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Indian Weekender | April 1, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz 1

IndianIndian April 1, Volume 2, No. 25

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New Zealand | 4‘Time to create

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Indian

On the eve of the final of the world’s biggest cricket tournament, the ICC World Cup, sources have revealed that cricket greats and superstars from six countries are coming together in an en-terprise that will see the setting up of what could be the world’s largest and most professionally run cricket academy in New Zealand.

The academy with a total projected cost of $110 million to be invested in acquiring land, building facilities, equipment and global pro-motion across three years, will initially have an investment component of $57.1 million in the first phase, which will begin later this year, if all approvals are obtained by the promoter group.

Identities of the 12 main promoters – all present and past cricketing superstars from India, New Zealand, Australia, West Indies, England and Sri Lanka – will be revealed at a mega media event in Mumbai on Monday, April 4, a couple of days after the World Cup final.

All the 12 superstars are currently in India to witness the tournament – some of them even playing in the competing teams – sources close to the proposed academy told Indian Weekender.

The World Stars Cricket Academy, which is registered as a company in the Cayman Islands, has applied to the New Zealand government for the acquisition of a 440 hectare parcel of land in an as yet undisclosed location. The academy’s operations in New Zealand will be subject to several approvals including the most important one from the Overseas Investment Office (OIO).

When contacted by Indian Weekender, the office declined to give details of the application from the World Stars Cricket Academy citing privacy and commercial sensitivity reasons. But Shishir Nandan Agarwal, who is co-ordinating matters for the academy in New Zealand, Aus-tralia and Fiji along with his colleagues Mehmet

Istwan, J. Selwyn Mascaranghe and Askaran Naidu revealed to Indian Weekender that the ap-plication had indeed been lodged with the office a couple of weeks ago.

The Melbourne based Dr Mascaranghe said all the investment would come into the country in three of four tranches as the academy had solid backers. The company would not look at raising money here in New Zealand, though listing it on New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges was a possibility in the future. But as of now the 12 cricket superstars who are the main promoters of the academy are not looking at diluting their equity in the enterprise, he said.

Six of the superstar cricketers are believed to have visited New Zealand along with other investors to scout for locations and meet real

estate companies in the past 18 months, Dr Mas-caranghe said.

Mr Agarwal, who shares his time between Invercargill and Cardiff in the UK, said that the South Island was a strong contender for housing the academy. “There is plenty of land, the climate is great and the town councils are very supportive of the idea,” he said. But the final decision on the location of the academy would depend on a number of factors. Asked if the recent earthquakes had brought the promot-ers around to favouring the North Island, Mr Agarwal said that was not the case.

A source that did not wish to be named told Indian Weekender that Auckland and Hamilton were also in the running as destinations.

Indian Weekender has learned that the

idea for the academy has been on the cards for several years now and the 12 players and inves-tors and managers of the enterprise reportedly met in Zurich, Switzerland in January to finalise details that will be formally revealed at Mon-day’s media conference.

Speaking from Ankara, Turkey, Lead Tech-nical Consultant Mehmet Hosain Istvan said this would be the most advanced cricket academy in the world and will produce the world’s best cricketing talent in all departments of the game.

“There will be a facility that can dupli-cate any pitch and atmospheric conditions in the world’s great cricketing locations – so we can duplicate the humidity of Chennai or the dryness and heat of Sharjah right there in New Zealand,” he said. These pitches will be housed in three climate controlled stadiums within the academy’s complex.

The academy would also double up as venues for international games including rugby, Mr Istvan said. Mr Istvan, who grew up in Turkey and the UK, is one of the game’s top adminis-trators and infrastructure specialists and has a record of building sports facilities around the world.

None of the officials Indian Weekender spoke to were prepared to reveal the identities of the players who were backing the project. “That will be officially conveyed to the world’s media on Monday next week,” Mr Agarwal said.

However, Indian Weekender’s enquiries in Mumbai have revealed that four Indian legends, two famous Australian, New Zealand and England players each and one each from Sri Lanka and the West Indies will front up for the high profile academy.

-Indian weekender news deskCoNt’d PG. 4

New Zealand

Cricket’s superstars to set up $100 m academy in NZ

Which of these men are behind the academy?


Indian New Zealand

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Indian Weekender article helps bring in a sponsor

Parishrut gets a worthy backer

deV NAdKArNIParishrut Jhina, who lives, breathes, eats and sleeps motorbikes and is simply crazy about two wheelers, has found a generous backer whose funding will help him realize some of his immediate dreams.

Indian Weekender featured Parishrut in our February 17 issue this year, telling his story about his passion for motorbikes and his participation in some of the toughest rallies

in the Himalayas. The profile highlighted how Parishrut’s dreams were hampered by his difficulty in finding sponsors both in New Zealand and India.

“Thanks to the Indian Weekender article, I was approached by a fantastic sponsor,” Parishrut says. The sponsor is none other than V Giri, the founder of Auckland’s popular and fast growing money transfer service, Relianz Forex.

“I had seen Parishrut in my office a few

times but didn’t know he had this unique passion until I read it in your paper,” Mr Giri told Indian Weekender.

“I also read that he needed sponsorship, so Relianz approached him. He is a simple, hard-working and deserving lad and we thought it would be great if we could help him achive his dream part of the way.”

For the 25-year-old student who works as a bakery chef in Auckland, motorbikes are not just style statements but the avenue for partic-ipating in what he calls “ultimate adventure.”

He participated in the Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya 2010 rally. The route passes through one of the most difficult and inhos-pitable natural terrains for motorbikes in the western Himalayas, running a length of 2000 km of barely tarred roads, dirt tracks and slush caused by rain. It covers some of the highest motorable places in the world. Riders have to often encounter freezing weather conditions.

The sport is certainly not for the faint hearted and can frighten people who are not up to the challenge. Parishrut rode to glory in the formidable rally winning the trophy in the ‘Unmodified Indian Bike’ category, and also bagged overall eighth position in the chal-lenging Motoquad (Xtreme Section).

In New Zealand, Parishrut practices and participates in rallies around the country. Sponsors for the sport are few and far between and it is a struggle to persevere with his passion, he had told Indian Weekender. His long time mentor Vikram takes him around

in a trailer truck with special clamps to hold bikes. Parishrut pays $50 a day for the privi-lege of practice on the tracks.

Pursuing his studies and working at the same time, Parishrut’s heart lies in two-wheeler rallying. Now his hopes of partici-pating in more challenging rallies and doing the hard yards have got a welcome boost from the timely sponsorship from Mr Giri and his company Relianz Forex.

CoNt’d from PG.3Disclaimer- Today is the 1st of April, Happy April Fools Day

Parishrut being awarded the trophyOn the dirt track…


Indian New Zealand

Indian Film Festival opens in AucklandThe second “Bollywood and beyond” film festival got off to a start last week in Manukau’s Hoyt’s cinema complex with the screening of New Zealand’s prize-winning short film entry Blank Spaces.

The film had earlier won the grand prize at the second annual Indian Film Fes-tival’s short film competition. Filmmaker Rajneel Singh spoke briefly before the screening of his hugely entertaining and cleverly made three-minute film.The festival opened with the screening of Onirban Dhar’s feature length film “I am” that has already been screened at some of the big film events across the world. The director was present at the screening and answered questions from the audience on the night.

Also present was one of the film’s protagonists and financier of the project, ac-claimed actress Juhi Chawla, who also fielded questions from the audience and gave the background for her involvement in the alternative genre film.The festival has a number of films that are beyond the pale of standard Bolly-wood fare, showcasing Indian filmmaking talent in parallel cinema, away from the commercial masala films churned out by the world’s biggest film production factories in India.

Festival director Mitu Bhowmick Lange of the Melbourne based Mind Blowing Films welcomed the opening night’s audience and set the tone for the festival in-troducing some of the people behind the festival and the night’s screened films.Ms Bhowmick Lange said she was encouraged to see a bigger audience than the one that had assembled for the inaugural festival last year. The festival has had its run in Australian metros before being screened here and will now be an annual event in Oceania, according to Ms Bhowmick Lange.

Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga confirmed as candidate for Maungakiekie

Maungakiekie National Party Electorate Chair Dr Lee Mathias has announced that Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has been confirmed as the Maungakiekie candidate for the National Party in the upcoming general election on November 26 2011. “As the Local MP for Maungakiekie I am honoured and privileged to be selected as the National Party candidate for the upcom-ing election,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says. “These are difficult times for our country and we need strong and decisive leadership. I look forward to the campaign ahead and the opportunity to once again serve my com-

munity in a John Key led Government. “Maungakiekie is at the heart of Auckland’s diversity and represents the vibrant and bustling change of metropolitan Auckland, with the iconic One Tree Hill as its jewel. I’m proud to be this communities voice in Parliament. “During my first term, we have reopened the Onehunga Rail line, opened the Manukau Harbour crossing, opened a Services Acad-emy at Tamaki College and have opened a new operating theatre for elective surgery in Greenlane. We also saw thousands of our young people take part in the “Breakaway” youth initiatives and have invested mil-lions of dollars in new funding for our local schools. “I am proud of the work we have achieved, but there is still much more to do. I will continue to campaign for the full restoration of the Onehunga foreshore, the replanting of a tree on One Tree Hill and the advance-ment of the Tamaki Transformation Project. I will also continue to work with community groups on the Ellerslie Racecourse re-devel-opment and the AMETI projects. “I am humbled by all those who have put their faith and trust in me. I look forward to building on that support and to campaign on the vision and aspirations that John Key has set for our country,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga is the Deputy-Chairman of the Commerce Select Com-mittee and a member of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee. He held the Maungakiekie seat with a majority of 1,942 votes at the last election.


Indian New Zealand

Join the St John-Indian Weekender

ambulance project & help the community...

NZ opens consular office in Mumbai

deV NAdKArNINew Zealand Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman inaugurated a new consular office for New Zealand in Mum-bai on March 17.

The office is located in the heart of Mumbai’s swanky new business hub, the Bandra Kurla Complex, that houses offices of some of the world’s biggest corporations.

New Zealand High Commissioner Jan Henderson and Consul General and Trade Commissioner Gavin Young among other dignitaries from both the nations were also present at the inaugu-ration.

The new consular facility that also functions as an embassy office will be instrumental in strengthening trade and cultural ties between India and New Zealand.

Speaking at the inauguration Dr Cole-man said, “The opening of the Consulate General symbolises the commitment of New Zealand government to our relation-ship with India.

“It also demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to increased synergy for travel between India and New Zealand and business and investment opportuni-ties.”

India is New Zealand’s eighth largest export market, up from 24th place three years ago, and it a market that is valued at over NZ$1.2 billion.

In the run up to the Free Trade Agree-ment, New Zealand is hoping to partner with India in industries like agricultural technology and the cold chain for the ag-riculture and food industry, information technology, aviation, wood and green technologies.

The newly opened office will provide consular services such as processing vi-sas besides providing support for trade, investment and tourism.

National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, who was present at the opening said, “The new office will facilitate visa-seekers from southern states, Maharashtra and Gujarat.”

Pointing to the future possibilities of growing trade between the two coun-tries, Mr Bakshi said, “India is New Zealand’s eighth largest export market, up from 24th three years ago. There are emerging opportunities.

New Zealand also formally launched its unified branding for apples in India. New Zealand exporters have consolidated their offering under one umbrella brand, so consumers in India will be able to easily identify the premium quality New Zealand apples.

Former Black Caps great Richard Hadlee, who was present at the launch told the Press trust of India, “New Zea-land apples are known around the world for their delicious taste, combined with their healthy qualities, and I think people here in India will really enjoy them-from kids to cricket stars.”

Through the launch in India, the brand hopes to reach out to not only the in-creasingly health-conscious consumer but also to the suppliers of fresh apples. The New Zealand apple industry is looking to find supply-chain partners for the commercialisation of exclusive new varieties and Indian growers seeking advanced horticultural practices.


Indian

deV NAdKArNI

Dildar’s director Jayanta Bhaduri’s passion and experience in theatre runs deep and goes back to his younger days in Kolkata. Moving to New Zealand did not dim any of that passion and drive.

Ever since he chose Auckland as his second home, he has been associated with the Pro-basee Bengali Association Inc of New Zealand and has been a leading member of its team for various social and cultural activities notably their annual Bengali Drama presentation.

Over the years he has strived to band togeth-er like-minded people in Auckland, working with a handful of friends to form the core group running the Rangmanch theatre group, which has presented two highly acclaimed and memo-rable Hindi theatre productions in the past three years.

Starting off with Bengali plays, Rangmanch moved to staging Hindi plays because of the wider appeal in Auckland’s relatively small Indian community, Mr Bhaduri told Indian Weekender.

The well-known personality in Auckland’s cultural fraternity of the migrant Indian com-munity said the “fabulous” audience response to the first two Hindi productions – Zimmedari in 2008 and Ballabhpur ki Kahani in 2010 – has encouraged the group to stage at least new pro-duction every year.

“We are sure Dildar will be as well received as the previous two.” Mr Bhaduri said each of the plays were different in theme and style. The 3-act, 7-scene Zimmedari was about relation-

ships, while Ballabhpur ki Kahani was an “in-tellectual comedy,” he said.

The humble, soft spoken Mr Bhaduri is himself a gifted actor – a fact that does not come across in a casual encounter with the self ef-facing man. “His literary acumen and sense of drama are of the highest level and his passion to

reach out to the wider audience is what led to the creation of Rangmanch,” says one of the found-ing members of the theatre group.

It was a challenge finding actors and at first, Mr Bhaduri said. The group started auditioned wide for its first Hindi play and was fortunately able to compile a growing database of people

who were interested in volunteering their time and talent into Ragmanch’s productions.

“It’s a complete voluntary effort,” Mr Bhaduri said. “It’s commendable because it means tremendous commitment of time and effort. Meeting three or four times a week for months for rehearsals in the run up to a play’s staging is quite something.”

Asked how Rangmanch selects a production, Mr Bhaduri said it considered several factors. “We look at how thought-provoking and en-tertaining it can be for the kind of Audiences we have in Auckland – and also the local talent available,” he said.

The multi-character Dildar, which has eight scenes and about half a dozen backstage co-or-dinators is as much an entertainer as a existen-tially thought-provoking story, according to Mr Bhaduri. It has songs, music and an audio-visual sequence, he said.

For Dildar, Mr Bhaduri decided to take on a small role, preferring rather to channelise his considerable experience in all departments of theatre to directing the multicast, multi scene production.

Indian Weekender is proud to be associated with Ranmanch and its latest production Dildar, the first show of which is dedicated to fundrais-ing for the Indian Weekender Make a Differ-ence to St John Ambulance project, which seeks to donate a fully equipped ambulance to New Zealand’s largest ambulance service from the Indian community in New Zealand.

For further details of the play please see the advert in this edition of Indian Weekender or log on to www.rangmanch.org.nz

Buoyed by the grand success of its previ-ous plays “Zimmedari” – in 2008 and “Bal-labhpur Ki Kahani” in 2010, Rangmanch presents its latest Hindi production “Dildar” at the Raye Freedman Arts Centre, Epsom Girls grammar School Auditorium in Auck-land next weekend.

The show on Friday, April 8, is a fundraiser for the Indian Weekender Make a difference to St John Ambulance project, which is aimed at donating a fully equipped ambu-lance to the St John Ambulance Brigade from New Zealand’s Indian community.

The proceeds of the fundraising show will all be donated to this cause (see end of story for ticketing information).

“Dildar – The untold story of an Artist” is set in the northern Indian city of Lucknow is

about a simple person but an artist at heart Dildar, who is loved by all for his simplicity and golden heart.

The many twists and turns in his artistic life and the kaleidoscope of circumstances that shape him and his outlook are the leitmotif of the play, which is an inspired adaptation of a popular Somerset Maugham short story.

Poverty, hardships and a heartless social system force Dildar to forgo his artistic pursuits and take up a salesman’s job with a flourishing shoe merchant.

His unfulfilled artistic aspirations keep dis-turbing him no end and spiritually he finds himself struggling every now and then, searching for his true identity.

But as a result of a lottery win, society, with all its known and unknown evils come to the fore trying to lure him, which Dildar thinks of as unethical and abstains from getting involved.

In this kaleidoscopic background he comes in contact with a downtrodden destitute girl. Her simplicity, high moral values and sense of self-respect create a stunning im-pact in his mind. Dildar develops a unique bond with the girl and the events that follow change his life.

Dildar is the common man who goes out of way to help all who come to him. If not with anything tangible – it is with his love, sympathy and understanding.

He seeks the path of truth and spirituality thorough acts of benevolence towards the

poor and the down trodden.How far he succeeds or will Dildar succeed at all? The play is directed by Jayanta Bhaduri, and has a cast of 23 actors. The play with a run time of two and quarter hours is spread across as many as eight scenes and prom-ises to be as interesting as Rangmanch’s previous offerings.

New Zealand

Dildar to steal hearts next weekendPlay to raise funds for Indian community’s St John Ambulance project

For tickets to the Friday April 8 show, please call 021-1712777 or 021-2211131. the price of the tickets is $50, being a fundraiser for the Make a difference to st John project.

Accomplished director assures memorable experience

“We are sure Dildar will be as well received as the previous two.” Mr Bhaduri said each of the plays were different in theme and style. The 3-act, 7-scene Zimmedari was about relationships, while Ballabhpur ki Kahani was an “intellectual comedy,” he said.

Aaron KashyapBA, LLBBarrister and solicitorLevel 1, 351 Manukau Road, PO Box 26-596, DXCP 32513, Epsom, AucklandMobile: 0274 857 302 Phone: (09) 6238277 Fax: (09)6235177Email: [email protected]

For all your legal needs


Indian

Anybody who did not make it to the Avon-dale College Auditorium for the Krazzy Tunes – Tadka Maarke concert last Sunday surely missed a fabulously entertaining gig that had the audience riveted to stunning performances by so many tal-ented Aucklanders.

Krazzy Tunes brought together a bouquet of Auckland’s talented performers, some well known and some performing for the very first time. The artistes’ ages ranged from teenage to mature – but everyone of them performed with great elan.

Providing the musical backbone and embellish-ing the dozen singers’ performances was the tal-

ented and experienced members of the Desi Fever band led by bass guitarist and band direc-tor Shivan Padayachi.

Arranged by veteran lead guitarist Vijay Murthy, the ensemble showed great virtuos-ity from the word go, starting up with R D Burman’s unforgettable background title score of the immortal Bolly-wood potboiler Sholay.

Also in the band were Shalend on tra-

ditional percussion (table and dholak) and as many as three Kishores – Anup Kishore, Vimal Kishore and the young Nigel Kishore on keyboards, octopads and the Congo respectively.

Featured for the first ever time in a Bollywood musical concert in Auckland, were two instruments that have been part of Hindi film musical landscape for decades – the accordion and the saxophone. Senior artiste Frank Stephens played the accordion and the young Aura Irani regaled the audience on the saxophone.

The dozen singers were a mix of known Kiwi Indian voices and some new ones, some even per-forming for the first ever time. Among the new were Kavinesh, M o u s h u m i , Priya, Shashi, Karam Veer and the baby of the team Shirley, per-forming for the first time

on a concert platform. But the manner in which they held forth on the

stage rendering their numbers, the audience would never have guessed that these were new perform-ers. The numbers presented were an excellent mix of genres and ranged from several periods of Indian cinema from the black and white days to the latest films.

Kanik, Sneha and Auckland’s longtime favourite Ashish along with guest singers Manju and Viraj were among the known voices that have regaled audiences before. A tinge of emotion that crept into the show since this was Ash-ish’s last performance for a while in New Zealand.

The talented young singer has just secured admission into the prestigious A R Rahman School of Music back in India and is leaving to study there in less than a month’s time. Ashish’s perfor-mances will surely be missed by New Zealand audiences but we do wish he will come back time and again with his sharpened talents.

Mention must be made of Viraj’s rendition of Mukesh’s classics – the first, which was dedicated to the people of Christchurch and Japan who lost their lives in the earthquakes and tsunami.

A highlight of the proceedings so very well and professionally organised by Cultural Forum of India Events was the perfect synchronisation of the taste-fully designed audio visual backdrop as the perfor-mances unfolded.

The graphics were superb, understated enough not to take the attention away from the main per-formances on stage and went off without a glitch,

something that

happens all too often in performances here. Kudos are due to Ravi Nyayapati for this awesome achieve-ment and to Akshay Gupte who managed the light-ing adroitly.

Audience reaction to most of the performances was spontaneous and peppered with clamour for ‘once more’ after many songs. The accompaniment of the experienced band and the manner in which they subtly encouraged and supported the young singers is indeed commendable.

Show comperes Sneha Shetty and Suneet Ranga-rajan glued together the diverse

items of the show with their skillful commentary and navigation.

Ram Iyer and his Cultural Forum of India Events must be commended for bringing together such diverse talent irrespective of age, experience and standing on a single platform to present such aes-thetic fare in such a seamless, elegant style.

Krazzy Tunes – Tadka Maarke is one gig that deserves to be scaled up. Don’t miss subsequent per-formances – of which there will be many, to be sure. Indian Weekender was proud to have co-presented the show last week.

-Indian Weekender arts correspondent

New Zealand

Krazzy Tunes drives audience crazy


Indian India

German stunt-biking ace thrills IndiaKolkata: Kolkata played host to some of the most exciting stunts on Monday as World Free Style Biking champion Chris Pfeiffer performed few of his crazy moves in the city as a part of the ‘Red Bull Chris Pfeiffer India Tour’.

Riding on a BMW 800R, Pfeiffer thrilled the city by show-casing death defining stunts -- a first for many of the people who had never seen him perform.

His gig here at the City of Joy on Monday, marked the beginning of his India tour.

Pfeiffer said, “On my first trip last year, I heard so much about the Bengalis, and their contribution to India’s culture, freedom struggle and food, that I really wanted to make it to Kolkata.”

“And now, I can’t wait to perform in what am told is one of India’s most passionate cities,” he said before his perfor-mance in the city.

After Kolkata Chris is scheduled to tour in 9 other cities of India which will include Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and Coimbatore.

In 2010, the biking genius had made his first tour in India.

No effect of Tri-Valley on Visa procedure s: US Consul

dIVYANsHu duttA roY Indian students who want to study in the United States for the coming school year need not worry about tighter screening procedures in wake of the Tri-Valley University incident, an American consul has said.

Earlier this year, a crackdown by the U.S. Im-migration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had re-portedly found that the Californian university was charging students, most of whom were Indians, to help them illegally migrate and work in America.

While some of the students got transferred to other institutions, some were radio-tagged as part of the following criminal investigations which led to unpleasant exchanges between the foreign offices of the two countries.

The university, which had around 1,500 Indian students, was officially closed down on Mar 17.

On Wednesday, at an advisory session organ-ised here for prospective Indian students, U.S. consul William Rowland said they should not be

apprehensive about the procedure and screening since regulations had not changed.

“Laws haven’t been changed in the wake of what happened there. So I don’t think there is need for any special concern in view of the Tri-Valley incident,” Rowland said.

At the programme organised in the American Center in Kolkata, consulate officials familiarised students with the technicalities of applying to study in the States.

“We are proud to host over a hundred thousand Indian students in the U.S. Most of the students from Kolkata are doing their PhDs there and we want to reach out to more undergraduate students through outreach sessions like this,” Rowland said.

While studying the U.S. could cost anything between USD 16,000 to USD 45,000 per year, stu-dents queuing up to apply for visas only increase in numbers every April -- the primetime for visa requests, said consul officials.

Ansari releases book on Bismillah Khan

New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Monday released a book on Indian shehnai legend Bismillah Khan titled ‘Bismillah Khan : The Maestro from Benaras’.

The book written by Juhi Sinha is based on the life of the talented shehnai player who spent a significant portion of his life in the city of Varanasi, also known as Benaras.

“The book gives an insightful look into the home and heart, muse and music of one of the greatest artists that India has produced,” Ansari said at the event which also marked the birth anniversary of Khan.

Referring to Sinha, the author of the book, Ansari commented: “Such type of a book was very much needed and so many music lovers will learn a lot from this useful book,”

Besides sketching the life and works of Khan, the book also mentions about the city of Varanasi and the cultural roots of it.

He was the third classical musician to be awarded the highest civilian honour in India, ‘Bharat Ratna’, in 2001.

After entertaining his fans for long period of time, the legendary musician died in the year 2006.

Krazzy Tunes drives audience crazy

PM couplet had a charm: SushmaNew Delhi, Mar 24 (IBNS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said the reply of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in couplet to a combative one recited by her taking on the government on the Cash-for-Vote scam had some charm and worked as a coolant.

“His couplet had a charm. I did smile. It cooled the tempers,” Swaraj, who is emerging as one of the most articulate Indian lawmak-ers in Parliament, told NDTV in an interview a day after the fiery debate on the issue.

On Wednesday during an intense debate

on the Cash-for-Vote issue, Swaraj had at-tacked the Prime Minister with strong argu-ments and also recited a couplet that when translates in English asks the PM to come clear on the issue instead of blaming it on others and remaining wishy-washy.

“I concluded my speech with a couplet, it was a combative couplet. It means it is you who is accountable, don’t do wishy-washy,” she told the channel.

She said she had questioned the leadership of the PM through her couplet but the PM’s reply had cooled things down.

She also admitted that she was earlier

overruled by her party on the issue of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) when she had condoned the PM after he admitted his mistake on the appointment of the corrup-tion chief despite objections of Swaraj in the panel that chose the CVC.

“I admit I was overruled,” she said about the party decision on the CVC issue even after Swaraj relented on the issue.

She said the party president (Nitin Gadkari) had clearly told the media later that the partyline was different from what she said.

“My response is also based on issues. I

thought the matter should rest,” Swaraj said, adding that the PM had admitted his mistake in Jammu but was not admitting it clearly in Parliament which forced her to stand on her feet and extract a clear statement in the house from the PM.

The PM had admitted his error of judge-ment in appointing the CVC in Parliament after Swaraj pressed for it.

She said in the past also party leaders like L K Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were overruled in the past and there is no issues in admitting that.

“I was overruled, not snubbed,” she said.


Indian India

Kashmir making efforts to repatriate pandits: Omar

Italian envoy summoned over turban issue

NeYAZ eLAHI

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minis-ter Omar Abdullah has said that his government is working on a multifaceted programme for return of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) to the Valley, who fled during the insurgency, and make them feel secure.

“Creation of economic opportunities for Kash-miri Pandit youths and reservation in Government jobs for them are being focused as a meaningful incentives to the community to encourage their return to the Valley in a conducive and peaceful atmosphere”, he said on Tuesday speaking to a group of students from University of Chicago in USA.

He said the uplift of those Kashmiri Pandits who have not left the Valley during the distur-bance is also equally important as they are bereft of the benefits available to the migrant Kashmiri Pandits under PMRP and other schemes.

Talking to the students who are in Jammu and are currently working on a research project on Kashmiri Pandits, the Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh recently inaugurated the satellite-township of two-room tenement at Jagti, Nagrota for Kashmiri Pandit migrants living in camps in Jammu.

The Chief Minister said that about 2,500 Kashmiri Pandit youth have been provided jobs in the Valley and job orders for equal number is in

the pipeline.“This is as a part of the initiative taken to en-

courage younger generation to return to the Valley and get involved in the economic and life activi-ties,” he said adding that transit accommodation and other required facilities have also been put in place for these youth.

The CM enumerated other measures and steps afoot to create conducive atmosphere for the return of KPs to the Valley.

However, he said, the restoration of sense of security was imperative to help smooth and large scale return of KPs to the Valley.

“There is tremendous improvement in the situ-ation since the KPs migration from the Valley.

However, the complete restoration of peace and total elimination of fear psychosis has to be worked out,” he said and added that the Govern-ment is doing whatever possible with the assis-tance of the Centre to make effective dent in this regard.

“About 3 lakh KPs visited Mela Kheer Bhawani in the Valley last year in a conducive atmosphere and hopefully this trend will further improve giving boost to the confidence of KPs re-garding their return,” he said.

University of Jammu is hosting the group of students from University of Chicago, USA and as-sisting them in their research project on Kashmiri Pandit migrants.

New Delhi: India on Wednesday conveyed to Italy strongly its disapproval over insult of Indian golf coach Amritinder Singh at the Milan airport twice within a week, where he was forced to remove his Sikh turban during security check by the same airport official.

The Italian envoy has been summoned to the External Affairs ministry’s office in the South Block on Wednesday evening to register India’s protest.

Singh, coach of top Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh, was made to remove his turban and put in the tray with shoes and other stuff during security check by the same official at the Milan airport twice in a week.

The first instance had already drawn reaction from India, but Italy’s assurance of no repeti-tion of such instance was found to be hollow.

The matter was also raised in the Rajya Sabha where Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP SS Ahluwalia, during the Zero Hour, questioned the Indian government’s stance on the issue.

He said the turban was a form of God’s blessings and its insult cannot be tolerated in a country where the Prime Minister is himself a Sikh.

External Affairs minister SM Krishna, in his response, said that the matter has been duly taken up with the Italian authorities and the envoy has also been summoned for an explana-tion.

Whenever there is an insult to Sikhs, we take it as national insult. We take it up in that spirit,Krishna said.


Indian

One is the queen of the sweet tooth, the other the queen of your heart. Chocolates and women are two most celebrated symbols of love.

What can be a more romantic wedding gift than a bride and a bridegroom figure made of chocolate? Or a bride showing her love to the groom with a pure chocolate Taj Mahal ?

All these and much more are on offer at Chocolate Hut, Hyder-abad. An enterprise by K Lakshmi, wife of a businessman who is into supplying cocoa ingredients, she has been associated with chocolates literally since her marriage. Cocoa is the main in-gredient for making chocolates.

“I started to take interest in chocolate after my marriage and read articles related to the product whenever I came across one. One day an article in the local newspaper regarding consump-tion of outdated im-ported chocolates by children which led them to ill health, caught my attention. It eventually mo-tivated me to get into the chocolate industry to make good and premium chocolates,” she says.

Lakshmi’s first trainer was her husband himself. Later, she pursued her passion for chocolate and gradually developed different and individual flavours for fillings like caramels, truffles, nuts, nut paste, liquor, Sugar Free, etc. What started as a humble effort by supplying home made chocolates to near and dear ones has expanded to a business enterprise with 12 stores across the city.

“After the initial positive response from my friends and family, I decided to have my own chocolate store. Today we are catering to around 65 corporate clients including Mi-crosoft, UBS, Oracle, CA, Ascends, Delliote, Mahendra, among others,” confides the upbeat businesswoman. In the field since 1998, she has never compromised on the health factor looking for profit. “We make our own chocolates from cocoa beans. Our chocolates are 100% vegetar-

ian, and contains only cocoa butter, these are pure chocolates unlike other compound choco-lates in the market,” she claims.

Delhi based Subhatra Priyadarshini, 25, the brain behind ‘Choc of the Town’ is a software gradu-ate. The inherent desire to do something on her own nudged her to leave her IT job and join a six-month entrepreneurial course specially designed for women. Her choice was a premium range of hand-made and customized chocolates.

“The idea was to provide an online gift service for people staying away from family, friends due to job, higher studies and other reasons,” Priya-darshini says, adding, “We also have corporate clients as we believe corporate gifting has a high demand compared to personal, but personal gifts have a high potential market, which is our main focus.”

The wide range of chocolates includes a Choco Textbox which can be personalised to express any message the customer

wants. The venture also customises the taste ac-cording to the customer’s preferences.

“We have more than 15 varieties of flavours to choose from. We constantly innovate to create new chocolates for every occasion. What’s more, the chocolates are hand-made and with no preservatives.”

Reshma Sengupta of Kolkata took up making chocolates as her vocation when she had to stop her profession as an interior designer due to a physical constraint. “After I gave up my interior designing profession my father and brother who are into food industry pushed me to do some-thing on my own and advised me to use my skills at chocolate making in a professional way. That, together with my husbands support, initi-ated me into this business,” Sengupta informs.

She is self-taught though she did attend workshops with chefs. With two outlets named ‘Open Oven’ and a factory located centrally, Sengupta is catering to corporate big wigs like ITC, Microsoft, Assam Company, Times of India etc as well as the private clients for the last

seven years.“Our products don’t cut deep holes into the

customers’ pockets. That’s one reason we have people coming back to us. Also we keep impro-vising them by bringing in variations catering to Indian taste buds,” explains Sengupta.

During special occasions like the Valentine’s Day, raksha bandhan, and weddings, Open Oven

gets abuzz with activity.“Depending on the occasion we bring out

different products with different packaging and accessories. For Valentine’s Day we have teddy bears and heart-shaped chocolates with vibrant packaging that ranges between Rs 30-35. We

also offer small cakes which two love-birds can enjoy. For those with a higher budget we have accessories like earrings, heart shaped pen-dants, bracelets etc along with the chocolates,” Sengupta informs.

For weddings they provide chocolates that match the colour of the wedding card. The packing is mainly done in a traditional manner

with hand made paper boxes, and dry or crystal flowers or other conventional Indian motifs.

What started as a hobby for Pooja Goyal of Bangalore has become her vocation now. Choco-lates always attracted Pooja and when her cousin offered her a training in the secrets of making the brown bite she simply plunged in. After her training she tried her hands at making the item for some of her close friends. Getting unexpect-ed appreciation from them prodded her to make hampers for the upcoming raksha bandhan.

“After that people kept coming back for my chocolates. Next year I had my own stall at our society carnival and it was a big success. After that, things kind of took off,” she says. Cre-ative as she is, Goyal sold her idea of gifting newborns with a small souvenir of hand made chocolates in upmarket city hospitals. “I made different packages for boys and girls. The idea was appreciated by both the hospitals and the new parents. I have also made chocolate sou-venirs for car dealers who gift them to the new buyers as a token of good wish,” Goyal informs.

Remember protagonist Vianne Rocher in Lasse Hallstrom’s hit film Chocolat whose tempting hand-made chocolates created a storm in a conservative French village? Indian women may be taking a leaf out of her example combin-ing it with sound business sense. Vive chocolat – long live chocolate! is their mantra.

Trans World Features (TWF)

India

Chocolates all the wayEnterprising Indian women are turning peoples’ fasci-nation for chocolates into thriving business ventures. Baishali Mukherjee reports

t r a n s w o r l d f e a t u r e sR E D E F I N I N G Y O U R S U P P L E M E N T SWoMeN – eNterPrIse- HoMeMAde CHoCoLAte


Indian

british “pedophiles” arrested in Mumbai

Mumbai: Duncan Grant and Alan Waters, two Britons whose acquittal by a high court in child abuse cases in India was overturned by the Supreme Court on Friday, were arrested by the Mumbai police on Monday. The two had been accused and also convicted of sexually abusing street children in a Mumbai shelter – Anchor-age – they used to run along with an Indian, William D Souza. The Supreme Court on Friday had upheld the six years’ jail sentence by a trial court in 2006 though the Bombay High Court in 2008 had acquitted them since it was not convinced with the statements of the witnesses. But the Supreme Court said “the analysis of the prosecution witness confirms the fact these three used to have sex with children.”

Coca Cola launches juice rangeMumbai: After Minute Maid Pulpy Orange & Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh, beverage major Coca-Cola In-dia has announced the launch of its Minute Maid 100% juice range in India. The latest offering is made available in three flavours- Apple, Grape and Orange-developed at the company’s Research & Development Laboratory in Gurgaon. Minute Maid 100% juice has been made available in two pack sizes- 200 ml and 1 litre tetrapak, all priced at Rs 20 and Rs 85 respectively. The product will be available in all leading modern trade outlets across the country and in general retail outlets in Punjab.Khushboo violates poll code in Tamil NaduTheni (Tamil Nadu): South Indian actress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK’s) star campaigner Khushboo has been booked for violating poll code, the police said. “Khushboo has been booked under two

cases for violating the Model Code of Coduct-one for allegedly blockading road and disrupting traffic while campaigning at Palanichetti area in Theni; the other, for taking out a convoy of eight cars without prior permis-sion at two places,” said a senior police officer. The actress joined the ruling DMK in May last year after the Supreme Court recently quashed cases against her on her controversial remarks on pre-marital sex in an interview a couple of years back. She is already involved with social work in the areas of HIV/AIDS, transgender and cancer and had opined that direct entry into poli-tics will provide with a bigger platform to work better. Khushboo’s entry into DMK spelt benefit for the party ahead of the state polls as she has a major fan following in the state, with fans even constructing a temple for her. Tamil Nadu will undergo assembly elections on April 13.

Myntra.com launches ‘Combat series’ t-shirts Mumbai: E-commerce company Myn-tra.com has launched ‘Combat Series’ T-shirts to support effort to stop war and detach the glory long associated with it. The inspiration for the combat series has been drawn from the dark face of war, and is aimed at making all realize the futility of war, said the company. Black has been kept as

the central theme, with the imagery of war and dark romanticism associated with it. Most of the designs have been made with metallic colours on black, further highlighting the contrast between war and peace. The designs draw inspiration from military art and related art forms, which were at it popular high in the old days. Myntra ‘Combact Series’ T-shirts are priced at Rs. 399.

India

India Briefs


Indian

India, runners up in 2003, booked a place in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka after beating Pakistan by 29 runs in the semi-final at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here Wednesday. The country erupted in joy and cricket fans took the streets. Scenes of revelry after the win in cricket-crazy Kolkata

PHOTOS AVISHEK MITRA/IBNS

India celebrate semis victory

India beat Pakistan to enter World Cup final after eight yearsMohali: India, runners up in 2003, booked a place in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka after beating Pakistan by 29 runs in the semi-final at the Punjab Cricket Asso-ciation (PCA) Stadium here Wednesday.

Virender Sehwag (38) hit nine fours and Sachin Tendulkar, reprieved by referral and dropped four times, went on to make 85 from 115 balls as India compiled 260-9 despite Pakistani left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz’s career-best 5-46.

For Pakistan, Mohammad Hafeez struck 43 and Misbah-ul-Haq made a defiant 56

but the team was all out for 231 in the final over.

Opting to bat first, India started off well with Sehwag striking five fours in an over from the wayward Umar Gul and had amassed 38 by the end of the fifth over. But Sehwag was lbw trying to turn one from Riaz to leg and as India reached 50.

Tendulkar soon displayed some exquisite timing before he was given out lbw on 23 to the spin of Saeed Ajmal.

Umpire Ian Gould’s decision looked per-

fectly correct as Tendulkar was hit playing across the line but under review the ball tracking system indicated it was turning down the leg-side sufficiently to miss the stumps.

There was an appeal for a stumping next ball which was also rejected after a replay. Then followed a string of drop catches for Tendulkar on 27, 45 and 81.

Riaz soon brought Pakistan firmly back in the contest with wickets in successive balls to restrict India to 141-4 by removing Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh.

Tendulkar saw a thick edge brush the gloves of Kamran to the exasperation of the Afridi, who went wicketless for the first time in the tournament.

Then on 81 the younger Akmal brother Umar dropped off Mohammed Hafeez but it was a tough chance.

But 15 short of the landmark Tendulkar drove to extra-cover where Afridi made no mistake, and the run-rate soon dropped below five for the first time since the end of the second over.

India

“Well done team India..... Diya ghumake! MA tujhe salaam...... Aur SACHIN aapko bhi.!

VANDEEEEEEE MATARAM!!!!!!!- Abhishek Bachchan”

It has to be said - despite Dhoni’s errors in selection he led

the team beautifully. Well done msd! - Rahul Bose

It was the pressure. You have to avert pressure- Imran

Khan on Pakistan collapse

It is like playing the final. The pressure of an India-Pakistan match is double. Happy

to be going to Mumbai (the venue of final)- Harbhajan Singh after the match.

Tried my best. I apologize to my nation- Pakistan captain

Shahid Afridi after the loss.

Best thing about our team is our unity. We are not criticizing each other, everybody is helping each other. It is a team sport- Indian captain M S Dhoni after the win.

Felt bad for Afridi though, his reaction after the last ball, well played by

Riaz too..Hard luck, but Respect:)- Shilpa ShettyWell played India- Jemima Khan, former wife of Imran Khan

Fielding was certainly the difference- Anil Kumble.


IndianIndian

From the Editor

Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, New Market and printed at APN Print, Ellerslie, Auckland Copyright 2010. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

Indian Weekender Volume 2 No. 25Publisher: Kiwi Media Group LimitedGroup editor-in-chief: Dev Nadkarni [email protected] editor: Arvind Kumar [email protected] technical officer: Rohan Desouza rohan@ indianweekender.co.nzdesign: [email protected]: Giri Gupta - Ph: 520 0922, Mob: 021 221 1131. Email - [email protected] email original editorial contributions, community notices and pictures to [email protected] expressed in the publication are not necessarily of the publisher and the publisheris not responsible for advertisers’ claims as appearing in the publication

Letters

Top stories on iwk.co.nzdancing into record books

‘HoLI’ is not just about colours

Are cricket umpires biased? You be the judge

‘ethnic diversity has economic benefits’

bank of baroda announces expansion in NZ

‘sIt has a natural cultural fit with India’shanti at helm of us warship

House rents in Auckland – why are they going up and up?

Indian community continues to rally around

bollywood actor Navin Nischol dies

do you think a rest home catering to the needs of the elderly south Asian community in New Zealand is a good idea for the future, as has been suggested by the bhartiya samaj Charitable trust?

OPINION POll:

Yes

30% 65% 5%No Can’t say

For India and Indians everywhere, this semifinal victory over Pakistan would undoubtedly be as sweet as winning the coveted World Cup that has eluded them since 1983.

Will India win it tomorrow? This is one of those days at the editorial desk when a deadline has to be met and the issue has to be sent to the press before a major event happens. There are two things one can do – indulge in all sorts of speculation and analyses to come up none the wiser about the projected result in a game as uncertain as cricket, or quote someone like Paul the Octopus, who can’t fight back if you blame them when their prediction goes pear shaped.

But let us look at Wednesday’s victory and why not just the victory but the very contest was so important for the region and the world.

The semi final match at Mohali could have gone either way, given its total of 260 and an ex-tremely capable but – in India’s favour – inconsistent and unpredictable Pakistani side. There will always be those who would say that India could have won it in a far more convincing fashion, especially following the swashbuckling start that the flamboyant stroke play of Virender Sehwag gave the Indian innings.

But then, what the heck: a victory is a victory is a victory – even it is whisker thin. And that is all that has mattered to India and a billion and more Indians around the world, who had their hearts in their mouths as the two subcontinental titans sparred out there in the middle – a mega spectacle like no other anywhere in the world.

As well as the more than a billion pairs of eyes all over the globe that watched every move around that 22-yard strip in the centre of the ground, there is always great interest around the world when these two nuclear neighbours play in a sporting arena, especially one as highly strung as cricket – everyone sits up and takes notice – and for all sorts of reasons that go far beyond the pale of sport.

Whether a political gimmick or genuine gesture, the Indian Prime Minister’s invitation to his Pakistani counterpart and the latter’s acceptance, along with an entourage of 50 officials – and the resultant sense of bonhomie that has emerged that has been termed cricket diplomacy has been viewed positively around the world and drawn praise from all quarters.

US ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer said, “We commend the leaders of both countries for carrying forward with what the media is calling cricket diplomacy. India and Pakistan will take the talks forward at their own pace, ability and character.

“Continued dialogue, combined with cricket diplomacy, expanding people-to-people ties and enthusiasm and optimism on both sides, offers promise of a more prosperous and peaceful region.”The bonhomie and the spirit that the two teams played with belied the impression of extreme hos-tility between the nations that is widely conveyed by the media while covering relations between the two countries. The kind of aggression and sledging one sees when other supposedly far “ friendlier” countries play one another was conspicuous by its absence.

Which is to the credit to the players, captains, coaches and managements of both sides. Whether one likes it or not, the two countries are joined at the hip and those ties remain no matter that a perceptibly hostile relationship has permeated most of the years of their existence as inde-pendent nations.

The spirit of sportsmanship displayed on the field and the attempt at sensible statesmanship off the field by the top leaders of the two nations was indeed a welcome step – and there is no doubt that this game will go some way in providing an impetus to better the relationship between the two countries.

For India it was indeed an all-important win and traditionally and culturally, the Indian ethos is wont to show exemplary generosity in its moment of victory. Perhaps this is one such time to show a little of that spirit in the world beyond the willow and the wicket.

– Dev Nadkarni

Sweet as the final victory

Shanti at helm of US warship

Indians and PIO are continually proving their leadership and intellectual quality! Proud to be an Indian!

– R Sharma

Awesome

Awesome - way to go Shanti!!– Marissa DeSouza

Biased umpiring?

I think this article is biased when it glorifies the Indians and sladers other teams. Every team has been faced with bias. Remember, how bottles were thrown at West Indies when they were in Mumbai to play India? How Viv Richards had complained to the umpires then, but they simply looked through him.

– Dan

Here’s what England did

During the England-South Africa Test at the Wanderers, the Australian third umpire Daryl Harper came under fire for ruling Graeme Smith not out despite a loud noise from the stump microphone when the ball passed the bat. Smith went on to score a century and it prompted England, who are not in favour of the review system, to make an official complaint to the ICC. So do your research before taking pot shots at the writer. Thanks, Mr Simha for this eye-opening article. BIAS EXISTS.

– Man about town

Racism is there in real life then it can be expected in sports too. Logical?

You discount the point where it can be safely argued that as racism is there in real life then it can be expected in sports too. Logical? Would like an answer to that.

– Sanjay

Some people beieve that they are experts but they are not.

“Most umpires by default are neutral” Ask Ian Botham for a second opinion on that. “It has become a habit of the Indian team to blame the umpires for their incompetence” You take away my right to protest by saying this - When was the last time Indian team protested against Umpires...my memory fails me. As regards to Billy’s decision, he was perfectly correct in standing ...... He is legally right but is it morally correct is the question. Even a murderer has legal rights but moral?

– Priya Jayan

Most umpires by default are neutral?

Man, what a joke! You seem to live in cuckooland, Prasant. Was Darryl Hair neutral? Was Steve Bucknor neutral? You say Bucknor just had a howler of a day. What about the 20 years of bad decisions against India? How many more centuries Laxman, Dravid and Tendulkar would have made, had there been an Asian umpire. Pakistani umpires are better than a New Zealand or Aussie one.

– Aryan Agnihotri

Ethnic diversity has economic benefits

The article is a nice approach to the subject relating to New Zealand. But what I feel it best suits to our Bharat Varsh (India) where a number of ethenic cultures contribute to economic benefits of the country. One should study the case in details.

– Prof. Deena Bandhu Pandey, History of Att.BHU

Ethnic diversity has economic benefits

In the face of recent declaration by few of the European Head of States that the Multicultural-ism has failed in their country, Mervin has rightly said that,“One of the biggest challenges in NZ is the avoidance of the development of insular minority communities that are not connected to everyone else”. The ethnic communities need to respond to this call by actively collaborating and supporting the work of OEA to build strong connec-tions across communities.

– Selva Ramasami - Wellington Mutamizh Sangam


Indian

In today’s times the media’s influence on our opinions, our very worldview, is near total. There is hardly an aspect of our lives – the way we view things, the language and expressions we use, the clothes we wear, the prejudices and biases we form, the trends we follow, the things we converse about and much else – is shaped by the media.

The more recent blossoming of social media and their incredibly rapid and wide acceptance across humanity has strengthened this influ-ence. Depending upon circumstance and timing, media’s effect as an agent of action and change is urgent, instantaneous – whether in creating a fan following a la Justin Bieber and Susan Boyle or triggering a revolution as in Egypt and large swathes of the Middle East at a speed that has stunned the world.

This easy accessibility to all forms of media in this age of increasingly device agnostic con-vergence and its seemingly total influence on people’s minds – and hearts – is the bugbear of authoritarian regimes around the world. Follow-ing the Middle East contagion, these regimes have not only stepped up the routine monitoring of the media but have shut down web resources they fear could trigger mass action. But then that’s another story.

This strong influence and hold that the media have on people’s minds obviously puts tremen-dous responsibility on the people who present news content and opinion in what a large number of media consumers consider to be credible and authoritative purveyors of information.

Unfortunately, though, this sense of respon-sibility is increasingly lacking not only in rising numbers of media practitioners but also their hallowed media houses. This was glaringly seen in the aftermath of the trifecta of earthquake + tsunami + nuclear disaster that struck Japan last month.

The earthquake + tsunami is now believed

to have taken 18,000 lives and the estimated US$350 billion cost of reconstruction is the biggest bill ever seen by the world. The damage to the nuclear infrastructure, however, has so far not claimed a life but the coverage of its per-ceived and conjectured threat has been magni-fied many times over by much of the world’s media – at the inhuman cost of putting the supremely unfortunate human tragedy in the shade: a tragedy that will linger for years, if not an entire generation and beyond.

Just days after the disaster, the focus of the world’s media shifted from the dead and the

untold hardships of the living to stories and opinions from all sorts of “experts” about pos-sible radiation that could travel through the at-mosphere and up the food chain, causing people in the US and elsewhere around the world to rush to stockpile iodine supplements and other preventative measures at inflated prices.

The news media was filled with theory after sickening theory, with the sole aim seemingly being perpetrating the scare on a global scale. Such alarmism in the media is not only unjusti-fied, it is irresponsible. More than the nuclear re-actors and the lives of people in Japan, it was the credibility of both western media practitioners and their outlets that was in a state of meltdown.

Fortunately, there were a few sane elements that did a service to the sense of fair play and brought in a modicum of proportion to the runaway madness about the global nuclear con-tamination scare – one report of which warned

the Pacific Islands to watch out for invasive species because of the nuclear fallout.

One of these infinitely sane journalists was the Daily Mail’s science Editor Michael Hanlon, who effectively explained why the media are so fascinated by the idea of impending nuclear catastrophe at the expense of reporting the real human tragedy that is unfolding before every-one’s eyes:

“The earthquake and tsunami could not be comprehended. Tales of survival will emerge but, in essence, the story of the great Black Wave is over. The towns are gone, the people

are dead. We need to ‘move the story on’, to use the media’s dread parlance.

“But the nuclear crisis is all too comprehen-sible, and on-going. Our fear of the rogue, ef-fervescent atom, the invisible, DNA-mutating ultra-poison appears to be primordial. By con-centrating on the atomic plants we make this story about the works of Man, not of Nature, and thus write ourselves back into the centre of a narrative in which we, in truth, have played merely the role of hapless and helpless bystand-ers and victims. Scaremongering and hubris; an unhappy combination.”

It’s as though the media is incapable of pre-dicting anything positive – only doing the oppo-site: scaring people based on conjecture. Have we seen stories on the legendary resilience of the Japanese people, their unparalleled experi-ence in nuclear technology, which they devel-oped despite the living memory of Hiroshima

and Nagasaki, the greatest human tragedy of all time?

Has the media considered that it is per-fectly possible that Japan could not only engi-neer a containment of the nuclear problem and the lessons it will learn could go a long way in making other nuclear power plants elsewhere in the world safer? Those are possibilities that are clearly uninteresting to the unabashedly sen-sationalist global media that is addicted to the heady fix of seeing soaring statistical graphs of hits, eyeballs and page views on their flat screens.

In New Zealand, the media made much of the predictions of a maverick magician turned geologist-soothsayer about new quakes in Christchurch causing children to become so scared that they forced their parents to leave the city on the day of the predicted quakes.

Such eroded credibility because of stories that proverbially cry wolf gives an extremely convenient handle to authoritarian regimes to clamp down on the media for exaggerated and irresponsible reporting – something which we have seen in fair measure even in the Pacific Islands context. And when it is not the system that clamps down on the media, it is people in power who do so in their individual capacity.

This is not to suggest that media should steer clear of controversy or soft pedal on blowing the whistle. In fact, that is their very raison d’etre. It is just that they must get their facts right; facts are sacred, opinion is not – and the two must consciously be kept apart.

The social media certainly are a rich source of tips and leads for the media but the news media must never parrot them.

Leave all the goss, the opinion and the madcap theories of apocalypse and other radio-active scaremongering to Facebook and Twitter. Or else prepare for a meltdown of the news media.

Libya demonstrates the shallowness of Western diplomacy, which has now finally alienated the Arabs, virtually to the last man. Well, almost the last man, because we’re not counting the stooges in the pay of the West.

It is not a war led by people who want de-mocracy ushered quickly in the Middle East. From the very outset it seems that Britain and France, the two countries who have been per-sistently tugging at America’s coattails to help them oust Muammar Gaddafi, are being led by people who are clearly overcompensating for their wimpy image.

France’s Nicolas Sarkozy clearly needs a small, successful war, just like George H. Bush needed Iraq to combat his wimp image. Sarkozy is desperate for a war for two reasons.

One, his ex-supermodel wife is known to snub him openly, especially in front of her ex-boyfriends. Two, he faces an election soon. Sarko’s image is down in the dumps and he thinks a quick war will divert public attention from his humiliation. Also, the French mili-tary, not known for any special heroics in the last 200 years, has belatedly recognised that one doesn’t have to take on the Germans or Russians to appear brave. Small countries with smaller militaries offer more tempting targets. Besides, France hasn’t won any orders for its new fighter planes, so clips of Mirages and Rafales thunder-ing over Libya might generate some interest, most likely from a future rebel government in the ‘liberated’ areas.

Britain is in a deeper hole. The once ruler of the waves is now waving the rules against its own people, with deep slashes in public ame-nities that will effectively reduce the country to Second World status. The nation has been mauled by the riots, a hung parliament and the recession, with the Wall Street Journal saying

that 20 percent of Britons are wallowing in poverty.

It was amusing to hear Cameron implor-ing the US for a no-fly zone over Libya, a day after the British air force laid off 150 pilots. And remember that the once proud British Navy is down to 19 warships – that’s 281 less than India’s planned naval strength.

Britain, of course, is in no position to criti-cise Gaddafi after palling around with him the past few years. London had even pardoned the Libyan terrorists who bombed an Ameri-can jumbojet, killing over 250 people. The lure of petro dollars can make strange bedfellows.

At any rate this is one of the most muddle-

headed wars in a long time. Regarding the objec-tives of the war, Cameron declared that Gaddafi as the head of his armed forces is a legitimate target. “Absolutely not,” said his top general, Chief of Defence, David Richards.

More double standards. A UK defence spokesman said Gaddafi loyalists burned down

a mosque after seizing control in Zawiyah, illus-trating the “depths to which his forces are pre-pared to sink. This is a sign of how far Gaddafi is prepared to go and why coalition operations to protect the civilian population are so neces-sary”.

Oh yes, attacking mosques in Libya is a de-spicable act of cruelty but when Western forces do it in Iraq – as they did in 2004 in Kufra, mur-dering dozens of people – it is an operational necessity.

And interestingly, last year there was a huge scandal over the British Army using struc-tures on a firing range that strongly resembled mosques. The UK defence spokesman said “it

was vital soldiers trained in an environment which replicated where they were deployed”.

If soldiers are trained to shoot at mosques in practise, does it take rocket science to under-stand that they will do so in war?

It would be duh if it weren’t so tragic!Then we have Barack Obama. While the

European people, unlike their leaders, want nothing to do with the war in Libya, the majority of Americans say they want Gaddafi taken out. The clash of civilisations is pretty much evident here. For, why else would the American people want a third front, when their country is inches from an economic precipice? Not even the most rabid Pentagon general wants to get entangled in Libya when the US military is bleeding in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So at a time when 100 million Americans are living in poverty, Obama is forced to jump into a war because the Republicans and sundry su-premacists in the Western world are calling him a wimp.

And finally we have the wimps in the United Nations – Russia and India, who for a warmer American embrace have allowed yet another in-dependent country to be bombed into the stone age.

(Rakesh Krishnan Simha is a features writer at New Zealand’s leading media outfit. He has previously worked with Businessworld, India Today and Hindustan Times, and was news editor with the Financial Express.)

Comment

rAKesH KrIsHNAN sIMHA

deV NAdKArNI

The media’s wanton scaremongering

libya and the war of the wimpsThe Western assault on Libya smacks of vendetta against an independent country; it’s got nothing to do with establishing democracy.

So at a time when 100 million Americans are living in poverty, Obama is forced to jump into a war because the Republicans and sundry supremacists in the Western world are calling him a wimp.

This easy accessibility to all forms of media in this age of in-creasingly device agnostic convergence and its seemingly total influence on people’s minds – and hearts – is the bugbear of authoritarian regimes around the world.


Indian

Acting Prime Minister and Minister for For-eign Affairs Ratu Inoke Kubuabola says the Fijian government is committed to holding General Elections in 2014. This statement by Ratu Inoke comes in the wake of New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minis-ter McCully’s comments that they will only lift travel bans on Fiji once the Fijian Gov-ernment gives a firm commit-ment for return to elections. Earlier this month the Indo-nesian electoral commission visited Fiji and briefed govern-ment on their voting system. “ This is indicative of the steps taken by the Fijian Government towards elections,” said Ratu Inoke. “Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Baini-marama has time and again emphasized his commitment to the elections timeline in 2014.

“That timeline remains and nothing has changed as far as government is con-cerned. “Government is committed to ensuring that good and fair election is conducted”. “New Zealand just doesn’t want to recog-nize nor understand that Fiji needs to give

its people a fair and just elec-tion system that makes up the multiracial coun-try of Fiji.” said Ratu Inoke. He said these things cannot be achieved over-night, and the government has

set the time to 2014. “What more cast-iron assurance can this be for New Zealand or any other country for that matter.” Ratu Inoke said New Zealand have some real issues to address first before it can, make such a swipe at Fiji, and question the commitment towards elections in 2014.

Fiji

Fiji’s Elections is set for 2014

India offers free services in Fiji

Indian Weekender news desk/ Nasik

Swami/ Fiji SunSuva: The High Commission of

India’s Indian Cultural Centre (ICC)

offers a wide variety of free services

to the people of Fiji.

Centre director Dr Kamal Mishra said

the centre offered courses in carnatic

vocal music, Indian classical dances

such as Kathak and Bharatnatyam

and Indian classical instrument

playing of the tabla, harmunium with

vocal and functional Hindi.

ICC also offers yoga classes through

its branches in Suva and Lautoka

which promotes healthy living in the

country. Dr Mishra said the good

thing about the courses was that its

conducted free of charge and was

available to people of any race and

religion.

“With both Fiji and India having the

same quality of multiculturalism

and we are both learning from each

other’s experiences, this creates a

natural bond between us,” Dr Mishra

said.

Quake causes a scare in LabasaSuva: A 5.9 magnitude earth tremor to the north east of Labasa on the morn-ing of March 27 caused a scare among residents.

For some, it reminded them of the hor-rific scenes on television of the recent destructive earthquake in Japan.

While others said the tremor was a sign that people should always be prepared for such disasters during this current weather pattern.

When contacted, the Fiji Meteorologi-cal Services office in Nadi confirmed the earth tremor occurred at 10.58am.

The duty weather forecaster said the 5.9 magnitude tremor occurred at a depth of 8.3 miles below sea level.

The tremor lasted for about five sec-onds and this brought some relief to those who felt it.

Vunivau resident Krishna Goundar said his family panicked at first when they felt the first shake.

He said they just stared at each other

without a word.

But after the shake, there was laughter because all had the same thoughts of the Japanese quake.

Labasa businessman Yogeshwar Chand said he was in his shop when he felt the earth tremor.

“The shelves in the shop holding our products were shaking for a few sec-onds before it stopped. When the shak-ing eased, it brought relief because it was not a case to worry about,” Mr Chand said.

Helen Elizabeth, 14, of Siberia was in her room when she felt her bed move.

“Everyone else was in the kitchen cooking and I was the only one who ran out to tell them that my bed was shaking. I though I was dreaming at first but am happy that it was only a tremor,” Miss Elizabeth said.

Residents living close to Labasa Town also felt the morning tremor but no damage has been reported.

-Fiji Sun/ Indian Weekender news desk

“ This is indicative of the steps taken by the Fijian Government towards elections,” said Ratu Inoke.


Indian

Auckland: The first batch of Vedic math train-ers from all over the world graduated online in a unique online convocation co-ordinated from Auckland last Sunday.

Conducted by the novel E-Gurukul concept that runs Vedic math and other curricula on ancient Indian practical knowledge subjects, e-graduation certificates were presented to sixteen graduates who completed the trainers’ course from four countries around the world – New Zealand, India, the US, Canada and India.

E-Gurukul.Net was established as a free virtual educational platform and online campus to bring the treasures of scientific knowledge and wisdom of ancient India to the world utilis-ing internet technol-ogy. E-Gurukul’s operations are physi-cally headquartered in Sandringham, Auckland but the online university’s reach is worldwide.

It has organised over 25 live audio visual virtual ses-sions on various topics related to scientific heritage and was instrumen-tal in connecting 10 expert speakers with participants from various countries. All these sessions were attended by in-dividuals all over the globe – right from the comfort of their homes. All of these sessions were made available through the internet at no cost to the attendees.

This past July and September, E-Gurukul.net held an online live audio-vi-sual course explain-ing the basic con-cepts of Vedic math. Vedic math is the Indian system of cal-culation that enables anyone to calculate complex calculations of arithmetic in a very rapid manner (usually 5 to 7 times faster than conventional methods), it is also considered as the fastest calculation method in the world.

The Live online course was taught by Sai Kiran from his home in Hyderabad, India. Mr. Kiran is a Vedic math and memory trainer who has instructed over 250,000 individuals in the past 10 years. This class had over 100 attendees from all over the world and it was well received as it allowed all participants from various coun-tries to learn the powerful techniques of Vedic maths from expert trainer based in India.

Due to the interest of this course, as part of Global Educational Programme series ,

E-Gurukul had decided to promote an in-tensive live audio-visual online teachers train-ing certification programme open to qualified individuals.

The mission of this free online teachers training was to create skilled trainers world-wide who will be able to teach generations of students the science of Vedic math. Even though Vedic math is relatively unknown in most parts of the world, its ability to transform lives will have great positive benefits on everyone who studies it.

The selection process consisted of appli-cants answering 25 questions to demonstrate their qualifications and sincerity in wanting to bring this knowledge to the world as Vedic Math

trainers. Of the many persons from all over the world applying, only 16 individuals from 13 cities across 4 countries, Canada, New Zealand, India and the United States were accepted into the programme. The occupations of the attend-ees varied from math teachers to IT profession-als; from housewives to doctors and from scien-tists to statisticians.

“On the whole I think the sessions were a big success and to my career, it added another feather in the cap in the form of online train-ing. This Sessions had helped me to connect and train aspiring Vedic maths trainers from different countries right from the comfort of my home,” said Sai Kiran

These students un-derwent over 60 hours of intensive online training during which they were taught the intricacies of Vedic math. Upon comple-tion of this course, each candidate had to undergo a certification process. This process consisted of a submis-sion of both individual and group projects, a set of formalised project work that ex-ceeded 100 pages and a live audio visual oral examination given by Mr. Kiran and E-Gu-rukul.

”When I was ac-cepted into this pro-gramme I was a little apprehensive regard-ing the teaching venue, i.e., a virtual live audio visual classroom over the internet. I quickly found the level of teaching and the en-thusiasm of the other participants to be at a very high level. I was thrilled to connect with the trainer based in India and other par-ticipants from across 14 cities spread among

4 countries.“E-Gurukul has demonstrated the power of

technology by taking internet education to a Global level. They are to be congratulated and I very much thank them for allowing me to be a part of this worldwide electronic education process.” – said Richard Blum, one of the train-ees from the US.

“As a Part of Global Education Programmes Series, organising free online Vedic mathemat-ics teachers training certification programme was an important milestone in our endeavour,” one of the trainers, Usha, said.

“The mission was to create skilled trainers worldwide who will be able to teach generations of students the science of Vedic Math, team at e-gurukul.net is quite elated for selecting great group of enthusiastic participants.

“We are totally confident that our first group of trainers will fulfill the mission of e-gurukul by creating awareness about power of VM not only as a tool for calculations but also as a pow-erful neurobics (Mental excercise) which boosts mental fitness, develops memory and helps to improve overall efficiency of an individual,” she added.For more information, Please visit HYPER-LINK “http://www.e-gurukul.net” www.e-gu-rukul.net – Session Link along with simple steps can be found in the website.

Indian Weekender news desk

Community

Vedic math teachers graduate online

Teeing off for Fiji’s health

The Friends of Fiji Health Foundation’s fundraising golf round last week was a fantastic success, Daven Naidu, the event’s co-ordinator and a leading volunteer and trustee at the Foundation told Indian Weekender.

Our thanks are due to all our partici-pants and sponsors who contributed so much time, effort and funds to make this such a success,” Mr Naidu said.

““Everyone received a prizes, golf gift pack, BBQ and food platter valued around $70, during the event. We raised over $36,000 from sponsors and par-ticipants. More than $10,000 was given away as prizes and the Friends of Fiji Health Foundation raised $21,000 for charity,” he added.

The foundation recently led a major health mission to western Fiji, where the volunteer doctors, nurses and paramed-ics besides a team of socially minded citizens from both New Zealand and Fiji helped treat dozens of patients in the island nation for a range of ailments.

The foundation is a completely volun-tary effort and depends on fundrais-ing and donations for mounting and running its missions, with doctors and health professionals giving freely of their time, talent and experience for this laudable cause.

Mr Naidu said this was an annual event and the trophy needed to be defended

next year. Indian Weekender is a proud sponsor of the Friends of Fiji Health Foundation and also supported the golf event.

the results of last weekend’s golf even as below:A Division ( 0-12HC)Hemant Patel Best Stable ford on count backDeepak Patel 2nd Daven Naidu 3rd.

B Division (13-36)1. Dr Kanan Raman 1st2. Jitendra Khatri 2nd3. Dharmendra Singh 3rd

Non Affiliated :

1. Joe Prasad Best Stable ford (Apolo-gies to Joe as there was a mix up with cards which came to our attention after the prize giving) Joe we have your trophy with us.2. Rajiv Kumar 2nd 3. Shaneel Naidu 3rd

Winning Ladies

Naden Maxine Best stable ford. Barry Dillion. Best GrossLongest Drive: Barry DillionNTP: Navin PatelLongest Drive (Ladies): Salochana SinghNTP: Naden Maxine.Lucky Winner of Air Pacific ticket: Rajiv Kumar.

E-Gurukul.Net was established as a free virtual educational platform and online campus to bring the treasures of scientific knowledge and wisdom of ancient India to the world utilising internet technology.

Art of Living Foundation Welcomes all Wellingtonians “our PLACe”Come! Re-energise & Revitaliseunitng people from all walks of life, all philosophies and all backgrounds Level 2, James Smith BuildingCorner of Cuba & Manners St, Wellington. A WEEKEND OF BLISS & FUN9th & 10th APRIL Inaugration By Hon. mayor Celia Wade-Brown - 5pm onward to be followed by musica, dance & a delicious vegetarian dinnerHumanitarian Award presented to the Mayor of ChristchurchFree workshops on breath and yoga for all ages - Special session for kids & teens! - ALL DAY!! Register Today!!!ART OF PARENTING - For the very first time in WELLINGTON CITY!Contact for more info : 0505 - ART OF LIVING


Indian Community

Rotorua Holi Fest gives importance to youthThe Rotorua public got the opportunity to celebrate Holi – the Festival of Colours – on Sunday, march 20. Both children and adults enjoyed this festival; in particular playing with coloured powder and water which was the highlight of the festival.

This colourful festival, held at Rotorua Soundshell and Village Green, was organ-ised by a committee comprising mainly of youths from various communities. The key objectives of the Holi festival were to encourage youth participation, nurture leadership skills, and educate youths to organise festivals at a community level.

The official festival started at 11.00am with the lighting of the diya (lamp) and a kara-kia (prayer) by Kaumatua (Maori elder) Mr. Eru George. Murali Magesan, one of the youths in the organising committee, wel-comed the invited guests. This was fol-lowed by speeches from His Worship Mr. Kevin Winters (the Mayor of Rotorua), and Mr. Todd McClay (Member of Parliament representing Rotorua). Ms. Nitika Sharma representing Hindu Youth New Zealand invited Rotorua youth to the upcoming New Zealand Hindu Youth Conference to be held on 7-8 May 2011 at the Auckland University campus. Master of Ceremony for the opening ceremony was Dr Meeta Patel. Ms. Teilah Komene gave the vote of thanks.

The official welcome was followed by inter-national cultural performances including

Indian dances, traditional Chinese dances, belly dancing, Salsa, Zumba, singing and guitar performances. Indoor games of musical chairs, charades, and a quiz on New Zealand were held thereafter.

The highlight of the festival was the blend-ing of people from all communities and races as they sprinkled each other with coloured powder and water at the Village Green, to the sounds of Holi folk songs and drum beats that supplemented the high spirit of revelry. The mixing of colours signified the coming together of people

from different communities and back-ground regardless of their dharma, faiths, ethnic and personal differences in the community spirit of Holi.

The Rotorua Holi Festival was a smoke-free, alcohol-free and meat-free festival with free entry to the public. The organ-ising committee, comprised of repre-sentatives from the Indian, Fijian and Maori communities, namely: Praneita Narayan, Valencia Herbert, Murali Mag-esan, Deepika Magesan, Gabriella Wright and Navneet Nair, with guidance from

Dr. Meeta Patel and Dr. Guna Magesan. Other volunteers included Tausese Lona, Teilah Komene, Pritika Sharma and Kirtesh Naicker from the Tokelauan, Maori and Fijian communities.

“Given the support this festival is re-ceiving, it is not difficult to visualise the potential for the Holi Festival to become an annual youth festival in Rotorua” said Ms Praneita Narayan, the coordinator of this festival.

General Secretary of Hindu Council of New Zealand Dr Guna Magesan said it was good to see that youth from both Hindu Maori communities coming to-gether to take Hindu-Maori relations (whakawhanaungatanga) a step further.

Hindu Council of New Zealand has always given importance for building whakawhanaungatanga not only in Ro-torua but also in other cities. For example, the Second Wellington Region Hindu Con-ference will be organised at Arohanui ki te Tangata Marae (Waiwhetu Marae), Lower Hutt on Saturday, 9 April 2011, with Maori elder Mr. Te Rira Puketapu leading the ceremonies. The theme of the conference is “Hindu-Maori Perspectives on Holistic Health: from Individual and Whanau to Community”. The strong parallel between Hindu Dharma’s spirit of Vasudhaiv Ku-tumbakam (world is one family) and the vision of Arohanui ki te Tangata (goodwill to all men) will be evident there.

Respected Maori Elder Eru George lighting the lamp Ms Teilah Komene giving vote of thanks Rotorua youth playing with colours


Indian

Life goes on for Sharmila, SohaActor Sharmila Tagore poses with daughter Soha Ali Khan last week for the battery of photographers ahead of the premier of Life Goes On, an English film by London-based Sangeeta Dutta. Life Goes On has brought together the mother-daughter duo for the first time. “There was a comfort level during the shooting,” said Sharmila. The film on the migrant experience of a Bengali British family was released on Friday (Mar 25).

bollywood

Mumbai: Renowned Bhojpuri singer

Kalpana’s song has been nominated

in folk category of Big Star IMA

Awards 2011.

It is her popular number

‘Saiyyan Chhath Kaarat’

from ‘Chhath’ (an India

festival) album titled

‘Aage bilaiya peche

chhathi maiyya’ that got

the nomination.

The ‘Big Star IMA

Awards 2011’ will hon-

our renowned veterans

and respected musi-

cians from the Indian

music fraternity. Each

category widely im-

bibes music from differ-

ent backgrounds such

as Hindustani, Carnatic,

Folk, Ghazal, Qawali,

Jazz, Fusion and Film

music.

Kalpana has not only

sung Bhojpuri film

songs but has also ren-

dered her voice in Hindi

songs besides singing

her popular chhath (a particular

genre of Indian devotional songs)

and devotional numbers.

Kalpana’s Bhojpuri song gets IMA nominations


Indian

What is Memories in March about?It is about emotional archiving. Arti Mishra, a Delhi-based middle-aged divorcee, has to rush to Kolkata when her 28-year-old son Siddharth, dies in a car crash. As she goes through his things over the four days of her stay, wanders around the flat he lived in, she discovers chapters in her son’s life she did not know about. So, she is shocked twice over – once by the suddenness of the death itself and once by this window that opens to offer her a glimpse into his life which is much more than what she understood or knew. She meets two of his colleagues, his boss Arnab, which I have portrayed, and his peer Shahana played by Raima. Her interactions with these two friends of her dead son lead her to rethink and redefine many things about life, love, relationships

and even death.

What kind of character have you played in

Memories of March?I play the dead man’s boss Arnab Mitra, who, as it later transpires, was also his

lover. When he meets Arti Mishra and she slowly learns the truth of his relation-ship with her son, her initial reaction is

of complete animosity and hostility. She refuses even to believe that her son can make this kind of choice. Her conclusion is that the boss has exploited her son sexually by using his professional office. But what begins with denial followed by anger goes through a process of confron-tation. It finally leads to an acceptance of choices, of the human body, of relation-ships that create a ‘family’ away from the rigid concept of the ‘family’ as we know it. With acceptance is born a new bonding between the grieving mother and her dead son’s grieving friends, who, in a manner of speaking, knew her son more intimately than she did. For the first time, an Indian film is exploring spaces through the life and death of a homophobic protagonist.

Is this one way of trying to bring the gay identity into the mainstream?I would say that it is more about the blurring of the boundaries between the ‘insider’ and the ‘outsider.’ The film is a sort of a challenge posed to the water-tight compartments we place the ‘insider’ versus ‘outsider’ in. The minority for instance, is seen as an ‘outsider’ by the mainstream. But the ‘minority’ itself con-siders the mainstream an ‘outsider.’ Here we are trying to show that it is possible for the subjectively defined ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ to live in peaceful and harmoni-ous co-existence. I think the time is ripe to create spaces for the gay person and his manner of behaviour in mainstream so-ciety not only and not always through an amorous relationship. The film shows how a gay person behaves when he does not necessarily have a lover. Arti and Arnab find common bonding in the grief they suf-fer through the loss of Siddharth who both loved in their own way.

How does Arti learn about her son sid-dharth’s relationship with Arnab?That part is very delicate and suggestive and there is no loudness about it. It comes

across very slowly. When Arti enters Sidhharth’s apartment for the first time, it is dark. On the cell-phone, Arnab gives her precise directions to the switch board and the lights, tells her where to go to find what and all this confuses her a little. In another scene, I have to fetch food from the kitchen and lay it on the table and then serve it. When Arti tries to find her husband’s new cell phone number, Arnab tells her where to find the list of numbers on the wall and make the call she wants to. These are little bytes of action that puz-zle her, surprise her and then shock her.

so it is not a mother-son story?The mother-son story is the trigger for what comes later. It is about death versus life for example. It is about a new ‘family’ that gets created beyond the popularly accepted connotation of ‘family’ within a sexist society. Arti Mishra, within her so-cially conditioned mindset, assumes that it is Shahana (Raima Sen) who is her dead son’s lover. Shahana did indeed have a crush on her son. But it was Arnab’s love Siddharth responded to so that is a strange kind of ‘rivalry’ between Shahana and Arnab – they are in love with the same man!

When you are being directed by another director, doesn’t the urge to correct things or do things your way interfere in your work as an actor?I did feel at certain moments during the shooting that this given shot or scene could have been done differently. But I had to give up after a point of time be-cause my approach, treatment and style are very different from Bunty’s (Sanjoy). My films are smooth – with a proper beginning, middle and end. Sanjoy’s film is complete in its totality yet it exudes a sense of incompleteness I will never be able to achieve. And what about Siddharth, Arti’s dead son?He is absent in the entire film. There is not even a photograph of him in the film at any place or time. It gives the audience the opportunity of constructing their own image of Sidhharth because his absence is actually a very powerful presence. Once again, we come back to the insider-outsid-er dichotomy. A mother has lost her son to death. But Life has given her two new live friends in the form of Arnab and Shahana. Arti had come for the rituals of her son and also to collect the things he had left be-hind. But she discovers that these ‘things’ both tangible and intangible, have already been distributed and dispersed and scat-tered in ways that make it impossible for her to ‘gather’ them and ‘take them’ away.

(–TWF)

bollywood

‘Time to create space for gay in mainstream’Rituparno Ghosh, who established himself as a brilliant actor in Just Another Love Story recently, is about to consolidate his position as an actor in Sanjoy Nag’s debut film Memories in March based on Ritu’s own story, Parapaar. The film stars Deepti Naval, Rituparno Ghosh and Raima Sen in stellar roles. Rituparno holds out on the film and the intricacies of the clois-tered gay identity that forms a segment

I would say that it is more about the blurring of the boundaries between the ‘insider’ and the ‘outsider.’ The film is a sort of a challenge posed to the water-tight compartments we place the ‘insider’ versus ‘outsider’ in.


Indian bollywood

DTBHJ completes 50 days

Gurdas Mann comes up with new album Jogiya

Mumbai: Director Madhur Bhan-

darkar is feeling ‘glad’ these days

as his last released movie Dil Toh

Baccha Hai Ji (DTBHJ) completed

50 days at the box office.

Madhur is quite happy on the suc-

cess of the film as he adds- “I feel

so glad that people liked DTBHJ

and like they have always loved all

my films, they liked this film as well

and the film is proudly enjoying its

50 days at the box office.”

DTBHJ has already surpassed the

box office collection of Madhur’s

biggest hit film till date, ‘Fashion’.

While, ‘Fashion’ had collected Rs

26 crore, Dil Toh Baccha Hai’ Ji has

crossed Rs 33 crore mark, the mak-

ers claimed.

Produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak

the film featured few of the popular

names in B-town like: Ajay Devgn,

Emraan Hashmi, Omi Vaidya, Shruti

Hassan, Shazahn Padamsee and

Shraddha Das.

The film had hit the silver screen on

Jan 28.

New Delhi: Renowned singer and lyricist Gurudas Maan released his latest album ‘Jogiya’ in Delhi recently.

The lyrics of this album have been penned down by Maan himself.

“I am happy to put together music that comes from my soul for the people who like to hear me,” Maan said.

“My music is the best way of connecting with people around the world who have given me so much love and affections in the years gone by. I hope they like Jogiya also. I am always so thankful to each fan of mine,” Maan said.

The music in this album has been given by Jaidev Kumar while the music videos have been directed by Manjeet Maan

Jogiya is 35th album of Gurudas Maan and comprises of a blend of social, romantic, and en-ergetic tracks.

This year, Gurdas Maan will add one more feather to his crown as he will be seen perform-ing at The Royal Albert Hall in UK.


Indian

do you think promoting a film well plays an important role in deciding its box office fate?We can’t force today’s audience to come and see a film. We can try to excite you as much as possible by us through promotions, sending out five star dinners and promos (laughs).

Will you say the same for Game?Game is a film I am very excited about because it’s my first film with two very dear friends of mine-Farhan Akhtar ( producer) and Ritesh Sidhwani (producer). We had been waiting for very long to work together on the right script. I have really enjoyed myself while making the film. It’s my favourite genre- who-dunit murder mystery-and wanted to do one desperately. I have seen the film and it has turned out fantastic. So I am very confident about it. I have been a huge fan of Abhinay Deo (director) for a very long time; especially his commercials. I was actually trying for a very long time to get him to do a film with me and he kept saying ‘no’.

Now-a-days all big budget films are doing well. What do you have to say about that?You know, you have to go with the film. Yes,

budgets do matter if it’s insanely priced. But here, we haven’t made the film (Game) for Rs 10 crores and are selling it for Rs 18 crores. We are not doing that. We are not here to make money, but to make a quality film that we all

can be proud of. I hope this film does well…that’s the only thing we can do.

You have three pretty women (sarah Jane dias, shahana Goswami, Kangana ranaut) in Game. Who threw most tantrums at you?Boman Irani (laughs). Boman, Jimmy (Sher-

gill) and Anupam uncle (Kher)-all three of them are very beautiful. But Boman was the most troublesome.

You have a second release in April-dum Maaro dum…Dum Maaro Dum is a film by my childhood friend Rohan (Sippy) and was equally exciting to make as Game. I play ACP Vishnu Kamath in Dum Maaro Dum. He’s a self-destructive cop fleeing his own past. I was given charge

to destroy the drug mafia in Goa.

of late, we are seeing you experimenting with characters. How are you picking your scripts?Lot of the time, you hear a script that inspires you and you do it. That’s the way I work. I never worked based on a strategy…that, now I will do comedy, then action, and then I will do something else. It’s just so happened that now I am doing a murder mystery (Game) and then, an action thriller (Dum Maaro Dum).You are also doing Dhoom 3. That’s an action film too…Dhoom 3 will be end of next year. There will be three-four releases before that.

When will your fans see you and Aishwarya (rai bachchan) together on screen again?I don’t know…may be whenever a right script is ready.

recently, you and Aishwarya have been voted the “It” couple of bollywood. What do you have to say about that?Really? I didn’t know that. But honestly, the two of us have no false illusions of grandeur

bollywood

‘Ash, me under no false illusion of grandeur’

Bollywood “baddie” Bob Christo dies

Abhishek Bachchan has turned a busy bee these days promoting his much-awaited films Game and Dum Maaro Dum, both releasing in April. TWF correspondent Sreya Basu catches up with the actor in Mumbai

Bangalore: Bollywood actor of Austra-lian origin, Bob Christo, who acted in numerous movies playing the white-skinned baddie for over two decades, passed away in Bangalore on March 20. He was in his seventies.

The actor died of “rupture of left ven-tricle free valve”, reports said.

Robert John Christo, popularly known as Bob Christo, was an engineer but went on to become an actor in Bolly-wood, playing the quintessential White villain of Bollywood.

His bald face and sinewy physique soon made him a popular action vil-lain whom the heroes would fight and vanquish after a lot of effort.

He began career in the late 1970s

and had featured in a famous fight sequence against Amitabh Bachchan in the 1978-blockbuster Don, but got a major break in 1980 with the film Abdullah made by actor Sanjay Khan.

He did not look back since as al-most every film drafted him in action scenes.

Bob had worked in over 200 films in Hindi and other Indian languages. He played the villainous British officer in many films and took all the beating in films like Mr India.

In the United States, he used to work as a visiting professor at premier busi-ness schools.

During later stage of his life, he worked as a Yoga instructor in Bangalore.

Bickram Ghosh launches Tagore Lounge

suPrIYo HAZrA

Kolkata: The flavours of Rabindrasangeet un-derwent a new transformation on Thursday night as new-age percussion star Bickram Ghosh presented three compositions of Rabindranath Tagore in a completely new sound scape.

The concert was part of the launch of Ghosh’s new album ‘Tagore Lounge’ where he has added new soundscape to the popular com-positions of Tagore.

M.K. Narayanan, Governor of West Bengal, launched the album at Kolkata’s iconic Town Hall.

“I felt like doing something on Rabindranath Tagore for a long period of time and here it is,” Ghosh said.

“I have uniquely worked for this album and I feel that there is a unique freshness in the ap-proach by the singers who have very well in-corporated the wealth and grandeur of tradition into this project,” the composer said.

Ghosh mentioned that although he has ex-perimented with the sound scaping, he has carefully maintained the aesthetics of Tagore’s compositions.

“I carefully maintained the aesthetics of Gu-rudev’s composition. The soundscaping and the new approach to the songs have been done by keeping all these factors in mind,” he said.

Ghosh has blended Indian acoustic instru-ments like tabla, sitar and sarod along with Western instruments like drums and bongos in this album that took nearly one and half years for preparation.

Apart from the concert on Thursday evening, the audience also witnessed a unique fashion show where the Tollywood (Bengali film industry) celebrities walked the ramp by wearing the designs of noted fashion designer-duo Monapali.

“We took the inspiration from Rabin-drananth Tagore’s paintings and poems,” Pali Sachdev said.

“The celebrity models wear chadars, sarees and kurtas (Indian dresses) on Thursday night,” she said.

Singer Usha Uthup, actor Jaya Seal (wife of Bickram), Arindam Seal and Jessica Gomes walked the ramp by donning the collections of Monapali.

(PHOTOS: AVISHEK MITRA)


Indian bollywood

Riteish Deshmukh will be seen playing a college principal in his upcoming comedy film F.A.L.T.U. The actor chats up with Sreya Basu in Mumbai

Mumbai: Actor Navin Nischol died of a massive heart attack in Mumbai on March 19.

Rani Mukerji turns 33Mumbai: Bong beauty of Bollywood Rani Mukerji turns 33 on Monday and is said to have plans of celebrating the occasion with close friends.

Media reports said that the gorgeous actor will go for a picnic with few of her best friends to mark the occasion.

The beautiful actor who has always been appreci-ated by her fans for her excellent acting skills, had made her B-town debut in a film titled ‘ Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat’.

Rani was seen playing the role of a rape victim in that not so commercially hit movie that had hit the silver screen in 1997.

However, it was in Karan Johar’s ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ where she seen sharing the screen space with sister Kajol and Shahrukh Khan that made her a star in Bollywood.

Since then Rani kept on entertaining her in several avatars.

Rani gained overwhelming appreciation from her admirers for her wonderful portrayal of the char-acter of a blind and deaf woman in Sanjay Leela Bhansali directed movie ‘Black’.

Her last released film ‘No One Killed Jessica’ also gained acclaim from her fans who saw Rani play-ing the role of a reporter.

‘I am scared of heights’ Veteran actor Navin Nischol dies

so you will again be seen in a comedy film? F.A.L.T.U is a young and unique film. And I am glad that I got to play a young college princi-pal (Baaji Rao) in this film; like my status is the film says kuch karne ko tha nehin toh faltu mein principal ban gaya.

Can you elaborate on your character?As I told you, that I play a young principal, who is a little elder to the students, but can rightly fit in as their friend and guide. He tells his students that excelling in studies is not the only achieve-ment in life, but there are other spheres where the youths need to be encouraged too. I direct them to the right directions in my own way.

the word faltu means worthless. Has anyone so far used the term for you?May be. I don’t know if anyone has called me faltu behind my back. How will I know? But thankfully no one has called me faltu on my face so far. Anyone can say anything behind my back. Doesn’t matter. However, as a child, many a time, I was told ke faltu mein cricket kyu khel rahen ho? Faltu mein kyu time waste kar rahen ho? Jake homework karo.

Can you remember one time you did something that was you thought faltu?There are so many things. I am very scared of heights, so much so that if I stand on a chair, I feel scared to get down…I have a phobia. When I was in New York, I went for skydiving. I jumped from 17,000 feet. That time I thought was faltugiri I am doing and why am I was doing it! May be, I thought by doing these things, I will conquer my fear. After I dived and landed below, I was fine; but I couldn’t go for a second jump….I was so scared. So then I realized, faltu mein jump maar di maine. I am still scared of heights (laughs).

You are playing a principal in F.A.L.t.u.

did your school/college principal ever thrash you for your faltugiri?No, I was a good student, yaar. Neither my prin-cipals nor my parents ever thrashed me for any-thing. But I am sure, when I joined films, many people thought kya faltugiri kar raha hai. But I enjoyed myself…I still do. And so, am proud of my faltugiri.

but of late, we are not seeing you in too many films…That’s why I chopped off my hair…abhi film nehin hai toh faltu mein baal kaat liya. (Laughs). I get what you meant. Before I did this film, I might have felt bad if anyone called me faltu. But now it feels cool because here we showed that it’s not bad, but good to be a faltu.

there are numerous reports on your linkups recently. What do you have to say?Kuch toh log kahenge; logon ka kaam hai kehna.

With whom do you think you make the hottest pair?Sajid Khan (filmmaker). We make a good couple. When we both wear green clothes, we look evergreen. (Jokingly)

A film and television actor of repute, Nis-chol made his debut with ‘Saawan Bha-don’ in the early 70s opposition Rekha. He was the first gold medalist from the Film and Television Institute of India. Nischol is best remembered for his char-acter in the hit television serial ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’. The veteran actor starred in several hit films, including ‘Buddha Mil Gaya’, ‘Kho-sla ka Ghosla’ and ‘Break Ke Baad’. Nischol’s personal life was marred in controversy towards the end. His wife Geetanjali committed suicide in 2006. Nischol was charged with abetting sui-cide, though he was later acquitted.


Indian

The ultimate questions that inspire India are in India’s wisdom traditions. The wisdom traditions spring from the ‘Upanishads’ which are found in the end portion of the Vedas. These ‘Upanishads’ have such fascinating and stimulating questions that they have been inspired the East for more than 5000 years. What were those intriguing questions of the ancient Indian minds?

In the sphere of religion and spirituality, the ‘Upanishads’ collectively called as Vedānta is probably the only ancient system of philosophy that encourages questioning, inquiry and reason-ing that leads to a discovery of the truth. Upani-shads being the oldest and the most authoritative scriptures of India are interestingly presented in an inquiry based ‘Question-and-Answer’ conversa-tion format. This style of the Upanishads, in fact, even coincides with the modern ‘critical thinking’ approach which is key to any scientific study. The key approach used in the ‘Upanishads’ is based on scientific reasoning and not dogma.

About this scientific temper in Hindu religion, the world renowned Vedānta teacher Swami Chin-mayananda remarks ‘…it has been an immortal tradition among the Hindus to have open discus-sions between the teacher and the taught, called Satsanga. This privilege is not available in all reli-gions of the world. In fact, Vedānta alone thus dares to proclaim a perfect freedom for the intellect.’ He further remarks that in Hinduism there is no check to curb the intellectual freedom of the seekers to question their sacred texts.

Upanishads form the very core of Hindu phi-losophy. Traditionally, the number of Upanishads given is 108 of which 11 are classified as ‘principal’ Upanishads as they have been commented through centuries by philosophers, especially by Ācharya Shankara.

The 11 major Upanishads are ‘Isha Upanishad, Kena Upanishad, Katha Upanishad, Prashna Upa-nishad, Mundaka Upanishad, Māndukya Upani-shad, Taittiriya Upanishad, Aitareya Upanishad, Chāndogya Upanishad, Svetāsvatara Upanishad and Brhadāranyaka Upanishad’.

The Upanishads are the very fuel to Hindu spir-itual thought. In fact the national motto of ‘Saty-ameva Jayate’ (Truth alone prevails), accepted by both the government and the people of India consti-

tutionally, is taken from the Mundaka Upanishad belonging to the Atharva Veda.

The philosophical questioning in the Upani-shads were simply not the standard 5W’s and 1H (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How). In fact they came out of much reflection. Thus ques-tions were permitted and presented logically in the knowledge tradition universally termed as the path of knowledge - Gyān mārg. This path of inquiry (vichār) gets tread mostly by those who have a natural intellectual inclination to think and analyse their way, in their seeking. There is no question of blind faith or dogma in this path as the teacher of the Upanishad points out the way in the most logical manner that appeals to a rational intellect.

About this approach, the great Indian phi-

losopher Dr.S.Radhakrishnan observes “The Upanishads, though remote in time from us, are not remote in thought. The Upanishads deal with questions which arise when men begin to reflect seriously and attempt answers to them which are not very different, except in their approach and em-phasis from what we are now inclined to accept… When we read them we cannot help being im-pressed by the exceptional ability, earnestness and ripeness of mind of those who wrestled with these

ultimate questions”.The questions in the Upanishads are not the

shallow curiosity type. The questions are far deeper – dealing with the purpose of life, ways to get ever lasting joy, source of creation, God etc that is churned out only after some serious reflection. Quite often in the Upanishads, one finds directed questions asked by seekers of truth to the enlight-ened teacher, initiating an illuminating dialogue about the higher truths as experienced by the teacher.

Here is a sample of questions asked by the intel-lectual seekers of ancient India.

In the Mundaka Upanishad Shaunaka, a house-holder asks sage Angirasa: “What is that knowing which all others are known? Can we know the most

fundamental knowledge for knowing everything?” In the Brhadāranyaka Upanishad, Maitreyi

asks her Sage husband Yagnavalkya: “Tell me, venerable Sir, of that alone which you know to be the only means of attaining Immortality.”

The Kena Upanishad starts with the question: “What activates our mind? What is the mind of the mind? What is behind the mind? What is behind our senses activating them?”

The young Nachiketa in the Katha Upanishad asks Lord Yama: “What happens to a person after death? Some say that he exists; some say that a person does not exist.”

Of the 6 questions in the Prashna Upanishad, the first is asked by Kabandhi to Sage Pippalada, “Sir, from where are all the creatures born?”

Naturally the Holy Bhagavad Gita, which is considered as the essence of the Upanishads, also follows the typical Upanishadic dialogue style wherein Arjuna asks some 12 questions to Lord Krishna on topics of practical philosophy. Rooted in the tradition, Lord Krishna too advises to Arjuna (in ch 4, v34) that the seeker of truth should ask proper questions (pariprashnena) to the Guru.

Such is the tradition of philosophical question-ing in the highest of Hindu scriptures. The answers to the many questions on life abound in the Upani-shads, but are recommended to be best learnt under the feet of a Guru.

Interestingly, this heritage of questioning con-tinues till today. Often we see our Indian Gurus, the world over, answering all sorts of questions bombarded at them. Just check out You Tube for a range of questions to modern day Gurus – be it a Juggi Vasudev, HWL Poonja (Papaji), Osho Ra-jneesh, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar or a Jiddu Krishnamurti. The Upanishadic style still continues to inspire.

Heritage

Questions that inspire INDIArAM LINGAM

“In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and as elevating as that of the Upanishads. They are des-tined sooner or later to become the faith of the people.” - German Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 – 1860)


Indian

Questions that inspire INDIAPAdMINI GAuNder

One of the most popular tourist attractions in India today is the Taj Mahal. The story of the Taj Mahal is well known. It was built by the second last Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Ma-hal. But after it was completed Shah Jahan was overthrown by his own son, Auran-gazeb, who imprisoned him till he (Shah Jahan) died. It is said that Shah Jahan could see the musoleum he had built from his prison window. Today it is considered a symbol of love.

There is, however, another theory little known by the majority who visit India. It is believed that Shah Jahan did not really get the Taj Mahal built from scratch but he built it over a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Siva, Tejo Mahalaya, which he trans-formed (converted) into the Taj Mahal.

An Indian historian, Prof. Nagesh Oak, published a book in 1965 to prove that it was originally a Hindu temple. I first heard about Prof. Oak and his work from Mr. K.C. Ramrakha, the former Fiji Par-liamentarian. Mr. Ramrakha said when he first vis-ited the Taj Mahal he was quite struck by certain obvious signs which suggested to him that it was once a Hindu temple. When he mentioned this to his guide he (the guide) talked of Prof. Oak’s book.

It is generally accepted that the Taj Mahal is a blend of Hindu and Persian architec-ture and as an obvious example is given the main dome where there is a spiral topped by a moon, which is considered an Islamic symbol. But the horns of the moon are pointing upward so that it looks like the trident, a symbol of Siva. (The crescent moon can also symbolize Siva as it is seen on His head). It is also claimed that there is ‘om’ on the walls of the Taj Mahal.

We are told that the carvings of Hindu rock cut temples and the Maan Singh palace in Gwalior influenced the design of the Taj Mahal. The question is whether there is more than the influence of Hindu temples and palaces as Prof. Oak had claimed.

There had been attempts to hush up find-ings regarding the Taj Mahal by the Indian government from the time of Prime Minis-ter Nehru. Professor Oak was dismissed as a mad man and reprimanded by the supreme court when he took the matter there. The government of India was appre-hensive about Prof. Oak’s book causing communal tensions. So the government tried to have the book withdrawn from the bookshops and “threatened the Indian publisher with dire consequences”, the BBC reported in 2000.

Probably it was feared that it would stir up Hindu nationalism and lead to con-flicts between the Hindu and the Muslim population of the country. So Prof. Oak’s work was not widely known in India. The BBC suggested that one way to settle the controversy would be to have international observers come and check the evidence and decide if there is any validity in these claims by Prof. Oak. That does not seem likely to happen even though Prof.Oak was not the only one to believe that the Taj Mahal was originally a Hindu temple.

There are others who are also saying similar things now. And those who say it are not all Indians or Hindus. Ste-

phen Knapp, a researcher, is one. There is also an American scholar, Prof. Marvin H. Mills, a professor of architecture, who also claims that it has Hindu origins. These are two of the leading non-Indians who have questioned the popular story about the Taj Mahal being a musoleum built by Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz but there are many more.

I am not sure what the attitude of the In-dian government now is to the controversy about the Taj Mahal. But today, there does not seem to be much point in trying to suppress any information because if any-one is interested it is all readily available on the internet.

In conclusion, Taj Mahal or Tejo Mahalaya, it is an outstanding work of architecture, a thing of beauty, and hopefully, it remains a joy, if not forever, for many centuries to come.

Viewpoint

Taj Mahal or Tejo Mahalaya?

“It is believed that Shah Jahan did not really get the Taj Mahal built from scratch but he built it over a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Siva, Tejo Mahalaya,

which he transformed (converted) into the Taj Mahal”


Indian

eMPtY

Column

How is the Auckland housing market panning out?As expected the Reserve Bank of New Zealand cut Official cash rate by 0.50% to 2.50% in the last review. Majority of economists don’t expect the rate to be hiked at least for next 6-9 months period.

The banks have passed on the decrease in OCR to consumers by way of reduction in floating and short term fixed rates. With this reduction, housing affordability has increased. The rents being on the rise, it is making more sense for those who are renting, instead should buy their own homes.

Similarly, though there is reduction in tax gains to property investors due to changes in tax rules, but they have been compensated through higher rents and lower interest rates for the same. That is perhaps the reason that though Business and Consumer con-fidence is very low, Property Investor’s confidence is on the rise.

The new house construction activity is very low due to lack of funding available to developers. With demand continuously exceeding the supply, the house prices should ultimately rise.

There are many positive catalysts for housing market. The New Zealand economy will get a boost with Rugby World cup. The Christchurch recon-struction activity will start within next 12 months or so. The demand for construction material and for construction labour will go higher. It will put upward pressure on cost of new construction.

If the land prices do not go down, the cost of con-struction of new houses will be higher than what it is now. Further if the New Zealand dollar depreciates, it will put upward pressure on the cost of imported construction material. There will be demand from Japan, and the higher oil prices will push the prices of construction material even higher worldwide. The ultimate result being, that increased cost will be passed by builders to end customers in the form of increased house prices.

The above factors point towards a rebound in

house prices. Steady rise in house prices is good for economy as it helps in lifting consumer confidence. Higher consumer confidence results in higher spending lifting the overall economy.

Of course Reserve bank will not allow any asset price bubbles to build up. As per recent statement from Reserve bank Governor, in addition to raising interest rates, Reserve Bank may use other methods like asking banks to restrict loan to value ratios or increasing banks’ reserve rate requirements to check house price inflation if the house prices rise too fast.

Right now, more and more banks/lending insti-tutions have started relaxing their criteria. More of those have started to lend up to 95% of house value. Of course the criteria are tough, but this shows that these financial institutions have also got confidence in housing market.

Ravi Mehta is an Auckland based Financial Advisor and can be contacted on HYPERLINK “mailto:[email protected]” [email protected]. A dis-closure statement under Securities Markets Act re-lating to his services is available on request and is free of charge.

A word of caution:Though most of commentators including me

expect a rise in house prices, one should take into consideration his/her own financial circumstances before making a decision about buying a house.

Though interest rates are very low these days, these will not stay at these levels for ever. The rise in interest rates will be very steep once the economic conditions improve. Remember, before the onset of financial crisis, floating rate was around 10.90%

which is around 5.70% today. When deciding to take a mortgage, figure out your repayment capacity at least over next 5 years period. Current 5 years rate for most of lenders is in excess of 7.50%. Though, it is not certain that next 5 years interest rate average will be 7.50%, still it is a good indicator. (as per ex-pectation theory of interest rates) Even if you keep your loan on floating, you should repay at least equal to your mortgage installment what it should be at 7.50%. It will help you to reduce your loan faster and your Principal will be down by the time rates are high and you will be able to repay your install-ment calculated at higher interest rate but on lower Principal amount reducing the pain.

One should always diversify risk and assets. Not all your wealth should be tied in one asset class. Just think, if someone has all his/her wealth tied up in multiple properties in one town and there is a natural calamity, will he/she be able to absorb the shock? With the help of money from insurance, one may be able to reconstruct, but consider what will be impact on prices of properties.

Though house prices are expected to rise, one should not be tempted to over commit. Buying off the plan with settlement few months away and thinking, you will be able to sell before settlement is mere speculation. Nothing is certain in this world; you should not over commit yourself.

Have adequate insurance cover in place for your assets. All of property investors buy fire insurance for their properties, but there are not many who buy insurance for lost rentals. If the property is destroyed by fire, it may take very long to have it in original condition again. Though insurance company will cover your cost of reconstruction, you will be en-titled to lost rental only if you have bought that cover. Landlord protection policy is other policy you should consider buying. Take financial advice in this regard.

rAVI MeHtA


Indian

eMPtY

How is the Auckland housing market panning out?


Indian

Question: since I use Vegetable oil, can I use it as much as I want? Answer: Vegetable oil is definitely a bet-ter option but it is important that we take in consideration the quantity and it’s source – some plant oils best suited to Indian cooking could be soybean and rice bran. Olive oil is also a good option however what needs to be considered for its smoking point and it’s cost factor. The key fact that needs to be considered is that any oil is nothing but fat and is high in energy and needs to be consumed in a balanced quantity.

Question: I drain water off when I cook rice, will this remove the carbohydrates off?Answer: Unfortunately not, If that was true carbohydrate would be a water soluble nutri-ent, straining off water does not remove the carbs neither does it cut back the calories, you need to watch your portion sizes.

Question: I do the entire house work, will that be considered against as exercise / physical activity?Answer: Although it is a good practice to do some activity at home, your routine work does not let you burn off as much calories a gym workout / fitness activity would do. In addition to any house work like cleaning, vacuuming or gardening it is essential that you include at least a 30 minute physical workout at the gym or even a run at the park

can make a difference.

Question: I am a fifty year old married woman, why am I not losing any weight, although I have reduced my food intake? Answer: There is a very clear co-relation be-tween age and weight loss with food intake playing an important role. As we grow older

our muscle mass decreases and we tend to burn off less calories, this sometimes gets replaced with fat if we do not burn enough or if we do not manage our food intake. This is particularly true for the overweight category and if it is doubled with a sedentary lifestyle. Just eating less is not going to help – you need to increase your activity as well. I would recommend see a health professional to get yourself assessed.

Question: My child plays so much but

doesn’t eat as much – I am worried he will get skinny, can you help?Answer: Universally, children are more interested in playing and eating is gener-ally a hinderance in their activity. Especially for school going children where choice is between eating or playing, latter always finds the favour. However there is an issue where over a period of time if the child isn’t eating well may start to lose weight. This could lead to a feeling of tiredness and lethargy and may potentially cause low concentra-tion levels at school. This can be addressed in different ways like providing them more snack options in place of three meal options. The fundamental aim is to maximise energy levels, do not aim for high sugary snacks as these tend to cause tiredness after a burst of activity and aren’t long lasting, consult a health professional as they may be able to provide with more options that could help.

I would like to thank all those who have raised these queries, keep them coming as these help us de-mystify a lot of myths and clarify doubts. This article is a general guideline ONLY. Please see, a health professional for individual conditions and needs.Varsha Asrani is a New Zealand Registered Dieti-tian. For personal consultations or any questions, suggestions or views please email her on [email protected].

“The key fact that needs to be considered is that any oil is nothing but fat and is high in energy and needs to be consumed in a bal-anced quantity.”

Your Questions – Answered !I am often fielding questions from clients and acquaintances which are purely based on myths or information sourced from the web or hear-say. I have also received queries from you’ll through my email and I thought I would respond to them through this article, as this could benefit the wider group

reCIPeby ruby dhillon

Fiery Chickenl 1kg-chicken bonelessl 1tsp-garam masalal 1-onion choppedl 4-green chillies choppedl 3tbs-ginger pastel 3tsp-coriander seedsl 4-whole dry red chillisFor the gravyl 7tsp-coriander seedsl 10-whole dry red chillisl 5tsp-garlic pastel 4-green chilliesl 3tsp-Ginger pastel 3-cups tomato choppedl 1tbsp-fenugreekl 1tsp-garam masala

l 6tbsp-oill Salt according to taste

MethodFor gravyCrush coriander seeds and whole red chillis together. Heat oil in a wok add garlic paste and sauté over medium heat until lightbrown. Add crushed coriander & red chillis, sauté for 30seconds, add green chillis and ginger, sauté for 30seconds. Then add tomatoes and fry until oilcomes on the top. Now add fenugreek and salt. Sprinkle garam masala and stir and keep aside.In another wok Heat oil fry onions,green chillis and Ginger,sauté over medium heat for 2minutes.Add crushed coriander with whole red chillis, stir for 15 seconds ,add chicken, re-duce to low heat and fry for a minute. Then add gravy to it and fry till gravy becomes thick and coats the chicken.Sprinkle garam masala and serve hot with naan bread or basmati rice.

VArsHA AsrANI

Column


Indian


Indian

NoN resIdeNt INdIAN AGAINst CorruPtIoN

IN INdIAPHoNe: 09- 6223308

email: [email protected]

Aim: Corruption Free India.

Vision: Creating awareness among the Non -Resident Indians & Resident Indians.

India, republic of scams

Commonwealth games (CWG) fraud 60,000 crores,

13 billion dollars (2010)[Conservative estimate!!!]

CWG cost comparisons 2002 (UK): Rs 2,100 crores

2006 (Australia): Rs 5,000 crores2010 (India): Rs 60,000 crores!!!

2014(UK,estimated): Rs 2,200 crores!!!

Original estimate of India’s CWG is 617.5 crores.90% of infrastruc-ture development costs were looted. 900+ crores billed for about

85 croresstadium.India, Republic of Scams

-Deccan Herald, Jan 9, 2011

JMJKRetail Outlets.West Auckland

Aarkh Foods - 222 Swanson Rd Henderson. Ph:836 7666 Saffron Food - 214 Universal Drive Hender-son. Ph:836 2005 MALABARI SPICE MERCHANT-18 Delta Avenue, Newlynn, Ph: 09 8264549Top-in-Town - 583 Sandringham Rd, Sandringham. Ph:846 9009 Shahnaz Husain Nz - 40 Lincon Road, Phone 09-908 2440

Central Auckland

Khyber Royal Oak - 822 Manukau Rd Royal Oak. Ph:625 1766Yogi Ji’s - 26 Carr Rd Mt Roskill. Ph:624 5757 Top-in-Town - 583 Sandringham Rd Sandringham. Ph:846 9009 Spice Supermarket - 537-539 Sandringham Road, Phone: (09)-815-1748.Payless - 333 Sandringham Rd. Ph:963 6167

East Auckland

Saluja - Unit 13 2 Bishop Dunn Pl Flat Bush. Ph:265 1502

South Auckland

Kwality Baazar - 286 Great South Rd Papatoe-toe. Ph:277 9596 Indo-Sprice - 12E Puhinui Rd Manukau. Ph:277 6007 Rockyz-Manurewa - 154 Great South Rd M-nurewa. Ph:266 6688

Rotorua

Shahji’s Royal Masala - 1122 Eruera Street, Off Fenton Street, Rotorua 3010, New Zealand (07) 348 0280

Wellington Hare Krishna Higher Taste Restaurant - Customhouse Quay, Wellington 6011, New Zealand (04) 472 2233


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