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Manmohan Singh reshuffles cabinet; drops tainted ministers

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VOL 40. ISSUE 11

Murder on Honeymoon The mystery continues

Tongo confessed to the murder and implicated Dewani in return for a plea bargain that saw seven years knocked off his 25-year sentence.

Continued on page 4

It is a welcoming change to see that the Economist is now praising the shine and glory of Gujarat. Till now, they were deliberately ignorant towards the visible progress made by the state of Gujarat, that often awes many. The magazine continuously criticised the state and drew narratives from the Godhra incident, which has of course earned its due justice.

However, recently the Economist carried an article in its July 9th edition suggesting Gujarat as India’s Guangdong, a Chinese province famous for industrial locomotive.

16th July to 22nd July 2011

LAW

The article is in fact contradictory to the usual antiGujarat articles!

The negative views on

Gujarat by this most widely read weekly has

always been opposed by Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar. It was never taken into consideration, but the rapid progress by the state has now compelled “The Economist” to change their views.

It is a pleasure to see Gujarat being acknowledged for its due, after decades. At last they see the shine, sheen, speed, spunk and success of Gujarat under the leadership of Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Continued on page 26

SOC IE

0800 118899 Email: mpatel@levenes.co.uk Website: www.levenes.co.uk Ashley House, 235-239 High Road, Wood Green, London N22 8HF

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Contact Mr. Mitesh Patel, Solicitor No Win No Fee

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Gujarat's progress finally wins the heart of 'The Economist'

TH

The daily newspapers have reported that murder suspect Shrien Dewani allegedly sent texts plotting to kill his wife - while she was sitting next to him looking at honeymoon photos, after Channel 4 broadcasted the Dispatches programme on Monday 8pm.

Zola Tongo alleged that Shrien (pictured) negotiated on his mobile phone to kill his Swedish-born bride Anni, 28, as they were chauffeured from a South African safari park.

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

one to one Keith Vaz MP with

Kanika Chandok, Musician and Designer 1) What has inspired you in your career as both a musician and a designer?

With regard to music, it is something I have nurtured ever since I was a child, and I’ve had a strong backing of years in vocal training. In fashion terms, since I traveled a lot and was exposed to world-class designers and honing in on their creative energy, I felt I should give something back to the fashion community. Hence, my design label was born; an amalgamation of western sensibility and Indian influences and artisanship. I believe it was my eye for detail that made me realize I had a flair for it. Fortunately, my travels to the Far East and to fashion capitals such as Paris and Milan gave me an insider’s perspective to the competitive world of design. I now head the fashion house that was originally started by my mother. I had the perk of growing up in Lucknow, which is known for its unique embroidery, craftsmanship, Mughal influences and inimitable textiles.

2) What are your proudest achievements?

in my life. It is only now that my children are grown up enough to attend full time school that I have had some time to dedicate towards pursuing my career and goals.

At the end of the day, I wouldn’t give my family up for anything so it is rather about organising oneself to make sure that the ‘quality’ time is always there.

Starting a family, first and foremost. Other proud achievements are migrating to a new country and making a successful family and professional life in UK, taking over the reins of the fashion house started by my mother, and working on my soon to launch debut album.

3) Please tell us about your current role with Emilio Pucci?

I have been a very loyal client of the fashion house for many years, and over time have developed a close relationship with them. I host quite a few parties at the Emilio Pucci London boutique, as well as sit front row at all their fashion shows.

When they discovered that I am a mother and an Indian singer, they were keen to work on exclusive collaborations with me. I can’t divulge too much information at this time but watch this space!

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

I have been incredibly lucky in all my endeav-

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

ours but if I was to identify a mere struggle in my career then I would have to say that juggling my time between family life and work as the biggest obstacle. My family is everything to me and therefore it was inevitably going to be the big priority

Type 2 Diabetes is Reversible!

According to recent research by Prof Roy Taylor at Newcastle University’s Magnetic Resonance Centre, type 2 diabetes can be reversed in recently diagnosed patients (diagnosed within the last four years).

They stuck to a 600 calorie a day diet, eating only non-starchy vegetables and diet drinks for eight weeks, and seven out of eleven people were rid of their diabetes three months later, when they had returned to eating a normal healthy, balanced diet. Prof Roy Taylor, the lead author of this study, says “there is potential for people with longer-standing diabetes to turn things around too."

It is already known that type 2 diabetes can be controlled with a low calorie and low carb diet, and that people who occasionally fast for a day are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. With 2.5 million type 2 diabetics in the UK this breakthrough has huge implications for diabetes care, especially considering the news that the

NHS is facing a “diabetes bombshell”, because current patients are not receiving the proper care, and poorly treated diabetes can lead to blindness, heart disease and kidney failure. Prof Keith Frayn from the University of Oxford says, “It offers great hope for many people with diabetes.”

Four out of the eleven people in the study still had diabetes after three months; this is because every individual has a different susceptibility to diabetes. This susceptibility will also influence whether or not this reversal of type 2 diabetes is permanent. This diet is extremely low calorie and could be difficult to stick to, and it may not be suitable for everyone; the director of Diabetes UK, Dr Iain Frame says “Such a drastic diet should only

be undertaken under medical supervision”. The MRI scans of participant’s shows decreased levels of fat in both the pancreas and the liver; the results showed amazing health benefits.If you are concerned about being at risk from diabetes, the charity Silver Star could help you.

Silver Star is a registered charity, which campaigns to provide diabetes awareness that was launched in January 2007.

The Charity runs Mobile Diabetes Units (MDU).

The main role of the MDU is to carry out important diabetes testing and to promote culturally sensitive healthcare in the major towns and cities of Britain. There are currently over 2.8 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK and another over 1 million people who have type 2 diabetes but do not yet know it. If you would like the Silver Star Mobile Diabetes Unit to visit your organisation or place of work please contact Silver Star on 0845 094 9933 or by email on health@silverstaruk.org.

My mother. She is such a formidable woman and role model who perfectly balances family life with a successful career.

She has also always encouraged me to follow my dreams wholeheartedly and supports me unconditionally.

6) What is the best thing about your current position?

To have put my role as a mother first, and to have now reached the stage

whereby I can focus wholeheartedly on my career (now that my children are in full time schooling).

7) And the worst?

Not having enough hours in the day to work, plan and more importantly think!

Sometimes it can be brain overload but I guess that’s part and parcel of everyones life especially when you are performing dual or trio roles…!

8) What are your long term goals?

To be a world famous singer and for my fashion house to make its mark on the international fashion scene.

People ■ Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan performed at Leicester de Montfort Hall playing Qawwalis immortalised by his uncle such as Dum Mast Kalandar and Akhiyan Udeek Diyaan as well as recreating his own Bollywood hits such as Dil To Bacha Hai Ji and Tere Mast Mast Do Nain.

■ Moni Varma the Veetee tycoon is planning to expand his rice empire with a take-over of Sharwoods, owned

by Premier Foods.

■

Nina Wadia, the Eastenders star, was one of the judges at the annual Lyca Tiffin Cup in the Houses of

9) If you were Prime Minister, what one thing would you change?

I would reverse the current speed at which austerity measures and public service cuts are being introduced in UK. 10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figures would you like to spend your time with and why?

Mahatma Gandhi for his sheer passion to unite and his concept of oneness and peace l Marilyn Monroe as she was the epitome of style and womanhood l Celine Dion for her ability to cross-cultural boundaries through her artistic flair, music and likeability l

Nina Wadia

Parliament. She joined top Chefs in sampling food from South Asian restaurants put forward

by MPs across the country to find the winner, St Leonard’s based Taj Mahal nominated

by Amber Rudd MP.

■ Adrian Sanders MP was this week reelected as Chairman of the Diabetes All Party Parliamentary Group

An evening with Morari Bapu promoting Charity Akshayapatra - Tanveer Mann On Monday 11th July, the Akshaya Patra Foundation UK hosted an event at the Excel ICC Auditorium to raise funds for the charity Akshayapatra. With discourse by Morari Bapu, the event was eye-opening and visitors listened on with enthusiasm (full report next week). Akshaya Patra is the world's largest NGO run mid-day meal program and feeds about 1.3 million underprivileged school children in India everyday. Their mission is to try and feed 5 million school children in India, on a daily basis, by 2020. For this however, the charity requires the help of dedicated individuals who have compassion to donate small amounts of money, to feed these children. The evening proved to be a success and the charity managed to collect pledges to sponsor one school for an entire year for £2500 as well as some pledging ten schools for the year (£25,000). The outpouring of generosity did not stop there however, as

visitors donated large sums of money, some ranging from £10 all the way up to £1000, through donation envelopes and cash donations. Up until last evening £437,500 was pledged to Akshayapatra.

A strong message that hung over the evening were the words of Morari Bapu, who said “You should have pain in your heart for people that are suffering (Samvedna/sympathy). If you have 'samvedna' then you physically do something to help those people. By 'dan' (donating) you are not doing somebody a favour, it is in fact your duty to do so. To give is always shubh (pure)."

Bapu's words strongly influenced many of those attending. Vidul Vithlani, a young boy with strong spiritual beliefs, attended the event in the hope to learn from the wisdom of such a strong leader like Morari Bapu, and to increase his own understanding in human good. He said “my eyes have been opened to the unfortunate and dire circumstances that children in India live through on a daily

basis. And after listening to Bapu I've realised that as a human being I have no excuse for not contributing and helping in every possible way I can. Having a stable life, and a warm home are gifts that I should appreciate but at the same time, I should use every iota of my potential to help others who aren't as fortunate as me”.

Not only was he mesmerised by Bapu's words, he felt an impulse to make a change immediately, saying that he “truly felt a burning desire (samvedna) to change the situation and felt it's his duty (dharma) to help in whatever way he could”.

Vidul was only one of the many young people who attended the evening and the charity was extremely delighted to have seen such young people gathering to contribute to such a wonderful cause.

If you wish to donate to Akshayapatra, see www.akshayapatra.co.uk or call their freephone line on 0300 365 9935 or email Dipika@akshayapatra.co.uk

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

COMMENT

Not to malign but to praise Gujarat and its chief minister, Narendra Modi, have long been the target of media brickbats in Britain, the US, and from sections of India's mainly English-language print media. Much of this hostility stems from a simplistic reading of the communal violence between Hindus and Muslims in March 2002. While this cannot be swept under the carpet, an inflammatory one-sided account of the tragedy does no service to the truth or to the healing based on lessons to be learned. Only through this process can a healthy and durable peace endure and the troubled past put behind us.

Thankfully we appear to be on the cusp of changing perceptions, one that highlights the unfolding canvas of unique economic achievements propelled by efficient administration and good governance for which Mr Modi deserves much credit. He has led from the front, taking the rough with the smooth with quiet aplomb. Deeds not words would tell the Gujarat story, and so it has proved.

Indian and foreign businessmen, their feet firmly planted on the ground, began to proclaim Gujarat's manifold successes. The Economist, long a talisman of the international business community, has put the state under close critical scrutiny and come up with fulsome praise of its decade-old record and its chart to future growth and prosperity. This is a welcome contrast to its earlier, relentless censure of Mr Modi and his works. We had cause to write to The Economist correcting its misperceptions. There is joy at a repenting sinner! Hopefully, The Daily Telegraph, which published a lot of guff about how the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat (now under construction) was being carried out at the expense of poverty alleviation, will also see the error of its ways.

We have made a forceful representation to the paper on its biased reporting of the subject.

The Economist set the scene: “So many things work properly in Gujarat that it hardly feels like India.” A trifle superficial this, for without a working Indian platform, warts and all, the speed of Gujarat's progress would have slowed. No matter, let Tbe Economist proceed. “In a factory packed with kit from Germany and China, slabs of rubber and bags of

carbon black are turned into tyres. After being xrayed for imperfections, they will be distributed across India or sent for export within three days.

Sandeep Bhatia, a manager for CEAT, the firm that owns the project, says it took only 24 months to complete, including the normally fraught process of buying land. There is constant electricity, gas and abundant water. The state government, he says, kept red tape to a minimum, did not ask for bribes, and does not interfere much now.”

Social transformation driven by new economic forces were visible everywhere. Village folk work for small industrial firms for a 50 per cent higher wage than they would get in the fields. “Gujarat accounts for 5 per cent of India's population but 16 per cent of its industrial output and 22 per cent of its exports.....It might yet play the role of industrial locomotive for the country, as Guangdong province did for China in the 1990s. There is lots of excited talk about exporters switching from China to India.

Sanjay Lalbhai, the chairman of Arvind, a textiles maker and clothing retailer based in Ahmedabad, says such a thing is 'imminent'.”

Agriculture is developing appreciably, thanks largely to the massive Sardar Sarovar Narmada project which has begun greening what was previously parched land. The hostility of the Western media to this life-giving project, working in tandem with vested Indian interests, may now be history, but its lessons should not be forgotten. Falsehoods, written and spoken, were used to discredit Gujarat.

The Economist concludes: “Gujarat could be a vision of India's future, in which manufacturing flourishes, soaking up rural labour.” Whether Narendra Modi stands as the leader of the opposition BJP, as The Economist suggests he will, should become clear in the fullness of time, but he has made development the heart of his political message. This message is now being taken up successfully by Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of a formerly woebegone Bihar, and by Mamata Banerjee, the newly elected chief minister in West Bengal, where previous communist misrule had reduced its economy to a shambles. The Modi development model is an idea whose time has surely come.

Murdoch saga takes toll of political reputations “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” pronounced Lord Acton. His moment of prophecy has been recycled into self-evident adage.

Public reputations rise with the tide of popular acclaim; as it ebbs so, too, do the reputations. Some lie forgotten and neglected, others are knocked off their pedestal by the general opprobrium. Rupert Murdoch's fall from grace has been swift and remorseless. His media empire straddled continents and seemed immune to the ravages of time. Political leaders in Britain (and America and the rest of the English-speaking world) courted him and sought his favours. They believed (often wrongly) that his tabloids could determine who left 10 Downing Street and when and who were to be its occupants and for how long. Public reputations were made and unmade on a whim, the methods of small account to the populace at large for whom this was territory where angels feared to tread.

Private phones were hacked with gay abandon, text message were plugged with little regard for propriety and lies came off the assembly lines marketing Mr Murdoch's many products. The seedy revelations, which grow by the hour and day, shock and repel. No

individual or institution was sacred from the intrusions of Mr Murdoch's minions. The Queen and the royal household were fair game, so were the bank and medical records of Gordon Brown's family when he was chancellor of the exchequer. The same was true of Milly Dowler, the murdered schoolgirl and her distraught parents, and those bereaved by the July 7 (2005) terrorist bombings in London and by the activities of Taiban insurgents in Afghanistan.

Significant sections of the country's police were seemingly in Mr Murdoch's employ, thanks to hefty bribes, perks and perquisites. John Yates, Assistant Commissioner, Scotland Yard faces a grilling before a parliamentary select committee hearing. Britain has been reduced to a vast swamp of corruption, and fear of retribution from the tentacles of the Murdoch empire.

The hubris of its work culture guaranteed outrage after outrage. But the Milly Dowler affair and its aftermath hopefully ends the evil spell. Mr Murdoch was accustomed to meet power with power, but now he has only diminishing power to command. His American biographer, Michael Wolff, told his BBC interlocutor that his subject's endgame had arrived.

Temple and its hoard The Hindu Padmanabhaswamy temple in the Southern Indian state of Kerala, near the state capital Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), has yielded an astonishing and unsuspected treasure-trove of gold and jewellery worth an estimated ￡12-14 billion. The snakes and curses allegedly guarding the hoard can be ascribed to the overheated imagination of reporter Nicola Smith, writing in The Sunday Times. A member of the team that prised open the door to the temple's chambers, said: “We entered in pairs. And shone our torches in the room and it was amazing. There are just no words to explain it. It was full of gold chains the same height as me. There were heavy belts of gold ornaments and precious stones. There were steps leading into a smaller room where gold coins were scattered all over the floor.”

Among the treasure hidden beneath the temple were Napoleon-era gold coins, diamonds and gold statues of the temple deity Lord Vishnu.

On due reflection it is a wonder that certain places of worship among all faiths are the reposito-

ries of fabulous wealth. Yet the scriptures teach us that such things are as impermanent as human life itself, that true believers have no need for such baubles, that the pure in heart and spirit have consolations that transcend the material.

Ooman Chandy, Kerala's chief minister, has said that the artefacts will be protected by the state at the temple. “This means that that no non-Hindu will get the chance to see the treasure” is Nicola Smiths's preposterous interpretation. The Taj Mahal is also a protected site, does this mean that it is off-limits to non-Muslims?

The good news is that the head of a former local royal family has renounced any claim to the treasure. “The royal family is not claiming anything. No part belongs to the family,” said K.K.Venugopal, the lawyer representing the erstwhile rulers of the princely Travancore state. Mr Venugopal said the head of the Travancore princely family Marthanda Varma believed the treasure “should be used judiciously for religious and social purposes” such as building hospitals and schools. Enough said.

www.abplgroup.com

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Thought for the Week We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.

- Charles Kingsley (1819-1875)

Political Sketchbook Alpesh Patel’s My Faith Restored in newspapers and the big society In a week when our faith in newspapers is shaken, let me write something no one is supposed to write – something in praise of a newspaper - this newspaper.

If you read this on Saturday – then you will be reading it on my 40th birthday. A funny thing happens when you turn 39years+366days – you get a note from Facebook asking if you would like to celebrate by promoting a cause and encouraging your Facebook friends to donate.

You will recall in my last column I complained that an invitation for a charity event on July 21st for British Asian Trust I am hosting was rebuffed by one person who considered it ‘spam’ and so my faith in the Big Society was shaken.

But let me, as is befitting a birthday, give you a more uplifting message of the past month. A year ago almost to the exact day my grandmother, Sushilabhen R Patel, passed away. Well before I was born she knew the editor of this paper – and that was well before he was a newspaper owner. They lost contact. In 1994 when CB Patel was running a campaign to save the Hare Krishna Mandir, I wrote a letter and faxed it to the paper. CB (or Chandrakantbhai as I would address him) read it, and called my home. My grandmother took the message and old acquaintances renewed their friendship. She asked me, ‘people won’t laugh at what you’ve written will they’ – so protective of me was she.

I have in the past three weeks MC’d, compered, been auctioneer at three charity events. At two CB has been present and at the one he was not present –but the paper was represented. My faith is restored because thanks to my grandmother I am where I am. My faith is restored because thanks to CB Patel, we as a community are where we are. I have seen this first hand.

For Akshaya Patra this paper promoted the big society event which raised over £50,000 from a room of just 70 people to feed children in over 25 schools for a whole year in India. CB Patel was there when I asked why it takes a few dozen Indians in Britain to feed the children of a billion Indians when India has a few dozen billionaires. That event restored my faith.

The next event was for Northwick Park’s Research Institute which raised funds for heart and stroke research; if you are an Indian in Britain you are 50% more likely to suffer a stroke and these people are researching how to reduce that likelihood. My faith was restored when I asked the audience ‘’why the native English are helping in research for our community?’ when both our communities raised thousands in an auction. This newspaper was there to cover it. The Attorney General saluted us.

The next event was another for Akshaya Patra in the presence of Morari Bapu. We raised over £200,000 to feed children in over 100 schools in India. CB Patel and this paper were there again.

My faith was restored when I was at a guest at the GOAL UK Ball – when I asked, ‘why is an Irishman for 27 years looking after the children from my beloved India?’

My faith was restored when they told me how they raised £38,000. And my faith is restored that I can write about it, that newspapers do campaigns and these campaigns uplift us and deliver on the Big Society.

Alpesh Patel Facebook: alpeshp1 Blog: www.alpeshblog.com

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LEICESTER VOICE/UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

Facing justice, recycling boss who dumped 100,000 tyres A company director has appeared in court after repeatedly ignoring warnings to remove a mountain of 100,000 tyres.

Abdul Jabbar, director of Lessa Tyre Recycling Ltd, admitted five charges in relation to the case, at Tameside magistrates court, reported Manchester Evening News.

His company, based at Hertford Street, Ashton under Lyne, advertises itself as a tyre recycling and disposal firm. Between 2009 and 2010, around 100,000 tyres were illegally brought on to the site without the correct environmental permit.

But despite orders from the Environment Agency and Tameside magistrates, they were allegedly not moved.

Jabbar, of Henley Avenue, Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, pleaded guilty to three charges of operating without a permit and failing to comply with orders to remove the tyres which were issued by the Environment Agency and the court.

He also admitted two similar charges brought against the company for operating without a permit and failing to comply with an enforcement notice served by the agency. The court heard he had not been on the site for months and had not been in contact with the landowners, Britannia Pension Fund, who may now have to pay for the removal.

The 49-year-old claimed he had been misled by a business partner

and was now struggling financially.

Magistrates declined jurisdiction and adjourned the case to be dealt with at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester on August 11.

Chairman of the bench Brian Goodhand said: "Mr Jabbar has been before the courts on previous occasions and given opportunities to clear the site. He failed.

"It costs at least £1.50 for a motor trader to dispose of a spent tyre.

"Therefore just using simple maths it’s going to cost at least £150,000 to shift these tyres and dispose of them properly.

"We consider the matter very serious."

Colourful, Cultural, Chaos at the Leicester Mela 2011 Leicester held its 25th annual Leicester Mela on Sunday 10th July, gathering more than 30,000 excite d people in the city centre, to take part in the exquisite celebrations.

With an array of entertainment lined up especially for the people of Leicester, the day proved to be a huge success. Special appearances by well-renowned performers such as Panjabi Hit Squad, Ash King, Bonafide, Arjun and Dj Kayper, performing some of their most successful hits, added an extra spark of excitement to the day.

Not forgetting however, the beautifully attired dance troupes, traditional bhangra dancers, enthusiastic drummers and dhol players who were welcomed by an appreciating audience in Humberstone Gate.

Amongst the enthusiasts at the Mela was mother and daughter, Jayshree and Reshna Chandarana, who felt the mela was “fantastic” and actually “better than every before” and 72-year-old Sheila Dent, from Beaumont Leys, Leicester. She spoke of the Mela positively, with much emphasis on the entertainContinued from page 1 Shrien Dewani, the 31year-old care home boss from Bristol, is being held at a secure mental health unit. His lawyers are due back in court on Monday next week as he fights extradition to South Africa.

Though earlier reports by several media had suggested that the killers probably tried to rape Mrs Dewani (pictured) and by mistake shot her, now apparently reports show Mrs Dewani was not sexually assaulted or raped.

She was shot through the hand and neck, possibly as she lay face down in the taxi.

A male prostitute calling himself the "German Master" who claims he had sexual liaisons with Dewani featured in the programme.

Dewani has dismissed claims that he was secretly homosexual as "ludicrous". The prostitute sold his story to the Sun. The Dewanis are confident that the claims of the German Master are easily demolished and that so far all the allegations made by

ment, which she said was “lovely with all the colours...I've been here for three hours and I've really enjoyed it”.

Originally, the festival had started out as a small event hosted in Belgrave and was specifically for the local community. But the festival's popularity quickly grew as it caught the attention of people all over the city, and thus it was moved to the city centre.

The Mela hosted numerous dif-

ferent stalls in the bustling market, but what was most successful was the deliciously, tasty food from Bobby's restaurant. The owner, Enna Lakhani, was present to personally hand out plates of spring rolls, samosas, chilli chips, noodles and other tasty bites.

By the figures of people that attended the mela, the day evidently proved to be a huge success for all ages and will thoroughly be one to remember.

Murder on Honeymoon

South African police are circumstantial.

The defence insist Mrs Dewani was the victim of a carjacking, arranged by Tongo, and that she may have been accidentally shot by one of the carjackers as he tried to rape her.

Mrs Dewani's sister, Ami Denborg, told Dispatches how the British businessman's refusal to have sex with his brideto-be caused concern.

Ms Denborg said: "Personally I think it was quite strange if the guy says that he doesn't want to have sex before marriage.

"On the other hand in our culture it's very respectful if you don't want to and Anni accepted that and so did we.

"A couple of weeks before the wedding she threw her ring back at Shrien and explained that she didn't want to get married.

"She called me and talked to me about it and I thought 'ok are you sure

you're not just stressed out because of all the arrangements' and it ended up her realising maybe it was stress and after a couple of days she went back to him."

Sources close to Dewani said the couple always kissed and made up.

Mrs Dewani's father Vinod Hindocha told national dailies: "During the wedding everything looked okay, but she came to me a couple of times and tells me, 'Papa, why is he pushing me away or ignoring me'.

I said because 'You both are so tense about the wedding and all that'.

Hasmukh Velji Shah, on behalf of Shrien's family told Asian Voice, "Shrien and the Dewani family share the immense pain of the Hindocha family in Anni’s tragic loss at the prime of her time.

Under legal advice, quite rightly, they are prevented from responding to any of the spurious slurs which are being promoted by the

sensationalist media who prefer a “good story” to the truth.

The South African police have declined to interview either Shrien or any member of his family.

Instead they prefer to extradite him to a country where two others in the case claim that they have been tortured, where he would not get bail and so would be imprisoned before any trial (which could take years) in a system that their own Inspecting Judge describes as “shockingly inhumane” and where the notorious prison gangs spread HIV through raping new vulnerable inmates.

Perversely it is the continued media attention fuelled by interested parties without the full picture (there are always two sides) in this case which is most likely to jeopardise the chances of any fair trial in any country. This will only result in a neither family finding the truth of this most tragic incident.

We continue to pray for Anni’s peace and that of both families."

In brief

Toddler drowns in Esporta health club swimming pool

A toddler has drowned in the swimming pool of a private health club, police confirmed today.

It is believed the 20-month-old girl Zainab Yusuf wandered off alone and within moments somehow got into the pool at the Esporta fitness centre at the Lowry Outlet Mall in Salford Quays, Greater Manchester.

The child was rushed to hospital after the incident, which happened at around 4.40pm on Sunday, but doctors were unable to save her.

Police confirmed there are no suspicious circumstances and the incident appears to have been a tragic accident.

Police visit mosques & temples in effort to suppress fear of gold thefts

Police have tried to suppress fears of gold thefts in Loughborough by visiting temples and mosques in the area, after the asian community raised their concern of the possibility of being targeted for their jewellery and gold. They have expressed their concern to the police, following a rise in the value of gold, which they fear will make them even more vulnerable to attack.

Although gold thefts seldom occur in Loughborough, officers felt that it was important to reassure the community and ensure that they and their jewellery are kept safe. Consequently, the Police arranged a series of visits to mosques and temples around Loughborough, promoting various forensic marking products, such as Smart water, and have also said that they will visit people at their home's to advise them on how best to keep their home safe.

Police officer Sgt. Day Gray said: “The police in Loughborough are encouraging as many people as possible to use forensic marking products such as Smart water or SelectaDNA...We’ve had a very positive response to all our visits and...will use the money to buy more discounted packs so that we can expand our visits to cover churches and other community centres in the near future.”

University joins forces with LABA

A university is strengthening its business links by striking up an alliance with the Leicestershire Asian Business Association (LABA).

Senior staff from the University of Leicester will work with LABA in a variety of academic and business activities.

As part of the new pact, LABA's Indo British Trade Council will host a buyer and seller conference at the university from August 30 to September 1, involving British and Indian companies working in the food and drinks industry. The three-day event, the first of its kind in Europe, will address issues such as meeting international legislation, new business models, distribution and sourcing, quality control and cost. LABA president Jaspal Minhas told a local paper: "This business consortium has the acumen to achieve much for many".

Students discouraged to go into industry

Business owners have accused the education system for the shortage of workers, with the necessary skills needed in the engineering field. Caterpillar, a construction machinery manufacturer, have said that it is for this reason that they decided to set up an academy at their huge factory complex in Desford, reports Leicester Mercury.

The academy hopes to cater for 225 students a year, with a 100 18 and 19 year olds already signed up. The students will receive a salary of £11,000 alongside their year-long course and will be awarded a NVQ Level 3 qualification once they have completed it. The most talented performers will then be chosen to work at Caterpillar as an employee, while others will have a qualification which will help them secure a job elsewhere.

Mohan Jassi, Managing Director of sheet metal manufacturer Carlton Laser Services, in Hamilton, can empathise with other business leaders as the company had to end its own apprenticeship scheme 10 years ago as it could not attract youngsters with the right requirements. He believes that it was because the brightest students were encouraged to go into finance and law, and discouraged to enter the manufacturing sector.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

5

Role, power and importance of media discussed Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar have always been very proactive towards organising exclusive networking events, that are often proven very helpful for the community. One such initiative that Asian Business Publications Limited (ABPL) has recently taken is to welcome people who are worth cultivating, every first Thursday of a month. The first such networking lunch was organised at Karma Yoga House on Thursday 7th July and the Guest of Honour was Padmajaji, Press and Information First Secretary, Indian High Commission. The afternoon was presided by Lord Navnit Dholakia.

It was not only a greet and meet with the dignitary but also it was an opportunity for other invited guests to meet each othera platform for growing relation and future deals.

Padmaja ji joined as the Press and Information Secretary at the India House recently. She is in charge of looking into India Digest, the newspaper published by India House and co-ordinates with the Media present in the UK and India on behalf of the Indian government.

took long for Britain to gain its faith in the media after Diana's death caused by the chasing Paparazzi.

But the News of the World phone hacking has again spoilt the name of the media amongst its readers.

However Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar is not here to criticise people but acknowledge them for their commitment and contribution to the community.

There was a time in Britain when Indians and Blacks were not welcomed everywhere. But today,

Padmajaji speaking to the audiencce, as Lord Dholakia looks on

good in London. It snowed quite a bit in winter and I enjoyed every bit of it and I must say London has the most beautiful spring.

Indian diaspora here is so large and doing so well.

They are achieving so much. They derive the food from their roots and grow and flourish here In Britain. They remain connected, like the upper most leaves on a tree that never see the roots, yet draw their food from there.

Many Indian diaspora

not negating the negatives, but we want to highlight the positives first...

I met Lord Dholakia at a gathering and I did not know he was a lord. He was extremely humble as he introduced himself and I am grateful for that.

Thank you Lord Dholakia for being present today.”

CB Patel, Publisher of Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar said, “Britain and Dhaka always had a love hate relationship like Britain and France. What was the image of India in the British media before? The transformation credit goes to Indian people here and not the Indian government. Despite of Indian government's hankypanky, these Indian people have changed India's image and made it a super power in the eyes of

Britons.

High Commissions are important but it is the Press and Information representatives like Padmajaji who is the nerve centre for information and they bridge the gap with the British media providing the right information.”

Lord Dholakia thanked CB for the invitation. He said, “One of the crucial thing for a newspaper industry is that you can sell it and make money out of it, but then

world where communication is so important... The action of the News of the World is appalling and if this is the course of a community paper like Asian Voice, that will be death of faith.

I don't want look back at the past when British went to India, set up their business and took over the country. We also came here from East Africa, took over businesses, started working and who knows we may start running the country one day!

Lord Dholakia addressing the audience

you also want to tell others about the development of our community. I am proud to be associated with such a newspaper. To a great extend the root of development depends on the kind of work people like CB Patel has done.

I am touched and moved by what you said as now we are moving into a

Look at the examples, during the Commonwealth games problems, the UK papers extensively reported about its scam. Every paper only published 3 photographs.

They played of that, because in their mind India is still very poor and backward.

Continued on page 11

Audience addressing questions to the Guest of Honour

Lord Dholakia, an upright member of House of Lords, has made immense contribution to the Lib Dem party and the community, A value based politician, he had sued one of the ethnic publications for defamation.

Despite of polite requests from that media, he had sued it for libel. Not only he had won it, but also all the Juries in the the Royal Court of Justice made sure he could claim a huge amount as damage.

Lord Dholakia had given every penny of that money received to a charity. That included almost a quarter million pound of legal costs as well, covered by the losing party.

Though the heavy rain was a complete put off on Thursday, about 40 people gathered in Shakti Hall, enjoying a warm and delicious Gujarati buffet spread.

After the lunch, Rupanjana Dutta, Associate Editor of Asian Voice introduced Padmaja ji and welcomed all the guests present with a short speech about the role of print media. She said, “It

India has earned its fame and reputation. After the Commonwealth game, India has also achieved tremendous popularity amongst the Britons.

India's GDP is growing and it has a lot of influence on many world affairs. Today media is also about information and empowerment.

Indian High Commission brings out a newspaper called India Digest, which is a reflection of the developments in India, its business growth and many other achievements.

Padmajaji being one of the heads of it, we warmly welcome her to talk about her role and experience in Britain so far.”

Padmaja ji, who is extremely soft spoken and articulate told the audience present, how British media has cooperated with her in all means. She also narrated a short story about her experience in Bangladesh, when she was posted there as a visa officer. With funny anecdotes, she added, “Nothing special has happened here after I came. For me the experience has been quite

that I meet here say that they have never been to India or probably been just a couple of times. But they are equally Indian. handling the Press and Media is the hardest job, but all media people here have been very kind.

People here appreciates your limitations. In India I have faced adversity , even if I were not responsible for it. It is sad that we are often at the receiving end even though we are not responsible.

When I was Bangladesh, plague broke out in Gujarat. People in Bangladesh were so panicked that they in fact spoke to me with a handkerchief on the phone. It was the same reaction during Farraka barrage water issue. They often targeted me asking about the government stands.

Here fortunately I have not faced any such attitudes towards me, because I represent the Indian government.

In India Digest-we are trying to put positive stories, so that people know that we are also doing some good work. We are

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6

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

Murder gang needs a hug, says mother The mother of a young man stabbed to death after being chased by a gang told a national daily how she wanted to "cuddle" his killers because "they are in pain too".

Andrew Jaipaul, 21, was hunted down by a pack of up to 25 youths some believed to be as young as 13 - as he walked near his home in Holloway.

His devastated family revealed that at the time of his murder he had a job interview lined up for the following week and a romantic date for the next weekend.

His mother Joanna (pictured), 52, a nurse at Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield, begged his friends not to take revenge.

Speaking for the first time about his death on June 26, she said:

"Although I'm full of pain for my terrible loss, at the same time I feel the need to hold and cuddle my son's killers because I imagine they are in pain too.

"I think, 'Why should I go round hating these boys?' I hope someone will love them and show them what love is all

about. Somehow or other I want them to get a bit of love.

"Who knows how they've been hurt. They have been hurt. I hope that God will forgive them. I will try to forgive them myself. If anyone sees them, don't hurt them. Show them what love is. Maybe give them a cuddle."

Mr Jaipaul, who leaves two brothers and a halfsister, had considered a career as a nurse in the NHS. He had also thought of joining the Marines before being talked out of it by family members worried he may be injured in service.

Police have so far arrested eight males aged 13-24 in connection with the murder on the Andover Estate, Holloway. They have been bailed until next month.

Toxic Fire that killed Santosh Benjamin under re-investigation Police are re-investigating the fatal fire that killed Santosh Benjamin, a "loving father" from Wealdstone, on November 11, 2010.

Santosh BenjaminMuthiah was only 36 years old and his death at his family home in Wealdstone, affected people from all over the world. It is believed that the cause of the fire was a faulty Beko fridge freezer, which has now been recalled.

The Harrow Police have stated that they will continue to investigate the blaze in more detail.

Santosh's wife, Jennifer, spoke at his funeral and said â&#x20AC;&#x153;He was a loving father to our two

Correction

Midnight walk's 9-mile Pink Splash

Team Kastur said, "This is the first time we have done The Midnight Walk and it was a truly great experience. We were amazed by the many ladies who took part and all the helpers that were at the Hall and on the streets cheering and praising everyone that walked past. We will definitely be doing it again next year."

young daughters.â&#x20AC;?

Steve Turek, an assistant commissioner at London Fire Brigade, said that he was extremely worried about fires which have been caused by this type of fridge freezer because they â&#x20AC;&#x153;develop rapidly and produce an enormous amount of toxic smoke.â&#x20AC;?

He also said â&#x20AC;&#x153;we have

worked closely with BEKO to ensure the public is kept safe.â&#x20AC;?

Beko have responded to this case by issuing a statement on their website which reads â&#x20AC;&#x153;We deeply regret any incident involving any Beko product and we are working with all relevant organizations to rectify an identified problem with some of our fridge freezers.

They have also said that they will take action and â&#x20AC;&#x153;have decided to proactively contact the owners of these fridge freezers to make a free inhome modification to remove any potential risk with this componentâ&#x20AC;?

Dhamechas celebrate 35th anniversary in style

Narendra Chotai, Pradip Dhamecha, C B Patel, Vinod Kotecha, J R Dhamecha, K R Dhamecha, Seema Dhamecha, Arjan Vekaria & Mehmood Mirza

Over 600 guests joined Dhamecha family members and staff at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square for a party to celebrate 35 years since the opening of the first Dhamecha cash and carry in 1976.

The event took place on 4th July and was a huge success, enjoyed by all. The party atmosphere was created by a combination of excellent cuisine from around the world, casino tables and entertainment ranging from a jazz band to a snake-charmer with her 12â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Burmese python!

The guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mark Neale of JTI said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was such a relaxed event and the format of the party allowed us to socialise and network with dozens of different people over the course of the eveningâ&#x20AC;?

Chief Executive of The Dhamecha Group, Pradip Dhamecha, added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;People and relationships have been the key to our success over the last 35 years and it was heart-warming to see so many of our friends from the trade turn up in such huge numbers for the celebrations. My father Khoridasbhai and my uncles Shantibhai & Jayantibhai laid the foundations of the business way back in 1976 and we are proud to build the business on their solid foundations.

It has been a significant year for our company - passing the £½ billion barrier for the first time in our history â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the party gave us an opportunity to thank all of our suppliers and our staff for their continuous support over the years. We couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have done it without themâ&#x20AC;?.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

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

Salma steps down from politics with head still high Salma Yaqoob, the outspoken leader of Respect Party and city councillor for Sparkbrook, Birmingham, is quitting politics because of ill health.

For many people in Birmingham, and the country as a whole, Salma, who announced her resignation to party activists last Thursday – ironically on the anniversary of the July 7 London bombings – has been the voice of moderate Islam. “It’s a decision I have been struggling with for a year because I have had ongoing health issues,” said the mother-of-three.

“I realised I could not keep putting it off.”

However, Ms

Yaqoob stressed she had not been forced out by racists who had plagued her with hate mail and death threats since she stated her opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ms Yaqoob, aged 39, a qualified psychotherapist, described serving her constituents as a “genuine privilege”, but said she could no longer devote enough time to serve them.

Sparkbrook has the second highest non-white population in Birmingham, with over

MP’s regret over NOTW stint Former News of the World columnist and Birmingham Labour MP Sion Simon, pictured, admitted he regretted ever having worked for the tabloid. The ex-Erdington MP, who is campaigning to be the first elected mayor of Birmingham, wrote a political column for the Sunday paper 11 years ago. “I worked there as a freelance for about a year,” he said.

“Eleven years on, I wish I didn’t have it on my CV. The closure of the News of the World must not be the end.

This company has not a shred of integrity.”

Wellbeing Symposium A two-day Wellbeing Conference will take place in Birmingham next week. Wellbeing is more than issues about health, it is about our broader expectations, needs and aspirations; this event will provide a platform to explore how these expectations can be met.

The inaugural event, on 18th and 19th July, is being hosted by Birmingham City University and the Royal Institute of British Architects. To sign up, or for more information visit www.biad.bcu.ac.uk/research/wellbeing2011

Fellowship success Congratulations to Sharmila Woollam who beat off stiff competition to secure The Helen Fraser Publishing Fellowship, Penguin Books’ diversity traineeship for 2011. Sharmila, pictured, who began her six-month paid editorial internship with Hamish Hamilton, one of Penguin’s literary imprints, last week, was previously working at Essex University as an editorial assistant. Anna Kelly, Assistant Editor, described Sharmila as “talented, enthusiastic and hard-working, with a real passion for books and publishing”. The Fellowship aims to identify, encourage, and train editorial talent within Britain’s black and ethnic minority community.

GuruPurnimaa Bhajans Scores of fans of traditional Gujarati folk songs, or bhajans, from across the UK will descend in Luton this weekend for Guru Purnimaa, the vibrant annual musical programme.

The event will be led, as ever, by Pragjibhai Ladva and his extended family. Septuagenarian Pragjibhai, an ardent disciple of the Late Hirjibapa, pictured, a revered Hindu saint, is among the few finest, rare and original singers of his kind in the UK. The two-day event will begin at 7pm this Saturday (Jul 16) at the Hindu Temple in Lewsey Farm in Luton (LU4 0PS). All welcome.

Resigns: Councillor Salma Yaqoob

80 per cent of residents from an ethnic minority background, mainly Muslim.

Bradford-born Ms Yaqoob was first elected to the city council in 2006.

But her role as leader of the local Stop The War Coalition has ensured that she has always been a controversial figure. She first entered politics 12 months previously as the Respect candidate in Sparkbrook, where she was narrowly defeated by Labour’s Roger Godsiff in the 2005 General Election. Her passionate campaigning on local issues ensured she gained plenty of admirers, but her outspoken views on British involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan also gained her many enemies.

Ms Yaqoob received death threats from extremist groups and had billboards featuring her image

defaced. She believed she was being targeted for being a Muslim woman in the public eye and for working with churches and synagogues.

For Ms Yaqoob, family life is very important. “It’s not all about me.” Brought up in a devout Muslim household, Salma had to beg her father to allow her to go to university. Her two teenage boys and a younger eight-year-old are the centrepiece of the Aston Villa FC-supporter household she shares with her husband Aqil Chaudary, a family GP. She fiercely protects her children and is determined that they should lead a normal life away from the glare of politics. She explained: “I have the same anxieties as any mother watching three sons grow up quickly. I want us to lead a normal life. Every night we have social talk time amongst ourselves so the boys can talk about anything they want.” Ms Yaqoob “a proud Brummie” has taken a brave decision and deserves better health. In addition, full credit to her for being a role model to many in Birmingham, particularly young Muslims, and for making a positive impact to their lives.

IAB hosts Dinner A special annual VIP dinner was hosted by the Institute of Asian Businesses (IAB) last Wednesday. Held at West Bromwich Albion Football Club, the event saw two Midland college principals, Stuart Cutforth and Mike Hopkins, give an insight into their personal views about further and higher education. The IAB, despite having faced a raft of challenges over the years about its existence as an arm of Birmingham Chamber, as opposed to being embedded within it, has survived.

And credit, in particular, to IAB’s Operations Manager Dipak Shelat and Board member Jas Sansi – pictured left and right, respectively - for their remarkable, ongoing contribution without whom the IAB would probably not have gained the external respect and success that it enjoys today.

Data theft, cops nabbed

Almost 100 police officers in the West Midlands have been booted out or disciplined for accessing confidential records from their force computers for their own purposes. Since May 2008, seven officers have been prosecuted and sacked by West Midlands Police, a Freedom of Information enquiry has revealed. A further 69 officers and 14 civilian police workers have faced an internal disciplinary hearing.

Peer scoops award Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, pictured, has been awarded an Honorary Membership Award by The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). The septuagenarian Labour peer, who is so used to floating, globally, with VIPs that he now struggles to engage and interact with ordinary citizens, was recognised for his ability and stature, plus contribution of his substantial skills and talent to accomplish the goals of society. Wow!

News in Brief Book sold for £1.7k Staff at a Birmingham charity shop are celebrating after a mystery donor left a book at the store entrance which has fetched £1,700 at an auction. The first edition of Jeypore Enamels, which explores techniques for making Indian jewellery, and was published in 1886, was left at Oxfam in Moseley.

Date for MPs’ diaries September 13 – there’s a date every MP should have in their diary. That’s when the Boundary Commission for England will reveal how exactly it plans to cut the UK’s 650 constituencies to just 600 – and MPs will learn whether their seats are being abolished.

New Campaign West Midlands MEP Malcolm Harbour has launched a new fight against rogue traders importing dangerous toys through UK ports.

Chip and pin fraud Mohammed Ellahi, a fraud gang member who tried to net more than £1 million by using a doctored chip and pin machine has been jailed for three-and-a-half years. Ellahi, 37, of Edgbaston, Birmingham, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud following a trial in April.

Tiny babies and anxiety link Premature and small babies are more than three times more likely to suffer from anxiety and mood disorders in adolescence, according to psychologists at Birmingham University. Researchers found that youngsters who were born early or were underweight at birth had a ‘significantly increased risk’ of mental health disorders.

Redundancy payouts Employers have paid out £13.4 billion in redundancy payments in the past three years, averaging £9,362 per worker in the last 12 months, a report shows. The figures were revealed by HM Revenue and Customs through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Open Day in Walsall An open day offering free taster sessions for adults in cake decorating, vegetarian Indian cookery, yoga, Bollywood dancing, drawing – and more – will be held at Walsall Adult & Community College, St Matthew’s Centre, from 9am to 3pm this Friday (Jul 15). All welcome. To find out more telephone 01922 654510.

Did you know…

62 per cent of the UK adult population own a credit card, whereas over 85 per cent own a debit card. Only 11 per cent own a Visa Electron card, and less than five per cent own a pre-paid Mastercard.

Thumbs Up to Big Society Around half the people in the West Midlands support the core principles of the muchdebated Big Society regardless of their political beliefs, latest research shows. A total of 45% would like to get involved in their community in the next 12 months through activities such as volunteering with a local organisation, service or charity, according to a report by the local social networking website at Streetlife.com. Some 44% said they are willing to volunteer to support children’s education, the same proportion would like to get involved in crime prevention programmes and 6% said they are prepared to work with others to take over the running of a local service.

Some 59% agree communities should have more power from government to shape policy.

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

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YOUR VOICE

1000 billion rupees treasure found in Kerala temple The hue and cry about of 1000 billion rupees treasure at Padmanabhswami temple is sacrilege of Hindu’s religious sentiments and violation of secularism.

Opening of vaults by Court Order is ambiguous message that Hindu Gods, temples, traditions etc are no more sacred and can be trampled upon with impunity, a fact that is underscored by demolition of hundreds of Hindu temples in various parts of India.

Government would not dare ask Abrahamic organisations to make such inventory. The treasure consists of offerings by Hindus from India, South East Asia, Fiji, Bali, Mauritius and present Hindu global diaspora. Therefore monies belongs irrefutably to Hindus.

In 1947, temple trust was formed to safeguard and manage temple treasure.

Complaint by some disgruntled Hindus against temple trust management could have been solved internally. Undue publicity has opened can of worms e.g., ownership, real value, utilisation and allocation of lion’s share to non Hindus - as is happening at present.

Bigots argue that treasure be considered as national property and used for Muslims and Christians, whereas not a single paisa from Saudi Arab donations to Muslims and Vatican to Christians is used for Hindus, temples or welfare.

Hindus must directly threaten UPA rulers via vote block.

Ramesh Jhalla Via Email

Don't make judgements now!

The Despatches programme televised on 11th July is nothing but old regurgitated material so many times used by the media in the last 7 months, misinforming and misreporting about the case of Mrs Anni Dewani's extremely tragic murder.

Shrien Dewani and his family understand the agony this unfortunate and untimely death has caused to Anni's parents. She was taken away from the prime of her time and as their pearl of the eyes, Shrien Dewani is the only one who can realise this pain.

Of course he or his family are not in a position to give any interviews to the press or for that matter filmed by Despatches of Channel 4 as he is standing extradition trial in a short time and jeopardise his legal position. The SA police has so far not even interviewed Shrien Dewani, so how can anyone make assumptions that he is guilty!

All the allegations made against Shrien Dewani are false and without any basis or no true merit, and as it is normal in these circumstances, many people seeking opportunity and greed, including the so called German Master. Zola Tongo, the driver, had entered into a plea bargain only to gain some exemption from his long sentence! Who so ever has signed on the Plea Bargain cannot have been thinking humanely.

We have already lost dear Anni Dewani and we grieve with her parents and family. But do we now pillory an innocent husband who also loved her tremendously and had plans for their

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

Indian saris The Indian sari enhances and gracefully blends with the physique and dusky complexion of Indian women. It is the longest surviving garment style in the world’s history of garments. Woven saris are the most celebrated items from handlooms of India.

The handloom sector engages over 6.5 million people, contributes to over 22% of total cloth production, with an average productivity of 5.12 metres per day per loom. The potential for handloom saris has not been fully exploited.

The key is the design. The harmony between the body, the border and the pallav, or the end part is also essential.

For long, innovation has not occurred in the area of yarns used in weaving saris.

Fabric weights, handle and transparencies of saris too need some exciting explorations. Motifs-with their forms, details and styles-are perhaps the most important elements in product development and design of saris.

Each woven sari is unique as opposed the mass produced cotton or silk sari.

Identifiable distinct traditions still exist in saris known as Andhra, Asavali [Ahmadabad], Patoda, Baluchari, Bengal, Chanderi, Maheshwari, Ikal, Kasavu, Kota doria, Maharashrian shalus, Paithani, Orissa, Tamil Naidu, Varnasi and Tribal.

Some weavers have already adapted to products like stoles, duppattas, dress material, salwar kurtas, etc. Customers have found new ways of putting a sari to use. Decorative borders and pallavs are often used as curtain panels, cushion covers, bolster covers, bags and many more home textile products.

The beauty of an Indian woman is certainly enhanced by the sari. Let us nurture and encourage this tradition, be it in the traditional design, or in its new contemporary design.

Train and road accidents in India

In the Heat of the Summer

India next to China is the fastest growing economy in paper among the developing countries. The population is increasing at the rate 30 million every year and India may take over China in less than ten years in terms of population. On the other hand India’s infrastructure is very poor and deaths due to train derailment and traffic accidents in Indian roads have become a every day reality for Indians.

People do not raise these issues in National Advisory Committee (NAC) under Sonia Gandhi and most of the committee members are from minority religious communities and they spend time in talking about pseudo secularism and how to deny freedom of speech for majority Hindus.

Indian railways and road transport including long distance travel by buses and coaches and cars are part of Indian way of life. Still Indian government is not spending any money on road or railway safety. The former Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee ran the Railway department from Calcutta and hardly attended meeting at Delhi. Most of the accidents happen in the North of India where density of population is very high and people travel on the top of the train.

India’s transport policy is based on vested interests in the ruling government.

Indian government is spending cores of rupees for building new airports in the nuke and corners of India and for buying planes. Now they want to stage Formula 1 in November in Delhi costing cores of rupees just for few cars going round and round at a high speed wasting petrol which is an expensive commodity in India.

Warm and sunny days are very few and far between in this country. So when the mercury rises to just above the mid twenty celsius mark, we rush in droves to the sea side to soak in the warm sunshine. It gives us an excuse to discard the layers and layers of clothing which are indispensable during most of the year. We devour ice-creams and barbecued dinners and swallow large quantities of cold beers. So enjoy the good weather while it lasts but please do think of your helpless animals as they have no natural protection against the heat.

It is reported that a couple of dogs left in an unventilated car in the hot weather died the other week. Also, while on my daily morning constitution in Seven Kings Park, I come across people jogging and making their panting dogs run with them in these hot and sultry days. So when you leave your dogs or other animals in your car, wind the windows down and leave a bowl of water inside. When the outside temperature is 22 degrees celsius, it can rocket to as much as 42 degrees inside the car!

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Health Watch

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Care home muddle

future happy lives together only because the media wants to make good story that sells?

Just give Shrien Dewani and his legal team a chance to present his case in the courts, and then make your judgement.

What do Transport for London and Islington and Tower Hamlets Council have in common? All three are named among the top 20 gay-friendly employers in the UK by Stonewall, the gay rights charity.

It’s a great achievement to be specially recognised as one of the very best for fighting prejudice and developing inclusive workplaces. These organisations have set a fine example for London, truly one of the most diverse and tolerant cities in the world. Whilst great progress has been made in tackling the oppression and discrimination that the LGBT community faces in society – progress that capitals around the world should aspire to – homophobia remains a shameful fact of life. In the West End alone, homophobic crime increased by 20 per cent during 2010. We must not be complacent in tackling these hateful atrocities.

With Pride celebrations just around the corner, it is timely to renew our pledge to continue the fight for true LGBT equality in the capital. Only when this is won can we be truly proud.

Most elderly people are terrified even at the thought of going into care homes.

The horror stories, the neglect and even torture of the elderly in our poorly supervised care homes make it worse, a nightmare for many old and the infirm.

As usual we are poor, even negligent at regulating ourselves, whether they are builders, financial institutions, care or print industry, legal and medical professions. We let these bodies regulate themselves which is akin to asking carnivorous animals like lions and tigers to turn vegetarian. These institutions have only the interest of their own members at heart, who pay their salaries.

The recent report how to finance care in our old age is nothing more than papering over the cracks where the contribution is capped at around £35,000 but that does not include some £7000 to £10,000 yearly cost termed as bed and breakfast expenses, partly payable by 2p in-the pound tax on the elderly. Surely it would be prudent, more appropriate to pay a small levy through NIC or tax throughout working life, these contributions set aside to finance care in the old age.

As usual people in Scotland pay nothing, whether it is care, prescription charges or tuition fees when attending Universities, mostly financed by English tax payers. How come we tolerate such open ended discrimination, a step-children attitude by our own English MPs? Let us have our own English parliament, in line with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Ashok Haria Via Email

Jean Lambert MEP Via Email

Bhupendra M Gandhi Via Email

Nagindas Khajuria Via Email

Indo Pak accord

It is welcoming news that Pakistan agreed to enter peace agreement.

The accord took place in the back ground of Pakistan economy and isolation from international community and Islamic nations after political and economic turmoil. The accord has drawn in the context of helpless, destructive situation of Pakistan rather than true intervention of love thy neighbour.

Presence of Chinese army in Pakistan may weaken separatist movement of independent Kashmir, as Indian Kashmiris do not wish to join them under Chinese Army control Dr K R.N. Moorthy Handworth

Arun Vaidyanathan Via Email

Pride London

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‘Smile Pinky’ too gets the Oscar Boyle says Mumbai dwarfed the statuette

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Cricket crazy Indians for the first time was seen so euphoric on Monday morning, as they expected a couple of Oscars. British Indians in the UK, Dharavi slums, the shanty township of Mumbai, a village in Uttar Pradesh and almost the entire Bollywood waited in expectation, glued to their TV sets. They burst into celebrations as one by one, their heroes, the actors of the British Indian film and the music maestro, A R Rahman bagged the top awards in the world of entertainment.

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

by American director Megan Mylan, won the Oscar for the Best Documentary (Short).

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EDUCATION / COUNCIL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

KPMG lawyer named in prestigious Management Today list Misha Patel has become the first in-house lawyer from KPMG to be named in the prestigious Management Today ‘35 Women Under 35’ list, which showcases the achievements of young talented women in Britain from a myriad of professions and backgrounds.

Misha, 31, KPMG’s Assistant General Counsel, is based in London’s Canary Wharf office. She joined the firm from Clifford Chance this year where she was a corporate finance lawyer working from its London

and Dubai offices on a broad range of matters from cross-border mergers and acquisitions to corporate advisory mandates.

Misha has already been recognised earlier in her career by respected business awards including the 2011 Square Mile Magazine’s 30 Under 30 for Law, the 2010 Real Business shortlist for the Women of the Future Awards and Financial News.

Misha told Asian Voice: “I’m thrilled to be included in Management Today’s 2011 ‘35 Women

Under 35’ list. To be handpicked alongside so many other talented and inspirational businesswomen is a great honour and valuable milestone in my career.”

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar hosts discussion on power and importance of positive media Continued from page 5 It only took an opening ceremony on India's part to explain that don't judge us by just three photographs.

When you leave India, and adopt Britain as your country, your government is British. You are as British as the natives. Yes you have a common DNA- that is of an Indian.

Anywhere I have been, if you do not see an Indian, you are lost. We are producing more graduates in India than population of Britain.

When Dandi march happened in India it took us 3 days to know about it and now any development that happens is Syria or Egypt, we come to know about it in 5 minutes.

That's called digital revolution. We got to be part of it. We cannot look at ourselves as the little Indian community.

It's not difficult. Each

Middlesex students to take the world Two Middlesex University designers have been selected to represent their country and take on the world’s most highly skilled students, apprentices and employees at WorldSkills London 2011. At the event, 1000 competitors from more than 50 countries will compete in 46 skill areas over four days. The UK will compete in 37 skills ranging from Mobile Robotics, Electrical Installations to Graphic Design.

Puja Varsani and Darren Lewis, both Product Design and Robotics students at Middlesex University, were announced by the Skills Minister John Hayes and invited to a reception hosted by HRH The Duke of York at Buckingham Palace to celebrate their inclusion in the team. The pair will represent the country in the Mobile Robotics category at the skills event taking place at London’s ExCeL centre from 5-8 October 2011.

one of us made a contribution to this country. We are ambassadors of India.

Many of you have a tremendous responsibility, as you moved away from your country of origin.

White MPs here wants to talk about caste discrimination amongst Indians.

Third and four generation of Indians do not even know about castes. Don't talk about it here, so that the problems arise. Let them be ignorant about such mal practices. Do not introduce legislation that divide people. Let Hindu Forums and such organisations to take stock of the situation.

The greatest enemy we face is ourselves. In the habit of making progress, we tend to forget our cul-

tures, that has withstood various drawbacks and invasion. We fail to pass those heritage to our children. We are creating cultural vacuum, when digital revolution can bridge that. Never lose your identity. Cultivate the people who make our country pride. Be loyal to the country of adoption and be an example to other countries.”

The afternoon came to a close with some valuable comments and question answer from the audience.

Padmaja ji was gifted with the coffee table book“Love Gujarat”, an exclusive magazine published

by Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar on the 50th Anniversary of the State of Gujarat.

Youth Seminar 2011

11

National Hindu Students Forum (UK)

By Miten Kana, NHSF Learning Team

Respecting Your Elders – The Hindu Way ent’s advice on family, personal, social and Dharmic factors when significant decisions must be made. Our parents overlook the everyday running of the family.

This ‘Hindu Management System’ is used by NHSF to help us function as a family.

The biggest difference between Western and Hindu culture is the treatment of our elders when they start becoming more dependent on us.

Quite often we see Grandparents being cast aside in the UK, often put into retirement homes or left to live by themselves with little support.

Children and grandchildren seldom visit their grandparents and communication reduces between the family. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but a significant number of families have this behaviour toward their elders. Such a manner within Hindu families is practically unheard of.

A well known verse from Taittiriya Upanishad is matru devo bhava, pitru devo bhava, meaning ‘worship mother as God, worship father as God’.

Imagine sending Bhagavan to a nursing

“Shravan Kumar was an only child born to blind parents. Every day he would take care of his parents every need, with the utmost love and respect, to ensure they were as comfortable as possible. One day his parents said they had reached the age whereby it was time for them to go on their pilgrimage.

Shravan couldn’t afford the means for transport, so he took a strong bamboo stick, at its two ends he tied two baskets with strong ropes and placed his father in one basket and his mother in the other. Carrying on his shoulders this bamboo stick with a basket on either side, Shravan started on the pilgrimage…”

The Hindu family is one that is democratic and works to ensure the longevity and unity of family bonds.

Grandparents are seen as our advisers.

Their knowledge and wisdom generated over the years is invaluable to keeping the family together. Just as the Pandavs and Kauravs sought advice from their grandfather, Gangaputra Bhishma, we too seek our grandpar-

home? The idea is unthinkable!

Given the pressures of living in a westernised society, where career, money and success are all paramount in everyday life, how will you react when your parents become dependent on you?

When you’re focussed on that promotion to earn a pay rise, but your parents at home need your assistance, will you be willing to sacrifice the benefits to look after them or will you send them to a retirement community?

The story of Shravan Kumar seems a little farfetched, but people like him do still exist. Shiv Kumar Kesri, a school teacher in India, performed his mother’s last wishes and took her on a pilgrimage across India on foot, carrying her on his shoulders, just like Shravan Kumar. He earned the title of ‘Kaliyug ka Shravan Kumar’. Such an inspirational act of upholding ones Dharma toward our elders is something that we can all learn from – service to our parents is service to God. (Story excerpt taken from the Ramayan)

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Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar is organising a Youth seminar (for 16 to 25 years only) on Saturday 6th August in the City. Our invited speakers will discuss the problems of today's youth and offer solutions on how to choose an appropriate career, how to cope with generation gaps and family expectations etc followed by a workshop at the end of the seminar. If you are interested to take part in our ‘Youth Seminar 2011’, please email your details (with 50 words on yourselfincluding age) to Rupanjana at rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com.

Please note entry only on prior registration.

Closing date: 31st July 2011.

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MEDIA WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

Scrutator’s “I am returning to Israel with a great deal of optimism about our relations with India,” said departing Israeli ambassador, Mark Sofer, to the Delhi-based Pioneer journalist Kanchan Gupta, during a fascination interview (July 5). Mr Sofer continued: “There are two reasons why I say this. First, there is tremendous goodwill across India for the state of Israel. This goodwill is not just something that is spoken about, it is actually felt. Similarly, there is tremendous goodwill in Israel for India.

Second, there is something special about India: It is the complete and utter lack of anti-Semitism. There is no a priori negative reaction towards Jews.”

Mr Sofer spoke of the common terrorist threat to both nations, while also pointing out that their respective responses might not always be similar in every detail on account of the different geopolitical locations and Mark Sofer the special complexities of each area.

“The South Asian conflict and the West Asian conflict have very different dynamics. India has very difficult choices to make,”Mr Sofer remarked. That said, the ambassador was resolute in his affirmation that terrorism had no place in civilised life, hence terrorists and their backers had to be confronted and combated without let or hindrance. “I don't see much of a difference between .....Hamas and Laskar-e-Tayyyeba, or Al Qaeda for that matter, they all have extremist political aims and they are willing to massacre innocent people to achieve those aims,” he said. The Mumbai terror attacks may at best have given IndiaIsraeli ties “a boost. But if you look at our bilateral ties from the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992 to 2011, there has been an upward graph in every area of human endeavour. Media puts too much emphasis on defence, etc. I think relations between our two countries are much wider than that....the graph is really rising steeply and it was rising steeply even before Mumbai.....Which brings me to something I have found very interesting about India – how moderate thing are here.... I have met Muslim leaders......political, religious, lay.....and I think India is a special case.”

Bilateral trade Mark Sofer explained that when he arrived to take up his post in New Delhi four years ago, IndoIsraeli trade was $3.2 billion. “It is $5 billion now. That's only civilian trade. I won't talk about defence. India.....is Israel's second biggest export market in civilian trade. This was 18 years after relations were established.

We have had relations with countries for 60 years. That speaks for itself.” Particularly when one remembers that Israel's population of 5 million is about a third of Delhi's.

Free Trade Agreement In answer to Kanchan Gupta's question on the progress of India-Israeli talks on a free trade deal, Mr Sofer replied: “We are going to conclude it soon. The idea was planted three years ago but actual negotiations began in the end of last year. We hope to conclude the negotiations by the end of this year. Once the Free Trade Agreement is in place it will be something huge. In a few years we could double, or even treble civilian trade, take it to $15 billion, maybe $20 billion.

There will be more openness in the movement of goods and services.....The main area that will benefit from the Free Trade Agreement is high-end technolo-

gy.....We are really talking huge figures here. Another advantage that will accrue is the setting up of bilateral funds for cooperation in new technology to deal with issues like water, healthcare, energy, alternative sources of energy....we would be jointly developing technologies.... ”

Agriculture cooperation This hugely important subject came up for discussion. Mr Sofer referred to its core role in the Indian economy with twothirds of the population involved in agriculture-related activities.

“We have our biggest programmes in the world here in India. We have begun work on our new memorandum of under-

standing between Israel and India on agricultural cooperation. It doesn't get much news.....the centre of excellence in Haryana ....is the biggest source of my pride for the four years I have been here. You see farmers coming to pick up new Israeli technology with Indian adaptation. Irrigation systems, new methods of growing crops, rotation of crops, growing plants in green houses....There are similar centres in Rajasthan, halfan-hour from Jaipur, at Nagpur in Maharashtra. We are starting one in Tamil Nadu....there is no end to what we are looking at in this field.”

Cooperation in diary farming was prospering through the transfer of Israeli technology, with Indian milk yields increasng exponentially. And what about water management?

Came Mr Sofa's reply: “You can manage without cake and sandwiches and biscuits, but you cannot manage without water.

It's not just new sources of water, it's a question of water management and water technologies.......In Israel we are now using 70 per cent of our waste water. We have developed new technology for purification of waste water. And we are number one in the world in recycling waste water. Not only does this minimise the negative impact of dumping waste but it also contributes to agricultural production. The possibilities of cooperation in water management and recycling are enormous.”

the Group has gone from being a millstone that threatened to sink one of India's most venerable businesses to a cash cow, generating the bulk of the $2.11 billion profit Tata reported in the last financial year.” Tata is on a roll. Mr Reed spells out the details of how this was done, beginning with economic crash of 2008 and the subsequent recovery.

Mahindra Aerospace The Hindu newspapererer (July 4) reported that Mahindra Aerospace Ltd, which is to begin a $60 million aero structure product, planned to step up its said Arvind investments, Mahindra, executive director and and ceo. '”There are plans to go beyond what we thought of initially, he told media representatives in Chennai recently.

Work on the aero structure – air frame components – production facility are to begin immediately.

Mahindra Aerospace will be targeting 5 to 290 seat aircraft segment, a $15 billion market growing at an estimated 15 per cent a year.

The group's acquisition of Aerostaff Australia, a manufacturer of aircraft parts, and

be equipped with omni-directional warheads and could to target tactical and strategic sites.The road-mobile system could be pulled out for quick deployment with each launcher carrying six missiles. “With different types of warheads, you can have different types of missiles from the same launcher,” explained Dr Saraswat.

At the inauguration of ACIL facility, Dr Saraswat called for a robust public-private partnership for producing advanced electronic systems that were currently being imported. The new Electronic Development Policy, he said, aimed to bridge the technological gap and seek greater participation by the private sector in such enterprises.

Nilekanis' gift to HHS Nandan and Rohini Nilekani have announced a gift of $11 million to the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (HHS) to fund the establishment of its School of Environment and Sustainability.

In a joint statement the former honcho of IT major Infosys and his wife, Rohini, said: “HHS is at the convergence of both our

Jaguar prospers A Financial Times report by John Reed (July 4) told of the Jaguar cars' presence at an exhibition site near Munich, in the backyard of its bigger German competitors, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. “The car which costs about ￡30,000, is aimed squarely at at the same autobahn-driving businessmen that BMW targets with its 520d diesel.”

Tata-manufactured Jaguar was thus going into the heart of its competitors' territory. “JLR's cheeky choice of a launch venue is evidence of the a new confidence at the British luxury carmaker,” now flourishing under Indian ownership and the management led by two German carmaking veterans with experience at BMW, General Motors and Ford Motors, Mr Speth and Karl Peter Forster, Tata Motors' chief executive. “In two years,

Israel and India in agricultural cooperation in Haryana

Rohini and Nandan Nilekani

Gippsland Aeronautics, a reputed Australian manufacturer of small aeroplanes, gives Mahindra access to the utility segment that caters for passengers wishing to travel to hard-toreach places.

New tactical missile The Hindu reported (July 4) that all was set to test its “Prahaar” (to strike) new quick-reaction, short-range missile in a bid to fill the gap for a battlefield weapon system. This was stated in New Delhi by Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Director General, Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) V.K.Saraswat, who was inaugurating a new facility of Analogic Controls India Ltd (ACIL) that manufaxtures electronic systems for mission critical defence and space applications.

Dr Saraswat said the 150 kilometre-range missile would replace unguided rockets and would be “an excellent weapon.”

It would bridge the gap between Pinaka, a 40-kilometre range multi-barrel rocket system and the 350-kilometre Prithvi II, which has been converted into a strategic missile.

He aid the “Prahaar” would

interests in education, urbanisation and sustainability. We are excited about contributing to an institution which will help people engage with the new challenges in an innovative and inter-disciplinary manner.”

The HHS Board and its director, Aromar Revi, said the Nilekanis support was in the spirit that created some of India's best universities a century ago. This was a major step forward in the HHS goal to raise $67 million for its five inter-disciplinary schools, one of South Asia's largest reference and digital libraries and other facilities for its Bangalore campus.

The HHS has been nurtured and led by a group of eminent Indians, which includes Xerxes Desai, Jamshyd Godrej, Cyrus Guzder, Renana Jhabvala, Vijay Kelkar, Keshub Mahindra, Rakesh Mohan, Nanadan Nilekani, Deepak Parekh and Deepak Satwalekar.

Thanking the Nilekanis for “one of the largest gifts in India's history for a new school at a prospective university,” HHS Director Aromar Revi, concluded: “India is returning to a tradition of philanthropy to build independent national institutions for the common good.”

(Times of India June 27)

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

13

When every little penny helps in the 'pockit'

By Rupanjana Dutta Danny Jatania is a dynamic and savvy entrepreneur and part of the London-based Jatania Brothers, one of Britain's richest Asian families, who successfully set up the Lornamead Group.

Most recently, Danny has embarked on setting up Pockit, a new business venture with his own sons, continuing the family’s business success into the next generation.

Danny is passionate about the success of Pockit, and is currently working very closely with Virraj and Yuvraj Jatania, his sons. He gave an exclusive interview to Asian Voice, talking about his new business venture, saving during this economic climate and his family.

Over the years we have professionalised the day-to-day management team at Lornamead so this has given me the opportunity to look at new ventures. I have always been intrigued by the online business sector and now with the Internet being such an integral part of our everyday lives, I could not find a better time to be involved with this sector. The Internet is a powerful marketing channel, which allows me to provide a great service to UK consumers.

What made you think of Pockit?

In my management role in the family businesses, I saw the discounts that could be achieved when negotiating in bulk. I realised that if I could negotiate discounts for our group of companies, then I could negotiate even better discounts on behalf of a much larger group such as UK households. Market research proved my point and this inspired me to develop the concept and launch www.pockit.com.

How are Virraj and Yuvraj involved?

After Virraj’s internship with Barclays Wealth, followed by his graduation in 2009, he wanted to be part of a start-up business and at that time I thought that Pockit was an attractive opportunity for him to be involved in.

Virraj’s focus is on building and developing relationships with key partners, service providers and retailers with a view to negotiating deals with them for our members.

My eldest son, Yuvraj, who qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young in corporate finance, joined Pockit on a full time basis earlier this year.

Yuvraj’s role is focussed on overall customer acquisition and developing and managing the Pockit sales representative network.

How did you decide upon such a new venture when Lornamead has always had a different trend of business?

As a different generation altogether- what is their vision regarding this initiative?

Their vision is to create a

Danny with son Virraj and Yuvraj

trusted brand by helping UK households to save money. They strongly feel that Pockit should be the first port of a call for any household in the UK to save time and money. The immediate focus is to establish Pockit in the UK but in the long term our vision is for Pockit to expand globally and to save money for people all over the world.

Do you think that Pockit can also help the broader British community when the economy is in such a doldrum?

In the current economic climate everyone is feeling the pinch financially. We are seeing an increase in the cost of living across the board and we are constantly being told by the government to tighten our belts.

Pockit is a great benefit to the British public especially at a time like this when we are all trying to save money where we

can. Pockit takes no commission on deals it negotiates and passes on maximum discounts to members.

Budding entrepreneurs would like some tips to sustain in this climate- can you suggest a few?

Running a business especially in the current economic climate can be a challenge. With customers to deal with, clients contacting you at any hour of the day, products to maintain and staff to manage, operating a business is very intensive. My top tips for any young budding entrepreneur are: 1. Find a group of mentors, who I would like to refer to as Master Minds. Master Minds are particularly effective for young, inexperienced entrepreneurs in need of guidance and advice.

They can help you develop a better understanding of managing risks and challenges that you are

facing.

2. Don’t be afraid of taking a radical approach to business.

The most successful entrepreneurs are those who pioneer a new trend or shake-up an existing marketplace.

3. Make good use of all the resources available to you. You can use libraries, the internet and the expertise of other business people to your advantage.

4. It is important to remain confident in your own abilities, regardless of the setbacks that you may face. Budding entrepreneurs can easily become disheartened and give up if they don’t have enough support so continue to be determined and persistent.

5. Networking with other members of the business community will help you to learn from other people’s experiences and building connections at the right places. I encourage both of my sons to do this all the time, who have benefitted enormously from this.

6. Cash flow is your business’ lifeline so you must manage this most effectively – this means you must control your overheads so be lean and mean with your business overheads.

7. Most importantly, you have to be single-minded, be very focussed on your objectives and be ready to work hard.

(Please see www.Pockit.com to sign up and for more information)

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14

COMMUNITY/CULTURE

India Connect Q & A: Visa to India What is Renunciation/ Surrender of Indian Passports Under the Indian law, people of Indian origin, who have acquired foreign nationality, are required to surrender their Indian passport (nationality) to the High Commission of India in London or at the respective Indian consulates at Birmingham and Jiten Vyas, VFS Global Edinburgh before submitting their visa applications.

What documents do I need to surrender my Indian Passport Documents Required for Surrender of Indian Passports Duly filled application form Original Indian Passport (Last/Valid Indian passport at the time of Naturalization) Self attested photocopy of Indian passport (Used Visa Pages) Self attested photocopy of British / Foreign Passport Self attested photocopy of British / Foreign Naturalisation certificate Processing time would be a minimum of 13-14 working days; it may take longer in certain cases. All decisions are at sole discretion of the High Commission of India, London and its Consulates in the United Kingdom.

Please note that this list is not exhaustive and does not guarantee a Surrender Certificate. The High Commission of India or its Consulates reserve the right to ask for additional documents if required.

What is the fee for Surrendering my Indian Passport?

Mode of payment could be Cash, Debit or Credit Card (except American Express Card), Postal Order or Bank Draft payable to “VF Services UK Ltd” The Government of India has fixed a fee for renouncing the Indian Citizenship / Surrender Of Indian Passport based on the date, the Person of Indian Origin, has acquired British/Foreign Citizenship. The fee has been fixed w.e.f. 01.06.2010 as under:S No. Service Rendered

Fee in Service Charge Total GBP in GB In GBP

1

Miscellaneous Service fee for surrender of passport / renunciation of citizenship (for applicants who have already acquired foreign citizenship till 31.5.2010)

16

9.24

25.24*

2

Fee for surrender of passport/ renunciation of Citizenship (for applicants who acquire foreign citizenship with effect from 1.6.2010)

104

9.24

113.24*

*The fee in the table is inclusive of the £2 Consular Surcharge.

Can I post my Indian Passport Surrender Application?

Applications can also be sent by post to our centralised postal processing centre at the address listed below. Postal applications require a minimum of 10-14 working days to be processed. This does not include the period when applications are in transit to and from the High Commission of India or its Consulate General of India in United Kingdom.

India Visa Application Centre 1-3, Canalside, Uxbridge Road Hayes, Middlesex, UB4 0JN For further information please visit our website in.vfsglobal.co.uk For more information regarding any quires about Indian Visa please contact by email or post: Email: info.inuk@vfshelpline.com Customer Relations Department.

India Visa Application Center, 60-62 Wilton Road, London SW1V 1DE

India Connect - your questions answered on India visas” a service offered by

Maheshwari Mahasabha UK celebrates 'Maheshotsav 2011' Maheshwari Mahasabha UK (MMUK), an organisation formed in 2009 by Maheshawris in UK, celebrated 'Mahesh Navmi' for 2nd consecutive year with enthusiasm and funfare.

'Mahesh Navmi' has special significance for Maheshwaris as it's the anniversary day when the community was formed with blessings of Lord Shiva. The Maheshwaris community worship Mahesh(Lord Shiva) and his consort Parvati. The Maheshwari's are found mostly in North India and you'll be amazed to know there are 1.5 million Maheshwari's around the world.

'Maheshotsav 2011' was perfect platform to celebrate the festival. There were two event days. The first day was sports day which was organised on 26th June which was full of games for kids and adults.

Everyone participated with great enthusiasm and enjoyed the event.

On Saturday 2nd of July, Cultural day was organised by (MMUK). On that day kids showcased themselves in different characters and costume through fancy dress competition. It was then followed by mesmerising dance performances by kids, Ghoomer performance by ladies and the unforgettable Sitar performance by Megha Zanwar.

Mr. CB Patel, chief guest of the event, appreciated MMUK's effort and provided guidance to preserve cultural heritage.

MMUK President Mr. K.C. Chandak also addressed the community and sought everyone's support to make MMUK a force in UK. MMUK has been active in UK for last two years and has provided platform for Maheshwaris in UK to socially network and share spirit of togetherness. The two days were filled with laughter and enjoyment and this event will be missed very much.Everyone had so much fun attending this unforgettable event and look forward to it next year.

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

By Spriha Srivastava

From banking to dance London-based investment banker Aparna Gambhir was one of the 52 contestants selected from all over the world to take part in Hrithik Roshan’s latest TV show – “Just Dance.” Apart from being an investment banker, Aparna takes out all the time needed to pursue her passion to dance. After having learnt Kathak for eight years, Aparna went on to learn Jazz and now due to time constraints she trains herself.

I caught up with her to find out about her experience at the most talked about show – “Just Dance.”

Just Dance promises to be a global platform for dancers who are completely passionate about their art, have a taste for exceptional dancing styles and cannot imagine an existence without it. For the first time ever, contestants had a rare chance to match steps on an international stage with Hrithik Roshan, while Farah Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant are the judges in the show.

How was your experience participating in "Just Dance?"

Being a part of Just Dance was an amazing experience from the start, I was amongst the thousands who auditioned from all over UK. I was pleasantly surprised when I was short listed for the UK finals, held at the O2. Then being selected as one of the five finalists from thousands to represent UK in the show was like a dream come true.

Dance is my passion and I couldn't have asked for a better platform.

What did you get to learn from the show?

The show taught me lessons in discipline, focus and hard work. I got to meet some very talented people from all

over the world and I made some great friends but also got to learn that one has to continuously step out of their comfort zone when the competition is so tough.

Since I primarily train myself, I had to

really ended. I learnt Kathak for eight years, thereafter some got some Jazz and ballet training during my teenage years.

I was chosen as the Pepsi scholar at Ashley Lobos academy - Dance works in Delhi.

Aparna Gambhir with Hrithik Roshan

constantly motivate myself to do better and better.

How was it performing in front of Hrithik, Farah and Vaibhavi?

It was an honour to perform in front of Hrithik, Farah and Vaibhavi. All three of them are extremely talented and have set benchmarks of success in their respective fields. It both exciting and daunting to perform in front of three such perfectionists.

To get appreciation from three such established names in dance was my dream come true.

I also got to spend some time with Hrithik and found him to be an extremely down to earth and nice person.

Tell us in brief about your background and the work you do?

My family is originally from New Delhi and I have been dancing since the age of four when my parents took me to my first Kathak class. That was the start and it never

I did Engineering as my undergraduate degree and thereafter came to Oxford University for a masters, Even though I couldn't train full time due to being in such academically demanding courses ,I used to have my own dance team and choreographed and taught dance both during school and university . I was always actively involved in choreographing for cultural shows.

I now work in an Investment Bank and due to time constraints of a full time job and I train primarily by myself.

Do you plan to pursue dance as a career at some point?

Dance has always been my passion and will always come first for me.

My parents always insisted on a good education and being independent, however now that I have done that, I am keen to pursue my passion. Especially being part of Just Dance has motivated me to take up dancing full time.

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at spriha@abplgroup.com

East-End born teen dreams of performing at the Olympics Thirteen year old, Shakila Karim (pictured), who was born in Whitechapel, east London, is releasing her first single, ’Just Let It Go’, later this year. She hopes the single will help achieve her dreams of performing at the London Olympics in 2012.

Shakila, who is part of East London’s Bangladeshi community - the largest Bangladeshi community in

the world outside of Bangladesh - is proud of being British and equally

proud of her family heritage. So far, there hasn’t been a singer of Bangladeshi origin who’s made a big impact in the charts - but Shakila is hoping to change that this year.

Despite showing an aptitude for music as a toddler, Shakila had to spend time with speech therapists in school and also locally to help her speak. Yet she was able to sing nursery rhymes

perfectly while she was seeing her speech therapists.

About that time, Shakila started playing her first musical instrument: the violin. She then learnt to play the recorder and her music teacher, Miss Barrett, thought highly of her musical talents – prompting Shakila’s father, Karim Ullah, to encourage and help her to develop her musical skills.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

by Shree For more stories visit www.scribbledesk.com

Short Story by Neha Garg

Winkle Teaches the Goblins a Lesson Once upon a time, in FaerieRealm, there lived a tiny little elf called Winkle. She ran a shop where she sold all kinds of Magic Spells.

Winkle took great pride in her ability to find a spell for almost anything.

From a spell to make horns grow on your head to a spell that would make your house flash blue and green; in her little shop, she stocked spells for everything.

One fine morning, Mr. Topsy-Turvy paid Winkle a visit.

'Good morning Winkle,' said Mr. Topsy-Turvy, walking up the steps on his hands.

'Hello Mr. Topsy-Turvy. What can I do for you today?' said Winkle, delighted. She loved the little upside down man.

'I have come to ask for your help Winkle,' said Mr. Topsy-Turvy. 'You see, I have a Walnut tree in my garden that grows a lot of fine walnuts. But every night some naughty Goblins come along and pick all the walnuts off the tree.

They leave nothing for the dear old squirrels that live in its trunk. I am afraid that the poor squirrels will have nothing to eat all winter.'

Winkle sat and scratched her chin for a moment. She so wanted to help Mr. Topsy-Turvy but how was she supposed to stop an army of wicked Goblins from stealing the poor tree's walnuts?

She thought and thought and in the end hit upon an idea.

'I know what we can do, Mr. TopsyTurvy,' said Winkle in great excitement.

'I shall use a spell that will make the walnut shells as hard as the tree's wood, then when the Goblins come to pick them, they will find they cannot eat them and will soon leave the walnuts alone. But the squirrels, with their sharp teeth will be able to break the shells open.'

'That's a fantastic idea Winkle,' said Mr. Topsy-Turvy jumping up and down on his hands in his excitement. 'Let's go use the spell right away.'

So Winkle and Mr. Topsy-Turvy spent all night using the spell on every walnut on the tree. And when the Goblins came along to steal the walnuts, what a shock they got! They broke their teeth trying to bite into the wooden shell of the walnuts, and they howled in pain.

'Serves you right,' said Mr. TopsyTurvy hidden behind a bush.

And since then, thanks to clever little Winkle, all walnuts have been shut up in wooden shells to stop the Goblins stealing them.

COLOUR ME

Sudoku

with

Radha Abw

Last week’s solution

15

f ashionista

Be a Fashionista, Be You! If you have any questions or a story or a new style to share with us, please write to Shree at aveditorial@abplgroup.com

Polished to Perfections You’re walking down the street, strutting your stuff, feeling like a million bucks: hair in place, new dress, great heels. You feel stylish and en vogue.

Then a girl walks past you. Dressed far more casually, flats to your heels, jeans to your dress – but one glance at her, and you start to feel overdone, tacky almost. Like you have tried too hard and still come up short.

Why is it that no matter how much effort you put in yourself, some women’s’ clothes always seem pricier, hair shinier, a general polish about them that you can never put your finger on but is unmistakably there? Is it genetic? Or is it a pill of glow that everyone knows about minus you?

It’s somewhere in between actually. While some are born beautiful, most have worked to master the art of allure. They follow some essential rules that part classic from contrived.

Here’s what you need to know.

Beauty: The best groomed know the power of less; less make-up, less products, because they prime their skin to be one of their best assets.

That means moisturiser is your best friend. You need it on every miniscule inch of you, every day. It means washing your face before you crash.

Be pathological about sunscreen. A tan is desirable, but unevenness and fine lines isn't. Make manicures a ritual. Short nails with a natural gloss or classic red always trumps mile-long

talons with nail-art.

Hair: Think of five women you admire, and notice that they all have great hair. Glossy, thick, zero-frizz hair is genetic but be the best you can. Spend time, effort and yes, a little money on giving your hair deep conditioning and a blow dry. When getting a colour, never go more than three shades lighter or darker your natural colour. Wondering why you should pay money to get virtually your own natural shade out of a bottle?

You'll get the answer the instant you see a more 'finished' version of yourself in the mirror.

Outfit: To be always in style, you’ve got to give up being trendy.

Pick well-cut, classic styles, fabrics that flow, textures that beg to be touched. Pay that bit extra and buy something that you will still wear two years later. Know your body and what suits you. Be ruthless about it. And get a great tailor. Your body isn’t a standard size mannequin. Tweak your clothes to fit your shape. Buy the best shoes and bags you can afford. It may seem like an indulgence but once you have worn a pair of well-made shoes, you will never go back.

Bottomline, pick classic, and add a twist of modernity. Colours and shapes you won’t need to update every month. I of course try, but give up. Too messy, too lazy, too many salsa stains.

16

BollYwooD

Asian Voice Saturday 16th July 2011

Prabhu Deva, wife parted ways

Kollywood actor-turneddirector Prabhu Deva and his wife finally parted ways.

The family court judge said the marriage was being dissolved on mutual consent.

The actor has paid Rs 10,00,000 to Latha as permanent alimony. He also transferred a piece of property in Anna Nagar along with two cars to her name.

Prabhu Deva transferred a

22-cent land at Injambakkam village and his property at 'Alekhyas Kaushik Meadows' in the names of his two children.

Though both children were under Latha's custody, the court granted Prabhu Deva the liberty to have access to them as he wished. He also agreed to bear cost of their education, marriage and other expenses in future.

Chiranjeevi’s son jealous of Abhishek Bachchan

South actor Rama Charan Teja is disappointed that his father and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi has shelved his plan to return to films. The actor said he was jealous of Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan.

"I dreamt of doing a song like Kajra Re with dad. I really envy Abhishek Bachchan to have acted with his dad in so many movies," Ram Charan wrote on Twitter. The

actor-turned-politician was supposed to make a comeback in a film which was to be produced by Teja. Chiranjeevi had announced in December 2010 that he would don the grease paint once again for his 150th film. But that project did not take off.

Chiranjeevi, a self-made star in Telugu cinema, quit films after a 30-year career in August 2008 to float the Praja Rajyam Party.

Chitra resumes singing after the tragedy

Legendary singer K S Chitra, who sang over 15,000 songs and won numerous awards including six National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards, took a break after the tragic death of her only child Nandana in a swimming pool in Dubai in April. According to sources, she is now back

and recently rendered her voice for a Malayalam film titled Istham + Sneham = Amma. The recording took place in a Chennai studio. Composed by music director and famous singer MG Sreekumar, the song was about a mother’s love for her daughter and Chitra was reportedly in tears as she sang it.

Priyanka Chopra to do a Munni and Sheila In the age of item numbers, it looks each film needs a big B-Town star dancing along. After Aamir Khan, Priyanka is the next to jump on the bandwagon.

“Delhi Belly” had a retro Aamir grooving along, and Ranbir gyrated to Tain Tain Phissh in the promotional item number for “Chillar Party.” Priyanka is going to be the latest item girl. She is reportedly doing her first solo item number in Priyadarshan's upcoming film “Tezz,” starring Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgn and Kangna Ranaut. She had earlier appeared in an item number with SRK in “Billu.” Priyanka has many sizzling numbers under her belt, including Touch Me Baby from Aitraaz, and unlike her contemporaries, has never been in a hurry to invest in the item frenzy.

When Shilpa Shetty was brought in for the Shut up and Bounce item song in Karan Johar's “Dostana,” she apparently had no issues with it.

Priyanka was previously quoted as saying, "I have never done one (item number), and I don't think I will be doing one either."

However, it looks like the craze has finally caught up with her. The song that she will be dancing has been composed by Sajid-Wajid, and will be her first solo item song.

A source claimed that "Priyanka's dance in Tezz will be as sexy as Malaika Arora Khan's Munni act in Dabangg and Katrina Kaif's Sheila in Tees Maar Khan." To this effect, it has been reported that a special set will be designed to shoot the number, and make it bigger and better than Sheila's and Munni's.

Shah Rukh Khan makes way for Rishi Kapoor If you thought that Karan Johar's upcoming production “Student of The Year” will be another Shah Rukh Khan starrer, then you are in for a surprise. For the first time in Johar's career, his star actor will not be featured. Instead, Johar and SRK have decided to share space only behind-the scenes as co-producers of the film.

Even though Johar tailor-made the role of the dean in the film for SRK, the two best friends mutually decided that the character was just not the right fit. And filling in for SRK is the actor's close friend, Rishi Kapoor. Interestingly, Rishi was one of the first actors that SRK had an opportunity to work with.

In fact, SRK marked his debut in Bollywood in the 1992 Raj Kanwar film, “Deewana,” opposite Rishi. The film catapulted SRK to stardom. And now, SRK's career seems to be making a full circle, as he opts out of the film to make way for the veteran actor.

A source said, "Karan had specially written the part for Shah Rukh. For him it was unimaginable to direct a film that doesn't feature the actor. The role of the dean was specially written for Shah Rukh. But finally SRK and Karan mutually decided that the actor should not take on the role."

Preity Zinta falls in love with Paris

Gujarati thali is best in the world: Hrithik “Gujarati cuisine is best, I remembered it even in Spain, Paris and every other place I visited and it is food you can never ever forget. Anyway Gujarat is unique, and this place has always proved lucky for us,” said Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan while promoting his upcoming film “Zindagi na milengi dobara” during his visit to Ahmedabad.

Hrithik and his co-stars Katrina Kaif, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koelchin, Farhan Akhtar and the director of the film Zoya Akhtar were travelling in a car from Mumbai to different places for the promos. They stopped at Surat, Vadodara and later reached Ahmedabad.

A huge crowd waited for hours to have a glimpse of their favourite stars. They danced, freaked out and talked hilariously about their film.

About their shooting on nude beach, Hrithik jokingly said, “it was a memorable experience for me, it was exactly like a scene of taking a shower in a bathroom and imagine people watching you.” When asked what he expect from the media, he replied, “I expect honest journalism, not the news with drama or the news that are exploited and created, but some real stuff.” Well, with this hunk, the lady Katrina was as charming as ever. Simple clothing yet a spark that stays with audience for ever. “ I love Ahmedabad audience most, as they are very balanced and always been in control while expressing their love. They have never lost their cool and misbehaved with me.”

– Purvi Apurva Shah

Amitabh Bachchan visits Ajmer Sharif Bollywood superstar A m i t a b h Bachchan recently visited Ajmer Shariff for the fulfillment of a wish that he had asked for. The actor who blogged saying, "In prayer and in peace … in divinity and the unknown force ... in the completion of a promise made 40 years ago ... in Ajmer Sharif to untie the 'dhaga' ... the scared thread that one tied at the shrine. I had visited the 'dargah' soon after my entry in the film field 1969 made a wish and tied a thread. The belief is that when the wish is fulfilled, you return to the shrine and untie a thread.

“Ishq In Paris” will not only mark her first endeavour as a producer but also Preity Zinta's first stint essaying a foreigner. In the film, which goes on floors in a couple of months in Paris, Preity plays a half Indian, half French girl who falls in love in the romantic city. And to do her role as a French mademoiselle justice, the actress has been busy learning the language. While she has the basics down, she is still trying to perfect her diction.

When contacted, director Prem Soni said, "From the start, we were certain that Preity would be able to get the French accent and pronunciation. We did not want to dub her French dialogues. By the time we start shooting, I am sure Preity will know as much French as any native and speak the language fluently enough."

While she may be learning to walk the talk, her look seems to fit the role perfectly. The director added, "So many people have said that Preity looks French. I couldn't have cast anyone else in the role."

Reportedly, Soni was adamant about two things, casting Preity and shooting the film in Paris. When asked why Paris was the only choice on the list, Soni explained, "For Ishq In Paris, it was always Paris or nothing. I couldn't locate this love story anywhere else. I started writing the script two years ago." However, what the director refrained from addressing are the rumours surrounding two versions of the Indo-French production.

Zareen sheds 43 kg of her flab

Poonam refuses 31 movie offers

Bollywood actress Zareen Khan received lot of adulation for her acting skills, but she was subjected to a lot of criticism for her out of shape body. In fact she was even referred to as ‘Fatrina’ as she resembled actress Katrina Kaif, only flabbier. But Zareen wasn’t the one to sit back and endure such criticism, so she decided to shed her excess fat and opt for a toned body for her role in Sajid Nadiadwala’s next, ‘Housefull 2’. She went for a workout recipe that helped Zareen lose 43 kg.

She went from a whopping 100 kg to her current weight of 57 kg. She is keen to train harder and shed more flab.

After appearing on the reality show ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi season 4’ Poonam Pandey now wishes to sign movies, and that too with the B-town A-listers.

According to sources, in a period of 45 days she has refused 31 movie offers, as the projects had the likes of Rahul Mahajan and Ashmit Patel as her co-stars and no big guns from the industry. “I turned down 31 offers in the last 45 days. It was not about the role, but the names involved. I want to act with the big guns of the Bollywood industry,” boasted Poonam. “Why should I work with a small production house, when I'm getting offers from big banners?" she added.

Veteran filmmaker Mani Kaul passes away Filmmaker and writer, Mani Kaul, 66, passed away last week, after suffering from a prolonged illness. He breathed his last at his Delhi home, after being discharged from a hospital. An alumnus of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, Kaul began his career with the film Uski Roti in 1969, which won the Filmfare Critics Award. Kaul’s most notable work is his documentary, Siddheshwari, which won the National Award for Best Documentary film in 1989. “With his aesthetic sense of cinematography and immense knowledge of Indian music, Kaul’s cinema was both inspiring and entertaining,” said film-maker Govind Nihalani.

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

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Sridevi returns to face camera After a gap of 15 years, Sridevi is going to face the camera.

She stayed away from the flashlights since long, but now ready to give her best shot. The actress shot the first scene for her comeback film, Gauri Shinde's “English Vinglish” recently. And though both the lead heroine of the film, Sridevi and her debutant director Gauri were doing just fine by themselves, the concerned husbands, Boney Kapoor and filmmaker Balki respectively, couldn't keep themselves from worrying. Speaking about his wife's comeback, Boney said, "of course, I am nervous.

But Sri, even today, is a head turner.”

Ash’s ‘Heroine’ shelved Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar and UTV have decided to shelve “Heroine” instead of working with pregnant Aishwarya Rai. The production house has announced that shooting of Madhur Bhandarkar's “Heroine” has been put off indefinitely because of Ash's pregnancy.

She plays the lead role. "We would like to put an end to the speculative and factually incorrect stories that are doing the rounds on Heroine and to clarify the position once and for all," said a statement from the production house.

Bipasa has hots for someone After her split with John Abraham, Bipasha Basu was dating Josh Hartnett for a short period. Not only did they shoot a Hollywood movie together, but along the way the two became more than just friends. Josh had split with his girlfriend Sophie Lie, while Bips was newly single after her break up with John.

The two took to each other instantly.

But now its confirmed that Bips-Josh romance is done for good and she's moved on to some one else. A source reveals, "Bipasha has suddenly developed a thing for white men.

She's surrounded by goras these days and is serious about some one. However, she's not ready to reveal his name yet.”

Shweta flings bikini at director's face The Bigg Boss 4 winner Shweta Tiwari who last hit headlines thanks to her tiffs with Dolly Bindra is in limelight again. Unhappy with the last-minute bikini scene, the actress flinged the two-piece garment at the shocked director's face. Shweta had problems with her clothes in “Bin Bulaye Baarati,” directed by Chandrakant, earlier also. But she did not make too much of a fuss and went along. But this time she could not help putting her foot down. When contacted, Shweta confirmed and said, “The bikini scene was not there when I signed the film. I was told to emerge out of a swimming pool and it was ridiculous and vulgar,” she added.

Salman gifts Raj Babbar a luxury car Salman Khan catches people by surprise. The latest is Congress MP and actor Raj Babbar. Raj did Salman a favour when he agreed to step in at the nth hour as Kareena Kapoor's father in “Bodyguard” because another MP, Shatrughan Sinha who was to do the role of Bebo's papa, had to quit after a date clash between Bodyguard and his TV show, the Bhojpuri version of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Raj refused to accept payment from Salman for his role.

However, Khan just blew the veteran actor's mind when he gifted him a high-end four wheeler on the last day of his shoot for the film." Apparently Raj was so moved by the gesture that he was in tears.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

Business rates to make a difference Dear Financial Voice Reader, Mentioning ‘diversification’ when we have been through a credit crunch might bring the words ‘stable’ ‘horse’ ‘door’ and ‘bolted’ to mind. But I have just cause. And it is precisely because people don’t know what to do, that what they should do is diversify.

Investor excuses for not diversifying are increasingly inapplicable for online traders. Yet, doubtless most have not realised this simple fact can save them thousands in the coming months.

Excuse #1: Diversification is only for long term investors Diversification is not just about having a wide variety of stocks in your long term portfolio to iron out individual stock volatilities. It is useful even for short-term active traders.

One form of diversification for traders is cross-hedging. I always try to simultaneously hold various ‘long’ (buying in anticipation of a price rise) and ‘short’ positions (selling in anticipating buying back cheaper to close the trade).

How do you know which stocks to go long and which to sell short? Use the same techniques you use in your usual stock picking, such as charting or fundamentals.

Going short is not a problem; lots of online trading products allow the private investor to do that as easily as going long.

This strategy certainly allows protection from the J. Pierpont Morgan adage: "The market will go up and it will go down, but not necessarily in that order."

Excuse #2: Diversification is too complicated Effective diversification often comes from holding international securities because they are less correlated to domestic ones. Investments with low correlations (whose prices move less in tandem with each other) reduce ‘portfolio risk’ the chance all your investments will fall together -while maintaining returns. Harry Markowitz won a Noble Prize for that discovery.

Moreover, holding stocks in foreign currency (itself an asset with low correlation to UK stocks) should further reduce portfolio risk.

But this required multiple accounts with different brokers in different currencies and consequently expensive transaction costs.

None of these excuses apply today for online traders. A typical spreadbet broker offers from one account access to multiple global stocks, such as Nokia, Microsoft, Sony. Indeed online brokers increasingly allow such access from one account too.

So, if you expect Microsoft to rise in the next fortnight, you look for a foreign stock, such as Sony, likely to fall in the same period. Again, that way you make an immediate gain on one and wait to make the gain on the other.

Excuse #3: I don’t just invest in stocks Diversification benefits are not solely applicable to stock traders. If you are one of the increasing number of traders using spread bets, stock futures or contracts for differences, these simple rules can assist: first, don’t invest more than 10% of your portfolio in a particular industry. Second, have a variety of long and short trades.

Third, mix international holdings with domestic ones.

Moreover, those online financial products originally designed for short term traders are now increasingly being modified for long term investing as stock substitutes. Their benefits include gearing (a small amount of money controls a lot of stock) and tax efficiency (for instance there is no stamp duty with spread bets, CFDs or stock futures).

Excsue #4: diversification is for the unskilled Admittedly Buffett believes in ‘putting all your eggs in one basket, and watching the basket’. Nevertheless, in a volatile uncertain market where direction is difficult to predict diversification offers two bites at the cherry for active traders; make a profit on the stocks you shorted as the market falls and a gain on the ones you bought as it rises again.

Clearly then, Pierpont Morgan’s statement does not mean the online trader in the search of a fortune is a hostage to fortune.

Alpesh Patel (alpesh.patel@tradermind.com) www.alpeshblog.com

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Every year the Business rates bill forms one of the largest overheads in many small businesses and is often a source of great financial distress, especially in today's difficult economic climate.

It is important to realise that the Local Authority do not benefit directly from the imposition of this charge: it is levied on behalf of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) which is a department of the Inland Revenue and therefore is a Central Goverment tax, not a local one and it is estimated that Westminster takes about ￡24 billion from the Business community every year. If this huge amount was spent for the benefit

of local business owners voices would surely not be raised so much in objection: after all if your tax benefits your neighbours and their tax benefits you this would seem to be a fairer system. This money, however, ends up in Westminster coffers and the Chancellor decides where it's spent.

The VOA sets the rateable Value (RV) of each property every five years.

The current period runs from 1st April 2010 and this time some huge increases have been experienced. RV is supposed to reflect the Rent paid for the premises as well as the size of the property and services available within or near it. Usage also comes into consideration.

Geographical location will normally have a great effect on the level of imposition. When the RV has been set the Chancellor decides how much each business pays by setting the multiplier (or Uniform Business Rate). This is currently about 43% of the RV and will rise every year until 2015.

It is possible to appeal against this unfair system and you are allowed just one appeal every five years. However, there are a number of rules which must be observed. The fact that you cannot afford to pay your Rates Bill because of the 'credit crunch' will cut no ice with the VOA. They are much likely to respond favourably when present-

SMEs still need to seek advice, says ACCA

The survey of 5,000 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs,) the largest ever of its kind, found that about half of all UK SMEs are not currently using any external finance and only eight per cent had applied for a new loan or overdraft in the 12 months to May 2011. The majority of SME applicants were eventually able to access the funding they needed, whether overdrafts (85 per cent) or loans (66 per cent), although the process was not always straightforward.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) says that the research shows

how vital it is for SMEs to produce accurate information so they can access finance.

Manos Schizas, senior SME policy adviser at ACCA, says: “The survey results show that there is a 'magic circle' of SMEs, established businesses with good credit ratings seeking to renew existing facilities, for whom the finance supply chain is now working quite well.

The rest, however, are more likely to get turned down for finance outright.

We think information is at the heart of this divide; the banks are happier to lend when they understand what they are getting themselves into. Though

we cannot know for sure, our fear is that this divide is widening.”

ACCA was pleased to note in the research that 'almost all' of the SMEs seeking advice on overdraft applications and the majority of those seeking advice on loan applications spoke to an accountant first; but the fact remains that too few SMEs are taking advice, regardless of the source only nine per cent of those seeking overdrafts and 20 per cent of those seeking loans. This is worrying, as the survey also found that only one in five SMEs had a person with any financial training in charge of their finances.

Infosys disappoints investors

Infosys Ltd disappointed investors on Tuesday when it maintained its fullyear revenue forecast after narrowly missing expectations with its first-quarter results, sending its shares down nearly 6 per cent.

Infosys maintained its dollar revenue growth forecast at 18-20 per cent for the fiscal year ending March 2012. Analysts expected full-year revenue growth of 20 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. India's No.2 software services exporter posted a 15.4 per cent rise in fiscal

first quarter profit, but was hurt as wage hikes crimped margins amid intense competition from rivals such as IBM, Accenture and Tata Consultancy Services .

"There is one negative that the full-year dollar revenue guidance has not been increased," said Rohit Anand, an analyst at PINC Research. "The major concern is demand at this point of time. So I think the key number is the full-

year outlook." Infosys shares were down 5.1 per cent at 2,772 rupees in on Tuesday morning trade.

Infosys added 26 clients in the quarter, its slowest pace of quarterly customer acquisition in at least four years, highlighting global economic uncertainty and concerns about top management changes at the company.

"The market was definitely expecting the revenue guidance would be improved," said K.K. Mital, head of portfolio management at Globe Capital in New Delhi.

ed with a batch of evidence which shows that your business is being taxed unfairly, much as your accountant does every year with your tax return.

This evidence might include the rates other businesses are paying in the local area or a difference in services available, usage made of the premises or level of competition in your specific industry.

The fact that other property holders have successfully appealed may also influence your case. If the appeal is successful, your RV will drop for this five year period (and a rebate will be given from 1st April 2010). They will revalue in 2015.

Tatas planning new Nano plant in Indonesia Shelving its expansion plans in Thailand and opting for fast-growing Indonesia, India's Tata Motors is in talks with a leading Indonesian automobile company to produce its popular no-frills Nano car.

Indonesia appears to have gained an edge over Thailand as the production site for the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, the Bangkok Post said, adding that Thailand was in contention to make the Nano since the Indian auto-maker has been producing its Xenon and Ace light trucks at its factory in Samut Prakanin since 2009.

However, since Indonesia offered more attractive incentives, Tata decided to shelve the expansion plan in Thailand, the paper said, quoting unnamed sources.

Quoting the source, the paper added that Tata was concerned about political stability in the country and also found the local automobile tax structure discouraging. The Indian company is now said to be in talks with PT Astra International, Indonesia's leading automobile company, to produce the car.

Tata was one of seven manufacturers looking to develop eco-car projects in Thailand, but it scrapped the plan.

Mystery buyer acquires V8 Gourmet Group An unknown buyer has acquired the Indian restaurant chain, Bombay Bicycle Club, Tiffinbites and catering chain VAMA - V8 Gourmet Group is recently. This unknown buyer bought 100% of the share capital in the business, which was at one time 30% owned by Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty.

London-based turnaround specialist Re10, which brokered the deal late last month, also declined to reveal how

much the troubled firm had changed hands for.

The deal, which included all trading sites as well as the concessions in Harrods and Selfridges, sees the group continue to trade and has secured the future of 264 employees, according to Re10.

Joint administrator Nimish Patel said: "From the time Re10 was appointed as administrator on 13 June, our prime concern was to secure the future of the business, including its 264 members

of staff, which we thankfully did, just 10 days later".

V8 Gourmet was facing difficulties for sometime. The group acquired the Tiffinbites, Vama and Bombay Bicycle brands at the start of 2009 when it rescued Gourmet Restaurants from administration. Its most recent accounts filed at Companies House show that in 2009 it made a pretax loss of £2.6m, with sales of £10.4m.

Finbarr O'Connell and

Nimish Patel, partners at Re10, were appointed joint administrators. Patel said: "We are continuing to trade V8 Gourmet and the sites of the sub brands, until such time that we can see a way forward for all elements of the business." At present no changes are to be made, and we are working hard to secure the jobs of all 264 employees. We are at an advanced stage of discussions with an interested party with regard to the business."

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

19

A Rose By Any Other Name Is Still A Rose .....

Suresh Vagjiani Managing Director Sow & Reap A Property Investment & Financing company.

Currently we are focusing on a property due to come up in auction on the 13th July 2011. This is in the future at the time of writing and will be in the past by the time of reading. The property we are focusing on is in Carnarvon House. It’s a three bedroom property on the 8th floor guided at £345,000.

This is an ex local council property situated on the top of Gloucester Terrace in an estate called Hallfield Estate. Gloucester Terrace runs from Hyde Park right up to the A40. This block, Carnarvon House has some very good factors going for it. Firstly it is on the edge of the estate meaning it is the closest to the road so one does not need to go into the estate to enter the property. Secondly its rooms are south facing meaning plenty of sunlight coming in all day. Thirdly it faces the communal ground of greenery, this is a valuable view in central London.

Many will be put off with the ex local label. It is only a label. The significance of the label is it implies the estate is full of immigrants, one parent families and drug addicts. This is not the case with these estates.

Often they’re better looked after than privately run estates. The proof is a three bedroom down the road on Gloucester Terrace is currently on the market for £675,000 - achievable as one has sold for £750,000 previously. So why are these so valuable in comparison to other ex local properties? The leaseholders got together and purchased the freehold from the council.

Th is d oes not change the pro pe rty in anyway, it do es not chan ge t he owners of th e in divid ual flats, all it changes is that it removes a label which re duce s t he price o f a property d ue to the perce pt io n o f bu yers.

The fact a property can be sold for £750,000 in an ex local estate illustrates the point well, that many ex local authority properties are down valued purely due to false perception and nothing else.

The other point to consider is you as the buyer are not the largest shareholder in the purchase of a property. Typically it would be the lending institution. This means they have surveyed the property and deemed it suitable security - this is primarily due to its location.

There are two properties in the same block currently on the market.

One is valued by Foxtons at £475,000 and the other is being marketed at £410,000 and will accept an offer at £400,000.

Therefore up to £360,000 this flat will be a very good purchase to hold on to. They rent very well due to their close proximity to Bayswater and Whitleys Shopping Centre.

In fact we had one property we completed on last week which was bought for £315,000. This reason for the difference in current market price and this completion was this deal had been negotiated several months back and the solicitor had taken a long time to complete the transaction. Due to the continual upward pressure on price the property rose and the delay actually helped. If the price is continually rising you will benefit from this rise from the time you put an offer in, which costs you nothing, you will be benefiting from the rise with no investment in. At exchange you have only put in 10% but still you benefit from the rise of the whole property.

Throughout the years that we have been in this locality the prices have only risen. Sure there has been temporary stagnation. This was due to sellers acting from paralysis rather than a lack of buyers in the market. This was confirmed by several agents in the course of our dealings with them over the last few years during the credit crunch. What was reducing the liquidity in the market was that sellers who didn’t need to sell simply held onto property in central locations rather than getting a flattish price. There are not many distressed sales here, this can be verified by the relatively few properties which come up in auction in these locations.

W hen purchasing propert y man y co mplain they have missed the bo at and if only they had bou ght ten years ago th ey wo uld be fine n ow. Wit h pro perty you are always missin g t he bo at and in strong lo catio ns the re are departu res all the time.

Deciding to invest into property is like standing midway on a hill.

You can look down and lament that prices have risen so much or you can look forward with the vision of the future growth yet to take place.

I regret an opportunity I didn’t take up to purchase 10 properties in West End Quay – a new development at the time, this was about ten years ago. The properties were valued at £345,000 and could have been purchased at £275,000. At the time you could structure the deal based on the value of the property and not the purchase price. An 85% Loan to Value mortgage would release £293,250, this would have enough left over to cover stamp duty and sourcing fees charged by the agent. In short you did not need any money to enter this deal - just foresight.

These properties are on the market at nothing less than £500,000.

The supply is fixed in central London as the potential for adding value to a property by building an extension or adding an extra floor is very limited.

The demand however is growing, domestically the need for housing is great and will only increase due to the breakup of the family nucleus; a mobile work force etc. This is compounded in central London by international issues. For example with the recent events in Libya and the Middle East a lot of money started piling into the property market.

With issues in Greece agents have started to get demand from this part of the globe too.

In short the property market here is not totally dependent on the UK Economy, and consequently the rise of this market defies the shackles and brakes which affect other parts of the UK property market.

If you would like to attend our Central London Property Seminar at 7pm on the 28th July 2011 near Wembley Stadium please email info@sowandreap.co.uk, or give us a call on 0207 313 4595.

3 Flats at Haverstock Hill, Belsize Park Today we present you an exciting opportunity to acquire this first & second floor flats, comprising a parcel of six flats, situated in the sought after north London area of Belsize Park among the shops, restaurants and bars of Haverstock Hill.

Two Flats are Subject to Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements and One Flat is Subject to a Regulated Tenancy. l Total Combined Income of £23,974 per annum l The open spaces of both Primrose Hill and Regents Park are also within easy reach. Transport links are provided by Chalk Farm underground station (Northern line). l The property would require a deposit of 80K (approx) and would give you a total combined income of £23,974(approx) per annum. l This would definitely be a great deal you don't want to lose!

If you are interested in purchasing this property:

V ery simply, which is wh at e ve rything clever bo ils d own to, the price o f something is d epende nt on two t hings. On e is su pply and the othe r is demand.

Call us now on 0207 096 1354

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now: Specialists in: l Property Sourcing l Mortgages l Commercial Finance l India Properties

UK Sales 0207 313 4595 India Sales 0203 384 5323 Westbourne House, 14-16 Westbourne Grove, London, W2 5RH

Tips of the Week l When looking at property concentrate on the feel of the property, not just the price, nice views of canals and greenery will help future growth l Look at service charges and ground rents especially on new build flats as these could serve to dampen your rental yields

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finAnciAl VoICe

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

Amit Patel has over 15 years experience in the field of Leadership and Human Resource Management

Maria Fernandes

maria@abplgroup.com

Around the world – A snap shot Whilst the UK Government have indicated that tough stance towards the entry of immigrants and have rejected the plea of Alex Salmon, First Minister of Scotland to exempt Scotland from the new rules, other countries are beginning to feel the impact of restricting measures taken.

The ageing population, coupled with the decline in population growth and a lack of skilled labour has resulted in the relaxation of rules in some countries.

Russia, which is due to meet with the EU to discuss immigration trends, takes the view that immigrants make a considerable contribution, Germany has exempted a list of skilled staff from the harsh rigours of their rules and Canada wants to double its intake of immigrants by 2020 into Nova Scotia.

In the meantime Australia is facing huge skill gaps as a result of the tightening of their regulations and population decline and are looking at opening up their skill sets.

Student Changes From the 4th July 2011

Taj may end London tie-up with InterContinental

The Taj group, the largest hospitality chain in Asia, is reviewing its threedecade-old alliance with Crowne Plaza, a unit of the InterContinental Hotels group, for its fourstar property in London.

Located near Buckingham Palace, the residence of the British monarchy, the Crowne Plaza London-St James is the only Taj property globally that is marketed under another hotel operator's brand and distribution channel.

Now, chances are that Taj would call off this pact.

When Taj acquired the 342key hotel in 1982, marking the Indian firm's entry into the UK market, it didn't have a well-established sales and distribution network in the West and so it went with Crowne Plaza.

However, having acquired properties in the US, South Africa, Maldives and Australia over the year, Taj has built a strong brand and a robust infrastructure globally, and looks set for a solo journey.

new immigration rules will effect Tier 4 applications and their dependants. It is important to emphasise that these new rules will not affect those currently in the UK on existing leave.

The changes to take place are:• Work will only be permitted if the student is studying at either higher education institution or a publicly funded further education college.

• Dependants can only join the student, if the student is studying a post-graduate course of 12 months or more at a higher education institution, or • Student who is a government sponsored student on a course lasting 6 months or more, or • Student who is applying, within 3 months of the date he/she had last had leave as a student, for courses 6 months or longer and the dependant is applying at the same time.

Student regulations have changed in stages and therefore when assessing their status it is necessary to consider when they made the application and what the restrictions were during that period.

Restaurants update The new rule only permits Chefs to qualify if the job if the job is not in a fast food outlet, a standard fair outlet or an establishment which provides a take-away service.

So far, restaurants that provides a take-away service have been rejected. This has excluded restaurants who provide buffet services from qualifying as well as those who have a very small take-away service which is not part of their main business. These rules will mean that 5 star hotels which provide buffet services will not qualify and those high-class restaurants that provide the ability to take away food will also fail to secure chefs. Although the grant of allocations of certificates is undersubscribed, there is a policy to exclude Chefs from qualifying.

Maria Fernandes has been in practice exclusively in immigration for the past 25 years.

Fernandes Vaz is based at 87 Wembley Hill Road Wembley in Wembley and can be contacted by telephone on 02087330123, by email on info@fernandesvaz.com.

Anshu Jain frontrunner to head Deutsche Bank India-born Anshu Jain has emerged as the front-runner to succeed Josef Ackermann as the CEO of Deutsche Bank and it looks increasingly likely that he will be nominated shortly for Germany's top banking job.

As the race for the leadership of Germany's largest bank entered a decisive phase, Jain seems to have won the backing of the supervisory board and what remains to be decided is whether he will take over the reins together with his management board colleague, Juergen Fitschen, when the incumbent Ackermann retires in early 2013. Key members of the chairman's committee met on Sunday to debate a solution, a person familiar with the matter said.

The executives looked set to back the JainFitschen proposal put forward by supervisory board chairman Clemens Boersig, a person familiar with the talks said on Sunday, although objections remain. "The final word has not been spoken," a supervisory board

Anshu Jain

said. A key worry is that Fitschen, who is aged 63, may not stay for the full term that Jain, aged 48, will likely remain at the helm, a person familiar with the talks said.

Deutsche Bank's supervisory board is convinced that Jain, 48, who currently runs the bank's highly successful investment banking business from its headquarters in London, has the best credentials to succeed Ackermann. But it favours him to share the post initially with Fitschen because of his deficiency to communicate in German and lack of high-level networking in German politics, media reports said.

Who Blinks First?

Have you ever wondered what boxers think about when they have the official ‘stare down’ just before a fight? Outwardly it just seems to be a bit of showboating for the audience rather than having any strategic significance.

Having said that, boxers do take it very seriously and despite the crowd and all the commotion going on around them one thing stands out - the boxers never blink.

Blinking in a stare down has always been considered as a sign of weakening resolve or feeling intimidated. And one can find examples of ‘stare downs’ can be found in many other situations too. While the media ‘over here’ are engrossed in the story about the phone hacking scandal, another potentially explosive situation is developing ‘over there’.

The US Government currently has a debt of approximately $14 trillion dollars and over the weekend the US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner made a state-

ment that the President (a democrat) had to agree a deal with the Congress (controlled by Republicans) on how the debt would be managed

by August 2nd thus enabling the current debt ceiling to be increased.

Consider it an agreement to extend the overdraft.

Geithner did not mince his words either, he stated that if a deal could not be reached the Government would not be able to pay civil servants or contractors (in effect it would be bankrupt) and this would trigger a catastrophic disaster which would reverberate around the world.

Geithner has bought the two fighters to the middle of the ring and the stare down has begun. In a strange twist, it is the Democrats who are proposing more cuts than the Republicans. However, in return for making the cuts they are proposing higher taxation of the wealthiest and closing current tax loopholes.

This has put the Republicans in something of a corner. While they

Indian govt nod to CairnVedanta deal with riders

In a major relief to the Anil Aggarwal-led Vedanta Resources, the government of India conditionally approved the company's plan to buy majority stake in oil explorer Cairn India.

"This will create an appropriate sentiment in the market," India’s finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) recently. The long-awaited approval of the CairnVedanta deal comes 10 months after it was mooted. It is likely to send a positive signal to the foreign investors.

Petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy said the cabinet has accepted most of the recommendations made by the group of ministers (GoM), headed by the finance minister.

"I would like to invite foreign investors in oil and gas sector," Reddy said while talking to reporters.

The government has given its nod to the deal with the conditions that include royalty being cost recoverable for Barmer field in Rajasthan. Under the deal, Cairn will be

required to pay 20 per cent royalty.

Reddy said the government has given its conditional nod and now it was up to the companies to decide on the deal. "Now the ball is in Cairn and Vedanta court. They have to take further decisions," he said.

Cairn Energy in August 2010 agreed to sell its majority stake to Vedanta in a deal that is valued at $9.6 billion. The deal was held up due to protests from the state-owned ONGC, which has a 30 per cent stake in Cairn India's oilfields in Rajasthan - the biggest onshore finds in the country in two decades.

Although it owns less than a third of stake in the oilfields, ONGC has to pay royalty for the entire output of crude from the fields. The state-owned explorer has asked the government to correct this anomaly.

Vedanta has already completed the mandatory 20 per cent open offer for Cairn India through its Indian subsidiary Sesa Goa. It managed to buy 8.1 per cent of the shares through this offer. It also bought a 10.4 per cent stake from Malaysian energy major Petronas.

With these two transactions, Vedanta now owns 18.5 per cent stake in Cairn India.

By Amit Patel

too want to reduce Government spending, they don’t want higher taxes. So they are proposing less cuts in return for lower taxation.

Such ‘posturing’ is a regular and some may say essential part of negotiating. However, with the August 2nd deadline it is clear that this stare down cannot last very long. The question is who will blink first? In a fight it doesn’t really matter who blinks first because it doesn’t guarantee victory.

However, in a negotiation it is somewhat more significant. Both parties cannot afford to appear weak or to be losing ground, yet both will have to make concessions. The idea being that both can come out of the negotiations claiming victory.

It remains to be seen who (if anyone) blinks first in these negotiations.

However, one must always remember, not blinking for too long only results in obscuring ones vision.

Mukesh Ambani planning to sell gas pipeline business

India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani is looking to sell Reliance Gas Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n Infrastructure Ltd, a business that builds pipelines to carry natural gas across the country, reports said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, has contacted bankers to help him sell the business and the process is at an early stage, the report said. Two people familiar with the matter said the privatelyowned gas pipeline business could be worth around $1 billion, it said.

"We do not comment on market speculation," a Reliance spokesman said when asked about the report. In May, India's upstream regulator said Reliance was producing 48 million standard cubic metres per day of gas from the key D6 block of Krishna-Godavari basin.

In February, BP Plc agreed to buy a 30-per cent stake in 23 oil and gas blocks owned by Reliance Industries, for $7.2 billion.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

21

Foreign Exchange Rajesh Agrawal is the Chairman & CEO of RationalFX, Currency Specialists.

For any further information call 020 7220 8181 or e-mail info@rationalfx.com

More economic trouble expected in Europe Sterling continues to decline against the majors as more negative data has been released. UK at the start of the week had the PMI Construction figure which came out as expected but the figure was a lot worse than previous. Due to this figure the pound hit a 15 month low against the Euro and weakened strongly against the USD. There has been a string of bad data for the UK in the past 2-3 months, each time signaling that the UK will not be raising interest rates until maybe this time next year.

It seems now as if the only way Sterling can gain back lost ground is if any more problems from Europe are raised. There was good news data wise from the UK, with good Manufacturing figure showing that UK was doing better with its PMI data than the majors.

With Halifax House Price index came in better and BoE unsurprisingly holding interest rates, saw little movement in the market as the figure were expected.

The good manufacturing figure and the bad Industrial Production figure released last Thursday seemed to cancel each other out with little movement before the rate decision.

At the start of the previous week the Greek government

finally got what they’ve been asking for in the form of an aid package from the EU and IMF. This saw the euro surge against the US dollar, with further speculation that the ECB would raise interest rates by 25 basis points, which they did. This Poured cold water on Greece’s parade as credit rating agency S&P said the debt rollover plan for the ailing Greek government may be classed as “selective default”.

Whilst seemingly having been priced into the market we actually saw the Euro weaken shortly after this release, with the general consensus perhaps being that this was not the smartest move as it in no way helps the already struggling economies in the EU. This was further affected at the start of this week with rumour that the Italian finance minister was resigning, which caused further downturn for the Euro.

The US market started from Tuesday, with 0.8% increase Factory Orders in May, lower than the expectation but better than the previous 0.9% decrease in April. In terms of a fundamental reading, this did not affect the dollar movement as much. However, dollar weakened on the interest rate increase pending deterred by the

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 12th July 2011 @ 11.30pm GBP - INR = 70.82 USD - INR = 44.68 EUR - INR = 62.34 GBP - USD = 1.58 GBP - EUR = 1.14 EUR - USD = 1.39 GBP - AED = 5.82 GBP - CAD = 1.54

US economic report late in the afternoon. The next day, we had the ISM non manufacturing for June for the US coming out lower than expectations and than previous. This brought more aversion to risk in a market already quite weary after Moody’s reduced Portugal’s rating to junk. As a result, USD strengthened quite a bit against GBP with cable falling to a low of 1.5948. It was a positive day for the US on Thursday with good figures coming in the form of ADP employment change and also lower initial and continuing jobless claims figures. This appeared to show a return to

fundamentals in the US as we saw the USD strengthen somewhat against the GBP off the back of this positive data.

However, Friday was a disappointing day for the US, data from the labour market: Non Farm Pay Roll, Average Hourly Earnings (YoY), Unemployment Rate are all coming in worse than expected. The dollar dropped massively against the major currencies. GBPUSD and EURUSD hit the weekly high level respectively; however, we saw a recovery for the dollar as further Sterling and Euro weakness kicked in with further concerns about their economies.

GBP - NZD = 1.94 GBP - AUD = 1.50 GBP - ZAR = 10.89 GBP - HUF = 306.95

www.rationalfx.com Information provided by RationalFX. None of the information on this page constitutes, nor should be construed as financial advice. The exchange rates used are the commercial foreign exchange rates provided by RationalFX. For a live quote or to find out more about how RationalFX can help you, call us on 0207 220 8181.

22

PakisTan-BagladesH-sri lanka

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

Khan implicates Pak army in nuclear sales to N Korea IN focus

Washington: High ranking Pakistani generals sold nuclear technology to North Korea and received a payout of $3.5 million in US dollars stashed in a fruit carton along with some jewellery, country’s nuclear scientist A Q Khan has disclosed in the latest embarrassment for the beleaguered country.

In new documents and testimony that implicates the Pakistani military in nuclear technology supplies to the isolated Chinese ally, Khan has released a letter from a senior North Korean official in which the latter demands nuclear technology in lieu of “three million dollars…paid to Army

chief Gen J Karamat and half a million dollars and 3 diamond and ruby sets which have been given to Gen Zulfikar Khan.”

“Please give the agreed documents, components, etc. to (a North Korean Embassy official in Pakistan) be flown back when our plane returns after delivery of missile components,” the letter states, indicating a nuclear technology-for-ballistic missiles swap between Pakistan and North Korea that the United States long suspected but did little to address.

In a separate written testimony that he gave to British journalist Simon Henderson along with the letter in 2004, Khan says

A Q Khan

he transferred the funds on two occasions in a small canvas bag and three cartons, in one case at the chief of army staff ’s official residence. One of the cartons had money underneath fruits, he says.

Pakistan has expectedly denied the report, with its foreign office

No laws to register minority marriages in Pakistan

Hindu couple ties knot outside press club to register protest Islamabad: A Hindu couple tied knot without any pomp and ceremony outside a press club in southern Pakistan to protest the lack of law for registering the marriages of the minority community.

Mukhesh and Padma walked around a ceremonial fire seven times outside the press club in Hyderabad, the second largest city in Sindh province. The ceremony was devoid of the "pomp and splendour which is the essence of traditional Hindu weddings" as the couple wanted to highlight the minority community's demand for laws that register their marriages, 'The Express Tribune' reported.

"Since 1947, Hindu couples have not been legally accepted as husband and

Mukesh and Padma, stand together outside press club.

wife," said Guru Sukh Dev, who solemnised the wedding. "Consequently, many domestic, social and psychological problems arise for Hindu families, especially for the women," he said.

The marriage was organised by Ramesh Mal, a leader of scheduled caste communities. Since the creation of Pakistan, there have been no laws for Hindu marriages, he said.

"The Pakistani govern-

ment should take a cue from India and introduce laws to protect Hindu marriages," said Mal. Hindus have problems obtaining national identity cards and passports, registering married women, and conducting property transfers. Even travelling inside the country becomes difficult, he said. Many young girls from his community are abducted, forced to convert to other religions and forcefully married," he added.

This happens because laws to protect Hindu girls do not exist in Pakistan, he contended.

Protesters who attended the recent wedding shouted slogans and urged President Asif Ali Zardari to issue an ordinance for registering Hindu marriages until a law is enacted.

Canada blacklists Pakistan Taliban

Toronto: Canada has blacklisted the Pakistan Taliban as a terrorist organisation. The US had designated the outfit known as the Tehrik-eTaliban Pakistan (TTP) as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) last year. Joining US, Canada said the TTP is a terrorist outfit under the criminal code of Canada.

Public safety minister Vic Toews said: "Fighting terrorism is one of the most important challenges we face as a nation. The threat is real, persistent, and evolving, and we

remain vigilant in confronting it."

"Listing Tehrik-eTaliban Pakistan, an organization that has claimed responsibility for multiple suicide attacks in Pakistan and the attempted bombing of Times Square in New York city in May 2010, is an essential part of our efforts to combat terrorism and keep our communities safe," the minister said.

In Canada, the TTP is suspected to be behind a plot foiled by the police under "Project Samosa" last August when three Canadian

Muslims were arrested with huge quantities of circuit boards to trigger improvised explosive devices, drawings and videos.

Operating mostly from the federally administered tribal area (FATA) of Pakistan, the TTP is targeting Pakistani government for its support to the USled forces in Afghanistan and drone attacks inside Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Canada formally ended its Afghan mission. Canada, which joined the US-led Nato forces in 2002, has lost 157 soldiers in the mission.

spokesperson saying “such stories have a habit of recurring and my only comment is that this is totally baseless and preposterous”. Karamat, who went on to become Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States during Musharraf ’s presidency, and the other general mentioned in the exchanges have also rubbished the letter and the narrative, which Henderson gave to the Washington Post because, he said, he could not authenticate it himself. The Post ran it by several experts who felt it was authentic and fit into US intelligence reports which chronicled Pakistan-N Korea exchanges.

Afghan president's brother killed

Kandahar: Afghan President Hamid Karzai's half brother, who was a butt of criticism for all that is wrong with the Afghan government, was assassinated on Tuesday at his home in southern Afghanistan, an official said. The death of Ahmed Wali Karzai was confirmed

by Zalmai Ayubi, the spokesman for Kandahar province, and Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior.

Ahmed Wali Karzai, who was head of the Kandahar provincial council, had become a political liability for the Karzai government.

But the president repeatedly defended him, denouncing accusations that his brother was involved in criminal activities in the restive south.

Ahmed Wali Karzai has been the reported target of multiple assassination attempts. In May 2009, his motorcade was ambushed by insurgents firing rockets and machine guns in eastern Nangarhar province. One of his bodyguards was killed, but he was not harmed.

That attack came less than two months after four Taliban suicide bombers stormed Kandahar's provincial council office, killing 13 people in an assault that Ahmed Wali Karzai said was aimed at him. A Taliban spokesman said the attack targeted the general compound. The president's half brother had left the building a few minutes before that attack.

Pak Taliban chief Mehsud isolated, losing control Islamabad: The chief of the Pakistan Taliban has been isolated from his militant group for more than a year and is rapidly losing control, a newspaper reported, a day after the military said it had launched an offensive in the northwest. Associates of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and intelligence officials in Islamabad say his position is tenuous following the defection of one of his top

Hakimullah Mehsud

commanders last week.

The defecting commander, Fazal Saeed Haqqani, who was the Taliban leader in the Kurram region on the

Afghan border in late June that he left over the group's "brutal" attacks on civilians. Haqqani has pledged to fight against the Pakistani Taliban and

US troops in Afghanistan.

"It looks as though he is just a figurehead now," the Express Tribune quoted one of Mehsud's associates as saying. "He can hardly communicate with his commanders ... he is in total isolation." Several more Taliban commanders in Kurram, where army has just launched an offensive, might desert Mehsud soon and the military was seeking to split commanders from him.

93 killed in Karachi ethnic violence

Karachi: At least 93 people were killed in five days of political and ethnic violence in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi. Shoot-at-sight orders were given to the security to curb violence. Authorities were sending hundreds more troops to restore peace. Senior police official Saood Mirza said that more than 150 people have been detained on suspicion of having had a role in the attacks across several of Karachi neighborhoods.

Karachi is a hotbed of political, ethnic and sectarian tension, and it occasionally erupts in violence. The latest spell follows the decision by the city's most powerful political party to leave the federal ruling coalition and join the opposition.

India-funded hospital in Sri Lanka Hatton: Sri Lankan minister of health Maithripala Sirisena and Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Ashok K Kantha laid the foundation stone for the construction of a150-bed hospital at Dickoya near Hatton in the central province. The hospital is being built with assistance from the government of India at an estimated cost of 1.2 billion rupees. Speaking at the ceremony, Kantha thanked Lanka government for its support and cooperation which had made the project a reality. In this context, Kantha has outlined four thrust areas of Indian assistance in the estate areas, health-care, education, transport connectivity and housing. The modalities of the project are being finalized, he said.

Blasts hit Pak army arms depot near Islamabad Islamabad: At least three blasts ripped through a Pakistan army arms depot on the outskirts of Rawalpindi, injuring two persons, police officials said.

The blasts at the arms depot in Sihala area, located about 20 km from the garrison city of Rawalpindi, were believed to be accidental in nature. The blasts damaged a building and triggered a fire. Army troops and policemen cordoned off the area and prevented people and media from approaching the arms depot. Witnesses said they had seen several ambulances leaving the arms depot and going to a nearby military hospital. Police officials told the media that at least two persons were injured. No further details were immediately available.

40 students killed in Bangladesh accident Dhaka: A vehicle packed with schoolchildren returning home from a soccer tournament plunged into a canal in southeastern Bangladesh on Monday, killing at least 40, a police official said. About 60 children between ages 8 and 12 were on the vehicle at the time of the accident, and the death toll may rise as more bodies were feared trapped inside the sunken vehicle, police official Iftekhar Hasan said. Rescuers recovered 40 bodies from the wreckage in Chittagong district, 216 km southeast of the capital, Dhaka. “According to witnesses the boys were singing and dancing on board the truck,'' said the official. “The truck skidded off the muddy road and overturned as it plunged into the canal.''

US halts military aid to Pakistan Washington: The US is stopping millions of dollars in aid to the Pakistani military after the expulsion of over 100 US Special Forces trainers by Islamabad. Highly placed sources said that about $800 million in military aid and equipment - over a third of the more than $2 billion US security aid to Pakistan - could be suspended or cancelled. The fresh hardening of the US stand against Pakistan comes just days after Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accused Pakistan's ISI of ordering the kidnapping and death of journalist Saleem Shahzad.

HuJI threatens Pak foreign office in India Islamabad: The al-Qaida-linked terror group, Harkat-ulJihad al-Islami (HuJI), has threatened to attack Pakistan’s foreign office, its high commission in India and top diplomats if Islamabad does not stop sharing information about it with New Delhi. The terrorist group warned the foreign office to ask Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi to stop sharing details and information about HuJI with the Indian government. The warning was sent out through a handwritten letter addressed to foreign secretary Salman Bashir. The letter in Urdu was sent by mail to Bashir’s residence a few days ago.

Pak N-stockpile to touch 200 in a decade Washington: Pakistan has the world's fastest-growing nuclear stockpile and it could achieve 150-200 warheads in a decade despite the political instability in the country, two top American atomic experts have said.

Pakistan is in the process of building two new plutonium production reactors and a new reprocessing facility to fabricate more nuclear weapons fuel, wrote nuclear experts Hans M Kristensen and Robert S Norris in the latest issue of Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. In their paper 'Pakistan's nuclear forces, 2011', the authors estimate that if Pakistan's expansion continues, its nuclear weapons stockpile could reach 150-200.

worLD

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

China warns US against meeting Dalai Lama

In foCUS 128 killed in Russia boat tragedy

Moscow: At least 128 people died after an overloaded tourist boat sank in the Volga River in Russiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worst river accident in three decades. The dead also include many children, drowned when a riverboat filled with families cruising the Volga river sank over the weekend.

Tragically, minutes before the boat went down, the crew had separated many of the children on board from their parents, moving them into an interior play area, apparently part of the normal routine of the cruise. But on this day it had terrifying consequences in what the authorities are calling the worst river transport disaster in Russia in recent history and one of the most dismal losses of life among children in this country since terrorists seized a school in a southern region seven years ago.

25 Mubarak-era officials charged with manslaughter

Cairo: An Egyptian prosecutor has charged 25 officials of the Mubarak regime with manslaughter, attempted murder and assault for their role in organising a February attack on anti-regime protesters in which assailants on horses and camels charged into crowds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The battle of the Camel" took place on the second of February when at least eight protestors died and more than 600 injured. Those to stand trial included the speakers of both houses of parliament, member of the then-ruling party, ministers and businessmen. No date was given for the start of the trial. Massive protests are expected in all major cities in Egypt as people take to the streets for purge.

26 drug traffickers hanged in Iran Tehran: Twenty-six alleged drug traffickers have been executed in Iran, according to a human rights website.

The Herana website said the hangings were carried out last week at the Vakilabad prison in Mashad city without alerting the prisoners' families or lawyers. Human rights organisations have accused the prison of executing around 100 drug traffickers in secret over the past two years, many without having been even tried. The Iranian parliament recently passed a bill creating stiffer penalties for drug trafficking. The crime has been a capital offence since the Iranian Islamic revolution of 1979. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) and other human rights groups have spoken out against Iran for its use of capital punishment.

Beijing: China's Foreign Ministry warned US officials against meeting visiting exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, saying it hoped Washington "appropriately dealt" with Tibetrelated issues.

China reviles the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Dalai Lama, saying he supports the use of violence to establish an independent Tibet. He strongly denies either accusation, insisting he seeks only true autonomy for the remote region. The Dalai Lama is currently visiting the United States.

The US State Department said he met with Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero, but that it remained

Toronto: Air India Kanishka victims' families have rejected the Canadian government's offer of $24,000 each for the 1985 bombing that killed all 329 people on board the plane near the Irish coast.

The Kanishka flight 182 to Delhi from Montreal was blown off mid-air by a bomb planted by Vancouver-based Khalistani radicals to avenge the Indian army action at the Golden Temple in June 1984.

The Canadian govern-

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to be decided whether he would have any meetings at higher levels. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and other senior US lawmakers also met the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Beijing's position on the Dalai Lama's foreign visits was clear.

"We oppose the underhand visits of the Dalai Lama which he uses to engage in activities to split the motherland," Hong said. At the same time, we also oppose any foreign government or politicians supporting or abetting in such activities by the Dalai Lama," he added. We hope that the United States

Dalai Lama

strictly abide by its promises on the Tibet issue and ... cautiously and appropriately deal with relevant issues," The Dalai Lama met US President Barack Obama last year, drawing strong denunciation from Beijing. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued a statement saying Obama should also meet the Dalai

Lama to make it "clear that the US sides with the victims in Tibet, not the perpetrators in Beijing.

President Obama has an opportunity to make a strong statement about what we stand for by meeting with the Dalai Lama during his current visit, and I urge him to take it," said Ros-Lehtinen, a staunch critic of Communist governments.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said China had complained about the Dalai Lama's meeting with Otero, who is the State Department's coordinator for Tibet issues." The Chinese always make their views known when the Dalai Lama is in Washington," she said.

Kanishka victimsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; kin reject Canada's $24,000 ex-gratia

South Sudan becomes world's newest nation

Juba: South Sudan became the world's newest nation, officially breaking away from Sudan after two civil wars over five decades that cost the lives of at least 2 million people.

Residents of the new nation - the Republic of South Sudan - danced in the streets, banged on jerry cans and chanted the name of the world's newest president, Salva Kiir.

South Sudan earned independence at 12.01 am on Saturday, the culmination of a January independence vote guaranteed in a 2005 peace deal that ended the most recent north-south war. The early morning celebrations were joyous for the freedom gained but tinged with the memories of family members lost.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former US secretary of state Colin Powell among the dignitaries who were present during the celebrations.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has recognized South Sudan.

23

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ment announced the $24,000 ex-gratia during a meeting with families - as recommended by the Air India inquiry commission, headed by former Canadian chief justice John Major, which submitted its report last year.

A government spokesman said since most victims' families were compensated in the early 1990s, the $24,000 ex-gratia is just "a demonstration of solicitude and recognition for the administrative disdain families experienced over the years fol-

lowing the tragedy".

But the offer - which amounts to $7.9 million in total - enraged victim families who called it insulting to the memory of their loved ones.

"Once more we are treated with disdain. It seems that Indian life is cheap in the eyes of Canadian politicians and this is so degrading," Melbourne-based Anil Singh Hanse, whose father Narendra Singh Hanse was the pilot of the illfated plane, said.

He said the victims'

families will "pursue this (issue) in an international court as Canada is biased.

This is xenophobia at its worst. Canada's politicians need to wake up and stop being in denial".

Hanse denied his family receiving any compensation from Canada. "Let me be clear that we received not even 10 cents from Canada for the gross negligence which saw 329 innocents blown up. The spokesman is making misleading statements by saying most were settled."

24

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

68 killed, over 250 injured in UP train accident

About 68 people were killed and at least 250 injured on Sunday when 15 bogies of the Kalka Mail from Howrah jumped tracks while travelling at full speed near Malwan station, 120 km from Lucknow.

The accident, which took place as the Kalka Mail was nearing the Malwan railway station in Fatehpur district, toppled some of the coaches over two adjoining rail tracks, sealing off the busy route to Howrah from where the train was coming.

Meawhile, a second tragedy struck hundreds of miles away in the evening, when a blast derailed eight coaches of the GuwahatiPuri Express near Rangia, 50 km from Guwahati, and injured about 70 passengers.

Several women and children were killed in the Kalka accident, where five

AC coaches were among those derailed. Most of the deaths are suspected to have been caused by suffocation in the coaches where the victims lay buried under luggage or fellow passengers.

The 24-bogie Kalka, Bengal's fourth-most important train after Rajdhani, Duronto and Poorva, had left with 1,331 passengers on Saturday evening. Its average speed is 63 kmph but when the accident happened, it was travelling at 108 kmph "which is full speed", North Central Railway general manager H.C. Joshi said.

Officials suspect a track fault or sabotage, but the cause will be known only after the commissioner of railway safety finishes its probe.

The twin accidents come at a time the rail-

AV Correspondent

inmates of the jail and this will be the first such initiative by any university.

Courses like beauty training and sewing and tailoring are already in process but for the first time the inmates will get a chance to seek admissions in professional courses like BBA and BCA as well.

ADGP prisons, P C Thakur said, “in jails

ways are without a fullfledged minister following the departure of Mamata Banerjee With Trinamul's junior shipping minister Mukul Roy, who now holds additional charge of the railways, in Calcutta, his fellow minister of state for railways, K.H. Muniappa, rushed to the Kalka accident site.

Discussing the tragedy at her home in Calcutta, Mamata let slip before reporters that her party's junior health minister, Dinesh Trivedi, would bag the railway minister's post in the upcoming cabinet rejig. "Dinesh to ashchhe, or dayitwo hobey eshob ebaar (Dinesh is coming, all this will be his responsibility now)," she said.

"Of the 15 derailed bogies, 10 are in a bad shape," a senior official said. While one AC threetier coach overturned, another had climbed over it. Two other AC coaches that had banged against each other stood almost vertically.

The Puri Express had left Guwahati at 6.45pm and was hit by the blast around 8.20pm at Bhatkuchi near Rangia.

Four of the eight derailed coaches overturned.

"Police have found some wires that may have been used to trigger the explosion," a railway police officer said. "No one died."

Gujarat university to introduce professional courses for jail inmates

Cartoon: Jami

There is hope for those languishing behind bars for years and aspiring to study in Gujarat. Now they too can study and become degree holders in subjects which probably they had heard of. The Gujarat University proposes to introduce full time professional courses for the

Raw vegetables are not only nutritive..... but will save lot of my expensive cooking gas .....and my time.....of course !!!

inmates have been studying through correspondence courses conduced by open universities, and this will be the first such initiative by any university to teach inmates and conduct these classes as well.’’

The varsity plans to offer BA, BCom, BBA and BCA for the inmates. Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University, Parimal Trivedi said. “We have been working to design some special courses for the prisoners and the programmes will be prepared according to the requirement of the prisoners.’’

Trivedi said that the varsity teachers would teach and train the prisoners and the exams for the same would also be conducted in the jail premises.

He said schemes were being worked out to encourage prisoners to join the external programmes.

Thakur said that this would be the first such initiative by a mainstream university to work on a rehab project for the prisoners.

Trivedi said that if the inmates of the Sabarmati jail were able to get trained and educated through these professional programmes then the university would consider similar training programmes for inmates housed in other jails.

In divine light

By Rajen Vakil

The story of Dadhichi In satyayuga there existed a demon called Kaalkepa. Kaalkepa was protected and supported by another demon Vritasura, but who was invisible to all except Kaalkepa. Together with the unseen Vritasura, Kaalkeya attacked the kingdom of the gods, Indraloka. King Indra and all the Devas went to Lord Brahma in desperation asking him the means to defeat the demon Kaalkeya, and his invisible friend Vritasura, who were torturing them.

Lord Brahma, told them that a weapon made of the bones of Rishi Dadhichi would kill Kaalkeya [and his hidden ally Vritsura]. He revealed further that a thousand years ago the Rishi had drunk molten iron and made his bones indestructible. The weapon made of the bones would kill the demons.

Taking Brahma’s advice, Indra with his army of Devas went to Rishi Dadhichi’s ashram on the banks of the river Saraswati, and worshipped him.

Rishi Dadhichi, whose effulgence was like the sun, asked them what they wanted and as per Lord Brahma’s instruction, they requested him to give them his bones to defeat the deadly combination of Kaalkeya and Vritasura. The rishi gladly complied and shed his

body effortlessly, just like a man removes his clothes. The Devas then took the bones from the rishi’s lifeless body and took it the divine architect Vishwakarma who made a hexagonal weapon out of them, called Vajra.

Meanwhile, Vritasura was waiting for Indra in the space between heaven and earth. He was surrounded by the Kaalkeya demons. A terrible battle was fought between the Devas and the Kaalkeya demons. The demons were winning the war and the Devas had begun to flee the battlefield.

Desperately, Indra, as their king, went to Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu filled Indra with his luster, which made Indra very powerful. Seeing Indra grow so powerful, Vritasura started roaring loudly. The sound made the earth, the mountains and all the directions tremble and quiver in fear.

Indra also started trembling, and accidently let loose the Vajra, and ran off to hide in a lake. The weapon went and pierced the demon Vritasura, killing him on the spot.

With Vritasura dead, the Devas were easily able to defeat all the Kaalkeya demons. They found Indra, gave him the news

that they had won the battle and told him he could come out of the lake.

On a deeper level, Vritasura represents our inner darkness.

Vrit means to choose and Asura implies darkness.

When there is no light of consciousness in us, we cannot choose rightly.

Kaalkepa, which means the time factor, supports Vritasura, the hidden darkness in us. The demons of inner darkness and time can be killed with the luster of Vishnu and the weapon Vajra made of the bones of Dadhichi. Dadh means to hold. The yogi acquires the power to ‘hold’ by working on his vajra nadi through a technique called Vajroli. To do this, he uses both the mudra and its psychic counterpart, corresponding to the weapon Vajra and the luster of Vishnu, in the story.

Once he controls the vajra nadi, its inner effulgence sheds light on his inner darkness and frees the yogi from time. The yogi having annihilated the inner demon Vritasura acquires the power to choose and consequently fulfill his wishes.

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

(Edited by Chintu Gandhi)

All past articles on the Mahabharata can be accessed from http://epaper.asianvoice.com or from http://www.3stepbreath.com/mahabharata.html

By Purvi Apurva Shah

The Wrong Prescription Dr Manoj Kapoor It is extremely difficult to put this book down once to start and you just want to go on. This book written by a medical practitioner proves to be a medicine in itself. This book makes you giggle, laugh and sometimes wonder where the pain has disappeared. Laughter is the best medicine and with every twist in the book you are curving your lips, being smiley.

Like the issue of Mr A P Dun who had constant anus pain was later renamed “Anuspain Dungsting” by his friends.

When he went for treatment, the doc says, “I have treated the royals, industrialist and superstars, so do not worry.”

Hearing this the patient felt relieved that at least my anus is in league with the royals. The pain goes away with such fantastic

comparison. Later the doctor informs the patient that the surgery is in millions. “Sir, my part is not worth that much. My pain is gone hearing your fees.

And if my family hears your fees, they will all become your patients,” says the patient.

The another occasion a villager told the doctor, “sahib, kharchoo baoo thay che,” meaning that the patient was having diarrhoea. The Hindi speaking doctor misunderstood her words to mean “it is very expensive.” And the misunderstandings went on. Such anecdotes explains the agony of the doctor as well as the patient. A six pack doctor is a rarity, though not an impossibility. How do they fight their battles or settle their grievances? Certainly not by giving wrong prescrip-

tions! The calling they have chosen for their livelihood teaches them the virtues of compassion, restraint, patience and forbearance, facilitated by knowledge and continuous learning. And these very virtues help them overcome their setbacks. And at the end once when you enter the hospital, there is only one GOD sitting in front of you.

The ‘Wrong Prescription’ certainly has the right prescription to live life better.

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

IN FOCUS Apex court pulls up Delhi Police for Ramdev crackdown The Supreme Court has pulled up Delhi Police for the midnight crackdown on Baba Ramdev and his supporters at the Ramlila ground here last month. The apex court has asked Delhi Police to explain what provoked it to use teargas and baton-charge in the closed enclosure on people who were sleeping. The apex court has asked Delhi Police to furnish the footage of June 4 crackdown.

Baba Ramdev's counsel Ram Jethmalani requested the court to issue notice to home minister P Chidambaram.

The court will take up this plea during the next hearing on July 25. According to agencies, the apex court also pulled up the police for not registering FIR against its officials on complaint of Ramdev's followers.

Chennai boy's killing: Retired army officer held A week after a teenager was killed in a military residential campus here, a retired army officer was arrested after he confessed to the crime as he was irritated by the boy's trespassing, police said. He was remanded to 15 days judicial custody. Lt. Col. (retd) K. Ramaraj, 58, had shot K. Dilshan from the balcony of his residence on July 3 when the 13-year-old boy and his friends trespassed into the campus to pluck almonds. Dilshan was seriously wounded and succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. Ramaraj, who has three sons serving in the army, was produced before a court and remanded to 15 days' judicial custody.

2G scam: Dayanidhi Maran quits Pushed to the wall after the Central Bureau of Investigation named him in the 2G spectrum allocation case, Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran resigned from the Union Cabinet, becoming the second DMK casualty in the scam.

The 44-year-old Maran met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after a Cabinet meeting and tendered his resignation following a word from DMK chief M Karunanidhi, highly-placed sources said.

Maran's continuance in the Cabinet became untenable after the CBI in its status report on the 2G scam case, charged him with

Dayanidhi Maran

forcing a Chennai-based telecom promoter C Sivasankaran to sell his stakes in Aircel to a Malaysian firm in 2006 during his tenure as Telecom Minister in UPA-I. The Prime Minister is believed to have had a word with DMK

Parliamentary Party chief T R Baalu and conveyed to him that the DMK leadership should be apprised of the position that Maran cannot continue in the Cabinet. Baalu, who was in Delhi, was understood to have conveyed this to Karunanidhi who later

Cong, BJP candidates file RS nominations

At least 38 people were killed and 31 critically injured when a speeding train crushed a bus packed with wedding revellers at an unmanned railway crossing on the Kanpur-Kasganj rail route. The Mathura-Chhapra Express hit the bus carrying a marriage party in Addupura village of Kanshiramnagar district just before 2am, said district magistrate Selva Kumari J. The bus had stalled on the tracks due to a mechanical problem. Most bodies were handed over to bereaved families after post-mortem. “Almost all the bodies, which were mostly from groom’s side have been identified by family members,” she said. The groom and the bride weren’t traveling in the bus, she said.

Get sterilized in Rajasthan, drive home a Nano Get sterilized and drive away in a Nano car. This is what the medical and health department of Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu has offered to people to check population growth. It's not just Nano. The department is also offering motorcycles, TV sets, mixer-grinders to motivate people to go for sterilization. "The prizes include a Nano car, five motorcycles, five 21-inch colour TVs and seven mixer-grinders. "The aim is to encourage sterilisation in the district," said Jhunjhunu CMO Sitaram Sharma. Provisional census of 2011 shows an 11.8% population growth in Jhunjhunu in 10 years.

Bollywood music director Ismail Darbar joins BJP Renowned musician from Mumbai film industry, Ismail Darbar, has joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in presence of BJP national vice president Purushottam Rupala in Ahmedabad recently. Darbar has been courting BJP for some time and had in fact met Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi earlier, when he had indicated his wish to join the saffron party. Darbar, a Gujarati by birth, hails from Surat and he claimed to have joined the party to work for the people of Surat. Lauding Modi for his developmental works, Darbar said that he too intends to participate in the development process and has joined the party for the same.

SC bans use of tribal forces in fight against Maoists In a blow to both the Chhattisgarh government and the Centre, the Supreme Court of India has declared as illegal and unconstitutional the deployment of tribal youths as Special Police Officers in the fight against the Maoist insurgency and ordered their immediate disarming.

asked Maran to put in his papers. It was business as usual for Maran in the morning as he attended the Cabinet meeting during which he abstained himself for a brief while when the issue of licence for FM channels came up.

He kept himself away on account of conflict of interest because his brother Kalanidhi Maran runs a media empire that includes FM channels in various languages. Maran went back home from the Cabinet meeting and returned later to give his resignation to the Prime Minister on the DMK chief's direction.

Hillary Clinton to visit India

The corridors of power at the Gujarat state assembly which had fallen silent since the session in March resounded with activity on Monday when Rajya Sabha candidates from BJP and Congress parties reached the campus to file their nominations. Political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi Ahmed Patel, along with BJP leader and television actor Smriti Irani and veteran BJP worker Dilip Pandya from Siddhpur filed their nominations before D M Patel, secretary of the state legislative assembly. Elections for three seats to Rajya Sabha will be held on July 22. Though, all three are likely to be elected uncontested. The seats would be vacant as the terms of Ahmed Patel and BJP MPs Surendra Patel and Pravin Nayak would end in August.

38 dead as train rams bus

25

People elsewhere may be fed up with stray dog menace, but Vaidya Wagh, who owns a tyre showroom on Kalawad Road in Rajkot, allows them to rest and eat inside his air-conditioned showroom.

SC bars opening of Kerala temple's sixth vault The Supreme Court of India on Friday said that the sixth vault of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala would not be opened till the treasure recovered so far is properly documented.

An apex court bench of Justice R V Raveendran and Justice A K Patnaik said that the sixth vault (Kallara B) will not be opened till the treasure recovered from Kallara A is videographed, photographed and its inventory is prepared. The court directed that the Kallara A which has been resealed, will not be reopened till arrangements are made for its videography and photography and a curator is appointed to assess the antiquity and valuation of its treasure.

The court also took note of a statement by former prince of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore, Sree Marthanda Varma, who is the chief trustee of the temple that the former royal family has no claim over any part of the treasure found in the temple.

The temple belongs to the public and the treasure belongs to the temple deity, Varma's counsel K K Venugopal added. The court also noted the statement of Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy that the government has no claim over the treasure.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to visit India on July 19 for strategic talks with Indian leaders, as informed by the spokesman for the foreign ministry. External affairs ministry is hosting the second India-US Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi after Clinton presided over the first round of talks in Washington last year."We are working on a programme" for Clinton's visit”, says foreign ministry spokesman.

The spokesman did not elaborate on the subjects to be addressed during Clinton's visit but regional security was expected to be high on the agenda.

UK

Hacking scandal damages mass faith in media - Tanveer Mann Over the last week, the News of the World case has dramatically progressed with shocking, new revelations emerging, creating a state of confusion in everyone's mind.

With the Milly Dowler case far from being put to bed, the Queen has become the second victim of the corrupt News of the World journalists.

Personal details about the Queen were sold to the News of the World by corrupt Royal officers, in a serious breach of privacy and the Queen's security.

The payments were discovered by News International in 2007 but it was only until a month ago that they were revealed to the Police, despite the large risk to security. This will spark a new controversy about the News of the World's privacy contract and will place significant pressure on Rupert Murdoch.

There have already been calls for the resignation of News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks, by the public as well as PM Cameron and Ed Miliband, yet she is still clinging on to her position.

With the scandal emerging, it is a definite that the News of the World had its final publication on Sunday. Yet it may not be the only newspaper that has been forced to close down, The Sunday Times or The Sun may be next. Suddenly caught up in the media scandal, it emerged on Tuesday that the means by which The Sun came to know about Gordon Brown's son having cystic fibrosis in 2006, was illegitimate.

Gordon Brown remarked that the only people that were aware of medical details were doctors and by members of the Brown family. He is yet to confirm that phone hacking was involved, but believes there is no other way this information could have been known legitimately.

Mr Brown has also attacked the Sunday Times for repeated “abuses of power” and for using a “blagger”, or a con man who is said to be an English actor, to obtain his personal details. The Sunday Times, however, is denouncing all of Mr Brown's claims and is claiming that all information was obtained legitimately.

At the moment, the incident is still in its early days and so it is still unclear as to the fate of the Sunday Times. John Prescott, however, is placing significant pressure on the newspaper as he believes that there is “direct evidence” indicating that the newspaper had been involved in gathering information illegally.

The Met are also under extreme pressure

by MPs to find out the reason why information was held when it was such a potential risk to security. John Yates, the assistant commissioner of the Met, was interrogated for three, painful hours in isolation, accompanied by continuous death-stares from MPs waiting for any imminent slip-up by the commissioner. MP Keith Vaz, Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee wanted to know if Yates would consider a resignation, to which Yates responded with a negation. Rt Hon Vaz told Yates his evidence was "unconvincing" after he said he did not plan to resign over his handling of the inquiry. Rupert Murdoch may also face interrogation by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

INDIA

26

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

Manmohan Singh reshuffles cabinet; drops tainted ministers India's embattled prime minister reshuffled his Cabinet on Tuesday, removing ministers tainted by allegations of corruption and mismanagement and promoting younger politicians.

The relatively minor changes are unlikely to restore confidence in a government that has been shaken by corruption scandals.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left the top ministries of finance, defense, external affairs and home affairs unchanged while shifting some low-key ministers and filling some vacancies.

But he accepted the resignation of Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran, who is under investigation for allegedly misusing his authority when he was telecommunications minister to coerce a telecom company owner to sell to a Malaysia-based corporation.

M.S. Gill, who was sports minister during India's scandal-plagued hosting of the

Commonwealth Games last year, also resigned from the Cabinet. Earlier in the year he had been shifted from the sports ministry to the statistics ministry.

Jairam Ramesh, who held the sub-Cabinet position of environment minister, was promoted into the Cabinet but shifted to the relatively obscure though budget-rich ministry of rural development.

As environment minister, Ramesh regularly made front page news as he blocked the construction of several controversial mines, power plants and dams Singh named Milind Deora, 35, junior minister of telecommunications but did not name a senior minister for the beleaguered ministry.

Apart from Maran, another former telecommunications minister, Andimuthu Raja, has been charged with fraud and forgery in a separate scandal related to the 2008 sale of cellular licenses.

Former minister

Mamata Banerjee resigned from the post after being elected chief minister of West Bengal state in May. The position was filled Dinesh Trivedi, a member of her Trinamool Congress party, which is a coalition partner of Singh's government.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has dropped seven ministers and inducted eight new faces in his Cabinet Cording to Dr. Singh's recommendations, Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi will be the country's new Railway Minister.

Vilasrao Deshmukh, who was incharge of Rural

Development, has been moved to the Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.

Law Minister Veerappa Moily has been shifted to Corporate Affairs, while Salman takes over as the new Law Minister.

V Kishore Chandra Deo, a tribal leader from Andhra Pradesh, will be Cabinet Minister for Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj, while Beni Prasad Verma has been made as the Cabinet Minister for Steel.

Verma was earlier Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Steel.

Congress spokesperson

Jayanthi Natarajan and Congress Chief Whip Paban Singh Ghatowar have been inducted as Ministers of State with independent charge.

Natarajan will be Environment and Forests Minister, while Ghatowar has been as the Minister of Development of North Eastern Region.

Trinamool Congress Chief Whip Sudip Bandopadhyaya, Congress leaders Charan Das Mahant, Jitendra Singh, Milind Deora, and Rajiv Shukla have made their debut as Ministers of State in the Cabinet.

Shukla will be minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, while Milind Deora, will be Minister of State for Communications and IT. Sudip Bandopadhyaya get Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

The ministers who have been dropped from the Cabinet are Dayanidhi Maran, Murli Deora, BK

Handique, MS Gill, Kanti Lal Bhuria, A Sai Prathap and Arun S Yadav. The ministers of Finance, Defence, Home and External Affairs remain unchanged.

New entrants: The new eight new entrants and three others who were elevated to Cabinet rank were sworn-in by President Pratibha Patil at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday. With Tuesday’s changes, the strength of the Union Council of Ministers goes up to 68 with eight inclusions and seven resignations.

The other new faces in the Council of Ministers are Jayanthi Natarajan who gets Environment and Forests, Dibrugarh MP Paban Singh Ghatowar (DONER), Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandopadhyaya (Health and Family Welfare), Alwar MP Jitendra Singh (Home), Milind Deora (Communication and IT) and Rajiv Shukla (Parliamentary Affairs).

Gujarat's progress finally wins the heart of 'The Economist' Continued from page 1 Asian Voice/Gujarat S a m a c h a r Publisher/Editor CB Patel had written a letter to The Economist Editor on 12th February 2009, informing him how his weekly magazine was misrepresenting the story of Gujarat and its progress.

In fact CB’s column “As it is” in Asian Voice (14th Feb 2009, page 7) asked The Economist to move on. He wrote, "In the last seven years, Gujarat has not seen any religious riots. Gujarat state, under the leadership of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, has steadily progressed in industry, agriculture and commerce. Gujaratis controls some of the largest businesses in India. Major agricultural products of the state include cotton, ground nuts, dates, sugar cane, milk and milk products and industrial products include cement, petrol, etc.

Lets look at some other facts. Gujarat land area is about 6% of India, population of 5% and yet it contributes 19% of India’s industrial output, 10% of it’s mineral production, 80% of its salt production, 20% of it’s exports, 25% of its textile production, 40% of India’s pharmaceutical, 47% petroleum products and much more besides. 90% of diamond policing is done in Gujarat and a little over 30% of the Indian stock exchanges investments are from Gujarat.

Economic or industrial growth is not everything.

In India, where corruption in the echelons of power is a known fact, no one - not even his ardent enemies from the Congress or any other party has accused Narendra Modi of involvement in corrupt practices.

Narendra Modi, as a man, is not perfect as none of us are but by common consent is the most popular person in some of the latest

polls in India to be the best leader of the country. The Economist itself concedes that his time may come.

Right from those horrible days of February 2002, the English media in India hounded Narendra Modi.

Recently they have seen not only the real Gujarat but also the real Narendra Modi...The Economist has no compunction to attack Narendra Modi using the highly emotive words like ‘progrom’, ‘genocide’ etc.

Perhaps many of The Economist’s readers have over the period have become more proNarendra Modi!

Vibrant Gujarat and the Investors’ Summits have helped secured billions of dollars worth of investment in Gujarat over the last six years. Travel from Mumbai to Kutch or Jaipur and you can see for yourselves. According to a recent ‘India Today’ report 60% of the pledge investment are either operational or are being imple-

Right to Appeal Petition We, the undersigned believe that the government's plan to scrap the Right to Appeal is absolutely unfair and cannot be justified on any ground. Our relatives residing in different corners of the world visit us for important family events like weddings, funerals etc.

Due to the incompetency reflected in the Home Office's decision-making process, the Right to Appeal is a necessity. The right helps ensure that no one is wrongly rejected from visiting their family in the UK. This measure would simply lead to unnecessary tension, discontent and drift in the Asian community.

Hence we request you to take into account the significant importance of retaining the Right to Appeal whilst considering the damaging outcomes if the proposed government plan is passed.

Readers of Asian Voice are asked to add their names to this petition by emailing aveditorial@abplgroup.com with their details.

No. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Name

Address with postal code & phone number

Sign

mented."

It has took more than 2 years for The Economist to accept that they were wrong to talk about Gujarat maliciously. The recent article in The Economist says, “So many things work properly in Gujarat that it hardly feels like India. A recent comparison of Indian states by McKinsey, a consultancy firm, waxed lyrical about Gujarat. It might yet play the role of industrial locomotive for the country, as Guangdong province did for China in the 1990s.

There is lots of excited talk about exporters switching from China to India.

With a long coastline and too little rain for decent farming, Gujarat has always been famous for its traders. When it was hived off from Bombay to form a separate state in 1960, “the question was how Gujarat would survive,” says Narendra Modi, who has been chief minister since 2001. These days Gujarat accounts for 5% of India’s population but 16% of its industrial output and 22% of its exports. Its growth has outpaced India’s and it won accolades from business people.

Chinese-style, big-ticket projects are part of Gujarat’s formula, including refineries and ports, but so are networks of smaller firms and foreign companies which have now achieved critical mass in industries such as cars and pharmaceuticals. The state government uses the usual tricks to try to jumpstart growth, including special economic zones.

But more important, it has provided the bog-standard things that businesses pray for across India but often do not get - less onerous labour laws, passable roads, reliable electricity and effective bureaucracy.

Gujarat could be a vision of India’s future, in which manufacturing flourishes, soaking up rural labour. Its economy is expected to grow by double digits, even as India’s rate slows to 7-8% this year. The state may also be a springboard for Mr Modi, who may contest the national leadership of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, perhaps after state elections due in 2012.

Mr Modi is enigmatic on this subject. He has yet to shed his polarising image, but he has at least built up

an enviable record on the economy."

The Daily Telegraph is another newspaper which is misrepresenting Gujarat. it wrote an article about how Gujarat is wasting billions by planning to build a statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel near Narmada dam in Gujarat (June 17th 2011).

The article states that the money should have been spend for the uplift of poor. It is pity that they are ignorant that out of a population of 60 million, only 3.6 million are poor and that the publication is not aware of the great personality of Sardar Patel who fought all his life for democracy for Indians. He was the one who brought the integration of India’s princely states into the Indian Union. CB has also written a letter to the editor of the publication (20th June 2011) and urged him to see Gujarat in its true form- the form that has even won the hearts of 'The Economists'.

Asian Voice has published an Editorial Comment on 25th June explaining the immense contribution made by "India's iron man who walked tall'- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar are renowned for organising community events and seminars. Please note our forthcoming events till September 2011.

23rd 23rd 29th 29th 30th

Date July 2011 July 2011 July 2011 July 2011 July 2011

6th August 2011 28th August 2011

Event/Special Issue British Goans East London special KPGN British Punjabis Gujarati Women Conference and Karma Yogi Awards, Leicester British Asian Youth seminar Poet Meghani Festival

Coordinator George Surendra+Kokilaben Nihir+Kokilaben+others Nikhil Gor Kokilaben

Rupanjana+Alkaben Kokilaben+Jyotsnaben+ Kamal 4th September 2011 Gujarati language seminar Kokilaben+Kamal 16th September 2011 AAA George CB Live Every Thursday 7pm to 8pm Alka Shah Producer - cblive_matv@yahoo.co.uk.

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

27

Ahmedabad-based firm bags award in digital printing at China Purvi Apurva Shah Three Indian companies won awards in digital printing at Shanghai, China last week. Ahmedabad-based A Plus Digital bagged gold under the transit graphics category. The other Indian companies, Autostriping Indian and Dot Digital won silver and bronze under outdoor advertising

and POP respectively.

The awards recognise outstanding achievements, innovations and contributions by print service providers (PSPs) across Asia Pacific and Japan. This year’s awards attracted 100 entries from across the region from which 15 winners in five categories were given awards on the basis on degree of aesthetics,

Apurva Shah of A Plus Digital receives Gold award for digital printing at Shanghai, China.

installation and marketing appeal by internationally

renowned judges from signage and media industires.

“It was a huge encouragement to witness the commitment of the brand owners, agencies and print service providers to create such innovative and thrilling work,”said judge Ivy Liang, vice president, marketing, HP Imaging and Printing Group.

India won maximum awards while Australia, China, Thailand, Pakistan,

Singapore and Philippines also did well. The award function was organised by Hewlett-Packard which was held in conjunction with the 19th Shanghai international advertising & sign technology & equipment exhibition. The Platinum Award winner from across all the categories will be announced on 23rd August in Singapore.

Court raps Tiwari over DNA test Veteran Congress leader N D Tiwari was last week rapped by the Delhi High Court for “flouting” its orders to undergo a DNA test to decide the paternity suit of a 31-year-old man claiming to be his biological son. “We will not allow you (Tiwari's counsel) to frustrate the order. Let's not allow the impression to gather momentum that

you can flout the court orders in this manner,” Justice Gita Mittal said, asking the counsel to produce medical records of the 85-year-old leader on July 11. Unless there were some medical reasons because of which he is not giving blood samples, Tiwari cannot be allowed to act in this manner, the court said.

Indian Wedding

Garhwali marriage

In Garhwal, before the marriage, the bride is presented with a beautiful nose ring known as nathni. It is presented either by bride's parents or groom's mother and the bride has to wear it on the wedding day. The rituals are simple but full of fun and vigor. The mehndi ceremony is celebrated the day before the wedding where the bride and groom along with their relatives apply henna on their hands and sing Garhwali wedding songs.

On the wedding day, the bride generally wears a lehenga with net gota work chunni over her head. The bride is adorned with jewellery and make-up is applied on her face. The groom on the other hand can wear dhoti kurta, shervaani or formal suit for his wedding.

The wedding begins with the arrival of baraat where the groom is seated on a horse and other relatives dance on the music played by the wedding band which moves along with the baraat.

The wedding procession starts with a red flag which represents the bridegroom and is known as 'nishaan'. The last man

of the baraat carries white flag representing the bride. On arrival at the bride's house, the groom and his relatives are welcomed by the bride's family members by showering flowers on them. After the arrival, the food is served and bride and groom sit together for lunch or dinner depending on at what time wedding takes place. After the food is served the bride and groom sit on a mandap where the pundit recite chants and hymns and tell them about their duties after marriage.

Then they have to take seven rounds around the fire as fire represents god. The groom then puts vermilion red colour sindoor in bride's hair parting and puts a mangal sutra, sign for married women around her neck.

The Garhwali wedding rituals are completed and bride and groom become husband and wife after taking pheras.

The bride then leaves her parent's home and leaves with the groom to his home in a doli. While returning, the flag bearers carry a red colour flag and the last man carries the white flag.

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

CB Live is only a Gujarati programme in UK on MATV SKY 793 Alka Shah, Advertising Manager of Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar will talk about two community religious events- Shri Som Yagya with Gokulotsavji Maharaj and about Oshwal Mela with Tushar Jayantilal Shah (President - Oshwal Association of the UK), Sudhir Meghji Shah (Culture and Heritage OAUK), Retesh Nemchand Shah (Chairman - OAUK Mela committee), Mayuri Bakul Patani – Mela Publications and Communications, Sripa Retesh Shah

Sneh Joshi - 020 8518 5500 You will have plenty of energy and drive to improve your status and at the same time achieve financial prosperity - you must make good use of the energy that is flowing, by channelling it positively! Creativity, romance and leisure all receive a tonic.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

7pm to 8pm

If you do not have a SKY, go to www.tvunetworks.com and watch CB Live on TVU Player Channel 75203

For more information e-mail: cblive_matv@yahoo.co.uk

Coming Events l Janmashtami mela, Saturday 13th August 2011, 5pm, Navnat Centre, Hayes, Middx UB3 1AR. Contact: Bhupendra Shah 020 8958 8600 l Som Yagya on MATV Ch-793, Sat July 16th 9:30pm. l Reliving the Past: A photographic exhibition by Mr. Ramesh Baria (India), Bhartiya Vidhya Bhavan, UK Centre, 15th July, Contact: 020 7381 3086 / 4608. l Vishwa Hindu Parishad (UK) in conjunction with Geeta Bhavan Hindu Temple, Hindu Students Forum Manchester, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh & Sevika Samiti Vedic Organisation for Indian Culture & Education (VOICE) Presents ‘Bhakti’ and ‘Shakti', Saturday, 16 July 2011 @ 7.30pm, Geeta Hindu Temple, Manchester, M16 8LU. Dr Vijay Anand Gupta will be sharing his experiences to a healthy way of life. Contact: Parminder Sharma 0161-286 6147 l UK Telugu Association presents annual day at the Royal Regency, East Ham from 2-3 PM, 31st July. l How the Mighty Fall (pertinent themes with example from the Mahabharata), Thursday 4 August 2011, E&Y Waterloo, 18.30-21.30. 1

Lambeth Palace Rd, London SE1 7EU l Guru Purnima a. Friday 15th July 2011, Shree Jalarambapa's Paduka Pujan from 9am to 10.30am b. 17 July, 2011, Social Club Hall, Northwick Park, Hospital, Time: 11am to 4pm, Telephone: 020 8459 5758 c. Sunday 17th June, 2011 3.00pm-5:30pm 55 High Street, Cowley, Middlesex UB8 2DX. Tel: 07882 253 540

COMPETITION

To celebrate the release of Singham in cinemas, we are giving away 3 CDs for the soundtrack for Singham. For your chance to win, simply answer the following question: Q: Who is the male lead in Singham?

Please send your replies with your phone number and address to aveditorial@abplgroup.com by Monday 18th July, 5pm. Winner will be chosen from the correct answers on lottery basis.

Amazing predictions

Sneh Joshi, the UK’s leading Vedic astrologer, writer and TV personality can answer questions on:

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Health Problems Investments Married Life Marriage Compatibility Love Affairs Court Cases Any other problems

Call 020 8518 5500 & face your future with confidence!

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TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

Assertive and 'ego' powers are pretty powerful now, in fact others may feel you are coming on too strongly. A period when you show the world just who you are. You are likely to be 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.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

The fiery planet Mars, continues to occupy your sign for some time to come. Its influence will help you to maintain a high energy level and achieve positive results in anything that requires drive and initiative. However, you will need to focus on what is most important in your life, otherwise mistakes will be made.

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

This is almost certain to be 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, one of whom may be interested in you as a romantic partner.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 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 and seeking a retreat for a few days. 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.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23 There is an element of disruption or stress which may be hard to avoid, but it appears that there is a strong sense of purpose in the background. A certain amount of sheer hard graft will be necessary for a short while, but the final result will be extremely pleasing. An exchange of opinions ought to prove very enlivening at this time.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23 Now is the time to cultivate an easier relationship with life, get out and about, explore fresh possibilities and make new friends. Any effort to enrich your life by making changes is almost certain to work in your favour and you will be surprised how circumstances help you once you make the initial move.

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 It is certainly going to be a fortunate time for those already married or in an established relationship. The keynote is emotional enrichment through close interaction with a loved one.

Facets of your life that have been a source of restriciton and dissatisfaction will begin to loosen their hold.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21 Do not kid yourself that emotional problems can always be solved by material means. This only covers the cracks and does nobody any good in the end. Be prepared to confront the issues. If love has left you feeling rather dejected or cynical, it looks as though soon events will pull you out of this mood of despondency.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20 You are endowed with a level of determination that others sometimes find formidable. Once you set your mind on a goal you stay the course no matter what obstacles you encounter. Saturn's placement in your Solar 10th house often denotes a phase of restriction, sometimes frustration, in one's life.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

An inspiring boost to matters of communication but make sure your curiosity on a range of topics does not lead to a scattering of mental energy. With a surge of enery and enthusiasm, this is a favourable time to make fresh starts. Personal relationships may be more intense.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20 Disruptions in your home bring a new outlook with a search for security.

There will be opportunities through partnerships either within a marriage or a business partnership. It is time to team up with others with the same desires and goals. It is time to take your plans to the next level with focus and planning.

HEaltH WAtCh

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

29

Eating habits can ensure a longer life

A new study has found that the leading causes of death are no more infectious diseases but chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer – which may be affected by food habits.

Researchers investigated eating patterns of over 2,500 adults between the ages of 70 and 79 over a 10year period and found that certain diets were associated with reduced mortality.

By determining the consumption frequency of 108 different food items, researchers were able to group the participants into six different groups as per their food choices:

Healthy foods- 374 participants; High-fat dairy products- 332; Meat, fried foods, and alcohol693; Breakfast cereal-386; Refined grains-458; Sweets and desserts-339.

'Healthy foods' group ate more low-fat dairy products, fruit, whole grains, poultry, fish, and vegetables, and lower consumption of meat, fried foods, sweets, high-calorie drinks, and added fat.

'High-fat dairy products' group had higher intake of foods such as ice cream, cheese, and 2 per cent and whole milk and yoghurt, and lower intake of poultry, low-fat dairy

products, rice, and pasta.

End results indicated that 'High-fat dairy products' group had a 40 per cent higher risk of mortality than the Healthy foods cluster and the 'Sweets and desserts' group had a 37 per cent higher risk.

No significant differences in risk of mortality were seen between the 'Healthy foods' cluster and the 'Breakfast cereal' or 'Refined grains' clusters.

The "results of this study suggest that older adults who follow a dietary pattern consistent with current guidelines to consume relatively high amounts of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry and fish, may have a lower risk of mortality," said Amy L. Anderson at Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland.

"Because a substantial percentage of older adults in this study followed the ''Healthy foods'' dietary pattern, adherence to such a diet appears a feasible and realistic recommendation for potentially improved survival and quality of life in the growing older adult population."

Almonds good at controlling diabetes Consuming few almonds daily can help combat diabetes, say experts. "Eating almonds has a positive effect in reducing low density cholesterol and also improves insulin sensitivity; so it does help in pushing diabetes away," says Dr Ritesh Gupta.

"It is a healthy source of fibre, protein and calories and has been found to have a positive effect in reducing bad cholesterol and improved insulin sensitivity," Dr Gupta added.

Diabetes is caused

when there is deficiency of insulin hormone, which controls blood sugar level.

Its symptoms include fatigue, excessive thirst and frequent urination.

“Almond, which has traditionally been part of our diet, is a high source of nutrition and helps push these diseases away," says Anoop Misra, director of Diabetes Foundation (India).

"A handful of almonds contain 164 calories and 7 gm of protein, which helps in fighting hunger pangs and helps you control what you

Eat mangoes to lose weight

Interested in going for the lean look? Then head for some fresh mangoes, for the fruit is packed with nutrients and is full of fibre. Experts say that mangoes are fleshy and a snack of fresh mangoes is usually helpful in keeping one full.

"Mangoes have a high content of beta carotene and rank among the top providers of beta carotene.

However, they are also a great source of nutrients in the concentrated form. In

order to reduce the consumption of calories, mangoes are a very good choice," said an expert.

Beta carotene is also known to reduce the risk of certain forms of cancer.

To get the right amount of nutrition not too many mangoes need to be consumed. A single fruit is capable of providing almost a day's supply of Vitamin C to the body. It also helps in making bones stronger since it contains minerals, calcium and magnesium as well as vitamin B. They are also rich in a carotenoid called lycopene, which is an effective antioxidant. In order to lose weight, mangoes can form an important part of the diet, however, it has to be coupled with other fruits and a complete meal, only after consultation with a nutritionist. Not only losing weight, daily consumption of mangoes make the skin complexion brighter and makes skin softer.

eat. Almonds also help growing children in developing strong bones," he adds.

A study carried out by scholars from US also confirms that the nut can control diabetes if consumed regularly. "A diet consisting of 20 per cent of calories as almonds over a 16-week period is effective in improving markers of insulin sensitivity and yields clinically significant improvements in LDL-C (low density lipoprotein cholesterol) in adults with pre-diabetes," the study said.

By Radhika Madlani

Pocket Money

Research suggests that 50% of arguments between friends, siblings, couples and even family members are down to money. So, when you consider that it is the root of all evil, it seems sensible to start giving your children a head start in teaching them the value of money from an early age.

Many children’s organisations suggest that by the time most children hit the ages of 6 or 7, they start to appreciate that money has a value. When they start to want things around them, it is our role as parents to explain that there is a finite amount of money available to the family and so they have to priorotise what they can have based on available budget. If at this age, you encourage your kids to start saving their money, this will lay the foundation for their future. We are fortunate enough to live in a culture where our children get double the presents each year!

They enjoy Diwali and Christmas and quite often receive money as a gift on their birthdays.

Encourage your children to save any money they receive at these celebrations and use it to fund treats throughout the year – be it a game, a day to the cinema or a present for their friends.

Experts recommend that children need to

understand what money is, where it comes from and where it goes.

Children (like adults) learn about money from experience. So learning how to budget from what they have, to look after it and spend it carefully and thoughtfully can be a good life skill. Spending money on treats for other family members or friends or to help someone less fortunate can be a great way to instill generosity in children from an early age.

We live in a society which is unfortunately debt ridden. I often see adults confused about their own needs vs wants.

It is essential that as parents, you start to explain to your children what is a ‘need’ ie, food, clothing and shelter vs a want ie, the newest video game or designer trainers. In separating the two, children will hopefully grow up to appreciate the pressure they must put on themselves to afford the ‘needs’ rather than join the rat-race constantly struggling to keep up with their wants. When confronted with a big ‘want’, encourage your child to take on extra chores to fund it. As difficult as it may seem to implement a structure rather than giving in and buying it for them, it will teach your child to save up for things that are valuable and appreciate them once they are in

possession of them.

Now, if you are wondering how much pocket money you should give your child, prepare to be surprised. Experts suggest that between the ages of 5-10, your child should only receive £2 each week. Between the ages of 10-15, this can increase incrementally to £5 a week (a possible 50pence increase on each birthday). If you think these are small/insufficient amounts, ask yourself what pocket money you got as a child. Even the tooth fairy leaves only an average of £1.10 according to parental research. So, be careful not to be overly generous to your children. We all want a good quality of life for our kids but be careful not to spoil them so much that they start to lose any appreciation for the money that is a result from years of your hard work.

Whatever your approach to giving your children these essential skills, remember that most children will only learn the value of money if they earn it in some way. The earlier your children learn that nothing in life is (really) free, the better their journey into adulthood will be.

Quote: “The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket!”

– Frank Hubbard

Should you have any comments or want to get in touch with me you can email on avmamaria@gmail.com

Chronic acidity could lead to cancer Almost 75 per cent of Indian patients with digestive problems suffer from what is medically known as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder (GERD), an abnormal reflux of gastric contents into the oesophagus that damages the inner skin, an expert said.

According to an eminent gastroenterologist, about 5-20 per cent of the cases could lead to cancer.

According to the expert, out of 20 patients a

day, at least 15 of them suffer from GERD, the common symptoms being acidity, burning, bloating, reflux and irregular bowels. The scenario is similar

across India, the expert added. The major causes of the disease are altered lifestyles, smoking, drinking and recourse to overthe-counter medication,

he added. "It's a fast life and a fast-food life.

Everybody wants a quick fix and in this quick fix, things don't work and start getting messed up.

Increased smoking and drinking also play a major part. We by nature are tolerant. When we suffer from acidity and the like, we keep on tolerating and take recourse to painkillers and other acidity relievers, ignorant of the fact that they do more harm than good," he said.

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30

Sport

Daniel Radcliffe is a huge Sachin fan Harry Potter hero Daniel Radcliffe is a huge Sachin Tendulkar fan and plans to visit India soon. Daniel cherishes an autograph of the Master Blaster. "My friends and I were thrilled to meet Sachin and get his autograph.

I am a huge fan, he is truly a legend," Daniel said. "I wanted to visit India during the Cricket World Cup but got so caught up with my Broadway musical that it left me with no time.

But cricket or no cricket, I am certainly planning a trip to India soon," he said. The British actor knows a lot about India. He said, "I have heard and read a lot about India, especially ‘Midnight's Children,’ and would like to know more about the country. Indians are huge cricket fans, just like me." The British actor knows about Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Chak De.’ "I have watched a couple of Bollywood films and found them every entertaining."

Vishwanathan Anand content with his performance World chess champion Vishwanathan Anand has said he is happy with his current form.

Anand said: "I actually thought I am doing quite well this year for instance my rating is in peak. So, I am now at 28-17. I have never been there before and in fact over the last few years I have won three world titles." On asked about being compared with cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, Anand said there cannot be any comparison between cricket and chess and their respective popularity. "It didn't feel like anything. I mean, I play chess, he (Sachin Tendulkar) plays cricket and he did a brilliant job and I tried to do my best. In fact, I am slightly older than him so he is not someone I am compared to a lot," added Anand. In May 2010, Anand won the World Chess Championship against Bulgarian Grand Master and former world chess champion Veselin Topalov. He emerged as a champion on the global scenario when he won the world junior title in 1989. Earlier, at the age of 16, he became India's first Grandmaster.

Gujarati girl Charmi’s great Indian rope trick The 19-year-old Gujarati girl, Charmi Patel, is wooing the world with her ‘great Indian rope trick’. She has won 13 medals in 16 events in world rope jump championship held in Washington DC from July 4.

This three-day event saw participation from various countries barring India as it pulled out at the last moment due to visa issues.

Interestingly, this was Charmi’s first appearance at an international event and she finished with six gold, one silver and six bronze medals in her kitty. “It was always my dream of winning a gold medal for the US at the world championships,” said Charmi, the team leader of the USA All Star Team and Indianapolis Indy Air Bear’s, after the event.

She is a third year student at the Purdue University with bio medical engineering as major Though sports and the Gujarati genes are a general contradiction, Charmi was lucky to get enough support from her parents – father Jatin Patel dabbles in cricket and football and mom Deepika was the one to put Charmi in a summer workshop.

Patel is the native of Karamsad in Charotar but was born in Surat and spent most of his early days in Vallabh Vidyangar before he moved to the US as a 26 year old in 1987, looking for a greener pasture.

Deepika is from Sojitra but was raised in Bilimora after her parents moved to the US in 1981.

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

Sri Lanka exit, enter India

The successful England ODI team with the trophy.

By Premen Addy Sri Lanka ended their tour of England on a disappointing note. They lost the three-match Test series 0-1; if the truth be told they were never in the hunt in any of the matches, their backs to the wall at most times, as England called the tune with bat and ball. Sri Lanka lived in hope for the five ODIs. Well beaten at the Oval in the opening encounter, they came back strongly at Headingly (Leeds) and Lord's to lead 2-1, thanks to stellar performances with the bat by Mahela Jayawardene, with Kumar Sangakkara keeping him company in a subordinate role. But dream turned to nightmare at Trent Bridge (Nottingham), where Sri Lanka were dismissed for a paltry 174, of which Sangakkara contributed a stout 75. It was never going to be a worthwhile contest with such a small total on the board; indeed it was like a red rag to England's bulls, Alastair Cook, and his opening partner Chris Kieswetter, who with 95 not out and 72 not out, respectively, saw their side home a storming 10 wicket victory.

It was all to play for in the decider at Old Trafford (Manchester). England got off to a sedate start, but the tempo quickened with the arrival of Jonathan Trott (72) and Eoin Morgan (57) at the wicket in a productive stand yielding 118 runs and a possible total of 300 and over looming. Morgan was

The Indian team with the series trophy

the first to go, Trott following in the wake of Bell and Bresnan as he tried to force the pace. The England innings closed at 268 for 9. It was a challenging target, but the Sri Lankans needed a sound start to make a fist of things, but the English seamers had other ideas as they demolished the top order of Karunaratne (4), captain Dilshan (4) and Jayawardene (9) with the score 29 for 3. Sangakkara (48), Chandinmal (54), Mathews (62) and Mendis (48) battled gamely to bring their side within sight of what would have been a memorable victory, but critical English inroads saw Sri Lanka adrift with 252, leaving the home side victorious by 16 runs, and 3-2 winners in the series.

Their departure sets the scene for India, who beat West Indies in the Caribbean 3-2 in the ODIs and 1-nil in the three-match Test series. The final game in Dominica ended in a draw after early signs on the last day pointed to an Indian victory. But debutant Kirk Edwards (110) and veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul (116 not out) led an epic rearguard struggle in aid of a seemingly lost cause; their example bravely emulated by tailender Fidel Edwards (30) as West Indies reached 322.

They had taken more than a day and a half doing so. To chase a target of 180 runs on a wearing fifth-day was too great a risk, especially as Mukund, the

Indian opener, was trapped LBW by Edwards without a run on the board.

The visitors were on the back foot from the start, proceedings ending with India 94 for 3 and the rubber in the bag courtesy the win at Sabina Park.

The pluses for the visitors were the performances of Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharna with the new ball and the promise of Suresh Raina batting: good but not outstanding, unable to convert reasonable scores into big ones. It was left to the tested experience of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman to carry the fragile Indian batting on their sturdy shoulders. They, and all India, will be hoping for better things in England, where the side will be at full strength, with the return of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan.

What of the West Indies? Their coach Otis Gibson appears to have brought a new professionalism to the side. There is still a long way to go, but Edwards, Rampaul (pace) and Bishoo (leg spin) have brought variety and a cutting edge to the bowling: West Indies are badly in need of a reliable opening pair and some stiffening in the middle order. The signs are encouraging. International cricket has been the poorer for West Indies decline in the past decade and more. A resurgent Caribbean would start hearts singing in every corner of the cricketing world.

India maintain no.1 status in ICC test rankings

Sachin Tendulkar

Harbhajan Singh

Graeme Swann

Jacques Kallis

India maintained their number one status in the latest ICC test rankings but lost a couple of rating points after drawing two matches in their 1-0 series triumph over a lower-ranked West Indies.

Leading the points table, India now have 126 points while the seventh-placed West Indies (88) have gained two rating points despite losing the three-match series which concluded on Sunday.

South Africa (117) is the second-placed team, followed by England (116).

Swann replaces Vettori as No. 1 in ICC ODI rankings

Graeme Swann became the world's number one ODI bowler for the first time in his career after the off-spinner's eight-wicket haul helped England to a 32 series win against Sri Lanka.

The 32-year-old claimed series figures of 8-164 against the visiting Lankan team to dethrone New Zealand's left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori, who had held the spot since September 2009 in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers.

Swann is also ranked number two in Test cricket,

behind South Africa's Dale Steyn, but his number one ODI ranking is the first time an England bowler has achieved in any form of the game since Steve Harmison's brief rose to the top of the Test rankings in August 2004.

India's off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is at ninth place in the ODI bowling chart while Swann's teammate James Anderson has risen impressively up the rankings, gaining 17 places to 11th spot.

In the ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen,

India's middle-order batsman Virat Kohli and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni are at the 6th and 8th positions respectively.

The batting chart is still topped by the South African duo of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers with Australia's Shane Watson in third.

Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara moves up one place to fourth but his captain, Tillakaratne Dilshan has dropped six places after a wretched series with the bat to sit joint ninth with Australia captain Michael Clarke.

Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011

Sport wOrLd

Sri Lanka Premier League postponed to next year

2 Indian swimmers qualify for London Olympics

The inaugural edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League ( SLPL), after facing a series of problems including the withdrawal of Indian players from the tournament, has been postponed to August 2012.

Sri Lanka will have the domestic Twenty20 league in its place featuring five teams, but that will not involve any foreign players.

It is likely that the decision to postpone the league, which was scheduled to start on July 19, was taken today at a meeting between the Cricket Sri Lanka's new committee and the league's organisers, Somerset Entertainment Ventures.

A four-week window in August next

year has been identified as the best time

Long jumper Mayookha wins gold in Asian Athletics meet Long jumper Mayookha Johny came up with a golden leap on the opening day of the Asian Athletics Championship in Kobe, Japan to lift the gloom in Indian athletics following the dope scandal.

Also finishing on the podium at the Kobe Sports Park were Vikas Gowda (silver, men's discus throw) and Asian Games gold medalist Preeja Sreedharan (bronze, women's 10,000m).

For 22-year-old Mayookha, the victory was special as she also qualified for the World Championships in September. Mayookha's best of 6.56m was short of the qualification mark at 6.65m but the ONGC employee booked her berth as the continental champion.

"After coming close in the interstate meet I came here to try and qualify for the World Championships. After the event I was bit disappointed that I couldn't touch the mark. Later only I realized that I made the grade," an elated Mayookha informed from Kobe. "My improvement in practice since the Asian Games helped me win here," she added.

Mayookha, who came up with season's best of 6.63m in the Bangalore meet last month, said the constant rain made the going tough. "Though the rain was not heavy it continued all the time making the runway completely wet.

The conditions were difficult and as a result everyone's performance dropped," she said.

The Kerala girl, trained by former SAF Games champion Syam Kumar, opened with an effort of 6.34 and maintained her lead all through to push China's Lu Minjia (6.52) to second place. Japan's Saeko Okayama took the bronze with a leap of 6.51m while Commonwealth Games silver medalist MA Prajusha settled for the sixth place with a clearance of 6.27m.

Mayookha's best leap came on her second attempt but she fouled her next

two attempts. She then rounded it off clearing 6.52m and 6.50m in her last two attempts.

"When we came here the entire contingent was dull after all the bad news.

I'm happy that I made everyone happy now," said the gold medalist who had settled for the seventh place in the Asian Games. Her personal best was 6.64m which she recorded at the Asian All-Star meet in New Delhi last year.

Mayookha, who holds the national record in triple jump, said she is yet to decide whether to compete in the event scheduled for Saturday. "If it is raining like this then I won't compete," she said.

In the men's discus throw, US-based Gowda took the silver behind Asian record holder Ehsan Hadadi of Iran.

Gowda, who came into the meet with a season's best of 64.91m, managed only 61.58m behind Hadadi's 62.27m on a rain-hit day. China's Wu Jian (56.61) took the bronze. Gowda has already qualified for the World Championships.

Preeja competed in 10,000m to test her form after a big disruption in training following a long wait for Belarussian coach Nikolai Snesarev.

The podium finish despite her bad form should lift her spirits to work harder.

Preeja timed 33:16.55sec behind Bahraini duo of Habitegbrel (32:47.80) and Kareema Jasim Saleh (32:50.90).

Asian Games silver medalist Kavita Raut ran out of steam as she settled for the sixth place with a time of 35:24.35.

World Cup qualifiers list: Men: 800m: Pankaj Dimri, Triple jump: Renjith M, Discus throw: Vikas Gowda, 20k Walk: Gurmeet Singh, Babubhai Panocha, Harminder Singh, 4x100 relay.

Women: 800m: Tintu Luka, 5,000m and 10,000m: Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut, Long jump: Mayookha Johny, Discus throw: Krishna Poonia, Harwant Kaur, 20km Walk: Deepmala Devi, 4x400m.

to host the event.

The BCCI had refused No Objection Certificates to 12 Indian players - Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Manoj Tiwary, Saurabh Tiwary, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Manish Pandey and Paul Valthaty - after it was rumoured that the tournament was organised by a private party, which is close to suspended IPL chief Lalit Modi, and based in Singapore.

Another major blow the league suffered was that the SLC committee that created the tournament was dissolved last week by Sri Lanka's sports ministry.

Pawar not to seek re-election as MCA chief ICC chief Sharad Pawar has decided not to seek re-election as the president of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for a sixth term.

At a meeting with his group of supporters held at the MCA's BandraKurla Complex, the union agriculture minister declared his intention not to seek re-election, according to sources.

"He confirmed at the meeting he's not contesting," the sources said.

The decision by Pawar seems to have left the field open for former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar to become the first cricketer to don the mantle after nearly two decades during which time politicians have been at the helm.

Manohar Joshi succeeded former India stumper Madhav Mantri as MCA's president in 1992 and was, in turn, succeeded by Pawar in 2001.

Vengsarkar, a former chief selector, is currently one of the two vice presidents of the association and has repeatedly said he would contest for the top post in MCA. He is likely to be opposed by union minister for rural development Vilasrao Deshmukh, who is the other vice-president of the association.

Pawar was elected as MCA chief for the first time in 2001 and he completed eight years (four terms) in that post in 2009.

Meanwhile, talking to reporters, MCA treasurer Prof. Ratnakar Shetty said Pawar had decided not to contest as he had shown himself as a native of Baramati in Pune district, while as per the association's constitution the candidate needs to be a resident of MCA's jurisdiction (Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai).

MCA, which has contributed the maximum number of Test cricketers to the country, has been led by politicians for nearly half a century barring the period between 1987-88 and 1991-92.

Andre Agassi makes it to the Hall of Fame Andre Agassi was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, almost five years after he retired from the game. A former world No. 1 who captured eight Grand Slam singles titles, Agassi was enshrined at a ceremony in Newport, Rhode Island, along with Fern Lee ‘Peachy’ Kellmeyer, a trailblazing administrator in women’s professional tennis.

Agassi’s achievements on the court ensured he would be remembered as one of the sport’s greats but he tarnished his legacy with an admission in his autobiography that he used recreational drugs and once lied to

escape a positive test.

Now 41, the American was in a reflective mood at his induction, admitting he made mistakes but was grateful for everything the sport gave him.

“I fell in love with tennis far too late in my life. But the reason I have everything I hold dear is because tennis

has loved me back,” he said.

“If we're lucky in life, we get a few moments where we don’t have to wonder if we made our parents proud. I want to thank tennis for giving me those moments.”

Agassi won his major title at Wimbledon in 1992 and his last in Australia in 2003. He won the Australian

Open four times, the US Open twice and Wimbledon and the French Open once, and is one of just seven men to complete the full set of Grand Slam events. He also won an Olympic gold medal at Atlanta in 1996.

In a long career in which his ranking and form fluctuated, Agassi won more than 60 ATP titles, including 17 Masters events, and held the No. 1 ranking six times between 1995 and 2003 for a total of 101 weeks.

In 2001, he married fellow tennis Hall of Famer Steffi Graf of Germany. The couple has two children and lives in Las Vegas.

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Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal

Indian swimmers Virdhawal Khade and Sandeep Sejwal have qualified for the 2012 London Olympics by winning medals at the 7th Singapore Open Swimming Championships.

According in information received, Khade won two gold and three bronze while Sejwal Sejwal brought home two golds and a silver in the tournament that took place recently.

Khade won the gold medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle events with timing of 23.21 and 51.08 seconds. Khade also added three bronzes in the 200m fresstyle (1:52.54), 100m butterfly (55.37) and in the 400m freestyle relay.

Sejwal was impressive as he made podium finishes in all the events he participated in. The Delhi boy won the gold in his pet event, the 50m breaststroke, with a timing of 29.10 seconds and in the 100m breaststroke, where he clocked 1:03.72. The 22-year-old ended his winning streak at Singapore with a silver in the 200m breastroke in 2:17.50.

India rejects Pak cricket board's proposal Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ijaz Butt had suggested that Pakistan would go and play in India in a bid to resume bilateral cricketing ties but want a share of the revenues from the series, a proposal that India has straightaway rejected. "We told them we are ready to play in India but we should have media rights and it Ijaz Butt could be a 50-50 affair. But they didn't accept the proposal," Butt said. Butt, in a television interview, said that the PCB had also suggested to the BCCI to split the revenues for scheduled series in March-April 2012 so that Pakistan could make some financial gains.

India had called off a scheduled future tour program to Pakistan in early 2009 due to the Mumbai terror attacks and this led to the PCB losing anticipated revenues. Butt said PCB had suggested splitting series or sharing revenues to not only get some compensation for the cancelled series but to also push forward resumption of bilateral ties with India. He admitted that playing India meant a financial boost for Pakistan. "Compared to what we earn when we play any other top country we earn many times more if we play India," he said. Butt said after the World Cup semifinal in Mohali even Pakistan's Prime Minister had advised that we should go and play in India if necessary but also suggested to the Indians to come and play a few games in Pakistan.

India win 243 medals at Special Games in Athens India won 243 medals, including 92 gold, at the recent Special Olympics World Summer Games2011 in Athens. Mallika Nadda, chairperson of the Special Olympics Himachal Pradesh branch, said that India had sent the fourth largest contingent for the event in which 7,000 athletes from 180 countries participated. The World Summer Games were held June 25 to July 4. "India sent 235 athletes, which was the fourth largest contingent after Greece, the US and China. India won 243 medals, including 92 gold," she said. Five athletes from Himachal Pradesh, who participated in the track and field event, won 10 medals. Pawan Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Prabha, Aman and Ranjana, all from Himachal Pradesh, won five gold, two silver and three bronze medals in individual and team categories. Special Olympics are where athletes with intellectual disabilities take part.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 16th July 2011