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Health & Healing Ways to avoid acne See Page - 18

KollyCat Tamannaah can’t imagine life away from family!

See Page -20

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

VOL 38. ISSUE 39

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ting their tuition fees back, which students have already paid in some cases, the fear of losing lakhs of rupees (thousands of pounds) is looming over their head.

"The admissions process is an arrangement only between the student and the college and we cannot intervene. However we hope that genuine colleges will understand this situation but we cannot play any role in it," Nigel Casey, British deputy high commissioner, said.

This indefinite suspension, put in force from last Monday, was the

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direct result of a 10-time increase in student visa applications during the period October to December 2009, at three visa application centres of Chandigarh, Jalandhar and New Delhi.

Last year, 13,500 applications were received during this period whereas only 1,800 and 1,200 were received in 2008 and 2007, respectively.

"We will again review the situation by the end of this month. Then depending on our evaluation, we will decide when to resume accepting applications again," said Casey.

Casey said that this suspension was necessary to scrutinise the situation and to save genuine applicants as there were some cases where people were abusing the student visa norms.

"Some unscrupulous agents mislead youth by telling them that they can easily attain PR (permanent residency) through student visas, which is totally wrong," he pointed out.

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Sham marriages and dodgy colleges halt UK student visa for Indians The British High Commission has temporarily suspended acceptance of student visa applications from north India.

The UK Border Agency on Sunday, Jan 31, announced the suspension in taking visa applications at its centres in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Jalandhar from Monday, Feb 1.

Deputy High Commissioner Nigel Casey said, "We took this decision in response to unexpectedly high numbers of student visa applications in these areas at this time of year."

But on the other hand some students have paid their tuition fees, others have their acceptance letters in their hands. But now hundreds of Indian students may not be able to study in the UK thanks to a sudden decision to temporarily stop accepting student visa applications at its three centres in north India.

As there is no guarantee of get-

6th February to 12th February 2010

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Salil Shetty appointed head of Amnesty First Indian to lead the world body Amnesty International, for the first time, will have an Indian at its head. Salil Shetty was appointed the Secretary General, the world body announced on Tuesday.

Salil had earlier worked as the head of the UN Millennium Campaign, also as the secretary. More important is the fact that he would be holding the key post at a time the world body will be celebrating the 50th anniversary and has also charted out expansion plans.

Salil Shetty will take charge in June 2010. He succeeds Irene Khan who stepped down on 31 December, 2009 after serving Amnesty International for eight long years.

Peter Pack, chair of Amnesty International executive committee, announcing the appointment, said “We are thrilled that Salil will be joining us and leading Amnesty International as we renew our fight to end injustice - campaigning with those imprisoned because of their ideas, those on death row, those being tortured, and those

Salil Shetty

who have their rights denied because they live in poverty.”

Salil Shetty has a strong track record in non-government and inter-government sectors.

He is also strong at mobilizing people, civil society, governments and international organisations to fight for the rights and dignity of people.

Reacting to his appointment, Shetty said, “I feel privileged to be given this amazing opportunity at a time when the world needs human rights for all more than ever before”.

With more than 2.2 million members and supporters in more than 150 countries, Amnesty International was founded in London in 1961.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

ONE TO ONE Keith Vaz MP with Viggo L. Birch Viggo Birch is Managing Director of Novo Nordisk UK and Ireland and Vice President Europe. His career at Novo Nordisk spans 22 years, including 11 years as Managing Director and Vice President, Spain and Portugal.

He is co-founder of the Spanish Diabetes Foundation and a Board member of OCDEM – a joint venture between the University of Oxford, the NHS and Novo Nordisk.

Viggo trained as a Business Economist at Copenhagen Business School and Wharton School, Pennsylvania and is married with four children. He is also a Goodwill Ambassador to the city of Copenhagen.

1) What inspired you to join Novo Nordisk?

I started my career at an American company (Mobil Oil) where I stayed for 11 years. My ambition was to join a high tech Danish company and at that time Novo Nordisk was a small biotech company. I was inspired by their passion and heritage.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

The early part of my career at Novo Nordisk was spent selling insulin in a large number of the Latin American countries and I then expanded Novo Nordisk in Spain, France, the Benelux countries, Greece and Portugal. My proudest achievement was turning the Spanish operation around and creating the Spanish Diabetes Foundation.

On a personal note, I am

I see two main issues: innovation and access to medicine.

Creating a sustainable pipeline with highly innovative products is a huge challenge.

However, ensuring that patients have access to life changing medicine is becoming the most critical issue. Governments need to adopt a longterm approach to the management of chronic diseases and invest in better care to deliver patient focused solutions.

4) What are your long term goals?

My

long

term

5) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?

I am proud of what I have achieved in my career to date. My biggest challenge has been maintaining a healthy work life balance.

6) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?

There are many people who have influenced different elements of my career. My first boss, Poul

goals

Balsborg, provided me with valuable insights to strike a good deal. His boss, Herbert Detharding, taught me the importance of thinking big to achieve the impossible.

When I joined Novo Nordisk, the CEO, Mads Ovlisen, was a great inspiration on how to run a responsible business where financial results are balanced with social and environmental considerations. My current CEO, Lars Rebien Sørensen demonstrates that achieving world class results is based on sticking to ethical values.

7) What is the best thing about your current role?

My ability to realize a lot of my ideas in real life and

Asian Voice Political and Public Life Awards It’s time for the ‘Asian Voice Political and Public Life Awards'.

These awards are given annually to people who have made a special impact in the preceding 12 months, ranging from international politicians to individuals who have made a big difference in their local communities.

The awards will be handed out at a prestigious ceremony at the House of Commons on 25th February, 2010 and the winners will be joined at the ceremony by a select group of 250 high profile politicians from all political parties, business men, community leaders to celebrate their achievements.

Last year’s awards proved a great success, with figures as diverse as Rt Hon Geff Hoon MP – The then Defence Secretary, Mr Eric Pickles MP – Chairman of

Conservative Party, Ms Caroline Fint MP – Minister for Europe, Mr Robert Howard Harris MP, Sailesh Vara MP, Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP – Chairman of Home affair, attended the event.

2009 Asian Voice Political & Public Life Award included Winners Rt Hon Harriet Harman, Adam Holloway MP, Sarah Teather MP, Naresh Goyal - Jet Airways, Ms Ann Treneman – Jounalist, Slumdog Millionaire, Baroness Uddin, Mohammed Ajeeb CBE, Mr Dolar Popat, Mr Rajesh Rupani - Sony Television Asia, Ms Nina Wadia, Ms Teji Singh, Mr Amin Ali, Ms Nina Amin, Mr Dipankar De Sarkar, Mr Bhanu Choudhrie.

The shortlists for the awards for 2010 will be

Categories " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "

Politician of the Year Labour Parliamentarian of the Year Liberal Democrat backbencher of the Yea Conservative Backbencher of the Yea Minister of the Year TV personality of the Year Journalist of the Year Special Award for International Achievement Media Company of the Year Restaurant of the Year Asian broadcaster of the Year Campaign of the Year Male Entrepreneur of the Year Female Entrepreneur of the year Professional of the Year News Agency of the year Community Award Lifetime Achievement Award Sports Personality of the Year

decided by a panel of judges and as always we are sure even this year there's going to be a fierce competition which will prove very difficult for

the panel to choose the winner.

Readers of Asian Voice vote and nominate who they think should win the coveted Awards.

!

My key principles are to be visionary and have the ability to create change. I am also a great believer in having fun whilst working.

8) And the worst?

!

9) If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you change? include better partnership arrangements between the NHS, Academia and Industry to ensure that patients get access to better treatment for their chronic disease irrespective of where they live.

People The stalk has arrived in Northwood with the birth of another grandchild for Rami and Renu R a n g e r.

Daughter R e e n a Rami Ranger Ahuja and son in law Harmeet are the proud parents of Arya, a brother for Arjun.

People and managers who put themselves first, and who apply a Machiavellian approach to management. I also get frustrated by the inefficient health care systems and the irresponsible competitive climate.

a very proud family man.

I have been married for 36 years and have four lovely children.

3) What do you think is the biggest issue facing pharmaceutical companies today?

playing a part in helping hundreds of thousands of people to live a better life. Being part of a progressive organisation where individuals can be further developed is also very motivating.

I would stop war fare.

On a local note, I would wish for an end to postcode prescribing of medicines.

10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figures would you like to spend your time with and why?

I would spend time with Abraham Lincoln as he represents freedom and democracy. I would also join Sir Winston Churchill as he represents decision, power and vision.

Finally, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet as they have demonstrated that giving and helping can be combined with generating big value.

A debate in Westminster Hall this week initiated by Hayes and Harlington MP John John McDonnell

McDonnell about Britain’s Punjabi community. Rob Marris will also be taking part.

! Sir Ben Kingsley will be walking the red carpet with other Bollywood stars for t h e opening Sir Ben Kingsley of a new film directed by Ambika Hinduja. The Leicester Square launch of Teen Patti should be a big hit. ! England’s only Black Chief Constable Mike Fuller has left his post to become the first H e r Majesty’s Inspector of the Mike Fuller C r o w n Prosecution Service. Yet another first for this leading policeman.

UK Immigration brings about changes The Minister of State for Borders and Immigration, Phil Woolas, has put forward regulations in Parliament for the fees for immigration and nationality services.

An application for entry on a settlement visa for a dependent relative will go up from GBP585 to GBP1680. An application for a dependent relative visa made from inside the UK will go up from GBP820 to GBP1680.

This increase in immigration and nationality fees, likely to be introduced in April 2010.

However, a number of people feel that the fees for dependent relatives are quite excessive.

There will also be a £15,000 "premium service" available for the very rich.

From 22 February 2010 those applying

for UK student visas by post at an UK Public Enquiry Office under Tier 4 of the points based system will require a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) from their prospective sponsor. It will no longer be possible to use a visa letter to apply under the UK Tier 4 visa. One must have a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) from the prospective sponsor. This is the case even if the visa letter was issued before 22 February 2010.

You can continue to use a visa letter for the purposes of applying for a Tier 4 visa until 21 February 2010. You can use a visa letter in this situation even if the course of study starts on or after 22 February 2010.

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

COMMENT

Bribing the Taliban offers no exit The London jamboree of foreign ministers representing 60 countries with an avowed interest in the future of Afghanistan have broken bread with their British hosts, talked at length on this the most intractable of subjects without offering a cubit of realistic wisdom on an enduring solution, participated in the obligatory photocall before going their separate ways. The local media, meanwhile, went to town in their frothy denunciation of the Afghan president Hamid Karzai as a corrupt warlord presiding over a lucrative drugs trade for friends and cronies. Is it worth putting the lives of British and American soldiers at risk for a regime so unworthy? they asked in high dudgeon on radio and television.

Karzai, poor man, is easy meat. Not so Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari, who appears to be out of sight and out of mind, as does his ramshackle regime. Afghanistan's troubles are rooted in Pakistani soil, but so are Anglo-American loyalties towards a favoured regional client. Andrew Neill ranted on without led or hindrance at the Afghan leader on his Politics Show on BBC Television without giving the slightest indication that such a country as Pakistan existed – the safest haven for jehadis between the two poles and in every conceivable time zone.

Bombings, shootings and grand larceny are Pakistani brands without peer, but for the self-appointed guardians of the international community the country's rulers and military are immune from scrutiny. And so regional and global terrorism, aided and abetted by shadowy Pakistani institutions thrive and multiply.

Liam Fox, the Tory shadow defence spokesman, who was also on the Politics Show, contributed his penny's worth by welcoming China's entry into Afghanistan in search of mineral wealth and the fees to be earned by the Kabul government. The young Afghan woman discussant protested; she had

no wish to see her country's wealth looted by cavalier outsiders. Like Britain and America, China is a sturdy supporter of Pakistan. The irony is that a few days later, The Sunday Times (January 31) carried a front-page report of massive Chinese espionage activities in Britain, the whistle blower MI5.

But Britain and America and their Nato allies, having dug a pit for themselves, finding it impossible to turn ignominy into imperial triumph. As they wait for Godot they cook up the most preposterous of schemes: the one most rigorously popularised being to divide the elusive and deadly Taliban into good guys and bad guys and strike a deal with the former, enabling them to join the Karzai government in some shape or form and when they do, the West could leave Afghanistan and its rulers to their own devices and beat a hasty retreat, which an obliging media would propagate as a victory for Western arms.

Henry Kissinger in a lucid moment described a 'moderate' ayatollah as one whose Kalashnikov had run out of bullets. The autobiography of the founder of the Pakistan Taliban, Abdul Salam Zaeef, gives us little hope that such a species as the 'moderate' Taliban exist except in the over wrought imaginations of American and British politicians and generals desperate to escape the hell-hole of Afghanistan. Nemesis follows hubris as surely as night does day. There is much bright talk in high places of starting a Taliban fund, bribing those open to the bargain of selfenrichment, with swords turned into ploughshares in a durable peace.

Afghan history tells us that such bargains, like piecrust, are meant to be broken. Broken they will be. The Taliban and al Qaeda are after a bigger prize: the universal Islamic caliphate or its nearest equivalenr. The genie is out of the bottle and putting it back is proving well nigh impossible. All that awaits the West is the purgatory of a long haul.

A case to answer: Blair in the dock Former prime minister Tony Blair provided the nation with live political theatre when he appeared before the Chilcot panel inquiring into the genesis of the Iraq war. Mr Blair put up a stout defence on his role in that conflict; he defended his every move, in tandem with President George W. Bush, to ignite a war in the interests of regime change in Baghdad. Mr Blair claimed that his actions had cleansed the region and the world of the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain and his blood-stained regime. But Britain and America had and continue to have close ties with many nasty regimes in the Middle East and beyond. Mr Blair's infamous weapons of mass destruction, allegedly in Saddam's possession, was a false accusation; it was a ploy to work up public opinion at home and abroad.

Whatever Saddam Hussein's crimes, he had nothing to do with the terrorist 9/11 attack on New York and Washington. Messrs Bush and Blair were determined to get their

way and the war they planned was duly conducted. But thousands of Iraqis have been killed and thousands made homeless refugees in neighbouring Jordan and Syria.

British wives and mothers, who had lost husbands and sons, were present in force at the Blair hearing and gave voice to their disgust at the former premier's unyielding stance, his refusal to express the slightest remorse at the deaths and destruction that has left Iraq a desolation, even if protagonists of the war choose to call it peace.

As prime minister, Tony Blair had set up a panel for African uplift and relief. It is about to be wound up, having achieved little.

Mr Blair attended two meetings. So much for his humanitarian concern.

The Chilcot inquiry and the many depositions made before it leaves us with much food for thought. The parameters of British foreign policy require fresh national scrutiny as does Britain's vaunted 'special relationship' with the United States.

Andy Murray gave it his best shot The finest modern British tennis player, the 22-year-old Scot Andy Murray, is climbing the heights of his sport. It is 74 years since a Briton won a grand slam tournament, when Fred Perry carried off the US Open. Murray was the first Briton to reach the final of a grand slam since those heady days. He contested the Australian Open in Melbourne with the Swiss Roger Federer, arguably the greatest player to have held a tennis racket.

Federer was in sublime form as he

despatched his challenger in straight sets, thus taking his grand slam tally to an astonishing 16.

However, Andy Murray has time and talent on his side. He is surely destined to win a grand slam tournament sooner rather than later. Who knows it could be Wimbledon, which would more than compensate for the loss in Australia.

He has star quality and is set to join the pantheon of the tennis great.

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Thought for the Week Don't waste your time on jealousy.

Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

- Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune

Sarah Teather MP Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Gordon Brown had an effective veto on Iraq: he must explain his failure to use it This week everyone is talking about Tony Blair’s evidence to the Chilcot inquiry, which is examining Britain’s disgraceful decision to follow George Bush into war in Iraq.

For many people, Blair’s appearance before the panel will have rekindled the anger they felt when we first went to war. I will never forget the day I marched with thousands of others through London to protest at a war which I still believe was deeply wrong.

Thousands of innocent people have needlessly died, while the British taxpayer has picked up a bill running into billions of pounds. At the outset of the war we were spun the myth that it was necessary in order to make Britain safer; yet now we are more vulnerable than ever to a terrorist attack.

Having listened to Tony Blair speak, I think most people will sadly have had their suspicions confirmed.

Blair’s decision to go to war was based on a commitment to serving the interests of the White House rather than the interests of the British people.

It’s utterly depressing to see Blair’s fanatical belief that he and George Bush were fighting a moral crusade, with no sense of remorse or regret for the disaster that unfolded.

Now, all eyes turn to the current Prime Minister.

As Tony Blair’s Chancellor, Gordon Brown had the power and the opportunity to intervene to stop Tony Blair invading Iraq. By controlling the government’s purse

strings, Brown effectively had a veto. But instead of snapping shut his cheque book and telling Blair to back down, Gordon Brown signed away billions of pounds of taxpayer’s cash; money that could have been spent on good things, like schools, hospitals or housing.

It was Nick Clegg who demanded that Gordon Brown give evidence to the Chilcot inquiry before the election and, after a great deal of squirming, the Prime Minister has now agreed to do just that.

This is the right decision: the British public, after all, have a right to know exactly what Gordon Brown’s role was before they go to vote later this year.

Unfortunately, the inquiry won’t be quizzing the Conservatives on why they followed Labour through the voting lobbies. It is disgraceful that the two establishment parties joined forces in order to send British soldiers into this war and the public are justified in asking why, when they had access to the same evidence as the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives showed such catastrophically poor judgement.

The Iraq war was a disaster. The invasion was illegal, unjustifiable, and it is now clear that it was waged on a false prospectus. The Labour Government misled the public with its “dodgy dossier” and the Tories simply stood by and cheered them on to war. Gordon Brown had an effective veto – he must explain his failure to use it.

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YOUR VOICE

4

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

India and its neighbouring countries

60th Republic Day of India

Should Burkha be banned in Britain?

So many people talk about India's policy of non confrontation, non violence, no conflict with the neighbours.

The leaders of India, the politicians are matured, seasoned, cool, calculating and trouble free. We are definitely not violent unless we are compelled to take strong action. We know our economy would progress further! We are not coward. We know how to tackle uncompromising situations.

During 1970-71 in wars with Pakistan and in 1962 with China, money worth millions was wasted! China is a huge country with a big population, arms, ammunitions and in the same way India is also over populated but has solved the problem of economy, progress and development.

Our neighbour Pakistan is always ready to challenge India knowing there is no comparison between the two countries in strength. I would like Pakistan to improve their economic and social situation first and then wage wars at us!

India has celebrated 60 years of republic last week with pageantry spending millions of rupees for the republic day parade in New Delhi.

The neglect by successive governments for three generations has resulted poverty and squalor in every Indian’s life.

More than 50 per cent of the population of India are illiterates and more than 60 per cent of households do not have drainage system and they have to use open toilets. In Mumbai more than 40 per cent of the population live in slums with common toilets.

Sardar Patel tried to unite India by merging all the states ruled by Nawabs and Hindu kings. Now India is undergoing reverse process where several new states are created.

India’s population is increasing at the rate of more than 20 million a year. There is a shortage of basic food materials and thousands of farmers commit suicide every year.

India has produced top scientists but it has not helped to solved economic problems. Indian science is an intellectual irrelevance in India, where science and technology even in the crudest form has not reached the villages where seventy per cent of the population live.

Should Burkha be banned? Yes and No. Britain must not impose similar decisions as Australia, France and Switzerland.

In interest of personal, social and national security, the ban maybe justified.

Some crimes are perpetrated by burkha wearing persons (not necessarily by Muslims). Escape by burkha clad people from police dragnet is also recorded.

Government is sensitive against burkha.

Again, the ban will reduce Islamophobia and may eliminate Muslims from suspicions always.

As Britain-unlike many Muslim countries- is not a theocratic state, but democratic nation, committed to honour religious practices. In order to emphatically ban burkha on religious grounds Britain will have to change its constitution to theocratic state.

Ramesh Moradabadi Southall

But Ghee is also Butter We are constantly being advised by doctors and dieticians to spread butter thinly on our toasts. A leading heart surgeon has gone a step further and recently announced that people should not eat butter at all.

But ghee, which is clarified as butter and milk are the main ingredients in most Indian sweets and even some savouries.

Even to our most healthy food, khichadi, we add ghee. While butter has 7.4 calories per gm, ghee has a whopping 8.9! We are advised that to stay healthy and also to lose weight, we must limit our intake of fats to 70/80 gm per day, but then just one samosa contains 30/40 gm. No wonder we Indians have a far greater incidence of deaths from heart attacks and type 2- diabetes!

Having said this, we must not ignore the fact that Ayurveda casts a total different perspective on the use of ghee. It considers ghee to be one of the most health promoting of all foods. According to Ayurveda, ghee can strengthen the body, the eyes and the mental functions. It can improve memory and promote longevity.

In addition, ghee is a useful treatment for soothing burns.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

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Arun Vaidyanathan Via Email

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Last to last week you reported on the pollution of the River Ganga.

I am intrigued - why do Hindus pour, on a daily basis, their faeces into a river that they consider holy? Perhaps someone can enlighten me and all the other readers.

Its about time some steps are taken to stop people misusing the liberal visa system. Though banning or halting the student visa process from a particular region like north India, UK should actually hunt down the bogus colleges which have been given the authority to issue invitation letters which enable the fraudsters to get the visa. Clearly, the steps taken by the UK government have not worked completely otherwise the students wont still be able to come over on false pretences.

Also from my experience the kind of people coming here cannot speak basic conversational english. For stopping them to come here the IELTS/TOEFL should be made stricter, maybe some oral English exams can also be introduced.

UK, just like USA over the years, should keep the migration program open but has to make it stricter for unwanted people. By targeting Indians only will not help. The history itself provides the answer that people from India are hardworking and pay taxes. Whereas people from Eastern Europe are the ones contributing towards crime rates.

Nevertheless , the government is more worried about them leaving the UK and going back to their respective countries like Poland. If this is not discrimination, then I dont know what is.

Words of wisdom from Barry Gardiner I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to Barry Gardiner for his piece in last week’s AV, “Open letter to Hindu Forum of Britain.” It is even more admirable as it comes with sincerity.

Most politicians whose thinking may be as different as chalk and cheese on most subjects, yet they do agree about Barry’s comments, praise and law abiding nature of practically all Hindus, as the prison population is the proof.

Another feather in our cap is the tremendous advance our youths have made on the educational front with 90% of Hindu youngsters going to university.

No wonder Hindus are so prominent in professions like pharmacy, IT, accountancy, law and medicine. Barry presses the right button when he says that parents make tremendous sacrifice and contribution in the advancement of their children.

They are taught from the childhood to differentiate between right and wrong.

But Hindus badly lacks behind on the political participation even when we have such talents, young and dynamic politicians who would be an asset to any party, in Council or HoC. All political parties should tap into this vast pool of talent and give Hindu youngsters a platform to make a career in politics that will benefit the country at large.

Vikram Sharma London

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Amitabh Bachchan is the new brand ambassador for Gujarat to promote tourism. This has been hailed on all the leading newspapers in India. As impressive as it sounds, this is just a give and take relationship observed between Mr Modi and Mr Bachchan.

Mr Modi will forego the taxes on the movies like PAA and Bachchan will promote Gujarat. This is what was very surprising that an iconic actor promoting Gujarat out of the goodwill in his heart?

Well the picture is not very clear. Even though they say that Modi will not gain any political mileage out of this, however it sure is going to be publicised that Modi was the person who got Amitabh on the Platform!

Well done Mr Modi!

Kiran Bhargav Leicester

Visas for India I watched a programme on MATV about Indian visa application from the UK and highly appreciate its importance and clarity.

The visa information online may be helpful, but life is not simple for every one. Some Indians were born in Pakistan, Bangladesh , Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and many other countries. Many of them may not even have birth certificates or even marriage certificates. But they are of Indian origin.

These people are supposed to be attended by the senior officers of Indian High Commission and not by the ordinary staff from the agencies. The agencies which are recently been introduced in London and elsewhere are failing to cater to the needs of people of Indian origin.

Many of us do not want to post our passports as well since they may get lost.

The senior staff of these agencies are mostly rude and unhelpful and are not fit for the purpose of dealing with us at all.

Dharam Sahdev Ilford

Why not Parthiv?

The title given in the TOI (29/01/2010 Page 1) is correct. Parthiv Patel deserves his place in the team after scoring so many runs in first class matches. Parthiv has been an aggressive run scorer throughout in the IPL matches.

It came as a shock for Parthiv when BCCI announced team lineup for the upcoming test series against South Africa next month. It is understandable that when M S Dhoni is selected but choosing the Bengal wicket keeper Saha instead of Patel seems very unfair. I wonder on what basis does Srikanth & Co select the national team?

Performance or favouritism?

Devang Bhatt Via Email

Bhupendra M Gandhi Via Email

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British actress Kate Winslett also won the Oscar after having missed it almost five times earlier.

‘Smile Pinki’, a short documentary on a cleft-lipped Indian girl in Uttar Pradesh directed

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

Britain welcomes the first British Asian Shopping Website

Cllr Anjana Patel Portfolio Holder!for Schools and Children's Development Harrow Council

A Little Modesty, Mr. Gardiner It isn’t usual for me to dedicate my entire column to commenting on another, but Barry Gardiner MP’s piece ‘Open letter to the Hindu Forum of Britain’ left me with little choice.

Mr. Gardiner attempts to have his cake and eat it by flattering Hindu communities while simultaneously dismissing their efforts over many decades.

He rightly talks about the hard work of Hindu parents and grandparents who settled in this country, many with little in terms of wealth and opportunity, and yet none the less provided their children with good homes and a strong sense of work ethic.

However, by making the tired and familiar political point about “years of educational failure” under the Conservatives, and bragging about Labour’s investment in education, he is being very careless.

What he is ignoring is that for years and years, children from Asian backgrounds have done better academically than other groups of pupil and the private tutoring has played a key part in achieving this.

This isn’t a boast – and in an ideal world children

from all backgrounds would excel equally at school – but is simply the statistical reality.

So what he is saying to those Hindu, Asian and indeed all parents who have tried to motivate their children to achieve well at the school, is that their efforts aren’t and never have been that important? That what really matters is what the government does; everything else is just window dressing. Mr. Gardiner is also being a little selective with his statistics by mentioning individual A*-C GCSE success rates in Brent of over 90%, when the borough average is a more modest 70%. For the record, Harrow’s is 75%.

Mr. Gardiner should better not boast about ‘Every Child Matters’ in relation to educational improvement. The ECM emerged to shift focus from academic care to the pastoral care as the government set educational targets were repeatedly not achieved. And, even the social care aspect has been ineffective as the recent report by the government’s own National Equality Panel confirms that social

5

inequality has actually increased under Labour.

Finally, Mr. Gardiner believes that “the values of the Hindu community are the values of the Labour Party.” Not only is this a convenient thing for him to believe as his party fishes around for votes, it also ignores the fact that Hindus possess a variety of viewpoints and political opinions. And while the values he mentions – such as understanding the importance of hard work and a supportive family – are sound and traditional, and will no doubt chime with a good many people from the Hindu community, they appear to be completely unrelated to Labour’s own policies and principles.

I am fortunate that my responsibilities with Harrow Council allow me to work closely with schools and teachers, children and parents, and all facets of the borough’s diverse population. If Mr. Gardiner were to do the same, he’d no doubt realise that what people want is better education; not boasts and empty complements.

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Shoplifters go free despite death of supermarket worker

Three shoplifters went free last week despite the death of a supermarket shelf stacker who tried to stop them stealing a packet of biscuits.

The men were arrested after one of them punched a black store detective and shouted racist abuse before taking the biscuits and trying to flee.

Javed Agha, 52, a grandfather working at the store, then intervened and tried to detain

them but they fled and he suffered a fatal heart attack.

Manchester Crown Court heard that as Mr Agha tried to stop the men escaping, one shouted at him: "Kill asylum seekers".

Mr Agha later collapsed with chest pains and later died in hospital.

Eytan Yates, 24, Andrew Sinnott, 20, and Jacob Williams, 19, admitted involvement in the incident but walked

free with community orders. In a statement Mr Agha's son Nadeem Agha, 23, said, "At first, I did want to take revenge, but as a friend said to me, it's not worth it and that it would make me as bad as them. My father has helped so many people in the local area over the years.

"He worked all his life to put food on the table for us and has never claimed anything from anyone."

6

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

Kapil’s

“Our London”

KHICHADI

CIIr Navin Shah AM London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow What a week the last week was! It was a week to remember. In the early part we paid tribute to the vicitms of Holocaust and then towards the end of the week remembered Mahatma Gandhi and his contribution to the humankind.

THE LEGACY OF HOPE I attended two very significant and moving events to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day. Theme this year for the Holocaust Memorial Day was ‘The Legacy of Hope’. In Brent it was the day dedicated to the victims of the the Holocuast and of other genocides. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the liberation of AuschwitzBirkenau concentration camp. The event at Brent Town Hall was mostr remarkable in two ways.

Firstly a film ‘May we never forget’ created by young people in Brent which showed the interviews and stories in their very own words of the survivors of the Holocuast. The other unique part of the event was the ‘Butterfly of Hope’ project contributing to this year’s theme of legacy of hope. The exhibition of entries for this project dis-

Cllr Ann John and myself with the Butterfly exhibits in the background

played vivid, colourful designs of buterfly together with messages of hope from Brent’s youth. London Assembly too put on a ceremony with a couple of unique presentations. The most unusal and unique being ‘Violins of Hope’. It was a privilege to see and hear how the histoirc violins from the Holocaust time were retrieved and refurbished with the great-

est possible care by Amnon Weinstein. This was followed by perormances on these violins, the sounds still ringing in my ears, played by various artists.

Testimonials from Gena Turgel MBE and Zigi Shipper naratted the horror, humiliation and the genocide. The very presence and participation of young people gave hope for the future.

A WEEK TO REMEMBER MAHATMA GANDHI NIRVAN DAY contributions are proLast week commemomoted and celebrated rated another most every year both on powerful event in the the birth anniversary history of humankind – as well as on nirvan the Nirvan (Martyr’s) (martyr’s) day of Day on 31st January. I Mahatma Gandhi don’t need to say anywhen hundreds of thing at all about people gather in Mahatma Gandhi as Harrow and Brent. In Bapu’s contribution to a similar vein the India, the world and ‘India League’ too the humankind is well has been doing recognised. But, contremendous work in tinuing promotion of the UK. Both the his message is critical. gathering in Brent This is being done organised by actively by the Mahatma Gandhi Mahatma Gandhi Foundation and the Foundation (UK) with prayers organised at which I’m very proud At Tavistock Square in front of Tavistock Square by to have had long associGandhiji's statue. (Members of the India League and ation. Thanks to the stalwarts of our com- Mahatma Gandhi Foundation and me) attended by the Indian High Commissioner munity – Late Kavi Shri founders of Mahatma Nalin Surie were spiritually Dahyabhai and Late Gandhi Foundation (UK), uplifting.

Ratibhai Jobanputra, the that Bapuji’s work and

Woman’s misdiagnosis proves reasonable An out-of-hours doctor who allegedly misdiagnosed a mother over the phone with swine flu despite her actually having blood poisoning made a "reasonable" judgment, an inquest has heard, reported by a local media.

Jasvir Kaur Gill, 48, was vomiting and had a sore throat when her husband called out-of-hours GP Suresh Mali, who diagnosed her as having swine flu. He prescribed the mother-of-three with

Tamiflu and told her to get some rest. Hours later her 49-year-old husband Harkanwaljit called an ambulance after her condition deteriorated, an inquest at Leicester Town Hall heard. Mrs Gill had in fact contracted meningococcal septicaemia but paramedics found no evidence of this and again told her to get some rest.

Later, on August 2 last year, the housewife had a heart attack and was

rushed to hospital. She was resuscitated but slipped into a coma and died four days later.

The inquest heard Mrs Gill suffered from lupus.

To treat the disease, she was taking drugs which suppressed her immune system. These drugs may have been the reason why symptoms common with septicaemia, such as a rash, sore neck and aversion to bright light, were not present when Mrs Gill's husband phoned Dr

by Kapil Dudakia - email: kapil@abplgroup.com Blairingly good!

Last week I received notification that I had won the lottery. No, not the Lotto – the other one giving out the passes to attend the Tony Blair show at the Iraq Inquiry.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend, but from what I saw on the TV, you have to give it to Blair, he still has it to run rings around anyone and everyone.

I don’t know about you, but I have to admit I am sick to my back teeth with inquiry after inquiry on Iraq, knowing that we will never get to the real truth anyway. We won’t get to the truth because when you have a timid panel that are not even able to ask simple penetrating questions – what do you expect?

For example, why was there such a rush to invade Iraq? To my knowledge Saddam was not going to run away. We also now know beyond any doubt that the in-depth planning required was just not good enough to sustain any meaningful invasion. There had to be more to this mad rush than meets the eye.

The issue about whether the war was legal or not is frankly a red herring. You can conduct a legal case either way, and should it ever have got to a court of International Law, I am certain that even there they would have found it difficult to make any clear legal judgement. So why bother wasting time and money?

Why was it done?

So what was all this about? This is the bottom line and so far none of the inquiries seem to want to chase that ferret down the rabbit hole.

Could it be the case that had the USA and UK left it any longer then there was a danger that the UN team might have come back and confirmed that there were in fact no WMD. That Iraq was on the verge of complying Mali. The GP was also told Mrs Gill's 25-year-old son Sukhvinder Gill had swine flu two weeks before his mother's illness.

An independent physician, Kevin Gill, was asked to review the doctor's handling of the 13minute call. He said: "I think the diagnosis of swine flu was a reasonable diagnosis because of the symptoms."

with the UN requirements? Can you imagine the red faces in No10 and the White House had that happened!

There could be a subplot that could revolve around harnessing the untapped potential of Iraqi oil. It could also be the case that the only way of keeping Iran in check was to ensure there was a permanent establishment of a USA and UK base in Iraq.

Could it be the case that Bush and Blair had decided that it was better to have a war with the terrorist on foreign grounds and as far away as possible from their own countries? In effect, to make sure that the major losses would be sustained by others as opposed to lives lost on the streets of London or New York.

Emotion tends to take over since such wars result in the death or injury to our troops.

When we witness the events at Wootton Bassett, it becomes a constant reminder of one’s loss and the subsequent anger that follows.

In that anger, people end up with unrealistic expectations of what Mr Blair was going to do or say at the inquiry. Am I sad that we got rid of Saddam – of course not.

Do I think we went about it the right way – certainly not, it would have been far better if the UN was brought on board properly. Do I think the invasion was about getting rid of Saddam or even WMD – actually NO. I think there is more to this rash and rushed invasion than we have been led to believe.

In the end, we continue to waste money on inquiries that never ask the right questions let alone getting anywhere near the truth. Is the world a safer place, of course not. But then, do I think it will become safer in the years to come – not really since those who wish to create havoc under false pretences will do so since death to them is a goal in life.

Cameron takes our advice Last week I reported that Kenneth Clarke appeared to be taking advice from KK when he said, ‘calamitous’ and ‘damaging and unsupportable’ cuts in the public sector would not represent the best way forward. Hot on his heels even David Cameron this week has jumped on that bandwagon and confirmed that the massive cuts the Tories were planning, well, they won’t be happening now after all. That means the difference between the Labour and Tory position on the so called cuts is getting rather slim, if any at all. At this rate there is a danger that by the time of the election, the day light that we were hoping to see between these two main parties may not exist after all. So I wonder which policy the Tories will water down next in readiness for the election?

Inheritance Tax? Top rate of income tax?

If they are in the listening mode then maybe scraping ‘Trident’ might represent a better way forward. Firstly it will give Britain the moral strength to stand up and ask other countries not to pursue the acquisition of nuclear weapons.

In addition, the savings on this huge expenditure (at least £50 Billion) can be safely diverted to sorting out the national debt.

Some of it can also be used to support the armed forces with technology that can better combat the modern threat.

After all, the nature of the threat has changed significantly, yet policies of various governments still seem to be founded on the cold war era. I think the intelligent use of available resources is the only option for us given that countries like China, India and Brazil, with whom we must compete, seem to have everything in bucket loads for the 21st Century and beyond.

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7

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

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Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

Dee Katwa

Midland Voice Contact: Dhiren on 07970 911 386 or dhiren.katwa@abplgroup.com

A rising nation – India Compelling pride and passion for India were displayed by participants and guests at a remarkable reception organised to mark the country's sixtieth Republic Day. On leaving the event, I felt enthused and energised towards my ancestral home, India.

The event, held at the office of the Indian Embassy in Hockley, Birmingham last Tuesday morning, began with the hoisting of the Indian flag

by Mr C Gururaj Rao, the new Consul General, flanked by his senior colleagues. Petals were released and the words 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' were repeated three times, followed by rapturous applause, as the flag was raised.

Then, Mr Rao read in full, in Hindi, the President of India Pratibha Patil’s speech.

It was at this point I observed, hilariously, veteran peer Lord Tarsem King’s proficiency in Hindi, or rather a lack of it, as he held his copy of the speech throughout the reading without following it. He happened to be given the Hindi version and his shuffling suggested he was embarrassed, perhaps, to ask for the English translation.

In her intensely powerful speech, the President said: "Media can have an important influence on how people see the country. with relentless advances in technology, media is now an integral part of our daily lives. It can create awareness by bringing information to the people, getting them to reflect, and making them realise their responsibilities towards the nation."

Next on stage was a group of four young Indian men, all students

from the local Ravi Music College.

Outstanding vocalists Vikas Arora and Bharpoor Singh Sohal, a harmonium and tabla player, respectively, each performed a patriotic song in Hindi. A solo musical item was showcased by their mentor, 81-year-old Ajit Singh

the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru; Narender Grover, a retired banker, recited a poem in Urdu; a poem in English, titled Celebrating India, was read by Rama Joshi and another by Swaran Talwar. Daljeet Kaur Niranjan won an extended applause and cheer for her moving and emotional poem in Punjabi about a 60-yearold woman sharing her experience of having spent her entire life on the footpaths of India.

From left: Mr SV Balaji, Dhansukh Parbhu, Mr C Gururaj Rao and Mrs Sudha Rao, Mrs Balaji

Mutlashi, on the harmonium, and Pritam Singh on the tabla.

Among distinguished guests were Nottinghambased Asian entrepreneur Nat Puri, Hindu community champions from Leicester Maganbhai Patel and Uday Dholakia, Niranjan Vakharia from Leeds, Councillor Amar Nath from Derby and local couple representing Her Majesty, Jagjit and Satinder Singh Taunque.

The line-up also included: Jas Wouhra, MD of East End Foods, who performed, inspite of a technical glitch with the sound, a karaokistyle 'Meri Aawaz Suno', a Hindi song, originally sung by the legendary Mohammed Rafi in 1964 following the death of

The function ran smoothly with no time wasted in between performances and was fantastically compered by Indian diplomat Kartar Singh.

Particular credit to bridgebuilder Mr SV Balaji, the soon-to-exit deputy consul general, for having earnt the trust of the local Indian community and for

having gone the extra mile to influence major changes in the way services are now run. Readers may recall the visa mess and acute administration failures of September 2007 at the London and Birmingham branches of the embassy where applicants were made to wait for hours and hours which led to ridiculous daily queues. A solution was eventually found, outsourcing, which seems to have relieved the ‘migraine’ for everybody.

The vote of thanks was given by Mr Rao, without the aid of a script, unlike his predecessor Mrs Pavel, whom he replaced in November last year. Mr Rao, a member of the Indian Foreign Service, joined the Ministry of External Affairs in 1983 and has served in Indian missions in Mauritius, Kenya, Portugal and Nepal in various capacities. Before being posted to Birmingham, Mr Rao was Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi.

A follow-on celebration has been organised by the High Commissioner of India, Nalin Surie, which will take place at the ICC in Birmingham this Sunday (Feb 7).

White kids a minority in Birmingham Asian children are outnumbering white pupils in Birmingham primary schools for what is believed to be the first time, according to the city council. The proportion of youngsters aged seven and under with an Asian background stands at 40 per cent against 39 per cent for white children. The figures are likely to re-ignite a debate about whether and when Birmingham will beat Leicester and Bradford to become the first majority ethnic UK city.

Watchdog Ofsted inspected 112 city primary schools last year and found that 92 per cent were satisfactory, or better. This figure is four per cent below the national average. Council education bosses have warned that language difficulties among non-English speaking pupils continues to contribute to poor performances by some schools.

Muslim councillors at war Mileage scam, students jailed A leading Birmingham Liberal Democrat is at the centre of an extraordinary “bugging” row after arranging for a private conversation involving his Labour arch-rival to be secretly taped.

Councillor Ayoub Khan, pictured, has admitted that he launched a covert surveillance operation against Councillor Mohammed Afzal in a desperate attempt to save his career after he was found to have misled a court while giving evidence under oath. The offence, if proven, could result in the end of Councillor Khan’s career as a barrister and would be bound to raise questions about his sustainability as the Birmingham cabinet member for local services and community safety. Khan and Afzal have been fighting each other from opposite sides of the political spectrum in Aston for almost a decade.

Loughborough University PhD students Sharif Uddin and Zubair Ansari who conned punters out of thousands of pounds by peddling “clocked” cars have been jailed. Uddin, from Leicester and Ansari from Sheffield, both aged 33, netted up to £10,000 by selling seven vehicles with their mileage turned back. Each was handed an 18-month sentence and could face deportation to India upon release.

Postmistress calls it a day Having served customers for 25 years at her Wrens Nest community post office in Dudley, “pillar of the community” postmistress, Sash Takyar, has announced her retirement. “I know everybody around here by name.

I will miss all of the customers,” said the 52-year-old.

Married to Harish, 54, who also works in the post office, the couple have two children, Monica, 32, Amit, 27, and a six-year-old grand-daughter.

News in Brief Mr Wing Yip celebrates OBE Three cheers for Mr Woon Wing Yip, pictured, one of Britain’s most successful Chinese businessmen, on being awarded an OBE. A sparkling lunchtime reception in his honour was organised by his family at his Wing Yip restaurant in Nechells, Birmingham, last Thursday. I was among around 25 guests and flattered to be reserved a seat on Mr Yip’s round-table. All were treated to a special menu, then offered the opportunity of a hand massage and other luxuries, including a goodie bag.

Credit to the team at Seal for their genuine and noncosmetic approach and attitude, a rarity, in my experience of PR ‘professionals’. Mr Yip arrived on British shores from Hong Kong on a boat in 1959. Next week, Valentine’s Day, marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year, year of the tiger. Feb 14 also marks the start of Losar – the Tibetan New Year.

New batteries legislation New legislation introduced this week will require shops and online retailers to offer facilities to recycle batteries. In the UK, we use over 600 million batteries every year and a staggering 97 per cent of these batteries end up in landfill. Most supermarkets and many high street shops will have collection points, and will some town halls, libraries or schools.

Education on Holocaust

Young people from diverse communities read out individual statements of commitment in a bid to strengthen efforts to promote education and research about the Holocaust at a remembrance function. The event at Dudley College last Friday, hosted by the Centre for Equality and Diversity, a charity, reminded guests of our responsibility to tackle exclusion and racism.

Academic ‘sex change’ Coventry MP Geoffrey Robinson, pictured left, has been bestowed with a Lifetime contribution to Midlands’ Business award. He received the honour at the fourth annual Midlands Business Awards held at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham last Friday. The prestigious event, brainchild of Leamington-based Sikh entrepreneur Harj Sandher, attracted, as has done each year, a majority white audience of over 400 guests. The upside of this make-up was that when the host, local BBC news presenter Kay Alexander, got the gender wrong when introducing one of the five judges, academic Dr Spinder Dhaliwal, it went unnoticed. Thank goodness Dr Dhaliwal, pictured right, a lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Surrey University, was absent.

Get involved

Are you a young person aged between 16 and 25?

Do you want to get out there and meet new people and share similar experiences while having fun and helping to make a difference? A government project is looking for young people to take part in a residential weekend in Chester next month to identify gaps, strengths and weaknesses in local health service provision. For more information contact Sarah Scott on 01299 400 690 or 07923 753 866.

Chill out, we’ll pay you An equalities boss received up to £175,000 in wages – despite being off work for four years, reports the Sunday Mercury. Rajpal Virdee, 50, has been absent from Birmingham City Council since 2006, yet has collected his £50,000 annual salary for most of that period. Mr Virdee was head of equalities for social services when he “disappeared” from work in 2006.

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

9

10

ART & CULTURE

Spriha’s

Corner

By Spriha Srivastava

India turns sixty, Britain applauds that ruled over you for David Miliband. In his This year marks the sixtihundreds of years? speech he described eth anniversary of India’s At the end of the India as "a soft super adoption of its constitureception which was copower", particularly in tion in 1950. On 26th sponsored by the the fields of business and January, the High Incredible India camculture.

Commissioner of India to paign, everyone was He also said that, "the UK, Mr. Nalin Surie given a small goodhosted a reception ies bag which apart for almost seven from other things hundred people in included a reproCentral London. duced version of the Minister for India Digest paper Road Transport and that was published Highways Kamal by the High Nath, Deputy Commission of India Chairman of the on 26th January, P l a n n i n g 1950. India Digest Commission has been published Montek Singh by the Indian High Ahluwalia, British Commission for past Prime Minister High Commissioner Mr. Nalin Surie with Gordon Brown's wife Foreign Secretary Mr. David Miliband fifty years now and as much as it is interSarah, Indian indusesting to read, it is also Indian IPL is so successtrialist Mukesh Ambani, very informative about ful that some of the top steel tycoon Laxmi Indian news in the UK. English players want to Mittal, Jet Airways This reproduced ediplay in IPL than for Chairman Naresh Goyal tion of India Digest was England." and British Defence in a black and white print Referring to one of Secretary Bob Ainsworth and dates back to events his conversations with were among the dignithat took place fifty years Minister of State for taries present on the back. For Instance there External Affairs, Mr. occasion. is an article on Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Miliband In his opening Rajendra Prasad taking said that Indian restauremarks, Nalin Surie over as the first President rants in the UK employed spoke about India's outof Independent India. more people than those standing achievements Then there is Prime engaged in mining and during the last 60 years Minister Nehru’s mesship-building. and the things that need sage to all Indians abroad "Britain today will to be done. wherein he sends his not be the same without Mr Surie said, "We greetings and are proud of the warm wishes to all fact that we are those Indians who not only the were settled largest democraabroad. He also cy, but we have speaks of offering also demonstratfriendship to peoed that we are a ple of all other pluralist democcountries. racy. We look The document ahead with optialso has photomism." graphs and In context of the bilateral ties, Mrs. Poonam Surie, Mrs. Sarah Brown, wife of excerpts from the making of the he said India and Prime Minister Gordon Brown and High Indian constitution the UK shared a Commissioner Nalin Surie which took a total unique relationof two years, eleven the British Indians who ship, using each other's months and eighteen have made remarkable strength. days to bring it together. contribution to the Meanwhile, Britain's It truly shows the confiBritish economy said Defence Secretary Bob dence of the newly indeMiliband."

Ainsworth said that durpendent India that was In fact he also said ing the last six decades, ready to take on to a new that India was leading India had made very sigworld after more than the way in the global nificant contribution to two hundred years of search for an “inclusive the world development. colonial rule. The docuform of development”, He added that India ment is extremely relemarked by environmental and UK are two countries vant even today because sustainability, cultural that have worked togeththe country took its first tolerance and “a politier in trying to find a solustep as an independent cally liberal model”. tion to the worst finannation fifty years back in This search, he said, cial crisis that hit the reaching out to its people is made more possible by world. They have also who may have been setthe remarkable modernimade efforts in finding an tled abroad. sation that is taking place answer to the environWhat can be a better in India today. India’s mental issue. time to bring out this progress shows that mod"The two countries document than on the ernisation can be distincare complimenting each sixtieth anniversary of tive. other at international the country’s constituHis speech brought a spheres on important tion? At least we went smile on the faces of all issues, said Ainsworth" back home with a sense those present at the However the high of satisfaction and meeting. Well what can point of the evening was belongingness for our be better than hearing the speech made by country. praise from the country British Foreign Secretary

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at spriha@abplgroup.com

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

National Hindu Students Forum (UK)

By Chirag Patel, Current Affairs Officer

Bhumi Project: Respect, compassion and service for our environment Before the Copenhagen Summit in 2009 which highlighted the issue of Global Warming, National Hindu Students Forum (UK) (NHSF) was part of 4 other Hindu organisations chosen to help improve the impact humans have on the earth.

The Bhumi Project, as it is named, is being facilitated by the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and involves NHSF as well as ISKON, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and the Balaji Temple, Birmingham. The project is an initiative being backed by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation and the United Nations Development Programme, who have asked 11 of the world’s major religions to look into how they can play a part in improving the quality of the world’s environment.

The Bhumi Project has developed a nine year plan which will be forwarded to a number of Hindu organisations and temples, to help them educate and develop a more environmental approach to their lifestyles. If the plan proves successful within

the UK, it will be exported to other parts of the world where it can begin to make an impact on a larger scale.

The Bhumi Project was launched in the presence of Prince Philip and Ban Ki-moon, SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, at Windsor Castle in November 2009. NHSF (UK) was fortunate enough to attend the launch where there were over 200 faith representatives from around the world presenting their seven, eight and nine year plans.

The plan is made up of various projects which fall under the categories of education, action and networking. These categories help to bring focus and direction to the projects for development and implementation. The list below provides an indication of some of the larger projects the Hindu community will be engaged in. !

Hindu Labelling Scheme – the development of a set of Hindu standards which can apply to a range of products and services ! Promotion of a non-violent (ahimsa) lifestyle to reduce one’s impact on the Earth

! Encouragement and resources for Hindu temples to develop gardens on their land and to grow their own produce for use in daily worship ! Development of crueltyfree dairies based on Hindu principles ! Networking with current major international conservation projects – for instance, the cleaning and restoration of the River Ganges in India ! Development of training courses for Hindu priests and devotees on best environmental practice ! Research and share stories from the Hindu tradition which relate to the environment The full 9 year plan can be found on the Bhumi Project website, www.bhumiproject.org and further information can be obtained from NHSF’s Sewa coordinator: dhanisha@nhsf.org.uk.

NHSF (UK) recognises the importance of this project to the Hindu community and is committed to keeping our ‘Dharti Maa’ sustainable for future generations.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

11

International recognition for Sony Music releases Soundtrack of My Name is Khan City consultant at PwC Nishma Gosrani, a London based consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, has been recognised in the Non-Resident Indian achievement awards by the Government of India.

The prestigious annual awards ceremony recognises excellence, purpose and achievement in the overseas Indian community. Nishma was one of only two Britons to receive an award, winning overseas female of the year. NRI and Deputy Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago was also a recipient of an award on the same evening.

Vicki Treadell, British Deputy High Commissioner in Western India said: "We are delighted that a young Briton has won this prestigious award. Nishma represents the best of our two countries and we are very proud of her."

Nishma Gosrani, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said: “I am very proud to be recognised, and look forward to working with the British High Commission in India to assist them in furthering a number of exciting new initiatives.”

Richard Collier-

After the global success of Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham and Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, Sony Music Entertainment (India), the largest multinational and third largest music company in India is proud to release the soundtrack of one of this year's most highly anticipated Indian motion pictures My Name is Khan, an epic romantic drama with Global appeal.

The music is directed by one of India's most accomplished musical trios, the critically acclaimed Shankar Ehsaan Loy who have collectively delivered some of the most hummed and danced tracks from India,

many of which are award winning.

The musical composition of the soundtrack reflects the myriad hues of the film, interspersed with human emotions as it identifies the significance of a prevailing story of love, life, tribulations and tragedy.

The Sufi flavoured music soiree

Seminar to be held Nishma with Head of US Consulate

Keywood, Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP commented,“This is a fantastic achievement, and we’re very proud of Nishma’s achievement. She displays real commitment and energy in everything she does, so it is no surprise she has been recognised.”

Nishma joined PwC in 2004, and works in the firm’s London based financial services consulting team. She was previously recognised as 'Asian Professional of the year', and was admitted to the Women of Achievement Ambassadors Programme supported by Shell.

Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar along with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Construction Division is hosting a free seminar/event at the Brent Indian Association (BIA),Ealing Road on Sunday 28th February for construction workers pro- viding advice on various health and safety meas- ures they will need to keep in mind whilst they are on the construction sites.

Also they will be advised on their statutory rights whilst they are on construction sites.

Workers from the construction Industry are free to attend and the seminar will be in Gujarati and English.

Please note there are only few seats and the seats are offered on a first come first serve basis only.

Time: 3pm to 6pm To book your seat please call on 020 7749 4013.

consists of six songs that are soul stirring. This must hear album features some of the most renowned vocals across the Sub Continent including that of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shafqat Amanat Ali, Adnan Sami, Richa Sharma, Shreya Ghoshal and rashid Ali, Shankar Mahadevan adding to the earthiness of tracks. Over 20 mins of the film is set only to music.

The winners of our last week's competition are: 1. Sabina Ganchi 2. Jayesh Khunti 3. Avnip Bansal

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Are self-employed casual workers really employees?

UK Health and Safety Law protects you even if you are not working here legally

Rhaynukaa Soni Outreach Executive

A recent ruling from the Court of Appeal has clarified and confirmed the law regarding the employment status of ‘selfemployed’ casual workers.

Casual worker crushed An employer was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a casual Slovakian worker was crushed when the wall he was demolishing fell on him. The

employer was convicted of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act and fined. But the employer appealed against his conviction arguing that he was not really an ‘employer’. The construction workers were only casual workers who did not have to work every day. They were paid £25 a day but did not work every day. The employer argued that the arrangements were too casual to amount to a contract of employment.

Appeal court ruling The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by the employer. They agreed that when the workers were off site they were not covered by any form of contract. But when they were on site they were covered by a contract, even though nothing was

written down. The court decided that when the workers came to work they were not free to leave when they wished. They were obliged to work for the day at the employer’s request. On many occasions the employer transported the workers to the site. All these factors proved that the employer exerted enough control over the workers to make a contract of employment.

The following paragraphs may help give you some indication of you work out whether or not you are really an ‘employee’, even if you pay tax and national insurance yourself. However, if you have any doubts you should seek legal advice from your trade union, a Citizens Advice Bureau or call our free help line, in confidence on GUJARATI 0207 556 2181

PUNJABI 0207 556 2294 Are you really employed’?

‘self-

In general, you are considered to be an ‘employee’ as defined by the Health and Safety at Work Act if: ! The person who pays you controls your working hours and decides where you should work and what you should do on a daily basis ! You do not have the right to control where and when you work and how you do it ! You have to ask for permission to take time off ! The company or person you are working for supply your work materials and equipment ! You are required to deliver the work yourself and you are not allowed to employ a substitute if you are unable to do the

work ! If you do the same work under the same conditions as someone else who is directly an employee of the company ! If your “employer” has the power to dismiss or suspend you You are likely to be genuinely ‘self-employed’ if: ! you are paid a sum for the whole job ! you control your own working hours ! you have to supply your own materials and equipment ! you can send someone else to do the work in your place All sites must be safe Of course, construction workers, whether they are employees, self-employed or sub-contractors are all entitled to work on sites that do not have risks to their safety or their

Helpline: 0207 556 2181 e-mail: desi@hse.gsi.gov.uk Website: www.hse.gov.uk/construction/gujarati

health. All sites should be properly managed to eliminate hazards as far as is reasonable and is practical.

If you are worried about health and safety at your site talk to your employer, the main contractor or a safety representative. If you are still worried, you can contact the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Call our Helpline to speak to an advisor in English or Gujarati: 0207 556 2181 All calls are confidential and you do not have to give your name if you don’t want to.

Alternatively, you can send us an e-mail with a complaint or enquiry to: desi@hse.gsi.gov.uk For more information go to: www.hse.gov.uk/migrantworkers

12

MEDIA WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

Scrutator’s India's Republic Day was an occasion for stock taking of the country's economic performance. In Bill Clinton's memorable words, “It is the economy, stupid” that will define India's place in the 21st century's pecking order, hence the Financial Times supplement - “India and Globalisation” (January 29) - will reward the reader for his/her time.

James Lamont, the FT's India bureau chief led the pack with a rounded analysis of the country's economy, which had weathered the global financial crisis with commendable success. He writes: “Second only to China as a fast-growing large economy, unlike that export-driven giant, India emerged relatively 'unscathed' by the global economic downturn, in the words of the Asian development Bank.

“If economists were surprised when the country raced away from what had resignedly been called the 'Hindu rate of growth' of about 3 per cent to reach highs of 9 per cent in the mid 2000s they have been even more impressed in past months by India's ability to withstand falling exports and external financial stocks.”

Indian policymakers, having received international praise for the way they had responded to the international crisis, were now confident of taking the country to the 9-10 per cent growth trajectory projected by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. India's GDP grew by 6.7 per cent in the fiscal 2008-09; this year, said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, it would expand by 7.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, India was strengthening its international linkages with free trade agreements with Asean and South Korea respectively, with similar talks under way with the EU as well. James Lamont again: “The resilience of the [Indian] economy rests on a huge domestic market, and, unlike many Asian counterparts, a limited reliance on exports which are 20 per cent of gross domestic product.”

Road to recovery Manufacturing had reached double digit growth, while diamond cutting and polishing and pharmaceuticals, which suffered in the downturn were well on the road to full recovery. Lee Kwan Yew, the former Singapore prime minister lamented that, unlike China, India was not focused on infrastructure. China could follow India and permit its political dissidents the right of free expression instead of shooting them and imprisoning them.

Those blessed with normal sight would have seen the huge infrastructure projects coming up in India, of which the Delhi metro is the most eyecatching.

Mr Lamont caught the prevailing Indian mood.

“The embrace of the outside world, however, will be anything but rushed.

On this, Mr Singh has the last word: 'It is probably true that we are a slowmoving elephant but it is equally true that that with each step forward we leave behind a deeper imprint. There is a price that we pay in trying to take all sections of our people along....It is perhaps a price worth paying.'

Small cars take-off Joe Leahy dwelt on India's increasingly high-profile automotive market. He started thus: “At the Delhi Auto Expo 2010....in January, the excitement of an emerging nation of consumers was palpable.

obstacle to further development in the years to come.

Crisis a blessing A crisis can concentrate minds wonderfully well. It appears to have done so with many Indian companies, as James Lamont relates. “Gautam Thapar, the chairman of the Avantha group, an Indian industrial conglomerate, is in acquisitive mood. This year his family-owned enterprise, whose interests range from paper and pulp to electrical engineering and which has revenues of $3.5 billion a year, plans at least five acquisitions overseas and at home.

Two at least will be in engineering.

“The Delhi-based company is illustrative of a deliberate strategy followed by an increasing number of Indian companies, large and mid-sized, particularly in US and European markets. With strong balance sheets fortified by a robust domestic economy....and confidence in their low-cost business

Troops in Republic Day march past

London, gave his take to our FT scribe. Indian business leaders, he opined, took a long-term view, conditioned by a huge internal market, cash reserves and access to capital. Moreover they had a clear idea of what they want to buy overseas and were prepared to wait for it.

He concluded: “Globalisation for Indian companies is a badge of honour. Some acquisitions don't look successful. But 10 years from now, the client will be looking back and saying that was the right thing to do.”

Time to leave the FT. The remainder of its India supplement will be dealt with next week.

Google exit to aid India BusinessWeek online (January 26) posted two contributions on Google's imminent exit from China Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President because of Beijing's Lee Myung-bak of South Korea. In the middle is the interpretor repressive censorship The crowds - mostly men practices. The first by models, they view the and boys of all ages - josBruce Einhorn draws coming months as a buytled from the stand for attention to his colleague ing opportunity.”

Tata to those of Japan's William Pesek's earlier Over to Gautam Toyota and South Korea's piece, which said: “China Thapar: “2010 looks very Hyundai, admiring the should be concerned good. We were correctly gleaming creations of about the most influstructured when we went modern consumerism that ential Internet tool into the slowdown and barely more than a decade bypassing its $4.3 trilthat helps with our ago would not have been lion and 1.3 billion finances. We've kept our seen in this country....The people – and the specammunition dry [for automotive industry was tre of other Silicon acquisitions].” the third-fastest growing Valley giants followJames Lamont again: in the world last year after ing suit. Executives at “Over the past five years China and Germany...” multinational compatwo pillars of Avantha's and it may grow fourfold nies who dragged business - engineering by 2016, according to one their feet on diversifyand food services - have market projection. ing investments away been transformed themThe innovative Tata from China may now selves rapidly into multiNano had led the way for expedite the process.” nationals. As with Tata small cars. Other auto As for India, the Motors' acquisition of giants at home and abroad country “has a track Jaguar and Land Rover, were following in its footrecord of innovation and a many of Avantha's pursteps. Suzuki, Hyundai, stable of internationally chases are driven by the Honda, Toyota and competitive companies need to match the counVolkswagen were now that China hasn't. India try's low-cost production household names in the has far superior laws on with advanced technolocountry - a far cry from intellectual property and gy....Smaller companies the dreary days when the cooperate governance. are following suit and Hindustan Ambassador And China's willingness to those in advisory services (the old British Morris blow off Google plays to believe the Indian handful Oxford) was about the India's relative advantage may turn into a stamonly model in town. in these areas.” India's bilpede.”

Alas, the cars coming lionaires, he adds, “must Sanjeev Dhuma, a on stream had far outbe rubbing their hands banking partner at the law paced the scale of road together in glee as China's firm Allen & Overy in building, a formidable

leaders make an expensive miscalculation.”

Mr Einhorn questions the portrayal as somewhat simplistic, questioning whether China would suffer as much as was being made out. Where Mr Pesek had a point, Mr Einhorn went on, was when he writes that China, unlike India, lacked “a growing roster of homegrown knowledgebased and technology outfits creating jobs, pushing the country up the value chain and inspiring young people to become the next Bill Gates.”

For himself, Mr Einhorn says, “Despite years of effort, no Chinese company comes close to Indian software services powerhouses Infosys, TCS and Wipro. China does pretty well in other sectors, with companies like ZTE and Huawei globally competitive in handsets and telecom equipment” etc.

Russia to build nuclear power plants Domain – b. com (January 23) reported that Russia was to build 6-8 nuclear power plants at Haripur in the Indian state of West

6 units or a maximum of 8 units,” he said.

“Talks with India are in progress to build 6 additional nuclear units at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu,” Mr Kiriyenko concluded.

Medvedev's greetings Zeenews.com (January 26) reported Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's Republic Day message to his Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil: “Strategic partnership with your country is among the foreign policy priorities of Russia. High dynamism in our interaction in all spheres testifies to the level and degree of trust in our bilateral relations.”

Obama warning Meanwhile, President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address warned Americans that countries like India, China and Germany were fast catching up with the US in maths and science. He said: “Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse.

Meanwhile, China is not

A float celebrating Republic Day

Bengal, according to Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian Atomic Energy Commission, in Moscow, “We have been discussing this site for 4 years. As a result the Indian government has taken a decision and gave us a new site at Haripur.

This will involve the construction of a minimum of

waiting to revamp its economy. Germany's not waiting. India's not waiting. These nations are not standing still.

These nations aren't playing for second place. They're putting more emphasis on maths and science.

They're rebuilding their infrastructure (Times of India, January 29).

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

www.abplgroup.com

Alpesh Patel Consultant Editor Financial Voice Dear Financial Voice Reader, The global markets continue to look expensive. Whilst earnings are strong – for instance with Apple, Microsoft, the prices have already risen sharply to reflect this. It is when there is not obvious direction and the markets will likely ‘tread water’ that investors have to battle themselves. Professionals have identified several ‘biases’ which we must take care, especially in sideways markets, to ensure we don’t end up broke!

Confirmation bias is the desire to seek confirmation and resist disconfirmation of one's beliefs. Trading experiments suggest maximum profits go to those few traders who resist confirmation bias by interpreting news dispassionately without a tendency merely to confirm what they already believe. Instead they maintain more of an open mind to a contrary view than their colleagues.

With numerous sites offering stock stories my advice to online traders is that if they are becoming elated at the slightest story which could be interpreted positive for a stock they are holding then they need to step back. Is the story or announcement objectively positive for your holding? The real issue is how will the market interpret it.

Chat sites reeal the extent of online traders' confirmation bias. Stock holders often reply with abuse to bearish postings. Indeed one columnist Evil Kenevil who makes bearish stock comments receives abusive email from holders of those stocks.

Optimism bias is another problem online traders face.

It is the tendency to believe one is better than average.

For instance studies reveal 95% of drivers believe they are better than average. Over-optimistic traders underperform. This bias leads to overconfidence in predictions.

Experts are particularly prone to this; expert predictions about financial markets, especially about interest and exchange rates have been shown in experiments to be generally quite inaccurate and often less accurate than lay views. In one study dustmen were better inflation and GDP predictors than finance ministers. This also confirms many online traders' beliefs that they are the best managers of their investments and not 'expert' fund managers.

As traders you must be willing to more readily accept you may be wrong about a stock despite all your online research. Set price levels at which you will accept you were wrong; let the price prove you right or wrong and then act on it.

Another lesson I take from this finding is that we ought to place less reliance on stock 'experts' and their stock picks. I do not know what stocks are going to double next week, no one does. We can only guess probabilities. Experts' pedestals need lowering, they 'know' far less than people think.

Risk aversion biases suggest traders tend to be risk averse when facing a profit and risk loving when facing a loss. Consequently they let their losses run and take their profits prematurely.

I would advise traders with a losing position to consider if they would buy more stock at those price levels. If not, it may be time to sell. Also could you reinvest the money in another stock for potentially better returns, if so - do it rather than falling into the common trap of hoping losing stocks will rebound.

Similarly, when facing a profit, ignore how much you have made or how your other positions are faring. Many traders tend to go for higher risk trades after a string of losses in an attempt to eradicate their past losses, they then take a quick small profit to break their 'losing streak'.

Instead remember that your other past and present trades are irrelevant to when you should exit your current stock position.

Herding is yet another fascinating online trader problem. People tend to regret decisions more that go wrong if they were minority decisions. They tend therefore to seek other like-minded people to reinforce their views, perhaps

13

Meggitt, UK signs a deal with HCL Tech, India for engineering services The multinational is engaged in defence aerospace business; deal worth £30,790 mn Meggitt PLC, a multinational having large presence in North America, Europe and Asia has signed a deal worth £30,790 million (approximately – Rs. 2.31 billion) with HCL Technologies of India for procuring engineering services.

The Indian software major informed the Bombay Stock Exchange

that HCL’s Engineering and R&D services division (HCL ERS) and defence equipment maker from UK, Meggitt have entered into a contract for providing services.

HCL had a better understanding of Meggitt’s business challenges as also a proven track record of working with large aerospace and

manufacturing companies engaged in highly complex engineering development programmes, which is understood to be the basis of selection for getting the job. HCL ERS Senior VP and Global Head of Sales and Practice Sandeep Kishore, in the statement to the BSE said the company integrates the right capabilities and business

models and that ensure a competitive advantage for corporates like Meggitt.

Terry Twigger, Chief Executive of Meggitt, commenting on the deal told a news agency, “We would be able to successfully position ourselves for future growth as well as be able to respond to the current economic environment in a better manner.”

Indians, Brits top property investments in Dubai High quality of construction and innovation prime reasons; Pakistan and Iran at no. 3 and 4 The global slowdown notwithstanding, Indian and UK investors were at the top of the heap in buying properties in Dubai in 2009, details of a study have revealed.

Gulf Real Estate Study, conducted by FutureBrand has showed that going by value terms, Indian investors bought 24 per cent of Dubai properties, while UK buyers came second with a share of 21%.

The details, made available in association with Dubai Land Department have showed that Pakistan (12%) and Iran (10%) investors claimed the no. 3 and 4

position. High quality of construction and innova-

tion were the prime reasons investors brought

Dubai real estate, according to the survey.

in investment clubs and chat sites. The problem is that the quality of decision is not necessarily improved and on the contrary can lead spurious trade selections, especially if those with contrary views are silenced because of confirmation bias. The key is to do your own research and be confident in it, and not simply because your own view is repeated by others.

Finally, a key skill traders try to develop is to recognize these psychological pitfalls in the market and how they can profit from them. For instance, momentum strategies following price trends can be highly profitable and reliant on a herd mentality of others.

I think I had better book that psychiatrist appointment.

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14

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

UK tops the list of most sustainable companies globally Unilever, Vodafone and Smith Group among top 10; UK has 21, USA 12 – Tata Steel and HDFC of India in a list of 100 UK earns the pride of having the most number of companies – 21 in a global list of most sustainable corporates, two Indian entities – Tata Steel (rank 90) and HDFC (rank 92) have also made it to the list of top 100 companies, compiled by a Toronto based media firm, Corporate Knights.

Spelling out the basic criteria that was used to determine a company as most sustainable, Editorin-Chief of the media firm said, the companies should be able to squeeze out atleast four times more wealth out of every resource they use.

General Electric tops the list, while Pacific Gas and Electric Corp. ranked second, both USA companies. Two European entities took the no. 3 and 4 spot, while UK companies secured three spots in the top 10 – Uniliver, Vodafone and Smith Group stood respectively at 7, 8 and 9. Nokia, the leading mobile handset maker was at no. 5,

German group Siemens was next, while Geberit from Switzerland took the 10th spot.

Google was not considered due to issues on its China operations as well as privacy matters. Mining major Rio Tinto also failed to make it to the 100 list.

10 environmental, social and governance performance metrics, including energy productivity, waste productivity, CEOto-average-worker pay ratio and transparency were used to determine the company ranks.

With 21 firms making it to the top 10, UK was front runner in the number of companies earning the label of being most sustainable; the USA came at no. 2 with 12.

Canada and Australia jointly were at no. 3 position with 9 companies each.

While the list has the most number of firms from the UK at 21, America is at the second spot with 12 companies followed by

Tata Steel - Nippon jv coming up for auto steel sheets Tata Steel (TSL), the Indian steel major with presence in UK also through Corus, has decided to set-up a joint venture with Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) of Japan to produce automotive cold-rolled flat products in Jamshedpur Jharkhand, the city that was developed by the company itself and still has their biggest operations in India there.

Tata Steel are also the owners of Corus in UK. At a board of directors meeting last week, the company approved the framework for setting up the joint venture, a statement made by the company to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) said.

In the proposed jv,

TSL will have majority share of 51 per cent, while Nippon will have the rest 49 per cent.

Net profits for Q3 more than double Riding high on a strong demand from the automobiles and construction sectors, TSL reported a standalone net profit of Rs. 11.92 billion for Q3 (October – December, 2009) of FY 2010. The results have also beaten forecasts, with net sales going up to Rs. 63.07 billion. The comparative figures for the same period last year were Rs. 4.66 billion (np) and Rs. 47.51 billion.

Consolidated results for the period, which would include Corus numbers will be brought out next month.

Raju brothers, Vadlamani of Satyam declared ‘Pauper’ in US Plea accepted, trio given exemption from paying court costs in the Satyam scam case A US court in New York last week accepted pleas of two owners and one key official who were involved in the Satyam scam last year. New York judge Barabara S Jones declared Ramalinga Raju, former chairman of Satyam Computers, one of the top Indian software giants, his brother Rama Raju and Srinivas Vadlamani, former head of finance in Saytam as ‘Pauper’, thus allowing them exemption from paying court costs.

The Satyam scam had shook the markets amidst

the turmoil of the global meltdown. Raju had confessed to inflating his company – Satyam Computers’ assets by over US$ 1 billion.

The trio, facing litigation in the scam, had filed a plea before the court, requesting that they be declared ‘Pauper’ and also that the USA judiciary should appoint a counsel for them. While the USA district judge accepted their plea for exemption from paying court costs, their request for getting a counsel was turned down.

Australia and Canada with nine each.

Food and beverages firm Diageo, Japanese auto maker Toyota Motor, British insurer Prudential, South Korean Posco, America's Coca Cola, chip maker Intel are the other firms to figure in the sustainable companies list.

Heaps said in the overall list he found a "European bias," which he credits to Europe having a developed society on limited land, which has forced European companies to learn to be efficient with their resources.

Moreover, he said the Europeans also perform well in the category of CEO-to-average-worker pay, because they don't give out huge stock bonuses.

"Many Japanese companies, five of which make the list, are as efficient as their European counterparts, but they lose points for leadership diversity because of a lack of women in their senior ranks," the Forbes said citing Heaps.

Brainhunter of Canada bought by Indian IT firm Zylog Indian IT company based in Chennai, Zylog Systems has announced the acquisition of Brainhunter, a consulting and engineering company of Canada for Rs. 1.5 billion (Canadian dollars 35 mn).

In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Zylog Systems has said it won the bid for Brainhunter through Creditors Arrangement Act bidding process. The Canadian company has huge presence in government, telecom, BFSI as well as oil pipeline business.

Taxman Targets Professionals With the recent success of the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) where HMRC offered tax-payers & non-taxpayers the “opportunity” to disclose off-shore accounts, HMRC has now decided to pursue another group and provide them with an opportunity to “come clean”.

This new amnesty has been called the Tax Health Plan (THP).

This latest amnesty will be targeting medical practitioners and dentists who have undisclosed income or capital gains from all sources. At present the opportunity is mainly limited to those registered with the General Medical Council and the British Dental Association. The summary of the THP is as follows: l Notification to HMRC will need to be done by 31 March 2010. l The Disclosure and payment of the relevant tax, interest and penalty will need to be made by 30 June 2010. lAs with the NDO, this is an opportunity to have the penalty restricted to 10%, as opposed to the norm which can be up to 100%. l With serious cases, HMRC may consider commencing criminal prosecutions. l As with the other amnesties, HMRC have stated that the THP will

Hirji Patel

cover a 20 year period up to 5 April 2008. l There will not be a penalty if the undisclosed liability is less than £1,000. l Those with innocent errors such as wrong amounts previously disclosed can also use the THP to get their tax affairs in order.

So what are the dangers of HMRC discovering any irregularity in the tax affairs of the medical practitioner/dentist?

Recently HMRC have been contacting various organisations including NHS Trusts, private hospitals and medical insurers such as BUPA to obtain details of payments made without the deduction of tax. This information will then be compared with details extracted from the tax returns and other sources to establish any irregularity which may then prompt an enquiry

into the individual’s tax affairs.

Although this amnesty has been restricted to medical professionals this time, it is expected that HMRC will apply similar “amnesty” to other professional groups.

After every amnesty the pool of individuals who have not disclosed and paid the relevant tax will become smaller, allowing HMRC to concentrate their resources on those individuals who have not complied. Once this opportunity is over, HMRC is expected to be exceedingly harsh with the penalties that they will apply, as the individual concerned failed to “come clean”. HMRC is also now applying the policy of “naming and shaming” offenders which would be a reputational risk for the medical practitioner/dentist resulting in them potentially falling foul of the membership rules of their professional bodies.

As there is a limited time to make the disclosure, it is advisable that the matter is discussed with your tax adviser as soon as possible.

Hirji Patel is a Senior Tax Manager at John Cumming Ross Limited, Chartered Certified Accountants and can be contacted on 0208 864 6689 or e-mail Hirji.Patel@jcp.uk.com.

Unemployment rate in Euro zone in double digit It climbs at a 12 year high of 10 per cent in December, 2009 Even as the economies of the countries are coming out of the financial crisis, unemployment rate in 16 countries linked with the common currency of Euro, known as Euro zone climbed up to 10 per cent in December 2009, a 12 year high.

15.8 million People were estimated to be job-

less, Euro stat said. The European Union statistical agency said these figures put the rate at 10 per cent, highest since August, 1998. For EU – the 27 nation group, the rate was 9.6 per cent.

The employment market was shaky, though the rise in the unemployment rate went

up by just 0.1 per cent over 9.9 per cent of the previous month. In terms of numbers, the rise in jobless people was of 87,000 in Euro zone, while for the European Union, it was 163,000.

Spain recorded the highest jobless rate, at 19.5 per cent in the Euro zone in December.

Kingsbury woman wins Green Street jewellers’ prize draw A woman from Kingsbury, Middlesex, who shops at Satyan Jewellers on Green Street, won £3,000 in an unprecedented prize draw organised by Green Street jewellers in east London.

Satyan Jewellers will host an event to hand over the £3,000 cheque to Ms Sonal Makani, whose voucher was selected from more than 4,000 entered into the prize draw, which ran from November 20 until New Year’s Eve at participating Green Street jewellers’ shops in Newham. The event will be covered live by Buzz Asia, a leading London-based radio station popular with young Asian listeners.

Around 100 people attended the prize draw adjudication at a cocktail and canapés event in central London with the sup-

L-R: Kishore Parmar, Advertising Manager, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, Chris Naidu, Managing Partner, Clydesdale Bank, Harish Raniga, Pure Jewels, Satyen Shingadia, Partner - Business Banking, Clydesdale Bank and Vikram Shantilal of Jeram Jewellers

port of Clydesdale Bank on January 18 amidst great fanfare, which was supported by Asian Voice, Gujarat Samachar, B4U television and other leading industry figures from the National Association of Goldsmiths, British Jewellers’ Association and Platinum Guild International.

It was the first time

that a prize draw had been offered by a group of retail jewellers in Britain, said Vikram Shantilal of Jeram Jewellers , Vice Chairman of the Green Street Jewellers’ Association.

“For the jewellers on Green Street, this was a fantastic opportunity to say thank you to our clients, giving them a

chance to win a nice pickme-up during the festive season,” Shantilal said in a speech to the specially invited guests.

In the prize draw, shoppers received a ticket for every £250 spent in a participating Green Street shop. Each ticket was entered in the draw. The draw was advertised daily in Asian Radios.

The eight Green Street jewellers taking part were: Daata Jewellers, Henna Jewellers, Jeram Jewellers, Joy Alukkas, Pakeeza Jewellers, PureJewels, Satyan Jewellers, and Tulja Jewellers. The Green Street Jewellers’ Association (GSJA) is a group of retail jewellery shops located in Forest Gate, east London, which offer both Eastern and Western jewellery styles.

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

15

16

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

Alpesh Patel’s Political Sketchbook: The Prime Minister, Iraq Inquiry and the wrong degree The former Prime Minister Tony Blair read ‘Jurisprudence’ (Law for posh people) at university. There is much to be said however for the alternative multidisciplinary degree of Philosophy, Politics and Economics. If he had chosen that degree he may not have brushed aside all his legal advisors on the Iraq war with the view that ‘the law is grey and never clear’ but instead have reflected that the politician often falls foul of what behavioural economists call ‘biases’ ...and the rest of us call ‘being a closed minded damn fool’.

First there is confirmation bias. This the desire to seek confirmation and resist disconfirmation of one's beliefs.

Economics experiments suggest those that do best in life are the ones who resist confirmation bias by interpreting news dispassionately without a tendency merely to confirm what they already believe. Instead they maintain more of an open mind to a contrary view than their peers.

Hmmm...that would mean you don’t marginalise your cabinet colleagues by making decisions at meetings where they are not invited, forcing them to resign.

Second is optimism bias. It is the tendency to believe one is better than average. A cycnic might say you have the ‘god complex’ that you were only following ‘holy orders’. For instance studies reveal 95% of drivers believe they are better than average.

Over-optimists tend to underperform. This bias leads to overconfidence in predictions in particular. For instance that you will remove a dictator in

a week and be loved by all and leave the country you invaded on a bed of roses a fortnight later.

Experts are particularly prone to this; again economists show the way. Expert predictions about financial markets, especially about interest and exchange rates have been shown in experiments to be generally quite inaccurate and often less accurate than lay views. In one study dustmen were better inflation and GDP predictors than finance ministers. (Yes, that’s why we had a credit crunch, but that’s another story).

Which is a damn good reason to be careful of intelligence reports and your own belief that newly installed as a Prime Minister, with previous foreign policy expertise limited to time spent on wealthy persons yachts off the Italian coast, about the same as Sarah Palin claiming Soviet expertise as she can see Russia from Alaska, that you are the sudden incarnation of Kissinger.

Third is risk aversion bias. People tend to be risk averse when facing a profit and risk loving when facing a loss.

Consequently they let their losses run and take their profits prematurely.

In the language of politics, they hate cutting their losses and getting out of a costly war.

Indeed they claim their success prematurely in press spin and glory and neglect to plan for ‘the endgame’ of what to do now that you’ve removed the only government that existed in the invaded country.

Fourth the economists point to herding.

People tend to behave riskier in a crowd than

RBI raises CRR to fight inflation Concerned particularly about the spiraling food inflation, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took steps in the expected direction as Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was raised by 75 basis points last week to take out some excess liquidity from the market. The bank kept key rates, including deposit and lending rates unchanged.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday also said growth projection for Indian economy is now put at 7.5 per cent for FY 2010 (ending 31 March, 2010), which was earlier pegged at 6%. According the estimates of the Bank, inflation would probably go up to 8.5 per cent for FY 2010, which was just over 7% in December.

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they would outside of it.

It’s why solicitors are sometimes football hooligans or riots and looting breaks out when the lights fail in New York and why Prime Ministers with big American allies and a ‘coalition of the willing’ are more likely to sweep aside the United Nations resolutions because regardless of right they have might.

Finally, like Mr Blair, speaking as a barrister, yes the law is grey and always open to interpretation. Which is precisely why when your entire senior legal team tells you that something is black and white, it’s one of those rare occasions when you should not overrule them with the ‘grey’ argument. So if your child tells you they want to read law and go into politics, for the sake of humanity, have them read philosophy, politics, economics instead...oh and a copy of the UN charter. You never know brave soldiers may one day thank you.

The columnist hails from Karamsad and is a Board Member of the United Nations Association(UK). He is a former Visiting Fellow at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He read Philosophy, Politics, Economics at St Anne’s College, Oxford when he also interned in the US Congress during the Clinton administration, read Law at King’s College, London, qualifying as a barrister. He is a former Bloomberg TV presenter and Financial Times columnist with 250+ columns published in the FT and author of 13 books on the markets.

Alpesh.patel@tradermind.com

US economy gains momentum The US economy is on a strong recovery path, as it clocked a better growth of 5.7 per cent for October – December 2009 quarter, going up for second quarter continuously. This rise has been the fastest since 2003. After a record four quarters of decline, growth for two quarters in 2009 suggests that the worst of the recessions since 1930 has ended, though officially, the end of the slump is yet to be declared.

Economists also feel the growth will be slow in 2010, at about 2.5% per annum, as the stimulus efforts of the Govt will fade.

Quality for Community Mayank S. Rawal, FCQI CQP

Learning our Lessons – Sharing our Knowledge Over the past year the world has witnessed incidents such as the global economic downturn, human conflicts, domestic issues and many others. One of the most striking and common remarks to arise from these incidents has been the phrase ` There are Lessons to be Learnt’’. We find this is often mentioned in various forms of media…..but let us ask the question, is anything really learnt, and if it is, why do certain events /situations result in repeated errors.

Change of personnel within the organization is a common contributing factor to loss of knowledge. Lessons Learned which could also be referred to as Knowledge Sharing is a process by which we would reflect back on what has occurred, critically examine each and every activity, capitalize on what has been learned and focus on making improvements. It is a way by which we document, and utilise knowledge and external intelligence for purposes of Continuous Improvement.

When we organise a community event, the last thing we want to do is repeat the same possible mistakes over again, event after event. The review of Lessons Learned may uncover issues such as having a better event schedule and budget, adequate resources, using different suppliers, using alternative tools/materials/ technology, venue. The review would help identify what new techniques should be employed to prevent deficient practices from being repeated.

The general lifecycle of the Lessons Learned process involves three basic steps Learning before the event, learning during the event, and learning after the event.

Lessons/intelligence from external sources (other organizations) whilst maintaining confidentiality could be captured before the event, reviewed, recorded, published, distributed and applied to current events. In this case you need to identify where it will come from and how it will be obtained, e.g. from organizations who have performed similar events. Internal sources would be from your organization’s events and experiences. Internal learning’s are obtained by carrying out a rigorous analysis of a Community activity, and comparing planned with actual results.

This is all important knowledge which you need to know to make your community event even more successful,

and by having Lessons Learned as a standard meeting agenda item could prompt the capture of this information prior to an event for perhaps through individual interviews, workshops, meetings, and recorded on a Lessons Learned form, by the event convenor or Lead.

The form should record and capture information such as; Originator of the form (The originator should take on the role of champion for ensuring the Lesson is tracked and eventually leads to final improvement within a valid time frame) Date & description of event?

Lessons Learned description taking into account the following questions; What was supposed to happen?

What actually happened?

Why were there differences (positive/negative)?

What was the root cause of the problem?

What can we learn?

What could we have done in a better way?

What would have been the cost /time savings if we used a different method?

What were the challenges?

What other events/activities would the Lesson apply to? !All submitted forms should be carefully evaluated, the relevant Lessons appropriately filtered, and applied for future use.

Those Lessons considered as valuable for future events, should ideally lead to the improvement of current working practices, be summarised on a Lessons Learned register which would serve as an effective repository tool for recording valuable Lessons Learned / knowledge / intelligence, and information. Ideally, the register should be reviewed at least a month in advance prior to staging an event, and subsequently be regularly updated and transferred from committee to committee. Disseminating all this knowledge to the responsible individual i.e. Event convenors, is vital towards ensuring community events and activities run smoothly.

Lessons Learned should not be considered as extra work but form an integral part of the normal event preparation/ after event routine, and if efficiently used, the process could allow your Community organisation to make considerable cost savings by eliminating redundant work, avoiding the repetition of possible errors, and resulting in events and practices which are Sterling Class.

WTO equally concerned on protectionism as India, developing countries Protectionism is a matter of major concern, WTO chief Pascal Lamy agreed at Davos last week.

Having a chat with an Indian news agency, he said “As unemployment remains high, protectionist pressures rise, we need to remain vigilant.” He shared the concerns

voiced by India and other countries on this issue.

Pascal Lamy also said he was confident that a deal leading to opening of the world trade further would be possible this year. As the World Economic Forum is deliberating the current scenario, US President Barak

Obama sang a different tune, of protecting US jobs - ending tax breaks for those corporates that outsource jobs while helping the companies that create employment within USA. With this background, the concerns expressed by WTO chief are of much more significance.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

17

Suresh Vagjiani is the Managing Director of Sow & Reap, a Property Investment & Financing company.

Mark Of The Beast I have just returned from a solicitor’s office unexchanged – meaning we went there intent on exchanging but we did not.

The property is a 808 Sq Ft raised ground floor flat facing the middle of Kensington Garden Square. The purchase price is £650,000. A contract was already out on the property, the buyer had done all the conveyancing but from our information was taking a little too long to arrange his mortgage which was off shore. It’s always dangerous to take too much time when purchasing property, chances are if you like something somebody else will too. And in Central London the senses of property predators are extra sharp.

Besides us there was also another interested party who wanted to pounce, we both offered a non refundable deposit to lock the deal. But the seller, a large company, was not interested in non refundable deposits or strangely enough an increased offer. They wanted the property sold as soon as possible so the first to exchange was the condition and they were not going to entertain any ‘offers’ or send out any contracts in response. It is not always about money, this time it was about timing and execution.

One of the reasons they did not want to issue another contract was they would have to inform the exiting purchaser that there was another interested party, which could put them off when the new interested party may not be able to perform. So the only option was to do an ‘attended exchange’.

This means we turn up at the office of the selling solicitor and look through all the paper work and transfer the 10% to exchange over.

This would mean in 28 days we would complete and be the new owners of the property.

It took our office a large portion of Friday to confirm someone to come down at such short notice, finally working over the weekend including Sunday we had agreed the logistics of the intended transaction.

we discovered the property was in fact a share of freehold. Another fact the agent was not aware of as they had informed us the property was a long lease.

I remember a while ago, we had bought a property which according to the

Ahmedabad Moving Outwards ! Best opportunity for investment & second home in India - combing tranquil settings with the closeness of the city a drive away

Archery and clubhouse.

! Ahmadabad is one of the fastest growing city in India.

! 24 hours security through CCTV.

! Location is just 30 minutes drive from SP Ring road where suburbs of new developing Ahmadabad are situated.

! Bore holes with natural sweet water supply line to each plot.

! Plotting size available from 300 sq.

!

Development of Ahmedabad is moving outwards. ! This will become a important Centre of gravity in its own right leading to strong growth in propty prices in the future

The property is in a prime location and comes with access to both gardens of Kensington Garden Square, minutes away from the shops of Bayswater and Notting Hill. The front of the door is East facing which means there would be good day light. At £650,000 the property is a very good buy. The property has very high ceilings, probably double the height you would require, and huge double bay fronted windows looking over into the square. The aspect and features are very desirable.

So come Monday morning we all went over to the solicitor’s office to conclude this matter.

Whilst going through the paper work it transpired the property required full permission for any works, even internal works, contrary to the advice given to us by the agent. On further research we found out when a building is listed, this status is applied to the whole building inside and outside. There is no such thing as a listed façade or exterior only, contrary to advice given by the Estate Agent. The current property is a Grade II listed building. 94% of all listed buildings fall into this category. Whilst we were going through the lease

agent was a concrete panel property. This means it cannot in the current market be financed and even when it could have been the lenders were few and expensive.

However according to the bank’s surveryor and us, it was not concrete panel. We of course didn’t share that with the agent. We went on to purchase a three bedroom in Central London for £312,000 and it is rented at £720per week.

Anyway, back to our listed building. This point put the client off. He has previously had a nightmare with the English Heritage over minor decoration issues in his surgery on Harley Street. So the deal was off, but better not to act in haste and repent at leisure.

I sensed this moment would come as soon as I discovered there were 6 flats in the building. This 6 along with the number of the building, 66, made the mark of the beast, clearly a bad omen!

It is the nature of the game that some transactions will not proceed.

What is important is that you have the correct strategy, and correct resources to execute your strategy.

Whether deals will be closed or not is not always up to us.

Mortgages Commercial Finance Gujarat Properties - Sale & Resale Property Sourcing

! Surrounding with natural environment.

yards to 3000 sq. yards.

! Various investment slabs available from only Rs. 8 lacs to 80 lacs.

! Flexible optional payment plans available

! Activities to keep you occupied - Horse Riding, Water Fall, Swimming Pool, Water Body Boating and other entertainment areas including a Mini Golf, Cricket Ground, Rock Climbing, Riffle Shooting,

! Choice of plot only or various construction plans ! We have invested – why don’t you ? call us now.

TRAINEE REQUIRED ! ! !

Are you hard working, honest and reliable?

Are you willing to learn and exceed?

Are you a cut above the rest?

If so please get in touch!

We are looking for a trainee for our mortgage department.

We require someone with integrity, professionalism and commitment. Excellent communication and time management skills are essential.

Email your CV to eana@sowandreap.co.uk with a covering letter explaining why you would be suitable for this role.

Sow & Reap Call On: 0207 706 0187 Email at: info@sowandreap.co.uk

Sow & Reap Properties Limited is trading as Sow & Reap.

Registered in England No. 05083823 Registered Office Address: 31 Southwick Street, Paddington, W2 1JQ

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www.abplgroup.com

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

BY

Life style

SWATI BHAN

Ways to avoid acne Where skin disorders are concerned, it is best to stick as much as possible to natural cure options; these are less likely to have an adverse sideeffect. A variety of Natural Acne Cure Products are available in the market and you can consider these, after consulting with your doctor.

Please do not try anything without a consultation, however appealing and promising the description.

Acne is a disorder that causes skin eruptions and inflammation in human beings. It occurs principally during the adolescence/teenage years – the Pimple Phase, so to speak, which is suffered or endured by nearly 90% of the young population. But Acne is also quite commonly seen in adults.

It is thought that the increased production of the Testosterone hormone and natural oils in the body during the teenage years is responsible for the formation of pimples. However other physical and genetic factors may also play a role.

Stress, psychological disturbances, and irregular living habits can also bring on Acne.

While Acne is not life-threatening, it can have a very adverse psychological impact on it's young sufferer.

At the very time of your life, when you're extra-conscious about your looks and want to fit in, being marked out by acne can be extremely difficult to live with.

Teenagers with acne are often prone to depression and often show poor self-esteem and a general lack of confidence.

Some Natural ways to treat acne Tea Tree Oil, Aloe Vera, Zinc, and Vitamin A are some natural products that have been used with some success to cure Acne.

A word of caution about natural skin care items. They often contain certain chemicals for preservation purposes. Some of these may not be advisable for you if you're pregnant or have certain special health considerations. As men-

tioned, it is best to consult with your doctor before embarking on any therapy.

Tea Tree Oil Tea Tree Oil is obtained from the Melaleuca alternifoliais tree from Australia. It is very effective against Acne as it contains bacteria-fighting substances called Terpenes. Acne is often caused by bacteria and the Terpenes either outright kill them or weaken them enough to be destroyed by protective antibodies. There are very little side effects from using Tea Tree Oil. Aloe Vera The watery gel from

Aloe Vera plant is also a highly effective natural cure against Acne. The enzyme-rich gel has very soothing anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. It can also be

taken internally and helps clean up and detox the digestive tract. This in turn can help clear up the skin.

Zinc Zinc is taken in the form of capsules. It helps to strengthen the h u m a n immune system and to repair the skin.

Vitamin A Vitamin A tablets are also a natural and effective Acne cure. Vitamin A promotes healthy skin.

By Mamta Bhatia, Psychologist

Easy ways to feel amazing!

Vitamin E Vitamin E also helps in countering Acne. It is a natural antioxidant and beneficial for the skin.

Vitamin E comes in soft gelatin capsules that c o n t a i n Vitamin E, Soybean Oil, Glycerin, and Water.

Some Natural Homemade Cures to counter Acne The most important thing to do if you suffer from Acne is to drink at least four pints of water every day.

Drinking a lot of water is very beneficial to your skin. Including fresh fruit and leafy green vegetables in your daily diet will also bring about a marked improvement in the quality of your complexion.

Before bathing, apply a mixture of tomato pulp – real tomota pulp, not packaged one honey and rosewater to your face and keep for twenty minutes before washing off.

At night, before going to bed, apply a mix of cream, glycerine, and lemon juice to your face and again keep it on for a short while before washing. Regular Yoga exercises will also improve skin and overall health.

Things to Avoid Avoid touching your face all the time, keep your hair away from your face, and avoid picking at pimples. Another important thing for those prone to Acne is to avoid using heavy make-up – in fact, it is preferable to avoid make-up altogether. For an effective cure, stay as natural as possible.

Zinc

Feeling amazing shouldn’t be hard work; it’s the little things we do that can make a huge difference to our general well being and state of mind. This article is all about the simple things that you can adopt in your life to help you to start feeling amazing the moment you choose to.

• Try going to bed one hour earlier than usual for at least two weeks. Instantly you will notice how much more vibrant and alive you feel.

• Identify three things that you can do that will enhance your mood today.

• Give yourself 15 minutes to write down why you value all your close friends and family.

• Try to go 7 days without complaining about anything or anyone.

Thinking and talking negatively will make you feel the opposite of amazing.

Regardless of how good you may look on the outside, your negative energy will take away any potential spring that you could have had in your step!

• Spend an evening of watching your favourite movies, this

is called movie therapy. Doing this can support you in appreciating the relationships you have in your life and further help you to clarify real life solutions to any problems your may have.

• Organise a simple social evening with close friends or family. It doesn’t have to be a special occasion or a birthday; it just gives you an opportunity to show that you are spending time because you want to, not because you have to.

• Create a small space just for you and spend up to 10 – 15 minutes there every day. Surround your space with items that inspire peace in your mind. Scented candles, aromatherapy oils, dried flowers are all great to start with.

• Make sure you recharge for 15 minutes before attempting any home tasks after a long day out.

This discipline will help you to move into the rest of your evening feeling relaxed and refreshed.

• Sign up for a day seminar at think spa London.com and explore these tips in detail and creat a plan of action for you!

In life if you do not create time for breaks be it 5 minutes or 5 days, you risk your health and wellbeing.

All too often we worry about the end result, get embarrassed by our efforts and give up.

True change is about the process. Be your own best friend not your own worst enemy.

Feel great that you can start to work towards being amazing today.

Good Luck!

If you have any questions write to mamta@abplgroup.com

kitchen

Treats

Spinach Enoki Salad A simple vinaigrette dresses a salad of fresh spinach, enoki mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, carrots, and green onions.

Prep Time: 10 minutes Ingredients: • 1-1/2 (about) pounds spinach • 1 or 2 bags (3-1/2 ounces each) enoki mushrooms • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, stemmed and halved • 1 carrot, thinly sliced • 2 green onions (including tops) thinly sliced • 1/4 cup sugar • 1/3 cup white wine vinegar • 2 Tablespoons salad oil • Salt Preparation: • Discard stems and any yellow or wilted leaves from spinach. Wash spinach and Ypat dry. Wrap in paper towels, enclose in plastic

bags, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days. Tear spinach into bite-size pieces (you should have about 4 quarts) .

Trim and discard brown, woody ends from mushrooms. Rinse mushrooms, then shake off excess water.

In a large serving bowl, combine spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, carrot, and green onions.

In a small bowl, stir together sugar, vinegar, and oil until sugar is dissolved. Pour over spinach mixture, mix to coat, and season to taste with salt.

6 to 8 servings

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

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A R Rahman wins two Grammy Awards "Slumdog Millionaire" composer A R Rahman struck gold twice at the Grammy Awards on Sunday, adding to the Oscars he won last year for the film's soundtrack and theme song "Jai Ho".

Rahman, 44, beat Grammy veteran Bruce Springsteen in the motion picture song category while "Slumdog Millionaire" swept aside "Inglourious Basterds" and "Twilight" to win best compilation soundtrack for a film.

"Insane eh? I never even dreamt about winning all these awards," the composer said on his Twitter account.

Country-pop starlet Taylor Swift and R&B star Beyonce were the big win-

ners at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

In 2009, Rahman became the first Indian composer to triumph at

the Oscars, winning for original score and original song in "Slumdog Millionaire", a feat that earned him the Padma

Bhushan, India's thirdhighest civilian honour, this year. Known for his musical versatility - from romantic compositions to foot-tapping numbers, Rahman has innovated with different instruments and sounds to create some of India's best-known musical hits for nearly two decades.

Despite earlier international credits such as the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Bombay Dreams", it is Rahman's work on British director Danny Boyle's "Slumdog" that endeared him to Western critics.

His work for the Hollywood film "Couples Retreat" is in contention in the original song category at the Oscars next month.

SRK pulled down from the ‘Moon’

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has made a place for himself on moon as well, what with a lunar crater named after him.

Even as the actor himself and his fans were on virtually on the moon, the IAU (International Astronomical Union) later said they have not named the crater after the Indian film actor.

As per earlier reports, the International Lunar Geographic Society recently announced that a crater in the ‘Sea of Tranquility’ will be named after Shah Rukh. “It’s absolutely thrilling and humbling at the same time,” an elated Shah Rukh had said about the

honour. The actor, who is a leading star in Bollywood for the last 20 years, says that this honour is more for India, and that he is glad that India makes its presence on the global map once again! “I am in a small way doing good service for my country. The fact that my name

is chosen is because the world is looking at India and I happen to be a part of this wonderful land of opportunity,” he said.

It was decided and the society at the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Astronomical Union that the crater on the moon will be called Crater S R Khan, and the same was decided upon on SRK’s 44th birthday. While both SRK and his fans are thrilled by this decision, some experts and scientists haven’t taken too kindly to his honour being bestowed upon an actor. Some feel that the honour should in fact have been bestowed upon a scientist, or an expert in

the field.

However, unperturbed by negative responses, SRK is on top of the world, literally speaking. “I came to Mumbai with stars in my eyes and Allah has granted me all and more. I am so happy that through the opportunity given to me by my fans, audience and the media platforms that I work with... So thanks to all those who suggested my name and to everyone who has made films with me. My kids are very excited and I know my parents would have been very proud. I’m already telling Karan to launch the next film called My Name Is Chand.”

No more kissing scenes for Arshad Warsi “Munnabhai” actor Arshad Warsi has vowed never to lock lips on screen again. So his kissing scene with Vidya Balan in “Ishqiya” may be his last such act.

Though the film has a lot more than the much talked about chemistry between the two actors, Arshad, who plays a criminal in the movie, says he was extremely apprehensive and director Abhishek

Chaubey had to pep him before the shoot.

"Mark my words, is the first and the time I have done an

talk this last on-

screen kiss. Bass ho gaya, aur nahi (enough of it all)", Arshad said in an interview.

Though the actor doesn't regret the act since it was as per the 'demand of the script', he admits that it was a 'scary' experience.

"I respect the vision that Vishal Bharadwaj and director Abhishek Chaubhey carried. They

explained to me the film, its texture, the setting and the characterisation due to which I was convinced about the kissing scene.

But only I know how scared I was," Arshad said.

When asked what really convinced him to do the scene, especially since he was so apprehensive to begin with, Arshad said it was important to bring the point of view of his character.

Big B teaches Vidhu Vinod on how to behave!

“3 Idiots” producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra got a lesson from Amitabh Bachchan on how to behave.

Stunned by Chopra’s outburst against the media during a press conference, his wife Anupama called Bachchan to give a dose of good manners to her errant husband.

Bachchan blogged, “It is an actors’ workshop the art of handling the media.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra called in the

morning inviting me over for a chat. His wife Anupama had just reprimanded him towards behavior to the media.

At a ‘3idiots’ press conference that took a slant on the Chetan Bhagat novel and the rights that needed to be covered, Vinod had lost his cool and asked in fairly strong voice for the

journalist to’ shut up’ ! This had caused umbrage and resentment among the fourth estate, who did not hesitate to shut him down instead.”

Anupama had been impressed by the way Bachchan handled criticism from Naseeruddin Shah recently. Says Bachchan, “She was drawing his attention

to the fact that for a question that came my way during the reading of the latest Filmfare, when told to comment on Naseeruddin Shah’s remark on how I had become a victim of my starhood and forgotten how to act.” He adds, “This Anupama felt was a genuine manner in which an individual should behave with the media.

And she was wishing Vinod would follow suit.”

19

Akshay getting messages meant for Akshaye Having a namesake is not always fun.

Akshay Kumar finds this nowadays. Of late, Akshay has been receiving messages meant for Akshaye Khanna.

Akshay kept getting messages from an assistant named Nikki all of last week, when he was shooting at Mehboob Studios for “Patiala House.” Some of the messages were to inform Akshaye of his shoots and timings while the others asked him what he wanted for lunch.

At first Akshay didn’t realize that the messages were for Akshaye Khanna.

But he later realized that the assistant had his number saved against Akshaye’s name. And since the messages have come to him so frequently, he wonders how Akshaye managed to reach his shooting on time.

He also wonders how many of his messages might have reached Akshaye.

Interestingly, Akshay and Akshaye are co-stars in Farah Khan’s “Tees Maar Khan” and Anees Bazmee’s “Thank You.” This isn’t the first time Bollywood has had namesake trouble.

Director Feroz Abbas Khan and actor Feroz Khan, director Sanjay Gupta and the cinematographer by the same name and jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali and director Farah Khan are among the many people who have been in the same boat.

Karan Johar’s hairy problem Karan Johar is so busy with “My Name is Khan” that he is not getting time to shave even. Karan, who is always known to be clean-shaven, has been seen with stubble at recent interviews and events.

According to sources, at Arjun Rampal’s party, Karan was asked why he was sporting a beard.

Karan replied that he was left with no time to shave as he was very busy with his latest film and things will remain so until some time, when the film’s first print comes out. However, as he has been receiving compliments on his new look; he might just keep the stubble longer.

Paresh says goodbye to comedies for now After making us laugh with his comic acts, Paresh Raval says that he wanted to say goodbye to comedies now.

Paresh says: 'One often ends up doing films for friends or because one needs to work within the given limitations. But enough is enough now.' Two of his releases this week do not show his lighter side. The talented actor, who was getting a tad tired of constantly doing comedy, returned to villainy for Ram Gopal Varma's 'Rann', 20 years after he switched to doing comic roles. He had another release, “Road to Sangam, where he plays a real-life character in the movie.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

Rakhi Sawant gives an ultimatum to Censor Board

‘Asal’ releases on Feb 12 Ajith’s much-awaited film “Asal” is confirmed for the release on February 12th. Produced by Sivaji Films and directed by Saran, Ramkumar and Prabhu, the producers, are planning for a big release across Tamil Nadu and parts of overseas, where Tamil films have a huge fan-following.

Initially “Asal” was supposed to hit the screens on February 5, but has been pushed forward by a week.

The film features Sameera Reddy, Bhavana and yesteryear hero Suresh along with Ajith in the cast. Music is

by Bharadwaj. There is another reason for the postponement of “Asal.” The producers went out of their way to give a free run to their Annan Rajinikanth’s daughter Soundarya’s maiden film Goa scheduled to release on January 29.

ours m ru e g ia rr a m s ie n e d i Charm lumnists “Earlier, gossip co co-stars th wi loved linking me n perow kn un an th wi and now seems o wh i, son,” says Charm th the wi ged tra ou ly ral to be lite age. rri ma r he rumours about Charmi s res act ian Ind South llywood made her debut in Ko rasan’s ba am Sil with d later an ala Sonnaldhan Kadh d. oo llyw To o int ped hop-skip her de ma e Recently, sh ustry ind film il Tam in ck comeba ich didn’t with “Laadam,” wh results. le ab sir de r get he media the of Recently, some news d she bli pu d ha ls channe to set all is i stating that Charm bi nja Pu a th wi ck dlo enter we the th wi d ate guy. Much infuri actress fabricated story, the has no she t makes it clear tha w. At no ing rry ma ut abo plans otsho sy bu is the moment, she film u ug Tel a for ing es her in “Chaayatta” that featur e. lead rol

Tamannaah can’t imagine life away from family!

Tamannaah may play the glam gal on screen, but that does not mean she’s any less a homebird than any other conservative Indian girl! “Time spent with my family is the best time,” coos the pretty young thing, adding, “I am very attached to my family. My worst nightmare would be being separated from them! I cannot imagine life without these wonderful people who support me in everything I do and help me cope with the pressures of a life in showbiz.”

Tamannaah, who seems to have stepped into Kollywood at just the perfect time, has a number of great offers coming her way. The best bet yet is her role in Sura, which is Ilayathalapathi Vijay’s next movie. Word has it that she has glammed up further for the movie and looks absolutely hot!

Rakhi Sawant has sought an explanation from the Censor Board regarding its decision to ban her song. She considers the board’s decision as irrational.

“I'll wait for a week and then I go on a ‘bhookh hartal’ in front of the censor office,” warns Rakhi.

Rakhi Sawant ko gussa kyon aata hai? It's the kameena ways of the moral police. The alwaysin-the-news actress is angry with the Censor Board.

“Fearlessly I've sent a legal notice to the Censor Board.

This is the first time something like this has happened. Others do chamchagiri of the Censor Board. Not me. I'm Rakhi Sawant. Main ishwar ki beti hoon.

The Censor Board has done me injustice by deleting the word Kamini from my song. I won't take it lying down.

Dharmendra has been saying the word kaminey for years.

Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminey came, were the censors asleep?

There're heroines doing

love- making scenes with their bare backs showing.

Bharadwaj's films invariably have characters mouthing maa-bahen galis. If Rakhi Sawant sings Kamini tera bhoot chad gaya re the Censor Board gets stung. The song has been produced by my company Faith Inc. and I'm being damaged.”

The argument that the word kamini is inappropriate on television holds no water for Rakhi. “Kyon? In the trailers of Ishqiya they show Vidya Balan punchdrunk on television, and that too in a saree. Is that allowed in our culture?

Ladkiyan Khule-aam choli utaar rahi hai.

What was Choli ke peeche kya hai? What were they asking? We all know what's behind the choli. If that can be played for years why can't my song be telecast?”

Priyanka gears up for ‘Don 2’ Bollywood beauty Priyanka Chopra is all set to appear in the sequel to Farhan Akhtar’s 2006 Don - The Chase Begins Again.

Though it was always on cards that Shah Rukh Khan would feature in Don 2, which is expected to pick up from where the remake of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Don left, there was always mystery around the presence of the leading lady in the film.

Priyanka, has now confirmed her presence in the sequel.

“Yes, I am doing Don 2. Ever since I worked in

the first movie, I was looking forward to being on board for the sequel as well. It would be good to be a part of Don 2 as it is an action thriller,” Priyanka said.

She is busy wrapping up Anjaana Anjaani and will begin shooting for Vishal Bharadwaj’s next film after Kaminey. “I am really excited about Vishalji’s next film. After Kaminey, I am so keen to get on his sets once again,” Priyanka said.

Though there is grapevine that in the film she is playing the role of a

woman who is wed to seven different men, official confirmation is yet to come. However, it is certain that one of the men in the film would be Malayalam star Mohanlal.

Priyanka, however, will not be the leading lady in Tarun Mansukhani’s sequel to Dostana, which made waves when released in 2008. The film is all set to get rolling this year.

“No, I am not the leading lady of Dostana 2. My story had ended in Dostana and I will certainly be there in a special appearance,” she said.

Katrina is Hrithik’s latest love interest Nowadays, Katrina Kaif is picking roles that will provide her the chance to prove her mettle as an actress. She is rumored to be a part of Zoya Akhtar’s movie which stars Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol and Hrithik Roshan.

If she is indeed a part of the said film, Katrina will be the only female lead. It will be an achievement of sorts because audiences will see her cast opposite Hrithik Roshan

for the first time.

W h i l e Katrina has refused to talk about the film, Farhan mentioned that even though it’s early to talk about the film, if Katrina is a part of it, she will be Hrithik’s love interest.

Abhay and Farhan have no love inter-

ests in the film.

He said that the film was dependent upon the bonding between the three co-stars.

If Katrina does this film, not only will it be her first time working with Hrithik, but she will also be working with a woman director for the first time. The film will go on floors in April.

Preity Zinta jumps off toilet wall at Delhi airport Bollywood actress Preity Zinta had got stuck in the toilet of a Delhi airport for more than 10 minutes and had to climb the wall and jump over to come out.

“Spent 10 minutes stuck in the toilet at the airport...Finally had to climb the wall and jump over... People were calling out my name,” Preity posted on her Twitter page. The 34-year-old says

she felt she would die there, but managed to escape. “Thought I was going to die as I am claustrophobic. Pulled a muscle in my arm...,” she added.

She says her tomboy attitude helped her come out of the toilet. “Being a tomboy when I was younger definitely helped.

Trying to climb a wall is never easy. Phew! Happy to go home now,” she said.

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

21

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BollyKats

No bikini for me, says Vidya Balan

Phaans

script demands, I don't think I will ever wear one, " she said at a press conference.

Previously, Vidya had received a lot of flak for her dressing sense and plump body.

Taking all that criticism in a positive manner, the 30-year-old actress has slimmed drastically and is

While most of her contemporaries are flaunting their curves in bikinis, Bollywood actress Vidya Balan is happy and comfortable in her favourite attire - the sari - and says she will never wear a bikini.

"I don't see myself in a bikini ever. I am very comfortable in saris and other Indian attire. Even if the

The flick is about a man used as a spy and his life.

The era is of Pokhran II, in 1998. India and Pakistan were on the verge of a war at that time.

The bitterness between the two neighbours was at its peak. A war against India was particularly not easy for Pakistan. So they planned to attack India by hiring a few militants.

As Indian officials got this information they realized that there is only one man who can do the job for them and that is Mr. Jawahar. His services were also used during the 1965 war with Pakistan.

Jawahar’s life was ruined, yet once again agrees to work as a secret agent. Since Jawahar is too old now, his grand daughter Sameera is put on the job.

Sameera goes to Pakistan to get those important documents that hold the information about militants and their plans to enter the Indian border.

Produced by Jawahar L Jairath, the film has the screenplay written by Ramesh Modi, while the lyrics are by Sanjay Mishra and Milind Joshi. Music is scored by Milind Joshi and Dilip Sen. The lead cast consists of Kanan Malhotra, Moin Khan, Shieva, Raza Murad, Reshma Modi, Amita Nangia, Adil Rana, Shiraj Murtaza, Rakesh Hans, Jawahar, Vidya Sinha, Sandip Pandey, Kshitij Prakash, Seema Bedi, Jai Prakash, R.K.Sharma, Sattyam, Mahesh Rajpoot, K.S.Chanana, Sanjeev Kant and Irene Sutari.

looking ravishing in her sleek avatar. She is seen wearing mostly saris at functions and promotional events.

"I have started loving the seedha palla (straight fall) of the sari. I am very comfortable in Indian attires and I guess I carry them off pretty well, " she said.

No Entry for Deepika in Kapoor house Randhir Kapoor has recently hosted a party for his co-stars from Sajid Khan’s ‘Housefull’.

However, Deepika, who plays one of the female leads, was not invited. Her breakup with Randhir’s nephew, Ranbir, seems to be the only plausible reason for her not being invited.

And while Ranbir may have been very fond of Deepika, his family’s dislike for her has been rather evident.

According to sources, the party was attended by Sajid Khan, Sajid Nadiadwala, Farah Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh and

Boman Irani.

A p p a re n t l y, d u r i n g Boman’s 25th w e d d i n g a n n i v e r s a r y, the ‘Housefull’ team had told him that they wanted t o

taste the traditional Kapoor family food at his house. Naturally, Randhir invited them over. Randhir said that he hadn’t invited the girls from ‘Housefull’, Jiah Khan, Lara Dutta and Deepika Padukone as they weren’t in Mumbai.

He also asserted that his party had nothing to

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do with ‘Housefull’ and that he had simply invited a few friends over.

However, Jiah said that she’d been trying to reach the party but was in a little fix as it was also her uncle’s birthday. Though Lara was unavailable to comment, Deepika steered clear of any questions.

No. Last Week New 1 2

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22

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

Meghalaya has 4 Chief Ministers Congress says it’s unhappy, yet defends the largesse Congress move to buy peace and stability in Meghalaya has been ridiculed as “constitutional absurdity” by BJP as perhaps for the first time in the history of independent India, the politically unstable state in the North East is having more than one, in fact 4 ‘Chief Ministers’.

Congress is leading a coalition government in the state. The Pradesh Congress chief, who was already enjoying the status and perks of a deputy Chief Minister, continued to create troubles for the government, leading to a situation where the party and the CM had to buy peace by promoting the Pradesh Congress Chief’s status as that of a Chief Minister, though the deci-

sion making powers, administrative powers would remain only with D D Lapang, the original CM in the present set up.

Another Congress leader as well as the leader of a coalition partner also enjoy the same status and perks as that of the Chief Minister, though they are just State Planning Board chairman (Donkupar Roy – UDP) and Meghalaya Economic Development Council Chairman (J D Rymbai - Congress).

The state also has two deputy Chief Ministers.

Having to face an embarrassing situation, the party spokesman in New Delhi expressed unhappiness over the situation, even as he defended the decision under the pretext of seek-

ing stability in the state. It may be noted here that ever since the state was formed in 1972, Meghalaya just had 2 chief ministers who could complete their full five year terms.

Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said there is only one chief minister while the others have been given same perks and security but not the same decision-making power.

In the 60-member legislature, the Congress has 28 MLAs and enjoys the support of 10 UDP members.

Rajiv Pratap Rudy of BJP said, "We can call it a constitutional absurdity because we are aware that under the constitution, the governor swears in the CM. But here we have a CM appointing another CM.”

London – Ahmedabad direct flight: Praful Patel assures early resumption Civil Aviation Minister of India, Praful Patel assured the Vishwa Gujarat Samaj (VGS) conference in Ahmedabad recently that a decision to resume Air India’s direct flights between London and Ahmedabad will be taken at the earliest. He also said the construction work for the new terminal building at Ahmedabad International Airport will be completed by June this year. With that, the Ahmedabad Airport will be an outstanding facility not only in India but would be comparable to the best globally, he added.

The World Gujarati Conference was held during 22 to 24 January at Ahmedabad. Gujaratis, delegates from 21 countries attended the conference and discussed in details the issues before the Gujaratis settled the world over.

C B Patel, publisher and editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar news weeklies from London and Chairman of the National Congress of Gujarati Organisations (NCGO), UK raised the issue of direct flight between London and Ahmedabad, as he said in absence of such a facility, travellers have to spend atleast 4 to 5 hours, which at times goes upto 10 to 12 hours at some other airport in India or in some other country, which is a huge waste of time. Lack of such a flight is also a huge problem for female passengers, particularly pregnant women, the aged people as well as children.

Even for businessmen and executives, the waste of time in transit or stopover is huge.

He further said that of late, the trade ties between UK and India (and Gujarat in particular) are on the upswing, with increasing investments

from India into Britain and the vice versa. This generates a huge demand in travel between the two countries. Even for the comprehensive development of Gujarat, such a direct flight between the two cities is very much a necessity. C B added that UK has a population of more than 700,000 Gujaratis amongst 1.8 million people of Indian origin. Travel between the two countries for various reasons is increasing steadily. The number of students from Gujarat, coming to UK for higher studies has also witnessed a sudden spurt. All these are reasons more than enough for restoration of Ahmedabad – London flights.

Vishwa Gujarati Samaj President Krishnakant Vakharia also had voiced the demand for such a service in his inaugural address.

It may be pertinent to mention here that following a very intensive campaign by Gujaratis in UK, led by Gujaras Samachar and Asian Voice, the erstwhile NDA government had decided to give a direct flight between Ahmedabad and London.

Air India started with three flights a week and that was extended to five flights later on. But suddenly the UPA came into power, Air India decided to cancel all the Ahmedabad – London direct flights, for reasons best known to them.

A memorandum was also submitted to the concerned authorities than.

Details were furnished to refute the claims of Air India that there was not enough traffic on the London – Ahmedabad sec-

tor. The memorandum had also the questioned the fact that, if Air India’s claims are to be believed, than how come the airline in the first place increased the frequency of the flight from three to five per week.

Further, Air India had also claimed that jumbo size planes have problems at Ahmedabad, as the airport is not OK for landing or take off for huge aircrafts. Air India needs to explain it to themselves and to the traveling fraternity that if jumbo planes of other airlines can arrive and depart at Ahmedabad, the fault definitely lies with the AI and not the airport.

Those days, when Air India did fly the London – Ahmedabad sector, the airline had been arbitrarily charging £50 more than the fares for London – Mumbai or London – Delhi, even though the distance between London – Ahmedabad is shorter than the other two destinations. Competitive fares are a key to securing better traffic and everybody in a competitive market understands that well.

Following the strong representations from all the quarters, Praful Patel gave the assurance to initiate the process for resuming the flights. Technocrat and advisor to Indian Prime Minister, Sam Pitroda, minister of state for energy in the union government Bharatsinh Solanki, minister of state for health in union government Dinesh Trivedi also said they will make strong case before the government of India and push up the issue in the centre.

Dinesh Trivedi, a native of Kutch in Gujarat is the only Gujarati MP elected from West Bengal. He represents Trinamool Congress, the ally of Congress from the eastern state.

In divine light

BY RAJEN VAKIL

Yudhisthira – the steadiness within Yudhisthira is the eldest Pandava prince.

Yudhisthira comes from the words, Yuddham Sthairyam, meaning ‘the one who is steady in war’. The body-brain system is our only instrument to rise to higher levels of consciousness (realise our divine nature). We feel we have one mind but actually have five minds within us. It is as if we are a house with five rooms, each with a window, offering a different view of the world outside.

We have thinking, feeling, moving, sensitive, and a sexual mind. The Pandavas represent these five centres within us.

Yudhisthira is the thinking mind in us.

He represents both, the lower faculty of thinking – that which comes from attitudes, and the higher faculty of thinking – that which is in contact with Krishna (pure intellect or buddhi).

The higher faculty is characterised by clarity of perception, devoid of emotional storms, calm in the consciousness, and powered with discernment leading to right action in our moving mind. Such a person has the power to hold attention on an object, a problem, or a thought. Also, he possesses the ability to penetrate attention to the heart or cause of the matter. On the spiritual path the greatest enemy is passion, which seduces our attention all the time. Yudhisthira is that power in us which continuously visualises and creates little techniques to fight passion.

When I first met my guru, I told him that thoughts of sex kept seducing my attention and were disturbing me. He suggested visualizing beautiful green fields with lovely waterfalls whenever thoughts of sex came by. Over the years, this small technique has worked wonders. This is the power of Yudhisthira.

Our lower thinking is bound by deeply ingrained attitudes, limiting the mind and not allowing it to communicate with our inner Krishna. The deepest attitude we have is ‘I am always right’. This is the cause of our blindness. When life does not go the way we have planned it, we get upset, loose our balance, and become hypnotised by the events of life. We have attitudes about everything – life, religion, politics, even clothes. We see and relate to the world through these attitudes. Whenever we argue about anything, it is always through attitudes. It takes years of selfstudy and inner observation to free the mind of attitudes. Once our thinking is free of the limitations of attitudes, we are able to understand what truth is, and then live this truth in our lives. This is living as Yudhisthira.

Another way of looking at the five Pandavas is through the eyes of yoga, which says that the world we see around us is made up of five ‘tattvas’ or elements; not the elements of physics but the psychological sensitivities of sound, touch, sight, taste and smell – those that excite the five sense organs.

Yoga says these sensitivities lie in five different brains within us called chakras. These are the five Pandavas.

Yudhisthira represents akash (ether) in

the throat chakra, Bhima vayu (wind) in the heart, Arjuna agni (fire) in the solar plexus, Nakula apas (water) in the sensual chakra, and Sahdeva prithvi (earth) in the sacral chakra.

Within Yudhisthira or akash element, lies the art of steadying our attention in space or in gaps. Whenever we see a person, we fix our attention on his body or form and never see the empty space around the body. If we can train our attention to remain in this empty space, slowly we would notice that it is not just an empty space but is filled with subtle vibrations and colours. This can tell us a lot about the person we are observing. When we close our eyes, we see only darkness but if we can hold our attention and let it penetrate beyond the darkness, we enter into the chittakash or space of the mind. Here, we can observe our own thoughts, emotions, and reactions.

Sea waves merge or break with one another. Where two waves of opposing motion meet, there is a small space where there is no motion. This is akash and Yudhisthira is the one who can stand steady in this space. If on meeting an angry person, we become angry then two waves clash, indicating that we are not steady at the meeting ground.

Instead, if we become receptive then the anger mingles with our receptivity and for a moment, we are able to experience that point where all motion stops. In Zen this is known as satori.

Even though our bodies may be male or female, psychologically we are both. In any relationship and especially marriage, if we can see beyond the body and recognise which energy has come to meet us then we can become the opposite. If the wife is angry, the husband can sense the aggressive male energy in her and he should become the inner female with warmth and acceptance. If we can do this then, there is a marriage not of bodies but of energies. If this can happen in every relationship – father and son, boss and employee, two friends; then every moment these energies meet, we can experience the orgasm of that meeting. Then, life is free of conflict and this very earth becomes the lotus paradise the great Buddha talked about.

(Edited by Chintu Gandhi.

Illustration by Siddharth Ramanuj.)

The author can be reached by emailing 3srb@live.com

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

23

Gujarati lady Tanvi Shah shares Rahman’s grammy of Spanish version of ‘Jai Ho’ Tanvi Shah sharing the Grammy award with A R Rahman for the Spanish version of the rocking song “Jai Ho” is perhaps Gujarat’s closest brush with a Grammy. Tanvi, a Chennai based multi-lingual singer has sung for movies in several languages except Gujarati! Early on Monday she called up her family in Chennai to give the news. “She did not talk for long. She sounded quite happy and was extremely tired after attending the Grammy Awards ceremony.

Indian students advised not to go to OZ, for now MoS External Affairs Preneet Kaur says India will do whatever required With attacks on Indians unabated in Australia, students from the country have been advised not to go to the country, atleast for now.

India’s minister of state for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said last week in New Delhi that India will do

whatever is required, the attacks are unfortunate and not acceptable.

“We are pressurising the Australian government to find the reasons behind the attacks, why have they happened and how they have happened. The reasons behind them (attacks)

should be investigated.”

"We are hopeful that something will come out from the investigations that are taking place on the attacks on Indians in Australia," said Kaur, who placed a wreath on Ranjodh Singh’s body, who was killed in

Australia late last month.

“I think they (Australians) are open now to investigation taking place because of the meeting between Foreign Minister SM Krishna and his counterpart in London,” said Preneet Kaur.

Canada deports plane hijacker to India Canada last week deported the Sikh hijacker of an Indian Airlines plane to India.

Parminder Singh Saini, 46, who took refuge in Toronto 15 years ago was put on the plane back to India officials said.

Saini was escorted by officials of the Canadian

Border Security Agency (CBSA) to Toronto airport to board a flight for India.

Saini was the leader of five Sikh militants who hijacked an Indian Airlines flight from Srinagar to Delhi on July 6, 1984, with 255 passengers on board and took it

to Lahore. The hijack drama ended after a 17hour standoff, with the hijackers surrendering to the Pakistani authorities.

After a trial in Pakistan, Saini was sentenced to death by a Lahore court. But the death sentence was commuted to life term. He was

released after 10 years and asked to leave Pakistan.

In 1995, Saini entered Canada illegally under the name of Balbir Singh with a fake Afghan passport arranged by the Pakistanis. He maintained that he lied about his identity for fear of being deported to India.

Extravagant weddings posing serious social problem in Kerala Despite its reputation as a progressive state, wedding extravaganzas continue to be a serious social problem in Kerala, often leading to financial ruin of many families, especially those in the lower and middle income rungs.

Costly gold ornaments, luxury cars, hefty pocket money, posh ambiance of marriage halls and sumptuous feasts weddings have become more like an extravagant melas in the state. Even the fallout of global financial crunch and soaring gold prices seem to have failed to dent this trend. While women rights activists and social outfits have begun to take up the issue seriously, their campaigns seem to have had

little impact. They say this is a dangerous trend that drives many families to debt trap and even to suicide. Victims are mostly from the poor and lower middle class.

T N Seema, CPI(M) leader and member, state Gender Board, says lavish marriages are another form of dowry system since in most cases the groom's parents have the final say in how luxuriously the wedding should be celebrated.

Campaigns against obsolete social practices and lavish marriages used to be on the agenda of organisations like Nair Service Society and Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam in the past.

The world’s largest mobility camp inaugurated at Palitana by Narendra Modi Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust, Mumbai in association with and supported by several National and International organizations as well as other well wishers had organized a Mega Mobility Camp for rehabilitation of the physically challenged and hearing impaired at Palitana, in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat.

The camp stretched over an 18 day period from the 23rd of December, 2009 to the 9th of January, 2010 and was the largest humanitarian project of its kind in the world.

Set up in over 100,000 square feet of specially erected pandal and auditorium, the camp drew an unprecedented response and rehabilitated 16,760 orthopaedically handicapped and another 11,789 hearing impaired, thus giving a new lease of

life to 28,549 poorest of the poor disabled of Bhavnagar and adjoining districts.

The orthopaedically handicapped beneficiaries got free Callipers for the polio afflicted, Jaipur foot for the amputees, Splints and braces as well as Tricycles, Wheelchairs, Crutches and Walkers. The uniqueness of the project was that a patient who came to the camp in the morning was screened, measured and the prosthetic fabricated and fitted by early evening when the patient left for home in free vehicles provided by Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust.

The hearing impaired patients underwent an audiology test in a custom made mobile van and were given appropriate hearing aids.

The inauguration of

Coming Events 1. Bhajan Spectacular by the ever popular Saraswati Bhajan Mandli; BSNL House, Middx. HA0 3NL, Sunday 7th February 2010 ~ 3-7pm.

Contact: Mayank Rawal: 07944 99 4129) 2. National Tour in February 2010 by Raga Jyoti in collaboration with halle Youth Ensembles; Sun 7th Feb, Fairfield Halls, Croydon, Contact: 020 8688 9291; Sun 14th Feb, The Lowry, salford Quays, Contact: 0843 208 6010; Saturday 27th Feb, 7:30pm, Curve, Leicester, Contact: 01162423595 3. Watford Asian Community Care in partnership with

Watford Gurdwara and International Friendship Foundation UK invites BME communities in Herts to a Community Health Fair – promoting Physical and Emotional Wellbeing on Sunday 14th February 2010 at Gurdwara – Sri Guru Singh Sabha, 48 Kings Close, Watford WD18 0UB from 11.00 am to 3.00 pm including lunch from 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm.

Contact: 01923 229903 or email admin@wacc.org.uk.

4. Maha Shivratri Celebrations at BAPS, Shri Swaminarayan Temple, Neasden, Friday 12th February, Contact: 020 8965 2651

the camp by the Honourable Chief Minister of Gujarat created an awareness in official circles of the need for aids and appliances amongst the poor disabled and would influence public policy in this regard. In his inaugural speech Narendra Modi also stressed on the need for

such humanitarian projects through Public/Private Partnership efforts.

While blessing the camp on Sunday 3rd January, 2010 His Holiness the Dalai Lama also stressed on the importance of such projects and how they could bring about a significant change

in the lives of the poor. In his customary jovial style he also interacted with some of the disabled during his tour of the camp and its various departments.

Over 100 technical personnel ably assisted by over 150 volunteers from USA, UK and India toiled for over 14 to 16 hours

every day but were amply rewarded to see the smiles on those who could walk on their own artificial limbs or the elderly who could now hear what they could earlier only see. The many disabled who got tricycles had their dreams come true as they could now attend schools and colleges, go for work or pursue some vocation.

At the above camp the trust helped the following disabled: 8341 Callipers to polio affected; 664 Jaipur Foot to amputees; 3202 Crutches to help mobility; 671 Wheelchairs to elderly and Cerebral palsy patients; 1628 Tricycles to youth; 11789 Hearing aids to elderly and children; 2254 Ortho Items for patients having injury or bone problems, thus helping a total of 28,549 people.

24

Saturday 6th February 2010 - Asian Voice

Big ‘B’ consent troubles Congress Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has formally agreed to promote Gujarat on Monday, after recently he offered to work as brand ambassador for the state and later Chief Minister Narendra lapped up the offer, inviting Big B to promote tourism in the state. Reacting to the development, Congress secretary and co-ordinator for Gujarat Rajiv Shukla accused the Bollywood star of misusing his celebrity status. Shukla said Amitabh Bachchan was becoming brand ambassador for vested interests.

Mumbai row hots up once again Andhra Pradesh speaker rejects resignations Thackeray family dares even Sangh – BJP; decries Mukesh Ambani, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan

A statement by industrialist Mukesh Ambani kicked up the Mumbai row once again last week, as “Mumbai for Marathi” issue took centre stage and Thackeray family even going to the extent of asking RSS and BJP to mind their own business, as the Sangh Supremo reportedly had asked Swayamsevaks to protect North Indians in Mumbai and Maharashtra.

The controversy was kicked up after Mukesh Ambani said last week during a seminar that Mumbai and for that matter, all metros or other mega cities of India are for all.

His statement evoked a sharp response from Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, as he said “Maharashtrians have the same right over Mumbai as Mukesh Ambani has over the Reliance companies.”

Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan also earned the ire of the Shiv Sena, as they

Balasaheb Thackeray

Mukesh Ambani

batted for Pakistani cricketers while the Sena had warned that it would not allow Pakistan team or Pakistani cricketers to play in India and particularly Mumbai – Maharashtra.

A party statement published in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece “Dopahar Ka Saamna” called the two Khans as 2 idiots.

After RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat asked swayamsevaks to protect North Indians in Mumbai and Maharashtra, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray lashed out the Sangh, saying that RSS should keep away

from the issue.

BJP president Nitin Gadkari also had to take a stand that Mumbai is for all Indians and while Shiv Sena and BJP may have different views on this issues, this does not necessarily mean there is a rift in the alliance.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders – Union home minister P Chidambaram and MOS external affairs Shashi Tharoor said Mumbai is for all Indians.

Chidambaram also said people from all corners of the country should fearlessly be in Mumbai.

of 129 MLAs on Telangana issue

Resignations of 129 Andhra Pradesh MLAs over the Telangana row have been rejected by the state assembly speaker Kirankumar Reddy, while decision on one is kept pending.

In all, 222 resignations were submitted, with 92 later withdrawn. Of the remaining 130, only one

resignation was found in order, while the 129 rejected were found to be not as per the rule and hence rejected, the speaker said.

Though he did not disclose the identity, he said he would call the MLA and discuss things with him.

He further stated that the speaker had the right to delay a decision if the

resignations were submitted on emotional basis.

“I had personally examined every resignation letter and carefully went through Constitution rules,” the Speaker told mediapersons in Hyderabad last week.

TRS, meanwhile said 10 MLAs of the party would submit their resignation again, as per the procedure.

Sham marriages and dodgy colleges halts UK student visa for Indians Continued from page 1 But the Daily Telegraph has a different angle to the reason behind such suspension. On the 1st February it reports, “a surge in advertisements for sham marriages is behind the huge increase in Indian student visa applications to the United Kingdom...The suspension is an embarrassment since it comes just a year after the introduction of a new points-based system for assessing applicants.

The numbers soared in spite of growing concern over lax scrutiny on overseas students following the arrest last April of several Pakistanis studying at British universities on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks.”

Shortly before the arrests, Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, described the abuse of the student visa system as “one of the biggest loopholes in Britain's immigration system.”

According to immigration consultants in India, unscrupulous immigration agents in India had exploited weaknesses in the new system dramatically to increase the number of unqualified candidates applying for student visas. The agents then try to double the number of immigrants by arranging fake "court marriages" for successful applicants.

Indian newspapers have reported a surge in matrimonial advertisements in local newspapers in Ludhiana and Jalandhar, two major cities in Punjab which have traditionally been major emigration centres to Britain, Australia, the United States and Canada.

The Daily Telegraph also reports that one advertisement in the Punjabi Daily Ajeet on January 22 highlighted the fraud: "Only court marriage. Seeking alliance for a 24- year-old boy. The girl must have cleared IELTS [International English Language Testing

System]. All expenses will be borne by the boy's family." Agents told The Daily Telegraph some families were paying fees of up to £10,000 for their sons and daughters to "marry" those with British student visas.

As the marriage is a civil contract it is regarded as a paper arrangement rather than a solemn religious commitment. The students' spouses then enter Britain where they work full-time in the hope of eventually extending their visa.

Though under the points-based system introduced in March last year, colleges were forced to register with the Border Agency, 140 were shut down for failing to meet standards criteria and fifteen had their licences to recruit foreign students withdrawn, still the British high commission failed to save the future of many gullible students who learned about the blacklisting of their college (in the UK) after paying the fees or after reaching there. There is no provision of any kind of transfer to some other college in the same field.

"Indian students should remain doubly cautious from corrupt education consultants and from applying to blacklisted colleges.

They should approach only professional people.

Moreover, everything is available online and they can easily check the credentials of a college on the internet to avoid further problems," stated Nigel Casey.

He added: "Presently

there are nearly 2,000 licensed institutions in the UK and we have a very tight system of evaluation. The UK Border Agency continuously monitors the performance of colleges. In the last few months we had cancelled the affiliations of 100 colleges, whose work was not found up to the mark."

Akash Sharma, a student in the UK told the Asian Voice, “This is a very dodgy situation. I know of people who are genuinely wanting to study in the UK. Some have also taken loans from banks and have paid their fees. If their tuition fees is not given back, they suffer for no reason.

UK Border Agency should have officially published a list stating the names of colleges that are blacklisted. How is it fair for a new appointee to know all the kind of scams operating in the UK?” Amar Chopra, an aspiring student in the UK told Asian Voice, “I have got a letter of acceptance in a top university in England.

For some hideous people trying to go to the UK not for studying but earning fast bucks has officially closed doors for genuine pupils like us to study in the UK. I have already paid part of my tuition fees, and now I have to pay heavy penalty for pulling back, due to unavailability of visa. Are the real universities not responsible for getting a clearance for genuine pupils like us?”

With Britain government losing some heavy income through international students who pay hefty tuition fees every year, UK seems to be more at loss than the students and universities. The ball remains in the UK Border Agency's court, while the real students await some quick fixing.

25

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

Designer Anand Jon pleads not guilty to new rape charges New York: Indian-born celebrity fashion designer Anand Jon has pleaded not guilty in a New York court to dozens of new charges that he sexually assaulted nine women and underage girls. Already convicted of raping women in California, Jon, 36, was extradited to New York to face charges he preyed on 15 to 26 year old wannabe models between 2002 and 2006. The one-time rising design star said nothing but "not guilty" as he was arraigned on Friday in a Manhattan court. He is charged with rape, criminal sexual acts, promoting a sexual performance by a child and an alleged attack on a minor.

No takers for Indian stand on Taliban World wants to ‘buy’ peace for $140 million London: A one-day international conference on Afghanistan on Thursday rejected India's argument that there were no degrees of Talibanism. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, hosting the conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, announced in his opening address the establishment of a $500 million 'trust fund' to buy "peace and integration" with warriors who are engaged in violence for economic

rather than ideological reasons. A whopping $140 million has been pledged already for this year.

During his pre-conference discussion with the British foreign secretary David Miliband, external affairs minister S M Krishna had specifically said, "There should be no distinction between a good Taliban and a bad Taliban." But this clearly fell on deaf ears. It was also unclear whether remnants of Afghanistan's Northern Alliance, once

cultivated by India, would be accommodated in any way. There was also no reference to the erstwhile foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, who put up a spirited fight in the first round of the recent controversial presidential election and exposed fraud before withdrawing from the contest.

Earlier in the week, Turkey, an ally of Pakistan, did not even bother to invite India to a confabulation on Afghanistan.

Krishna was among

Illegal sex charge against British couple dropped in Dubai London: Dubai has dropped charges brought against a British couple for having sex without being married after they produced a marriage certificate.

However, the couple will still be tried on alcoholrelated charges, which were brought after the woman, 23, and her boyfriend, 44, were arrested.

The public prosecu-

tor`s office has also dismissed a rape charge, which was brought by the woman against an Indian worker at a Dubai hotel, reports a news website.

While visiting Dubai as tourists, the woman alleged rape against the Indian worker but was herself caught when police asked if she was having a sexual relationship with her boyfriend.

A statement released

by Dubai authorities said that the public prosecution had closed the case against the Indian man "as the incident didn`t happen". Sex outside marriage is illegal in the Muslim emirate. Drinking in the United Arab Emirates is forbidden to Muslims, and non-Muslims can only purchase alcohol with a licence.

more than 70 foreign ministers and officials of international organisations who attended the convention at the 185-year-old Lancaster House, a coveted venue for summits and high level interactions.

However, Brown warned, "But those insurgents who refuse to accept the conditions for reintegration, we have no choice but to pursue them militarily." It is widely believed that hardcore elements among the extremists will not accept the amnesty.

Indian-origin cabbie killed in New Zealand Auckland: An Indian-origin cabbie was stabbed by an unknown assailant and was found dead in his taxi that crashed in Auckland on Sunday.

Hiren Mohini, 39, was driving a taxi that veered off the road and hit a tree following which Mohini was found dead.

A post mortem report found a stab wound to his torso.

A homicide inquiry was launched following the death.

Gandhiji’s ashes scattered off SA Durban: Ashes of Mahatma Gandhi, kept for decades by a family friend after his assassination, were scattered on Saturday off South Africa's coast, his family said.

"About 200 people attended. Everything went well, it was a beautiful ceremony," said Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of the apostle of non-violence.

Before the immersion

took place, a Hindu priest recited hymns. Gandhiji's great grandson poured the ashes into the sea and afterwards people threw flowers as a sign of their final goodbyes. A radical nationalist shot Gandhi on January 30, 1948 in India, just months after he led the country to independence from Britain. He was cremated according to Hindu custom.

Indian-origin girl is OZ’s brainiest student Melbourne: A 14-year-old girl of Indian-origin has been crowned as Australia's brainiest student in a battle of neuroscience knowledge in Sydney.

Uma Jha, from Perth's Shenton College, in innerwest Shenton Park, outsmarted more than 4,000 competitors from across Australia to bag the title.

The 2010 Australian Brain Bee Challenge is designed to test high school students on a range of topics, including intelligence, memory, emotions, sleep, Alzheimer's disease

and stroke.

Uma has to compete against other state winners in the national final of the competition, which included a brain-teasing anatomy exam, doctorpatient diagnosis and a neuroscience quiz.

"The competition was tied right up until the end and it was a really nervewracking finish," News.com.au quoted Uma as saying after the event.

"I've never won a national science competition before, so it's amazing," she added.

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26

Saturday 6th February 2010 - Asian Voice

Gaddafi fails in bid to remain African Union chair Addis Ababa: African leaders on Sunday chose Malawi’s president as the chairman of the African Union thus denying Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi another term. Gaddafi was elected chairman of the 53-nation AU at its annual summit last year, despite strong opposition from some African leaders, and diplomats said he was seeking another term. The chairmanship is usually decided on a regional, rotating basis and this year was the turn of southern Africa. Leaders, on the first day of their summit in Addis Ababa, selected Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika to succeed Gaddafi.

Rajapaksa – Fonseka in a war of nerves after polls Both allege trying to kill opponents; Sarath SOS to India Colombo: Tension gripped the Sri Lankan capital as the poll results showed incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa was a clear winner. Challenger, former army chief Sarath Fonseka said he does not accept the verdict and fears for his life, as troops surrounded the hotel where he had put up.

The Lankan president hit back through the defence ministry, saying Fonseka had hatched a conspiracy to assassinate Rajapaksa and his family.

Fonseka, meanwhile had got in touch with the Indian High Commission with an SOS. Following the developments in Colombo, New Delhi was in constant touch with the happenings in the Lankan capital, even as it refrained getting involved in what India described as “internal matter of Sri Lanka”. At the same time, India impressed upon Rajapaksa the importance of maintaining peace, as

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Indian external affairs ministry issued a statement, saying “We hope the post-election scenario would be free of violence — a signal to both sides to scale down the rhetoric.

India also reminded Rajapaksa of the necessity of “lasting peace”.

Rajapaksa, 64, won 60,15,934 votes or 57.88 per cent of the total, while Fonseka got 41,73,185 or 40.15 per cent, Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake told reporters. Fonseka quit as army chief late last year following differences with Rajapaksa, with both claiming credit for eliminating the Tigers.

Fonseka accused the government of violating election rules and misleading the people, and said he would move the courts against the result.

He claimed there was a threat to his life, and said he might leave the country for a short time if required.

Two Asian pavilions at this year’s Ideal Home Show at Earls Court This breakthrough has been achieved by Puja Saggar.

For the first time at the Ideal Home Show there will be an Asian Food Pavilion and an Asian Fashion & Lifestyle Pavilion.

1.

I understand you are working on a new project with the Ideal Home Show. Tell us about it.

Yes, it’s a very exciting project. The longest running UK event, the Ideal Home Show, is now under new ownership for the first time in its 102 year history.

There is a fantastic new team behind the new-look Ideal Home Show 2010.

The 2010 show is even bigger and better and will introduce the brand new launch of the Asian Food Pavilion and the Asian Fashion & Lifestyle Pavilion at the show. The two Asian Pavilions have been specially created to recognise the ever increasing popularity of Asian food, culture, fashion & lifestyle in the UK Home and to show appreciation for the loyal British Asian visitors of the show.

I have been appointed

Puja Saggar

by Media 10, the organisers of the Ideal Home Show, to co-ordinate these two Asian Pavilions on their behalf given my past experience in the exhibition industry.

2.

Tell us about your company Shreem Events Limited.

Shreem Events Limited is an events and exhibitions management services company that I set up in 2007. We provide unique, innovative and cost effective event solutions for our clients and other bespoke support services in sales & sponsorship; operations, logistics & health and safety; and marketing. I have a

keen interest in event health & safety and am both IOSH & NEBOSH qualified.

3.

Tell us more about the Asian Pavilions at the Ideal Home Show this year.

The Asian Food Pavilion and the Asian Fashion & Lifestyle Pavilion will provide a focused & dedicated platform for businesses looking to showcase products & services relevant to all aspects of British Asian lifestyle to a captive audience of 300,000+ visitors over 17 days. It’s a very unique and exciting opportunity. total spent at the show reaching £100 million and an average show spend of £475 this is simply the biggest and best consumer home show in the UK to be a part of.

4.

How can people find out more about participating in the Asian Pavilions?

Divine & Spiritual Indian Music Compositions

Digital projection about India matching with the theme music

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The full information pack for the Asian Pavilions launch at the Ideal Home Show can be viewed & downloaded online at www.shreem e v e n t s . c o m .

Alternatively people can call 01737 370 512or email info@shreemevents.comto find out more. The Ideal Home Show is taking place from 20thMarch to 5thApril 2010 at Earls Court London.

5.

And finally Puja, tell us a little about yourself.

Sure, I am a BA (Hons) Accounting & Finance graduate who qualified as an ACCA accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). After a number of years, I left my role as a Corporate Tax Consultant at PwC and went on to become the Finance & Operations Director of the Asian Lifestyle Show that was held in Olympia – London between 2004 and 2007. Since then I have been working in the events & exhibitions industry.

27

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

Nawaz Sharief drops by-poll plan to please Saudis Islamabad: Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has decided against contesting a parliamentary by-poll to honour a pledge he had made to his Saudi Arabian benefactors who had given him shelter after he was overthrown in a military coup in 1999, a media report on Monday said. Sharif 'has preferred his relations with his Saudi wellwishers to contesting the by-polls and left the people of his (Lahore) constituency at the mercy of his successor', Online news agency reported. Quoting sources, it said Sharif had met his Saudi guarantors during his recent visit to London and sought clearance from them so that he could contest, but his request was flatly turned down.

Pak corroborates Kasab’s statements, LeT behind 26/11 Islamabad: Pakistani investigators have corroborated the statement made

by Ajmal Kasab, the lone gunman arrested in Mumbai, even as they concluded that almost all the terrorists involved in the 26/11 attack belonged to LeT and there is "sufficient evidence" to prosecute them.

The report - which was presented to the anti-terror court conducting the trial of seven accused, including LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi - states that there is "sufficient incriminating evidence on record against those arrested for orchestrating the Mumbai attacks."

The report further said that evidence collected by Pakistani investigators had corroborated the statement made by Ajmal Amir Kasab in Mumbai.

Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi

Pakistani prosecutors and investigators have also categorically stated in the report that almost all the accused belong to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and that the attacks in November 2008 were masterminded

by Lakhvi, Dawn News reported last week.

The report, a copy of which was accessed by the paper, said: "The joint investigation team headed by the Director of the Special Investigation

Group of the Federal Investigation Agency has scrutinised the entire evidence collected during the inquiry."

It also collected evidence "during the investigation and has unanimously agreed that substantial incriminating evidence is available on the record directly connecting all the accused persons with the commission of the offence."

The 61-page report, which was compiled by a team of experts led by FIA officials, was presented to the anti-terror court in Rawalpindi in July last year. It contains the photographs of all the accused, including those who are still at large and have been declared "proclaimed offenders." Those who are still at large include crew members of the Al-Fauz and Hussaini,

the two boats used by the 10 terrorists who attacked India's financial hub.

The report also contains a list of 150 documents and items of evidence, including proof and information provided by India.

Investigators had also corroborated Kasab's statement about his family and his native village of Faridkot in Pakistan's Punjab province by collecting records from his school and local voters' list.

The report concluded that all the accused should be convicted because there is sufficient incriminating evidence against them.

Diplomatic sources said that the report made public did not contain any information that was not included in the dossiers provided by Islamabad to New Delhi.

India, Pak foreign ministers spar over 26/11 probe London: Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan have a verbal war over the 26/11 probe with Shah Mahmood Qureshi accusing New Delhi of non-cooperation, prompting SM Krishna to ask the "people who are sitting in the epicentre of terror" to introspect before making such allegations.

"I have had a meeting with SM Krishna in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (in September 2009). I gave him a very crisp proposal, a roadmap for the future. He said he would get back to me but he has not got back to me. That

Pak hand in fake Indian currency Dhaka: Pakistani intelligence is involved in marketing counterfeit currency in India and Bangladesh to patronise militant groups like LeT for their cross-border operations, a media report here claimed on Saturday.

Quoting Bangladeshi officials, the mass circulation Prothom Alo newspaper said several detained suspected members involved in such activities said a Pakistani intelligence agency patronised them and their operations were being regulated from Karachi. “The officials identified one ‘Majumdar’ as the coordinator of their operations in Bangladesh (and) a manhunt is underway to arrest him.”

means he has nothing to offer," Qureshi said.

"It seems that the Indian polity is divided, India is confused," he told reporters here on the sidelines of an international conference on Afghanistan.

Coming face-to-face at the meet hosted by British Premier Gordon Brown, Krishna and Qureshi shook hands and exchanged pleasantries but did not have a separate meeting.

India does not know whether it should engage or it should shy away," Qureshi said.

"Unfortunately there is a

dichotomy here. What's going on right now is, the public stance of the Indian foreign office is different.

On another hand, the private stance is different.

"The private stance is that Pakistan's cooperation has been unprecedented. They acknowledge the exchange of dossiers, the exchange of information that we have had...

There is a lack of political agreement in India on foreign policy (towards Pakistan)."

Responding to Qureshi's charges, Krishna said Pakistan should introspect before making such statements.

"People who are sitting in the epicentre of terror, I think they should look inwards and they should introspect," Krishna said.

"We met in New York and we had hoped that the investigations in Pakistan about the perpetrators of Mumbai attack would continue based on the dossier that we have provided to Pakistan. We have not heard about the outcome of those investigations that have taken place," he said.

On the issue of Afghanistan, the two Foreign Ministers differed on India's role in the wartorn country.

Zardari sacrificing black goats to ward off evil eye Islamabad: Pakistan’s beleaguered president Asif Ali Zardari, who is facing fresh challenges since the supreme court scrapped a graft amnesty that benefited him, has a peculiar belief. He thinks that sacrificing black goats would bring good tidings to him.

In that belief he has sacrificed hundreds of black goats to ward off the "evil eye" since he moved into the presidency in 2008.

A black goat is slaughtered almost daily to ward off the "evil eye" and protect Zardari from "black magic", the Dawn newspaper reported last week.

The President also reportedly uses only camel and goat milk due to superstitions, the report said.

Asif Ali Zardari

However, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar brushed aside suggestions that Zardari is a superstitious man. “It has been an old practice of Mr Zardari to offer 'sadqa' (charity). He has been doing this for a long time," Babar said.

Zardari's detractors, however, perceive his newfound religiosity as a sign of nervousness in the wake of the scrapping of the National Reconciliation Ordinance by the supreme court last month. The NRO was issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to withdraw anti-corruption cases against Zardari and over 8,000 others.

The Dawn reported that hundreds of black goats had been sacrificed since Zardari moved into the presidency in September 2008.

Zardari's trusted personal servant, Bai Khan, buys the goats from Saidpur, a village in the heart of Islamabad.

Taliban chief Mehsud dead ?

Islamabad: Chief of Tahrike Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Hakimullah Mehsud died of wounds he sustained recently during a drone attack, state-run Pakistan Televsion (PTV) reported.

"Mehsud died in Orakzai where he was being treated after being injured apparently in a missile attack by a US drone on January 14," PTV said .

However, Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said he could not immediately confirm the report. "We are investigating it while using our agents," he said.

But interior minister Rehman Malik told newsmen here that reports of Hakimullah death have been received from people of the area. "We are, however, trying to reconfirm these

Hakimullah Mehsud

reports from other sources." The PTV reported that Mehsud was buried in Mamumzai area of Orakzai agency soon after his death. Mehsud had succeeded as TTP chief after his cousin Baitullah Mehsud who was also killed in a drone attack last summer. Analyst said if reports of Hakimullah's death are true, it would mean a serious setback to the Taliban.

Pakistan, Britain to enhance defence ties Islamabad: Pakistan and Britain have agreed to increase cooperation in the defence sector and to consolidate the close relations between their navies.

The affirmation came during a meeting here Monday between visiting Royal Navy chief Admiral Mark Stanhope and his Pakistani counterpart, Admiral Noman Bashir.

During the meeting, various aspects relating to

further promotion of existing ties between the two navies came up for discussion, Online news agency reported.

Stanhope also attended a briefing on the Pakistan Navy's role in the present regional maritime scenario.

Stanhope lauded the role of the Pakistani armed forces in the war against terrorism and also the efforts of the Pakistan Navy in controlling sea terrorism.

Suicide blast kills 9, injures 15 Peshawar: A suicide bomber on Saturday blew himself up in a crowded market in Pakistan's Bajaur tribal region, killing nine persons and injuring 15 others.

The bomber detonated his explosives when he was stopped by security personnel at a check post in the main market in Khar, the headquarters of Bajaur Agency, witnesses said. Witnesses and local officials said nine persons, including two security personnel, were killed in the attack. Fifteen others,

including several security personnel, were injured.

Officials said the toll could rise, as the market was crowded at the time of the attack. There were also reports of firing following the blast. However, it was not clear who had opened fire.

Personnel from the paramilitary Bajaur Levies and Bajaur Scouts were deployed at the check post in the market. The security forces cordoned off the area after the blast, and launched a search operation.

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

This week meet Dr V D Gorania who will talk about Homeopathic treatments and Mr Bhupendra Makwana who will talk about his trekking adventures and charity work

Sneh Joshi - 020 8518 5500

If you do not have a tv, go to www.tvunetworks.com and watch CB Live on TVU Player Channel 75203

Week commences 6th February 2010 ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

To ask questions please call on: 020 8963 1001

For more information e-mail:

cblive_matv@yahoo.co.uk

Don't miss !!!

Thursday 7pm to 8pm

Only on CB Live - MATV Sky 793 - Thursday 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Get yourself on the guest list If 2010 is the year of your magical wedding to your dream partner, then make sure you don’t miss the event of this decade, SHAADI CHIC! Taking place for one night only at the lavish East Winter Garden in the heart of Canary Wharf on Saturday 20th February 2010, from 7 pm till midnight, this is the ideal opportunity to treat your fiancée to a night she won’t forget and neither will you!

See the pages of the glossy bridal magazines come to life with the exclusive Fashion Show, styled by International beauty sensation Lubna Rafiq. The show also features an exclusive “Mehndi Catwalk” by Pavan, the world’s fastest henna artist, as certified by the Guinness World of records.

The crème de la crème of the wedding industry have colluded to put on a magical experience, a true feast for your senses – showcasing the best of what every dream Asian wedding can offer.

Your Dream Shaadi has teamed up with Asian Voice to offer three lucky readers a pair of FREE tickets to attend this magical event. To enter all you have to do is submit your entry online by visiting http://www.yourdreamshaadi.co.uk/AsianVoice.htm For further information, including directions, ticket sales and fashion show lineup visit www.yourdreamshaadi.co.uk

Amazing predictions Sneh Joshi, the UK’s leading Vedic astrologer, writer and TV personality can answer questions on: ! Health Problems ! Investments ! Married Life ! Children’s matters ! Marriage Compatibility ! Love Affairs ! Court Cases ! Any other problems

Britain's first State-funded Hindu school opens its doors The Krishna Avanti School opened its doors for the first time to the press on Friday 29th January. The School is the first Voluntary Aided Hindu faith school in the country and is recognised as the most eco-friendly.

The School, in the London borough of Harrow is also Britain’s first vegetarian state school.

The heart of the School’s ethos is harmony with the environment, which includes the building, landscape, curriculum and even school meals.

The School has a state-ofthe-art building design with the highest aspirations for sustainability and conservation. It seeks to be an inspirational example of an educational

environment for the future.

It has unique eco-systems including wildlife zones, vegetable, fruit and flower gardens and sedum roofs. The building structure has been built timber structure with timber cladding, rainwater harvesting and ground source heat pumps (which provide 70% of the school's heating).

The School is already highly popular and is vastly oversubscribed. It is an I-Foundation project working since inception with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) as the official Faith Partner. It is one form entry, mixed primary school.

Where is the Ideal Home Show being held in London?

If you give a correct answer you may win 4 passes for your family.

Write to Alka at alka.shah@abplgroup.com with your correct answer and full postal address.

Last day of entry: Monday 8th February 2010

Call 020 8518 5500 and face your future with confidence!

Editor: CB Patel Associate Editor: Anne Hoose Deputy Editor: Rupanjana Dutta Tel: 020 7749 4098 - Email: rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com Senior News Editor: Dhiren Katwa Chief Financial Officer: Surendra Patel Tel: 020 7749 4093 Email: surendra.patel@abplgroup.com Accounts Executive: Akshay Desai Tel: 020 7749 4087 Email:accounts@abplgroup.com Advertising Managers: Alka Shah Tel: 020 7749 4002 - Mobile: 07944 151 893 Email: alka.shah@abplgroup.com Kishor Parmar Tel: 020 7749 4095 - Mobile: 07957 694 909 Email: kishor.parmar@abplgroup.com Advertising Sales Executive: Girish Katira - Email: girish.katira@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4011 Rovin John George - Email: rovin.george@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4097 Nikhil Gor - Email: nikhil.gor@abplgroup.com Tel: 020 7749 4009 Business Development Managers: Urja Patel - Email: urja.patel@abplgroup.com Liji George Tel: 020 7749 4013 - Email: george@abplgroup.com Design and Layout: Harish Dahya & Ajay Kumar Tel: 020 7749 4086 Email: graphics@abplgroup.com Customer Service: Saroj Patel Tel: 020 7749 4080 - Email: support@abplgroup.com (BPO) AB Publication (India) Pvt. Ltd. 207 Shalibhadra Complex, Opp. Jain Derasar, Nr. Nehru Nagar Circle, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad Tel: +9179 2646 Fax: +9179 6061

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Activities and interests that involve co-operation and teamwork are very much in the spotlight. You will be able to further your special aims and objectives by communicating and working closely with others. You will experience some tension in close relationships - take careful stock of things, especially your own attitude.

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21 The work that you are involved with is likely to demand a great deal of your time. This will also involve a lot of moving around and networking for contacts. There is unfinished business to be dealt with. Therefore you will need to adopt a fairly flexible approach in order to accommodate the odd twists and turns of everyday life.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22 Developments during this week are likely to make you feel rather restless, perhaps because you have allowed yourself to fall into a routine that is now becoming jaded. If so, then the hint of change will be extremely welcome. Adaptable and versatile, as you are, it is unlikely that even a major change will faze you.

You will have the distinct feeling that everything is moving ahead at a very satisfying pace. Indeed, you will be in a forward-looking mood, more inclined to reflect on the future and its potentials. The power of destiny is very much in your own hand and any major decision you make will have a profound effect on your future.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 Fortune smiles on the romantically inclined with Mars transiting your sign. You are likely to experience a highly satisfying phase in respect of amorous desires but you may even find yourself in the flattering position of having more than one admirer. For those dissatisfied with their current status, do something positive now.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 Jupiter, the planet of abundance, is transiting your partnership sector. You have plenty of romantic options. At work you will experience a relaxed atmosphere and this will help you to get on with everyone around you. The focus is on finances this week, find new and improved ways to boost your earning potential.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23 Creativity, romance and leisure all receive a tonic. A far more personally enlivening period when you should set out to show the world just who you are. The 'I want' factor seems pretty strong; do avoid making hasty purchases and expensive investments.

Assertive and 'ego' powers are pretty powerful too.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 Give top priority to important written work, official matters and communications. This applies particularly to financial and commercial interests. If you can manage to get away from usual routines, this will have a beneficial effect on your physical and psychological well-being. Loved ones will be looking after you.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 Domestic and family matters are very much to the fore indicating increased harmony and feeling of contentment in your home life. At a more practical level, property matters are under a highly encouraging trend, making this one of the best times for pushing ahead with buying, selling or renovating your property.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 The need to push ahead with personal interests and to assert yourself with added force will take precedence over everything else for some time to come. Mentally you will be in top form, perhaps feeling quite passionate about expressing your ideas and views. It is certainly a good time to get involved in lively debate.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

This is an eventful time for affairs of the heart. The transit of Venus through your sign augurs well for those hoping to meet the right partner. A party that you attend allows you to connect with interesting new people. This is a strong financial period for you, and the way you handle them will stand you in good stead.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

Sun's transit of your 12th Solar House indicates that experience will put you in a deeply reflective mood. This is a favourable time for getting away from usual routines. All the better if you are interested in such things as meditation, yoga and therapies that help you to get in closer touch with your inner self.

TIME

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010 Play Golf” 4 Seceret stores 5 Priest’s robes 6 Ferrigno or Costello 7 Hooter 8 Protective Headgear 9 Enlightened Buddhist 10 Most lofty 11 Latin 101 verb 12 Convene 13 Compensates 19 Ramsay and Pinkerton 21 Creacker Jack bonus 24 Hard Punch 25 Coop flier 26 Decompose 27 Chip away at 30 “Peach Train” singer 31 Giraffe cousin 32 Short and direct 34 Cabernet, e.g.

35 Actress Lupino 37 Take up again 38 1990 W.S. champions 41 Shackle 43 Coin-op eatery 45 Neaten 46 Edit out 48 Road shoulders 50 __-bodied 51 Act 52 Horse do 53 Last of a gand or mob 54 Sicilian volcano 55 Char 57 __we having fun yet?

58 Gun lovers org.

C R O S S W O R D - 73 1

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34 Fierce mythical bird 35 Admission conduit 36 Bill’s partner?

37 Satisfying returns 39 Old seafarer 40 Confused 42 Sphere of the garden 43 Slithery killers 44 Affirmatives 45 Danson or Kennedy 46 Adorable little one 47 Spiny-finned fishes 49 Shoshone 50 Esteemed

53 Kitchen appliances 56 One-time Crimson Tide chief 59 Apportion (out) 60 Carson’s successor 61 Large auk 62 Dancer Pavlova 63 Biblical garden 64 Asparagus unit 65 Russian autocrat Down 1 Celtic neck-ring 2 Bradley or Sharif 3 Author of “How I

Today’s Ratings: 10-average |11-good | 13-outstanding

How many words of four or more letters can you make from the letters shown in today’s puzzle? In making a word, each letter may be used once only.

Each word must contain the central letter. There O should be at least one S L seven-letter word. Plurals, H foreign words and proper names are not allowed.

T O British English Dictionary I is used as reference.

Solution of Spellathon - 72 catch, CHAOTIC, chat, chic, coach, itch, oath

D R E I

R E V S

I A M B S

F L O A T

R H E A

B A L M

O N E S S H A I L E G I S L E

P E R U L E S B E A T A N

Sudoku-73 5 7

5

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6 4 9

I D E S S E R A U N N Y Y E S I O R T S U A B S K I T A N

S P E N D

R E O S

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L I T E

1 2

1

‘Bond, James Bond’ In chemistry, particularly organic chemistry, molecules are drawn using and = to represent covalent bonds between the atoms making amolecule.

20 12

Example

9 Solution of sudoku-72 HOW TO PLAY Each row, column and square 3x3 box is a sub-grid of 9 cells. Fill in the grid so that each subgrid contains the digits 1 to 9. Every puzzle has one solution.

P O S E D A T E

S I S F A E U L D L E E D T H A L E O F T E N

This is a test to gauge your mental flexibility, creativity and cunning. Good Luck (Example_ 16 0 in a P. Answer_ 16 Ounces in a Pound) 44 = FTE

3

9 2

O L I V L S

Solution of 72 :

6

2 8

9

8 7

Railway heritage : From steam to high-speed electric

MINDBENDER - 73

5 2

M I N E L O Y M A N E N O A T E L O S E R E L S T E E O A M L H I V E T H I C A O R U N A B A L A T

4 7 1

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By Dr Anil Mehta

Solution of Crossword-72

SPELLATHON - 73

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Across 1 Kiddies 5 Hilo hello 10 Fill-in 14 Bypass 15 Decrease 16 On the waves 17 Hindu Music 18 WWII fleet admiral 20 Whitecaps 22 Croquet sticks 23 Pi follower 24 Retro VW 26 __Decimal system 28 D-Day craft 29 British rececourse 33 God of love

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PASS

The railway system of Britain is the oldest in the world. It dates from the 18th century when mining wagons were drawn by men and horses along wooden tracks.

However, the advent of real railway came in the early 19th century when a Cornish engineer Richard Trevithic built the first steam loco in 1804, followed by a Northumbrian George Stephenson whose loco pulled the first freight and passenger train in 1825 along nine miles of iron tracks between Stockton and Darlington in NE England achieving a top speed of 15 mph.

The line that heralded the true beginning of the railway era was the first passenger carrying inter-city line, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened in 1830 using Stephenson’s loco ‘Rocket’ achieving a speed of 29 mps. Soon thousands were using the line within weeks enjoying travelling in open wagons. There followed a flurry of rapid expansion and by mid-century there were thousands of miles of tracks and many railroad companies across the country were built such as London to Bristol Great Western Railway built by famous engineer Isambard Brunel in 1841 – the year which also saw the first railway time table produced by George Bradshaw. By 1860s, huge rail terminals like that of London’s St. Pancras were built to manage the rapidly growing rail network.

Indeed, railway stations, tunnels, and bridges are the incredible heritage buildings of Victorian railway engineering.

To avoid road congestion the first underground railway was built in London in 1863, first using steam locos, but later, to avoid fumes and pollution, replaced by electric engines. In fact electric and high-powered diesel locos had replaced steam on many railway lines by mid 20th century providing qui-

eter and healthier j o u r n e y s .

Furthermore, to add to the comfort of passengers, coaches that convert into beds (Pullman coaches or sleepers) were introduced on long distance trains.

Railway had a profound effect on Welcome aboard the Eurostar! the economy and the by the mid-20th, when the social fabric of Britain. It country was almost gripped was absolutely central to the by railway mania. There was spread of the Industrial revoan aura of romance attached lution. Britain couldn’t have to them. ‘Mallard’ at 126 become the dominating ecomph (1938) was the world’s nomic power without the fasted loco. However, soon railway. It opened the path this was coming to an end. for the enormous range of In the following decades road and air transport began to challenge trains resulting in the major cutbacks in the rail network. Despite this the last quarter of the 20th century has seen railway’s fight-back with the development of high-speed trains such as the Channel Tunnel 185 mps Eurostar link between England and France and of commuter trains such as light railway rapid-transit systems (in other words tramway) as an economic George Stephenson, the and effective alternative to father of the railways the high cost of building underground trains. Also industries and local activinew airport style stations ties, providing a reliable dissuch as Manchester tribution of commercial, Piccadilly, and London St. industrial, and fresh food Pancras Euro terminus have and dairy products. It made been built. mass tourism possible and The National Railway opened up a whole new Museum in York is the largest tourism industry. Thomas of its kind in the world coverCook, the pioneer in this ing nearly 200 years of railfield made his fortune by way history and heritage of arranging railway excursions Britain – an absolute must and following his success for railway fans. railway excursions to sport fixtures, concerts, and seaside t o w n s became ever so popular.

Railway reached maturity in the early 20th century and the golden age ‘Mallard’ world’s fastest steam loco

WHATZIT? - 73 Find the familiar phrase, saying or name in this arrangement of letters.

Solution of - 72 : Search high and low

KAKURO - 73

The numbers in the pink squares refer to the sums of the digits that you must fill into the empty spaces directly below or to the right of the pink square containing the number. For instance, in the given example, Solution of KAKURO - 72 the 2 boxes below 12 must contain 2 digits that add upto 12, where9 7 15 3 7 as for 20, the 3 boxes 1 2 1 6 10 18 12 11 places horizontally next 24 to it must add upto 20.

2 7 9 8 4 9 3 8 13 No zeroes are used 10 6 here, only the digits one 1 3 4 2 2 4 16 through nine.

11 8 2 9 18 7 1 19 7 Note: 10 4 1 5 7 8 9 5 A digit cannot appear more than 15 3 9 6 1 2 once in any particular 12 3 12 30 digit combination. For 1 5 13 8 6 7 9 13 5 instance in the exam11 ple, we cannot have 2 1 5 3 1 3 5 2 the combination of 11 9 8+4+8 for 20.

8 1 8 3

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HEALTH WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

Ginkgo may increase epilepsy seizures Restrictions should be placed on the use of Ginkgo biloba - a topselling herbal remedy because of growing scientific evidence that Ginkgo may increase the risk of seizures in people with epilepsy and could reduce the effectiveness of anti-seizure drugs, a new report concludes. It also suggests that Ginkgo may have harmful effects in other people after eating raw or roasted Ginkgo seed or drinking tea prepared from Ginkgo leaves.

The authors note that consumers use pills, teas, and other products prepared from leaves of the Ginkgo tree to treat a wide array of health problems including Alzheimer's and other memory loss, clinical depression, headache, irritable bladder, alcohol abuse, blockages in blood vessels, poor concentration, and dizziness.

Scientific concern focuses mainly on one chemical compound in the herb which is a potentially toxic material known as ginkgotoxin.

They reviewed scientific research on Ginkgo, and found 10 reports indicating that patients with epilepsy who take Ginkgo products face an increased risk of seizures.

They note that laboratory studies explain how Ginkgo could have that unwanted effect.

Ginkgotoxin seems to alter a chemical signaling pathway in ways that may trigger epileptic seizures. Further evidence showed that Ginkgo can interact with anti-seizure medications and reduce their effectiveness.

Meanwhile a US review recently found that mixing some herbal remedies with heart medications may lead to bleeding or a higher risk of heart problems.

Certain herbal supplements and foods — including St. John's wort, garlic and grapefruit juice — can pose serious risks to people taking medications for heart disease, researchers say in the Feb. 9 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The mixing either reduces the effectiveness of conventional medications or increases their potency, the researchers said.

"We can see the effect of some of these herbdrug interactions — some of which can be life-threatening — on tests for blood clotting, liver enzymes and, with some medications, on

electrocardiogram," study author Dr. Arshad Jahangir, a professor of medicine and a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic Arizona, said in a news release.

For example: * St. John's wort, a supplement used to treat depression, anxiety and sleep disorders among other problems, reduces the effectiveness of some medications. This can contribute to recurrences of arrhythmia, high blood pressure or an increase in blood cholesterol levels and the risk of future heart problems. * Ginkgo biloba, which is taken to improve circulation or sharpen the mind, increases the bleeding risk among people taking warfarin or acetylsalicylic acid. * Garlic, which may help boost the immune system and lower cholesterol and blood-pressure levels, can increase the risk of

bleeding among people on warfarin.

About half the patients in the research covered by the review did not tell their doctors they were taking supplements.

The omission is a concern, given that many patients may be on multiple conventional medications, the authors said.

Nor do health-care providers routinely ask about use of supplements. Jahangir and the other authors called for more public education about the risks of herbal supplements, and more research into the effects of natural compounds on heart-disease management.

Douglas MacKay of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group representing the dietary supplement industry, called the article biased. In a written statement, MacKay said that many herbal supplements offer healthful benefits, and the potential risk of drug interactions would be eliminated if patients spoke openly with doctors about supplements.

"If consumers are buying from reputable companies, they can feel confident in the quality and safety of these products," he said.

How breathing deeply can reduce pain Breathing slowly could be as good as some medicines at banishing pain. Taking half as many breaths as normal not only reduces shortterm pain from burns or cuts, but could help thousands who suffer chronic aches in their joints and muscles.

In a new study people were able to put up with

higher levels of pain and for longer if they practised controlled breathing sessions in which they halved their breathing rates.

Most healthy adults take between 12 and 18 breaths a minute. But new research shows that slowing this down to as few as six a minute can have a powerful pain-busting effect. U.S.

researchers studied a group of healthy middle-aged women and a group of women with fibromyalgia a condition that causes pain and for which there is no obvious cause. Taking half the amount of normal breaths, both groups of women rated the pain as less intense than when they breathed normally. One the-

ory is that slow breathing reduces pain by having a direct effect on the sympathetic nervous system fibres in the central nervous system which help to control blood flow and skin temperature.

Studies have shown that dampening down the sympathetic nervous system can block pain.

In Brief: neck pain could be eased by a beam of light, tomatoes slow prostate cancer, and Wii help the elderly Low intensity lasers may help treat neck pain, according to a new Australian study.

Results for the noninvasive treatment were comparable to those for other treatments, including painkillers and antiinflammatories.

In the study, 820 patients with neck pain were given the therapy, which involves firing lowpower laser beams at the back or side of the neck, where the pain is located.

The lasers penetrate the skin to a depth of several centimetres, but are not painful and do not generate damaging heat.

Patients with acute neck pain experienced an immediate reduction in pain, while those with chronic neck pain improved over the five

months following treatment, say the researchers from the University of Sydney, Australia. The treatment works by tackling compounds that cause inflammation.

Eat tomato to slow prostate cancer

progress of prostate cancer. The disease was less likely to spread when patients ate large amounts of these foods, say American researchers.

In the new study, more than 1,000 men with prostate cancer had their post-diagnosis diets examined. Patients who had tomato sauce more than twice a week had a 44 per cent lower risk. Cooked tomatoes contain large amounts of the antioxidant lycopene. This is believed to protect against free radicals, molecules that can damage cells.

Wii helps elderly stay on their feet

Tomato sauce has been shown to help slow the

Using a Wii balance board could reduce the risk of falls among the elderly.

The board, which you stand on, is used with the

Nintendo game console; it works by interpreting your balance and motion as you play a particular game (for instance, downhill skiing).

Now, an Australian study has found it is as effective at identifying people at risk of a fall as existing laboratory-based equipment - at a fraction of the cost. One in three people aged over 65 suffers a serious fall at least once a year. The problem is that the nerves most distant from the brain, such as in the foot, tend to decline in activity as we get older. This makes it harder for the brain to make the split-second adjustments needed to stop the body from toppling over. Those at higher risk can take preventative measures, such as weightbearing exercise.

Eating too many superfoods 'can harm health by overdosing on antioxidants' For years they have been hailed for their apparently age-defying effects on the body. From sweet potatoes to blueberries, from lentils to broccoli, the health conscious couldn't get enough of so-called superfoods. But now it seems you really can have too much of a good thing.

Scientists say the delicate balance of nutrients required by the body could be affected by stuffing it full of the antioxidants contained in the foods.

Nutritionists claim these antioxidants can lengthen your life by cutting the risk of heart disease and cancer. They have even linked them to better sex.

But researchers say too much of the superfoods could mean there are not enough 'pro-oxidants' - usually considered the evil twin of antioxidants - in the body.

While the antioxidants slow down the damage to muscles and other organs by the process known as oxidisation, the pro-oxidants speed it up.

But too many antioxidants can tilt the balance and make it harder for the elderly to breathe and stop them from doing the exercise that could help them stay fit.

The researchers, from Kansas State University in the U.S. tested animals with different doses of antioxidants. Those that

were given too much showed impaired muscle function, reported the study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

Researcher Steven Copp said: 'I think what a lot of people don't realise is that the antioxidant and pro-oxidant balance is really delicate. One of the things we've seen in our research is that you can't just give a larger dose of antioxidants and presume that there will be some sort of beneficial effect. In fact, you can actually make a problem worse.'

Nutrionists claim that antioxidants can slow down and even reverse some of the effects of ageing - which is why foods like blueberries have been hailed for their benefits on dementia victims.

But some of these changes are not good for an ageing body as it stops some of ways in which blood cells flow by taking out the chemicals known as vasodilators which help open blood vessels. This makes older people get out of breath more quickly, for instance, which in turn prevents them from exercise and keeping fit.

Kellogg's to cut the salt in its cereals by a third following pressure from health watchdogs Kellogg's will cut the salt content of its Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and other brands by up to a third following pressure from health watchdogs.

The company has previously delayed the reduction of salt levels, claiming customers enjoy the taste it offers.

However, it has now bowed to pressure from the Government's Food Standards Agency and campaigning health groups to change its recipes.

The FSA says the nation is eating too much salt, which carries a serious health threat.

Average daily salt consumption is 8.6g, which is 43 per cent above the recommended limit of 6g.

The figure is linked to 14,200 premature deaths a year from conditions linked to high blood pressure, including strokes and heart attacks.

Kellogg's said its decision will remove approximately 300 tons of salt a year from the nation's diet.

The decision to cut the salt in Corn Flakes and Rice Krispies by 30 per cent will feed through to reductions in other big-

selling brands such as Crunchy Nut, Frosties, Coco Pops and Rice Krispies Squares.

Head of nutrition at Kellogg's, Alyson Greenhalgh-Ball, said: 'For the past 12 years we've been listening to our shoppers and taken down the amount of salt in our food. We've been doing this slowly so we take people's palates with us and so they don't notice any difference in taste. Since 1998 we've taken over 45 per cent of salt out of our cereals.'

The new recipe Kellogg's Rice Krispies and associated products are already in stores and the reformulated Corn Flakes will be ready in March.

Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of Consensus Action on Salt and Health, said: 'We are thrilled that Kellogg's have finally acknowledged that people don't want salty breakfast cereals.

However, even with the new reductions, Kellogg's breakfast cereals will still have more salt than many others available in the supermarkets, so they still have some work to do.'

Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

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Sport World Zaheer steamrolls B’desh, India snap up 2 – 0 Speedster claims first 10 wickets haul at Mirpur A victory for India was very much on the cards, but nobody could have expected it so soon at Mirpur. Musfiqur Rahim had a role again, ensuring that India didn’t get an innings win.

But the way Shahadat Hossain batted on the 4th day morning, some good challenge for India seemed a real possibility. Hossain did more than what could be expected of a night watchman.

The first hour was definitely for Bangladesh.

Shahadat even had a life, but after the drinks break, Harbhajan drilled the first hole in the home team’s resistance.

And that

Afridi apologies for ball tampering, banned for 2 matches

Shahid Afridi, veteran Pakistani all rounder was banned for two T20 matches after cameras caught him biting the ball during the final stages of Australian innings in the fifth and final ODI at perth.

Even as he apologised, Afridi said ball tampering is nothing new, other teams also try to change the conditions of the ball to help their bowlers. It may be recalled that way back in 2005, he was slapped a ban after being found trying to tamper with the pitch at Faisalabad in a home series against England.

It is learns that the PCB has asked the team management to rush him back to Pakistan, as after the ban, he is not required to be in Australia. The all rounder said what he had done was a “mad thing” and that he would not repeat it.

Zaheer Khan holds the man of the match trophy

opened the floodgates, as lost six wickets for mere 14 runs. Pragyan Ojha scalped two, as Shakib showed some undue

hurry, and after that Zaheer Khan was simply unplayable.

Bangladesh were lucky to escape an innings defeat, as also for the fact that they could stretch the game beyond the first session on the 4th day. But Zaheer need just half an over to send the last man packing and India scored the two runs needed from a bye on the second ball of the innings.

For Zaheer Khan, it was 7 for 87 and 10 wickets in the test match. Kapil Dev has five instances of taking 7 or more wickets in an innings, while Amar Singh, Javagal Srinath and Irfan Pathan have all done

it once each. Pathan’s Vadodara colleague has thus became 9th Indian speedster to claim 7 wickets in a test match innings.

Zaheer has also for the first time captured 10 batsmen in a test match. His efforts in Mirpur and on this tour were rewarded with the double title of “Man of the Match and Series”. {Brief scores: India 544 for 8 dec (Tendulkar 143, Dravid 111 retd hurt, Dhoni 89) and 2 for 0 beat B’desh 233 (Mahmudullah 96*, Ishant 4-66, Zaheer 3-62) and 312 (Tamim 151, Junaid 55, Zaheer 7 for 87) by 10 wickets}

Gayle in OZ with a weakened team Chanderpaul, Sarwan out with injury, 4 others dropped Without the seasoned campaigners Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan as also some other experienced players, Chris Gayle has landed in Australia, leading a weakened team, as Sulieman Benn is also on the injury list, while for other experienced players – Adrian Barath, Daren Bravo, Jerome Taylor and Fidel

Edwards have been omitted.

Clyde Butts, the chairman of selectors said, “We have selected some allrounders who we believe have the ability to be match-winners at the international level.” West Indies start the tour at Melbourne with the 1st ODI, playing the 5th and last at Melbourne again on 19th February and

Yuvi-Dravid injured, to miss 1st Test against SA India has selected two new faces for the first test match against visiting South Africa, which starts from 06 February at Nagpur.

Abhimanyu Mithun, a pace bowler from Karnataka and Wriddhiman Saha, a wicket keeper batsman from West Bengal have been selected in place of injured veterans Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh.

Dinesh Karthik, the second wicketkeeper who played in Bangladesh series has lost his place as Tamil Nadu middle order batsman S Badrinath was called back. Rahul Dravid took a hit on his face, had a fractured jaw while playing in the second test

match at Dhaka. Yuvraj Singh also suffers from a wrist injury, with both the players being advised rest

by Doctors. The South Africans will play two Tests -- Nagpur (Feb 6-10) and Kolkata (Feb 14-18) - and three one-dayers in Jaipur, Kanpur and Ahmedabad during their tour of India.

Team: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, S Badrinath, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (C), Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Pragyan Ojha, Abhimanyu Mithun, Wriddhiman Saha.

than will play two T20s on 21 and 23 February.

West Indies squad Chris Gayle (capt), Travis Dowlin, Runako Morton, Dwayne Bravo, Narsingh Deonarine, Brendan Nash, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Nikita Miller, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach and Gavin Tonge.

B’desh squad reduced to 14 for NZ ODIs

Mashrafe Mortaza was selected for the tour of New Zealand, but fever and being out of action for long led to a decision of Mortaza not being sent to the short tour. The board also said they would not be sending any replacement, leaving the squad reduced to 14.

Shakib will continue to lead the side.

Team: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (vice-capt/wk), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Raqibul Hasan, Mahmudullah, Aftab Ahmed, Naeem Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Nazmul Hossain and Shafiul Islam.

Now, John Terry faces ‘Red Card’ over affairs England soccer captain may lose leader’s spot over the sex scandal Even as the Tiger Woods affair is yet to die down, the golfer seems to have been challenged off the field by John Terry, Chelsea and England football team captain as his sexcapades have been exposed in the British media, with his wife and children having already walked off and she is reportedly seeking divorce. In case of the footballer, the matter is

John Terry

worse as he is believed to have even cheated on his

former team mate, as Terry had an affair with French model Vanesa Per-ron-cel at a time she was dating Terry’s former team mate Wayne Bridge.

Reports in local British media even claim Terry reportedly paid £20,000 to Vanessa to go for an abortion. It is also believed that Terry could better USA golfer Tiger Woods in having sex romps with different women.

Vanessa’s publicist has claimed the French model is in demand from media companies, as there are 6 companies willing to pay her upto £250,000 for telling her story on the Terry affair.

Terry is already linked to 10 girls and this number could be higher. Reports suggest Terry started the love games early, even before he got into a relationship with Toni Poole.

Chidambaram guarantee for OZ, Pak cricketers’ security He is not known to be a keen cricket follower. Yet P Chidambaram, home minister of India has bowled another ‘Googly’ at IPL Chairman Lalit Modi, the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Australian players.

After Shiv Sena threatening the players from the two countries not to play in Maharashtra, now Chidambaram has said he will guarantee full security to them if they come to India and play in Mumbai.

Pakistan cricketers’ NOC for IPL revoked Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) now has burnt the bridge that would have perhaps facilitated their cricketers’ journey back to India this year and healed the wounds inflicted by the IPL row. Even as there were indications that some of IPL teams still had a chance to pick up Pakistan players, the PCB announced last week that all NOCs issued to players for playing in IPL have been rovoked. Media chief of the board, Nadeem Sarwar also said in future, participation of Pakistan players will be decided only on case to case basis, and in consultation with the government authorities concerned.

Iqbal Qasim resigns as PCB chief selector After a very short tenure of less than seven months, chief selector of Pakistan Cricket Board Iqbal Qasim has resigned following Pakistan cricket team’s disastrous tour of Australia. The visitors failed to win a single test match or an ODI. It was one of Pakistan’s most poor show in the recent years. Qasim resigned on Sunday, just minutes after the team lost their last ODI in Perth. He said he is very much disturbed and hurt.

Sania Mirza pulls out of engagement Describing the reason as a mismatch, Sania Mirza, India’s tennis sensation pulled out of her engagement with childhood pal Mohammed Sohrab Mirza.

The two were engaged in July 2009. Mohammed is currently studying business management in UK. Both the families are Hyderabad based and had close relations prior to the engagement. Sania’s father Imran Mirza, who also coaches his daughter and doubles up even as her manager announced the break up of the relationship last week.

Sania did not want to go into the details, but said, “We were friends for half a decade, but found ourselves incompatible during our engagement period. I wish Sohrab the best in life.”

English Premier League Matches Saturday, 6 February Bolton v/s Fulham Burnley v/s West Ham Hull v/s Man City

Reebok Stadium 15:00 Turf Moor 15:00 Kingston Comms Stadium 15:00 Anfield 12:45 Old Trafford 15:00 Britannia Stadium 15:00 Stadium of Light 15:00 White Hart Lane 17:30

Liverpool v/s Everton Man Utd v/s Portsmouth Stoke v/s Blackburn Sunderland v/s Wigan Tottenham v/s Aston Villa Sunday, 7 February Birmingham v/s Wolverhampton St.Andrews Ground Chelsea v/s Arsenal Stamford Bridge Tuesday, 9 February Fulham v/s Burnley Craven Cottage Man City v/s Bolton City of Mcr Stadium Portsmouth v/s Sunderland Fratton Park Wigan v/s Stoke D W Stadium Wednesday, 10 February Arsenal v/s Liverpool Emirates Stadium Aston Villa v/s Man Utd Villa Park Blackburn v/s Hull Ewood Park Everton v/s Chelsea Goodison Park West Ham v/s Birmingham Boleyn Ground Wolverhampton v/s Tottenham Molineux

13:30 16:00 20:00 19:45 19:45 19:45 19:45 19:45 20:00 20:00 19:45 19:45

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Asian Voice - Saturday 6th February 2010

!!!"#$%&'()*%"+),

Aussie complete 5 – 0 whitewash

OZ colts crowned junior World Cup champs Pakistan lose the plot in a tight finish to end runners-up

Pakistan fight back comes to a naught in Perth Though Australia were successful in completing a 5 – 0 whitewash on Pakistan at Perth on Sunday, in the last encounter they had to face a spirited fight back from the visiting team as their run chase had turned a bit tense in the game before a calm Michael Hussey ensured that his team ended a winner. OZ won the fifth and final match by two wickets with just 4 balls left. Apart from skipper Ricky Ponting (55) and Hussey (40 unbeaten) no other batsman was able to cross 30s.

Pakistan were sent packing for 212 runs, but on Sunday, their bowlers, and spinners in particular made life very difficult for the home team.

For Ricky Ponting, it was a welcome sign that he was finding his touch back, as his innings of 55 gave the home team the early initiative.

For Pakistan, their only chance was to overwhelm the home team, bowling them out. They met with some early success, but Ponting was there to keep the innings going.

Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik kept a tight lease over the Australian batting. At 3 for 28 and later 6 for 150, the home team was in danger of

The Australians are all smiles after winning the Under-19 World Cup at Lincoln on January 30

The Australian players with the ODI series trophy at Perth on January 31

being outplayed.

After Ponting, it was Hussey who came to the rescue of the home team and he stayed on till the end, shattering the dreams of Pakistan of even getting a solitary win.

Earlier in the day, Pakistani batsmen made a mess of their chances.

Umar Akmal and Fawad Alam gave some momentum to the innings with half-centuries. Only one other batsman got to double digits and Pakistan were restricted to a score that was well below what they were looking up to.

Pakistan took 17 balls to score their first run and 48 to strike the first four.

Harris, Johnson and McKay each struck in their first overs and a score of 3 for 17 after 13 overs summed up Pakistan’s poor show.

Ryan Harris Man of the Match in fourth game New comer Australia mercilessly ripped through a feeble Pakistan at the WACA to keep alive the prospect of inflicting upon the tourists only their second 5-0 whitewash in ODIs. Michael Hussey and Nathan Hauritz

starred with the bat, before Ryan Harris tore through the batting with a second successive five wicket haul to set up a crushing 135-run win. The rookie was named “man of the match” for his efforts. {Brief scores: 5th ODI - OZ 8 for 214 (Ponting 55, Hussey 40*) beat Pak 212 (Umar Akmal 67, Fawad Alam 63, McKay 435, Harris 3-44) by 2 wickets. 4th ODI - OZ 8 for 277(Hussey 67, Hauritz 53*, Asif 3-42) beat Pak 142 (Umar Akmal 38, Harris 5-19) by 135 runs.}

Pakistan was not lucky enough against Australia even in the junior World Cup cricket, as they lost the title clash in a well fought battle by just 25 runs at Lincoln, New Zealand on Saturday. The Pakistan lads did well to restrict their opponents to 207 runs, and were in contention till around 30 overs of their innings, but finally were allout for 182 runs.

Azeem Ghumman and his team showed some promise, but lost the plot in their chase for scoring 208, Josh Hazlewood’s pace and some accurate spin by his fellow bowlers ensured that Australia became the first juniors team to win the World Cup for a record third time.

Had Pakistan won, they would have also earned the same distinction.

The OZ pacer claimed 4 wickets giving away just 30 runs, while Luke Doran took 3 wickets for 32 runs.

Ahmed Shehzad and Ghumman took the battle to the rival’s court, but both fell after solid dis-

plays to allow Australia the advantage.

Shehzad showed his class with some attracting hits to the fence early in the innings.

Hazlewood claimed the opening wicket and was given the charge in the middle of the Pakistan innings. He had success almost immediately as he claimed Hammad Azam for 0, the first time he has been out in the tournament. Pakistan were 111 for 5 and had a further concern in the changing weather, with the wind starting to blow hard and disrupting play on a handful of occasions.

Pakistan made an excellent start when Nic Maddinson was lbw to Fayyaz Butt on the fifth ball and in the next over Tom Beaton glided Sarmad straight to Babar, who took a sharp catch above his head at second slip. {Brief scores: OZ 207 for 9 (Richardson 44, Sarmad Bhatti 3-33) beat Pak 182 (Ghumman 41, Hazlewood 4-30, Doran 3-32) by 25 runs}.

Federer, Serena are Australian Open champs Roger Federer claimed his 16th grand slam title when he beat Britain's Andy Murray 6-3 6-4 7-6 in the final of the Australian Open on Sunday. Justin Henin of Belgium made a stunning comeback, as she went up to the finals of women’s singles, ultimately losing to the US veteran Serena Williams on Saturday.

Henin went down 4 – 6, 6 – 3 and 2 – 6.

In the doubles events, Leander Paes of India, playing with Cara Black of Zimbabwe, the top seeded pair took the mixed doubles crown, while Williams sisters – Serena and Venus of USA took the women’s doubles crown on Friday. In the men’s doubles, it was

Leander Paes – Cara Black bag the mixed doubles crown again an American pair and that too siblings who took the title.

Murray had been attempting to become the first British man to win a grand slam since Fred Perry captured the 1936 US Open.

The world number one, however, was ruthlessly efficient in dismantling the Scot's game, racing into a two-set lead after he broke serve twice in the opener and once in the second.

Murray held a 5-2 lead in the third and with the crowd finding their voice for the 22-year-old, he seemed to be on the verge of mounting a fightback.

Federer though upped his game to level at 5-5 and then forced a tiebreak which he eventually sealed 13-11 when Murray's backhand hit the net.

Paes – Cara Black take the mixed doubles crown Leander Paes, partnering Cara Black of Zimbabwe beat their unseeded rivals Ekaterina Makarova of Russia and Czech Jaroslav Levinsky 7-5 6-3.

The Indian veteran dedicated his 11th grand slam doubles title to the betterment of tense relations between Indians in Australia and the locals.

Paes has equalled the success of his estranged

India's Leander Paes and Cara Black of Zimbabwe hold the champion's trophy at Melbourne on January 31

men’s doubles partner Mahesh Bhupathi in claiming 11 grand slam victories.

Overall, it was his 21st final and 11th win. With Cara Black, it was his sixth grand slam, fourth final and second title. He has six men’s doubles titles under

his belt, while it is his 2nd Australian Open mixed doubles title, the earlier one being the 2003 conquest, playing with legendary Martina Navratilova.

Serena William and Venus William of America

have won the women’s doubles title as they defeated Zimbabwe's Cara Black and America's Liezel Huber in the final on Friday.

The defending champions William sisters defeated the top seeded duo of Cara-Liezel in straight sets by 6-4 6-3 in 86 minutes to win their 11th career Grand Slam crown.

Twins Bob and Mike Bryan of USA combined for their fourth Australian Open title, a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3 win over Daniel Nestor of Toronto and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic.

Roger Federer claimed his 16th grand slam title when he beat Britain's Andy Murray 6-3 6-4 7-6 in the final of the Australian Open on Sunday.