Volume 1 Issue 16

1Indian Weekender | October 17, 2009 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

Domestic violence | 3

IndianIn Focus | 24

October 17, 2009Volume 1, No. 16

Mahatma Gandhi Centre

New Zealand’s first Indian weekend magazine

At a glance

Today’s Exchange Rates

Concern for SrikanthIt’s a fortnight since AUT student Sri-kanth Rayadurgam went missing under mysterious circumstances. Despite a community wide awareness campaign and searches, the investigators have drawn a blank so far. Page 2

Fiji artists in AucklandFive contemporary artists from Fiji came together for an exhibition in response to Fiji Day, 10 October. Well aware of the turbulent events happening at home, the exhibition is a personal response to current issues facing the country. 0

The magic of the sariIt can either ingeniously conceal the ex-tra flab, or it can accentuate the curves of the female form – the humble sari has remained a traditional icon of Indian feminity. But, is the world mourning the dying art of the sari? Page 12

Golden opportunity lostTipped as the energy secretary in Barack Obama’s Cabinet, Sonal Shah was about to become the crown jewel of the Indian diaspora. But a vicious smear campaign, a 21st century version of McCarthyism, by desi fringe academ-ics and bigots stalled a stellar career. Page 15

1 NZD = USD 0.72 INR 34.5 FJD 1.40EURO 0.49

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Bollywood | 31More Indian families

involvedRanbir Kapoor

2 Indian Weekender | October 17, 2009 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian New Zealand

Family waits for SrikanthARVIND KUMAR

The family members of a missing Auckland student are continuing their sleepless nights waiting for their loved brother and brotherinlaw to return home.Srikanth Rayadurgam, 23, a student of AUT,

has been missing since Thursday October 1, when he was last seen leaving his sister’s Mt Albert home to attend classes at the university.“Still no word on Srikanth,” an exhausted

Nagesh Kakanoor told the Indian Weekender on Wednesday.“We are making a plea for anyone who has

any information on Srikanth to come forward,” said Mr Kakanoor who is married to Srikanth’s sister.Mr Kakanoor said he was prepared for the

worst but the family desperately wanted Srikanth home, dead or alive.He said he had found the missing man’s

name badge from the Pizza Hut where he worked parttime, and his scarf. Both were in the water near the marina and close to where his other items were found.“I am strongly thinking there could be some

foul play, big time,” he said.Mr Kakanoor, who has been in New Zealand

for the past seven years, said Srikanth had been in the country since February to study for his Diploma in Hospitality studies, while working as a parttime chef.“It is totally out of character for him to have

disappeared like this,” Mr Kakanoor said.“He was always friendly, bubbly and trust

worthy – no issues at all. He was studying, working and was very happy.”The mystery deepened earlier this week

when police said he had not been at some of his Auckland University of Technology classes since August 17.

But Mr Kakanoor said some of that was holidays and some of the classes were not important, so his brotherinlaw had studied at home. Srikanth, originally from Hyderabaad, was

last seen by Mr Kakanoor’s nineyearold son Rohit as he left their Prospera Terrace home to attend classes at AUT. Earlier, he had spoken to his sister by phone. He has another elder sister who lives in the United States. “His parents in Hyderbaad are devastated,”

Mr Kakanoor said.Srikanth usually went to work at the Shahi

Indian Restaurant at around 5pm, but the family later found out that he had been told to take a day off by the restaurant manager.When Srikanth did not return home by

10pm, the family started getting worried and informed police at 1am as it was out of character for him to stay out without informing them.The next day, a woman found Srikanth’s

wallet near the Westhaven Marina, and contacted the family. Mr Kakanoor said they later went down and

found a shoe, business cards and his backpack (unzipped) in the water. On Saturday, October 3, they found Srikanth’s chef jacket in the water. The police dive team spent whole day

searching the Westhaven Marina area near where Srikanth’s belongings were found but !"#"$%&'$()*"$'&$+%,$(%-'./%01Mr Kakanoor said they were now in the

2#&3"44$ &5$ 2#"2(#/%0$ 6-"#4$ '&$ 27'$ 72$ (#&7%,$the city in the hope someone will come up with some information. Anyone with any information on Srikanth’s

whereabouts on October 1 is asked to contact their nearest police station.MISSING: Srikanth Rayadurgam, missing since October 1; The Prospera Terrace home

in Mt Albert where Srikanth lived with his sister and brotherinlaw.


Indian New Zealand

Worrisome rise in Indian family violence casesSouth Auckland’s Victim Support system is struggling to cope with steadily increasing number of domestic violence cases in the ethnic Indian community and is appealing to the local Indian community to join in as volunteers to offer timely and meaningful help to victims. Sam Tuaoi, Victim Support Coordinator based

at the Otahuhu Police Station, which is responsible for suburbs like Mangere, Otahuhu, Papatoetoe, Middlemore Hospital and surrounds, told Indian Weekender earlier this week that of the 20 or so domestic violence call outs the station receives on a typical average night, as many as 5 – or nearly 20 per cent – are from ethnic Indian households.The problem was rife and growing in both the

Fiji Indian community and Indians from India and other parts of the world, Mr Tuaoi said. With the Fijian Indian community, most cases tended to relate to abuse of the female partner by the male and his family. “There is an overwhelming number of cases

where Fijian Indian women who have chosen the ‘arranged marriage’ route to get into New Zealand to gain permanent residency status here are exploited, abused and then threatened with dire consequences if they dared to speak out,” Julie Lakshman, who manages administration work for Victim Support at the Otahuhu Police Station said.A large number of cases concerned blackmail

– threatening to withdraw sponsorship support in the immigration process or to disown the partner '."#")-$4'#(%,/%0$."#$!/'.$%"/'."#$+%(%3/(*$#"4&7#3es nor shelter and so on, she added, pointing to one case where a young woman recently married and newly arrived in New Zealand was turned out of her house by her husband and his family at 1am.In several cases, reconciliation is reached out

of court leading to a withdrawal of charges by the victim but unfortunately both Constables Rees and 87/*/7($4(/,$'."#"$!(4$($4/0%/+3(%'$/%3/,"%3"$&5$#"offending and charges being pressed all over again.The area’s victim support system has only three

volunteers at present and none of these are ethnic Indians. “It is important to have someone in the team who understands the language, the social mores and context to better understand and assess the underlying dynamics of the situation clearly,” Community Constable Corey Rees told Indian Weekender. “It is easier and more productive for someone

who is familiar with Indian languages and cultural practices to be at the scene to assist the team assess the situation as well as put the victim at ease and

help make decisions for immediate relief,” Com97%/'-$ :&%4'()*"$;/<"$ 87/*7($ (,,",1$ =>'$ /4$ ,"+nitely better for an Indian to be part of the team at an Indian household where there is a situation than say, 4&9"&%"$!.&$/4$;(&#/?$@(3/+3$>4*(%,"#$&#$@(<".(1AReferring to the increase in the number of cases

in recent times, Constable Rees said that though incidences of family violence were always there, more people are now aware of options for a way out and are less averse to speaking about it and contacting the call centre for help. Traditionally, victims were more disposed to suffer in silence so as not to hurt their situation any further or in the interests of the family’s “reputation” in the neighbourhood and among peers, he said. “But now more people have

)"07%$'&$&2"%$'."/#$9&7'.$(%,$+%,$'."/#$B&/3"1AExplaining the role of Victim Support volun

teers, Mr Tuaoi said that those wishing to join would receive a comprehensive training course on developing a range of skills over a period of about six weeks. The training is offered free of cost and once complete volunteers are rostered to be on call about once a week. Costs incurred by volunteers during the course of their volunteering work such as transportation are reimbursed, he said.The next intake and training programme is

scheduled to start in mid November and the Otahuhu team hopes it will receive expressions of interest from communityminded Indians from the area to join in the programme and get trained as volunteers equipped to offer valuable support to the increasing numbers of victims.Indian Weekender joins the New Zealand Police

and Victim Support in appealing to the community to spread the word and get community minded individuals to consider volunteering and helping out particularly Indian victims, with whom they would have a natural empathy and cultural familiarity. You can start by having a chat with Sam Tuaoi by

calling him on 0272240427 or visiting the Otahuhu Police Station on Great South Road, Otahuhu. More information can be accessed at www.victimsupport.org.nzMeanwhile Bharatiya Mandir Temple has met

Ethnic Affairs Minister Pansy Wong about starting a family violence 0800 line. They propose to use their own funding in the beginning. The New Zealand Indian Central Associa

tion (NZICA) has also been looking at setting up a similar project but due to a lack of funding, this has been put on hold.

DEV NADKARNI

More Indian victim support volunteers needed

VICTIM SUPPORT: Community constable Corey Rees, victim support worker Julie Lakshman, coordinator Sam Tuaoi and community constable Mike Tuilua outside the Otahuhu police station.


Indian New Zealand

The wildly selfregulating real estate industry will be governed by an independent body next month when the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 comes in to force. The main difference between this updated Act

and the previous legislation is that it removes the regulatory functions from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, creates an independent Real Estate Agents Authority body to govern the industry, creates an independent Disciplinary Tribunal with the power to cancel licenses and deal with serious 3(4"4?$ (%,$ #"C7/#"4$ /%3#"(4",$ C7(*/+3('/&%4$ (%,$ongoing training requirements for real estate agents.D./*"$%"!4$&5$&5+3/(*$/%,74'#-$!('3.,&04$)"/%0$

appointed may have some shady real estate agents shaking in their boots, most in the industry have 74",$ '."$2(4'$-"(#$ 4/%3"$ /'$!(4$ 3&%+#9",$ '."$E3'$would be made law to prepare for the changes and are ready for a more heavily regulated industry.Property Council president Connal Townsend

said that the new legislation leaves the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand free to focus on professional development and training. “What it does is cement the split between REINZ, devolving disciplinary action to the Crown,” Mr Townsend said.Transparency is also injected in to the real estate

industry with a public register of all real estate agents being compiled, which will record names of industrystandard breaches. “The public will be con+,"%'$'.('$/'$/4$,"(*/%0$!/'.$'#74'",$2#&5"44/&%(*4$(%,$the new Act reinforces this,” said Property Institute of New Zealand president Ian Campbell.One aspect of the industry which the new Act

overlooks is the regulation of property managers, who look after 6075,000 properties in New Zealand and will continue to be able to operate freely as they

do under current law.“The biggest drawback to the Act is that property

management is not covered by the Act, or a separate Act,” said Barfoot and Thompson managing director Peter Thompson. “There is no requirement for property management accounts to be audited regularly, even though large sums of money belonging to '"%(%'4$(%,$*(%,*&#,4$6&!$'.#&70.$'."91AE$ #"B/"!$,""9",$ /'$ 7%F74'/+",$ '&$27'$ /%$2*(3"$

additional regulation for property managers, who are employed by 30% of all property owners. This leaves property owners with the Disputes Tribunal as an avenues for resolving issues, but that only deals with amounts above $15,000.Property managers could be regulated from

other sources though. “In our view, it is apparent that Property Managers will be alternatively caught by the provisions of the Financial Service Providers Act 2008,” Mr Campbell said.8."$ (,,/'/&%(*$ '#(/%/%0$ (%,$ C7(*/+3('/&%4$ #"

quired to prepare new real estate agents for entry to '."$+"*,$3&7*,$2#&B"$&55G27''/%0$'&$4&9"?$#"(*$"4'('"$agency Bayleys fears.“On the surface, this may appear to be a desired

outcome, by raising the bar. However, successful sales consultants who serve their customers extremely well come from a variety of professional, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and the challenge will be to balance the requirement to raise professional standards against limiting the availability of new personnel into the industry,” said Bayleys managing director Mike Bayley.The new Act comes in to force on 17 November.

Courtesy: The National Business Review

Real estate industry cleans up for new lawJAZIAL CROSSLEY

Next month the new Real Estate Agents Act 2008 comes in to force. Is the industry ready?

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand is expecting “teething problems” inthe wake of the awaited industry shakeup come November 11, president PeterMcDonald says.

The full force of the revamped Real Estate Agents Act will come into effect on that date, stripping the institute of its regulatory powers and tightening up rules governing how the real estate world operates.

Replacing the institute in its regulatory and disciplinary role will be the Real Estate Agents Authority, the website of which is still under construction. “[It] is generally accepted by the industry as necessary and a good thing,” Mr McDonald said. “We know most members of the public look forward to this aspect – as do most real estate agents.”

He admitted the changes brought in by the

act would bring a lot of work for his team: “We are going to have to organise changing and restructuring the institute… [But] we will be able to remodel ourselves and just become a really good membership service.”

“There are always teething problems during times of change – for us it is more about how the institute can work alongside its members, helping them to be ready to comply with the new legislation and its associated rules and regulations when they fully take effect.”

Mr McDonald said he was happy with the people on the authority’s board.The board will be chaired by Kristy McDonald QC. Janet Mezenier was announced as the authority’s chief executive in September.

Laura Caygill in the National Business Review


Indian


Indian New Zealand

Mayor of Manukau Len Brown has welcomed the government’s initiatives to cut down on the availability of ingredients used to manufacture P.“P is a horrible

drug that is doing real damage to our communities,” says Mr Brown.“For a long time now I have been

calling for a ban on overthecounter sales of pseudoephedrine, a base ingredient for making the drug, to try and combat the P labs in our communities.“It is good to see the government

taking a lead on tackling this scourge and I’m also happy with the support for P treatment and detox. We need to help people who are caught up by this horrible addiction.“My council is working with the

police, businesses and community groups to get rid of this drug. We recently put together a mayoral taskforce on P to tackle methamphetamine use on our streets.“I welcome this announcement from

the government. We’ve now got to focus on tackling the drug runners and I am working closely with the police on a campaign to shut down the Plabs and dak houses in our city. “I am committed to making our com

munities as drug free as possible,” says Mr Brown.

Manukau mayor Len Brown wel-comes moves on P

TVNZ Launches Popular New iPhone ApplicationTVNZ launched its iPhone application last week and it rocketed to number one within hours.8."$ (22*/3('/&%$ .(4$ )""%$ 42"3/+3(**-$ ,"

signed for use on the iPhone and enables users of Apple’s mobile to have access to the whole of //http://www.tvnz.co.nz in one free downloadable app.“User feedback has been really positive,

people have said it’s a better news app than other big news organisations one’s like CNN and that it’s an impressive use of the iPhone/iPod touch platform, so we’re really happy with the way it’s gone so far”, says TVNZ’s Business Manager of Emerging and Social Platforms, Sophie Lyon.The TVNZ iPhone application became the

most downloaded free app and the most downloaded free news app in the NZ iTunes store almost immediately after it was launched on Monday and remains number one.“The way it has already been received shows

that New Zealanders are excited about being able to get TVNZ content this way.”=8./4$ /4$ '."$+#4'$ B"#4/&%$&5$ '."$ /@.&%"$(22?$

we’re planning to rollout changes and improvements as new features become available on the iPhone”.The application has been designed to be very

intuitive and has some useful features, including: Preloaded content, which makes it faster, easier to use Synchronising via mobile network or WiFi and downloads the latest news, sport, weather and TV listings direct to your device. Up to the minute news from One News, including instant access to breaking news National, world, business, sport and entertain

ment news Comprehensive weather information, including regional forecasts Uptodate fourday TV schedule, covering most all of TVNZ and most freetoair channels Read anywhere

TVNZ’s Head of Marketing and Digital Media, Jason Paris said, “this application leverages the best of two great brands–Apple and TVNZ–to deliver a fantastic customer experience and deliver news to Kiwis wherever they are. It’s yet another example that TVNZ is New Zealand’s leading TV and digital media company.”

A 25yearold man found guilty of taking advantage of the strict upbringing of six Indian women will be sentenced next month. The Auckland man, who has name suppression,

has been found guilty of multiple blackmail and sex charges. He was found guilty of six rape charges, and not

guilty of one rape charge but guilty of an alternative count of sexual connection with a young person when he appeared in the High Court in Auckland recently.$ H"$ !(4$ (*4&$ 5&7%,$ 07/*'-$ &5$ +B"$ 3.(#0"4$ &5$

)*(3<9(/*?$+B"$&5$7%*(!57*$,"'"%'/&%?$4/I$&5$4"I7(*$violation by unlawful sexual connection and one of attempted sexual connection. The rape charges related to four of the six com

plainants, most of whom the man met via internet networking sites, where they had posted their pro+*"41 Crown prosecutor Josh Shaw said the six did

not know each other, apart from two who were school friends, the New Zealand Herald reported. However, they were all of Indian ethnicity and

all came from strict cultural and religious backgrounds. Most came into contact with the man via the internet and were manipulated into having sex with him. Three were 15 at the time of the offences

against them. The oldest was a 22yearold student who began an online relationship with the man in May 2007. Defence lawyer Shane Cassidy said the accused

man was someone “with not an honourable bone in his body” who might have played with young women’s emotions, but the sex was consensual and he was not a criminal. Sentencing will be at the High Court in Auck

land on November 13.

Man found guilty of duping Indian women

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Indian New Zealand

Offshore immigration advisers urged to apply for a licence now

The little girl who captured the hearts of New Zealand

The Immigration Advisers Authority is urging immigration advisers based overseas to prepare their adviser licensing applications and send them to the Authority as soon as possible to make sure they continue to operate lawfully.“Anyone who is providing immigration advice

about New Zealand immigration matters and who is based offshore must be licensed by May 4, 2010,” Registrar of Immigration Advisers, Barry Smedts said.“Our experience with the onshore licensing

process showed that many advisers left it to the last minute to apply. There is a rigorous and comprehensive process each applicant has to undergo )"5&#"$!"$(#"$4('/4+",$'.('$'."-$9""'$&7#$3&92"tency standards. “People who are currently working as immigra

tion advisers should be aware by now that Immigration New Zealand will refuse to accept applications lodged by applicants using an unlicensed immigration adviser, and this will include advisers whose licence application is in the pipeline,” Mr Smedts said.Mandatory licensing of New Zealandbased im

migration advisers came into effect on May 4, 2009. Since then, the Authority has talked to migrant groups about the need to use licensed advisers.

“One of the primary motivators for licensing !(4$'&$"%47#"$9/0#(%'4$.(B"$3&%+,"%3"$/%$'."$4'(%dard of immigration advice they receive. A recent survey, commissioned by the Authority, compared the level of satisfaction migrants felt as a result of taking advice from licensed and unlicensed advisers, prior to mandatory licensing. Customer satisfaction was higher with those migrants who used a licensed immigration adviser.“Anyone who gives immigration advice needs

to have a licence. While some people are exempt from licensing, it’s a good idea to ask for proof that the person you are dealing with is operating lawfully.“Licensed advisers will be able to show their

clients and prospective clients that they meet New Zealand government quality standards and migrants will be able to reassure themselves that they are dealing with a licensed immigration adviser by asking to see the adviser’s photo ID card.“Licensing provides certainty for migrants and

a professional, supported community for licensed advisers. Licensing offshore advisers ensures everyone seeking to migrate to New Zealand can be 3&%+,"%'$&5$#"3"/B/%0$($./0.$*"B"*$&5$2#&5"44/&%(*$service,” Mr Smedts said.

Indian Weekender news desk

Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family of the toddler Aisling Symes, whose disappearance shocked families around New Zealand, including many from within our ethnic communities.The grief being felt

by her parents, her sister and the rest of her family, friends and loved ones is being shared in the heart of every New Zealander – particularly those who joined in the search for the little girl.No parent should ever have to lose their child

under such tragic circumstances. Aisling, a bright and bubbly twoyearold with a love of ducklings captured the heart of New Zealanders as volunteers 5#&9$5(#$(%,$!/,"$6&3<",$'&$'."$2&*/3"$4"(#3.$(#"($'&$(44/4'$/%$'#-/%0$'&$+%,$'."$*/''*"$0/#*1To help break through the language barrier

between police and some local residents, I went out alongside Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Melissa Lee and a team of Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi and Korean speaking volunteers to join the search.We knocked on doors in the eight street search

area and talked with New Zealanders in the language they were most comfortable speaking. I ended up as an interpreter for the Police while visiting a couple of the households.We also translated the police poster and descrip

tion of an Asian woman the police hoped could assist them into Chinese, Korean and Punjabi languages for bilingual posters, which we distrib

uted to businesses in the area and hung up on the windows of shops.Thank you to all the volunteers and business

owners who worked so hard to assist in trying to +%,$E/4*/%01As Minister for Ethnic Affairs, it was touch

ing to watch as every member of the West Auckland community came together to join the search for Aisling and my heart goes out to every one of you, who were waiting to hear good news about the beautiful little girl.The disappearance of young Aisling sent shock

waves through New Zealand, with parents of every ethnicity hugging their children a little bit tighter and feeling the angst and turmoil of the little girl’s family, The tragic circumstances of this case have

brought sadness to many New Zealanders, who share the grief that Aisling’s parents are going through.Meanwhile, police in Avondale are still search

ing for Srikanth Rayadurgam, an AUT student from Hyderabad, India, who was last seen on CCTV 5&&'(0"$ !/'.,#(!/%0$ 9&%"-$ 5#&9$ ($ 3(4.$ 6&!$machine on October 1.Police have discovered his belongings in and

around the Westhaven Marina in St Mary’s Bay, but (#"$-"'$'&$+%,$J#/<(%'.1My thoughts are with Srikanth’s family as they

wait for news about this promising young student.I have been in touch with the Avondale Police,

who are investigating the case, and they are asking for people to contact them on 09 820 5700 with any sightings of Srikanth.

Crimestoppers launched in New Zealand Crimestoppers NZ has been launched this week at '."$8"*4'#(:*"(#$@(3/+3$KB"%'4$:"%'#"?$;(%7<(7?$giving New Zealanders an avenue to anonymously pass on information about crime and criminals to law enforcement agencies.Crimestoppers NZ has been set up as a charity

and is completely independent of Police and other agencies, says its CEO and former Chief of Army Lou Gardiner. People can contact Crimestoppers anonymous

ly by calling 0800 555 111 or submitting an encrypted online form via www.crimestoppersnz.org. “The strength of the Crimestoppers service is

that people who, for various reasons, may have been reluctant to contact law enforcement agencies directly now have a safe way of doing something about family violence, drugs, gangs, fraud, dishonesty and other types of antisocial behaviour and offending.“People don’t have to reveal their identity or

share any personal information. We give an absolute guarantee that calls and online reports cannot be traced. We don’t need a statement and we don’t need people to appear in court. All we want is information about the crime, not who the person with the information is,” Mr Gardiner said.Crimestoppers will also run an Integrity Line

service, which organisations and businesses can sign up to. It provides a safe way for employees to anonymously report crime or other types of undesirable behaviour, which will help provide transparency to shareholders, investors and taxpayers.The Western Union Company has joined

forces with Crimestoppers NZ to rollout a national Security Awareness and Fraud Education (SAFE) programme. The programme will involve an awareness campaign about the do’s and don’ts when utilizing its money transfer services.

Crimestoppers NZ is modelled on the UK service, which has been running there successfully for more than 20 years.Its genesis in New Zealand was the 2007 theft

of 11 sets of medals from the Waiouru Army Museum. Founder, Chairman of Crimestoppers UK and

Victoria Cross collector Lord Ashcroft KCMG, helped post a reward for the return of the medals. While in New Zealand, he discussed setting up Crimestoppers here with Police Commissioner Howard Broad.Businessman and Police adviser John Perham

was asked to establish the charity in New Zealand and chair the Board of Trustees. Other trustees are Dr Allan Freeth, Chief Executive of TelstraClear, retired Assistant Police Commissioner Gavin Jones, advisor and director Phillip Meyer and CEO Lou Gardiner.Lord Ashcroft has made the Crimestoppers

UK intellectual property and branding available to Crimestoppers NZ to enable the service to quickly get off the ground. H"$/4$3&%+,"%'$'."$4"#B/3"$!/**$4&&%$)"$(4$B(*7

able in New Zealand as it is in the UK. “During our 21 years, Crimestoppers UK has

received over 1 million actionable calls which have resulted in more than 90,000 arrests and charges. Every four days someone is arrested for murder in the UK as a result of information passed to us,” Lord Ashcroft said.Crimestoppers New Zealand has been made

possible by extensive support from several organisations including Chapman Tripp, Ernst and Young, Geni, Manukau City Council, New Zealand Police, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Quantum, St John, TelstraClear and Western Union.

HON PANSY WONG, MINISTER FOR ETHNIC AFFAIRS.

Kiwi Indian industrialist and philanthropist Roshan Lal Nauhria received twin recognition this month, closely on the heels of his being honoured with the conferment of the honour of Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by Queen ElizabethII on June 1. H/4$ 2#&+*"$ (%,$

a set of photographs has been included in a prestigious book on

25 eminent persons of Indian origin from all over the world. The lavishly published book is available globally and is one in a series of an annual effort that honours 25 achievers of Indian origin every year.This month, the New Zealand Concrete Society

awarded his company, Nauhria Precast Ltd, the Monte Craven Architectural Building award which is given in recognition of outstanding functional stability, aesthetic appeal and environmental sensitivity. Despite his busy schedule, he is still active in

B(#/&74$ >%,/(%$ (44&3/('/&%4$ (%,$ (*!(-4$ +%,4$ '."$time to help out with matters concerning the community and building business links between New Zealand and India. Indian Weekender wishes him the best.

Twin recognition for Nauhria


Indian

Kanpur: On Monday 28 September, when the whole country was celebrating the Dussehra festival, the triumph of good over evil with the )7#%/%0$ &5$ "5+0/"4$ &5$ L(B(%(?$ '."#"$ !(4$ &%"$temple in Kanpur where thousands were offering prayers to Ravana the Lord of Lanka.The ‘Dashanan Mandir’, in the Shivala area

of Kanpur, was built by King Shiv Shankar about 150 years ago. This temple opens only once in a year on Dussehra festival when people, who view him as a highly learned individual who had knowledge of all Hindu scriptures, visit this temple to pay their homage. Ravana’s devotees see him as an ardent “Shiv Bhakt” and a brave, intelligent and a good King of Dravidian Gaud tribe.One of the organizers of the Ravan puja

syas “People of Dravidian origin feel hurt at Ravan being portrayed as evil, he was a Dravidian king who ruled according to Buddhist philosophy”Further, it is said that Ravana possessed

several virtues, the foremost being his knowledge of the sacred books, Vedas, medicines and sorcery. An ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, Ravana is credited to have composed the vibrant Shiva Tandava Stotra.More than 10,000 people came from across

Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and some South Indian states. As they marched through the streets, chants of “Kate klesh, Jai Lankesh” ( Ravan’s name will solve all problems) could be heard everywhere.

;79)(/M$ E5'"#$ +B"$ $ ,(-4?$ &B"#$ NO$ 43.",7*",$6/0.'4$ 3(%3"**",?$ '.&74(%,4$ &5$ 2(44"%0"#4$ (5fected, crores of rupees lost Air India pilots 3(**",$&55$'."/#$+B"G,(-$4'#/<"$*(4'$!""<$5&**&!ing assurances from the civil aviation ministry that there would be no salary cuts.The agitation by the pilots, who were protest

ing against the cut in the Productivity Linked In3"%'/B"4$P@>QR?$!(4$/%'"%4/+",$!."%$'."$"I"37tive pilots working with the airlines before its merger also joined them. This led to cancellation &5$E>$3&,",$"(#*-$9&#%/%0$/%'"#%('/&%(*$6/0.'4$from Delhi and Mumbai. With more pilots reporting ‘sick’ for their

duties, Air India had suspended the booking &5$/'4$6/0.'4$5&#$'."$%"I'$SO$,(-4$/%$(%$"55&#'$'&$restore normalcy and prepare a fresh roster. ;"(%!./*"$ '."$ 2#/9"$9/%/4'"#T4$ &5+3"$ .(,$

stepped in to diffuse the situation, with the Prime Minister himself holding talks with the aviation secretary M.N.Nambiar and AI Chairman and MD Arvind Jadhav. He has reportedly told them that a ‘lockout’ was not the option but all steps should be taken to end the standoff and

make AI fully operational.Meanwhile, the prestigious Indian Institutes

of Technology often described as India’s brain bank, is in the news, this time for the wrong reasons. Some 1,500 professors across the institutes across the country went on a day’s hunger strike to demand pay parity with other government institutes.They say they deserve more money and more

respect. “This is our way of protesting. We will go hungry to classes, we will go hungry to our meetings,” says Bharat Shah, a professor on strike at IIT Mumbai.Also, nearly 4000 government doctors in

Karnataka have resigned en masse in protest against the government’s refusal to accept their demand on salary hike.President of the Karnataka Government

;",/3(*$ U5+3"#4$ E44&3/('/&%?$ H$ V$ L(B/%,#(?$told newspersons that one or two doctors would, however, be on duty at taluk and districtlevel hospitals even after resigning to maintain health services.

India

Maoists insurgency has India alarmed

Here, Ravana is hero

Strike season in India

New Delhi: Just two days after Home Minister P.Chidambaram announced that talks with the Maoists would be possible only if they abjure violence, they struck again in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra killing 17 policemen.In one their worst attacks a 300 strong

band of Naxalites surrounded and attacked a 40 man patrol party of local policemen and commandos of the elite antinaxalite force.In a separate incident of Naxalite violence,

a police guide of the same district was beheaded in front of his house.Late September Naxalites executed Jhar

kand police officer Francis Induwar. His body was found at the intersection on a local highway. His head had been severed, Talibanstyle.The Maoists have upped their ante since

the arrest of Kobad Gandhy a Politbureau member of CPI(Maoist), a strong sympathizer of the Naxal movement.Spread over 40,000 square kilometers

in 20 states, in what’s come to be known as India’s Red Corridor, and runs along some of India’s poorest parts and through areas inhabited mainly by tribal people. Naxals are being repeatedly described as the biggest internal security threat to the country. The movement started in 1967 by rebel

cadres of CPI (Marxist), in a peasants uprising in Naxalbari in Darjeeling district of West Bengal. Their only ideology being seizing power through violence. Now the Naxals operate from Chhatisgarh, Jharkand, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. The UPA government had banned the outfit calling them terrorists due to its violent activities which include burning down schools, killing women and children and destroying public property like roads, telecommunication towers and agricultural vehicles belonging to farmers. Their hold over tribal and marginalised areas is attributed to crippling poverty, and the absence of develop

ment.In the words of Home Minister P. Chid

ambaram “the rebels have increased attacks on railways, power and telecommunication networks to halt economic development and has become the “biggest homegrown threat to India’s internal security.”According to statistics last year alone there

were 1,591 incidents of Maoist violence resulting in 721 killings; this year until August there had been 1,405 incidents, resulting in 580 deaths spread over 11 states.Speaking at a public function Prime Min

ister Man Mohan Singh appeared helpless when he said “I would like to state frankly that we have not achieved as much success as we would have liked in containing this menace. It is a matter of concern that despite our efforts the level of violence in the affected states continues to rise.”Congress leader Rahul Gandhi speaking at

a function in Kerala expressed that develop

ment of the region could be one of the ways to solve the problem “My view is that in states like Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Jharkhand, governments are not reaching the population. That is one cause for the Naxal problem,” But the question is with 2000 police stations under the control of the Naxals, the biggest problem is how do you reach the people without engaging the Naxals and reclaiming the districts. Now the government has a launched a war

on the Naxals. Setting aside 7300 crores for this, an AntiMaoist Task Force, a special command, will handle operations in border areas between states. The first line of defence will be the state police. If the Air Force is called in, it will not be allowed to fire back on any Naxals, not even in selfdefence. The new operations are scheduled to start

on the 1st of November. But that may be pushed back to allow the new forces to get familiar with the terrain.

New Delhi: The twodecade old Bofors payoff case and one of the scandals which has hounded the :&%0#"44$9(-$+%(**-$)"$)7#/",$!/'.$'."$0&B"#%9"%'$'"**/%0$'."$J72#"9"$:&7#'$'.('$/'$.(4$,"3/,",$'&$withdraw case against Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.Quattrocchi was supposed to have acted as the middleman and was accused of taking bribes from

a Swedish gun manufacturer to facilitate the sale of the Bofors howitzers to India in 1986.Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium told a bench, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishanan,

that all efforts to extradite Quattrocchi, an accused in the case relating to payment of Rs 64 crore as commission in the Howitzer deal, have failed.He said the CBI has taken the decision to close the case by also taking into account Delhi High

Court judgement of 2004 which had held that no case of corruption was made out in the Bofors deal.The Solicitor General’s statement in the court came under immediate attack from the BJP and the

lawyer who is pursuing the Bofors case in the Supreme Court while the Congress Party said that after all the case has to come to a closure.

Government buries case against Quattrocchi


Indian IndiaFemale Teenager kills militant in Kashmir Buy jeans in monthly

instalments

Vijender Sigh top boxer in 75 kg categoryNew Delhi: Olympic and World Championship bronze medallist Vijender Singh has achieved -"'$ (%&'."#$ +#4'$ 5&#$ >%,/(%$ )&I/%0$ )-$ )"3&9ing the world’s topranked pugilist in the middle weight (75kg) category.The 23yearold Bhiwani boxer, who won

India’s maiden World Championships medal in Milan earlier this month, has 200 points and is ranked higher than the reigning champion Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan.Vijender, who broke India’s Olympic jinx

with his bronze in the Beijing Olympics, said, “I am obviously elated at being ranked the highest in the world. It’s a fantastic feeling and would motivate me to do better in future events,”

W(997M$>%$!.('$9(-$)"$'."$+#4'$"B"#$473.$(3'$&5$#"4/4'(%3"$(0(/%4'$9/*/'(%'4$/%$W(997$(%,$X(4.9/#?$Rukhsana, a young woman in Rajouri district killed one militant and injured and drove away two others who had barged into her house and tried to abduct her, police said.Her immensely brave act has turned young Rukhsana Kausar into a heroine and people now see

."#$(4$($+0.'"#$(0(/%4'$'."$=Y7*9A$&#$('#&3/'/"4$&5$9/*/'(%'41$$Q('"$J7%,(-?$ZN$J"2'"9)"#$($0#&72$&5$LashkareTaiba terrorists who barged into her house, and demanded that she be handed ovber to them. When her parents and brother tried to resist they began hitting them. This angered the youngster so much that she snatched an AK47 from one intruder and shot him dead.H"$!(4$*('"#$/,"%'/+",$(4$E)7$U4(9($&5$'."$Q(4.<(#G"G8(/)($PQ"8R1$$$>%$'."$B/&*"%'$43756"$'.('$

"%47",?$$(%&'."#$9/*/'(%'$!(4$/%F7#",$(%,$."$(%,$'."$'./#,$4&&%$6",$18."$5(9/*-$9"9)"#4$.(%,",$&B"#$'&$'."$'!&$EXG[N$#/6"4$!./3.$'."-$.(,$4%('3.",$5#&9$'."$'"#

rorists to the police.Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra has lauded the exemplary courage and bravery of the

fearless young girl, while state Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda has sent a special message for Rukhsana and said she would soon be rewarded.

New Delhi: Butter Chicken and Tandoori Chicken two of the most wellknown dishes from India have turned 90 years old.It all began when a young Kundan Lal Gujral

began helping out at a small shop called Moti Sweets in Peshawar (now in Pakistan). Monish Gujral, Kundan Lal’s grandson explains that once in 1929, at the request by the shop’s owner, he ‘invented’ these dishes. “The owner wasn’t well and told my grandfather to make him a light chicken dish,” “In those days, the tandoor was used only to bake breads. He decided to cook chicken in it, and what came out was tandoori chicken.”As a derivative of the Tandoori Chicken the

innovative Gujral put the left over pieces of them in a rich creamy gravy and the Butter Chicken was born.In 1947, Gujral migrated to Delhi and set

up a shop at Daryaganj. The rest, as they say, is history.

Mumbai: Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, courted tweet trouble again after posting his opinion on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, where he said that people should work rather than enjoy a holiday on Mahatma Gandhi’’s birthday. “Gandhiji said ‘’Work is Workship’’ and we enjoy holiday on his birthday,” he said in a reply to a posting on the social networking site Twitter.Quoting Mr Nguyen Thi Doan, whom he met

on Oct 1 at a dinner hosted by VicePresident Hamid Ansari, he wrote “In Vietnam, Ho Chi

Minh’’s birthday is a working day and citizens are expected to put in an extra effort at work to honour him,”Tharoor also posted that he had attended the

interfaith prayers at Rajghat. “Gandhiji’’s 140th birth anniversary.This comes just days after the controversy

surrounding his ‘cattleclass’ remark on the austerity driive of the government which did not go down well with Congress leaders, his current tweet has also been seen in negative light.

Lucknow: Congress MPs, MLAs and office bearers today chose Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday to visit Dalit homes across Uttar Pradesh, perhaps taking a cue from their young leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been paying surprise visits to Dalit hamlets. Congressmen shared food with the common man and also spent the night at their homes, sometimes sleeping in the open air. This is seen as an attempt to reclaim the Dalit vote bank in the key state.Union minister Jitendra Prasad who

was at a village in his Shahjahanpur constituency, said “Rahul Gandhi has set an example and so Congress had planned this programme on Gandhi Jayanti for us to go to villages and connect with backward classes, especially Dalits who have become distanced from Congress. Former cricketerturnedpolitician Md

Azharuddin travelled to Dalitdominated villages in Moradabad, met the people and discussed their problems.

Mumbai: The limited edition ‘Gandhi’ pen was launched in Mumbai by Tushar Gandhi, the greatgrandson of the Father of the Nation, on September 29. The white gold 241 pens depict Gandhi holding a lathi (cudgel), inspired by Gandhi’s 241mile 1930and

include a handcrafted rhodium plated 18carat gold nib. A controversy has already erupted over the

use of Mahatma Gandhi’s name and image by Swiss luxury giant Mont Blanc for a Rs 14 lakh pen since the apostle of peace was known for simplicity throughout his life.Two days later , the Kerala High Court ad

mitted a public interest litigation challenging the marketing of the luxury pens in India while issuing notices to Mont Blanc International, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affair and others.

The petitioner, Dijo Kapen of the Centre of Consumer Education, Kottayam, contended that the attempt to manufacture and market luxury pens in the name of the Mahatma was wrong, illegal and liable to be prohibited. He submitted that entry 9A of the schedule of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, states that the name or pictorial representation of Gandhi as an item cannot be used for the purpose of any trade or business under provision of the Act.Kapen contended that making Gandhi the

symbol of a Rs 14 lakh pen was nothing but an attempt to cause degeneration of everything that he symbolised and mock at the middle class and those below the poverty line who look up to him.Reacting to the controversy, Tushar Gandhi

told reporters, “I am surprised that the people who are opposing it have woken up so late. Gandhi’s image has been used in advertising for *&%01A$E4<",$()&7'$($@>Q$+*",$/%$'."$X"#(*($H/0.$Court citing the Emblems Act, he said, “I am very much aware of this law, and in fact many times, when Gandhi’s name was used in commercial products, I raised the issue with government.

All India stories by India Correspondent Shobha Rao

New Delhi: In order to save the rare dolphins from disappearing from the country’s aqua map the Central Government has declared the dolphin as a National animal. The dolphins found in the Ganga are a rare species.“Like we have tiger as a national animal and

peacock as a national bird, we have declared dolphins as a national aquatic animal as it represents the health of the rivers, particularly Ganga in the country,” Union Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh told media persons.H"$ 4(/,$ '."$ ,"3/4/&%$ !(4$ '(<"%$ ('$ '."$ +#4'$

meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to streamline steps to rejuvenate the river Ganga.The proposal came from Bihar Chief Minis

ter Nitish Kumar during the meeting, which was approved by the NGRBA, Mr. Ramesh said. By doing this the government was not only ensuring the survival of the species, which are endemic to the Ganga, but also sought to cleanse the river, the Minister said.

Two iconic dishes turn 90

Tharoor in Tweet trouble again

Gandhiji’s name on Mont Blanc pen raises controversy Dolphin is India’s national

aquatic animal

Bangalore: Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Premium apparel brand Levi’s one of the leading denim wear companies across the globe, has now come up with a unique marketing strategy which could take the apparel market into an allnew era. Buy merchandise worth a minimum of Rs 1500 and pay in three equated monthly installments (EMI) at zero per cent interest.The Levi’s brand known to be costly and aspira

tional, had the market downturn and empty pockets in mind while devising the marketing strategy. Explaining the reason behind the scheme, a

4"%/&#$3&92(%-$&5+3/(*$4(/,$=8./4$/%/'/('/B"$'(<"4$us closer to consumers in the country and enables them to have easy access to the most iconic jeans wear brand in the world.” Earlier this year, the company had launched the

scheme on an experimental basis in Bangalore to test the waters before going in for a nationwide launch.

The Rahul effect


Indian Fiji

Auckland: Five contemporary artists from Fiji came together for an exhibition in response to Fiji Day, 10 October. Well aware of the turbulent events happening at home, the exhibition named Fiji Times is a personal response to current issues.The Fiji Times exhibition, which featured

Margaret Aull, Filani Macassey, Sangeeta Singh, Luisa Tora and Torika Bolotagici Vetuna ran from 10 to 14 October at The Salon on Karangahape Road in Auckland.Inspired to make commentary on the current

4/'7('/&%$/%$\/F/?$'."$+B"$!&9"%$(#'/4'4$.(B"$,"veloped experimental works in canvas, paper, tapa and cloth that tackle issues of leadership, faith and religion, censorship and militarism, propaganda, love, land and diaspora.Ema Tavola curated the show and admitted

the work is politically inspired. “The artists are able to take advantage of being on the outside, commentating from afar,” she said.Women artists from Fiji have been assert

/%0$ '."/#$ 2#"4"%3"$ /%$ 3&%'"92&#(#-$ @(3/+3$ (#'$3/#3*"4?$ 2(#'/37*(#*-$ 4/%3"$ '."$ ](47M$ @(3/+3$Women of Power exhibition, held in Suva in September 2008.

Based between Melbourne, Waikato and the E73<*(%,$ #"0/&%?$ '."$ +B"$ (#'/4'4$ .(B"$ #"3"%'*-$started to work more closely together.“It’s exciting to have a strong network of Fiji

women artists living relatively close by, particularly Luisa and Sangeeta, who have recently relocated to South Auckland from Suva,” says Ema.The artists who displayed their work were

Margaret Aull, Filani Macassey, Sangeeta Singh, Luisa Tora, Torika Bolotagici Vetuna.


Suva: In one of the biggest bank takeover in Fiji, ^(%<$&5$J&7'.$@(3/+3$P^J@R$.(4$%&!$5&#9(*/4",$its acquisition of Colonial Bank from Commonwealth Bank.Both parties have not divulged the amount of

the takeover deal but assured there will be no job losses.“Its business as usual at Colonial Fiji, said

Managing Director, Laurie Mellsop.The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and

BSP entered into a Sale & Purchases Agreement for the operations of National Bank of Fiji Ltd (trading as Colonial National Bank) & Colonial Life Ltd on Wednesday 07 October.“The transaction is subject to regulatory ap

proval by the Bank of Papua New Guinea and the Reserve Bank of Fiji.Colonial Bank has been in operation in Fiji

for 132 years.“Acquiring Colonial provides BSP with a

great opportunity to grow in the region and '&$ 4'#"%0'."%$ /'4$ +%(%3/(*$ 4"#B/3"4$ 3(2()/*/'-$(3#&44$'."$@(3/+3$>4*(%,41BSP is Papua New Guinea’s largest retail and

commercial bank with 35 branches and has been in operation for 52 years. It also has regional representation in Niue, Solomon Islands and operates two branches in Fiji.As at 31 December 2008, it holds total assets

of K6.8 billion and holds in excess of 50 percent of market share n both deposits and loans in PNG.The PNG Government is the majority share

holder holding 23.47 percent shares.Mr Mellsop said Commonwealth Bank has

agreed to support the transition for a period of time to ensure minimal disruption to the bank, its employees and customers.

!"###$%&'()'*+,(-.,,/-0(-.$'/1

Suva: The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are ready to support Fiji. This was revealed last night by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, who was in Turkey attending the Annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank meeting in Istanbul.“The IMF and World Bank are ready to engage

with Fiji and have shown excellent support for the structural reform policies that have been ignored for too long,” he told the Fiji Sun newspaper.=8./4$ /4$ (4$ B"#-$ 4/0%/+3(%'$ ,"B"*&29"%'$ 5&#$

Fiji.”8."$9""'/%0?$(''"%,",$)-$4"%/&#$&5+3/(*4$(%,$

management of both institutions, heard Fiji’s deliberation on economical development and reform programmes.Cmdr Bainimarama met senior IMF and World

^(%<$&5+3/(*4?$/%3*7,/%0$'."$;(%(0/%0$_/#"3'&#$&5$IMF, Dominique StraussKahn.He also led a series of meetings with the As

sociate Minister of Finance from Japan, the Vice President of the World Bank, the new IMF Direc'&#$&5$'."$E4/($@(3/+3$_"2(#'9"%'$(%,$KI"37'/B"$Directors of China, India, Korea, Thailand, and France.Cmdr Bainimarama briefed the IMF and the

World Bank on Fiji’s Road Map that would lay the foundation for long term sustainable growth in the

country.An update on the Fiji economy was provided

!."#"$ '."$ >;\$ (%,$ D&#*,$ ^(%<$ &5+3/(*4$ !"#"$pleased to note the notable turnaround in the foreign reserves position and the return of liquidity into the banking system.They also expressed support for the policies put

in place and were complimentary on the alignment &5$9&%"'(#-$(%,$+43(*$2&*/3-$,/#"3'/&%41Cmdr Bainimarama also welcomed a planned

visit by IMF and the World Bank to Fiji early next month for further dialogue.It is also to map out a detailed programme to

assist Fiji with its structural reforms.“Working with IMF and the World Bank would

."*2$\/F/$ '(2$ /%'&$ ($ 4/0%/+3(%'$ 2&&*$ &5$ 0*&)(*$ "Ipertise, technical assistance and funding at concessionary rates to undertake the much needed reforms,” he Bainimarama added.He said it would support Government’s mod

ernisation policy, assist in poverty alleviation and establish the path for sustainable economic growth for Fiji.The Fiji delegation in Istanbul includes the

Governor of the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Sada Reddy and the Permanent Secretary of Finance, John Prasad.

!"###$%&'()'*+,(-.,,/-0(-.$'/1

Suva: A new Wages Council will be established to regulate the terms and conditions of employment for media and communications industry workers in Fiji.The decision was endorsed by cabinet last

week.Fiji’s Labour Minister, Filipe Bole in his sub

mission to cabinet said nationwide survey found that while majority of the workers are engaged &%$ ($+B"$ '&$ 4/IG,(-4$!&#<$ 2"#$!""<$ (%,$ (337mulate between 40 to 45 normal working hours, media workers normally work for longer hours and do not receive fair wages compensation.“This situation is further aggravated by the

fact that most of these workers in the media/communication industry are not unionized to protect them from working under duress.

“As a result, the industry has been thriving for a very long time while reporters and journalists are forced to be content with meagre wages, said Minister Bole.Fiji Media Council Secretary, Bob Pratt told

PACNEWS the Council was aware of government’s move to establish the new Wages Council for media workers.“It remains to be seen what and how the

Council will regulate the terms and conditions of media and communications workers, said Mr Pratt.Fiji has a thriving media industry cover

ing print, broadcast, television and online news media.

!"###$%&'()'*+,(-.,,/-0(-.$'/1

Fiji artists hold exhibition in Auckland

IMF and World Bank ready to support Fiji, says Bainimarama

Media workers to have a new Wages Council

PNG bank takes over Fiji’s Colonial Bank

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ART FOR A REASON: Fiji artists Luisa Tora and Sangeeta Singh at the show; Ganesha on masi by Fijian artist Filani Macassey. Photos: Dev Nadkarni.


Indian Viewpoint

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Fijian leaders’ contrasting Ideas on ChristianityPADMINI GAUNDER

From 1987 on most of the Fijian Methodist ministers became narrow in their outlook, actively supporting the coups. They had not always been like that. Martha Kaplan mentions how in 1985 a Methodist pastor in Drauniivi referred to the IndoFijians as “our relatives the Indians”. She had not heard anyone else in the village use this term and she found it very “atypical”. I would say that after Butadroka started preaching Fijian nationalism from the pulpit the attitude of many Fijians to the Indians changed but the church leaders were still not affected by racism until the military coups of 1987. By contrast, Ratu Mara, who was the target

of Butadroka’s constant criticism, had views which were akin to that of the small group in the Methodist Church who emphasised Christian values. This was in marked contrast to the fundamentalism displayed by Butadroka and later Rabuka and their followers. Some of Ratu Mara’s early actions, moreover, had shocked the fundamentalists. Kenneth Bain talks of Ratu Mara’s transgressions as a young chief. He played “Sunday morning cricket with much drinking before, during and (5'"#A$(%,$'."$"I3/'",$*(70.'"#$&5$'."$2*(-"#4$+**",$the air which “upset many Fijians who found it ,/5+37*'$ '&$)"*/"B"$ '.('$ './4$3&7*,$)"$ '."$ '(*"%'",$(%,$,/0%/+",$-&7%0$3./"5$!.&$.(,$)""%$4"%'$'&$'."$University of Oxford”.(Archbishop Mataca, the head of the Roman

Catholic Church in Fiji, who knew Ratu Mara well, gives a different picture of Ratu Mara’s Sunday programme (in later years, perhaps). Rev. Mataca said Ratu Mara made a point of attending church service on Sunday wherever he was. Sometimes if the church was crowded, he would quietly stand at the back, Rev. Mataca said. )The great majority of Fijians are Methodists

who observe the Sabbath strictly and very solemn

ly. Ratu Mara, however, was a Roman Catholic and his friends who joined him in the game were either Catholics or Anglicans. According to Bain, while the Fijians forgave him “many young Fijian commoners did not entirely forget” these ‘shortcomings’ which Ratu Mara had displayed. Later, as head of the Fiji government, Ratu Mara did other things which were not palatable to the majority of Fijians, such as giving equality to the Indians in Fiji through the 1970 constitution which was something they (the Fiji Indians) had never enjoyed before in their short history.In 1970, the opposi

tion leader, Siddiq Koya, praised the generosity of the Fijians in giving rights to everyone resident in Fiji. He said they could have insisted that Britain handed the country back to them (the indigenous people who ceded it to Britain in 1874) and they (the Fijian people) would look after all the others. Adi Losalini Dovi, the nominee of the Council of Chiefs, said that there were such widespread requests from the Fijian commoners but the chiefs were able to persuade them to accept the 1970 constitution with rights for everyone. Ratu Mara explained that what the Fijian leaders were doing was in accordance with the Deed of Cession because Ratu Seru Cakobau ceded Fiji for the promotion of civilisation and for the spread of Christianity, so what was being done was the Christian thing to do. This is in marked contrast to the actions of two

Methodist lay preachers; Butadroka’s agitation for

the repatriation of Indians from Fiji and Rabuka’s taking away of the Indians’ rights by abrogating the 1970 constitution. As leader, Ratu Mara showed the same attitude toward other minority communities. Robbie Robertson noted that after the 1987 coups “people whose ancestors came from the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Banaba and Tuvalu, at one time accepted as ‘Fijian’ became ‘others’”.

These islanders who were 3*(44/+",$ (4$ \/F/(%4$ 7%,"#$the Alliance government became ‘Others’ (which included anyone other than a Fijian or Indian). It was a sore point with the Melanesians, whose ancestors had come to Fiji before Cession, because it showed that they were still not accepted. Robertson clearly blames Rabuka for this because he “continued this trend” started by the colonial government more than a hundred years ago to divide the people into com

partments. The Melanesian musician, Jale Mareau, talked of his people’s longing to be accepted by the country of their birth (Fiji Times, October 6,2000). Bain who believed Ratu Mara had a hand in

the 1987 coup, nevertheless admitted (however grudgingly): “The 1970 Constitution embraces all the conceptual protections for human rights and dignity that can be conceived to prevent man doing evil unto man; and it is entirely proper for Ratu Mara to take credit for being one of its principal intellectual architects”. He further noted how through the Alliance Party, Ratu Mara promoted interracial harmony and cooperation through

racial and religious tolerance for over twenty years.Rabuka, the coup leader, gained international

acceptance when a few years later, in 1992, he became the elected Prime Minister of Fiji. His respectability was heightened when he agreed to the revision of the 1990 constitution to restore the rights of other ethnic groups (especially the IndoFijians) which he had taken away through his military coups in 1987. Even universities started recognising him as a hero with one university (The Central Queensland University) giving him an honorary doctorate and publishing his authorised biography, while another (The Australian National University) invited him to participate in a seminar and later published his paper.Rabuka’s authorised biography, however,

reveals that he is far from a strict follower of Christian teachings but no church leader has condemned his lapses. There has been no criticism from any church leader or warning to the members of the church (especially the young people) not to take him as a role model. George Speight, who followed in Rabuka’s

footsteps in 2000 and removed the elected government with help from rebels in the army, expected to get similar recognition and rewards. The then Methodist church leader, Rev. Tomasi Kavailagi, who visited Speight and his followers in Parliament without trying to get the release of the hostages held with guns for almost two months, was later rewarded with a senatorship! It was further revealed that Rev. Kavailagi wrote a letter to the rebels on June 16, 2000 promising them “divine pardon”! (New Zealand Herald, June 22, 2004).

Padmini Gaunder’s book, ‘Education and Race Relations in Fiji, 1835 to 1998’ is available for $15.00. Copies are available with the author. Please email her at [email protected]

Rabuka’s authorised biography, however, reveals that he is far from a strict follower of Christian teachings but no church leader has condemned his lapses.


Indian Saari Special

Yes, says a recent report in Time magazine.No, say modern Indian women and sari re

tailers in Auckland.Five years ago, there were 22 weaver soci

eties in Kanjivaram, but only 13 are left today, says a report in Business Today. U5$'."4"$S`?$&%*-$+B"$4(-$'."-$(#"$,&/%0$!"**1$

Last year, the 13 weavers sold about $12 million worth of saris, down from $40 million in 2004. The bestknown sari shops, like Nalli, which has gleaming showrooms in several big Indian cities, have contracts with some Kanjivaram weaver coops, which is helping them hang on. In and around Kanchipuram, famous for the

Kanjivaram silk saris that hail from this region, the manpower in the weaving industry has gone down drastically, from 60,000 10 years ago to about 20,000 today, says the Time report.The concept of beauty in ancient India was

that of small waist and large bust and hips, as is evident in the sculptures

of those times. And the sari seemed to be the perfect dress to 6(7%'$ '.&4"$proportions as it exposes the waist of a woman and emph a s i s e s the waist and bust with the pleated fabric.

In a r e c e n t

poll conducted by Indian Weekender in New Zealand, 45 per cent of respondents said they believed the sari was not out of favour as far as the modern Indian woman was concerned.Thirty seven per cent said the modern Indian

woman did not want to wear the sari while 16 per cent were not sure.Former Fiji radio journalist Rohini Murti

says she now wears the sari more than she ever did in Fiji.Asked if the sari was now out of favour for

the modern Indian woman, she said: “Absolutely not if anything the modern woman has made the sari one of the sexiest evening wear.“A sari can be adapted so that it can be worn

to the most conservative and most modern of functions temple, to work, out to parties, weddings.But, is the world mourning the dying art of

the sari?Yes, says a recent report in Time magazine.No, say modern Indian women and sari re

tailers in Auckland.Five years ago, there were 22 weaver soci

eties in Kanjivaram, but only 13 are left today, says a report in Business Today. U5$'."4"$S`?$&%*-$+B"$4(-$'."-$(#"$,&/%0$!"**1$

Last year, the 13 weavers sold about $12 million worth of saris, down from $40 million in 2004. The bestknown sari shops, like Nalli, which has gleaming showrooms in several big Indian cities, have contracts with some Kanjivaram weaver coops, which is helping them hang on. In and around Kanchipuram, famous for the

Kanjivaram silk saris that hail from this region, the manpower in the weaving industry has gone

down drastically, from 60,000 10 years ago to about 20,000 today, says the Time report.The concept of beauty in

ancient India was that of small waist and large bust and hips, as is evident in the sculptures of

those times. And the sari seemed '&$)"$'."$2"#5"3'$,#"44$'&$6(7%'$'.&4"$proportions as it exposes the waist of a woman and emphasises the waist and bust with the pleated fabric.

In a recent poll conducted by Indian Weekender in New Zealand, 45 per cent of respondents said they believed the sari was not out of favour as far as the modern Indian woman was concerned.

Thirty seven per cent said the modern Indian woman did not want to wear the sari while 16 per cent were not sure.

Former Fiji radio journalist Rohini Murti says she now wears the sari more than she ever did in Fiji.

Asked if the sari was now out of favour for the modern Indian woman, she said: “Absolutely not if anything the modern woman has made the sari one of the sexiest evening wear.“A sari can be

adapted so that it can be worn to the most conservative and most modern of functions temple, to work, out to parties, weddings.How often do you

now wear sari compared with when you were in Fiji? “Much more.

I wear the sari to temples (did not in

Fiji) to parties (did not in Fiji) and weddings as well as receptions, funerals. “Here in Canada, women make the most of

saris and wear it whenever they can including the younger generation (teenagers). My daughter has preferred the sari as her mode of dress to all Indian functions ever since she was 16 with no pressure whatsoever from us.”What do you think of the sari as a traditional

garment for the Indian woman? “I think it is one of the most becoming gar

ments the Indian woman can wear. The sari has been adapted by women of all races and it is not uncommon to see women of other races wear saris complete with bangles, bindi, etc to Indian weddings. It is no longer seen as old fashioned.”What do you usually wear at work, or as

casual outing?“Given the type of work I do, our workplace

allows Western, casual clothing and of course I wear the regular Western clothing as casual clothing. “However, whenever the opportunity arises,

I wear a sari to work (Diwali, lunchtime temple functions). =8."$+#4'$'/9"$>$!&#"$($4(#/$'&$!&#<?$'."$3(7

casion men loved it and said it was one of the most elegant pieces of clothing they had seen and considered it very feminine. I was asked to seriously consider wearing it to work all the time but for practical reason I cannot (the pallu can catch on machinery).”Auckland research scientist Rita Krish

namurthi, prefers saris on special occasions.Rita, who also moonlights as a singer at se

lected shows, says she believes the much loved garment is back in fashion. She says the sari is inconvenient for the workplace in western countries and reserves it for special occasions only, eg. Diwali, temple functions, weddings, etc.Accountant Maureen Saddiq says the sari is

=,"+%/'"*-$%&'A$&7'$&5$5(4./&%1How often she wears the sari “depends on

how may how many Indian functions I go to probably not as many as I used to go to in Fiji, )7'$,"+%/'"*-$!"(#$4(#/$'&$"B"#-$>%,/(%$57%3'/&%$I go to. “I think it is the just the best thing, I am not

a fan of the ghagaras, etc and feel the sari represents us Indians.”Her casual attire in Brisbane, Australia, is

mostly jeans and pants.In response to whether it is out of fashion,

Radhika Reddy says: “Not at all. In fact the modern Indian woman favours it quite a bit.Radhika wears saris more than she used to

in Fiji. “I believe that it is very traditional event though many of us have given a western twist to it.What do you usually wear at work, or as

casual outing? Well, on behalf of many of us Indo Canadian women, if given the chance, we’d love to wear a sari to work but due to the nature and environment at our work, we tend to wear western clothes, such as dresses, skirts, blouses and pants. Mahesh Kumar, director of Roop Darshan

sari shop in White Swan Rd, Auckland, says he has noted a gradual increase in sari sales since his business started in Auckland 15 years ago.“More women are wearing sari these days,”

Kumar told the Indian Weekender. “Women are now more aware of trends in Bollywood and that brings them out to buy what’s in fashion.”

Kumar said he had also noticed more European women buying saris as they were now more involved with Bollywood themed functions. “The colours are very appealing to them.”Kumar said while the Kanjivaram silk was

the top of the range, Banarasi, Madhurai, Bangalore crepe, and Mysore silk were as prestigious.Jagdish Makanji of Makanjee’s Ltd in Stod

dard Rd, Mt Roskill, said the Indian TV serials had made saris even more popular.“Programmes such as those on Star Plus

have a huge effect on the trends,” said Makanji. A lot of the serials were sponsored by big sari retailers in India, he said.Makanji said he had also noticed Muslim

women were now wearing the sari than their normal salwar kameez.A spokesman for Ramsons, also on Stoddard

L,?$(*4&$4(/,$'."$8]$4&(24$.(,$($.70"$/%67"%3"$in driving sales.He also pointed out that more Muslim

women were now into saris – another factor in the increase in sales.Some costume historians believe that the

men’s dhoti, which is the oldest Indian draped garment, is the forerunner of the sari. Till the 14th century the dhoti was worn by both men and women. Thereafter, it is conjectured that the women’s dhoti started to become longer, and the accessory cloth worn over the shoulders was woven together with the dhoti into a single cloth

to make the sari. Indian civilization has always placed a tre

mendous importance on unstitched fabrics like the sari and dhoti, which are given sacred overtones. The belief was that such a fabric was pure; perhaps because in the distant past needles of bone were used for stitching. Hence even to the present day, while attending poojas or other sacred ceremonies, the women wear the sari.KB"%$ '&,(-?$!."%$ '."$>4*(9$/%67"%3",$J(*

warkameez (loose trousers with a tunic) is an increasingly popular garment, the sari contin7"4$ '&$.&*,$ /'4$4!(-1$8."$6&!$/'$3&%5"#4$ '&$ '."$natural contours of the female form enhances the gracefulness of the fairer sex, as no other apparel can.One of the earliest depictions of a sarilike

drape covering the entire body dates back to 100 B.C. A NorthIndian Terracotts depicts a woman wearing a Sari wound tightly around her entire body in the trouser style.Tailored clothes arrived in India with the

arrival of Muslims. Hindus believed that any cloth pierced by needles was impure. It is commonly believed in India that today’s

petticoat or “ghagra” and the blouse or “choli” which are worn under the sari are later additions which started with the coming of British in India. Increasing number of upper class women in the early 20th century did adopt items of Eu#&2"(%$ 4'-*"$ 3*&'./%0$ (4$ '."$ +''",$ )*&74"$ (%,$slim petticoat. This was also adopted due to the fashion of

transparent chiffon Saris during that particular period. Some of the wives of Indian kings draped themselves in Saris that were made by Parisian designers.Whatever the case may be, the sari seems

to be holding its own in the world of Indian fashion, and will continue to reign for a long time.

A single piece of garment. Centuries old. One size fits all. It can either ingeniously conceal the extra flab, or it can accentuate the curves of the female form – the humble sari has remained a traditional icon of Indian femininity. But, is the world mourning the dying art of the sari?

A sari can be adapted so that it can be worn to the most conservative and most modern of functions - temple, to work, out to parties, weddings.

ARVIND KUMAR


Indian Community

Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s Birthday was celeberated by the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Charitable Trust in Hamilton.

This function was attended by over 1000 people and the audience was regaled with soul stirring folk songs and dance.

The main organizers Yugraj Singh and Raju Mundi were felicitated by the crowd for their hard work in making this a success.

In the picture you can see the organizers along with other guests of honour.

The Hindu Elders Foundation, a division of the Hindu Council of New Zealand Inc, organised the +#4'$ Va$H/%,7$ K*,"#4$ :&%5"#"%3"$ ('$ '."$ H/%,7$Heritage Centre, Mangere, Auckland, on October 3. The theme of the conference was “Old is Gold”. Invited guests and dignitaries were welcomed

in the traditional Hindu way by placing a tilak on their forehead by 7 year old Sakshi Hegde. The conference started with lighting of the lamps by special guests. Maori Elder, Bubbles Munro, blessed the conference with a Maori karakia (prayer and blessing). Mrs. Meena Pongde did the Hindu prayer.Welcoming the participants, the Hindu elders

conference coordinator Mr Pravin Patel said the aim of the conference was “to facilitate and empower the community so that the Hindu elders */B"$!/'.$3&%+,"%3"?$(%,$)"$2#&,73'/B"$(%,$2(#ticipating citizens of New Zealand”. He empha4/4",$ '.('$ /'$!(4$ '."$+#4'$ 4'"2$ '&!(#,$)7/*,/%0$ ($dynamic Elders network with other likeminded organisations. Nine senior citizen groups participated in the

conference and gave their valuable inputs. They expressed their sincere gratitude for organising such a conference. The elders were appreciative of the professionalism with which the conference was conducted. Hindu Elders Foundation, Shanti Niwas Charitable Trust, Waitakere Indian Association, NZ Tamil Senior Citizens Association, Shakthi Seniors, South East Auckland Senior Citizens Association, NZ Indian Senior Citizen Association, Waikato Indian Senior Citizen Association, and Bharatiya Samaj participated. More than 160 delegates participated. Three

parliamentarians also attended: Ross Robertson, Opposition spokesperson for Senior Citizens, Hon. Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi representing the government and Dr Rajen Prasad. The inauguration ceremony was followed by

the panel discussions and various workshops addressing the core issues pertaining to the elders

were very well brought out into the light for deliberations. Shri Shirish Kapadia provided the vote of

thanks to all sponsors, community representatives, government agencies, participants and speakers. A special mention of the delicious lunch and breakfast served. Transportation was also provided to the elders by individual organisations to be picked up and dropped off at designated places. Outcomes: A new panel of experienced representatives

from all elders’ organizations together with government representation will be deliberated upon to strategically address the issues in order to provide better and safer services to all elders of this country. The efforts made by Hindu Council of V"!$a"(*(%,$/%$2#&9&'/%0$473.$"B"%'4$/4$,"+%/'"ly a pride for all Hindus staying in this country. For a full report of the proceedings, please visit

www.indianweekender.co.nz


First Hindu elders’ conference a grand success Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s Birthday

OLD IS GOLD: (Top) Members of the 1st New Zealand Hindu Conference committee; Hall full of audience at the committee.


Indian

Letters

IndianDiwali Messages

Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, New Market and printed at APN Print, Ellerslie, Auckland Copyright 2009. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

Indian Weekender Volume 1 No 16Publisher: Kiwi Media Group LimitedGroup editor-in-chief: Dev Nadkarni [email protected] editor: Arvind Kumar [email protected] Correspondent: Shobha Rao [email protected] Technical Officer: Rohan Desouza rohan@ indianweekender.co.nzDesign: Tanmay Desai [email protected] / www.desaign.co.nzAdvertising: Giri Gupta - Ph: 520 0922, Mob: 021 221 1131. Email - [email protected] email original editorial contributions, community notices and pictures to [email protected] expressed in the publication are not necessarily of the publisher and the publisher is not responsible for advertisers’ claims as appearingv in the publication

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Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni—to which can be added Namaste, Namashkar, Sat Sri Akal, Kam Cho. Diwali is one of the most important and ancient of 2-3(&-"4.,5(6&0,$"""78.",(9-()'&-'."/4"58.":.,5(6&0"/4"Lights sits on many levels. First, it is a special time 4/;"2-3(&-"4&1(0(.,"5/"9&58.;"&-3"'.0.*;&5.<";.=.'5(-9"on the year that has past and looking forward with hope to the year ahead.Secondly, Diwali is an especially important time for people of Indian origin and Indian communities throughout the world. In New Zealand, the festival not only symbolises the best traditions of Indian '+05+;.<"*+5"(,"&0,/"&"5(1.0>";.1(-3.;"/4"58.",(9-()cant contribution made by the more than 100,000 people of Indian origin to our nation’s society, culture and economy.Finally, the importance of Diwali now extends beyond India and the Indian Diaspora. Symbolised by the lighting of lamps, Diwali sends a powerful message of peace and unity that has been embraced by people of different cultures and creeds throughout the world. In these troubling economic times, Diwali reminds us that just as lamps can bring light to the dark, that a new day always follows even the most darkest of nights.As GovernorGeneral of New Zealand, it is with great pleasure that I send my best regards to everyone attending Diwali celebrations this year. Dhanbadd.?/";.(;&<"5@-A"B/+5/+<"5@-A"B/+5/+<"B(&"/;&<"B(&"B&8&<"5@-A"B/+5/+"B&5/&$

Hon Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSOGovernorGeneral of New Zealand

It’s with great pleasure to offer Happy Diwali wishes to the broader Indian Community on behalf of the National Party. The festival of lights touches both the religious and community lives of so many in Auckland and elsewhere. This high spirited celebration of the homecoming in the Ramayana. Thank you for wanting to share this important tradition of India with the rest of New Zealand.

Alastair BellRegional Chair

NZ National Party

I wish everyone a very Happy Diwali. Diwali has become a national event in New Zealand. Various cities thought New Zealand and thousands of people will gather to participate in the festivities, promoting the concept of oneness and unity.I have truly enjoyed being an Ethnic MP. It has enabled me to help the Indian community in various ways and I am humbled to be able to share this occasion with all of you. At Diwali, I am reminded of the ceremonies held in India. Including visiting relatives distributing sweets. New Zealand is a diverse nation. The Nationalled government has strong links with the Indian Community and I’m working hard to ensure that your views are heard. The Nationalled Government under the leadership of Hon John Key is dedicated to making New Zealand a better and safer place for you and your families to live in.We have listened to your concerns about law and order and are taking a number of steps to ensure that our communities are safer, including putting 600

1/;."%/0('."/4)'.;,"/-"58."*.&5$We are ensuring you have better access to healthcare, which is why we’re putting more funding into frontline health services. Shortly we will begin building new electivesurgery super centres to reduce hospital waiting lists. And we are signing up the );,5"9;&3+&5."8.&058"%;/4.,,(/-&0,"5/"/+;"6/0+-5&;>"bonding scheme to get more doctors, nurses, and midwives working in hardtostaff areas.The Nationalled Government is also working to attract the right business migrants to New Zealand and create more jobs for Kiwis.Recently we introduced our revamped business migrant package which aims to boost our economic performance by making New Zealand more attractive for business and entrepreneurial migrants.For investor migrants the previously existing three categories are streamlined to two, with more realistic requirements for capital, language skills and time spent in New Zealand annually.We’ve also introduced the new Entrepreneur Plus category which complements the existing Entrepreneur category. It will offer a faster path to residence for applicants who create at least 3 fulltime jobs and invest $500,000 in their business.I’m proud to be a part of a Nationalled Government that’s working to secure a brighter future for all New Zealanders. I wish everyone a very happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year.

Mr Kanwaljit Singh BakshiNational List MP

On the auspicious occasion of the forthcoming Diwali (Deepawali) on 17 October, I wish to extend my congratulations and best wishes to all our Hindu and Sikh communities in New Zealand.Diwali is the most important festival of the year for Indian people around the world. The word Diwali which is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning ‘an array of lamps’ marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year and is seen as a brand new beginning for all.Light, in the form of candles and lamps, is a crucial part of Diwali. It represents the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil and hope for the future. A lamp or ‘diya’ is also the symbol of knowledge. Lighting the lamp of knowledge is used as a metaphor for better understanding among communities.

Once again, please accept my best wishes on this occasion.

Dr Ashraf Choudhary QSOMember of Parliament

On behalf of New Zealand Indian Central Association, we wish to acknowledge and thank theunceasing efforts of Indian Weekender in bringing forth the news and views of Kiwis (KiwiIndians in particular) with professionalism and unbiased editorials.

May the blessings of Goddess Laxmi deity of love, wealth and fortune bestow whole ‘Indian Weekender’ team with opulence and prosperity!

Ratilal Champaneri (President) Veer Khar (Gen Sec)

Methodist church in Fiji

Western colonisation always was accompanied by the spread of Christianity. In fact proselytism is an inherent part of Christianity. Where the English went they preached their faith, whereas others mostly preached the Catholic faith.Similar conversion also happened in New Zealand; the French preached the Catholic faith and the Methodist their version. Blaming Butadroka is unfair; he was just a politician using race and religion to his advantage. We have Winston here!

Gul Zaman

Very well articulated. You are right about the Indian Christians criticising Hinduism. It’s the same everywhere. Instead of merely praising their socalled Christian values, these Indian evangelists also condemn Hindu gods and religious texts. It only shows their frustration at not having been able to convert Indians despite trying for over 2000 years. Hindus should not tolerate such nonsense any more.

Sanjay Grover

Scientific dating of the Ramayana

It’s only the government and the leftists who label Rama as a mythological character. For ordinary Hindus, he’s a hero. Why is it so hard for them to accept it. Mainly because as you say, lots of people will lose their jobs and the research will be f lushed down the drain. Surely, some day it will be taught as history after f ixing the date once and for all. For that there should be standardisation of the way we interpret Sanskrit texts. The govt won’t do it so will please business houses come forward. Every religion and every religious book has some obscurantist dogma. But Indians are reforming Hinduism. Educated Hindus don’t accept many things written in ancient texts, but we are proud of Hinduism because we know about its tolerant history. As for which version we will accept – it is obviously the original. Valmiki’s Ramayan is pure history. Tulsidas, Aparichit, Adhyatmik, Krittivasi, Awadhi, etc have local interpolations.

Sneha Joshi

Bank of Baroda

BoB has come here to offer a service to Indians, which has so far been missing from NZ. The service won’t be as sugary sweet as in NZ because NZ’s a very small market and so you have to be nice to customers. In Australia it’s not as good. In India, despite the huge volume of customers, the service is laudable.

Arun


Indian

RAKESH KRISHNAN

How India lost a seat in Obama’s CabinetComment

In my last article on “Government by Greed” I wrote that a lot of hidden jealousies and dark aspirations surfaced after the 1987 coup as Rabuka locked Ratu Mara in a silent tussle for control of the outofcontrol country. In the process, a host of disrespectful, undigni+",$(%,$5(4'$/%'"#"4'4$!"#"$*"'$*&&4"$(%,$'."4"$began to make increasingly insistent demands for a piece of the spoils.I say “spoils” because in any power grab

that is one of the main motivators. Lots of theories have been offered on the May 1987 coup, and many of them do have authentic grounding like: US hegemonic and nuclear interests in '."$@(3/+3?$L('7$;(#(T4$2"#4&%(*$2#/,"?$5"(#$&5$Indian domination, pressure from a local elite who had created a lifestyle with direct access to power and its accoutrements, etc. The September 1987 coup however, was

largely followed by raised ambitions and aspirations – it was fuelled by greed. Rabuka’s avowed mantra at that time was to “complete what (he) started”. And that was to enshrine \/F/(%$ 4"*5G,"'"#9/%('/&%$ +#9*-$ /%$ \/F/(%$.(%,41$V&&%"$!(4$ /%'"#"4'",$ /%$,"+%/%0$!.('$this meant, so long as it served power interests. And power interests carried with it the green card to national coffers.All those bureaucrats, church ministers,

politicians, etc. who had risen to the “call of duty” now saw the possibility of direct monetary rewards in the name of “Fijian business”. 8."$V('/&%(*$^(%<$&5$\/F/$PV^\R$!(4$'."$+#4'$and easiest point of access as its new GM Visanti Makrava relaxed all set banking procedures in an attempt to accommodate the Fijian business aspiration.

In the process, he built a house on his island of Rotuma that is quietly referred to as “the palace”. That was part of the perks of helping in the

plunder and exclusive joints for “play” were to pop up around the country after that. The $230300m pillage of NBF however, could not have been possible without Rabuka’s support as PM and it might have truly helped if the Fijians had been better prepared for business. Fijians and BusinessIn any major national programme, the phi

losophy of the leader of the country plays a pivotal role in the ultimate shape and fate of the initiative. There is little arguing that Rabuka did believe that the Fijians lagged in business because of lack of government support and more importantly, because of an Indian stranglehold on Fiji’s commerce. There was little appreciation of the historical experiences and policies involved; a brief historical overview is therefore necessary here.After Fiji’s cession in 1874, Governor Gor

don’s “indirect rule” was designed to “seize the spirit in which native institutions had been framed, and develop to the utmost extent the capacities of the people for the management of their own affairs, without exciting their suspicion or destroying their selfrespect” (quoted in Legge, 1958, p. 204). When Gordon estab*/4.",$ '."$ b#"('$ :./"6-$ :&7%3/*$ P*('"#$ b::$and then Bose Levu Vakaturaqa or BLV) in 1875, he was enshrining the chief within the national government machinery. In 1876, the Native Land Ordinance re

stricted Fijian employment within the paid economy. The Native Taxation Scheme allowed

Fijians “to meet tax obligations in kind”. Land laws were designed to forbid further alienation of Fijian land, and to revert all “nonfee simple and nonCrown land in the colony” back into Fijian hands. With the establishment of the NLTB in 1940, land was centralized as the fountain that would meet Fijian economic needs. A 1943 District Commissioners’ Confer

ence decided that “it is imperative to maintain the closest possible connection between the individual and the land.” Furthermore, it exhorted the revitalising and retention of village society that lay at the basis of Fijian culture. The GCC endorsed this and for the next two decades the Fijian Administration, attempted to stem the tide of change by sheltering the Fijian from the money economy. In an attempt to discourage participation in

wage employment, Native Regulations restricted movement of Fijians into and out of villages. The galala concept that stimulated small holder agriculture among Fijians was suffocated. There were many other regulations that virtually “overadministered” life in Fijian villages. 8."$F74'/+3('/&%$!(4$'.('$'."4"$!"#"$%"",",$'&$“secure the continuance of the Fijian communal system and the customs and observances traditionally associated with that system”. The notion of Fijian economic enterprise

is therefore, closely linked to concerns about cultural preservation. The village cocoon persisted into the 50s and early 60s entwining the \/F/(%$/%$($!")$&5$#"07*('/&%4$'.('$4'/6",$)&'.$his aspirations as well as opportunities. This orientation even led to an “usnthem” mentality between village Fijians and those who lived

on their farms in my own village of Vuna in Taveuni.Thus while the IndoFijian continued to

#"+%"$./4$3&99"#3/(*$(0#/37*'7#(*$4</**4?$3."#ished modern education, and entered into the world of modern commerce, the Fijian had */''*"$ &2'/&%4$ )7'$ '&$+%,$ 4(%3'7(#-$ /%$ *&&</%0$inwards towards his village and culture. This did precious little to prepare him for the wider world that was moving at an ever increasing pace around him. When the “Fijians in business” philoso

phy was implemented by Rabuka in 1987, the Fijian was caught unprepared. His aspirations and hankering for the accoutrements of wealth however, was well honed by looking at the fruits of labour in the residential areas of Suva. The resentment emanating from this had increased in value as part of political rhetoric during elections. Thus the Rabuka initiatives to help bring

Fijians into business were doomed because of an absence of capacity among its recipients. What it did do was: create a heightened expectation of direct monetary assistance from government, loosen control on government resources, remove fear of the rule of law, centralize the role and power of the bureaucrat and release the coup genie. Fiji was indeed in for an era of Aladdintype magic. Keep tuned for more.

Subhash Appana is an academic and political commentator. The opinions contained in this article are entirely his and not necessarily shared by any organizations he may be associated with both in Fiji and abroad. Email

[email protected]

SUBHASH APPANNA

Government by Greed: No Capacity for Business

Call it 21st century McCarthyism. An eminent economist who previously worked for the US Treasury Department and Goldman Sachs, Sonal Shah was appointed to US Presidentelect Barack Obama’s transition team in November 2008 and later named to be part of a threeperson team to write America’s technology policy. But just as her career gained momentum she was reportedly in the running for the post of Energy Secretary several IndianAmerican groups launched a protest at her appointment, claiming she is closely associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and warned against Hindutva infiltration into US power centres.The smear campaign was multipronged.

First, the Indian Coalition Against Genocide, the Indian American Coalition for Pluralism and NonResident Indians for a Secular and Harmonious India, in a joint statement, sought Shah’s clarification over her association with the VHP. Then the Indian Christian Forum, an umbrella organisation for Indian American Christians, expressed “grave concern” over her appointment. “Shah’s background creates tremendous uneasiness among freedom loving people in our community that overwhelmingly voted for Obama,” said the Indian Christian Forum. Several other figures from socalled pro

gressive outfits jumped into the fray. One of them was Vijay Parshad, director of International Studies at Trinity College, Connecticut. According to him, Shah was affiliated with “the most virulently fascistic organisation within India”. “At the age of 33, she chose to raise money for a group associated with antiMuslim violence several times,” Parshad told

an Indian website in the US, adding that funds raised by the VHP of America were used selectively to aid only Hindus and not Muslims.The controversy escalated after former

US Republican senator Rick Santorum, wrote an oped piece for the Philadelphia Inquirer on December 4, concluding that Shah was a bad choice. Citing the alleged VHP violence against Christians in Orissa, Santorum said the organisation supported terrorism aimed at Muslims and Christians. He urged Shah to condemn the VHP and its actions. “If she doesn’t, keeping her on or more ominously, giving her a post in the new administration would send the message that the presidentelect does not think the VHP is a radical organisation,” wrote Santorum.Shah, who was named India Abroad maga

zine’s Person of the Year in 2003 for founding Indicorps, a developmental organisation, was cornered into submitting a denial that she was actively engaged with the VHP. “My personal politics have nothing in common with the views espoused by the VHP, the RSS, or any such organisation. I’ve never been involved in Indian politics, and never intend to do so,” she said. “I’ve always condemned any politics of division, of ethnic or religious hatred, of violence and intimidation as a political tool.” The 40yearold said she was proud to have helped the earthquake victims of Gujarat, through NGOs working there. But apparently the judgement had already

been decided. Shaik Ubaid, founder of the Coalition Against Genocide, said he was “saddened and disappointed by Ms Sonal Shah’s statement. It is disingenuous that she who was raised in a Hindutva family says that she

was not aware of the Hindu supremacist and violent ideology of the Hindutva movement”. He added Shah should resign to avoid “distraction to the Presidentelect”, and that Obama should be careful when appointing her successor, as the “Hindutva movement has been trying to infiltrate the US power centres”.However, many prominent people rallied

around Shah. The USIndia Political Action Committee (USINPAC), a bipartisan organisation of Indian Americans, noted in a letter to Obama, “A highly accomplished member of your team, Sonal Shah, has been targeted in a smear campaign in which she is falsely accused of supporting groups that condone violence against Christians and Muslims.”Eboo Patel, founder and executive direc

tor of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicagobased international nonprofit that promotes interfaith cooperation, expressed dismay at the attacks on a fellow Gujarati. A Muslim himself, he wrote in his blog: “The evidence linking Sonal to Hindu extremism is laughably thin. It amounts to Sonal passing a Hindu nationalist on the street and not performing a citizen’s arrest...I hope the hatchet job doesn’t work on Sonal. Her talents have benefited many many people.”Perhaps Larry Brilliant, who hired Sonal

to work at Google.org, sums it up best: “As many wonderful people that the good Lord has allowed me to meet and work with, there is no finer person I have met than Sonal Shah. I’ve read the comments about her—alleging communal hatred—and they are beyond absurd. Sonal has not a bone, not a muscle, not a cell, not a strand of DNA with bigotry. She is one of the best, the brightest, the kindest,

open minded and inclusive souls, and one of the most talented that my beloved India, my adopted homeland, has produced.”But the damage has already been done.

Days after the inf luential National Journal revealed that Shah was the frontrunner for the post of Energy Secretary, the job was given to Steven Chu, an ethnic Chinese. As the fringe academics and the commentariat piled on the invective, the biggest loser was India.

Rakesh Krishnan is a features writer at Fairfax New Zealand. He has previously

worked with Businessworld, India Today and Hindustan Times, and was news editor with

the Financial Express.

Tipped as the energy secretary in Barack Obama’s Cabinet, Sonal Shah was about to become the crown jewel of the Indian diaspora. But a vicious smear campaign, a 21st century version of McCarthyism, by desi fringe academics and bigots stalled a stellar career.

“Sonal has not a bone, not a muscle, not a cell, not a strand of DNA with bigotry.”

— Larry Brilliant, Google.org

OBAMA’S INDIANSE9"#/3(T4$+#4'$)*(3<$@#"4/,"%'G"*"3'$.(4$

/%,73'",$(4$9(%-$(4$+B"$>%,/(%4$/%$./4$/%67"%'/(*$ '#(%4/'/&%$ '"(9?$ ."#(*,/%0$ ($ %"!$era in IndiaUS relations. They offer ex2"#'/4"$ (%,$ /%67"%3"$2&*/3-$ /%$ '."$U)(9($White House.

1. Sonal Shah (Technology)2. Parag Mehta (Intergovernment affairs)3. Preeta Bansal (Personnel operations)4. Anjan Mukherjee (International trade)5. Nick Rathod (Intergovernment affairs)


Indian Community

Grand BOP celebration planned Amma’s 56th birthday celebratedThe BOP Indian Association will mark Diwali on October 31. The Bay of Plenty (Rotorua) Indian Association is set to celebrate Diwali in grand style this month. The 74th annual Diwali Festival programme

will be held at the Rotorua Girls’ High Arena Centre on Saturday, October 31, starting at 7.30pm. Association president Kishor Morarji said

preparations were well underway for the Grand Style Diwali Festival. “Considering the six weeks time frame avail

able for this big celebration with the budget of $10000, the commendable effort made by the executive committee and the support given by the members have made this possible. “So far we have managed and raised 60 per

3"%'$&5$/'4$#"C7/#",$)7,0"'$(%,$!"$(#"$3&%+,"%'$that our local business community will be supporting towards the project. “The executive committee will be approach

ing our members for funding. No donation is considered small so our sincere request to all our members is that if you are in position to help please do so. On behalf the association, my sincere thanks to all our members for their direct indirect support given so far towards the Grand Style Diwali function. Mr Morarji said they were determined to

start the evening’s programme at 7.30pm sharp as they had 20 cultural items prepared by local artists. “We are also requesting all the helper and

the executive committee to be there at the venue

at 5.30pm sharp to ensure that our guests and sponsor’s has been well looked after and also to ensure that everything is in place to start the function at 7.30pm.” There will be a food stall and sweets stall at

the venue. The food stalls will open from 6pm onwards until 7.30 and nibbles will be available throughout the evening. The entry to the function is free but the food and refreshments are for sale. The dress rehearsal will be held on October

25 at Gandhi Hall. The cultural committee will be advising all our performers with the time schedule for such rehearsal. Although entry to the function is free, the

association will be providing the tickets to all our members for this event. If you are interested and have not reserved your seats then please do so and let us know by October 20.

Venue: Rotorua Girls High Arena Centre251 Old Taupo Road, RotoruaTime: 6pm to 11pmEvening Format6pm to 7.30pm Dinner – Food Stall7.30pm to 9pm 1st part of Cultural Show90pm to 9.30pm Break9.30pm to 11pm 2nd part of Cultural ShowFree Admission And Evening Format6pm to 7.30pm Refreshments and Dinner.Cultural Show 7.30pm to 11pm.


The 56th birthday of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi was celebrated with great devotion and love by her Auckland based devotees on September 27. Devotees began pre

paring for the celebrations days in advance

and on the appointed day came dressed in their +%"4'$ 3*&'."4$ )"(#/%0$ 0/5'4$ &5$ 5&&,?$ 5#7/'$ (%,$

6&!"#4$(%,$"B"%$($3.&3&*('"$)/#'.,(-$3(<"1$The celebrations began at 10.30 am with all

devotees chanting Om. Lively bhajans were sung including one led by Ranjita who came especially from Invercargill. After the bhajans the devotees performed Arati. It was then time for the cake. Candles were lit and those assembled sang ‘Happy Birthday’. Food, in the Kerala style, prepared by some of the devotees was shared as Maha Prasad.

Help is needed for threeyearold Rasleen who is suffering from cerebral palsy as her mother met with an accident when she was in her womb and unfortunately blood supply was stopped to the brain of unborn Rasleen.Due to this she is unable to stand, talk,

walk or behave like kids her age and thus is totally dependent on her parents.She needs to be treated with stem cells

and this treatment is not available in New Zealand. The parents therefore plan to take her to

Qingdao Chengyang People Hospital, which works in collaboration with Beike Biotechnology Co Ltd, famous for expertise and treatment with stem cells. The treatment has to be an ongoing

2#&3"44$(%,$5&#$ '."$+#4'$ *&'$&5$ '#"('9"%'$ '."$parents need to raise NZ $60,000. Last week in a very emotional speech,

Daljit Singh, JP, Spokesman for the NZ Sikh Society requested the gathering at Takanini Sikh Temple to donate for this worthy cause. This resulted in $9000 being collected and

handed over to the mother. Readers of Indian Weekender who wish to contribute can do so

by depositing the money directly into a trust account specially set up for Rasleen as per the details below:A/C Name: Rasleen Treatment TrustA/C No: 010354025088300Bank : ANZBranch: ManurewaPhone: 09 279 2353Email: [email protected]

H.S. Basiala

Child in need of urgent medical help

Kojagiri Pournima was very special this year for the audiences in Auckland as the master Samvadini player, Jayant Bhalodkar, weaved his magic on 4(9B(,/%/$PH(#9&%/79R$!/'.$./4$+%0"#41$;/0#(%'$Heritage Charitable Trust Inc (Mighti) wanted to present something unique to its audiences and something that is very dear to all Maharashtrians. Marathi Natya sangeet, a gift to the international theatre is the most cherished art form of all Maharashtrians. So what better option than to present a program on Natya Sangeet? Present amongst the

audience was the noted and foremost critic of Hindustani music, Shri Mohan Nadkarni, who has now settled in New Zealand. Mighti took the opportunity to honour him at the event for his lifelong contribution as a music critic. Shri Ramanathan NataraF(%?$($%&'",$>\J$&5+3"#?$,/,$the honours on behalf of Mighti. Noted Maharashtrian personality, Dr Sudhakar Mayadeo honoured Shri Manohar Kulkarni, the Dadasaheb Phalke award winning cinematographer on behalf of Mighti, for his achievements in the area of cinematography. Mohan Nadkarni also honoured Bhalodkar for

his contribution towards music and his dedication towards the spread of Samvadini as an instrument par excellence. The evening started with the famous song from

Sangeet Manapaman, ‘de haata sharanagata’ in raag pilu. This was followed by ‘sakul tarak suta’ in raag bhimpalas, from Sangeet Swayamvar. The next one was in raag deshkar, ‘ratricha samay saruni’ from the play Sangeet Saubhadra. The era of KirloskarDeval (18801910) could not have been completed with a song from Sangeet Sanshay Kallol, and Bhalodkar duly obliged by playing ‘sanshay ka mani aala’ in raag maand. Bhalodkar highlighted that though Marathi

Natyasangeet is strictly classical in format, it is not restricted to the rules of the classical format. Musicians like Govindrao Patwardhan, have taken the liberty of moving away from the notations while experimenting with melody, but have remained true to its format.8."$ +#4'$ .(*5$ "%,",$ !/'.$ c%(#(-(%($ #(9($

ramana’ from Jai Jai Gauri Shankar in nata bhairav. The journey had highlighted the songs in the eras from 1880 to 1960. The advent of 1960s saw an emergence of a

new music director, Jitendra Abhisheki. He was the +#4'$ 974/3$ ,/#"3'&#$ !.&$experimented with Natya Sangeet in a big way. He based his compositions on a structured form and moved away from the traditional ‘bandish’ based tunes to ‘independent’ tunes which were based on classical structure, but were independent compositions. Bhaoldkar increased the

tempo of the evening when he played the raag todi based ‘so ham har damru’ from

the play Mandarmala. No show of Natyasangeet is complete without the mention of the play Katyar kaljat ghusli. Late Vasantrao Deshpande has made this play immortal with his singing. There is a song in this play ‘ghei chand makarand’ which is ren,"#",$/%$'!&$,/55"#"%'$#(0(41$>'$/4$B"#-$,/5+37*'$5&#$the musicians to play these songs one after another, but Bhalodkar reproduced both the versions with ease. The audience couldn’t hold themselves from applauding the extraordinary effort. Bhalodkar proved to the audience that the

‘samvadini’ is an instrument par excellence and can stand on its own in a show, not a mere accompaniment. It must also be noted here that Basant Madhur, who accompanied on the Tabla, did a fabulous job.

Prashant Belwalkar, for Migrant Heritage Charitable Trust Inc

Jayant Bhalodkar’s samvadini creates a nostalgic journey


Indian Community

Sumitra Iyer may not have been able to make it to Dorothy Winstone Centre on Saturday night, but the show did go on. And judging by the enthusiastic response of

the audience, the Music Masti night was a success as far as value entertainment and a showcase of talent was concerned. Sumitra, the Voice of India star, was the main

drawcard of the night, but could not make an appearance at the programme held in Howe St, Auck*(%,?$)"3(74"$4."$!(4$,&!%$!/'.$4!/%"$671 But her replacement, Manju Murthy, made

sure great entertainment was had by all. Manju, of Pune, captivated the audience with her rendition of Naina Barse Rhim Jhim, Rhim Jhim . . . and also with many other numbers. The absence of Sumitra also put the spotlight

on the young local talent who rose to the occasion to deliver memorable performances. Up and coming star Arpita Chanda more than

held her own; and judging by her performance on Saturday, she is well on the way to establishing herself as the leading female vocalist in Auckland.$ E$ 3&%+,"%'$ E#2/'($ 2"#5&#9",$ !/'.$ "(4"$ /%$

solo and duets, and showed a growing maturity as a singer.Asish Ramakrishnan led the charge for the

9(*"$4/%0"#4$!/'.$+%"$2"#5&#9(%3"4$(%,$0#"('$"%tertainment was provided by young Rachit Bhatia who not only has a great voice, but is quite a mover on stage too.Local radio personality Gopal Bhatia, as usual,

gave a strong performance and also was cohost for the evening.Young Siddarth also displayed a growing ma

'7#/'-$(%,$3&%+,"%3"$&%$4'(0"1The programme was made even more special

with the presence of master musicians from the Indian music industry – namely rhythm supremo Ajay Atre and keyboard specialist Mandar Deo. Local musician accompanying the stellar cast was bass guitarist Shivam.Ajay is well known in Auckland as he is on his

+5'.$B/4/'$5&#$($2"#5&#9(%3"$(%,$!(4$'."$)(3<)&%"$of the show. He is known as the tech wizard in the

+"*,$&5$974/3$(%,$($!"**$<%&!%$#.-'.9$2*(-"#$!.&$can play any kind of rhythm instrument ever made.He is also known as the Master of the R70

Rhythm Machine, there is no one at present that has a mastery over this machine as he does. A very humble and sincere person by nature, he can compose and arrange very intricate rhythm parts for any kind of music as required. He has been a

very important member of all live shows of playback singers and celebrities.He is a rhythm artist who can play the Rhythm

Machine, Tumba, Dholak/Dholki, Tabla, Djembe and the pads simultaneously during a live show. An artist, most respected, talked about and constantly in demand for every musical event.He also has his own musical group wherein

he has been doing a lot of corporate shows, multi star events in Pune and Mumbai. He has his own recording studio wherein a lot of the new and latest musical ideas are born and recorded by him. >%$4.&#'?$($B"#4('/*"?$ '"3.$4(B-?$2#&+3/"%'$ #.-'.9$artist, par excellence, he has no equals in his trade at the moment.Mandar Deo has been playing the keyboard for

the past 15 years and has accompanied almost all the singers/celebrities of today and yesteryears. He is most adept in playing anything on the spot without needing any rehearsals.Today, he is one of the leading keyboard players

who also does arranging, programming and composing. He has composed and arranged albums for Vaishali Samant, Avdhoot Gupte, Shibani Kashyap and is an intergral and important part of their live shows.Both Ajay and Mandar have also performed

with stars like Vaishali Samant, Avdhoot Gupte, Swapnil Bandodkar, Abhijit Sawant, Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Amit Kumar, Sachin, the late O.P. Nayyar, Sudesh Bhosale, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Suresh Wadkar, Sadhana Sargam and Johnny Lever.Show organizer Ram Iyer, of the Cultural

Forum of India, put together the show to mark its ZO'.$"B"%'$/%$'."$+B"$-"(#4$4/%3"$/'$3(9"$/%'&$"Iistence.Ram thanked the performers for the evening

!.&$.(,$4'"22",$72$'&$'."$&33(4/&%$'&$+**$/%$5&#$'."$missing Sumitra, especially Manju and lead guitarist Vijay Murthy.

Arvind Kumar

Young stars rise to the challenge

MUSIC MASTI:"CDE"F&-G+"F+;58>$$$)00.3"in for Sumitra Iyer at Music Masti. (2) Asish Ramakrishnan, a solid performer on Music Masti night. (3) Ajay Atre . . . a wizard on rhythmic instruments.(4) Mandar Deo, keyboard maestro. (5) Arpita Chanda carried the show well on her shoulders. (6) Rachit Bhatia had the crowd involved.


Indian Community news in pics

BA, LLBBarrister and solicitor!"#"$%&'%()&%*+,-.+-%/0+1'%23%405%678)97'%:;<2%(6)&('%=>?0@'%A-B.$+,1*0CD$"E%F6GH%I)G%(F6%%2J0,"E%KF9L%76(I6GG%%M+5E%KF9L76()&GG=@+D$E%++N0,O.+?JP+>$+QRB0R,S

For all your legal needsAaron Kashyap BA, LLB

Aaron Kashyap

1, 2, 3 & 4: Mt Albert Labour MP David Shearer and Te Atatu MP Chris Carter giving away the Indian Weekender best dressed child prizes at the Navratri celebrations at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre; the winners with the dignitaries

5: Prashant Tijore of Music 4 Dreamz presents the prize to the holder of the lucky winning ticket at the Fazal Qureshi concert. The prize was a $50 gift voucher.

6: Hastings’ Indian community’s day in the sun. The Hastings Indian community had a spot of sports to usher in the spring. Photos: H.S. Basiala

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Indian Community news in pics

Hamilton plans Diwali on October 25Indian Cultural Society Inc, a nonprofitable organisation based in Hamilton, has been celebrating this biggest Indian festival with all its fervour and enthusiasm for the past 19 years. Every year, it gives opportunity to around 200 local based artists to showcase their talents in Indian art forms. It also serves as an occasion of annual gettogether for most of the 1500 Indian families in the Waikato region. This year the Diwali festival will be celebrated by Indian Cultural Society by holding a 3.5

hour long stage programme on Sunday the 25th of October 2009 at Founders Theatre, Hamilton starting at 6 pm with mixing and mingling. Four professional Dance Schools from Auckland, Waikato and Hamilton are participating in this auspicious event. Classical, semiclassical and folk dances from most of the Indian States and Bollywood dances will be portrayed on stage. For the first time in the history of Indian Cultural Society Inc, an Australian Film production

company sponsored the organisation with an exclusive documentary on DIWALI, which will be shown for ten minutes at the beginning. As food and sweets are an unavoidable part of Diwali, this time food packets will be given to all the attendees. The ticket price is $10.00 with food.

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7. Cementing Partnership Parade. The Cementing Partnerships Parade took place in Manuaku City Centre on Saturday 26th September. It was proudly supported by Counties Manukau Police and Manukau City Council. The parade was about showing the society of Counties Manukau that working as one will help provide a safer community. Many groups took part in the march including Maori Wardens, Community Crime watch Patrols, Pacific Wardens, Mangere, Manurewa and Papatoetoe Ambassadors, Asian Council on Reducing Crime, The Sikh Council on Reducing Crime, The Fatimah Foundation, NZ Businesses and Retail Association, Manukau Indian Association, Bangladesh Community and the NZ Sikh Womens Organisation.

8: Barrister honoured. Arunjeev Walia being honoured by Senior Community leader Prithipal Singh MNZM for becoming a qualified Barrister in New Zealand. The community can contact him for free legal advice and free attestation of legal documents.

9: Navratri dancers in their colourful best at the Mahatma Gandhi centre.

10: NZ Police celebrates Eid with community. Standing in the picture are Gurpreet Arora of NZ Police, to his left is the president of the mosque Mohammed Hasim Khan. Standing beside him is the Imam of the mosque.11. Shots of Diwali celebration at the Beehive.

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Indian

Are you ready for the Diwali spirit?RAM LINGAM

Diwali or Deepavali (commonly known as ‘row of lights’) has a lot of spirit in it. Our celebrations of this yearly Diwali festival could have more meaning and bite to it, if we know its true spirit (%,$4/0%/+3(%3"?$(4$"I2*(/%",$)-$!/4"$(%,$*"(#%",$souls. Otherwise our Diwali and the greetings could be just an annual ritual. The wise say that the real 4/0%/+3(%3"$&5$_/!(*/$/4$/%'#/%4/3$(%,$./,,"%$/%$'."$very symbolic worship, rituals and traditions that we follow in our homes.Its common knowledge that the festival of lights

is a celebration of wisdom as it dispels the darkness of our ignorance. Ignorance of what? What is the real darkness, which must be dispelled? According to the Gurus of India, it’s the ignorance of the ultimate truth of life. Darkness is considered evil because it represents ignorance. Historically, we know that this festival of illu

9/%('/&%$!(4$'."$3"*")#('/&%$&5$Q&#,$Ld9T4$.&9"3&9/%0$ '&$ E-&,.-($ P'."$ *(%,$ &5$ %&G3&%6/3'$ e$ (Gyuddha) after killing Ravana. The spirit of Diwali, in the clarion call of the famous Advaita teacher J!(9/$J./B(%(%,$&5$L/4./<"4.?$ /4M$=U$Ld9f$8."$light of lights, the selfluminous inner light of the Self is ever shining steadily in the chamber of your heart. Sit quietly. Close your eyes. Withdraw the senses. Fix the mind on this supreme light and enjoy the real Deepavali, by attaining illumination of the soul…Many Deepavali festivals have come and gone. Yet the hearts of the vast majority are as dark as the night of the new moon. The house is lit with lamps, but the heart is full of the darkness of ignorance. O man! Wake up from the slumber of ignorance. Realise the constant and eternal light of the Soul which neither rises nor sets, through meditation and deep enquiry”. Diwali is also to celebrate the victorious return

of Lord Krishna, after killing Narakaasura the asura from narak (hell). Asura means ‘malicious people who are given to egoism, power, haughtiness, lust, anger and diabolically fallen – in other words physiologically a man but temperamentally an (%/9(*T?$(4$,"+%",$/%$'."$Holy Geeta.The origin of Diwali

in the Sikh community was since the illumination of the town of Amritsar commemorating the return of their sixth Guru Guru Har Gobind Ji (15951644). People illuminated lamps in the way to Shri Harmandhir Sahib (Golden Temple) to honor and welcome their beloved Guru. For the Jain community, the Diwali day is when their famous Thirthankar Vardhman Mahaveer attained enlightenment (Nirvana).The origin of Diwali historically clearly points

out to the celebration of ‘enlightened’ divine souls not just Lakshmi Puja. However it is the day we harvest the results of our hard work blessed with the wealth by Mother Lakshmi. In our worship, we pray

to her with gratitude and ask the gracious Mother to shower her blessings in abundance for the coming year. Like any other

Hindu or Indian festival, Diwali comes with its clear set of messages for making our lives ‘abundant’. Diwali is a religious day and associated with abundance as we invoke and worship Lakshmi ~ the Goddess of prosperity. It’s incorrect and ignorant to think one worships ‘money’ on Diwali. However the spiritual and wellness Guru Deepak Chopra 3&%+#94$ './4$ !/'.$4&9"$3*(#/+3('/&%$!."%$he says, “While many people spend their lives pursuing Lakshmi – money, fancy homes, luxury cars, and other symbols of wealth – true abundance isn’t about

getting your ego’s wish list met in a timely manner; it’s knowing that who you really are is pure consciousness, pure potentiality. Money, achievements, accolades – all of these are byproducts of life’s true gift: the unfolding of your inner divinity”.On Diwali day, we worship Goddess Lakshmi

as the Goddess of abundance in the true sense. But why do we want abundance when we know that in the end we will not take it all with us. The answer is in the word ‘Abundance’ itself. Abundance is derived from the Latin word ‘Abundantia’ coming from the root word ‘undare’, which means “rising /%$!(B"4T$4/0%/5-/%0$'.('$!"$6&!$/%$'."$"I2"#/"%3"$&5$*/5"$#/4/%0$/%$!(B"4$&5$/%+%/'"$()7%,(%'$"%"#0-$&5$the universe. Abundance is not just more money and good fortune as we generally understand Goddess Lakshmi to be, but also means abundance in way of friendships and relationships, wisdom, inspired expression, good health, caring interactions, zeal, 3&%+,"%3"?$2"(3"$&5$9/%,$"'31The following anecdote gives the essence of

abundance. A man leaves his remote village and travels the world. After many years, he returns home. The villagers gather around him and enquired if life in the world was good. He replied, “Same as this place. It is perfect for those who know how to live fully.”Hindu Gurus have always deciphered and

brought to the fore meaningful lifelessons that are inherent in our festivals. Since we light lamps in Diwali, here’s one such meaning of Diwali in the tradition of Vedantic teachings: ‘Fill the Heart with the oil of Love. Place in it the wick of singlepointed mind. Light it with the Knowledge of Truth and remove the darkness of Ignorance around you. Just as one lamp can light many lamps; let each of us kindle this Light in many hearts.’Happy Deepavali to you and your families. May the spirit of Diwali bring your way, bright

sparkles of contentment that stay with you through the days ahead.

Is there more to Diwali than just wishing Happy Diwali, enjoying lovely costumes and eating sweets?

“While many people spend their lives pursuing Lakshmi – money, fancy homes, luxury cars, and other symbols of wealth – true abundance isn’t about getting your ego’s wish list met in a timely manner; it’s knowing that who you really are is pure consciousness, pure potentiality. Money, achievements, accolades – all of these are byproducts of life’s true gift: the unfolding of your inner divinity.”

- Deepak Chopra (spiritual and wellness Guru)

Diwali Special


Indian Diwali Special

8."$+B"$,(-$5"4'/B(*$747(**-$5(**4$/%$U3'&)"#GNovember, commencing with ‘DhanTeras’ and ending on ‘Bhaiduj’. The main day of celebration varies regionally which involves +#"!&#<4?$*/0.'4?$6&!"#4?$4.(#/%0$4!""'4?$(%,$worship to symbolize hope and restoration. Some use this occasion to strengthen family and social relationships.

ORIGIN OF DEEPAVALI

g$_""2(B(*/$!(4$'."$,(-$!."%$J#/$L(9(T4$coronation took place after his victorious return to Ayodhya from Lanka vanquishing Ravana and his brood. In the absence of the effulgent Rama, Ayodhya was a city of darkness. The return of Rama was hailed by the people of Ayodhya as the return of divine effulgence and hence they celebrated the event by the lighting of lamps everywhere.

g$ $ 8.&74(%,4$ &5$ -"(#4$ (0&$ '."#"$ !(4$ ($planet called Naraka which appeared to be ap2#&(3./%0$3*&4"$'&$'."$"(#'.1$@"&2*"$!"#"$+**",$with dread of the approaching catastrophe, hence prayed to Lord Krishna for averting the imminent disaster and to save them. Krishna used His Prajna (extraordinary knowledge) to destroy Naraka. This extraordinary knowledge of Krishna was termed Sathya. i.e., Krishna destroyed Naraka in association with Sathya. The residents of the world started celebrating that day with lighting of lamps and adoring the Lord who saved them. That day of the Lord’s triumph was celebrated as a festive occasion as Deepavali too.

g$ V(#(<(47#($ /92#/4&%",$ '.&74(%,4$ &5$princesses and tortured innumerable women. Unable to bear these indignities, the women appealed to Krishna for help. As Narakasura .(,$ /%6/3'",$ 4755"#/%04$ &%$ !&9"%?$ ."$ .(,$to be punished by a woman. For this reason,

Krishna took Sathyabhama with Him and destroyed him in battle. Vijayadasami celebrates the victory of Krishna over Narakasura. It is also known as Naraka Chaturdasi. The following day is Amavasya (New Moon Day). Krishna freed from prison 16,000 women and asked them to go back to their respective homes.

g$ _""2(B(*/$ !(4$ '."$ ,(-$ !."%$ Q&#,$Vamana sent the Emperor Bali to the Nether World after getting the promise of three feet of ground (measured by the Lord’s foot) from Bali

g$$$_""2(B(*/$!(4$'."$,(-$&%$!./3.$K92"#&#$Vikramaditya ascended the throne.

INNER MEANING OF DEEPAVALI

The Vedic Prayer, “Tamasomaa Jyotir Gamaya”; Lead me from Darkness to Light. This means light is needed where there is darkness. What is this darkness? Sorrow is one form of darkness. Loss of Peace is another. Disappointment is the form of darkness. Misery is yet another. Lack of enthusi

asm is another. All these are different forms of darkness. To get rid of the darkness of sorrow, you have to Light the Lamp of happiness. To dispel the darkness of disease, you have to install the light of health. To get over the darkness of losses and failures, you have to usher in the light of prosperity.

Lead me from the blindness of ignorance into the vision of the Truth. Cleanse the mind (%,$'."$8#7'.$!/**$)"$#"6"3'",$'."#"/%1$$$8."#"$is something beyond the physical body and 9/%,$ !./3.$ /4$ 27#"?$ /%+%/'"?$ (%,$ "'"#%(*?$called the Atma. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light, the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one’s true nature, not as the body, )7'$(4$'."$7%3.(%0/%0?$/%+%/'"?$/99(%"%'$(%,$transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atma, come universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge) that brings Ananda (Bliss).

Deepavali is a festival which is designed to celebrate the suppression of the Ego by the Higher Self. Man is plunged in the darkness of

ignorance and has lost the power of discrimination between the permanent and the evanescent. When the darkness of ignorance caused by Ahamkara (the egofeeling) is dispelled by the light of Divine knowledge, the effulgence of the Divine is experienced.

HOW TO OBSERVE DEEPAVALI?

Deepavali has to be observed as a day for getting rid of all the bad qualities in us. As long as the demonic qualities remain in man, he will be immersed in darkness. Bad qualities and thoughts have to be got rid of altogether.

Many Deepavali festivals have come and gone. The house is lit with lamps, but the heart is full of the darkness of ignorance. The lamp is not merely the symbol of the knowledge to Truth. It is also the symbol of the One, the Atma that shines in and through all this multiplicity. Just as with one lamp, a thousand lamps can be lit and the One is as bright as ever in spite of the thousands deriving light from it, so too, the Atma illumines the Jiva (individual) and shines in and through them, without undergoing any diminution in its splendor. The Atma is the Cause; all else are effects. Wake up from the slumber of ignorance. Realize the constant and eternal light of the Atma. May you all attain full inner illumination! May the supreme Light of Lights enlighten your understanding! May you all attain the inexhaustible spiritual wealth of the Self! May you all prosper gloriously on the material as well as spiritual planes!

Ravinder Grover

Deepavali; “Array of Lights,” symbolizes the victory of brightness over darkness; its most significant esoteric meaning is “The Awareness of the Inner Light.”



Thousands throng Auckland Diwali melaARVIND KUMAR AND DEV NADKARNI

Thousands took advantage of a glorious weather last Sunday to enjoy Auckland’s Diwali festivities at the Viaduct.Young, old, Indians, nonIndians – they all

jammed into the waterfront venue to enjoy traditional Indian food and nonstop entertainment which included Bollywood dance competitions and many other traditional items.As one visitor remarked: “It was close to a

mela in India.”The festival was declared open by Prime

Minister John Key who emphasised the contributions of the Indian community to New Zealand, and the desire to promote relations between the two countries.Diwali Festival, which traditionally cel

ebrates the return of Bhagwan Ram from exile (5'"#$S[$-"(#4?$.(4$)"3&9"$($2#&9/%"%'$+I'7#"$on the local calendar throughout the country.The twoday festival got off to a colourful

start on Saturday with thousands of people attending despite inclement weather and the continuing bus strike that put Auckland’s commuters to severe inconvenience since Thursday of the previous week.8."$&5+3/(*$57%3'/&%$)"0(%$!/'.$'."$*/0.'/%0$

of the lamp and a prayer recited by the priest of Auckland’s Bharatiya Mandir in the presence of several Members of Parliament, Indian govern9"%'$ &5+3/(*4$ (%,$9(F&#$ 42&%4&#4$ &5$ '."$ 5"4'/val including the Asia New Zealand Foundation who had gathered on the stage.Wishing Kiwi Indians a Happy Diwali,

Prime Minister John Key, with tilak smeared on his forehead, said the Diwali festival had grown to become one of New Zealand’s biggest festivals in recent years in line with other major "B"%'4$ */<"$ @(4/+<(1$ H"$ 4(/,$ ."$ !(4$ *&&</%0$

forward to the Diwali party at the Beehive next Tuesday.He acknowledged the contribution of Indians

to New Zealand society and the economy and said his government was committed to developing and strengthening links with India. A new consulate general is planned in Mumbai, he said and also referred to New Zealand’s plans to pursue the free trade agreement with India. Mr Kunal Roy, Acting High Commissioner was also present at the function.

With Mr Key on the stage were National Party colleagues – Ethnic Affairs Minister Pansy Wong and list MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi. Labour MP Chris Carter and Green Party MP Keith Locke were also present.Over the next two days, a string of variety

programmes were organised both by local and international groups including the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) which has sent a group of traditional Baul singers from Bengal.

NonIndians enjoyed the festivities as much as Indians living in New Zealand did.A wide range of traditional food was on offer

including bhel puri, pani puri, pav bhaji, masala chai, ginger chai, samosa, idli, chutney, chhole bhatoure besides the customary Diwali sweets.One of the vendors said the masala chai and

samosa were among the most popular treats enjoyed by all patrons.The festival celebrations ended with a grand

+#"!&#<4$,/42*(-$(#&7%,$Sh291

Auckland music lovers witnessed a great concert by musical maestro Padma Vibhushan, Sangeetha Virinchi Dr Mangalampalli Bala Muralikrishna on October 2, 2009 at the Dorothy Winstone Centre. The standing ovation given by the music

lovers on the arrival of musical genius on to the stage tells us the respect he attained in the hearts of Indian art lovers. The evening’s concert was one of its kind and around 700 music lovers attended the concert with a curiosity that how this 79 year old Sangeetha Kalanidhi is going to mesmerize the crowd.That’s what happened. It was superb. Spell

binding. Great at this age. This was the response by most music lovers. An artist with an experience of more than

23,000 concerts worldwide knows the exact technique how to impress the audience. The variation in ragas and compositions gave a great feel about the concert.He started the concert with his own composi

tion “Sri Sakala Ganadhipa” in raga Arabhi followed by Akhilandeswari, Kaumari Gouri and Sundari nee divya roopamu (Main item of the evening) compositions of musical trinity Syama Sastry, Muthuswamy Deekshithar and Sri Tyagaraja. In the second half he presented few keertha

nas of Saint Purandara Dasa, Ramadas, Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, Narayana Theertha, and his own classic Thillana in ragam Kadanakutoohalam.Many Indian organisations such as NZ Telugu

Association, Auckland Indian Association, Bharatiya Samaj Charitable Trust, Academy of Fine Arts, Auckland Malayalee Samajam, Aiswarya Entertainments Ltd came forward to felicitate the artiste of the evening.The main organiser of the event Sangeetha

Bharathi music school has conferred the title “Sangeetha Virinchi” to Dr Bala Muralikrishna during the concert and released a souvenir on behalf of Auckland music lovers. The coorganiser Rasikas NZ has presented Life Time Achievement award to Dr BMK during this occasion.

He was aptly supported by the accompanists Peravali Jayabhaskar on the Mridangam and Ammula Satyavathi on the Violin. Kumari Vishnu Priya Mallela also supported him (Vocal) for few songs.The Principal of Sangeetha Bharathi music

school Mrs Padma Govardhan is a disciple of Dr Bala Muralikrishna and Aiswarya Entertainments Ltd has honoured Mrs. Govardhan with an award “Sincere Teacher” for her services to music in Auckland since last 11 years. It was presented by Dr BMK. Receiving an award from her own guru was a memorable occasion for Mrs Padma Govardhan. Dr Bala Muralikrishna also performed in

Wellington on October 3, 2009 evening which was organised by New Zealand Indian Fine Arts Society.On October 4 evening Aiswarya Entertain

ment hosted a Dance and Music workshop by Dr Saraswathi (Dance) and Dr Bala Muralikrishna (music) which was attended by around 150 students. The dance workshop was coordinated by Mrs. Selvi Kumar of Narthanalayam.

Great concert by a musical genius

DIWALI IN AUCKLAND: (Clockwise) DiwaliAucklandyoung artistes prepare for the show; A food stall; PM John Key addresses



The Waitakere Diwali festival celebrated at the Trusts stadium on the 4th of October reached new heights with about 20,000 people enjoying the day’s festivities. There was a wide range of food and trade stalls

for the cognisors, children enjoyed the kids amusements provided, the performances were mind )*&!/%0$(%,$'."$+#"!&#<4$#"(**-$!&!",$"B"#-)&,-1 A prayer from Hindu Priest Pravin Maharaj and

a Maori blessing by Kaumatua Dennis Hanson from Hone Waititi marae kicked off the event. This was followed by a variety of shows including traditional and Bollywood dances from popular groups including Dance fever studio, Neelima dance group and Monisha Dance School. The evenings programme started with an of

+3/(*$&2"%/%0$3"#"9&%-$!."#"$;/%/4'"#$&5$K'.%/3$Affairs, Hon Pansy Wong was the chief guest, also in attendance was Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey, Hon Chris Carter, Labour MP’s Lynne Pillay, Dr. Rajen Prasad, National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, CEO of Waiatkere City Vijaya Vaidyanath and leaders of the community and sponsors.Welcome Arti and NZ national anthem was per

formed by WIA Hindi School students, followed by the laser light show on Diwali theme and music. The evening programme included Ram Leela

drama from Hindi School, Bollywood performances for dance groups. Naj da Punjabi group concluded

the performances with a round of Bhangra items that had the public dancing in front of the stage. 8."$@7%F()/$0#&72$'."%$*",$'."$27)*/3$'&$'."$+#"

works grandstand, playing the dhol and dancing all the way to the grounds. At about 10.00pm the night was lit up with a

9&4'$(4'&7%,/%0$,/42*(-$&5$+#"!&#<4$"B"#$4""%$/%$(%$event like this. It lasted for about 15mins and had the crowd cheering and clapping all the way. This event was organised by a committee

formed by members of the Indian community, community group reps, WEB reps and was led by Waitakere Indian Association (WIA). WIA executive member and Diwali Project

manager Sanjay Kumar said, “This grand success of has been achieved by everyone’s valuable contribution and the credit goes to the sponsors, performers, volunteers, stallholders and everyone who took their time out to be part of the celebrations and to express their love and to show their respect for our great festival.” WIA president Manoj Tahal added that WIA is

committed to serving not only the Indian community but also all the communities residing in Waitakere and the efforts put into this festival is a proof of that. “On behalf of the Diwali Committee, I wish to extend my sincerest gratitude and Tons of thanks for making 2009 Waitakere Diwali a great success.”


Trust (KWCT) in 2009 with the aim to support and jointly celebrate festivals, interests and ambitions of different ethnic communities such as from India,Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Fiji etc brought together hope and smile on the faces of Muslims and Hindus as they jointly celebrated the EIDIWALI on Tuesday 6 October 2009. The occasion touched hearts of all present and provided an opportunity to revitalize relationship bonds under the umbrella of the Holy Festivals such as Eid and Diwali. While Mrs Sushma Madan explained the sig

%/+3(%3"$ &5$_/!(*/?$ _#1$E49($ "I2*(/%",$ ()&7'$the importance of Eid festival.The program started with the welcome

address by the Chairman Jeet Suchdev followed by a speech from the Chief Guest, Dr. Ashraf Choudhary MP who was pleased to see such a

great enthusiasm and turn out of families dressed in their best to celebrate their major festivals together. Dr. Asad Mohsin also was very pleased with the efforts of Koshish in bringing the communities together. This was followed by a cultural programme which was ably lead by Mr Ubed Ansari and Kunal Khanna, provided a golden opportunity to enjoy songs, dances and Shairi presented by young and old members of Koshish and other invited participants.The programme, wound up with a vote of

thanks by the vice President Mr, Hari Prakash khanna and a cheque of $6000.00 was presented by the Trustees which was collected during the last month Fundraising Dinner organised by Koshish charitable trust to help International student Manwendra Sharma who was disabled during an unfortunate accident.

Waitakere Diwali Festival a hit Koshish Trust celebrates Diwali


Indian In Focus

The origins of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre go back to 1937 when the Auckland Indian community bought the Gandhi Hall site. But the Great Depression and then World WarII put severe constraints 5&#$ #(/4/%0$ +%(%3"4$ '&$ ,"B"*&2$ '."$ 4/'"?$ (%,$ (4$ ($result new development was postponed ro as many as eleven years, until 1948.It took a small number of community members

seven long years to raise the money thereafter and '."$ .(**$!(4$ /%(707#('",$ &%$U3'&)"#$ Z?$ SiOO?$ +'tingly on Gandhi Jayanti day. Since then, the hall has grown from strength to strength becoming one of the most useful venues for the Indian community not only in Auckland but also in the country.The original hall, though, soon became inad

equate to house the growing Indian diaspora and by

1980, it was not even big enough to host a wedding. The association looked at many sites for developing the Hall in a bigger manner and in August 1990, bought the present site, which was the Findlay’s Bakery building for the sum of $1.9 million. Money for the purchase was raised in a variety

of ways. The original Gandhi Hall was worth $400,000. There was $108,000 in the bank to which were added funds that were raised by members and supplemented by a loan of $350,000 from the ANZ Bank. The purchase was completed a year later in 1991.The complex, though by no means complete,

was opened by the then Prime Minister of New Zealand Hon Jim Bolger in May 1994. On the occasion, President Raman Patel said, “We are bringing

a little bit of the Taj Mahal to Eden Terrace.”Since those early days, the association has con

tinually striven to develop the complex and it has taken twenty years and over $6 million to get to the present stage of the Centre.The complex today stands on a one hectare plot

and comprise a built up area of 75,000 feet. Most of the cash for the development of the complex was raised by families in amounts ranging from $3000 to $50,000. The ASB Charitable Trust, the Auckland City

Council and the Lotteries Commission also made large contributions. But the bulk of it all was raised by the lay people, the hundreds of Indian families of (B"#(0"$+%(%3/(*$9"(%4$!.&$(*4&$27'$/%$($*&'$&5$.(#,$work as volunteers over two decades.

The year 2001 saw the completion of the Radha X#/4.%($9(%,/#?$ (5'"#$ +B"$ -"(#4$ &5$ 2*(%%/%0$ (%,$further fund raising. This activity raised over a million dollars from the community. The Pran Pratishtha ceremony and rituals (cnsecration of the deities) was celebrated in June 2001.Over the years, the Centre has received the

blessings of a number of holy personages like Muniji, Shri Rameshbhai Oza and Murari Bapu. Several leaders have also graced the venue including political and business leaders, statesmen, Prime Ministers, Members of Parliament, Councillors and Mayors. Visitors from India have included senior leaders

like Pranab Mukherjee, heads of the Indian Army and Navy, successive High Commissioners and a

Auckland’s Mahatma Gandhi Centre

THE ORIGINS OF THE MAHATMA GANDHI CENTRE GO BACK TO 1937 WHEN THE AUCKLAND INDIAN COMMUNITY BOUGHT THE GANDHI HALL SITE

From humble origins to the centre of gravity for the community


Indian In Focus

number of Indian Members of Parliament.The Mahatma’s 136th birth anniversary, October

2, 2005, was marked with the unveiling of the full size bronze statue that adorns the top of the centre at the main entrance of the building. The statue was sculpted in India, a process that took seven months, and was air freighted to Auckland.A host of luminaries and dignitaries attended the

unveiling including Mahatma Gandhi’s great grand daughter, Leela Gandhi, former Prime Minister Helen Clark, the then opposition leader Don Brash and former Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard. The venue has played host to some of the most

4/0%/+3(%'$ 4&3/(*?$ 37*'7#(*?$ #"*/0/&74$ (%,$ 974/3(*$events and festivals throughout the last few decades. “It is the best investment we have made for the en

richment of the community,” says Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Shri Kanu Patel. The Centre’s success is clearly attributable to

the humble, ordinary members achieving extraordinary results with their commitment to fund raising, !&#</%0$ 4"*6"44*-$ (%,$ #"*"%'*"44*-$ '&!(#,4$ /'4$success – a contribution far greater than that made by the wealthy and professional individuals of the community.On this anniversary occasion, the trustees and

members of the Centre urge all members of the community to join in the efforts to help lay the foundation for building a new centre and a new building '.('$#"6"3'4$&7#$#/3.$37*'7#"?$974/3?$,(%3"?$(#3./'"3ture, art and heritage. A sum of about $20 million is what would be needed for this effort.

On 3rd of October Auckland Indian Association Celebrated the Gandhi Jayanti at Mahatma Gandhi Centre. The celebration was well attended by many people older and younger. Indians feel proud that 2nd October is now recognized as a Non Violence day by United Nations. The Chief Guest Mr Ramanbhai Ganda lit the Diya (Ghee Lamp) and garlanded the Gang

hiji’s photo. The Gandhi Grah Gujarati School children performed some items : Songs, quotes, short biography, and cultural items. Unveiling of Gandhiji’s bust was done by a senior and life member of the Association Shri Chhotubhai Sima. It was a unique and an emotional moment. The Gandhiji’s bust was donated by the Chairman of the Global Indian Foundation New Zealand, Shri Venkat Raman. Mr Sima spoke about Gandhiji who taught the world Truth and Non violence. The Tagore Library was inaugurated by Dr Rajendra Prasad. The Library is equipped with

computers, magazines, books, CDs and DVDs in Hindi, Gujarati, English and Kannada. The association is planning to expand the library for other Indian regional groups. Most of the books are educational, cultural, history and religious. The Library also have security camera, bar coding, security gate and computers with broadband.Dr Lingappa Kalburgi the Secretary of the association spoke about International Day for

Older People (IDOP). It was very pleasing to see many senior people attended the function.Mr Sanjay Ganda and Mr Kanu Patel (Chairman of Board of Trustee) spoke about digital

archive of the association. Finally the celebration was concluded with light refreshment.

Gandhi Jayanti & Tagore Library inauguration

May the festival of light

encircle your life with Joy and

Happiness. May this bright day

bless you with health, wealth

and prosperity.

With these blessings sending

my warm wishes.

Pravinbhai C Patel

Chairman

Sri Radha Krishna Temple


Indian

Recipe by Ruby Dhillon

WEEKENDCUISINE

350g- Pasta (preferably shell shaped)

0.150kg- Ham (any kind of ham that

your kids like)

150ml- cream

1cup- grated cheese

½-cup- Parmesan cheese, grated

25g- Butter

1tbs- parsley chopped

Salt and pepper according to taste

1. Practice Pranayam package of 8 breathing exercises every day. (Contact us for free Yoga classes 09 6223308)

2. Take Medha Vati twice a day before meal for better and quick results.

3. Take Ashwagandha Churna/Capsule everyday to help mind and body become accustomed better to stress.

4. Try to take meals same time everyday (Never skip breakfast).

5. Laughter is a great way to relieve stress. If you find something funny, have a good belly laugh. Watch funny movies. Read funny stories.

Next Issue: Back Pain Note: Next free Yoga class held on 18th October, Sunday 10am-11.30am at India trade group, Unit E, 8 Bishop Lenihan place, Botany (Opp. Botany Junction).

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Ingredients:Method:

New Zealand Indian Central Association (Inc.)PO Box 1941 Wellington, New Zealand

President: Ratilal Champaneri Phone: 021 383 859 Email: [email protected]

Gen Secretary: Veer KharPhone: 0274 417 654Email: [email protected]

Advertisement

!"#$%&'()&*(+,(&-&(&%./0&123456.78&

5 Easy tips for StressBy Swami Ramdevji

DIWALI GREETINGS!83 Year Old New Zealand Indian Central Association Wishes

All Kiwis

Prosperity (Blessings from Laxmi)Good Governance (Ram Rajya)Enlightenment (Jyoti Prakash)

NZICA also congratulates Auckland Indian Association (One of the foundation branches of NZICA) on completion of 20 years of functioning in Gandhi Hall – a landmark for all Kiwi-Indians in New Zealand and for starting a long overdue

Library with a focus on India

Cook pasta in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain and keep it aside.

Melt butter in a pan. Add pasta fol-lowed by chopped ham. Toss well over a gentle heat.

Blend in crème, grated hard cheese and parsley. Mix well.

Season with salt and pepper, Serve hot sprinkled with parmesan cheese on top.


Indian

NZ-5.1a / © 2009 Amrita Bharati, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan; e-mail: [email protected]

HA!

TRIVIA

SEE ‘N’ SMILE !"#!$%&'()*

THE LIGHTER SIDE

TIMEPASS

Answers :

EASY DRAW

FAMOUS FIRST

Draw a stork in 4 easy steps.

THE father of a teenager was heard tellinghis friend, “My father used to punish me bysending me off to my room without supperif I misbehaved. But I can’t even do that tomy son.”

His friend asked,“Why is that so?”

“His room has aTV, computer, CDplayer and atelephone too.”

“Then what do youdo?” asked the friend.

“I send him off to myroom.”

A Stitch In Time1.Razvin has 70 marbles.2.The years are in BC, not AD,

as you probably assumed.3. Because the mug contained

water, not milk!4.You can’t dig half a hole, can

you?!

2. A lexande rwas 20 yearsold in 1980,but only 15years old in1985. Doyou knowhow?

1. Razvin and Zeenat together have 120marbles. Razvin has 20 marbles morethan Zeenat. How many marbles doesRazvin have?

INDIA’S first featurefilm called !"#$%&'(,made by R.G. Tornay,was released on May 18,1912 at the CoronationTheatre in Bombay.!"#$%&'( was a silentnarrative film based on the life ofa Maharashtriansaint of the same name.

3. Chintu was carrying his mug tohis room taking good care to seethat not a drop from it spilt, whenhe accidentally tripped over a toycar. As you can imagine, the mugfell from his hand on to the floorand broke into a hundred pieces.What was surprising was that nota drop of milk fell on the floor.How’s that possible?

4. If it takes four men to dig two holes andtwo men to dig one hole, how many menwill it take to dig half a hole?

A man and his wife were cleaning the attic one day. They found a receiptfor a pair of shoes given for repairing. It was 12 years old. They both laughedand tried to remember who had forgotten to collect the shoes from theshop.

The man asked his wife, ‘Do you think the shoes would still be there?’‘I think not,’ said the wife.The man said, ‘But there is no harm in checking.’ He put the

receipt in his pocket, went down and rode straight to the shop.With a straight face he gave the receipt to the man

at the shop.‘Just a minute,’ the man at the shop said, and

disappeared inside. A few minutes later he called out,‘Here they are!’

‘Terrific,’ the owner of the shoes exclaimed. ‘Whowould have thought they would be there after solong?’The man at the shop came outside empty-handedand said, ‘they will be ready by Thursday.’

IN 2002, Germany's footballer Oliver Kahnbecame the first goalkeeper to win the 'MostValuable Player of the World Cup' title.


Indian Finance

RAVI MEHTA OLIVER PEREIRA

The solicitor and mortgage broker’s roles in a house purchase transaction

Are your Life Insurance premiums becoming unaffordable?

Rate for Age (RFA) or Level Premium structure? That is one of the key questions to consider when opting for a term life product. If you are looking for certainty of premium

affordability, does an RFA or Level Premium structure really make that much difference?The short answer is yes, it does. The

premium structure recommended by an adviser will have a direct inf luence on your ability to afford the cover both in the short and long terms and the ability to purchase other insurance products relevant at the time.Over the past few years, trends show that

Level Premium structures have experienced something of resurgence.This structure has been tacitly, if not

overtly, endorsed and promoted by all of the Life Insurance companies and has effectively created two schools of thought as to the relative benefits of each premium structure. Is there room for some middle ground?Common sense dictates that the answer is

neither one, to the exclusion of the other. Each has its own benefits and advantages, so here are some points to consider when considering a term life Cover.

1. AT THE POINT OF PURCHASEIn an extremely competitive market, where

premium affordability is one of the main considerations, RFA most times depending on age, will always be at a lower premium and you get the Life Cover you require and probably would meet your expectation of a market competitive rate.

2. IS IT GUARANTEED?However RFA premiums are usually guar

anteed for 12 months and would increase on the next policy anniversary date. Hence there are level premium options worth considering for various periods e.g. 10 years/to Age 65/to Age 80 etc. However not all Level Premiums are created equal. If you are considering a Level Premium structure, make sure there is an underlying premium guarantee in the policy wordings, backed up by an assurance that it will not be compromised by the proposed new life tax changes, which will come in effect in July 2010, and will likely result in an increase in premiums on all new life policies after that date. Anything less than this guarantee effectively negates the objective of premium certainty. Furthermore, while mortality rates are generally improving in some age brands, unaffordable premiums during older years results in forced decisions for either decreasing the Life Cover amounts assured or in cancellations of Life Cover policies. A premium guarantee is, therefore, nonnegotiable.

3. ARE YOU GETTING VALUE FOR MONEY?It is fair as a client to consider the best

value for your money. In the respect, the purchase of an insurance product is no different from the purchase of other commodities. It is therefore prudent at the time of opting for Level premium structure to check also the affordability of the total Life cover sum assured. Given that a Level Premium for a set amount assured is approximately twice the price of an RFA premium at point of purchase and you can achieve/receive double the amount of cover with an RFA premium.

4. CONSIDER SPREADING YOUR

DOLLARS TO COVER RISK OTHER THAN LIFE ONLYFinancial planners often talk about risk

strategies and diversification of investment portfolios when looking to minimise the level of risk to their clients. Similarly, for a client opting for an RFA premium structure as opposed to Level Premium can leave some ‘dollars on the table’ to be utilised elsewhere. Clients can the use this ‘extra’ premium for other insurance purchases, such as health cover or disability income protection. Experienced advisers will tell you that they never hear complaints from clients who received too much at claim time or were able to lodge multiple benefit claims.

5. THE BEST OF BOTHRather than opting simply for an RFA or

Level Premium structure, there’s a compelling argument for a combination of two. In all likelihood you may have a home loan with a combination of fixed and f loating rate components. In that scenario, the bulk of the home loan that will not be repaid in the short term is fixed while the remainder is f loating and able

to be easily manipulated as circumstances demand.Similarly, there may be an underlying

amount of debt or requirement for term life cover that will suit a Level Premium structure while the balance may be more suited to an RFA structure where you can pay for the cover that is affordable today.

6. POLICY ANNIVERSARYEven though the RFA premium is afford

able at the point of purchase of a Life Cover and meets with your expectations of market competitive rate there will certainly come a point in time when you will start to query increasing RFA premiums, especially as you are getting older. The increase in premiums in certain age bands increase significantly on policy anniversary renewal dates. This is the point at which you may want to consider the Level Premium concept, especially as this can be accomplished without further medical underwriting (as long as the sum assured has not increased). This Level premium structure option will help achieve greater premium certainty.As with most things in life, there is no right

or wrong answer to this debate. However, there is a more persuasive argument for effective use of both RFA and Level Premium structures to achieve affordability with advancing age and help meet your changing risk requirement in your journey through life.

The above information has been provided to serve only as a guideline to assist in evaluating your insurance needs. You are encouraged to do your own research before

arriving at any decisions.For further information, please contact:Oliver Pereira – OPM Insurance Services

Ltd.Ph. 0800 66 77 92, Faxmail. 021 551 669

Mobile. 021 66 77 92Email: [email protected]

Answers to some Common questions on Property related issues1. What is the difference between Joint

Ownership and ownership as Tenants in CommonThese are two types of ownership of a prop

erty. In case of joint tenancy, the ownership of property will automatically transfer to the other owner/s if one of the joint owners dies irrespective of what his/her will states. Normally, the properties among husband and wife are owned jointly. It means on the title of property, the individual shares are not mentioned. Normally we will say that property is owned in 50:50 partnership, but it is not the case.It is in case of Tenants in Common, that in

,/B/,7(*$4.(#"4$&5$ '."$&!%"#4$(#"$,"+%",1$U%$the title, it will show as ½ share of say X and ½ share of say Y. In case of this type of ownership, the share of one person will not transfer to other if he/she dies. It will go to his/her legal heirs in accordance with law (in case there is no Will); otherwise it will go according to your Will, if a valid Will is there. Normally if you buy a property jointly with say your friend or )74/%"44$2(#'%"#?$-&7$!/**$+%,$'.('$-&7#$4&*/3/tor has done the ownership rightly as tenants in common and the title shows your individual shares.

2. My mortgage is $345000, but the loan documents I have signed with bank show the priority amount as $550000. Can you please explain to me what this priority amount is? Let’s take an example: You have taken a

mortgage of $345000 today. The total amount outstanding against you can go up in future. It can be that you take a top up and borrow more or it can be, say that you are unable to pay

your mortgage and it goes in arrears and the expenses, interest of the lender start to accrue and get added to loan. In the mean time, say you have taken another loan from some other +%(%3/(*$/%4'/'7'/&%$(%,$'.('$/%4'/'7'/&%$.(4$0&'$4"3&%,$9&#'0(0"$&B"#$'."$2#&2"#'-?$+#4'$3.(#0"$being of your bank.Now, you are unable to come up with

payment and clear the arrears of loan and the lender takes your property to mortgagee sale. There are competing claims against your house )"'!""%$ -&7#$ )(%<$ (%,$ '."$ 4"3&%,$ +%(%3/(*$institution. You owe to bank, together with default interest, penalties, legal fees incurred by bank, say $570000, you owe to second lender $35000 in total. The property is sold forcibly and the net sale proceeds are $580000 (for example). In this scenario, your bank will get $550000 as they have got priority up to this amount. They will have to compete with other creditors for rest of the amount.Normally, the lending institutions safe

guard their positions and that is the reason, priority amounts are set at higher amount. For you, as a borrower, it has got no adverse effect as the bank cannot ask for more than what is due to them on any date. If you owe to them as in your case, $345000, you will need to pay $345000 only.

Ravi Mehta is an Auckland based Financial Advisor and can be contacted on

[email protected] disclosure statement under Securities

Markets Act relating to his services is available on request and is free of charge. For further information, please visit

#.*,(5."###$%;/4.,,(/-&0)-&-'(&0$'/$-H

Experienced advisers will tell you that they never hear complaints from clients who received too much at claim time or were able to lodge multiple benefit claims.


Indian

SUNIL KHEMLANI

Finance

For individual investors who want to put money into real estate, REITs offer perhaps the most accessible 2('.$!/'.&7'$973.$ &5$ '."$ "I2"%4"$ &#$ ,/5+37*'-$ &5$buying properties directly.What is a REIT?A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a real

estate company that offers common shares to the public (through listing on a stock exchange). In this way, a REIT stock is similar to any other stock that represents ownership in an operating business. A REIT however has two unique features: its primary business is managing groups of incomeproducing 2#&2"#'/"4$(%,$/'$,/4'#/)7'"4$9&4'$&5$/'4$2#&+'4$(4$,/B/dends. REITs are like ordinary landlords in most ways.

They own propertiesquite often dozens, or even hundreds, of them. Frequently, a company will 5&374$&%$($2(#'/37*(#$'-2"M$&5+3"4?$(2(#'9"%'4?$4.&2ping malls, strip centers or industrial properties, for example. A REIT’s revenue is the total rent coming /%$5#&9$'."$'"%(%'41$>'4$2#&+'$/4$!.('T4$*"5'$&5$'./4$#"%'$after its property managers, janitors, lighting companies, debt collectors and local property tax collectors take their cut.Advantages of REITsProfessionally Managed PropertiesIn the case of direct ownership, an investor is re

quired to look after the maintenance of a property. REITs allow investors to distance themselves from the day to day running of the property/properties as they can be managed by an industry professional that can leverage off their own funds to provide a better service.Reduced personal riskUnder a traditional real estate investment model,

if an investor wanted to invest in real estate, they would be required to take on debt to purchase a prop

erty. Either that or they would be required to sell off existing assets to fund the purchase.As an example, a $2,500 investment in a REIT

may result in the same prorated rewards as say a $80,000 direct investment in a property. In addition, '."$LK>8$/%B"4'9"%'$!&7*,$)"$,/B"#4/+",$(3#&44$($range of investments, rather than one single property.LiquidityOne of the wellknown disadvantages of direct

real estate investment is the problem of liquidity; it is hard to shift property quickly. REITs offer far ./0."#$*/C7/,/'-$(%,$2#/3"4$3(%$/%$5(3'$673'7('"$&%$($daily basis. Investors can quickly ascertain the value of their investment, unlike with a direct investment, where a daily or even weekly quote would not be possible.A REIT would be able to quickly sell off their

holdings to generate cash for other investments.:(4.$6&!$5&#$L"'/#"9"%'LK>84$2#&B/,"$/%B"4'&#4$"I3"**"%'$3(4.$6&!$5&#$

retirement because the cash dividends provide an income on which a retiree can live off.Disadvantages of REITsVolatilityBecause REITs are quoted on the stock exchange,

they are more volatile than a typical ‘bricks and mortar fund’. The main reason for this is that in addi'/&%$'&$.(B/%0$(%$(44"'$B(*7"?$'."-$(*4&$.(B"$($673'7ating share value.The price of an REIT may fall due to negative

feelings about the property market, even in the even event of stable property market prices.GearingSome REITs use leverage to increase the po

tential returns for their investors, resulting in both higher gains and losses.Income not guaranteed

Past dividends/distributions cannot be guaran'"",$5&#$'."$57'7#"?$7%*/<"$4(-$($+I",$#"%'(*$(##(%0"ment with direct investmentWhat to look for when investing in REITSExperienced Management: Check the prospectus

or annual report for managers who weathered several real estate cycles. Ownership Stake: Get a hold of the annual report

to determine whether management owns a sizable position in the common stock. _/B"#4/+3('/&%M$KI(9/%"$'."$(%%7(*$#"2&#'$'&$7%

derstand what the REIT owns, i.e. the different types &5$ 2#&2"#'/"4$ P4.&22/%0$ 9(**4?$ (2(#'9"%'4?$ &5+3"$space, etc.) in various geographic areas. Sustainable Growth: Look for annual increases

/%$($LK>8T4$3(4.$6&!?$*/4'",$/%$'."$2#&42"3'74$(4$(,justed funds from operations. Low Levels of Debt: Institutional investors rec

ommend that debt be no more than 35% of total capitalization. As a general rule, the lower the level of variablerate debt, the better. Recent Performance of REITs 2008 will be remembered with little pleasure by

investors in the REIT sector however since the early March 2009 trough, REIT prices have shown broad 4/0%4$&5$#"3&B"#-$(*&%0$!/'.$jJ$+%(%3/(*41$K7#&2"$was the strongest performing region for the period, 5&**&!",$)-$V&#'.$E9"#/3(1$E4/($@(3/+3T4$#"(*$"4'('"$securities markets cooled (with the exception of Australia) as investors shifted their attention to the improving conditions in Western economies.Are these gains sustainable? To answer that we

need to consider trends from past cycles and the changing real estate market fundamentals.Lessons from past cyclesOver a period of 30 years we have seen a con

sistent set of linkages between sharemarkets, real

estate markets and the real economy. It is a pattern that applies globally.Overall, sharemarkets (including REITs) seem

to provide a reliable guide on the direction of economies and real estate markets (magnitudes of declines in physical markets are typically overstated by REIT cycles). Historically, residential markets have tended to be more responsive, recovering earlier because of lower mortgage rates and improvements in sharemarket sentiment. \&#$3&99"#3/(*$#"(*$"4'('"$4"3'&#4?$&5+3"$9(#<"'4$

have traditionally trailed the economic turnaround, responding to drivers like share prices and business conditions, with rents generally showing longerrunning adjustment. Meanwhile, trends in retail and industrial markets (particularly in Australia) seem to be dependent on the housing market with a lag, with cycles typically trailing both the residential and com9"#3/(*$&5+3"$4"3'&#41

Sunil KhemlaniStoneBridge Securities (NZ) Limited

Email: [email protected] “This publication has been prepared on

behalf of and issued by StoneBridge Securities (NZ) I(1(5.3$"78(,"(,"-/5"&-"/44.;"5/"3.&0"(-"&->")-&-'(&0"%;/3+'5"&-3"(,"-/5",%.'()'"&36('."4/;"&->"%&;5('+0&;"investor. StoneBridge believes that any information or advice (including any recommendation) contained in this publication is accurate when issued

but does not warrant its accuracy or reliability, and is not liable for the future performance of transactions or for any loss or damage arising in connection with this publication. A full Disclosure State

ment in accordance with the Securities Markets Act 1988 is available free of charge on request.”

The REIT route to real estate investment


Indian

IMMIGRATION SERVICES CAREER CONSULTING STUDENT RECRUITMENT

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!"7,+''+"="#-1(3">&,//%/*!"76"?"7.@'+A&'--'+!";/-'+@%'B">+'9'+,-%./!"C.D"#',+<E"F'<E/%G1'2

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7./-,<-"M+,/<'2"L%"(Licensed Immigration Advisor)

7./-,<-V"5,//%")."W)J7#XY Former recruitment consultantat Skycity and Phoenix recruitment

L'@'&"Z4"[ZO"\1''/"#-+''-4"X1<$&,/(">EV"O]"[^^__N^4"%/`.a,9'<%88%*+,-%./U<.U/b

BBBU,9'<%88%*+,-%./U<.U/b

It’s all about your future

Why do we need Festivals? An important topic of discussion is India’s religious festivals. What is the need for them? How are they celebrated? What is their significance and how can we make the best use of these occasions?

Let us first analyse why there is a need for these religious festivals. As we work everyday from morning until evening, we become tired and naturally need to rest. We go home to eat and sleep and we feel revitalised, and are ready to work again the next morning. However, as our life continues between work and rest, day after day, a kind of monotony sets in. We feel bored and think to ourselves, “I need a change.” Although our physical exhaustion is revived by sleeping, how do we get rid of this boredom, this mental exhaustion? What we generally do is look for some kind of entertainment.The Sanskrit word for entertainment, mano

ranjana, means delighting the mind, entertaining the mind. Some people sit and watch television for entertainment; others play cards, go on picnics, or spend time on a hobby. Everyone looks forward to their weekends so that they can do something that is fun and relaxing, a relief from the pressure and monotony of work. Yet, after a while, even these weekends

become routine and we want to go on vacations to Lake Tahoe, Disney World, or Las Vegas! When these places become dull for us, we want to go to other exotic countries far away from our ordinary experiences – some place totally different! Thus our vacations and amusements are meant to remove our boredom and give us a sense of mental rest and relaxation, at least for some time.Recognising this need for change and enter

tainment, the Hindu religion provides special occasions, festivals of a religious nature, called utsavs. No religion will last very long if it does not understand the common needs and desires of people, insisting only on strict discipline at all times – as well as fasting there must also be feasting, singing, dancing, and joyous celebrations.One may ask that if the purpose of these

festivals is to remove our mental and physical exhaustion, then why are our vacations and weekends not sufficient? Why do we need religious festivals that involve pujas? The answer

is clear: Though these various amusements relax the mind and revive us for a while, they themselves become monotonous rituals after some time, leaving us with a peculiar feeling of incompleteness. Although the purpose of vacations is to help us feel rested, to gain more enthusiasm, cheerfulness and energy for our regular work, we generally find that the opposite is true. When the vacation is over, we think,” Oh now I have to go back to the office. What a bore!” Often we are left exhausted not only physically, but also financially! Our pockets are empty and we must again work hard to make up for the lost hard earned money. The pleasure, of the vacation has, in effect, not removed the pressure; it only added a new one! Why did the vacation not give us the desired result? Because it was a purposeless entertainment.On the other hand, our religious festivals

have a very different effect. They not only give us occasions for merrymaking, but they also give us a noble, divine vision and inspire

us to raise our minds to the heights of that great goal. Rather than merely exhausting us physically and mentally, they purify the mind and prepare us to face life with more enthusiasm, to live life more happily and fully. If we observe these festivals closely, we

will see that they not only point out the ultimate goal of life, but also give us guidelines to reach that goal. In short, our religious festivals serve the purpose of all other entertainment and at the same time give us much more.

Swami Tejomayananda is the spiritual head of Chinmaya Mission worldwide, is one of the foremost disciples of the world

renowned authority on the scriptures of India Swami Chinmayananda. He is an outstanding teacher of Vedanta and an accomplished poet, author, and composer. Swami Tejo

mayananda is due to visit Auckland in April 2010.

Sport

Heritage

Australia bounced back from the brink and proved that they are still the masters of One Day Internationals in the longer format when they outplayed New Zealand to retain the ODI Champions trophy for the second time running. Australia is a world beating team and despite

several retirements and the infusion of new blood, they haven’t lost their grip on their world beating winning ways. Luck also seems to favour the brave and Australia had their fair share in the '&7#%(9"%'1$ 8."$ +#4'$ '/9"$ !."%$ 792/#"$ E4(,$Rauf erred in the match against West Indies, when ."$#7*",$;/'3."**$W&.%4&%$%&'$&7'$5&#$($3*"(#$6/3<?$which would have probably ended Australian innings for a sub 200 score and give the hapless West Indies a chance to redeem their image in the tournament. But, that did not happen and Mitchell Johnson’s 73 enabled Australia to end with a match winning total. The second time was when the rain gods intervened and their match against arch rivals India was washed out, which gave them an advantage while going into the last match against Pakistan. Then against Pakistan, they won the match of the last ball of the innings. Destiny was pointing towards Australia as the winners. India, having seen their match against Aus

tralia getting washed out, saw their fate being sealed, when the equation was taken out of their

hands and they would only hope that Pakistan beats Australia and they manage to beat West Indies handsomely. The timings of the matches meant that India would know half way through the match if they were in the tournament or out of it! As luck would have it, Australia won their match against Pakistan with the last ball of the match and condemned India to the ignominy of getting shunted out of a second major tournament P'."$ +#4'$ &%"$ )"/%0$ 8Zh$ 3.(92/&%4./2R1$ >%,/($duly completed their academic victory over West Indies, which only gave them some respect, but no joy! West Indies, second rung team, left the tournament with their heads held high!>%$ '."$&'."#$2&&*?$V"!$a"(*(%,$!(4$+0.'/%0$

a battle for survival just like India. But as often seen in the past, on the big stage New Zealand punches above its weight and their team devoid of stars delivers the good, more often than not! New Zealand had to beat England just to survive and reach the next stage. They did it in style when they humbled the surprise package of the tournament England by four wickets and more than 12

overs to spare. This catapulted them to the top of the table and a match against Pakistan the runners up in rival pool. 8."$ 4"9/G+%(*4$ )"'!""%$

Australia and England was the eighth match they were playing in a month and the drubbing England received at the hands of the Aussies (61) was still fresh in the minds of players from both the sides. The result was predictable as England folded for a paltry

247 and Australia managed to cross that with ease and they beat England by 9 wickets. Shane Watson, who was struggling for form through the early stages, scored a smashing century to guide Australia to a comfortable victory. New Zealand beat Pakistan in the second

4"9/G+%(*4$)-$O$!/3<"'4$'&$#"(3.$'."$+%(*4$5&#$'."$4"3&%,$ '/9"$ /%$ '."$:.(92/&%4$ '#&2.-1$8."$+#4'$time being the year 2000, where they were the eventual winners. This was largely on the back of a scintillating 75 by Elliot and a smart 41 by captain Vettori. Pakistan could not match the guile of Vettori and were left ruing the chances they couldn’t capitalise on!

\&#$ '."$+#4'$ '/9"$ /%$ '."$ *(4'$ 3&72*"$&5$-"(#4?$%&%"$ &5$ '."$ E4/(%$ '"(94$ !"#"$ /%$ '."$ +%(*$ /%$ ($major tournament. Traditional rivals Australia and New Zealand were facing each other in the +%(*4$(%,$/'$!(4$%&'$0&/%0$'&$)"$"(4-$5&#$E74'#(*/(?$but again as luck would have it, New Zealand lost the services of inspirational captain Vettori prior to the match to a hamstring injury and paved way for Australia to retain their champion’s trophy!8."$ +%(*$ !(4$ %&'$ "(4-$ 5&#$ E74'#(*/(?$ "B"%$

though they restricted New Zealand to a lowly 200 runs in their allotted 50 overs. But Australia quickly lost their way to some tight New Zealand bowling led by Kyle Mills. But hero of '."$ 4"9/$+%(*4?$J.(%"$D('4&%$&%3"$ (0(/%$ 3(9"$to the rescue of Australia, as he once again hit a timely century to guide Australia to a victory and lift the trophy for the second year running. Shane Watson has won back to back Man of the Match performances in the Champions Trophy +%(*4$(%,$E74'#(*/($.(4$&%*-$ *&4'$&%"$+%(*4$ '.('$was way back in 1996. So even though it might be a bit of luck, you always can bank on this Australian team led by Ponting to bounce back from the depth and a team to beat! Will they manage to keep this winning streak till the next world cup? Lets wait and watch!

Champions Trophy – Australians are ODI champs again!PRASHANT BELWALKAR


Indian Bollywood

KB"%$(4$./4$*('"4'$$&55G)"('$6/3<$cD(<"$j2$J/,T$2#&duced by Karan Johar, releases to houseful audiences and accolades galore, dude actor Ranbir Kapoor refuses to be complacent. “The major credit goes to the classy script and the excellent direction by debutante Ayan Mukherji. Secondly, I could easily identify with ‘Sidharth’ my lead character. Of course in reallife, I am not at all laidback and lethargic as my screenrole,” laughs the charismatic Kapoor boy, who has been openly courting Bolly!&&,$,/B($(%,$'&2G6/0.'$9&,"*$_""2/<($@(,7<&%"$offscreen. After wooing youthful babes like the vivacious Sonam Kapoor (‘Saawariya’) and (girlfriend) Deepika Padukone and Minnisha Lamba in ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’, didn’t he have his reservations about being paired opposite a serious and deglamourised actress like Konkona Sen Sharma, who also looks older than him? After a brief pause he reacts, “Honestly speaking, it was my privilege working with such an acclaimed and talented actress like Konkona. Also, ‘Wake Up Sid’ did not fall in the conventional romantic genre, which required me to serenade a teenager on the college campus. It was the director’s apt decision to cast a slightly senior actress who would match the character of Ayesha Banerjee. And quite rightly there is no explicit mushy romance exhibited between us,” shrugs Ranbir who refused to be depressed by his debutdebacle ‘Saawariya’. The prudent actor seems focused, “My grandfather Raj Kapoorsaab had this alltime inspiring mantra ‘the show must 0&$&%T$(%,$>$(9$($+#9$)"*/"B"#$/%$/'1$ "/%0$($!&#<(holic, my priority is to work diligently on my roles and give my best shots. The rest as they say is the audience discretion. Nevertheless, I am happy that "B"%$ .(#,G'&G2*"(4"$ +*9$ 3#/'/34$ .(B"$ 2#(/4",$ 9-$spontaneous performance in ‘Wake Up Sid’. Today, I have proved to a major extent that I am a worthy chip of the old Rishi Kapoor and Neetu (Singh)

Kapoor old block,” maintains the suave Kapoor hunk.For all ye hardcore Ranbir female fans, he has

three more movies shortly lined up for release that include ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’, (opposite the vivacious Katrina Kaif.), ‘Rocket Singh—Salesman of the Year’ (as a turbaned Sikh) and Prakash Jha’s ‘Rajneeti’ in which he reportedly plays an ‘NRI’ who is compelled to return home to India, to be inducted into the family vocation of politics.Few are aware that Ranbir is a staunch believer

in Lord Shiva and Ganesha deity. Not only does he actively participate in his Chembur RK Studios annual Ganesha festivities, but he also attended the annual Shivratri event this time. In

vitees at a downtown Mumbai event (including this correspondent) were amazed when Ranbir drove his own car after landing at the international Sahar airport, to attend a Hum Log Foundation Shivratri felicitation event. “Divine blessings keep me going towards attaining my best in acting. My ultimate dream though is to direct a movie for my family’s iconic R K banner some day in the future,” signs off the cherubic RK Prince charming.

Will Ranbir ‘wake up’ to his ultimate dream? CHAITANYA PADUKONE

PROMOTIONAL PICS FROM THE MOVIE AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI’


Indian

Volume 1 Issue 16

Documents

Transcript of Volume 1 Issue 16