Indian

Community | 10
Gift of education

June 17, 2011 Volume 3, No. 5

www.iwk.co.nz

New Zealands first Indian weekend magazine

For Free distributioN

The Pulse of Kiwi Indians Fiji | 18

Jaipur team fulfills dreams

Bollywood | 21
ranvir is a good dad - Konkana

Pg:30
GOPIO raises funds for ambulance Pg:4

DVD Launch Party

Pg:8
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trade, Fta will be focus of Pms india visit

ranging, but are likely to focus on making further progress on the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. The trade potential of the India market is huge and we have set a target of growing two-way trade from NZ$1.28 billion to NZ$3 billion by 2014. We want greater engagement across a range of sectors, including science and innovation, BollywoodNZ film co-productions, defence, tourism and education, says Mr Key. The Prime Minister will also promote the governments India strategy which aims to position India as a core political, economic and trade partner for New Zealand by 2015. The strategy has been developed by government agencies in consultation with business, exporters and academics. The key to this strategy is to successfully negotiate an FTA with India - one of our top trade negotiating priorities. This will help expand businesses, create jobs and result in a stronger New Zealand economy, says Mr Key. India New Zealand Business Council Chairman Wenceslaus Anthony told Indian Weekender that the council would take advantage of the opportunity to further raise its profile in India and New Zealand, so as to most favourably reflect on and enhance the interests of its members. INZBC is the longest-established New Zealand business association that exclusively promotes, develops and maintains bilateral trade, business and services relationships between India and New Zealand. The council is independent, inclusive, credible, resourceful, politically influential and relevant to NZ-India and the only one of its kind in New Zealand. The members represent a wide range of business, sectors and industry including companies like Fonterra, Solid Energy and KPMG, Mr Anthony said. INZBC is seeking to increase and deepen the range of Indian-based collaborations that of FICCI such as a recent connection with IBEF and also explore the possibility with other like-minded organisations, Mr Anthony added. The Prime Minister and his del-

Prime Minister John Key

Mr Anthony

Wellington: Developing an already strong relationship and boosting two way trade will be the focus of Prime Minister John Keys upcoming visit to India. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by Minister of Trade, Tim Groser, and a 25-strong business delegation from New Zealand. India is a rapidly rising player in the Asia-Pacific region, and we want to build on our already strong economic, social and sporting ties. This visit demonstrates the value New Zealand places on the relationship. Leading such a diverse and high-profile delegation to visit Indias largest cities is exciting, and will open many doors for New Zealand business, says Mr Key. The Prime Minister will meet Indias Prime Minister Singh in New Delhi. Discussions will be wide-

The trade potential of the India market is huge and we have set a target of growing two-way trade from NZ$1.28 billion to NZ$3 billion by 2014.

egation will leave for India on June 26 and return on July 1. They will visit New Delhi, Agra and Mumbai on the trip, which has generously been accorded state visit status by the Government of India.

Accountant wins certification

The Financial Markets Authority has certified Ravi Mehta of Professional Financial Services as an Authorised Financial Adviser. Mr Mehta is a popular, long time Indian Weekender columnist. The certification is with effect from July 1, 2011, a date after which only authorised financial advisers will be able to do financial planning and offer advice. The advisers who are only registered but not authorised will not be allowed from this date.

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New Zealands Broadcasting Standards Au- His subsequent comment, which associthority has fined Television New Zealand ated the words dick shit with people of (TVNZ) ordering it to pay $3000 costs Indian descent was not only derogatory but for former Breakfast host Paul Henrys entirely dissonant with common decency and a clear breach of the remarks about Delhi discrimination and deniChief Minister gration standard, the Shiela Dikshit on New Zealands authority has ruled. October 1 last year. It called his comments Henry had reBroadcasting not only derogatory but peatedly misproStandards entirely dissonant with nounced the Chief common decency and a Ministers last name authority has clear breach of the disand added derisive fined Television crimination and denigracomments amid tion standard. hysterical laughter. New Zealand The authoritys deHe said the name (TVNZ) ordering cision said Henrys was so approprimanner, which included ate because shes it to pay $3000 sneering and uncontrolIndian, so she would lable laughter during the be dick in shit costs for former segment, worsened his when walking the Breakfast host offence. streets. In our view, the The remarks Paul Henrys breaches called for a firm caused a stir in remarks about and unqualified accepnot just Indian but tance that the comments in global media delhi Chief were unacceptable, and circles. The Indian Minister Shiela for a prompt and ungovernment reacted equivocal statement and strongly enough dikshit apology broadcast on to elicit an official Breakfast. apology from the The authority agreed New Zealand government. We consider that Mr Henrys with the complainants that an order requirrepeated ridicule of Ms Dikshits name ing TVNZ to broadcast a statement conamounted to a sustained and deliberate taining a comprehensive summary of its attack against the Chief Minister personally. decision was warranted.

TVNZ fined for Henrys GoPio raises funds for Sheila Dikshit comment community ambulance
GOPIO NZ (Global Organisation of Persons of Indian Origin) successfully raised over $7000 toward efforts by New Zealands Indian community to add a fully equipped ambulance to the St John fleet.
GOPIO chapters worked hard selling raffle tickets to raise the funds over the past several weeks. The raffle draw was held at a function at Sangeet Restaurant on June 12, which GOPIO members, St John Ambulance personnel and sponsors were present. The raffle was drawn by Glen Green and Michelle from Theres Better Way, a Commumity organisation, that is successfully working with youth groups in central Auckland. The proceeds of the raffle will go toward the fund being pooled in by the Kiwi Indian community across New Zealand toward the fully equipped ambulance for the St John ambulance service, which is expected to cost about $160,000. Indian chapter held all Faith prayers during the difficult times. Indian Weekender publisher Giri Gupta praised GOPIO NZ for time and efforts toward the fundraising activity. This is a project for the larger community by the Indian community in gratitude for the great opportunities New Zealand has offered Kiwi Indians, he said. GOPIOs Marketing Co-Chairman Sunny Kaushal proposed a vote of thanks at the function. The prizes drawn were as follows: 1st Prize: 0516 Ticket sold by GOPIO Auckland Central. Winner: Cheryl Jacobsen from Fisher & Paykel. The prize, a 50 PanasonicPlasma TV, was sponsored by Global Finance Services Ltd.

Join the St John-Indian Weekender ambulance project & help the community...

GOPIO members at last Sundays meeting before the raffle draw

Weekender is proud to have initiated this community project. Speaking at the function, GOPIO President Rakesh Gupta commended the hard work put in by all the chapters led by their respective presidents in their efforts to raise the funds. The organisation has been working relentlessly toward fund raising for community causes. On April 17, the GOPIO executive committee handed a chenque of $5350 to Red Cross NZ toward its fund for the victims of the Christchurch earthquakes. In addition, GOPIO NZ members have also contributed personally in cash and provided assistance to Cantabrians directly through Red Cross and other organisations. The organisations Waikato

2nd Prize: 0762 Ticket sold by GOPIO Auckland Central. Winner: Ravi Mehta from Price Waterhouse Coopers. The prize, an I-Pad, was sponsored by Patton Refrigeration Ltd. 3rd Prize: 1094 Ticket sold by GOPIO Botany. Winner: Arthav Saluja. The Mystery Weekend for two in New Zealand prize was jointly sponsored by Travel Design Ltd and GOPIO. 4th Prize: 1265 Ticket sold by GOPIO Botany. Winner: Phil Evans. The prize: a weekend stay for two including breakfast at Stamford Plaza Hotel (June-Aug 2011). 5th Prize: 0709 Ticket sold by GOPIO Auckland Central. Winner: Avneel Rohit. The prize: Dinner for 4 value $200 at Sangeet Restaurant (sponsored by Sangeet).

Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

New Zealand New Zealand

Infosys buys NZ software outfit

Auckland: Indian software giant Infosys Technologies Australian subsidiary has bought the software solutions practice of Telecoms Gen-i business for NZ$5 million, according to a report in The Times of India. Gen-i is part of the Telecom New Zealand Group. Infosys is offering positions to more than 110 employees and contractors affected by the takeover. The staff in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch will expand Infosys New Zealand team to more than 150 people. It has plans to hire an extra 15 to 30 people. The employee base includes senior developers, technical architects and consultants. Infosys

opened its first New Zealand office in 2009 in Wellington and currently employs some 40 workers. The current management team will lead New Zealand delivery for Infosys, with Patrick Kouwenhoven, currently Gen-is head of software solutions, appointed to run New Zealand operations under the leadership of Ashok Mysore, associate vice president, Infosys. The deal involves an ongoing partnership arrangement between the two companies. The partnership is expected to add revenue of NZ$12 million for the current financial year. We expect the deal to close by July 1, 2011, V Balakrishnan, CFO of Infosys told the Times of India.

INZBC inks Export NZ partnership

ExportNZ is increasing its focus on growing opportunities in India by entering a partnership with the India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC). Catherine Beard, Executive Director of ExportNZ says the new agreement will create a strong alliance focusing on maximising the benefits of the anticipated freer trading environment (FTA negotiations with India are underway) with one of the worlds fastest growing economies. Working in close cooperation with the INZBC will add huge value to the services we can offer our members. In effect, INZBC will be our specialist unit serving the Indian market.

The recent visit by Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma highlighted the potential India holds as a trading partner for New Zealand. As the Minister pointed out, India is a land of limitless opportunities. After meeting with NZ Trade Minister Tim Groser, they agreed that trade could triple from the current $1 billon a year to $3 billon by 2014, and identified tourism and education as key areas for increased cooperation. INZBC Chairman Wenceslaus Anthony says the partnership opens up huge opportunities for our members and contributes directly to mainstreaming INZBC activities

INZBC Chairman Wenceslaus Anthony and Catherine Beard, Executive Director of ExportNZ

across all sectors of the economy. We are also working on key partnerships with major India based business associations and all of these will dramatically expand NZ-India trade and add value to the members of both organisations. While ExportNZ and the INZBC will work together offering services and activities to their members, they will retain their individual autonomy and operate independently.

Roskill Youth Zone officially opened

The Roskill Youth Zone (RYZ), a dedicated space for the young people of Wesley, was officially opened by the Mayor and Prime Minister last Wednesday. The new $3million facility, designed with input from local youth, offers study rooms, kitchen facilities, basketball and recreation spaces, as well as music practice and performance rooms. Mayor Len Brown said at the plaque-unveiling ceremony, there is a huge amount of talent and potential among Aucklands young people and it is important we support that. This new centre provides a fantastic opportunity for Wesley youth to explore their abilities and follow their dreams. The community, former Councillors, community board and now local board members have all worked tirelessly to get this project off the ground and it is to their credit that we are here today, he says. Work officially began on the then-named Wesley Youth Space in May 2008, after the former Auckland City Council had commissioned a 2006 study into how the needs of youth could be best met within the Wesley area. Puketapapa Local Board Youth Spokesperson Nigel Turnbull says, the Roskill Youth Zone will give our young people a home away from home where they can be creative and energetic in a warm, inviting and supportive environment. After years of hard work by former councillors and dedicated members of the community, the baton can now be handed to the local board, community representatives and RYZ management so we can focus on meeting the objectives we set out to achieve. The new building has been designed to reduce energy consumption through natural lighting, extensive insulation, timed heating and wind-powered fans. The space will be used after school, on weekends, during school holidays and on occa-

sions for evening performances. This new building is a safe and engaging space for the young people of this community to study, have fun and express themselves. I look forward to returning when the activities and events have kicked off, says the Mayor. RYZ is located behind the Wesley Community Centre, 740 Sandringham Road Extension, at the northern entrance to the Mt Roskill War Memorial Park. Following last weeks official opening, an open day was held providing the Wesley community with its first opportunity to explore the new facilities.

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Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

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New Zealand

Health for Humanity Yogathon in august

Yogathon New Zealand, a division of Hindu Council of New Zealand, is launching a nationwide Health for Humanity Yogathon 2011 which aims to create awareness about art and science of yoga, and its advantages in achieving a healthy body, mind, and spirit. Yogathon launch event will take place simultaneously at 10.00 am on Saturday, 13 August 2011 in different cities such as Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington. This is going to be first of its kind Yoga initiative for collective practise of Sun Salutations across New Zealand. During the two-week Health for Humanity Yogathon from 13 to 27 August 2011, Yogathon New Zealand and participating organisations will encourage their members and others across the country to together perform 100,000 Surya Namaskar, a sequence of simple yoga postures. Surya Namaskar integrates simple yoga postures of well-balanced movements linked with easy breathing technique, and provides immense health benefits to both body and mind. The scientific basis of Yoga goes back to the conception of levels of personality in India, namely physical body, physiology, mental, intellectual, and spiritual. The purpose of Yogathon is to promote yoga widely in a scientific perspective of health, to make it a part of school curriculum in future, encourage healthy living and connect all yoga schools and practitioners in New Zealand through participation on this planned annual event. In addition to health division AROGYA (Aotearoa Research Organisation for Generic Yoga and Ayurveda), Hindu Elders Foundation, Hindu Youth New Zealand and New Zealand Hindu Students Forum, Yoga schools from Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin have shown interest. This program is open to people of all ages, gender, and races. It is quite heartening to have dedicated coordinators from different organizations like Bikram School of Yoga, Art of Living New Zealand, New Zealand Hindu Temple Society and many more for this Mega Event, said Venkat Koppaka, National Coordinator, Yogathon New Zealand. We will be soon updating with the list of coordinators from different cities and zones on this national event. Yogathon organising committee invites various yoga centres, schools and tertiary institutes, social, cultural, and spiritual and community organisations, regardless of individual faiths and beliefs, to register in this Health for Humanity Yogathon, and continue practicing Surya Namaskar beyond the Health for Humanity Yogathon. To register for this unique nationwide event http://yogathon-nz.org/registration

rangkavita captivates art lovers

Laxmi Jhunjhnuwala

Rangkavita: Song of Colour, artist Laxmi Jhunjhnuwalas exhibition of paintings and installations in Mairangi Bay, Auckland, last week proved to be a huge draw with a number of connoisseurs praising her vibrant works of art.

Yogathon 2011 aims to create awareness about art and science of yoga and its advantages in achieving a healthy body, mind, and spirit.

Visitors took delight in the colour and joy that this exhibition brought to the gallery. The turmeric and rice flour installation triggered lots of discussion and interaction. Visitors were intrigued to discover the unusual and innovative materials used for the installations. Many thought the work was painted on the floor before the secret was revealed they were brilliant installations of rangoli and other coloured powders including turmeric. The pigment and Perspex works are gaining a lot of attention and people are using words like contemporary, exciting, uplifting and illuminating, Mairangi Art Centres Cath OBrien said. I am happy that visitors are liking my work and some works have also been sold, Ms Jhunjhnuwala told Indian Weekender. I got a lot of positive feed back from friends and visitors to the exhibition. I want to thank everyone for their support but special thanks to the staff at Mairangi Art Centre. Without their help and hard work it could not have fallen in place, she said. Ms Jhunjhnuwala worked hard to put up the show for over six months. It took lot of planning, but I am very pleased with the outcome. My husband and kids have fully supported me, she added.

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Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

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Programme to learn spoken Just whose festival is Diwali? sanskrit in 4 weeks

E-gurukul.net is inviting learners across the globe to enroll for free Live Audio Visual Interactive Basic Spoken Sanskrit course. The Term samskritam literally means refined and the form it is known today follows rules of Panini(ca. 520 to 460 BCE) the legendary Sanskrit grammarian of 5th century BC. He is worlds first computational grammarian and his work Ashtadhyayi (the Eight-Chaptered book), is considered to be the most comprehensive scientific grammar ever written for any language. Modern computer experts have agreed upon Sanskrit as the best suited for computer languages. Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all languages, for thousands of years treasures of ancient knowledge were passed on from generation to generation through Sanskrit. Beautiful language of Sanskrit is been taught in various universities spread across different countries like USA, UK, Ireland,Europe Hawai, China etc. Sanskrit therefore contains in itself the very essence of glorious vedic culture, it has been recognized as one of the most magnificent and perfect languages. As a part of Global Educational Programmes Series, e-gurukul.net have announced launch of World wide Educational ProgrammeSamskruta Kranti.The mission of Samskruta Kranti is to introduce Basics of Spoken Sanskrit Mother of all Languages to atleast 10,000 people across the globe in next 3 years. They are organizing a webbased live audio-visual interactive 4 week Course on Commencement to Spoken Sanskrit on July 10 -2011 - Sunday to 31 July -2011(6 am to 8 am IST) (12.30 pm to 2 :30pm NZST) with Mrs Rashmi Kashi, an Expert Trainer on Sanskrit from USA. Explore the world of Mother of all Languages Learn the treasures of spoken Sanskrit in 4 weeks by registering at http://e-gurukul. net/portal/online-course-on-commencement-to-spoken-sanskrit Modern technological wonder Internet has made entire world a global village. Anyone from any part of the world can learn and gain insights of spoken Sanksrit from the comfort of their homes, Only pre-requisite is an internet connection with headset and zeal to learn this practical knowledge of Ancient India, utilizing state of internet technology the aim of Samskruta Kranti is to introduce Basics of Spoken Sanskrit Mother of all Languages in a fun-filled live interactive way to atleast 10,000 people across the globe in next 3 years said Mrs Usha Koppaka. E-Gurukul.net, an online platform, is an endeavour to disseminate the practical knowledge and wisdom gifted by the great scientists, mathematicians, philosophers and sages of ancient India. It brings online courses in art, science, and holistic living. Of special note are courses for children conducted by experts. The sessions are free, all are welcome to participate. Next topic: Tips Online Course on Commencement to Spoken Sanskrit Trainer: Mrs Rashmi Kashi (Live from USA)) Date: July 10 -2011 - Sunday to 31 July -2011(6 am to 8 am IST) Mode: Live Audio visual Interactive web session - 100% Online Diwali is a Hindu festival, right? Not if you live in Wellington. A trend observed in the countrys rapidly expanding culturescape is that of various Indian associations and organisations launching annual Diwali festivals to shine in its limelight. Two things are happening here. One, the eternal message of Diwali good triumphs over evil is being ignored. Secondly, instead of being described as a Hindu festival, Diwali is being generalised as a South Asian festival of lights. Now Hindus, who believe in the concept of the world is one family, are not about to file a patent on Diwali, but they do get worried when others wittingly or otherwise delink it from Hinduism. One of the biggest ethnic celebrations in New Zealand is the Diwali Festival of Lights organised in Wellington by Community Action Trust New Zealand (CATNZ) in partnership with Asia New Zealand Foundation (Asianz), an NGO dedicated to building New Zealanders knowledge and understanding of Asia. To its credit, Asianz says on its website that Diwali is an ancient Hindu festival. (Although it adds incorrectly that it marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year.) CATNZ, however, describes Diwali as a South Asian festival, totally blanking out the festivals Hindu origins.

If Easter is a Christian festival and Eid an Islamic one, why is Diwali being described as a South Asian cultural carnival? Will this muffle the message of the Festival of Lights? - Rakesh Krishnan Simha
(For the record, Diwali has been celebrated since ancient times when the citizens of the kingdom of Ayodhya in central India lit millions of lamps to welcome King Rama, who was returning after slaying Ravan, the unrighteous king of Lanka. Hence the term festival of lights.) So describing Diwali as a South Asian festival is simply misleading. South Asia is a sweeping geographical term whereas Diwali is celebrated only by Hindus. The festival is celebrated wherever there are large Hindu communities such as in Fiji, Trinidad, Guyana, the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand none of which is in South Asia. The abundance of food, fun, dance, music, fireworks and other myriad forms of entertainment during Diwali should not divert us from the festivals primary message: truth and knowledge will always prevail. That message more than any cultural gala can act as the healing touch for New Zealanders impacted by natural calamities and an uncertain economic climate. About the author: Rakesh is a writer based in Auckland. He has previously worked at India Today, Hindustan Times, Business Standard and was news editor at the Financial Express.

We all experience stress at some stage of our life.

Running late for work, waiting for exam results, running late to a meeting or getting a project assigned out of the blue; these are some common situations when you will reach for a chocolate bar or your chips in the drawer at your work desk. No matter what the situation or location, stressful situations invoke similar physiological reactions. Your body reacts, leading to a rise in blood pressure level and the heart rate leading to rise in the cortisol level, a hormone when released over a period can lead to diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Stress is nothing but a physical and mental reaction to incidents positive or dreadful that occur around us. One of the most common reactions to stressful situation is overeating. As it provides a temporary diversion, we tend to take this route in the bargain ignoring the long term impact weight gain which could potentially be an additional source of stress. A well balanced diet is crucial in helping reduce stress. Certain foods and drinks can cause stress, the stimulation, although quite satisfying in the short term, may be quite harmful in the long run. Let us identify some food groups that are good to consume and can help during trying times. Yellow, green and orange food groups are all rich in minerals, vitamins and increase the immunity helping the body to combat disease. Food rich in carbohydrates like rice, pasta, potatoes and bread especially the whole grain variety are known to increase your sense of satiety and provide essential nutrients like fibre , vitamins and minerals. Fruits, vegetables and grains are excellent sources of fibre and are known to be beneficial during these times. sausage, etc, as salt is directly related to high blood pressure levels. Another important food group to be kept at an arms length during stressful times is sugar. Sugars are known to provide short term boost of energy however, since this isnt long-lasting it can in turn cause a drop in your blood sugars and make you leaving feeling worse than before. Alcohol is known to benefit if consumed in moderation; however the combination of stress with alcohol is lethal if consumed overly. People tend to look up to alcohol for support when dealing with stress, but in reality they make it worse by consuming alcohol. Severe starvation diets can cause negative impact on mood and generally cause worsening behavioural problems in people especially in young teenage girls. Aim to have a healthy diet with the goodness of fruits and vegetables, ensure exercise is a routine as this can help tremendously in combating stress This article is a general guideline ONLY for healthy individuals who need or wish to gain weight, if you have any medical condition or have experienced a sudden weight loss or suffer any disorders and for individual conditions you should consult a health professional or your medical practitioner immediately. Varsha Asrani is a New Zealand Registered Dietitian. For personal consultation or any question, suggestion or views please email her on info@varshaasrani.com.

stress... no more

Severe starvation diets can cause negative impact on mood and generally cause worsening behavioural problems in people especially in young teenage girls.
On the other hand caffeine laden beverages and food high in fat can reduce the bodys ability to encounter stress. Avoid consumption of foods that are high in saturated fats. One can also avoid junk foods on a regular basis as these are high in salt such as bacon, ham, pickles,

New committee for Satsang group

The Mata Amritanandamayi Satsang Group has elected a new committee on April 30, with Varima Narula as President, Sangeeta Kalra as Secretary and Shobhana Nair as Treasurer. Two other members Jaspal and Gurunadhan were elected as committee members. The group will be scheduling regular Satsangs and Ammas Star Karthika Puja of details of which will be emailed) to members. Dates of special occasions and festivals, starting with Guru Purnima will be put up on the website and emailed. Continuing its success of fundraising for Christchurch and the $5000 donation to Redcross for the same, the group is planning to schedule quarterly charity and fund raising drives. The group invites the community to be involved and help with any of its projects. More info at www.amma.org.nz

Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

Community

Community news in pictures

Curry Munchers the Movie celebrated the announcement of its DVD launch at the India Gate at a special party on June 4. Attended by a huge crowd of cast, crew and fans of the popular movie, the entertainment lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Here are few snapshots.

the board of Friends of Fiji Health (NZ) inc. gratefully accepted a fully serviced and operational endoscopic tower from the board members of Gillies Avenue Hospital as a donation. this complete set of expensive gear will add another dimension to patient benefits and enable surgeons at Lautoka Hospital in Fiji to carry out diagnostic and appropriate surgical procedures. the FoFH will take the responsibility of safely transporting, assembling and carrying out teaching programme for the doctors and nursing staff at Lautoka Hospital during their next mission which will in be the second half of 2011.

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Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

Community shri shirdi saibaba sansthan of new Zealand incorporated

Dear Devotees West /Central Venue: Unitec Squash Centre, Gate 3 Unitec Mt Albert When: Monday 20 June 2011 start Monday evenings 7:00 to 9:00 pm Contact Person: Jai (ph: 8376011) South Venue: Allan Brewster Centre, Papatoetoe When: Sunday 19th June start Sunday morning 8:00 to 9:00 pm Contact person: Bunty (ph: 2783303) Fees: $ 20 for six weeks (cost includes Coaching, Rackets and Balls) 8 players/venue so please call the Coordinators ASAP. You are all aware that we got the Resource Consent and bought the Property at 18 Princes St, Onehunga, to convert the same into a TEMPLE for our beloved GURU SHIRDI SAIBABA along with other deities. We will also be having a Community Hall with dining/commercial kitchen for benefit of the Community. Our architect is in the process of preparing the documentation to apply for Building Permit. This process of preparation of documents, applying to Auckland City Council, processing and aproval of the Building Permit may take about 6 months. In view of this we have rented our premises for a short period of time till mid January 2012, so that it will generate some income to take care of debt servicing. We need about a MILLION dollars to start a functional TEMPLE / COMMUNITY HALL( outside domes/elevations can be done later ) As you are aware we have launched new fund raising programmes on 1-1-2011. By Babas grace we are half way thru in terms of commitments by devotees and raised about $225k till date. After opening the account with Bank of Baroda, we have considerable response from devotees in India. By BABAs grace, things are falling in place and the plan is to start the construction by end Jan 2012. Please appraise all your friends / relatives in India/overseas about our TEMPLE PROJECT and personally make a COMMITMENT to speed up the initiation of CONSTRUCTION PROCESS With Blessings from Baba

learn the basics of squash

Six weeks course for only $20
sizes will be 4 players maximum on one court and each session will last for 60 minutes.

CourSe oBjeCTIVeS

Squash NZ in partnership with SPROUT has developed this innovative programme to encourage South Asians to learn the fundamentals of squash in a fun, non-competitive environment. The aim of this is to teach basic squash skills and provide an affordable option to prospective squash players. The program is a run over six weeks and will cover court terminology, basic technique, an introduction to the various shots, court movement, court strategy, scoring, rules and ideas for practice. The group

Develop a basic understanding of the court environment, scoring and rules Develop an understanding of the basic stroke technique forehand and backhand Develop an understanding of basic strategies, why we hit length, why we volley and when to go short or long. A basic understanding of the movement required for squash. For players to have fun, enjoy their squash experience and want to play on in the future. After the completion of the course SPROUT will help up to set-up weekly Squash games for people who are interested. For more details please long on to www. sprout.net.nz

Papatoetoe Lions wins Indoor Soccer Tournament

Indians play Indoor soccer as well and that too very well. Its not just about cricket anymore. Total 8 teams participated at the Lions Cup - Indoor Soccer Tournament organised jointly by SPROUT (Sports Recreation and Outdoors Trust) & ALFC (Auckland Lions Football Club) on 29th May 2011 at Allan Brewster Recreation Centre in Papatoetoe. Many team members participated in an indoor soccer tournament for the first time in New Zealand. For many of the players this was an eye opener towards community sports and they were surprised with the fast paced thrilling and gripping nature of indoor soccer. It was also about health, fitness and upcoming talent in this sport. Goalkeeper Pravjot Kalket (Peter) and midfielder Gurmal Singh (Gella) starred as the Papatoetoe Lions and Punjabi Sath Lions played out an entertaining final. Peter made four excellent second half saves, while Gella turned in

BOP hockey team victorious

The Bay of Plenty Indians sports club mens hockey team were victorious in their annual NZ Indian national tournament held over Queens Birthday weekend in Pakuranga, Auckland. The team contested the mens B division of the tournament with five other teams. Pool play was contested over Saturday/Sunday and cross-overs and finals on the Monday. Going into tournament the team was seeded 4th on the previous years result. The first game of the tournament saw BOP take on North Harbour, this was one way traffic as 11 goals were slotted and a clean score sheet maintained. The second game of pool play was against Wellington, where numerous opportunities were squandered and BOP paying for their lack of finishing going down 1-2. With that result BOP met top seed from the other pool in their semi, Auckland in front of their home crowd. As always BOP and Auckland encounters are a passionate affair. BOP found themselves 0-1 down early into the game, but showed character to come away with a final score of 3-1, the turning point was when a stroke was awarded at 1-1, which BOP converted. This resulted in BOP meeting Wellington once again. The final was a different affair from the previous day with BOP able to convert their chances and win 4-1 over Wellington and therefore take the B division title. The last time BOP held the title was in 1994, so a 17-year wait to claim their next title. Five players made the tournament team, Jujhar Singh, Niwair Singh, Vinesh Sima, Nitin Ahuja and Ameet Barghav. Next year the team wins promotion to the A division of the tournament, which will be held on home soil, in Rotorua, as Christchurch are unable to host the tournament.

his usual all-action performance on Sunday afternoon. Both sides had plenty of chances to win and played skilful game with excellent player to player marking. Punjabi Sath Lions had several golden opportunities to break the deadlock, but Peter blocked and defended all the shoots to goal. His effort was remarkable in the penalty shoot outs and was rightly judged Player of the Tournament. SPROUT organisers thanked Chasers Food Company Ltd, NZCT and Indian Weekender for supporting this tournament and

thanked all the volunteers for organising this awesome indoor soccer tournament. Balbir Golian, Director of Chaser Food Company Ltd distributed the prize and ensured his continuous support for this kind of grassroots tournament to promote soccer in Indian community. The organisers from ALFC and SPROUT have decided to make it an annual two day tournament in 2011 and increase the number of teams to sixteen. If you are interested to participate in 2011 please e-mail us your details at info@sprout.net.nz

Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

Community

Gift of education is Fiji teachers mission

arVINd KuMar
After many years of charity work in the community, the New Zealand Association of Fiji Teachers is now expanding its reach to the people. The association had now been granted a charity status and was thus better able to help people, publicity officer David Reddy said. As the name suggests, this is a New Zealand based charitable organisation comprising of ex teachers/ educators from Fiji and the people originating from there, who are currently employed in the education sector in this country. The main objective of the association is to raise funds and provide monetary help towards the education of the needy, disadvantaged, under privileged and poverty stricken children/students, Mr Reddy told the Indian Weekender. In the past two years, 15 such families and schools in Fiji and New Zealand have been assisted in this way.Soon after the earthquake in Christchurch last September, funds were dispatched to three schools for purchasing essential equipment and a further donation was made recently to the Red Cross for relief work following the February shake. Mr Reddy said the New Zealand public would be interested to know that the association had been granted a charity status under the Charities Act and IRD with its unique numbers CC45879 and 106-060-62. Those interested can peruse further details in the Charities Register at www.charities.govt.nz No New Zealand Association of Fiji Teachers after thgeir recent annual meeting: Seated, from left: Rukamma Lal doubt that many migrants from Fiji (vice-president), Rishi Maharaj (treasurer) Shiu Charan (president) Hari Goundar (secretary) Giyannendra Prasad can relate to the plight of the very poor (vice-president). BACK: Satya Swami (vice-president) Deo Raj Reddy (committee member) Bijay Lal (asst and needy children in their homeland. treasurer) Vishnu Swami (committee member) David Reddy (publicity officer) Padmani Goundar (asst secretary) The association would be very Gajen Prasad (committee member). pleased to receive donations (note such donations would qualify for tax rebate) from such sympathetic individuals/organizations and they can be assured, such moneys would be channeled to the affected families/ schools promptly. Donations can be sent to: The Treasurer, NZ Association of Fiji Teachers, 83 White Swan Rd, Mt Roskill, Auckland 1041. For phone contact and discussion, please call Rishi Maharaj on number 09 627 8266 or 021 517008. Mr Reddy said the association closely adhered to the ancient Asian proverb which says: If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people. A new committee was elected for the year 2011-2012 at its annual meeting recently.

KITE: The Pride of Your Belonging to New Zealand

Our offer to students is: A pathway towards career goals plus new friendships and the confidence-building to highlight the journey. As pendence day will showcase education, It is the 64th anniversary of Indias indepen- well as NZQA-Certificatedthe variety in our entreaty includes: dence in August, and plans are already under- culture, dance forms, music, art and cuisine. Entertainment sessions driven by fellow learners. The quiz and partying routines can India being the largest democracy in the world way to celebrate it in style. be civilisation more than 5000 years old Aucklands Bhartiya Samaj Charitable with a either educative or for pure leisure. Either way, your participation is vital. President of Auckland: Long time community worker boasts of multiple cultural origins. The eventon site, as well asis among four other Kiwi NZ Punjabi Interactive sociability with faculty Trust, which has been working efficiently for Manjit Singh guest speakers prominent within years together as a socio-cultural body for the promises a foretaste of this diversity and mulIndians who have been recognised for Cultural AsNZ business houses. Indian community, is gearing up to present ticulturalism that is also an inherent character young services take charge of their lives and Affirmativeness counsel, both to help their adults to the community and been sociation for an implausible Indian experience and to mark of any Indian living in New Zealand. Chairawarded the Queens Service Medal (QSM) 2004 to 2007; equally to align with While we are the anniversary on August 14, a Sunday, at the man Jeet Suchdev says thatKiwi work culture.at this years Queens Birthday Celebra- President of Supporting share our choice of study, students tions. Auckland ASB theatre, Aotea Centre Square Auckland. keen tostudents big day with the people of are invited into interludes of career The super event shall be organised in partner- New Zealand, we would also like diverse the development and New Zealands to make heritage. The others are Harkishen Singh, Kanta Sikh Society for 2008 to 2009; President

Grand independence fest planned manjit singh among Kiwi

indians in qsm list

ship with various organisations from India generation next aware of their roots which Soni and Parkash Sund, who was the first of GOPIO - Pukekohe Chapter for 2008 to have strong and rich cultural inheritance and 2010; Current Treasurer at NZICA for 2007 and neighbouring countries. President of the Otahuhu Gurudwara. KITE flag acquaint them with airy setting, historical The celebration shall begin with thesits aloft in an elegantthis event from a overlooking the Auckland cityscape.since 1988, institute Current Vice President of PukeLiving in New Zealand This is an till date; hoisting which will be held 10.30am followed perspective. Mr Manjit Singh has been involved by bonded to the Code of Practice for Pastoral Care of International Students, administered withthekohe Indian Association New The Education. It is a great honour to receive this recby a cultural programme from 11am until 3pm various Community Activities since 1995. Zealand Ministry of event will be graced by many dignitaries from New Zealand and India and once in the afternoon at the venue. The Pukekohe resident has been a Member ognition, Mr Singh said. Like its high vantage over heartland Queen Street, KITE is aboutsince 1999; Member leadership through Indian Weekender congratulates all True to its identity and philosophy of again hope to get the best support possible of NZ Sikh Society education, plus the social grace to help guide students there. Sikh Society since 2001; awardees on behalf of its readers and staff. Unity amidst Diversity, the Indian Inde- through a positive approach. of Auckland

If you care about your future, and you want to share that journey with others with goals similar to yours, KITE will welcome your enquiry.

ClassiFieds

KITE: The Pride of Your Belonging to New Zealand

Our offer to students is: l A pathway towards career goals plus new friendships and the confidence-building to highlight the journey. l As well as NZQA-Certificated education, our entreaty includes: - Entertainment sessions driven by fellow learners. The quiz and partying routines can be either educative or for pure leisure. Either way, your participation is vital. - Interactive sociability with faculty on site, as well as guest speakers prominent within NZ business houses. - Affirmativeness counsel, both to help young adults take charge of their lives and equally to align with Kiwi work culture. l Supporting students choice of study, students are invited into interludes of career development and New Zealands diverse heritage. KITE sits aloft in an elegant airy setting, overlooking the Auckland cityscape. This is an institute bonded to the Code of Practice for Pastoral Care of International Students, administered by the New Zealand Ministry of Education. l Like its high vantage over heartland Queen Street, KITE is about leadership through education, plus the social grace to help guide students there. If you care about your future, and you want to share that journey with others with goals similar to yours, KITE will welcome your enquiry. Level 1, 441 Queen Street, Auckland Contact: +64 9 3771786 www.kite.ac.nz

Level 1, 441 Queen Street, Auckland Contact: +64 9 3771786 www.kite.ac.nz

Jat sikh family seek professionally qualified, intelligent, smart JAT SIKH ONLY match 27-32 yrs. old for NZ citizen daughter 27/5.1, B.Sc (computers), beautiful, slim, cultured girl, good permanent job in a reputed company. Interested please email recent non-studio photographs and details to ludhianvee22@yahoo.com

New to New Zealand Welcome to WeSt AUcKlAND

Settlement Support New Zealand (SSNZ)
is a national initiative funded by the Department of Labour to help you settle in your new community by providing information about living in New Zealand. Settlement Support Waitakere is a service from the Auckland Council, for newcomers from West Auckland to access FREE confidential consultation. Just visit our office at
8, Ratanui Street, Henderson (opposite to UNITEC) (9:30 am 4:00 pm Mon to Thurs) or make an appointment with your Settlement Support Coordinator in West Auckland call 09 8374273 or email ssnzwaitakere@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz http://waitakere.govt.nz/ourpar/settlementsupport.asp www.ssnz.govt.nz

INDIAN EtHNIC GROCERY BuYER IMMEDIAtELY NEEDED!!! CONtACt : 021648733

10

Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

India

Konkona launches book on motherhood

NaMIT agarwal
Mumbai: Actor Konkona Sen Sharma launched Mamma Mania, an authors journey to motherhood by Shabia Ravi Walia, in Mumbai recently. of a woman who goes through a roller coaster ride to bring a child into this mad world and hence the title Mamma Mania. This book has got a personal touch as I have penned down few incidents about me with my daugh-

Prithvi (P-ii) missile launched successfully

Mamma Mania is the authors journey into motherhood, an ultimate goal of a woman. As the title suggests, the book is a refreshing narrative of a first-time mother. The author claimed the book to be an honest and forthright account

ter. Its truly said that a child gives birth to a mother. I have learnt, developed, grown and enriched myself with this entire process. I feel that I have newly discovered myself, said Walia.

Right from the conception to the birth of the child, the author goes through myriad emotions comprising agony and ecstasy. The book also provides an in-depth insight to would-be parents. The concern of motherhood is very close to any womans heart. Not just emotionally, but its important for a female to understand the pregnancy process and ways of nurturing a baby medically and from hygiene point of view as well. Mamma Mania says it all, said Konkana. It gives useful tips and suggestions as well as first hand experiences of the author that might be useful for world-be and first-time mothers. I started writing a diary after my daughter came into this world with the idea of gifting it to her when she would turn eighteen. I later realised that whatever I had written could be published as a book instead and share my story with the world, said the author. Walia is a media professional for the past 14 years dabbling in ideation, writing, production and creation of television shows. This book is an account of her journey from being a carefree woman to a passionate and sometimes obsessive mother. (See Konkonas interview about her new motherhood in the Bollywood section of this issue)

Balasore: The surface to surface Prithvi (P-II) Missile was successfully flight tested at 9 am on Thursday from Launch Complex-III at the Interim Test Range (ITR), Chandipur in Balasore district of Orissa. The launch was carried out as part of the regular training exercise of the Armed Forces. Prithvi-II, the first indigenous surface to surface strategic Missile, capable of attacking targets at ranges of 350 kms, reached the predefined target in the Bay of Bengal with a very high accuracy of better than 10 meters. All the Radars, Electro-optical systems located along the coast have tracked and monitored the Missile throughout the flight path. An Indian Naval ship located near the target witnessed the final event.

The entire launch operations of the Missile were carried out by the Armed Forces, monitored by the Scientists of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). The flight test of the PrithviII met all the Mission objectives and was like a text book launch. V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri and Secretary Defence R & D, witnessed the launch operations and congratulated the Armed Forces and Scientists for the successful flight test. VLN Rao, Programme Director AD, SK Ray, Director RCI, top officials of Strategic Force Command and DRDO were present during the Mission. Defence Minister AK Antony has congratulated the Armed Forces and Scientists for the successful flight test.

Indian

India

Mumbai scribes have been targets for long

In the wake of Mumbai investigative editor J Deys gunning down in broad daylight, former colleague and editor Subir Roy Kaunds, who now lives in Auckland, recalls instances of intimidation and violence against journalists by the minions of the powers that be.
According to the Hindustan Times, Mumbai afternoon newspaper MidDays J Dey is the first journalist to be murdered in Mumbai. He may be the first to be killed but in the past there have been a few attempts to kill or at least scare off journalists who vested interests saw as getting a bit too nosey. In 2004, an attempt was made on the life of Nikhil Wagle, editor of the Marathi newspaper Mahanagar. In the same year, Sajid Rashid, the editor of the Hindi edition of Mahanagar was stabbed in the back, but survived. In 2009, political activists attacked the offices of IBN-Lokmat Television, and ransacked the premises. Journalists were roughed up. I remember a former chief reporter of Mid-Day (who later became the political editor) who was investigating a scam in which a state politician was supposed to be involved. This reporter was dogged and his sources were giving him very high grade information. Apparently things got a bit hot under the collar for those involved. One day, sometime in the mid1990s, as this reporter was riding down Mumbais Marine Drive on his motorcycle, a speeding Ambassador car came close to his bike and brushed him aside. He took a tumble and his bike was damaged but except for a few bruises and shock, he survived. He later told me that just before he fell, he got a very good look at the face of the passenger. The chap had an evil grin on his face. In late 1980s Mumbai, Mahesh Dholakia was a dreaded underworld figure. He controlled the high class prostitution business. Shrikant Rao, who was a colleague in Mid-Day, but was working for another magazine at that time did a series of exposes on Dholakia. One day Shrikant got a call from Dholakia, who styled himself as a hotelier, asking for a interview to give his side of the story. Shrikant went for the interview which was to be held in Dholakias basement office in the same hotel. He was made to wait for an hour. Dholakia walks in, does not say a word. Sits on his desk, opens a drawer, pulls out a gun, checks that it is loaded, places it on the table between them and says: So whats your story? The incident had a happy ending. Shrikant walked out alive! Incidentally, all these attacks were by political activists and the main instigators were prominent political figures. This is interesting. In 1989, I did a story on the underworld. A friend of mine worked in a garment factory that was actually a front for an underworld financer. I cultivated him as a source and got a few tales out of him. These were not investigative stories but human-interest features. In the course of doing these stories, I Iearnt that the underworld had a code not to kill journalists. I cant vouch for the veracity of this. But if this is true then J Deys killing could be politically motivated. Maybe he was getting too close for comfort.

Mid-Day Investigative Editor J Dey was gunned down in suburban Mumbai in broad daylight.

5pt Australian govt website omits Bold India

Luminaries protest J&K, Arunachal as part of India western dress code

states of J&K and Arunachal Pradesh. The website of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) of Australia had the incorrect map in its website. The Council of Indian Australians Inc (CIA), an apex body representing the Indian Australian community in New South Wales, had asked the DIAC to correct the map on its website. The CIA Inc wishes to bring this (incorrect map) to the attention of the Government of Australia and urges the DIAC to rectify this incorrect map and display the revised map showing correct boundaries, a CIA statement said.

second edition of its Taiwan Excel- at the end of 2010 was a whooping USD 411 billion grew a rate of 31.6%. lence Campaign in e top 10 destination countries displaying India withlife-a large the industrylargestatpurchasers of Taiwan ICT for Indianthe latest the while emigrants, Currently the target of munity combined with high living standards will ensure products are institutional buyers like Apple, Dell, HP, style products to Indian consumers. eking to migrate. Australia is leadingdestinationTechnol- Sony and the more recent one is Verizon. 24 a top Taiwanese for students Paul Chen, Director, TAITRA, Mumbai, said, presenting 21 per cent ogyall international students in of brands from PC, Networking, projector,camcorder and peripher- We are encouraged by the positive response from als, such as ASUS, BenQ, MSI, IT savvy Indian consumers, especially on the social D-Link, Transcend are all set to partner with Taiwan media scene. Our brands are being recognised and g is the Human Development Index (HDI), produced by the Excellence Campaign 2011. mposite measure oftoday are savvy and well travelled and Indians three dimensions of human demand the best in terms of high on this measure, Indians today are savvy and well nd income. Australia ranks very Technology, Quality and with a Value, said Paul Shek, Deputy Representative of the Table 1 o Norway. travelled and demand the best in Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre, New Delhi. The Taiwan Excellence mark is awarded only to terms of Technology, Quality and f 0.51 resulting in who qualify to stringent169 countries. Companies a rank of 119 out of norms in R&D, Value, in international terms, it is only sightly below the regional Design, Quality and Marketing that evaluate our brands to global standards. I feel extremely pleased to have with us 24 such Excellent Taiwanese partner are building preference with discerning young Indian brands who will showcase their finest offerings to consumers. We expect a huge surge in demand for Smartprovide Excellent Lifestyles for Indian consumers, phones, Tablet PCs, Notebooks and LCD Monitors he said. Taiwan has a total of 758 electronic compa- and our Brand partners are very well poised to ride nies listed on its stock exchange and remains in the this wave.

ng government debt and improving infrastructure. Another nefits of economic growth are experienced more equitably and low average incomes throughout India. Although India class, average incomes are less than 10 per cent of national standards. Economic opportunity therefore provides migrants, and Delhi: Taiwan External Trade Development number one position in the world in eleven ICT catNew skilled workers will be attracted to countries h living standards. This diaspora is most notable among the as recorded in 2010. Council (TAITRA) a non-profit trade promotion or- egories The total combined revenue of these companies ganisation, last week announced the as tertiary educated population living outside India.

New Delhi: A map of India on an Australian government website has omitted the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh triggering strong protests from the Indian community in the country. Following the protests, Australia admitted that the map was an error and said it will be removed from the website. The map was an error and is growing economies, covering a being removed from the website, an Australian through to subsistence agricultureHigh Commission spokesperson in New Delhi said. ation technology. Much of Indias with the restThe the world in recentAusof Indian community in tralia had lodged strong protests n the services the Australian government with sector most notably eloped countries. incorrect map of India, over the posted on a government website in Australia which omitted the border nt challenges remain these include

ry

Republic of India Capital City: New Delhi Population, 2010: 1.21 billion Language: Hindi, English Monetary Unit: Indian rupee

Taiwan to attract Indian consumers

Kolkata: Kolkata intellectuals led by painter Shuvaprasanna, here on Monday staged a demonstration of at the Calcutta Club, protesting the imposition of colonial dress code on visitors. The Club, an exclusive social hub for the wealthy in the city located on the Lower Circular Road of Kolkata that historically restricted membership to women until 2007, requires visitors to wear a formal western attire. Apparently miffed at not being allowed to enter the club premises for wearing Indian clothes, Shuvaprasanna a 64-year-old artist mostly seen sporting a kurta and known for his public tirade against the just-ousted Left regime in the state, led the protest on Monday. Lashing out at the 104-year old club, he said, I fail to understand what makes the Calcutta Club impose such dress code on its members in an independent

India. There is nothing vulgar in wearing a kurta. When we can meet the world wearing our dress why cannot we flaunt it in Calcutta Club, he said. Joining him, poet Joy Goswami said, I believe a club which imposes such strict English dress code on visitors is actually feeding colonial culture in a free India and one must protest it. Painter Samir Aich said, Such archaic rules not only hurts the dignity of a person but also encourages class divisions. Late painter M F Hussain and social activist Himashu Kumar were in the past famously denied entry into the the club for not adhering to its western dress code. The influential protesters, who were backed by city luminaries like Mahasweta Debi, Aparna Sen, Jogen Choudhury, Sandip Ray, Rutuparna Ghosh, among others, also submitted a deputation to the club authority.

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Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

India

Forty beauties gear up for i am she 2011

be nervousness in the air, as also an air of confidence and charisma that each of the twenty finalists will radiate, establishing a spontaneous rapport with their ability to connect and showcase their abilities, Sush-

It will break all language barriers with a format that allows the contestants to express themselves in any language they are comfortable with, aided by interpreters.
Mumbai: The hunt for this years Miss India has started as forty participants qualified the audition round of the I AM She 2011, the official preliminary to the 2011 MISS UNIVERSE pageant to groom themselves up for the next level. The forty gorgeous candidates from all over the globe were selected from almost 1800 plus entries received from. To make their grooming sessions more perfect they will be supported by the first ever title holder of I AM She 2010, Ushoshi Sengupta as well as 1st runner up Reha Sukheja and 2nd runner up Pooja Hegde. While former Miss Universe and Bollywood beauty who conceptualized the concept I AM She, Sushmita Sen, will act as the mentor for these young participants, the judges panel will include names like Aditi Gowitrikar, Jackky Bhagnani and Joy Datta. Given our experience from I AM She 2010, I am certain there will mita Sen said at a press interaction recently. The judges will handpick the twenty finalists to grace the stage at the finale of I AM She 2011, to be held a mere five weeks from now. The selection panel will evaluate the girls on criteria ranging from intelligence, talent, confidence and

general knowledge to beauty, grace and charm. I AM She 2011 will be as engaging for the young Indian beauty, as it will be for their families. It will break all language barriers with a format that allows the contestants to express themselves in any language they are comfortable with, aided by interpreters, Sen said. This was very well received last year, our first year, and the response was indeed very encouraging. Along with this new format, there will be many more additions which we will announce and talk about as we move forward, Sen said. Tantra Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., a company where Sushmita Sen is integrally associated with, was awarded the India franchise in Nov 2009 by the Miss Universe Organisation, which conducts the pageant across 95 countries of the world every year through its global franchisees. Paula Shugart, President, Miss Universe Organization, said: I am extremely pleased to welcome Tantra Entertainment as our new licensee in India. I am thrilled to work directly with Sushmita Sen who represented the Miss Universe Organisation so elegantly as the first Miss Universe from India. I am certain that she will bring the grace, the glamour and the intelligence to I AM She.

Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

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India

my brief brush with Husain

A tribute to artist M F Husain who died last week
SujoY dHar
Back in the late 1980s I was an audacious student of art in Kolkatas Birla Academy of Art and Culture. It was sheer insolence now I know, the only redeeming thought being my decision to enroll in the commercial art section. But despite the brazenness it was around that time that I got some exposure to art and artists. Those were encounters that I still treasure. One of those spin-offs of enrolling myself in Birla Academy was the opportunity to meet many famous painters from close. Husain and Paritosh Sen were few of them. We had then heard that M F Husain often walks barefoot and the tittle-tattle around me was that it was one of the many gimmicks he would use to stay in news. I was almost swayed by that opinion till I met other painters in later life and witnessed how desperate and unethical they can be for publicity and a few charitable lines or reviews. It was later that I knew that good reviews in even top publications can be purchased and some of the influential reviewers actually trade a good publicity with a complimentary painting from the painter. In retrospect, the barefoot act was Husain was unfathomable, but as time passed and I experienced the world around me with all its plurality and richness, I knew it was Husain the eternal Bohemian. I would say he was a tramp, a Charlie Chaplin, with a paintbrush. The child in him would like to gallop free like the restless blue-white-yellow-green horses of his canvas. And I know now that he did not chase controversy or cheap publicity. It was the other way round because of his tremendous talent, courage and originality. With all their cajoling and TV appearances many Indian painters seeking glory could not achieve what Husain was blessed with by his artless vitality, candour and casualness. I remember one evening in late eighties when Husain walked into Birla Academy barefoot. He was disarmingly humble and jovial, beads of sweat on his forehead. I was wondering how one can attack this man so ruthlessly for his Bohemian ways. He was there around for a few days and then one day we were in an elevator together, going down to the ground floor from the top. He looked at me and smiled, put his hand on my shoulder and then patted me. I was carrying a roll of handmade paper and some paint brushes with all the pretence of an art student. I vaguely recall him enquiring about our classes. As I walked out of the elevator, I knew I am basking in Husains reflected glory. I rushed home to tell my mother, who had just read some interesting story about his self-confessed personal life in a newspaper. My first experience of a Husain exhibition was on the penthouse of Tata Centre in Kolkata. I do not remember the year, but it was more than two decades back. I went to the exhibition not drawn by Husain but by the sheer thought of taking an eyeful of the lush Kolkata maidan, the Victoria Memorial and the skyscrappers of Kolkata visible from the top. The exhibition, of what I can recall of my feelings, then did not appeal to me and I came back with only the panoramic view of my city from the top. The works- or the lack of it- on display in fact killed my interest in Husain for a while. But all that changed in later years when I saw more of him and discovered how original he was. I started liking his horses, his women and even my stray sketches adorning the edges of my exercise books were influenced, perhaps unwittingly, by his bold lines. Many years later I met him again at the press conference and the premiere of Gajagamini at Metro Cinema of Kolkata. I was amazed by his vitality and youthfulness. I got more opportunity to talk to him. But what Husains originality taught me was to have faith in my own ways of practising a trade. Be it painting or journalism, originality will always survive and Husain all his life was an embodiment of that idea. In the later years controversies around his works did not limit to his barefoot ways. It got virulent and murkier with the saffron forces vandalizing his works. But I cannot end this article without the sad thought about the way the fabled artist community of Kolkata responded in 2003 when Husain purportedly said most Bengal painters lack stamina and energy. Kolkata painters, including those who later ritually lambasted former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Singur and Nandigram, went to the CM in a group and persuaded him to boycott the inauguration of Husains show at a city gallery. I am curious to know about their reactions to Husains demise.

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Indian weekender | June 3, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

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From the Editor

Letters
MP Anti corruption campaign
There is only one way to right the various wrongs of our system. Not by becoming activists, not by becoming netas but by going about our day-to-day jobs and performing them with due diligence. Normal ordinary people have families and responsibility. They have EMIs and bills to pay. They have heavy traffic to commute every day. They do not have the bloody time to gad about in. They dont share a dias with separatists one day and then the other day make firebrand speeches from India Habitat center. They dont justify the spilling of blood any blood whosoevers blood with jargon filled with ists and isms. Life and death are not abstractions to them but hard breathing reality. They know that the only way they can reach that escape velocity is by education - that you have to claw and scratch your way to the front of that line to get your kid admitted in a good college. And if you were forced to pay a bribe to some bastard that does not make you a criminal, because the Baba with the squint or the pious Anna is not going to save you at the end of the day.Its every man for himself. And even with all this, he tries to retain some semblance of Godfearing honesty, knowing hes going to pay the price for it while the Kalmadis and Jayalalithas go scotfree.If any change will ever come it will come from the common man from his conscience, from his will to change things, if and when he chooses to do so. Not from those who speak down to him, preach to him. Definitely not from some self appointed godman, nor some ethnic garment wearing frizzy haired activist with a bindi. Gautam Benegal

World Cup can heal Fiji

The New Zealand governments handling of the Fiji situation has shown an appalling lack of imagination and exposed the brazen double standards it applies in its international relations. It slavishly kowtows to Chinas every whim, despite its continuing human rights violations, even inventing childishly nave reasons for not meeting with the likes of the Dalai Lama when he is a visitor to this country known far and wide for its warm and friendly peace loving people. It has officially hosted dictators like former Pakistan strongman Pervez Musharraf with absolutely no qualms whatsoever and has refrained from making official official statements on other undemocratic events even in the Pacific Rim, such as the Thai coup. Yet it has been stubborn in its unwillingness to look at the dynamics of what led to the Fiji situation despite being in a position to know better because of its long and deep involvement in the Pacific Islands region. All along in the years since December 2006, it has failed to accept that the single pronged restore democracy now or else strategy was never going to work. It refuses to accept that its ill-advised persistence in following that tack of feverishly campaigning to isolate Fiji was always doomed to fail and has long come unstuck. This has forced the Fijian administration to seek and cement friendships from the likes of China, Indonesia and other Asian powers, that have been only too willing to to oblige because of Fijis strategic location in the South Pacific. Thanks to their expanding exclusive economic zones because of changes wrought by the redrawing of their continental shelf boundaries under the provisions of the UN Law of the Sea, the islands are hot property for resource hungry nations. Several island nations, along with Fiji, have opened their territories both on land and the seabed to prospecting firms from distant nations. By sticking to its unrealistic, single demand of restoring democracy in Fiji, without the changes that are needed to turn its polity into one based on true democratic principles, New Zealand has missed the South Pacific boat, now helmed by the likes of China. Enough has been written about how brazenly corrupt, blatantly racist and undemocratic the deposed Fijian government was. Its former members and supporters, now living overseas are demanding a return to that kind of administration. And the Australian and New Zealand governments have played into their hands by handing out the visa to turncoat military man Tevita Mara. The action smacks of desperation at the failure of this isolationist strategy. New Zealands reasoning for handing the man a visa despite knowing his racist past and that he was involved in beatings during the early days of the regime are as vacuous as its reasons for looking the other way in the face of its big red friends human rights abuses. It has displayed appalling casuistry by bending every rule that it has put in place as regards travel to New Zealand for Fijian nationals associated with the administration whether they are sportspeople or simply passengers wishing to transit through, though Murray McCully has said his ministry has been making exceptions regularly on a case-by-case basis. A big opportunity looms in the form of the Rugby World Cup for New Zealand to change tack and bring Fiji back on the democratic track. Both are rugby mad nations and the sports arena could well be the setting of a new beginning. The governments of both countries could potentially earn enormous goodwill of the entire region. There is some hope this will happen. In the past few weeks, the Fijian administration has been at pains to put out news releases about holding elections in September 2014. On his part, Mr MuCully has offered New Zealands assistance in redrawing electoral boundaries, compiling lists and helping with the election process. Making it possible for Fijian players and fans to visit New Zealand without restrictions during the world cup in exchange for working with Fiji and convince it to stick to its September 2014 promise by providing it with the wherewithal to achieve that goal would be a win-win for all. - Dev Nadkarni

Sad state of affairs in NZ

Having been in Australia for over a year, I can say with confidence that NZ is a very small place, and moreover the Kiwis have a very small world view. Paul Henrys comments are just one instance, and I have seen so many, and many times over, when the ignorant locals have made such remarks not only on Indians, but on many others communities. I sit in Australia, with the economy buoyant, looking over the Tasman to New Zealand, which has yet to come out of the economic depression Parikshit Basrur

Independence Day celebrations

Why celebrate Indian independence here. Its not relevant at all. How does Thailands Independence celebration sound to you.How many Indians know about the British atrocities or Indian freedom fighters strategies. Please dont make it a money making business for you samaj. This should be kept within the premises of the embassy. This is not a religious day. Farhan Bushi

Why Shri and Shrimati does not mean Mr and Mrs

True that the original meaning of Shri in Vedic or as per Sanskrit language roots means quite something different from what is made out to be today. But shrimAn definitely means one who is endowed with shrI= wealth in general. The matup pratyaya in masculine gender. Thus shrimAn, hence shrImatI is the Feminine gender version of the same. In our family-above-the-individual and society-above-the family culture that is characteristic of the Vedas- the shrI(=Wealth) of the shrImAn(=wealthy guy)! Mahadeva S Sarma There is one thing the writer forgot to mention. The word Srimati does not exist. As he himself agreed that Sri is feminine gender, there was no need to use the word Srimati. There are several examples of words of different gender being used to which they belong. One such word is Dara this is actually male gender but its meaning is wife. Further the word Sri means exalted or respectable. Hence, the concept of srimati is redundant to use. Dr S P Iswara

Indian Weekender Volume 3 No. 5 Publisher: Kiwi Media Group Limited Group editor-in-chief: Dev Nadkarni dev@indianweekender.co.nz Online editor: Arvind Kumar arvind@indianweekender.co.nz Chief Technical Officer: Rohan Desouza rohan@ indianweekender.co.nz Design: Sonata Design Ltd - sonatadesignnz@gmail.com Advertising: Giri Gupta - Ph: 520 0922, Mob: 021 221 1131. Email - girigupta@xtra.co.nz Tanya Mehra - Ph 520 0922 Mob: 021 1598 016 Email: tanya@indianweekender.co.nz Accounts & Admin: Farah - Email: accounts@indianweekender.co.nz Please email original editorial contributions, community notices and pictures to editor@indianweekender.co.nz 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

Ten top stories on iwk.co.nz

1. Why Shri and Shrimati does not mean Mr and Mrs 2. Artists oeuvre reflects soul of India 3. Gandhi Centre acquires substantial property 4. Star violinist for Auckland concert 5. Jaipur Foot bound for Fiji 6. Painter M F Husain dead 7. Manjit Singh among Kiwi Indians in QSM list 8. Fiji investment boosts renewable energy 9. Community urged to pay priests their due 10. Is Indias food system failing?
Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, New Market and printed at APN Print, Ellerslie, Auckland Copyright 2010. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

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Comment

Is Sanyasa about making a political difference?

raM lINgaM

the Baba Ramdev episode has thrown up a key question should sanyasis be involved in social activism instead of leading a quiet monastic life? It would seem that sanyasis cannot be a social leader since they are not supposed to own any worldly belongings or be attached to the material world. After all, a sanyasi is one who has renounced material life, isnt it? But with Baba Ramdevs social activism, is Sanyasa about making a difference in the society as well?
Here is a yoga Guru believed to be born in 1965 in Haryana to a farmer, takes to yogic discipline at 14, then gets ordained as a monk at 30 in1995 to become Swmi Ramdev. Thereafter Bb Rmdev, as he is popularly called, in 2002 starts mass education of Indias best known global brand called Yoga and that too through mainstream media. In the last 10 years or so Bb Rmdev has led the way to bring Yog, Prnaym and yurved to millions of homes in India and overseas. Moreover he is said to command a yoga and Ayurveda business empire estimated to be worth more than US $250 million (Rs.1100 crores). With Bb Rmdev, what started as a mass education on yoga and Ayurvedic practice is now a health crusade intertwined with social activism on Swadeshi lines. All this has been achieved by Bb Rmdev as an ordained Sanysi. With Bb Rmdevs crusade, its an opportunity to understand the concept of Sanysa in the modern world. Sanysa is the most revered stage of life in Indian culture and glorified by the Holy Vedas. In fact there are atleast 16 Upanishads (called Sanysa Upanishads) that directly speak on sanysa. In the Indian tradition, renunciation is considered to be the ideal. Hence heroes in Indian culture are those who have renounced or sacrificed. The word sanysa comes from the Sanskrit word samnyasa: This is derived from two roots: sam meaning complete or total and nysa meaning renunciation. So a sanyasi is understood as one who has renounced everything i.e. all egocentric actions and turned towards a higher life of austerity and asceticism. The Holy Geeta defines sanysa as kmynm karmanm nysam sannysam kavayo viduh meaning The Sages understand sanysa to be the renunciation of desire prompting actions. The sanyasis resolve is to transcend the rigmarole of fleeting pleasures to achieve a permanent state of unbroken happiness (Godhood). The sanyasis oath in the Vedic tradition therefore renounces the pleasures of this world, and even pleasures of the astral world and of the heavens - all the three worlds. So sanyasis dont have any possessions and relinquish all material wealth as they have outgrown worldly pleasures out of right thinking. Thats what a Siddhrta Gautama did to become a Gautam Buddha and influence millions across the globe. Thats what a young Shankara did to become the great charya di Shankar. History tells us that the Vedic Rishis, the Buddha, Acharya Shankara, the exalted Thirthankar Mahveer championed the path of renunciation over other paths. But the sanysa heritage in India has seen both extremes from the most austere to the opulent from Mahveer and Ramana Maharishi to the affluent Osho Rajneesh. While some sanyasis lived a quiet teaching life in a remote place, others got dynamic in social life. In many ways, in this modern age? Though sanyasis have an educative role and a strict code of conduct, this may depend on their Guru, lineage and also their personal level of spiritual attainment. But sanyasis in India have played a huge part in social life, when times demanded. A quick review of the influenced great thinkers from political circles. Also many illustrious Gurus were renunciates (sanyasis) like Parahamsa Yogananda, Swmi Rama, Swmi Sahajnand, Swmi Shivnand, Swmi Niranjannand, Swmi Satynand among others who supported social upliftment. In the not so distant past India has had larger than life social-reformer-saints like Sree Nryanguru (Kerala), Swmi Keshwnand (Rajashtan), Jai Jalram Bpa (Gujarat), Swmi Daynand Saraswati (Gujarat), Sathya Si Bb (Andhra Pradesh) among others. In ancient times Gurus like Vashisht, Agastya and Vishwmitra advised the rulers. This heritage shows that Gurus were not just showing the society the way to God but also got involved in political and social issues. In fact people who are detached to material things are better able to do good to society. Coming back to yoga, the most fundamental text of Yoga is the Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika, a classic written by Swmi Swtmarama in the 5th Century C.E. This textbook mentions (in Ch-1, v12) that yoga should be practiced in a country where justice is properly administered, where good people live, and food can be obtained easily and plentifully. Is India one such country? May be thats the India the social-reformer-Gurus want!!!

.Yoga should be practiced in a country where justice is properly administered, where good people live, and food can be obtained easily and plentifully.
~ From the Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika, a yoga classic written by Swami Swatmarama in the 5thcentury C.E
Indian spiritual and religious organizations shows that we have had many active monks. It is also interesting, and often neglected, that many of the sanyasis created incredibly large organizations, with much resources and follower base. Historically it is well known that a learned Chanakya was responsible for the creation of the mighty Mauryan Empire. Swmi Rmdas had Shivaji Mahrjs patronage. Swmi Viveknanda and Shri Aurobindo though they were sanyasis did not always wear orange robe and

the ancient order of sanysa was influenced by great Gurus, saints who were also reformers. Swmi Krishnananda of the Divine Life Society observes Swmi Vivekananda brought in a new atmosphere into the Sanysa order by introducing a greater social sense...Monks who were originally spiritually oriented also became socially oriented on account of a need of the times that was felt. So what is the role of renunciates

May not be kicking, but Fiji media very much alive

STaNleY SIMPSoN
The media landscape has changed significantly since 2006 for better or for worse depending on who you speak to, and who is making the observation. The first major change of course is that we are not free or as free as we were prior to 2006. Censorship still exists as stipulated under the Public Emergency Decree and there is the Media Industry Development Decree which while aiming to improve the standards of journalism in Fiji, also has teeth in that severe fines can be imposed on journalists or media organisations should they breach elements of the decree. The censorship is not an as stringent as it was after April 2009 when it was first enforced, but it still remains and we, like other media organisations - still get calls from the Ministry of Information asking us to remove a story from our bulletin or from our website. So the Fiji media today is not just being read, heard or viewed by the public it is closely monitored, and I think to a great extent analysed. We are analysed by the Ministry of Information through their media monitors, by the anonymous blog sites, by the public at large, and by overseas media, which sometimes label us either pro-government or anti-government. In the main journalists today are not as confident (or as aggressive as some would describe it) as their counterparts were prior to 2006, and in the 80s and 90s. I am not saying here that current journalists lack courage in fact it is a courageous thing to be a journalist at this time. However given the PER, we are constantly checking ourselves and asking ourselves if the stories we write will breach the PER and what the consequences may be. Longest censorship This is the longest period of censorship and public emergency regulations the country has experienced. Over two years and counting. How the Fiji media and journalists survive and adapt to the current environment is critical. Also important is how we adapt or react once the censorship and public emergency regulations is lifted. Will the confidence return? What have we learnt? How aggressive will we be in getting a story? How freely will we report, and how responsible will we be? There is also I believe a current crisis in the Fiji media in the lack of quality journalists entering the mainstream media industry. Many of our quality journalists are exiting the industry looking for better pay, better working conditions, or just a more secure and less stressful occupation. Our journalists have endured much from all sections of society all clamouring for their space or their voice to be heard and to dominate discourse. It is a pressure environment all eyes on you while you try to write and report pieces of the important developments in the nation. Broadcast journalists for instance are a rare breed today. Very few journalists have radio or television experience. The pool is small to draw from that if one leaves they are very difficult to replace. Vernacular journalists people who can translate a story and write and read fluently in i-Taukei and Hindi are also rare. It is a special skill translating a court story for instance with all its jargon into vernacular. We are losing or will soon lose people like Masimeke Latianara and Rajendra James (FBC News journalists who are now in their 70s and 60s in age but still reporting) veterans of vernacular journalism and are finding it difficult to find capable people to replace them. Still some positives So there are challenges and there are things that need to definitely improve. But we must not forget the positives. The media still lives struggling but it remains alive. Our journalists remain determined to do their work and maintain the integrity of their profession. The media still continues to make a positive change in peoples lives. There is too much media bashing about all the negative messages that we allow to come through but there are many examples every day or every week about how a media report has led to positive change or highlighted an important issue. Can we do better? Yes, we can. But government, the Ministry of Information, civil society and other stakeholders can also do better. There is some acceptance in media circles that we are living through a time when perhaps helping the country recover and get back on its feet or back towards democratic elections is more important than breaking stories. However while we believe in putting Fiji first this also means telling the truth or reporting freely and responsibly about what is happening. We can focus on development and progress however we cannot ignore real problems and challenges on the ground the problems and challenges that all countries face. The media was not trained to be spoon-fed information. Good journalists investigate their own stories, verify their information, and give both sides of the story. Stanley Simpson is news director of the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. This paper was presented at a conference on peace journalism organised by the Citizens Constitutional Forum (CCF) in Suva late last week.

Indian weekender | June 17, 2011 | www.iwk.co.nz

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Fiji

Fiji and tonga a Family affair

PadMINI gauNder
The chiefly families of Fiji and Tonga are closely related by blood. Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau who was the Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji at independence was the son of King George Tupou of Tonga and Adi Cakobau of Fiji. He was hence the half brother of Queen Salote who was the mother of the last King of Tonga and the grandmother of the present King. Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, the President of Fiji now, whose father was Ratu Edward, is thus the uncle of the present King of Tonga. The Kings grandmother and Ratu Epelis father were half brother and sister. Queen Salote seemed to have had a lot of regard for Ratu Edward as he was her only brother. As for Ratu Edward, he did not have any other siblings so he seemed to have considered her as his closest relative, ahead of his Fijian cousins. That relationship has continued, even after the deaths of Queen Salote and Ratu Edward, between their children. This is not the only relationship between Fiji and Tonga. The Lau group of islands which are the furthermost eastern islands in Fiji are closer to Tonga than to the rest of Fiji so from the beginning there were many Tongans living in Lau. The Tongans used to come to Lau for buying boats as they considered the Fijian canoes superior to their own. Since there is a lot of mixing the Lauans are more Polynesian than Melanesian in their appearance too so they look different from the rest of the Fijians. Maafu was a Tongan prince who came to Lau and became the leader of the Tongan community. He aligned himself with the Tui Nayau, the paramount chief of Lau. He was a signatory to the Deed of Cession in 1874. The Lauan way of living became different from the way of living of the rest of Fiji. For example, there was no cannibalism in Lau though the rest of Fiji was notorious for it. This was the reason that the missionaries, both Methodists and Roman Catholics, came to Lau first before slowly moving to other parts in Fiji. Education was the tool the missionaries used for conversion. They established schools in Lau and formal education started there much before it started in the rest of Fiji. This was the main reason why the Lauans had been ahead in education even after independence. This was a point of contention between the rest of Fiji and Lau. The Fijian Nationalists under Sakeasi Butadroka always accused Ratu Maras Alliance Party, which was in power, of favouring the Lauans. (Ratu Mara was the high chief of Lau). This was a cry taken up also by Dr. Timothy Bavadra, who became the leader of the Fiji Labour Party and succeeded in defeating the Alliance government in 1987 before he himself was ousted in a coup detat soon after .The Alliance government always maintained that scholarships were awarded according to merit. Though the Lauan chiefs were happy for the missionaries to establish schools and introduce formal education they were not prepared to accept Christianity for about two decades. It was only after Ratu Seru Cakobau, the chief of Bau, who is considered the King of Fiji (Tui Viti) became brought as indentured labourers did all the hard work for the colonial government and the European settlers. So the Fijians did not suffer much under the colonial rule. Similarly Tonga was never a colony as such because what they had was an agreement with Great Britain to protect the Independent Kingdom of Tonga. The chiefly families in Fiji are connected in many ways. From the time of King George I of Tonga, who travelled to Fiji and aided Ratu Seru Cakobau to consolidate his rule over the whole of Fiji, the Tongan royal family and chiefs in Fiji have also been related. As mentioned earlier, King George also had a son from Cakobaus daughter, Adi Cakobau, Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau. Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau was the uncle of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the father of Ratu Tevita Mara who has been enjoying the hospitality of the Tongan Royal family. Ratu Edward was also the uncle of the Tongan Kings father so Ratu Tevita and the Tongan King are related in many ways. Ratu Tevita is the brother-inlaw of Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, who is the President of Fiji. It has been already pointed out that Ratu Epeli is the son of Ratu Sir Edward. So for the Tongan Royal Family it is a family affair; they are giving protection to one of their family members who is in trouble.

the chiefly families of Fiji and tonga are closely related by blood.
a Christian in 1854 the rest of Fiji (including the Lauans) followed suit. Ratu Seru Cakobau was influenced to take this drastic action by the King of Tonga. Fijians were not against colonialism as they did not feel its effects much. This was because of indirect rule. That is, they stayed on in their villages under their chiefs while the Indians who were

Fiji launches HIV prevention stamps

Suva: Post Fiji and UNAIDS launched stamps on HIV prevention yesterday. Fiji is one of a few countries in the world that have launched stamps to commemorate the High Level Meeting. Post Fiji as a member of the Universal Postal Union which partnered with UNAIDS for the project. Post Fiji Chief Executive Officer Jope Kunikoro said the stamps were Post Fijis contribution in the response to HIV in the country and will be effective in raising awareness of the issues surrounding HIV. The stamps themes are focused on UNAIDS ten outcome areas which are: Protecting youth from HIV, Zero New Infections, Preventing mothers and babies from HIV and enhancing social protection for people affected by HIV. Speaking at the launch, UNAIDS National Programme Officer Jone Vakalalabure highlighted the steps Fiji has taken in legal reforms that protected the rights of the most vulnerable to infection in Fiji. Vakalalabure said with the world now talking about the global response after 30 years, it was obvious that the response to HIV was far from over, The High Level Meeting should see the renewal of commitment by the heads of states and governments to reaching universal access goals towards HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2015. He also said that the next ten years of the response is about game changers, Scientific innovation, new political leadership, country ownership and predictable resources. Together, we will transform the AIDS response in Fiji and the region. The stamps are available in 20 cents, 40 cents up to $5 denominations.

Jaipur Team Fulfilling Dreams

Suva: The Jaipur Foot team that arrived in the country on Monday has to date, successfully fitted 30 artificial limbs at the Rehabilitation Hospital in Tamavua. Head of delegation and team manager, Mr Om Prakash Sharma said there were eight of them working on the artificial limbs and each day a total of 14 patients were screened and measured for placements. The Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) commonly known as Jaipur Foot started in 1975 and has fitted 1.20 million limbs both in India and around the world, said Mr Sharma. I have seen a lot of diabetic patients over the last two days who are going through the limb placements in Fiji. Most of them are having the fitting for the first time and their response has been encouraging. Fifty-one-year-old Moritekei Wavu, who came all the way from Natumua, Tavuki Kadavu said he had a new lease of life now after the limb fitting. Mr Wavu is a diabetic patient who was one of the patients fit-

Fiji to extend medical services to outer islands

Suva: Fijis Ministry of Health said last Thursday that it has major plans to build a floating hospital to service those in maritime areas who find it too expensive and inconvenient to travel to main centers for medical treatment. The ministrys spokesman Peni Namotu told media that this was a long-term plan for the ministry to build a floating hospital, which will serve the maritime islands of Fiji even though some citizens believe there was a need to improve health facilities on mainland first. The maritime places are not accessible to services provided at the main referral hospitals and costs of boat fares can be quite unrealistic for these rural dwellers that rely heavily on subsistence farming and fishing for a living. The Ministry of Health hopes that this floating hospital is going to address the issue of quality services provided to people living in those areas. Namotu said that the floating hospital will be a ship which will have all state of the art medical facilities provided at major hospitals around the country. However, critics believe that Fijis Ministry of Health should at first concentrate on upgrading their services at public hospitals and existing health centres. Pita Tukana, a resident of one of the suburbs outside Suva told Xinhua that health centres were not providing services expected from them as proclaimed by the government, adding although there were extended hours patients had to wait for medicine to be released the next day and often they waited for hours before being attended to by doctors. Xinhua/Pacnews

ted with a limb today. I thank God for this opportunity and I thank the team for the assistance, Mr Wavu said. I heard on the radio that a team was coming from India and I came to Suva to register and got selected for the fitting. Mr Wavu said he was staying in the village all this years and now with the new limb he could move around more easily. The Jaipur team will be attending the patients seven days a week and also work on public holidays.

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Fiji
revenue generated by foreign yachts visiting Fiji and does not take into account revenue from the domestic yacht market. The total revenue from foreign yachts was estimated at FJ$33 million; FJ$3.9 million from superyachts and FJ$21.8 million from yachts and the direct contribution to the government revenue was over FJ$3.8 million. Departing guests also paid over FJ$613,000 in departure tax. Over sixty percent of the guests flew by the national carrier, Air Pacific, contributing an estimated FJ$6.6 million to their revenue. In total, there were 1006 guests on 32 superyachts and 4567 guests on visiting yachts as well as a total of 1863 crew. closely with relevant government departments in the hope of becoming ports of entry to ultimately give the visiting tourist a more streamlined and cleaner method of entering and exiting the country. The Fiji Navy has also taken over all hydrographic services for Fiji and are about to embark on a huge project of resurveying Fiji waters. With many soundings dating back to pre-World War One and chart datums being incorrect, this will be a welcome resource for our domestic boating community as well as that of our visitors. Skeegs said one of the biggest concerns for the yachting industry in Fiji now is the lack of marinas and berths for both yachts and su-

superyachts on the rise?

New decree, untouched beauty lure $m business to Fiji

the total revenue from foreign yachts was estimated at FJ$33 million; FJ$3.9 million from superyachts and FJ$21.8 million from yachts and the direct contribution to the government revenue was over FJ$3.8 million.
joHN roSS
Yacht tourism has been a growth industry worldwide over the past 10 years and was basically unaffected by the global economic crisis, making it an area of opportunity for many Pacific Islands countries. Fiji has always enjoyed good business in the yachting area, mainly because of the countrys geographic placement, but was hindered in some of the opportunity areas by restrictive and somewhat archaic marine and immigration laws. There is now increasing interest from around the world amongst superyachts for the Pacific as a base of operations because the traditional area for charter cruising during the Northern Hemisphere winter, the Caribbean, is overused, the environment not clean and safety issues are becoming a concern. So cruising yachts, particularly the superyachts, are turning to the Pacific as a cruising and charter area. Superyachts are generally motor powered, over 50 metres in length, luxuriously fitted with all sorts of toys including helicopters, and carry a crew of between 12 and 18. Generally, they have accommodation for 12 guests. The yacht tourism sector is growing rapidly in Fiji, due mainly to a decision by the government to provide a better legal environment for the industry. The Superyacht Decree of 2010, first tabled in late 2009 by the Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, puts in place a number of initiatives to assist with the viability of the industry. This decree has now been implemented for the last 12 months and the results have been spectacular. In early May, there were two superyachts (complete with their own helicopters sitting on the back deck) and a number of smaller charter yachts at the Port Denarau marina and a number operating from other ports in Fiji. The untouched beauty of the islands, the unpolluted environment and the very friendly attitude of the local people combine to enhance the attraction of the destination. Another factor in Fijis favour is the relative ease of access. Most charter passengers fly in, take the charter and then fly out again, so airline services are important. Air Pacific, the countrys national carrier, offers excellent connections to all the main source markets with flights departing Los Angeles late afternoon and arriving early the next morning in Nadi, the gateway to the cruising areas. Fiji also has a number of quality marinas and excellent facilities for servicing yachts. Yachts can charter out of a selected port knowing that both regular maintenance and emergency repairs can be undertaken without too much trouble. A survey of the impact of superyachts on the tourist industry in Fiji has just been completed. It was conducted by the Port Denarau marina for the FIHTA Marine Industry Committee. It is estimated that in 2010, 700 yachts came to Fiji, 32 of which were superyachts. The survey sample covered 50 vessels. The survey only covers the Superyachts stayed in Fiji waters for an average of 136 days and visiting yachts for an average of 116 days. By contrast, in 2010, cruise ship visits totalled 63 calls to various ports with an estimated total of 96,000 passengers, and average stay of just over a day and a contribution to the Fiji economy of FJ$6.4 million. Although cruise ships bring significantly more passengers to Fiji, the impact on the economy is very much smaller than for yachts. Nigel Skeegs, of Port Denarau Marina, says Fiji is entering a very exciting phase in tourism, of which we hope to see yachting in Fiji as a major contributor to our economy. The Government of Fiji has made many changes of late with the extension of visiting yachts time allowed in the country to 18 months, duty on importation of yachts to 5%, the Super Yacht Charter Decree and, finally, the refinement of the outdated domestic clearance legislation. Both Port Denarau Marina and Vuda Marina are working very peryachts. For the industry to grow, we need facilities spread throughout Fiji and this requires considerable investment in dredging and infrastructure. Unfortunately, with all marinas in Fiji being under price control, there is no incentive to build and develop by marinas. The Commerce Commission is controlling all charges by marinas including the protection of all foreign vessels and superyacht charges, Skeegs said. However, the industry is confident the yachting tourism in Fiji, particularly the superyacht segment, is poised for growth in the next two years. There are a number of infrastructure developments planned that will make the area even more attractive for chartering. In addition, the Fiji government continues to seek ways to support the industry. (Reproduced with permission from Islands Business)

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Bollywood

ranvir is a good dad

Actor Konkona Sen Sharma is quite busy these days taking care of her newborn. the new B-town mommy chats up correspondent Sreya Basu at the launch of Mamma Mania, an authors journey to motherhood by Shabia Ravi Walia, in Mumbai
How does it feel to be a new mom? Life changes completely after you become a mother. While I didnt have a baby, people used to tell me: dekhna life bilkul badal jayega. And I didnt take them seriously. And then, it happened to me, I realized its something you have to experience personallyits a profound and wonderful change in your life, which I cant describe in words. What was the most difficult thing you faced during pregnancy? When I was pregnant, I was told to be on bed rest for sometime. It was very difficult for me because I am not used to staying home and was badly wanting to go out. So, it was a challenge in itself. Did the excitement of new motherhood bring you to launch a book on first-time mothers? I had read a lot of books during my pregnancy. But most of them were targeted at an audience abroad US or whatever. So, this created a void. There were people giving you lots of advice, recommended books and what to expect during pregnancy. But I had not read any Indian books on pregnancy. I wish I had read Mamma Mania while I was pregnant. But I read it soon after I delivered my baby boy (in March) and found it a very practical guide to all mothers, especially, first-time mothers. Shabia (Ravi Walia) has not crossed over anythingeverything you need to know is there. Who suggested Harun as the name of your child? Harun was the only name we agreed on for our baby. Else, he (Ranvir Shorey) was not agreeing to what I suggested and vice-versa. Harun in Sanskrit means hope. Also,

(Salman) Rushdies Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a book that we both read and laughed. So my sons name is inspired from that bookthere Haroun is a 12-year-old boy adventurer. Again, Harun al-Rashid was a very famous king of Baghdad centuries ago. In the Old Testament, theres a derivative of the name. So, actually its a panel of names. How is Ranvir as a father? Ranvir is very excited about the baby. He is such a good dadhe is changing diapers, putting Harun

to sleep, burping himhe is really good at all that. Thank God, I am very lucky. Will motherhood affect your career as an actor? No, I dont think my choice of films will change because I have a baby. Obviously, my child will always be in the back of my mind when I am out. It sounds funny for me to say this as motherhood is just sinking in. As long as I get interesting roles and interesting films, I will continue to do them.

What is taking so long for your film Iti Mrinalini to release in India? Its unfortunate that the film has still not released in India. But its very exciting that Iti Mrinalini won two awards at the New York Indian Film Festival this year. A small budget film is always so difficult to release, get money for publicity, etc. So, I am hoping that awards will generate certain interest in people about the film and they will want to watch it. The film will be released both in Hindi and Bengali. its about life of an actress.

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Why didnt you direct Delly Belly besides producing it? Abhinay (Deo) has made Delly Belly the exact way we wanted. The script came to us and we chose him and he has done full justice to it. As a producer, I am really satisfied the way the film has shaped up, the way Abhinay has brought out the humour, the excitementhe lived up to our faith completely. Why did you cast your nephew Imran as a lead in the film? The reason we chose Imran is because he is a thik thak actor (smiles)a good actor. He suits the character of Tashi to the T. Is it a remake? It is not a remake of any film. It is an original film. The script has been written by Akshat Verma, who has been a student of UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles); he studied films there. Its his story. Delly Belly has a dark script while your production house maintains a clean, family entertainment tag. Are you taking a risk with this film? Yes you are right in saying that I produce films that are family-oriented, carry social message; mainly for family audience. But for the first time we have made a film which is strictly not for kids. The language used in the film is really indecent. So, it is also not for those people who prefer to stay away from filthy language. We had applied for an adults (A) certificate (at the Censor Board)and we got that. Delly Belly is a very irreverent film;

I dont use foul language

aamir Khan has donned the producers hat once again for imran Khan-starrer delly Belly. the actor in conversation with tWF correspondent sreya Basu in mumbai
its aimed at the youth. I loved the film, though personally I dont use foul language. How did you feel when you read the script for the first time? I couldnt stop laughing when I read the script for the first time. Akshat was trying for months to approach me with his script. He came to Mumbai from LA only to meet me. But I was busy shooting for a film and so couldnt meet him. So, he gave the script to my maid at home. I dont know where the maid kept the script, but somehow it showed up on my table. One day, I was answering some emails on Internet and Kiran (Rao, wife) was waiting for me to get free. There were about 100-150 scripts on my table and the very first script she picked up for a casual read was this one. I saw her laughing while reading the script and gradually her laughter got louder and she literally rolled down from the sofa. I asked her: What are you reading?She said this script is really funny and that I should read it too. We were supposed to go out, but we cancelled our plan. Kiran refused to leave the script half-read. She completed reading the script in 90 minutes. I immediately started reading it after she was done. I wasted no time in calling Jim (one of the producers) and Akshat, who had just reached LA that time, and said I wanted to meet him. He took the next flight and returned to Mumbai. Now that the song- Bhaag Bhaag DK Bose- is topping the music charts, who is DK Bose? At times we face certain andhi-like (stormy) situations in life. That time the only option left to us to flee. Its at that time one sings this kind of song. Why arent you disclosing the name of your item girl in Delly Belly? Till a heroine or item girl is decided, I feel very happy because all actresses smile at me a lot. Wherever I go, girls give me a lot of smiles. So I feel very happy and ask my director to take more time to choose and announce the heroine. What if you get confused on a heroine given that so many girls are smiling at you? In that case, I will turn item boy and start dancing. Shifting from Delly Bellyi, Salman Khan said he will tie up

your hands and feet so that you dont marry a third time. You comment to that? You people (media) asked me how will Salman get married. I said since he himself is not taking any initiative, so we have to tie up his hands and feet and get him married. Now you are saying he wants to tie up my hand and legs. He is absolutely right. If someone doesnt tie me up, then there is no guarantee(that I wont marry again).

Celina Jaitley plants tree

Mumbai: Popular jewellery brand Diya Diamonds on Monday announced Plant a Tree initiative with actor Celina Jaitley, who was present at the event to pledge her support for the cause on the occasion of World Environment Day. Diya Diamonds planet friendly initiative on World Environment Day aims to create awareness and educate the society on the importance of a Green Nation. On this occasion Jaitley, Brand ambassador of Diya Diamonds, said: I am proud to be associated with this initiative by Diya Diamonds. This activity is the perfect platform to create awareness about our environmental issues and a step in the right direction. I hope everybody joins us and takes a pledge on World Environment Day to give back to nature and become pro actively environmentally friendly. Niyat Parekh, Brand HeadGitanjali Brands Ltd. announced the initiative and planted the first sapling to support this eco-friendly cause.

Single Bipasha ready to mingle?

Mumbai: After the largely talked about breakup with long time boy friend John Abhraham, rumour mill has started spinning round the cock on the personal life of Bipasha Basu. Reports said she has found more than a friend these days and if some reports are to be believed the Bong beauty finds Simngularity co-star Josh Hartnett more than a friend. He is a fabulous costar. We get along very well. We look great on screen together, the beautiful actor gushed about Harnett in a

TV interview. Bipasha and Harnett paired together in director Roland Joffs new film Singularity. Media reports said that Josh who was reportedly dating Bipasha has returned back to his former lady love Sophia Lie. With this film Bipasha joins the long list of B-town actors like Ash and Mallika Sherawat who featured in international projects. Bipasha was earlier linked to Southern star Rana Daggubati, with whom she worked in Dum Maro Dum.

I hope everybody joins us and takes a pledge on world environment day to give back to nature and become pro actively environmentally friendly.
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Indian

Bollywood Mandira Bedi to endorse Stem Cell Bank

Bangalore: Cryo-Save, a global leader in stem cell banking industry, on Thursday announced Mandira Bedi as their official brand-ambassador. In her role as Cryo-Saves Brand Ambassador, Mandira Bedi will be involved in various strategic communication initiatives as part of an extensive 360 degree brand campaign. Mandira Bedi, an actress, model and television anchor for various cricket tournaments, started her career by playing the title role in the 1994 television serial Shanti, which was the first daily soap on Indian Television. Mandira is married for twelve years to Bollywood Director/Producer, Raj Kaushal. The couple is expecting their first child. Speaking about her association with Cryo-Save, Mandira Bedi said Parents take various steps to ensure safe and secure future of their child. One small, but very significant step towards securing the health of your child is by storing the stem cells of your new born. It wasnt until recently that I was made aware of the benefits of stem cells. They can be used to treat various life threatening diseases. Banking of Stem Cells is the best gift, which the parents can give to their child. It gives me immense pleasure to associate with CryoSave in spreading this awareness across India.

Shatrughan Sinha making comeback with KBC

Kolkata: Yesteryears Bollywood star Shatrughan Sinha will once again be seen entertaining his fans, this time in the small screen anchoring the Bhojpuri version of the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati. Sinha will be seen anchoring the Bhojpuri version of Kaun Banega Crorepati that will hit the screen from Jun 6. The Bhojpuri edition has been named Ke Bani Crorepati and Sinha has completed the entire shooting of the show that will be aired on Mahuua TV. I believe that the show Ke Bani Crorepati is all set to change television content in the Bhojpuri language. Its a tribute to the Bhojpuri language community that an international format like Who Wants to be Millionaire popular as Kaun Banega Crorepati in India is being made in Bhojpuri language, he said. Bollywood star Govinda, singer Udit Narayan, politician Yashwant Sinha and actor Sonakshi Sinha (daughter of Sinha) will feature in the celebrity episodes of the show. Sonakshi will be on the hot seat before me. Audiences will finally get to see baap-bati (father

and daughter) together on the small screen first, he said. We want to scale new heights in creating local language content amd KBC is a taste of things to come. We are proud to collaborate with Siddharth Basu and Big Synergy in taking this pioneering step and producing a world class show in these two languages, Yubraj Bhattacharya, CEO, Mahuaa TV, said. The Bengali version of the popular show will also be aired in the channel in the coming days. Mahuaa TV and Mahuaa Bangla channel will telecast the Bengali and the Bhojpuri version of the popular show.

Adding to this, Raj Kaushal said: In India, when a child is born, the parents open a savings bank account to ensure the financial and educational future of the newborn. In my opinion, banking the stem cells of the newborn is equally important as it helps in insuring the medical future of the child. It is a boon and the best gift that we can give our children- The miracle of good health. Announcing Mandira Bedi as the brand ambassador, Rajesh Sharma, MD, Cryo-Save India said, We are indeed very proud and privileged to have Mandira as our Brand Ambassador and we welcome her to the Cryo-Save family and look forward to a long and successful relationship. Cryo-Save India, a 100% subsidiary of Cryo Save Group N.V which is Europes largest adult stem cell storage bank, is headquartered in Bangalore with a state-of-the art fully automated adult stem-cell storage facility.

Dont compare me with Amitabh

think has the capability to win Rs 1 crore on your show? There are many of them; like, Yashwant Sinhaji (former Union Finance Minister) has agreed to be a celebrity contestant on my show. He is a well-educated man, very good in general knowledge, he is very strong in history. We are also trying to convince Lalu (Prasad) Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal chief) to come to my show. We also want Nitish Kumar (Bihar Chief Minister), who gave a new direction to the state, on our show. What about the Bollywood brigade? Govinda (actor) and Udit Narayan (singer) have agreed to come, we are in talks with Salman Khan. Sonakshi will also be on the hot seat before me. Audiences will finally get to see baap-beti together first time on the small screen. Talking about Sonakshi, what changes did her Dabangg debut bring in your life? Sonakshi is indeed an answer to our (me and my wife Poonams) prayers. Being the only daughter of the family, she is our darling. She is still a baby to us. Now that the situation has changed, sometimes me, Poonam, my sons Luv and Kush get to bask ourselves in the new-found glory of Sonakshi. But thats what happens outside our house. At home, we are still onewe are a loving and great family. You talk a lot about your wife Poonam Sinha. Will we see her on the hot seat? I dont have guts to approach her. (Laughs) We are seeing you in very few films these days. Are you taking a backseat? See, fact is, I cannot accept any role after spending over four decades in the Hindi film industry. I have to pick a role that suits my image, a script that is sensible. At the moment, there are three films up for release- Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai with Rekhaji, Bodyguard (with Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor), and Aap Jaisa Koi Nahin (with Raj Babbar).

Yesteryear actor shatrughan sinha will be seen hosting the Bhojpuri version of Kaun Banega Crorepati on mahuaa tv. the original Bihari Babu in conversation with sreya Basu in Kolkata
After 20 years, we will see your pairing with Rekha. Did Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai help you two sort out your differences? Rekha has matured a lot (unlike she was 20 years back). I enjoyed a lot working with her again. She is one of the most talented and beautiful actresses the Hindi film industry ever had.

What was your first reaction when you were offered Ke Bani Crorepati? I was a bit nervous and unsure when I was approached for the show. But the producers told me that this show wont happen if I said no to them. Ke Bani Crorepati is a tribute to the Bhojpuri language. Like Amitabh Bachchan say Lock Kiya Jaye?on Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), what will be your catch phrase? There will be lots of such phrases on my show. If there is Lock Kiya Jaye, then here it can be Maar Mohara Lagavo Thappa. Amitabh is an old colleague and now you are hosting the Bhojpuri version of KBC. Are you ready for comparisons? Just dont compare me with himthere is no need. See, Amitabh has already proven his success as KBC host. I know there are certain features that people will find similar in us we both are tall, have good voices and accent, and have excellent sense of extempore, wit and humour. But then, I know there will be comparisons. Since you are from political background, which is one politician who you

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Ajay Devgan to judge Emotional Atyachaar-Season 3

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan will now be seen co-hosting the popular reality show Emotional AtyachaarSeason 3 Ajay Devgan will be seen sharing his expertise and making people aware of cheating. The first episode will be on the story of one Aayush who has been dating Neha for the past year and half. Love seems to be in abundance for Aayush since he is by the side of Neha despite his friends and well-wishers alerting him of Nehas suspicious behavior with guys. Aayush approaches the EAT (Emotional Atyachaar Team) and do the loyalty test on Neha. For the first time on the show a loyalty test is conducted at initial stages without an undercover agent where it is soon revealed at a mock audition that Neha has been dating Aayushs best friend Himanshu. Ajay Devgan, who is constantly keeping a track of the goings on of the case will be advising Pravesh as to what needs to be done next. He will prepare the team to deal with the situation that they will face in future. Emotional Atyachaar 3 will premiere on June 10 in the popular entertainment channel UTV Bindass.

reveals that he has in the past attempted to break up with Neha but failed because it was her brother Ansh who threatened his life if he happens to hurt his sister. Now mustering the courage Aayush agrees to

I was booted by police: Manoj Tiwari

Mumbai: Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari was one of the many who were injured in the fracas that took place at the Ramlila Maidan on last Saturday night. Tiwari, who returned to Mumbai on Sunday evening, said, I was sleeping in the pandal when I was woken up by a policemans boots that stamped on me. I was driven out by the police with lathis. I mustve ran at least 3-4 km to save my life, said Tiwari, who is in Mumbai now. Although my injuries are not noticeable enough, my body is aching because of the lathis I got from the police, he added. Baba Ramdevs beleaguered anti-graft hunger strike ended early Sunday amid violence, as a heavy contingent of police stormed the protest site with teargas shells and charging batons, while the yoga guru himself was evicted out of Delhi. Tiwari was the only celebrity from the glamour world to join Ramdev at Ramlila Maidan.

Salman to make film for Rahul Bhatt

Mumbai: Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di toh phir main khud ki bhi nahi sunta. Salman Khans now famous dialogue from Wanted certainly stand true as far as the actor is concerned. During the time he hosted reality show Bigg Boss 4 on Colors, Khan had taken a shine to Mahesh Bhatts son Rahul and had even given him tips on how to make his body-line more screen-friendly. Khan had also assured Rahul that there would be a movie soon to launch him. After waiting patiently for months, Rahul has reason to breathe a sigh of relief. Salman has apparently found the right vehicle for Bhatt Junior and is all set to not only produce it but also play the protagonists part in it. Salman thinks Rahul should slot himself in the antagonists slot and has the potential to become the suavest villain in Hindi cinema since Shatrughan Sinha. The film that Salman has chosen as Rahul Bhatts launch vehicle is the 1990 American horror-action film The First Power directed by Robert Resnikoff. Salman wants Rahul to play the antagonist.

My dream is to playback for Bipasha and Mallika

CHaITaNYa PaduKoNe
Playback singer Mamta Sharma whose infectious anthem item-song munni badnaam hui has been the topmost chartbuster of the season for Indians and NRIs all over, has discreetly recorded an ad-jingle for Indian Zandu analgesic ointment (the name Zandu crops up in the refrain of the raunchy song). No prizes for guessing that the jingle includes the phrase badnaam munni and eminent ad-film-maker Prahlad Kakkar has been approached to shoot the commercial according to the singer. Its true that I have recorded a jingle for Zandu balm, but I am not in a position to reveal all the details, But I do not wish to dabble in the dicey game of acting. At this stage, my focus is only music and singing, clarifies Sharma who claims to sing fluently in 11 different languages and aspires to record a Marathi laavni number someday in future. Unlike thousands of aspiring female singers who glide into reality shows and grab instant fame. Mamta refuses to jump on the TV shows bandwagon. Somehow, I felt I was not cut out to participate in reality shows where you are bonded to the TV channel and at the mercy of the edited versions. Besides, how many winners in recent times have been able to make a mark as a regular bollyinto her defensive mode. There is some magical aura about this raunchy racy ethnic cult song. Would you believe it, that at my recent live show, where the audience comprised mainly between 40 to 60 years there was a frenzied encore seven times for munni and I had no choice but to comply, chuckles the outspoken Sharma who seems ecstatic that her birthday (Sept 7) almost coincides with that of the iconic legendary singer Asha Bhonsle (Sept 8). Strangely, the Dabangg singer whose dream ambition is to playback for Bipasha Basu and Mallika Sherawat does not want to cash in on her item-songster brand. Singing in raunchy nasal or husky tones is my forte. But I can sing romantic and lilting songs equally well, which will be proved with my upcoming playback numbers, which includes one for a film produced by Ashim Shakti Samanta. Was it true that in her personal life she has her mystery man to whom she could hum shaadi hum tayy karengedarrlling tere liye? After a hearty laugh she admits, Thats right, there is someone with whom I propose to settle down hopefully, by end of this year. At the moment my involvement is only with my soaring musical career, she signs off.

Item-song munni badnaam hui has been the topmost chartbuster of the season for Indians and NRIs all over.
shrugs Mamta who refutes rumours that she is now considering acting assignments. Post my Dabanggsong success, there are offers trickling from Hindi film-makers who are impressed with my live showmanship at my foreign and domestic stage-shows and want to cast me in their upcoming movies as an actresssinger. wood playback singer, counters Mamta who has already won nearly a dozen popular awards for her debut munni song including the coveted Filmfare trophy. Wasnt there an ubiquitous overdose of the munni song composed by seasoned composer-lyricist Lalit Pandit being performed or played at all events and occasions? She gets

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Keeping abreast of contemporary hairstyling and make-up trends is vital for teachers in the creative fields of hairdressing and make-up artistry
It has been said that those who can do and those who cant teach! However, this does not apply to the hairdressing and make-up teaching team at Cut Above Academy. Founded in 1971 as a chain of high profile hairdressing salons, the Cut Above reputation grew from its continuing network of associations with the fashion and performing arts industries and its commitment to progressive in-house training. In 1993 this commitment resulted in the Cut Above Academy, which now offers the most comprehensive syllabus of full-time NZQA approved, TEC funded tertiary certificates and diplomas in Hairdressing, Fashion Make-up, Special FX Make-up for Stage and Screen, and Beauty and Spa Therapy in New Zealand. Resources in each faculty are of an internationally high standard: the state-of the art facilities, impressive industry backgrounds of all teachers, and, most importantly, the continuing focus on industry connections all contribute to the students career pathways. Work experience on many of NZs most exciting fashion shows and performing arts events is a vital component of the Cut Above hairdressing and make-up artistry students development and it is also an excellent opportunity for the teachers to keep up with changing fashion and beauty trends. The full Hairdressing and Makeup tutor team was out in full creative force backstage at the NZ Bridal Fashion Week, Vinka Design, Corina Snow, Jane Yeh, John Zimmerman, Rosemary Smith, Serra Lilly, Exclusive Suit Hire - and the iconic Annie Bonza PLUS acclaimed International Designers CYMBELINE of Paris and RUBEN PERLOTTI of Barcelona. Each designer had his or her own brief - so the team were hard pressed to create the necessary changes on the team of 40 models from the Monarch Agency but they met the challenge! In fact, both International designers were blown away with their talent and versatility. Show director Amanda Barnsgrove had this to say The Internationals just LOVE the work your team is putting out, and Ruben Perlotti himself said he has worked all around the world on top shows, but never met such a professional team. The Paris designer Cymbeline was equally impressed. She wanted soft flowing hairstyles to complement her stunning collection of Romantic-inspired bridal creations so the Cut Above Team had barely half an hour to rearrange the 40 models hair from sleek upswept chignons and funky backcombed up dos into the natural look she wanted.

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held at the Auckland Museum Dome on 2nd to 5th April. Their task was daunting they had to create individual hairstyles and make-up artistry for a line-up of high profile NZ designers - Liz Mitchell, Yvonne Bennetti, Alison Blain, Jessica Bridal, John Zimmerman, LaShika, Robyn Cliffe, Rosemarie Smith,

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Beauty tips
daNdruFF - Winter has well and truly set in, with
all the not-so-joyful things that come along with it. Rain .. .the coldwind.and along with all this comes DANDRUFFBrrrr ! Dandruff is one of the most common scalp infections which majority of people (men or women) suffer in winter. The side effects of dandruff are even worse, for example, rash, spots, pimples, acne, hair fall, dry hair, etc. Today, the ancient herbal healing system of Ayurveda has found a prominent place in modern cosmetic care. Along with the Indian philosophies of Yoga and Meditation, the world is looking at the holistic system

of Ayurveda for health and beauty solutions. Shahnaz Husain is a name that has become synonymous with the most advanced Ayurvedic care, not only in terms of highly exclusive clinic treatments, but also the legendary range of natural products. As a response to precise and individual requirements, Shahnaz Husain Group offers wide and varied ranges, specially designed to provide ideal skin, hair and body care. Experience the unique benefit of an integrated system of clinic care and product excellence To say goodbye to this embarrassing white falling dead skin flakes and all the other skin and scalp disorders due to dandruff, Bindu (The Shahnaz Husains expert) recommends a special treatments she offers at her Ayurvedic Beauty Clinic in Henderson along with home treatment products as suggested below SHaHNaZ HuSaINS HaIr ToNIC: Apply daily on scalp. SHaHNaZ HuSaINS HaIr oIl: Once a week, night before shampoo

SHaoINT: Apply on scalp one hour before shampoo.

tsps Sharinse with Shaheena Shampoo and wash hair. SHaHNaZ HuSaINS HeeNa: Once a week.

SHaHeeNa SHaMPoo aNd SHarINSe: Mix 2

If dandruff is severe apply daily at bed time.

For more advice on the treatment or products offered by Shahnaz Husain NZ, Contact BINDu (CIBTAC, International Qualified Beauty Therapist and Diploma in Shahnaz Husain, India)

Shahnaz Husain The Ayurvedic Beauty Clinic

40 Lincoln Road, Henderson, Auckland. P : 09 9082440 E : info@herbalbeautyproducts.co.nz

www.shahnaz.co.nz

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Indian

Column

Addressing long-term welfare dependency

KaNwaljIT SINgH BaKSHI
Welfare is essential for those who need it. It will always be there to catch families who have fallen on hard times, or to help those who cant work due to illness or disability. But long-term welfare dependency can be destructive and demoralising. Almost one in ten working age New Zealanders are on a benefit. Thats 354,000 people more than the population of Wellington and Nelson put together. More disturbingly, more than 140,000 people have spent 10 of the past 20 years on welfare. National is committed to changing this, and providing more support for beneficiaries to get back to work, increase their income, and access better opportunities. We set up the Welfare Working Group because New Zealand needs to do better. The working groups final report outlines a range of options to address long-term benefit dependency. These options draw on several key principles, including recognising the value and importance of paid work. People are always better off in work, and the report provides thoughtful options for helping them get there. We have formed a special Ministerial group to consider these recommendations and lead detailed work on welfare reforms. Ministers will take time to consider the report and carefully form new policy. We wont make any changes to the benefit system without a substantial amount of work, and will seek public input throughout this process. We will not cut main benefit rates. We are not interested in shortterm, punitive measures. There are better ways to achieve long-term change. Any changes we make will build on improvements we have already introduced to the welfare system. Last year, with our Future Focus reforms, we changed the law so that benefits will always increase to keep pace with the cost of living. We strengthened work-testing obligations for people on the Sickness Benefit. And we required people to reapply for the Unemployment Benefit once they have been receiving payments for one year. We believe that if you can work, you should be in work or looking for it. We will give people a hand up where they need it, to make this happen. Our decisions on the Welfare Working Group report will be driven by our optimism about the potential of every single New Zealander. New Zealand can and should do more to help people realise that potential, especially those who have found themselves in a cycle of dependence. By helping people on benefits back into work, National can help improve the outcomes and choices available to them, and build a brighter future for all New Zealanders and their families.

What you should know before starting or buying a business

raVI MeHTa
To own a business is a great idea. There are great success stories of business people which are impossible to think of if someone is in a job. Still, different people have different aptitudes. People who are successful in jobs may not necessarily be successful in business. The first thing you should consider is if you have got an aptitude to be in business. You must evaluate yourself honestly. Everybody cannot become a successful businessperson. There may be serious risks involved. If you have an aptitude, then the next thing you need to decide is if you want to start a new business or to buy an existing business from someone who is already running it. The business you think of buying can be a good profit making business or it can be a rundown business. You should start/buy a business, which involves work you have done in the past whether in paid jobs, as part of family business or as a hobby. Even if a business looks good, do not buy it if you do not know much about the same. There are a few things which are common to starting a new or buying an existing business, like financial and legal issues. You must sort out your finances before you start your business. Make your cash flow projections and see if you have enough resources in place. Sort out the legal issues like licensing, lease agreement with the help of your solicitor. Pay particular attention to rent review timings, terms and conditions of rent review, demolition clause, etc., if any. Decide with the help of your accountant, the structure you want your business to operate under. You can operate your business under sole proprietorship, partnership, trading trust, company, etc. Consider all aspects including protection from outside liabilities and taxation while deciding the structure. Coming to starting of a new business, identify the market you are going to operate in. Do you have knowledge about products and services you are intending to sell? Who will be the competitors? Who will be your suppliers? Who will be target customers? How you are going to advertise your business? Do your SWOT analysis that is, identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Evaluate how you are going to overcome your weaknesses and how you are going to tackle threats. At the time of starting of a new business, you may be without income for some period of time. You should have enough reserves or alternate source of income to cover that period. Evaluate your financial position and see for how long you can live without income being generated from business. Every business has fixed expenses. You may need to pay for rent, wages of some staff members, rates, insurance, power, phone, internet etc. irrespective of how much revenue you are generating by selling goods or services. Calculate your breakeven point (A level of sales where your gross margin will be able to cover fixed expenses). Normally higher the breakeven point, more risky the business is. If you are buying an existing business, consider the following factorsIs it a rundown business? If yes, you may save money you are to pay for goodwill. But it may take some time for the business to generate cash flow for you to take out. Normally it is less hard to manage as compared to starting a new business as most of the systems should be in place, there should be an existing customer base, relationship with suppliers etc. But investigate, why the business is not doing well? Think and explore how you can manage it in a better way and make it profitable. Sometimes there are very good opportunities available. But do not buy a rundown business thinking it is going for cheap and assuming you will be able to make it profitable unless you have a concrete plan in place beforehand. Normally these types of businesses are more suitable for purchase by experienced businessmen who have previous experience in running similar type of business successfully. This is a two-part article and the second part will appear in the next issue. Ravi Mehta is an Auckland based Authorized Financial Advisor and can be contacted on ravi.mehta@pfsl. co.nz. A disclosure statement under Securities Markets Act relating to his services is available on request and is free of charge.

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Feature

Azure Sea
They can be spiral, flat or shaped like mini pipes. But they have charmed our kids from the time they were introduced in India. The wiggly shapes hit the menu list of almost all childrens parties today. Yes! its Pasta we are talking about. This Italian delicacy heralded the arrival of a whole host of other Mediterranean cuisine in India. With the success story of pasta opened the whole vista of Mediterranean cuisine in our country. Today its repertoire is as rich and variegated as the history of the countries circling the Mediterranean Sea. Chicken and Falafal with Creamy Walnut Sauce, Fish Couscous with Onion Tfaya, Greek Fava with Grilled Squid, Mediterranean Fish Fillets, Turkish-Style Pizza the list is long. Countries like Italy, Greece, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, France, Turkey ring the Mediterranean Sea. Though they have some common characteristics, the cuisines of these countries vary. Chef Saby of Olive Bar and Restaurant in New Delhi, famous for Mediterranean food, believes that the biggest reason for the food

Food from the shores of the Mediterranean has been recommended for its healthiness by doctors and nutritionists. Indians are now discovering the flavour of the cuisine with its varied platter, Baishali Mukherjee reports, as a range of restaurants serving the cuisine are opening across the length and breadth of India.
Today doctors recommend Mediterranean diet for healthy living which feature olive oil, protein-rich legumes, fruits, fish and whole grains, moderate red meat, and a glass of wine. Pradip Rozario, who runs three restaurants in Kolkata, of which Mio Amore, serves only Mediterranean cuisine, is struck by the diversity of the region and the cuisine. The nations on the shores of the brilliantly azure sea have all contributed something special to the colourful, vibrant tapestry that is Mediterranean cuisine. The flavours are rich but are less prone to high blood pressure, high cholesterol or obesity. As people are becoming increasingly health conscious, Mediterranean cuisine is ideal, Rozario says. Rozario gives an interesting insight into the basic nature of the cuisines of the five major Mediterranean countries which include Lebanon, Greece, Morocco, Turkey and Italy. Lebanon shares Arabic tradition in cooking. Spiced lamb stew is an Egyptian recipe served with dumplings or rice. The menu includes several Arabic specialties of which West Asia seems to have a confluence of Europe and Asia while the North African part is influenced by Asia and Europe. Use of spices also distinguishes the cuisine. Saffron and cumin seed are the most popular spices in North African cuisine while South European dishes have dried lime as a staple spice and West Asian cuisines are conspicuous with the presence of zatar (a spice made from a berry). One of the reasons for the increasing popularity of Mediterranean food in India is due to, according to Shaun Kenworth, celebrated chef from Kolkata, the similarity between Indian and Mediterranean food. Many of the Indian dishes have a Mediterranean counterpart. What we have here as Baigan Bharta can be found as Babaganouj over there. Similar is the case with cucumber Raita which finds its acronym in Tziki. Even the fast foods are quite familiar. What is called Butitos Hara in the Mediterranean cuisine is actually our Alu Chaat and Falafel is very close to Rajasthani Pakodas. Chef Saby has a slightly different view. People in India are now very well travelled. This has given them a far better understanding about the cuisine of the Mediterranean. Secondly, the people from the West are coming to India more for work as the economy becomes stronger while recession is still a fact in their countries. So with the increase in trade and commerce theres easy availability of the raw ingredients used in this cuisine. The travel factor shows up too in the new popularity of Tapas finger food from Spain. Also, the staples from these countries like olives, capers, durum wheat, artichokes etc. have made their way to Indian plates. Last but not the least, Mediterranean cuisine boasts of some lip smacking desserts too. So next time you opt for a Mediterranean meal, binge yourself over a plate of the famous Italian dessert Tiramisu for a sweet ending or go for some light Morroccan pastry, or even Turkish Delights- if available.

dishes that definitely belong to Greece. Potato omelette, for example, is very popular. Then theres Moussaka, a lamb casserole with slices of fried aubergine and topped with cheese before baking, which is almost regarded as a national dish. Souvlaki are small kebabs of herbed meat sold as snacks at Souvlaki stalls; a more sophisticated variation of this is Arni Souvla, marinated kebabs of lamb and courgettes which are ideal for a summer barbecue. Needless to say, fish is excellent in Greece. An original method of cooking fish is to bake it in paper. This not only seals in the flavour but also makes washing up much easier. Turkish cooking has close affinities with Greece and the two countries both claim to have given birth to several famous dishes. However, no one will dispute the fact that

various cereals. Lamb and chicken are the most common meats, made into kebabs or cooked in tagine, a type of meat and vegetables stew. The Moroccans fondness for sweets is evident in pastries made with very thin pastry crust and various fillings. Most Italians begin their meal with a pasta dish which we would often consider substantial enough for a main course. Spaghetti is only one of the innumerable types of Italian pasta, from the tubular or rolled cannelloni to narrow tagliatelle noodles. Wide lasagna noodles and stuffed pasta in different shapes and sizes are also very popular. For the main course you could choose fish, usually grilled or fried and served with a sauce. In Bangalore, the Fava restaurant has been creating ripples with

Today doctors recommend Mediterranean diet for healthy living which feature olive oil, protein-rich legumes, fruits, fish and whole grains, moderate red meat, and a glass of wine.
diversity is the geographical features of the Mediterranean countries. Almost all the countries have varied climatic conditions. The soil too is different from each other. The volcanic soil of Greece is chalky whereas the soil of Turkey is rich and full of minerals. Therefore the quality of produce is very different in these countries, he says. the most famous is Cous-cous, steamed crusted millet or other cereals served with a stew of lamb or chicken. Greeces distinctive cuisine is closer to Italy than other eastern Mediterranean countries and this is reflected in dishes like artichokes with eggs and sauce using parmesan cheese. But there are plenty of kebabs are a Turkish invention, usually with lamb. Rice is used in many dishes, often with diced meat and vegetables in a pilaff (pulao). Morocco offers a totally different cuisine, primarily Arabic but with a strong French and Spanish influence. Morocco produces in plenty olive, almond, citrus fruits and its mouth watering Mediterranean delicacies. Abhijit Saha, the ace chef of Fava says, Like the states of India, the Mediterranean countries maintain a strong individual tradition and culture which is reflected in their cuisine. Dividing the Mediterranean region into three parts namely Southern Europe, Northern Africa and West Asia, Saha says,

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Feature Column

dogs improve office productivity

Its a proven fact now. Indian corporates are sniffing at the strategy
There is yet another reason for pet lovers to be happy. According to a recent finding at Central Michigan University the mere presence of a canine in the office might make people collaborate more effectively. In the past there have been plenty of studies which show that pets act as social catalysts, helping their owners forge intimate, long-term relationships with other people. To reach this conclusion, they carried out two experiments. In the first, they brought together 12 groups of four individuals and told each group to come up with a 15second advertisement for a made-up product. Everyone was asked to contribute ideas for the ad, but ultimately the group had to decide on only one. Anyone familiar with the modern collaborative office environment will know that that is a challenge. Some of the groups had a dog underfoot throughout, while the others had none. After the task, all the volunteers had to answer a questionnaire on how they felt about working with the otherhumanmembers of the team. Mr. Honts found that those who had had a dog to slobber and pounce on them ranked their team-mates more highly on measures of trust, team cohesion and intimacy than those who had not. In the other experiment, which

According to a recent finding at Central Michigan University the mere presence of a canine in the office might make people collaborate more effectively.
used 13 groups, the researchers explored how the presence of an animal altered players behaviour in a game known as the prisoners dilemma. In the version of this game played by the volunteers, all four members of each group had been charged with a crime. Individually, they could choose (without being able to talk to the others) either to snitch on their team-mates or to stand by them. Each individuals decision af-

fected the outcomes for the other three as well as for himself in a way that was explained in advance. The lightest putative sentence would be given to someone who chose to snitch while the other three did not; the heaviest penalty would be borne by a lone non-snitch. The secondbest outcome came when all four decided not to snitch. And so on. Having a dog around made volunteers 30% less likely to snitch than those who played without one. In India, Mars India, the manufacturers and marketers of world famous brands like Pedigree dog food and Whiskas cat food, have a pet friendly office policy and encourage their associates to bring their pets to office. The only rules being that the pets should be social; they should be toilet trained and ensure that not more than 4 pets are allowed on any particular day. Vikas Mittal, Managing Director, Mars India says, Mars Inc. belief is Pets Make the world better and our goal is to Make the World Better for Pets! Our aim is to create passion for pets and what better way to start it at home with our associates! Coupled with this we have seen tremendous increase in engagement levels of the associates and productivity. The moral, then: more dogs in offices and fewer in police stations.

Having a dog around made volunteers 30% less likely to snitch than those who played without one.

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