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dev NadkarNIAuckland: If her honeyed, silken voice mesmer-ised the choc-a-bloc audience leaving it asking for more at the end of her four-hour power-packed performance, it was Shreya Ghoshal’s endearingly straight-from-the-heart, down-to-earth manner of connecting with her

fans that had her walk right into

their hearts on Friday night. The seven times

national award winner and Bollywood’s most sought after female voice gave Kiwi Indians the kind of performance that will undoubtedly be remembered for a long time to come.

She established a connection with the audi-ence from the word go with her candid natter that included generous praise for New Zealand, Kiwis and of course Kiwi Indians and carried her fans all along with her no-nonsense, girl-next-door demean-our to the very end; cajoling, coaxing and prodding them to sing with her - which they did with great

enthusiasm.She reeled off her repertoire

with great energy and vigour accompanied by a talented set of musicians from India and the award

winning, refreshingly youthful voice of Shivprasad Mallya. From the alluring “Teri

Ore”, through the pining “Tujh mein rab dikhta hai”, the heady

“Jaadu hai nashaa hai” to the peppy “Bahaara” and the

foot-tapping number from “Jab we met” (of

which she gave an encore), Shreya

enveloped the audience

in the range of

moods her songs portrayed.Post-interval, Shreya continued with such fa-

vourites as “Pal har pal”, “Barso re megha”, “Zoobi doobi”, “Hum to aise hain bhaiyya” and many more. She sang a personal favourite from the 1970s film Aandhi “tere bina zindagi se koi” and later took on requests pleasing almost every section of the audience with songs in her native Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi and Punjabi. The immortal Marathi song “Reshamachya dhagyani” had the audience in raptures to the beat of talented percus-sionist Uday Parab’s dholak.

Shreya kept the audience on its toes with rapid-fire medleys, though many must have hoped she had sung each of the numbers fully. She rounded off the spectacular night with her legendary “Dola re” from Devdas, her debut song that catapulted her on to the major league bringing her the first of a string of ac-colades at the very beginning of her singing career.

Nitin Bhandarkar’s fine stand up comedy perfor-mance provided excellent relief before the break. His impersonation of yesteryear stars like Amol Palekar, Dev Anand and Manoj Kumar were perfect while Sanjay Dutt, Nana Patekar and Kishore Kumar had the audience in absolute splits.

The ABC Entertainment and Harmony Productions organised event presented by Indian Weekender and Uttam Fresh & Clean was managed brilliantly by Cultural Forum of India’s Ram Iyer. Unlike a recent concert that was ridden by unruly scenes at the start of the concert because of faulty ticketing that needed police intervention, Shreya’s concert went off like a dream, with the audience lapping up every moment of her magical perfor-mance.

Small wonder that the audience wanted more of it with many voicing their wish that Shreya return soon for an encore.

Shreya enraptures Auckland


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New Zealand

dev NadkarNI On the day before the concert, Shreya met Indian Weekender for an exclusive interview in down-town Auckland. “What a fantastic place this is. I’ve seen New Zealand and Auckland in pictures and heard about its legendary beauty but seeing it is absolutely amazing … the people are so friend-ly, so happy … I’m so excited … ” she cooed.

Asked what her Kiwi Indian fans should expect at her sell-out Indian Weekender presented ‘Jaadu Hai Nashaa Hai’ concert in Manukau, Shreya smiled: “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it?” The 26-year-old has handled her cult status with rare equa-nimity and ma-turity, replying to questions with great finesse, even a hint of di-plomacy.

The seven-time Filmfare Award winner considers herself fortunate to have had opportunities to sing for composers like A.R. Rehman, whose musical genius has been acknowledged globally. “Singing for him is an absolute delight and a challenge,” she said. Tamil composer Ilayaraja is another favourite and she considers some of the Tamil songs she has sung to his tunes among her best ever.

India’s all time singing legend Lata Mangesh-kar is her ultimate idol and says Lata has influ-

enced her singing more than any other singer. And quite like her, Shreya has sung in almost every major language of the subcontinent including Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu, besides Hindi.

Shreya’s career began when she won the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest on the Indian national television circuit. She caught the attention of film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali during the competition.

In 2000, he offered her the opportunity to be the voice of Paro, the lead female character of his

film Devdas, who was portrayed by A i s hwa r y a Rai. Shreya sang five songs under the music direction of Ismail Darbar in the film. This song earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female P l a y b a c k Singer, as well as Film-

fare’s RD Burman Award for New Music Talent, given to upcoming talents in music. She also won a National Film Award for the song “Bairi Piya”.

Shreya told Indian Weekender she did not have further opportunities to work with the film’s com-poser Ismail Durbar, whose score helped bring the first rush of fame to her. Since then, she has worked with prominent Indian music directors in more than 140 films, and several of her songs have achieved critical and commercial success. Shreya

is one of the most awarded playback singers in recent times.

Born in a Bengali Hindu family in Durgapur, West Bengal in eastern India Shreya grew up in Rawatbhata, a small town near Kota, Rajasthan. Her father works in Bhabha Atomic Research Center as a nuclear power plant engineer for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India while her mother is a post-graduate literature student.

From the age of four, Ghoshal accompanied her mother on the harmonium. Her parents en-rolled her for formal training in Hindustani clas-sical music in Kota with Maheshchandra Sharma. As a child she won the children’s special episode of the Sa Re Ga Ma (now Sa Re Ga Ma Pa) contest on Zee TV.

Shreya confirmed to Indian Weekender that the story about how she as a little girl convinced her father’s boss in Kota to have him transferred to Mumbai so she could pursue her musical learn-ing was true.

Noted music director Kalyanji who judged the Sa Re Ga Ma competition also persuaded her parents to move to Mumbai. She trained with him for 18 months and continued her classical music training with the late Mukta Bhide in Mumbai. “I haven’t been training since my last teacher Mukta Bhide passed away,” she said.

Shreya enjoys symphony and instrumental in western music and her favourite groups are Dream Theatre, Backstreet Boys and Boyzone. But Indian music, according to her, is her soul.

She told Indian Weekender Indian film music was in a phase that balanced melody and rhythm and was experimenting with new flavours in a bid to seek newness. She said she was looking forward to experimenting with music outside the Bollywood mould.

“Once broadband proliferates throughout India, beyond the big cities, it will throw open

avenues to collaborate with different artistes throughout the country and bring opportunities for experimentation … there’s so much hidden talent around the country … it would be great to reach out and make new melodies, experiment and make new genres of music,” she said.

Taking in the sights of Auckland despite an overcast and intermittently rainy day, Shreya de-scribed New Zealand as heaven and Kiwi Indians as a loving and friendly lot. “I’d love to come back here again and again,” she said.

‘I’d love to come back again’

shreya autographing a copy of Indian Weekender for a fan.

at sky City


Indian New Zealand

arvINd kumar

movie: It’s a Wonderful afterlifeCast: shabana azmi, Goldy Notay, sally Hawkins, sendhil ramamurthy, sanjeev bhaskar, Zoe Wanamaker, mark addy, Jimi mistry.releasing in New Zealand: august 26

The phrase “I could murder for a curry” is taken to hysterical new heights in Gurinder Chadha’s latest movie being released in New Zealand next week, August 26.

“It’s A Wonderful Afterlife”, starring Bol-lywood’s “Shabana Azmi” is a killer romantic comedy from Chadha, the British filmmaker who have given audiences hits like “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Bride and Prejudice”.

The movie also stars Goldy Notay, who plays Shabana’s chubby daughter Roopi Sethi, Sendhil Ramamurthy from “Heroes”, and Sanjeev Bhasker from “The Kumars at No.42”.

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “Shaun of the Dead” meet in this charming and fun comedy romp about an Indian mother taking her obsession with marriage into frighteningly funny territory.

Mrs Sethi (Shabana), a widow, can’t bear the thought of her daughter being alone and unhappy. Ok, she’s a little plump and opinionat-ed …but she would make a great wife for some lucky man, if only she were given a chance.

When Mrs Sethi can no longer stomach the rudeness of families who refuse her daughter, she takes matters into her own hands with the only way she knows ... suddenly a police hunt begins for a serial murderer who cooks a killer curry.

Mrs Sethi doesn’t feel too guilty until the spirits of her victims come back to haunt her as they are unable to be reincarnated until their murderer dies. Mrs Sethi has no problem killing herself – she’ll get to see her dead husband again – but how can she go before her daughter is married?

The spirits realise that helping Mrs Sethi’s daughter find a suitable husband before the police catch her is their only chance for a won-derful afterlife.

It all began in 2005 when Chadha was watching “The 100 Greatest Family Films” on telly. Somewhere in the middle of the pro-gramme the narrator introduced the wedding scene from “Bend It Like Beckham”.

“It was the Indian wedding scene and the party, which was inter-cut with the football,” begins Chadha, “and immediately I remem-bered how much fun we’d had shooting that scene. The wedding is integral to our culture that I suddenly thought ‘How can I do another

wedding scene without repeating myself?’ I wanted to do another one but to do it slightly differently. So I thought maybe I could do it with a horror spin, where everything goes awry. Much like the prom scene at the end of Carrie.”

Working with screenwriter husband Paul Mayeda Berges, Chadha spent two-and-a-half years crafting the script. “I started seeing this crazy film, set in Ealing, in the world of “Bend It Like Beckham” and yet in a completely dif-ferent genre,” said Chadha.

“We worked on the script, came up with the idea of the mum, the plump daughter and these spirits that return.”

Starting out with the working title “My Bloody Wedding”, Chadha and Berges created the character of Roopi, a young British Indian woman, and Mrs Sethi, her meddling mother.

“Really it’s an Ealing comedy about an Indian mum who lives with her daughter. The daughter is a little bit overweight, not exactly beautiful and has a broken engagement behind her,” explains Chadha.

The film opens and you see an Indian man sitting at a kitchen table. He’s in front of a huge bowl of curry and it looks like he’s been eating for hours.

Suddenly you see a knife thrust towards him and you realise that he is being force-fed and he

doesn’t want to eat anymore, he eats the last bite and collapses on the table.

He gets wheeled into the hospital, he screams and all of a sudden his stomach

bursts open and there’s this big curry explo-sion.

“It’s an alien moment but with curry and it shows you’re in for a fun ride,” said Berges.

It’s a romantic killer comedy

WoNderFuL aCtress: Shabana Azmi as Mrs Sethi is “It’s a Wonderful Af-terlife”, which released in New Zealand cinemas this week.

above: Goldy Notay as Roopi and her ghostly “ friends” in It’s a Wonderful Afterlife”.

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Indian New Zealand

A vibrant meeting of business leaders took place in Auckland last week. And they all shared a common objective to build and enhance the business relation-ship between New Zealand and India.

The Business Leaders India Forum was jointly hosted by the Office of Ethnic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. There was also the support of the India New Zealand Business Council and the Asia New Zealand Foundation while the ANZ Bank was a strategic partner. Significantly it was the first time that Ethnic Affairs had partnered with private sector entities.

Ethnic Affairs Minister Pansy Wong, speaking at the forum, lauded the co-operation, believing it signalled a new and exciting opportunity to signifi-cantly progress the business relationship between the two countries.

Mervin Singham, Director, Office of Ethnic Affairs, said it was a unique example of co-operation between government agencies and private sector en-tities. “Partnering with the ANZ Bank has given us the opportunity to deliver a substantial forum that will enhance the business relationship between the two countries. With ANZ active in the Indian busi-ness space they brought some useful perspectives to the discussions and presentations throughout the forum. ”

For participants it was a lively and stimulat-ing day of activities. Among the array of attending participants was - a familiar figure to most - former Black Caps cricket Captain Stephen Fleming.

Fleming said investing in building networks and relationships between New Zealand and Indian busi-ness people was undoubtedly the key to success. “By

bringing people together in one room for this forum we could share ideas and wisdom.”

Consistent themes highlighted throughout the day included the rapidly changing business environ-ment in India; the need to aggressively market the New Zealand brand across India and the potential opportunities emerging in the Indian market.

Participants seized on these themes and were more than happy to share the ideas that flowed in the plenary sessions. One such commonly mentioned idea was the need for mentoring. It is seen as crucial to providing essential expertise to build linkages and alliances between New Zealand and Indian busi-nesses. This could be, for example, on a purely com-mercial basis or on a shared basis where the New

Zealand business brings the skill base and the Indian partner company delivers the capital.

Throughout the day there was the constant re-minder of the pace of change in the Indian market. Over the past 30 years as more and more of the Indian population has become urbanised so has the demands and expectations of the consumer economy. Speakers were happy to hammer this point and emphasise the new opportunities this brings.

Increased potential to export expertise, alongside the more traditional commodity focus is one such are of major change. New markets in education, sus-tainability, technology, health and wellness and food were identified as areas of real opportunity.

In the case of Ina Bajaj, founder and manager

of East Day Spa, one of Australasia’s premiere spa companies, these opportunities are well and truly being embraced. “Working with India is valuable for East Day Spa as we are able to source high quality, custom-designed products and order production runs to suit the size of our business. he quality of the product has got better and better over the past ten years and the attention to detail is unsurpassed,” she says.

And in the printing industry space the realisation of this potential is no better illustrated than by Steve D’Souza’s Christchurch based company Kalama-zoo. State-of-the-art technology keeps Steve close to the action at each of the entities, including dedicated servers that provide online access from anywhere in the world.

“Doing business with India is like nurturing a child. We know that he is going to be a big strong man, who will help future generations through friendships that he will create.”

Without a doubt the current relationship is in good heart. That was evident during the recent forum. The determination is there alongside gen-erous goodwill, a healthy appreciation of the risks and opportunities and above all a commitment to growing the relationship.

With government agencies working proactively with the business associations and private sector pro-viders there is a sense of urgency that some partici-pants say had been lacking for too long.

And with the Free Trade Agreement, currently under negotiation, Pansy Wong’s expectations of progressing the business relationship are perhaps on the cusp of being realised.

Business leaders highlight trade tiesEnhancing trade ties was the focus of the day at a meeting of Indian and Kiwi business leaders in Auckland


Indian New Zealand

Indian film fest in Auckland, Wellington

arvINd kumar

A grand two-week long festival celebrating Indian cinema will be held in Auckland and Wellington soon.

The “Yes India International Film Festival – The World is Watching”, organised by Wel-lington based Urban Fusion, and co-sponsored by Indian Weekender, will be held in the two major cities in October.

Described by festival director Ravi Kambhoj as a spicy festival of movies, music and dance, the film bonanza will be held in Wellington from October 7-10 at Paramount Theatre. In Auckland, the festival will be held at the Rialto Cinema, Newmarket, from October 28-31.

The festival programme includes two weeks of touring New Zealand with Indian films, charity gala cocktail functions, entertainment and Indian themed dance parties.

The festival, which will feature 24 film ses-sions featuring contemporary Indian films, will also serve as the platform for the launch of the first New Zealand/India joint venture film “Curry Munchers”.

Shooting for Curry Munchers has ended and is now going through the editing process. It is expected to be ready for release at Yes India In-ternational Film Festival.

Programme includes two charity gala cock-tails functions (Wellington and Auckland) and also two Indian themed dance parties (Welling-ton and Auckland).

Kambhoj, a professional photographer, said the Yes India International Film Festival was

aimed to become the largest film premiere des-tination for Indian film makers in the southern hemisphere.

The festival is committed to exhibiting films from India and within the Indian diaspora with a focus on dynamic and visionary Indian cinema with a strong focus on promoting new and independent film makers, said Kambhoj.

“The idea behind the festival is not just to connect film goers, it also represents a

connecting point between Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Indian filmmakers, artists and musicians facilitating collaboration projects between both countries.

“The festival has the potential to leave a positive imprint on the cultural calendar of Aus-tralia, New Zealand and Fiji. It is also aimed to be an important and strategic business link between these four countries.”

Kambhoj, who is also a Bollywood dance di-rector, is assisted in the project by Gaurav Gupta (selection manager), an entertainment industry professional who has worked in Bollywood and the Indian television industry for over a decade. He has worked with some of India’s top media houses like Rajshri Films, BBC Worldwide, UTV, Sahara Television, and Television Today Network.

Technical director for the project is Ken Khan, who has more than 14 years’ experience and excellence in radio, television and film. Ken is an experienced creative director, editor and technical director.

Kambhoj can be contacted at ph, 021 777 502, email: [email protected]

The Ray White Group’s leading office in New Zealand is a finalist for one of the nation’s most pres-tigious business awards.

Ray White Manukau has been named as a final-ist in the Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards, which will be announced on September 17.

The awards, which are recognised as one of the most prestigious business award programs in New Zealand for small to medium sized enterprises, at-tracted more than 150 entries.

Finalists were recently announced at Villa Maria Winery in Auckland.

Ray White Manukau, which trades as Don Ha Real Estate, is one of six finalists for the RSM Prince Excellence in Service Delivery Award.

Ray White New Zealand CEO Carey Smith said Ray White Manukau was currently the group’s

leading office nationwide and being named as an award finalist was a credit to Principal Don Ha and his team.

“This is an outstanding achievement that cel-ebrates hard work and the opportunity for success,” Mr Smith said.

“To receive such a qualitative award reflected the efforts of Don and his team in agency practice.”

Mr Ha said: “This is a great achievement and re-flects the growth of Don Ha Real Estate during the past 12 months. There have been many challenges in the real estate industry and it has been fantastic for our company to make a success of our business in the area of sales and property management.”

The awards will be announced at a gala dinner at the Telstra Clear Pacific Event Centre at Manukau City on September 17.

Ray White Manukau Business Award Finalist

The Auckland chapter of the India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC) hosted a reception for New Zealand’s High Commissioner des-ignate to India, Jan Henderson, in Auckland last week. Foreign Affairs Murray McCully an-nounced Ms Henderson’s appoint-ment in late July.

She will succeed current High Com-missioner Rupert Holborow at the end of this year and take office early next year and will be cross-accredited to

Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Ms Henderson is currently Director of the Environment Division and has pre-viously served in several diplomatic positions around the world.

Speaking at the reception, Ms Hen-derson said she looked forward to working in India especially at such an important juncture in the relation-ship of the two countries when there was a sense of anticipation about the proposed Free Trade Agreement.

While she was realistic about the time frames for the FTA, she said she would do everything she could to work with both governments to hasten the process in consultation with all stakeholders.

Two-way trade with India passed the $1 billion mark in 2009, with exports growing to $709 million, making India New Zealand’s eleventh largest mar-ket. Indian tourists and students are also increasingly choosing New Zea-land as a destination, with over 26,000 visitors and nearly 9000 students coming here last year.

Admitting she was new to India, she said she was aware of the challenges. She elaborated on her own back-ground and experience outlining the work she had done in her diplomatic capacities around the world. She told Indian Weekender she would closely follow developments in education, agriculture, dairy and transportation sectors in the run up to the India FTA.

Ms Henderson has been Ambassador to Turkey and Jordan and has worked in Washington DC as political counsel, in Honiara in the Solomon Islands as Deputy High Commissioner and in Bangkok as the second secretary of the New Zealand mission in Thailand.

INZBC chairman Wenceslaus Anthony

welcomed the gathering and intro-duced Ms Henderson. Patricia Reade was the MC for the evening.

Visiting IT professional from the United States Naveen Gupta gave a brief presentation of the new options available in communications technol-ogy that could help businesses stay connected across geographic areas and time zones. Mr Gupta is design architect at networking equipment gi-ant Cisco USA.

Several prominent businesspeople and community leaders attended the reception at the conference centre of the ANZ Bank on Queen Street.

- Indian Weekender news desk

New High Commissioner to India welcomed

New NZ High Commissioner to India Jan Henderson

Naveen Gupta speaking at the event


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New Delhi: A bill seeking to provide voting rights to Indians living abroad (Non-Resident Indians) was introduced in the Upper House of the Indian Parlia-ment on Saturday.

Moving the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill 2010, Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said the bill would enable the NRIs to participate in their home country’s democratic process, which was their ‘legitimate’ wish.

Moily also explained the details regarding the manner of enrolment of NRIs, the mode of voting and condi-tionalities for contesting elections.

A 2006 draft of this proposed law was withdrawn as it did not have details re-

garding modalities on conferring voting rights to NRIs.

“The fresh bill is more comprehen-sive,” the Union minister said.

Underlining that the right to vote of NRIs was a legitimate one, Moily said the bill could not be brought earlier because of practical difficulties in enrolling NRIs in the electoral rolls and allowing them to cast votes from outside India.

“In pursuance of the Parliamen-tary Standing Committee on Law and Justice recommendations, it has been decided to withdraw the 2006 bill and introduce a fresh one in the current session of Parliament,” Moily said.

New Delhi: Commonwealth Games Federa-tion (CGF) president Mike Fennell has said that the mounting charges of corruption against the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CGOC) were of serious nature but appeared happy with rising charges of corruption.

Fennell made it clear that the CGF doesn’t want to be associated with any corrupt practices and asked the Indian authorities.

“Recently there were lot of reports on cor-ruption. The CGF is concerned with all these reports. We have never been associated with corrupt practices. We want the Indian authori-ties to look into these allegations thoroughly so that we come out clean,” he said.

Fennell inspected all the venues in the capital for the 17 disciplines and said that the venues are fair and large ready for all the practi-cal purpose.

“My visit was to look at all the venues. We have been concerned about some of the venues. We wanted to see how much is complete. I visited all the venues and I am very satisfied to tell you that by and large all venues for practical purposes are complete,” he said.

The Jaimaican, however, was not happy with the Games Village.

“The intention and objective of this visit was to take a further look at the venues. There has been reporting of corruption. It has been of great concern for CGF. But I want to make it clear that this was planned in June. This visit was to

check the venues and the operational issues for the Games. After visiting all the venues, I can say that fair and large all the venues are ready for practical purpose,” he said.

Fennell was shocked to see the large amount of rubbish and construction waste at all the venues and the Village. He said that some de-tailed work are pending at all the venues and especially the Games Village.

“We are concerned at the detailed work left at all the venues. This has been accepted by organising committee as well. Cleaning of the venue have to be done with great urgency. This is of great importance because the image of the Games will be determined to a large extent by

this image. The landscaping work has to be done urgently,” he said.

Fennell felt that the construction of the dining room and the kitchen at the Village were behind schedule.

“We feel that the construction of some of the rooms in the buildings could have better, but nevertheless they are good. The work at the dining room and the kitchen are behind schedule and large amount of detailing needs to be done. We don’t have time left. The build-ing alone doesn’t make the Village. It is the management that all together that makes the Village,” he said.

Fennell was concerned with congested traffic.

New Delhi: As the Union Cabinet approved a 300 per cent hike in Members of Parliament (MPs) salary on Friday, the elected represen-tatives, far from being happy, stalled the Lok Sabha proceedings, demanding a further in-crease.

The Cabinet in the morning approved the increase of base salary of MPs from current Rs 16,000 to Rs 50,000, besides the perks and al-lowances.

H o w e v e r , a section of O p p o s i t i o n parties, led by Lalu Prasad ( R a s h r i t y a Janata Dal) and Mulayam Singh Yadav (Sama-jwadi Party), demanded that the new salary be pegged at Rs 80,001, a rupee more than the highest paid government employee.

The RJD and SP members were joined by Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), Janata Dal (United), Shiv Sena and Akali Dal MPs, who demanded implementation of the report of the parliamentary committee on hiking MPs salary that had suggested the Rs 80,001 figure.

The MPs disrupted the proceedings by shouting slogans like ‘Stop the insult of MPs’

and ‘Hamara vetan wapas lo (take back our salary)’.

The House was first adjourned till noon and then till for the post-lunch session as the pro-tests continued.

Earlier in the day, the Cabinet had approved the hike in the salary, which would be appli-cable since the start of the 15th Lok Sabha.

C o n g r e s s chief Sonia Gandhi had given her ap-proval to the review of salary for MPs, a de-batable issue which had put the government in an uncom-fortable posi-tion.

“As a pilot with Indian Airlines, Rajiv Gandhi drew more salary than his mother

Indira Gandhi who was prime minister of India,” Sonia Gandhi claimed.

Besides the base salary, an MP also gets a daily allowance of Rs 1,000 for each day when parliament is in session or taking part in house committee meetings.

A member is also entitled to a constituency allowance of Rs.20,000 a month and an office expense allowance of Rs 20,000 each month.

New Delhi: After days of controversy over ac-cepting Indian aid for Pakistan flood victims, it is time for mango diplomacy between the nuclear armed South Asia neighbours.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani gifted five crates of mangoes to his Indian coun-terpart Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week.

It was a surprise gift for Manmohan Singh as with mangoes having practically retreated from the markets, this would be the last ex-change of this summer delicacy between Indian and Pakistani leaders.

But this season’s mango diplomacy started from this side of the border with Manmohan Singh dispatching 20 kg of the best Alphonso to Mr. Gilani on May 25. It happened after both

the leaders met in Bhutan to discuss ways and means to reduce the trust deficit between the two countries.

This was followed up by Pakistan Inte-rior Minister Rehman Malik sending crates of mangoes to political leaders, officials and jour-nalists following his talks with his Indian coun-terpart, P. Chidambaram, in Islamabad in June.

The mango diplomacy between two coun-tries dates back to 1980s, when the then Paki-stan President, Zia-ul-Haq, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi exchanged baskets of the king of fruits.

Gen. (Retd.) Pervez Musharraf also gifted mangoes before holding talks with Prime Min-ister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Agra in 2001.

Bill for NRI voting rights introduced in RS

CGF chief happy with CWG venues, but not corruption charges

Mango diplomacy juices up Indo-Pak knots

MPs get salary hike; many still unhappy

New Delhi: Union Home minister P Chid-ambaram on Friday assured of all protection to Sikh community people in Jammu and Kashmir following purported anonymous threat letters from extremists asking them to embrace Islam or leave.

“We are aware of the so-called threat but there is nothing to fear. The chief minister (Omar Abdullah) has assured that the Sikh community will be given protection,” Chid-ambaram said in the Rajya Sabha.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members raised the issue in the Upper House and also forced a brief adjournment.

Sikh community members have report-edly received anonymous letters, asking them

to embrace Islam and join the protests in Kashmir or else leave the state.

Informing that the Centre was in touch with the state government in ensuring safety of the Sikhs in Kashmir, Chidambaram said, “Let the House be assured that the state and centre are working together and Sikhs will be protected.”

“I got a letter from a Sikh delegation to meet me, I will be meeting them in a few days,” he added.

BJP leader SS Ahluwalia, expressing dissatisfaction at the minister’s reply, said, “Leaders have come in the past with similar assurances but what happened. We want a convenient atmosphere for the Sikhs in the valley... government cannot give protection to everyone.”

The 60,000-strong Sikh community form the single largest minority group in the valley after Hindus fled in the early 1990s when an armed separatist conflict backed by Pakistan erupted in Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has also urged prime minis-ter Manmohan Singh to take steps to ensure safety of Sikhs in Kashmir.

“I have made contact with the prime minis-ter, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and Union Home minister P Chid-ambaram on the issue of safety of Sikhs in the bordering state,” he told reporters in Patiala.

PC assures protection of Sikhs in Kashmir after ‘threat letters’

“My visit was to look at all the venues. We have been concerned about some of the venues. We wanted to see how much is com-plete. I visited all the venues and I am very satisfied to tell you that by and large all venues for practical purposes are complete,”


Indian India

Mumbai: You have always seen Lord Krishna and Radha dancing to the tunes of many hymns. But have you ever imagined them tapping their feet to rock music?

The rock band Shor Bazaar is coming up with such an enthralling blend of songs and music. Unlike its name, the music of this band would be melodious and soothing.

The compositions of this “Shor Band” are a beautiful blend of Hindi, Indian classical and western music.

In this five-member band, JD (Jaijeet Das) is the lyricist as well as the vocalist,

KK (Krishna Kumar) is the guitarist and sings also, Joy (Joydeep Dasgupta) is also a guitarist, Robin (Abhishek) also plays the guitar and sings and Jai (Jai Ronv Kavi) is the drummer.

The band’s first song “Savita Bhabhi” has gained popularity not only in the country but out of the country as well.

A new album of this band is soon going to be released. It hasn’t been a long time to this band which is adept at composing a beautiful mixture of Indian and western music, but it has created a niche for itself among the listeners.

Encompassing the legend-ary stories in its songs, the band also uses instruments such as Harmonica, which are rarely used these days. So the music of Shor Bazaar would be the perfect choice for those who have a liking for a mix of old and new music.

This young band’s music has traces of the music of the times of late Kishore Kumar to Junoon band and from the Beetles to Red Hot Chilly Peepers.

- Indian Weekender news desk

Rock band retells Radha-Krishna saga

Already a world No.2, the country is ex-pecting nothing but the world title from the Hyderabad girl, who is riding high on con-fidence after her hat-trick of Super Series win in the last four months. In 2008 in front of her home crowd in Hyderabad, Saina reached the quarterfi-nals of the World Championships before losing to China’s Lin Wang. But much has changed in the last two years and the 20-year-old Harayanvi told Trans World Features (TWF) that she is better prepared this time to give India its maiden World Championships medal. “I am on the top of my game and feel this time the Indian team is better prepared to win at least two medals at the World Championships. I have some expectations from myself and also feel that our mixed doubles team of Jwala Gutta and V. Diju have a good chance of winning a medal,” says Saina, who has been seeded second for the tournament. Gruelling training sessions under head coach Pullela Gopichand, who is also an All England champion, has put Saina in top form for the World Championships. “I have been continuously playing for the last four-five months and that has put me in top shape. Under Gopi sir I have trained for eight hours everyday in the last one month. I have worked on some areas of my game like defence, net play and backhand. I don’t want to sound over-confident, but yes I am in the best frame of mind. The circuit

is also getting tougher everyday and to stay on top of your game you have to put in lot of hard work,” she says. For Saina, the dream is receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna from the President with a World Champion-ship medal in her pocket. “I am tired after all the felicitations follow-ing my victories, and announcement of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. I could not get the rest I wanted. But it is a great hon-our for me to get this award and it would be a double bonanza for me if I get a World Championship medal when I receive this award. But I am not thinking of anything. My focus is on the World Championships,” she says. Saina has also been named as the captain of the Indian team, but for her the cap-taincy comes with some added responsi-bilities. “In badminton captaincy doesn’t mean much, because it is an individual sport. All the players in the team are aware of each other’s responsibilities. But after all when I am the captain that means my responsibili-ties towards myself increases. There are

lot of expecta-tions from me and I have to fulfil them. So in respect cap-taincy comes with some re-sponsibilities,” she says. Asked about the field in the World Cham-pionships, Saina says:

“It is a World Championships so I don’t expect things to be easy. That’s how things are meant to be. But I am not bothered about the draw. I have to take one match at a time and that will be the key.” Due to her high rankings, Saina has been given a bye in the first round and in the second round she will face Chinese Tai-pei’s Hsiao Huan Chen. The Indian should have an easy going till the quarterfinals, where she may face sixth seeded Chinese Shixiang Wang.

Chinese players are a jinx for Saina after having lost the 2008 World Championships to another Chinese Ling Wang also in the quarters. “I know my critics say that I have not performed well against the Chinese play-ers. But now I am no longer scared of the Chinese players. However, I am a bit ap-prehensive about playing against unknown rivals,” she says To keep her pre-occupied off the court, Saina is carrying a bagful of DVD’s to relax herself in Paris. “I always watch films to keep myself relaxed. On every tour I keep lot of DVDs to keep myself pre-occupied. Don’t forget I am young. I am a huge Bollywood fan. I particularly like watching movies which fea-ture Aamir and Shah Rukh Khan. And after a high-intensity match, these flicks help me release pressure and calm my nerves. The latest Peepli Live will surely be there in my bag,” says Nehwal.

‘I relax with Bollywood movies’With India’s most coveted sports award, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, in her kitty, ace badminton player Saina Nehwal is now aiming for the World No.1 position. She is ready to take on some of the big names at the World Championship in Paris starting from Monday. Aviroop Mukherjee catches up with her

eId messaGe 2010dr ashraf Choudhary Qso, mP

I would like to extend my warmest wishes to the Muslim community of New Zealand as you celebrate Eid Ul Fitr.

I join all NZ Muslims and Muslims around the globe in recognising Eid and expressing thanks to Allah by means of distributing alms, gifts among the poor, the needy, children and loved ones and offering special prayers for peace and harmony around the world.

NZ prides itself on good relations between communities. It places great value on human rights and dignity.

However, this Eid will be a somber occasion for many because of the worst floods in Pakistan’s history, which has hit at least 14 million people.This Eid I urge people to recognise the death and destruction caused by the recent raging floods that north-west Pakistan has experienced, to express condolences and sympathy to the government and people of Paki-stan at this great loss, and support the recognition of the call for interna-tional aid and assistance in this time of crisis by this country.

The Labour Party places great value on its relationship with the Muslim community. It is committed to promoting an environment in which the many people who make up NZ can live together in harmony. The Muslim community in NZ is made up of people from a vast array of ethnicities and contributes much to our society.

The end of Ramadan is one of the most joyous times of the Muslim calen-dar. I trust that both your festivity and generosity will bring you much joy and satisfaction during Eid. The spirit of Eid is for all of us to share.

Once again, on behalf of the Labour party, and myself I wish happy Eid Mubarak and best wishes to you, your friends and families on this festive occasion.

Dr Ashraf Choudhary QSOMember of Parliament


Indian

SIT Queenstown Campus0800 QT 4 SIT / 03 442 5375

[email protected] www.sit.ac.nz

Barista

India

shashi tharoor weds sunandaPalakkad, Kerala: Former minister of state Shashi Tharoor on Sunday tied the nuptial knot with Dubai-based entrepreneur Sunanda Pushkar at his ancestral home near here. The ex-UN Under-Secretary General and Congress MP wedded Sunanda under traditional Hindu customs at his family village of Elavanchery. Amidst chanting of mantras and beating of drums the two tied the nuptial knot, ending the speculation of their much hyped relations since the Indian Premier League (IPL) controversies, that cost the Lok Sabha member the Ministry of External Affairs in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government earlier this year. The fifty-four-year-old diplomat-turned-politician dressed in Malayali attire of kurtha and mundu and forty-eight-year-old bride Sunanda, who is from Jammu and Kashmir, looked pretty and exchanged greetings with the invitees after completion of the wedding ceremony.

Gold prices skyrocket Mumbai: Prices of gold continued to rise for ten straight day touching close to Rs 19,000 per ten-gram level following good demand by stockists and jewellers for coming festivals. The yellow metal gained further by Rs 5 to Rs 18,990 per ten-gram following sustained buying from the traders in home and abroad. On the other hand silver remained weak and dipped by another Rs 400 to Rs 29,200 per kilo on poor demands from industrial units.

mah Cm wants marathi fonts Mumbai: After Shiv Sena and the MNS, it is now time for the Congress-led Democratic Front government to champion the Marathi cause and they have joined the fray with chief minister Ashok Chavan asking IT firms to prepare a common software for Marathi fonts to give the language a global recognition. “We would like IT firms to develop softwares with Marathi fonts that will be globally accepted,’’ said Chavan, while speaking at an IT awards ceremony by the industries department on Friday. Chavan also said that Marathi is used in all govern-ment and semi-government organisations as an official language. The Sena led Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) will also fund a Marathi unicode project to promote the use of the language within and outside the civic HQ. The unicode, developed by a private firm Shodh Marathicha, is a tool to help computers recognize the Marathi script.

Coral soff’wares gets rupee symbolNew Delhi: Coral Soff’wares Ltd, a leading software developer, has incorporated the Indian rupee symbol into its online accounting software-Ace. The company’s Development head (Phd-Packaged Dision) Anand Kumar said: “We want to give our clients the opportunity to use the Rupee symbol while doing their own accounting.”ACE is a financial accounting product that will help small/medium business enterprises with

comprehensive computerized accounting. Indian rupee’s unique symbol – a blend of the Devanagri ‘Ra’ and Roman ‘R’ – joins elite currencies like the US dollar, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity.

Water logging in konark templeNew Delhi: The Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs V. Narayanasamy has said that due to occasional heavy rains, the storm water gets temporarily accumulated in the Konark temple complex, owing to its location at lower level than the surrounding area, which is immediately pumped out making the temple accessible to the visitors. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, he said, as a preventive conservation measure, in addition to existing soak pit on the western side of Konark Temple, from where the rain water is pumped out, two more soak pits have been provided in the Temple Complex. Essential repairs and maintenance work to the Temple is attended regularly and it is in a good state of preservation, the minister said.

‘India at the forefront of mathematical contributions’Hyderabad: President of India Pratibha Patil recently spoke at the inauguration of the 2010 International Congress of Mathematicians here underlining India’s contribution to the field. The conference convened every four years, under the aegis of the International Mathemati-cal Union and the Hyderabad chapter is being held by the support of the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India. The President enlisted the accomplishments of Indian scholars like Aryabhatta, Brahma-gupta, Bhaskaracharya and even Madhava of whose contribution to calculus the West was ‘unaware of until recently’. Welcoming foreign delegates to India and to the ICM, she said, “One interesting event is where Viswanathan Anand, the current World Chess Champion is going to play simultaneously against 40 mathematicians. Chess is a game of movements and strategy.”

Prez, Pm wish nation on onamNew Delhi: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Prime MinisterMnamohan Singh have wished the nation on occasion of Onam. “On the joyous occasion of Onam, I offer my hearti-est greetings to all my fellow citizens and especially to the people of Kerala and wish them all prosperity and happiness. May this festival bring to all of them, the blessings of peace and harmony,” said Patil in her written message. In his message, Singh said that Onam heralds the beginning of the harvest season and reaffirms the secular traditions of the people. “The festival is an opportunity to celebrate the spirit of unity and brotherhood and to renew the commitment to an egalitarian society. May the festival bring joy, peace and prosperity to all,” the Prime Minister said.


Indian Fiji

The challenge of making crime free declarations a reality is one that calls for pragmatic measures by all community stakeholders in the country says Local Government, Urban Development and Housing Minister Colonel Samuela Saumatua.

“I just wish to emphasize that this is got to be the challenge. It is all very well to come up with strategies that look very impressive but it is the implementation or making it a reality is very im-portant.”

The Minister said crime prevention should be actively advocated amongst the members of the public.

“Crime Free Fiji, as a policy is the entranc-ing of crime prevention as a strategy in the fight against crime and it is about being pro-active. Achieving a crime free Fiji is neither utopian nor impossible. Too often we seem to act only accord-

ing to what we think is possible rather than what is necessary or desirable. As a result, we come to a full stop at the first obstacle we face. It should not be what we think is possible but what we think is necessary for the curbing or the removal of crime in our communities.”

He also called everyone to work together with the police in reducing crime rates as with the in-creasing and rapid pace of modernity, it is incum-bent not only on the police force but everybody to be able to deal with the changing nature of crime and its impact in society.

“It is the mandate of this government encap-sulated in the People’s Charter for Change, Peace and Progress to ensure a stable and peaceful Fiji. This symposium is organized with the objective that we work together to make the dream come true,” Colonel Saumatua added.

Dredging works in the Rewa River is an initiative by Government to address poor land management issues on our coastlines says Primary Industries Minister, Joketani Cokanasiga.

In launching the project to be undertaken by the China Railway First Group Company Ltd, Mr Cokanasiga said “Dredging has been identified as one of the single, most effective way, to improve the flow of water in the river systems.

The project will involve dredging about 12 km of river channel and removing 1,200,000 cubic meters of soil.

“Soil removed as a result of this dredging ex-ercise will be used for reclaim additional land for nearby village development and road upgrading in

the area,” Mr Cokanasiga said.The Roko Tui Rewa, Niko Nayacalevu ex-

pressed his appreciation to Government for this vital project.

“On behalf of the Rewa Province I would like to thank Government for this project which will be very beneficial to the people of the delta. Flooding is indeed a big problem here because eighty percent of Rewa is watershed areas so there is only twenty percent of dry land. This initiative will create more dry land for the people to farm and other economic activities which is being spearheaded by the current Government,” Nayacalevu said.

The contract will cost Government $8.9 million and is expected to complete by next year.

Suva: The Fiji government has accused Australian media giant News Limited of continuing a “hostile media campaign against Fiji”.

Permanent Secretary for Information Sharon Smith-Johns said recent articles on Fiji published in News Ltd-owned newspapers directly targeted Fiji’s tourism industry and economy.

“In recent weeks, News Ltd newspapers have published numerous articles on Fiji, all of which perpetrate negativity about Fiji,” said Smith-Johns.

“It begs the question that most in Fiji are asking. Is the Australian government using News Limited as a tool to punish Fiji and cripple our economy? These stories are so unbalanced it boils down to nothing but propaganda.”

Sharon-Smith said her ministry had written formal letters of complaint about the reports and copied them to the relevant bodies for necessary action.

She listed several articles, one of which was titled “Australian tourists turn a blind eye as Fiji’s best people are persecuted”, in the Courier-Mail, which reported that “it should be a source of pro-found shame to our country that Australians are going on holidays to Fiji in record numbers”.

Australian-born Smith-Johns said the article was written by Rory Gibson, a former editor-in-

chief of the Fiji Times, which is owned by News Ltd, and which has one more month to become 90 percent locally owned under Fiji’s new media decree or close down.

Quoting another article published in The Inde-pendent (UK) newspaper titled “Pirate radio tries to beat repression in paradise”, Smith-Johns said the writer, Roger Maynard, reports: “In recent years, faced with eviction from their Fijian-owned farms after their leases expired, thousands of Indians have sought refuge overseas while many of those unable to leave have ended up in squat-ter camps and that many thousands of Fijians are forced to live in the squatter camps around the capital, Suva”.

Said Smith-Johns: “I have little doubt Roger Maynard has never been to Suva or Fiji as his per-ception of events is divorced from the realities on the ground.”

She also challenged the Courier-Mail to provide evidence that what is currently happening in Fiji is comparable to “South Africa’s dark ages”, as written in the Rory Gibson article.

Smith-Johns pointed out that more than 45,000 Australians visited Fiji in May alone and that over the last 12 months an average 10,000 Australians have been visiting Fiji.

Suva: The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ratu Inoke Kubuaboa has welcomed the stance taken by Australia’s opposition Coalition parties to engage with Fiji.

According to Media reports, a Coalition government would open negotiations with the Fiji Government and Prime Minister Commodore Bainimarama for electoral reform as a way of breaking the current diplomatic standoff between Suva and Canberra.Ratu Inoke said this is a positive indicator and Fiji is willing to engage with countries who are genuinely interested in assisting Fiji with the reforms before elections in 2014.

Opposition spokeswoman on Foreign Affairs, Ms Julie Bishop pledged to improve relations with allies and regional partners, repair damaged relations with China, India, Indonesia and East Timor and appoint a junior minister to oversee foreign aid.

Ratu Inoke said Australian Foreign Minis-ter Stephen Smith’s Policy towards Fiji has proven to be disastrous. He was responding to recent comments made by Mr. Smith who said “ if Labor wins the election the government will con-tinue to pressure Bainimarama to honor his promise to hold democratic elections in 2014.”

Ratu Inoke said “here is a Foreign Minister who under his watch has seen two Austra-lian High Commissioners expelled from Fiji

because of Smith’s “interference policy” in the sovereignty of Fiji”.

Ratu Inoke said comments by Mr. Smith as “ We do not want to do things to hurt the people of Fiji, which is why we don’t have trade sanctions and bans is “double talk”.

He had initiated travel bans; stopped the MSG meeting, continuously meddled into the internal affairs of Fiji through the Australian High Commissioners and sus-pended Fiji from the Pacific Islands Forum and Commonwealth.

He went to the extent of calling for the with-drawal of Fiji soldiers in International Peace Keeping Missions. Ratu Inoke said Stephen Smith has used his Foreign Policy to hurt the economy and the people of Fiji but he has failed.

“ Mr. Smith is trying to hood wink the people of Australia just to gain sympa-thy votes following his “Foreign Policy Disaster”.

“Fiji has been sincere, transparent and open about what it has set out to achieve in it’s Roadmap to return to Parliamentary Democracy, and we are fully determined to seeing this through,” Ratu Inoke stated.

“It is only fair that this be honestly ac-knowledged by Australia and not through Smith’s Foreign policy agenda, he added.

Suva: The Kingdom of Bahrain has agreed to es-tablish formal diplomatic relations with Fiji and the signing of the Joint Communiqué will be held between the Foreign Ministers of the two respec-tive countries at the margins of the 65th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in Septem-ber.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola confirmed that he has received formal communication from the Permanent Representa-tive of Fiji to the United Nations, Ambassador Peter Thomson conveying Bahrain’s wishes to formalise formal recognitions with Fiji.

“The announcement by Bahrain to establish formal relations with Fiji is a significant exhibition of trust and respect and demonstrates real aspira-tion by our two respective countries to show the world of their desire to acknowledge each other’s sovereign existence and wish to enhance bilateral

cooperation” Ratu Inoke said.Earlier this year, Fiji decided a major shift in its

Foreign Policy to join the Non Align Movement. Following this pronouncement, Cabinet decided that Fiji commence establishing formal diplomatic relation with all countries and states it has yet to formalize diplomatic relations with.

“With changes and shift in the balance of power from a bi-polar a multi polar world, it is in Fiji’s long term interest that we befriend all nations” said Ratu Inoke.

“As a Small Island Developing States, Fiji needs to cultivate an atmosphere where we are trusted and respected not because of our size but by the firmness and decisiveness of our foreign policies”.

Bahrain now join the increasing number of Middle Eastern countries that have established diplomatic relations with Fiji.

-Indian Weekender news desk

Be practical in fighting crime, says minister

Dredging works for Rewa river begins

Fiji welcomes Australian Coalition support

Fiji accuses News Ltd of ‘hostile campaign’

Fiji, Bahrain to establish relations


Indian

The Manukau Indian Association celebrated Indian Independence Day on August 15 with fervour. Indian Weekender was the guest of honour at the event.Various cultural programmes were organised and both young and old participated in the various song and dance performances. President of Manukau Indian Association Ranjana Patel, Prithipal Singh, Manish Tanna and Balubhai Mistry addressed the audience and wished them happy independence day.

Kaushal Dhar ably managed the proceedings, inspiring the audience to stay fired up in the emotional spirit that imbued the day.

Everyone present sang the national anthem and the event ended with finger food and tea for all present. Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, National MP, also attended the function.

India Independence day around NZ

It was cold and wet in Wellington, but not enough to hold back Independence day celebrations.

It was cold, wet and windy in Wellington last Sunday, August 15, but not enough to dampen the spirits of more than 200 people who turned out to celebrate Indian’s Independence Day.

It rained heavily before the ceremony, but stopped during the ceremony and started raining again after the ceremony which had Admiral Sureeh Mehta at its chief guest.

People were provided with light Indian refreshments and masala Chai after the ceremony, which also featured cultural performances.The crowd was generally very happy to be a part of the ceremony; most of them were dressed in traditional Indian clothes.

• If you live in Wellington and wish to have a news item published in the Indian Weekender, please contact Ravi Kambhoj at [email protected]• Ravi can also assist with advertising enquiries.

This year Bhartiya Samaj celebrated Indian In-dependence Day on Sunday August 15 at ASB Theatre in AOTEA Centre, Auckland, with pomp and grandeur with a variety of cultural program-mess.

The event stated with traditional Maori elders song, exchange of the flags and the blessings for the whole event the Indian flag was hoisted by Mrs. Vijaya Vaidyanatth CEO Waitakere city council, at the Foyer and delivered a patriotic speech to the audience of thousands and many dignitaries including MP and opposition leader Phil Goff, MPs from Labour and National party and Mayor of Manukau.

Following the flag hoisting the Indian National anthem was sung by all those were present led by Bhartiya Samaj Chair-man Jeet Suchdev.

It was attended by more than 3000 people and lasted four hours with a variety of cultural fare.

At around 12.00 pm Hon. Prime Minister John Key arrived and was welcomed by Mr Jeet Suchdev and his executive team. Mr Suchdev delivered his welcome address to all and greeted every one on the occasion of the achievement of the 63rd anniversary of India

Independence with his wonderful speech.

He then invited Prime Minister Hon. John Key on to the stage garlanded him and requested him to honour several persons of Indian origin for their excellent community services they have contributed in NZ

Among them were Mrs.Sukhi Turner DNZM Ex Mayor of Denudin, Dr.Kanti Patel QSM, Dr.Askar Kukkady, Mr.Hemant Prashar JP, Dr.Parma Nand

Addressing the gathering, Mr Key thanked the Indian community for their valuable contribution in NZ at various levels. He also assured that his

government would continue to give the necessary support to all of the Indian community for them to contribute even more to the NZ economy. He also passed on his grievances for the flood affected India’s neighbouring country Pakistan. He prom-ised that he and his team will continue to work closely with India and looking forward for FTA with India.

Mr Goff greeted Indians on the 63rd Inde-pendence Day and also acknowledged the level of contribution as Kiwi Indians. He also expressed his condolences to Pakistan for those people killed and the areas affected due to the recent floods.

Auckland Mayor John Banks also acknowl-

edged and thanked Mr. Sachdev and his team for putting up such a wonderful celebration in Auckland.

Followed by the Auckland Mayor other dignitaries such as Hon. Pansy Wang Min-ister of Ethnic Affairs, Mr. Winston Peters and others have greeted the Kiwi Indians

and Indians around the globe.

Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust:63rd India Independence Day celebration

Manukau Indian Association celebrates I-Day

Not cold enough to stop celebrations


Indian Community

The world of art is boundless. Likewise, the realm of Indian Classical Dance is rich and vast. Those for whom it is a passion and daylong obsession, like Guru (teacher) Ms Anuradha Ramkumar, nothing is quite enough.

Nrityabhinaya – Anuradha’s School of Indian Classical Dances was established in New Zealand in 1997. As a teacher, choreog-rapher and danseuse accomplished in Bharata Natyam and Kuchipudi herself, Ms Ramku-mar upholds the Indian heritage by way of in-structing her students ably in the dance forms, and also instilling in them essential cultural values.

True to her talent, in May 2007, Ms Ram-kumar staged the divine epic ‘Kamba Raman-yan’ in Bharata Natyam style. The synchrony, beauty and diligence in the execution of the students’ performance were a feast for the eyes! This dance-drama was choreographed to lyrics from the authentic text of Ramayan written by the renowned Tamil poet, Kambar.

In the subsequent year in April 2008, Nrityabhinaya delivered their second ballet, another scintillating performance, ‘Krishna’. This ballet depicted the life of the mischie-vous and great Lord Krishna right from the turbulent events surrounding his birth to his pivotal moments in the great Mahabharata. Whether it was the enchanting Krishna, or

whether it was the performance, we will never know… But to say the least, this performance left the audience entranced! The music to this production was exclusively composed by Madurai Muralidharan, an exponent in this art.

Ms Ramkumar, committed to delivering

quality, has a knack of choosing the right students for the right roles in each produc-tion such that every student showcases their best. With an orientation for perfection, she nurtures her 60 students with discipline – re-quired to pursue such an art. The use of pro-fessional music, costumes and props further add to the aesthetic sense of Anuradha’s style.

Ms Ramkumar has had the fortune of being trained in India by maestros in this art. Following rigorous tutelage and through the delivery of countless prominent performanc-es, Ms Ramkumar’s skill set escalated, giving rise to Nrityabhinaya. In her capacity, she has served to the community a variety of ex-traordinary performances, one after another. Noteworthy of these include performances in aid of the organisations Karunai Illam Trust in India and the Papakura Ganesha Temple in Auckland. For these organisations, Ms. Ram-kumar has donated proceeds from Welling-ton-performances of the dance ballets as well as from an exclusive show “Margam” – an evening comprising of a series of dance items presented by students.

Now, to reignite the magic of Lord Rama, the school’s forthcoming endeavour ‘Sree Rama’ will be a mammoth production por-traying the divine life and times of Lord Rama. Yet another musical and dance extrav-aganza, ‘Sree Rama’ is set to melt the hearts of the dance connoisseurs and enthusiasts of Indian art and culture among us.

Nrityabhinaya announces new classic ballet Community messages

JaNmasHtHamI meGa FestIvaLat sri sri radha Giridhari mandir

Jhulan Yatra (swing) Festival 20 august - 24 august 2010 Everyday at 7.20am and 7.20pm Lord balaram’s appearance day 24 august 20107.00—7.45pm Gaura Aarati & Jhulan Yatra last day7.45—8.30pm Class on the pastimes of Lord Balaram8.30pm onwards Prasadambhagavad saptah in Hindi as a prelude to Janmashtami by H.G. achal krishna das, 25 aug to 31 aug 20106pm to 9pm everyday 9.00pm onwards Prasadambhagavatam agnihotra (Yagna) 1 september 201010.30am—12.30pm12.30pm onwards PrasadamJanmashtami Celebrations 2 september 2010 4.30am Candle light Mangal Aarati7.00am – 8.00am Class by H.H. Vedavyasapriya Swami8.00pm Special Darshan Aarati & Guru PujaAll day Bhajans and Kirtans6.00 pm Special Kirtans7.45pm Abhishek for sponsors 7.45pm Prasadam distribution 8.00pm to 11.30pm Cultural programmes including devotional songs, dance and drama12 midnight—Maha Abhishek on the altar performed by Brahmanas12.30am Special Ekadashi prasadam srila Prabhupada’s appearance day 3 september 201010.30am Maha Abhishek

Auckland Indian Malayalee (AIM) Club Inc is organising ‘Jimmy George memorial volleyball tournament’, an ever rolling trophee, on Saturday the 18th of September, 2010, at Lagoon stadium, 44 Lagoon Drive Panmure Auckland from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM. Saluting our legend Volleyball player Jimmy George, the AIM CUP 2010, is open to all teams in New Zealand. For Free Registration and enquiries, please contact our co-coordinators Gino on 0211 40 6573 / 09 636 3372 or Suresh on 021 036 09.

bhavna thaparShanti Niwas Charitable Trust members and sup-porters celebrated India’s 63rd year of indepen-dence in full force on Saturday 21st August 2010.

Celebrations of this historic day continue around the world to commemorate India’s In-dependence from British rule and their birth as a sov-ereign nation.

The event in Auckland, organ-ised by Shanti Niwas founder, Indu Bajaj and Social Worker, Nilima Venkat. The event included an array of tra-ditional and con-temporary perfor-mances from not only the Indian community, but also Latin American dancers and Western African drummers.

A Karakia performed by a Constable Jackie Simeon from the Auckland Central District Police force blessed the event and the Indian flag hoisting ceremony marked the start of the cel-ebrations.

Dignitaries who attended the function in-cluded Manukau City Mayor, His Worship, Len Brown, National Party members, Peseta Sam Lo-tu-Iiga, Jackie Blue and Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Labour Party Member Rajen Prasad and Super-intendent George Fraser, District Commander of

Auckland Central accompanied by respected members of the police.

The Human Rights Com-mission of New Zealand support Shanti Niwas non- profit organi-sation that aims to address social issues facing older people of Indian and South Asian

origin. Seniors of Shanti Niwas performed an inspir-

ing skit about health, well being, and how it is important for senior citizens to take care of them-selves.

“Everyone was very enthusiastic and enjoyed themselves thoroughly in the rehearsing and per-forming of this programme”, Indu Bajaj said.

Communities come together to celebrate India’s I-dayThe Auckland Indian Association (AIA) celebrat-ed the 63rd Independence day anniversary of India at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre on Sunday August 15, with flag hoisting and a cultural entertainment programme. A large crowd of about 500 people attended, including leaders of many different Indian communities and Members of Parliament Pansy Wong and Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi.

The flag hoist-ing was carried out by the chief guest Smt Push-paben Lekin-wala a prominent active member who is a past as-sistant secretary and the president of Mahila Samaj of the AIA. She was a chairperson for Mahila Forum of the Central NZ Indian As-sociation, a Justice of Peace and a marriage cel-ebrant. For her services to the community she was awarded the Queens Services Medal.

After flag hoisting and saluting the Indian flag the Jhanda Geet and National Anthem was sung followed by short speeches by the President Har-

shadbhai K Patel, Pushpaben Lekinwala, honour-able Pansy Wong the Minister of Ethnic Affairs, Mohammad T Khan the President of Pakistan Association and Paul Singh Bains the President of Central NZ Indian Association.

Mr Khan and Dhiru Patel, the MC, urged the public for generous donations towards the Paki-

stan flood relief fund. At the end of

formal ceremony, the cultural items were performed by several talented youngsters. The items included Prarthana, Bhajan, Patriotic songs and a variety of dances. The classical, folk and Bol-lywood dances incor-porated beautiful and colourful costumes.

The celebration concluded with a light

lunch.“The spontaneous donations given by the

public on the day and forwarded to the President of Pakistan Association amounted to $1250. This amount is set to increase with a further donation from the Auckland Indian Association,” Mr Dhiru Patel told Indian Weekender.

AIA celebrates 15 August, raises funds for flood relief


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. 11Publisher: Kiwi Media Group LimitedGroup editor-in-chief: Dev Nadkarni [email protected] editor: Arvind Kumar [email protected] Correspondent: Shobha Rao [email protected] technical officer: Rohan Desouza rohan@ indianweekender.co.nzdesign: Tanmay Desai [email protected] / www.desaign.co.nzadvertising: 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

Opportunists could exploit Pakistan disaster

LettersSeeking Fiji’s World War II Babies

I am seeking information on Americans and women during World War II and any of their descendants in Fiji. This research is being con-ducted as part of a larger project: “Mothers’ darlings”: Children of indigenous women and World War Two American servicemen in New Zealand and South Pacific societies. It is funded by the Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

World War II brought two million American ser-vicemen to the South Pacific. They left a human legacy of thousands of children, most born out of wedlock.

Histories of these indigenous, colonized mothers and their children are missing from standard accounts of the Pacific Islands. Research sites are in New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Solo-mons, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Cook Islands.

Little is known about intimate relationships between American servicemen and local women in Fiji. In particular there is no published infor-mation about Indo Fijian women and American GIs. I would like to discuss this with any Indo Fijians and their descendants who have a con-nection with wartime relationships. Strict confi-dentiality and ethical guidelines will be assured.

If you would like to contribute to this historical project please contact me at:

Associate Professor Jacqui Leckieemail: [email protected]: 64-3-4798760mobile: 021 134 4522

or write toAnthropology Department2nd Floor Sir John Richardson Building, Castle Street University of OtagoBox 56, DunedinNew Zealand

Shreya GhoshalShreya, it was a honour having you in Auckland.U are most welcome in 2011 and every year for performing shows here but in better place as the sitting arrangement wasn’t good enough. It was fabulous overall. It was very much exiting seeing you performing live. And singing live that too all hit numbers! Thanks...

Sneha

Shreya performed so many wonderful songs, it was a such delight. She has a lovely personal-ity, loved how she interacted with the audience a lot. I wanted to get up and dance to a lot of her songs and also to the energetic songs of Shiv Prasad but the security was a bit ridiculous. Especially in the end she said audience could dance by the stage but the guards pushed and elbowed us back until we were all squashed in one corner, then these big guards blocked our view. Hope she comes again soon!

A.S.

Shreya’s gig was fantabulous. India’s Hayley Westenra. She is the ultimate vocalist. The nightingale of India. Also she has won 4 na-

tional awards. I absolutely enjoyed Shreya Ghoshal’s concert.

Perdy Mohindru

Freedom did not come at midnightWonderfully researched and amazing article. Although I did not live through those struggling times, I do relive them whenever I read about it. Can only praise R K Simha for bringing to life the nation-wide struggle and hypocrisy of the stars of freedom at midnight. Thank you again for remembering the unsung heroes and heroines. History, unfortunately, is written by victors, so many facts are not esily available in histroy books.

Sonali Geo

If the British had not used Indians to fight against Indians and had the Indians working in the British Army and Navy had revolted earlier India would have got freedom much earlier. It took a long time for the Indians to get UNITED and that’s the main reason it took us so long.

Arvinder Singh

Tackling the Kiwi Indian perceptional problemA very well written article. Much appreci-ated. Interestingly enough, it is a double edged sword. perceptions among the Kiwis, of doing business in India is also highly tainted, which I am finding out first hand. A lot of convincing required, and most is in the perceptive area, rather than logical.

Kajal Mukherjee

Pakistan takes India’s aid for flood reliefTaking money from India is the most insulting perspective that a nation can carry. But let’s dig deeper. This is the same country that sur-rendered its eastern half, the same nation that has allowed uneducated people run the govern-ment and robbers to become police officers. We live in the most sick and imaginable world. Each day is an unknown factor. Do we die or do we live. Reality is that interior motives and the ex-ternal forces have completely annihilated the dreams and hopes of people.

Saeed Shiekh

Oh for Pete’s sake!! Stop all this criticism and hatred. For once, put the differences away and help the poor population who have suffered the wrath of the nature. People like you Saeed are the number one enemy of peace. let’s take this opportunity to atleast be united and work to-gether for humanity. If you cant help in situa-tions like this, at least don’t make it worse. I am an Indian but not from India or Pakistan. Still I feel for those who suffer in both countries or in any country.

Faizal

Vedic mathematicsThe ancient rishis of Bharat were in fact great scientists if you want to use a modern term.After contemplating, analysing, practsing and filtering they gave the purest nectar in every field conceivable literatire, philosophy, medi-cine, music, natya, yoga, chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, logic, telekinetics, motion dynam-ics, aeronautics, metallurgy, war, astrology – you name it! It is unbelievable – it is good that the world is at last again turning to India and its timeless heritage and treasures...

Sridharan

Top ten stories on www.iwk.co.nz1. Dr Magesan for global forum2. Vedic mathematics ‘a success’3. Celebrating a bond4. Shreya all set to sing her way into Kiwi hearts 5. Shreya enraptures Auckland 6. Freedom didn’t come at midnight7. ‘Playing Haji Mastan was a big challenge’8. Smitten by NZ, Gurinder wants to make a movie here 9. Tackling the Kiwi-Indian perceptional problem10. 1947: In two distant lands

The United Nations has described Pakistan’s alarming flood situation as one of the worst natural disasters ever. Over 1500 people have lost their lives, many thousands injured, hundreds of thousands displaced and more than 2.5 million people have been affected by the floods.

Unlike natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, tornadoes and cyclones that come with a degree of suddenness and speed, floods are slow in coming and the build up before the extent of damage becomes noticeable is considerably long drawn out.

Consequently, the arrival of help – particularly from international humanitarian or-ganisations and foreign governments – is also slow, thereby escalating the severity of the problems.

This is what has happened in Pakistan as well. Though some humanitarian agencies like Oxfam were fast to mobilise help and resources and get to the scene of the watery disaster as it meandered menacingly across the plains of the Indus, bigger aid donors are still struggling to get enough material in time to the growing numbers of displaced people.

The disaster hit the country while its people were observing their holiest month and preparing to celebrate its 63rd independence day, which it shares with India separated by a single day.

The mindboggling scale of the humanitarian disaster, though, did not deter politicians from trying to score brownie points. India’s gesture to donate to the cause of the displaced Pakistani people was initially criticised, though later accepted creating a needless debate especially the highly volatile cyberspace mostly indulged by expatriates far removed from the scene of the disaster.

The inability of people to rise above their socio-politico-religious differences even in the face of the worst humanitarian disaster affecting their own people is deplorable in the extreme.

In fact, this same tendency to capitalise on the misfortune of the multitudes spells a serious threat to the ever-tenuous semblance of geopolitical balance in what is one of the worst potential hotspots on the globe.

There is no doubt that there will be extremist forces waiting in the wings to capitalise on the humanitarian situation that seems to be worsening by the day what with no let up in the weather that is bringing even more rain and flooding, threatening to inundate ever broader swathes away from the path of the river.

It’s a question of time before these extremist forces, which may well be backed by fringe elements from within the country’s military and law-unto-itself intelligence estab-lishment, begin to blame the weak civilian government that is dependent on creaky local infrastructure for failing to deliver aid in a timely and efficient manner and steadily build up disfavour against it. Allegations of corruption and misappropriation involving the government machinery will undoubtedly follow and snowball into huge public resentment.

It is entirely in the realm of possibility that at such a juncture these forces will take over the aid distribution process under the pretext of doing a more efficient job through the network of the armed forces, thereby gaining control of both aid goods and the billions of dollars of funds that have begun flowing in and will continue to do so for some time.

At this stage, toppling the Zardari government will be a mere formality. The disastrous situation on the ground being what it is, it will be unthinkable for the international com-munity to stop humanitarian aid and neither will it be able to divert its attention from the task of resettling the affected millions because of such a development. This could well be the moment the extremist faction in the country’s military and intelligence establishment is looking for. There could not be a better time for a coup.

Simplistic though it may look, this scenario is hardly farfetched and is utterly plau-sible.

As powerful Western nations and aid agencies busy themselves with disbursing hu-manitarian supplies around the country, they would do well to keep a steady eye on the behind the scenes developments that could well be unfolding in its perpetually volatile political climate.

It is entirely possible that the US government is aware of such a possibility and is already dealing with elements within the establishment to prevent it from eventuating.

We do hope that is indeed the case. For a political disaster following a humanitarian tragedy of such unimaginable scale in one of the world’s most volatile nuclear hotspots is in nobody’s interest.

– Dev Nadkarni


Indian

How science discovered the historical KrishnaComment

subHasH aPPaNa

rakesH krIsHNaN sImHa

“The sea, which had been beating against the shores, suddenly broke the boundary that was imposed on it by nature. The sea rushed into the city. It coursed through the streets of the beautiful city. The sea covered up everything in the city. Arjuna saw the beautiful buildings becoming submerged one by one. He took a last look at the mansion of Krishna. In a matter of a few moments it was all over. The sea had now become as placid as a lake. There was no trace of the beautiful city, which had been the favou-rite haunt of all the Pandavas. Dwarka was just a name; just a memory.” – Mausala Parva, Ma-habharata.

Does this account from the ancient Indian epic have a true historical core? Did Lord Krishna, indeed the favourite Indian deity, walk the streets of ancient Dwarka? Did Krishna, considered the Lord of the universe by a billion Hindus, rule the Yaduvanshi clan thousands of years ago?

Using archaeological, scriptural, literary and astronomical data, scholars and scientists are coming round to the view that Krishna was defi-nitely a historical character.ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

The Rosetta stone, or the key, to the Krishna story is Dwarka. The strongest archaeologi-cal support comes from the structures discov-ered in the late 1980s under the seabed off the coast of modern Dwarka in Gujarat by a team of archaeologists and divers led by Dr S.R. Rao, one of India’s most respected archaeologists. An emeritus scientist at the marine archaeol-ogy unit of the National Institute of Oceanogra-phy, Goa, Rao has excavated a large number of Harappan sites, including the port city of Lothal in Gujarat.

In his book The Lost City of Dwarka, pub-lished in 1999, he writes about his undersea

finds: “The discovery is an important land-mark in the history of India. It has set to rest the doubts expressed by historians about the histo-ricity of Mahabharata and the very existence of Dwarka city.”

Conducting 12 expeditions during 1983-1990, Rao identified two underwater settle-ments, one near the present-day Dwarka and the other in the nearby island of Bet Dwarka. This tallies with the two Dwarkas mentioned in the epic. The underwater expeditions won Rao the first World Ship Trust Award for Individual Achievement.

Another important find by our divers was a seal that establishes the submerged township’s connection with the Dwarka of the Mahabhara-ta. The seal corroborates the reference made in the ancient text, the Harivamsa, that every citizen of Dwarka should carry such a seal for identification purposes. Krishna had ruled that none without the seal should enter it. A similar seal has been found onshore as well.LITERARY EVIDENCE

The west coast of Gujarat was the traditional land of the Yadavs, or Yadus. According to the Bhagavad Puran, Krishna led the Yadavs thou-sands of kilometres west to establish Dwarka, so they could start a new life, safe from their many enemies in the Gangetic Valley.

The Mahabharata says, Dwarka was re-claimed from the sea. Rao’s divers discovered that the submerged city’s walls were erected on a foundation of boulders, suggesting that land indeed was reclaimed from the sea.

One cannot separate Dwarka from Krishna. If the city existed, then it is true that Krishna ruled over it.ASTRONOMICAL EVIDENCE

Dr Narhari Achar, professor of physics at the University of Memphis, Tennessee, has dated

the Mahabharata war using astronomy and regular planetarium software. According to his research conducted in 2004-05, the titanic clash between the Pandavas and the Kauravas took place in 3067 BC. Using the same software, Dr Achar places the year of Krishna’s birth at 3112 BC.

Dr Manish Pandit, a nuclear medicine physi-cian in the UK, after examining the astronomi-cal, archaeological and linguistic evidence, agrees with Dr Achar’s conclusions. Dr Pandit, who is also a distinguished astrologer and has written several books on the subject, traced the route of Krishna’s journeys to shoot the docu-mentary, “Krishna: History or Myth?”

Dr Pandit says there are more than 140 as-tronomy references in the Mahabharata. Simula-tions of the night sky have been combined with geographical descriptions to arrive at various dates. He says the chances of these references repeating are next to nothing.

According to historian S.M. Ali, the author of Geography of Puranas, “The geographi-cal matter contained in the Mahabharata is immense. It is perhaps the only great work which deals with geographic details and not in-cidentally, as other works.”WHOSE HISTORY?

Of course, none of the evidence is good enough for the ossified historians that lord over India’s academia, regurgitating the lies written by British colonial scholars, who were in reality Christian missionaries.

For the missionaries, destroying the histo-ricity of Krishna was important if they had any chance of establishing their religion in India. Also, many European scholars were shocked to learn that Indian history pre-dated their world by thousands of years. By labelling as myth the Indian historical sources like the Vedas, Mahab-

harata, Upanishads, and especially the Puranas, which give exact chronologies of Indian kings including Krishna, the missionaries ensured that Indian history did not clash with their world view.

That tradition continues. Disregarding all new research, academics like Romilla Thapar, R.S. Sharma and Irfan Habib have consigned Krishna to mythology.

In his textbook for Class X, Sharma writes, “Although Lord Krishna plays an important role in the Mahabharata, the earliest inscriptions and sculpture pieces found in Mathura between 200 BC and 300 AD do not attest his presence.” What brilliant deduction. Going by Sharma’s logic, any fool can dig at a random site, and upon failing to discover an artefact, declare Krishna never existed. Sadly, millions of Indian school children are being taught such lies.

Thapar, in fact, says the Mahabharata is a glorified account of a skirmish between two “Aryan” tribes, with Krishna merely playing the role of an agent provocateur.

And what do they do when confronted with the new evidence? They withdraw into their par-allel dystopian world and argue it is not clinch-ing evidence. But, of course, they will accept as truth the myths of other religions.

Dr Rao says further digging and diving, in tandem with India’s vast treasure trove of his-torical facts will further corroborate key dates of our eventful and glorious past.

As the Upanishads say, pratnakirtim apa-virnu – know thy past.

- Rakesh Krishnan Simha is a features

writer at Fairfax New Zealand. He has previ-ously worked with Businessworld, India Today

and Hindustan Times, and was news editor with the Financial Express.

Archaeology, astronomy and literary sources have been used to establish the fact that Krishna was definitely a historical character.

Earlier articles in this series contended that in the initial post-1970 scheme of governance (and politics) in Fiji, there was always an unarticulated expectation that the Royal Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) would play a role in ensuring that gov-ernment remained in the hands of Chiefs, and by extension the Fijian people. The 1987 elections forced this hand in the pack of cards that was always stacked in favour of ensuring just that within the façade that was widely taken as de-mocracy in Fiji.

After the 1987 elections, as the orchestrated rebellion against the verdict of the ballot box became more strident and violent, a dark silent group began making overtures to the RFMF. And Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka was identi-fied as the right choice to execute a coup-de-tat even though he was number 3 in the military hierarchy. The Commander, Ratu Epeli Naila-tikau, was a Bau chief of very high rank – he could do without the inevitable stain. His number 2, Colonel Jim Sanday was of mixed-blood and therefore, not to be trusted fully. Focus thus fell on Rabuka.

At that point in time, Rabuka’s future in the military was extremely bleak. He was only able to maintain his hold within the top brass through patronage from his high chief, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, who was also the Governor General. In fact Rabuka had already begun to look for jobs outside the military; he had applied for the post of Police Commissioner and had actually been in-terviewed for it. The post had instead gone to PU Raman, an Indian.

It was no secret that Rabuka was hugely popular and commanded widespread loyalty within the rank and file of the Fiji military. He

was also a hardcore traditionalist who believed in the divine right of chiefly control and ethnic Fijian rule in Fiji within the framework of Chris-tian (preferably Methodist) doctrine. More im-portantly, Rabuka was a strict disciplinarian who was known to deliver. And most importantly, a coup presented him with a crucial opportunity to redeem himself within the military.

This is what the planners saw. What they did not see was that Rabuka was smarting from his “fall from grace” in the military. He had allowed Major Kadavulevu Cakobau to come back to Fiji from Sinai against orders from Queen Elizabeth Barracks. And he was lined up for a court martial that was only avoided through external pressure from the GG’s office. The fact that he took this decision in Sinai showed that he was prone to in-dependent thinking – this was also missed in as-sessing him.

On the other hand, Ratu Mara was devastat-ed with his fall at elections 1987 even though he did not show this. As a chief and main architect of independent Fiji, he had a noble vision that he thought would serve the myriad interests in the country. His biggest disappointment came from the fact that he was apparently not supported by the Indian electorate after all that he’d tried to do for that community. Ratu Mara therefore, felt be-trayed especially by the Indo-Fijian community.

On the other hand, he had foreseen problems with the 1970 model of governance. That’s why he mooted the idea of a government of national unity around the 1982 elections. He appeared to be quietly searching for a new model to suit the changing circumstances. This need again stared him in the face in 1987 as the Taukei Movement went on the rampage. Many have criticized Ratu

Mara for his inaction and reluctance to enter the fray at that critical juncture.

There would have been sound reasons for this inclination by that thinking gentleman of noble birth and prolonged British grooming. Firstly, the Fijians were genuinely angered because they felt that their generosity had been abused by an ungrateful immigrant community. This negativ-ity had gained too much momentum. Secondly, Ratu Mara’s hold on Fijian leadership had become precarious because people were openly blaming him for selling out the Fijian heritage. In fact, after 1987 he was no longer considered the sole undis-puted leader of the Fijian people.

And three, it can be hazarded that Ratu Mara saw in the turbulence of 1987 an opportunity to once again draw up a new model of governance for Fiji. He therefore, saw coup-de-tat as an unsa-voury necessity that would open up opportunities for more suitable and enduring political solutions. A consensus approach appeared to be impracti-cal given the entrenched positions between the 2 main ethnic groups – a forced solution was there-fore, the best approach.

To appease the hordes, quell crime and bring about some semblance of order, the men at QEB had to be released not to uphold the rule of law, but to upend it. A Schumpeterian creative destruction framework therefore, guided decisions among Ratu Mara and like-minded. There was full con-fidence that Rabuka would be reined in shortly after he executed the coup because there would be need for a civilian administration. And more importantly, there would be need to appease the shocked international community and explain the unpardonable situation.

So the orchestrated disturbances were allowed

to escalate as Rabuka executed his operational plans for the fateful day. He handpicked a team leader in Captain Savenaca Draunidalo, an Eastern soldier who had served as ADC to the GG, and assembled an elite squad of committed soldiers who shared his own traditionalist, fun-damentalist concerns. The international dimen-sion that had been hovering on the fringes again entered the picture. Bavadra had followed the NZ lead of 1985 and declared Fiji anti-nuclear, this irked the Americans and they acted by sending over a high-level decorated operative.

Vernon Walters had been in Teheran in 1953 when the CIA supported Shah Pahlavi’s coup against Dr. Mohamad Mosaddeq. He was again involved in a coup by some generals in Brazil in 1963. In 1975 he was in Chile when General Pi-nochet toppled the Allende government. And in 1987 the very same Vernon Walters was in Fiji. Two weeks before 14th of May, he met Lieuten-ant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. Not the army com-mander, not his deputy, but the 3rd man, Sitiveni Rabuka.

Everything was finally in place: the taukei marchers, power preachers, escalating and ap-parently uncontrollable crime and violence, chiefly withdrawal, US complicity, key business support, and a primed military goon squad under the command of a committed senior officer. Next stop, treason at 10. Keep tuned.

- Subhash Appana is an academic and politi-cal commentator. The opinions contained in

this article are entirely his and not necessarily shared by any organizations he may be associ-

ated with both in Fiji and abroad. Email [email protected]

The Military card had to be playedGovernment by Greed


Indian Community

dev NadkarniNew Zealand Kannada Koota, one of the most active of Kiwi Indian associations in the country, now has a new home at the Auckland City Coun-cil’s Fickling Centre in Three Kings, Auckland.

National Party MP Jackie Blue inaugurated the association’s offices – known to members as Koota – on August 21. A Ganesh Puja performed by one of the members marked the opening of the facility, which also houses a small but growing library of Kannada and English books, magazines and pub-lications.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Blue commended the dedication of the office bearers to the activities of the Koota and their hard work and follow up in finally obtaining the premises.

Koota President Ravishankar welcomed the gathering and Secretary Prakash Biradar briefly outlined how the association systematically went about pursuing its goal of setting up the facility. Also present at the opening were National Party Northern Region Deputy Chair Ram Rai, Bharati-ya Samaj Chairman Jeet Sachdev, Auckland Indian Association’s Chandubhai Daji, New Zealand Indian Central Association (NZICA) President Paul Singh Bains and other community leaders.

Mr Ravishankar and Mr Biradar thanked Dr Blue, Opposition and Labour Party leader Phil Goff, Mr Ram Rai, Mr Jeet Sachdev, NZICA former President Ratilal Champaneri and former General Secretary Veer Khar, Auckland Indian Association’s Chandubhai Daji, Harshad Patel and Takorbhai Parbhu for their help in making the new centre possible.

The library was originally housed at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre at Eden Terrace but had to move out when the Centre es-tablished its own library about a year ago. It was housed temporar-ily in the garage of member Natesh Marappa’s home while the associa-tion canvassed for a permanent loca-tion. The Koota thanked Mr Marappa for his generous gesture of housing the library for nine months.

The aim of the Koota – comprising mainly of people hailing from the southern, Kannada-speak-ing state of Karnataka – is to promote, preserve and maintain the cultural and linguistic heritage of the state while enriching the diverse cultural mosaic of New Zealand with the best of Indian traditions. It also helps new immigrants from Karnataka settle in New Zealand and liaises with similar communi-ties and societies in New Zealand and in India.

The Koota is one of the first Indian associa-tions to open a well equipped library of some 5000 Kannada Books and 500 children’s books and comics, apart from a fast growing video cassette, VCD and DVD library. Popular Kannada and English weekly and monthly magazines are also subscribed to and made available for members.

With a view to helping children keep in touch with Kannada – which is the third oldest lan-guage of India – reading, writing and speaking in

Kannada the Koota has organises weekly Kannada classes. Children are also taught Dance, Music and Creative art.

Members find an excellent plat-form to exhibit and nurture the artis-tic talents of their young ones as well as their own during the Koota’s cultural events. Its members actively participate

in events organized by Indian associations on oc-casions like Independence Day, Republic day and Diwali besides other regional festivals.

Apart from its Annual Sports Day, the Koota jointly organises and participates in inter-associa-tion cricket matches and the overall cricket cham-pionship for all Indian state associations.

It also publishes a quarterly, bilingual (Kannada and English) house magazine, named Kiwi Kan-nadiga, featuring articles, poems, cartoons, write-

ups, travelogues and member-introductions with separate sections for women and children.

Every Thursday at 7.05 PM the Koota’s weekly half-hour broadcast, Kannada Vani, goes on air on Auckland’s Planet FM 104.6. It includes snippets of folk theatre, announcements about coming events and nostalgic native sounds and content from the distant land of Karnataka.

Now that it has its own premises, the Koota

plans to step up its activities with programmes involving the youth, health and wellbeing as well as those directed at senior citizens. It plans to fund these programmes with sponsorships.

Initially, the premises will be open on week-ends but a roster of volunteers will be drawn up so that there would be someone to attend to duties on most evenings, Mr Biradar told Indian Weekender.

Kannada Koota gets new premises

Ross RobertsonMP for Manukau East

EMAIL CONTACT DETAILS:

[email protected]@parliament.govt.nz

[email protected]@[email protected]

labour.org.nz

George HawkinsMP for Manurewa

Ashraf ChoudharyLabour List MP

Phil GoffLabour Party Leader

Su’a William SioMP for Mangere

LABOUR, Working for ethnic communities

Phil Goff, Leader of the Labour [email protected] | 04 817 9370

BASED AT THE ELECTORATEOFFICE IN OTARA:

7 Fulton Cres, Otara, AucklandPhone: (09) 265 0983

koota members and guests participate in Ganesh Pooja

Chief guest dr Jackie blue lights the lamp as part of the inauguration ceremony

koota President ravishankar greeting dr Jackie blue


Indian Community

Migrant Heritage Charitable Trust Inc – aka MigHT-I, notched a first of sorts by bringing the tradition of Hindustani Classical music to New Zealand with an entire ensemble of Hindustani musician troupe for the first time to celebrate this wonderful occasion of Indian Independence Day with a concert titled “Swar Ninaad”.

Pandit Ganapati Bhat, of Hasanagi, is a dis-ciple of Pandit Basavaraj Rajguru and Bharat Ratna, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. An exponent of the Kirana Gharana , he proved why he is con-sidered a master of his craft and a worthy heir

to the famous lineage of Kirana Gharana. T o

quote Panditji, music is a divine language which surpasses words and springs out magic solely through raaga and rhythm. No wonder, he is able to establish an instant connection with his audiences where he goes, be it US, Canada, Europe or India.

His first performance on the eve of Indian Independence on August 14 in Auckland was memorable. He started off the evening in Yaman and mesmerised the audience with finer nuances of the Raaga in both the vilambit and drut version of the Raaga. Panditji then moved to the Raag Hamsadhwani, which originally is a Carnatic music raag but very popular in Hin-dustani music now. He then sang Raag Durga ‘Jai jai durge mataaa bhavani’, his own com-position.

The second half started with a bandish “Deko Sakhi barsan ko aaye badara” in Raaga Des. This bandish beautifully depicts the late hour of night and the feelings one has of longing at that time. Panditji’s rendition aptly summarised the feelings. He followed this up with a Bhajan – Raghuvar tum ko meri laaj! And the audience joined him in humming the tune! The instant connection with the audi-

ences and the pious depth of the voice trained over several decades truly had the audiences in a spell.

Panditji then ended the night with the tra-ditional Bhairavi, but instead of a bandish, he chose to sing Taranas to the longest ever stand-ing ovation for a classical concert in Auckland.

A week later, on August 21, the audiences in Wellington were treated to a similar experi-ence. The High Commissioner of India, H.E. Admiral (retd) Sureesh Mehta, was the guest of honour for the evening. Bharat Samaj was celebrating its Independence day celebrations along with MigHT-I in Wellington with the concert. H.E. Admiral (retd) Sureesh Mehta,

honoured the artist

with a tradition-al Shawl and bouquet.

Panditji started the show with a variation of Yaman – Raag Yaman Kalyan. The surprise for evening was the rendition of the bandish “phaal netra har Pinaki” in Raag Malkauns. This raaga is very popular and is considered a very Majestic Raaga. The evening ended with the Bhairavi “Mero man Raam hi Raam rate” (my heart only sings the name of Lord Rama). The audiences in Wellington were left spell bound.

Panditji’s final performance will be in Hamilton as a fund raising activity for the Balaji Temple being co-hosted by Balaji Temple Trust. Pandit Ganapati Bhat’s visit would not have been possible to this country without the solid backing of D&R Digital and Source Link Agencies Limited. MigHT-I is looking at permanently bringing artistes of the calibre of Panditji to run month long training for upcoming students, who can then learn the true flavour of Indian Classical Music in New Zealand.

Ganapati Bhat wows audiences

Prime Minister John Key inaugurated National Party MP Cam Calder’s new office on 4, Station Road, Manurewa last Thursday. Several neigh-bouring residents including a large number of local Kiwi Indians attended the inauguration.

An appeal was also made by National Party leaders to the people of Manurewa to support the local Punjabi candidate, Sukhminder Singh. “This is an honour and a matter of pride for our Punjabi community,” Mr Singh told Indian

Weekender. Also present at the function were prominent

Manurewa citizens Bhai Resham Singh and In-derjit Singh Kalkat.

On Saturday, Sukhminder Singh launched his election campaign along with Avtar Hans as Citizens and Ratepayers Candidates for local boards Manurewa and Papatoetoe respectively. A barbeque followed the inauguration.

PM opens MP Cam Calder’s office

For the second year in a row SuperValue Flatbush has won the award for the Best SuperValue Super-market with the biggest sales increase in the country at the SuperValue Annual Conference on August 10.

The Flatbush supermarket won the award topping thirty eight SuperValue Supermarkets na-tionwide and is impressive not only for winning the 2010 award but also for winning the award for the second time in a row.

Paramjit Dhatt, owner and operator of SuperVal-ue Flatbush said, “We are very pleased to receive the top award. Our team works very hard to ensure that we have a great range of products and great prices to match our local customer needs. We are always looking at ways we can improve what we have instore and what additional offers we can provide to our customers.”

SuperValue Supermarket is a franchise of Pro-gressive Enterprises and pride themselves in offer-ing their local community a convenient and friendly shopping experience.

SuperValue Flatbush wins supermarket award


Indian Community

Vedic Mathematics online sessions run through E-Gurukul.net have been received extremely well by audiences and participants. More than 120 learners from New Zealand, Australia, USA, Canada, Japan, Singapore and India participated in web-based live audio-visual Vedic Mathematics training sessions organised by volunteers of Hindu Council of New Zealand on July 31 and August 1, 2010.

The online sessions commenced with a short prayer acknowledging all teachers. The session was conducted by Mr Sai Kiran, a well known speaker and trainer in Speed Maths techniques. Participants had an opportunity to interact directly with Mr Sai Kiran over the platform provided by www.E-Gurukul.net.

“Vedic Mathematics online sessions were an important milestone in our endeavour of E-Gu-rukul.net. We were able to share the introductory knowledge of Vedic Mathematics with partici-pants from across the globe using the state of art technology” said Mrs Usha Koppaka, one of the organisers from Auckland.

“The session reverberated with enthusiasm and fun as the techniques of Vedic Mathematics got all participants involved completely in the learning process” she added.

The sessions concluded with a vote of thanks and a short prayer for world peace and harmony.

E-Gurukul.net, an online platform, is an en-deavour to disseminate practical knowledge and wisdom gifted by the great scientists, mathemati-cians, philosophers and sages of ancient India. It brings online courses in art, science, and holistic

living. Vedic mathematics is easy to use and under-

stand as compared to conventional teaching of mathematics in schools, and creates interest in children to solve mathematical problems in a fun and intuitive way.

With so much interest from the participants and others who missed these sessions, the volunteers of Hindu Council of New Zealand have decided to run another 8-hours free web-based online course on Vedic mathematics sharing various techniques. Once again, this course will be run by Mr Sai Kiran from India and everyone is welcome to join from any part of the globe. These sessions will be more beneficial to mathematics teachers.

The sessions will be on:Saturday, 18 Sept 2010 (12.30 to 2.30 pm)Sunday, 19 Sept 2010 (12.30 to 2.30 pm)Saturday, 25 Sept 2010 (12.30 to 2.30 pm)Sunday, 26 Sept 2010 (12.30 to 2.30 pm)Registration closes on 12 September 2010 and

can be done at http://www.e-gurukul.netThe Hindu Council of New Zealand has been

promoting Vedic mathematics for over ten years in New Zealand. As interest in Vedic Mathematics is growing, the council is looking for more volun-teers to promote this knowledge to wider commu-nity.

“We believe these sessions will create volun-teers who can then take this knowledge to various schools and tertiary institutes in New Zealand” said Dr Guna Magesan, a senior scientist by pro-fession and the General Secretary of the council.

High interest in online Vedic maths sessions; more coming

More than 1000 New Zealanders (mainly from Auck-land) are expected to swarm the Mahatma Gandhi Centre to celebrate the Hindu Festival of Raksha Bandhan on the afternoon of Sunday, August 29.

Leader of Opposition Phil Goff, North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams, Manukau Mayor Len Brown, Race Relations Commissioner Joris De Bres, Members of Parliament and many more dignitaries are also participating in this festival.

This festival is organised by the Hindu Organi-sations, Temples and Associations (HOTA) Forum. The HOTA Forum was launched at the 3rd New Zealand National Hindu conference.

The Raksha Bandhan festival celebrates the in-fallible bond of universal fellowship and is an occa-sion to venerate womanhood.

Hindus and other Dharma-based communities realised since time immemorial that the true strength of social structures are the connections and bonds between its members that affirm true fellowship between them.

They also recognised the indisputable role women play in nurturing and enhancing the uni-versal bond of fellowship.

Classical and folk dances from various cul-tures will be performed at the event. Maori Kapa-haka, South Indian traditional dances, Japanese drum beats, Chinese lion and dragon dance, North Indian classical and cultural dance items and live music forms the 3-hour enriching cultural enter-tainment session.

“It will be a spectacular sight of performances by artists of such calibre, from various different communities displaying traditional, cultural and folk dances from their respective cultures”, said Mr S Subbiah, joint programme co-ordinator.

The festival will be celebrated in a smoke-free and alcohol-free atmosphere making it safe and fun for families to participate. Vegetarian food will be sold.

“Response from central and local government dignitaries has been very pleasing so far and a

number of reservations have been made until now. This is a first of its kind events for Auckland and is free to public” said the programme co-ordinator Mamta Bhikha.

“I encourage families and all interested people to make their reservations as soon as possible as we may run out of seats on the day of event,” Ms Bhikha added.

HOTA Forum will organise this festival annu-ally to bring the Forum members closer, develop understanding and promote collaborative project based work among them on social issues in a better way. Hindu Council of New Zealand is the first year host of the HOTA Forum.

Each one of the members in HOTA Forum will get an opportunity to host the programme on a ro-tation basis annually. New Zealand Hindu Temple Society will be the host of the HOTA forum in 2011.

It is going to be a landmark cultural event for New Zealand society.

Symbolism of Raksha Bandhan (Rakhi)

On the day of Raksha Bandhan we solemnise the concepts of universal fellowship and veneration of womanhood by the symbolic act of tying a sacred thread called rakhi on the wrist of others. In fami-lies, sisters adorn the wrist of brothers with rakhis. At societal level, similar ceremonies are witnessed between community members.

A family is not just its individuals but also the bonds between them and the feminine nurturing force that energises the family.

For ticket reservations and more information contact the co-ordinators:Email: [email protected] please call/textMamta Bhikha 027 281 0968Chandra Shekhar Monga 021 171 6305S Subbiah 021 205 0347

Celebrating an enduring bondHundreds expected at Raksha Bandhan celebrations at Mahatma Gandhi Centre, Auckland, on August 29.

Dr Kalburgi contests for Puketapapa Local BoardWell known Indian and Kannada Koota community leader Dr Lingappa Kalburgi has announced that he is contesting for the Puketapapa Local Board

Puketapapa is the Maori name for Central Auckland

areas covering Lynfield, Blockhouse Bay, Hills-borough, Three Kings and Mt Roskill.

Dr Kalburgi is standing on behalf of “Roskill Community Voice”, which is supported by Labour and Green parties.

Dr Kalburgi is a tireless social worker and is a Justice of the Peace since 2004. He was

awarded the “MNZM” Queen’s Award for serving the Indian community in 2007. He is a member of the Leadership New Zealand Trust and the New Zealand Labour Party.

He is highly qualified and holds a Ph D in library science as well as a qualification on communications from UNITEC and has had a long stint in the publishing industry besides holding a number of official positions in a range of charitable and public service organisations.

Among his wide interests is a love of lan-guages. He is fluent in English, Hindi, Urdu and Kannada and has a working knowledge of Arabic. He is currently actively learning Samoan and Maori.

Dr Kalburgi can be contacted on (09)8153448 or [email protected]

Labour Member of Parliament Dr Ashraf Choud-hary is encouraging local organizations, ethnic community groups and individuals to nominate their inspirational Kiwi’s in the New Zealander of the Year Awards 2011.

Dr Choudhary, Spokesperson for Food Safety and Associate Spokesperson for Ethnic Affairs, says there are many people and organisations within our ethnic and migrant community that are making positive contributions to our local com-munity. “These are our unsung heroes who go about their work not looking for recognition but with a passion and commitment in supporting their community groups through voluntary work and leadership”

“Nominations in these awards give us an op-portunity to recognise, celebrate and encourage those Kiwis making a difference in our communi-ties” says Dr Choudhary.

Nominations can be made for the Senior New Zealander of the Year, Young New Zealander of the Year, Community of the Year, Local Heroes

Awards or the prestigious New Zealander of the Year for 2011.

The winners and runners up in each catego-ry will be honoured at a gala awards dinner on Wednesday 2 February 2011. The five category winners will each receive $5,000 from Kiwibank as well as a hand crafted trophy. All nominees will receive a certificate of achievement and up to 10 Local Heroes medals will be presented in your region.

Nominations close on Friday, October, 22 and nomination forms are available from Countdown Supermarkets, Kiwibank and Mitre 10 branch-es or by free phone 0508 692 927. You can also nominate online at www.nzawards.org.nz or text ‘nominate’ to 244 for more information.For any additional information please contact:

Grant McCabeNational ManagerMobile: 021 070 [email protected] www.nzawards.org.nz

A baton will be unveiled during Raksha Bandhan festival – which celebrates the infal-lible bond of universal fellowship and venerates womanhood – on Sunday, 29 August 2010 at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre, Auckland.

Tane Singh-Lagah of Maori and Indian descent, a carver/artist from Ngongotaha, Rotorua has carved a baton symbolising unity among various communities.

Tane is from Ngati Awa & Ngati Tumatawera on his mother’s side and Tuhoe & Indian on his father’s side.

Tane was at-tracted by the inter-cultural fes-tivals and Hindu-Maori bonding in Rotorua.

“I was im-pressed by the way Hindu Council of New Zealand engages with Maori commu-nity” said Tane Singh-Lagah.

“I was really touched by the Hindu-Maori whakawhanaun-gatanga during Rotorua Deepawali festival” he added.

Following this, Tane approached Dr Guna Magesan, the General Secretary of Hindu Council of New Zealand, suggesting he would like to contribute to enhance Hindu-Maori kinship. An opportunity arose when the Hindu Organisations, Temples and Associations

(HOTA) Forum announced the celebration of Raksha Bandhan festival.

Each year this festival is hosted by one of the members of HOTA Forum. The host of the HOTA forum will keep the baton for that year.

Tane Singh-Lagah was pleased that the Hindu Council of New Zealand approached him to carve the baton.

“When I saw the design, I knew it will be challenging but I accepted it readily because I want to do something for Indian community to find out little about my Indian side” said Tane Singh-Lagah.

Hindu Council of New Zealand has been working with Maori community for more than 12 years and has come across a number of Indo-Maori people in New Zealand.

“We would like Indo-Maori people to feel proud of

their heritage – both Indian and Maori” said Dr Guna Magesan.

“We have plans to provide a platform to these people who could bring inter-cultural un-derstanding to a higher level” he added.

Hindu Council of New Zealand, the first year host of the HOTA Forum, will present the baton to New Zealand Hindu Temple Society who will be the host of the HOTA forum in 2011.

Raksha Bandhan festival with a Maori touch

New Zealanders urged to nominate achievers

PHoto: Tane Singh-Lagah giving f inal touches to the carving


Indian bollywood

Dr Kalburgi contests for Puketapapa Local Board

TURNERS AUCTIONSCnr Penrose & Leonard Rds Penrose, AucklandPh: 09 525 1920www.turners.co.nz

Every vehicle sold at this auction will come with a FREE 1year mechanical warranty & 1 year of FREE Roadside Assist. All vehicles will be available for inspections and test drives on Friday, 27th August and on the morning of Saturday, 28th August.

For more details about this auction, including an online catalogue and photos, visit www.turners.co.nz or call Matt Orange 027 476 3530.

More than 40 Nissan cars to be auctioned, including a huge range of models, years and prices – there is something for everyone!

Auction will also include three NO RESERVE vehicles:2001 Nissan Primera2001 Nissan Stagea2005 Nissan Expert

More than 40 Nissan cars to be auctioned, including a huge range of models, years and prices – there is something for everyone!

NISSAN CLEARANCE AUCTION SAT, 28TH AUGUST AT 12PM TURNERS AUCTIONS, PENROSE

Mumbai: If a movie, made 35 years ago, gets frequently labelled as the greatest movie ever made in Bollywood, then surely, there must be some sorcery surrounding it, or it just might have been a movie called Sholay.

The film was allegedly inspired from countless Hollywood classics and Akira Ku-rosawa’s Seven Samurai, but it somehow managed to become the de facto Hindi movie - a film that, connoisseurs of the trade believe, truly defines Bollywood.

35 years have passed since the most recog-nisable characters, Gabbar, Jai, Verru, Basanti and Thakur, struck a chord with the masses and the bond still thumps with nostalgia and passion for the movie.

But when Sholay released way back in then, there were initially few takers. Its length, its plot, its ending and its ‘terrible Bollywood grammar’ made the film seem like it was headed exactly where its 2007 remake, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag went.

But it didn’t. It ran for over five years straight in some theatres, it went on to become the highest Indian grosser of all time (a record it held till 1995) and it made a statement. A very bold one.

The film was so poorly received in fact that the cast and crew got together and were even considering re-shooting the climax, in which Jai one of the protagonists is killed.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan who played the intense, brooding Jai says the team, including the writer duo Salim-Javed met the day after the release and actually dis-

cussed on what could be done to ‘improve’ the movie.

Be it director Ramesh Sippy or writer Javed Akhtar, almost everyone associated with the film, till date maintain that they had no idea ‘how big it was going to be’.

With frequently being referenced, ‘trib-ute-ed’ and plagiarised in everything from sitcoms to television commercials, Sholay has not just become a part of the popular Indian culture today but is much more.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) reportedly has announced announced that a chapter on Sholay would be included in the Class V curriculum.

Be it R D Burman’s music, or the dialogues written by writers Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan, the film’s literature has been immortal-ised in the Indian psyche.

The film, India’s first one to be made on 75mm film and feature stereophonic sound, was reportedly made with a budget of Rs 3 crores and released with 250 prints nation-wide.

For Sholay, a film released on 15 August 1975, becoming the quintessential Bolly-wood film meant a perfect balance of drama, melodrama, romance, comedy, tragedy and of course action, which it did capture, apparently like no other film ever made till date.

35 years down, Sholay burns on sholay triviaSholay was India’s first film to be made on 75mm film and feature stereophonic sound.Initially, only four 75mm prints were released.

It was reportedly made with a budget of Rs 3 crores and released with 250 prints nationwide.The makers considered re-shooting the climax in order to improve public reaction.

Sholay was about to be removed from theatres due to ‘low attendance’.

Dharmendra was very keen to play, not Veeru, but Thakur.

Shatrughan Sinha was supposed to play Jai, till Amitabh Bachchan convinced the makers otherwise.

The writer duo, Salim-Jawed, first ap-proached filmmaker Manmohan Desai to direct the movie.Ramesh Sippy reportedly re-filmed sev-eral scenes to get the ‘desired effect’.

The film’s villain, Gabbar Singh was framed after a real-life 1950s dacoit who terrorised people around Gwalior.

Amjad Khan, who played Gabbar was almost dropped because his voice was found to be too ‘weak’.

Sholay ran for 10 years straight in some theatres.

tell us about Charge sheet? are you directing the film? It’s a murder story. I have written the script, am di-recting Charge Sheet, producing it, performing the central role…it’s my film…it’s in my system. The film has three of very important actors. I am also introducing three-four newcomers, who, I think will become big stars in future. How do you manage to multi-task while making a film? Writing, directing, produc-ing and playing the hero simultaneously is surely not easy? No, that’s easy for me. That way I control the film in my palms. I make my films with a very posi-tive mind. I make films that should be made for the world. I make it with total conviction.

Playing a lead at 87 will surely make today’s heroes insecure… How can you say that?

In fact, I, as the hero of Charge Sheet, am com-peting with them. Competition is everywhere. throughout your career, you have launched a number of new faces in bollywood. What are the criteria that you look for in a new

actor before casting him/her? If I see a new face…I will keep on looking at him/her and think if he/she fits my script. Then, I will go and talk to that person (but, not about casting). If he/she has a right mindset, I will include the newcomer in my film. You don’t usually cast big stars in promi-nent roles in your films? Why? I made a film with Aamir Khan in Awwal Number and after that, I never approached any star. Once I thought of casting stars in my film, but then didn’t do, thinking their dates may not be available. I don’t want to get a ‘No’. In an awards function, filmmaker vidhu vinod Chopra said you are the biggest ‘Idiot’ of bollywood- who has always done, and still does what he wants to, what he dreams about. so, have you lived all your dreams?

Dreams should never die. When the dreams are dead, you are dead. After fulfilling every dream, I realize there is a new dream that dawns. I used to dream about the Hollywood people…my inspira-tion is Hollywood in 1950s. What if you are to pick your favourites from your own films? Guide has been acclaimed very well, so was Hare Rama Hare Krishna. There’s Des Pardes, Hum

Dono …that is coloured now. There are many others. do you support remaking of Hindi classic films like Guide? No…don’t do it; because it’s so wonderful, it has lived in the hearts of the people so well that people will not accept anything else. In 2008, I was in Cannes and they showed Guide with French sub-titles. You should have seen the expression of Eu-ropean audience…they found it absolutely mind-blowing. I enjoyed watching Guide with them as much as I did in Delhi in 1965. What motivates you to work so hard even today? I want to take the world with me. Absolutely that’s the way I feel and that’s why I am living. And there’s no business like show business….it’s beautiful.

‘Dreams should never die’Dev Anand is 87…but he remained unput-downable. Sreya Basu in conversation with screen icon as he un-veils the first look of his new film Chargesheet in Mumbai


Indian bollywood

Chaitanya Padukone

‘Bhajan samrat’ Anup Jalota who was re-cently honored by the MPs of the UK House of Commons with the coveted Annual Globe Award is currently on an ‘angrezi mission’ trip. For the first time in his illustrious sing-song ( bhajan-ghazal ) career, the jovial Jalota has some tracks up his sleeve which have an English title and even English lyrics.

Reveals Jalota,” To mark the Indian Indepen-dence Day, (Aug 15) vivacious Indi-pop singer Preety Bhalla has teamed up with me and we have just released this patriotic track which in a Utopian mood goes ‘Tomorrow the world will be known as India’.

Following this venture there is yet another ghazal album composed by the eminent Bol-lywood music director Khayyam-saab ( of ‘Umrao Jaan’ and ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ fame).

This unique album is titled ‘Message of Love’ and has a variety of romantic as well as human bonding sentiments woven into the lilting songs,” he shrugs with a smile. The affable Anup jestfully feels its almost like a Ri-pley’s “Believe-it-or Not’ entry that the other-wise hard-to-please British Parliament members apparently went bonkers over him.”

Its rather baffling that I was honoured with the prestigious British Parliament’s Annual Globe Award for my outstanding contribution to the global music industry. The coveted ac-colade was presented to me by Speaker John Bercow at a special function in the House of Commons. Post the felicitation, they made this special farmaaish that I should sing ‘live’ on the occasion,” he reveals. But wasn’t it too cryptic for the British MPs to figure out what Jalota was belting away ? Nodding his head he purses

his lips,” Well, maybe they connected with the spiritual raagas, the aalaps, the sargams, the rhythmic metre etc of each of the song.

They would respond with thundering aplause,” insists Jalota who unplugged his vocal ‘showmanship’ on the London-based foreigners. What came next is something that emotionally overwhelmed Anup Recalls the singer,” “After the concert, the House speaker Mr Bercow an-nounced on the stage that “ 45 minutes of Mr. Jalota’s concert was just not enough and we wish to have him perform next time around for at least two hours”.

Recently, the exuberant singer was also hon-oured in Chennai city (India) by the Shanka-racharya Mission (along with noted Kathak ex-ponent Birju Maharaj ). Asked to comment on his latest penchant for the angrezi bhaasha, the Jalota reacts. “ Its just a coincidence I guess.

But we also feel that the English element will have a much wider ‘global’ connect with NRIs, Asians and even foreigners who love lis-tening to Indi-pop. Besides, the I-Day special single track is our humble patriotic salute to our revered motherland India. Jai Hind !” he signs off.

Anup Jalota on an ‘angrezi’ music mission !

Mumbai: Actress Divya Dutta is not only a good actress, but a good writer as well. This came out during the time of shoot-ing of the film ‘Life Express’. It was the last shot of the film and Divya was supposed to convey very emotional dialogues. But she had a feeling that something was missing in the dialogues given to her. She had a word with the director Anup Das regarding this matter. Das said: “If this is so then you can inscribe your own dialogues”. Obviously, Divya was on Cloud 9 to have been able to show her writer side.

Divya shows her writer side

*CONDITIONS: All offers: Please read this information carefully because additional charges may apply. Fares quoted are per person for return travel ex Auckland and include taxes, fees and fuel surcharges, correct as at 11 Aug 10. Sales and ticketing must be completed by 10 Sep 10. Prices may change slightly due to fl uctuation in exchange rates & taxes. Seats are limited and may not be available on every day/fl ight throughout the travel period. Scheduling is subject to change. Cancellation fees will apply. Stopovers are permitted in Kuala Lumpur in each direction at passenger’s own expense and will incur additional taxes. Departure tax increases if travel from UK is after 01 Nov 10. Other conditions and local taxes may also apply. Economy Class: Departures for all destinations is between 01 Sep 10 – 30 Sep 10 & 08 Feb 11 – 30 Jun 11. All travel must be completed by 31 Aug 11. Maximum stay is 3 months. Baggage Allowance for travel to the Indian Sub Continent is 30kg. Business Class: Departures for all destinations is between 01 Sep 10 – 30 Jun 11. All travel must be completed by 31 Aug 11. Minimum stay is 3 days and maximum stay is 6 months. ^The advertised price requires a daytime/overnight stopover as specifi ed in Kuala Lumpur, on the way and/or return depending on connecting fl ights. Stopover must be booked through our call centre on 0800 777 747 with fl ight booking at same time. Accommodation at a select hotel nominated by Malaysia Airlines, airport/hotel transfers and related local taxes are included in the price. Meals and all other ancillary costs are the passenger’s own expense. †Auckland – London fare available on MH4 service only. MAS0398_20x7IW

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Indian bollywood

Nevada, USA: Catholic media has been largely critical of Oscar winner Julia Rob-erts starrer “Eat Pray Love” movie and in the process appeared to belittle Hinduism concepts and symbols.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) said last week: “We were all looking for the truth. Instead of conde-scending dismissal and highlighting flaws of others, we should learn from each other through dialogue in our shared quest for truth, and thus come nearer to the truth.”

“America” Magazine from New York, which calls itself “The National Catholic Weekly”, wrote about “Eat Pray Love” movie: “It is potentially dangerous. It will exploit the common desire among women for the diligent joy which Gilbert so beautifully names with products that falsely promise such contentment”.

Catholic News Service headquartered in Washington DC, apparently talking about the Rome portion of the movie, said: “Though she seemingly hits every restaurant in town, she gives the churches a pass, the implication being that she knows better than to look to Catholicism for insight”.

Its description of the India ashram, which Liz Gilbert (played by Julia Roberts) visits, includes, “The unhealthy atmosphere of semi-idolatrous worship…”. It blames

Emmy nominated director Ryan Murphy’s movie for “…negating, or at least ignoring, the spiritual resources of Christianity…” It gives the movie a classification of “L”, which includes “films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling”.

“National Catholic Register” from North Haven (Connecticut) argues: “Her strange incuriosity regarding Italy’s spiritual heri-tage is all the odder in light of her spiritual aspirations during her time in India”. It adds: “Even Eastern religion is all very well up to a point...”

Office for Film and Broadcasting of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in New York, which reviews current movies, has not reviewed it yet.Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that more broader and inclusive understanding of the religion was needed in the world today. “Despite our seriously different traditions, we should learn to live together in mutual trust and peace,” Zed added.

Roberts, who grew up with a Catholic mother and Baptist father, announced sometime back that she was a practicing Hindu.

Shot is USA, Italy, India, and Indonesia, and released in USA and Canada on Au-gust 13, “Eat Pray Love” will reportedly be released in India on August 27.

Does Julia’s ‘Eat Pray Love’ belittle Hinduism?

Mumbai: Actor-turned-director Amol Palekar’s latest English film ‘And Once Again’ stars Antara Mali, Rituparna Sengupta and Rajat Kapoor in lead roles.

The Rotating prayer bells, the fluttering holy flags encircling the majestic monasteries, the overwhelming peace filled in the valleys, the rhythmic chanting piercing the silence of the snow peaks…. All was being devoured by Manuvela (Rituparna) and Rishi (Rajat)during their stay in Sikkim, India.

Manuvela is an architect who is on her official visit. On her insistence, her husband, Rishikesh Nag joins her.

The serenity of the gorgeous hills keeps both of them oblivious to the events dictated by their future!

Rishi is trying to cope with the reality since he had lost his wife and son in a violent attack when he was posted in Yugoslavia. While he was un-dergoing therapy in order to overcome his trauma, Rishi met Manuvela – his psychiatrist’s daughter!

She fell in love with him. Their marriage helped him to get back to life.

While returning from a monastery in Sikkim, Rishi sees a female monk who resembled his first wife Savitri (Antara). He gets restless with his doubt: he tries to identify her – unfortunately, his suspicion gets confirmed. Subsequently he con-fides in Manu about this accidental revelation: she also gets shaken.

The film unfolds their complex situation while tracing the roots of this incredible coincidence.

Had Savitri not died? How did she end up being a monk in Sikkim? Does Savitri recognize Rishi? How does Manu react? What is end of this awkard dilemma?

While dealing with intricacies of man-woman relationship, the film subtly talks about reper-cussions of violence on human life: its linger-ing shadow on all of us with its startling shades! Somehow we manage to draw a line between our past and present…..

AND ONCE AGAIN we face life!

First Look: And Once Again

Mumbai: Veteran lyricist and poet Gulzar cel-ebrates his 75th birthday on Wednesday as wishes pour from fans and well wishers across the world.

Among them were melody queen Asha Bhosle and actor Shammi Kapoor, who wished him through micro-blogging site Twitter.

“Gulzar mere bhai janamdin ki badhai. Love” (Gulzar my bother, a very happy birth-day! Love), tweeted Kapoor.

The lyricist, who shared an Oscar with com-poser A R Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire’s ‘Jai Ho’, is often described as one of the last standing legends of Indian cinema, and a writer who brought great respectability to the craft of lyric writing in Hindi music.

Honoured with a bounty of awards including the Sahitya Akademi Award, a heap of Film-fare and National Awards, and even the Padma Bhushan, Gulzar has garnered worldwide praise for his works.

Gulzar, having directed quite a few critically acclaimed movies as well, is characterised by his trademark style of including flashbacks into his films and his portrayal of human relations.

Once married to Bengali actress Raakhee and father of director Meghna Gulzar, Gulzar’s work is believed to show a strong influence of Bengali literature despite him being an Urdu writer.

It is said that as a teenager, he always wanted to be a part of the film industry, but he had to work as garage mechanic. His break came when he got to work as an assistant director to revered directors Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee.

Over the years, he is credited with having penned some of the best songs by music direc-tors for Bollywood movies through the ages right from R D Burman (Parichay, Kushboo) to today with A R Rahman (Dil Se, Guru) and his pen continues to mesmerise audiences.

Gulzar turns 75

New York: Bollywood’s ‘baadshah’ Shah Rukh Khan is all set to have his wax statue unveiled at the Madame Tussauds New York wax museum here on Thursday.

The producers of Khan’s last movie, My Name Is Khan, have timed the DVD release of the film ahead of India’s Independence Day, and the statue will reportedly be unveiled on the same day (Thursday).

At the New York branch of the wax museum, King Khan joins the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Marilyn Monroe and Barack Obama.

To celebrate the release of the DVD and that of Khan’s black-suited statue, which is likely to be exhibited in front of a replica of the Taj Mahal, a dance performance by Indian dancers has been scheduled.

The 45-year-old actor’s statue was unveiled in January, earlier this year, at the Los Angeles branch of the museum.

SRK joins New York Tussauds

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Indian bollywood

BUSINESS LEADERS’ INDIA FORUMEXPLORING THE OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES OF DOING BUSINESS WITH INDIA

Supported byStrategic Partner

The Business Leaders’ India Forum was a joint effort of the Office of Ethnic Affairs (OEA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

There was also the support of India New Zealand Business Council and the Asia New Zealand Foundation and ANZ Bank as a strategic partner.

The forum brought a range of business operators all with a common interest in building and enhancing the business relationship between New Zealand and India.

It provided an opportunity for participants to meet each other, share ideas and further develop an appreciation for the

business relationship and the cultural context of that relationship between the two countries.

Wenceslaus Anthony, Chairperson of the India New Zealand Business Council said “It was a very historical event; the first of its kind. With the participation and support of the High Commissioner of India, the CEO of ANZ Bank India and the Minister for Ethnic Affairs, it just showed the commitment being made to the business relationship between India and New Zealand.

The ambassadors for New Zealand are the business people of Indian origin and the New Zealand businesses that are paving the way forward for trade between the two

countries. The India New Zealand Business Council wholeheartedly supports this initiative.”

With India and New Zealand currently negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) the business relationship will come into sharper focus. The Government is determined to ensure that we are in the best possible situation to tap into the opportunities that the FTA will provide.

The Office of Ethnic Affairs will continue to work collaboratively with relevant government agencies and business groups to progress the initiatives from the feedback from attendees of the forum.

Mumbai: Bollywood has been an old companion of Indian patriotism. It began with pro-British films like Gyan Mukherjee’s Kismet (1943) and are now delivering films like Rang De Basanti (2006). The transformation of patriotic films has been quite incredible in both form and content.

Manoj Kumar is the man whose face flashes in front of our eyes whenever we think of Patriotic Films. His films, Upkar, Purab Aur Paschim, Hindustan Ki Kasam and Kranti had been the yardsticks of pa-triotism in Bollywood during the era of 1960-1980.

In one of his interviews, Manoj Kumar has been quoted saying, “My countrymen are so gracious, they liked my work, my character in Upkaar and I was made Bharat Kumar from Manoj.”

The melodramatic representation had won several Indian hearts. For several years patrio-tism had been Bollywood’s hit formula to conquer the box office. But 1990 onwards, the spirit of the patriotism in Bollywood received a change.

With Mehul Kumar’s Tiranga (1992) and J.P.Dutta’s Border (1997), Indian audience re-ceived their share of some brave patriotic con-coction. The undaunted police officers played by Rajkumar and Nana Patekar in Tiranga and the admirable Jawaans in Border, had redefined the patriotism in a brand new avatar.

J.P. Dutta has been consistent in delivering films like LoC and Kargil. When asked about Border J.P.Dutta says, “It’s a tribute to boys like my brother, who have fought this battle”. So, pa-

triotism no longer meant 15th August for Bol-lywood. It had moved beyond that.

The mil-lennium had more sur-

prises for the film goers of India. Love for the country no longer meant a teary eye after a

pa-triotic overdose.

Ashutosh Gwarikaer’s Swades (2004) breathed a new lease of life in the catalogue of patriotic films. Mohan Bhargav, played by Shah Rukh Khan, became the spokes-person for the youth today. The clichéd concept of “mera bharat mahan” was questioned by

the character Mohan Bhargav. Swades was a warning bell that told a harsh

truth- it is time to wake up from patriotic illu-sions!

Swades was the ripple in the water; the wave was about to follow. Rang De Basanti (2006) was

the wave that surpassed every concept of patriotism,

and became a cult! It made the Gen Y cry for their country. It shook the base of our indiffer-ence. It ham-mered in our years- “koi bhi desh perfect nahi hota use perfect banana padta hai”.

It showed with blood and reason that the youth should shoulder the responsibility

to kill corruption. Direc-tor Rakeysh Mehra says Rang De Basanti had to happen because, “this was the era when escapism had seeped into cinema or real life”. Thus patrio-tism had been implemented to break the shackles of bias and escapism.

“Indian Patriotic films have truly come a long way. It has now become a part of the psyche. The films challenge us, question us and make us rethink whether we have really done our bit?” says Sayantanee Dutta a young techie.

Bollywood has truly metamorphosed into a brave new world with its ever changing concepts of patriotism.

How Bollywood changed the Patriotic QuotientA piece on patriotism in Bollywood down the decades on the occasion of India’s independence day.


Indian bollywood

Kolkata: Bollywood’s latest pretty-young-thing and supposed-Katrina Kaif-lookalike, Zarine Khan, on Tuesday said, she would rather be choosy about what work she does than sign movies by the dozens.

“After a debut of that size, alongside Salman Khan, I can’t afford to make the wrong choices and go on signing films by the kilos,” said the actress, who began her tinseltown career with this year’s period film, Veer.

She was in Kolkata to promote a lineup of mobiles launched by Sky Mobiles, a Kolkata-based mobile company, that recently signed her up as their brand ambassador.

“One funny thing is, my name is actually spelt as ‘Zareen’. But throughout the produc-tion of Veer and thereafter the media spelt it as ‘Zarine’. And after Veer I decided to let it be since I’d be labeled a ‘numerlogy-ist’ if I sud-denly changed the spelling of my name,” said the actress with a wry smile.

Despite the outcome of her debut film being not exactly very encouraging, Zarine said she had been approached with a lot of movies but was taking her time on deciding on them.

The actress, who said she enjoyed reading the works of Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, said she was spending a lot of time these days reading scripts and studying the world of films.

When asked what kind of movies she was looking to work in, she said said simply, “I am looking for scripts that exploit my potential.”

“I am working on a movie right now. It goes on floors by the end of this year, but I can’t divulge anything more than that,” said the 26-year-old beauty.

When asked if this ‘movie’ was the sequel to the 2007 Salman Khan starrer Partner where she is rumoured to have replaced Katrina Kaif, she said she say ‘couldn’t comment on that’.

On Salman Khan, Zarine still sticks the in-dustry standard ‘We-are-just-friends’ answer.

And on being incessantly pitched against Katrina Kaif, she said, “I guess in the film world, comparisons will be there. Everybody is similar to somebody. We just have to read a bit less into all that.”

“I wasn’t supposed to be in the movies. I was

going to be a doctor but I ended up here. It’s all destiny I guess,” she said looking at the heavens.

I’d rather be choosy: ZarineMumbai: Indian singer Kailash Kher recently brought Bollywood to California’s Santa Monica at the fourth concert in this summer’s Twilight Dance Series.

KCRW’s Francis Andertin, MC of the night, in-troduced Kailash Kher to the crowd as one of India’s most amazing musicians.

“We’ve done a lot of concerts recently, but this one will be the most memorable because we got visas last night and went from the airport to sound check now!” Kailash Kher told the crowd after singing the first song of the night.

Although his Kailasa was the only main band of the evening, Kailash Kher did not disappoint the people.

Fans were seen dancing, clapping and singing along with Kailash the entire night.

Kailash’s third number was a Sufi song for which he also invited a beautiful girl on stage to dance.

“The songs are basically love songs with very deep meaning,” he said and dedicated the songs to all the lovers or people who believe in love.

He performed songs like ‘Chandan mein’, ‘Babbam bum lehri’, ‘Teri diwani’, ‘Kaise bataun’ etc but people went crazy when he sung his debut song ‘Allah ke bande’ and repeated this song at least four times.

‘’Sufi is also special,’’ Kailash said, adding he mixed different dialects from India and combined them for his lyrics.

The Twilight Dance Series began in 1983 with the success of 1983’s Santa Monica Pier Save the

Pier Week, a week-long festival in response to the devastating El Nino winter storms in which 450 feet of the Santa Monica Pier were demolished.

Kailash Kher takes over Santa Monica

Mumbai: Malaysia’s block buster hit anima-tion film ‘Geng-The Adventure Begins’ is all set to hit Indian Screens on August 27.

The adventurous film, set against Indian backdrop, is about a gang that embarks a journey of action and adventure set upon the warm atmosphere of the village. Geng has high quality animation and scenic back-ground graphics.

Unlike others, Geng is a 3D animation film that seeks to promote Asian Culture globally, claimed the makers.

Apart from Malaysian characters it has several Indian Characters that will strong connect with the Indian audience.

While making this 3D film ‘Geng-The Adventure Begins’ producers claimed that they always had the Indian audience in their mind, hence the storyline, characters and is being released in Hindi across India.

Geng has two bubbly Hindi songs sung by the latest singing sensation of Bollywood-Suraj Jagan of ‘3 Idiots’ fame.

This 3D Animation Movie has won many awards in South East Asia- Best Director, Best Animated Film, Best Short Film (ani-mated) at the International Film Festival for Children, Indonesia (Anugerah Pilihan Pe-nonton), 22nd Malaysian Film Festival - 2 Jury’s Choice Awards (box office, animated feature film with distinctive characters), MSC Malaysia Kre8tif! Industry Awards- Best Editor, Best Music/Score.

After smashing box office records in Malaysia, 3D animation film “Geng” will

become the first Malaysian movie to get a commercial theatrical release in India when it opens here in the last week of August.

“This movie is one of the biggest block-busters in Malaysia and this is the first ever launch of a Malaysian film in India. So, for us it is getting the Malaysian culture into India,” said Aneesh Singhal, chairman, Ken Films, the distributer of ‘Geng’ in India.

‘Geng’ is the story about Upin and Ipin, who along with their friends unfold the mystery in the scenic village of Balipur.

The film released in Malaysia last year in February.

“We started making the film in 2006 when a few university graduates came to me,” said Burhanuddin Bin Md Radzi, pro-ducer of the film.

“We did not employ any foreign experts for the film; it was all done by Malaysians. We made the film on a budget of roughly $2.5 million,” he added.

“The film has an Asian feel… When you watch the film, you’ll see many Indian char-acters like a Sikh and a Tamilian. This movie is very different from other animation films. Usually other animation films are more based on mythological characters in India. But this movie is based on promoting Asian and Indian culture,” said Burhanuddin Bin Md Radzi.

Ken Films Pvt Ltd, in association with Les’ Copaque and IndiaTales Media Pvt Ltd, will bring this blockbuster to India.

Malaysia’s 3D film to hit Indian screen

Ghaziabad: Producer Atul Pandey will start shooting his next feature film ‘Pinjra’ from Sept 20 at his hometown Ghaziabad, Noida, Delhi and Dhampur.

Pandey’s first feature film, ‘Summer 2007’ received critical acclaim and continues to tour across international film festivals, to wide appreciation. ‘Summer 2007’, based on the subject of farmer suicides was written by Bijesh Jayarajan. Bijesh now debuts as a director with ‘Pinjra’.

The film introduces 18-year-old Nikhil and also features Shernaz Patel (Black) and Vipin Sharma (Taare Zameen Par) in key roles.

Nikhil is a topper from Barry John’s Acting Academy; the academy is credited as the alma mater for stars of the like of Shah Rukh

Khan, Manoj Vajpayee and Freida Pinto.

Besides acting, Nikhil is a very passion-ate football player and has played for his college team. Nikhil’s favourite football club is Chelsea and his favorite player is Frank Lampard.

The film’s shoot is expected to last 40 days, of which 22 will be in Delhi, Noida and Gha-ziabad and the remaining 18 days are to be shot in Dhampur near Bijnor. “Unlike Summer 2007, Pinjra is am ain-stream film, a social thriller, based on real stories,” reveals Pandey.

The story revolves around an 18-year-old underprivileged youth and his single mother (Shernaz Patel). The young man, by a con-jecture of circumstances is held guilty for a crime he has not committed.

Pinjra to be shot in Ghaziabad


Indian bollywood

New Delhi: Bollywood siren Priyanka Chopra was on Tuesday appointed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as its newest National Ambassador, with the responsibility of promoting issues relating to child rights and adolescence.

Priyanka thus joins Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Sharmila Tagore in supporting UNICEF’s work for children in India and around the world.

“I am very honoured to formalize my association with UNICEF as their National Am-bassador to help bring awareness for child rights and adolescence.” said Priyanka Chopra at a ceremony in New Delhi.

“Over the past few years, I have worked very closely with the team at UNICEF to bring awareness to a number of causes related to India and I realized that there is so much more to be done. I hope that by lending my voice I can make a difference to their lives.”

“You all know Priyanka Chopra as a shining star of Indian cinema,” said UNICEF representative Karin Hulshof. “Now I tell you that she is equally passionate about her work on behalf of children and adolescents.

“We are proud of the work she has done with us so far on child rights and we are thrilled about all what we will be doing together so that no child gets left behind. Priyanka, with her unwavering commitment to child rights, will help to create a world fit for children.”

A former Miss World winner, Chopra entered the Hindi film industry in 2002. Since then she has appeared in many films and last year won a top prize at India’s most prominent film award ceremony.

Since beginning her collaboration with UNICEF in 2008, Chopra has also recorded a series of public service announcements championing girls’ education and cel-ebrating the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. She has also participated in a media panel discussion to promote child rights.

UNICEF Ambassadors are celebrities with a demonstrated commitment to improv-ing the lives of children. Highly talented in their own right, they share an ability to bring attention to children’s issues, to galvanize support from the public and leading decision-makers, and to raise urgently needed funds for UNICEF programmes.

Priyanka is UN child rights ambassador

Why do we find actor vidya balan launching a book on cars?It’s not easy for an actor to make choices constantly. I am constantly grabbling for roles that aren’t easy…not run-of-the-mill. I found inspiration in The Maruti Story. What I learnt from the book is that one has to stick to his belief, however unachievable it might seem at a certain point of time. The fact that it is truly Indian and the makers had the courage to work within the system and still build what was their vision fascinated me. Have you ever possessed a maruti?The first memory of a cool car that I have is the Maruti. We had Maruti in a succession thrice. There was a blue Maruti 800, followed by a white and then, a brown one. So, we have pretty much covered the whole gamut of colours. My sister is four years older to me. When I was in 10th standard, she learnt driving; and then she used to take me for long drives. That was an exciting bit. Because, suddenly we didn’t have to depend on dad to take us for drives any more. How has life changed for vidya balan?Somewhere I have become more complacent. My biggest dream of becoming an actor has come true…I am working with people I always wanted to work with.

You have struggled a lot to make it big in bollywood…I faced a long period of rejection. I am thankful to my friends and family, whom I could turn to for strength and support. I am someone who has prayed a lot…that’s the way I have been brought up. My initial days were the true test of my prayers…which is why, in very early in my life, I realized the true meaning of surrender. At one time I was even scared to look at the mirror because that reminded me of all the ugly words people used to say to me. What will you say if you meet those people now? Let me share an incident with you. I was going to Delhi for a special show of my first film Parineeta when I met the same producer who had made me feel like a ‘nothing’. He said he is producing a film and wants me to be a part of it. I said: “Get in touch with my secre-tary’. I guess, he got his share of slap… (Laughs) Now you have silenced the producers. but there are critics who always have some-thing or the other to say on your looks and dresses…I am thankful to my critics…they help me pull up my socks. the Indian look has become a vidya balan signature style. What went into it?You know, earlier when people used to tell me that I look ‘extremely Indian’, I didn’t take it as a compliment. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I used to think ‘Oh my God! may be’…and went on to try out all sort of things. But then, I realized it’s not working for me. I decided to be myself, irrespective of what others think. That’s when compliments started coming. You can lose or gain weight, but it’s most important to have attitude in place. I feel self-assured.

‘Critics help me pull up my socks’Vidya Balan has given Nu-Gen Bollywood a heroine who looks sexy in a saree. Sreya Basu catches up with the actress at the launch of the book-The Maruti Story

I am someone who has prayed a lot…that’s the way I have been brought up.

The widely-travelled Washington DC based vi-vacious pop-cum-ghazal singer Vatsala Mehra is currently in India on a secret mission. “My sentimental bonding with this vibrant country brings me back for a long term.

On my discreet agenda is to bring out a fusion vocal album blending sufiyana with jazz ,” shrugs the clas-sically trained singer who has a large fan club in the US. Few are aware that madame Mehra is closely at-tached to Bollywood actor Suneil Shetty’s family. That’s because she happens to be (Su-neil’s wife) Mana’s ‘maasi’ (maternal aunt). Rather baffling that she has never cashed in on the Shetty connection.

“That’s because I prefer to make it big on my own calibre and merit and not exploit personal relationships. All the same, both Suneil and Mana share a very warm rapport with me,” shrugs Vatsala who claims to be, as of now, the only solo female singer-artiste chosen to perform for the upcoming prestigious ‘Maximum India’ festival’ (MI) to be convened at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

“Its my privileged honour to be chosen to perform live vocals (including ghazals, sufi and thumri ) as part of the first-ever historical ‘MI’ from March 2nd next year. There will be

a delegation of internationally acclaimed Indian dancers, artistes and musicians performing as well. My next album may possibly be released by the US President Obama who is expected

to attend the inau-gural event,” insists Mehra. Incidentally, vivacious Vatsala who is “the first Indian female singer to have released a ghazal video ( ‘Nigaahen’) way back in the early 90’s” has over a dozen released albums to her credit . Strangely, the outspoken singer feels her ‘oomph-oozing’ looks are not an advantage whilst performing. “Some-times I feel, stunning ‘femme fatale’ looks can be a ‘curse’ of sorts. With an attrac-tive persona the lis-teners expectation is instantly doubled and you have to live up to that. What actually sustains you is your bass gaayaki, your peshkash and your

choice of songs,” counters the versatile singer who also conducts her well-established Balaji Academy for musical training in the US. “At our Academy, we have enthusiastic NRIs as well as local Asian and American students imbibing the treasure of Indian classical vocal ragas,” she signs off.

- Chaitanya Padukone

Vatsala Mehra: ‘Femme fatale looks are a disadvantage’


Indian


Indian Feature

PadmINI GauNder

The Malayalis who are from the state of Kerala are very different from the rest of the Indians in many ways, as their recent celebration of their festival, Onam, has once again shown. No other Indian celebrates Onam. The Hindu cal-endar shows the day as Vamana Jayanthi (the birthday of Vamanan, the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu) but the Malayalis do not care for Vamanan who got rid of their good king Maha-bali.

Mahabali was a descendant of Prahlada and as such an ‘Asura’ (demon) but he was a very good King. The women of Kerala still sing and dance celebrating the egalitarian society that existed under Mahabali:

Maveli nadu vaneetum kalam,Manusharellarumonnu pole,Kallavumilla, chathiyumilla,Kallatharangal mattonnumilla.

(When Mahabali ruled over the country, all the people were the same. There were no lies or treachery or any other kind of dishonest deal-ings).

According to the legend, when Mahabali’s reputation spread as a noble king, the ‘devas’ (angels) became jealous and asked Vishnu to get rid of him. Vishnu agreed to oblige the ‘devas’ but he found it difficult to do it directly as Ma-habali had done nothing wrong.

So Vishnu took the form of a little boy, Vamanan, and came to Mahabali when he was at his morning prayers. It was a custom with Mahabali that after his prayers if anyone went

and asked him for anything he would grant it. That morning there was this little boy waiting for him. When Mahabali asked the boy what he wanted he said all that he wanted was three measures of land where he could sit and medi-tate. The great King Mahabali thought it was a very small thing that the boy was asking for and he asked Vamanan to measure with his feet the land he wanted and to take it. At that Vamanan assumed his real form - he was no longer a little boy but someone so big that he touched the sky.

When he started measuring his first step covered the whole of the earth while with the second step he was able to cover the sky. There was no room for the third step. Now Mahabali realized that Vamanan was not a little boy but God Incarnate. To fulfil his promise of giving three feet of land, Mahabali knelt down and asked Vamanan to put his foot on his (Maha-bali’s) head. Vamanan put his foot on Mahabali and pushed him down to the netherworld. Before he went Mahabali asked Vamanan to grant him one wish to which Vamanan agreed. Mahabali’s wish was that every year he should be allowed to come back to his kingdom to visit his beloved subjects. So Onam is the day Mahabali is sup-posed to visit his people of Kerala.

While for the rest of the Hindu world Deep-avali is the most important festival, for the people in Kerala Deepavali is only a minor festival compared to Onam. This is not the only major difference between the Malaya-lis of Kerala and the rest of the Indian society. Another is that a significant proportion (though not all) of the Malayali community follow the matrilineal system.

The Nair community as well as the royal families of Kerala follow this system. This

means you belong to your mother’s family and inherit through the mother. This does not mean that the woman is the head of the family. The eldest uncle is the head but after him comes not his son but his sister’s son. This system has some benefits such as these communities do not have the dowry system and the associated evils as the girls remain with the mother’s family. With the spread of nuclear families the tradition of living in extended matrilineal families is coming to an end but Malayalis still follow those principles. Dowry, for example, is still not common among most Malayalis.

Kerala is unique not only among the states of India but in the whole wide world itself because in the 1950s it had the first ever elected com-munist government in the world with E.M.S. Namboodiripad, a former Congressman turned Communist as the head. One reason for this is that Kerala, a small state in area (it was the smallest state in the country when it was first established) has a dense population. It also has a high literacy rate and Kerala people are politi-cally minded.

Since they cannot find jobs in their own state, many of them move to other states to work.

It is not only the highly qualified that move. There are the ubiquitous Malayali tea shops where tea making is an art. After brewing the tea (which is served in glasses, not cups) it is poured from one glass to the other. The glass in which the tea is, is held higher than the tea maker’s head and then poured into the other glass which is held much lower, without one drop spilling! After transferring the tea a couple of times from one glass to the other it is offered to the custom-er. By then the temperature becomes just right

for drinking. In Kerala

the tea shop is not just a place to get a

drink. It is the local social club and early morning people gather

there for the day’s newspaper. There is usually a crowd around a person reading the latest news and discussing it as the Kerala people, as men-tioned earlier, are very politically conscious.

If you thought Hillary and Tensing were the first to ascend Mount Everest, you are probably wrong. When they reached the top, according to popular stories, they were deflated because there was this Malayali guy there offering them a hot glass of freshly made tea, saying ‘Chayo’!

The Malayali Christian community, which is an important community in Kerala, is also very different from the rest of the Indian Christians in that they are not recent converts like most of the others. It is believed that in the very early Christian era Saint Thomas came to Kerala and people became convinced by his teachings and embraced Christianity. Later he is supposed to have gone to Madras (the present Chennai) and there he was believed to have been killed on a mountain. The mountain is now called St. Thomas Mount.

The Kerala women traditionally do not wear the sari as the rest of the women in India do. They wear the ‘mundu’ instead which is similar to the Fijian ‘sulu’ but in two pieces, with one covering the chest. The ‘mundu’ is only white but it can have coloured borders. As they move to other parts of India the people of Kerala change some of their customs, such as their way of dressing, but their major traditions still remain.

The Malayalis of KeralaA tribute on the occasion of Onam


Indian Heritage

ram LINGam

We would like to see ‘India Through Your Eyes’. How you managed to capture its geography, diversity, rich glory of the past, the culture, traditions and values, food and anything, which fascinated your senses.

Submit your best-captured memories of India, for a chance to be part of the Asia New Zealand Foundation ‘Diwali Photo Exhibition 2010’ in Auckland & Wellington.

eligibility: • Professional and amateur works ac-cepted.• Age no criteria. If you are under 18, you need to have the consent from your par-ents or legal guardians.

terms & Conditions:

Closing date for entries - 15th September 2010

• Unless otherwise stated, the competi-tion is open to all citizens and residents of the New Zealand. • Entry limited to one per person. • Entries may be submitted by e-mail or post. Posted entries should not be larger then postcard size (6”X4”). • Posted entries should be clearly marked as ‘INDIA THROUGH MY EYES’.• All entries must be the original work of the entrant and not previously published. • Obscene or defamatory photos, or photos which invade the privacy of an

individual, will not be accepted.• 100 photographs will be shortlisted by a panel of judges for display during Diwali festivities in Auckland & Wellington.• Submission photographs will not be returned.• Entrants will be informed by 20th Sep-tember 2010 about the outcome.• If your entry makes it to the selection, you are required to send us a high-resolu-tion copy of the photograph.• In case you don’t have an electronic copy of the photograph, you need to send us 2 copies of the selected photo in size A4 (8x12”) • Photographs displayed at the exhibi-tion will be of A4 size.• By entering the competition, you agree that, we have the right to use your photo for promotions and publicity purposes before, during and after the competition.

Send you postal entries to:

INDIA THROUGH MY EYESASIA NEW ZEALAND FOUNDATION PO Box 10 144Wellington – 6143

All electronic copies should be emailed to Ravi Kambhoj at the following email address. Please write ‘India Through My Eyes’ in the subject line.

Email- [email protected]

The history of religion in India is replete with ‘miracles’ performed by saints and seers. India – ‘the land of sages’ has an incomparable heri-tage of Gurus whose mystical powers (siddhis) captivate us till today. Many, especially from the west, get utterly amazed at the sheer range of miracles that they read about in popular books and accounts of Gurus.

Spiritual books like ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’, ‘Living with the Himalayan Masters’, ‘Sai Satcharitra’, the ‘Purāna’ literature and the biog-raphies of saints like Sant Jnaneshwar, Shri Ak-kalkot Maharaj, Neem Karoli Baba, Mahāvatar Bābā, Swami Rāma, the Saivite Nāyanmar saints of South India, Shri Rāghavendra, Swami Nityānanda of Ganeshpuri, Shirdi Sāi Baba, Changdev, Satya Sāi Bābā and many others give a breathtaking record of mystical incidences, miracles witnessed and experienced by numer-ous people.

A miracle (chamatkār) using a power (siddhi) is defined as a phenomenon not fully explain-able by “known” laws of nature. Much study has been done on miracles mainly by the skep-tics. To the devout, the Guru’s miracle gives a personal mystical experience and it’s taken as a sign of the Guru’s Godliness, compassion and divinity. But the dominant view among skep-tics is that miracles are predominantly tricks of magic and illusion.

However in most cases, miracles were justi-

fied to be done only to uplift the recipients with the Guru taking no personal gain from it. Devo-tees defend and argue that the miracle Gurus have inspired massive social projects only to benefit the lay public with free hospital care, free food etc. Even if it was a trick of the hand to pluck a gold ring from air, the miracle act is said to be designed only to transform the indi-vidual and

shift their attention to a spiritual life. There is usually a specific purpose connected to a miracle and only the Guru primarily knows that. But it is intriguing why only some Gurus perform miracles, while others don’t. People with siddhis are called ‘siddhās’. Not all siddhās are said to be Gurus and not all Gurus have shown their siddhis if they had them.

Some of the common siddhis of Gurus wit-nessed include levitation, predicting the future, reading past lives, entering a state of Samādhi at will, giving mystical experiences to devo-tees, appearing to devotees in their dreams-visions and even in bodily form often giving them advice, curing the incurably sick, helping devotees in need in a miraculous way, reading the minds of others, healing disabilities like blindness etc, taming wild beasts, spontaneous emanation of perfumes, walking on water, tra-versing distances in a very short time span, ap-pearing in many places at the same time, chang-ing weather, producing food and rain in seasons

of drought, healing the sick, protecting helping barren women become pregnant, materializing objects, removing their own limbs and sticking them back to the body or doing the same with their intestines (khanda yoga) etc.

An answer to the scepticism around these powers may be provided by the science of yoga that details the siddhis - which allow yogis to transcend physical limitations and laws of nature. Many such siddhis are also mentioned in traditional religious texts like the ‘Yoga Sutras’ of Sage Patanjali. The yoga sutra says “Janma-ausadhi-mantra-tapah-samadhijah siddhayah’ meaning “yogic powers (siddhis) are inherent (from birth), due

to specific herbs, from the power of mantra, through penance or by meditations.” The ‘Vibhuti pada’ section of the yoga sutras detail quite a few siddhis and how to obtain them. They contain practices to attain powers ranging from invisibility to walking on water.This sug-gests that these supernatural powers can be ac-quired through self effort, discipline and fulfill-ing certain prerequisites.

Conversely, there are great saints like Ramana Maharishi, Nisargadatta Maharaj and many Vedanta masters who have never con-sciously performed miracles though they hap-pened around them. It is interesting to note that most Gurus strongly advise aspirants against succumbing to the lure of siddhis. However

miracles do challenge our notion of a material world and emphasise that a miracle can be a first taste of the impermanence and transitory nature of the universe.

Vedanta teachers like Swami Tejomayanan-da point out that “Yogic powers may come to a ‘man of realisation’ as a result of his spiritual practices or by the grace of the Lord. He uses them neither for fame nor for power over others. For him they are dreamlike and enjoy the same degree of reality as the rest of the world. He may even be totally unaware that he has powers. But one does observe extra ordinary things happen-ing near these great souls. They may at times display these powers in order to increase the

faith of a devotee or to give boost to as seeker in his practice or to bless the world at large. Such powers are seen in them to enhance the beauty of the crest jewel of Self-realisation.”

In conclusion, here is what an endearing 17th century miracle saint Shri Raghavendra Swami said about the role of miracles: “Always keep away from people who merely perform miracles without following the shāstras and yet call them-selves God or guru. I have performed miracles, and so have great persons like Srimadāchārya. These are based on yoga siddhi and the shāstras. There is no fraud or trickery at all. These mira-cles were performed only to show the greatness of God and the wonderful powers that one can attain with His grace.”

Why some Gurus perform miracles?Some gurus perform miracles while other Gurus show their ‘namaskars to chamatkars’? Are miracles the only proof that the Divine exists? Given our heritage of Indian Gurus and their mind-boggling powers, Ram Lingam enquires about the role of mir-acles in the realm of faith.

INDIA THROUGH MY EYES1st ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST 2010

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS


Indian Column

ravI meHta

Over the last few days, there has been talk about thinking among major political parties for making saving compulsory in New Zealand.

The views of public and commentators are fairly divided about if it should be made compulsory?

It is a fact that the saving habits among people in major developed countries are not very good. In New Zealand, these are partic-ularly worse. Actually there had been neither a need nor any incentive to save.

Knowing that we will get free healthcare, free education, unemployment benefits, sickness benefits, superannuation when we retire, then where is the need to save?

However those migrants, who have come from Indian sub continent, Fiji or other coun-tries where there are pension schemes, un-derstand the importance of little but regular savings.

In New Zealand, Government took the very right step by introducing Kiwisaver. Already there are more than 1 million Ki-wisaver members in NZ. Though a good per-centage of those will be children below the age of 18, still the numbers are quite good.

There are some commentators and members of public who are opposed to making savings compulsory. Their view is that many people are not financially literate enough to decide where the money should be invested. (Though they can always seek the advice of a financial adviser) Furthermore they point out that it should be the individual choice whether one wants to consume now or save for consumption in old age.

In my opinion, the savings should be made compulsory just because for the reason that the people are not financially literate enough to make their own choices. They do not un-derstand the fact that in the future, the re-sources would not be enough to fund present NZ Super rates. These are people who live in the present and are totally careless about the future. If an enough provision is not made for these people’s future, it will lead to social tensions in the future as financial disparities will increase.

I am in favor of not only making certain minimum savings compulsory but also en-couraging savings through suitable tax breaks for additional savings.

The Government should make a certain percentage of Kiwisaver or superannua-tion contributions apart from the minimum threshold as tax deductible. The Government should also bring back Mortgage diversion in case of Kiwisaver, but with certain changes.

Kiwisaver diversions should be allowed to be paid towards the principal amount of mortgage only but without any restrictions, whether it is member’s own contribution, employer contribution or IRD contribution.

As the people should be given freedom to choose where they want their funds to be invested, they should be even allowed to divert the kiwisaver funds towards Princi-pal of mortgage on investment properties as

well. Restrictions can be laid upon the use of funds in case of sale of a house or tapping up of equity in case a person wants a top up on mortgage. In that situation, it should be com-pulsory that the funds which were diverted from kiwisaver be put back in Kiwisaver fund.

There is a perception in the minds of some people, that the funds invested in Kiwisaver or other superannuation funds are not safe as these are invested in different asset classes like shares, bonds, etc. It is true that the per-formance of a fund will vary over period of time. However one should remember that even NZ superannuation fund is invested in a mix of different financial assets namely shares, bonds and other money market in-struments. If someone has any doubt about putting money in kiwisaver, fearing it may be lost, he should also worry about the fact that NZ Super fund may lose in value as well, en-dangering future superannuation payments. In that case, it should reinforce the fact that one should save for his/her old age.

Over the coming months, Kiwisaver and other superannuation funds may be more regulated to create more confidence in the minds of investing public. However making it compulsory and encouraging savings in other ways are definitely required.

- Ravi Mehta is an Auckland based

Financial Advisor and can be contacted on [email protected]. A disclosure state-

ment as required under Securities Act 1988 is freely available on request.

Should savings be made compulsory?

The Government should make a certain percent-

age of Kiwisaver or superannuation contributions

apart from the minimum threshold as tax deduct-

ible. The Government should also bring back

Mortgage diversion in case of Kiwisaver, but with

certain changes.

Bollywood extra

Zee airs new singing reality show

Mumbai: Zee TV is airing a new singing reality show ‘Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar – the hunt for ‘ Music ki Nayee Awaaz’. Mentored by some of the geniuses in the field of music – Daler Mehndi, Sajid Wajid and Vishal Shekhar and anchored by the ultra cool Purab Kohli, the show promises to showcase some exceptionally good talent unearthed from the length and breath of not only India but also abroad. The first episode featured the Mumbai auditions where one saw a budding Opera singer from A R Rehman’s music school mesmerize all with her western classical music. A Sufi singer from small town Jalgaon compelled the judges to jump up on their toes and join in chorus. A brilliant Ghazal singer from Jaipur made the mentors believe that Ghazal still resides in the heart of new India.


Indian

issue 36 - vol 2

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