Indian Down Under Nov-Dec 2015

VOL 27 No.
3
Print Post Publication No. 23572300014
November - December 2015
Annual Subscription incl. postage & handling $17

Newsagencies $1 inc GST
Australia celebrates Diwali !
Premier Mike Baird greeted by a child dressed as Ravana

at Parliament House Diwali celebration
Inside this Issue:

Page 14: Neeru Saluja interviews Pan Nalin, director of Angry Indian Goddesses
Page 15: Diwali celebration at Parliament House, NSW
Yosha Joshi
Pan Nalin
Albert Einstien
Page 17: Hindi now in regular schools

Page 19: Why we love Diwali - Rekha Rajvanshi talks to community
Page 20: Hundred Years, Relativity Speaking - by Vijay Badhwar
Madhu Arora
The Anagans...
The Indian Down Under POBox 99 Thornleigh NSW2120 Ph (02) 9875 2713 Mobile: 0414 155 402 Email: indiandownunder@gmail.com
THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER November - December 2015
November - December 2015 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER 03
04 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER November - December 2015
November-December 2015 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER 05
06 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER November-December 2015
Editor's Letter
Lets rejoice
Editorial/Advertising Enquiries: 02 9875 2713
Postal Address: PO Box 99, Thornleigh NSW 2120.
Email: indiandownunder@gmail.com
Website: www.indiandownunder.com.au
EDITORIAL
Principal Editor: Vijay Badhwar
Associate Editor: Neena Badhwar
North America : Parveen Chopra
Correspondent
Sports Editor: Kersi Meher-Homji
Delhi Reporter: Ritu Ghai
WRITERS
Third Eye: Rekha Bhattacharjee
Political Columns: Karam Ramrakha, Mallika
Ganesan
Films and Art: Neeru Saluja, Abhishek Sood,
Monica Daswani, Sumi Krishnan, Devaki
Parthasarthy, Neena Badhwar, Rekha Rajvanshi,
Manju Mittal
Body-Mind-Spirit: Dr Sunder Das, Kanaka
Ramakrishna, Faith Harper, T Selva
Sport: Kersi Meher-Homji
Fiji Diary: Karam Ramrakha
Cookery: Promila Gupta
Children Section: Esther Chaudhary-Lyons
Classical Music: Sumi Krishnan, Kris Raman,
Lokesh Varma
Travel : Vijay Badhwar, Kris Raman
Humour: Melvin Durai, Santram Bajaj
Seniors Column: Santram Bajaj
Beauty: Devaki Parthasarthy, Ritu Ghai, Akvir Kaur
Community: Neena Badhwar, Kersi Meher-Homji,
Vijay Badhwar, Sumi Krishnan, Neeru Saluja,
Savitha Narayan, Manju Mittal
Photographers: Neelesh Kale, Raj Suri and Jordan
Anjaiya
Graphic Design: Dhiraj Kumar,
Nayanesh Gandhi, Dinesh Verma,
Bharat Bhushan Chopra/Bhagwati Multimedia
Tony Abbott provoked fury when he knighted Prince Philip

on Australia Day. Now the new PM has scrapped the
idiosyncratic Knights and Dames honours. It is high
time to revive the larger issue of an Australian Republic,
to give a much needed identity to Australia as a nation.
re you one of those few who have not been chosen

to receive an award? Not, of course, of a Bharat
Ratna or an OAM kind, being mere mortals, but of
the general two dollar kind - a trophy, a scarf around your
neck or even a paper certificate! Whats wrong, you may
ask, when they are being offered at all occasions, celebrations and community functions in such pandemic proportions!
Its a win-win situation for the awardees as well as the
organisers who can sell seats if not the whole tables, fill up
their stage time on auto pilot and even provide visibility to
their VIPs who may feel elated at the opportunity.
It is in human psyche to want respect and acceptance. It
is, indeed, obligatory for the community organisations to
respect and revere those who work for the society pro bono,
excel in their fields, especially if it is art and culture, in
order to encourage others towards high ideals. But to make
it a business and a stunt, to discount and devalue the exercise into a self-aggrandizing morass is an utter shame for
the community.
At the national level the Malcolm Turnbull Government
has scrapped the idiosyncratic Knights and Dames honours. It was an absurd idea in itself, later compounded by a
farcical knighting of Prince Philip, a comical mistake for
which the whole nation ridiculed the then PM, Tony
Abbott. After this rather trivial correction, the new Prime
Minister should revive the larger issue of an Australian
Republic that has been put in the too-hard basket, to give a
much needed identity to Australia as a nation. He should
take a leaf out from Indian history as the country freed itself
from foreign yoke to form a republic within three years
after independence from Britain. This was to create their
own identity, build self-confidence that they can stand on
their own without a ride from another flag. The Indian com-
munity in Australia whole-heartedly supports the idea.

In regards to creating identity, the Indian community in
Australia has carved itself well in the Australian mosaic.
There were many celebrations for Navratri and Dussehra
festivals, major Indian participation at the Parramasala and a
puja ceremony at the NSW Parliament House to commemorate Deepavali. It is, indeed, a matter of pride for the Indian
community that the national icon Sydney Opera House will
be specially lit to mark the Festival of Lights.
The celebrations at the Parliament House were slightly
subdued as the NSW Premier Mike Baird announced the
unexpected mid-term departure of the Indian ConsulGeneral in Sydney, Sunjay Sudhir. The young CG, during a
short span of two years in Sydney, has endeared himself
immensely not only to the Indian community but also to the
whole diplomatic core with his amiable personality. We, at
The Indian Down Under, wish him the very best in his
future career as we say good bye to the lovely family. Our
best wishes also to our readers: Let the lights of Deepavali
fill your lives with eternal joy.
Shiv Sena activists threw ink on the face of Sudheendra

Kulkarni, who works for a think tank, for hosting the book
release of ex-Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud
Kasuri.
eanwhile in India the politically important state of

Bihar went to polls stretched over a few weeks.
The polls and exit polls predicted a photofinish
between Narendra Modis BJP on one side and Nitish
Kumar-Lalu Yadav-led grand alliance alliance on the other.
Eventually it was nothing of the kind, as BJP lost badly,
which would have implications for national politics. The
result indicates an impact of be the acrimonious debate over
rising intolerance since Modi came to power, as alleged
by Congress party and a growing group of intellectuals. A
couple of secular writers/thinkers were murdered seemingly for their views. A Muslim man was lynched near Delhi
for allegedly eating beef. But one argument against claims
of rising intolerance is that the incidence of intolerance
has not increased, but the burgeoning media and social
media magnifies it. .
Interview
Kumar Vishwas, foremost a poet

POETPOLITICIAN AND A LEADING LIGHT OF THE AAM ADAMI PARTY
(AAP), KUMAR VISHWAS WAS IN AUSTRALIA RECENTLY.
HE SHARES SOME CANDID THOUGHTS WITH REKHA RAJVANSHI.
By Rekha Rajvanshi
RR: How do you define yourself - a
poet, a teacher, a politician or jack-of-alltrades?
Kumar Vishwas: I love to be called a
poet; and a poet is always a teacher. Where
there is poetry, there is teaching. Now,
about politics I have always maintained
that politics was not what I am supposed to
do. But it is yug-dharma, demand of the
moment. The people who were supposed to
do this were not doing this properly. So,
someone had to take the lead. Therefore,
politics is not my definition, but my determination.
RR: When did you write your first
poem? Who inspired you?
KV: My first poem was penned too
early. I cannot recall the exact time, but yes,
probably during my high school I wrote my
first poem. I even cannot say what inspired
me at that time. I always had a flair for
words and rhythm. In a later phase, I read
all the prose and poetry that I could. It
ranged from childrens magazine Nandan to
Indian and international writers.
RR: Youth today is not interested in
Hindi/Hindi poetry. How did you manage to
inspire them?
KV: A human can never keep away from
poetry. Poetry has a rhythm, so has human
heart. But yes, there was a phase in past two
decades, when youth turned its back on
Hindi poetry. When I started reciting on
stage, I saw that the audience stand was full
of grey hairs. It was disheartening because I
calculated that if this is the last generation
who loves to attend Kavi-Sammelan as audience, then what is the future of Hindi poetry? Then I started exploring the youth content in poetry. Many people accuse me of
distorting the format of traditional KaviSammelan by adding more entertaining top-
pings like one-liners/English quotes etc. But

I get hundreds of emails and messages on
daily basis, which say that they have started
reading MiraBai/ Kalidas/ Kabir/ Ghalib
after listening to my poems. Thats a delight!
RR: You have travelled all around the
world. What is the future of Hindi poetry
overseas, especially among the X and Y generations?
KV: Hindi has been travelling across the
world not only through Indians, but through
Pakistanis, Nepalis, Fiji Indians, Mauritians
and several Indian-origin people across the
globe. My experience of tours throughout
the world gives me a strong feeling that the
acceptability of Hindi poetry shall have great
leverage in the coming future.
RR: Does AAP have an agenda to promote our official language Hindi in India or
overseas?
KV: Not only Hindi, but AAP has an
agenda to promote all Indian regional languages throughout the world. I would like to
quote Bhartendu Ji here Nij Bhasha
Unnati Ahai, Sab Unnati Ko Mool.
Therefore, we need to and would love to
promote Hindi and other regional languages.
RR: You are one of the highest paid
poets of this era. You talk of equality and
social justice; do you apply these principles
in your life and how?
KV: If you are talking about my professional payment, there are two faces to this
question and therefore, two answers. First is
the economic part. Let me tell you, this is an
equation. I am paid such because my shows
are bought by the audiences as well as sponsors. So, the organizer himself is doing fair
business out of it. The ticket buyer is paying
a thousand bucks or so for two hours of nonstop poetry and entertainment. So, no one is
being overburdened in this process. It is a
normal economic cycle. Secondly, if you ask
The author with Kumar Vishwas
about comparison with other performers,

why one should compare with poets only,
and why not with Bollywood performers? In
my solo concerts, I drain my energy for two
and half hours in a go, and that too without
any support of music or supporting performers. Even then, the entertainment value that
I deliver on stage is fairly comparable with
any entertainment performer. So, I think this
is justified.
RR: You were doing so well as a poet.
What made you join politics in 2011?
KV: As I said, politics is Yug-Dharma.
The people in the drivers seat of the country were not doing their job in a justified
manner. Therefore, we needed to ask questions. When we started asking questions
about the corruption eating up the taxpayers
money, they asked us to come to the House
to be able to ask questions. The political
class was not willing to answer. Why appropriate action has not been taken against the
accused in Damini rape case. Every time we

asked a question, we were told to come to
the House and then ask questions. So, we
had to take this route and we are marching
ahead towards our goal of clean politics.
RR: Are you happy now? What are your
aspirations in politics?
KV: Yes, I am glad that as a political
party, AAP has won Delhi elections and the
present government is faring well. I have
zero aspirations in politics. I am game for
any responsibility that comes my way, but
wish to live the life of a poet once the things
get clean.
RR: You mentioned that 87 court cases
are pending against you. How does it impact
your family life?
KV: In my life as a celebrated poet, I
never heard a voice of opposition from any
of my audiences. Once I started participating
in a social movement, my mailbox, mobile
message box and my phone was flooded
with hate messages, abuses and threats. As a
performer, I had used some traditional KaviSammelan jokes about 12-15 years ago.
Political rivals, who are experts of hitting
below the belt, started circulating edited and
forged videos to defame me. In an extreme,
one of my santa-banta joke had been circulated with the title Kumar Vishwas Insulting
Sikhs. I am not sure about the exact number
of cases, but yes, they are plentiful. Some of
the cases were filed against me when we
protested against Commonwealth Games
scam, Damini case etc. Time will come
when all these will be quashed by law. My
family is firm and stands strongly with me.
RR: What is your message to AustralianIndian youth & poetry lovers?
KV: Lots of thanks and loads of Love to
all of them. Hum hain desi, haan magar har
desh me chhaye hain hum Love Hindi,
Live Hindi Jai Hind!
Column
The Third Eye
by Rekha Bhattacharjee
Will PM change affect Indo-Oz relations

By Rekha Bhattacharjee
he elevation of Malcolm
Turnbull as the 29th PM of
Australia
should
not
adversely impact the bilateral
relationship between India and
Australia.
After months of pulsating suspense over the imminent challenge by Malcolm Turnbull, the
end of Tony Abbotts reign as
Prime Minister of Australia came
rather swiftly on September 14.
Ironically, the former PM of
Australia had rubbished the suggestions in the morning that a
leadership
challenge
from
Malcolm Turnbull was imminent.
Im just not going to chase
all of these rabbits down all of the
burrows that youre inviting me to
go down, Abbott told reporters
in the morning while dismissing
the rumours or Canberra games
as the former Prime Minister
described those. Within 12 hours
or so of making the colourful
statement, Abbott was defeated
by Turnbull in the leadership
spill.
Now, as Turnbull has been
elevated to the top position, the
political commentators are busy
analysing the implications of the
knifing of the previous Liberal
prime minister.
In what has come to be known
as the revolving door prime
New Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull with deputy Liberal leader

Julie Bishop at the victory appearance.
ministers, Australia has seen
swearing in ceremony of no less
than five prime ministers in just
over five years.
What is bothering the
antipodean political pundits is the
fact that Australia is beginning to
be seen as politically dysfunctional all over the world. Though the
majority of the political commentators see the quick changes at the
top as an aberration, few sceptics
are of the opinion that revolving
door of prime ministers has
become a new norm.
The change in Canberra also
leads to another question: would
there be a change in the foreign
policy under the new occupant of
the prime ministerial abode (popularly called The Lodge)?
Writing from an Indian perspective, the question which

comes to mind is whether there
would be any significant change
in the bilateral relations between
India and Australia.
Australian Minister for Trade
and Investment Andrew Robb is
quick to dismiss any suggestion of
such a seismic shift in the bilateral relations under Turnbull. The
new Prime Minister, according to
Robb,
remained
extremely
focussed on further developing
the relationship with India.
There is an enormous
amount of upside in the relationship at so many levels including
in trade, investment and in the
deepening of business to business
linkages, the Minister for Trade
said.
We continue to work
towards the conclusion of a bilateral economic cooperation agreement where Australian services,
for example, have a lot to offer in
terms of helping to build capacity
in the Indian economy, the
Minister said.
Deepening our economic
relationship with India is important to Australia as we seek to aid
the diversity of our economy in
this post-mining boom period,
Mr Robb added.
A few months back, the Trade
Minister had expressed his optimism
over
the
proposed
Australia-India Comprehensive
Economic
Cooperation
Agreement (CECA). It is most
likely that the negotiations will
continue with the same vigour as
under the prime ministership of
Tony Abbott.
It would be pertinent to mention here that the business-friendly Turnbull has his eyes set firmly on the way the economic
reforms are being carried out
under the leadership of Narendra
Modi in India.
Charismatic new leaders in
the worlds two most populous
nations, President Xi of China
and Prime Minister Modi of
India, are this year pressing ahead
with ambitious economic and
political reform plans, Turnbull
had said while opening an important lecture Assessing the Future

of the Asia-Pacific US/Australia
Dialogue earlier this year.
Indian High Commissioner to
Australia Navdeep Suri shares the
views expressed by Trade
Minister Andrew Robb. He is
also of the opinion that the ascension of Mr Turnbull would not
have any significant impact on the
bilateral relations between the two
Indian Ocean Rim countries.
Ours is a mature relationship
underpinned by strong institutional linkages. I am confident that
the relationship will continue to
grow under the new government
as well, Mr Suri said.
From the Indian perspective,
Turnbulls India policy would
become apparent in the not too
distant future when he makes a
decision on the uranium sale to
the power-hungry South Asian
country.
A joint parliamentary standing
committee on treaties had recently raised objections over the uranium sale to India. A committee
member, however, said they had
been satisfied all nuclear material
in India could be easily accounted
for and tracked.
(Rekha Bhattacharjee is a
Sydney-based senior journalist.
The views expressed are personal.
She can be contacted at
vijay@hotkey.com.au)
Adanis coal mine triggers morality debate in Australia

By Rekha Bhattacharjee
hether he likes it or
not, Indias energy
magnate
Gautam
Adani manages to arouse
extreme passions not only in
India but sometimes also overseas.
Adanis
name
got
embroiled in another public
debate when Australian Federal
Government re-approved his
mega Carmichael coal mining
project recently.
The A$16 billion mining
project, which is located in
Queenslands Galilee Basin,
was granted a new approval by
Australias
Environment
Minister Greg Hunt recently.
The vociferous opposition from
Green groups got significant
traction when Federal Energy
Minister Josh Frydenberg commented that there is a strong
moral case for mining and
exporting coal to poor countries
like India.
Most importantly of all it
will help lift hundreds of mil-
Indias energy magnate Gautam Adani manages to arouse extreme

passions not only in India but sometimes also overseas.
lions of people out of energy
poverty, not just in India but
right across the world, he told
ABCs Insiders program.
I think there is a strong
moral case here, the Minister
said while presenting a case that
Adanis coal mine would create
thousands
of
jobs
in
Queensland as it would mean an
investment of A$16 billion flowing into the regional communities.

Josh Frydenberg may have
been defending the role played
by foreign investments in creating crucial jobs in regional
Australia but he, inadvertently,
triggered a debate over the
morality of exporting environ-
ment polluting coal to the developing countries like India.

Now in India they produce
their own coal but they cant
meet the market because theyve
got so many people, over 100
million in India who just dont
have access to electricity, he
added.
A spate of newspaper editorials, television debates and factfilled blogs have followed the
strong moral case comment
made by the Energy Minister.
The social media erupted in
indignation once the Australian
media started questioning the
Ministers spin to project coal
exports as a sort of foreign ad .
Josh Frydenberg may have
been voicing a genuine concern
but he has come under severe
criticism from various quarters.
His statement is being seen as
favouring fossil fuels and has
come at a time when Australia,
like any other country, is reeling
under the devastation caused by
global warming.
According to the latest fig-
ures, this has been Australias

hottest October on record
The Australian Ministers
task to justify export of coal has
been made harder to defend as
61 well-known Australians
signed an open letter (published
in Fairfax newspapers) earlier
this week calling for December's
Paris climate summit to place a
moratorium on coal mining.
The environment protection
groups have been scathing in
their attack on the Minister giving coal exports a moral twist.
Greens Deputy Leader,
Larissa Waters, was not holding
her punches back when she
swung back at Josh Frydenberg
condemning the Ministers claim
that there was a strong moral
case for the Adani coal mine and
called it a sick joke.
Four out of five people
without electricity in India are
not connected to an electricity
grid, so cant access coal-fired
power,
Queensland-based
Senator
Waters
told
the
reporters.
India
Lalu-Nitish maul BJP, opposition targets Modi

Patna/Delhi: In a verdict that is
bound to have a national impact,
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and
RJD leader Lalu Prasad on Nov 11
trounced the BJP to win the bitterly
fought Bihar assembly polls and
deliver a major blow to Prime
Minister Narendra Modi who led
his party's challenge.
In contrast to what most exit
polls had said, the Grand Alliance
of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U),
the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and
the Congress won a whopping 178
of the 243 seats, leaving the BJP -which wanted to oust Nitish Kumar
-- and its allies with just 58 seats.
The RJD and JD-U ended up
winning 80 and 71 seats each and
the Congress 27. The BJP was the
winner in 53 constituencies, and
three allies -- the Lok Janshakti
Party (LJP), the Hindustani Awam
Morcha (HAM) and the Rashtriya
Lok Samata Party (RLSP) -- could
together bag only five seats (2, 1, 2
respectively).
The Communist Party of IndiaMarxist-Leninist-Liberation had
won three seats and Independents
four.
The
much-maligned
Lalu
Prasad's RJD ended up as the single
biggest party.
"This is a very big victory. We
accept it with humility," Nitish
Kumar said in his first comments.
Lalu Prasad Yadav contgratulating Nitish Kumar, who is set to take

over as chief minister of the state
"From the national perspective, the
result is significant."
Lalu Prasad, who the BJP targeted more viciously during the election campaign, was more emphatic.
He called Modi "a RSS pracharak"
and vowed to mount a nationwide
campaign against the BJP-led central government.
Lalu Prasad also made it clear
that although his party had more
seats than the JD-U, Nitish Kumar
would be the chief minister.
A sombre Modi telephoned
Nitish Kumar and congratulated
him. So did a stream of opposition
leaders from across the country,
indicating that the ramifications of
the Bihar outcome was already

being felt.
West Bengal Chief Minister
Mamata Banerjee said the BJP's
defeat was a "victory of tolerance,
defeat of intolerance".
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP
leader Arvind Kejriwal hailed
Nitish Kumar on "this historic victory". Kejriwal also said the BJPled coalition's defeat was a referendum on Modi's "work and working
style". He added: "The results
prove that people do not approve of
the politics of hatred."
The CPI-M said the state's people have ushered in their own 'acche din'. "The main message of the
Bihar verdict is people are not

going to tolerate any attack on the
country's social fabric and secular
tradition," party general secretary
Sitaram Yechuri told media persons
in Kolkata.
The Shiv Sena, the BJP's junior
but bitter ally in Maharashtra, said
the BJP must accept that the defeat
was Modi's doing. Calling Nitish
Kumar "a political hero", it said the
Bihar result "will be a turning point
in the country's political future".
Former Jammu and Kashmir
chief minister Omar Abdullah too
said that the verdict "will prove
critical for the nation in the days
ahead".
Even as former BJP deputy chief
minister Sushil Kumar Modi said
his party would be "a constructive
opposition", Bollywood veteran and
BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha -- unhappy over being sidelined by party
president Amit Shah -- called the
BJP defeat "a victory for democracy and the people of Bihar... The
writing was always on the wall".
The BJP conceded defeat. "This
is not an outcome we expected," its
general secretary Ram Madhav
said. "This defeat calls for serious
thinking."
Union
minister
Prakash
Javadekar blamed the defeat on
BJP's "alliance arithmetic". Its vice
president Prabhat Jha said: "We
failed to understand people's mind.

We will have to change our election
strategy."
Compared to the number of
assembly segments it led in the
2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP
lost every second seat.
JD-U's Pavan Verma targeted
Modi. "It is a defeat for Modi and
(BJP president) Amit Shah." MIM
chief Asaduddin Owaisi, whose
MIM contested six seats and lost
all, also said: "It is a personal
defeat for Modi as never before has
a prime minister campaigned so
much in a (state) election."
The JD-U, the RJD and the
Congress grabbed over 41 percent
of all the votes in the five-phased
elections that began on October 12
and concluded on November 5. The
BJP alliance got 38 percent.
As the vote count began at 8
a.m. across Bihar, initially it
seemed that the BJP and its allies
were forging ahead. But the picture
changed soon as the Grand Alliance
clawed back strongly.
Thousands of jubilant JD-U,
RJD and Congress activists then
celebrated even as gloom descended
in the BJP camp. India Inc welcomed the results.
It is the BJP's second straight
defeat in state elections since the
Aam Aadmi Party routed it in Delhi
in February.
Start delivering on
24 WRITERS, FILMMAKERS
RETURN NATIONAL AWARDS promises, Rahul tells Modi
Mumbai: In a collective move to draw the
government's attention
to their fears that the
country's
"robust
democracy might be
coming apart", 24 filmmakers and writers,
including
Arundhati
Roy, Saeed Mirza and
Kundan Shah, returned
their national awards.
Countering this, veteran actor Anupam Kher
has decided to lead a
march against such
protests.
The 24 celebrities
Arundhati Roy joins the students
hoped their "symbolic
from FTII during a protest.
gesture" persuades the
government "to pay attention to our fears, the FTII students, who ended their strike
that the warp and weft of our robust after a "protracted struggle of four
democracy might be coming apart in the months".
A statement released to the media on
current atmosphere".
Besides Roy, Mirza and Shah, others Thursday stressed that this is their way to
who returned their awards on Thursday protest the government's handling of the
were Virendra Saini, Ranjan Palit, Tapan FTII issue.
The 24 signatories pointed out their
Bose, Shriprakash, Sanjay Kak, Pradip
Krishan, Tarun Bhartiya, Amitabh disappointment at "how the ruling party's
Chakraborty, Madhusree Dutta, Anwar leaders and supporters abused" the 12
Jamal, Ajay Raina, Irene Dhar Malik, filmmakers who returned their national
P.M. Satheesh, Satya Rai Nagpaul, honors earlier, and "belittled their gesManoj Lobo, Rafiq Ellias, Sudheer ture".
In an article published in the Indian
Palsane, Vivek Sachidanand, Sudhakar
Reddy Yakkanti, Manoj Nitharwal and Express, "The God of Small Things"
author Arundhati Roy said she was
Abhimanyu Dange.
These were also among the 190 signa- returning her 1989 National Award for
tories to the letter to the government to Best Screenplay to protest "ideological
pay heed to the "reasonable" demands of viciousness" in the country.
New Delhi: Accusing the BJP and Prime

Minister Narendra Modi of "arrogance",
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on
Sunday said Modi should begin to deliver on
his poll promises with speed or else the people would "throw him out of power".
The Congress, the youth and writers who
returned their awards were saying that "you
are the prime minister of the country; stop
making promises and begin working",
Gandhi told media persons after the victory of
the Grand Alliance in Bihar.
"The country's (progress) has stopped for
(the last) one year. Your vehicle is not getting
started. Start it and press the accelerator. If
you do not press the accelerator, the people of
the country will open the door of the vehicle
and throw you out," he said.
"It is a victory against (attempts to) pitch
Hindus against Muslims. This country
belongs to all. We have scored a big victory
over divisiveness, anger and arrogance," he
said.
The country was telling Modi that he, the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the
Bharatiya Janata Party cannot divide it, the
Congress leader said.
"There is one message for Modi-ji which
is ringing throughout India and he should listen and understand it carefully. He is the
prime minister of the country and the whole
country is telling him that he, the RSS and
BJP cannot divide it."
"Bihar verdict is not a victory against the
NDA but against the ideology of the RSS, the
BJP and Modi," Gandhi said and asked the
prime minister to cut down on his foreign
tours. He congratulated Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi

leader Lalu Prasad over the success, saying it
was a "victory of truth and brotherhood".
"We will show it in the coming days that
this country does not belong to a particular
caste or religion but belongs to everyone.
There should be brotherhood," he said.
The Congress leader alleged that the BJP
and Modi had become arrogant. "I say that
this arrogance should come down. It will benefit him and the country."
Referring to the controversial remarks
made by BJP leaders and the prime minister
during the Bihar assembly elections, he said:
"It does not behove them."
"The message is very clear that this country needs love and brotherhood." "You go to
England, the United States and China. You
talk of Pakistan. Please stop roaming. Talk of
farmers also and go among them. Go among
the youth whom you promised employment.
Embrace them and run the country," Gandhi
said.
India
Bumper Diwali for e-tailers

in India
New Delhi/Mumbai:
Amazon.com Inc could
emerge as the biggest winner
from one of India's most
important festive - and shopping - seasons, after the e-tailer offered steep discounts,
swift delivery and even gold
bars to grab market share.
The month-long festive
season, which began last
week, culminates in Diwali,
or the Festival of Lights, but
the first nine days are considered an especially auspicious time to make big purchases. Analysts say e-commerce firms in
India could make as much as a quarter of
their annual sales during this period, with
the global experience, logistics network
and deep pockets of Amazon putting it in a
good position to grab customers from local
market leader Flipkart and smaller firm
Snapdeal.
"Amazon has been closing in," said
Harish Bijoor, an independent brand
expert and business analyst. "It has global
play and is very nifty in terms of delivery." India currently contributes the most
new customers to Amazon outside the
United States, the company said, making
growth there a priority. The e-tailer
launched in India in 2013 and has invested
at least $2 billion (roughly Rs. 12,991
crores), especially in logistics, to avoid
being overtaken by local firms, which is
what happened in China with Alibaba
Group Holding.
E-tailers have splashed out on promotions for this year's festive shopping week
as it coincides with signs that consumer
spending is picking up after two consecutive years of slowing growth for Asia's
third-largest economy.
Amazon offers shoppers next-morning
delivery for late-night orders and the
chance to win a kg (35 ounces) of gold
every day for five days in a country that is
a voracious consumer of the precious
metal. In a statement, it said the number
of transactions on the first day of its
"Great Indian Festive Sale" was a record
high, but like its rivals it declined to give
specific figures.
Flipkart also expects its "Big Billion
Days" sale, which customers can access
only through its smartphone app, to be
"the biggest shopping event of the year",
said Mukesh Bansal, head of the company's commerce platform. Last year,
Flipkart's website crashed during its maiden festival shopping event.
Modi launches three goldrelated schemes

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has launched three gold-related
schemes, including a coin engraved with
the images of national emblem Ashok
Chakra and Mahatma Gandhi on its two
sides, in a bid to put some 20,000 tonnes
of idle gold into productive use.
The other two schemes launched here
are the gold monetization scheme to convert jewelery and other yellow metal
assets with people into interest-bearing

deposits, and the sovereign bond scheme
with an eight-year tenure, while allowing
an exit option after five years.
According to the World Gold
Council, an estimated 22,000-23,000
tonnes of gold is lying idle with households and institutions in India. The annual imports amount to around 850-1,000
tonnes valued at $35-$45 billion.
Maggi back on shelves this month,

says Nestle
New Delhi: Nestle India has said the
"masala" version of Maggi noodles
will hit the retail shelves as early as
this month, having cleared all the
tests ordered by the Bombay High
Court at three accredited laboratories.
"We have received the results
from all the three NABL (National
Accreditation Board for Testing
Calibration Laboratories) mandated
by the Bombay High Court to test
newly-manufactured Maggi noodles
samples," the company said in a regulatory filing with stock exchanges.
"All the samples of the Maggi nooThe masala version of Maggi noodles will hit
dles masala have been cleared with
the retail shelves as early as this month.
lead much below permissible limits,"
the statement said, adding that this has validat- mence the sale of Maggi noodles masala within this month as well as continue engaging
ed their stand, maintained all along, that the
with the states where permissions are needed
noodles were and continue to be safe.
or specific directions may be necessary."
"We will make our best effort to com-
India
India widens engagement with Africa,

gives $10 bn more credit
The third India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) was the largest international gathering of
leaders in Delhi after the Non-Aligned Movement summit in 1983
New Delhi:
In its biggest ever
engagement with Africa, India on
Thursday sought to recharge its ties
with all 54 African countries,
announcing increased interaction in
areas like energy and agriculture
while offering an additional concessional credit of $10 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
described as "historic" the summit
attended by 41 heads of state and
government including of South
Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana,
Morocco, Zimbabwe, Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique
and Liberia and comprising two
kings, 25 presidents and six prime
ministers besides six vice presidents, foreign and trade ministers
and senior officials.
The third India-Africa Forum
Summit (IAFS) - the largest international gathering of leaders in
Delhi after the Non-Aligned
Movement summit in 1983 - was
held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor
Stadium, allowing all the leaders to
sit as equals at a horse-shoe shaped
table.
According to Indian officials,
Africa had never been present in
such strength in any of their interactions with other world power or
groupings - an indicator of their
expectations from India and the
country's growing international
stature. Prime Minister Modi, in
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the African leaders during the
special dinner hosted at the 3rd India Africa Forum Summit
in New Delhi on Oct 28.
his closing remarks, said: "This has
been a truly historic day. We had
the opportunity to listen to the
whole of Africa."
He said closer defense and security cooperation, especially in capability development, will be a key
pillar of their partnership, which
was so "natural" as their "destinies
are so closely inter-linked" and
"aspirations and challenges are so
similar".
Announcing that the next IAFS
will be held after five years, Modi
stressed Africa will remain at the
centre of India's attention and
engagement with it will remain
"intense and regular."
The summit adopted a Delhi
Declaration seeking a decisive push
for United Nations Security Council
reform and calling on all countries

to ensure that their territories were
not used for cross-border terrorist
activities, while also adopted was a
Framework Agreement on Strategic
Cooperation.
Commemorative coins and
stamps were also released, and
President Pranab Mukherjee later
hosted a banquet for the visiting
leaders.
On the sidelines, Modi also had
bilateral meetings with 10 African
leaders
including
Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
Modi who met 19 leaders on
Wednesday is slated to have more
bilaterals on Friday.
In his opening address as the
summit host, Modi sought to
strengthen the India-Africa partner-
2 Sikhs among 4 IndoCanadians in Trudeaus Cabinet

Ottawa: The Punjabi community in Canada made history on
Wednesday when two turbaned
Sikhs, among four Indian
Canadians, were sworn in as
cabinet ministers, as 42-year-old
Justin Trudeau took oath as the
country's 23rd prime minister at
a grand public ceremony. While
42-year-old Indian Canadian
Harjit Sajjan was appointed
defense minister, 38-year-old
Navdeep Bains got the portfolio
Navdeep Bains, science & economic development minister,
of innovation, science and ecowith Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (inset) Harjit Sajjan
nomic development. Another
has been made Canadas Defence Minister
Sikh, Amarjeet Sohi, who is not
turbaned, has been sworn in as minister for he was MP from 2004 till 2011 when he lost.
infrastructure. A former bus driver, he was Considered suave, Bains has been a distinjailed in India for two years in the 1980s. A guished visiting professor at Ted Rogers
young Sikh woman, Bardish Jhagger, who is a School of Management at Ryerson University
first-time MP, has been sworn in as minister in Toronto till now. India-born first-time Sikh
for small business and tourism. Navdeep MP Harjit Sajjan is Canada's new defene minBains, who played a key role in Trudeau's ister. A decorated police and army official, he
election as the Liberal Party leader in 2013, has been the first Sikh to command a Canadian
has been awarded with the important cabinet regiment, called the Duke of Connaught's Own
which is a reserve regiment based in British
berth.
Bains, who became MP for the third time Columbia province. Sajjan has served in
last month by winning from Mississauga- Afghanistan and Bosnia and been twice a speBrampton, previously served as parliamentary cial adviser on Afghanistan. He was given the
secretary to the prime minister in 2005 when Meritorious Service Medal in March 2013.
ship by announcing 50,000 scholarships in the next five years.

"It is a meeting of dreams of
one-third of humanity under one
roof," Modi said as he outlined a
roadmap for increased Indian interaction with African countries in a
wide gamut including connectivity,
infrastructure, power and agriculture -- his speech evoking loud
cheers from the leaders - in a bid to
enhance Indian influence in a continent where China had stolen a
march with over $200 billion
investments in the last 15 years.
He also called for a comprehensive agreement on climate change at
a global conference later this year.
No one, Modi said, had contributed
less to global warming than India
and Africa, adding that "the excess
of few cannot become the burden of
many".
The summit, in which the visiting leaders were treated to a cultural extravaganza at the start including African dances, also saw the
dresses and images of Africa come
alive with many of the leaders
sporting traditional costumes and
headgear, including Liberian
President and Nobel Peace Prize
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and African
Union
Commission
chair
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and
many speaking in their native languages.
IAFS is a major initiative of the

Modi government to reach out to
the continent which has rich
resources, is witnessing faster
growth and has a similar demographic profile. African countries
see large scope of cooperation with
India in diverse areas such as agriculture and education.
South African President Jacob
Zuma described the relation
between India and the African
countries as an embodiment of
South-South cooperation and dwelt
on the roles "played by your visionary former prime ministers
Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter
Indira Gandhi".
Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe strongly pitched for
reforms of the Security Council and
said Africa should get at least two
permanent seats.
Apart from the concessional
credit in addition to the $7.4 billion
India has already committed, Modi
said India would also offer a grant
assistance of $600 million, which
would include an India-Africa
Development Fund of $100 million
and an India-Africa Health Fund of
$10 million. He said India and
Africa would deepen their partnership on clean energy, sustainable
habitats, public transport, health
care, telecommunications and climate resilient agriculture.
India calls for transparency

and choice in electing UN
Secretary-General
United Nations: India has called for drastic
reforms in the election of the secretary-general to introduce transparency and choice in
the process of picking a successor to Ban
Ki-moon next year and said it should not be
a prerogative of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
India's delegate Bhartruhari Mahtab told
the Security Council recently that the secret
straw polls in the Council should be done
away with and discussions should be held in
open sessions with the secretary-general
providing a summary of the proceedings.
Moreover, the Security Council should recommend a slate of two or more candidates
on whom the General Assembly can vote,
he said. The UN Charter only says that the
secretary-general should be appointed by
the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. A 1946
General Assembly resolution added a provision that only one candidate should be recommended and a debate should be avoided.
This has morphed into an arcane process
in which the Security Council members
vote on candidate with color-coded ballots - one color for permanent members and
another for the others. A ballot in the color

of the permanent members automatically
results in a veto of a candidate while it
won't be known who cast the veto.
The candidate who gets a majority with
the color-coded ballots of all the five permanent members is recommended to the
General Assembly and its vote to approve
the candidate is a given.
To make the election transparent, "an
important step would also be to do away
with secret straw polls using different colored slips that allow the P5 (five permanent
members) to exercise the veto without even
taking ownership of it", Mahtab said.
Mahtab appealed to the non-permanent
members of the Security Council to push
for changes in the way the secretary-general is elected.
Under the system of rotating the presidency of the Security Council, except for
three months next year, the non-permanent
will preside over the Security Council next
year and it will be for them to decide on
whether the selection of the secretary-general will remain the sole preserve of the P5
or not, he said.
India & Subcontinent
India appears to be at war with itself: Pak daily

Islamabad: India appears to be
"at war with itself", a leading
Pakistani daily observed on in
early November, adding that the
politics of fear and hate appears to
be on the march on both sides of
the border.
An editorial "Atmosphere of
hate" in the influential daily Dawn
said: "It is as real as it is alarming:
India appears to be at war with
itself, while India and Pakistan are
drifting ever further apart."
It added that "neither of those
realities is good for peace or stability in South Asia".
The editorial noted that a "slew
of internationally and nationally
regarded Indian artists and activists
have now returned various awards
bestowed on them by Indian academies to protest against the assault
on Indian secularism and intercommunal peace by right-wing
forces".
"The response to the anguish
being felt and now vocalised by
India's right-thinking citizens has
been predictable. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, who critics point
out has refused to condemn religiously inspired violence and has
failed to live up to his campaign
promise of being the leader of all
Indians, has been dismissive of the

criticisms," said the daily.
When a report by Moody's
Analytics cautioned the Indian
prime minister that he "must keep
his members in check or risk losing domestic and global credibility" this week, "the government
immediately and unusually lashed
out at the author of the report and
dismissed it 'as the personal opinion of a junior associate economist
employed
with
Moody's
Analytics'."
That was immediately contradicted by Moody's itself, which
stood by the comments in the
report.
The editorial noted:
"While a small incident, it does
show the great gulf between practice and promise: the Modi government is more sensitive to criticism than it is to acts of violence
against Indians themselves."
It went on to say that unhappily, "the Pakistani response to the
assault on Indian secularism and
freedoms has also been fairly predictable".
"Many sections of the political
class, media and civil society here
have seemingly revelled in the
recent tensions in India because it
has allegedly exposed the real
Myanmar votes in
first democratic
election in years
Aung San Suu Kyi looks to poll victory at

climax of lifelong campaign
Nay Pyi Taw: Myanmar's general election ended

peacefully on November 8.
Polling stations closed at 4.00pm (local time)
and open counting of votes followed in the presence of contesting candidates, local and international observers and the public, Xinhua reported.
The Union Election Commission said it will
officially release the election results starting
Monday stage by stage.
In Sunday's elections, 33.5 million eligible
voters cast votes at more than 46,000 polling stations across the country. A total of 6,038 candidates involving 91 political parties and 310
Independents contested for more than 1,000 seats
at three levels of parliament in the elections.
Many observers say Aung San Suu Kyi s
National League for Democracy (NLD) party will
win, taking the south-east Asian country further
from the grasp of one the worlds most reclusive
military regimes. It would be a momentous step
for the often-stumbling democracy movement she
has led since its foundation.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi with Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Nov 3 led the party leaders and
MPs in a march to Rashtrapati Bhavan in protest against growing intolerance in the country, accusing
the Modi government of unleashing a sinister campaign to create social and communal tension.
agenda of the Modi government
and its supporters.
But if that were true, could the
rise of a rabid right-wing politics
in India possibly be in any way
good for Pakistan or the region?
the daily asked.

"Sadly, myopia appears to
reign on both sides of the border.
Perhaps most telling is that a
Pakistani criticising the Pakistani
state is increasingly considered an
anti-patriot at home while an

Indian criticising the Indian state is
considered a hero - and vice versa.
"The politics of fear and hate
appear to be on the march on both
sides of the border," it added.
Pakistan to act against LeT; no ndeal,

or US role in Kashmir
Washington: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came
to the US with a litany of complaints against India with the
hope of getting an India type nuclear deal and involving
Washington in the Kashmir issue. He got neither. Instead
Sharif ended up giving President Barack Obama an assurance that Islamabad would take effective action against
Pakistan based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taeba (LeT) and its
affiliates responsible for the Nov 2008 Mumbai terror
attack.
Apparently concerned over Pakistan's assertion that it
has made low-yield nuclear weapons to bridge the gap for
war that India had created through its cold-start doctrine,
Obama also cautioned Sharif against raising nuclear tensions with new weapons.
"Regarding Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, the
President stressed the importance of avoiding any developments that might invite increased risk to nuclear safety,
security, or strategic stability," a joint statement said.
However, Pakistan did manage to get a call for an
India-Pakistan dialogue to resolve all issues including
Kashmir included in a joint statement issued after Sharif
met Obama in October 22 in the Oval office in the White
House.
But in line with Washington's hands-off Kashmir policy, the joint statement expressing "concern over violence
along the Line of Control (in Kashmir)" noted "their support for confidence-building measures and effective mechanisms that are acceptable to both parties."
"In this context, the Prime Minister apprised the
President about Pakistan's resolve to take effective action
against United Nations-designated terrorist individuals and
entities, including Lashkar-e-Taeba (LeT) and its affiliates,
as per its international commitments and obligations under
UN Security Council resolutions and the Financial Action
Task Force," the statement added.
Obama and Sharif, it said "stressed that improvement
in Pakistan-India bilateral relations would greatly enhance
prospects for lasting peace, stability, and prosperity in the
region."
Sharif also "reaffirmed that Pakistan's territory will not
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met US President

Obama in Washington late October.
be used against any other country and noted that this is an
obligation of all countries in the region."
The Prime Minister, it said, "outlined the actions that
Pakistan is taking under the National Action Plan to ensure
that the Taliban - including the Haqqani Network - are
unable to operate from the soil of Pakistan."
Asked later to compare India and Pakistan's respective
concerns about terrorism, Obama's spokesman Eric Schultz
parried saying, "I think it's clear that Pakistan's relationship with India is critical to Pakistan's future."
"The normalisation of relations between those two
countries is vital both to them and to the stability in the
region," he said stressing "economic linkages and a broader view of the US-Pakistan relationship beyond just counterterrorism."
Without confirming or denying a New York Times
report that US was planning to sell eight new F-16 fighter
jets to Pakistan, Shultz said Obama did discuss with Sharif
how the US and Pakistan can best continue their robust
counterterrorism cooperation. Meanwhile, a senior
Administration official "categorically" ruled out any kind
of negotiations with Pakistan on an India-type civil nuclear
deal, terming the reports in American media as "completely false".
Bollywood
Angry Indian Goddesses

Indias first female buddy film
Its not a male bashing film. It is beautiful yet an inspiring film
for women, assures its director Pan Nalin.
By Neeru Saluja
ove on men. Women power is
back. Finally, Bollywood has its
own female buddy film. Seven
powerful and beautiful women have taken
the form of angry goddesses in director
Pan Nalins latest film Angry Indian
Goddesses.
After winning accolades in the Toronto
International Film Festival and the Rome
Film Festival, the goddesses are finally
home with the Indian premiere happening
at the Mumbai film festival. Slated for a
Diwali release, the film stars actresses
Sandhya Mridul, Tannishtha Chatterjee,
Sarah-Jane Dias, Anushka Manchanda,
Amrit Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande and
Pavleen Gujral playing lead roles with
Adil Hussain.
The movie plot revolves around a
group of girls (aka the angry Indian goddesses) who head to Goa for a surprise
announcement. Director Pan Nalin is best
known for his award winning Samsara
and Valley of Flowers but the Angry
Indian Goddesses will be his debut into
mainstream cinema.
Excited about his new venture, Nalin
talked to TIDU at length about his goddesses and the making of the film.
Angry Indian Goddesses - how did you

come up with the title of the film?
The title was born when we started
researching on the film two years ago. We
talked to women in big towns, cities, small
villages, colleges, offices and all of them
had a common expression. They were
angry, furious and upset, all because of
the existing problems in India. Certain
comments were made by Indian celebrities
that its time that women should take their
form of the Indian goddess Kali. Thats
how the title came out Angry Indian
Goddesses.
The Indian distributors loved the title.
All we wanted to do was talk about friendship. Its an entertaining film and quite
inspiring. We didnt want to be preachy
about addressing female issues.
A male director working with seven
women for three months! How would
you define the experience?
I was warned by my friends that I will
die if I had to work with seven women! I
was told who was going to manage their
hair, their make-up, their bitchiness and
jealousy?
I knew from the start that I had to manage this film in a different way as the casting director, myself and the producer
were all men. We auditioned 200 candidates and then conducted a how not to
act workshop. We got the actors to share
their own experiences and then work on
their characters. We got a lot of action out
of this workshop and finally selected seven
goddesses.
Pan Nalins latest was

premiered at the Toronto
International Film
Festival, where it bagged
the runner up award.
characters and told each of the actresses to

prepare their own character as if it is their
own life. The girls helped each other a lot
in the film and worked together as a team.
We didnt want them to do a male role in
a female body or to portray a sexy image;
all we wanted them was to make their
characters look attractive.
Though centred on the seven women

characters, the film does have a few
male actors like Adil Hussain.
And then how did you work with
them to give each character their own
shape?
We took the actors to the depth of their
In the male dominating Bollywood,

was it difficult to finance a film with
strong female protagonists taking the
lead?
Definitely! This concept has been playing on my mind for seven years but all
Ive been hearing is that women dont
open a film and women dont make the
film sell. I couldnt get any producer to
finance the film.
Then Queen happened and it got a lot
of success. We have male buddy films like
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Chahta
Hai and 3 Idiots but we dont have a
film with women. There was Umrao
Jaan but then there has been too long a
gap. And if there were any female oriented films, either the females were from
rural India or NRI posh girls. There were
no true real life characters. The time had
come for us to run parallel with
Hollywood.
The film deals with a lot of female
issues and can spark fury. What would
you want your audience to take back
from the film?
I want the audience to identify themselves with one of the seven goddesses.
Its not a male bashing film; its a female
buddy film. It is beautiful yet an inspiring
film for women. And besides the
Goddesses, we do have a few male actors
like Adil Hussain who are equally brilliant.
Be it India or overseas, any woman
will be able to celebrate womanhood with
this film. The film aims to provide an
insight into modern society, women and
their aspirations, hopes and fears through
the tales of these Indian Goddesses.
Community
DIWALI CELEBRATION AT PARLIAMENT

HOUSE NOW A PERMANENT FIXTURE
Premier Mike Baird addressing

the audience
SW Premier Mike Baird joined in
Deepavali celebrations with invited guests from the Indian community, performing a puja ceremony at the
Parliament House on November 2. He
was greeted on arrival by colourfully
dressed children from IABBV Hindi
School leaving with some picture-perfect
images.
NSW Minister for Multiculturalism,
John Ajaka, celebrated the multicultural
fabric of Australia that, he said, comprised 225 different birthplaces, spoke
200 languages and practised 125 religions.
At the same time we are one community,
one family, always working together, he
said, adding that Diwali was now a permanent fixture in NSW parliament calendar.
Premier Mike Baird recognised contribution of the Indian community in
Australia. We are so lucky, proud to
have the Indian community here, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when
he visited Australia, said that he wanted to
grow the economy on back of infrastructure development. NSW wanted to join in
the economic growth of India that would
raise millions of people out of poverty, the
Premier said.
Outgoing Indias Consul-General
Sunjay Sudhir, addressed as a good friend
of NSW by the Premier, said that India had
good multicultural credentials being home
to a multitude of leading religions in the
world. Acknowledging amazing increases
in trade between NSW and India, he said,
strength of a relationship cannot be measured by trade alone but also on the amount
of people to people contact that underpins
our friendship, Mr Sudhir said.
Chairman
Community
Relations
Ladies with Dr. Harinath, CRC chairman
Kids with NSW opposition

leader Luke Foley (right) Senior citizens
with Premier Mike Baird and Consul
General Sunjay Sudhir
Commission, Dr Hari Harinath, reflected
on the sad loss of one of the best consulgenerals in Australia - Sunjay Sudhir,
who was returning to India. On the occasion of Diwali, the significance of lighting
lamps was to dispel darkness inside to displace evil thoughts, Dr Harinath added.
The evening ended with honouring of
six seniors for their various contributions
in the community, followed by the
Premier allowing plenty of photo opportunity.
COMMUNITY
Pallavi Sinha and Stan Grant won

hands down the debate on racism
allaviSinha, a lawyer, was
one of the panellist at the
Ethics Centre Intelligence
Squared debate, Racism is
Destroying the Australian Dream.
Pallaviwas teamed with well
known TV celebrity Sky News
Stan Grant who argued for the
motion. They were pitted against
Rita Panahi, Australian/Herald Sun
Columnist along with Australian
actor legend Jack Thompson who
argued against it. The debate was
conducted by Executive Director
Ethics Centre Simon Longstaff.
It was a packed event held at
the City Recital Hall on October
27. As people walked in they were
quizzed about the topic and the
results already bode against Rita
and Jack Thompson. It was an
inspiring debate as Stan came quite
forcefully when he argued his point
of view how the aborigines are
PallaviSinha with Executive Director Ethics Centre, Simon Longstaff,

Rita Panahi, Jack Thompson and Stan Grant
treated with them dying ten years
younger than the rest of the
Australians and they make 25 per
cent of the population in Australian
prisons. He gave an emotionally
charged account of how indigenous
population was wiped out, hunted
down, tied to ropes. Stan implored
all to read all about Aboriginal his-
tory. It happened, he said. He

further said, When I was born I
was not a citizen of this country.
Rita Panahis argument was
that Australia is a country that
offered freedom, equal opportunity
and equality to all. There are a
few racists in Australia but their
numbers are few, said Rita.
PallaviSinha stood up to arguments put forth by Rita when she

said that people from migrant communities had to apply six times
more for job applications. Some
dont even get called for an interview, said Pallavi. We do not
show up in advertising, media, TV
and there is real lack of diversity
compared to the rest in Australia.
Jack Thompson, well known
veteran actor, came to the podium
last but his argument against that
racism is destroying Australian
dream, rather, went in favour of
the team speaking for the topic.
Said Thompson, Racism is inherent in us. We are already the victims of racist attitudes. When we
arrived and the dream we spoke of
in fact is in itself is a racist
dream.
It is the denial, the censorship, it is not the racism that is
destroying Australia but the racist

dream. Until we teach our children
who we are, the rhymes we read
such as eeniemeemiemaineemo,
catcha nigger by the toe.
The audience clapped as the
tables had totally turned in favour
of Stan and Pallavis team.
When the debate began the survey stood at Against 26%,
Undecided 24% and for 50%. At
the end of the debate the results
tilted in favour of for by another
14 % taking it up to 64 %.
The debate was followed by a
lively and interactive Q & A as
people lined up to ask and also
voiced their comments on the
topic.
It is a debate that Australia
urgently needs in a fast changing
Australian landscape with people
from diverse backgrounds settling
here and making Australia home.
AASHA brings hope for Indian aged care

ndian community arrived in Australia in
the seventies when Australia opened its
doors to Asian migration. It is now aging
and their numbers are on the increase in the
bracket of 65 years and above. Also a lot of
grey Indian parents have arrived in recent
years to help their children and grandchildren. One can easily say that the number of
Indian seniors stands now in thousands. As
we age here our aging needs are also increasing. When we hear of old people in aged care
facilities, nursing homes, one feels that there
is not enough culture care in terms of
staffing, language, food and entertainment to
people from the Indian sub-continent.
An AHIA (Australian Hindi Indian
Association)-led initiative AASHA (AusIndian Aged Care Support Holistic
Association) was launched in October by
Bijinder Dugal. She firmly believes that we
need to express our cultural needs as the multicultural population, one in every four people born overseas, ages.
AASHA organised a forum on October
10, 2015 to discuss the said issues. It provided an opportunity to create awareness in the
community about dementia and social wellbeing in the elderly. Over hundred guests who
attended the forum were enlightened by the
speakers on various topics to do with aging..
AASHA aims to provide educational
resources, establish a community contact
group for seniors and help them thus empower themselves for their senior years.
Presenters at the forum were Dr
Parminder Sachdev, keynote speaker on the
day, who gave an informative talk on dementia. Another speaker was Dr Manjula
OConnor from Melbourne who talked about
seniors and how they are isolated and perhaps
exploited in certain cases which have come to
light in Melbourne. Dr OConnor has collected many case studies in Victoria as she
Bijinder Dugal with

Dr Hugh McDermott
Dr Parminder Sachdev with AHIA members
Dr. Manjula O'Connor

spoke about the issues the seniors face.
Other speakers included Stephania
Bejma, Co-ordinator life style Sydney West
Uniting on aged care and Sue Tolhurst,
Westmead Hospital, Advisor, Dementia.
Other guests included Phillip Ruddock,
Compere Pallavi Sinha with an Indian senior

Federal MP and Dr Hugh McDermott MP,
Prospect.
The evening had delightful classical
dance performance by Pradanya Dugals
Monsuun Dance group followed by snacks
and tea for all. Pallavi Sinha was the charm-
ing compere of the forum.

AASHA initiative was highly appreciated
by all. It promises to educate, inform and
help Indian seniors and their culture specific
needs sensitive to people from the Indian subcontinent.
Community
HINDI ARRIVES IN SCHOOLS
By Neena Badhwar
indi language is finally

being accepted and finding its rightful place in
NSW school curriculum adopted
by some of the pioneering
schools.
Thanks to the efforts of some
school principals who, as suggested by some parents of Indian
children, have introduced Hindi
during regular school hours
while others have concrete plans
to introduce the language next
year.
Surprisingly, Hindi has been
taught in West Ryde Public
School by an Indian teacher
Archana Chaudhary for the last
19 years. Archana teaches Hindi
to approximately 100 students of
all nationalities and backgrounds.
The school also offers Mandarin
and Korean languages but Hindi
has become an important part of
the school curriculum and all
Indian activities and festivals
have become pride and joy for
the whole school.
Fast forward to 2014 as
Girraween Public School started
Hindi teaching by an Indian
teacher Anjali Dhond. Anjali
teaches Hindi to 120 students of
grades 2-4 on all the five days of
the week for two hours.
And as the new year, 2016,
approaches, things are looking
quite positive as two more
schools have joined in with plans
to introduce Hindi namely
Parramatta North PS and
Liverpool PS.
Parramatta North Public
School will have Madhu Arora
teaching Hindi once a week.
As we move forward with
Hindi at these four schools,
ACARA the national body that
sets curriculum for all the subjects including languages - has
been working on developing
Hindi curriculum with a group of
curriculum writers and teachers.
ACARA will release national
curriculum for Hindi language in
December.
This curriculum will be
available on ACARA website
from mid-December, says Mala
Mehta, who was in the team of
curriculum writers.
She says, But there is one
catch. The NSW Board of
Studies has not signed ACARAs
Hindi curriculum. The schools
which have introduced Hindi in
their school curriculum are still
using the BOSTES (Board of
Studies Teacher and Education
Standards), a generic K-6 language curriculum. I hope they do
as Hindi curriculum K-10 will be
available to all the teachers as
well as schools.
Well, lucky are the children
in the above schools that have
offered Hindi as a school subject
in
regular
school
hours.
However, students in other areas
John Purchase PS After Hours Hindi students
Madhu Arora Waitara Public School After Hours Hindi teacher

still have to rely on after hours or
weekend schools.
IABBV Hindi School has
been operating since June 1987 at
Thornleigh West Public School.
They provide Hindi learning
from beginners to year 12 on
Sundays from 9.30am to 12 noon
during school terms.
Its founder and co-ordinator,
Mala Mehta, has helped start
Hindi outside school hours in
four schools taught by IABBV
teachers:
John Purchase PS,
Waitara PS, Parramatta North PS
and Marie Bashir PS, Strathfield.
At John Purchase PS, Hindi
is taught twice a week on
Tuesdays and Wednesdays from
7.50 to 8.50am. Teachers are
Kusum
Chaudhary,
Ekta
Chanana and Mala Mehta.
At Waitara Public School,
Hindi is taught from 3.15 to
4.15pm on Tuesdays and
Wednesdays.
Teachers
are
Manisha Virmani, Madhu Arora,
Mala
Mehta
and
Kusum
Chaudhary.
At Parramatta North Public
School, Hindi is taught on
Mondays from 3.15-4.15pm by
Kusum Chaudhary and Mala
Mehta. At Marie Bashir PS in
Strathfield, the language is taught
by Bharati Dhanarajan and run
by Alicia Mehta, a mother of the
schools P&C.
The Fiji Indian community is
also actively involved in Hindi
teaching as they run schools at
Green Valley PS, Liverpool, at
Quakers Hill High School and at
St. George High School,
Kogarah.
Besides, Hindi is also taught
through two locations by the
Saturday Schools of Community
Languages
(SSCL)
at
Liverpool Girls High and Hills
Sport High School in Seven
Hills. Liverpool Saturday School
Hindi teacher is Kulwinder Kaur
who takes composite classes in
Hindi. At Hills Sport HS, Hindi
is taught at three levels: years 78, years 9-10 and years 11-12.
Teachers inlcude Alka Sood,
Anu Chhabra and Smriti.
Another feather in Hindis
cap has been India Calling

Program Expanding Horizons
with Asia. It was the vision of
Dr. Phil Lambert, General
Manager Curriculum ACARA
and former regional director
Sydney region, Department of
Education and Communities. The
program helps foster and address
major role Asia plays in
Australian trade and culture.
From 2011 to 2014 India
Calling ran the program at seven
primary schools in East Sydney
region namely Annandale,
Ashbury,
Carlton
South,
Cronulla, Canterbury, Double
Bay, Jannali and Mascot. Due to
lack of funding in 2015 it has
reduced to two schools
Cronulla PS and Ashbury PS.
The programs broad aim has
been to incorporate Hindi language and general knowledge
about India with emphasis on
Indian history, geography, literature, festivals, music, dance art,
sport and Indian food.
Although only two teachers
Mala Mehta and Kulwinder

Kaur, have shouldered this ambitious program, it has all been due
to video conferencing that it was
able to reach all the seven
schools in the program. This
innovative program was even sister-linked with schools in India.
Hindi is also taught to adults
at Sydney Universitys Centre of
Continuing Studies. Teachers are
Rekha Rajvanshi, Meenakshi
Srinivasan and Neerja Badhwar.
Hindi is finally taking root in
schools due to the hard work put
in by devoted members, teachers
and parents of the Indian community.
Not only will it help foster
and strengthen relations between
India and Australia, our coming
generations will also get the
opportunity to learn the language
of their parents and stay connected with India.
It has been a long journey but
Hindi has finally arrived. Shall
we say Jai Ho to all who have
made it possible!
Joanne Williamson from Cronulla PS, Graham Newmarch from Ashbury PS and Sue Ross from Cronulla
PS with India Calling initiative at the Parliament House Diwali function
Community
PARRAMASALA SHOWCASES
MULTICULTURALISM
By Sumathi Krishnan
arramasala was an initiative
that came into existence six
years ago to develop harmony and reduce the tension caused
by certain attacks against Indian
students in Parramatta area.
Under the helm of Director Dr
Harinath and Festival Director Di
Henry the festival has been continuing for over six years, in spite
of concerns that there may not be
enough funds to organize it every
year.
Today, Parramasala 2015 is a
celebration of multiculturalism in
Western Sydney incorporating
music, dance, film and flavours
with a slight lean towards the
South Asian and Indian due to two
reasons. Firstly, because there are
many Indians living in this area
and secondly, the Indian government and ICCR have, over the
years, consistently shown their
support in financing a strong cultural presence as part of the festival.
With more than 30,000 people
in attendance, the three day multicultural festival provides a new
emerging world rarely explored
and experienced in Sydney.
Parramasala this year was supported by Parramatta City
Council, Multicultural NSW,
ICCR and Indian Tourism, Orb
Global Finances amongst others.
Parramasala presented the inaugural India Tourism Week, with the
India Tourism Pavillion showcasing performer workshops, Dosa,
Chai and more.
ICCR sponsored eminent
artists who had travelled from
India were Debapriya and
Samanwaya, students of Girija
Devi. They warmed hearts
through their Hindustani classical
vocal and sitar renditions. The
Rajasthani dance group from India
provided a great opportunity for
the audience to learn more about
their vibrant costumes jewellery
dance and culture. Produced by
IceWorks Angika by Kathak
Dancer Sanjukta Sinha from
Gujarat provided an interesting
blend of visuals created through
lighting, music and dance.
The Friday Night Opening

Street
Parade
in
Parramatta
brought
together 35 different
nationalities
with
everyone moving to
the groove of local
artist and Producer
Richard Petkovic,
sung by Shohrat
Tursun
Trio
in
Mida Wawasi (means
Welcome) song.
The parade led by the
NSW Police Band was followed
by many different cultural groups.
Of interest were the White and
Pink Sarees in the Parade.
Branding themselves as the Pink
Saree Parade, women of South
Asian background walked to build
awareness around the importance
of breast screening and detection
of cancer and womens well
being.
The white Kerala saree clad
women in red blouses, hair in a
bun with jasmine flowers as seen
in the balmy mornings in Kerala
temples, walked for better treatment of women and against
domestic violence. They walked
behind the Chendai Drummers of
Kerala called IndOz Drummers.
This part of the parade was supported by NSW Health.
The opening night featured
Colombian Latin American dance
band, Cumbiamuffin who got
everyone on their feet and dancing. The rest of the weekend featured local artists from different
cultures commencing with a
morning Yoga and Meditation session lead by yoga teachers
Abhishek Guru and Supriya Roy
followed by a meditative vocal
dhrupad practice lead by Anjali
Roberts and Sumathi Krishnan.
As the sun rose and warmed
over Prince Alfred Park, families
came along for a camel ride,
engage in ColourFun with Rangoli
and or Kolam. They delighted
their senses with a visit to the
Spice and Herb Garden, filled
their plates with spicy flavours
from local restaurants and
watched Indonesian Gammelan
and Chinese Dancers adorn the
stage with rich coloured costumes,
dance
and music typical to their respective cultures.
Flamenco and Bollywood
flashmobs were great hits this year
bringing over 60 dancers to Prince
Alfred Park. Under the direction
of Annalouise Paul, flamenco
dancers from Ruchi Sanghi School
of Dance, and two other flamenco
and belly dancing schools come
together in an interactive collaborative presentation.
Swastik School of Dance,
local to Harris Park, presented a
creative flashmob as Superman
and Rajasthani male dancers
mixed into the Bollywood
grooves. Nupur Dance, Indian
Dance School and Natraj schools
presented Bollywood moves
which were again popular with the
festival goers.
Harris Park came alive with
Bhangra, Chendai Drummers and
other acts to form the Flavours of
the World Spice Market at Harris
Park. Cinema Thali film festival
curated by Gary Paramanathan
provided an opportunity to young
Australian filmmakers to showcase an eclectic selection of
movies,
like
Chittagong,
Frangipani and more at the
Raffertys Theatre.
Paying tribute to Fire and
Rescue NSW, in a major production involving 45 dancers and five
schools of Indian classical dances
was Fire and Earth. A commissioned work of Parramasala - Fire
and Earth was produced by
Sydhwaney Production - its
Fourth Production. The production saw the coming together of all
Indian classical dance styles in
Bharathanatyam,
Odissi,
Sumi Krishnan with festival director Di Henry draped in sari. There

was a sari demonstration conducted at this year's Parramsala.
Kuchupidi and Kathak and Kai

Kotti Kali. The production presented the quest of man to dance
in rhythm with the elements
around him creating a sense of
harmony and balance with the
environment. The storytelling
transcended to a new realm of
colour and movement. The finale
was a spectacular feast of colour
as acrobatic dancer Marlena Dali
entered with her blazing fire pistons to be put out by the NSW
Fire and Rescue officers on stage.
Sunday night saw the Sydney

World Music Chamber Orchestra
comprising of 11- piece ensemble
of artists from Western Sydney.
Their new work, the Three Sides
of Love and Death explored the
universal themes of unconditional
love and rites of passage through
the stories and sacred music practices of culturally, linguistically
and religiously diverse artists who
make up the orchestra and showcase the power of process, collaboration and diversity.
Community
WHY I LOVE DIWALI

By Rekha Rajvanshi
iwali, a very auspicious and important Indian festival, has lately assumed immense popularity
among Indian-Australians. Diwalis magic touches everyones heart as the festival is celebrated by most
community organizations, fairs are held, Ramas story is
dramatized, an effigy of demon king Ravana is burnt and
people meet each other with much love and joy.
The festival of togetherness commemorates Lord
Ramas return to his kingdom Ayodhya after completing
his 14-year exile. The ancient story goes that people of
Ayodhya lit lamps to welcome Rama back to his kingdom. Since then Diwali is celebrated with great enthusiasm in India and among the Indian Diaspora throughout
the world. The festival denotes the victory of good over
evil. The Goddess of Wealth Lakshmi and God of
Wisdom Ganesha are worshipped on Diwali day.
I spoke with some community members about Diwali
and their experiences:
Yosha Joshi,
Photographer Yojo Visuals
have taken on a new life. I will like to share a stunning

poem by Mahadevi Varma in which she reimagines the
festival beautifully

My beautiful lamp, light our life and enlighten my
beloveds path every day, every moment)
Vandana Sharma, Teacher
Diwali brings sweet memories of family and friends

getting together with sweets, crackers, pooja, wearing
new clothes and getting blessings from elders. Other
missing moments from my hometown Madurai is Diwali
shopping bazaar before the festival. Here, in Australia,
Diwali is celebrated by all sections of the Indian
community in the form of fairs, dinners and get-togethers
by community associations and individual groups,
corporates and also by the Government. The celebrations
continue for more than a month.
Dr Frank Alafaci,
Assistant Professor, Universal Business
School Sydney (Group Colleges Australia)
Diwali is a joyous Festival of Lights that is celebrated

every year for triumph of good over evil. It is a time
where we gather to remind ourselves of the bonds of relationships and personal values we hold dearly.
During Diwali, we make beautiful vibrant rangolis on
the front of our doorsteps and mark the house in a dotted
line of diyas (small candles). My most favourite part is
getting to indulge in finely created Indian sweets - especially Kaju katli. There are also many Diwali functions
and events we hold with family, with great feasts and
laughter filled nights. We dress up in shimmering and
beautiful Indian attire, including saris, salwaars and
many more. It is great fun and I look forward to celebrating it every year.
Dr Ian Woolford,
Hindi Lecturer, La Trobe University
I first celebrated Deepawali when I was nine-years-old
while visiting family friends in India. I was young, so
what I remember most is the excitement of the children
around me. They shouted and ran with sparklers, and I
got to hold one too. But I also remember calm, familycentered moments, when we took in the beauty of home
lit up by rows of lamps. Today I teach Hindi at La Trobe
University in Melbourne. Some of my students plan to
attend the celebrations taking place at Federation Square.
Here in Australia, Hindi language and Indian celebrations
Diwali being a festival of lights, we light up the house

with earthen lamps and candles. The preparations begin
well in advance, the house gets a thorough cleaning,
sweets and snacks are prepared. On Diwali night, we
dress up for the occasion normally in new clothes, we
decorate our temple with fresh flowers and mango leaves,
offer our prayers to Goddess Lakshmi, prepare a feast
and share with friends and family. For the past two years,
few family friends get together at one place, we offer
prayers together, sing devotional songs and little kids
light up firecrackers. Everyone brings a dish and we
share food. It is fun celebrating Diwali with our group of
friends as it feels like having home away from home.
Reading scriptures and participating in Sankirtan enables
us to light up our souls.
Anagan Babu Ramia

Janardhanan,
System Analyst at Commonwealth Bank
Diwali celebrates love, peace, prosperity and

goodwill to others, so it should come as no surprise that
I deeply love and cherish the festival. It has the bright,
dazzling, spectacle of lights expressing hope for the
future coupled with the sensational, enthusiastic
communion of spirits, performances, fireworks and
festivities. There are also traditional and meaningful
ceremonial rites among the wonderful Indian community
in Sydney to celebrate the triumph of Rama over Ravana,
symbolizing the crucial victory of good over evil.
Unity in the family nucleus is an intense source of
emotional strength and, originating from a traditional
ethnic Italian family background, it is both beautiful and
gratifying to witness and participate in the intense joy,
camaraderie and reciprocal kindness and generosity
practiced within the families of my Indian friends and
colleagues in commemorating this significant subcontinental social calendar event.
We, at TIDU, wish all our readers,

well wishers and community a
very happy & prosperous Diwali!
SCIENCE
Hundred years, relativity speaking

By Vijay Badhwar
lbert Einsteins General
Theory of Relativity
celebrates its 100th
anniversary this month. Along
with his Special Theory of
Relativity published ten years
earlier when he was only a
clerk at the patent office in
Bern, Einstein turned science
on its head, introducing amazing concepts beyond common
circle of imagination, and it
frustrated scientists that they
could not prove him wrong.
Can anyone imagine that the
Nobel Prize awarded to him in
1921 was not for his theories of
relativity which made him
famous but for his services to
Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the
law of the photoelectric effect.
Einstein had to be a genius
of a special kind to reach a conclusion that everything in this
universe could vary except for
the speed of light in vacuum
that has to be a constant at
300,000 km/second (approximately) and that it is an ultimate speed that cannot be surpassed. Even time was not a
constant, according to him,
slowing down for events
approaching speed of light,
even going into a negative
value (in the past) beyond the
light speed!
But that genius was not
apparent in Einsteins early
years as his university grades
were unusually low an average of 4.91 from a possible of
6. He was also not a favourite
student of his professors as,
according to them, he used to
skip classes and cause disturbance. One of his teachers who
taught Greek grammar, Joseph
Degenhart, remarked about
Albert Einstein: nothing would
ever become of you.
Einstein married MilevaMaric in 1903 who also attended Zurich Polytechnic School.
Mileva gave birth to a baby girl
before their marriage and they
decided to give the child away
for adoption. They had two
more children while Einstein
published his theories of relativity. The couple divorced in
1919. Not much was known
about Mileva until 1987 when
the romantic letters between the
couple before their marriage
were discovered. Einsteins
second marriage was to his
cousin, Elsa, in 1919.
In 1905, when Einstein was
26, he published four other
papers on theoretical physics
besides his special theory of
relativity. That was his magic
Albert Einstein
year when he changed physics

forever. He introduced the idea
that space and time were
aspects of a four-dimensional
space-time, a concept hard to
visualise.
Contrary to common belief,
Einstein was not the greatest of
mathematicians himself. He
could think ideas and it was
through his thought experiments he realised in 1907 that
gravity was the curvature of
space. He spent several years
to represent the curvature in
mathematical form but realised
that the mathematics of fourdimensional space-time was too
complex and beyond him. He
sought the help of his former
classmate at the Zurich
Polytechnic,
Marcel
Grossmann, to mathematically
interpret curvature of space.
When he published his general theory of relativity in
1915, it described that the curvature of space-time depended
on the distribution of mass and
energy in space. The final
equation was approximated for
simplicitybut actually represented ten complex, non-linear
equations. In the equation he
introduced, which he described
later in his life as his greatest
blunder, a cosmological constant that would make the universe stable rather than it collapsing on itself. The constant
was a repulsive force which
acted to counteract the contraction of the universe.
Edwin Hubble, in 1920, discovered through redshifts of
galaxies that the universe was
actually expanding. Einstein
then realised that he need not
have introduced the cosmological constant as the expansion of
universe already provided that
outward force. He could have
predicted the expansion of universe from his original formula
which Hubble discovered several years later.
Recent observations have,
however, revealed that the uni-
verse is actually accelerating.

To balance the acceleration, a
constant is required which may
prove the genius right after all.
The exact solutions for
Einsteins equations, even at
present (with super computers),
are found only for simplified
models.
An interesting story is that
the person who determined the
first
exact
solution
for
Einsteins equations was Karl
Schwarzschild. He derived the
solution while he was serving
in the trenches in the First
World War. He was killed on
the Russian front just months
after publishing the result.
Einstein changed the way
we think about the most basic
things, which are space and
time. And that opened our eyes
to the universe, and how the
most interesting things in it
work, like black holes, says
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) professor,
David Kaiser.
Einstein predicted that time
would move more slowly in
proximity to a powerful gravitational field, such as that of a
star or a planet. The relationship has been verified by comparing two atomic clocks, one
on Earth and the other at a
high-altitude. The clocks show
a relative delay in confirmation
of the theory.
Global positioning systems
(GPS) are an application of this
phenomenon. Satellites have
clocks that are precisely adjusted to account for this time difference.
Einstein desperately needed
a proof to prove his theories
right but at small scale earthly
distances the effect of bending
a light beam by gravity was
miniscule. The proof came
after a lot of heartache and
drama. The experiment had to
be performed during a solar
eclipse. Arthur Eddington
measured a small displacement
of light coming from stars
Simulated view of a Black Hole
A depiction of space-time continuum
affected by suns gravity.

He also came up with his
famous equation, E=mc2,
three letters that have allowed
interchange of matter and energy and thus change the whole
world. A small amount of matter can produce huge amounts
of energy, a multiple of square
of speed of light, a really huge
number. This is the concept
behind nuclear energy and the
atom bomb.
The concept how this mega
energy from inside the nucleus
could be tapped emerged in
1938. Einstein called Lise
Meitner, who came up with the
idea, our Madame Curie. She
suggested that variants of radium whose nucleus is overpacked with neutrons might be
bombarded to result in loss of
matter. That would be source
of gigantic energy.
A space as large as a full
stop carries as many protons as
stars in our galaxy (our galaxy
Milky Way has approximately
200 billion stars!) The disappearance of one proton can produce 1000 MeV of energy.
E=mc2 had arrived.
As science unfolds one mystery, several more appear as
nature playfully teases us. The
humanity needs more Einsteins
to continue playing the game.
COMMUNITY
Mohan composes bliss

By Sydney Srinivas
What is the purpose of art?
A good question. However, we Indians
have a unique answer to this.
Very true of music and dance, it is to
create Ananda in the mind of the viewer or
the listener. Joy is a poor translation of the
word; bliss seems more appropriate. A
dance may have several moods embedded in
it - humour, peace, anger and even disgust
(Bhibatsa). But at the conclusion, all these
recede and the viewer is left in a state of
bliss. Mohan Ayyars composition was aptly
named Ananda.
The recital was held at the Macquarie
Theatre on September 5. Being a part time
doctoral student, Mohan pursues his study
on The Composition Process for
Bharatanatyam at Macquarie University.
The compositions presented were in partial
fulfilment of his degree.
An admirable programme indeed, it had
the structure of a traditional Bharatanatyam
recital
invocation,
Pushpanjali,
Kauttuvam, Jatiswaram, Varnam, Padam,
Thillana and Mangalam. The dances were
effectively choreographed by Hamsa Vankat
who has infused new blood into the dance
scene in Sydney and also provided
Nattuvangam. Vocal music was provided by
Sangeetha Ayyar (wife of Mohan).
Mridangam support was given by
Pallavarajan Nagendran; Balaji Jagannadhan
gave violin support. Mohan played on the
synthesiser.
The dancers were the senior students of
Hamsa. From the word go, we saw pretty
smiling faces dancing to a pleasing music.
Sometimes, only their faces turned, then the
arms and the legs in a slow motion. Then
came the vigorous movements along lines
and circles all over the dais. They formed
themselves into several combinations to portray an abstract feeling or Bhava as vividly
seen in Jathiswaram (withSharaniya
Balasundram, Priya Murali and Sneha Rao).
In the Ayyappa Kauttuvam we saw devotee (Sneha) perform a roll around Lord
Ayyappan (Vidya Gokul), portraying ecstasy, that his mission is fulfilled. Whether the
Lord should be beheld in the outward eye or
the inward eye was the theme for the
Varnam (rendered by Vidya, Divya Sriram
and Govind Pillai). Govind brought out a
moving abhinaya as Kannappa who sacrifices his physical eyes for Shiva.
Particularly appealing were the rich
Reethigaula composition from Sangeetha
and Sollukattus (Nattuvangam with words)
from Hamsa.
Rendered by Vidya, Sharnaiya, Priya
and Shruthi Sharma,
Raghuthoma
Ashtakam in Ragamalika, proved a very
Mohan Ayyar; and scenes from the dance progamme composed by him.
effective and a pleasing presentation.
Rendered in eight capturing ragas, including
Varali, Mohana, Sri and others, it was a
good combination of abstract dancing and
acting (Abhinaya). Three episodes from
Ramayana were enacted. These were
Kaikeyi forcing her husband Dasharatha to
send Rama to the forest and to crown her
own son Bharata. The second was the revelation by Rama that Ravana (after his
killing) was a great statesman. The third was
Rama deciding to abandon Sita to the forest
based on a washermans words.
Rich vocal recital by Sangeetha and
effective Mridangam recital by Nagendran
marked the occasion. Nmarata Pulapaka did
a nice job of compeering the program.

The items performed were totally new.
It is interesting that two of the lyrics were
composed by Dr Ravi Shankar from USA
while the invocation was composed by
Varadaraja Ayyar (Mohans father).
Mohan has proved his skill in composing
for dance. Hats off to him.
Community
IABCA honours high achievers
On October 30, at the India Australia Business

& Community Award (IABCA) gala event, 11
award category winners were announced. The
guests of honour at the IABCA Award ceremony
were an impressive array of personalities that
included NSW Premier Mike Baird, Consul
General of India in Sydney, Sunjay Sudhir, and
well-known publisher and National President of
Alzheimer's Australia, Ita Buttrose.
IABCA night lauded the achievements of the
Indian community down under. Winners came
from all states from NSW, QLD, NT, Canberra
and Melbourne.
NSW local winners included well known
Indian chef Kumar Mahadevans Akis Indian
Restaurant as the Best Restaurant of the Year,
Pradanya Dugal, a radiologist, the Best
Professional of the Year. Pradanya, a beautiful
Bharatnatyam dancer and a mother of three children balances her professional work and personal
passion with great skill.
In SME category (Small to Medium Business
Enterprise), Kishore Mattas Jewel Fine Foods was
the winner with its lead role in providing freshly
prepared pre-packaged meals.
Another winner is Navneesh Garg, CEO,
AdactIn Group, a fast growing, award winning

professional services company with specialization
in Software Testing Services to organizations that
help them improve their Testing Processes.
Navneesh has authored two books on Test
Automation which are ranked amongst top 20 testing books on Amazon.com. Navneesh is a member of Red Cross, Council of Indian Australians,
and Mission Australia community programs.
Last year there was a category of Best
Achievement and Contribution to Art & Culture.
Unfortunately, this year, Art and Culture did not
feature among the award categories.
Sindhi Association in Victoria was chosen as
the winner for all its activities including conducting
language classes. United Indian Association Inc
which claims to be an umbrella body representing
26 Indian associations was one of the finalists in
this years list.
We do need to applaud our achievements;
IABCA Awards is one such self-appointed platform. To attend the event does not come cheap at
more than $200 a head.
IABCA 2015 Winners are:
Young Professional of the Year 2015

Navneesh Garg, Chief Executive Officer, AdactIn
Group, NSW
Young Community Achiever of th

Year 2015 - Navdeep Pasricha, QLD
Community Services Excellenc

Award 2015 - Deepak-Raj Gupta Presiden
Australia India Business Council and Canberr
India Council, ACT
Community Association of the Yea

2015 Sindhi Association of Victoria (SAV) , VIC
Business Leader of the Year 2015

Vivek Bhatia, Chief Executive Officer iCARE
NSW
Professional of the Year 2015 - D

Pradnya Dugal MBBS (Hons), Founding Partne
Synergy Radiology, NSW
Travel Agency / Tour Operator of th

Year 2015 - Beacon Holidays, VIC
Indian Restaurant of the Year 2015

Akis Indian, NSW
Small Business of the Year 2015

Hallmark Computers International, NT
SME of the Year 2015 - Jewel Fin

Foods (JFF), NSW
Indian Australian Ambassador of th

Year DD Saxena, ROBE, NSW
MAT R IMONIAL S . . .
Nov 15 Mat 1. Wanted a suitable professional

match for a beautiful, homely girl, 5' 3", 26 year old
living in Delhi. She is a graduate in English (Hons)
and will be completing MBA in December. Close
relatives live in Sydney and can be contacted for references. Please send full details to 'indiandownunder@gmail.com'.
Nov 15 Mat 2. Match for slim, attractive 27
years old daughter; postgrad medicine, working in a
hospital in Sydney. Boy must be tall and handsome.
Professionally qualified and earning well. Punjabi
Brahmin, Khatri, Arora or Sikh backgroud.
Australian Citizen. Apply with brief details and
phone number Ganpati_Om@hotmail.com
Nov 15 Mat 3. Seeking suitable bride for
Punjabi Brahmin Boy 31 years 59 well settled
Australian Citizen working in Global Bank Sydney,
Caste no bar. Please email particulars including photograph to: account8888@gmail.com or contact
0401 954 390.
Nov 15 Mat 4. MATCH required for my daughter, we are a Punjabi Brahmin family, settled in
Australia. Education: LLB, Grad Dip Legal
Practice, B Business MGMT, working in Qld govt,
earns $90K. Elegant girl with pleasing nature. 5-3,
34, lives a balanced lifestyle, fit and fair. Looking for
a handsome Hindu boy, intelligent and accomplished in a good career. Caste no bar.
kumarpd07@yahoo.com.au
Nov 15 Mat 5. MATCH required for a Licensed
Building Practitioner (Builder) Rajput boy, NEVER
MARRIED, very fair, athletic, handsome, 5'-11",

June 1982 born, High six figure package, Caste no
bar.
+61-431-059-703.
matrimony2031@yahoo.com.au
Nov 15 Mat 6. Well settled parents looking for
suitable matches for their daughter, 32 years old,
working for a multinational company in Sydney in a
senior corporate position, pretty, 163cm tall; brought
up in and values both Indian and western culture.
North Indian, Punjabi, from other regional background, professional boys from well settled family
background preferred. Please contact by email:
sur6958@gmail.com or mobile: 0404 147 744.
Nov 15 Mat 7. Match for Australian born
28year old Sydney based Punjabi Bhardwaj girl,
Master of law, working for NSW goverment. Pretty,
tall, fair, homely yet modern girl blends in both
Indian and western cultures easily, wants a professional, educated and outgoing match. Contact:
vk5454@hotmail.com
Nov 15 Mat 8. SEEKING match for my brother, Hindu, Gujarati - Patel, 32, 6 ft, vegetarian,
Masters in Computing Studies, working and living
in USA (American citizen). Looking for a loving
Gujarati girl, caring with good family values, well
cultured settled or trying to settle in USA or
Australia, preferably with a PR/Citizenship. Email:
bluepools2012@gmail.com
Nov 15 Mat 9. Seeking suitable match ( from
Australia ) never married, for Hindu Girl 34 yrs,
Chartered Accountant (non veg) living in Australia
over 25 yrs with eastern and western family values.
Please
email
with
all
details
on
ganesh2011v@gmail.com
Nov 15 Mat 10. Seeking a Hindu boy, non vegetarian, preferably Gujarati with good family values
for my daughter. She is 33 , divorced, 5'2" and wellbuilt. She is an Australian citizen, works as an IT
team leader and is well settled in Sydney. If you are
interested please contact us on 0404 595 182 or
r.chandra2012@hotmail.com.
Nov 15 Mat 11. Parents settled in Australia looking for a suitable professional match for their 30
22 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER November - December 2015
years old daughter, height 165cm, smart, pretty and

working as a clinical psychologist, well brought up
and respects Indian cultural values. Professional
boys from well settled family background preferred.
Please contact by email: fame46213@gmail.com
or mobile: 0452 227 920
Nov 15 Mat 12. Parents seeking match for
beautiful, multitalented Medical Doctor daughter
(age 27) with wider interests in life. Correspondence
requested from medical doctor/ dentist (preference
vegetarian)
with
exclusive
profile
:
oasis1556@yahoo.com
Nov 15 Mat 13. Parents seeking match for fair,
slim Hindu Sindhi girl 32 years/ 156 cm working as
Lecturer in leading University. Permanent resident
of Australia with dual degree M.com (Accounts and
Finance), fond of sports, traveling and cooking. We
are a well knit professional family. Please mail proposal with education, job details with recent photo to
: mohri1324@gmail.com and Contact no. 0431 842
458
Nov 15 Mat 14. Well settled Indian family
looking for a suitable match for their 25 year old
medico daughter, 5 5 tall, born brought up and educated in Australia. Keen in outdoor and sport activities, travel and wants a like-minded Australia educated
medico
boy.
Write
to:
wedding2519@gmail.com
Nov 15 Mat 15. Seeking a Hindu girl, vegetarian, preferably Gujarati, with good family values, for
my son. He is 36, divorced, no children, fair, 58,
well-built, non-smoker, light drinks. He is an
Australian citizen, works as a tax consultant and
lives with his parents. His two sisters live separately.
We have lived in Sydney for 19 years. Contact 0423
328 800 or syda u714@hotmail.com.
Nov 15 Mat 16. Seeking a well qualified Hindu
male, aged between 49 54, for a very fair, young
looking Hindu lady, aged 54 and an Australian citizen. He should be a non smoker and should have
strong moral values. Caste no bar. She is an eggetarian, divorced and has a 19 year old daughter living
with her. Contact lifepartner@hotmail.com.au.
Nov 15 Mat 17. Hindu Punjabi business parents

invite alliance from a beautiful educated girl for their
highly qualified son 30/6'3", a very well placed
financial consultant with a leading multinational
company in UK. Will be in Australia in July, Caste
no bar. Send BHP to ukshaadi@hotmail.com
Nov 15 Mat 18. Well settled family in Australia
inviting alliance for 27 year old, 5"11, Sood Punjabi
boy, B.Software Engineer(honors) and is working as
a senior IT Consultant for the Australian government
on high income. Seeking Indian girl, caste no bar.
Please
call
0414-518-312.
Email
aumohindra@gmail.com
Nov 15 Mat 19. Seeking compatible well educated, employed professional/ business match, with
Indian background, broad minded/ mature outlook,
independent, divorcee, age 47 years onward, For
caring, honest, friendly, Indian Christian divorcee
Australian citizen, 48 yrs 5'3" tall, much younger
looking than age, attractive, graceful looking graduate nurse, employed. Caste no bar. Email details to
emily.lotus@hotmail.com
Nov 15 Mat 20. Local born Melbourne based
turbaned Sikh boy with trimmed beard 33 years old
6 feet tall from established family masters graduate
working as finance manager looking for a likeminded professional Sikh girl who is locally born or
grown up in Australia with mix of western and
Indian culture and values. Send interest with pix to
sikhm10. Well settled, Punjabi khatri family, looking for a professionally qualified match for their
beautiful, slim, 30 years, 5'5" tall daughter, raised
and educated in Australia. She is working as a senior associate in a Law firm in Sydney. Mail proposal with education, job details and a recent photo
to: pk212014@hotmail.com or contact 0430 281
175.
Nov 15 Mat 21. Seeking alliance for Hindu, 37
yrs, girl, unmarried, charted accountant, simple,
with Indian values and well tuned to western values.
Please reply with all details to dknm10@gmail.com
Monika Geetmala
Sundays - 10am - 3pm
89.7fm Eastside Radio
or
Tune into:
www.eastside.org
Nonstop entertainment at home, in
car, on your computer or radio...
Santram's Grey Page
Just for Seniors
By Santram Bajaj
HEALTH & WELLBEING
he month of October was the Mental

Health Awareness month. Seminars
and workshops were conducted by various organisations throughout the country.
Stress, Depression and Dementia are the
major worries in todays society. Let us look
at Stress in this column.
Stress
tress is a feeling you have when you
face a situation you think you cannot
manage. You can feel anxious, irritable,
forgetful, sleepless and unable to cope. We
experience stress when there is an imbalance
between the demands being made on us and
our resources to cope with those demands.
You may feel under pressure to do something and fear you may fail. The more important the outcome, the more stressed you feel.
You can feel stressed by external situations
(too much work, children misbehaving) and
by internal triggers (the way you think about
external situations).
Stress may also contribute to physical illness such as cardiovascular disease. When
stress turns into a serious illness, it is important to get professional help as soon as possible. Untreated anxiety disorders can lead to
serious depression.
Stress and anxiety

ntreated stress can turn into a mental
illness such as an anxiety disorder or
depression. Almost everyone experiences some anxiety. This is normal.
However, an anxiety disorder is different
from everyday anxiety it is more severe, can
persist and may interfere with a persons daily
life.
Effects of stress
Stress affects us in many ways, including:
Emotionally anxiety, depression, tension, anger
The way we think poor concentration,
forgetfulness, indecisiveness, apathy, hopelessness
Behaviourally increased drinking and
smoking, insomnia, accident proneness,
weight problems, obsessive-compulsive
behaviour, nervousness, gambling.
Management of stress
he old adage prevention is better than
cure is certainly true for stress management. It will help if you:
Exercise regularly regular exercise is a
great way to manage stress. You should do
some form of exercise that causes you to feel
puffed afterwards a leisurely stroll to the
bus stop is not enough! Have at least 20 minutes of exercise three times a week.
Avoid conflict avoid situations that
make you feel stressed such as unnecessary
arguments and conflict (although ignoring a
problem is not always the best way to reduce
stress). Assertiveness is fine but becoming
distressed is not
Relax give yourself some time to relax
each day and try to spend time with people
who make you feel good about yourself
Eat well a nutritious diet is important.
Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and
avoid sweet and fatty foods
Sleep a good sleep routine is essential.
If you have difficulty falling asleep, do something calm and relaxing before you go to bed
like listening to music or reading
Enjoy your life its important to make
time to have some fun and to get a balance in
your life.
To deal with stress more effectively, it
helps to investigate your stresses and how you
react to them. Try to:
4Understand what situations make you
feel stressed
4Understand what situations you can and
cant control
4Prepare for stressful events in advance,
by thinking about the future
4Keep yourself healthy with good nutrition, exercise and regular relaxation
4Try to do happy things every day.
Getting help for stress
You should see your doctor or community health centre if:
You feel stressed often
Particular things stress you and you feel
they are beyond your control
You feel your reactions to stress are
extreme or worry you
You feel anxious or depressed about
stress.
Where to get help
4Your doctor
4Psychologist or counsellor
4Community mental health service
4Lifeline Tel. 13 11 14
Now let us look at some other issues in
connection with our general health.
Health symptoms you cant ignore

hile a few aches and pains are common, some symptoms might not
just be what they seem like. Make
sure you don't ignore certain health symptoms...
Recurring bloating
While women tend to get bloated more
often than men due to their menstrual cycle, if
you discover that you're bloated more often
than not, it's worth getting it investigated.
Keep an eye out for gas, pain in the abdomen
or difficulty while eating. It could be due to
an underlying gynaecological problem, which
may need to be checked.
Excruciating headaches
A burst blood vessel in your brain could
trigger sudden and extremely painful
headaches. Called a ruptured aneurysm, this
requires urgent attention. Additional symptoms include chest pain, exhaustion and deteriorating vision, which could indicate cardiac
cephalgia or meningitis.
Painful toothache
A little bit of a sting or pain while having
an ice-cream or a chilled drink is okay, shooting pain is not. If you feel like your teeth are
feeling extra sensitive, it's time you make a
trip to the dentist. A bad toothache could
mean that a nerve in the tooth has been damaged a sign of rotting teeth. The more you
keep postponing a visit to the dentist, the
more the bacteria will spread in your mouth,
leading to severe pain.
Pain in the chest
Certain foods cause heartburn or indigestion. You need to identify the difference
between that and something that could be
potentially more dangerous. Don't let the
And now to our fitness
Join a laughing club or watch some comedy DVDs in a spree, and laugh it out as if
no one is watching.
Simple and easy exercises for seniors
Inactive daily life results in loss of
strength and energy even to perform daily
tasks. Hence, regular exercise is important to almost everyone, including senior
citizens. Practicing regular exercise
improves balance and flexibility, as well
as improves mental and physical health.
Here are some simple exercises for
senior citizens that will promote good
health and physical fitness.
Walking, jogging or light running
The best form of exercise for seniors
who have joint or balance problems is
simple walking. Walking helps to burn fat
and increase elasticity. Practice regular
walking in the morning and evening to
stay fit and healthy.
Jogging and light running are also
excellent exercises for seniors. These
enable a comfortable range of motion that
helps seniors retain muscle and joint elasticity while elevating heart rate to a comfortable pace, and boosting heart health.
Yoga
Practicing yoga or meditation can
work wonders for seniors who are looking
to boost health through controlled breathing and relaxation. Besides relieving
stress, it gives a sense of balance between
the body and mind, controls high blood
pressure and stimulates blood flow.
Laughing
Join a laughing club or watch some
comedy DVDs in a spree, and laugh it out
as if no one is watching. Laughing, helps
thought of a heart problem deter you from
visiting the doctor. When you feel like there
is a load on your chest quite literally or
pain, it may just be one of the many signs of
a heart attack. Don't wait get yourself
checked immediately to find out how serious
the problem is.
Unnatural hair growth
While all of us have hair on our bodies, if
you notice thick, dark hair on your face,
chest, stomach or near your breasts, it could
indicate a gynaecological problem Polycystic
Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). This occurs when
there is an imbalance of female hormones in
the body. Other symptoms include irregular
periods and trouble conceiving.
Sudden weight loss
Whether you're dieting and exercising or
not, losing a lot more weight than you should
or losing weight suddenly for no apparent reason, is a cause for concern.
lower blood pressure, increases blood

flow and alleviates stress.
Swimming
Another simple and effective form of
exercise is swimming. Swimming is cool
during summer heat, makes limbs movements easy and strengthens your bones
and muscles.
Sit-stand exercise
Sit down on a chair and quickly stand
up, do this as many times as you can. Start
with a steady speed, later according to
your comfort increase your speed.
This exercise will strengthen your leg
muscles.
Buttock exercise
Tighten up your buttock muscles, by
squeezing one side of your buttock in a
tight position and then release. Do at least
ten times on either side till ten counts.
Hand swirls
Raise your hands or straight in front of
you, then swirl your wrists in circular
motion. Keep changing the direction after
ten counts. This exercise helps to
strengthen hand muscles.
Dancing
Turn on some music and move your
body to the groove. Call in your friends
and pump up the music. Dancing helps to
stay active and burn calories.
Cycling
Grab a bicycle and relive your good
olden days. Cycling is good for your
heart, muscles, mental health and immune
system.
Disclaimer
The Health tips are taken from reliable
publications and produced here in good
faith. No responsibility, whatsoever, can
be accepted by the Indian Dowunder or the
writer of this column. Please check with
your GP, if in doubt.
HUMOUR
Two elderly gentlemen from a retirement
centre were sitting on a bench under a tree
when one turns to the other and says: "Slim,
I'm 83 years old now and I'm just full of
aches and pains. I know you're about my age.
How do you feel?"
Slim says, "I feel
just like a newborn baby."
"Really!? Like a newborn baby!?"
"Yep. No hair, no teeth, and I think I just
wet my pants.
Hindi Humour
TRAVEL
WONDERLAND IN ALICE
Alice Springs, in the heart of the continent, is real Australia away from
the coastal belt, as varied as moving from Earth into a Moonscape.
By Vijay Badhwar
lice Springs at the heart of
Australia is unmatched for its
rugged beauty, hues that blow the
mind away and for the serenity of the
desert landscape that initiates a conversation with the subconscious. The Alice
journey also provides a rare insight into
the vastness of real Australia and a firsthand encounter with its original people.
The distances are vast - some 2,800
km from Sydney, and once there, there is
still much more travel left from one landmark to another. The local car rental companies are aware of this and incite with a
reasonable day rate. But limited to 100 km
per day the final invoice gives a shock
when it more than doubles up at the time
of settling.
There is a serene feel about the town
the river gums at the banks of a dried
Todd River, mildly undulating hills in the
backdrop and elsewhere, red earth. Its
even sadly quiet, although there are a lot
of tourists around the township.
There are scattered groups of indigenous people walking along the gravelly
river bed, in the parks, but mostly around
the ATMs inside the shopping malls. They
are hitting some keys at the machines and
often ask for help from the tourists, but in
vain. Police presence outside every liquor
shop is daunting as a Kiwi policemen we
spoke to laments at their plight and their
aggression among each other. The Maoris
in NZ are much more integrated in the
mainstream population, he says.
The indigenous lifestyle away from
their communities asks for urgent national
thinking and redirection as it is not a
happy sight, seeing mums and their young
children buying litres of Coke and Chiko
rolls early in the morning at a petrol station. Their poor health and life span in
Continued on page 23
There is a serene
feel about the town
the river gums at
the banks of a dried
Todd River,
mildly undulating
hills in the
backdrop and
elsewhere,
red earth.
Ayres Rock glowing in the morning sun
Co-traveller Tejasvi Sharma looking at the aboriginal rock paintings in the West Macdonnell Ranges
TRAVEL
comparison to the national average is a
matter of extreme concern.
Out of the town its wonderland, especially towards the 100-odd-kilometres
stretch along the west Macdonnell
Ranges. The sight of sunburnt red vertical
gorges is a sheer beauty as they reflect in
water holes at their bases. The cliffs at the
picturesque Simpsons Gap and Standley
Chasm weave a magic spell, continuously
changing their hues at the direction of rays
from the distant Sun. For the more intrepid tourists (and we have one among us
who walks 120 kms for six days), the 223
kilometres of Larapinta Trail along the
spine of the Macdonnell Ranges is rated
among the top 20 treks on this planet.
The well-beaten but magnificent
tourist trail is towards the south,
Uluru/Ayers Rock, Kata Tjuta and Kings
Canyon but it is not exactly next door to
Alice Springs as it is often assumed. The
Alice to Yulara distance is 460 km, but
the Stuart Highway allowing 130 Km/hour
speed limit, the road is easily covered as
it is nice and straight. Kings Canyon,
although forming a triangle with Alice and
Yulara, is only accessed by a sealed road
going 170 kilometres from the turn-off
from the highway. The detour can only be
saved with a four-wheel drive, that too,
with a permit.
Kings Canyons 6-km Rim Walk is
absolutely amazing, the sandstone rock
formations a rare sight. It could easily be
a walk on another planet, or in an abandoned lost city, a surreal scene among
rock formations from millions of years.
The wavy water marks preserved on the
rock surface is a unique geological experience.
The Kings Canyon Resort provides a
variety of accommodation from a reasonable ($120) to expensive ($380) unless it
is during low season when everyone is
working or at school. And do not forget to
carry your own drinks unless you can
afford to pay 2-3 times the price of a normal bottle.
From Kings Canyon, it is 170 kilometres to join back on to Lasseter Highway
which takes you to Yulara, another 143
kilometres, a tourist township of apartments and hotels. The accommodation is
expensive even compared to the metropolitan cities and food at restaurants is at a
premium but then you are visiting a
remote landmark. Tourists travelling on a
budget can easily give a miss to the
Sounds of Silence dinner under the stars
as it costs a couple of hundred dollars per
head but does give an opportunity to gaze
at the richness of a sky when the only
lights around you are that of the stars.
Ayers Rock is 18 km from the township. It is an amazing sight at any time of
the day or night, sunrise or sunset, as it
weaves a magic just being close to it. The
hues are continually changing and provide
an amazing experience, be it in the shade
or in light, in the cool of the night or
under the scorching Sun. A walk around
the rock of 9.4 km should be one of those
must do things as you just cannot get
enough of its spell.
Many tourists to Central Australia fly
in and out to see the Rock on a quick 2-3
day trip. They miss out on a close-by
wonder of Kata Tjuta only 50 km by road
west of Uluru. The ochre-coloured oxidised sandstone formations are a sight to
behold as they stand out punctuating the
Amazing Kata Tjuta
Writer with intrepid traveller Rod Hale

desert landscape. The two famous walks,
2.6 km Walpa Gorge walk, and the longer
7-km Valley of the Winds walk snake
through domes and creek beds to viewing
areas that throw open the vastness of the
Red Centre.
The way back to Sydney through
Coober Pedy is certainly uncongested,
only an occasional vehicle or a road train

breaking the solo ride. The dome-shaped
360 degree horizon bisected by a straight
road is a rare driving experience.
A slight detour through the Flinders
Ranges is a bonus for travellers opting to
take a break from long stretches of driving. Other stops on the way entering NSW
is the mining town of Broken Hill and the

wheat heartland of Dubbo, both worth a
visit. Thats real Australia away from the
coastal belt, as varied as moving from
Earth into a Moonscape. In Swami
Shridharanandas description of transcendence, its an experience that is not
describable, but only experienceable.
Body Mind Spirit
INTROVERTS VS EXTROVERTS,
THE GULF IN BETWEEN
The words introverted and extroverted have been current in our vocabulary for a
long, long time. However, it has to be realised that pure introverts or pure extroverts
are a statistical abstraction, most people having characteristics of both.
By Sunder Das
he words introverted and extroverted
have been current in our vocabulary
for a long long time. But laymen, as
also professional people, are not very clear as
to what these mean in terms of human experience.
We can perhaps postulate a personality
continuum with extroversion at one end and
introversion at the other. However, it has to
be realised that pure introverts or pure extroverts are a statistical abstraction as most people have characteristics of both.
Carl Gustav Jung delineated the extroverted person as being object-oriented and the
introvert as being subjective. It is, however,
possible for a person to be extroverted on
some occasions and introverted on others.
Jung went on to say that the unconscious of an
introvert is extroverted and that the unconscious of an extrovert is introverted respectively.
Further, Jung postulated four psychological functions, namely, thinking, feeling, sensation and intuition. Thinking and feeling
were considered rational functions, and intuition and sensation as irrational functions.
It was Pavlov, in his study of conditioning, who postulated the concept of simultaneous cortical excitation and inhibition, the balance of which determined the conditionability
of his dogs. The late Professor H.J. Eysenck,
one of the foremost psychologists the world
has ever known, advanced the hypothesis that
some human beings have predominance of
cortical excitation, at the same time manifesting behavioural inhibition. These are the
introverted people. Those who showed a predominance of cortical inhibition are the extroverts. The Ascending Reticular Activating
System (ARAS) situated in the brain stem
Reticular Formation has been considered to
play an important part in wakefulness, alertness, vigilance and in the regulation of sensory input.
Eysenck has suggested that there could be
a physiological (and genetic) basis for personality. Extroversion-Introversion is closely related to the habitual arousal level of the
cortex. We get tense and wound up, highly
aroused before an important examination, but
we are relaxed and drowsy late in the evening
in front of the television.
The brain functions best at moderately
high levels of arousal. Introverts have higher habitual levels of arousal than extroverts
do, which is why they tend to be better at
learning, conditioning and remembering.
The cortex also has the function of keeping the lower levels of the brain in check,
which is why the behaviour of introverts is
more inhibited than that of extroverts.
Alcohol (a central nervous system depressant)
makes people more extroverted, whereas
amphetamines, which are stimulant drugs,
have the opposite effect. They make people
more introverted. Therefore, by giving peo-
ple depressant or stimulant drugs we can alter

the physical basis of their personality and thus
their behaviour.
Eysenck postulated another dimension,
namely neuroticism, which he defined as
emotional stability-instability, a characteristic
of the Autonomic Nervous System. A combination of Introversion and Neuroticism
makes for the so-called dysthymic disorders,
namely anxiety states, reactive depression,
phobias and obsessive compulsive reactions.
Extroverted neurotics are likely to develop
hysterical reactions, such as paralytic or anesthetic symptoms of conversions, and psychopathy, which can lead to criminality.
Prolific laboratory and social experimentation to validate the theory of IntroversionExtroversion, has brought out some very
interesting findings. Some of these are:
4
Introverts have higher levels of
cortical arousal, better ability to form conditioned responses, seem better learners using
the formal direct teaching methods and are
more susceptible to punishment.
4
The body temperature of introverts
is higher in the morning and early afternoon
and they do not suffer from boredom.
4
They seek stimulus avoidance, are
cautious, have a lower threshold to pain and
tend to be oversocialised.
4
They are process-oriented, tend to
avoid competitive situations and have a rich
fantasy life.
Extroverts, on the other hand, have a
craving for stimulation, often need change of
activity, and rest pauses, and are susceptible
to rewards.
They are impulsive and are
slower
to
learn
the
rules
of
society.
In the transcultural context, these findings
have important implications. As Eysenck
has pointed out, genetic factors play a very
important part in the development of introversion and extroversion. What is more,
there can be whole cultures, which may be
termed introverted. It is not very clear as to
why this is so. Perhaps natural selections
over the centuries and cultural conditioning
may have something to do with this phenome
on. For instance, during the Vedic Period in
the Indo-Gangetic Valley, the Aryan people
were outward looking, whereas the way of
life of the indigenous Dravidian people was
definitely inward looking. The Vedic Gods
of the Aryans were powerful beings who
enjoyed their existence to the fullest extent.
In contrast, the Dravidian God Siva was the
ultimate renunciate, who would sit in the
lotus posture absorbed in meditation over
tremendously long periods of time.
Extroverted cultures may be termed centrifugal in an existential sense because the
movement of its members is from the centre
to the periphery, whereas introverted cultures
can be seen as centripetal, the movement
being from the periphery to the centre. To
take it one step further, extroverted societies
consider the tangible as reality in contrast to
Introverts may be seen to show

stimulus aversion in the sense that
they already have a high cortical
arousal, any further stimulation
being perceived as unpleasant.
the introverted ones, which consider external
phenomena as comparatively unreal (Maya)
when compared to the subjective reality.
Introverts may be seen to show stimulus
aversion in the sense that they already have a
high cortical arousal, any further stimulation
being perceived as unpleasant. It is perhaps
the introversive characteristic of the reclusive
Yogi, which enables him to spend a massive
slice of his life ensconced in a cave oblivious
to the hustle and bustle of city life.
I am sure many people have wondered
how it is that astronauts are able to function
inside cramped capsules for days or weeks on
end, orbiting over the earth. It stands to reason that most astronauts are chosen because
they have predominantly introversive characteristics.
We know that Neil Armstrong, the first
man to walk on the moon, is a very introverted man whose social life is practically nonexistent. It is also true that introverted people are eminently suited for repetitive jobs
like those on the assembly line, which ceases
to have any significant stimulation after a
while.
One of the interesting outcomes is the tendency of introverts towards process-orientation, which may have been responsible for the
ancient sages of India to postulate the theory
of Karma involving rebirth thousands or millions of times until the individual Atman is
ready to merge with the Cosmic
Consciousness.
Maharishi Patanjali, one of the celebrated
sages of India, has enumerated eight steps
designed to enable a person to actualise himself/herself. Out of these, the fifth step is
referred to as Pratyahara, meaning the act of
turning inwards and withdrawal from the
senses. A fanciful example given in Hindu
Scriptures is that of a tortoise withdrawing its
legs and head into its shell. Meditation seems
to be a device for turning inwards.
There are many practical considerations,

which have to be taken into account at this
stage. Introverted people seem to function
best in the forenoon. As the day progresses,
their body temperatures and their efficiency
tend to wane, whereas extroverted people
come alive in the late afternoon. It is interesting to note that in Vedanta and Yoga
philosophies, 3 a.m., referred to as Brahma
Muhurtam (or the time of Brahma) is said to
be the best time for contemplation and study.
The threshold for pain is lower for the
introvert and therefore it may be found that he
suffers disproportionately to the degree of
intensity of the stimulation which causes it.
Moreover, because of the enhanced ability to conceptualise, the introverted person
imagines the worst that can happen. It is
well known that in the obsessive compulsive
disorder and in phobic reactions the sufferer
unwittingly perpetuates his condition by not
testing the reality of the situation.
It has been said that introverts are very
complex people with many contradictions in
their nature. Many of them do not find it difficult to hold opposing ideas in their consciousness.
Some psychologists hold that
this kind of Janusian thinking makes for creativity and is very much a right hemisphere
characteristic. The gifted people who put
together the Upanishads were certainly
inward looking. Introverts, because of their
greater conditionability, learn the rules of
society much quicker than their extroverted
brethren do.
In other words, their physical behaviour
seems to conform to the mores of society, at
least in significant areas of their lives. But
in their thinking patterns, it is entirely another matter. They seem to be extremely nonconformist, almost to the point of being antisocial.
There is some evidence that inward-lookContinued on page 29
Body Mind Spirit
The somatotype of Cassius as

portrayed by Shakespeare seems to
have died hard. Extroverts are often
portrayed as roly-poly, typified by the
traditional appearance of Santa Claus.
ing people seem to have an intense libido,
which makes them easily attracted to the
members of the opposite sex. At the same
time the capacity for looking within causes
the development of a very stringent superego
(Conscience) which imposes a rigorous moral
value. It is therefore not difficult to infer that
introverted people may have an internal struggle to keep their libido within moral bounds.
One of the important things about introversion is that it endows the person who has
it, with insight into the personality predilections of people around him, enabling him to
switch roles in a facile manner. Therefore
introverted people can be good actors. This
is not to say that all of them can be a success
on the silver screen. For every introverted
Sir Lawrence Olivier, there are hundreds of
others whose social inhibitions keep them
very much earth-bound.
Humour is another thing that comes easily to the introvert. Not that in a social context he could become the life and soul of the
party, but there is certainly the capacity to
chuckle inwardly or even to laugh outright,

especially while reading a book. Introverted
people seem to be fond of cartoons of the
Walt Disney kind. Those who make cartoons
are perhaps introverted as well.
Finally, there is the stereotype of an introvert, summarised in the words of William
Shakespeare, when he makes Julius Caesar
say:
Let me have men about me that are fat,
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o
nights,
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look
He thinks too much
Such men are dangerous
This somatotype seems to have died hard.
Extroverts are often portrayed as roly-poly,
typified by the traditional appearance of Santa
Claus. Such people are supposed to laugh a
great deal and to enjoy creature comforts.
By implication, introverts have to have
opposing characteristics.
But in real life
things are not that cut and dry; many introverts may not have that lean and hungry look!
Ramanujans wife Janaki Ammal. The book is

a pilgrimage for the writer who visited the
town of Kumbakonan and the museum in
Chennai, continuing his journey through the
Great Hall in Cambridge University and talk
ing to various people connected to the
genius life, including the grandson of his
mentor Narayana Ayyar.
Sydney Srinivas writes the biography as
a devotee, conjuring an image of the young
Ramanujan: On the pial in front of the house
sits a young man about 20 years of age,
plump, wearing a white cotton Vaishti and
sporting a kudumi in his head and a naamam
on his forehead.
He holds a slate on his lap and a chalk in
his right hand. He is busy writing on the
slate, almost ceaselessly and with a frenetic
pace. When he discovers a mistake, he
promptly erases his jottings with his left
elbow and starts over...
It is a story full of sadness and heart
break. Srinivas describes Ramanujans wed
ding to nineyearold Janaki Ammal full of
bad omens as the train in which the groom is
travelling gets late, the garland that the
bride is putting around the grooms neck
falls and the pandal gets engulfed in fire. It
uch has been written about the Indian

genius Srinivasa Ramanujan who made
invaluable contribution in the field of pure
mathematics Prime Numbers, Mock Theta
Functions, qseries and many other fields so
complex that only a few chosen ones com
prehend fully their significance and deriva
tions which are continuing to date.
Prime numbers are used in todays world
to codify our passwords that control access
to credit cards and the like. Without them,
the functioning of, especially the banking
sector, will become virtually impossible.
These special numbers and the related theo
rems came naturally to Ramanujan, to the
surprise of his professor at Cambridge
University, G H Hardy.
A dramatised story of Ramanujan is
related in an earlier book by David Leavitt,
The Indian Clerk. The book is made melo
dramatic by introducing romance in a life
otherwise full of trauma.
Ramanujan book by Australian scientist
Sydney Srinivas is, however, a compilation of
unembellished raw facts his early child
hood with pictures of his school and the
street where the genius lived, anecdotes as
told by Sri Narayan, the son adopted by
There is some evidence that

inward-looking people seem to
have an intense libido, as well as a
stringent superego (Conscience),
which imposes a rigorous moral
value. So, they may have an
internal struggle to keep their
libido within moral bounds.
Book
Review
stays this way worsened by mothers behav
iour towards the young bride. Ramanujan
spends his life full of agony, cold and home
sick at Cambridge, also physically sick and
longing for his Indian food.
Although without a formal education,
Ramanujan achieved a lot in his short life
span of 32 years, becoming a Fellow of the
Royal Society at 30 years of age, his work
still influencing mathematics. His five note
books written in green ink are chaotic as he
did not follow the conventions and symbols
not being formally trained. But the mathe
matics world holds these notebooks in awe
as they still try to decipher the genius of
Ramanujan.
Sydney Srinivas book is in two parts: the
second part compiled by Michael D
Hirschhorn is full of mathematical equations
comprising five simplest examples from
Ramanujans work. It will interest readers
who have some mathematical background.
Srinivasa Ramajujan
by Sydney Srinivas, published by Prism
Books Pty Ltd
Body Mind Spirit
Some tips for students sitting in

exams from Vasthu expert
xamination period is usually a stressful moment for students because they
have to study hard and spend long
hours preparing for their final papers which
is normally this
time of the year.
They
may
experience
fatigue, anxiety
and fear due to
the pressure to
do well in their
exams.
I made a trip
to
Chennai,
India,
recently
VasthuSastra
to acquire some
By T. Selva
ancient
techniques observed by schoolchildren there to
ease their examination stress and improve
their memory power.
My meeting with Master Yuvaraj
Sowma, a seventh generation Vasthu Sastra
expert, exposed me to some of the rare
practices adopted by the students there.
According to Master Yuvaraj, to be
ready for the final tests, the body, mind and
spirit should be in harmony because this
balance can impact a students confidence
and performance level.
In India, traditionally the examination
season is regarded as the culmination of a
divine union between the student and the
creator, and the spiritual aspect is instilled
in children from young.
It starts from the first day the child is
made to write with his index finger on
the rice spread in a plate, assisted by his
parents, before the goddess of knowledge,
Lord Saraswati.
This ceremony is performed before the
child enrols in a nursery or kindergarten.
This celestial connection continues
throughout his education and the link is
invoked every time the individual sits for an
important examination.
Here every student is urged to place all
the writing materials and books before Lord
Saraswati or Lord Ganesha, the remover of
obstacles, to seek grace.
The spiritual significance here is to purify the body, mind and spirit and give the
pupil hope, self-assurance and courage.
The bond is further enhanced when the
student is encouraged to chant the Lord
Saraswati mantra, to help increase his memory power and improve his performance.
The Saraswati mantra goes as follows:
Saraswathi Namastubyam Varade
Kamarupini Vidyarambam Karishyami
Siddirabhvatu Me Sada
(O Goddess Saraswati, salutations to
you, the giver of blessings, the one who fulfils all desires, I begin my examination with
your blessings. May there always be accomplishment for me.)
Those who have difficulty articulating
the mantra can read its meaning a minimum
of nine times and it works the same.
Worshipping the mystical diagram of
Saraswati yantra is another method to tap
into its powers.
Similar to a mantra composition, a
yantra is a geometrical composition that

reveals a particular energy configuration.
Its power increases in exact proportion to
the abstraction and precision of the diagram.
The yantra displays a complex revelatory symbol of force heard in the mantra and
it is a potent and dynamic sacred product.
The concentric lines on the yantra define
their volume and create a rhythmic
supremacy for the specific purpose.
Next, when reading or writing, students
should occupy the north-east quadrant of
their house and face east to enjoy the subtle
positive energy from the sun.
Make sure the study table is rectangular
or square in shape and it must be free from
clutter.
Avoid dim or warm lighting in the study
room and go for bright fluorescent lighting.
Open the windows in the north-east sector
to allow fresh air and natural light to enter.
To improve the vigour and vitality in the
study area, students should display the root
of the white Aak plant known as
Vellerukku. This is because the root from
this herb has qualities to improve memory
strength, remove impurities and enhance
concentration.
The root is worn as a pendant and is also
available in the shape of Lord Ganesha. It
should be placed on the study table to connect the student to its vibrations.
To improve their retention powers, students are requested to sight the moon on the
third day of the new moon, as this will help
boost their brain activity.
Copper pyramids can also be displayed
on the study table because they emit vibrations that improve the mental, physical and
emotional state of individuals exposed to
them.
Students are advised not to stay up late
at night but to wake up at Brahma Muhurta
(Gods hour), which is 90 minutes before
sunrise.
Activities like studies and meditation
performed during this period are regarded
as auspicious and the individual would be
able to achieve the desired results.
Another powerful tool that students can
carry in their school bag is a lime, which
can reverse negative energy to positive
energy.
A week before the exam, students are
advised to take a salt bath because this
would help cleanse them of all impurities
and they will be well prepared for their
exams.
They are also advised to cut their fingernails and toenails and keep them clean
because nails act as antennae in drawing
energy.
Finally, perform prayers in your respective faith before your exams to give you
grounding and focus.
Dr T. Selva is the author of the bestseller Vasthu Sastra Guide book. To get a
copy of the book, contact Devi at
0412623017. He can be reached at drtselvas@gmail.com Website: www.vasthusastra.com
To help increase your memory power and improve performance, worshipping

the mystical diagram of Saraswati yantra is one method. Reciting
the Saraswati mantra is another.
To improve the
vigour and
vitality in the
study area,
students should
display the root
of the white
Aak plant
known as
Vellerukku
(shown in
shape of Lord
Ganesha). This
is because the
root from this
herb has
qualities to
improve
memory
strength,
remove
impurities and
enhance
concentration.
Columns
Equality is now restored in Fiji,

awaiting its citizens to return
By Karam Ramrakha
Frank (Vorege in Fijian)
Bainimarama had ruled the country as a military dictator from late
2006. As he seized power, an
immediate outcry arose in USA,
UK, NZ, Australia and the EEC
that the military should return to
the barracks and free and fair
elections be held forthwith.
Despite being saddled with sanctions Frank held firm.
What his detractors did not
realise was that, like Ian Smiths
Rhodesia, Fiji is a large fertile
area allowing Frank to hold fast
and, to the chagrin of the West,
turn to China for help.
There is now a new
Constitution in place with a Bill
of Rights and elections were held
electronically (computers) with
Fiji as one single electorate. The
country was used to divided electorates with sitting members still
coming to terms with the new system and the losing Opposition
protesting the elections were
rigged.
Frank Bainimarama (left) has secured acceptable results in elections

and all Parliamentary proceedings are streamed live on TV. So on the
face of it there is considerable transparency.
The result of the election,
which international observers said
was fair and open, gave Frank's
Fiji First Party 32 seats while his
indigenous detractors Social and
Democratic Liberal Party
(SODELPA) won 15 and the
National Federation Party (NFP)
won 3 seats.
Suffice it to say that Frank has
secured acceptable results and all
Parliamentary proceedings are
streamed live on TV. So on the

face of it there is considerable
transparency.
As in Modi's election in India
the campaign in Fiji centred on
Frank. Like Modi, Frank has
travelled widely holding fund raising dinners abroad, not only in
Australia and New Zealand but in
as far as Canada and USA .
From 1987 Fiji was in the
thrall of coups and the middle
class, including the landowning

indigenous, fled Fiji for greener
pastures abroad. Like Modi Frank
is trying to lure them back with
promises of equalling first world
health and education systems.
Frank has extended dual citizenship to all born in Fiji.
But the question lingers: how
secure is Frank with his military?
Will the indigenous worm turn?
After all Frank has abolished the
one Fijian institution which the
indigenous held dear: The Council
of Chiefs. Can he produce liberal
minded indigenous who will not
begrudge sharing with non indigenous, especially the Indians?
The British had sharply divided Fiji, called it the three legged
stool. Europeans (rulers) providing expertise, wealth and good
government, the Fijians their
land, and the Indians their labour.
Much land lies idle especially
during the Rabuka and Speight
coups. Indian farmers were
forcibly ejected from their farms,
forcing them to form ghettoes in
the capital cities and provide sub-
sistence labour.
Despite some overtures few
want to return to the farms, and
instead tried to study and qualify
for a life abroad.
We, in Australia, are befuddled with the Refugee Crisis,
ignoring the plight of our Pacific
neighbours. Three of them, Fiji,
Vanuatu and Samoa have rich fertile land that is underutilised. Our
future lies with the Pacific especially when global warming will
swallow not only coastal areas
and small islands but entire
nations like Kiribati.
Already in Fiji some coastal
settlements had to move and as
time goes, Fiji and other countries
of the Pacific will turn to
Australia and New Zealand for
help. Or, will it come from that
Monolith China? That is the question.
Karam C Ramrakha is a
retired lawyer and past Fiji M.P.
He can be contacted on (02)
98082760, email karamcramrakha@gmail.com
THE HUMOR OF MELVIN DURAI
The Tale of the Thirsty Leopard

hat would you do if you came
across a leopard with its head
stuck in a metal water pot?
Perhaps you and your friend would run
to help the poor animal.
Friend: "I'll grab the pot and pull.
You grab the leopard and pull."
You: "No, you grab the leopard, I'll
grab the pot."
Perhaps you wouldn't run to help the
poor animal, but would instead whip out
your cellphone and call wildlife officials
to help. That would be a smart thing to
do, wouldn't it?
Well, some villagers in Rajasthan did
indeed come across a leopard with its
head stuck in a water pot recently. And
they did what people tend to do these
days: they pulled out their cellphones and
took photos and video of the animal in
distress.
Villager: "I'm going to put this on
Facebook. My friends won't believe it."
Second villager: "Facebook? That's
so small-minded of you. I'm going to sell
the video to a TV network for one lakh.
It's not every day that you see a leopard
with its head stuck in a pot."
Third villager: "You two are so
uncaring! Can't you spare a thought for

the poor leopard? He must have been
really thirsty to put his head into a water
pot like that. And just imagine what he's
thinking now. 'Someone help me! My
head suddenly feels very heavy, I've lost
my eyesight and I'm hearing lots of
clicking sounds.'"
The leopard spent five hours with the
metal pot around its head, according to a
Reuters report. Thankfully, someone in
the village of Sardul Kheda called for
help. Forestry department workers
showed up, tranquilized the leopard and
removed the pot from its head. The leopard was moved to a safe enclosure and
examined by a veterinarian, who
declared that it had been "fully cured of
utensilitis."
None of India's cabinet ministers
would comment on the incident, partly
because they weren't sure whose jurisdiction it fell under: the Minister of State
for Environment, Forest and Climate
Change or the Minister of State for
Drinking Water and Sanitation.
As far as I'm concerned, it should
fall under the latter. Animals, just like
humans, need safe drinking water. They
shouldn't have to put their heads in
strange objects to quench their thirst.
Many years from now, the leopard
incident may be turned into a children's
tale, with a little embellishment:
Once upon a time, there was a very
thirsty leopard. All the streams and
rivers were dry, so he sent his wife to
This is not a Photoshop trick, but actual photo from an incident

in September in a Rajasthan village.
get some water from a nearby village.

"The humans keep their water in metal
pots," he told her.
"How will I bring the water back?"
she asked.
"Just bring back the whole pot."
"How will I carry the pot?"
"Use your head. Haven't you seen
how humans do it? They balance it on
their heads."
"Okay, I'll try."
The leopardess went to the village
and found a water pot that was unguarded. But when she looked inside, it didn't
seem to have any water. Luckily there
was a helpful crow nearby. "The pot
isn't empty," the crow said. "There's a
little water at the bottom. You just can't
see it."
"How should I get the water?" the
leopardess asked. "Should I drop some
stones inside until the water comes up?"
"No," said the crow. "Just stick your
head in, as deep as it will go. Not only
will you reach the water, you will be
able to carry the pot home over your
head." The trusting leopardess put her
head in the pot. She didnt find any
water there and her head got stuck.
"Please help me, Mr. Crow," she
said.
"In a minute," the crow said, laughing. "First I want to take some photos,
so I can post them on Facebook."
Moral of the story: Use your head,
but don't lose your head.
The Kersi Meher-Homji column
THE SACHIN SHANE

EXTRAVAGANZA IN USA
t starts soon, the extravaganza of the
Century, the international All-Star
cricket series in USA. And when I write
All-Star, I mean All-Star, 28 of the best!
Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne will
captain opposing teams in a three-match
Twenty20 exhibition tour of the USA starting in early November. The matches will be
played in New York, Houston and Los
Angeles and the mega event Cricket AllStars Series 2015 will feature 28 retired
internationals from eight major Test playing
countries.
The matches will kick off at New
York's Citi Field on 7 November followed
by at Houston's Minute Maid Park on 11
November and at Los Angeles' Dodger
Stadium on 14 November. The first two
games will be played in daytime and the
final game at Dodger Stadium with a capacity crowd of over 55,000 will be staged
under the lights.
Warne told the Wall Street Journal on 7
October, To make history in America
playing these cricket games, myself and
Sachin walking out and tossing the coin in
New York at Citi Field, will be a pretty epic
moment.
Adding to the glam and gloss of Warne
and Tendulkar there will be the following
international icons:
Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Ajit
Agarkar from India; Ricky Ponting,
Matthew Hayden, Glenn McGrath and Brad
Haddin from Australia; Jacques Kallis,
Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener, Jonty
Rhodes and Allan Donald from South
Africa; Michael Vaughan and Graeme
Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne will captain opposing teams of retired cricket
stars in a three-match T-20 series this November.
Swann from England; Brian Lara, Courtney
Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Carl Hooper
from the West Indies; Daniel Vettori from
New Zealand; Wasim Akram, Shoaib
Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Moin Khan
from Pakistan and Muttiah Muralitharan,
Mahela
Jayawardene
and
Kumar
Sangakkara from Sri Lanka.
All three venues are baseball stadia
occupied by the New York Mets, Houston
Astros and LA Dodgers. According to
sources, drop-in pitches will be used with

the strips being laid from second base
extending out toward the centre field wall.
The rival teams are named Sachin's
Blasters and Warne's Warriors.
According to a list obtained by
ESPNcricinfo, nine other players were also
tentatively included to take part: Anil
Kumble, Andy Flower, Sanath Jayasuriya,
Shahid Afridi, Waqar Younis, Andrew
Flintoff, Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee and
Michael Hussey.
This is the first attempt at a money-generating cricket promotion in the USA since
two T20 matches were played between
West Indies and New Zealand in June 2012
at the Central Broward Regional Park in
Lauderhill, Florida. The 15,000 capacity
venue is the only ICC one-day international
(ODI) certified cricket specific stadium in
the USA but will not be used for any of the
T20 exhibition matches.
TEST SERIES AGAINST SOUTH

AFRICA NOVEMBER-DECEMBER
South Africa will play four Tests against India starting on 5
November. Here is their itinerary:
1st Test at Chandigarh, 5 to 9 November.
2nd Test at Bangalore, 14 to 18 November.
3rd Test at Nagpur, 25 to 29 November.
4th Test at Delhi, 3 to 7 December.
So far India (currently ranked No. 5 in Tests) has played 29
Tests against top-ranked South Africa. South Africa leads
13 to 7 with nine Tests drawn.
On Indian soil, both have won five Tests each with two
drawn.
Virender Sehwag holds the record of scoring the highest individual score against South Africa, 319 at Chennai in
2007-08. This is a record score by an Indian in Test cricket. The highest score by a South African against India is 253
not out by Hashim Amla at Nagpur in 2009-10.
Lance Klusener has the best bowling spell for S Africa
against India, 8 for 64 at Kolkata in 1996-97. The best spell
for an Indian against S Africa is by Harbhajan Singh, 7 for
87 also at Kolkata in 2004-05.
So let the battle begin in Chandigarh. Hope skipper
Virat Kohli regains his batting form.
Skippers of rival teams: Hashim Amla and Virat Kohli
The Kersi Meher-Homji Column
Scintillating Sehwag says

farewell to cricket
By Kersi Meher-Homji
But after heeding to Ian

Chappells advice the Indian
selectors picked him in the next
two and he scored a sedate 151 in
the final Adelaide Test.
irender Sehwag who

recently announced his
retirement from cricket
was a spectators delight, a six-omaniac who skied balls for sixes
whether he was on naught or 99
and had the twenty-twenty vision
to see the ball a fraction earlier
than most batsmen. I often wonder
whether he was a genius with the
bat, a firecracker or a comet.
The most remarkable aspect of

Sehwag's career was his ability to
build massive scores at breathtaking speed. He holds the Indian
record for highest number of Test
double-hundreds, and came within
seven runs of becoming the first
batsman ever to score three triplehundreds. That dare devil innings
of 297 against Sri Lanka in
Mumbai in 2009-10 epitomised
the true-blue Sehwag, a mixture of
daring, power and skills.
He hardly moved his feet as he

thumped the ball and a six climbed
the sky. However, when situation
demanded he could buckle down
and drive the ball effortlessly
straight or through the covers like
Sachin Tendulkar.
With minimal footwork but
maximum aggression, he piled
Test runs at a ferocious run-rate
(runs per 100 balls) of 82.23 in
Test cricket, of 104.33 in ODIs
and of 145.38 in Twenty20 internationals.
He is one of four batsmen to hit

two Test triple centuries; others
being Don Bradman, Lara and
Gayle.
He was honoured as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2009 and ICC Test Player of the Year 2010.
But it is as a flamboyant batsman with a catch-me-if-you-can attitude
that Viru Sehwag will be remembered.
This compares favourably with

other hitters in the game like
Adam Gilchrist of Australia,
Vivian Richards, Brian Lara and
Chris Gayle of West Indies.
At Multan Sehwag thrashed 6

sixes and 39 fours in his epic 309
off 375 balls.
Sehwag, now aged 37, arrived

on the Test scene with a bang. In
his debut the 23 year-old batted at
number six and scored 105 adding
220 runs with his hero Tendulkar
for the fifth wicket after India was
tottering at 4 for 68. This was
against South Africa in the
Bloemfontein Test of November
2001.
Along with Tendulkar he holds

the Indian record for highest number of Test double-hundreds (six).
Sehwag came within seven runs of
becoming the first batsman ever to
register three triple-centuries.
That innings of 293, against Sri
Lanka in Mumbai in December
2009, saw Sehwag at his sizzling
best.
But soon he emerged as his

own man. In the 2004 Multan Test
against Pakistan, as Tendulkar
played a supporting role, Sehwag
romped to 309, the first triple century by an Indian. And he brought
it up with a six. Two Tests ago in
Melbourne, he had been dismissed
trying the same stroke five short
of what would have been his first
Test double-hundred.
His highest score is 319 at a

strike-rate of 105.00 against South
Africa in the March 2008 Chennai
Test. It included five sixes and 42
fours. He had hammered 257 runs
in one day.
Playing by instinct rather than
by the book, Sehwag hit 8,586
runs at an average of 49.34 and
strike-rate of 82.23, hitting 23
centuries and 32 fifties in104

Tests. He also smashed 91 sixes.
Only five batsmen have skied
more than 90 sixes in Test annals.
They are Gilchrist (100 sixes in 96
Tests), West Indian Chris Gayle
(98 in 103), South Africas
Jacques Kallis (97 in 166), New
Zealander Brendon McCullum (95
in 94) and Sehwag (91 in 104).
As an ambitious youngster
from Najafgarh where his family
ran a flour mill, Sehwag grew up
wanting to be Tendulkar.
As Sambit Bal wrote in ESPN
CricInfo, Indeed, when he
scored his first one-day hundred,
filling up for his injured
idol against New Zealand in
Sri Lanka, he could have been
mistaken for him: there was the
same back-foot punch on the off
side, the minimalistic straight
drive and the wristy whip to the
leg.
And on his Test debut, on a

fiery pitch in Bloemfontein, he
matched the master stroke for
stroke as they both blazed away to
hundreds. But soon he emerged
his own man, and not long after
Tendulkar was playing a supporting, and somewhat calming, hand
as Sehwag romped away to a
triple-hundred, the first by an
Indian, in Multan [against
Pakistan in 2003-04], bringing it
up with a six.
The Melbourne crowd had the
thrill of watching Sehwag in full
flight in the December 2003 Test.
For five hours he enthralled the
Boxing Day crowd of 62,600 by
belting five sixes and 25 fours in
his spectacular 195.
He was a hero in Australia for
his sizzling batting. He was
dropped in the first two Tests in
the controversial 2007-08 series.
He was equally flamboyant in

ODIs, becoming only the second
in the world to hit a double hundred after Tendulkar (against
South Africa at Gwalior in 2010).
Next year Sehwag smashed 219
against the West Indies at Indore
in 44 overs.
In 251 ODIs he slammed 8273
runs at an average of 35.05 and a
strike-rate of 104.33. He hit 15
centuries and 38 fifties. An offspinner, Sehwag took 40 wickets
in Tests (best figures 5 for 104)
and 96 in ODIs (best 4 for 6).
He was honoured as Wisden
Cricketer of the Year in 2009 and
ICC Test Player of the Year 2010.
But it is as a flamboyant batsman
with a catch-me-if-you-can attitude that Viru Sehwag will be
remembered.
He batted along with stars
Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and
VVS Laxman and against Lara,
Gilchrist, Gayle, Andrew Flintoff,
Matthew Hayden and Ricky
Ponting but never lost his sizzling
lustre. Cricket lovers will miss his
friendly nature and his six appeal.
South Africa defeat India 2-0 in

T20 internationals
hat a heart-breaking experience for Indias
dynamic opener Rohit Sharma! In the first
Twenty20 International (T20I) at Dharmasala he
hit a spectacular 106 off 66 balls at a strike-rate (SR) of
160.60, smashing 12 fours and five sixes. A match-winning performance for sure, I thought.
Wrong! India lost by 7 wickets thanks to Jean-Paul
Duminys scintillating and unbeaten 68 at a SR of 200 and

enriched with seven zoom-zooming sixes.
But at least India had put up a great fight when batting
in the first T20I. They were pathetic in the second T20I in
Cuttack. They were shot out for a pathetic 92 as fast-medium bowler Albie Morkel took 3 for 12 in four overs.
South Africa replied with 4 for 96 (Duminy 30 not out)
to win the match by 6 wickets. This enabled them to win

the series. The match was interrupted on three occasions
due to shameful behaviour of the crowd. More on it is
detailed elsewhere in this column.
India was determined to come back with a bang in the
third and final T20I in Kolkata but the match was abandoned due to incessant rain.
The Kersi Meher-Homji column
Dr WG Grace was the Tendulkar

of the 19th century
Another cricketing icon Ranjitsinhji wrote in Jubilee Book of
Cricket in 1897, I hold WG to be not only the finest
player born or unborn but the maker of modern batting.
f Don Bradman is universally regarded as the best batsman, Garry Sobers
as the best all-rounder and Sachin
Tendulkar as the most worshipped cricketer, WG Grace remains the greatest
character the game has produced.
Like Sachin, WG had the X factor.
The year 2015 marks the death centenaries of two cricketing legends,
Australias Victor Trumper fell on 28
June while Englands Dr WG Graces
will be on 23 October.
Apart from being a great batsman,
heavily bearded WG was crickets most
well-known persona with more stories
(real or fabricated) circulating about him
than of any other cricketer. Born on 18
July 1848 William Gilbert Grace played
22 Tests (when Test cricket was in its
infancy) from 1880 to 1899 scoring 1098
runs at 32.29 with two centuries, highest
score 170, taking nine wickets at 26.22
and 39 catches.
Although his figures are not impressive by current standard it should be
remembered that cricket was a different
ball game in the 19th century. Modern
method of pitch preparation was then
unknown, the heavy roller scarcely used
and pitches uncovered. Also there were
no helmets then.
In 1877 WG was thinking of giving up
cricket and settling down as a surgeon.
Just as well that he changed his mind.
Three years later he made his Test debut
aged 32 and what an entry!
He made his debut in the 1880 Oval
Test against Australia memorable by
scoring 152 and 9 not out as England won
by five wickets. It was the first century
by England in Test cricket. In this Test
his elder brother EM and younger brother GF also made simultaneous Test
debuts. WG and EM put on 91 runs for
the opening wicket.
But it was a Test to forget for GF who
got a pair (0 and 0) and like EM (36
and 0) was never selected again.
Nonetheless the Graces contributed
richly to cricket literature by their performances on and off the field. It can be
said that the Graces changed cricket into
almost a national religion with WG as the
high priest.
This sort of crowd worship is only
approached by Tendulkar in India more
than a century later.
Author GK Chesterton said that
Pickwick was the true English fairy, and
WG that bulky sprite was a prodigious Puck in a truly mid-summers day
dream.
WG was described as magnificently
bearded, immovable, majestic, dignified,
a gentlemanly tyrant with a kind heart

underneath a rough exterior, a law into
himself and larger than life. It was said of
him as of Napoleon and later of boxer
Mohammad Ali that he cast a doubt on all
past glory and rendered all future renown
impossible.
Great Western trains would wait for
WG while he talked with a friend or
drank to his health.
While batting his defence was sound
and in later years it became rock-like. He
practiced daily starting from 5 am. In his
prime he had a superb athletic figure and
it was only in later years that he developed the huge girth we associate with him
today.
Another cricketing icon Ranjitsinhji
wrote in Jubilee Book of Cricket in 1897,
I hold WG to be not only the finest player born or unborn but the maker of modern batting. He turned the old onestringed instrument into a many-chorded
lyre... He made his execution equal to its
invention... WG discovered batting, he
turned its many straight channels into one
great winding river.
Although an amateur, WG was known
to demand money for playing cricket,
including for his locums fees when touring overseas. There are many anecdotes
on him, suggesting that he was a cheat.
Here is one of them. In a match he
was dismissed three times in three balls
by Charles Kortright; the first time he
was leg before wicket and the second
time he was caught behind. But Grace
stood his ground and the umpire dared
not give him out. The third ball he was
clean bowled. And so Kortright offered
the send-off by saying, Surely youre
not leaving us, Doctor? Theres one
stump still standing!
Once when given out, WG angrily
told the umpire, Spectators have come
to see me bat; not to see you raise your
finger!
So there was a major difference
between WG and Sachin. Sachin walked
back to the pavilion even when given out
wrongly.
Failures were rare for WG but
Australias demon fast bowler Fred
Spofforth had the better of him. When
Australia beat a strong MCC in one day,
27 May 1878, WG Grace faced only four
balls: a boundary and out, dropped and
out. The Demon dismissed him both
times.
Recorded Punch magazine in
England:
Our Grace before lunch was very
soon done, And Grace after lunch did not
get a run.
There are many anecdotes on WG Grace.

In a match he was dismissed three times
in three balls by Charles Kortright; the
first time he was leg before wicket and the
second time he was caught behind. But
Grace stood his ground and the umpire
dared not give him out. The third ball he
was clean bowled. And so Kortright
offered the send-off by saying, Surely
youre not leaving us, Doctor? Theres one
stump still standing!
November - December 2015 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER
36 THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER November - December 2015

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VOL 27 No.

November - December 2015

Annual Subscription incl. postage & handling $17

Australia celebrates Diwali !

Premier Mike Baird greeted by a child dressed as Ravana

Inside this Issue:

Page 17: Hindi now in regular schools

THE INDIAN DOWN UNDER November - December 2015

November - December 2015 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER 03

04 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER November - December 2015

November-December 2015 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER 05

06 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER November-December 2015

Tony Abbott provoked fury when he knighted Prince Philip

re you one of those few who have not been chosen

munity in Australia whole-heartedly supports the idea.

Shiv Sena activists threw ink on the face of Sudheendra

eanwhile in India the politically important state of

November-December 2015 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER 7

Kumar Vishwas, foremost a poet

pings like one-liners/English quotes etc. But

The author with Kumar Vishwas

8 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER November-December 2015

about comparison with other performers,

accused in Damini rape case. Every time we

Will PM change affect Indo-Oz relations

New Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull with deputy Liberal leader

Writing from an Indian perspective, the question which

had said while opening an important lecture Assessing the Future

Adanis coal mine triggers morality debate in Australia

Indias energy magnate Gautam Adani manages to arouse extreme

investment of A$16 billion flowing into the regional communities.

ment polluting coal to the developing countries like India.

ures, this has been Australias

November-December 2015 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER 9

Lalu-Nitish maul BJP, opposition targets Modi

Lalu Prasad Yadav contgratulating Nitish Kumar, who is set to take

the Bihar outcome was already

Bihar verdict is people are not

failed to understand people's mind.

10 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER November-December 2015

New Delhi: Accusing the BJP and Prime

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi

Bumper Diwali for e-tailers

Modi launches three goldrelated schemes

assets with people into interest-bearing

Maggi back on shelves this month,

November-December 2015 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER 11

India widens engagement with Africa,

reform and calling on all countries

2 Sikhs among 4 IndoCanadians in Trudeaus Cabinet

12 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER November-December 2015

ship by announcing 50,000 scholarships in the next five years.

IAFS is a major initiative of the

India calls for transparency

another for the others. A ballot in the color

India & Subcontinent

India appears to be at war with itself: Pak daily

Indians, has been dismissive of the

Aung San Suu Kyi looks to poll victory at

Nay Pyi Taw: Myanmar's general election ended

the daily asked.

anti-patriot at home while an

Pakistan to act against LeT; no ndeal,

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met US President

November-December 2015 THEINDIANDOWNUNDER 13

Angry Indian Goddesses

Angry Indian Goddesses - how did you