Indian Weekender 16 January 2016

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The pulse of Kiwi-Indians

15 January, 2016 • Vol. 7 Issue 41 • www.iwk.co.nz

NZ’s first Kiwi-Indian weekly newspaper



www.iwk.co.nz | 15 January 2015

l

3NEW ZEALAND

Makar Sankranti—a multi-cultural

sun festivalRAM LINGAM

Makar Sankranti is a

festival for all nature-

loving people. After

all, our world is illumined only

by the light of the Sun and its life

giving rays. Here are three aspects

of Makar Sankranti that will

hopefully add clarity to why this

festival is important.

Makar Sankranti means...

Makar is the sign of Capricorn

in our Zodiac and the word

‘Sankranti’ comes from the words‘sam’ meaning good and ‘kranthi’

meaning change. So a change for

good. Another simpler meaning

for Sankranti comes from the

word sankramana meaning

transits. Only the navagrahas

(ve planets, two nodes of the

moon, the moon and the Sun)

transit as far as astrology goes.

Every month the Sun transits into

one of the 12 signs of the Zodiac.

On Makar Sankranti day, the

splendid Sun enters the sign of

Makar (Capricorn). For many, the

entry of the Sun begins its journey

into the Northern Hemisphere.

From this day onwards, the days

slowly start becoming longer

and warmer.

Rejoicing on solar events

The importance of the Sun

to life on Earth is a no-brainer.

Nature is an integral part of life.

The position of the sun on the

sky implies change in climate

and weather patterns aecting

agriculture and vegetation. So no

Sun, no fun. No Sun, no seasons.

No Sun, no life. No Sun, no

rotation. No Sun, no time. In fact,

No Sun, no Sunday.

For spiritual aspirants, it is

the Sun, which is the symbol of

manifest divinity. In the highest

philosophy of India i.e. Vedanta,

the Sun is symbol of the Supreme.

The Rig Veda declares that the

“Sun is the soul of both moving

and unmoving beings”. The

daily chanting of the famous

Gayatri Mantra invokes the Sun

(Savitur) to manifest intelligence

and wisdom. For those who like

reading the horoscope in the

newspaper, Sun (in all astrology—

western and Vedic) signies the

individual self, self-esteem, eyes,

personality, higher oce and

our spirit.

Why Makar Sankranti is amulti-cultural Sun festival?

Indians over millennia have

indeed perfected the art of being in

line with nature and divinity. Add

to that a dose of dharma and the

practice of seeing the divine, you

have a rich Hindu festival. Then

make sweets and savoury and give

that bhog (acknowledgement) to

the divine, you have a memorable

festival bringing joy and harmony

to everyone. It is not a coincidence

that almost all important

astronomical events have a

signicance in nourishing the

India’s cultural life and calendar.

Cosmic actions relate to human

life and has been incorporated

in the Indian cultural calendar.

No wonder it is a product of the

longest, continuous civilisation.

A cosmic event is a scientic

empirical phenomena and

bringing it to human life is to

integrate a culture of syncing

spirituality and nature.

Makar Sankranti is also a multi-

cultural festival. It is celebrated inmany states of India, including

countries in South East Asia. It

is the day of the Pongal harvest

festival in Tamil Nadu. In Gujarat,

it is celebrated with colourful kite

ying, which also implies that

the divine holds the kite-strings

(sutradhaar) of our lives. In Uttar

Pradesh, the famous Magha Mela

begins on this day at Prayaag with

holy dips in the Triveni and people

holy-dipping in the Ganga sagar of

West Bengal.

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l

4 NEW ZEALAND

Lohri—the bonre festivalSWATI SHARMA

In India, the country of festivals, Lohri

marks the rst main celebration of

the year. It is observed on January

13 every year and with Indians now living

across the world, the festival is celebrated

among the Indian diaspora, and especially

Punjabi communities the world over.

Lohri celebrations are associated

with dierent events related to history,

agriculture and astrology.

In historical context, Lohri is celebrated

in the praise of Dulla Bhatti, a bandit

who stayed in Punjab during the reign of

Emperor Akbar. He is remembered as a

legend, as he would steal from the rich of

the state and distribute them among thepoor. He was a Muslim bandit who also

rescued Hindu girls from the slave market

of the Middle East and helped them get

married to Hindu boys even helping with

their dowry. Often referred to as the Robin

Hood of the community, Punjabis express

their gratitude towards him by singing

songs in his praise.

Groups of children go door to door and

sing the Lohri song demanding Lohri ‘loot’

in the form of money, sweets, peanuts,

jaggery, fruits and other sweets such as

gajak and rewri. Some of the popular songs

of Lohri are:

“Sunder mundriye ho, tera kaun

vichara ho,

Dulla Bhatti wala ho, Dulle didhee vyahi ho,

Ser sakkar payi ho…..”

And

“Dabba bhareya leera da”

“Ae ghar ameera da” (for those who give

Lohri) or

“Hukka bhai Hukkaa”

“Ae ghar bhukha” (for those turn them

empty-handed)

In astrological context, this day is

celebrated to mark the winter solstice, as on

this day, Earth is the farthest from the sun

and starts moving towards it from the next

day, thus marking the beginning of Magh

and the auspicious uttarayan period. In the

agricultural context, Lohri is the harvest

festival when the rabi crop is reaped.

Celebrations

The festival is celebrated by lighting a

bonre and dancing and singing around

it. The re is also worshipped with jaggery,

peanuts and sesame seeds. People eat the

traditional makki ki roti (India bread made

of maize our), sarson ka saag (mustard

leaves and spinach curry) and jaggery rice.

With the modernisation of festivals, the

way Lohri is celebrated nowadays has also

changed. Families with a recent wedding or

birth celebrate Lohri in hotels, restaurants

or even at their home with guests, DJ

parties and food.

It is said that a good Lohri sets the tone

for the whole year ahead—the more joyous

and exuberant the occasion, the greater

will be the peace and prosperity. We wish

you also have a jubilant week of festivals.

Celebrating festivals away from home

is always dierent. Let’s see how Kiwi-

Indians are celebrating Lohri this year:

Preet Bains: I miss how we celebrate Lohri back in India with ourfamily, friends and neighbours. The festival is all about dance and

fun. In New Zealand, I celebrate it with my brother. Although we do

not light a bonre, we visit the gurudwara. We eat rewdi and peanuts,

and cook special food at home. I have just been back from India

and I wish I could have stayed there longer to celebrate Lohri with

my family.

Manpreet Bhullar: For Punjabis, Lohri is an important festival and

is celebrated with much fervour. Our Lohri is never complete without

bhangra. Like in India, here too we get together with friends, eat

traditional food and dance to the beats of dhol . Although it is summer in

New Zealand but we still eat rewdi and peanuts (even if they are warm

foods) and most importantly sarson da saag. Going to the gurudwara

is a must. These are the little things that have become the symbol of the

festival and keep us connected to them even when we are far from home.

Abhishek Sharma: I have been here in New Zealand for nearly a

year now. Being a student and a part-time worker, there is not much

I do to celebrate our festivals. Like many others here, my day also begins with college and then ends at job. There have been days that I

didn’t even remember that it is a festival and only knew when I talked

to my parent in India at night.

Shriya Bhagwat-Chitale

This year I have an invitation to attend a

Sankranti lunch at a friend’s home. True to

tradition, the dress code is all black. We

will share a traditional meal, til-gul laddoos

and exchange small gifts (haldi-kunku). I

nd such low-key celebrations to be a really

great opportunity to

bond with my friends.

In India, we would

celebrate Sankrantisimilarly, except that

the seasons would

be exactly opposite at

the same time in the

Northern hemisphere.

Aditee Naik

In India, Sankranti is celebrated as

a winter festival, and growing up in

Mumbai, I have great memories of ying

kites with my friends—one of the special

traditions observed in the community to

celebrate the festival.

Here in New Zeland,I’ll mark the festival

by making the

traditional sweets

at home.

Ususally, when the

sweets are shared, it is

accompanied by a cute reminder to speak

sweetly and use gentle words with each

other in the forthcoming year. That is the

most charming ritual, which I follow in

New Zealand too.

Sara Janvekar

This year, I’ll be celebrating Sankranti in

a special way, as it is our baby’s rst. So I

plan to dress him in a special black outt

complete with edible jewellery made out of

sugar. The ceremony is known in Marathi

as bor nahaan, and we will shower the

baby with chocolates (to

replace traditional

berries). In India,

kids particularlyenjoy this festival,

as they’re all invited

home and entertained.

I am very excited to be

planning this in New Zealand.

Shweta Vaidya

Yummy food, family all around you and

the feeling of God blessing you. That

is Sankranti for me. Like all the other

festivals, I am going to yearn to y to India

for this one and be there when the young

ones y kites and eat

sweets and go to thetemple.

RecipeTil Gur laddoo

R oasted sesame seeds combined

with jaggery and shaped as

laddoos

Prep time: 6–10 minutes

Cook time: 11–15 minutes

Ingredients:• Sesame seeds (til), lightly roasted, 1–1/2

cups

• Jaggery (gur), chopped, 1 cup

• Dry coconut, grated, 1/2 cup

• Green cardamom powder 1/4 teaspoon

Method:

Step 1

Grind sesame seeds and jaggery to a

coarse mixture using a mixer or a mortar

and pestle.

Step 2

Transfer the mixture onto a plate,

add dried coconut and green cardamom

powder and mix well.

Step 3

Divide this mixture into equal portions

and shape into lemon-sized ladoos.

Step 4

Store in airtight jars.




l

5NEW ZEALAND

RecipeSarson ka saag

Atraditional Punjabi dish made of

mustard leaves and spices

Prep time: 11–15 minutes

Cook time: 6–10 minutes

Ingredients:• Fresh mustard leaves (sarson),

5 bunches

• Fresh spinach leaves (palak),

1 bunch

• Bathua or Bathuwa, 1 bunch

• Mustard oil or desi ghee

(claried butter), 5 tablespoons

• Ginger, sliced, two one-inch pieces

• Garlic, sliced, 6-8 cloves

• Onions, sliced, 2 medium

• Green chillies, 4

• Salt to taste

• Cornmeal, 2 tablespoons

Method

• Step 1

Heat three tablespoons of olive oil in a

pan, add ginger, garlic and onion and sauté

for two to three minutes. Roughly chop

mustard leaves. Add to pan and stir.

• Step 2

Roughly chop spinach and bathua. Add

to pan and stir. Break the green chillies and

add to the pan.

• Step 3

Add salt to taste and stir well. Let it cook

till the greens turn soft.

• Step 4

Add cornmeal dissolved in a little water

and continue to cook till the greens are

completely cooked. Cool and grind to a

coarse paste.

• Step 5

Transfer into the pan. Add the remaining

olive oil and mix. Simmer for two to threeminutes. Serve hot with makki ki roti.

(Courtesy: Chef Sanjeev Kapoor)

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l

6 NEW ZEALAND

Pongal: celebrating the journey of the sun KUMAR SURESH

They say nothing in

this world comes

easy and if you

ask an Indian farmer,

they can probably give

you a never-ending list ofproblems ranging from

delayed monsoon to the

stepmotherly treatment

from the government. But

when it is time for harvest,

the smiles on their faces is a

sight to behold.

As the sun, the source

of energy and light, takes

his journey towards north

for the next six months,

it marks the beginning

of uttarayan. Pongal and

Makar Sankranti are

some of the names given

to this festival in South

India, which celebrates

the harvest of sesame,

turmeric, sugar cane,

lentils, etc. It is in a way a

seeking the blessing from

sun for a better year ahead,

void of famine, oods and

other obstacles.

Although the festival

is celebrated throughout

India and Nepal, it has a

special place in the hearts

of south Indians. The word

Pongal, itself mean ‘to

boil’ in Tamil. It involves

boiling of lentils and rice in

a pot until it boils over and

overows, symbolising the

abundance of the harvest.

Celebrated over four

days, the rst day of Pongal,

called as Bhogi is about

getting rid of all the old and

unwanted things. People

clean up their houses and

burn all the rubbish and dirt

accumulated over the year.

The second day begins with

worshipping of the Sun and

women in the house usually

decorate the house with

rangoli made of rice our.

The milk is boiled and isallowed to overow as an

oering to the Sun. On the

third day, which is called

the Mattu Pongal, the cattle

are washed and decorated. They

are revered for their help in the

elds for ploughing and providing

milk and fertilizers. It is worth

mentioning that in many places,

there are beauty competitions

held for the cattle—an event that

is taken seriously by many.

The fourth day is called Kanum

Pongal, when the whole family

goes out for an outing. In fact, the

word, Kanum means ‘to visit’. It

is a time for the family to take a break from work in the elds and

spending time with each other.

Pongal in Tamil Nadu and

Makar Sankranti in Karnataka

and Andhra Pradesh is not just

a festival but a worship and a

thanksgiving to Mother Nature for

the prosperity bestowed upon us.

It is one of the few Hindu festivals

that involves direct worshipping

of the natural element(in this

case, the sun).

Although the city life of today

is far away from the elds and

cattle, it is important to know

where our source of energy comes

from. It is a time to appreciate the

work that goes into farming and

celebrate the most important and

one of the oldest professions in the

history of mankind, agriculture.

We at Indian Weekender,

wish our readers a very happy

and a prosperous Pongal and

Makar Sankranti.

Gnanasekaran

Happy Pongal to all. I work for Auckland transport and there are many South Indians

working with me here. Although it is impossible to celebrate the Pongal in an elaborate

way for four days, as in India, we try to get together at one place and celebrate thefestival by cooking pongal and later going out for an outing. That is the least we can do

to follow the traditions passed to us by our previous generations.

Varun

In India, we distribute a mixture of sesame seed, jaggery, ground nuts and dried

coconut called ‘Ellu-bella’. We go to everyone’s home and give them this mixture

along with a sugarcane stem. It is a tradition where at least ve people are given ‘Ellu-

bella’, so I make it and give to my friends and colleagues around me. It gives me great

satisfaction and pleasure explaining to everyone the signicance of the prasadam and

concept of the festival.

Samskruta

Wishing happy Pongal to all. For people of Karnataka, the rst ve celebrations aftermarriage is the grandest Makar Sankranti in one’s life. It is unfortunate that I can’t

celebrate the festival in a big way even as I am getting into my second year of marriage.

Having said that, I have special puja plans for Sankranti and plan to visit temple. I

have also invited some friends for the dinner and plan to cook pongal for them.

Lakshmi

Happy Pongal to all. I belong to a farmer’s family. It is a tradition in our family

that we pray to cattle during Pongal. Without that, the festival is incomplete.

Last year I went looking for a

place where I could nd cows for

worship and at last, I ended up

nding goshala in an ISKCON

temple. This year too, after puja

I will go there and do Go-puja.




l

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RecipeW

hat is a Pongal celebration

without the traditional pongal

on your dining table? Here

is the recipe of the two authentic pongal

recipes that require no more than moderate

cooking skills to achieve authentic taste.

Khara Pongal orVen PongalPrep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

INGREDIENTS

• Raw rice ½cup

• Split yellow moong dal (pasi paruppu)

¼ cup

• Cashew nuts

• Salt to taste

For the seasoning:

• Ghee or oil, 1 ½ tablespoon

• Mustard seeds, 1 tablespoon

• Ginger, nely chopped, 1 tablespoon

• Cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon

• Whole black pepper, 2 tablespoon(to be broken but not nely grounded)

• Few curry leaves

METHOD

Step 1

Mix rice and dal, pressure cook adding

salt, 2 1/2–3 cups of water for 4–5 whistles.

The rice has to be cooked in such a way that

it should be mushy.

Step 2

Open the cooker and mash the contents

well when it is still hot.

Step 3

Heat oil and ghee on to a pan and add

mustard seeds, chopped ginger, pepper,

jeera/cumin seeds, curry leaves.

Step 4

Pour it over the rice and dal mix.

Step 5

Add fried cashew nuts and mix

everything well on low ame for 2 minutes.

Serve hot with sambar or coconut chutney.

Sweet/ SakkaraiPongalPrep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

INGREDIENTS

• Rice ½ cup

• Moong dal/pesara pappu, ⅓–½ cup

• Powdered or grated jaggery or palm

sugar, ½ cup

• Green cardamom powder, ⅛ tablespoon

• Small pinch of edible camphor/pacha

karpooram (optional)

• Ghee, 2 to 3 tablespoon

• Raisins, 1 tablespoon

• Cashews, broken, 1 to 2 tablespoon

• Cloves (optional), 1 to 2

• A few coconut pieces sliced or chopped

(optional)

METHOD

Step 1

Add moong dal and rice in pressurecooker. Pour 2 ¼ cups of water. Cook till

soft or for 4 pressure cooker whistles.

Step 2

Pour ¼ cup water to grated jaggery. On a

low ame stir and melt it.

Step 3

When the pressure from the cooker is

down, remove the lid and mash the rice and

dal mix.

Step 4

Filter jaggery syrup to the cooked rice

dal. Add green cardamom powder.

Step 5

Mix and cook on a medium ame till the

jaggery syrup blends with rice.

Step 6

Heat a pan with ghee, add coconut

pieces, cashews, clove and fry till golden,

o the stove and add raisins. Mix this with

the rice.




l

8 NEW ZEALANDNEW ZEALAND

Celebrate the kite festIWK BUREAU

Makar Sakranti is the day

when the sun starts to travel

northwards marking the decline

of winter.

The days become longer, the skies

clearer and the breeze cooler. A feeling ofanticipation, joy and jubilation grips all

who celebrate the occasion of thanksgiving

and merry-making.

The fascination and the fun associated

with the kite ying cuts across age groups

and communities.

It is a competitive fun sport where family

enjoys not only ying kite in air but also to

outdo rival’s kite as well.

Vaishnav Parivar Inc. (VPNZ), a

charitable organisation operating from

Blockhouse Bay in Auckland, is organising

its annual kite ying festival on January 16

at Avondale Racecourse. The festival has

been gaining momentum each year.

In 2015, 8,000 to 9,000 people attended

the event, and this year, the number is

expected to grow with more Indians and

locals joining the festival. VPNZ imports

kites and threads from India each year for

sale to the public at the festival.

In addition there are several food and

other stalls along with live performances.

Entertainment for kids include fun rides

and climbing the wall, slides, face painting

and drawing competitions.

A $5 rae ticket can be bought to

participate in a draw to win exciting prizes

that include a return air ticket to India, 14”

HP Notebook, Panasonic camera, 39” LCD/

LED TV, Accelor8 26” bike, Philip garment

steam iron, Nutri ninja slim blender and

Kodak digital frame.

AirAsia X returns to NZ skiesESHA CHANDA

Malaysian low-cost airline

AirAsia X is set to return to New

Zealand in March with ights

b e t w e e n

K u a l a

Lumpur and

A u c k l a n d .C u r r e n t l y ,

Malaysia Airlines is

the only other airline

that provides services on the

route between the two cities.

In 2012, the 11-hour route from Kuala

Lumpur to Christchurch was cancelled due

to a drop in trac.

Although the company has been

providing hints on its social media accounts

for its new destination, they ocially

conrmed the news on January 12. Starting

March this year, the airlines will extend its

existing Airbus A3330-300 service between

Kuala Lumpur and Gold Cost to Auckland.

Daily one-way ights from Auckland

to Gold Cost are now available at an

introductory oer priced at $99, and

$249 from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur.

The aircraft’s atbed seats are also on sale

and are priced at $249 to Gold

Coast and $599 to Kuala Lumpur

(one way).

The services will commence from March

22. Tickets went on sale on Wednesday and

will be available for purchase until January

24 or until sold out.

Airfares are expected to fall down with

this return with rival airlines Air New

Zealand and JetStar already oering tickets

at reduced prices in March.

Report on diversity in theintelligence agencies welcomed,ndings deploredIWK BUREAU

Multicultural New Zealand

welcomes the review of diversity

in the New Zealand intelligence

community, and is “disappointed but

not surprised” at the lack of awareness

or recognition of cultural diversity in

the agencies.

Federation of MulticulturalCouncils Inc. is a national

organisation with 18

constituent regional

multicultural councils

throughout New Zealand

and national councils for

women, youth, seniors and

business. With a record of 26

years of successful service to the

community, they oer a national

collective voice for ethnic, migrant

and refugee communities and provide

advice to government and civil society on

multicultural policy and practice.

“We beg to dier that because Maori

and Pacic people come from open, honest,

trusting families and communities, theycannot carry out the type of work done by

the agencies and that the necessary secrecy

could be a barrier to recruitment.

It is also patronising for the review to

generalise that security clearances are

an issue with ethnic minorities having a

higher showing in crime statistics,” says

MNZ Executive Director Tayo Agunlejika.

“As highlighted in our own recent

report on Our Multicultural

Future, minority groups

continue to experiences i g n i f i c a n t

discrimination in

employment and in

the public arena,

and they are under-

represented in

government agencies

at both the national

and local level. A similar

study should be carried out

in other government agencies, not

just the Intelligence agencies.

“All government agencies should

have an ethnic relations strategy such

as that adopted by the NZ Police and

the one currently in preparation by

Plunket New Zealand. This would help

in making recruitment more attractive to

ethnic minorities and more eective in

reaching them.

It would also help government agencies

to engage with ethnic communities

to provide more equitable access to

public services.”

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Promoting Indiansports goods in NZIWK BUREAU

New Delhi-based Sports Goods

Export Promotion Council

(SGEPC), a nodal agency for

promoting exports of Indian sports goods

and Indian toys industry, last came to

Auckland in 2010 when they organised

a Buyer Seller Meet (BSM) in New

Zealand to showcase India’s wide range of

manufactured sports items and toys.

This year, SGEPC will be bringing a

delegation of 36 companies to the two

countries. In New Zealand, the BSM will

be held in Auckland on March 7 and 8

(tentatively), and will be Australia from

February 28 to March 4.

Founded in 1958, SGEPC represents the

leading manufacturers and exporters of

sports goods and toys in India. Their main

objective is to promote exports of sports

goods and toys from India, for which,

the council regularly organises various

overseas export promotional activities such

as participation in fairs, BSM and trade

delegations. New Zealand is a good market

for Indian sports goods manufacturers and

exporters, and this BSM will give them

an opportunity to display their goods.The delegation will be open to having

one-to-one meetings with local buyers

and importers.




l

9NEW ZEALANDNEW ZEALAND

Tauranga’s nagar kirtan attracts thousandsSWATI SHARMA

A s many as 5,000 Sikhs participated

in the nagar kirtan (street parade)

held in Tauranga last week to

mark the birth ceremony of Guru Gobind

Singh, the 10th guru of Sikhs.

The number of participants doubled this year with people coming from Auckland,

Hamilton, Tauranga, Waihi, Te Puke,

Katikati, Roturua and Whakatane.

Organised by Gurudwara Sikh Sangat

Tauranga, the parade was a big hit

with people from dierent

communities participating.

The parade started from the gurudwara

at Burrows St and headed back after

more than two hours of cultural showcase

through the streets of Tauranga.

The Sikh martial arts—Gatka and

kirtan—attracted people from the streets

and the organisers said that they received

many calls from the people who said they

liked the parade and wanted to know more

about the Sikh culture.

Free food and drinks were distributed

along the way and a langar was organised

at the Gurudwara. Organiser Daljit Singh

was quoted by Bay of Plenty Times as

saying, “The feedback from all the people

[on the street] was fantastic.

People were telling us they especially

liked all the colour and cultural parts...

Some told us they had never seen anything

like this before and wanted to know more...

It’s exactly the response we were looking

for.” The celebrations were attended by

the dignitaries from New Zealand and

India including Tauranga deputy mayor

Kelvin Clout, Tauranga MP Simon Bridges,

and general secretary of the Shiromani

Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee,

Sukhdev Singh Bhaur, who travelled

from India.

Clockwise from above: Langar organised at the Gurudwara Sikh Sangat Tauranga, young boys dressed in cultural attire, Sikh men performing gatka on the street during the parade and menholding kirpan

FREE ENTRY Basohli style, Pahari

The portrait of Rama

c1730

opaque watercolour

and gold on paper

National Museum,

New Delhi, India

C l o

s i n g

1 7 J a n




l

10 NEW ZEALAND

Getting behind our youthMAYA SHIVAM

K iwi Indian singer

Akshay Hari Belas is

all set to represent the

Kiwi Indian Community on the

world stage with his acceptance

into the Berklee College of

Music in Massachusetts, USA

where the likes of John Mayer

have studied. Getting into

Berklee will not just be a dream

come true for this young artist

but will also open up doors to

tremendous opportunities.

There is, however, one thing

that stands between him and

Berklee and we believe the

community can get behind this

young artist to make this happen.

Indian Weekender caught up

with Akshay to nd out how we

could help.

IWK: Tell us about yourself Akshay: I was born in Ba,

Fiji in 1993 and grew up in

Lautoka till I moved to New

Zealand when I was six. From

a very young age, I have been

interested in music, growing up

watching my favourite Indian

movies that had amazing

music. I was always drawn to

the musical side of life. Mum

says I was singing even before

I could walk. My parents were

dental therapists back in Fiji.

I get my musical side from my

mum whose dad, Hari Prasad,

was given the title of “TheGolden Voice of Fiji”.

He was a classical Indian

musician and was quite well

known around Fiji in those

days. Sadly he died when my

mum was young so I never got

to meet him but I have heard

his music and seen his pictures

with all his trophies.

IWK: Tell us about your

musical journey

Akshay: I moved to New

Zealand in 2001 and in primary

school I picked up the recorder,

which led me to the piano andguitar but singing was always

my main passion.

It wasn’t until I started high

school where I was surrounded

by music and the performing

arts that I got serious about

pursuing music as a career. I

did all my school musicals and

some community ones too. My

greatest achievement in high

school was receiving an AMI

Showdown Award for “Best

Male Soloist in a Musical” for

my role as Rev. Billy Hightower

in the musical Bat Boy.

After high school, I attended

MAINZ (Music and Audio

Institute of New Zealand)

where I studied contemporary

music and performance for two

years. As those two years were

coming to an end I felt like I

needed to move on to bigger and

better things, so on a whim one

night I went onto the Berklee

College website and hit apply,

which just snowballed into me

being accepted!

IWK: For those who don’t

know, tell us more about

Berklee.

Akshay: Berklee College of

Music is located in Boston,

Massachusetts, United States,

and is the largest independent

college of contemporary

music in the world. Known

primarily as the world’s

foremost institute for the

study of jazz and modern

American music, it also offers

college-level courses in a wide

range of contemporary and

historic styles, including rock,

amenco, hip hop, reggae,

salsa, and bluegrass. As of

2015, Berklee alumni have

been awarded a total of 253

Grammy Awards.

Berklee was founded on

the revolutionary principle

that the best way to prepare

students for careers in music is

through the study and practice

of contemporary music.For more than half a century,

the college has evolved to

reect the state of the art of

music and the music business,

leading the way with the

world’s rst baccalaureate

studies in jazz, rock,

electric guitar, lm scoring,

songwriting, turntables,

electronic production, and

more than a dozen other genres

and elds of study.

With a diverse and talented

student body representing 96

countries and alumni who have

collectively won more than 250

Grammys and Latin Grammys,

Berklee is the world’s premierlearning lab for the music of

today—and tomorrow.

IWK: That sounds very

exciting. So what’s the delay?

Akshay: I was meant to start in

January 2016, but I needed to

have the full amount of tuition

for one year’s worth of study to

show to the US Government,

$60239 USD, which roughly

converts to $90K NZD (give or

take a couple hundred). So I’ve

deferred semesters and I plan

to start in their summer intake

(May) which doesn’t give mea lot of time but this is my

dream so I have to do whatever

it takes.

Being in America and studying

at Berklee can lead to so many

more amazing opportunities.

The rst, of course, is to be able

to represent my community

on the world stage. You never

know, I could become a famous

recording artist or be on

Broadway or possibly even be

a singer for Cirque du Soleil,

the dreams are endless.

That’s why I started a

fundraising page https://

g i v e a l i t t l e . c o . n z / c a u s e /

akshayberklee/ because

there’s no harm in asking from

my own people. Also, I am

looking into some grants I can

possibly get.

And that’s why I thought I’d

reach out to the New Zealand

Indian community. It would

be great to have support from

them. You don’t really see

many Indians in the Western

limelight in the music industry.

It would be great to represent

my culture and my heritage onan international scale.

It will be great to see this young

and bright artist represent the

Kiwi Indian Community on

the world stage. We hope that

through this story, Akshay

can nd the support from

individuals and organisations

that can help him make his

dreams a reality.

Indian weekender is available

at 100+ outlets all over new zealand.If you can’t find a copy of your favourite paper, drop us anemail at [email protected] and we will ensure

you get your copies every week at your nearest outlet.

From a very young

age, I have been

interested in music,

growing up watching

my favourite Indian

movies that had

amazing music. Iwas always drawn to

the musical side of

life. Mum says I was

singing even before

I could walk.




l

11NEW ZEALAND

Recreational shing parks proposed inHauraki Gulf and Marlborough SoundsT

he government has

launched a consultation

document on a new

Marine Protected Areas Act to

replace the Marine Reserves

Act 1971 that includes proposals

for recreational shing parks

in the inner Hauraki Gulf and

Marlborough Sounds.

“We are proposing a new system

of marine protection that will

include marine reserves, species-specic sanctuaries, seabed

reserves, and recreational shing

parks. This more sophisticated

approach with four dierent types

of marine protection is similar to

the graduated approach we take

to reserves on land that vary from

strict nature reserves to those for a

specic or recreational purpose,”

says Environment Minister Dr

Nick Smith.

“The new recreational shing

parks in the Hauraki Gulf and

Marlborough Sounds enhance

the recreational experience in

these areas. There is currently

an estimated 870 tonne per

year of commercial catch in the

proposed Hauraki Park and 139

tonne per year in the proposed

Marlborough Sounds Park that

would be discontinued within the

park boundaries,” says Primary

Industries Minister Nathan Guy.

“Marine conservation is incredibly

important to New Zealand with

an estimated 80 per cent of

indigenous biodiversity and more

than 15,000 known species found

in the sea. New Zealand has a

proud heritage of being one of

the rst countries in the world

to provide for no-take marine

reserves, including the proposal

to create the 620,000 square

kilometres Kermadec Ocean

Sanctuary,” says Conservation

Minister Maggie Barry.

“However, the old Act

is no longer t for modern

purpose. These new proposals

provide a better and more exible

process for establishing and

managing marine reserves and

will enable species sanctuariesfor not just marine mammals but

other signicant species such as

albatross and great white sharks.”

“This reform is the next step

in our programme of work for

New Zealand to be a leader in the

sustainable use and management

of our marine environment.

We have an excellent system of

commercial shery management

with the quota management

system. We introduced in 2009 a

proper regulatory system for the

management of other activities

in the Exclusive Economic

Zone with the establishment of

the Environmental Protection

Authority. We will be passing

legislation this year for one of

the world’s largest no-take areas

with the new Kermadec Ocean

Sanctuary. This next step of a new

Marine Protective Areas Act will

provide a wider range of marine

protection tools and a bettersystem for their establishment

and management,” Dr Smith said.

Ministers welcome feedback

and submissions on the proposals

in today’s discussion document—A

New Marine Protected Areas

Act. Submissions close on March

11. The proposals are then

intended to be drafted into a bill

to be introduced into Parliament

and subjected to further

public input by way of select

committee hearings.

Kenepuru Sound, Marlborough

Diving deep to keepschool pools fullS

chools have resorted to asking for

donations on a charity website

in a last ditch attempt to keep

school pools open, Labour’s Children’s

spokesperson Jacinda Ardern says.

“Despite a requirement from the

Ministry of Education that children are

taught basic swimming skills, more than

150 schools have been forced to close their

pools over the last six years because they

can’t aord to maintain them. Another 130

are at risk of closure.

“Schools have pretty much exhausted

their fundraising options, including

applying for various grants and selling keys

for community use.

“It’s prompted 30 to launch Give a Little

campaigns to buoy up donations, a move

supported by Water Safety New Zealand,

which maintains the school pool is the best

place to teach kids how to swim to survive,

and which is also fundraising for the cause.

“For many families school pools provide

the only opportunity their kids will have

to learn to swim. Water condence and

water safety skills are critical in a country

where activities such as surng, boating

and shing are an integral part of the

outdoor lifestyle.

“Tragically 10 people drowned in New

Zealand waters over the ocial Christmas

holiday period, with the drowning toll for

2015 at 100.

“These facilities not only have a

signicant educational role, they often

become the heart of a community

over summer.

“Despite the importance of kids learning

to swim in a country [such as] New Zealand,

the government has basically ignored the

plight of schools, saying the decision to

keep them open or not is down to boardsof trustees.

“Schools don’t want to lose their pools,

but they are being left without a choice.

“The Ministry of Education needs to

step in and form a plan rather than stand

by while communities lose an asset that

helps save lives,” Jacinda Ardern says.




l

12

Elderly bearing brunt ofNational’s health cuts

The government needs to

take a step back from its

health rhetoric and look

at the impact that its continued

underfunding

of the health

system is

having on

older people,

says Labour’s

Senior Citizens

spokesperson

Ruth Dyson.’

“How we

look after older people is the

marker of a civilised society.

Those in their 70s, 80s and

90s must not be consigned to

the health scrap heap or forced

to live in pain and unable to

get around.

Their quality of life should

be something we value as part

of respecting older citizens as

members of our communities.

“But National’s decision to cut

1.7 billion dollars out of the health

system is seeing more and more

older people declined elective

surgery despite their urgent need.

Recent examples in Christchurch

have only highlighted a problem

that is impacting older people all

around New Zealand. Older New

Zealanders have worked for years

raising families, in paid jobs or

working in our communities. This

is not what they deserve.

“John Key needs to give a

rm commitment to older New

Zealanders that the healthcare

system will be there for them

when they need it and that our

healthcare workers will have the

resources they need to keep people

well,” says Ruth Dyson

Housing construction hitsone billion dollars per monthT

he growth in residential

building hit an all-time

record of a billion dollars

of work consented in a month

for the rst time ever, Building

and Housing Minister Dr Nick

Smith noted in response to

Statistics New Zealand building

consent data.

“These latest gures are very

encouraging and conrm the

success of the government’s

policies to grow housing supply.

The 26,793 consents for new

homes in the year to November is

the highest in more than a decade,

as are the 2,831 issued for the

month of November. The national

gures are 21 per cent higher than

October 2015 and 17 per cent

higher than November 2014,” Dr

Smith says. “I am particularly encouraged

by the 966 new home consents in

Auckland as it is getting close to

the 1,000 per month we need to

match demand for new housing.

It is a 20 per cent increase on

the previous month and three

times the number consented

in November 2008 when

National became government.

This data conrms that solid

progress is being made in lifting

the pace of Auckland’s

residential construction.

“We are also starting to get

benets from Housing Accords

in other parts of New Zealand.

The 328 new home consents in

Wellington is highest number

since April 2008. The government

welcomes a spreading of

housing growth outside Auckland and Christchurch as

well as the trend towards more

apartment construction.

“Today’s gures conrm the

direction of the government’s

housing policies. We are

continuing to free up more land

faster through the Auckland

Housing Accord and the eight

other Accords we have with

councils across the country.

We have initiatives in place to

constrain building materials costs,

rein in development contributions,

cut compliance costs and invest

in improved sector productivity.

Our new $435 million HomeStart

support package will help 90,000

people into home ownership over

ve years.

“We need to keep our foot

on the accelerator to ensure wesupport this positive momentum.

The next step in the government’s

programme include advancing

new housing on Crown-owned

land in Auckland, supporting

the Auckland Council in the

completion of the new Auckland

Unitary Plan, consulting on a new

Urban Development National

Policy Statement, and reform

of the Resource Management

Act to address the long-term

issues aecting housing supply

and aordability.”

Fishhooks in govt’spark plan

N

ational has backed

away from its promise

of recreational shingparks, with their proposal failing

to ban commercial shing

operations in the area, says

Labour Fisheries Spokesperson

Rino Tirikatene.

“At the last election, National

promised to create recreational

shing parks by banning

commercial shing in key areas.

“However, today’s

announcement reveals ‘some

parks might allow commercial

shing to continue for certain

species’. So despite all National’s

spin, commercial shing

will continue in the so called

‘recreation’ parks.“The proposal has also left

open a potential blank cheque

to compensate quota owners

in aected areas while shers

who rely on that quota could

potentially lose their livelihood

and get nothing in return. The

proposed approach could also

leave the government open to

legal action costing the taxpayer

even more. It is also possible

that Treaty Settlements may

be undermined through the

creation of the parks. There will

also be alarm that ‘petroleum

or minerals activity

could be allowed’

within these so calledrecreational shing

parks and additional

onerous reporting

obligations could

be imposed on

recreational shers.

“ B u r y i n g

the announcement in a

vague discussion

document at the

height of summer is

an admission by the

government that the

promised shing

parks are in rough

water. It looks like

another NickS m i t h

stuff-

u p i s

imminent as the Minister has

again been caught out not doing

his homework.

“While the idea may have

sounded good in National’s focus

groups at election time, by

not doing the work behind the

scenes, the government has been

caught out over-promising and

under-delivering yet again,” says

Rino Tirikatene.

Petition for not signing the TPPA IWK BUREAU

Trade Ministers from

the 12 countries in the

Trans-Pacic Partnership

Agreement (TPPA) will sign

the TPPA in Auckland on

Thursday, February 4,

according to statements by

governments of Chile and

Peru (although this has

still not been conrmed by

the secrecy-obsessed New

Zealand government).

On January 12, the

network of Kiwis against

the TPPA, It’s Our Future,

launched a petition, together

with partners, ActionStation and

ShoutOut. The petition will gather

the signatures of Kiwis who do

not consent to the government

signing the TPPA.

Coordinator of It’s Our Future,

Barry Coates, commented,

“We now understand why the

TPPA was negotiated in secret.

It is not in the interests of New

Zealanders. Now the text is

publicly available, it is clear that

the deal is designed to serve the

interests of large corporations and

powerful states, not the interests

of people or the planet.”

He added, “This is not an

agreement that our government

should sign. The TPPA allows

multinational companies to

challenge decisions of parliament

and our courts in a private

international tribunal. The

TPPA’s rules and enforcement

mechanisms will bind the hands of

New Zealand governments for the

indenite future, in violation of

our democracy, sovereignty

and the Treaty of Waitangi.”

Concerned Kiwis are

currently consulting on

actions and events around

the date of signing to

support this petition. The

government is not signing

the TPPA with the consent

of New Zealanders.

Laura O’Connell-Rapira

of ActionStation said, “Tens

of thousands of everyday New

Zealanders have been saying for

more than a year now that we do

not want this deal. We’ve written

letters, made submissions, met

with MPs and marched in the

streets. Yet this government still

chooses to blatantly ignore our

voices. The fact of the matter is,

we’re not going away and we will

not be ignored.”

READ ONLINE AT www.indianweekender.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND




l

14 FIJI

Source: Fiji Sun

Fiji doing

well, saysPM

Prime Minister Voreqe

Bainimarama says Fiji has

been doing really well as

a country.

Mr Bainimarama saidFiji had recorded its sixth

consecutive year of economic

growth and attracted

investment from all overthe world.

“We’ve achieved great

things through hard work

and commitment to our new,unied Fiji,” he said while

kick-starting his tour of the

Northern Division this week.

Fiji Airways flightsposition us as a hub

Fiji Airways ying toSingapore in April

serves as an opportunityin making Fiji a hub, saysacting Prime Minister Aiyaz

Sayed-Khaiyum.Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Fiji

is now connected to every single

continent around the Pacicexcept South America.

“The level of connectivity has

increased. We y to LA, HongKong, Singapore, Australia, and

NZ and we are connected toKorean Airways,” he added.

“If you visualise it, we are

already in a hub position. Weneed to take advantage of it. The

reality is that Singapore will only

be 9 ½ hours away.” Singapore isa major commercial and nancial

hub of South East Asia. We have

talked about being a little Singapore;we have talked about being a little

Geneva in the Pacic, we have talkedabout being a little Dubai in the

Pacic,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

Maneesha Raksha Karan

Gold medal star hopes to inspireM

aneesha Raksha Karan wants to inspire Fijian

scholars studying

overseas to make Fiji proud.

The 28-year-old is Fiji’s rst

Indian Council for Cultural

Relations (ICCR) scholar to

receive ve gold medals.

She was awarded by Mysore

University, Karnataka, in India

last year, where she completed

her Masters in Journalism

and Communication.

Ms Karan has worked for

various media organisations

in Fiji. She is now a media and

journalism lecturer at Fiji NationalUniversity (FNU).

Originally from Salusalu Street,

Labasa, Ms Karan felt proud to

receive the gold medals. “I want

to become a mentor for scholars

and help them make Fiji proud,”

she said.Ms Karan was inspired by

her English teachers to become

a journalist when she was in

secondary school. She enjoyed

studying in India. The Bachelors

course in media and journalism she

studied at University of the SouthPacic (USP) and Masters course

in journalism and communication

in India are dierent. But the

journalism principle, concept and

basics remains the same. “Media

industries are very competitive in

bringing out the truth,” she said.

Ms Karan hopes to enjoy

teaching journalism at FNU.

The Indian Council for Cultural

Relations (ICCR), Ministry of

External Aairs, Government

of India, runs Cultural Centres

around the globe with the

objective to establish, revive and

strengthen cultural relations and

mutual understanding between

India and other countries.

General Cultural Scholarship

Scheme (GCSS) scholarships are

oered to meritorious nationals of

Fiji, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Kiribati,

Nauru and Tonga accredited to the

High Commission of India in Fiji.

Fiji to host 2017 Miss Pacic Islands Pageant

Fiji is expected to

host the 2017 PacicIslands Pageant.

The organising committee saidthey have received a conrmation

letter. The pageant is expected

to be held in Nadi. This year’spageant will take place in Apia,

Samoa and they will be celebrating

its 30th anniversary. Fiji has hadtwo successful winnings at the

Miss Pacic Islands pageant—Merewalesi Nailatikau in 2009,

and Alisi Rabukawaqa in 2011.

The Miss Pacic Islandspageant had become the most

prestigious International pageant

in the Pacic after the Miss AsiaPacic International pageant.

Fiji last hosted the Pacic

Islands Pageant in 2009. Miss Fiji Merewalesi Nailatikau winner for Miss Pacic Islands pageant in 2009

Fiji one of the rst govt to meet standardsset by UN for better education: Reddy

Education Minister DrMahendra Reddy says

Fiji is one of the rst

governments in the African,

Caribbean and Pacic (ACP)

region to meet the standards set

by the United Nations (UN) in

the provision of better access

to education.

Dr Reddy says the benchmark by the United Nations under

UNESCO required governments

to allocate 14% of its annual

budget to the education sector.

He says Fiji currently spends

around 15% of its budget on the

education sector which is above

the level set by the UN and this is

not just for 2016 but for the past

couple of years too. Dr Reddy

adds that schemes such as free

bus fares, free textbooks, free

tuition fee, provision of milk and

Weetbix cereals, transportation

(boats and engines where

necessary) is testimony of the

government’s vision in building a

well-informed society.

Two heads of foreign missions

commissionedT

he President, Major

General (Ret’d) Jioji

Konousi Konrote

commissioned two of Fiji’s

Head of Missions who will be

taking up their postings overseas

next month.

Fiji’s High Commissioner to the

United Kingdom, Jitoko Tikolevu

and Ambassador to the United

Arab Emirates, Kamlesh Prakash

took their oath of allegiance

and oath of execution at the

State House.

The two diplomats, who now join the Fiji diplomatic corps,

are from the nancial and

education sector.

Prior to his appointment Mr

Tikolevu was the chief executive

ocer of the Fiji Revenue and

Customs Authority (FRCA) and

has worked his way up the ladder

since he began his stint at the

Ministry of Commerce as the

licensing clerk in 1981.

He joined the FRCA in 2002

as the senior policy and research

ocer in 2002 after having

acquired a Bachelor of Arts in

Business Studies from University

of the South Pacic and a Masters

in Tax (Honours) from the

University of Auckland.

Mr Prakash has more than

25 years of work experience in

the education eld as a tutor andlecturer in Economics as well as a

training manager in organisations

such as USP and the Fiji Trade

Union Congress.

The former director of

the National Training and

Productivity Centre (NTPC) of the

Fiji National University (FNU)

has 10 years of international

experience as he worked with the

Asian Productivity Organisation

headquartered in Tokyo.

Mr Prakash has a BA in

Economics/Politics from the USP

and a Master of Economics from

Jawaharlal Nehru University in

New Delhi, India.

From left: Fiji’s new High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Jitoko Tikolevu, Minister for ForeignAffairs Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, President Major-General (Ret’d) Jioji Konousi Konrote and Fiji’s newAmbassador to the United Arab Emirates, Kamlesh Prakash. Photo: DEPTFO News




l

15FIJI

Fiji’s customer serviceranked one of the best

Fiji’s customer service has

been ranked as one of the

best in the world.

An Australian customer service

consultant Richard Coles, who

is currently in the country, says

a good customer service willenhance workplace relations.

Having visited 55 countries and

providing training on customer

service, Richard Coles says Fiji is

one of the best.

The consultant, who has an

extensive experience in customer

service says, a lot more can be

done to further improve this.

“I think you’ve got the basics

right and that is the smile, the

natural smile, the personalities,

the in-built friendliness and

willingness to help people. You

know customer service comes

from the heart, it’s not just a word,

it has to be something that you

feel, something that you what todo and I think that is something

Fijians what to do. However think

I can add to that that I think it

can be improved. I think you got

great potential here, I think you

got to tighten up on a few things, a

few areas.

Training can do that,consulting can do that, changing a

little bit of attitude, getting people

to realise that similar customer

service across the company is

very important. Similar meaning

that my interaction with the

receptionist will be the same as

my interaction with the waiter,

interaction with the pool attendant

and so on and so forth.”

Coles is in the country

conducting customer service

and leadership training to a

leading company.

He has conducted similar

trainings for Qantas Airways,

Royal Dutch Airlines and Emirates Airline to name a few.

Krishna ruled out for 3 months

Fiji football wonder boy,

Roy Krishna is expected to

be out of action for three

months with an ankle injury.

The loss will be felt by hisA-League franchise side, theWellington Phoenix, as it ruleshim out of the remainder ofthe season.

Krishna has been a leadinglight for the Phoenix thisseason, scoring six of their 17

goals and leading the attack.The Sibera, Labasa nativewas injured in a 3–1 loss to theCentral Coast Mariners onDecember 31 and initiallythought to be out fora month.

Krishna is tipped to leadthe Vodafone Fiji Under-23football side in the Rio OlympicGames in August.

Roy Krishna is a Fijianassociation football player, who currently plays as a strikerfor Wellington Phoenix in the A-League.

Interest growing forcricket

Cricket is recording a slow

but steady growth in the

capital city.

There are currently 16 teamsregistered under Suva Cricket Association and President, Akuila Nawai says interestedteams have had to be turnedaway due to limited grounds.

“We hope that we have more

grounds because we have moreteams interested to take part.

“The problem is wedon’t have a lot of grounds.Hopefully the ground at AlbertPark will nish soon so we canaccommodate for other teamsthat really want to come into

the competition.” Meanwhile

in the Perpetual Cup challenge

match yesterday, Punjabi

Tigers defeated Komo by

six wickets.

Fiji NZ Business Council looksforward to a good year

Fiji New Zealand Business

Council president Craig

Strong is positive with the

outlook for this year. This comes

as the council looks forward to

a number of events listed on

its calendar.

Mr Strong said, “We have an

extremely busy calendar in 2016; a

year in which we intend to further

build on the platform of activity

that was developed in 2015. Thepinnacle of 2016 will be our council

hosting the Joint Forum.”

He added preliminary planning

was underway at this stage as the

council plans to anchor the Forum

around the Chiefs vs Crusaders

Super 15 game in Suva on July 1.

2015 was described as

demanding year for the Council.

He continued, “It was a very

busy year for us since the AGM

in April 2015. We hosted a

Trade Delegation from NZ led

by Matua Shane Jones, the NZ

Government’s Pacic Economic

Ambassador. This was followed

by the Joint Forum which was

held in Auckland in June and well

supported by our members.”

For the successful completion

of the year, he acknowledged the

NZ High Commisioner to Fiji,

Mark Ramsden, and the NZ Trade

Commissioner Amanda Vercoe

for their unwavering support for

the council. He also thanked the

council’s executive committee

member and Fiji’s honorary

counsel to the South Island,

Richard Hatherly, for his pro-

active and willingness to drive the

council’s events in Nadi.

Fiji NZ Business Council president Craig Strong

No same sex marriage: PMP

rime Minister Voreqe

Bainimarama says there

will be “no same sexmarriage in Fiji”.

He made this emphaticstatement after watching a FBC

TV programme, Have Your Say.

The programme, which madereferences to the Constitution,

equality and same sex marriage,

featured Shamima Ali, theWomen’s Crisis Centre co-

ordinator. FBC News director

Indra Singh, said one of lastyear’s highlights was a recording

they made on Shamima Ali. MrBainimarama said, “Tell Shamima

Ali, there will be no same sex

marriage in Fiji, a topic pushed byNGOs such as hers under the issue

of human rights.”

He added, “Not in her lifetimeand not in ours. They should not

be confused with the wording

of the Constitution about the

equality and love for one another.”The Constitution, he stressed,

did not refer to equality as the

opportunity for same sex marriageor love for all as love by Sakaraia

for Ropate ending at the altar.

“Not in her lifetime!”For a woman who wants to

get married to another womanhe said, “Go and have it done in

Iceland and stay and live there.

“Fiji does not need

that rubbish.”Ms Ali said she

spoke to FBC TV lastNovember and she did

not say anything on

same sex marriage. Manyreligious organisations

in Fiji support Mr

Bainimarama’s position, vehemently opposing same-sex

marriage. In an earlier interview with Fiji Sun, the former general-

secretary of the Methodist

Church in Fiji and Rotuma,now its president, Reverend

Tevita Nawadra said, “Marriage

ceremony is for a man anda woman.”

Many communities in Fiji

frown upon the idea of a same-sexunion although there is a growing

tolerance towards gays.

Fiji best place in the world, saysBollywood entertainer

V ishwajeet Borwankar,

a Bollywood vocalist,has piled praises on the

Fijian hospitality. He made the

comment in Labasa last month.

“I had the most marvelous

time of my life and I feel fortunate

to be in Fiji which is known as

the best place in the world,” Mr

Borwankar said.

He is from Mumbai,

Maharashtra State in India.

He was in Labasa with Chirag

Wadhwani, an Indian celebrity

comedian, and Usha Nadkarniknown as Savita Tai in the Indian

television serial Pavitra Rishta

which is shown on FBC TV.

They conducted a one-night

show at Subrail Park in Labasa. He

was amazed and pleased to know

the people in Fiji have so much love

for Bollywood.

“People in Fiji know our names

very well and we felt that they hold

us special place in their life.

“The place, people and the food

are amazing. I was astonished by

the way they eat chicken curry and

rice and we experienced their style

of eating too. “We eat a lot of spicy

food in India which the people here

do not, but we managed to modify

our meal and enjoyed every bit of

Fijian lifestyle experience.

“Their love and response which

I, as a feedback, have made me

realise that I have managed to set

my music footprint in Fiji. I will

always cherish these memories and

hope to come back for more shows

in Fiji.”

Meanwhile, Mr Wadhwani, a

famous character on Laugh India

Laugh, a stand-up comedy in

India, was delighted to be in Fiji for

the second time. “Fiji has given a

special identity and wherever I go to

perform, they always give me good

response,” Mr Wadhwani said.

“It could be partially because of

my hair, but I believe they love my

comedy. My advice to youngsters,

who wish to be like me or aspire to

become a comedian, is that your life

and body should be lled with joy.

Your life and your mind should not

be in tension. Always be happy

and enjoy your life.”

He cracked a joke saying, “If

you take tension then your wife

in white sari will go and take

your pension.”

Chirag Wadhwani (left) a celebrity comedian of India with Vishwajeet Borwankar who is the Runner Up

of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa stands together before their show at Subrail Park in Labasa



NEW ZEALANDINDIA

Editorial

— Haruki Murakami

Thought of the week

Whatever i t is you’re seeking won’t comein the form you’re expecti ng

From the desk of theManaging Editor

“In the past, I often reached a point where I felt depleted when I had little

enthusiasm for work (and sometimes even for life in general). The best cure

I found was to inject a few happiness boosters into my daily routine. Today,

rather than waiting for my energy levels to drop dangerously low before I take a break,

I incorporate instant gratication into my life on a regular basis. These infusions of

moments of joy do not merely make me feel better in the moment, they often create

a current of enthusiasm and energy that helps me become more productive, more

creative, happier.

The challenge, as it often is, is to nd the right balance between delaying

gratication, and grabbing it. I leave that to you...”

—Tal Ben-Shahar from Choose the Life You Want

In today’s fast-paced life, it is often too easy to not stop even for a minute to checkin with yourself or to simply take a breather. We just seem to rush from one thing

to another, be it at work or home or in between running to children’s school or the

supermarket; the list of things to do is endless. It is exactly this running around that

leaves us depleted and devoid of energy to carry on, what we may generally call burn

out. It was, therefore, interesting to read what Tal Ben-Sahar has to say about taking

breaks and introducing instant gratication into your days. Sometimes it can be this

ne line that gets us ahead and keeps our energy and enthusiasm levels up. That’s

exactly how life is meant to be, isn’t it? It is not meant to be an unending chore that

we struggle to complete day after day.

While we are on the subject, it may be pertinent to mention the inclusion of our

new column—Soul Space. In this issue, we talk about meditation, but really the

message is the same. If we can make even a little time for ourselves and just breathe,

life will become that much better.

It is the time for our beginning of the year festivals—Lohri, Pongal and Makar

Sankranti. We have stories on each of these festivals and also snippets from our

readers on how they celebrate these festivals away from their home and families.On January 16, we also celebrate Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti. Guru Gobind Singh

was the 10th and one of the most celebrated gurus of the Sikhs. At a young age of 11,

Guru Gobind Singh succeeded his father. He always carried his two swords, which

are known as ‘Piri’ and Miri’. Both these swords denote Shakti and Bhakti. He fought

against the oppression of the Sikhs by the Mughal rulers. Guru Gobind Singh was the

last of 10 gurus and due to his huge contribution towards Sikhism, he is considered

the eternal guru. So greetings and warm wishes to all our readers on these festivals.

No matter what state or religion you belong to, to be able to celebrate together with

friends and family is the biggest joy of all.

Until next time.

Giri Gupta

Pick of the week

NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) was snapped from a telescope at the Mt Lemmon SkyCenter, which is operated bythe University of Arizona. Adam Block, a local astrophotographer, took this i mage of the Orion Nebula.

DIY car cleaning tips• Clear out the cloudy headlights by

applying toothpaste on the lenscover and rubbing it with aplain cloth.

• Use a paint brush to

dust between the AC vents,and vaccum up as youbrush it of

• Use olive oil to polishthe leather on the dashboard

• Clean the wheels by usingcleaning powder and water

Indian Weekender : Volume 7 Issue 41

Publisher: Kiwi Media Group LimitedManaging Editor: Giri Gupta | [email protected]

Editor: Annu Sharma | [email protected]

Chief Reporter: Swati Sharma | [email protected]

Reporter: Rizwan Mohammad | [email protected]

Reporter: Esha Chanda | [email protected]

Reporter: Kumar Suresh | [email protected]

Chief Technical Ofcer: Rohan Desouza | [email protected]

Sr Graphics and Layout Designer: Mahesh Kumar | [email protected]

Graphic Designer: Yashmin Chand | [email protected]

Accounts and Admin.: Farah Khan | [email protected]

Sales and Marketing: 022 3251630 / 021 1507950 | [email protected]

Views expressed in the publication are not necessarily of the publisher and the publisher

is not responsible for advertisers’ claims as appearing in the publication

Views expressed in the articles are solely of the authors and do not in any way represent

the views of the team at the Indian Weekender

Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, Auckland

Printed at Horton Media, Auckland

Copyright 2015. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

Tip from the trenches

Word: Puckeroo

Meaning: Broken, useless

Usage: He had a compass but it was puckeroo




l

17OPINION/EDITORIAL

Why is the US turning Indian students back?ARUN KUMAR

Call it pre-election rhetoric

or post Paris and St

Bernardino paranoia,

Indian students coming to

the US have been caught in

a bind, with many deported

or denied entry for no fault

of theirs.

They all came with valid

F-1 student visas issued by

US missions in India with

the requisite I-20 forms from

educational institutions certifying

their admission, but have been

sent packing back home at the

port of entry.

There are no ocial gures

available, but an estimated 60

to 70 students have been turned

back so far. The process of

deportation continues despite

New Delhi making a strong plea to

Washington to honour their visas.It all started from San Francisco

about two weeks after the

December 2 terrorist attack in St

Bernardino by a Pakistani couple,

with Air India asked to y back

14 Indian students who had come

to join two allegedly “blacklisted”

dodgy schools. Both Silicon Valley

University (SVU) in San Jose and

Northwestern Polytechnic (NPU)

in Fremont have denied being

“blacklisted” or “under any sort

of governmental investigation

or targeting”

NPU has even blamed the

whole mess “on the actions of

Air India” which after the rst

deportations declined to seat

US-bound students claiming it

had been informed by the US

Customs and Border Protection

(CBP) about the two schools being

under the scanner. NPU suggested

that Air India was not allowing its

students to board, as it has to y

back at its own cost any individual

denied entry to a country.

Air India is reported to have

now resumed bringing in Indian

students provided they commit to

pay for their return in case they

were not allowed to enter.

Over the last couple of weeks,

several students coming through

Chicago or New York and on other

airlines to join other schools,

some of them well reputed,

have also been turned back. Yet,

according to diplomatic sources,

the US has denied any large-scale

denial of entry of Indian students

and claims that CBP agents decide

each case on its own merit whether

it is genuine or not.

In some cases, the studentsdid not even know what courses

they planned to study, where

they would stay or how they

would meet their living expenses

as students are not allowed to

work. Some immigration ocers

are even giving spot tests to

incoming students.

A majority of students hail

from Andhra Pradesh but there

is apparently no racial proling

or targeting of Indian students

as students from other countries

including China too have been

denied entry.

NPU president Peter Hsieh,in a posting on the school’s

website, also said that several

incoming students had informed

that “as long as students have

proper documentation and

are able to answer questions,

they are being allowed into

the US. They also report that this

is not [only] limited to NPU or F-1

students but also to other foreign

travellers on H-1 visa and the

like,” he wrote.

But whether the system has

been gamed by some unscrupulous

elements is beside the point.There seems to be a dysfunction

between the consulates in India

and the border agents, informed

sources said.

The fact that so many students

have been denied entry indicates

that the US consulates in India

were not doing due diligence

before issuing visas.

Unless the US authorities can

nd a quick x, Indian students

who, according to the 2015 Open

Doors Report, make up 13.6 per

cent of the total international

students in the US, would continue

to suer.The US too stands to lose as

with a whopping 29.4 per cent

increase, a record high of 132,888

Indian students studying in the

US in 2014–15 academic year

contributed $3.6 billion to the

US economy.

Will Nawaz Sharif really book thePathankot masterminds ?AMITAVA MUKHERJEE

It is fortunate that theIndian government has

reacted with caution and

maturity to the terrorist strike

at the Indian Air Force base at

Pathankot, the rst grave crisis

faced by the government led by

Narendra Modi.

While guesswork and

accusations are being bandied

around about the involvement of

the Pakistan Army and the ISI in

the gruesome act, the incident has

presented the Indian government

with an occasion to probe further

into the ux and churning

inside the Pakistani civil and

army administration.

At least outwardly, Pakistan

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has

assured all cooperation in bringing

the culprits to book and promised

to take action in the leads provided

by India. Sharif’s posture and his

promptness in speaking to the

Indian prime minister clearly give

out the tension between him and

the Pakistani Army establishment.

As the situation stands today,

Nawaz Sharif is more of a titular

ruler of Pakistan and the actual

epicentre of the administration

has passed on to the army chief,

General Raheel Sharif, in the

name of the National Action Plan,a government programme to root

out terrorism.

But the Indian government

should try to reach out to the

Pakistani Army also, as in recent

years, it has revised its military

doctrine somewhat away from

its Kashmir centric policy and

incorporated into it a new chapter

called sub-conventional warfare

(SCW), which is nothing butan admission of the internal

fundamentalist threat.

The main thrust of SCW is,

no doubt, against the Tehrik-i-

Taliban Pakistan (TTP). However,

there is information that the

TTP is tying its knots with other

terrorist outts such as the Jaish-

e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-

Taiba et al. In that case, the army

might be in a predicament over

re-orienting its relations with

terrorist organisations.

A more uncomfortable

development for the army has

been the news that the TTP and

other fundamentalist terroristorganisations have penetrated

deep inside southern Punjab—

the most important recruitment

ground of the army. Although

the army has achieved signicant

success in North Waziristan,

there are reports that its Pashtun

elements are still surrendering

to the TTP while other non-state

actors are receiving signicant

help as a result of the radicalisationof the army and other

security apparatus.

But New Delhi should not

expect much from Nawaz Sharif as

he is known to enjoy good rapport

with militant organisations such

as the Sipah-e-Sahaba (SS) and

the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

During the last parliamentary

election, the Pakistani

establishment was rife with

rumours that the Sharif family had

come to an understanding with

the SS by which it had guaranteed

the security of the Sharif family

in return for a good number of SS

leaders and cadres being released

from jail and accommodated in

government jobs in the Punjab

province, which is under the

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz

(PML-N).

By a strange twist in fortune,

Nawaz Sharif now needs to send

positive signals to India to stand

up to the overbearing shadow of

the army. But the same man had

appointed Lt. Gen. Javed Nasser,

allegedly an infamous character,

as the ISI chief. This man was

allegedly the principal gure

behind forging a link with and

then providing shelter to Dawood

Ibrahim in Pakistan. He had also

airlifted arms to Bosnian Muslims

when the European Union

was desperately trying to keep

Bosnia united.

There is now a trenchant

criticism, mostly from the

Congress, about Narendra

Modi’s Pakistan policy. It now

appears that Modi should have

been more circumspect before

meeting Nawaz Sharif in Lahore.

On several occasions Sharif had

held out promises of peace and

justice, but that did not prevent

the Pakistani establishment

from releasing Zakiur Rahman

Lakhvi, the dreaded LeT terrorist

with a hand in the 2008 Mumbai

terror attack. Lakhvi has been put

behind the bars again but that has

not prevented him from carrying

on his activities.

During the 2013 general

elections Nawaz Sharif had

received at least moral support

from the TTP. Moreover,

he is known to enjoy a cosy

relationship with the LeJ, a

dreaded organisation accused of

carrying out murders of the Shias.

The PML-N cannot deny the fact

that it had given nominations to

LeJ operatives such as Abid Raja

Gujjar, Sardar Ebad Dogar and

Anjum Akeel Khan against whom

charges of murdering innocent

Shias are pending. Pictures ofNawaz Sharif with LeJ leaders

praying for electoral success before

the 2013 elections had gone viral in

the Internet.

The close relations between

the PML-N and the LeJ came

to limelight when the PML-N

government of Punjab province

had extended a monthly stipend to

Malik Ishaq, who was put behind

bars on charges of killing of Shias.

Rana Sanaullah, the provincial

law minister, tried to softpedal the

issue by saying that it was done on

court orders. Opposition leaders

averred that there was no such

judicial order.

Nawaz Sharif is putting to

practice the Takri Deobandi

ideology to which most of the

terrorist outts swear allegiance.

So will he be really able to bring

to book the masterminds of the

Pathankot terror attack?

But New Delhi shouldnot expect much from

Nawaz Sharif as he isknown to enjoy goodrapport with militantorganizations like theSipah-e-Sahaba (SS)and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).




l

18

India bets on technology to overcomechallengesFAKIR BALAJI

R acing against timeto realise the ‘Vision

2020’ former presidentA.P.J. Abdul Kalam conceived

in 1996, India has embarked

on a similar exercise for 2035,betting on emerging technologies

to overcome major challenges it

faces in ensuring inclusive growthand improving quality of life in

the country.“Technology is a key driver to

empower individuals, societies and

countries, facilitate developmentand enhance capabilities,

while taking advantage of the

democratic dividend,” says anocial document on ‘Technology

Vision 2035’.

The 100-page document,released by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi at the 103rdIndian Science Congress

attempts to envision the country’s

technology future, using asanalogy of four gaits of a horse—

galloping, cantering, trotting and

walking India. The documentarticulates a vision for all Indians

in 2035 and how technology will

bring it to fruition, keeping in view basic needs of security, prosperity

and identity of the population,

projected to be 153 crore from 120crore in 2012.

“No other country will be able to

match India in terms of diversity, which is its core strength. Besides

diversity in culture, the countryis blessed with socio-economic,

demographic, topographical

and agro-climatic diversities,”

the report by the Technologyinformation, forecasting

and assessment council(Tifac) asserted.

As an autonomous body, Tifac

is a think tank under the scienceand technology department of the

central government. It identied10 major challenges requiring

attention, resources and solutions

in the next two decades for the benet of people.

The key challenges are

development, empowerment,inclusiveness, sustainability,

environment, education, health,urban infrastructure, resources,

socio-economic policies, solutions,

electronic communication and

quality research.

The council, under thechairmanship of top nuclearscientist-cum-technocrat Anil

Kakodkar, identied 12 sectors to

realise the grand vision in the next20 years, spanning education,

medical sciences and healthcare,

food and agriculture, water,energy, environment, habitat,

transportation, infrastructure,manufacturing, materials and

information and communication

technology (ICT). Admitting that the ‘Technology

Vision 2020’ was a prisoner to

the imagination of its own times,Rajan said the document was from

the viewpoint of 1996 while that

of 2035 was from the standpointof 2014. “Post-independent India

has never been more dierent inany two decades than between1996 and 2014, as the country’s

GDP (gross domestic product)multiplied six times. If the 1996

document was an aspiration

of a developed India in 2020,this speaks to the realisation

of a developed India by 2035,”

Rajan asserted. Although the country galloped

in some areas and cantered to

keep pace in others, it trotted ina few but could not walk the talk

in many areas in time for variousreasons, internal and external.

In the past two decades, India

galloped in space, nuclear and

missile technologies, life sciences

and biotechnology, cantered in

civil aviation, services and road

transportation but trotted in food

and agriculture, manufacturing

and electronics. “On the ip side,

in healthcare, life span increased

by 10 years to 65 years from 1988

to 2013, while infant mortality

declined to 41 per 1,000 from 94

per 1,000 in the same period (25

years) and maternal mortality

slumped to 190 per 100,000

births in 2013 from a high of

560 in 1990,” the document

pointed out.

Flagging of the ve-day science

event on January 3, Modi told

about 12,500 stakeholders that

the biggest challenge would be

pressure on resources as they

were limited and non-renewable

like fossil fuels. “I am condent

that emerging technologies [such

as] nano, bio, robotics, sensors,

articial intelligence and cognitive

sciences hold the potential to

provide solutions to the challenge

of limited resources,” Modi said.

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l

19

Pakistan givesIndia ndings onPathankot attack

Pakistan submitted to India its initial

ndings on alleged Pakistani linksto the Pathankot terror attack

saying that the telephone numbers given

by India were not registered in Pakistan, a

news report here said.

A joint investigation team, formed

following a directive of Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif, submitted the initial ndings

on the alleged Pakistani links to the terrorist

attack on the Indian Air Force station

in Punjab’s Pathankot district earlier

this month.

“According to sources close to the

development, the investigation report has

been handed over to Indian authorities,”

The News International said.

It said Indian authorities provided

Pakistan details of telephonic conversations

that terrorists, believed to be Pakistanis,had had with their handlers and family

members from the air base. According to

the Indian authorities, the terrorists who

sneaked into Punjab and attacked the IAF

base on January 2 were aliated to the

proscribed outt Jaish-e-Mohammad.

The report quoted unnamed sources as

saying that the telephone numbers given by

India were not registered in Pakistan.

“The investigation agencies were

further investigating (leads) pertaining to

Pathankot attackers,” it said.

A media report said Pakistan’s Inter-

Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military

Intelligence were helping probe the

suspected Pakistani link to the terror

attack on the IAF base. The ISI, theMilitary Intelligence and the Intelligence

Bureau were part of a Joint Investigation

Team (JIT) formed following a directive of

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Express

Tribune reported.

The decision to form the

JIT was taken at a high-level

meeting chaired by Sharif “a

few days ago”, it said.

Pakistani news reports on

Friday had said that Sharif

directed the Intelligence

Bureau to probe the leads

provided by New Delhi on

the alleged Pakistani links to

the January 2 terror attack in

Punjab. The pre-dawn attack

on the Indian Air Force (IAF)station killed seven security

personnel. Security forces

killed all six attackers who

were said to have sneaked into

Punjab from Pakistan.

“Nawaz (Sharif) is taking

an active role in getting to

the bottom of the Pathankot

incident,” a source in the

Prime Minister’s House was

quoted as saying.

“He (Sharif) also discussed

the issue with army chief Gen

Raheel Sharif and took him on

board about the decision to

form a JIT,” it added.

India has providedIslamabad “actionable

information” on the terrorists’

alleged Pakistani links. New

Delhi wants Sharif to crack

down on those who planned the audacious

terrorist attack.

After the terror attack, Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif promised his Indian

counterpart Narendra Modi that his

government will act on information

provided by New Delhi on the terrorists’

alleged Pakistani links.

“Nawaz (Sharif) has assured his Indian

counterpart (Narendra Modi) that Pakistan

will investigate the matter and make the

results public,” the report said.

But Pakistani ocials have told their

media that the information given by India was not enough and may not stand scrutiny

in a court of law. The News International

quoted “highly placed diplomatic sources”

as saying that the foreign secretary-level

talks between Pakistan and India could

be deferred by New Delhi as there was no

information so far about the visit of the

Indian foreign secretary for the January 15

talks in Islamabad.

No communication has taken place

between Islamabad and New Delhi on

the foreign secretary-level talks since the

Pathankot attack, it said.

Pakistan does not want the foreign

secretary-level talks to get derailed as

they were expected to pave the way for

a comprehensive composite dialogue

covering all outstanding disputes, including

Kashmir, it added.

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l

20 INDIA

NEWS in BRIEFGovt to continue reforms withsingle-minded focus: Jaitley

Union Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley said that

the Narendra Modi

government would continue with

the economic reforms with single-

minded focus.

Addressing the CII partnershipsummit in this coastal city in

Andhra Pradesh, he said the

government would continue with

reforms, which it failed to pursue

in recent months.

“Some of our reforms, which

we have missed out on in the

last few months, have to be

pursued with a single-minded

focus. We cannot aord a

change in direction, and in these

circumstances, every state has to

contribute,” the minister said.

Jaitley pointed out the

World Bank has lowered the

global growth forecast to 2.9

per cent while the growth ratesof economies across the world

are hovering around extremely

low gures.

“Many of our competing

economies are facing extremely

serious challenges. In an

integrated economy, a large

number of those challenges and

diculties gets spilled over.

“So because of the integrated

economy, what happens in China,

what happens in oil prices, impact

our markets. Our revenues also

get impacted, when the price

regimes are low because nominal

GDP gets reduced,” he said. He,

however, said that even under

the trying circumstances Indian

economy was doing well.

“India continues to remain

the fastest growing economy in

the world. So our 7–7.5 per cent

growth rate stands out amongst

the larger economies as bright

spot among global economy.”

The minister said he

believed that India can convert

these circumstances into an

opportunity because some of the

factors adversely impacting the

world suit the country.

Jaitley said after Start-Up

India, the government will launch

Stand Up India, which will be

available only to women and the

SC/ST entrepreneurs.

“Every public sector and

private sector bank, each branch

in the country has to fund one SC,

ST and one woman entrepreneur,”

he added.

Lauding the reforms initiated

by Andhra Pradesh, he said the

state was recording double-digit

growth and it would be one of the

key engines of growth.

Responding to a request made

by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister

N. Chandrababu Naidu, Jaitley

assured all help to the state

in dealing with the

post-bifurcation challenges.

He noted that Andhra has many

assets to become an investors’

destination because of dynamic

leadership and ecosystem Jaitley

hailed competition among states

that have been holding investors’

meets to attract investment, and

claimed that Prime Minister

Narendra Modi is successful in

converting cooperative federalisminto competitive federalism.

He suggested states improve

ease of doing business as

investors look for stability of

policy and business eco-system.

Nearly 1,600 delegates including

350 from US, China and 39 other

countries are attending the three-

day summit. CII director general

Chandrajit Banerjee said that this

is the largest ever turnout at the

Partnership Summit.

Eminent industrialists

including Anil Ambani, Baba

Kalyani, Naushad Forbes, G.M.

Rao and Adi Godrej were present

at the inaugural session.

Nepal PM invites Indian investment,says a lot lost due to agitation

A head of his visit to India

next month, Nepal Prime

Minister K.P. SharmaOli invited Indian businessmen

to invest in the Himalayan

nation, saying it had lost a lotdue to the agitation in the Terai

region and that all steps will betaken to create an

investor-friendly environment.

Interacting with a group ofvisiting Indian journalists, Oli

said Nepal had lost revenue and

income due to the more than four-month-old Madhesi agitation

in the southern Terai plains ofthe country.

“I request the business

community of India to comehere. Of course, due to the unrest

in the Terai, we lost a lot... not

billions but trillions of rupees.We lost income, revenue... No

industry is earning now butwe will immediately create an

investment-friendly situation,”

Oli promised.The southern plains have been

simmering with protests againstthe new Constitution for morethan four months now. More than

55 people, including agitators

and police personnel, have beenkilled during the agitation by the

Madhesi community. TheMadhesi protestors are

demanding, among other things,

a redrawing of the boundariesof the provinces as proposed

in the new Constitution andrepresentation in parliament on

the basis of population.

Nepal’s Left governmenthas held more than a score of

rounds of talks with leaders of the

Samyukta Loktantrik MadhesiMorcha, which is spearheading

the agitation, but without any breakthrough so far.

Oli said Nepal and India

can work together for sharedprosperity for entire South Asia.

Oli said South Asia had a “huge

population” and there were noapprehensions about existence

of market for business ventures.

“But we have to develop ourfeeling in that way... so that we

can work together and enjoy

better future together. I will liketo invite the business community

to work together for better

future of Nepal, India and South Asia,” he said.

“Nepal is committed andhonestly wants to create an

investment-friendly atmosphere,”

he said. According to data from the

Indian embassy here, Indian

rms are the biggest investors inNepal, accounting for about 38.3

per cent of Nepal’s total approved

foreign direct investment.There are about 150 operating

Indian ventures in Nepal engagedin manufacturing and services

that include banking, insurance,

education and telecom besidespower and tourism sectors.

Bilateral trade, which was 29.8

percent of Nepal’s total externaltrade in 1995-96, reached 66

percent in 2013-14. Exportsfrom Nepal to India were worth

$605 million in 2013-14 and

India’s exports to Nepal were

$4.81 billion-worth during thesame scal.

Nepal’s Deputy PrimeMinister, and Foreign Minister

Kamal Thapa had earlier thismonth announced that Oli will

in February embark on his rst

foreign visit post-assumption ofoce to India.

No shortage of medicines athospitals from February 1: Kejrwal

D

elhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the people will

not be denied medicines and consumables at government

hospitals since there will be no shortage of them from

February 1.“When poor people visit government hospitals, they don’t get all

the medicines. But from February 1, no patient will be told that the

medicines are out of stock,” he said here, adding a helpline would

be launched so that people can report the shortage of medicines at

government hospitals.

He stressed health and education would be the top two priorities

of his government in 2016. Shortage of medicines, which gure in the

list of essential drugs, at government hospitals has been a common

complaint in the capital. The Delhi government runs 38 hospitals.

Temple can’t prohibit entry of women devotees: SC

T

he Supreme Court, on Monday, January 11, said that unless

a temple had a constitutional right, it could not prohibit the

entry of the women pilgrims to oer worship. A bench of Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose

and Justice N.V. Ramana said this in the course of the hearing of a

petition by the Indian Young Lawyers Association challenging the

Sabrimala Ayyappan Temple’s custom of prohibiting the entry of

women devotees between 10 and 50 years.

Directing that it would examine the challenge to the custom

prohibiting the entry of women of this age group, the court observed

that a “temple can’t prohibit entry except on the basis of religion.

Unless you have constitutional right you can’t prohibit the entry”.

The court directed the next hearing of the matter on February 8.

Volkswagen to unveil compactsedan at Auto Expo

German car maker Volkswagen will be unveiling its sub-

four metre sedan designed for the Indian market and two

other models at the Delhi Auto Expo, the company’s Indian

subsidiary said.

In a statement, Volkswagen Passenger Cars said the Delhi Auto

Expo will see the world premiere of the sub-four metre Indian

compact sedan designed for the domestic market and made at its

Indian plant. The other two models that would be unveiled at the

auto expo are Passat GTE, a plug-in hybrid, and Tiguan, a sports

utility vehicle (SUV).

“The Indian compact sedan, our made-in-India and made-for-

India carline, is a truly special oering from the Volkswagen stable

with all the brand values of best in class safety features, build quality

and a great driving experience, and is expected to be a game-changer

for us.” Michael Mayer, director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India

was quoted as saying in a statement. “We will also be introducing

the New Passat to the Indian market in 2016.” The Auto Expo will be

held in Delhi next month.

Rs.11,000 crore fund for xingaccident prone areas

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari

announced a Rs.11,000 crore to x accident prone areas

across the country in the next ve years.

Announced as part of the “Road Safety Week” launched by union

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, safety measures also included a

website being launched to identify black spots where accidents

occur frequently.

“People can send information about such spots to the ministry

of road transport and highways which will further take up the issue

with the authorities concerned,” said Gadkari.

In Delhi, work on xing 10 black spots has already begun.

Noting that a Road Safety Authority will be constituted and a Road

Transport and Safety Bill will be placed shortly before parliament,

he asked all to take a resolve on road safety and bring down road

accidents by 50 per cent in (the) next ve years.

Rajnath Singh, expressing concern on nearly ve lakh road

accidents that occur in India every year, said all stakeholders (have)

to play eective role in ensuring safety on roads.

“There is a need for proper training of drivers before they are

issued driving licenses,” he said.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli




l

21INDIA ABROAD

Nikki Haley seen as potentialRepublican vice presidential pick ARUN KUMAR

South Carolina’s Indian-American

governor Nikki Haley’s choice

to give the Republican response

to President Barack Obama’s State

of the Union address has fuelled

speculation about her as a potential vice

presidential pick.

Born Nimrata “Nikki” Randhawa to

Sikh immigrant parents from India, Haley

at 43, the youngest governor in the country,

gave the Republican response to Obama’s

nal annual address to the Congress

Tuesday night.

“All this comes on the back of a

strong year that saw her prospects in the

veepstakes improve as Haley signed o

on legislation removing the Confederate

ag from Columbia and oversaw a state

battered by a tragic massacre and a massive

ood,” the Politico said.

In August, at the RNC summer meeting

in Cleveland, Haley was invited to be its

luncheon headliner, the Politico noted.

In recent months, Haley has fostered a

close relationship with Christie as well as

with two other Republican White House

hopefuls: Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush,

it said. Over the course of the primarycampaign, she has been exchanging text

messages with all three candidates.

Haley declined to reveal details of what

she plans to say, except to repeat that she

is giving an “address” to the nation rather

a “response” to Obama. “I certainly am

not one to compete against the president

or try to imply that I could be,” Haley told

reporters, according to Charlotte Observer.

Haley’s selection, the Observer said, is seen

as part of the Republican Party’s attempts

to win over female voters, who will have a

chance to elect the rst female president if

Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee.

But she called such talk a “waste of time”.

When asked about being given such

an honour, she smiled and said she was

humbled by it. “You have to know I always

go back to that ve-year-old Indian girlthat lived in Bamberg. That just wondered

what was out there,” Haley said.

Haley was rst elected South Carolina

governor in 2010, becoming both the rst

woman and the rst Indian-American to

hold the top oce in the state. She was re-

elected in 2014.

South Carolina’s Indian-American governor Nikki Haley’s

Indian American

community laudedThe transformational role

played by the Indian

American community

in the development of India-US

relations and its future potential

were underscored by India’s

Ambassador to the US Arun

K. Singh.

Opening an event to celebrate

the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at

the Indian embassy on Friday,

January 8 he also highlighted the

importance of the day.

The event was well attended

with enthusiastic participation by

the Indian American community

members representing various

sectors including the government,

business, professionals, artists,

journalists and students.

Swadesh Chatterjee, a Padma

Bhushan awardee from North

Carolina, gave a talk on “Building

Bridges: How Indian Americans

Brought the US and India

closer together”.

Chatterjee recently published

a book highlighting the

contribution of Indian Americans

in various elds including energy

cooperation. Satyam Priyadarshy,president of The Indus

Entrepreneurs (TiE), which has

61 chapters across 17 countries,

spoke on “India’s Flagship

Projects and Indian Americans:

Promising Possibilities”.

He also underscored the ways

in which the Indian American

community can contribute to the

India’s organically connected

agship projects such as Smart

City Mission, Skill India, Digital

India, Make In India and

Swachh Bharat.

Indian-origin professor develops

new method to hunt dark matter A n Indian-American

professor has devised

a new method to

characterise dark matter that

can help hunt for the mysterious

space phenomenon.

Sukanya Chakrabarti, assistant

professor at Rochester Institute

of Technology in New York, uses

waves in the galactic disk to map

the interior structure and mass

of galaxies such as seismologists

analyse waves to infer properties

about the Earth’s interior.

Her team used spectroscopic

observations to calculate the

speed of the three Cepheid

variables—stars used as yardsticks

to measure distance in galaxies—

in the Norma constellation.

Chakrabarti used Cepheid

variables to mark the location of

a dark-matter dominated dwarf

galaxy approximately 300,000

light years away.

In contrast, the disk of the

Milky Way terminates at 48,000

light years. “The radial velocity

of the Cepheid variables is the

last piece of evidence that we’ve

been looking for,” Chakrabarti

said. “You can immediately

conclude that they are not part of

our galaxy.”

Invisible particles known as

dark matter make up 85 per cent

of the mass of the universe.

“The mysterious matter

represents a fundamental problem

in astronomy because it is not

understood,” Chakrabarti added.

Her method for locating

satellite galaxies is dominated by

dark-matter taps principles used in

seismology to explore the interior

of the galaxy. “We have made

signicant progress into this new

eld of galactoseismology where

by you can infer the dark matter

content of dwarf galaxies, where

they are, as well as properties of

the interior of galaxies by looking

at observable disturbances in the

gas disk,” Chakrabarti explained.

This new method to

characterise dark matter marks

the rst real application of the

eld of galactoseismology.

“It is very similar to seismology

in a sense because we’re tryingto infer things about the interior

of galaxies and how much dark

matter there is and how much

there has to be to produce these

disturbances,” she pointed out.

The study further questions the

standard paradigm that old stars

populate the dark matter halo and

young stars form in the gas-rich

stellar disks.

Chakrabarti’s ndings have

been submitted for publication in

Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Sukanya Chakrabarti

Arun K. Singh



SPORTS

Djokovic demolishes Nadal, winsQatar Open

W orld No.1 NovakDjokovic started

2016 with a title win

at the $1,283,855 Qatar Open bydefeating arch-rival Rafael Nadal

6–1, 6–2 in the men’s singles nal

on Saturday, January 9. With the win, the Serb bagged

the winner’s cheque of $201,165

and a glittering trophy stylised inthe shape of Qatar’s national bird,

a falcon. Djokovic had his grip onthe match right from the start,

it only got rmer as the match

progressed. In the rst game ofthe rst set, Nadal came rather

close to breaking Djokovic, but the

Serbian had other plans. He notonly retained his serve but broke

Nadal in the immediately with animpressive 40-15 margin to stamp

his class early. It would have been

40-0 had the left-hander not wona disputed line call.

Djokovic was clinical in his

approach, soon making it 3-0,enough to subdue the chants

of ‘vamos Rafa’. Nadal nallymanaged to win the fourth game

to crawl to 1–3. But the Serbian

was in no mood to settle with justone break, and claimed another

in the sixth to go 5–1 up. It was6–1 in no time and the set was in

Djokovic’s pocket.

With the rst set gone, Nadalhad been pushed to the wall,

psychologically at least.

There were rallies in the rstgame of the second set. The World

No.1 retained his serve to go2–0 up. Another rally in the fth

game resulted in another break

in favour of Djokovic and he wasalready 4–1 up. Djokovic won the

next game to go 5–1 up. With great

eort, Nadal retained his serve, but could do little when Djokovic

served in the last game of theevening. The Serbian retained his

serve 40–15 and with that the set was his 6–2. One and quarter of

an hour later, Djokovic was sitting

pretty with the title under his belt.“It’s a great feeling. What can

I say? I am living the best time of

my life and career. It’s easy to losecondence than it is to gain. I am

very grateful to have a start like

this in Doha. He always presentsa great challenge, the rivalry goes

back 10 years, but this is the rsttime I have beaten him set-to-set,”

said Djokovic.

Sania-Martina start

2016 with title winT

he world’s top women

tennis pair of Sania Mirzaand Martina Hingis

started the New Year on a brilliant

note by clinching the women’s

doubles title of the $1 million

Brisbane International at the

Queensland Tennis Centre on

Saturday, January 9.

The top seeded pair took

just an hour and 10 minutes to

beat German wild card pair of

Angelique Kerber, who lost the

women’s singles nal earlier in

the day to Victoria Azarenka ofBelarus, and Andrea Petkovic 7–5,

6–1 at the Pat Rafter Arena.

This is the Indo-Swiss pair’s

26th win in a row and the rst

title of 2016. They have now won

six titles on the trot—the longest

winning streak in the category

since the 1994 season when

Gigi Fernandez and Natasha

Zvereva were on a 28 match-

winning streak. Also, this is the

29-year-old Sania’s second victory

in Australia after partnering

American Bethanie Mattek-Sands

all the way to the title in 2013

while Martina was the defending

champion, having sealed the

crown with German Sabine Lisickilast year. The world’s top ranked

combine took o well by breaking

their opponents in the second

game to go 2–0 up. But the wild

card pair fought well and broke

Sania and Martina twice to take a

4–2 lead. The rst set turned out

to be quite topsy-turvy with both

pairs regularly failing to hold on

to their service games. However,

Sania and Martina rst levelled

the score at four-all and then wonon their serve to take a 5–4 lead

one more time in the set.

Serving at 5–6 down and trying

to push the set into the tie-breaker,

Angelique and Andrea failed to

do so with the top seeds taking

the set in 46 minutes. Unlike the

vigorously fought rst set, the

second one turned out to be more

or less a walkover with Sania and

Martina racing away to a 5–0 lead.

The German girls somehowmanaged to win the sixth game

on their serve but it was a little

too late as the Indo-Swiss pair

clinched the crown with ease in

the next few minutes.

Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis have now won 26 consecutive matches, which is the second-beststreak in women’s doubles

Djokovic (L) beat Nadal (R) in straight sets to win the Qatar Open


l

22

MESSI WINS FIFTH

FIFA BALLON D’ORL

ionel Messi won an

unprecedented fth

FIFA Ballon d’Or award,

given to the footballer of the

year, at a gala ceremony on

Monday, January 11, ending his

great rival Cristiano Ronaldo’s

two-year hold on football’s top

individual prize.

Either Messi or Ronaldo, who

became a three-time winner last

year, have won the past eight

awards. The FC Barcelona and

Argentine superstar’s reclaimed

the prize from three-time winner Portugal’s Ronaldo and

he now leads 5–3 in their career

duel for the annual FIFA prize.

Messi also shook o the

challenge of his Barcelona

teammate Brazilian Neymar

who was included on the

shortlist for the rst time. He

was handed over the award

by former AC Milan and Real

Madrid star Kaka who himself

won the award in 2007.

Messi received 41.33 per

cent of the votes, followed by

Ronaldo (27.76 per cent) and

Neymar (7.86 per cent). Messiinspired Barcelona to regain the

Champions League title among

ve major trophies in 2015,

scoring 52 goals in 61 games

with 26 assists.

Barcelona’s dominance was

shaped by the brilliance of

their incredible oensive trio of

Messi, Neymar and Uruguyan

Luis Suarez.

“It’s a very special moment

for me, winning another Ballon

d’Or after being in the audience

watching Cristiano win the last

two years. I want to thank all who

voted for me and my teammates,[without whom] none of this

would be possible. I want

to thank football for

everything it has

brought me, both

bad and good, it

has helped me

grow. Thank

you,” Messi

said after

w i n n i n g

the award.

T h e

C a t a l a n

c l u b ’ s

coach LuisE n r i q u e

was chosen

as the men’s

“World Coach of the

Year” after becoming

European champion

and winning the

Spanish league and cup,

European Super Cup and Club

World Cup. He eclipsed rivals

Pep Guardiola of Bayern Munich

and Jorge Sampaoli, who led

Chile to their rst Copa America

win earlier in the year.

America’s Jill Ellis won the

World Coach of the Year award

for women’s football. La Liga

dominated the FIFA FIFPro

World XI with eight entries, four

each from Barcelona and Real

Madrid, including the Ballon

D’Or nominees Messi, Neymarand Ronaldo.

Brazilian Wendell Lira won

the Puskas Award for the best

goal. The striker plays for Vila

Nova in the third tier in Brazil

but at the time of the goal was

playing for Goianesia. He earned

his side a 2–1 win with the strike

against Atletico-GO.

American Carli Lloyd was

named Women’s World Player

of the Year. Lloyd, 33, led the

United States to victory in the

Women’s World Cup in July,

memorably scoring a hat-trick

in the nal.The FIFA FIFPro World

XI: Goalkeeper: Manuel

Neuer; Defenders: Dani Alves,

Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva,

Marcelo; Midelders: Andres

Iniesta, Paul Pogba,

Luka Modric;

Forwards:

Neymar,

L i o n e l

M e s s i ,

Cristiano

Ronaldo



KIDS ZONEwww.iwk.co.nz | 15 January 2015

l

23

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PAR R OT S CAN SE E

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T HE M W IT HOUT

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k n o w

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l

24 TRAVEL

Maldives: to the sunny side of lifeRAHUL DASS

The Maldives will take your

breath away! The gently swaying

palm trees, the talcum white

sand beaches and an emerald sea on

which the sunlight dances—all have

quite a mesmerising eect on the eye of

the beholder. As the aircraft eases down at Maldives

capital Male, the view is picture perfect.

As much as the aircraft’s small window

permits, the warm tropical paradise is

alluring. No wonder, the excitement

among the passengers, particularly the

honeymooners, is palpable.

The sea colour is striking. Closer to the

island is a distinct green of light jade, which

turns a deep blue a bit further away.

The Maldives has some 1,200 islands,

separated into a series of coral atolls. The

country lies just north of the Equator in

the Indian Ocean. For Indians, it is one

of those countries where visa is granted

on arrival. So, you just need to carry yourpassport and catch a ight.

It has a tropical climate where the year

is separated into two main seasons by the

monsoons—hottest in April and coolest in

December. The best time to visit is between

December and April when the weather

is sunny, with clear skies, low humidity

and excellent water clarity. A number of

gorgeous private island resorts, including

two stunning properties run by Club Med,

dot this archipelago of the Maldives.

As one disembarks at Male airport,

the sea is right there. One needs to take

a boat to travel to one of the resorts. The

fresh, bracing air and the ne water spray

as the catamaran cuts through the sea at

high speeds, making a superb beginning to

the holiday.

Holidaying in the Maldives is anenchanting experience, exotic in all

its aspects. With abundant sea life,

natural beauty, pleasant temperatures

and sandy beaches, it is renowned as a

tropical paradise. The memorable add-

ons include swimming, shing, water-

skiing, snorkelling, scuba diving, kite

boarding and windsurng. Snorkelling is

an experience in itself with the clear sea

oering a high visibility. Take a boat ride

to one of the spots, wear your ippers and

gear and jump into the inviting sea. A look

down is like being in a giant aquarium,

with multi-coloured sh gliding through

the water.Passing through a school of sh is an

exhilarating experience. One feels like

staying on and on in the water, but for the

g e n t l e

prodding from the diving experts who

accompany the group.

The corals here are straight out of

science books. All shapes, sizes and colours

of these fragile marine invertebrates can be

spotted on the sea bed, with the sun rays

illuminating them.

If one is of the adventurous, parasailing

is another option. A high-speed boat will

pull a bright coloured parachute on which

you are strapped and you just go up and up

with the wind. In no time, you are looking

at a wide expanse. To call the view stunning

would be an understatement.

One gets to see the distant horizon, where the sea merges into innity. The

water villas, with plenty of oomph factor,

look like small huts. The beautiful resorts

seem to be from la la land.

There are hosts of other options—laze

around on a sun bed, gaze at the sea, soak

in the bright sunshine and take long walks

on the beaches to feel the white sand that

just cascades through the toes, taking away

all your worries.

What to carry?

The Maldives is characteristically warm

and sunny. It’s best to pack light, airy

cottons or linens in sober bright colours.

Sunscreen (SPF 15 or greater) is a must and

so are swimming trunks, thanks to serene,inviting beaches and pools. Slippers or

loafers and a hat or scarf should complete

the summery ensemble.

Just pack your bags and head to this

nation of islands. It will leave you refreshed,

and rejuvenated—to the promised “sunny

side of life”.

Queenstown: a picturesque haven foradventure junkiesRADHIKA BHIRANI

T

he land, rivers, mountains and

sky—Queenstown serves up

adventure pursuits aplenty,

everywhere. Be there, and just go for it.

Whether it’s sailing, hiking, white water

rafting, jet boating, bungee jumping,

skydiving, paragliding, canyon swinging,

skiing, mountain biking or whatever more

to get your adrenaline pumping, this resort

town, nestled in the Southern Alps of New

Zealand, is a perfect stage for it all.

Setting sight on the hustle-bustle of

activities happened as soon as I drew the

curtains apart in my hotel room, which

gave me walking access to the front of the

glistening Lake Wakatipu. It was visibly

dotted with sails, kayaks and boats. The

backdrop was The Remarkables mountain

range, and it was sunset.

“Oh my god, if only I could settle here!”Queenstown can do that to you.

It has a compact town centre, where

everything is within walking distance,

including about 100 places to dine, which

are often alive during the day and night with

live music, and a beauty that’s remarkably

picture postcard perfect. What’s more? You

can see it from every height and angle.

Ask those why skydive from 15,000 feet!

Alas, it was a case of ‘been there, not

done that’ for me at the world-famous

Nzone Skydive, New Zealand’s rst Tandem

Skydive operation. Safety is priority here,

but what it takes is courage—lots of it.

“Take the plunge, take the plunge,”

people kept urging me. My heart said ‘No’.

Missing the skydive, especially after

daring to bungee jump during a past trip to

New Zealand, will remain a regret. So, hey,

if you’re there, just do it. Let the experts

and parachutes take care of the rest.

Queenstown is a resort town in the

south-west of New Zealand’s South Island,

some 900 km from the capital Wellington.It has its own airport. For many Indians,

the rst glimpse of the town’s beauty

came through the Bollywood blockbuster

Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai ,

starring Hrithik Roshan

and Ameesha Patel,

which was partially

shot here. Even the2010 release I Hate Luv

Storys, featuring Sonam

Kapoor and Imran Khan,

captured its beauty.

But a live experience

is of course, always hard

to match.

On another day, we

were to traverse the

infamous Skippers Road,

a mostly one-way, narrow

and steep way said to be

one of the world’s most

dangerous roads some

25 minutes away from

Queenstown. Scenesfrom Lord of the Rings

came alive in the mind

as we crossed some

breathtaking locations, at

parts of which the iconic

movies were shot.

Our destination was

the Shotover river, which

the guide told us, is the

world’s richest gold

bearing river of its size.

We were going jet boating,

with Sidharth Malhotra

along with the impressive company of

cricket greats Stephen Fleming, Simon

Doull and Scott Styris.

With the cold wind slapping us in the

face, eyes barely open, jet boating can turn

out to be quite a joyride as you feel your

adrenaline surge when you speed through

the narrowest canyons, often taking

180-degree spins just inches from the

canyon walls.

Look up at the sky during the ride, and

you’ll spot the deadly Kawarau Bridge

bungee site—the world’s rst commercial

bungee operation. Must be something to

just jump o from there, and no, I wasn’t

going to even try.

Also, if you nd some time, do take a ride

on Queenstown’s ‘Lady of the Lake’, which

was rst launched in 1912—the same year

as the Titanic left shore. One of the oldest

tourist attractions here, and said to be only

remaining passenger-carrying coal-red

steamship in the Southern Hemisphere,

it takes you on a mesmerising tour. Have

some hot chocolate while you’re aboard,

and soak in the beauty of the landscape.

Queenstown can make you forget your

worldly worries. A good enough reason to

go there.

Skydiving in picturesque Queenstown is a surreal experience

Left to right: Simon Doull, Stephen Fleming, Sidharth Malhotra and Scott Syris enjoy theirafternoon on a jet boat ride

Kayaking in Maldives

Relaxing at the Club Med Kani island resort

It has a compact towncentre, where everythingis within walkingdistance, including about100 places to dine, whichare often alive duringthe day and night withlive music, and a beautythat’s remarkably picturepostcard perfect. What’smore? You can see it fromevery height and angle.




l

25FEATURES

Expand your social network

to enjoy healthier lifeT

he more social ties people have,

the better their health is during

adolescence and the golden years

of their lives, says a new study.

“Based on these ndings, it should be

as important to encourage adolescents and

young adults to build broad social

relationships and social

skills for interacting

with others as it is to

eat healthy and be

physically active,” said

one of the researchers

Kathleen Harris, professor

at University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill, US.

The study builds on

previous research that

shows that aging adults live

longer if they have more social

connections.

Specically, the team

found that the sheer size of a

person’s social network was

important for health in early and

late adulthood.

In adolescence, that is,

social isolation increased risk of

inammation by the same amount as

physical inactivity while social integration

protected against abdominal obesity.

In old age, social isolation was actually

more harmful to health than diabetes on

developing and controlling hypertension.

In middle adulthood, it was not

the number of social connections that

mattered, but what those connections

provided in terms of social support or

strain, the study said.

“The relationship between health and

t h e degree to which people are

integrated in large social

networks is strongest at

the beginning and at the

end of life, and not so

important

in middle

a d u l t h o o d ,

when the quality, not the quantity, of social

relationships matters,” Harris said.

For the study, the researchers drew ondata from four nationally representative

surveys of the US population that, together,

covered the lifespan from adolescence to

old age.

The study was published in the journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences.

Heartburn pills may raisekidney disease risk

Popping common over-the-counter

pills for controlling stomach acid,

gas and heartburn daily may put

you at chronic kidney disease risk in the

long run, a team from Johns Hopkins

University, Baltimore, and others have

cautioned.

Most commonly prescribed pills like

Omeprazole, Rabeprazole

and Pantoprazole,

which come under the

group called proton

pump inhibitors

(PPIs), appear

to be associated withan increased risk of chronic kidney disease,

warn the researchers.

They, however, say that more research

is needed to determine whether PPI use

causes kidney damage.

“Our study is observational and does not

provide evidence of causality. However, a

causal relationship between PPI use and

CKD could have a considerable public

health eect given the widespread extent

of use,” the authors noted in an article

published online by the journal JAMA

Internal Medicine. The ndings suggest

that up to 70 per cent of these prescriptions

are without indication and that 25 per cent

of long-term PPI users could discontinue

therapy without developing symptoms.

“Indeed, there are already calls for the

reduction of unnecessary use of PPIs,” thestudy noted.

For the study, Morgan E. Grams from

Johns Hopkins and co-authors quantied

the association between PPI use and

incident CKD in the general population

using data on self-reported PPI use in

the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities

(ARIC) study.

In the ARIC group, there

were 56 incident CKD

events among 322

baseline PPI users

(14.2 per 1,000-person

years) and 1,382 events

among 10,160 baseline

nonusers (10.7 per 1,000

person-years).PPI use was associated with risk

of incident CKD in unadjusted and

adjusted analyses.

The 10-year estimated absolute risk of

CKD among the 322 baseline PPI users

was 11.8 per cent while the expected risk

had they not used PPIs was 8.5 per cent,

according to the results.

The authors, however, note that

participants who are prescribed PPIs

may be at higher risk of CKD for reasons

unrelated to their PPI use.

Parents spend more time onFacebook than non-parents

Mobile devices have become

vital tools for parents and they

spend 1.3 times more time on

Facebook than non-parents, a study by

Facebook IQ said.

“Having a child changes everything,

including parents’ relationship with their

mobile phones. Moms’ and dads’ mobile

phones have become their lifeline to

managing schedules, keeping tabs on teens

and sharing their kids’ key milestones,”

Facebook IQ said in a blog post.

“By observing behaviour on Facebook,

we see that parents overindex on mobile

usage. In fact, parents globally spend 1.3X

more time on Facebook mobile than non-

parents,” the blog added.

The social network’s research arm

interviewed parents aged 25 through 65 in

eight markets—Australia, Brazil, Canada,

Germany, Mexico, Spain, Britain and the

US and analysed Facebook and Instagram

data with the help of Ipsos MediaCT and

Sound Research.

Millennial parents (aged 18 through

34) were 30 per cent more likely than

baby boomer parents (50 through 65) to

use their mobile devices to make more

informed purchase decisions, the study

noted.

According to the study, 83 per cent

of parents said they have access to more

information than their parents did. While,

70 per cent of millennial parents said they

are more informed than their parents were,

76 per cent of baby boomers said they

gained access to the Internet and mobile

devices at later stages in life.

Interestingly, more than 50 per cent of

parents said their child or children have

more impact on purchasing decisions than

they did while growing up.The study also revealed that while

parents are sharing more decisions with

their children, they are also learning to

prioritise their own needs so they can be

better equipped to tend to their family.

“Parents are increasingly realising

that if they take care of themselves rst,

they will be able to deal with their daily

responsibilities and stresses and tend

to their family’s needs in a loving and

energetic way,” the blog further read.

Turning off e-mail app on

phone can make you happier I

f reducing stress is on your mind,

turning o the e-mail app on your

phone can be an easy and inexpensive

way to bring happiness back into your life,

new research suggests

E-mail can simultaneously be a great

communication tool and a source of

frustration and stress, the ndings showed.

In a survey of around 2,000 people,

London-based Future Work Centre found

that people who automatically receive

e-mail on their devices are more likely to

report higher levels of e-mail pressure.

The study also pointed out that checking

e-mail earlier in the morning or later atnight is associated with higher levels of

e-mail pressure.

“People who reported higher levels of

e-mail pressure also experienced greater

interference between work and home,” the

report said.

However, how much e-mail pressure

you feel and the extent to which it interferes

with your work-life balance may depend on

your personality.

“Our research shows that e-mail is a

double-edged sword. Whilst it can be a

valuable communication tool, it is clear

that it is a source of stress of frustration

for many of us,” lead author Richard

MacKinnon, insight director, Future Work

Centre, was quoted as saying by Daily Mail .“The people who reported it being

most useful to them also reported

the highest levels of email pressure,”

MacKinnon noted.

Managers experience signicantly

higher levels of e-mail pressure when

compared to non-managers, the results

of the survey showed. “But the habits we

develop, the emotional reactions we have to

messages and the unwritten organisational

etiquette around e-mail, combine into

a toxic source of stress which could be

negatively impacting our productivity and

wellbeing,” MacKinnon said.

Indian

Weekender

To advertise, Call022 - 3251630/021 - 1507950




l

26 FEATURES

Take a power break MAYA SHIVAM

Meditation, a word that can be a

bit daunting for a few people.

Many could be too quick to

say that it is not for them while others

might think of it as a practice for the saints

and sages.

I have been meditating for more than

20 years now and have been introducing

my (very social, party going professional

high yers) friends to it for more than 10

of those years. Needless to say, our tribe/

bunch has seen innumerable benets in our

lives as a result of our practice. However

this must be said that “to take up is easy to

continue is dicult”. But those of us who

have persevered and continued our practiceregardless, are here to share the proof “of

the pudding”. In this rst serve of Soul

Space, we thought we’d start right at the

beginning and do a little introduction into

the world of meditation. This is not meant to

be a religious discourse or a claim of being

a master. This is merely sharing a journey

that is personal and could be dierent

for everyone.

Meditation is no longer an “airy fairy”

concept, but scientic research can clearly

demonstrate the benets of meditation on

the human brain and body. Some of these

benets are now being conrmed with MRI

or EEG scans. The practice appears to have

a variety of neurological benets, fromchanges in gray matter volume to reduced

activity in the various “ght or ight” centers

of the brain to enhanced connectivity

between brain regions. A recent study by

Harvard University was actually able to

prove that Meditation had the power to even

alter one’s DNA—the basic fabric of life. So

if something can alter things at such a deep

basic level, imagine the changes it could

make to our lives on the surface? Skeptics,

of course, may ask what good are a few

brain changes if the psychological eects

aren’t simultaneously being illustrated.

Luckily, there is now evidence for those as

well. Studies report that meditation helps

relieve levels of anxiety and depressionand improve attention, concentration, and

overall psychological well-being. There

are people from around the world who are

claiming to have turned around even serious

medical conditions through meditation and

the power of the mind.

Meditation could be of many types and

because this is such a personal practice, it

is really up to each one of us to decide what

works for us. I have randomly picked up

ve main kinds of meditation practices as

an introduction here. Needless to say, your

personal practice does not need to conformto any one or more of these traditional

practices. These are:

Primordial Sound Meditation (PSM)

PSM is a silent practice that uses a

mantra, a lot like the Hindu meditation

practice. The mantra you receive is the

vibrational sound the universe created

at the time and place of your birth. It’s

calculated following Vedic mathematic

formulas and is very personal and specic

to you. You could even have received it

through your guru or mentor.

Saying your personal mantra, over and

over in your mind, while you concentrate

on your “third eye” (or not, whatever works for you), helps you to enter deeper

levels of awareness by taking you away

from the intellectual side of the brain.

PSM is generally practiced sitting down,

comfortably at a place where you are

unlikely to be disturbed. Dr Deepak Chopra

and Dr David Simon founded this method.

Famous practitioners:

Deepak Chopra and Lady Gaga

Mindfulness Meditation

Established by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979

and now being oered in medical centers,hospitals, and clinics around the world,

Mindfulness Meditation or Mindfulness-

Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) classes

are often taught by health professionals,

to create a partnership in care between the

patient and the medical team.

This technique uses both breath and

body awareness. Breath awareness is just

as it sounds—your attention is focused on

the inhalation and exhalation. The Body

awareness/scan is a process of focused

attention on the physical body starting at

the toes and working your way up to the top

of your head with heightened awareness.

While you do this, you become aware of

any area where you might be holding on tosome tension and then actively relaxing or

releasing the tension or stress. This practicemay be done seated, laying down, or

walking depending on the focus of practice.

Famous practitioner:

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Buddhist or Zen Meditation

This is also referred to as Zazen, which

literally means “seated meditation.” It

comes from Buddhism, which is more of

a philosophy than a religion. You acquire

insight through observing the breath and

the mind. Often times this practice involves

chanting of a mantra.


Dalai Lama and Richard Gere

Kundalini MeditationMeditation in the Kundalini Yoga

tradition entails specic, practical tools

that carefully and precisely support the

mind and guide the body through the use of

breath, mantra, mudra (hand position), and

focus. The range and variety of meditation

techniques in the Kundalini Yoga tradition

are very large.

There are dierent meditations that

reduce stress, work on addictions, increase

vitality, and clear chakras, to name a few.

Since these meditations are so specied,

working with a teacher is a large part of

this tradition.


Sting and Jennifer AnistonThere are many other forms of

meditation and for those who may nd

themselves inspired after reading this, I

can only encourage them to either search

for “your own” practice online or reach

out to someone who you think already

practices. There are several guided

meditations available online. You could

check out Deepak Chopra’s Chopra Centre

website, or myheadspace.com or others

as a starting point. You could also write

to [email protected] for

more information.

Next time we will talk about the various

benets of meditation in some more detail.

Until then, take some time out, sit still and just breathe.

Kite festivalDate: Saturday, Jan 16 - 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Venue: Avondale Racecourse, 90 Ash

Street, Avondale, Auckland

A family day out with kite ying, stageperformances, face painting, food stalls,colour competition and many more funactivities. Buy rae ticket to go into the

draw to win Return air ticket for India. Freeparking available. For more information,contact Manhar Patel on 09 6270380.

Pongal and Chennaiood relief fundraisingprogramme

Date: Sunday, January 31

Time: 6 pm onwards

Venue: Mt Eden War memorial Hall, 489

Dominion Rd,

Mt Eden, Auckland

Muthtamil Sangam Inc. is organising afundraiser to help Chennai ood victims. Itis also an opportunity to celebrate Pongalwith the community. The entertainment

includes Tamil folk dance by AnujaySchool of Dance, drama by MervinConstantine and team and karaoke musicby Ravi Muthumanikam and team. Entryfee for adults is $15, children aged 4and above $10. Collected funds will bedistributed through Agaram foundation.

Free employmentassistance workshopsDate: Tuesday, January 19, Tuesday,

February 2 and Wednesday, February 10

Time: 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on January

19 and February 2 and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

on February 10

Venue: Auckland Regional Migrant

Services (ARMS), 532 Mt Albert Road,

Three Kings

ARMS is organising two free job searchworkshops for new migrants. Theworkshop provides new Kiwis with adviceand guidance on nding work, writing aCV and cover letter, answering interviewquestions and communicating withpotential employers. The seminar is opento newcomers on full work visas and whohave been in New Zealand for less thantwo years.On Wednesday, February 10, ARMS is

holding a special LinkedIn workshop,teaching migrants how to use professionalnetworking website to improve theirchances of nding work. The workshopis open to all migrants and costs $15.Toregister and for more information, contact

ARMS on [email protected] orcall 09 625 2440.

Sun and Sound— Takapuna BeachDate: Saturday, January 16

Time: noon to 11:30 p.m.

Venue: Takapuna Beach, The Strand, Auckland

Sit back and tune into the fresh funkysounds of Auckland’s premium summerDJs. Head to Takapuna for a day of sun,sound, beer, food and beach games.General admission tickets are priced at$29.




l

27SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

‘Villages on the mooncan be reality by 2030’ V

illages on the moon,

constructed through

cooperation between

astronauts and robotic systems

on the lunar surface, can become

a reality as early as 2030, a group

of scientists has predicted.

Scientists are exploring the

idea of “moon villages” that can

serve as a potential springboard

for future human missions to

Mars and potentially other deeper

space missions.

In order for that vision to

become a reality, scientists must

rst determine if the resources on

the Moon are as signicant as we

think they are.

“We keep talking about lunar resources

but we still need to demonstrate they can

be used a (that) they are, in fact, reserves,”

said Clive Neal, a planetary geologist fromthe University of Notre Dame in the US.

The ground truth verication of deposit

size, composition, form and homogeneity

requires a coordinated prospecting

programme as a rst step.

“The next step would demonstrate

extraction techniques followed

by renement of the product into

usable commodity.

“A successful programme would then

clearly demonstrate that lunar resources

can enable solar system exploration,”

he said. Neal’s research explores the origin

and evolution of the Moon, focusing on the

petrology and geochemistry of returned

samples coupled with geophysics and other

remotely sensed datasets.

It looks at the geophysical

instrumentation and investigations of the

Moon, formation of impact melts, and more

basalt petrogenesis.

In this regard, the European Space

Agency (ESA) hosted a symposium

titled “Moon 2020-2030– A New Era

of Coordinated Human and Robotic

Exploration”, in the Netherlands recently.

According to Neal, who attended the

conference, the ESA meeting highlighted

technology development in terms of

precision landing, robotic sample return,

and cryogenic sampling, caching, return

and curation.

NASA mission nds100 new alien planetsN

ASA’s planet-hunting revamped

Kepler mission has found morethan 100 conrmed planets

orbiting other stars.

The information about the planets,

some of which are dierent from what thespacecraft observed during its original

mission, was shared by University ofArizona’s Ian Crosseld at a conference

of the American Astronomical Society,

National Geographic reported. Accordingto the report, many newly-found planets are

in multi-planet systems and orbit stars thatare brighter and hotter than the stars in the

original Kepler eld.

It has also found a system with threeplanets that are bigger than Earth, spotted a

planet in the Hyades star cluster—the nearest

open star cluster to Earth—and discovered aplanet being ripped apart as it orbits a white

dwarf star.“Scientists have also found 234 possible

planets that are awaiting conrmation,”

Andrew Vanderburg of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said.

Meanwhile, Tom Barclay of NASA’s Ames

Research Centre said that spacecraft isprobing dierent types of planets (than the

original Kepler mission). With a mission to determine how

common Earth-like planets are, Kepler

stared at the same patch of star-lled sky,watching for periodic blips in starlight

caused by orbiting planets and from

2009 to 2013, Kepler discovered morethan 1,000 new planets.With a tweak

to its steering ability, scientists rectied

the mechanical malfunction of Kepler’slost ability to stare at the same exact

spot. Since then, K2 has been spying on

supernovas, and studying planets orbitingour star.

In 2014, it spent about 70 days observing

Neptune, studying the ice giant’s extremely windy weather and would also attempt to

spot planets that are wandering through thegalaxy without stars of their own.

Among its notable discoveries, K2

has spotted strong evidence of a tiny,rocky object being torn apart as it spirals

around a white dwarf star and discovered

a new planet orbiting two stars and located within its host stars’ “habitable zone”, the

area around the stars in which life could

potentially exist.It also collected data to reveal that our

solar system was born 4.6 billion years agoand only eight percent of the potentially

habitable planets that will ever form in the

universe existed. ASA’s Kepler mission had also conrmed

the rst near-Earth-size planet in the

“habitable zone” around a Sun-like star.

Scientists are exploring the idea of "moon villages" that can serve as apotential springboard for future human missions to Mars and potentially otherdeeper space missions

CES 2016—THE MAGNIFICENT SEVENMAHESH K

The year has started with a big bang

for tech enthusiasts. Every yearin January, CES or the Consumer

Electronics Show takes place in Las Vegas.The show marks new product launches and

sets the tech trend for the year to come.

This year, too, CES 2016 unveiled somecool gadgets and tech concepts, ranging

from automobiles, televisions, mobile

devices to virtual reality, wearable devicesand drones.

While I haven’t been to CES myself

(maybe next year), I have scanned everyreport from tech journals, blogs, etc. and

below are seven of my favourite gadgetsor products.

Faraday Future FFZero1 Concept

If you are a car lover (and who isn’t),

you must have got the buzz about FFZero1.

Faraday Future—the new kid on the electricluxury cars block—sprang this ‘concept

racing car’, which looks like a batmobile or acar time-travelling from

the future. Even

t h o u g hthe car

might not

see the road being just a ‘concept’,it did showcase the ability of Chinese-

backed Faraday Future that designed this

electric, 1,000-horsepower single-seater

with carbon bre body in just 18 months.

It is an impressive platform and greattechnology, which promises production

models that might be coming soon.

Watch out, Tesla!

Chevy Bolt

While Tesla and Faraday Future fuel ourfantasies with their luxurious EVs, Chevy

Bolt might be the EV that most of us will be practically content with. Yes, ‘practical’

is the word here. It is an aordable yet

powerful oering that boasts of a 200-plus mile range, plenty of space with

comfortable seating for ve. GM is alsoproud of the infotainment

system that

features astunning 10.2-inch

t o u c h s c r e e n

‘ M y L i n k ’system. So

for aroundU S $ 3 0 , 0 0 0 ,

you could say goodbye to

petrol and go fully electric instyle.

Casio WSD-F10

With almost every OEM launching

a smartwatch, Casio too jumped the fray.It unveiled its rst Android wear-based

smartwatch WSD-F10 at CES 2016. It is

tougher and rugged with water-resistance

up to 50 metres and MSL-STD-810 militarycompliance. The watch has a 1.32-inch

screen with a resolution of 320x300. You can choose between monochrome

and full-colour mode. Sensors onboard

include a pressure sensor, compass andaccelerometer with the ability to check

altitude, air pressure, tide graphs and

trek activity. At US$500, it does not come cheap.

WSD-F10 goes on sale in April.

Ehang passenger drone

It’s a drone, but it’s not un-manned.

Ehang, a Chinese drone maker, launchedEHang 184, an Autonomous Aerial Vehicle

(AAV), which can seat a human. Accordingto the company, it is the safest, eco-est and

smartest low-altitude autonomous aerial vehicle, aiming at providing medium-short

distance communication and transportation

solution. This beautifully designed dronecan y at a top speed of 100 kilometres per

hour, at a maximum altitude of 11,000 feet

on a roughly 23-minute trip. The all-electricdrone will have to clear various safety

checks and policy makers before you can

get inside it.

HTC Vive

At this year, virtual reality outshone

reality itself, from Oculus to HTC and many

other companies showcasing their versionof VR headsets. HTC got some rave reviews

for Vive. It is pretty slick and combines

the virtual world with the real and lets youimmerse in your game while still being

aware of your real space. You need tocheck the demos out on YouTube or HTC’s

website! It is awesome!

Bang & Olufsen’sBeoLab 90

Stunning! Gorgeous! Out of the world!

This describes B&O’s new speakers. Whilethey look pretty and beautiful, they are

a beast when it comes to sound. You cancontrol them through your smartphone

and get dierent directional modes. Thereare 18 state-of-the-art loudspeaker drivers,

which can be controlled to customise sound

for either solo listening, group listening orradial mode for 360-degree sound. In total,

the ampliers can deliver up to 8200 watts

per loudspeaker. And did I mention theylook amazing?

Withings Thermo

The humble thermometer is going

high-tech. Withings’ WiFi-connectedthermometer, Thermo, can be used by just

hovering over the skin. Designed for littleones, it can be used by parents without waking up or disturbing the baby. I t’s less

invasive and thus more hygienic. FeaturingHotSpotSensor technology, it even has a

dedicated app to track readings and get

reminders. It has 16 infrared sensors andcan read temperature accurately in only

two seconds.




l

28 ENTERTAINMENT

Anushka to staropposite Salmanin Sultan

B

ollywood actress Anushka Sharma

has been nalised as the female

lead opposite superstar Salman

Khan for the upcoming lm Sultan, said astatement from Yash Raj Films.

Anushka, who made her debut in Hindi

cinema in 2008 took to Twitter, to share a

photograph of herself hugging the Dabangg

star. The NH10 actress captioned the image

saying: Sultan.

Produced by Aditya Chopra and written-

directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, Sultan, which

has been shot in Karjat, is reportedly based

on the life of a wrestler.

One of the ttest stars of Bollywood,

Salman has gone through intensive training

for wrestling and mixed martial arts for

Zafar’s directorial with international action

director Larnell Stovall.

Sultan is slated to release on Eid 2016.

Being an outsider, I’mworking with goodpeople: Aditi Rao

A ctress Aditi Rao Hydari, who has

shared screen space with megastar

Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan

Akhtar in Wazir, says she’s glad that even

though she doesn’t have a Bollywood

background and is an “outsider” in the

Hindi lm industry, she is “working with

really good people”.

Aditi had, in an earlier interview,

said that she felt like an “outsider” in

the industry.

Asked if having done lms such as

Delhi-6, Yeh Saali Zindagi , Khoobsuratand now Wazir, has changed her views,

Aditi said here: “When I say I’m an outsider,

I mean that my family is not from the

industry... There are so many people who

struggle to get into the industry and being

that outsider, I am working with really

good people.” The 29-year-old actress plays

Farhan’s wife Ruhana in Bejoy Nambiar-

directed Wazir. Aditi says she doesn’t know

“how the industry works”, so she “learns

something new every day” and “looks at it

as positive thing”. “Sometimes it makes you

weak, sometimes it makes you excited but

mostly it’s magic, because I feel privileged

every day,” she added.

The Boss actress said she loves “being an

actor”. “I love being a drama queen in frontof the camera. I really enjoy it.”

India needs lm likeGandhi vs Aazaad :Director

A bhay Kumar, who is set make his

directorial debut with Gandhi vs

Aazaad , says India desperately

needs a lm like this.

“I feel today’s youth, in fact India,

desperately needs a lm like Gandhi vs

Aazaad . It’s a controversial lm, but it also

depicts some facts from Indian history.

The world will see the other side of Gandhi

which they have not seen yet,” Abhay said.

Abhay, grandson of the Bombay Talkies

studio founder Raj Narayan Dube, has

decided to revive the banner with the anti-

Gandhi lm. Dev Anand, Ashok Kumar and

Meena Kumari-starrer Baadbaan was the

last lm released by the studio in 1954.

He said the lm was in its editing stage.

“Almost 95 per cent of the lm is ready. I

am planning to release it in February but

let’s see.” The historical drama will also see

Abhay in the title role of revolutionary hero

Chandra Shekhar Azad.

Big B, Ranveer shareBest Actor award

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan

shared the Best Actor award(male) with Ranveer Singh at

the Screen Awards 2016.

While Big B was honoured for his role in

Piku, Ranveer was adjudged the best actor

for his spectacular work in Bajirao Mastani .

The award for the Best Actor in female

category went to the amboyant Deepika

Padukone for her stunning performance

in Piku.

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor

was conferred with the Life Time

Achievement award.

Meanwhile, the award for the popular

choice in male and female categories

went to Shah Rukh khan, for Dilwale, and

Deepika for Bajirao Mastani respectively.

Versatile actor Irrfan Khan bagged the

Jury Choice Best Actor (Male) and KalkiKoechlin won the Jury Choice Best Actor

(Female).The red carpet of the gala event

witnessed the presence Amitabh Bachchan,

Sonam Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi

Sinha, Subhash Ghai, Shabana Azmi

and Rishi Kapoor among others.

Katrina saysFitoor new despitehaving read GreatExpectations

A ctress Katrina Kaif considers her

upcoming drama Fitoor a freshlm despite having read the

Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations

on which it is based.

“I’ve read the book and I’ve seen the lms

that have been made on it. So when I got the

script from Abhishek, I really just judged it

on as an entirely new movie because most of

the people who’ll see the lm will probably

not have read the book,” said Katrina, who

was present with her co-star Aditya Roy

Kapur and director Abhishek Kapoor to

promote the lm at a radio station.

“Honestly, I found it to be one of the

most romantic stories I’ve ever heard and

ever read. For me that was instantly where

I wanted to be a part of it because I think

everybody loves romance and passion. And this lm just depicted it in a beautiful,

classic way,” she added.

Great Expectations, rst published in

1861, has been adapted into various lms,

plays and television shows and even novels.

After adapting Chetan Bhagat’s Three

Mistakes Of My Life for Kai Po Che, Kapoor

has taken up a novel again.

“I had read the book several years earlier,

during my childhood in school. The heart

and soul of the book is very basic... in any

country or place, people are able to relate

to this story because it is about love and

about heartbreak.

However, lead actor Aditya, who plays a

character inspired from the character Pip,

hasn’t read the book. “Gattu (Abhishek) had

adapted the book into a script. And If I wasgoing to read the book and those elements

are not going to be there in the script,

then it would not make any sense because

I’d be looking for things that don’t exist.

Fitoor also stars Tabu in a

pivotal role.

Wazir mints Rs.5.57crore on opening day

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and

actor-lm-maker Farhan Akhtarstarrer action thriller lm Wazir

collected Rs.5.57 crore on its rst day.

The Bejoy Nambiar directorial, which

released on Friday, has received a good

response in multiplexes. The lm collected

Rs.4.07 crore overseas on rst day, thustaking its opening day worldwide total to

Rs.9.64 crore.

“It is very touching that a lm, which

opened at 10 per cent was running at 80–

90 per cent in most cinemas by the time

the day ended on Friday. It is running to

almost full houses today (Saturday), and

I’m grateful to my audience for that,”

lm-maker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who has

produced the lm, said in a statement.

The lm, which also stars Aditi Rao

Hydari, Neil Nitin Mukesh and John

Abraham among others, tells the story of

two unusual friends—a paralysed chess

grandmaster (Amitabh) and a grief-stricken

ATS ocer (Farhan).

Priyanka wins‘Favourite Actress’at People’s Choice Awards 2016

Bollywood actress and former Miss

World Priyanka Chopra made India

proud yet again. She won a People’s

Choice Award for her international acting

debut as FBI agent Alex Parish in American

TV thriller series Quantico. She is said

to be the rst South Asian actress to win

the honour.

Priyanka was named the Favourite

Actress in a New TV series at the gala last

week in Los Angeles. She was pitted against

actresses like Emma Roberts, Jamie LeeCurtis, Lea Michele and Marcia Gay Harden.

Ecstatic with the victory, Priyanka said:

“I’d like to thank everyone who voted for

Quantico. It is my rst year in the US, and

to come to another country and actually

get this kind of acceptance is I guess what

America is all about.”

“So, thank you for accepting me, thank

you to my mom, my manager, the cast

and crew, the writer, ABC...everyone. I’m

really overwhelmed.”

She was given the trophy by Hollywood

action star Vin Diesel, who also gave a

touching tribute to his late Fast and Furious

co-star Paul Walker by singing the song See

you again during the course of the show.

Priyanka looked glamorous in a

shimmery dress by American fashion

designer Vera Wang, and stood out with

her smoky eye make-up. A National Award-

winning actress in India, Priyanka’s acting

repertoire includes lms such as Andaaz ,

Aitraaz , Krrish, Fashion and Mary Kom.

Her last big screen outing as Kashibai in

Bajirao Mastani last year has also won

praises galore. The People’s Choice Award—

which recognises the people and the work

of popular culture through votes given by

the general public—for Priyanka comes as a

llip to her international career, which rst began as a singer in 2012 with her single

In my city. She went on to collaborate with

American rapper Pitbull for Exotic in 2013.

Priyanka will next be seen onscreen in the

forthcoming Bollywood lm Jai Gangaajal ,

which is slated to release on March 4.




l

29ENTERTAINMENT

Netflix in India: the ifs and buts ofon-demand streaming ANKIT SINHA

The arrival of popular American on-

demand streaming website Netix

in India has given much reason

to cheer, but users have raised concerns

on data consumption and Internet speed.

Nevertheless, the excitement is at its peak,

especially since the content comes without

censorship.

A quick look at the Netix original series

Narcos, which features some intimate

lovemaking scenes, armed that there is no

discernible censorship, which could bother

viewers, who are mostly used to snipped

and beeped content.

“Netix is an on-demand service thatallows people to choose to sign up and

decide what, where and when to watch.

The service includes ratings guides

and episode synopses to help people

decide, and we also provide a PIN-code

system to ensure children can’t view

certain content,” a Netix spokesperson

said.

There’s a melange of exclusive content,

including Netix original TV series such

as Marvel’s Daredevil , Marco Polo and

Narcos, as well as Netix original movies,

documentaries, stand-up comedies and TV

shows for children in addition to a broad

variety of licensed programming.

There are also popular Hindi lms

such as Piku, Singh is Kinng, Hum

Aapke Hain Koun..!, Hate Story and

Hum Saath Saath Hain, with a promise

to add more “as the service grows

in popularity”.

Upon its much-anticipated launch in

India, Netix is oering a free one-monthsubscription to users. After that, there are

three monthly paid plans available, which

are worth Rs.500, Rs.650 and Rs.800,

which can be paid with an international

credit card via Netix, through the iTunes

app store in most markets and via Paypal.

As per Netix, watching lms or TV

shows on its site can exhaust about 1 GB of

data per hour for each stream of standard

HD video, and up to 3 GB per hour for each

stream of HD video.

Despite that, it’s got the potential for being a game-changer, believes lm and TV

industry veteran Amit Khanna.

“It ushers in anytime, anywhere, any

screen video on demand. As Netix and

similar services such as Amazon, Hulu

and Hooq enlarge their repertoire along

with the advent of true broadband and

4G, lmed entertainment will change

forever,” Khanna, the former chairman of

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Entertainment

Limited said.

Netix’s launch has created a great buzz

among movie and TV show acionados

in the country, many of whom believe

it’s a great move, yet data consumption

and slow Internet speed could act asdeterrents. Delhi-based event manager

Saurabh Zutshi, 27, believes “it’s a pretty

good deal”, but data consumption could be

a restriction.

However, 19-year-old engineering

student Nehal Shastri, raised an important

concern regarding the expenses of

broadband in India.

“It’s one thing to pay a subscription fee,

but one will also have to pay signicantly

more for their broadband if they want

to replace their DTH services,” he said, while 23-year-old student Nikhil Warekar

feels Netix will face a “massive technical

challenge” in India due to slow Internet

speed.

“Majority of Indian Internet users

can’t even stream YouTube videos

without waiting for buering. How would

that feel while streaming a movie?” he

commented. Time and again, the lm

industry in India has rued about the issue

of piracy in the country. Will the launch of

Netix solve this issue?

Bangalore based digital specialist

Sandesh Shenoy, 37, feels that Netix might

“make a dent into piracy”.

“The pricing is very attractive and any

middle class person can aord it on a

monthly fee basis. I denitely would be

interested in subscribing to such a service,”

he said.

Netix also addresses the question

regarding adjusting data usage, with four

settings: Low (0.3 GB/hour), medium (SD:

0.7 GB/hour), High (Best video quality, up

to 3 GB/hour for HD and 7 GB/hour for

Ultra HD) and auto.

Asif Kapadia’s Amy earns

two BAFTA nominationsB

ritish lm-maker of Indian origin

Asif Kapadia’s documentary Amy, which is based on the life and

death of singer Amy Winehouse, has been

nominated in the Outstanding British

Film and Documentary award catego

Film Awards.

Amy, the highest-grossing British

documentary of all time, gives an insight

into the short, volatile and dichotomous

life of the jazz diva, who was found dead on

July 2011 from alcohol poisoning at the age

of 27 at her home in Camden here. This lm

encapsulates her personal and professional

life till her death. In the Outstanding

British Film category, Amy is up against

The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, Brooklyn,

The Lobster and 45 Years, read a statement

on the ocial site of the British Academy of

Film and Television Arts.

While in the Documentary category,

the lm has been nominated alongside

Matthew Heineman’s Cartel Land , Davis

Guggenheim’s He Named Me Malala,

Marlon Stevan Riley’s Listen to Me and

Jennifer Peedom’s Sherpa.

The golden nightESHA CHANDA

R icky Gervais’ crass humour might

have left many in the industry

bitter, but for the winners of the73rd Golden Globes, the night was nothing

less than a delight.

The Revenant triumphed at this year’s

ceremony by taking away the top awards—best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio and best

motion picture: drama—closely followed

by Ridley Scott’s The Martian. If the

nomination of the movie in the category of

best motion picture: comedy or musical andbest performance by an actor in a motion

picture: comedy or musical had proven

to be controversial, the win left the social

media questioning and mocking the Golden

Globe’s decision.Brie Larson won the best performance

by an actress in a motion picture: drama for

her emotionally wrenching performance in

Room and Jennifer Lawrence took away theaward of best performance by an actress

in a motion picture: musical or comedy

for Joy.

Kate Winslet and Sylvester Stallone

won awards for their performances in asupporting role in Steve Jobs and Creed

respectively. George Miller was awarded the

best director for Mad Max: Fury Road and

the best screenplay went to Aaron Sorkin

for Steve Jobs. Pixar’s Inside Out took awaythe award for best animated feature lm

and Son of Saul claimed the best foreign

language category.

In the television circuit, Mr Robotwon the best television series: drama and

Mozart in the Jungle clinched the title of

best television series: comedy. Jon Hamm

of the famed Mad Men series won an award

for his role as Don Draper and Taraji PHenson was awarded for performance

in television series: drama for her role

in Empire.

Other winners:FilmBest Original Song— Writing’s on the

Wall, SpectreBest Original Score—The Hateful Eight

TelevisionBest performance by an actress

in a television series: comedy ormusical—Rachel Bloom, Crazy

Ex-Girlfriend Best performance by an actor in a

television series: comedy or musical— GaelGarcía Bernal, Mozart in the Jungle

Best performance by an actress in aminiseries or motion picture made fortelevision—Lady Gaga, American Horror

Story: Hotel Best performance by an actor in

a miniseries or motion picture madefor television—Oscar Issac, Show Mea Hero

Best performance by an actor insupporting role a miniseries or motionpicture made for television—MauraTierney, The Affair

Best performance by an actor insupporting role a miniseries or motionpicture made for television—ChristianSlater, Mr Robot

Best miniseries—Wolf Hall

Malala Yousafzai documentary gets BAFTA nomination

H e Named Me Malala—a

documentary on the life of

Pakistani activist for femaleeducation and the youngest-ever Nobel

Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai—has landed

a nomination in the Documentary categoryof the upcoming 69th British Academy

Film Awards.Directed by American lm-maker Davis

Guggenheim, the lm opens a facet of

Malala’s life on the big screen and tells aninspiring story of how a teenage girl, who

was shot in the head on her way to school in

Pakistan in 2012 by Taliban, is undeterred

by the threats and continues her ght forgirls’ right to education.

The documentary is nominated for anaward alongside lm-maker Asif Kapadia’s

Amy that depicts the life and death of singer Amy Winehouse, Matthew Heineman’s

Cartel Land , Marlon Stevan Riley’s Listen

to Me and Jennifer Peedom’s Sherpa,

read a statement on the ocial site of the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

The 69th British Academy Film Awards

will be held on February 14 at the RoyalOpera House.

He Named Me Malala is also expected to

get nominated in the same category at theupcoming 88th Academy Awards, whose

nal nominations will be announced on

January 14.




l

30 FEATURES

Farida Master

A master storyteller Farida Master lives in the pulsating world of media. In her three-decade-long journey, she has written stories for leading publication backhome and in New Zealand, handled the end-to-end production of newspapers and magazines and has published two books. In an exclusiveinterview with Indian Weekender , the Auckland-based senior journalist speaks about her stint in the industry, the differences between Indianand New Zealand media and the challenges she faced while working her recent book An Uncensored Life .

ESHA CHANDA

IWK: You came to New Zealand with avast experience in Indian media. Howdifferent do you think is the eld in

New Zealand compared to India?

Farida: It’s very dierent and still

the same.

Most journalists from overseas nd it

dicult to nd a foot-in-the-door but we

are gradually getting there. Every time I see

a byline of an Indian journalist in the local

papers, I sit up and silently applaud them

for making it out there. I do believe that

immigrants are a brave breed of people who

take on the challenge of starting afresh. It’s

as if you have wiped your slate clean of all

the goodwill, friends and contacts you have

created in your country of birth.There are a couple of reasons why it

can be tough to nd a toehold and it’s

mainly because all papers demand New

Zealand experience, and rightly so. Also,

there aren’t as many publications, and the

scribes who have been around love their

jobs with a passion and will probably be

around for the next 20 years. Unlike India,

there is not much movement of journalists

in the editorial departments of

mainstream papers.

In terms of being similar, if you are

a storyteller and you have the nose for

sning up good stories, you will continue

to do so whichever corner of the globe you

may be in. It is a skill that will travel with

you everywhere you go, through land or sea

or shore.

IWK: What was the reason behind

your move?

Farida: All of us are constantly looking

for new adventures, and that probably

was one of the reasons why I may have

consented to move here, although the main

moving force behind the relocation was my

better half that was keen to live in a 100

per cent pure, green country with clean air

to breathe. He’d heard it was a crime-free

country and that the politicians are as clean

as the air we breathe.

IWK: You’ve been in the industry for

30 years. Your journey so far.

Farida: Never a dull moment, I say! Not

many people get to meet so many wildly

interesting or inspiring people and have an

opportunity to probe into their minds and

ask many questions, all in the name of work.

One thing is for sure, as a journalist, I

have interesting stories to tell.

Having started my career with Stardust

in the early ’80s, there are still people who

ask me about the matinee idols and the real

life stories vs the reel ones. It was almost

after 10 years that I stepped out of the ivory

tower that lm stars live in, to interview

everyday people for the city magazine,

Citadel that I later edited. My rst reaction

then was of surprise. I hadn’t realised till

then that people are so easy to interview

and want to share their stories of triumph

and tribulations they’ve faced.

Being the editor of Pune Times of

India with a huge readership was another

whirlwind of activity, people and their

timeless stories that were food for the soul.

As was editing Society Fashion—an ode to

high fashion, uplifting photography and

creativity that rocked my being.

IWK: You have two books to your

credit—The Making of a Legend

and An Uncensored Life. What was

your reason behind working on

these books?

Farida: It’s about taking the leap of

faith and grabbing opportunities that come

your way. Nothing was premeditated. Dr K.

B Grant, the founder of Ruby Hall Clinic,

which is a state-of-the-art hospital in

Pune, had asked me to write his biography

someday since I had interviewed him over aperiod of time when I was editing Citadel .

Strangely, I nally took on the challenge

after I resigned from Pune Times to move

bag and baggage to New Zealand. I thought

this would keep me busy for the rst six

months and give me time to introspect

about the big shift.

However, fate had other things in store.

My dear mum suered a stroke on the

day I was about to leave for New Zealand.

She was hospitalised at Ruby Hall Clinic,

where I knew all the doctors. I, of course,

postponed my trip and wrote the biography

whilst I practically lived at the hospital for

a month.

On the other hand, An Uncensored Life, biography of Zerbanoo Giord happened

at a time, almost 10 years later when I

asked the universe for an all-consuming

challenge that would nourish my being. I

was freelancing for a short while and the

opportunity for the book came through then.

Society magazine that I used to occasionally

write for asked me to write an article

on the top Zoroastrians in the world

who had contributed to humanity.

I contacted Zerbanoo Giord for

the article and the rest is history. In

retrospect, both

the books

h a v e

b e e n

a great

l e a r n i n g

curve for me.

IWK: What is the most

challenging part while working on a

book?

Farida: Working on the biography was

simply mind-boggling, starting with Ms

Giord’s neatly arranged archives in the

attic of her home. I had never seen anythinglike that before. There were hundreds of

articles, written by journalists all over the

world. Meticulously led documents cards,

notes, photographs, newspaper cuttings,

elbowed for attention. At rst glance, I

thought it would take me a decade to go

through the wall-to-wall cabinets that

housed the documentation. A ery lady

who believes in the ‘power of now’, it was at

times hard to keep up with her physically,

mentally and emotionally. She was always

on to planning her next big project before

I could fully comprehend the last one.

Sometimes as she jumped from one chapter

of her life to another, I had to gure out the

timelines and sequence of events.However, the most dicult part was

digging deep to uncover those hurtful

incidents in her life that she had locked

away in the inner recesses of her mind. Not

the kind to brood over past misgivings—

since she is always on the go—I felt terrible

about opening up old wounds to understand

the intricate weaves in the fabric of her life,

and how they unfolded. I am truly thankful

to her for trusting me enough to reveal theinnermost secrets and give me a glimpse of

the most vulnerable moments of her life.

She now calls me Socrates, her philosopher

and shrink and recommends everyone

should have a biography written. I do hope

that An Uncensored Life acts as a catalyst

and enables readers to become game-

changers and make every moment count.

IWK: A great tip that has helped you

achieve your goals.

Farida: When one door closes, the

other opens.

Have faith in yourself and the

universal spirit that makes things

magically happen. Also, don’t

be too cautious.

Grab every opportunity

that comes your way.

Don’t look at the

monetary factor. Do

things to help others

and the good karma

pays you back a

hundred fold.

Above all, listen

to your inner voice

and don’t be afraid

to take chances.

IWK: Any advice

for the ones

who are new tothe industry?

Farida: Keep going,

there are lots more

opportunities in the media

than there were earlier.

Remember, where there are

people, there are stories. Think

of an innovative idea, a good angle

and approach editors with four to ve

ideas neatly keyed in. Most times, they will

approve of at least one or two ideas.

Once you have got a foothold in a

publication and established a relationship,

the rest is relatively easy.

IWK: Do you have any other projects

in the pipeline? Any excitingnews/updates?

Farida: After a grand book release

in India, which we recently had,

An Uncensored Life published by

HarperCollins India, followed by public

readings in Auckland at the Swaminarayan

Temple, Botany Library, the Auckland Art

Gallery and Auckland Library—that Ranjna

Patel kindly helped organise—there are

plans to do more book readings locally,

before we release the biography in the UK,

US, Dubai and Mauritius. That is a lot of

work and planning to do. But right now, I

am just enjoying getting back to normalcy

with my job at the Botany and Ormiston

Times. Sometimes routine is good to takestock of things.

Two copies of An Uncensored Life areavailable with Indian Weekender. If youwould like to receive one, please drop ane-mail to [email protected]

Photo credit: Pradeep Shetty




l

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Indian Weekender 16 January 2016

Documents

Transcript of Indian Weekender 16 January 2016