The Indian Down Under - E Paper June-July, 2011

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
19: TIDU talks to Paul Lowe,
Head, Population Census Progam
20: Dipen Dhruv, CEO, Leapfrog
Consulting, sleeps out in Sydney
39: Raju Varanasi brings IT
revolution in NSWschool
education
55: Laugh with Jerry Seinfeld
57-60: Kersi Meher-Homji and
Dilip Mahanty report on Cricket
How Indians are fighting the scourge of corruption in the country. Stories Page 8,9
Indias fight against corruption
2 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June-July 2011
June - July 2011 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 03
04 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2011
Editor's Letter
June-July 2011 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 7
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EDITORIAL
Principal Editor: Vijay Badhwar
Associate Editor: Neena Badhwar
North America : Parveen Chopra
Correspondent
Sports Editor: Kersi Meher-Homji
Delhi Reporter: Ritu Ghai
WRITERS
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Political Columns: Karam Ramrakha, Mallika
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Films and Art: Neeru Saluja, Abhishek Sood, Monica
Daswani, Sumi Krishnan, Devaki Parthasarthy, Neena
Badhwar, Rekha Rajvanshi
Body-Mind-Spirit: Dr Sunder Das, Kanaka
Ramakrishna, Faith Harper, T Selva, Dilip Mahanty
Sport: Kersi Meher-Homji, Dilip Mahanty
Fiji Diary: Karam Ramrakha
Cookery: Promila Gupta
Children Section: Esther Chudhary-Lyons
Classical Music: Sumi Krishnan, Kris Raman,
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Travel: Vijay Badhwar, Kris Raman
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Seniors Column: Santram Bajaj
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Community: Neena Badhwar, Kersi Meher-Homji,
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Narayan
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L
ike Shikhandi in Mahabharata,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is
fronted up so that the Government is
shielded against Opposition attacks. Unable
to take any firm action against the offend-
ing politicians, the Prime Ministers only
effort so far has been to keep the alliance
at any cost. He, himself, has been com-
pletely ineffectual to force any value-relat-
ed directions to his government, bar citing
of his own integrity, which, of course, is
above board.
But the Indian public and even interna-
tional business now consider that such
widespread corruption is a major issue
which adversely affects everyone and
everyday life. It is like cancer in the socie-
ty and needs to be tackled firmly if India is
to rise as an economic power. Recently,
its been termed as season of scams
which includes alleged misappropriation of
billions in last years Commonwealth
Games in Delhi, $40 billion in lost revenue
from the crooked sale of 2G telecom
licences and over $40 billion stolen in
Uttar Pradesh from schemes subsidising
food and fuel for the poor. The benefits of
progress have to flow down to all sections
of the society, to uplift the poor and
empower them, not only to satiate the
greed of a few politicians with their bil-
lions rotting in Swiss banks.
The Government has taken some action
against corrupt individuals - Maharashtras
chief minister has been removed over a
property scandal. Suresh Kalmadi, who ran
the Commonwealth Games, and
Andimuthu Raja, who oversaw the 2G tele-
com licences, and DMK Rajya Sabha MP
Kanimozhi also implicated in 2G scam, are
behind bars.
As India heads towards becoming a
world economic power, it has to invest in
its lagging infrastructure. In its next five-
year plan, India will spend $1 trillion on
roads, railways and ports. With scarce land
and energy resources, the scope for cor-
ruption, if not curbed, increases exponen-
tially. In this light the satyagraha initiated
by Anna Hazare and followed up by Baba
Ramdev are marg darshana to guide and
empower the masses to say no to bribes,
to instill in them the confidence that they
do not have to be indifferent to all the cor-
ruption proliferating around them. The
Governments highhandedness in disrupting
a peaceful meeting at Delhis Ramlila
Grounds at 2 am in the morning on June 5,
on the pretext that the gathering exceeded
the permission for 5,000 people, when
people were singing bhajans and were not
doing anything unlawful, was an abom-
inable act to take place in a democracy. It
was justifiable to compare, albeit with
some exaggeration, to the dastardly act of
an alien power in Jalianwala Bagh during
Indias freedom struggle.
The UPA Government is not serious to
curb corruption. Its intentions are clear as
it dilly-dallies on its earlier commitment
with Anna Hazare on Jan Lokpal bill. It
wants to exclude the prime minister from
the bills purview, fully aware that past
prime ministers Charan Singh and
Narasimha Rao were both alleged to be
tainted. The Government wants to draft
their own version of the bill which forfeits
the whole intention of inclusion of people
power.
Law Minister Veerappa Moily has
recently released a draft of the Lokpal bill,
prepared by five ministers and with a note
on the reservations expressed by the civil
society members. The differences over
some key provisions remain. The bill is set
to be finalized on June 30 with the
Government toughening its stance that it
will not tolerate pressure tactics by a few
self-styled persons in the name of civil
society. It should, rather, have been a
firm stand against the corrupt politicians.
Kudos for Fiji Govt
I
read the article "Fiji - an International
Enigma" by KC Ramrakha with interest
as we have been providing voluntary med-
ical services for the past 6 years to the dis-
advantaged population of Fiji which
includes significant majority of Indian
descendents. I must applaud the ruling
government which may be unlawful or
authoritarian, waiting to become an elected
democracy in 2014, but it has surpassed all
the previous endeavours of creating a fair
and equal society. Our work would not
have been possible without the support and
goodwill of the health minister which has
now started a revolution in mental health
services throughout the country.
Postgraduate studies in psychiatry as from
2012 will be just the beginning of training
future medical specialists to serve the
entire Pacific region. Fiji is not only a
neighbour but its significance to Indians is
also far greater. Indian settlement over 150
years ago is a story of resounding triumphs
and devastating failures, a story of chal-
lenges and heartaches and above all the
story of the strength, commitment,
courage, endurance and resilience of the
unsung heroes who passed the culture, reli-
gion and language in sacred packages
through generations. Our motivation and
inspiration indeed came from the sacrifices
made by these settlers whose descendents,
unable to leave the country, live in pover-
ty. For them the rulers of the country have
never been better.
--Shailja Chaturvedi
Osama image shrouds
background politics
T
he American politicians and media
have successfully used a bogeyman in
what they perceive to be an elevation of
their status and a distraction from serious
economic issues.
During the last
decade or so, demo-
nizing relatively
petty individuals has
helped eviscerate
constitutional rights
such as freedom of
speech, movement
and association, and maintain a state of
perpetual war so that the military-industrial
complex is sustained.
Soon after 9-11, a commission of
inquiry headed by an expert on the creation
and maintenance of public myths was foist-
ed on the public, to enable landmark
events to herd an apathetic populace in the
direction the policy-makers wished. The
commissioners work in the 1990s specu-
lated that catastrophic terrorism events and
the resultant horror could be used to whip
up vastly beneficial hysteria, enforce dra-
conian legislation, reverse civil liberties,
engage in intrusive continuous surveillance
and detention without charge, of citizens
and the use of indiscriminate force and
devastation on impoverished nations.
The image of Osama bin Laden is one
of the most successful psychological opera-
tions mounted in world history. Fear mon-
gering and regularly reiterated myths have
ensured a malleable public that does not
question what really defines terrorism and
who best fits its characteristics in terms of
magnitude and frequency.
--Lasantha Pethiyagoda
Manmohan Govt is not serious to end corruption
Letters to the Editor
The satyagraha initiated by Anna
Hazare and followed up by Baba
Ramdev is to guide and empower the
masses to say no to bribes, and that
they do not have to be indifferent to the
corruption proliferating around them
Opinion
A
zero rupee note is a type
of fantasy money issued
in India as a means of
helping to fight systemic politi-
cal corruption. The notes are
paid in protest by angry citizens
to government functionaries who
solicit bribes in return for serv-
ices which are supposed to be
free. Zero rupee notes, which
are made to resemble the regular
50 rupee banknote of India, are
the creation of a non-govern-
mental organization known as
5th Pillar, which has distributed
over 1.3 million pieces since
their inception in 2007. The
notes remain in current use in
2011.
Bribery - the offering or
solicitation of items of value to
influence the actions of a gov-
ernment official is recognized
as a pervasive problem in India,
with the 2010 report by anti-cor-
ruption watchdog organization
Transparency International rank-
ing India in 87th place on its
Corruption Perceptions Index. A
2005 study published by
Transparency International India
indicates that as many as 62% of
Indian citizens had first-hand
experience of having paid a
bribe or used an illicit "contact"
to get a government job done.
Majority of survey respon-
dents characterized the police,
judiciary, land administration,
municipal government, electrici-
ty supply system, government
hospital system, ration card sys-
tem, water supply system, and
system of assessing individual
income taxes as corrupt.
In 2007, a non-profit organ-
ization called 5th Pillar unveiled
a new means for Indians to reg-
ister their refusal to participate
in bribery the "zero rupee
note". Closely patterned after
the nation's fifty rupee notes,
these documents instead included
anti-corruption slogans
"Eliminate corruption at all lev-
els" and "I promise to neither
accept not give bribe".
"The note is a way for any
human being to say no to cor-
ruption without the fear of fac-
ing an encounter with persons in
authority," 5th Pillar has
declared in an official statement.
Such currency devices enable the
citizen to register their opposi-
tion to the illegal request in a
tangible form, "paying" the offi-
cial with these valueless alterna-
tive notes.
President of 5th Pillar, Vijay
Anand, expressed satisfaction
with the program's efficacy:
People have already started
using them and it is working.
One autorickshaw driver was
pulled over by a policeman in
the middle of the night who said
he could go if he was taken
care of. The driver gave him
the note instead. The policeman
was shocked but smiled and let
him go. The purpose of this is to
instill confidence in people to
say no to bribery."
Satindar Mohan Bhagat, an
Indian expatriate who is current-
ly a physics professor at the
University of Maryland, is cred-
ited with originating the concept
of the zero rupee note in 2001.
Upon returning to India for a
visit, Bhagat was frustrated by
the petty extortion demands of
government officials that were
part of daily life there and con-
ceived of the idea of a zero
rupee note as a polite way of
declining participation. The
charity 5th Pillar smiled upon
Bhagat's idea and put it into
practice. Fifth Pillar began the
campaign in the spring of 2007
with a first printing of 25,000
notes that were distributed in the
Chennai. Buoyed by the success
of the campaign, additional
printings followed and use of the
zero rupee note spread across
the nation. From their inception
through early 2011, 5th Pillar
distributed a total of over 1.3
million zero rupee notes.
Zero rupee notes have been
issued in five of the 22 sched-
uled languages of India, includ-
ing Tamil, Hindi, Kannada,
Malayalam, and Telugu.
The concept of privately-
issued and valueless fantasy cur-
rency for use in the fight against
corruption has recently been
extended from India to two other
nations suffering from endemic
government bribery problems,
Mexico and Nepal.
The Zero Rupee Note may
or may not help fight bribery in
India but at least its an initiative
which can bring awareness to
masses not to accept the endemic
bribery practices in daytoday life
of everyday Indian.
(Compiled from various
sources from the net)
I
n October 2010,
Switzerlands Federal Act on
the Restitution of Assets of
Politically Exposed Persons
obtained by Unlawful Means
(commonly referred to as the
Return of Illicit Assets Act or
RIAA) was passed by both
houses of the Swiss Parliament.
It became effective on February
1, 2011.
Although Switzerland has
returned over $1.6 billion lying
in various Swiss Bank Accounts
- money which was illegally
obtained and stashed by
Politically Exposed Persons
(PEPs), the developing countries
did not have enough wherewith-
al to get the money back. This
was mainly because these coun-
tries were not able to provide
the Swiss Federal Criminal
agencies with proper support to
do the due diligence necessary
to establish the link of the
money to the depositor and its
origin.
Though the money can be
brought back using the Mutual
Legal Assistance (MLA) -
which formally establishes the
framework to request the money
back from the Swiss Banks, but
the process had issues. The
RIAA will help overcome those
issues and make it easier to
recover the money back.
There have been success sto-
ries in the past decades where
three countries - Peru, Nigeria
and the Philippines have been
returned money.
In 1986, the Republic of the
Philippines filed a request for
mutual assistance with the Swiss
authorities in connection with
the repatriation of Marcos
deposits in Swiss banks. Twelve
years elapsed before these
deposits were transferred to
escrow accounts in the
Philippine National Bank (PNB)
and another six years passed
before the concerned $624 mil-
lion was transferred to the
Philippine Treasury.
With the Swiss Assemblys
passage of R.I.A.A., it is
expected that the last barriers to
repatriating Duvaliers frozen
assets an effort that began in
1986 will finally be removed,
and approximately $5.8 million
will be soon returned to Haiti, a
country desperately in need of
good news and money.
According to Swiss reports,
over the last 20 years the gov-
ernment has returned more than
$1.5 billion in assets of criminal
origin including assets from
some of the most famous klepto-
crats in history such as Sani
Abacha of Nigeria, Ferdinand
Marcos of the Philippines and
Carlos Salinas of Mexico.
According to the data pro-
vided by the Swiss bank, India
has more black money than rest
of the world combined. India
topping the list with almost
$1500 Billion black money in
Swiss banks, followed by Russia
$470 Billion, UK $390 Billion,
Ukraine $100 Billion and China
with $96 Billion.
(Compiled from the net)
Can a Zero Rupee Note fight bribery in India
Indians stashed away ill-gotten $1500 Billion
in Swiss banks
Comment
By Rekha Bhattacharjee
Corruption and hypocrisy ought not
to be inevitable products of democracy, as
they undoubtedly are today
Mahatma Gandhi
T
he great Indian freedom fighter and
apostle of non-violence made this
observation more than six decades
back. If Mahatma Gandhi returns to his
karma-bhoomi today, he may die another
untimely death out of shock over the mag-
nitude of corruption for which some mem-
bers of his beloved Congress Party are
directly responsible.
As social commentators have been
pointing out regularly, the disenfranchised
poor living in Indias remote tribal and
underdeveloped regions, are being exclud-
ed from reaping the benefits offered by the
growing Indian economy. The fallout of
this exclusion gets manifested in move-
ments like Naxalism, Maoism, etc.
The fact that insurgencies led by leftist
extremists are spreading over large back-
ward regions is an evidence of growing
anger felt by Indias poor over being
excluded from what is largely an Indian
metropolitan growth phenomenon. The fact
that select few are pocketing billion of dol-
lars through entrepreneurship and corrup-
tion is not going down very well with a
large number of the Indian population for
obvious reasons.
The anger and frustration of the bur-
geoning city-dwelling lower middle class
over all-prevailing, stifling corruption gets
manifested in the so-called civil society
movements like one led by Anna Hazare
and yoga tele-evangelist Baba Ramdev.
The colourful and vociferous anti-graft
campaign by Baba Ramdev has attracted
governments wrath as yoga guru is being
increasingly cornered over his business
empire based on Ayurveda medicine and
real estate purchased to set up his Patanjali
Yogpeeth centres.
Even some left-wing publications have
deplored the Indian government actions to
humiliate the new saffron hope Baba
Ramdev. The yoga guru, who has done
immense work to improve the health and
lifestyle of millions of Indians, could be
accused of nothing much but waging a
campaign to eradicate corruption in India.
Besides reining in the corrupt in India,
Baba Ramdev and Co had made an inter-
esting demand to nationalise all the black
money to whomsoever it may belong and
wherever it has been siphoned to.
According to the data provided by just
the Swiss banks, India has more black
money locked in the Swiss vaults than rest
of the world combined! India tops the
dubious list with almost $1500 Billion
($1.5 trillion) black money in Swiss banks
followed by Russia $470 Billion, UK $390
Billion, Ukraine $100 Billion and China
with $96 Billion.
To make a casual comparison, the total
value of deposits in Indian banks in 2008-
09 was around $850 billion, total foreign
currency and gold reserves were around
$285 billion (31 December, 2010 est.),
foreign debts were valued at around $237
billion (31 December, 2010 est.), imports
were around $327 billion (2010 est.), etc.
The magnitude of the stolen Indian
money deposited in Swiss banks could also
be gauged from the fact that the total size
of the Indian economy or Gross Domestic
Production (GDP) is valued at only $4.06
trillion according to a 2010 estimate by
CIA.
The ruthless targeting of Baba Ramdev
and, now, Anna Hazare reflect the inade-
quacies of a rattled regime deeply-
embroiled in mega scams trying to protect
its luminaries from exposure. A number of
such corrupt politicians and fund-raisers
allegedly have secret bank accounts in
Switzerland and other safe havens.
There are all indications that the ruling
coalition would bludgeon above-mentioned
civil-society campaigns against corrup-
tion with Digvijay-esque stealth and high
handedness. But similar movements are
bound to crop up to ask some difficult
questions over the involvement of the rul-
ing elite in perpetuating the spectre of cor-
ruption.
In 2009, Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh said that corruption is the single
greatest threat to the nations economic
prospects. In a speech given to an anti-cor-
ruption forum in New Delhi, Mr Singh
described the damaging effect that bribes,
extortion and fraud have on all levels of
life in India. He said that graft meant
infrastructure projects were late, over-
budget, and often poor quality, while
labelling Indias opaque business practices
a fertile breeding ground for the evil of
corruption.
The pervasive corruption in our coun-
try tarnishes our image [and it] discourages
investors who expect fair treatment and
transparent dealings with public authori-
ties, he said.
Today the involvement of various com-
ponents of the ruling coalition in mega-
corruption cases like the sale of the 2G
spectrum and the organization of the
Commonwealth Games has pushed the bar
for the corrupt regimes world over much
higher.
The sheer scale of the corruption by
some members of Congress and allies is of
course unfathomable as figures quoted by
the anti-corruption campaigners are too
complex for the untrained minds.
According to an estimate, the 2G spectrum
was allegedly undersold by the concerned
Ministry to the tune of approximately 40
billion dollars.
The fact that competitive bidding was
not allowed in the sale of the second gen-
eration (2G) mobile phone licences makes
this government revenue making exercise
look even murkier.
An appointee for the office of Chief
Vigilance Commissioner himself faced
charges of alleged offences. What could be
more ironical as the watchdog was himself
alleged to be the subject of a corruption
investigation?
The much-publicised jailing of the
Communications Minister A. Raja and
Suresh Kalmadi have helped Congress sal-
vage some credibility but it would be a
long way to redeem itself from the quag-
mire named corruption.
In spite of steps taken by Manmohan
Singh and others, which may be commend-
able to some extent, they have not done
much to stop corruption from spreading its
tentacles. The scale of burgeoning corrup-
tion scandals in India is simply enormous.
As a Financial Times editorial had pointed
out late last year: Even in a country on
first name terms with corruption, the scale
of the scandal engulfing Indian politics is
staggering.
Indias Opposition may have managed
to paralyse the Indian Parliament for days
demanding all-party inquiry panel, but they
are themselves embroiled in a number of
corruption scandals to cast stones on
Congress and allies.
What the ruling party has failed to real-
ize is that the impact of the corruption
would not only disenfranchise the Indian
poor and get reflected on the polling day
but also the economy itself.
It is also a failure of the Indian plan-
ning bodies to highlight the debilitating
implications of the corruption on the
Indian economy.
In the campaign to elevate the status of
the Indian poor, those overseeing the
acceleration of the South Asian economy,
need to do much more to combat the
scourge of graft.
The Congress-led coalition is fast run-
ning out of options and time. It is high
time the members of the oldest & largest
party should seize the chance to tackle cor-
ruption head on or face the consequences
when the disenfranchised manage to grab
reins of the political power.
If that happens even in distant future,
and if it happens without shedding blood
even of the corrupt, the soul most content
would be that of the global mascot of
righteousness - Mahatma Gandhi.
The Third Eye by Rekha Bhattacharjee
United we scam how not to fight
scourge of corruption in India
Naxalism known as Maoism is spreading among the impoverished rural poor and trib-
als who have been excluded from reaping the benefits of the growing Indian economy.
The sheer scale of the corruption by Congress leaders and allies is unfathomable--
2G spectrum was allegedly undersold by the Telecom Ministry under A. Raja
to the tune of $40 billion.
India
Islamabad: The Foreign
Secretaries of India and Pakistan
began their discussions on all
issues of mutual interest with a
specific focus on peace and securi-
ty on Thursday afternoon, with a
great sense of confidence, opti-
mism and determination and
remained engaged for over five
hours after which both sides
expressed satisfaction.
After the meeting, Foreign
Secretary Nirupama Rao was
quoted by some Pakistani televi-
sion channels as stating that both
countries had to work together to
eliminate terrorism and that there
could be no segmented approach.
Her Pakistani counterpart, Salman
Bashir, added that terrorism was
related to peace and security in the
region.
The Indian delegation
described the talks as construc-
tive, substantive and forward-
looking. Ms. Rao said some
steps to improve the relations had
been discussed but these could not
be disclosed to the media. Mr.
Bashir flagged the Lahore
Declaration and Memorandum of
Understanding signed in 1999 and
described it as a shared vision for
peace and security.
Though the first session of the
three-part engagement over the
two days was initially scheduled
for two hours, the meeting went
on till late into the evening.
According to External Affairs
Ministry spokesman Vishnu
Prakash, all aspects related to
peace and security have been dis-
cussed. Terrorism is an issue that
is confronting both countries and
has affected peace and security in
both countries. Both sides are
committed to try and bridge the
trust deficit and take the relation-
ship forward.
No miracles
Earlier in the day, Pakistan's
Minister of State for Foreign
Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said no
one could expect miracles from
these talks but we are looking for
forward movement. While main-
taining that Kashmir is the core
issue, she said Pakistan had
always been consistent on the need
to resolve issues instead of letting
them fester so long that they
became larger than life and affect-
ed the development of the region.
Within the rubric of peace and
security, confidence building
measures (CBMs) relating to
both nuclear and conventional
weapons were looked at during
Thursday's meeting.
At present, the two countries
have CBMs in both areas, includ-
ing informing the other in advance
of missile tests. As to whether any
new CBMs were discussed, nei-
ther side was willing to throw any
light
India and Pakistan in nuclear confidence-building vow
Exuding optimism and determination, India and Pakistan began talks
in Islamabad in end June. Here, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is
being greeted by her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir,
prior to the talks.
India to up defences
in Andamans,
Lakshadweep
Radicals Closer Than Ever To Pakistan's Nukes
CBI to send LR to
Switzerland to probe
money-trail in 2G scam
Maid sues Indian consul
general in New York
Washington: A new report by the Federation of
American Scientists says Pakistani nuclear weapons are
more vulnerable to capture by jihadist radicals than ever
before despite months of increased drone attacks on
militant groups and the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The nuclear watchdog's report, to be released tomor-
row, says ties between organizations like Pakistani
Taliban and the country's intelligence service are partic-
ularly troubling for the security of its nuclear stockpile.
If you had asked me 10 years ago if Pakistans
nuclear weapons were likely to fall in the hands of the
Islamic groups, I would say it was very unlikely,
Charles P. Blair, the author of the study, told iWatch
news, which obtained an advance copy of the report.
But now it is getting more likely.
The report comes amid more brazen attacks launched
by Pakistani militants against the country's military,
which has opted to store its nuclear weapons across the
country in multiple less secure facilities to avoid their
destruction in a single attack.
New Delhi: The CBI will soon send a formal request
to Switzerland to help the agency in tracking down
the alleged money trail of Swan Telecom, a company
chargesheeted in the allocation of 2G spectrum.
CBI sources said this was decided after documents
received from Mauritius indicated flow of money to
other European countries considered as tax havens.
They said Letters Rogatory (LR) will be sent to
Switzerland authorities to share investigation details
in the allotment of second generation spectrum in
2008.
If the Swiss authorities agreed, a joint team of
CBI and Enforcement Directorate would be sent to
the European country for carrying out investigations,
the sources said.
We have received ownership patterns and details
of investments by a number of companies based in
Mauritius. Prima facie it appears that funds have been
routed to Switzerland through some channels. We are
still examining all documents and will send our team
to probe it, said a CBI official.
Mauritius-based front companies of foreign
investors are often utilised as a route to avoid paying
taxes in India.
The sources in the investigating agency said the
CBI has asked details of Mauritius-based Delphi
Investments Limited, Murphy Investments Ltd,
Capital Global Ltd, Black Lion Ltd, Inditel Holdings,
Deccan Asian Infrastructure, Aidetel Holding, Kaif
Investments, Electro Investments Ltd and Palab
investments for their alleged role in the 2G scam.
New York: Indian consul general in
New York Prabhu Dayal, who is
accused of treating a former domes-
tic help as a slave and making sexu-
al advances, has said that the Indian
government will now have to decide
how to proceed with the forced
labour lawsuit filed against him by
his former maid. Dayal said that he
had received summons from the
court and had turned the matter into the hands of the
Indian government.
The government would have to see whether to resolve
the matter in court or go through the US State department,
he said. Santosh Bhardwaj, 45, accuses Dayal of making
her work for long hours everyday at $300 a month, con-
fiscating her passport, making her sleep in a storage clos-
et and asking her for a massage.
Dayal, who has described these charges as "complete
nonsense," has said that Bhardwaj ran away because he
did not allow her to work outside the consulate to make
some extra money as it was against her visa rules.
Dayal has said that he never asked Bhardwaj for a
massage, which she interpreted as a sexual advance.
The Indian government has already expressed sympa-
thy for Dayal.
"We are disappointed and surprised at the allegations
against consul general of India in New York Prabhu
Dayal, by his former employee, which appear to be moti-
vated and baseless," ministry of external affairs
spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said last week.
But the US government says it is a matter for the
courts. Diplomats have immunity in line of official work,
not personal matters.
New Delhi: Keeping in mind
Chinas forays into the Indian
Ocean region, India has approved
plans to beef up its military infra-
structure and force levels in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands and
the Lakshadweep chains on the
eastern and western seaboards.
The plans, approved at a
meeting of the countrys security
top brass last month, involves the
ramping of army, navy, air force
and coast guard infrastructure,
including a radar network, and
force levels of both men and
machines, a top defence ministry
official said.
The plans, approved at a
meeting of the armed forces with
the national security advisers
office last month, involves signif-
icant enhancement of military
infrastructure and force accretion
in both the Andaman and Nicobar
and Lakshadweep chains, the
official said on condition of
anonymity.
There is growing realisation in
India that the island territories
hold the key to dominating the
vital maritime zones and securing
the economic and strategic inter-
ests, apart from boosting engage-
ments with friendly countries such
as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Mauritius
and the Maldives by offering sup-
port in capacity building, military
assets transfer, and joint
patrolling of the common mar-
itime borders.
The Andaman and Nicobar
chain already hosts a tri-services
command, with elements of the
army, navy and air force as part
of its force structure, while the
Lakshadweep chain has a coast
guard district headquarters and
stations.
Among the approvals obtained
are upgrading the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands as an amphibious
warfare training hub, as also
increasing the armys force levels
to more than a brigade, the offi-
cial said.
The naval air bases at Port
Blair and the air force base in Car
Nicobar too will be upgraded to
facilitate fighter jet, helicopter
and heavy transport plane opera-
tions.
The Indian Air Force (IAF)
has already tried out its potent
frontline Sukhoi SU-30 fighter
jets from air bases in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The Shibpur airstrip in north
Andamans will be extended from
3,200 feet to 12,000 feet to sup-
port all types of aircraft and night-
flying operations.
The navy and air force bases
in both the island chains will also
deploy unmanned aerial vehicles,
to augment surveillance alongside
the radar chains.
The navy, on its part, will
scale up the jetties at Diglipur in
north Andamans, Kamorta in
south Andamans and Campbell
Bay in Car Nicobar into opera-
tional turn-around bases with
better refuelling and communica-
tion facilities, and more
personnel.
Nirupama Rao to be next envoy to US
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao
is set to be the next Indian ambas-
sador to the US, official sources
said here.
Rao, 60, will be demitting office
July 31 at the end of her two-year
term.
She will be replacing Meera
Shankar, who has held the post
since 2009.
Prabhu Dayal
India
Toronto: Sans Amitabh Bachchan,
the India International Film
Awards (IIFA) held on June 25 in
Toronto could well have seemed
actor Shah Rukh Khans personal
stage show. To be fair, he was the
only true-blue Bollywood super-
star at this celeb-starved event,
attended by some of the most
excitable, celeb-hungry fans of
Hindi film-stars in the entire world.
South Asian Torontonians love for
Bollywood could shock the faint-
hearted. They wouldnt stop
screaming all day, all night,
whether outside the Fairmont
Royal York Hotel, where the
movie heroes stayed, at the events
green carpet, or inside the Roger
Centre, the venue of the awards
night. If there was anyone who
could vaguely match the over-the-
top enthusiasm of this crowd, it
was probably the loud, hysterical
Anil Kapoor, host of one of the
segments of the night.
Once every few minutes, some
of the other filmies whod flown
down from Mumbai to the Ontario
capital found their moments of
shining glory. But it was pretty
much SRK, who shone through the
night. He hosted two lengthy seg-
ments, opening and closing the
programme. His final set was an
audience interactive show of its
own. He picked up 'best actor' tro-
phy for My Name Is Khan, from
two-time Oscar winner Hillary
Swank, no less. His director Karan
Johar was awarded 'best director'
for My Name Is Khan. His buddy
Arjun Rampal was adjudged 'best
supporting actor' for Prakash Jhas
Rajneeti. His 'Rab Ne Banadi Jodi
debutant Anushka Sharma was cho-
sen best actor (female).
Still, so far as number of tro-
phies go, the night belonged to
Salman Khans Dabangg: six
awards in all, including best film
that producers Arbaaz Khan and
Malaika Arora received from
Ontario's premier. Hollywood coo-
lio Cuba Gooding Jr had earlier
given out the director's prize to
Johar. Cuba said he wanted to par-
ticipate in this "phenomenon"
called Bollywood, Im bowled
over by the sheer power of the
Indian film industry across the
globe. The Indian actors and per-
formers who walked up on stage,
on the other hand, had pretty much
one thing to say, Hello Toronto
(to a screaming crowd). Whats
up Toronto (to a screaming crowd
again). Their speeches were usual-
ly longer than their audiences
attention spans. Dharmendra spoke
and stood on stage for far more
minutes than any awards show
might ever allow, as did Sharmila
Tagore, Asha Bhosle, and several
others.
The monotony of this damp-
ened no spirits though; largely
because of fine hosts Riteish
Deshmukh (who, by the way, also
bagged the best comedian's award
for Housefull!) and Boman Irani
(haven't seen a better Saif Ali Khan
impersonation than his). A terrific
tribute to Asha Bhosle in the form
of Priyanka Chopra's dance med-
ley, to music from the legend's
career, was certainly the evening's
best performance.
Washington: Assuring American
investors that India was firmly set on
a continuous reform path, Indian
Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjeee has said that with recent
"major steps" India is back on its
high 8.5 plus percent growth path.
"That does not mean that we are
returning to growth path without
problems," he told a India-US busi-
ness forum June 27 with US
Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner ahead of the second round
of Economic and Financial
Partnership talks here the next day.
While India's growth is largely
domestically driven, inflation pres-
sures have been a "serious constraint
which we shall have to tackle" to
check the recent deceleration of
growth, Mukherjee said. Apart
from high oil prices and commodity
prices, it is supply problems that
have caused inflation problems, he
said suggesting that while 5 to six
percent inflation would be ideal, he
believed the Indian economy could
handle inflation of up to 6.5 percent.
"Monetary policy and fiscal pol-
icy thus must move in tandem. In
India, we are doing so," he said.
"Tolerable level of inflation is
very difficult to define, but in our
economy we feel that if we can keep
the inflationary pressure within five
to six percent it would have been
ideal, but we can deal with six, six-
and-a-half percent," Mukherjee said.
Outlining a series of reforms
underway from bringing greater
clarity and predictability to foreign
direct investment regulations, bank-
ing, insurance and pension funds, he
hoped the planned measures would
get parliamentary approval with
talks on to bring about a consensus.
Geithner acknowledged that the
US economy benefits from India's
rapid growth while not impeding
India's economic objectives saying,
"Growth in India is good for the US,
no threat to the US."
New Delhi: The prime minister's office (PMO) has taken
serious note of news reports that exposed scores of sur-
geries being performed by Indore doctors, promising to
convert girls as young as one to five years apparently
with gender ambiguity into boys. The surgery, known
as genitoplasty, is done on the premise or pretext that these
children have internal organs that don't match their exter-
nal genitalia. "The PMO has taken note of the serious
issues that arise from the story on doctors in Indore turn-
ing young baby girls into boys, which appeared in the
Hindustan Times on June 26, 2011, said a senior official
in the PMO.
The PMO official said a National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) team would be sent
to Indore soon to investigate the matter. He said new laws
could be framed, if necessary, to deal with such medical
processes.
"It has been decided to obtain reports from the min-
istries of women and child development, health and fami-
ly welfare about this. The ministries have also been
requested to see if laws are being violated and if there are
adequate legal safeguards against genitoplasty on young
children. One cannot subject infants to any such surgery,
the official said in his mail.
The commission asked the Madhya Pradesh govern-
ment to get the matter investigated by a team of doctors
known for their professional competence and ethical stan-
dards and to submit a report in 15 days.m The state has
also been asked to take necessary actions, including can-
cellation of licences and registration of doctors and hospi-
tals involved and initiating criminal cases against them.
Mahendra Hardia, minister of state for medical educa-
tion, said, If this is indeed happening, it is absolutely
wrong. I have asked the joint director, health, of Indore to
look into the matter and fill me in with details. Only then
can we decide on what action is to be taken.
Mumbai: Ask him if the news
has sunk in yet and the no
comes even before you bat an
eyelid. Abhishek Bachchan is on
top of the world and says the
feeling of becoming a father
would sink in only when hell
hold the baby in his arms. In
his first interview after the news
of wife Aishwarya Rais preg-
nancy was announced, the 35-
year-old actor confirms the baby
is due in November and says it
was in fact Ashs idea to let his
father, actor Amitabh Bachchan,
reveal the news to the world.
And the world, predictably,
has reacted with joy. The house
is full of flowers, the phone has-
nt stopped ringing. Its just the
happiest feeling, he says, and
adds, The babys due in
November. I wish for a healthy
baby, hopefully a daughter who
looks just like Ash. We would
like to have two kids, so maybe a
son after that.
Has the dinner table conver-
sation turned to discussing baby
names and ultrasound appoint-
ments? Not yet but it soon
will, he laughs, I havent had
the time to read up on what she
should be doing and eating in this
stage but after my film releases,
thats what Ill get down to
doing. Ask him if he plans to
pamper Aishwarya during the
pregnancy and he replies, I
would like to think she anyway
has no complaints, but yes, of
course!
There were recent reports
raising a question on the timing
of the announcement made by
Amitabh Bachchan, hinting that
it was carefully aimed to scuttle
the IIFA awards since they had
dropped him as their brand
ambassador. Disgusting.
Absolutely disgusting is how I
would term such reports. Some
morons think that we would use
the happiest moment of our lives
to gain cheap mileage. I can only
wish that when such a moment
comes in their lives, they dont
have to face such deplorable neg-
ativity, he says.
IIFA Awards: SRK wins, Dabangg scores
India returning to
high growth path:
Pranab Mukherjee
We plan to have two
kids: Abhishek
Latest in son obsession: surgery to turn
girls into boys
Shah Rukh Khan being presented the Best Leading Male award by
Hilary Swank, with Anil Kapoor also in frame.
Aishwarya Rais pregnancy was
tweeted by Amitabh Bachchan
And the winners were
Playback singer (female): Mamata Sharma for Munni Badnaam Hui
(Dabangg)
Playback singer (male): Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for Tere Mast Mast Do
Nain (Dabangg)
Music director: Sajid-Wajid, Lalit Pandit (Dabangg)
Outstanding achievement in cinema: Sharmila Tagore
50 years contribution to Indian Cinema: Dharmendra
Debutant actor (male): Ranveer Singh
Debutant actor (female): Sonakshi Sinha
Best actor (in a comic role): Riteish Deshmukh (Housefull)
Best actor (in a negative role): Sonu Sood (Dabangg)
Supporting actor (female): Prachi Desai (Once Upon A Time In
Mumbai)
Supporting actor (male): Arjun Rampal (Rajneeti)
Actor (female): Anushka Sharma (Band Baaja Baraat)
Actor (male): Shah Rukh Khan (My Name Is Khan)
Film: Dabangg
India-Australia
By Rekha Bhattacharjee
I
n the midst of this financial crisis
Australias swift policy response saved
tens of thousands of jobs, countless
business failures, and a level of individual
misery and hardship that can never be
known. Today, despite the hammer blows
of recent natural disasters, the economic
outlook is strong and we are in a better
position than most.
A countrys economy can also benefit
from, as research tells us, by supporting
women in the work force and in the socie-
ty. This is a high yield investment result-
ing in stronger economies, more vibrant
civil societies, healthier communities and
greater peace and stability.
This second term Labor Government
faces a very different set of challenges
than it did for much of the first term. With
private demand strengthening and unem-
ployment falling, Australian economy is
pushing towards capacity. The federal gov-
ernment is speaking of restraint in public
spending to stay the course and bring back
the budget surpluses.
In Australia, women are the surprise
winners with the latest job figures showing
female employment climbing at a time
when male employment has been sliding.
Industry trends reveal shrinking job
market in mining, manufacturing and real
estate while there is increase in healthcare,
social administration and arts. Thus, the
industries that are continuing to do well
are those that employ women.
Much of the manifestation of female
achievement has come in response to
opportunity. The window of opportunity
has widened the awareness of what women
can do.
Today more women are leading gov-
ernments, business and non-governmental
organizations than in previous generations.
The US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton when addressing a thousand stu-
dents at Delhi University on her last visit
said, It is exciting that if there is any bet-
ter time in human history to be a woman
it is right now in the modern world. For
me it is a tremendous opportunity and
responsibility that I willingly accept.
The time has certainly come to
acknowledge that women have what it
takes the realm of possibilities appears
limitless.
A look of the recent past in Australia
and India shows how women are making
their mark in every field.
AUSTRALIA
Julia Gillard, the first Woman Prime
Minister of Australia.
PM Julia Gillard has some ambitious
goals for 2011 - including a carbon tax.
She frequently talks about the virtues of
hard work and believes in its intrinsic (as
distinct from economic) benefit.
Quentin Bryce, the first woman
Governor General before Australia
becomes a Republic.
It has been more than a century and 25
appointments for a woman to be given the
role of Governor General. As Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd said, her appoint-
ment captures the spirit of modern
Australia.
Anna Bligh, Premier of Queensland
The first woman in Australia to be
elected Premier an important milestone
on the road to achieving gender balance in
Australian Politics. More important than
Blighs gender are the qualities that made
her Queenslanders undisputed choice of
premier. She is one of the few female
politicians who managed to strike the right
balance of professional toughness and per-
sonal warmth.
Justice Susan Kiefel, apex court bench
Justice Susan Kiefel was appointed to
the High Court of Australia. Justice Kiefel
was only the third female to join the male-
dominated bench. She will sit alongside
Justice Susan Crennan, making it the first
time in its 104 year history Australia has
had two female High Court judges at the
same time.
ABC
The ABCs historically male dominat-
ed news division gets its first female head
after the national broadcaster chose women
from its own ranks to fill two executive
positions.
Kate Torney, 41, who was head of
Asia Pacific News, becomes the corpora-
tion director of News. Kate Dundas, 50,
the ABCs head of human resources is
appointed Director of Radio.
INDIA
In independent India, with the lifting of
restrictions women are making their
mark in every field.
Pratibha Patil, President of India
Mrs. Patil assumed office as the 12th
President of India on July 25, 2007. She
is the first woman to have been elected to
this august office. Immediately prior to
election as President, Mrs Patil was the
Governor of Rajasthan from November 8,
2004 till June 21, 2007.
Sonia Gandhi, Congress president
At the helm of the grand old Congress
Party in India, Mrs Gandhi was named by
Times magazine as among the 100 most
influential people in the world while
Forbes magazine ranked her 13 on its list
of the worlds most powerful women.
Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of
Pepsi Co
She has been named the International
CEO of the year 2009. Indra Nooyi s
contribution include promoting and sup-
porting socially responsible business prac-
tices, including taking on one of the plan-
ets most pressing problem Climate
Change!
Meera Kumar first female Speaker
of Lok Sabha in India.
Daughter of late heavyweight leader
Babu Jagjivan Ram, Meera Kumar gave up
her successful career in the Indian Foreign
Service to enter politics in 1980s. She has
been elected to the Lok Sabha five times
and has set a landmark as the first presid-
ing officer of either of the two Houses of
Parliament.
Nirupama Rao, Foreign Secretary of
India.
Rao takes the top job in external
affairs ministry after crucial ambassador-
ships in Sri Lanka and China apart from
being Indias first woman foreign ministry
spokesperson. She also served as
Ambassador in Peru and in missions in
Washington and Moscow.
Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister,
West Bengal
In West
Bengal, Ms
Banerjees leader-
ship was essential
to mobilise the
mass fury against
the Marxist-led
Left Fronts mis-
rule - that ruled
for 34 years-- to
put it no more
strongly than that!
J. Jaylalithaa, Chief Minister, Tamil
Nadu
In the
southern state
a viable alter-
native was
available in
the charismat-
ic personality
of Ms
Jayalalithaa,
who has
already been
its chief minister twice. The difference in
the causes that destroyed the Communist
bastion in the east and the family rule of
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
patriarch M. Karunanidhi in the south is
also significant.
Mayawati, Chief Minister, Uttar
Pradesh
At age 39, she became the youngest
politician to be elected Chief Minister in
Uttar Pradesh and the first Dalit-woman
Chief Minister of any Indian state.
After three short tenures between 1995
and 2003, it is her fourth term in this
office!
Supporting women is a high yield
investment
Anna Bligh with Oprah Winfrey
Community
First Indian subcontinent writers meet
O
n May 24 a group of Di-
aspora of Indian Writers
and Poets in Australia
(DIWPA) met at Blacktown Arts
Centre. Sydney poets Abbas Raza
Alvi and Jagdip Johar organized
the meeting with writers that in-
cluded Farida Lakhany, Iqtedar
Abdi, Zafar Iqbal, Anuj and
Swetchha Kulshreshtha from the
Indian subcontinent community.
The group had the honour of
meeting a famous Australian,
writer, critic, journalist, film
maker, political commentator
whose rumblings are well known
by the avid readers of the Indian
community whove read his col-
umn on the opinion pages of Syd-
ney Morning Herald a few years
back. Bob Ellis came to the meet-
ing, sat quietly sifting through his
book to read a piece he wrote
when he was in India in 1971
when Bangladesh emerged as a
nation. The scene of the war came
alive as Bob read and later men-
tioned that he was there with ac-
tivist John Pilger and even met
Satyajit Ray. He said after the
reading, It is good to see the
price someone pays for the kind of
utopia that we create. The vast
green fields, vegetation and land-
scape I saw there was something
to die for but youd see a tank or
two in the middle of those.
When asked whether he plans
before writing, he answered,
Writing should be the engine that
drives the thinking. If its planned
activity then its dead already.
Bob said he wakes up routine-
ly at 2.30am and writes till 6.30
and then goes to sleep for a little
while, I try to eat light and sip on
green tea while working with clas-
sical music playing in the back-
ground. His advice, Write as
legibly as you can. Its a process.
Everybody has a book in them.
And read as much as you can.
He talks about TS Eliot, Heming-
way and other great writers and
their habits.
Bob says that he reads some-
thing like 48 magazines and jour-
nals from around the world every
week. When asked that as multi-
cultural community writer one is
conscious and not sure whether
the mainstream will approve, he
advises, Bugger them! just write.
Listen to your voice, speak slow-
ly and let the words come.
Try to meet regularly in
groups, says Ellis. Currently
hes writing a few plays working
in a group with other four writers.
Bob writes in long hand and
makes his wife Anne Brooksbank,
an author and screen writer, type
his work. It seems he does not
read emails leaving them for her
to print for him to read. Bob and
Anne have three children and he is
anxiously waiting for the arrival
of their grandchild soon.
Talking about politicians Bob
said that he finds Julia Gillard
worse than John Howard. I know
her and she is a passionate racist.
Politicians that Bob likes are Bill
Shorten, Lindsay Tanner and most
definitely Peter Costello.
When mentioned that it was a
dream come true to see him in
person, says Ellis, finally flashing
a smile on an otherwise serious
face, All you have to do is ask
and Ill come!
The group is given a demon-
stration of a beautiful, lilting mu-
sic that transports everyone away
as they sit with their eyes closed.
The musician is a French lady, Is
Guellemin, who lives in Sydney
and makes her own musical in-
struments. She has turned a reed
of bamboo into something that
creates sounds of swirling water.
She hums and plays on singing
bowls of various shapes and sizes.
Her music creates a moment of
connection with oneself. Black-
town Arts Centres acting director
Sophia Kouyoumdjian is also
present at the meeting promising a
great future for a creative expres-
sion from the Indian subcontinent
community. The meeting has
turned out to be definitely a dis-
tinguished debut for DIWPA in
the great company of great Bob
Ellis, no less.
Diaspora of Indian Writers and Poets in Australia group posing with Bob Ellis (sitting fourth from left)
Adnan loved Sydney audience!
By Neeru Saluja
A
dnan Sami does not sing a song, he
lives it and he loves it. Not only he
creates a passion for it on stage for
himself but also for audience who lap up
his every note, every word. How else can
a singer deliver such beautiful songs that
make one fall in love all over again? A ro-
mantic at heart, every song of his cast a
spell of magic of love, joy, pleasure and
happiness. A ball of energy, on the cold
evening of June 18, Adnan left his fans to-
tally spellbound.
Don't get mistaken. It's not only his
voice that does the wonders. He is gifted
with a magical touch too. Known as the
fastest keyboard player in the world, his
fingers move like a magic wand on the pi-
ano. Smiling and talking to the audience,
he pleases them with whatever they want.
A magician in the disguise of a musician!
Adnan Sami has played the piano since
the age of five. Born and brought up in
UK, he started taking lessons from Pandit
Shiv Kumar Sharma during his visits to In-
dia. Melody queen Asha Bhosle spotted
him at an RD Burman concert in London
and encouraged him to take up music as a
career. And soon he crossed path with
Asha Bhosle in his first Pakistani film as
an actor/composer for which she did the
playback singing. After a failed attempt at
Pakistani pop, Adnan finally teamed up
with the melody queen to release a collec-
tion of love songs named 'Kabhi to Nazar
Milao'. The album became an instant rage
and Adnan became a sensation. His second
album 'Tera Chehra' also did well and
Bollywood playback singing offers poured
in. The trademark of his songs were the
Bollywood stars in his music videos it
started with Aditi Gowitrikar (Kabhi to
Nazar Milao) followed by Rani Mukherjee
(Tera Chehra and O Meri Jaan), Namrata
Shirodkar (Bheegi Bheegi Raat), Dia
Mirza (Pal do Pal), Amitabh Bachchan
(Kabhi Nahi), Govinda, Raveena Tandon
and many more.
With such a good standing in the music
scene, Adnan Sami did not disappoint his
fans on his first visit to Sydney. Never
ever did the stage at Hills Centre look so
enchanting. With his full orchestra and as-
tounding light effects, every song had its
own charm. The audiovisual effects turned
the stage into a fantasyland, while some-
times the background screen focused on
Adnan's magical fingers on the piano and
at times the background matched the theme
of the song.
Starting off with his first Bollywood
track 'Mehbooba Mehbooba', Adnan
pleased his fans with his evergreen
favourites like Dil Keh Raha, Salaam-e-
Ishq, Sun Zara, Ishq Ishqan, Udi Udi,
Bheegi Bheegi Raaton mein, Tera Chehra
and Kabhi to Nazar Milao'. Your wishes
are my command exclaimed Adnan and
he even fulfilled the last wish of the audi-
ence 'Lift Kara De'. Neither he himself
nor could the audience resist connecting to
him as everyone eagerly got up to dance to
his songs close to the stage, near their
hero! In the intermission Adnan Sami was
honoured by the sponsor Paul Singh from
Haveli restaurant and he thanked the or-
ganisers Desi Style and Shivam Events for
bringing him to Sydney. These are the
people who have brought me to you, Ad-
nan told the audience. Adnans rapport
with the audience was great throughout the
concert, when he finally answered the
question on everyone's mind how did he
lose so much weight?
I weighed 210 kg. I went to the nu-
tritionist and they told me to give up rice,
bread, sugar, oil and indulge in a high pro-
tein diet. It was not easy. I lost 145 kg, but
it was a lot of hard work. It's wonderful to
get all the applause, but the biggest thrill
was to walk in a store and get anything off
the shelf. I had tailor made clothes, two
tailors used to hold the measuring tape to
measure my waist once, I'm glad it's all
behind me, said Adnan.
When Adnan took his breaks, the audi-
ence was entertained by stand up comedi-
an Rahul Ingle, singer Riaz Khan and
dancers from Road2Bollywood. Leaving
his fans mesmerized and wanting for
more, Adnan finally had to bid goodbye.
As the man with the midas touch told his
fans, I love you Sydney and always re-
member, an artist is not an artist without
an audience.
Adnan Sami, the slimmer version of the singer at the concert
Community
Abeauty pageant that turned ugly
Celebrations!
Even though the weather has been cold and wet in June the community celebrated events indoors and outdoor. Greenathon3 func-
tion by IABBV brought smile on faces of all as it turned sunny while Sydneys Priya Singh celebrated her 21st Birthday bash with
family and friends on June 12. AIBC honoured Cricketer Brett Lee, Arun Jagatramka and Nirmal Singh Bhangoo for their contri-
bution in helping build better relations between India and Australia. AIBC celebrates its 25th anniversary this year!
Priya with grandma Mrs Bimla Singh IABBVs Mala Mehta with Deepti and Khushboo
L to R: AIBC NSW president Dipen Rughani, Nirmal Bhangoo Junior, Arun
Jagatramka, Brett Lee and Premier Barry OFarrell at NSWparliament house.
What does it take to be a real woman
in today's world? She balances a career,
home, marriage and motherhood all at one
platform. And that too with a smile on her
face, braving all the odds. The Indian
women have little time, but they still have
dreams, dreams that need fulfillment.
Keeping those wishes in mind the
beauty pageant, 'My name is Woman -
Mrs India Australia', was born last year.
The brainchild of director Annie Gurung,
the inspiration came from the very simple
yet the most beautiful experience in her
life 'marriage and motherhood!'.
"The feeling and realization was that
the society did not applaud or appreciate
enough, the small yet very important con-
tribution women made every hour by nat-
urally taking up the role of a home maker,
rearing a child in addition to being bread
winners in this modern day world, to
maintain a happy family ultimately pro-
ducing a happier society. The thought was
- why not we create a platform to cele-
brate the big and small contribution of a
woman."
The idea was new and people were
initially resistant to accept the change.
Though Mrs India has picked up popular-
ity in India as it's organised by Gladrags
and was even a reality show last year, it
was a new concept in Australia. With less
media support but more relying on word
of mouth and social media, they finally
made their way and managed to get a
good score of talented contestants from
varied walks of life.
On June 4 at Riverside Parramatta the
event was colourfully designed with
Bollywood dances, bhangra and dhols.
Judges included the famed June Daily
Watkins, Mrs Australia 2009 Carin
Hillman Varma, community leader Aruna
Chandrala and the pageant director. Mona
Singh was declared the winner, while
Neeru Singh and Inderpreet Kaur were the
first runnes up and second runner up
respectively. The Mrs Talented and Mrs
Best Costume went to Jasmine Walia, Mrs
Photogenic and Mrs Personality to Ruby
Bains, while Vaidehi Mehta won the Mrs
Beauty for a Cause title.
Unfortunately, there were allegations
that the judging was not entirely fair.
When TIDU asked about results being
rigged, Anup Bhandari of Mrs India
Australia said, "These rumors were there
right from the beginning that was very
strange and surprising! However, in retro-
spect it appears that through our profes-
sional approach of work and not allowing
anyone to interfere in how we operate we
stepped in few people's toes and egos. We
had proper system and process that we
followed to judge the contestants. The
process was very fair and just. The title
and subtitle winners were deserving and
in line with the spirit of the pageant.
However, after the contest we also sadly
learned that few title winners were totally
against the spirit of the contest. After
much thought, advice and discussion we
had to strip three titles that were award-
ed."
It leaves a bad taste that the pageant
ended in a controversy: that all the con-
testants didn't go home with a smile on
their face. Whereas some winners are cel-
ebrating their win others who have been
stripped of the titles are so sour that one of
the contestant has decided to take the
organizer on by sending a legal challenge
to judges' decision on the titles.
Was it that a result was not accepted in
the right spirit? Was it a game of money
and fame? Was it properly organized or
not? Why was there a tie? Why did the
organisers have to strip titles? What actu-
ally happened behind the scenes.
Hope these rumours pass by silently
and the Indian married woman may carry
on to showcase their talent on such a plat-
form where they will be recognized. If we
have to celebrate womanhood, there
should be no controversies. After all a true
beauty is not just looking beautiful but
beauty of character in and out, talent,
poise and celebration of motherhood in
women. Above all the pageant should be
fair, full of fun and sporting acceptance.
Then only will it truly represent the cause
it sought out to achieve in the first place.
Not just some ugly turnaround and a total
counterproductive effect that it has pro-
duced this year.rm
MIA 2011 winner Mona Singh. Inset: Winners of various titles announced on the night
By Neeru Saluja
Bollywood
By Neeru Saluja
Move over superstars, the latest
success formula is to be smart with
money. Gone are the days when roping
a superstar in the film and spending
lakhs on exotic sets could guarantee
the success of a film. The younger gen-
eration of directors are innovative in
their concepts and are not scared in
narrating the story of a common man.
There are no Swiss Alps, glossy
locales and glamorous stars in these
films. The films tell the stories of mid-
dle-class people and revolve around
day to day situations. Yet they are
fetching most of the awards at the star-
studded functions year after year.
The trend started off with films like
'Bheja Fry' and 'Khosla ka Ghosla', but
last year was the biggest year of low
budget films. Films like 'Tere Bin
Laden', 'Udaan', 'Peepli Live', 'Do
Dooni Char', 'Love Sex and Dhokha',
'Band Baja Baraat' revolved around
simple themes, middle-class people
and even rural locations. While some
of these films featured in international
film festivals, Aamir Khan's Peepli
Live was India's official submission to
Oscars. Rustic charm, fresh content
and talking about our very own Indians
appealed to audiences rather than those
expensive elite NRI films which have
become a passe.
This is not the first time small
budget films have ruled. An early
example of a very successful low-
budget film was the1975 Bollywood
film Sholay, which cost Rs. 2 crore
($400,000) to produce and grossed Rs.
300 crore ($67 million), making it the
highest-grossing film of all time in
Indian cinema. Oscar winning
Slumdog Millionaire was another sur-
prise, with a budget of $15 million and
grossing over $360 million worldwide,
it was a success worldwide.
Renowned Bengali film director
Satyajit Ray was also known for mak-
ing micro-budget films, the most
famous being 'The Apu Trilogy' which
included the critically acclaimed
Pathar Panchali. It was produced on a
shoestring budget of Rs.1.5 lakh and is
known amongst the greatest films of all
time.
On the other hand, in Hollywood
the most successful low budget film
was 1999's 'The Blair Witch Project'. It
had a budget of around $60,000 but
grossed almost $249 million world-
wide. Another one was 1972 film Deep
Throat which cost only $22,500 to pro-
duce, yet was rumored to have grossed
over $600 million. Director Kevin
Smith launched his career by making
the low-budget film Clerks which was
made on a shoestring budget of
$27,000 yet its success helped launch
Smith's career.
Coming back to Bollywood,
although the recent biggest hits were
big budget films like Dabangg,
Rajneeti and Golmaal 3, it was accom-
panied by big budget films which
flopped miserably at the box office -
Action Replay, Guzaarish, Tees Maar
Khan and Kites. Though they had all
the ingredients of a blockbuster - big
star cast, big budget, excellent music,
beautiful locales, the films couldn't
keep the cash counter ringing.
Audiences cannot be brought to the
cinemas by all the above now, the story
has to impress the cinema lover to
actually watch the film.
So what's the reason behind the
changing trend? It's quite evident - pro-
ducers are now willing to experiment
with small-budget films because a lot
of risk is not involved. It's a simple for-
mula - 'the less you hit your producer,
the less he will hit you back'. But there
are drawbacks - the difficult part is rop-
ing in stars. When a big budget film
with multiple stars flops, the responsi-
bility does not fall on the shoulders of
one actor. And on the other hand, when
a small-budget film flops, no one even
notices.
Indian film makers are finally
ready to experiment. They are no more
shy of telling simple stories where peo-
ple can see themselves. The economic
trend has changed and there is a new
breed of young directors in the market
who are gutsy enough to stop aping the
west and talk about us.
Watch out for some upcoming low
budget films that may excite you with
their mix of comedy, drama in Sudhir
Mishra's 'Yeh Saali Zindagi' with
Irrfan Khan Khan and hot
Chidragandha Singh; 'Tanu Weds
Manu' with Kangana Ranaut and
Madhavan; 'Shagird' with Nana
Patekar; Kalki Koechlin in 'That Girl
In Yellow Boots'; director
BhavnaTalwar's 'Happi' with Pankaj
Small budget
films: the latest
success story
What's the reason behind the changing trend? It's quite evident - produc-
ers are now willing to experiment with small-budget films because a lot of
risk is not involved. It's a simple formula - 'the less you hit your producer,
the less he will hit you back'
Kapoor; 'Paan Singh Tomar' based on
the true story of a steeplechase runner
who becomes an outlaw boasts of
Irrfan Khan's best performance to
date. Last but not least Rakeysh
Omprakash Mehra's new film 'Teen
Thay Bhai' with Om Puri, Shreyas
Talpade and Deepak Dobriyal are the
film's leads might be an interesting
mix to look forward to.
Pics: Some low budget films include (clockwise): Kalki
Koechlin in 'That Girl In Yellow Boots'; Big block buster
Sholay only cost two crores to make 300 crores; Hollywoods
deep Throat only cost US $22,500 to make while Apur Sansar
a measely 1.5 lakh rupees - approximately $3000 in todays
terms.
Bollywood
By Neeru Saluja
They were together for 25
years and had four children. Their
marriage was considered as one
of the most successful Hollywood
weddings. Their divorce shook up
the whole industry and the sancti-
ty of marriage was being ques-
tioned. It was all over the head-
lines - former California
Governor, action movie star
Arnold Schwarzenegger and his
wife Maria Shriver have separat-
ed after 25 years of marriage.
While that was the news in
Hollywood, Bollywood was no
less behind. Making affairs public
and then breaking off relation-
ships has become the latest fad in
our film industry. While we let
Hollywood talk about Arnie -
Maria, Brad - Jen, Sandra - Jesse
break-ups, let's talk about the
recent splits in Bollywood which
created headlines.
Bipasha Basu and John
Abraham
They seemed inseparable - the
hottest couple of Bollywood
going strong since a decade. Who
could imagine them breaking up?
Who could forget their onscreen
chemistry in Jism? The dusky
sexy Bong beauty and the hand-
some hunk were the typical Bolly
Holly couple having a live in rela-
tionship but no commitment to
marriage.
But the grapevine says that the
time had come to test the water.
Bips wanted to get married while
John didn't want to tie the knot
and settle down at this point of his
career. They had no choice left
but to part ways and find another
perfect match for themselves.
Salman Khan and Katrina
Kaif
Another sad end to a long
affair in Bollywood. First there
were rumours and then came the
truth of their break up. Salman
started dating Katrina when she
arrived in Bollywood in 2004 and
he helped her a lot to attain star-
dom. They also starred in a few
films together and despite their
age difference, their affair lasted
for a good time.
But the bad boy lived up to his
reputation. He was jealous of her
on screen chemistry with Akshay
Kumar, disapproved of her wear-
ing short skirts and started inter-
fering in her career. The protec-
tive boyfriend attitude didn't last
long. Despite their break up, they
are still good friends.
Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika
Padukone
Blame it all on Sydney! Yes
these two love birds locked eyes
in Sydney on the sets of Bachna
Ae Haseeno. Didn't they look
amazing together? Both were
young newcomers, latest heart-
throb sensations and sizzled
chemistry on screen. As the
young modern couple, they had
no qualms in openly admitting
their relationship and sharing
their secrets of love in magazines
and award functions. Ouch sooo
cute!
But Ranbir's parents Rishi
Kapoor and Neetu Singh didn't
find that so cute. They feared that
their son's popularity with the
female fans is being affected.
They never really accepted
Deepika who changed boyfriends
very quickly. Whatever the rea-
son, they made a great couple and
they parted ways in a friendly
manner after a two year courtship.
Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia
A pretty vivacious actress and
a rich tycoon boyfriend - perfect
story to hit the tabloids. But it was
never perfect for the pretty Preity
Zinta and her boyfriend Ness
Wadia. Their affair started in
2005 but their engagement, own-
ership of Kings XI Punjab cricket
team, Preity's acceptance in the
Wadia family always made head-
lines. Their split finally came in
2009 and they maturely declared
their affections, with the same
maturity they accepted their split.
They still go to IPL meeting
together but that's all to it.
Kareena and Shahid Kapur
The lovey dovey 'Kapoor'
couple soon became the hottest
duo after they starred together in
'Fida' in 2004. They went on to
star in more movies - 'China
Town', Chup Chup Ke, Jab We
Met but, except for the last one,
they never sizzled on screen.
Their four years of love was not
strong enough to hold them as
their career went through differ-
ent phases, one tasting success
and the other not.
Who dumped whom is still a
question as both of them found
solace in their co-star arms pretty
soon. If Shahid tried to connect
his kismat with his Kismat con-
nection co-star Vidya Balan,
Kareena fell for the smooth and
savvy Saif Ali Khan during their
shooting of Omkara. Though
Shahid moved on to Priyanka
from Vidya, Saif and Kareena are
going steady and are known to be
the most glamorous couple of tin-
sel town.
Till marriage
do us part...
Blame it all on Sydney! Yes these two love birds locked eyes in
Sydney on the sets of Bachna Ae Haseeno. Didn't they look
amazing together? Both were young newcomers, latest heart-
throb sensations and sizzled chemistry on screen. As the young
modern couple, they had no qualms in openly admitting their
relationship and sharing their secrets of love in magazines and
award functions. Ouch sooo cute!
Census News
By Neena Badhwar
P
aul Lowe is the Head of the Australian
Population Census program and is
responsible for all aspects of the pro-
gram from enumeration through to the dis-
semination of the results. He has over 20
years experience in census taking in
Australia and has worked in all areas of the
program including the role of Executive
Director of the Census Data Processing
Centre.
He has also worked as a census technical
advisor for the National Statistical Offices in
PNG, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, and Thailand.
He is also a member of the International
Technical Advisory Boards for both the
Afghanistan and Iraq censuses.
Lowe was the principle editor of the UN
publication "Handbook on Census
Management for Population and Housing
Censuses" and has presented many training
courses on census management in develop-
ing countries.
The Indian Down Under spoke to Paul
Lowe about the upcoming Census on
August 9, 2011 and how the Indian com-
munity should go about furnishing Census
information.
Census 2011 is upon us. It is the biggest
number collecting exercise in Australia that
employs 43,000 community workers, says
Paul Lowe, the Head of Census, We have
to reach to 9 million homes across vast dis-
tances of this huge subcontinent.
It is a vital set of information which is
helpful in planning Australias future. The
people employed for this purpose know the
value of Census information and are quite a
community minded people coming from
diverse background that makes up Australia.
Since Australia is a large country it does
pose challenges but we try to put together an
accurate snapshot of Australia and
Australians.
When asked about the community Profile
booklets that ABS used to publish, says
Lowe, We have stopped printing those pro-
file booklets and the Census results in the
form of community profile are available on
the website of Australian Bureau of Statistics
at nominal cost.
Would it not be good to furnish these
profiles or their links to the community,
related academics and statisticians so that
they have better access to the data and be
able to use it for interpreting and asking help
in areas of need by a specific community.
Replies Lowe, I am looking into that and
will try to send the information through to
community groups and media.
According to Lowe, about 97% of
Australians responded and participated in the
last Census and that it does not apply to for-
eign diplomats while everyone else present
in Australian homes or anywhere in
Australia on August 9, the night of Census
2011, must be counted. That includes citi-
zens of Australia, permanent residents, visi-
tors, tourists, overseas students, temporary
workers, even refugees. Then we consult the
immigrations departure cards at the airports
and add on to the Census data to figure out
net results of the Australian population.
The drawback of counting the departures is
that some of the Census data is not collected
on those people overseas who according to
Paul are a substantial number. Says he, In
April of this year there were 693,000 short
term resident departures from Australia. Its
just that that they are counted in the popula-
tion number.
One can see that there has been a marked
increase in the number of the Indian com-
munity having made Australia their perma-
nent home yet, the last Census showed only
234,000 people from Indian
background.Could that be an undercount and
may be the community did not participate the
way it should have. Says Paul, In the last
census there was an undercount of net 2.7%
and we encourage Indian community to par-
ticipate in this Census on August 9 so that
they are counted properly for all sorts of rea-
sons. The ABS estimates that the Indian
undercount was 18 per cent.
Census information is used for a range of
planning purposes by all levels of govern-
ment and private institutions. It is used to
determine such things as where infrastruc-
ture and community services are located,
like hospitals, schools and roads. So its
important that Indian community is counted
properly, which can only happen with their
full participation on the night of the census.
It is vital for the Indian community that by
creating an accurate profile of Australia, the
Census gives us a snapshot of who we are as
Australians.
The number of seats each state and terri-
tory has in the House of Representatives is
also based on Census figures, as are federal
funding arrangements to the states and terri-
tories. Census information is used as the
basis for allocation of GST revenue to the
states and territories too, says Lowe.
What if one does not furnish the right
information? Says Lowe, We rely on peo-
ples honesty and mostly they are. The
Census is compulsory for all and people who
do not participate are liable for penalty. We
only send a notice and the judge decides,
which can be up to $110 a day.
About the language questions, numbers
16 and 17 in the Census form , TIDU asked
Lowe that since anyone from the Indian sub-
continent region being multilingual and uses
at least 4 spoken languages at home, what
should they fill, replied he, Youd have to
choose the most spoken language at home.
You may add other languages but only one
language will be measured as far as Census
goes.
About helping out people who do not
understand how to fill Census forms, Lowe
says, We have people who offer support to
people from non-English speaking back-
grounds. One can either look up for help on
our website and theres also a helpline to
guide people through.
What about the privacy of information
tendered in the Census, his answer is, We
have a proud history of keeping the data pri-
vate and we destroy it straight away after
processing the records. Your information is
confidential and we do not give to govern-
ment bodies or private organizations as it
will be a severe breach of the information
collected by Census.
Lowe adds that this years Census does
not have any new questions from what was
asked in the last Census though E-Census,
that is filling up of Census forms, was avail-
able in 2006, only 10 per cent responded on
the internet whereas the Census this time
round is pushing for a 30 per cent through
the net.
It is quite a simple and smart form that
guides people through in easy steps. So do
participate and fill E-Census forms to get
quicker and faster results of the demograph-
ics of Australia and Australians in 2011.
Be counted in Australian Census
Paul Lowe, Head of the Australian
Population Census program
If numbers dont show, we miss out: Sheba
S
heba Nandleokyar, CEO of Multicall
- a campaign company which has
been assigned with disseminating
information and awareness about Census
2011 in the multicultural community, said
that Census 2011 was quite special as it
marks the 100th year of Census in
Australia with first Census having been
conducted in the year 1911. TIDU asked
some questions specific to the Indian com-
munity and the Census, the questions that
Indian community should look out for?
Answers Sheba, The Census survey has
some extremely important questions that
capture data specific to the Indian commu-
nity. Question No. 12 where we are asked
In which country was the person born?
India or any other sub-continent country
must be entered under the column Other,
please specify.
Question number 16 is important
where you are asked if you speak a lan-
guage other than English at home. I would
sincerely advise the Indian community to
enter their spoken language, be it Hindi or
any other in the column Other, Please
specify.
Question number 18 is quite important
where a persons ancestry is noted. Again
it is good to give our Indian background
even if we are born here as the ancestry
continues to be Indian. Ancestry should
not be misunderstood for citizenship.
Sheba points to another question num-
ber 19, This question must be answered
carefully which asks about your religion.
Indian community should enter Hindu or
any other religion they follow under
Others.
Sheba stresses the fact that as a mem-
ber of the Indian community and as mem-
ber of the wider multicultural community
in Australia that the Census form should be
filled up on the night of August 9 and ten-
dered to the collectors when they come
knocking on your door.
And since the E-Census form on the
net is available throughout the month of
August, it can be filled in easy steps and at
your convenience. I recommend that you
do that by the end of August when the col-
lection of Census closes, adds Sheba.
About the Census and its benefits, says
Sheba, If we are able to get ourselves
recorded accurately the data benefits the
Indian community as also other communi-
ties in Australia in various ways. For
example if we know where the Indians are
settling down and in which state the gov-
ernment funding can reflect those addition-
al numbers in providing services specific
to certain sections of those community.
Not only transport, hospitals but
Census helps in planning decisions about
community services. The government uses
Census data for all sorts of planning pur-
poses about infrastructure, services to
community where they live.
It is obviously quite important that the
numbers are recorded correctly so that
government can better plan and apply its
planning where needed. Also the federal
governments funding arrangements to
state and territory governments are based
on Census information.
Says Sheba, Last but not the least, is
that the census data is used by marketers to
target better services and their products to
various communities. If numbers dont
show up we miss out. So we must get our-
selves counted and that everyone fills the
Census form, be it a citizen, resident,
tourist, student or a visitor.
Sheba Nandkeolyar, CEO of
Multicall Connexions, the agency that
communicates about the Census 2011
messages to all the multicultural
communities. She is the marketing
strategist and works closely with clients
to target multicultural audiences.
Community
By Neena Badhwar
D
ipen Dhruv, CEO of
Leapfrog Consulting - a
management consulting
company focusing on organiza-
tions that are going through tech-
nological transformation, was not
the CEO for one night but a
homeless person on the streets of
Sydney.
Dipen Dhruv participated in St
Vinnies Sleepout campaign on
June 16 to fundraise for the
homeless people in Australia. At
other times Dipen is busy sailing
on the Sydney Harbour on
Saturdays enjoying the beautiful
harbour of Sydney city in a 'lucky
country' called Australia, says
Dipen Dhruv, a 45-year old father
of two. "There are many who are
not so lucky as according to data
there are now more than 200,000
homeless people on streets today.
The night was an eye opener for
me."
"We were about 200 CEOs
sleeping at Luna Park where we
were given a soup bowl and a
piece of bread and some card-
boards and asked to find a corner
to sleep in. We even collected
some newspapers as the night was
pretty cold. I did take a sleeping
bag and was well covered yet I
could not help but feel empathy
for people who sleep 365 days on
the streets. For me it was just one
night. Yet I felt humbled thinking
of young kids, families and youth
who live on the streets of Sydney
with no home.
"Its St Vinnies that tries to
put them up in shelters and at
least one decent meal for the
day," said Dipen.
So what were his thoughts on
the night?
"The night for me was not just
sleeping out but also an awareness
of why so many people go home-
less in a rich country like
Australia. There were talks by
few homeless people who told us
their stories. I learnt how people
shun them as they said that it
would be good if someone said
'hello' and recognize the fact that
they are human too. I shared my
night with a Martin Paul, Partner
MD of More Strategic. We
talked a lot as it was difficult to
go to sleep.
"Even the Leader of the
Opposition Tony Abbott came. I
felt privileged to be introduced
and was impressed by how a
potential PM of Australia came
and shook hands with us. When
we joked with him whether he
would like to join in in the
Sleepout he actually came back to
sleep and I guess that he was also
given some cardboards.
"We also had a panel discus-
sion with various CEOs who
talked about the problem, what to
do and how to resolve it.
"Late at night I got talking to
the CEO of St Vinnies about the
homelessness in Australia and that
homeless people here were much
better off than the ones in India.
And we discussed how we could
take such a campaign to India
where I know that the richest of
the rich live. Take Mukesh
Ambani's house in Mumbai, for
example. Does he care that under-
neath his 2 billion dollar home
there could be many who sleep on
the footpaths? "I want to bring
this awareness in people in India.
So we discussed who to contact
and how to go about it in India,"
said Dipen.
"I want people not to look
above at people who are better off
than them but to look down and
see how the homeless people have
ended up in such a state. My key
goals of this exercise were to see
the people at Vinnies and how I
can take such a concept to India."
Dipen said that the CEOs
Vinnies Sleepout campaign raised
4 million dollars that night with
NSW CEOs contributing 1.5 mil-
lion dollars. Says Dipen, "I
pitched to my colleagues and
friends to sponsor me and they
did. I must say that awareness of
such a campaign by Vinnies is lot
less in the Indian community. It
would be good if they contributed
not just to this campaign but also
to homeless people in India and
became aware of what it is being
a homeless person."
So what did he learn? "I learnt
that people in Australia became
homeless due to the breakdown of
social structure, the breakdown of
the family. Exactly how the
Vinnies ad on homeless people
depicts. These people can be from
good homes but as soon as the
bread winner loses his job and
finds himself in dire circum-
stances, children end up in foster
homes and before they realize
they are on the streets.
"I observed that as compared
to Australia where the problem
can be solved because they are
homeless due to the breakdown of
the family's social structure, in
India it can take much longer
because of the very poor condi-
tion of the people who are illiter-
ate with a mindset which has
them in an environment that's not
helpful and don't have hope as the
society looks down upon them. In
Australia people can be helped
whereas in India it can take years
to lift people out of the spiral of
poverty and homelessness."
Vinnies sleepout campaign
included CEOs of Commonwealth
Bank, Virgin Australia, whose
CEO John Borghotti was spon-
sored with a donation of $20,000
by Sir Richard Branson, whereas
Dipen only managed to collect
$1300. But said Dipen, "I really
felt good to be part of this cam-
paign having missed out last year.
My daughter Anika was quite
impressed and I had to take an
iPhone video as she insisted to
see me sleeping out on a cold
wintry night."
A
stha Rajvanshi - a
young Media &
Communications stu-
dent at Sydney university - was
unanimously elected capturing
close to 900 votes to become a
board director of the Sydney
universitys student union in
May.
Her slogan was Astha la
Vista - a catchy trademark,
says Astha. I tried to put out
the message that say Astha La
Vista that is good bye to the
old union and say hello to the
new one.
And what was her pitch for
the new union? Oh, for exam-
ple in the past the union mainly
concentrated on parties, gigs
and events. All that happened
before was party, party and
party. I said thats enough and
lets take a serious look at uni
life and how it affects students.
I promised better services such
as lockers, storage etc. Then,
theres no representation for
international students. I prom-
ised to form a society for them
to help them mingle with local
students. Also no one looked at
charity at campus before - nei-
ther anything for a social justice
cause. I saw that there was no
help for students who needed
basic tutoring. I promised facil-
itating study groups to help stu-
dents out in their study. My
aim was not to be unrealistic,
yet give a new makeover to the
old union.
Astha was one of the six
candidates elected out of total
16 who stood for elections.
The race started with 16 and
ended up with 10 out of which
only six got chosen.
Astha whose hobbies are
writing, reading and obviously
thinking deeply on issues all
around her, at 19 years, did
surprise her family as she quiet-
ly worked hard besides studying
to achieve what she has
achieved. The university is not
just study or party but definitely
something more. That is to
make a difference in the life
around you.
Homeless in Sydney
Astha elected a Board Director in
Sydney U Student union
Dipen Dhruv (right) participated in Vinnies Sleepout Campaign, and (right) Dipen with his daughter Anika.
Astha Rajvanshi
Did you know?
*There are more than
105,000 Australians
homeless every night,
including 7,500 families.
*More than 12,000
Australian children under
the age of 12 have no home.
*A further 22,000 young
people aged 12 to 18 are
homeless, most of them
estranged from their
families.
*Most families which are
homeless are women and
children escaping domestic
and family violence.
*Most homeless people
are under 35 (58%) and
42% are women.
Community
W
hat an evening of clas-
sical music, dance,
charity and divinity
coming together in a memorable
gala evening on May 14 at the
PLC. Called Kshetram, a house-
full audience of 700 celebrated
Swami Dayananda Saraswatis
80th birthday and the launch of
global Charity AIM for SEVA
in Australia.
The surprise package came
right at the start with little boys
and girls (some as young as 8
years old) from John Colet
School, Belrose, chanting sever-
al slokas in Sanskrit as invoca-
tion prayers. As the only school
in Australia that teaches Sanskrit
as compulsory subject at all pri-
mary classes, these Aussie kids
with their proud parents re-
ceived a rousing reception.
Sri Vasudevacharya, a well-
known teacher of Vedanta in
Australia, inaugurated the event
with a talk on the vision of
Vedanta from Swamiji and his
contributions for preservation of
Sanatana Dharma over the last
60 years.
Murali Dharan, the convener
of AIM for SEVA Australasia,
showed a video highlighting its
major projects and transforma-
tion in disadvantaged children of
remote/rural parts of India. This
was truly inspiring.
A stunning entertainment fol-
lowed with students of Rasika
Dance Academy, in
Bharatanatyam dance ballet, de-
picting the travels of two young
children with their Indian grand-
mother (a dancer) who takes
them through various kshetrams
of India, enacting their grandeur
and divinity. Choreographed by
Manjula Viswanath, this was
highly creative and had the audi-
ence spell-bound. It was a high
quality production, with entirely
local musicians, singers and in-
strumentalists, creating a de-
lightful music score, from the
traditional Carnatic composers
of India. Combined with special
lights, stage effects and stunning
costume changes, the rapid se-
quence of dances narrating the
story, fully deserved the stand-
ing ovation it received.
Audience were asking for
more and they got it in the form
of delicious meal in dinner
packs, served free to all of the
700 that packed the PLC audito-
rium for a great evening.
Swami Dayananda
Saraswati, as pre-eminent Guru
has shared the knowledge of
Vedanta globally, in teaching the
teachers with his abundant love
and dedication. Past 80, he still
travels all over the world doing
satsangs and classes for free,
while urging people of all na-
tions, to be contributors to soci-
ety, especially to weaker com-
munities and children.
AIM for SEVA fulfills that
promise. With an Australian
Chapter, it has now become a
truly global network of Seva
(Service) offering opportunities
also to NRI children to connect
to their ancestry.
For further information visit
the website
www.aimforseva.org or call
Murali on 0414 892361.
Swami Dayanandas Birthday
celebrations in Sydney
Dancers of Rasika
Lord Ganesa
Community
By K. Raman
O
ur world is a conglomeration of
weird, level headed, gritty, strange
and wonderful people. Take, for in-
stance, the deeds of a mentally and physi-
cally tough man who has embarked on a
tough assignment which makes many to
brand him as a mad man, some fondly call-
ing him the Australian Forest Gump.
The deed - a Pole to Pole trek and run
by the great Aussie Pat Farmer. He has to
cover a distance of 21,000 kilometers as he
travels on foot from the North to South
Pole. The hardest portion of the trek will be
the slow moving travel over massive float-
ing mass of polar ice with the surface tem-
perature of minus 48 degree Centigrade.
Pat Farmer began his epic journey on
April 6, this year, from North Pole with a
team of supporters. As I write this he has
crossed one of the toughest legs of the jour-
ney and is running in a downwardly direc-
tion through Canada to the northern divider
between Canada and US.
By the end of the year-long race he
would have covered a distance of 13,000
miles through icy, hot and humid regions of
the globe. He will run through 14 countries
and regions like Canada, US, Mexico and a
number of South American countries which
include Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua,
Costa Rica, Panama, Eucador, Columbia,
Peru, Chile and finally, a long run across
the ice mass to the South Pole. Between
Panama and Columbia, he has to run a
stretch of 100 miles through unfriendly and
thick jungle with military escorts following
him to ensure his safety. In this long en-
durance race, he may need 40 pairs of tough
durable and specially made running boots
and 800 pairs of socks.
Born in Ultimo, NSW, Pat Farmer is the
son of Frank and Mary Farmer. He has
been jack of many trades and also master of
many in his eventful life of 49 years so far.
After working as a motor mechanic and as
a landscaper earlier, he turned into a politi-
cian, serving the Macarthur constituency as
an MP for eight years and for three years as
a Parliamentary Secretary.
Pat Farmer did not get continued en-
dorsement to contest in the recent elections
and he channelled his efforts to raise mon-
ey for various charitable causes.
He had been an ultra-marathon runner
since his teenage days. Just as any other hu-
man being, he wanted to cast a niche for his
super human efforts while he wished to
raise money for deserving charitable caus-
es.
Some of Pats major runs include a run
around the continent of Australia covering a
distance of 14,964 kilometers in record
time, and twice, run across the US. He
raised three million dollars from his Aus-
tralian run which he donated to Diabetic
Australia.
Pat Farmer is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weigh-
ing 145 pounds, a pack of solid muscles, a
powerful ticker, a pair of bellowy lungs and
a steely mental resolve which makes him an
ideal candidate for what he has currently
undertaken. He runs for 4 hours and 20
minutes everyday while not participating in
endurance racing.
The Pole to Pole run of 21,000 kilome-
ters is the hardest of all runs and if accom-
plished, he will be the first human to do so.
On a daily basis he will be running for 85
kilometres, equivalent to two marathon
runs, without any break in between, for a
prolonged period of one year.
Just finishing his run in Canada, he is
moving from minus 30 degrees to plus 30
degrees, from ice blocks to bitumen, snow
shoes to joggers, from tasteless dehydrated
food to spaghetti, salmon, cakes and what
not .
What lies ahead is to cross 13 countries,
one more pole to conquer and one million
more foot steps to pound!
Pats teenage daughter has this to say of
her dads Polar run: Dad has done so many
crazy things; this is yet another crazy
deed.
By K. Raman
H
arikatha is the ancient form of sto-
rytelling, mostly stories on Gods
and Goddesses. It had taken roots in
Maharashtra through the early initiative of
Swati Tirunal, a musically inclined ruler of
erstwhile Travancore state. He realized the
potential of public appeal for this art form
and initiated this pristine story telling art in
Kerala.
Swati Tirunal noticed Anandapadman-
abha Goswamis talent as the story teller ex-
traordinaire and invited him to his court and
installed him as an Asthana Vidwan. He re-
quested Goswami to do Katha Kalakhepam
in temple venues in Travancore on a regu-
lar basis. In no time people took the story
telling art to their heart.
Many versions of Harikata exist in In-
dia. Purana Pravachanam, Harikatha Kalak-
shepam and Burra Katha Burra are the dom-
inant forms of story telling still practiced in
South India. There is a Moola grandha on
story telling called Nirupana. There is an-
other old form of storytelling known as
Villupattu. In fact, Harikatha is certainly
linked to Bhajana Sampradayam (singing
the praise of the lord).
In my younger days I used to tag along
with my grand-pa, a great patron of this art,
to venture out to listen Harikatha Kalak-
shepam, visiting various temple venues
where it was held regularly. The presenter
(story teller/ Bhagavathar) used to explain
the story line in detail, preceded by slokas
with hardly any musical flair in it. In other
words it was a combination of Padya-
parayanam and story narration, nicely in-
tertwined. It was generally held within the
temple complex, and Illams (residences) of
wealthy Namboodris (Kerala Brahmins),
where listeners sat on the floor engrossed in
the mythological stories.
These days, a young lady, Mrs
Vishakha Hari (as part of Harikatha), has
raised story telling to new heights. It is cur-
rently a rage in Tamil Nadu and also in
western countries, thanks to this young ex-
ponent. Her popularity is immense. She is
in her early thirties, very articulate, oozes
charisma and criss-crosses the world popu-
larising the new style of Harikatha.
A feature of Vishakha is her pleasant
persona and disposition. Women folk in
particular are attracted by the way she
wears saree in Madisar (Nine yards saree)
in a traditional way. She is Chennai born
but prefers the spiritual and tranquil atmos-
phere of the Cauvery shore town of Sri-
rangam, which is the cradle of Veda, Sas-
tra, Purana and Mantra learning.
For one who travels extensively like her
there is no leisure time. If she gets any
break from Harikatha narrations, she uti-
lizes that spare time to learn scriptures and
Upanishads and invents innovative modes
of sankeerthanam and Upanyasam (story
telling). She is a thinking person with a
computer brain, quick witted and eloquent
in Tamil and English. Being located in a far
flung land away from genuine Harikatha ac-
tion, I have yet to hear Vishakhas live dis-
course, even though I experienced the bliss
through YouTube, in a less realistic way.
Vishakha brings the age old art form of
storytelling to a frenzied level of apprecia-
tion by the purity of her voice, high level of
knowledge in music and with the added fea-
ture of her stage presence. She has the un-
usual ability to draw packed houses where-
in patrons pay for tickets, a far cry from the
free parayanams held in the temple premis-
es of the bygone era.
Her remarkable eloquence goes hand in
hand with her diligent singing ability. She
understood early on that Carnatic music
evokes, embellishes and enhances the
moods and emotions of the listeners. She
copiously absorbed music, Katha and pres-
entation techniques which led her to the
recipe of her success.
She is very happy in a temple atmos-
phere as she feels the spiritual vibrations
there. She once said, I can stay here near
the temple tank telling katha forever. Her
commitment to Harikatha is total and she
says, For me kathakalakshepam is not per-
formance on stage for a specific duration of
time rather it stays in my system even be-
fore and after the show is over.
Vishakha got married when she was 22
to Hariji, a Harikatha exponent himself. His
father is the much celebrated Harikatha Kr-
ishnapremi, who simply is a treasure house
of this art, a highly experienced repository
of stories and an authority in this demand-
ing field of the art of kalakshepam. Hariji is
her mentor and Guru. She had an added ad-
vantage that she learned classical music
from Lalgudi Jayaraman.
Vishakha changed the methodology to a
new form by singing the verse in classicism
and following it up with the story narrated
in eloquence with choice of apt words punc-
tured with wit and humour. The serious re-
ligious discourse was thus enriched with the
addition of the element of music. She has a
distinctive and vibrant style of singing
which she uses efficiently to attract listeners
of all ages. Fluent in Tamil and English, she
presents her stories in flawless Tamil in
Tamil Nadu while resorting to English else-
where.
I understand from Sri. Jayendran of
Swaralaya Fine Arts that Vishakha will do
Katha Parayanam both in Sydney and Mel-
bourne in July this year. Her Melbourne
show is on July 10, managed by the Vedic
Society of Victoria. There are two shows in
Sydney in which she tells two separate sto-
ries. The first show on July 16 will be held
at Macquarie University Auditorium, and
the second show on July 17 will be held at
the Ryde Civic Centre Auditorium. I wish
that you do not miss this rare opportunity to
enjoy the brilliance of Vishakha. Any infor-
mation on the show can be obtained from
Jayendran on 0430 223 456.
Pat Farmer (left), who has started his 21,000 km run, with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott
Vishakha Hari
Pole to pole
Vishakha makes storytelling an art
Karam C. Ramrakha
advises his clients that
he is still in active practice but is now with
Macquarie Legal Lawyers
who operate from
Level 11, 3 Spring Street Sydney 2000
(just behind Australia Square).
The new phone number is (02) 92352500.
Kirath C. Ramrakha is also with this firm as a
Senior Associate. This firm handles conveyancing,com-
mercial work, and litigation of all types and level. We
refer immigration but can handle immigration appeals.
ACARD
Community
Anand Sharma agrees to double trade with Australia
Anupam makes it to top list in Oz film industry
I
n a recent visit by Indias
Commerce Minister Mr.
Anand Sharma, India agreed
to double trade to Australia to
AUD$40 billion in the next four
years. India and Australia have
launched negotiations to conclude
a Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
The announcement came in May
in a joint press conference at
Canberra by Anand Sharma, and
Mr. Craig Emerson, Minister for
Trade of Australia.
The press conference fol-
lowed the 13th Session of the
Australia-India Joint Ministerial
Commission, held in Canberra on
May 12, 2011. Speaking on the
occasion, Shri Sharma termed the
proposed CECA a high-quality,
truly-liberalising pathway to
closer economic integration
between India and Australia. The
CECA, when concluded, is
expected to assist in broadening
the base of merchandise trade,
remove non-tariff barriers imped-
ing trade in services, and facili-
tate two-way investment. The
first round of negotiations is
expected to take place in India in
June 2011. Both the Ministers
also stressed the critical role of
the private sector in creating a
parallel pathway to closer bilater-
al economic integration, and
announced the launch of a CEOs
Forum; Shri Naveen Jindal was
co-chairing the CEO Forum from
the Indian side, and Mr. Lindsay
Fox as co-chair from the
Australian side. First meeting of
the forum is expected to take
place later this year.
India is currently Australia's
third largest export destination
after China and Japan. Australia
is India's eighth largest trading
partner. In the last financial year,
two-way trade in goods and serv-
ices was of the order of
Australian $ 20 billion. Trade has
been growing by an average of
25% per annum over the last five
years and is driven by the strong
complementarities between the
two economies. The imports from
Australia are overwhelmingly of
mineral resources such as coal,
copper, nickel and gold, serving
as critical components in India's
economic growth. LNG imports
are also due to start in a few
years, as Australia's importance
grows as a supplier of natural
gas.
Other areas of importance are
clean and renewable energy tech-
nologies and skills development
programmes in the identified pri-
ority sectors of mining, construc-
tion, hospitality and retail. Co-
operation in the agricultural sec-
tor is expected to be given a big
boost, with the export of mangoes
to Australia set to start from June
this year and co-operation in wool
production and quality improve-
ment in the offing.
Shri Anand Sharma followed
up on his meetings with five sen-
ior Australian Cabinet Ministers
in Canberra with a meeting with
Australian Prime Minister Julia
Gillard, who expressed her satis-
faction at the outcome of Shri
Sharma's visit and re-affirmed
her strong commitment to the
India Australia strategic partner-
ship.
The minister also met mem-
bers of the Indian community in a
press conference and a luncheon
organized by the Australia India
Business Council when it hosted
the 19th JBC meeting in May.
Said Arun Sharma, AIBCs
national chairman in an interview
with CNBC, Although the trade
balance is in Australias favour,
yet Australia can help redress the
imbalance by providing to the
energy needs of India in the
immediate short term such as
thermal coal, LPG and collabora-
tions in Solar energy area which
is part of the FTA agreement
under CECA ruling. The
Uranium issue is a political issue
and can be dealt later.
AIBC, in a function held in
June at the NSW Parliament in
the presence of Premier Barry
OFarrell and select business
community, also honoured crick-
eter Brett Lee for his work with
slum children in India, Arun
Jagatramka of Gujarat NRE and
Nirmal Singh Bhangoo,
Chairman of Pearls Global
Group, for helping build bridges
and recognizing their efforts in
helping develop stronger ties
between Australia and India.
A
Sydney based film maker has
made to the list of top 50 most
influential professionals in the
Australian film industry.
Australia's most prestigious film indus-
try publication ENCORE released its
annual list of film professionals "Who
have achieved new heights in 2010/11,
whose decisions influence and shape
Australia's film industry and whose work
has stood out from the crowd."
Sharing a spot with well known dis-
tributor and exhibition consultant, Peter
Castaldi, Anupam Sharma has been
included in the list for not only his pio-
neering and substantial work in developing
Australian film links with India but also as
the founder of Australian Film Initiative.
The initiative was founded by Anupam
with Peter Castaldi to market, promote,
and distribute Australian films in nontradi-
tional and emerging markets for a more
commercially robust Australian screen
culture.
The first event of the initiative was a
festival of Australian films in India with
other regions like South Americas, Middle
East, and North Europe to follow. The
festival in India was supported by actor
Hugh Jackman with a retrospective on
director Bill Bennett and his films. 2012
will see Baz Luhrman retrospective being
held for the first time in Bollywood.
Speaking from his office in Fox
Studios, Anupam said, "While such lists
should always be taken with a pinch of salt
and tongue in cheek, its a good feeling to
be considered in such a way by one of
Australia's leading film publications."
With a thesis on Indian cinema and a
frequent spot on the speaking
circuit/media about Indian entertainment
sector/Bollywood, Anupam has been
acknowledged as one of the leading
experts on Indian cinema. Anupams
company Films and Casting Temple has
been involved with productions of scores
of Bollywood films that include Prem
Aggan, Heyy Babyy, Lakshya, Koi Mil
Gaya, Dhoom, 'Apney', 'Dil Chahta
Hai', 'Janasheen', Aryan and We are
Family.
He is currently producing and directing
a feature film and working on documen-
taries for the global market with India cen-
tric themes. He is the first Australian of
Indian origin to make it to the list.
Commerce Minister Mr. Anand Sharma
Australian cricketer Brett Lee with Indian children
from the slums at the launch of his Mewsic
community music foundation for children
living in slums at the Deonar dumping ground
on the outskirts of Mumbai.
Arun Jagatramka (left) of Gujarat NRE was
honored for helping build bridges and
developing closer ties between India
and Australia.
Cricketer Brett Lee (second from left) was honored by AIBC at a
function in NSW Parliament for his work with slum children
in India.
Anupam Sharma
Community
By Santram Bajaj
M
rs Vimla Luthra has
proved that age is no
barrier for writing a
book. At 78, she has compiled a
collection of her poems into a
book titled Jharna- The Spring.
The book was launched on
May 14 at an AHIA Seniors
meeting at Westmead by the
Chief Guest Dr Ursula Rao from
the University of New South
Wales. Several other Indian asso-
ciations attended the ceremony.
Santram Bajaj, editor of
AHIA Seniors newsletter and a
writer, welcomed the guests on
the occasion and requested Abbas
Raza Alvi, a well-known Sydney
poet, to launch the book as he
invited speakers representing var-
ious organisations related with
Hindi language literature on
stage.
Rajan Luthra, Vimlajis elder
son, spoke about his mothers
achievement and how she would
read her new poems to him as
soon as she wrote them for his
initial critique.
Poet Om Krishan Rahat gave
raving reviews about the book as
did Dr Shailaja Chaturvedi of
Hindi Samaj. Prof Ursula Rao
spoke in Hindi to the delight of
the audience.
Mrs Luthra related about her
struggle in life and how she was
self-educated to graduate level as
there was no college where she
lived. It was only recently that
she had an urge to write poetry
and have it published.
The poems describe her expe-
riences and her memories from
her day to day life and are quite
likeable. In one poem, Mera
kona, she reflects:
Kaisi meri dharti, kaisa
mera kona
Jis men bitaaaya jeevan,
kaisa desh veh salona
The function was well attend-
ed. Dr Rakesh Sachdev of AHIA,
under whose banner the function
was organised since Mrs Luthra
is a member of the AHIAs
Senior group, worked hard to
accommodate about 150 people
including many seniors who had
come to honour her. The guests
included Dr Senthil, Director
Cumberland Hospital, Madhu
Chaudhari of Carewell and
Rajesh Batra of Radio Mirchi. Dr
Yash Bhasin presented bouquets
to the Chief Guest and Mrs
Luthra.
The function closed with vote
of thanks by Dr Tilak Kalra.
Age no barrier for Vimla Luthra
to publish poetry
Mrs Vimla Luthra
Community
D
evinder Singh Dharia, founder
of Panjabi Sangeet Centre, or-
ganised 8th Vaisakhi Festival at
Blacktown Show ground in Sydney on
May 22, 2011.
Dharias hard working team included
Harkirat Singh Sandher as President
who was also honoured for his efforts
and Kalpesh as general secretary who
worked for months despite the rainy
weather, which caused the mela to be
postponed by a couple of weeks.
Yet May 22 turned out to be a sunny
and a fun family event enjoyed by thou-
sands who have become loyal patrons of
the fair. Vaisakhi Mela was conducted
under the support and supervision of
Blacktown Council, Blacktown Police
Chief Inspector Robert Fitzgerald and
Security Supervisor Harry Singh.
Blacktown showground was a buzz
of activity with a decorated stage, spon-
sors, stall holders selling food and
wares as cultural items kept the audi-
ence entertained as people bargained to
buy food, fashion and accessories.
There were about 48 Stalls with deli-
cious food, traditional dresses, Air
Tickets, Insurance, Migration services,
estate property and Mehndi, and more.
Children lined up to take rides as
there were five rides installed while par-
ents kept a watchful eye on them.
As videographer Ankur captured cel-
ebrations of Vaisakhi for posterity, oth-
er volunteers such as Aman Kaur,
Anand, Bablu, Dhruti , Lucky Singh,
Manjeet, Purvish , Pinku, Pappu Bho-
gal, Sahib Singh Surjeet, Tarun, Varun
and Yogita did excellent job as volun-
teers. The cultural program started with
a religious ambiance as a religious hymn
was sung by Rashpal Singh.
Young Harshil and Jiya performed
a thrilling item number followed by stu-
dents of Paneri and Akriti group giving
an energetic dance performance.
Anchors Pritender Grewal and Ran-
jeet Khera kept the audience entertained
with their compering.
Devinder Singh Dharia sang reli-
gious song and another one from his
new album while Neetu from Panjabi
Sangeet Centre presented a popular Ra-
jasthani Song Holiya Main Ude Re
Gulala and followed it with a dance
and song item Kanak Di Rakhi and
Yaar Bol-Da with Navdeep Singh.
Afternoon was kept busy with popu-
lar Musical chair and Chatti Race and
Tug-O-War as onlookers gathered
around the arena to watch these popular
Indian sports.
Speeches followed as the Chief
Guest of Honor was honoured with tro-
phy presented by Devinder Singh
Dharia and Harkirat Singh Sandher.
Sponsors of the event included Radhe
Super market, Cheema Da Dhaba, Tuli
Jewellers, WWICS, Migration Over-
seas, Spice Land, Fone Guru, ANZ, Go
Cool, Gaura Travel, Haveli, Desi
Vibes, The Immigration Centre, Inter-
national Visa Advisor, Sidhu Cars and
Car Clinic, Any Shape Plastic and
Grace of India with Media Partners as
Punjab Times, Punjab Express, Masala
Newsline and Ajit - a Panjabi newspa-
per. Gaura Travel donated free ticket to
India for the lucky draw with Tuli Jew-
ellers offering three gift items to lucky
winners.
At the end Boliyan were presented
by all singers that included Devinder
Singh Dharia, Jagpreet, Jaskirat, Pinku,
Preet Sargam, Surjeet, and Varinder
creating a great noise and atmosphere of
a true Punjab at Blacktown Oval.
I
LASA, a newly created organisation
to promote Indian literature and art
in Australia, was formally an-
nounced on 5th June 2011 during
NDTV Greenathon awareness day and
IABBV-Hindi School sports day at
Thornleigh. A group of Australia based
Indian writers and artists joined hands
and registered this non-profit organiza-
tion. On behalf of the society, the Hindi
poet and DET teacher Rekha Rajvanshi
gave a brief introduction and told the
main objectives of this new society.
Rekha said, Since I came to Aus-
tralia, I always felt something was miss-
ing. We have a lot of Indian organiza-
tions but there was nothing to satisfy the
creative urge of writers and artists,
there was no structure of monthly or
two-monthly meetings, there was noth-
ing to inculcate younger generations
creative talents. I have been teaching
Hindi HSC students for the last 10 years
and some of my students were very
good writers and artists. I tried to en-
courage them when they were at school,
but after they finished HSC we lost
touch and their creativity died. I thought
if we want to preserve our culture, liter-
ature and language, we need to make an
effort; we need to nurture generation
Ys talents. If we dont want to lose our
identity and widen this gap, immediate
measures were needed.
I discussed this idea with like-mind-
ed people such as Avijit Sarkar, Neena
Badhwar, Mala Mehta, Sant Ram Bajaj,
Saba Abdi, Vipul Vyas, Vinod Rajput
and Sheba Nandkeolyar, to my surprise
they all thought the same, so we came
together and registered this society. This
society has been set up nationally. We
have coordinators in Canberra, Mel-
bourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and
Gladstone, who can be contacted for
ILASAS activities. I hope we will work
together for the same objective without
getting into politics, we will have a
youth group too.
Rekha outlined ILASAs objectives
in front of the dignitaries MP Matt
Kean, Councillor Dilip Chopra, and the
other representatives/heads of various
organizations, parents and students who
were present on the occasion. Everyone
welcomed the formation of this society
with a loud applause. UIA president
Amrinder Bajwa, GOPIO president Har-
ry Walia, Raj Dutta of Deepawali festi-
val committee of NSW, offered full sup-
port. Bipen Sharma of Sharmas
Kitchen, Sanjay Deshwal of Australian
Visa & Migration Consultancy Services
and other business associates assured of
their support when needed. Hornsby MP
Matt Kean showed a keen interest in the
organization and promised full assis-
tance.
The main objective of ILASA is to
promote Indian literature and art among
the younger generation. Other objectives
include: having literary meetings in
English, Hindi and other regional lan-
guages, promoting a book club, encour-
aging budding writers and artists, help-
ing them in publishing their work or or-
ganizing exhibitions.
Anybody can become a member of
ILASA. All are welcome, especially the
Indian youth.
The membership will be open soon
and ILASA will be formally launched.
For membership contact ILASA
team.
Vaisakhi Mela the spirit of Punjab
in Blacktown
ILASA - an Indian Literary and Art Society formed
Song and dance and popular sports like Tug-O-War were part of the fair
Community
A young Sydney boy Srikar
asked Dr. Abdul Kalam when he
visited Sydney and came to meet
Indian community members at
Hotel Shangri-La what was his
happiest day in life to which Dr.
Kalam answered that when India
launched Satellite Launch Vehicle
in space when he was the project
director he was very happy.
"When we launched Agni
Missile and as it reached success-
fully its target it was a happy day.
And on 11th May 1988 when India
became a nuclear weapon state I
was happy. Also when the Indian
parliament approved 2020 vision it
made me happy. We had at that
time were working on Agni Missile
had discovered a carbon-carbon
material which was high strength
at high temperatures yet very light.
One of my friend who was an
orthopaedic doctor asked me to
help polio children in his
orthopaedic ward with their shoes
with very heavy calipers that were
as heavy as 4.2 kilograms."
Dr. Kalam said that he was able
to make the calipers lighter for
those children who walked with
such heavy load besides being
handicap. "I was able to lighten
their load from 4 kgs to only 400
gms. There were tears in their
mothers' eyes as children walked
with on shoes with those light
calipersthat was the happiest day
of my life."
Dr. Abdul Kalam, former presi-
dent of India, came to Sydney at
the invitation of Sydney university
to honour him with his 41st hon-
orary doctorate. Dr Kalam was
kept busy as he lectured to UTS
students and academics about con-
nected university education and
knowledge through the use of tech-
nology. He even talked about use
of Thorium compared to Uranium
saying that it was much safer for
future energy use and that India
was working towards developing
Thorium reactors.
Dr Kalam was honoured with
doctorate on Sydney uni's gradua-
tion day along with students of
Sydney university. Dr Kalam
impressed all with his talks and
specially the Indian community
who gathered around him at hotel
Shangri-La. He said, "The best
environment for children to bring
up is to create citizens with ethics
and great families with value sys-
tem. Such an approach by Indian
community in Australia will not
only promote harmonius living for
all the members of the Indian com-
munity but create an environment
of trust and compassion among the
multicutrual and multireligious
society that lives here."
He encouraged community to
ask questions that ranged from
tsunami, terrorism, regionalism,
NRIs, his first day experience as a
president, nuclear reactors, India-
Australia cooperation on fuels,
religious tolerance among the
younger generation, poverty of
India and he gave quite inspiring
answers and made everyone take
an oath, as everyone repeated,
"Where there is righteousness in
the heart there's beauty in the char-
acter, when there is beauty in the
character there is harmony in the
home, when there's harmony in the
home there is order in the nation,
when there's order in the nation;
there is peace in the world." Every
one eagerly repeated the oath after
Dr Kalam as he stressed that, 'To
bring up righteousness in the heart
can be given by father and mother
in a spiritual environment.' He said
that a 'good primary school
teacher' could leave a good impres-
sion on a young growing mind. Dr
Kalam suggested that 'instead of
taking we should think of giving to
the world ' and help evolve a soci-
ety that 'respects differences and
celebrates differences."
It was an enlightening experi-
ence in the company of great Dr.
Kalam for all who came to be with
him, listen to him and inspired by
him. And surely they all did get
inspired to live a righteous life that
promotes the motto 'live and let
live'.
Dr. Kalam brought a smile on
everyones face!
A biannual multicutural
fundraiser 'Bollywood Diva la
Gong' was held in May at the
Portofino Function Centre by organ-
isers Urmilla Daya, Usha
Fernandez, Rashmi Murthy and
Sneh Gupta from the Indian
Australian Cultural Association of
Wollongong was a resounding suc-
cess as it boasted of collecting
$11702 which included Mona
Jagatramka of Gujarat NRE
Minerals with a generous donation
of a $1000.
Cause - to donate funds to a cou-
ple charities, namely - 'House with
no Steps' - a leading organization
that provides services to people with
disabilities and 'Research &
Development Centre of Innovation'
at the university of Wollongong.
Four hundred ladies dressed to
kill a la Bollywood caem from the
multicultural mix of Wollongong.
Not only Indians, Aussies, Greeks,
Italian and Macedonian learnt to
dance Bollywood dance steps as
music blared.
Guests were privy to a variety
of entertainment highlight of the
program being a mini Bollywood
workshop which got the whole
crowd jive on the dance floor. The
Manager of the function centre
added spice to the entertainment by
performing Pyrotechniques on
'Boom Shaka Laka' number with
fireworks on display.
There was a fashion show by
Sarikini fashions as if the outfits
worn by the guest were not enough
and everyone got a glimpse of fash-
ion to come. An outstanding com-
munity service award was presented
to Dr Lalita Tamhane by Sharon
Bird, MP, Federal member for
Cunningham.
An unique 'Dress up as a
Bollywood Diva' and the Mehndi
stall stole the show.
Other stalls sold Indian handi-
crafts, sarees and designer clothes
with beautiful Indian jewellery,
herbal teas and spices.
The cuisine was a combination
of scrumptious Indian and Italian
food with an array of wines and soft
drinks.
Wollongong goes Bollywood and donates to charities
Dr Kalam with Indias High Commissioner Her Excellency Sujatha Singh
From Left: Urmilla Daya, Sneh Gupta, Usha Fernandez, Rashmi Murthy with Master of Ceremonies Rajiv Chaturvedi while Lalita Tanhane
receives Ammunity Award from Sharon Bird, MP. Bollywood workshop by Ben and Ishira of Canberra Bollywood Dance School.
Community
A
friend asked me the day after the
recent Bollywoods Golden Melody
concert as to which song appealed
to me the most.
Almost all, I replied.
But which song made you hum till the
following day? she persisted.
I thought for a few seconds and said,
Thandi hawaayen...
Was that by young Sunanda Sharma?
She also sang Thandi hawaayen at another
concert and I hummed that tune for weeks
till my husband got fed up!
That is the acid test of melody, the
hummability!
However, there were many other songs
I kept humming after the North Shore Band
Baajaa concert presented for the Indian
Seniors Group Hornsby on June 19.
Apart from Thandi hawaayen beauti-
fully sung by the enchanting Sunanda, I
cannot single out a song as all the 1940s,
50s and 60s numbers were toe-tappingly
nostalgic and took us back to our child-
hood. Attractive Shobha Ingleshwar
summed it up harmoniously when crooning
the Deedar hit parade number Bachpan ke
din bhula na dena.
I enjoyed all melodies, especially Suhas
Mahajans Chaudhavi Ka Chaand and
Tumpe Ashiq in a soft Talat-like voice,
Vinod Rajputs Kaun Aayaa, Duniya ke
rakhewale and Raat dhal chuki.
The twinkle-eyed Lata Baraskar put the
listeners in the mood by her rendering of
Jabse balam ghar aaye. It was my parents
favourite and brought tears to my eyes, es-
pecially their mimicking machal, machal
jaye.
No less hummable was the duet by
Kedar Pagad and Shoba as they swung us
with Aaja sanam -- a Chori Chori hit song.
The sombre mood of nostalgia was
lightened by Muhsin Dadarkars humorous
verses and then rendering of a KL Saigal
classic Gam diye mushtaqil.
Another highlight was Sharda Sharmas
Aayega, anewalla, unrehearsed and unac-
companied. The lilt in her voice was mes-
merising. Aruna Chandralas Man doley
from Naagin reminded me of snake charm-
ers on the streets of India.
The concert ended with a triple climax;
Lata and Rajen with Yaad kiya dil ne kaha,
Vinod and Sunanda making us clap and
whistle with Uden jab jab and Kedar put-
ting everyone on their feet with O meri
zohra zabin.
Surinder Singh was brilliant on his
tabla as guitarists Ranga and Sharat and
percussionist Gamini added to our listening
pleasure.
No concert can go smoothly without a
competent MC and the eloquent Rekha Raj-
vanshi was at her best introducing each
artist with a shayeri.
Bravo, Vinod Rajput, for orchestrating
individual voices into harmonic melody.
Vinod Rajput, Bipen and Uma Sharma of Sharmas Kitchen with compere
Rekha Rajvanshi.
Sunanda Sharma
Golden Melodies create nostalgia
Kersi Meher-Homji applauds Vinods Band Baajaa
Community
Dr Bharti sang as Sydney listened
D
r Roshan Bharti, a relative
of Ustad Mehdi Hasan and
sixteenth generation of the
Senia gharana, entertained Syd-
ney with renderings of his ghazals
as people sat mesmerized with his
choice of poetry. It was a night to
remember on June 3 as a hall full
of people delved deep into a shero-
shayari mood.
Dr. Roshan Bharti, a child
prodigy who won trophy of the
year at the age of nine at All India
Music competition organised by
Delhi based music group Sangee-
tayan, came to Sydney for a visit
and entertain Sydneysiders as peo-
ple flocked to witness him and his
art. His grandfather Ustaad Jamal
Khan trained Jagjit Singh for
twelve years. Dr. Bharti is a gold
medalist post-graduate from the
University of Rajasthan. He wrote
his doctoral thesis on 'Begum
Akhtar's life and works. Dr Bhar-
ti has an indepth knowledge of Ra-
gas and sings complex ghazals
quite effortlessly.
The ghazal night was organ-
ised by Radio Sur-Sangam, 99.9
FM, broadcast every Sunday from
3pm to 4pm, along with a com-
mittee that consisted of Abbas
Raza Alvi, Harry Walia, Dr.
Shailja Chaturvedi, Amit Diwad-
kar, Swechha Kulshrestha, Ritu
Madan and Sukhpreet Dhamoon.
The ghazal night was supported by
Hindi Gaurav, Australia's first on-
line newspaper updated daily, with
Maya da Dhaba as gold and Immi-
gration Law consultants as silver
sponsors. Other sponsors were
Sharma's Kitchen, Dcor-A-Shaan
and Tuli Jewellers. Volunteers in-
cluded Sachin, Kapil Kulshrestha
and Sanjeev Kumar.
Guests of honour were Coun-
cilor Tony Issa, Julie Owens MP
from Parramatta and Councilor
Barbara. Guests from Indian, Pak-
istani, and Bangladeshi back-
grounds included Amrinder Ba-
jwa, Harish Velji, Dr Yadu Singh,
Dr Virk, Subba Rao, Shubha Ku-
mar, Sanjay Deshwal, Raj Datta,
Uzma Gilani, Eijaz Khan and
Parvez Khan.
On second birthday celebra-
tions of Sur-Sangam, the commit-
tee honoured Kumud Mirani for
her excellent contribution to the
promotion of Hindi, Aishveryaa
Nidhi for excellent contribution in
promoting arts and culture from
the Indian sub-continent and Divya
Dhingra as the rising youth icon.
Abbas Alvi explained the
meaning of ghazal and invited Dr
Bharti on stage.
Roshan Bharti started the
evening with Maine kaha nazar
mila....usne kaha nahi nahi, set-
ting a romantic mood for the
evening. He transported audience
into a world with his pleasing
voice with a uniform timbre and
good range. Accompanying him
on the tabla was Sydneys well
known tabla artist Maharishi
Raval. Bhartis memorable ghaz-
als were Meri umar mein na
simat sake , Mere pass jitne
sawaal the teri ek nazar mein aa
gaye, Mohabbat ke deepak jala
ke to dekho, Zara meri duniya
basa ke to dekho and Woh har
pal meri jhoothi kasme khata hai.
He ended the evening with Mar-
sutya to which everyone tapped,
clapped and danced. Nita Tannas
tasteful decor added to the mood of
the evening and after the concert a
delicious dinner was served by
Ajay Raj of Maya Da Dhaba.
Nitin Madan and Anuj Kul-
shreshta honored Dr. Roshan
Bharti with a shawl as Abbas Raza
Alvi invited all artists-writers, po-
ets, actors present on stage to hon-
our Dr. Bharti with a plaque.
Lucky Singh presented a bouquet
to Dr. Roshan Bharti with Anuj
and Harry Walia giving vote of
thanks.
Ghazal singer Dr Roshan Bharti honoured by Kumud, Swetchha,
Divya and Anuj
Indo-Aus Bal Bharti organises
Greenathon in Sydney
N
DTVs Greenathon3 on
June 5 was supported
wholeheartedly by a pro-
gramme organised by the IABBV
Hindi School at Thornleigh Pub-
lic School in Sydney.
NDTV Greenathon Light-
ing a billion lives is an ambitious
project launched in India in its ef-
fort in going green to save the
worlds environment. Lighting a
billion lives aims at providing so-
lar power to villages without elec-
tricity. Greenathon a 24-hour
live telecast across NDTV net-
work is a combination of music,
entertainment, dances a
fundraising event to bring people
together in a spirit to support and
donate and make green pledges.
In India the initiative galvanizes
celebrities and politicians to come
forward to participate and moti-
vate common people to create
awareness about the environment
and help promote a greener
world.
IABBV school teachers, chil-
dren, parents and volunteers pre-
sented a green variety entertain-
ment and shouted Greenathon
Zindabad with great fervour as
volunteers of NDTV collected do-
nations from the community
members. The IABBV school
conducted its Sports Day with
children competing at various ath-
letic activities that ended up in a
big tug-o-war. Indian seniors en-
joyed a game of musical chairs
which was won by Usha Chaud-
hary. Children, students, parents,
volunteers and teachers wore
Greenathon T-shirts as the whole
crowd moved to school hall for a
cultural variety program. But be-
fore it all started there was plenty
of food at the stalls selling
samosa, jalebi, vada and dosa,
tea, coffee and corn-in-a-cup.
There was plenty of food being
offered inside the hall courtesy of
the parents of the Hindi school.
IABBV students eagerly per-
formed Bollywood dances,
bhangra to delight the audience.
A quiz was also conducted
and the raffle brought smiles to
faces as people won some prizes
that included a family ticket to
Taronga zoo. Children proudly
carried their trophies and NSW
Liberal MP Matt Keane was the
chief guest among other distin-
guished guests from the commu-
nity. Mala Mehta, Coordinator,
thanked NDTV and all partici-
pants, young and old, in an event
which will help remote Indian vil-
lages with solar lamps. She prom-
ised that the event will be bigger
and better next year as everyone
shouted slogans in support of
Greenathon movement. Devin-
der Singh Dharia and his students
did bhangra outside the hall as
crowd gathered in front of the
NDTV camera going live back to
India.
The NDTV Greenathon3 in
Sydney was mobilised by Vish
Viswanathan when he suggested
one to NDTVs Sydney anchor
Deepti Sachdeva.
IABBV celebrates and supports NDTVs Greenathon3
Community
Indian community after work-
ing hard to settle in the new home-
land Australia has now turned to
express itself through writing and
in the last couple of years a lot of
talent has come up in the form of
poetry, short stories in Englsih,
Hindi as well as in other Indian
regional languages and some
members of the community have
worked hard to publish their
works.
Two people who come to mind
are Maya Nartpatsingh and Dr
Muthukrishnan. Dr. Muthu, as he
is lovingly called, came up with a
book 'Software for your Soul', a
book on self-hypnosis as he has
practiced and researched on it for
the last few decades. He has
proven case histories and has
trained many a doctors all over
Australia on treating their patients
successully using his hypnosis
techniques.
Maya Narpatsingh has pub-
lished an anthology of her poems
'Life's Rythms' that touch various
topics from memories to trees to
death. Mayaji has written prolifi-
cally on Australia her adopted
home and India her birth home.
Both Maya and Dr Muthu
were honoured by the Indian com-
munity for their work and a life
they have spent honing their art
and skill in a dinner party organ-
ised by TIDU columnist Rekha
Bahttacharjee.
Maya ji's poems were read and
Dr. Muthu conducted a mini-hyp-
nosis on the select community
members who became willing
subjects. Guests included great
singer Kamahl and Indian Consul
General Mr Amit Dasgupta. A
demonstration of mini hypnosis
workshop was to see for them-
selves how people can improve
life in general as Dr Muthu
explained steps to inculcate posi-
tive affirmations into the subcon-
scious and do away with negative
experiences which some time peo-
ple carry as a heavy load all their
lives. The session included some
excercises and a thought changing
experience for all. Guests were
happy with what they experienced
and asked Dr Muthu questions to
clarify their doubts later. 'Software
for your Soul' is available from
www.amazon.com
Reka Rajvanshi, a Hindi poet
who has published 'Boomerang' -
a compilation of poems from 11
writers from Australia in Hindi,
read a thoughtful poem titled
'Bajawala' which is going to be
published in her forthcoming book
on poetry.
Sydneys classical singer Ritti
Chatterjee sang two beautiful ren-
ditions on the night.
The evening definitely left a
pleasant experience on guests hav-
ing gone through a transformation
and experiencing a tiny glimpse of
what self-hypnosis can achieve.
Atouching experience for the soul
L to R: Singer Kamahl, Consul General Amit Dasgupta, Noshir Irani and Dr Viju Desai under hypnosis and happy for ever after, after a session with Dr Muthu.
Dr Deepak Malhotra
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Sydney Music Festival
By Malli Iyer and Hamsa Venkat
V
arious themes dominated
Swaralayas music festival
in June this year. Sri Pappu
Venugopal Rao, Secretary of Music
Academy, Chennai, was the guest
of honor for this festival who
explained the significance of the
Pancharatna Krithis before the
group renderings.
Gayatri Girish, student of
Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan, intro-
duced the theme of her concert as
Shanmatham, the six different
forms of worship as ordained by
Adi Shankara. A crisp detailed
Ragam and a high class Neraval and
Swaram in Papanaasam Sivans
Ksheera Saagara in Raga Poorvi
Kalyani was accompanied by BU
Ganesh Prasad on violin and
Poongulam Subramanian on
Mridangam creditably.
Sikkil Gurucharan, another dis-
ciple of Sri Vaigal Gnanaskandan
and the grandson of Smt. Sikkil
Kunjumani, chose Lord Muruga as
the theme of his concert. Giving the
classiest performance of the
Festival, his rendering of Ka Guha
Shanmukha Neeye Gati in Raga
Kosalam and Sivagurunaadanai in
Raga Mukhari was exceptional.
Among other attractions, Vara
siki in Raga Supradeepam,
Shadananey in Raga Khamas and
the Thillana in Behag were bonuses
of Gurucharans concert.
Shankara Narayanan, a young
national talent scholarship recipient
for 13 years, is currently receiving
tutelage from Prof. T.R.
Subramanian. He is also the
President of Music Circle in
Singapore where he is based. He
commenced with Charukesi
Varnam, followed by Seethamma in
Raga Vasantha establishing his tra-
ditional approach. Highlight of his
concert was Papanasam Sivans
Pirava Varam in Raga Lathangi.
It started with a viruttham, then
Ragam, Niraval and Swaram all of
which were of a consistently high
standard.
Abhishek Raghuram, a profes-
sional level player of Mridangam
and Kanjira and grandson of the leg-
endary Palghat Raghu, is currently a
disciple of Sri P.S. Narayana
Swamy. Showing a deep insight to
carnatic music, his performance was
spell-binding and inspired his
accompaniments to raise their per-
formance levels a few notches.
His concert theme of Rama
Bhakthi was spectacular. His Nee
Daya in Raga Vasantha Bhairavi
and Bhajare Manasa in Raga
Abheri were both outstanding for
their precision and deserved full
marks. Nagai Srirams Violin and
Patri Sathish Kumars Mridangam
accompaniment made it an inspira-
tional effort.
Smt. Sowmya deserves kudos
for her attempt to create a ballad
from Gopala Krishna Bharatis work
using her consummate skills as a
musician and a scholar. Her theme
for the concert was Nandanaar
Charitram as developed by Sri
Gopala Krishna Bharati. Started
with a varnam in Raga Mohanam,
Gananatha Sharanam, and Siva
loga nathanai kandu in Raga Maya
Malava Gowla, she followed it with
Tillai Padam enru solla thodangi-
naar in Raga Shyama. All of this
was from the opera written by Sri
Gopala Krishna Bharati.
Expressing the compassion for
Nandanaar in a T. Muktha styled
Raga Alapanai in Nattaikkurinji
with Vazhi maraitthu malai poley
signifying Nandi bulls blocking
Nandanaars view of the Siva idol,
she continued portraying
Nandanaars persistence in
Chidambaram Darisanama and
Paarka parka thigattum undan
paada darisanam. In true classical
style she sang Nadanam aadinaar
in Raga Lalitha with Ragam and
Swaram and concluded with
Aadum chidambaramo in Raga
Behag.
Unnikrishnan started with a var-
nam in Raga Thodi, followed it with
Deva Deva Kalayamitheyin Maya
Malava Gowla by Swati Tirunaal.
His Ragam, Neraval and Swarams
had class stamped all over it. He
sang with his teeth almost clenched
and his audience was unable to fol-
low the saahityam clearly.
Seshachala Nayagam Bhajami
by Muthuswamy Dikshatar in Raga
Varali was pleasing and fluent in
Neraval/Swaram.
He did an elaborate Raga
Alapanai in Akshaya Linga Vibho
by Muthuswami Dikshatar. It was
hard to identify the raga as he sailed
the fringes of Sankarabharanam.
His chosen spot for neraval in
kadari vana moolam honed his
skill and command over this medi-
um.
His Ragam Thanam Pallavi in
Raga Kalyana Vasantham was brim-
ming with melody as did
Hamsanandi, Bahudari and Ranjini
in his ragamalika. He capped his
concert with Pibare Rama Rasam
in Ahir Bhairav.
By Hamsa Venkat
T
he pallavi rendered on the
Chitra Veena by Ravi Kiran
Geetha mumurthigalalai
potruvom manamara enrenrum on
the first day aptly portrayed the spir-
it of the Swaralaya festival the
Eternal Bliss of Music. Ravi Kiran,
commenced with a varnam in Surutti
followed by Papanasam Sivans ka
va va. His svara prasathanams in
varali included variations in differ-
ent speeds and was followed by
Reethigowlai, enna punniyam seid-
heno which was exquisite. He ren-
dered Raghuvamsa in an explosion
of swarams followed by keeravani
and a cascade of ragams in the tanam
with behag, nattai and ahiri, and
Ganesh Prasad choosing the rare
Simhavahini and gowla was inspir-
ing.
Amongst whispers of cannot
wait! preceding the excitement in
the foyer Sanjay Subramanyams
concert was an adventure of unex-
pected surprises. Sanjay split each
line of the Ata thala varnam in
Bhairavi in three parts and sang in
three different speeds and then in
tisra nadai depicting mind blowing
discipline and artistry.
A rare piece in Samageetha
priyan in gowlai followed where
Sanjay beautifully phrased the edup-
pu everytime in Samageetha with the
notes Sa and Ma. Beautiful expres-
sions of Devamanohari, Asaveri,
Hindolam followed culminating in a
RTP in Chalanatai Jalamen seivadh
azhaga guha vadivela en mel.
Instead of presenting the pallavi
in three speeds, Sanjay sang kalpana
swarams in different speeds ensuring
the first half of the pallavi finished
on the arudi. A themmangu style
Payum oli nee enakku lilting with
love brought the audience close to
tears at the end of the concert.
Shri Ganesh and Shri Kumaresh,
the violin duo, gave an unusual con-
cert, starting with Thaye Yashodha
in thodi as the opening piece. An
RTP in three ragams but again with
a difference, alapanai in begada,
thanam in hindolam and pallavi in
Dharmavathi going back in reverse
for the kalapana swarams.
They presented their own com-
positions in a Ragapravaham in
Gambheera Nattai, which had no
lyrics and elaborated
Nasikabhushani portraying a delin-
eation only of the ragam in its myri-
ad shades and moving away from
Sahitya Bhava.
The much awaited concert of
Ranjani and Gayathri warmed up on
a cold evening with the varnam in
Sahana followed by Siddhi
Vinayakam by Muthuswamy
Dikshidhar. A breezy and beautiful
composition by neelakanta sivan in
misra chapu navasiddhi petralum
made the audience sway in agree-
ment. Sri chamundeswari palaya-
mam in Bilahari with kalpana
swarams picked the pace of the con-
cert preceding Bogendra shayinam
in Kuntalavarali.
The RTP in saramathi where
there was a pun on the phrase mana
saramathi ani eesan maganai dhina-
mum ninai cradled the audience to
catch a glimpse of the aesthetics of
this artform.
No concert by Ranjani Gayatri is
complete without a vrutham and
abhang. They presented a vrutham
followed by Chandrasekhara eesha
and a tukaram abhang bolava vittala.
The third day brought the lec-
dem on a composer Venkata Kavi
who lived 400 years back who had
found a dedicated researcher in Ravi
Kiran. Ravi Kiran tried to restore to
life the poets compositions with
about 30 students of Carnatic music,
very much from the 21st century in
Sydney. Rare songs from the
Venkatakavi Saptaratna, and one
composition, the only one in carnat-
ic music which mentions the names
of all the 63 nayanmars in one of the
charanams, a true tongue twister
were sung by none other than stu-
dents from Sydney who had been
meticulously trained by their gurus,
Prema Anandakrishnan, Bhavani
Govindan, Chitra Krishnamurthy,
Ketheeswary Paheerathan and Uma
Ayyar, a perfect example of how
music has no boundaries.
Given the topic Sakthi mahima,
Carnatica brothers began with a
brisk rendering of Sarasiruha in
natai followed by Sama gana priye in
a more sedate anandhabahiravi the
brothers set the tone for the concert.
Elaborations of ragams like
Lalitha and Dwijavanthi alternating
between the soft and strong notes
brought out the intense force and
beauty of devi in the songs nannu
brovu lalitha and akilandeswari.
The majestic RTP in Ragam
Shivashakthi, a composition of
Chitra Veena Ravikiran included
beautiful ragams like Dhanyasi,
Durga, Rasikapriya and
Amrutavarshini, a reflection of the
pouring rains in Sydney perhaps.
Violinists Nagai Sriram and B.U
Ganesh Prasad excelled in their art
and challenged the vocalist to go one
notch up every time with their
kalpana swarams and alapanais.
Percussionists Patri Satish Kumar,
Tanjore. K. Murugabhoopathi and
K. V Gopalakrishnan presented so
many different variations in thanis
and arudhis pacing their accompani-
ment to perfection with the vocalist.
A music fest of eternal bliss
Swaralaya fest lived up to its name
Carnatica Brothers singers; Murugabhoopathy Mridangam;
Nagai Sriram -- Violin
Student Participants at the Festival Artistes singing the Thyagaraja Pancharatna Krithis
Childrens Corner
He was a clever cricketer,
And very proud of that;
Conceitedly one afternoon
He took his cricket bat.
But when he at the wicket
saw
His sister with her curls,
He turned his nose up so, and
said:
"I never play with girls!
"They're molly-coddles all,"
he cried;
"They always spoil a match;
They cannot field or bowl a
bit
They cannot even catch!
However, just this once I'll
play!"
O, pride had such a fall:
You should have heard them
shouta girl
Had bowled him out first
ball!
By Jonty Gardner
A
n old man on the point of
death summoned his sons
around him to give them
some parting advice. He ordered
his servants to bring in a bundle
of sticks, and said to his eldest
son: "Break it." The son strained
and strained, but with all his
efforts was unable to break the
Bundle. The other sons also
tried, but none of them was suc-
cessful. "Untie the bundle," said
the father, "and each of you take
a stick." When they had done so,
he called out to them: "Now,
break," and each stick was easily
broken. "You see my meaning,"
said their father.
Union gives strength
The Indian National anthem, originally
composed in Bengali by Rabindranath
Tagore, was adopted in its Hindi version by
the Constituent Assembly as the National
Anthem of India on 24 January 1950. It was
first sung on 27 December 1911 at the
Calcutta session of the Indian National
Congress. The complete song consists of
five stanzas. Playing time of full version of
the National Anthem is approximately 52
seconds. The lyrics were rendered into
English by Rabindranath Tagore himself.
Jana gana mana adhi naayaka jaya hai!
Bhaarat bhaagya vidhaata
Punjab Sindh Gujarat Maraatha,
Dravid Utkala Bangaa.
Vindhya Himachala Yamuna Ganga,
Uchhala jaladhi taranga.
Tava shubh naame jaage,
Tava shubh aashish maage,
Gahe tava jaya-gaatha.
Jana-gana-mangaladayaka jaya hai!
Bharat bhagya vidhata.
Jaya hai! Jaya hai! Jaya hai!
Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya hai!
English Translation
"Thou art the ruler of the minds of all
people,
dispenser of India's destiny.
The name rouses the hearts of Punjab,
Sind, Gujarat and Maratha, of the Dravid
and Orissa and Bengal;
It echoes in the hills of the Vindhyas
and Himalayas, mingles in the music of the
Yamuna and Ganga and is chanted by the
waves of the Indian Sea
They pray for thy blessings and sing thy
praise.
The salvation of all people is in thy
hand, thou dispenser of India's
destiny,Victory, victory, victory to thee."
A
farmer had some puppies
he needed to sell. He
painted a sign advertising
the pups and set about Nailing it to
a post on the edge of his yard. As
he was driving the last nail into the
post, he Felt a tug on his overalls.
He looked down into the Eyes of a
little boy.
Mister," he said, "I want to
buy one of your puppies."
"Well," said the farmer, as he
rubbed the sweat off the back of
his neck, "these puppies come
from fine parents and cost a good
deal of money."
The boy dropped his head for a
moment. Then reaching deep into
his pocket, he pulled out a handful
of change and held it up to the
farmer. "I've got thirty-nine cents.
Is that enough to take a look?"
"Sure," said the farmer.
And with that he let out a whis-
tle,"Here,Dolly!" he called.
Out from the doghouse and
down the ramp ran Dolly followed
by four little balls of fur. The little
boy pressed his face against the
chain link fence. His eyes danced
with delight.
As the dogs made their way to
the fence, the little boy noticed
something else stirring inside the
doghouse. Slowly another little
ball appeared; this One noticeably
smaller. Down the ramp it slid.
Then in a somewhat awkward
manner the little pup began hob-
bling toward the others, doing its
best to catch up....
"I want that one," the little boy
said, pointing to the runt.
The farmer knelt down at the
boy's side and said, "Son, you
don't want that puppy. He will
never be able to run and play with
you like these other dogs would."
With that the little boy stepped
back from the fence, reached
down, and began rolling up one
leg of his trousers. In doing so he
revealed a steel brace running
down both sides of his leg attach-
ing itself To a specially made
shoe. Looking back up at the
farmer, he said, "You see sir, I
don't run too well myself, and he
will need someone who under-
stands."
The world is full of people
who need someone who under-
stands.
When you hear the merry
rain
Patter at the window-pane,
Think 'twill soon be fine
again;
So laugh at it!
If you chance to tumble
down,
Though you bump your little
crown,
Never cry or pout or frown,
Just laugh at it!
When the sum is hard to do,
Rub it out and try anew;
When you get the answer
true
You'll laugh at it!
By Neal Nayer
T
here was once a young
Shepherd Boy who
tended his sheep at the
foot of a mountain near a dark
forest. It was rather lonely for
him all day, so he thought
upon a plan by which he could
get a little company and some
excitement. He rushed down
towards the village calling out
"Wolf, Wolf," and the vil-
lagers came out to meet him,
and some of them stopped with
him for a considerable time.
This pleased the boy so much
that a few days afterwards he
tried the same trick, and again
the villagers came to his help.
But shortly after this a
Wolf actually did come out
from the forest, and began to
worry the sheep, and the boy
of course cried out "Wolf,
Wolf," still louder than before.
But this time the villagers,
who had been fooled twice
before, thought the boy was
again deceiving them, and
nobody stirred to come to his
help. So the Wolf made a
good meal of the boy's flock,
and when the boy complained,
the wise man of the village
said:
Children's Corner
By Esther
Chaudhry-Lyons
Conceit Bowled Out !
PUPPIES FOR SALE
The Bundle of Sticks
National Anthem of
India
Laugh at It!
The Shepherd Boy
Colour and Enjoy
Community
By Rekha Rajvanshi
R
aju Varanasi is an
Australian Fulbright
Scholar. As the Direc-
tor of the Curriculum and
Learning Innovation Centre,
he promotes a culture of in-
novation and organisational
learning across NSW Depart-
ment of Education and Com-
munities. Earlier, he was a
Director in TAFE NSW for
several years.
Raju is an IIT graduate in
chemical engineering and ob-
tained post-graduate manage-
ment qualifications from IIM
Bangalore. He migrated to
Australia in 1991, according
to him, due to sunny weath-
er and my love for cricket.
He has a thorough under-
standing of the current tech-
nology trends in education in-
cluding pedagogical ap-
proaches, planning policies
and standards within NSW
and Australia. Under Mr
Varanasi's leadership, the
Centre for Learning Innova-
tion has introduced several
highly successful technology-
based flagship services for
schools, vocational education
and training sector.
The Indian Down Under
discusses with Mr Varanasi
the future trends in educa-
tion.
TIDU: In the last ten
years there has been a huge
advancement in technology.
How do you envision future
education?
Raju Varanasi: Technol-
ogy has really changed a lot
of things. What constitutes
now as a classroom or a
school, now revolves around
technology. I work very
closely with the principals
and the senior executives.
They are very conscious that
we need to provide more op-
portunities to the students.
Year 2+ kids are quite good
in adapting education and
processing and downloading
information. So the future of
Education will be drastically
different. Learning is a social
process and school is a social
constant. However, the phys-
icality is now less important:
two learners may not be in
the same classroom but they
could be in the same class as
interactions are much more
vital and digital. In the fu-
ture, a teacher will become a
mentor and the classroom
will become a learning space.
It may look more like a caf
rather than as a classroom
you and me went to. With
these mobile technologies we
can set up a learning environ-
ment anywhere. My concept
is that the social concept of
school should not go away.
There will be a lot of interac-
tion in the physical world,
complemented well by the
virtual world. With national
broad band coming up, it will
be a big plus.
TIDU: Australians of In-
dian origin are either bilin-
gual or multilingual. With
your bilingual background,
whats your opinion on sec-
ond language
teaching/learning? Did being
bi/multilingual benefit you
in your professional or per-
sonal life?
Raju: Certainly it has
benefited me both in personal
and professional life. I know
Telugu and English, a bit of
Tamil and Hindi as well. It is
a globalised world and a bulk
of Australias future is
videshi, and language is the
best vehicle for intercultural
understanding. Australia
recognises that. We, in
NSW, provide 35 languages
up to HSC and in K-6 stage
we offer 40 languages. I per-
sonally feel that languages
have opened up a new way of
looking at life. When we
learn a language, we look at
culture and when we look at
culture we appreciate new
things in life. If you take an
economic view, language
builds trade, language builds
relationship, language makes
it possible to exchange ideas,
money, people and goods.
TIDU: What is the
mantra of your success in
Australia?
Raju: A little bit of luck
is always there. As a first
generation migrant I had all
to win and nothing to lose. I
had the aspiration to do well
and Australia gives a lot of
opportunities. The mantra is
a mix of luck with aspiration.
TIDU: What were your
main achievements as a
TAFE director and now at
CLIC (Curriculum and
Learning Innovation Cen-
tre)?
Raju: One of my key
achievements at TAFE,
which I joined in 1991, was
working on the first cross-in-
dustry training package. We
worked on a lot of national
issues such as skill standards.
I was lucky enough to get a
Fulbright Scholarship from
the Australian Fulbright
Commission which took me
to the USA. I could meet
with scholars at Harvard Uni-
versity and the University of
Texas, which was a fantastic
experience. Now in CLIC, I
implement and support all the
curriculum issues in the
school regions. We are talk-
ing about kids born in the in-
ternet generation; so my role
is to put new digital learning
environments and promote
integrated web based learn-
ing.
TIDU: According to the
Board of Studies, ACARAs
Draft languages paper has
failed to address an ''alarm-
ing decline in language ed-
ucation. How can this be ad-
dressed?
Raju: There are pressures
on schools about numeracy
and literacy, NAPLAN. The
Government is putting sys-
tems in place about school
accountability in getting the
numeracy and literacy start.
There is pressure to put a Na-
tional Curriculum in place
with more consistency. In the
context of all this I admit that
languages have taken a lower
priority in the current scheme
of things because they are
trying to get the foundation
right about literacy and nu-
meracy. But it wont be the
same forever; very soon the
game will move on to higher
order things and languages
will come on higher stage.
TIDU: Why do you think
any of the Indian languages,
and Hindi as well, has not
been included in the national
language curriculum?
Raju: I am pleased that
Hindi has been included in
the HSC. Hindi is now there
in the Saturday School and
also in K-6 schools. It is one
of the fastest growing lan-
guages in Australia. I think
there will be further growth
which will open up more
recognition and more partici-
pation in Schools. In terms of
the Australian National Cur-
riculum, there are so many
other languages with long
time legacies such as French
and Italian. Asian languages
such as Korean and Indone-
sian are growing, and I un-
derstand Hindi is not in the
top rating. I am optimistic
that very soon Hindi will be
higher up on the agenda.
TIDU: Would you sup-
port the petition for adding
Hindi in the National Cur-
riculum?
Raju: Yes, I would sup-
port, but I also understand
the priority order.
TIDU: Any special mes-
sage you would like to give
to the Indian students and
the Indian community of
Australia?
Raju: I am not so much
into giving messages but if I
have to give a message I
would say, we collectively
have chosen a great country
where we can integrate while
we can still retain our cultur-
al richness. We have to re-
ciprocate tolerance; tolerance
has to be both ways - a two
way social relationship.
Raju Varanasi works technology
into teaching
Raju Varanasi, Director of Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre
Community
By Rekha Rajvanshi
Hindu Council of Australia
organized their annual dinner on
Saturday, May 28, 2011 at the
Sapphire Function Centre in
Auburn. The dinner was well
attended by the executives and
members of the Hindu Council
and invited dignitaries such as
Senator Hon Kate Lundy, Victor
Dominello MP and Matt Kean
MP.
The program started with
beautiful dance performances
and lively songs, which were
followed by speeches by Senator
Kate Lundy and the Hon. Victor
Dominello MP, who highlighted
some important points about the
multicultural and multi faith
society that is Australia.
Dr. Nihal Agar, President of
the Hindu Council of Australia
welcomed guests and thanked
sponsors, supporters and volun-
teers. He talked about Council's
dream to establish a National
Centre of Hindu Education and
culture in Australia.
He suggested that this project
would be planned in three phas-
es: collecting funds, buying
land and finally paying off the
loan.
The Secretary of Hindu
Council Mr. Sanjeev Bhakhri
mentioned various successful
activities of the Hindu Council
including Deepavali Fair, inter-
faith functions, supporting
Auburn temple attack issue and
making a submission to include
the Hindi Language in the
National Curriculum at ACARA.
The Hindu Council of
Australia's Om Gupta outlined
objectives and the structure of
Hindu Education and Cultural
Centre (HECC). One of HECC's
objectives is to collect, consoli-
date and keep all relevant educa-
tional, cultural and religious
material relating to Hindu tradi-
tions in appropriate forms.
Hindu Council also honored
some of the prominent senior
members of the Indian commu-
nity by giving recognising Mrs
Leela Gune and Mr Shiva Bhatt.
Mrs Leela Gune has selflessly
worked for Auburn Temple for
many years. Pandit Shiva Bhatt
ji is respected member of the
Indian community and has been
model for the Indian community
down under. Both of them have
made life time contribution to
the Hindu community in
Sydney.
Hindu Council of Australia
honours Mrs Gune and Mr Bhatt
Mrs Leela Gune and Mr Shiva Bhatt
Community
By Neena Badhwar
When you meet Dr Colin
Yarham you do not realize that he
is 80 years old with an extended
family, wife, children, grandkids
in Australia and a life full of good
times and bad times. Yet he leaves
it all and goes and spends ten
months out of the year in India in
Tamilnadu. Says he, "I have got-
ten used to the hot weather.
Though I understand the language
but can't speak beyond a few
words."
Talking of good and bad
times, "There was a very sad time
when I sat next to my son who
died of pancreatic cancer. I still
shed a tear or two," he pauses for
a second and then says, "Oh, I
love visiting my grandkids in
Perth and spending some quality
time with them and in Sydney
with my wife and daughter."
Dr. Yarham has spent last 16
years in India in Tamilnadu pro-
moting health education and safe-
ty in schools through HEPI, a
Health Education & Promotion
International Inc., a non-profit
association dedicated to the
development of the health and
well being of all children.
"Our aim is to work in a prac-
tical manner and in a spirit of love
and care to promote the health
and welfare of children, wherever
they may be."
Health Education &
Promotion International has been
working since 1985 to empower
children regarding their total
health and life skills. In
Tamilnadu state HEPI works in
close cooperation with adminis-
tration at all levels and the initia-
tive reaches to some 14 million
children.
Says Dr. Yarham, who has
spent his lifetime as an educator
in Australia and has a great net-
work of academic friends and
contacts, says, "Our challenge is
to combat the horrendous erosion
of the well-being of school age
child and youth due to ignorance,
substance abuse, starvation, dis-
ease, HIV/AIDS, abuse and neg-
lect."
Not only has Dr Yarham spent
years working in India, he has
used his knowledge and network
of university friends and academ-
ics to design a full curriculum
with detailed Scope & Sequence
Chart from year 1 to year 12 and
getting them to design lessons
compiled into books for each
year. Not only that, he says,
"Since I realized that teachers can
be mothers with a family to look
after they do not have time to
research to conduct lessons. So
we designed teachers manual and
resource books for each year." He
proudly shows all the books,
charts, resource manuals and
teacher manuals - years of work
that has gone into designing all
the course material, thoughtfully
done for India's children with top-
ics that range from Indian homes,
cooking, hygiene and lifestyle as
such.
"When I approached the
Indian government they put me
on to NCERT department and
when I got in touch with them
they gave me the name of the
publisher - Vikas Publishing - but
it was all mine and my team's
effort to get the books published
the way we had visualized com-
plete Health Program for school
kids."
"If you want to change a life
you capture young children who
not only carry childhood impres-
sions deep in them they even edu-
cate the people around them." Dr
Yarham shows a picture of a
school, all the litter around and
pointing to the stairs which he
says is the only exit for children
studying in rooms upstairs. "Once
there was a fire and it gutted the
rooms upstairs and around 130
children perished due to an ill-
thought out exit. We tried to
impress on school authorities to
think of safety and other measures
for the sake of children."
"HEPI program has been so
successful that it is now running
through 54,000 schools with
400,000 teachers and reaches 14
million children. We have thought
of every aspect of health educa-
tion and I have made friends in
high offices of the government as
it is possible for me to walk in and
talk to people in administration
who know that we have achieved
tremendous results and health
awareness in Tamilnadu. They
always welcome me when I come
asking."
Dr Yarham quite humbly says,
"Not only school kids but we
thought of homeless children too
who live on footpaths with least
sense of hygiene or basic educa-
tion. We said they need education
too. So we designed simple books
with pictures and distributed them
through organizations that work
and help children of the slums.
The volunteers distribute our
books to street kids. It is impor-
tant as theres no hope for chil-
dren living on the streets yet
given the chance they may make
something out of themselves."
"For schools HEPI trains not
only the teachers, we prepare
trainers as well as master train-
ers." Says Yarham, a visionary
educator who thought out health
education program in minute
details with the help of over 32
educators, academics and friends
sourced from Australia and India
and worked for years criss-cross-
ing countries for more than a
decade.
Health education, safety, risk
management, education of the girl
child, pit toilets for girls, sub-
stance abuse, physical and emo-
tional abuse all have been consid-
ered in the program.
"So impressed are the people
with this curriculum that the gov-
ernment of Malawi has asked me
to institute it in schools over
there. And I have been
approached by Indian states of
Bihar, UP and Rajasthan in the
north to chalk out health educa-
tion there for which I will have to
draw up plans and get the books
done in Hindi. In Tamilnadu the
books are in Tamil language,"
said Dr Yarham as he is visiting
Sydney in July for a month.
"Up until now we have been
funded by some bodies such as
World Aid, AusAid but they have
tightened the funds and that is
why I am asking the Indian com-
munity here to get involved in
this worthwhile project as it is
promising to see the change
through this program in health
education of school children."
"I do not ask for a salary for
myself as I have worked without
it for the last sixteen years. Its
such a good cause and that's what
India badly needs - health and
hygiene and that children study
and learn in a safe and healthy
environment."
When asked what does his
family think about his work and
him staying away in India for
long stretches of time, "Oh my
wife has gotten used to it. The
family has given up on me in the
sense that they know that that's
what is my life. I will spend every
moment of it for the betterment of
children." Says Yarham with a
determination stressing the motto
of HEPI on its flyer - 'for the love
and care of children'.
Dr Yarham looks up and sums
up in three words, "We Need
Help!"
We are lucky that we have a
person like Dr Colin Yarham who
is a true karmic and works for
humanity with no personal
reward. Not only does he inspire
others around him he invites them
along to India as many of his col-
leagues, friends, family have gone
and met him there and have vol-
unteered and worked for him in
India. His vision of India can only
be visualized when one meets
him. Not just a vision but he is
actually doing it for the future of
India and for the future of Indian
children.
To discuss, help and donate
contact:
Health Education &
Promotion International Inc.
P.O. Box 78,
Roseville, NSW 2069
Ph. 02 9416 2771
yarham@rocketmail.com
Web: www.hepi.net
We need help!
"Our aim is to work in a practi-
cal manner and in a spirit of love
and care to promote the health and
welfare of children, wherever they
may be."
- Dr Yarham
Dr Colin Yarham
Tamil Course Book
Dr Colin Yarham
Thornleigh Harris Park
1 Station Street Shop 3, 96-98 Wigram St
Ph: 02 9481 8200 Ph: 02 9893 8691
Columns
C
hicken is a very versatile food and does
not suffer from the problems of red
meat. This collection of recipes is using
Microwave Cooking and thereby minimizes the
amount of additional oil needed for cooking.
Microwave cooking also reduces the total work
and saves water/energy as the same dish can be
used to cook, serve, preserve, reheat, re-serve
and finally clean. This method of cooking will
preserve the environment as well. I hope our
TIDU readers find this a healthy change.
Coconut Chicken Kebabs
Ingredients
200 gm chicken breast cut into 8-10
pieces
1tsp corn flour
tsp garlic paste
tsp ginger paste
tsp freshly roasted and ground cumin
seed powder
tsp freshly ground black pepper
tsp or more salt to taste
2 tabs lemon juice
cup desiccated coconut powder
Method
Place the chicken pieces in a mixing bowl.
Add the corn flour, garlic paste, ginger paste,
cumin seeds powder, black pepper powder, salt
and lemon juice. Mix well so that the chicken
pieces are evenly coated. Cover the bowl with
a cloth and let it marinate for 3 to 4 hours.
Roll each chicken piece in coconut powder
so that it is well covered with it. Arrange all the
pieces evenly spaced on a lightly greased mi-
crowave safe dish.
Place the dish in the microwave oven. Cov-
er with a microwave dish cover and cook on
high for 2 minutes. Remove from the mi-
crowave and turn the chicken pieces over. Cov-
high for another 2 minutes. Give 2 minutes
standing time. Remove from the oven and
check. The food should be cooked. As the in-
dividual microwave and their settings can be
different, additional cooking for 1 minute each
side may be needed.
Serve hot.
Malai Chicken Kebabs
Ingredients
250 gm chicken breast cut into 10-12
pieces
1 tsp garlic paste
tsp fennel seeds powder
1 tsp red chili powder
3/4 tsp or more salt to taste
1/3 cup thickened cream
Ingredients for garnishing
2 or 3 fresh washed and dried lettuce
leaves
4 to 6 red thinly cut onion rings
4 to 6 red thinly cut lemon rings
Method
Add the garlic paste, fennel seeds powder, red
chili powder, salt and cream. Mix well so that
the chicken pieces are evenly coated. Cover the
bowl with a cloth and let it marinate for 2 to 3
hours.
Arrange all the pieces evenly spaced on a
lightly greased microwave safe dish. Discard
the excess marinate left in the bowl.
Place the dish in the microwave oven. Cov-
high for 2 minutes. Remove from the mi-
crowave and turn the chicken pieces over. Cov-
high for another 2 minutes. Give 2 minutes
standing time.
Place lettuce leaves on a serving plate and
arrange the cooked malai kebabs on the leaves.
Then arrange the onion and lemon rings
around. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the
onion/lemon rings and serve hot.
Chicken Tikka
Ingredients
300 gm boneless chicken cut into 12-15
pieces
1 cup natural yoghurt
1 small red onion cut into quarters and
then each layer separated.
1 green capsicum, cut into small squares
tsp garlic paste
tsp ginger paste
green chili finely chopped
1 tsp freshly garam masala powder
1 tsp amchur powder (dry mango pow-
der)
tsp tandoori (orange red) food colour
1 tsp salt
Oil for brushing the chicken tikka
Method
Place the natural yoghurt in a thin cotton
cloth and hang the cloth so that excess water is
drained out. Occasionally squeeze the hung yo-
ghurt by hand to squeeze extra water. It may
take up to a couple of hours and a few hand
squeezes to make the yoghurt thick.
Add the hung yoghurt, onion pieces, capsicum
strips, garlic paste, ginger paste, chopped green
chili, garam masala, amchur powder, tandoori
colour and salt. Mix well so that the chicken
pieces are evenly coated. Cover the bowl with
a cloth and let it marinate for 3 to 4 hours.
Arrange all the chicken pieces, capsicum
squares and onion pieces evenly spaced on a
lightly greased microwave safe dish. Discard
the excess marinate left in the bowl. Place the
dish in the microwave oven. Cover with a mi-
crowave dish cover and cook on high for 3 min-
utes. Remove from the microwave and turn the
chicken pieces over. Cover with a microwave
dish cover and cook on high for another 3 min-
utes. Give 3 minutes standing time.
Serve hot.
By Devaki Parthasarathy
T
ea is the buzz word these days as its mul-
tiple benefits are getting louder and more
difficult to ignore. Tea and its healthy
benefits have been receiving wide attention in
the media. With more and more studies being
published it is becoming more evident that the
complex brew of chemicals that make up this
seemingly simple beverage is truly a wonder
drug. Enlightened tea drinkers are rediscover-
ing the protective and revitalizing benefits of
this ancient drink.
Tea has been an integral part of everyday
societal life in many of the worlds most popu-
lous countries which has made it the second
most widely consumed beverage in the world,
exceeded only by the most necessary of all liq-
uids - water. Ever notice why the Chinese and
Japanese have some of the longest life-ex-
pectancy rates in the world? Its all in a cup-
pa.
The Japanese have believed for centuries
that the Polyphenols in tea help prevent blood
clotting, lower cholesterol levels thus reducing
heart diseases and stimulate the immune sys-
tem. More research has shown that they do ac-
tually neutralise enzymes that aid in the growth
of tumours and deactivate cancer promoters. It
has fluoride for strong teeth and half the amount
of Caffeine found in an equally-sized cup of
coffee.
Traditionally, it is said that a warm cup of
tea warms you up. To the English it is a ritual
and more like having a picnic indoors. Its a fa-
mous saying in Japan that a man that has no tea
in him is incapable of understanding truth and
beauty. A daily cup of tea, say the Chinese, can
starve the apothecary. So what is it about this
humble cup of tea that makes it an elixir of life?
Here are a few benefits that have come out of
research being done in the field. Not all of them
are conclusive and continuous research is prov-
ing most of them to be right.
Aging : If you are the type to fret over the
appearance of wrinkles, age spots and other
signs of growing old, oolong tea may be the an-
swer to your worries.
Allergies : The wonder cup just got even
more wonderful. Green tea, rich in antioxidant
treasures that protect against heart disease and
cancer, now shows promise as an allergy fight-
er. Green tea may be useful against a wide
range of sneeze-starting allergens, including
pollen, pet dander, and dust.
Bone Density : Tea flavonoids may be bone
builders. Drinking tea regularly for years may
produce stronger bones. Those who drank tea
on a regular basis for 10 or more years had
higher-bone mineral density in their spines than
those who had not. Consumption of green tea
may be prophylactic for arthritis and may ben-
efit the arthritis patient by reducing inflamma-
tion and slowing cartilage breakdown.
Cancer : "Tea is one of the single best can-
cer fighters you can put in your body," accord-
ing to Mitchell Gaynor, MD, director of med-
ical oncology at the world-renowned Strong
Cancer Prevention Center in New York City
and co-author of Dr. Gaynor's Cancer Preven-
tion Program. Green tea extracts were found to
inhibit the growth of bladder cancer cells in the
lab while other studies suggest that drinking
green tea protects against developing stomach
and oesophageal cancers.
Heart Disease : Tea is a rich source of the
flavonoids quercetin, kaempferol, and
myricetin, and research shows that high dietary
intake of these compounds is associated with a
reduced risk of fatal heart attacks. In one study,
people who drank about a cup and a half of tea
per day were almost 40% less likely to suffer a
heart attack compared to tea abstainers. Drink-
ing black tea may lower the risk of heart disease
because it prevents blood from clumping and
forming clots. Better to be deprived of food
for three days than tea for one - Chinese
proverb.
High Blood Pressure: Tea lovers may be
surprised to learn their beverage of choice touts
yet another health benefit: blood pressure con-
trol. Drinking a half-cup of green or oolong tea
per day reduced a person's risk of high blood
pressure by almost 50% in a new study. People
who drank at least two and a half cups per day
reduced their risk even more. Their risk was re-
duced even if they had risk factors for high
blood pressure, such as high sodium intake.
Oral Health: Rinsing with tea may prevent
cavities and gum disease. Antioxidants are
thought to be behind the benefits of tea on den-
tal health as well. A number of studies have
suggested that rinsing with black or green tea
may lead to better oral health. Studies have
shown that the antioxidants in black tea will
suppress the growth of bacteria in the mouth
that cause cavities and gum diseases and inhib-
it or interfere with the attachment of bacteria to
the tooth surface.
Parkinson's Disease: Research is being
conducted as we speak on the correlation be-
tween the consumption of tea and protection
against developing this debilitating neurological
disorder.
Weight Loss: Trying to lose weight? Reach
for a cup of green tea instead of a diet bever-
age. Green tea contains high concentrations of
catechin polyphenols. These compounds work
with other chemicals to intensify levels of fat
oxidation and thermogenesis, where heat is cre-
ated in the body by burning fuels such as fat
safely and naturally. Additionally, drinking tea
also causes carbohydrates to be released slow-
ly, preventing sharp increases in blood-insulin
levels promoting the burning of fat.
With so much compelling research, isn't it
about time for everyone to consider brewing up
more of this potent potable? I think it's reason-
able for people looking to make healthy
lifestyle choices to consider tea as a better op-
tion than other beverages.
Tea - a wonder drug
Microwave Chicken Recipes
Look Good and Feel Great Naturally
Cookery with Promila Gupta
Green tea Oolong is a traditional Chinese tea
(Camellia sinensis).
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Body Mind Spirit
By Anil Sharma
The reincarnating ego belongs
to the lower plane, namely,
thought. It is transcended by Self-
realisation.
- Sri Ramana Maharshi
I
n the life on the other side of
the grave, there are no tears, or
laughs, no friends or enemies.
Nobody is rich or poor, neither a
king nor a pauper. But there are
opportunities aplenty to realise
perfection.
Immediately after death, the
life force having left the physical
body is plunged into deep sleep
akin to an unborn child prior to
birth. The individual life force pre-
pares for rebirth on the astral plane
and requires time to adjust itself.
Birth on physical plane has
many aspects in common to the
move on astral plane - both pre-
ceded by a period of deep sleep.
During this sleep-like stage the
individual life force dwells in the
etheric shell which serves as its
covering and protection, just as the
womb serves as the protection for
the child approaching physical
birth.
Normally, the life force sleeps
in peace, undisturbed by and pro-
tected from outward influences.
However, there is an exception to
this rule and the peaceful sleep
may be disturbed by dreams which
may arise as a result of intense
desire filling the mind of the dying
person, such as love, hate or unful-
filled tasks or duties. There also
may be strong desires and thoughts
of those left behind, love or other
strong attachments.
These causes tend to produce a
restlessness in the sleeping life
force and can manifest itself to the
scenes of earth as a dreamy tele-
pathic communication. This is
regrettable as it interferes with fur-
ther evolution and development in
its new phase of existence. In
some cases these visualisations can
even be of a ghastly nature. Many
a well meaning person has acted to
retard the natural processes of the
astral plane in relation to some
loved one who has passed away
and has denied to the life force the
rest which it has merited. That is
why weeping, crying and showing
remorse does not really help.
The grief and demands of those
left behind often cause much pain
and sorrow to their loved ones who
have passed over to the other side.
Sometimes they will fight off the
slumber for years in order to be
around their loved ones on earth,
but this course is unwise as it
results in unnecessary sorrow and
pain.
Spiritual teaching does not for
a moment counsel forgetfulness of
the dead, but it does suggest that
affectionate remembrance of the
dead is a force which, if properly
directed, may be of real value to
them. Prayers and accompanying
ceremonies create environment
which strikes against the negative
forces creating disturbances in the
slumber state, thus speeding the
progress towards the astral world.
The period of soul slumber is
like the existence of a baby in the
mothers womb. It sleeps so that it
may awaken into life with
strength. There is nowhere in
nature in which an entity is so
carefully and fully guarded. So
absolutely secure from invasion or
intrusion, from harm or hurtful
influence, are these sleeping indi-
vidual life forces that nothing short
of a complete revolution of
natures most sacred laws could
affect them.
The individual life force car-
ries with it into its slumber state a
concentrated record of its entire
life, including the seeds of its
desires, ambitions, likes and dis-
likes, attractions and repulsions.
These seed-ideas soon begin to
sprout and blossom and bear fruit
during the time of the individual
life force on the astral plane.
Some of these seed ideas will bear
results in future incarnations.
Nature arranges that many of
the strong impulses will be mani-
fested and worn out on the astral
plane so that the individual life
force may leave them behind when
it is reborn into a new earth life. It
is towards this fruition that the
souls slumber serves. During the
period of slumber the individual
life force is prepared for its entry
into the astral world and its life
therein.
The period of sleep may extend
for days or years, and sometimes
longer as the case may be, before
the etheric matter is disentangled
from both dense physical and
astral worlds. Here, too, one finds
a remarkable correspondence with
the phenomenon of gestation and
birth on the physical plane. In the
case of those animals whose natu-
ral life period is short, one finds,
as a rule, that their period of ges-
tation in the womb is correspond-
ingly short; on the other hand, ani-
mals of a natural long life spend a
much longer period in the womb
before birth. Thus, the elephant
has a twenty or twenty-one months
in the womb; human beings, nine
months; rabbits, one month;
guinea pigs, three weeks. The nat-
ural life of each bears a relation to
the period of gestation. Similarly,
the gestation period of the soul is
found to vary in proportion to the
time the awakened individual life
force is to pass on the astral plane.
The variation in slumber is due
to the soul being prepared to shed
its lower animal nature upon awak-
ening. The life force awakens
only when it has reached the high-
est state of development possible
for it when it is able to pass on to
the particular plane or sub plane
for which its degree of develop-
ment calls. An individual life
force of low development has very
little to shed in this way and soon
awakens on a low plane. A higher
development, on the other hand,
must shed and discard sheath after
sheath of the lower animal nature
before it can awaken on the plane
of its highest attainment.
An apparent exception to this
rule are persons of highly
advanced spiritual power and
knowledge, in which case the life
force is able, by its knowledge and
power, to control the natural
processes, instead of being under
their control.
The process of discarding or
shedding these lower fragments of
personality occurs immediately
after the first stage of the awaken-
ing. The individual life force feel-
ing the impulses of re-awakened
life, stirs itself languidly, as one
does in awakening from a sound
slumber in earth-life. Then, like
the butterfly throwing aside the
chrysalis shell, it slips away from
the etheric vehicle and in rapid
succession unconsciously discards
the lower principles of its nature.
This occurs while the individ-
ual life force is slowly gaining
consciousness. At the moment of
the actual awakening, the individ-
ual life force is free from all these
worn out shells and encumbrances,
and opens its eyes upon the scenes
of its new activities and existence
in the astral world.
Each individual life force is
destined to dwell on the plane of
the highest and best in itself, after
the dross of the lower elements
have been discarded. The individ-
ual life force makes great progress
on the astral plane, and during its
stay there, discards more of its
lower nature as it passes on to still
higher subplanes of the astral
plane.
In the region of life after death
the individual life force is relieved
of all that tends to hold it back and
drag it down, and is rendered free
to express and develop those qual-
ities and characteristics which rep-
resent the best and truest that is in
it. This fact accords not only with
the sense of justice and equity; not
only with the longings and crav-
ings of the individual life force
imprisoned in the physical body
but also with the fact and princi-
ples of evolution, which tend to
move upwards and onward,
towards a far off goal of attainment
and perfection. The awakening of
the individual life force is akin to a
new birth, an entrance into a new
world of experience.
The life force manifests no fear
of its new surroundings but is full
of activity in the direction of
expression and manifestation of its
new powers.
After slumber, the life force
awakens into a region of life and
not into a region of death. Like
the butterfly, it spreads its wings
and enjoys its new state of exis-
tence. It does not mourn the loss of
the chrysalis form and life.
There is life beyond death
A temple to Gandhi
Immediately after
death, the life force
having left the phys-
ical body is plunged
into deep sleep akin
to an unborn child
prior to birth. The
individual life force
prepares for rebirth
on the astral plane
and requires time to
adjust itself.
A
Christian meeting a Muslim at a
mandir would require quite a leap
of faith even in the most neutral
and secular of countries. Unless it's a
temple where the reigning deity is
Mahatma Gandhi. Standing in prayerful
silence next to Mohammad Abdul Kadir,
Richard Chen says it seems natural to him
that he, a Christian, is united in peace
with a Muslim at what must possibly be
the only temple where Gandhi is a deity.
"This is what the apostle of peace
wanted all his life, in Africa and in India.
He said all are one before the religion of
love and coexistence,'' says Chen, who is
Chinese and has made Sambalpur his
home.
A few steps away, Bhagawat Nanda, a
Brahmin, is sitting beside Kalia Bagh, a
Dalit who works as a priest here. "If you
are a follower of ahimsa, you are a fol-
lower of equality,'' Nanda says. No, he
isn't uncomfortable with the fact that
Bagh is a pujari at this temple where peo-
ple bow before a 3.5-foot-tall bronze idol
of Gandhi.
The Gandhi mandir at Bhatra, a Dalit
suburb in Sambalpur, 300 km from
Bhubaneswar, has at its entrance the
Ashoka Stambha, the national emblem
symbolising peace and goodwill. It gets a
healthy flow of pilgrims through the day.
Here teachings of Gandhi are recited and
sometimes passages read from his writ-
ings.
"We perform puja every morning and
evening,'' Bhagawat says as he winds up
a prayer session. "Followers of Gandhiji
flock to the mandir from all over the
world."
"There is a lesson to learn at the
mandir. It preaches equality and toler-
ance, and expects followers to practice it.
After all, peace is of paramount impor-
tance in contemporary times when differ-
ent faiths are at loggerheads. I pray to
Jesus Christ too. There is no clash,'' says
Chen.
The idol of mahatma at the temple
in Orissa
Body-Mind-Spirit
See your inner self in a mirror
N
o matter what happens
in our lives laughter is
always the best medi-
cine. Lately, I have been
watching Seinfeld DVDs and
even though the jokes are near-
ly twenty years old they still
stand out today.
Here are some quotes from
Seinfeld:
According to most studies
peoples number one fear is
public speaking. Number two
is death.
Death is number two, does
that sound right?
This means the average per-
son, if you go to a funeral,
you're better off in the casket
than doing the eulogy.
Dogs are the leaders of the
planet. If you see two life
forms, one of them is making
poop, the other one's carrying
it for him, who would you
assume is in charge.
What is a date really, but a
job interview that lasts all
night? The only difference is
that in not many job interviews
is there a chance you'll wind
up naked.
You know you are getting
old when you get that one can-
dle on the cake. It's like, "see
if you can blow this out".
Men want the same from
their underwear that they want
from women. A little bit of
support, and a little bit of free-
dom.
Now they show you how
detergents take out blood
stains, a pretty violent image
there. I think if you've got a T-
shirt with a bloodstain problem
maybe you should get rid of
the body before you do the
wash.
Sometimes the road less
travelled is less travelled for a
reason.
The Swiss have an interest-
ing army. 500 years without a
war. Pretty impressive. Also
pretty lucky for them. Ever see
that little Swiss Army knife
they have to fight with? Not
much of a weapon there.
Corkscrews, bottle opener.
"Come on buddy, let's go, you
get past me, the guy in back of
me, he's got a spoon. Back off,
I've got the toe clippers right
there.
People who read the
tabloids deserve to be lied to.
Seems to me the basic con-
flict between men and women,
sexually, is that men are like
firemen.
To men, sex is an emer-
gency and no matter what we
are doing we can be ready in
two minutes.
Women on the other hand,
are like fire. They are very
exciting, but the conditions
have to be exactly right for it
to occur.
Someone just gave me a
shower radio. Thanks a lot. Do
you really want music in the
shower. I guess there is not a
better place to dance than on a
slick surface next to a glass
door.
The world according to Seinfeld
Inner Space
By Faith Harper
M
irrors are objects that
do more than reflect
our image. Since
ancient times, it is believed that
they show an individuals inner
consciousness. They show what
we truly look like and not what
we imagine we are.
In the mystical world, mir-
rors are seen to possess supernat-
ural powers and have the ability
to reflect an individuals soul.
There is no home that does not
have a mirror because, besides
being used for personal groom-
ing, it has many secrets attached
to it.
Mirrors play a vital role both
in Vasthu Sastra and Feng Shui
because they focus on the place-
ment as well as the expansion of
energy. It is auspicious to hang a
mirror on the west wall facing
east because the image of the
individual looking in the mirror
should fall towards the east.
Placing a mirror at the entrance
of the house is favourable pro-
vided it faces east or south.
To magnify the ambiance of
a room and to create a sense of
spaciousness, use mirrors to
project scenery and pleasant
images like a waterfall, moun-
tains or flowers hanging on the
opposite walls into the living and
dining areas.
Use mirrors to ease the
defect of any exposed pillar in
the centre of the living room by
placing them all around the pil-
lar, from top to bottom. To dis-
pel darkness in the corners of a
room, use mirrors to reflect
light. Avoid having mirrors on
every wall because this can have
an unsettling effect, especially
when you catch a reflection of
yourself, unexpectedly.
In the bedroom, avoid facing
a mirror when you sleep as this
will result in interrupted sleep,
which could then lead to insom-
nia. Have mirrors embedded
inside your safe or cash box as
the reflection of the money will
multiply the energy of wealth.
There are many dos and
donts concerning mirrors
because they are believed to
absorb both the positive and neg-
ative energies around them.
Thus, all traditions practise cov-
ering the mirrors in a house
where someone has died or
where the funeral is being held.
This is to prevent the mirror
from gripping the energy of
death, which may be lingering
around the house looking for a
body to possess in order to
resolve unresolved issues before
moving on.
Do not let your mirror reflect
unpleasant sights like the toilet
or bathroom because it is
believed that this will amplify
negative energy. Breaking a mir-
ror is supposed to bring misfor-
tune like bad health and ill luck
that will persists for seven years.
Why seven? Because it is
believed that the physical body
will revive itself in seven years.
But should you accidentally
break a mirror, the only way to
avoid the curse is to pick up all
the broken pieces and bury them
in the moonlight. Some people
place mirrors at their main door-
way to prevent unseen entities
from entering because unholy
spirits do not like to cast their
reflection in a mirror.
All broken mirrors, including
those that are old, tarnished and
cracked, should be discarded
immediately because it is inaus-
picious to have your image
reflected in a damaged mirror.
Using decorative mirrors is
fine as long as they are not small
or irregular mirror tiles because
such designs will distort and
break up an image. Mirrors are
also an excellent tool that can be
used to cleanse and improve
your aura. To do that, choose a
clean or new mirror and wipe it
with a cloth clockwise daily
before using it to view your
image.
Never leave a mirror coated
with dust and dirt as that will
generate negative energy. You
can also do certain exercises
before the mirror to remove neg-
ative energy:
Take a warm shower and
then stand or sit in front of a
clean mirror, or your favourite
mirror.
Gaze into your eyes in the
reflection and observe your
facial expressions.
As you look at yourself,
analyse your day and recall both
the positive and negative emo-
tions that arose during the day.
Focus on your reactions
and turn hostile situations around
to acceptance.
Practise this daily at the
end of the day or on days when
youve had a challenging time as
it will help ease stress and light-
en your body.
T. Selva is the author of the
best selling book titled Vasthu
Sastra Guide. He can be contact-
ed at tselvas@pd.jaring.my
Website:
www.vasthusastra.comTo get a
copy of his book, call Devi on
0412623017.
VasthuSastra
By T. Selva
Lately, I have been watching Seinfeld DVDs and even though the
jokes are nearly 20 years old they still stand out today.
In the
mystical world,
mirrors are
seen to possess
supernatural
powers and
have the ability
to reflect an
individuals
soul,
Jul Mat 1. Hindu Punjabi busi-
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Jul Mat 2. Well settled family in
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Poojas, Hawans & Hindu Karmakaanda (rituals)
Hindi Humour
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+== = =|= -s| |: -|t st = =|u= =|:
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|: - =r| | -| =u tr| r:
Body-Mind-Spirit
By Kanaka Ramakrishna
Ananyaschintayanto mam
janah paryupasate;
Tesham nityabhiyuktanam yo-
gakshemam vahamyaham.
Persons who, meditating on
Me as non-separate, worship Me
in all beings, to them, who are
thus ever zealously engaged, I car-
ry what they lack and preserve
what they already have.
O
nce, a Swami was on a pil-
grimage to Kedarnath, the
ancient temple in the snow-
clad ranges of the Himalayas. He
narrated a very eye-opening expe-
rience he had on his way. He saw
an old village-woman in her seven-
ties, trudging along at a snails
pace, with her hand on the shoulder
of a young boy, who was guiding
her up the fourteen kilometer long,
steep, winding and narrow path.
Scores of pilgrims, young and old,
men and women, a few on horse-
back and dandis and most on foot,
were on their way to the temple.
But the sight of the old woman
attracted the attention of the Swami
because she was totally blind.
Though he appreciated her devo-
tion and determination, he was a
little curious too. He went to her
and asked her respectfully, Moth-
er, what draws you to the temple?
You have undertaken this long and
difficult journey but at the end of it,
you wont be seeing Baba Kedar-
nath. The blind woman seemed a
bit surprised at the question. Then
she smiled and with folded hands
raised to her head and eyes filled
with tears of devotion, she said in a
throbbing voice, It is true I cannot
see Him but surely Baba Kedarnath
will see me when I am there.
The Swami stood there
stunned! What a revelation! He had
never thought along those lines be-
fore. It flashed to him immediate-
ly I shall see the Lord only when
I reach the temple but He is seeing
me right here, this moment and
every moment! He realised then
and there his pilgrimage had borne
fruit through this message from the
Lord: I am always seeing you.
This message remained with the
Swami ever since and it was a con-
stant source of inspiration, serenity
and strength.
We know that God is every-
where and He is omnipresent. But
how often do we remember this?
We tend to forget to see God every-
where and also forget that God, on
His part, is always seeing us. Visi-
ble or not, he is present every-
where, very close to us. As Swami
Vivekananda said, Can you see
your own eyes? God is like that. He
is as close as your own eyes. He is
your own, even though you cant
see Him. He is in us and with us.
We can be alone but we can never
be lonely.
There is an incident in the life
of Kanakadasa, a poet-saint of Kar-
nataka. He was a chieftain and af-
ter a few remarkable incidents in
his life, he renounced everything
and went for spiritual guidance
from Vyasaraya, a great saint and
scholar. Kanakadasa was a sincere,
devoted student. He grasped every-
thing the guru taught in great faith
and practiced them with all dedica-
tion. He became a favourite student
of his guru. Some disciples became
jealous of Kanakadasa because the
guru liked him and praised him in
front of all. One day, the guru
called all his disciples and told
them, I will give you each a ba-
nana but you should eat it in a place
where no one would see you.
The next day the guru called
them all and asked where did they
eat the fruit. One after the other,
the pupils said it was eaten behind
a bush, or in darkness where no
one could see, or behind a door or
under a blanket and so on.
Vyasaraya then turned to
Kanakadasa and asked him where
did he eat the fruit. Kanakadasa
said with all humility, Guruji, I
could not eat the fruit because I did
not find a place where there was
nobody. God is present every-
where. The other disciples learnt
their lesson!
Swami Vivekananda taught that
God is not hiding anywhere and we
need not search for Him. He is
right here before us if we open our
eyes and if we close our eyes we
can find Him in the depths of our
heart. A true seeker will see Him
here and now. We cannot see Him
because our vision is defective; our
inner eye has become cloudy,
sticky and dusty due to all sorts of
desires and worldly attractions. All
spiritual disciplines and practices
are direct and indirect ways of
cleaning this inner eye. It is
through the cleaned and purified
eye that the devotee sees the Lord.
In the Bhagavad Gita Sri Krishna
calls it the Divine eye. As Swami
Vivekananda said, it needs a vigor-
ous practice of three ps: purity,
patience and perseverance.
It gives a great strength and
solace to believe God is always
with me and He is seeing me. A
child may be afraid when it is left
alone but when the father or moth-
er is around, it feels secure assured
of the protection of the parents.
Likewise, if we constantly remem-
ber Gods presence, we need not
fear anything. Fear and anxiety are
the sure signs of lack of faith in
God. Swami Ramakrishnanda, a
direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna
Paramahamsa, had immense faith
in the Lord. He said, Very few of
us believe in God all the time. We
allow anxiety and fears to arise in
our minds. If we really have faith
in God and in His infinite power of
goodness, we can never feel fearful
of anything.
Swami Vivekananda sent Swa-
mi Ramakrishnanda to Chennai to
start a centre. In the early days, he
underwent extraordinary hardship.
Many days he had no food to offer
to God. But he had tremendous
faith in Him and somehow help
would come to him at the appropri-
ate time in unexpected manners. He
never lost faith in Him. His experi-
ences are a source of inspiration,
invigorating faith in God.
Once, the birthday of Sri Ra-
makrishna had to be celebrated and
there was no money to feed the
poor, which was a part of the cele-
brations. The night before, he was
pacing up and down and mumbling
loudly with every breath. The
devotee who observed him under-
stood later that he was praying for
Divine help to feed the poor. The
next morning, a large donation
came from the Yuvaraja of Mysore
in appreciation of reading his book,
The Universe and Man. There are
many more incidents like this in the
swamis life. God never forsakes
those who take refuge in Him. The
belief in the presence of God frees
us from the anxiety and fear and
fills us with strength and protects
us always.
Vedanta teachers say that med-
itation means seeing the Lord and
not thinking about Him. We may
think about a person when he is
away. But when he is right in front
of us, we do not think about him.
We see him and talk to him and
hear him. That is what a devotee
should do when he thinks of medi-
tation. The more he practices this,
clearer is his vision to see and feel
the presence of God. The stars
cannot be seen during the day but it
does not mean they are not there.
We may not see God right now but
that should not prevent us from
knowing that He is seeing us all
the time. Whenever we are de-
pressed, this faith in the eternal
presence of God pushes out all oth-
er thoughts and tremendous vigour
gets injected in its place.
In the life of Swami
Vivekananda, we come across sev-
eral incidents wherein this belief of
God is seeing us was evident.
Once while going round the Go-
vardhana Hill, he made a vow that
he would eat only the food offered
to him without asking. By noon
time of the first day he was ex-
tremely hungry and tired and also it
rained heavily. Faint with hunger
and much walking, he went on and
on. Suddenly he heard a man shout-
ing from the rear that he had
brought food for him. Resolved to
test this apparent act of Providence,
the Swamiji paid no attention. The
man came running nearer and near-
er and the Swami began to run as
fast as he could. The man came
running faster and overtook the
Swami and insisted on him to ac-
cept the food. That done, the man
went away without a word. The
Swami burst into tears at this proof
of the Lords care of His devotee in
the wilderness.
Remembering that the ever-
present God is looking after us,
helps us in focussing our thoughts
on Him. In Swami Vivekanandas
words, We must stand ever on the
Self and look with perfect calmness
upon all panorama of the world. It
is but a babys play and ought nev-
er to disturb us. If the mind is
pleased by praise, it will be pained
by blame. All the pleasures of the
senses and of the mind are evanes-
cent but within us is the one true
unrelated pleasure of the Self. The
more our bliss is within us, the
more spiritual we are.
The awareness of God is see-
ing us is a shield that protects us
under any circumstances. When
God is nearby, the mind does not
easily go off the track. One of the
earnest ways of disciplining ones
life is to remember at all times the
presence of God. Then every act of
ours becomes an act of worship of
God. Our home and heart becomes
clean and tidy for God who is our
inseparable companion. In the ini-
tial stages, we may feel the fear of
God and do things to appease Him.
But as we grow in practicing this
belief of the presence of God with
us and as our understanding deep-
ens, we feel that God is all-in-all;
father, mother and friend all rolled
into one.
Twameva Mata Pita twameva,
Twameva bandhuscha sakha
twameveva,
Twameva vidya dravinam
twameve,
Twameva sarvam mama deva
deva.
O Lord, you alone are my
mother, father, relative, friend;
you are knowledge, wealth; My
Lord, You alone are my every-
thing.
When we have a strong con-
viction that God is our only solace,
we feel God frees us from the spells
of loneliness and depression, helps
us in focussing our mind and drives
away anxiety and fear. He fills us
with strength to forge ahead to-
wards the ideal.
What is remarkable about this
practice is that it is within every-
bodys reach. With a strong and
simple faith and persistent effort,
anyone can discover the enormous
benefit for oneself.
The following narrative from
Anonymus is a touching example
of Gods grace on his devotee:
One night I had a dream. I
was walking along the beach with
the Lord and across the sky flashed
scenes from my life. In each scene,
I noticed two sets of footprints.
One was mine and other was
Lords. When the last scene of my
life appeared for me, I looked back
at the footprints in the sand and to
my surprise I noticed that many
times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of foot-
prints. I noticed that it was at the
lowest and saddest times in my life.
I asked the Lord about it. Lord,
You said that once I decided to fol-
low You, You would walk with me
all the way. But I noticed that dur-
ing the most troublesome times of
my life, there is only one set of
footprints. I do not understand why
You left my side when I needed
You most. Lord said, My dear
child, I never left you during your
times of trouble. Where you see
one set of footprints, I was carrying
you.
God is Seeing us all the time
Columns
June-July 2011THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 55
By Karam C. Ramrakha
Karam C Ramrakha, a
lawyer, draws on his experience
as a former Fiji MP and
Founding Father of Free Fiji to
analyse the recent events in Fiji.
U
neasy lies the head that
wears the crown. So far
Frank Bainimarama has
enjoyed an untroubled run, the
country being firmly under his
thumb. Dissenting forces have
been neutralised. For once no one
is cursing the Indians for Fiji's
problems.
The two coups of 1987 and
the savage bloody coup of 2000
were based on supposed Indian
takeover of Fiji and stated to be
the saviour of the embattled
Fijian race. But Frank's agenda is
different.
Graham Davis, a Fiji-born
journalist, when accused of sup-
porting a coup, summed the posi-
tion thus:
I believe theres a fundamen-
tal difference between the coups
of 2000 and 2006. The former
was supposedly a coup to uphold
indigenous rights but, in fact,
seems to have been carried out by
a group of opportunists pursuing
the spoils of office. Whats the
evidence for that? That indige-
nous rights werent under any
threat. It was a smokescreen for a
much more grubby lunge for
power.
The coup of 2006 on the
other hand was to uphold the
notion of a multiracial Fiji against
what the military believed to be a
clear and present threat. This was
the legislative program of the
Qarase government that would
have created two nations one
for indigenous Fijians and one for
the rest.
I endorse his remarks.
To seek to achieve that goal
Frank has had to pull out all
stops and, for the time being, sti-
fle all dissent. It began, of course
with parliament itself. As we see
in Australia today, parliament
continues to reflect a nation even-
ly divided. Qarase had won
majority with a blatantly racial
approach to indigenous Fijians to
vote on racial lines. He denied
this, of course, but a tape record-
ing of one of his speeches caught
him out.
Qarase insisted with that bla-
tantly racial agenda. He sought to
declare all sea and shores of Fiji
indigenous land; he wanted the
2000 coup perpetrators "recon-
ciled" and thus forgiven; and
finally he sought every indige-
nous Fijian outside Fiji to have a
vote. After months of warning,
including a "settlement" confer-
ence in New Zealand, Frank
acted on 6 December 2006.
Frank would go on to neu-
tralise the Fiji Law Society, the
Council of Chiefs and finally the
Methodist Church. There has
been unrelenting pressure on
Frank to hold elections. Frank
does not want, what I may call,
"the usual suspects" to end up in
Parliament.
Frank originally promised
elections in 2009, but has extend-
ed this date to 2014. He does not
want any of the Old Guard to
come back to parliament. He
does not want any discrimination,
wanting one man, one vote, one
value. Equality for all. Very high
and noble motives.
European Union is somewhat
neutral to Frank. China is silent
and it is one country which shuns
political decisions in cases such
as Fiji. China is there to lend a
helping hand, but excites the
envy of other nations who shun
Fiji. But the West is suddenly
becoming strident despite show-
ing some signs recently that
Frank should be accommodated
and "understood".
A recent drama has been
where a soldier accused of sedi-
tion has been spirited to Tonga in
a Tongan vessel which brazenly
entered Fiji's waters. Unlike
Julian Moti who was hunted like
a fugitive, this solder, Ratu Ului,
has been made welcome in Tonga
and Australia where he was invit-
ed to deliver a speech. Suddenly,
the Machiavellian doctrine that
the enemy of my enemy is my
friend is being invoked.
Why did Australia give Ratu
Ului a visa? On what basis?
Australia is very selective in who
will come to Australia.
Remember, as one of CIAs
operatives confessed to a Fijian
journalist - the purpose of the
CIA is to foster unrest in the rest
of the world...Yes, indeed, while
the rest of the world is squab-
bling and disunited Uncle Sam
rules. Remember Mrs Gandhi's
wheat purchase from USA which
was paid in Indian rupees. Yes,
rupees which could only be spent
in India. The CIA used that
money to bribe and destabilise.
Remember Kwame Nkrumah.
The CIA admits it had him
killed. Nkrumah's crime: he
would have united Africa.
So Australia and New
Zealand are playing the same
CIA game and marching to its
beat. Divide and conquer.
Conquer and divide.
We watch how the Ratu Ului
drama will pan out? Tonga once
nearly conquered Fiji. That
Tongan Chief Maafu who tried to
conquer Fiji is buried in Fiji at
Ratu Ului home in Lau. Parts of
Lau speak Tongan. Yes, if any-
thing, this dispute highlights
Frank's dream of a free Fiji with
equality for all.
(Karam Ramrakha can be
contacted on (02) 98082760 or
email
karamcramrakha@gmail.com.)
Fijis fugitive is welcome in Australia
Osama: Knocking on Hell's Door
O
sama blacked out and found him-
self at the bottom of a deep shaft,
with a single tunnel leading out of
it. He crawled through the tunnel and was
pleased to see that it got wider and wider
until he was able to walk upright. He
walked for a mile or two and came to a
large iron door. He knocked on the door.
No answer.
Hello! he called out. Is this where
I get my 72 virgins?
The door opened slightly and a gust of
heat shot through it, scorching Osamas
eyebrows. He fell back against the wall of
the tunnel. A red-faced creature with two
horns peered through the gap, smoke spi-
raling from his ears. He pointed at Osama
and laughed hysterically, his forked
tongue swishing over his lips. 72 vir-
gins? Ha ha ha! Thats a good one!
He turned away from Osama and
yelled into the fiery abyss behind him. Is
anyone a virgin in here?
A wave of laughter, more powerful
than the heat, rumbled through the door,
causing the tunnel to shake.
Sorry, buddy, the creature said.
Youre out of luck! No virgins here. But
we do have a guy named Virgil.
But I was promised 72 virgins in
heaven.
The creature laughed hysterically
again. Heaven? Sorry, buddy, youve
come to the wrong place. Did you use
Google Maps or Yahoo?
I didnt have time to use either. What
place is this anyway?
Well, it used to be called hell. But
we sold the naming rights a year ago. Its
now called the Enron Corporation Hot
House.
But there must be a mistake. I was
supposed to go to heaven.
The creature laughed. Thats what
they all say. Even Adolf believes that he
belongs in heaven.
But I killed more than 3,000 infi-
dels.
Yes, I know. Thats why you were
fast-tracked here. You were sent straight
to hell. I mean, straight to Enron Hot
House. Just like Saddam.
My friend is here? Can I see him?
Hes busy getting a root canal. After
that, he has an appointment with the proc-
tologist.
What about his sons? Can I see
them?
Theyre busy getting their taxes
done. Every day is tax day here.
Is there anyone else I can see?
In a few hours, perhaps. I cant let
you in just yet.
You think maybe I dont belong
here?
Oh, you belong here all right. Weve
been waiting a long time for you. But we
need to make sure youre really dead.
What do you mean? I felt those bul-
lets go through me. Ive got to be dead.
Yes, I know. But the photos of your
dead body havent been released - and
someone spotted you at a restaurant in
Japan, eating sushi with Elvis.
But if Im here, arent I dead?
Not necessarily. Sometimes people
come for a few minutes and then they
leave. It happens every 10 years or so.
You think that might happen with
me?
Well, you have a snowballs chance
in Enron Hot House. But I just want to be
certain. You know what would happen if
I let you in and you dont stay? All Enron
Hot House would break loose.
So you want me to wait out here
alone?
Not alone. Ill be sending out the
vermin to keep you company. Theyve
been waiting anxiously to welcome you.
Vermin?
Yes, 72 of them..
Melvin Durai is a Canada Manitoba-
based writer and humorist. A native of
India, he grew up in Zambia and has
lived in North America since the early
1980s. Read his humour blog at
http://www.Nshima.com Write to him at
comments@melvindurai.com
THE HUMOR OF MELVIN DURAI
A soldier accused of sedition has
been spirited to Tonga in a Tongan
vessel which brazenly entered Fiji's
waters. Unlike Julian Moti who was
hunted like a fugitive, this solder,
Ratu Ului, has been made welcome
in Tonga and Australia where he
was invited to deliver a speech.
Suddenly, the Machiavellian doctrine
that the enemy of my enemy is my
friend is being invoked.
Santram's Grey Page
W
e are well into winter season
now. Last months rains in
Sydney made it worse. The
nights were very chilly. The electricity and
gas bills will shock us when they arrive.
I hope most of you have had your year-
ly flu vaccine. If not, please check with
your GP without further delay.
We are not immune to the happenings
in India, even though they may not affect
us directly.
For example, the indefinite fast by
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev against
Corruption and black money was brutally
disrupted in the middle of the night by
Indian Government after the stick and car-
rot approach failed. Baba had to run for
his life in disguise but was captured and
deported to Dehradun by helicopter. Many
of his supporters and well wishers were
beaten up by the police. He continued his
fast at Haridwar for several days and was
supported by Anna Hazare who went on
one day fast to protest against the barbaric
treatment to Baba Ramdev.
India is sunk so deep into corruption
that things seem pretty hopeless. Is there a
light at the end of the tunnel? Anna Hazare
and Baba Ramdev seem to be the last hope.
Alcohol and Cancer Link
The Cancer Council of Australia has
warned people that there is a link between
drinking and cancer, according to the latest
research. They have asked people who like
to drink to follow the following Australian
Drug Foundation advice.
Have a non-alcoholic drink to quench
your thirst before you start drinking alco-
hol.
Eat before or while you are drinking.
Don't let people top up your drinks.
Try having a "spacer", a non-alcoholic
drink every second or third drink.
Try a low-alcohol alternative or a non-
alcoholic cocktail.
Write down how much you drink each
day.
Have no more than two standard drinks
a day for healthy men and women.
(A standard drink is the equivalent of
100ml of wine or 285ml of beer or 30ml of
spirit.)
Health benefits of fruits
Fruits contain 90-95% water which
have a diuretic (increases urination) effect
on the body and help eliminate the toxins
and nitrogenous wastes from the body.
Most of the fruits are low in sodium
and high in potassium, which is an impor-
tant mineral that helps to maintain normal
blood pressure and also improve heart
function.
Fruits like grape, cherries, blueberries,
kiwi, plums and blackberries help reduce
the risk of cancer and heart diseases.
Guava, oranges, papaya and Indian
gooseberry are very good sources for vita-
min C, an antioxidant. Mangoes and
papaya are excellent source for beta
carotene.
Beta carotene and lycopene present in
apricots take care of the heart by prevent-
ing oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Health
benefits of apricots include building up of
energy and iron resources in the body.
Bananas are a very good source of
potassium, vitamin B, vitamin C, man-
ganese and dietary fibre. They are one of
the highest sources of potassium, and reg-
ular intake may even help to keep blood
pressure low.
Recent studies have shown that cherries
help relieve the symptoms and pain caused
in gout, arthritis and joint inflammation.
The fibre present in fruits like apples
has a laxative effect on the body i.e. it
helps relieve constipation. The fibre also
gives a feeling of satiety by adding bulk to
the diet which is beneficial in conditions
like diabetes mellitus, heart diseases and
obesity.
Fruits like Kiwi are a very good source
of vitamin E that is an important fat-solu-
ble antioxidant which when combined with
water-soluble antioxidants provides free
radical protection on all fronts.
Papaya is a rich source of antioxidants,
vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin A and vita-
min D. These antioxidants helps prevent
oxidation of LDL cholesterol which, if not
taken care of, can stick to and build up in
blood vessel walls forming dangerous
plaques leading to atherosclerosis, heart
attacks or strokes.
Pineapple is loaded with vitamin C and
has anti-inflammatory properties, which
serves as a natural home remedy for those
suffering from arthritis.
Brain temperature can now be
measured non-invasively
Researchers have developed a way to
measure the brains precise temperature
with a device only as thick as a poker-chip
and which rests on a patients head, elimi-
nating the necessity of insertion.
The doctors also suggest that an injured
brain can be significantly warmer than the
body, a finding critical to cooling therapies
that reduce brain damage in everyone from
elderly heart attack victims to hypoxic
(lacking oxygen) newborns.
Don't ignore those aching
joints
Keep them flexible. Lifestyle changes
in the form of moderate exercise and a
healthy diet could go a long way in keep-
ing you trim, which in turn eases the stress
on weight-bearing joints.
It's a catch 22 situation. Most people
suffering from arthritis would like to exer-
cise but can't because it hurts badly and
because they fear that exercise will aggra-
vate their symptoms. On the other hand, if
they don't exercise, it could lead to more
stiffness, reduced strength and compro-
mised cardiovascular fitness. The
American College of Sports Medicine has
outlined several ways by which exercise
can be made safe for those with arthritis:
1. Begin slowly and progress gradually.
2. Avoid rapid or repetitive movements
of affected joints. For example, faster
walking speeds increase joint stress; walk-
ing speed should be matched to one's bio-
mechanical status.
3. Do not forget to warm up before you
begin any exercise.
4. Pain is never good. Learn to listen to
your body's signals and know when to stop
or slow down movement.
5. Try gentle massages at the hands of
a trained professional, again with the con-
sent of your doctor. It can help control pain
and increase joint motion and muscle and
tendon flexibility.
6. Invest in the right footwear a pair
that is moulded to fit your feet perfectly
will absorb shocks, protect your joints and
make walking comfortable.
Green Tea
Green Tea fights cancer, protects your
heart, helps prevent strokes, promotes
weight loss and kills bacteria. A bag of
green tea contains zero calories and is rich
in antioxidants.
To test for freshness, tightly squeeze a
small quantity and smell it. The freshest
and most flavourful tea will smell sweet
and grassy.
To test tea bags for freshness, remove
the tea from a bag, place the empty bag in
a cup, pour hot water over it, and let it
steep for 2-3 minutes. If the result tastes
like ordinary hot water, the tea is likely to
be fresh. If the tea bag water tastes like tea,
then the tea is old and the paper has
absorbed its flavour.
To retain freshness and flavour in both
loose and bagged tea, store it in an air-tight
opaque container to protect it from light,
moisture and food odours. Its best to store
tea in a dark, cool and dry cupboard.
Blood pressure whats
normal?
Only around 20 per cent of us under-
stand that we can reduce the risk of demen-
tia by keeping blood pressure levels
healthy, says neuroscientist Dr Michael
Valenzuela, senior research fellow with the
School of Psychiatry at the University of
NSW.
We might have grasped the fact that
keeping the brain active can help prevent
its decline, but theres another important
message that hasnt got through that
healthy blood pressure from mid-life
onwards is one of our best anti-dementia
defences. The physical activity helps pre-
vent dementia. Valenzuelas recommenda-
tion is for at least three brisk 30-minute
walks and at least one session of resistance
(strength) training each week. A combina-
tion of both is good for health generally
and also helps prevent diabetes which is
another risk factor for dementia, he says.
High blood pressure contributes to the
second most common type of dementia
after Alzheimers disease vascular
dementia thats caused by having a stroke.
As a general guide, the Heart
Foundation suggests:
Normal blood pressure: generally less
than 120/80 mmHg.
Normal to high blood pressure:
between 120/80 and 140/90 mmHg.
High blood pressure: 140/90 mmHg or
higher.
If your blood pressure is 180/110 mm
Hg or higher, you have very high blood
pressure.
(Disclaimer: The Health tips in the arti-
cle are taken from various well established
and reliable sources and are given to you in
good faith. However, readers are reminded
to take care and consult their doctor if not
sure, as no responsibility can be accepted
by the writer of this column or The Indian
Down Under).
Just for Seniors
By Santram Bajaj
Berries are among fruits which help reduce
the risk of cancer and heart diseases.
Normal blood pressure is
below 120/80 mmHg.
HUMOUR
Health & Well-being
Almost Perfect Life
An old man is sitting on a park bench
crying his eyes out. A young jogger comes
by and asks him what is the matter.
The old man says, "I'm a multi-million-
aire; I have a great big house, the fastest car
in the world and I just married a beautiful
blonde.
The young jogger says, "Man, you have
everything I have ever dreamed for in my
life. What could be so wrong in your life
that you are sitting here in the park crying?"
The old man says, "I can't remember
where I live."
Breaking and Entering
A man went to the Police Station wish-
ing to speak with the burglar who had bro-
ken into his house the night before.
"You'll get your chance in court," said
the Desk Sergeant.
"No, no no!" said the man. "I want to
know how he got into the house without
waking my wife. I've been trying to do that
for years!"
Dilip Mahanty column
A
couple of years ago there was a lot
of hand ringing as to who would
put up his hand to step into the
huge shoes of giants such as Tendulkar,
Dravid and Laxman when they ultimately
retired. These remaining three of the fab-
ulous four (with Ganguly already
retired), were not expected to continue
much beyond 2012.
Heads were scratched to look for bats-
men who had at least the potential to con-
tribute effectively to Indias cause, even if
they did not have feet big enough to fill the
shoes left behind. After all, Tendulkar,
Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly formed one
of the most potent middle orders in the his-
tory of cricket.
Three promising lads were spoken
about, judging from the early promise they
showed. Of these, the most prominent two
(Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli) grabbed
the limelight while the third (Pujara) went
about quietly scoring runs by the bucket
load in domestic cricket.
Rohit Sharma
Rohit was first noticed in Australia in
2008 when he played the ODI series for
India. He seemed to possess the lazy grace
and had oodles of time to play his shots all
around the ground. He had greatness
stamped all over him. In partnership with
Tendulkar, who got his first ODI hundred
in Australia, he wowed the local crowd.
Seasoned local critics, not given to unstint-
ed praise, were effusive. Ian Chappell
marked him out for future greatness.
Then IPL happened and Rohit hit jack-
pot with a US$750,000 a year contract for
Deccan Chargers over three years.
Suddenly the boy from a modest middle
class background was foisted onto the big
stage, rubbing shoulders with the high and
mighty and mingling with glamorous peo-
ple.
Apparently, according to reports,
focus on cricket receded with these dis-
tractions and his performance on the field
began to suffer. He put on weight and
started to lose his motivation. After
umpteen chances he was dropped from the
Indian team.
This shock and the advent of other
youngsters like Raina and Kohli forced a
sea change in his attitude. When he was
snapped up by Mumbai for IPL4 and
brought under the tutelage of the
redoubtable Tendulkar, he became a total-
ly different player. He became fit, hungry
and determined.
Virat Kohli
Kohli was rewarded by being selected
for the ODIs against the West Indies. His
performance in this tour has been out-
standing so far. He is determined to step
up to Test level and this is welcome news
to many cricket lovers who had been dis-
appointed with his earlier attitude.
Virat Kohli showed a lot of character
when he was around 18 and playing for
Delhi. He had a sound technique and a lot
of promise. What set him apart from the
others was his strength of mind.
In a Ranji Trophy match Kohli was
playing a back-to-the-wall innings to save
the match. He remained unbeaten and was
determined to continue his fight on the last
day to see Delhi through. Overnight, his
father passed away from a sudden heart
attack. Next morning, he requested family
members not to perform the last rites till
he returned after completing his innings.
He lasted long enough to ensure Delhi did
not lose and returned home to complete
the final rites.
With his abilities and display of leader-
ship qualities, he was asked to lead the
Indian under 19s in the ICC World Cup in
Malaysia in 2008. His personal contribu-
tion and astute leadership earned India the
World Cup trophy. He led India to anoth-
er success in Australia during the
Emerging Players Trophy in 2009.
Suddenly everybody started talking
about him as the new messiah set to take
India to new heights. All this talk and very
lucrative sponsorship deals both in IPL as
well as outside took a heavy toll on his
attitude. By his own confession to the
media he had turned boorish and insuffer-
able. His performance began to suffer. His
inclusion in the senior Indian team did not
produce the runs he thought he could score
easily.
Sitting in the same room with some of
greatest players India has produced and
seeing their modesty and work ethics,
Kohli realized where he had gone wrong.
He made a steely promise that he would
change his attitude and become a better
person.
That he has kept his promise can be
gauged from his generally pleasant behav-
iour these days, both on and off the field.
In the last couple of years he has consoli-
dated his position in Indias ODI teams.
He has been scoring consistently in both
the shorter forms of the game. This con-
sistency has provided the necessary thrust
to catapult Kohli into the Test team in the
West Indies as many of the regular players
are not touring.
Cheteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara is not the limelight
seeking type. He can be described as qui-
etly efficient a Rahul Dravid sort of
guy. His technique is extremely sound and
he is not generally discomfited by pace or
spin. He has risen to prominence through
sheer volume of runs in domestic cricket.
Whenever he has toured overseas with the
under 19 or India A teams he has scored
prolifically. His hunger for run scoring is
reflected in the double and triple centuries
he has made for his State team Saurashtra.
Pujaras consistency earned him a Test
cap against Australia last year. In the sec-
ond Test in Bangalore (Pujaras first) he
showed he had nerves of steel.
Australia scored 478 batting first.
Tendulkars double century and Vijays
hundred helped India lead by 17 runs. In
the second knock Australia scored 223
leaving India to score 206 to win. On a
wearing pitch this task was not going to be
easy. Sehwag was out very early and the
debutant Pujara, who scored only 4 in the
first innings, was promoted to come in at
number 3 in place of injured Gambhir. He
set about scoring fluently in the company
of Murli Vijay and the pair added 72 valu-
able runs before Vijay got out. Pujara then
helped Tendulkar with a half century
stand. When he was out for 72 priceless
runs India was close to victory. This was
achieved without further loss.
Though his subsequent outings in
South Africa did not yield high returns, he
promises to be a batsman of high calibre.
However, an opportunity to consolidate
his position in the Indian lineup during the
WI tour was sadly lost because of a seri-
ous knee injury suffered during an IPL4
match while playing for Kolkata.
These three, who are in their early
twenties, should form the bulwark of
Indias middle order when Tendulkar,
Dravid and Laxman retire. With Sehwag,
Gambhir and Dhoni likely to play for
another 4-5 years, the batting line up will
not lack experience and class.
Players like Murli Vijay, Mukund,
Rahane, Manoj Tiwary and Raina would
also be marking time to get into the Test
line up. So the bench strength of Indias
batting is impressive.
Players like Badrinath and Yuvraj,
who do not have age on their side, may not
get many opportunities to play in the next
couple of years.
The real worry for India would be its
bowling attack after Zaheer and Harbhajan
retire. Ishant and Sreesanth have promise
but lack control. Ashwin is still to be test-
ed in Tests. Mishra seems to have
improved of late and seems more penetra-
tive but whether he will have the same
effect against top class opponents remains
to be seen.
Ojha is steady but doesnt spin the ball
viciously enough to create problems.
Other promising youngsters like Rahul
Sharma and Abdullah need exposure over-
seas to rate their performance.
There are a couple of pace bowlers
who are being noticed. Umesh Yadav can
be pacy but needs to work on his variety.
A newcomer, Aaron Varun from
Jharkhand, clocked 153 kph in a recent
match. He regularly bowls at speeds
between 140-145 kph. Both these young-
sters are strongly built and have stamina.
They need to be coached properly to reach
their true potential.
Indias future depends on the fast
maturing of some of these promising
youngsters. The fact that they get opportu-
nities to share their thoughts and the dress-
ing room with several giants of Indian
cricket should help them graduate
faster.
It will be difficult for them to fit in the huge shoes of giants such as Tendulkar, Dravid and
Laxman when they ultimately retire, but Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar
Pujara are servingIndias cause well. The real worry would be Indias bowling
attack after Zaheer and Harbhajan retire.
Gen Y is ready to take over
By Dilip Mahanty
The Kersi Meher-Homji Column
I
t looks strange, almost weird.
Like Agra without the Taj, Paris
without Eiffel Tower and Merv
Hughes without a moustache!
I mean an Indian Test team
without Sachin Tendulkar and
Virender Sehwag for the current
tour of West Indies. Also no
Gautam Gambhir or Yuvraj Singh
in the Test squad. And no MS
Dhoni and reverse-swing king
Zaheer Khan in the one dayers.
Well, Sehwag, Gambhir and
Yuvraj are injured. And Dhoni,
after missing the only Twenty20
and five ODIs, will captain India in
the Tests.
No one can deny that Indias
senior cricketers have been playing
non-stop for months and we do
understand Tendulkar, aged 38,
needing rest and spending quality
time with his family. Especially the
tour to England will start soon after
the Caribbean tour finishes on 10
July. But should he not have for-
saken the meaningless IPL-2011
lasting seven weeks to have time
with his family rather than miss an
important tour of the Caribbean?
More on the irrelevance of IPL
elsewhere but cricketers forsaking
international matches for franchised
club cricket is disappointing to
me. Also, Tendulkar could have
scored his 100th international cen-
tury in the land of Worrell, Hall,
Sobers, Richards, Holding and
Lara.
I can see from Tendulkars
point of view. He is not young any-
more and has to space himself if he
has to maintain his magnificent
form. But to play seven weeks for
an irrelevant franchise and miss an
important tour is unlike him.
He explained, "As I have been
playing continuous cricket over the
last ten months, which started dur-
ing the Sri Lankan series in July
2010, I had requested the Cricket
Board to allow me to spend some
quality time with the family as it
coincides with my children's holi-
days and hence will not be available
for the series in the West Indies. I
would appreciate everyone's under-
standing of my decision and look
forward to be back shortly post the
series." India should not take the
West Indies lightly. India is cur-
rently placed No.1 in Test cricket
and No.2 in ODIs. A loss to the
lowly-ranked Windies will see her
ranking zoom down. It will also
shatter their confidence before the
tour of England.
Remember England smashed
Australia 3-1 early this year and
defeated a strong Sri Lankan team
in the first Test recently. It is good
that the Indian selectors are looking
at the future in selecting young
players to the Windies but too many
changes will be counter-productive.
Talented left-handed Suresh
Raina will lead India in the T20 and
in ODIs before Dhoni takes over
leadership when the Test series
commences on the 20th of July. But
Raina has little experience in lead-
ership and appears immature to me.
Hope he makes me eat my words!
Also, we must not forget the
role of coach Gary Kirsten in taking
India to the top of the tree in Test
ranking as also in winning the
World Cup in April. Will the new
coach Duncan Fletcher have similar
rapport with the Indian cricketers?
The Test squad appears a fine
mix of youth and experience. Here
it is: Dhoni (captain, wk), VVS
Laxman (vice-capt), Rahul Dravid,
Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan,
Raina, Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay,
Ishant Sharma, S. Sreesanth, Munaf
Patel, Parthiv Patel (wk), Amit
Mishra, Subramaniam Badrinath,
Abhinav Mukund and Pragyan
Ojha. Indias record in West Indies
is poor. Of the 42 Tests played in
WI, India has won only four and
lost 16. So there is no reason to be
overconfident.
Here is the tour itinerary:
The five ODIs will be played in
Port-of-Spain, Antigua and Jamaica
from June 6 to June 16.
First Test in Jamaica, 20 to 24
June.
Second Test in Barbados, 28
June to 2 July.
Third Test in Dominica, 6 to 10
July
How will Sachin-less India fare in West Indies?
Indian team celebrating after the 2nd ODI match win: sans the star
players, they had taken unbeatable 3-0 lead in 5-match series.
Chennai Super
Kings win IPL again
IPL may be entertaining but is
it relevant?
W
h a t e v e r
MS Dhoni
t o u c h e s
turns to gold. Look
at his achievements.
Under him India has
risen to number 1
ranking in Tests.
Under him India has
won the World Cup.
And under him
Chennai Super Kings
(CSK) have won the
IPL title for the sec-
ond time in a row.
I know I am a
strong critic of IPL
for what it will do to
Test and first-class
cricket. But it pro-
vides top quality
spectacle with the
best global cricketing talent on
display.
In the final on 28 May,
Dhoni-led CSK defeated star-
studded Royal Challengers
Bangalore (RCB) by 58 runs in
Chennai.
CSKs Murali Vijay was
the top-scorer with 95 runs as
he added 159 runs with
Australian Mike Hussey (63)
for the opening wicket off 89
balls. Vijay was made Man of
the Match and RCBs Chris
Gayle adjudged Man of the
Series.
Gayle, the West Indian tor-
nado, was the only one to hit
600 runs in IPL 2011. He
scored 608 runs at 67.55, belt-
ing two centuries and three 50s
in 12 matches. His strike-rate
was an astonishing 183.12 as
he smashed 44 sixes.
The other highlight of IPL
2011 was the 206 run stand
between Adam Gilchrist and
Shaun Marsh for Kings XI
Punjab in a qualifying match.
Gilchrist (106 with 8 fours and
9 sixes) and Marsh (79 not out
with 7 fours and 5 sixes) added
206 runs for the second wicket.
This is the highest partnership
in the four years of IPL for any
wicket and the only partnership
of over 200 runs.
C
all me a fuddy-duddy but IPL leaves me cold.
And this despite my favourites Sachin
Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne,
Virender Sehwag among others participating.
First the good points of IPL:
Spectators see the best international players from
yesterday, today and tomorrow in action.
Old foes like Harbhajan Singh and Andrew
Symonds play side by side for the same team, Mumbai
Indians, their misunderstanding probably forgotten.
Youngsters have a chance to play with and against
legends. Indian rookies have learnt an enormous lot
from overseas legends Warney, Gilly, Watson, Gayle,
Lee, Tait, Jayawardene, Sangakkara, Vettori...
Now the minus points:
Who cares as to who wins? Those ten sides are nei-
ther national nor state teams. They are franchises made
up of auctioned cricketers. They play for prize money.
Bill OReilly described Packer cricket in late 1970s
as circus with clowns (players wearing colour cloth-
ing). But at least they were playing for their countries,
apart from a World XI. I shudder to think what he
would have described the IPL cricketers!
Talented IPL players provide entertainment galore.
And crowds lap it up. But TV ratings were low this
year with the average rating down almost 25 per cent
from the previous year.
Pay TV did not show IPL-2011 in Australia at all.
Few Down Under seemed to care two hoots for this
franchise razzmatazz.
In conclusion, does IPL matter? Its a money-mak-
ing gimmick, irrelevant and not good for cricket.
Now the IPL epidemic will soon become a pan-
demic with Sri Lanka starting their SLPL, England per-
haps their EPL and Australia their international Big
Bash.
The most worrying aspect is the fact that some top
cricketers in the world are missing a tour comprising
Tests to play gold-laced virtual club games.
The fourth edition of the IPL has been beyond the
pale, Peter Roebuck wrote in The Hindu.
Sooner or later slapstick loses its appeal. Like
rugby sevens and speed chess, it does not really matter,
even in the sporting sense. It is an entertainment not an
examination.
Other experts also complain that the tournament is
failing to unearth new domestic talent.
While it is argued that the IPL has given Indian
first-class cricketers a new life, it has also made money
come easy to most of them, said Boria Majumdar, a
noted cricket historian and writer.
The trend is disturbing. I agree with former Sri
Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga that IPL will go on
destroying international cricket.
MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina celebrating
second successive IPL cup win
IPL4 curtain-raiser by cartoonist Satish Acharya
A
rguably the greatest leg-spinner in
cricket history, Shane Warne has
been the biggest headline maker in
the last few decades. Now he has announced
his retirement from all levels of cricket.
As a tribute, a 300 kilogram bronze stat-
ue of Warne is under construction by Louis
Laumen, a
Melbourne-based sculptor. He has been
assigned to make this statue, which is likely
to be erected during the Boxing Day Test,
scheduled to be played between Australia
and visiting India this December.
Speaking exclusively from Melbourne,
he told Indian journalist Bipin Dani, "The
Shane
Warne statue is to be about nine feet
high, so the amount of bronze will be about
300 kg.
I imagine that there will be a number of
cricketing greats, past and present, attend-
ing the unveiling ceremony on December
26. If Sachin Tendulkar is there, of course I
would be delighted to meet him.
Laumen is the sculptor of ten statues
already erected, which include Don
Bradman, Keith Miller, Bill Ponsford and
Dennis Lillee.
"In Australia as in India there are very
many who are passionate about the game of
cricket. As a professional artist it is pleasing
to give pleasure to so many by portraying
their heroes. For me, the challenge is to
portray character and I have always found
great sportsmen to have distinctive and
forceful personalities. I was especially
moved meeting Keith Miller at the end of
his life; a man of great distinction in many
ways -- a great lover of classical music and
poetry amongst other things," he said.
Back to Warne. Whether controversies,
headlines and adoring females chased him
or he chased them is a question which will
never be answered. Although the word liv-
ing legend has become overused and
clichd, Warne is definitely one, along with
boxing immortal Mohammed Ali, golfing
great Tiger Woods, Garry Sobers and our
own Tendulkar.
Warne remains the only cricketer past
or present who has inspired a musical
play. That was in May 2009. In that musi-
cal the role of former Test cricketer Terry
Jenner (who died last month) is shown with
affection and humour. Teenager Warne was
talented in both AFL and cricket but refused
to practice. He ignored his mothers fervent
pleas but listened to Jenners coaxing and a
star was born!
Warne reached the acme of his powers
in late 1990s and is recognised as among the
Top-5 all-time great cricketers along with
Don Bradman, Garry Sobers, Jack Hobbs
and Sachin Tendulkar.
But all good things must come to an end
and so is Warnes career as a cricketer. This
was in Mumbai on 20th May in an IPL
match when the sprightly 41 year-young
Warne led his team Rajasthan Royals (RR)
to a thumping 10 wicket victory over
Mumbai Indians, captained by his friend
and rival Tendulkar. Warne took only one
wicket in his swan song and 13 wickets in
13 matches in IPL-2011, disappointing fig-
ures for a legend.
But not so according to his RR and
Australian teammate Shane Watson. "It's
been mind-blowing for me to see him, after
not bowling for a year, be all over batsmen
the way he is. It's pretty crazy how some-
one has got that much skill and hasn't lost
that control over something that is so diffi-
cult to do. If he ever came out of retirement,
which he's not going to do, he would still
dominate," he said after Warnes final
match.
Shortly after bowling his last ball in
cricket, Warne celebrated with a passionate
kiss to his new love Hollywood actress Liz
Hurley.
The IPL matches did not stop Warne
making headlines of the wrong type,
allegedly using colourful language with
the franchises secretary on pitch prepara-
tion and being slapped a fine of US$ 50,000
last month.
Where Warney is, can controversies and
headlines be far behind? He was not nick-
named Hollywood and Suicide for nothing!
To quote Steve Larkin from The Roar
website, Some say the magnitude of his
cricket brain left little grey matter for
other purposes. Think extra-marital affairs.
Saucy text messages. Saucy baked beans.
Diuretics. Crass celebrations. Sledging.
Smoking. Warne was a gifted bowler, but
also a wrongun.
Interesting summing up of a larrikin by
Larkin!
I had the pleasure of seeing Warne make
his Test debut against India at the SCG in
January 1992 when he was thrashed by Ravi
Shastri (206) and 18 year-old Tendulkar
(148 not out) and ended up with forgettable
figures of 1 for 150.
I was also there in the SCG press box as
folk hero Warne played his last Test match
in January 2007. In this, the final Test,
Australia won by 10 wickets and regained
the Ashes 5-0. What a magical moment, the
final hurrah, as Australia farewelled her
three stars -- Warne, Glenn McGrath and
Justin Langer.
In 145 Tests Warne took 708 wickets at
25.41 (best 8-71), scored 3154 runs at 17.32
(highest 99) and held 125 catches. He was
the first one to capture 700 scalps in Test
history and since then only Sri Lankas con-
troversial off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan
has taken more wickets (800 at 22.72 in 133
Tests, best 9-51).
Contemporary spinners Warney and
Murali will be remembered with as much
awe by batsmen in 1990s and 2000s as
Australian Don Bradman and Englishman
Wally Hammond by bowlers in 1930s and
40s.
Will we ever see the like of Shane
Warne, the rebel without a cause -- the
good, the naughty and the epitome of
artistry?
But on 26 December we will see his stat-
ue before the Melbourne Test against India.
T
wo giants, one past and one
current, were decorated with
special Awards for their con-
tributions to Indian cricket. They
are the debonair all-rounder Salim
Durani who represented India from
1960 to 1973 with grace and lan
and the living legend Sachin
Tendulkar.
Durani was honoured with the
Col. C K Nayudu Lifetime
Achievement Award besides Rs 15
lakh and a handsome Trophy and a
citation.
The Kabul-born Afghani-Indian
who became famous for hitting a
six on demand for once turned emo-
tional and expressed his gratitude in
a choked voice. I have no words
to express my gratitude, the 76-
year-old said.
Durani remembered the days of
India's first captain C K Nayudu
under whom his father played an
unofficial Test. He also recalled a
Ranji Trophy match of 1958 where
he played against the Colonel. He
also wished the West Indies-bound
Indian team all the success.
Tendulkar was honoured with
the Polly Umrigar Trophy for his
magnificent feats of 2009-10 when
he scored an ODI double hundred
(still unique in the annals of ODI)
and played a grand innings of 175
besides 1064 runs in Tests.
It feels great to hold this
Trophy a second time, he told The
Times of India.
Tendulkar also thanked his
teammates. Without my fellow
members of the team I would not be
holding this Trophy. I also congrat-
ulate the team for becoming the No.
1 in Tests and for going on to get
something absolutely magical, the
World Cup. He termed M S
Dhoni's leadership as terrific and
made a special mention for the sup-
port staff for all their help.
I
am surprised that Australia is still ranked No. 1
and India No. 2 in one-day internationals (ODIs).
How come? Why? By what criteria, by which
statistic? Like most fair-minded cricket-lovers I am
confused that Australia is eight points ahead of
World Cup champions India in the current rankings.
Is World Cup of no importance to those big wigs
of ICC? Have their statisticians lost their marbles?
Or their calculators have lost their battery charge and
given false numbers?
Is an international event like the ICC- recognized
World Cup inferior to judge ranking than the 3-
match series between Australia and the lowly
Bangladesh in April?
Or for that matter a meaningless 6-1 victory by
Australia over a tired English team who, after win-
ning the Ashes earlier this year, wanted to get it over
and done with in ODIs Down Under and go home for
a rest before the 2011 World Cup?
I think the ICC ranking system is flawed.
Not only did India beat Australia convincingly in
the World Cup quarter final but also last October
won 1-0 in an ODI series in India.
Also, Sri Lanka defeated Australia 2-1 in an ODI
series in Australia last November.
In my opinion, India, the current World Cup
champs, should be ranked No.1 with South Africa at
No.2 in ODIs. After all, India lost to only one coun-
try, South Africa, in a World Cup match.
Also, India had lost to South Africa in the ODIs
by a 2-3 margin in South Africa this January.
By logic, as World Cup finalist and the victor of
Australia in the ODI series in Australia last
November, Sri Lanka deserves to be ranked No.3.
Australia can follow at No. 4.
T
he first Test India played was against England
way back in June 1932. It was Englands
219th Test. Although England won by 158
runs, India started on the right foot by dismissing a
strong English team (led by Douglas Jardine and
including stars Wally Hammond, Herbert Sutcliffe
and Frank Woolley) for 259 (Maommed Nissar tak-
ing 5- 93) and 275 (Jahangir Khan 4-60).
Seventy nine years later, India meet England at
Lords for their 100th Test starting on 21st July. It
will be a big celebration for the two nations.
"ECB and BCCI have been discussing celebra-
tions planned around this Test match which will be
the 100th Test played between England and India,"
David Collier, the ECB chief executive said.
Interestingly, Sri Lankan lawyer, now based in
Toronto, Mahendra Mapagunaratne has also brought
to the attention of the ICC, Indian Cricket Board and
the ECB that this Test at Lord's will be the 2000th
Test since the first ever Test was played in 1877 in
Melbourne. He suggested that postal stamps should
be released by the concerned authorities in England
and India.
"We will seek formal confirmation that this is
the 2000th Test and we can then make appropriate
plans to mark that occasion," Collier added.
Bronze statue for the many-splendoured Warne
Awards for Salim and
Sachin
ICCs ODI ranking system is flawed
Historic 100th Test at Lords
Shane Warne playing his last cricket
match during IPL4, and (right) his 9-ft-
high statue will be erected in Melbourne
in December before the Oz-India Test
match.
Salim Durani, all-rounder who
played for India from 1960-73,
was given CK Nayudu Lifetime
Achievement Award.
Cricket & Beyond by Gulu
Ezekiel, Ocean Books (India),
2011, hard-cover, 183 pages.
Foreword by Bishan Bedi. Price Rs
250 plus postage. For copies, con-
tact the author at
gefeatures99@gmail.com
T
his is Gulu Ezekiels 14th
book on sports and according
to me his best. A biographer
of MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar
and Sourav Ganguly, Gulu is one of
Indias most prolific and well-
known sports writers.
To quote Bishan Bedi, I have
known Gulu for close to two
decades and have always been
impressed by his passion and com-
mitment to sport in general and
Indian cricket in particular.
Not one to mince words, Gulu
comes down heavily on IPL. The
IPL is fast becoming a law unto
itself, its backers drunk on power,
money and fame, he writes.
Cricket & Beyond includes best
articles of Gulu culled from his
decades in journalism, encompass-
ing Olympics, tennis, hockey, box-
ing, chess, table tennis and cricket.
Especially cricket.
The author starts off with TK
Ramanathan, the father of tennis
ace Ramanathan Krishnan and
grandfather of Ramesh Krishnan.
Grandpa Ramanathan sold all the
land in his native place to build the
court around his house to ensure
that his son and grandson shone out
in tennis.
The chapter on boxing legend
Mohammed Ali is engrossing. The
1960s was all about power Flower
Power, Black Power and Ali
Power. Mohammed Ali, that is.
Foe Ali was as much a child and
symbol of the Swinging Sixties as
the Beatles, writes Gulu
Ezekiel.
Did you know South African
greats Mike Procter and Barry
Richards, when travelling with a
schoolboys team in England in
1963, polished Garry Sobers
shoes? Hard to believe? They nar-
rated this story to Gulu in Delhi in
1991.
Ever heard of Norman Gilbert
Pritchard? He was the first Indian
Olympian, the first in India to win
medals in Olympics way back in
1896 and the first Indian, and
indeed the first Olympian, to act in
Hollywood movies along with leg-
endary Gary Cooper and Ronald
Coleman. He acted under the name
Norman Trevor.
Pritchard was born in Calcutta
in 1875 but was he representing
India or Briton in the Paris
Olympics? Gulu has done intensive
research in solving this riddle.
You have to read the book to
get a solution. I was so engrossed
reading this chapter in the train that
I forgot to get down at my destina-
tion!
The chapter on match-fixing is
very revealing. The first cricketers
to be banned for match-fixing were
not Hansie Cronje, Mohammad
Azharuddin and Salim Malik, he
writes. It was Englands William
Lambert in 1817! It [match-fixing]
started in the 18th century when
travelling professionals rode on the
horse-back and later by train from
village to village, playing for large
purses in winner-take-all matches.
In a chapter titled Obnoxious
Breed, Gulu describes Indias tour
to Australia in 2007-08 as one of
the bitterest in cricket history. Its
repercussions are still being felt,
he adds.
There are well-researched chap-
ters on Sachin, VVS and Brian
Lara.
Gulu ends with the achieve-
ments of Indian sportswomen:
Olympian PT Usha, tennis star
Sania Mirza, boxer Mary Kom
among others.
I recommend the book to all
sports lovers. It has something for
everyone.
BOOK REVIEW
Sania loses in
French Open
doubles final
I
ndia's Sania Mirza will
have to wait to realise
her dream of winning a
Grand Slam event. She
entered the Final of Mixed
Doubles partnering Russian
Elena Vesnina in the French
Open on 3rd June. But they
lost 4-6, 3-6 to Czech pair
Andrea Hlavackova and
Lucie Hradecka.
Sania and Elena, both
24, came together early in
2011 and with titles at
Indian Wells and
Charleston, were having a
successful year on the cir-
cuit by holding a 20-4
record. The two, however,
failed to keep their unforced
errors under control on a
windy day to go down in 82
minutes. They struggled at
the net and were over-
whelmed by the Czech
girls' powerful ground
strokes.
Sania had created history
by becoming the first Indian
woman to enter a Grand
Slam doubles final when she
and Elena shocked fourth-
seeded Americans Liezel
Huber and Lisa Raymond
6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the semi-
final.
"I thank Sania, our team
and everyone who support-
ed us, said Elena. It has
been a great two weeks for
us. I am sure we will have
more wins on our way and I
am hopeful we will make it
someday."
Sania Mirza with her doubles partner Elena Vesnina
Dravids century behind Indias victory
Indias second XI just beats the Windies
I
n a low scoring match India
won the first Test in
Kingston, Jamaica by 63
runs to lead 1-0 in the three-Test
series.
India started poorly losing 6
for 82 on the opening day but
recovered through a 146 run
partnership between Suresh
Raina (82) and Harbhajan Singh
(70) to total 246.
With opening bowlers
Praveen Kumar and Ishan
Sharma capturing three wickets
each, West Indies were dis-
missed for 173.
A lead of 73 hardly looked
sufficient as India lost 3 for 57.
But Rahul Dravid stood tall as
he scored a precious 112, his
32nd century. Fortunately,
Dravid was dropped before he
had reached ten. But afterwards
he played a flawless innings as
India totalled 252.
Set 326 to win, the Windies
were never in the hunt and lost
despite spectacular sixes by
skipper Darren Sammy and tail-
ender Ravi Rampaul.
For his 40 and 112, Dravid
was the obvious Man of the
Match.
Milestones for Dravid for the
second Test
*Dravid, age 38, needs 148
runs to become the second highest
scorer in Test history. Sachin
Tendulkar is unapproachable with
14,692 runs in 177 Tests, fol-
lowed by Australias Ricky
Ponting with 12,363 runs in 152.
As at 25 June, Dravid has
amassed 12,215 runs in 151 Tests.
*Dravid the Wall is joint 6th
highest century maker in Test
annals. Tendulkar is again on top
with 51 centuries, followed by
Jacques Kallis of South Africa 40
in 145 Tests, Ponting 39 in 152,
Brian Lara and Sunil Gavaskar 34
each in 131 and 125 Tests, and
Steve Waugh and Dravid 32 each
in 168 and 151 Tests.
* But Dravid is supreme in
fielding, having taken 200 catches
in 151 Tests, followed by Mark
Waugh 181 in 128 and Ponting
178 in 152.
W
hen Young India under Suresh Raina led the 5-
match one-day international (ODI) series 3-0 in
the Caribbean we thought India has so much
depth. Just imagine, if India without World Cup 2011
heroes Dhoni, Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj and
Zaheer could defeat full strength West Indies (minus Chris
Gayle), what would the full strength India could achieve!
India only had four established players, skipper Raina,
Harbhajan Singh, Virat Kohli and Munaf Patel, in the
series.
But the optimism evaporated somewhat when the
Windies won the last two matches, thanks to some mighty
hitting by Kieron Pollard, Darren Bravo and tail-ender
Andre Russell. Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons and
Marlon Samuels were consistent throughout. Russell and
Anthony Martin excelled in bowling.
Indias Rohit Sharma was outstanding throughout the
series amassing 257 runs at a Bradman-like average of
128.50 and deserved to be adjudged Man of the Series. He
scored 68 not out in the first ODI, 86 not out in the third,
39 in the fourth and 57 in the fifth. His best was in the
third ODI in Antigua when he rescued India from 6 for 92
to a 3-wicket win which sealed the series 3-0.
Kohli was another Indian to shine with the bat as he
totalled 199 in the series at 39.80.
Spinner Amit Mishra was the only one to get more
than 10 wickets (11 at 18.09) in the series.
Unfortunately, established stars Raina and Harbhajan
disappointed.
The innings of the series was by the West Indian new-
comer Andre Russell. In the third ODI at Antigua, West
Indies were on their knees at7 for 94 when no.9 bat
Russell swung his bat as he galloped to a record 92 not out
off 64 balls, belting 8 fours and 5 sixes.
But the talk in the Caribbean is the dumping of their
brilliant opening batsman Chris Gayle from the Test series
which started on 20th June.
One hopes that India under the dynamic MS Dhoni and
including master bats VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid per-
forms better in the Test series. But openers Virender
Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, all-rounder Yuvraj Singh
and swing-king Zaheer Khan (all four injured) and Sachin
Tendulkar (resting) will be sorely missed.
The ODI series was played in front of near empty
Stands in the Caribbean. Lets hope the presence of VVS,
Dravid and Dhoni arouses more spectator interest.
Rahul Dravid scored his 32nd
century in Kingston Test vs
West Indies.

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