Indian Weekender Issue 55

Indian June 17, 2011 Volume 3, No. 5

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www.iwk.co.nz

Community | 10Jaipur team fulfills

dreams‘ranvir is a good

dad’ - Konkana

Bollywood | 21Fiji | 18Gift of education

New Zealand’s first Indian weekend magazine

The Pulse of Kiwi Indians

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IndianNew ZealaNd

Wellington: Developing an already strong relationship and boosting two way trade will be the focus of Prime Minister John Key’s upcoming visit to India.

The Prime Minister will be ac-companied by Minister of Trade, Tim Groser, and a 25-strong busi-ness delegation from New Zealand.

“India is a rapidly rising player in the Asia-Pacific region, and we want to build on our already strong eco-nomic, social and sporting ties. This visit demonstrates the value New Zealand places on the relationship.

“Leading such a diverse and high-profile delegation to visit India’s largest cities is exciting, and will open many doors for New Zealand business,” says Mr Key.

The Prime Minister will meet India’s Prime Minister Singh in New Delhi. Discussions will be wide-

ranging, but are likely to focus on making further progress on the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agree-ment (FTA) negotiations.

“The trade potential of the India market is huge and we have set a target of growing two-way trade from NZ$1.28 billion to NZ$3 billion by 2014.

“We want greater engagement across a range of sectors, including science and innovation, Bollywood-NZ film co-productions, defence, tourism and education,” says Mr Key.

The Prime Minister will also promote the government’s India strategy which aims to position India as a core political, economic and trade partner for New Zealand by 2015. The strategy has been de-veloped by government agencies in consultation with business, export-ers and academics.

“The key to this strategy is to successfully negotiate an FTA with India - one of our top trade negotiat-ing priorities. This will help expand businesses, create jobs and result in a stronger New Zealand economy,” says Mr Key.

India New Zealand Business Council Chairman Wenceslaus Anthony told Indian Weekender that the council would take advantage of the opportunity to further raise its profile in India and New Zealand, so as to most favourably reflect on and enhance the interests of its members.

INZBC is the longest-established New Zealand business association that exclusively promotes, develops and maintains bilateral trade, busi-

The Financial Markets Authority has certified Ravi Mehta of Professional Financial Services as an Authorised Financial Adviser. Mr Mehta is a popular, long time Indian Weekender columnist. The certification is with effect from July 1, 2011, a date after which only authorised financial advisers will be able to do financial planning and offer advice. The advisers who are only registered but not authorised will not be allowed from this date.

Accountant wins certification

trade, Fta will be focus of Pm’s india visit

“The trade poten-tial of the India market is huge and we have set a target of growing two-way trade from NZ$1.28 billion to NZ$3 billion by 2014.

ness and services rela-tionships between India and New Zealand.

“The council is inde-pendent, inclusive, credi-ble, resourceful, political-ly influential and relevant to NZ-India and the only one of its kind in New Zealand. The members represent a wide range of business, sectors and in-dustry including compa-nies like Fonterra, Solid Energy and KPMG,” Mr Anthony said.

INZBC is seeking to increase and deepen the range of Indian-based collaborations that of FICCI such as a recent connection with IBEF and also explore the pos-sibility with other like-minded or-ganisations, Mr Anthony added.

The Prime Minister and his del-

egation will leave for India on June 26 and return on July 1. They will visit New Delhi, Agra and Mumbai on the trip, which has generously been accorded ‘state visit’ status by the Government of India.

Mr AnthonyPrime Minister John Key

4 Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

GOPIO chapters worked hard selling raffle tickets to raise the funds over the past several weeks. The raffle draw was held at a function at Sangeet Restaurant on June 12, which GOPIO members, St John Ambulance personnel and sponsors were present.

The raffle was drawn by Glen Green and Michelle from There’s Better Way, a Commumity organisation, that is suc-cessfully working with youth groups in central Auckland.

The proceeds of the raffle will go to-ward the fund being pooled in by the Kiwi Indian community across New Zealand toward the fully equipped ambulance for the St John ambulance service, which is expected to cost about $160,000. Indian

Weekender is proud to have initiated this community project.

Speaking at the function, GOPIO President Rakesh Gupta commended the hard work put in by all the chapters led by their respective presidents in their efforts to raise the funds. The organisa-tion has been working relentlessly toward fund raising for community causes.

On April 17, the GOPIO executive committee handed a chenque of $5350 to Red Cross NZ toward its fund for the victims of the Christchurch earthquakes. In addition, GOPIO NZ members have also contributed personally in cash and provided assistance to Cantabrians directly through Red Cross and other organisations. The organisation’s Waikato

chapter held all Faith prayers during the difficult times.

Indian Weekender publisher Giri Gupta praised GOPIO NZ for time and efforts toward the fundraising activity. “This is a project for the larger community by the Indian community in gratitude for the great opportunities New Zealand has of-fered Kiwi Indians,” he said.

GOPIO’s Marketing Co-Chairman Sunny Kaushal proposed a vote of thanks at the function.

The prizes drawn were as follows: 1st Prize: 0516 Ticket sold by GOPIO

Auckland Central. Winner: Cheryl Ja-cobsen from Fisher & Paykel. The prize, a 50’’ PanasonicPlasma TV, was spon-sored by Global Finance Services Ltd.

2nd Prize: 0762 Ticket sold by GOPIO Auckland Central. Winner: Ravi Mehta from Price Waterhouse Coopers. The prize, an I-Pad, was sponsored by Patton Refrigeration Ltd.

3rd Prize: 1094 Ticket sold by GOPIO Botany. Winner: Arthav Saluja. The “Mys-tery Weekend for two in New Zealand” prize was jointly sponsored by Travel Design Ltd and GOPIO.

4th Prize: 1265 Ticket sold by GOPIO Botany. Winner: Phil Evans. The prize: a weekend stay for two including breakfast at Stamford Plaza Hotel (June-Aug 2011).

5th Prize: 0709 Ticket sold by GOPIO Auckland Central. Winner: Avneel Rohit. The prize: Dinner for 4 value $200 at San-geet Restaurant (sponsored by Sangeet).

New Zealand

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ambulance project & help the community...

New Zealand’s Broadcasting Standards Au-thority has fined Television New Zealand (TVNZ) ordering it to pay $3000 costs for former Breakfast host Paul Henry’s remarks about Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit on October 1 last year.

Henry had re-peatedly mispro-nounced the Chief Minister’s last name and added derisive comments amid hysterical laughter. He said the name was “so appropri-ate because she’s Indian, so she would be dick in shit” when walking the streets.

The remarks caused a stir in not just Indian but in global media circles. The Indian government reacted strongly enough to elicit an official apology from the New Zealand gov-ernment. “We consider that Mr Henry’s repeated ridicule of Ms Dikshit’s name amounted to a sustained and deliberate attack against the Chief Minister personally.

“His subsequent comment, which associ-ated the words “dick shit” with people of Indian descent was not only derogatory but entirely dissonant with common decency

and a clear breach of the discrimination and deni-gration standard,” the authority has ruled.

It called his comments “not only derogatory but entirely dissonant with common decency and a clear breach of the dis-crimination and denigra-tion standard.”

The authority’s de-cision said Henry’s manner, which included sneering and uncontrol-lable laughter during the segment, worsened his offence.

“In our view, the breaches called for a firm and unqualified accep-tance that the comments were unacceptable, and for a prompt and un-equivocal statement and apology broadcast on Breakfast.”

The authority agreed with the complainants that an order requir-ing TVNZ to broadcast a statement con-taining a comprehensive summary of its decision was warranted.

TVNZ fined for Henry’s Sheila Dikshit comment

GoPio raises funds for community ambulance

GOPIO members at last Sunday’s meeting before the raffle draw

New Zealand’s Broadcasting Standards authority has fined Television New Zealand (TVNZ) ordering it to pay $3000 costs for former Breakfast host Paul Henry’s remarks about delhi Chief Minister Shiela dikshit

GOPIO NZ (Global Organisation of Persons of Indian Origin) successfully raised over $7000 toward efforts by New Zealand’s Indian community to add a fully equipped ambulance to the St John fleet.

Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz 5

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Auckland: Indian software giant Infosys Technologies’ Australian subsidiary has bought the software solutions practice of Telecom’s Gen-i business for NZ$5 million, ac-cording to a report in The Times of India.

Gen-i is part of the Telecom New Zealand Group. Infosys is of-fering positions to more than 110 employees and contractors affected by the takeover. The staff in Auck-land, Wellington and Christchurch will expand Infosys’ New Zealand team to more than 150 people. It has plans to hire an extra 15 to 30 people. The employee base includes senior developers, technical ar-chitects and consultants. Infosys

opened its first New Zealand office in 2009 in Wellington and current-ly employs some 40 workers. The current management team will lead New Zealand delivery for Infosys, with Patrick Kouwenhoven, cur-rently Gen-i’s head of software solu-tions, appointed to run New Zealand operations under the leadership of Ashok Mysore, associate vice presi-dent, Infosys. The deal involves an ongoing partnership arrangement between the two companies.

“The partnership is expected to add revenue of NZ$12 million for the current financial year. We expect the deal to close by July 1, 2011,” V Balakrishnan, CFO of Infosys told the Times of India.

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Infosys buys NZ software outfit

ExportNZ is increasing its focus on growing opportunities in India by entering a partnership with the India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC).

Catherine Beard, Executive Di-rector of ExportNZ says the new agreement will create a strong al-liance focusing on maximising the benefits of the anticipated freer trading environment (FTA negotia-tions with India are underway) with one of the world’s fastest growing economies. “Working in close co-operation with the INZBC will add huge value to the services we can offer our members. In effect, INZBC will be our specialist unit serving the Indian market.

“The recent visit by Indian Com-merce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma highlighted the potential India holds as a trading partner for New Zealand. As the Minister pointed out, India is a land of limit-less opportunities.

“After meeting with NZ Trade Minister Tim Groser, they agreed that trade could triple from the current $1 billon a year to $3 billon by 2014, and identified tourism and education as key areas for increased cooperation.”

INZBC Chairman Wenceslaus Anthony says the partnership opens up huge opportunities for our members and contributes directly to mainstreaming INZBC activities

across all sectors of the economy.“We are also working on key

partnerships with major India based business associations and all of these will dramatically expand NZ-India trade and add value to the members of both organisations.”

While ExportNZ and the INZBC will work together offering services and activities to their members, they will retain their individual autono-my and operate independently.

INZBC inks Export NZ partnership

INZBC Chairman Wenceslaus Anthony and Catherine Beard, Executive Director of ExportNZ

The Roskill Youth Zone (RYZ), a dedicated space for the young people of Wesley, was officially opened by the Mayor and Prime Minister last Wednesday.

The new $3million facility, de-signed with input from local youth, offers study rooms, kitchen fa-cilities, basketball and recreation spaces, as well as music practice and performance rooms.

Mayor Len Brown said at the plaque-unveiling ceremony, “there is a huge amount of talent and poten-

tial among Auckland’s young people and it is important we support that. This new centre provides a fantas-tic opportunity for Wesley youth to explore their abilities and follow their dreams.

“The community, former Coun-cillors, community board and now local board members have all worked tirelessly to get this project off the ground and it is to their credit that we are here today,” he says.

Work officially began on the then-named Wesley Youth Space in

May 2008, after the former Auck-land City Council had commis-sioned a 2006 study into how the needs of youth could be best met within the Wesley area.

Puketapapa Local Board Youth Spokesperson Nigel Turnbull says, “the Roskill Youth Zone will give our young people a home away from home where they can be creative and energetic in a warm, inviting and supportive environment.

“After years of hard work by former councillors and dedicated

members of the community, the baton can now be handed to the local board, community representatives and RYZ management so we can focus on meeting the objectives we set out to achieve.”

The new building has been de-signed to reduce energy consump-tion through natural lighting, exten-sive insulation, timed heating and wind-powered fans. The space will be used after school, on weekends, during school holidays and on occa-

Roskill Youth Zone officially opened sions for evening performances.“This new building is a safe and

engaging space for the young people of this community to study, have fun and express themselves. I look forward to returning when the ac-tivities and events have kicked off,” says the Mayor.

RYZ is located behind the Wesley Community Centre, 740 Sandringham Road Extension, at the northern entrance to the Mt Roskill War Memorial Park.

Following last week’s official opening, an open day was held pro-viding the Wesley community with its first opportunity to explore the new facilities.


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Yogathon New Zealand, a division of Hindu Council of New Zealand, is launching a na-tionwide ‘Health for Humanity’ Yogathon 2011 which aims to create awareness about art and science of yoga, and its advantag-es in achieving a healthy body, mind, and spirit.

Yogathon launch event will take place simultaneously at 10.00 am on Saturday, 13 August 2011 in different cities such as Auckland, Hamil-ton and Wellington. This is going to be first of its kind Yoga initiative for collec-tive practise of Sun Salutations across New Zealand.

During the two-week ‘Health for Humanity’ Yo-gathon from 13 to 27 August 2011, Yogathon New Zealand and partici-pating organisations will encourage their members and others across the country to together perform 100,000 ‘Surya Na-maskar’, a sequence of simple yoga pos-tures.

Surya Namaskar integrates simple yoga postures of w e l l - b a l a n c e d movements linked with easy breath-ing technique, and provides immense health benefits to both body and mind.

The scientific basis of Yoga goes back to the concep-tion of levels of per-sonality in India, namely physical body, physiology, mental, intellectual, and spiritual.

The purpose of Yogathon is to promote yoga widely in a scientific perspective of health, to make it a part of school curriculum in future, en-

courage healthy living and connect all yoga schools and practitioners in New Zealand through participation on this planned annual event.

In addition to health division AROGYA (Aotearoa Research Organisation for Generic Yoga and Ayurveda), Hindu Elders Foundation, Hindu Youth New Zealand and New Zealand Hindu Students Forum, Yoga schools from Auckland, Hamilton,

Wellington, Christ-church and Dunedin have shown interest.

“This program is open to people of all ages, gender, and races. It is quite heartening to have dedicated coordina-tors from different organizations like Bikram School of Yoga, Art of Living New Zealand, New Zealand Hindu Temple Society and many more for this Mega Event,” said Venkat Koppaka, National Coordina-tor, Yogathon New Zealand.

“We will be soon updating with the list of coordinators from different cities and zones on this nation-al event.”

Yogathon or-ganising committee invites various yoga centres, schools and tertiary institutes, social, cultural, and spiritual and com-munity organisa-tions, regardless of individual faiths and beliefs, to register in this ‘Health for Hu-manity’ Yogathon, and continue practic-ing Surya Namaskar beyond the ‘Health for Humanity’ Yo-

gathon. To register for this unique nation-wide event http://yogathon-nz.org/registra-tion

‘Health for Humanity’ Yogathon in august

Yogathon 2011 aims to create awareness about art and science of yoga and its advantages in achieving a healthy body, mind, and spirit.

Visitors took delight in the colour and joy that this exhibition brought to the gallery. The turmeric and rice flour installation triggered lots of discussion and interaction. Visitors were intrigued to discover the unusual and innovative materials used for the installations. Many thought the work was painted on the floor before the secret was revealed – they were brilliant installations of rangoli and other coloured powders including turmeric.

“The pigment and Perspex works are gaining a lot of attention and people are using words like “contemporary”, “exciting”, “uplifting” and “illuminating”, Mairangi Art Centre’s Cath O’Brien said.

“I am happy that visitors are liking my work and some works have also been sold,” Ms Jhunjhnuwala told Indian Weekender.

“I got a lot of positive feed back from friends and visitors to the exhibition. I want to thank everyone for their support but special thanks to the staff at Mairangi Art Centre. Without their help and hard work it could not have fallen in place,” she said.

Ms Jhunjhnuwala worked hard to put up the show for over six months. “It took lot of planning, but I am very pleased with the outcome. My husband and kids have fully sup-ported me,” she added.

rangkavita captivates art loversRangkavita: Song of Colour, artist Laxmi Jhunjhnuwala’s exhibition of paintings and installations in Mairangi Bay, Auckland, last week proved to be a huge draw with a number of connoisseurs praising her vibrant works of art.


Indian

Programme to learn spoken sanskrit in 4 weeksE-gurukul.net is inviting learners across the globe to enroll for free Live Audio Visual Interactive Basic Spoken Sanskrit course.

The Term “samskritam” liter-ally means “refined” and the form it is known today follows rules of Panini(ca. 520 to 460 BCE) the leg-endary Sanskrit grammarian of 5th century BC. He is world’s first com-putational grammarian and his work Ashtadhyayi (the Eight-Chaptered book), is considered to be the most comprehensive scientific grammar ever written for any language. Modern computer experts have agreed upon Sanskrit as the best suited for computer languages.

Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all languages, for thou-sands of years treasures of ancient knowledge were passed on from gen-eration to generation through San-skrit. Beautiful language of Sanskrit is been taught in various universi-ties spread across different coun-tries like USA, UK, Ireland,Europe Hawai, China etc. Sanskrit therefore contains in itself the very essence of glorious vedic culture, it has been recognized as one of the most mag-

nificent and perfect languages. As a part of Global Educational Pro-grammes Series, e-gurukul.net have announced launch of World wide Educational Programme“Samskruta Kranti”.The mission of “Samsk-ruta Kranti” is to introduce Basics of Spoken Sanskrit – Mother of all Languages to atleast 10,000 people across the globe in next 3 years.

They are organizing a web-based live audio-visual interactive 4 week Course on Commencement to Spoken Sanskrit on July 10 -2011 - Sunday to 31 July -2011(6 am to 8 am IST) (12.30 pm to 2 :30pm NZST) with Mrs Rashmi Kashi, an Expert Trainer on Sanskrit from USA.

Explore the world of Mother of all Languages – Learn the trea-sures of spoken Sanskrit in 4 weeks by registering at http://e-gurukul.net/portal/online-course-on-com-mencement-to-spoken-sanskrit

“Modern technological wonder Internet has made entire world a global village. Anyone from any part of the world can learn and gain insights of spoken Sanksrit from the comfort of their homes, Only

pre-requisite is an internet connec-tion with headset and zeal to learn this practical knowledge of Ancient India”, utilizing state of internet technology the aim of “Samskruta Kranti” is to introduce Basics of Spoken Sanskrit – Mother of all Languages in a fun-filled live inter-active way to atleast 10,000 people across the globe in next 3 years” said Mrs Usha Koppaka.

E-Gurukul.net, an online plat-form, is an endeavour to dissemi-nate the practical knowledge and wisdom gifted by the great scien-tists, mathematicians, philosophers and sages of ancient India. It brings online courses in art, science, and holistic living. Of special note are courses for children conducted by experts. The sessions are free, all are welcome to participate.Next topic: Tips Online Course on Commencement to Spoken Sanskrit’Trainer: Mrs Rashmi Kashi (Live from USA))Date: July 10 -2011 - Sunday to 31 July -2011(6 am to 8 am IST)Mode: Live Audio visual Interactive web session - 100% Online

Community

The Mata Amritanandamayi Satsang Group has elected a new committee on April 30, with Varima Narula as President, Sangeeta Kalra as Secretary and Shobhana Nair as Treasurer.

Two other members Jaspal and Gurunadhan were elected as committee members.

The group will be scheduling regular Satsangs and Amma’s Star Karthika Puja of details of which will be emailed) to mem-bers. Dates of special occasions

and festivals, starting with Guru Purnima will be put up on the website and emailed.

Continuing its success of fun-draising for Christchurch and the $5000 donation to Redcross for the same, the group is planning to schedule quarterly charity and fund raising drives.

The group invites the commu-nity to be involved and help with any of its projects. More info at www.amma.org.nz

New committee for Satsang group

Diwali is a Hindu festival, right? Not if you live in Wellington. A trend observed in the country’s rapidly expanding culturescape is that of various Indian as-sociations and organisations launching annual Diwali festivals to shine in its limelight.

Two things are happening here. One, the eternal message of Diwali – good triumphs over evil – is being ignored.

Secondly, instead of being described as a Hindu festival, Diwali is being generalised as a South Asian festival of lights. Now Hindus, who believe in the concept of “the world is one family”, are not about to file a patent on Diwali, but they do get worried when others wit-tingly or otherwise delink it from Hinduism.

One of the biggest ethnic celebrations in New Zealand is the Diwali Festival of Lights organised in Wellington by Community Action Trust New Zealand (CATNZ) in partnership with Asia New Zealand Founda-tion (Asianz), an NGO dedicated to building New Zealanders’ knowledge and understanding of Asia.

To its credit, Asianz says on its website that Diwali is an ancient Hindu festival. (Although it adds incorrectly that it marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year.) CATNZ, however, de-scribes Diwali as a South Asian festival, totally blanking out the festival’s Hindu origins.

(For the record, Diwali has been celebrated since ancient times when the citizens of the kingdom of Ayodhya in central India lit millions of lamps to welcome King Rama, who was returning after slaying Ravan, the unrighteous king of Lanka. Hence the term “festival of lights”.)

So describing Diwali as a South Asian festival is simply misleading. South Asia is a sweeping geographical term whereas Diwali is celebrated only by Hindus. The festival is celebrated wherever there are large Hindu communities such as in Fiji, Trinidad, Guyana, the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand – none of which is in South Asia.

The abundance of food, fun, dance, music, fireworks and other myriad forms of enter-tainment during Diwali should not divert us from the festival’s primary message: truth and knowledge will always prevail. That message – more than any cultural gala – can act as the healing touch for New Zealand-ers impacted by natural calami-ties and an uncertain economic climate.

About the author: Rakesh is a writer based in Auckland. He has previ-ously worked at India Today, Hindustan Times, Business Standard and was news edi-tor at the Financial Express.

Just whose festival is Diwali?If Easter is a Christian festival and Eid an Islamic one, why is Diwali being described as a South Asian cultural carnival? Will this muffle the message of the Festival of Lights? - Rakesh Krishnan Simha

Running late for work, waiting for exam results, running late to a meeting or getting a project as-signed out of the blue; these are some common situations when you will reach for a chocolate bar or your chips in the drawer at your work desk. No matter what the situ-ation or location, stressful situations invoke similar physiological reac-tions. Your body reacts, leading to a rise in blood pressure level and the heart rate leading to rise in the cor-tisol level, a hormone when released over a period can lead to diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

Stress is nothing but a physical and mental reaction to incidents positive or dreadful that occur around us.

One of the most common reac-tions to stressful situation is over-eating. As it provides a temporary diversion, we tend to take this route in the bargain ignoring the long term impact ‘weight gain’ which could potentially be an additional source of stress.

A well balanced diet is crucial in helping reduce stress. Certain foods and drinks can cause stress, the stimulation, although quite satisfy-ing in the short term, may be quite harmful in the long run.

Let us identify some food groups that are good to consume and can help during trying times. Yellow, green and orange food groups are all rich in minerals, vitamins and increase the immunity helping the body to combat disease.

Food rich in carbohydrates like

rice, pasta, potatoes and bread es-pecially the whole grain variety are known to increase your sense of satiety and provide essential nutri-ents like fibre , vitamins and min-erals. Fruits, vegetables and grains are excellent sources of fibre and are known to be beneficial during these times.

On the other hand caffeine laden beverages and food high in fat can reduce the body’s ability to en-counter stress. Avoid consumption of foods that are high in saturated fats. One can also avoid junk foods on a regular basis as these are high in salt such as bacon, ham, pickles,

sausage, etc, as salt is directly related to high blood pressure levels.

Another important food group to be kept at an arm’s length during stressful times is sugar. Sugars are known to provide short term boost of energy however, since this isn’t long-lasting it can in turn cause a drop in your blood sugars and make you leaving feeling worse than before.

Alcohol is known to benefit if consumed in moderation; however the combination of stress with alcohol is lethal if consumed overly. People tend to look up to alcohol for support when dealing with stress, but in reality they make it worse by consuming alcohol.

Severe starvation diets can cause negative impact on mood and gen-erally cause worsening behavioural problems in people especially in young teenage girls. Aim to have a healthy diet with the goodness of fruits and vegetables, ensure exer-cise is a routine as this can help tre-mendously in combating stress

This article is a general guideline ONLY for healthy individuals who need or wish to gain weight, if you have any medical condition or have experienced a sudden weight loss or suffer any disorders and for individ-ual conditions you should consult a health professional or your medical practitioner immediately.

Varsha Asrani is a New Zealand Registered Dietitian. For personal consultation or any question, sug-gestion or views please email her on [email protected].

stress... no moreWe all experience stress at some stage of our life.

Severe starvation diets can cause negative impact on mood and generally cause worsening behavioural problems in people especially in young teenage girls.


Indian Community

Curry Munchers the Movie celebrated the announcement of its DVD launch at the India Gate at a special party on June 4. Attended by a huge crowd of cast, crew and fans of the popular movie, the entertainment lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Here are few snapshots.

the board of Friends of Fiji Health (NZ) inc. gratefully accepted a fully serviced and operational endoscopic

tower from the board members of Gillies Avenue Hospital as a donation. this complete set of expensive gear will add another dimension to patient benefits and enable

surgeons at Lautoka Hospital in Fiji to carry out diagnostic and appropriate surgical procedures. the FoFH will take the responsibility of safely transporting, assembling and

carrying out teaching programme for the doctors and nursing staff at Lautoka Hospital during their next mission

which will in be the second half of 2011.

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Offers services to NRIs/PIOs for investments in Indian markets

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Ventura Securities Limited (Ventura) is a stock broking house with thrust on retail clientele busi-ness. Ventura commenced operations in 1994 as a corporate member of NSE, BSE and OT-CEI having its registered office located at the central business district of Mumbai. Ventura day to day operations are based at Vikhroli wherein it has 30,000+ sq. ft. area office space.

Ventura is a vision of the first generation entrepreneurs Mr. Hemant Majethia, CEO and Mr. Sajid Malik, Director, to build relationships and strive towards customer delight, through constant innovation on a strong foundation of dedicated and trained resources. Both are qualified Chartered Accountants from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Ventura serves more than 150,000+ clients registered through the network of branches & business associates in select metros through its 350+ outlets across the length and breadth of the country. Ventura is also a Depository Par-ticipant of NSDL and at present providing de-pository services to 60,000+ beneficial owners. Ventura is a national level distributor for all mu-tual funds and a Corporate Agent for Life and Non-Life insurance products.

Ventura is the Official Knowledge Partner for investments in Equity Market and Mutual Funds with Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC).

OIFC (www.oifc.in) is a brain child of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. It is a not for profit public private initiative of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) established in May 2007. OIFC is promoting Overseas Indian investments into India and provide advisory services to NRIs and PIOs. It is a one stop shop for all queries of Overseas Indians. The queries raised by overseas Indians regarding investments in Eq-uity Market and Mutual Funds are forwarded to Ventura by OIFC, where Ventura provides end














to end solutions to the queries. Ventura has a research team of professionals having expertise across industries with sound analytical experi-ence. The team has over the years developed an integrated system of research to suit the business requirements. Regular research re-ports are sent out to all clients in respect of in-vestment ideas. These are also hosted on our website www.ventura1.com.

Ventura covers day to day events and up-dates the clients on market outlook through “Daily Pointer” which gives inputs and views on the areas like the analysis of current news relat-ed to market, technical analysis of Sensex and Nifty, stock calls, world market updates.

Ventura has a dedicated NRI Services Cell to serve Overseas Indians. NRI Services Cell is fully equipped in investment instruments avail-able for NRIs/PIOs and provide a complete handholding to its clients. NRI Services Cell assists NRIs/PIOs for services to Open the re-quired accounts with bank, demat, trading and mutual funds, to avail the PIS permission etc. The cell also offers the advisory services in NRI taxation related to investments in equity market and mutual funds.

Ventura offers internet trading services to its clients, an unique trading platform christened as “POINTER” which has all the necessary fea-tures and financial data empowering client to take informed investment decisions. Pointer is unique software designed as a “Do-It-Yourself” with live markets and instant updated prices.

Ventura provides the facility of Pointer for NRIs/PIOs. Pointer has specific features for NRIs/PIOs like compliant of the rules and regu-lations, stipulated by SEBI, NSE and BSE for NRIs. The client gets access to their portfolios which are daily updated. Ventura is now offer-ing its services for NRIs/PIOs in New Zealand through their representative Mr. Sanjay Bhatia having experience in Indian equity markets over 10 years. His email address is [email protected]

Community news in pictures


Indian Community

Squash NZ in partnership with SPROUT has developed this innova-tive programme to encourage South Asians to learn the fundamentals of squash in a fun, non-competitive environment. The aim of this is to teach basic squash skills and provide an affordable option to prospective squash players.

The program is a run over six weeks and will cover court terminol-ogy, basic technique, an introduction to the various shots, court move-ment, court strategy, scoring, rules and ideas for practice. The group

learn the basics of squashSix weeks course for only $20

West /Central Venue: Unitec Squash Centre, Gate 3 Unitec Mt AlbertWhen: Monday 20 June 2011 start Monday evenings 7:00 to 9:00 pmContact Person: Jai (ph: 8376011)

South Venue: Allan Brewster Centre, Papatoetoe When: Sunday 19th June start Sunday morning 8:00 to 9:00 pm Contact person: Bunty (ph: 2783303)

Fees: $ 20 for six weeks (cost includes Coaching, Rackets and Balls) – 8 players/venue so please call the Coordinators ASAP.

The Bay of Plenty Indians sports club men’s hockey team were victorious in their annual NZ Indian national tournament held over Queens Birthday weekend in Pakuranga, Auckland.

The team contested the men’s B division of the tournament with five other teams. Pool play was contested over Saturday/Sunday and cross-overs and finals on the Monday.

Going into tournament the team was seeded 4th on the pre-vious years result. The first game of the tournament saw BOP take on North Harbour, this was one way traffic as 11 goals were slotted and a clean score sheet maintained.

The second game of pool play was against Wellington, where numerous opportunities were squandered and BOP paying for their lack of finishing going down 1-2. With that result BOP met top seed from the other pool in their semi, Auckland in front of their

home crowd. As always BOP and Auckland encounters are a passionate affair. BOP found themselves 0-1 down early into the game, but showed character to come away with a final score of 3-1, the turning point was when a stroke was awarded at 1-1, which BOP converted. This resulted in BOP meeting Welling-ton once again.

The final was a different affair from the previous day with BOP able to convert their chances and win 4-1 over Wellington and therefore take the B division title. The last time BOP held the title was in 1994, so a 17-year wait to claim their next title.

Five players made the tourna-ment team, Jujhar Singh, Niwair Singh, Vinesh Sima, Nitin Ahuja and Ameet Barghav. Next year the team wins promotion to the A division of the tournament, which will be held on home soil, in Ro-torua, as Christchurch are unable to host the tournament.

BOP hockey team victorious

Indians play Indoor soccer as well and that too very well. It’s not just about cricket anymore. Total 8 teams participated at the Lions Cup - Indoor Soccer Tournament organised jointly by SPROUT (Sports Recreation and Outdoors Trust) & ALFC (Auckland Lions Football Club) on 29th May 2011 at Allan Brewster Recreation Centre in Papatoetoe.

Many team members partici-pated in an indoor soccer tourna-ment for the first time in New Zealand. For many of the players this was an eye opener towards community sports and they were surprised with the fast paced thrilling and gripping nature of indoor soccer. It was also about health, fitness and upcoming tal-ent in this sport.

Goalkeeper Pravjot Kalket (Pe-ter) and midfielder Gurmal Singh (Gella) starred as the Papatoetoe Lions and Punjabi Sath Lions played out an entertaining final. Peter made four excellent second half saves, while Gella turned in

his usual all-action performance on Sunday afternoon.

Both sides had plenty of chances to win and played skil-ful game with excellent player to player marking. Punjabi Sath Lions had several golden op-portunities to break the deadlock, but Peter blocked and defended all the shoots to goal. His effort was remarkable in the penalty shoot outs and was rightly judged “Player of the Tournament”.

SPROUT organisers thanked Chasers Food Company Ltd, NZCT and Indian Weekender for supporting this tournament and

thanked all the volunteers for organising this awesome indoor soccer tournament.

Balbir Golian, Director of Chaser Food Company Ltd dis-tributed the prize and ensured his continuous support for this kind of grassroots tournament to pro-mote soccer in Indian community. The organisers from ALFC and SPROUT have decided to make it an annual two day tournament in 2011 and increase the number of teams to sixteen.

If you are interested to par-ticipate in 2011 please e-mail us your details at [email protected]

‘Papatoetoe Lions’ wins Indoor Soccer Tournament

Dear Devotees You are all aware that we got the Resource Consent and bought the Property at 18 Princes St, Onehunga, to convert the same into a TEMPLE for our beloved GURU SHIRDI SAIBABA along with other deities. We will also be having a Community Hall with dining/commercial kitchen for benefit of the Community.

Our architect is in the process of preparing the documentation to apply for Building Permit. This process of preparation of docu-ments, applying to Auckland City Council, processing and aproval of the Building Permit may take about 6 months. In view of this we have rented our premises for a short period of time till mid Janu-ary 2012, so that it will generate some income to take care of debt servicing.

We need about a MILLION dollars to start a functional TEMPLE / COMMUNITY HALL( outside domes/elevations can be done later ) As you are aware we have launched new fund raising programmes on 1-1-2011. By Baba’s grace we are half way thru in terms of commitments by devotees and raised about $225k till date.

After opening the account with Bank of Baroda, we have considerable response from dev-otees in India. By BABA’s grace, things are falling in place and the plan is to start the construction by end Jan 2012.

Please appraise all your friends / relatives in India/overseas about our TEMPLE PROJECT and per-sonally make a COMMITMENT to speed up the initiation of CON-STRUCTION PROCESS

With Blessings from Baba

shri shirdi saibaba sansthan of new Zealand incorporated

sizes will be 4 players maximum on one court and each session will last for 60 minutes.

CourSe oBjeCTIVeSDevelop a basic understanding of the court environment, scoring and rules

Develop an understanding of the basic stroke technique forehand and backhand

Develop an understanding of basic strategies, why we hit length, why we volley and when to go short or long.

A basic understanding of the movement required for squash.

For players to have fun, enjoy their squash experience and want to play on in the future.

After the completion of the course SPROUT will help up to set-up weekly Squash games for people who are interested. For more details please long on to www.sprout.net.nz


Indian Community

arVINd KuMar After many years of charity work in the community, the New Zealand As-sociation of Fiji Teachers is now ex-panding its reach to the people.

The association had now been granted a “charity” status and was thus better able to help people, public-ity officer David Reddy said.

“As the name suggests, this is a New Zealand based charitable or-ganisation comprising of ex teachers/educators from Fiji and the people originating from there, who are cur-rently employed in the education sector in this country. “The main objective of the association is to raise funds and provide monetary help towards the education of the needy, disadvantaged, under privileged and poverty stricken children/students,” Mr Reddy told the Indian Weekender.

“In the past two years, 15 such

families and schools in Fiji and New Zealand have been assisted in this way.”Soon after the earthquake in Christchurch last September, funds were dispatched to three schools for purchasing essential equipment and a further donation was made recently to the Red Cross for relief work follow-ing the February shake.

Mr Reddy said the New Zealand public would be interested to know that the association had been granted a “charity” status under the Charities Act and IRD with its unique numbers CC45879 and 106-060-62.

Those interested can peruse further details in the Charities Reg-ister at www.charities.govt.nz “No doubt that many migrants from Fiji can relate to the plight of the very poor and needy children in their homeland.

“The association would be very pleased to receive donations (note

such donations would qualify for tax rebate) from such sympathetic indi-viduals/organizations and they can be assured, such moneys would be chan-neled to the affected families/ schools promptly.

”Donations can be sent to: The Treasurer, NZ Association of Fiji Teachers, 83 White Swan Rd, Mt Roskill, Auckland 1041.

For phone contact and discussion, please call Rishi Maharaj on number 09 627 8266 or 021 517008.

Mr Reddy said the association closely adhered to the ancient Asian proverb which says: “If you are plan-ning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.”

A new committee was elected for the year 2011-2012 at its annual meeting recently.

Gift of education is Fiji teachers’ mission

New Zealand Association of Fiji Teachers after thgeir recent annual meeting: Seated, from left: Rukamma Lal (vice-president), Rishi Maharaj (treasurer) Shiu Charan (president) Hari Goundar (secretary) Giyannendra Prasad (vice-president). BACK: Satya Swami (vice-president) Deo Raj Reddy (committee member) Bijay Lal (asst treasurer) Vishnu Swami (committee member) David Reddy (publicity officer) Padmani Goundar (asst secretary) Gajen Prasad (committee member).

Auckland: Long time community worker Manjit Singh is among four other Kiwi Indians who have been recognised for their services to the community and been awarded the Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) at this year’s Queen’s Birthday Celebra-tions.

The others are Harkishen Singh, Kanta Soni and Parkash Sund, who was the first President of the Otahuhu Gurudwara.

Living in New Zealand since 1988, Mr Manjit Singh has been involved with various Community Activities since 1995. The Pukekohe resident has been a Member of NZ Sikh Society since 1999; Member of Auckland Sikh Society since 2001;

President of NZ Punjabi Cultural As-sociation for 2004 to 2007; President of A u c k l a n d Sikh Society for 2008 to 2009; President of GOPIO - Pukekohe Chapter for 2008 to 2010; Current Treasurer at NZICA for 2007 till date; Current Vice President of Puke-kohe Indian Association

“It is a great honour to receive this rec-ognition,” Mr Singh said.

Indian Weekender congratulates all awardees on behalf of its readers and staff.

manjit singh among Kiwi indians in qsm listIt is the 64th anniversary of India’s indepen-

dence in August, and plans are already under-way to celebrate it in style.

Auckland’s Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust, which has been working efficiently for years together as a socio-cultural body for the Indian community, is gearing up to present an implausible Indian experience and to mark the anniversary on August 14, a Sunday, at the ASB theatre, Aotea Centre Square Auckland.The super event shall be organised in partner-ship with various organisations from India and neighbouring countries.

The celebration shall begin with the flag hoisting which will be held 10.30am followed by a cultural programme from 11am until 3pm in the afternoon at the venue.

True to its identity and philosophy of “Unity amidst Diversity”, the Indian Inde-

pendence day will showcase the variety in culture, dance forms, music, art and cuisine. India being the largest democracy in the world with a civilisation more than 5000 years old boasts of multiple cultural origins. The event promises a foretaste of this diversity and mul-ticulturalism that is also an inherent character of any Indian living in New Zealand. Chair-man Jeet Suchdev says that “While we are keen to share our big day with the people of New Zealand, we would also like to make the generation next aware of their roots which have strong and rich cultural inheritance and acquaint them with this event from a historical perspective”.

The event will be graced by many digni-taries from New Zealand and India and once again hope to get the best support possible through a positive approach.

Grand independence fest planned

Settlement Support New Zealand (SSNZ) is a national initiative funded by the Department of Labour to help you settle in your new community by providing information about living in New Zealand.

Settlement Support Waitakere is a service from the Auckland Council, for newcomers from West Auckland to access FREE confidential consultation. Just visit our office at

New to New ZealandWelcome to WeSt AUcKlAND

8, Ratanui Street, Henderson (opposite to UNITEC)(9:30 am– 4:00 pm Mon to Thurs) or make an appointment with your Settlement Support

Coordinator in West Auckland call 09 8374273 oremail [email protected]

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lSupportingstudents’choiceofstudy,studentsareinvitedintointerludesofcareerdevelopmentandNewZealand’sdiverseheritage.

KITE sits aloft in an elegant airy setting, overlooking the Auckland cityscape.ThisisaninstitutebondedtotheCodeofPracticeforPastoralCareofInternationalStudents,administeredbytheNewZealandMinistryofEducation.

lLikeitshighvantageover‘heartland’QueenStreet,KITEisaboutleadershipthrougheducation,plusthesocialgracetohelpguidestudentsthere.

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Our offer to students is:• A pathway towards career goals plus new friendships and the confidence-building to

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Entertainment sessions driven by fellow learners. The quiz and partying routines can

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Interactive sociability with faculty on site, as well as guest speakers prominent within

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KITE sits aloft in an elegant airy setting, overlooking the Auckland cityscape. This is an institute

bonded to the Code of Practice for Pastoral Care of International Students, administered by the New Zealand Ministry of Education.

• Like its high vantage over ‘heartland’ Queen Street, KITE is about leadership through

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If you care about your future, and you want to share that journey with others with goals similar to yours, KITE will welcome your enquiry.

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Indian

NaMIT agarwal

Mumbai: Actor Konkona Sen Sharma launched ‘Mamma Mania’, an author’s journey to motherhood by Shabia Ravi Walia, in Mumbai recently.

‘Mamma Mania’ is the author’s journey into motherhood, an ulti-mate goal of a woman. As the title suggests, the book is a refreshing narrative of a first-time mother.

The author claimed the book to be an honest and forthright account

of a woman who goes through a roller coaster ride to bring a child into this mad world and hence the title ‘Mamma Mania’.

“This book has got a personal touch as I have penned down few incidents about me with my daugh-

ter. It’s truly said that a child gives birth to a mother. I have learnt, de-veloped, grown and enriched myself with this entire process. I feel that I have newly discovered myself,” said Walia.

Right from the conception to the birth of the child, the author goes through myriad emotions compris-ing agony and ecstasy. The book also provides an in-depth insight to would-be parents.

“The concern of mother-hood is very close to any woman’s heart. Not just emotionally, but it’s important for a female to understand the pregnancy process and ways of nurturing a baby medically and from hygiene point of view as well. Mamma Mania says it all,” said Konkana.

It gives useful tips and sugges-tions as well as first hand experienc-es of the author that might be useful for world-be and first-time mothers.

“I started writing a diary after my daughter came into this world with the idea of gifting it to her when she would turn eighteen. I later re-alised that whatever I had written could be published as a book instead and share my story with the world,” said the author.

Walia is a media professional for the past 14 years dabbling in ide-ation, writing, production and cre-ation of television shows. This book is an account of her journey from being a carefree woman to a passion-ate and sometimes obsessive mother. (See Konkona’s interview about her new motherhood in the Bollywood section of this issue)

Konkona launches book on motherhood

India

Balasore: The surface to surface Prithvi (P-II) Missile was success-fully flight tested at 9 am on Thurs-day from Launch Complex-III at the Interim Test Range (ITR), Chandi-pur in Balasore district of Orissa.

The launch was carried out as part of the regular training exercise of the Armed Forces.

Prithvi-II, the first indigenous surface to surface strategic Missile, capable of attacking targets at ranges of 350 kms, reached the pre-defined target in the Bay of Bengal with a very high accuracy of better than 10 meters.

All the Radars, Electro-optical systems located along the coast have tracked and monitored the Missile throughout the flight path. An Indian Naval ship located near the target witnessed the final event.

The entire launch operations of the Missile were carried out by the Armed Forces, monitored by the Sci-entists of Defence Research & De-velopment Organisation (DRDO).

The flight test of the Prithvi-II met all the Mission objectives and was like a text book launch. V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri and Secretary Defence R & D, witnessed the launch operations and congratulated the Armed Forces and Scientists for the successful flight test. VLN Rao, Programme Director AD, SK Ray, Director RCI, top officials of Stra-tegic Force Command and DRDO were present during the Mission.

Defence Minister AK Antony has congratulated the Armed Forces and Scientists for the successful flight test.

Prithvi (P-ii) missile launched successfully


Indian India

New Delhi: A map of India on an Australian government website has omitted the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh triggering strong protests from the Indian community in the country.

Following the protests, Austra-lia admitted that the map was an “error” and said it will be removed from the website.

“The map was an error and is being removed from the website,” an Australian High Commission spokesperson in New Delhi said.

The Indian community in Aus-tralia had lodged strong protests with the Australian government over the incorrect map of India, posted on a government website in Australia which omitted the border

states of J&K and Arunachal Pradesh.

The website of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) of Australia had the “in-correct” map in its website.

The Council of Indian Austra-lians Inc (CIA), an apex body rep-resenting the Indian Australian community in New South Wales, had asked the DIAC to correct the map on its website.

“The CIA Inc wishes to bring this (incorrect map) to the atten-tion of the Government of Austra-lia and urges the DIAC to rectify this incorrect map and display the revised map showing correct boundaries,” a CIA statement said.

Australian govt website omits J&K, Arunachal as part of India

1. Overview 2. Community in Australia 3. Permanent migration and temporary entry 4. Emigration 5. State and territory summary Explanatory notes Statistical tables

1. OverviewIndia is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, covering a diverse range of activities – from subsistence agriculture through to modern manufacturing and information technology. Much of India’s increased economic engagement with the rest of the world in recent years has been driven by growth in the services sector – most notably the outsourcing of work from developed countries.

Despite recent progress significant challenges remain – these include addressing high inflation, managing government debt and improving infrastructure. Another challenge is to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are experienced more equitably with high levels of unemployment and low average incomes throughout India. Although India has a large well-educated middle class, average incomes are less than 10 per cent of Australian levels and low by international standards. Economic opportunity therefore provides the biggest incentive for Indian emigrants, and skilled workers will be attracted to countries such as Australia, which offer high living standards. This diaspora is most notable among the educated with 4.3 per cent of India’s tertiary educated population living outside India.

Although Australia is not one of the top 10 destination countries for Indian emigrants, a large and well-established Indian community combined with high living standards will ensure continued demand for Indians seeking to migrate. Australia is a top destination for students however, with Indian nationals representing 21 per cent of all international students in 2009-10.

A summary measure of well being is the Human Development Index (HDI), produced by the United Nations. The HDI is a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: health, education and income. Australia ranks very high on this measure, with a 2010 score of 0.94, second only to Norway. Table 1

By comparison, India has a HDI of 0.51 resulting in a rank of 119 out of 169 countries. Although this ranking is quite low in international terms, it is only sightly below the regional average of 0.52.

Newsletter – Arial 25pt BoldCountry profile

Republic of India

Republic of India Capital City: New Delhi Population, 2010: 1.21 billion Language: Hindi, English Monetary Unit: Indian rupee

May 2011

According to the Hindustan Times, Mumbai afternoon newspaper Mid-Day’s J Dey is the first journalist to be murdered in Mumbai. He may be the first to be killed but in the past there have been a few attempts to kill or at least “scare off” journalists who vested interests saw as getting a bit too nosey.

In 2004, an attempt was made on the life of Nikhil Wagle, editor of the Marathi newspaper Mahanagar. In the same year, Sajid Rashid, the editor of the Hindi edition of Mah-anagar was stabbed in the back, but survived.

In 2009, political activists at-tacked the offices of IBN-Lokmat Television, and ransacked the prem-ises. Journalists were roughed up.

I remember a former chief report-

er of Mid-Day (who later became the political editor) who was investigat-ing a scam in which a state politician was supposed to be involved. This reporter was dogged and his sources were giving him very high grade information. Apparently things got a bit hot under the collar for those involved.

One day, sometime in the mid-1990s, as this reporter was riding down Mumbai’s Marine Drive on his motorcycle, a speeding Ambas-sador car came close to his bike and brushed him aside. He took a tumble and his bike was damaged but except for a few bruises and shock, he sur-vived. He later told me that just before he fell, he got a very good look at the face of the passenger. The chap had an evil grin on his face.

In late 1980s’ Mumbai, Mahesh Dholakia was a dreaded underworld figure. He controlled the high class prostitution business. Shrikant Rao, who was a colleague in Mid-Day, but was working for another magazine at that time did a series of exposes on Dholakia. One day Shrikant got a call from Dholakia, who styled himself as a hotelier, asking for a in-terview to give his side of the story.

Shrikant went for the interview which was to be held in Dholakia’s basement office in the same hotel. He was made to wait for an hour. Dholakia walks in, does not say a word. Sits on his desk, opens a drawer, pulls out a gun, checks that it is loaded, places it on the table between them and says: “So what’s your story?”

The incident had a happy ending. Shrikant walked out alive!

Incidentally, all these attacks were by political activists and the main instigators were prominent po-litical figures. This is interesting.

In 1989, I did a story on the un-derworld. A friend of mine worked in a garment factory that was actual-ly a front for an underworld financer. I cultivated him as a source and got a few tales out of him.

These were not investigative stories but human-interest features. In the course of doing these stories, I Iearnt that the underworld had a code not to kill journalists. I can’t vouch for the veracity of this. But if this is true then J Dey’s killing could be politically motivated. Maybe he was getting too close for comfort.

Mumbai scribes have been targets for longIn the wake of Mumbai investigative editor J Dey’s gunning down in broad daylight, former colleague and editor Subir Roy Kaunds, who now lives in Auckland, recalls instances of intimidation and violence against journalists by the minions of the powers that be.

Mid-Day Investigative Editor J Dey was gunned down in suburban Mumbai in broad daylight.

New Delhi: Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) a non-profit trade promotion or-

ganisation, last week announced the second edition of its ‘Taiwan Excel-lence Campaign’ in India with the target of displaying the latest life-style products to Indian consumers.

24 leading Taiwanese Technol-ogy brands from PC, Networking, projector,camcorder and peripher-als, such as ASUS, BenQ, MSI,

D-Link, Transcend are all set to partner with Taiwan Excellence Campaign 2011.

“Indians today are savvy and well travelled and demand the best in terms of Technology, Quality and Value,” said Paul Shek, Deputy Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre, New Delhi.

“The Taiwan Excellence mark is awarded only to Companies who qualify to stringent norms in R&D, Design, Quality and Marketing that evaluate our brands to global standards. I feel extremely pleased to have with us 24 such ‘Excellent’ Taiwanese partner brands who will showcase their finest offerings to provide ‘Excellent Lifestyles’ for Indian consumers,” he said.

Taiwan has a total of 758 electronic compa-nies listed on its stock exchange and remains in the

number one position in the world in eleven ICT cat-egories as recorded in 2010.

The total combined revenue of these companies at the end of 2010 was a whooping USD 411 billion while the industry grew at a rate of 31.6%.

Currently the largest purchasers of Taiwan ICT products are institutional buyers like Apple, Dell, HP, Sony and the more recent one is Verizon.

Paul Chen, Director, TAITRA, Mumbai, said, “We are encouraged by the positive response from IT savvy Indian consumers, especially on the social media scene. Our brands are being recognised and

are building preference with discerning young Indian consumers.

“We expect a huge surge in demand for Smart-phones, Tablet PCs, Notebooks and LCD Monitors and our Brand partners are very well poised to ride this wave.”

Taiwan to attract Indian consumers Kolkata: Kolkata intellectuals led by painter Shuvaprasanna, here on Monday staged a demonstra-tion of at the Calcutta Club, pro-testing the imposition of colonial dress code on visitors.

The Club, an exclusive social hub for the wealthy in the city located on the Lower Circular Road of Kolkata that historically restricted membership to women until 2007, requires visitors to wear a formal western attire.

Apparently miffed at not being allowed to enter the club prem-ises for wearing Indian clothes, Shuvaprasanna a 64-year-old art-ist mostly seen sporting a kurta and known for his public tirade against the just-ousted Left re-gime in the state, led the protest on Monday.

Lashing out at the 104-year old club, he said, “‘I fail to under-stand what makes the Calcutta Club impose such dress code on its members in an independent

India. There is nothing vulgar in wearing a kurta.”

“When we can meet the world wearing our dress why cannot we flaunt it in Calcutta Club,” he said.

Joining him, poet Joy Gos-wami said, “I believe a club which imposes such strict English dress code on visitors is actually feed-ing colonial culture in a free India and one must protest it.”

Painter Samir Aich said, “Such archaic rules not only hurts the dignity of a person but also en-courages class divisions.”

Late painter M F Hussain and social activist Himashu Kumar were in the past famously denied entry into the the club for not ad-hering to its western dress code.

The influential protesters, who were backed by city luminaries like Mahasweta Debi, Aparna Sen, Jogen Choudhury, Sandip Ray, Rutuparna Ghosh, among others, also submitted a deputa-tion to the club authority.

Luminaries protest western dress code

“Indians today are savvy and well travelled and demand the best in terms of Technology, Quality and Value,”


Indian India

Mumbai: The hunt for this year’s Miss India has started as forty par-ticipants qualified the audition round of the “I AM She 2011”, the official preliminary to the 2011 MISS UNI-VERSE pageant to groom them-selves up for the next level.

The forty gorgeous candidates from all over the globe were selected

from almost 1800 plus entries re-ceived from.

To make their grooming sessions more perfect they will be supported by the first ever title holder of I AM She 2010, Ushoshi Sengupta as well as 1st runner up Reha Sukheja and 2nd runner up Pooja Hegde.

While former Miss Universe and

Bollywood beauty who conceptual-ized the concept ‘I AM She’, Sush-mita Sen, will act as the mentor for these young participants, the judges panel will include names like Aditi Gowitrikar, Jackky Bhagnani and Joy Datta.

“Given our experience from I AM She 2010, I am certain there will

be nervousness in the air, as also an air of confidence and charisma that each of the twenty finalists will radiate, establishing a spontaneous rapport with their ability to connect and showcase their abilities,” Sush-

mita Sen said at a press interaction recently.

The judges will handpick the twenty finalists to grace the stage at the finale of I AM She 2011, to be held a mere five weeks from now.

The selection panel will evalu-ate the girls on criteria ranging from intelligence, talent, confidence and

general knowledge to beauty, grace and charm.

“I AM She 2011 will be as engag-ing for the young Indian beauty, as it will be for their families. It will break all language barriers with a format that allows the contestants to express themselves in any language they are comfortable with, aided by interpreters,” Sen said.

“This was very well received last year, our first year, and the response was indeed very encouraging. Along with this new format, there will be many more additions which we will announce and talk about as we move forward,” Sen said.

Tantra Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., a company where Sushmita Sen is integrally associated with, was awarded the India franchise in Nov 2009 by the Miss Universe Organ-isation, which conducts the pageant across 95 countries of the world every year through its global fran-chisees.

Paula Shugart, President, Miss Universe Organization, said: “I am extremely pleased to welcome Tantra Entertainment as our new li-censee in India.

I am thrilled to work directly with Sushmita Sen who represented the Miss Universe Organisation so elegantly as the first Miss Universe from India. I am certain that she will bring the grace, the glamour and the intelligence to I AM She.”

Forty beauties gear up for ‘i am she 2011’

It will break all language barriers with a format that allows the contestants to express themselves in any language they are comfortable with, aided by interpreters.


Indian

SujoY dHar

Back in the late 1980s I was an audacious student of art in Kolkata’s Birla Academy of Art and Culture. It was sheer inso-lence now I know, the only redeeming thought being my deci-sion to enroll in the commercial art section. But despite the brazenness it was around that time that I got some exposure to art and artists. Those were encounters that I still treasure.

One of those spin-offs of enrolling myself in Birla Academy was the opportunity to meet many famous painters from close. Husain and Paritosh Sen were few of them.

We had then heard that M F Husain often walks barefoot and the tittle-tattle around me was that it was one of the many gimmicks he would use to stay in news. I was almost swayed by that opinion till I met other painters in later life and wit-nessed how desperate and unethical they can be for publicity and a few charitable lines or reviews. It was later that I knew that good reviews in even top publications can be purchased and some of the influential reviewers actually trade a good publicity with a complimentary painting from the painter.

In retrospect, the barefoot act was Husain was unfathom-able, but as time passed and I experienced the world around me with all its plurality and richness, I knew it was Husain the eternal Bohemian. I would say he was a tramp, a Charlie Chaplin, with a paintbrush. The child in him would like to gallop free like the restless blue-white-yellow-green horses of his canvas.

And I know now that he did not chase controversy or cheap publicity. It was the other way round because of his tremen-dous talent, courage and originality. With all their cajoling and TV appearances many Indian painters seeking glory could not achieve what Husain was blessed with by his artless vitality, candour and casualness. I remember one evening in late eight-ies when Husain walked into Birla Academy barefoot. He was disarmingly humble and jovial, beads of sweat on his forehead. I was wondering how one can attack this man so ruthlessly for his Bohemian ways.

He was there around for a few days and then one day we were in an elevator together, going down to the ground floor from the top. He looked at me and smiled, put his hand on my shoulder and then patted me. I was carrying a roll of handmade paper and some paint brushes with all the pretence of an art student. I vaguely recall him enquiring about our classes. As I walked out of the elevator, I knew I am basking in Husain’s reflected glory. I rushed home to tell my mother, who had just read some interesting story about his self-confessed personal life in a newspaper.

My first experience of a Husain exhibition was on the pent-house of Tata Centre in Kolkata. I do not remember the year, but it was more than two decades back. I went to the exhibition not drawn by Husain but by the sheer thought of taking an eyeful of the lush Kolkata maidan, the Victoria Memorial and the skyscrappers of Kolkata visible from the top.

The exhibition, of what I can recall of my feelings, then did not appeal to me and I came back with only the panoramic view of my city from the top. The works- or the lack of it- on display in fact killed my interest in Husain for a while.

But all that changed in later years when I saw more of him and discovered how original he was. I started liking his horses, his women and even my stray sketches adorning the edges of my exercise books were influenced, perhaps unwittingly, by his bold lines. Many years later I met him again at the press conference and the premiere of Gajagamini at Metro Cinema of Kolkata. I was amazed by his vitality and youthfulness. I got more opportunity to talk to him.

But what Husain’s originality taught me was to have faith in my own ways of practising a trade. Be it painting or journal-ism, originality will always survive and Husain all his life was an embodiment of that idea. In the later years controversies around his works did not limit to his barefoot ways. It got viru-lent and murkier with the saffron forces vandalizing his works.

But I cannot end this article without the sad thought about the way the fabled artist community of Kolkata responded in 2003 when Husain purportedly said most Bengal painters lack stamina and energy.

Kolkata painters, including those who later ritually lam-basted former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhat-tacharjee on Singur and Nandigram, went to the CM in a group and persuaded him to boycott the inauguration of Husain’s show at a city gallery.

I am curious to know about their reactions to Husain’s demise.

my brief brush with Husain

India

A tribute to artist M F Husain who died last week



IndianMP Anti corruption campaign

There is only one way to right the various wrongs of our system. Not by becoming activ-ists, not by becoming netas but by going about our day-to-day jobs and performing them with due diligence. Normal ordinary people have families and responsibility. They have EMI’s and bills to pay. They have heavy traffic to commute every day. They do not have the bloody time to gad about in. They don’t share a dias with separatists one day and then the other day make firebrand speeches from India Habitat center. They don’t justify the spilling of blood – any blood – whosoever’s blood – with jargon filled with ists and isms. Life and death are not abstractions to them but hard breathing reality.

They know that the only way they can reach that escape velocity is by education - that you have to claw and scratch your way to the front of that line to get your kid admitted in a good college. And if you were forced to pay a bribe to some bastard that does not make you a criminal, because the Baba with the squint or the pious Anna is not going to save you at the end of the day.Its every man for himself. And even with all this, he tries to retain some semblance of Godfearing honesty, knowing he’s going to pay the price for it while the Kalmadis and Jayalalithas go scotfree.If any change will ever come it will come from the common man – from his conscience, from his will to change things, if and when he chooses to do so. Not from those who speak down to him, preach to him. Definitely not from some self appointed godman, nor some ethnic garment wearing frizzy haired activist with a bindi.

– Gautam Benegal

Sad state of affairs in NZ

Having been in Australia for over a year, I can say with confidence that NZ is a very small place, and moreover the Kiwis have a very small world view. Paul Henry’s com-ments are just one instance, and I have seen so many, and many times over, when the ignorant locals have made such remarks not only on Indians, but on many others com-munities. I sit in Australia, with the economy buoyant, looking over the Tasman to New Zealand, which has yet to come out of the economic depression

– Parikshit Basrur

Independence Day celebrations

Why celebrate Indian independence here. It’s not relevant at all. How does Thailand’s Independence celebration sound to you.How many Indians know about the British atroc-ities or Indian freedom fighter’s strategies. Please don’t make it a money making busi-ness for you samaj. This should be kept within the premises of the embassy. This is not a religious day.

– Farhan Bushi

Why Shri and Shrimati does not mean Mr and Mrs

True that the original meaning of Shri in Vedic or as per Sanskrit language roots means quite something different from what is made out to be today. But shrimAn definitely means one who is endowed with shrI= wealth in general. The matup pratyaya in mascu-line gender. Thus shrimAn, hence shrImatI is the Feminine gender version of the same. In our family-above-the-individual and society-above-the family culture that is charac-teristic of the Vedas- the shrI(=Wealth) of the shrImAn(=wealthy guy)!

– Mahadeva S Sarma

There is one thing the writer forgot to mention. The word Srimati does not exist. As he himself agreed that Sri is feminine gender, there was no need to use the word Srimati. There are several examples of words of different gender being used to which they belong. One such word is “Dara” this is actually male gender but its meaning is wife. Further the word Sri means exalted or respectable. Hence, the concept of srimati is redundant to use.

– Dr S P Iswara

From the Editor

Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, New Market and printed at APN Print, Ellerslie, Auckland

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Indian Weekender Volume 3 No. 5

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Letters

Ten top stories on iwk.co.nz1. Why Shri and Shrimati does not mean Mr and Mrs2. Artist’s oeuvre reflects soul of India 3. Gandhi Centre acquires substantial property4. Star violinist for Auckland concert 5. Jaipur Foot bound for Fiji6. Painter M F Husain dead7. Manjit Singh among Kiwi Indians in QSM list8. Fiji investment boosts renewable energy9. Community urged to pay priests their due10. Is India’s food system failing?

The New Zealand government’s handling of the Fiji situation has shown an appalling lack of imagination and exposed the brazen double standards it applies in its international relations. It slavishly kowtows to China’s every whim, despite its continuing human rights violations, even inventing childishly naïve reasons for not meeting with the likes of the Dalai Lama when he is a visitor to this country known far and wide for its warm and friendly peace loving people. It has officially hosted dictators like former Pakistan strongman Pervez Musharraf with absolutely no qualms whatsoever and has refrained from making official official statements on other “undemocratic” events even in the Pacific Rim, such as the Thai coup.Yet it has been stubborn in its unwillingness to look at the dynamics of what led to the Fiji situation despite being in a position to know better because of its long and deep involvement in the Pacific Islands region. All along in the years since December 2006, it has failed to accept that the single pronged “restore democracy now or else” strategy was never going to work. It refuses to accept that its ill-advised persistence in following that tack of feverishly campaigning to isolate Fiji was always doomed to fail and has long come unstuck. This has forced the Fijian administration to seek and cement friendships from the likes of China, Indonesia and other Asian powers, that have been only too willing to to oblige because of Fiji’s strategic location in the South Pacific. Thanks to their expanding exclusive economic zones because of changes wrought by the redrawing of their continental shelf boundaries under the provisions of the UN Law of the Sea, the islands are hot property for resource hungry nations. Several island nations, along with Fiji, have opened their territories – both on land and the seabed – to prospecting firms from distant nations.By sticking to its unrealistic, single demand of “restoring democracy” in Fiji, without the changes that are needed to turn its polity into one based on true democratic principles, New Zealand has missed the South Pacific boat, now helmed by the likes of China.Enough has been written about how brazenly corrupt, blatantly racist and undemocratic the deposed Fijian government was. Its former members and supporters, now living overseas are demanding a return to that kind of administration. And the Australian and New Zealand governments have played into their hands by handing out the visa to turncoat military man Tevita Mara. The action smacks of desperation at the failure of this isolationist strategy. New Zealand’s reasoning for handing the man a visa despite knowing his racist past and that he was involved in beatings during the early days of the regime are as vacuous as its reasons for looking the other way in the face of its big red friend’s human rights abuses. It has displayed appalling casuistry by bending every rule that it has put in place as regards travel to New Zealand for Fijian nationals associated with the administration – whether they are sportspeople or simply passengers wishing to transit through, though Murray McCully has said his ministry has been making exceptions regularly on a case-by-case basis.A big opportunity looms in the form of the Rugby World Cup for New Zealand to change tack and bring Fiji back on the democratic track. Both are rugby mad nations and the sports arena could well be the setting of a new beginning. The governments of both countries could potentially earn enormous goodwill of the entire region.There is some hope this will happen. In the past few weeks, the Fijian administration has been at pains to put out news releases about holding elections in September 2014. On his part, Mr MuCully has offered New Zealand’s assistance in redrawing electoral boundaries, compiling lists and helping with the election process. Making it possible for Fijian players and fans to visit New Zealand without restrictions during the world cup in exchange for working with Fiji and convince it to stick to its Sep-tember 2014 promise by providing it with the wherewithal to achieve that goal would be a win-win for all. - Dev Nadkarni

World Cup can heal Fiji


Indian

Here is a yoga Guru believed to be born in 1965 in Haryana to a farmer, takes to yogic discipline at 14, then gets ordained as a monk at 30 in1995 to become Swāmi Ramdev. Thereaf-ter Bābā Rāmdev, as he is popularly called, in 2002 starts mass education of India’s best known global brand called ‘Yoga’ and that too through mainstream media.

In the last 10 years or so Bābā Rāmdev has led the way to bring ‘Yog, Prānayām and Āyurved’ to mil-lions of homes in India and overseas. Moreover he is said to command a yoga and Ayurveda business empire estimated to be worth more than US $250 million (Rs.1100 crores).

With Bābā Rāmdev, what started as a mass education on yoga and Ayurvedic practice is now a health crusade intertwined with social activ-ism on ‘Swadeshi’ lines. All this has been achieved by Bābā Rāmdev as an ordained ‘Sanyāsi’.

With Bābā Rāmdev’s crusade, it’s an opportunity to understand the concept of Sanyāsa in the modern world. ‘Sanyāsa’ is the most revered stage of life in Indian culture and glo-rified by the Holy Vedas. In fact there are atleast 16 Upanishads (called Sanyāsa Upanishads) that directly speak on sanyāsa. In the Indian tra-dition, renunciation is considered to be the ideal. Hence heroes in Indian culture are those who have renounced or sacrificed.

The word sanyāsa comes from the Sanskrit word ‘samnyasa’: This is derived from two roots: ‘sam’ meaning complete or total and ‘nyāsa’ meaning ‘renunciation’. So a sanyasi is understood as one who has renounced everything i.e. all ego-centric actions and turned towards a higher life of austerity and asceti-cism. The Holy Geeta defines sanyāsa as “kāmyānām karmanām nyāsam sannyāsam kavayo viduh” meaning “The Sages understand sanyāsa to be ‘the renunciation of desire prompting actions’”.

The sanyasi’s resolve is to tran-scend the rigmarole of fleeting plea-sures to achieve a permanent state of unbroken happiness (Godhood). The sanyasi’s oath in the Vedic tradition therefore renounces the pleasures of this world, and even pleasures of the astral world and of the heavens - all the three worlds.

So sanyasis don’t have any pos-sessions and relinquish all material wealth as they have outgrown worldly pleasures out of right thinking. That’s what a Siddhārta Gautama did to become a Gautam Buddha and influ-ence millions across the globe. That’s what a young Shankara did to become the great Ācharya Ādi Shankarā. History tells us that the Vedic Rishis, the Buddha, Acharya Shankara, the exalted Thirthankar Mahāveer cham-pioned the path of renunciation over other paths.

But the sanyāsa heritage in India has seen both extremes from the most austere to the opulent – from Mahāveer and Ramana Maharishi to the affluent Osho Rajneesh. While some sanyasis lived a quiet teach-ing life in a remote place, others got dynamic in social life. In many ways,

the ancient order of sanyāsa was in-fluenced by great Gurus, saints who were also reformers. Swāmi Krish-nananda of the Divine Life Society ob-serves “Swāmi Vivekananda brought in a new atmosphere into the Sanyāsa order by introducing a greater social sense...Monks who were originally spiritually oriented also became so-cially oriented on account of a need of the times that was felt.”

So what is the role of renunciates

in this modern age? Though sanya-sis have an educative role and a strict code of conduct, this may depend on their Guru, lineage and also their personal level of spiritual attainment. But sanyasis in India have played a huge part in social life, when times demanded. A quick review of the

Indian spiritual and religious organi-zations shows that we have had many active monks. It is also interesting, and often neglected, that many of the sanyasis created incredibly large or-ganizations, with much resources and follower base.

Historically it is well known that a learned Chanakya was respon-sible for the creation of the mighty Mauryan Empire. Swāmi Rāmdas had Shivaji Mahārāj’s patronage. Swāmi Vivekānanda and Shri Au-robindo though they were sanyasis did not always wear orange robe and

influenced great thinkers from po-litical circles. Also many illustrious Gurus were renunciates (sanyasis) like Parahamsa Yogananda, Swāmi Rama, Swāmi Sahajānand, Swāmi Shivānand, Swāmi Niranjanānand, Swāmi Satyānand among others who supported social upliftment.

In the not so distant past India has had larger than life social-re-former-saints like Sree Nārāyanguru (Kerala), Swāmi Keshwānand (Ra-jashtan), Jai Jalāram Bāpa (Gujarat), Swāmi Dayānand Saraswati (Gujarat), Sathya Sāi Bābā (Andhra Pradesh) among others.

In ancient times Gurus like Vashisht, Agastya and Vishwāmitra advised the rulers. This heritage shows that Gurus were not just showing the society the way to God but also got involved in political and social issues. In fact people who are detached to material things are better able to do good to society.

Coming back to yoga, the most fundamental text of Yoga is the ‘Ha-tha-Yoga-Pradipika’, a classic written by Swāmi Swātmarama in the 5th Century C.E.

This textbook mentions (in Ch-1, v12) that yoga should be practiced in a country where justice is properly ad-ministered, where good people live, and food can be obtained easily and plentifully. Is India one such country? May be that’s the India the social-re-former-Gurus want!!!

Comment

raM lINgaM

Is Sanyasa about making a political difference?

the Baba Ramdev episode has thrown up a key question — should sanyasis be involved in social activism instead of leading a quiet monastic life? It would seem that sanyasis cannot be a social leader since they are not supposed to own any worldly belongings or be attached to the material world. After all, a sanyasi is ‘one who has renounced material life, isn’t it? But with Baba Ramdev’s social activism, is Sanyasa about making a difference in the society as well?

“….Yoga should be practiced in a country where justice is properly administered, where good people live, and food can be obtained easily and plentifully.”~ From the ‘Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika’, a yoga classic written by Swami Swatmarama in the 5thcentury C.E

The media landscape has changed significantly since 2006 – for better or for worse depending on who you speak to, and who is making the ob-servation.

The first major change of course – is that we are not free – or as free as we were prior to 2006.

Censorship still exists – as stipu-lated under the Public Emergency Decree – and there is the Media Industry Development Decree – which while aiming to improve the standards of journalism in Fiji, also has “teeth” in that severe fines can be imposed on journalists or media organisations should they breach el-ements of the decree.

The censorship is not an as stringent as it was after April 2009 when it was first enforced, but it still remains and we, like other media or-ganisations - still get calls from the Ministry of Information asking us to remove a story from our bulletin or from our website.

So the Fiji media today is not just being read, heard or viewed by the public – it is closely monitored, and I think to a great extent analysed.

We are analysed by the Ministry

of Information through their media monitors, by the anonymous blog sites, by the public at large, and by overseas media, which sometimes label us either pro-government or anti-government.

In the main – journalists today are not as confident (or as aggressive as some would describe it) as their counterparts were prior to 2006, and in the 80s and 90s. I am not saying here that current journalists lack courage – in fact it is a courageous thing to be a journalist at this time. However given the PER, we are constantly checking ourselves and asking ourselves if the stories we write will breach the PER and what the consequences may be.

Longest censorshipThis is the longest period of cen-

sorship and public emergency regu-lations the country has experienced. Over two years and counting.

How the Fiji media and journal-ists survive and adapt to the current environment is critical. Also impor-tant is how we adapt or react once the censorship and public emergen-cy regulations is lifted.

Will the confidence return? What

have we learnt? How aggressive will we be in getting a story? How freely will we report, and how responsible will we be?

There is also I believe a current crisis in the Fiji media – in the lack of quality journalists entering the mainstream media industry. Many of our quality journalists are exiting the industry – looking for better pay, better working conditions, or just a more secure and less stressful occu-pation. Our journalists have endured much from all sections of society – all clamouring for their space or their voice to be heard and to domi-nate discourse.

It is a pressure environment – all eyes on you – while you try to write and report pieces of the important developments in the nation.

Broadcast journalists for in-stance are a rare breed today. Very few journalists have radio or televi-sion experience. The pool is small to draw from – that if one leaves they are very difficult to replace.

Vernacular journalists – people who can translate a story and write and read fluently in i-Taukei and Hindi are also rare. It is a special

skill translating a court story for instance with all its jargon into ver-nacular. We are losing or will soon lose people like Masimeke Latianara and Rajendra James (FBC News journalists who are now in their 70s and 60s in age – but still reporting) veterans of vernacular journalism – and are finding it difficult to find capable people to replace them.

Still some positivesSo there are challenges – and

there are things that need to definite-ly improve. But we must not forget the positives. The media still lives – struggling but it remains alive. Our journalists remain determined to do their work and maintain the integ-rity of their profession.

The media still continues to make a positive change in peoples lives. There is too much media bashing about all the negative messages that we allow to come through – but there are many examples every day or every week about how a media report has led to positive change or highlighted an important issue.

Can we do better? Yes, we can. But government, the Ministry of Information, civil society and other

stakeholders can also do better.There is some acceptance in

media circles that we are living through a time when perhaps helping the country recover and get back on its feet – or back towards democratic elections is more impor-tant than breaking stories.

However while we believe in putting Fiji first – this also means telling the truth or reporting freely and responsibly about what is hap-pening. We can focus on develop-ment and progress – however we cannot ignore real problems and challenges on the ground – the prob-lems and challenges that all coun-tries face.

The media was not trained to be spoon-fed information. Good jour-nalists investigate their own stories, verify their information, and give both sides of the story.

Stanley Simpson is news direc-tor of the Fiji Broadcasting Corpo-ration. This paper was presented at a conference on peace journalism organised by the Citizens Consti-tutional Forum (CCF) in Suva late last week.

STaNleY SIMPSoN

May not be kicking, but Fiji media very much alive


Indian Fiji

PadMINI gauNder The chiefly families of Fiji and Tonga are closely related by blood. Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau who was the Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji at independence was the son of King George Tupou of Tonga and Adi Cakobau of Fiji. He was hence the half brother of Queen Salote who was the mother of the last King of Tonga and the grand-mother of the present King. Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, the President of Fiji now, whose father was Ratu Edward, is thus the uncle of the present King of Tonga. The King’s grandmother and Ratu Epeli’s father were half brother and sister.

Queen Salote seemed to have had a lot of regard for Ratu Edward as he was her only brother. As for Ratu Edward, he did not have any other siblings so he seemed to have considered her as his closest rela-tive, ahead of his Fijian cousins. That relationship has continued, even after the deaths of Queen Salote and Ratu Edward, between their children.

This is not the only relation-ship between Fiji and Tonga. The Lau group of islands which are the furthermost eastern islands in Fiji are closer to Tonga than to the rest of Fiji so from the beginning there were many Tongans living in Lau. The Tongans used to come to Lau for buying boats as they consid-ered the Fijian canoes superior to

their own. Since there is a lot of mixing the Lauans are more Poly-nesian than Melanesian in their appearance too so they look dif-ferent from the rest of the Fijians.

Ma’afu was a Tongan prince who came to Lau and became the leader of the Tongan commu-nity. He aligned himself with the Tui Nayau, the paramount chief of Lau. He was a signatory to the Deed of Cession in 1874.

The Lauan way of living became different from the way of living of the rest of Fiji. For example, there was no cannibal-ism in Lau though the rest of Fiji was notorious for it. This was the reason that the missionaries, both Methodists and Roman Catholics, came to Lau first before slowly moving to other parts in Fiji.

Education was the tool the missionaries used for conversion. They established schools in Lau and formal education started there much before it started in the rest of Fiji. This was the main reason why the Lauans had been ahead in edu-cation even after independence. This was a point of contention between the rest of Fiji and Lau.

The Fijian Nationalists under Sakeasi Butadroka always accused Ratu Mara’s Alliance Party, which was in power, of favouring the Lauans. (Ratu Mara was the high chief of Lau). This was a cry taken up also by Dr. Timothy Bavadra, who became the leader of the Fiji

Labour Party and succeeded in de-feating the Alliance government in 1987 before he himself was ousted in a coup d’etat soon after .The Alliance government always maintained that scholarships were awarded according to merit.

Though the Lauan chiefs were happy for the missionaries to establish schools and introduce formal education they were not prepared to accept Christian-ity for about two decades. It was only after Ratu Seru Cakobau, the chief of Bau, who is considered the King of Fiji (Tui Viti) became

a Christian in 1854 the rest of Fiji (including the Lauans) followed suit. Ratu Seru Cakobau was in-fluenced to take this drastic action by the King of Tonga.

Fijians were not against co-lonialism as they did not feel its effects much. This was because of indirect rule. That is, they stayed on in their villages under their chiefs while the Indians who were

brought as indentured labourers did all the hard work for the co-lonial government and the Euro-pean settlers. So the Fijians did not suffer much under the colonial rule. Similarly Tonga was never a colony as such because what they had was an agreement with Great Britain to “protect” the Indepen-dent Kingdom of Tonga.

The chiefly families in Fiji are connected in many ways. From the time of King George I of Tonga, who travelled to Fiji and aided Ratu Seru Cakobau to consolidate his rule over the whole of Fiji, the Tongan royal family and chiefs in Fiji have also been related. As mentioned earlier, King George also had a son from Cakobau’s daughter, Adi Cakobau, Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau.

Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau was the uncle of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the father of Ratu Tevita Mara who has been enjoying the hospitality of the Tongan Royal family. Ratu Edward was also the uncle of the Tongan King’s father so Ratu Tevita and the Tongan King are related in many ways.

Ratu Tevita is the brother-in-law of Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, who is the President of Fiji. It has been already pointed out that Ratu Epeli is the son of Ratu Sir Edward. So for the Tongan Royal Family it is a family affair; they are giving protection to one of their family members who is in trouble.

Fiji and tonga – a Family affair

the chiefly families of Fiji and tonga are closely related

by blood.

Suva: Post Fiji and UNAIDS laun-ched stamps on HIV prevention yesterday. Fiji is one of a few coun-tries in the world that have launched stamps to commemorate the High Level Meeting.

Post Fiji as a member of the Uni-versal Postal Union which partnered with UNAIDS for the project. Post Fiji Chief Executive Officer Jope Kunikoro said the stamps were Post Fiji’s contribution in the response to HIV in the country and will be ef-fective in raising awareness of the issues surrounding HIV.

The stamps themes are focused

on UNAIDS ten outcome areas which are: Protecting youth from HIV, Zero New Infections, Prevent-ing mothers and babies from HIV and enhancing social protection for people affected by HIV. Speaking at the launch, UNAIDS National Programme Officer – Jone Vakalala-bure highlighted the steps Fiji has taken in legal reforms that protected the rights of the most vulnerable to infection in Fiji. Vakalalabure said with the world now talking about the global response after 30 years, it was obvious that the response to HIV was far from over, “The High Level

Meeting should see the renewal of commitment by the heads of states and governments to reaching univer-sal access goals towards HIV pre-vention, treatment, care and support by 2015.”

He also said that the next ten years of the response is about game changers, “Scientific innovation, new political leadership, country ownership and predictable resourc-es. Together, we will transform the AIDS response in Fiji and the region.” The stamps are available in 20 cents, 40 cents up to $5 denomi-nations.

Fiji launches HIV prevention stamps

Suva: Fiji’s Ministry of Health said last Thursday that it has major plans to build a floating hospital to service those in maritime areas who find it too expensive and inconvenient to travel to main centers for medical treatment.

The ministry’s spokesman Peni Namotu told media that this was a long-term plan for the ministry to build a floating hospital, which will serve the maritime islands of Fiji even though some citizens believe there was a need to improve health facilities on mainland first.

The maritime places are not ac-

cessible to services provided at the main referral hospitals and costs of boat fares can be quite unrealis-tic for these rural dwellers that rely heavily on subsistence farming and fishing for a living.

The Ministry of Health hopes that this floating hospital is going to address the issue of quality services provided to people living in those areas.

Namotu said that the floating hospital will be a ship which will have all state of the art medical fa-cilities provided at major hospitals around the country.

However, critics believe that Fiji’s Ministry of Health should at first concentrate on upgrading their services at public hospitals and ex-isting health centres.

Pita Tukana, a resident of one of the suburbs outside Suva told Xinhua that health centres were not providing services expected from them as proclaimed by the govern-ment, adding although there were extended hours patients had to wait for medicine to be released the next day and often they waited for hours before being attended to by doctors.

– Xinhua/Pacnews

Fiji to extend medical services to outer islands

Suva: The ‘Jaipur Foot’ team that arrived in the country on Monday has to date, success-fully fitted 30 artificial limbs at the Rehabilitation Hospital in Tamavua.

Head of delegation and team manager, Mr Om Prakash Sharma said there were eight of them working on the artificial limbs and each day a total of 14 patients were screened and measured for placements.

“The Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) commonly known as ‘Jaipur Foot’ started in 1975 and has fitted 1.20 million limbs both in India and around the world,” said Mr Sharma.

“I have seen a lot of diabetic patients over the last two days who are going through the limb placements in Fiji.

“Most of them are having the fitting for the first time and their response has been encourag-ing.”

Fifty-one-year-old Moritekei Wavu, who came all the way from Natumua, Tavuki Kadavu said he had a new lease of life now after the limb fitting.

Mr Wavu is a diabetic patient who was one of the patients fit-

ted with a limb today.“I thank God for this opportu-

nity and I thank the team for the assistance,” Mr Wavu said.

“I heard on the radio that a team was coming from India and I came to Suva to register and got selected for the fitting.”

Mr Wavu said he was staying in the village all this years and now with the new limb he could move around more easily.

The Jaipur team will be at-tending the patients seven days a week and also work on public holidays.

Jaipur Team Fulfilling Dreams


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Yacht tourism has been a growth industry worldwide over the past 10 years and was basically unaf-fected by the global economic crisis, making it an area of opportunity for many Pacific Islands countries.

Fiji has always enjoyed good business in the yachting area, mainly because of the country’s geo-graphic placement, but was hindered in some of the opportunity areas by restrictive and somewhat archaic marine and immigration laws.

There is now increasing inter-est from around the world amongst superyachts for the Pacific as a base of operations because the traditional area for charter cruising during the Northern Hemisphere winter, the Caribbean, is overused, the environ-ment not clean and safety issues are becoming a concern. So cruising yachts, particularly the superyachts, are turning to the Pacific as a cruis-ing and charter area.

Superyachts are generally motor powered, over 50 metres in length, luxuriously fitted with all sorts of

toys including helicopters, and carry a crew of between 12 and 18. Gener-ally, they have accommodation for 12 guests.

The yacht tourism sector is growing rapidly in Fiji, due mainly to a decision by the government to provide a better legal environment for the industry.

The Superyacht Decree of 2010, first tabled in late 2009 by the Attor-ney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, puts in place a number of initiatives to assist with the viability of the in-dustry.

This decree has now been imple-mented for the last 12 months and the results have been spectacular.

In early May, there were two su-peryachts (complete with their own helicopters sitting on the back deck) and a number of smaller charter yachts at the Port Denarau marina and a number operating from other ports in Fiji.

The untouched beauty of the islands, the unpolluted environment and the very friendly attitude of the local people combine to enhance the attraction of the destination.

Another factor in Fiji’s favour is the relative ease of access. Most charter passengers fly in, take the charter and then fly out again, so airline services are important.

Air Pacific, the country’s nation-al carrier, offers excellent connec-tions to all the main source markets with flights departing Los Angeles late afternoon and arriving early the next morning in Nadi, the gateway to the cruising areas.

Fiji also has a number of quality marinas and excellent facilities for servicing yachts. Yachts can charter out of a selected port knowing that both regular maintenance and emer-gency repairs can be undertaken without too much trouble.

A survey of the impact of supery-achts on the tourist industry in Fiji has just been completed.

It was conducted by the Port Denarau marina for the FIHTA Marine Industry Committee.

It is estimated that in 2010, 700 yachts came to Fiji, 32 of which were superyachts.

The survey sample covered 50 vessels. The survey only covers the

superyachts on the rise?New decree, untouched beauty lure $m business to Fiji

revenue generated by foreign yachts visiting Fiji and does not take into account revenue from the domestic yacht market.

The total revenue from foreign yachts was estimated at FJ$33 million; FJ$3.9 million from su-peryachts and FJ$21.8 million from yachts and the direct contribution to the government revenue was over FJ$3.8 million. Departing guests also paid over FJ$613,000 in depar-ture tax.

Over sixty percent of the guests flew by the national carrier, Air Pacific, contributing an estimated FJ$6.6 million to their revenue.

In total, there were 1006 guests on 32 superyachts and 4567 guests on visiting yachts as well as a total of 1863 crew.

Superyachts stayed in Fiji waters for an average of 136 days and vis-iting yachts for an average of 116 days.

By contrast, in 2010, cruise ship visits totalled 63 calls to various ports with an estimated total of 96,000 passengers, and average stay of just over a day and a contribu-tion to the Fiji economy of FJ$6.4 million.

Although cruise ships bring sig-nificantly more passengers to Fiji, the impact on the economy is very much smaller than for yachts.

Nigel Skeegs, of Port Denarau Marina, says “Fiji is entering a very exciting phase in tourism, of which we hope to see yachting in Fiji as a major contributor to our economy.

“The Government of Fiji has made many changes of late with the extension of visiting yachts time allowed in the country to 18 months, duty on importation of yachts to 5%, the Super Yacht Charter Decree and, finally, the refinement of the outdat-ed domestic clearance legislation.

“Both Port Denarau Marina and Vuda Marina are working very

closely with relevant government departments in the hope of becom-ing ports of entry to ultimately give the visiting tourist a more stream-lined and cleaner method of enter-ing and exiting the country.

“The Fiji Navy has also taken over all hydrographic services for Fiji and are about to embark on a huge project of resurveying Fiji waters.

“With many soundings dating back to pre-World War One and chart datums being incorrect, this will be a welcome resource for our domestic boating community as well as that of our visitors.”

Skeegs said one of the biggest concerns for the yachting industry in Fiji now is the lack of marinas and berths for both yachts and su-

peryachts. “For the industry to grow, we

need facilities spread throughout Fiji and this requires considerable investment in dredging and infra-structure.

“Unfortunately, with all marinas in Fiji being under price control, there is no incentive to build and develop by marinas.

“The Commerce Commis-sion is controlling all charges by marinas including the protection of all foreign vessels and superyacht charges,” Skeegs said.

However, the industry is con-fident the yachting tourism in Fiji, particularly the superyacht segment, is poised for growth in the next two years.

There are a number of infra-structure developments planned that will make the area even more attrac-tive for chartering.

In addition, the Fiji government continues to seek ways to support the industry.

(Reproduced with permission from Islands Business)

the total revenue from foreign yachts was estimated at FJ$33 million; FJ$3.9 million from superyachts and FJ$21.8 million from yachts and the direct contribution to the government revenue was over FJ$3.8 million.


Indian

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‘ranvir is a good dad’Actor Konkona Sen Sharma is quite busy these days taking care of her newborn. the new B-town mommy chats up correspondent Sreya Basu at the launch of Mamma Mania, an author’s journey to motherhood by Shabia Ravi Walia, in Mumbai

How does it feel to be a new mom?Life changes completely after you become a mother. While I didn’t have a baby, people used to tell me: dekhna life bilkul badal jayega. And I didn’t take them seriously. And then, it happened to me, I realized it’s something you have to experi-ence personally…it’s a profound and wonderful change in your life, which I can’t describe in words. What was the most difficult thing you faced during pregnancy?When I was pregnant, I was told to be on bed rest for sometime. It was very difficult for me because I am not used to staying home and was badly wanting to go out. So, it was a challenge in itself.

Did the excitement of new moth-erhood bring you to launch a book on first-time mothers?

I had read a lot of books during my pregnancy. But most of them were targeted at an audience abroad…US or whatever. So, this created a void. There were people giving you lots of advice, recommended books and what to expect during pregnancy. But I had not read any Indian books on pregnancy. I wish I had read Mamma Mania while I was pregnant. But I read it soon after I delivered my baby boy (in March) and found it a very practical guide to all mothers, especially, first-time mothers. Shabia (Ravi Walia) has not crossed over anything…every-thing you need to know is there.

Who suggested Harun as the name of your child?Harun was the only name we agreed on for our baby. Else, he (Ranvir Shorey) was not agreeing to what I suggested and vice-versa. Harun in Sanskrit means hope. Also,

(Salman) Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a book that we both read and laughed. So my son’s name is inspired from that book…there Haroun is a 12-year-old boy adventurer. Again, Harun al-Rashid was a very famous king of Baghdad centuries ago. In the Old Testament, there’s a deriva-tive of the name. So, actually it’s a panel of names.

How is Ranvir as a father?Ranvir is very excited about the baby. He is such a good dad…he is changing diapers, putting Harun

to sleep, burping him…he is really good at all that. Thank God, I am very lucky.

Will motherhood affect your career as an actor?No, I don’t think my choice of films will change because I have a baby. Obviously, my child will always be in the back of my mind when I am out. It sounds funny for me to say this as motherhood is just sinking in. As long as I get interesting roles and interesting films, I will continue to do them.

What is taking so long for your film Iti Mrinalini to release in India?It’s unfortunate that the film has still not released in India. But it’s very exciting that Iti Mrinalini won two awards at the New York Indian Film Festival this year. A small budget film is always so difficult to release, get money for publicity, etc. So, I am hoping that awards will generate certain interest in people about the film and they will want to watch it. The film will be re-leased both in Hindi and Bengali….it’s about life of an actress.

Bollywood

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Indian

Mumbai: After the largely talked about breakup with long time boy friend John Abhraham, rumour mill has started spinning round the cock on the personal life of Bipasha Basu.

Reports said she has found more than a friend these days and if some reports are to be believed the Bong beauty finds Simngularity co-star Josh Hart-nett more than a friend.

“He is a fabulous costar. We get along very well. We look great on screen together,” the beautiful actor gushed about Harnett in a

TV interview.Bipasha and Harnett paired

together in director Roland Joffé’s new film ‘Singularity’.

Media reports said that Josh who was reportedly dating Bipasha has returned back to his former lady love Sophia Lie.

With this film Bipasha joins the long list of B-town actors like Ash and Mallika Sherawat who featured in international projects.

Bipasha was earlier linked to Southern star Rana Daggubati, with whom she worked in Dum Maro Dum.

Single Bipasha ready to mingle?

Bollywood

Why didn’t you direct Delly Belly besides producing it?Abhinay (Deo) has made Delly Belly the exact way we wanted. The script came to us and we chose him and he has done full justice to it. As a pro-ducer, I am really satisfied the way the film has shaped up, the way Abhinay has brought out the humour, the ex-citement…he lived up to our faith completely.

Why did you cast your nephew Imran as a lead in the film?The reason we chose Imran is because he is a thik thak actor (smiles)…a good actor. He suits the character of Tashi to the ‘T’.

Is it a remake?It is not a remake of any film. It is an original film. The script has been written by Akshat Verma, who has been a student of UCLA (Univer-sity of California, Los Angeles); he studied films there. It’s his story.

Delly Belly has a dark script while your production house maintains a clean, family en-tertainment tag. Are you taking a risk with this film?Yes you are right in saying that I produce films that are family-orient-ed, carry social message; mainly for family audience. But for the first time we have made a film which is strictly not for kids. The language used in the film is really indecent. So, it is also not for those people who prefer to stay away from filthy language. We had applied for an adults (A) certificate (at the Censor Board)…and we got that. Delly Belly is a very irreverent film;

‘I don’t use foul language’aamir Khan has donned the producer’s hat once again for imran Khan-starrer delly Belly. the actor in conversation with tWF correspondent sreya Basu in mumbai

it’s aimed at the youth. I loved the film, though personally I don’t use foul lan-guage.

How did you feel when you read the script for the first time?I couldn’t stop laughing when I read the script for the first time. Akshat was trying for months to approach me with his script. He came to Mumbai from LA only to meet me. But I was busy shooting for a film and so couldn’t meet him. So, he gave the script to my maid at home. I don’t know where the maid kept the script, but somehow it showed up on my table. One day, I was answering some emails on Inter-net and Kiran (Rao, wife) was waiting for me to get free. There were about 100-150 scripts on my table and the very first script she picked up for a casual read was this one.I saw her laughing while reading the

script and gradually her laughter got louder and she literally rolled down from the sofa. I asked her: ‘What are you reading?’She said this script is really funny and that I should read it too. We were supposed to go out, but we cancelled our plan. Kiran refused to leave the script half-read. She com-pleted reading the script in 90 minutes. I immediately started reading it after she was done. I wasted no time in calling Jim (one of the producers) and Akshat, who had just reached LA that time, and said I wanted to meet him. He took the next flight and returned to Mumbai.

Now that the song- Bhaag Bhaag DK Bose - is topping the music charts, who is DK Bose?At times we face certain andhi -like (stormy) situations in life. That time the only option left to us to flee. It’s

at that time one sings this kind of song.

Why aren’t you dis-closing the name of your item girl in Delly Belly?Till a heroine or item girl is decided, I feel very happy because all actresses smile at me a lot. Wherever I go, girls give me a lot of smiles. So I feel very happy and ask my director to take more time to choose and announce the heroine.

What if you get confused on a heroine given that so many girls are smiling at you?In that case, I will turn item boy and start dancing.

Shifting from Delly Bellyi, Salman Khan said he will tie up

your hands and feet so that you don’t marry a third time. You comment to that?You people (media) asked me how will Salman get married. I said since he himself is not taking any initiative, so we have to tie up his hands and feet and get him married. Now you are saying he wants to tie up my hand and legs. He is absolutely right. If someone doesn’t tie me up, then there is no guarantee…(that I won’t marry again).

Mumbai: Popular jewellery brand Diya Diamonds on Monday an-nounced “Plant a Tree” initiative with actor Celina Jaitley, who was present at the event to pledge her support for the cause on the occa-sion of World Environment Day.

Diya Diamond’s planet friend-ly initiative on World Environ-ment Day aims to create aware-ness and educate the society on the importance of a Green Nation.

On this occasion Jaitley, Brand ambassador of Diya Diamonds, said: “I am proud to be associated with this initiative by Diya Dia-monds. This activity is the perfect platform to create awareness about our environmental issues and a step in the right direction.

“I hope everybody joins us and takes a pledge on World En-vironment Day to give back to nature and become pro actively environmentally friendly.”

Niyat Parekh, Brand Head- Gitanjali Brands Ltd. announced the initiative and planted the first sapling to support this eco-friend-ly cause.

Celina Jaitley plants tree

I hope everybody joins us and takes a pledge on world environment day to give back to nature and become pro actively environ-mentally friendly.


Indian Bollywood

Kolkata: Yesteryear’s Bollywood star Sha-trughan Sinha will once again be seen entertain-ing his fans, this time in the small screen anchor-ing the Bhojpuri version of the popular game show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’.

Sinha will be seen anchoring the Bhojpuri version of Kaun Banega Crorepati that will hit the screen from Jun 6.

The Bhojpuri edi-tion has been named ‘Ke Bani Crorepati’ and Sinha has completed the entire shooting of the show that will be aired on Mahuua TV.

“I believe that the show ‘Ke Bani Crorepati’ is all set to change television content in the Bhojpuri language. It’s a tribute to the Bhojpuri language community that an international format like ‘Who Wants to be Millionaire’ popular as Kaun Banega Crorepati in India is being made in Bhojpuri lan-guage,” he said.

Bollywood star Govinda, singer Udit Narayan, politician Yashwant Sinha and actor Sonakshi Sinha (daughter of Sinha) will feature in the celebrity episodes of the show.

“Sonakshi will be on the hot seat before me. Audiences will finally get to see baap-bati (father

and daughter) together on the small screen first,” he said.

“We want to scale new heights in creating local language content amd KBC is a taste of things to come. We are proud to collaborate with Siddharth Basu and Big Synergy in taking this pioneering step and producing a world class show in these two languages,” Yubraj Bhattacharya, CEO, Ma-huaa TV, said.

The Bengali version of the popular show will also be aired in the channel in the coming days.

Mahuaa TV and Mahuaa Bangla channel will telecast the Bengali and the Bhojpuri version of the popular show.

Shatrughan Sinha making comeback with KBC

What was your first reaction when you were offered Ke Bani Crorepati?I was a bit nervous and unsure when I was ap-proached for the show. But the producers told me that this show won’t happen if I said ‘no’ to them. Ke Bani Crorepati is a tribute to the Bho-jpuri language. Like Amitabh Bachchan say Lock Kiya Jaye?on Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), what will be your catch phrase?There will be lots of such phrases on my show. If there is Lock Kiya Jaye, then here it can be Maar Mohara Lagavo Thappa. Amitabh is an old colleague and now you are hosting the Bhojpuri version of KBC. Are you ready for comparisons?Just don’t compare me with him…there is no need. See, Amitabh has already proven his success as KBC host. I know there are certain features that people will find similar in us…we both are tall, have good voices and accent, and have excellent sense of extempore, wit and humour. But then, I know there will be compari-sons.

Since you are from political back-ground, which is one politician who you

think has the capability to win Rs 1 crore on your show?There are many of them; like, Yashwant Sinhaji (former Union Finance Minister) has agreed to be a celebrity contestant on my show. He is a well-educated man, very good in general knowledge, he is very strong in history. We are also trying to convince Lalu (Prasad) Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal chief) to come to my show. We also want Nitish Kumar (Bihar Chief Minister), who gave a new direction to the state, on our show. What about the Bollywood brigade?Govinda (actor) and Udit Narayan (singer) have agreed to come, we are in talks with Salman Khan. Sonakshi will also be on the hot seat before me. Audiences will finally get to see baap-beti together first time on the small screen. Talking about Sonakshi, what changes did her Dabangg debut bring in your life?Sonakshi is indeed an answer to our (me and my wife Poonam’s) prayers. Being the only daugh-ter of the family, she is our darling. She is still a baby to us. Now that the situation has changed, sometimes me, Poonam, my sons Luv and Kush get to bask ourselves in the new-found glory of Sonakshi. But that’s what happens outside our house. At home, we are still one…we are a loving and great family.You talk a lot about your wife Poonam Sinha. Will we see her on the hot seat?I don’t have guts to approach her. (Laughs)

We are seeing you in very few films these days. Are you taking a backseat?See, fact is, I cannot accept any role after spend-ing over four decades in the Hindi film industry. I have to pick a role that suits my image, a script that is sensible. At the moment, there are three films up for release- Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai with Rekhaji, Bodyguard (with Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor), and Aap Jaisa Koi Nahin (with Raj Babbar).

After 20 years, we will see your pairing with Rekha. Did Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai help you two sort out your differences?Rekha has matured a lot (unlike she was 20 years back). I enjoyed a lot working with her again. She is one of the most talented and beau-tiful actresses the Hindi film industry ever had.

‘Don’t compare me with Amitabh’Yesteryear actor shatrughan sinha will be seen hosting the Bhojpuri version of Kaun Banega Crorepati on mahuaa tv. the original Bihari Babu in conversation with sreya Basu in Kolkata

Bangalore: Cryo-Save, a global leader in stem cell banking industry, on Thursday announced Mandira Bedi as their official brand-ambas-sador.

In her role as Cryo-Save’s Brand Ambassador, Mandira Bedi will be involved in various strategic com-munication initiatives as part of an extensive 360 degree brand cam-paign.

Mandira Bedi, an actress, model and television anchor for various cricket tournaments, started her career by playing the title role in the 1994 television serial Shanti, which was the first daily soap on Indian Television.

Mandira is married for twelve years to Bollywood Director/Pro-ducer, Raj Kaushal. The couple is expecting their first child.

Speaking about her association with Cryo-Save, Mandira Bedi said “Parents take various steps to ensure safe and secure future of their child. One small, but very significant step towards securing the health of your child is by storing the stem cells of your new born.

“It wasn’t until recently that I was made aware of the benefits of stem cells. They can be used to treat various life threatening diseases. Banking of Stem Cells is the best gift, which the parents can give to their child. It gives me immense pleasure to associate with Cryo-Save in spreading this awareness across India.”

Adding to this, Raj Kaushal said: “In India, when a child is born, the parents open a savings bank account to ensure the financial and educa-tional future of the newborn. In my opinion, banking the stem cells of the newborn is equally important as it helps in insuring the medical future of the child.

It is a boon and the best gift that we can give our children- The miracle of good health.”

Announcing Mandira Bedi as the brand ambassador, Rajesh Sharma, MD, Cryo-Save India said, “We are indeed very proud and priv-ileged to have Mandira as our Brand Ambassador and we welcome her to the Cryo-Save family and look forward to a long and successful re-lationship.”

Cryo-Save India, a 100% sub-sidiary of Cryo Save Group N.V which is Europe’s largest adult stem cell storage bank, is headquartered in Bangalore with a state-of-the art fully automated adult stem-cell storage facility.

Mandira Bedi to endorse Stem Cell Bank

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‘Don’t compare me with Amitabh’


IndianBollywood

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan will now be seen co-hosting the popular reality show ‘Emotional Atyachaar-Season 3’

Ajay Devgan will be seen sharing his expertise and making people aware of cheat-ing.

The first episode will be on the story of one Aayush who has been dating Neha for the past year and half. Love seems to be in abundance for Aayush since he is by the side of Neha despite his friends and well-wishers alerting him of Neha’s suspicious behavior with guys.

Aayush approaches the EAT (Emotional Atyachaar Team) and

reveals that he has in the past at-tempted to break up with Neha but failed because it was her brother Ansh who threatened his life if he happens to hurt his sister. Now mus-tering the courage Aayush agrees to

do the loyalty test on Neha.For the first time on the

show a loyalty test is conducted at initial stages without an un-dercover agent where it is soon revealed at a mock audition that Neha has been dating Aayush’s best friend Himanshu.

Ajay Devgan, who is con-stantly keeping a track of the goings on of the case will be advising Pravesh as to what needs to be done next.

He will prepare the team to deal with the situation that they

will face in future.‘Emotional Atyachaar 3’ will

premiere on June 10 in the popular entertainment channel UTV Bindass.

Ajay Devgan to judge ‘Emotional Atyachaar-Season 3’

Mumbai: Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari was one of the many who were injured in the fracas that took place at the Ramlila Maidan on last Saturday night.

Tiwari, who returned to Mumbai on Sunday evening, said, “I was sleeping in the pandal when I was woken up by a policeman’s boots that stamped on me.”

“I was driven out by the police with lathis. I must’ve ran at least 3-4 km to save my life,” said Tiwari, who is in Mumbai now.

“Although my injuries are not no-ticeable enough, my body is aching because of the lathis I got from the police,” he added.

Baba Ramdev’s beleaguered anti-graft hunger strike ended early Sunday amid violence, as a heavy contingent of police stormed the protest site with teargas shells and charging batons, while the yoga guru himself was evicted out of Delhi. Tiwari was the only celeb-rity from the glamour world to join Ramdev at Ramlila Maidan.

I was booted by police: Manoj Tiwari Mumbai: “Ek baar jo maine com-mitment kar di toh phir main khud ki bhi nahi sunta.” Salman Khan’s now famous dialogue from ‘Wanted’ certainly stand true as far as the actor is concerned.

During the time he hosted reality show Bigg Boss 4 on Colors, Khan had taken a shine to Mahesh Bhatt’s son Rahul and had even given him tips on how to make his body-line more screen-friendly.

Khan had also assured Rahul that there would be a movie soon to launch him. After waiting patiently for months, Rahul has reason to

breathe a sigh of relief. Salman has apparently found the right vehicle for Bhatt Junior and is all set to not only produce it but also play the pro-tagonist’s part in it.

Salman thinks Rahul should slot himself in the antagonist’s slot and has the potential to become the suavest villain in Hindi cinema since Shatrughan Sinha.

The film that Salman has chosen as Rahul Bhatt’s launch vehicle is the 1990 American horror-action film The First Power directed by Robert Resnikoff. Salman wants Rahul to play the antagonist.

Salman to make film for Rahul Bhatt

Bollywood

Playback singer Mamta Sharma whose infectious anthem item-song ‘munni badnaam hui’ has been the topmost chartbuster of the season for Indians and NRIs all over, has discreetly recorded an ad-jingle for Indian ‘Zandu’ analgesic ointment (the name ‘Zandu’ crops up in the refrain of the raunchy song). No prizes for guessing that the jingle in-cludes the phrase ‘badnaam munni’ and eminent ad-film-maker Prahlad Kakkar has been approached to shoot the commercial according to the singer.

‘‘Its true that I have recorded a jingle for Zandu balm, but I am not in a position to reveal all the details,’’

shrugs Mamta who refutes rumours that she is ‘now considering acting assignments’. “Post my Dabangg-song success, there are offers trick-ling from Hindi film-makers who are impressed with my ‘live’ show-manship at my foreign and domestic stage-shows and want to ‘cast’ me in their upcoming movies as an actress-singer.

But I do not wish to dabble in the dicey game of acting. At this stage, my focus is only music and singing, clarifies Sharma who claims to sing fluently in 11 different languages and aspires to “record a Marathi laavni number someday in future”. Unlike thousands of aspiring female singers who glide into reality shows and grab instant fame. Mamta refuses to jump on the TV shows bandwagon.

“Somehow, I felt I was not cut out to participate in reality shows where you are bonded to the TV channel and at the mercy of the edited ver-sions. Besides, how many winners in recent times have been able to make a mark as a regular bolly-

wood playback singer,” counters Mamta who has already won nearly a dozen popular awards for her debut ‘munni’ song including the coveted Filmfare trophy.

Wasn’t there an ubiquitous over-dose of the ‘munni’ song composed by seasoned composer-lyricist Lalit Pandit being performed or played at all events and occasions? She gets

‘My dream is to playback for Bipasha and Mallika”CHaITaNYa PaduKoNe

into her defensive mode. “There is some magical aura about this raunchy racy ‘ethnic cult song’. Would you believe it, that at my recent ‘live’ show, where the audi-ence comprised mainly between 40 to 60 years there was a frenzied encore ‘seven times’ for ‘munni’ and I had no choice but to comply,” chuckles the outspoken Sharma who seems ecstatic that her birthday (Sept 7) almost coincides with that of the iconic legendary singer Asha Bhonsle (Sept 8).

Strangely, the ‘Dabangg’ singer whose “dream ambition is to ‘play-back’ for Bipasha Basu and Mallika Sherawat” does not want to cash in on her item-songster brand. “Singing in raunchy nasal or husky tones is my forte. But I can sing romantic and lilting songs equally well, which will be proved with my upcoming playback numbers, which includes one for a film produced by Ashim Shakti Samanta.

Was it true that in her personal life she has her ‘mystery man’ to whom she could hum ‘shaadi hum tayy karenge—darrlling tere liye’? After a hearty laugh she admits, “That’s right, there is someone with whom I propose to settle down hopefully, by end of this year. At the moment my involvement is only with my soaring musical career,” she signs off.

Item-song ‘munni badnaam hui’ has been the topmost chartbuster of the season for Indians and NRIs all over.

0800 india Gate

Indian


Indian Fashion & Beauty

daNdruFF - Winter has well and truly set in, with all the not-so-joyful things that come along with it. Rain .. .the cold…wind….and along with all this comes DAN-DRUFF……Brrrr !

Dandruff is one of the most common scalp infections which majority of people (men or women) suffer in winter. The side effects of dandruff are even worse, for example, rash, spots, pimples, acne, hair fall, dry hair, etc. Today, the ancient herbal healing system of Ayurveda has found a prominent place in modern cosmetic care.

Along with the Indian philosophies of Yoga and Meditation, the world is looking at the holistic system

of Ayurveda for health and beauty solutions. Shahnaz Husain is a name that has become synonymous with the most advanced Ayurvedic care, not only in terms of highly exclusive clinic treatments, but also the legendary range of natural products.

As a response to precise and individual requirements, Shahnaz Husain Group offers wide and varied ranges, specially designed to provide ideal skin, hair and body care. Experience the unique benefit of an integrated sys-tem of clinic care and product excellence

To say goodbye to this embarrassing white falling dead skin flakes and all the other skin and scalp disorders due to dandruff, Bindu (The Shahnaz Husain’s expert) recom-mends a special treatments she offers at her Ayurvedic Beauty Clinic in Henderson along with home treatment products as suggested belowSHaHNaZ HuSaIN’S HaIr ToNIC: Apply daily on scalp.SHaHNaZ HuSaIN’S HaIr oIl: Once a week, night before shampoo

SHaoINT: Apply on scalp one hour before shampoo. If dandruff is severe apply daily at bed time. SHaHeeNa SHaMPoo aNd SHarINSe: Mix 2 tsps Sharinse with Shaheena Shampoo and wash hair.SHaHNaZ HuSaIN’S HeeNa: Once a week.

For more advice on the treatment or products offered by Shahnaz Husain NZ, Contact

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Shahnaz HusainThe Ayurvedic Beauty Clinic 40 Lincoln Road, Henderson, Auckland. P : 09 9082440 E : [email protected]

B e a u t y t i p s

It has been said that those who can do – and those who can’t teach! However, this does not apply to the hairdressing and make-up teach-ing team at Cut Above Academy. Founded in 1971 as a chain of high profile hairdressing salons, the Cut Above reputation grew from its continuing network of associations with the fashion and performing arts industries – and its commitment to progressive in-house training. In 1993 this commitment resulted in the Cut Above Academy, which now offers the most comprehensive syl-labus of full-time NZQA approved, TEC funded tertiary certificates and diplomas in Hairdressing, Fashion Make-up, Special FX Make-up for Stage and Screen, and Beauty and Spa Therapy in New Zealand. Re-sources in each faculty are of an internationally high standard: the state-of the art facilities, impressive industry backgrounds of all teach-ers, and, most importantly, the con-tinuing focus on industry connec-tions all contribute to the students’ career pathways.

Work experience on many of NZ’s most exciting fashion shows and performing arts events is a

vital component of the Cut Above hairdressing and make-up artistry students’ development – and it is also an excellent opportunity for the teachers to keep up with changing fashion and beauty trends. The full Hairdressing and Makeup tutor team was out in full creative force back-stage at the NZ Bridal Fashion Week,

held at the Auckland Museum Dome on 2nd to 5th April. Their task was daunting – they had to create indi-vidual hairstyles and make-up art-istry for a line-up of high profile NZ designers - Liz Mitchell, Yvonne Bennetti, Alison Blain, Jessica Bridal, John Zimmerman, La’Shika, Robyn Cliffe, Rosemarie Smith,

Vinka Design, Corina Snow, Jane Yeh, John Zimmerman, Rosemary Smith, Serra Lilly, Exclusive Suit Hire - and the iconic Annie Bonza – PLUS acclaimed International Designers CYMBELINE of Paris and RUBEN PERLOTTI of Barce-lona. Each designer had his or her own brief - so the team were hard pressed to create the necessary changes on the team of 40 models from the Monarch Agency – but they met the challenge! In fact, both International designers were blown away with their talent and versatil-ity. Show director Amanda Barn-sgrove had this to say “The Inter-nationals just LOVE the work your team is putting out, ” and Ruben Perlotti himself said he has worked all around the world on top shows, but never met such a professional team. The Paris designer Cymbeline was equally impressed. She wanted soft flowing hairstyles to comple-ment her stunning collection of Ro-mantic-inspired bridal creations – so the Cut Above Team had barely half an hour to rearrange the 40 models’ hair from sleek upswept chignons and funky backcombed up dos into the natural look she wanted.

Cut Above Academy Hairdressing and Make-up Tutors at NZ Bridal Fashion Week

Keeping abreast of contemporary hairstyling and make-up trends is vital for teachers in the creative fields of hairdressing and make-up artistry

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Indian

Welfare is essential for those who need it. It will always be there to catch families who have fallen on hard times, or to help those who can’t work due to illness or disability. But long-term welfare dependency can be destructive and demoralising.

Almost one in ten working age New Zealanders are on a benefit. That’s 354,000 people – more than the population of Wellington and Nelson put together. More disturb-ingly, more than 140,000 people have spent 10 of the past 20 years on welfare.

National is committed to chang-ing this, and providing more support for beneficiaries to get back to work, increase their income, and access better opportunities.

We set up the Welfare Working Group because New Zealand needs to do better. The working group’s final report outlines a range of options to address long-term benefit dependency.

These options draw on several key principles, including recognis-ing the value and importance of paid work. People are always better off in work, and the report provides thoughtful options for helping them get there.

We have formed a special Minis-terial group to consider these recom-mendations and lead detailed work on welfare reforms. Ministers will take time to consider the report and carefully form new policy. We won’t make any changes to the benefit

system without a substantial amount of work, and will seek public input throughout this process.

We will not cut main benefit rates. We are not interested in short-term, punitive measures. There are better ways to achieve long-term change.

Any changes we make will build on improvements we have already introduced to the welfare system.

Last year, with our Future Focus reforms, we changed the law so that benefits will always increase to keep pace with the cost of living. We strengthened work-testing obli-gations for people on the Sickness Benefit. And we required people to reapply for the Unemployment Benefit once they have been receiv-ing payments for one year.

We believe that if you can work, you should be in work – or looking for it. We will give people a hand up where they need it, to make this happen.

Our decisions on the Welfare Working Group report will be driven by our optimism about the potential of every single New Zealander. New Zealand can and should do more to help people realise that potential, es-pecially those who have found them-selves in a cycle of dependence.

By helping people on benefits back into work, National can help improve the outcomes and choices available to them, and build a bright-er future for all New Zealanders and their families.

KaNwaljIT SINgH BaKSHI

Addressing long-term welfare dependency

Column

To own a business is a great idea. There are great success stories of business people which are impossible to think of if someone is in a job. Still, different people have different apti-tudes. People who are successful in jobs may not necessarily be success-ful in business.

The first thing you should consider is if you have got an aptitude to be in business. You must evaluate yourself honestly. Everybody cannot become a successful businessperson. There may be serious risks involved. If you have an aptitude, then the next thing you need to decide is if you want to start a new business or to buy an ex-isting business from someone who is already running it. The business you think of buying can be a good profit making business or it can be a rundown business.

You should start/buy a business, which involves work you have done in the past whether in paid jobs, as part of family business or as a hobby. Even if a business looks good, do not buy it if you do not know much about the same.

There are a few things which are common to starting a new or buying an existing business, like financial and legal issues. You must sort out your fi-nances before you start your business. Make your cash flow projections and see if you have enough resources in place. Sort out the legal issues like licensing, lease agreement with the help of your solicitor. Pay particular attention to rent review timings, terms

and conditions of rent review, demo-lition clause, etc., if any. Decide with the help of your accountant, the struc-ture you want your business to operate under. You can operate your business under sole proprietorship, partnership, trading trust, company, etc. Consider all aspects including protection from outside liabilities and taxation while deciding the structure.

Coming to starting of a new busi-ness, identify the market you are going to operate in. Do you have knowledge about products and services you are intending to sell? Who will be the competitors? Who will be your sup-pliers? Who will be target customers? How you are going to advertise your business? Do your SWOT analysis – that is, identify the strengths, weak-nesses, opportunities and threats. Evaluate how you are going to over-come your weaknesses and how you are going to tackle threats.

At the time of starting of a new business, you may be without income for some period of time. You should have enough reserves or alternate source of income to cover that period. Evaluate your financial position and see for how long you can live without income being generated from busi-ness. Every business has fixed ex-penses. You may need to pay for rent, wages of some staff members, rates, insurance, power, phone, internet etc. irrespective of how much revenue you are generating by selling goods or ser-vices. Calculate your breakeven point (A level of sales where your gross

margin will be able to cover fixed ex-penses). Normally higher the break-even point, more risky the business is. If you are buying an existing business, consider the following factors-

Is it a rundown business? If yes, you may save money you are to pay for goodwill.

But it may take some time for the business to generate cash flow for you to take out. Normally it is less hard to manage as compared to starting a new business as most of the systems should be in place, there should be an existing customer base, relation-ship with suppliers etc. But investi-gate, why the business is not doing well? Think and explore how you can manage it in a better way and make it profitable. Sometimes there are very good opportunities available. But do not buy a rundown business think-ing it is going for cheap and assum-ing you will be able to make it profit-able unless you have a concrete plan in place beforehand. Normally these types of businesses are more suitable for purchase by experienced business-men who have previous experience in running similar type of business suc-cessfully. This is a two-part article and the second part will appear in the next issue.

Ravi Mehta is an Auckland based Authorized Financial Advisor and can be contacted on [email protected]. A disclosure statement under Securities Markets Act relating to his services is available on request and is free of charge.

What you should know before starting or buying a business raVI MeHTa


Indian Feature

They can be spiral, flat or shaped like mini pipes. But they have charmed our kids from the time they were introduced in India. The wiggly shapes hit the menu list of almost all children’s parties today. Yes! it’s Pasta we are talking about. This Italian delicacy heralded the arrival of a whole host of other Med-iterranean cuisine in India.

With the success story of pasta opened the whole vista of Mediter-ranean cuisine in our country. Today its repertoire is as rich and varie-gated as the history of the countries circling the Mediterranean Sea. Chicken and Falafal with Creamy Walnut Sauce, Fish Couscous with Onion T’faya, Greek Fava with Grilled Squid, Mediterranean Fish Fillets, Turkish-Style Pizza – the list is long.

Countries like Italy, Greece, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, France, Turkey ring the Mediterranean Sea. Though they have some common characteristics, the cuisines of these countries vary.

Chef Saby of Olive Bar and Restaurant in New Delhi, famous for Mediterranean food, believes that the biggest reason for the food

diversity is the geographical fea-tures of the Mediterranean coun-tries. “Almost all the countries have varied climatic conditions. The soil too is different from each other. The volcanic soil of Greece is chalky whereas the soil of Turkey is rich and full of minerals. Therefore the quality of produce is very different in these countries,” he says.

Today doctors recommend Mediterranean diet for healthy living which feature olive oil, protein-rich legumes, fruits, fish and whole grains, moderate red meat, and a glass of wine. Pradip Rozario, who runs three restaurants in Kolkata, of which Mio Amore, serves only Mediterranean cuisine, is struck by the diversity of the region and the cuisine. “The nations on the shores of the brilliantly azure sea have all contributed something special to the colourful, vibrant tap-estry that is Mediterranean cuisine. The flavours are rich but are less prone to high blood pressure, high cholesterol or obesity. As people are becoming increasingly health conscious, Mediterranean cuisine is ideal,” Rozario says.

Rozario gives an interesting insight into the basic nature of the cuisines of the five major Mediter-ranean countries which include Lebanon, Greece, Morocco, Turkey and Italy.

Lebanon shares Arabic tradition in cooking. Spiced lamb stew is an Egyptian recipe served with dump-lings or rice. The menu includes several Arabic specialties of which

the most famous is Cous-cous, steamed crusted millet or other cereals served with a stew of lamb or chicken.

Greece’s distinctive cuisine is closer to Italy than other eastern Mediterranean countries and this is reflected in dishes like artichokes with eggs and sauce using parme-san cheese. But there are plenty of

dishes that defi-

nitely belong to Greece. Potato omelette, for example, is very popular. Then there’s Moussaka, a lamb casserole with slices of fried aubergine and topped with cheese before baking, which is almost re-garded as a national dish. Souvlaki are small kebabs of herbed meat sold as snacks at Souvlaki stalls; a more sophisticated variation of this is Arni Souvla, marinated kebabs of lamb and courgettes which are ideal for a summer barbecue. Needless to say, fish is excellent in Greece. An original method of cooking fish is to bake it in paper. This not only seals in the flavour but also makes washing up much easier.

Turkish cooking has close affini-ties with Greece and the two coun-tries both claim to have given birth to several famous dishes. However, no one will dispute the fact that

kebabs are a Turkish invention, usually with lamb. Rice is used in many dishes, often with diced meat and vegetables in a pilaff (pulao).

Morocco offers a totally differ-ent cuisine, primarily Arabic but with a strong French and Spanish in-fluence. Morocco produces in plenty olive, almond, citrus fruits and

various cereals.

Lamb and chicken are the

most common meats, made into kebabs or cooked in tagine, a type of meat and vegeta-bles stew. The Moroccans’ fondness for sweets is evident in pastries made with very thin pastry crust and various fillings.

Most Italians begin their meal with a pasta dish which we would often consider substantial enough for a main course. Spaghetti is only one of the innumerable types of Italian pasta, from the tubular or rolled cannelloni to narrow ta-gliatelle noodles. Wide lasagna noodles and stuffed pasta in differ-ent shapes and sizes are also very popular.

For the main course you could choose fish, usually grilled or fried and served with a sauce.

In Bangalore, the Fava restau-rant has been creating ripples with

its mouth watering Mediterranean delicacies. Abhijit Saha, the ace chef of Fava says, “Like the states of India, the Mediterranean countries maintain a strong individual tradi-tion and culture which is reflected in their cuisine.” Dividing the Medi-terranean region into three parts namely Southern Europe, Northern Africa and West Asia, Saha says,

“West Asia seems to have a conflu-ence of Europe and Asia while the North African part is influenced by Asia and Europe.” Use of spices also distinguishes the cuisine. Saffron and cumin seed are the most popular spices in North African cuisine while South European dishes have dried lime as a staple spice and West Asian cuisines are conspicuous with the presence of zatar (a spice made from a berry).

One of the reasons for the in-creasing popularity of Mediterra-nean food in India is due to, accord-ing to Shaun Kenworth, celebrated chef from Kolkata, “the similarity between Indian and Mediterranean food. Many of the Indian dishes have a Mediterranean counterpart. What we have here as Baigan Bharta can be found as Babaganouj over there. Similar is the case with cucumber Raita which finds its acronym in Tziki. Even the fast foods are quite familiar. What is called ‘Butitos Hara’ in the Mediterranean cuisine is actually our Alu Chaat and Falafel is very close to Rajasthani Pakodas.”

Chef Saby has a slightly different view. “People in India are now very well travelled. This has given them a far better understanding about the cuisine of the Mediterranean. Sec-ondly, the people from the West are coming to India more for work as the economy becomes stronger while re-cession is still a fact in their coun-tries. So with the increase in trade and commerce there’s easy avail-ability of the raw ingredients used in this cuisine.”

The travel factor shows up too in the new popularity of Tapas finger food from Spain. Also, the staples from these countries like olives, capers, durum wheat, artichokes etc. have made their way to Indian plates.

Last but not the least, Mediter-ranean cuisine boasts of some lip smacking desserts too. So next time you opt for a Mediterranean meal, binge yourself over a plate of the famous Italian dessert Tiramisu for a sweet ending or go for some light Morroccan pastry, or even Turkish Delights- if available.

Food from the shores of the Mediterranean has been recommended for its healthiness by doctors and nutritionists. Indians are now discovering the flavour of the cuisine with its varied platter, Baishali Mukherjee reports, as a range of restaurants serving the cuisine are opening across the length and breadth of India.

Azure Sea

Today doctors recommend Mediterranean diet for healthy living which feature olive oil, protein-rich legumes, fruits, fish and whole grains, moderate red meat, and a glass of wine.

Indian

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ColumnFeature

There is yet another reason for pet lovers to be happy. According to a recent finding at Central Michigan University the mere presence of a canine in the office might make people collaborate more effectively. In the past there have been plenty of studies which show that pets act as social catalysts, helping their owners forge intimate, long-term re-lationships with other people.

To reach this conclusion, they carried out two experiments. In the first, they brought together 12 groups of four individuals and told each group to come up with a 15-second advertisement for a made-up product. Everyone was asked to contribute ideas for the ad, but ul-timately the group had to decide on only one. Anyone familiar with the modern “collaborative” office en-vironment will know that that is a challenge.

Some of the groups had a dog un-derfoot throughout, while the others had none. After the task, all the vol-unteers had to answer a question-naire on how they felt about working with the other—human—members of the team. Mr. Honts found that those who had had a dog to slobber and pounce on them ranked their team-mates more highly on mea-sures of trust, team cohesion and in-timacy than those who had not.

In the other experiment, which

used 13 groups, the researchers ex-plored how the presence of an animal altered players’ behaviour in a game known as the prisoner’s dilemma. In the version of this game played by the volunteers, all four members of each group had been “charged” with a crime. Individually, they could choose (without being able to talk to the others) either to snitch on their team-mates or to stand by them.

Each individual’s decision af-

fected the outcomes for the other three as well as for himself in a way that was explained in advance. The lightest putative sentence would be given to someone who chose to snitch while the other three did not; the heaviest penalty would be borne by a lone non-snitch. The second-best outcome came when all four decided not to snitch. And so on.

Having a dog around made vol-unteers 30% less likely to snitch than those who played without one.

In India, Mars India, the manu-facturers and marketers of world famous brands like Pedigree dog food and Whiskas cat food, have a pet friendly office policy and en-courage their associates to bring their pets to office. The only rules being that the pets should be social; they should be toilet trained and ensure that not more than 4 pets are allowed on any particular day.

Vikas Mittal, Managing Direc-tor, Mars India says, Mars Inc. belief is “ Pets Make the world better” and our goal is to “ Make the World Better for Pets”! Our aim is to create passion for pets and what better way to start it at home with our associ-ates! Coupled with this we have seen tremendous increase in engagement levels of the associates and produc-tivity.

The moral, then: more dogs in offices and fewer in police stations.

dogs improve office productivityIt’s a proven fact now. Indian corporates are sniffing at the strategy

According to a recent finding at Central Michigan University the mere presence of a canine in the office might make people collaborate more effectively.

Having a dog around made volunteers 30% less likely to snitch than those who played without one.


Indian

DIPLOMA IN BEAUTY SERVICES

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Indian Weekender Issue 55