indian down under june-july 2014 e paper

India goes for Modi

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Inside this Issue:8: Vijay Badhwar talks toIndian community aboutModi wave and what itmeans for India11: Rekha Bhattacharjeeanalyses Indian elections 17: Neeru Saluja inter-views Lunchbox directorRitesh Batra47: Gaurav Joshi reportson IPL direct from AbuDhabi and India

02 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June - July 2014

June - July 2014 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 03

Editor's Letter

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It was a stunning win for the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), even perhaps,beyond their own expectations to get

an absolute majority on their own.Needless that they were making overturestowards Jayalalitha and Mamata Banerjeeto be an ally, unsure how BJP would per-form in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in aquagmire of caste politics.

In the end, all the BJP’s apprehen-sions were unfounded, the masses beingso disenchanted with the UPA govern-ment, the corruption scandals, the inef-fectual prime minister Manmohan Singhand the yoke of dynasty rule that theymust have been overwhelmed with.Novice Rahul Gandhi was no match forthe former Rashtriya Swayam SevakSangh (RSS) skillful ‘Pracharak’. TheGandhi scion (Rahul) neither had thepolitical experience, nor the charisma anddynamism to rally the masses behindhim. Four times chief minister ofGujarat, Narendra Modi, had the bullishenergy to hold multiple rallies each singleday of the long campaign in far flungcorners of India and the savvy to indulgewith diverse crowds in rants why theyshould not vote for the mother and sonteam. They heeded his cogency; the elec-tion results bear the testimony.

The share market reacted well to theBJP win as there is a sentiment of opti-mism, experts now predicting doubledigit growth in a few years time. Indiahad lately been stagnating under lack lus-tre policies of a government that had vir-tually given up.

The battle now won, there are manychallenges for the BJP within the party aswell as beyond. The Modi team hasalready initiated moves to infuse newblood, albeit at the cost of straining rela-tionships with party stalwarts like LKAdvani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Modialso has to address the underlying corrup-tion issues in the party that he hasescaped this time.

In one of Satyamev Jayate episodes,Criminalization of Politics, the researchcarried out by an American Indian, MilanVaishnav, spanning 35 elections in theperiod 2003-09 and including 60,000 can-didates, provides an alarming insight.According to his analysis, candidateswith no criminal cases against them had aseven per cent probability of winning,which went up to 19 per cent if they hadone or two minor cases registered against them.

There was more probability of win-

ning, 25 per cent, for candidates who hadserious cases registered against them,three times compared to clean candidates.

Prof Jagdeep Chokkar who heads theAssociation of Democratic Reforms pro-vides data now published on ElectionCommission website that in the previousparliament from 543 MPs, 162 had casespending in courts against them, 76 amongthem having a case of a serious naturelike rape, murder, kidnapping or rob-bery. Hundred per cent of JharkhandMukti Morcha (JMM) MPs, 38 percentof BJP MPs and 21 per cent of CongressMPs had criminal cases against them incourts. While it is welcoming that BJPhas an absolute majority, it is unfortunate

that a new entrant in politics, AamAadmi Party (AAP), which took upcudgels against corruption in politics, hasdone dismally in the elections due to theirown mismanagement but also due to sus-tained propaganda against them by theBJP that they were merely Congressincognito.

After the election win, PM-electModi played a controversial but a masterstroke to invite SAARC leaders includingadversaries like Pakistan PresidentNawaz Sharif and Sri Lankan PresidentRajpaksa to the swearing-in ceremony.Suddenly there is much more life inIndian politics now that the true son ofIndia, Narendra Modi is at the helm.

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The time is over fordynasty rule in India

The share market react-ed well to the BJP win asthere is a sentiment ofoptimism, experts nowpredicting double digitgrowth in a few yearstime. India had latelybeen stagnating underlack lustre policies of agovernment that hadvirtually given up.

The Gandhi scion(Rahul) neither had thepolitical experience, northe charisma anddynamism to rally themasses behind him.Besides Modi engageddiverse crowds in rantswhy they should notvote for the mother andson team.

Narendra Modi is seen as Vikas Purush (Development leader) in the like of AtalBihari Vajpayee and Loh Purush (Iron Man) like LK Advani rolled into one.

8 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER June-July 2014

Verdict in India

Modi wave, shrugged off byCongress leaders and allies, dideventuate and swept through the

length and breadth of India to clean up evendeep rooted entrenchments, bringing abreath of fresh air and hope to masses thatgood times were ahead.

It was an unprecedented victory forBharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 283 seats -beyond its own expectations, and a disas-trous result for Congress - its worst, 44seats, that even resolved the complex poli-tics in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Bihar infavour of the BJP. The two northern statesof UP and Bihar have a final say in whowins and loses elections in India, complicat-ed by the caste politics of regional partiessuch as Samajwadi Party (SP), BahujanSamajwadi Party (BSP), Rashtriya JanataDal (RJD) and Janata Dal United (JDU).The only two regional leaders who did well,although not in a committed alliance withBJP, were All India Dravida MunnetraKazhagam (AIADMK) leader Jayalalithaand All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)leader Mamata Banerjee, who won 36 and34 seats respectively in Tamil Nadu andWeest Bengal constituencies.

The Indian Down Under invited com-munity opinion on their reaction to the elec-tion results, new Government stability andits priorities, why Congress lost andwhether it can stage a future comeback andthe future of new parties like the AamAadmi Party (AAP). Following are theiropinions:

Manbir KohliCommunity Forum – Voice of India,

Monika Geetmala, 89.7FM

Agreat result which gives an unflinch-ing mandate to the BJP and they willnot be cowed down by their alliance

partners. They can call the shots and willhave no room for excuses as the buck willstop with the BJP. They can make manyrequired changes to India's political, eco-nomic and social structure.

BJP’s will be a stable, strong govern-ment and I do see them come back for mul-tiple terms. Modi has proven his unprece-dented popularity and it will be hard foranyone to negotiate him out of the parlia-ment for quite some time. However, theCongress as an opposition party has beennotorious in fomenting trouble and this maybe a challenge for the BJP. Also, managingthe RSS and Sangh Parivar's interferencewill be a huge challenge as this can reallyget them offside the intellectuals and secular

elements of the BJP and general public.The main priorities of the Modi

Government should be:�The economic development of India

refocussed to be able to achieve its potential�Bring in a more transparent and

accountable government�An inclusive development for all sec-

tions and sectors of society includingminorities

�Return of faith in the Indian political,judicial and economic institutions

�Repatriation of ill-gotten money lyingin Swiss Banks, justice to the victims of the1984 carnage; corrupt politicians to bearrested

�Removal of 'Reservation' system�Peace and harmonious relationship

with India's neighbours�Resolution of the Kashmir issue and

action on their commitment to the abroga-tion of Article 370

�Resettlement of the Kashmiri Panditsback in kashmir

�Corruption free institutions�Development of India's aging educa-

tion system�Development of infrastructureCongress has lost due to the incessant

corruption, being out of touch with theground realities, no respect for the peopleand democratic institutions, crony capital-ism, dynastic rule politics with no experi-ence, encouraging sectarian politics, lack ofdiscipline as a political party.

It will be a steep climb for Congress tostage a comeback next time or later, espe-cially in relation to Gandhi dynasty whichmay take 2-3 terms in opposition beforethey can claw back lost ground. The Gandhidynasty will be forgotten by then.

There is no future for parties like AAP.The Indian political system is still not awareof the ills of illegal political contributionsand there are huge injections of money thatwill need to have a Return on Investment bythe investors. They will need huge doses ofmoney and political shrewdness in case theyhave to be relevant. This will then takeaway the reason they were formed, forbringing in honesty into politics.

Sheba NandkeolyarCEO, MultiConnexions & President of

Australia India Business Council, NSW

Great results, the country needed thischange. Narendra Modi has provenhimself in his own state Gujarat

what he could achieve – so, definitely, hecan do this for the country too. A great out-come for India.

Modi had a long stint in Gujarat, wherehe turned the state around, so I see no rea-son why he cannot have a long term at theCentre too. With the majority he has got hewill move forward quickly. He has demon-strated he is a man of action and not justpromises.

Australia India Business Council(AIBC) has been taking the largest delega-tions from Australia to Gujarat and I mustadd that we have always received a lot ofsupport from Chief Minister Modi includingone on one meetings with AIBC chair anddelegates.

Our experience interacting with Modihas been very positive, so we are sure hewill move with the same dynamism in hisnew role.

The main priorities for the ModiGovernment are:

Building India into a solid economywhich can be done in several ways:

�India already has the demographicadvantage and terrific people talent. Heshould capitalise on this and build a nationwhich is ambitious and action driven. Hecan encourage the spirit of entrepreneurshipin India.

�Build good international linkages withother countries and the NRIs who can all begreat ambassadors for Indian Trade,Commerce & Culture.

�Obviously, as President of AIBCNSW, I would like him to visit Australiaand forge strong business links withAustralia. It has been over quarter of a cen-tury since any Indian Prime Minister visited

Australia.Congress has lost for losing touch with

the grassroots, too centralised and top heavythinking could be one of the reasons. Thefact that there were no regional leaders inplace was evident in the fact that in somestates they won no seats.

Congress can stage a comeback nexttime or later but they need to tap into newtalent and not just push the dynasty connec-tion.

Parties like AAP have a future if theytry and work through the logistics end toend. Promising to erase corruption withoutthe mechanics can lead to frustration. Theyhad noble ideals but many of their candi-dates did not live upto these ideals in theirown lives.

Dinesh GargStrathfield

India is primed for change. India is nowa mature democratic and secular coun-try. People understand their rights and

cannot be bought with the handouts or pres-sured with threats at the election time.Mayavati’s party not getting a single seatand stunning election results in UP andBihar are a proof that people believe inBJP’s vision and their track record in gov-ernance and progress. Having said this, thisalso poses a challenge to the new NDA gov-ernment: ‘develop or perish’. If they do notperform, they, too, can be wiped out in thenext election.

Going by BJP’s track record in Gujarat(re-elected three times), Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Goa, BJPAlliance will do well at the Centre. Modi’smantra of good governance will help fightcorruption and promote growth, providingjobs and growth opportunities to millions ofpeople in the country, lifting them out ofpoverty. His inclusive approach to regionaldevelopment will ensure the country movesforward as a whole, not one part of thecountry at the expense of the other.However, if Modi’s report card does notlook as good in 60 months as promised,people of India will be reluctant to vote hisparty back into power.

The main priorities of the ModiGovernment should be:

Good Governance, simplification andtransparency of bureaucratic approvalprocesses, reducing impediments to indus-trial and agricultural growth, transportinfrastructure, availability of electricity andwater, national security. Additionally, thenew government should work towards cre-ating an environment in which people feel

Communityupbeat onModi win

By Vijay Badhwar


Verdict in India

safe and secure to work and live and cor-ruption becomes a thing of the past.

The Congress has lost due to centralisa-tion of power in just two hands, Sonia andRahul, surrounded by sycophants, resultingin ineffective parliamentary leadership.They have also lost for their negative cam-paigning, rather than focussing on achieve-ments. Congress played the secular card abit too much.

Congress can stage a comeback. Theydid so in 1980 when five-party allianceJanata Party in 1977-1980 failed to deliverto the people’s aspirations, and again in2004, when good work done by the BJPunder Vajpayee was not perceived as suchby the economically worse-off sections ofthe society. BJP appears to have learned thelessons from the past. Their inclusive andholistic growth mantra may make it a bit dif-ficult for the Congress party this time. But itis not impossible. Rahul Gandhi, however,may not be the best bet.

Parties such as AAP do have a future.They are formed with just one or two mainsocial, political and/or moral agenda items,with the sole purpose of keeping the gov-ernment honest while managing that agenda.They should, however, remain focussed onwhat they stand for and constructive inwhatever they do.

These minor parties should expand onlyafter achieving their initial objectives andonly when they have breadth and depth ofleadership and experience in the newerareas, else they will end up in politicalwilderness.

Chandrahas ThakkarEastwood

Iam very happy that Modiji has won theelection on the ground what he has donein Gujarat state; he deserved to win and

hope that he will try to improve all otherstates. I think it will be a stable governmentand considering the majority he hasachieved, he will easily govern second term.

The priority of Modi Governmentshould be to stabilise and control all partiesin the parliament and itemise the issues lyingon the table of parliament and start workingto sort out thousands of pending issueswhich are not resolved by previous govern-ment during last 10 years of their ruling. Hewill need a majority to pass, which he hasachieved.

The Congress loss is due to lies, decep-tion, corruption, taking undue advantage ofbackward and uneducated class within theirjurisdiction. They gained their trust butfilled their own belly pot. Shameful falsepromises.

It’s over for Congress and Gandhidynasty. There is no chance for them tocome back.

I do not think AAP has any future,though Kejriwal himself is an intelligentperson. He has not graduated to the levelhow to manage the country.

Prasad TadipatriWest Ryde

The results of the recent Indian elec-tions are a matter of great joy andjubilation. Finally, some hope that a

great leader has been elected by vast major-ity of Indians as Modi has vision and capac-ity to deliver as clearly proven when he wasthe Chief Minister of Gujarat.

They will form a very stable govern-ment. As BJP-Modi has won with a clearmajority there is no need to beg, bargain orappease the minor parties for support to passany legislation or policies as these smallerparties keep threatening to destabilise unlesscertain decisions favourable to them aremade.

Undoubtedly, BJP-Modi will go formore than one term. As compared to manyprevious leaders, Modi is a much morecharismatic, visionary, powerful, clever andenergetic leader.

There are many areas for improvementand lot of hopes are on Modi to deliver. Themain priorities of the Modi Governmentinclude economic growth (which will makethe country prosperous and generate moreemployment), reducing corruption, cuttingred tape, attracting foreign investment,building better infrastructure, upliftingpoorer communities, more environmentallyfriendly policies, higher renewable energyuse, stronger foreign policy and makingIndia a super power.

Congress has long lost the charm anddoes not have a charismatic leader (RahulGandhi is not at all suited, unlike his fatherRajiv Gandhi). People were fed up and nothappy with the progress achieved underCongress rule. Corruption has been endem-ic and red tape rampant. They were justplaying the politics and just managing theshow.

I do not think Congress or Gandhidynasty has a chance to come back in thenear future. People are disillusioned andthere is no charm left in the Gandhi dynasty.There is no visionary leader left in thedynasty.

In the medium to long term it dependson the performance of BJP-Modi and whatthey can deliver. No one can hoodwinkwhole of India for a long time; people will

show their might through vote, which is asit should be in a true democracy.

The future of parties like AAP is bleak,as no party can stand and win on a singleissue. No doubt corruption is a big problem,but that cannot be the only agenda item forany national party.

Surender ReddyFinancial Consultant, Epping

Modi’s win is the best thing thathappened in the history of Indiaand for many of us. This period

will be known as Modi's era. People andmany generations to come will rememberSonia Gandhi's time as a dark era in Indianpolitics. I only hope the dynasty rule isover.

I do think it will be a stable Governmentfor another two terms at least.

Modi Government’s priorities should be:elimination of corruption; punish corruptpoliticians; bring back black money fromSwiss banks; of course, development,growth and work towards eradication ofpoverty and relook at the reservation sys-tem.

The failure of Congress government,among many other things, has been due toendemic corruption, aristocratic rule, divi-sive politics etc.

I don’t think Congress can come back. Ithink regional parties will play a major rolein Indian politics. This will be bad for unit-ed India.

AAP had a future; not any more. I thinkKejriwal conducted himself as immature,unprofessional and untrustworthy. He hasno respect for India's legal system anddemocracy.

Debu MukerjiPhD, FIEAust CPEng

India got its freedom in 1947 and thecorruption multiplied forthwith pervadingall facets of governance and leadership ofthe country. It took about 67 years for thepeople to muster their aspirations and urgeto reform the governance and transcend tooust the oldest ruling party by democraticprocess. The cleaning process was total. Itappears doubtful if the Congress could evenbe the largest opposition party. It is anamazing process to observe and humblingexperience.

There is a strong possibility for stabilityof the new Government. However, it will berelated to realization of people’s awakenedaspirations of changes for holistic prosperi-ty across domains of self-family, fellow cit-izens, economy, and the country. Theprocess of change should be transparent andrealistic.

Narendra Modi was cut off by the USand UK after the 2002 riots. It appears theyare trying to reach out for adjustments withthe emerging Indian realities. There is sometalk that Mr Modi must now convinceIndia's Muslims. If any convincing at all, Ifeel there is no need to bow down or forquick political gains of giving concessionsafter concessions.

Instead, let there be a courageous andrighteous holistic political and governancestrategies to transcend such internal andexternal hiccups. As corruption disappears,economy turns around and people continueto enthusiastically support the governingprocess, things will change for Indians andin India’s image internationally. These arebig asks but can be achieved. This wouldautomatically open up world of opportuni-ties for the people and governance process.

The main priorities of the ModiGovernment should be:

�To sustain rather stimulate people’ssupport and energy and to ensure that theyare not let down ever again.

�Instill strategies for increasing effec-tiveness towards humanism and businessfriendliness.

�India traditionally has great potentialsin agriculture, manufacturing, constructionand in recent years manifested growingprowess in the new technology and servicesectors e.g., IT and banking. ModiGovernment must realize all these sectorsare interrelated and attention given for bal-anced economic and employment growth forall categories of people e.g., knowledgeworkers, manufacturing-construction skilledworkers, farmers for advanced agricultureand so on. All of these sectors need cutting-edge modernization and diversification tocater for changing needs all over the coun-try.

People are tired of incompetence,bureaucratic lethargy, bribery, misdirectionof energy and resources of the country, andindifference to the leakages of enormousamount of money. These need to bereversed.

I am optimistic that Congress can stage acomeback. Success of the Modi governmentwill be a strong deterrent force. In India(and in many other places) the ‘dynasty’ sys-tem seems to persist.

However, Congress would need massivechange. Whether Rahul Gandhi is capablefor such a game-changing leadership is opento doubt.

AAP and such others come up inresponse to people’s needs. AAP is workingon expanding its programmes and policies.They could contribute as moral-compasseven in the best of situations. If AAP devel-ops as potential competitors they will fill inthe gap of a capable alternate which isessential in sound democracy.


India

Modi promises strong,developed, inclusive nation

President Pranab Mukherjee administering the oath of office toNarendra Modi as India’s 14th PM.

New Delhi: India got a new prime minis-ter as Narendrabhai Damodardas Modi,63, took oath Monday in a 90-minute,open-air, business-like ceremony in theforecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, attendedby leaders of eight neigbouring countries.

Among the 4,000-strong guests at theepochal event were the Who's Who ofIndia - politicians, corporate honchos, filmstars, inter-faith leaders - as well as diplo-matic representatives from over 100 coun-tries.

The oath of office and secrecy includ-ing pledge of allegiance to the Indian con-stitution was administered in Hindi toModi - who wore a off-white kurta-churi-dar and a fawn-coloured Nehru jacket - byPresident Pranab Mukherjee.

Modi becomes India's 14th prime min-ister, succeeding Manmohan Singh, whowas at the event, along with Congresspresident Sonia Gandhi. Modi is the firstprime minister born in independent India -- and the second from Gujarat.

Modi, who led the BJP to a historicvictory in the Lok Sabha battle, wasexpected to move to his South Blockoffice Tuesday.

Seconds after he took oath, the website of the Prime Minister's Office carriedhis message to the people promising to"script a glorious future for India", onethat is "strong, developed and inclusive"and that engages with the global communi-ty for the cause of world peace and devel-opment.

Modi said he was choosing his web

site to deliver his first message to the peo-ple as he was a "firm believer in thepower of technology and social media tocommunicate with people across theworld" and a "very important medium ofdirect communication between us".

Along with Modi, a 45-strong councilof ministers that included 23 of the cabinetrank took oath. There were seven womenin the ministry, including six in the cabi-net.

Prominent ministers were BJP presi-dent Rajnath Singh, the first among minis-ters to take oath, Sushma Swaraj, the for-mer Leader of Opposition in the LokSabha, and Arun Jaitley, the formerLeader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.Najma Heptullah is the only Muslim in thecabinet.

The setting was in many ways unique.Contrary to earlier occasions when theshort ceremony was held in the statelyAshoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Modi,true to his style as a communicator andmass leader, chose to have it in the openin order to be able to accommodate manymore people, perhaps the largest suchgathering for any prime ministerial swear-ing-in in India.

The ceremony was watched live acrossthe nation and in world capitals, on TVand web casts. It was an amazing journeyfor the bespectacled and bearded Modiwho sold tea in a railway station inGujarat at a young age, before embracingpolitics, culminating in his becoming theleader of a country of 1.2 billion people.

File personal bond, Delhi HC suggests to KejriwalNew Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday suggested to former Delhi chief minister andAam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal to furnish a personal bond and seek his releasefrom jail and "not to make it a prestige issue". A division bench of Justice KailashGambhir and Justice Sunita Gupta allowed senior advocate Shanti Bhushan and advocatePrashant Bhushan appearing for Kejriwal to meet him in Tihar Jail and seek his instructionon the issue of filing personal bond.

The bench also asked Kejriwal not to make it as an issue of "prestige" and opined that heshould first seek bail. "Why are you taking (it) as a prestige? Don't make it a question ofprestige. File your personal bond, seek his (Kejriwal) release today. We can direct it now.You take instructions from him," the court said and posted the matter post lunch Tuesday.Kejriwal Monday moved a habeas corpus petition for his immediate release, saying he hasbeen "illegally" sent to judicial custody on a "completely wrong premise of law" by thecourt's orders of May 21 and May 23. He challenged a trial court order sending him tojudicial custody. Kejriwal is in judicial custody till June 6 after he refused to furnish a per-sonal bond in a defamation case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Gadkari."Kejriwal has been illegally sent to judicial custody till June 6 for refusing to furnish thebail bond in a summon case on a private complaint even though it was not mandatory andhe was ready to give a written undertaking," said the plea.

By Rekha Bhattacharjee

“Come writers and criticsWho prophesize with your penAnd keep your eyes wideThe chance won't come againAnd don't speak too soonFor the wheel's still in spin"

- 'The Times They Are A-Changin'by Bob Dylan

When Narendra Modi was sworn inas the 14th Prime Minister ofIndia in a grand ceremony on the

sprawling lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan inNew Delhi, the world's largest democracywas marking the ushering in of a new era.Over 2500 privileged guests witnessed theculmination of a perfect storm generated byNarendra Modi-led BJP and also the burialof the Nehruvian legacy which the rulingdispensation used as a leitmotif for overthree generations.

May 26th marked the day whenNarendra Modi-led India was keepinganother tryst with the destiny. But, unlikethe impoverished, battered and bleedingcountry Jawaharlal Nehru addressed to on15th August 1947, Narendra Modi is poisedto pilot a much more confident, self-assuredand youthful India to a position among theglobal equals. The events which haveunfolded earlier in May in India havechanged the political landscape for all timesto come.

Paradigm shiftsAny which way you look at the results of

the 16th Lok Sabha elections in India, youcannot help noticing the tectonic paradigmshift in a number of ways. The pole positionoccupied by the Nehru-Gandhi politicaldynasty has changed to this effect that theiconic Congress Party is struggling to stayalive.

Thanks to a Modi tsunami, the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) has not only established

total dominance in the Hindi heartland butalso made inroads in unchartered territories.The strong bases of Congress, on the otherhand, have eroded beyond recognition. Inover six states, the 'only national party' hasfailed to win a single seat.

Citadels demolished, cow belt satraps decimated

The impregnable Congress citadels inAssam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka et al have been demolished bythat son of a chaiwala from Vadnagar, asmall town in Mehsana district of NorthGujarat. It's a massive compliment to theIndian democracy that a person with suchhumble origins has been elected to lead thesecond most populous country in the world.

The paradigm has also shifted for thecow belt satraps who based their rajniti onthe caste and religious polarisation.Mayawati, Mulayam and Lalu Yadav havebeen left licking the wounds inflicted by anelectoral fury unleashed by Narendra Modi.

Satraps from Tamil Nadu, Odisha andWest Bengal, however, did quite well in theLok Sabha polls.

While the first two attributed their mas-sive mandate to the competent governanceplank, Mamata Banerjee has managed topull-off a stupendous triumph due to thedivisive policies perfected by the aforemen-tioned cow belt satraps. And this was one ofthe disturbing aberrations in what is beingseen as the maturing of the Indian electoralpolitics.

Secularists’ farce exposed and debunked

The Lok Sabha elections 2014 have donea great service to India by exposing anddebunking the farce perpetrated in the nameof secularism. The sins of the so-called sec-ularist (euphemism for luring minoritiesvotes) forces were exposed in their despera-tion to stop Modi in becoming the PrimeMinister of India.

The US kneels down"For the wheel is still in spin"...the

Modi wheel is spinning real quick and cov-ering distances which were consideredunthinkable in the recent past. Not long ago,the government of the only superpower inthe world, the United States of America hadhumiliated the democratically-elected leaderof an Indian state named Gujarat by impos-ing on him a visa ban. The karma theoryseems to be in full play as the US govern-ment is almost pleading Modi to visit theircountry.

Future courseMost of the political pundits comment-

ing on the Indian politics concur thatNarendra Modi would have to hit the groundrunning. The charismatic Gujarati leaderhas done even better as he is covering mas-sive distances in the air even before hittingthe ground. The invitations to the SAARCleaders to attend the swearing-in ceremonyis being considered as one such manoeuvre.

Narendra Modi has his work cut out forhim. He faces enormous challenges to kick-start the slowing growth trajectory and to

implement his inclusive growth model.Modi would also have to walk on a tightrope to keep the aspirations of the ultra-rightBJP and Sangh Parivar adherents in check.

Even while Indian democracy is matur-ing gradually, no politician can afford toignore the intrinsic fissures in this ethno-religiously diverse country. NarendraModi's task is even harder as he has to con-vince die-hard sceptics who continue topigeonhole the Indian Prime Minister as aHindutva avatar.

ConclusionIn the end, while it is fine to get carried

away in the euphoria generated by the con-vincing, unambiguous mandate given to theModi-led BJP, it would not be unwise toconsider that Modi phenomenon may turnout to be a non-starter because of the bag-gage he has been carrying for more than adecade. Whether or not the first post-inde-pendence born PM can live to the expecta-tions, the 2014 elections have definitely ush-ered in an era where the governance and notthe vote bank politics will dictate the wayIndian politics is run.


The Third Eye by Rekha Bhattacharjee

Column

Many Sydneysiders will rememberMr VB Soni as a very popularIndian Consul General in Sydney

during 1986-89. Later, he was posted asIndia’s Ambassador to Ukraine. Now he isretired and settled in Delhi. Mr Soni is astorehouse of knowledge on Eastern blocnations.

In the following interview with RekhaBhattacharjee, he provides a penetrating viewon the current crisis in Ukraine as the coun-try goes to polls.

Rekha Bhattacharjee (RB): Mr. Soniyou were Ambassador of India to Ukrainefor five years (1997-2002). What has sud-denly led to the current tension, which hasthe potential to lead to military clashesbetween the two Slavic nations?

V.B. Soni (VBS): When the Soviet Union

was broken up in 1991, nobody believed thatthe Western powers would stop at that. Theirnext target was to push the Western frontieras close as possible to Russia. Ukraine was

lured into joining hands by promising them tobe a part of European Union (EU). Russia,sensing this game, ensured that the man at thehelm in that country should do their bidding.With the forced abdication of PresidentYanukovich through the machinations ofrightist/fascist forces egged on by US andEU, Russia had to take action to ensure thattheir soft under belly is properly guarded.Annexation of Crimea which became a part ofUkraine only in 1954 had to be ensured, itbeing the only all-weather warm water portfor movement of their fleet in the Black Seaand then on to the Mediterranean Sea. This

show of force was to signal a message thatRussia would not let their backyard to be out-side their sphere of influence.

RB: Is President Putin making Ukrainea test case for the larger design to regainthe past glory?

VBS: There can be no doubt about that.After demonstrating their might in theCaucuses’ and Georgia, Ukraine provided afertile ground because of the almost 40 percent ethnic Russian speaking population in thebordering Eastern part of the country. Theyare bound to be used to strengthen their

Russian President Vladimir Putin

In an interview, VB Soni, former Indian envoy in Sydneyand Ukraine, throws light on the current flashpoint

between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia has a lot at stake in Ukraine

Continued on page 13...


India

New Delhi: Along with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, a totalof 45 ministers, including sevenwomen and some from BJP’sallies, were also sworn in May26.

Though portfolios were notannounced, according to newsagencies and TV channels, the topthree cabinet berths have gone toBJP chief Rajnath Singh (Home),Arun Jaitley (Finance with addi-tional portfolio of Defence),though he failed to win a LokSabha seat, and Sushma Swaraj(External Affairs). Other BJP big-wigs in the list of ministersincluded Nitin Gadkari, VenkaiahNaidu, and Maneka Gandhi.

There were also 10 ministers ofstate with independent chargeincluding former army chief GenVK Singh. The youngest ministerin the Modi government will be

38-year-old Smriti Irani, TVstarturned politician, and the oldest,74-year old Najma Heptulla, who

is the only Muslim in the groupand will get Minorities Affairsministry. BJP patriarch LK

Advani would not have liked towork under Modi, so there wassome talk of making him Speakerof Lok Sabha. From the allies,Bihar leader Ram Vilas Paswan,

Ashok Gajapathi Raju of TDP andHarsimrat Kaur (daughter-in-lawof Punjab CM Prakash Singhbadal) found a place in the min-istry.

Narendra Modi and his key cabinet colleagues at the swearing in ceremony May 26.

Tony Abbott congratulates Modi

on his successMessage from PMAbbott to the Indiancommunity in Australia

Ispoke to PM-elect Modi on the nightof his election and congratulated himon his electoral success. I am look-

ing forward to working with him. Iinvited Prime Minister Modi to the G20Summit later this year and to visitAustralia.

The Indian community has become anintegral part of our Australian story. Iacknowledge the strong friendshipbetween Australia and India, particular-ly the people-to-people links we share.Since the early 1980s, when I spentthree months living in India, Australiaand India have grown significantly clos-er together. There are around 400,000Australians of Indian origin and I paytribute to the significant contributionsthey make to our country.

Modern Australia is unimaginablewithout them.

The Prime Minister also tweeted hiscongratulations to PM-elect Modi, whoin turn responded.

Tony Abbott@TonyAbbottMHRI’ve spoken to @narendramodi and

congratulated him on his success. I lookforward to strengthening ties betweenIndia and Australia

Narendra Modi@narendramodi@TonyAbbottMHR Thank You Mr.

Abbott. I look forward to a bright futurefor India-Australia relations.

By Karam Ramrakha

Narendra Modi's victory signalsPeople Power, the essence of democ-racy. Modi, a charismatic, and to the

West enigmatic leader, looms large to us,children of the Vedic faith, as the hope of anancient and sacred land. It is fitting that it isan Ex Chai Wallah and not some prince likeRahul Gandhi born with a silver spoon in themouth who will lead India.

India has to build from grass roots. Thetop has always failed India.

In pre-Independence India the best wentinto politics. Today, it is a motley lot whoseem to make no grassroots impact. Gone arethose halcyon days when a Mahatma wouldscour the Bhangi colonies with his ownbroom and offer to sweep their detritus.

Yes, scoffs a foreigner to me, how canIndia with so many brilliant people rely onthis Modi who has no background, and whois nothing. “I googled him on the internet andhe is not even educated,” he says. That, ofcourse, is a question that intrigues the Westand the UPA losers in India. How can a man,One Man, swoop on them out of seeminglynowhere and earn an unprecedented majority,and against all odds.

Press on, Modi Saheb. You have the fateof a billion people in your hands. And showthem what a Hindu can do for the World.

As a 14 year old I listened enthralled asNehru's "Tryst with Destiny" speech waftedinto Fiji over All India Radio on our homeradio and his immortal words will live in ourhearts forever.

In the Northern Hemisphere in Delhi andLondon, soul capitals of Indians of my gen-eration, the month of May heralds a joyoussong-filled spring, Basant Ritu, but for us inthe Southern Hemisphere it signals autumn oftrees shedding their leaves and waiting forwinter. But for us Indians of Fiji, we "cele-brated" what we call "Girmit" Day, 135years since the first crop of Indenturedlabourers from India landed in Fiji on 14May 1879. On this very day 27 years ago ColSitiveni Rabuka staged a violent military

coup in Fiji's Parliament to dislodge a demo-cratically elected, but Indian based govern-ment.

Controversy rages as to whether it ulti-mately was for our good that we escapedIndia with all its problems. The British, everconscious of India’s power, fiercelycocooned the I-taukei from us Indians andtook every opportunity to create strife anddivisions between each other - separateschools, separate laws and apartheid whichcontinuously stressed I-taukei ownership andhegemony over land and sea.

To understand Fiji today and for me topredict what may happen in the promisedSeptember elections you have to appreciateand understand that perilous position ofIndians in Fiji. On the other hand, whileIndependence freed the indigenes fromBritish patronage and for once allowed themto control their own lives, enters VoregeBainimarama, Commander at large, who has"frozen" Fiji for some eight years (6December 2006 and onwards) into a militarydictatorship.

The West has shunned him, especially ashe had the nerve to exile NZ and OzAmbassadors. Today he has stepped down,become an ordinary civilian, formed his ownpolitical party Fiji First, and will offer him-self to the public at large.

It is difficult to assess which way the I-taukei will vote but I predict that many willvote for Vorege. He has a stable past; he hasmilitary support and the military is still thelargest and most powerful force in Fiji. From2006 Vorege has their support and that sup-port will continue. As for land use, so vital toa nation's existence, will Vorege open landleasing to people outside Fiji, notably theubiquitous Chinese.

Fiji is a richly endowed country, enjoys aHub Place in the Pacific and is foremostamong Pacific islands, thanks to Indian toiland sweat.

Karam C Ramrakha, an ex Fiji MP, isnow a practising Barrister and Solicitor. Hemay be contacted on (02) 98082760 or [email protected].

Some other ministersAnanth Kumar — Parliamentary affairs and additional charge of

chemicals and fertilizers

Nitin Gadkari — Surface transport ministry and shipping ministry

Sadanand Gowda — Railways ministry

Venkaiah Naidu — Urban development ministry and parliamentary

affairs

Ravi Shankar Prasad — Telecom ministry, law and justice ministry

Maneka Gandhi — Women and child development ministry

Smriti Irani - Human resource development ministry

Radha Mohan Singh — Agriculture ministry

Ram Vilas Paswan — Food and civil supplies ministry

Uma Bharati — Union minister for water resources and Ganga

Rajnath, Jailtey, Sushma lead Modi cabinet

India’s tryst with destiny changesits course with Modi

5,000 people, a veritable who's who of India, attended Modi's swearing in ceremony onthe grounds of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

India

New Delhi: Leading an innova-tive and blistering campaign,Narendra Modi won a landslidevictory for his BJP in the multi-phase Lok Sabha elections heldover April and May. He hadpromised to usher in a new erato bring forth dynamic changesand transform Indian economy,putting behind the previous

regime’s policy paralysis andgargantuan scams.

BJP won 283 out of 543 seatsin the Lok Sabha -- the first timesince 1984 that a single partyenjoyed a majority. With itsallies in the National DemocraticFront (NDA), BJP can boasttaking 336 seats. The UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA), led

by the Indian NationalCongress, managed a bare 58seats, 44 of which were won bythe Congress, its worst perform-ance ever. Congress chief SoniaGandhi and and Rahul Gandhi,who led the party campaign,accepted responsibility for thedefeat but have failed to chart acourse to revive the party.

The first fallout ofModi wave wasseen in Bihar

where Chief MinisterNitish Kumar tookmoral responsibility ofhis party's rout in thestate and resigned fromthe top post. Jitan RamManjhi, a Mahadalitleader, replaced him.

After the electiondrubbing of the tworegional powerhouses –Mulayam SinghYadav’s SamajwadiParty (SP) andMayawati’s BahujanSamaj Party (BSP) – in UttarPradesh, came the revamp.

The BSP chief sacked all zonalcoordinators of the party and dis-solved all frontal organisations andzonal and district units, while chiefminister Akhilesh Yadav sacked 36party leaders, who held posts of

chairman, vice-chairman and advi-sor in different government bodies.Those sacked included 32 leaders ofcabinet minister or minister of staterank.

In J&K, Chief Minister OmarAbdullah said the defeat of the rulingCongress-National Conference

alliance in all the six Lok Sabha con-stituencies has shocked him. Evenhis father, Farooq Abdullah lost.

From the states satraps,Jayalalitha withstood the Modi wavein Tamil nadu, as did MamataBanerjee in West Bengal and BijuPatnaik in Odisha.

Washington: The US came fullcircle May 26 as after shunningNarendra Modi for over adecade, President Barack ObamaMonday vowed to work closelytogether with the new Indianprime minister "for years tocome". "We look forward toworking closely together withthe new government to continueto strengthen and expand theUS-India strategic partnershipfor years to come," the WhiteHouse said in a message of con-gratulations from Obama.

As the two leaders "agreedin their call after the election,as the world's twolargest democracies,India and the USshare a deep bond andcommitment to promoting eco-nomic opportunity, freedom,and security for our people andaround the world", it said.Obama was quick to acknowl-edge Modi's "resounding" victo-ry in the Indian election andeffectively ended the visa ban onhim for his alleged role or inac-tion during the 2002 Gujarat

riots with an invitation to visitWashington. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry echoed the invitationa couple of days later.

Since then, other US offi-cials including Washington'sfirst Indian-American point per-son for South Asia Nisha DesaiBiswal have voiced US keennessto engage Modi.

New Delhi: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was set to meetTuesday his Pakistani counterpartNawaz Sharif and other leaders fromthe South Asian countries in one ofhis first engagements after takingcharge.

Modi will be meeting all leadersfrom the Saarc countries as also theMauritius prime minister but it is hismeeting with Sharif that has arousedthe maximum interest in the mediadue to the troubled relationshipbetween the two countries over theyears.

The bilateral relationship hasbeen bedevilled by what India viewsas Pakistan's hesitation in takingaction against the perpetrators of the26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

Before his departure to India,Sharif was reported by the Pakistanimedia as saying that he was carryinga message of peace and will discussall matters with the Indian leader-ship.

As a goodwill gesture, heordered the release of 151 Indianprisoners captured by Pakistan. Hehad withstood pressure from the mil-itary establishment and acceptedModi’s invitation to the swearing in.

There was a sense of anticipation

among the people of both countriesover Sharif's meeting with Modi.

Other neighbouring nations’leaders who weres scheduled to meetModi included Afghan President

Hamid Karzai, and Sri LankanPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa. SomeTamil leaders including ChiefMinister Jayalalitha have criticizedthe invite to Rajapaksa.

Contd from pg 11...

ambition.RB: What are the special fea-

tures of Eastern Ukraine?VBS: The Eastern part is where

major mines and metals are located.It has facilities for heavy machinebuilding, shipbuilding, manufactur-ing of turbines and aircraft enginesand production of power plants. Theother product range includes produc-ing carrier rockets, satellites andspace research equipment. Ukraineis a big producer of military equip-ment, including tanks, militarytransport aircrafts, SAM complexesand optical equipment. Antonov air-crafts and aircraft design bureaus arestrategic sectors.

Kharkov is where their huge tankfactory operates from. Ukraineexported some 320 T-80 UD tanksworth $500 million to Pakistan fromthis plant more than a decade back.Dnepropetrovsk is the heart of thespace industry. It is also a key basefor developing electronic industryand other sophisticated technologywhich caters to the requirement ofRussia’s MIR Space stations. Fromthis it will be evident that bulk of theeconomic activity is concentrated inEast Ukraine whereas the West hasno matching contribution to make tothe nation’s exchequer.

RB: What are the other majordifferences that divide the Eastfrom the West?

VBS: Bulk of the West hasRoman Catholic population whereasin the East the dominating religiousfaith practised is Russian Orthodox.Ethnic Ukrainians from the Westspeak the language which is derivedfrom words from neighbouringPolish, Slovakian, Hungarian and

German whereas those hailing fromthe East have predominantly Russianas their spoken language. Otherwise,customs and cultural practices arecommon to both the languages.Basically it is West Ukraine’s questfor maintaining separate identity,distinct from Russia that is the issue.

RB: Do you think Russia hasbeen unreasonable and what doyou think the future holds for theregion?

VBS: The West must acknowl-edge that Russia has legitimate secu-rity concerns which must beaddressed. If Ukraine falls outsidetheir sphere of influence then theirWestern border which is currentlyabout 1200 km from Poland wouldbe reduced to mere striking distanceof 500 odd km form Ukraine. Thiswould be unacceptable to them.What Putin is asking for is a morefederal structure for various regionsin Ukraine to have some semblanceof autonomy in which they can beinfluenced. They certainly do notwant Ukraine to have defence tieswith the EU/US.

RB: Finally, would Ukraine bedivided into East and West perhapsalong the Dniper River which runsNorth-South almost through the mid-dle of the country?

VBS: I hope not. That would bedisastrous for the country. Theyhave much more in common thanissues that divide them. It is my feel-ing that perhaps Russia would not goto the extent of encouraging the eth-nic Russians to go whole hog alongto force issues. The currentbrinkmanship must end to bring nor-malcy. The only way forward is tocontinue dialogue directly withoutthe outsiders fishing in troubledwaters.

Modi shapes a stunning win for BJP

Modi wave: Nitish blown away,Mulayam, Maya lick wounds

Obama vows to work withModi 'for years to come'

Modi meets Sharif, SAARC leaders


Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif after taking oath of office at

Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

President Obama: to think that US hadfailed to revoke Modi’s visa ban in place

since the Gujarat riots.

Russia has a lot at stake in Ukraine

Nitish Kumar Mulayam Singh Mayawati


Column

By K. Raman

G’day young Royal mate, PrinceGeorge (future King George VII),we welcome you whole heartedly

to the Antipodes, the exotic Down Under.Next to Kerala this is the God’s owncountry! As I write this, the young princewith his parents and entourage iscriscrossing Australia at a hectic pace.We are sure you the Royal Trio willenjoy your ten day sojourn here, awayfrom the grey, unfriendly, either sultry orbiting cold weather of your home land,which is a different kettle of fish to thisplace climatically. Why not the trio ofyou settle here permanently!

Sitting pretty on his mums firmly heldhands clasped together, with a 180 degreeview around, Prince George began hisRoyal tour on 16.4.14 precisely at 6.44a.m. In spite of the brilliantly attiredPrincess Mum Kate, in a canary yellow‘Roksandra Illicnic’, well-tailored classydress (a cheeky William however saidshe looked like a ripe ‘Woolgoolga’banana in her yellow dress - poor com-ment made by Your Highness!), PrinceGeorge was the prime attraction of thehuge crowd present wherever the Royalcaravan travelled. The baby ‘George thepiper’ was followed by the large group offollowers. He attracted the large crowdlike iron filings to a magnet. My dadused to say of the Prince of Wales,Edward the VIII, the dashing and flam-boyant uncrowned King who abdicatedfor the lady he loved, was such a charmerthat aristocratic charming lady damsels ofIndia, swamped and swooned in his com-pany. His brother King George V1 (greatgreat grandfather of our modern daycharmer George VII, was quite the oppo-site compared to his brother. It is okay ifyoung George had inherited the genes ofcharm and flamboyance of his GreatGreat Grand uncle (Edward VIII).

The ‘Podgy’ and ‘Tubby’ blond hairedGeorge ‘the gorgeous’ even put to shadein popularity stakes his parents who are aclassy pair, second and third in line tooccupy the British throne ahead ofGeorge’s bronze medal status with effort-less ease. While on tour, as a sort of‘vanishing act’ he had been occasionallymissing from public eye, to indulge in hisnaps and siestas, nappy changes and feed-ing on his special formula milk, ablylooked after by his now famous nanny,49 years old Spanish ‘senorita’ MariaTeresa Turrion Borralla. She upholds thephilosophy that no child is naughty - sono smacking! The nanny outwardly looksa bit stern and matronish, keeping upwith the Royal family protocol and tradi-tion, but she is said to be very fond ofchildren and in particular the darlingPrince George. The prince will love‘Paella’ given the Nanny’s background ofchoice and taste of food. If everythinggoes well Maria would become ‘Dame’Maria, in a few years when George

ascends the throne. There has been allalong a huge following of the BritishRoyalty particularly in the ex-colonies ofBritain and so far the popularity and heroworship of the Royals has not diminishedthe least. What makes them so lovableeven though we were treated as slavesubjects held under their thumb for cen-turies? Here in Australia if the massiveturnout of people, old and young alike ona working day is an indication of the pop-ularity of the royalty, it is certainly quitehealthy. There is however a group pres-ent here who profess for cessation of thiscountry from the British motherhood andbe known as a full-fledged Republic.People who love the mother country,staunch Royalists and youngsters wereattracted by the cute prince and werecrowding around him whenever heappeared in public briefly though. Itlooks like the pendulum has swung infavour of Royals as against the Republic.Royal watchers say George is a placidchild, though he has his moods, grumpi-ness and little bouts of tantrums with fewsmiles lacing his variant behaviour traits.After all he is not even one year old.

Understandably being a pom he sports acustomary firm the ‘Pommy stiff upperlip’. He is eight months old and on16.4.14, received his first marriage pro-posal from Ruby Cate Blitz (11 monthsold) of the ‘Shaky isle’. She is a cuteyoung girl who expressed her wish, in anovel way by wearing a T-shirt with theprinted invitation “Marry me George”, inbig bold red letters. For that occasionRuby was well dressed with a tutu andsporting a gorgeous smile right across theface. The Prince dad and Princess mum(may become her future mother andfather in laws?) were happy and com-mented that Ruby is beautiful, but theproposal was not accepted in so manywords, quick smart. People who had metthe young Prince are addressing him as‘Gorgeous George’. Already magazinesare covered with George’s photos, I canassure you he is photogenic, and this isonly just the beginning. He looks intrep-id, and this dashing young charmer isbound to break the hearts of manydamsels before he settles down with alady of his choice. People close to himsay he is mischievous, and cherubic.

According to his father, who prepares hissolid food regularly, he is a good eater,but does not enjoy vegetables at all. Hispopularity is such that 450 journalists arefollowing him everywhere he goes duringthis trip. The prince is never out of theirwatchful gaze. He has eight teeth and isvery imminent to graduate from crawlingto walking. The million dollar questionis; will he take his first steps onAustralian soil? Betting agencies may beworking overtime on this!

He is a ‘Cusp Baby’ being born pre-cariously close between Cancer and Leo(in fact he is a Cancer born) his rulingplanet will be the Sun; this controllingplanet is in the 8th house of his birthchart. Cancer born is good leaders, andfine rulers, if they become one to adornthe Royal crown. His father and GrandMa (Diana) are Cancer born and weknow well of their popularity and othervirtues. They are conventional and con-servational in their life style. We have towait and watch how George turns out tothe prediction already made by wisesooth-sayers. He has already begun hisRoyal engagement - but no walk aboutand shaking hands- in Auckland (NZ)very recently by mixing with a group often babies (6 girls and 4 boys of similarage and different ethnic backgrounds) andhe came out good, this being his firstsuch engagement. He may carry out atleast 20,000 important public appearancesover the course of his life. This first pub-lic engagement was a giant step for thisyoung VIP who has only started crawlingjust now. With no trace of show off, hebehaved normal like the other ten ‘sub-jects of the king’. The privileged ten par-ticipants were not however star struck,though they reached historical status. Hehowever has his life mapped out by oth-ers at the very moment he arrived onearth, even grooming him for future king-ship of Britain straight away; he has noclue of it yet. Business people are takingfull toll of George’s popularity. The spe-ciality ‘Rachel Riley Dungaree’ he worewhen he took part in the play group ses-sion (75 pounds price tag) is a sold outitem. Notice the ‘George effect’ takingplace. So too is his very popular beatencooper coloured “kangaroo Back Pack’,this too is a long ago sold out item.

Expert baby watchers are in forcewatching George and verdicts in unisonthat this charmer George is much moregorgeous than either of his parents wereat his age; Bill was pasty, whileCatherine was a chubster. George is per-fectly proportioned package. The futureKing George VII looks like a monarchworth waiting for!

As a young toddler, 'Prince charming'George continues his reign of cuteness,unaware and unmindful of what goeson...Hail George the prince charming. Heis born to rule Brittania. As far as I amconcerned ‘By George they have mademe a Royalist’

Artist: Sajjive

Bollywood


By Neeru Saluja

Kangana Ranaut is the reign-ing ‘Queen’ of Bollywood.It’s been an eight year jour-

ney for a small town girl tobecome one of the top actresses.Kangana has always made a smartchoice by picking unconventionalroles but with her stellar perform-ance in Queen, she has won thejackpot.

She was in Melbourne recentlyfor the Indian Film Festival whereshe was awarded the ‘Best Actress’award for Queen. At a press con-ference organised by the IndianFilm Festival, Kangana stole theshow with her refreshing frank-ness. Dressed in a Burberry gown,she looked dazzling from head totoe.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q. In every movie you portraya unique character. Be it the sim-pleton middle-class girl of Queen,a superwoman in Krish 3 or akiller in Revolver Rani. What kindof preparation do you have to dofor every disparate role?

Kangana: It takes a lot of hardwork at many levels. Sometimesthe challenge is to get the emotionor character right, sometimes thechallenge is to get the look right.For Revolver Rani and Krish, itwas all about getting the lookright. But with others it’s the emo-tional journey of the characters.

Q. When we talk aboutBollywood it as old as Hollywood.Then why is that women are stillhaving a secondary position? Andhow are actresses like you andVidya a step ahead by doingwomen centric films?

Kangana: I just feel what we

make in India or anywhere in theworld is a direct reflection of thesociety. It’s true that everything isa bit regressive everywhere and itis hard to sell women centric filmsand concepts, especially whenthere are films where women aregetting tortured and die in the endafter a nervous breakdown. I thinkwe have to get more innovativewith our ideas. Films like Queenand Revolver Rani are media highconcept films and whenever some-thing new is tried it takes sometime to grow on people. I havebeen lucky with that. Actresseslike Deepika and Sonakshi are try-ing many things now and I’m suremany such films will be seen.

Q. Your latest film RevolverRani was a 360 degree changefrom Queen. Which character iscloser to heart?

Kangana: Well, none of them.Both of them have psychologicaldisorders. One has confidenceissues and I have never had prob-lems with my confidence and theother is a psychotic killer whichI’m not! (laughs)

Q. You also co-wrote the dia-logues for Queen. How was theexperience?

Kangana: I think it’s beenwonderful and specially workingwith someone like Vikas who wasso open to other artists contribut-ing in many ways than just whatthey are hired for. When he got meon board he told me that it’s a girlstory and more than an actress heneeds a partner. He was keen toknow what the landscapes of awoman’s mind are. It was good tocontribute in that way.

Q. The ending of the film

Queen was unique – when theactress rejects the actor. Is this achange coming in Bollywoodfilms?

Kangana: This change is com-ing in the society and that’s whysuch films are being accepted.Queen is an important film as itshows the real mirror to the socie-ty. My personal opinion is thatfemales are shown in a negativemanner in Bollywood whether it isas item girls or using vulgar lan-guage. We need such films thatshow about women’s rights, pow-ers and self-respect.

Queen is not a film aboutrejecting a man. The turning pointin the film comes when she paysfor her own coffee bill. Girls canget self-respect only when their lifepriority is not marriage but equali-ty in every relationship. This filmis important for our country andwomen.

Q. How does Kangana defineherself?

Kangana: I’m a girl of today;I believe in self respect andmyself. I’m clear about my futureand dreams. My approach to life isthat life is short and it’s not onlyabout acting or films. I also wantto write a book and make a film.Now don’t ask me which book I’mwriting! I also want to make a filmand do much more.

Q. Back home, you are quitereluctant to attend award cere-monies. What made you fly all theway to Melbourne to attend theIndian Film Festival awards?

Kangana: Eight years ago at

the start of my act-ing career, I wasmeant to travelto Australia fora role that fellthrough. Eversince I’veseen theworld buthad nevermade it toAustralia.

Kangana Ranaut dazzles at IFF Melbourne Awards 2014.

Kangana had two diametrically opposite roles in her recent films 'Queen’ and ‘Revolver Rani’.

Kangana has always made a smart choice by picking unconventional roles but withher stellar performance in Queen, she has won the jackpot. She was in Melbourne

recently to receive the best actress award at the Indian Film Festival.


Bollywood

It’s a dream come true for everyBollywood fan to meet the god-father of Indian cinema. I

couldn’t believe my luck when Igot an invite to attend the IndianFilm Festival of Melbourne. Notbecause I got an invite, I’ve beencovering the festival for a decadein Sydney. The reason for myexcitement was the legendAmitabh Bachchan, who was com-ing to Melbourne to open the festi-val!

With dreams in my eyes, Iboarded the plane from Sydney toMelbourne. My co-passenger spot-ted the Indian film magazine in myhand and couldn’t resist striking aconversation. “So what takes youto Melbourne? she asked. Withoutthinking much, I replied,“Amitabh Bachchan”. The prettyAsian lady gasped in delight.“You know him?” I asked surpris-ingly. “Of course, in SlumdogMillionaire the young actorjumped in shit just to get his photoof Amitabh autographed! You aregoing to meet the superstar ofBollywood!”

Such is the craze of our nationincluding myself for AmitabhBachchan. Every Sunday, thou-sands of fans stand outside hishouse just to catch a glimpse ofhim. The scene was no different atthe Melbourne airport where fansforgot about taking selfies and fellto the floor to kiss his feet.However jetlagged he was, the 71year old actor pushed his own trol-ley with a smile on his face andwaved to his fans. No wonder hecan give a run for money to theactors half his age.

Yes, he had finally reachedAustralia to meet his fans. For in2009, Bachchan refused to visitAustralia to receive an honorarydoctorate in protest against theattacks on Indian students beforethat. Once the controversy settled,he made a quiet visit to Brisbane toaccept the honour fromQueensland University of

Technology in helpingto patch the sour relations. In2011, he was in Sydney for theshooting of ‘The Great Gatsby’but except for praising theSydney Opera House on his twit-ter account, his fans were lefthigh and dry.

But here he was in Melbournein the month of May – in flesh andblood standing elegantly in front ofme and addressing the media. Thewinner of three national awards,four doctorates, 14 Filmfareawards and countless awards andhonours from around the world,Amitabh was finally here to openthe Indian film festival and receivethe International Screen IconAward for his magnificent contri-butions to world cinema.

Dressed in a purple velvetjacket and black trousers, Amitabhcouldn’t help expressing his grati-tude towards the Victorian govern-ment and Australia for their warmwelcome. “The hospitality, thegrace with which I’ve been warm-ly welcomed is extremely laud-able. I’m so proud and happy thatI chose to be here. I’m delightedthat Melbourne is hosting theIndian film festival and delightedthey chose me to be present duringthe opening”.

He strongly felt that cinema isa builder of bridges between cul-tures. “When we sit inside thedark hall, we never ask the personsitting next to us, which caste,creed colour or religion she or heis, but we enjoy the same product,we laugh at the same joke, weenjoy the same song. I hope thatthere will be many more opportu-nities to visit this beautiful countryand act as an ambassador andbridge to bring together two cul-tures.”

True to his words, Amitabhacted as a true ambassador of hiscountry and headed off to havelunch with the Governor. He alsovisited the iconic Melbourne crick-et ground on a lunch invitation

from the Victorian government.An avid cricket fan himself, Big Bhappily posed in front of a photo-graph of Sir Don Bradman andSachin Tendulkar. “Among hun-dreds of imagery and record, thisframed picture is one of the origi-nal photograph – historic!”claimed Amitabh on his blog.

Last year, Indian cinema cele-brated its centenary. Out of the100 films that topped the list, morethan 50 have been dominated byAmitabh Bachchan.

The angry young man hasdefined Indian cinema with hisimpeccable acting and rich voice.Tuxed and bowed for the openingnight, Amitabh inaugurated thefestival with a 3D version of hisevergreen hit Sholay.

He delighted his fans with hispoetry, lines from his movie‘Kabhi Kabhi’ and talked about the

making and success of Sholay. Butthe best part was when he recipro-cated the love coming from hisscreaming fans. “You have alwaysbeen great support. Many occa-sions in my life I know that therehas been a great flow of love, careand affection. I particularlyremember those days when I wason the death bed during the shoot-ing of ‘Coolie’ and I cannot possi-bly thank all of you that werepraying for my life and it is a greatdebt that I will never be able torepay. Thank you so much for allyour love”.

We all grew up watchingAmitabh’s films - for some he wasthe action man, while for otherstheir romantic hero. Even when hetook a sabbatical, he came backwith a bang by making his debuton the small screen. People startedhaving dinner early just to watch

‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ withtheir family. For the next genera-tion, he is the ‘Bhootnath Uncle’.

Now I understand why actressSimi Grewal said the nation has acontinuing love affair with thisman.

Never before was any starbestowed so much love by hisfans. Never before have I heard anactor thanking everyone fromdirectors, producers, co-artists to aspecial mention to the spotboys inan award speech with such humili-ty and dignity. And not to forget,he was quicker than all us techheads making instantaneous blogentries with photos, updating hisFacebook account as he took self-ies with the whole audience at theawards night!

Truly said, there are actors,there are stars and then there isAmitabh Bachchan!

The legendaryAmitabh Bachchancame to Melbourneto open the Indianfilm festival. NEERUSALUJA pens apaean for the manwith whom theIndians have aneverlasting love affair

Bollywood


By Neeru Saluja

Everyday, Mumbai’s famous dab-bawallas deliver 200,000 tiffinboxes to office goers. There are

5000 dabbawallas who collect freshlymade food from homes and deliver themto offices. Their transport mode is bicy-cles, carts and local trains. A traditionsince 125 years, dabbawalas make lessthan one mistake in every six milliondeliveries.

The movie Lunchbox is about that onetiffin that gets delivered to the wrongaddress. Though the delivery is wrong,the connection is right. A young neglect-ed housewife connects to an older manfacing retirement through a series of notesdelivered with food in the lunchbox.Their notes gradually evolve into a seriesof intimate little confessions about theirloneliness, memories, regrets, fears andsmall joys.

In 2007, director Ritesh Batra set outto make a documentary on the dabbawal-las and became friends with them. Insteadof making the documentary, he foundhimself inspired to make a film revolvingaround them.

“I started immersing myself with theirdaily routine, and as we became friendsthey started telling me stories of thehouseholds they visited since decades. Ibecame more interested in the people thanthe dabbawallas. I started writing theirstories and then wanted to make a filmabout it.”

“As it was a story that revolvedaround dabbawallas, it had to be aboutfood. It’s a story about a woman who tries

to fix her marriage through her cooking.She puts an extra effort in making herhusband’s lunch but it gets delivered tosomeone else,” says Ritesh.

Though it’s been Ritesh’s debut film,it has already been screened at the 2013Cannes Film Festival, TorontoInternational Film Festival, Indian FilmFestival of Melbourne and will be shownat the Sydney Film Festival. The moviehas won him several awards in India andabroad. “I never imagined the film willdo so well. When you are making a film,you are so engaged in the day-to-dayactivities. Then it was just about gettingthe film done. Lunchbox has been ablessing for me” tells Ritesh.

The intense execution of thetalented cast is an integral part ofthe success of the film. “Peopleoften ask me about the choiceof my talented cast. For thecharacters of Saajan andShaikh, I always hadIrrfan and NawazuddinSiddiqui in mind, butNimrat Kaur was select-ed after four months ofauditions. All of themwere wonderful actors and worked veryhard for the film. We started working onthe film 4-5 months before the shootingstarted. It was a real joy and I had a lot oftrust in them. Irrfan put a lot of trust inme and despite being so busy he took outa lot of time for me.”

Lunchbox is out and out Mumbai filmand depicts the chaos of the city. “Thefilm says a lot about Mumbai as a city.I’ve been born and brought up in Mumbai

though I left it in 1998 togo to New York, it hasalways been close to myheart. My mum used tosend food to my dadthrough the dabbawallasystem. We started shoot-ing three months inadvance in a small apart-ment in Mumbai. Nimratcooked in the kitchen andall the actors wereinvolved in the produc-tion design. We actuallyfollowed the dabbawallasand shot them in docu-mentary style. We filmeda series of scenes on thelocal trains. The moviedid very well in Mumbaiand since then it has beentravelling.”

“It was the kind of thefilm we thought can trav-el. That is why I wanted

an international collaboration. We had anAmerican cinematographer and editor, aGerman sound engineer and composer tomake it a universal product,” says Ritesh.

Despite creating waves international-ly, Ritesh has his feet firmly on theground. “I strongly believe people comeand make the film. They bring their sto-ries, their lives to it,” says Ritesh whoalways wanted to make films adding thatthe industry has been kind to him.

While Ritesh spends half his time in

New York and half in India, he is enjoy-ing the success of Lunchbox and is in nohurry to make another film right now. “Ihave no plans for my next project as yet.I’ve been spending a lot of time reading.I’m also spending a lot of time with pressand attending film festivals. I’m in nohurry to figure out what to do next. Rightnow, I’m just content spending time withmy 19 months old daughter,” smilesRitesh. The Lunchbox opens on July 10 inAustralian cinemas by Madman Films.

Irrfan Khan is the main lead in the film, and is supported by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, another fine actor.

The leading lady of ‘Lunchbox’, Nimrat Kaur.

Inspired by Bombay’s dabbawalas, Ritesh Batra’s ‘Lunchbox’has been on the film festival circuits and will be seen at the

Sydney Film Festival after which it will be in theatres.

In 2007, directorRitesh Batra set outto make a documentary on thedabbawallas, butended up making hisdebut with a feature film.


Community

By Vijay Badhwar

The year-longS w a m iVivekananda’s

150th birth anniver-sary celebrations cul-minated in May withthe inauguration of thefirst phase ofVivekananda MemorialCommunity Facility atErmington. It was a three-day-long celebra-tion (May 2-4) divided between two venues– the formal and religious functions at thenewly inaugurated facility and cultural func-tions at the Strathfield Town Hall, both ven-ues overflowing with devotees.

The new building no longer looked likea building site as volunteers worked day andnight in the last month to line the roughends with pot plants and a grass carpet cov-ering the upper level concrete slab. It con-verted into a viewing deck with magnificentviews of the Olympic grounds, the City ofParramatta and beyond. People lined alongthe glass balustrade to admire the views andbasked in the sun after the ceremonies withthe satisfaction that a dream had come true.

On Friday early morning, sanctification

ceremony started in the new hall. Later dur-ing the day, formal proceedings commencedto thank the people involved with designand construction of the community facility,including the Parramatta City CouncilMayor John Chedid and Councillor JohnPierre Abood who understood the Vedantavision and made it possible for the project toproceed.

Paul Notholt, Secretary, in his welcom-ing speech, gave a background of the histo-ry of Vedanta movement in Australia - howit started from the residence of Mrs and MrRamakrishna and developed into a largecommunity with the arrival of SwamiSridharananda in October 2000. “It was notto give another religion to the Australiansociety, but a new way of life, a more valu-able kind of contribution,” he said.

Swami Atmeshananda, Swami Chandrashekharananda, Lord Mayor John Chedidand Mr Pierre Abood at the ceremonies.

Maha Sinnathamby, president, Vedanta Centres of Australia, and his wife, honouredby Swami Sridharananda.

Mr. & Mrs. Ramakrishna, from whose house Vedanta movement in Australiastarted, honoured by Swamiji.

Dr Indu with Promila Gupta in the foreground even as lunch-prasad is served.

The model of the Vivekananda Memorial Community Facility,the completed first phase of which was inaugurated.

ShivaBhatt,long standingflag-bearerof theVedantamovement,honouredbySwamiji.


Community

“Strength is life, weakness is death. Expansion is life,contraction is death. Love is life, hatred is death,” Paulquoted Swami Vivekananda.

After the lighting of the traditional lamp by dignitaries,Dr Geoffrey Lee, NSW Member for Parramatta, paid trib-ute to the Vedanta Centre for the community facility that he‘saw grow and grow’ as he drove past it everyday. Hepraised Parramatta for its diversity, a melting pot of manycultures that made it interesting.

Parramatta City Council Lord Mayor John Chedid madeit known that he had been a staunch supporter for the Centresince the project started some four years ago. He quotedSwami Vivekananda who had challenged divisions amongvarious religions. “We can learn from Hinduism,” MrChedid said, adding, “This Centre exists for the bettermentof all communities and harmony in Australia.”

Councillor Abood had attended one of the regular lec-tures by Swami Sridharananda and realised the commonthread among all religions – peace, love and goodwill that isuniversally shared.

Maha Sinnathamby, president, Vedanta Centres ofAustralia, gave mementos to people involved with thedesign and construction of the new facility.

The cultural programmes of bhajans and dances contin-ued at the Strathfield Town Hall, the highlight being a playon the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna staged over twodays, produced and directed by accomplished playwrightAmbika Prasad.

It was not all entertainment extravaganza as there weretwo sessions devoted to insightful discussions on the practi-cal relevance of Vedanta in everyday life and SwamiVivekananda’s teachings vis-a-vis contemporary globalissues. The young panellists discussing the latter topicincluded a wide spectrum of IT and medical professionalsand their views made some thought provoking observations,especially with everyday issues of coping with the 24/7work culture and religious harmony and global peace.

Long-standing senior flag-bearers of the Vedanta move-ment in Australia – Mr Shiva Bhatt, Mrs and MrRamakrishna, Mr Sarat Arora, Dr Brij Sood, Late MrsWilma Spencer from Sydney; Mrs and Mr Iswaran fromAdelaide, Mrs and Mr Sinnathamby and Mrs and MrMallyke from Brisbane; Mrs Venkataraman and her sonfrom Canberra, Mrs and Mr Gangopadhyay and Mrs andMr Paul from Melbourne; Mrs and Mr Lingum and Mrs andMr Bethell from Perth were felicitated in a special ceremo-ny on Saturday morning at the Strathfield Town hall.

The venue moved to the new hall on Sunday morning forthe Consecration Ceremony that included chanting of bha-jans and havan. More than 300 devotees overflowed on thespacious balcony outside the hall as the idols were conse-crated in their new abode.

The Indian High Commissioner in Australia, Mr BirenNanda, read a message describing the legacy of SwamiVivekananda who, he said, had revitalised Hinduism.

As everyone marvelled at the city views from theVivekananda Memorial during lunch-prasad, they alsoappreciated the vision of Swami Sridharananda who hadcoalesced them into a ‘Vedanta Community’ in the short 13years since his arrival in Australia. The community willlong remember the realisation of ‘true original nature’through the Centre, a task Swami ji had set upon and‘stopped not until’ the Goal was reached.

A day of rejoicing as a dream comes true.

Vedanta young ones

A young devotee takes a picture of the trio.

Vathsala Pathmanabam and Sarla Thakkar posing at the event


Community

By Niranjan Deodhar

On the morning of the second dayof activities, the Vedanta Centrehosted a Devotees Convention

and a Youth Panel Discussion atStrathfield Townhall.

The topic for the speakers at theDevotees Convention was “What Vedantain practice, as epitomised by the lives ofSri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi andSwami Vivekananda, means to me”.Speakers were invited from each of thecity chapters across Australia and NewZealand. It was apparent from the presen-tations that each person had developedthis same thought in their lives in a verydifferent way - another demonstration ofthe fact that each person needs to under-take their own unique spiritual journey -“as many faiths, so many paths”, asSwami Vivekananda would have said.

Maha Sinnhathamby from Brisbaneopened the day with an impassioned pleafor all to study the Complete Works ofSwami Vivekananda, and in particular hisbook called ‘Thoughts of Power’.Sinnhathamby put the momentous occa-sion of this inauguration in context of theoverall history of the movement, stressedthe importance of satsang (good company)and sanskar (good upbringing) and endedon the tremendously positive, empower-ing and powerful assertion from Vedictexts – ‘Thou Art That!’

Raman Sharma from Adelaide spokeabout the importance of the role of theGuru as well as one’s life partner in sup-porting the spiritual journey. He stressedon the need for sincerity in belief, theneed to find one’s own truth through hon-est enquiry, avoidance of needless intel-lectual wrestling, and looking at the worldas a means to attain God, not the otherway around.

Monnay Kumar from Auckland spokeabout the dilemma of organised religion,and how Swami Vivekananda himselfthought through the advantages and disad-vantages before embarking on creating theRamakrishna Mission. From that he drewthe link to the importance of discipline,including on temporal matters like moneyand funding, in order for institutions toremain faithful to their purpose and avoidthe pitfalls of organised religion. Heacknowledged the role of education in thejourney to manifest the divinity in us, butalso stressed that education can only “pro-vide the ideas”, ultimately salvation has tobe experienced through one’s own faith,effort and thinking.

Jaishankar Venkataraman fromCanberra spoke about the powerful com-bination of simplicity and relevance of theholy trio and their teachings. He called outthe Master (Ramakrishna)’s sincerity andfocus on experiencing for yourself, Hishomely and down to earth parables, theamazing simplicity of Mother’s life, andalso the relevance in the modern era of thecombined understanding of eastern and

western culture that Vivekananda taughtus.

Suresh Ravinutala from Melbournereminisced about growing up in an envi-ronment where thoughts like “I am not thebody” were being discussed around himeven in his childhood. He laid stress onmind control, on abhyaas yoga, the diver-sity of options made available to the spir-itual seeker through the four yogas, andalso how bhakti yoga could be seen as giv-ing God our Power of Attorney!

Prof. Samir Chatterjee from Perth cau-tioned us against the tendency to allowcompartmentalisation of inward vs out-ward activities in our lives. He stressedthe need for having a robust spiritualanchor, a global sense of connected des-tiny, and the need to change ourselvesfirst before lamenting lack of change inthe world around us. He drew a fascinat-ing contrast between the globalisation ofthe economy on one hand, but the lack ofglobalisation in spirituality on the other.

Paul Notholt from Sydney spoke elo-quently about how the Holy Trio led theirlives to give us an inspiring as well asattainable path to salvation. He expandedon the ideals and role models of the Triowith simple yet profound anecdotes. Hespoke in particular about the worship ofthe divine feminine in the form of theMother, the renunciation of lust and gold,the need to include all in our love, and theimportance of separating the person fromthe politics when addressing inter commu-nity and international interactions. He alsohighlighted a number of parallels from thelives of Avatars from other religions andother parts of the world including JesusChrist.

All in all, a very thought-provokingsession. The Holy Trio embodies threeessential elements of our spiritual quest -absence of ego as exemplified by the Holy

Mother, an inclusive outreach to all ofhumanity as demonstrated by The Masterhimself, and Swamiji’s empowering mes-sage to all of us to have strength and havefaith in oneself.

The second half of the program was ayouth panel discussion, where 10 panelistsdwelt on the relevance of SwamiVivakananda’s work to contemporaryglobal issues. I had the privilege of facili-tating this panel discussion and the ques-tions. It was rewarding for me personallyto see these issues from the lens that thenext generation applies to them, and tolearn from them in the process. I sawsome common themes in their way ofworking - humility (they really didn’twant to talk about themselves, only abouttheir way of thinking….), the importanceof parental influence in creating an inter-est in spirituality and Vedanta, and a pas-sion for their beliefs. It was very hearten-ing to see so many young minds embark-ing their own journey under the inspiringguidance of Swami Shridharananda,Swami Atmeshananda, SwamiChandrashekharanda and SwamiSunishthananda.

In the first group of five, Shamindraspoke about the need to synchronise qual-itative development with quantitativeprogress. I was reminded of AlbertEinstein’s quote - “not everything that canbe counted, matters, and not everythingthat matters, can be counted”. Priya spokeabout coping with the 24/7 culture and theimportance of “white space” in our livesif we are to aim for a life of contempla-tion. Isha presented her views on whatreligious pluralism really means, how itcan be “done right” to enable globalpeace, and how we should avoid the mis-guided side of organised religion. Kunalshared his views on educational policies inthe 21st century and how they should

enable rather than hinder the student’sspiritual quest. Pragyaa spoke of SwamiVivekananda’s broad and expansive viewof Humanism - secular yet anchored inspirituality

In the second session, Abhijit analysedthe contemporary global crisis as towhether it is economic or attitudinal. Heasked us to guard against the tendency toexternalise blame and look within our-selves to check our endless desires andconstant yearning for competition andconflict. Keerthi shared her views onimplementing Swamiji’s concept ofService. She developed an eloquent logicof how and why Karma Yoga can act as amoral compass in our everyday livesregardless of profession. Smit spoke pas-sionately about the need to strive forgreater gender equality and emancipationof women with a nuanced understandingof how each one of us can contribute inthe context of modern Australian society.Abhishek analysed some major issuesaddressed by Swami Vivekananda - fun-damentalism, inequity, drop in spirituali-ty, racism - bringing out a strong messageof hope behind the seemingly worryingdevelopments in recent times on thesematters.

Finally, Patricia enlightened us onSwami Vivekananda’s quest for and thetransformation of America - why and how- including some surprising modernechoes of work done many decades ago.

In light of the success of this event andthe committed participation from the pan-elists, the Vedanta Centre will be startinga Swami Vivekananda Study Circle foryouth interested in continuing this journeyof collaborative thinking. Dear SwamiShridharanadaji and SwamiSunishthanandaji, thank you for theopportunity to assist in the facilitation ofthis event!

How devotees relate to VedantaAs part of its 150th anniversary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda,

the Vedanta Center in Sydney organized a Devotees Conference.

Swami Sunishthananda, Swami Chandra Shekhrananda, Swami Atmeshananda and Niranjan Deodhar with youth participants

Community


The Attorney-General, George Brandis,released an exposure draft Bill on theproposed amendments to the Federal

Government to the Racial Discrimination Act1975 - specifically in regards to sections 18C,18D and 18D. He called for submissions onthe draft by 30th April. According to Section18C, “It is unlawful for a person to do an act,otherwise than in private, if: (1)(a) the act isreasonably likely, in all circumstances, tooffend, insult, humiliate or intimidate anoth-er person or a group of people; and (b) the actis done because of the race, colour or nation-al or ethnic origin of the other person or someor all of the people in the group....The pro-posed changes to the Act include deletingwords such as ‘offends, insults and humili-ates’ from Section 18C while only retainingthe words ‘intimidate and vilify’.

The Migration Institute of Australia(MIA) is concerned about the use of racialstereotypes in Australian national media andis strongly emphasising the need to protectSections 18C and 18D of the 1975 Act with-out amendment. The proposed amendmentsto the Act will disenfranchise the very peopleoriginally intended to be protected under theAct, according to MIA National President,Angela Chan. An amended Act will not pro-vide adequate protection for people who arethe most vulnerable to racial discriminationand racial abuse in the community.

“Stereotyping people on the grounds oftheir ethnicity is simply another form ofracial discrimination which should not be tol-erated,” said Ms Chan.

The Indian community has reacted strong-ly to the proposed amendment as it may givesome people the right to say things that can beracially hurtful. George Brandis’ statement,that “bigots have the right of speech” is per-ceived as an act dragging Australia to its darkpast.

Sanjeev Bhakri, Secretary, Hindu Councilof Australia, says: “We strongly believe thatthese amendments are unnecessary andshould not be done. The existing sections ofthe Act do not put any undue limitation on therights of free speech as long as it is factualand made in public interest.

“The two new sections added are notclear enough and may be used in a wrongway. We submit that Section 18C should beretained in its current form in order for ourculturally diverse society to function in har-mony respecting the rule of law. If anychanges contemplated, they should be to fur-ther strengthen the current provisions in theAct.” According to Shubha Kumar,President, India Club, the proposed changesthreaten the harmony of community and well-being ofAustralians ofdiverse back-g r o u n d s .“India Clubhas expressedopposition toany suchchanges tothe RDA sec-tion 18 thatcould weakenp r o t e c t i o n sagainst raciallycharged attitudes,stimulating con-flict, resentment

or hatred in our civilized society,” she wrotein her submission.

Vish Viswanathan, Federation ofAustralian Indian Associations, wrote: “Itmay appear that the proposed changes by theFederal Government are simple and it maynot affect our Indian community. But there isa clear danger in the offing that such changesif endorsed by the Australian Parliament willencourage some elements of the wider com-munity to possibly misuse in the name ofFreedom of Speech and get away easilyunless legally challenged.”

Dr Yadu Singh, Cardiologist, found theproposed amendments disturbing as it wouldallow for almost any racist speech you canimagine.

“Whether something is ‘reasonably like-ly’ to vilify is “to be determined by the stan-dards of an ordinary reasonable member ofthe Australian community”, “not by the stan-dards of any particular group within theAustralian community.” That means that thevilification will not be judged by the standardof whatever racial minority is being vilified.Instead, the ordinary reasonable Australian,meaning thereby White Anglo-SaxonAustralians, will decide whether the minoritygroups are racially vilified or not.

“To ‘intimidate’ is ‘to cause fear of phys-ical harm’ according to the Exposure draft.Who decides whether a member of a minori-ty racial group should have a ‘reasonablylikely’ chance of feeling ‘fear of physicalharm?’ Obviously, that too will be decidedfor them by someone else, not themselves.

That is plainly unacceptable, grotesque andwrong,” he said.

Mala Mehta, Co-Ordinator, Indo-Aus BalBharti Vidyalaya, wrote, “These changeswould shield and privilege behaviour whichpromotes conflict, resentment or hatredbetween people and enshrine what theAttorney-General, Senator George Brandis,has called the “right to be a bigot”.

Bawa Singh Jagdev, Secretary, NationalSikh Council Of Australia, wrote, “We firm-ly believe that it should continue to beunlawful to "offend, insult or humiliate"based on race or ethnicity and the act shouldnot be amended.”

The NSW Member for Parramatta, DrGeoff Lee, was opposed to the proposedchanges.

“While I strongly believe that freedom ofspeech and freedom of expression are essen-tial elements of a liberal democracy likeAustralia’s, racial vilification and discrimina-tion should never be tolerated” he said.“Freedom of expression should not be pro-moted at the expense of protection from racialand ethnic denigration.” In Parliament Leeopposed the changes and supported the NSWGovernment’s position to keep the RacialDiscrimination Act in its current form.“Using one’s race and ethnic identity to dis-criminate or insult completely contradicts themeaning of living in a peaceful, diverse andharmonious community. This form of deni-gration breaks the bonds that help make greatcities like Sydney and great communities likeParramatta, the best places to live, work and

raise a family,” Lee said.The NSW and Victorian Governments on

May 2 announced they had lodged formalsubmissions opposing changes to the protec-tions against racial vilification contained inthe Federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975.

NSW Minister for Citizenship andCommunities Victor Dominello and VictorianMinister for Multicultural Affairs andCitizenship Matthew Guy said: “We considerit vital that the Commonwealth does notweaken protections in place against racial vil-ification. The proposed changes threaten thesocial cohesion and well-being of not just ourstates’ culturally and religiously diverse com-munities, but also the wider Australian com-munity. “We support the protections current-ly in place under the Racial DiscriminationAct and emphasise the practical and symbol-ic importance of these protections – particu-larly for our Aboriginal, multicultural andmulti-faith communities.

“Successive NSW and VictorianGovernments have worked hard to fostersocially inclusive and cohesive communities.This is the basis for the Victorian EqualOpportunity Act 2010 and Racial andReligious Tolerance Act 2001 and the NSWAnti-Discrimination Act 1977. Unlike theCommonwealth laws, the NSW and Victorianstatutes also include criminal prohibitions forserious racial vilification.

“Vilification on the grounds of race orreligion is always wrong and we should neverallow it to be sanctioned, whether intentional-ly or otherwise.”

Indian community CRC consultation (left to right): Top row: Vijay Halagali, Loggesan Pillay, George Varughese, Vish Viswanathan,Stanley D’Cruz, Vic Alhadeff, Gambhir Watts, Bawa Singh Jagdev, Hakan Harman, Swami Sunishthananda, Darshan Desai,

Middle Row: Bhupinder Chhibber, Neera Srivastava, Neena Sinha, Shubha Kumar, Pallavi Sinha, Dave Passi, Dr K.C. Rajendran,Dr Yadu Singh, Rohitas Bhatta, and Pt Jatin Bhatt. Sitting: Mala Mehta, Sonia Gandhi

Community protests against changes toRacial Discrimination Act

Sanjeev Bhakhri Geoff Lee George Brandis Yadu Singh Matthew Guy and Victor Dominello


Community

An approval for a 16.5 bil-lion dollar coal and railproject in Queensland

producing 60 million tonnes ayear of thermal coal to be used inpower stations is a whopper foran Indian business house – theAdani Group. The project alsoincludes a 189-kilometre rail linenorth west of Clermont and willcart 60 million tonnes of coalfrom Abbot Point port toCarmichael using a combinationof open-cut and undergroundmining.

Though the project comeswith conditions attached whichAdani will have to meet like com-pensating the landholders affectedby any harm to water supplies.Adani Chairman Gautam Adaniwelcomed the approval andPremier Jeff Seeney said, “Theproject has the potential to createup to 2,500 construction and3,900 operational jobs whichwould be significant to the futureeconomic prosperity of thatregion and to all of Queensland.”

The AustralianGovernment will finalisea new social security

agreement with India this yearto make retirement easier forresidents of both countries.

Announcing the agreementtoday, Minister for SocialServices Kevin Andrews andMinister for Foreign AffairsJulie Bishop said residents ofboth India and Australia wouldnow have greater access to pen-sions from both countries.

“The AustralianGovernment understands thereality that many people liveand work in more than onecountry and the need to safe-guard their retirementincome,” Mr Andrews said.

“The agreement will giveformer Australian residents inIndia the ability to claim theAustralian Age Pension with-out having to return toAustralia and will allow formerIndian residents in Australiaaccess to Indian retirementpensions.

“And it will support busi-nesses operating in Australiaand India by removing therequirement for compulsorycontributions to be paid intoboth countries' superannuationand pension insurance systems

for temporarily secondedworkers.

“This will not only reducecosts for business but facilitateimproved economic linksbetween our two countries.

“This new agreement willgive people more freedom tomove between Australia andIndia, knowing that their pen-sion rights will be recognisedand protected.”

Minister Bishop said thefinalisation of the agreementdemonstrated the value theAustralian Government placedon its relationship with India.

“The bilateral relationshipbetween our two countries is aforeign policy priority due toour economic and strategicties, shared history and strongpeople-to-people links,” shesaid. “The new agreementdelivers on our commitment tobroadening, deepening anddiversifying this key regionalrelationship.”

Australia already has socialsecurity agreements in placewith 29 countries around theworld.

The agreement with India isexpected to come into effect inJuly 2015 following legislativeand administrative processes inboth countries.

Ekal Foundation Australia iscelebrating its 10th anniver-sary on July 26 with an Ekal

– Jhankar program of harmony ofdance, music and songs. All pro-ceeds go towards EVF Australia, anot-for-profit charity that runsschools in rural and tribal India.

EVF Australia has by nowsponsored 750 schools which arebased on the philosophy of ‘Oneteacher – one school’ – most ofthem situated in the remote vil-lages where education is a muchneeded service for the children.These schools are sponsored at$480 per school annual sponsor-ship which looks after the teach-

ers’ salary, resources, venue. Attimes the schools are conductedunder a tree or at the teachers’ ownhouse.

In this tenth year EVFAustralia plans to reach a target of1,000 Ekal School sponsorship. Asponsor once assigned a school canvisit his school, village and theteacher and students and see forthemselves the wonderful workdone by the Ekal foundation.

Do come and support a worthycause and become members ofEkal Australia and participate inmaking life better for many Indianchildren who do not have access toeducation which should be their

birth right. We must support Ekaland sponsor schools and getfriends involved and help themreach their target of 1,000 spon-sored Ekal Schools from Australia.

Ekal Jhankar program will beheld at Sydney Bahai Centre, 107Derby Street, Silverwater

5:30 pm for 6 pm start,Saturday 26th July 2014; Tickets -Gold $35, Gold Family $120 andVIP $100.

Contact: Divya Gupta: 0425322 585; Savita Gupta: 9861 0310;Shalini Singh: 0408 282 363; AnilYadav: 0433 837 080; Jay Shah:0438 621 590 or Vijay Gupta:0414 879 542 for tickets.

Adani Group gets approval for a whopper of a coal project in QLD

Asharp rally in stocks ofAdani Group has cata-pulted Gautam Adani

into the top league. With thetotal market capitalization of Rs122,206 crore of its three listedcompanies - Adani Enterprises,Adani Power and Adani Portand Special Economic Zone(SEZ) – Adani Group racedahead of big corporate houseslike Bajaj, Shiv Nadar, AnilAmbani and UB Group in termsof total market capitalisation oftheir listed companies. AdaniGroup is now the ninth most-valued groups in the country.Interestingly, since September13, 2013 Adani Group’s marketvaluation has more-than-dou-bled from Rs 51,573 crore afterthe BJP declared NarendraModi as the party's PM candi-date.

During the period, Adani

Enterprises, Adani Power andAdani Port and SpecialEconomic Zone (SEZ) have ral-lied nearly 300% on hopes thatModi-led BJP may form thenext government. On the otherhand, the market wealth ofMukesh Ambani led- RelianceGroup, Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group,Mahindra Group and BajajGroup increased between 10-30% during the period.

Gautam Adani, promoter ofAdani Group is known to beclose to Modi and traders arespeculating that his firms wouldbenefit the most in Gujarat incase of expected poll outcome.

Investors are speculatingthat Gujarat-based companiesespecially Adani group, willfind it easier to do business ifModi forms government (whichhas come true).

Buoyed by Modi association, Adaninow 9th most valued firm in India

Great news for Indian pensioners

Adani group Chairman GautamAdani, big dreams big projects

Come and support Ekal Jhankar

EkalVidyalaya isa laudableproject, sponsoring one-teacherschools inrural andtribal India.


Jaane kahan gaye wo dinAwara hoon

Mud mud ke na dekhBol radha bol

Pyar huaYeh raat bheegi bheegi

The Indian Down Under newspaper Voice of India - Monika Geetmala

& Bhavan Australia presentVINOD RAJPUT in

Date: 29th June 2014 SundayTime: 2-5pmTickets: $20, Seniors & Conc $15

Tea & Snacks includedVenue: Pennant Hills Community CentreFor Tickets, Call:Vinod Rajput 0421 017 592Neena Badhwar: 0414 155 402Dave Passi: 0413 760 300

Proudly supported by:Indian Seniors Group HornsbyAustralian Hindi Indian AssociationOm Care FounationIndo Aus Bal Bharti Hindi SchoolILASA - Indian Literary & ArtSociety of Australia

Singers: Vinod Rajput, Pushpa Jagadish,Reena Mehta, Sumi Krishnan

Band: Band Baaja

By Vijay Badhwar

Novotel in Parramatta turned saffronduring April 26-27 weekend as hun-dreds of volunteers and delegates

furled saffron scarfs and name tags aroundtheir necks at the third Hindu conferenceorganised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP) Australia.

The conference was blessed by lightingthe traditional lamp in front of majesticGanesha idol and an aboriginal dance anddidgeridoo by young ‘Kyle Freeman’, a 14-year-old aboriginal who said that accordingto tradition it took away the bad energy inthe precinct and the event.

Veda Patsala teacher NarayanKrishnamoorthy said as he declared the con-ference open, “You protect the dharma andit protects you.” He added that Hindu dhar-ma was the sanctum sanctorum of all reli-gions and that the Hindu conference wouldhelp everyone to take home values imbibedby it.

Akila Ramarathnam, one of the mainorganisers of the conference, said in herkeynote address that there were now 200professionally trained teachers who werenow teaching at Veda Patsalas aroundSydney. She thanked guests that includedPhilip Ruddock, MP, and Laurie Ferguson,Federal MP for Werriwa, saying that theirpolitical support had helped tremendously tocreate a harmonious and democratic envi-ronment to practice and maintain as well asspread the message of Hindu dharma.

Mr Philip Ruddock said, “Australia is aunique country in the sense that it hasaround 25 per cent of people born overseas.People can come here, settle and be part ofit as Australians citizen of this country.” Hesaid, ‘not only we respect Hinduism, weshare and rather learn from each other andacknowledge each other.’

Mr Ferguson praised the Hindu commu-nity for its engagement with the widerAustralian society so that people understoodeach other better.

Dr Geoff Lee, Member Parramatta wasall praise for his constituency that was a cul-tural melting pot. He said he had an idol ofGanesha in his office to remove hurdles thatare aplenty in politics.

Swami Vigyananand, International Co-

ordinator and Joint General Secretary, VHP,provided the saffron energy as he lighted thetraditional lamp along with other dignitariespresent. More than 250 delegates becamepart of the dialogue how Hindu Dharma wascontributing to the society. They activelyparticipated in five plenary sessions wherespeakers from various Hindu organisationsDown Under (including New Zealand)talked about how they were spreading thetenets of Hindu dharma. They spoke aboutthe work of their organisations as well asindividual experiences as Hindus living inAustralia.

Many among the participants wereyoung people who would carry the flag inthe future. They were more articulate intheir presentations, relating concisely themessage, having grown up in the local cul-ture. The statistics provided about the Hindupopulation in Australia showed that the com-munity carried the political weight and thatthey were at the top rung of the society in allfields be it education or the income theywere drawing. Some as young as six orseven-year-olds showed their skills in recit-ing mantras from the Vedas and talked abouthow they were positively engaged in learn-ing and practising Hinduism in their day today lives.

Preservation of Hinduism and promotingit to the next generation were some of theissues that were at the core of the conference

and how Hinduism was practised and pre-served in Australia in myriad ways. It wasreassuring to sit and listen to inspiringspeakers who were contributing to maintain-ing and spreading Hinduism through educa-tion, training, yoga, scriptural studies, med-itation and participating in local activitiessuch as ‘Clean Up Australia’, ‘Greenathon’,‘Blood Donation Drives’ and connectingwith the real custodians of the land and

learning about their ways.Two days of listening to over 50 speak-

ers about Hinduism one came back with anevident conclusion that Hinduism was notjust surviving but rather thriving and grow-ing its roots in Australia at a fast rate. It wasa revelation that Sydney now has 52 templeswhile many more organisations are involvedin spreading Hinduism through education,especially getting the younger generation

Community


Akila Ramarathnam, Dave Passi and Vijay Badhwar - discussion over lunch

Hon. Phillip Ruddock and Hon. Laurie Ferguson with ladies

Community


interested in the ways of Hindu culture.Mr Raj Natarajan of Oz India

Media who chaired the first plenarysession on ‘Hindu Temples – servingthe Australian community’ said, “We,as Hindus, do not carry guns wherewe go but we go with holy books andbuild temples wherever we go. Indiais the only country that has neverattacked. It may have replied back ifattacked, yet it has led and lent themessage of peace and its temples,especially, have imparted that leadrole.”

Mr Natarajan Iyer from SriVenkateswara Temple talked abouthow SVT was started by 17 memberswho had housed a statue of LordGanesha at the NSW campus. Nowthe temple in Helensburgh is a finemonument and a national heritage.The leading road in Helensburgh hasnow been named as Temple Road bythe Mayor.

Sri Praful Jethwa of BAPSMandir in Rosehill said that BAPSdevotees contributed to the societyby contributing several services. MrVenkataraman of Ayyappa Temple talkedhow they overcame many hurdles to finallyhave a temple in Guildford. Mr DivakarHarle talked about Vedic Cultural Centre ofAustralia in Greystanes and its contributionin training Vedic teachers. Mr MuthuMenon impressed the role of Shakti Templein Tongabbie and its valuable contribution innot just imparting knowledge but also con-ducting community awareness about issuesthat can affect its members and supportingpeople during bereavements and helpingpeople in distress.

Mrs Lila Gune spoke with pride aboutthe first Hindu temple in Australia, SriMandir, at Auburn. Its functions like ShivaRatri, Janmashtami and Diwali draw thou-sands of Hindus from all around the town,she said.

Shri Vidyadaran R Sharma’s presenta-tion was about the only Saraswati temple inFlemington and how it was a favourite ofstudents. Mr Prem Misra of the MuktiGupteshwar Temple explained how the con-tinent of Australia was so unique with elec-tromagnetic forces operating through thisancient land. His seven-year-old grand-daughter mesmerised all with her chantingof Sri Siva Sahasranama shlokas with perfectease and confidence. Mrs Pooja Sashi of theHindu Youth Australia (HYA) talked aboutthe role of temples and their purpose.

The second session concentrated on therole played by Hindu organisations in serv-ing the Australian society in general andHindu society in particular. Speakers includ-ed Mr Sajana Nand, Australian HinduMulticultural Association and Neeraj Ramfrom Gayatri Pariwar. Sri Ram Sivan ji ofAustralian Council of Hindu Clergy said thatthere were now over 72 recognised qualifiedpriests busy doing important work as mar-riage celebrants and performing last rites.

Friends of India from Liverpool talkedabout the Ganesh Festival and how it hadcharged the locals with enthusiasm as thou-sands participated every year in the iconicevent. Mrs Geeta Devi, President VHPVictoria, enlightened all about an intensiveweekend called ‘Vedic Village Project’ hap-pening every year that was full of activitiesand disseminating information about Hindureligion and Vedic practices. While ShriAwindra Prasad of Arya Samaj talked abouthomams and yagyas carried by its members,Srini Vasudevan and Vidya Raghavan talkedabout Sri Om Care and how it had helpedtransform lives of senior citizens of theIndian community helping them age in a

positive, fun filled environment.Mr Raj Datta, Councillor Strathfield

Council, talked of having started Deepavalicelebration at NSW Parliament House whichhas now become a much anticipated annualevent enjoyed by the community and con-necting it with the NSW parliamentarians.And Jet Australia’s Shri Navneeth RamanujaDasa talked about serving the communitythrough Hindu Vaishnav philosophy.

Swami Vigyananand, who has to hiscredit a book on Sanskrit grammar alongwith many other scholarly achievements,talked about ‘Hindu Organizations,Temples, & Associations (HOTA)’. He said‘HOTA’ meant ‘happening’ and he could seea lot happening in Australia in regards toHindu dharma. Swamiji launched HOTAAustralia and encouraged all to join in a‘Raksha bandhan’ festival that could pro-mote a feeling of goodwill among allHindus. Ayyappa Temple took the lead toconduct this event for the first time inSydney in August this year with 20 otherorganisations, giving them a hand to organ-ise the event.

Vijay Badhwar chaired the third sessionbased on the topic, ‘Serving the communitythrough education and shaping future gener-ations’. His introductory message was tokeep the Hindu culture alive for the cominggenerations, not to be lost in the persistentcampaigns of many proselytising religions.

Second Day of the conference concen-trated on youth development and shapingfuture leaders as two plenary sessionsintensely discussed how the youth werebeing encouraged through providing oppor-tunities for participation and positiveengagement.

Speakers from Ekal Vidyalaya, IndianSeniors’ Group Hornsby, BhutaneseAssociation, Sri Sathya Sai organisation andmany more highlighted the valuable workbeing carried out for the community, its sen-iors and the children with the aim of con-necting, helping, serving, integrating andnetworking.

The 3rd Hindu conference concluded onDay 2 on a high note as people went backwith a lot of positive input through inspiringspeakers and workers who have contributedin a pioneering fashion to the cause of Hindudharma in Australia. Each session waspacked with interesting presentations fromnearly 50 speakers who motivated the restwith a vigour and enthusiasm that Hindudharma had come of age in Australia and itsgrowth had to be steadily maintained for thecoming generations.

Swami Vigyananand with a delegate

Srini Vasudevan and Vidya Raghavan representing Sri OmCare foundation

Mrs Leela Gune representing Sri Mandir, an Indian community veteran

Master of Ceremonies Ms Chetna Padki

KamleshChaudhary

with Vinod

Sablok

Young Aussie Hindu delegate


Bollywood

Over the last few years, theBollywood film industry has made aglobal appeal with Bollywood craze

having taken the entire world in its grip.Lately, at least 16 foreign actresses havemade their entry into Indian films. Thisforay began in 2000, when several enteredthrough modeling and appearing in videosfor songs. Some of them became successful– Katrina Kaif (Britain), Sunny Leone(Canada), Jacqueline Fernandez (Sri Lanka),Elli Avram (Swedish Greek), Barbara Mori(Mexico), and Giselli Monteiro (a Brazilianmodel turned actress). Australian-bornactresses have also, Pallavi Sharda being onewho has now acted with top knotchBollywood actors such as Shahrukh Khan,Manoj Bajpai and Ranbir Kapoor.

We may soon have someone else fromAustralia sizzle on the Bollywood screen.

Tamar Bartaia (Georgian bornAustralian), a model and actress, NIDAGraduate is one of my Hindi students at theUniversity of Sydney, and a beauty to boot.When I asked her the reason for her comingto Hindi class, she said she is trying forBollywood. Not only just Hindi, but Tamaris also training in dance and music and has arigorous daily schedule with one and onlyone dream. She dreams of going to Mumbaiin the hope of getting a break intoBollywood films.

Rekha: Tell us something about yourselfTamar Bartaia: My name is Tamar Bartaia,but I am more popularly known by my nick-name, Aghni. So my name is fire, “MainAghni hoon…” I was born in Georgia. I amthe only child of my parents.

I am very passionate and restless like my

zodiac sign Aries...

Rekha: Tell us something about yourselfTamar: I loved dancing, singing and actingsince my childhood. I studied at Art School.As a kid I used to take part in a TV show –Cake In A City. There’s an interesting storyfrom my acting career of how I got an act-ing offer. One day, when I was preparingfor my shootings, I got a phone call from mymum. She told me that my grandmother hadaccidently died. It was a shock for mebecause my grandmother was my bestfriend. She was a very kind, generous andnice person. Her death totally paralysed me.I started to cry and was going to drop every-thing. Suddenly, I saw grandma cheering meon, saying “don’t give up”. She wanted meto be a world famous movie star, it was herdream and I decided to fulfill her wish.

That afternoon I had a film audition andthe director told me that I was perfect for therole.

Rekha: Have you learnt acting?Tamar: I am an actress and model and Igraduated from NIDA - National Institute OfDramatic Art. I am very proud of it becausemany Australian Hollywood stars (like CateBlanchett, Hugh Jackman, and Jeffrey Rush)studied there. NIDA gave me confidence tobelieve in myself. I have patience and I amtrue to my work.

Rekha: You are a model and haveappeared in TV commercials. Please tellus about that.Tamar: Acting is my passion, modeling ismy hobby. As a model, I work for AMG:Adpro Management Group. I have done lotsof TV commercials for Hilton Hotel, BMW,Foster’s Beer, etc. Recently I did a com-mercial for Samsung Galaxy 5s. I’ve alsotaken part in many fashion shows forfamous Australian designers.

Rekha: Instead of dreaming ofHollywood films, you are training forBollywood films. Why Bollywood?

Tamar: I am a huge fan of Bollywood. Iwould love to work in a Bollywood filmbecause there is so much drama and colourin the films. I am fascinated withBollywood.

Rekha: How are you preparing yourself to

get into Bollywood films? Are you receiv-ing any special training?Tamar: I have done a talent/ Bollywoodworkshop with Raj Suri (a Photographer,Talent Mentor, Bollywood Star Judge SBSfor TV Australia and Film Producer). I amlearning Hindi. I am grateful to my gurus. Iam learning Bollywood dancing too and

proud to be a part of the performance in"Bharat humko jaan se pyara hai".

Rekha: You said you watch Bollywoodfilms, who is your inspiration?Tamar: I watch Bollywood movies almostevery day. My parents always join me; mygrandmother’s favourite actor was RajKapoor.

My Hero is Shahrukh Khan, I love hisfilm ‘My Name Is Khan’. I hope to meet himin Mumbai, as I will be there in a fewmonths.

Rekha: You must be aware that manypeople go to Mumbai with a dream to actin films, but they find it very difficult ormay even fail. In that case do you have aback-up plan?Tamar: My back-up plan? I don’t have any,because I know I can do it.

I wish Tamar the best as I can see thefire in her eyes. Who knows one day shemay set the Bollywood alight as Aghni!

REKHA RAJVANSHI teaches Hindi at Sydney university. Here she inter-views one of her students, Tamar aka Aghni, who is studying Hindi for

the sole reason of getting an entry into Bollywood…

Tamar Bartaia (Georgian born Australian), a model and actress, NIDA Graduate

Pix courtesy:Raj Suri


Community

Australian Indian Weddingsshowcased some of the topIndian wedding providers in

Sydney at their 25th Anniversary ofthe Sydney Bridal Expo held at MoorePark in April. This included a fashionparade targeted at an Australian audi-ence.

The fashion parade displayed astunning array of Indo-western suitsand sherwanis for men along withglamorous bridal suits, sarees andlehengas for women, includingdesigner pieces by renowned Indianfashion designer Rohit Verma, pro-vided by Yogesh and Anju Sharmafrom Cinestar Fashions.

The talented models who dancedand sashayed down the runway withBollywood glamour included SammyJo and Corey Blake from the SydneyBridal Expo team along with ArslaanKhan, Celine Eigner, Jimmy Sharma,Farah Nezzar, Nisha Kungal, MarySymons, Pallavi Wardan, PoojaPriyanka, Rohit Hunt, Savvy Singh,Tarana Shayesta Khunger.

The fashion parade was producedby Susie Smither from Graham StroudEvents, styled by PamelaPetherbridge and choreographed byPJ Clarke from Jeep Management.

The demand for quality IndianWedding service providers is on risewith an increasing number of Indiansliving and settling in Australia. Thegrowth in demand for Indian weddingservices is also reflected in the highernumber of Australians of non-Indianbackgrounds having an Indian wed-ding in Australia.

The Australian Indian Weddingsexhibition stand included VIPDecorating, the leading Indian andBollywood decorators in Sydney,Fareha Bridal Studio, Makeup andHenna specialists in Sydney, CinestarFashions providing the latestBollywood inspired Indian bridal andgroomwear collections and AustralianIndian Weddings, one of the leadingonline resources on Indian Weddingsin Australia.

Irene Prasad, from VIPDecorating, a veteran Indian andBollywood decorator in Sydney forthe last 25 years, says, “This is a fan-tastic opportunity to show the qualityof the Indian Wedding serviceproviders in Sydney that are alsoavailable to an Australian audience.”

Deepthi Raghavan, Director ofAustralian Indian Weddings, said, “Itwas an extraordinary IndianWeddings Fashion Parade to be show-cased on one of the most magnificentrunways set up by the team at theSydney Bridal Expo 2014.”

Vignettesfrom theglamorousevent

Community


By Vish Viswanathan

Sydney Dance Festival sparked the needto remind people that Indian Danceisn’t all Bollywood”, wrote Jill Sykes,

the popular arts columnist in the SydneyMorning Herald, in her review.

The Sydney Dance Festival, the first ini-tiative of Madhuram Academy ofPerforming Arts, held on April 19-20 at theSeymore Centre, included performances bynine world class dance artistes from Indiaand two professional dance groups fromSydney specialising in five styles such asBharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Odissiand Sattriya.

“Our vision is two-fold -- to promoteIndia’s rich cultural heritage in classicaldances in the multicultural Australia,” saidKalpana Sriram, Director, MadhuramAcademy.

Presented for eight hours on each of thetwo days, the dance festival consisted of seg-ments of group and solo performances. Thefirst day kicked off with an excellentBharatanatyam presentation “Srishti” by theSydney based dance Guru Hamsa Venkatand performed by the students of herSamskriti School of Dance. In “Srishti”,meaning creation, the young students beauti-fully presented five items. This was followedby a superb Kuchipudi dance recital for overan hour by the very talented artiste, per-former and choreographer from India,Prateeksha Kashi. She presented sevenitems.

Another equally talented Bharatanatyamartiste from India, Lakshmi ParthasarathyAthreya, a disciple of Padmashree ChitraVisweswaran, mesmerised the audience withsuperb performance combined with divinity.She presented six Bharatanatyam itemsincluding an excellent portrayal ofHanuman.

Another highlight of the evening was thespecial presentation of the “Sattriya”, aunique dance item from Assam dating backto 15th century, by accomplished, andoutstanding exponents from India, AnitaSharma and Naren Baruah. They per-formed nine “Sattriya” dance items.

The first day of the festivalconcluded with a beautiful Odissiperformance by the interna-tionally acclaimedNrityagramS c h o o lt r a i n e dartiste fromI n d i a ,Ayona Bhaduri who prsented five Odissi items choreographed bythe world famous Odissi Guru KelucharanMohapatra. On the second day, anotherSydney based Kuchipudi talent ArunaIyengar and students of Shakthi School ofDance delighted the audience with outstand-ing six Kuchipudi dance items. Special men-tion needs to be made for the excellent ren-dering of the “Mahishasura Mardhini” num-ber, much appreciated by the audience.

The next segment in the festival had apleasant surprise blend of the Bharatanatyamstyles from three famous gurus - AdyarLakshmanan, Leela Samson and BraghaBessell, presented by Sai Santosh

Radhakrishnan, a young and high achieverfrom Chennai, who electrified the audienceand captivated the hearts of many classicaldance lovers.

This was followed by a double treat ofKathak and Odissi items in the late afternoonand evening segments. The globally

acknowledged Kathak exponentsfrom India, Vidha Lal and Sri

Abhimanyu Lal, not onlythrilled the audience withtheir Kathak numbers

but also the “Jugal Bandhi”and Kathak style render-

ing of the famous “BoSambo”, composed

by theeminent

sage SriDayanandSaraswati,

w h i c hreceived a

standing ova-tion.

T h edance festival

c o n c l u d e dwith an outstand-

ing Odissi perform-ance recital by SujataMohapatra, a discipleof Late GuruP a d m a v i b h u s h a nK e l u c h a r a n

Mohapatra, an Odissi doyen. The audiencewere treated to four delightful Odissi num-bers. “We artistes are like flowers.

But Maduram Academy of PerformingArts did put us together like a beautiful gar-land through the Sydney Dance Festival”,said Vidha Lal, a world famous Kathakexponent and the Guinness Book of WorldRecords Holder for taking the most numberof Kathak Spins (103) in one minute.

As written by Jill Sykes, “let us hope thatthis (Sydney Dance) Festival will be the firstof many”.

Sydney Dance Festival, a reminder thatall Indian dance is not just Bollywood

AnitaSharma andNarenBaruah performing‘Sattriya’dance formof Assam.

Sydneysiders who attended the festival.

Some of the participants in the festival with organisers.

Ayona Bhaduri giving Odissi recital.


Bollywood

The Sydney Film Festival (SFF) will screen four Indian films in their 61st Festival running from June 4-15.

Charulata (The Lonely Wife) is an old classic. It is the story of the wife of a news-paper editor in the 1870’s who finds a cure for her loneliness in her visiting cousin-in-law,and through their shared love of literature, subsequently fall in love.

Directed by one of India’s most renowned film makers, Satvajit Ray, Charulata signifi-cantly marks the beginning of an influence of Western film of Ray’s directorial style.

It is based on the popular short Indian novel Nastanirh (The Broken Nest) byRabindranath Tagore. The film depicts an upper class, childless marriage within the BengalRenaissance (British Rule) of the 1870s. The assumed roles of women within the householdare explored, regardless of education and intellectual capabilities.

Charulata won the President’s Gold Medal, New Delhi (1964); Silver Bear for BestDirection, Berlin (1965); Catholic Award, Berlin (1965); Best Film, Acapulco (1965).

SFF Screening:

Thursday, 5 June, 6:00 PM DOQ3Faith Connections - Focusing on the month-and-a-half long Hindu Kumbh Mela rit-ual, Faith Connections explores diverse and deeply moving stories such as a young runawaykid, a Sadhu, a mother desperately looking for her lost son, a yogi who is raising an aban-doned baby, and an ascetic who keeps his calm by smoking cannabis – all connected by onefaith against the spectacular display of devotion.

Directed by Indian writer-director Pan Nalin (Samsara), Faith Connections is an explo-ration of religious devotion, centred around the Hindu Kumbh Mela ritual – the largest reli-gious gathering in the world.

The Kumbh Mela occurs every 12 years; it draws between 90 – 100 million peoplethroughout its 55 days-long duration. The film shares a wide range of stories and perspec-tives, from a hermit-turned-adoptive-father, a young runaway, and a couple searching fortheir son who has been lost in the crowd. It highlights the children’s experiences at the rit-ual; 135,000 children are at the Lost & Found camp when director Nalin filmed.

SFF Screenings: Thursday, 12 June 10:00 AM EV4 //

Sunday 15 Jun 12:30 PM DOQ2Siddharth - After sending his young son Siddharth away to look for work, Mahendrabecomes concerned when he fails to return home one weekend and travels across India insearch of him.

The film examines the pressure of child labour and fears of child trafficking in devel-oping countries. Canadian director Richie Mehta (Amal, I’ll Follow You Down) met a manwho was searching for his missing son while in India; this man served as inspiration for thescript that Mehta co-wrote.

This is the second collaboration of director Mehta and Indian actor Rajesh Tailang (whoplays Mahendra); they first worked together on the Mehta’s award-winning feature-lengthdebut Amal.

SFF Screenings: Thursday 12 June 8:30 PM

DOQ2 // Saturday 14 June 6:35 PM DOQ2The Lunchbox - Irrfan Khan (Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire) stars in this Indianindie hit – a delicious celebration of romance and food. In Mumbai’s remarkable dabba(lunchbox) delivery system, only one in four million home-cooked meals is ever lost. Thatone wayward lunch connects a housewife with an office worker in the dusk of his life, lead-ing them into a rich fantasy.

Director Ritesh Batra originally intended the film to be a documentary after researchingMumbai’s Lunchbox delivery system, an elaborate, extremely efficient system, and the dab-bawalas who deliver them.

The delivery system, studied by the Harvard Business School for its efficiency, has amillion to one odds of a wrongful lunchbox delivery; these slim odds are what inspired Batrato construct his film’s pen-pal romance.

Winner 2013 Asia Pacific Screen Awards: Best Screenplay; Jury Grand Prize; Winner,2013 Muhr AsiaAfrica Award, Dubai Film Festival, Best Actor, Special Mention Feature;Winner, 2014 Screen Weekly Awards, Most Promising Debut Director

SFF Screenings: Friday 6 Jun 6:00 PM STATE // Sunday 8 Jun 6:00 PM CRE-MORNE // Tuesday 10 Jun 6:00 PM EV8

Four Indian films at Sydney Film Festival

Community


By Prerna Jones

Iam so glad I insisted on looking for the'Chakras' dancers performing someyears ago at the Newcastle Red Lantern

markets. Even then it was obvious somethingheld this Indian dance school apart. ChakrasPerforming Arts was set up in Newcastle in2010 by Savitri Naidoo who brought awealth of experience from her home of SouthAfrica and has since blessed Novocastrianswith her teaching skills, regular performanc-es at our local Indian functions and as aunique visionary whose ideals are time andagain converted into action, or should wesay, dance. Now just 4 years after settling onour shores, Smt Naidoo has presented us adance and musical adaptation of the fairy taleSnow White at the Hunter theatre inBroadmeadow on May 3.

I am of Indian heritage myself, butaccompanying me to see the show I had myyoung daughter of mixed Aussie-Indo line-age and my Aussie mother-in-law. Acrossthis mixed bag, we were all left enrapturedby the feast of costumes, colour and enter-tainment before us. What caught my daugh-ter’s fancy were the delightful ‘bunnies’ andthe dwarves themselves - all played soendearingly by the youngest performers ofthe night. It was particularly pleasing to meto hear the tinkle of my daughter’s laughteras we were left to spectate the antics of thelittle ones on stage.

The show presented a pantomime of arange of dance forms from Indian classicaland folk, to ballet and African andAboriginal-inspired performances. TezaSankoorilal played the young Snow White, arecognisable face of the Chakras troupe,always performing the classical Indian danceform with dexterity and an ease that makesher a pleasure to behold. The role of thegrown Snow White was delivered by balletdancer Madeline Denholm, who came acrosswith sheer grace backed up by her PrinceCharming played by fellow ballet dancerAsher Watters-Cowen. Asher also played thepart of dhol-player amongst the temple folk.Though he is not of Indian heritage his per-formance was particularly convincing anddisplayed with such expressiveness and agili-ty. Not to forget the evil stepmother of SnowWhite played by Kumari Mayuri Naidoo, thedaughter of Smt Naidoo, who also co-chore-ographed the Indian dance sets. KumariMayuri I found particularly stunning and for-midable in the evil Queen’s role, and isanother easy to recognise member of theChakras troupe.

This was only the tip of the iceberg in ashow of dancers numbering too many tomention all their names here. Neverthelesseach and every individual worked theirutmost to form a show that proved nothingshort of a visual feast for those fortunateenough to be in attendance. Furthermore, forme each and every individual left an indeli-ble mark through their sheer talent and thediligence of their performances. FiaSankoorilal was one such individual whoplayed the part of the peacock inBharatnatyam form but to a very catchyrhythmised and modernised piece of Indianclassical music which I would love to havethe name of to listen to again.

The African dancers, stemming from oneof the artistic partners of Chakras in theHunter African Communities Council, gaveus age ranges from pre to late-teens andadded such grooving rhythm to the show that

you had to hold yourself back from joiningthem on the stage. With dance styles andcostumes of cool informality it gave theirperformances the air of talented adlibbing.Also impressive was the Aboriginal dancepresented by dancers from the Hunter Schoolof Performing Arts, another artistic partnerof Chakras. Their costumes in their simplic-ity were a contrast to the riot of colour andintricacy of those of the Indian dancers, andyet were so effective for a dance performedwith intensity and emotion.

In summation, Smt Naidoo, her dancetroupe and artistic partners have put on ashow which I felt absolutely honoured andfortunate to attend. Smt Naidoo excels inevery detail of dance performance, as ateacher, in building partnerships and bridgeswith other cultural groups and dance genres,in her selection of costumes and progressivemusic, and in her unique presentation ofIndian classical dance. A matinee perform-ance was added to allay disappointment forthose who may have otherwise missed out,with all proceeds of this show going to the StVincent De Paul Society.

Chakras' ‘Snow White’ a delight!

Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, performed by Chakras Performing Arts, on May 3, at the Hunter Theatre in Broadmeadow, Newcastle.

March - April 2014 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER 33

June 2014 Mat 1. Seeking suitable bride forPunjabi Brahmin Boy 31 years 5’9’’ well settledAustralian Citizen working in Global BankSydney, Caste no bar. Please email particularsincluding photograph to:[email protected] or contact 0401 954390.

June 2014 Mat 2. MATCH required for mydaughter, we are a Punjabi Brahmin family, set-tled in Australia. Education: LLB, Grad Dip LegalPractice, B Business MGMT, working in Qldgovt, earns $90K. Elegant girl with pleasingnature. 5’-3”, 34, lives a balanced lifestyle, fit andfair. Looking for a handsome Hindu boy, intelli-gent and accomplished in a good career. Caste nobar. [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 3. MATCH required for aLicensed Building Practitioner (Builder) Rajputboy, NEVER MARRIED, very fair, athletic,handsome, 5'-11", June 1982 born, High six fig-ure package, Caste no bar. [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 4. Well settled parents lookingfor suitable matches for their daughter, 32 yearsold, working for a multinational company inSydney in a senior corporate position, pretty,163cm tall; brought up in and values both Indianand western culture. North Indian, Punjabi, fromother regional background, professional boysfrom well settled family background preferred.Please contact by email: [email protected] ormobile: 0404 147 744.

June 2014 Mat 5. Match for Australian born28year old Sydney based Punjabi Bhardwaj girl,Master of law, working for NSW goverment.Pretty, tall, fair, homely yet modern girl blends inboth Indian and western cultures easily, wants aprofessional, educated and outgoing match.Contact: [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 6. SEEKING match for mybrother, Hindu, Gujarati - Patel, 32, 6 ft, vegetari-an, Masters in Computing Studies, working andliving in USA (American citizen). Looking for aloving Gujarati girl, caring with good family val-ues, well cultured settled or trying to settle in USAor Australia, preferably with a PR/Citizenship.Email: [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 7. Seeking suitable match (from Australia ) never married, for Hindu Girl 34yrs, Chartered Accountant (non veg) living inAustralia over 25 yrs with eastern and westernfamily values. Please email with all details [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 8. Seeking a Hindu boy, nonvegetarian, preferably Gujarati with good familyvalues for my daughter. She is 33 , divorced, 5'2"and well-built. She is an Australian citizen, worksas an IT team leader and is well settled in Sydney.If you are interested please contact us on 0404595 182 or [email protected].

June 2014 Mat 9. Parents settled in Australialooking for a suitable professional match for their30 years old daughter, height 165cm, smart, pret-ty and working as a clinical psychologist, wellbrought up and respects Indian cultural values.Professional boys from well settled family back-ground preferred. Please contact by email:[email protected] or mobile: 0452 227920

June 2014 Mat 10. Parents seeking matchfor beautiful, multitalented Medical Doctordaughter (age 27) with wider interests in life.Correspondence requested from medical doctor/dentist (preference vegetarian) with exclusiveprofile : [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 11. Parents seeking matchfor fair, slim Hindu Sindhi girl 32 years/ 156 cm

working as Lecturer in leading University.Permanent resident of Australia with dual degreeM.com (Accounts and Finance), fond of sports,traveling and cooking. We are a well knit profes-sional family. Please mail proposal with educa-tion, job details with recent photo to :[email protected] and Contact no. 0431842 458

June 2014 Mat 12. Well settled Indian fami-ly looking for a suitable match for their 25 yearold medico daughter, 5’ 5” tall, born brought upand educated in Australia. Keen in outdoor andsport activities, travel and wants a like-mindedAustralia educated medico boy. Write to: [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 13. Seeking a Hindu girl, veg-etarian, preferably Gujarati, with good family val-ues, for my son. He is 36, divorced, no children,fair, 5’8”, well-built, non-smoker, light drinks. Heis an Australian citizen, works as a tax consultantand lives with his parents. His two sisters live sep-arately. We have lived in Sydney for 19 years.Contact 0423 328 800 or [email protected].

June 2014 Mat 14. Seeking a well qualifiedHindu male, aged between 49 – 54, for a very fair,young looking Hindu lady, aged 54 and anAustralian citizen. He should be a non smokerand should have strong moral values. Caste nobar. She is an eggetarian, divorced and has a 19year old daughter living with her. Contact [email protected].

June 2014 Mat 15. Hindu Punjabi businessparents invite alliance from a beautiful educatedgirl for their highly qualified son 30/6'3", a verywell placed financial consultant with a leadingmultinational company in UK. Will be inAustralia in July, Caste no bar. Send BHP [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 16. Well settled family inAustralia inviting alliance for 27 year old, 5"11,Sood Punjabi boy, B.Software Engineer(honors)and is working as a senior IT Consultant for theAustralian government on high income. SeekingIndian girl, caste no bar. Please call 0414-518-312. Email [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 17. Seeking compatible welleducated, employed professional/ businessmatch, with Indian background, broad minded/mature outlook, independent, divorcee, age 47years onward, For caring, honest, friendly, IndianChristian divorcee Australian citizen, 48 yrs 5'3"tall, much younger looking than age, attractive,graceful looking graduate nurse, employed. Casteno bar. Email details to [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 18. Local born Melbournebased turbaned Sikh boy with trimmed beard 33years old 6 feet tall from established family mas-ters graduate working as finance manager lookingfor a likeminded professional Sikh girl who islocally born or grown up in Australia with mix ofwestern and Indian culture and values. Sendinterest with pix to [email protected]

June 2014 Mat 19. Well settled, Punjabikhatri family, looking for a professionally quali-fied match for their beautiful, slim, 30 years, 5'5"tall daughter, raised and educated in Australia.She is working as a senior associate in a Lawfirm in Sydney. Mail proposal with education,job details and a recent photo to:[email protected] or contact 0430 281175.

June 2014 Mat 20. Seeking alliance forHindu, 37 yrs, girl, unmarried, charted account-ant, simple, with Indian values and well tuned towestern values. Please reply with all details [email protected]

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By Neena Badhwar

From the very momentMaharishi Vashisht appearedon stage along with his stu-

dents in dazzling costumes at theWhitlam Centre in Liverpool onApril 5, the place turned into a riotof colours, music and dance, thechanging scenes intently engagingthe audience in the timeless epicRamayana.

Never before has a local Indianproduction provided dance-dramaextravaganza at such a scale that hasheld the entire audience in awe forover three hours. They wereenthralled and burst into applause atevery scene, associating themselvesas a part of the very act. Many ruedthe fact that they had not broughttheir young children and grand chil-dren to witness the grand epic thatrepresented the good winning overthe evil.

We had been brought up withRamayana being enacted during theRam Lila holiday season back inIndia. I saw Ramayana during myyoung days in Delhi by the DelhiKala Kendra and how just in oneevening one scene followed theother seamlessly, the wholeRamayana unfolding in just a matterof three hours. It was the sameRaghavan Nair who was doing therole of Rama in Delhi then.

Each and every scene is soetched in our memory, yet we lookat Ramlila and its staging with a

know-all curiosity same as whenkids ask their grandma to relate thesame bedtime story again and again.Ramayana in Sydney was equallythrilling and who else was Rama butRaghavan Nair’s grandson andPurnima Sharma’s son played byDeepak Sharma. If Raghavan Nairlooked resplendent as King Ramathen Deepak with Keerat Mann asSita and Raghavan himself nowplaying the role of King Dashrathawas equally impressive. It wasdirected by Raghavan Nair andstaged by the actors of his danceschool Asian Dance Centre.

Purnima Sharma, daughter ofRaghavan Nair and the force behind‘Ramayana’, is the proud carrier of

the family tradition. The tale of epicRamayan is a story of Lord Ramaand Sita with its protagonists fight-ing out the demons and finally call-ing it the victory of ‘good overevil’. The role of Manthra waspowerfully played by Purnima her-self, and again she appeared in therole of Shabri in the emotionalscene of her feeding Lord Ramawith her tasted berries as Lakshmanwas aghast seeing Rama eating themheartily from the hands of his lovingdevotee. The audience would haveliked some scenes of Ahilaya and ofthe fight between King Bali andSugreeva even in passing.

Ramayana was superb as a con-tinuous story enacted through

dances, drama and actors playingemotive scenes through mimicry,facial expressions and acting as‘Chaupai’ from Ramayana wereplayed in the background. Twoscenes that will stay etched in mem-ory for a long time will be Manthraplotting with Kaikeyi and that ofJatayu chasing Ravana and beingkilled. The stage settings werequickly and ably changed fromscene to scene, at times the actorsthemselves bringing in items andquickly getting into the act. Scenesfollow in quick succession, eachactor fully immersed in the role –Kaikeyi, Kaushalya, little cuteRama as a child, King Dashratha,Manthra, Lakshmana,

Saroopnakha, Ravana and Jatayuand Hanuman to name a few.Ravana looked big and furious andso did his unruly demon courtierwhile Mandodiri, his wife, is kind,gentle and reminds him how tobehave with women as he threatensSita with dire consequences if shedoes not relent to his amorousdemands. Oh, what an excellentperformance by one and all. Monthsand months of preparation has seenRamayana unfold into a seasonedand an excellent dance drama asPurnima implored on stage, “Weshould support local artists asopposed to Bollywood shows andappreciate the hard work put in bythe young generation here.”

By Tama Sarkar

“Reach high, for stars lie hidden in you.Dream deep, for every dream precedes thegoal”.

A beautiful quote by RabindranathTagore or ‘Gurudev’ as we call him.

Amultitalented poet, short-story writer,song composer, novelist, playwright,essayist, and painter, Tagore left such

an indelible mark socially and culturally thateven now even 73 years after his passingaway Bengalis in the land down under 6,000miles away from India lovingly pay homageto him on his birth anniversary (which fell onMay 9) by showcasing his songs, poems anddramas on stage. The Bengali Association ofNSW celebrated his 153rd birth anniversaryin Sydney at the Pennant Hills CommunityCentre on 17 May 2014 with love and enthu-siasm. Rabindra Jayanti as his birth anniver-sary is called, is an event that is looked for-ward to by all Rabindra Sangeet lovers. Thisyear BANSW invited Aditi Gupta – a singerfrom the now popular Dakshinee Institute inKolkata, who transformed the evening intovery special soiree.

The evening’s performances were initiat-ed by local artists Manjari Ghosh and JayitaGhosh who were accompanied by Jeet Das onthe tabla and sang all time favourites like“Mahabishye mahakashe” , “Hridoyer ekul

okul dukul bheshe jai” and “Jodi tor dakshune keu na ashe tobe ekla cholo re”. Danceperformances by our very own junior artistsand tiny tots heart warmingly utilised thelocal talent and drive to showcase the“Rabindrik” culture and tradition thatBengalis are so proud of.

Tagore was one of India’s greatest poetswho was awarded the Nobel Prize forLiterature in 1913. His poetry stems from hisinsatiable love of nature and the dances thatwere performed during the evening were ded-icated to ‘Prakriti bandana” or an invocationof nature. Dances were choreographed byAjanta Bhattacharya.

An excellent rendition of “Karna KuntiSambad” followed the dance performances.

This dramatic poem, based on an episodein the Mahabharata, is from Tagore’s collec-

tion Kahini (1900).Tagore’s Karna is humanized to evoke

sympathy and elevated to the stature of anoble hero to whom the world had not donejustice. Sandip Bhattacharya and BarnaliChakraborty - our reciters for the evening -did marvellous justice to this creation byTagore.

Aditi Gupta has been critically acclaimedas one of the most promising RabindraSangeet singers of our times. She is a regularperformer on Doordarshan and All IndiaRadio and other major private TV channels.She has learned Rabindra Sangeet under thetutelage of Guru Shri Rana Guha Thakurta.

Her remarkable voice had the depth andmelody to transport a listener right to theheart of the song without a single externalthought intruding that joy. A perfect voice

indeed. Singing a mix of well known popularsongs like “Bhalobashi bhalobashi”, “Oamar desher mati”, “Krishnokoli amai tareiboli”, and not so well known pieces, she leftthe audience awestruck in their admirationand the adulation at the end of her perform-ance was very well deserved.

Aditi Gupta exuded a general air of excel-lent training, dedication and love for her art.All her songs were solo and yet the eveningwas far from tedious. Each song was perfect-ly rendered with feeling, brimming withmelody and in quick succession of each other,making the event thoroughly enjoyable andraising the bar for the future events thatBANSW will organise.

Deepak and Ravi Sharma as Rama and Laxman (Right) Poornima as the ardent devotee Shabri

Captivating performance from Sydney dancers.

Adit Gupta, famed Rabindra Sangeetsinger, was invited from Kolkata.

Bengali Association celebrates the birth anniversary of Gurudev Tagore


Cookery

Starters are an important part of anyparty. There is a saying, ‘That wellbegun is half done”. Start entertain-

ing your family and friends with a greatstarter and you have already won theiradmiration.

VEGETABLE SHELLS

Ingredients for the dough�1 cup plain flour�½ cup rice flour�½ tsp salt�¼ tsp baking powder�2 tabs oil�Milk as required�Oil for fryingIngredients for the filling�1 potato boiled, peeled and diced�1 cup frozen peas�1 capsicum diced�1 spring onion�¼ cup coriander leaves chopped�1 tabs mint leaves chopped�Salt to taste�½ tsp cumin seed powder�1 tsp lemon juice�50 grams of cheese cut into small

cubesMethodMix the flours, baking powder and

salt. Sieve the mixture to remove anylumps. Add oil and mix in till the mixtureis uniform. Add milk in small quantityand mix to get soft dough. Cover with amoist cloth and keep aside.

Add all the filling materials in a mixingbowl. Mix well.

Divide the dough into 15 to 18 por-tions. Shape each portion into a ball. Rolleach ball to a round disk about 4 inchesdiameter. Use dry flour as required dur-ing rolling. Place 3 tsp of mixture in theone half of the disk. Fold the other halfover to enclose the mixture. Seal edges.

Deep fry these stuffed shells till goldenbrown on both sides. Serve hot withtomato sauce or tamarind chutney.

GOLDEN UMBRELLASIngredients for the marinade�400 grams of mushrooms�½ tsp garlic paste�Juice of 1 lemon�½ tsp black pepper freshly ground�1 tsp saltIngredients for the batter�1 cup plain flour�½ cup corn flour�½ tsp salt�½ tsp baking powder

�2 green chili chopped�1 cup corn flakes (crushed by hand)�½ cup coriander leaves chopped�½ cup grated cheese�Oil for fryingMethodPoke each mushroom with a fork light-

ly. Mix the marinade items and then addthe poked mushroom. Mix well so that themarinade covers each mushroom. Keepaside for ½ hour.

Mix in the plain flour, corn flour, bak-ing powder and salt. Sieve them toremove any lumps. Add all the batteringredients in a mixing bowl. Add waterin small quantity to make a medium con-sistency batter.

Insert a tooth pick in the stem of eachmushroom. Dip in the batter to cover themushroom and then roll in the crushedcorn flakes. Deep fry till golden brown.

Take a serving plate. Place half of acabbage to serve as a base. Stick themushrooms with a toothpick on the cab-bage to look like umbrellas. Serve withany sweet chili sauce.

MALAI MUSHROOM TIKKA

Ingredients�200 grams mushrooms�2 capsicums�4 slices of pineapple�4 Roma tomatoes300 grams carrot –

finely grated�Juice of 1 lemon�1tsp garlic paste�2 tabs thickened cream�1 tsp salt�3 green chili chopped�2 tsp mint paste�2 tsp coriander powder�1 tsp roasted and ground cumin

seeds1/4 coriander leaves chopped�1 tabs olive oil�½ tsp brown sugar�1 tabs bread crumbsMethodWash and wipe the mushrooms. Poke

the mushrooms by hand to allow the mari-nade to penetrate. Cut the capsicum andpineapple slices into quarters. Remove theinside seeds of the capsicum and cut eachquarter of capsicum into half to get about16 pieces. Cut slices of tomatoes.

Prepare the marinade by mixing all theingredients. Mix in the poked mush-

rooms, capsicum pieces, pineapple piecesand tomato slices in the marinade. Mixwell so that the marinade is applied to allmushrooms, capsicum, pineapple slicesand tomatoes. Keep aside for 1 hour.

Now place 1 mushroom, 1 piece ofcapsicum, 1 piece of pineapple and then 1piece of tomato slice on a skewer. Repeatthis combination so that all items are onskewers.

Preheat the oven to 200 degreesCelsius and bake the skewers for 15 min-utes.

Serve hot garnished with lemon andred onion wedges.

MOTI DANA CUTLETIngredients�3 cups kala chana boiled�½ cup frozen peas�1 onion chopped�2 green chili chopped�¼ cup coriander leaves chopped�1 inch ginger piece chopped finely�½ tsp garlic paste�½ cup bread crumbs�2 tsp lemon juice�1 tsp salt�½ tsp black pepper freshly ground�1 cup semolina�Oil for fryingMethodMash the boiled chana and peas togeth-

er with a hand masher. Add the onion,green chili, coriander leaves, ginger, gar-lic paste, bread crumbs, salt, pepper andlemon juice. Mix well and divide into 14to16 equal portions. Shape each portioninto a ball. Then flatten it between palms(parry or cutlet shape). Roll each patty insemolina to cover the outside.

Deep fry till golden brown on bothsides. Place over paper towel to removeany excess oil.

Serve hot with green salad (cucumber,tomato and onion) and garnished withlemon wedges.

MASALA DIPSIngredients�1 cup natural yoghurt�1 tsp red chili powder�½ tsp salt�1 tsp cumin seeds roasted and

ground�½ tsp Garam masala�2 green chili chopped�1 onion chopped�¼ cup coriander leaves chopped�1 tsp coriander powder�1-1/2 tabs oil�½ tsp mustard seeds�½ tsp kalonji (onion seeds)�6 to 8 curry leaves�1 tsp brown sugar�1 tabs mint leaves choppedMethodHeat oil in a non-stick pan. Add the

mustard seeds and onion seeds and cooktill they pop. Add onions and cook for acouple of minutes. Add red chili powder,coriander powder and Garam masala andcook for 1 minute. Remove from heat andallow to cool.

Place all the ingredients in a foodprocessor and blend to get a yummy dip.

Use this dip on crisp bread, toast orsnack biscuits.

For a crunchy feel, crushed nuts can beadded.

Starters and Dips

By Promila Gupta

Ghee: the newsuper food!

Ayurveda consid-ers ghee theultimate

cooking oil due toits cooking prop-erties, wonderfultaste and manyhealing benefits.Most of theAyurvedic medicines use ghee as a medium forabsorption as it helps deliver the phytochemi-cals of herbs directly into the cells.

With its rich, buttery taste and flavour youcan use half or two-thirds of ghee compared toother cooking oils. It also has a very highburning point and can be used to sauté, bake,deep-fry plus as a spread or topping. Gheecauses less load on liver and nourishes each andevery tissue of the body including liver whichis the hardest working organ.

It is being claimed as the new super foodand one can make herbal ghee at home usingby boiling herb:butter:water in the ratio of1:4:16 burnt gently on a low fire till only theghee remains. All the properties of herbs areabsorbed in the ghee. A Brahmi ghee is goodfor nerves. Trifla oil is for strong, healthy hairand stops the hair from going grey when usedinternally. For topical use one can use coconutoil instead of the butter.

Ghee, also known as clarified butter, is asemi-liquid form of butter with the water, lac-tose and other milk solids cooked out. Becauseit contains no water, it does not spoil easily anddoes not need to be refrigerated.

Ghee has many benefits for the body andmind:

�Loosens and liquefies the toxins andallows them to be released

�Carries the healing benefits of herbs,spices and foods deeper into the body

�Lubricates and moistens the membranesand tissues, protecting them from damage

�Lubricates the digestive system, aiding indigestion and assimilation of nutrients

�Promotes learning, memory and recall aswell as supporting a healthy vision, voice,intelligence and brain function

�Enhances immunity and helps maintaingood health, vitality and longevity

�Is excellent for balancing the Vata Doshawhich control all movement in the body and themind, including the nervous system

As we prepare to enter the Vata or fall sea-son which tends to dry you out, taking someextra oil in your diet can be helpful. Ghee canbe a wonderful ingredient to add into yourfoods, especially during this time of year.However, if you have high cholesterol or otherhealth concerns, check with your practitionerfirst.How to prepare ghee : Take 1 pound ofunsalted organic butter and put it in a heavy,medium-sized pan. Begin to melt the butter onmedium heat, then turn down enough that thebutter just boils gently. Continue to cook atthis heat, uncovered and stirring occasionally,for about 12-15 minutes. The butter will foamand sputter awhile then quiet down and eventu-ally begin to smell like popcorn and turn alovely golden colour.

Whitish curds will form on the bottom of thepot. When these whitish curds turn a light tancolour, the ghee is ready. Take it off the heatimmediately – for this is when the ghee willmost easily and likely burn. Burned ghee has anutty smell and a dull, slightly brownishcolour. Overall, the cooking time should notbe longer than 15-20 minutes depending onyour pan and heat source.


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Reiki is simple natural healing system through the laying onhands energy is channeled to the area most needed for bal-ance. Every treatment is different and healing occurs fromthe inside and out. Reiki with Manju is truly a positive andspiritual experience.

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Body-Mind-Spirit

Iam excited to write about anIndian spiritual guru known asMother Meera who may not be

so well known in Australia butthousands of people in Europe andthe United States have sought herblessings over the past 35 years.

My enthusiasm stems from thefact that she will be making a tourto four cities here in Australia derin June this year and I would notwant to miss the opportunity to gether silent darshan (blessings).

I had heard about her grace soI made a trip to her home locatedbeside a castle at SchlossSchumburg in the German munici-pality of Balduinstein in November2008.

Some see Mother Meera as theVirgin Mary, others as Jesus orBuddha or the Indian deities Kali,Durga or Krishna. Many peoplewho have met her have returnedwith wonderful experiences ofpeace, love, compassion and heal-ing.

They say that her gaze pene-trates the soul, heart and mind andher silence expresses the majesticpower of her love and purity. Herblessings are free but reservationsare required and should be madeby telephone several weeks inadvance as she only sees about 200people per session.

Mother Meera only givesblessings from Friday to Mondayfor two hours a day starting at7pm. Her requirements are visitorsshould come with washed hair anddressed in casual wear and cleansocks, and they must sit before herfor two hours in silence.

I made my way to her homeafter a one-and-a-half hour trainride from Frankfurt. I mentionedto the train ticket conductor I wasgetting off at Balduinstein and hereplied “Good ... so you are goingto see Mother Meera”.

Balduinstein is a small townwith a river flowing through it,and it is dotted with castles andcottage hotels (just like the imagesfound in fairytale books and post-cards). It is said the town’s eco-nomic activities are reliant on themany visitors who come to meet

Mother Meera throughout theyear.

People queue outside MotherMeera’s house before the blessingsession. I had made a reservationto meet her and took a 30 minutewalk through a narrow forest roadto her house located on a hill over-looking the picturesque LahnRiver valley.

There were people arriving inbusloads and at 6.15pm, ournames were checked with thereservation list before we wereallowed into the three-storey build-ing.

The moment I stepped foot init, I could feel it was a sacredspace as there was completesilence and I could smell the fra-grance of sandalwood incense.

As a first timer, I was urged tosit in the front row before a raiseddais surrounded by curtains andcarpets in soothing orange. Therewas no religious paraphernalia orimages of any deity displayed, norwas there any chanting of mantrasor devotional music. Everyone justwaited in the hall in completesilence.

There is strictly to be no talk-ing before and after darshan, noturning of heads, no crossing orextending legs and absolutely nofidgeting. Peace, relaxation andharmony are the themes encour-aged during her service. Childrenare disallowed but parents arerequested to pass on the energy totheir children.

Everyone stood up with handsclasped in prayer when MotherMeera, a pleasant-looking, tradi-tional Indian woman clad in anorange sari, arrived at 7pm. Shetook her seat on a comfortable sofaon the platform and started givingher darshan.

Her volunteers were allEuropean men and her timing fol-lowed German precision and I wasthe only non-European in thecrowd. When my turn came, Iapproached her and knelt downbefore her. She held my head withboth her hands for 10 seconds andlater gazed into my eyes for 30seconds. (Followers are requestedto look into her eyes as part of theblessing process).

Her eyes are powerful and Ihad difficulty concentrating onthem. As I moved away from her,it felt like a surge of energy hadjust entered my body. I alsorealised that she had spent an extrafew seconds on me, maybebecause I required more healing asI was down with a bad flu.

After receiving her darshan,many of her followers were smil-

ing, others were relieved and somewere even teary-eyed and in a stateof bliss.

When I asked why MotherMeera doesn’t talk, I was told thatthe most powerful transmission ofdivine energy and experiencecomes when the mind is quiet.Mother Meera offers blessings topeople of all faiths.

So what exactly does MotherMeera do in darshan?

According to her book, TheMother (published in English,German and French), on the backof every human being is a whiteline. In fact, two lines start fromthe toes and rise along the legs butthese join at the base of the spineto become a single line which goesup to the top of the head.

This line is finer than a strandof hair but sometimes it has knotsin it and spiritual gurus can help toundo these tangles. This is verydelicate work and great care has tobe taken because there is danger toyour life if the thread is broken.

When Mother Meera holds afollower’s head, she is “untyingthese knots and also removingother kinds of obstacles to spiritu-al practice and self-discipline”.

When she is finished with thetherapy, people look into her eyesin silence. With regard to this shesays: “I’m looking into every cor-ner of your being and I’m lookingat everything within you to seewhere I can help, where I can givehealing and power.”

Mother Meera was bornKamala Reddy, the daughter offarmer parents, in the village ofChandepalle in Andhra Pradesh,India, on December 26, 1960.Even as a child, she was excep-tional and her spiritual evolutionwas rapid. She is said to have hadher first samadhi (a state of com-

plete spiritual absorption) at theage of six, which lasted for awhole day.

When she was 12, her unclebecame convinced that she was theDivine Mother and started to takecare of her. In 1974, he took her tothe Sri Aurobindo Ashram inPondicherry, and this was whereshe first met Westerners and start-ed to give darshan. In 1981, shemade her first trip to WestGermany and married a local man

a year later.Over the years, she has come

to give grace and power to peoplefrom all walks of life and is seen asa healer and protector of followersfrom all faiths. Although MotherMeera is not a doer of miracles,many people have experiencedmuch satisfaction after seeing her.As for me, the bad flu I caught dueto the very cold weather disap-peared after my meeting with her.

I would like to urge all thosewho value the power of sight andsilence not to miss the opportunityto receive Mother Meera's bless-ings. Mother Meera will be atGold Coast on June 27 at 10am atCrowne Plaza, 2807 Gold CoastHwy Surfers Paradise QLD 4217,Canberra on June 28 at 10am atIbis Styles Hotel, 203 GoyderStreet, Narrabundah, ACT 2604,Sydney on June 29 at 10am atRoyal Motor Yacht Club, 46Prince Alfred Parade, NewportNSW 2106 and in Melbourne onJune 30 at 10am at Treacy Centre,126 The Avenue, Parkville VIC3052.

T. Selva is the author of thebestseller book Vasthu SastraGuide. To get a copy call Devi at0412 623 017 and he can be con-tacted at: [email protected]

VasthuSastra

By T. Selva

This is the picturesque town in Germany where Mother Meera lives.Her house is located on a hill beside the castle and overlooks

the pretty Lahn River valley.

Of Indian origin, Mother Meera gives silent darshan to remove obstacles to your spiritual practice and self-discipline.


To commemorate the chang-ing of the guard in Indiangovernance here are some

jokes and quotes on politics.

Politics is the art of looking fortrouble, finding it everywhere,diagnosing it incorrectly and apply-ing the wrong remedies.

-GROUCHO MARX

I want you to know that whenwe talk about war, we're reallytalking about peace.

-GEORGE W. BUSH

Politics, noun. A strife of inter-ests masquerading as a contest ofprinciples. The conduct of publicaffairs for private advantage.

-AMBROSE BIERCEIf we send industrialists to jail,

we would be discouraging invest-ment.

-- SALMAN KHURSHID,former Indian minister

We will let our friends be thepeacekeepers and the great countrycalled America will be the pace-makers.

-GEORGE W. BUSH

Political language is designed tomake lies sound truthful and mur-der respectable and to give anappearance of solidity to purewind.

-GEORGE ORWELL

To my understanding consump-tion of fast food contributes to suchincidents (rape) - chow mein leadsto hormonal imbalance evoking anurge to indulge in such acts.

--JITENDER CHHATAR, a Haryana man

I believe we are on an irre-versible trend towards more free-dom and democracy, but that couldchange.

-DAN QUAYLE

One should not be too adven-turous being a woman.

-SHEILA DIKSHIT

Politics is a pendulum whoseswings between anarchy and tyran-ny are fuelled by perpetually reju-venated illusions.

-ALBERT EINSTEINThe most perfect political com-

munity is one in which the middleclass is in control and outnumbersboth of the other classes.

-ARISTOTLE

In politics we presume thateveryone who knows how to getvotes knows how to administer acity or state. When we are ill, wedo not ask the handsomest physi-cian or the most eloquent one

-PLATO

Those who say religion hasnothing to do with politics do notknow what religion is.

--MAHATMA GANDHI

I always tell people that reli-

gious institutions and political insti-tutions should be separate. Sowhile I'm telling people this, I con-tinue with them combined.Hypocrisy.

--DALAI LAMA

The first panacea for a misman-aged nation is inflation of the cur-rency; the second is war. Bothbring a temporary prosperity; bothbring permanent ruin. Both are therefuge of political and economicopportunists.

--ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Believe you can and you'rehalfway there.

-THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Political power grows out ofthe barrel of a gun.

--MAO ZEDONG

An empty stomach is not agood political advisor.

--ALBERT EINSTEIN

We believe that to err is human toblame it on someone else is politics.

--HUBERT HUMPHREY

Hansne ki chah ne kitnamujhe rulaya hai. Changethe words of this immortal

Manna Dey song a bit. Husna kichah ne kitna mujhe rulaya hai(How much the desire to be beauti-ful has made me cry). That alsoholds true. These very sentimentshave been expressed time and againin a myriad ways by people, espe-cially women, in their quest forand trial of various beauty, skinenhancement, anti-aging, wrinkleerasing, hair growth, fairness andwhat have you products.

This series of mini articles willlook at what is really out there inthe name of beauty, whether it is askin care or bath product, deodor-ant or shampoo. What is lurking inyour lotions, nail polishes and yes,perfumes? Are there natural alter-natives out there? What exactly isnatural? These are not meant toscare you or make you paranoid,but to make you aware so you canmake informed choices.

That said, beauty is not skindeep, although the skin is thelargest organ in our bodies. A lotof our skin and hair problems arecaused by allergies, exposure to theelements, lack of vitamins andessential minerals, dehydration,toxins in our systems, chemicals inproducts and yes, stress. All theproducts in the world would beuseless if these problems are leftunaddressed.

What bothers me most is that inspite of the trade practice laws, aproduct can make all sorts ofclaims in an advertisement, be it ananti- aging cream or a lotion claim-

ing to remove wrinkles. All underthe loose definition of puffery inadvertising. The United StatesFederal Trade Commission (FTC)for example, defined puffery as a"term frequently used to denote theexaggerations reasonably to beexpected of a seller as to thedegree of quality of his product,the truth or falsity of which cannotbe precisely determined.”Hmmmm.

I will begin by saying, howabout if we were to wipe the slateclean. Imagine, as it were, thatthere was no product available, noads trying to convince you intobuying this or that miracle that willtransform you into a flawless,model version of yourself? Whatwould you do to moisturize yourskin, wash your hair, clean yourteeth, bathe? Go on; let your imag-ination run wild. Where would youstart? How about the kitchen, yourgarden, the grocery store, maybe?

Let’s see what’s in my kitchen -coconut oil, olive oil. What aboutthem? For this time I will take upthe amazing properties and benefitsof one of these two fantastic oils.By now you must have got the driftof where I am leading with this. Iam talking of natural, or if youprefer, natural alternatives, prod-ucts made of natural or non-harm-ful substances. I am asking you tostop and think, before you slatheron that paraben containing lotionoraluminum containing deodorant.What chemicals you are exposingyourself, your families, your chil-dren to. Okay, back to the wonderoil. Coconut oil can work wondersfor dry, damaged, can't-get-the-tangle-out hair and prevents frizz.That is because its fatty acids soft-en hair. It is also a greatmakeupremover - takes off the most stub-

born mascara with ease due to itsgentle grime-removing action andantibacterial properties.

Lip balm –the oil’s fatty acidscreate a barrier, locking moisturein, making a great lip balm. One ofthe properties of coconut oil is thatit is anti-fungal, great for cuticlesand helps make nails stronger. Theemollient nature of the coconut oilkeeps the cuticles soft. It doesn'thelp nails grow, but it can definite-ly keep them from becoming brit-tle. It makes a great scrub with saltor sugar, exfoliating and removingdead skin. As a moisturizer, notmany oils can match it. It is a won-derful skin cleanser, just by rub-bing some oil and steaming withwarm towels.

Soaps made with coconut andolive oil combined lather and mois-turize beautifully. It is one of themost sought after ingredients inlotions, shampoos and body butterstoday. So much for now, we willexplore other natural alternativesand some ethical issues concerningcommercially available products aswe go.By Meena Mahanty

Hansne ki chah ne kitna mujherulaya hai. Change the words ofthis immortal Manna Dey song abit. Husna ki chah ne kitna mujhe

rulaya hai (How much the desire tobe beautiful has made me cry).That also holds true. These verysentiments have been expressedtime and again in a myriad ways bypeople, especially women, in theirquest for and trial of various beau-ty, skin enhancement, anti-aging,wrinkle erasing, hair growth, fair-ness and what have you products.

This series of mini articles willlook at what is really out there inthe name of beauty, whether it is askin care or bath product, deodor-ant or shampoo. What is lurking inyour lotions, nail polishes and yes,perfumes? Are there natural alter-natives out there? What exactly isnatural? These are not meant toscare you or make you paranoid,but to make you aware so you canmake informed choices.

That said, beauty is not skindeep, although the skin is thelargest organ in our bodies. A lotof our skin and hair problems arecaused by allergies, exposure to theelements, lack of vitamins andessential minerals, dehydration,toxins in our systems, chemicals inproducts and yes, stress. All theproducts in the world would beuseless if these problems are leftunaddressed.

What bothers me most is that inspite of the trade practice laws, aproduct can make all sorts ofclaims in an advertisement, be it ananti- aging cream or a lotion claim-ing to remove wrinkles. All underthe loose definition of puffery inadvertising. The United StatesFederal Trade Commission (FTC)for example, defined puffery as a"term frequently used to denote theexaggerations reasonably to beexpected of a seller as to thedegree of quality of his product,the truth or falsity of which cannotbe precisely determined.”Hmmmm.

I will begin by saying, howabout if we were to wipe the slateclean. Imagine, as it were, thatthere was no product available, noads trying to convince you intobuying this or that miracle that willtransform you into a flawless,model version of yourself? Whatwould you do to moisturize yourskin, wash your hair, clean yourteeth, bathe? Go on; let your imag-ination run wild. Where would youstart? How about the kitchen, yourgarden, the grocery store, maybe?

Let’s see what’s in my kitchen -coconut oil, olive oil. What aboutthem? For this time I will take upthe amazing properties and benefitsof one of these two fantastic oils.By now you must have got the driftof where I am leading with this. Iam talking of natural, or if youprefer, natural alternatives, prod-ucts made of natural or non-harm-ful substances. I am asking you tostop and think, before you slatheron that paraben containing lotionoraluminum containing deodorant.What chemicals you are exposingyourself, your families, your chil-dren to. Okay, back to the wonderoil.

A funny game called politics

Inner Space

By Faith Harper

By MeenaMahanty

Beautywithout

Tears

Columns

Unfashionable coconut oil has multiple uses

Body-Mind-Spirit


By Jamuna Rangachari

Chakras mirror our entire life, whatwe have gone through, and wherewe stand today. They reflect the

level of our evolution. By working on themnot only do we heal ourselves, but alsoprogress faster on the spiritual path.

What are chakras?Chakra in English means wheel. There

are seven major chakras, each of which islocated in a specific area, has a specificname, and a specific set of functions. Theyregulate the energy flow throughout ourbodies, and also govern the seven majorendocrine glands and thereby, various partsof our bodies. They show us where we are,at any stage in life.

1. The mooladhara chakra(root chakra)

Related senses: SmellColour: RedMusical note: ‘Sa’ in the Indian system,‘Do’ in the Western systemBija mantra: LamAssociated diety: Ganesh

This chakra represents the feeling ofbeing grounded and secure. When out ofsync, it can lead to a feeling of nervousnesswhich is often encountered by people facinga new or challenging situation. Beginningat the base of the spine, our first chakra,mooladhara, translates from Sanskrit asroot or foundation. This makes sense,

because without a firm foundation one canfeel unstable and unsafe.

The root chakra’s element is Earth.This chakra is located in the perineum,between the anus and the sex organs. Theemotional issues related with this chakraare survival issues relating mostly to moneyand food. It controls the lymphatic and theskeletal system, sacral plexus which con-trols the bladder and elimination, and thelegs. The symptoms of imbalance in theroot chakra are disorders of the bowel andlarge intestine, eating disorders, depres-sion, immunity-related disorders, chroniclower back pain, and lack of energy.Affirmation: “I am always safe andsecure.”

Meditation on this chakraMeditate, telling yourself that your

needs will be looked after and that all iswell and safe. Visualise the colour red inthe region of the chakra and play the note‘sa’ if possible. Chant Lam at least threetimes.

2. Svadhisthana chakra(sacral chakra)

Related sense: TasteColour: OrangeElement: WaterMusical note: ‘Re’ in the Indian sys-

tem, ‘Re’ in the Western systemBija mantra: VamAssociated diety: VishnuSvadhisthana is a Sanskrit word that lit-

erally translates into ‘one’s own abode’ and

the root ‘svad’ also translates into, ‘to tastewith pleasure’, ‘to enjoy’, or ‘takedelight’. The svadhisthana holds your con-nection to your emotions, desire and sexu-ality. Located in the centre of the abdomen,this chakra is associated with the parts ofthe consciousness concerned with food andsex. It is about the body’s communicationto the Being inside, about what the bodywants and needs, and what it finds pleasur-able. This system controls the reproductivesystem, sexual organs and lumbar plexus.The sense associated with this chakra is thesense of taste and appetite. The imbalancesin this chakra could cause frigidity, impo-tence or gluttony.Affirmation: “I take pleasure in life.”

Meditation on this chakraMeditate telling yourself that your

needs will be looked after, and that all iswell and safe. Satisfy your need but notyour greed, yet do not deny yourself either.Visualise the colour orange in the region ofthe chakra and play the note ‘Re.’ ChantVam three times.

3. Manipur chakra (solar plexus)

Related senses: The sense of sightColour: YellowElement: FireMusical note: ‘Ga’ in the Indian system,‘Me’ in the WesternBija mantra: RamAssociated diety: Maharudra Shiva

“She has a fire in the belly,” is a phrase

we often hear. This is quite apt since thischakra, located in the belly region, is aboutpower.

The organs associated with this chakrainclude the muscular system, the skin, thelarge intestine, stomach, liver, pancreasand endocrine glands that exist in theregion of the solar plexus. It also impactsthe eyes, as the organs of sight, and theface. Consciousness associated with thischakra include power, control, freedom,and the ease with which one is able to behimself. Mental activity and the mentalbody is also associated with this chakra.The element associated with this chakra isfire and the sun. Imbalances in this chakracould result in diabetes or issues with eye-sight.Affirmation: “I own my power.”

Meditating on this chakraMeditate on being your true self without

the need to control or exercise power.Visualise the colour yellow in the region ofthe chakra and play the note ‘Ga.’ Chantthe seed mantra Ram three times.

4. Anahata chakra (heart chakra)

Related senses: The sense of touchColour: GreenElement: AirMusical note: ‘Ma’ in the Indian system,‘Fa’ in the Western systemBija Mantra: YamAssociated diety: Sada Shiva

While the first three chakras are entire-

By realizing the significance of our chakras and meditating upon them, we ensuregood health as well as onward spiritual progress, says Jamuna Rangachari


Body-Mind-Spirit

ly about one’s relationship with oneself,from the anahata onward, the chakras beginto deal with our relationship with others,and our perception of the world.

Located in the centre of the chest, thischakra is associated with the heart, the cir-culatory system, and the cardiac plexus, thelungs and the entire chest area. The glandassociated with this chakra is the thymusgland that controls the immune system.

Perceptions of love, relationships, relat-ing with people close to your heart, likeyour partner, siblings, parents, children,are identified with this chakra. Difficultywith breathing, or with the lungs, the organof air, indicates tension in the heart chakra.A person’s relationship with air reflects hisrelationship with love. AIDS is a problemwith the person’s perceptions of love, sinceit is the immune system which is affected.The person feels that their lifestyle sepa-rates them from those they love, oftenbecause of societal judgment.Affirmation: “I give and receive love”

Meditating on this chakraPerceive the love around you and

release all feelings of feeling unloved.Visualise the colour green in the region ofthe chakra and play the note ‘Ma’ if possi-ble. Chant Yam at least three times.

5. Vishuddha chakra (throat chakra)

Chakra: Vishuddha or cornucopia centreLocation: Base of the throatRelated senses: Sense of hearingColour: BlueElement: EtherMusical note: ‘Pa’ in the Indian system,‘So’ in the westernBija Mantra: Ham

Associated diety: IshwaraThis chakra relates to expressing and

receiving. Expression can be in the form ofcommunicating one’s needs and desires, orit can pertain to creative self-expressionsuch as art, dance or music. This chakracontrols the throat, neck, the arms, hands,and the bronchial or cervical plexus.Symptoms of its imbalance include thyroidand throat infections. The gland associatedwith it is the thyroid gland.Metaphysically, this chakra is related tocreativity, and manifesting in the physicalworld the fulfillment of one’s goals.Affirmation: “I express myself freely.”

Meditation on this chakraPerceive a sense of abundance with the

confidence that your voice will be heard.Visualise the colour blue in the region ofthe chakra. Play the note ‘Pa.’ Chant theseed mantra Ham three times.

6. Ajna chakra (third eye chakra)

Chakra: Ajna or consciousness awarenessLocation: Centre of the foreheadRelated senses: ESP or intuitionColour: IndigoElement: An inner sound – which is relat-ed to spiritual experience.Musical note: ‘Dha’ in the Indian system,‘La’ in the western techniquesBija Mantra: OmDeity: Ardhanareshwara

The Ajna chakra, our sixth chakra,translates to the command and perceptioncentre, and is where our intuition and innervoice resides. Represented by the elementof light and tied to our power of percep-tion, yogic poses can directly stimulate itsphysical location, which is centred just

above and between the eyes. Ajna chakracontrols the pituitary gland or the mastergland of the entire endocrine system. Itstands for the deep sense of being calledspirit.

Problems in the third eye chakra caninclude problems with the facial nerves,and tumours in the pituitary gland on aphysical level. Tensions at this level caninclude tensions about religion or spiritual-ity (too many rules, spiritual addiction toan organisation).

The element that corresponds to thischakra is ether, which is the crossoverbetween the physical world and the worldof spirit.Affirmation: I sense all that I need tosense.”

Meditation on this chakraPerceive the creator in you to reach a

higher level of understanding. Visualise thecolour indigo in the region of the chakraand play the note ‘Dha.’

Chant Om and think of both the mascu-line and feminine aspects of our personali-ty.

7. Sahasrara chakra (crown chakra)

Chakra: Sahasrara or cosmic conscious-nessLocation: Top of the headRelated senses: EmpathyColour: VioletElement: Inner lightMusical note: ‘Ni’ in the Indian system,‘Ti’ in the westernBija Mantra: OmDeity: Shiva

Sahasrara, means thousandfold, andrepresents our higher connection to the

Divine. Its location at the crown of thehead defines this chakra. Sahasrara chakracontrols the entire nervous system and itstands for our perceptions of unity or sepa-ration. An imbalance in this chakra relatesto one’s equation with people in authorityand could lead to issues in the nervous sys-tem, such as Parkinson’s and multiple scle-rosis.Affirmation: “The Divine will alwaysshow me the right path and direction.”

Meditation on this chakraWork on a balanced attitude towards

authority, making your feelings heard andowning your power. Visualise the colourviolet in the region of the chakra and playthe note ‘Ni,’ if possible. Chant Om andthink of Shiva. It is important that we main-tain a firm foundation in our lower threechakras. They signify safety and stabilitywhich need to be in place before we routethis energy to the upper chakras that repre-sent wisdom and higher order of things.

Yet chakras are not a magic wand forall ailments. We have to battle with ourkarma, the package that has been given tous now. My guru, Promila Gurtu, whotaught me chakra meditation, passed awaydue to cancer. Promila led a complete,wholesome life till the very end, despitebattling cancer.

Through the chakras, she had reached ahigher dimension of living, and guidedmany people towards the same path. Shepeacefully passed away to another worldhaving kept all her chakras in balance tillthe end. Like music, where all notes haveto be in perfect symphony for a melodiousrendition, our chakras too need to stay inbalance for us to enjoy a blissful life. Andthe secret of it is regular practice.

An authority on Ayurveda, Jyotish and Tantra, this inspirational speaker & author has been much sought after around the world.

Promises to be an exceptional event

An evening with Dr Robert Svoboda Friday 13th June 6pm - 9pm

Q & A Moderated by Dr Mark DonohoeSydney Masonic Centre, Goulburn St Sydney

Cultivating Prana Inside You Saturday 14th June 9.30am - 4.30pm

with special guest Simon Borg-OlivierVibe Hotel, Goulburn St Sydney

Cultivating Prana Outside You: Insights into VastuSunday 15th June 9.30am till 3pmVibe Hotel, Goulburn St Sydney

$60 Friday Evening Only / $580 Full Weekend inc Fridaywww.ayurvedayogaaustralia.com

02 9634 1677This will be his only speaking appearances in Oz this year

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Column

Indians can't get enough of spicy pizza

Wherever we live in theworld, there's onething you can say

about almost all Indians: we lovespicy food. If it doesn't makeour tongues burn or eyes water,we're likely to send it back tothe kitchen. And if you don'tbelieve me, just go to the ColdStone Creamery in Hoboken,New Jersey, and ask them aboutthe college student from Indiawho ordered a cup of vanilla icecream. When the server askedhim what "mix-ins" he wanted,he responded, "Do you havecrushed red pepper?"

Well, perhaps most of usdon't want our desserts to behot, but everything else is fair

game. Food companies andrestaurant chains who want tocater to us had better pay heed tothis. They could all learn a les-son from Domino's Pizza, whichoperates 650 restaurants in Indiaand sells eight million pizzaseach month. That's enough piz-zas to feed every single personin Mumbai – and even some ofthe married folks too.

Domino's has been so suc-cessful that its CEO, J. PatrickDoyle, recently predicted thatIndia, in a few years, will over-take Britain as the largest marketoutside the U.S. How popular ispizza in India? Well, a recenttelephone survey of middle-classIndians found that pizza wasoverwhelmingly their favoriteforeign food. Not only did 60percent of respondents say theylove "pizza," another 15 percentsaid they love "peeja."

Domino's offers a variety ofvegetarian and non-vegetarianpizza choices in India. Amongthe popular choices are "spicydelight" and "keema do pyaaza,"as well as "peppy paneer,"described on the menu as"chunky paneer with crisp cap-sicum and spicy red pepper." Ifyou think the paneer is chunky,

wait till you see my relativeswho keep ordering it.

Other popular choices include"spicy chicken," described as"hot and spicy chicken with redpepper that adds an extrapunch," and "5 pepper," which,according to the Domino's web-site, is "topped with red bellpepper, yellow bell pepper, cap-sicum, red paprika, jalapeno &sprinked with exotic herb." I'venever heard of "sprinked," but itsounds delectable.

I looked all over the website,but didn't see any Bhut Jolokiapizza. Bhut Jolokia, as you prob-ably know, is one of the world's

hottest chili peppers, grown inthe Indian states of Assam,Nagaland and Manipur. Theomission of Bhut Jolokia on themenu means, of course, that notall Domino's customers in Indiaare happy with their pizza.

Customer: "Hello, I wouldlike to make a complaint."

Domino's employee: "Pleasegive it to me, sir. I will pass iton to our 'Not Hot Enough'Department in Bangalore."

Customer: "You have a 'NotHot Enough' Department?"

Employee: "Yes, it used tobe called the ComplaintDepartment, but every complaint

was about pizzas not being hotenough. A few complaints wereabout cold pizzas – our deliverydrivers sometimes get stuck intraffic – but most were aboutpizzas that aren't spicy enough. Iassume that's what your com-plaint is about."

Customer: "Yes, I orderedyour '5 pepper' pizza but it was-n't hot enough. Instead of cryingfrom happiness, I was laughingfrom disappointment. I will bevery pleased if Domino's canadd Bhut Jolokia to the pizza andcall it '5 alarm' pizza.'"

Employee: "That sounds likea great idea. Any other com-plaints or suggestions?"

Customer: "Yes, you knowthat tomato sauce that you put onall your pizzas, under thecheese? Well, have you everthought of using vindaloo currysauce?"

Employee: "Yes, we tried itonce. But we almost killed atourist from America."

Customer: "Didn't you warnhim?"

Employee: "Yes, we did. Buthe said he was from Texas andnothing scared him. You shouldhave seen him running for thefire extinguisher."

THE HUMOR OF MELVIN DURAI


Cricket

GAURAV JOSHI picks the winners, and thatRajasthan Royals will liftthe trophy.

After nearly 50 odd games acrosstwo different countries, IPL 7 is atthe business end. Out of the eight

teams, three have a guaranteed spot in thesemi finals (Punjab, Chennai, Rajasthan),two are still jostling for the final spot(Kolkata, Bangalore) while the other three(Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad) can startplanning for the next IPL auction.

Before the IPL began, all eyes werefocussed on the player auction held on the14th February in Bangalore. Not surpris-ingly, the teams that purchased wisely are

the ones that will qualify for the semi-finals.

Stand Out Team: Kings XIPunjab

Punjab Kings XI has been the standout andexceeding everyone’s expectation includ-ing their own. They have surged on backof a tidal wave named Glenn Maxwell.The Australian all-rounder was instrumen-tal in kick-starting their season and sincethen his young team mates have performedadmirably. Any team that can score 200 onfour occasions in just over 10 matches is abatting powerhouse. They have done itwithout playing a single game at home.

Stand Out Player: Glenn MaxwellMad Max, Big Show or Maxi, call himwhatever you wish, the man from Kew,Victoria is phenomenal. Maxwell hasamassed over 500 runs at a strike-rate ofnearly 200, which includes four scores inthe nineties. He has sent the crowd intoraptures and his arrival at the crease hasbeen greeted with the same noise asreceived by the great Sachin Tendulkar.

Stand Out Bowler: Yuzvendra Chahal

Like Maxwell, Chahal was part of theMumbai Indians winning squad last yearbut was deprived of opportunities. Sincebreaking through in the Bangalore team,the former chess champion has used hisbrain to outfox some of the elite batsmen inthe IPL. He has managed to keep the great-est wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan outof the eleven and out-bowled leg spinnersMishra, Tambe, Karan Sharma andChawla. With 14 wickets and an economyrate of under seven, despite bowlingarguably on the flattest wicket inBangalore, the man from Haryana mightjust attract a decent sum of money in thenext auction.

Stand Out Fielder: Faf Du PlessisThe South African has been a revelation,two of this catches feature in top fivecatches in the IPL. Add it to his groundfielding inside the circle at the start of aninnings and then his boundary riding in thedeath overs has been a coaching exhibi-tion. The amount of runs he has saved has

changed the fortune of matches on at leastthree occasions given Chennai has wonfour games in the last over of the match.

Best Partnership: Dwayne Smithand Brendon McCullum(Chennai Superkings)

The West Indian dynamo and the Kiwicaptain are amongst the top five in theleading run scores in the IPL. The pair isaveraging 39 in 4.2 overs at the start ofeach innings. Between them they have hitnearly 50 sixes with a combined strike rateof 132. The pair has also added more than 50 forthe opening wicket on more than fouroccasions making them the most outstand-ing opening pair in IPL 7.

Game of the Tournament:Chennai Superkings vs Punjab

Kings XI (Abu Dhabi)T20 is batsmen’s game and there is

nothing the spectators love more than abatting shoot out. Batting first, Chennaiscored 205. But Punjab chased it downwith six balls to spare. One of the firstgames of the tournament, it was the start ofthe Maxwell and Punjab juggernaut. It hadexhilarating stroke play, quality fieldingand importantly entertainment for thepacked stadium in Abu Dhabi. It was justthe game IPL 7 needed to kick-start thetournament.

Team of the IPL (only four foreign play-ers permitted): Dwayne Smith, RobinUttappa, Ajinkya Rahane, Glenn Maxwell,AB De Villers, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav,Bhuveshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma,Yuvendra Chalal, Sunil Narine.

Highlights of IPL 7

Prediction: Rajasthan Royals tobe the champions.

Glenn Maxwell

Yuzvendra Chahal

Dwayne Smithand Brendon McCullum

The Kersi Meher-Homji column


Can India regain top ranking in cricket

By Kersi Meher-Homji

IPL is holding the centre stage in cricket asI type but come June and internationalcricket will resume. India will have a

busy schedule playing three one-day interna-tionals (ODIs) in Bangladesh starting from15th June and then tour England for fiveTests, three ODIs and one Twenty20 interna-tional from 9th July to 7th September.

How will India go in England? Will theywipe off the humiliating memory of 2011when they had lost 0-4 by big margins?Before I answer this, let us do some time-travelling from 2011 till now. What a roller-coaster ride it has been! Here is the Timelineof India’s ups and down in the last threeyears:

�Won the World Cup in Mumbai inApril 2011, beating the strong Sri Lankans inthe Final.

�Unconvincingly beat the West Indies 1-0 with two drawn Tests in West Indies in June– July 2011.

�Ranked No. 1 in Test cricket, Indiawas whitewashed 0-4 by England in Englandin July – August 2011.

�Defeated West Indies 2-0 in India inNovember 2011.

�India was whitewashed 0-4 byAustralia in Australia in December 2011-January 2012.

�India beat New Zealand 2-0 in India inAugust - September 2012.

�England beat India 2-1 with one Testdrawn in India in November – December2012.

�India whitewashed Australia 4-0 inIndia in February – March 2013. A sweetrevenge!

�India slaughter West Indies 2-0 in Indiain November 2013. The series is made mem-orable by Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell in theMumbai Test; his 200th Test in which hescored 74 and made an inspiring speech.

�South Africa beat India 1-0 with oneTest drawn in South Africa in December

2013.�New Zealand beat India 1-0 with one

Test drawn in February 2014.The trend is familiar, India wins Tests

played at home and loses Tests played over-seas. The two exceptions in the last threeyears were India beating West Indies in WestIndies in June – July 2011 and England beat-ing India in India 2-1 in November –December 2012. As India will be touringEngland for the Pataudi Trophy in July, let usconcentrate on the England – India Testmatches. Of the 107 Tests played from 1932till now, England has won 40, lost 20 with 47drawn. They have played 52 Test in England,the home team winning 27 and losing fivewith 20 drawn. And out of 55 played in India,

India leads 15-13with 27 drawn. Thelast time India hadwon a Test series inEngland was in 2007when India underRahul Dravid hadwon 1-0 with twoTests drawn.

India determined to reverse their 2011 whitewash in England

�Highest total for England: 7 declared for 710, Birmingham, 2011.�Highest total for India: 664, The Oval, 2007.�Most runs for England: 1725 by Graham Gooch at 55.64 in 19 Tests with

5 centuries.�Most runs for India: 2535 by Sachin Tendulkar at 51.73 in 32 Tests with7 centuries.�Highest individual innings for England: 333 by Graham Gooch, Lord’s1990.�Highest individual innings for India: 224 by Vinod Kambli, Mumbai,1992-93.�Most wickets for England: 62 by Bob Willis at 23.24 in 17 Tests, and 62by Derek Underwood at 27.40 in 20 Tests.�Most wickets for India: 95 by BS Chandrasekhar at 27.27 in 23 Tests.�Best bowling in an innings for England: 8 for 31 by Fred Trueman,Manchester, 1952.Best bowling in an innings for India: 8 for 55 by Vinoo Mankad, Chennai,1951-52.India under MS Dhoni, promising batsmen Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara,Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay... and bowlers / all-rounders RavichandranAswin and Ravi Jadeja should go well in England as they are brimming withconfidence. On the other hand, England is shaken up after being whitewashed0-5 by Australia in Australia a few months ago. The first Test between Indiaand England starts on 9th July at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. I can hardly wait.

Vital statistics for Tests between India and England

Tendulkar has scored the most runs for India against England: 2,535 in 32 Tests.Kambli holds the record of highest individual innings score: 224 (1992-93).

India under MS Dhoni, promising batsmen Kohli, Pujara, Dhawan, and bowlers / all-rounders Aswin and Jadeja should go well in England as they are brimming with confidence.

BSChandrasekharhas taken themost wicketsfor IndiaagainstEngland: 95 in 23 Tests.


The Kersi Meher-Homji column

Thanks to Twenty20 cricket, especiallyIPL and Big Bash League, sixes aredime a dozen these days. But in the

past sixes were rare and had a specialappeal, comparable to sex appeal. Well,almost!

First-class cricket was played for 153years before the great West Indian GarrySobers playing for Nottinghamshire hitGlamorgan’s Malcolm Nash for six sixes ina six ball over at Swansea on 31 August1968. This was the first instance in first-class cricket and has been achieved onlyonce since by Bombay’s Ravi Shastri againstBaroda’s Tilak Raj in Bombay in 1984-85.

Grahame Lloyd’s 232-page book:Howzat? The Six Sixes Ball Mysteryrevolves round that famous six-ball over byNash to Sobers. It is not so much aboutthose sixes but about the ball which was hit.Imagine a book on six balls lasting about tenminutes!

It is more than a cricket book. It is inves-tigative journalism involving interviews withabout hundred individuals connected withthis so-called conspiracy, perhaps a “scam”.

Scam? I can imagine you jumping out ofyour chair and skin! It has nothing to dodirectly with the cricketers, let me assureyou. Here is the run down.

History was made 38 years after thosesix sixes were skied by Sobers in a six ballover. In 2006 the ball, supposedly smashedaround Swansea by the West Indies legend,was sold for a world record £26,400 at thereputed auctioneer Christie’s in London.

Author Lloyd states that it could nothave been the correct one because it was ofthe wrong make. “It saddened me to discov-er one indisputable, incontrovertible fact:the ball sold by Christie’s for £26,400 in2006 was not the actual ball bowled byNash.” It could not have been the genuinearticle because it was the wrong make –manufactured by Duke rather than bySurridge, states Lloyd categorically andadds, “I was also aware that only one ballhad been used in this over, not three asclaimed by Christie’s.”

Lloyd is very thorough in his investiga-tion interviewing all the players and organ-isers involved in that 1968 match, especiallybowler Nash and batsman Sobers. Sobershad signed the certificate of authenticity.Both stated that only one ball was used inthat famous “six-sixes” over.

The author found a Glamorgan newslet-ter dated December 1968, which included anarticle titled “A World Record clutch ofSixes”. The crucial sentence in the reportread:

“Glamorgan presented this ball, whichwas made at the home of Stuart Surridge,the former Surrey captain, to Nottingham toreside in a place of honour in their SportingMuseum.”

So the Duke ball auctioned by Christie’scould not be the authentic ball. ManyGlamorgan players of the 1960s vintageagreed that only Surridge balls were used in

matches. When Sobers was asked by areporter from Nottingham Evening Post in2008 if he could remember the ball he hadgiven to John Gough, the then secretary ofNottinghamshire Supporters’ Association,he replied, “How can I? That was 40 yearsago. I never saw it until two years ago whenshe [Jose Miller, John Gough’s successor]brought it.”

The narration goes on like a detectivestory, a cricketing “whodunit”, as the authoris certain that the auctioned ball was not thegenuine article. The ball eventually ends upin India. The author knew about it throughBernard Shapero, an antique book dealerfrom London, that the ball had been sent toIndia where it was caught up in custom. Itwas later resold for less than half the price.The details are in the book.

A professional broadcaster and a jour-nalist for more than 30 years, GrahameLloyd is an author of eight books, four ofthem self-published. In this book he makes a

point and goes on in detail to prove it.Lloyd concludes, “It seemed to be a

story of blissful ignorance and innocence;naivety and even stupidity, of incompetence,perhaps even negligence; and of less-than-diligent research, probably opportunism -but not of fraud.”

It is doubtful whether the genuineSurridge ball hit by Sobers in 1968 will everbe found.

My question to TIDU readers: why buya ball (or a bat or a glove) for £26,400? Itmay turn out to be genuine or a fake. I can’tunderstand collectors, throwing moneyaway just to show off to friends and / orclients. Or is it a money-making gimmick?They can resell it to another collector fiveyears later at double the price?

Signed copy of Howzat? The Six SixesBall Mystery is available from authorGrahame Lloyd at [email protected] for £15 plus postage and packag-ing.

Book Review

First-class cricket was played for 153 years before the great WestIndian Garry Sobers playing for Nottinghamshire hit Glamorgan’s

Malcolm Nash for six sixes in an over on 31 August 1968.

In 2006 the six-sixes famed ball was sold for a world record £26,400 by Christie’s in London. The Duke make ball was certified bySobers himself as the genuine article. But the investigating author reports that many Glamorgan players of the 1960s vintage agreed

that only Surridge balls were used in matches those days.

Garry Sobersplaying thatlegendarysix-sixes, six ball over.

The bowler,MalcolmNashwho wassmashed forsix sixes.

Howzat? The Six Sixes Ball Mystery byGrahame Lloyd (Celluloid Ltd., UK, 2013)

indian down under june-july 2014 e paper

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