indian down under - february 2013

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Students do us proud

Top: Ritika Trilochan Shikh (topped in Hindi in the state) with proud mum Reena; Bottom, from Left: Millie Garg (99.85) with dad Satish; Nishtha Kaushik (99.05); BhavyaNanda (99.75); Megh Mankad (99.6) with dad Harshendu, mum Asmita and brother Yash; Puneet Sandhu (99.35) with brother Jagdeep, mum Tejwinder and dad Jaswinder

02 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER January - February 2013

January - February 2013 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 03


Date Time Event Venue

Sunday, 03 February 2013 8.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. Birthday celebrations Vedanta Centre of SydneyAnd 6.30 to 8.30 p.m.

Saturday, 09 February 2013 8.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. Birthday celebrations Vedanta Centre, Melbourne

Saturday, 09 March 2013 10.00 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. All-faith summit Vedanta Centre, Brisbane

August 2013 TBA Talks on Vedanta Centre, Perth, Swami Vivekananda Melbourne and Brisbane

16 September 2013 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Seminar on Sydney UniversitySwami Vivekananda

17 September 2013 6.00 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. ‘Oneness-Voice Without Form’ Playhouse theatre, Opera – A Play on Swami Vivekananda House, Sydney

18 September 2013 6.00 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. ‘Oneness-Voice Without Form’ Playhouse theatre, Opera - A Play on Swami Vivekananda House, Sydney

22 September 2013 TBA Workshop on TownsvilleSwami Vivekananda

For more details visit: www.vedantasydney.org

Email: [email protected]

06 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER November - December 2012

In the land of goddesses

Editor's Letter


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The horrific gang rape on December16 by six savages of a helpless 23-year-old physiotherapy student,

named by Indian media as ‘Nirbhaya’,fills you with revulsion that such crimescontinue to be rampant in India. If it wasnot for the media - social as well as com-mercial - this would have been anotheropen and shut case, may be even unregis-tered by police or lost in the courtthrough bribery or bribed witnesses. Thebiggest abuse after all comes from thosein power – village chiefs, politicians andespecially their offspring and the policethemselves. The ‘rape bus’ was illegallyplying the route with full knowledge ofthe police who traced the owner and theculprits from their list of ‘benefactors’.

India modelled its parliamentary sys-tem on the British form of governmentwhere its three arms - politicians, bureau-cracy and the judiciary – should functionindependently of each other. But the pres-ent system in India is now corrupted withthe ruling governments offering plushpostings to its cronies, their own set ofIAS officers to toe their lines.

The prevailing malaise finds its rootsin the corrupt political system that hasinfiltrated all arms of the government;nothing remains out of reach of the powerbrokers whose dynastic rule is packagedfor the masses as a democracy. They canuse government resources at will, like theCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI), theTax Department or the police, to intimi-date the non-complying individuals. Anumber of elected politicians themselves

have criminal records or have been bla-tantly aided by rogue elements in theircampaigns.

It is sad to see this happening in Indiawhich prides herself to uphold moral val-ues, worships women as Shakti and carryan intense belief in moral superiority.There is ambivalence in society that itsimultaneously worships and denigrateswomen.

Rape is the fastest growing crime inthe country having increased by 678 percent since 1971 according to NationalCrime Records. Delhi is considered to bethe rape capital of the nation with 414cases registered in 2010, a rape occurringevery 30 minutes.

Sociologists attribute this crime to thehigh migrant work force in the capitalwho come from far flung places leavingtheir families behind. There is also askewed men to women ratio as it is pre-dicted that by 2020 India will have 28million more males, according to ValerieM Hudson and Andrea M Den Boer.

The problem is compounded by fastchanging social and work patterns towhich men are slow to adapt. Women inIndia are highly educated and are notcontent merely doing household chores.They consider themselves equal to men inall respects and rightfully claim theirright to spend their time as they choose.

The police indifference in handlingrape cases is, however, appalling as manypolice officers believe that victims are toblame. It is estimated that only one in 50rape cases is registered, and further, only

one in three alleged culprits gets a con-viction. Many victims are afraid to go topolice for fear of intimidation.

The UPA government has been on thereceiving end of a relentless media cam-paign against corruption. It did not needanother episode like ‘Nirbhaya’ to tarnishits image further. But the governmentmishandled the case anyway by sendingthe victim away to Singapore and afterher death cremating the body in the earlyhours of morning to smother public dis-quiet.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’sreaction was late. He said, he was deeplysaddened but called for protesters tochannel their anger into a dispassionatedebate over how to make India safer forwomen rather than pursuing sectionalinterests and agenda. But a gaffe followedas his remark afterwards, ‘Sab theek haina’ (has it all gone right) was aired andperceived as his gross indifferencetowards the case.

The ‘Nirbhaya’ episode represents awatershed moment that has the energy tobring about the much wanted change inthe way we perceive crimes againstwomen.

It is the people’s voice that demands astrong action against the culprits, that noone should feel unsafe on the streetsregardless of their gender. If it also helpsto expose some powerful people andbring them to justice, Nirbhaya’s sacrificewould not go in vain for the sake of acommon cause that has traumatised andwoken up India finally.

It is sad to see this happening in Indiawhich worshipswomen as Shakti andcarries an intensebelief in moral superi-ority. There is ambiva-lence in society that itsimultaneously wor-ships and denigrateswomen.

The ‘Nirbhaya’episode represents awatershed momentthat has the energy tobring about the muchwanted change in theway we perceivecrimes againstwomen.

Candle Light Vigil for 'Nirbhaya’ organised by United Indian Associations (UIA) at Martin's Place, Sydney.

Even Australians joined in the UIA vigilfor the Delhi rape victim.


Comment

By Rekha Bhattacharjee

With the completion of 50 years ofthe Panchayati Raj in India theAssam State Election Commission

has announced 50 per cent reservation ofseats for women. It is a bid to socially andpolitically empower women in the Panchayatielection 2013. The Scheduled Castes andTribes, too, enjoy 50 percent reservation.

Bihar was the first state to give 50 percentReservation for women. It was followed byUttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh and MadhyaPradesh with 55 percent.

The 73rd Amendment Act of theConstitution has been hailed as an importantlandmark in the constitutional development increating wide base for participatory democ-racy and more space for political participa-tion. The development of India depends onthe development of the villages. ‘Only adeveloped and disciplined society wouldensure good governance,’ said the ViceChancellor of AKU.

The concept of panchayats was a part of

the philosophy of ‘Purna Swaraj’ and ‘GramSwaraj’. Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehrubreathed life into these concepts and gave apractical and patriotic impetus to them duringthe freedom struggle. Panchayati Raj thusbecame a part of the legacy of the freedommovement and its quest for democraticdecentralisation. Democracy was the greatestgift of the freedom struggle. For a whileindependence made the nation free; it wasdemocracy that made people masters of theirown destiny.

Gandhiji believed that democratic free-dom had to be founded in institutions of selfgovernment in every village of India. He hadstrongly favoured decentralization of eco-nomic and political power on the lines ofancient village communities which weremore or less self sufficient and self govern-ing. He said “Real Swaraj will come not bythe acquisition of authority by a few but bythe acquisition of the capacity of all.”

This amendment found expression inArticle 40 of the Constitution, which states:“The States shall take steps to organise vil-

lage panchayats and endow them with suchpowers and authority as may be necessary toenable them to function as units of SelfGovernment.”

Pandit Nehru, India’s first PrimeMinister, said as a primary instrument tobring development to the door step of themasses, ‘Real change comes from within thevillage, and not imposed from outside. Thetransfer of authority for development work tothe Panchayats is likely to change the wholebackground in our rural areas and make peo-ple more self sufficient and conscious of theirresponsibilities.’ Thus he went on to establishinstitutions of Panchayati Raj.

Although successive governments contin-ued – chasm appeared in Gandhiji’s dreamand Pandit Nehru’s vision! Plans suffered –monitoring degenerated into statistical tableswith little communication between the bene-ficiary and the decision makers.

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was con-vinced that Panchayati Raj would bring devo-lution of political powers and recast localstructures ushered in a social revolution. He

launched a campaign to build a nationwideconsensus – his single most important plat-form of his domestic agenda for taking Indiainto the 21st Century.

The participation of women in the localpolitical processes was considered essentialnot only for ensuring their involvement butalso for realising the developmental goals forwomen. Yet not much progress has beenachieved in this direction. Although manystates had women in the panchayats the num-bers were negligible.

In 1988, National prospective for womenplan recommended 30 percent seats forwomen in Panchayats but it was in 1992when the Congress government passed theBills in parliament adding a new chapter tothe Constitution – making peoples participa-tion in panchayats a reality.

Today many states have implemented the50 percent Reservation for Women. Yet,challenges remain. Political parties, NGOSand training institutions must continue to joinhands so that Panchayati Raj becomes instru-ments of Women’s liberation.

As he lay out a progressive agenda for his sec-ond term to tackle contentious issues such asgun control, gay rights, climate change and

immigration reform, President Barack Obama is setfor a long fight with his Republican opponents.

"Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time- but it does require us to act in our time," Obama saidin his second inaugural address Jan 21 making a force-ful plea to "answer the call of history".

"My fellow Americans, we are made for thismoment, and we will seize it - so long as we seize ittogether," said Obama outlining the vision for his sec-ond term in an 18 minute address.

Extolling the importance of democracy across theworld, Obama said: "America will remain the anchorof strong alliances in every corner of the globe."

"For no one has a greater stake in a peaceful worldthan its most powerful nation," he added suggesting"A decade of war is now ending" without making adirect reference to America's ongoing war on terror-ism.

Stressing the need to "respond to the threat of cli-mate change" he said, "Some may still deny the over-whelming judgment of science, but none can avoid thedevastating impact of raging fires, and cripplingdrought, and more powerful storms."

In embracing the liberal agenda, Obama listedthree turning points: Seneca Falls, Selma andStonewall saying the "notion that all of us are createdequal is the idea that has powered men and women forgenerations."

But the journey for equality "is not complete untilour gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyoneelse under the law - for if we are truly created equal,then surely the love we commit to one another mustbe equal as well."

"This has stretched through Seneca Falls, Selmaand Stonewall," he said making the first ever refer-ence to gays in an inaugural address. "It is now ourgeneration's task to carry on what those pioneersbegan."

Seneca Falls is the town in New York where aconvention in 1848 helped launch the women's rightsmovement. Selma refers to a civil rights march inAlabama in 1965 and Stonewall Inn in New York Cityis where modern gay-rights movement was born in1969 after a police raid.

In addition, this work will be unfinished until thecountry figures out how to tackle immigration anddeals with the difficulties of voting, Obama said.

The media reaction to the President's speech wason expected lines.

"With this speech, he has made a forceful argu-ment for a progressive agenda that meets the nation'sneeds." said the influential New York Times in an edi-torial hoping "he has the political will and tacticalinstincts to carry it out."

In the Washington Post's view Obama had offered"concrete goals at home, wishful thinking abroad."

"America's adversaries are not in retreat; they willbe watching Mr. Obama in his second term to see ifthe same can be said of the United States," it suggest-ed. But in the conservative Washington Times, colum-nist Robert Knight suggested in an opinion pieceObama was "shooting holes in the Constitution."

"Leave it to Barack Obama to come into his inau-gural weekend with a bang, and not just on guns. He'smade it clear that he intends more spending, more reg-ulation, more radical appointees and less nationaldefence in his second term," he wrote.

India andAustralia willbegin negotia-

tions on a bilater-al civil nuclearenergy coopera-tion pact inMarch.

E x t e r n a lAffairs MinisterSalman Khurshidannounced thisJan 21 at a jointmedia interactionafter talks withv i s i t i n gAustralian coun-terpart, Bob Carr.

"Aus t r a l i anand Indian officials will be workingto conclude the agreement whichwill enable the export of uraniumfrom Australia to India," said Carr.

"A sense of urgency and pur-pose will be there. We will moveswiftly," Khurshid said.

The two sides held the eighthround of their framework dialogue,an integral part of the strategicpartnership, here and reviewed theentire gamut of their bilateral tiesas well as regional and globalissues during their talks.

Australia, the world's third-largest exporter of uranium, hadagreed to start negotiations on acivil nuclear deal with India duringthe visit of Prime Minister JuliaGillard to New Delhi last October.

In December 2011, Gillard'sLabour Party had overturned itslong-standing ban on exportinguranium to India. India is not a

signatory to the NPT, which has inthe past prevented Australia fromsupplying it with uranium.

"India is a key part ofAustralia's future in the AsianCentury and our interests areincreasingly converging," saidCarr. "Australia's Indian commu-nity of more than 450,000 people isour fastest growing migrant com-munity and India is our second-largest source of international stu-dents.”

"We are pleased that our strate-gic partnership has grown instrength and has expanded inscope. We also recognised thatthere are tremendous opportunitiesfor much greater cooperation andthat we shall strive to attain them,"Khurshid said.

Indian Defence Minister A.K.Antony is to visit Australia soon"for further discussions on cooper-ation in defence and security".

Women crucial in Panchayati RajMany Indian states have implemented the 50 percent

reservation for Women in panchayas.

President Barack Obama at his second inauguration.

Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshidwith visiting Australian Foreign Minister

Bob Carr in New Delhi.

The Third Eye by Rekha Bhattacharjee

Obama sets a progressive agenda for second term

India, Australia to begintalks on civil nuclear pact



Guwahati, Assam: In the end, thereason for the demise of the Delhirape victim ‘Nirbhaya’ was sosymptomatic of the circumstancesleading to her multiple-organ fail-ure.

It is not surprising that theanonymous Delhi rape victim hasbecome a rallying point for mil-lions of Indian women who are letdown right from the moment theirgender is announced to a highlypatriarchal society that is India.

Many commentators havecalled the Delhi rape a turningpoint for the awareness about vio-lence against Indian women.Indeed, in spite of governmentefforts and general apathy of themainstream political parties, thepersistent protests continue.

The Delhi gang rape victim,given the name Nirbhaya (onewithout any fear) by an Indianmedia outlet, became a victim ofthe system which has been allowedto carry on in spite of the horrify-ing figures about violence againstwomen, discrimination based ongender and the embarrassingly

skewed male to female populationratio in the country.

In this age of highly accessiblesocial media, the Delhi rape-mur-der has shaken, at least, the urbanIndia to the very core.

The gory details of the way‘Nirbhaya’ was violated has led tothe demand of capital punishment,chemical castration and even ston-ing to death of the perpetrators.While such retributive violent jus-tice is not the right solution of thereprehensive violence against theIndian women, the calls for a com-plete overhaul of the criminal jus-tice delivery system and archaiclaws followed by the police need tobe heeded.

There do exist laws to checkviolence against women in India,but there is a long wait for justiceto be delivered, which is almostnever as not many victims have theresources and the will to undergotiresome and denigrating rape tri-als.

The slow churning legal systemin India is mainly attributed to thedepressingly low number of judicialofficials to conduct the trials: thereare only15 judges for each million

of the country’s 1.2 billion people.In comparison, China has 159judges per million people, and UShas 108.

The apologists of the politicalsystem in India often quote UN fig-ure of only 1.8 rapes for every100,000 people while the develop-ing countries like Sweden (63) andthe US (27) are much worse off.While we need to keep the size ofthe population in mind while com-menting on the total number ofsexual violence incidents in India,it is also true that most of suchhumiliating crimes are not evenreported in our country. The fearof social stigma, family pressure,crude police reporting methods,humiliation of public trials, etc, aresome of the reasons the victimsremain silent over their traumatic,life-shattering experiences.

UN figures apart, what hap-pened on New Delhi roads onDecember 16 night was not an iso-lated case. What has horrified civilsociety even more is that the horri-ble act happened right in the high-ly-policed, upmarket area of theIndian capital. If this can happen inNew Delhi, various activists have

posed this question, what would bethe plight of the women in areaswhich are far off from the glare ofIndia’s metro-centric media?

The violence against tribal andso-called low caste women fromlower economical strata goes notonly unreported but also has thetacit approval of the power-wield-ing communities. If media managesto highlight one such outrageousincident, outpouring of manufac-tured rage and half-hearted con-demnations follows.

The sheepish politicians arefalling over each other to announceex gratia payments to the family ofthe gang rape victim, while varioushuman rights activists have

slammed the media and specialinterest groups from turning thebeastly act into an exceptional inci-dent. Nirbhaya was not only letdown by the rapists whom shetrusted as everyday public transportoperators but also the corrupt lawand order machinery which facili-tates operation of illegal buses onIndian roads.

In conclusion, while the exem-plary punishment to the Delhi gangrape perpetrators would be a start-ing point, the Indian male needs totake a deep look inwards to findanswers to the question why India,of all the bigger economies, contin-ues to be one of the worst placesfor a woman.


While there has been a flur-ry of visits to India by thehigh-power Australian

trade delegations and politicians, theobservers are baffled by the slowpace at which the bilateral ties aregrowing. The Australian analystsblame India’s political culture fornot only the stunted bilateral ties butalso for the slowing economicgrowth in India.

“Australia’s trading links withIndia will not grow substantially andsustainably until India recognises theimportance to economic growth anddevelopment of big business,” LenPerry, Associate Professor ofEconomics at University ofTechnology Sydney (UTS), wroterecently in his blog.

“Big business magnifies the ben-efits of economies of scale and low-ers prices for the poor, among otherthings. It thereby contributes to thewell-being of all of its stakeholders,as well as the economy as a whole,”he further opined.

The Sydney academic hasblamed Nehruvian economic policiesfor converting India into a massiveunder-achiever and also foringrained “distrust” of private busi-nesses.

“The economic policies pursuedby India’s long-serving first PrimeMinister, Jawaharlal Nehru, whoseleadership from 1947 until his deathin 1964, was marked by central

planning and government ownershipof major industrial organizations,”Perry writes.

“Such was the impact of thispolicy that businesses were pres-sured to remain small so as to avoidbeing answerable to a powerfulbureaucracy renowned for its lethar-gy, incompetence and corruption,”he adds.

India may have shrugged ofsuch ‘anti-business’ policies to someextent but the distrust of anything todo with western world would stilltake long to go away. The leaders ofthe developed economies are doingtheir best to overcome such stiflinglevels of distrust.

It would be correct to say thatnot all of the political commentatorsshare the skeptics’ pessimism aboutIndo-Australia ties.

“Australia and India are poisedat an historic moment in their rela-tionship,” Rory Mecalf and C RajaMohan said in the 2012 Australia-India Roundtable: Co-Chairs'Statement released by Australia’swell-respected Think tank LowyInstitute recently.

“Building on recent positivesteps, the links between the twodemocracies now need sustainedcreative thinking and efforts on thepart of government, business andsociety to strengthen them further,”the statement read.

“This will ensure the relation-ship attains the vast potential offeredby the two nations’ exceptional eco-nomic and societal complementari-ties and their convergent strategicinterests in the Indo-Pacific regionduring this Asian Century,” the Co-

Chairs further stated.The Australian political leaders

from both sides of the aisle haverealized the potential of the optimumlevel but for some irritants whichrefuse to go away.

When Prime Minister JuliaGillard gave her nod to uraniumexports to India in spite of all theopposition (even from within theLabor party ranks) late last year, itwas expected that the bilateral tradeand political ties would grow at anexponential growth.

"We have changed our partypolicy so that there is now no fetterfor us on selling uranium to India,"Gillard said on her maiden visit toIndia as Prime Minister a fewmonths back. With the constraint ofuranium export gone, analystsbelieve there is no hurdle to stopAustralia from seeking a greatereconomic, political and strategiclinks with the rising Asian economy.Inarguably, there has been anincrease in the bilateral trade andsocietal links but it is the slow pacewhich worries the Australian policyarchitects who are wagering onIndia to cushion any adverse impactfrom the slowing Chinese economy.

Julia Gillard has no doubt per-formed well to harness the synergiesof India and Australia bonds.Besides visiting the South Asiancountry and giving prominent placeto India in the recently-releasedWhite Paper on Australia’s place inthe Asian Century, Julia Gillard also

indulged in the so-called cricketdiplomacy as she honoured Indiancricket maestro Sachin Tendulkarwith the Order of Australia award.

The links between Australia andIndia, analysts point out, are notrestricted to the clichéd troika ofcricket, Commonwealth and curry.There is much more the two ‘naturalpartners’ can achieve by workingtogether.

"In a century of growth andchange, our interests are closer thanthey have ever been. We share aregion of the world and we share anocean," Julia Gillard said in herkeynote speech on her October visitto India.

Unlike the Indian policymakersshackled by India’s notoriousbureaucracy, Julia Gillard is in abetter position to bring in swiftchanges to facilitate better links withNew Delhi. There is an unmistakenoptimism in Canberra, and otherpolitical corridors down under, thatthe only way relations with Indiacan go is northwards.

"I think the exciting thing aboutit is that our interests are convergingand when your interests converge,you have more room to work with.So we have certainly not reached theend of what we can achieve, farfrom it. I think our best days areahead," Australia’s former HighCommissioner to India PeterVarghese said last month.

Rekha Bhattacharjee can be con-tacted at [email protected]

The Third Eye by Rekha Bhattacharjee

Analysis

Laws are there to check violence against women in India, but there isa long wait for justice to be delivered, which is almost never as notmany victims have the resources and the will to undergo tiresome

and denigrating rape trials.

The links between Australia and India are not restricted to theclichéd troika of cricket, Commonwealth and curry. There is muchmore the two ‘natural partners’ can achieve by working together.

Rape incident exposes India’smultiple law & order failures

What impedes Australia-India bilateral ties?


India

PM 2014: Modi vs Rahul

Jaipur: In a clear message of theparty's generational shift with 70percent of voters below the age of35, the Congress Saturday namedRahul Gandhi, 42, as vice presi-dent in the hope of reaping elec-toral dividends in the 2014 gener-al elections.

However, the Congress forthe time being. refrained fromprojecting Rahul Gandhi as theprime ministerial candidate,ignoring the huge chorus from theparty. Party general secretaryJanardan Dwivedi said: "WhetherRahul will lead the party in 2014general elections will be decidedlater."

Rahul Gandhi heads theparty's coordination panel for the2014 polls.

The new post of vice presi-dent was re-created especially forRahul Gandhi. The last vice pres-ident was Arjun Singh whenRahul's father Rajiv Gandhi wasprime minister and party chief.

After the Congress WorkingCommittee (CWC) passed a reso-

lution unanimously elevating himas vice president, Rahul Gandhiexpressed his gratitude to theleaders and thanked them. "I amconfident we can transform theCongress party," he said.

Minister of State for HomeR.P.N. Singh termed the move a"game changer" and said RahulGandhi is the party's face for2014. Much before Dwivedi

announced the CWC decision,hundreds of elated YouthCongress members started cele-brations outside the Birla auditori-um, venue of the "ChintanShivir" and also outside 10Janpath, the residence of partychief Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.

Party insiders said Rahulbecame the youngest vice presi-dent after Jitendra Prasada, who

got the position at 50 plus age. Party insiders said this would

mean more younger leaders willget important roles in the organi-zational reshuffle, which is likelyto follow soon marking the gener-ational shift.

In the last cabinet reshuffleOct 28, 2012, Rahul's influencewas clear when he suggested forpromotion many younger leaders,including Sachin Pilot and ManishTewari.

A pointer to Rahul's elevationas official number two camewhen party leaders and ministerscompeted with each other indemanding a bigger role for himat the introspection meet.

The decision approved by theCWC, the party's highest deci-sion making body, makes himofficially the number two in theparty after his mother andCongress chief Sonia Gandhi.

"With his appointment as vicepresident of the Congress partytoday, Rahul Gandhi has beenelevated to number two position

in the party," Dwivedi toldreporters, amid scenes of wildjubilation by Congress workersand supporters.

Prime Minister ManmohanSingh was among the first tooffer Rahul Gandhi a bouquet.Thereafter, a host of leaders linedup to offer him bouquets and gar-land him.

Asked whether Rahul Gandhiwould be pitted against GujaratChief Minister Narendra Modi in2014, R.P.N. Singh said the BJPhad not as yet decided on itsprime ministerial candidate. Modiis being touted as the BJP's fron-trunner for the top post.

"When he is the face of theCongress party, when we comeback to power in UPA-III we willsupport him (as PM)."

Party spokesperson SandeepDikshit said Rahul Gandhi will bethe "chief campaigner" for theelections, but the "high com-mand" will take a final decisionon his prime ministerial candida-ture.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offering a bouquet to RahulGandhi on his elevation as party vice president.

Modi’s big Gujarat win pavesway for Delhi shift

Finally, Congress projects Rahul Gandhi as party's face for 2014

Ahmedabad: Narendra Modi won afourth successive term as the chiefminister of Gujarat on December20, 2012, a victory that couldlaunch the prime ministerial ambi-tions of one of the country's mostpopular but controversial leaders.

Modi's BJP won 115 of the statelegislative assembly's 182 seatsagainst 61 for the Congress party.The result is likely to have repercus-sions far beyond the borders of theprosperous state.

The BJP won 117 seats in 2007and analysts say Modi needed anoth-er convincing victory to presenthimself as the party's presumptivecandidate for prime minister innational elections due by 2014.

Modi's win could fire up the ail-ing main opposition BJP, giving it aleader who inspires euphoric sup-port for the high growth, uninter-rupted power supply and safe streetshe is credited with providing inGujarat. But the 62-year-old Modi,portrayed by his critics as a closetHindu zealot, could prove too divi-sive a figure to become a nationallyacceptable leader who would also

need to win over enough allies toform a coalition government. Thatcould play into the hands of theCongress party as it prepares tolaunch Rahul Gandhi, heir to India'smost powerful political dynasty, asthe man to take over the reins fromPrime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"Markets will now ponder uponwhether the PM candidate from theBJP will be Narendra Modi, andwhether we are looking at a show-down between Narendra Modi ver-

sus Rahul Gandhi in 2014," saidDeven Choksey, managing directorof K R Choksey Securities.

To his detractors, Modi's reignis overshadowed by Hindu-Muslimriots that tore through his state 10years ago, killing 1,000-2,000 peo-ple. Critics accuse him of not doingenough to stop the violence, or evenquietly encouraging it, allegationshe has strenuously denied and havenever been proven.

But that has not stopped himwinning successive elections, toutinghis credentials as an effective eco-nomic manager in contrast to thepolicy drift in New Delhi that hashelped drag India's economicgrowth to its worst pace in adecade. Modi has always publiclyplayed down a possible bid tobecome prime minister, sayingGujarat was his priority. Modi'sappeal outside Gujarat is largelyuntested. Gujarat has been a BJPstronghold since the 1990s and ben-efited from a weak state-level oppo-sition. But his campaigns on behalfof the party outside his home statehave had mixed results.

Hyderabad: With the centre appearing set toannounce its decision on the Telangana issuein January, Andhra Pradesh may once againslip into political chaos as leaders from boththe Telangana and Seemandhra regions arethreatening a showdown.

Alarmed over reports that the Congress-led UPA has decided to give into the demandfor separate Telangana state, leaders fromSeemandhra (as the Rayalaseema and Andhraregions are referred to) are joining ranks to

oppose division of the state. Their argument isthat a state formed for Telugu-speaking peoplecan't be divided.

At the same time, the hectic activity in theCongress' central leadership to find a solutionto the Telangana problem has raised hopes inthe region that the people's aspirations fortheir own state will finally be met.

The leaders in Telangana have also con-veyed to the centre that their patience is wear-ing out. "Despite the insults we had to face on

numerous occasions at the hands of people,we exercised restraint for the last three years.Now the time has come to meet the long-pending demand of the people," said seniorcabinet minister K. Jana Reddy while criticis-ing the Seemandhra leaders for creating hur-dles.

With the D-day of Jan 28 fast approach-ing, the suspense was heightening in both thecamps. Some Seemandhra leaders who visitedDelhi got hints that the Congress leadership

has made up its mind to carve out aTelangana state. It was only after this that theSeemandhra leaders met in Hyderabad anddeclared that "nothing short of a unitedAndhra Pradesh is acceptable to us".

Some leaders from the ruling Congress,opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and theYSR Congress Party (YSRCP) have eventhreatened mass resignations in the event ofthe centre agreeing to initiate the process forforming Telangana.

BJP is finally veering around tothe idea of projecting Narendra

Modi as its PM candidate.

Chautala, son convicted in graft case

New Delhi: FormerHaryana chief ministerOm Prakash Chautalaand his son Ajay weretaken into police cus-tody after a CBI courtconvicted them in arecruitment scaminvolving JBT (juniorbasic training) teachers.The Indian NationalLok Dal (INLD) chiefand son Ajay, bothHaryana legislators, were takeninto custody immediately after theruling by the Central Bureau ofInvestigation court in Rohini. Thecourt also convicted 53 others forthe illegal recruitment of over3,000 JBT teachers. The court willpronounce the sentence on Jan 22.The CBI had formally charged thefather-son duo and others June 6,2008, in connection with the scamthat took place in 1999-2000 whenChautala was chief minister ofHaryana.

Over 3,000 teachers were to berecruited in the state and Chautalahad pressurized a senior official,Sanjeev Kumar, to change the listof selected candidates by fudging

the marks of certainfavorites. Later,Sanjeev Kumar went tothe Supreme Court andsubmitted before it thelist of the candidatesoriginally selected.The official alsoalleged that money hadchanged hands in therecruitment scam.

The SupremeCourt directed the CBI

to investigate the matter, especiallythe bribery charges. The federalinvestigating agency in itschargesheet said forged documentswere used to appoint the teachers.Although Chautala alleged that hewas politically victimized, theRohini court convicted him in thecase. Son of former deputy PrimeMinister Devi Lal, Chautala is theleader of opposition in the Haryanaassembly. The INLD was earlierpart of the National DemocraticAlliance (NDA). Chautala and histwo sons -- Ajay Singh Chautalaand Abhey Singh Chautala -- arelegislators in the Haryana assem-bly. He was the chief minister ofHaryana between 1999-2005.

A CBI court convictedthe former chief minister

in a recruitment scaminvolving JBT teachers

Andhra may slip into political chaos over Telangana


Despite provocation, India coolstensions with Pakistan

New Delhi: India has welcomed the "posi-tive statements" coming from Pakistan ontalks to defuse their border tension and saidthe border flare-ups of mid-January follow-ing the Jan 8 brutal killing of two Indiansoldiers, would not undermine their peaceprocess.

The statement by External AffairsMinister Salman Khurshid came even asCongress president Sonia Gandhi said Indiawas for close relations with neighbours butthe dialogue must be based on "acceptedprinciples of civilized behaviour", whilePrime Minister Manmohan Singh said Indiamust have friendly relations with all but didnot elaborate.

A day after Pakistan Foreign MinisterHina Rabbani Khar offered talks at the for-eign ministers level to defuse the stand-off,the country's envoy in New Delhi SalmanBashir condemned the Jan 8 brutal killing oftwo Indian soldiers, including the beheadingof one, and their two armies should probethe incident.

But Bashir stated that "We are absolute-ly clear, that at no point in time didPakistani forces cross the LoC."

In an interview to NDTV news channel,Bashir, taking note of the stern Indianstance, said: "Unfortunately, I must say thatit has almost become fashionable, thatPakistan-bashing has become fashionablewhenever there is an issue."

Former Pakistan president PervezMusharraf, in an interview to TimesNownews channel, said he could not believe thatPakistani soldiers could have crossed theLoC and killed and beheaded Indian sol-diers.

India maintains that Pakistani forceskilled Naik Hemraj Singh, whose head isstill missing, and killed and mutilated LanceNaik Sudhakar Singh - 600 metres insideIndian territory on the LoC that dividesKashmir between India and Pakistan.

India had not yet responded toPakistan's offer for talks.

The India-Pakistan border has beenpeaceful since Jan 16 after their respectivearmies decided to adhere to the 2003 cease-fire and exercise restraint.

The alleged mutilation of the bodies oftwo Indian soldiers, Lance Naik Hemrajand Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh, had

flared Indo-Pak tensions.

India

Pak govt and protesting cleric reach dealIslamabad: Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran(TMQ) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on Jan 17announced an end to four days of anti-government protests by thousands of peo-ple after striking a deal with the govern-ment.

A high level delegation struck a dealwith the firebrand cleric, who returnedfrom six years in Canada, after thousandsof people paralyzed Islamabad pressingthe government to resign over corruptioncharges.

Tahirul Qadri, who supported a 1999military coup, has been calling for themilitary to play a role in the formation ofa caretaker administration in the run-up toMay elections. The government agreedwith the cleric to dissolve the NationalAssembly before its term ends in mid-March, giving 90 days until elections areheld, according to the “Islamabad LongMarch Declaration”.

The government also agreed that thecaretaker administration, which normallyprecedes elections, would be chosen inconsultation with all parties.

A declaration detailing the agreementbetween the government and Qadri wassigned by Prime Minister Raja PervezAshraf and high-level government offi-cials. They also agreed that the treasury

benches in complete consensus withQadri’s party will propose the names oftwo honest and impartial people for theappointment of a caretaker prime minis-ter. Meanwhile, Qadri, a Pakistani-Canadian dual national, is leaving forCanada on Jan 27.

The deal he has essayed may easepressure on the ruling Pakistan People’sParty (PPP), which has come under firefor failing to tackle a range of problems,from a Taliban insurgency to a weakeconomy. The Supreme Court hadordered that Prime Minister Raja PervezAshraf and 15 others be arrested in con-nection with a 2010 corruption case. Theorder came when Qadri led protests out-side parliament seeking the government'sresignation sparked panic about an allegedjudiciary-military plot to derail comingelections.

26/11 suspect Rana gets 14 years jail in USChicago: Pakistan-born Chicago businessman Tahawwur Rana sentenced on Jan 17 to14 years in jail for providing support to Pak terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba that staged

the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Although Rana, a boyhood friendof LeT operative David Coleman Headley, was acquitted ofsupporting the Mumbai attacks, prosecutors had sought themaximum 30-year sentence for his role in the aborted plot toattack Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten for publishing car-toons of Prophet Muhammad. Thus US federal prosecutorsare probably foreshadowing a similar sentence, if not longer,for Headley, a key plotter behind the Mumbai attacks ofNovember 26, 2008.

Dr Tahirul Qadri

Tahawwur Ranaand (right) DavidColeman Headley


India

Allahabad: The world's largestgathering of people, the 55-dayMaha Kumbh congregation,began in here on January 15 withover a crore people, led by theash-smeared Naga ascetics, takinga dip at the Sangam - the conflu-ence of the Ganga, Yamuna andSaraswati rivers.

The first day with recorddevotees and subsequent dayshave passed off peacefully.Elaborate arrangements weremade at the VIP ghat, where the13 sects of sadhus lead bathers ina mutually agreed sequence.

The fraternity was led byMaha Nirvani Akhada and wasfollowed by Niranjani, Anand,Juna and Bairagi akahadas,among others.

As the clock struck fiveMonday morning, heavilydecked-up chariots, some in silver

and gold, wound their way to theSangam, with hundreds followingin procession on foot, beating

drums and blowing conch shells.There was a mad frenzy in the

foreign and national media, withphotographers rushing to get win-ner shots of the naked, ash-smeared Naga sadhus jumpinginto the chilly waters of theGanga. Before they did so, thesadhus danced and threw garlandsat the press gallery in gay aban-don, waving to hundreds of fol-lowers on the other side.

Carrying silver tridents,maces, axes and swords, some ofthe sadhus with flowing beardstold IANS that they felt on top ofthe world as they "touched moth-er Ganges".

"This is an electrifyingmoment," said a visibly elated 75-year-old Mokshanand from

Vrindavan, who said this was hisseventh Kumbh in a row.

Arrangements had been madeto ensure that the Ganges flowed"well and clean" during the majorbathing days. A special team of10,000 sweepers had beenpressed into service to keep thearea clean.

"Deep water barricading hasbeen done and an extensive pres-ence of 'jal' police has also beenpressed into service to avoidmishaps," a police spokespersonsaid.

For the hundreds who havenot been able to reach the bathingsites, 13 huge LED screens, bothmobile and stationary, were play-ing the recording of the bathingsessions.

Kochi: President PranabMukherjee said India seesits vast diaspora as a valu-able contributor to itsgrowth and is keen toexpand the bonds furtherin building an inclusiveand knowledge society.

The president said therecord remittance of $67billion from overseasIndians was a testimony to both theemotional attachment and the fulfill-ment in investing in India's strongeconomy.

"We should explore ways andmeans to encourage further participa-tion by the diaspora to give additionalimpetus to India's growth story,"Mukherjee said at the 11th PBD here.

"I also wish to see the Indian dias-pora as a stronger partner, not only inIndia's economic growth, but also inbuilding India's knowledge society,while continuing to engage culturallyand emotionally, and serving as theeffective ambassadors that they havebeen for this country," the presidentsaid. He said India was the world'sthird-largest economy on the basis ofpurchasing power parity and the sec-ond fastest growing economy afterChina. "In six out of nine years, ourcountry managed to grow at a rateabove eight percent. Due to the slow-

down in the global economy and otherfactors, the growth rates have declined-- from 8.4 percent in 2010-11 to 6.5percent in 2011-12, and further to 5.4percent in the first half of 2012-13," hesaid.

He said the diaspora could becomepartners in India's progress.

"For accelerated growth, invest-ment level has to increase. You all canhelp in the process by investing inIndian companies and establishing newventures. The yield of Indian equitymarkets is amongst the highest in theworld and many of the most famouscompanies have established businesshere or seeking to do so," he said.

Pravasi BharatiyaDivas -- India's annualexposition to connectwith its 130-million dias-pora in 130 countries --also saw the presidentconfer the PravasiBharatiya Sammanawards on 15 pre-emi-nent overseas Indians fortheir contributions.

In his address, the president laudedthe contributions of the Indian diasporain areas ranging from social serviceand polity to economy, science andculture.

"It is a matter of pride for everyIndian that there are at least five headsof state or government, and over 70senior political leaders such as deputyheads of state, speakers, ministers invarious countries, who can trace theirroots to India," Mukherjee said.

The chief guest at the event wasMauritius President RajkeswurPurryag, who was also among therecipients of the Pravasi BharatiyaSamman.

New Delhi:RashtrapatiBhavan, thei m p o s i n gpresidentialp a l a c espread over130 hectaresin the heartof this capitalcity, hasbecome amore acces-sible placefor touristsand commonpeople ofIndia. Pranab Mukherjee, whobecame the 13th President ofIndia on July 25 last year, saidhis mission was to make theplace as "open as possible topeople, including children."

All one needs to do is tolog on to the internet and makean advance booking for any ofthe three days it is open to thepublic every weekend.

Previously, one had tophysically go to RashtrapatiBhavan to make a booking.The new system has seen foot-falls spiral from 500 overthree days on an average lastyear to nearly 1,600 over thesame period, with a cap of 700visitors per day, an officialsaid.

A media tour throughRashtrapati Bhavan threw upinteresting sights of groups offoreign tourists being escortedby young scholar-guidesthrough the Durbar Hall, theMarble Hall, the south andnorth drawing rooms, themuseum, library and banquethall.

Explaining the growingpopularity of the president'sabode on the capital's sight-seeing map, the official said:"We have been receivingonline reservations fromaround the world. We havethrown open new galleries and

the front entrance ofRashtrapati Bhavan. The saleof souvenirs at the mementoshop has increased."

The interiors are a revela-tion. The grand British-styledecor and the furniture havebeen spruced up in a megarestoration drive to bring theBhavan back to its originalglory. The main library is thefocus of the restoration drive.Nearly 24,000 books andmanuscripts are in queue fordigitization - 4,000 havingbeen archived during thetenure of President A.P.JAbdul Kalam.

The presidential art collec-tion that begins at the DurbarHall - the public assemblyspace - with a 5th century stat-ue of Lord Buddha and anAshokan edict is being cata-logued and dusted. The pri-vate collection comprising artby masters like Jamini Royand Jogen Chowdhury hasbeen mounted in a dedicatedart gallery that will open forviewing soon, an official said.

The Mughal Gardens mod-eled on the Persian style 'charbagh' is yet to burst into itsriot of colorful blooms. Lastyear, nearly 700,000 peoplevisited the Gardens when itopened for viewing inFebruary, the official said.

Over a crore bathe in Ganga on day one of Maha Kumbh

Rashtrapati Bhavan is nowmore accessible to public

11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2013

The Pravasi BharatiyaSamman awardees' list

Prof Gurusharan SinghChatwal, Germany (Science); AshokS. Vaswani, Guinea (communityservice); T.S. Ravindra Menon,Malaysia (Community service); Dr.Rasik V.Joshi, Mexico (Literature);Dr. Satendra K. Singh, NewZealand (Community service);Gilbert. C. Moutien, Reunion Island(Business); Mohammed R.Karuvanthodi, Saudi Arabia(Business); Ismail E. Ebrahim,South Africa (Business); BavaPandalingal, UAE, (Communityservice); Dr. Narendra Kumar, US(Health care); and Subhash Razdan,US (Public service).

President Pranab Mukherjee with the Pravasi BharatiyaSamman awardees in Kochi, Kerala

The Durbar Hall of the Bhavan has beenremodeled. It is now open to public.

Diaspora should help build knowledge society: President

Kochi: Applauding the overseasIndians for serving as a bridge offriendship and cooperation betweenIndia and their adopted homes abroad,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saidIndia was committed to deepen theirconnection with India and advancetheir interests.

“While honoring their achieve-ments, we will also seek to facilitatetheir travel, business and educationand make it easier for them to be apart of life in India, enjoy due rightsand participate in India’s economicdevelopment,” the Prime Ministersaid in his address at the PBD Kochi.

Highlighting the recent steps thatthe government has taken to boostdomestic and foreign investments inIndia, the Prime Minister said India'sstrong economic fundamentals,backed by sound policies, would helpthe country return to a higher growthpath. Prime Minister Singh said thatthe overseas Indian community shouldbe a vital partner and participant in

India’s social and economic develop-ment. “Whether you wish to invest orshare your knowledge, technology andskills, whether your enterprise takesyou to the cities or your compassionbrings you to a remote village, Iassure you of our continuing effort tosupport your endeavors,” he said. Healso assured that the government wasdeeply concerned about the safety andsecurity of the overseas Indians. Whenneeded, the Prime Minister said, thegovernment of India would provideprompt and necessary assistance.

“Apart from physical safety, weare also concerned with the social andemotional well-being of our overseasbrethren. We have therefore launchedan insurance scheme for workers,established welfare funds in ourembassies for distressed Indians, andcreated mechanisms to help vulnerablewomen abroad,” he said.

The prime minister also released aspecial postage stamp to celebrate thecentenary of the Gadar Movement.

India committed to interests of overseas Indians: PM

Community


The Indian community DownUnder is appalled at the utterlyinhuman gang rape of 23-year-

old ‘Nirbhaya’ by six monsters on thenight of December 16, among them thebus driver Ram Singh who takes youngchildren to school during the day. Thecommunity vented their anger at twomeetings in the Sydney CBD and atParramatta Park and expressed theirviews in the social and local media thatreceived widespread TV and newspapercoverage.

Some members of the communityhad experienced first hand drunken andlout behaviour during their trips backhome. They also cited callousness inpolice behaviour, accounts of briberyand personal episodes of being cheatedand teased while travelling.

There were also unrelated horrifictales of property disputes and how thesluggish process of law in India hadconnived resulting in misuse of proper-ty assets belonging to some NRIs whowere left with hefty court costs to boot.

Following are comments by someprominent members of the community:

“2013 will be thelandmark year forsocietal reforms”

Ivisited India in early January, aweek after the death of rape victimJyoti Singh Pandey (called

Nirbhaya, Damini or Braveheart by theIndian media).

The mood in India was grim, withscreaming headlines and saturation cov-erage in the print media and TV newschannels.

Of course, in India, with its regular

torrent of major news events, new sto-ries soon began competing for attention.However, this time, thanks to the mas-sive reaction of NGOs and the generalpublic, the Nirbhaya story and the widerissue of violence against women, willnot disappear for a long time. Onehopes this focus will help bring aboutthe comprehensive change that is clear-ly needed.

From the spate of similar attacksreported in other parts of India recently,the scale of the problem may be signifi-cantly higher than previously realised.Given the size and complexity of Indiansociety, turning things around will notbe easy.

As overseas Indians, we need torecognise that India is arguably theworld’s most complex nation andresolving its many problems will nothappen in a short time. We must refrainfrom passing judgment or suggestingsimplistic solutions. India’s leaders andits people are as good as any in theworld.

Given the need for significantchange to attitudes and practices acrossthe country, it will definitely take timebefore we see visible signs of improve-ment.

I believe that 2013 could be the land-mark year for societal reforms, compa-rable to the economic reforms of 1991.The benefits will become visible overthe next decade or two.

In the short term, there will be callsfor vengeance and it does seem that thecriminal trials will be fast tracked.However, while this will bring a senseof justice to the victim’s family andfriends, it is unlikely to have a lastingimpact on the rate of crime.

Strategic and lasting change will takemuch longer and will only come if thereis a change in attitude and behaviouramong all men and women across India.This will only happen through the com-pulsory teaching of ethics, morals andcivic values at every level from kinder-garten to postgraduate study.

To end on a positive note, I sawfirsthand the huge positive impact edu-cation is having on Kerala, India’s mosteducated state.

The general courtesy and goodbehaviour, the cleanliness and orderli-ness of Kochi, where I went, comparedfavourably with other states. Later, at amajor public hospital in Mumbai, I dis-covered that most of the nurses werefemale and from Kerala. They werehighly professional, efficient, bright andcheerful. They communicated well andclearly had a high level of self-confi-dence.

In turn, they were treated withrespect by the doctors and male staff. Ifeel confident that if all children inIndia were given the same education,then social standards, including publicsafety, will improve across the country.

Delhi girl’s gang rape enragescommunity Down Under

Community condolence gathering for ‘Nirbhaya’ in Parramatta Park

Neville Roach, AO, recipient of thePravasi Bharatiya Samman and Patron ofthe Australia India Institute (UNSW node)


Community

“India must actswiftly and decisively”

Violence against women is ascourge of society and an inter-national problem. Whether it is

through sexual molestation and rape(including those undertaken in the nameof war), sex slavery, honour killings,genital mutilation or female infanticide,even in this day and age, women con-tinue to be victims of serious abuse allover the world. India is not unique infacing this problem.

What has shocked everyone in thisincident is the fact that India is now seenas the new Tiger of the Asian Century.Indians in India or overseas have beenbasking in the glory of the new success-ful India. Indian Diaspora has prideditself over the fact that India is one ofthe ancient civilisations of the world,the land of Mahatma Gandhi – thegreatest proponent of non-violence.Most of us have seen our mothers in anequal role in the family, well respectedat home and outside. To most of us whohave not been directly exposed to vio-lence, this new face of India is a hugeparadigm shift.

This vicious and barbaric event hap-pened to an exemplary young girl whowas doing all the “right” things:

– a medical student, working hard toimprove the fortunes of her family

- going about a mundane activity –seeing a movie and on her way homeunwittingly becoming a victim on a pub-lic transport mode – ( illegal as it maybe– probably a widely known mode oftransport)

- a crime that took place in the capi-tal city of India – a metropolis that isbecoming the pride and joy of the newTiger – right under the noses of its citi-zens and police

– the sheer apathy of the passers byand police who did not come to theirimmediate assistance (is this true face oftoday’s India – are we losing areInsaniyat?)

- statistics published showing a rapehappening in India every 20 minutes

(hard to digest for most)This could have been anyone – so

typical was she of the new youth ofIndia – the youth upon whom Indiarelies to achieve its global dreams.

This most unfortunate incident hasshocked the nation and the world and Isincerely hope this young life has notbeen lost in vain. India and indeed theworld need to mobilise itself and takeserious actions to end this gender biasedviolence.

Zero tolerance through swift justice,education of legal professionals andpolice - particularly first responseteams, education of the general publicthrough role models and examples isurgently required.

Democratic India already has all thelaws and resources required to ensuresafety of all its citizens. The problem ithas in application of these laws and theswift implementation of justice to send aclear message of zero tolerance.

I hope that India will now act swift-ly and decisively and prove to the worldthat it is indeed a Superpower and aLeading Light. Let this end game not beforgotten in the cloud and smoke ofphoto opportunities and politicalspeeches.

We all need to say NO to Violenceagainst Women – in any shape or formanywhere in the world.

My thoughts and prayers are withNirbhaya’s family at this very difficulttime. The Indian Government needs todo all it can to support them throughtheir grief.

May this be the start of the Indianspring!

“Young girl’sdeath should not

go in vain”

Ihope that the sad and brutal gang-rape of the young girl in Delhi willbe a catalyst for much needed

change in India. Such tragedies happenworldwide, and are not isolated toIndia. However, rape of women in Indiais a serious problem and is often under-

reported, and this incident highlightspreventative action that needs to betaken in India such as:

* Amendments to the Indian PenalCode to increase jail sentences for rapeand gang-rape to send a strong messageto the community that rape and violenceagainst women is not acceptable. If thereports that some Indian politicianswere allowed to stand for parliamentaryelections, even though they had sexualassault charges against them are accu-rate, it should be questioned whetherthey should be in Government, as theyare the lawmakers in India. Each indi-vidual in India should also question whothey are voting into the IndianGovernment.

* Greater resources should be devot-ed to the Indian legal system such asincreasing the number of judges,improving the quality of training pro-vided to judges and improving systemsso that cases are processed faster both atthe High Court and Supreme Courtlevel.

* To challenge negative mindsets,mass education campaigns are requiredfrom the home to primary school to uni-versity to Bollywood movies and themedia about the way a woman should betreated and better female stereotypes.These are important tools in creatingawareness in every individual that trueIndian culture and religion teachesrespect for women.

I prepared a petition which wassigned by many people in Australiawhich was sent to the IndianGovernment via the Consulate Generalof Sydney.

Each one of us can contribute toimmediate change needed in India,whether it’s by getting involved in lob-bying or peaceful protests or spreadingthe message to the community or byrespecting women.

The young girl’s death (and otherunreported cases) will not go in vain ifmuch needed change to mindsets, lawsand systems occurs.

“Ours is a societygone wrong”

The rape of the unfortunate ladyJyoti is a tragedy of mammothproportions. It has been dis-

cussed across the world and reactionsexpressed by writers. The uprisingwithin masses has been lauded by thecommon man on the streets of India andoptimists have already heralded a newera for India.

For me - the crime is simply the by-product of a society that can be bestcompared to a monolithic structurebased on dated, rotten foundations.

Thousands of crimes like this rapethat have been pushed under the carpetsince centuries is a glaring example of asociety gone wrong.

One simply shudders to contemplatethe number of rapes that have had blindeye turned to them. Optimistic state-ments, public rallies, knee-jerk changesto legal procedures and quick fixes tothe system are futile efforts if not impo-tent ones.

However, people would argueagainst my paradigm, by citing exam-ples of the changes that are happening inIndia as an aftermath of the rape. Tome, these are hollow statements fromself-proclaimed soothsayers.

One needs to look at a simple fact -an apple with a rotten core cannot bemended with patches to the decayingskin. This apple just cannot merepaired. It needs to be replaced. This isa task that needs not days, nor monthsor years.

This would be a project that willspan generations. India needs to set itssights on nurturing proper values intothe very grassroots of the country. In acountry where raping women, burningbrides, corruption, thuggery, femaleinfanticide, and cheating are taken aspart of life, this path of reform will beextremely arduous and long.

I do concede that the rest of theworld also has a long path to traversewhere the value of gender equality isconcerned. However, in India, theproblem is hundred fold when it is cou-pled with lack of education and lop-sided social prejudices.

Indians need to create an uprisingagainst the very foundation of the socialand political systems. And they need todo this very fast because the rot isspreading much quicker than the tempo-rary fixes.

The political system must change,the hawkers of law and order must bereplaced, and the education systemneeds to start imparting moral values atevery level.

But time is of essence. Otherwise, Ifear that the death of Jyoti will be invain. Women are already being blamedfor sexual violence with proposals toshut down coeducational institutes, for-bid premarital sex and force girls todress “modestly”. It is truly laughable.

Frankly, India does not need to wakeup each day to hundreds of blaring TVchannels, thousands of multi-million-aires and countless dreams about beinga world super-power. It needs to wakeup and look closely at itself in the mir-ror of life.

At this point in time, the reflectionin the mirror, I can assure you, is notvery palatable.

Sumati Advani, President, Sydney SindhiAssociation & Chair, UIA Women’s

Steering Committee

Avijit Sarkar, musician, singer, teacherand director of Natraj Academy of

Performing and Fine Arts

Pallavi Sinha, Lawyer & Chairperson,Immigrant Women’s Speakout

Association

Bollywood


By Neeru Saluja

Actor Manoj Bajpai hasalways been a film critic’sfavourite. Known for his

stellar performances and uncon-ventional roles, Manoj’s journeyin Bollywood has been worth awatch. Rejected thrice by theNational School of Drama, he isnow here to stay with a stupen-dous performance in his recentfilm ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’.

Manoj Bajpai was recentlynominated for the ‘Best Actor’award for ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’at the Asia Pacific ScreenAwards. It had just been a fewhours since he had landed inBrisbane when he agreed to havean interview with The IndianDown Under. In a candid chat,Manoj reveals his relationshipwith director Anurag Kashyap,his love for films and his family.

Very few know that Manojstarted his career as dacoit ManSingh in Bandit Queen. Spottedby ace director Shekhar Kapur,he moved to Mumbai but unfortu-nately was jobless for a fewyears. Then he finally got hisbreak with TV serialSwabhimaan. In 1997, MaheshBhatt offered him a role in PoojaBhatt’s Tamanna. Then in 1998,he finally got his big break inSatya as Bhiku Mhatre, whichwon him many awards.

That is when his relationshipwith Anurag Kashyap started.Manoj’s relationship with himgoes back many years. Anuragwas the writer for his first suc-cessful film ‘Satya’.

TIDU: How has your rela-tionship with Anurag evolvedsince then?

Manoj Bajpai: Satya was mysixth film; my first film wasBandit Queen. But Satya gave merecognition. Anurag wrote thescript for three of my films –Satya, Shool and Kaun. Now hehas given me a cult film in Gangsof Wasseypur which has beensuper successful. Earlier we werelike brothers - senior and junior.Now our relationship is different.It has evolved to director andactor. Now I look up to him, I

admire him and as actor followhim.

TIDU: Satya was a high inyour career, do you think yourtalent was captured?

MB: After Satya I thought lifewould be easier but it wasn’tbecause I couldn’t find films Ilike. My personality is muchmore non-glamorous, non-charis-matic. We are needed in filmswhich are story driven. I haven’ttrained myself for other kind ofroles. I did try my hand at com-mercial films but failed miser-ably. I only did them because of afew relationships in the industry.For the sake of friendship I wentahead and tried my hand, buthonestly I never felt comfortable.Also, in those days the films Iwanted to do were not happening.

A seasoned actor, ManojBajpai has a strong background intheatre. “My journey brought mefrom theatre to films. I was soattached to theatre that I neverwanted to do films. But theatredid not pay me well, so I had totake the train to Mumbai.Director Shekhar Kapur found mein Delhi. It’s been a tough time,but I have enjoyed it. Overall ithas been a rollercoaster ride. Ithas been difficult for me as anactor.

With Gangs of Wasseypur, itseems as if Manoj’s rollercoasterride is over. Not only has the filmbeen appreciated by film critics inIndia, but overseas also. It hasbeen screened at prestigious festi-vals like Cannes Film Festivaland our very own Sydney FilmFestival.

“Cannes was quite an honourfor the entire cast of Gangs ofWasseypur. We were so proud ofour industry, especially becausepeople have a set notion aboutBollywood and Gangs ofWasseypur broke that. Peopleoutside India should know thatBollywood is not only about songand dance,” said Manoj.

“We got an overwhelmingresponse when the film wasscreened at the Sydney FilmFestival. When the screening washappening, I was getting aresponse every hour on my twit-

ter page. It gives you a great feel-ing when Indian films, which arecompletely story driven are beingappreciated by non-Indians. Evenif I don’t get the best actor awardat the Asia Pacific ScreenAwards, that’s OK as people inAustralia will get a differentgenre of cinema,” said Manoj.

TIDU: How did you trainyourself to fit into the shoes ofSardar Khan?

MB: Sardar was one of themost difficult characters I haveever played. There was nothinggood about him. He’s a killer, arobber, a womaniser, not sincereto his son or wife and has nointegrity. And to make him lov-able was the biggest challenge!We kept on working on his char-acter everyday, with every scene.The way people reacted to thecharacter and my performancegave me immense satisfaction thatI never got before.

TIDU: Be it the role ofBhikhu Maitre, Swami orSardar, Manoj plays each char-acter to perfection. How do youdo it?

MB: I just go through thescript as much as possible andkeep thinking about the film. Theday I see the character in bloodand flesh I start enjoying it. Iwork my look around it and keepinteracting with my director. I’mvery choosy. It’s so difficult to bechoosy. You are not only saying

no to films, but to money also.My instinct has to push me tooffer me to do anything.

TIDU: So what attracts youto a film?

MB: It’s always about thescript, the character that peoplehave never seen before. Thedirector should also be reallygood. I have done a few mistakeson my career, but besides that Ichoose my roles carefully. Theones chosen with great care arevery close to my heart.

TIDU: Besides your roles,we have heard that someonevery precious is also ruling yourheart these days.

MB: Ah you are talking aboutmy daughter! She is one year andnine months old. Since youreminded me about her, my heartactually broke this time whileleaving her behind. When she sawme with my suitcase, she knewher daddy was going out for fewdays and caught hold of my legs.

TIDU: So how do you main-tain the home-life balance withacting?

MB: For an actor it’s difficultto balance. We keep on gettinghome late and it’s heartbreakingwhen you have to travel. Evenwhen I’m in Mumbai I’m eitherattending functions or at shoot-ings. When we have meetings athome, my daughter barges in!One has to find time. Recently Itook time off and went for holi-

day in London with my family,but I honestly hate travelling andit doesn’t get easier when you aretravelling with a child. It’s toomuch stuff to carry; my daughterhad one full suitcase! With abeautiful family and a role thatwill be memorable for all his life-time, Manoj seems content withhis life. Are there any dreams thathaven’t been realised?

“I wanted to do Hamlet butnobody has made it as yet. Iwanted to do Devdas also butthere has already been two ver-sions. I don’t think anyone willhave the guts to do the third onewith me. If given a chance, Iwould love to work withNassuridin Shah and ShabanaAzmi.”

TIDU: Talking about actors,who are your favourites?

MB: Among my favouriteactresses I would like to mentionmy recent co-star Richa Chaddha.She is a volcano of talent. Youcan note down my words – shewill be a legend in her lifetime. Ihave worked with Tabu also whohas been fantastic. My favouritedirectors are Anurag Kashyap,Debankar Banerjee, NeerajPandey and Anurag Basu.

I still miss theatre, but I’mscared to go back as it’s a difficultmedium for an actor. I’m an actorand my job is acting so I’m inMumbai, otherwise I would havecome to your country.

Manoj Bajpai excels as a gangster

With a stupendous performance in ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’,

With wife Neha and daughter Ava Nayla.He finds it hard to balance acting and home life.

Film critics’ favourite,

Manoj Bajpai has

been nominated for

the ‘Best Actor’ award

for ‘Gangs of

Wasseypur’ at the

Asia Pacific Screen

Awards. In an exclu-

sive interview to

TIDU, he says that

he wants the world to

know that Bollywood

is not about song and

dance alone.

His Bhiku Mhatre in Satya brought him lot of attention inBollywood, but he was not cut out for commercial films.


Bollywood

By Neeru Saluja

Pallavi has made us proud once again.The Indian Down Under team has beenfollowing her dream pursuits since

2010 when she came into limelight as MissIndia Australia. This time Pallavi Sharda haswon a double whammy – an Australian debutwith ‘Save your Legs’ and the leading ladyopposite the latest heartthrob Ranbir Kapoorin ‘Besharam’.

Pallavi has trained in Bharatanatyam formore than 15 years. Once she shifted her basefrom Melbourne to Mumbai in 2008, sheacted in several movies including My Nameis Khan, Dus Tola, Love, Breakups Zindagi,Heroine and the New York based dramaWalkaway. Within a span of a few years, shehas dabbled in all kind of cinema – contem-porary, modern, crossover and commercial.

We got a chance to talk to Pallavi close tothe release of her upcoming film ‘Save yourLegs’ and just before she had to commenceshooting for ‘Besharam’.

You are recently in the news for bag-ging the lead role opposite Ranbir in‘Besharam’. So who is the besharam in thisfilm?

(Laughs) I’m playing the role of a typicalDelhi girl in ‘Besharam’ where I play the leadrole opposite Ranbir Kapoor. We have juststarted shooting and it’s fun - Ranbir is athorough gentleman and professional. Andbefore you ask again, we both are‘besharam’.

From Melbourne to Mumbai, howwould you define your journey?

I went door knocking when I came toIndia. I was always a performing artist, tak-ing my hobby to a professional life. I grabbedthe small chances, even if it was a play orsmall cameo in ‘My Name is Khan’. I had togain experience, that’s what differentiates mefrom other actresses. I had whale of an expe-rience in this journey. Besharam is technical-

ly my seventh film. This will be my first full-fledged film.

You have entered the mainstreamAustralian cinema with your soon to bereleased film ‘Save your Legs’, a story of aman who refuses to lose his cricket team tothe realities of growing up. After establish-ing yourself as an actress in Bollywood,how was it returning to your Australianroots?

’Save your Legs’ is first of its kind film.It is shot in Australia and India, and I’m veryproud to be the lead actress in it. Australianproductions are chasing Indian talent. I wantto create a space for Indian arts in mainstreamaudience. This is the way forward; this iswhat I wrote about in my media degree.

The experience was incredible. I becamea boy after the end of the film. I found a fam-ily amongst the crew. I was in India but feltas if I was in Australia. With them I wasbreathing home, I could talk to the boys in anAussie accent. By the end of the day I’m anAustralian.

Do you relate yourself to your charac-ter Anjali from the film – an Indian girlwho embraces western culture?

Of course I relate to Anjali. The way thedirector described the character, I felt as if hetook inspiration from my own story - Anjalicoming from Melbourne to Mumbai, spend-ing her primary years there, then leavingAustralia in her 20’s. I left home when I was21 to discover India. Anjali wanted a bit ofadventure.

Being brought up in Australia, how didyou find it fitting into Bollywood?

It was tough to be honest. Bollywood is aclosed place, if you come from outside it’stough to find a foot in. I come from an aca-demic family where my parents were profes-sors in India. Coming from such a back-ground brings its own cultural boundaries.Being brought up in Australia gave me myindependence. To be my own person was a

challenge in itself. The role I did now Ithought it should have come two years ago.

Would you consider Melbourne a step-ping stone for your venture in Mumbai.Does the city offer enough opportunitiesfor upcoming talents?

I think Melbourne brings the perfect envi-ronment for an artist. I learnt music,Bharatanatyam, all of those basic points inMelbourne. If you want to go to Bollywoodor Hollywood that’s an individual choice. InAustralia you can find the best of arts. Youcan explore what you love. You can be manythings at once.

You are not one of those actresses whojust look pretty and can’t speak Hindi. Youspeak authentic Hindi – how do you managewith an Aussie accent?

I switch accents. If I tell them I’mAustralian, they won’t even believe it. I knewI had to be an actress since I was three yearsold. I learnt it from childhood. I have a realunderstanding of my culture as my parentsare very rooted in the culture. I used to teachIndian dance and still had many Aussiefriends. If you can identify with both cultures- that’s the key thing.

Very few people know that you startedyour career in a small role in ‘My Mame isKhan’. How was it working with Shah Rukhand even Manoj Bajpai in ‘Dus Tola’.

It was very nice to have Shah Rukh Khanfor your first scene. But I didn’t have muchtime on sets as it was a cameo film. It was theflavour of Bollywood for me. Manoj wasabsolutely amazing. As a newcomer it wasdaunting, but he was quite warm. As our firstscene was quite intimate, I was freaking out.So he sat me down and started talking aboutAustralia. You won’t believe he wouldn’tdrink tea till I had my tea! He calls me ‘gam-bir’. I can turn to him for advice whenever Iwant.

You were also the lead actress of theinternational musical Taj Express. What do

you love the most – acting or dancing?Taj express was the best medium for me

as it had theatre, acting, singing. I love beingon the stage. It’s the medium I grew up on. Itgave me a taste of theatre of life – TajExpress did Singapore and Mumbai tour.

Who do you consider as your rolemodel?

My parents, specially my mother. Theycame out of their comfort zone when theymigrated from India to Australia. They reallysucceeded in their work and home lives, andnow I have done the same, but reversed it. Asmy mum went searching in Perth for a basicingredient like garam masala, I wanted to findthings for myself when I landed in Mumbai.My parents have been inspirational and theyhave supported me since I was a kid.

How would you like to makeAustralian-Indian ties stronger as a cultur-al ambassador?

In October, I was nominated as the OzFest Ambassador in India. This is an indica-tion about my dual heritage. I really support-ed this cultural festival which comprised arts,sports, entertainment. It was a proud momentfor me as it’s symbolic.

Any message to your fans and friendsbased here?

I feel close to the Indian community inMelbourne. I love to meet my aunties anduncles who would encourage me to dance andasked me to go to Bollywood. I want to makethem proud when they go to Hoyts Cinema towatch my movie. Continue to love me andalways be there to support me.

How would you describe Pallavi – anAussie girl or an aamchi Mumbai girl?

I’m just an Aussie girl living in Mumbai.I love to cook, love to drive my own car andget rid of the driver! People get shocked byme sometimes but it’s nice to be different. It’snice to know you have support on yourupbringing. I like to be independent. I’m stillan outsider in India. I’m very grateful for myupbringing.

What do you have planned for yourselfin the future?

My next collaboration will be a dance col-laboration with Australian musicians. I wouldlike to be a producer of Indian arts inAustralia. That’s how I would like to giveback whatever Australia has given me.

Dual roles forPallavi Sharda

Aussie girl trying her luck inBollywood. An actress who has

worked in both Indian andAustralian productions. Nowshe has got her big break in

‘Besharam’ opposite Ranbir Kapoor.

Pallavi has landed the lead role in ‘Besharam’ opposite Ranbir Kapoor who plays a ‘tapori’ With Manoj Bajpai in ‘Dus Tola’.

Pallavi Sharda had a cameo role in ‘MyName is Khan’.

Tribute


By K. Raman

During the sixties and sev-enties the maestro PtRavi Shankar and his

exquisite sitar rendition was thetalk of music loving public allover the world. Unlike conven-tional Indian music greats, he wasa flamboyant, charismatic and awell liked personality among clas-sical artists and patrons. Everyonejoined his bandwagon and hebecame the tallest of all classicalstalwarts.

Ravi Shankar as a youthexcelled in traditional and classi-cal music, as well as music ofcross-cultural collaboration andjugalbandi that he pioneered.While he came from Hindustaniclassical music stream, he alsoappreciated Carnatic music andincorporated its style in his fusionmusic.

Ravi Shankar’s ‘Beenkar’Gharana is deep rooted in theannals of Indian classical musicand it comes from Dhrupad style.He is basically a stickler to thetraditional classical norm, thoughpeople tried to brand him other-wise. His sister-in-law LakshmiShankar says of him: “Even whenhe plays a Thumri or a gat, hesticks to classicism; even thoughin Thumri you are allowed to flirta bit, stray from the Raga’s noteslightly to add colour to the ren-dering.”

He was the target of criticismfrom media and listening publicfrom 1966 onwards for a periodof time when his detractors saidthat he was playing Guitar notSitar. They claimed the hippiemovement, and the Beatles influ-ence as the prime reason to wreckthe traditional Hindustani music.

His supporters countered thata highly creative mind like RaviShankar (RS) cannot remain stat-ic. If you had heard RS’ musicalcollaborations with YehudiMenuhin and Zubin Mehta, theCassandras stand nowhere.

RS’ answer to the adversecomments was, “Yes, I did someformat to basically attract audi-ences to our traditional music.” If

he had stuck to the hardcore normof one hour aalap, jod and Jhala,it would have detered the westernaudience possessing a limitedknowledge of Indian music. Toeducate the western music lovershe gave endless lecture demon-strations at almost all US univer-sities. Named after poet laureateRabindranath Tagore, he wasborn Robindro ShankorChoudhury, on April 7, 1920, inthe holy city of Varanasi. Hisfather, barrister Shyam Shankar,left his first wife and children,married a second time toHemangiri Devi and moved overto London. He left his first wifeand family at Varanasi.

Ravi Shankar did not see hisfather till he reached the age offour. His brother, dancer UdayShankar, who toured extensivelyin western countries, was a highlysuccessful entrepreneur who tookRavi Shankar along everywhere.When Ravi Shankar turned 18, heleft dancing and decided to learnsitar. He was accepted by UstadAllauddin Khan whose son of thesame age as Ravi Shankar was thegreat Sarod Maestro Ali AkbarKhan. He did his ‘Gurukula

vasam’ till 1944.The training he received from

his guru was tough and intense.He learned the theory behind clas-sical music, learning to play sideby side Sitar and Surbahar. Heshowed rare dedication and grit inhis keen pursuit of learningmusic, his Riaz sometimes goingon for 14 hours a day.

His sister-in-law said, “I hadseen blood coming out of his fin-gers. Baba Guruji would ask himto play something and RS wouldachieve it in the shortest possibletime imaginable.”

Ravi Shankar also learnedRudra Veena, Rubab andSursingar, all difficult instrumentsto master. Between 1949 and1956 he worked as the MusicDirector of All India Radio,Delhi. In 1956 he left this job togo on music tours in the companyof Yehudi Menuhin and PanditChaturlal. The close associationbetween RS and table geniusUstad Allah Rakha was estab-lished in 1962. RS scored musicfor Satyajit Ray’s ‘Apu Sansar’.

Ravi Shankar was a romanticand married his Guru AllaudinKhan’s daughter, Annapoorna

Devi, in 1941 and his sonShubendra Shankar was born outof this wedlock. He got separatedfrom her and formed a relation-ship with a dancer, Kamala Sastri.Apart from that he also had anaffair with Sue Jones, and to thema daughter named Norah Joneswas born in 1979. She is a toprated singer in western musicalworld and has so far won eightGrammys. She was never close toher father.

In 1981, he got separated fromKamala. Between 1981 and 86, helived with Sue. In 1989 he mar-ried Sukanya Rajan, a long stand-ing acquaintance. Their daughteris the attractive and brilliantsitarist Anoushka Shankar.

As a sitarist, RS began hisextensive tour of western coun-tries from 1960 onwards. His suc-cess was not meteoric but camegradually as he collaborated withYehudi Menuhin, the Beatles,Allah Rakha, Zubin Mehta andmusical greats of their ilk. In1980 his highly successful album‘Raga Mala’ in collaboration withZubin Mehta came out withresounding success.

Listening to the most charis-

matic and gifted RS is a spiritual-ly uplifting experience. The liltingSitar strains which create unbe-lievable sensitive Raga expositiontake us to a blissful state. As ateacher he was dedicated, lovingmentor with a treasure house ofknowledge.

Among the countless awardsPanditji received: Bharat Ratna(India’s highest civilian award) ,15 honorary doctorates, RamonMagsaysay Award, twoGrammys, Fukuoka Grand Prize,Silver Bear award, Sangeet NatakAcademy award, KalidasSamman, and OBE/2001. Be it atthe Royal Albert Hall, MadrasMusic Academy or Woodstockand Monterey festival, he wasmobbed and cheered. A great sonof India, we were lucky to besharing the world with him.Music is the language of gods andits practitioners are very specialpeople. Maybe a few among thembecome part of its divine stature.

Panditji is no more. The melo-dious strings of his Sitar haveceased playing. He was an amaz-ing man, amazing artist, amazing-ly skilful creative genius, and helived his life amazingly. .

The sitarmaestro didsome tweak-ing to attractwestern audi-

ences toIndian classi-

cal music. Hiscollaborations

withYehudiMenuhin, theBeatles andZubin Mehtabrought him

world renown.

The author on stage with Ravi Shankar performing and Allah Rakha accompanying on the tabla.

Ravi Shankar in a rare moment seen with both her daughters, Anoushka Shankar andNorah Jones, both now famous in the music world in their own right.


Community

By Neena Badhwar

Cometh the New Year, andwith it, fresh aspirations.Especially for students, a

milestone is reached and anotherawaits. There is a new beginning.

The Higher School Certificate,or Year 12, is an important land-mark in anyone’s life. The chal-lenge is not only in reaching thedestination but also in the process.As one plunges into the long jour-ney of over two years’ duration inpreparation, the whole machinerycomes into action - the support ofschool, teachers, peers, buddies,friends and family. The processtransforms the student into a self-confident, mature self who isready to take on the world. Forevery student, HSC is the founda-tion stone of their life, career andthe path of life it carves for thefuture. If the experience is good, itleaves with it fond memories, life-long friendship and bonds that stayfor life.

HSC is not merely an academ-ic achievement; it determines whatyou are as a whole. It tests one’snerves, will to discipline, curiosityto discover, interest in studies,ability to keep balance betweenstudy and life, handle stress andabove all, learning. HSC studentslearn a whole lot more from thesocial network, see the importanceof family, school, friends and soci-ety in general. HSC years are anopportunity for an overall develop-ment as a mature, self-confidentadult who can decide about theircareers and follow their dreams.

As in the past 26 years, TheIndian Down Under (TIDU) fol-lows its tradition to get in touchwith some of the high achieverswho have made themselves, theirfamily, their school and their com-munity proud, and also to sharetheir experiences that can benefitthe next generation of students.

Ritika Trilochan Singh Shikhfrom Blacktown meets TIDU atthe award ceremony in December,before the HSC results areannounced. There are around 100students who have topped in NSWin a subject. Ritika, although aPunjabi, has topped in 2-UnitHindi continuers. She came from

India in 2009 and knew that herHindi would come in handy.

Ritika achieved an ATAR of94.55. She says, “I did not want toforget India and wanted to keep intouch with Hindi and my culture.It has really helped me to achievea high ATAR and I am more thansatisfied with my results. Studyhere is so much different than it isin India. There was a lot of cram-ming near the exams there whilehere you apply yourself.”

“I left my text books about amonth and a half before the examsand started to do lots and lots ofpast papers. Even in Hindi ourteacher Rekha Rajvanshi made uswrite past Hindi papers in a strictexam situation and marked papersthat helped us look at our strengthsand weaknesses.”

“Maths and Hindi were mymost favourite subjects,” saysRitika, now delighted that studentsall over Australia will be offeredHindi as a subject from year 7 toyear 12.

Ritika has opted forActuaries/Accounting at UWS.

Millie Garg of North SydneyGirls High School achieved a nearperfect ATAR of 99.85 by consis-tently working hard. No cram-ming, no staying up late as Millieachieved her goal through keepinga balanced routine as opposed toroller coaster ride of an HSC.

She says, “There was stressfulperiod of straight eight days ofblock exams, yet I tried to stayfocused. It was mentally and phys-

ically draining,” adding, “I triedto relax playing Euphonium (abrass musical instrument) as partof the school band. Playing withother people was quite relaxing.

“If music gave me the muchneeded break, so did Maths whichkept me going and gave me theopportunity to think outside thebox,” she says.

Millie’s 99 in Maths Ext 1 and97 in Maths Ext 2, 95 inChemistry, 93 in Physics, 91 inEnglish advanced, 46 out of 50 inEnglish Ext and 92 in InformationProcessing & Technology – istruly an enviable achievement.

Millie says, “I love learningand enjoyed every subject. I wentto school wanting to learn and gainas much knowledge as possible. Ihad amazing teachers, especiallymy Maths teacher who was excep-tional.”

Millie was Prefect of theschool and also was offered placeat National Maths Summer SchoolCompetition. She plans to studymedicine. Bhavya Nanda achieveda high rank of 99.75 as a student ofCherrybrook Technology High.She has opted to study combinedActurial Studies/EconomicsDegree at UNSW.

“My favorite subject was notjust one as I enjoyed Economics,Maths & Chemistry.

“I was always organized, andprepared early by breaking thetasks into smaller tasks and spread-ing them evenly. Last minutecramming can make you miss

details. For me having a plan setout in an organized manner andthen following that set timetablehelped. It was an actual physicalsheet on the wall in my room pri-oritizing activities, exams, assign-ments and a balanced lifestylecombined with study and adequatesocial life and leisure activitiesreminding of the goals I had set formyself.

“I played Cricket and Rugbywith friends who became animportant part of my life and mysupport structure.

“I think HSC is the best timeof the school period,” saysBhavya.

Puneet Kaur Sandhu achievedan ATAR 99.35.

“HSC was a journey that Ithoroughly enjoyed, doing subjectsthat I was most interested in, keep-ing a calm demeanor, not toomuch stress, and not overlyrelaxed. Just right. I did not giveup any extracurricular activities,was the Prefect at school andworked for Amnesty International.

“There were stressful momentsbefore when we organized anevent but since it was team workwe shared our responsibilities andmade sure that studies were notbeing overlooked. Peers and bud-dies were a great help and theymade me feel better,” Puneet says.

At the time of interview Puneetwas still deliberating between tak-ing up Law or Medicine, as both,she thought, would give her theopportunity for challenges in life.

Having studied from JamesRuse Agricultural High School,Puneet says, “The school and thestudent culture is such there thateveryone pushes each other, thusmaking a very conducive environ-ment for learning. Teachers, whilenot pressurising too much, give usa lot of work, exercises providingoptions for extra challenge.”

Puneet is quite enamoured withthe way she attempted Hindi as 2-Unit accelerated subject. She lovedstudying from Sunday Schoolwhich gave her a pre training intoattempting an HSC subject in aninformal manner working andstudying under Hindi teachers whowere like aunties. Puneet’s familyis thrilled by her achievement.They supported and encouragedher, including her Nana-Nani wholive close by.

Megh Mankad is quite satisfiedwith his 99.6 ATAR. He is alsosomeone who did not want tostress himself or the family andevenly spread out his work allthrough out the year, organizedand tried to be on top of things.

“There were anxiousmoments, like before the exams ortrials. There is bound to be stressbut I always did the best I couldand then moved forward. Breakfor me was equally important asmuch as study. I played sport,exercised and participated in a lotof activities with the Duke ofEdinburgh Program which, over aperiod of 18 months, makes youdo a range of activities, sport,

Balanced lifestyle a key to success in HSC

Bhavya Nanda

Ritika Trilochan Shikh with mum at the ‘First in state’ ceremony

Puneet Sandhu with brother Jagdeep, mum Tejwinder and dad Jaswinder

Megh Mankad with dad Harshendu, mum Asmita and youngerbrother Yash

Millie Garg with dad Satish


Community

community service, hiking etc.Once we did a 50 km hike fromHornsby to Brooklyn over fourdays, camping along the way,which was good. I would havebeen lot more stressful but for itand recommend it to anyone to getthe mind off from studies,” hesays.

Megh liked studying forFrench which was his favorite sub-ject and went to France for threeweeks in year 11, staying with hostfamilies in Paris while learningabout life and culture there. Hecame 4th in Business Studies in theState.

Megh’s family, he says, didnot expect him to get above 99 andwere pleasantly surprised. Hewants to take up Eco/Law at uni-versity and perhaps aspires tobecome a diplomat or take up aninternational relations career.

Nishtha Kaushik scored anATAR of 99.05 as a student ofNorth Sydney Girls High School.She has been offered medicine atUNSW.

“I always wanted to be inHealth Science. Being a doctor is avery noble profession, somethingthat helps make a difference inpeople’s lives.

“For my HSC I had preparedwell, doing work all year round.There was more work as assess-ments are worth more and more aswe move further up. But keeping awell rounded, balanced lifestylehelped. I had music as a subject

which was different from othersand gave me my much neededbreak. I also did a lot of lap swim-ming and yoga which was quitehelpful.

“Sitting on desk for ten hoursstraight studying is not the way asyou just cannot focus for that long.And you shouldn’t feel guiltyabout taking breaks.

“I must say I had very goodteachers who helped us all a lotand friends who collaboratedtogether in a culture of helpingeach other out through studygroups, passing essays around andcritically appraising each others’work that we have ended up to be‘friends for life’ through the HSCexperience.

“And family, of course. Theyare very happy as medicine wasmy goal and I got into that,” saysproud Nishtha.

To students who are going todo HSC this year, says Nishtha,“Pick subjects you have naturalaptitude for; get as much help asyou need; stay on top of things andprepare early.”

Nikhil Kankarla got an ATARof 99.55 and has got intoEngineering/Commerce combineddegree at UNSW. FromCherrybrook Technology HighSchool, Nikhil says, “School wasgreat and so were the teachers. Imiss my friends the most. Webecame very close and tighter andtighter as we progressed spendinglunchtime and breaks together.

“I always gave equal attentionto all my subjects but Maths wasmy favourite. Though I did sur-prisingly well in English andBusiness Studies. For Maths I dida lot of past papers which are onforums such as BORED and Boardof Studies website. One can findmany resources and notes too,”says Nikhil.

And for breaks, Nikhil lovedplaying cricket with friends. Thefamily never put pressure as theysaw that Nikhil was studying andputting in a lot of effort.

“There was pressure before theexams but I didn’t have a real goalof achieving high. I knew I neededjust enough to get into the course Iwanted as cut off for MechanicalEngineering is not that high. I gotan ATAR much more than Iexpected with Business studiessubject in which I ranked 9th in theState, getting a mark of 97,”Nikhil says.

Outside the Indian high achiev-ers, Paula Narissa Thomsen is apretty young girl of mixed Thaiand Aussie background. She

topped in Textile and Design sub-ject in which she got a perfectmark of 100. It was Paula’s beau-tiful dress she made, inspired bythe intricate designs painted onUkranian Easter Eggs that got herthe top spot. She improvised thedesigns and replicated themthrough hand and machine embroi-dery, appliqué, silk embroidery asshe keenly worked for close to 800hours just doing the work on herdress by herself.

“Designing and working on thedress gave me a break from sub-jects like 3-Unit Maths, Biology,Chemistry and Advance English.

“HSC was quite stressful,attending to the exams over andover. Me and my friends spent alot of time at the city library help-ing each other out. Things that Icould not ask at school from myteachers, I could ask my friends.But Textile design has been mymost favourite subject since year7. Whenever I went to Thailand Isaw how hard the Thai artisansworked on silks with fine handembroidery and they always

inspired me,” says beaming Paula.Paula’s mum Lada runs a pop-

ular Thai eatery in Newtown.Though Paula is good in textiledesign her mum’s Thai dishes havelots of fans including The IndianDown Under. Paula also lovesmum’s food and has tried her handat sticky rice and a soup madefrom chestnuts and jackfruit. “I’mnot as good in cooking as mumis,” says Paula, “But she could nothelp me much in my embroideryand I love sewing whereas shedoesn’t.” Paula plans to studyFashion Design at UTS.

Indian high achievers arealways complimented by theircommitment and focus duringHSC. They traverse this importantmilestone with family, school,teachers, peers and friends helpingout along the way. They are thebest and an inspiring young lot.They instill confidence in all thesociety that the world and itsfuture can rest on such bright, hardworking and focused youth whowould make it a better place tolive.

Nishtha Kaushik Nikhil Kankarla

Paula with mum Lada Paula with the dress she designed, embroidered and stitched that

got her the top spot in Textile Design.

Paula’s embroidery work inspired byUkranian Easter eggs.

By Ritu Ghai

The year was legendary. Vaishali,the princely state of ancient India,was excited about the first appear-

ance of its court dancer, Amrapali. Thenews of her exquisite beauty had trav-elled far and wide. As she arrived infront of public, people were awestruckby her resplendent beauty. Her skinglowed like a lotus flower. Dressed fromhead to toe in a heavenly attire, bathed inperfumed water, kohl lined eyes, redlips, dazzling smile, precious jewellery –she was beauty unrivalled.

The reason behind her innate charmwas the magical beauty ritual she had fol-lowed. Amrapali had gone through the 16beautifying rituals called Solah Shringar,so customary for women in earlier times.‘Solah’ means sixteen and ‘Shringar’means makeup or adornments. It meanssixteen basic steps of beautification of awoman from head to toe. These include –bath, clothes, necklace, tilak, kohl, ear-rings, nose ring, hair style, bodice,anklet, bangles, mahavar (red colouredpreparation from lac for the feet of allmarried women), nail polish, betel leavesand hand mirror.

Although Amrapali has long gone intooblivion and times have changed consid-erably but the rituals have lived on.Despite the modernization of the society,people still attach a lot of importance totraditions, especially during marriages.And to follow beauty rituals is a must for

almost every bride-to-be.Celebrating the divinity of the female

form, Ritu Ghai takes you through the

miracle of sixteen shringars that help awould-be bride acquire a celestial allureas she makes her transition into woman-hood.

Solah Shringar starts with the divinebath of the bride. The body is anointedwith oils or unguents before the bath. Oilis obtained from various flowers, sesameleaves, saffron, cinnamon, myrrh, muskand lotus. This is followed by the appli-cation of paste (alepa) to the face andbody to impart a certain glow to the skin.The bath water is perfumed with the fra-grance of bath powder (snanaksaya).Legend says that saffron, milk, camphorand aromatic herbs were used to perfumethe water.

This royal bath is an important ritualof the solah shringar.

The Hair locks are then decoratedwith half blossomed buds of jasmine

flowers. Earrings of newly blossomedkadamba flower bedeck the ears.

Indian society has tremendous beliefin the magical properties of colours andherbs. Yellow turmeric and red kumkumare a must for every bride-to-be. Vatna,uptah and haldi ceremonies are popularrituals during marriage celebrations.Friends and relatives gather a day or twobefore marriage. Traditional songs aresung as the bride has haldi (turmeric)applied to her body amidst gaiety andlaughter. Beauty parlours and herbalbaths may have reduced this tradition toonly a token ceremony but the rationalebehind it remains the same – to look radi-ant on the day.

In the state of Punjab, the bride-to-beremains in old clothes for a few daysprior to her wedding. She sits in front offour diyas lit before her. The belief is

Fashion & Beauty


Indian society has tremendous belief in the magical properties of colours and herbs. Yellow turmeric and red kumkum are a mustfor every bride-to-be. Vatna, uptah and haldi ceremonies are popular rituals during marriage celebrations.

16 steps to Beauty – ‘Solah Shringar’

Fashion & Beauty


that the glow will be reflected on herface. This is popularly called maaiyan pegayen. On the day of the marriage, shehas a bath and wears red silk garments.Altah (lac dye) is applied to her feet.

The special treatment of the feetinvolves dipping them in warm milkmixed with rose water and aromatic oils.The feet are then exfoliated with sugarand lime solution to remove dead skinmassaged with almond cream and embel-lished with anklets and mehndi.

Eyes are graced with kohl. If youlight a lamp with castor oil and small cot-ton wicks you can collect a layer of sooton a wooden spatula or inside an invert-ed coconut shell. Once you collect thesoot, mix it with castor oil or pure gheeand you can have home-made kohl. Ithelps protect the eyes from the glare ofsun and elders say that it wards off theevil eye.

Lips are reddened with betel leaves.The hands and feet are covered with

intricate mehndi designs made fromhenna. The red color is considered to beauspicious and signifies the essence oflove. Today, ‘Henna parties’ for thebride are one of the most popular pre-wedding rituals.

The bride is embellished with bindi,tikka, bangles, rings and mangalsutra –all symbolic of her marital status.

The ring is the most important as itseals the ceremony. Its circular shape issymbolic of endless love and the girlwears it on the fourth finger of her lefthand. Belief has it that the nerve fromhere leads to the heart.

The Mang-Tikka, generally made ofGold, silver and precious stones is wornin the center parting of the hair and itcomes till forehead. The allure of thebride is highlighted by this ornament.

The nose pin is a must. Before pierc-ing her nose, the bride prays to theGoddess to grant her husband long life,eternal health and prosperity.Scientifically it wards off nasal infectionsand makes her olfactory senses stronger.

Necklaces and chains in Gold andprecious stones are worn by the bride toenhance her appearance. Among themthe most sacred is the necklace made ofblack threads with beads strung on itcalled mangalsutra, extremely importantfor a married woman as it signifies apromise, a vow.

Bangles are a must for all Indianbrides of every region - Right from theponchis of Rajasthan to the elephantbracelet (thick bracelet with elephanthead design at the two ends) of Bengalibrides and the ‘chudas’ of Punjab. Theymay be made of iron, ivory, green or redglass, ceramic, gold, and other metalsdepending upon the custom. The beautyand tinkling sound of the bangles are anauspicious symbol of married life. Sikhand Punjabi brides add Kaleeras to thebangle set. It is said a new bride shouldnot cook and clean in the husband’shouse when she first moves in, that iswhy she has all the bangles and kalirason.

Bindi (red vermillion dot applied onthe forehead) has a prominent positionand role. The place where it is adorned iscalled agyachakra and stands for preser-vation. Every new bride, as she entersher husband’s home, brings good luckand is the preserver of the new order.

Sindoor (vermillion), a red colored

powder, applied on the center parting ofa bride hair, is a sacred symbol of mar-ried woman.

The list is endless – from the tikka(jewelled version of the bindi) to the bic-chwas (toe rings), anklets, kamarband,armlets or baajubands – the Indian Bridedazzles with all these adornments.

But times have changed and thingshave come in easy-to-use packages. Therituals are still followed but in a newway, yet the essence remains the same.Aroma oils and herbal treatment are stillvery much the focus of brides today.Only that it’s easier to buy them over thecounter with so many beauty experts and

companies launching their products thatpromise them the essential something ofyesteryears.

‘Traditional remedies were very basicbut highly effective. People back thendidn't have the time or education toinvest in niche products but still theirskins were healthy and had a glow.While doing the housework they wouldapply whatever they found readily in thekitchen or in the space around their hous-es like saffron, gram flour, neem, freshvegetables and fruits etc’, says DivitaKanoria, the name behind the brand,“Tathaastu”, wellness products that helpin maintaining good health and stimulate

body’s natural abilities. She tells us howTatha products have maintained theirroots in the ancient system by includingNeem, aloe and almonds in face washes,Almonds in face scrubs, Turmeric in facecream and body scrubs, Saffron in facecreams and body scrubs, mixture of var-ious spices for foot and hair mask andfresh fruit and vegetables for the facials.“The packaged products do keep themodern day needs and lifestyle in mind”,concludes this Delhi-based entrepreneur.

Thus you see how the interplay ofthese age-old 16 rituals can make everybride-to-be look like a Princess about towed her Prince charming.

The hands and feet are covered with intricate mehndi designs made from henna. The red color is considered to be auspicious andsignifies the essence of love.

The nose pin is a must. Before piercing her nose, the bride prays to the Goddess to grant her husband long life, eternal health andprosperity. Scientifically it wards off nasal infections and makes her olfactory senses stronger.


Bollywood

Car rolls onto 'dhadkati',pulsating roads of the max-imum city, Mumbai. Not

blinking...on my way toBoskiyana, where he, Gulzar,lives, breathes, reads, writes, cre-ates!

Meeting Gulzar would be aseasy as breathing – I have knownhim, read him, heard him, felt himsince my teen years, but on myway to Boskiyana on thisNovember 22, 2012, my breathingquickens, my hearts beats faster –I feel alive.

11:30 am, the moment, the'lamha' touches me – I bend andtouch his feet and collect it, pos-sess it, possessed by it.... eternal-ly.

I tell him about what I said toVikram ji – 'Maroongi nahin jabtak Gulzar saab se na mil loon'.He smiles, 'Ab to aapko jeenapadega'.

Oh and we both share prefer-ence for chai over other hot or coldbeverages! So over that one divinecup of chai, for 90 minutes or so,in his library, we talk about life...

Here is the essence of guftagoowith Gulzar – the creator of themost poignant lyrics in Hindustanipoetry, whose every lafz, everyexpression, pulsates with life... oflife's pains and ecstasies –moments pregnant with past thatone wants to relive, of nostalgia,of that fluent conversance with thebody, mind and soul of thebeloved... pregnant with the entiretime.

Gulzar is perhaps the only con-duit between literature and cinema– bringing that beautiful sense ofpoetic aesthetics to enrich ordinarycinematic moments impregnating

them with flesh and blood andbones and layers of life – unlikeany of his contemporaries.

The conversation starts with'congratulations' to him on gettingthe National Integration Award –he speaks passionately about how,for a number of years, he has beenwriting about communal harmony– in poems, short stories, in filmsand now theatre.

I mention about Akbar's Din-e-Ilahi, a syncretic religion, andwithout us realising, the conversa-tion has taken a beautiful turntowards Urdu, a language closestto Gulzar's heart (he writes inUrdu). And the fervour with whichhe talks about Urdu, we can spendhours talking about it. But then heis equally passionate about trans-lating Tagore into Hindi. His tablesits under great weight of Tagore.Dozens of Tagore's books wait forGulzar's 'saans', to come alive inHindi.

The night before, as I preparedfor the interview – I wonderedwhat could one ask Gulzar.Questions about life that we con-template about? After all he hasbeen a witness to my life... he hasknown me, heard me, read me, feltme through his poems, nazms,songs...he has sculpted me, he ismy Gulzar.

So we talk about 'zindagi kedard'. 'Dard' has a very positiveconnotation in his writing. Kyazindagi me dard achche hote hain?Kya kashish hai dard me? I ask. Heanswers with a question “kyaaapne mohhabat ki hai?Mohhabat jaisi khoobsurat cheezme bhi dard to hai na? Pleasure,ecstasy in itself is a kind of pain.Iski shaklen badalati rahti hain,

iski soorat badalati rahti hain.Aapki saari upaj us dard se hotihai...”

And what about pain of separa-tion, ‘Usme bhi to pleasure hai ektarah ka’, I say. Endearingly butwith a hint of pain in his voice, hesays “Hai to sahi...hai to sahi...aurwo zindagi ka dard hai”.

'Aur wo zindagi ka dard hai'resonates with me – ‘Zindagi kedard 'jinhe gale lagaane se, jinkosambhalane se' our lives areenriched.

The library, where we sit, isthrobbing with a vibe... do I onlyfeel or does he sense it too? I am inthe presence of this celestialmoment, a 'pilpila' lamha (asGulzar later refers to, when recit-ing a nazm, fresh from his diary).It's surreal, but feels more realthan reality itself as he reminiscesabout legends Bimal Roy andShailendra when answering 'howan artist's personality and personalexperiences are reflected in theirwork?' He explains in an uncom-plicated way how the layers ofrelationships lie outside the rela-tions also. “Apke rishton ki tahenaapke charon taraf bikhri huihain. Agar maine talaaq nahindiya biwi ko, to meri behan ko jotalaaq de ke chala gaya, kya womehsoos nahin hua mujhe. To koijaroori nahin ki aap ye kahen kisaahab aapne talaaq par kaiselikh liya, aapne to talaaq diya hinahin biwi ko.”

To be vulnerable, to be emo-tional, to make mistakes, where doyou keep it all? My fingers arecrossed. Despite his disclaimer“aisa nahin hai ki jo main bolraha hoon, wo main sab jaanta hi

hoon...aur sab sahi hai”, I knowhis view will be pivotal. “Makingmistakes... it's one of the quali-ties, which comes in the processof making you what you are.Aapki banaawat ka hissa hai. Wozaroori hai, wo breathing ke liyezaroori hai...so why do you wantto be perfect and make life bor-ing?” I can breathe now.

We talk about Redemption –can we adopt individualistic view,focus on self-liberation and stillachieve salvation. As an individ-ual, how do we interface with thesociety, the world around us? Isour 'mukti' only possible collec-tively, with others?

The intensity, emotion is palpa-ble in the room as Gulzar inter-prets his 'Labon se choom lo,ankhon se thaam lo mujhko, tumhise janmoo to shayad mujhe panaahmile'. His voice cracks with emo-tion “koi emotion ek tarah sekabhi nahin rah sakti, chahe womohhabat hi kyon na ho, chahewo mamta hi kyon na ho. Everyemotion evolves itself into nextemotion... It's like your beloved issometimes like a mother to you,and sometimes like a child...kyabachpana karte hain, pyar bhikarte hain aap, ansoo bhi ponchhdete hain, naak bhi ponchh detehain...like a child....and there aretimes when you just put your headinto her lap and hold her and...kaash main tumse paida huahota....so it's an experience ofthat total surrender, total givingin to your love”.

Speechless. But I have a bookfull of questions. What goesbehind these delectablemetaphors...'namak ishq ka', 'mit-

ti se lepa hua aasman', 'umar selambi sadken'?

“..these are not coined. Kahinna kahin aapko koi image aatihai. Usko pakadne wali baathai...mere andar Shailja to nahinhai, par main Shailja ko mehsoosto kar sakta hoon, ye to dekhsakta hoon ki wo kaise mehsooskarti hai...now...for example'laaga namak ishq ka'...namak kifeeling kya hoti hai....ik pheeki sizindagi me swaad aa gaya... sowhat could be a better expressionthan namak... arre is zindagi konamak lag gaya ishq ka! Swaadaa gaya.”

Meeting Gulzar has added a‘new taste’ to my life, ‘Zindagikucchh namkeen si ho gayaiGulzar se milke’...

Listen to the complete conver-sation on YouTube:

YouTube keywords 'Gulzar','Shailja Chandra', 'Voice ofIndia'.

(Gulzar is an acclaimedIndian poet, lyricist and directorknown for lyrics in movies such asBandini, Khamoshi, Aandhi,Mausam, Khushboo, Maachis,Ghar, Gharonda, Golmaal,Masoom, Ijaazat, MayaMemsaab, Rudali, Lekin.., DilSe, Satya, Saathiya… to Guru,Slumdog Millionaire, Omkara,Paheli, Bunty aur Bubli,Kaminey, Raavan, and mostrecently Jab Tak Hai Jaan andMatru ki Bijli ka Mandola. Hiscollection of nazms include:Pukhraj, Raat Pashmine ki, YaarJulaahe, Selected Poems,Neglected Poems, Triveni andmany more.)

When time stood still...

Sydney based radio personality Shailja Chandra in India.

Shailja Chandra interviewing poet, lyricist and film director Gulzar in his study in his Mumbai home.

My moments with GulzarShailja Chandra, host of radio program Voice of India - Monika Geetmala (FM89.7, Sundays 10 am – 3 pm)

reminisces about her meeting with her idol Gulzar at his residence in Mumbai.

Bollywood


From Aao twist karein with its very obvious resem-blance to Come on let’s twist again, to many other oldfavorites which were absolutely superb were actual

copies of the tunes lifted from music from other parts of theworld. Especially during the 50’s and 60’s. We had excep-tional singers, lyricists, music directors though at times theyneeded their inspiration too when they looked afar beyondIndia for inspiration for tunes and ideas! The songs wereoften derived, in small part or large, from a wide range ofsources: folk music, classical ragas, Western music, eventhe rhythmic hoof beats of a cantering horse. Sometimes theinspiration wasn’t too obvious, or the end result was such achange from the original, it was hard not to give credit tothe music director. Other songs were shameless ‘lifts’ fromoriginals.

Here are some that may interest our readers:1. Itna na mujhse tu pyaar badha (Chhaya, 1961;

composer: Salil Chowdhury; original: Mozart’s 40thSymphony): Salil Chowdhury’s song begins very differentlyfrom the well-known classical piece by Mozart, but soonturns into a fairly faithful rendition of the original. He doesrevert to form later in the verses, where it’s Salil again, notMozart; but it is one of the most easily recognisable inspi-rations from classic Hindi cinema.

2. Aao twist karein (Bhoot Bangla, 1965; composer:RD Burman; original: Come on let’s twist again): This song

doesn’t just sound like the original, it even has almost thesame words in the refrain: Aao twist karein means more orless the same as Come on let’s twist again. In both cases, itbegins with the singer (Chubby Checker/Mehmood) “talkingto the audience” before launching forth into song. But thereonwards, RDB leaves the inspiration way behind: his ver-sion has way more pizzazz, with clapping, hooting, andmore to add variety to the music. And Manna Dey has madethe song timeless.

3. Dil tadap-tadap ke keh raha hai (Madhumati, 1958;composer: Salil Chowdhury; original: Szla dzieweczka dolaseczka): Szla dzieweczka do laseczka is a Polish folk song,and Salil Chowdhury certainly used a good bit of it to cre-ate Dil tadap-tadap ke. This gem of an Indian version filmedon handsome Dilip Kumar and beautiful Vyjayanthi Malahas survived for more than 65 years and a delight to watchand listen to on youtube.

4. Jeevan ke safar mein raahi (Munimji, 1955; com-poser: SD Burman; original: Mexican hat dance): This isone of those songs which is really an inspiration rather than

a faithful copy with the start of Jeevan ke safar mein raahiis almost identical to that of the Mexican hat dance, but afterthat, the two tunes go two very different ways like theraahis, travelers, parting ways. SD Burman’s is the moreinteresting one, with some wonderful variations and flour-ishes.

5. Gore-gore o baanke chhore (Samadhi, 1950; com-poser: C Ramchandra; original: Chico-chico): EdmundoRos’s classic Chico-chico is so undoubtedly the source of

Gore-gore o baanke chhore. C Ramchandra does manage toredeem himself somewhat, in the verses of the song, whichare very different from Ros’s version.

6. O babu o lala (Dilli ka thug, 1958; composer: Ravi;original: Rum and Coca-Cola): Geeta Dutt’s sultry number‘O Babu O Lala’ is brilliant and surpasses the original

Andrews Sisters’ song which is repetitive and positivelybland compared to Ravi’s breathtakingly sensuous version.O babu o lala is a superb example of what inspiration shouldbe - merely something to help you surpass the original andtake a road completely different. There is nothing original asall the knowledge in the world is out there in some form ofthe other. Recent spate of folk songs turned into Bollywooditem songs and numbers is where our music directors havetraversed length and breadth of India to find those rare folkgems and convert them into cash. The only thing being that‘nakal mein bhi akal istamal honi chahiye’. In the good olddays our directors went to great lengths to seek inspirationfrom music around the world yet improvised the tunes to suitthe Indian lyrics and the actors enacted those songs to bring

in local appeal. The result was that whole of India was madabout the music with almost every home owning an HMVgramophone if they could afford one.

7. Babaloo babaloo baba (Jhumroo, 1961; composer:Kishore Kumar; original: Tequila): Tequila has long been afavourite in India at the weddings as bridegoroom’s party(barat) madly dances to Tequila. And Kishore Kumar paidquite a tribute to Tequila by composing this song, which ispretty much a copy of the original. This is one tune wherethe copy lacks the zip and pep of the original: Tequila getsdiluted as Baba loo babaloo baba.

8. Thandi hawa yeh chaandni suhaani (Jhumroo,1961; composer: Kishore Kumar; original: Domani) - Thissong is an old favorite of all Indians specially oldies and thetune lifted plain verbatim from Julius la Rosa’s Domani,note for note, though Kishore Kumar with his lilting voiceand yodelling makes the song more soulful and just superbin its delivery than the original. This timeless number hasstayed with us for more than 50 years and will live on thanksto youtube and Ksihore Da’s fans.

9. Ae dil hai mushkil (CID, 1956; composer: OPNayyar; original: Oh my darling Clementine): When onetalks of Bollywood our thoughts move to Mumbai where the

film industry produces record number of movies every year.Some of the Indian songs which made the word ‘Bombay orBumbai’ famous are ‘Zara hutke zara bachke ye hai Bombaymeri jaan’ and ‘Main Bumbai ka baabu’. The famous ‘Ae dilhai mushkil jeena yahan’ was inspired by ‘O my darlingClamentine’ though it tactfully uses different interludes withharmonica, tonga beats, the violin and the piano thus mak-ing this copy better than the original. Watch the song onyoutube filmed on Johnny Walker and Kumkum and com-pare it with its original counterpart ‘My darlingClamentine’.

10. Dil deke dekho (Dil deke dekho, 1959; composer:Usha Khanna; original: Sugar in the morning): UshaKhanna’s score for her first film, Dil deke dekho, has the

dubious distinction of being ‘inspired’ by as many as fourWestern songs. Credit for Dil deke dekho, though goes tothe chorus from the tune of Sugar in the morning, butbeyond that Ms Khanna brings in some fairly original inter-ludes, with guitars and violins giving the song a fairly dif-ferent feel from Sugar in the morning.

10 favourite ‘inspired’ golden oldies!


Community

United Indian AssociationsInc (UIA) celebratedIndia’s Republic Day and

Australia Day with a full house atBowman Hall, Blacktown onJanuary 18. The event made thenight memorable for 33 Indian stu-dents who achieved high ATARrank in NSW 2012 HSC and promi-nent Australians working in India.

The celebrations started off withnational anthems of India andAustralia followed by the warmwelcome speech by the president ofUIA Mr Amarinder Bajwa. Hestressed upon the growth of thebilateral relationship building aswell as trade and investment. Hewelcomed travel concessions to theinternational students by the stategovernment. Mr Bajwa alsostressed on similar concessions forthe seniors on bridging visas andwelcomed the changes to long termvisa provisions for the parents ofthe Australian and focus of the gov-ernments for the engagement ofIndia and the Asian Century whitepaper. Mr. Bajwa reiterated,“UIA is constantly building andbridging relationships, we wanteveryone to come together andwork together for the social andeconomic development in Australiaas well as India. UIA has been andalways will stick to its principles ofsocial cohesion and social develop-ment.”

The event was well attended byMPs of both state and federal gov-ernments. High Commissioner ofIndia Mr Biren Nanda attended theevent. In his address he congratulat-ed the awardees and highlighted thegrowing cooperation between thetwo countries.

The Hon Craig Emerson,Minister for Trade andCompetitiveness representing thePM of Australia, congratulated UIAfor their social development andincreased focus of the government

for engagement of India as tradeand investment partner.

The Hon Craig Kelly, MP rep-resenting federal Leader ofOpposition Tony Abbott, under-lined India’s potential of being theglobal partner for many years tocome. The Hon Victor Dominello,Minister for Citizenship andCommunities, applauded the effortsof UIA for its socio political devel-opment of the local Indian diaspora.He stressed upon the commitmentof the state government to engageIndia on every front and focus onthe development and growth of thestate and Indian partners.

The Hon Linda Burney, repre-senting the Leader of Opposition inNSW Hon John Robertson, con-gratulated the students on their highachievement, adding, “You can loseanything in your life but the educa-

tion that you have earned with yourhard work will always stay withyou.” The Hon Chris Bowen,Minister for Immigration, whilepresenting the awards to the stu-dents congratulated them for theirhigh achievement and said he wasalways glad to attend UIA events asthey reflect the growth and harmo-ny of the Indian diaspora inAustralia. Other ministers whoattended and presented the awardsto the students were The HonMichelle Rowland, Member forGreenway, Barbara Perry MP, GuyJanghari MP, Kevin Connolly MPand Chair of CRC StepanKerkyasharian.

UIA presented Life TimeAchievement Award to Dr JayChandra, an Ophthalmologist, forhis exceptional contribution to thecommunity of India and Fiji. He

created Rishikesh Eye Project inIndia in 2002 and started Fiji EyeProject in 2006, where they haveconducted over 3,000 cataract oper-ations in the past couple of years.Sydney based Dr Chandra has anaccomplished career in vitro-retina.

UIA this year presented‘Friends of India’ award to SimAid- an organisation working in Indiato help and save the girls from pros-titution and sexual discriminationunder their project “OperationRedLight-GreenLight/ Girls OffThe Street, New Delhi”. SIMAidwas represented by Angie Shum,Donor Manager.

Paul MCGurk was honouredwith “Friends of India” for his per-sonal support to Tibetan families inIndia in the form of medicines,education and financial aid. Paulspends 2 to 3 weeks of his timebesides donating money every year.

Mr Clary Castrission of 40KFoundation was another “Friends ofIndia” awardee for the dedicatededucation programs in India forpoor kids. The 40K educationalpods have been a great success pro-viding opportunity for the kids inthe villages around Bangalore.

Jennifer Star was bestowed“Friends of India” for her Tara.ED- a program that is built around the“Teacher Tour” – in which teachereducation students from Australianuniversities do an internship in oneof the Tara.Ed partner schools in

rural Maharashtra. The Tara.Edmodel revolutionises the concept ofcharity as it allows the benefit toflow both ways. Both the Indian andAustralian education systems andcommunities are provided with thetools and opportunities to developthe competencies required for suc-cess in the Asian century.

UIA also conferred“Community Service Award” toOmkara Swamy Gopenalli andRamyavaran Ramaswamy for theirrelentless and selfless work for thecommunity for past many years.

“Young Achievers” Awardswent to Mohit Tolani for his com-munity work, Soumil Chibber forhis achievement in Cricket andUday Barooah for his achievementin Karate. UIA also presentedCertificate of Appreciation for thesupporting the community and theorganisation to Kiran Desai,Maxine Salma, and Varun Tiwary.Rajesh Kumar got the certificate forhis world record of shooting 1010portraits in 8 hours at IndiaAustralia Friendship Fair 2012.

UIA team included Sue Advanias event coordinator, ShaliniChandrala as the MC while ShobhaIngleshwar sang the nationalanthems of both the countries in hervoice. Cultural program was pre-sented by Maxine Salma and hergroup Road2Bollywood.

More details and photographson UIA website: www.uia.org.au.

United Indian Associations held a successful ‘SummerCricket Day’ at North Parramatta between UIAteam and NSW State Parliamentarians.

“This is an inaugural Summer Cricket Day to engage thegovernments of the day with the community and help buildrelationships with Australian society at large. Cricket bindsIndians and Australians and helps them understand eachother,” said Amarinder Bajwa, UIA President.

The UIA team was led by Raj Natarajan, President,Indian Sports Club. They won the toss and decided to bat.

NSW Parliamentarians team was led by The Hon VictorDominello, Minister for Citizenship and Communities, andhad excellent line up of MPs and staff. Hon Matt Kean MPHornsby and Hon Geoff Lee MP Parramatta along with SamAlmaliki and other MPs played against UIA.

The final score UIA Team - 200 for 6 in 25 overs, NSWParliamentarians - 160 all out.

For the UIA team, Ravi Shankar was the Player of theMatch for his batting. Shailendra too scored well whileHarshal secured a hat trick. For NSW Parliamentarians, LeeJeloseck did great work with the bat. Overall it was a greatteam effort.

UIA team included Murthy Anjanappa, Harshal VShitoot, Shailendra Patel, Jay Shankar, Raghavendra,

Manjunath, Surja Gupta, Mohit Kumar, ShivanandMariguddi, Varinder singh, Sameer Chhatre, Ajay Pradhanand Rohan Ballani. Hon Craig Kelly MP, Federal Memberfor Hughes, and Josh Lalor of NSW Sydney Sixers attendedthe event. A cricket coaching camp for kids was also organ-ized on the same day with help from Milo & NSW Cricket

Association. The event was well attended by many UIAmembers; Logessan Pillay, Vice President UIA, sponsoredthe trophies for the cricket match. Each participant wasgiven a participation certificate and trophy from UIA.

This will be a regular annual UIA event and its cricketteam will look forward to play more friendly games.

UIA honours HSC achievers, community membersand ‘Friends of India’

Indians defeat NSW Parliamentarians in a cricket match UIA Republic Day honours for community members

Raj Natrajan bags the trophy presented to him by Hon Victor Dominello. (right) The two teams

UIA Republic Day honours for HSC students who performed superlatively.

Community


Volunteering has many social benefits By Victor Dominello

Each year in New SouthWales two million volun-teers take time out of their

own lives to help others.Whether it’s patrolling our

beaches; officiating at weekendsport; supporting teachers in theclassroom; helping the elderly intheir homes or, in times of crisis,providing, emergency services,they do it because they want tomake a difference.

Many of these people are frommulticultural backgrounds.

They come from communitieswhere strong networks of peopleinformally helping each otheralready exist. They have been doingthe shopping, gardening or laundryfor an elderly neighbour. Theypaint the fence at the local commu-nity hall.

In many multicultural commu-nities, helping each other is notregarded as volunteering – it is justwhat a neighbour does.

But this type of volunteering isnot structured so it does not getcounted in the official statistics.

Recent research shows thatmany people with multiculturalbackgrounds say they are keen tobecome involved in organised vol-unteering such as working withcharities, but a lack of confidencein speaking English puts them off.

Others say they are reluctant tosign up as a volunteer because theyhave not got a drivers licence andfind it hard to get around on publictransport. I encourage those peoplewith English as a second languageto consider forming a group of vol-

unteers who speak the same lan-guage and then work in the commu-nity where that language is spoken.

Simple things like charityorganisations providing a communi-ty mini-bus to pick up volunteerswho cannot drive can add to volun-teer numbers.

For example, the Anglo-IndianAssociation of NSW, which pro-motes social interaction andengagement with the communitythrough festivals as well as sportingand artistic activities, is alwayshappy to hear from people whowant to work as volunteers.

And mainstream charitableorganisations such as the Red Crossand Meals on Wheels regularlyadvertise for volunteers who canspeak Indian languages.

The NSW Centre forVolunteering is also keen to hearfrom people it can direct to volun-teer work with Indian communityorganisations.

Volunteering is gift for thecommunity, by the community.

I introduced the state’s first-ever volunteering strategy early in2012, backed by $4.5 million infunding, to make it simpler for peo-ple to donate their time for the goodof the community.

A total of 240 million hours ofvoluntary work, valued at $5 bil-lion, is donated each year in NSW.

To make the volunteering sectoreven stronger, incentives areincluded in the Strategy to encour-age people to continue their volun-teering activities and to attract more

citizens to work within local com-munities.

We have started two“Timebanking” pilot programs –one in Newcastle and another onthe Central Coast – that allow vol-unteers to bank the time theyspend helping others and “cash in”that time later when they need it.

For example, a grandmothercan earn time credits by volunteer-ing to cook meals for a homelessshelter. She can then deposit thosecredits in her local Timebank.When she wishes to, she canspend them on a volunteer serviceshe needs, such as asking a volun-teer driver to take her to a medicalappointment.

There are also two pilot proj-ects, run in conjunction with

TAFE NSW and a number of localbusinesses and community organi-sations in South West Sydney andWestern NSW, examining howpractical experience gained throughvolunteering could count towardsformal qualifications.

The NSW Government has alsoreduced the cost of the NationalCriminal History record Checkfrom $52 to just $15 for volunteerswho work in aged care facilities.

Volunteers I have spoken to saythey find the activity highly reward-ing and it helps them better connectwith their local communities.

Research by Melanie Randlefrom the School of Marketing atWollongong University, who Ispoke to recently, shows that volun-teering is linked to wellbeing,greater physical activity andimproved physical health, particu-larly among older people.

It can lead to higher self-esteem, reduced depression, greaterhappiness and optimism, strongersocial connections and the list goeson.

Then there are the social bene-fits of becoming involved: meetingdifferent people; getting the chanceto socialise with people who havethings in common and; buildingskills that lead to future jobs andcareers.

Many organisations have strate-gies to attract new volunteers to tra-ditional activities, but the NSWGovernment wants to encouragemore people from multiculturalcommunities to get involved.

The State Emergency Service,for example, has partnered withAdult and Community Education inthe Diversity in VolunteeringProgram and has already signed updozens of people from culturallyand linguistically diverse communi-ties. And the Community RelationsCommission of NSW (CRC) isworking with the NSW Centre forVolunteering and the City ofSydney to develop a SkilledDiversity Project.

The CRC runs a number of pro-grams aimed at fostering volunteer-ing and helps bring volunteerstogether with multicultural organi-sations that use volunteers.

Community leaders can play animportant role in helping increasevolunteer numbers by encouragingpeople to become involved by out-lining the benefits to people of giv-ing their time.

I say to everybody: “Getinvolved, it will do you a world ofgood”.

IIATA elects newteam for its

executive committee

IItians have formed a wellbonded local IIT associa-tion, IITAA (IIT

Association Australia) with adedicated team of membersand their families.

The old Committee con-cluded their term of office, butwere re-nominated for electionto the vacated positions. Oncewithdrawals had been account-ed for, the Returning OfficerBhav Datt announced that allpositions were uncontested.Bhav effortlessly concluded theelection of IITAA's ExecutiveCommittee for 2013 andannounced a new ExecutiveCommittee (EC) which waselected on December 16, 2012at the Annual General Meetingat Neelam Indian Restaurant,Parramatta.

It consists of: President:Inderjeet Singh Virdi; VicePresident: Sundar P Siva;Secretary: Devendra Verma;Treasurer: Pradeep Khanna;Members: Dr Pramod Singh;Sukesh Nedumgote; RajatKhanna; Dipankar RoyChoudhury and Dr NipenShah.

Children may be absorbingmulti-million dollar mes-sages propagated in sports

related advertisements, promotingalcohol and fast-foods, shows astudy.

Simone Pettigrew, professor atthe University of Western Australia(UWA) and colleagues investigatedthe effects of these substantial sub-conscious effects on the manufac-turer's part to tie their productswith healthy sport via sponsorship.

More than 160 children aged

from five to 12 years were invitedto take part in an activity thatassessed their conscious and sub-conscious links between sportingteams and a range of sponsors, thejournal Public Health Nutritionreports.

The researchers found that morethan three-quarters of the childrenaligned at least one correct sponsorwith the relevant sport.

More than half correctlymatched an Australian FootballLeague team with its relevant spon-

sor, a fast-food chain."Given the unstructured nature

of the task, the results provide sup-port for the argument that sportssponsorship effectively reacheschild audiences," the authors write,according to an UWA statement.

"While sponsors may argue thatthey are not intentionally targetingchildren, it is clear that their effortsare producing this 'unintended'consequence and that as a resultthey should come under closerscrutiny." concluded Pettigrew.

Active video games help chil-dren become smarter byboosting their self-esteem

and problem-solving skills besidesmotivating them to exercise, says anew study.

Penny Sweetser, Daniel Johnsonand Peta Wyeth from Australia'sGames Research and InteractionDesign (GRID) Lab in Queenslandinvestigated the amount of time chil-dren spent watching TV and DVDs,compared to playing video games.

Watching TV was a "passive"experience, while video and comput-er games were interactive, boosting

children's self-esteem, problem-solving skills and insome cases, physicalactivity levels, saidJohnson, theAustralian Journal forEarly Childhoodreports. "Emerging research hasshown that active video games suchas Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStationMove, and the XBOX Kinect can beused to motivate young children toexercise and be more active outsideof the game setting," adds Johnson,according to a Queensland state-

ment."There is a lot of

negative press aboutgaming and that's notw e l l - s u p p o r t e d .Where there is a neg-ative effect, researchshows it's on the

minority of people. Video games area mainstream pastime," Johnsonsays. Their analysis of data from theLongitudinal Study of AustralianChildren found children in a partic-ular age group spent, on an average,some two to three hours watchingTV compared to less than a half

hour playing video games or usingcomputers.

Working on computer and play-ing video games should not beclassed as the same type of activityas watching TV. Screen-time recom-mendations, which are based on thesum of all screen-related activities,should be divided into two cate-gories, active and passive screentime, says Sweetser.

"Clearly, certain forms of mediasuch as violent video games are notappropriate for children, and gamesshould be played in moderation,"adds Sweetser.

Victor Dominello is the NSW Minister for Citizenship andCommunities, with responsibility for Volunteering.

Ads influencing kids on alcohol, fast food?

Video games help children become smarter!


Community

Indian presence felt at Short + Sweet SydneyThis year’s Short + Sweet, Sydney

2013, the largest 10-minute theatrefestival in the world, has lots of

Indian entries which have scripts withIndian flavor featuring writers, actors allthe way from Chennai with a multi-award-winning play from Short+Sweet Chennai,Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur.

Presented by Indian theatre companyStray Factory – the play ‘My name is Cine-maa’ has won best production, best actressand best director at the three internationalfestivalsr. The original cast and crew(director Mathivanan Rajendran withactors Ajay Ayappan, Pooja Balu andVenkatesh Harinathan) presented the wittysalute to film genres in Sydney – the homeof the world-wide hit short theatre formand wit. It is joined in the Wildcard series(Sat 3pm, Sun 1pm and Mon at 8pm) byLost Audition by fellow Chennai artistRajaram Rajiv.

My name is Cine-maa, in the firstweek, won second spot both in the Judges’Choice and the People’s Choice, missingthe top spot by a few votes. My name isCine-maa, written and directed byMathivanan Rajendran, WinnerShort+Sweet Chennai, Mumbai and KL,Week 1 Wed Jan 9 – Sun Jan 13.

Another interesting play featured in the2nd week of the Top 80 series is DietDilemma by Vee Malnar. Michael (playedby Kunal Sharma) is starving. His wifeMaddie (Amanda Porter) throws out all thefood before he gets a chance to eat it. Willshe ever learn how to be ‘in the moment’and relax? Jacque Vickers directs thisaward-winning play from Crash TestDrama.

Week 1: Wed Jan 9 – Sun Jan 13 ‘Myname is Cine-maa’; Writer/director:Mathivanan Rajendran; Collaborators:Nikhil Sriram, Rajiv Rajaram; ITC:Winner Short+Sweet Chennai, Mumbaiand KL.

Synopsis: Young Cine-maa likes cellu-loid a little more than she should. If shesmiles a little more, her make up willcrack.

Wildcards 1: Sat Jan 12 – Mon Jan 14‘Lost Audition’ - About an Audition

that was never meant be.Writer/Director: Rajiv Rajaram; ITC:

Popular Vote Winner Short+Sweet

Chennai 2011; Cast: MathivananRajendran (Rajni Hassan), VenkateshHarinathan, Pooja Balu

Abhinay School of Performing Arts is

involved in two plays which were selectedfrom Alex Broun's weekend intensiveworkshop conducted by Shourya Nidhi.They are writer Tim Lea’s ‘Rewind’ andArvind Shukla’s ‘Enjoying to the max’.Rewind directed by Neelam Golpalini andTim Lea and the cast includes JimmyGupta (Freddie), Bianca Venuti-Hughes(Carla), Jim Gosden (Father).

Synopsis of ‘Rewind’: Wouldn’t it begreat if you could take an argument back?Especially if your partner is a hot-headed,sassy Latina. A hen-pecked husband final-ly gets the opportunity to rewrite argu-ments – his way (for once)!

‘Enjoying to the max’ plays in Week 4/ 2, 3 & 4 Feb directed by AishveryaaNidhi and Cast includes Rachel MayWalker (Katrina), Kirsty Mcgowen(Rebecca), Savannah Marrow (Christine),Helen Marie Barber (Patricia), ArvindShukla (David).

Synopsis: A teenage girl from richfamily, who has been over pampered; nowbusy enjoying her life to the maximum

extent. She takes things for granted & for-gets family values. Let’s see where sheends up.

Another interesting script is of‘Imperfectly Frank’ by well known USwriter Seth Freeman and directed by TerryMeller that stars Aishveryaa Nidhi(Indira), Ricardo Wesley (Franklin), RaviChanana (Rajeev) & Cheryl Khurana (JuliaJaswani). It plays in Week 7 from February20-24; Wed – Sat 5.15pm and Sunday 24that 5.15pm.

Other plays that made to S+S 2013 are:Deceit, written and directed by

Short+Sweet legend Uma Kali Shakti andpresented by Rainbow Connections --Week 1 Wed Jan 9 – Sun Jan 13.

Roopa's Goal, written by Carol Dancedirected by Lenore Robertson in Week 5Wed Feb 6 – Sun Feb 10

‘Mirror’ written by MohitChattopadhyay and directed by Asim Das;Natguru Wildcards 5 Sat Feb 9 – Mon Feb11

Arvind Shukla with Pete Malicki at the launch of Short + Sweet 2013.

Aishveryaa Nidhi in the Short+ Sweet promoPuja Balu in ‘My name is Cine-maa’, which has won best production, best actress

and best director at three international festivals.

Venkatesh Harinathan in ‘My name is Cine-maa’

Community


Shreya Ghoshal to serenade Sydney By K. Raman

Shreya Ghoshal will be visiting Australia for the third time for a concert planned at theHills Centre. This will be, indeed, a great opportunity for music lovers.

When the singing stars of vintage years were fading out from the scene some ten yearsago, it was hard to fill up the void, although the period marked the arrival ofAlka Yagnik, Sadhana Sargam, Kavita Krishnamurthy and the like. Then,from nowhere appeared a brilliant singer named Shreya Ghoshal andarguably she is the number one female singer of Hindi cinematoday.

The trend in film music has undergone rapid changes - forgood and bad - yet the change of baton has to take place.Between 2003 and 2011, if an artist in a highly competi-tive field could win four National Awards and fourFilmfare Awards among a total of 29 reputed awards,he or she must be a special person. Yes, Shreya is.

Shreya Ghoshal is a Bengali Brahmin girl fromRawat Bhata, Kota, in Rajasthan. Originally herfamily came from Durgapur, West Bengal. She iswell educated and conventionally trained inHindustani classical music. Born on March 12,1984, she was spotted by Sa Re Ga Ma musiccontest organizers and later encouraged byKalyanji (music director) and film directorSanjay Leela Bhansali.

Shreya’s progress to stardom was mete-oric. Bhansali’s ‘Devdas’ (music director ofthe film was Ismail Durbar) was the launch-ing pad for her. She won the Filmfare Awardand R.D. Burman’s ‘Newly emerged talent’award (year 2003) for her debut as a singerwith Devdas. Her voice blended well withthe persona of screen goddess AishwaryaRai and she has never looked back since.

The ever popular song ‘Dola re dola’ inthe film Devdas won her the Filmfare stat-uette as well as paved her way to land singingassignments with some of the top Bollywoodmusic makers. Shreya spread her wings andhas been flying ever since from studio to studioand to concert venues the world over. In 2003she won the National Award for the song ‘BairiPiya’ (also from Devdas, music director: IsmailDurbar).

Shreya has this uncanny ability to sing in a mul-titude of Indian languages. Her language diction andintonation is impeccable and she blends well with thecharacteristic theme and style of the song. Almost alltop singers find it hard to negotiate these songs in indif-ferent languages and settings.

When I first heard Shreya sing in my mother tongue, Ithought here is a Malayalee girl with a great future, soon tofind out that she in fact is a Bengali girl. She takes pain to learnthe pronunciation of words, understand the characteristics of thelanguage culture and blends them all with her singing ability.

Apart from this she has originality and a style of her own, which is

what people look for in a singer. ‘Swara madhuryam’ (sweetness of sound), ‘Laya gnanam’(sense of timing) and ‘gana alapana parijnanam’ (singing ability) make one a great singer.Shreya is full of these qualities.

She tried her luck in Mollywood through Vasantha Balan’s album and the song ‘enChellam’ led her to sing the super hit ‘Munbe Vaa’ under A.R. Rahman’s musical direc-tion in the film ‘Sillum oru Kaadal’. That made her the singing rage for Tamil listeners.

She had other super hits in regional languages of South India.Shreya kept on winning the highly coveted Filmfare awards (in 2004 forthe film ‘Jism’ song ‘Jadu hai nasha hai’, 2008 film ‘Guru’ song ‘Barso

Re’, 2009 film ‘Singh is King’ song ‘Teri ore’. Though she has notwon the coveted statuette since 2009, probably to break the

monopoly of winning, she was nominated in 2010 and 2011.Her success in South Indian Filmfare awards was impressive

too. In 2006 and 2008 she won the best female singeraward in Tamil films.

She made two trips to Sydney and her shows atSydney Opera House and the Hills Centre were aresounding success. Her fan base in Australia is mas-sive and it is no wonder that they are waiting for hernext visit.

Philosophical in her conversations, Shreyathinks God shows her the path she has to follow.Many things happen because of destiny, like shewas born in a musical family; her home wasalways a hub of musical activities. She thinksshe is a “culture curry”. Something told her tosing the Asha Bhosle song ‘Ab Ke Baras’from Bandini without any accompanyinginstrument in the TV crooning contest. Itclicked. She was asked to go to Bollywood’s‘durbar of music’ and it happened that thekind door man there was Sanjay LeelaBhansali, who became her mentor.

These are some of Shreya’s favourites:favourite screen heroes - Guru Dutt andMadhuri Dixit; Favourite food - Mum’s fishcurry and rice; favourite holiday spot –Mauritius; favourite perfume - Davidoff;favourite car - not keen on cars, still it has tobe Porsche ‘Cayenne’ GTS Edition 3, 2010, orits latest version. Good choice indeed.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali noticed her during Sa Re Ga Ma contest and made her the voiceof Paro (played by Aishwarya Rai) in Devdas.

Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan cheering for Shreya in Music KaMaha Muqqabla.

Shreya's Hindi hits* Bairi piya (Devdas)

* Dola re dola (Devdas)

* Jaadu hai nasha hai (Jism)

* Barso re (Guru)

* Zoobi doobi (3 Idiots)

* Teri ore (Singh is King)

* Ooh la la (Dirty Picture)


Community

The Australian Hindu com-munity, consisting of peo-ple from many countries

including India, Sri Lanka, Fiji,Nepal, Malaysia and countries inAfrica and Latin America, has

been growing at a fast pace overthe past decade or so in the coun-try, particularly in Sydney.

Members of the communityhave been expressing interest for along time to establish a nationalHindu Centre where not only oneof the most ancient Hindu faith tra-dition and cultural heritage couldbe preserved but also made avail-able to all Australians who maywish to know and share the richculture of the Hindus including theAustralian-born children of over-seas-born Hindus for being theintegral part of the multiculturaland mutifaith Australia.

A group of like minded com-munity members got together andmade the much needed commit-ment to pursue the dream to firm-ly establish the Center. It was for-

mally registered in NSW as anorganisation in October 2012.

Hindu Education and CulturalCentre (HECC) was officiallylaunched at the Deepavali Fair2012 held on 4 November at theSydney Olympic Park. There wasan overwhelming support at theFair from many people of the com-munity for the formation of theCentre, and many people commit-ting financially to this mammothproject.

The Centre’s vision is touphold, preserve and promote corevalues of humanity, and, in aimingto achieving these, it will be guid-ed by the moral and ethical princi-ples of Sanatan (Eternal) Dharma(Truth), known widely asHinduism today. Its main objec-tives are to address the growing

religious, social and cultural needsof the present as well as the futuregenerations of Hindus inAustralia. In so doing, it will workfor inter-faith and inter-culturalharmony and peace in the widercommunity.

The Centre will have a state-of-art building complex with facil-ities for: Cultural Activities -Dance, Music and Drama,Educational Forum - Classes,Lectures, Seminars, ReligiousDiscourses - Katha, Bhajan,Kirtan, Social Functions -Marriages, Community Eventsand Resource Collections -Library Research Centre. TheCentre seeks community’s help inthe form of voluntary services andfinancial Support to progress onthis project and make it a reality.

Contact: Prof. Nihal Agar0412 618 893 or ShivaRajagopalan 0470556154; Email:[email protected]; website:www.HECC.org.au.

You may have seen Indianstudents working ascleaners in shopping

malls and thought how hard theywork and that too at late hours.To see these students working inpitiable conditions you can’t helpbut feel empathy for them.

Once landed here these stu-dents face enormous pressures ofstudying and fending for them-selves while working in menialjobs with long hours and someexploited at every step of theway. Their sideward glances, thepressure under which they workshow on their faces.

It is the students’ predicamentthat if they continue in Australia,they have to work hard to achievewhat they came out to achieveand if they turn back they willhave no face to show and withloans to pay back. Now a reportin Victoria proves the plight ofstudents and the work exploita-tion that happens.

The report by VictorianTAFE International (VTI) andUnited Voice, the CleanersUnion alleges that students whocome to Australia can find them-selves face to face with bullyingand abusive behaviour fromunscrupulous cleaning contrac-tors. International students work-ing as cleaners in big shoppingcentres are being thrown into anugly culture of racism and arebeing ripped-off by up to $250 aweek, the report finds.

The report reveals interna-tional students face shockingworking conditions, includingback-breaking workloads andpoverty wages, and is set toincrease the pressure on bigshopping centre owners likeWestfield to stamp out theseunacceptable practices.

“Every year hundreds ofthousands of students come toAustralia to study and experience

a new culture. But many whowork so hard to support theirstudies by working as cleaners inour shopping centres encounterthe wrong kind of culture: one ofrip-offs, racism, abuse and bully-ing,” says Jess Walsh, VictorianSecretary of United Voice.

The report, Taken to theCleaners: Experiences ofInternational Students Workingin the Australian Retail CleaningIndustry, was based on surveysand interviews with studentsworking as cleaners at some ofthe biggest and most popularshopping centres where nearly aquarter of the surveyed work.

“Mall owners enjoy bumperprofits but the industry remains ahive of exploitation and bullying.Now we know brutal workloadsand poverty pay are not the onlyhallmarks of the industry – inter-national students can add racismand abuse to the list. This is awake-up call for the likes ofWestfield, which needs toembrace reform now. The treat-ment of international students is astain on Australia’s reputationand a threat to our vital interna-tional education industry, whichdoesn’t need another scandal,”Walsh adds.

United Voice has launched awebsite (westfieldwatch.com.au)so shoppers can look up theirlocal Westfield to see its impacton their community and how lit-tle it spends on cleaning – andsign a petition to give back to thecommunities that keep it prof-itable.

International education is oneof the country’s top export earn-ers, generating $15.1 billion in2011 alone. Almost 300,000 stu-dents came from all over theworld to study in Australia lastyear.

Students are permitted towork for 20 hours a week, and

many turn to the retail cleaningindustry to support themselves asthey study. Around half of theinternational students working ascleaners surveyed for the reportwere born in India.

They reported struggling withextreme workloads, and oftenfound themselves starting earlyor working back without beingpaid for the extra work. A thirdof international students workingas cleaners said they were notpaid for the additional work theyput in, and are often asked towork more hours than their visasallow – putting them at risk ofdeportation.

International students alsoreported encountering ugly inci-dents of racism from bosses.

Said Dewan: “If your skin iswhite you get the respect. If yourskin is not white, you don’t getthe respect – simple and easy.”

Says Walsh: “Internationalstudents are ambassadors forAustralia because they returnhome to tell their families andfriends about their experienceshere. What sort of picture willthey get when they hear distress-ing tales of exploitation andracism?”

The report also includes astudy of job ads run on theGumtree website, popular amongstudents looking for work, andmade some shocking discoveries.Of the ads analysed on the site,93 per cent were likely to beunderpaying cleaners by as muchas $250 a week.

“Unscrupulous bosses arepreying on international studentswho are often in no position tostand up for their rights. It’s timeshopping centre owners put anend to this exploitation, not onlyof international students, but ofall cleaners who work so hard atour shopping centres,” accordingto the report.

Hindu Centre project launched

International student cleaners hitby rip-offs and racism

HECC launch at Deepavali Mela. (From left) Leader of theOpposition NSW John Robertson, Senator Lisa Singh, Swamini from

Sharada Mutt, HECC Co-ordinators Saryu Rao, HECC PresidentNihal Singh Agar, Hon Minister for Multi-Cultural Affairs and

Sports Kate Lundy and HECC Co-ordinator Chandrakanth Kulkarni.

Shiv Mandir celebratesMaharudram

Shiv Mandir,Minto, cele-brated Shri

M a h a r u d r aUtsavam fromNovember 22-25,2012 with thechanting of ShriRudram from ShriKrishna YajurvedaSamhita 1331 timesby Rithviks overthe four-day peri-od. On the lastday, 45 Rithviksparticipated inchanting, RudraHomam andA b h i s h e k a m .More than 700devotees witnessedthe chanting event.

Sydney VedaPatasala teachers,S u b r a m a n i a n ,Ramarathinam andJ a y a s h a n k a rtrained manyRithviks over thelast five years.

Kanchi MuttSilver pendantcoins and templeprasadam were dis-tributed to all theRithviks and spon-sors.

During thefour-day celebra-tion, NirmaleswaraGurukkal deliveredlecture on SivaPuranam, Lakshmi Narendra pre-sented a Veena concert and RudraKrama Archana was performed.

The event was organized byDorai Rajan and Ramarathinamunder the guidance ofRamachandra Athreyar and the

temple priests, Venkatrama Sastryand Lal Bahadur Mishra.

Murali and his team took careof catering arrangements on all thefour days and provided deliciouslunch and evening prasadam for allthe visitors and Rithviks.


Community

The roll call of inspiring Australians inthe running for the Australian of theYear Awards 2013 is now on with all

State & Territory award recipients announcedat a series of events around Australia over thepast four weeks.

State & Territory award recipients in thefour award categories - Australian of theYear, Senior Australian of the Year, YoungAustralian of the Year and Australia's LocalHero - are now finalised for the nationalawards which will be announced in Canberraon 25 January 2013.

Those now in consideration for thenational awards include Dr Sadhana Mahajanifrom Darwin, having made to the finalist listfor Senior Australian of the Year Award forher health work in remote communities.

Dr Mahajani helped establish Darwin'sfirst community health centre only to see itdestroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. She hassince opened further six health centres andworked in women's cancer prevention, breastscreening and sexual assault services.

Dr Mahajani, best known to many as DrM, retired last year after 38 years of workingas a doctor in the Northern Territory, mostrecently as a geriatrician. But in the past shehas worked out of Royal Darwin Hospital, inthe jail as a medical officer, and in communi-ty health centres right around the Territory.

Married to a surgeon, Sadhana belongs toa family of doctors and the couple worked inremote areas of India as she reminisces that

the village they worked in used to get cut offsometimes due to rains. She remembers thatthey were the best years of their life.

The family decided to move to UK andthen to Darwin in 1972 as she remembers thatDarwin was a very small place then with onlyone traffic light and it was so hot that the cou-ple at times used to go to the Woollies and sitthere in its air conditioned areas to avoid themid day heat and take their lunch there.

She also remembers cyclone Tracey as DrM sheltered under a dining table for Darwin'sbiggest cyclone and still shudders at the mem-

ory when they lost the roof of their house aseverything in the house was ankle deep inwater after the pouring rain.

Dr M looked after the injured people dur-ing that time, working long hours. “It wasquite tragic,” says she, “I did not have timeto think so long as the family was fine aseveryone had lost their homes and we decid-ed to help in the hospital and worked longstretch of hours - as long as 48 hours some-times.”

“We did not have any money and did notget pay for over a month and people were

generous and the shops would let us take fooditems without payment. Others would comewith vans of water and we used to take show-ers on the streets. For a while we lived witha friend of ours whose house was made ofconcrete.”

Practising medicine in NT, says Dr M, “Icame across many animals including a buffa-lo who I thought would be tame like the onesin India. I patted it and it was actually as tameas a dog. One time I killed a snake in thehouse while working for the old Darwin hos-pital.”

Dr M worked as medical officer inDarwin jail which she says ‘the one job I didnot like much because of the culture. I wasalways suspicious of people and suspiciondestroys doctor – patient relationship and Iremember treating Lindy Chamberlain’.

Working in remote areas, says Dr M, “Isuggested pap smear tests when I talked toaboriginal women and explained to them thatit was good for them and they did not mind.”

Dr M says, “Also for aboriginals therewere not good scales to test their memories.When I talked to the health authorities towork out a new scale to test their mental stateit was developed and is now used in NT onaborigines. I was on the pilot team for thegeriatrics in NT as well in the last few yearsof my work as a doctor.

“In retirement I would like to work withAlzheimer’s and may be just a simple job inthe soup kitchen,” Dr M says.

Sadhana Mahajani is senior Australian finalist

(From left) Mark Grose, Michael Hohnen, Peter Fletcher, Ferdy Mauboy(on behalf of Jessica Mauboy) and Dr Sadhana Mahajani. Photo by: Shane Eecen.

By Ben Coxworth

FreshPaper is herb-infusedpaper that is claimed to pro-long the shelf life of fresh

fruits and vegetablesWhile we all know how impor-

tant it is to eat plenty of fruits andvegetables, it can often be difficultto use all that we buy before theyspoil. A product known asFreshPaper, however, is claimed tokeep such foods fresh two to fourtimes longer than normal – and itdoes so just using spices.

The proprietary mix of organicspices infused in every paper sheetwas discovered by inventor KavitaShukla when she paid a visit to her

grandmother in India. It turned outthat her grandmother’s family hadbeen using the formulation for gen-erations to prolong the shelf life offruits and vegetables. Although theexact ingredients are a trade secret,the fact that Shukla’s company iscalled Fenugreen points to the factthat fenugreek is one of them.

The sheets themselves can just beplaced in the bottom of a fruit bowl,fridge drawer, or anywhere else thatfresh produce is being stored. Theproduce itself is then placed directlyonto the sheet with the herbs whichreportedly inhibit bacterial and fun-gal growth. As long as the sheetemits a maple-like odor, it’s active.After about two or three weeks, thesmell will fade and the biodegrad-able sheet should be replaced.

‘Humour, laughterand comedy are thebest way to build

bridges between cul-tures,’ says comedianand free-lance journal-ist, Uma Thakar. ‘Ibelieve that humour isone of Australia’sbiggest untappedsources of internation-al goodwill.’

Uma is conductinginterviews in India andAustralia in early 2013for a short documentary, ‘Yougotta laugh, mate’ and research-ing her book, ‘The surreal diary ofan Aussie Indian,’ with the sup-port of the Australia India Councilunder the auspices of theDepartment of Foreign Affairsand Trade. Produced and Directedby Uma, this documentary bringstogether a talented crew includingHead Scriptwriter AmandaScotney (Film, My Husband),Technical Consultant Zev Howleywhose award winning filmsinclude Broken Superman andHoliday to Remember, BollywoodDirector and Production in ChargeVimal Reddy (films Adhura Sapnaand Ghar Pardes), Co-DirectorFaye Dunn, who is a program pre-senter on SBS Radio and presentlywriting a book on Hakka Chinaand Music Director and ComposerJim Kane (albums ‘Trigger Happy

Love’ released in 2009 and‘Satellite Wishes’ due for releasein 2013).

Uma has performed at eventson Australia Day, InternationalWomen’s Day, Harmony Day andthe Festival of Lights. She hastaken part in the St Kilda LaughsFestival, the MelbourneInternational Comedy Festival, theMelbourne Fringe Festival andLaugh to Stop Homelessness. Shehas worked on a documentary forthe Lord Mayor’s CharitableFoundation as well as a short filmfor Scotney Shorts.

Uma is part of the cast of asketch comedy series titled ‘SpinCycle’ produced by MelissaCrotty, scheduled to be broadcaston Channel 31 and the WorldWide Web and performed at the2013 Melbourne InternationalComedy Festival.

Spicy paper claimed to keepfruits and veggies fresh longer

Bringing Australia andIndia closer, one laugh

at a time

Uma Thakar

Community


On November 18, St Mary'sChurch in North Sydney celebrat-ed Deepavali. Father Phil Crotty,

who has lived in India for more than fiftyyears and speaks fluent Hindi, was thecelebrant. He spoke about this specialfestival of India, its meaning to the con-

gregation as a Catholic ceremony wasconducted.

Indian music, hymns and chants high-lighting Deepavali’s message of ‘triumphof light over darkness’ created a curiousyet multicultural atmosphere at thechurch. In a colourful backdrop with Om

Shanti, Shanti chant, blowing of theconch shell, a small Aarthi andPushpanjali and hymns in Gujarati andKonkani were conducted.

Keeping with the theme of light,Gandhi's favourite Chrisitian hymn,'Lead Kindly Light' was also sung in its

original English version as well as thebeautiful Gujarati version called 'PremalJyoti'. A colourful Dandia Raas dance byPurvi Desai and her students followed.

A morning tea after the ceremonywelcomed all with Indian snacks andsweets.

Deepavali at North Sydney’s St Mary’s church

The University of New South Wales honoured the outstanding achievements of Ratan Tata,the outgoing Chairman of the Tata Group – India’s largest corporation – with the degree ofDoctor of Business honoris causa on November 27. Vice-Chancellor Fred Hilmer describedRatan Tata as "A brilliant businessman both in India and internationally" and a "drivingforce behind the resurgence of India as an economic and world power", while conferringhim with a doctorate from University of New South Wales."Australia is a vibrant economy," Mr Tata said. There were areas of high technology whereAustralia was "at the forefront" and India could benefit from this. "India seeks some of thetechnology that Australia produces," the 74-year-old said.

Manjiri Kelkar and SudhaRaghunathan are the Indian artistsat WOMADelaide 2013, Australia’sfavourite outdoor festival, to be heldin Adelaide's Botanic Park fromFriday 8 March – Monday 11March. Natraj Cultural Centre willhold their concerts in Sydney(March 14, City Recital Hall, AngelPlace) and Melbourne (March 12,Melbourne Recital Centre) in a dou-ble-bill Hindustani and Carnaticconcert.

Atula Kalemakes her ownwheat bagswhich help easearthritic pains,sprains, tooth &ear ache, relieffor the neck andshoulder pains,stomach andm e n s t r u a lcramps and lig-ament injury.The bags caneither bemicrowaved for1 to 3 minutesor used as coldcompress. Thebags are made from cotton corduroy and Australian wheat. Atula, says, “I had a slip discand chronic arthritis. Instead of taking continuous medicines I decided to use one andfelt the immense relief from pain. These bags have been my savior.” Atula now makesthese wheat bags herself at home sewing and filling them and sells them for $15 and $20.She can be contacted on 0406 664 041

Manjiri Kelkar

SudhaRaghunathan


Community

They say art has no religion, caste,colour or race and rightly so.Aishveryaa Nidhi, Artistic

Director of Abhinay School ofPerforming Arts has been felicitatedwith the prestigious Volunteer of theyear 2012 by St George CommunityAwards for her outstanding contributionin the field of art & culture.

Aishveryaa's exemplary efforts inpromoting art and theatre cultural activ-ities in Sydney have brought two diversecultures of India and Australia togetheron stage. In the past, Abhinay Schoolhas played host to a plethora of eventsincluding playwriting workshops, HindiDivas celebration and participated inShort+Sweet, Sydney and Delhi, India.

Presenting the award, said MarkJoseph Coure, member of the NSWLegislative Assembly representingOatley for the Liberal Party,"Aishveryaa has contributed greatly topromoting the artistic and culturalaspects of the Indian community. Herdedication not merely to promotingIndian culture has also translated into agreat benefit for the arts within Sydney.

She has encouraged a number of herstudents to become actively involved in

Harmony Day events across the StGeorge region as well as being activelyinvolved in the Resourceful AustralianIndian Network. Hers is an example thatenriches and binds a strong multicultur-al dynamic across the community."

With plenty of hard work and visionunder Aishverya Nidhi, Abhinay per-forming arts school has participated inalmost all major events of St Georgearea.

It has performed in St. George YouthFestival at Olds Park, IWD celebrationsat Rockdale Council, Harmony DayHurstville Council, Leviathan,Hurstville Council project, HarmonyDay at Pole Depot, Seniors Lunch atGymea, and the ‘Colorblind Project’(part of the Mardi Gras Festival) amonga host of others.

Aishveryaa Nidhi thanks her dedicat-ed team of Abhinay comprising commit-tee members, writers, actors and artistsand also the wonderful audience of theIndian community who have becomekeen connoisseurs of theatre. SaysAishveryaa, “We have tried to crosscultural boundaries and reach out to themainstream through the powerful medi-um of theatre.”

Aishveryaa Nidhi receives'Volunteer of the year' award

melbournerecital.com.au

TRANSACTION FEES MAY APPLY

ADDITIONAL FEES MAY APPLY

www.nataraj.org.au

AN EXCITING CARNATIC & HINDUSTANI DOUBLE-BILL

WITH TWO OF INDIA’S BEST-LOVED CLASSICAL

SINGERS

“SPIRIT of INDIA artists are the equals of the very best in the world.”

Sudha Ragunathan

Manjiri Kelkar

Aishveryaa received volunteer award from Mark Coure

Community


Award winning Gujarati Bhajan singer

and writer, Hemant Chauhan is on his

way to Australia for a live concert

organized by Yuva Gujarat, Gujarati

Association of Australia.

Hemant specializes in Bhajans, reli-

gious and Garba songs and other folk

genres. He received 'Akademi Ratna

Award 2011' for his contribution to tra-

ditional folk music of Gujarat in

October, 2012. He is frequently referred

to as the Bhajan King of Gujarati

Music, and is also considered to be one

of the best singers of Sugam Sangeet.

He has a huge fan base and following

all over the world including India

(mainly in Gujarat), United Arab

Emirates, United Kingdom, United

States of America and East Africa. His

fan base outside of India is made up of

people of Gujarati Heritage. It is

believed that his performances of bha-

jans and devotional music have the abil-

ity to carry the listener into a tranquil,

relaxed and serene world. He has a

charismatic personality that enthralls his

listeners with his effortless voice and

charm. With an extensive catalogue of

hit songs and bhajans, his “Kathiya

Wadi Lok Dayra and Bhajan Sandhya”

concert tour in North America in early

2007 was a huge hit. Hemant Chauhan

is is revered as a legend in India and

has released many albums of devotional

music.

Hemant and his talented team will be

performing in Sydney on March 23 at

7pm at Sydney Bahai Centre in

Silverwater. Contact Mahesh Raj on

0433 698 525 for sponsorships and tick-

ets.

Hemant Chauhan live in

Australia in March

Dr Shashi Tharoor, India’s Minister of State

for Human Resource Development, and

Distinguished Fellow of the Australia India

Institute (A-I-I) today inaugurates a major col-

laboration between leading artists from five

nations.

Twenty high-profile artists of Australian,

Indian, British, Iranian and Laotian back-

grounds have gathered in India’s historic city

of Jaipur to collaborate and create new art-

works.

Dr Tharoor officially opened the event in

Jaipur on January 23.

Running until the 31st of January, the A-I-

I’s Artists’ Retreat will see artists taking part in

a series of curated sessions, and visiting sites of

inspiration in India such as the Amber Fort.

The culmination of the retreat will be a new

and original artwork by each artist, and a col-

laborative group piece.

Curatorial adviser Chaitanya Sambrani said

engaging with artists from different cultures

and heritages is important as “cross-cultural

interaction produces new kinds of dynamics for

artistic practice.”

Artists attending the retreat include: Jon

Cattapan; Australia’s 63rd official war artist

who was deployed to Timor Leste and has

worked in the UK, Europe, India, South Korea

and the US; Fiona Hall; Photographer and

AsiaLink resident artist in Sri Lanka and Gigi

Scaria, award-winning artist from Kerala who

represented India at the 54th Venice Biennale

in 2011, and others.

Shashi

Tharoor

launches

International

Artists’

Retreat

FAIA celebrates Indian Republic Day

FAIA celebrated Indian Republic Day

and Australia Day together in a true multi-

cultural spirit on Saturday 19 January at

Bowman Hall, Blacktown. FAIA encour-

aged maximum participation of community

members for such important occasions and

set an example by organising the event as

“admission free”.

The evening presented a showcase of

songs and dances from Sydney’s young tal-

ents. It was an entertaining evening organ-

ised well by the cultural team consisting of

Uma Swamy, Jeyshree Raj and Raji

Viswanathan. FAIA also chose the occasion

to honour High HSC Achievers from the

community.

The VIP guests who attended the event

included Hon Phillip Ruddock representing

Hon Tony Abbott, Leader of Opposition,

Consul General of India Hon Arun Kumar

Goel, NSW Premier representative Hon

Victor Dominello, NSW Leader of

Opposition represented by Hon Amanda

Fazio and Blacktown Mayor representative

Hon Councillor Karlo Siljeg.

Welcoming the community members

and invited guests, Neera Srivastava,

President, FAIA stated that the economic

relationship between Australia and India is

growing strongly. FAIA is aiming to promote

integration of Indian and mainstream

Australian communities for mutual social,

cultural and economic advancement. She

also appealed to Federal and State

Government for greater support to to enable

FAIA to carry out its commitment for com-

munity initiatives.

FAIA committee members with Indian Consul General Arun Goel, Hon Victor Dominello and Hon Phillip Ruddock Australian artist Jon Cattapan

ArtistFionaHall


Children’s Corner

Children's Corner By Esther Chaudhry-Lyons

Ronit Subramanian was seven years old andhe was the tallest student in his class. Itmade him feel very proud. But when he

remembered some of the things he used to do as asmall kid, he felt a little shy. He wished his motherwould not tell those stories to her friends again andagain.

Last week his mother’s old school friend hadcome to see her. They were meeting after 10 years.

Ronit was just back fromschool but his ears prickedup when he heard hismother say in that goofytone, “You know what myRonit used to do as ababy? He used to thinkeverything and everyonewas a part of theSubramanian family. So hewould call the refrigerator‘frig Subramanian. And hewould call the doggy thatcurled up on our doormat

outside ‘doggy Subramanian’”.Ronit heard his mother’s friend say, “cho

chweeeet” and he ran out of the house – withoutany lunch. “I wish mother would not do thesethings,” he said for the thousandth time.

Toys For a Big Boy, Stories for kids:145_1.gifThat evening his mother showed him thetoys and games her friend had got for him. Onestuffed dolphin and a game of blocks. Ronit gotangry. “These are kids toys, kids toys and games. Iam a big boy now. My hero is Spiderman. That’sthe toy I want for my birthday thisyear. Spiderman and the spray thatmakes the spider web.”

“Are you saying you no longerwant your favourite stuffed toy – pep-per the doggy?” Ronit’s motherasked. “I don’t want kids toys, Idon’t want kids toys and games anymore. I am a BIG BOY,” Ronit

shouted. ‘Okay, okay, we heard you,” said his par-ents.

A month later, Ronit’s parents bought him aSpiderman kit for his eighth birthday. They boughthim a Spiderman T-shirt and trousers, a shinySpiderman toy and a glove with a spray bottleattached to it. “Wear the glove and then press thespray button. It will make a web pattern on thewall, Ronit’s father said. Ronit, and even hisfather, were so excited with the spray that theyused it again and again to see who could make abigger web! There was even a Spiderman cake.

After his friends left, Ronit opened up each giftpackage. Yesssss! He was a big boy now. He hadgot so many presents of toys and games and theywere all for big boys. He especially liked a Legoset that made a battery-powered robot, a snazzy carracing video game, and, best of all, a cool skate-board. Ronit went to sleep clutching theSpiderman. You see he had decided he no longerwanted his favourite stuffed toy, Pepper doggy.

Toys For a Big Boy, Stories for kids:145_2.jpgAs soon as his head hit the pillow Ronitfell asleep. He now slept in a room of his own. Aroom with sunny yellow walls. But until yesterday,he had gone to sleep clutching Pepper doggy’s ear.The softness of the toy always made him happy.But Spiderman was a metal toy. It was cold totouch. At night, as Ronit’s blanket slipped downthe bed, the cold metal of Spiderman poked him.Ronit dreamt that he was being chased by icy mon-sters who were out to freeze him into a statue. Inhis dream he shouted for Pepper. Not findingPepper, he woke up screaming, crying.

His mother heard him whimper andcame rushing into his room. “I wantPepper. He is my friend. Big boys alsohave doggy friends,” cried Ronit.Pepper has now crept back into Ronit’sbed. Every night, Ronit and Pepperhave a new adventure. In his dreams,Ronit sees Pepper in a Spiderman out-fit. Isn’t that cool?

Just how popularwas Mini?Very. Every

year, her classmatesvoted her as thefavourite student.She was easy to getalong with and wasa great company.The number of friends she had by faroutnumbered those of anyone else inher group.

One day the 10-year-old wascaught yakkety-yakking in the classand ordered to stay back as punish-ment. Staying back meant doingsomething 'useful', like helping in thegarden or library after school.

The Popular Student, Stories forkids: 134_1.gifNow the school inwhich Mini studied had a rule ofsorts. Once a month, you could inter-change your punishment schedule withsomeone else. If you had somethingelse to do the day you were punished,you could ask a friend to stand in foryou. Of course, you had to return thefavour, but in that same month itself.Otherwise the favour cancelled itselfout. So the students who stayed backfor others and wanted the favourrepaid, found ways to be punishedthat very month.

As it happened, on that day a verydear aunt was visiting Mini on herway back to America. That afternoonwas the only chance Mini had of see-ing her for another five years.

Mini needed someone to stand infor her. That was a problem though -it was the last day of the month. Soanyone who helped her, would do soout of friendship's sake alone.

She sought outPreeti, her 'best'friend. "Oh noMini, I can't,"Preeti said. "I haveto coach my brotherfor his nurseryentrance test. Thekid just can't seem

to get into any decent school." Andshe spent a good deal of time tellingMini of her brother's problems.

"Mohit, will you stay back forme?" Mini asked another friend whowas dribbling a ball in the play-ground. She knew he often just hungaround after school.

"To help the librarian? I wishyou'd told me earlier. I have to go toa relative's house with my father.Some other day perhaps," and withthat Mohit fled.

By now, Mini was beginning todoubt if even one of her friends wouldagree to stay. But she tried again.Three more friends and each onerefused.

Of course, no one said "no" out-right. Mini was a great pal, after all.But each had a 'reason' why theycouldn't take her place that afternoon,and if only it were some other day..

So, after school Mini stayed backto help the librarian, Ms Mathur.And, when the remote Ms Mathurfound her crying after everyone hadleft, it was she who surprised Mini byallowing her to leave to meet heraunt.

"Some popularity I have," Minimurmured to herself, as she wenthome. "I may have many friends, butin reality I have none."

Chandragupta Maurya wasthe first emperor of theMauryan Empire who

came to rule much of North India.He rose to power under the influ-ence of a minister namedChanakya, and, with his assis-tance, overthrew the last of theNanda kings and captured theircapital city of Pataliputra.Chandragupta then turned hisattention to north-western Indiawhere a power vacuum had beenleft by the departure of Alexanderthe Great. The way he carriedhimself and the way he ruledseems like a mirror image of the

Macedonian conqueror. He tookover the lands east of the Indusand then, moving south, much ofwhat is now Central India.

The year 305 BC saw himback in the North-west whereSeleucus Nicator, the Macedoniansatrap of Babylonia, was threaten-ing fresh invasions. Chandraguptanot only stopped his advance butpushed the frontier farther westinto what is now Afghanistan.This showed how powerfulChandragupta really was.Apparently, a settlement wasreached between the two mon-archs. It included a matrimonial

alliance of some kind betweenChandragupta and Seleucus andthe latter's dispatch of an ambas-sador, Megasthenes, to theMaurya court at Pataliputra.Toward the end of his life,Chandragupta renounced histhrone and became an asceticunder the Jain saint Bhadrabahn,ending his days in self-starvation.

The Mauryan Empire, whichChandragupta founded, owes its

name to the house of theMauryas, under whose rule theIndian subcontinent saw, for thefirst time in history, a consider-able degree of political unity. Theempire lasted until 187 BC. TheMauryan Empire was very strongand independent because it hadsome kind of political unity.

The Mauryan capital was atPataliputra (present day Patna),the chief city of the old kingdom

of Magadha. The economy, in allits important aspects, was con-trolled by the state, and mines,forests, large farms, munitions,and spinning industries were stateowned and managed. The peoplewere divided into seven endoga-mous groups--"philosophers",peasants, herdsmen, traders, sol-diers, government officials, andcouncillors. The army was com-posed of the four traditionalIndian divisions: forces mountedon elephants, on chariots, cavalry,and infantry, and tended to belarge (Chandragupta's forcesreputedly numbered 600,000men). The religious life of theempire may perhaps best be char-acterized as pluralistic.Brahamanism, Buddhism,Jainism, the Ajivikas, and wan-dering mendicants of other typesall seem to have coexisted. Thegeneral religious policy of theMauryas was to encourage toler-ance.

In modern times the MauryaEmpire is remembered as one ofthe golden ages of Indian history,a time when the country was unit-ed and independent.

Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, his mentor Chanakya.

Toys for a big boy The Popular Student

HISTORY OF OUR MOTHERLAND INDIAChandragupta321 BC - 297 BC

Hindi

bî brà=h fUe gt aao fUe Dkrxgtü fUe

ct; lnek fUh hnt nqâ, Ju ;tu CdJtl fUtu

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rfUme fUtu Rl mu vhuNtle lné ntu;e>

l ne bî ôfUq fUe Dkxe fUe ct; fUh

hnt nqâ rsm fUu Rk;\sth bü rJ‘t:eo hn;u nî

rfU fUc csu ytih fUc Wànü yÆgtvfUtü mu

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rnômu bü Wl fUe ytJt\s c\ze b"wh gt=

cl fUh yt;e ni> bwSu gt= ni rfU nbthu

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Dkxe ntu;e :e rsm vh ôfUq fUt av\ztme

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fUh \stuh=th ytJt\s vi=t fUh;t :t> ytih

l ne yts bî fUwA fUnqkdt mtRofU˜ fUe

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htn a˜;u ˜tud mtRofU˜ mJth fUt htô;t

mtVU fUh =u;u :u> gt rsmu bla u \zfUu,

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vnatl Wl fUe Dkxe mu fUh u;u nî>

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cý; \sÁhe nî ytih mntgfU mtrc; ntu;e

nî& simu IôbtufU y˜tbo' fUe mexe, VUtgh

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rVUh Yöcgw üm fUt mtRohl>

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Dkrxgtü fUe rsl mu bî fUtVUe =wFe nqâ>

Ntg= ytv fUtu gn ct; lRo l ˜du

¢gtürfU ytih Ce ˜tud Rm fUu rNfUth ntu

awfUu ntüdu> urfUl bî ;tu Wme fUe ct;

fUÁkdt stu buhu mt: ce;e ni>

Jn Drxgtk atnu VUtul fUe ntu gt Dh

fUe fUtp ci fUe, fUtVUe mbôgtYk vi=t

fh =u;e nî> Jimu D\ze fUu y˜tbo fUe Dkxe

Ce fUb ;kd lnek fUh;e, nt˜tkrfU nbü

mbg vh sdtlu fUe zgqxe rlCt hne ntu;e

ni, vhk;w sc dnhe lé= mu rzôxToc fUh;e

ni ;tu cý; cwhe ˜d;e ni>

ar˜gu yc c\ze möôgtslfU Dkxe

y:to; VUtul fUe Dkxe fUe ct; fUh;u nî>

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ni>

yCe Dh bü Dwmt ne nqâ rfU xu eVUtul

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fUövle fUt ni, fUn hnu nî rfU gr= yts

ne nb Wl mu RkNtuhüm fUht u;u nî ;tu Ju

IctulmO fUu ;tih vh nbthe IÜgwlh˜O fUt

Fato V{Ue bü =u =üdu> Rm ;hn mu nb yvlu

rŒgsltü vh ctuS lnek hnüdu> ytih ;tu ytih

Ju nbü V{Ue bü IrJ˜ rfUxO Ce Cus =üdu

;trfU nb yvle mövrút yvle b\seo mu

rclt JfUe˜ fUtu VUem r=gu ctâx mfUüdu>

ytih mc mu yåAe ct; ;tu gn rfU

nbü rfUme bizefU˜ xiôx fUhtlu fUe Ce

\sÁh; lné>

nb YfU =b afUht dgu Wl fUe Rm

"q;o;tRo vh, se bü ;tu ytgt rfU WlfUtu

=tu ath btuxe btuxe vkstce dt˜e mwlt =ü,

vhk;w Yumu c=;be\stü fUtu fUtuRo VUfUo lnek

v\z;t>

fURo Yumu ne ytih Ixu emu O Jt˜tü lu

ytih aà=t btkdlu Jt˜tü lu nbthe lé=

nhtb fUh hFe ni>

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fUu r˜gu cîfU bilush fUu ytdu ltfU ;fU

hd\zlu fUtu ;igth hn;u :u, vhk;w yc gn

nt˜; ni rfU Wl mu veAt Aw\ztlt bwrëfU˜

ntu hnt ni> ytgu r=l VUtul vu VUtul rfU

˜tul ˜ersgu gt yvlt yfUtQkx nbthu

cîfU bü x[tkmVUh fUht ˜ersgu, nb ytv

fUt 6 bnelu fUt çgts btVU fUh =üdu>

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nb ;tu rfUhtgu=th nîOO

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bü nb ytv fUe b== fUh mfU;u nî>

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ltifUhe fUe ;˜tN bü nî, fUtuRo yåAe me

ltifUhe r=˜t =ersguOO>

W"h mu yvlu ytv ne ¢lifël fUx

st;t ni>

yCe :tu\ze =uh =b Ce lné r˜gt rfU

VUtul fUe Dkxe rVUh cs st;e ni>

fUtil ntudt? ¢gt bwmec; ni?

IIse, ytv Rkrzgt VUtul fUh;u nî?OO

W"h mu ytJt\s yt;e ni>

IIfUh;t nqâOO

IIrfUm hux vu?OO

IIb;˜c?OO

IIb;˜c gn rfU nb ytv fUtu mô;u

hux vh =üdu>OO

IIlnek atrngu mô;t huxOO, nb SÖ˜t

fUh ctu ;u nî>

IIysec ct; ni, ytv fUtu vimu lnek

catlu nîOO

IIytv fUtu fUtuRo Y;ht\s ni?OO, nb

VUtul cà= fUh =u;u nî>

Dkxe cslu fUu xtRob Ce c\zu ysec

ntüdu, simu sc nb Ftlt Ft hnu nî gt

xeJe vh yvlt VUuJrhx Ntu =uF hnu nî gt

fUth a˜t hnu ntü >

fUCe fUCe ;tu rmawYNl Yume ntu;e

ni rfU c\ze =wrJ"t bü v\z st;u nî simu nb

NtJh bü Dwmlu Jt u nî gt xtg ux fUe

mex vh ciXu nî ytih VUtul fUe Dkxe cs

WX;e ni ;tu c;tRogu ytv ¢gt fUhüdu?

yåAt ytv fUtu dwômt lnek ytgudt

rfU ytv dnhe lé= mtu hnu nî ytih VUtul

fUe Dkxe \stuh mu cs WX;e ni, ytv

n\zc\zt fUh rhmeJh WXt;u nî >

IIni tu, fUtil ? ¢gt ýyt? R;le

ht; dgu VUtul ¢gtuk rfUgt?OO ytv vqA;u

nî >

IIyhu, r=Ö˜e mu fUtkr; ctu hnt nqâ,

¢gt mtu hnu :u?OO

IIse lnek mtulu fUe rhnmo fUh hnt

:t, ctu tu!OO

IIyhu, c\ze sÖ=e mtu st;u nî> ¢gtuk

¢gt xtRob ýyt niOO

IIht; fUu fUuJ˜ mt\Zu cthn OO

IIysec ct; ni, gntâ ;tu yCe 7

ne csu nî> ar˜gu ct= bü VUtul fUh

qkdt>OO

IIlnek, lnek, yc fUrngu, buhe lé=

;tu nhtb ntu ne dRo ni>OO

yc fUtil lnek yvlu ct˜ ltua udt

Rl bntëg fUe y¢j vh, rsànü gn Ce

Ægtl lné ni rfU =wrlgt bü nh sdn xtRob

YfU lnek ntu;t>

fURo cth mtuat Ce rfU ¢gtuk l VUtul

˜tRol fUxJt =e stgu, urfUl Rm ;hn

mu nb ôJgk ne gthtü rbºttü ytih mdu

mkck"egtü mu fUx stgüdu>

btuctRo VUtul fUe ;tu ytih Ce

bwmec; ni rfU cntlt Ce lnek clt mfU;u

rfU nb Dh vh lnek :u>

yc fURo cth ;tu xu eVUtul fUe ;th

ne rlfUt˜ =u;t nqâ ;trfU bwSu fUtp ule

ne l v\zu>

Yumu ne cý; mu fUtp \so vh fUtpVUe

mbg ccto= ntu;t ni> simu mtu h vil˜

˜dtlu Jt u, xtRo rhôxtuhh, v˜öch>

yCe bî lu Wl fUtpÖ\s fUt r\sfÞ ;tu rfUgt

ne lnek stu \sht ñx fUh nî > =wëbl mu

AwxfUtht r=˜tlu Jt u ßgtur;Me ctct fUt

;tJe\s, stuztü fUu ==o fUt ;u ytih sJtl

cllu fUu r˜gu 50% fUu rzôfUtpWkx vh

Ftm lwôFt> yc rfUm rfUm fUt ltb

ü ? nb lu Izq ltpx fUtp O hrsôxh fUt

mntht Ce r˜gt ni vhk;w WmfUt ymh Ce

WÖxt ne ýyt ni>

yCe nt˜ bü ;tu n= ne ntu dRo sc

nbü YfU fUtp Jt u lu c;tgt rfU cîfU lu

nbü ZtRo n\sth ztp h ytuJhatso rfUgt ni,

stu Ju nbü ˜tixt hnu nî ytih Wm fUu r˜gu

¢ ub Chlu rfUme vtuôx ytprVUm stgü gt

VUtul vh yvlt yfUtQkx ytih vtmJoz

fUkÜob fUhuk> vhk;w Yumu VÞtz fUe ct; yvlu

YfU rbºt mu vn u ne mwl awfUu :u, Rm

r˜gu Wmu "bfUtgt rfU nb Wm fUe at˜

mbS dgu nî ytih Wm fUe vwr˜m bü rhv-

tuxo fUhlu st hnu nî ;tu Jn nbü ne VUtul

vh dt˜e cfUlu ˜dt> yc ytv ne

c;tRogu rfU Yumu wxuhtü fUtu fUimu nîz˜

rfUgt stgu>

ntâ fUCe fUCe Wl mu stl Aw\ztlu bü

fUtbgtce rb˜ Ce st;e ni, gn fUn fUh

rfU Dh bü fUwA diôx ytgu nî, ct= bü VUtul

fUersgu gt rfU yvlt löch Atu\z =ersgu

nb ct= bü VUtul fUh üdu> vhk;w Ju yvlt

löch fUCe Ce lné Atu\z;u>

stu \ßgt=t ZeX rfUôb fUu ntu;u nî, Wànü

Cdtlu fUu r˜gu VUtul rfUme cåau fUu nt:

bü =u =u;u nî< :tu\ze =uh fUu ct= Ju Fw= ne

VUtul cà= fUh Ctd F\zu ntu;u nî >

bik fURo cth xu eVUtul fUe Dkxe fUtu mwlt

ylmwlt fUh r=gt fUh;t :t ;tu ¶eb;e

se bwSu ytJt\s =ufUh IIawfU Je ti CRoOO

fUt yt=uN =u;e :é ytih buhu rVUh Ce l

WXtlu vh ,II¢gt fUtltü bü ÁRo zt˜e ýRo

ni gt fUtl mu cnhu ntu dgu nî ¢gt?OO simu

ztg˜tpd mu mkctur"; fUh;e :é >

ytih gr= Jn VUtul WlfUe rfUme

mnu e fUt ntu;t :t ;tu Dkxtü ct;ü fUh;e

:é > bî yts ;fU lné mbS vtgt rfU

gu ytih;ü R;le R;le =uh VUtul vh ¢gt

ct;ü fUh;e nî >

ytRogu yc fUwA Dh bü ˜de ýRo Dkxe

fUe ct; ntu stgu stu ytv lu Rmr˜gu

˜dt hFe ni rfU sc ytv fUu rbºt ytr=

rb˜lu fUu r˜gu ytgü ;tu ytv Wl fUt

ôJtd; fUh mfUü >

vhk;w fUwA =qmhu tud Wm fUt =wh¥vgtud

fUh;u nî ytih vhuNtl fUh;u nî ;tu ct;

döCeh ntu st;e ni>

fUtp ci cse ytih =Jto\st Ftu lu

vh =uFt, YfU ltisJtl \zfUt nt: bü

YfU VUtuÖzh r˜gu ytih d u bü Stu t

˜xfUtgu F\zt ni>

IIytv fUtu v;t ni rfU yVUhe\fUt bü

htu\stlt n\sthtü cåau CqF mu bh hnu nî>

ytv Wl fUu r˜gu ¢gt fUh hnu nî ?OO

IIse C˜t bî ¢gt fUh mfU;t nqâ ?OO

IIfUh mfU;u nî, nbthe mkô:t Wl fUu

r˜gu aà=t RfÙt fUh hne ni> nb IhiVU˜O

rxfUx cua hnu nî> rfU;le üdu?OO

se bü ytgt rfU Wl mu fUnü, Ci©gt

se, Rm bü nbtht ¢gt \fUmqh ni ytih nbü

fUtuRo rxfUx rJfUx lnek ulu nî, vhk;w nb

Xnhu vi=tgNe IRbtuNl˜ VUq OO, mtu 50

ztp h fUu rxfUx Fhe= r˜gu> vh ct= bü

vA;tJt ntulu ˜dt sc gth ˜tudtü lu

ct;tgt rfU Yumu fURo ImfUibO ntu hnu nî,

gu ˜tud l\fU˜e fUövrlgtâ clt Ctu u Ct u

˜tudtü fUtu cuJ\fUqVU clt;u nî> ytih stu fUwA

XefU Ce nî Ju aà=u fUt 80% mu 90 %

yvlu Qvh ne Fao fUh u;u nî ytih

dhectü ;fU fUwA Ftm lnek výkat;u> 5

ôxth ntux˜tü bü hn;u nî ytih VUôxo ¢˜tm

bü nJtRo mVUh fUh;u nî>

nbü 50 ztp h fUt R;lt =w&F lnek

ýyt rs;lt IcuJ\fUqVUO cllu fUt>

=qmhu ne r=l Dkxe fUe ytJt\s vh

=hJt\su fUtu Ftu t ;tu gqle fUu YfU ôxwzüx

fUtu =uFt stu yvle VUem =ulu fUu r˜gu

fUwA vürxkd cua hnt :t >

Wm vh ;hm ;tu cý; ytgt vh Jn

VUhtpz Jt˜e ct; gt= ytlu vh se fU\zt

fUh Wmu blt fUh r=gt, rfUk;w mtht r=l

vhuNtl hnt rfU cuathu lu yvle VUem fUimu

Che ntude>

Rme a¢fUh bü rVUh yd u mË;tn

YfU ytih rJ‘t:eo (stu ckd˜t=uN mu

ytgt :t), mu fUwA INtJh nizO u fUh

Wmu yvlu rnômu fUu IYlseo murJkd

mxeorVUfUuxO =u r=gu ;trfU Wm fUe fUövle

mhfUth mu fUtphcl xi¢m fUu If{UirzxO u

mfUu> urfUl Wm fUu st;u ne rVUh Jne

NfU ytih cuaile> nb yCe ;fU Wm

ckd˜t=uNe fUtu ZqkZ hnu nî ;trfU Wmu Wm

fUu NtpJh niz ˜tixt fUh yvlu vuvh Jtvm

u mfUü >

R;Jth fUt r=l ni, nb rh i¢m ntu

xeJe =uF hnu nî ytih dbo dbo atg fUe

awôfUe u hnu nî rfU Dkxe cs WX;e ni >

=uFt =hJt\su vh =tu gkdbil fUt u mqx

vnlu ytih xtRo ˜dtgu, nt:tü bü Atuxe Atuxe

vwô;fUü r˜gu F\zu nî>

IIfUrngu, bî ytv fUe ¢gt muJt fUh

mfU;t nqâ?OO

IIytv fUtu ôJdo fUt htô;t =uFlt ni

;tu nbthu aao bü ytRogu> gn vwô;fU vr\Zgu

ytv fUu mc Œëltü fUu Wúth rb˜ stgüdu

ytih mc =w&F =qh ntu stgüduOO>

nb Wl mu stl Aw\ztlu fUu r˜gu Wl

mu Jn vwô;fU u u;u nî stu Wl fUu mt:e

nbü rvA u mË;tn ne =u dgu :u>

yc Rl mc rcr¨gtuk... gtrl rf

Dkrxgtü fUu d u bü Dkxe fUtil ctk"udt?

bwSuu Rll Dkrxgtüü muu catytu..

mk;; htbb cstss



Santram's Grey Page

The New Year has started with a spateof Bushfires around the country, par-ticularly affecting NSW and Victoria.

The weather conditions are becoming veryerratic to say the least. On Jan 18 the mer-cury hit 46.5 and then in the eveningdropped down to 23. That kind of variationis not good for anyone, let alone the agedand frail.

Please take appropriate steps to protectyourselves from the heat wave. Maybe youcan go to an air-conditioned shopping centre,if you don’t have the facility at home.

Drink lots of water even if you don’t feelthirsty. Keep a bottle of water handy. Avoidaerated sugary drinks like Coca Cola.

Over 65 and exercising?Exercising over 65 is not just about your

heart. You also need to work on yourstrength, balance and coordination.

Walking is great for conditioning ourheart and lungs, but as we get older we needto protect more than just our cardiovascularsystem.

If you're not doing any activity, try totake up at least one. Not being active is alarge part of why our health deterioratesafter 65.

Walking is great exercise, but if it's youronly activity, think about another more com-plex activity, such as dance or tai chi andYoga, that will help protect your balance,coordination, concentration and attention aswell as being good for your heart. Engagingyour brain at the same time as you exerciseseems to be the key. For instance, "cybercycling" – cycling on a stationary bike whilelooking at a display of a virtual environmenthas been shown to better improve cognitive(thinking) performance than simply cyclingon a stationary bike.

Activities such as yoga (or just stretchingexercises) can build flexibility (to help witheveryday activities like cleaning and gettingdressed), and weight training can build mus-cle strength (necessary for most everydayactivities, even getting in and out of a chair).

If you haven't been active for a while,you might need to start with less than 30minutes a day and build up from there. (Ifyou're new to exercise, you need to see adoctor before you start).

Get rid of that dark patchTips to manage and treat hyperpigmen-

tationHyper pigmentation is the formation of

dark patches on the skin. It is a common andoften distressing condition that can occurirrespective of skin type and complexion.

There are multiple causes for this prob-lem. Dark spots on the face, post-acnemarks, skin damage from sunlight and pig-mentation are commonly referred to asChhaiyans.

First, the doctor has to check whetherpigmentation is epidermal or dermal. Onlyepidermal pigmentation responds to treat-ment. First-line therapy includes prescriptioncreams to lighten the skin.

There are some simple and effectivehome remedies that one can try.

Lemon Juice: Lemon acts as a naturalbleaching agent. Mix equal quantities oflemon juice and water and apply it on thespots. Leave on for 10 minutes and thenrinse.

Aloe Vera: Aloe vera is a powerfulastringent and can be directly applied to acnespots.

Potato: Potato is a common skin lighten-ing and bleaching agent. Apply thin slices ofpotato to the skin and leave on for 20-30minutes so that the juice is absorbed by theskin.

Turmeric and Milk: Apply the mixtureof turmeric and milk on the affected area andleave it for 10 minutes before washing. Bothmilk and turmeric have bleaching propertiesand regular use makes the skin flawless.

Apart from these remedies, have a regu-lar skin care routine. Keep the skin hydrat-ed, moisturised and well nourished. Applysunscreen before going out in sun, whetheryou are 16 or 60, to prevent the sun’s raysfrom damaging and aging your skin.

What is Pancreatitis?* Pancreatitis is defined as “inflamma-

tion of the pancreas”. The pancreas is agland located behind the stomach. It releasesthe hormones, insulin and glucagon, as wellas digestive enzymes that help you digest andabsorb food.

* Pancreatitis can be caused by gallstonesthat become lodged at the opening to the pan-creas.

* Bending forward or curling in a fetalposition may ease the pain, while eating ordrinking tends to make it worse. Usually theblockage is temporary, lasting a few days,and the symptoms disappear when the gall-stone is dislodged.

* Chronic Pancreatitis is as a result ofheavy alcohol use. It’s unclear how alcoholcauses pancreatitis. This involves chronicabdominal pain that can go from months toyears. Every meal one eats can make thepain worse.

* Symptoms of chronic pancreatitisinclude painful episodes of abdominal pain, achronic dull ache in the middle of theabdomen, unexplained weight loss, and oily,smelly stools. Mild cases of acute pancreatitis generallyimprove within a week. Moderate to severecases may take longer to resolve.

MEALS THAT HEAL- Fibre of health

Lotus stem (Kamal kakdi)Almost all the parts of the lotus plant–

stem, root, flower, stalks and seeds -- areused in various cuisines. The lotus stem/rootis an underwater edible rhizome of the plant.It is widely used in Oriental and Indiancuisines. It is a low calorie vegetable withphyto-nutrients, vitamins and minerals. It isalso a good source of dietary fibre andVitamin C. It even has moderate levels of B-complex vitamins, that’s supposed to have aneffect on a person’s mood.

Kumquats look like olive-sized orangesbut, unlike other citrus fruits, they can beeaten whole with the peel. They are packedwith numerous anti-oxidants that have healthbenefits. The peel is rich in essential oils andfibre. Fresh kumquat contains an ampleamount of Vitamin A, C and E which helpsremove free radicals from the body and pro-tect us from infections, diabetes and cancer.It also helps in faster iron absorption andhealing wounds.

Banana StemThe banana tree is one of those few

species where each part is used in some wayor the other, be it the leaves which are usedfor eating food, the fruit which is eaten in theraw or ripe form, or the flower or stemwhich is also consumed.

Banana stem can be cooked or consumedraw in juice form.

Banana stem is a rich source of fibre andhelps in weight loss. It also helps ease con-stipation. Banana stem is rich in potassiumand vitamin B6 just like the fruit. Bananastem juice is beneficial to health, accordingto Ayurveda. The juice also relieves ulcers,burning sensation and acidity. Its astringentquality helps in blood coagulation.

Chickpea (bengal gram,chana, kabulichana) is rich in essential amino acids, min-erals, fibre and carbohydrates.

MilletRagi or finger millet is available in the

form of grain, broken like semolina or pow-dered like flour. Ragi is rich in iron and cal-cium and, therefore, useful in preventinganaemia. It is low on calories and has highprotein content. It is especially valuable as itcontains the amino acid methionine, usuallylacking in the diets of those who live onstarchy staples such as polished rice. Due toits high nutritional value, ragi flour is rec-ommended as a weaning food. It is also suit-able for expectant mothers and the elderly.Since it does not contain gluten, it can besafely used to prepare interesting dishes forpeople with celiac disease.

Being an excellent source of calcium, itimproves bone health. It aids weight loss, asit curbs appetite, takes longer to digest andgives a feeling of fullness. It reduces highglucose levels in the blood. Threonine, anamino acid, present in ragi, prevents the for-mation of fat in the liver and this, in turn,

helps reduce cholesterol levels.TomatoCherry tomato is a small variety of toma-

to cultivated since the 1800s. Cherry tomatocontains all the four major carotenoids —alpha and beta carotenoids, lutein andlycopene. A diet rich in tomato-based prod-ucts may help reduce the risk of pancreaticcancer. When breastfeeding mothers eattomato products, it is said to increase theconcentration of lycopene in their milk.Cherry tomatoes are also rich in potassium.

FigsAlthough dried figs are available

throughout the year, there is nothing like theunique taste and texture of fresh figs. Figsare a good source of dietary fibre, potassi-um, manganese, carbohydrates, sugar, solu-ble and insoluble fibre, sodium, vitamins,minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.

RadishHorseradish is a pungent stimulant herb

that controls bacterial infection and can beused both internally and externally. If eatenit stimulates the digestive system.Externally, it may be used as a rubefacient.

Known to have diuretic properties, theroot is used to treat minor health problems,including urinary tract infection, bronchitis,sinus congestion, in-growing toenail andcough.

OatsOats are a hardy cereal grain able to

withstand poor soil conditions in which othercrops are unable to thrive.

The oatmeal and oat bran are rich indietary fibre, both soluble and insoluble.These aid in lowering blood cholesterol lev-els. Oats help in slowing down the rise inblood glucose levels after a meal and alsohelp in delaying the absorption into the cells.

Oats also have a good balance of essen-tial fatty acids and are a good source ofessential vitamins such as folic acid, thiaminand minerals such as copper, iron, man-ganese, zinc, magnesium and selenium.Regular consumption of oats also helps inmaintaining healthy blood pressure.

ZucchiniIn a culinary context, zucchini is consid-

ered a vegetable, which means it is usuallycooked and served as a savoury dish or as anaccompaniment. Zucchini can be preparedusing a variety of cooking techniques —steaming, boiling, grilling, stuffing and bak-ing it, barbecueing, frying, or incorporatingit into other recipes such as soufflés.Zucchini can also be eaten raw, sliced orshredded in a cold salad, as well as lightlycooked in hot salads, as in Thai orVietnamese recipes. The vegetable is low incalories and contains useful amounts offolate, potassium and vitamin A.

(Disclaimer: The Health tips in the arti-cle are taken from various well establishedand reliable sources and are given to you ingood faith. However, readers are remindedto take care and consult their doctor if notsure, as no responsibility can be accepted bythe writer of this column or The IndianDown Under).

Just for SeniorsBy Santram Bajaj

Organic VegetablesWife to Husband: “I don’t think I like that

produce guy. I went and looked around foryour organic vegetables and I couldn’t findany. So I told him these vegetables are for myhusband. Have they been sprayed with anypoisonous chemicals?’’

“And he said, ‘No, ma’am. You’ll have todo that yourself.”

"Cyber cycling" on a stationary bike whilelooking at a digital image has been shownto better improve cognitive performancethan simply cycling on a stationary bike.

Edibles like lotus stem and kumquatsmay sound exotic, but are easily

available and worth adding to your diet.

HUMOUR

Health & Well-being


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End of a fine inning

Dilip Mahanty

1943 - 2013

It is with great sorrow we

inform The Indian Down

Under readers that they will

miss a regular analytical col-

umn on cricket and thoughts

on spiritualism by Dilip

Mahanty who passed away

on 19 January at Sydney’s St

Vincent’s Hospital. He

remained cheerful until the

very end and was able to bid

good bye to a large number

of his friends and relatives

who visited him every day at

the hospital. Dilip was diag-

nosed with cancer over a

year ago. He was 69 years

old.

Dilip Mahanty hailed from

Jamshedpur, India, from

where he returned only a few

days ago. His wife Shikha

says that he probably knew

and wanted to visit for the

last time his home and the

country that he loved so

much. They had a great time

and no one, for a minute, felt

that he had come to say a

final good bye. Such was the

peace with him.

Dilip was a Business man-

ager by profession having

completed his post-graduate

studies in Indian Cost and

Works Accountancy. He

came to Australia in 1981

with his wife Shikha and a

young daughter Sunaina to

represent Engineering Export

Promotion Council (EEPC) as

head of Oceania region. The

family later decided to settle

in Australia and Dilip started

to work for the Australian

Department of Treasury.

Before finally retiring from

work, he worked in senior

positions for the South

Pacific Trade Commission

and Fiji Trade Commission.

Dilip was a true Vedantic,

an ardent follower of Rama

Krishna Mission and its

teachings. He attended dis-

courses by Swami

Sridharananda on Patanjali

Yoga Sutra and at weekends

on Bhagwad Gita with pious

consistency. He liked the

company of like-minded

friends at Vedanta Centre to

hold in-depth intellectual dis-

cussions and exchange

thoughts, especially on the

Hindu Karma philosophy. He

wrote several articles on the

Karma philosophy and had

his heart and soul in it. That

gifted him with a rare peace,

a much sought after detach-

ment. Although he knew the

finality of the disease he suf-

fered from, he looked at it

with Zen-like indifference.

Dilip Mahanty loved his

cricket and was very knowl-

edgeable about the intrica-

cies of the game. If the

match was on, nothing else

mattered. Even at his hospital

bed he asked for score from

the visitors on their mobile

telephones. If ever he

showed attachment, it was

for the Indian cricket team.

He shared this interest with

his son-in-law Anoop Kalra

who set up a Swamy Army to

add colour on the field when-

ever the Indian team visited

overseas. Dilip used to criti-

cally analyse team selection,

fielding, coaching, young

players who showed promise,

IPL, anything about cricket,

especially when the Indian

team was not performing

well.

“IPL is increasingly

becoming a Frankenstein,”

he wrote once when contro-

versies took over the popular

tournament. “Many of the

cricketing nations have a

large set of versatile players

who can seamlessly transit

from one form of the game to

the other. India, these days,

faces a paucity of such play-

ers,” Dilip wrote another time.

Love for India flowed in

his veins. He felt proud when

the world starting reckoning

India as an economic super-

power. He loved the slogan

‘India Shining’ and the book

‘The World is Flat’ by

Indophile Thomas Friedman.

He was so excited about the

book that praised India that

he recommended it to every-

one whom he met. So proud

Dilip felt being Indian.

Dilip Mahanty was very

popular among the Indian

community. He will be greatly

missed. Dilip is survived by

his wife Shikha, daughter

Sunaina, son-in-law Anoop

and grandchildren Manav

and Sarani. Our heartfelt con-

dolences for the family.

Good bye dear friend.

May your soul rest in peace.

Columns


Ilike to wish all my readers a very HappyNew Year and share these recipes withthem.

CRISPY SLICESIngredients�1 cup plain flour�½ cup grated cheese�1/3rd cup finely chopped coriander leaves�½ tsp black pepper�6 slices of bread�Salt to taste�½ tsp red chili powder�1 boiled and grated potato�Oil for fryingMethodCut each bread slice in three parts. Mix

the potatoes, cheese, coriander leaves, redchili powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Mixwell. Make a thick batter with plain flour,black pepper and some salt. Spread the pota-to mixture on each slice part.

Heat the oil. Dip the slice in the batterand shallow fry till golden on both sides. Re-move the extra oil by placing the fried sliceson paper towel.

Serve with chutney of your choice.

KASHMIRI KACHORISIngredients�1 cup plain flour

�½ tsp sugar�1/2 cup of mixed nuts (almonds,

cashews and sultanas) – coarsely grated�¾ tsp of

chaat masala�½ cup

butter milk�1 tabs

finely choppedfresh coriander

�1 greenchili finelychopped

�½ tsp salt�¼ tsp soda bi carb�Oil for fryingMethodAdd salt, soda bi carb, sugar, chaat

masala, oil in the plain flour. Mix with but-ter milk (small quantity at a time) to make athick dough.

Mix all the dry fruits, green chili and co-riander leaves. Divide the dough into 8 equalparts. Make a ball of each part and roll outas a disk. Place the dry fruit mixture in themiddle and lift sides to enclose. Seal the endsand press lightly between palms to make aflat disk.

Heat the oil. Deep fry till golden on bothsides. Keep the fried kachoris on paper towel.

Serve with chutney of your choice.

DELIGHT SQUARESIngredients�½ cup besan flour�1 cup rice flour�2 green chilies finely chopped�½ cup finely chopped coriander leaves�A pinch of asafetida

�A pinch of turmeric powder�¼ tsp of soda bi carb�½ tsp red chili powder�1 green diced capsicum�1 carrot grated�½ cup oil�½ tsp mustard seeds�Salt to taste�½ cup natural yoghurtMethodMix besan flour, rice flour, soda bi carb,

turmeric powder, salt, coriander leaves,green chili and yoghurt. Mix well. Add wa-ter as required to make a pouring consisten-cy batter. Add capsicum and grated carrot.

Heat oil. Add asafetida and mustardseeds. When they crackle, add to the besanmixture. Mix well and keep it overnight.

Grease an oven dish and pour the mixtureand spread it evenly. Bake in a pre heatedoven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 30minutes till golden brown on top. Cut intosquare pieces and serve hot.

BAKED MAKHANAIngredients�15 makhanas�4 medium potatoes – boiled, peeled

and mashed�½ tsp chaat masala�½ tsp red chili

powder�1 tsp butter�½ tsp salt�1 tabs finely

chopped corianderleaves

�Oil for fryingmakhanas

MethodHeat oil. Deep fry the makhanas till gold-

en brown. Place on paper towel to drain outany excess oil.

Mix the potatoes with chaat masala, redchili powder, salt and chopped coriander.Mix well. Now wrap each makhana with thispotato mixture and seal ends. Press lightlybetween palms to shape it like a tikki.

Melt the butter and brush each tikki withit.

Grease an oven dish. Spread themakhana tikkis evenly on the dish. Bake in apre heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius forabout 20 minutes till golden brown on top.

Serve hot with sauce or green chutney.

PEANUT DISKSIngredients�½ cup roasted peanuts�4 large potatoes – boiled, peeled and

mashed�2 slices of bread�½ cup green chili chutney�½ tsp salt�½ cup grated fresh coconut�Oil as requiredMethodDip bread slices in water. Squeeze out

excess water. Mix with mashed potatoes andsalt. Divide the mixture into 8 equal parts.Make a ball of each part and flatten each ballto shape it like a round disk.

Heat the oil. Shallow fry all the disks tillgolden brown on both sides. Remove the ex-tra oil by placing the fried slices on papertowel. Arrange the disks on a plate. Spreadthe chutney. Then sprinkle the coconut andpeanuts on top and serve.

Miranda May Kerr is an Australianmodel. She rose to prominence in2007 as one of the Victoria's Secret

Angels. She is the first Australian to partici-pate in the Victoria's Secret campaign andalso represents Australian fashion chain DavidJones.

Kerr practices Nichiren Buddhism and be-lieves, "We have a responsibility to bringpeace and harmony to our lives and theworld." As part of her Nichiren beliefs, Kerrreportedly chants every morning and night for20 minutes, practices yoga, meditates, andreads widely on spirituality. She maintains herphysique through daily yoga, light jogging,and a diet of steamed vegetables, fresh fruit,and fish. Kerr told readers of Australian Cos-mopolitan that coconut oil was the key to herclear skin, shiny hair and trim figure, sayingshe ingests four tablespoons a day, either onsalads, in her cooking or in her cups of greentea.

Here are some beauty and fashion tipsfrom Miranda Kerr:

Tip 1: A woman who smiles often and isconfident and comfortable in her own skin al-ways look beautiful and leaves a lasting im-pression.

Tip 2: Wear what you feel comfortable inand if you have to question it...well then it’sprobably not for you.

Tip 3: If there’s a choice between wearingsomething that is too small or too big alwaysgo with a little bigger.

Tip 4: Use quality organic skincare onyour skin as everything you put on your skinsinks in.

Tip 5: Drink warm water and lemon everymorning and Tahitian Noni Juice daily.

Tip 6: Dry body brush everyday beforetaking a shower to keep your skin smooth allover, and to activate your lymph system.

Tip 7: Every woman should have Organ-ic rosehip oil in her handbag. It’s a productthat’s rejuvenating and packedfull of natural goodness.Rosehip oil is also anatural way to re-move eye makeup.

Tip 8: Use anorganic spraymist whenneeded to keepskin hydratedand do not un-derestimatethe impor-tance of anorganic eyegel/cream.

Tip 9:Discoverwhatsup-

plements are right for your body and then takethem as directed. Almost everyone needs asupplement to balance his or her busy

lifestyle. Tip 10: Don’t take yourself or life

too seriously, frowning is one of themost damaging things we can do to

our skin!

Miranda Kerr’s top 10 beauty tips

New Year Dishes

Feel Good and Look Beautiful

By Promila Gupta

Miranda May Kerr is anAustralian model whopractices a form ofBuddhism.

Dry body brush every day before taking ashower to keep your skin smooth all over,

and to activate your lymph system.

46 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER January-February 2013

Body-Mind-Spirit

By Kanaka Ramakrishna

The year 2013 marks the150th birth anniversary ofSwami Vivekananda, the

great patriot-saint and nation-builder of India. The year-longcelebration in India and all overthe world starts on his birthday,January 12, which is commemo-rated every year as the NationalYouth Day.

Swami Vivekananda was sogreat and comprehensive, it ishard to fully fathom even a facetof him: was he a patriot, a saint,

a prophet, a humanist, a social orreligious reformer, a lover of themasses, a mystic, a divine being?He was all these put together andmuch more.

Swamiji lived in the mortalform for only 39 years andthroughout the course of theremaining years he has beeninspiring us through his immortallectures and unforgettable writ-ings. He himself wished to live asa formless inspirer. He said, ‘Itmay be I shall find it good to getoutside my body – to cast it offlike a worn garment. But I shall

not cease to work. I shall inspiremen everywhere, until the worldshall know that it is one withGod.’

After the roaring success atthe Parliament of Religions inChicago U.S.A. in 1893, SwamiVivekananda returned to Indiain1897. His patriotism was exclu-sive. To him, the very dust ofIndia was holy; the very air washoly. He identified his conscious-ness with the entire nation. Hisvisit to the west had given him anew perspective of India. To him,India represented the repositoryof spiritual power that was meantfor the nourishment of the wholeworld. He was proud of the gloryof India’s past and deplored thepresent decadence.

He wanted to inject energyinto the nearly lifeless Indiansociety that was torn within by thebarriers of caste, by the domina-tion of foreign political power,and of religious creeds. He awokeIndia with a clarion call for unity,integrity, sacrifice, strength andselflessness.

Fifty years before Indiaachieved independence,Swamiji’s patriotic words thun-dered from the platform atRamnad: “…..the lethargy ispassing away, she is awakening,this motherland of ours from herdeep long sleep…None can resisther anymore, never is she goingto sleep anymore; no outwardpower can hold her back any-more; for the infinite giant is ris-ing to her feet…”

Swamiji dreamt of a strongand glorious India and also sawthe youths as the ones to fulfil hisdreams. He injected patriotisminto the veins of the youths andthereby inspired India’s freedommovement. He firmly believedthat the youths were the mostpotent catalyst for changing thefate of India and hence the futureof the nation rested in their hands.His message for the youths wasinspiring and guiding.

Addressing the youths, hesaid, “Change is a challenge,youth is a challenge, truth is alsoa challenge. So all youths shouldarise for a change. Face the chal-lenges in life without taking ashortcut in anything…All greatundertakings are achievedthrough mighty obstacles. Keepup the mental poise. Take noteven the slightest notice of whatlittle creatures may be sayingagainst you…. Arise, Awake,

Stop not till the goal isreached.”

Though Swamijimainly emphasised mani-festing our innate spiritual natureas the source of strength, he likedto see strength as manifest inevery situation and in all areas oflife. He found lack of regard tophysical strength among Indians.First of all he encouraged physi-cal strength among the youths. Hetold them, “You will be nearer toGod through football than throughthe study of the Gita. You willunderstand Krishna better with alittle of strong blood inyou….”Another time he told theyouths to develop “muscles ofiron and nerves of steel”.

Besides physical strength,Swamiji emphasized mentalstrength and will power throughconcentration, meditation, posi-tive thinking, and one-pointed-ness. He also stressed intellectualstrength. He said, ‘From the ideaof largeness, a person will gradu-ally be aware of his spiritualnature and search for higher joyand finally reach the ultimate joy,God, the repository of all joys.’Besides these strengths, Swamijiencouraged economic strengthand advocated even militarystrength for India.

As the prophet of strength,Swamiji said that religion alonewas the strength of all strengths.He said, “Infinite strength is reli-gion and God.” “Strength is lifeand weakness is death.” Swamijiadmits humans have many weak-nesses, faults, fears, and defects.But, he says that if one assertsone’s real nature, which is pureand perfect, any situation can beovercome.

Swamiji had a vision of pro-viding man-making and character-building education. He lookedupon religion as the innermostcore of education, a process ofbeing and becoming. He wantedthat kind of education by whichstrength of mind was increasedand intellect was expanded.Education was not merely theaccumulation of facts but assimi-lation of knowledge and wisdominherent in each person in a dor-mant state. The external worldworked only as a suggestion or anoccasion and set our minds tounveil the many covers of igno-rance and discover the true Self,the divine soul of man, which is atreasure house of infinite knowl-edge. He defined education as

“the manifestation of perfectionalready in man”.

Swamiji gave the highest pri-ority to the spread of mass educa-tion and women’s education forthe restoration of lost individuali-ty of the poor and the downtrod-den, as well as for the empower-ment of women. Thus the wholeeducational system of a country,whether secular or spiritual,should be guided by its nationalideal to guide them in the longrun.

Swamiji identified himselfwith the whole world and hisattempts were always to find outhow to bring peace to the world.In that attempt he discovered thatreligion was the root of all prob-lems. In view of the conflicts andturmoils in the world today, howtrue his analysis was! He believedthat religion was the motivationtowards individual perfection andsocial upliftment. He wanted togive mankind a religion whichwas practical and scientific to fitinto the wave of the future.

Swamiji often spoke verystrongly about faith. He said, “Ifyou have faith in three hundredand thirty million of your mytho-logical gods and still have no faithin yourself, there is no salvationfor you… What makes one mangreat and another low and weak ishis faith.”

Swamiji was the first in Indiawho was bold enough to welcomethe advent of socialism. He pre-dicted that new India would arisethrough the struggle and sacrificeof the ‘have-nots’, the oppressedand the poorest, who had formedthe lowest strata of the society.Rising up the masses brings sym-metry in social structure.

Swamiji wanted two-foldapplication of Vedanta to practicein our day-to-day life.

Firstly, for awakening man’sfaith in himself and in his ownstrength including his spiritualpower. Secondly, selfless work inserving people as service to God.

Since his passing away, aflood of spiritual upheaval hasswept all over the world. He isstill awake in the thoughts of thethoughtful, in the intellect of theintellectuals, in the patriotism ofthe patriots, in the sacrifice of thesannyasins and in the tears of thedowntrodden.

Much to learn fromVivekananda’s 150 yearsWas Swami Vivekananda a patriot, a saint, a prophet, a humanist,a social or religious reformer, a lover of the masses, a mystic, a

divine being? He was all these put together and much more.

Swamiji lived in the mortal form for only39 years and has since been inspiring usthrough his immortal lectures and unfor-gettable writings. He had said, “It may be

I shall find it good to get outside mybody – to cast it off like a worn garment.

But I shall not cease to work. I shallinspire men everywhere, until the world

shall know that it is one with God.”

Body-Mind-Spirit


By Anil Sharma

It’s Friday, 14th of April, 1950.Maharshi is in a very precarious con-dition, notes his ardent devotee S.S.

Cohen. The whole morning has been spentby devotees in hushed gloom and withbated breath. After evening darshan, theunanimous verdict is that it is positivelythe last. The Master is now propped onlarge pillows, almost in a sitting posture,the head resting backward with openmouth, and two attendants briskly fanninghim, to enable him to breathe freely – thebattle for air has thus started. At 7 p.m.oxygen is administered to him for aboutfive minutes, but seeing it gave him norelief, he feebly asks that it should bestopped.

The situation is tense: about five-hun-dred devotees were outside in sad expec-tation of the solemn last moment. Bloodrelations, Ashram workers, a few old dis-ciples, and some new aspirants go in byturn to have a last sight of him. When theend is known to be approaching, thewhole congregation with one voice startschanting the Tamil hymns he had manyyears ago composed in praise of LordArunachala: “Arunachala Shiva,Arunachala Shiva, Arunachala,” till thefinal moment comes about at 8.47 pm.

At about 9 p.m., Henri Cartier-Bresson the French photographer, whohas been here for about a fortnight withhis wife, related his experience to Cohen.“It is a most astonishing experience,” hesaid. “I was in the open space in front ofmy house, when my friends drew myattention to the sky, where I saw a vivid-

ly-luminous shooting star with a luminoustail, unlike any shooting star I had beforeseen, coming from the South, movingslowly across the sky and, reaching thetop of Arunachala, disappeared behind it.Because of its singularity we all guessedits import and immediately looked at ourwatches – it was 8.47 – and then raced tothe Ashram only to find that our premoni-tion had been only too sadly true: theMaster had passed into Mahanirvana (all-pervading and deathless Selfhood) at thatvery minute.”

Several other devotees in the Ashramand in the town, noted Cohen in his diary,late told him that they too had seen thetell-tale meteor.

Mr. Kaikobad, a Parsi devotee of theMaharshi, happened to be on the terraceof his house in Madras, when he saw themeteor, to which Monsieur Cartier-Bresson and others referred and intuitive-ly associated it with the Mahanirvana ofthe Master and, without waiting for themorning, he immediately hired a taxi andcame at top speed.

Miss H.P. Petit, who was sitting onthe balcony of her house in Bombay,about a thousand miles away, also saw theshooting star at that fateful minute, at onceguessed its meaning and wrote to a friendof hers in Benares that the Maharshi hadpassed away.

Many devotees, grief stricken andbeating their breasts, lost control of theirfeeling and rushed en masse to the smallroom where the sacred body lay, butpolice officers immediately cordoned offthe area till it was brought out and placedin the centre of the big darshan hall in

yoga asana for all the people to pay theirlast respect to it.

The news spread like wildfire in thetown and the neighbouring villages, anddrew huge crowds. By 9.15 pm, thecrowd grew so thick that it became neces-sary to give chance to all to pay their hom-age and pass the body in an orderly man-ner. A queue was thus formed – seven toten broad – at a quick-march pace.

Around the sofa sat dozens of disci-ples, some chanting Maharshi’s versesand other devotional hymns, but the othersremained in silent contemplation. Sandal-wood paste and jasmine flowers now cov-ered the body and incense alight by itsside.Many devotees kept vigil the wholenight by the side of the sacred body; somesnatched a few hours rest and returnedearly morning. The singing and chanting

of Vedas continued throughout, as did thequeue of worshippers till 11.30 a.m. whenthe body was taken out to the South veran-dah for puja and abhishekam.

Sri Niranjanananda Swami, theSarvadhikari, assisted by his son Sri T.N.Venkataraman, poured over the sacredhead dozens of pots of milk, curds, butter-milk, orange juice, mashed bananas andjackfruits, coconut water, etc., followedby many bottles of rose-water, attar, per-fumes of all kinds and sweet smelling oils.Then enormous garlands of fresh rosesand jasmines were placed round the neckand strewn all over the body.

The samadhi pit was dug 10½ x 10½feet and seven feet deep. In its centre themasons isolated a small area of 4½ x 4½feet and surrounded it by a wall built ofgranite stones, lime and cement. Theremaining portion they filled with manycartloads of sand said to have beenbrought from the sacred Ganges andNarbada valleys.

At 6.30 p.m. the next day, the body,which by then had received the homage ofnot less than 40,000 persons, was carriedin a decorated palanquin reserved for theDeity of the temple to the samadhi. Hereit was placed in the same yoga-asana intoa bag made of the finest khaddar, whichwas then filled with pure camphor andlowered into the small area reserved for it.Then the pit was filled to the brim withcamphor, salt, and sacred ashes to protectthe body from worms and rapid disinte-gration, and closed with masonry work.

All the English and Tamil papersreferred to the meteor which had beenseen in the sky all over the State ofMadras, hundreds of thousands of squaremiles, at 8.47 on the night of April 14, bya large number of people in differentplaces and reported to the Press. Theseeye-witnesses had been struck by its pecu-liar look and behaviour, which led them toascribe the strange phenomenon to thepassing of a great spiritual soul. Such amass of evidence speaks for itself, if evi-dence need be.

A meteor in the sky followsRamana’s last moment

Some are born immediately after, others after some lapse of time, a feware not reborn on this earth but eventually get salvation in some higherregion, and a very few get absolved here and now.

-Sage Sri Ramana Maharshi


Body-Mind-Spirit

Cecil Beaton, Royal pho-tographer and designerwho reached the peak of

his profession in the mid 1930s,aimed hisambitions at thepeople who"mattered" orlet's say thewives of thepeople whomattered. He

gained entryinto high societyby portraitureand flattery. His

works are defined by eleganceand grace. Many people foundhim pretentious and mean.

Jean Cocteau called him"malice in wonderland".Vogue’s George Weidenfeldsaid "Beaton would happilyhave witnessed their executionas long as he had a goodenough seat" bitchy behind hisclients backs. He said of theQueen Mother "she was so nat-urally affected, as she mincedinto the room".

Here are some musingsfrom Sir Cecil Beaton:

* Perhaps the world's sec-ond-worst crime is boredom;the first is being a bore.

* Americans have an abid-ing belief in their ability to con-trol reality by purely materialmeans...airline insurancereplaces the fear of death withthe comforting prospect ofcash.

* Never in the history offashion has so little materialbeen raised so high to reveal somuch that needs to be covered

so badly.* More varied than any

landscape was the landscape inthe sky, with islands of goldand silver, peninsulas of apricotand rose against a backgroundof many shades of turquoiseand azure.

* Be daring, be different, beimpractical, be anything thatwill assert integrity of purposeand imaginative vision againstthe play-it-wafers, the creaturesof the commonplace, the slavesof the ordinary.

* All I want is the best ofeverything and there's very lit-tle of that.

* His verdict on ElizabethTaylor still resonates withvenom: “This thick greatrevolving mass of feminity atits rawest.”

* Katharine Hepburn whohad bullied him over his cos-tume designs for the musicalCoco, fared no better than Liz."In life, her appearance isappalling, a raddled, rash rid-den, freckled burnt, mottled,

bleached and wizened piece ofdecaying matter. It is unbeliev-able incredible that she can stillbe exhibited in public."

* In New York where hesaw Mae West on stage, hesaid, "This fat, pink, creamy,fleshy creature looked so lewdand naturally, healthily,amorously lustful that onescene where a Spanese lovermauled and felt her breast andbuttocks, one had to cross one’slegs and scream hystericallywith laughter.”

* He was invited to take thewedding portraits of the Dukeand Duchess of Windsor inFrance. As always, Cecilfocused on appearances: TheDuke had bleary eyes and a dis-figured thumbnail; the Duchesshad broken put in spots.

* He waspishly said of theQueen Mother that she onlyneeded to fly to the top of theChristmas tree.

Malice in Wonderland

Inner Space

By Faith Harper

We can look forward to2013, which will be bet-ter than 2012 astrological-

ly. Economically the New Yearoffers enhanced hope, cheer, pros-perity and peace.

I sat down with my VasthuSastra and astrology masterYuvaraj Sowma in Chennai, India,recently to analyse what the futureholds for the various zodiac signsusing the Indian almanac.

The Indian calendar is based onmoon signs or rasi, as they arecalled in Indian astrology. Readersshould note that Western astrologyis based on sun signs. If yourWestern astrological star sign is,for instance, Aries, your sign fol-lowing the Indian system might notnecessarily be the same.

Consult an astrologer to deter-mine your moon sign as it is toocomplicated to explain how to dothat here.

And don’t be disheartened ifyour forecast indicates anunfavourable period ahead. Youcan avert the worst by performingprayers and spiritual activities inaccordance with your faith, anddoing good deeds and performingacts of charity to mitigate negativeplanetary forces.

It will be a positive year forthose born under the signs ofVrishabha (Taurus), Simha (Leo),Dhanus (Sagittarius) and Makara(Capricorn).

Mixed results are indicated forthose born under Thula (Libra) andKumbha (Aquarius), while peoplewho come under Mesha (Aries),Mithunam (Gemini), Kartaka(Cancer), Kanya (Virgo), Vrischika(Scorpio) and Meena (Pisces) mayexperience obstacles and chal-lenges.

MeshaMixed results are indicated and

it is recommended that you seekadvice from elders and seniorswhen making important decisions.Keep your speech and tone positiveto avoid adverse situations. Payattention to your health and thinkpositive because your healthreflects what you think.

Financial setbacks are likelyfrom May onwards, so plan care-fully and avoid unnecessary expen-diture.

Avoid any new venture andkeep a tight control of yourfinances. Enhance your spiritualdevelopment so that you will havethe strength to combat challengesand difficulties.

VrishabhaThe start of a golden year with

improved financial gains and pros-perity. Your enemies will disappearand auspicious events will takeplace and bring progress to yourlife.

You will be able to settle out-standing loans and be motivated topurchase a property or vehicle. Ifyou are in business, new projectswill come easily and you will enjoyprofits and strong partnerships.

Promotion is indicated if youare employed and socially arewarding period. Frequent travelwill bring further gain.

MithunamUnexpected delays and travel

may lead you to make irrationaldecisions and cause tension. Takeextra care of your health and watchwhat you eat.

Avoid making major decisions

and show more tolerance to yourpartner.

Remain positive to face chal-lenges and exercise care when trav-elling and committing to new proj-ects. Trouble at the workplace isindicated and some may even facetransfer.

KartakaYou will be recognised for

your efforts and your personal rela-tionships will improve. Childrenwill bring you happiness and jour-neys with important people willgive joy and desired results.

Stay away from new businessventures and curb new investments.A volatile situation may surface atthe workplace as some may dis-agree with you.

Remain calm and stay positivewhen facing difficulties, and seekthe company of positive people.

SimhaHarmonious relationships will

prevail in your family and you willenjoy good co-operation from yoursiblings and children. Your interestin spirituality and religion willdeepen and fructify.

If in business, you will enjoyimproved earnings and new ven-tures will give you better opportu-nities.

Your reputation and influencein society will grow and if you arean employee, promotion is indicat-ed. You will travel frequently andwill enjoy support from co-work-ers.

KanyaGood as well as bad situations

will surface simultaneously butfamily support will help you facedifficulties positively.

You will be encouraged to goon a pilgrimage and increase yourfaith in spirituality.

If single, you will find your lifepartner; if you are in a relation-ship, marriage is indicated.

June onwards will be a soothingphase and you will enjoyfavourable health. Windfalls arelikely to come and you will getopportunities to make money if youare in business.

Stay alert and give your best atwork and you will be appreciatedand respected.

ThulaYou need to be more diligent

because every area of your lifedemands more attention. Be atten-tive and observe every situationbefore acting on any issues becauseyou can be easily misunderstood.Your feeling of insecurity will ruinyour peace of mind. Conflicts anddisappointments will dominate thefirst half of the year.

Employees will see changes atwork and should accept them posi-tively because they will bringopportunities.

VrischikaRefrain from intimate relation-

ships between June and October asproblems are likely to surface.Your strength to handle challengeswill be weak and this may affectyour health.

Keep away from any kind ofspeculative activities because newventures might turn out to bewasteful. You should work withinthe existing parameters and successcan be better achieved when yourexpenses and liabilities arereduced.

Faith in the Almighty and right-eousness may safeguard you fromchallenges. Seek the assistance ofseniors at work as they will be ableto guide you positively.

DhanusBe selective when dealing with

people because there will be posi-tive and negative people aroundyou. You will face ups and downsin your relationships because ofdifference of opinion.

The second half of the yearmay bring happiness related to lovebut the initial months areunfavourable. Profitable deals areindicated in business and strongpartnerships will surface duringthis period. At work, superiors willacknowledge your work and youmay be rewarded with promotionsand increments. Those who are insales will be able to achieve theirtargets.

MakaraTake extra care of your health,

which may rob you of your happi-ness. Family members will misun-derstand you leading to unneces-sary disputes. Exercise patienceand keep cool when handling fami-ly matters.

On the business front, you willfly high and your years of invest-ments will show positive results.

You will be noticed, admiredand praised for your intelligentwork and money flow will besteady. Travel is indicated and youwill tend to purchase property andvehicles.

There may be a meteoric rise atwork and you will be given newopportunities because of yourincreased confidence level.

KumbhaSingles will see serious changes

in their private life and those whoare married will be blessed with achild.

The beginning of new profes-sional success is indicated for thosewho are in business and thoseemployed will get fresh opportuni-ties and job offers. All your secret,ambitious desires are expected tocome true as great opportunitiesawait you.

MeenaYou need to have extra strength

to handle difficult situations.Restlessness will haunt you fromtime to time and this may lead tocomplications and conflict. Youwill be misunderstood by peoplearound you and even your lovedones will fail to understand you.

Exercise care in all aspects ofbusiness because financial problemswill surface and your present cus-tomers may be dissatisfied. This isnot a good time to change jobs orgo into new ventures. Control youranger and do not argue because itwill worsen the situation.

T. Selva is the author of thebestselling book titled VasthuSastra Guide. To get a copy, callDevi at 0412623017. He can becontacted at [email protected]: www.vasthusastra.com

VasthuSastra

By T. Selva

Sir Cecil Beaton(1904-1980),

royal photographerand designer

Marilyn MonroeQueen Elizabeth

with Prince Edward.

A better year ahead

December - January 2013 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 49

Jan Mat 1, 2013. SEEKING match

for my brother, Hindu, Gujarati - Patel,

32, 6 ft, vegetarian, Masters in

Computing Studies, working and living

in USA (American citizen). Looking for

a loving Gujarati girl, caring with good

family values, well cultured settled or

trying to settle in USA or Australia,

preferably with a PR/Citizenship. Email:

[email protected]

Jan Mat 2, 2013. MATCH required

for an Aust-born Hindu boy, 35, 5'-6",

doctor, living in Melb, never married.

Caste no bar. Email

:[email protected]

Jan Mat 3, 2013. Seeking suitable

match ( from Australia ) never married,

for Hindu Girl 34 yrs,Chartered

Accountant (non veg) living in australia

over 25 yrs with eastern and western

family values. Please email with all

details on [email protected]

Jan Mat 4, 2013. Seeking a Hindu

boy, non vegetarian, preferably Gujarati

with good family values for my daugh-

ter. She is 33 , divorced, 5'2" and well-

built. She is an Australian citizen, works

as an IT team leader and is well settled in

Sydney. If you are interested please con-

tact us on 0404 595 182 or r.chan-

[email protected].

Jan Mat 5, 2013. Parents seeking

match for beautiful, multitalented

Medical Doctor daughter (age 27) with

wider interests in life. Correspondence

requested from medical doctor/ dentist

(preference vegetarian) with exclusive

profile : [email protected]

Jan Mat 6, 2013. Parents seeking

match for fair, slim Hindu Sindhi girl 32

years/ 156 cm working as Lecturer in

leading University. Permanent resident

of Australia with dual degree M.com

(Accounts and Finance), fond of sports,

traveling and cooking. We are a well knit

professional family. Please mail propos-

al with education, job details with recent

photo to : [email protected] and

Contact no. 0431842458

Jan Mat 7, 2013. Well settled

Indian family looking for a suitable

match for their 25 year old medico

daughter, 5’ 5” tall, born brought up and

educated in Australia. Keen in outdoor

and sport activities, travel and wants a

like-minded Australia educated medico

boy. Write to:

[email protected]

Jan Mat 8, 2013: Seeking a Hindu

girl, vegetarian, preferably Gujarati, with

good family values, for my son. He is

36, divorced, no children, fair, 5’8”,

well-built, non-smoker, light drinks. He

is an Australian citizen, works as a tax

consultant and lives with his parents. His

two sisters live separately. We have lived

in Sydney for 19 years. Contact 0423

328 800 or [email protected].

Jan Mat 9, 2013. Seeking a well

qualified Hindu

male, aged between

49 – 54, for a very fair, young looking

Hindu lady, aged 54 and an Australian

citizen. He should be a non smoker and

should have strong moral values. Caste

no bar. She is an eggetarian, divorced

and has a 19 year old daughter living

with her. Contact

[email protected].

Jan Mat 10, 2013. Hindu Punjabi

business parents invite alliance from a

beautiful educated girl for their highly

qualified son 30/6'3", a very well placed

financial consultant with a leading multi-

national company in UK. Will be in

Australia in July, Caste no bar. Send

BHP to [email protected]

Jan Mat 11, 2013. . Well settled

family in Australia inviting alliance for

27 year old, 5"11, Sood Punjabi boy,

B.Software Engineer(honors) and is

working as a senior IT Consultant for the

Australian government on high income.

Seeking Indian girl, caste no bar. Please

call 0414-518-312. Email aumohin-

[email protected]

Jan Mat 12, 2013. Seeking com-

patible well educated, employed profes-

sional/ business match, with Indian

background, broad minded/ mature out-

look, independent, divorcee, age 47

years onward, For caring, honest, friend-

ly, Indian Christian divorcee Australian

citizen, 48 yrs 5'3" tall, much younger

looking than age, attractive, graceful

looking graduate nurse, employed.

Caste no bar. Email details to

[email protected]

Jan Mat 14, 2013. Seeking match

for my brother, Hindu, Gujarati -Patel ,

31, 6 ft, vegetarian, Masters in

Computing Studies, working and living

in USA (American citizen). Looking for

a loving Gujarati girl, caring with good

family values, well cultured settled or

trying to settle in USA or Australia,

preferably with a PR/Citizenship. Email:

[email protected]

Jan Mat 15 2013. Male, Age 27,

(Cleanshaven Sikh), caste no bar, either

the Girl is Hindu or Sikh as long as

Indian background.He is Australian

born, Educated in UK with Msc. in

Finance, working in Sydney for a lead-

ing bank, seeking a suitable Soul mate.

Kindly please reply to his Parents in

Sydney Email: [email protected].

50 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER December - January 2013

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Body-Mind-Spirit


Trisanku: In the inbetweenBy C Rajagopalachari

That was the time when thefamous king of the Solardynasty, Trisanku, was

reigning, who was so much in lovewith the beauty of his body that hecould not bear the thought of part-ing with it at death and desired toascend to heaven in that verybody.

Vasishtha, his preceptor,whom he approached for help inrealising his wish, advised him togive up attempting the impossible.Dissatisfied with Vasishtha'sresponse, the King approached thesage's sons and sought their help.They were wroth at being asked todo something which their fatherhad pronounced impossible,ridiculed his vanity and curtly badehim begone. King Trisanku wouldnot give up his aim and told themthat, since they and their fatherwere too poor in merit to help him,he would find others who werericher. Vasishtha's sons were pro-voked beyond endurance, andsaid: "Be you a chandala."

The curse began to act and thenext morning Trisanku woke up adifferent person altogether, anuntouchable, ugly of form, attiredin dirty clothes. His ministers andhis people could not recognisehim. Driven out of his kingdom hewandered hungry and wearyalmost to death, till his destinytook him to Viswamitra's ashra-ma.

The king's appearance movedthe heart of the sage, whoenquired: "Aren't you KingTrisanku? What has brought youto this plight? Whose curse?"Recounting all that had happenedhe fell at the sage's feet and said:"I have been a good king andnever swerved from the path ofdharma. I have committed no sinand wronged none. My preceptorand his sons have deserted me andcursed me and you see me thusbefore you."

Viswamitra took pity on theKing converted by a curse into achandala. This was Viswamitra'sgreat weakness; he was impulsiveand easily over-powered by emo-tions like anger, sympathy andlove. In sweet words, he made theking happy: "O, King, I haveheard of your righteous rule. Ioffer you refuge; be not afraid. Iwill arrange for the sacrifice whichwill enable you to enter heaven inyour own body. And in this verychandala form you shall reachheaven despite your Guru's curse.Of this you may be sure." And hemade arrangements for a great andunprecedented yaga.

Viswamitra directed his disci-ples to invite all the sages and,their disciples for the proposedyaga. Afraid of saying "No" towhat was more or less a command,all the rishis agreed to be present.

But the sons of Vasishthadeclined the invitation and made

merry about a yaga at which theofficiating priest was a once upon-a-time Kshatriya and the yajaman astinking chandala.

This reply, duly conveyed,enraged Viswamitra who explodedinto a curse that Vasishtha's sonsdo die and be reborn for sevengenerations in a tribe given to eat-ing dog's flesh.

The sage then began the yaga.Extolling Trisanku's eminentvirtues, Viswamitra sought thehelp of the other rishis in effectingthe bodily translation of Trisankuto heaven.

Well aware of the sage'smighty powers and fulminous tem-per, the invitees lent their support,and the yaga went on. It reachedthe stage when the gods wereinvoked to descend and accept theofferings. But no god came. It wasclear that Viswamitra's yaga was afailure. And the rishis, who hadattended the ceremony, laughedwithin themselves at Viswamitra'sdiscomfiture. Wild with rage,Viswamitra held the ladle of gheeover the flames and said: "OTrisanku, here behold my power. Inow transfer for your benefit allthe merit I have earned. If my aus-terities have any value, theyshould lift you to heaven in yourphysical frame. I care not if theDevas reject my offerings. KingTrisanku! Ascend!"

A miracle followed. To theastonishment of those assembled,

Trisanku in his chandala body roseheavenward. The world saw thepower of Viswamitra's tapas.Trisanku reached Swarga. ButIndra forthwith pushed him downsaying, "Who are you, enteringheaven with a chandala body? Youfool that earned the curse of yourpreceptor, go down again."Trisanku fell from heaven, headdown wards, screaming,"Viswamitra! Save me!"

Viswamitra, seeing this, wasbeside himself with rage.Determined to teach the gods a les-son, he shouted to Trisanku.

"Stop there! Stop there!" and,to the amazement of all,Trisanku's earthward descentcame to an abrupt stop and hestopped in mid air, shining like astar. Like a second Brahma,Viswamitra proceeded to create anew starry horizon to the south aswell as a new Indra and newDevas. Alarmed at their suprema-cy, the Devas now came to termsand humbly entreated Viswamitrato desist. They said: "Let Trisankustay where he is at present. Let theother stars, of your creation shineforever, like your own fame andhonor. Control your anger and befriends with us."

Gratified at this submission,and as easily appeased as pro-voked, Viswamitra baited his cre-ative process. But his stupendousactivities had consumed the wholeof the power that he had thus far

acquired by his austerities, and hefound he had to begin again.

Viswamitra now proceededwestwards to Pushkara andresumed his austerities. For yearsthe rigorous tapas continued, butonce again as it was about to bearfruit something happened to rousehis anger and he lost his balanceand cursed his own sons. Soonrecovering himself, he firmlyresolved never again to yield toanger, and resumed his tapas.After many years of austerities,Brahma and the Devas appearedbefore him and said: "O Kausika!Your tapas has borne fruit. Youare no longer in the ranks of kings;you have become a real rishi."

Having thus blessedViswamitra, Brahma returned.This was again a disappointment.He wanted to become a BrahmaRishi and Vasishtha's peer and hehad only been acknowledged anordinary rishi. It was recognitionas futile as the missiles of power,which Vasishtha's Brahmadandahad swallowed.

He therefore decided to go onwith his tapas, making it moresevere than ever before.

The Devas did not like this.They sent the heavenly damselMenaka to tempt him with hercelestial beauty and allurements.

She went to Pushkara whereViswamitra was undergoing aus-terities and played, to catch his eyewith a hundred wiles of charm andgrace. Viswamitra saw her andwas fascinated by her beauty. Hisvow was broken and he spent tenyears in a dream of joy, forgetfulof his high resolve.

Awaking at last, he looked atthe trembling Menaka sorrow fullyand said he would not curse her,for it was his own folly, and nother fault, as in tempting him shewas only carrying out the orders ofher master. And sadly he wendedhis way to the Himalayas toresume his broken tapas.

There, for a thousand years,controlling his senses, he per-formed rigorous tapas. At therequest of the Devas, Brahmaappeared before Viswamitra, andspoke to him thus sweetly: "I wel-come you as a Maharishi, my son.Pleased with your soulful tapas Iconfer on you that title and thesanctity it imports." Unmovedalike by gratification or disap-pointment, Viswamitra folded hishands in adoration and asked theFather of the Universe if the boonmeant conquest over the senses.

"By no means", said theCreator, "but strive to subjugatethe senses, tiger among munis!"Resolved on the supreme con-quest, Viswamitra entered onanother thousand years of evenharder tapas which threw theDevas into even greater consterna-tion. Indra called unto him thecelestial damsel Rambha, andenjoined on her as a vital service tothe Devas, to employ all her art to

bring Viswamitra under the spellof her charm, and divert him fromhis purpose. She was sorely afraid,but Indra assured her that shewould not be left alone, but beaccompanied by the God of

Love and the Spirit ofSpringtime would be with her forsupport. Unwillingly she went andas she entered the precincts of thehermitage, the forest blossomedinto vernal beauty, and the southwind blew gently laden with thescent of flowers, and kokilas burstinto song. Love and Spring wereboth there to assist Beauty.Disturbed by stirrings to which hehad long been a stranger,

Viswamitra opened his eyesand saw a smiling damsel of sur-passing beauty, who seemed thevery soul of the spring with itsflowers and fragrance and song.At this vision of soft voluptuous-ness a white heat of anger surgedthrough him as he recognised in itanother temptation thrown in hisway by the envious gods, and hecursed the temptress: "O Rambha,for seeking to tempt me who amstriving to conquer anger anddesire, be thou frozen to an imageof stone for ten thousand years."

But this explosion of ragemade him see how far he was fromthe fulfillment of his purpose andsadly he quitted the Himalayanforests, and sought the solitude ofthe east. There, he restrained hisbreathing, gave up all thought ofthe things of the world, and per-formed austerities so stern thatsmoke and flames issued from hisbody and enveloped the universe.Then at the prayer of the panic-stricken gods, Brahma againappeared before him, and hailedhim as Brahma Rishi: "All hail,Brahma Rishi, I am pleased withyou. Blessed be your life."Viswamitra was happy.

But humbly he said: "How canI be happy unless from Vasishtha'slips I hear that I am a BrahmaRishi?" Vasishtha smiled remem-bering his fight with Viswamitra,and said to him: "You haveachieved the fruit of your greatausterities. Indeed you are aBrahma Rishi, my brother." Andthere was joy all round.

C h a k r a v a r t iRaja GopalaChari, popularlyknown as"Rajaji" or"C.R.", was agreat patriot,astute politician,incisive thinker,and one of thegreatest of Indians. As aclose associate of Mahatma Gandhi,he was an ardent freedom fighter.Rajaji’s books on Marcus Aurelius,the Bhagavad Gita and theUpanishads are popular. The storyof Trisanku is taken from his‘Ramayana’ book and it is interest-ing to note that in astronomy,Trisanku corresponds to the constel-lation of Crux, also known as theSouthern Cross.

Illustrated by:Ramesh Chandra Alandkar.

52 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER January-February 2013

Columns

By Karam Ramrakha

Karam C Ramrakha, ex Fiji MP, wastwice President of Fiji Law Society andfor seven years (1967-1974) Trade UnionPresident of Fiji Teachers. He has beenpracticing in Sydney from 36 PellisierRoad, Putney, NSW 2112. He can becontacted on Phone: 02 9808 2760, Fax:02 9802 5014, Mob: 0434 986 123.Email: [email protected]

Today India, the World's largestdemocracy, is awash with news ofrape while we, Vedic Indians,

allude to Gargi and pride ourselves in themidst of bride burning, child marriages,honour killings, crippling dowries andclaim that our women are not only equalbut occupy a superior place in our nationand hearts.

What nonsense! Was it not Manu, thefirst of beings who is acclaimed as ourVedic Lawgiver, who thundered, ‘Awoman is not fit for a life of independ-ence; in her youth she is controlled by herfather; in her middle age by her husbandand in her old age by her sons’. And, ofcourse, woe betide her as a widow.

No wonder in our sacred epic,Ramayana, we, the inheritors of Rama andSita, are told that the spotless Sita isrejected by Lord Rama after her releasefrom Ravana, that she wanders from ‘galito gali’ (as the haunting song tells us) and

that finally she seeks the protection ofMother Earth who swallows her.

Today we see Sita uprising in India.Will Women the world over, from Arabiato Afghanistan, rise and claim their equali-ty, their dignity as mothers, sisters anddaughters. As for India's Constitution andmotto ‘Truth Triumphs’ we nourish a for-lorn hope. As for uprisings and breast

beatings in India, they come and go.Nepotism, cronyism, man's inhumanity toman and to women, corruption, a Britishsaddled bureaucracy, all will continue. TheIndian Spring will not bring in a Holi ofHoliness.

So Rise my Mothers, my Sisters andMy Daughters and prove me wrong.

So much for the World's largest (if not

the greatest) democracy. And what of thesecond largest democracy, the Great US ofA?

That is awash with guns. And its con-stitution stymies change as it speaks of theright to ‘bear arms’. When Lady Obamawent sleeveless the media wagged eloquentand said she was simply exercising herright to bare her arms.

As a Red Indian said to me inAmerica, ‘This country is built on gun cul-ture. First the White Man (honkeys hecalled them) came and shot us the RedIndians; then they shot the buffaloes and atthe same time they shot each other. Canwe change overnight?”

Little Fiji, a mere dot in the Pacific onthe world map, struggles with a writtenconstitution and a return to democracy -Vorege Bainimarama's promised ‘OneMan One Vote One Value’, a Fiji for allwithout any discrimination.

The process of a new Constitution isnow mired in controversy. I await devel-opments with a sense of foreboding anddespair. Frank Bainimarama is at last mov-ing to remove the Union Jack from Fiji'sflag, the Queen's image from stamps andcoins, and cutting us adrift from Empire atlast. Yes, we laud Britain for ruling Fijiand ruling Bharat. But Britain left someexpensive and cumbersome baggagebehind. It is time India and Fiji quit theCommonwealth and move out of the darkshadows of Empire.

A troubled world and little Fiji

Ingenious strategy to protect our schools

It was Christmas Eve, ten daysafter the shooting at SandyHook Elementary School, and

Thurston Johnson Jr. was stillseething.

“People need to wise up!They’ve got their heads in thesand,” he shouted, as a wide-screen TV inside Raging BullTavern showed somber scenesfrom Newtown, Conn., where a20-year-old man had gone on ashooting spree. Johnson wasspeaking to no one in particular,but Milton Finkelberger, the onlyother patron in the bar, was justwhiling away his time before heneeded to pick up his wife, Edna,from the bingo hall, so he decidedto engage the burly stranger in aconversation.

“Whacha mean?”Johnson took a gulp from his

mug, wiped the froth from hisbeard, sat still for a minute. Hewas gathering his thoughts.

“So many school shootings –and they’re doing diddly about it!Just sitting back and waiting foranother one to happen.”

“I hear ya. We need more guncontrol. Too many idiots runningaround with guns.”

“Gun control? Are you crazy?We don’t need gun control. Weneed people control.”

“Whacha mean?”“Guns don’t kill people.

People kill people. Don’t knowwhere I heard that, but it makessense to me.”

“So how ya gonna control peo-ple?”

“That’s easy. With guns.”“Whacha mean?”“If idiots are running into

schools with guns, other peopleneed to use guns to stop them.This isn’t rocket science, youknow.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to keepguns away from idiots?”

“No way, man. Keeping gunsaway from idiots would be likekeeping pasta away from Italians.You’d have the mafia after you.”

“But shouldn’t we at leastmake an effort to keep guns awayfrom idiots?”

“No way, man. Just becauseyou’re an idiot doesn’t mean youcan’t own a gun. That’s what’sgreat about America. We have theSecond Amendment, which giveseveryone, even idiots, the right tobear arms. And if there’s one right

that idiots value, it’s the right tobear arms. Take my cousinClayton. He owns eight guns,including three semi-automaticrifles. I asked him if he values theright to bear arms and he said,‘Yeah, why d’ya think I’m alwayswearing a tank top? I want peopleto see my guns.’ And then heflexed his biceps.”

“Sounds like a real genius.”“Oh, he’s a genius all right.

He dropped out of school aftereighth grade, has never held a jobfor more than six weeks. Theyfired him at the gas station ’causehe kept sniffing the gas and theyfired him at the fish market ’causehe kept sniffing the bass.”

“Why does he need eightguns?”

“That’s what I keep askingmyself. Why would anybody needeight guns? I’m quite happy withjust five. But Clayton, he’s a littlestrange. He even ordered himselfan M203 grenade launcher, likethey use in the Army. I asked himwhy he needed one, and he said,‘Don’t ask me, bro. Ask the voic-es in my head.’”

“Aren’t you afraid he might dosomething crazy, like attack aschool?”

“No way, man. Clayton isharmless. He’d never go near aschool. He’s too scared of educa-tion. But other people out there,you never know. That’s why weneed to protect our schools bet-ter.”

“Whatcha mean?”

“All principals need to haveguns in their offices. Secretariesand teachers too – and let’s notforget about the janitors.”

“Janitors too? You gotta bekidding?”

“Yeah, the janitors shouldhave a special gun with a barrel onone end and a mop head on theother. Isn’t that what a janitor isfor anyway – keeping the scumout of our schools?”

“So you want the entire staffto have guns?”

“Yes, but there’s more to myplan. Just imagine if every deskhas a secret compartment under it.Whenever there’s an intruder inschool, the principal would push abutton, unlock the compartmentand a gun would fall out. I’d loveto see the intruder’s face when hewalks into a classroom and sees 30guns pointed at him!”

“So you want the entire staffto be armed – and students to haveaccess to guns in an emergency?”

“Bingo!”Hearing that word,

Finkelberger looked at his watch.“Oh no,” he said. “I’m late. Ednawill kill me.”

“Then you’d better get …”“Yeah, I know. Get a gun.”“No, I was gonna say, ‘get

going.’ What do you take me for –an idiot?”

Finkelberger didn’t answer. Hejust waved and hurried to thedoor.

THE HUMOR OF MELVIN DURAI

Today we see Sita uprising in India. But, uprisings and breastbeatings in India, they come and go. Nepotism, cronyism, man'sinhumanity to man and to women, corruption, a British saddledbureaucracy, all will continue. The Indian Spring will not bringin a Holi of Holiness.


Sports

ogendra Bhatnagar

will be the referee

at the Aust ra l ian

Badminton Open

which will be held for the

second time in Sydney from

April 2 – 7, 2013 with the

first tournament held last

year.

A keen badminton play-

er, Yogendra is one of the

three referees who will be

conducting and overseeing

the whole schedule of bad-

minton matches and the

draw. The matches will be

held at Sydney Convention

Centre as the hall there will

be conver ted in to bad-

minton courts with players

par t ic ipat ing from around

30 countries from around

the world.

Yogendra who has

umpired many international

tournaments, says to be eli-

g ib le for umpir ing, one

must umpire 75 matches

over ten tournaments in one

year on international level

and, “I t has been pre t ty

hectic for many years as I

have decided to slow down

having travelled to tourna-

ments in the Oceania region

and to Asia , Europe and

Canada.”

Yogendra has met many

players on his trips which

include Saina Nehwal who

was on January 17 this year

declared rank number 2 in

the world in badminton. “It

i s qui te inspi r ing to see

these badminton greats .

Though India’s top bad-

minton player in men is

Parupal l i Kashyap and is

ranked at number 10, Saina

is my favourite.”

Says Yogendra that the

Yonex Sydney Badminton

Open may see Saina com-

pete a t the tournament

though the f inal l i s t of

players i s not yet out .

“Saina is a pride to watch

and had scored a bronze in

the London Olympics.”

Yogendra, himself, is not

far behind, having spent

many years p laying the

game as he was captain of

ONGC team in India

hooked by PSCB

(Petroleum Sports Control

Board). He played at the

nat ional level t i l l 1990

when he moved to Sydney

with his family. The game

of badminton soon became

his for te and he t ra ined

people, played and organ-

ized many badminton tour-

naments for the Indian com-

munity.

Aust ra l ian badminton

Open, which s tar ted las t

year in Sydney held at the

Sydney convent ion centre

turned into a huge success.

Yogendra was an umpire

and part of the organizing

committee and the players

loved Sydney, as more than

the players who were busy

in the tournament , the i r

famil ies loved Dar l ing

Harbour venue with all the

ameni t ies , tour is t a t t rac-

t ions , in ternat ional food

halls close by and they all

wanted to come back again.

“A dinner organized a t

Zafraan was a huge success,

and people loved the har-

bour and the scenery as

such. And surprise which

even I did not know that

there were fireworks on the

night which made the

evening memorable for all .

I have been to many tourna-

ments al l over the world

myself but I must say

Sydney Darling Harbour is

the dream venue for holding

such an event.”

Austra l ian Badminton

Open is a Grand Prix Gold

tournament a t t rac t ing a

to ta l pr ize money of

$120,000 and there is great

in teres t f rom players a l l

around the world to come

and compete . “We are

working hard and I do hope

we can get Saina Nehwal

this time.”

Sydney has been such a

success that i t may be

upgraded to Super Series

Tournament . “The only

downside being the cost of

renting the venue which is

qui te high. And we need

more sponsors the main one

being Yonex.”

“As a Referee I urge the

Indian community to partic-

ipate,” says Yogendra, “We

need l ine judges wi th a

keen interest in badminton.

They have got to be bril-

liant badminton players and

they will be given training

in 3-hour sess ions to go

through theory and practi-

cal and also need to prac-

tice their skills in the game.

Line judges need to be

highly competent, qualified

and prompt. They are very

important people in helping

to conduct a world class

tournament which is

watched by many people

around the world . We

should not look slack. We

have close to 50 line judges

but need ten more. They

must be keen and commit-

ted badminton players .

They will get the uniform,

free entry, food and reim-

bursed for t ravel to and

back from the tournament.

In the process they have the

opportunity for a week to

be part of this great tourna-

ment and see the world rank

badminton players from up

close. Anyone interested to

apply for the line judge’s

job can email me at: bhat-

[email protected].”

The Sydney Tournament

over s ix heated days of

intense, high-energy com-

pet i t ion in Sydney, the

SCEC wil l p lay host to

more than 300 Badminton

athletes - from around 30

countries. And all five dis-

c ip l ines of the world’s

fastest racquet sport will be

contes ted a t the tourna-

ment : Men and Women’s

s ingles , Men and Women

Doubles , and Mixed

Doubles . The tournament

wi l l be watched l ive by

over 100 mil l ion people

around the world.

I f a l l goes wel l then

Sydney’s success may help

secure it as a BWF World

Superseries event from next

year. The Aust ra l ian

Badminton Open, currently

a Grand Pr ix Gold ra ted

event, may become one of

the r iches t profess ional

badminton tournaments in

the world with US$750,000

in prize money up for grabs

in 2014.

Tickets are now on-sale

from www.ticketek.com.au

or via the tournament web-

s i te www.aust ra l ianbad-

mintonopen.com.au and are

qui te affordable wi th a

daily ticket starting from as

low as $20 and an early

bird session pass (all ses-

s ion) s tar t ing from $110.

Ear ly purchase of f inals

tickets is recommended as

all finals were a sell out at

the 2012 competition.

Bhatnagar to referee AustralianBadminton Open

Yogendra Bhatnagar, who captained ONGC team in India and umpired many international badmintontournaments, will be referee at the Australian Badminton Open to b eheld in Sydney, April 2-9.

“World Rank 2 Saina Nehwal is a pride to watch.” says YogendraBhatnagar

Y

The Kersi Meher-Homji column


The death of Tony Greig last monthcame as a shock to me as to all ofus. An interesting character, it was

always interesting discussing cricket withhim in the SCG Press Box. He had thatcertain presence, that certain aura, acharisma that attracts. At 6’7” he waslarger than life size but was veryapproachable.

Tall, fair, handsome and articulate,Greig has gone through the gauntlet andemerged unscathed. Born in SouthAfrica, he shone out as an all-rounder forEngland, later captaining his adoptedcountry to success and was one of the keyfigures in the formation of KerryPacker’s World Series Cricket in 1977.His voice was recognised internationallyas the cricket commentator on Channel 9with that typical ‘Greigy’ accent andunflappable style.

He was a leader of men, charmingand multi-talented He knew what hewanted and got it. According toChristopher Martin-Jenkins in WorldCricketers (1996), “[Greig] was a brave,determined and skilful all-round cricketerwho seldom failed in Tests and manytimes seemed to be holding England’sfortunes on his shoulders.” At times ruth-less, he relished challenges, imposing hispersonality on matches and on events.

He usually batted at number six andshowed to the bowlers who the boss was.And who would argue with his tallframe? He came out swinging his batround his shoulders as he took the ‘mid-dle’ from the umpire. Mostly a front-footbatsman, he specialised on the off-driveand lofted straight drives which wentover the ropes and within the Stands.Like Keith Miller before him, he had ‘sixappeal’ and he was a crowd favourite,especially in India. Many of his bestinnings were played on his two tours toIndia.

He loved India and India loved him.In 1972-73 he shone out as a batsmanplaying unbeaten innings of 68 and 40(and accepting five catches) in the DelhiTest which England won by 6 wickets. Inthe final Test in Mumbai, he hit 148.During this innings he added 254 runswith Keith Fletcher.

Greig achieved all-round successwhen England toured the Caribbean thenext season. He scored 430 runs (includ-ing two centuries) at 47.77 and captured24 wickets at 22.62 runs apiece. In thethird Test in Bridgetown, he made 148,his joint top score and bagged 6 for164,becoming the first to record a hundredand take five wickets in an innings of thesame Test for England.

Inspired, Greig scored another centu-ry in the Georgetown Test and captured 8for 86 and 5 for 70 in the final Test inPort-of-Spain.

Both his 8 for 86 in that innings and13 for 156 in the match were records forEngland against the West Indies at thattime. On this tour he had switched fromswing to quickish off-spin which mayexplain his success. This bowling bonan-za enabled England to win the Test anddraw the series.

However, his copybook was blottedsomewhat by a controversy in the firstTest in Port-of-Spain. When West Indianbatsman Bernard Julien played the lastball of the second day down the pitch,Greig picked it up. Then observing thatAlvin Kallicharran was out of the crease,he threw down the stumps and appealed.Kallicharran was given run out by umpireSang Hue and the crowd was furious.After long consultations between cap-tains, umpires and administrators, theappeal was withdrawn. Greig apologisedand peace was restored.

He carried his fine batting form inAustralia in 1974-75, playing a bucca-neering innings of 110 against DennisLillee and Jeff Thomson at their peak.This was the first century in a BrisbaneTest by an England player since 1936-37.He put in an impressive all-round per-formance in the third Test in Melbourne,scoring 60 in the second innings, loftingoff-spinner Ashley Mallett for a mon-strous hit in the outer and taking valuablewickets.

Appointed captain, Greig led Englandto a successful tour of India in 1976-77.England won the Test series 3-1 as hetotalled 342 runs at 42.75. His 103 in theKolkata Test, his 49th, was memorable ashe became the first one to achieve thedouble of 3000 runs and 100 wickets forEngland.

He led England in the historicCentenary Test in Melbourne in March1977 which attracted the largest collec-tion of international cricketers in history.Although England lost, Greig remained avery popular player on and off the field.At that time he was “earning upwards of£50,000 a year from various cricket con-tracts and allied business activities”,according to the late Christopher Martin-Jenkins in World Cricketers (1996). Hewas also certain of leading England formany years.

Then was born Kerry Packer’s rebelWorld Series Cricket (WSC) with Greigas one of the key figures and he lost cred-ibility with the establishment. Althoughhe was the captain of England, he trav-

elled the world between March and May1977 to sign up many of the world’s bestcricketers on Packer’s behalf includingsome of his own team-mates. The WSCwas born soon after and Greig was dis-missed as captain of England for whatwas regarded as “his betrayal of trust”but he continued to play for them suc-cessfully under Mike Brearley in 1977.

In 58 Tests he scored 3599 runs at ahealthy average of 40.43 with eight cen-turies and took 141 wickets at 32.20,claiming 5 wickets in an innings six timesand pouched 87 catches. He was one ofthe four cricketers who averaged morethan 40 with the bat and under 35 withthe ball in Test arena, others beingAubrey Faulkner of South Africa, theWest Indies legend Garry Sobers andSouth African Jacques Kallis.

And in 350 first-class matches, heamassed 16,660 runs at 31.19, took 856wickets at 28.85 and held 345 catches. Asa slip fielder he was superlative, thesafest and the most brilliant of his era.Well, his height helped too.

Greig migrated to Australia in 1978and started as a chairman of an insurancecompany and a successful television com-mentator on Channel 9. Along with WSC

pioneers Richie Benaud and IanChappell, Greig had been broadcastingthe game and presenting his views on thebox for 30 years. He spoke his mindwithout fear or favour and remained pop-ular with TV viewers from the time thecoin was tossed (with his key in the pitchas his trade mark) to interviewing theman of the match at the end.

One cannot speak for hours on endwithout a gaffe here and there and Greigwas known for putting his foot in themouth on occasions. He was once 'caughtout' when commentating on Channel 9during a one-day international betweenAustralia A and West Indies on theSydney Cricket Ground on 10 January1996. When a batsman hit a sizzling six,he yelled in excitement "It's a HUGEsh*t" instead of "It's a HUGE six."

A lively after-dinner speaker, he tolda humorous story at a cricket function.He had just started playing county crick-et for Sussex after leaving South Africa.The bowler steamed in and had Greig outplumb lbw. That was the first ball he hadfaced and to his relief the appeal wasturned down. He took a single off thenext ball which brought him near theumpire who whispered to him: “Do youknow Sandy Greig from Queenstown?”“He’s my father”, Tony replied. “Damngood decision, then!” was the retort fromthe umpire who was Sandy’s mate. Greigwent on to make 150-plus, capturednewspaper headlines and never lookedback.

Let me narrate a humorous anecdoteinvolving Greig and Sunil Gavaskar.When Greig (6’7” tall) and Gavaskar(5’5”) were batting together for Rest ofWorld XI against Australia in a match in1971, a woman asked ABC cricket com-mentator Norman May: “How do theycommunicate each other with such a dif-ference in height?” Norman May replied:“By Morse code; one is a dash and theother a dot!”

Tony Greig will be remembered forhis tall frame, tall hits and tall (but true)tales. With the passing of Peter Roebuck,Vinay Verma and now Tony Greig, theSCG Press Box will not look the same.

Rest in peace, Tony Greig.

Commentator and former England captain Tony Greig (left) is joined by New Zealandcaptain Brendon McCullum and Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi at the start of a T20

match in Dubai.

Sharing the commentary box with former Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly.

Vale Tony Greig, a larger than life all-rounder



Greig stands tall among All-rounders

No one will catch up with Sachin

Tony Greig was an all-rounder in many senses,not just a top class bats-

man, bowler, fielder and cap-tain. He was tri-national; bornin South Africa, played Testcricket and captained Englandand settled in Australia as aunique cricket commentator onChannel 9. He was a householdname, known not only to crick-et-lovers.

His accent and style as acommentator was imitated

around the world by young andold, men and women; his key inthe pitch was a signature tunethat unlocked many doors ofapathy and rancour.

The purpose of this post isto compare him statisticallywith post-1950 great all-rounders in more or lesschronological order: KeithMiller, Vinoo Mankad, TrevorBailey, Richie Benaud, AlanDavidson, Trevor Goddard,Garry Sobers, Ian Botham,

Imran Khan, Kapil Dev,Richard Hadlee, WasimAkram, Ravi Shastri, ChrisCairns, Shaun Pollock,Daniel Vettori, AndrewFlintoff and Jacques Kallis.

In 58 Tests he scored 3599runs at an average of 40.43

with eight centuries, and took141 wickets at 32.20,

claiming 5 wickets in aninnings six times and pouched

87 catches.

*5w/I = 5 wickets per innings

There are three Indians (Mankad, Kapil and Shastri) in this list of all-time great all-rounders.Of these 19 all-time great all-rounders post-1950, Greig has the third highest batting average (40.43) after Sobers (57.78) and Kallis (56.92).

Be it Test cricket or one-day interna-tionals (ODIs), no one will catch upwith the batting records of Sachin

Tendulkar, the once in a lifetime phenome-non.

Now that he has announced his retire-ment from ODIs, let us compare his battingrecord with those of other great batsmen.

In 463 ODIs, he scored 18,426 runs atan average of 44.83 and a strike-rate (SR)of 86.23, hitting 49 centuries and 96 fifties.

He is 4722 runs ahead of the next bestbatsman, Australia’s Ricky Ponting (13,704runs at 42.03, SR 80.39 with 30 centuriesand 82 fifties in 375 ODIs).

They are followed by Sri Lanka’sSanath Jayasuriya (13,430 at 32.36, SR91.20, 28 centuries and 68 fifties in 445ODIs) and Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq

(11,739 at 39.52, SR 74.24, 10 centuriesand 83 fifties in 378 ODIs).

As all these players have retired theycannot catch up with Sachin. The only onewho can, although I doubt it very much, isSouth Africa’s all-rounder Jacques Kallis.In 321 ODIs he has accumulated 11,498runs at 45.26 (SR 72.97) with 17 centuriesand 85 fifties.

However he is a massive 6928 runsbehind Sachin. Also as Kallis is 37 year-old, it is highly unlikely that he willoutscore the Indian maestro.

Apart from statistics, Tendulkar was amatch winner in many ODIs includingWorld Cups. I have never seen him happi-er than when India lifted the World Cup inMumbai in April 2011.

Tendulkar also holds the batting record

in World Cups by a huge margin. In 45 WCmatches he amassed 2278 runs at 56.95with six hundreds. He is way ahead ofPonting (1743 runs at 45.86 in 46 WCmatches with five hundreds). They are fol-lowed by West Indian Brian Lara (1225)and Jayasuriya (1165). All four haveretired.

Kallis is still playing but is 1130 runsbehind Sachin the supremo.

The absence of Sachin was strongly feltduring the first ODI against Pakistan inChennai on 30th December when India lostby 6 wickets.

But for MS Dhoni’s fighting century,India would have been bowled out for under60 as they were 5 for 29 at one stage on agreen pitch exploited by their fast bowlerJunaid Khan.

Now that he has announced his retire-ment from ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar’ slast one-day match was in the Asia Cup

on 18 March, 2012 in which he scored 52in a six-wicket win against Pakistan.

Player Country Tests Runs Bat. Ave. 100s Wickets Bowl. Ave. 5w/i* Catches

Vinoo Mankad Ind. 44 2109 31.47 5 162 32.32 8 33

Keith Miller Aus. 55 2958 36.97 7 170 22.97 7 38

Trevor Bailey Eng. 61 2290 29.74 1 132 29.21 5 32

Richie Benaud Aus. 63 2201 24.45 3 248 27.03 16 65

Alan Davidson Aus 44 1328 24.59 0 186 20.53 14 42

Trevor Goddard S.Af. 41 2516 34.46 1 123 26.22 5 48

Garry Sobers W.I. 93 8032 57.78 26 235 34.03 6 109

Tony Greig Eng. 58 3599 40.43 8 141 32.20 6 87

Ian Botham Eng. 102 5200 33.54 14 383 28.40 27 120

Imran Khan Pak. 88 3807 37.69 6 362 22.81 23 28

Kapil Dev Ind. 131 5248 31.05 8 434 29.64 23 64

Richard Hadlee N.Z. 86 3124 27.16 2 431 22.29 36 39

Wasim Akram Pak. 104 2898 22.64 3 414 23.62 25 44

Ravi Shastri Ind. 80 3830 35.79 11 151 40.96 2 36

Chris Cairns N.Z. 62 3320 33.53 5 218 29.40 13 14

Shaun Pollock S.Af. 108 3781 32.31 2 421 23.11 16 72

Fred Flintoff Eng. 79 3845 31.77 5 226 32.78 3 52

Daniel Vettori N.Z. 112 4516 30.10 6 360 34.42 20 58

Jacques Kallis S.Af. 158 12980 56.92 44 282 32.57 5 192

The Kersi Meher-Homji Column


Not a single Indian makes it tomy Best Test XI of 2012

20 1 2h a sbeen a

m i s e r a b l eyear forIndian crick-et. The 2011World Cupc h a m p i o n s

who were atone stage rankedon top in Testcricket thatyear have

plummeted down, down, down.Not only overseas but also

on home pitches made forIndia’s strength; spin, spin,spin.

In the previous few years,many Indians could make it toan imaginary World XI: SachinTendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVSLaxman, Virender Sehwag, MSDhoni, Anil Kumble, HarbhajanSingh...

With the retirement ofKumble, Dravid, VVS and thelack of form from the others,not one Indian can be includedin the Best Test Eleven of 2012.

Only Cheteshwar Pujara andVirat Kohli can make it to theBest Test squad of fifteen play-ers.

But the final week of 2012has provided some Christmascheer in Twenty20 cricket.Left-arm all-rounder YuvrajSingh gave us something to cel-ebrate, a much-needed bloodtransfusion. And to think thatlast year he was on chemothera-py to battle cancer. He sure isan inspiration to not only otherunderperforming Indian crick-eters but to us all.

After losing the home Test

series to England, Yuvraj wasbehind India’s morale-boostingfight back in the T20 interna-tionals against England andPakistan. In four internationals,he was made Man of the Matchtwice and Man of the Seriesonce.

In the Pune T20 internation-al against England last week hecaptured 3 for 19 in four oversand top-scored with 37 as Indiawon by five wickets. AlthoughIndia lost the next match inMumbai to draw the series 1-1,he took 3 for 17 in four eco-nomical overs.

Then started two T20 inter-nationals against Pakistan, a his-toric occasion as the neighbourshave not played each other inIndia since 2005. India lost thefirst match in Bangalore by fivewickets as Pakistan captainMohammad Hafeez hit 61.

But India gained revenge bywinning the next match inAhmedabad by 11 runs, thanksto Yuvraj’s magnificent 72 in 36balls with four fours and seventowering sixes.

Quickie Ashok Dinda alsocontributed to this victory bytaking three crucial wickets.

As we welcomed 2013 with fire-works, let me select the Best TestXI of 2012. The selection criteri-

on is statistics-based for the calendaryear. The player should have played atleast nine Tests in 2012 to avoid an“average inflation”.

No one will challenge my choice ofopeners: England’s captain Alastair Cook(1249 runs at 48.03 with four centuries in15 Tests, highest score 190 run out) andSouth Africa’s skipper Graeme Smith(825 at 48.52 with three centuries in 10Tests, HS 131). Under their leadershiptheir countries are ranked among Top 2 inTest arena.

Well, Cook did not captain England inall Tests in 2012 but he was behindEngland’s marvellous recent series victoryover India in India, being adjudged Playerof the Series as England won their firstTest series in India since 1984-85.

South Africa’s bearded Hashim Amlais the undisputed no. 3 bat havingamassed 1064 runs at 70.93 with four flu-ent hundreds in 10 Tests, HS 311 not out.

One of the greatest all-rounders,Proteas Jacques Kallis, will follow him atno. 4. He made 944 runs at 67.42 withfour tons in 9 Tests, HS 224. He had dis-appointing bowling figures; only 11 wick-ets at 23.28 with 3-35 as his best figure.But I have chosen him as a batsman.

Australian captain Michael Clarke hada magnificent year, scoring most runs(1595 at a Bradmanesque average of106.33 in 11 Tests, HS an unbeaten 329,three double hundreds and a century). Heis ranked no. 1 batsman by ICC Playerranking. He will bat at no. 5.

There are three candidates for the no.6 spot; Australia’s Michael Hussey,England’s Kevin Pietersen and WestIndian Shivnarine Chanderpaul. As thecriterion is on stats, Chanderpaul gets inas he averaged 98.70 in 9 Tests (HS 203not out) compared to Hussey’s 59.86 in11 and Pietersen’s 43.67 in 14.

Matt Prior of England is my firstchoice as the wicket-keeper having dis-missed most batsmen in 2012; 36 (29caught and 7 stumped in 15 Tests). Thenext best is South Africa-born NewZealander CFK (Kruger) van Wyk (23+1in 9). Prior also scored 777 runs at 38.85with 91 as his top score.

Now to the bowlers:Sri Lanka’s slow left-arm orthodox

bowler HMRKB (Rangana) Herath hasnot only the most initials before his sur-name but also the most number of wicketsin 2012; 60 at 23.61 in 10 Tests, 6-43 ashis best. He has also captured 5 wicketsin an innings most times this year (7times) as also 10 wickets in a match mosttimes (twice).

He was unlucky in the just endedMelbourne Test as many catches weredropped off his bowling. But what a catchhe took in that Test, the only highlight ofthe Lankans deplorable display!

England’s off-spinner Graeme Swanncame close; 59 wickets at 29.93 (6-82 ashis best) in 14 Tests. Pakistan offie Saeed

Ajmal had impressive figures of 39 wick-ets at the best average of 20.56 in 6 Testsbut he does not meet my criterion of aminimum of 9 Tests.

On figures for 2012, I’ll give the newball to James Anderson of England (48scalps at 29.50 in 14, best 5-72) and VD(Vernon) Philander of South Africa (43wickets at 21.11 in 9, best 6-44).

Although Dale Steyn, the express fastbowler from SA, is ranked no. 1 by theICC ranking, his stats of 39 scalps at29.71 in 10 Tests are inferior toAnderson’s and Philander’s.

Here is my 2012 Test XI in battingorder:

Cook, Smith (captain), Amla, Kallis,Clarke (vice-captain), Chanderpaul, Prior(wk), Swann, Anderson, Philander andHerath.

Thus there are four each fromEngland and South Africa and one eachfrom Australia, West Indies and SriLanka. No one from India, Pakistan, NewZealand and Bangladesh could make myXI.

12th man: Steyn.Reserves: Ajmal, Mike Hussey,

Cheteshwar Pujara and Pietersen.Sadly not a single Indian gets in my

Test XI of 2012 and only one, Pujara inmy Test XVI.

Pujara scored 654 runs at an excellentaverage of 81.75 with three centuries, topscore an unbeaten 206. But he playedonly six Tests so does not qualify for myfinal XI selection.

Other Indian batsman to consider wasVirat Kohli (689 runs at 49.21 with threecenturies in 9 Tests). But those selected inthe XI had better statistics.

Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (37wickets at 37.75 in 8 Tests) and PragyanOjha (33 wickets at 25.96 in 6) were con-sidered but no way they could displaceSwann and Herath.

Hope 2013 is a better year for India as2012 was most forgettable.

India tumbles from badto worse in 2012

Wish we can press the delete button in reallife as we do on the computer keyboard!Everything was roses and glories for

Indian cricket till 2 April 2011 when they won theWorld Cup with Virender Sehwag, SachinTendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, ZaheerKhan and others in sparkling form, led boldly andinspirationally by MS Dhoni.

Then on, it was from sublime to not-so-good toridiculous. The slide has been dramatic in all formsof the game, especially in Tests.

In June-July 2011 India (without Tendulkar)India narrowly beat West Indies in the West Indiesin Tests (1-0), one-day internationals (3-2) and T20(1-0). Not bad but not worthy of World Cup cham-pions and a team ranked highly in Test arena. Thenthe real slide started in England, losing the Testseries 0-4. Worse was to follow in Australia, losingthe Test series 0-4 as also not making the final inthe ODIs – losing to both Australia and Sri Lanka.They really went down under in down under!

But Indians consoled themselves. Their recordis usually terrible overseas but terrific at home. LetEngland visit India and we’ll slaughter them,seemed to be their catch phrase. “We have not lostto them since 1984-85, revenge will be sweet,” theplayers and selectors appeared to hum in unison.

And it went according the script in the first Testin Ahmedabad in November when India thrashedEngland by 9 wickets. Sehwag scored a quick-firecentury and Cheteshwar Pujara a magnificent 206not out. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha took 9wickets in the match. And we chanted: Happy daysare here again! The retirements of master batsmenRahul Dravid and VVS Laxman was not even felt.

We may be mice overseas but we are tigers athome, reported the cricket writers.

But instead of roaring in the remaining threeTests in Mumbai, Kolkata and Nagpur, they rolledlike obedient pups at the hands of England batsmenAlastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott andbowlers Graeme Swann, ‘Monty’ Panesar andJimmy Anderson. Thanks to Cook’s clever captain-cy and their spin twins Panesar and Swann,England won by10 wickets in Mumbai and 7 wick-ets in Kolkata. By drawing the last Test in NagpurEngland won the Test series 2-1, their first Testseries win in India in 27 years. To add to thesewoes, there is acrimony between skipper Dhoni andopening batsman Gautam Gambhir. Recently,Dhoni described Gambhir as a selfish cricketer.

Remember -- united we roar and soar, dividedwe sink and stink.

Yuvraj Singh smashed sevensixes in his 72 in the

Ahmedabad T20 againstPakistan,

levelling the series 1-1.

Cheteshwar Pujara is the only Indian inKersi’s Best Test team,that too as a reserve.

Yuvraj provides Christmas cheers fordown-in-the-dumps Indian cricket



Cyrus Pestonji, an undefeated champ

Surprise, surprise, Kohli is the

InternationalCricketer of

the Year

He represented Punjab(Pakistan) in both cricketand table tennis (TT) in the

1970s. He played with and againstPakistan Test cricketers Imran Khan,Majid Jehangir Khan, Mohsin Khanand Wasim Raja in Lahore and withGreg Matthews, Dave Gilbert andDirk Welham in 1980s in SydneyGrade cricket.

He is Cyrus Pestonji. He stillremembers hitting the great ImranKhan for two consecutive fours in amatch. It was a pleasure interviewinghim for The Indian Down Under.

Cyrus has been playing cricketand TT for the AustralianZoroastrian Association (AZA)teams since 1981, hitting a century inthe Indian Cultural Tournament in1990 against a strong St Patricksteam and many unbeaten 40s and 50sfor AZA matches. In local TT tour-naments for AZA, Cyrus hasremained unbeaten for 30 years. Atone stage he averaged 168 with thebat.

Cyrus was also invincible in

Lahore YMCA TT tournament eversince he was 13.

He comes from a sporting fami-ly. His grandfather BurjorMachliwalla had represented India incricket and his father Jal Pestonji inhockey. “My first cricket match wasfor Parsees in Lahore when I was 11and others were aged over 20. Iremember the opposition captainasking his fast bowler to bowl slow-ly in case I got hurt. But after thefirst over and a few fours, he told thebowler, ‘Bowl as normal’!

“I vividly remember an inter-school match which included a huge,tall and fearsome fast bowler. Ouropening batsman was soon bowledby this monster bowler and I went into bat at no. 3. I was apprehensivebut remained outwardly calm. Thenext thing I knew, the ball was on itsway to the fence. This was the startof an understanding that bigger andfaster is not always better, and tech-nique and self-confidence are veryimportant.”

His father Jal and future father-

in-law Boni Marolia (captain ofLahore Parsees) got him interested incricket, TT, badminton and hockey.“In college I had former PakistanTest cricketer Nazar Mohammad asthe team coach. He helped me todevelop the finer points of cricketand mental toughness. [NazarMohammad had scored a century for

Pakistan against India in theLucknow Test in 1952 as HanifMohammed’s opening partner.]”

Cyrus went on to score manycenturies and capture many wicketsfor Punjab in Lahore and forWestern Suburbs in Sydney.

“I do remember the century I hitfor Western Suburbs in grade cricketas it was something special for me.We were chasing a big total of 305against Sydney XI and were 6 downfor 129 when I went in to bat, star-ing a big defeat. I remember tellingmyself to remain calm. At the end ofthe day I was 122 not out with myteam winning by three wickets.”

His other sporting triumphs:He was ranked Punjab no.1 in

TT in 1970s, represented Punjab TTteam in Interstate championships andhis University in both cricket andTT. He earned Sportsman of theYear award in University. But forstudies and work commitment hecould have played first-class cricket.

The soft spoken Cyrus has adegree in electronics from Lahore

University. He arrived in Sydney in1981and obtained an MBA fromMacquarie University, Sydney.Playing 2nd grade for WesternSuburbs under the captaincy of Testall-rounder Greg Matthews, he hit amatch-winning century againstSydney as described before.

He represented Indo-AustralianCricket Club and Western DistrictTT Association in Sydney Gradechampionships.

“The best advice I received wasfrom my wife Khursheed’s uncleBejan. I represented the LahoreParsee team when 11. We were chas-ing a score of over 200 and were 7for 70. When I commented that ‘it’sall over now’, he told me, ‘Cyrus,this is cricket, you never say die.’He went in and won the game for us.I have not forgotten that lesson.”

Happily married and father ofsports-loving sons Sheriar andAsfandiar, Cyrus’s favourite memo-ry is hitting the legendary ImranKhan for boundaries off consecutiveballs.

Publishers Internationalerecently launched TopOrder,Australia’s first luxury crick-

et lifestyle magazine. The premiumquarterly publication is an officiallicensed product of CricketAustralia and will be availableexclusively to subscribers from theAustralian Cricket Family, the offi-cial membership of CricketAustralia.

The annual subscription is$35.80 for all four issues.

TopOrder reflects the very bestthat Australian living has to offer,with expert coverage of food, wine,travel, motoring and cricket, saysthe press release.

The first Indian themed issuefeatures a host of leading names,some with personal insights of the

game such as Test and ODI greatBrett Lee, who reveals his enduringfascination with India, as well asnon-cricketing personalities with adeep respect and love for the gamesuch as culinary icon ShannonBennett. James Sutherland, CricketAustralia CEO, welcomed thearrival of the new magazine:

“We are tremendously positiveabout the launch of TopOrder andbelieve that the magazine will offerfans something truly different andenrich both their love of cricket andtheir personal lifestyles.

“Few countries can match thepassion for cricket that we see inAustralia and we are fortunate that

the game is supported at grass-rootslevel by such huge numbers of fansthrough the Australian CricketFamily.

We feel that TopOrder will beof great relevance for many of thosefans and we look forward to offer-ing them a first-rate publication,which will inform and entertain inequal measure.”

Following on from the firstIndian themed issue this month,TopOrder editorial will continue tobe influenced by the Australian Testteam tour destinations with a GreatBritain issue in April, the WestIndies in July and Australian sum-mer in October.

The passing of former Test cricketerRusi Surti has saddened me as he wasa personal friend. I found him straight-

forward who would take no nonsense fromanyone yet went out of his way to help afriend.

He passed away on 13 January in JaslokHospital after a massive stroke in Mumbaiaged 76. An elegant left-hander, he wasreferred to as poor man’s Garry Sobers. Hecould bat like a millionaire, bowl like a miserand field like a superman. He was India’s firstagile fielder.

To see him perform in the middle was likesipping a glass of champagne, lots of bubblesand fizz with a glorious after-taste.

Even a short innings by Rusi gave endlesspleasure as this short-tempered Parsi was abrilliant cricketer, a panther on the prowl.

When he toured Australia and NewZealand in 1967-68 under Nawab of Pataudi,we saw a mature Surti, not flashy but dogged-ly consistent. He outscored all Indians on thatcombined tour by scoring 688 runs at 45.87 ineight Tests.

In the final Test against New Zealand atAuckland he made 99, which sadly remained

his highest Test score. Summed up NewZealand writer Dick Brittenden, “Surti lookedthe best of them as a batsman and compar-isons made with Garry Sobers were in manyrespects valid. For watchfulness and sub-con-scious elegance, he stood alone.”

The next season he was invited to playSheffield Shield for Queensland, the firstIndian to be asked. Soon he was hitting head-lines. Against Western Australia in Perth in1969 he scored 63 and took six wicketsincluding the hat-trick.

It was the first hat-trick taken by aQueensland bowler in Sheffield Shield. In1980s he represented Australia in an indoorcricket match as a wicket-keeper, something

even the great Sobers did not achieve in hiscareer!

Rusi was a respected coach for top clubs inQueensland.

We hosted him when he visited us inSydney. He enjoyed dhan-saak (a delectableParsi cuisine) cooked by my wife who alsotaught his sons Percy and Kaizad prayers fortheir Navjote.

When I asked him about his most excitingmoment in cricket he mentioned neither a Testnor a Shield match.

“My finest hour was in1975 as a batsmanin the semi-final of Channel O Knock-outTournament. This ‘thrilla on Gabba’ wasplayed between Easts and University. Theending was nail-biting. Universities made 175and we were in strife at 5 for 58 when Ientered.

“But soon I pulled my leg-muscle andretired. I returned as last man as Easts needed41 to win in 27 balls. In a dramatic countdownwe added 16 runs in one over, 13 by me.”

Frank O’Callaghan wrote in Courier Mail,“Surti was in charge, dominating the strikelike a military strategist.” He would havemade an excellent T20 player.

India’s young batsman ViratKohli has won theInternational Cricketer of

the Year award on 4 January2013 at CEAT cricket awardsin New Delhi.

Although a big Kohli fan,this came as a surprise to methat he was selected ahead ofAustralia’s Michael Clarke, SriLankan Kumar Sangakkara,consistent South African bats-man Hashim Amla andEngland’s Alastair Cook forthis top honour.

Kohli, however, could notmake it to the event and formerPakistan captain and bowlinglegend Wasim Akram collectedthe award on his behalf.

Pakistan was named as theBest International Cricket teamin the 2011-12 season. But hey,what about South Africa andEngland?

What were the criteria forselection? I am surprised, nay,shocked.

Australia’s first luxury cricketlifestyle magazine launched with

an India themed issue.

Virat Kohli

Cyrus Pestonji representedPunjab (Pakistan) in both cricket and table tennis.

Cricket magazine TopOrder is launched

Vale Rusi Surti, poor man’s Garry Sobers

Rusi Surti and (right) Kersi and Surtitogether in their younger days.

indian down under - february 2013

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