changed. Moreover,
we wanted to shoot their first reactions
to things and most exciting stuff came
out of the unplanned footage that we
captured.
It was a great learning curve for
Aaron who says that at the end he him-
self learnt a lot about Australia and
adds, If you take this Australian
experience at local scale and put it in
the general global scale, especially
India with its 1.2 billion people, how
incredible it would be. It just sums up
the worst and the best of mankind in a
general sense that we are not all per-
fect and how can we move forward
and address the bigger issues. We do
have aboriginal problem and that it
started 230 years ago and that it is
quite hard to resolve but the series has
attempted towards a step in the right
direction.
So coming to the problem of
Indians facing assaults, do you agree
that there is a severe law and order
problem with drugs and drink, espe-
cially at night and hence a related vio-
lence against the students at night.
Aaron agrees, Yes we need to sort
that out for sure and put more police in
at some places.
Series producer Anita Jorgensen
finally says about Australia being DD
& R, Drunk Australians celebrate
drunkenness, yet pay a high price for
that. Our crime and violence figures
support that. Dumb I dont think we
are dumb there are elements of some
dumb people in any democratic socie-
ty. And about racism there is some
form of jealousy against the newly
arrived, trying to emotionally deflect
something on to them in some form of
racism and ignorance expressed in a
stupid way. The series at least tried to
open these problems and made every
one openly talk about it which was the
purpose.
Amer, Mahima, Gurmeet and Radhika with ABCs Joe Hildebrand on a trip down under as part of the TV series.
014 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
Community
Its good that ABC tried to do a
series: Dumb, Drunk and Racist,
Are we really? And help start a dis-
cussion to analyse and dissect
stereotypes about Australians with
the help of four intrepid Indians
who held certain views about
Australia and Australians before
they started and how they evolved
their opinion at the end of the series.
The local Indian community
which has lived through Indian stu-
dent problem was always divided in
their opinion about Australians
being racist. Some outright rejected
the silly notion by saying No I
never faced racism in Australia
then others said that Indians do not
know proper etiquettes and talk in
their language and are loud on trains
and hence invited attacks whereas
some others came up with Indian
are quite vulnerable victims walk-
ing late at nights with cash and
mobile and computer notebooks.
There are a few who did face racism
and had the experience etched in
their minds forever - at workplace,
on the street and said that one only
had to see Australia and the domi-
nation of certain fields of certain
sections of community in Media,
Television and even Politics where
the barriers had not been broken.
Yet they said that Australia had
come a long way from White
Australia policy and as the multicul-
tural mix was growing so also the
tolerance. There were prejudices at
work in certain places and difficult
to prove that they had the skills to
do the rquired job though there were
a quite few Indians who said that
they had wonderful Aussie friends.
About Indian student facing
robberies and physical assaults at
the height of the student problem
many local community leaders got
together, met politicians and the
police during and after the problem
to help take steps to curb it.
A lot of them, people who were
at the receiving end, have now set-
tled back into their normal routine
as life can be busy for newly arrived
migrants, when asked, most of them
said that there was a problem but
Harris Park has now become com-
paratively safe.
Says one resident of Harris
Park, It is a much better place than
what it was then. Police now regu-
larly patrol the area. Earlier no one
was listening to us especially the
police that there was a serious prob-
lem. Its good that things came to
their notice to do with law and order
problem and government having
taken some positive steps to repair
the damage.
Harris Park, known and promot-
ed as the Little India of Australia,
Dr Geoff Lee, local MP for
Parramatta region, said to TIDU,
No I am not watching the series
DD & R but a lot has changed in the
last five years as over 39% of the
population of Parramatta comes
from South-Asian background
according to Census 2011. Indians
are the fastest growing community
of NSW and Parramatta is a perfect
example of multiculturalism at its
best. The government has helped set
up Multicultural Consultative
Committee from the Indian commu-
nity for the government to consult
on various issues to do with any
concerns and to encourage them to
work with the mainstream commu-
nity in terms of integration. We
started Parramasala Multicultural
Art Festival in Parramatta to not
only broaden the appeal but as an
excercise of real celebration of the
mix that makes Parramatta and
share it with the broader communi-
ty. As regards to incidents of rob-
beries, assaults the statistics show
that they are falling or rather stable.
Yes, I agree, that there can be some
anecdotal episodes but the effort of
previous Consul General Amit
Dasgupta and the local business
community and the regular business
forums we hold have been helpful
in making the situation better.
The government has done
tremendous work in making Harris
Park safe and habitable by widening
footpaths, installing better lighting,
fencing and CCTV around the sta-
tion area. I can say that Parramatta
is the home of festivals and Harris
Park with its Indian eateries a place
for tourists to come and enjoy
Indian food and see a home away
from home.
Area Commander,
Suprintendant Robert Redfern, says,
I think Harris Park is a fantastic
place. I make sure that I come out
and talk to people in the area and the
business forum have done wonders
and the business community is quite
happy with the progress the place is
making. Local Council is improving
and enhancing the area with wider
footpaths, planting trees, better
lighting. Railcorp has installed
CCTV and security fencing with
general attitude in the people that it
is quite a peaceful place.
Amarinder Bajwa, president of
UIA, the umbrella body of over 26
Indian associations, who came to
Australia in 2002, says, I myself
did face racism in the sense that I
had to modify myself to find a job. I
cut my hair as it was a matter of sur-
vival for me and my family. Me
being a Sikh I faced the stereotypi-
cal view that with my turban and the
beard I was perceived a threat rather
than getting employment. And this
is because there is a lot of ignorance
about Sikh religion a religion
which has its roots in the belief that
we are all equal. Stereotypes exist
everywhere, including India, but
talking of the stereotypes that exist
here, I think they are due to the
ignorance of the people. We, as
Indians, need to educate people so
that they can understand us better. I
must say since then things have
changed considerably and I find
people more accepting now. Only
because now they can see the grow-
ing ethnic diversity of Sydney and
are becoming more tolerant.
As a community leader and
president of UIA, me and my team
are always looking into ways of cre-
ating better understanding and
awareness of what we are and what
our culture is. UIAs Friendship Fair
is one such example where we
invite local community to come join
us for a day and see what being
Indian, India, its food and culture is
all about.
Census 2011 figures, Harris
Park with its concentration of Indian
community, SBS Bollywood Star
series, ABCs DD & R with four
Indian invited to travel through
Australia and the NSW government
starting Parramasala a multicul-
tural Art Festival, and having invit-
ed A R Rahman and Kailash Kher,
one can say there are efforts to make
the people happy and place peace-
ful.
Australians ...Dumb, Drunk and
Racist...definitely NO...according to
many members of the local Indian
migrant community which has seen
the efforts by all to help reduce ten-
sion and now know that they can
approach the police and the govern-
ment if in need, as everyone tries
their bit for a safer, tolerant society
with people educating each other
with an aim to live harmoniously.
What do local Indians say?
Harris Park - once Traditional land of the Burramutta clan, now a place where theres Indian majority, and a safe place due to measures and steps taken by the NSW govern-
ment, the police and the supportive business community itself. Pic Left: Nitin Setia of Ginger Restaurant talking to Hany Boutros, Rosehill Area Command, and Geoff Lee MP
at Harris Park Station; Pic Middle: Area Commandar Suprintendant Robert Redfern and Right: UIA President Amarinder Bajwa
Bollywood
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 15
By Neena Badhwar
P
aresh Rawal, a comedian and actor,
came to Sydney recently with his
stage play Kishan vs Kanhaiya. In
the role of Kishan, Paresh Rawal, as an
antique dealer, took on Kanhaiya, the icon-
ic God we all Indians believe and have faith
in. The play was a take on everything what
was wrong with India and its belief system
and the so-called religious leaders who trade
God to innocent yet superstitious people.
The dialogues were loaded and Paresh
Rawals character brought forth issues that
riddle the Indian society, presented in a
satirical mix which kept the audience
engrossed all the way through. Paresh is a
consummate actor, who, at the centre of the
role, connects the rest of the characters in a
tight yet invisible bond as they all act to his
dominance as a superb stage performer.
IDU talked to Paresh as he sat in a
Brisbane caf enjoying the Australian
sun.
How has your journey been from an
actor to villain to comedian, your evolution?
It has been a very fruitful and meaning-
ful journey. It has enriched me as an actor,
as a human being and as a citizen of India.
I spend a lot of time now in theatre as my
original work was in theatre before I went
into films. And in acting it is all to do with
timing which is a vital component of acting.
You must understand the role, connect to
the character and know how to deliver lines
and timing is essentially all that.
Aisa lagta hai ki aap sabko hasate
rehte honge (It seems as if you keep oth-
ers laughing all the time)? Do you ever
get serious or quiet? How do you perceive
the world? Is comedy difficult to do?
I am not a brooding sort of a guy. I am
a normal human being who laughs when
theres something to laugh about and quiet
like any person can be. I take life as it is and
try to observe and see humour in situations,
in people around me. If not, then you will
die. Life can be unfair, unjust and some-
times rosy and bright so one must see the
humour in things that happen around us.
Just laugh it off otherwise you can choke to
death.
You are a frequent visitor to
Australia? Aapko Australia kaisa lagta
haiaur yahan ke log (how do you like
Australia and its people)?
I am not that frequent a visitor. Last
time when I came it was 2006. Yahan ke log
bahut hi acchhe hain. Australia is a very
nice place. It has its virtues, the loneliness,
money and greed and hollowness, yet it is a
very nice place like any other western coun-
try. Although India has come into money
and materialism, yet the people and even the
poor of India are quite spiritually strong and
India as a whole is not spiritually bankrupt.
People are happy even when they have very
little to sustain and survive.
Indian films seem to be covering themes
of the richZNMD, BBB, Cheeni Kum,
while the social problems still exist? India
has the poorest people in the worldstill
there are issues -slumsexploitation of
womenPlease comment.
No films, no dramas or television serial,
no matter how strong, can change or fix
social problems. The media, that is Films,
TV or Theatre can help increase awareness
and the only change anyone can make is
they themselves. The problems in India are
very deep rooted and one cant just wish
them away. In the end you have to work
hard to make a success of your life. No film
maker can help you fight the fight you want
to fight.
Aapke bete yours sons, what do they
do. I find that Bollywood has become a
place where only one can get a break if he
or she is so and sos son or daughter. What
do you say? And what is your wife Swaroop
Sampat busy with these days.
At the moment one of my sons is study-
ing theatre and the other screen writing.
They will have to work hard like I did,
though they have their fathers experience
as an added advantage. Yet, they must do
their own proving. Swaroop is busy with
charity work and is the UNICEF ambassa-
dor from Gujarat. She did her PhD from
University of Worcester and is busy work-
ing for NGOs like Save the Children and
others.
What are your future ventures any
inspiring comments for the Australian
Indian audience.
To aspiring actors from here I say work
hard and learn as you go. As for me I would
like to continue to learn more in theatre
which is my foremost love. And the Indian
film industry is changing as the times are
changing. New actors, directors are com-
ing. It is a very healthy time for the Indian
film industry which includes me. I will keep
on acting in films and theatre, of course.
Will you ever conduct a theatre work-
shop for local Indian Australian talent
which is now gathering momentum, with
interest in theatre and films?
Oh, no. I am not a good teacher, though
I am a good student. And still learning.
There is no blueprint to teach. You cant
teach people to act. It comes either natural-
ly or when they work hard and explore
themselves as they go. Acting is a lot of
hard work. It is a very noble profession yet
it takes a lot out of you. It is rather a 25-
hour job in a 24-hour day.
Acting is essentially timing
- Paresh Rawal
The well-known comedian and actor, was
in Sydney recently with his stage play
Kishan vs Kanhaiya.
16 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
Bollywood
By Neeru Saluja
S
he has often been touted as the worlds
most beautiful woman. An icon of
beauty and source of pride for India,
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan recently sparked an
international debate for her weight gain after
motherhood. The hourglass figure has given
way to a voluminous figure, the once exotic
face has become plump, the beautiful brown
eyes look fatigued and her perfect face shape
has been lost with a double chin.
Dont get me wrong, Im not here criti-
cising the timeless beauty who is enjoying
motherhood, and in no rush to lose her baby
fat. Im analysing our society who till date
was never bothered if Indian actresses gained
weight post pregnancy or after marriage.
They were actually written off once married
or given roles of the mother or sister. Have
we started reflecting the westernized body
shape? Or do we expect our heroines to
always stay slim and glamorous?
The answer is yes. Lots of Indian actress-
es and models still look hot even if they are
touching 40. Move over Victoria Beckham
and Angelina Jolie, we have our very own
bandwagon of actresses and models that rock.
They made a gracious exit when their biolog-
ical clock was ticking away, but their love for
the tinsel town couldnt hold them back.
Juggling between motherhood and a career,
Bollywood is their passion and looking good
has become a necessity.
Lets start with the once thunder thighs
Sridevi, who looks svelte at the age of 48.
She is making her comeback with 'English
Vinglish' that features French actor Mehdi
Nebbou, Adil Hussain, Priya Anand and
Amitabh Bachchan in a cameo. Discussing
her comeback, Sridevi says, "I never decide
or plan things. I would have grabbed English
Vinglish if the script had come to me even
five or 10 years ago. I didn't plan this as my
comeback film. It just happened. R Balki (the
director) is very close to my husband Boney,
and he came to me with two scripts. I heard
and loved both of them. Any middle-class
housewife will be able to identify with my
character, and that's why I felt this is the
right film for me."
The dhak-dhak girl Madhuri Dixit
shocked the industry by going to the US after
her marriage with Dr Nene. After regular vis-
its to Mumbai, a comeback film, TV shows,
Madhuri finally packed her bags and brought
her family to relocate to Mumbai. Such is the
charm of Bollywood. Though she is still wait-
ing for the right film to make her comeback,
rumours are that she is fixed with a whopping
price tag. It is worth it, because her smile still
kills millions!
Karisma Kapoor never looked a day older
even after becoming a mother of two. She has
finally made her comeback with Vikram
Bhatt's 3D venture, 'Dangerous Ishq'. The
film is a woman-centric, supernatural thriller
where Karisma plays the central character.
The mast girl Raveena Tandon will be seen
romancing three men in Shobhnas 7
Nights. The bubbly Juhi Chawla never took
a backseat and be it a sisters role or adver-
tisements, she kept herself going with film
offers.
Remember Bhagyashree who made her
debut with Salman Khan in the 1989 hit
Maine Pyar Kiya, then refused to work with
anyone else except her businessman husband?
She is now back but not as the sweet next
door girl but as a sexy and sensuous woman!
Any takers for her? She can definitely give a
run for money to any actress who has acted
with her then leading man Salman Khan.
Despite having two kids, Kajol has still
been the leading lady of successful films with
the Khans. A natural when it comes to acting,
Kajol never took a backseat in her career.
Growing sexier with every passing day, she
chooses her roles carefully so she can create
a perfect balance between her family and
career.
And the yummiest mummy of all, who
can forget Malaika Arora Khan. Recently in
Sydney for the opening night of the Indian
Film Festival, she looked ravishing in a
shoulderless blue jumpsuit. Neither an extra
pound here nor an extra inch there. Her skin
looked radiant and she looked fulfilled with
what she has achieved with the success of
Dabaang. When asked about the latest mum
baby fat, she replied, Aishwarya Rai needs
to be given a break. The Indian media needs
to back off. Seriously, its not easy shedding
off those extra pounds. We all have gone
through it and we know how difficult it is.
Agreed - it is not that easy to hit the gym
daily amidst nursing a baby and changing
nappies. Maybe that is why our 90s
Bollywood queens Madhuri and Sridevi took
a backseat and made a comeback only when
their kids grew up. But hang on, walking the
red carpet at Cannes with six-month old
Aradhaya in toe, couldnt Mrs Bachchan rest
and be with her baby daughter for a few
months more having become a mother at the
age of 38? Whats the hurry to be in the lime-
light and under the cameras which capture
you not in a perfect figure in public. Your
fans demand you to be still the iconic inter-
national beauty representing India and them.
The fans want you to look the best, no matter
what.
Be an actress or a model, your fans still
pin hopes on you and want to see you in your
best shape. Even if youve become a mum,
they dont want to write you off. Rather, they
want to see you mature and grow and be the
role model of beauty still. So cmon Aish,
you had to let go of the lead role in Heroine
due to your pregnancy and attend to the bun-
dle of joy that all the Bachchan household is
enjoying at the moment. Roles suited to you
on screen will come your way. At the
moment the role of motherhood is the spe-
cial role assigned to you. We are sure you
will ride the high wave again and surprise
your detractors with your gorgeous looks and
deep and meaningful screen presence.
Once an actor, actor forever!
Some famous Indian actresses and models made a gracious exit when their biological
clock was ticking away, but their love for the tinsel town couldnt hold them back.
The Dhak-Dhak girl, Madhuri Dixit is the star judge for the fifth season of
dance reality show, 'Jhalak Dikhla Ja'.
Karisma Kapoor never looked
a day older even after becoming a mother
of two. She has finally made her
comeback with Vikram Bhatt's 3D
venture, 'Dangerous Ishq'.
Aishwarya Rai should have avoided the
red carpet at Cannes after motherhood--
voluminous figure, plump face, fatigued
eyes, double chin and all.
Thunder Thighs Sridevi, who looks svelte at the age of 48, is making
her comeback with 'English Vinglish'.
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 17
Community
By Neena Badhwar
When you talk to Bipen Sharma
of Sharmas Kitchen he will quietly
say, Kyonji, theek hai na, as if
asking for affirmation for simple
philosophies about life. Yet that
simplicity and quest for natural
goodness of Indian homes back in
the times of yore simple, nutri-
tious food served by loving hands
has made Bipen look into food
items that were and are part of our
daily Indian diet for example Dahi
- homemade natural yoghurt that
any Indian household cant do with-
out; Lassi a must since it provides
probiotics essential for the gut.
Bipen Sharma not only recreated
but experimented relentlessly with
them till he got them right from his
Hornsby warehouse. And if you do
the work with conviction and mar-
ket it right why wouldnt it be
noticed. Sharmas Kitchen has been
packing up awards after awards
every year since its inception by the
Royal Agriculture Society and by
the National Dairy Industry. Not
only his products Lassi, Dahi,
Paneer have created a niche market
they have been recognized for their
quality, consistency and taste. Year
2012 saw Sharmas Kitchen win
two gold and seven silvers from
both the bodies. Gold went to Lassi
and Milk Badam another innova-
tive product from Bipen. One must
taste fresh pakoras made from
Sharmas Paneeer to vouch for it as
piping hot paneer and its aroma
wafts through when tasting them
and Sharmas Paneer, Masala
Paneer got silver awards. And the
restless entrepreneur is experiment-
ing having come up with Shrikhad
which snapped another silver.
Mango Lassi, favourite of Indians
during summer time, earnt itself
gold last year and silver this year.
Says Bipen, Kyonji theek hai
na? as his wall behind his desk at
the office displays awards, testimo-
nials, news, interviews and recently
SMH Good Weekend interviewed
this busy man who is elusive in the
sense that he is in Sydney one day
and then in Bulgaria the next where
he has set up factory. Work hard and
recognition will follow is his motto
as we find it difficult to find him.
Winning among the biggest
names in the Australian Dairy
Industry is indeed very satisfying,
says Bipen Sharma, it is a special
feeling that we have been consis-
tently recognized for our high stan-
dards.
While winning awards may not
be new to Sharmas Kitchen, win-
ning them regularly brings into
sharper focus the relentless pursuit
of excellence by the company.
Our emphasis has always been
on getting better, adds Bipen
Sharma, almost every product has
undergone several stages of
improvement and this process will
continue. Equally important as win-
ning awards is the great feedback
by people who take the trouble to
send us their views and sugges-
tions.
For Indians in Australia yearn-
ing for that familiar taste of home-
made dahi and paneer, Sharmas
Kitchen has been nothing short of a
life saver. After years of buying
Greek yoghurt and pretending it
was just like back home, we finally
saw an Indian brand in the shops in
the mid 90s, and life has never
been the same again, says Nandu
Apte. The Yoghurt was followed by
Paneer, then Mango Lassi came
along followed by ghee, sweets,
shrikhand and sure enough, there
are more in the pipeline.
We want to be in your kitchen
in as many ways as possible, says
Bipen, and for our loyal customers
who have ignored cheaper options
on the shelves in favour of the qual-
ity they trust, we will continue to
offer the right balance of taste, qual-
ity and price.
Looks like the awards will con-
tinue as well.
Quality, taste and homemade
goodness is Bipens motto
By Neena Badhwar
Childhood impressions can be quite
profound in the sense that they leave deep
impact and the way one behaves even as an
adult. Children of first generation Indians
settled worldwide hear stories of back
home as little kids and theres always the
curiosity on part of the youngsters to go
back and experience India the way it was
described to them. And if one of those kids
turns out to be a film maker with parents
telling him stories about Kashmir, obvious-
ly the subject lies in the heart and soul of
the person since Kashmir valley is rife with
violence and unrest unlike the beautiful
valley it was years ago when one woke up
on a Shikara on Dal lake listening to Sufi
music. Is it still the same or is Kashmir and
its peace utterly destroyed forever. This
was the theme of a beautiful serene love
story Valley of Saints screened at Sydney
Film Festival in June and directed by
young Indo-American Musa Sayeed.
Says, Musa, It tried to tackle two
issues actually three it lent a backdrop
to the violence and tension, that Kashmir is
a valley of saints and third, pollution try-
ing to preserve the ecosystem of beautiful
places like Kashmir.
Valley of Saints is romance set in
Kashmir on the beautiful Dal lake. There is
backdrop of curfew, politics and violence
as characters interact on peripheral basis.
Its a gentle romance between a trapped
Kashmiri boatman and an American
researcher who has come to check and
research on pollution in the Dal lake.
I moved to America when I was 4
years old. My parents were afraid to go
back because of the fear of becoming polit-
ical prisoners. I was always curious to
reconnect to my heritage and see for myself
where I belong, as Musa spent three
months on the lake as he worked on his
script. It is a story of friendship, love as
universal aspects that the audience can
relate to.
So does he know Kashmiri language, I
dont know yet I understand the sounds and
meaning having been exposed to it and as I
saw and observed my subjects, their lan-
guage was not a barrier between us.
Making the movie and staying there was
not just about me, it was an immersive
exercise being curious myself and that I
was not some total outsider.
Its the story of two young men, their
friendship, two different people with dif-
ferent goals yet they vie for the same girl.
And I added to the film that Kashmir is a
quite a spiritual place full of holy people
and with shrines all over the place. I tried
to stay from the divisive issues and
explored the sectarian view of Kashmir.
The music of the film was composed
by my friend Mubashir Moiyuddin who is
also from America and into Rock and Roll
and hiphop. He was travelling through
Kashmir as we came across each other and
he got excited and worked with local musi-
cians and his guitar and the score turned to
be a beautiful fusion of Santoor, Rabab and
matka.
And how was the experience in
Kashmir, There were incidents of shoot-
ing and curfew being placed due to that but
we were a small crew of four and stayed
away from troubled spots. One time I had
to bribe a policeman remembers Musa.
As mentioned childhood impression are
quite strong and one must go and find out
for oneself whether those stories that are
told are true or not, Musa did by making a
movie on beloved Kashmir that his family
always talked about and experience the
place himself. And he has shared it with the
rest with his Valley of Saints.
Sayeed sees Kashmir the way it used to be
Move over Katrina Kaif, here
comes Teigan from Australia!
By Neena Badhwar
S
BS Bollywood Star Show finally
arrived at a decision after a nail-
biting wait for four weeks as
viewers discussed all the contestants
who went through a rigorous routine of
auditions, performance, talent and act-
ing to be chosen as the Bollywood Star
for a Bollywood movie from down
under.
The panel of judges made up of
Anupam Sharma film maker, direc-
tor and line producer for many
Bollywood films including Heyy Baby,
Dil Chahta Hai; Raj Suri - of Miss
India Australia Beauty Quest who has
helped many wannabes get a break in
Bollywood, and Dipti Patil a dancer
and a choreographer working for
Shiamak Davar Dance Company. In
India Bollywood Star had Emma
Brown-Garret, Asha Chandra and
Mahesh Bhatt to groom and chisel out
the ultimate Bollywood star.
The show created a keen viewership
as hundreds of contestants applied for
the contest. First episode was difficult
for judges as they laboriously culled
people who came to take part even if
one of the contestants was walking on
crutches. This lady was adamant and
the judges gave her the chance but
without luck. Sydney brought out
many actors, talented people even
some seniors who happened to have
lifelong dream to act in a movie.
Raj Suri, Anupam Sharma and
Dipti Patil know what the industry
wants and slowly brought the contest-
ant list down to 24 by the second round
and down to six with Raj Suris camera
lens focusing on minute details, yet be
able to find that potential actor who
suits Bollywood image and persona.
The six finalists who were chosen were
Lucky Singh, Rickardo Wesley,
Gautam or G-Luv Koul, Sarah
Roberts, Teigan Llyod-Evans and
Sharon Johal. They all had attributes
physical as well as talent which took
them to the third round and the fourth
round. It was difficult to say no to
some as they burst into tears hearing
the news as if their life depended on it.
Bollywood Star, on the whole,
brought out the best and the worst of
talent and for many viewers it was a
learning curve who may have been
closet hopefuls. The programme
proved that Bollywood is not a dream
but a stark reality and no reality show.
In a contestant it looks for their dream,
talent, hard work, aspiration, brains,
conviction, cleverness, charm, maturi-
ty yet innocence all rolled in one and
beauty - inner as well as outer in a per-
son. It was a journey which can be
for lifetime for some. One must be
rugged and strong of personality to
withstand its highs and lows. Trying
for Bollywood is a journey in itself,
though one may think of the success
and adulation and popularity it can
bring, which can be a long and hard
one trying to find the real actor in one-
self.
And thats what the contestants
learnt in a matter of a month what
Bollywood is. A lot was processed by
them as they learnt through the experi-
ence they can call their own.
TIDU talked to some of the contest-
ant including the winner Teigan Llyod-
Evans as she says, It was the best
experience of my life. It was not as if
you get a chance willy nilly. We got
the opportunity to do real stuff and all
in front of a camera.
So what kind of a role she is set to
do in a Mahesh Bhatt film? Says
Teigan, They have not picked a role
yet but I may be moving to Mumbai
and shooting for it later in the year.
So how did she find Bollywood and
India? This whole thing has changed
my life. The contest was all about the
industry though I would like to explore
Mumbai on my own a bit more
So how did she think of getting into
Bollywood? It was my underlying
passion and things came to a head last
year when I came across this contest. I
have watched Bollywood movies since
I was 12 years old with my mum who
is a great fan of Bollywood genre.
Can she name some movies? I
loved Monsoon Wedding. Though we
reminded her that it is from the alter-
native cinema with directors like Mira
Nair whereas mainstream Bollywood is
all song, dance and item numbers. On
speaking Hindi, says she eagerly,
Please teach me and correct me as I
am ready to learn and have the ability
to evolve as I go. Language should not
be a barrier to expression.
Sitting: Gautam, Lucky and Rickardo. Standing: Teigan (the winner of the contest), Sharon and Sarah.
Bollywood
18 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
Bollywood
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 19
And how did Teigan manage to
impress the judges with her dancing?
There are no Bollywood dance class-
es on Gold Coast where I come from.
I just learnt watching movies and kept
on rewinding again and again to mas-
ter some steps.
And what about the various outfits
and saris she wore? We shopped for
them once I was on the show and I
didnt know how to tie a sari even,
which I just pinned to keep it in place.
But I must say that my fellow contest-
ants were so good especially Lucky
who would correct my accent of cer-
tain words.
She explains being on the show
thus, It was quite hard as we were in
front of the camera 18 hours a day. It
was more in a doco style manner than
a competition. They wanted to see
what kind of people we were. Mahesh
looked into many aspects including
talent and personality. He wanted
someone who he could mould, some-
one who could connect to the audi-
ence.
Teigan is totally smitten by the
people in India, especially ordinary
people, and is fascinated by the coun-
try. Though I was shocked at first,
people were so nice and the attention
they gave us as they invited us in their
homes and hearts was just touching. I
felt comfortable with them. I loved
and enjoyed their simple ways. Never
once I felt dirty.
And what has Bollywood Star
taught her about Bollywood? Its not
me being a Caucasian. It is about
director and the vision he has to see
and put me in a role that works. We as
contestants all had something different
to offer. I am sure theres a role that
would suit my personality.
In the end Teigan agrees that SBS
has done this series as a good exercise
in helping cement the relations for
both India and Australia in a positive
direction. I am just totally over-
whelmed and thankful to all who sup-
ported me.
Sharon Johal, another contestant
who just about made to the top pretty
close, found that whole story did not
emerge from the series. Said she,
when asked why she cried so much all
those tears, What you saw was just a
few scenes. There was so much
footage and I feel that whole story did
not get translated.
It wasnt as if I just sat in front of
Mahesh Bhatt and the tears started. He
had talked to me a lot earlier and said
let all your emotions out and I dont
know what happened my tears just
kept on coming outand Mahesh
said more more and I cried more
and more. I dont know what hap-
pened to me.
Sharon hails from Riverland area
of South Australia where her dad has
a vineyard with her helping him on the
farm from a very young age. She has
seen hard life and is ready to take on
challenges.
About going for the contest, said
Sharon, It was my childhood dream.
My parents were so against it that they
used to say they will disown me. So I
did Law to keep them happy but its
not my passion. I had big dreams. I
spend a lot of time practicing in litiga-
tion law and am on my feet a lot which
can be pretty stressful.
I have studied in Shimla and know
Punjabi and Gujarati, have learnt
Tabla, Sarangi and Harmonium. So I
thought why not try it. The contest
helped me to challenge myself.
Putting myself and see me nation-
wide happy, sad and crying needed
a lot of courage. The show has defi-
nitely taught me courage to do more.
What did Sharon learn from the
experience? We saw Bollywood from
up close. There was more negative
than its positives. For me it is not
something I would like to follow.
And what if she is offered a role out of
the blue? I will think about it only if
it does justice to me. At the moment I
am happy that our skills were noticed
and we became good friends. As for
the decision I think it was quite sub-
jective. I think Mahesh Bhatt had a
particular role in mind and someone
who fits that would be the winner.
After all there had to be only one win-
ner.
Another contestant that TIDU
talked to was Gautam Koul or G-Luv.
Studying masters in IT in Canberra,
Gautam explained that G-Luv is an
improved and better version of
Gautam, nothing else. Gautam who
has acted in over 8 short films, done
acting at NIDA, says, I grew up act-
ing, dancing and am also into
hiphop.
He says, Initially I was scared
seeing the talent but as I went ahead I
felt confident. Bollywood Star was
one of the best and a life-changing
experience for me. I felt I would be
the last man standing as I felt quite
confident that I had made it. But I am
happy that I have done a great job and
Mahesh Bhatt reassured me which
gives give me the confidence to go
back and try for it again.
The last scene rant in front of
Mahesh Bhatt, wasnt it a bit too
much? Replies Gautam, The reason
for me being in Bollywood is that I
want to change the world. I saw and
felt for the common people on the
street. They made me more deter-
mined to fight for them. I thought let
me do my best to go for it.
How did he happen to choose the
character of a serial killer? Oh it was
not me, it was one of the characters of
Mahesh Bhatts film they wanted me
to act. Of someone who likes killing
women. But I still carried the part well
and spoke my dialogues in Hindi
which no other contestant did. People
liked my acting. I felt that I was going
to win.
I had personality, character and
substance. What more can a director
want, says Gautam still dreaming
about Bollywood.
Teigan Lloyd-Evans. She is of Welsh, Danish and Australian descent, and lives
on the Gold Coast. Shes always loved dancing, and over the years has
studied every style, from ballet to tap and jazz.
Teigan Llyod-Evans (winner), Sharon Johal and Gautam or G-Luv Koul were among the six finalists.
20 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
Community
By K. Raman
M
arriage is predestined and made in
heaven, so goes the saying. It is an
important, once in a lifetime
event. In Tamil system the bride and groom
are considered God and Goddess and there
should not be even a trace of business con-
notation attached to it. It should be holy all
the way; no wonder the wedlock was called
Gowri Kalyanam and Sita Kalyanam.
How times have changed. Divorce is,
now a days, commonplace. It is accepted,
nothing to be frowned upon. Marriage has
turned into an act of convenience.
There are many conditions made by the
involved parties before the modern day wed-
ding finally takes place. Around fifty years
ago the domineering side was the grooms
side. They dictated unbelievable and unreal-
istic terms and conditions. Directly or indi-
rectly, there was exchange of money, above
or under the table. They demanded every-
thing from water tumbler to a motor car.
It was amusing to the onlookers to watch
wedding negotiations being conducted the
grooms party making a grant entry to
brides home accompanied by the
Tharakan, the fair statured mediator and
skilled negotiator. The boy and girl look at
each other without even blinking their eyes
while negotiations and bargaining between
the two groups take place in earnest. Ladies
of the households just stand there with no
big involvement in the discussions.
In those days the girl child was a curse.
Even the birth announcement of a female
child brought a wail of sadness on the face
of childs parents, mainly because of the
anticipation of the mighty expenses waiting
for the childs wedding when it looms up
years later. The birth of a son was precious
because he had the prospect of getting big
dowry for his wedding. Without his pres-
ence and participation the parents would be
barred to enter heaven when they died.
Lately, theres been a power shift. Girls
are now picky and choosy while the grooms
side is receiving the payback they meted out
in earlier days. Good on ya girls.
One reason for the turnaround is that the
girls are getting highly educated and earn
high salaries. They are bold, self-supportive
and assertive. Right or wrong, the brides
demands look like acts of vengeance. They
look for husbands with higher academic
qualifications than theirs and earning a big-
ger pay packet. They look for a meek,
yours obediently (munthani/saree's end
holding type) man of their dream type, good
looking and the one taller than themselves,
with independent living status, owning a
house, vehicle, and with a good bank bal-
ance.
Recently, one prospective couples par-
ties gathered in a fashionable hotel to dis-
cuss the wedding, and before they began
any conversation the girl found the boy
shorter than her. Thumbs down, thats the
end of alliance.
Brides invariably look for one without
any unwanted baggage (large dependent
family). A groom with no parents is well
received. Even if there is such a baggage
it should be left behind eternally, with zilch
possibility of the old in-laws tagging along.
They make sure the oldies live on their own
in their ancestral home or in a retirement
accommodation, self- supporting.
Alternatively, the newly weds would move
over forever to a US destination to live in
peace.
If the grooms family has younger chil-
dren the alliance is totally rejected. Some
even stipulate the money earned by the bride
would be available to her parents till they
are alive. The bride wants unconditional
control over her life and some may say there
should be no barring her by anyone to go to
late night parties and on shopping sprees
with her friends.
There are instances where the grooms
parents are willing to foot the bill of major-
ity of wedding expenses if they get a girl of
their liking. In one instance a condition
emerged out of the blue that the boy should
resign his lucrative Dubai job and move
over to Coimbatore outskirts where the
bridal family lived. She insisted that she
would remain with her parents all her life.
The choice of selecting brides and
grooms from their own castes, sects and sub
sects are all gone with the wind. If you get
an alliance of that type it is a bonus to you.
Even if a Nischaya thambbolam occurs,
the modern girl would smoke the groom
out of his bearing and convictions and 'do-
mesticate' him to suit her convenience.
I heard of a bizarre reason of cancella-
tion of a wedding because the boy and girl
could not arrive at an amicable decision on
the honeymoon spot, one wanted to go
Maldives while the other wanted to visit
Kumarakam. Why not visit both?
There are now inter-caste marriages and
couples with big age gaps tie the knot. Even
food habits change as we hear the well
brought up Iyengar bride has started cook-
ing and eating meat dishes or the Bengali
groom has become vegetarian leaving aside
his fish delicacies to please his young bride.
Then there are cases when the parents
compete among themselves in ornamenting
the girl with loads of jewellery. You might
have heard about the petite Nair bride who
stumbled down because she wore her jew-
ellery weighing kilos of Gold on her flimsy
neck.
Dowry system was prevalent in Vedic
times, too. What happened to God
Tirupathy Venkatachalapathy. He still
repays the borrowed dowry money to
Kubera with no end of a settlement in sight
due to the Shylock attitude of Kubera. Good
or bad, these happenings are cyclic and God
destined.
Till marriage do us part
In Tamil system the bride and groom are considered God and Goddess and there should not be even
a trace of business connotation attached to it.
Right or wrong, the modern brides demands look like acts of vengeance.
They look for husbands with higher academic qualifications than theirs
and earning a bigger pay packet.
The wedlock was once
called Gowri Kalyanam
and Sita Kalyanam in
South India, but the wed-
ding negotiations, often
dictated by the bride-
grooms side, were far
from holy. Now, mar-
riage has turned into an
act of convenience. Also,
girls are now picky and
choosy while the
grooms side is receiving
the payback they meted
out in earlier days.
Bollywood
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 21
By Neeru Saluja
A
s she descended from the glass lift
at Taj Blue, it seemed as if an
Indian goddess had alighted in
Sydney. Dressed in a blue jumpsuit and
gold necklace with green and red stones,
she looked stunning. No doubt the whole of
India went crazy with her item number
Munni Badnaam Hui!
Last year Malaika Arora Khan dumb-
founded everyone when she returned to
sway her body in her home production
Dabaang. With a well toned body and the
right jhatkas, no one could imagine how
hot a mummy can look! A style icon,
Malaika has donned various hats as a MTV
VJ, actress, dancer, TV host, judge and
now producer with her husband Arbaaz
Khan.
Malaika Arora Khan was here recently
as the guest of the Indian Film Festival
with Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh.
Malaika has come a long way since her
MTV days. Fresh from college, she was
selected as a VJ for MTV and then did
some modelling. She met her husband
Arbaaz Khan during the shoot of a coffee
ad, got married, had a kid, but never lost
touch with the tinsel town.
From Chaiya Chaiya to Anarkali disco
chali, Munni has danced straight into film-
goers hearts. Lets know more about the
yummy mummy, who makes every man go
weak in his knees and every woman feel
awe of her figure
Malaika has always known to manage
her home, kid and work gracefully. How
do you balance work and motherhood?
Just like any other mum! Its no dif-
ferent, we work and we juggle. As women
we are born with that talent. My family has
been very supportive which is a great help.
If Im at work, there is always someone at
home to look after my son.
Arbaaz is very good, quips Mitu
Bhomwick, the woman behind bringing
Malaika here. We have known each other
for 15 years, and Malaika is a hands-on
mum. And you know me, I dont praise
anyone just like that. She co-produced
Dabaang with Arbaaz but never neglected
home. If you are wondering how does she
maintain such a figure, I have to tell you
she never diets and Im witness to her hav-
ing a great appetite!
There is no second thought that
Malaika boasts the best figure in the indus-
try. Amongst the mummy brigade, she is
the yummiest of all. While Aish has been
facing criticism post-pregnancy, we ask
Malaika what she thinks about it. Malaika
rises to her defence, We need to give her
a break. Media has to back off. We all
know this is not an easy task. It takes a lot
of effort to get back to work after being a
mum. They have to back off and give her
own time. Hitting the gym and losing those
pounds takes a lot of effort.
Malaika has carved her own niche
amongst the leading ladies of today.
Though she has never acted as a leading
lady in movies, she has been stereotyped as
an item girl since her Munni Badnaam hui
become a hit.
I never wanted to act. I never had the
desire to be an actress. So when people say
they went to see Dabaang to see my item
number, its a nice feeling. Being the pro-
ducer of the same film, it feels good to see
your own success.
Apart from being an item girl, Malaika
has acted in a few films, been a VJ and a
TV talent show judge. But she has always
enjoyed dancing the most. She takes her
inspiration from home. I have always
admired Helen Aunty who dances so grace-
fully. Madhuri Dixit is also a goddess
when it comes to dance. In terms of films,
every Friday who catches my fancy is a
winner.
The next question that comes to our
mind is her favourite male actor, and of
course not from home. Now that is a dif-
ficult question, because when I go back
home one or the other member will ask
why I didnt name them! Well, Mr
Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan
all of them are good actors.
How was it getting married into a filmi
family?
It was tough! My mum hit the ceiling
when she came to know Im dating an
actor. She flipped as she comes from a
Malayali Catholic family. My in-laws are a
very open minded, progressive family with
a mix of all religions and welcoming all.
Being a mum of a nine-year-old son,
Malaika has also voiced her views on
young children participating in dance com-
petitions. I was not too happy with the age
of some participants in the show. But the
society thinks that kids are just showcasing
their talent. For me, I believe at that age
kids should not lose their innocence and
should not be thinking about being so com-
petitive.
My son loves playing cricket and foot-
ball and I would like him to be brought up
like any normal kid.
A super mum, a super model, VJ,
actress, dancer, what is Malaika when she
is not all of this?
When Im not Malaika, I have my
tracks on and will hit the gym! Like any
mum I will take my kid to school, I also
enjoy cooking. I hope my wish of opening
a restaurant comes true one day! You
wont believe it but Im also glued to
Master Chef Australia. Me and my son
watch it regularly, and we are bowled over
by the Junior MasterChef!
Last but not the least, what is the secret
of being so fit at this age?
(Smiles) My secret of being fit is
going to the gym and living a healthy
lifestyle.
I always wake up on time and wherev-
er I am, go for a run or hit the gym. I also
do yoga and never have had any dietary
restrictions. I never starve myself and eat
to my hearts content, Malaika says.
Anarkali Sydney Chali
Malaika Arora featured in Anarkali Disco Chali item number in hit film Housefull
2, soon after the success of Munni Badnam Hui in Dabaang last year.
Organiser of Indian Film Festival 2012 Mitu Bhowmick Lange with Malaika.
M
alaika was
accompa-
nied to the
Indian Film Festival
by film director
Rituparno Ghosh
whose film
Chitrangada was
screened at the
opening night.
Chitrangada, with
lead character
played by Rituparno
himself, is a take on
R a b i n d r a n a t h
Tagores dance drama of the same name
based on a tale from Mahabharata, where
the king wants his daughter Chitrangada
to become the prince of Manipura since
he doesnt have a son to succeed him. But
Chitrangada wants to remain a girl.
In the film, Jisshu Sengupta dumps
the Rituparno character because of a curi-
ous turn of events. The twist in the tale
comes when he returns to Ritu again dur-
ing a moment of crisis, Rituparno who
is known for his offbeat films, said at the
press conference.
Bengali cinema is more open to art
and women-centric films, he said. And
in answer to a question he added, To
direct as well as act at the same time is
quite difficult. I lost the benefit of my
own direction.
Although I worked hard learning
Odissi rigorously for over two months
and went through an operation to lose
weight on my waist for the role of
Chitrangada, my assistants let me be.
Rituparno Ghosh's take on
Tagore's Chitrangada
22 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
Community
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 23
NSW Maharashtra Cricket
Cup to be held in October
Ayyappa Swamy installed in
Guildford, Sydney
N
SW Premier Barry OFarrell
announced the charity crick-
et tournament to begin later
this year between NSW and India
that has attracted international spon-
sorship.
The NSW Maharashtra Cricket
Cup to be held in Western Sydney
in October will be sponsored by
China Southern Airlines.
Mr OFarrell said, The tourna-
ment between the Mumbai Cricket
Association and Cricket NSW was
established during my trade mission
to India last November. It was
agreed between the two States that
the proceeds of the biennial game
between a NSW XI and a
Maharashtra XI would be directed
to charity. With China Southern
Airlines getting behind the event,
two of our key trading partners,
India and China have come together.
This is another run on the board for
the NSW Multicultural Business
Advisory Panel (MBAP) which
negotiated the sponsorship agree-
ment worth about $200,000. I con-
gratulate MBAP chairman Nihal
Gupta who met both China Southern
Airlines and the Mumbai Cricket
Association during our trade mis-
sions last year and has now success-
fully brought the two parties togeth-
er. Funds raised during the inaugu-
ral China Southern Airlines
Tournament will go to the 40K
Foundation which takes on joint
venture projects to reduce poverty in
developing countries.
Premier was moved to see first-
hand, the work of the 40K
Foundation during his visit in
November last years to the Banyan
School in Bangalore - a project for
the education and support of 200
impoverished children whose par-
ents work in nearby quarries.
Each series, a different charity
will be chosen to benefit from this
new relationship that strengthens the
already strong ties between our two
states. With the support of China
Southern, former Australian cricket
captain Mark Taylor AO as
Ambassador, and the commitment of
the two cricket associations I am
confident the inaugural event will be
a success, Mr OFarrell said.
China Southern Regional
General Manager Australia/New
Zealand Henry He said the airline
was thrilled to be involved in such
an exciting new venture that con-
nected two of its biggest growth
markets through sport.
We know how important crick-
et is to India and Australia - and
China Southern is proud to help
strengthen the sporting bonds
between the two states, Maharashtra
and NSW. The China Southern
Airlines Tournament is the airlines
first foray into Australian sport,
Mr He said.
S
ydney Sri Ayyappa Swami
Centre has installed Lord
Ayyappan together with
Kubera Ganapathy in their own
home at Unit 20, 116-18
McCredie Road, Guildford West,
NSW 2161 after a long wait of 12
years since its inception in 1999.
Lord Ayyappa devotees dream
came true on June 10 with special
ritualistic homams, abhishekams,
archana and poojas from dawn to
dusk, attended by well over 250
devotees and their families. The
centres short-term plans are to
within couple of months install
Nagaraja, Manjamatha and
Karuppan Swami to replicate
Sabari Malai deities. The most
fundamental Hindu value is that
God resides in everyone. Thus
everyone is equal in the eyes of
God. Mutual trust and respect
are important for harmonious liv-
ing. Though there are many gods
in Hinduism, all paths lead to the
same God. There are different
ways to reach God, by prayers
and bhakti, and by rituals and
meditation. Sri Ayyappa Worship
is based on the simplest bhakti
path, where followers collectively
sing the praises of God and sur-
render totally to the lotus feet of
Lord Ayyappa. These are prac-
tised and followed by millions of
Ayyappa devotees from all over
the world as it appeals to all irre-
spective of their religion, caste or
language. Hindus believe that
God is omnipresent. God can see
and hear anything and everything.
No one can hide anything from
Him. Even though God is every-
where, in order to focus ones
mind and to create right atmos-
phere for concentration and medi-
tation, temples places of wor-
ship play an important role in
our life. The worships are con-
ducted and managed in accor-
dance with set rules of Vedas and
Agamas. Hindu life closely
revolves around temples, in edu-
cation, entertainment through
important festivals and feasts, and
rituals. Temples also play an
important role in organising social
events encouraging free educa-
tion, shelter, food and protection
for the needy.
Lord Ayyappa Prayer Centre
is open every day Morning:
08.00am to 10.00am; Evening:
06.30pm to 08.30pm. For further
information & pooja booking
please contact the Management
Committee. Contact details:
Mohan : 0425 218 622,
Rengarajan : 0448 757 785,
Sivam Raja : 0414 300 226,
Venkatraman : 0400 637 958
Email: sydneyayyappan @
yahoo.com.au.
E
ngland has been lucky and prosperous
under the realm of Queens!And so is
the reign of Queen Elizabeth II of the
House of Windsor supreme!
Today the British Empire has shrunk to a
smaller degree,
Yet the Commonwealth of Nations stands
aloft, embracing many countries & democra-
cies.
Born on 21st April, 1926 and growing
up in a well-bonded, happy family.
Destiny made her Heir Presumptive in
1936 surprisingly!
With King Edward VIIIs abdication &
the Duke of Yorks imminent succession in
all formality
When onwards began her grooming for
her future responsibility.
Fate introduced her to a handsome young
prince during her fourteenth year age,
Who soon won her heart and admiration
at every stage!
Least knowing he was destined to be her
lifes partner & Prince Consort to this day.
Ever supportive, they remain a charming
couple in a special way!
Her wedding on 22nd November 1947 to
Prince Philip of Greece, Duke of Edinburgh
Created great news and immense joy,
after the grim 2nd World War saga.
It was celebrated with great joy, pomp
and pageantry
And she was focused forever, in full
glare & publicity.
Her coronation in 1952 after her beloved
father, King George VIs sad passing away,
Commenced another Elizabethan era
from the mid 20th Century to this present
day..
2012 has witnessed her regimes
Diamond Jubilee celebration.
Another great landmark, after Queen
Victorias similar commemoration!
Honouring the vows she pledged on
accession day,
From twenty-seven years of age, contin-
ues to fulfil with sincerity and conscientious
way.
With strong will power, tolerance and a
profound sense of duty.
She continues imprinting golden chapters
in British monarchy and history!
Blessed with four children, eight grand-
children and two great grandchildren
Her life was steered through many dif-
ferences, problems and peaceful terrain
Yet her selfless service and commitment
to a Sovereigns duty
Totally absorbs her days as top priority!
Many presidents have changed, States
merged and political parties risen and fallen
Yet Queen Elizabeth II continues her
royal duties with grace and dedication.
May Her Majesty be blessed with long
life and good health to prolong her unique
role
And may the bands keep playing God
Save the Queen wherever she goes!
This year celebrates 60 years of the
Queens coronation.
Premier Barry O'Farrell
teaches cricket to Mr He of
China Southern airlines.
The deity at the Sydney Sri Ayyappa Swami Centre.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
A tribute in verse by Jogmaya Narpatsingh
24 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2012
Community
By Neena Badhwar
W
inter time is something
when one wants to be
warm and cosy, like in a
hall full of audience and a night
full of soulful numbers. Talat
would be great, but in his absence,
Sydneys own Avijit Sarkar will be
no less. A while ago The Indian
Down Under had given him the
title of Hemant Da of Sydney.
But there is more. Avijit is also
the Manna Dey and now Talat
Mehmood, too.
Avijit has spent his last 35
years in Sydney singing on stage,
entertaining us with his versatile
voice. He is a delight to hear as he
belts famous songs of Talat. The
concert is in aid of the Breast
Cancer Foundation and a benevo-
lent member of the community
topped up the donation with equal
contribution. Is it the charisma
Avijit has or is it the choice of
Talat songs that creates the magic?
As we enter the hall we wonder
if anyone is in there as the precinct
is dead quiet with doors firmly
secured. And suddenly, as some-
one opens the door, we are privy
to an audience totally enamoured
and absorbed in an era of olden
goldies and the love, sad and blue
mood numbers, as if Talat, him-
self, is there that night.
Talat Mahmood sang softer,
ghazal type songs which he intro-
duced using his inimitable style,
playing harmonium himself and
added matka sound. Most of his
poetry originated from great poets
of the era, such as Sahir
Ludhianavi, Raja Mehndi Ali
Khan, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Kumar
Barabankwi and Rajender Kishan.
Most of the songs that Talat sang
became well known only because
they had memorable lyrics from
those great poets.
It is a night of the select best of
Talat with Avijit singing Jaayen to
jaayen kahan. Each number is bet-
ter than the last. Pushpa Jagadish
singing Itna na mujhse tu pyar
badaenamours the audience and
they wait for the next. Sham-e
gham ki kasam, Main dil hun ik
armaan bhara. Guitar player
Sadiq Rehmani sings his child-
hood favourite Tasveer banata
hun. It is a night of perfect tribute
to the singing great of a bygone
era. Avijit makes a befitting bridge
to an era of singers who are a part
of our body, mind and soul. With
those songs we grew up, we car-
ried them in our heart as we moved
to the new country and we will go
carrying the nostalgic numbers
within us from this world.
With Avijit we feel transported
to Talats era and ask for more. He
could not leave without a promise,
that there will be encore.
By Kersi Meher-Homji
W
hen other crooners
sing, Hemant Kumar
seemed to hum, so gen-
tle was his delivery. And so does
Suhas Mahajan.
The criterion of a good song
is that it makes you hum for
weeks after you have heard it.
Suhas Aap ke Haseen Rukh
pe., Mera dil machal gaya to
mera kya kasur hai by
Mohammad Rafi has that appeal
for me.
It was a pleasant experience
interviewing him after the
songfest.
Who and what inspired you to
sing, Suhas? Your hero/role
model?
All top singers from the
bygone era were influential to me
but Lata ji was mainly instrumen-
tal. She has a divine voice, it goes
straight to the soul and stays there
forever! No favourite singer --
love each singer for the jewels
they have given us, Hemant for
the soft songs, Kishore for all the
flamboyant songs for the young
and restless, Asha for the various
songs that she is known for and
Rafi and Lata for their hundreds
of beautiful hits.
Did you have a chance to
meet and chat with them?
No, I have not had the for-
tune of meeting any great singers.
But when you can listen to them
why is it essential to meet them?
The sounds are more precious.
Its like asking: Are you interest-
ed in eating the mangoes or
counting the trees? I truly love the
lyrics of old songs. Immaculate,
very meaningful and not flamboy-
ant. I sometimes think that we are
so fortunate to be in that time
zone.
Any music in your family?
My grandmother had a beau-
tiful voice and I remember put-
ting my head on her lap listening
to her. My Dad loves music and
he was and is an avid listener. He
has always encouraged me to
develop.
Your most memorable
moments?
Most memorable moments
continue to be when I see the
audience relive those olden days
while listening to these songs
now.
How do you balance your
business as a finance adviser and
your hobby as a crooner?
Balance is quite easy as
nothing interesting is happening
in the stock markets, so Im
immersing myself into the
songs!
When did you come to
Sydney?
I left India in early 80's and
am in Sydney for the past 12
years. I have two kids, my son
has just graduated as an
Aeronautical Space Engineer and
my daughter is a budding writer!
My wife is a big support and has
always encouraged me.
Your ambition?
My ambition is to sing better
and reach the souls of my listen-
ers.
Any special message for your
listeners?
Every one of us is a singer
and we should not hesitate to
explore. Singing takes us closer
to the creator and we experience
an inner happiness.
Happy humming, Suhas!
Sydney remembers Talat through Avijit
He hums like Hemant
hes Suhas Mahajan
T
he Mehfil-e-shaam
organised by India
Club in May was a
night of nostalgia as the
melodies of Hemant
Kumar, Mohammad Rafi,
Lata Mangeshkar, Asha
Bhosle and Jagjit Singh
were brought back to life.
The regulars were
there: Vinod Rajput, Suhas
Mahajan and Pushpa
Jagdish. The repertoire
was enhanced by the live-
ly, young and effervescent
Reena Mehta - the Asha of
Sydney - who wowed the
audience with the Howrah
Bridge number Mera
naam chin chin chu. Not
one person was not clap-
ping and tapping as she
continued: Mai Cheen se
aayee, Cheeni jaisa dil
laayee.
Not even a traffic
chaos in Sydney stopped
sangeet-divanas (music-
lovers) to attend the con-
cert in droves at the
Epping Centre. Pushpa,
the Lata of Sydney, started
off with Aap ki nazaro n
samjha and it was time to
travel down memory lane,
going back to 1960s and
70s.
It is difficult to pin-
point the best rhythms
among the 31 rhapsodies
as all were equally uplift-
ing for the ear and the
soul. Suhas Mahajans
Bekarar karke hamein yu
na jaiyee from Bees Saal
Baad took me back to my
schooldays. More like
Pachaas saal baad now,
and still as enchanting.
Equally hauntingly
nostalgic were the duets
Aajaa sanam madhur
and Ek pardesi mera dil
le gaya by Vinod and
Pushpa. Then Pushpa and
Suhas shared the mike
with the Kashmir ki kali
classic Deewana hua
badal and Mujhe kitna
pyaar hai tumse from Dil
tera Diwana.
This was followed by
my favourite song
bewitchingly hummed by
Suhas: Mera dil machal
gaya to mera kya kasoor
hai.
Then Vinod made us
sing-along with his inim-
itable Merey man ki
ganga from Sangam, his
film heroine assuring him
at the end that Sangam
hoga, hoga, hoga!
The concert ended on a
high note with Jhumka
gira re and Aye meri
zohra zabeen as the audi-
ence gave all four singers a
standing ovation.
Compere Rajeev
Chaturvedi kept us amused
during breaks with humor-
ous comments and shairi
as he introduced each
singer.
And those running the
sound system did an excel-
lent job, too.
Congratulations to Shubha
Kumar, the President of
India Club, who organised
the Mehfil with panache.
Bol Radha to Mera naam chin chin
chu, it was a melodic songfest
Kersi Meher-Homji was there, tapping his toes
Suhas Mahajan
Reena Mehta, Suhas Mahajan, Pushpa Jagadish and Vinod Rajput
keeping the Sydney music scene alive.
Vinod Rajput's Band Baja entertained seniors of the Indian Seniors Group
Hornsby with 85-year old Mrs Meera Raheja, the founder of the group.
Avijit Sarkar and Pushpa Jagadish
Community
May - June 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 25
Indian Consulate in Sydney to hold
Running for India contest!
I
f you love India and if
you love to run, the CGI
have a small and informal
contest for the community!
If you participate in the
Sydney Running Festival
(any of the four runs on 16
September 2012), or in the
City2Surf run (12 August
2012) - while wearing a T-
shirt with a prominent dis-
play of an Indian design/sym-
bol or (even better!) an
Indian costume - they will
select two winners (one each
from Sydney Running
Festival and City2Surf) and
take them (and their +1s) out
for dinner (plus a surprise
gift for each winner!).
To participate in the con-
test, all you need to do is to
submit photos of yourself
running and crossing the fin-
ishing lines at either of these
events and point the consulate
to your finishing times when
the official results are
declared. Your photos should
clearly show your T-
shirt/costume and your run-
ning bib, which should corre-
spond to the official results.
Dont forget to Like their
Facebook page first!
Finishing time is not impor-
tant. That's all!
CGI will add all the par-
ticipants' photos to a
"Running for India" album
on their Facebook page. This
is an informal contest open to
everyone (regardless of citi-
zenship, age, gender or any
other criteria) who is running
at either of these events. The
judging will be (naturally)
subjective, but they urge you
to be creative with your T-
shirt/costume ideas and get
your friends to "like" your
photos!
Start training, and spread
the word!
M
s/Mrs India Quest
2012 night of
finals finally hap-
pened on June 2 after a
long eager wait. The event
was fun filled with 4 rounds
of beauty pageant and vari-
ous entertainment items
interlaced in between to
ensure maximum crowd
enjoyment.
Chief Guest at the occa-
sion was none other than
the Honourable Consul
General of India Dr
Subhakanta Behera.
The event opened with
an enthralling Odissi dance
performance by Mrs
Rajashree Behera and after
that the event rolled on.
The main rounds of the
event opened with an intro-
duction of all the 17 partici-
pating beauties followed by
a personality round where
the contestants showcased
their evening gowns.
The designer of that
round was Dewi Youraja.
Following this the girls
went on to showcase their
fitness levels in the fitness
round. Then came the west-
ern round with all the beau-
ties dressed up in western
attire where the designer
was Mrs Navneet Sandhu.
The final round was scintil-
lating Indian round courtesy
Mrs Saima Qureshi from
Wardrobe.
In between the main
rounds there was brilliant
dance performance by little
guests Samar & Esha, who
stole everyones heart.
There was a casual catwalk
by the sponsors and partici-
pants husbands and kids. A
very notable entertainment
was provided by Ms Veena
Sree and Mr Shriram Iyer
who sang catchy Bollywood
numbers to audience
delight.
There was Gidda by
Dilpreet & team and Dhol
performance by Sunny &
team as well in the end to
keep the guests delighted.
The finals were won by
Ms Deepti Sharma who
took the Ms India Earth
title and Mrs Priyanka
Dewan who took the Mrs
India Universe title. Apart
from this there were numer-
ous other titles provided as
well to recognise the girls
for their hard work.
The team and manage-
ment at Ms/Mrs India Quest
congratulated the winners
who showed enormous tal-
ent and did best on the
night. The judges of the
evening were Dr
Subhakanta Behera himself,
Mrs Krishna Arora, Ms
Melaine Morgan and Ms Jo
Griffin.
The main organiser of
the event was Mrs Anamika
Srivastava and her team of
volunteers who helped make
the event a grand success.
She thanked all the media
partners and sponsors.
The finals were won by Ms
Deepti Sharma who took
the Ms India Earth title
and Mrs Priyanka Dewan
who took the Mrs India
Universe title.
Deepti Sharma and Priyanka Dewan win at
Melbournes Ms/Mrs India Quest 2012
Arun Kumar Goel joins as Consul
General of India, Sydney
M
r. Arun Kumar Goel is a career
diplomat. After obtaining a
Masters degree in Economics
from Panjab University, Chandigarh in
1975, he started his working life at the age
of 21 by joining the State Bank of India as
a Probationary Officer in 1975. In 1979,
after working for four years in banking,
Mr. Goel left SBI where he was a branch
manager and joined the Indian Foreign
Service in 1979. In his diplomatic career,
he has served in various capacities at Indian
diplomatic missions in Bonn, Baghdad,
Prague and Dakar. He was Consul General
of India in Hamburg (2000-04) and High
Commissioner of India in Seychelles (2004-
08). Prior to taking charge as Consul
General in Sydney, he was working in the
Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi
as Joint Secretary responsible for Indias
bilateral relations with the countries of
South-East Asia and Pacific, including
Australia and New Zealand.
NSW and South Australia are currently
under Consulate General, Sydneys jurisdic-
tion which looks after consular services for
both the states.
Arun Kumar Goel
26 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER May - June 2012
Bollywood
June - July 2012 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 27
By Vish Viswanathan