Indian

Indian Log on to www.iwk.co.nz

September 10, 2010
Volume 2, No. 12
New Zealand’s first Indian weekend magazine
For free distribution

Bollywood | 20 India | 9 Heritage | 28

“I will be doing Sachin becomes Why they
dangerous stunts” IAF Group Captain loved India

Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 1

Indian
New Zealand
Big Kiwi-Bollywood action flick to hit screens at RWC
ARVIND KUMAR conservative family who believe
rugby is a game for thugs.
Towering Kiwi and Bollywood At this point, search is still on
talent come together in a giant of a for a young, Indian actor to play
movie to be shot in New Zealand in the role of Preet, said Issar.
the next few months. Issar said while First XV dealt
The multi-million dollar budget with a multitude of themes, the
sports action movie, “First XV”, underlying story was about the
is set to star New Zealand veteran strength and resolve of one man in
Temuera Morrison in the lead his bid to overcome racial preju-
role, and also Bollywood thespian dice and bigotry.
Anupam Kher in the rugby ori- “Coinciding with the biggest
ented film set to hit the big screen sporting event in New Zealand
in New Zealand at the same time as sporting history – the Rugby World
the Rugby World Cup next year. Cup 2011 – First XV not only cele-
Even Jonah Lomu, New Zealand brates NZ’s national game but also
rugby’s super star, is all set for a the indomitable spirit of grassroots
cameo appearance. rugby,” said Issar.
And the man behind it all, “Along the way, First XV deals
Purple Post Films’ Monti Issar of with multiculturalism and racial
Auckland, says they have the bless- intolerance in 21st century New
ings of the New Zealand Rugby Zealand, and the impact they have
Union and also support of Tourism on a town struggling with its own
New Zealand. identity.
“It is appropriate that with the “First XV adopts the winning
Rugby World Cup taking place next formula of feel-good blockbusters
year, a bit more of New Zealand such as Gridiron Gang and Bend It
should be showcased to the world,” Like Beckham.”
Issar told Indian Weekender this First XV will mostly be shot
week in an exclusive interview. Temuera Morrison as coach Willie Moon in First XV, due for release Preet Singh, wearing the No.11 jersey in First XV, shooting for in Wairoa and Napier where, Issar
“Yes, the movie has been in- next September. which is scheduled to get underway in February. said, the local councils had been
spired by the World Cup. All the “extremely accommodating”.
world will be watching; it sure is college rugby, Issar is in talks with NZRU to try Home is Wairoa where the town’s high Issar said they always faced
bound to create a good image of New Zealand.” and use some members of the Junior All Blacks school team is on a losing streak – and they are major obstacles when trying to work with Auck-
Issar, who penned the First XV story together for on-field roles. without a coach, and Moon is persuaded to take land City Council on movie projects. His latest
with Auckland journalist Steve Cook, said they Temuera Morrison (Once Were Warriors, the “losers” under his wings. project, “Pump Up The ”, was also shot mostly
expected to finalise the cast, including director, Star Wars, What Becomes of the Brokenheart- Anupam Kher plays Baljeet Singh, head of in Napier, Auckland and Fiji.
by the end of November following auditions for ed) plays Willie Moon, a championship winning the Indian family running a dairy in Wairoa. His Issar can be contacted at Purple Post Films in
some of the roles next month. high school rugby coach who returns home after son, Preet, is the only Indian player picked in the Mt Roskill, Auckland.
As the movie’s storyline revolves around his son becomes paralysed in a rugby game. team, in the face of major resistance from his

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2 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian
New Zealand
Breakthrough eco-friendly product launched
dev nadkarni
Environment minister lauds smart green innovation
Auckland construction products manufacturer steel will be recycled. plest home and garden same amount, Mr Dhillon said.
Cemix has launched a revolutionary new product Realising the world is makeovers can lead to Made from materials including recycled con-
– blended concrete mix that contains 50% re- changing and as culture environmental waste crete, fly ash (a post industrial by-product) and
cycled materials without compromising perfor- changes we as a country and increased pres- cement, Envirocrete provides comprehensive
mance. can lift our game by mar- sure on our landfills,” strength properties making it ideal for pathways,
The product, called Envirocrete, is a first for rying together successful Mr Dhillon told the steps, patios, fence posts and all other general
New Zealand and was launched in Auckland business with a sustain- media. purpose concreting applications.
last week. The development of the product is an able product.” “Now you can cut Bunnings Warehouse Marketing Manager
attempt to reduce the huge volume of 163,000 Cemix managing di- your carbon footprint Peter Darbyshire says that the hardware chain
tonnes of concrete dumped in New Zealand land- rector Bhav Dhillon said while realising your was impressed with the product from the outset,
fills each year. Envirocrete is a sustain- renovation skills. Any choosing to stock Envirocrete in stores through-
According to recent Auckland City Council able alternative to natural community that opts out the country.
statistics, building and construction waste makes aggregates, which means for this product is re- “Bunnings is committed to sustainability and
up 17% of the 3.2 million tonnes of refuse dumped that consumption of non- ducing their environ- we look to promote environmentally-friendly
in New Zealand landfills annually. renewable sources such mental footprint by re- products and projects that support sustainable
Speaking at the launch of the product at the as riverbeds and quarries ducing landfill volume living where possible,” he says.
company’s state-of-art plant in Onehunga, Min- can be reduced consid- and preserving non- “Envirocrete fits the increased demand from
ister for the Environment Nick Smith said, “At a erably. For every 1000 NZ Environment Minister Dr. Nick Smith at the launch renewable virgin ag- our customers for sustainable products and we
of Cemix Envirocrete
time of recession the good practice of recycling tonnes of Envirocrete, gregate.” are delighted to be partnering with Cemix in the
from waste product can change the culture of 500 tonnes of recycled For every 1000 launch of Envirocrete to all Bunnings customers
business. I’m really happy to say that this will product is consumed. Less quarrying conserves tonnes of Envirocrete produced there is a re- throughout the country.”
have less environmental impact and reduce the non-renewable natural aggregate resources. duction on landfill volume by 500 tonnes and a Cemix Envirocrete is available from Bunnings
green house emission. “As Kiwis we’re renowned for our DIY atti- further 500 tonne reduction on depletion of virgin Warehouse and other hardware stores nationwide.
“This is a very smart green product. Even the tude and clean, green reputation but even the sim- natural non-renewable aggregate resource by the

Demolishing and rebuilding in Canterbury

When Cemix launched its new revolution-
ary Envirocrete product last week, little did it
know how timely it was.
Cemix Envirocrete is a blended concrete
mix, which contains 50% recycled materials
including recycled concrete, sand, fly ash and
cement.
Cemix Envirocrete director Bhav Dhillon,
said being the only company in the country of
this type trying to clean up overflowing land-
fills, Cemix already had anambitious plan and
construction debris caused by the Canterbury
disaster would put “extra pressure” on its op-
eration.
“We’ve actually just started recycling con-
crete in landfills a couple of days before the
earthquake happened. With the earthquake
we have an increased responsibility to speed
up this recycling process and put this material
back into reusable form,” he said.
“The main focus for us is to get things
going in quake-hit areas first. We are more
concerned about the community right now.”
Cemix is giving away free products includ-
ing basic concrete and bags of sand through
its distributor Bunnings Warehouse to deal
with flooding and repair cracks caused by the
earthquake. Its employees are also working
overtime to develop specialist repair concrete
and mortars for damaged buildings that are
not to be demolished.

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Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 3

Indian
The day Canterbury shook
Dairy owner Suresh Patel praised
DEV NADKARNI
Christchurch dairy owner Suresh Patel rose
to the occasion following the devastating 7.1-
Richter temblor, giving away milk and selling
batteries below cost to needy Cantabrians.
Speaking to Indian Weekender on phone
from his P&P Dairy in Hoon Hay in Christ-
church, Mr Patel said he considered it his
“Dharma” to help people in need.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “We had
never experienced anything like this before.
People were scared and many have lost every-
thing. Ours is a convenience store so it was the
place to go for getting supplies.
“Obviously in a situation like this not every-
one carries money, so we did take a humanitar-
ian view of things,” he said.
Mr Patel went to open the shop as after-
shocks rippled through Christchurch, despite
knowing of the devastation that was creeping
across the city.
Local woman Shirley Homer, who was
caught without batteries for a torch during the
power cut that followed the earthquake, told
the New Zealand Herald she went to the dairy
4 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
New Zealand
expecting prices to be at a premium. Instead Singh had such a big smile on his face because
she was impressed to find Patel was giving his he was totally overwhelmed by the goodwill of
stock away. his staff, neighbours and customers,” Ms Wong
“He would only take $2 for these two big said.
batteries, and he gave the people behind me
two bottles of milk for free,” she told the herald.
“He told them, ‘Take whatever you need’.
He’s a gentleman, he will slip people a loaf of
bread or give them some sweeties.”
“We decided we can help the people,” Mr
Patel told the newspaper.
The dairy had run out of water, milk and
batteries by 8am.
Minister for Ethnic affairs Pansy Wong and
Member of Parliament Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi
arrived in Christchurch and visited affected
communities around the city.
“We dropped in to the Singh’s family owned
Wairakei Supervalue. They told me the family
rushed to their shop in their night clothes to find
neighbours and staff had turned up to help clear
up the broken bottles and stock,” Ms Wong said
in a media release.
“The Supermarket’s stockroom was full of
dented canned foods and broken bottles, yet Mr
Eathquake pictures courtesy: Chris Hutching, Christchurch
Indian
New Zealand
Are you prepared to make a
choice for your city’s future?
Here is some information about the Auckland Council elections
that will get under way later this month: how they work and
how you can vote. Though not comprehensive, it has most
of the details that you need to know as a voter. This is your
chance to carefully consider who you want to represent you
and your community’s interests in the new supercity.

Auckland’s local government elections in 2010 are choice.

dramatically different to any that have taken place
before. Whether as a candidate, supporting a can-
didate or by voting, you have the opportunity to
take an active role in choosing the representatives
who will help shape Auckland’s future.
One unitary council, one mayor, 20 councillors
representing 13 wards, 149 local board members
representing 21 local board areas: by taking part
in these elections, you can make a difference for
yourself and your community.
The mayor leads the team of 20 councillors on
the governing body, representing Auckland resi-
dents. It is their role to make the decisions about
region-wide issues, decide policy, decide and
approve budgets and develop the council’s strate-
gic direction to help Auckland grow and develop.
The mayor and councillors will also develop
the council’s Long Term Council Community
Plan and Annual Plan.
Local government elections, which are held
every three years, are all by postal vote.
How the voting works
In mid-September, please look out for your voting
pack. This will contain your voting document and
information about the candidates standing in your
area, as well as an orange envelope to send your
vote back in.
Voters in Auckland will be using two differ-
ent systems to vote for their preferred candidates.
Elections for the governing body of Auckland
Council, local boards and, if you have one, the li-
censing trusts are carried out using the ‘first past
the post’ (FPP) system. The district health board
elections are conducted using the ‘single transfer-
able voting’ (STV) system.
First past the post: As its name suggests, the
FPP electoral system is about the person with
the highest number of votes (getting first past the
winning post) being elected.
This is a very simple method of electing can-
didates and is widely used throughout the world.
While it is simple, some people believe it doesn’t
always reflect the majority of the voters’ wishes.
This can happen when the winning candidate
receives more votes than any other single candi-
date, but fewer than all the other candidates put
together. Therefore it could be said the results did
not accurately reflect the voters’ wishes.
Single transferable voting: This system is easy
to follow when you think of it as simply decid-
ing which candidates you prefer most, and putting
them in a numbered priority list.
So, instead of ticking the candidates you want
to vote for, you number the candidates in order of
preference. Put a “1” beside the candidate you like
best, then a “2” beside your second choice, “3” by
your third choice, and so on. You can vote for as
many or as few candidates as you like.
By ranking candidates in your preferred order
- 1,2,3,4 and so on - you are also saying which
other candidates you prefer:
* If your top choice doesn’t have enough
support to get in, or * If your top choice doesn’t
need all the votes they received to be elected.
How to vote
When you vote for your preferred candidates put
your voting document in the orange return enve-
lope and post it by Wednesday, October 6, 2010.
By voting you will make a real contribution to
Auckland’s future direction.
Some time between September 17 and 22
you should receive your voting pack, which will
include your actual voting document, as well as
background information about the candidates for
mayor, your ward and local board, district health
board and, if you have one, a licensing trust.
Once you’ve decided which candidates you
want to vote for, you need to complete the voting
document, seal it in the return, postage-paid
orange envelope and post or deliver it to the elec-
toral officer.
Be sure to post it by 5pm, Wednesday, October
6, 2010 to guarantee delivery before voting closes.
If you want to be sure your vote gets in on time,
you can hand-deliver your document to:
The Electoral Office, Level 8, 92 Albert Street, can be posted directly to you, or you can pick them
Auckland up from existing council offices or phone (09) 973
Franklin District Council, 82 Manukau Road, 5212 or 0800 922 822.
Pukekohe As with ordinary voting documents, they must
Manukau City Council, 31-33 Wiri Station Road, be returned to the electoral officer by noon on 9
Manukau October 2010, or to any of the existing council
North Shore City Council, Level 3, 1 The Strand, offices.
Takapuna
Papakura District Council, 35 Coles Crescent, Pa- Results
pakura Progress and preliminary results will be an-
Rodney District Council, Centreway Road, Orewa nounced as soon as possible afternoon on Sat-
Waitakere City Council, 6 Henderson Valley urday, October 9. The official results will be an-
Road, Henderson nounced when special votes have been checked,
On election day, you can also return your votes to but in the week of October 11-15.
any of Auckland’s public libraries.
Special votes Auckland election schedule
There are some times when people need to cast a 17 -22 September: Voting docu-
special vote: ments are delivered
* If your name isn’t on the final electoral roll 17 September - 9 October: Progres-
but you still qualify as an elector (such as if you’ve sive roll scrutiny, Special voting
just turned 18 years of age period, Early processing of returned
* If you haven’t received your voting docu- votes
ment that has been posted to you 9 October: Election day. Voting
* If you have spoilt or damaged your voting closes at noon and counting starts
document. 14 - 20 October: Results are de-
If you need a special vote because you’re not
clared and publicly notified
on the roll, then you need to enrol by 8 October
2010. You can get a registration application from
any New Zealand Post Shop, phone 0800 36 76
56, or on the Electoral Enrolment Centre website. Source: Auckland Council. More information:

By giving the number “1” to a candidate, you If you want to make a special vote (you’ll need http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/
are saying that the candidate is your number one to make a statutory declaration), the documents

New additions to skill shortage list

New trades and professions have been added to
New Zealand’s skill shortages list. Among them
are scaffolders, automotive technicians, ship’s
masters, ship’s officers and forest scientists.
Trades people and professionals with these
skills will now find it easier to get a New Zealand
work permit.
Changes to Immigration New Zealand’s Im-
mediate Skill Shortage List (ISSL) and Long
Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL) were an-
nounced early this month and have come into
force from September 8. The lists are reviewed
biannually by the Department of Labour.
The ISSL includes occupations in immediate
demand in the New Zealand labour market and
the LTSSL includes those in long term and global
shortage.
Scaffolders and automotive technicians will
be added to the ISSL and ship’s masters, ship’s
officers and forest scientists to the LTSSL.
Architects will be removed from the LTSSL
and some 13 occupations, mainly in the build-
ing, design and racing industries will be removed
from the ISSL.
Migrants from occupations not on the lists can
still apply to work in New Zealand if their em-
ployer demonstrates genuine attempts to recruit a
New Zealand citizen or resident for the role.

Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 5

Indian
New classical ballet to delight the senses
VIDYA VENUGOPALAN
Bharata Natyam springs from the most important
ancient treatise encompassing theatre, dance and
music, the Natya Shastra. Written by sage Bharata
Muni, it is treasured as the “fifth veda” in terms
of its importance among Hindu religion and phi-
losophy. As an extremely traditional dance form,
Bharata Natyam is known for its grace, purity, ten-
derness, statuesque & sculpturesque poses.
Originating from the southern Indian state of
Tamil Nadu, Bharata Natyam started as a temple
dance tradition, Dasiyattam. It is perhaps the most
evolved of all Indian classical dance forms. Ch-
innayya, Ponniah, Sivanandam and Vadivelu of
the Tanjore Court, fondly known as the Tanjore
‘quartet’, made a rich contribution to the dance
form during the 19th Century. They completed the
process of re-editing the former Bharata Natyam
programme, and established its present shape and
variety of items.
However, it was only after its revival during the
20th century that Bharata Natyam gained its place
in the social realm. Philanthropists and dance lovers
including E Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arun-
New Zealand
dale played pivotal roles Odissi, considered to rep- Nrityabhinaya is proud to serve to the com-
in the successful move- “Flowers open in the hands of the resent the element of water, munity the tutelage of as a splendid an art form
ment to establish Bharata dancer, and birds fly off from the Mohiniattam representing as Bharata Natyam. To nurture a fine dancer in
Natyam as a more so- tips of fingers, each muscle of the air, Kuchipudi representing every student, to infuse in them essential cultural
cially accepted art form. earth, and Kathakali repre- values, and to deliver quality classical dance perfor-
Today, this dance style face is transformed, the eyes move senting sky. mances are the means by which the school upholds
is an immensely popular in blandishments of scorn, and the The science and tech- the Indian heritage. Nrityabhinaya’s forthcoming
form of cultural expres- eyebrows express horror or suspicion, nique behind Bharata musical and dance extravaganza, Sree Rama, will
sion, a source of deep Natyam are overwhelming. be nothing short of a feast for your eyes.
pride among the Indian even as the whole face expresses Basically divided into three Sree Rama, a Bharata Natyam dance drama –
Diaspora communities different and often contrary feelings in features, Bharata Natyam experience it for yourself!
around the world. the same breath such as dance drama, includes Nritta (rhythmic
Bharata Natyam dance movements), Natya Indian Weekender & Cultural Forum
performed according to the most of India present
proper is a solo dance, (mime), and Nritya (combi-
with two aspects, Lasya, delicate nuances of a musical piece, nation of Nritta and Natya). Shree Rama Bharat Natyam Dance Drama
the graceful feminine or a poem, through the vehicle of one Furthermore, Abhinaya is Date: Saturday 02 October 06:30:00 PM
lines and movements, body, is surely unmatched in any art.” the art of communicating an Venue: Dorothy Winstone Centre, 16 Howe
and Tandava, the mascu- emotion (Bhava) to evoke a Street Newton, Auckland
- Mulk Raj Anand, BHARATA NATYAM Produced and Choreographed by Anuradha
line aspect. Considered to sentiment/ aesthetic enjoy-
represent ‘fire’ among the Such an exquisite art form is Bharata Natyam. ment (Rasa). To evoke such Ramkumar
five elements, the move- a sentiment is the ultimate Tickets $25 Call Anuradha 09-627 4117 or
ments of an authentic Bharata Natyam dancer are aim of every Bharata Natyam recital. Nritya and 021 155 0714
thought to resemble the movements of a dancing Abhinaya stands for dance which expresses ideas Email: sreerama2010@hotmail.com
flame. Others among the five major styles include or sentiments.

Website tool to help with new immigration rules

As an employer, your obligations under the Im-
migration Act 2009 remain essentially the same
as under the Immigration Act 1987: you must
not employ a non-New Zealand citizen who is
not entitled to work in New Zealand. The Im-
migration Act 2009 will come into effect on 29
November 2010.
The key change for employers in the Im-
migration Act 2009 is that holding an IR 330
form will no longer be a “reasonable excuse”
for employing a non-New Zealand citizen who
is not entitled to work in New Zealand. Instead,
you will have to show that you took “reason-
able precautions and exercised due diligence” to
check whether they are entitled to work in New
Zealand.
The Department of Labour has set up an
online system which will allow you to easily
obtain information on a potential employee’s
work entitlement has been introduced. The
system is called ‘VisaView’ and will enable
all New Zealand employers to enquire about
the work entitlement of a job applicant who
is a foreign national. You will simply need to
provide information such as a passport number
and the last name of the applicant.
VisaView will check against the Depart-
ment’s database and in most cases provide you
with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer, together with any
specific work conditions that may apply. VisaV-
iew also maintains a history of your enquiries,
which will be a useful way for you to demon-
strate due diligence in relation to Immigration
Act requirements.
The Department has also developed ‘A guide
to help employers check work entitlement’ and
‘Work entitlement checklist’’. These were put
together in close consultation with employers
from around New Zealand.
Queries regarding employer obligations
under the Immigration Act 2009 can be sent
to EmployerEnquiry@dol.govt.nz. Visit: http://
w w w.immigration.govt.nz/ Employ/ News/
visaviewact.htm

6 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian
KOURA BAY WINES
MARLBOROUGH
Blue Duck Pinot Noir 2008 Barney’s Rock Riesling 2009
Silver medal winner at the Air NZ Palate: A soft, velvet textured, Colour/Appearance: Pale straw- clean, dry finish.
Wine Awards 2009 medium bodied wine, supporting lemon Suggested Food Match: We
Colour/Appearance: Bright, rich bright cherry and spicy oak Aroma/Bouquet: Lifted, delicate recommend dishes with aromatic
ruby hue. flavours that linger on the long aromas of lemon zest, talcum and spices and flavours, such as in
Aroma/Bouquet: Ripe dark fruit svelte finish. citrus flower. Thai cuisine, leafy salads and sea
flavours and lifted oak spice and Suggested Food Match: All game, Palate: The 2009 Riesling is a foods. Suits hard cheeses such as
char, underlined by a gamey lamb and roasted vegetable seamless and fresh flavoured wine Parmesan, Gouda and Cheddar.
complexity. dishes. Serve at room temperature. with a racy acid length and a

Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2009 Sharkstooth Pinot Gris 2009

Colour/Appearance: Pale straw
Aroma/Bouquet: Classic
gooseberry, green capsicum and
nettles with some flint and crushed
herb undertones. Characterised by
fine mineral texture, typical of the
Awatere Valley.
Palate: A lightly structured palate
with lifted varietal flavours that linger
on the long, crisp acid finish.
Suggested Food Match:
This wine is ideal for accompanying
pasta dishes, crisp summer salads,
and seafood especially shellfish
such as greenshell, mussels and
oystes. Serve chilled.
Colour/Appearance: Mid strawgold
Aroma/Bouquet: The nose is
dominated by a rich combination
of lemon sherbet, talcum powder
and bottled pears.
Palate: This is a full bodied,
well-structured wine, with a rich, soft
texture, medium acidity and long
finish. Zestly citrus and pear flavours
dominate the palate.
Suggested Food Match: This Pinot
Gris is a good partner for dishes featuring
mushrooms, such as quiches, but is also
well matched to creamy pastas and pork.
Suits hard cheeses such as Parmesan,
Guoda and Cheddar.

Trade contact: Koura Bay Distributors, 7 Reeves Road, Pakuranga, Auckland

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7 Reeves Road, Pakuranga, Auckland 2010, New Zealand
Tel/Fax: + 64 9 577 5788; Email: info@exoticaaroma.com; www.exoticaaroma.com
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 7
Indian
India lauded for disallowing Orissa mining
Nevada, USA: Indo-Americans have applauded
India for reportedly rejecting bauxite mining
by multinational company in remote tribal area
of Orissa, which the environmentalists had de-
scribed as devastating to the area environment
and tribes considered sacred.
Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, in a
statement in Nevada (USA) on Wednesday, said
that Government of India apparently took into
consideration the concerns of the tribes living in
the area and issues raised by environmentalists
involved and it should be commended for that.
Rajan Zed, who is the Chairperson of Indo-
American Leadership Confederation, pointed out
that it seemed that issues like sacredness of the
Environment ministry rejects Vedanta project
New Delhi: The Vedanta mining project in
Orissa has run into trouble again as the envi-
ronment ministry on Tuesday rejected its plan
for forest clearance for the project in the Ni-
yamgiri Hills in Orissa.
The mining group, which was to mine
bauxite in Orissa, suffered the blow at a time
when it was struggling with regulatory issues
in India.
Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said:
“Only after being reassured by the attorney
general, I have gone ahead with my decision
-- upholding the recommendation of the panel
after due consideration.”
The Forest Advisory Committee on Tuesday
recommended that the “in-principle clearance”
to the mining proposal, put forward by Orissa
Mining Corporation, be withdrawn.
Last week, the committee set up by the
government had said that the bauxite mining
project, worth Rs. 5000 crore, should not be
allowed in Western Orissa’s Kalahandi district.
The committee, headed by NC Saxena, said
that the Vedanta project endangers nearly 7500
square km of forest land, and that it violates
tribal forest rights.
The company, through its subsidiary Ster-
lite India, has a joint agreement with Orissa
Mining Corporation to mine bauxite at the Ni-
yamgiri Hills.
The committee’s recommended that the
company has not settled claims under the
Forest Rights Act.
“Traditional and customary rights as well
as age-old access of the Dongaria and Kutia
Kondh tribes to the area have been recognised
in several forest settlement reports and govern-
ment working plans. Also, several gram sabhas
of the affected villages have passed resolutions
claiming community and habitat rights,” the
ministry said in a statement.
“It is argued that it would be incorrect for
8 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
mountain, disturbance of lifestyle and tradition
of the tribes, affect on ecosystems-water sources-
wildlife-water pollution-displacement-defores-
tation-endangered species, etc., outweighed the
financial interests of the miner Vedanta.
Niyamgiri Hill range, where the bauxite ex-
traction was planned, is reportedly considered
sacred by the Dongria Kondh tribe. Vedanta had
reportedly proposed a $2.7 billion investment in
the area.
Survival International led the campaign
against mining and parallelized the plight of
Dongria Kondh to the Na’vi tribe in blockbuster
“Avatar” (James Cameron).
Celebrities like actress Joanna Lumley
(Absolutely Fabulous), activist Bianca Jagger,
BAFTA winner actor-comedian Michael
Palin (A Fish Called Wanda), etc., reportedly
voiced against the proposed mining project.
Church of England reportedly sold its shares
in Vedanta in view of inconsistency with its
investment policy.
Vedanta Resources, headquartered
in London (United Kingdom), is a diversified
metals and mining group with wide-ranging in-
terests in aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, iron ore
and commercial energy, whose principal opera-
tions are in India, Zambia and Australia.
Anil Agarwal is Executive Chairman.
Survival International, founded in 1969 and
India Feature
also headquartered in London, is international
organization with supporters in 82 countries,
working for tribal peoples’ rights through educa-
tion, advocacy and campaigns. Stephen Corry is
Director.
the Orissa government to claim that these
primitive tribes have no claims or rights under
the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The affected
groups, Dongaria Kondh and Kutia Kondh, are
both Scheduled Tribes. The Constitution re-
quires that the government respect and uphold
the land rights of the Scheduled Tribes.
“Additionally, both the Dongaria Kondh
and Kutia Kondh have been notified as primi-
tive tribal groups and are, therefore, eligible for
special protection. The Niyamgiri Hills are the
sole habitat of the two tribes and at least 20%
of the Dongaria Kondh population lives in vil-
lages in and around the forest blocks of the pro-
posed mining project area,” the statement read.
The panel also sough action against Vedanta
Alumina Refinery at Lanjigarh and said that
steps should be immediately taken against the
refinery for illegally encroaching and enclos-
ing 26 hectares of forest land.
Read related article on Page 11:
Indian media slammed for letting down tribals
Indian
Sahara readies Urdu news channel
Mumbai: Sahara India is gearing up to launch
its Urdu news and information channel within
45 days, a top company official said.
The proposed channel, which was first an-
nounced in the year 2006, will be titled Aalami
Sahara.
“We will soft launch the Urdu channel in a
month’s time. The commercial launch will take
place within 45 days,” Sahara India Pariwar GM
Anil Abraham told Indiantelevision.
Atul Saraf-promoted ABS Group, which is
providing its consultancy services to Sahara for
the distribution of the news channels, will also
aid the carriage of the Urdu channel.
Sahara has a one-year deal with ABS Group.
“ABS is consulting us for the distribution of
all the Sahara India Media news channels like
Samay, Sahara Samay NCR, Sahara Samay
Bihar, Sahara Samay UP and Sahara Samay
MP. We are paying them consultation fee based
on targets and reach,” Abraham said.
Samay, Sahara India Media’s flagship Hindi
Nepal Maoists seeks Chinese
help to ‘buy’ lawmakers?
New Delhi: The Maoists in Nepal are allegedly
seeking Chinese help to get their chief Pushpa
Kamal Dahal elected as the new prime minister of
that country as well as ‘neutralize’ India’s ‘influ-
ence’ in the affairs of the neighbouring country.
A day before the sixth round of voting on
Sunday to elect Nepal’s new prime minister, media
reports on Saturday claimed that Maoist leader,
Krishna Bahadur Mahara, was in contact with a
Chinese person and seeking financial help to buy
votes in favour of Dahal.
Two telephonic conversations had emerged on
Friday evening in which Mahara asks the unidenti-
fied Chinese person for NR 500 million to bride 50
lawmakers to vote in favour of Dahal.
Mahara, who heads the foreign cell of the
Maoists’ party, purportedly tells the Chinese man
in the tape that the Maoists have support of about
10-15 lawmakers but need to get 50 more in their
fold to ensure Dahal’s victory.
Mahara also claims that the deal, which will
Supreme Court
reopens Bhopal case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on
Tuesday reopened the Bhopal gas
leak case as it issued notices to all
seven accused, former Union Carbide
executives, who
were let off with
two years’ jail
sentence by a
Bhopal court
recently in the
1984 gas leak
case that killed
20,000 eventual-
ly and impaired
countless.
The move fol-
lowed a Cen-
tral Bureau of
Investigation
(CBI) curative
petition seeking
stronger sentence of the accused.
Reopening of the case on the CBI peti-
tion means tougher charges would be
pressed against the former executives.
“Wrong will be righted now,” said
Bhopal activist Satinath Sarangi as
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
India
Sachin becomes IAF Group Captain
news channel, has reached a peak distribution
reach after ABS has come on board.
“Samay has for first time got a distribution
reach of 21.9 million homes. We are seeing to
it that the channel gets a similar reach like the
other mainstream news channels,” said Saraf.
Agreed Abraham: “In the current week,
Samay has reached 21.9 million households,
which is historic for us. Our ratings are also up
to 12.5 GRPs (gross rating points) this week,
showing a 98 per cent growth in the last five
weeks. We are targeting a reach of 25 million
and a top 5 position in the Hindi news channel
space within one month.”
As for the Urdu channel, Sahara will target
the 100-million Urdu-speaking population in
India. The company believes that there is enough
space and revenue potential for the channel.
“We have done our research and seen that there
is a huge need for an Urdu channel. Going by the
demand for our Urdu daily, we are confident the
channel will be popular,” Abraham said.
New Delhi: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar
added another feather to his crown on Friday, as he
was conferred the honorary rank of Group Captain
Asked if his son (Arjun) too will follow his foot-
steps and join Team India, Tendulkar said he will
give the boy independence to become whatever he
be completed at Hong Kong, is being done with the
full knowledge of Dahal, as per the tapes which was by the Indian Air Force (IAF). wishes to in life.
acquired as part of a sting operation by local media. The ‘Master Blaster’ said it is one of the ‘great- Commenting on the ongoing ‘spot-fixing’ scam,
He also brings in India and tells the Chinese est honours’ he has ever received. he said Indian players have never been contacted by
man that some lawmakers are controlled by the Tendulkar is expected to motivate young bookies.
‘south’ (India) and it is necessary to “neutralize” its Indians to join the IAF and serve the nation. “Never ever in my 21 years of international
influence. Speaking about his 21-year career in interna- cricket, have I heard that bookies approached Indian
The Maoist leader has, however, in a statement, tional cricket, Tendulkar said he does not play for players,” Tendulkar told reporters at the event here.
dismissed the tape as ‘fabricated, misleading and money, and for him scoring runs for the nation is “The International Cricket Council (ICC) can
fictitious’. more important than money. take all the necessary measures required so that the
Nepal is on the look for a new prime minister to “I don’t play cricket for money, happy to score game moves in the right direction,” Tendulkar said.
replace Madhav Kumar Nepal, who stepped down runs more than money,” he said. “Let cricket be clean game,” Tendulkar added.
in June.
But five rounds of voting till now has failed to
throw up any winner among the two candidates—
Dahal and Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra
Poudel – as none managed to get the 301 votes
needed for a win. Citizens & Manurewa Local Board
Ratepayers
Maoists have 235 members in the Constituent
Assembly while Nepali Congress has 114 represen-
tatives.
the Bhopal survivors and crusaders
celebrated the latest court action.
The Supreme Court action fol-
lowed the CBI curative petition asks
the court to
reconsider its
1996 deci-
sion in which
it reduced
the charges
against the ac-
cused from cul-
pable homicide
not amounting
to murder to
criminal negli-
gence.
Warren Ander-
son, former
head of Union
Carbide, for
whom Indian authorities had sought Manurewa Local Board
extradition from the United States, is
an absconder in the case.
MELVYN Apulu
NGATAI George
VOTE
BALU MISTRY
SINGH Gurmeeta
Neither Anderson nor Union Carbide SINGH Sukhminder
was tried in absentia, sparking out-
rage among survivors.
www.c-r.org.nz Authorised by J Stephens, 3 Bel Air Drive, Hillsborough
9
Indian
India
60 lakh illegal Bangladeshis After radicals’ attack, Kerala lecturer sacked
in Assam voters list?
Kochi: Kerala lecturer TJ Joseph, whose right returning home with his family from a Church.
hand was chopped off by radicals in July, has They accused him of preparing a Malayalam
now been sacked by his college authorities on question paper with alleged derogatory refer-
the grounds of hurting religious sentiments of a ences to Prophet Mohammed.
Nagaon: While illegal Bangladeshi influx is But the draft voters list showed 1,73,82,724 certain community. He is now recovering at his residence at Mu-
threatening national security, over 60 lakh infil- people as legitimate voters in the state. Joseph was reportedly removed from service vattupuzha in Ernakulam district.
trators have been already included in the voters BJP MP Rajen Gohain said, “Assam Chief with effect from September 1 by authorities of Meanwhile, the state government has offered
list of Assam, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minister Tarun Gogoi is a surrendered Chief Christian-run New Man College. help to Joseph if he approached.
has alleged. Minister. He has surrendered before illegal The sacking has come as an unexpected blow Maintaining that the college authorities action
During a press conference here, BJP’s Bangladeshis. In the last 9 years, over a lakh for Joseph, who had also responded to a show- tantamount to excessive use of authority, Kerala
state president Ranjit Dutta said, “Large scale of illegal Bangladeshi people entered the state. cause notice earlier served by the college authori- Education minister MA Baby said, “Joseph can
illegal migration from Bangladesh over several But the state government did not take any action ties. appeal at the University Tribunal and explore
decades has been altering the demographic against the Bangladeshi influx. The Congress- The lecturer was attacked by Popular Front other legal means. We will provide him with all
complexion of this State. led state government have of India (PFI) radicals on July 4 while he was the help if he wants to seek legal recourse.”
It poses a grave threat always been standing by
both to the identity of
The state BJP president those people and protect- The President of In
the Assamese people and alleged, “The recently ing them.” dia, Smt. Pratibha
greeted by the invi Devisingh Patil be
to our national security. “Now most districts tees for Iftar Recep ing
Successive Governments published draft voters list in the state are dominated Id-ul-Fitr hosted by tion on the occasi
at the Centre and in the by illegal Bangladeshis. her, at Rashtrapati on of
State have not adequate- for 2010 by Assam State on September 03, Bhavan, in New D
Pakistan’s ISI and several 2010. elhi
ly met this challenge.”
“Over 60 lakh illegal
Election Commission Muslim rebel groups of
Bangladesh are planning
Bangladeshi people have showed more than 84 to make Assam a separate
been already included Muslim country,” Gohain
in the state voters list,” thousand voters have added.
Dutta added.
The state BJP presi-
declined in comparison to trying Meanwhile, BJP is
to strengthen its
dent alleged, “The re- the previous list; but most base in Assam ahead of
cently published draft the next State Assembly
voters list for 2010 by of the declined voters are elections.
Assam State Election The state BJP has
Commission showed
local Assamese people.” decided to field its candi-
more than 84 thousand dates in 80 constituencies
voters have declined in comparison to the previ- in the coming State Assembly elections.
ous list; but most of the declined voters are local The Assam BJP is also looking to play its
Assamese people.” “trump card Varun Gandhi”, besides giving im-
The final voter list will be published on Sep- portance to youth leaders in the next State As-
tember 15, officials said. sembly polls.
According to the State Election Commission BJP will hold a massive public meeting in
report, 1,74,68,958 people are included as legiti- Nagaon on September 29, where BJP’s central
mate voters in the state as per the 2009 voters president Nitin Gadkari and Varun Gandhi will
list . address the poeple.

Personal Training
SIT Queenstown Campus
0800 QT 4 SIT / 03 442 5375
info@sit.ac.nz www.sit.ac.nz
10 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Indian
Indian media slammed for
letting down tribals
Indian media ignored indigenous Dongria Kondhs, gave
lopsided coverage to corporate giant Vedanta
The Indian media by and large ignored the
indigenous tribals living in the Niyamgiri
Hills of Orissa while according lopsided, vo-
luminous coverage to Vedanta during recent
developments over the corporate giant’s con-
troversial mining and refinery projects in the
eastern state, an independent study has found.
Indian newspapers made passing or no
mention of the Dongria Kondh tribals whose
very existence would have been at stake had
the ministry of environment and forests not
rejected the forest clearance for the project.
On the other hand, the coverage centered
around the UK-based Vedanta Resources
and its activities, charges against it, and its
denials, found the study by Newswatch, an
online monitor that looks at news and devel-
opments pertaining to press freedom, jour-
nalistic ethics, and the news media industry.
“The Vedanta/Niyamgiri issue is argu-
ably the most blacked-out story of our times.
It is a travesty that among those who had been
raising their strident voices against the project,
like Survival International and Amnesty In-
ternational, are not based in India. The ones
who are fighting for the Dongria Kondh are
primarily local activists and a few concerned
civil society members in this country. It is a
no-brainer to realise why the media coverage
all these days had been a blank, and why it is
so Vedanta-centric now,” said Subir Ghosh,
founder editor of Newswatch.
The Newswatch study was launched to
primarily look at how the news media covered
the allegations against Vedanta Resources
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
ending with the rejection of forest clearance
of the project by the Union Ministry of Envi-
ronment and Forests.
The news content analysis was done over
three phases.
The release of a report by Amnesty indict-
ing Vedanta over the violations of the rights
of the Dongria Kondh formed the backdrop.
During March, Union Minister of State for En-
vironment and Forests Jairam Ramesh made
a statement saying that the mining giant had
violated environmental regulations giving a
go-by to tribal rights, on basis of a report sub-
mitted by a three-member panel. This was the
trigger factor for the first phase of the study.
In all, 140 stories published during March
were tracked down. Only stories from news-
papers, news agencies, major portals, and TV
channels were considered for research. Blogs,
among others, were not.
In the second phase, only select top
English newspapers were chosen for content
analysis. Seventeen newspapers were studied.
The “breaking news” factor for this phase
was the submission on August 17 of the four-
member NC Saxena Committee report which
looked into the proposal of the Orissa Mining
Company for bauxite mining in Niyamgiri.
The same 17 newspapers were studied in
the third phase. The trigger for “breaking
news” was the announcement on August 24
by Minister Ramesh that the ministry had re-
jected the forest clearance for the project, and
therefore the environmental clearance stood
inoperable.
India
BJP to reconstruct village in cloudburst hit Leh
New Delhi: India’s main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to gift a
reconstructed village to the people with 200 new houses in Jammu and Kashmir’s Leh
region, which was devastated in last month’s cloudburst. “The reconstruction of the 200
houses will be taken up immediately with the help of local engineers, architects and con-
tractors who understand the traditional houses structure, the climatic situation and have
expertise to build house which can withstand natural calamities like earthquake and
sudden flash floods,” said party spokesperson Tarun Vijay. He also informed that help has
also been taken for designing Leh homes from renowned Central Building Research Insti-
tute, Roorkee.
Wild jumbo electrocuted in Assam
Guwahati: A wild elephant was electrocuted near a tea garden in the Kaliabor area in
Assam’s Nagaon district last week, officials said. The carcass of the pachyderm was found
near Kelidin tea estate under Kaliabor sub-division in the district. The wild jumbo died
after its trunk touched a livewire in the backyard of one Bijoy Das’ residence near the tea
estate. Forest officials said it was an accident and not a case of retaliatory killing. “It was
not killed by human beings. We have been informed that, the electrocuted loner elephant
killed two people in one month in the area,” Nagaon divisional forest officer Aftabuddin
Ahmed said. The man-elephant conflict has been on the rise in Nagaon, Sonitpur, Golaghat
and Udalguri district. In the past four years’ report, around 82 people were killed and 510
others injured by wild elephants in various parts of the state. More than 43 wild elephants
were also killed during this period.
Maruti Suzuki sales grows 23.6%
New Delhi: India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Limited sold a total of 104,791
vehicles in August 2010, growing 23.6 per cent in the month. This includes exports of
12,117 units. This is the highest ever monthly sales recorded by the company. The com-
pany had sold a total of 84,808 vehicles in August 2009. Maruti Suzuki’s volume in the
domestic A2 segment grew by 25.7 per cent and in the A3 segment the sales volume grew
by 34 per cent during the month as compared to sales in August 2009. During the month
the company launched Alto-K10 with 1-litre K-series engine and five CNG models across
segments. Customers ranked Maruti Suzuki as the No.1 company in the annual Sales Sat-
isfaction Survey conducted independently by JD Power, a leading global research agency.
Narendra Modi slams PM for CWG ‘mess’
Ahmedabad: Taking pot shots at the Congress-led Central government for delay in
completion of Commonwealth Games (CWG) venues, Gujarat chief minister Narendra
Modi on Tuesday said the venues won’t be ready in time even if the prime minister ‘mops
the floor’. “I don’t know what is happening in the CWG [preparations]. Even if the prime
minister [Manmohan Singh] starts wiping the floor, the venues won’t be ready for the
Games,” Modi said, inaugurating a new building in the civil hospital complex here. Point-
ing that there was four years time to complete the CWG preparations, the chief minister
said, “But they are still struggling. They should have given it to Ahmedabad (Municipal
Corporation), which would have built those stadiums in time.” The CWG venues have re-
peatedly missed deadlines, with corruption charges in preparations of the Games mount-
ing as the date for the Games in October draw closer. The prime minister has taken upon
himself to inspect all CWG venues and also constituted a special committee to oversee
the preparations.
India offers additional 20 mn dollars to Pakistan
New Delhi: India has offered an additional $ 20 million aid to Pakistan for rehabilitation
efforts for its flood affected people. Announcing the grant, External Affairs Minister S M
Krishna told the Lok Sabha that the additional funds will be for Pakistan’s readiness to
accept India’s initial aid offer of 5 million dollars which to be routed through the United
Nations. “As a more concrete assessment of the damage inflicted by this natural disaster
and the urgent needs of the people of Pakistan emerges, the Government has decided to
increase its assistance to Pakistan from $ 5 million, announced earlier, to $ 25 million,”
Krishna said in a statement. “Of the total aid, $ 20 million will go to ‘Pakistan Initial
Floods Emergency Response Plan’ launched by the UN office, for the coordination of hu-
manitarian efforts,” he said. “The balance $ 5 million would be contributed to the World
Food Programme for its relief efforts in Pakistan.”
RIM gives in to India’s security concerns
New Delhi: Fearing a possible ban on its business in India, the Canadian firm Research
In Motion, manufacturer of BlackBerry, on Monday offered the Indian government some
solutions to access its data, Home Ministry sources said. “RIM have made certain propos-
als for lawful access by legal enforcement agencies and these would be operationalised
immediately,” the Home Ministry said in a statement. “The feasibility of the solutions
offered would be assessed thereafter,” the statement added. The Indian government said
that it would review the situation and that the Department of Telecommunications would
submit its report within the next two months. The security officials chaired by Union Home
Secretary G K Pillai met on Monday to take a final decision on BlackBerry services in the
country, a day before an August 31 deadline for the firm to give security agencies access
to its confidential data.
RIL buys into hotel chain
Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has announced that it had acquired 14.12 per
cent stake in hotel chain Eastern Indian Hotels (EIH) Limited at a total cost of Rs 1,021
crores approximately. The investment, which comes as the Mukesh Ambani-controlled
company’s first foray into hospitality was done through through its wholly owned sub-
sidiary Reliance Industries Investment and Holding Private Limited from Oberoi Hotels
Private Limited and certain other promoters of EIH Limited shares. According to RIL, its
investment in EIH, which runs the Oberoi and Trident chain of hotels, has been made as
“the Oberoi family had developed the Oberoi Hotels brand into a premier international
brand in the luxury hospitality sector and as a result EIH Limited has excellent future pros-
pects. RIL has full faith in and would support the management of EIH Limited and there
is no change of management, operation or control of the EIH Limited,” said the company
in a statement.
11
Indian
Government by Greed:
1987 - The Impossible Coup
Subhash Appana
A political coup-de-tat has few civilian paral-
lels in terms of rationale, planning, logistics,
back-up support, follow-up and consequences.
In Fiji, the unthinkable had happened at the
April 1987 elections – the carefully camouflaged
and internally inconsistent myth of democratic
power in perpetuity was finally blown. First
there was disbelief, then consternation, then
confusion followed by complaining and anger.
It is at this point that the coup-makers stepped in
to provide guidance to a relatively small portion
of the country that appeared to be reeling like a
plane without a pilot.
The message that these saviours brought was
not about democracy and the inevitability of
changes in government, but on how the Fijian
people were under threat from the greedy, dis-
honest and covetous designs of the “kai Idia”
or the Indians. This was an old message that
had potent political traction and it became the
mantra that rallied the masses. Local reggae
band Rootstrata, came up with a stirring number
about Fijian self-determination, the Fijian way –
‘o cei o ira (who are they), they sang. There was
thus no other way for Fiji at that juncture.
Rabuka clearly stated this in his (now oft-
questioned) book, “No Other Way”. Of course if
the Fijian leaders, especially the traditional ones
had spoken up and stemmed the tide, coup might
have been avoided because the rationale for it
would have been nipped – no disturbance, no
need for coup! The problem was, this was very
difficult and it did not leave (or create) room for
a re-look at Fiji politics in order to change it and
make it more appropriate to the changing times.
Bavadra & Co were hardly likely to re-think a
model that had just brought them to power.
12
There was a more significant development
within those orchestrated disturbances that has
so far been given scant notice by analysts of
the 1987 coup and Fiji politics. The framework
within which the disturbances were unleashed
involved a cadre of fiery, reactionary, peripheral
leaders, who had been agitating for public recog-
nition, as front men. Behind this frontline was a
group of shady “controllers” who, in turn, were
following directives from a high command. The
public only got to see the “faces” and has contin-
ued to speculate about the “non-faces”.
More importantly, at some stage the rebellion
acquired a momentum and direction of its own.
The front-men, who were supposed to follow
directives and exit centre stage when required,
suddenly had too much power, energy and am-
bition. Taniela Veitata, Manasa Lasaro, Jona
Qio, etc. began to plan and make independent
pronouncements. Those who were supposed to
be under control were suddenly out of control.
That’s where the 1987 coup went wrong, and
that’s what Fiji is still reeling from today.
Coming back to the planning of that coup,
the plotters needed backing from a number of
quarters. Firstly, they needed a smattering of
lower-level traditional leaders – there was no
shortage of these. Then they needed leaders in
an urban setting. And of necessity, this included
peripheral unionists, churchmen and thugs. All
those whose political (and therefore, economic)
ambitions had somehow been kept in check by
the Mara government suddenly sprang to centre
stage.
This was the opportunity they had been
waiting for and they made the most of it while
chanting the potent mantra of “down with the
kai Idia”. Defenders of the Fijian heritage sud-
denly sprang up all over the place as the fever
took hold and rebellion gained momentum.
Many supporters joined simply for want of
nothing better to do, many were drawn by the
power of the preachers and the occasion that was
created. Many thought they were really defend-
ing the Fijian heritage. Many expected fallouts
and were already fingering Indian houses that
they’d move into.
That was the nature of the rebellion that pre-
ceded Rabuka’s coup.
A second, more important concern that trou-
bled the plotters of that coup was what would
happen afterwards. For an orderly transition
from the brink of created chaos, they needed to
fall back on Fiji’s main leaders who commanded
traditional Fijian backing – they needed leaders
who could control both the masses as well as the
keepers of the law (police and military). This
meant they had to have the support of Ratu Sir
Kamisese Mara, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau and
Ratu Sir George Cakobau. These three leaders
stood at the pinnacle of the Fijian chiefly system
ie. the traditional power structure at that point
in time.
The Fijian traditional administrative system
that was shaped and fossilized by Governor
Arthur Gordon after cession in 1874 has the
country divided into 14 provinces which are in
turn grouped into 3 confederacies – Kubuna,
Tovata and Burebasaga. Each of these confed-
eracies is headed by a paramount chief. In 1987,
Kubuna was headed by ex-Governor General
Ratu Sir George Cakobau. Tovata was headed
by the then GG Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau. And
Burebasaga was headed by Lady Ro Lala Mara,
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Fiji
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara’s wife.
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was thus not a
paramount chief in his own right, but he was
the husband of one. On top of that, he had been
groomed for and headed the modern structure
of government that was essentially juxtaposed
on the traditional structure. Moreover, Ratu
Mara had been earmarked to lead Fiji by Fiji’s
most prominent colonial-era chief, Ratu Sir Lala
Sukuna. In fact it was Ratu Sukuna who played
cupid in helping hitch Mara with the young lass
from Burebasaga who would later become the
Roko Tui Dreketi, the paramount chief of Bu-
rebasaga.
The coup plotters of 1987 had to prepare to
contend with the expected fallout after Rabuka
executed his Treason at 10. Fiji would be rud-
derless and leaderless amid the vacuum that
would be created by removing the Bavadra
government. The trouble-makers were mainly
urban Fijians who had been harnessed for the
disturbances. They could be controlled by their
newly-created leaders up to a certain extent
only. The main source of stability had to come
from traditional sources – the paramount chiefs.
And the 1987 coup did have either explicit or
implicit support from this all-important source
as without military and chiefly support a politi-
cal coup-de-tat was not possible in Fiji at that
point in time. Next, how could this be true?
Keep tuned.
- Subhash Appana is an academic and
political commentator. The opinions contained
in this article are entirely his and not neces-
sarily shared by any organizations he may be
associated with both in Fiji and abroad. Email
subhasha@ais.ac.nz
Indian
Community
Keeping up audience Mandali pumped up Coming together for Raksha Bandhan
More than 700 people celebrated the Hindu Council of New Zealand (http://hinducouncil.
festival of Raksha Bandhan at the Mahatma org.nz), Rotorua Deepawali Festival (http://
Gandhi Centre, Auckland last Sunday, August rotoruadeepawali.org) and Yogathon (http://
29. yogathon-nz.org).
The programme was officially opened by The symbolism of Raksha Bandhan is the
the lighting of the lamp by the leader of the act of tying the sanctified thread rakhi on the
opposition, Phil Goff; Race Relations Com- wrists of each other. The attendees partici-
missioner Joris De Bres; North Shore mayor pated by tying the rakhi among themselves,
Andrew Williams; Manukau mayor Len including family, friends, and others in the
Brown and Vinod Kumar, president of Hindu audience. \
Council of New Zealand – the host of Hindu The hands of MPs Dr Rajen Prasad and
Organisations, Temples and Associations Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi; Deputy Mayor of
(HOTA) Forum for this year. North Shore - Julia Parfitt; Deputy Mayor
Mamta Bhikha, co-ordinator of the fes- of Rodney District - John Kirikiri, Vijaya
tival, welcomed all present. The specially Vaidyanath (CEO, Waitakere City Council)
invited guests described Raksha Bandhan and other prominent figures of the community
as the festival that sanctifies the relationship overflowed with Rakhis.
between a brother and a sister; and, in its Masters of ceremonies Nitika Sharma
Leonard Kumar (Abdul) and Bhushan Mishra (Michael) practice their beat in a scene from the movie. broader meaning, the Dharmic concepts of (Secretary of Hindu Youth New Zealand) and
universal fellowship and veneration of wom- Brana Ravichelavan (of Sri Satya Sai Service
Arvind Kumar Opening with a tranquil village scene in Fiji, anhood. Organisation and the Co-ordinator of the open
Four “hatte katte” young men, two beautiful director Israr has cleverly managed to inter- Mr De Bres recalled his presence at the suitcase project) took the audience through the
damsels, and there were no sparks flying. sperse the movie with elements of Bollywood, third New Zealand Hindu Conference where day’s cultural program. On show were spe-
Nor was there any hero chasing the heroine making it an even more attractive product on the the HOTA forum was launched. He com- cialised Kapa Haka, Bharatnatyam, Bhangra,
in the “bageecha” while belting out a romantic international market. mended the Hindu Council of New Zealand Chinese dragon and Lion dance, South Indian
number (accompanied by music) by the end of The first-time Fiji actors hold their own for its reputation to follow up and deliver on folk dance, Garba, Japanese drum beats,
which the heroine would have succumbed to her well. Aucklander Bhushan proved calm and col- their promises to the community; in this case, Punjabi Giddha , vocal music, a performance
suitor’s charms. lected and carried his performance well, as did the delivery of a landmark event within a very of sitar and tabla, and the programme conclud-
But then again, this is no ordinary Bolly- the frisky Leonard (police officer), the laidback short time. ed with an energy packed modern dance.
wood flick. This is “Pump Up The Mandali” – Sarvesh (radio announcer) and Auckland DJ The unveiling of the HOTA ‘Ekta Shankh’ Ranjna Patel (QSM, JP) spoke about the re-
the first feature length Fiji Hindi language film Kunal. was the highlight of the formal ceremony. markable journey of Indian women in leader-
shot in Auckland, Napier and Fiji – and now Neha Jaura put in a commanding perfor- “Ekta shankh” is a carving symbolising unity ship roles in New Zealand, and recounted her
heading for the international market. mance which should see her land more roles among various communities, created by Mr. own experiences. Some key leaders from the
Although the “hatte katte” young men end in the future, while Bali Virk proved strong in Tane Singh-Lagah from Rotorua, a carver Indian community were invited to present the
up calling the support. in Maori tradition, and of Maori and Indian photo of the Mahalakshmi Narayani Temple as
girls “didi” in the Produced descent. a token of appreciation to each of the dance
movie, the grass- under Auck- Hindu Council of New Zealand passed groups that peformed.
roots approach and land’s Purple the ‘Ekta Shankh’ to the New Zealand Hindu This temple is located in Vellore, Tamil
humble storyline Post banner, Temple Society, the host of HOTA Forum Nadu, India. More than 400 gold and copper-
is sure to connect “Pump Up The for the next year. Vai Ravindran and Ilango smiths are said to have worked for six years to
with the audi- Mandali” recent- Krishnamoorthy, received the ‘Ekta Shankh’ craft this temple out of gold, and some have
ences. ly held its world and shared their vision of unity among com- called it the Hindu Golden Temple.
“The story premiere in Ma- munities. On behalf of the host and the organising
wasn’t designed nukau’s Berkley Each year one of the HOTA Forum committee, Ms. Komal Shah read the vote of
for romance,” de- Cinemas. It members will be the host of the HOTA Forum. thanks which included the ANZ Bank for their
clares director opens for public The host will also convene a meeting in Febru- support to the Raksha Bandhan festival.
Monti Issar, head screenings next ary, where all members will find an opportuni- The HOTA forum under the leadership of
of Purple Post Pro- month (date yet ty to discuss strengths of and opportunities for the next year’s host, the New Zealand Hindu
ductions. Monti Israr, the man behind the movie, of Purple Post. to be decided). the Hindu community on a unifying platform. Temple Society, looks forward to the celebra-
“It works very The 115- Hindu Council of New Zealand launched tion of the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan
well, and is one of the unique points of the minute film is now Fiji’s first ever entry into the three websites at the festival. They are Hindu in Auckland next year.
movie. People loved it.” prestigious Asia Pacific Screen Awards to be
“Pump Up The Mandali” is an emotional held in Brisbane next month. Story and screen-
rollercoaster ride of four friends from a poor Fiji play was also by Issar.
village to the glamour and glitz of Auckland. My Verdict: Has strong grassroots appeal,
The four mandali boys – Michael (played destined to be a hit among Fiji audiences.
by Bhushan Mishra), Abdul (Leonard Kumar),
Ramesh (Sarvesh Singh) and Pravin (Kunal
Kartik) – lose all in floods which devastate LOOKING FOR TALENT
their village, but win a local radio talent contest With “Pump Up The Mandali” now set
which lands them in New Zealand to participate to hit the big screen soon, the mak-
in an international quest. ers are set to launch into their next
Needing lots of money to travel to New project.
Zealand, they borrow money and the villagers “Sab Set Hai”, to be shot in New
chip in to help them make the trip. Zealand, is a comedy which is set to
Enter Priya and Pooja (played by Neha Jaura feature some big Bollywood names
and Bali Virk), the two Indian “city girls” they including star comedian Rajpal Yadav.
end up sharing their flat with. Purple Post chief Monti Issar, who is
Priya and Pooja are from impressed with the also head of the Mirchee Indian TV
boys’ rustic appearances, and their “dhol” and in Auckland, said he was now on the
“baaja” which accompany their late night prac- lookout for cast of “Sab Set Hai”.
tice sessions. Auditions are scheduled to be held
Dazzled by the bright lights of Auckland later this month in Auckland.
City and the flashy Auckland teams, the four If you have what it takes to be an ac-
friends decide to pack it in but Priya and Pooja tor, contact Monti Issar at Purple Post
develop a change of heart and push the boys to or Mirchee Indian TV.
face the challenge and overcome the odds.

Search on for New Zealand’s Young achievers

Nominations are being sought from around the
country for the Coca-Cola Amatil Young New
Zealander of the Year 2011 as part of the New
Zealander of the Year Awards.
Nominees must be between the ages of
15-30 who are leaders or role models to fellow
young New Zealanders. They may have
achieved extraordinary things in academics,
sport, business, the arts or any other chosen
field of endeavour or they may be involved in
cultural or community activities, working with
the disadvantaged, or creating stronger rela-
tionships between young people and the com-
munity.
New Zealander of the Year Awards manager
Grant McCabe says “Across New Zealand
young people from different social and cultural
backgrounds, beliefs, interests, values and as-
pirations are making exceptional contributions
to their communities and our country”.
The Young New Zealander of the Year
Award is about recognising great achievements
by young people while engaging the commu-
nity to nominate and acknowledge these young
Kiwis who are striving to make a difference.
The winner of the Coca-Cola Amatil
Young New Zealander of the Year 2011 will be
awarded their trophy and $5,000 prize money
at a gala awards presentation dinner in Auck-
land on the 2nd February 2011. All nominees
will receive a certificate of achievement or en-
couragement in recognition of their contribu-
tion.
Nominations close on Friday 22nd October
and nomination forms are available from
Countdown Supermarkets, Kiwibank and
Mitre 10 branches or by free phone 0508 692
927. You can also nominate online at www.
nzawards.org.nz or text ‘nominate’ to 244 for
more information.

Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 13

 Indian
Indian
Letters
Turmoil in Paradise
It appears that some commentators are really spooked about Commodore Bainimarama’s
actions in restoring Fiji to a semblance of good governance and propriety. There is no
more need for a Parliamentary Democracy in the country then to bolster to egos of the
From the Editor political and colonial has-beens and our Deputy Sheriffs in the Pacific who have signed
up to maintain their vigilance, authority and power over the Pacific Rim countries. Thus
Generous hearts shine through the rubble the heavy-handed response to political development...
Noor Dean
The temblor that struck Canterbury and Christchurch on September 4 was one of the
worst shakes New Zealand has experienced in recent memory. Bainimarama did not depose Qarase because of a “bad reaction”, Qarase was deposed
In intensity it was quite comparable to some recent quakes that have shaken other because he (and his govt) was backing legislation (a bill that would have given the Speight
countries around the world – notably, Haiti this year and Chile last year. Quakes of plotters anmesty), and another that would have given exclusive rights to ethnic i-taukei
comparable magnitude have also hit China in recent years. (Fijians) to charge a fee on anyone who walked out to sea to fish (even if they owned the
But the biggest difference that sets last week’s Canterbury quake apart from these
land on the water front). I am Fijian living in the USA, and like a lot of the working middle
other recent quakes is the fact that not a single life was lost despite the same severity
that took hundreds of thousands of lives in Haiti, Chile and China. Even injuries were
class in the cities (in Fiji) support Bainimarama....
only a handful – and only one of them serious. Some have deemed this a miracle. Hilo0204
More than serendipity or a miraculous phenomenon it is doing things right and
by the book that was responsible for this zero toll of human life and nearly negligible
injuries. First, New Zealand has a building code that incorporates failsafe measures Desh Pardesh
that are no less than best practice anywhere in the developed world. These are also I totally agree with Arvin Kumars comment. It conveys a very strong message and these
followed by the building industry diligently and are enforced by the authorities strict- are real issues. Living in Canada for 26 years we have seen some of these problems within
ly as per the codes. our Fiji Community. Acting could have been better but it is their first movie and consider-
Second, there is high awareness among people about natural disasters, particu- ing that they havent been to any acting school,they did a good job....
larly earthquakes, and most Kiwis are better prepared to encounter violent shakes Sandy Sundar
compared to people in the developing world. This has played a major part in keeping
injuries to the minimum.
The fact that the country’s population is small and spread out and that the quake
struck in the small hours of the morning certainly helped to keep possibility of a Vedic mathematics
human toll low. This particularly helped matters in the central business district, Thanks for shedding light on the power of VM,Heard that VM is being taught in some of
which was deserted when the earth shook violently enough to crumble the facades the most prestigious institutions in England.
and walls of several business establishments. Usha
Most importantly, the emergency response was as rapid as it could practically be.
The government and all agencies concerned with disaster management swung into Your last line is very potent! We do have some wonderful stuff in our ancient literature,
action almost immediately and were at hand to help those in need. Shelters were set but our myopic view of anything that is associated with the word Hindu is stopping us
up within a matter of hours and water and essential supplies were on their way to the from reaping the benefits! But the other more moot problem is our reliance of the English
affected areas almost at the same time as people in other parts of the country were system of education and that is the reason we have not produced any more stalwarts!
getting to know of the quake.
High time we reversed that! Can be done only with dedicated and new look at the Gurukul
Another big point of difference between last week’s quake and disasters of a
similar nature and scale in other parts of the world was the almost complete absence
system and its benefits.
of looting in the business district, though there were some early reports that this did Prashant
happen. The law and order machinery effectively dealt with whatever semblance of
such looting might have occurred. I have a copy of Vedic maths at home yet to be read. My love of maths has lead me to read
And what is continuing to shine through the rubble caused by the big one on the Gita in Sanskrit! Why? Because of zero: it came from the Hindu Dharma word Sanyas
September 4 and its subsequent aftershocks that continue as we go to press is the Sifer (Arabic) Cipher (Latin) to zero. The most famous book, which gave Hindu numer-
generosity of Kiwis from all over. als is in Florence Italy by Leonardo Fibonacci which translates Arabic\Hindu numerals
Volunteers, Good Samaritans, generous citizens, magnanimous corporations, (1-9,0) into Latin as opposed to Roman Numerals.
compassionate individuals and families, caring businesspeople and shop owners and Jayesh A Patel, UK
countless others have all risen to the occasion to help in the situation in whatever
way they can.
Sachin Tendulkar
In this issue we have covered a couple of such stories in which Kiwi Indians have
risen to the occasion, though there may be so many more that are unfolding as you
Airforce did a great job really it will boost our youth to join armed force because national
read this. pride is above all.
The clean up job will be long and arduous, the rebuilding even harder and long Abhijeet
drawn out. The sheer effort involved in the rebuilding process is expected to stir the
economy toward growth – as it did in Chile, where post quake growth rates have
reached 8 per cent.
Though the effect of the quakes in Canterbury and the ones in Haiti and Chile
were so vastly different, there is one factor that binds them all together – the stress
Opinion Poll:
and trauma that affected individuals have to go through. The sense of being uproot-
ed, dispossessed and having lost much more than just personal effects is something Is New Zealand an expensive country to live
that would be common to all humans that have to go through this, no matter where
Same as developed
they are on earth. YES NO countries
But being in the knowledge that there are a myriad Kiwi hearts shining gener-
ously and a million helping hands ever willing to chip in is perhaps the most soothing
and effective balm in the recovery process – something for which all of us must be
grateful.
- Dev Nadkarni
75% 16% 8%
Indian Weekender Volume 2 No. 12 Ten top stories on iwk.co.nz
Publisher: Kiwi Media Group Limited 1.0 How science discovered the
Group editor-in-chief: Dev Nadkarni dev@indianweekender.co.nz 00 historical Krishna
Online editor: Arvind Kumar arvind@indianweekender.co.nz 2.0 We are family: Kajol set to vanish again
India Correspondent: Shobha Rao shobha@indianweekender.co.nz 3.0 Massive 7.1 earthquake rocks
Chief Technical Officer: Rohan Desouza rohan@ indianweekender.co.nz
00 Christchurch
Design: Tanmay Desai desaidesign@gmail.com / www.desaign.co.nz
Advertising: Giri Gupta - Ph: 520 0922, Mob: 021 221 1131. Email - girigupta@xtra.co.nz 4.0 Turmoil in paradise - punishing Fiji
Please email original editorial contributions, community notices and pictures to 5.0 Coming together for Raksha Bandhan
editor@indianweekender.co.nz 6.0 Why some Gurus perform miracles?
Views expressed in the publication are not necessarily of the publisher and the publisher 7.0 The Malayalis of Kerala
is not responsible for advertisers’ claims as appearing in the publication 8.0 New High Commissioner to
00 India welcomed
Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, New Market 9.0 Ganapati Bhat wows audiences
and printed at APN Print, Ellerslie, Auckland
10.Sachin is Air Force Group Captain
Copyright 2010. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

14 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian
Engaging with Fiji – another opportunity lost
dev nadkarni
Despite the unchanging rigidity of their isola-
tionist approach towards Fiji, the political lead-
erships in Australia and New Zealand would
now have all but realised that trying to keep
Fiji out of the South Pacific regional equation
was never going to be a tenable strategy.
This isolationist tack has come a complete
cropper – it has achieved next to nothing. Sus-
pension of bilateral ties, suspension from the
Commonwealth, suspension from the Pacific
Island Forum, travel bans, adverse travel advi-
sories, besides all sorts of other measures have
brought little change, if any, in Fiji.
Reams have been published on the lead up to
the December 2006 military action, the regime
and its style of functioning since then. And
nearly all the ideas from politicians, academ-
ics and the media especially in New Zealand
and Australia on dealing with the Fiji situation
have centered on such isolationist strategies
that have come up almost solely with punitive
measures.
It is as though engagement can never be an
option. That sort of rigidity is hard to explain.
Especially so when the writing was clearly on
the wall that the strategy wasn’t working and
the situation could not be remedied with that
tack. No matter what the situation within Fiji,
there ought to have been more efforts from
the Anzac nations to engage with it these past
years.
Several windows of opportunity were lost,
the latest one being last month.
With no recourse to any regional platform
now that it has been suspended from the Pacific
Island Forum, Fiji pushed hard for regional en-
gagement through the Melanesian Spearhead
Group (MSG) – the sub regional grouping of
The Power of the written word
PADMINI GAUNDER
Provisions in Fiji’s media decree have brought uncertainty to the existence of the country’s oldest newspaper, the Fiji Times.
PADMINI GAUNDER looks at previous attempts to ‘strangle’ the newspaper – albeit with competition. And that was because of its
long-standing, anti-Indian stance.
‘The pen is mightier than the sword,’ so goes the
saying. Maybe with that in mind, a year after
Fiji became independent, K.C. Ramrakha of
the Opposition National Federation Party, gave
this ominous warning: ‘[W]e must strangle this
newspaper [The Fiji Times] before it strangles
us, and I mean it’ (Parliamentary Debates, 21
October, 1971). It was with reference to the anti-
Indian propaganda the newspaper had been car-
rying on for a century and continued to do even
after Independence.
At that time Ramrakha was trying to estab-
lish another daily newspaper, which would have
been the best way to ‘strangle’ the Fiji Times.
There was the weekly publication, The Pacific
Review, which was started by Swami Rudranan-
da and A. D. Patel, who was the first Leader of
the Opposition in Fiji. Needless to say, the move
to turn it into a daily newspaper met with strong
opposition. Then in1974 the Fiji Sun started
publishing. As the monopoly of the Fiji Times
was broken it modified its stand and the opposi-
tion seemed to have abandoned its efforts to set
up another paper though the Fiji Sun was also
foreign owned.
Moreover, the Fiji Times continued with
its anti-Indian propaganda through its Fijian
publication, Nai Lalakai but the Indian leaders
did not seem to have been aware of it. In 1977
Ratu Mara talked of the ‘enormous damage’ Nai
Lalakai had done to racial harmony. He claimed
that over the past five years it had done a lot to
‘foster, encourage and disseminate the views of
the Fijian Nationalist Party’ (Fiji Times, 6 June,
1977).
Even after Ratu Mara’s warning of what the
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Melanesian countries that was to have been
held in Fiji last month.
Fiji has alleged that the meet was scuttled by
the Anzac nations to predictable denials from
both, as well as Vanuatu, which was supposed
to have been prevailed upon not to attend the
meet. The decidedly isolationist policy hitherto
followed by Australia and New Zealand is what
could well give credence to that allegation.
With the MSG meet not happening, Fiji
thought up another ploy at engagement and
invited regional leaders to the “Engaging with
the Pacific” meeting just about a week later.
Though several leaders, ministers and govern-
ment representative attended, Australia, New
Zealand – and Samoa – did not. And that was a
huge opportunity missed by the Anzac nations.
Among other things, the Fiji regime pre-
sented its updated roadmap to the proposed
2014 election. The presence of political leaders
from Australia and New Zealand or at least
their representatives – no matter how junior –
would have been extremely useful in that they
would then have had an all new handle to hold
the regime to account in the months ahead
leading up to the 2014 election and the achieve-
ments of the stated milestones.
By not sending representatives and refusing
to engage even tentatively at the most tenuous
of levels, Australia and New Zealand have
chosen to persist with their one pronged, un-
imaginative isolationist tack of trying to force
Fiji into a tight corner with no room to manoeu-
vre.
Except that in this rapidly globalising
world, there aren’t any corners anymore. If the
traditional longstanding South has stonewalled
it, a huge front from the rapidly growing, in-
Nai Lalakai was doing the Indian leaders did not
seem to have taken it seriously and paid close at-
tention to what the common Fijians were being
told about the Indians. They had one of their
own writers, Prof. Subramani, also giving some
indication of how the Fijians felt with one of his
short stories and an article by Pio Manoa that
Subramani published in The Indo-Fijian Experi-
ence, which he edited. No one seemed to have
paid much attention to these also.
Indian leaders often used to criticise British
colonialism, but there were some lessons from
the British that were worthy of emulation. The
British were able to rule over such a vast empire
because they paid attention to every detail and
were thorough in the work they did. One of the
first things the British officers were required to
do was to learn the local language.
The officials went through every local
newspaper and knew what exactly was being
written in each one of them. I know this for a
fact because my husband used to work for a
Hindi weekly and the public relations officer
at that time, Jack Hackett, often corresponded
with him indicating that he knew what was in
each edition. This thoroughness and attention
to detail are qualities that Indian leaders should
have picked up if they wanted to succeed. As
the Indians remained ignorant of how the Fijians
felt, the events of 1987 became almost inevita-
ble.
In 1987 the Fijian chiefly system was still
very strong so the chiefs were able to contain
any violence that would have resulted from the
military coups. So miraculously Fiji was able
to steer through her problems as she was given
creasingly prosperous North has long opened
up not only for Fiji but also for almost all other
South Pacific nations.
Chinese and Korean investment in Fiji has
grown tremendously in the past few years and
with every passing month the country is further
building up its ties with Asian countries. The
Anzac nations know it only too well that the
region’s future – including their own – is tied
up with Asia. New Zealand is the first western
nation to have signed a Free Trade Agreement
with China, which is now not only poised to
become its largest trading partner but also
wants to buy big into its dairy sector.
Australia and New Zealand’s rigid stand
notwithstanding there is no denying that Fiji is
the hub of the Pacific and is too significant geo-
politically for their simplistic, almost childish,
isolationist non-strategy. Their persistence in
following this tack beggars belief and exposes
their leaderships’ paralysis in trying to come
up with more sensitive, open minded and com-
municative approaches.
The Melanesian brotherhood has realised
this. And more than just the warm fraternal
‘wantok’ feeling, it is the hard and practical
knowledge that they are sitting on a great deal
of mineral wealth both inland and offshore that
is at work here. The potential of that offshore
wealth is poised to grow with the redrawing
of the continental shelf boundaries following
changes to the United Nations Law of the Sea
in the coming years.
The countries know that together they stand
much to gain – and that explains why its leaders
attended Fiji’s hurriedly called engagement gig
with such alacrity. That message seems lost on
the leadership of the Anzac nations that has
a second chance to become ‘the way the world
should be’ with a harmonious multiracial popu-
lation. But even after all the upheavals of 1987
the people of Fiji did not seem to realize the
power of the written word as the Fiji Times once
again gained its monopoly and went back to its
old ways of generating racial ill will especially
against the Indians.
The monopoly of the Fiji Times was once
again broken, with the starting of another paper,
the Daily Post, by an indigenous Fijian. It was
the first locally owned daily newspaper but from
the beginning it faced with financial problems.
Then in 1999 another local paper was started by
some Indian businessmen. It would have been
more realistic for those Indian businessmen to
have joined hands with the Fijian owner of the
Daily Post and strengthened it rather than start-
ing a third daily in opposition to the other two
in a country where the readership was limited.
With such multiethnic co-operation it would
have been easy to ‘strangle’ the Fiji Times. Un-
fortunately, no such inter ethnic co-operation
was forthcoming. While the two locally owned
papers struggled for survival, the foreign-owned
Fiji Times continued to forge ahead as the clear
winner. And Ramrakha’s prediction that the Fiji
Times would strangle the nation came true in
2000.
It is generally accepted that the Fiji Times
played a major role in the overthrow of the
People’s Coalition Government led by Ma-
hendra Chaudhry. A New Zealand journalist,
Bruce Connew, was amazed to learn that a
whole, groundswell of Fijians were “convinced,
by those with other agendas, that Chaudhry’s
Comment
gone on record saying that there will be no
change in their Fiji policy.
Fiji’s efforts to engage with the region
despite being suspended from the Forum need
to be actually seen as positive step. The Anzac
nations need to set their hurt false pride aside
and engage at whatever level – to begin with
even informally, outside the ambit of recog-
nised channels out of which Fiji has been ex-
cluded in any case.
Nothing can ever be achieved by non en-
gagement and isolationism especially in
modern day geopolitics. Engagement and com-
munication are key to diplomatic conflict reso-
lution – particularly so when one of the parties
sends all the right signals that it is game for it.
The flawed assumption that any engagement
with the present Fijian dispensation would be
illegitimate needs to change because inaction
based on such assumption will go nowhere and
negate any possibility and hope of addressing
the situation.
The events that have taken place so far
cannot be reversed and despite the ongoing
controversial developments in Fiji, the regime
has once again presented its plan for elections
in 2014 – which, according to media reports
have been received positively by the leaders
who attended the meet. Attending that meet
would have been a great opportunity to restart
dialogue and work with Fiji to work toward an
outcome that is best for its people and for the
region as a whole.
The writing on the wall is clear. Sticking
to their isolationist strategy is not an option
and staying rigid will undoubtedly have huge
consequences for the geopolitics of the South
pacific region in the years to come.
master plan for Fiji was ‘a little India’”. He was
further puzzled that Chaudhry didn’t counter
the “crass disinformation campaign”. “Is he a
politician or not?” Connew wondered (Connew,
2001, p. 79).
It is quite understandable to people who
are familiar with the position of the media in
Fiji. They know the immense power of the Fiji
Times, which virtually had no rival in 2000. The
locally owned daily newspaper, the Fiji Sun was
in its infancy and the other local daily, the Daily
Post (though at that time it was still independent)
was going through financial problems so it was
almost impossible to counter the propaganda the
Fiji Times was happy to transmit.
A veteran local journalist, the late Robert
Keith-Reid, while identifying the motives
behind the crisis of 2000 had noted in his weekly
column in the Fiji Times itself: “What a pity it is
that no one is loudly declaring that the myth that
Mahendra Chaudhry wanted to steal the Fijian
heritage and Indianise is a lie.” (Fiji Times, 18
June, 2000).
By then it was already too late as the Peo-
ple’s Coalition Government had been removed
at gunpoint. If Keith-Reid and other journalists
had stated that earlier it might have helped as
it could have reassured the Fijian people. The
fact that Keith-Reid could say it in a Fiji Times
column might be taken to show that it was not
as biased in its reporting as claimed, but it must
not be forgotten that it was published after the
Chaudhry government was overthrown. The
fall of the People’s Coalition Government once
again proved beyond any doubt the power of the
written word.
15
Indian

16 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian
A home away from home
Hindu Niwas provides accommodation to seniors, at-risk women, children and respite for caregivers, students and visitors to Auckland.
Hindu Niwas, a new initiative at the Hindu Heritage
Centre, is “a home away from home” that provides
accommodation to seniors, at-risk women and chil-
dren, socio-economically deprived families, and
respite for caregivers, international students and
visitors to Auckland. It is equipped with 63 beds,
with common kitchen facilities.
Swami Vigyananand inaugurated this facility
in a traditional Hindu way in May. In July, Maori
elder Matua Pomare and staff members from Te
Wananga o Aotearoa (The University of New
Zealand) blessed the facility and the land. Some
years ago, Hindu Heritage Centre site used to be a
Te Wananga campus.
Hindu Niwas works collaboratively with a wide
range of Indian and other ethnic organisations to
serve communities from a number of countries. It
works with government service providers in social
services and health sectors and is registered with
Work & Income New Zealand (WINZ).
Hindu Niwas was designed to provide respite
services to make life easier for people in support
roles, like caregivers, i.e. those providing care for
others with physical and mental disabilities and per-
sonal health and social problems.
“We aim to provide culturally appropriate and
quality services so that the residents develop good
social networks,” said Sneh Prasad, volunteer of
Hindu Council of New Zealand who helped set up
this project.
Onam celebrated in style in Wellington
The Kerala Community in Wellington celebrated
Onam recently with much pomp and fanfare.
The grand celebration was held on Saturday,
August 28, under the vibrant leadership of Wel-
lington Malayalee Association. Onam is the most
important and awaited festival of Kerala where
the traditional aspects of the state unravels in
fullest measure.
Apart from being the harvest festival, usher-
ing in a mood of celebration, it commemorates the
golden reign of King Mahabali.
Crammed with guests from all communities
the Indian Cultural Centre at Kilbirnie witnessed
rich culture and tradition of Kerala and was mes-
merised by the versatile colour of it.
The event was inaugurated by United Future
MP Peter Dunne who specifically mentioned the
role smaller communities played to enrich the life
of New Zealanders.
The Wellington city council was represented
by Deputy Mayor Ian Mac Kinnen, who ex-
pressed his willingness to work more closely with
such smaller but proactive communities like the
Malayalee Community.
Jojo Jose, president of the Wellington Ma-
layalee Association said, “In one year after the
emancipation of this organisation we have come
so forward and hosting the second biggest Indian
community festival in Wellington, which is a
great achievement.”
The official meeting was followed by cultural
events which lasted for more than two hours.
The diversity of the programs and the charis-
ma in its presentation was the result of a gallant
effort by the Wellington Malayalee Association.
The programmes depicted the cultural and tradi-
tional symbols of kerala and succeeded in show-
casing its liveliness.
Rangapooja, the invocation which was
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
themed on “Kerala Women” was once in a life
time spectacle performed by 18 artists. It illustrat-
ed glimpses of kerala drumming as well as Kalari
Payattu (Martial Arts).
Thiruvathira, Carnatic song, Mime and cin-
ematic dance were few of the items performed
by the community members. The audience were
spellbound by the performance by 8-year-old
Jessie Hillel, a rising star from the Malayalee
Community who represented New Zealand in the
World Vocal Performance in USA this year.
She sang You Rise Me Up which was an excel-
lent choice for the occasion and received with big
applause.
The event was not complete until Onasadya
(special vegetarian meals for Onam) served on
banana leaves for more than 750 guests. The meal
requires elaborate cooking, included 13 variety
of vegetarian dishes served with red rice from
Kerala are served in precise order which was sen-
sational experience for the guests.
The Onam 2010 was supported by people and
organizations like Communities Action Trust
New Zealand, Wellington Indian Association and
similar ethnic communities.
“We us a community are glad to come forward
and proclaim that India is not only Taj Mahal and
Rajasthan but also greener south,” said Roshan K
Sam, secretary of Wellington Malayalee Associa-
tion.
The spirit of Onam is all about togetherness
and inclusiveness and all keralites pledge to live
in that spirit for the year ahead. Although Onam
2010 was the first ever cultural event organised
by Wellington Malayalee Association, this South
Indian Community is one of those smaller com-
munities which are capable of trendsetting and
one to look forward in years to come.
Community
Some of the services provided at Hindu
Niwas include:
l Social work and family support services (sup-
porting elders, assisting newcomers)
Youth, women, men, children and families at risk
l Children and youth support services (develop-
ing leadership and life skills)
Health and wellbeing services (supporting
healthy nutrition, physical activities and yoga)
l Participation and organisation of community
seminars, workshops and cultural activities
l Yoga classes are conducted regularly at the
centre by Aotearoa Research Organisation for
Generic Yoga and Ayurveda (AROGYA), a divi-
sion of Hindu Council of New Zealand.
These classes create opportunities for people to take
a break from the daily routine stresses, and generate
a change for physical, mental, and spiritual rejuve-
nation.
“We have residents with different ethnic
backgrounds from various countries,” said Jairaj
Chavan, volunteer manager of Hindu Niwas.
He added that this communal facility is run by
a team of dedicated volunteers, with a clear vision
to achieve the Hindu ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutum-
bakam (the world is one big family), promoting uni-
versal human values and social co-existence.
For more information about Hindu Niwas,
please contact hinduniwas@gmail.com
Doctors wanted
Auckland Regional Migrant Services (ARMS) who are residing in New Zealand.
is trying to make contact with as many unreg- On behalf of Health Workforce, ARMS
istered overseas trained doctors in Auckland as is collecting data on the number of overseas
possible and would appreciate the following in- trained doctors in the Auckland region who
formation being shared through your networks. may be interested and eligible for such a pro-
Health Workforce NZ is currently develop- gramme.
ing the NZ REX Preparation Placement Pro- For more information and to receive a ques-
gramme to assist unregistered International tionnaire, please email Anna Fyfe-Rahal on
Medical Graduates (migrants and refugees) annafr@arms-mrc.org.nz
Dear Community Members
Labour Member of Parliament Dr
Ashraf Choudhary expresses his
deepest sympathy to all those affect-
ed by Saturday’s catastrophic earth-
quake in the Canterbury.
“As Associate spokesperson for
Ethnic Affairs I also extend sympa-
thy to the many migrant and ethnic
families whose property and sur-
roundings have been affected by the
disaster.”
“I ask that people please donate
generously to the Red Cross so the
people of Canterbury, in conjunction
with the Civil Defence, Red Cross
staff and volunteers have more re-
sources to further assist the commu-
nity and to help with the reconstruc-
tion of damaged infrastructure and
buildings in Christchurch.
TO MAKE A DONATION TO THE
CANTERBURY EARTHQUAKE
APPEAL:
Phone: 0900 33 200.
or
By sending a cheque (made payable
to: New Zealand Red Cross) to: Can-
terbury Earthquake Appeal, Red
Cross House, PO Box 12140, Thorn-
don, Wellington 6144
100% of all money donated to the
Canterbury Earthquake Appeal will
go to the Appeal
Please forward this message to
all family, friends and community
members who may have been affect-
ed by this disaster.
17
Indian
The way to a better life
“There’s a Better Way” is the brainchild of Mt
Roskill community constable Glen Green, to
work with local youth and break down the bar-
riers between police and locals and create path-
ways for positive changes in their lives.
At the start of the project in January, Mr
Green was introduced to Malcolm, an unem-
ployed 19-year-old who had been in trouble with
the law.
Mr Green says he asked Malcolm how he
could help him, to which Malcolm replied that
he wanted to be a fireman, and had never been
fishing.
Glenn also arranged for Malcolm to go
fishing and also arranged for him to experience
first how it is being a fireman. Now Malcolm is
a changed personality and works for Gilmours
and has severed his gang ties.
“For ex-gang member Fred Tanuvasa, being
committed to the project has also started a new
phase in his life. He became involved through
Malcolm and also went on the fishing trip.
“He told me what it was all about and just last
minute, I went down there,” Fred says. “Every-
thing seemed to all come together.
I don’t have any symptoms so
why should I have a smear test?
A smear test can detect changes to cells on the cervix. It’s important to find
those changes before they can develop into cancer.
Cervical cancer is caused by the Human Papillomavirus (H PV). Most women
who have been sexually active will have H PV at some stage in their lives.
Generally the virus just goes away by itself but in a few cases it can lead to
cervical cancer.
Usually, there are no symptoms so it’s important to have a smear test every
three years – even if you are no longer sexually active.
A smear test could save your life.
Contact your nurse, doctor or
local health worker for an appointment.
Call 0800 729 729 for more information.
Or visit www.cervicalscreening.govt.nz
18
“It’s made a big impact on my life. It’s made
me a better person, a better husband, a better
brother, a better father.”
Fred also decided to give up his gang affili-
ations and is now a mentor for local youngsters.
“It was a time in my life that I needed to do
it, not only for my family but for myself and the
community,” he says. “It’s where my heart is
now.”
He understands how many of the local
youth feel and it was one of the main reasons he
decided to get on board.
“They should be able to have doors opened
for them as well,” he says. “The media puts them
as the worst kids in Auckland. It’s about time
they were exposed for the good things they do.”
He says There’s a Better Way has helped
break down the barrier between locals and the
police and he feels he is now judged as a person,
not as an ex-gang member.
Glen who is the driving force behind this
project, is passionate about working with
local youth and creating pathways for positive
changes in their lives. Local community leader
and social worker Ram Rai is also actively as-
sisting Glen in these activities which have made
the Wesley area almost crime free – which
once used to be a hotbed of criminal and gang
related activity. This project has been declared
by the best community project of the year by the
Auckland City Council and a certificate and a
momento has been awarded to Glen. Local and
national politicians including the police minis-
ter have visited Glen and are seeking his help
to roll out this program on a nationwide basis.
If you want to contribute to this cause of find
out how to start this program in your suburb and
transform your neighbourhood into relatively
crime free by involving the youth, contact Ram
Rai on 021655922 or Community Constable
Glen Green on 021 810 095.
Don’t put it off.
NCSP1360
Dinner raises $15,000 for National
Prime Minister John Key was the guest of honour
at the fund raising dinner organised by Dr. Jackie
Blue, MP, at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre in Eden
Terrace on August 20.
The event raised more than $15,000 in ticket
sales and auction items for the Mt. Roskill National
Party.
Dr. Blue thanked the Electorate Chair and his
team for the hard work in the electorate. She ac-
knowledged the Prime Minister’s strong leadership
and his support for Mt. Roskill.
In his speech, Mr Key noted that Dr. Jackie Blue
was a very passionate and hard working MP in the
caucus. He said that she was full of enthusiasm and
came with new ideas every time she visited his
office. Prime Minister even reminisced about the
wonderful and upbeat reception his team received
when they arrived in Mt. Roskill on the last leg of
2008 election campaign.
The event was attended by over 150 people from
Prime Minister John Key, Ram Rai and MPs Jackie Blue and Kanwalji Singh Bakshi at the fund raising dinner.
International carnival in Auckland
New Zealand’s first International Carnival is to be
held in Auckland in November 2010 and Indian
community groups and residents are being invited
to participate.
Just like the ‘Holi’ Festival of Colours in India,
the two-day festival extravaganza will offer visitors
the opportunity to experience the dazzling spec-
tacular of Carnival and celebrate the melting pot of
cultures and people that makes Auckland unique.
The carnival has received support from Indian
communities across the Auckland region as also
Latin Americans, Pacific Islanders, Asian, Euro-
pean, and African groups.
The event will feature a Costume Carnival
Parade, which includes Bollywood theatre and
dance, providing a blend of creativity, colours and
sounds.
There will be something for all the family to
enjoy, with plenty of free activities including the
fun picnic area with an outdoor cinema, a Kid’s
Zone, food and craft stalls and community perfor-
mances.
There will also be a Blue Light Disco running
on both days, a Masquerade Charity Ball, dance
competitions, an all night Carnival After Party
East Tamaki Health Care notches success
East Tamaki Healthcare has been adjudged the
finalist in Westpac Manukau Business Awards in
tow categories: Cogita Excellence in Innovation
and Strategy and RSM Prince Excellence Award
in Service Delivery.
The company is a Primary Care Managed
Clinical Network that provides extended hours,
low cost, high quality general practice and accident
and medical care services to patients, 75 per cent of
these being Maori and Pacific peoples and residing
in Counties Manukau.
Dr Kantilal Patel, better known as Kantibhai
has led the business as a visionary. In 2009 his
services were recognised with a Queens Service
Medal. He was also awarded Distinguished Fellow
of the Royal New Zealand College of General
Practitioners.
His leadership has been instrumental in
ETHC’s success in winning a number of awards.
His charitable work within South Auckland Com-
munities continues to inspire as a clinical leader,
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Community
various communities. Among the guests were Kan-
waljit Singh Bakshi MP, Sam Lotu-liga MP, Peter
Goodfellow, President of National Party, Auckland
City Councillor Paul Goldsmith, Prithipal Singh,
Chairman of National Party Global Indian and
several other community and business leaders.
The Mt. Roskill Chair and the Northern Re-
gional Chair of National Party, Ram Rai, welcomed
the Prime Minister and the guests. Mr. Rai spoke
about the progress National Party had made under
the leadership of Dr. Jackie Blue and the challenges
that lay ahead for National to win in the Mt. Roskill
electorate in 2011.
The event, co-sponsored by the Global Indian
of National Party, was a night of happy mingling,
interspersed with entertainment by Ratna Venkat
with her superlative classical dance performance,
and Viraf Toddywalla & team with electrifying
Bollywood-themed gyrations.
which includes Bollywood music, and entertain-
ment involving local performers and international
acts from Jamaica and Denmark.
The Auckland International Carnival concludes
on Sunday night with a spectacular display of daz-
zling fireworks and pyrotechnics.
The best of Indian cultures and the rest of the
world will come together at the carnival.
More information at www.aucklandinternational-
carnival.co.nz or 09-908-0116.
When: Saturday 6 November and Sunday 7
November 2010
Where: Ellerslie Racecourse, 80-100 Ascot
Avenue, Greenlane East, Auckland
business entrepreneur and philanthropist.
His wife Ranjna, a founder and executive di-
rector of the business leads the human resource
and community arms of the business and was also
awarded the Queens Service Medal for services to
the community. Together they build the inspiration,
vision, strategies and most importantly provide
the confidence that the work we do is rewarding,
leading and respected.
The company firmly believes in Meeting
Patient needs; Delivering clinical innovations
using systems and tools to deliver quality, safe and
efficient medical care; building confident teams;
Inspirational Leadership and has won the highest
standard accreditation and evaluation – ensuring
we lead the market in professional systems and
regulations
The NZ government policy of Better, Sooner,
More Convenient is exactly the model of Commu-
nity Care that it has been developed over the past
15 years.
Indian
Big B takes on abusive blogger
Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Amitabh
Bachchan is not taking the issue of the abusive
blogger lightly and on Sunday he wrote, he
could be a gentleman only ‘up to a point’.
The 67-year-old actor is seriously miffed
with this person who apparently writes abusive
comments on his blog and sends him derogatory
text messages and has already lodged a police
complaint against the person.
“There is a limit to which this can be tol-
erated. I can be a gentleman but only up to a
point. But beyond that I shall stop being one,”
he wrote.
“There is a serious effort by a member that
writes and comments on this blog to use lan-
guage and expression that is abusive, filthy and
utterly disgusting,” Bachchan had written in a
recent blog post.
He said, “This individual has been sending
me the most unprintable abuse on sms on my
phone. I have, after great tolerance for many
months, now reported the matter to the police.”
Seen as one of the most sincerest of celebrity
Confirmed: Katrina is single
Mumbai: It wouldn’t be incorrect to say the Kat’s
out of the bag finally as on Thursday Katrina
Kaif, apparently for the first time without any
‘conditions applied’,
mouthed the words,
“Yes, I am single”.
U n s u r p r i s i n g l y,
while the Bollywood
beauty was at a press
conference upon being
made the brand ambas-
sador of the flag carrier
airline of Abu Dhabi,
UAE, some reporter
pitted the ‘Are you
single?’ question at her.
She seemed to go
into her customary
diplomatics for a while
when she said things
like, “Until the time
you are married I think
you’re single,” but finally yielded to the scribes’
pickings and said “At the moment, to answer
your question, yes I am single.”
Without revealing too much though, she said,
“If you commit to something you must stand by
it. But if you have committed to something and
situations change, well then maybe the commit-
Gurdas Maan to get doctorate in world music
Mumbai: Punjabi singer Gurdas Maan was hon-
oured with a Doctorate in World Music from
The University of Wolverhampton on Sept 7, in
United Kingdom.
Maan will now be amongst those few artists
in the world that have had the privilege of being
worthy of a Doctorate in Music. Others include
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Bollywood
bloggers who writes his heart out on his blog,
the Big B said he has been getting plenty of
sympathy from the media, his friends and even
ENJOY
from within the police who are promising action
against the perpetrator.
“For the entire day there has been a barrage
of messages of support, of wanting to catch the
culprits and take them to task, of grave indigna-
tion and of being incensed by this show of abso-
lute garbage that has been directed towards me,”
he tweeted on Sunday.
Indicating that the blogger might be one
from outside India, the actor said, “Soon there
shall be a sharing of details, not just in India but
endless
in the country of its origin.”
What enraged him most perhaps is the fact
that the person apparently targeted the hate
messages at the Bachchan’s family.
“You go to the level of so much as touching
my family and little innocent grand children
and you shall have to pay extremely dearly,”
entertainment
this festive season!
49
Big B warned.
Installation $ *
ments also change.”
The 26-year-old actress has been specu-
latively paired with Bollywood hunk Salman
Khan for quite some time
but the duo almost never
acknowledged their rela-
tionship publicly. only
“Whatever decisions
you have to take [in your
personal life], it’s very
difficult to take them, and
if you have to take them
in front of everybody [...]
I think that’s a little bit
more than I can handle,”
she said.
“If Salman Khan
has said he’s single and
I’ve also said I’m single,
beyond that I don’t
think it’s not correct to
comment any more,”
“Over the last six years I have never com-
mented on who I am with, if there’s a break up,
if there’s an argument, whatever the situation
may be, I have not commented on that. I know
it’s irritating but if you can just respect that,”
Katrina said.
Sir Paul McCartney, Bill Cosby and Bob Dylan.
“I am both touched and thankful for this
recognition and I will continue entertaining my
audience like always,” said Maan.
Maan is also going to perform live at The
Royal Albert Hall in April 2011 in a special
show organised by UK Box Office.
19
Indian
“I will be doing dangerous stunts”
She has won accolades for her power packed performances and has a National Award in her kitty. And now
Priyanka Chopra will be seen in an all-new avatar — playing the host and anchor in Khatron Ke Khiladi 3. The
actress is already off to Brazil with 13 of her khiladis who are all set to perform death-defying stunts in a bid to
win the crown. The actress spoke to TWF correspondent Gaurav Sharma on the show and more.
What made you sign Khatron Ke Khiladi
when you are already packed with back-
to-back shooting?
You are right. I have number of projects in hand
right now and have been extremely busy , but I
always like being busy with work.
So you are ready to take up more proj-
ects?
(Smiles) See, this show required only 20 days of
my schedule in August and I had dates available.
Moreover, Khatron Ke Khiladi is a successful
show and who doesn’t want to be associated with
a successful show. I have been a fan of Khatron
Ke Khiladi from the first season and since I am
hosting it this time I am really looking forward to
it. In fact this show goes perfectly with my per-
sonality.
Akshay (Kumar) had taken this show to a
different height. And now it’s your turn to
take it forward from here…
(Smiles again) Akshay was fabulous in the first
two seasons of the show and yes he took it to a
whole new level. It’s because of him people can
relate to the show. I am extremely excited about
the show and taking it forward in its new avatar.
But your styles must be different…
We both are different personalities and have our
Mom Hema Malini as Yashoda-maa and
beti Ahana Deol in ‘Krishna-avataar’
Actress-producer-danseuse Hema Malini , ap-
pointed as one of the vice-presidents of a na-
tional Indian political party, was dedication
personified, as she depicted a spiritual dance
ballet ‘Yashoda-Krishna’ at the Juhu ISKCON
center (Mumbai) where she played ‘Yashoda’
. What seemed an intriguing suspense for the
audience. as to ‘who’ was performing the adult
Krishna character, as the name was not declared
in advance. Eventually as the finale segment
concluded, it turned out
to be none other than
Hema’s younger daugh-
ter Ahana Deol clad in
an ornate costume and
turban who was graceful-
ly playing the male char-
acter of Lord Krishna.
Little wonder than
the shy, bashful Deol
girl who is a otherwise a
budding fashion-designer
won thundering applause
as she took her bow
and chanted the ‘Hare
Krishna’ mantras on
stage. Enthused trained
Odissi danseuse Ahana,
“Its so overwhelming
when the audience con-
nects with you .For me
its an ecstatic honour
to play Kishen Kanhaiya
that too with my real-life
mother as Yashoda-mai-
yya. Even in Haridwar,
I recently performed with my mom where she
played Dharti Maa and I played Ganga and we
received a fabulous response,” she says.
Had her designing passion taken a ‘back-
seat’ with her frequent commitments to dance
ballets ? “On the contrary, I am also busy with
my ‘in-house’ multi-product designer store
called ‘Rabbithole’ ( inspired from the fable
‘Alice in Wonderland’ ) which is being operated
from our family Juhu bungalow, as the rentals
for hiring outside commercial premises are too
20
individual styles. As a host I will be a friend when
the contestants need one and a motivator when
they are feeling low. And I am waiting to have
some fun at their expense, as I am going to put
them through some real difficult challenges.
What about the stunts? Do we get to see
you doing stunts as well?
I have already shot for the promos in Bangkok,
which was really fun. I got to do some exciting
stunts there and now that I am in Brazil will be
doing some exciting and dangerous stunts. In fact
I have had the experience of doing some stunts in
films like Don and Drona, which were again very
interesting and exciting. I have been training hard
for the last few months under the supervision of
world-class stunt directors. It’s quite possible that
you may see me doing stunts even wearing high
heels. (Smiles)
You are one of those few actors today
who has tasted success within a short
time in your career…
I consider myself extremely lucky. I have been
fortunate to get the opportunity to work with
some of the most amazing people in the industry
at such a young age. It gives me a high and I am
looking forward to working in many more inter-
esting projects.
Ranvir, Konkona
exorbitant.
Besides my designer wear with my brand-
name ‘Ahana’ , the store will also exhibit
tie the knot
Mumbai: Bollywood’s Bong sensation
various exotic accessories as also paintings and
Konkona Sen Sharma tied the knot with
photographs of young artists and also food stuff
like jams and pastries and even several types of VJ turned actor Ranvir Shorey on Friday,
gourmet food cooking oil. media reports said.
Wasn’t Ahana designing outfits for her
home-production ‘Tell Me O Khuda’ now being The pair had been dating each other for
directed by her mom ( Hema) ? She counters, nearly three years and media reports said
“Not the entire movie. they were in a live-in relationship for some
Just a few of them and time now. The marriage took place at a
also for my sister Esha Goregaon house on Friday, with only few
and dad Dharmendra close relatives and friends attending the
who is also part of the function.
cast. When ‘off-screen’,
my mom wore one of
Earlier, the couple had kept not only their
my ethnic-streak jackets,
over denims, it gave me a marriage plans completely secret, but they
huge high. Designing for hardly even discussed their relationship
someone who is hailed to media. Talented Konkona Sen Sharma
as the ‘original dream- is the daughter of legendary Bengali film
girl’ was a dream-come- actress and director Aparna Sen.
true for me,” she giggles
with a gleam in her eyes. Konkona has acted in several critically ac-
Meanwhile, how was claimed films like ‘Mr, and Mrs. Iyer’, ‘Page
madame Hema Malini 3’, ‘Wake up Sid’ ‘Life in a Metro’ and ’15
who was seen in a pivotal Park Avenue’, earning a name for her pow-
character in Luv (Sha-
SRK surprises Kareena, Arjun
trughan) Sinha’s recent
debut movie Sadiyaan,
managing her multiple
‘avataars’ which include Mumbai: It was a pleasant surprise for the actors of
film production, dance Karan Johar’s upcoming movie ‘We Are Family’,
concerts and socio- as superstar Shah Rukh Khan reached the sets,
political responsibility . where the actors were shooting a promotional in-
After a brief pause she reacts, “Whatever multi- terview for the film.
tasking I am doing, is thanks to the spiritual If media reports are to be believed, SRK
inner strength given to me by Lord Krishna. visited the sets when glamorous Kareena Kapoor
And I will continue to perform dance concerts and hotbod Arjun Rampal were shooting a pro-
endlessly---as long as I am able to do so,” she motional interview for their upcoming movie on
shrugs with a radiant (read ‘divine’) glow on her Wednesday evening.
charismatic face. A surprised Arjun Rampal tweeted about
this incident on Twitter for his fans: “surprised
- Chaitanya Padukone Kareena & me by walking into the midst of our in-
terview saying he was part of the family& should
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Bollywood
Your next film Anjaana Anjaani is set to release
and expectations are once again high, more so
because you are paired opposite Ranbir Kapoor
for the first time.
Yes with Anjaana – Anjaani I am paired opposite
Ranbir Kapoor for the first time. He is one of the
finest actors we have today. We had a blast shoot-
ing for the film. We shot in great locations like
New York, Bangkok and Las Vegas and the cast
and crew were pretty much of the same age. We
used to hang out together after the shoot and have
a lot of fun.
And Saath Khoon Maaf with Vishal
Bhardwaj is once again a big film for
you…
It’s always been great working with Vishal Sir.
This is the second time I will be working with
him after Kaminey. I am so lucky to have got this
opportunity to work with him on this film. It’s a
great film and the role is by far the most challeng-
ing for me given that I play a character, which
ages from 20 to 65. I hope everyone likes it.
So are you happy with the way your
career has shaped?
This is definitely one of the best periods of my
career. I am happy because I am being given
the opportunity to do such interesting roles. I
couldn’t have asked for more!!!
er-
house perfor-
mances in each. Ranvir too has
earned kudos for his acting in a number of
Bollywood movies like Khosla Ka Ghosla,
Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Aaja Nachle, Mithya
and Singh Is Kinng.
More over, Ranvir’s latest film, ‘The Film
Emotional Atyachar’, also released on
Friday.
So it will be interesting to see how his
film performs at the box office with a new
beginning in his life.
be interviewed, ROCKSTAR.”
“is by far the most endearing person thank
you for today,” posted Rampal, speaking about his
‘Om Shanti Om’ co-star Shah Rukh Khan.
SRK was shooting near the place where
Kareena and others were shooting their interview,
media reports stated.
However, SRK is busy these days with his up-
coming movie ‘RA.One’.
The movie is produced by Khan’s production
company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and will
feature King Khan himself along with Kareena
and Arjun.
Indian
Bollywood
Divya being kept under wraps (Janmashtami) Dahi-Handi broken
in a ‘disco’ by female ‘Govinda’
Deviating from the age-old traditional norm Soketu Parikh explains, “Celebrating Jan-
of the dahi-handi being broken by male pyra- mashtami is a spiritual journey and a form of
mids as they dance to live frenzied music on self-expression. Breaking the dahi handi is a
the streets, a bevy of symbolical team-work
‘female’ models and act and has several
socialites enacted the spiritual and artis-
‘matki-todo’ ritual at tic connotations. It’s
the indoor nightclub a fabulous encounter
‘Enigma’ even as the D with the cosmic energy
J spun loud ethnic tunes of Lord Krishna,
. Ironically, at this ‘Jan- which can infuse fresh
mashtami’ revelry, energy into some of
there were no female the flippant, casual
pyramids. Instead, youth of today. In this
two male hunks ‘Bigg ‘Kalyug’, it is impor-
Boss’ winner Vindoo tant to understand the
Dara Singh and Sud- ‘leela’ of Lord Krishna
hanshu Pandey liter- to live a stress-free
ally indulge in the ‘lift life in today’s world of
karaa de’ process in pressure, anxiety, fear
this ‘self-break-your- and competition.”
handi’ event conceived Enthused Vindoo,
and convened by who is part of this Bol-
Mumbai: The latest cat-out-of-the-box is per- They must find ways to wriggle out of his eminent ‘soul’ painter- lywood comic movie
taining to Mukta Arts’ upcoming film ‘Hello control and unite to cook up their own scheme artist Soketu Parikh called ‘Thank You’
Darling’ and the fact that actress Divya Dutta to be free of him and his notorious intentions actor-model Sudhans- directed by Anees
seems nowhere in promotion of the film. once and for all. hu Pandey and Bazmee, “My family
The movie has Divya Dutta playing the role Who outsmarts whom is the basis of this politico MLA and I have always
of a Gujrati housewife to actor Javed Jaffrey comedy and that’s where Divya’s character Pratap Sarnaik . They been ardent devotees
whereas in entire promotion of the film, only comes in to the limelight; she plays the role of eventually elevated a of Lord Krishna . And
the three glam girls-Gul Panag, Eesha Koppi- ‘Purvi bhain’ in the movie. tall, leggy upcoming I guess this devia-
kar Narang and Celina Jailtly- and Javed Jaffrey This is the first time when Divya will be NRI model from London ( Najia K ) to grab the tion tonight was in keeping with the ‘natkhat’
are visible. seen in a ‘Gujju’ avatar. So it would be prefect coconut levitating at about 15 feet and shatter (naughty) nature of the young Krishna, who
Be it hoardings, posters of the film TV to suggest here that the actress is on a roll. the ‘handi’ amidst deafening applause from was always up to some startling antics.It was
Promos or news items, Divya’s presence is just There’s no doubt that Divya has proved the celeb guests which included noted director all in good fun that we decided at the spur of
negligible. herself as a versatile actress and it is her versa- Ramesh Sippy (of ‘Sholay’) with his actress- the moment to give the novice girls a helping
However, there is no enmity or personal tility that lands her with roles which have strong wife Kiran Joneja and leading fashion designer hand in elevating the tallest of them to crack the
grudge involved in it but all a part of the planned rural dialects. Rohit Verma who clutched a soft handi-crafted handi,”he chuckled away.
publicity. But guess what, the dame is not cribbing at icon of Krishna. The creatively inclined artist - Chaitanya Padukone
It was a conscious call from the Director and all, in fact, these movies have proved to be lucky
Producer of the film to keep Divya hidden in the for her, at least that’s what she believes.
publicity, because they felt it is one of the most Similar is the case with Hello Darling, where
important characters in the film and basis for again Divya will try her dialect luck.
the story to excel. There is a punch line in the movie that she
The makers of the film wanted to keep their uses quite often, ‘Sudhar Jao Hardik Bhai Nahi
audience engrossed with surprise and while toh Guzar Jao Ge’.
filming only it was decided that Divya’s charac- Another film is ‘Haat: The Weekly Bazaar’,
ter will not be exposed much. she plays the role of Sanja, a Rajasthani woman.
The film about three young, beautiful, smart In this movie she has to learn Rajasthani and
girls (Gul Panaag, Eesha Koppikhar Narang considering the entire movie has a strong Raja-
and Celina Jaitley), who work in a fashion sthani influence she even had to learn the small-
design company in Mumbai. Each are targets of est detailing of the language.
their lusty boss (Javed Jaffery), who eventually Call them her lucky charms or her hard
manages to trap them all a sticky situation in work… these movies work for this Bollywood
which all three are made to dance to his tunes. damsel.

Rajinikanth’s daughter
weds Chennai boy
C

Chennai: Superstar Rajinikanth’s daughter Soundarya wed entrepreneur Ashwin Ramku-

CM

mar in a star-studded ceremony here on Friday, with politicians to film stars blessing the MY

young couple. CY
The wedding took place at the Rani Meyyammani Hall, where a special ‘mandapam’
was decorated in muted gold colour and rows of white flowers to lend an air of traditional CMY

grandeur to the occasion. K

The second daughter of the southern superstar, Soundarya was dressed in a traditional
red saree with temple jewelery as she got married to her Stanford graduate husband in Tamil
Brahmin tradition.
Clad in a simple dhoti and shirt Rajinikanth and his wife Lata received the guests,
which included who’s who of the political as well as entertainment arena.
Union Home minister P Chidambaram arrived with his family as did Tamil Nadu chief
minister M Karunanidhi and MDMK general secretary Vaiko.
Veteran director K Balachander, music director Mani Ratnam, actor Suhasini, poet Vai-
ramuthu, singer P Susheela, actors Sivakumar and Prabhu were also among those present.
Rajinikanth, in a message to his fans, asked their blessings for the couple and said that
though he wanted to invite them all, space constraints and logistical problems prevented
him from doing so.
The formal engagement took place on Thursday and a reception on the occasion was at-
tended by actor Sridevi and her producer husband Boney Kapoor, the star couple Aishwarya
and Abhishek Bachchan and Union minister Alagiri.
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa is likely to miss the reception as she is
out of station on party works.

Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 21

Indian

22 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian
“Motherhood is a
great experience”
Kajol has always turned the most ordinary scripts into
something extraordinary. Happy being a wife and mother,
and awaiting a second motherhood now, she will be seen on
screen playing a mother this time, in We Are Family. The ever-
bubbly actress speaks to Gaurav Sharma.
You will be once again experienc-
ing motherhood. Seems everyone is
excited in the family — Ajay (Devgun),
your daughter Nysa and everyone.
Oh yes… smiles. It’s not only me, everyone in
the family is eagerly awaiting that moment. Ev-
eryone in the family is equally excited as I am.
Okay, have Ajay and you already start-
ed looking for a name for your child?
(Laughs) No…no…not yet. But certainly we
will get involved in this in sometime.
You have cut down on films in the last
few years. But now We Are Family is
hitting the screen….
Well it’s not that I have consciously cut down
on films or stayed away from the camera. It’s
about getting the right script at the right time.
And with time, priorities change in life. I have
always balanced that. I took a break even
before I started a family. I have always believed
in good scripts. And I wait for the right script
to come my way. That’s what at times delays
things.
While on one hand We Are Family is
releasing, on the other hand you are
gearing up for motherhood once again?
Seems life has once again made you
busy.
Motherhood is s wonderful experience and
things have certainly started moving at a rapid
pace. It’s not possible for things to move slowly
when you are expecting. Right now, I’m taking
time off to prepare for the hectic days ahead.
We Are Family is again under Karan
Johar. Is it the strong bond of friend-
ship that even after cutting down on
films we get to see you working mostly
with friends?
It is obviously great fun to work with friends
than people you don’t know, and why shouldn’t
I work with friends when the comfort level
is already there. I can work with all kinds of
people as long as I can trust them. I have and
am ready to work with new directors as well.
That We Are Family is an official remake
of a Hollywood blockbuster Stepmom
and that you play Susan Sarandon’s
role will also bring a lot of compari-
sons. Ready for that?
(Smiles) Oh yes we all know that and can avoid
that. It’s obvious that comparisons will happen.
But the effort was to create a script and then
a film which is, Indianised despite being a
remake. We have done our best and We Are
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Family is out and out commercial Bollywood
film and despite being a remake it has the po-
tential to stand for itself with an identity of its
own.
What was so great about the script?
Umm. It all begins with the script and I loved
the screenplay. I loved the character of Maya. It
was so touching…and yes you need to watch it
before I go explaining.
You are happily enjoying life being a
wife and actress. Do you miss not do-
ing more films?
I never did back to back projects. I am lazy
(smiles) . And life is just perfect for me and I
love my life. I am an actress and part of the in-
dustry and will always remain so.
So you are enjoying life…
Oh yes, we are a very happy family.
What about being part of another home
production after U Me aur Hum?
Ajay would love to have me for another home
production but it’s his call. Just because I am
his wife doesn’t make me an obvious choice.
But I hope with a good script he makes me an
offer… (smiles again)
But I get motherhood will make you dis-
appear from films for a while again.
I guess so. It’s a physical thing and you need
to take time out and be there with your child.
I am really fortunate to have a very supportive
family. From my mum-in-law, sis-in-law, Ajay,
Nysa it’s a great family to have.
Are you happy with the way your career
has shaped up?
Happy! I am really happy. I have always ac-
knowledged that because I am at peace with
everything. I am happy with what I am and all
those things that have happened to my career
so far.
Emraan’s Crook to release Oct 8
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi’s
latest film ‘Crook-It’s Good to be Bad’ will hit
the theatres on October 8.
Produced under the banner of Vishesh
Films, the film will highlight the issue of racial
discrimination with Indians abroad, especially
the recent attacks on Indians in Australia.
Emraan Hashmi said: “Strong characters
may carry a weak plot, but weak characters
cannot be hidden by strong plot. My character
in Crook is one of the best characters we have
created in recent times. I am sure my character
in Crook will reach into the collective heart and
pluck the heartstrings of people of every genera-
tion.”
Emraan will be seen romancing newcomer
Neha Sharma in this film.
“I liked playing Suhani, my character in
the film, as she is very close to the real Neha.
It was sheer pleasure working with Mohit as he
is a wonderful story teller and of course Emraan
Hashmi, who has been such a great co-star,”
said Neha.
Directed by Mohit Suri, the film also casts
‘Fashion’ boy Arjan Bajwa.
“A 24-hour convenient store in the Sunshine
District of Melbourne city had an advertisement
on the window, which said ‘accommodation
available for Indian students - for Gujrati boys
only’. That ad ignited the germ of Crook,” said
Mohit.
The story of Crook is about Jai, who has a
knack of getting into trouble. His father was a
gangster, who wanted to reform.
Bollywood
Jai land in Australia as Suraj Bhardwaj and
meet Suhani, an Indian Australian with an un-
adulterated honest vision of ‘one world’.
Her elder brother Samarth was convinced
that Australians had a one-point agenda to bring
Indians down. Jai found his home with the bum-
bling punju boys GoldE and gang. They were
happy go lucky ‘sardar’ boys who knew that the
ticket to heaven was through attaining a perma-
nent residency in Australia.
Jai knew that if he could make Suhani fall in
love with him he could eventually attain perma-
nent residency by marrying her but her brother
was too much of an obstacle. So while Jai was
busy scheming for Suhani’s love he was also
flirting with Nicole, the stripper from a nearby
strip club. But his problems with Nicole were
almost similar to Suhani’s as Nicole’s brother,
Russel, was a rowdy skinhead from the block.
Trouble followed Jai where he tried to run
away from it as he witnessed the cold-blooded
racial assault on Samarth.
Going to the police would mean an inves-
tigation on Jai’s credentials and walking away
would mean losing Suhani. Jai had fled from
India to find a new hassle free life and now
found himself in the heart of a racially disturbed
city.
Jai’s plight grew as the racial attacks spread
across the city. The only way to deal with the
issue at hand was to take the bull by its horns.
He found himself at a crossroad of good and
bad.
23
Indian

24 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 25

Indian

Present

Nrityabhinaya’s
(Anuradha School of Indian Dances)

A Bharat Natyam Dance Drama

Saturday 2nd October 2010

6:30 pm
Venue
Dorothy Winstone Centre
(Auckland Girls Grammar School)
16 Howe Street, Newton

Tickets - $25 & $20

Produced, Directed &
Choreographed by
Mrs Anuradha Ramkumar

For tickets contact Anuradha 09 627 4117 / 021 155 0714, Ramkumar 021 072 0027
Ram Iyer 09 827 0559 / 021 529 982 or Email: sreerama2010@hotmail.com

Its a CFI Ltd Anniversary Presentation

HEALTHCARE PHARMACY
CLENDON
CALVIN ROCHE

26 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian
Cricket in a ‘Spot’
PRASHANT BELWALKAR traces the brief history of spot fixing in world cricket and suggests solutions
The ugly spectre of match fixing is raising its
head again. After the heady days of the 1990s
when Hansie Cronje (South Africa), Moham-
med Azharuddin (India) and Salim Malik (Paki-
stan) were shown the door for Match fixing, the
ghosts have returned to the field of cricket once
more albeit in a new avatar. The news channels
have been having a field day with allegations
of spot fixing by the touring Pakistani team in
England. Cricket is in the midst of a “spot” con-
troversy now.
First of all let us get to understand what is
spot fixing and how different it is from match
fixing. Match fixing is where the outcome of
a match is fixed to favour a team in the league
matches or round robins of a tournament. The
famous example is that of Essex throwing
away a match in 1994 against Lancashire in the
Sunday League championship, in return for a
victory in the County Championship match and
the title the next day. While no one was ever
punished, it did rock the Test and County cricket
board (the predecessor of ECB) at that time. By
1999 the Cronjegate (if it can be called that)
surfaced and the ICC stepped in to root out the
problem. It managed to do so to an extent until
the T20 format came into force!
Spot fixing is about fixing a part of the match.
More precisely it is fixing an over or a crucial
moment of the match. For example a bowler will
bowl deliberate no balls in particular over(s), or
a batsman of high calibre will give a chance in
the slip cordon before scoring say 20 runs. This
is very difficult to detect as it is seen as a part
of the match and there is hardly any room for
pointing fingers. The illegal betting dens in
India, Middle East, Pakistan and to an extent the
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
UK have been all involved in this spot fixing.
While Pakistani players have been accused
of doing that in the recent tours of Australia, and
now England, it is actually Essex once again
which was involved in the
spot fixing row in May this
year. Danish Kaneria (Paki-
stan) and Mervyn Westfield
(England) were two players
allegedly involved in the spot
fixing row and were arrested
by the police and later re-
leased on bail. Mohammed
Asif, Mohammed Amir and
Salman Butt have been the
latest to get nabbed by Scot-
land Yard after a bookie re-
vealed his involvement with
the players in spot fixing.
Many allege that spot
fixing is rampant in India,
Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
However, the problem is
more deep rooted than just
the sub continental coun-
tries. The fact that there is lot
of money now in these coun-
tries is not helping matters
and the absence of official
betting agencies makes the
matter even worse. (England
hides under the garb that betting is legal in that
country, but no headlines are made when their
own counties are involved in spot fixing.)
Can spot fixing be actually done? That is
the moot question. Having played cricket for
a number of years and watched it from close
quarters, I can make a bold claim, that this is
not possible without the captain of the team
being involved. It is the captain who decides
which bowler gets to bowl, the batting order,
etc, so without his knowl-
edge it is nearly impos-
sible to achieve the desired
results of spot fix. In ad-
dition to that, you need at
least 3-4 key players on
your side to play the ball
with spot fixing. How else
could you conjure up no-
balls or missed catches
without them being on your
side? The recent case of
Kamran Akmal fumbling
the easiest of chances, Asif
bowling no balls at regular
intervals, all bring to mind
the same question – is this
real or fixed!
Money corrupts, is an
old adage and unless the
ICC and BCCI take strong
steps, this will bring the
downfall of cricket. For
ICC it is in international
matter, but for BCCI it is
more important as their fat
cheques are due to the pop-
ularity of the game and the huge fan following.
If this disease is not weeded out, the fans will
quickly turn away from the sport as doubts will
start creeping about the records, wins and loses.
Given that ICC is headed by Sharad Pawar, the
onus on BCCI is much stronger to come forward
Feature
with a plan to root this out in India itself. BCCI
should take the lead with the Government and
make it clear that any player found to be working
with the bookies will face immediate life ban
from all forms of cricket and criminal proceed-
ings will be initiated.
But will the mandarins in BCCI have the
guts to do so? Given the political way of life they
are accustomed to and the attitude of turning a
blind eye to happenings seems like the ostrich
syndrome. It won’t be long before sponsors start
pulling out if this goes on. Master Blaster Sachin
Tendulkar made a telling comment that never
ever has anybody approached the Indian team.
Maybe he has forgotten the Mohammed Azha-
ruddin incident or funny enough; the cricketers
in India are now making so much money with
endorsements that they may probably be not
tempted by the spot bookies’ offerings. But the
same is not the case with every player in the
subcontinent. Most of them come from a very
hard economic background and given the selec-
tion process is most whimsical in countries like
Pakistan and Bangladesh, it is no wonder that
the players are lured into big money by the spot
bookies.
While this may sound a bit farfetched, ICC
needs to look at the option of pay parity across
member nations (based on local pay scales as
well) and also regarding the structure of cricket
and selection boards in these countries. Maybe
then we might see some sanity back into the
game. The game has a huge fan following and
if ICC wants Cricket to flourish, then they have
to take some hard decisions and not politically
motivated ones. Only then will Cricket be “spot-
less”.
27
Indian
Why they loved India?
ram lingam
Read why the wise and the famous loved and respect India - in their own words. Their sayings help us see and
feel what ancient India was like and the importance that it played in the history of the human race.
On first encountering India, many European
and American scholars, scientists were often
genuinely moved by the intelligence, wisdom
and antiquity of India’s continuous civilization.
The underlying feature of the Indian culture,
that of the Vedic philosophy also got their at-
tention.
Here is a presentation of quotations by
prominent scholars, historians and authors like
Will Durant, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein,
Max Mueller, Romain Rolland, et al that indi-
cate why they loved India.
• Adolf Seilachar & P.K. Bose, scientists:
“One Billion-Year-Old fossil prove life began
in India: AFP Washington reports in Science
Magazine that German Scientist Adolf Sei-
lachar and Indian Scientist P.K. Bose have
unearthed fossil in Churhat a town in Madhya
Pradesh, India which is 1.1 billion years old and
has rolled back the evolutionary clock by more
than 500 million years.”
• Albert Einstein, American scientist: “We
owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to
count, without which no worthwhile scientific
discovery could have been made.”
• Dr Arnold Toynbee, British Historian: “It
is already becoming clear that a chapter which
had a Western beginning will have to have an
Indian ending if it is not to end in the self-de-
struction of the human race. At this supremely
dangerous moment in history, the only way of
salvation for mankind is the Indian way.”
28
• Emmelin Plunret: “They were very ad-
vanced Hindu astronomers in 6000 BCE. Vedas
contain an account of the dimension of Earth,
Sun, Moon, Planets and Galaxies.” (‘Calendars
and Constellations’)
• Henry David Thoreau, American Thinker
& Author: Whenever I have read any part of
the Vedas, I have felt that some unearthly and
unknown light illuminated me. In the great
teaching of the Vedas, there is no touch of sec-
tarianism. It is of all ages, climbs, and nation-
alities and is the royal road for the attainment of
the Great Knowledge. When I read it, I feel that
I am under the spangled heavens of a summer
night.
• Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to
USA: “India conquered and dominated China
culturally for 20 centuries without ever having
to send a single soldier across her border.”
• Lancelot Hogben: “There has been no more
revolutionary contribution than the one which
the Hindus (Indians) made when they invented
ZERO.” (‘Mathematics for the Millions’)
• Mark Twain, American author: “India is,
the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of
human speech, the mother of history, the grand-
mother of legend, and the great grand mother of
tradition. Our most valuable and most instruc-
tive materials in the history of man are trea-
sured up in India only.”
• Max Mueller, German scholar: If I were
asked under what sky the human mind has most
fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has
most deeply pondered on the greatest problems
of life, and has found solutions, I should point
to India.
• P. Johnstone: “Gravitation was known to
the Hindus (Indians) before the birth of Newton.
The system of blood circulation was discovered
by them centuries before Harvey was heard of.”
• Romain Rolland, French scholar: “If there
is one place on the face of earth where all the
dreams of living men have found a home from
the very earliest days when man began the
dream of existence, it is India.”
• Schopenhauer: “Vedas are the most re-
warding and the most elevating book which can
be possible in the world.” (Works VI p.427)
• Sir W. Hunter, British Surgeon: “The
surgery of the ancient Indian physicians was
bold and skilful. A special branch of surgery
was dedicated to rhinoplasty or operations for
improving deformed ears, noses and forming
new ones, which European surgeons have now
borrowed.”
• Sir William Jones, British Orientalist: “The
Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity is
of wonderful structure, more perfect than the
Greek, more copious than the Latin and more
exquisitely refined than either.”
• Wheeler Wilcox: “India - The land of
Vedas, the remarkable works contain not only
religious ideas for a perfect life, but also facts
which science has proved true. Electricity,
INDIA THROUGH MY EYES
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Eyes’. How you managed to capture its
geography, diversity, rich glory of the past,
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Submit your best-captured memories of
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Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Heritage
radium, electronics, airship, all were known to
the seers who founded the Vedas.”
• Will Durant, American Historian: “It is
true that even across the Himalayan barrier
India has sent to the west, such gifts as
grammar and logic, philosophy and fables, hyp-
notism and chess, and above all numerals and
the decimal system.”
• William James, American Author: “From
the Vedas we learn a practical art of surgery,
medicine, music, house building under which
mechanized art is included. They are encyclo-
pedia of every aspect of life, culture, religion,
science, ethics, law, cosmology and meteorol-
ogy.”
A study of Indology offers the source of the
information indicated in the above sayings. In-
dology and the history of India’s achievements
helps us understand her past glory - only to
benefit us to be well rooted and have wings to
reach out to the world.
History is not about living in the past as the
famous American historian, writer, and philos-
opher Dr. William Durrant says “It is a mistake
to think that the past is dead. Nothing that has
ever happened is quite without influence at this
moment. The present is merely the past rolled
up and concentrated in this second of time”.
However given the current state of affairs in
India, her past glory still remains unmatched by
modern India.
individual, will not be accepted.
•0 100 photographs will be shortlisted by
a panel of judges for display during Diwali
festivities in Auckland & Wellington.
•0 Submission photographs will not be
returned.
•0 Entrants will be informed by 20th Sep-
tember 2010 about the outcome.
•0 If your entry makes it to the selection,
you are required to send us a high-resolu-
tion copy of the photograph.
•0 In case you don’t have an electronic
copy of the photograph, you need to send
us 2 copies of the selected photo in size
A4 (8x12”)
•0 Photographs displayed at the exhibi-
tion will be of A4 size.
•0 By entering the competition, you agree
that, we have the right to use your photo
for promotions and publicity purposes
before, during and after the competition.
Send you postal entries to:
INDIA THROUGH MY EYES
ASIA NEW ZEALAND FOUNDATION
PO Box 10 144
Wellington – 6143
All electronic copies should be emailed
to Ravi Kambhoj at the following email
address. Please write ‘India Through My
Eyes’ in the subject line.
Email- ravi.kambhoj@me.com
 Indian
Headaches are a pain
Adeela Afiz
Headaches can be extremely painful and frustrat-
ing, impacting on your sense of wellbeing and
ability to function at your very best. If you are suf-
fering from regular headaches, below are some of
the common types and causes with some advice on
how to manage them.
Migraines
Migraines can be the most painful type of head-
ache experienced as well as the type that causes
the most disruption to your daily activities.
They usually occur on one side of the head
with a throbbing or pulsating quality and can also
cause you to become sensitive to light and noise so
that you end up needing to spend the day alone in
bed in a dark room.
If this is what you are experiencing on a regular
basis, see if you can identify the trigger. Migraines
are commonly triggered by certain foods. Some of
the common food triggers include coffee or caf-
feine, wines, cheese, sugar, chocolate and any-
thing with the chemical MSG (a common flavour
enhancer). If you’re prone to headaches and regu-
larly indulge in these foods, eliminate them one by
one from your diet to see if you can find what is
causing your migraines.
Tension-type headaches
These are the most common type of headache that
most office workers can relate to. They feel like a
squeezing band at your temples or a headache that
starts at the back of your head and moves forward
to your temples on both sides.
These headaches tend to increase with stress
and long hours spent in front of your work desk
or computer.
Two things can help to combat these head-
aches:
What should be on your
insurance check list
Oliver Pereira
Most people insure their cars and
properties against damage and loss,
but many neglect to insure their lives
and livelihoods. Even those who have
thought to protect their lifestyles may not
have the levels of cover they need. When
was the last time you assessed the risks
to you and your family?
Life insurance products (sometimes
known as ‘risk’ insurance) are designed
to provide a backup plan to hold things
together when life turns an unexpected
corner.
These products can pay either a lump
sum or monthly payments to the benefi-
ciary in the event that the insured person
dies, or suffers a critical illness or an
illness or accident that prevents them
from earning their usual income and
maintaining their lifestyle and financial
commitments.
So, can you afford not to have insur-
ance?
THINK ABOUT THESE SCENARIOS…
You or a family member needs to go to
hospital to have a major operation (per-
haps for breast cancer or heart bypass)
– would you be prepared to wait on the
public health system for treatment, with
little choice regarding the hospital care
you would receive?
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
“Many people who experience headaches fall into a dangerous trap: You
have a headache, so you take pain medication. But if you stay on it too
long, you set yourself up for rebound headaches, which are headaches
that occur when you try to withdraw from the medication.”
* Drinking lots of water so that you are well
hydrated throughout the day.
* Taking regular breaks with mini stretches.
Rebound headaches
If you find that you are increasingly relying on
pain medications such a Panadol, Neurofen or
other medications to keep the headaches away,
be aware, they might be causing them in the first
place.
Many people who experience headaches fall
into a dangerous trap: You have a headache, so
you take pain medication. But if you stay on it too
long, you set yourself up for rebound headaches,
which are headaches that occur when you try to
withdraw from the medication.
You are unable to work for six months
due to illness or injury – do you have
enough savings to see you through with-
out damaging your long-term financial
goals?
You or your partner suffers a life-chang-
ing and traumatic event such as diag-
nosis of cancer, a heart attack or stroke,
and makes a slow recovery – would you
have enough savings to live on during
recovery and adjustment without adding
financial stress to the situation?
You die suddenly leaving your partner
and children behind – would they cope
financially without an insurance pay-out?
If you have answered ‘No’ to any of
these questions, then you are likely to be
‘carrying’ some level of risk or, in other
words, be underinsured. Doing a lifestyle
check with an insurance adviser will
show whether you have the right kind of
insurance for your stage of life. An Insur-
ance Adviser can help you understand
the risks you are carrying, and provide
advice on how best to manage these
risks within your budget.
For further information, please contact:
Oliver Pereira – OPM Insurance Services
Ltd.
Ph. 0800 66 77 92
Faxmail. 021 551 669
Mobile. 021 66 77 92
Email. oliver.pereira@xtra.co.nz
Rebound headaches can occur from medica-
tions or from caffeine. If you feel like you need to
keep taking painkillers or your daily fix of coffee
to keep your headache away then you need to give
your body a detox.
Try going 3-5 days without taking any medica-
tion or coffee. If you cannot do this, you may need
to come up with a withdrawal plan to slowly wean
yourself off the drugs and stop you body’s depen-
dency on the pills or caffeine.
Cervicogenic Headaches
Your neck is called your cervical spine and some-
times neck pain moves upwards and causes the
pain in your neck to develop into a headache. Pain
can come from weakness or spasms of the neck
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Column
muscles.
Strengthening and stretching your neck and
upper back muscles daily by doing simple stretch-
es or exercise can reduce the pain by easing the
stress and tension stored in your muscles.
Headaches can also be caused from pain that
is referred upwards from the small joints in the
neck called facet joints. This occurs when the
facet joints in our neck get locked up from being in
the same posture or position and causes pain that
travels up our neck and into our heads.
Exercise, as well as chiropractic adjustments
create movement and lubrication in these small
joints and can be very successful in reducing the
pain.
Regular exercise also means that you can have
less regular headaches. It helps relieve stress and
increases the levels of painkilling endorphins.
Yoga, stretching and meditation also help to
reduce tension and thus relax the chemical im-
balances that can cause headaches. Remember
to always keep well hydrated as dehydration is
another leading cause of headaches.
While you can treat your headaches with pain
medication, the better course of action is to find
the cause and stop them from occurring in the first
place. Chiropractic care is a natural and extremely
effective way to help combat all these types of
headaches. We can help you reduce the stress on
your body and reduce pain as well as giving you
exercise and nutritional support to help you live
life without the painful headaches.
For more information or for an appointment,
please call 09 5262100.
- Adeela Afiz is a final-year intern with the New
Zealand College of Chiropractic
29
Indian
Quake, SCF collapse will affect economy – for a while
RAVI MEHTA
Until a couple of weeks ago, it seemed very
likely that Reserve Bank of New Zealand Gover-
nor will lift the OCR in its forthcoming review.
However the global economic environment
is highly uncertain. The economic news around
the globe is giving mixed signals. In New
Zealand also, the overall economic picture is
pointing towards slower recovery.
It is good that households are spending
less and are saving towards retirement of debt.
However, it will keep the pace of economic re-
covery under check.
In addition during last the fortnight, two
major incidents have changed the situation al-
together. At first there was a collapse of South
Canterbury Finance, one of major finance com-
panies in New Zealand. The second one has been
the major earthquake in the Canterbury region.
Both the shocks will have a negative impact on
the economy in the short run, though in the long
run, it will add to GDP growth numbers.
The government will make a large payout
to retail investors of South Canterbury finance
under the deposit guarantee scheme. Major-
ity of investors of these funds will deposit the
payout with other banks, societies and finance
companies. These funds should flow back to
Buying a home computer
Rohan Desouza
Buying a desktop and laptop computer today
can be overwhelming with the staggering
choices available on the market today. There
are computers available today for practically
every budget and need, from high end PCs with
enough grunt to handle any monster applica-
tion thrown at it to the low end PCs with the
bare minimum configuration that can just about
handle most basic office suites. So how do you
go about choosing what’s best for you. Here’re
a few things to consider before you make that
purchase.
Your budget
The most obvious of the lot, pick your budget
to start with. Most computers range from a
couple of hundred dollars through to thousands
of dollars depending on how much you’re will-
ing to spend. Generally speaking the higher
the configuration the more it’s going to cost. If
you don’t really need a new computer or if all
you need a computer for is to some basic word
processing you can always settle for a used
PC. Be aware that used PCs may be past it’s
warranty date and if there is a hardware fault
your computer may well end up in a landfill as
replacement parts for components are harder to
come by the older a computer gets.
Applications, Applications, Applications
This is the key to deciding what you configura-
tion computer you want to buy. Start by decid-
ing what applications you will use the most
now and probably sometime in the future and
pick a computer configuration that matches the
applications you’re using.
It makes no sense investing in a high end
computer if all you plan to run is Microsoft
Word. Conversely if you spend too little and
are aiming to run high end processor intensive
and RAM hogging software like Games and
Multimedia or 3D rendering software, be pre-
pared to spend long hours viewing a flipping
hour glass mouse cursor.
Home entertainment
If you’re into making your computer your
primary entertainment centre, make sure
you get yourself stocked with the following
hardware.
LCD monitor - Most monitors have a 4:3
aspect ratio which is ideal for most work envi-
ronments but for serious home entertainment
30
Column
the economy by way term rates for the last month have decided to go up to 90% , one of
of loans. Some of the majority of banks in those is even ready to go to 95% for good deals.
funds may not be de- New Zealand, partic- Low mortgage rates, shortage of new listings
posited, but spent, cre- ularly two-year fixed and willingness of banks to lend more will help
ating more demand in rates, are very attrac- the housing market in coming few months. We
the market, which will tive right now and it can expect a good springtime for the housing
also help the economic is very appealing. If market provided there is no major financial or
recovery. rates go up in inter- other trouble in any part of the world.
However, in the national markets, this Note: This column is for general guidance
short run, the reserve attractive rate may not only. These are my personal views. Indian
bank governor is not last long. Weekender and I are in no way responsible for
likely to raise OCR, Coming to the any loss suffered by anyone for acting on these.
means floating rate housing market, the My general philosophy is splitting your loan
should stay lower for house prices have and fixing for different maturities to diversify
another three months eased across the the risk. However you should seek the advice of
at least. The longer country during last your financial advisor before deciding on how
term rates will be influ- few months. However, much of your loan to fix and for how long to fix
enced by international recently there has as everyone has a unique financial situation.
factors. Inflation is on been a reduction in Similarly, please weigh your present and ex-
the rise in Australia and new listings. pected financial position carefully before decid-
the Reserve Bank of The banks have ing to buy or sell a property.
Australia will be under started to loosen their
increased pressure to credit criteria a bit. A - Ravi Mehta is an Auckland based Finan-
lift OCR there. It will couple of lenders who cial Advisor and can be contacted on ravi.
put upward pressure on were not going above mehta@pfsl.co.nz. A disclosure statement as
interest rates in New 80% LVR (loan to required under Securities Act 1988 is freely
Zealand. The medium property value) until available on request.
go for a much wider computer. If you’re your computer, it stores all your data from pic-
16:9 or 16:10 aspect looking to get a com- tures through to movies. Make sure you get as
ratio perfect for HD It makes no sense investing in pletely customized big a hard drive as you can afford. In today’s
movies. Buy moni- computer sporting media saturated world the bigger the better.
tors from the bigger a high end computer if all you all your favourite Highly recommended is an external hard drive
brands as you won’t peripherals and also to backup your data.
want to compromise plan to run is Microsoft Word. want to keep the
on your viewing Conversely if you spend too little costs to a minimum Memory / RAM – This is your computers
experience you could always get temporary storage. You’ll need plenty of RAM
A Blueray/DVD and are aiming to run high end an assembled one. to get a decent performance for your machine
player – A DVD While settling for an especially as Operating Systems like Windows
player is the bare processor intensive and RAM assembled one make and OSX get bigger and take up a larger RAM
minimum to get you sure that the operat- foot print leaving less RAM available for your
by but if you’re into hogging software like Games and ing system on your applications. Try and get as much RAM as your
serious HD enter-
tainment a Blueray Multimedia or 3D rendering soft- computer is genuine
and also ask for the
budget will allow you especially if you run mul-
tiple applications at once as each program takes
would be icing on the ware, be prepared to spend long original operating up a certain portion of the RAM when they load
cake. system DVD when up.
Dolby 5.1 sound hours viewing a flipping hour you make your
card - Most decent purchase. A pirated Modem / Wireless router – What your
5.1 surround systems glass mouse cursor. version of Windows computer needs to connect to the internet, this
can kick up a storm will offer no future is mostly provided by your broadband sup-
and cost just a few upgrades and will plier though if you need to access your inter-
hundred bucks so make sure your new system leave your system vulnerable to viruses and net around the house, make sure the modem
sports a sound card that supports a Dolby 5.1 hackers, includes a wireless router. Also don’t forget to
speaker system. There’s nothing more dramatic Here is a quick rundown of basic things that assign a wireless password or you can ask your
than hearing a glass shattering in 3D surround go into a computer and what you need to look geeky neighbour to help out or else you’ll be
when the baddies get taken down. out for in the specs giving free internet access to your neighbour-
Graphics card plus TV tuner – Hook up hood.
your computer to your TV and use it as a re- Motherboard – This holds all your compo-
cording device like the VCR days of old. If you nents together and you if you plan to assemble Processor - If you plan to use your com-
have Vista Home premium or Windows 7 with your PC you should research the best Moth- puter for just running Office applications almost
Media centre you can even set it to record one erboard based on all the components you’re any processor will do but if you run more in-
channel while you watch another channel on looking to have in your computer. Choosing tensive applications look for a Dual core and if
your TV. Though you may soon find yourself the right motherboard is especially important if you’re really seeking demanding applications,
running out of hard disk space so make sure you’re planning to upgrade later. 3D games or if you are a multi tasking demon
you have a large hard disk drive if you want to and if you have the budget, a Quad core would
record TV. Graphics card – This processes and dis- be a good investment.
plays the images on your computer. This can
Mobility either be separate or integrated on your moth- This article covers a few basics about what
If you don’t really need a home theatre and erboard. If you need to run games and other to look for when you buy a computer. In future
prefer to be mobile it makes a lot more sense multimedia software it’s advisable to have a articles I’ll cover, virus and spyware protection,
to get a laptop over a PC. Most new Laptops dedicated graphics card to handle all the heavy Free software for your computer, Mac vs PCs
have wireless broadband built into them so you image processing. This is important if you’re and the mobile computing revolution.
can enjoy the internet anywhere in your house. running Vista or Windows 7 with it’s graphics
Laptops though can tend to be a little slower intensive Aero 3D interface. - The author has been in working with
than their desktop counterparts. computers and computer technology for over
DVD / Blue Ray – Most computers today 15 years. He is chief technology officer, Indian
include a DVD or Blueray player. DVD’s hold Weekender and also runs Moa Creative, a
Branded vs Assembled 4GB while Blue rays discs can hold upto 25GB company that specialises in developing mobile
With plenty of competition from PC manufac- and are costlier than DVDs. applications for the iPhone, iPad and Android
turers along with good customer support and devices. You can contact him by visiting the
warranties it makes sense to go with a branded Hard drive – The most important part of link http://www.moacreative.com
Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
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Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 31

Indian

32 Indian Weekender | September 10, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz