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The family of a murdered Auckland woman feel the case of their beloved niece, daughter and aunt will draw attention to serious domes-tic violence issues in the society and in New Zealand.

Twenty-eight-year-old Ranjeeta Sharma (“Ranju” to her loved ones), was brutally killed when her husband Diwesh Sharma beat her and poured accelerant over her before setting fire while she was still alive on January 20 last year.

The couple’s four-year-old son watched as this took place on a remote road in Waikato, about 10km from Huntly.

Diwesh was in April jailed for 14-and-a-half years (non-parole) by the High Court in Hamilton for the grisly murder of his wife.

This week, Ranjeeta’s family told Indian Weekender of how they tried to get her away from the abusive husband.

“When details of her case were first re-leased, this issue (domestic violence) was completely ignored, and instead, a story was made up about a culturally motivated reason for her murder – one that was completely false and distracted from the real issue at hand, one that is a New Zealand issue,” Ranjeeta’s cousin Janice Sharan said.

“We hope that Ranju’s death will draw at-tention to the serious domestic violence issues in our country.

“We sincerely hope that any woman, or man, in a domestic violence situation will seek help immediately so that no one else has

Family raises domestic violence concerns

to suffer the tragic fate of Ranju and that no other family has to go through the pain and torment of having lost a loved one in such a brutal way,” Janice said.

Ranjeeta’s aunt, Jyoti Sharan, said the case was not of “honour killing” but of an abusive and controlling man.

Mrs Sharan said Ranjeeta often came to stay with them at their Mt Roskill home when Diwesh got abusive towards her.

“Once she stayed with us for eight months, and we tried to help by getting her away from the abusive relationship.

“But she always used to say that she ‘has taken the seven sacred steps’ (traditional wedding ritual) in marriage and that it was not easy for her to break that the bond,” Mrs Sharan, who is Ranjeeta’s mum’s sister, told the Indian Weekender.

Re-living the trauma of coping with their loss, Mrs Sharan, who is the only family member to have viewed Ranjeeta’s burned corpse, said the incident was one she would never forget. The extent of injuries suffered by Ranjeeta meant the casket could not be opened for family members to view.

“The night I found out about Ranju’s death will replay in my head for the rest of my life.

“It was about 1.30am on January 23 that my brother called from Fiji.

“I couldn’t believe him. I had to call New Zealand police for confirmation,” Mrs Sharan said.

“Even then we couldn’t believe the way it happened. The way he killed her is beyond belief.”

Mrs Sharan said she believed the couple’s relation probably would not have become abusive if Diwesh’s parents had supported Ranjeeta. She believed his parents were aware of abuse but did nothing to intervene and end it.

Instead, they were more concerned about taking the couple’s son away with them, Mrs Sharan said.

The little boy, now aged six, has permanent name suppression and is in the care of Child Youth and Family.

Mrs Sharan said the boy came into her care

shortly after Ranjeeta’s funeral. “When he came first came to us he wanted

to talk about his mummy all the time. “I worry deeply about how he will be

haunted by his father’s actions. He has lost both his parents thanks to Diwesh.”

Mrs Sharan said she housed and took care of Ranjeeta so many times when there was tension between the couple, but “Diwesh kept coming back for her”.

“My advice to other women in similar situ-ations is to get out of it, seek help, and family support is also vital.”

In a court report, Detective Inspector Chris Page said the investigation highlighted that “regardless of ethnicity, wealth, culture or poverty – domestic violence is present across all these and has far-reaching effects”.

In New Zealand, there are several organi-zations looking out for women who have suf-fered abuse at the hands of their partners – the most prominent being Women's Refuge.

“Domestic violence is a major human rights issue across the world, and one of New Zea-land’s most serious social issues,” says the Women’s Refuge website www.womensref-uge.org.nz

“Domestic violence is a pervasive, life-threatening crime that impacts on thousands of New Zealanders with serious physical, psy-chological and economic effects.

“Crime and injury statistics show how significant a problem domestic violence is in our country. It is one of the leading causes of injury and death to women, and also leads to short and long-term health problems such as mental illness, and problems with sexual and reproductive health.”

Between 33 and 39 per cent of New Zealand women experience physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime, ac-cording to a study by Janet Fanslow and Eliza-beth Robinson.

Dr Fanslow said the most worrying aspect was that intimate partner violence, even if it occurred in the past, was significantly associ-ated with present physical and mental health problems including depression, sleep prob-lems and suicide attempts.

“If you are living in fear in your relation-ship or in your family, or know someone who is, there are so many ways we can help you right now,” says the organization.

Women’s Refuge can be contacted 24 hours a day on 0800 733 843.

Ethnic women’s organization Shakti Asian Women’s Centre can also be contacted for help on 0800 742 584.

“If you are living in fear in your relationship or in your family, or know someone who is, there are so many ways we can help you right now,” says the organization

Twenty-eight-year-old Ranjeeta Sharma (“Ranju” to her loved ones), was brutally killed when her husband Diwesh Sharma beat her and poured accelerant over her before setting fire while she was still alive on January 20 last year.

New Zealand

The family of a murdered Auckland woman feel the case of their beloved niece, daughter and aunt will draw attention to serious domestic violence issues in the society and in New Zealand.

Ranjeeta Sharma’s aunt, Jyoti Sharan, with her husband Shailendra Sharan talk to the Indian Weekender.

ARVIND KUMAR

Indian Profile

DDI: 09 366 7792

Davinder Singh Rahal, well known in the community as a humble, soft-spoken man has been awarded a Queen’s Service Medal in the recent Queen’s birthday and Diamond Jubilee honours list for his services to the Indian community. GAURAV GUPTA catches up with the community stalwart.

Community stalwart humbled with honour

What was the first emotion that came to you when you heard of this honour coming to you?This is very difficult to answer, but I believe that someone must believe that I must be doing some good deed.

How do you see your success today after you have won this prestigious honour and how do you value it?I respect this honour and I accept it from my whole heart, but this is not my achievement or goal. I want to go further. This gives me mo-tivation to go ahead. So I would still like to serve the community on a wider level.

You have been working for many years in the community. What work are you most proud of?I have been helping some religious societies and voluntary work, but I believe my work with the New Zealand Helping Hand Society, has really made me proud.

You have been involved in the Sikh commu-nity; you were also the president of the Auck-land South Chapter of GOPIO, etc. But this Helping Hand Foundation is something not many people know about. Can you shed more light on it? In a retirement village, in my opinion they are well looked after. They get food on time, they've got facility for dishwashing, and they’ve got fa-

cility for many other things. They are looked after by nurses, doctors, etc. But many of them, sorry to say, but they are forgotten. Yes, they get some money, but that money is just enough to survive. So, we try and provide food to them. Last time we put a nice classic packet of cheese and one lady was so happy to receive it. She said, “Oh, I am looking to buy this from the last two years”. It’s moments like these that make it worth the effort.

How often do you do this?We do it every month. We service a large number of houses per month. Since we are in touch with the councils, they inform the people of when we are coming, so they are aware of it. This work is something I feel proud of.

You run a successful restaurant, Sangeet, you are a part of various community or-ganizations and you run the Helping Hand Society. What keeps you going, how do you find time to do everything?My wife, Jyoti, is very supportive and I really appreciate that support. She is the strength that allows me to move forward. She is like a pillar of strength for me.

Is she equally involved in all your activities?Yes, she is equally involved, but behind the scenes.

One trait that has helped you reach so far in

life, which you would like to share, or a piece of advice that you would like to give to new migrants who come here to make a better life?In my opinion, always believe in practicing what is right and what is wrong. What is the truth? People are misguided all the time and visualise what they see. But they have to see beyond that, they have to open their eyes.

Any advice for young entrepreneurs, special-ly in the Indian community, wanting to get into the main stream?Culturally we are very strong and we must hold on to that. Secondly, we're hard workers and we should hold on to that as well.

Who do you share this happiness of winning the award with? Your continuous support

and inspiration?This is a very nice question. I believe that I get the strength from my faith in God. I am totally connected with the supreme power. Without his blessing, I can not achieve what I have. I would like to thank God today.

Any other message you would like to give to our community?I found there are a few organisations who are doing good work and I appreciate that, but we need one a solid platform. We celebrate our communities festivals, which is a good thing, however we need a platform where can also discuss the future of our community and where we will stand in the next five years. We need a platform where leaders from our com-munity can come together and sort out the future of our community. What we do now, will reflect on the future generation. Now is the time to do this. It will help the Indian community to better integrate into the main stream. I would also like to tell my community to stick together.

What are you future prospects, with this new honour fueling you to do more?We wish to expand the Helping Hand Society in other cities.

Do you take donations for this society, if people are interested in helping out? I would be happier if people donated in kind rather than cash. Some sort of a product – like any food item would be better than cash. I am looking for sources. Any Indian restau-rants wanting to help with surplus are most welcome. We are a small organisation, so we can sort the problems out quickly and that is what we look to do.

You can contact Davinder Rahal JP at 021-995665 or [email protected]

Davinder Singh Rahal


Indian New Zealand

Jadu hai NASHA hai

Ben, what is Nasha all about?Nasha is a brand new band formed here in New Zealand. It comprises a group of very talented individuals (some of whom have worked ex-tensively in Bollywood) who have joined to-gether to provide a feast of Bollywood music and dance to entertain both our ‘Desi’ and ‘Videshi’ brothers and sisters . We will try and capture the music, excitement, the colours , the exuberance, the dance and the magic of Bol-lywood.

What has been your background in music?I am a trained classical pianist (Trinity College of Music, London) and have a Post Grad Degree in Jazz from the NZ School of Music. I also compose music for Advertising jingles, Film soundtracks, Corporate Films, TV shows, Audio-Visuals and have played for many musi-cals and theatre productions

What do you do in New Zealand as far as music is concerned?I perform regularly at events and functions all over NZ. Have a music production company and compose music for jingles for TV and Radio. Also work as a session musician for studio projects. Have produced Music Albums for local Kiwi singers and have released three of my own CDs in NZ. In fact am releasing a new Solo-Piano CD next week. I teach the piano at Pinehurst School - Albany, Stella Maris School - Silverdale and also at my home studio in Browns Bay, Auckland. Also conduct regular workshops on Jazz improvisation.

What’s your musical experience in India and New Zealand?Have performed with many of the leading

artistes in Bollywood including Lucky Ali, Shaan, Mehnaaz, Leslie Lewis, Louiz Banks, Shaimak Davar and have performed at venues all over the world. Some notable performanc-es were at the Cannes Film Festival, France; World Trade Centre Dubai, Microsoft- Sri Lanka, Afro-Asian Games Closing Ceremony, Hyderabad, Party for President Bill Clinton in Mumbai and many more.

Played the keyboard with the band on the popular TV show “Movers and Shakers” hosted by Shekhar Suman. I still do travel to India often for gigs and conducts jazz piano workshops every year in major cities in India. Have produced many jingles and soundtracks including ones for Elf, Essar, Marico, Mobitel, Parachute, ICICI bank, Vicks, Singapore Air-lines. The jingle I produced for StarMovies won Gold at the Pro-Max A/V Awards –Sin-gapore.

In NZ, I play the piano at leading venues

including the SkyCity Grand, Stamford Plaza. I also play with many leading Kiwi bands/ musicians . I have my own Jazz Quartet and have performed at most of the leading Jazz and Music Festivals in NZ and for functions for the Governor General, the Prime Minister and also for the All Blacks at Mt Eden.

You can visit my website www.benfernan-dez.net for further info.

Mark and Ben, how did the concept of Nasha come about?Shankar, Loy and Ehsaan (SEL) invited us to their gig when they performed here in Auck-land. I couldn’t go for the gig but met some of the band members at Sound-check before the gig. Mark went for the gig and was so surprised to see the great response that the band received from the audience. People of all ages were on their feet for the entire duration of the concert – singing along with the band. The whole

place was filled with music. Mark telephoned me and Rahul (the vocalist) the next morning to discuss the idea of setting up a Bollywood Band. We all felt it was something we wanted to do and met the following week to plan and build up a team of like-minded individuals. We had auditions for various roles in the Band and are very happy with the Set of musicians and performers now on board.

What sort of support have you received so far for it in terms of performers and participants?Excellent support all-round. Everyone is really excited about this project and we are all com-mitted to making it work. We’ve put out a Facebook page “Nasha - The Band” and we’ve got a lot of friends who have come forward in support. What is even more surprising is the enthusiasm from our kiwi friends and the support they have offered.

Various people have stepped in to help us with our project.

Natalie Fox, a professional photographer, has shot some excellent photographs of the band and Graphic Designer Sherina Mendes helped design the logo for ‘Nasha’. Sherina is also helping with the design of the website and we have also been offered support in webde-sign by Rohan De’Souza .

Positive vibes have emanated from all that we’ve met or spoken to and recommendations that we are on the right track. With good mar-keting and PR, we could cater to not only our migrant Indian brothers and sisters, but fren-zied Bollywood enthusiasts, our Fijian and South African counterparts….and even Kiwis ….with Bollywood literally going global.

Mark, your background in the industry so far

Jazz maestro Ben Fernandez and drummer Mark Menezes are specialists in their fields with numerous years’ experience in the industry in India and now in New Zealand. They are now both behind a revolutionary Auckland-based Bollywood band, “Nasha”, focused on providing entertainment par excellence in New Zealand starting August. ARVIND KUMAR talks to the musical duo.

Ben Fernandez Mark Menezes

Indian Weekender | June 15, 2012 | www.iwk.co.nz 5

Indian New Zealand

in India and New Zealand?I have been playing drums since 1980 basi-cally in the Indian Rock circuit till 1992 with a number of bands, each of them gaining immense popularity. In 1982 I met Ehsaan (SEL fame) and we played in a band together called ‘Crosswinds’. Both of us also ended up going to Music School (Musician’s Institute) in Hollywood in 1985 and spent a year there together. On returning, I ended up joining a band called Rock Machine and this became a serious venture, being the only professional band of it’s kind in the country, doing original music. The band released their own music via CBS India and Magnasound and won an MTV award in 1992 for their song Pretty Child. The song was placed 9th on the MTV TOP 100 for that year, an amazing achievement for any Indian band. The Indian weekender did an in-terview with me…link attached:

http://www.indianweekender.co.nz/Pages/ArticleDetails/35/57/Personalities/Mark-Menezes-the-man-behind-the-beat

While with Rock Machine, also worked freelance in the studios doing recordings for album projects, jingles, documentaries and film backgrounds thereby meeting and working with a lot of today’s Bollywood pro-ducers and musicians…people like Ehsaan, Loy, Leslie Lewis, Suneeta Rao, Shiamak, to name a few…

The band changed its name in 1992-93 to Indus Creed…there is a lot of information available on the internet about the band…its history, music, videos etc etc

I moved to Hong Kong in 1992 and contin-ued with music playing with a lot of interna-tional artists at the Jazz Club, started a band to play corporate events and even doing a private party of the then Governor of HK, the Hon Christopher Patten. Toured around South East Asia even sharing the stage with Internation-al stars the Pointer Sisters in Phuket and the

Three Degrees in HK. Also started a career teaching drums at international schools. Moved to Auckland in 2005.

While in Auckland continued the teaching aspect and put together another 12 piece Pop band to cater to corporate events with some success. I also do a fair amount of Musical theatre work…disciplined work in the orches-tra pit, a radical change to playing with bands or programming in the studio.

The meeting with Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy: what did it all mean to you?Ehsaan and I go back some 30 years in friend-ship as well as Loy and the Mendonca family…it’s a brotherhood, so when they visited Auck-land, Ehsaan came over for lunch and was surprised I wasn’t coming to see their show. Living overseas for 25 years…I had not really heard any of their music…so he insisted and I went. It was a turning point…as I could not believe how much Bollywood had changed in that time…it was really westernized Pop with a lot of dhol loops…very rhythmic and very catchy tunes. They had the crowd mes-merised and dancing for 3 and half hours..this was the trigger that got me to think…we can do this here in Auckland with an abundance of local talent…and I immediately approached Ben as we knew each other from back in the day in Mumbai…

A week later I informed Ehsaan about the project and he was thrilled…gave me his support for anything Nasha would need and his blessings…what more could I ask for from an old friend?

Did they provide you with the platform for Nasha?The idea was instilled from seeing their per-formance…looked like a lot of fun…which we could share and spread around NZ and around the Pacific…if a budget exists.

You also know the musicians for Sonu Nigam and KK?

Yes, we do know and are good friends with many of the musicians who work with some of Bollywoods leading performers including Sonu Nigam, KK, Kunal Ganjawala, Adnan Sami, Suneeta Rao, Kailash Kher, Lucky Ali, Niladri Kumar and many more.

Who are your vocalists for Nasha?Rahul who is a very experienced singer. Performed with many leading bands in India before moving to NZ six years ago. In India, Rahul performed with singers like Anaaida, Mehnaz,

Boman Irani, Vishal. He has sung for back-ground scores for Bollywood films and adver-tising jingles and has also performed with the band on the TV show “Archana talkies”.

Our female singer is Ashmitha Menon. She is a trained Indian Classical singer. She was a runner-up in the Miss IndiaNZ 2012 beauty pageant.

The dancing group? They are Kiwi.

How did you manage to get them on board?They are a professional dance troupe choreo-graphed by Anna Mortlock. a trained dance teacher with her own dance school on the North Shore. She brings in a wealth of expe-rience both from training and choreograph-ing local Musical theatre and dance produc-tions. Mark has worked with Anna in the past for various music productions and knew that

she and her team would be just right for this project. Anna and her troupe are very happy to be part of team “Nasha”. They are super excited and their professionalism will surely be an added bonus to this project.

What is the band’s profile on the Auckland music scene?Nasha is a unique band and we do not think that there is any other similar band here in NZ that offers the same spectacle of Music, Dance and lights that we offer.

Nasha’s inaugural show?The band has been invited to play a couple of fundraising events at the end of August and early September 2012 to a mainly kiwi based audience as even the kiwis have taken Bolly-wood into their hearts with a lot of Bollywood Dance schools sprouting around the school circuit with competitions and shows, run by kiwis! The band is hoping for a proper launch for Diwali 2012…Nasha is in talks with local promoters at the moment.

What do you see of the future?With the number of migrant Indians living outside the country, there will always be a demand for this kind of entertainment…and with Bollywood now global…there are a lot of avenues to offer this package. IF possible for the future, Nasha aims to extend an invite to some new generation Bollywood friends/singers and musicians that Mark, Ben and Rahul know on a personal level to come down to NZ and join in a spirit of camaraderie to do a festival that will be a first of its kind. Mark is on his way to Mumbai to talk to these “friends” in July 2012 to see if they would work with Nasha to make this possible in 2013. The project will look at the NZ Cultural department and Indian businesses for support if this comes through.

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Indian

It’s never easy to discuss some topics freely and frankly in a disparate group of people without having a polarising effect on the group or cre-ating an unseemly controversy. That’s precise-ly why people like to steer clear of discussing politics or religion away from all formal con-versations.

There are occasions when writers, play-wrights and f i l m m a k e r s deal with such topics and we often know what happens more often than not – protests, book burnings, bans on per-formances and censored scenes and passages from films. Death threats are not uncom-mon either.

Any attempt to deal with something as super sensitive as faith, religious belief and the idea of God itself in a controversial manner in a three-hour play could potentially quite easily go pear shaped. But Paresh Rawal’s Krishan vs Kanhaiya achieves this difficult task of dis-cussing the most controversial issues thread-bare through colourful characters with un-characteristic chutzpah and guffaw-a-minute humour.

The core idea of Krishan vs Kanhaiya is far from an original one. It has been explored a few times before – the most well known essay being the English film “The Man Who Sued God”. There is also a Marathi play on the theme. But where the writers of the Hindi version that was staged in Auckland last month score big is in contextualising the idea to the least common denominator of Bharati-ya Sanskriti.

Krishan (Rawal), an atheist antique seller who weaves the most imaginative tales around his artifacts with his glib tongue, finds himself left high and dry by the fine print of his insurance policy when a natural disaster strikes, decimating his antique shop. Invok-ing the force majeure or ‘hand of God’ clause, the insurer denies him the value of his loss in which instance Krishan decides to sue God.

Unable to produce God in a court of law, he makes religious leaders and the priests of temples the respondents. Weaving its way through dozens of hilarious situations pep-pered with the most frank and forthright discussion on socio-religious mores, which

expose most of them for their utter irrational-ity, the script progresses at a clipping pace toward an excit-ing climax.

As well as holding a mirror to the i r r a t i o n a l i t y of blind faith, the writers, through Kris-han’s spar-kling wit and crystal clear logical think-ing, expose the

unreal vice grip that religious establishments hold their believers and adherents in, with a strong dose of fear.

It is this irrational fear of the future that has built the religion into the world’s largest industry – except that it is not seen as one, which is all to the good of the wily, control-ling mandarins of religious establishments big and small.

The play’s subtext quite explicitly brings to the fore the hypocrisy that lurks beneath the thin coating of religiosity in organised re-ligion and makes it resoundingly clear that is always about the money and stark material-ism (bigger donors get into privileged queues just as they get the opportunity to inscribe their names on bricks and suchlike than their materially poorer bretheren).

It is just as well that God decides to come down to earth to meet with Krishan the atheist in person – because despite his seeming atheism, Krishan is a practical, existential humanist. In every sense a more honest and a better human being than most persons who wear their religiosity on their sleeves, making a big deal of it – to which the theatrical God alludes.

Krishan vs Kanhaiya appeals to most peo-ple’s logic. Or else there wouldn’t have been gleeful clapping and lusty applause for Kris-

A triumph for rational humanismDeV NADKARNI

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Krishan Vs

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I am a child of the 90s, so quite obviously I have nothing to do with the 80s – the era of Disco in India, the decade of the advent of the King of Disco, Bappi Lahiri; yet his popular-ity is such that regardless of what decade you belong to, you will be compelled to shake a leg or even tap your foot to the beat of his songs. And I have to confess, I did tap my foot every now and then.

Bappi Lahiri has given some hits like Disco Dancer, Jimmy Jimmy, Nache Nache, Pag ghungroo baandh meera naachi and the

most recent being Oo la la Oo la la. And I am quite sure many of you will agree that atleast one of his songs are a few people's guilty plea-sure. Consid-ering this, the prospect of attending his

concert seemed like a fun idea.It was certainly fun, but it lasted only for

a little while; I enjoyed the concert for a little while, but I guess the fun could only last for so long as I have a completely different taste in music. However, the majority of the crowd seemed to have a ball of a time with numerous people going up to the dance floor to 'boogie' to his hit numbers.

Bappi Da himself, came a little late, but seemed to throughly enjoy himself. He sang his most hit and famous number and even took requests from the crowd. He even sang a popular bengali number- sung and composed by him - which has recently been used in the hindi film Rowdy Rathore. He was dressed in gold galore and the crowd seemed to love it.

His band of musicians was a treat to listen to, giving Bappi Da perfect accompaniment. The big let down I would have to say would the female singer who accompanied Bappi Lahiri. She kicked of the concert to a disappointing start. Sadly, the singing was sub standard and she forgot the lyrics more than once.

Although Disco music isn't really my cup of tea, some of the songs did get me humming.

Bappi Da shining - in concert ShReyA BAKhShI

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Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi NATIONAL L IST MP

han’s acid observations on blatantly material-istic socio-religious mores as there were for his whacky sense of humour.

The performances were brilliant and the message delivered forceful enough to make any religiously inclined rational person sit

up and churn it through their mind. It would undoubtedly make the religious establishment squirm uncomfortably because the play does not give it a leg to stand on.

The play is an intellectual, rip-roaring, well-executed triumph for rational humanism.

New Zealand

Indian New Zealand

*The Performance of Tertiary Education Organisations report. Whitireia were rated number one for qualification completion in August 2011 by the Tertiary Education Commission.

Legendary Indian singer Pad-mashri Yesudas will be returning to perform in a one-off show in Auck-land in August.

His 2006 show in Auckland was billed as one of the finest held in New Zealand and was attending by 2000 devoted fans.

The fans were not only treated to an absolute musical feast but also had the chance to view and interact with the maestro up close, show or-ganiser Suren Surendran said.

This visit is part of a world tour celebrating this musical maestro’s 50 years in cine music, and all pro-ceeds will go charity.

Yesudas has recorded over 50,000 songs over his long career and has won scores of accolades including the coveted Padma Shri (1975), Padma Bhushan (2002) and seven National Awards for Best Playback Singer (highest by any singer in India).

He is the only singer who has been accorded the title Asthana Gayakan (official singer) of Kerala State.

Joining him on his tour is another Padmashri – is KS Chitra. She is a legendary six-time national film awards winning singer who has made her mark in the Indian (film) music playback industry.

Known as the “Nightingale of South India”, she has lent her voice to Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Hindi, Assamese and Bengali films.

Mounting a challenge to this ex-perienced two is the dynamic and young duo of Vijay Yesudas and Shweta Mohan, who are both award winning and heavily sort after artists.

The August 25 show will be held at the Victory Convention Centre, 98, Beaumont St, Auckland City, at 6pm.

Entire proceeds will go to Project HOPE which supports the orphaned children in Sri Lanka from the civil war. Project HOPE is run by the Gandhi Illam NZ Trust.

Ticket prices are: Premium VIP, $125; Standard – Front, $75; Stan-dard – Middle, $50; Standard – Rear, $40.

Tickets available from www.ye-sudasnz.co.nz Email: [email protected]

Phone: Suren 021 952 747, 09 5211417; Mervin 021 449 103. Also collect: from popular Indian outlets.

Yesudas – the legend returns

Kamshika Umasuthan had her Ar-angetram, recently at the Dorothy Winstone Theatre, Auckland. The Arangetram started with a pooja to Lord Ganesha and Nataraja with the salangai poojai. She commenced with “Pushpanjali”in Hamsadvani raga and rupaka talam magesti-cally. The “Allarippu” in “Misra Chapu” talam was done pristinely to the talam. Her “Jathiswaram” in Chakravaham which followed was a treat to see demonstrating precision with the nrityam.

It was a novelty to see the “Chathur bandhi” a pure nrityam dance with only the mridhangam

by Mr Kesavan in 4 different speeds was excellent and a treat to the au-dience. Her Brindavani saranga “Thillana” set to a lively tempo kept us enthralled to the end and she con-cluded very respectfully and beauti-fully with the Mangalam.

Overall it was a brilliant per-formance by Kamshika as a young dancer with a very promising future and the efforts by her parents, her extended family and teacher should be applauded and congratulated. Anuradha Ramkumar’s wonderful work of perfection in abhinaya as a teacher should be applauded and congratulated. The Miruthangist

Mr Kesavan, should be applauded too to have kept perfect synchrony to Kamshika’s footwork the whole evening. The vocalist Mr Srikanth Gopalakrishnan, the violinist Dr Ashok Mallur and Veena palyer Master Saketh, and the whole or-chestra filled the auditorium with vibrant music and accompaniments were a wonderful experience for all of us who attended and watched until the end.

All these compositions are prayers to God and the Gods will bless Kamshika for many years of wonderful dancing.dancing.

Kamshika’s Arangetram a successDR. yohINI RAtNASABAPAthy


Indian New Zealand

The Hindu Council of New Zealand is organising the first gathering (hui) of Maori Indians at the Tangatarua Marae, Waiariki Institute of Technol-ogy campus, Rotorua from Friday, 5 October to Sunday, 7 October.

It is appropriate that this unique hui takes place at Tangatarua marae. Tangatarua translates to "two peoples" and strongly symbolises the bicultural nature of the people who will participate in this first hui of Maori Indians.

“The Hindu Council has been working with Maori community in New Zealand for more than 15 years. The respect and relations we have built with Maori Elders over the years have brought us close to the Maori culture and community,” said Dr Guna Magesan, general secretary of Hindu Council of New Zealand.

“We have come across a number of Maori community members who have Bharatiya (Indian) lineage and who are interested in knowing more

about their Indian side. Most of the Maori Indians (Indo-Maori people) have been brought up culturally by the Maori side.

"We would like Indo-Maori people to feel proud of their heritage – both Indian and Maori.”

Dr Magesan said the Hindu Council of New Zealand had always promoted inter-cultural exchanges in arts, culture and heritage.

"We plan to provide a platform to these people who could help develop our inter-cultural understanding to a still higher level."

This gathering is one more step forward in Hindu-Maori whakawhanaungatanga (relations).

“Maori Indians have a big role to play in Hindu Maori relations and also India-New Zealand relations,” Dr Magesan said.

The official programme starts at 4pm on Friday, with a powhiri. The two-day gathering will provide the participants to learn more

about Hindu culture. There will be workshops on vegetarian cooking, Rangoli (traditional Hindu decora-tive art), “Mehndi-Moko” (tempo-rary tattoo) where both Maori and Hindu designs will be taught, yoga, and ladies will have an opportunity to learn saree tying.

During the deliberations, par-ticipants will share their stories and

experiences. Sessions dealing with the issues specific to Maori Indians for example, identity crisis and ac-ceptance that may exist in certain in-dividuals, will be of special interest.

“This is a challenging task we have taken but we believe it will have a positive outcome for all the partici-pants,” Dr Magesan said.

“Hindu Council has been organ-ising regular Marae stay for Hindu community to learn, understand and experience Maori culture and customs.

Over the years, it has become a popular programme. Now, we are keen to bring the Maori Indian com-munity together, stay in the Marae together, and have a vegetarian kai (food) together and know each other better.”

This gathering will be a smoke-free, alcohol-free and meat-free event in accordance with Hindu cul-tural practice.

“We encourage all Indo-Maori people to write an essay about their family which we are happy to publish as part of conference proceedings/ souvenir, and possible further media publication. We are planning a spot

prize for the best essay,” Dr Magesan said.

Those who are interested in at-tending this first gathering of Maori Indians need to register their names with [email protected]. Please note that there will be a minimal reg-istration fee (koha) of $20 to cover food, accommodation, and knowl-edge sharing.

The Hindu Council of New Zealand believes in the spirit of community well-being on the prin-ciple of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam” (World is one family).Hui details:Event: First gathering of Maori IndiansLocation: Tangatarua Marae, Waiariki Institute of Technology campus, RotoruaDate: Friday, 5 October to Sunday, 7 October 2012Contact to register interest: Dr Guna Magesan (021 034 5621) or email [email protected]

Rotorua to host the first gathering of Maori Indians

A statue of Mahatma Gandhi greets you as you come out of the Wel-lington Railway station in Aotearoa New Zealand. Mahatma means great soul.

Mahatma Gandhi is famous the world over for leading the Hindu resistance of Bharat (India) through Ahimsa and Satyagraha (non-violent demand for justice from oppression and exploitation).

However, use of the principles of Ahimsa and Satyagraha against the same coloniser in Aotearoa by the Maori community predates Gandhi by almost half a century.

This strong parallel between the thinking of Maori and Hindu Ma-hatmas started off the fourth New Zealand Hindu Conference held in Auckland last month. The confer-ence was organised by the Hindu Council of New Zealand (HCNZ).

Judith Collins, Minister of Ethnic Affairs, and David Shearer, Leader of Opposition, along with parlia-mentarians Dr Rajen Prasad, Kan-waljeet Bakshi, Su’a William Sio and Melissa Lee were present at the conference.

Earlier, the same talk had been

presented at the fourth International Conference of Elders of Ancient Cultures held in Haridwar, India, when the first Maori del-egation to India partici-pated in a big number.

The presentation “Maori Leader Te Whiti o Rongomai: Dharmic principle of ahimsa (non-violence) in the re-sistance of 1870s Aote-aroa New Zealand” was jointly made by Dr. Rajiv Chaturvedi of the HCNZ and Dr. Ihakara Porutu Puketapu, himself a keeper of the legacy of Te Whiti through disciplic succession that Hindu culture recognises as Gu-ru-Shishya parampara.

Post 1850's, colonisers in Aotearoa were employ-ing various subterfuges to confiscate land from the indigenous Maori, just like they were doing in other parts of the world including Bharat. Their methods included, as usual, inflict-ing war and violence on the indig-enous holders of land. Parihaka, at

that time the largest Maori village, took the lead in a major campaign of non-violent resistance against the

European colonisers. Te Whiti-o-Rongomai (c. 1830-

1907), the Maori leader who founded Parihaka in the Taranaki region of Aotearoa, inspired Maori people to resist the Europeans for their rights to land without using violence even

in the face of violent provocation. In 1881 he led 2000 Maori to oppose trigger happy colonising soldiers

by courting arrest as the means of opposing the violent army of the coloniser.

Te Whiti's words in March 1880 in the face of British guns expresses the courage of strong conviction of age old Maori culture and an exceptionally strong human spirit. "Let not the Pakehas think to succeed by reason of their guns ... I want not war, but they do. The flashes of their guns have singed our eyelashes, and yet they say they do not want war ... The gov-

ernment come not hither to reason, but go to out-of-the-way places. They work secretly, but I speak in public so that all may hear". The par-allel with similar thinking of Hindu Dharma and other ancient cultures is unmistakable.

Hindu Council of New Zealand has proposed a lasting tribute to the Mahatma of Parihaka, Te Whiti O Rongomai, through his presence in an equally prominent place in Wel-lington as is Mahatma Gandhi. Is it not a fitting tribute to this important chapter of the history or Aotearoa and the world?

Dr. Ihakara Puketapu, ex Sec-retary of Maori Affairs, says: “It is important to add to the legacy of our ancestors for our future gen-erations”. Should not the nurturing spirit of Te Whiti be acknowledged with his statue present next to Mahatma, and this fascinating story of the eternal Dharmic soul whose legacy constructed the modern New Zealand be known more widely?

The conference deliberated on a very wide range of topics. The opening session saw discussions on Hindu-Maori relations, with HCNZ proposing wider recognition of the Maori resistance leader Te Whiti O Rongomai, who introduced non-vio-lent civil disobedience against colo-nial rule about half a century before Mahatma Gandhi did it in Bharat (India).

Hindus propose statue of Te Whiti near Beehive

Heralded by the rising of the Ma-tariki Star Cluster, the much-loved Matariki Festival returns to enter-tain and delight Aucklanders from 21 June to 24 July.

Build and fly a traditional Māori kite, learn to cook an authentic feast or enjoy a fusion of modern culture and kapa haka – the Matariki Fes-tival 2012 promises to be a spec-tacular showcase of Kiwi culture and creativity for all of Auckland to enjoy.

Building on the success of 2011, Auckland Council and Matariki Fes-tival sponsors are proud to present an even wider range of events and activities.

Aucklanders can also look forward to bigger and better festival favourites such as the Manu Aute Kite Day supported by NZ Post and the 2degrees Kapa Haka Super 12s competition.

Mayor Len Brown says it’s great to see Aucklanders connecting with and enjoying a cornerstone of Kiwi culture.

“The Matariki festival is a special time of year for Kiwis. It’s fantastic to see a vibrant Auckland welcome visitors and locals alike to enjoy our unique cultural heritage.”

The Mayor officially launches the 2012 Matariki Festival at a Dawn Karakia on Maungakiekie

(One Tree Hill) on 21 June. The Auckland Council encour-

ages everyone to get out and expe-rience the living cultural tradition with tangata whenua and join in the Matariki celebrations at this special time of year.

Key events in the 2012 Ma-tariki Festival include: DAWN KARAKIA – The cornerstone of the 2012 Matariki Festival, the Dawn Karakia acknowledges the first day of Matariki and officially opens the month of celebrations.

Aucklanders are encouraged to gather atop Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) to welcome the first sight-ing of the Matariki Star Cluster with a powerful Karakia followed by a free breakfast.

* When: Thursday 21 June, 7am* Where: Stardome Observa-

tory, Cornwall Park, Manukau Road entrance opened only (allow 30

minutes to walk up the summit) * Cost: Free 2DEGREES KAPA HAKA

SUPER 12s - Returning after a very successful opening year, the 2degrees Kapa Haka Super 12s Competition reignites the search for Aotearoa’s best young kapa haka team. Each group, limited to 12 performers and just 12 minutes, bal-ances traditional waiata (song), poi and haka with modern flair to wow the judges and impress the audience. The show promises to be an electri-fying display of creativity and talent and is a festival must-see.

* When: Saturday 14 July, 10am-5pm. Where: The Cloud, Queens Wharf, Auckland Centralo Cost: Free

MANU AUTE KITE DAY SUP-PORTED BY NEW ZEALAND POST – One of the most popular events on the Matariki calendar, the

annual Orakei Marae kite day is a focal point for the festival. Flying kites is a traditional Māori custom to welcome in the New Year and a great chance for family and friends to come together and enjoy one of Auckland’s most beautiful locations.

The Manu Aute Kite Day sup-ported by NZ Post is undoubtedly a great day out for the whole family.

When: Saturday 21 July, 10am-5pm (rain day Sunday 22 July); Where: Kitemoana St, Orākei Marae. Cost: Free The month-long festival is proudly presented by Auckland Council in partnership with its family of sponsors and sup-porters like NZ Post and 2degrees.

More information, including details of all of the events, activities and competitions incorporated into the festival, is available on www.matarikifestival.org.nz.

Matariki Festival 2012 takes off

We would like Indo-Maori people to

feel proud of their heritage – both Indian

and Maori.


Indian New Zealand

ANZ12573 03/12ANZ National Bank Limited.

We’re proud to support the Indian communityWhether you’ve just arrived in New Zealand or have been here for many years, we can help with all your banking needs. You’ll find Indian staff in our branches and contact centres, and we also have Indian Business Managers and an International Banking Services team to assist you.

Call us today on 0800 744 485 or email us at [email protected]

anz.co.nz

Congratulations on graduat-ing from NZTC, gaining your teachers registration and now your PR. How did you find the process?Thanks. The whole process was really easy; after graduating I applied for provisional teacher registration. After getting teacher registration I applied for my PR. Luckily my family and I got resi-dency in less than four months.

What made you decide to pursue early childhood teaching?I came to New Zealand in 2008 for my Masters in International Busi-ness. I was a nursery teacher in India, so I joined the Kidicorp re-liever pool to support my studies. After completing my degree, I con-tacted NZTC’s international office where Mr Sanil Haria assisted me to enrol in the Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood Educa-tion).

Why did you choose to study your qualification at New Zealand Tertiary College over other institutions? There were two reasons, first, it was value for money, and secondly, NZTC provided an online study

option. How has your theoretical knowledge influenced your practice?No doubt “practice makes perfect”, but working with children needs theoretical as well as practical knowledge. India’s teaching style

and New Zealand’s teaching style is totally different. I can feel the differ-ence in my teaching style after gaining my qualification.

What do you love most about early childhood teach-ing?I enjoy working alongside families and their children to help them reach

their full potential, and inspire them to achieve. I have a genuine passion for teaching and strive to deliver my best every day. As an ECE teacher I want to provide a safe, healthy, fun, and inviting environment in which every child in my care is able to make new ac-

complishments. I want each child to be able to experience new things through play, build healthy relation-ships, and feel proud of who they are.

What professional goals have you set for yourself? I am working as team leader at present, but my goal is to be centre manager in the same centre soon. I did a lot of hard work to achieve this goal. My studies as well as my passion towards working with chil-dren made this goal easier for me.

How did you find your overall experience as a student of NZTC?Great! Block courses gave me op-portunity of meeting people and making friends from all over the world. I also experienced the friendliness of the administrative

staff and the professionalism of the teachers.

What advice would you give to a prospective NZTC student?

I always recommend NZTC to lots of people who want to pursue their career in ECE. I believe if you are in full time job or international student, NZTC is the best option. One of the misconceptions about online learning is that it is a lonely pursuit – but I have found the oppo-site to be true with NZTC as I was able to create positive relationships with lecturers and other students.

*Great opportunity for your family members, relatives or friends in India wishing to study with NZTC:

NZTC’s Chief Executive Selena Fox will be at NZTC’s Mumbai office in India from the 2nd to the 5th July, 2012 to assist with any enrolment queries. To make an appointment to speak with her, please call +91 22 67487070 or email [email protected].

For general information on studying at NZTC, please contact us on (09) 520 4000 or email [email protected]

Online learning is not a lonely pursuit - Ramika ThakurGraduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood Education) graduate Ramika Thakur shares her experiences as an international student of NZTC.

Ramika Thakur


Indian New Zealand

Settlement support New Zealand (SSNZ) will be conducting a seminar – Free information and advisory service for new comers to New Zealand. This will be a free information seminar and it will provide help for new settlers as set-tling in a new country can be a dif-ficult process.

The seminar will provide infor-mation on how the New Zealand

schooling system (Early childhood, Primary, Intermediate and Second-ary) works. Involvement as a parent, school fees and donations and what schools teach and how they are run. Experts from the Ministry of Educa-tion will be available to answer any questions.

The seminar will be held at Level 1, Norman King Building (Opposite Northcote Library), Norman King

Square, Ernie Mays Street, North-cote.

To register, please phone – (09) 4868635 or email – [email protected]

You can also visit – www.rae-burnhouse.org.nz for a list of infor-mation seminars / workshops avail-able.

Schooling in New Zealand seminar

In response to a large scale out-break of whooping cough (Pertus-sis), Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) is urging the public to think and act to protect their families.

From January 1, to May 31, 2012, there have been 322 cases of whoop-ing cough reported in Auckland. This is five times higher than for the same time last year.

Dr Andrew Lindsay, Medical Officer of Health said “notifications of whooping cough have increased rapidly with a third of this year’s cases in May alone, which shows the scale of the outbreak in our region”.

“Whooping cough is very conta-gious and can have severe impacts on babies and infants, it is very important to look at how you can

protect your family, friends and the people you work with.”

Children under one-year-old, who are the most at risk of severe illness, have accounted for seven percent of cases and 62 per cent of hospitalisations nationally.

On time vaccination is the best way to protect babies and infants. The free vaccination programme in children starts at six weeks then followed at three months and then at five months of age.

Babies will not be protected until they have received all three doses. If you are not sure if your child’s vac-cinations are up to date – ask your doctor.

Older children and adults can be a source of infection too. Older children should have further vacci-

nations at age four and 11, and adults living with (or expecting) a new baby should also strongly consider getting the booster.

The vaccinations at age four and 11 are free on the national immuni-sation schedule. Adults will normal-ly need to pay for their boosters.

“If you have a cough - stay away from babies and infants. If your work brings you into contact with babies, infants or pregnant women then we strongly recommend getting a booster if you have not had one in the last 10 years,” Dr Lindsay said.

Nationally, there have been more than 3400 cases reported since August 2011 when the current out-break began. More information is available at www.arphs.govt.nz

Public urged to protect their families from whooping cough

Mr Wenceslaus Anthony joins Board of Bank of Baroda (NZ. Ltd) as an In-dependent Di-rector in place of Ms Vijaya Va i d y a n a t h , who has shifted to Australia and has been appointed there as Chief Ex-ecutive Officer of the City of Yara in Inner Melbourne .

A s s u m -ing the office Mr Anthony said, “My late father was banker and he was keen that I should be involved with the banking industry since he believed that every bank should function as the financial heart of the com-munity, helping to make every in-dividual progressive and prosper-ous. I believe that his wishes have come true with my appointment as a Director of the Bank of Baroda (NZ) Limited. I will strive not only

to uphold his objective but work with my colleagues on the board Mr.N.C.Upreti and Dr.Rajen Prasad to offer increasingly high quality services to the people of New Zealand under the Chairmanship of Mr. M.D Mallya.”

While demitting Ms Vijaya Vaidyanath said, “I look back with pride at the growth of an Indian Bank in New Zealand. My time with bank has been rewarding ful-filling and enlightening”.

Wenceslaus Anthony Joins Board of Bank of Baroda (NZ Ltd)

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Indian New Zealand

The Finance and Expenditure Com-mittee has reported back on the Tax-ation (Annual Rates, Returns filing, and Remedial Matters) Bill.

It recommends making amend-ments to the GST treatment of fees for the late payment of an account (late fees), meaning late fees will be subject to GST.

PwC Partner and GST expert Eugen Trombitas says, “If passed by Parliament, this would be a sig-nificant change and is effectively a new tax.”

Traditionally, late fees have not been subject to GST as they are not part of the price of a good or service – instead they are a payment for a breach of contract or compensation for damages.

Mr Trombitas says, "No goods or services are received in return for the late fee. By making late fees subject to GST the GST base is shifting away from a value added tax (on goods and services) to a cashflow tax. This will undermine New Zealand GST model's "best in class" reputation, and will be out of line with best practice overseas."

Once passed, the law will apply retrospectively from 1 April 2003. This is to prevent back claims from Inland Revenue of any previous pay-ments of GST on late fees. However, businesses which currently do not account for GST on late fees under their regular practice will be given until 1 January 2013 to make the necessary changes. The six month

window is welcomed by PwC as it will give businesses time to review and update their systems and pricing models. Decisions have to be made on whether to pass the cost on to customers.

There are some exclusions from the new tax. GST on late fees will apply if the underlying transaction is subject to 15% GST, but not other-wise. Penalty or default interest will also be excluded. Business systems will need to cope with the new rules and exclusions.

Mr Trombitas says, “While busi-nesses have time to prepare, one question remains. The Government is trying to combat falling tax rev-enues.Courtsey - PWC

Are GST changes the way forward?Businesses need to start preparing today for tomorrow on late payment fees being subject to GST

People with licence to occupy units in retirement villages will be able to apply for a rates remission in a new scheme to be offered by Auckland Council next year.

The Strategy and Finance Com-mittee today recommended to the Governing Body approve to apply the scheme for the 2012-13 rating year as a way to address impacts of the uniform rate system for Auck-land.

For Manukau and Franklin this includes charging a uniform annual general charge for each unit and for North Shore, Rodney and Papakura applying charges by capital value.

The decision means those with licenses to occupy units in retire-ment villages, which are currently ineligible for the government’s rates rebate scheme because they are not technically ratepayers, will now be

able to apply for relief. Mayor Len Brown has welcomed

the decision which he says will address the issue of inequity and one of the extreme impacts of the new rates system.

“This is a sector of the commu-nity whose incomes are flat lining or decreasing and at this stage the gov-ernment has not come to the party. I don’t agree with the government that the existing rates rebate scheme goes far enough, we can and should do more.

“It is plain and clear here that there is an inequity and we need to address it, just as we did with other sectors, such as with Franklin busi-ness.”

Criteria for the new scheme will be the same as those to the Depart-ment of Internal Affairs rates rebate scheme, which is income tested, to

ensure equality for all ratepayers. The cost of the remissions scheme is estimated at around $1.5m and while it will not impact on the overall rates increase on 3.6 per cent in 2012-13, the cost will be distributed across other ratepayers.

Officers have also been asked to report back to the Governing Body on a grant scheme for the 2013-14 year for consideration.

A grant scheme, is similar to the existing rebate scheme that would enable council to credit funds di-rectly to the successful applicants.

Auckland’s new single rates system will apply from July 1, 2012, with ratepayers receiving notices in August. The new system and scheme will be included the coun-cil’s Long-term Plan (2012-2022) which will be adopted by the Gov-erning Body on June 28.

Rates relief for retirement village residents

A hip implant with a metal liner is being recalled in New Zealand and worldwide by its overseas manufacturer. Smith and Nephew, a UK company, says its R3 hip implant metal liner is not performing as well as desired. 139 of the implants have been supplied to New Zealand.

70,889 hip implants have been carried out in New Zealand in the past 11 years - of those 6,225 have been met-al-on-metal implants.

In New Zealand, the number of met-al-on-metal implant devices recalled has been 525 for the ASR, 41 for the Mitch implant, and 139 for the Smith and Nephew. Medsafe, New Zealand medicines and medical device regula-tor, says Smith and Nephew are contact-ing surgeons to alert them of the recall, ask them to contact affected patients, and advise them of the need for greater monitoring of their patients.

Derek Fitzgerald, Medsafe Head of Compliance Management, says many

patients with these implants and other metal-on-metal implants will not be af-fected by this problem.

“The recall does not mean patients with the implant will necessarily require revision surgery however as a precau-tion patients with this implant will be followed up more frequently by their doctor. “If patients experience any dis-comfort or pain they should see their GP or surgeon as they normally would fol-lowing any surgery on a joint.

This recall is the third worldwide of a metal-on-metal implant, with the De Puy ASR recall in 2010, and the Mitch TR implant earlier this year.

The three recalls of metal-on-metal hip implants represent less than 1 per cent of the hip replacements done in this country in the past 11 years.

Medsafe will follow-up with the manufacturers to ensure specialists have been contacted and patients noti-fied.

Smith and Nephew hip implant recalled worldwide

Dr Surinder Tandon, Senior Sci-entist with AgResearch, based at Lincoln, Canterbury, has been awarded the Institute Medal of the Royal Chartered Textile Institute (TI) at the 88th TI World Conference held recently near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The TI is the global associa-tion for textile professionals, and the medal is one of the Institute’s most prestigious honours, recog-nising distinguished service to the textile industry and the Institute. It has been awarded since 1921, and Dr Tandon is only the second New Zealand recipient.

In his 23 years of research at WRONZ, Canesis and now AgResearch, he has applied his re-search skills culminating in many

commercial success stories for wool grower groups and industry which include several fit-for-purpose apparel and functional textiles.

Surinder, a member of the TI NZ Section since 1992 and a Fellow the TI, was its section chairman during 2004-07 period.

He developed collaborations with the other New Zealand textile pro-fessional groups, and fashion and design schools of several universi-ties and polytechnics to organise combined events for sharing knowl-edge within the New Zealand textile fraternity.

Outside his research interests, he is involved in community work, being a member of the Rotary Club of Lincoln and chair of the Christ-church Multicultural Council.

Top Textile Award for Kiwi Indian Scientist

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Dr Surunder Tandon, centre, at 88th TI World Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


Indian

New Delhi: Indian Cricket star, Sachin Tendulkar took oath on Monday June 04, as a member of the Rajya Sabha for which he was nomi-nated on April 26th. He became the first active sportsperson to be be-stowed with this honour. Tendulkar was accompanied by his wife Anjali and Congress party leader Rajiv Shukla.

Taking the oath at the office of the Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari, Tendulkar said that even though cricket is his first priority, he is now in a better position to help other sports and not just cricket.

"I will try my best to help other

sports. But I believe there might be a few obstacles and challenges on the way. I need help from fellow par-liamentarians, the administrators, media, and countrymen," he said.

Tendulkar also said that he would like to be remembered as someone who contributed to the country and not just the sport of Cricket.

When asked how he would manage his active Cricket career and his Rajya Sabha duties, Tendulkar replied saying. “I am a nominee. I did not go to anyone asking to be a Rajya Sabha member. It's an honour and I accept that with respect. But I am here because of my cricket. I can't take my focus away from cricket.”

Sachin refuses to stay in govt bungalow. Showing a new path

to some of our parliamentarians, Sachin Tendulkar has refused to stay in the government bungalow that was allotted to him in New Delhi.

Tendulkar said he did not not want to waste the money of tax-payers by staying in the govern-ment bungalow allotted to him since he will not be in Delhi much given his cricketing career.

The batting icon said he will like to stay in a hotel when he will visit the national capital.

"I am not keen on staying in any government bungalow when I will be in Delhi for only a few days. I feel this would be a waste of tax payers

money and it would be better if the bungalow is allotted to someone else who needs the bungalow more than me," Tendulkar told a national news channel.

"For me the honour of being nominated as a Rajya Sabha MP matters much more than the perks and privileges like being given a government bungalow," Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar was allotted the spa-cious bungalow at 5, Tughlaq Lane.

Tendulkar along with actor Rekha and industrialist-activist Anu Aga were the new members in the Rajya Sabha. All MPs, who are nominated by the President, are eli-gible for elite Type VII bungalows, which are generally given to Minis-ters of State or junior ministers.

I will try my best to help other sports – Sachin Tendulkar

Beijing : India's external affairs minister on Wednesday, 6 June, held talks with China's Vice Premier, who is tipped to be the future Premier, and conveyed that the country attaches high priority in its strategic and economic relationship with China to strengthen the bond and focus on bigger picture.

"I conveyed to Vice Premier Li that India attaches the utmost im-portance and high priority in our foreign policy formulations, our co-operative partnership with China," said External Affairs Minister S M Krishna in Beijing during his visit for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit after meeting Vice Premier Li Keqiang who is set to become the next Prime Minister of China after the leader-ship change.

"We have a strategic relationship with this country. And it is the desire of the Government of India and the people of India that we would like to forge this relationship, the bonds much stronger," Krishna said after meeting Chinese Vice Premier .

He also indicated India’s desire to be a full-fledged member of the SCO.

He said it was heartening to hear from Vice Premier Li that the mo-dalities of admitting new members are being worked out, the process is on.

Krishna said he told the Vice Premier that India is "going through for a massive expansion of our infra-structure development."

Krishna further added that India was willing to create a level-playing field and total transparency in terms of international bidding evaluation, and then ultimately decision-mak-ing.

India and China discussed their growing economic relations.

"I conveyed our desire for greater trade and investment with China. At the same time I did convey to Vice Premier Li that there has to be a

balanced growth of trade, and our concern regarding the trade deficit was given ample expression to," said Krisha.

According to Krishna, Vice Premier Li was positive in his re-sponse and said that the Chinese Government is encouraging Chinese companies to invest in India, espe-cially in infrastructure.

Li agreed that for trade to be sus-tainable it has to be balanced.

"While the Government-to-Gov-ernment interaction on the political front, on the economic front, on the cultural front is robust, both of us agreed that we need to continue our efforts. You know that 2012 is the Year of Friendship and Cooperation between our two countries," said Krishna.

India will encourage greater

tourist flows and student exchanges, said Krishna.

Krishna said he was confident that India-China relations will con-tinue their current upward trajec-tory.

"We discussed on the bigger picture, the vision that the Vice Premier has for India-China rela-tionship, and what he feels and what he believes to be the agenda for the next decade. I think it was some-thing like a peep into the future with the Vice Premier being the Head of the Government here in the policy-making process," said Krishna.

Krishna holds talk with 'future Chinese Premier'

India

"We have a strategic relationship with this country. And it is the desire of the Government of India and the people of India that we would like to forge this relationship, the bonds much stronger."

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Monday nomi-nated India-born legal luminary Srikanth Srinivasan to the Federal Court of Appeals, the highest ever judicial appointment of anIndian-American in the US and a power-ful reminder of the extraordinary strides the community has made while deeply integrating into Ameri-can society.

The nomination, which will have to be confirmed by the US Senate, puts an Indian-American in one of the most powerful positions in the American judicial system, since the US Court of Appeals sets legal prec-edent in regions that cover millions of people.

There are 13 Court of Appeals across the US with 179 judges, and

the Washington DC Appeals Court to which Srinivasan has been nomi-nated is considered particularly influential, with Obama himself calling it "the nation's second highest

court". Because the US Supreme

Court hears less than 100 of the more than 10,000 cases filed with it annu-ally, Courts of Appeals serve as the

final arbiter on most federal cases. If confirmed, the judgeship is a life-time tenure.

"Caitlin Halligan and Sri Srini-vasan are dedicated public servants

who will bring their tremendous ex-perience, intellect, and integrity to the US Court of Appeals for the Dis-trict of Columbia Circuit," Obama said. "This important court is often called the nation's second highest court, and it stands more than a quarter vacant. Mr Srinivasan will be a trailblazer and, like Ms Hal-ligan, will serve the court with dis-tinction and excellence."

The appointment electrified the Indian-American community. "We are tugging on the arc of history and bending it towards justice-...gaining political popularity, strength and so-phistication," exulted Toby Chaud-huri, a Democratic strategist who has worked with the Clinton, Gore, and Obama campaigns.

Obama nominates Indian-American for 2nd highest US court


Indian

New Delhi: The Bihar government has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the murder of Brahmeshwar Singh, the chief of right-wing upper caste landlord militia Ranvir Sena, who was shot dead on Friday. Singh was taking a morning walk on Friday when some unidentified gunmen shot him dead at Katira Mohalla under Nawada police station.

The news of his killing triggered violence in Ara, forcing administrations to impose curfew in the area after the incident on Friday.Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had assured of a probe to track down the people behind the killing.

Nitish Kumar said: "We have appealed to all to maintain peace. There would be probe to find out the guilty. The perpetrators will be punished." Supporters of Brahmeshwar re-portedly created disruptions in the state by de-stroying public properties and burning buses. They even broke windows of Patna Rajdhani Express. The banned Ranvir Sena was formed by Bhumihar Brahmin landlords. It was formed to curb the Dalits and other members of the scheduled caste community as well as the Maoists.

Ranvir Sena, which was dominant in the 1990s and were behind several massacres of the lower caste Dalits, was a spent force in recent years, but the killing could invite a re-prisal and revive the old class enmity in Bihar.

From Bhojpur district where it was formed, the Ranvir Sena spread to Jahanabad, Patna, Rohtas, Aurangabad, Gaya, Bhabhua and Buxar districts.

CBI to probe Ranvir Sena chief murder

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Chid-ambaram faced a legal jolt last week, with the Madras High Court ruling that the case against him challenging his election in 2009 in Lok Sabha polls will continue, even as the Congress politician brushed aside the develop-ment as not any setback and ruled out stepping down as demanded by the resignation by the Opposition.

Chidambaram's victory in the polls in 2009 from the Sivaganga constituency was chal-lenged by his rival AIADMK contender Raja Kannapan who alleged that the narrow margin win was through manipulation of votes.

The High Court said the case against him will continue though it removed two allega-tions against him, including the charge of corrupt practices. There were some 29 allega-tions against him.

The Madras High Court refused to quash the case. Chidambaram had wanted its dis-missal.

Reacting to the day's developments, Chid-ambaram said the Madras High Court ruling on his election in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls is not a setback to him.

He said the ruling is a setback to the pe-titioner and that he will not resign as Union Home Minister.

"There is no question of resigning. The court order is not a setback for me but for the petitioner," Chidambaram told reporters on Thursday.

He said he was astonished by the "monu-mental ignorance displayed by certain political

leaders."He it is only an election petition and at least

111 such petitions were filed against lawmak-ers in the 15th Lok Sabha.

"The Court has not expressed any view on the merits of the allegations and has only struck out two crucial paragraphs on the ground that they do not comply with the strict law of pleadings," his lawyer in a statement issued to media said.

Meanwhile, opposition parties slammed

him over the matter and demanded his resig-nation.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said steps should be taken to remove Chidam-baram from his position.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Ka-zhagam (AIADMK) supremo said the election was not conducted in a 'fair manner'.

She said it is a 'disgrace to democracy' that Chidambaram is working as a minister.

Jayalalithaa has time and again attacked Chidambaram over his poll victory.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari said Chidambaram should im-mediately resign from his position.

"Prime Minister should immediately ask Chidambaram to resign from his post," Gadkari told reporters.

"Why the Congress party and Sonia ji (Gandhi) are not taking any action against Chidambaram. The people of the country want to know the reasons behind it," he said.

However, the Congress defended Chidam-baram over the issue amid huge uproar by op-position parties for his resignation.

Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said: "It is an election petition. He has not lost any case that has got anything to do with his functioning as Home Minister."

Chidambaram defeated his AIADMK op-ponent by 3,354 votes officially, but AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa maintained that he never won the polls. Chidambaram was first de-clared defeated by Rajakannapan by around 3,000 votes but on recount he won.

Chidambaram faces legal jolt, rules out resignation

India

Vice-Admiral DK Joshi to be next Navy ChiefThe Indian government has appointed Vice Admiral DK Joshi, presently Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) Western Naval Command, as the next Chief of the Naval Staff with effect from afternoon of August 31.

The present Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral NK Verma retires from service on Aug 31.

During his long and distinguished Service spanning nearly 38 years, he has served in a

variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.

Joshi is a distinguished graduate of the Naval War College, USA, an alumnus of the College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai and the prestigious National Defence College, New Delhi.

Vice Admiral Joshi has been decorated with Param Vishist Seva Medal, Ati Vishist Seva Medal, Yudh Seva Medal, NauSena Medal and Vishist Seva Medal.

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Islamabad: Indian Home Secretary RK Singh got involved in a verbal war with Pakistani journalists over the 10 million-dollar bounty placed on Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed.

A Pakistani jour-nalist reportedly asked Singh during an interaction last week whether India will 'pocket' the bounty offered by the US for giving evidences that might lead to the conviction of Saeed.

"India would be more than happy to give Pakistan that amount if they handed over Saeed to India," Singh told reporters while ad-

dressing the media-conference at the end of the Home Secretary level talks in Islamabad on May 24-25.

The U.S. Department of State, earlier this year, had authorized a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and a reward of up to $2 million for information

leading to the location of LeT’s second in command, Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki.

Saeed is suspected of masterminding the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in 2008 that killed at least 166 people.

Bhopal: Union Home Minister P Chidam-baram, chairman of the Group of Ministers on Bhopal gas victims, met with the organization of the survivors on Tuesday, June 5.

According to Bhopal groups, leaders of five organizations of survivors of the December ‘84 Bhopal gas disaster met with the Chair-man and members of the Group of Ministers on Bhopal and handed over a memorandum demanding urgent intervention on the issue of compensation for gas victims and environ-mental contamination.

The organizations led a march by several hundred survivors of the disaster with a large replica of a correction fluid bottle to highlight the need for corrections to the figures of deaths and injuries caused by the disaster.

According to the organizations, the Group of Ministers on Bhopal had not even taken the first step towards comprehensive assessment of the environmental damages and damages to human health let alone move on demanding compensation from Union Carbide and Dow Chemical for these damages.

India ready to pay Pakistan for Hafiz Saeed

Akhilesh Yadav presents UP Budget

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday, June 1st presented his first state budget for 2012-2013 in the Legislative As-sembly.

The total budget of 2012-2013 is more than Rs. 2 lakh crore, which is nearly 18 percent more than last year's budget. Yadav's presented a budget worth Rs 2,00,110.61 crore.

The Samajwadi Party leader did not an-nounce any new tax. He made provisions of Rs. 500 crore for waving farm loans. He also

made provisions for giving laptops to students and providing Rs 1,100 crore unemployment allowances to people belonging to the age group of 30 to 40.

The government allotted Rs 2,721.24 crore for the distribution of tablets ad laptops to class 10th and 12th pass out students. This was one of the key promises made by the Samajwadi Party government in the manifesto for the state assembly elections.

Charges against PM false, says Sonia GandhiCongress supremo Sonia Gandhi, who is pre-siding over the Congress Working Commit-tee (CWG), criticised opposition parties on Monday and said the allegations made against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were 'base-less' and 'false'.

"We will have to fight fiercely against such allegations which are part of a conspira-cy," Gandhi said. Prime Minister was attacked

by the anti-corruption group Team Anna members in recent times over the controver-sial coal blocks allocation while Singh was in charge of the portfolio.

Allegations of a possible coal scam are based on a report by the government's auditor Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) which said it lost about Rs 1.8 lakh crores by not following an auction for coal fields.

Jayadevan requests for neutral reviewA dejected V. Jayadevan, creator of the VJD system requested International Cricket Council (ICC) president Sharad Pawar for a neutral review of his method, which was re-cently rejected by the world body's for evaluat-ing targets in rain-affected matches.

The ICC Cricket Committee rejected the VJD system saying there was no need to replace the Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) Method with Jayadevan's system, which enjoys the pa-

tronage of Sunil Gavaskar. Jayadevan alleged that ICC cricket com-

mittee's decision was a biased move and that a certain member of the committee is acting as a spokesperson of the D/L Method.

The Kerala-based engineer requested that the ICC get his VJD system reviewed by a neutral expert from India and not from England.

Chidambaram meets Bhopal victims

"India would be more than happy to give Pakistan that amount if they handed over

Saeed to India"


Indian Feature

Climate change is likely to register its impacts on different regions, eco-systems and people. Some examples of climate change effecting weather conditions are Hurricane Mitch in Honduras in 1998, hurricanes in Haiti and Caribbean in 2004, ex-tensive flooding in Mozambique in 2000 and in Bangladesh in 2004.

Observers say that the recent Japanese tsunami may be due to climate change as well. Many of these regions and people are likely to be vulnerable and poorly equipped to cope with significant changes in the climate.

The consequences of environ-mental degradation are often borne disproportionately by racially and economically disadvantaged groups. Wealthier individuals or countries can afford to buy bottled water, move away from degraded and con-taminated sites, access information about alternative choices with envi-ronmental disasters, and buy better food, and purchase quality medical services and treatments.

However, in comparison poor and vulnerable people from disad-vantaged groups and developing countries face numerous threats due to climate change, such as: (i) reduced potential crop yields due to reducing arable land; (ii) decreased or no clean drinking water; (iii) an increase in the number of people suffering from disease (malaria, cholera, HIV/AIDS to name a few); (iv) widespread increase in the risk of flooding for many regions of the world especially low lying island

such as the Maldives; (v) increas-ing concentration of population in mega cities (movement of people from rural and semi-urban areas in search of livelihood due to shrink-ing natural resources); (vi) poverty and poor nutrition (due to decline in agricultural production), (vii) accu-mulating levels of atmospheric land, and water contamination.

Human societies are inconsistent in their response to climate change and in their ability to respond, an-ticipate, cope with and adapt to such change. Various factors such as wealth, technology, knowledge, infrastructure, institutional capa-bilities, preparedness, access to re-sources lead to this inconsistency in response.

Developing countries lack of most of the above factors making these countries and their citizens amongst the most vulnerable regions and groups to climate change. They are likely to experience the greatest loss of life, the most negative effects on economy and development, and the largest diversion of resources from other pressing needs.

Furthermore, discussions on climate issues relating to social justice till date have largely been international; this makes distribu-tive considerations quite difficult. The consequences of climate change on poor and vulnerable groups is usually missed or receives little at-tention, even though substantial re-search shows that it is the poor and vulnerable that are likely to suffer the most due to climate change.

Largely the poor and vulnerable groups are located in developing countries, countries where depen-dency of natural resources is high. It is in these developing countries where the most poor and vulner-able groups reside that adaptation to climate change presents a significant challenge The reason that develop-ing countries are considered more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than the developed countries is because of their low capacity to

adapt. Other factors that add to their vulnerability are high reliance on natural resources, limited ability to adapt financially and institutionally, low per capita GDP (Gross domes-tic product) and high poverty, and a lack of social safety nets.

In the context of issues outlined in the two paragraphs above equity can be defined as the distribution of the benefits and costs of adapt-ing to climate change. In the words

of Sokona and Denton (2001) equity when considered in the context of adapting to climate change relates to “assuring that vulnerable people in the remotest outposts of the world do not become imprisoned in pe-rennial cycles of destitution and impoverishment at the mercy of climate events” (p. 120). Equity in the context of climate change should also relate to a range of other key issues, including but not limited to: who decides and responds, a struc-

ture for taking and assisting actions, relationships between the developed and the developing world (rich and poor) and relationships between climate change impacts and other factors that affect and disturb liveli-hoods.

Ground level research on poor and vulnerable people shows con-siderable resourcefulness from their side in the face of external change as these people have had to adapt to

numerous other challenges through-out their life. Yet there is need to maintain cautiously positive attitude towards the ability of poor and vul-nerable to adapt to climate change because for the poor and vulnerable climate change represents a number of hypothetical situations (such as loss of life, movement in search of livelihood) in case there is a sudden change in their natural resource based livelihood.

Furthermore, due to the socio-economic disparity between the de-veloped and the developing nations the issue of equity must remain pivotal to all facets of the climate change debate. The issues surround-ing equity and justice require a sense of realism by individuals and institu-tions who develop adaptation strate-gies and policies that climate change is only one of the myriad other factors that the poor and vulnerable need to adapt to. Thereby, making considerations of equity and justice all the more paramount.

The vulnerabilities and issues mentioned above along with the reluctance of global policy makers towards developing policies of adaptability for the poor and the vul-nerable highlight the need to con-sider climate change from a social justice view point.

* Rahul Chopra holds a Masters in Public Policy from AUT with his re-search topic being climate policy and climate change. He writes on environmental issues and spirituality

Climate change threatens developing countries moreRAhUl ChoPRA

Transit of Venus: Space spectacle of the century

Auckland: People across the world witnessed a rare astronomical sight, the transit of Venus, today on Wednesday, June 6.

The planet Venus will transited from in front of the Sun appearing

as a small dark disk moving across the face of the Sun. What made this transit rare is that it will next occur in December 2117 and December 2125, a 100 odd years from now, with the last transit having occurred

in June 2004.Not only was this transit rare, it

also provide scientists with various research opportunities like mea-surement of the diameter of Venus, observation of the atmosphere of

Venus and even help in the calcula-tion of the distance of the Sun from earth, etc.

The entire transit was visible from various locations in the North-ern and Southern hemispheres,

starting from sunrise right through till sunset.

People were able to view the rare sight on live web streams as well as through telescopes set by various observatories around the world.

ShReyA BAKhShI

Australia Canada Dunedin

Kankas India london

The reason that developing countries are considered more

vulnerable to the effects of climate change than the developed

countries is because of their low capacity to adapt.

16 Indian Weekender | June 15, 2012 | www.iwk.co.nz16

Indian

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.

This is not the first time this topic is being talked about and neither is this the last. Many editors have written about it in the past and there will be many more in the future.Yet, domestic violence rears its ugly head in the community time and again, and yet we offer the same solutions that fail the victims.On January 20, last year, Diwesh Sharma beat his wife up, poured petrol over her and set her alight while she was still alive – watched by their four-year-old son – from the passenger seat of the family car parked metres away.After years of abuse and torture, as court proceedings and interviews with family members reveal, 28-year-old Ranjeeta Sharma met death at the hands of a man who was meant to protect her for life (see article page 2).“One in three women experience psychological or physical abuse from their partners in their lifetime,” says the Women’s Refuge on its website). The Women’s Refuge fields call from a distressed female every nine minutes (or so they claim). On average, 14 women, six men and 10 children are killed by a member of their family every year. Police are called to around 200 domestic violence situations a day – that’s one every seven minutes on average. Police estimate only 18 per cent of domestic violence incidents are reported.At least 74,785 children and young people aged under 17 were present at domestic violence situations attended by police. Eighty four per cent of those arrested for domestic violence are men; 16 per cent are women. The economic cost of domestic violence was estimated at $1.2 to $5.8 billion per year by economist Suzanne Snively in 1962. In today’s figures, that would be up to $8 billion.In the 2009/10 year there were 3867 domestic violence cases in the Family Court which each involved at least one child.One significant argument pointed out was the fact that tradition was a binding factor when Ranjeeta said that she found it hard to leave her abusive husband because cultural expectations demanded her to stay with her husband.Our religious leaders would do well to advise the younger generation that traditional ties should not lead to sufferring. If that is the case, get out of relationship, fast. There is no place for thuggery – mental or physical – in our midst.Have you suffered from an abusive relationship? Tell us abou it. Email Editor Arvind Kumar at [email protected]

- Arvind Kumar

Indian Weekender Volume 4 No. 4Publisher: Kiwi Media Group LimitedManaging Editor: Giri Gupta | [email protected]: Arvind Kumar | [email protected] Technical Officer: Rohan Desouza | rohan@ indianweekender.co.nzDesign: Sanket Sonar | [email protected] & Business Development Manager: Gaurav Gupta M: 021 292 4519 l [email protected] and Admin.: Farah Khan - P 520 0922 l [email protected] Views and comments: e-mail at: [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

Is Len Brown backing the right horse?Mayor Len Brown and the council are ignoring the ethnic communities in Auckland who want to showcase their culture in an Ethnic Parade.

On Monday, June 11, TV 3 announced that Mayor Brown had dedicated $100,000 towards the Auckland Parade (Auckland Pride Festival) held in February 2013, originally formed by the Hero Parade committee.

The Hero Parade has not happened for the past 10 years and currently there is a successful multi-ethnic Carnival Parade happening in the Auckland community for the past two-three years.

Nearly 50 per cent of the Auckland population is made up of ethnic diverse groups. In 10 to 20 years’ time, the ethnic communities will increase and therefore, we cannot ignore this, the carnival, which is derived from Notting Hill.

The seed has been planted and is already happening in our very own city in Glen Innes and now following interest from several local boards, ethnic communities would like to have a carnival in their area.

We have now confirmed four carnivals will run in 2013 involving several ethnic communities gearing up for the big finale in 2014/2015 where international contestants have already registered to join in the finale.

With the many Auckland Council local boards, business associations, communities, corporates have conveyed their support, yet the Auckland Council Events and Events Council chair have said we still need more support.

My question is: How many more people and support will it take to get the Auckland Council to fully support something which most definitely will help the ethnic communities far and wide?

Jocelyn Sasa - Executive DirectorGiving Back Foundation Trust

Auckland International Carnival

Apology: Bramhachari Adarshji's article in the last issue of Indian Weekender contained an incorrect quote. We regret the error.

Letters

No place for violence in our society

Don't limit a child to your own learning, for he was born in another time.

– Rabindranath Tagore

T H O U G H T O F T H E W E E K


Indian Comment

National’s Economic Growth Agenda and Business Growth Agenda aim to build a more com-petitive and productive economy that will deliver greater prosperity, security, and opportunities to all New Zealanders.

We recognise that by support-ing, empowering and networking with our ethnic business people we will build the connections that it takes to move New Zealand forward.

In New Zealand, 97 per cent of our businesses are classified as small and medium enterprises, and a significant proportion of this SME sector is made up of ethnic and migrant businesses.

National knows New Zealand’s Indian business people have the cultural expertise, business acumen and international experience we need to build a more competitive and productive economy.

We know unlocking this po-tential will help create jobs and

improve New Zealand’s trade op-portunities and access to Asia-Pacific markets. Connecting with business people will provide op-portunities to do business across borders, to share ideas, and assist with joint international ventures.

But we understand that start-ing a new business in an unfa-miliar environment can be chal-lenging. I know the challenges of being a small business owner first hand. It’s certainly easier when we understand the local business environment and when we have connections to, and support from, like-minded business people.

Budget 2012 sent a clear message that we are working hard to responsibly manage the govern-ment’s finances. Feedback has been positive – we're really seeing busi-nesses firmly in favour of the zero Budget approach. Business owners work hard for income in their own business, and so they really want to see frugality from their Govern-

ment. If we want more jobs for New Zealanders – If we want better jobs for New Zealanders – we need to encourage more businesses to be based here.

Sixty per cent of our workforce growth comes from migration, so New Zealand’s ethnic and migrant communities play a critical role in our economy, helping us export more and create more real jobs.

Combine that with the range of Free Trade Agreements and Closer Economic Partnerships now in place, or currently being negotiated across the Asia-Pacific region, and we have a powerful force for eco-nomic growth in New Zealand.

Our innovative and motivated Indian people make a positive dif-ference to New Zealand’s economy and future prosperity. This Gov-ernment is committed to building a strong and inclusive New Zealand with incentives that reward hard work and back our ability to take on the world and win.

New Zealand: A diverse and exciting business placeKANWAlJIt SINgh BAKShI, NAtIoNAl MP

The last laughPADMINI gAUNDeR

Any school child in Fiji will tell you that Fiji was ceded to Queen Victo-ria by the chiefs of Fiji in 1874. Five years later, in 1879, the first Indians were brought to Fiji by the British government to work in the planta-tions.

After 96 years of colonial rule, the Fijians still did not want indepen-dence. This was because they were afraid of the numerical supremacy of the Indians whose numbers kept increasing until they overtook the Fijian population. That, coupled with the Indians’ ever persisting demand for common electoral roll, convinced the Fijians that what was best for them was British rule.

So, even after countries like Samoa became independent, Fiji continued to be a colony and it was only after A D Patel, the Indian leader at that time, gave a solemn as-surance that the Fijians’ rights would not be questioned that the Fijian chiefs agreed to self government.

Then, before independence in 1970, all the members of the Legis-lative Council went to London for a constitutional conference that took longer than anticipated (because ac-cording to RD Patel, one prominent Indian member, who was a lawyer, they made sure that all the ‘t’s were crossed and all the ‘i’s were dotted) .

It was a constitution that guar-anteed the rights of the Fijians in many ways. They had more seats in the Senate and the power to veto any legislation that they thought affected Fijian rights. So Fiji became inde-pendent in 1970 and soon became the Paradise of the Pacific and re-mained so till 1987.

Subhash Apanna is quite right

when he says that the girmitiyas’ (indentured labourers’) role in build-ing Fiji could only be discredited by the devious and dishonest.

Indian labourers worked hard as indentured labourers and as free labourers. After five years of inden-ture they became free; so from 1884, there were indentured and free la-bourers. And the number increased every year as more indentured la-

bourers became free and more were brought from India until 1920 when the indenture was abolished and ev-eryone became free.

“Peace, progress, prosperity” was the slogan of the Alliance Party that ruled Fiji till 1987. In spite of the abolition of indenture, Fiji did not progress or enjoy prosperity for the next 50 years. There was prosper-

ity but that was enjoyed only by the European planters, not by the Fijian land owners or Indian workers.

There was no progress. I say this because the majority of Fijians and Indians lacked basic ameni-ties. It was only in Suva city and the towns that there was electric-ity. Most of the villages lacked even piped water supply. The roads were not tar sealed, including the major

highways. I remember going to Suva from Nadi by the Queens Highway at the end of 1966 and starting from Nadi early in the morning and ar-riving in Suva late in the afternoon covered with dust.

Fiji had a peaceful transition to independence in 1970. Indians had been demanding it. Britain had been eager to get rid of her. And finally Fijians agreed to independence. Soon there was progress in all di-rections. There was electricity for everyone; there was piped water; and roads were steadily getting tar

sealed. There was a boom in the tourist industry. University of the South Pacific was established with the main campus in Fiji. Pine planta-tions were being established.

Most of all sugarcane farmers were enjoying a boom which was the most important reason for the pros-perity of Fiji. This was not because the farmers had suddenly started working hard. They had always been

working hard. There were three people who were responsible for this boom in the sugar industry. They were Swami Rudrananda of the Ra-makrishna Mission, A. D. Patel and Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

Soon after he arrived in Fiji, Swamiji started his fight to stop the exploitation of farmers by the Colo-nial Sugar Refining Company (CSR). Soon he was able to get A. D. Patel, a brilliant lawyer, involved in this fight. There was an arbitration and the arbitrator, Lord Denning, agreed that the profit sharing formula used

by the CSR was indeed unfair to the farmers.

However, Lord Denning was not the first one to point out the unfair-ness of the system. There had been others before him but CSR used to threaten to withdraw operations if any changes were made and the colonial government used to give in to them. But now Fiji was going to be independent and there was an elected leader in Ratu Mara who was prepared to take over the industry and the Fiji Sugar Corporation was born.

Swamiji was one person who was grateful to Ratu Mara for what he did for the farmers. Otherwise things would have continued as before, he had said. Ratu Mara also managed to get a much higher price for Fiji sugar than the world market price.

The girmitiyas worked very, very hard to make Fiji what it became at independence but they did not enjoy the fruits of their labour. By 1970, there were very few girmitiyas left to see the transformation of Fiji. However, their descendants enjoyed the legacy they left behind. Unfor-tunately even that was short lived. I don’t think Fiji would ever be what it was from 1970 to 1987 – a model of multiracial harmony and peace. There will always be suspicion and fear in the minds of the Indians because there will always be the memory of what happened in 1987.

The colonials never wanted to see the Indians and Fijians coming together and Fiji progressing with the Fijians and Indians enjoying the prosperity. They were waiting to see things go wrong in Fiji.

And they have had the last laugh.

Indian labourers worked hard as indentured labourers and as free labourers. After five years of indenture they became free; so from 1884, there were indentured and free labourers. And the number increased every year as more indentured labourers became free and more were brought from India until 1920 when the indenture was abolished and everyone became free.

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heritageIndianIndian

‘Satyameva Jayate’ (Truth Alone Wins) is a famous dictum for spiritu-al seekers given by the Guru Angiras some 5000 years ago in India. It has now become a slogan for social ac-tivism on national television. “SMJ” as it is called seems to have breathed some life to the idiot box. By the way, here is a little feedback on the so-called acronym “SMJ”: Elemen-tary Sanskrit points out that the show’s acronym should be “SEJ” and not “SMJ” as it is Satyam(S) Eva(E) Jayate (J) and not Satyam(S) Meva(M) Jayate(J). There is no “MEVA” in Satyameva Jayate.Why Amir Khan’s ‘Satyameva Jayate’ could be just half the truth…

Just going by the reviews and ratings, the show seems to be going strong. Amir Khan probably got it right when he said ‘Public Dekhegi’ before the show started. Public ne dekh to liya but the source and scope of this slogan is rather unknown. But that’s not the show’s mandate anyway. With this auspicious ‘Saty-ameva Jayate’ slogan Amir Khan seems to have graduated from silver screen and in the reckoning of be-coming India’s first Oprah Winfrey-style celebrity-social-advocate. But his show seems to highlight the “effects” and not the real causes of those social evils. The TV show has created a milestone in and it would do more justice by exposing the full truth – especially those social malpractices which are based on

erroneous interpretations of tradi-tions. A bit more research could show that behind the social evils and social crimes lie the misconceptions about Indian customs, selfish inter-pretations about the Indian system of living. Take the instance of the terrible female infanticide issue – it would be appropriate to explain why certain people have this wrong notion that the male child is desir-able. Also how this so-called dowry system is not Indian in origin etc. Without this cause-hunting, the TV show is just scratching the surface. Now for the original Satyameve Jayate…

Where is ‘Satyameva Jayate’ coming from…

The motto ‘Satyameva Jayate’ is actually in the opening line of a four-line mantra from the ‘MUNDAKA Upanishad’ which is found in the Atharva Veda. In the massive library of sacred literature from India, the Mundaka Upanishad is like a collector’s handbook. It is a sacred text meant for sincere seekers and especially for Sanyaasis who judiciously renounce all hankering of happiness from the world. The Mundaka Upanishad is a principal text dealing with transcendental wisdom – though simple but serious and authoritative.

The striking part of the Mundaka Upanishad is in the beginning, with Rishi Shaunaka asking his teacher Angiras to teach him ‘THAT

knowing which everything becomes known’ (1.1.3). This is a significant spiritual question in the path of knowledge by a disciple to his Guru. It shows the caliber of students in an era when India was a knowledge society. In answering this question, a wide range of methods are em-ployed to reveal the identity between God and the individual with some superb metaphors and analogies.

Why is the sourcebook Mundaka Upanishad important…

Remember the Hindi word ‘Mundan’ for shaven head…well this is what ‘Mundaka’ is supposed to mean. The word Mundaka is sig-nificant because it literally means a person with a shaven head but implies a monk or a sanyaasi. About this Upanishad, the very learned scholar and teacher Swami Krish-nananda of the Divine Life society writes:

“Among the Upanishads, the Mundaka Upanishad is regarded as one the most important. It throws a flood of light on the path of Knowl-edge and leads the aspirant to the highest rung in the ladder of knowl-edge…Mundaka means shaving, “mund”, and so the word ‘Mundaka’ seems to imply that this Upanishad is intended only for Sanyaasis.”

How ‘Satyameva Jayate’ became world famous in modern India…

It is from this Upanishad that the ‘SATYAMEVA JAYATE’ slogan

was adopted as the national motto of India on 26th January 1950 and inscribed in Sanskrit at the base of the Indian national emblem. This inscription of “Satyameva Jayate” is also found on one side of all Indian currency. The credit goes to Shri Madan Mohan Malaviya, the great Indian educationist, and freedom fighter as he popularised this slogan in 1918 when serving as President of the Indian National Congress during India’s freedom struggle.

There have also been some other uses of this slogan when a Hindi movie was made with the same name in 1987. Even the Rolling Stone legend Mick Jagger sang ‘Satyameva Jayate’ collaborating with music maestro A.R.Rahman last year. And now it’s Amir Khan’s turn to reinvent the wheel giving it a totally social spin. In saying that his TV show is probably the only tele-vision programme which has had a title with words directly from the Upanishads.

The satya about ‘Satyam’…The full stanza of the ‘Satyame-

va Jayate’ slogan from the Mundaka Upanishad (3.1.6) goes this way:

“Satyameva Jayate Na-anrtam – satyena panthaa vitato devayaanah |

Yen-aakramanty-rsayo hyaap-ta-kaamaa – Yatra tat satyasya paramam nidhaanam ||”.Meaning

“Truth alone wins, not untruth. By truth is laid out the divine path,

which the seers who are free from desires, reach to the supreme abode of truth”.

So the phrase ‘Satyameva Jayate Na-anrtam ‘ is not about social justice nor is it a slogan meant for constitutional adoption.It encom-passes all truth and a life based on truth and truthfulness. The Satyam in the “Satyam-Eva Jayate” is not just about speaking the truth about social evils and malpractices. The great Acharya Shankara comment-ing on this very stanza writes “Truth alone wins and not the untruth…It is well known in the world that he who utters falsehood is defeated by him who speaks the truth: not the con-verse”. A consistent way of living based on the superiority of truth and values of intellectual truthfulness, says Acharya Shankara, widens the path to spiritual success.

So the truth about the ‘Saty-ameva Jayate’ statement is that it has now become an iconic slogan for social change rather than for spiritual success. These Upanishad mantras have thus journeyed from the esoteric realm of the Guru to the social arena. The wisdom of India has always found new avenues to manifest such ‘Truth’ affirming statements. Truth never dies – tele-vision or no television. “Truth alone wins (Satyameva Jayate) not False-hood (Na-anrtam)”.

Ram Lingam blogs his insights on India and Indian culture at www.indiasutra.co.nz

For whom is this religion?

Today to be religious has become a Taboo. It is immediately seen as “be careful of this fellow”. Why is this so? This is probably because people who seem to practice religion today are seen as either people of super-stition or blind faith or people of fanatic narrow mindedness.

Today, religion is seen as the pillar on which sanctions on society

are prescribed and followed or as some belief on something super-natural God which cannot be ques-tioned. Is this what religion is truly meant to reflect or be? Is that what religion has to offer to the modern society?

On the other hand, many of us would recall the days when we, as children, would see our very grand-parents being blissful in their reli-gious practices. Many of us have fond memories of getting enthralled by the stories of ancient mythology and symbolism which they would tell us. That beautiful image of re-ligion set in love and wisdom seems to have taken an ugly and fear-born ‘avataar’.

To follow something ignorantly is as wrong as it is to criticize it or hold a bias about it without proper inquiry into it. Hence, the core of all ancient religions was only through demonstration and dialogue, which is seen in Hinduism in the Upani-shads and the Bhagavad Geeta.

However, today’s religion neither encourages dialogue nor does it seem to have a demonstration of its effectiveness which is acceptable to modern man, hence religion today is suffering a bad image. But does this make religion useless? And

how is religion supposed to serve its society? Let’s inquire… Every system must have a purpose, so what is the purpose of religion (also trans-lated in Sanskrit as Dharma)?

But first, I would like to share two essential points of what has drawn me to my religion?

Religion to me, teaches us about how to have a healthy relationship with our environment through de-

veloping respect and values born out of understanding; and not just mere sanctions; (Dharma – the art of right contact)

It guides us in our journey in life by guiding us to the very purpose for which we have borrowed this time on earth. (Moksha – Evolving into free beings sans bondage)

This idea is reinforced in our Vedas as the very purpose of Dharma. The Purpose of (Sanātana) Dharma is defined as “Yatho Ab-

hyudaya Nishreyasa Prāptih” ~ that by which one gains all round pros-perity and the ultimate goal in life or moksha. Out of the two, Abhyudha-ya (collective prosperity) is desirable to all but Nishreyasa (ultimate goal of Liberation - complete freedom from bondage) is relatively harder and very rare few actually achieve it, but whosoever sincerely attempts it, are guaranteed to be better off.

Also, when seen from a modern perspective, the word religion (re-ligare. Latin) means to join back, But to join back to what? The Rishis and great thinkers of the past in-quired and found that while living, it is to re-connect us to a true sense of happiness and fulfillment without any regrets. This is the purpose of Dharma. And in a deeper sense, re-ligion means to re-connect us to the source from which we have separat-

ed (the Absolute Self).Religion, is thus, divided into its

various practices called ‘Rituals’ and its ‘Philosophy’. The former is to develop healthy habits and remove the foul ones and the latter is to develop clarity in our evolutionary thinking. Both of these are essential. In our further discussions we will see aspects of both the rituals and the philosophy.

In conclusion, religion is meant for one who wants to find happiness without regrets and also for one who wishes to become free from all suf-fering and bondage. And who lives in this world not desires these two?

Bramhachari Adarsh Chai-tanya serves as the Resi-dent Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Auckland and conducts weekly spiritual classes for children, youth and adults. For more infor-mation about the Chinmaya Mission and Bramhachari Adarsh Chaitanya please follow this link: www.chin-maya.org.nz or contact him at 2756954

BRAMhAChARI ADARSh ChAItANyA

Is spirituality only for retired people?by Brahmachari Adarsh Chaitanya Br.Adarshji is the resident teacher of Chinmaya Mission New Zealand based @ 63 McKenzie Road, Mangere, Auckland.

The need for spirituality in our life's is unclear, hence how and when to practice it is also unclear. The battlefield setting in which the Holy Geeta - one of our greatest spiritual texts was given out, clearly shows us as to when the spiritual knowledge is most effective… how can we then assume or recommend such spirituality to be best pursued after retirement?

This clearly is an incorrect understanding of its very purpose. Spirituality, as shown in the Geeta, is to be heard, understood and applied in our most difficult circumstances, so that we do not get lost in our journey in life.

Yet, most of us wait for our retirement to learn the secrets of this Divine text. Alas! By that time, we are burdened with too many regrets of our past actions, or our ego is so stubborn that it is unwilling to uplift itself due to the earlier habits formed. But even if we do understand and appreciate the principles of the scriptures, we feel there so much to change, we would have to start in our next life... How convenient, this is - this reincarnation?

The main reason for such an idea is that we see Spirituality as a means for securing a safe future after death either for ourselves or for our loved ones who have left the earthly plane.

If this is so, then becoming spiritual after retirement seems like the right thing to do. But to those of us who are not afraid to ask why, who look at the world and ask, what is the reason behind this all? What is its purpose? What is my purpose? Spirituality takes a whole new dynamic meaning and expression.

Our religion is not supposed to be just a ticket to heaven, instead it's a faithful map guiding us sincerely and unbiasedly to our Final Destination, Liberation from all Bondages. Imagine if your journey is determined by the direction of the traffic flow? Sounds silly doesn’t it?

But most of our life’s journey is unfortunately like that, determined by the flow of others. Spirituality, when properly heard, correctly understood and sincerely lived, provides us with our true inner goals and prepares us on the path to reaching them in our present life itself.

And when we live this spirituality consistently from early on in life… let me put it this way, the benefits of ‘That Spirituality’, is seen very evidently throughout our life, even after retirement.

Bramhachari Adarsh Chaitanya serves as the Resident Acharya of Chinmaya Mission Auckland and conducts weekly spiritual classes for children, youth and adults. For more information about the Chinmaya Mission and Bramhachari Adarsh Chaitanya please follow this link, www.chinmaya.org.nz or contact him at 2756954

“Spirituality does not mean retirement to a forest running away from all worldly responsibilities and putting oneself into self abnegation and physical torture eating only berries and leaves.”

- Swami Chinmayananda

Adarshji

“To follow something ignorantly is as wrong as it is to criticize it or hold a bias about it without proper inquiry into it.”

Fijiheritage

But what about the original Satyameva Jayate?RAM lINgAM

India’s national motto ‘Satyameva Jayate’ has now entered the lounge rooms of the Indian household…thanks to Amir Khan’s TV show. This TV show is a story of how a cine-star can create mass awareness on social issues using a famous Vedic statement ‘Satyameva Jayate’ as the title of the show. However the original ‘Satyameva Jayate’ declaration was not coined as a social aphorism. It is much more than that. Exploring the real source and scope of this antiquated affirmation could be more meaningful and enlightening.

BRAMhAChARI


Indian Fiji

Australia planned Fiji invasion: paperAustralia made secret plans to invade Fiji, according to a startling report that is bound to heighten sus-picion and deepen the already signif-icant rift between the two countries.

The Weekend Australian report-ed that defence planners prepared a detailed scenario for an invasion as part of an overall strategic review prepared for the Rudd government in 2009.

The newspaper said a top-secret chapter of the government “white paper” outlined how Australia would

react militarily if large-scale civil strife erupted in Fiji.

It canvassed in detail the use of Australian amphibi-ous ships, the number of troops needed for the inva-sion, the urgent evacuation of Australians in the country and how the Fiji military might react.

The Fiji invasion was reportedly among a number of scenarios canvassed that also included military inter-

vention in Papua New Guinea. This detailed how Australia

would respond to a “fundamen-tal breakdown of order” in Port Moresby – the capital – and the chal-lenges of getting enough Australian troops to PNG to evacuate Austra-lians and “secure the government”.

It has already been revealed that the same report canvassed several scenarios based on the possibility of hostility erupting between Austra-lia and China. Plans were made to halt mineral shipments to China and

use submarines to blockade Chinese ports.

It also canvassed the possibil-ity of a Chinese missile attack on the joint US-Australian communi-cations facility at Pine Gap in the Northern Territory. The Weekend Australian quotes “a senior Canber-ra insider” playing down the signifi-cance of the latest disclosures.

“All militaries do this. We have plans for wars with lots of countries, which we’ll never use of course.” – Pacific Scoop

Remittance a big earnerRemittance remains the second largest foreign exchange earner after tourism, says Filimoni Waqabaca, permanent secretary for Fiji’s Min-istry of Finance.

At the Fiji Institute of Accoun-tants Congress in Nadi recently, Waqabaca explained the internation-al remittance and the use of innova-tive technology through the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).

However, he said across the region, an area of concern is the high cost involved in remitting funds from overseas.

“As a result, a large portion of funds are channeled through in-formal means and therefore not

captured in the financial system. Remittance level therefore could be understated,” he said.

In 2011, MNOs began offering inward remittance through their mobile money services. Vodafone MPAiSA Fiji launched its first cross-border international remittance to allow Vodafone mobile phone users in Fiji to receive money from rela-tives and friends in Australia and New Zealand where users can then withdraw cash from their agents around the country. Similarly, Digicel Pacific launched its low cost international remittance service that enables people to send money to Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. – Fijilive

Voters urged to registerThere was no law in place that made it compulsory for people to register to vote in the 2014 general elections, said Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday. But neverthe-less, Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said they were appealing to the public to reg-ister to vote for the 2014 elections.

“However, we want to urge all Fijians over the age of 18 years old to register to vote.”

Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum said the Constituency Boundaries Com-mission would be finalized follow-ing the constitutional consultation

process and the finalizing of the draft constitution. “The establish-ment of the Constituency Boundar-ies Commission will happen in due course. “We have a recommendation from the National Council for Build-ing a Better Fiji to use the existing division boundaries for proportional representation on multi member constituencies, said Mr. Sayed-Khaiyum. The Elections Office is expected to begin awareness on the Electronic Voting Registration (EVR) from next week through the media. – Fiji Times

PM courts Chinese investorsA Chinese company has been given approval to set up a cement factory in Fiji and invest in iron or dalo (taro) exports to China.

Prime Minister Voreqe Baini-marama caught up with potential investors at the opening of the Zhe-jiang Investment and Trade Sym-

posium in Ningbo last week and discussed possible opportunities for them to invest here.

Bainimarama toured interna-tional booths at the symposium and was assured by the Governor of Zhejiang Province that a Fiji booth would be included in next year’s symposium.

He then visited the county of Shaoxing in the Zhejiang province where he was hosted by the vice

Mayor of Shaoxing Municipality, Mr Xu Minguang.

At the meeting, the Prime Min-ister was briefed that approvals had been given from Shaoxing to Tengy Cement to commence con-struction of the cement factory in Fiji and to further invest in iron ore

extraction.Meanwhile, a dalo factory in

Shaoxing has been given the green light to explore ways to purchase dalo from Fiji and look at ways to produce dalo products with the intent of setting up a factory in Fiji soon.

Arrangements are underway to export dalo to Shaoxing immedi-ately.

There is a huge market for dalo

in China and the Prime Minister is particularly interested in providing a market for dalo to our farmers in both the rural or remote areas.

Shaoxing also has the largest textile production in China with a total production capital of RMB89 billion [US$14 billion] in 2012 and

foreign trade earnings of US$33 billion.

Talks are now underway to pursue similar operations in Fiji.

B a i n i m a r a m a thanked the Shaoxing Local Government for their support to Fiji and said that Fiji would be most willing to accept genuine inves-tors from Shaoxing.

He also invited food processing and fruit companies to come to Fiji to take advantage of available farming land.

He concluded his meeting with the Vice Mayor by thanking the Government of China for being a staunch and genuine ally of Fiji when most of its friends deserted the country after 2006.

"China has been very support-ive of our reforms and the Fijian Government is very appreciative of this; it is because of this support that we have been able to progress steadily over the years," he said in a statement. – Fijilive

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Meanwhile, a dalo factory in Shaoxing has been given the green light to explore ways to purchase dalo from Fiji and look at ways to produce dalo products with the intent of

setting up a factory in Fiji soon.


Indian Sports

Ipoh (Malaysia): Five-time cham-pions India shocked tournament fa-vourites Great Britain 3-1 to clinch the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia on Sunday, June 3rd.

For India, eight-time Olympic champions, the win over World No.4 Britain would give them the much needed boost for the Olym-pics as they bounced back into the match despite being a goal down and avenged their 2-3 loss against Britain in the league games.

The title, however, went to New Zealand, who in their maiden final appearance beat Argentina 1-0 in the summit clash here.

New Zealand's match-winner came from Andy Hayward, who converted their first penalty corner by beating Argentine goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi with a low shot.

While earlier in the day, India pumped in three second half goals from Shivendra Singh (42nd minute), Sandeep Singh (52nd) and Tushar Khandekar (69th) after Ashley Jackson (35th) gave Britain the lead converting a penalty corner just at the stroke of half time.

Pakistan for the first time in the history of the Azlan Shah, finished out side the medal bracket as they finished seventh.

The results:(5-6): Korea 3 (Hyun Hye Sung,

Jang Jong Hyun, You Hyo Sik) beat Malaysia 2 (Hanafit Hafiz, Faisal Saari) HT 1-1.

(3-4) India 3 (Shivendra Singh, Sandeep Singh, Tushakr Khand-ker) beat Great Britain 1 (Ashley Jackson) HT 0-1.

Final: New Zealand 1 (Andy Hayward) vs Argentina. HT 1-0

Player of the tournament: Sardar Singh (India)

Man of the final: Andy Hayward (New Zealand)

Top scorer: Ashley Jackson (six goals)

Best goal-keeper: Kyle Pontifex (New Zealand)

Fair Play Award: Great Britain.Final placings: 1.New Zealand,

2. Argentina, 3. India, 4, Great Britain, 5. Korea, 6. Malaysia, 7. Pakistan.

Azlan Shah XI: Kyle Pontifex (NZ), Dean Couzins (NZ), Rashid Mehmood (Pakistan), Hyun Woon Nam (Korea), Pedro Ibarra (Argen-tina), Sardar Singh (India), Ryan Ar-chibald (NZ), Ashley Jackson (GB), Faisal Saari (Malaysia), S.V.Sunil (India) and Lucas Vila (Argentina).

Azlan Shah: India shock Britain

Bangkok, June 10: Indian badmin-ton star Saina Nehwal won the Thai-land Open Grand Prix Gold title by beating Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon in the final match of the tournament here on Sunday.

Saina beat her opponent by 19-21, 21-15, 21-10 margin.

Losing the first set, the 22-year-old World No.5 Saina came back strongly in the second game kept the pressure on Inthanon to clinch her second title of the season.

In the semi-final match, Saina kept her unbeaten record against third seed Porntip Buranaprasert-

suk by beating 24-22, 21-11.The victory will surely give the

Indian badminton star immense confidence ahead of the London Olympics later this year.

She attributed her win to her calm demeanour.

"I am happy with my perfor-mance. I tried to stay relaxed and calm during the matches. It finally worked for me," Saina said.

Saina also defended her title at the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold in March in Basel, Switzerland.

Saina Nehwal wins Thailand Open

Paris: Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bh-upathi won their second Grand Slam title together and first French Open trophy after crushing the challenge of Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Santi-ago Gonzalez in the mixed doubles final in Paris on Thursday, June 7.

Playing their third Grand Slam final together, the seventh seeded Indian pair scored a 7-6 (3), 6-1 win over the Polish-Mexican pair in one hour and 13 minutes at the Court Philippe Chatrier.

It is the second Grand Slam title for Sania while 12th Major trophy for Bhupathi, who now has won eight mixed doubles trophies.

Sania and Bhupathi had won the 2009 Australia Open and it is their first Grand Slam title since then. Sania had become the first woman tennis player from India to win a Grand Slam with that Australian Open trophy.

Leander Paes is the most suc-cessful Indian tennis player with 13 Grand Slam titles, seven of which

are men's doubles trophies with various partners.

With this win, Sania and Bhu-pathi sent out a warning to the players worldwide that they will be a force to reckon with at the upcom-ing London Olympics.

However, they are not yet sure of competing there. Sania needs to get the wild card to make the women's singles draw which will make her eligible to contest in the mixed doubles.

In Thursday's match, the Indians were slow off the blocks with their rivals dominating the proceedings early on but they raised the level of their game as the match progressed and in the end scored a comfortable win.

Mahesh Bhupathi presented himself a good birthday gift as he turned 38 on Thursday.

"I don't need to give gift to my partner (now that we have won)," Sania said jokingly after the match.

It wasn't a great start for the

Indian pair, which got the first break chance in the very first game, but not only did they miss that, Sania dropped her serve in the third game.

Sania struggled with both her serve and returns and Bhupathi too was not getting his shot placements right. They were down 1-3 and also squandered two break chances when Klaudia was serving in the eighth game.

But they lifted their game and spirit up and broke Santiago in the 10th game when Bhupathi smashed an overhead volley to draw parity. The set was stretched into a tie-break, where the experienced Indians prevailed.

The second set was a no contest as the Indians ran through their rivals. Santiago was broken in the very first game and the Indians were unstoppable after that.

Another break of serve off San-tiago put the Indians ahead 4-1 and they comfortably sealed the match.

Mahesh Bhupathi-Sania Mirza win French Open mixed doubles title

Moscow: Defending champion Vishwanathan Anand of India won the World Chess title for the fifth time after he defeated Israeli chal-lenger Boris Gelfand in the tie-breaker here Wednesday.

Anand beat Gelfand 2.5 to 1.5 in the four-match tie breaker.

Anand went ahead in the tie-breaker after winning the second game in 77 moves fol-lowing a draw in the first. The first game ended in a draw in 33 moves.

The remaining two games ended in a draw a Anand de-fended his world champion-ship title for the third time in a row.

The tournament went into the tie-breakers after Anand and Gelfand drew the 12th game, Monday. They were tied 6-6 after the final round.

Anand will received $1.5 million, while challenger Gelfand bagged $1 million.

Anand said the match was a question of nerves and he held it till the last to clinch the game. "It was a question of nerves. The whole match was extremely tense and dif-ficult," he told Indian media after the win.

"I managed to keep the control of the match till the very end," he said.

"I am too tense to be feeling happy," he said after the win.

He said he knew Boris was a tough opponent. "He was a formi-dable player," he said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Indian Cricket team captain, Mahindra Singh Dhoni where a few amongst the many who congratulated Anand on his win. Dhoni went on to say that, “Anand is an inspiration for all sportsper-son.

I had a rare opportunity to meet him once and found he was ex-tremely humble and down to earth. What he has done recently is simply incredible. And what he has been doing consistently is marvelous.”

Vishwanathan Anand wins World Chess title


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IndianIndian entertainment

How does it feel to finally have the Bill for the amend-ment to the Copyright Act passed?The Standing Committee had long cleared the Bill with minor tweaks here and there. From my interactions with the representatives across the board I knew that it had garnered unanimous support from all.

There was much bad blood within the industry over the issue. Why is royalty to lyri-cists justified when you are being paid upfront for a song?We are not inventing royalty. It’s very much present there. Producers and music companies have a memo-randum of understanding to share on basis of 50-50. Besides films and music albums, they also earn from those songs being played on FM radios, TV channels, in hotels etc. There are two kinds of royalty on songs all over the world. They are sound recording royalty and performing royalty. There are so-cieties dedicated for the same (PPL and IPRS). The music companies as publishers of the music owe the song writers royalty and comply with the norm the world over. It’s only in India that there was so much confu-sion created over it. The government with this Act has made that commit-ment of music companies mandatory in India as well. It surprises me that Indian companies, which are signa-tories to the international societies that uphold this commitment have been opposing that commitment here.

Don’t you write songs for a particular situation in a film after discussions with the director?Like a portrait that an artist makes for you, if you re-sell it you have to pay 10 per cent on the second sale to the artist. So it’s with lyricists. The director does discuss the situation for a particular song with the lyri-cist, but then demand is not contri-bution. Even if the idea is given by another person, you can’t copyright an idea. It is the product that can have copyright and as the creator of the product the copyright rests with the writer. In India all this is present on paper. We are all signatories to IPRS. But when it comes to execut-ing what we have agreed upon we dilly dally and start coming up with excuses and create confusion. Doesn’t the principle of “work for hire” apply to film songs?No, it doesn’t. We don’t provide service. Everything is on contract basis. When we are talking of it as a film ‘industry’ we are seeking the benefits that come with it. But no one is willing to fulfill the obliga-tions that are mandatory for all in the industry. There’s no concept of gra-tuity or provident fund or any other benefit that workers in other indus-tries usually get from their employ-ers. Here people want to have the cake and eat it too. The funny thing

is, when we sign the contract we are asked to surrender our rights so that we don’t claim the rights in future. Isn’t it strange that you are admitting that we have such rights and that’s why you make us sign contracts so that we give away our rights to you?

The High Courts of both Delhi and Mumbai had earlier ruled that gramophone companies and FM radios need not pay additional royal-ties to composers or lyricists as they pay a license fee.

It’s not like this anywhere in the world. How can it be not effective in India which is a signatory to both Marrake-ch Agreement and Berne Convention? The Berne Convention requires its signatories to recognise the copy-right of works of authors/artists from other signatory countries in the same way as it recognises the copyright of its own nationals. For example, English copyright law applies to anything published or performed in the UK, regardless of where it was originally created.

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) that was agreed upon under the Marrakech Agree-ment is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regula-tion as applied to nationals of other WTO members. India is a signa-tory to both. This is an international issue. We get millions of dollars from outside India precisely because we follow the above agreements. When-ever music from abroad is played here, money is paid. How come then for our own composers and lyricists the rules are changed? I was quite surprised at the judgments but now with the new Act all such concerns can hopefully be put to rest.

Is there any singer today who performs only on the terms of royalty (as Lata Mangeshkar did)?Lata Mangeshkar did not perform only on terms of royalty. She also took upfront money. But this is a question you should ask the singers, not me. Personally, all I can say is that Lataji’s approval of the amend-ment is the final seal for me.

How much support did you have within the Indian music industry?We had the support from everyone. Our signatories include well-known names from the world of classical music like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia - to name a few, to AR Rahman, Gulzar and many others. Singers too have sup-ported us even though they don’t come under the purview of copy-right. I feel singers too should not be left high and dry and be given some sort of royalty for their contribution.

Many powerful producers had been up in arms against you for fighting for copy-right amendment in favour of lyricists and singers. What now?Now that the amendment is a reality I don’t mind a lifetime ban. Producers can stop giving me work complete-ly. But royalty has to be paid. This amendment in the Rajya Sabha is a huge boost to all artists who work hard and contribute to the making of films. It’s not only for producers and owners of music companies to reap the benefits of the hard work of so many.

Are you writing songs for any albums outside films?I have done quite a few albums but there’s nothing on right now. I’m not exactly a blue-eyed boy of the music industry right now, you see.

With the passing of the Bill for the amendment of the Copyright Act in the Parliament, lyricist Javed Akhtar stands vindicated. He had been fighting for the amendment for quite a long time. Nasreen Khan talks to the Bollywood icon

“I don’t mind a lifetime ban”

Mumbai: Model-cum- Sonakshi Sinha turned a year older on Saturday, June 2.The actor who was born on June 2, 1987, to actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha and Punam Sinha, turned 25.Sonakshi gained instant recognition in her debut movie “Dabangg” where she was cast opposite actor Salman Khan.The actor once said that she had to shed a weight of 30kg over a period of two years to fit into the character that she enacted in the film.Interestingly, before entering into films she was a model and studied fashion de-signing at SNDT in Mumbai.Focusing on her modelling career, Son-akshi was featured as the cover girl of Indian edition of Maxim magazine and also walked the ramp at the Lakme Fashion Week 2008 and 2009.Her upcoming projects include Rowdy Rathore, Joker, Lootera, Son of Sardar and Dabangg 2.

Sonakshi turns 25

Kolkata: National Award winning actress Vidya Balan, who is in-volved in various philanthropic ac-tivities, received “Prabha Khaitan Puraskar” from West Bengal Gov-ernor M.K.Narayanan in Kolkata recently.Addressing the Governor Vidya said: “I feel proud to receive this award from you.”Conferring the award to Vidya, Narayanan said: “I am doubly privileged to present this award to Vidya Balan as I come from the same small town of Kerala where she was born.” “Prabha Khaitan Puraskar” is awarded to women for their out-standing achievements and com-mitments in various fields. While receiving the award Vidya said: “I feel extremely over-

whelmed to receive this Prabha Khaitan Puraskar specially after knowing a few names who has earlier received this award for ex-celling in their own field.” “I think women are taking the centre stage in various walks of life all over the country and cinema is just a reflection of that.”She said she wanted to work in Bengali films but had not received any offer yet.Talking about her favourite direc-tor, Vidya said: “Satyajit Ray is my favourite Bengali director. I am also fond of Rituparno’s (Ritupar-no Ghosh) work.”The panel of the judges for select-ing the recipient of the award in-cluded Bengali author Nabaneeta Dev Sen. Earlier in 1996, Shabana Azmi received this award.

Vidya receives Prabha Khaitan Puraskar

Indian entertainment

“I don’t mind a lifetime ban” IIFAs - Ranbir and Vidya at the top

Singapore, June : The 13th annual IFFA awards came to conclusion in the beautiful city of Singa-pore on Saturday, June 9.

The festivities began on the 7th of June and went on till the 9th , the day of the award function.

Singapore witnessed a bevy stars who had come for the annual awards. Missing from the action were some of the big names – The Bachchan family, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and the much adored Bollywood couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

This time around the awards were hosted by young heartthrobs Shahid Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor, joined by two other young and new stars – Chitrangada Singh and Ayushmann Khurrana who hosted the Grey Goose pres-ents IIFA Rocks!.

Like each year, this year too, IIFA celebrated the awards with a number of different activities over the awards week-end, like the IIFA Music Workshop, IIFA Film Festival and the IIFA World Premier, IIFA Foundation – Celebrity Charity Fundraiser. Big designers like Suneet Verma, Masaba Gupta and Varun Behl unveiled their special collections at the IFFA Rocks function with stars walking the runway.

The award ceremony itself witnessed some special moments with Priyanka Chopra paying tribute to Rekha, who won an award for Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema and father – son duo Rishi and Ranbir Kapoor shaking a leg on stage.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and The Dirty Picture led the nomination boards with ZNMD taking top awards. How-ever the best actor award for the evening went to Ranbir Kapoor for his stunning performance in Rockstar and the best actress award went to Vidya Balan for her portrayal of South sensation Silk Smitha in The Dirty Picture.

13TH ANNUAL IIFA AWARDS 2012 – WINNERSBEST FILM – ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARABEST DIRECTION – ZOYA AKHTAR (ZINDAGI NA MILEGI DOBARA)BEST ACTOR MALE – RANBIR KAPOOR (ROCKSTAR)BEST ACTOR FEMALE – VIDYA BALAN (THE DIRTY PICTURE)BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE MALE – FARHAN AKHTAR (ZNMD)BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE FEMALE – PARINEETI CHOPRA (LADIES Vs RICKY BEHL)BEST PERFORMANCE IN A COMIC ROLE – RITEISH DESHMUKH (DOUBLE DHAMAAL)BEST PERFORMANCE IN A NEGATIVE ROLE – PRAKASH RAJ (SINGHAM)BEST STORY – REEMA KAGTI & ZOYA AKHTAR (ZNMD)BEST MUSIC DIRECTION – A. R. RAHMAN (NADAAN PARINDE - ROCKSTAR)BEST LYRICS – IRSHAD KAMIL (NADAAN PARINDE – ROCKSTAR)BEST PLAYBACK SINGER MALE – MOHIT CHAUHAN (NADAAN PARINDE – ROCKSTAR)BEST PLAYBACK SINGER FEMALE – SHREYA GHOSHAL (TERI MERI - BODYGUARD)OUTSTANDING ACHEIEVEMENT IN INDIAN CINEMA – REKHABEST DEBUT MALE – VIDYUT JAMWALBEST DEBUT FEMALE – PARINEETI CHOPRA


IndianIndianIndian entertainment

How does it feel to finally have the Bill for the amend-ment to the Copyright Act passed?You are making your debut as a heroine at 47 in Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. Were you apprehensive about the move?Farah: I didn’t want to take such a big leap but as Boman was there with me in the lead, it became easier.

Farah, you are playing a Parsi in the film. How did you prepare for the role?Farah: I went out and met a lot of Parsis…in fact, I met a lot of Bomans because he is so much fun and a true Parsi.

While you were acting, did the director in you use to pop up at times?Farah: I thought I was only being an actress and throwing tantrums and telling Bela I won’t do this and that. On a serious note, no I didn’t butt in. I think as much as I am a control-freak, I gave complete control to Bela and Sanjay because it was their work that I decided to take such a

brave leap. We would keep improvis-ing and ask Bela (Bhansali Sehgal, director) if we could do this and

wear that. Other than that I was being an actress and used to play games in-between shots in Boman’s make-up van and we were only playing games. We are only good friends.

There is a scene where Boman is trying to sell lingerie to Farah. So what happened after the shoot? Boman: After that scene, she (Farah) took me in the van and said: ‘Look Boman, now when-ever I go for you-know-what kind of shopping, you need to come and help me out’; since I [am] an expert on it now.

Farah: What rubbish!There is also a towel scene in the film…

Farah: You know, Boman has done a nude scene in the film. So please come and watch.Boman: Actually on the set it was a full nude scene. But because of Sanjay (Leela Bhansali) and Bela’s mom was there on the set…Farah: (Interrupts) …And my chil-dren and my mother-in-law decided to come to shoot that day; Boman was there sitting in a little towel.

So Farah must have enjoyed the scene as it is typical of Sanjay Bhansali film; Ranbir Kapoor also did one in Saawariya.Farah: I agree. But why did they give me Boman in towel, mujhe Ranbir de dete.

You have a kissing scene in the film. How was it?

Boman: First she (Farah) would say ‘I don’t want to do a kissing scene’. Then she would come to my van and say, ‘I think Bela wants us to do the kissing scene. So let’s rehearse’. And we used to rehearse the kissing scene for an hour, an hour-and-a-half, and get tired. Everybody knows when

you rehearse your dialogues, your mouth gets hurt. Our mouths also hurt a lot and then she used to go back to the sets and say, ‘No, no Bela, I don’t want to do the kissing scene’.

With kissing scenes, towel sequences and the hero as bra and panty salesman, can we call this film Boman and Farah’s ‘Dirty Picture’?

Boman: You are absolutely right.

Who dominated the sets – Boman or Farah?Boman: I have 27 years of playing a Parsi at home, which means, only women do the talking.

Farah, what would you like to take home from the sets every day?Farah: Boman.Boman: (Simultaneously) Me, me, me. She would take me home every night.Farah: What are you saying! Shirish Kunder is my husband.Boman: So what?Farah: We are just good friends.

Shah Rukh Khan has praised your and Boman’s poster of Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. What are your reac-tions?Farah: Shah Rukh always had the hots for me…for a long time. We know it. He loves me and Boman you come second in my list.

Choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan will be making her acting debut in romantic comedy Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi opposite Boman Irani. Sreya Basu met the duo at the first look launch of the film in Mumbai as they were busy pulling each other’s legs

"We got tired of practising kissing scene"


Indian Wellness

Homeopathy: Ideal for Infants and Children: Homeopathy is a scientific, logical, safe and extremely effective method of treatment. Ho-meopathy treats the patient as a whole and not just the disease. Most of the children ailments like Cold, Cough, Fever, Vomiting, Diar-rhea, Dysentery, Colic, Tonsillitis, Bronchitis, Asthma, Measles, Chickenpox, Mumps, Den-tition problems, etc., can be effectively treated with homeopathy without producing any side effects. Children love taking homeopathic pills as they are sweet in taste. Homeopathy is also effective in temperament and behavioral prob-lems like irritability, obstinacy, temper-tan-trums, fears, phobias, destructiveness, thumb- sucking, nail biting, bed-wetting etc.

Homeopathy: Better substitute to An-tibiotics... Homeopathy is an effective alternate to anti-biotics and can treat infectious diseases like Sinusitis, Tonsillitis, Bronchitis, Pneumonia, Tuberculosis, Meningitis, Gastroenteritis (vomiting-diarrhea),Urinary Infections, etc. Viral infections as common cold, influenza, measles, chickenpox, mumps, Jaundice, viral meningitis etc. are very well treated with ho-meopathy. Unlike Antibiotics homoeopathic pills do not hamper the digestion or lower body’s resistance.

Homeopathy: Often avoids Surgery Surgery is an art and science by itself. There are number of diseases which are labeled as 'surgical', where homeopathy works curatively and can avoid surgery as: Tonsillitis, Piles, Anal fissures, Fistula, Chronic ear discharge, Vocal cord nodules, Polyp in nose-ear, Kidney & Gall stones (small), Uterine Fibroids, Ovarian Cysts, Warts, Corns, etc.

Homeopathy: Answer to Allergic dis-eases In modern life infections have diminished and

various allergic disorders are on the rise. Ho-meopathy offers very effective treatment in al-lergic diseases like Urticaria, Eczema, Derma-titis and gives miraculous results in Asthmatic Bronchitis.

Homeopathy: Excellent for Psychoso-matic ailments The psychosomatic disorders like Migraine, Asthma, Acidity, Peptic ulcer, Allergy, Ul-cerative colitis, etc. are successfully treated with homeopathy. It has long recognized the psychological origin of somatic (body) symp-toms. Homeopathic medicines are prescribed at the level of mind and body together. Perhaps no other system of medicine has such a superb approach of tackling the mind-body disorders like emotional disturbance such as excessive anxiety, irritability, insecurity, obsessive dis-orders, jealousy, suspicion (paranoid) fears, depression, neurosis etc. Thus, homeopathy is the therapy for the person rather than for the disease alone. Homeopathy – A complete system of medicineIf a disease does not respond to any particu-lar line of treatment, one must take a homeo-pathic opinion immediately. Often patients lose their early time going from one special-ist to another and approach Homeopathy only when other medicines fail. For best results one should resort to homeopathy in the early phase of sickness. Because of ignorance and lack of awareness about the usefulness of homeopathy in all kinds of diseases ranging from Cold to Cancer, many patients approach homeopathy late. By this time the disease progresses to an incurable stage. It is time for people to become fully aware of the benefits and the scope of ho-meopathy in various day-to-day diseases and it’s role in wellness of mankind.

For more details and appointment call Dr. Kuldip Singh, 09-2785800, 021-2175800, [email protected]

The Auckland Regional Public Health Service has some easy tips to keeping yourself healthy this winter which will help ensure you spend your time doing the things you want to do and not staying at home, feeling unwell.

While the most common illnesses during winter are colds and flu, these great general tips on how to keep you and your family healthy, will help prevent illness such as allergies, asthma, and other respiratory diseases.

Here are 10 top easy tips for enjoying a healthy winter:

1. Wash your hands regularly and correctly. Winter illness is easily spread via hands. It is important that hands are washed regularly, especially after using the toilet and before touching food. Don’t forget to wash both sides of the hands and between the fingers for at least 20 seconds, use soap and dry with a paper towel or clean dry towel when finished.

2. Open windows during the day and then close them before the sun goes down or you turn on the heating. This will ensure your home is kept ventilated, which helps keep it warm and dry.

3. Keep the bathroom door closed when showering or bathing to prevent excess moisture settling around the house. Excess moisture can lead to respiratory problems and cause mould and mildew.

4. Reduce damp in your home and don’t ‘line dry’ your laundry inside. This increases the amount of moisture in the air. Where possible use a dehumidifier. If there is high moisture content in your home using a dehumidifier will reduce this.

5. Avoid using unflued gas heaters inside your home, which release polluting gases into the air. This type of heater increases the level of indoor air pollutants which can cause respiratory problems. (Unflued gas heaters are usually portable gas heaters that don’t have a flue or chimney to remove the gasses to outside your home).

6. Avoid coughing or sneezing near babies and small children. Many babies and small children are too young to be vaccinated against common illnesses and due to their de-veloping immune systems are more susceptible to picking them up.

7. If you smoke, smoke outside, away from confined spaces. Even though it may be cold outside, it is important to help protect the people around you from cigarette smoke.

8. If you or your child is feeling unwell visit a doctor early. Treating what can seem like small health issues early, can help prevent them getting worse or becoming bigger issues in the future.

9. Talk to your doctor about the influenza vaccination. Vaccination is particularly ben-eficial for those over 65 years of age, those with serious medical conditions or have asthma and pregnant women. Immunisation is offered between March and July and might be free for you.

10. Visit www.fightflu.co.nz or contact you doctor to find out more. Be aware of your neighbours, if you know of elderly or vulnerable people in your community, make sure they are ok, something as small as ensuring they have warm food and an extra blanket can help protect them during periods of cold weather.

Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Brad Novak says “Warm, dry and ventilated homes help protect you against common respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis.”

Easy tips for enjoying a healthy winter

WELLNESS by HOMOEOPATHYWhat is homeopathy?Homeopathy is an alternative method of treatment, based on the nature's law of Cure, namely 'Like Cures Like'. This law was discovered by a German doctor Dr. Samuel Hahnemann in 1796. Homeopathy is a gentle and effective system of medicine. The remedies are prepared from natural substances to precise standards and work by stimulating the body's own healing power.

Dr. Kuldip Singh

Indian

Protect yourself. Protect your family. Protect your community.

For adults and children with long-term health conditions, pregnant women and people aged 65 years and older, influenza can be an especially serious illness. For this reason the influenza immunisation is provided FREE to these groups.

Influenza immunisation is available FREE for those who:l are pregnantl regularly use an asthma preventerl have diabetesl have heart diseasel have kidney problems

l have cancerl have a serious medical conditionor are

aged 65 years or overIf you do not have one of these eligible conditions, you still benefit from an influ-enza immunisation available, at a small cost. Influenza immunisation is normally available between March and the end of July every year.

A small number of people should not be vaccinated without first consulting a doctor; such as those who have had a severe reaction to an influenza vaccine previously, or those who have a severe allergy (anaphylaxis) to chicken eggs.

Can I get a free flu vaccine?

The BEST thing you can do for yournew baby isn’t to buy or invest in any of these things – it is to ensure they are protected from vaccine prevent-able diseases.

This means knowing what these diseases are and visiting your GP practice nurse ON TIME and con-senting to having your baby / child immunised at 6 weeks of age, 12 weeks of age(3 months) and 5 months of age. Once your baby reaches 15 months of age – they need their 15 month immunisation, this is a very important immunisation as it is the 1st immunisation to protect them against measles, mumps and rubella ….At 4 years of age they need to have their 4 year immunisa-tion to fully protect them and have them ready for school.

On time vaccination is the best way to protect babies and infants. The free vaccination programme in children starts at six weeks then followed at three months and then at five months of age. Babies will not be protected until they have received all three doses. If you are not sure if your child’s vaccinations are up to date and include the New Zealand immunisations– ask your doctor or practice nurse.

Older children and adults can bea source of infection too. Older

children should have further vacci-nations at age 11, and adults living with (or expecting) a new baby should also strongly consider getting the booster to protect the family against Pertussis (whooping cough). The vaccinations at age11 are free on the national immunisation sched-ule and are usually done at school.Adults will normally need to pay for their boosters.

To find out more about immuni-sations which are free you can see your GP, practice nurse or go on-line to www.arphs.govt.nz or http://www.immune.org.nz . Both these sites, and your practice Nurse can give you information and con-fidence to know about the diseases and the vaccines so you can make the decision to protect your precious baby, toddler or child.

What about the rest of the family?

New Zealand offers FREE flu vaccines to all adults over 65 years of age and to any adult or child with

a chronic (long term) disease. These diseases include heart disease, re-spiratory disease that requires daily medication), Diabetes, Chronic renal / kidney disease and some other dis-eases your GP or practice nurse can discuss with you.

The government also offers free flu vaccines to all pregnant woman – so that she is not at risk of getting the Flu while she is pregnant – and to protect the baby in the first few weeks of life. These vaccines are only FREE until July 31st 2012

The New Zealand National Immunisation Schedule

The New Zealand National Im-munisation Schedule is a series of immunisations (including boosters) given at specific times between the ages of six weeks and eleven years. To get the best possible protection, have the immunisations on time, every time.The immunisation visit

Many children (and parents) find immunisation visits are an easy and relatively pain-free experience. For some children (and parents) however, needles can be scary, es-pecially on the first visit. Here's some basic information to help you manage the visit as well as possible, and give you some tips on caring for your child before, during and after.

Children can easily tell when their parents are anxious and, as a parent, you need to be aware that your child will look to you for comfort and reassurance.

Before and during the im-munisationTry to remain calm and relaxed, even if your child becomes upset.Bring along a stuffed toy or blanket for your child to hold during the immunisation, or use it to distract them.

Hold your child firmly during the procedure, talking calmly and gently stroking the child’s arm or back to reassure them.

After the immunisationAfter being pricked by the needle your child may cry for a brief time, it’s their way of coping. Your job is to comfort, hold, and talk to them supportively.

Feeding your baby straight after their immunisation will help them settle.

You will need to remain in the clinic for 20 minutes after the im-munisation. Use this time to help your child settle, this can help make the next visit easier.

Most children experience little or no ill effects after immunisations. Some of the minor effects reported are mild fever, tenderness or swell-ing and redness at the site of the in-jection. Here are some ways to make your baby or child more comfortable after their immunisation:l Don’t rub the injection sitel Give your child lots of cuddles

and lots of fluidsl If you are breastfeeding, give lots

of feedsl An ice pack wrapped well in

a dry cloth or better still a cool cloth, can be held over the injec-tion site if it is sore

l If your child gets hot, undressing them down to a single layer, for example a singlet and pants, can help

l Make sure the room is not too hot or too cold.

Medication for tem-perature or painIf your child is unsettled, miserable because of a fever or seems to be in pain, you might consider giving them paracetamol or ibuprofen to make them feel more comfort-able. You must follow the dosage instructions on the bottle. It is dangerous to give more than the recom-mended dose.

Giving babies and chil-dren paracetamol before and repeatedly after i mmu n i s a t ion just in case they feel unwell is NOT recom-mended and can interfere with the immune response.

Tips for older childrenOlder children can get bored easily waiting around, so take some favourite books or toys along. You can really help take the anxiety out of the visit by using distraction techniques such as talking to your child and getting them to play imaginary games while the immunisation is happening. Get them to blow out as though blowing bubbles; play a favourite word game or something you know they enjoy.

Toys, new clothes, education funds….

During childhood, our children are exposed to thousands of germs, some of which are potentially harmful to their health. Immuni-sation is the most effective way to actively protect your child from preventable diseases, ranging from whooping cough to meningitis and measles. Here you will find the basic information about how, why and when we immunise, as well as in-formation about the vaccines them-selves.FAQI'm moving to/from New Zealand. What does this mean for my child's immuni-sations?

A: In general, holiday visits to other countries require little more than the routine travel recommen-dations. We do not provide travel vaccine advice and recommend that you contact your GP or a clinic that specialises in travel medicine.

If you are moving to another country we recommend that you and your children

f o l l o w the immunisation schedule of that country because it will include im-munisations for the diseases their children are most at risk of.

Ex-pats and immigrants coming to New Zealand may need some catch-up vaccines. Practice Nurses and General Practitioners can advise on any immunisation gaps and an

accelerated catch up immunisation schedule can be provided if needed.

Q: Where do children get immunisations in New Zealand?

A: Immunisations are given at local Doctor/General Practitioner (GP) practices or medical centres. They may be administered by the Doctor or by the Practice Nurse. Parents or guardians usually need to make an appointment for their child to have immunisations. It is advis-able to ring the medical centre you want to attend and ask what they prefer.Q: How do I find a local Doctor/General Practitio-ner (GP)?

A: We suggest that you ask your friends, relatives or neigh-bours, other parents at playgroups, the local pharmacy or the local Citizens Advice Bureau who they know of and recommend. There is also a list of Doctors and medical centres in the front of the tele-phone book.Q: Do I have to pay for im-munisations for my child?

A: All children under 16 years of age can have National Im-munisation Schedule immunisa-tions for free, including catch up doses of vaccines they have missed, whether or not they are New Zealand residents. This in-cludes children who are in New Zealand for a holiday, with a parent or guardian here on a

short term or temporary visa, or who are here on a student visa.

However, for the human papil-lomavirus vaccine, Gardasil®, a girl who is a non-resident must be less than 16 years of age and be living in New Zealand for eight months or more after starting the vaccine course to be eligible to receive the vaccine for free.

About ImmunisationAbout Immunisation

During childhood, our children are exposed to thousands of germs, some of which are potentially harmful to their health. Immunisation is the most effective way to actively protect your child from preventable diseases, ranging from whooping cough to meningitis and measles. Here you will find the basic information about how, why and when we immunise, as well as information about the vaccines themselves.

FAQ

I'm moving to/from New Zealand. What does this mean for my child's

immunisations?

A:

In general, holiday visits to other countries require little more than the routine travel recommendations. We do not provide travel vaccine advice and recommend that you contact your GP or a clinic that specialises in travel medicine.

If you are moving to another country we recommend that you and your children follow the immunisation schedule of that country because it will include immunisations for the diseases their children are most at risk of.

Ex-pats and immigrants coming to New Zealand may need some catch-up vaccines. Practice Nurses and General Practitioners can advise on any immunisation gaps and an accelerated catch up immunisation schedule can be provided if needed.

Q:

Where do children get immunisations in New Zealand?

A:

NEWS FLASHThere has been a huge increase

in the number of infants, children

and adults with Pertussis /

whooping cough in the Auckland

region. Pertussis is especially

serious in infants under 12

months old. For every 100

infants under 12 months old

with whooping cough, around

70 will be hospitalised, seven

will require intensive care and

there is a small, but very real

risk of permanent medical

complications or death. The

current public health strategy

aims to protect this vulnerable

cohort.

Wellness


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entertainment

InnerCity Walking GroupInnerCity Walking Group for fun, exer-cise and a new look at your city. An hour of free fun - route will be determined by level of fitness.Meet outside Art Gallery.

When: 7 June 2012 – 28 June 2012Where: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Cnr Kitchener and Wellesley Streets, Auckland CBDAdmission: FreeWebsite: http://www.parnell.org.nz/

Ceroc DancingPartner dance best described as a fu-sion of salsa and jive, but without the complicated footwork. It is derived from many other dances including French jive, swing, Lindy Hop, and rock and roll, the main change being simplified footwork which makes it more accessible to be-ginners.

The classes are relaxed and friendly, and focus on giving you the skills to dance 'freestyle' in public, choosing moves that suit you as you go. Ceroc Dance classes won't leave you with dance routines that can only be danced to certain music, in certain places. Being able to dance Ceroc really is a lifeskill you can use in your social life whenever you want.When: 27 November 2011 – 11 Octo-ber 2012Where: Albany Sports Bar and Cafe, 12 Oteha Valley Road Extension, AlbanyAdmission: FreeWebsite: http://www.albanysports-barcafe.co.nz/

Raw Comedy NightEvery Monday we present a brand new winter season of Raw Comedy - our weekly open mic for new faces.Our guest pro host introduces up to 10 rookies each week and everyone who signs on is eligible to enter the 2013 Raw Comedy Quest kicking off in March 2013.

All you need is 5 mins of your own origi-nal stand-up comedy.Students 2 for the price of 1.When: 11 June 2012 – 22 October 2012Where: The Classic Comedy & Bar, 321 Queen St, Auckland CBDAdmission: $5Restrictions: R18Website: http://www.comedy.co.nz/

BollyworX - Full Body Workout to Bollywood MusicIt's not dance but a full body workout that is just plain fun body movements with Bollywood music.BollyworX is a work-out, not dance.BollyworX is just 'plain fun body move-ments' with Bollywood music.BollyworX is exceptionally easy and fun, suitable for all age groups and all fitness levels.BollyworX is fun without feeling self-con-scious.BollyworX has no 'jhatka-matka' or ob-scene Bollywood moves that will embar-rass anybody.BollyworX is value for money...When: Mt Roskill War Memorial Hall,13 May Rd, Mt RoskillWhere:Admission: Gold coin donation $2.00 Or 11 class pass: $20.00 (Door Sales Only)Website: www.bollyworx.co.nz

Matariki Festival 2012On 21 June, the Matariki star cluster rises into our skies. This signals the beginning of a month of celebration and entertain-ment, bringing a modern take to a centu-ries old Māori tradition.Auckland comes alive for Matariki with a series of concerts, family events and traditional celebrations. From art exhi-bitions and kapa haka to contemporary dance and kite flying, there is truly some-thing for everyone to enjoy.

When: 21 June to 21 JulyWhere: Region-wideCost: Prices vary - some events are freeWebsite: http://www.matarikifestival.org.nz/

City Farmers' MarketA farmers’ market is a food market where local growers, farmers and artisan food producers sell their wares directly to consumers.

Vendors may only sell what they grow, farm, pickle, preserve, bake, smoke or catch themselves from within a defined local area.The market operates on Saturdays be-tween 8.30am and 12.30pm from the corner of Galway and Gore Streets.Parking for the City Farmers’ Market is available at the Britomart Car Park on Britomart Place. We offer a great dis-counted rate - see the Market Manager to have your parking ticket validated.When: 15 January 2011 – 22 Decem-ber 2012Where: Britomart, Cnr Gore & Galway Streets, Auckland CBDAdmission: FreeWebsite: www.cityfarmersmarket.co.nz

Salsa NightAfter all previous successful salsa nights, Atico has decided to make it regular. So every second Friday of the month you can enjoy salsa lessons and music until late.

This is a great opportunity to try our great menu from the Caribbean islands and the music and dance from Coco (an interna-tional award dancer).When: 8 June 2012 – 9 November 2012Where: Atico Cocina, 19 Drake St, Auckland CBDAdmissions: FreeWebsite: www.atico.co.nz

MOTAT - New Zealand Volunteer AwarenessMaintaining MOTAT as New Zealand’s leading transport and technology mu-seum is a huge undertaking - a task that would be impossible without a loyal team of over 300 volunteers.As part of New Zealand Volunteer Aware-ness Week (17-23 June), MOTAT is open-ing its gates to the public free of charge throughout the whole month of June in celebration of its hard-working volun-teers, who help to ensure the collection is beautifully restored and maintained for everyone to enjoy.

When: 1 June 2012 – 30 June 2012Where: MOTAT (Museum of Transport and Technology), 805 Great North Rd, Western SpringsAdmission: FreeWebsite: http://www.motat.org.nz/

Auckland Festival of Photography A highlight of Auckland’s artistic events calendar, the Auckland Festival of Pho-tography is New Zealand’s largest pho-tographic event.

Over 400 local and international artists are featured in 101 exhibitions and events that appeal to a broad audience, with a programme of Signature and Fringe ex-hibitions and community events from Matakana to Pukekohe and Waiheke to Piha.The Auckland Festival of Photography is free and runs for over three weeks from 1 June 2012.When: 1 – 24 JuneWhere / Contact: Call the Auckland Festival of Photography Trust on 09 307 7055Admission: FreeWebsite: http://www.photographyfes-tival.org.nz/

Mother & Daughter Health EventEcostore, alongside two leading experts in health and wellbeing, will host an eve-ning for “all mothers and daughters, aun-ties and nieces, young women and their fairy godmothers”.

The evening will be packed with rich in-formation and tips to help make simple healthier choices everyday. Alongside Malcolm Rands from ecostore will be two experts in the field of nutrition, fit-ness and skin care, Lee-Anne Wann and Dr Vincent Crump.

When: 14 June 2012, 6.00 pm to 8.00 pmWhere: Dorothy Winston Centre, Auckland Girls' Grammar School, 14 Howe St, NewtonAdmission: FreeWebsite: http://www.ecostore.co.nz/

For listing of your community events email: [email protected]


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Enjoy life on a day-to-day basis - this is presently the most popular theme in Bollywood. On similar lines, filmbuffs will get a taste of Cocktail this July with Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan and Diana Penty. Sreya Basu catches up with the Dum Maaro Dum girl in Mumbai on her upcoming release.

You have been paired opposite Saif for the second time. Don’t you think there will be compari-sons with Love Aaj Kal?The minute people see Saif and me to-gether, people still think of Love Aaj Kal (2009 film). But Cocktail is a very, very different film. Yes of course, Love Aaj Kal maker Imtiaz (Ali) has written this film, but it is Homi Adajania of Being Cyrus fame, who has directed it. This film is a love story but it’s also about friendship, betrayal, fun and trust…so I think, in terms of a film, Cocktail is different.

People are loving the dialogues your character speaks in Cock-tail …The dialogues have been written based on the character (Veronica) that I am playing. She is a very confident girl, someone who is very self-assured…she is very confident about herself, her life, the way she conducts herself.

You have played a wild girl in most of your films. What do you have to say about that?

I don’t think so. I think my role in Love Aaj Kal was not wild at all, in fact it was a dif-ferent role for me.

Is it true that you were offered both the female leads in Cocktail?Yes, I was offered both the roles – Veronica and Meera. My producer Dinu (Dinesh Vijan) was kind enough to offer me both the roles and say: “Listen, I have two char-acters for you. Now it’s up to you to choose which one you want to do.” And I took it as a challenge and Imtiaz also sug-gested to me that Meera from Love Aaj Kal is so similar to the other (female) character in Cocktail, that it would be in-

teresting for me to play Veronica.

Are you happy with your choice?I am glad that I went to that because now that the promos have been released, the response

has been fantastic. I think people are reacting so much as they have never seen play something like this before. I have never looked like this on screen before Cocktail. It was really challeng-ing and I love the way the film and my character have shaped up.

You are always praises for filmmaker Karan Johar. You are also doing his next Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani with Ranbir Kapoor… When I was doing my first film Om Shanti Om (2007), Farah (Khan, direc-tor) and Shah Rukh (Khan, actor) intr\

oduced me to Karan (Johar). I remember how warm he was towards me. The kind of encour-agement he gave me when I entered the indus-try was amazing. It is people like Karan who have supported me so much is why I am here today.

Who is your best friend in this in-dustry?

My bestest friend is Shahana Goswami (actor). I keep telling her that we can never plan when friends come to our lives or leave us. But she is one person who in the beginning just happened to be my co-star and before I could know it, we became “bestest” friends. Whenever I return to Mumbai from an outdoor schedule, she is the first person I call.

‘Karan encouraged me as newcomer’ - Deepika Padukoneentertainment


Recipe

KOFTA METHODMix washed and chopped spinach with paneer, bread crumbs, green chillies and salt. Divide the mixture into equal size balls. Heat sufficient oil in a wok and deep fry the koftas until golden brown. Drain onto an absorbent paper. Now your koftas are ready !

PALAK KOFTA GRAVY

KOFTA INGREDIENTS2cup- palak chopped1cup- paneer grated¼ cup- bread crumbs4- green chillies choppedSalt according to tasteOil for deep frying

GRAVY METHODHeat oil in a wok. Add onions and fry until golden in colour. Add ginger, garlic paste cook till oil sur-faces on the top of the cooked masala. Add toma-toes and cook for another 8 minutes. Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and salt. Stir and cook for five to six minutes more. Add half cup of water. Bring it to a boil and simmer for five minutes on low heat.Add more water if the gravy is thick.Arrange koftas in a serving dish and pour hot gravy on topServe hot with chopped coriander on top.

GRAVY INGREDIENTS3- onions medium grated4- tomatoes medium pureed1tbsp- ginger paste1tbsp- garlic paste1tsp- garam masala¼ - red chillii powder¼ - turmeric powderCoriander chopped

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