Indian Children the Winners in Cross-Cultural

Transcription

INDIAN
MONTHLY MAGAZINE | ISSUE 7, August 2012, SYDNEY
HERALD
Complimentary Copy / Price: $2.00 incl GST
NEWS ABOUT iNDIA & AUSTRALIA
Driving Growth
through
Innovation
Deborah Hadwen
CEO, TCS Australia & New Zealand
NEWS FOCUS
REPORT
New Freinds
welcomed to the
world of Cricket
Indian Writers
strengthen ties in
AUSTRALIA
FEATURED
LONDON
OLYMPICS
2012
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2
What’s Inside
Cover
Pg
8
Driving growth
through
innovation
SYDNEY, August 2012
Contents
Editorial
5
The Bollywood World Tour
16
India’s Most Admired Surgeon 18
for 2012
Australian Visa Label
20
Future of Outsourcing &
Offshoring in Australia
21
Crown Plaza takes Hotel Award 30
14
Pg
New friends welcomed to
the World of Cricket
Mr Dominello was delighted to
officially launch Cricket NSW’s
multicultural strategy, Mosaic
Programs.....
Pg
32
Short History of Olympic
Mascot
The most enduring image of the
whole wacky showpiece – Wenlock
the official mascot for the games...
How to become a better you 35
Indian Sschool children-
Winners of Cross Cultural
Collaboration
36
Tourism Australia launches
new campaign in India
39
Chala Jatha Hun- Tribute to Rajesh Khanna
42
Publisher
R2INC INC
10 Glenview Close
Bellavista
NSW 2153
Editor
Rohit Revo
Phone: 61423820877 | editor@indianherald.com.au
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Opinions expressed are those of individual authors. INDIAN HERALD is not
responsible for products or services advertised. Advertising copy, logos, photos
and artwork appearing in advertisements are the sole responsibility of the
individual advertisers, not of Indian Herald.
Copyrights 2012: Indian Herald. All rights reserved.
NEWS ABOUT INDIA
AND AUSTRALIA
Indian Herald is a
MONTHLY variety
features magazine
serving Australian
Indian community.
INDIAN HERALD August 2012
3
4
EDITORIAL
Complacent Attitude
Bound to Hurt Us
editor@indianherald.com.au
Just a few years back, it was
not uncommon for a lot of
Non Resident Indians (NRI)
to return to India with bags
full of foreign goods as gifts
for relatives, extended family
members and neighbours.
This fawning group would
then boast about the NRI to a
larger group. Come 2012 the
enthusiasm of receiving gifts
from the NRIs has waned to a
direct proportion to the rise in
India’s growth.
Indians with their rising disposable
income have better propensity
to spend than their overseas
counterparts and have more access
to the best products, which the global
market has to offer. With this there
is also a growing acceptance of the
huge changes happening in India that
are on witness during every visit to
India. But the thing, which strikes
you straight, is the reality, that with
each and every passing year, India
holds a better potential for growth
than your adopted country.
How did the tables turn? The growth
of the adopted countries of NRIs
which till just a few years ago was
doing so well than India, has slowed.
The reason why most of the Western
Developed world has slowed down as
compared to their Asian counterparts
is the complacency which has set in
which is preventing businesses from
being agile. Red tape and increased
regulatory and compliance costs are
forcing businesses to either slow
down or shut down.
The reports of job losses and
factory closures refuse to fade
away and have become a regular
feature. In some sectors there are
structural deficiencies. Government
interventions in these sectors can
only postpone the inevitable not cure
the problem.
The recent closure of Kurnell
refinery and the loss of 330 jobs is
a case in point. Australian plants
are small compared to the mega
refineries in Asia. The Reliance
Jamnagar refinery in India has a
larger total capacity than Australia’s
current six refineries combined,
which effectively means Australia’s
unit cost of production in this sector
would be unjustifiably high.
A recent report from Business
Council of Australia reveals that
resources projects are 40 per
cent more expensive to deliver in
Australia than in the United States. It
is even worse for other projects, with
airports, for instance, costing 90 per
cent more in Australia.
Take the case of roads construction
in NSW. It is estimated that it will
cost 400 million dollars to make
1 km of underground road. China
builds roads at 1/4th of this cost.
Thailand is expected to make two
million cars this calendar year across
the 16 different car manufacturers
in an industry that employs 500,000
ROHIT REVO
people.
Victoria’s car industry employs
30,000 workers but is under
increasing pressure as the number of
cars produced locally has dropped to
about 210,000 a year.
Australia has been ranked second
worst of 51 countries for productivity
growth, according to a global survey
in The Australian that places the
nation’s economic performance
behind 33 countries, including New
Zealand and Colombia.
However, the narrative is not
negative. Australia did have its share
of positives. Median household
incomes jumped by more than 20 per
cent between 2006 and 2011, with the
dollar’s rise further inflating this into
substantial real gains in international
purchasing power.
With increased globalisation and
structural shifts in the economy, we
need to address change to secure our
prosperity. As a first step there is a
need for major reform to lower costs
for business and improve competition
and productivity. Identifying
and reducing unnecessary and
inconsistent regulation should follow
this.
5
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7
COVER STORY
Driving growth through
innovation
TCS is part of the Tata group, one of India’s largest industrial
conglomerates and most respected brands. TCS has over 238,583
of the world’s best-trained IT consultants in 42 countries.
TCS has a long history in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ)
and is a recognized leader in the delivery of transformational
IT, outsourcing and consulting services to key industry focus
areas including banking & financial services, insurance, media,
telecom, airlines, energy & resources and more.
By Rohit Revo
8
COVER STORY
CEO of Tata Consultancy
Services’ (TCS)
Australian and New
Zealand operations,
Deborah Hadwen
provides ‘Indian Herald’
with an executive update
on TCS’s operations and
strategy in Australia.
mentioned as reaching
1 billion revenue mark
in Australia. Is that an
ambitious target?
It is an ambitious target and we still
have that as a goal.
The impact of the
economic downturn
has hit everyone
including large
US companies
and even
Australian
companies have
started cutting
budgets. How
this affected
your growth?
In Australia we
have achieved good
compounding growth
over the last 3-5 year
period. During the GFC,
Australia was not as
badly hit as compared to
other countries.
Less than a 1 billion
in 2002 to 10 billion
in 2012. TCS has been
growing almost a billion
dollars every year since
then. Is this growth
sustainable?
We are optimistic about the future.
TCS has a fantastic track record
of growth that is built on solid
business model and a very strong
work ethic.Everybody in our team is
realistic about the market. We have
to adapt to market conditions and
what our customers want. As long
as we continue to stay aligned to
our customer needs and add value
to our clients, we will continue to
experience strong growth.
Sometime back you
TCS continued to do well in
Australia and in the past 18
months we have increased our
employee numbers. Today, we have
approximately 8000 associates
looking after our Australian and
New Zealand based clients.
How will you maintain
your margins at a
time when clients
want to focus on cost
optimisation and
have become more
demanding and cutting
budgets at the same
time?
Margins come from different areas.
One of our value propositions
to customers is to look at their
processes and ways of enabling
their business to make it more cost
effective. We also need to make sure
that our own internal productivity
is continually increasing and our
own costs are maintained and kept
under control. So we do have a rigour
around those elements. That is the
type of thing that contributes to
margin. It is not just revenue.
We also have a focus on reducing our
own costs and improving our quality
focus.
Has the talk of
protectionism and antioutsourcing cries which
is primarily driven by
US electoral politics
affected the way you
do business. Do you get
the same sense of antiprotectionism here in
Australia?
Different opinions receive different
profiles in the media at various times.
If you look at our business in US,
we have put in place some onshore
development centres in US that are
actively hiring US citizens. We also
have centres of excellence focusing
on mobility and big data solutions,
headquartered in US. So there needs
to be a balanced perspective on that.
To answer your question about
Australia, the market is mature and
very aware of global market forces.
If you look at the market place
around technology and technology
services there is certainly constraints
about capacity and delivery. To
address this customers need to work
with global providers such as TCS to
tap into additional resources as well
as the leadership insights and the,
innovation, capability that we bring
into the market.
9
COVER STORY
Indian companies come in and put
investments in place. So we are
seeing increased engagement in
Australian companies by Indian
companies.
What is your
understanding of the
Australia and New
Zealand IT market? Do
you think the companies
are spending much in IT
and doing the right thing
here?
Most Australian customers don’t
have the resources or the funding
to become an innovative centre of
excellence themselves and don’t
understand what is happening with
start ups and research institutions
around the world. Hence they need to
partner with global companies like
TCS and tap into our links with huge
foundations of knowledge which is
what we bring to our local clients.
Have you done any of
these things with the
local customers in
Australia?
We do it all the time. This is one
of the real value propositions why
clients come to TCS. When you
look at the evolution of outsourcing,
labour arbitrage was a compelling
reason some years ago. That is now
a given.
Whether you are a company
headquartered out of US, Europe or
India, marketing a global resource
pool is now a standard part of your
offering. Now customers are seeking, innovation, they are requesting more
thought leadership. Clients want to
learn, where is your understanding of
the future technologies and what can
that do for each individual business.
10
We really focus on bringing this
to the market. In the last couple
of weeks we have run innovation
programs with a number of key
customers. We bought in regional
executives from areasvarious regions
to bring insights from their industries
be it retail or banking and combined
with our global CTO and people
from his dedicated laboratories they
explored what is happening with
technology and what customers
can do with it in this region. So
innovation is a big differentiator
of what TCS can bring to every
customer’s table.
The Australian market
has not seen the growth
of Indian IT companies
in the same way as US
markets. Do you think
Australia is still an
insulated and closed
market?
No. There has been a growth in our
particular sector when you look
at IT services, business process
outsourcing. There is an increased
presence of Indian companies and
there is a noticeablye large increase
especially in the past few years.
Look at recent investments in the
resources sector, we have seen
That’s a very broad question.
The clients we work with are
predominantly doing the right
thing with technology, people and
software. Most of our clients are
trying to maximise their investments,
do more with less, most of them are
trying to move faster and quicker.
They want to and get more value for
their spend, improve their customer
interaction in a cost effective
way, enter new markets with
innovative new channels. Therefore
this behaviour drives thinking
and investments into advanced
technology investment strategies.
Clients think about how to tap into
new technologies, which makes
business better.
Also around the operations side,
the business processing area,
they are looking at ways to run
process optimization programs cost
effectively. So these are key drivers
we see with most clients.
Is your ANZ region
strategy any different
than what you would
adopt in US or Europe?
We leverage key learning’s out
of the American and European
markets. One of the key advantages
we have is the quality of our client
COVER STORY
base globally. We have developed a
significant number of sector specific
insights while working with these
industry leaders which we often
bring get into the Australian market.
But, we are quite customer centric
and have a different strategy for each
and every client.
We start with the business challenge
that is facing the customer, what
is the current position, what is the
business trying to achieve. We
have global delivery centres and
knowledge centres that we tap
into for a particular customers
advantage. Every customer is
unique.
The balance
of trade and
investment between
India and Australia
is heavily skewed in
favour of Australia and
most Indian companies
have failed to expand
in Australia and make
a name for themselves.
How have you done
things differently?
The Australian market is a
very attractive one for Indian
companies. It has some similarities
to the countries we targeted earlier
like US, so the learning’s can
be leveraged into this market.
Australia also has a very centralised
population, so it is a market that
geographically you can reach quiet
easily and it also has a very service
oriented culture. If you look at the
way our economy is structured, it
is very services focused. So you
have a market that is receptive to
services and you also have a very
multicultural society that is also
receptive to a global workforce.
How do you see TCS
in the Australian
Marketplace in the next
3-5 years? What is your
vision?
Growing! We have ambitious goals
in the Australian market. We have
put in place active measures to
strengthen our foundations in the
Australian market. If you look at
the TCS evolution in the Australian
market it has been very successful,
whether it is focussing on existing
clients and moving to winning
new clients who are national iconic
brands.
We have got a very solid portfolio
of clients. We are delighted to
be working with companies like
Telstra, AGL, Woolworths, Qantas,
Commonwealth Bank and, Westpac.
We also want to expand our
relationship with ourthose clients and
the only way we are going to do that
is to continue to deliver at a higher
level.
First and foremost we have made our
commitment to quality, we always
make sure our clients experience
certainty. We are a full services
company therefore we cover areas
like IT infrastructure services,
application services, business
process outsourcing, software testing
and asset based software solutions.
These are the areas we are planning
to expand.
Indian Rupee has slid
considerably in the
last one year. Is there
any pressure on you to
pass on the currency
decrease back to your
customers?
Our customers are experienced
commercially and savvy in
negotiations. The drop of the Indian
rupee is just one element. You would
also be aware that the cost of living
in India has increased significantly
…so these things do tend to balance
out.
So it is not a one line argument
around costs and rates. We have
medium to long term contracts
in place with our customers, so
elements like that have merged into
contractual terms.
Do you think there
is still a prejudice of
seeing India as a low
cost destination and not
seeing the other benefits
which India brings?
The main type of customers we deal
with, tend to be large customers who
are relatively mature. Most local
customers understand that there is
labour arbitrage in the global world.
Innovation is the key. The ability to
innovate s an advantage which Indian
companies enjoy in technology and
other areas and that has caught the
world’s attention.
For example, look at the Tata Nano
car, how innovation from a different
base can receive a large media
profile worldwide. Companies which
are growing rapidly have young,
energetic educated workforces and
India is providing the brains and
depth to deliver.
India is driving the world forward. .
If we want to keep our place in the
global world, it is essential to use
this talent. Australia is in a different
11
COVER STORY
situation. We have a tight technology
workforce, ageing population and
the services we are reliant on, fit
very well with the value proposition
offered by Indian companies.
Do you think Australian
companies are more
mired into fixing
legacy systems and not
spending more on new
systems?
This situation is very company
specific. The companies we deal
with attach a great deal of a lot of
value into new technologies. How
fast they can do it, is sometimes
dependent on legacy systems as there
are a lot of sunk costs associated and
business critical processes reliant
upon them. So it not only investing
in new technologies. It is also about
managing the risk of change and
cost of change to make sure it is
done in a proper manner. It is rare
to see companies who operate in a
static environment. Most companies
are trying to move forward or cost
optimise because they are under
pressure
Some customers have
a herd mentality
and think all Indian
companies are the same
whether you go to TCS,
Infosys or Wipro.
The customers we deal with don’t
think that way. It is like saying all
American companies are the same
and all European companies are the
same. It is just not true.
If you look at TCS today, it is India
headquartered but we are very global
in our focus. We are respectful of
our competition as we should be
but we are very confident of our
differentiators. If you look at TCS
12
results, there is no doubt
that our strategy is working.
We remain the largest IT
services company based out
of India. The forecast for
TCS is strong and we are
optimistic. If we continue
to work closely with our
key clients we will continue
to grow. A significant
amount of revenue is
coming from our existing client
base and yet we continue to grow at
a very aggressive rate. Customers
continuously need to get value not
just today but in the future.
What sort of industry
sectors do your operate
in Australia?
We do a lot of work with Banking
and Financial services, energy
sector , telecommunications sector
and retail. We are also exploring
additional sectors like resources
and mining. The other area we are
focussing on is the Government
sector. TCS has done fantastic
transformation programs with
Government elsewhere in the world
which have allowed Governments
to put in new systems and also cost
optimise their processes. Our work
for Indian passport office roll out,
which TCS is running stands out.
This is a combined technology and
business solution. It is learning’s and
insights like this, which we bring to
the Australian market.
We are hearing a lot of commentary
particularly from the State
Government trying to save costs
and free up capital. I think there
is particular advantage around
smart sourcing which they can
take advantage and leverage the
experience of TCS what we have
done in US, Europe and emerging
markets which have helped them
transform effectively. We have
centres of excellence in Singapore
and we can bring in learning’s from
this market into Australia.
Is TCS Australia
involved in any
corporate social
responsibility initiatives
here.
We take our corporate social
responsibility very seriously.
Tata as a group of companies is
very focussed on philanthropic
endeavours. It is the founding
principles of Tata & Sons. In
Australia we are focussed on
building foundations not only for
business but also for social elements.
In regards to staff engagement, we
had over 100 people participate
in the City to Surf run recently in
Sydney. We also recently supported
the Prince Henry’s Institute in
Melbourne.
We also get involved with industry
bodies like NASSCOM and AIBC
and various other bodies who
look after interests of Indian IT
companies. We are also a very
big global workforce but are also
very respectful of our heritage.
We recently celebrated India’s
Independence Day in our office.
TCS promotes
Co- Innovation in Australia
K Ananth Krishnan,
Chief Technology
Officer, Tata
Consultancy Services
and Deborah Hadwen,
CEO, TCS – Australia
and New Zealand
conducted a TCS CoInnovation Forum in
Sydney on Thursday,
26th July at the Park
Hyatt in Sydney.
The Forum was a success. Senior
level executives from AGL,
Qantas, Woolworths, Fuji Xerox,
Foxtel, American Express, CUA,
Commonwealth Bank, Arab Bank
Australia, and Lend Lease gathered
to exchange ideas and share
business experiences. Topics for
discussion focused on Mobility, Risk
Management, Analytics, Business
Intelligence and Assurance. To drive
discussion forward executives from
Clarinox, SYL Semantics, VMob,
Blink Mobile Technologies, Protecht
Advisory, Netpage, YellowFin, Bond
University and Pottinger presented
a range of 25 minute sessions.
A number of exciting software
demonstrations were also highlighted
at the event.
Deborah Hadwen, CEO, Tata
Consultancy Services – Australia
and New Zealand said, “This event
provided a great platform to launch
the TCS Co-Innovation Forum in
Australia. I would like to thank
our clients and a broad array of
Australian and New Zealand ‘Start
Ups’ for participating in the Forum.
We are confident a number of new
business opportunities have been
developed. These Forums will
assist to promote TCS’s thriving
Innovation practice as well as
facilitate high-impact connections
between innovative Australian and
New Zealand ‘Start Ups’ and TCS’s
broader client community. We look
forward to hosting this event next
year.”
Scott Bradley, CEO, VMob added,
“The TCS Co-Innovation Forum
provided VMob with an excellent
opportunity to promote our software
to a broad range of TCS clients in
Australia. This event will definitely
assist to drive business development
forward for our company.
The executive team from VMob is
delighted to participate in TCS’s
thriving Co-Innovation network.
This is a great opportunity to reach
new markets in Australia and across
the globe.”
To sum it up in the words of K.
Ananth Krishnan, Chief Technology
Officer of TCS, “I am happy to see
that our partners and customers
enjoyed being a part of our Sydney
Co-Innovation Forum. Such meetings
assist to foster new, collaborative
business and research opportunities.”
13
NEW FRIENDS WELCOMED TO WORLD OF CRICKET
Minister Dominello and Mosaic Program Ambassadors - (left to right) Tim Cruickshank (NSW SpeedBlitz Blues), Moises
Henriques (NSW SpeedBlitz Blues), Khadar Roude (Training Specialist), Anna Liu (Parent and Educator), Harry Solomons
(Owner of Kingsgrove Cricket Centre), Lisa Sthalekar (NSW SpeedBlitz Blues), Minister Victor Dominello, Dai Le (NSW
Community Relations Commission), The Hon. Morris Iemma (former NSW Premier and Club Cricket Administrator), Gerard
Abood (National Level Umpire), Ryan Hutton (Businessman), Sam Almaliki (Cricket NSW)
Australia’s next
generation of cricket
fanatics and players
may come from cultural
backgrounds where
the sport is virtually
unheard of, thanks to
a new push to attract
young players from
non-traditional cricket
backgrounds.
Mr Dominello was delighted to
officially launch Cricket NSW’s
multicultural strategy, Mosaic
Programs, on the United Nations
International Day of Friendship (30
July) at the Art Gallery of NSW.
14
culturally diversity, with the latest
Census showing that more than one
in three people were born overseas,”
Mr Dominello said.
players from diverse cultural
backgrounds, like Usman Khawaja,
representing Australia in cricket,”
Mr Dominello said.
“Many of these people come from
cultures that are yet to discover the
great game of cricket – and it’s up to
us to introduce them.
Mosaic Programs focuses on the
grassroots level by providing
opportunities for kids to participate
in cricket. Cricket NSW has
already rolled out 10 Winter MILO
in2CRICKET Centres across NSW,
including Hurstville, Blacktown and
Coffs Harbour. Over 100 kids from
20 different ethnic backgrounds
have attended the centre run at
Kingsgrove Cricket Club.
“There’s no question that cricket is
an Aussie tradition and our long term
domination of the sport on a global
level is a source of pride for the
whole country.
“Any initiative that helps our diverse
multicultural communities share in
this pride and passion is a great idea.
Mosaic Programs is a bold new
strategy designed to attract and
engage children from non-traditional
cricket backgrounds.
“It’s great not just for communities
but also for cricket itself, by
nurturing a large fan base for the
future.
“NSW is home to incredible
“I look forward to seeing more
Cricket NSW Emerging Markets
Leader, Sam Almaliki said: “The
launch of our Mosaic Programs
strategy represents an important
stepping stone in our endeavour
to ensure cricket is a force for
positive social change for all in our
community.”
15
Madame Tussauds Sydney presents
The Bollywood World Tour
Bollywood superstars Kareena
Kapoor and Shahrukh Khan will
take centre stage this weekend
as Madame Tussauds Sydney
launches their first travelling
exhibit, The Bollywood World
Tour.
From August 5th to October
28th only, visitors to Madame
Tussauds Sydney have
the chance to get up close
and personal with five of
Bollywood’s biggest stars in an
interactive experience set to
have everyone practicing their
best Bollywood dance moves.
To celebrate the arrival of the Bollywood
legends, local dance companies Napur Dance
16
Group and Road2Bollywood Academy charmingly
danced around the figures to create the atmosphere of
a real life Bollywood movie set. Also present was the
Consul General of India, Arun K. Goel, who was nothing
less than astounded by the lifelike figures.
With the identity of the last figure to feature in the exhibit
kept tightly under wraps, many fans will be relieved to
learn that Bollywood screen siren Kareena Kapoor will
also be a part of the Bollywood extravaganza. Born into
a family of actors, Kapoor rose to fame in 2000 and went
on to cement her name as Bollywood royalty. Further to
this, Kapoor played a part in 3 Idiots (2009) which is the
highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time, taking in
US$45.18million in India alone.
Another Bollywood legend to feature, Shahrukh Khan,
is a highly celebrated Bollywood actor, producer and
television host. Khan has starred in more than 50 films
throughout his career, been named one of Newsweek’s ‘50
Most Powerful People in the World’ and has a global fan
following numbering in the billions. With numerous box
office smashes to his name over the past twenty years,
Khan has also earned much critical acclaim – he has won
no less than seven Filmfare Best Actor Awards.
Other screen legends to feature in the exhibit include
one of Bollywood’s leading ladies and Miss World 1994,
Aishwarya Rai, actor, producer and presenter Amitabh
Bachchan and child actor turned successful Bollywood
star Hrithik Roshan.
Hywel Mathias, General Manager of Madame Tussauds
Sydney is delighted to welcome the Bollywood World
Tour to Sydney and remarked, “This exhibit will add
even more colour and interactivity to our attraction, and
I have no doubt the amazingly lifelike wax figures will
be extremely popular with our guests, particularly the
local Indian community. The Bollywood industry is one
that is growing exponentially and we are certainly very
proud to be able to offer our guests a taste of it right here
in Sydney”.
Madame Tussauds Sydney is located on Sydney’s
renowned Darling Harbour and is the place to get on
stage with the stars, rub shoulders with the most powerful
politicians and challenge your favourite sports heroes.
The Bollywood World Tour will join the unique line-up of
celebrities already featured at Madame Tussauds Sydney
including Captain Cook, Sir Donald Bradman, Albert
Einstein, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Depp
and Lady Gaga.
Madame Tussauds Sydney is
open from 9am – 8pm daily and
admission prices include access
to the whole Madame Tussauds
Sydney attraction and Bollywood
experience.
Where: Madame Tussauds
Aquarium Wharf, Darling Harbour
(right next door to WILD LIFE
Sydney)
Opening hours: 9am – 8pm daily
Cost: Prices from $24.50 when
you book online. Walk-up price –
Adults: $35, Children (4-15yrs): $20,
Concession: $28. Combination
tickets are available with Sydney
Aquarium, WILD LIFE Sydney and
Sydney Tower Eye
For more information and exciting
updates on Madame Tussauds,
please visit:
www.madametussauds.com.au/
sydney or www.facebook.com/
madametussaudssydney
17
Iconic NRI Heart Surgeon Dr Mukesh Hariawala from US chosen
“India’s Most Admired Surgeon” for 2012
India born internationally renowned
NRI Heart Surgeon and Research
Scientist from the famed Harvard
University in Boston, US, Dr
Mukesh Hariawala, has been
unanimously selected by the National
Healthcare jury to be honored with
the prestigious “ India’s Most
Admired Surgeon 2012
Award”.
The glittering ceremony to be held
at Mumbai’s Hilton Hotel on 21st
September, will have in attendance
top dignitaries from government ,
celluloid personalities , industrialists,
sports stars and eminent public
figures, led by His Excellency,
Maharashtra Governor Shri K.
Sankaranarayanan, who will present
the award.
Dr Hariawala will also deliver the
much anticipated “ Keynote Lecture
“ on Cardiac Angiogenesis, which
is his pioneering research work on
the dynamic cutting edge scientific
technology of stimulating growth of
new blood vessels on the heart by
18
using “ Low Energy Laser Beams “.
This in combination with “ Single
Arterial Graft “ and “ Direct Stem
Cell Injections “ in patients who
suffer from old and new heart
attacks, is projected to significantly
give relief of symptoms and bring
down the cost of healthcare. The
advanced protocol of “ Triple
Therapy “ potentially could someday
become a “ Natural Bypass to
Bypass Surgery, Angioplasty and
Stents “ quoted an optimistic Dr
Hariawala from Boston, US.
Technically, the native heart stays
in the chest cavity and this device
piggy backs over it to function as
a dynamic pump spun by magnets,
thus driving blood to the rest of
the body. This regulatory approved
technology has been clinically tested
on thousands of patients and the
success rate is high in the western
world, Dr Hariawala verified.
Satya Brahma, Chairman of the 5th
Annual Awards Committee said
“ The moment we announced Dr
Hariawala’s award selection and
displayed the Title of his Keynote
Lecture , the event got sold out
virtually overnight to multi specialty
doctors and the Who’s Who of the
Healthcare industry. This level
of attendee attracting power by “
Keynote Speaker “ and vibrancy of
interest has not been experienced
in any of the previous award events
since their inception “.
In a career span of 25 years across
3 continents , Dr Mukesh Hariawala
has performed open heart surgeries
on worldwide celebrities, including
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
during his first bypass surgery in
the early 1990’s in London, Music
director R D Burman, Industrialists
Bajaj, Goenka , Madhvani , BCCI
Chairman Raj Singh Dungarpur and
many more.
Dr Hariawala’s current traveling
cardiac surgeon status and prolific
invited speaking engagements will
take him to Egypt, Dubai , Australia,
Germany and China later this year.
International Students
are acceptably Cash
Cows?
Six years ago,
when I came
from India to
a small town
of Newcastle.
I never knew
how different or
By Sakshi similar this new
life was going to
be. There was a slight difference
between me and any other fresher- I
was a permanent resident, and soon
turned a citizen. Honestly, this
was a fact I never acknowledged.
To myself, I was an international
student, who was getting a local
treatment.
The permanent residency was stuck
to my name since I was four and
came to Australia for the first time
with family carrying the PR tag. It
is an old saying in Hindi, we don’t
value the things that come easy to
us. But, not everyone is born with
this golden spoon.
It was a beautiful sunny morning.
Me and my new friend from Goa
planned a trip to Sydney. I was
waiting at the station, while she was
stuck somewhere. With an intention
of catching the train on time, I
decided to buy tickets for both of
us, so she wouldn’t have to stand in
queue later. I pressed two student
tickets; payed money to the machine
and grabbed our tickets. As soon as
she came, I handed her a ticket and
we hopped onto the train.
It was all simple and fairly done.
We were enjoying the ride togethercracking jokes, singing songs, taking
pictures of each other to post on
Orkut (a popular social networking
engine of the past,
especially amongst
Indians). At Gosford,
ticket inspectors
boarded our train.
They entered our
carriage and announced a ticket
check. We all took our tickets out
and showed it to the men. When one
of them came to us, after sighting
our tickets, he asked us to show our
student IDs (I guess because, we
were a shade darker than the other
students in the carriage). We took
our ID cards out and one of them
took Debra’s card and mumbled,
“Where’s the sticker?” Confused,
as we were, we asked him what he
meant. He took my card and pointed
towards a shiny round sticker with
a train sign and said, “...this sticker,
the travel concession”.
My friend had to bear a fine of 200
dollars, which seemed a lot in those
student years. That day I realised
the importance of that tiny sticker
on the corner of my ID card. Why
did I have it and my friend did not?
I questioned the ticket inspector and
he replied in his unpleasant voice,
“Because she is International”...
Well so was I? May be not on papers
but technically I studied in India all
my life, so I was an International as
well, wasn’t I? I decided to pay the
fine for my friend as I had bought a
wrong ticket for her.
The topic disturbed be for a long
time. I joined the student union of
Newcastle University and decided
to speak up against it. In September
2009, Newcastle Uni, along with
several other Universities of New
South Wales marched a rally. A
massive rally, which started from
UTS across all main streets of
Sydney city. A rally to stop racism
and to start treating international
students as STUDENTS not
INTERNATIONAL money yielding
cows. We had massive media
coverage- local and international
magazines and newspapers, radio,
television- you name it and that
media was there.
You would think there must have
been a positive result. I did too. For
the time being, there was agreement
in public that international students
should be treated equal. One of the
student body representatives from
Melbourne connected to our cause
and tried to spread it there too. Then
what happened? Why did it fade? I
wish I knew.
Three years later, today, when I
decided to do a masters degree,
and entered the UTS building once
again. I saw the same treatment with
international students as there was
years ago. I got my ID card with the
shiny sticker. A guy who came to
Sydney from New Delhi one week
ago comes up to me and asks, “Yaar,
why don’t we get travel concession?”
I looked down in a sigh and despair
and said, “it’s not just India, where
government departments are in
a non-working mode. Welcome
to Australia- a land of open
discrimination.”
19
Australian Visa Label
Australia does not require
a person holding a valid
Australian visa to have a
label in their passport to
travel to, enter or remain
in Australia. Australia’s
electronic visa system
enables visa status to be
confirmed electronically.
As part of the Australian
Government’s global
program of label free travel
to Australia, the Australian
High Commission, New Delhi will
implement visa label-free travel
arrangements across India, Bhutan
and Nepal from 1 October 2012.
From this date, anyone applying
for any Australian visa through one
of the VFS Global Australian Visa
Application Centres across India or
Nepal or lodging directly with the
Australian High Commission in New
Delhi, will no longer be required to
submit their passport with their visa
application.
Instead they will be required to
submit a notarised copy of each used
page of their passport at the time of
application.
$100,000 reward for
accused Indian cab
driver
20
application.
If a visa is then granted, the
visa holder will be issued
with a visa grant letter that
will explain the conditions
of the visa including
period of validity and entry
requirements.
The notarised copy of the passport
must include the following pages:
• Good quality notarised photocopy
of the biodata page of the current
passport;
• Good quality notarised photocopy
of any endorsement page or
change of name page in the
current passport; and
• For current Indian passports good quality notarised photocopy
of the back page with information
on parents’ names and previous
passports.
This request applies to all visa
categories. Applicants who do not
lodge the above documents with
their visa application will experience
delays in the processing of their visa
while Coker suffered head injuries
and multiple fractures.
Australian police has announced a
100,000-dollar reward for the arrest
of an Indian man who fled to his
home country after allegedly running
down two men in Melbourne four
years ago.
Puneet, who was drunk when he hit
the men, was charged with culpable
driving and negligently causing
serious injury and was given bail
under strict conditions including the
surrender of his passport, the News.
com.au reports.
Puneet Puneet, was 19 and a learner
driver in 2008, when he hit and killed
Dean Hofstee, 19, of Queensland, at
Southbank. Hofstee died at the scene,
Two months before he was due to
appear in the Melbourne County
Court, Puneet slipped out of the
country using the passport of an
The visa grant letter is not
necessary to facilitate travel
but we would advise all
our clients to carry their
visa grant letter with them when
travelling as it will provide them
with easy to understand information
about the conditions of the visa,
information which was not always
easy to find on Australian visa
labels.
Australian High Commission in
India expects that this new process
will not only provide clients with
better information about their visas
but also reduce visa processing
times and costs as clients will no
longer have to wait for their passport
to be returned to them via a courier
or be required to travel to one of
Visa Application Centres to collect
their passport.
Indian friend. According to the
report, Assistant Commissioner Hill
said the reward was an important
step in the quest for justice for the
Queensland men.
“We believe that there are people
both in Australia and India who can
provide information in relation to
Puneet’s whereabouts,” he said.
“It is also our belief that he is still in
India at this time and we are working
closely with our AFP counterparts on
this matter,” he added.
Expert Panel discusses ‘Future of
Outsourcing & Offshoring in Australia’
Left to Right (sitting) – David Fincher (Ernst & Young), Vijay Gopal (IBM, IITian), Pradeep Khanna (GLOBAL
MINDSET & IITAA, IITian), Ross McKenzie (Westpac). Left to Right (standing) – Samit Chandra (Infosys, IITian),
Prof Oscar Hauptman (UWS), Prof Aditya Ghose (UoW), Venki Prathivadi (MSat, IITian), Prof Eng Chew (UTS),
Vivek Kumar (Indian Deputy Consul General, IITian)
On 2nd August more
than 120 people
gathered at the Ernst &
Young Building, George
St, Sydney, to attend a
panel discussion on “The
Future of Outsourcing
and Offshoring in
Australia”.
There was a lot of interest in this
event from various sectors, and the
expert panel speakers belonged to
industry, government as well as
academia, creating a unique platform
for sharing of diverse views kickstarting a collaborative ecosystem
between all stakeholders on issues
impacting us
There were two panels with the
first one representing Industry
and consisting of Ross McKenzie
(Executive Director, Global Services
Delivery, Westpac), David Fincher
(Partner, Ernst & Young), Vijay
Gopal (Strategic Engagement
Executive, IBM GPS, Growth
Markets), Venki Prathivadi (Head,
Mahindra Satyam, A/NZ) and Samit
Chandra (Head of Architecture FSS
A/NZ and S Asia, Infosys).
The second panel was from
Academia and Government and was
represented by Prof Aditya Ghose
(University of Wollongong), Prof Eng
Chew (University of Technology,
Sydney) and Prof Oscar Hauptman
(University of Western Sydney)
and Vivek Kumar (Deputy Consul
General of India in Sydney).
Special guests at the event included
Emmanuel Nino Ang (Philippines
Special Trade Representative/Consul
(Commercial)), Philippines Consul
Marford Angeles (representing
Philippines Consul General Anne
Jalando-On Louis) and Marviana
Siregar (Indonesian Vice Consul
General)
The panel started with the moderator
Pradeep Khanna introducing
the complexity and confusion
surrounding the topic of outsourcing
and off-shoring. “Everyday we read
about closures, local job losses,
outsourcing and offshoring. We
were confused as our leaders tell us
economically we are one of the best
performing countries in the world.
As consumers, we are delighted at
have lower prices due to strong A$.
However, as employees, we worried
about our jobs/our incomes/our
21
ongoing ability to meet our expenses.
At the same time our corporates were facing severe cost
pressures in the current macroeconomic environment. It is
clear that the topic of outsourcing and offshoring has been
politicised but it also creates real challenges, possibilities
as well as strong emotions depending on who you speak
to.”
With a packed room of attendees, the
question foremost on everyone’s mind
was:
What is the right balance between lower prices and
maintaining jobs in a globalised economy ?
Perhaps the most emotive question
discussed that day was:
What is the moral responsibility of the outsourcing
vendors towards the redundant labour services?
While there were a range of responses from the panel,
the answer was best summed by Pradeep Khanna (the
presenter of this event and Chairperson, Branding of
IITians Association of Australia) in his interview with
ABC TVs Ticky Fullerton – “I think this is a much bigger
issue than for the corporates that are involved. It is looking
at positioning of the whole country.
The Government, the corporates, the industry bodies,
all of them collectively have to look at the issue and see
where is the economy heading towards and arrange for
skills in that direction. We as Australians have to focus on
higher-end skills now. And that is where, when we look
at the emerging opportunities in this year, we need to be
positioning ourselves for high technology, biotech areas.
So we need to be moving up the ladder.”
This interview was aired on ABC TVs Lateline Business
on 02 Aug and can be viewed by clicking on the link
- http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-02/wheres-thebalance/4173608
There were other interesting questions discussed like –
“Are we as Australians comfortable with outsourcing &
offshoring as compared to other OECD countries”. Key
parts of the panel discussion will be uploaded on to the
web shortly. The audience actively participated by asking a
number of interesting questions from the floor.
In order to make the event collaborative, Pradeep asked
people registering for the event to submit questions they
22
wanted to be discussed at the panel discussion. In all,
a total of 30 questions were submitted by potential
attendees. These were then ranked by the panel of
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who shortlisted them to
13 questions. These 13 questions were then put for a poll
on Linkedin by potential attendees and the top 4 (by the
highest number of votes) were taken up for discussion on
02 Aug.
The event was presented by Pradeep Khanna, CEO
Global Mindset & Chairperson Branding IITAA (IITian
Association of Australia) as the launch event in the
“Integrating Australia with Asia” series.
This first event of the series was dedicated to IITs
(Indian Institute of Technologys) and IITAA. The event
was hosted by Ernst & Young and door prizes were
sponsored by Mindfields Consulting. Event details can
also be seen on Linkedin event URL http://linkd.in/
Ls4IPc
For more information, please contact Pradeep Khanna,
CEO GLOBALMINDSET & Chairperson, Branding &
Treasurer IITAA ( IITians Association of Australia) by
email on mindsetglobal@gmail.com or on mobile +61 –
401144553
Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil
Main Khayal Aata Hai….
That Amitabh Bachchan is a legend is a truism,
but meeting him in person underscores the fact
further. On a short business trip to India in July, Navneet and Ajay
had Mumbai on the itinerary. But not what was to come next. Having
flown in all the way from Sydney, Australia, Ajay and Navneet never
thought they would get a chance to catch up with the doyen of Indian
cinema – Amitabh Bachchan!
Having sought an appointment as an EF with the Big B, the two
businessmen from Sydney were awaiting a confirmation from his office.
And one lazy afternoon, when Navneet picked up the phone, the voice
on the other end said: “Your appointment with Mr. Bachchan has been
fixed at the AB Bungalow Parteeksha in Juhu.” Now, this is the place
where Big B’s father, Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a great poet who had
written the famous Madhushala, spent the last days of his life.
Navneet and Ajay wanted to make the most of the twenty minutes they
were to spend with the star of the millennium. At first sight, both of
them skipped a beat as the man they had only seen on the silver screen
since their childhood was right in front of their eyes! The great actor,
who came across as a very humble and disciplined personality, ushered
them into the room where one could easily sense the attachment that he
shared with his father.
After exchanging pleasantries, Mr. Bachchan recollected memories
from his trip to Sydney and also shared how he liked the beautiful city.
He also talked about the experiences he had in Sydney while shooting
for the movie “The Great Gatsby”. Later, Amitabh bachchan the great,
shared how he was really happy to connect with his fans through
Twitter and his blog. What was amazing for them to hear was the fact
that Amitabh wrote his blog and uploaded it himself without fail on an
everyday basis – only a man as great as Amitabh Bachchan can achieve
such a feat despite his hectic working schedule. As they say, geniuses
are always born!
The twenty minutes flew by in a trice for Ajay and Navneet! It was time
for a goodbye and as a parting gift Navneet gave Amitabh Bachchan a
toy kangaroo for his grand-daughter Aaradhya. Ajay gifted a painting
of Lord Ganesha, which was the first-ever by his daughter. Amitabh
Bachchan also sent his blessings for Navneet’s daughter by signing on
her photo. Right through the meeting, BigB treated Navneet and Ajay
as his personal guests and called them by their respective first names. A
superstar in every sense of the word!
This is sure one everlasting memory for both Navneet and Ajay.
Something they would cherish for the rest of their lives!
23
SARANGI The Underrated Instrument
By Shanta Gounder
It is with deep pleasure that I write about the very talented Pundit Santosh
Mishra and his son Sangeet Mishra, both classical musicians trained to play the
SARANGI. The father and son duo have made Sarangi a front line instrument.
The authenticity of Banares gharana style can be felt, tasted and enjoyed by our
Australian audience on 8th September in Sydney.
However, like Ustad Bismillah Khan who took the humble Shehnai from the
marriage mandap and kotthas to a solo performing instrument, similarly today a
new wave of Sarangi players are making a mark by some of the most beautiful
semi-classical pieces of music popularly known to North Indian music lovers.
Sarangi has a feminine quality and has lent itself to being a solo instrument in
music from films like Pakeezah, Umrao Jaan and some truly memorable movies
like Taaj Mahal, Mughle Azam and Devdas.
The History of this instrument:
The most ancient of stringed instruments is mentioned in the Rig Veda. It is
likely that the upright ‘been’ is a modification of the earlier horizontally played
Veena and also it is quite likely that travelling musicians, bards , mendicants and
entertainers will have tried to develop the more primitive versions of stringed
instruments for accompaniment. A close relative of the modern Sarangi is
mentioned in 13th century treatise on music, called Sangeet Ratnagar by Sarang
Deva.
The instrument mentioned was the Pinaki Veena,a gut- string bowing
instrument. The next historical mention of this instrument is by Abu- Al Fazal in
Ain-e-Akhbari (16 AD). It became popularised within the Mughal court circles
by Tansen in the 16th century. During this time and later, Rajahs and Nawabs
took this culture into the Kothas and Havelis - thus causing the Sarangi players
to lose reputation. As the Kings gave way to foreign powers the patronage of
music moved from Royal Courts to Kothas (brothels). Our Bade Ghulam Ali of
Mughlae Azam fame was a Sarangi player and due to an insult suffered because
of it, he stopped playing the instrument and became a renowned classical singer.
Once in the hands of a Maestro, the Sarangi enchants in the most magical of
rainbow colours. Hence, its name, Sau Rangi: meaning a hundred colours.
For our Modern times it is important that the “aam Janata” become patrons of
our musical tradition: the classiocal, and folk music scene. If the “aam Janata” is
busily chasing after Bollywood glamour then we are likely to lose our precious
traditional music. We need to cultivate a core group, to listen, appreciate and
enjoy the more genteel, soft and highly skilled players of our traditional music.
In Sydney the Carnatic music scene is very well set up with the Pallavi and the
Swaralaya Music festivals well organised and a very disciplined trained audience
to appreciate the classical music.
Mrs Kakoli Mukherjee, Director of Bharatiya Sangeet Academy and a member
of the Sakhya Group of Sydney feel that it is high time that the North Indian
classical music be promoted in a similar way at least once a year. Alaap is
one such concert to be held on 8th September at the North Ryde School of
Performing Arts, 201 Cox’s Road, and North Ryde.
24
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Chandru Tolani focuses on Parramatta
Local private investor
and prominent member
of the Australian Indian
community, Chandru
Tolani, Managing
Director of Chandru
Enterprises Pty Ltd
has purchased a fully
occupied office building
in Parramatta for $18
million.
The 16-18 Wentworth Street
property has a net lettable area
of approximately 6,672sqm over
ground floor retail tenancies
with seven upper levels of office
accommodation. Major tenants
include the Australian Vocational
Learning Centre Pty Ltd, the
Department of Education & Training,
the State Rail Authority and the
Ministry of Transport.
The transaction was successfully
negotiated off-market.
The Parramatta office market
continues to outperform other
Sydney Metropolitan markets.
Mr Tolani said while investment
activity has been subdued over the
past six months in the Parramatta
commercial market, this has been as
a result of limited stock becoming
available rather than buyer caution,.
The acquisition of 16-18 Wentworth
Street highlights the continued
demand for well-located assets
with solid tenancy profiles in the
Parramatta CBD.
The acquisitions of 16-18 Wentworth
Street follows the purchase of 1-3
Fitzwilliam Street, Parramatta for
$28.3 million in December 2010–
by Chandru Tolani via one of his
group companies Chandru Property
Investments Pty ltd. This brings
Chandru investment in Parramatta to
$50 million.
Fitzwilliam street building
comprises two levels of basement
parking, ground floor office/retail
suites and six upper levels of office
accommodation. The property was
100% leased at the time of sale to the
State Property.
Chandru Enterprises Group
specialises in the acquisition and
management of commercial and
leisure assets. In recent years
the group has returned above
market returns to investors who
have participated in the groups
investments. The group now has
plans to expand in to the aged care
sector.
25
PADMA VIBHOOSHAN PANDIT
JASRAJ; MAESTRO HINDUSTANI
GAYAKI VOCALIST
I had the rare
privilege to meet
and hear the great
maestro Pandit
Jasraj sing when
he visited us a
decade or two
ago. His vocal
support then was
provided by his
very gifted and
pretty daughter
Durga Jasraj.
What a musical
treat it was.
The venerable
genius that Jasraj
Ji is, I find it hard
to choose suitable
words to compliment
appropriately and
appreciate his voice
texture singing
capacity and vidwath.
He is a dual maestro
In Tabla and vocal
music.
The diminutive sized king of Mewati
Gharana tradition, sporting uncut
shocks of grey hair, is a master
tactician of Gayaki style of singing
and is a man of few chosen words
even while in conversation. Gayaki
Ang is a typical vocal singing style
in which the singer’s voice and the
instrument generated tone combines
so finely to generate the musical
bliss called ‘sravana sukham’ of its
own.
26
Rama Iyer with Pt Jasraj
By K Rama Iyer
This style was developed by the
great Usthad Imdad Khan Saheb,
a musician of Persian descends.
There is a story behind the flock of
grey uncut hair of Jasraj Ji. Jasraj
was originally a gifted Tabla player,
whom in his younger day’s music
patrons treated as a lowly graded
music accompanist. Though it was
no reflection on the brilliance of the
youngster; it was just music tradition
of that era.
Rebelling against the unfair
tradition, he quit the sideman’s role
and decided to learn singing. An
upset Jasraj took a vow then that he
would master vocal music and only
after receiving proper recognition, he
would think of trimming his hair. He
steadfast adhered to his words. See
what happened to his determination,
he became the bright sun of Indian
classical music and the Marthand of
vocal rendering. Even when I met
him he was sporting his mass of grey
hair which suits his persona well.
Panditji is gloriously gifted and
always strived to perform at his
brilliant best. He was fortunate to be
born in a family in Hissar (Haryana)
in 1930, which gave to Indian
classical music four generations of
brilliant singers. His father Pandit
Motiramji a strict disciplinarian and
a man of methods knew at the outset
that his youngest son was endowed
with a rich, soulful and sonorous
voice which effortlessly traversed
three and half octaves had the unique
blending of harmonious and opulent
elements and had a tremendous
retention capacity. He underwent
intensive tutelage under his father
and later with his elder brother
Pandit Maniramji.
Even at a pre-teen young age he
possessed the capacity to project his
renditions full of sublime emotional
quality touching the soul of the
keen listener. He could sing with
perfect diction, quality of sur and
perfect tunefulness all amalgamated
perfectly into a unique form of divine
singing. The exclusive feature seen
in greats is the intense interplay of
notes with words which is something
not learned rather God given. I
know of only one classical singer
that is Panditji himself who has the
unique capacity to get the attention
of spiritual powers when he sings
full of emotion. It is the feeling I
get when engrossed in his music.
Jasraj Ji possessed abundance of this
feature that marked him as a prodigy
with ‘devamsam’ (divine portion) of
Goddess Saraswathi in him.
How it all started for Jasraj ji? He
explains, being born in a top rated
musical family means exposure to
music all the time. As a six year
old he chanced to hear a Bakelite
gramophone disc being played in
a tea shop nearby. The singer was
Begum Akhtar. This triggered his
fascination to learn music. However
he was gifted to achieve his wishes.
A feature of his voice was the unison
of the whisper of the unknown with
the stillness of the unheard sound.
In 1952 he was invited to sing
in front of the King of Nepal,
Tribhuvanji. The king on hearing
Jasraji was spell bound and
he showed his appreciation by
presenting him with a purse of 5,000
Mohurs. He is used to Royalty;
his spiritual guruji was Maharana
Jaywant Singh of Anand, a doyen
of Mewati gharana. In his younger
days his family was not that rich
and as a 7 year old Tabla prodigy he
earned sufficient money to support
his family.
When he began singing, he once
mused; if he could earn Rupees
800 for participating in just one
concert he would train other aspiring
musicians for no fee. It happened
because it was God’s command.
Though Punditji is an introvert
and quite person by nature, he
looks flamboyant on the podium.
He mesmerises us with his mental
involvements and outward gestures
and expressions. Indian music lives
on creativity and individuality and
its fusion. Individual expression or
Manodharma wherein the musician is
not interacting with others but rather
with himself, or in other words ‘self
evolved’. That is Panditji’s music.
Panditji will always be remembered
for creating a profound style
‘Jasraj Jugalbandi’ in other words
‘Moorchana Padhathi’ wherein three
or four Ragas (melodies) are created
from the same sequence of notes by
changing the note that is designated
as ‘SA’.
When I hear him sing, I get
overwhelmed by a divine feeling
that descends on me and I never felt
that much magnitude of divinity
in another singer. Long live the
maestro.
Indian
Tiranga
Tricolor
By S. D. Tiwari
First unfurled was
the Indian tricolor
on Everest the
world’s highest
peak.All the
three colors are
deliberated to give some message
and to speak.
Dark saffron, white and Indian green
three colors of Indian national flag
all in horizontal rectangular bars
top to bottom respectively placed.
Green band at bottom say to
everyone:
grow with greenery and agriculture.
White band in middle of it, gives us:
message of peace, truth and culture.
Saffron say us be brave and
courageous don’t hesitate to sacrifice
if nation needs, Wheel of twenty
four spokes at centre tells: on path of
progress always proceed.
Made of hand spun Indian cloth
‘Khadi’ at one hand symbolises
pride of nation; Design and color,
in symbolic language say on other,
what ought to do Indians.
27
Amazing Singer Australia
The new singing Desi reality show on Aussie TV
Amazing Singer
Australia is the first
Australian made Indian
musical reality TV
show for the lovers
of Bollywood and
Indian Music. This is
a community-based
initiative supported
by Indian Channel
Australia.
Amazing Singer Australia program
is conducted in English but the show
also features songs from various
Indian regional languages like
Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil and
Malayalam.
28
According to the Amazing Singer
Australia show producer Sherin
John, “This show is going to redefine
the future of community based
programs in Australia. It is funded
by Indian channel Australia and
supported by well-wishers of Indian
community and local businesses. The
show is hosted by Amanda Mathew
and all crew members on this project
are working purely on a voluntary
basis only. We have 2 primary
judges for every episode and 1 guest
judge. The primary judges have
in-depth knowledge of the Indian
mainstream musical industry.”
Amazing Singer Australia is the
Brain child of Sherin John, she
is the producer/Director for
this Show. Sherin is an Arts
graduate, she have also done
Diploma in film making from
New York Film Academy
London and advanced screen
and media from Sydney.
Sherin has got overall 10 years’
experience in TV/film industry in
India and Middle East. She was
the only female director in State
run TV station in Bahrain. She had
done numerous shows like talk’s
shows, reality show serials and
documentaries during her time with
the TV station. Sherin also worked
as assistant director in south Indian
movie and TV Serial industry.
Sherin is a go-getter and always
believes in following the dream
and working hard to achieve that.
She doesn’t believe in sitting back
and waiting for opportunity, she
believes in creating opportunity for
herself and other who deserves that
opportunity.
Indian Herald spoke to Sherin about
her experiences.
What challenges did you
face in the making of this
show?
Starting from concept development
to saying the first Action was full
of challenges. When I developed
the concept of a 13 part series and
that too a reality music competition,
everyone was against it. No one had
the confidence that a community
initiative for Reality TV show would
ever succeed.
We got lot of discouraging feedback
from people saying that so many
different established people had tried
to do this sort of project but none of
them was able to implement.
Getting the contestants was another
big challenge. Our production
managers, Bob and Jowins have
done a very good job to publicize the
event to get the required contestants.
Getting the crew and equipment’s
was another big challenge, that itself
is a story, which I will keep it for
another time.
As most of other productions,
funding was our major challenge,
we were hoping to get a government
grant for this project but were
unsuccessful. We were disappointed
but decided to go forward and fund
it on our own.
How did you decide to
make this show?
Indians love their music, and dance.
In Australian Mainstream media
I haven’t seen many programs
targeting multicultural
community. Indian organisations
conduct many stage shows,
most of them are focused to their
own regional language state or
religion. But unfortunately I
haven’t seen many programs which
unite all Indians. Even after 65
years of independence we have not
successfully broken the barrier.
We as Indians are still failing to
create the Indian Brand name. I
wanted to have a show where I
could give opportunity for our
youth to come and show their talent
irrespective of any language, culture
or religious barrier.
One of the core theme was to allow
them to choose their own Indian
language for their performance.
What has been the
response so far?
We are astounded by the responses
we received so far. We never thought
people were so much interested
and would support us. Indian
entrepreneurs and community
leaders have come forward to
encourage us and also started
supporting us by sponsoring
episodes. Without community
backing we would not have reached
up to this point.
We feel extremely happy that the
local Indian community has accepted
the hard work and efforts being
put behind the making of Amazing
Singer Australia.
The promo and behind the scene
video are going viral. One of the
photo albums was viewed by more
than 6000 people within first 24
hours.
What are your future
plans?
Future is full of dreams, we
want to go national and do more
community based programs both
of entertainment and shows that
talks about Australian multicultural
society. One of my pet projects
is to do talk show like investigate
journalism (focused on Multicultural
society) based TV show for
Australian mainstream media. We
also have long term plan to do TV
series and movies.
What is your impression
of the mainstream
media? Does it encourage
talent from multicultural
communities?
from other communities. It’s very
hard to break into the mainstream
media circle. As I always say change
is the only constant thing so it will
change, it won’t be far when you see
people from our community actively
involved in mainstream media.
Names of 23 contestants
participating in this
show are as follows in
alphabetical order
Aji Paul, Aleena Elza Anil, Amit
Anand, Arun Gopalakrishnan,
Ganesh Ramachandran, Gokul H,
Harsha Kandoi, Jaya Manjunath,
Jerry Philip, KARTHIKA MENON,
Kausthub Krishnamurthy, Kenneth
Bernard, Lathika ganashekaran,
Mandeep Singh Gill, Manjunath
Satyanaryana, Neethu Suresh Babu,
Padmalatha Rao, Sarah Mathew,
Shridhar Bhagwat, Sowmiya
Kasthuri Rangan, Srikant Panicker
Mangayil , Sudipto Goswami,
Supriya Benjamin
Where and when
is it going to be
telecast?
The show comprises of 13 part 30
minutes per episode and shall be
aired on TVS (Channel 44) from
12th of August 2012 at 1PM.
The show will run for 13 weeks.
Re-telecast of the same episode on
Monday 4:30PM and Wednesday
7AM .
The show can be also watched online
from http://www.tvs.org.au/watch
I don’t believe the mainstream media
is properly represented by people
29
CROWNE PLAZA
TAKES HOTEL AWARD
Baulkham Hills
MP David Elliott
has congratulated
the team at Crowne
Plaza Norwest on
their terrific win at
last week’s Tourism
Accommodation
Australia awards held at
Sydney’s Westin Hotel.
Mr Elliott, a former hotel industry
executive, said he knows how
difficult these awards are to obtain
and believes the local community
has every right to feel proud of the
prestigious accolade.
“The Crowne Plaza Norwest has
proven to have the best _’Mid-Range
Hotel Accommodation’ _for 2012 and
will now compete with similar rated
properties from around the country
at next month’s national awards to be
held in Hobart,” Mr Elliott said.
“Given its contribution as a local
employer and an integral part of the
Norwest Business Park, I am thrilled
that the Crowne Plaza has been
awarded this wonderful tribute.
“All credit to General Manager Ajay
Khanna and his young team. The
competition for this particular award
is fierce and they have every right
to feel proud at such a wonderful
achievement.
“The hotel has hosted Premiers,
Diplomats and international sporting
stars so to add this accolade to its
credentials is a real coup.”
Mr Elliott said the Crowne Plaza
Norwest had become an icon of
the Hills community and this
recognition would benefit the entire
business park.
Wishing you a Happy Independence Day
30
31
A Short
History of
the Olympic
Mascot
By John Maynard
Sydney-based freelance writer and failed
Olympic aspirant!
With the games finally
in full swing its time to
prepare ourselves for
what merchandising
budget forecasters would
have us believe may well
be the most enduring
image of the whole wacky
showpiece – Wenlock the
official mascot for the
games. In a win for geeks
and nerds the world over
London has broken with
the Olympic tradition
of selecting largely
cute native animals
as its lucky symbol of
the games opting for
a computer generated
image of two drops of
steel with cameras for
eyes.
32
In a claim which it has to be said
stretches the imagination, the oneeyed Olympic mascots, Wenlock, and
the Paralympic mascot, Mandeville,
apparently represent the final
flourishes in the construction of
the Olympic Stadium. While the
cynical might suggest that the U.K.’s
stock of cute and cuddly wildlife
is now mostly extinct Wenlock and
Mandeville are not the first images
of photo editing software to become
Olympic mascots. That dubious
honour belongs to “Izzy’ mascot of
the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta,
a curiously charmless, make-believe
character described as anything from
a ‘”blue slug” a “sperm in sneakers”
and a “genetic experiment gone
horribly, ghastly wrong.”
strength in the mythology of Mayan,
Aztec and indigenous American
cultures.
The first mascots of the modern
Olympic era can be traced back
to the Mexico games of 1968.
A stylized white dove which
represented the slogan of the games,
“Los juegos de la Paz” or “Games
of the Peace” was combined with
a (presumably placid) jaguar a
prominent symbol of power and
According to the venerable Collins
English Dictionary a mascot is
defined as a person, animal or
thing considered to bring good
luck although arguably the modern
Olympic Games have met with more
than their fair share of ill fortune.
Montreal’s showpiece of 1976
adopted a beaver named Amik as its
Four years later in Munich “Waldi”
the sausage dog or dachshund,
a popular Bavarian breed, was
anointed as the first ever official
Olympic mascot. German apparently
believe that dachshunds possess
the essential attributes required for
athletes namely resistance, tenacity
and agility. According to E.B. White
in Jack Goodman’s immortal tome
“The Fireside Book of Dog Stories”
they can also be stubborn, aggressive
and in the case of his own loveable
pooch Fred “he even disobeys me
when I instruct him in something he
wants to do.”
faithful native mascot to symbolize
hard work. Despite Mayor Jean
Drapeau’s confident prediction that
“the Olympics can no more have a
deficit than a man can have a baby”
the hard working citizens of the
city spent the next 30 years busily
paying them off. The economic
woes of Amik’s games were only
compounded when Canada became
the first host nation not to win a gold
medal.
The cute and cuddly Misha the
teddy bear star of the 1980 games
in Russia remains one of the most
enduring and profitable of all the
Olympic Games mascots. Misha
featured in his very own TV show
and was designed by a chlidren’s
book illustrator partly to counter less
than flattering Western perceptions
of Russians as being big, awkward
and heavy handed. A number of
countries including Australia and
the U.S.A. boycotted the games in
protest against the Soviet invasion
of Afghanistan a move that was
reciprocated by Russia and its
Eastern bloc counterparts in1984
when Sam the bald eagle, who some
said resembled a chicken or a wild
turkey, stepped into the limelight in
Los Angeles.
Peace was restored four years later
in Seoul when the superpowers as
they existed back then and a record
160 nations ventured to Asia’s second
ever games to witness the adorable
Hodori an animated and smiling
Amur tiger. The promotional blurb
portrayed the delightful Hodori to
symbolize the friendly and hospitable
traditions of the Koreans. As it
happens the Amur tiger is actually
native to Russia. Perhaps this was the
first case in Olympic mascot history
where a computer generated image
may have been more appropriate.
Inspired by Picasso’s cubist
style Cobi the Catalan sheepdog
transformed Barcelona from a
city characterized by decaying
neighbourhoods to one of the world’s
most visited destinations in 1992.
The fact that he appeared in either
his business or his birthday suit only
seemed to add to his appeal.
Sydney’s “best ever” millenium
games of 2000 revealed that “Olly”
the kookaburra as in “Olympic”,
the platypus “Syd” as in “Sydney”
and “Millie” an echidna from
“millennium” were unfortunately
selected as the unfortunate mascots.
Indeed Olly, Syd and Millie were
the subject of much ridicule by local
broadcasters who endorsed “Fatso”
the wombat as the unofficial Sydney
Games mascot, a move which gained
some traction when he went on to
appear on the winner’s podium
with the Ian Thorpe and the other
members of the 4 x 200m freestyle
gold medal team. Maybe this only
served to underscore the fact that
the best Olympics have the most
forgettable mascots.
As far as forgettable mascots goes
another strong contender remains
Athena the goddess of wisdom and
Phevos goddess of light and music
supposedly ancient dolls found
at archaeological sites in Greece.
Described by some as two male
appendages with webbed feet it was
hard to convince the punters that
the dolls were inspired by religious
rather than sexual connotations.
Today sadly it seems that few of the
locals took note of Athena’s wisdom
and the light and music of Phevos
have turned dark and silent. Many
Athenian venues have fallen into
disrepair, homeless people huddle
under blankets outside closed shops
and unemployment worsens as years
of unrestrained spending have sent
the poor Greek economy to the brink
of collapse.
The most recent games hosted by
Beijing featured the Fuwa or “good
luck dolls” although superstitious
locals have since labelled them as
Wuwa or “witch dolls.” Allegedly
each of the five characters has come
to characterize a series of subsequent
human rights abuses, unexplained
accidents and natural disasters to the
extent that any criticism of the dolls
has been heavily censored. Even the
famous Chinese artist Han Meilin
responsible for creating the images
suffered two heart attacks during
the process which some put down
to the harsh and dithering regime’s
insistence on him drawing more than
1000 images before settling on the
final design.
But alas poor Han Meilin is not the
latest unfortunate artist to suffer
for his association with Olympic
mascots. London Organising
Committee officials were left redfaced recently when it was revealed
that soft toy versions of Mandeville
and Wenlock were being sewed
together by workers toiling away
for over eleven hours a day for up
to a month at a time in a Chinese
sweatshop for 30 cents an hour. Back
in the mother country the “futuristic
magical beings” retail for 20 pounds
in an effort to earn over 15 million
pounds to meet the committee’s
ambitious merchandising budget.
Meanwhile the reverential
International Olympic Committee
has contributed to the discourse by
solemnly declaring that “the mascot
has the job of giving concrete form
to the Olympic spirit.” While some
have argued that the “one-eyed teletubbies” are not particularly British
perhaps they will at least provide
some joy for children for whom
others argue mascots are really
designed. If the history of Olympic
mascots is any guide I for one won’t
be buying into that.
33
Fried Ice-Cream whizzed away Sydney!!
It was a crazy night at Haymarket Hotel, when city’s party animals headed out to let their hair down to groovy
bollywood tunes at Fire N’ Ice. As the crowd swelled, the revellers grooved to club anthems while the sultry
girls showed off their best moves on the podiums with our special hot performers. The evening hosted bv Raj
Khanna & Team Amidst fabulous music from Aus’s top DJ’s DJ Sunil, Dj Rav & Dj Nissan the party was one
hell of a blast!
Stay Tuned for Raj Khanna’s Big August Party Announcement
Coming Soon !
34
HOW TO BECOME A BETTER YOU
Kishore Dudani has served in the Indian Consulate Sydney and has been a member of Indian Foreign Service
By Kishore Dudani
It is believed that people always have
control over their lives and make or at least like to make - informed
choices concerning themselves.
This leads us to conclude that each
person is unique and therefore every
individual possesses a personality of
his own. Personality represents an
evolving process subject to a variety
of internal and external influence,
including genetic and biological
propensities, social experiences
and changing environmental
circumstances.
Personality is your biggest asset, one
that you cannot get rid of nor can
you hide. Hence it makes a sense to
try & develop a personality that is
outstanding, imaginative and socially
useful. Personality developed
through the process of learning, for
no one comes trained from mother’s
womb.
One has to learn everything from
the basics of taking the first steps to
mastering the art of brain surgery,
Similarly, Personality and its
development are aspects of human
life that should be developed through
consistent efforts.
Few tips towards
developing a charming
personality are given
below:
Feel Good - Look Good
The two are intertwined; change one
and you change the other. Start with
the way you look, if only that’s the
easiest way to break the seemingly
unbreakable cycle of failure. Your
appearance tells people how you feel
about yourself; so do not shackle
yourself to drab exterior. The first
thing is to look in a mirror. Make a
list of all the things you do not like
about your appearance.
Now go through them one by one
and make the best of what you have
got. Have your hair done, slim down,
buy new specs or switch to contact
lenses, get your teeth fixed, trim your
beard, improve your make-up, every
bit helps.
Changing Self-Defeating
Reputations
Your reputation or social identity
depends on the choices you make.
But reputation is not a simple
matter of free will. Your choices are
constrained by what others in social
identity can be changed in two steps:
First, find the courage to discover
how others perceive you and what
you are doing to cause people to
perceive you as they do. Secondly,
practice new behaviours.
Develop a Hobby
To have a well rounded personality
you must have a hobby. Pursuit of
an interest by an individual satisfies
his genuine need and therefore the
person is at peace within himself
and this leads to creativity and the
associated happiness. The case in
point is that the writer of this article,
very much desired to do a Law
course, after his superannuation
from the diplomatic service and
he pursued it and is on verge of
completing his project. The friends &
relatives bugged him enough saying
as to why I was pursuing this at this
juncture.
Feel more optimistic
success and happiness. A positive
person is never daunted by failures or
competition because he is confident
about himself, so much so that
failures bring out the best in him. He
is hard working soul. They might not
be perfect human beings nor might
they be successful at everything.
Look to the future and forget the past
One of the reasons some people
never have the happiness today
is that they continue to relive on
unhappy yesterday(s). They would
rather resist the pain of the past
than plan for a fantastic future. You
cannot change what has already
happened. However, you can get
on your life with and you can put
safeguards tomorrow. Tell yourself
today is the first day of the rest of my
life. You can plan what you will do to
make certain that sadness in your life
does not return.
Accepting the imperfections in
yourself: There is nothing wrong in
striving to be the best. In fact, it is a
winning attitude. However, it is very
wrong to expect others and yourself
to be flawless under all conditions. If
you do so, you are asking for nothing
but frustration. Besides, consistent
perfection is impossible.
Learn to appreciate
others
A person with a strong self-esteem,
appreciates people, their views, and
never makes fun of others. These
people are warm and do not miss an
opportunity to offer a sincere note of
thanks for even the smallest of tasks,
this is one reason why these people
also get lot of appreciation.
A positive approach in life ensures
35
Indian school children the winners
in cross-cultural collaboration
A passion for education
saw New South Wales
Young Australian of
the Year Jennifer Star
establish Tara.Ed some
five years ago. Its goal
was simple – building
star teachers to help
students shine.
Today, thanks to the work of Jennifer
and her team, Tara.Ed reaches out to
over 3500 underprivileged children
in rural and remote areas of India.
By 2020, Tara.Ed aims to reach 2000
teachers and 20,000 students.
36
a team of four pre-service teachers
who recently returned from a three
week tour of India. Ayre, who is
undertaking a Bachelor of Science
(Chemistry)/Bachelor of Education
at the University of New South
Wales, was the recipient of an
ambassadorship. The Rotary Club of
Berrima District is the proud sponsor
of the Rotary Club of Berrima
District Tara.Ed Ambassadorship
which provides financial support to
one exceptional young teacher from
a NSW University to participate in a
Tara.Ed Teacher Tour.
The Tara.Ed program is built around
the teacher tour where university
teacher education students from
Australia undertake an internship in
one of the Tara.Ed partner schools.
Ayre overcame significant challenges
to complete her high school
education and gain admission to
university. She felt that she had
something to share with the Indian
students.
19 year old Megan Ayre is one of
“I wanted to become involved in
By Tara Ed
Tara.Ed as I felt I could connect
with students from a disadvantaged
background,” says Ayre. “I wanted
to show them that education is
something to be valued and pursued.
I wanted to give them a hope that
they can become successful despite
their placement in this world.”
During the visit, she and the
team worked at a charity-run and
privately funded Gyanankur English
School in Kesnand, in the state
of Maharastra, which caters to
underprivileged and rural children.
They also visited seven local
government run schools as part of
the community outreach program.
At Gyanankur, Ayre worked
alongside the maths and science
teacher. She focused on teaching
standard-seven mathematics. It
was during these classes that Ayre
had the most satisfying experience
of her Indian tour: “There was a
particular student that I noticed had
fallen behind. Not because he wasn’t
smart, he just worked at a slower
pace. During classes I invested some
time in him and to my surprise as
I was leaving, he came with great
excitement to show me that he had
caught up to the others. That was
the most rewarding part of the entire
trip.”
projects: “On this tour we were
able to catalogue the school library,
create a phonics program for primary
classes, catalogue and model the use
The benefits of a Tara.Ed teacher tour
definitely go both ways according to
Ayre. Ayre said she and her fellow
team members were able to reduce
the workload of the Indian teachers
as well as help them with specific
of interactive maths resources,
establish a computer lab and
implement a primary computer
curriculum as well as create a
“fast-finishers box” to extend gifted
students when they complete class
work early.
Overall, the Tara.Ed Teacher Tour
worked with eight schools, 100
teachers and more than 2500 children
in rural Maharashtra.
“Professionally, thanks to the teacher
tour, I have gained confidence
and motivation to become the best
teacher I can be. I have taken away
classroom management skills that I
believe would have taken months to
learn elsewhere. I have also taken
away a deeper appreciation for
education.”
If you would like to find out more,
get involved or help with the work
that Tara.Ed is doing, visit their
website www.taraed.org
No evidence artifacts stolen from India
Art Gallery of New South Wales
“No one has made any suggestion
that the works in our collection are
stolen or that there are any issues
about those works,” Brand told the
radio networks of the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation (ABC
Radio).
“Should someone come to us and say
that there’s reason to believe that,
we’ll obviously collaborate in any
way we can.”
There was no suggestion
that the art works
collected by the Art
Gallery of New South
Wales (AGNSW) were
the result of a theft, said
the gallery’s Director
Michael Brand.
The AGNSW has confirmed that
it has art works in its collection
acquired from New York-based
antiquities dealer Subhash Kapoor,
who is being held in India on
suspicion of trading in stolen
precious artifacts, the Australian
Associated Press (AAP) reported.
Brand said galleries were responsible
for following the correct procedures
when acquiring art works.
“If one of the objects will end up
being stolen from a temple, clearly
we have only one thing to do and that
is to return it,” he said.
In 2008, the National Gallery
of Australia (NGA) in Canberra
purchased the statue, known as
“Shiva as Nataraja, Lord of the
Dance” from Kapoor, the ABC said.
However, the NGA says it has not
been contacted by Indian police
or any other authorities about the
matter.
According to the ABC reports,
the NGA has been in touch with
the Indian High Commission in
Canberra after Kapoor’s arrest.
The Australian galleries are among
a number of international art
institutions that have acquired works
of art through Kapoor.
37
A window into the subcontinental soul
Indian writers strengthen ties with Australia
By Mridula Nath Chakraborty (Writing and Society Research Centre, University of Western Sydney)
Come join the world of Indian
imagination! Ten of India’s most
acclaimed regional writers and
two major publishers will travel to
Australia to participate in a high
calibre literary forum—one of the
largest India-Australia literary
exchanges to be facilitated between
our two countries.
The AustraliaIndia Literatures
International Forum
(AILIF) will be held at the State
Library of New South Wales, 3rd6th September 2012. Organised by
the Writing and Society Research
Centre, University of Western
Sydney, this event builds on their
earlier ties with Asia.
AILIF is a unique and unprecedented
event funded by the Australia India
Council, which is celebrating its 20th
anniversary this year, the Copyright
Agency Limited, the Literature
Board of the Australia Council and
the Australia India Institute. It has
received in-kind partnership support
from the State Library of New South
Wales and the Taj Foundation, all of
which attests to the growing interest
about India in Australia and to the
significant outcomes expected from a
gathering of this size.
38
An initiative to foster literary ties
between Australia and India, this
project will focus on an area that
has not received adequate attention
in either of their creative-cultural
imaginaries.
The forum brings together vernacular
writers from India with Australian
multicultural writers, to generate
interest in their respective traditions
and enable close interaction and
collaboration between them.
While Indian Writing in English has
a spectacular global presence, what
is often not known in international
circles is that India has 22 official
languages, of which at least a dozen
have flourishing and independent
literary traditions. Some of these
literary cultures date back to twocenturies ago, testifying to the
extraordinary linguistic diversity
within the region.
The event will have the twin effect
of promoting inter-lingual ideas
and enable translations of high
quality between these literatures,
thereby helping Australia and India
understand each other’s societies and
foster closer cultural relationships.
This event comes at a time when
Indian migration to Australia is
at a peak and the hitherto lukewarm relationships between the
two countries are changing. Indian
migrants bring with them their
languages, their ways of living
and their world views. Literature
encapsulates these modes of being
and shows us an intimate view of our
own selves. Thus an introduction to
Indian regional literatures will give
Australian audiences an opportunity
to understand the nuances of Indian
culture. Most of these writings are
available in English translations too.
The event will be beneficial for
business too! Indian publishing is at
a highpoint at the moment, and major
global publishing houses are rapidly
moving into the subcontinent to
cash in on a highly literate Englishproficient clientele. Australia is in a
good position to capitalise on this,
as the hidden gems of Australian
Aboriginal, Indigenous and
multicultural writing, derived from
traditions other than the European,
are especially unknown in the
subcontinent. The event will provide
opportunities for writers from both
countries to exchange cultural
knowledge that will encourage
further collaboration, research and
commercial ventures and expand the
market.
Luminaries like Girish Karnad
(Kannada) and N S Madhavan
(Malayalam), whose long-standing
contribution to Indian literature is
a matter of national pride, will visit
Sydney for three days to develop
and strengthen Australia’s ties with
one of the fasting growing markets
for literature. Other well-known
names include C S Lakshmi (Tamil),
Mamang Dai (North-East) Gogu
Shyamala (Telegu), Sharan Kumar
Limbale (Marathi), Kynpham Sing
Nongkynrih (Khasi), Prabodh Parikh
(Gujarati) and Uday Prakash (Hindi).
Mita Kapur, CEO of Siyahi, the
largest literary consultancy in India,
and founder-member of the Jaipur
Writer’s Festival, and R Sivapriya,
Managing Editor of Translations
and Classics, Penguin India, are also
participating.
Highlights of the program will be
Mahmood Farooqui’s performance of
dastangoi, the lost-art of Urdu storytelling, and a presentation on Nobel
Laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s
2000 paintings, which were released
to the public for the first time in 2011
to mark the poet’s 150th anniversary.
Australian writers include wellknown names like Alexis Wright,
Nicholas Jose, Michelle de Kretser,
Inez Baranay and Bem le Hunte.
A particular point of interest is
the participation of emerging
voices in Indo-Australian writing,
which straddles the material and
imaginative worlds between India
and Australia. It will be very
exciting to hear from these writers
of tomorrow; Roanna Gonsalves,
Manisha Jolie Amin, Chirs Raja and
Aashish Kaul, to name but a few.
For full program and information
on the participating writers, see our
website: http://www.uws.edu.au/india
Tourism Australia
launches new campaign
in India
Tourism Australia, India has launched a new global promotional campaign,
‘There’s Nothing like Australia’ aimed at promoting Australia as a must-see
destination with some of the world’s best tourism experiences.
Australia has a wealth of assets, natural and man-made, that differentiate it
from other destinations around the world. ‘There’s Nothing like Australia’
campaign shows these assets in a contemporary, sophisticated, energetic and
inspiring way.
Focusing on high quality products, rather than broad based experiences, the
campaign will show travellers what makes an Australian holiday distinct and
unique.
In India, ‘There’s nothing like Australia’ supersedes the advocacy driven
campaign that presented personal experiences of Indian nationals living in
Australia and those who have visited the country.
Featuring noted theatre personalities - Aditya Hitkari & Divya Palat and
Vikrant Kapoor, Chef and Partner, Zaaffran, Sydney, the previous campaign
captured individual journeys of these personalities who spoke of their personal
Australia story.
Tourism Australia believes in word-of-mouth publicity as a powerful medium
for motivating people to travel and advocacy will continue to remain a big part
of bringing to life ‘There’s Nothing like Australia’ campaign.
Globally, the launch phase of ‘There’s nothing like Australia’ involved local
Australians engaging with the campaign by uploading around 60,000 stories
and photos, to give travellers around the world ideas and inspiration for an
Australian holiday.
The latest phase of this campaign is being launched in India and highlights
some of Australia’s best tourism attractions, experiences and products that
showcase why there is nothing quite like Australia.
39
Alien Shores
Tales of Refugees and Asylum Seekers
The second volume of short stories from Australia and the Indian subcontinent
edited by Meenakshi Bharat and Sharon Rundle.
India is the largest
source of migrants to
Australia, with ‘15.7
per cent of arrivals
under the permanent
migration program
last financial year’,
according to a recent
report in The Indian
Herald (‘Census reveals
rapid growth of Indian
migrants’ July 22, 2012).
Given this scenario, it
seems timely to bring
together stories from
Australia and the Indian
subcontinent on this
topic.
These nineteen remarkable stories by
acclaimed writers from Australia and
the Indian Subcontinent, ruminate
40
on the lives of refugees and asylum
seekers all over the world. Powerful,
poignant and sometimes funny, they
tell the tales of brave people who, at
great peril to their own safety, seek
out a new life in a new land.
When Meenakshi and Sharon were
considering this second collaborative
volume of Indo-Australian stories,
refugees and asylum seekers were
constantly in the news but much
of the debate was superficial and
inflammatory. They decided to
explore this theme. The aim was to
present different perspectives and
points of view.
As Rosie Scott writes in her
foreword: ‘It is the writer’s act of
imagination which is the basis of all
good fiction, the kind of fiction that
opens new worlds to the reader.
The power of literature to move
people, allow us to see into
one another’s hearts, to foster
compassion and understanding and
inspire political action works in a
way that almost nothing else does.’
In their brief to the authors,
Meenakshi and Sharon requested
original, fictional stories that did
not play the blame game. The
intention was to access the deeper
complexities of the lives of refugees
and asylum seekers and to highlight
the peculiar dilemmas that they have
to confront.
The authors responded by
imaginatively showing the effect
on daily lives. The result was a
collection of diverse, creative and
imaginative stories that cover
surprising territory. Each story is
unique, some portray refugees in a
less kindly light, some do not have
happy endings, but are yet deeply
moving and some stories inspire with
their courage and hope, warmth and
humour.
Southerly Journal describes Alien
Shores as a ‘significant contribution
to this body of literature. Its South
Asian and Australian voices make it
unique in this genre. It emphasises
the divide between justice and the
law, reception and exclusion but it
also offers us a gift of liminality,
of different narrations and new
configurations of hospitality’.
Meenakshi and Sharon say that
they could not have put this volume
of stories together without the
generosity and support of all the
authors, Linda Jaivin, Arnold Zable,
Amitav Ghosh, Susanne Gervay,
Jamil Ahmad, Sophie Masson,
Deepa Agarwal, Michelle Cahill,
Joginder Paul, Ali Alizadeh, Tabish
Khair, Abdul Karim Hekmat, Anu
Kumar, Andrew Y M Kwong, Bijoya
Sawian, Julia Mackay-Koelen, Sujata
Sankranti, and Rosie Scott.
Indeed it is the passionate belief in
the cause that lies behind all the
players in this creative effort—the
writers, the editors, and the
publishers---that gives the volume its
unique strength.
When Alien Shores was launched
in Sydney, on May 20, by Mr
Amit Dasgupta, Consul-General
of India, Sydney, the packed
function room at the Hughenden
Hotel which sponsored the event,
was enough endorsement for the
effort. The Consul-General’s warm,
generous and impassioned appeal
for compassion and understanding
for the moving mosaic of refugees
in a world, touched a chord in the
audience and continues to ring in the
steady involvement of readers across
the island continent.
Readings Carlton Bookstore hosted
the launch of Alien Shores on May
21. When launching Alien Shores,
Julian Burnside QC, a well-known
crusader for the rights of asylum
seekers, gave a moving and eloquent
speech about the plight of these
displaced persons. Applauding Alien
Shores, he stressed the importance of
giving a voice to their stories.
The support of the literary world
has been tremendous. In addition
to the contributing authors who
generously read from their stories,
David Malouf, Devika Brendon, Patti
Miller, Libby Sommer, Mabel Lee,
Jacquie Everitt, Moya Simons, Jen
McVeity, Hazel Edwards, Meredith
Costain, Rose Inserra, Wendy
Ashton, Roanna Gonsalves (our MC),
illustrator Marjory Gardner, our
publisher Kabita Dhara and publisher
Paul Collins, as well as film and
theatre producers Ana Tiwari, Neel
Banerjee and Devaki Monani from
SBS Hindi Radio attended the
launches.
Alien Shores is published by Brass
Monkey Books, a new Australian
imprint with a commitment, which
aims to showcase writing from the
Indian sub-continent. At the Sydney
launch, Kabita Dhara said that ‘Alien
Shores, their latest publication,
encapsulates the goals of Brass
Monkey Books most of all’, with a
transnational volume of stories from
Australia and the Indian subcontinent
that ‘link together for a common
cause’.
Alien Shores is published by Brass
Monkey Books an imprint of Hunter
Publishers and UQP..brassmonkey@
hunterpublishers.com.au
ALIEN SHORES is available now
in book shops, including Dymocks,
Readings, QBD, Gleebooks, Coop
book shops, Berkelouw, Abbeys,
National Gallery of Australia
book shop; and many online book
stores such as Hunter Publishers,
Boomerang Books, Fancygoods,
Kimberley, Shearersbookshop,
FROM UNITED BOOK
DISTRIBUTORS
Brass Monkey Books Australia
Editors: Meenakshi Bharat and
Sharon Rundle (Eds)
Publish Date: May 2012
Origin:Australia
Imprint:Hunter Publishers
Publisher:U.Q.P.
Sharon Rundle
41
Australian sports apparel company to design
outfit Afghanistan cricket team
Alanic Group,
a 100 per cent
Australian
owned sports
apparel company,
has signed a
merchandise
agreement with
the Afghanistan
cricket team
which is to
compete in the
ICC T20 Cricket
World Cup to
be played in
Sri Lanka in
September.
The Australian
company, which has as
its slogan: ‘Dress the
Universe’, designed
and manufactured the
colorful jerseys - along
with trousers, shorts and
jackets - which are sure to make a
significant fashion statement during
the World Cup.
The uniform design of the
Afghanistan Cricket Team outfits
consists of the three colours of the
National Flag embodied in strips
where Black resembles the darkness
of the past history, Red – the
bloodshed of war, and Green - the
hope, prosperity and bright future.
Alanic, which was established in
Australia six years ago by Johnny
F Beig and Tony Beig, has offices
domestically in Sydney, Melbourne
and Brisbane - and internationally
in New Zealand and Singapore
42
involved in outfitting
the Afghanistan team
for such a prestigious
event on the world
cricket scene.
Cricket has proved
a great tonic for the
people of Afghanistan
amidst all that they have
had to endure over the
years and the players
aim to do their country
proud during the T20
tournament.
The fact that
Afghanistan is
scheduled to meet the
might of England and
India in their group
matches of the World
Cup is testimony
- and will shortly have an office
established in the US to capture the
lucrative sports apparel market there.
Alanic is one of few Australian
companies exporting its apparel
to major associations such as the
prestigious Ice Hockey League in the
US - One Hockey. In addition, Alanic
provides merchandise for Universal
Studios in Singapore.
Domestically, Alanic supplies
merchandise for large-scale running
events and various soccer and Rugby
League associations.
General Manager for Alanic, Johnny
F. Beig, said: “Alanic is proud to be
to the great foundation
work that the ICC has
done in giving Afghanistan the
opportunity to compete in the game
at the highest level, and, in turn, the
opportunity for Alanic to display its
creativity on the world stage.”
“The three year merchandise
agreement we have in place with
the Afghanistan Cricket Team
evolved over lengthy discussions
with our representative based in the
area. Alanic is a rapidly growing
company and we are excited at the
opportunities that are opening up
for us internationally, as well as the
continued expansion in the domestic
market,” added Johnny F. Beig
Brand India pavilion
at AISF in Sydney
day show and hope to expand
their business in the Australian
market.”
The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council
(TEXPROCIL) has announced that it will once
again lead a large contingent of Indian textile
exporters to exhibit at
the three day event at
the Australian International Sourcing Fair
(AISF). The event will be
held over three days at
the Sydney Exhibition
Centre from 20 – 22 November 2012.
The event focuses on fashion, home
and textiles and attracts manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retail
chain store buyers, independent
retailers and agents.
According to Mr Siddhartha
Rajagopal, Executive Director, The
Cotton Textiles Export Promotion
Council “The AISF is becoming an
important event for the textile and
clothing (T&C) industry around the
world as it provides a very useful
opportunity for doing business
Down Under! The Cotton Textile
Export Promotion (TEXPROCIL) – a
premier textile promotion body of
India – organised the Brand India
pavilion at the Sydney edition of
the show. Exhibitors from India
received a good response at the three
India will again feature
prominently at the fair which
is co-located with the China
Chamber of Clothing and Textiles
Expo. Over 400 companies from
around the world will exhibit
the best in fashion, textiles,
homeware and handicrafts.
According to Julie Holt,
Australian Exhibitions &
Conferences, Exhibition Manager
“This event, launched in 2010,
is emerging as an important
regional platform for international
sourcing, and it is encouraging
to see the growth in interest
from some of the leading
exporters across India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Fiji and Thailand.
Ongoing major participation by
India is a major contributor to the
success of the event and it is clear
that Indian companies themselves
are enjoying success in the
Australian market. This year we
expect the event to be even more
successful with the introduction
of a number of important changes
including a live demonstration
stage and networking events
which will undoubtedly lead
to even greater commercial
outcomes for participants. ”
The Indian
MONSOON
By S. D. Tiwari
Dancing: frogs, peacocks and
farmers,
Singing: birds, women and the
lovers,
Set to welcome: farms, ponds,
rivers,
Ready: boatmen, municipality,
villagers.
Hearts glow, when music of rain
drop pierce,
falling at leaves, roof tops; into
the ears.
Alert are: government and river
side dwellers prepared with
umbrella, raincoat; hawkers.
Blessed are: farmers, expecting
better crops.
Blissful: the children, of rainy day
leisure hope.
Stressed are poor; whose huts,
houses of mud.
Depressed are: flood affected
people and old.
All around greenery, watery; for
nation, a boon
‘The Indian monsoon’
The growth in international
sourcing in Australia is
significant. In particular there
has been significant growth in
the import of home textiles,
womenswear and menswear over
the past year.
43
RAJESH KHANNA
1942 - 2012
CHALA JATHA HUN…
By K Rama Iyer
So he sang in his film
‘Jeevan Saathi’ (1972),
but for that to happen it
took four decades, and
we moan the loss of the
hero who left us to his
heavenly abode on July
18, 2012. India is a film
mad country of over two
billion crazy people to
whom Rajesh Khanna
was an iconic figure and
the nation is a moaning
state days after his
passing away. A legend is
no more.
Rajesh Khanna’s real name was
Jatin Arora. His life span was from
28.12.42 to 18.7.12, 59 odd years.
He was addressed as RK, Jatin
Khanna, Kaka etc, while in Chennai
he is still lovingly called Raja
44
Kannan. These days Superstar is
a title tagged very loosely to many
unworthy film personalities, but if
you like to find the genuine one ; it
was Rajesh Khanna. He ornamented
the Bollywood film Industry with
his classy boyish look, a one in a
million smile, clean cut personality
and his ability to convincingly act as
a celluloid hero. He appeared in 163
feature films, as a lead protagonist
and success came seeking him with
monotonous regularity. In 1966,
aged 36 he burst into the silver
screen in the film ‘Akhri Khat’ a
Chetan Anand film, followed in
quick succession by Raaz, Baharon
ke sapne, Ittifaq, Aradhana etc. They
were all highly successful films.
What a dazzling film career he had,
with 35 Golden Jubilees during
1966-75, 35 more to follow between
1979 and 1991. Between 1969-71 he
figured in 25 silver jubilee hits too.
This high percentage success rate
was not seen before and may not be
seen in future too.
Just as he succeeded in film stakes,
he figured prominently in love life
too. At various stages in his film
career he was linked romantically
with film damsels. During the latter
half of sixties and early part of
seventies he was in deep love with
the glamorous starlet Anju Mahendru
( niece of the great Madan Mohan).
Her name at around that time was
linked with Gary Sobers too. I had
seen them together when I visited
Gary in Sun and Sand Hotel in
Sixties. After an intense love life of
seven years Anju and Rajesh split,
why, no one is aware of. The tragedy
of the split was that they did not talk
to each other for the next 17 years.
Years later they became friends,
primarily because Anju and Dimple
were good friends. Three years after
this breakup Rajesh fell in love with
the teen aged Dimple Kapadia. Their
wedding took place before the release
of her maiden starrer ‘Bobby’, a Raj
Kapoor production. Dimple was
sixteen then while he was almost
double her age, precisely 31.
Before Rajesh met Dimple she was
in deep love with her Bobby co-star
Rishi Kapoor, son of Raj Kapoor.
It is said they had even exchanged
rings then. When Dimple accepted
Rajesh Khanna’s proposal, he made
her throw the ring Rishi gave her into
the sea, ending that love chapter. The
irony of life is such that in 1984, after
eleven years of wedded bliss and the
birth of two pretty girls , they split
and began living in separate places.
They however did not officially
divorce. Before dawning the Dimple
saga Rajesh had a good personal
relationship with his co-star Mumtaz.
They lived very close to each other.
They did 8 films together. When
Khanna married Dimple, Mumtaz
faded away from his life and she
married millionaire, London based
Mayur Madhwani. Enter Tina
Munim in Rajesh Khanna’s life. She
moved away quick smart from RK
by going to US for continuing an
academic career and studies.
Over the years Dimple and Rajesh
reconciled to some extent. She was
the guiding force for him and helped
in his election and managed his
political life. He said this just before
his death ” You know what; I still
love my wife Dimple”. According to
him he had reconciled with his long
standing wife.
While all this was happening, he
was sharing his palatial Mansion in
Carter road with Anita Advani with
whom he acted in films and was his
bosom buddy and lover, though they
called themselves as living partners.
Since 2004 till his death she was
with him. At the extreme fag end of
his life, Anita was eased out, even
though the family did not bother of
their coexistence for 7 years. It is
reported that after his death bitter
words were exchanged between
Dimple and Anita, and Anita was
not even allowed to be part of the
funeral procession. Rajesh’s son
in law Akshay Kumar was a tower
of strength the family all the way
through.
In 1966 Rajesh got an
entry to film through a
talent quest where he
came top among 10,000
contestants. Big wigs
Sippy, Nazir Hussain,
Sakthi Samantha and
others soon signed
RK for their future
ventures. Initially he
lagged behind in body
language and he showed
shyness while in front
of Camera. RK signed
to act in films Doli,
Aurat, Ittifaq, Aradhana,
Khamoshi etc. But it was
Aradhana that broke all
barriers of success and
hitched him to stars.
In this film he excelled
in the double roles of
father and son opposite
to dimpled beauty
Shirmila Tagore.
May I say it is all taqdeer that two
more superstar joined hands with
him; Kishore Kumar and Pancham
R.D.Burman. Kishore’s voice
blended so well for RK that hardly
one could separate them and see as
two individuals.
In combination many super hit
films were created by them ;
like Kati Pathang, Amar Prem,
Mere Jeevan Sathi, Aap ki kasam,
Aanchal,Aawaz, Hum dono and
others. When success and money
came to him in plenty, he developed
the drinking habit and he became
fond of regular partying. His
popularity among teen aged girls was
unmatched. When he frequented to
Chennai, news always leaked out and
thousands of teen aged screaming
girls congregated at airport and
outside his hotel to catch a glimpse
of him. They kissed his car and it
was full of lipstick marks. When
it became unmanageable of the
activities of the screaming girls,
he sought police protection. These
lunatic girls sent love letters to him
written with their blood. These
girls married themselves to his
photographs and put sindoor using
blood extracted from their fingers.
There was no end to their hero
worship. He even found himself in
University text books with the title; ‘
the charisma of Rajesh Khanna’.
Pyarelal of LP duo said that Rajesh
Khanna had a good ear for music,
and he was their lucky mascot. He
had a great sense for melody. RK’s
closest friends include Kishore,
Pancham, Anand Bakshi, Sakthi
Samantha, Raj Babbar, and J. Om
Prakash, Jitendra and my close
friend and work collegue Prem
Chopra. He was an elected MP
and a political activist. He even
planned to build a retreat at Shirdi,
for the accommodation of Sai
Baba’s disciples. I have no idea what
happened to that project?
RK was a baby faced smiling hero
generally wearing Guru Kurthas
liked by one and all. As far as I am
concerned he was our only super star
ever lived.
45
London Olympic
2012 Games
London Olympic
2012 Games
was a major
international
multi-sport event
which took place
from 27 July to 12
August 2012.
The Games received widespread
acclaim for their organisation, with
the volunteers, British military
and public enthusiasm praised
particularly highly.
The opening ceremony, directed
by Danny Boyle, also received
near-universal acclaim. During the
Games, Michael Phelps became the
most decorated Olympic athlete of all
time, winning his 22nd medal.
46
Great Britain achieved its highest
tally of gold medals since 1908,
finishing third in the medal table.
Usain Bolt became the first sprinter
to retain all three sprinting gold
medals at consecutive Olympics.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei
entered female athletes for the first
time, meaning every country has sent
a female competitor to at least one
Olympic Games. Barbados, Nauru
and St Kitts and Nevis only had men
in their teams but had entered women
in previous Games.
With women’s boxing included, the
Games became the first at which
every sport had female competitors.
INDIA IN LONDON
OLYMPICS 2012
Although India’s sporting record
is improving, a grand total of six
Olympic medal, none of which were
gold, may seem unremarkable for
a nation of over 1.2 billion people.
After over 90 years of participation
at the Olympic games, India clinched
a record six medals, the country’s
highest-ever tally at the event.
AUSTRALIA IN
LONDON OLYMPICS
2012
Despite the Aussies bemoaning their
athlete’s performances, they stood
on the podium nearly three times
as many as a country with their
population, wealth and investment in
sport should deliver, with 35 medals
compared to a benchmark figure of
only 12.
47

Indian Children the Winners in Cross-Cultural

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