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INDIAN LINK

PUBLISHER

Pawan Luthra

EDITOR

Rajni Anand Luthra

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Kira Spucys,Tahar

MELBOURNE COORDINATOR

Preeti Jabbal

CONTRIBUTORS

Sydney Srinivas,

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Vivek Trivedi 02 9262 r,66

ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Bindya Masabathula 02 9279 2004

PROUD MEMBER O F: • X~/41ti1~

Indian Link is a monthly newspaper published in tnglish. No material, including adverti~~m~~tsdesigned by Indian Link, may be reproduced in , part or in whole without the written consent of the editor. Opinions carried in Indian Unk are those of the writers anl ~ot nec~ssariiy ~ndorsed by Indian Link. All corres~ondence should be addressed toindianlink

Level 24/44 Market St, Sydney 2000 or GPO Box 108, Sydney 2001

Ph: 02 9279-2004 l=ax: 02 9279·2005- Email: info@indi~~li~k-.com.;;~ :-

Sixty holding a nation to ransom

Farced Zakaria of CN t , said , "My tuiderstauding is that they (Al -Qaeda) are doi ng inj u sti c e cowa rds tl1e i'vluslims of our country If anyone thinks Indian Musli m s will dance to their nme, they are de lusional. Indian Muslims w ill li ve for India. They w ill die for India. They will not wane an ything bad for India".

Arecent report suggests that between GO and 70 Australians ma y have joined ISIS in Iraq and Syria, That 60 misguided individuals can hold a country steeped in multiculmralism to ransom, is indeed a study in frenzied media statemeors, politicians wanting to cas h in o n populi st vo t es, and playing on the fears and insecurities of peopl e.

o doubt, we must respect intelligence reports and ratchet up way s to make our community safer. lVIo re frontline police presence will certainly al la y any fears which membe rs of an y community may be facing

However, we n eed to focus on three areas so we can continue enjoying the freedom and openness that is a hallm ark of our society, rather than the campaign o f susp ic ion and fea r that is currently o n.

Let's start w i th tl1e leaders Look ar the marked contrast between how Indian Prime Minister Na rendra l\fodi and his Austr ali a n coun terpart Tony Abbott articulated their concerns of home -grown terror threats.

PM 1\fodi, in an intervi ew with

Asked wh y so few amongst India's roughly 170 million Muslims have join ed Al- Qaeda, Modi s uggested the issue was o n e of a wider fight for princip le s, rather tl1an a question of nationality "Thi s is a crisis against humani ty, noc against one country or one race".

PM Ton y Abbott o n the ocher hand, articu lated simila r ,vords of 'Team Australia', bm rather chan to drive home the m essage of being ' o n e nation, one peop le', o nly managed to antagonise a certain secti o n of the community Whi le all Australi ans will agr ee that we need co fight chis evil, true leadersh ip can also be demonstrated by speaking softly but carry ing a large s tick PM Abbott's latest comments about the burqa speak poorly abom h is judgement on social cohesion.

PUP Senator Jacqui Lambie's illinformed comments about sharia law, and L iberal senator Cory Bernardi's call to ban tl1e burga, rankled Musl im Australians and di sp layed ignorance at best or started a recruitment drive fo r ISIS at worst.

Second, the media needs to exerc ise restraiot in feeding the fi re. Case in poin t, the haste with wh ich

ev en a balanced group like Fairfax Media labelled an innocent yotmg Muslim Aus tralian man a "Teenage Terrorise". ln an apparent grab for eye b alls, competing against the more aggressiv e News Ltd stabl e of papers , this grave error b y the Fairfax group, co be s trongly cond emned, n ig h lighcs the n eed for those in charge of reporting and shaping community opinion to look beyond the headlines in to what sort of soc ie ry m essage chey seek to sen d out. Shame on you , Fair fax, for what came through on your front pages.

Perhaps you could p ick p o sitive stories from multic ul tural Australia, about those who have contributed significantl y to soci ety , Th e doctors who perform miracles; the technic ians who keep our IT s ystems running; the honest tax i drivers; the chefs who regale us witl1 their culinary skills; the innumerable teachers who s hape and mould the lives of our young o n es - go seek ouc and expose these srories.

And finally, to u s. There are man y things we can do to ena b le ourse lves and our children to li v e in a harmonious society Google sharia law, so we can understand what it means, rath er than to take JacqL1i at h er ignorant ran ting Learn about wh y the burqa is worn. Get to know our m igrant neighbour. As I 0- year -old caller Mohammed said on a recent ABC talkback show, "l am a Muslim Australian Tali< to us and get co know us. We ar e good people".

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Each man's death diminishes me

The literature and classical scenes in India have recently lost two greats

When a friend call e d o n 19

September

tO say that Man d olin Srinivas was n o more, I was left sp eechless

The internet confirmed the news: th e music scene in India was shattered Srinivas, the wonderboy of th e classical scene w ho was so c losely associated with his in str umen t of choice th at i t became part of his name, was o n ly 45 year s old.

Incident afte r incident flashed in m y mind.

It was 1984. Srinivas was in Sydn ey, ail of 1 4 yea rs o ld, but already a prodigy. Hi s first international tour, h e perfo rmed at two c oncerts You could not take your eyes off h i m o n stage. He would p lay a m oveme nt and loo k toward s h is Guru (who was also sea ted o n the dais) for approval The G uru would rentrn a smile.

He bad been invited b y Dr Perumal janardhanan o f Sydney Tamil Mandrarn. M y son Gautham, who was five yea rs o ld then, won Srinivas's admiratio n fo r hi s attentive listenin g seat ed in the fro n t row and iden ti fying Kalyani raga as h e p layed.

Abou t 1 5 yea r s ago, the Sydn eybased classical music orga nisati o n Rasikap riya o rga nised a co ncer t b y him. As the concert was in progress, the organi ser, the late Dr Govindan, came to me and said,

"The editor of the Jndia11 Link wants to say hello to yo u ". Thrilled by th.is, T came o u t There waited Pawan Luthra, who looked at me and s aid, "Yo u look you ng. I expec ted yo u t o bea much olde r man!" Thus star ted m y relatio n ship w ith Indian Link whic h h as e ndured to this day. Scinivas was in his element at that even t . I w ro te a superlative review fo r this newspaper, stating that Srinivas was d e finitely one o f the five w ho h ad crea ted original music in the Carna ti k style. Someone criticised me for being e,'ltravagant in m y praise. Bu t when I read the ttibute th at maestro R avikiran recently paid co thi s ge n iu s, I feel I w a s no t wro ng at all. I was completel y justified I maintain that U ppalapu Srinivas has bee n o n e o f the m ost creative arti st s of our time His music is so very rom an ti c.

Forget the mandolin; look at t h e quality of musi c h e has produced.

It is s ublime. Take the h our long Shamvam1 BhrlVa Guhane in Mad hya mavachi raga or tl1e th reem inute lo ng Chandmsekham in Sindhu Bhairavi raga. Wh at a rendition! It transports you ro anotl1er realm altogetlier

I m et the young maes t ro in pe r so n at a reception organised b y D r Govi n dan at his Sydn ey ho me. I was amazed at the utte r humility he exhibited , answering aU my questions by addressing m e as "Sir".

Srinivas came to Syd n ey on many occasions fo r many p erfor mances, i nclud ing a hugely memorable o ne at the Opera H ouse The legendar y tabla pl ayer Zakir Hussain was h is accompanist a few times. O nce I found the rendering to b e v er y n o isy a nd pur i t down i n my review That is besid e the poim We say that an arti s t suffers, b ur in a different way.lam told tha t far fro m the glor y and tl1e gli tter, Srinivas had a person al life which was devastating Ye t he never exhibite d h is distress, h e ex hib ite d o nly bi s music. He was indeed a true artist.

An other Indian great, U R An a n dia M urthy, the Kannada w rit er and scho lar, passed away on 22 August this year. He was 82, and led a complete life in any sen se o f tl1e te rm.

His novel Samskam (1965) is considered to be o n e of the contemporary g reats in any Indian l anguage. Set in rural Karnataka, it captures the collapse of pe rso n ality of a character, Pranesha Ach arya, in th e wake of the death of another, Naranappa. It brough t to Kannada li terantre the esse nce of Sartre, Camus and existe ntialism, and rook t he reade r b y storm. The 6Jm based on i r became an all - tim e hit and a

Cannes Festival award winner.

In tlie fifties, Kannada li terature ent ered tbe modern era A n an tb a 1vfurthy, known as URA , belo n ged to the n ew sch oo l of m odernists Along w ith Yeats and E liot came in the French, Freud, Marx and 1vCao. He was able to pack within 150 pages w h at roo k others five times as many His Bharnthipum, a p ic t ure o f contemporary India, and A11asthe, based o n the life of a socialis t p olitic ian, are among so m e o f his m ore criticall y acclaimed works He has also ,vritte n numerous short stories, poems and critical essays His works have be en translated into va rious Indian and interna tional la nguages

U RA was awarded the cove t ed Jnanapeetha, India's rop literary honour, in 1994 and th e Padma Bh ushan, India's t hird highest c ivilian ho n our, in 1998 He was o ne of the finalists for the Man Booker priz e in 20 13

U RA was a professor o f E n glis h at the U ni vers ity of Mysore, vis i ti n g professor at m a n y u ni ve r sities widiin In dia and over seas, di e Vi ce C hanc ellor of Mahamia Gandhi U ni vers i ty in Kera la, and held man y importa n t positions in literary circles.

As an a u thor , U RA did not lock himself in a lofty ivory tower Instead h e cam e our and participated in the life out5id e. For him p olitic s was an essen tial part of life He even contested and lose i n the 2004 elections for a sear in d1e Lok Sabha

Of course, for such a passionate m a n , c ontroversy was never fa r behi nd . O n e such incide nt was when he said r ecently, "I will n o t live in In dia i f Modi b eco m es the pj\,f". Never at rest, be seemed ro move from o n e controversy to a n other I had occ asion co meet him in person a few tim es a nd fou n d him to be extre mel y intel lige nc a nd very friendl y Our first meeting was ac m y friend and scholar Kiram [ agaraj's home in Bang alor e Both wer e e n g rossed in a deep discussio n with Chart11i11a1:r cigarettes dangling from their lips! URA welcomed me warmly a n d we sp oke at length. I was then wri ting sci ence artic les in Kannada a n d often doubted wh e ther anybod y was readi.ng che m at all. He o pened m y eyes and told m e, " P eop le in rural places read Kannada wri tings (in scie nce as we ll) with inte rest. You sh ould continue to writen r ext I m et him at die wedding o f the famous story w riter D iwakar's daughter (w·ho marr ie d m y n ep hew) \Xfhat warm th he showed when 1 introduced myse l f again. It was as if he knew me ve r y well. i\find you , h e was already at h is peak b y t h e n.

Heavy in heart at the l oss o f these two gre ats, I can b ut r ephrase J ohn D o nne:

Each 111a11 's death diminishes 111e .For I am i11110/11ed in mankind. Th erefore, send not to k110111 For who111 the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.

emam Chauhan, well - known Gujarati singer of [he folk genre, was a special guest in Brisbane recentl y as he helped bring in [his year's i avratci Some 2200 peop le gathered to hear him sing and sway to his garba tunes as tl1ey danced during tl1e special nights of the dandi ya season. Organised b y the Gujju Lions Assoc iation of Brisbane, the evem marked the fourth annual mega Garba event in the community. The Akademi Award winning singer Hemant Chauhan made ir a memorable event wi[h his authentic traditional s[yle of singing.

Khushhaali aur samriddhi (Happiness and prosperity)

The Team at Indian Link Wishes you A VERY HAPPY DIWALI

f someone were tO ask you what )'OU love the most about Diwali, yo u 'd probably say, rhe firecrackers, the djyas, the 111itbai the presents, the new clothes perhaps the card games If pressed further you might add, decking out the house in traditional Indian- style decorations - the thoran, rhe mngoli, rhe silver ornaments for puja. And then no doubt you'd go, oops, sorry, of course the ptga as well!

But as Indians who have Lived outside of India for whatever length of time, the real essence of rhe celebration at Diwali is not restricted to rhese a.Jone. Diwali is no longer primarily the festivity at rhe vanquishing of the evil ten-headed Ravana, o r the return of d1e good king Ram to Ayodhya after 14 yea.rs in exile, or, as some may say, the return of t he Pa.ndavas at kartik a!INIVO!J a after 12 yea.rs of banishment b y the Kauravas

Nor is it about the start of th e new financial year any more (a tradition that began hundreds of years ago, probably after the religious connotations of the festival became less relevant)

For us, at heart, what keeps this enduring tradition alive and kicking, is the spirit of community. There is a des ire to reach out to friends, close and not so close, and spend some quality time together, laughing and making m erry, enjoying a mega feast Settling in in a new country, friends fill up the vacuum created by not having the family close by. Friends become family as one experiences the cha.Uenges - and joys - of establishing oneself in a new country. Hardly surprising rhen rhat we surround o urselves with friends on joyous occas ions such as Diwali

In the Festival of Lights, it is d1e brightness of our friendships that illuminates our lives Out here in Australia, i t is our friends d1ar make Diwali a fun and meaningful time.

We catch up with friends at me large-scale D iwali events organised

by community volunteers, or have friends over for our own big do at home. Sometimes we even somehow manage to do both!

In short, it's b ig time party time.

Most readers will have hosted a giant Diwali party at tbeir home ac some point in t he ir life here in Australia, while some do so eve r y year as a tradition.

Typically, it is at our annual Diwali event d1at the 'Indian' in us comes out in all its glory. The women will bring out widi glee those wedding- style ensembles; me men will not need to be pushed to air d1at Bollywood- style kurta pyjama comp lete with scarf; even the kids will agree to wear those ' itchy' cosmmes grandma sent from India. The food will be rich and as authentic in taste as possible. And the house will be filled w i di d!)'t1s and candles and incense and fresh flowers

And yet, while we may have begun to include our non -Indian friends at our private Di,va.li bashes, perhaps it's time to go mainstream.

How about an Auss ie Diwali this year, for a change?

The lucky thing about Hinduism and our ,vay of life, is that there are no strict rules, so we can improvise. And perhaps more significantly, inclusion of a.lJ kinds, is welcomed Given that Indians in Oz a.re known for d1eir ability

to integrate well, here's to another way of standing out with our unique 'lndian-Austra.lian-ness': Diwa.Ji Oz sty le!

AN AUSSIE-THEMED DIWALI

So you've organ ised dozens of parties at your place, and been to a few dozen yomself. No doubt the un derlying unspoken theme at each parry is how best to outdo the previous one Well then, here's your chance. Make it a Diwali w id1 a difference : bring in a touch of Oz. Here's how you could do it.

Dress- ups

Think akubra hats, koa la costumes, something kangaroo, sporting paraphernalia such as

blow up cricket fingers, perhaps Ii fe- savers. Celebrities: t h in k Julia Gillard wigs, Tony Abbott b u dgie smugglers, Steve Irwin stingrays, or dare someone to nu:n up as Dame Edna or Priscilla, Q ueen of the Desert.

Decor / Themes

Your memes could be someching beachy or coastal (a lthough nautical wo u ld probably be too extreme for landlubbi.ng nord1 Indians) Native vegetation, or season al produce, could be another option, and perhaps, if you're willing to go all o ut, you could have a James-Bon d style casino d1eme. A b it of t hought going into candles and candle decorations might be wordl\vhile, given

that d1ese are tl1e essence of d1e festival. A beach -inspired decoration could be created with sand, shells and blue stones, crafted in side fishbowls, glass candle vases and on glass or mirrored trays Stack o n the tower or pillar candl es, taper candles, votives, tea.lights or floaters. Use a combination if you like, and vary the colours Check out our samp les for different candlescapes to pick ideas from Shell candles can look cool, sure to be impress diose younger guests!

If you're nor th e beachy type, take the Australi an na tive path: pick from a selection of p inecone candles, beeswax candles wid1 gum l eaf designs, twig- decoraced candles, or candle holders fashioned from banksia seed pods featured here.

Then again, you could keep a seasonal theme. It's spring here in Australia as Diwali comes round each year, in stead of being on me cusp of winter as in India, so there's an abundance of fresh prod u ce on the supermarket shelves. Get crafty with a p iece of fruit or vegetables, and fashion your own organic candle holders. The apples are the simplest because they are easy to carve, though me pumpkins might

take a little l he oran,o-' o r mandarin p eel candle c ould b e tricky, especially if you want to u se the pi th as wick, but the e ffo rt could be worth it as the end result, you'll agree fro m o ur p ies overlea~ is s tunning If you 11l1y cusro m -made candle ho lders fro m sp eciali s e ca ndle s ho p s such as P arty Lice o r Dusk, yo u co uld add fres h fruit a nd flowers ins id e yo ur ca ndle vases whole, a nd the n cop off w it h vo tive or fl oatin g ca ndles. The casin o th em e could go down rather well at D iwali , especially if you follow th e P u njab i tradition of indulging in a spo t o f gam bli ng, whi ch, m ay we rem.ind you before you protest, is san ctioned at D iwali. And of course your adop ted c ul ture ha s its own g amb li ng tra di tio n s, such as T wo- u p E n o ug h sai d! So scart off w ith T wo-up, a nd the n trans po rt your g u es t s to the world of hig h ro ll ers. Move o n to a full y- fledged cas in o set u p, w ith ga m es suc h a s b lac k jack, ro ulette and po ker Of course, yo u ' ll p lay wit b fun m o n e y, to ge t the th ril l of the re al casin o, wi thout t he ri s k . T hink however, wh at to do wi tb the kids i f you are bachche 1JJa/e fog !

Decorations: Thoran/ Rangoli

Now h e re 's a n o the r avenue fo r so m e 'Au ssie- ii cation'. T be thoran, a door d eco ratio n , is the Hin du equivalent of a C h ri sanas wreath Hu ng a t th e t op of t he main th r es h old , it is in ten de d as a festi ve sign of welcom e . I t i s tradition ally cra fted ou t of m ango lem1es (a symb o l of p len t:r) an d m arigo ld flowers (a symb ol o f passio n a nd creativi ty) To d ay however, it is m ade with c ott o n , satin , crystals, wood en beads and o cher m aterials, bur its in ten t r e m ain s th e same.

As Ind ian -origin Australian s, sme ly we can make o urs w i th p inec o n es?

Gumnut an d gum lea f th o rans , there's another id ea for you &mgolis - floor pain tings w ith powd er o r floor dec ora tio n s w i th flowers - are a n o the r sig n of

INDIANLINK

welc o me cha t could b e given the Aus s ie trea tinent N a tive flo wers, seas hells, gu mn uts, pi n eco n es, b ank sia can dles ca n all loo k great i.n your flowe r carpet rangoli Co m e o n , give it a go!

Food

B a ni sh t he kafi dal, pa11eerpasanda an d dahi wda for o n ce, and cry so m ethin g differen t. Given the tim e of ye a r, pe rhaps s alad s wi t h at ti tude will sui t, fro m t he n ew cuisin e m e nus o f L u ke M ang an , Kar e n M artini or G ary Mehigan , w hich co mb in e fr u its an d vegetables a nd leaves a n d n uts and cheese with som e s assy dress ings

No t only will you feel ligh ter, you won 't be slav ing over t he st0\7 e fo r hours e ither, an d you'll srill h ave

..

fanc y food for your guests

You p robably wo n't ad d meat to your men u if yo ur event is o n D iwal.i nig h t , but if you're c elebrating ei t h er si de of th e acm al d are like we do freq u e n tly in o ur communi ty, th en n on -veg

chalega

For dessert, someth_ing fruity should suit the mood , r at her tl1an yo ur r egular diab etes-inducer s (C he ck o u t in dianlink co m. au for reci pes fo r a fruity Di wali)

H ey, if the A u ssies can sw itch fro m h am co prawn s fo r thei r tradi tio n a l Chrisanas feast, wb y can 't we m ove fro m St1/;zi co s alad s at D iwali, and fro m khqya to frui t for desse rt?

And tl1en, there's Aussie b ush

tucker Impr ess yo ur guests w ich your experimen ts m a r r ying Indian cui sin e with native foods Th e re's a whole n ew woi:l d om t h e re wai ting to be explored! H o w about aku d jura (bu sh tom ato) chutney wich yo ur co rn c hi ps?

Di ps mad e o f cur ried n ative p l ums? Care for some mountain pepper berry flav omed c urry?

Kachumber salad with n1tu1 tl1ari ber ries sound s Like a w inner.

V ic Che rikoff's Uniq11e91

A 11stra/ia11 could h ave a whole new editio n, in a n ovel In do -Aussie c o llaboration !

Dhan ya Sam ue ~ food blogger an d I11dia11 Link contributor, also sugges t s th e u se of mo untain pep p er to make p epper chi cken ot

and e salsa asted papads; New caland spinac~gal greens cooked with da1; Australian native yams cooked in paoeer style p reparations, and paperbark instead o f banana leaves to steam 6sh with The re's no limit co Dhanya's creativity!

Drinks

Since we're trying to be differenr, we have to go with Indianinspired cocktails, definitel y (If Diwali nighr i s besr left alcohol free, cry these for a pre- or postDiwali event).

Ma ngoes, the all- time favourire fruir at any Indian household, have just begun to make an appearance on rhe supermarket she lves, so l ee's sta rt with these. Mango sang ri a Mango martini. Mango m o jito. Mango margarita. Mango daiquiri. Mango bellini. Go figure o ur the recipes for yourselves, bur here's o urs for a Mango Cosmopolitan:

SO ml mango infused mm

25 ml Triple Sec (or Cointreau 01 Grand 1"\rlamier)

2 S ml cranbenyj11ice

15 ml mango j11ice

Cmshcd ice

Sh,1ke JI/ell, strain into ti chilledglt1ss and decomte with fresh mint leaves. There are p lenty of other martinis you can concoct: Chai martini, Imli martini, Cardamom martini with orange (recipes o n our websi te).

!\fore tradi tional fare can be given a western makeover too; lassi can be con verred to a Cham pagne lassi, or a strawberry lassi prepared w ith Baileys Go/ gappa shots could be a fun way of se rvi ng the ever-popular street food, with the pani in a shoe glass and the p11ri with its scuffing p laced delicately o n the top.

Of course you'll have to invent Indian -in spired names for your cock rails too: how about Dishum, Dhichkiaaoon, Bollrvood Smash, Masala Bala, l\fachi Pataka (stop me, someone!)

Diwali Themed Party Games

Now this is probably different from rhe Di walis you spent in your childhood. No lo nger content with tbe kha,ma-peeno and the 11aach-gaa11t1, today 's parties have to have the mandatory party games roo Whar else b ur candl e- based contests d u ring Diwali time, in

which you light and then blow our candles? Below are some of our versions. Of course some might say, probably rightly, that the religious underpinnings of the festival proh ibi t you from blowing out d!Jo.s o n Diwali n ight, given char you are supposed ro let tl1e light in and show the way in for Goddess Lakshmi. So beware of your guesrs' spirirnaJ sentiments before yo u plan these party games, or better still, avoid them mu ess your evenr is before or after tl1e actual date 1\ nore of caution though : b e very careful wirh the Rames.

• Blow our row of candles in a set period of time The player that blow s o ur most, is the winner.

• Lig h t and then b low out candles 111 a row.

• \Xiork with box of candles. Light each individual o ne, and walk it over to table at other end of room. Walk back to box and repear. AJJ candles must be transfe rred and lie, in a set period of time.

• Blindfold participant in front of table with lit candl e on it.. Turn them around a few times, and t hen get them to blow our flame

• R epeatedly light an d blow our candle with single m atchstick till ir goes our.

• Candles and bang les: Work wi th secs of bangles in live di fferent co lo urs, and the sa me colours in candl es Light all candles, then p ur

bangles carefull y around candles Cand les and bangles muse be sorted in the same colo urs • Shoot candle flames with water guns.

Here's to evolving concepts in D iwali Tell u s o n our Pacebook page how you went i f you put some of these ideas t o use, or if you came up \\rith some ideas of your own. Send us p ies of your Auss ie -themed candlescapes, A ussie th1trat1s and nmgolis Email us yo ur recipes o f b u sh ingredients coo ked up in curries, and those Indian in spired cocktails, and details of your Diwali themed party g ames. Have a happy, sa fe and fun celebration. D iwali Mubarak!

A new study from Deakin University shows that migration to Australia might be harmful to your health

\Tisible m inority stanis may p lace some migrant communities at risk.

Anew study conducted by Associate Professor Santosh Jarrana of Alfred Deakin Res earch lnstimte (ADRJ), has revealed that healthy immigrants who arrive in Australia can end up suffering from the same chronic health disorders experienced by locallyborn Australians afte r just 20 years of their lives here.

The study, conducted b y Assoc. Prof. Jatrana along with Dr Samb a Siva Rao Pasupuleti (ADRl) and Dr Ken Richardson (Univers ity of Orago, NZ), showed t hat in just over two decades th ere was a significant decline in the h ealth of migrants who ar rived in Australia from both Englis h- speaking and non -English speaking countries.

When asked what prompted her to study the health profile of Australia's migrant population, Dr Jau·ana said t hat an estimated 26 per cent of Australia's total population is born overseas, a n d net overseas migration is the major co n tribution to p opula tion growtb Since em p loyability is one of the m ain criteria by which migrants are selected, a n d s ince good hea lth is essential for employability (and productivity when employed) , a decline in the health of immigrants with l o nger duratio n of stay in a new country u n de rmi nes one of the main goals of immigration policy.

"As the number of imm igrants in Australia continues to rise, it has becom e increas ingly important to know how health profiles differ between foreign b orn and native born individuals, and how those health profil es change over time," Dr Jatrana said. " Th is will help identify vulnerable immigrant populations and thereby lead to relevant and revised migratio n policies"

The study r evealed that there are several parameters that can contribute to migrant health including adoption of Australian habits relating to diet, physical activity, smoking and alcohol, as well as the stress o f migrating, adjusting to a new culture, and discrimination.

While all migrants are at r isk of so m e stress and discrimination because of their overseas- born status, c ha racteristics such as

Dr Jarra na al so said that another significan t factor was soc iocul tural bar riers whic h could a lso impact some immigrants from accessing preve n tative health care, such as lower rates of cancer sc reening a m ong so m e imm igrant women from certain ethnic gro ups.

Assoc. Prof Jatrana's study has been published in the journal Social S cience and 1vfedici11e and the data required ,vas obtained from the Household, Income and Labour D yn amics in Australia ( HILDA) Survey. This study was funded by an Australian Research Council D iscover y Gram to Professor Jatrana.

The immigrants selected for tbe study were di,Tided into two broad groups, namely foreign-born people from Engli sh - speaking countries, and foreign-born people from non-E nglish -speaking countries. Immigrants from the United Kingdom, U nited States of America, ew Zealand, Canada, Ireland and South Africa were in the English - speaking g roup, and other inm1igranrs were in the non E n glish -speaking group

Currently, the study only looks at th e presence of chronic conditions relevant in tl1e Australian population like cance r, ch.tonic bronchitis, asthma, heart/ coronary clisease, high blood pressure/ anxiety, circulatory conditions (stroke, hardening of arteries), arthritis, and diabetes mellitus.

When asked i f her study could have negative repercussions on the pe rc en tage of migrants arriving in Australia, Dr Jatrana said diat it is roo early to provide a definitive answer but unlikely to bappen.

"First, health i s only one of many reasons wh y people migrate, think about income, education, governance and so on. Second , the effec t s are generally long- ter m , and people don't tend to tl1ink long- te rm. Third , for those that do, if they know about our smdy and the possible reasons for what we have found, they will bope to mitigate tl1em. Fourth, we ate arguing for a policy response, so the y m ay conclude ch ar ir could well be different in 10-20 year s' cin1e".

Ao alumna of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi a nd The Australi an ational University, Can berra, Dr Santosh Jatrana joined Deakin U niversity in February 201 1 after ,vorking in the Department of Public HeaJtl1

at t he School of Medicine and

Health Sciences, U niversity of Orago, New Zea lan d She also currently holds an honorary senior research fellow position ar th e Unive r si ty of Otago. She is also the lead editor o f the book M_igmtion and Health in Asia and was one of the gues t editors of a special issues of tl1e A.rim, and Pacific Migration ]011r11al on Migmtio11 and Health in A sia. She has published widely on migrant health i ssues in peer-reviewed jom nals 1n 2012, she was also aw a rd ed a fellowship from the Australian Academ y of Science for ber

p roject 'Brain drain t h ere, brain gain here: U nderstanding tl1e health impact, regulation and health policy implication s of health workforce imbalances in an Indian context'. Assoc. Prof. Jatrana and her team continues their researc h o n tliis topic and are currentl y exploring other health issues such as obesity, mental, physical health, specific chroriic conditions and the role of health behaviour, health service uciJisation and social suppor t to explain the decline in health of immigrants with years spent in Australia.

It's a welcome exercise in cultural sensitivity, tying the turban on to willing members of the public

At a time when pressures on Australia's muJticulrural fabric are threatening to tear it apart, a new initiative has been doing wonders to create a personal connection across difference.

With much d iscuss ion in recem days about the burqa and its ill- informed connection with 'terrorism', the nrrban, the preferred beadwear of Sikhs, has been used in a new way, wirming peopl e over with its message of trust and peace.

ln an inspiring new program , members of the mainstream communi ty gee an opportunity to have the turban tied aro und thei r heads to see what ic feels like.

" l fee l secure," says a young Auss ie woman who has worn the li n en fabric prJgri (m rban) for the fi r st time.

''There's a sense of peace," her male friend agrees.

Smiles abound on the faces of o ther s who are sporti ng, for a few minutes, the most identifiable symbo l of Sikhism the world over.

\X/ith one simple ace, ic is as if a vast culnrral divide has been

bridged. The mrban, it is now known, can be trusted.

Turbans a11d Trust

That is cbe name of the new Australian program that bas become a textbook case of a culnrral sens itivity exe rc ise. Its video clip went viral with over a 1,200 views on YouTube and 14,000 on Facebook, in just tbree days

"

In these times when misunderstanding and fear dominate om social and political landscape, (the program) is about changing perceptions and creating trust where there may have been fear". That is the Turbans mid Tmst message.

"The program evolved out of both a need and an oppornmity: a need for non -Sikhs to understand more about the turbans char have been appearing increasingly in Australian streets, and an opportunity co use the simple bur profound ace of Ly ing a turban to create a connection," say the Turbans cmd Tmst team.

A not-for- profit developed by Harj ic Singh in Brisbane,Jasdeep Singh in Cairns and Daniel Connell in Adelaide, the T111·bam mid T1mt p rogram has been

feamred at the recent OzAsia Festival in Adelaide ro much acclaim, and is now looking at oppormnities across the country le all started as a germ of an idea w ith Harjit Si n gh, a Perthbased tax adviser and National Direcror of United Sikhs Australia, who has conducted cultural and Sikh awareness training sessions for some years now with the WJ\ police. He wanted to bring his work to the wider p u blic and demys tify the mrban he has worn all his life, and to reinstate i t nor only as an identifier of his faith but as an actual. mechanism for bringing people together and echo its original spirit.

A core reason a Sikh wears a mrban, is co be identified as one

who has made a com.mi tmellt to do good for others.

The name T11rbm1s and Tmst was coined accident.-illy as Harjic chatted casually with close friend Daniel ConneU.

Daniel ConneU, an Adelaidebased artist is well- known for his large-s cale portraits o f Sikh men. He has exhibi ted widely in Australia, as well as in 1ndia, and has been feanrred several times in Tudia11 Link.

Talking to Harjit about Sikhi (Sikhism) in Ausrrali a, Daniel made mention of his 2012 work for OzAsia called T11rba11s rJnd Transport, which addressed the 150-year long histor y of mrbans in the transport industry in

Australia, from camels in the old days to ta.xis today.

Harjit misheard h im , apparently

"'\°:zyhar did you say?' he s aid to Daniel "Turbans and Trust?"

It was no use correcting him, recaUs Danie l; Harjic was on another tangent and the idea was born.

"Every day, n1rban-wearing Sil,hs face a question, a look, a stare, a comment," says Jasdeep Singh. ''And yet, aU nuban wearing Sikhs would agree that tl1e Tenth Guru gave us Sildis the nrrban specifically for tl1is reaso n, so we would always be noticed and identified. But our Gurus didn't wanc u s just to be known for the sake of our turbans; rather tl1ey wanted us to stand out as perso ns of integrity; as people who have made a choice to do something good for others."

Many say tl1is idea of public identification for Sikhs was b o rn in response to tl1e sacrifice of the Nintl1 Guru of the Sikhs, Guru

Tegh Bahadur Ji, who gave his life for the liberatio n of another com munity. S ikbi champions the rights of people to Aourish according to their own culmre and faith So ir's fitting chat the turban is used today not only co identify Sikhs but also spread i ts stori es of compassion, and more impo rtantly to build trust between communities today, especially for the sake of those w ho are most marginalised and vilified

A nd this is exactly wbac Tmbon.r and Trust does, in a fun and frien dly atmosphere "\Xie invite non-Sikhs co experience a turban and we tie it on for them," says Har jic. Even women are welco m e to try on the nirbans.

A nd in the Ly ing p r ocess, the conversation inevitably ensues about Si khism and all chat it stands for.

Harjit exp lains, "Inberem in the idea of trust, is risk. To build

trust we have to take a risk. The person who wants a n1rban tied, places their bead in the bands of a strange r The Sik h who is tying the turban, bands over something ,1er y precious to a stranger with the expectation tlrnt i t will be respected, and it is"

It may seem potentially chaotic to tie turbans on strangers, b ut the beautiful tl1ing about T11rha11s and TIYJSf is that it is q uite solemn People respond to the sacredness o f tl1e moment.

At t h e core of it all, T11rha11s and T,-ust is a disciplined and tl1ougbtfuJ act that hol ds to agreed rules and values. Volt1nceers are trained pr ior to par tic ipating and location s are chosen carefully.

"'\Ve take chis program wherever the re is au atmosphere of genui.oe openn es s and new ideas a re welcome," Jasdeep rev eals. " \Y./e like to reach out to families, and where people can wear a mrban

but bring it back co us after a while. We steer clear of public places whe re respectful discussion is not happening".

T11rbam and T,mt focuses on the pe r sonal relation s hip formed during tl1e !:)fog of the nirban.

A conversation is initiated using an agreed format; Sikh history in Australia, wh y Sikh s wear turbans and then the conversation wiJJ take a nanrral comse.

ever do tl1e Turbans 011d Tmst engi n eers compare Sikhi to any ocher religion, faitl1 or community

The religious ele m e n ts of Sikh i are discussed but not promoted. All conversa tions are about building posi tive in1ages of people irrespecti,1e of faith, culture and backgro t10d, in accordance with a Sikh's dul:)' to uphold the dignity of the human person

The program has invested in over 400 nrrbans in various

co lours which of course are used once onl y at each activil:)• Banners, stickers and bold original t- shi.rts are av ailab le on the website to purchase co support more Turbans and Trust events

A sister organisation is Australian Sikh Heritage, a website resource that i s spearheading a campaign to centralise the history of Sikhs in A u stralia and acknowledge their significant sites.

With a dedicated tea.in tl1at truly spans Australia, the project was launched in 2013. We hope to see Tm-ba11.r and Tm.rt events be ing held across the nation and beyond, so th e ttuban, whetl1e r we choose to wear one or not, can once again be recognised as a beacon of hope for all.

For m01·e information visit www.tztrbansaruh:ntst.com and www.australiansikhheritage.com

Preeti Jabbal does us proud!

Indian Link's Preeti Jabbal wins the Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence

Indicm Links Melbourne coordinator Preeti Jabbal took home the Individual ]V[edia Award at the recently held Victorian Multicultural Awards for Excellence 201 4 at Government House

The award recognises " excellence in the reporting of multicultural affairs", and acknowledges "die outstanding efforts of a person who highli g hted issues of soci al impo rtance and contributed to communiLy awareness"

Widi her passion for bringi ng issues and personali ties to th e fo re di r ough her wr iting in Indian U11k newspaper, Preeti Jabbal has won di e respect and admiration of di e community as well as her peers in the newspaper i ndustry.

Preeti has continually demonstrated a d ynamic and strong relationship with the culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse communities in Victoria through he r e fforts to promote cultural collaboration, in particular the Australian Indian and Sout h Asian communi ty " I am so pleased to have received this recognition ," Preeti says "I love doing what I do, connecting wi t h peopl e and learning about them and the n telling t h eir stories It's like an o ngoing education, I learn someth ing with each interaction and share it with m y readers "

"Em:iching is the word I would use for the who le experience It i s an invaluable part of m y li fe," she remarks witl1 characteristic passio n.

As a prolific writer about issues suc h as do m estic vio lence, gender equa lity, c ti.ltural conflict, multicul turalism and migration, Preeti is well regarded for her sensitive understanding o f relevant community issues and tbe balanced perspec tive s he provides d1ro ugh Indian Link newspaper and radio. le all scarred for Preeti as a yo ung child. A lifelong passi on for w ri ting began w h ile she jotted dow n thoughts o n a p iece of paper while watching her mother in the kitchen. The little poem penned in tbe kitchen was sent to a kids' mag azine and published immediately Many write- ups fo llowed and a hobby morphed into a career.

Fa m ily and friends we re not surprised when Preeti chose to finish he r u_niversiry yea rs with a p ost grad degree in Mass Communication and Journali sm

As a bright and bubbly 22 -yearold, she s tarted wo r k at a local newspaper in Nagp ur called Lo!vnat Ti111e.r lt was a rapi d trajectory fo r Preeti from looking after a s ingle le isure page, to handling the chi.ldren's magazine to becoming the editor of their

Preeti Jabbal is given her award by Victoria's Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship, Matthew Guy MLC

regLi.lar s u pp lement Montage, all within a year and a hal f.

"Mar r iage an d migration co Australia certainly created a temporary di version," Preeti reveals. "However, the writing bug rema in ed in the system!"

Her first researched story in Melbourne was pub li shed in The Ag, in 1995. Jour nali sm w as cons idered a dosed market at t hat rime and not easy to get in to so Preeti dabbled in other professions Her first break came in d1e form of a phone call from Pawan Luthra the Sydne)'-based edi tor of Indian Link who offered her a job as a co - anchor for a S1mday morning radio show. The rest as they say is history.

Preeti has worked as die Melbourne Coordinator of Indian Link for more than a decade, now writing innumerable in terviews, reviews, reports, features and profi les that link Indi a and Australia. Besides this she bas continued her corporate career, as well, by li te rall y burni ng the candle at both end s.

Her husband Ravinder, who she describes as h er 'rock', has proudly supported her in pursui n g her man y passi ons, often joining in as well witl1 j ust as m uch enthusiasm. Her son, Ronit, i s ber p r ide and joy

Preeti believes strongly that co mmunication i s tl1 e h uman con nection that forms the key to community relations.

Having been recognised

prev iousl y by a mul titude of organisations over tl1e past few yea rs, Preeti has been a panellist on d o mestic v io lence as part of the Victo r ia Harmon y D ay 2013 and a pane.Ilise o n PS3 Parenting in a Multicul tural Society Forum in Septe mber 201 3

"As a writer you can live a v icario u s life and amass va ried experi ences. You ca n also reach ou t ro thousa nd s of people. It is ver y important for me to do so creatively, conscien ti ous ly and ethically," says Preeti And with wholeheartedness, she might as well add.

Says Rajni Ana nd Luchra, Editor of llldian Link, "At Indian Link, Preeti has happily taken on any story leads tl1rown her way, and fo llowed them throug h ro conclusion. This, besides digging up newswortl1y sto ries herself from the community

Many of her stories are put in at ungo dly homs of the night, as s he toil s away after finishing her househol d chores and family responsibilities. But more o ften than not, they are accompanied by a n ote saying h ow much she

enjoyed doi ng the story "

Rajni adds, "Preeti's effervescent personality and enthus iastic a t timde make her a val ued member of our team. She is a sh ini n g ambassador o f the India11 Li11k brand in i\'1elbourne."

A relationship in research

The Australian government has annonnced it wil1 fond thirteen cuttingedge collaborative research projects in India in a number of areas including the mapping of salt- affected .land and water resources; the sharing of Australia's experie nce in imp lementing food standa rd s, managing major sporting events and planning for su stainable urban rra ns port links; a nd a new teacher education e.xchange progra m. They will be supported through this year 's Australia- India Council (ATC) grants program totalling over $565,000.

Making the a1mouncemem in early Ocrober, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the program will foster deeper people- co- people and institutio nal links wit h India.

"It will support new partnerships between Ausrralian and Indian universi ties, professiona l bodi es , private sector organisations and arts communi ties in areas of strong murual interes t and where the bilateral relationship has the greatest capacity to grow," s he added

The Council will also be helping to revitali se with Australian conservation expertise, the musewn dedicated to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, social reformer and architect of India's Constitution.

As well, ir will help sup p ort

Opera Australia's Indian tour of Eddie Perfect's Shane 11½-,me Th e j\tfusical and the insta llation in India of "Song for Connrry " , a mul timedia exhibition celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strai t Island cul ture.

The Minister's announcement follows Prime M ini ster Tony Abbott's Tony Abbott's p ledge of $20 mil1ion for the Ausrralia -lnclia Strategic Research Fund which he annonnced o n his recent rrip to India. The Fund, set up in 2006, was extend ed for another four years.

A number o f potentially beneficial projects have since gone nnderway. In the health secto r for ins t ance, a malacia vacc ine is in d evelopment; the Australia-India Trauma Systems Collaboration (AITSC) program brings together gove rnments, indusrry, clinicians and researchers to improve

information and resources and to pilot new systems of care, and programs are in p lace for improvement o f water quality PM Abbott noted that Australia intends to work wid1 India not as an aid-giver but as a partner, adding that some collaborations such as those between r ew Delhi's AIThfS

instinue and Melbourne's Alfred Hospira] would be significant as both coun t1:ies would be ben efitti.ng from the joint research carried out.

In addition, the PM also announced $3 million for the Australia India lnstin1te at Melbourne U niversity, which

1mder the headship of Prof. Amitabh Mattoo, has helped raise the profile of India in Austral ia The new research -related in i tiatives, says Lowy Institute analysr Ror y Medcalf, show char India r elationship has become "an enduring national priority" for Australia.

India blazes a trail with Mars mission

The first sec of images of the Martian surface taken b y India's Mars O rbiter :Mission (MO!v[) are now availabl e.They were sent hours after the O rbiter was inserted in its orbit of the red p lanet.

lnrua successful1y put the Mars Orbiter Mission, inforrnal1y called Manga(yaa11 (Hinru for 'Marscraft'), in Mars' orbit early on 24 Sept, becoming the first Asian country to reach the Red Planet

Radars at the ea.rth stations of NASA at Goldscone in the US, Madrid in Spain, Canberra in Australia and India 's own deep space network at Baylalu near Bangalore rece ived the raruo s ignals from the Orb iter, coufuming its insertion into the Mars orbit.

India's Prime Minister I arendra l'l'foru witnessed the historic event from the mission control centre in Bangalore and congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for chis significant milestone. He described i t as "achieving the near impossible", and said it "muse become a base for chal1enging rhe next frontier".

He added, "Of the 51 m issions attempted across the wor.ld so far, a mere 21 have succeeded. But we have prevailed we have gone beyond the boundaries of human enterprise and imagination"

ISRO became the fourth international space agency after National Aeronautics a.nd Space Administration (NASA) of the US, Russ ian Federal Space Agency (RFSA) and European Space Agency co have undertaken successful mi ssions to Mars. All three had failed in their fi r st attempts, and a similar mission by China failed in 2011.

lnrua's Mars O r biter Mission (1,1011) traversed over 650 millio n km tbrougb deep space for over nine months to successfully reach the planet's orbit.

The arrival came two da)'S after the ! ASA spacecraft, Mars Atmosp here and Volatile Evo lution (MAVEN) , entered the planet 's orb it.

NASA said in a statement, "\V/e congratulate the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for its successful arriv al at Mars with the Mars Orb iter Mission (MOi\1).

Ir was an impressive engineering feat, and we welcome Inrua to the famil y of nations studying another facet of the Red Planet. Al l space exp loration expands the fro n tiers of scientific knowledge and improves life for everyone on Earth. We commend this significant milestone for India".

i\{AVEN and MOM now join five spacecraft already operating on Mars surface or in orbit, including three orbiters - Mars Od)'ssey, Mars Reconnaissa nce Orbiter and Mars Express - and cwo rovers on the surface, Cmiosity and Opportunity.

More about MOM

The 1,350 kg spacecraft has three solar panels for generating energy and three antennas (high, meruum and lower) for radio links w ith earth stations and deep space networks

It ca r ries five insu-umems (pa yloads) on board.

The first instrument, Mars Colou r Camera (MCC) ,vill provide images of the planet's SLLrface fean1res and weather patterns such as dust storms. It will a lso phorograph the Red Pl anet's two moon s, Phobos and Dei.n10s.

The second instrument, Methane Sensor (MS) , will look for methane gas in the :Martian atmosphere, as its presence may inrucate whether life can be supported or

sustained on the planet.

The third i n strument, Mars Exosphe re Neutral Composition Anal yser (ME CA), will study neutral gas atoms fou.nd in the outermost part of the Martian atmosphere.

The fou r th instrument, Lyman Alpha Photometer (LJ\P) , w ill measure the relative abundance of two isoropes of hydrogen co understand the process by which Mars has been losi n g its atmosphere and turning into a dry p lanet from a wet one.

The fifth instrument, Thermal Infrared Imagery Spectrometer (TITS) , will map the surface temperature to understand the compos ition and mineralogy of Mars.

As part of a scaled-up space programme, the country's first interplanetary probe is a statement ro the world on India's technol ogical capability, skilled workforce and frugal engineering, t hat it is a lowcost p layer in the high -cost exploration business. And there i s a space economy in the making.

The Rs 450-crore (Rs 4.5 bn / US$74 million) missio n took jllst 15 months in execution (to b last oft) after the governn1ent approved it in August 2012. The satellite was built by Inrua.n scientists and engineers, launched from Inruan soil, using an indigenous rocket and carrying home-grown instruments to read the biochemi srry of the intriguing planet.

The b last-off on Nov 5 20'13 was itse l f significant as i t marked the silver jubilee of the Pohr Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

India's space programme for India, it has been an increruble journey Ar the inception of the space programme in the 1960s, the focus was on "technology independence" and small rockers were launched to investigate the ionosphere over the magnetic equator that passes over Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram. Soon the potential of space technology for social benefi ts was realised and since then the space programme has been an integral part of the deve lopment agenda.

Al so, the space programme is mostly se l.freliam - a consequence of tl1e "techno logy denials" b y the US and Europe fol1owing the 1974 nuclear tests.

And the capabilities established in the process have been used in a host of sectors like communication, education and healthcare. About 270 techno logies developed for the space programme have been transfer red to industries for commercial applications

Koppillil Radhakrishna.n, ISRO chairman, says some of the outcomes of MOM, for examp le the in- built autonomy that is provided in this spacecraft, can become a reality as a product or system and be used in satellites to in1prove tl1eir efficiency.

"So they percolate to application , which is our main objective. It could be something W<e forecasting cyclones. There is always relevance for a mission such as this".

While the debate will go on in whether a democracy like Inrua sh ould be spenrung millions to increase its space presence, it is a fact that the nation cannot afford to ignore space as a vital resource. Space for India today is "not merely a destination"; it is an engine that has become critical to its economic growth, strategic interests and very wa)' of life.

Already the.re is talk in countri es su ch as the US and China about building spacebased infrastructure for possible bases or colonies on the moon and .lvfars It is said that like the naval powers of olden days

Scientists monitor the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) Manga/yaan probe into orbit around Mars, at the /SRO Telem e try Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore, 24 Sept 2014. which we re able to set up colonies on ocher continents, it will be countries that have established programmes and research which would have tl1e ad vantage on tl1e moon or Mars.

Radhakrishnau says that the country 's first Martian exploration is meant for undertaking meaningful research of a planet chat could be "poss ib ly a future habitat... 20 or 30 years from now".

Most scientists feel Mars is good enough for humans to settle down at some point.

U R Rao, eminent space scientist who led tl1e country's space programme between I 984 an d 1994, questions the critics of the miss ion Just as the country's moon mission Chand.rayan-I, found water molecules in lunar soil, the Mars miss ion, he says, will lead to some "important findings".

Others believe the achieve ments from technology development and strategic capabilities can be applied to other sectors of the economy, triggering in n ovation, and help d1e emerging space economy.

Susmita Mohanty, founder and CEO of Earrh2Orbit, India's first private space start-u p, says Indian companies can leverage the impress ive portfolio of space products and services that ISRO has developed over four decades to serve its needs, exploit tl1e satellite se rvice market, and become competitive in the global marketplace

This, howev er, req uires India co overhaul its space polic y Ir also req uires ISRO to amend i ts policy o n contracts, Inruan industry co share risk and investment, and

d1e rwo co co -develop and co - innovate, adds Mohanty, a spaceship designer who earlier worked on Shuttle-Mir m iss ions at NASA's Jo hnson Space Centre in Houston.

The global space economy in 2012 was $304 31 billion in government budgets and commercial revenue. A majority of the revenue came from commercial growth infrastructure and support in dustries, space products and services, GPS devices and chi psets and DTH television.

A successful Mars mission would also be a great booster for India's space ruplomacy. Over die years, the Indian space programme has gone global, sharing its experience with other countries. It has set up the Centre fo r Space Science a.nd Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific at Debra Dun tmder UN sponso rship.

Krishnaswa.my Kastmirangan, former ISRO chairman, believes the Mars miss ion cou ld lead to significant international collaborations and debunk the view that Indi a i s competing wid1 China.

"When we have some capabilities there will be people wanting to join us," says Radhakrishnan.

In the immediate fumre, ISRO will work with J\SA to develop a complex satel lite wid1 dual freq uency radar systems which is p lanned fo r 2019-20. The satellite w ill be b uilt and launched by ISRO.

From IANS reports

Sara h R o b e rts is maki ng h er mark o n the Austra lian acting s cene. Curre ntly the Melbourne beauty is scarring in tl1e Australi an film Fe/019 as A n khi.la, th e m o th er of a young boy killed in a hir a nd run accident

Initially, Sarah didn't chink she had received the part. ''I had three audi tio n s, two in Melbou rn e a n d then a fin al call-b ack in Syd ney," she recalls. ''I r was terrible! I wall,ed o ut o f the Sydne)' auditio n and c alled m y mum and told he r, ' I think 1 stuffed ir up, I won 't gee it'. Then I had to wait two wee ks t o hear back a nd I was thinking, 'I definitel y won't gee ic, they've picked someo n e else' I was wal king ho m e fro m Chapel Street (in Melbourne) and crying th.i nking about how bad everything was, w hen m y age nt cal.led to te ll m e I got th e ro le That certainly rurned m y day around !"

Preparation for the rol e involved using the 'Chub buc k' technique, an acting m etho d involv ing emotional substitutio n. Sa rah worked closely with the cltlld ac tor playing her son as much as p ossible prior to filmi n g in order co create the sen se o f em o tio n al loss. "I also sat in hospital a lot," she says. "It was really sad , and l h ad to draw o n and channel th a t o n set "

" It has got co be m y favourite ro le up to n ow," Sara h continues. " The cast a nd crew wer e all awesome, a nd i t 's a g r e at film. We had a great atmosphere on set, and it was tl1e most challenging ro le for me."

Alon g w ith tl1e Ii Im 's wri tee J oel Edger co n and director Matthew Saville, Sara h and tl1e Feloi!J team are ge tting ready to ta ke the film to LA this month

"It's amazing bec au se it was a ye ar ago that we were caking the film to To ro nto (film festival)," Sarah says " Ir's awesome to see the r espo n se You don't get sick of i t Each time )'O U're in a different part o f the wodd it's a

different feeling. In Toronco it was fun bec ause I h ad never been the re before or to the Festival, and in Melb ourne (for MIFF) it was exciting co show everyo ne at h ome what I've been d oing "

Sarah b egan dance classes arou nd age three and enjoyed the perfo rm ance aspect. "I love the feeling of freedom w h en I' m da ncing," sh e says

After leavin g sch oo l, aged 18, Sarah m oved to Tokyo, Japan a nd scored a role wo r ki ng in D isney's produc tion of Aladdin "I was Princess Jasmi n e," Sarah recalls, "And i t was great playi ng a princess eve ry day. The way you 're treated in that environment, you really ge t to feel like a prince ss!"

After three years, and after ge ttin g the tas te fo r ac ti ng, Sarah m oved bad< to Australia w here she sc ored roles in televisio n series inclndingja£k Irish, the lNXS telemovie and Neigbho11rr where she played the much - desp ised Sienna

" It's cool co be recogn ised," Sarah says, " Bu t peop le didn't like m y character o n Neighho11rs so I did receive hate mail , mainly mean stuff on the internet. \'\'hen I first saw it I got upset, buc after speaki ng with ocher accor s, I've learned, in tbis industry, yo u can't let tha t ger to yo u."

Growing up in M el bourne with exotic look s, tl1anks to her d iverse A us tralian and Sri Laokan

heritage, Sara h faced prejudice. "My siste r a nd I wen t to sc hool on the p eninsula and the o rher kids we re n 't used to seei ng p eople like us, ir was all very AngloSaxon. They called us name s, but because o f that expe rienc e I'm a stro nger perso n now," she says

That stren gth he lped Sarah w h en she was o n the televis io n s series B0l911vood Star where ord ina ry Au stralians were g ive n t he chance to sco re a role in a film by legendary Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt. As pare of tl1e final six, Sarah we n t to .tviumb ai and stayed ,vith a family in the slw n s of tl1e city.

"It seem s like a .lifetime ago," Sarah says " I made som e really good friends and 1 got co go co India and experie nce Indian culture a nd see bow ilie film industry wocks over iliere, but B o l.l ywood is ver y hard. Ul timately, I had to decide if I wanted to d o Bollywood or Hollywood , and I chose co cackle Hollywood."

''I h ad just finished Bo!(y11Jood Star w h e n l auditio ned for Felony, a nd I actually b ased some of An kh ila o n th e m other from the fa ntlly I me t in India," Sarah reveals " T his m other - a ll she cared abou t w as her c hil dren

She was married at 14 and h e r children were everythi ng She was just all about making sure they bad the oppor tunities to work and be bett er."

duo Vamp, w h ich p lays at venu es a nd festi vals aro un d Australia. The pair have worked wirh H o l.lywo od singer Eve an d will be supporting A q ua o n their cour later th.i s year " It's n ot too hard to balance DJi ng

with acting, i t's half and half," Sarah says.

For a long time Sarah shied away from her Sri Lankan heritage, but now she embraces her unusual looks. "I'm casting fo r so many different ethnicities - Iranian , Afghani, lraqi , Australian. I like being abouc to learn all the different accems and embrace learning parts of these new languages for r o les and auditions."

"It does n't matter to me if it's film or TV," Sarah says, " I just Like acting."

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Why the Aam Aadmi Party lost its relevance

Political movements must have a clear commitment and vision if they are to last

leadership unit. Instead, tl1eir election pitch was more about restricting the number o f BJP mernbers entering Parliament.

Return fare including taxes

Citizens in any nation, when oppressed for long, resort to a revolution. A revo lution to overthrow the oppressor(s) and make change An individual with a sense of du1:y and sacrifice steps up co the challenge and the rest tend to follow that leader. The most recent example of such a movement is currently shaping up in Pakistan. However, the success <Jf such an uprising is bound to be str uck by challenges. Thar is where public emotions must be balanced wid1 an adequate dose of realism. J\IJ the citizens of Pakistan have ro do is look closely at a similar uprising in India earlier this year and learn from its shortcomings. India, prior ro the JasL ge neral elections, w itnessed an uprising of sorts in a nascem political party headed b y J\rvind Kejriwal. A social reform movement

rhar started with protests and demonstrations, it eventually shaped into a fully- fledged political party in very quick time. Pub lic sentiment endorsing this parry ignited rapidly across the nati o n, making d1e Aam i\admi

Party (AA P) a formidable force on me national political from. However, the AAP succumbed to the spotlig hts of the b ig stage and crumbled.

A country of disillusioned citizens, troub led by blatam mis use of power and aumori1y over a long period of time, sensed a silver lining in the AAP. A tangible alternative to a long array of Lmderperforming governments, peop le connected instantly wid1

the party's straight talking leader. They fe lt affiliated co

A successful social o r political revoluti on does not stop at overd1rowing the oppressor, it provides the alternative to then effect me change it promised.

"Corruption Free lndia" makes for a good slogan but not a fuU y- Aedged manifesto to run a national e lection campaign. Other man putting an end to corrupri o n, the AA P failed to articulate any other major policies of good governance aimed at the medium to long term future of the country A holistic p o licy manifesto, tapping imo foreign relations, eco nomic growth, internal affairs and defence, was neve r sold to the votin g public in great detail.

Some extremely irresponsible political statements, a streak of irreverent mudslinging, publicised internal party power struggles, and some high profi le resignarions sighting differences amongst cop l evel leaders of AAP, all added to a sense of Lmease and lack of conJidence towards the party

The fallout an d res ignations of key AAP figLLtes after d1e Lok Sabha elections earlier

''Public sentiment

endorsing the AAP ignited rapid ly across the nation, making it a formidable force

on the national pol itica l front, but

t he party soon succumbed to the spotlights of the big stage and crumbled

his vision of a corruption- free India and sbowered overwhelming support cowards the change that me MP was seeking witl1in d1e governance framework of Jndia.

Somewhere dmugh, the wheels started to come off tl1is mini revolution in lndia. Th e public sentiment of support for the A.AP starred to be tainted witl1 doubt over the capability of tl1e leaders to nm the full journey and deliver the "India" that they had promised.

Granted, the AAP leaders were relatively inexperienced as politicians, however their messages and actions were m ore directed towards overthrowing the Congress and inhibiting me BJP from governing. They were n or about communicating meir own merit, vision, and commitment to run the country.

The Congress was bound to suffer in these elections due ro their inadequacies over a 10 year rule, and the AAP leadership should have focused on mar ke ting memselves as a capable alternative

this year reflected a shade of political oppormnism within the ran.ks of 1\AP. The decision by Arvind Kejriwal to give up the governan ce of Delhi in lieu of running for the cop jo b as Prin1e Minister eroded his credibility to finish off the task at hand.

\Xi'hen you start a protest as a common person, you resort ro demonstrations, hunger strikes, and disruptive activities. The effort in all o f that is to get noticed. To create awareness But, when

''you are a known entity and rhe gover nment of me day, as AAP was in Delhi at that juncrure, you follow constimtional protocols ro effect change. Change, of any sort, is a lo ng and arduous process lt demands patience and perseverance. You do nm have to re vert to being a powerless vigil ame once you are in government (and I refer ro tbe much puhlicised "dhama" by Arvind Kejriwal while he was the CM of Delhi). You stick to d1e legitimate processes and clean up the system. As challengi ng anJ rough as it may be.

The A.J\ P bad a lot going for it, bm somehow managed to imp lode o n the big stage. l am sure it is regrouping some\vhere in its political trenches, as I write, reasses sing its approach and priorities, re-scra tegising lr wiU return to the main stream at some stage to stake a claim at governance o nce again. However, I am afraid , the once popular reform movernent that it orig inated as now runs the risk of being branded yet anothe r "political party". Jl,foch like a schizoph renic, AAP w ill n ow have to fi ght demons created by its ow n self

It's time for a bit of trumpet-blowing as we celebrate our 'coming of age; writes

Take a look at the kind of work we' ve done in the past two decades at Indian

Not another Indian newspaper the spiceshop -wallah had said tO us, somewha t disdainfully.

" \X1e don't need another newspaper - there's two alread y"

\Ve hadn't expected this answer, not from someone who we knew well; we had been buying om groceries from him for the past five years.

As Pawan and I stared at him o pen- mouthed, he relented.

"Okay, you can stock yo ur paper at m y score," he said. "But i t will have to live outside m y door. If you can sustain it for a full year, I will let you keep i t inside".

A year later, Mr Spice Shop \Xi'al.lah rang u s

"I'd like co advertise in your paper".

"Oh, but you don't need co advertise;' we said. "You're the king of the sp ice s hop mliverse".

"That's true," he agreed, ''But the ti.mes are changing. The community is growing, and the competition is p icking up "

It was 1995, and Indian Link newspaper had survived its first year of life.

We had survived thanks to the support of the King of the Spice Shop Universe (who remains a good friend and wellwisher to this day), and tha n ks co the community that he rig htly identified as growi ng by leaps and bounds at the time

But mostly, we've thrived, not just survived, because of two strong principles that have been our cornerstone ever since t he very idea of tllis project took root in our minds. These are a comnlitment to quality in terms

of co n tent, design and regularity of production, and tl1e amassing of a storehouse of talent behind us that we like to call the 'Indian Link famil y'

To day, iJ1 our twenty- first year , we have well and rruly co m e of age. Graduating from a small 24page black-and -whi te monthly publication in 1994 , produced with next to no resources except tl1e voluntary contributions o f a small group of six interested people, lfldian Link is now a media group active on man y platforms. It produces 72 publicacions a year with a team of more than 80 regular contributors and reports from every major c ity in Australia.

Indian Link has a radio arm that broadcasts 24 hours a day and which can be heard u·aditionally, online or via a smartphone app that has been downloaded some 11,000 ruues. With over eight hours of talk back shows every day, it has a following which even government funded radio channels such as SBS could envy.

Our website, fi r st launched in 2003, is updated daily and bas a variety of sections to capture breaking news happening all over Australia, as well as relevant information from lndia. U sers can join tbe conversation as we give m1.r readers a voice when it comes to important issues.

I11dia11 Link has always been at tbe curring edge o f tecru10l ogy.

\ 'Ile have heavily invested in social media, reaching out to readers on Facebook and Twitter \Y/e are able to deliver instant news and communi ty happenings to our strong base of followers and have high user engagement as compared to other similar media organisations. We also deliver news directly co tl1e in b ox of subsc ribers every formighL

Ever s ince the Multiculmral 1frdia Award s were announced in NSW

three years ago, Tndian Link has become the m ost-awarded ethnic media gro up in tl1e state, bringing home mulciple awards and even more nominati o ns, in a whole host of categories. We have been recognised as a top con u·ibutor to the fabric of Australia's mulcicul mral society.

We have published the Best Print and On.line News reports, been rewarded for our innov acive use of digital and onli ne media and mutured a YoungJournalist of the Year. We have been recognised for our community work with a Harmon y Award and been given acco lades for our coverage of community affairs abroad \'Ile have been awarded Best lmage o f the Year, Bes t Online Publication of the Year, and our CEO Pawan Luthra was awarded Multiculmral J ournalist of the Year.

About Indian Link

Indian Llnk is a free publication targe t ed n ot only at Indian-origin Australians, b u t also mainstream Australian s who have an i11terest in India Indian Link is the Circ ulation Audit Bureau's oldest ongoing member from an1ongst the Indian publications.

As watchers of the trends in Australia's Ind ian co m munity, our clear grasp of issues in the community for over 20 years has made us much sought-after.

Our considered commentaries on issues tl1at put the communi ty in mai nstream s p o tlight, such as the smdents' crisis of 20092010, and the contencious one of Australia's sale of uraniu m to India , have been w idely read and welcomed

In ti.mes of naci o n al crises such as the Victoria bush fires of 2009 and Queens land flood s of 20 11 , we look out fo r membe rs of

the communi ty, seeking out the affected and bringing their stories to our readers

From within tl1e community, tl1e social and cultural expressions of i ndividuals and groups, in particul ar the celebration of our many festiv als, find much coverage on our pages. The community 's performing arcs scene is inc reasingly become prolific - reports of classical and p o pular dance and music shows, th eatrical productions and art exhibitions ar e now beginning to crru:n our pages An increasing trend is the organisation o f fundraising events, as tl1e community becomes more settled and begins to give back to society.

\'(/e are proud also to feature everyday indi vidual s who sh ine through with their intelligence and application. These mig ht include school students who have excell ed, professionals who have been awarded Australia's 11.igbest civi lian awards, and those excelling in sport o r art or business in tl1e main strea m.

As well, we like to cast a regular look at the different layers tl1at make up our community: se11iors and tbe issues that concern tl1em; kids ( tl1eir lives at school and at leisure); home- makers and aspects of their lifestyle; the youth and their particular pas sions, and tl1e gay communi ty in d1eir attempts to reconcile d1eir lifestyle choice with age-old traditions. Our reports of community events i n Australia have been welcomed by the mainstream as an i nfo r med comment on relevant issues. Our feamres such as travel, food, sport, literamre, health, fashion, Boll ywood, humour, kids and heritage, are read with interest by both the Indian and the w ider communities.

A n importan t segment of

our coverage is also devoted co mainstream Australians who have an interest in India. \Yle have followed interested Aussies on their trips to India , and od1ers who have explored film -making with some of Bollywood's greats. Indophiles in Australia p o re over our pages reading stori es about the intercul mral c o nnecti ons \'(/hen the mainstream ha s a quescion about India, or when the communi.cy has a story co te ll, Indian Link is tl1e first point of contact.

We have deve loped a reputation as a leading med ia group in Australia, and small and med ium b u sinesses within tl1e community, corporates, government departments, and businesses from Ind ia seeking co enter the market all come to fodirm L ink to ge t tl1e word om about their products and services.

At Indian J_jnk we pride ourselves on our high quality of co ntent and design as well as regulari ty o f production

J\nd yet, whil e we wholeheartedly embrace new trends su ch as d1ose in technology, we prefer co be old - fashioned when it comes to separating our editorial content and our advertising.

We follow an etl1ical business model and will not be seduced in ru1 y fo rm of " cash for comment"

We have managed t o keep at bay the recent upsurge in nacive advercising (where ads are camouAaged to look like news), supposedly the way t o go to survive in a d i.mi.tushing industry.

The Team

Indian Li11k is the only Indian communi ty media organisation co have a professional office, with headquarters in the Sydney CBD.

Our team of contributors now numbers more than 80, with many

editor RAJNI ANAND LUTHRA.

Link

being long- time Indian Linkers. Our core office staff of ten oversees their work an d the productio n p rocess. More dedicated and conscientious than we could ask fo r, the y go beyond their required hours - too frequentl y on recent occasionsto meet deadlines, and to being ambassadors of the company at public events after-hours

A pillar of strength i s Vivek Trivedi who has been with the team for o v er seven years. In charge of marketing and sales for Tndi,111 Link, he has taken our core policy of objectivity ev en further with a standard ethical procedure for all potential clients and a streamlined process in the boolcing of ads. His strong values and work ethjc make rum an invaluable member of the team.

Softly spoken, yet a master salesman , his conviction in the values of Indian Li11k often has h im at odds with potential advertisers, but his gentle persuasion wins them over.

Witl1 his role in the froniline, he has strengthened our position in understanrung the moods of the community, and serving their needs accordingly His mentoring of the sal es team

not onl y in Sydney but also other centres is enabling further growth of the compan y

Kira Spuc ys-Tahar as assistant edfror, has taken the compan y co a new level with her on.line expertise, expanding the company's influence on other platforms (and teaching us social media dummies a few tllings a.long the way) Her work with botll our des ign and marketing teams, to ensure a qua.lfry product is sent to print every fortrught, has won our adnuration.

N icika Sondru and Bindiya Masabarhu la both contribute to the smooth running of the office with tl1eir pleasant personalities and always complete their work with a smjl e.

Preeti Jabbal, Judia11 Link's Melbourne coordinator, has been with the newspaper for 12 years, and was recentl y awarded tl1e Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence in Merua. Ashish Chawla, in charge of sales in Victoria is well respected for his dedication and work in making Indian U11k as a premier brand in the state.

On the radjo, Neelam Vasudevan is in charge and

ensures d1e music flows beautifull y Witl1 a team of 'lO raruo jockeys and listeners across tlle g lobe, many of whom caU in on a regular basis, Indian Llnk Radio has taken ns to the world stage.

Influence

Observing the trends for over 20 years now has enabled us to draw conclusions about commtuury mov ements with some precis ion and objectiviry. This was particularly true in the case of d1e students' crisis. Our reports were unbiased , taking into perspective tl1e v iews of aU parties involved, and pointed out flaws in the system as weU as sugges tions for the future. Our take on tl1e issue, considered balanced and mature, made us a leadjng commentator for both the Australian and the Indian media, w ith our CEO Pawan Lutl1ra caUed upon to make regular comments on TV and raruo in bod1 countries. ( Pawan has been a frequent guest on ABC Radio 702, ABC TV's Lateli11e, Cha1mel 7's S11111ise and on other televis ion programs like Tod'!)' Tonight, ABC N e111s 24, BBC

Hindi Radio Service, as weU as on televis ion and rad io networks in Inclia, who seek hio1 out for hjs in- depth knowledge of both local comrnucity affaits and the lnrua-Australia re lationship. He was also the guest commentator on Fox television's coverage of the opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in ew Delhi witl1 T racey Holmes and Steve Leibmann)

At election times, our poUs to gauge the mood of community voters have become a longstanding tradition. (ln fact, one such survey is currently on , co assess voter sentimem regarding t he upcoming Victor ian Seate e lectio n s). We would like to go so far as to suggest, that our analys is enables tl1e undecided voters co make up their nunds, our coverage sigcificantly influences public opinion.

Our reports are not always flatteri n g to community stakeho lders, such as when we explored tlle ruvisions within commucity orgacisarions a few years ago, or the debacle that was the Pravasi Bharatiya D ivas in Sydney more recentl y Yet the readers out there see tl1e merit in our assessments, and can apprec iate that we come from an objectiv e editorial position. They understand better than chose purporting to ho ld community leaderslup positions, mat putting Bob Carr on the cover, for instance, does not ma.l,e us Labor supporters, just as reporting a community poll in favour of the Coalition does not mean we back the Liberals

The next 20 yea rs

In a scenario where commuruty newspapers are spawning even

as d1eir mainstream counterparts are d ying off, we at Tndia11 Link h o pe to keep carr ying on witl1 the s ame ideals with w hjcJ1 we started. The times aliead are indeed exciting, not onl r as we reinvent ourselves as the merua industry goes d1rough an upheav al, but also as the mainstream finall y begins to g ive us some muchdeserved attention. The re are deadline pressures t o contend with as always, plus the stresses of climinishlng revenue and new forms of media that we struggle to understand. Reporting on a community that is beginning ro feel some growing pains (hea.ltll issues, old age issues, biculmraJ stress in the youth , assimilation iss ue s in new migrants, domestic violence, even a gradual increase in gambling addiction) , we have our work cue out for us.

But every day at the fodian Link office i s enjoyable, from regular dashes for coffee ro the gentle teasing among co- workers and the frequent hounding of the boss. \':(/e have fun working on stories and getting to know the people of the commurury. E ven thoug h there are stresses, we laugh and s mile cogerher as we collate each new edition.

ln 20 years we hope to reU our future generatio n s that we were ab le to help create that perfect blend of Indian and Australian values and lifestyle tllat has made us a successful multicul tural commmucy. We have kept our Indian traditions alive and las ting \vhile learning and integrating from Australian culture the values of openness and fair go.

The support of the comnnuuty, we know, will continue to be witl1 us just as we continue to tel.I their stories.

Sydney Un i : Centre for Indian Studies faces closure ? froit, OU,r Cottctpl>Gdal (OI' lt1dtari SndD at S},QIC) t.h•wrwrvh~•thtdd alda.wt1 ln•bitlto~tbi: aui1tt.lbaiahYIOIIO'l~ct.lhc-

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lndia fought alone, while a scared world INSIDE:

Indian Link

Kipling's magical poetry

VIKAS DATTA explores the famed author's works ofsoldiers, monarchs and revenue-raising

ifted novelises ha\7e n e\7e r been confined co a spec ific genre, or even to a form of literature, for they are ad roit tn weav ing mag ic with words, using them in sentences o f matchless prose or evoking their aesthetic and rhythmic aspects in verse. Bur someh ow their poetic contribution is always overshadowed b y their prose co rpu s Sir Walter Scott, Hans Ch r istian Andersen, Thomas Hardy, right down to M ich ael Ondaatje, Alice Wal ker, Ru sseU Banks,John Updike, Vladimir Nabokov, Er ica Jong and their ilk are not e.xactly more famous as poets. But there was one who strode both sp he r es with aplomb - and Rud ya rd Kipling's art was recognised by conferment o f th e Nobel Prize for Litera ture - tl1e fii·st ever to an E nglish writer.

Kipling's (1865 -1936) prose creatio n s, n ot onl y the Irish boy drawn into the "Great Game" or the foundling who is raised in the jungle b y a wolf- pack, b uc also from the w ider a nimal ki ngdom like the faitl1ful mongoose, the intrepid wolf, the wise bear, or tl1e evil tiger, have achieved bounc11ess fame, fo r which rea der has not come across the names of Kim, Mowgli, Rik:i-Tiki -Tav i, A kayla, Baloo and Shere Khan? But, he also penned enduring verse - about me o ld but brave water bearer Gunga Din, that solem n admonitio n of duty and scoicism '1f", t he ep ic adventure in " The BalJad of East and West'', and tl1e m uch -pilloried but as much misunderscood ' 'The \V h ite Man's Burden".

Kipling's poetry covered a wid e range - histor y, both Euro pean and Indian, nature and the vi ews of animals, and even clever parodies o f meclieval Persian poets like Omar Khayyam and his " Ru baiyyac" and Hafiz

Some of h is most effecti \7e poetry - tha t will strike a chord even today - is about the treatment o f the ordinary soldier - active or r etired.

" Tommy", short for Tomm y

Atki n s, a generic name for a British soldier, end s with a warning :

For· it's Tovmry this, rm ' To1JJl!Q! that, an' 'Chuck hi111 011t, the brt1te!' But it'.r '.'iauiom· of 'is cotmf!y' 1/Jhen the gum begin to shoot/ A 11' it '.r Tom11'Y this, a11' Tollllll)' thtil, an' anythi11gJ1011 please

An' To11111ry ain't a bloomin'fool - yo11 bet that ToJJ111ry sees!"

Egual.ly distressing is the condition of the Charge o f the Li g h t Brigade's su rvivor s:

There 111ere thirty 111illio11 English 11Jho talked ef E11gla11d's t11ight

There IJ)et e f1JJe11!J brok.en troopers who

lacked a bedfor lhe night

Thry had 11eitherfood nor 111onl!)', thg• had neither service nor tmde

Thry were on(y shiftless soldiers, the last ef the Light Brigade

A deputation goes to Lord

Tennyson, who immortalised them in ve r se, and mal,es a

plaintive request: No, thank you, we do n 't wan t food, sir; bm couldn't you take an '

writ e

A s01t qf 'to be conh1111ed' a11d 'see uext page' o'the fight?

We think that someone has bl1111dered, a11' co11/d11'tyo11 te/l'em ho1JJ?

¥011 1/J1·ote 111e IJ/ere heroes 011cc, sir.

Please, 1JJrite //JC are starving 1101/1

K ipling could as easily bring ep isodes of I ndian history, real or apocryph al , to vhTid life - as in "Akbar's Bridge" whe n:

Jelaludin Muhammed Akba1; G11ardia11 ef Ma11ki11d Mo ved his standards rtut ef D elhi to Jaunpore ef lower Him!, 111/'here a mosq11e 1JJa.r to be builded, and a lovelier m 'er was planned.

Wan dering along the Gom ti at dusk, the emperor tries to he lp an irate, s tranded w idow, fer r ying her across the river but getting c lawed by tl1e woman w h o has now idea of who b e is I-le recounts

his d o lorous ad ven tures to h is

V ic eroy Munim Khan

A nd he mderl, '.S'ire of Asses-Capo11O11Jl's Oum Uncle-kno)J)

I-most impotent ef bung!ers-1-this ox

1})ho ca11not 1'011-'•

l-Jela/11di11 M11ha11m1ed Akhoi; G11ardia11 ef MankindBid thee h11ild the hag her bridge 1md put 0111· mosquefiwll 011t t0i mind.

He could pen heartfelt tributes - as to the larger - tha n life US President (and hw1rerconser\7ationisc:, war hero, explorer, author, progressive politidan a n d No b el Peace Prize winner) Theodore Roosevelt in

"Great- Heart".

Hard-schooled l:ry lo11gp01/Je1; Yet 111ost h11111b!e ef 111ind [J7h ere aught that he was Might advantage 111ankind

Leaf semant, loved master, Rare co111rnde, St/1'1' guide Oh, our 111orld is 11011e the safer No1JJ Great-F-Ie01t hath died!

But Kipling is also an incomparable parodist, using the R11ba!Jyat to portray cra\7ails of Auckland Colvin, tl1e finance member (1883- 87) in the council of Vi c eroys Ripon and D ufferin in raising resources i n India. No111 the N e]J) Y er,r, revivi11g last Year}

D ebt The Thoughifit! Fisher msteth IJ)ide his Net;

So I 1vith begging Dish and reacfy Tongue A ssail all Men for all thr,t I can get P,91 and J promise 1?J the Dmt of Spri11g , Riltrenchment If my promises ran bring Co111fort, Ye have Them 110111 a tho11sa11dfold-

The sentiments will be well understood both by finance m in i sters - and tax payers!

Sweet tooth? Add a little nutrition to your Diwali

Diwali, the festival of lights, is just around t he corner. A celebratio n of good n ess, knowledge a nd hope, every Indian household looks forward to this festival irrespective of caste, creed or reli gion.

A profusion of traditional sweets and s nack s are prepared in every home. In fact, delicious, ghee- laden sweets have become so much of a highlight o f Diwali , that many even refer co it as the 'festival o f sweets'.

The Indian sweetmeats also known as mithai are n ot just desserts. These delicio u s, sweet morsels nibbled through the entire festival period are ofte n considered a co mbinatio n o f snack, co nfectio nar y and dessert.

Bac k home in Indi a, this is the time when yo u get together with the ocher female members o f the h ouseho ld preparing the sweets and s nacks in advance. It is customary to exchange sweets with famil y and friends during this co lourful festive season and some of the traditional Diwali sweets include laddoo, barfi, hallJ!u, sohan papdi, mmvu kachori, 111oti pak, packed in beaucifull y decora ted boxes l'v[y pick for this fescive season is the barfi, a s imple mithui made from milk, g hee and sugar. There are plen ty of v ariacions bu t some o f t he famous ones include the besrm barfi (mad e with gra m flour), kt!J11 burfi (a lush addition of cas hewnuts) ,pista barfi (wi th the g reen goodnes s of pistachios), coconut bfJlji (with the sweetness of fres hly grated coc o nut) This D iwali, l ee's add a heal thy nv isc to our hwnble barfi with this delicious carrot or g'!}ar hmfi

Carrots have an extremely high nutrition proiiJe; packed with vita min A and antioxidants, it is indeed t he common man's powerfood. The carrots n ot only lend nutritio na l goodness to this barfi, but the beautiful ora nge colour imparted makes it perfect fo r this colourful festi ve season.

Being such a s imple recipe, preparing sweets this Diwali does not have co be a chore. These can be made ahead of cime and also in bulk co be distributed a mong

INDIANLINK

family and friends. And a plus facror - kids love it!

Eaten on its own , or served with a dollop of ice -cream, this gorgeous ly delicio us, health y carrot lra,fi will definitely be the 'wow' factor at your dinner parties.

So, here's how you make these soft, melt in the m o uth , carrot cakes w ith a h int of cardamo m, sweet raisins and crunchy almo nds.

, :I (Makes 8 squares)

3 tbsp ghee

2-2 ½ cups grated carrots

1 cup milk

½ tsp cardamom powder

½ cup sugar (or as per taste)

Pinch salt

2 - 3 tbsp go lden raisins (optional)

Toasted almonds or cashew nuts for garnish

Heat ghee in a large pan Add the grated/ €hopped ca rrots and saute on medium heat for 4-5 minutes.

Now add milk, cardamom powder and¼ cup sugar and cook the carrots further. When most of the liquid evaporates, taste and add more sugar, golden raisins and a pinch of salt. I ended up using slightly less than½ cup of sugar as I like the barfi to have the natural sweetness of carrots.

• The sugar will introduce some more liquid.

Stir constantly and cook it further till fairly dry. The barfi is done when the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and starts to come together. It will also have a lovely sheen to it.

Remove from heat and spread the barfi onto a greased plate/flat dish and flatten to 1/2 inch th ickness. Top with toasted almonds or cashew nuts. Cool slightly in pan and refrigerate till set.

Cut into squares using a greased knife and serve. The barfi wi ll be set, but with a soft, melt-in-the-mouth consistency. Refrigerate any leftovers in a closed container.

The carrots are cooked in milk to make the barfi creamier. If you are vegan, use vegan butter instead of ghee, and water or milk substitutes instead of regular milk.

For an even easier recipe, use sweetened condensed milk instead of milk and sugar. Use beetroot instead of carrots to make beetroot barfi Beets may need more milk as they take longer to cook.

Asymbol of hope, faith and divinity since the beginning of time, light has been elaborately incorporated i nto various religious, cultural and traditional celebrations around the world As a tribute to Diwali - one of the best known festivals of lights - this month we've compiled a list of top ten festivals that emulate its tradition of lighting up the world.

10. St Martin's Day

Celebrated in remembrance of Saint Martin, the patron of the poor, this event takes on a new meaning in the Netherlands where it is commemorated with lights

As the day of feasting draws to a close on 11 November each year, the night is lit up with children heading out carrying lanterns and singing songs i n praise of'SintMaarten.'Their door knocking is rewarded with candy and other sweet treats from neighbours and friends

9 Kobe Luminari e

The city of Kobe in Japan observes an annual illumination festival in December in memory of the victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995 The devastating event left 6000 dead and many without electricity and food Using lights to express hope and recovery for the victims has continued as a tradition ever since. The festival features hundreds of thousands of lights and hand painted lanterns, and is viewed by millions

8. Umbanda

The people of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil head to Copacabana, lpanema and Leblon beaches to honour the African Goddess lemanja as the clock strikes midnight on 31 December every year The beaches are speckled with lighted candles, and gifts of flowers and perfumes are thrown in the sea as offerings lemanja is revered as the Goddess of the Sea and Carnal Pleasures by the followers of the Umbanda religion, but other festival loving Brazilians join in the dancing and smoking that continues through until dawn

7. Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival is celebrated in China with much pomp and show to indicate an official end to the Lunar New Year celebrations It is a festival of great significance in the Chinese calendar marked with a spectacle of lights and fireworks Magnificent paper lanterns (usually red in colour for good luck) are set free at night to symbolise letting go of the past and ushering in new beginnings Children head to the temples carrying lighted lanterns while solving riddles written on them

6 Santa Lucia Day

Saint Lucia's Day is celebrated in many Scandinavian countries on 13 December to mark the winter solstice and the beginning of the Christmas season In Sweden , the day is celebrated with lights, parades, candles and girls dressing up as Saint Lucia Traditiona lly, the eldest daughter of the family rises early in the morning on the day, dresses in white, wears a crown of l ighted candles and serves coffee and special buns to t h e rest of the family The name Lucia is associated with light.

5 . Loi Karathong

Held annually on the evening of the 12th lunar month, Loi Karathong is the Thai festival of l i ghts paying homage to the water spirits The event is observed by locals creating beautiful floating arrangements consisting of incense sticks and a candle On the night ofthe full moon, people launch these arrangements in the sea, rivers , canals or ponds, making wishes as they do so. Almost all waterways in the country present a spectacular sight on the night with little bobbing lights as far as the eye can see

4 Kwanzaa

This week-long holiday is celebrated in honour of the culture and traditions of African descendants in America During the festivities, candles are lit every day, gifts exchanged and a feast shared The ritual includes the pouring of a drink as an offering to God The main symbols of Kwanzaa are the unity cup, a candle stick holder, seven candles, a mat, the Kwanzaa flag and a poster with seven Kwanzaa princi ples: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, co-operative economics, purpose, creativ ity and earth. The celebration has been observed from 26 December to 1 January every year si nce 1966

3. Hanukkah

The Jewish festival of Hanukkah begins on the 25 111 day of the month of Kislev and ends on the 2nd day ofTevet on the Hebrew calendar It is known as the Festival of Lights as it celebrates the historic event of the liberati ng ofth e Temple and the miracle of a lamp that burned for eight days, even though it had o il for only one. A new candle is lit on each of the eight nights ofthe festival to mark the miracle Special food is prepared and gifts given to children

2. Christmas

Ch ristians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with a massive show of lights on the 25th of December every year. Th is is the biggest light festival celebrated i n countries around t h e world An explosion of lights i s on display as houses, gardens and streets are i lluminated with strings of lights, Christmas trees are decorated with fairy lights and candles, and log fi r es adorn t h e interiors of European homes Festive foods, gifts and cards hel p spread good cheer and make this celebration complete

1 Diwali

Diwali, or Deepavali, is also known as the Festival of Li ghts, and falls on the 15t h day of the Hindu month of Kartik. It is one of the major religious festivals of the worl d and is celeb rated in October or November every year Devotees commemorate the victory of good over evil by decorating the ir houses with clay oil lamps and candles, sharing sweets, buying new cl othes and visiting family and friends. Although mainly a Hindu festiva l, it is also considered auspicious by Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. In India today, people of all faiths join in the five-day family festivities

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ARIES tv1arch 21 - April 19

October is going to bring many changes in all areas of your life. You will feel settled in your relationship, though the cards are showing that you may at times feel that you are trying to force issues that your partner may not feel the same about. Work will bring many new avenues, and you must charge forward with all your brilliant plans now. This month upsets with friends and colleagues will be resolved.

TAURUS April 20 - May 20

This month will be a great time to relax and enjoy taking it easy. There will be social events with family so this is chill out time for you. You need to take things easy and this is the right time. The cards are indicating a time to spend time in clean, fresh air and take advantage of nature. There has been a lot of pressure on you in your work and you will find that things will be a lot easier from now on.

GEMINI tv1ay 21 - June 20

This is going to be a month of new fun and friendships. Make sure you keep a check on all your finances and bills this month and don't let anything go unpaid. You need to make a list of all the things that need to be paid and when. You will be busy making plans for the end of the year and you may be a bit absent minded. Try notto over indulge with heavy food this month.

CANCER June 21 - July 20

This month you will be doing a lot of socialising with your family. You seem to have been too wrapped up with your work and friends. Now you will be making more time for your loved ones, and it is needed. Do not be Impulsive with your speech, as you may offend a few people. Work will be hectic and at times you will feel very over burdened. It will seem as though you are not making progress. Get p l enty of sleep.

LEO July 21 - Aug 22

You are feeling very happy and looking at your life and surroundings in a very positive manner. You are making sure that things work out for you both professionally and personally. With work you are looking to expand your areas of expertise. There will be many more contracts and negotiations taking place. The cards are indicating a time oftravel and experiences for you. Take time out to have romantic meals with your lover.

VIRGO Aug 23 - Sep 22

This month you will be feeling a little stressed out. Relationships may not be going the way you desire. There will be a need for you to try and control situations around you, which will not work. You need to use tact and love. You do at times rush in with all guns blazing. There will be peaceful resolutions and tranquillity and ha.rmony will return.

Work will be explosive at times with demands being made of you.

PR~DI CTI ONS ~O R OCTOBER

LIBRA Sep 23 - Oct 22

Your mind seems to be working overtime, you have so many thoughts and ideas that you seem to be sleeping awake. Try and do some meditation to keep yourself grounded and calm. This month you will be taking part in more social events, where you will find a lot of new and interesting friends. The cards are indicating a time when you may find a new love interest. Listen to relaxing music before bedtime to help you sleep better.

SCORPIO Oct 23 - Nov 21

This month you seem to be catching up with all your chores around the house. There may be things that you have neglected so you will be spending time doing a bit of DIY and this will be therapeutic in its own way. Things have been very stressful with work, but your hard work will pay dividends. You may be in line for a promotion or increase in pay. Make sure you are exercising to keep your mind and body in balance.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22 - Dec 21

This could be a month where you need to appear calm and collected. There will be many demands made of you at work. You also need to be careful how you speak to your colleagues as there could be someone who is trying to catch you out. Relationships will be strained as there could be some issues around family and their health. The cards are indicating that you could be looking to move to a new home or buy a new car.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 19

This month your main focus will be your social calendar. There will be a lot of invitations and events that you are invited to, so keep yourself well-paced as you have a habit of overdoing it. There will be some interesting developments With work. You will be meeting people in authority and discussing new ideas and plans for the future. The cards are showing a very busy time ahead for you. Make sure you do not strain your knees.

AQUARIUS Jan 20 - f=eb 18

You need to be a bit cautious with your activities this month. If you are planning any dangerous sports or holidays including hiking mountain climbing or such take it easy on yourself. You need to relax in calmer surroundings. Work has been very demanding and, as you are always wanting to please your superiors, you have had to work hard and do a lot of overtime. Take care of your health especially your immune system.

PISCES f=eb 19 - March

20

This month you will book yourself a lovely vacation, as you need to take the strain off your weary body. Things have not been easy for you this year so far and it is time to totally unwind. You may be planning a new business venture, but you need to take care of your belongings as you are a little careless lately. You may be worried about the health of a younger member of your family. Lots of fresh air is needed.

OF LOVE, LIFE AND POLITICS: VISMAL BMARDWAJ'S MASTERSTROKE

HAIDER

the political, cultural and emotional complex ities oftheir characters

IN

Shakespeare lives! Sure, the narrative is fractured and fatally flawed at times, but like the hero's villainous uncle, who lies limbless writhing in pain in the Kashmiri snow pleading for death at the end, the narrative dares you to end the pain of a people who wear their brutal existence on their sleeves.

Haider is a beast that just won't be tamed by regular cinematic definitions There is flamboyance and subtlety, both at once, in the treatment. Elegance and earthiness rub shoulders in the execution of what is regarded as one of Shakespeare's most complex tragedies

And to place Hamlet in militant Kashmir what a masterstroke! Haider is the kind of cinema that unfurls wave after wave of exquisite narrative fuel into the frames, providing compelling narration that is propelled as much by the passionate writing as the intuitive direction.

Bhardwaj understands his Shakespeare inside out. He transmutes "Hamlet"into "Haider"with an unbridled fearlessness, tempered by a restraint of treatment that goes a long way in imparting an urgent sense of beauty to the work.

That Tabu and Shahi d play the mother and son torn by the agonising disappearance of the man they both love (Narendra Jha, a surprisingly well cast actor in a role that is more about absence than presence) is a blessing for Bhardwaj's Shakespeare I don't think any other actors could have better understood

Tabu and Shahid get a firm grip on their characters and pitch their emotional compulsions into Kashmir's tormenting tale of terrorism during times of oedipal impulses

The narrative - so supple and strong it defers any dispute regarding its raison d'etre - opens on a fateful chilling night in Srinagar when a doctor accused of harbouring terrorists disappears. His wife shares a discernibly sexual relationship with her brother-in- law (Kay Kay Menon) And the son, who was forced to leave Kashmir by his militancy- parano id mother, returns as an educated young man to see his mother's illicit relationship with his uncle (Kay Kay Menon).

At times Bhardwaj's vis i on turns playfully towards Shakespeare's plays. There is the comic rel ief in the form of two Salman Khan l ook-alikes runn ing a video parlour in Bhardwaj's Kashmir in 1995. Salman's films run playfully through the film like a prankish leitmotif, doing nothing to the main character's painlashed lives Towards the end three gravediggers straight out of Shakespeare, sing and dance in and around the graves.

Cinematographer Pankaj Kumar, who earl ier filmed the amazing Ship Of Theseus, penetrates and probes the brutal tragedy of Kashmi r Once there, the visuals insinuate a profound affinity between nature and man's cruelty Who knows what goes on in the minds of politicians, poets and other nation builders?

Haider l ooks at a grieving son's search for his m i ssing father w ith languorous affection. There are bouts of tenderness and brutality in the narrative which sometimes overlap without warning

Above all, there are the performances, towering actors craning their collective creative necks into the director's vision

to give it magical spin Wh il e the supporting cast including Jha, Lalit Parimoo, Aamir Bashir and a host of actors i IIuminate the edges of this darkl y ignited revenge saga, it is the th ree principal actors who pin Bhardwaj's Shakespearean d r ama down to a level of cinematic lyricism.

Kay Kay as Haider 's t reacherous uncle is so wickedly subtle and evil yet humane that you wonder where this brilliant actor got wayla id in his journey in cinema.

As for Shahid's torn, troubled, tormented Haider, the actor brings out all the inner conflicts in a shimmering rush of Shakespearean angst. Wit h this one performance, Shahid proves himself notches ab ove all his contemporaries

But it's Tabu whose haunted face as t h e bereaved wife and the troubled mother that will stay with me To the role of the mysterious dramatic deceptive woman, Tabu brings a kind of inner il lumination that lights up the darkest corners of her character's soul. Her scenes with her screen-son Shahid are smothered in unspoken words and recrimination

Bhardwaj shoots one lengthy dialogue between the two in one single shot and why not when you have two actors who seem to have visited the soul of the Shakespearean p l ay and transported it to the pa in of Kashmir?

As Haider's love interest Shraddha Kapoor struggles to create space fo r herself in the mother-son saga. She has her brilliant moments towards the end where we see her humming a Kashmiri folk tune in numbed grief oblivious to the world that gave her that grief.

lrrfan, who has a capricious cameo, als o gets the fi lm's only funny line

But this is not a film about laughter and humour. Haider looks at the grim reality of

t he Val ley thro ugh a Shakespearean prism. Shahid's Haider i s one of Hindi cinema's most tragic heroes ever He bleeds into the narrative's heart without allowing a drop of blood to stain the surface

Bhardwaj's third Shakespearean sojourn is his best yet Haider is like a painting viewed from the road inside an art gallery The v ision is distant yet vivid, l ayered l ife-l i ke and yet exquisitel y poetic. By the time Rekha Bhardwaj comes on to sing an evocative song at the end about all the lo ss of the Kashmiris, I cou ldn't move from my seat.

And yes, Bhardwaj's background score rises and falls in swelling tides of b lood-soaked undulations. Besides Haml et/Haider, the other truly tragic hero in this cinematic marvel is Kashmir

Set in a fatally flawed paradise Haider screams sil ently to be recognised as a wondrous work of art.

To see or not to see? That i sn't a question at al l. Rush to the movies and forget all t h e slam- bang-bang stuff that is beckoning in glamorous postures The glamour of Haider l ies in fold after fold of poetic statement on love, life and politics. You simply can 't help bei ng seduced i nto attentive submission.

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BANG BANG

STARRI NG: Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif

D IRECTOR: Siddharth Anand

*--k'-x-x-~

There are many beautiful locations in this ummm bang binge. Prague, Greece, London, Shimla, Dehra Dun and Pizza Hut.

Yup, one major action sequence featuring Hrithik and Katrina, the Golden Couple on the run, is set in a pizza shop. In fact, this particular chain seems to be very good at delivering their goods, considering Danny Denzongpa, playing an international kingpin, is seen nibbling at the same pizza brand at the start of the film.

Appetizer, anyone?

Wish we could see the same zeal for delivering the goods in the direction of the film. In one word, Bang Bang is pointless. Katrina Kaif plays the k in d of vexatious dreamer who would allow a renowned criminal to convince her that she should abandon her boring life for some supposedly cool hi-adventure. And hi-adventure i n Bang Bang means somersaulting cars, vertiginous jumps from heights and Hrithik trying to pass off water sports as stunts performed to save the world from catastrophe.

None of this is as exciting for us to watch as it is for Katrina to do though. She is having fun the way other boring girls in our films do when they meet the unpredictable adventurous hero.

Check out Deepika Padukone in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. The difference between Deepika's and Kaif's awakening

BANG ON POINTLESS

is palpable You see the first girl transform in front of your eyes. You only see this girl prancing like a kindergarten kid to get attention.

Where i s the plot to suggest there is a simmering chemistry between Katrina and Hrithik ready to erupt in the midst of all the blazing guns and screeching cars? Somewhere tucked away in this glamorous mess there must be a plot that you are expected to spend a good two and a half hours searching for. All we see is a cocky Hrithik infusing an extra dose of bravado into his jewelthief hero's role. This is Hrithik's loudest performance since Sooraj Barjatya's Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon.

But I digress. Bang Bang is not about the finer points ofthe cinematic expression For that check out this week's other release Haider. Bang Bang is about smooth surfaces, beautiful faces, well-toned bodies and locations that are chosen for no rhyme or reason except to beat the next Big Bollywood Blockbuster from getting there.

It's not just the finances that are squandered in making the film look scenically adventurous (ma ybe to hide the bottomless pit of nothingness that such bang-bang actioners aim for). The criminal wastage of acting talent makes you wish there were laws preventing actors like Pavan Malhotra, Vikram Gokhale, AnkurVikal, Danny Denzongpa, Kanwaljeet and Deepti Naval from signing on for these films that presumably pay well.

The best performances come from two actors in cameo parts playing waiters in two different restaurant scenes, one of them in the aforementioned Pizza Hut

sequence. The other is in a classy eatery where Hrithik cocks his eyebrow knowledgeably and identifies the red wine as foreign, only to be politely snubbed by the waiter who says it's local wine.

This little scene sums up the wannabe spirit of Bang Bang. It aims to be a clever slick remake of the Tom Cruise vehicle Knight & Day. It ends up borrowing all the absurdities from the original and burying them under tons of idiotic posturing by a leading man should've known better and a leading lady who is happy speaking her Hindi lines with a British accent.

Despite the enormous resources, Bang Bang doesn't seem to get it right The action is motivated by an urge to impress rather than as a part ofthe plot.

UNDER-COOKED BIRYANI

DAAWAT-E- ISHQ

STARRIN G: Aditya Roy Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra and Anupam Kher

DIRECTOR: Habib Faisal *"lrlr , .}r~'r

There are two different films tucked away into this one big undercooked biryani of a film.

Daawat-e-/shq is not as inviting as the title suggests. Food is important to the plot, yes. And hats off to writer-director Habib Faisal for tempering the texture of the tale with a culinary flavour.

You wish food were the driving force in this freewheeling tale of love. But no, this film is more about a Muslim girl's search for a life beyond finding a suitable match Faisal's special gift as a filmmaker is to portray the Indian middle-class in all its squalid glory. He doesn't sweep the murk under the threadbare carpet. He takes on the quirks guilt and the conflicts of the 'mu ddle class'headlong.

Till a certain point the narrative in Daawat-e-lshq tells us some pungent

home truths about the over-educated unmarried middle-class girl's plight as she is forced to squeeze into an arranged marriage.

Anupam Kher and Parineeti Chopra are so convincing as father and daughter looking for a suitable groom that you tend to forgive the film's aggressive indiscretions that prop up prominently and intrusively in the second-half.

Yes, there are two films here. The 'Hyderabad 'film in the first-half is effusive and endearing. The second movement takes us to Lucknow where father and daughter put up a big con show to trap an unsuspecting dulha for Parineeti.

It is tragic to see the film's early excellence fall apart piece by piece to reveal a plot with little substance accommodating characters with a big plot up their sleeve.

Everyone behaves as if they are part of a high school play based on H.S. Rawall's Mere Mehboob. They run around exchanging giggles, kebabs and qawwalis.

Is Sajid-Wajid's music homage to the sound of Laxmikant-Pyarelal in the 1970s

or a straight rip-off?

The intention of doing a film t hat involves dowry and deception cannot be doubted. Faisal means we!!. Alas, his storytelling doesn't convince us of his intentions

Performance-wise Parineeti and Anupam are a delight. Parineeti again proves herself a natural-born scenestealer. That's relatively easy when your co-star is hell bent on being a caricature.

Aditya Roy Kapoor with his kohl-

The stunts are shot in the spir it of item songs and strewn across the narrative with scarcely any room for the characters to breathe.

Bang Bang gets the boredom quotient bang-on. The rest is all noise and fury about a diamond, Kohinoor no less, stolen from a British museum. The way the thief carries the precious "diamon d " (which looks like a paperweight) around in his pocket goes to show how little a certain group of filmmakers respect the audience's intellect.

They think Hrithik dancing, singing, fighting and taking off his shirt amounts to entertainment. Little do they know.

SUBHASH K. JHA

laden eyes and pseudo-Lucknowi drawl is a disaster. His painfully self-conscious performance reduces the film to a pantomime of good intentions.

I came away with the baap-beti relationship rather than the love story.

As for food, I craved for more.

S UBHAS H K. JHA

COME-BACK QUEENS

If Hindi cinema is littered with wanna -be starl ets that you cannot keep track of, there's also a growing number of wanna-come-back stars all of a sudden, probably followi ng Sridevi 's lead

Heading this list is none other than Rekha. Our pie of her above, i s not from one of her 1980s hits, but from her soon-to-be-released film Super Nani Bollywood's evergreen beauty is dressed here a la Madhubala's character from Mughal- e-Azam. She reprises the magic of ageless Bollywood tracks in the film, including, among others, Waheeda Rehman's Pyaar kiya toh darna kya

Reports are that Rekha was initially hesitant to do the reprisa l s, but was convinced they would be seen as an homage to her illustrious seniors

The diva is all set for another project t itled Fitoor, to go on the floors this month To be directed by Abhishek Kapoor, it also stars Aditya Roy Kapur and Katrina Kaif.

Meanwhile Hema Malini will also grace the silver screen shortly, having started work on Ramesh Sippy's light-hearted comedy Shim/a Mirchi

The duo have worked together previously, most famously on Andaz, Seeta AurGeeta and Sholay.

If reports are to be believed, the story is about how a single mother (Hema Malini) and her daughter (Rakul Preet Singh) fall in love with the same man, played by Rajkummar Rao

Ramesh Sippy himself will be seen in a cameo in the film

Not to be outdone, Manisha Koirala, who has successfully battled cancer, is also on the prowl for a comeback. If all goes well, she may be seen in Rajkumar Santoshi 's next project, starring Pankaj Kapur to start in early 2015.

Haider best film of my career: Shahid Kapoor Vishal Bhardwaj's Kamineywas one of Shahid Kapoor's biggest hits. Now the duo has teamed up again for Haider, which the actor says is the best film of his caree r so far.

" This film has everyth ing that I haven't done before. I have pinned my hopes on th i s film;' Shahid clai med proudly.

No pressure or anything.

Released in 2009, Kaminey starred Shahid in a double role and he won accolades for his performance from all quarters

Haider is set against the unrest in the Kashmir Valley and revolves around lead character Haider who wants to avenge his father's death. It is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's p lay Hamlet and also stars Shraddha Kapoor.

"Some people like violence, some l ike romance but I know people will connect emotionally with Haider," said the 33- year- old star.

Shahid says he believes in doing good work without caring much about box office collection or any award

"Everyone tells me that Haider will win the National Award but I am not thinking about it. Earlier, I would think about boxoffice collections but now I enjoy my work. If we win a Nati onal Award, it will be good for us. But ifwe don't, I wi ll sti l l be happy that I d i d this film;'he stated

Sure, we believe you, Shahid

The actor also has good words to share about Bhardwaj

"Vishal Bhardwaj is a real superstar. He presents each fi lm differently. For instance Maqbool, Kaminey or 7 Khoon Maaf. He also makes strong womencentric movies. Vishal and I share a bonding,"said Shahid

Astrophysicist, doctor, cab driver, whatever

If you've enjoyed watching Kuna I Nayyar on The Big Bang Theory, you'll love his Bollywood debut DrCabbie.

The hit US TV show, which has 20 million viewers, has Kunal playing the nerdy, socially inept astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali. In Dr Cabbie, he continues to play the immigrant The film is a soc ial comedy which deals with the probl ems faced by immigrants. It is a story about how an Indian doctor, whose medica l degree is not recognised in Canada, turns into a taxi d river and opens a cl i nic in the back of the cab

Toronto-based actorVi nay Virmani, who shares screen space with Kuna! Nayyar in the film, te l ls us of the many funny moments during the making of the film

One such apparently, was when people on the streets mistook them for actual cab drivers. Okay

The film has already released in Canada and garnered a positive response. A date is yet to be locked in for the movie's release in India, but the film's cast is likely to be in India next month for promotions.

Dr. Cabbie is co-produced by Salman Khan and Ajay Virmani.

SHAHID \(APOOR

Happy with Bang Bang: Hrithik

So is Bang Bang a hit or not? Whi l e criti cs have universally panned the Hrithik Roshan - starrer, cla i ms are that it has crossed the Rs 200 crore mark in box office earnings

Hmm, sounds a bit suss

But the 40-year-old star doesn't seem to think so

According to h i m, most recent Hi nd i films that crossed the Rs 100 crore mar k, started off with what he calls " mixed reviews '; just like his own latest film.

So he says he is "happy and contented " with Bang Bang.

Although the box office was not too crowded when the fi l m came out, it had to share space with Shahid Kapoor-starrer Haider, unanimously well-received The gri m and gritty tale was in tota l contrast to Hrithi k's typical pot- boi ler laden with flying bullets, racing cars, etc.

Sidharth Anand's directorial venture, Bang Bang was produced by Fox Star Studios at a budget of Rs 140 crores

Well, at least Hrithik's satisfied but we bet even he secret l y thinks it's a pretty terrible name for a movie.

Pallavi Sharda: Besharam yet again probably Melbourne g irl Pallavi Sharda, who made her Bollywood debut with Bes ha ram, has revealed she will be work i ng on an Australian film now that she has finished her Hindi fi lm Hawaaizaada in which she stars opposite Ayushmann Khurrana.

" The film is about a r eal life case. It's a crimina l story based on a novel wr itten by Helen Garner;• Pallavi sa i d. "I wi ll begin the workshops for this film from D iwali. I'm not allowed to r eveal much about it''.

Now if we can put two and two together, is this new fi l m based on Garner's 2004 bookJoeCinque's Consolation, in wh i ch Canberra law student of Indian origin Anu Singh murdered her boyfriend?

Does Pallavi play Anu Si ngh? Onl y time will te ll.

The Canbe rra barrister who defended Singh in what became one of Canberra's most infamous trials, had said way back

HRITHII< ROSHAN

when the fil m was announced, that he would like Johnny Depp to play hi m

Anu Singh killed Joe Cinque on 26 October 1997 after drugging h im with heroin and Rohypnol. She was found guilty of his manslaughter and sentenced to ten years jail but was released on parole after four years

Big B plans birthday surprise

For his upcoming 72nd birthday on 11 Oct, Amitabh Bachchan is set to serve up a surprise to his fans An active user of social networking media, he will send a personal video message and digitally signed posters to a few lucky ones This is his way of "reciprocating the love" of his audience

Big B, in association with microblogging platform Twitter and celebrity

digital media network Fluence, will respond to all his fans that follow him on Twitter handle @SrBachchan, and tweet and send him birthday wishes with the hashtag #AB72Wishes.

"Every year on my birthday, I am overwhelmed by l ove and affection that I receive from my fans from across the world. This year, I have found this unique way to reciprocate the love, even though the message is communicated through a digital med ium for me it is as personal as wishing each individual myself;' Big B said in a statement.

The actor, who has a fan following ranging from the age groups of 8 to 80 years, has over 10 million 'followers' on Twitter and 16,000,000'likes' on his Facebook page. In fact, he is t h e most followed person on Twitter in Indi a

WJ-10 WORE IT BETTER?

An lndo- Pak project for Fawad Khan

Pakistani actor from recent film Khubsooratis Bollywood's l atest heartthrob -import

"I am quite surprised by my popularity here," the good-looking actor revea l s. " It 's because of my Pakistani serials Zindagi Guizar Hai an d Humsafar. I was very surprised b y the two serials' popularity They made me a househol d name not just at home but worldwide People loved me''.

How humble of you, heartthrob Fawad is cu rrently on the look-out for an lnd o-Pak story.

"When peop le i n Indi a tell me they fee l an emotional connectivity with their ancestry in Lahore and Karachi when they see me on the screen, I feel so honou red;'Fawad reveals "I am a very peace-loving guy. If I ca n promote peace on any level between the two countries, it'd be my g r eatest achi evement. To be seen that way would be the biggest reward and honour for me''.

But right at the very moment though, Fawad wants to cash in on t h e success of Khubsoorat.

" I need to return home to Pakistan to arrange some screenings of Khubsoorat," he says

Rubbi n g his hands in anticipation, no doubt.

Actresses Ii ne up for Half Girlfriend

Ever since writer Ch etan Bhagat started penning his next novel Half Girlfriend, which will be made i nto a film, a string of names has cropped up for the female l ead in its big screen adaptation

Ekta Kapoor will produce the fi l m, while Mo hit Suri w i ll direct it

Alia Bhatt tops the list, but it has been revealed that Kriti Sanon too is being conside red fo r the role

Jennifer Lopez or Chitrangda Singh in Ferragamo?

Share your views with us on our Facebook page II ndianlinkAustralia

" Ever since Heropanti was released, Kriti has been flooded with offers Kriti is strongly being considered for the lead role in Half Girlfriend;' a source stated Bhagat's latest novel was launched on 1 Oct IANS

Dea r Auntyji

I am a 45 -year -old sing l e lady and have the most gorgeous n ieces who are 16 and 17. They have l ived In England all their l ives and I have mostly seen t h em when I have b een o n holiday s in the UK They are com ing t o stay with me for six months and I am very excite d But, Auntyji, I am a l ittle concerned about what advice I need to give them, seeing that they are at a critica l phase i n their lives. And seei ng that I am thei r aunt, I don't want to let them down, as I am sure they look up t o me. Can you p l ease give me some ad v ice, some sage cou nsel, t h at I ca n offer to my nieces?

Aun tyji says

Oh, how wonderfu l to have nieces who are English roses possibly ofthe dusky variety, but roses nonetheless. Well, my dear, I have sage advice for you that you are going to love. Let's start with you being relaxed and not worrying about the advice you need to give your nieces These are millennial kids, who have grown up with social media and the internet, and in an era of selfies and trolls and the look-atme-look-at -me lifestyle. This is the generation that thinks that every single thought they have is worthy of publication, every mouh they make deserves multiple endorsements of validation on Facebook, and everything that they do/say/think/ want/hear/eat/drink should be public information. So, what advice to give to these young ones? Absolutely nothing When was the last time someone gave you advice and you listened to it? How many times did your parents tell you to get married and have children and find a man and don't work so hard and eat right and don't smoke and give to charity and be nice to Aunty Pushpa? And how many times did you knowingly, willingly, happily ignore every single nugget of counsel that came your way? Seeing that you are still single at 45, I'd say you ignored pretty much everything that well-meaning, misguided friends and relatives told you So why would you offer advice to your English gulaboes? I suggest that all you do is sit with them and let them be whoever they want to be, and just listen to themlisten with 100 per cent of your attention and ask them questions and feed them And then prepare to be amazed and delighted and humbled by thei r wisdom and intelligence and generosity of spirit. The millennials are particularly interesting as a species, and if you happen to have access to study them in their habitat, then you are particularly lucky indeed Good luck, have fun, and do put away those questionable pastimes of yours You know what I'm talking about No point corrupting their beautiful minds more than they already are.

Do you have a question for Auntyji?

Email info@indianlink.com.au

IDear Auntyji

I have a particu lar conundrum and I do w i sh to hear what you have to say ab o ut this I am most perp lexed and wish that this problem wou l d j ust go away So, h ere is w hat h appened I w o rk with an amazing team of peop le and we all get along rea ll y well. There are five women and fo u r men in the team, and our boss, who is very i ntelligent and hardworki ng is a man He and I have gotten al ong very we ll for the past five years He is married and so am I. Oh, and d i d I tell yo u t hat he is al so very at t ractive, with a ready wit, easy smi le and, Auntyj i, he i s b l onde wit h very sh ort hair, but on the top of h is head is a sma ll ish roundis h spot of hair which is even more blonde, k ind of like l ndlra Gandhi's sil ver stripes b ut round Sometimes I look at this spot and wish I cou l d t ouch it. Not in a weird way, but l ike, sometimes yo u see a sma l l baby with fat legs and yo u just want to touch the legs? Well, that 's h ow I feel ab out Steve's blonde head l ight In any case, last week, we all went to a pub to celebrate the launch of a major project and we had the best time ever On t h e n ight o f the ce l ebration, we ha d a great t i me, then we walkecl out of the pub laughing hysterica ll y and talking with great animation. Steve ca l led a taxi and th e lau ghing, tipsy g i r ls t u mbled in, after they al l gave Steve a goo d bye k i ss and told him he was a great boss. I was the last gir l and Simone pu l led me in t o the cab just as i was abo ut to give St eve a polite, co u rteous good bye kiss and I was t h anking him for paying for dinner an d drinks. Anyway, the movement of Simone laughing and pulling me Into the cab, me waving and ta l king whi l e reaching forward to kiss Steve's cheek , anq the starr y moo n lit night, all con spireq to have me kis s Steve no t on the cheek, b ut closer to his honth ! At that moment, everythi ng stood sti ll for me as I rea l ised what was happen ing, but in a heartbeat, I was in the cab think i ng, what just happened? The next day, Steve an d everyone was b ack t o thei r usual profession al self an d I was left to pon d er w h at rea ll y happen ed I have not stopped t h inking abo ut it but Steve is sti l l as professi on al as ever I w o nde r if there is anythi ng between u s Auntyji, can you please guide me? Please te ll me what to make of this?

0tt {otlC~ OV\. trtlC~~

Auntyji sa y s

Oh, you shameless girl. You paapin! Listen t o you gushi n g and carrying on, as t hough you are a Mills and Boon heroi ne, g iddy w ith romance because your nadaan hero kissed you in the moonli ght List en u p, you besharam aurat, you behaya. There is nothing going on here, an d everything i s i n your head. That l one isolated event, which was the result of your h igh heel s an d t i psiness causing you to stumble and land your sinfu l hothon ke do phool kale kale next to your boss's anmo/ lips, was nothing more t han just that. Everyone has forgotten about the incident except you You are making a mahabharat out of this, and no good will come of it. Stop th i nki ng about this even t and go back to bei n g you r professional self - unless you want a sexual harassment warrant ou t i n your name. Paapin, surely your projects keep you so b usy that you don't have t ime t o think such gandi baatein about your manager?

And as for Steve's blonde patch, you need to find some patch on your husb and t o obsess over. That 's your terri t ory. Steve is someone else's and you r eyeing him with interest w i ll only create distur bance in your world. No good w i ll come from this.

I wishes you a happy \ 1 & healthy Diwali! ~Vt