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Former Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi w a s remanded to eight days in custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation by a special court in Delhi. The CBI had earlier sought a 14day custody of Kalmadi, who was arrested by the anti-corruption branch the investigating agency, Continued on page 26 Godman Shri Sathya Sai Baba passed away on Sunday (24 April) at Puttaparti in Andhra Pradesh.

Details on page 25

VOICE

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side

VOL 39. ISSUE 51

Kalmadi arrested, remanded in CBI custody

FIRST & FOREMOST ASIAN WEEKLY IN EUROPE

80p

30th April to 6th May 2011

Britain awaits Royal wedding celebration with baited breath

By Rupanjana Dutta

London witnesses historical success of Swarnim Gujarat celebration organised by the 'Friends of Gujarat' and Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar.

For full report see page 14-15.

It's every couple's dream to have a royal wedding and every bride's wish to look like a princess on Dday. Weddings are certainly not just about fun and frolic. Obviously there are usual concerns such as who to invite, how to decorate the hall, what cake to order, which song to dance to, what menu to consider, while at the same time tackling the jitters, which are part of the mix.

Lieutenant Tul Bahadur Pun, VC passes away Gurkha whose lonely heroism helped to turn the tables in the fight against the Japanese in Burma passed away last week. He received a Victoria Cross that declared: “Rifleman Pun’s courage and superb gallantry in the face of odds which meant almost certain death were most inspiring to all ranks and were beyond praise.”

Continued on page 5 Also see page 5 for British Indian street parties and Indians invited to the Royal wedding

Continued on page 11

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UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

one to one Keith Vaz MP with

Dominic Shellard,Vice Chair, DeMontfort University Professor Dominic Shellard joined De Montfort University in June 2010 as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer.

An expert on post-war British theatre, he was educated at St Peter's College, Oxford, where he read English and German. He went on to achieve a DPhil in English Literature.

Dominic became a researcher to the Shadow Secretary of State for National Heritage in 1993, and was then appointed to the post of Lecturer in English at the University of Salford.

In 2004 he was appointed Head of the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, at the University of Sheffield.

An author of nine books, Dominic is the leader of the ground-breaking British Library Theatre Archive Project and he continues to undertake Economic Impact Studies of UK and European theatres and supervise PhD students.

On a personal level, Dominic is a passionate supporter of Queens Park Rangers and also enjoys the theatre, music, literature, current affairs, tweeting and most sport.

1) What is special about De Montfort University?

It is a university of quality and distinctiveness and we have a very diverse student body.

42% of our students are from the black and minority ethnic community and that’s absolutely tremendous.

2) What are the main challenges at De Montfort University?

Coping with the very uncertain external funding environment and with the new tuition fees regime the Government has introduced, and ensuring at the same time that we continue to follow our agenda of quality.

3) With a background in theatre, how did you end up working in education?

Mercury’s People’s Choice Award for Leicestershire R e g e n e r a t i o n Champion of the Decade and Large Scheme of the Year for the Hugh Aston building. How important to you is the regeneration of Leicester and sustainable design?

Sustainability and regeneration are at the heart of our mission as a university. I’ve just come back from Japan, which has suffered the tsunami and earthquake and they have to reduce their energy use by 25% and this is something we want to do at De Montfort as well. A step change is needed to reduce our carbon footprint.

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

I would make sure everyone lived their lives in a sustainable way.

There are perfect links between everything theatrical. Universities, politics, it’s all the same to me.

The cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz. 6) Who has had the most influence on you in your life?

4) If you were an actor, who would you like to be and why?

My parents and my football team QPR.

It’d have to be someone stunningly handsome and impressive like Jude Law. 5) If you could have starred in a film, which film would it have been?

7) How much will De Montfort charge in tuition fees next year? £9,000 with an incredibly generous package of fee waivers 8) De Montfort recently picked up the Leicester

People ■

A memorial service has been organised at the KP Centre in Harrow this Thursday to pay community tributes to Shantilal Patel the father of Ramesh, Bhulo, Mansukh and Ragni Kansagra who died in India last week.

2000 people attended his funeral in the Gujarat.

■ The Attlee Suite was the venue for an important conference on security in India which marked the arrival in London of Security Watch India.

The meeting was opened by Conservative MP Patrick Mercer and was addressed by Harry Dhaul and Joe Johnson MP. ■ Rami and Renu Ranger hosted a party in the roof gardens of one London's newest

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

James Dean because he’s so charismatic and such an exciting actor.

Winston Churchill for being courageous and a very good speaker, Gandhi for obvious reasons, and also Nelson Mandela because I’ve just finished his amazing book Conversations with Myself which was astonishing.

Rami Ranger

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Baroness Sandip Verma, a Government Minister, was presented with a rather large bunch of flowers.

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Dhani Kerai (Saaheli – Chairlady), Nim Jesani (Saaheli – Secretary), Jeet Matharu (Director/Actor), Suresh Varsani (Co.Director), Pushpa Varsani (Saaheli – Convenor)

Saahelis of SKLPC helped promoted the film “Woman from the East” to mark 100 years of International Woman’s Day. The film is based on true stories by Jeet Matharu, director and actor for the movie, and codirector, Suresh Varsani. The show was a sold out – over 400 people watched the movie at Safari Cinema, Harrow on Saturday, 26th March 2011. The Saahelis of SKLPC will donate the proceeds of the show (£1215 to various Women’s Charities in India)

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Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

COMMENT

Royal Wedding will uplift hearts and minds It has been gloom and doom for much of the past year. The British economy is clouded in doubt and uncertainty and the country's politics shows signs of increasing wear with the passing weeks and months. If the truth be told the British people haven't been wisely governed in the opening years of the 21st century.

New Labour's Tony Blair squandered ￡40 billion in the Iraq misadventure and the Coalition's David Cameron is spending ￡5 million on a daily basis in Libya on yet another foolhardy enterprise. All this as the national finances face a mountain of rising debt, of growing unemployment and falling revenues.

We are well into the era of austerity made worse by the increasing expenditure of an ill thought military intervention for no good reason.

Against this unpromising canvas comes the pageantry and colour of a Royal Wedding.

Prince William, the grandson of the Queen and her consort, the Duke of Edinburgh, who one day could ascend the throne, is to marry Kate Middleton, the daughter of a commoner. As true love knows no barriers this is as it should be in a democratic society responsive to social change and the popular mood.

Britain's Monarchy is among the oldest and

most venerable in Europe and the wider world.

The Queen, into her mid-eighties, has added lustre to the institution in good times and times best described as difficult. She has been the rock on which the Royal Family has leant.

She has been the figure which has reassured a nation in periods of doubt and uncertainty by her poise and dignity and her devotion to duty.

Her reign is fast approaching the span of Queen Victoria's of three score and more.

Prince Charles as the heir apparent has had a longer spell in that position than Edward VII, Queen Victoria's eldest offspring.

Next Friday, Britain will be the cynosure of millions of eyes beyond her shores. People are taken by the authenticity that comes with history and tradition, culture and achievement of a sort that has long been the envy of nations.

For the British people it will be a time to enjoy the spectacle, to savour its pomp and circumstance and reflect on their past and dwell on the possibilities of the present and future without being encumbered by what has passed before. To do so will enable the country to embrace renewal and become a light to the nations. But let us all enjoy the day and its blessings and be enriched by the experience.

Best of luck to the newly weds.

Fractiousness of the Alternative Vote: For and Against The politics of the alternative vote as opposed to the first-past-the-post system that has operated in Britain ever since the concept of the popular franchise and its spread came to hold sway is at times becoming an ill-tempered squabble. The British people vote on May 5 on which system they would prefer.

The Liberal Democrats are unanimous in their preference for a changed system that would incorporate elements of the proportional voting system, which includes a list of candidates on whom one can vote in order of preference. The second and third preferential votes are then appropriately distributed and the ultimate winner is thereafter judged. This is more complicated for the voter, but those, like the Liberal Democrats, say it is fairer because the popular vote in its entirety is given due weight.

The Liberal Democrats forced this exercise as part of the Coalition package with the Conservatives. They stand to benefit most from any change in the voting system.

The Conservatives are overwhelmingly opposed to any change, while Labour is a house divided. Ed Miliban favours change but many Labour MPs do not. In the end the people as a whole will have to decide on which system suits the country best.

Under the Alternative Vote the smaller parties would have a healthier representation in Parliament. Against this, is the argument that more MPs from the smaller parties would lead to unstable coalitions in power. What divides politicians and public alike is the wisdom of accepting a measure of imperfection in the interest of stable government or reconciling greater justice in the system with the risk of instability and fractious politics. In Germany, for example, proportional voting has worked pretty well mainly because the Germans as a people are disciplined and less rancourous than some of their neighbours.

Italy has a plethora of parties in Parliament and this has bred unstable governments. Belgium hasn't had a government for almost a year. However, the argument in Britain deserves to be conducted with courtesy such as we saw on CB Live on MATV (Sky digital 793) in which the editor of this paper and Lord Popat, the Conservative peer, and Lib Dem Councillor Rabi Martin, participated amicably. No heads were broken, no ill-feeling ensued and everyone departed happy and content.

Whatever happens on May 5, Britain will remain a thoroughbred democracy.

Corruption and democracy in India News that Suresh Kalmadi, India's organising chief of last year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, has been arrested by the police and charged with corrupt practices during his tenure has brought to the fore the corruption that blights India's public life. The Indian public has awoken to the malpractice of those who have long believed that they are beyond the reach of the law and hence are unaccountable to their peers. The people's anger shows this to be no longer the case.

This should become clearer after the results of the state elections in Communist-ruled West Bengal and Kerala, and in Tamil Nadu are known.

Here, regional contenders, the ruling DMK, whose minister at the centre in New Delhi, A Raja, was involved in the recent national telecom scam, and its rival, the AIDMK are fighting for power, as they have for as long as anyone can recall. The outcome of the Tamil Nadu poll could have a significant impact on national politics since the DMK is a member of the ruling Congress-led coalition in Delhi.

In West Bengal and Kerala, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which is known for its pro-China sympathies, have ruled the roost. The arbitrary use power through thuggery, the arro-

gance of power, venality and the declining economic and educational performance have eroded public trust. There is every chance that the CPI (M) will lose power in both states, strongholds of the party these past decades. Should this occur, as opinion polls suggest, it would represent a seachange in Indian politics and the possible demise of Indian communism as a significant regional and national force.

This could lead to a strengthening of a twoparty system at the Centre, with the Congress Party and the BJP as the major forces around which smaller parties would coalesce. This, in turn, could lead to better and more honest government since the old horse trading would be much diminished.

For the moment, this is no more than informed speculation. The people will have to make their will known before a new dispensation takes charge and sets about changing the old discredied order.

All said and done, the ballot box in mature societies with a strong democratic culture represents the golden mean. It can be an effective instrument of enduring reform and, dare one say it, of enlightened governance.

www.abplgroup.com

3

Thought for the Week

The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.

- Karl Marx in "Theses On Feuerbach" (1845)

Political Sketchbook Alpesh Patel’s

The Politics of Everything Every fortnight I review the newspapers on the BBC News Channel. One of the reasons I enjoy it is that I get to cover the world’s political issues in 10 minutes to a 75m global audience. Fun not to be dealing only with finance for a change and make use of my degree in ‘Modern Greats’. (The old name for Philosophy, Politics and Economics at my very old University).

So what did I cover this past week? Well I kicked off with the politics of Greece. You know the joke, ‘a Greek, a Portuguese and a German go to a bar, the German pays.’ And that is what politically I suggested the Greeks tell the Germans.

That Greece refuses to pay its debts. Instead of death by a million debt cuts, Greece should simply go to the end-game and say, ‘we can’t pay, it’s your experiment, we thought it was good, but we’re overwhelmed.’

The second story was about how the Finnish legislature has swung to the anti-EU right. My point with this political story was that the Europeans have a tendency to blame their European neighbours and immigrants every time their economies get debt ridden and inflation rises. Remember the EU was established because of the inflation and debt-ridden Europeans infighting plunged the rest of the world into global conflict within the space of a few decades.

Yet now, the organisation set up to stop the infighting – the EU – is leading to in-fighting.

Okay, led by the Finns means the EU is safe for now. But how long before the anti-Europeans gain in number and we realise that other countries and immigrants are not to blame for our ills at all, but the solution.

The next story was from Gulf News. It was the story of Syrian protests due on Good Friday. By now you have read about the dozens killed by the Syrian police. My point was surprise that it was a front-page story in a paper out of Dubai. But my surprise was because the protests were organised via Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg the founder of Facebook has done more for Syrian democracy than the CIA ever managed.

Next up was the story of Russian kidnappers who have taken hostage the son of a billionaire.

My point was simple. The State should pay the ransom then issue double that for the capture of the kidnappers – so they can never enjoy their bounty. The reason is, without law and order, Russia is a wasted opportunity to its own people.

Next up was the story of the Chinese clamping down on artists who are protesting about lack of political freedom. But my point was that the Chinese who understand ‘culture’ and ‘revolution’ given their cultural revolution should not fear modern art. Because no one understands modern art. In fact, if they hadn’t made the arrests, then 75m BBC viewers would not have been made aware of the protest. Doh! Politics is a perverse science sometimes.

ASIAN VOICE is published by Asian Business Publications Ltd Karma Yoga House, 12 Hoxton Market, (Off Coronet Street) London N1 6HW. Tel: 020 7749 4080 Fax: 020 7749 4081 Email: aveditorial@abplgroup.com www: abplgroup.com © Asian Business Publications

4

LEICESTER VOICE & NORTH EAST ENGLAND

Leicestershire Asian Business Association plans for a national body Leicestershire Asian Business Association (LABA) is celebrating its 25th anniversary while the government has urged it to create a national business body after acknowledging its significance.

According to the plans, the National Asian Business Association will be supported by two major banks and it will serve as an umbrella organisation

for more than 15,000 Asian business groups and companies across the country.

There are already many Asian business associations across the UK and according to these plans, all of them will be covered under one unified body.

LABA has earned recognition from the government for its role and contributions in business

sector and through its sister organisation European Ethnic Minority Business Network that represents thousands of ethnic minority businesses all over Europe.

With the government laying high importance on the trade links between India and the UK, the association has also received acknowledgement for its role in the

Eight forced marriages prevented by an East Lancashire project

Indo-British Trade Council.

After LABA faced three harsh years and was forced to cut down most of its activities following the lose of large public sector funding, it now aims to become self-sustainable by charging fees for the services it offers to its 1,100 members.

Asians highly vulnerable to rickets, NHS reveals

dents had Eight forced marriages have approached been stopped by a pioneertheir tutors. ing project called Practical Although Solutions, based in East there is no Lancashire. Children as specific crimyoung as 15 have been resinal offence cued from being married of “forcing overseas against their will. someone to The project leader, marry” the Mussurut Zia, revealed that victim can there has been a recent spike in calls from students afraid Leading the campaign ask for police against forced they will be taken out of the help if a country during the holidays. marriages, Mussurut Zia crime, such as The project has received threatening backing from community leadbehaviour, assault or kidnapers and last week itself Prime ping, has occurred. But the Minister David Cameron police were not involved in the described this activity as 'plain eight cases because the people wrong'. did not want to bring shame on Volunteers with the centre their families, says Ms Zia. In the most serious cases the vicbased in Bangor Street, tim is taken to a place of safety Blackburn regularly visit local such as a refuge while a solution colleges and women's centres is found. According to the and they deal with more than 20 Chairman of Lancashire Council inquiries of potential forced of Mosques, Salim Mulla, marriages each week. Out of the around two percent of East eight forced marriages brought to an end, two cam from college Lancashire's Asian population is referrals, where concerned stuaffected by forced marriages.

A campaign is to be launched by public health officials in Leicester in order to warn people, especially Asians of a potentially life threatening vitamin deficiency.

Deficiency of Vitamin D is capable of causing rickets and in a report presented to the primary care trust, it was revealed that nearly three-quarters of people in Leicester's Asian community are affected by the lack of Vitamin D. 90 percent of this Vitamin is gained by absorbing sunlight through one's skin and darker skin pigmentation restricts adequate absorption.

As compared to the national level of vulnerability to rickets, the percent is very high in Leicester due to the huge South Asian community present. There are also other factors that adds to this problem in Leicester which includes, the low level of sunlight penetration, people in the community covering majority of their body when outdoors for cultural and religious reasons and the flour used to make chapatis stops the body to a certain extent to absorb vitamin D. Doctors are already urging people to undergo screening. Patients suffering from lack of the vitamin will suffer aches, pains and lethargy, and in the most severe cases they will develop rickets.

LEICESTER SPORTS

Leicestershire Foxes triumph over Scotland

Coach Sven: Watford win was for the fans

Josh Cobb's well placed half century helped Foxes to register their first win of the campaign

Leicestershire Foxes produced an excellent allround performance as they immediately bounced back to record their first Clydesdale Bank 40 win of the campaign against Scotland by 32 runs.

The Foxes made 2534 from their allocation with James Taylor again top-scoring with an unbeaten 81 and Josh Cobb adding a fine halfcentury. Taylor's innings was extremely well-constructed and even though he only struck four boundaries, his strike rate was more than 100.

His solid performance was much welcomed after the team were bowled out 29 balls short of receiving 40 overs at Northamptonshire.

Scotland were always behind the rate in the reply despite Ewan Chalmers' 50 as they closed on 221-9. With the ball, Nadeem Malik led the way with 3-44 and Claude Henderson and Matthew Hoggard took a brace apiece.

Both teams were unchanged from their opening Clydesdale Bank 40 defeats and Scotland won the toss. They invited Leicestershire Foxes to bat first on a hot afternoon at Grace Road and were soon under the cosh.

Cobb (61) and du Toit (39) got the innings off to a flying start with a stand worth 88 in 14.1 overs and Taylor and Nixon (45) then shared 74 for the third wicket as the

Leicester twice came from behind to beat Watford 4-2

City manager SvenGoran Eriksson said a stellar display was just what the Foxes faithful deserved after the 4-2 win over Watford at the

Walkers Stadium.

Doubles from Jeff Bruma and substitute Yakubu saw City twice come from behind to beat the Hornets and record their

batsmen dominated.

It was a good day for the fans as the Foxes registered their first one-day win of the campaign and are in action again on

Wednesday in the LV County Championship against Derbyshire. The next home CB40 match is against Durham on Monday, May 2.

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

Council tells Madrasahs: Every child matters After allegations of assault made against a scholar, Bolton Council of Mosques in cooperation with Bolton Council has issued a new guidance on child protection for Islamic teaching centres in Bolton.

Even though Sohail Musa, 21, was cleared of any wrongdoing by Bolton Magistrates after it was alleged he struck children at an evening class for young boys at the Zakarriya Mosque in Peace Street, Daubhill; the Islmaic teaching cen-

tres in the UK, also known as Madrasahs remain constant scrutiny after several rows of allegations and recorded evidences portrayed the practice of extremism.

'Every Child Matters' in Madrasah Guidance Document is aimed to focus primarily on child protection and Bolton Council of Mosque is now working closely with the city council's safeguarding team to ensure that all mosques and madrasahs are aware and abide by the child protection law.

Leicester pays tribute to Sri Satya Sai Baba Following the sad demise of spiritual leader Sri Satya Sai Baba due to a heart failure, devotees paid due respect at The Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Rosefields, Clarendon Park in Leicester where hundreds of people celebrated his birthday each year in November.

The guru, who died at the age of 84, had millions of followers around the world. The Sathya Sai Baba Centre has been significant in providing health and education services in India as well as spiritual guidance world-

wide.

He was admitted to a hospital in his hometown of Puttaparthi last month after suffering from respiratory problems and kidney failure.

Plans for world's first dedicated Sikh Memorial Plans of building first national Sikh memorial in Derby has been passed by Derby City Council. The dedicated memorial will represent millions of Sikhs who died in six holocausts and both World Wars.

The large Sikh community in Derby said that the National Sikh Holocaust and Shaheedi Memorial is absolutely unique and first of its kind worldwide and it will highlight the contribution of Sikhs in the UK. The memorial is likely to be north Indian in style and yet contemporary.

The plans are to build a 7.2 metre high, 13 metre wide memorial out of

first win in four games.

And while their playoff hopes now look remote with just two games left in the campaign, Sven was quick to dedicate the win to the supporters that have cheered City on through thick and thin this term.

He said, "I was very happy with the players today and happy for the fans because they deserve to see this team playing at its best. They have been fantastic at home and away so a good performance and a good result was what

granite and sandstone. A black umbrella will mark the memory of millions of Sikh victims of the six holocausts and the white will pay tribute to those who died protecting their countries and families.

Funding of about ￡ 1million is set to come entirely from charitable donations from the Sikh community locally and nationally. The memorial will be build near the National Sikh Heritage Centre in Derby, where a museum dedicated to sikh culture was opened two years ago. The work is planned to start by the end of the summer and is aimed to finish by the end of 2011.

they deserved today."

Watford threatened to create another frustrating afternoon for the Foxes when they twice took the lead in the first half through Marvin Sordell. But Bruma's spectacular brace and two more from Yakubu, who started the game on the bench, sent the City fans home happy.

Sven added, "There were great goals and a great attitude and that's good because we said before the game that we would keep fighting and that we hadn't given up.”

ROYAL WEDDING

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

5

Britain awaits Royal wedding celebration Continued from page 1 Imagine the magnitude of worries that the future King and Queen of Britain may be going through. Not only is the security of the guests to be kept in mind, but also the fact that the well being of VIPs from all over the world will need looking after.

It surely will be a pressure

he spoke at length about the Royal Wedding, while Manubhai Thakkar sang a song from Jim Reeves and Ketan Makhwana recited his poem on the wedding (published on 9th April).

Several weeks before and after that CB not only spoke about the wedding in his show but also invited and encouraged his audience to discuss their

Union Jack hoisted all over Oxford Street- to celebrate the Royal wedding

cooker situation! Kate and William have done very well so far. Not only have they trimmed the guest list to 1900, but Kate as the future queen has not forgotten the people she has grown up with, in her hometown, including the local postman, the butcher, corner shop owner (who is Indian) and a publican.

On Friday, an estimated two billion people across the world will watch Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange their vows at Westminster Abbey. The wedding has taken months of planning and preparation and the big day is drawing nigh.

A special initiative was taken by CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of AV and GS on 17th March in CB Live, at MATV, where

views on MATV. Brit-Indians organise street party in Southall With the royal wedding approaching, some people in Southall have been looking back on the part this London borough has played in this royal celebration. Kate Middleton's mother, Carole, was born and raised in Southall and friends of the family still live there.

Virendra Sharma, MP for Ealing Southall is organising a Royal Wedding Street Party on Friday 29th April 2011 in Clarence Street, Southall the street where Kate Middleton’s grandparents once lived.

Virendra Sharma wrote to all the 140 homes in Clarence Street outlining his plan for a street party and was

Police Concern Over Royal Wedding Protests Police are concerned about two extreme groups which are planning protests during the Royal Wedding.

Muslims Against Crusades – who burned poppies on Armistice Day – were told they could not demonstrate outside Westminster Abbey during the service and have cut off contact with Scotland Yard.

The group’s website calls for a Muslim uprising on the day and warns Princes William and Harry to "watch your backs".

The far-right English Defence League has vowed to stop any MAC demonstration.

A second group with Middle East links has recently asked police for permission to protest on the day and is in talks with senior officers.

Military personnel will be part of the mas-

sive security operation around the procession route through Westminster.

Five thousand police officers will be joined by hundreds of soldiers in uniform, though sources suggest there will be many others undercover.

A thousand police will form a mobile reserve, ready to deal with any trouble on the fringes of the route, where road closures will begin at 6am.

Some of the thousands of sightseers expected are likely to be searched, especially those closest to the procession.

Police said they had no intelligence of a specific terror threat to the wedding, but there is still a second-highest threat alert from international terrorism and a substantial threat from dissident Irish Republicans.

enthusiastically received.

He wrote, "You may have already heard through the media that I was proposing to organise a street party in Clarence Street for residents to celebrate the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on Friday 29th April 2011.

As you may know Kate's grand-parents lived in Clarence Street and so it seemed a good place to hold such a celebration.

The party would just be for the residents of Clarence Street and will not cost anything. The Council will close the road to traffic at no cost and I will arrange for local businesses to sponsor the food, drink and decorations.

There is no obligation for you to take part but it should prove to be a wonderful community celebration. If you would like to attend or even help with the organisation of the day please contact my Southall office on 020 8571 1003.

Equally if you have any concerns or objections about the event, please contact me via my office.

As plans progress I will keep you updated and provide a timetable of the day's celebrations.

I hope you agree with me that this will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Royal Wedding and that you and your family will join me and your neighbours on the day."

He has asked Leader of

the Council Julian Cairns to make their wedding cake. Cairns, Bell to arrange for who started her business the necessary forms with husband Kishore to be filled in so that Patel 25 years ago, has the Council can give authorisation for been commissioned to the road to be closed create a traditional and he will be talkmulti-layered fruit cake ing to local busiwith a floral design for nesses to help sponthe royal wedding next sor the food, drink month, along with a secand festivities. ond one made from rich Speaking about tea biscuits, reports the his plan Virendra Telegraph.

Sharma said, “As Fiona Cairns, who started her business Middleton has given Kate Middleton’s with husband Kishore Patel displays one detailed plans for the of her cakes grandparents lived cake, which will be the in Clarence Street, centrepiece of the er.”

Southall it seemed a great Buckingham Palace wedSo far Ealing Council idea to hold a street party ding reception. has received a total of in celebration of the Royal The cake will be decoeight application forms Wedding there. Southall rated with William and asking to host street parMiddleton's new cipher residents are proud of ties across the borough on thought to feature the coutheir connection with the April 29. newest member of the ple's entwined initials Royal family and this will which will be officially Indian connection to the be a great way to join in released on their wedding Royal wedding the festivities. I am lookday.

Princes Charles for his ing forward to it and I’m Another theme will be wedding to Princess sure it will be a great day the four flowers of the Camillia had invited for everyone involved.” home nations - English owner of the Tiffin Bites Councillor Julian Bell rose, Scottish thistle, restaurant and actor said, “The Council is makWelsh daffodil and Irish Meera Sayal with husband ing it easy to arrange shamrock. The Prince, Sanjeev Bhaskar. In Kate street parties for the Royal however, has also requestand William's wedding the Wedding and will send out ed his childhood favourite couple have invited Kate's a pack to anyone who treat - a McVities chocovillage corner-shop owner wants to know how to late biscuit cake.

Mr Harsh and Mrs Cairns, 56, was conclose their road for a party.

Chandrika Shingadia, Mr tacted by William's office If the residents of Clarence Anil Bhanot-a Hindu in February and asked if Street decide they want a leader, Dr Natubhai Shah, she would make the couparty I will help get the President, the Jain street closed. It will be a ple's wedding cake.

Academy, nice way to celebrate the The official cake is Dr Indarjit Singh, wedding and the streets believed to include a range Director, Network Sikh connection with Kate of produce from dried Organisations (UK) and Middleton’s family.” fruits like raisins and sulShozna, a homeless girl, Swarn Singh Kang, tanas to walnuts, cherries, invited for her bravery. ward councillor for Ealing grated oranges and lemon, However it has recentGreen said: “I think the French brandy and free ly emerged that Prince idea for a party is a great range eggs and flour.

William and Kate one. It's a fantastic means Middleton have chosen of bringing people togethLeicestershire baker Fiona Continued on page 26

Guests for Royal Wedding with Indian connection Dr Natubhai Shah: He is the chair of Jain Network Dr Natubhai Shah, who is also a founder president of Jain Samaj of Europe takes active interest in InterFaith activities for more than 25 years.

Dr Indarjit Singh CBE: He is a British journalist and broadcaster, a prominent British Asian active in Sikh and interfaith activities. He is editor of the Sikh Messenger and widely known as a frequent presenter of the "Thought for the Day" segment on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, and BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought. He also contributes to British and overseas newspapers and journals including The Times, The Guardian and The Independent. He has advised, or been a member of, official bodies, including the Commission for Racial Equality and the Home Secretary’s Advisory Council on Race Relations. He is Director of the Network of Sikh Organisations (UK) and regularly represents the Sikh community at civic occasions such as the Commonwealth Service and the Remembrance Day Service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London. Prince Charles, Anglican bishops and the Metropolitan police have consulted him.

Anil Bhanot OBE: He is the founding member of the Hindu Council UK and of the Council of Dharmic Faiths UK. He is a Chartered Accountant running his

Anil Bhanot

Dr Indarjit Singh

own practice in London since 1990 and for charitable activities he runs the Rita Trust.

He has consulted the UK government on various legislative issues, particularly those affecting the UK Hindu community and regularly represents in the Hindu community on policy matters Chandrika & Hasmukh Jethabhai Shingadia: Chan and Hash Shingadia, who run the Spar franchise store in Buckleberry, know Kate since she was a child.

Born in India, the couple say Kate "pops in two or three times a week" when she is in Bucklebury, sometimes accompanied by Prince William. They are familiar with the the tastes and choices of their royal customers.

Shozna: A young girl, who shared homeless shelters with drug addicts while recovering from a serious stroke barely a year ago, is all set to join the Who's Who of the world invited to attend the upcom-

Dr Natubhai Shah

Shozna

Hasmukh Jethabhai Shingadia & wife Chandrika Shingadia (Hash & Chan)

ing royal wedding.

Prince William and Kate Middleton have invited the former homeless teenager to Westminster Abbey after she was rescued from destitution by Princess Diana's homeless charity, Centrepoint.

6

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

National Hindu Students Forum (UK)

By Kajal Valani, President, 2008-2011

By Spriha Srivastava

Abhishapt – A must watch It is after a long time that I came across a movie revolving around the plight of women in India, depicted in a true fashion. A number of movies that I have seen in the past are not truly balanced. But this one seems to be one of the better ones. I caught up with Pankaj Prakash, the director of the film to talk about the script, cast and the upcoming screening in London.

Tell us in brief about your film Abhishapt?

Abhishapt is my first Feature film. The core of the story is based on a true incident that happened some years back.

A labor woman was raped and when she went to file a complaint to the local police station the officer-in-charge kept her over night under the pretext of taking her statement and further abused her. Fortunately a Superintendent of Police happened to arrive the next morning on routine tour and the incident was reported. Our story takes off from that base, dealing with the plight of three women from different strata’s of society and how they resolve their issues.

How did you come up with the story idea?

A producer, who wanted me to direct his film, had invited me to Agra. But the story he had in mind was not inspiring enough. He had showed me some locations during that trip, among them a stone quarry and a 300 year old Haveli belonging to the quarry owner. Just thinking of the myriad stories hidden behind those old dilapidated walls intrigued me. Back in Mumbai, later during an outing in the countryside, Manju, my wife, and I started discussing the possibilities for a story based in those areas, which could be a mirror to society. I remembered this case I had read about and mentioned it to her. During the few hours out there she weaved a whole story around it.

Can you tell us how you decided on the casting?

We had very little budget but a very strong

subject, which was crying out to be made.

Manju spotted Vasundhara at a recording and told me that she had found the S.P. for the film. Upon meeting her subsequently I agreed and Vasu was also very

about it personally I feel not much has been achieved yet. Though some NGOs and society figures might claim that a woman can now raise her voice and will have enough support from people it is not true.

keen after hearing the subject. Dilshad had come to meet us on Neeraj’s recommendation. She spoke a few lines from the script and we knew we had our Mania. When an actor physically looks the character 60% of the work is done then it is only a matter of getting the right performance out.

Even other women in society often look down upon the victim and blame her for her plight as depicted in the small scene when Mania comes back to the village after losing the case. It shows how cruel we all become. One persons’ suffering is often a source of fun for others. I think this is not only true in the case of India but prevalent in one form or the other in every society.

Tell us about the screening of your film in London?

The film is to be screened on the 30th.April.

Alison Poltock, the Director/ East End Film Festival, had seen the promo of the film. She was very keen that I bring it to the festival and so we decided to come. I hope the audience likes the film. I

am sure most of them would empathize with the central characters of the story.

I am also hoping to be able to meet Overseas Distributers and maybe strike a deal as well.

The movie touches upon the sensitive issue of women’s rights, how far do you think India has come in giving it’s women population the rights they deserve?

Though there have been a lot of hue and cry

I believe you are working on a Persian film as well. Can you tell us more about it?

Divana-e-Ishq is the Persian film that I have just completed. It is a romantic story. The love legend of Shirin Farhad, in contemporary Iran.

It’s a story set amidst the present youth of Iran about their love, efforts and frustrations thereof. It is in a completely different genre and made with a better budget.

What are your future projects?

I have three four subjects ready and worked out An IndoArgentinean co-production is next in line, a film dealing with women from a particular tribe living in the Rajasthan and UP border area, third is a film based in India and England. And finally a modern day adventure story, with a mythological background, traverses the whole of the Indian subcontinent. It has romance, suspense and thrill.

Let us know what you think.

Email Spriha at spriha@abplgroup.com

End of an Era...... or is it?

"People who join the Hindu Society (NHSF) at university are totally uncool and I doubt I’d want to make friends with any of them!"

These were my thoughts as an 18 year old, before starting my first degree at university.

So you can imagine the surprise when I found myself attending a weekly Hanuman Chalisa organised by NHSF Kings. I thoroughly enjoyed it and, two years later, found myself President of NHSF Kings. With my committee, we transformed the Hanuman Chalisa event turn-out from 30 to over 200 people every week.

We started the country's first university Hindu Awareness Week and when I left, I really did think I had done my bit for my samaaj (community).

So, when I graduated and went on to study Law, I found myself as a national committee member of NHSF (UK), an organisation which, at the time, I thought was useless and I truly believed that what we achieved at Kings was far better than what they did nationally! I then got challenged to join the national committee to do a better job. I thought I would be there for 3 months, show them how it was done and then

exit. Six years later, I have gone from South Zone Co-ordinator to General Secretary and last month I finished my three year term of National Presidency.

It has been a phenomenal experience.

Every year has brought new challenges and by joining the team I understood how much background work was truly done! People always asked me; "HOW did you become a barrister and do all this voluntary work at the same time?"

Truth is, it was not hard.

Many students do so much more while studying and being part of a society or committee helps you balance your time and be organised. I certainly wasn’t before NHSF! The saying "Enjoy your work and you’ll never work a day in your life" rings true here. I never felt doing NHSF was ‘work’, but more of a passion and certainly my inherent duty.

During the NHSF (UK) AGM a few weeks ago, I gave a ‘goodbye’ speech while stepping down. I did however reiterate that this was not the end. Many of my core team stepped down with me to also make way for a young, dynamic generation as change is the only constant and is always necessary. This is

something I think other organisations in our community could really learn from. Although we may not have our titles and positions now, I am a firm believer that we should be there in the background supporting those who work voluntarily without need for name or fame.

So is this really the end of an era then? Yes it is. But more importantly, it’s the beginning of a brand new one. Even more selfless workers will dedicate time, money, effort and their hearts to furthering Hindu Dharma for the benefit of the samaaj through NHSF(UK), and those who have left the NHSF (UK) national committee are already becoming part of new projects as well as other organisations to further preserve, protect, practice and promote Hindu Dharma.

So let’s embrace this change wholeheartedly and all work together in this common goal of ours.

I would like to wish Pranav Bhanot,and the new national committee all the success in the world. I am proud of you and know you will take our samaaj to greater heights.

Manav Sewa Madhav sewa Service to man, is service to God.

Britain split in its stand over AV Kartik.S.Raval

Deputy PM, Nick Clegg has accused PM David Cameron of spreading lies about AV and compared the Tories to the BNP. He said the “No” campaign’s tactics amounted to “the very nastiest reactionary politics” and marked “the

On 5th May, Britain will vote whether to change the rules for electing MPs by opting for Alternative Vote (AV). The path to this D-day has been bitter so far and it is getting uglier as we draw closer. The boiling tension has seen accusations Yes to AV campaign being thrown across AV means fairer votes the entire political MPs will need to work harder to spectrum as well as earn and keep people's support within the coalition A bigger say on who your local while the country MP is remain split in its Tackling the MPs for life culture stand.

No to AV campaign First Past the Post ensures fair voting AV is costly AV is a politician's fix AV is complex and unfair

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death rattle of a rightwing elite” Chris Huhne, the Lib Dem Energy Secretary, has demanded that George Osborne should withdraw from spreading “untruths” and “falsehoods” about the cost of AV.

Mr Hughes has also accused Baroness Warsi, the Tory co-chairman, of “inventing facts” in asserting that AV would help extremist parties such as the BNP. The campaign for 'Yes to AV' and 'No to AV' are split over several electoral attributes, while politicians debate on the authenticity of each other's campaigns.

Continued on page 28

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

Shrien Dewani may get to stay back in the UK due to mental condition Shrien Dewani, the British businessman accused of ordering his wife's murder on honeymoon in South Africa is being compulsorily held at Fromeside Clinic in Bristol under the Mental Health Act. He is said to be suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder following the shooting of his bride, Anni Dewani, in Cape Town in November.

Although on bail, he will now be virtually imprisoned behind the locked doors, reinforced concrete walls and fivemetre perimeter fence of the medium secure hospital, City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in London heard.

The Bristol care home owner was admitted to Fromeside after he was asked to leave The Priory when, according to staff, his behaviour allegedly became disruptive and aggressive.

South African authorities are seeking to extradite the 31-year-old for his alleged part in the killing.

Daily Mail reported that Mr Knowles, his lawyer said: 'If it was the case - it plainly is the case - that Mr Dewani is seriously mentally ill and he were sent back to a prison system that simply cannot

Shrien Dewani

cope with that level of mental illness, that is a violation of article 3 (of the European Convention of Human Rights, which prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment).'

Mr Knowles, indicated Dewani's legal team would fight this on the grounds of his poor mental health and prison conditions in South Africa.

District Judge Howard Riddle renewed Dewani's bail, agreeing that Fromeside's secure environment meant his electronic tag was no longer necessary.

A full extradition hearing will begin on May 3 at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in south east London.

The hearing will be split into two parts, with further time allowed for a

psychiatric report on Dewani's condition to be carried out.

A Dewani family source told a national daily: 'We're keen that Shrien gets the best treatment to allow him to recover as soon as possible so that his name can be cleared of all these false allegations.'

Also it is reported that South African prosecutors allegedly attempted to "trick" the British man accused of ordering his wife's murder on their honeymoon into returning to South Africa, so that they could detain him without the need for an extradition agreement, as reported by the guardian and Daily Star.

Documents marked "confidential", which have been seen by the Observer, as reported by the Guardian, allegedly reveal how South African authorities reached a secret plea bargain with the principal witness against Shrien Dewani and then attempted to lure the Briton to Cape Town on false pretences, while intending that he would face trial.

7

Brick Lane celebrates curry festival and Baisakhi mela When one thinks of the East End and eating a Curry, all roads lead to the Curry Heaven that is Brick Lane. Famous for the rich culinary delights that can be found from Bangladesh and India, the area is a haven for curry lovers and one of the most famous iconic roads in the UK for tourists and visitors alike.

With its prime location in the centre of East London, the area has now been officially declared as the official ‘Olympic Curry Village’ for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. The Brick Lane Curry Festival is an internationally renowned festival, produced by the local restaurateurs with the support of local councillors and residents and event managed by the Clifton Arts and Events team. With Tower Hamlets being one of the official host boroughs of London 2012, visitors from all over the world will be able to experience the delicious cuisine, soak in the delightful atmosphere and enjoy a tantalising curry experience.

The Festival will kick start on Sunday 8th May in conjunction with the Baishaki Mela (Bangladeshi New Year

Festival). Brick Lane will be transformed in to an outdoor al fresco dining experience with up to 40 participating restaurants treating curry lovers to an East End street party.

London’s famous Lane will be lined up with tables, chairs and stalls for

visitors to soak up the party atmosphere and enjoy the special dishes cooked up by the talented chefs.

Among the treats in store to visitors at the Culture Park in Allen Gardens will be a unique ‘Pitta’ Market, which is an authentic savoury snack usually made by hand in Bangladeshi households.

It will be a rare experience in the UK, and one that is not to be missed!

The Curry Festival continues on for a week as the restaurants introduce

a bespoke ‘Curry Festival Menu’, going beyond the traditions of classical curry dishes, curry-lovers will have the opportunity to experience world-class chefs creating dishes from across North India and Bangladesh. With discounts on food, special dishes on the menu and performances and dance sequences throughout the week – Brick Lane will be a hub of activity during the week.

The festivities begin with a colourful procession with musicians, dancers and children in costume. A wide range of music will be performed on the main stage in Weavers Fields including international and UK stars.A secondary stage will feature the best young and adult artists from across the UK Bangladeshi community and will showcase folk traditions in Allen Gardens.

Weavers Fields will host a substantial fairground and a family friendly area for picnics and a range of free arts and crafts activities and interactive performances.

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COMMUNITY

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

Leading Motivational Speaker honoured in The House of Lords

By Tejendra Sharma “Unfortunately we are conditioned to be unhappy. Our mind is like a monkey and it works as we train it.

Most people don’t like to see others happy. Remember, while we are alive we have an option to smile. We would have long time to have an unhappy face when we are dead.”

This is what Mr. Minocher Patel, the well known Motivational Speaker from Pune India, had to say in the House of Lords in London where he was honoured by Katha UK with Katha UK Global Excellence Award.

The Award was handed over by Lord Tarsem King of West Bromwich in presence of an august audience.

In his one hour lecture on Happiness – The Indian Way, Mr. Patel offered six Guru Mantras to the audience which could keep them happy. He said, “Balance; Let go of negativity; Detached Attachment; Live today as if you are going to die tomorrow; Higher acceptance and low expectation and focus on being a good human being are the key to happiness.”

Councillor Zakia Zubairi welcomed Mr. Minocher Patel to the House of Lords and said, “Happiness is a trait rare to find in this day of tension and stress. We do all sorts of things to get tensed but have not learnt the easy way of letting the tension go. Although we, at Katha UK, are committed to honour Hindi literature and help the cancer patients, today’s event is a step forward towards a new direction for us.

I am sure it would make me happy, you happy and whoever you meet after this lecture – even he would become happy.”

Lord King handing over the Katha UK Global Excellence Award for Motivational Speaking to Mr. Minocher Patel. Standing from left Tejinder Sharma, Deepti Sharma, Lord Tarsem King , Cllr. Zakia Zubairi, Minocher Patel, Greg Heaton – Managing Director, NatWest Bank

Mr. Greg Heaton, The Managing Director (Retail), NatWest Bank was highly appreciative of the six Guru Mantras offered by Minocher Patel.

He emphasised the need to put these Mantras into practice and create a congenial atmosphere in any organization.

Deepti Sharma, the Assistant Secretary of Katha UK said, “The beauty of happiness is that when one is truly happy it reflects through every part of body, mind and heart.

It is a positive vibe that reveals the inner personality of a human being!”

In his concluding remarks Lord King impressed upon the need to be happy in life. He thanked Mr. Patel for sharing his philosophy of happiness with others. He fondly talked about his long association with Katha UK and promised his continuous support for the good community work that Katha UK is involved in.

Tejinder Sharma, the General Secretary of Katha UK, was the moderator for the evening. He made

a special mention of Mrs. Monika Mohta, the Director of the Nehru Centre London, for supporting the event.

Among others present in the audience were an array of Bankers – Greg Heaton, Stuart Aldrich, Sharon Robinson, Tamer Sancer and Abdul Khan (all from NatWest Bank); S.N. Zaidi, Hasan Zia, Khursheed Siddiqui, Maisam Ali (all from Habib Bank AG Zurich); Ajay Kalra (State Bank of India); Mrs. Padmaja (First Secretary, High Commission of India); Mr. Kailash Budhwar (former Head of BBC Hindi Section); Murad Qureshi (Member-GLA); Cllr. K.C. Mohan, Cllr.

Sunil Chopra, Hatim Sutterwalla, Asma Sutterwala, Saqina Sutterwala, Abbas Gokal, Rukaiya Gokal, (From Business Community); Phil Jakeman, Usha Raje Saxena, KBL Saxena, Dr.Kishan Upadhayaya, Mr. Rakhal Saha, Inder Syal, Dayal Sharma, Ismail Chunara, Aruna Ajitsaria.

Dishoom brings Chowpatty beach to South Bank If an old Bombay Café opened up on its local beach (while perhaps on a mild acid trip), the result would be Dishoom Chowpatty Beach.

From early May to the 4th September, Dishoom, the critically acclaimed Bombay café, is taking you on an exciting summer holiday to Bombay’s favourite beach, right here in London as part of Southbank Centre’s Festival of Britain’s 60th anniversary celebrations with MasterCard.

Adding a flash of colour to the area, the Dishoom Chowpatty Beach bar is just the place to kick off your flip flops, tuck into tasty Bombay food and sip summer tipples.

Add to this, 48 tonnes of sand shipped to Southbank Centre, created by Grassroot Garden as part of the overall celebrations, and an exciting schedule of spontaneous events including impromptu, unplugged gigs and Dishoom Chowpatty Beach is one of this sum-

mer’s hottest ticket.

Constructed in the spirit of jugaad (Hindi for ‘making do’) – old materials, furnishings and decorations are ‘upcycled’, refurbished and given a new lease of life.

Spot the quirky,‘I used to be a...’ inscribed on the furniture and fittings.With ‘making do’ a

are even old freight pallets cladding the outside of the building.

Enter the beach bar via an arched walkway festooned with thousands of multi-coloured used carrier bags. Inside, jam-jar lights hang overhead and brightly painted bentwood chairs contrast with a monochro-

classic Bombay habit, think brightly coloured barrels for stools, reclaimed railway sleepers as bench seating on the alfresco terrace, a bar made from recycled plastic bottles and walls erected using old tightlyrolled newspapers. There

matic, geometric floor.

Faded portraits on the walls playfully subvert Dishoom’s more straitlaced home on St Martin’s Lane. Cool Bombay sounds and funky retro jazz provide the soundtrack as the Bombay café lets its hair

down and parties for the summer.

Chowpatty beach is where all Bombay comes to snack and stroll.

Every Bombayite has nostalgic memories of magical evenings with family and friends, enjoying the view of the Arabian Sea at dusk and the lights of the skyline across the bay.The ramshackle food stalls that pepper the beach are revered for serving the tastiest Pau Bhaji in India.

Everyone has their favourite Gola-wallah, who shaves ice from huge blocks, packs it onto a stick and douses it in delicious syrup.

The Gola-wallahs at Dishoom Chowpatty beach will be serving authentic Gola flavours, alongside their playful (and naughty) twists.The rest of the drinks menu is equally tempting Bombay Pimm’s Summer Cup, Spiked Colaba Ice Tea, Thums Up Floats, Beers,Wines, Prosecco and Champagne.

Gurudas Mann performs at the Royal Albert Hall Last weekend saw Gurdas Maan becoming the first Punjabi artist to deliver a solo show at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London for two days in a row.

The living legend made history with an incredible set with a full band, which was the first of its kind, on April 23 and 24.

Gurdas before the event said: “I feel incredibly honoured that I will finally get to perform at a venue, which is like hallowed ground for every artist in the world. I am honoured, humbled and feel very privileged that someone who speaks, sings and performs in his mother tongue Punjabi has been chosen to join the ranks of some of the great names in history. I can’t wait to share the experience with my brothers and sisters in the UK.” The hotly anticipated

performances at the Royal Albert Hall was a part of the incredible Dil Da Mamla UK tour, which kicked off with sold out

shows on consecutive days in Wolverhampton, Leicester and Glasgow.

The music icon was on stage the entire time with a full live band and mixed up his greatest hits with brand new material from his recently released mega-hit album Jogiya.

Dil Da Mamla Remaining Tour Dates: Friday 29th April 2011 – Leeds Town Hall, Leeds Saturday 30th April 2011 - LG Arena, Birmingham

Sun Mark wins a third Queen's award in a row Her Majesty is graciously pleased to confer the most coveted award for business, the Queens Award for Enterprise 2011 to Sun Mark Ltd for a third year. It is an exceptional achievement by any company to win such a prestigious award and that too for a third consecutive year 2009, 2010 and 2011.

This extremely rare accomplishment is the culmination of great effort, organisation, and vision by the company which was founded and is led by Dr Rami Ranger MBE FRSA, an NRI, who has taken the company, in just 15 years, from a startup business to one which is now recognised all over the world.

This Queens Award for Enterprise symbolises the strength and credibility of the company, its positive contribution to the British economy and that it is amongst the best of British companies. The company’s sales continue to grow despite the global downturn caused by the financial meltdown. The company’s turnover grew by over 35% last year and is fast approaching ￡150 million and continuing to grow at 30% even now. It is a considerable achievement by any standard, especially when the company’s business has been affected by the events in countries such as Libya,

Bahrain and Egypt.

The company exports British supermarket products to over 90 countries with staggering results and market penetration.

Needless to say, due to its export activities, it not only generates wealth and employment for Britain directly, but also helps other British companies grow which are connected with its export activities like transport, shipping and manufacturing. It is fair to state that Sun Mark is an engine of growth for many other British businesses. This year Sun Mark was added to the prestigious Sunday Times Profit Track 100 emphasising the company’s contribution to the British Exchequer in terms of profitability and taxes.

The Managing Director, Dr. Rami Ranger MBE, is optimistic that his company, which is a leading force in exports, will continue to drive hard and be a recipient for many more such awards for sustainable growth and for excellence. He said that the third award recognises the company’s ethos of hard work, ethical practices and above all empathy for others.

The company’s motto is, “we only succeed when our customers succeed” and this is the bedrock of the company’s strength.

Midland Voice Dhiren Katwa is currently away

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

Navin Kundra eyes first individual album After back to back singles topping the charts, Navin Kundra is now aiming to put together his first individual album. His song Aaja has been the number one on i-tunes world chart for several weeks while Tere Liye has topped the Asian chart for more than 12 weeks.

Some of his latest releases has received over a million hits on YouTube and toll of fans worldwide are rising everyday.

However, he first came into limelight as an 18 year old on the famous television program Sa Re Ga Ma Pa's World Series, where he represented the UK. Today he is the leading singer in the British Asian music industry.

Navin Kundra tells Asian Voice, “I am not a trained singer and that is exactly what gives me flexibility. I just follow my passion for

music which includes singing, guitar and piano.

I love writing my own songs and have always done that.”

He has sat alongside legendary figures like Ghulam Ali and Zakir Hussain and says “ Just

watching them perform gives me motivation to reach a similar level of perfection and command in music.

But at the same time I wish to follow my own heart.”

He is renowned for his well constructed fusion between various genre of music as well as between Hindi, Punjabi and English.

Navin Kundra's Navin popularity amongst Kundra the Non-Asians is also on the rise.

This is because of his his electric performances on stage that has captivated audience globally. Other than 'Aaja' and 'Tere Liye', his electro-pop song 'Jee Le'\ and Urban Fusion 'Love Thing' are also storming the charts.

Shreya set to rock Wembley

By Jaya Kumar Shreya Ghoshal is a musical phenomenon from India. She has been delighting the Asian audiences the world over with her delectable songs for over a decade. Shreya has brought a vocal wonder to the world of not only Bollywood Hindi/Urdu music but also Punjabi music.

Shreya has sung in nearly 200 Bollywood and other Indian films and received more awards for her songs. It was Shreya who sang with Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan the hit song Tere Mast Mast Do Nain in Dabang. There are other hits like Shukran Allah from Kurbaan, Theri Ore from Singh is King, Zoobi Doobi from Three Idiots and many more.

Apart from being a

Shreya Ghoshal

musical exponent extraordinaire, what is equally captivating about Shreya is her personality. She is, like her songs, beautiful.

And it is her beauty as a person and performer that endears herself passionately to the people who come to see her on

stage.

It is for her musical achievement that a special honour, considered to be very prestigious, was bestowed upon her by the governor of the State of Ohio, USA, Ted Strickland, by a proclamation that June 26, 2010 as Shreya Goshal Day in Ohio. Only two other Indians, S w a m i Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore, were given this recognition. What is more gratifying than to be in their company?

Vijay Bhola, the Shreya concert promoter, said: "Shreya is all set to rock Wembley. You have to be part of this most thrilling show staged nonstop for more than three hours."

Young Citizens praised for their work in charity selected from a pool of nominees, and so far two people have won that prize and seen their names go forward for the overall award which will be decided early next year.

In March, the judges were impressed by 19-

From a self-taught piano playing fundraiser to a mountain climbing teenager with a passion for helping others, the Young Citizen Award has found some remarkable stories.

Since it launched in February, a clutch of young people aged 25 and under have been nominated for the Recorder/Rotary Young Citizen Award.

The award sees a monthly winner

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YOUR VOICE

10

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

Dictators in Democracy

Solution to poverty

Royal Wedding

Sathya Sai Baba's demise

On last Monday the Labour Executive on Brent Council destroyed the hopes of its residents by voting to close six beloved libraries. Residents have worked so hard to prevent this decision by signing petitions, responding to the ‘so-called’ consultation, attending ACF meetings, lobbying the Executive, holding public meetings but all to no avail.

Instead, Labour has assumed the role of dictator, bulldozing through the great democratic traditions of this country.

Residents are flabbergasted that not only have the 10 Labour Executive members rejected the wishes of the people, but that all 40 Labour councillors voted down the motion of the Conservative and Lib Dem Groups at Wednesday’s Extraordinary Meeting.

Labour’s Preston Councillors should be particularly ashamed.

Labour cannot try to lay blame on Central Government for the closures when the inescapable truth is that their previous Labour Government kept borrowing beyond their means leaving a legacy of debt and waste and a ruined economy.

Despite such difficult financial circumstances, this Government has given more freedom to Local Government to use money according to local needs by removing ring fencing. Brent has also received ￡2.5 million from the Government to protect frontline services, but Labour chose to put this money into reserves. Had this money been used correctly, libraries could have remained open. This is simply another example of how this Labour Administration remains inefficient, incompetent and visionless.

I think Indian Prime Minster Manmohan Singh must be supported for giving the assurances to the the Prime Minster of Japan that India stands in full solidarity with the people of Japan and India`s all resources are available at the disposal of Japan for any assistance they may require.

This was the statement given by the Prime Minster Manmohan Singh. In the Lower House of the Indian Parliament (India Digest March 15 ,2011).This is a great action by him and we should be proud that he feels, India is capable of helping other Nations like Japan when required.

When you read such statements, one feels India is moving in the right direction but on your visits to India when you see majority of people in India are living in shanties. It make all of us ashamed of our leaders that after more than 65 years of Independence we can not look after our people and their basic needs. Therefore may I request and suggest the Indian Prime Minster through Asian Voice to show us the same commitments and emotions and at least develop a New Committee representing members from each state of India and overseas who wish to contribute for better life for all in India. I am sure, together, we all, will find the solution.

Dharam Sahdev Ilford

29th April- the day for the fairytale wedding of the century approaches and the eyes of the world are focused on our great city. After the doom and gloom of the recession, the financial crisis in the previous years and the inclement weather earlier this year, there seems to be a kind of euphoria prevailing in the country, be it only because of an unexpected day off from work for the majority of people. The extra bank holiday means that Britain will be open for business on only three days between April 22 and May 2, because Easter is the weekend before the wedding, and the May Day bank holiday is the following Monday. The creation of consecutive four-day weekends in April will cost the economy billions of pounds.

One would argue whether this is all worth the expenditure which will be incurred. Just the cost of policing the vast majority of people who would ascend on the city is estimated to be in the region of £20 million.

Nevertheless, this is going to be a grand and happy occasion and I wish I was invited to the wedding. Perhaps my invitation has been lost in the post!

Seriously, though, I must admit that I have had the privilege of an invitation to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace not too long ago when I met most of the royal family.

Dinesh Sheth Newbury Park, Ilford

Sathya Sai Baba left his mortal coil on 24-4-2011. Luminary of his stature will not walk on earth or firmament in near future. He proclaimed himself an avatar and fulfilled the role to hilt, successfully.

Sai Baba’s physical imprint in India and on minds of millions of devotees abroad, will speak volumes about his benevolence.

Despite holding assets worth Rs 40,000crores, he did not indulge in corporate loot like many pseudo patriots, and decided to live and die among needy folks in and around Puttaparthy.

Sathya Sai Baba's charitable wing provided free medical treatment, free education, social welfare, water to parched areas etc for all to see. List of divine an spiritual blessings to devotees in India and abroad, will be endless.

Sceptics who ridiculed Sai Baba must hang their heads in shame when seeing succour Sai Baba brought to may downtrodden and under dog folks in Andhra Pradesh.

It is natural to grieve at massive loss.

We pray for eternal peace to his soul at feet of almighty God. We also assume that his soul may train and inspire aspirant devotees to continue altruistic projects for needy persons in India and world.

Ramesh Jhalla Via Email

Cllr Harshadbhai Patel Via Email

Indo-Pak Relations It was reported in last week's AV that the Indian government had decided to resume cricketing ties with Pakistan. I ask myself Why? Looking at history- a trend seems to be appearing i.e. when the Pakistani leaders are suffering a political low they generate a national unity & fervour by fabricating anger toward India - we have witnessed the amassing of 500,000 troops along the border during the reign of Mush. Then a few years later India leads the thaw until the domestic Pak situation degenerates ; when the cycle repeats itself. I ask myself when will India learn that the Pakistani government is simply playing us? In my view the chances of having a genuinely peaceful Pakistan are about likely as that of converting a Pitbull into a vegetarian.

Lets not play their games anymore - and keep the freeze on cricket. Indeed ; I think we should extend the freeze into other areas e.g. trade ; and diplomacy (close each others respective Embassies). Just live next to each other No talk, no play - just tolerate.

Raj Patel Essex

Our warmongering HOC

Strategies and issues of corruption

Ninety two years ago on 13rh April, a bloody massacre took place in Amritsar, India. This massacre is popularly known as Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre. It is also known as Amritrsar Massacre.

Victims of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre were shot at without any warning and there were no exits where they had gathered to protest against the British rulers.

Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, who led the butchers of the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre, told the Hunter Commission Enquiry “I think it quite possible that I could have dispersed the crowd without firing but they would have come back again and laughed, and I would have made, what I consider, a fool of myself." He also stated that he had gone to the Bagh with the deliberate intention of opening fire if he found a crowd assembled there. He further stated that he did not make any effort to tend to the wounded after the shooting.

"Certainly not. It was not my job.

Hospitals were open and they could have gone there," was his response. In a telegram sent to Dyer, British LieutenantGovernor of Punjab, Sir Michael O'Dwyer wrote: "Your action is correct.

Lieutenant Governor approves.”

It is obvious there is no difference between Col. Gaddafi of Libya of today and Brigadier-General Dyer and O’Dwyer of 1919, Mr. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Therefore do you not agree that Britain owes apology to India for the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre?

It was a sad reflection on our values, priorities and judgement when speaker after speaker lined up to praise David Cameroon for involving in yet another war that has nothing to do with us.

It seems our PM David Cameron, like his preceded PM Tony Blair, is more interested in building his reputation as a world statesman, at the expense of neglecting our dire and perilous economic and financial affairs, with rising unemployment, inflation and budget deficit and falling productivity that may lead to worse fall in our living standard since the Great Depression of 1930s.

Ken Livingstone is not my favourite politician, nor do I share his views. But when he appeared on BBC question Time, he hit the nail when he questioned whether we have the guts, moral courage to impose a No Fly Zone over Bahrain, Syria or Saudi Arabia.

He also pointed out that well over three million people were murdered by Pol Pot regime in Cambodia with arms supplied by the West. The death of few hundred people in Libya will pale into insignificant with such atrocities committed in Sudan, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Iran and above all in Tibet which has been ethnically cleansed so that Tibetans are now in a minority in their own homeland.

We only choose the weak who can not defend themselves. Perhaps if Libya was a nuclear power like North Korea with inter ballistic missiles, no one would have dared to attack Libya. No wonder Iran is hell bent on developing such weapons.

Two separate but complimentary strategies need to be tackled: the preventive approach-creating a set of rules, systems and processes that provide checks on corrupt actions and encourage conformity to ethical standards; and the enforcement approach-the establishment of anti-corruption laws and institutions.

Most corruption happens at the time of delivery of goods and services by public servants at village, town, region, district, state or central government level.

Potential areas of reform are: l Business process re-engineering using information technology [e.g. computerisation of the railway passenger system used by 10 million people everyday eliminated corruption there]; l Introduction of Online Citizens’ Charters on other key goods and services; l Procurement reforms: introduction of standardised e-tendering documents for the procurement of goods, services or equipment; l Each government department or undertaking is supposed to have a full time Chief Vigilance Officer and supporting staff to monitor, investigate and prosecute those involved in corrupt practices under the Civil Vigilance Commission Act 2003-this has not been happening; l Speeding up the prosecution service: criminal and civil prosecutions are delayed for many years, sometimes until the guilty party has died.

I agree with Hazare’s comment: the war on corruption has just begun.

Chunilal Veljibhai Chavda Via Email

Bhupendra M Gandhi Via Email

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

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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

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

University of Salford sets base in Sri Lanka The University of Salford has become the first foreign university to offer a full degree programme in Sri Lanka and it will double the number of quantity surveyors trained every year in the country, starting from September.

Currently only one public sector university in the country runs a quantity surveying degree programme. However, there is a huge demand for construction professionals including quantity surveyors as the country rebuilds from the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 and a decades-long civil war.

The Salford course will be taught by local experts at the Colombo School of

Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga helping to extend relations with Sri Lanka

Construction Technology and closely supervised by Salford academicians. It will last for four years which will include a work placement year.

The degree will enable local people from less well off backgrounds to gain qualifications since it is priced at the local rate rather than the alternatives in Europe and Australia.

Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga from the School of the Built Environment said, “This is the first foreign university opening for Sri Lanka and it is a part of Salford’s ongoing long term relationship with the country.

It also means that more Sri Lankans can study their chosen subject in their home country and in their own language which may be more suitable for them.”

British university’s international work honoured by the Queen Middlesex University, London has been presented with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for its international projects, including work in India.

Queen's Award is the most prestigious award available to businesses in Britain. The award to Middlesex University recognises its success in developing international campuses, forging partnerships with educational institutions across the world and welcoming talented students to the UK. Middlesex University has strong links with India, including a new centre opening in Noida this October, a partnership

with A. R. Rahman's KM Music Conservatory in Chennai and plans for a specialist creative arts centre in southern Delhi. The University is also leading the way in welcoming one of the brightest Indian students to its campus in London every year.

It is well known for its international campuses, with other bases in Dubai and Mauritius.

The University also works in partnership with institutions including Renmin University in Beijing, Cairo Modern University for Science and Arts, AKTO in Athens, Hong Kong University, the Open University of Hong Kong

and a global partnership with SAE, all of which award Middlesex degrees from their own campuses.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Driscoll said, “We’re proud to be recognised for our international projects as for many years we’ve made it our goal to provide a high quality British education to students across the world.” He adds, “Our new centre in Noida is an important long-term investment for Indian students as well as for our University and we’re very excited about recognising and nurturing the talent based in Delhi and beyond.”

Lieutenant Tul Bahadur Pun, VC passes away Continued from page 1 Lt Pun was invested with the Victoria Cross by the Viceroy, Field Marshal Viscount Wavell, at a special parade held at the Red Fort in Delhi on March 3 1945.

Tulbahadur Pun, from the village of Banduk in the Parbat district of Nepal, volunteered for the Indian Army in 1941 and after initial training at Abbotabad was posted to the 3rd Battalion 6th Gurkha Rifles. This unit formed part of Brigadier Michael Calvert’s 77 Brigade preparing to take part in Operation Thursday, the second and larger of Major-General Orde Wingate’s long-range penetration operations inside Japanese-occupied Burma by the Chindits the special force he had formed and trained.

The operation began in February 1944 when 16 Brigade, under Brigadier Bernard Fergusson, set off to march from a railhead in Assam to attack the Japanese at Indaw. On March 10 two more brigades were flown by troop carrying gliders to landing grounds in the

jungle. It was a hazardous enterprise, as one of the landing grounds could not be used because of logging, but 37 of the 54 gliders landed safely or with relatively minor casualties.

Tulbahadur Pun was with B Company, whose commander, Captain Michael Allmand, was mortally wounded as he led the assault. The leading platoons were pinned down by intense Japanese fire, and the whole of Tulbahadur’s section killed or wounded except for the section commander, himself and one other rifleman. The section commander led a charge on the Japanese position stemming the advance, but both he and the other rifleman were wounded.

Seizing the section Bren light machinegun and firing from the hip, Talbahadur continued alone. On reaching the position he killed three of the occupants and put five to flight. He then gave supporting fire to his platoon, enabling it to reach its objective.

Allmand and Tulbahadur Pun were awarded the Victoria Cross, Allmand posthu-

mously.

In 1945 Talbahadur Pun was promoted to havildar (sergeant) and served at the 6th Gurkhas regimental centre until Indian independence in 1947, when he joined the 2nd Battalion, which was to form part of the British Brigade of Gurkhas. He served almost to the end of the Malayan Emergency campaign, reaching the rank of regimental sergeant-major. He displayed great skill on jungle operations and was an inspiration to all ranks. On his retirement on pension in May 1959, he was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant (Queen’s Gurkha Officer).

In the last few years Tulbahadur Pun had been in the forefront of the Gurkha veterans who fought for the right to settle in the UK, a campaign to which the actress Joanna LumleyTulbahadur Pun is survived by his second wife, Punisara Pun, and by two sons and eight daughters.

Lieutenant Tulbahadur Pun, VC, was born on March 23, 1923. He died on April 20, 2011, aged 88.

11

London Councils raise concerns over new plans for building schools London Councils has warned that parents and local authorities would lose their power to have a say over school building projects planned for their area, which will further affect London’s ability to respond quickly to changes in demand.

The warning comes in response to the James Review on school building, which makes a series of recommendations about how funding to build new schools or improve existing school buildings should be allocated in the future.

While the review recognises the clear leadership role of local authorities to work with all schools to identify priority projects, it states that local authorities and the communities they represent, would have no say on how major projects are procured and delivered. Instead the review recommends that this be done by a central body.

London Councils argues that as local authorities are responsible for planning pupil places in local areas they should play a key role, in partnership with schools

and other key agencies, throughout any school building process. It would be unfair for councils to be held responsible for providing enough school places in a local area without any control over how they are delivered.

If the review is implemented, the changes would come at a time when pupil numbers are rapidly increasing in London.

Centralising capital funding could drastically reduce the ability of local authorities to respond swiftly to local spikes in demand for school places, which could lead to many children losing out on a place in schools.

London Councils supported the focus of the review to get better value for money out of school capital funding.

Making money go further will be particularly important in London where the pressure on school places has now reached breaking point with around 70,000 places required over the next four years.

It was noted that this year London has 64 per cent of the shortage in

school places but only 26 per cent of the allocated funding to tackle the issue.

London Councils’ Executive Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Steve Reed said, “We don’t dispute that some changes to the current system are needed. Funding will need to go much further than it has in the past.

However, we have serious concerns about strengthening the role of a central body in the procurement of schools and what that means for parents, in particular. A central body will be unable to effectively liaise with schools, parents and the wider community – all of whom have a stake in any new school building projects.”

He further added, “Local authorities and schools should be able to opt into centralised procurement; not be forced into it. It is vital that local authorities in London have maximum flexibility to respond to local priorities including the rapid surge in demand for school places.”

12

MEDIA WATCH

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

Scrutator’s Savour The Economist online (April 15) - “Winning the growth World Cup” - which says: “Did India grow faster than China last year without anyone so much as noticing? Many pundits, including this newspaper, have speculated about when India's growth might outpace China's. So it would be ironic if the moment had already come and gone, without any fuss, fanfare or felicitation.

China grew by 10.3 per cent, a punishing pace to beat.

India, according to the advance estimate by its Central Statistics Office (CSO), grew by 8.6 per cent. Fast, but not fast enough. But today a colleague pointed me to the IMF's latest World Economic Outlook released earlier this week. It says India grew by 10.4 per cent in 2010. How can that be?

“India has two idiosyncrasies in the way it reports its GDP figures. First, it reports growth for the fiscal year, not the calendar year. So the 8.6 per cent estimate refers to the 12 months ending on March 31. That in itself makes little difference. But the second idiosyncrasy is more important. India typically reports its GDP at 'factor cost'. That means it adds up all the income earned in the course of producing the country's goods and services. Other countries, including China, typically report their GDP “by expenditure”, adding up all the spending on domestically produced goodies. Since every purchase is a sale, expenditure should equate to income: every rupee spent by one person is earned by someone else. But a couple of things get in the way: taxes and subsidies.

“A sales tax adds to the amount you have to spend on a good. This boosts measures of GDP by expenditure, relative to income-based measures. A subsidy has the opposite effect. If these taxes and subsidies remained steady as a percentage of output, they would not affect the growth rate of GDP, even if they do affect its level. But in India net indirect taxes rose from 7.5 per cent of output in 2009 to 10.36 per cent in 2010. That's fully 0.6 per cent points faster than China. Jai Hind.”

Add to this a World Bank, IMF report which opines that high growth rates in China and India are contributing significantly to the reduction of extreme poverty worldwide (The Economic Times April 16).

PSLV launch There is nothing quite like an idea whose time has come. That idea, it would appear, is India.

To the above report in The Economist add the successful launch, on April 20, of India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the space station at Sriharikota.

Resource 2 has a rare combination of three cameras with high, medium and coarse resolutions.

The high resolution cameras, apart from taking black and white pictures, can also take images of land 70 kilometres wide. The images can be used to locate ground water and minerals, estimate crop acreage, identify rich fishing grounds, reser-

ISRO Chairman S. Radhakrishnan (centre) holds a model of PLSV-C16 rocket with PSLV-C16 Mission Director P. Kunhikrishnan (left) and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director P.S. Veeraraghavan. Director of ISRO Satellite Centre T.K. Alex and Director of Space Applications Centre R.R. Navalgund (right)

The Hindu newspaper's T.S.Subramanian writes: “This is the 18th launch of the PSLV, which has an impressive track record of 16 uninterrupted successes. (The first launch in September 1993 failed). Since then, the PSLV has been on a winning streak.”

The latest PSLV [weight 295 tonnes, height 44 metres] has put into orbit three satellites – India's remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2; an India-Russian satellite named Youthsat; and a mini-satellite, X-Sat, from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

voirs, lakes and canals.

Resource 2 has an additional payload called Automatic Identification System from Canada. This can provide information on the position of ships.

Youthsat has three payloads, one from Russia, two from ISRO. They can be used to study ionosphere, solar X-ray fluxes and their effect on the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere.

Thriving agriculture The Indian Express (April 13) published an informed

analysis of the currenttt state of India's agriculture by Yoginder Alagh, a former Union minister and now Chairman, Institute of Rural Management, Anand (Gujarat), who says in his introductory line: “There is a huge increase in agricultural production. Now let's raise the bar.”. The point is well taken in the light of his text.

He writes: “The increase in agricultural production shown by the Third Advance Estimates – 235.88 million tonnes of foodgrains during 2010-11 compared with 218.11 million tonnes in the previous year – is impressive by any standard.....There is more good news, and in a very significant way: we are right at the top.....If we look at rice production.....there is growth.

It is largely in yield. There is a welcome increase in Assam and Chhatisgarh, with scattered evidence of hybrids picking up. Growth is also there in states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat.....Gujarat is growing more rice and wheat.....Flush with Narmada waters....the area under cultivation has gone up to 0.76 million hectares.

“The great story is pulses.....The other happy news for me is soya (whose) production went up by 20 per cent.....Twenty-thirty per cent growth in oilseeds and pulses!..... We should be happy but not laid-back. The kisan has done it again. When the planner and the policymaker have a clear vision, when Krishi Bhavan has a go-getting crowd, we know India does well in agriculture. It happened in the midSeventies and in the latter half of the Eighties. This time the problems are more complex, because the demand is larger and more diverse and the resource base is shrinking in terms of land and water.”

There may be a way round that too.

logical endowments, has reported an average growth rate of 9 per cent per annum over the past decade.

Gujarat's agricultural performance this past decade has turned out to be as impressive as the performance on the industrial front.”

So what are the secrets of the Gujarat model of development? The twin mantras that

tion.” The two leaders agreed on a three-year Action Plan involving specific milestones in hydrocarbons, civilian nuclear energy, space, IT and cyber security, high-tech and innovative technology, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, agriculture and cultural exchange.

They also signed a memorandum of understanding on Indian help in setting up an

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Kazakhstan's President Nazarbayev

have spurred the state to a higher trajectory of agricultural growth are “improved diffusion of technology and better utilisation of water....These seem to have been followed by essential support services that provide inputs, credit, power and marketing facilities.”

Under Gujarat's farm extension system agricultural scientists and service providers, operating on a joint platform, are taking a rejuvenated system to the farmer's doorstep.

The exercise has yielded the desired fruit. Gujarat is on the cusp of exponential rural transformation.

Indian-Kazakh Centre of Excellence in the Eurasian University of Astana. India has also gained access to oil blocks in the Caspian Sea region.

Aircraft carrier being readied

According to The Hindu (April 13), the Indian Navy has begun preparations for the induction of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, which is nearing completion for its sea trials in Russia. The first batch of officers and sailours have commenced training there in advance of the handover of the Kazakh-India accord carrier next year.

The 152-member Indian The Hindu's Sandeep Dixit crew are in St Petersburg learn(April 17), reporting from ing to handle the 45,000 tonne Astana, the capital of ship and its diverse suite of Kazakhstan, told of Prime weapon systems. Hence, the Minister Manmohan Singh's Indian crew are the technical maiden visit to this strategiModi's miracle staff. They were trained in cally placed Central Asian Russian language skills. The country following his particiThe Business Standard editoship's crew will eventually numpation in the BRICS summit rial (April 22) highlighted ber 1,400. Meanwhile, the Navy in Sanya (China). He held what it called “Mr Modi's mirhas established a shore-based talks with Kazakhstan's acle: Gujarat's silent Green facility in Goa to train naval aviPresident Nazarbayev Revolution is boosting farm ators who will fly the the designed to put “flesh on the output.” The text says, MiD29-K fighter aircraft from various areas of collabora“Gujarat with poor agro-ecothe decks of the Vikramaditya.

An Itar-Tass agency report says (April 19) three Indian warships, INS Ranvir, INS Ranvijay, both missile destroyers, and the frigate INS Delhi, a corvette and a tanker have docked in the Russian Far Eastern port of Vladivostok for exercises with the Russia's Pacific Fleet.

The Indian warships were opened to residents of the city, whose mayor held a reception for the visiting crew. The IndiaRussia relationship is “unique in its depth and quality,” said Shiv Shanker Menon, India's National Security Gujarat has been able to attract investments to the tune of Rs 20.83 lakh crore Adviser, at the recent during the two-day long Vibrant Gujarat Summit, according to Gujarat Chief BRICS summit in China.

Minister Narendra Modi.

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011 Continued from page 10

YOUR VOICE

AV means Asian Voice All these years AV was AV, Asian Voice. Now because of a referendum brought on by Nick Clegg in his coalition negotiations last May, AV has became a household name.

Voting takes place on Thursday 5 May - between 7am and 10 pm. and you can say Yes to 'Alternative Vote' system, or No to keep the currant system 'First past the post'. Whichever way you vote you can be sure AV will mean a lot , lot more to all your readers. Thank Above: we already have AV. Sharad Parikh, Surrey

Swami – Jai Ho Millions with tears in their eyes.

Hearts broken and hurting in ways never comprehended before. Whether you are a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian or a person of other faith – it seems all are bound by their common humanity fostered through the values of Satya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa. 24th of April 2011 will be the date recorded in history when Satya Sai Baba took Samadhi and left the mortal bind of this earth.

I set my eyes on Swami in 1978 when I visited Putta Parthi. That day proved to be life changing, and the young lad from Bolton who had travelled half way around the world to see his Guru was transformed in a blink of an eye. The message was very simple, ‘Do you Karma.’ And this resonated with me to the very core. To millions he is a God, to others a Swami, a Guru, an elevated spiritual being – call him what you want, but to me, he is my friend.

In the age of Kali Yuga those who knew Swami will forever know that they really were the lucky ones to have been in the presence of his grace. The message for the world is also simple, ‘know that as a human you cannot forget your humanity to others.’ When we recognise the divinity in each other, does race, class,

Pushing boundaries By Aman Singh

Sonia Gandhi and Lok Pal Bill I am very much concerned whether the joint committee to draft Lok Pal bill will function effectively since both the committees one consisting of politicians and other by the general public are subjected to criticism. Anna Hazare is accused of praising Narendra Modi, the chief Minster of Gujarat for his rural development work. The congress party especially its spokes person Manesh Tiwari, considers any person whether Amitabh Bachan or Anna Hazare who praises Modi as enemies of the congress party and makes every effort to discredit them. In order to appease Muslims for their political support the congress party accuses Modi for promoting state-sponsored terrorism.

Since the state election is going to take place next year in Gujarat, it has become a common thing for the former Gujarat officers to file a case against Modi in the supreme court which is backed by the Congress party. In the Best Bakery case one witness Sheikh Yasmeen Banu claimed that she was 'lured and misguided’ by social worker Tessa Setalvad into giving evidence.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and other members of the congress party have also started smear campaign against some public members especially Bhusans and Hegde. The congress with the indirect support of Sonia Gandhi wants to derail the bill as far as possible.

Arun Vaidyanathan Via Email colour or religion matter? In the eyes of God, can there ever be any discrimination?

I will remember Swami for opening the hearts and minds of millions around the world to their common humanity. Jai Sai Ram. Kapil Dudakia

by Email

Motivational and spiritual speaker bags Katha UK Global Excellence Award Pune based India's leading motivational speaker, corporate trainer, success and image coach, Minocher Patel was acknowledged for his efforts in education and training globally. He was awarded with Katha UK, Global Excellence Award at the House of Lords.

Minocher Patel has also been the recipient of awards like National Achievement Award for Excellence in Education and Training and the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshani Award for outstanding service, achievements and contributions in the field of education. This prestigious award has been earlier awarded to renowned personalities like Mother

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Teresa, Actor Rajnikant and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia.

“The present generation of youth is very competitive, much more than our generation or the generation before. Their awareness level is also very high. But many of these youngsters lack in management. Their intelligence quotient (IQ) is high but emotional quotient (EQ) is low. Also, the cut-throat competitive environment globally affects the confidence level as there is not room for all, even though they are eligible”, says Minocher Patel.

He is often called to give his 'gyan' across the world and was named as the best trainer in Germany and Finland,

13

where trainers from more than 39 countries were present. He has trained more than 100,000 individuals all over the world.

Mr Patel is also the Founder Director of Ecole Solitaire, India's first residential finishing school and international corporate training consultancy.

He tells Asian Voice, “Indian youth is very hard working and highly ambitious. They are intelligent and are capable to adapt in various work environment. But they are weak in final presentation and communication skills which are very essential.

Thus I felt there was a massive need for a finishing school that can help take out the best of these individuals.”

Caste, control and command?

Readers will need no reminding that Indian weddings are not diminutive affairs- what with the matchmakers, mothers, marriage traditions and general mela-esque arrangements. In addition to this melee, my then wifeto-be and I last year tackled a minefield more intrepid than the politics of the top-table on the day- we were from different castes. She from a traditionally professional, South Indian, citydwelling, Khatri-Sikh clan and my ancestors from the more rural, Punjabi, land-owning and therefore village-dwelling Jatt caste. The interesting differences between our guests’ occupations, language and even tastes in food made for an interesting day.

I don’t think we were alone- even a rudimentary search of the statistics reveals that within the Indian Hindu and Sikh south asian diaspora in the UK there are close to fifty declared castes, a figure which one can multiply by four hundred in India itself.. That’s close to 2000 inter-caste marriages in the UK alone last year and a hell of a lot of people tackling ancestral divides.

You will no doubt be aware of some of the key castes; from Jatts, Khatris, Ramgaharia, Ravidass and Halvyi in Sikhism to Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Dalits, Vasihyas and Soodhras in Hinudism.

Summarising the history behind perspectives behind caste is no easy task although some obvious paradoxes do emerge; if it was rejected by the main Indian religions, indeed if Sikhism was founded on the premise that it would have no such system, why does it still survive in the UK in 2011? If it was a system originally used to label people a result of their trades or occupations- the Tarkhans being carpenters for example or the Sonihars wealthy gold-traders- why again does the UK Indian professional class not now sub-divide itself as accountants,

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doctors, or lawyers?

Dig a little deeper and you’ll be convinced this history doesn’t really matter, the caste system is inherently about control. In Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India, an excellent read, Dirks outlines that caste emerged as the dominant trope for the British in making sense of India and how India should be ruled. In a post-modern society, where religion was used to divide up the world into not-so-neat pieces so nowadays caste divides our Western diasporas ever further. This perhaps explains why within a supposedly egalitarian society the Indian Government must enact legislation to ensure a proportionate of seats in the Lok Sabha go to ‘lower castes’ or why readers in the UK text and tweet me to say they feel ostracised if they have relationships, marriages or even sometimes friends outside the limited confines of their caste. Another example of when the public and private faces of our community, as with stigma and mental health, are so different.

So how do we tackle this different kind of stigma, and relinquish the control of this system imposes?

Firstly, through knowledge and education; so observe the surnames of your friends, the Aroras, the Patels, the Gills and the Shastris- ask questions about where they come from and what their ancestors did.

Secondly, explore for yourself, if you are a Jatt Sikh, or indeed a Hindu and so inclined, go and pray in a Ramgharia temple. As I did myself did- use this knowledge to question our first-generation parents why, if religion rejects caste, we continue to propagate it through marriage, relationships and social interaction. The best thing we can all do, is stop defining ourselves along the lines of caste.

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14

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

SWARNIM GUJARAT CELEBRATION

London witnesses historical succe

By Rupanjana Dutta

London saw two very successful gatherings on Wednesday 20th April, celebrating the Golden Jubilee of the formation of the state of Gujarat viz. Swarnim Gujarat. Organised by the 'Friends of Gujarat' and the popular national newsweeklies Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, it was the first time that Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi spoke to a distinguished audience, including the British MPs and Peers, through a live video link.

VIP Lunch- Celebrating Gujarat's success where business and culture meets

Keith Vaz MP, Steve Pound MP, Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP and Bob Blackman MP. Charles Patel, Asok Rabheru, Ken Popat, Dr Dak Patel, Mr Alpesh Patel, Arun Ganguly, Vinod Nagrecha, Pankaj The event was held at the Music Room in Mudholkar, Uday Mahurkar, KH Patel Killik & Co near Green Park, where and Manoj Joshi to CM Narendra Modi around 90 people gathered. After everythrough video link and he warmly greeted body settled down at their tables, the comeverybody present. Not only that Mr Modi pere for the afternoon, Manoj Ladwa, a also added a little bit of his personal touch renowned Solicitor at MLS Chase and a as he greeted Dr Mohan Kaul and Lord member of 'Friends of Gujarat' introduced Gulam Noon and praised actor Manoj the special guests who had come from Joshi for his role in 'Chanakya'. He also India to attend the Swarnim Gujarat celementioned, he was disappointed that Lord brations in London. These guests included Noon failed to come down for the Vibrant renowned journalist Uday Mahurkar from Gujarat celebrations to commemorate the India Today, former High Commissioner end of golden jubilee celebrations for the of Uganda and head of NRG sector K H Gujarat state formation.

Patel, leader in field of Gujarat This was followed by an introduction Advertising and corporate communication from CM Modi about Gujarat and its and Director of Akruti Promotions and progress in the last 50 years, especially Media- Pankaj Mudholkar and veteran under his regime. He said, "The name Gujarat and development are synonymous. Gujarat is creating history.

Normally when we celebrate such events, we honour people, talk good things. But in this Golden Jubilee celebration we have decided to build a Mahatma Mandir.

Lord Gulam Noon addressing Shri Narendra Modi We have collected water from 18000 vilBollywood actor Manoj Joshi. lages in Gujarat to make this monument.

While the guests enjoyed the starters We have also collected water from abroad, and drinks, Paul Killik, the Chairman of especially UK. Killik & Co, welcomed the audience with To commemorate this golden jubilee a short speech (George to give his we have organised NRI and NRG conferspeech). ences.

He was followed by K H Patel who Gujarat government has the first clispoke about the progression in Gujarat. mate change department in India and 4th He said that Gujarat has been a very busiin the world. We are planning to use Solar ness friendly state and has completed 9 energy in a large scale and we have taken years of complete communal harmony. He initiative to do so. also added, people in Gujarat have also The nano plant when moved to got acquired an impressive standard of livGujarat was started off immediately. ing. It has especially made a remarkable The speed of our decision making process is not limited.

We follow the formula of P2G2, it means Pro people pro active good governance.

Gujarat has undergone tremendous industrial development. As Mr K H Patel was referring to, we have a very lenient agricultural sector, we have had climate change movement, we have rain water Rt Hon Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham and former Treasury harvesting. We have Minister, asking questions to CM Modi used technology to make sure that anyprogress in the field of ecology and agribody can get in touch with me online and culture. reportedly 96% of the problems have been Right after Mr Patel's speech, the video solved quickly. conference between UK and Gujarat was The United Nations has awarded started. Manoj introduced some of the sigGujarat Government for using technology nificant people like Lord Noon, Rt Hon to the maximum to achieve good gover-

Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Narendra Modi addressing the audience through video conference as Manoj Ladwa introduces the guests present, while Aplesh Patel applauds

nance.

Moving on to tourism, we have developed eco tourism. In Education we are trying to develop the research fileds.

Knowledge is power and to empower people, we have opened mobile libraries in every village of Gujarat. There was a time

promised to visit Gujarat later this year.

He added when the state of Gujarat was formed in 1960, he had told his friends that it was a loss to Maharashtra.

Wherever Gujaratis have gone, they have flourished, whether it is the UK or the US. He also added humorously that the 'motels' in the US are now renamed as 'potels' (perhaps due to the Gujarati ownership)!

Rt Hon Keith Vaz, MP was next to address CM Modi, who was amazed at the mechanism of the video conferencing.

He thanked CB Patel for the opportunity and asked Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP for Leicester East addressing his questions to Shri Modi Narendrabhai to open an Embassy in Leicester and make everybody in the villages were talking CB the ambassador! about what books they have read!

Keith's question to Narendrabhai was We organised for Khel Mahakumbh how to create a low carbon economy in where 1.6mn people participated. We the UK. organised a chess tournament for 20,000 To that CM Modi said, "We are giving players and made a record in the Guinness green credit to industries. We have created eco friendly transports. In the power sector, we have used solar energy like nowhere else.

We have already used 3000MW solar power and we know 5000MW is achievable.

We have also started 'roof top polHon Bob Blackman MP for Harrow East addressing his questions to CM Modi icy'. Middle class can earn earn through the solar panels, if Book of World Records. they let out their roofs. We have also startThere was a food festival where ed coastal transportation- ferry services Gujarati women cooked 5600 vegetarian and making the largest man made lake dishes and that also made to the Guinness (Kalpsar), which is 64kms long. With this Book of World Records.

We aim to serve the common man. My no one will have any complaints of sweet special thanks to CB, who always innowater availability for any sort of construcvates new programmes to serve people." tion or purposes."

After this remarkable speech made by Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP for East Ham was the next person to ask questions to CM Narendra Modi. He asked how has primary education and education of girl children have faired in Gujarat for the last few years. To that Narendra Modi said, "Girl child education has created a mass movement in Gujarat, We have 100% enrolment Hon Steve Pound MP for Ealing North speaking to CM Modi here, when earlier it C M Modi the floor was open for queswas no more than 40%. Drop out rate is tions. Lord Noon was the first one to 2% and we will soon achieve 0%. We have speak. He apologised to Mr Modi for not created grading in institutions of higher being able to make it to the celebrations in educations, but we haven't created that for primary education so far.

Gujarat for previous engagements but

SWARNIM GUJARAT CELEBRATION

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

15

ss of Swarnim Gujarat celebration rural Gujarat to the audience.

To that CM Modi replied, "Eradication of poverty is successful in Gujarat.

In India there is a company Hero Honda which manufactures bikes worth Rs 80,000 to Rs 1,00,000. The highest percentage of purchases of these bikes are in Gujarat. If they have the capacity to buy bikes at such prices means they are earning well for themselves. People know if they take loans, they CB Patel, Publisher/Editor of Asian Voice and Gujarat have to pay up the loan within Samachar thanking CM Modi certain time. We are giving In higher education, we have the first equal opportunity to educate everybody.

Forensic University in the world, we have We have education via video conferences university for people interested in security too. Every village in Gujarat has broadand armed forces. We also have children's band connection. We have tele-medicine university. We obviously can boast of IIM, courses for humans and plants. We are the that has given this world so many CEOs, leading in manufacturing of milk (Amul). we are also establishing IITE for teachers Not only that, we have just completed so that can be similarly picked up from cataract operation for cattle in the rural campuses for education in any part of the areas. We had set up 2700 health camps world." for cattle."

Bob Blackman MP from Harrow East Steve Pound, MP for Ealing North on behalf of the people in his constituency spoke about the brightness of Vibrant (Wembley area) asked CM Modi when Gujarat, 2 years back, that almost blinded would he visit Britain and give a picture of him like the sun would. He asked CM

Special Thanks to Modi about Gujarat's contribution to l Manoj Ladwa, Partner & Chief Executive, MLS youngsters in cricket.

Chase CM Modi said "Cricket is a part of faml Dhiren Avashia, Director, E-Media, India ily life in India. We are focussing on under l Raj Bakarania - Photo Courtesy 19, under 20 tournaments. We organised l EventGurus- Event management tournaments from Saurashtra, Gujarat l Paul Killik and Shelain Lakani of Killik & Co and Baroda. We are also starting a Sports l Eurotraveller Premier Hotel- South Harrow university. We also want to include chess l Vijay Video Vision, Vijay Thakkar as a part of curriculum in schools as it l Lunch and dinner: Savera- Kantibhai Patel l Vikramsinh Jadeja-Safa4weddings trains minds like nothing else would." l MATV for video Concluding the video conference, CB l International Siddhashram Shakti Centre for Patel, Publisher and Editor of Gujarat voluntary work Samachar and Asian Voice said that CM l Skylink tour and travel for printing tickets Modi should not come to the UK or go to l Mitesh Patel for Microphone system USA without being invited. He should l Nikhil Bhatt- well wisher of AV & GS rather continue the good work in Gujarat l Videography: R & B Wedding Services and let the rest of the world to go to him for advice. He added, "Development of Gujarat is a benchmark for India.

In Britain, I will carry on serving my community without any formal appointments in any embassy. Serving the community is my passion."

The event ended with a lavish vegetarian lunch and networking amongst Standing ovation to Shri Narendra Modi by guests at the end the guests present. of the video conference

Mesmerising evening celebration at Kadwa Patidar Hall Kartik.S.Raval Golden Jubilee year of the state of Gujarat was concluded with flamboyant celebrations at Kadwa Patidar Samaj Hall, London on Wednesday, 20th April 2011. Swarnim Gujarat Samapan Mahotsav was organised by Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar and it was commemorated in presence of more than 600 people from UK's vibrant Gujarati community as well as Indian dignitaries who flew down to London, especially to be a part of the extravagant British Gujarati celebrations of one of their favourite occasions.

Guests present at the venue, greeted and socialised with each other over dinner that was served at the beginning of the event. Also, the recorded coverage of Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi from the morning gathering at Killik & Co in central London was broadcasted and people were given a chance to hear from Gujarat's leader, who has been phenomenal in driving the state and its people on the path of progress and development.

Kokila Patel, Managing Editor, Gujarat Samachar welcomed the people and beats of Dhol and Manjira raised the tempo as the chief guests entered the hall in Paghdi. As per Gujarati traditions, Editor and Publisher, Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar, CB Patel along with four other VIP guests including, K H Patel, former Indian High Commissioner in Uganda; Uday Mahurkar, Senior Editor, India Today (Ahmedabad); Pankaj Mudholkar, Managing Director, Akruti Promotions & Media in Gujarat and Manoj Joshi, renowned Bollywood artist lit the auspicious Deep to inaugurate the celebrations of Swarnim Gujarat. It was followed by prayers which were performed by members of Siddha Sram Shakti Centre.

Babu Barot and Kanak Popat set the platform for an extravagant cultural night through Gujarati songs which was followed by Garba performed by girls from Federation of Patidar Association on the famous song Dholi Taro Dhol Vagey.

The energy started to flow across the hall as more cultural performances were lined up to enchant the audience in the

Cllr Navin Shah, AM, Pankaj Mudholkar, Uday Mahurkar, CB Patel, K H Patel, Manoj joshi and Manoj Ladwa

grip of Gujarati culture and traditions.

The continuously growing prosperity of Gujarat was acknowledged through a marvelous dance performance on 'Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat' by members of Siddha Sram Shakti Centre. Members of the renowned ladies club, Busy Bees also danced on Garba as people stayed glued to their seats.

Rupanjana Dutta, Associate Editor, Asian Voice introduced the chief guests and called them on the stage. These guests addressed the audience and mutually acknowledged the Golden Jubilee year of the state of Gujarat. CB Patel said, “Gujaratis are residing all over the

are able to hold such a massive event.”

He also spoke about the contributions of Shri Narendra Modi that has helped Gujarat to prosper, role played by British Gujaratis in saving the HareKrishna Temple and called upon people to relaunch the 'Air India Direct Flight' campaign.

Uday Mahurkar present on the stage said, “Gujarat has witnessed good growth since Keshubhai Patel became Chief Minister in 1995. He did essential work in the field of irrigation through Narmada. However, Gujarat under Chief Minister, Narendra Modi has developed and still developing at a lightning speed. Progress is made in all the fields, whether it is Education, Rural Development, Agriculture, Industry etc.” He quoted Sardar Patel by saying, “Impossible can be made possible” and Narendra Modi who insists on, “We can do it and we will do it.”

K.H Patel also acknowledged Gujarat's development and stressed on Modi's achievement of making Gujarat, a leading state in agriculture. He 'Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat' by members of Siddha Sram praised the contribution of the Shakti Centre Indian diaspora to develop the foreign services of India and quoted world with more than 800,000 in Britain.

Parag Khanna, who said “India could be Wherever they go, they take their positive attributes with them, especially their a greater state if they could get the supprowess in doing business have been pivport of the Indians settled abroad.” otal in strengthening the economy of varIndian dignitaries were not able to ious countries across the globe.” Pleased believe that they were in London and not by the magnitude of the event, he added, in Gujarat after they were overwhelmed by the intensity of the celebrations and “Outside Gujarat, British Gujaratis are the great response they witnessed from in the forefront in the celebrations of the community.

Swarnim Gujarat and I am glad that we

Pankaj Mudholkar thanked CB Patel for the invitation and said that even though he is Maharashtrian, he can be called the 'Son of Gujarat' as he is married to a Gujarati. He also thanked Narendra Modi to help nurture the sense of pride amongst the Gujaratis.

Cllr Navin Shah thanked the guests for coming and spoke about the cultural and religous progress amongst the global Gujaratis in Britain.

The evening would have been incomplete if people and organisations, working tirelessly for the prosperity of the community were not given due recognition. Gujarat Samachar and Asian Voice gave Karma Yogi Sanman to Kanti Nagda, Founder of Sangat Community Centre for his contribution in the field of immigration and welfare; Cllr Bhagvanji Chauhan for commitment to education and community; members of Busy Bees ladies club for their several cultural and charitable activities; Rasikaben V Patel, for her unending list of social activities and Purshottamdas Majithiya for his engagement in humanitarian causes through Devon Trust. These awards were handed over by Manoj Joshi to the recipients.

Audience were also given their muchloved dose of entertainment by the wellknown Bollywood actor, Manoj Joshi.

Being his natural self, Manoj Joshi entertained in his own hilarious way and played mimicry from the Gujarati play 'Rangeelo'. He also engaged in a Question & Answer session with the audience.

With the magical night about to be concluded, Jyotsna Shah, Consulting Editor, Gujarat Samachar gave the vote of thanks and acknowledged the members of the community for their fabulous response which made the event an absolute success. The energy, enthusiasm and the magnitude of celebrations reflected the proximity that the community shares with Gujarat, even though they live miles apart. The evening to celebrate 50 prosperous years of Gujarat was finally rounded up by few more Gujarati songs by Babu Barot and Kanak Patel. The event constituted of many charismatic performances as the people experienced an extravagant Gujarati cultural night, which many living in UK often strive for.

BollYwood

16 Asian Voice Saturday 30th April 2011

Barbara Mori

Sreesanth to marry Riya Sen?

Indian fast bowler Sreesanth’s parents have been constantly pressurizing the cricketer to tie the knot at the earliest and as a result, Sreesanth too has decided to fulfil his parents’ wishes!

Is the parents pressure making him rush in a relationship or is it love? Whatever, but he is planning to marry Bollywood actress Riya Sen, whom he has been dating for a while now.

Reportedly, Riya and Sreesanth came closer while doing a commercial for a jewellery brand.

However, Sreesanth has denied the rumour of his affair with Riya. “I am not seeing Riya Sen.

There is no romance between us. We have been hanging around together and I enjoy her company, but only as a friend,” Sreesanth said.

Riya also rubbished the rumours on her Twitter page, saying that Sreesanth is “just a good friend”.

Notably, Riya, from the famous Sen family of Kolkatta, was spotted supporting Kochi Tuskers Kerala (KTK) at the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai, on April 13, instead of supporting her home team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). It is said that the ‘Sreesanth factor’ had drawn her to support the Tuskers.

to try her luck again Barbara Mori who bid farewell to Bollywood after her film “Kites” failed to impress the moviegoers, is now trying to make a comeback. Now she is doing everything to make her comeback a success.

She has recently signed a film “Fever” to star opposite Rajeev Khandelwal When the script was narrated to her she loved the material and is quite excited to do the film because the character and the tone of the film is completely different from “Kites.”

In “Fever,” Barbara plays the character of a linguist who is a second generation British woman. “Fever” is to be shot in the virgin locations of Cornwall in England and the shooting will start in

Rajinikanth’s superhit Tamil film “Baasha” which was released some 15 years ago will be dubbed in Hindi and will be released by June 2011.

Producer Badrakali Vara Prasad Rao, who has

Jayam Raja to direct Ajith

Director Jayam Raja is definitely on Cloud Nine!

After directing Ilayathalapathy Vijay in “Velayudham,” he is all set to team up with Ajith

for an upcoming venture.

According to sources, Jayam Raja recently met Ajith and narrated a quick one liner. Ajith was so impressed with the plot that he gave his green signal immediately.

Sources also add that the film will be a quick venture and Ajith will complete the project in one schedule after the ongoing “Mankatha.” After completing Jayam Raja’s project, Ajith will team up with Chakri Toleti for “Billa 2.”

Since his debut on silver screen a decade ago, Hrithik Roshan is one of the best dancing star, but the actor stresses that rehearsals are important before starting the shoot.

Reveals a source,"Hrithik lives, eats, breathes and dreams (literally) of dance just a week before shootings begin! No matter how hectic his schedule or work commitments, he rehearses his steps with the concerned choreographer days in advance. He begins work on the 'Agneepath' song this week and has been quietly rehearsing (despite shooting for the film all day and working out for an hour and half in the day and night) for the song for one week."

The source adds, "Next he will have to shoot three music videos for the dance reality show 'Just Dance' he's judging. For each song, rehearsals begin a week earlier."

Agneepath producer Karan

June-July. It is the classic English landscape - cultured British houses, cobbled stone streets, mountains emanating from the sea and the vibrant colours - that makes it so special. Besides Barbara, “Fever” will also star an Indian heroine.

Rajeev Khandelwal, after “Aamir,” has a slew of releases this year starting with “Shaitaan,” produced by Studio18 and directed by Anurag Kashyap and then HMV Sargama's Soundtrack.

The producer of “Fever,” Ravi Agrawal, who has earlier produced films like “Radio” and “Deadline-Sirf 24 Ghante,” is certain that the audience is going to accept Barbara as an Indian actress who is Mexican by birth.

Salman Khan to start a food chain to help the needy!

When others are busy helping themselves, Salman will go out of his way to bring a smile in someone’s life through his social service. After charity and service under the banner of “Being human,” his next plan is to open “Being human food chain” throughout the country. But it will not be commercial food chain.

It will be such eatery from where the proceeds of the food sale will be used for charity.

Public can come and enjoy the food and whatever bill they pay would help poor eat their bread and butter. And as Salman himself is going to supervise the menu for the café, the food will be awesome it looks. He plans to add all of his favorite dishes.

It is also being said that once the ‘Being Human Café’ in Mumbai starts up, he may explore chances in other cities to establish a chain. Well, it’s indeed a yummy

Rajinikanth’s ‘Baasha’ in Hindi bagged the rights, has confirmed that he is releasing Baasha as Baadsha. The remake rights were sold to a popular Bollywood filmmaker soon after the success of the film. The Hindi version was supposed to star Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role but due to some reasons it was not materialized, says the producer.

Prasad Rao has said that he acquired the remake and dubbing rights before the release of Endhiran – The Robot.

It is the right time to release the film, as Rajinikanth has become a popular name with the new age Hindi audience, feels the producer.

Hrithik rehearses dance steps even in sleep

Deepika’s skirt for sale Deepika Padukone's much-talked about sexy skirt in “Dum Maro Dum” item song, has gone for auction. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Salman Khan's NGO 'Being Human'. A source said producer-director Rohan Sippy came up with the idea of auctioning the skirt online. The beneficiary was discussed and the choice was unanimous. It looks “everything sells with Bollywood tag”. Well, if it for good causeCheers!!!

venture. The first chain of the food restaurant is likely to open at the place close to his house in Bandra. The café will be opened in a property donated to the trust.

Salman’s craving for food is well known. He is a big time foodie and it’s not that he himself believes in eating but he also takes care of the food of the people surrounding him. The stories of Salman’s hospitality are legendary. Even a source from the unit shares that nearly two dozen people eat with Bhai at the lunch table each day.

Sources even consider that the food which comes from Salman's house is certainly the best that is served up in Bollywood. And now with Salman’s two favourite- food and charity, the plan will be huge success where common man can enjoy favourite food items and in return also have the satisfaction of helping the needy.

Is Abhishek Bachchan trying to patch up with Rani?

Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukerji were good friends.

Then their relations went sour.

But now things looked hunkydowry as they are patching up.

Abhi was heard saying "Rani is the best co-star I have ever worked with. She's beautiful and is a brilliant actor."

Junior B has shared his best on- screen chemistry with the actress in “Yuva,” “Bunty Aur Babli,” “Laga Chunari Mein Daag” and “Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna” and was also linked up with her.

It is hoped that Junior B's candid confession helps sorting out their differences and brings this once-upon-a-time jodi together, onscreen.

Johar feels that Hrithik is "a relentless rehearsal man," adding, "exhausting hours result in effortless moves - that's Hrithik for you.

He raises the bar of excellence and validates the input equals output theory!"

Says Hrithik, "Along with rehearsals, I actually learn dancing in my sleep. If I can clearly see every moment of the move in my head, then my body is able to express it.. The downside is that if I can't see it - I can't do it".

Karan, who earlier directed Hrithik in 'Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham', recounts a previous experience, "We had two hours to shoot at the British Museum. Hrithik was given an elaborate dance piece that could have thrown anyone off, even internationally, but he worked through the night and came straight to shoot. It took just one take and we were done and out of there!"

‘Star wars’ are just media creations : Sonam Kapoor Catfights and rivalries between actresses are mostly a creation of the media, said Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor. According to the 25year-old all the leading ladies of Bollywood can find their own place under the sun.

"We all have been here for some time now and are trying to do our best. Why create a sense of war among us? I don't see any kind of rivalry here and there is no point in comparing one with other," Sonam said.

The actress, daughter of actor Anil Kapoor, had debuted along with Deepika Padukone on the same day when her “Saawariya” clashed with “Om Shanti Om.” And in recent times, Anushka Sharma and Sonakshi Sinha have also entered the fray.

"The good part is that all of us

are very different from each other. If you look at Deepika or Anushka, we are all poles apart. As for Sonakshi, I can't even think of getting competitive with her. She is a very good friend of my sister and has practically grown up with me," said Sonam.

Though Sonam's debut film bombed at the box office, she tasted success later with “I Hate Luv Storys” and followed it up with the chick-flick 'Aisha' and the recent multi-starrer “Thank You.” Another benefit of working in this film was a protective senior coactor in the form of Akshay Kumar.

"He was always super nice to me.

Those who have worked with him tell me that he restricts himself to professional conversations but with me he was very sweet and kind. I immediately felt comfortable with him," said the actress.

"He was very protective about me. He also warned me for shooting off my mouth. Though I feel that I know the world, he used to tell me that it was far from being true as I was still growing up," added Sonam.

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

17

‘Ragini MMS’ will scare you EKtA KApooR

“If you want to see a real horror movie then watch ‘Ragini MMS’ and it will be scariest of all,” says Ekta Kapoor, the former soap queen of Indian TV. Ekta who has now ventured out in the movie field says that, “Indian horror movies usually have more make-up and less horror. Horror cannot be displayed with sharp manicured painted hands, white sari and untied hair.” Ekta was in Ahmedabad to promote her thriller flick which has horror with full dose of eroticism and lovemaking scenes. Getting scared that the film may turn out to be a porn, she asked the director to reshot some of the steamy scenes.

According to Ekta, the scenes were steamier to portray the exact emotions between a beautiful Mumbai girl and an aggressive North-Indian boy. The actors involved in the scenes are newcomers to the industry – Rajkumar and Kainaz

Motivala. They have been asked to re-shoot some intimate on-screen moments, to bring more authenticity to the story.

The ultimate seduction tune of yesteryears, ‘Raat Akeli Hai’ rendered by Asha Bhosle, will feature in this sensuous paranormal fest.

“I believe in entertainment and everything doesn’t have to be in good books. But the story does weave an automatic message that every action has a reaction. In the movie the boy takes the girl far away to play dirt, but he himself ends in a haunted house.”

Asked what inspired her to make two films of almost same genre successively, Ekta said: “I started my career with a paranormal show 'Mano ya Na Mano'. I have immense passion for paranormal activities. I always feel there is a bigger story behind every paranormal incident.”

- Purvi Apurva shah

SRK, Juhi to build cricket stadium Yana Gupta sheds clothes for hot item number SRK and Juhi Chawla have always been good pals, and they have trying lot of ventures in partnership. Once again, the duo is thinking of taking a new project in hand. Juhi and her husband Jai Mehta has joined hands with actor and Kolkata Knight Riders owner Shahrukh Khan to build a cricket stadium in Porbandar, Gujarat.

The existing ground is named Duleep cricket ground. The new stadium will be named after Jai Mehta’s grandfather Nanji Kalidas Mehta. Porbandar is selected for the cricket ground because it is the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi and in addition Jai hails from Porbandar and has some business interest around the place. Says a source, "The local district cricket association and Mehta Sports Private Limited recently inked a deal to build the Nanji Kalidas Mehta stadium at a cost of almost Rs 100 million."

Yana Gupta, the hottie who made headlines with her no- panty act sometime ago is back in demand as an item queen. Now she has agreed to do a hot number with less clothes for the Bhatts in “Murder 2.”

Yana shot this hot item track on a nonAC floor. "It was very hot as there was no air conditioning. But it was for the Bhatts after all. I loved the team," Yana said.

Director Mohit Suri is impressed with Yana's performance. "It's true that it was very hot but I must say Yana understood the circumstances and co-operated with us. We finally got what we were looking for. Yana worked totally for our song," he said.

Bipasha was the original pick for this song but Bhatts reportedly refused to pay her the bomb price she was asking for. "I think Bipasha not doing the song worked in my favour but what's more important is that it worked in favour of the song too," added Yana.

18

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

India’s exports rise 37.5% to a record high of $ 246 bn India's exports rose 37.5% in 2010-11 to touch a record $ 246 billion as traders targeted new markets and gained from improved sentiments in the US and Europe.

Provisional numbers released by the commerce department showed that engineering goods and petroleum helped exporters close the year with nearly 25% higher exports than the $200 billion targeted by the government.

But oil appeared to be the main culprit when it came to imports, which rose 21.5% to $350.3 bil-

Dear Financial Voice Reader, For those of you looking at the price of gold in amazement, remember the old car bumper sticker of 2003, ‘please God, just one more bubble.’ One of the key reasons gold is rising in price, is because it is priced in dollars and the price of the dollar is and will continue to fall.

But why the dollar will fall is important for you to understand, whether you are in the UK or US or elsewhere. Americans buy products made outside America, more than the rest of the world likes buying products made in America. That means America forces upon the rest of the world about $2 billion daily of IOUs and assets. (What America pays the rest of the world in dollars to buy their goods). This is what causes the dollar to drop – the trade deficit.

But when the dollar falls, it makes American products cheaper for foreigners to buy and foreign products more expensive to Americans. That means the falling dollar should balance the trade deficit. Except it hasn’t.

Trade deficits have increased with countries such as Germany and Canada despite their currencies appreciating against the dollar.

And this week you will have read that the Chinese sovereign wealth fund will be given another $200 billion to invest abroad. Why? How? Where did their money come from? Well, when Americans import more than they export, they are force-feeding dollars to the rest of the world – including China. So the Chinese have to invest that somewhere.

Essentially America sells what it owns in order to consume from a bit of what it owns or produces.

Foreigners now earn more on their US investments than Americans do on their investments abroad. That means every time Americans produce, they are sending that abroad because in the past they consumed more than they produced. It’s a bit like working to pay a greedy ex-spouse. You are working for someone else.

When you could have been investing that spend for your own good. In a way it’s a waste to your country.

So one of your best longer term bets is a fall in the value of the dollar. What of the Euro? Surely with all its problems you don’t bet the Euro over the dollar? Well actually, yes. One key reason is that the major growing economies with US dollar reserves in their central banks are selling dollars to hold more Euros. And even more reason the dollar will fall is that the Americans want growth and are willing to pay the price of inflation so will not raise interest rates as quickly as the Europeans. So you will earn more interest in holding Euros than dollars – another reason for the dollar to fall.

I am not saying of course it is a bad thing for the dollar to weaken – it is right. And so I expect before the year is out the Pound to buy $1.8.

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

lion during the last financial year. Oil imports crossed the $100 billion mark to close the year at $101.7 billion, with the possibility of upward revision. Higher-than-budgeted exports, however, helped the economy deal with a lower than estimated trade deficit of $104.4 billion, which may be revised to $105-110 billion. At the present level, it was lower than $109 billion in 2009-10.

With trade adding up to nearly $600 billion in 2010-11, it now accounts for nearly 50% of India's gross domestic product

sible adverse impact of higher global oil prices, which would push up production costs.

Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar added growth worries in the US and Europe and problems in Japan to the list. "At the moment, 2011 is not looking very good," he said while adding that the government would try to push for a 25% growth in the current financial year too.

In March, exports went up by 43.9% to $ 29.1 billion, while imports rose 17.3% to 34.7 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $ 5.6 billion.

(GDP). While there was all-round cheer and expectation of reaching the $450 billion export target ahead of the 2014 deadline, the government warned that a steep rise during the current financial year might be a tough task. To begin with, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma warned of the pos-

Kris, Kamath top contenders for Infosys chairman post That S D Shibulal will be appointed the new CEO of Infosys Technologies on April 30 is a foregone conclusion. That it will also leave the chief operating officer's (COO) post vacant for a while to prevent heartburn among its nextGen leaders is also certain.

Hence, the main topic of interest is what role will the current CEO, Kris Gopalakrishnan, get to play? Will he be made vice-chairman, co-chairman or chairman. If the nominations committee of the company headed by Infosys independent director and Cornell University professor, Jeffery Lehman, opts for an insider, then Kris is the only candidate. That Kris is definitely a chairman prospect is augmented by the fact that he's currently industry body CII's vice president, which puts him in line to take over as its president after Adi Godrej. According to CII's

Kris Gopalakrishnan

KV Kamath

rules, its president has to be an active industry leader, not an honorary one. But there are indications that the company may go for a co-chairmen model, with one from the inside and another from the outside.

Among independent directors on the board, sources say that Infosys is unlikely to name a foreigner as chairman at this juncture. This automatically eliminates David Boyles and Jeffrey Lehman. The latter is out of the picture even otherwise as he heads the nominations committee which is mandated with finding a new chairman and CEO. Among the Indians on the board, Omkar

Indian named global CEO of Reckitt

After the success stories of Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo), Vikram Pandit (Citigroup) and Nitin Nohria (dean, Harvard Business School), it is now the turn of Rakesh Kapoor. The India-born Kapoor has been named global CEO by UK-based Reckitt Benckiser (RB).

The £8.5-billion ($13.7 billion) RB is a world leader in household, health and personal care goods with brands like Dettol, Lizol, Vanish, Durex, Airwick, Harpic, Mortein, Veet, Clearsil, Strepsils and others that are equally popular in India. Kapoor (52) is currently executive VP, global category development, and an executive committee member of RB. Kapoor’s role in M&As may have vaulted him to top post.

The current CEO Bart Becht will retire after serving 16 years at the helm of the company.

“I am delighted to take on this role and very much look forward to leading the business to its next stage of growth and performance, supported by an excellent senior management team,” Kapoor, who lives in Buckinghamshire with his wife and two children, said. Kapoor, an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur, did his chemical engineering from BITS, Pilani. His appointment to the CEO’s post comes right after the Indian subsidiary of RB completed the acquisition of Paras Pharmaceuticals its first in India.

Goswami and Sridhar Iyengar are primarily consultants and lack experience of running large organizations.

Ravi Venkatesan, former Microsoft India chairman, is too new as he joined the board just last week.

Deepak Satwalekar, the MD and CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance is also on the nominations committee.

Marti Subrahmanyam, a professor at Stern School of Business at New York University is an academic.

The elimination process leaves just two in the fray: K V Kamath, the non-executive chairman of ICICI Bank and R Sheshasayee, the MD of Ashok Leyland. The latter joined the Infosys board in Janury 2011 and is thought to be too new to be considered for the chairman's post. This effectively leaves KV Kamath as the front runner if an outsider were to be considered for the post.

RationalFX does money transfers worth £1 bn

RationalFX, which was started by Rajesh Agarwal and Paresh Davdra in 2005 with a small investment, has now passed the milestone of making £1 billion in international money transfers and cross currency payments.

“We have always simply focused on providing the best service and exchange rates to our

Authorized by the FSA, presently RationalFX mostly serves UK based individuals and businesses, but recent changes in regulations have opened doors to the whole of the European Union. RationalFX was quick to move and opened an office in France.

With continuing growth in business, RationalFX are harness-

customers – but sitting in our first office, I didn’t really imagine that so soon we would be handling a billion pounds!” said Rajesh Agrawal, CEO of the Londonbased firm .

“I attribute this success to our experienced team who have worked tirelessly and to the fast growing customer base,” he continues.

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ing technology to make the business more efficient.

They recently joined SWIFT, the global platform used by banks worldwide for messaging, which puts them in a different league to most other money transfer companies.

Rajesh does not want to sit on his laurels, and plans for the future at RationalFX. “We’re now

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working very hard towards our goals for the Online markets in the UK and around the world. We see opportunities everywhere we look. As long as we stay flexible and responsive to new payment technologies and changing patterns in global money transfer, I’m hopeful that we will pass £2 bn and even £10 bn one day!”

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FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

19

Maida Vale prices have been transformed from lead to gold

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

Maida Vale has gone from grim after the war to being one of the most desirable places to live in London, rivaling Notting Hill.

The canal system linking Maida Vale to the Thames was completed in the early 19th Century. From the 1820's development commenced along the Edgware Road.

In plans requested by the Bishop of London in 1827 the layout of roads which would be recognised as Maida Vale were first designed and building took place over the next 80 years.

Warrington Crescent was built in 1861 including the Warrington Hotel and this was quickly followed by the building of The Prince Alfred, Formosa St in 1862 and the Lord Elgin in 1863.

Around this time the name Maida Vale was being used for the stretch of the Edgware Road and in 1868 it was formally adopted for the stretch from Maida Hill to Kilburn Park Road.

War Time During the First World War the Bakerloo line, the name derived from the original line which ran from Baker Street to Waterloo, was extended to Maida Vale.

The station itself was opened in June 1915 just in time to become an air raid shelter!

In March 1918 an air raid over London resulted in a 2000lb bomb landing in Warrington Crescent demolishing 5 houses. The change in housing type caused by the bombing is still evident today.

During the Second World War there was, of course, much more damage to London and examples of where damage was caused can be seen in many locations in Maida Vale.

The picturesque canal at Little Venice is the heart of Maida Vale.

The view along the Grand Union Canal in Maida Vale’s Little Venice is one of London’s idyllic scenes. The waterway is lined with picturesque old canal boats, some overflowing with colourful window boxes and hanging baskets, others crammed with vegetables.

The creamy-colour ed stucco houses overlooking the canal can now command prices of up to £2,000 a square foot, which is approaching the value of similar houses in Holland Park and Notting Hill.

Maida Vale is offically defined as the area bounded by the Regent's Canal on the South, Maida Vale (Edgware Road) on the East, Kilburn High Road to the North and Shirland Road/Formosa St to the West.

Although many might suggest otherwise it does not stretch over to the Harrow Road.

The name comes from a battle fought in Sicily in the early 19th Century against the French. The commander of the British forces in this battle was created the Count of Maida and in 1809 a tavern called the Hero of Maida was established on the Edgware Road.

This now exclusive quarter has come a long way since the Second World War, when many of the houses were broken up into bedsits and the area gained a reputation for prostitution.

This was a great embarrassment to the Church Commissioners who

Heavily Discounted Flat in Little Venice

l 3 bedroom property in Little Venice at a very attractive price – a few weeks ago we were offered a similar flat for £390,000! This is only £325,000 l Normally, £325,000 would only be enough to purchase a 2 bedroom flat in the area. Prices for 3-bed flats reach up to £420,000. l We picked it up cheap because the vendor was desperate to sell – that is the advantage of having Sow & Reap constantly searching the market for you l The flat has views over the canal and will rent easily at a minimum of £500 pw generating a 8% yield in a prime location l The flat requires modernisation – an invest-

ment of around £20,000 to £25,000 is needed to enhance the look of the flat. l This property purchase can be structured to be refinanced after a 6 month period at the valuation price to release the bulk of the deposit and allow you to carry on building your portfolio l Resell and rental of the property will be very easy – the location and aspect of the flat will help guarantee this l Such diamonds are hard to find at this price and they sell quickly l Low service charges and nominal ground rent ensures this to be a great BTL investment from a cash flow point of view

owned the Maida Vale estate, and in the Seventies the commissioners set about improving the area by sweeping away the bedsits and converting the houses into spacious family flats. These homes were later sold to private buyers, paving the way for the area’s regeneration.

The large stucco houses give an impression of great wealth but at least 85 per cent of all Maida Vale’s properties are flats, either spacious conversions or in the mansion blocks.

The end user market, defined by people who progress from a one- or two-bedroom flat to a three-bedroom flat, often find they can’t then afford a house, and move out to Queen’s Park or Chiswick when they have a family.

Maida Vale is almost entirely in W9, except for the little triangle south of the canal and west of Edgware Road, which is in W2, the Bayswater postcode.

The most expensive house currently for sale is a new-build, doublefronted, seven-bedroom house in Randolph Road with access to the communal garden, which is on the market for £25 million.

Up-and-coming: Maida Hill, the area between Shirland Road and Harrow Road, west of Marylands Road, is still rough around the edges.

There are fewer grand four- and five-storey houses there, mainly converted into flats.

Mary Portas, Paul Weller, Kelly Osbourne and Kate Moss have homes in Maida Vale, perhaps one of the attractions are of the BBC music recording studios in Delaware Road.

Local Amenities Schools - Little Sweethearts Montessori school in St Saviour’s Church hall in Warwick Avenue is a popular nursery. The two top state primary schools are St Joseph’s RC in Lanark Road and St Saviour’s CofE in Shirland Road, both judged outstanding by Ofsted.

Nearby private schools include Francis Holland at Clarence Gate, Regent’s Park, and Queen’s College in Harley Street, both for girls.

Open Spaces - for those without access to one of Maida Vale’s private communal gardens, there is the Paddington Recreation Centre in Randolph Avenue - known locally as Paddington Rec - which has a gym, athletics track, bowling green, cricket pitch, tennis courts and café, and also the Paddington Sports Club, a private squash and tennis club in Castellain Avenue. The many acres of Regent’s Park are close by.

Leisure and the arts - the nearest council-owned swimming pool is the Jubilee Sports Centre in Caird Street, in Queen’s Park. The Puppet Theatre Barge in Blomfield Road is a 55-seat puppet theatre moored on the Browning Pool at Little Venice; the Canal Café Theatre is a small theatre above the Bridge House pub in Westbourne Terrace Road.

The Maida Vale area is in Zone 2. Maida Vale and Warwick Avenue Tube stations are both on the Bakerloo line, while Royal Oak is on the Hammersmith and City line, as well as the new Circle line spur to Hammersmith.

Maida Vale is in the borough of Westminster (Conservative-controlled) and the Band D council tax for the 2010/2011 year is £681.84, which is one of the lowest in the country.

Buying in Maida Vale: average Average price One bedroom Two bedrooms Three bedrooms Four bedrooms Five bedrooms

We provide a turnkey solution. Contact us now:

UK Sales 0207 706 0187 India Sales 0203 384 5323

prices £380,328 £665,207 £1,214,527 £2,170,007 £3,686,852

Tips of the Week l Pay close attention to the service charge information, find out if there's a sinking fund in place l Don't be scared of short leases contrary to popular belief they can be funded

20

finanCial voiCe

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

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

Maria Fernandes

maria@abplgroup.com

New Student Regulations Following the announcement by the Home Secretary to make changes to Tier 4 (students) and Tier 1 (post study work), the changes have become and will be introduced in phases.

From the 21st April 2011, in order to obtain a licence new sponsors will have to show that they have current and full inspection or audit by one of the following bodies: • Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education • OFSTED (England) • The Bridge School Inspectorates (England) • School Inspection Service (England) • Independent Schools Inspectorates (ISI) (England) For privately funded providers of further education, higher education and English language courses the UK Border Agency had previously recognised an accreditation bodies. However for the future accreditation other than those outlined above will not be accepted. There is a transitional period during which any sponsor who was accredited by a private accrediting body can continue to be able to sponsor new students providing they meet the requirements such as applying to the relevant public accrediting body by the date specified and obtaining highly trusted status.

There are further

exemptions for bodies that cater for student visitors and child visitors and those that provide courses in English for the purpose of applying for settlement and citizenship.

Transitional arrangements and limits Existing sponsors will be given time to meet the new regulations and will be able to continue to sponsor new students until the end of 2012 providing: • They apply for accreditation and highly trusted status within time scales to be announced.

• Do not otherwise have their licence suspended, revoked or downgraded.

•Obtain highly trusted status by April 2012.

In the meantime some existing licence sponsors who are not able to meet the new requirements have had their CAS limited until they can show that they can meet the new requirements.

From April 2012 if a sponsor does not have highly trusted status they will not be able to sponsor new students but will only be able to issue CAS to allow currents students to complete their original course.

As from the 21st April, sponsors who do not already meet the new requirements will be subjected to limits on allocating CAS. These limits are based on the numbers

which were issued by the sponsor between 1st March 2010 to 28th February 2011. Where sponsors did not allocate CAS between these dates they will have been zerorated.

The allocation limit applies not only to new students but also to those that are extending their leave and completing their course.

From April 2012 those who do not meet the criteria will be classified as legacy sponsors who can keep their existing students but not sponsor new ones. If students of legacy sponsor requires an extension the sponsor will have to ask for an exceptional CAS by contacting the Sponsor Management Unit.

Normally only extension will be granted pure student.

Special rules for Chartered Accountants Where sponsor is offering courses from the Associated of Chartered Certified Accountants a sponsor must be an ACCA approved learning partner offering student tuition at either gold or platinum level.

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

Essar looks at floating shipping business in London After the successful listing of Essar Energy, Indian industrial conglomerate Essar Group is now planning to spin off businesses in London market.

Prashant Ruia, the chief executive of the group, said that the company was considering a UK listing for other parts of the business, including its ports and shipping arm.

“Yes, we are open to it,” he said. “Last year, when we looked at doing this, it was very much focused on doing it as a single experience ... but we have been very happy over the past year. We have other businesses which are listed in Bombay - the shipping business for example. I’m sure we will look.” He said that nothing was imminent and that

vately owned ports group in terms of volumes but is on track to double capacity to 158 million tonnes in the next two years.

The group is investing $1.1 billion to acquire 12 new vessels and jack up rigs for its Prashant shipping operaRuia tion.

Separately, Mr no final decisions would Ruia also said that Essar be taken until next year.

Energy, the FTSE 100 listThe Ruia family, which ed company in which the controls the Essar Group, Ruias retain nearly 77 per is spinning off Essar Ports cent, was examining as a separate entity from acquisitions to bolster its access to oil and coal for Essar Shipping, which has the Indian market. a listing in Bombay, amid “We are looking at concerns that this part of international resources in the business is undervalcoal, oil and gas in Africa, ued. Essar Ports has an Indonesia and Australia.” annual capacity of 76 million tonnes and handles 40 With revenue of $15 million tonnes of cargo a billion last year, Essar has year, mainly crude oil and interests in businesses iron ore. It is already from ports and shipping to India’s second-largest prioutsourcing.

Reality Check Muammar Gaddafi has long been considered to be a maverick dictator who is as unpredictable as he is necessary. And while the conflict in Libya has been playing out on our TV screens, most western leaders who until now have been tolerant of his regime are suddenly calling on him to step down.

Oblivious to everything, Gaddafi is still steadfastly holding onto power and has even resorted to claiming that the whole uprising has been the handiwork of terrorists and foreign miscreants rather than those who he calls his own people.

I do wonder what goes through the minds of leaders as they witness their downfall coming right before their eyes?

Saddam Hussein hid under a house in his native village and he too refused to acknowledge the fact that he had been overthrown right up until the noose was being tied around his neck. It is easy

to sit in our cosy homes and ridicule these leaders for actually believing in the false world they themselves created, but I wonder if that is not a fate which befalls many leaders. How many times do we have to hear someone say that we are invincible before we actually start to believe it? Praise and compliments can be a heady intoxication for one who has never drunk.

Perhaps this explains why some leaders do what they do?

When Mukesh Ambani was drawing up the plans for his 27 storey home, I wonder what was his motivation? Was it intended to be a display of his wealth, or perhaps he wanted it to be a symbol to the millions living in slums of how successful a person could be if they worked hard? It is said that the Russian Tsar Peter the Great organised large state banquets while his country was suffering from an extreme famine.

By Amit Patel

Shah Jahan virtually bankrupt India to build the Taj Mahal. Gen. Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to open fire on a peaceful demonstration disregarding the fact that there were women and children in the crowd – his justification being that he wanted to send a message across India.

It is easy to criticise in hindsight. But the question remains what would we be capable of in such situations? Would we look after the people we ruled? Would we be content with a 4 bedroom detached house? Would we still see people as people – just like us?

Fortunately there is a safety mechanism, its called Karma. What goes around comes around.

That is why it is important that from time to time we take a reality check before we are given one – just as Gaddafi is getting his.

TCS Q4 result beats forecast, posts 23 pc rise in net profit

RIL reports big oil, gas strike in Cauvery basin

lakh, the statement said.

"We continue to shape the adoption of next generation technologies by investing in new areas like mobility, analytics, social media and sustainability solution," Chandrasekaran said.

The company has proposed a final dividend of Rs 8 per share on the face value of Re 1, the statement added.

Demand for services offered by Indian technology firms have been rising, but currency volatility, rising wages and growing competition from global firms such as IBM and Accenture are key risks for India's $60-billion IT sector.

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries last week reported major oil and gas strike in the Cauvery basin.

Reliance said it made the find in an acreage identified as Block CY-PRDWN-2001/3 (CYPR-D6) - in the Cauvery-Palar basin. A company statement said the well produced gas at the rate of 37 million cubic feet and condensate (light oil) at 1,100 bpd (barrels of per day) during tests.

The company described the gas as “rich”, which can be processed to extract elements for making petrochemicals or used as feedstock. It did not give any reserve estimate or its thickness. But exploration experts said the “flow rate” from the well indicates a “big” strike.

Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, the oil ministry’s regulatory arm, had earlier turned down Reliance’s request to declare two of its gas finds in the Block NEC-25 in the Mahanadi Basin - off the Orissa coast - commercially viable. The request was turned down on the ground of “inadequate data”.

In 2002, Reliance had found India’s biggest gas reserve in a KrishnaGodavari basin acreage off the Andhra coast. But of late, the scrip has been under pressure, and the company has been facing rough weather in its dealings with the regulator.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest software services exporter, posted a 23-per cent rise in quarterly net profit, beating street forecasts, on rising demand for outsourcing services from western clients.

TCS, a unit of the Tata Group, said last week that fiscal fourth-quarter net profit rose to $ 542 million. The company said that it has clocked a net profit in FY11 at Rs 90.68 billion, up 29.5 per cent as compared to the year-ago period. Its revenue in FY 11 stood at Rs 373.25 billion, up 24.3 per cent as compared to the year-ago period.

Its Q4 net profit was up 31.1 per cent on a YoY basis at Rs 26.23 billion on a revenue of Rs 101.57 billion, up 31.3 per cent on a YoY basis.

"Demand environment for software services continues to be vibrant.

However, headwinds remain in the near term and medium term global macro horizon," said N Chandrasekaran, chief executive of Tata Consultancy Services.

"Our nimble organisation structure, together with our full-services strategy and domainintensive solutions gives us a great platform to sustain growth," he added.

During the JanuryMarch quarter, the company added 11,700 employees (net), taking its total headcount to over 1.98

TCS eyes acquisitions in Germany, Japan TCS is eyeing acquisition opportunities in Germany and Japan in the healthcare sector, its chief executive said, as the company aims to expand its geographical presence and product offerings.

TCS expects to see "marginal improvement" in pricing for the fiscal year that started in April and expects to sustain the current operating margins, N Chandrasekaran, TCS chief, said. TCS, whose clients include Citigroup and General Electric , last week reported a market beating 23 per cent rise in fourth-quarter profit on rising demand and flagged wage hikes and currency volatility as main threats to its profit margins for 2011/12.

FINANCIAL VOICE

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 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

A roundup on Currencies We began with a very quite week in the UK in terms of data, there were only three pieces of data to effect sterling. BoE minutes were released on Wednesday and gave no real clear indication on the banks rate policy. Sterling fell sharply on the back of these figures losing over half a cent against the US dollar trading as lower as 1.6307 before recovery in mid afternoon trade. Towards the end of the week retail sales and Public Sector Net borrowing were the only two pieces of data released, retail sales came in better than expected and pushed sterling as high as 1.6530 in afternoon trade against the US dollar this was followed by the borrowing figures which also came in better than expected which gave sterling further room for cheer.

Sterling continued to trade even higher against the greenback trading at a fresh 16th month high of 1.6599 in afternoon London trade.

Early last week The Euro was sold off across the board as rumour circulated that Greece would need to at least restructure its debt. We saw a small recovery that day as members of the Greek government strenuously denied this, which of

course they would! This recovery didn’t last long and we saw EUR/USD reach 1.4155 by 17.00 BST. We also saw GBP/EUR go above 1.14 for the first time since 8th March. After recent strength in the Euro zone it looks like we are now seeing a turn around and all eyes are watching the problems in the Euro zone unwrap. The question that needs to be asked is that with Greece looking to give their debts a haircut, where will the buck stop? This haircut could decimate the books of European banks, especially the French who reportedly hold a

significant inventory of Greek bonds. We had the German PMI following from the reports in Greece the figure came out better in the manufacturing sector and worse in the Services Sector. Along with the EU PMI coming out better than expected we saw the EUR strengthen slightly with GBP/EUR moving back down from the 1.14 levels into the 1.13 levels. Late last week the only piece of data from euro zone was from Germany in the form of PPI which saw a slight drop on both the MoM and YoY. These figures did very little to effect to euro as we saw

the euro gain against its counterparts on the back of risk appetite with potential strong IBM and Intel earnings boosting risk sentiment. Also adding to euro gains was a successful Spanish bond auction where we saw strong demand for Spanish debt. This saw the euro trade at its highest levels against the US dollar trading at fresh 15 month highs of 1.4547. And giving Spain solid ground for optimism when it comes to their bonds being that many people were talking of possible assisting when it’s yield on the it’s 10 year bond was well over 5%.

The week started quietly in the US with the first data coming on Tuesday in the form of housing starts and building permits. With the housing market being the key factor in the US economy that it is, as both of these pieces of data came out better than expected we saw risk appetite weaken the USD. Later in the week the positive data for the US continued with existing home sales coming out better than expected, resulting in risk appetite causing cable to trade in the 1.65 levels and EUR/USD hitting new highs in the 1.46 levels. The week closed with this risk appetite and USD weakness still heavily in place.

Weekly Currencies As of Tuesday 26th April 2011 @ 1pm GBP - INR = 73.33 USD - INR = 44.51 EUR - INR = 65.01 GBP - USD = 1.65 GBP - EUR = 1.13 EUR - USD = 1.46 GBP - AED = 6.05 GBP - CAD = 1.57 GBP - NZD = 2.05 GBP - AUD = 1.53 GBP - ZAR = 11.03 GBP - HUF = 297.97

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.

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Pakistan-Bangladesh-Sri Lanka

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

Sri Lanka killings could be 'war crimesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, says UN panel United Nation: A UN panel which investigated the killing of tens of thousands of people in the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil strife said it could amount to "war crimes", but Secretary General Ban Ki-moon insisted he would only launch an international investigation if Colombo agrees or member states call for it.

A UN statement publicly releasing a report by a world body panel said that Secretary General has been advised that he needs Sri Lankan government consent or a decision by member states in an international forum to go ahead to order an international investigation into allegations of possible war crime.

The statement did not specify the forum and whether it meant that an international probe had to be ratified by the UN Security Council, General

A file photo of Sri Lankan army patrolling a junction in Killinochchi area, 240 km away from Colombo.

Assembly or Human Rights Council.

Ban's statement came as the panel called on the Secretary General to immediately set up "an independent international mechanism" to investigate "credible" allegations that both Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tigers committed serious human rights violations, including some that could amount to war crimes and crimes

against humanity, in the months before the decades old civil war ended in 2009.

The three-member panel which collected evidence for over 10 months said tens of thousands died in just five months in the last phase of the war.

"Most civilian casualties in the final phases of the war were caused by government shelling. The government systematically

Have enough evidence to convict 26/11 mastermind: Rehman Malik Islamabad: Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik has said that Pakistani investigators have collected enough evidence against the masterminds of the Mumbai 2008 terror attacks and he is confident that the courts would convict them.

India has been unhappy over the slow pace of trial of the 26/11 masterminds in Pakistan. Most of the recent hearings have been immediately adjourned by the judge.

"What I am confident is that all the evidence which has been collected, has been placed before the court and they will be convicted," he added.

Malik, however, admitted that the trial was not going as fast as India wanted.

"And for the fast track you know that there are certain problems in Evidence Act, and accord-

Rehman Malik

ing to the Evidence Act we needed some information to be certified from the Indian authorities," he said.

He appreciated that India had agreed to allow a judicial commission from Pakistan to visit and collect evidence. "I'm really grateful to the Indian authorities for allowing our commission to go, and once it is there and after fulfilling its assignment it comes back, the case will be on fast track," he said.

Malik asserted that Pakistan had every intention of prosecuting the

26/11 masterminds. "The intention of Pakistan is clear. Our prosecutors are working hard and once those legal formalities are over we will expedite the process," he said.

He thanked Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram for the success of the meeting of the home secretaries last month.

"I think it was a good success and the credit is dedicated to Mr Chidambaram who played a key role in it and also to the prime ministers. But basically what is important is to transform the decisions into practicalities. And I think the decisions taken in the group and now by the home secretary are all good decisions, like the focal point is the raise of official legal access and the visa relaxation, they all are good strategies," said Malik.

shelled hospitals on all fronts. The government systematically deprived people in conflict zone of humanitarian aid in the form of food and medical supplies, particularly surgical supplies, adding to their suffering," said the report.

The UN panel estimated that 40,000 people were killed in the war. "The panel's determination of credible allegations reveals a very different version of the final stages of the war than that maintained to this day by the government," it said.

The UN said Sri Lankan government had not yet responded to its offer to publish the government response along with the report.

The report also documents alleged human rights violations committed by the Tamil Tigers including using civilians as human shields.

India cannot prove charges against me: Hafiz Saeed Islamabad: JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, mastermind of the 26/11 attacks, claimed India cannot prove his organisation's link to the 2008 terror strike and accused the Pakistan government of succumbing to pressure from India and the US. Saeed, who is the founder of the banned LeT which carried out the Mumbai attack, said India had sent a 400-page report to the Pakistani government in an attempt to substantiate its claims but had failed to do so, Saeed told 'Dawn News'.

India cannot prove JuD's link to Mumbai attacks, he said.

He accused the Pakistan government of being spineless and succumbing to the pressure from India and the US. Saeed also claimed his organisation had nothing to do with LeT.

Bangladesh probe clears Yunus of misusing aid Dhaka: A Bangladeshi probe has cleared Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus of misappropriating Norwegian aid money at the pioneering microfinance bank he founded, the country's finance minister announced on Monday.

But the bank is still awaiting a final decision on a separate government claim that Yunus was illegally reappointed managing director, with the Supreme Court due to review an order for his dismissal on May 2.

Yunus has been under fire since last December when a Norwegian docu-

Muhammad Yunus

mentary claimed USD 96 million of aid had been diverted from Grameen Bank, which provides small loans to the poor, to other parts of Grameen group.

Norway cleared Yunus of wrongdoing but the 70year-old, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, was accused of sucking blood from the poor by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and his bank was subject to a government probe.

"The probe has accepted that (the Norwegian government's decision) was final. There is nothing to do about it," Bangladesh finance minister A M A Muhith said, referring to the fact no evidence of wrongdoing was found.

The governmentappointed investigation committee also found no

truth to allegations Grameen Bank charged excessive interest rates on loans to the poor, Muhith said. "Grameen Bank's interest rate is the best among all the microfinance institutions," he told journalists after receiving a copy of the report, which has not yet been released.

Grameen Bank charges around 20 per cent interest on its micro loans.

The figure is the lowest among the country's 1,200-plus micro-lenders, whose rates average around 30-45 per cent interest, according to the government's Microcredit Regulatory Authority.

IN focUS 25 killed in North Waziristan drone attack Islamabad: Despite Pakistan's differences with the US over the CIA-driven drone operations in its tribal areas, two unmanned aircrafts fired four missiles on a large compound in North Waziristan killing at least 25 people. The fresh strikes came two days after Pakistan's army chief, Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, told the US military's top official, Admiral Mike Mullen, that such strikes complicated Pakistan's war against the militants. Mullen also expressed his country's concern in Islamabad over the continuing links between Pakistan's main spy agency, the ISI, and militants attacking US-led forces across the border in Afghanistan. "At least 25 people were killed in the attack, including five women and four children in a nearby house," officials said.

ISI chief among top 100 influential people Islamabad: Pakistan's ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha has made it to the list of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world along with dignitaries like United States President Barrack Obama and his secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Pasha's profile on the magazine's website was written by former CIA director Michael Hayden, who described him as "a Pakistani patriot and American partner " trying to manage the difficult task of reconciling the two roles.

Militants slit man's throat in Pakistan Islamabad: Militants killed a man by slashing his throat in front of hundreds of horrified onlookers, some of whom fainted on seeing it. Militants picked up Malang Meerak, a vendor, and took him to a public place. There they murdered him in front of hundreds of local residents. The militants claimed Mareek was helping security forces. Sources said a number of locals fainted after watching the incident, which was the second of its kind in less than three weeks. A taxi driver had been killed in a similar manner in the same area.

Lankan government plans to re-open closed hospitals Colombo: Lankan government has decided to make arrangements to re-open a large number of hospitals that are currently closed due to lack of staff and facilities. Addressing a public gathering, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena has said the health ministry plans to re-open 97 government hospitals that are being closed now. The government says 80 hospitals in the North and East had to cease operations due to terrorist threats during the armed conflict. The remaining hospitals are in Hambantota and Kandy districts. The minister says the ministry plans to deploy the staff, including doctors and nurses for these hospitals and provide other necessary resources to serve the public.

The minister said that future appointment of doctors, nurses and other health staff will be made to these hospitals.

Kayani denounces 'negative propaganda' about Pak forces Islamabad: Hours after a top American military official said that ISI's continued links with the militant Haqqani network are at the core of the strained USPak ties, Pakistan's powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has strongly rejected the notion calling it "negative propaganda". Kayani, in a statement, contended that Pakistan Army's "ongoing operations (against militants) are a testimony of our national resolve to defeat terrorism". He "strongly rejected negative propaganda of Pakistan not doing enough" against militants and his force's "lack of clarity on the way forward".

Pak woman vows to carry on fight Islamabad: Pakistan's supreme court may have upheld the acquittal of five of the six men accused of raping Mukhtar Mai, but Pakistan's most famous victim of abuse is not giving up yet. "No court can weaken my resolve to stand against injustice," Mukhtar Mai said. Mukhtar was ordered to be gang-raped by a tribal council in 2002 after her 12-year-old brother Shakoor was accused of having an affair with a woman of the superior Mastoi tribe. "Supreme court's verdict proves that police dictate system in Pakistan," read another tweet by Mukhtar. Meanwhile, Pakistan government said it would provide security and legal aid to Mukhtar Mai, who has emerged as the symbol of a movement for women's rights. Interior minister Rehman Malik said Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has given him directives to provide security to Mai and look into the matter.

worlD

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

The Day Japan shook

In focus 500 Taliban prisoners escape from Afghan jail Kabul: Nearly 500 Taliban prisoners have escaped from Kandahar prison in southern Afghanistan on Monday through a tunnel hundreds of metres long, officials said.

The Taliban said it was behind the huge jail break and that all of those who escaped were members of the militant organisation. "A tunnel hundreds of metres long was dug from the south of the prison into the prison and 476 political prisoners escaped," said prison director General Ghulam Dastageer Mayar. The acting police chief of Kandahar, Shair Shah Yousufzai, also confirmed the escape, saying: "Last night some political prisoners broke out of the prison and have escaped."

Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said the militant Islamists were responsible for the mass break-out.

"Prisoners dug a 360-metre-long tunnel to the south of the prison. They started getting out of the prison at 11:00 pm (1830 GMT) and by early morning, 541 prisoners escaped the prison," he said. "They all have made it safe to our centres and there was no fighting."

Oz teen pleads guilty to killing Indian student Melbourne: An Australian boy of 16 years last week pleaded guilty to killing Indian student Nitin Garg, which threatened to derail Australia's ties with India.

The teenager, whose identity has not been revealed, appeared in Supreme Court where he pleaded guilty to one count of murder and one count of attempted armed robbery in the killing of Garg. The 21-year-old Garg, who migrated from Punjab, was fatally stabbed in the abdomen by assailants in Cruickshank Park in Melbourne's Yarraville while on his way to work in January last year.

Indian stabbed to death: A 28-year-old Indian has been stabbed to death in Rushworth in Australia. The victim, Lakhwinder Singh, is a native of Rajpura in Punjab. Australian Police have arrested a 37-year-old man and charged him with Lakhwinder's murder.

Lenin's largest statue razed in central Asia Dushanbe, Tajikistan: Workers began pulling down the largest statue of Vladimir Lenin in ex-Soviet Central Asia from its place of honour last week, earning outrage from die-hard communists celebrating the Russian revolutionary's 141st birthday. A significant but waning number of people in former Soviet countries remain faithful to the iconic founder of the Soviet state even 20 years after the collapse of Communism. Lenin statues were demolished as Communist regimes crumbled two decades ago, but the monuments remain ubiquitous across parts of the former Soviet Union still ambivalent about the era. As hundreds of Communists laid flowers at Lenin's Red Square tomb in Moscow, workers in Tajikistan were dismantling the 22.5-meter (74-foot ) Lenin monument in the city center of Khujand, once known as Leninabad in honour of the Soviet founder.

Miss Dheerna Parmar

It has been almost a month since the big earthquake on March 11th and quite honestly it feels a lot longer. I was in my apartment at 2.46 pm when it happened. I live on the second floor of a low-rise apartment building and was getting ready to go for a meeting. The building starting shaking violently for a few minutes. In Japan we experience earthquakes fairly frequently and so are used to house shaking slightly, but this was different. I could see clothes in my wardrobe swaying side to side and it wouldn't stop.

Usually such shakings take around 10 seconds and then stop but this didn't. I looked around, grabbed a sweater and went for the door. My heart was pounding and all I could think was “when is this going to stop and was this the big one?” I dashed for the way out, watching my TV swaying back and forth.

Ever since moving to Japan, I felt little quakes and have known the possibility of the 'big' one coming. As I opened my door, I saw my neighbour standing in her doorway. This gave me reassurance that I could see and speak to someone.

As our building shook, we could here children crying and I asked her what I should do. She just looked at me without a word and we waited for the shaking to end. Three minutes later it seemed to have stopped.

So I went back inside and noticed my apartment was in pretty good shape, nothing broken. The room was still swaying but Internet

By Rudy Otter

Washington: The United States launched its first Predator drone strike in Libya, the defense department said in a statement. It did not provide details on the target of the strike, saying only that it occurred in the early afternoon local time in Libya. Gates announced that the unmanned aircraft would be used in Libya for Hellfire missile attacks on the forces of leader Muammar Gaddafi. General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the US plan called for keeping two patrols of armed Predators above Libya at any given time, permitting better surveillance -- and targeting -- of Gaddafi's forces. The drones are based in the region but typically flown by remote control by pilots in the United States. The US military has been using other drones to target militants along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. The drones in Libya were not taken from Afghanistan, US officials said.

Two great culinary nations, India and Italy, are drawing closer together. Those spearheading this initiative include Indian celebrity chef Cyrus Todiwala, owner of the city's award-winning Cafe Spice Namaste restaurant.

He regularly hosts special Italian events like the one earlier in March which featured Francesco Mazzei, chef patron of L'Anima, who gave guests a master class on the art of making fresh pasta and sauces. They also enjoyed Italian wine, from top city wine firm Balls Brothers, regular suppliers to Cyrus's restaurant who earlier staged a Sicilian wine-tasting event. "Italian wines go down very well with spicy food," said Cyrus who frequently appears in TV cookery shows.

Cyrus told Asian Voice: "India has many food links with Italy. The

Los Angeles: Actress Lindsay Lohan was sentenced on Friday to 120 days in jail for violating her probation on a 2007 drunk driving conviction. Lohan was taken from a Los Angeles court by sheriff's deputies officials at the end of a preliminary hearing on a jewelry theft charge. Lohan was earlier ordered to stand trial in June on a reduced, misdemeanor charge of stealing a $2,500 necklace in January. But the judge on Friday ruled that the jewelry incident was a probation violation and sentenced her to 120 days jail and 480 hours community service. Lohan's lawyer said she would file an immediate appeal.

connection was fine so I set about mailing a couple of friends and my parents to say I was fine. Before I could hit the send button the shaking started again.

Beginning with a strong jolt, this time the room was shaking up and down and I went to the door again. My neighbour was there again and we stood holding the frames of our doors.

Experience of Kobe: My neighbour is from Kobe where there was a huge earthquake in 1995. I asked her what is the best thing to do if it gets stronger. She assured me that our building was pretty strong so would hold up fairly well. With stronger quakes, it is really down to luck, she said. I looked around knowing the streets could be unsafe with glass

Japanese TV has an incredible warning system where during programming if an earthquake is detected the magnitude and location will instantly be shown.

In Tokyo, trains and gas systems have sensors built in so as soon as the earthquakes are detected they are switched off automatically. The city ground almost to a halt on the fateful day, with people unable to get home on trains.

Panic Headlines: The news of the damage to nuclear plant started to come to light next day and with so much uncertainty there was plenty of room for panic. This is exactly what the foreign media decided to do and with focussing on getting their ratings high there was complete disregard to people

breaking, buildings or cables falling down and the building itself was not the best place to stay if things got worse. “It was just down to fate,“my neighbour answered when I asked what the best thing to do if it got worse again.

Children at schools are taught to run under tables and even have special silver hoods they keep in their bags. I could see children walking home with these special hoods after this.

They protect against fire and broken glass. It is compulsory in every schoolbag.

Social Media Crucial:

living in the affected areas trying to get informative news about the situation.

'Get out of Tokyo' 'Nuclear Meltdown' 'radiation hitting Tokyo in 1 hour' were some of the headlines and this did not help anyone.

The nuclear situation is ongoing but one reassuring voice of reason was the British Embassy informing Tokyo residents that there was nothing to worry about. Only if you had been disrupted from not being able to buy things, travel to work or have electricity blackouts should you consider leaving.

Foreign Aid: After about a week I knew I had to help somehow so started meeting volunteer groups and NGOs that were sending supplies north to the people who really needed things.

I travelled to Fukushima last week with a reporter from Newsweek and a documentary maker.

I drove up north and in the exclusion zone, interviewing and speaking to people who were living in and near the exclusion zone. Inside the exclusion zone people are scared to go inside. I was scared too, but meeting people who were allowed back in to pick up belongings and seeing their lives was another story.

Imagine that you are told to evacuate your house as the nuclear plant is having troubles. You are not told where to go but just to leave. One town I visited was like a ghost town, people had left laundry drying, mobile phones charging, pets were left behind.

Where the tsunami had reached the streets, they were dusty and like a third world country, far from the impeccable roads you usually drive along. Walking out further towards the sea, the force the waves had come was evident in cars, houses and belongings scattered and went as far as the eye could see.

Cracks on the roads in the whole area with parts ripped open reminding you of how powerful the jolt had been.

(Dheerna was born and educated in Bradford, active member of Hindu Sevika Samiti and presently settled in Japan for the last 11 years. Following is her first hand experience of the recent earthquake in Japan)

India moves closer to Italy with food

US launches first drone strike in Libya

Lindsay Lohan sentenced to 120 days jail

23

famous Italian Buffalo Mozzarella would not have been possible had the Italians not imported some buffaloes from India years ago. Now they enjoy the greatest buffalo milk and also sell buffalo meat."

He added: "As for cuisine, as a Parsee, I can relate to Italian food very easily because of Italy's links with the former Persia, now Iran, where the Parsees are from."

Mozzarella and other buffalo products, including meat, ice cream, chocolate and fudge, were abundantly displayed at La Dolce Vita exhibition in the Business Design Centre, Islington, from 10th to 13th March along with a variety of olive oils, hams, cheeses and breads, backed by cooking demonstrations given by famous Italian chefs.

One of the stalls was run by Kutch-born Gujarati Paresh Varsani, 31, co-director of Gela Frozen Foods based in

Stanmore, Middlesex. He teamed up just 12 months ago with long-time friend Andrew Spiteri to distribute 22 Italian-manufactured "tapas bites" in the UK for the first time. He told Asian Voice: "We are spreading the word about our delicious products like olives stuffed with fish or cheese or aubergine balls."

The firm already supplies a growing number of Indian restaurants and is looking to make its mark in the hospitality sector, particularly with organisers of Indian wedding receptions and parties.

Aamna Khokhar, 22, who has Punjabi and Pakistani ancestry, is a Crawley-based accounts executive whom I spotted helping out at the Galbani stand, a firm that produces "easy and elegant dishes" with its own brand of cheeses. "I am planning to start a business of my own soon," said Aamna, a medical science graduate.

Previously, at another

major Italian food event, Identita London, held in the city, I heard of more connections with India from an organisation called Slow Food, set up to "counter the rise of fast food, disappearance of local food traditions and people's dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from and how it tastes".

Spokesperson Anandi Soans, an Indian from Mumbai, said: "We invited farmers and others who are interested in learning how to safeguard their natural resources to attend our events, International Salone del Gusto and Terre Madre in Turin."

Slow Food, founded in 1989, has Indian followers from Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, New Delhi and Mumbai, ranging from rice producers and hay gatherers to organic vegetable growers and school groups. It has more than 100,000 members in 130 countries and a Slow Food UK branch as well.

24

INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

By Purvi Apurva Shah

In divine light

An Envoy Looks Back

By Rajen Vakil

A Memoir A diplomat writing a memoir is not very common, in fact it is a rare phenomenon and that too when a Gujarati diplomat writes his reminiscences.

Diplomats have to make textual agreements.

It appears that creating a bridge between complex reality and its representation in one text makes diplomats masters of language and text – and well prepared for writing, This is what is seen in author K H Patel’s memoir.

A book gives a glimpse of a diplomat’s role, his method for solving conflicts through the use of compromise and conciliation – and as a system for managing ever changing international relations. A diplomat is near enough to understand the society in which he lives, but is remote enough to think “out of the box.” Sometimes he is challenger of accepted truths and initiators of new interpretations of social reality.

The narrative traces the journey of a Patel boy from Unjha, the small town in North Gujarat, through Foreign Service Department to the culmination as an ambassador to African countries. His presents a frank and true experiences during his three - decade long career in the ministry of external affairs when he success-

fully served in US, France, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, with interesting information, anecdotes and critical appraisal of political leaders, presidents, prime ministers and other dignitaries.

Mr Patel recounts of his experiences while working with his colleagues, Pakistan desk, Human Rights Commission to Guyana, Indian delegation to UN and Kutch Tribunal.

Particularly interesting chapters are about his sojourn as the first Consul of India to Reunion and High Commissioner to post-Idi Amin Uganda.

The chapter on Rwanda not only talks about the genocide as the author saw it during his concurrent charge in the country along with Uganda, but also tells how this civil war-ravaged nation is now rebuilding. He also dissects India's foreign policy, its involvement in the United Nations, its ties with Pakistan and China and African nations.

Mr Patel’s real colours are reflected in the chapter dealing with the appraisal of the decisions taken by the Indian government regarding various foreign policy issues.

He is straight forward and forthright. He being diplomat is not yet diplomatic in his opinions and commitments.

Sri Krishna, Arjuna and Bhima meet Jarasandha

About the Author: Patel joined the Ministry of External Affairs in the early 1960s and now retired. But he continues to contribute actively to society's welfare through his associations with Gandhian organisations and efforts to promote cultural and business links between people of Gujarat and its non-resident community.

His most memorable experience is the cultural reunion undertaken at Reunion Island ( France ).

Thousands of Indian origin people settled there for many generations wanted to connect with their motherland, and so Indian performers, artists, including dancers, musicians, were invited to perform.

An illustration of the low public acceptance of diplomacy and compromise is the fact that one cannot find museums dedicated to diplomacy, while thousands of museums celebrate war victories and military history.

This book will stay as a blessing in history of diplomats.

Green signal for Girnar ropeway the Girnar lion sanctuary as well as past vulture nests.

Union minister for forest and environment, Jairam Ramesh said that final clearance along the original route - from Bhavnath Taleti to Ambaji temple - was cleared. He

Cartoon: Jami

The standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife has given the green signal for the Girnar ropeway project. The project was awaiting the approval since September 1995. The project clearance was delayed because the ropeway passes above

..…even the roadside beggars are crazy cricket fans, they want to come inside and watch the IPL match on our TV set.

said several conditions to ensure safety of vultures were put down. This ropeway will pass over nesting sites of endangered vultures called Girnari Giddh.

Girnar has for centuries been a pilgrimage site for Hindus and Jains. Apart from Ambaji temple, Girnar has Jain temples dating back to 12th and 16th centuries.

“The project had got environment clearance but needed approval from National Board for Wildlife. Now that it has been cleared, we will begin the project,” said Deepak Kaplish, in charge of ropeway project for Usha Breco company. It already bagged the contract for setting up the ropeway and is being assisted by an Austria-based company Doppelmayr, who are technical collaborators in the project.

Ramesh had in February asked the state to explore an alternate route for the cable cars to reach the top, skirting vulture nesting sites.

However, state government in its report earlier this month said alternate routes were not feasible.

We will continue from the last article where Sri Krishna was talking to Yudhisthira about Jarasandha. Sri Krishna further said “All the Devas and demons together cannot kill Jarasandha in a pitched battle. The only way to defeat him is through physical strength – in a hand-to-hand combat.

Arjuna, with his arrows, can protect Bhima and me. Bhima has body strength and will, while I have the strategy to kill him. The three of us will go to Magadha and challenge him to a duel. I am sure he will accept this challenge and choose one of us to fight with. We will meet him alone, and because he will be afraid of losing respect, I am sure he will choose Bhima to fight with. Like Yama, the death-god, destroys even the most powerful of egos, so will Bhimasen overpower Jarasandha. If you have faith in me, then do send Bhimasen and Arjuna with me.”

Yudhisthira was very happy with Sri Krishna’s plan. He asked Arjuna to follow Sri Krishna, and asked Bhima to follow Arjuna. He reminded them that they, the Pandavas, had taken refuge in Sri Krishna and that he would deftly lead them to victory.

The three of them, disguised as Brahmins, left for Magadha. Leaving Indraprastha, they passed through many jungles, crossed rivers and lakes, and climbed many mountains to reach the outskirts of Magadha. Here, Sri Krishna addressed Arjuna with these words, “O Pritha, behold the wealthy land of Magadha.

It has unlimited supply of water and innumerable cattle, beautiful spots with huge trees, and lovely guesthouses. It is surrounded by an impregnable fort which in turn is protected by five hills, and all of these surround the capital and the tower.

Many years ago the great rishi Gautama lived here and it is his aura that protects the country.”

The three of them went to the door of the fort and entered the city.

Near the entrance was a big tower which was worshipped by the king and the people of Magadha.

Here Jarasandha’s father had killed a mad bull with his bare hands. He had used the skin of the bull to make three kettle-drums.

Once stroked, the drums resonated for months. The people of Magadha felt that as long the sound of the drums continued, no outsider could attack their country.

Arjuna, Bhima, and Sri Krishna first broke the drums and destroyed the tower completely. The sound of the drums being broken and the falling of the tower filled people’s hearts with fear. The learned Brahmins interpreted this as an evil omen and predicted that something dreadful was bound to happen. On the other hand, Sri Krishna, Bhima, and Arjuna were elated with the happenings and decided to enter the city. The Brahmins, fearing for the life of the king, asked him to sit on a holy elephant and pray to Agni, the god of fire, for protection. To ward of the effects of the evil omens, he fasted for the day.

The three warriors then went into the palace and presented themselves before the king. Seeing Brahmins from another country, the king got up from his throne and paid his respects to them.

Bhima and Arjuna remained silent but Sri Krishna said, “These two have a vow of silence and will not speak till midnight.” So the king made them comfortable in his guest house and came to visit them at midnight. He sat down and said, “Your hands bear the scars of shooting arrows in many battles, your shoulders reveal the strength of warriors, and your bearing has the pride of the Kshatriya clan, still you come dressed as Brahmins, tell me who you are and what brings you to my kingdom.”

Sri Krishna replies “Intelligent people enter their enemy’s house from a side door and their friends’ from the main gate. We have entered your palace unannounced so know us as your enemies.” To this Jarasandha replied, “In all the three worlds the way of the warrior is the highest. I cannot remember that I have harmed you in any way, so why do you say you are my enemies? And what is the cause of your enmity.” To this, Sri Krishna replied, “A great king wants to do good for all the Kshatriyas and we

have come here at his behest. You have tortured and troubled many kings, and hold many of them captive and still you say you have not harmed anyone. This sin of yours blots all warriors and also us, as we have an oath to defend the warrior code.

So, we have come here to kill that person who does not respect other Kshatriyas. You are right – we are not Brahmins, and it is also true that we have come to fight you.

These two are the Pandavas, Bhima and Arjuna, and I am your old enemy Krishna. We are inviting you to a hand-tohand combat with any one of us. So either you fight us, or as per the Kshatriya code, release all the kings you have captured.”

In our last episode we saws that Jarasandha was born in two parts, which were then joined by the demon Jara. We also saw that in our psychic nature everything is dual. We have to work hard to develop a vision which is beyond duality. Only then are we able to get a glimpse of truth, which is whole. We are slaves of a very ordinary way of thinking, devoid of consciousness; one that divides everything between right and wrong, or good and bad. This low consciousness is symbolized by the demon Jara joining the parts, our conditioned mind of customs and habits. That is, we can either adjust to our dual nature by joining the parts or rise above it by increasing our level of consciousness. This is the killing of Jarasandha.

The three drums represent expansion, centring and fulfilment while the tower is for protection. It shows how our ancient culture knew a very powerful intuitive science of the vibration of structures – how building a tower at a certain point, together with resonating sound, creates a vibration that protects the whole country.

If we can find that spot in our homes and build a small tower, fortified with magnets, it could provide a different protection and prosperity to our homes and family.

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

InDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

In focuS

25

Godman Sathya Sai Baba is no more

Met forecasts normal monsoon in India

His followers believe that he will come back soon as he passed away earlier than predicted

India is expected to receive normal monsoon this year.

The meteorological department's first monsoon forecast for the season, made last week, has raised hopes of sustained agriculture growth and economic expansion this fiscal year. The Met department expects 98% of average rainfall during this year's monsoon season, which is well within the normal range. It said there is "very low probability'' of rains being deficient (below 90% of the long period average) or excess (above 110%). If the prediction holds, the country will have normal monsoon rains for the second year running, after a shortfall of 21% in 2009. Making the announcement, minister of earth sciences P K Bansal said the monsoon is expected to arrive on time - June 1 in Kerala. The forecast, however, comes with several caveats and uncertainties.

Spiritual guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba, revered by millions of followers as a living god, died on Sunday in Andhra Pradesh. He was 85.

He was admitted to hospital in his hometown of Puttaparti a month ago, died of multiple organ failure, The last rites of the Baba will be performed with full state honours on Wednesday morning.

Millions of devotees from India and across the world are pouring in for his darshan. Some 500,000 people are expected to attend his funeral.

The Satya Sai Central Trust is building a massive samadhi at Sai Kulwanth Hall, where the Baba''s mortal remains will be buried and is also likely to install his life-size statue.

"Puttaparthi will now become another Shirdi.”

His followers, estimated to number six million, included India's top politicians, business tycoons and Bollywoods stars and sportsmen such as cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

Overseas, they include Goldie Hawn and Isaac Tigrett, the founder of Hard Rock café. Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York and Keith Critchlow, the architect, who designed and supervised his hospital at Puttaparthi along with other British architects and engineers. " Questions are likely to arise over the management of his substantial assets which amassed a fortune in the form of a charitable trust valued at an estimated $8.9 billion.

According to its most recent filings with India's Home Ministry, the Sathya Sai Trust received

A death that contributed to five lives The 17-year-old Reena has died in a road accident but she will live in the collective memory of five patients who have got a new lease of life because of her donated organs. Reena, a resident of Jind in Haryana, was seriously injured and was declared brain dead at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh. Her distraught family consented to donate Reena's liver, both kidneys and two corneas, giving a ray of hope to the five patients.

Her liver was successfully transplanted to a 44-year-old patient from Uttar Pradesh on April 15. This was the first liver transplant surgery in PGIMER, one of the leading medical institute of northern India. PGIMER director KK Talwar said: "Seven to eight departments were involved in this operation. The donor, whose brain was dead, helped five people to live a new life. It is really exemplary." PGIMER has decided to place a photograph of Reena in its premises - as a tribute.

Hyderabad mother of two writes Periodic Table in record time A Hyderabad mother of two, Meenakshi Agrawal, has written 118 symbols of a periodic table of chemistry in a world record time of 91.65 seconds. The periodic table is considered the heart of chemistry, and with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and UNESCO declaring 2011 as the year to celebrate achievements in chemistry, Agrawal wanted to do something that was not only simple, but also something that would motivate others without causing financial hardship. As it turned out, it also became something of international significance. Agrawal has contacted the Guinness World Records organisation and the Limca Book of Records. She is a science graduate and a post-graduate in economics. She is currently a lecturer in the Ginni Devi Modi P G College in Hyderabad.

MP govt's move to include 'Gita Saar' in syllabus is not welcomed Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's directive to introduce 'Gita Saar' in school curriculum has not gone down well, with the main Opposition Congress terming it as an attempt to "saffronise" the education system in the state. Chouhan while reviewing the progress of the School Education Department directed officials to include 'Gita Saar' from the Hindu holy epic Bhagvad Gita besides stories of valour of the freedom fighters like Tantya Bheel and Nayak Shankar Shah Raghunath Shah.

ED questions Pondy LG on Hasan Ali links Enforcement Directorate officials in India last week questioned Puducherry lieutenant governor Iqbal Singh on his alleged links with Hasan Ali, who is facing tax evasion and money laundering charges. A team of officials reached Puducherry and questioned Singh at the Raj Niwas for about 20 minutes. The Prime Minister’s Office earlier gave its nod to the central agency to question him. Singh’s joint secretary G Srinivas confirmed a three-member ED team visited Raj Niwas but did not divulge any further information. Singh had earlier admitted to recommending the passport application for Hasan Ali but maintained that he did not know him personally. He further claimed that he referred the case to passport officials after the intervention by a senior Bihar Congress functionary, Amalendu Pandey.

Puducherry chief minister V Vaithilingam and home minister E Valsaraj called on Singh later. Though they claimed that it was a “courtesy call’’ after the assembly polls, sources said they briefed Singh on the mounting pressure for his resignation. A dozen activists of the Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam staged a protest near Raj Niwas seeking Singh’s recall.

Indian prime ministar Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi paying respect to Sri Sathya Sai Baba on Tuesday.

$19.5 million in foreign donations in 2009 alone.

His influence afforded him a large measure of impunity. He was accused of sexual abuse and weaved in controversy of few deaths in his ashram.

But such things did not moved the devotees faith.

But now after his death, the big question is who will run the billion dollar trust. His charitable trust runs schools, hospitals, colleges, stadia and a planetarium, as well as a piped-drinking-water project serving more than 750 villages.

While the next leader of the Sathya Sai Trust has yet to be named, board members promised that Sathya Sai Baba's charitable work would continue uninterrupted. "There is no vacuum and we firmly believe that Baba will continue to guide the trustees," the board said in a statement.

"Baba taught us not to

give importance to worldly wealth, but the trust and its assets must be in safe hands in order to take forward his message and continue his social works," said Shiva Sai Baba, an ardent disciple, who runs an ashram near Chikkaballapur in his name.

While some are favouring Chakravarthi, currently general secretary of the trust, should take over as the president, many are supporting R J Ratnakar, Baba's nephew.

The trust was shaped just a year ago and members include P N Bhagavathi, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, Indulal Jain, a Mumbaibased industrialist, V Srinivasan, a Chennaibased industrialist, S V Giri, former vice-chancellor of Sathya Sai University, and R J Ratnakar.

Even outsiders are apparently eying the cov-

Lokpal bill in monsoon session, says Manmohan Singh Admitting that there was 'growing feeling' amongst people that present systems were ineffective in dealing with corruption, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh last week said he hoped to bring the more stringent anti-graft Lokpal (ombudsman) bill in the monsoon session of parliament. Addressing bureaucrats of the country at a function, Manmohan Singh stressed that his government was accelerating its efforts to create a systemic response to curb graft practices in India.

'Our aim is to strengthen the legislative framework, revamp administrative practices and procedures and fast track a systemic response to fighting corruption. A committee of ministers and representatives of civil society is at work to finalise the draft of the Lokpal Bill, which we hope to be able to introduce during the mon-

Manmohan Singh

soon session of parliament,' he said.

He said a ministerial panel was also looking into the legal and administrative measures that could be taken to stop corruption.

'The group has a wide ranging mandate and I expect its recommendations to be available very soon.'

Manmohan Singh asserted that 'there is a growing feeling in the people that our laws, systems and procedures are not effective in dealing with

corruption.

'We must recognise that there is little public tolerance now for the prevailing state of affairs. People expect swift and exemplary action and rightly so.

Corruption is an impediment to faster growth, and hurts the poor most. It is a challenge we must tackle boldly and we stand committed to doing so.'

He said two bills relating to judicial accountability and protection of whistle blowers have already been introduced in parliament, and hoped that India would soon ratify the United Nations Convention on Corruption.

He said the government was committed to bringing more transparency in public procurement and to ensuring that disinvestment of public utilities and allocation of public resources are done in a manner that best safeguards the interests of the asset-owning public.

eted post. Satyajit, who was Baba's caretaker and Adikeshavalu Naidu, an MP and former president of Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam Trust are among the main contenders.

Born as Ratnakara Venkata Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926, in Puttaparthi in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, Baba was recognised since early childhood as an extra-ordinarily intelligent boy, later with his sudden miracles and spirituaility, he emerged as reincarnation of saint Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Sai Baba had predicted his own death in 2019. His followers claim that he would be reborn as Sai Baba’s third and final reincarnation in 2023 in a small village in the state of Karnataka. His followers claim that, since he has died earlier than foreseen, he could return as early as next year.

Cong wins maiden Gandhinagar civic election AV Correspondent In what is being seen a setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party in general and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in particular, Congress last week won 18 out of 33 seats that went to polls on April 19 for the newly-constituted Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC).

Gandhinagar is also the parliamentary seat which is represented by former deputy prime minister L K Advani.

The maiden fight for 33 GMC seats was a keenlycontested battle between ruling BJP and opposition Congress. Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) Chief Arjun Modhwadia was ecstatic after the final tally of 18 and 15 between Congress and BJP respectively, said "The people of Gandhinagar have voted against the Modi government. Congress has started year 2011 with hoisting victory flag in state capital Gandhinagar."

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INDIA

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

DMK MP Kanimozhi named co-conspirator in 2G scam Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's daughter and DMK MP Kanimozhi has been named as a coconspirator in the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the 2G spectrum case.

Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal has, however, not been named in the 2G case.

Former Telecom Minister A Raja has been charged of taking bribe.

Kanimozhi, Dayalu Ammal and Sharad Kumar, Managing Director of Kalaignar TV, have 20, 60 and 20 per cent shares in the channel respectively. CBI names Kalaignar TV MD Sharad Kumar as accused in the chargesheet. The CBI had earlier told the court that Rs 2 billion connected with the 2G spectrum scam had travelled from a partnership firm of Swan Telecom Promoter Shahid Usman Balwa to Kalaignar TV Pvt Ltd. The agency had said the money travelled

Natural fizz that is what Punjab wants to create

Punjab science council and agri varsity to train farmers and rural women in producing naturally carbonated beverages and fruit vinegar.

So far, it was the private sector that cashed in on the health food craze.

But now Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST), in collaboration with Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, has arrived on the scene with innovations that not only have high nutritional value, but also have a squeeze of tradition.

PSCST will set up units for production of natural vinegar from sugarcane and grapes and non-alcoholic self-carbonated beverages from fruits for demonstration and technology transfer to farmers, farm women and entrepreneurs. The fizz in the beverages will be produced by natural fermentation and not by artificial agents. The project will also revive the tradition of making vinegar from fruits and vegetables which is now unheard of in Punjab.

Kanimozhi

through a "circuitous route" through Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, a DB group company and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd. Besides, the chargesheet may also throw some light on the role of former Telecom Minister A Raja's close aide Sadiq Batcha, Director of the Green House Promoters Pvt Ltd, who died in mysterious circumstances last month.

Names of Asif Balwa, cousin of Shahid Balwa, and Rajeev Agarwal, Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt

Ltd, who are presently in judicial custody, are also expected in the supplementary chargesheet. A Raja, former Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura, Raja's personal secretary R K Chandolia and Shahid Usman Balwa are already in judicial custody.

All accused have been booked under sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 109 (abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence, and where no express provision is made for its punishment) of the Indian Penal Code.

Raja was forced to resign from the Union Cabinet last year after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) faulted him for undervaluing spectrum to favour companies who were largely ineligible for 2G spectrum, and added that

Harvard professor may be Tibetan PM Dr Lobsang Sangay, an India-born 43-year-old Tibetan from Harvard law school, who has been termed a "terrorist" by China, appears to be emerging as the prime minister of Tibetan government-in-exile.

Tibetans in Dharam shala are making an informed calculation that Dr Sangay may get around 28,000 votes, his nearest rival Tenzin Namgyal Tethong around 18,000 and Tashi Wangdi around 3,000 votes in the March 20 polling. The assessment is being made on the basis of information filtering from different counting centres from across the globe. The result will be declared officially on April 27.

Dr Sangay's campaign manager Lobsang Wangyal told that these numbers were being discussed in the informed circles of the Tibetan community.

Dr Sangay's possible victory seems to have been sensed by the Chinese authorities only two days after the polling, with agencies reporting that a terror-

Dr Lobsang Sangay

ist seems to be going to become Tibetan prime minister in-exile. He has been a member of the Tibetan Youth Congress, an organization which Chinese consider a terror group.

Sources close to Dr Sangay say he has already started preparing a plan to use his global network of Harvard students and teachers for the cause. In an interview before elections, he had cited the case of Jews, who became strong enough in countries they lived in to exercise their influence on those governments.

He had also cited the example of Gandhiji, how he used the British laws against them to win freedom. His approach also seems to be fighting a legal battle with the Chinese.

the government had probably lost Rs1.76 lakh crore in estimated revenue.

Top executives in judicial custody Earlier, Managing director of real estate giant Unitech, Sanjay Chandra; managing director of Mumbai-based builders DB Realty, Vinod Goenka; and three top executives of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADAG Group group MD Gautam Doshi, group president Surendra Pipara and group senior vice president Hari Nair were sent to judicial custody last week after a special CBI court refused them bail in connection with the 2G scam.

These top businessmen had already been chargesheeted by CBI in the 2G scam case. They were denied bail on CBI’s argument that if let loose, they could tamper with important evidence.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini also turned down their plea for an interim bail of seven days for making arrangements to manage their responsibilities.

MNS targets Bachchan again Members of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena targeted Amitabh Bachchan again on Tuesday by disrupting the shooting of a film being produced by the actor's AB Corp. The cine wing of the party stalled the shooting of his film Bbuddah that was going on at United Mills in Mumbai alleging foreigners with no work permit being part of a song sequence.

A member of the cine wing said, "We found out that most of the foreigners shooting on the film set were without work permits. We filed a complaint with Shivaji Park police station and requested them to raid the set. All the papers of the 17 foreigners on the set have been confiscated and taken by the police which are being verified."

The member alleged that there were a few others with tourist visa, but when the film production unit saw them they packed the foreigners off from the set.

"Even Amitabh Bachchan who was present at the time went missing after some time," the member added.

Britain awaits Royal wedding celebration Continued from page 5 Other important details: • Timetable: The wedding day is an exercise in minute-by-minute organisation - from when the general congregation arrive at the Great North Door of Westminster Abbey at 8.45am until the fly-past by the Royal Air Force and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at 1.30pm (published last week in AV).

• Seaing plan: The Queen and other members of the Royal Family will sit in the North Lantern across the aisle from the Middleton family, who will be in the South Lantern.

• Night Before: Miss Middleton will spend the night before her wedding at the luxury Belgravia hotel The Goring along with her mother Carole and sister Pippa, who is also her maid of honour.

Prince Harry is the best man.

• Royal Transport: Kate Middleton will make her way to Westminster Abbey in the sameRolls-Royce Phantom VI car that was damaged during the student protests last year.

After the ceremony the couple are likely to parade past crowds in an opentopped horse-drawn carriage but if it rains they will use the Royal Glass Coach.

• Guest List: Afghan war veterans, political and religious leaders, charity bosses and prominent figures from the world of sport and entertainment are among some of 1,900 guests invited to the Royal Wedding.

The list of prominent guests officially released includes more than 200 politicians and diplomats, including David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg. Apparently former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have not been invited.

More than 40 members of foreign royal families will be present, as will 60 governors general and overseas prime ministers, and celebrities including Sir Elton John and David and Victoria Beckham.

• Street Parties: Fiftythree parties are planned in Bristol, 35 in Brighton, 30 in Cardiff, 12 in Edinburgh and around 500 in London.

• Music: The couple have commissioned new pieces of music for their marriage ceremony.

The Abbey's choir and the Chapel Royal Choir will perform singing duties, and the London Chamber Orchestra and Fanfare Team from the Central Band of the RAF will also take part.

Beyonce and Lady Gaga are to be perform later.

• Wedding Dress: Protocol dictates no details are released until the bride appears on the day. But a top designer at Alexander McQueen, Sarah Burton, is tipped to be chosen by Miss Middleton to make her wedding dress. Miss Middleton is expected to opt for a more traditional cover-up style.

• Vows: These are not confirmed, but Miss Middleton is expected to ditch the promise to "obey" from her wedding vows and pledge to "love, comfort, honour and keep" instead.

• Food & drink: The menu is being kept under wraps.

However, the Queen's head chef has promised "the best of British produce" will be showcased at the wedding reception.

Food will be washed down with Champagne and wine from the palace cellar.

• Honeymoon: The honeymoon still remains a secret. However, rumours include the Isles of Scilly, Kenya and the Seychelles.

• Titles: When she marries Prince William, Miss Middleton will take on a Royal title as a gift from the Queen. It is thought the couple could become the Duke and Duchess of Clarence, Cambridge or Sussex.

• Hugo Burnand is the Royal photographer • You can send video messages to the Royal couple • You can see a 3D image of the Abbey on Android or iphone or ipad.

• Kate Middleton is the oldest woman to be married to a Prince.

• It is commonly believed Diana's ghost will be present amongst all to wish William and Kate a blissful and holy matrimony!

• People can watch the wedding live on youtube for the first time.

• The streets of London are decorated with union jack.

Suresh Kalmadi arrested, remanded in CBI custody Continued from page 1 to question him about several major aspects of CWG scam.

He has been charged with cheating, conspiracy and corruption in connection with awarding some Games contracts.

The Congress MP has been accused of awarding illegal contracts to a Swiss firm for Timing-ScoringResult (TSR) system for the Games causing a loss

of Rs 950 million to the exchequer.

It was Kalmadi's role in his then official capacity as chief of the OC's executive board that led to his arrest.

A day after his arrest on corruption charges, Kalmadi's 15-year tenure as the Indian Olympic Association president came to an abrupt end after he was sacked from the post and veteran sports administrator V K Malhotra was 'unanimously' named as the

acting president.

The swift action to end Kalmadi's reign as the supremo was taken by the IOA officials in a meeting chaired by Malhotra himself.

Meanwhile, the Congress Disciplinary Action Committee has suspended from the party following his arrest.

Earlier when Kalmadi was walking into court he was greeted by a chappal that narrowly missed him.

Kalmadi didn't miss a beat

as the slipper missed him by inches and landed nearby. He continued towards court with a smile on his face.

The slipper-thrower, a lawyer named Manoj Sharma from Gwalior, was immediately detained. He has told the police he wants to fight corruption.

In court as well, Mr Kalmadi stayed calm as the CBI explained the evidence that led to his arrest. As Chairman of the

Organising Committee for the Commonwealth Games, Mr Kalmadi is accused of corruption - of inducing and benefitting from it - by delivering inflated contracts to companies that charged exorbitant rates for equipment and services employed for the Games that were held in September in India.

The CBI says it is collecting evidence on a wide range of contracts to prove this. For now, it has target-

ed Mr Kalmadi for overpaying a Swiss firm 950 million for timing and scorekeeping equipment that was used at different venues.

For the man who was the face of the Commonwealth Games and who always seemed confident that he would remain untouched in the investigations that followed, this was possibly one of the lowest days of his life.

WoMen & hisTory

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

Any quest ions wri te to m amta@a bplgroup.com

By Mamta Saha, Psychologist

Tips for a problem free life What is the secret to having no problems in life?

This is a common question that I get asked everyday. Unfortunately as a Psychologist I don’t have access to a secret supply of magic wands or magic pills! However, what I do have are simple reflections that will help you wipe away these worries so that you get closer to happiness.

One reality to accept is that no amount of worrying, guilt or negative emotion will prevent or cure your life’s problems.

Before we explore a simple strategy it is fundamental to understand the point above.

The first step is to stop in your tracks and analyse the way you look at the world. Quite simply are you an optimist or pessimist. The key is that you are not more of one then the other, but rather you are a realist. When we are too far on the pessimistic side we can fall into a trap of magnifying our prob-

lems. This creates big hurdles to jump over then to top that we may also add bouts of emotion and judgement and before we know it we are faced with mountain to jump over not a molehill!

Negative people constantly use their circumstances as a justification for why they can’t do something. They waste energy discussing how hard life is and do not realise that this pushes them even further away from achieving their goals. Do you complain too much?

Successful people have problems like us.

The difference is, they refuse to be defeated by keeping their eye on the goal and refuse to allow any obstacles to impede them from what they want. They detach any emotion and refrain from negatively judging the situation or people involved as they know that this is unhelpful to them achieving their goal.

Remember that you create your own experience of things in life. You are the screenwriter. You are the producer, and you are the director of the film called ‘your life’. You write this screenplay every moment of your life with your thoughts, your words, and your behaviour. If you want lots of drama you can have it, if you want an inspiring story with a happy ending, you can have that too. Tap into your power to be stronger then your problems, if you do that you are a winner. The choice is yours.

This summer I am running a one day Impact Boot Camp focusing on how you can get attuned to yourself, being the best – regardless of what life throws at you. If you are interested in finding out more for you, your organisation or want me to come to your city to run this do get in touch mamta @thinkspalondon.com. Good luck!

Wedding Costumes

By Swati Bhan

Marwari Wedding Marwari wedding is characterized by lavish decoration, elaborate rituals and sumptuous feasts. Apart from the rituals and customs performed on the wedding day, there are a number of traditional practices done before and after the wedding. The rites performed before the wedding day, lay the foundation for the big day. In both the bride and the groom's family, rituals performed are almost same.

The beautification of the bride and the groom, dholak party and the receiving of gifts from the maternal uncle of both the individuals are some of the rites performed before the wedding.

E n g a g e m e n t Ceremony: The engagement ceremony usually takes place at the bridegroom's residence. It is attended by the bride's father, brother and other close relatives. None of the ladies including the bride accompany the men folk for the tilak ceremony. In this ritual, the bride's father applies tika on the groom's forehead. Clothes, fruits, sweets, sword and other gifts are presented to the bridegroom.

Ganapati Sthapna & Griha Shanti Ceremony: Ganapati sthapana &

griha shanti takes place a couple of days before the wedding. A havan is conducted by the bride/groom's family, which involves the installation of the idol of Lord Ganesha.

Pithi Dastoor: In Pithi Dastoor ritual, paste of turmeric and sandalwood is applied to the bride and groom in their respective homes, after which they cannot move out of the house.

Mehfils: Separate Mehfils are conducted for gents and ladies, in which people share joyous moments together.

Mahira Dastoor Custom Wedding is the occasion that demands lavish spending. In the ceremony called Mahira Dastoor, the maternal uncles of bride and the groom give gifts and cash to the people of the house.

Janev: In the Janev ritual, the bridegroom dresses up in saffron

clothes. Before wearing the thread, he is asked to perform the havan..

Palla Dastoor: On the wedding day, or one day before it, some of the groom's relatives bring the palla dastoor to the bride's home. The palla dastoor encompasses clothes, jewellery and presents from the bridegroom. The bride wears this at the time of her wedding ceremony.

Rajput Baraat: In the Rajput baraat, there are only male members. The groom usually wears a gold achkan and churidar or jodhpurs along with an orange turban. Footwear consists of traditional jootis.

Traditional Aarti & Var Mala: When the marriage procession of the groom arrives at the bride's residence, the bridegroom is taken inside by the ladies. He is given a warm welcome by his mother-in-law by performing the traditional aarti. The bride then enters the marriage place and the two exchange wedding garlands.

Thereafter, the mama or the bride's maternal uncle holds the bride in his arms and take the first three pheras around the groom.

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By Dr Anil Mehta

Charles II – The Merry Monarch

Charles II, king of Britain and Ireland (1660-85, Stuart dynasty), and the son of Charles I, was born in 1630, whose restoration after 9 years of exile, to the throne in 1660, marked the end of republican or commonwealth rule (1649-60) led by Oliver Cromwell and thereafter his son Richard. The years of Charles’ reign are known in English history as the Restoration Period.

During the English Civil War (164251) Charles was sent to France; but after his father’s execution in 1649, he was declared king in Scotland and then crowned in 1651 in defiance of the English republic. However, in the same year, when he attempted to invade England with the help of a Scottish army, he was defeated by Cromwell at Worcester and forced back into exile on the Continent. Following a political instability that followed the death of Cromwell (1658) he was invited back to reclaim the throne (Restoration of the Monarchy). The comeback was engineered by General Monck – a commander of the Scottish army and Civil War veteran. In May 1660 Charles arrived in London on his 30th birthday to a triumphant welcome. People were tired of over a decade of an autocratic republican rule by Cromwell. It was also a restoration of Parliament, House of Lords, and the Anglican Church.

Charles showed a considerable skill in handling the difficult situation. He pursued the policy of political tolerance and power sharing. He pardoned his father’s enemies except those who had signed his death warrant (they were hanged). His efforts to extend religious tolerance to Catholics and non-conformists (i.e. dissidents – Protestants who were not Anglicans) were sharply rebuked by Parliament which insisted on the supremacy of the Anglican Church (Charles own leaning was towards Catholicism).

During the second half of the 17th century, three maritime wars were fought with the Netherlands on grounds of commercial and naval rivalry of which the 2nd and the 3rd were fought in Charles’ reign. The 2nd Dutch War (1665-67) in which the Dutch took their ships right into the Medway River in Kent, was won by the Dutch. The 3rd war (1772-74) arose from English support of a French invasion of the Netherlands.

Again the Dutch naval superiority forced England to make peace.

In 1670 Charles entered into a secret agreement with France (Treaty of Dover) in

which he undertook to convert to Catholicism and support France against the Dutch in what became the 3rd Dutch War. In return he received substantial annual subsidies from France which allowed him some financial freedom from Parliament. Knowledge of these secret negotiations brought Charles into conflict with Parliament.

He dissolved it in 1681 and ruled without it until his death in 1685.

Charles reign was marked by two terrible disasters. First, in 1665 the plague killed over 68000 people followed by the great fire of London in 1666. The fire in which the king himself helped fight the flames, raged for four days destroying 13000 buildings including churches, and making some 100,000 people homeless, though miraculously only nine people had died. Plague and fire had led to the substantial rebuilding of the city, and some of the superb buildings and churches (e.g. St. Paul’s Cathedral) that were built have survived today. Charles founded the Royal Hospital in Chelsea for retired soldiers where his Roman style statue (pictured) adorns the courtyard. His reign also saw the rise of trade and colonisation in India and America.

It was also the flourishing period for literature, theatre, art and architecture, and science. He built the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and founded the Royal Society (1660) to promote science.

Charles, though sceptical and devious, was clever, charming, easy-going, and pleasure-loving ‘merry monarch’.

His pleasures included the theatre, gambling, sports, and horse-racing (he established the racecourse at Newmarket).

He was the first monarch to have his own yacht. His popularity was assured when he reopened theatres and other public entertainments which were banned during the strict republican rule.

In 1662 Charles married a Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza. She came with a dowry of Bombay (now Mumbai). Distinctly unimpressed, and not knowing what to do with the mosquito infested island, the king rented it to British East India Company for the ‘grand’ sum of £10 a year (what a bargain!). Charles had no children by marriage but many illegitimate ones through numerous mistresses. He died of a stroke in 1685 having converted to Catholicism on his deathbed. He was succeeded by his younger brother James as James II.

28

UK

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

During CB Live on MATV on Thursday, a report of the historic London celebrations of Swarnim Gujarat will be presented, including the first ever video conferencing of Hon. Chief Minister Shri Narendrabhai Modi with five British MPs. Alkaben Shah will discuss with Sri Nalinbhai Kothari, spiritual head of Shri Raj Saubhagya Satsang Mandal, Sayla (Gujarat) about their human service activities.

If you do not have a tv, go to www.tvunetworks.com and watch CB Live on TVU Player Channel 75203

To ask questions please call on: 020 8963 1001

For more information e-mail: cblive_matv@yahoo.co.uk

Anuja Punj Prashar in support of 'Voting Yes to AV'

Continued from page 6 Chair for the Lib Dems, Beckenham, Anuja Punj Prashar told Asian Voice, “YES to AV will ensure that all MPs in future act upon pluralist principles, that take account of the diverse needs of their constituency. Today MPs in safe seats can ignore needs of supporters from other parties.

This is creating a two tier

social system in Britain that is unsustainable and engenders corrupt practices which leads to social unrest. Voting Yes to AV will ensure a safer and fairer Britain for all."

Asian Voice has regularly provided coverage of both side of the campaigns, including the take of Lord Dolar Popat, Cllr Rabi Martins and Baroness Warsi.

You know you’ve got no choice but to streamline and reassess your priorities before haphazardly saying yes to everything that smells like a potential opportunity. Try to create a balance between expansion and conservation. Jupiter in your sign makes you feel invincible, base your decisions on facts.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

Don't miss !!!

Only on CB Live - MATV Sky 793 - Thursday 7:00pm to 8:00pm

Britain split in its stand over AV

Sneh Joshi - 020 8518 5500

Coming Events l Nehru Centre, South Audley Street, London Mon 09 May 6.30 pm- Book Lunch/Discussion: Talking Politics Prof Lord Parekh, Discussants : Prof Lord Tony Giddens, Ex Director of London School of Economics, Prof Zia Uddin Sardar, distinguished writer and commentator and James Manor, Director, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London. l Late Shantilal Nathabhai Kansagra, Born: 2 June 1915 Ranakandorna, Suarashtra,Gujarat, India Died: 18 April 2011. Rajkot, Saurashtra, Gujarat, India.

Condolence and prayer meeting in memory of and to celebrate the life of the late Shantibapa will be held on Thursday 28 April 2011, 7:30-9pm at Kadwa Patidar Centre, Kenmore Avenue, Kenton Harrow HA3 8LU. Tel: 0208 909 2711. l Senior Citizen’s Group of Federation of Patidar Associations presents ‘Blood Pressure and Diabetes Seminar’ Free Advice by Dr. CD Notaney and Dr S Notaney on Blood Pressure and Diabetes at: Patidar House, Middx HA9 7EX, Contact: Jyoti Patel 020 8902 1974 l All Sai Devotees are welcome to Bhagawan Shree Sathya Sai Baba’s Bhajans (Shradhanjali) Date: Friday 29th April 2011, Time: 4pm till 6pm, Venue: Shree Krishna Temple, (BPM Hall), 10 Sampson Road, Sparkbrook, Birmingham. B11 1JL Maha Prasad will be served thereafter, Compliments: Kishor & Nirmala Parmar, Brothers and Parmar Family. RSVP: 07944 646884 l Shishukunj organises Open Day, 8th May, 9:30-12:30pm. Kingsbury, Finchley, Croydon.

Contact: 020 8381 1818

Relationships are likely to widen your horizons, but exercise caution, because some opportunities won't prove quite as amazing as they first seem. Saturn in Libra, will help you organize your priorities .People entering your life now will encourage you to move beyond your established boundaries of safety.

Whether you’re single or attached you’ll have to go through a lot, as deep psychological transformations are taking place in all types of relationships. Don’t be afraid to experiment, trust your hunches, go with your gut feeling. Solutions to minor problems should be considered very carefully.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

CANCER Jun 22 - Jul 22

This is a good time to appreciate what you have already created in your life. Of course, there are still challenging issues on both a personal and practical level. To get here you may have overcome obstacles by making important decision and choices that set the direction of your life.

LEO Jul 23 - Aug 23 Work is going to play a great part for some of you, who are widening their horizons. An important time to build too, as Saturn can be very severe and cold especially regarding relationships. Regardless of the limits, you have the capacity to turn the course of your life in a more fulfilling direction.

At work sometimes a little upheaval and chaos is exactly what you need to set things right again.

There’s no need to be complacent: the time is now.

Unpredictable energies continue to influence your health sector, bringing erratic highs and lows. The key for you as always is to remain calm and collected.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

Anything or anyone that drains your time and energy should be re-evaluated. It’s time to use that creative imagination of yours to create grandeur in your life. Don't get too carried away and lose sight of little things that mean a lot to you. There are a lot of opportunities around you.

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

SCORPIO Oct 24- Nov 22 Responsibility is your key word, especially at work. Set your own goals, rather than trying to meet those set by someone else.

Your ability to manage what you have on your plate earns respect from others around you. You will benefit in every way if you learn to self-discipline and pace yourself wisely.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

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If your ambitions have been undefined, don't worry as from now on, you understand exactly what kind of impact you need to make on the world. All those little details should run perfectly, without you constantly worrying. That means you can focus on matters that are important to you. Healthwise you will be feeling fit.

If you are your own boss, then you can look forward to a fairly good week. You may find the next seven days a little frustrating, because this is a week where you will need personal space. You may be absorbing new ideas about how to create financial independence, others may not understand, so be careful.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

It’s all about communications, as they take centre stage this week. Regarding love there will be a struggle between devotion and freedom. You need to feel completely consumed by the passion of your lover, and yet you need personal space to explore your own thing.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

It is a favourable time for dealing with financial interests with a long-term basis and all jointly held resources. There may be a certain amount of unfinished business to be dealt with. Therefore you will need to adopt a fairly flexible policy in order to accommodate the odd twists and turns of everyday life.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

HealtH Watch

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

29

De-stress by your work desk itself

By Radhika Madlani

Big Boys Don’t Cry Is work stressing you out?

Here are ways to stretch and de-stress right by your work desk.

In an age when time translates into work and more work, there may not be enough time to head out to an exercise class or go for a run. Here's for that clan of people for whom the work desk is where it's all at.

Experts reveal how you can do a few stretches and work off that stress. How to incorporate a little yoga-losophy into your schedule with these exercises.

Common health problems of office workers Tension build-ups: In air conditioned places or closed indoors, not enough oxygen gets pumped into the bloodstream. Also, in such an office atmosphere, several emotions are released and more often have to be controlled. This control adds up to emotional stress and eventually a tension buildup. Even natural movements get restricted in such office atmospheres and movements, which the body parts are not used to are forced to perform continuously. Tension resulting from the above has its effect (without us know-

ing) on various parts of our body.

Repetitive strain injury (RSI): Otherwise called, occupational overuse syndrome is a growing problem among workers, as the office jobs involve small, repetitive movements all the day. RSI in the wrist, often results from holding the arm still and moving the mouse using the wrist.

There is no perfect working position; the human body is designed to move, not to sit still. It's thus important to make sure that we constantly use different parts of the body. This build-up of tension can be reduced by a few simple tension-relieving stretches: Shoulder circling: Sit on an armless chair or stool letting the hands hang loosely at your sides.

Slowly move your shoulder forward in circular manner and repeat the same in a slow backward circular motion. Let your arms be free and easy.

Shoulder lift & squeeze: Sit with straight back with arms hanging loosely at the sides. While inhaling slowly draw your shoulders upwards towards your ear. Exhale and squeeze the shoulder

blades and lower the shoulders.

Shoulder blade squeeze: Clasp your hands behind you at normal sitting posture with the back straight. Inhale and draw straightened elbows towards each other squeezing your shoulder blades together.

Neck-stretching: Neck muscles hold up the heaviest part of the body - the head right through the day from the time we wake up till we go to sleep. Head turning in different directions; up, down, left, right, diagonal are best stretching for neck.

Upper back stretching: Sit and interlace your fingers in front of you with your palms facing your knees. As you inhale push the palms away from you to above your head so that your palms are now facing the ceiling. While exhaling lower your arms to the start position.

Chest expansion: Raise your arms slowly sideways to shoulder levels. Exhale when forming fists with your hands and push your arms backward so as to create a light squeezing of the shoulder blade and shoulder muscle. Now, exhale as you bring your arms back to start position.

Are you a parent that teaches their son that it is wrong for boys to cry? I was recently watching my daughter play in a park where the step taking the kids to the slide was a little concealed so many children tripped on their way up. What was interesting was that girls who fell down were gently picked up by their parents with sympathy to their shock and mini grazes whereas the boys who fell down in similar shock were told not to be a baby and to get on to the slide and pretend nothing had happened.

Why the gender difference? Surely each child deserves the same empathy and love? Is it in childhood that we sow these seeds of gender roles that lead to deep emotional problems in later life? ‘Boys don’t cry’ is a phrase whose origins are unknown. What I can be sure of is that the phrase was used in times when men had to go to war and therefore it was part of their mental conditioning since birth to be strong and brave so they could lead a war. These days, the gender differences are blurring as more and more women are out-earning their spouses and more men

are prepared to be stay at home dads. Surely, this early conditioning to stay strong and not to cry is unfair when the roles are now somewhat similar or in many cases reversed?

In a survey conducted in the UK, it was found that men rated just as highly on their emotional intelligence as women. It is true that emotions are expressed differently in men and women due to the chemical differences in our bodies but men are not as different as they seem. I met a ‘stay-athome’ dad recently and he confessed that the pressure to ‘put on a show’ when ‘typical’ Alpha males were in company was immense.

These old fashioned views are no longer healthy to impose on your children. All children suffer from a fall, all teenagers go through an identity crisis at some point and all adults go through a crisis at some point – whether you are male or female, the typical response on how to deal with it applies.

In growing our next generation of adults, we should be conscious not to take the appetite to raise strong children to a point where we no longer empathise with their fall-

backs.

Children need strength and reassurance in equal measure. If it is ok to express your feelings, then it is definitely ok to cry. Crying is simply a form of expression and communication and stifling it in boys is unhealthy and may actually cause difficulties in later life. Ironically, a lot of children who are too ‘brave to cry’ end up in therapy in later life.

Having said that, having a therapist is now moving from being seen as a little weird to one of a ‘status symbol’. I read an article headline recently where a celebrity was quoted to have said that unless you have a therapist, you must live an incredibly boring life!

Don’t get me wrong, I think therapy has its place as it can help individuals heal. The only point I am making is that if you are raising boys, allow them the freedom to express themselves, just as you would girls.

Just like girls, boys also fall, trip and hurt so it is ok for big boys to cry!

Quote: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

- Anais Nin

Should you have any comments or want to get in touch with me you can email on avmamaria@gmail.com

Six to eight hours of sleep is desirable Sleep is the most relaxing word. One of the most natural activities, there are times when we crave to sleep. It is always advisable to have six to eight hours of sleep a day. Sleep induces physical, mental, psychological and emotional rest.

The importance of sound sleep: It is very important to have sound sleep. Sound sleep leads to psychophysical rest. It is the process of recharging and regaining spent energy. With sound asleep, the mental stress level diminishes.

This naturally reflects in your behaviour, which reinforces relationships with others.

Sound sleep invariably leads to de-stress, and laziness does not creep in.

With lack of sound sleep, you might find that you are not in the right mood.

A disturbed mind and a disturbed body, upsets the

entire inner system of the individual. All these, ultimately reflect through emotional outbursts.

Disturbed sleep: Disturbed sleep stems from number of factors like physical disorders,

mental worries, emotional upheaval, and physical and mental exhaustion.

With proper attention and care, the disturbed sleep syndrome can be taken care of and the benefits of sound sleep could be accrued.

Insomnia: Insomnia is a deep-rooted psychological issue, which could have complex emotional and physiological elements that need to be addressed.

For insomnia, proper treatment through a psychiatrist needs to be taken.

Sleep can be categorised in three segments.

Sound sleep: Where you fall asleep as soon as you go to bed and wake up

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after a long stretch of sleep without waking up in between. You feel fresh and energetic after sleeping. You may dream, but it does not affect you.

Disturbed sleep: It takes time to fall asleep.

You tend to wake up from your sleep. There may be physical or mental discomfort.

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30

Sport

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

IPL Results from 21 to 30 matches played till Monday, 26th April Match Date Teams 21 20 April MI v/s PW at Mumbai MI won by 7 wickets Brief scores: PW 118 (17.2 overs); KXIP 124/3 (20 overs) 22 20 April KKR v/s KTK at Kolkata KTK won by 6 runs Brief scores: KTK 132/7 (20 overs); KKR 126/9 (18.5 overs) 23 21 April KXIP v/s RR at Mohali KXIP won by 48 runs Brief scores: KXIP 195/7 (20 overs); RR 147/7 (20 overs) 24 22 April KKR v/s RCB at Kolkata RCB won by 9 wickets Brief scores: KKR 171/5 (20 overs); RCB 175/1 (18.1 overs) 25 22 April MI v/s CSK at Mumbai KTK won by 8 runs Brief scores: MI 164/4 (20 overs); KTK 156/9 (20 overs) 26 23 April DD v/s KXIP at Delhi DD won by 29 runs Brief scores: DD 231/4 (20 overs); KXIP 202/6 (20 overs) 27 24 April DC v/s MI at Hyderabad (Deccan) MI won by 37 runs Brief scores: MI 172/4 (20 overs); DC 135/8 (20 overs) 28 24 April RR v/s KTK at Jaipur RR won by 8 wickets Brief scores: KTK 109 (20 overs); RR 111/2 (14.1 overs) 29 25 April CSK v/s PW at Chennai CSK won by 25 runs Brief scores: CSK 142 (20 overs); PW 117/9 (20 overs) 30 26 April DD v/s RCB at Delhi RCB won by 3 wickets Brief scores: DD 160/6 (20 overs); RCB 161/7 (19.3 overs)

Tillakaratne Dilshan seeks early exit from IPL

Tillakaratne Dilshan

Sri Lanka's new skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan, one of the stars of the Indian Premier League, has said he wants to leave the event early to travel with the national team to England on tour.

Dilshan is keen to join the Sri Lankan squad when they fly to England on May 10, which means he would have to abandon his Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL side three weeks before the tournament ends.

Sri Lanka are set to play three Tests, five onedayers and a Twenty20 international during the tour.

"Dilshan is keen to travel with the team, to try and create a bond as some of the senior players will be joining the squad a bit late," Dilshan's manager Roshan Abeysinghe said.

Sri Lanka Cricket last week allowed its IPL players to stay on in India until May 18, rowing back on a request for them to return

by May 5 to prepare for the tour.

Dilshan took over as skipper last week after Kumar Sangakkara quit following Sri Lanka's defeat to India in the World Cup final in Mumbai earlier this month.

The Sri Lankan has scored 105 runs from five games for Bangalore, who have won two of their six matches in the moneyspinning Twenty20 tournament so far.

EPL Matches this week Saturday, 30 April 2011 Blackburn v Bolton, Ewood Park Blackpool v Stoke, 1Bloomfield Road Sunderland v Fulham, Stadium of Light West Brom v Aston Villa, The Hawthorns Wigan v Everton, DW Stadium Chelsea v Tottenham, Stamford Bridge

15:00 5:00 5:00 15:00 15:00 17:30

Sunday, 1 May 2011 Birmingham v Wolverhampton, St Andrews Ground Liverpool v Newcastle, Anfield Arsenal v Man Utd, Emirates Stadium Man City v West Ham, City of Mcr. Stadium

12:00 12:00 14:05 16:10

Royal Challengers beat Daredevils in tight finish

The Royal Challengers Bangalore lower order scraped 22 from 15 deliveries to steer their side past Delhi Daredevils' 160 that had looked much smaller when Virat Kohli was there, and much stiffer after his dismissal.

But Daniel Vettori and J Syed Mohammad found the boundaries when they were needed, and got Bangalore home with three deliveries to spare.

It had looked like a cakewalk when Kohli was finding the boundaries at will in a breezy half-century that stunned Delhi. But David Warner provided the inspiration needed with a direct hit from the deep that ran out AB de Villiers. Morne Morkel bowled Kohli two deliveries later, 65 needed from 66 deliveries became 44 from 30, and the Feroz Shah Kotla crowd in Delhi started buzzing with the hope of a home victory.

But Syed flicked and steered Umesh Yadav for successive boundaries to bring the equation to 12 required off two overs, and Bangalore didn't allow Delhi back again.

James Hopes led a Delhi Daredevils recovery after the Royal Challengers Bangalore seamers had made the new ball talk on a Feroz Shah Kotla wicket that had less grass than the one on which Virender Sehwag and David Warner had plundered Kings XI Punjab.

Hopes and Venugopal Rao added 47 off 33 deliveries for the fifth wicket,

Virat Kohli strokes one through the off side in the match against Delhi Daredevils.

coming in after Zaheer Khan and S Aravind made the dangerous pair of Sehwag and Warner feel for the new ball that zipped around on a helpful surface. Hopes played the percentages excellently, targeting the three Bangalore spinners for six of his seven boundaries.

He also benefitted from

Abhimanyu Mithun's largesse; the fast bowler overstepped while getting Hopes to slash a catch to point when on 43. 20 overs Delhi Daredevils 160 for 6 (Hopes 54, Mithun 2-37) v Royal Challengers Bangalore Zaheer Khan bowled David Warner, Delhi Daredevils v Royal

Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2011, Delhi, April 26, 2011 Zaheer Khan gave Royal Challengers Bangalore their first breaktrhough Š Associated James Hopes led a Delhi Daredevils recovery after the Royal Challengers Bangalore seamers had made the new ball talk on a Feroz Shah Kotla wicket that had less grass than the one on which Virender Sehwag and David Warner had plundered Kings XI Punjab.

Hopes and Venugopal Rao added 47 off 33 deliveries for the fifth wicket, coming in after Zaheer Khan and S Aravind made the dangerous pair of Sehwag and Warner feel for the new ball that zipped around on a helpful surface. Hopes played the percentages excellently, targeting the three Bangalore spinners for six of his seven boundaries.

He also benefitted from Abhimanyu Mithun's largesse; the fast bowler overstepped while getting Hopes to slash a catch to point when on 43. Mithun, however, eventually got Hopes edging behind in the penultimate over.

Indian Premier League IV Points Table (as on 26 / 04 / 2011) Teams Match Won Lost Tied Mumbai Indians 6 5 1 0 Rajasthan Royals 7 3 3 0 Kolkata Knight Riders 6 3 3 0 Chennai Super Kings 6 3 3 0 Kings XI Punjab 5 3 2 0 Kochi Tuskers Kerala 6 3 3 0 Royal Challengers Bangalore 6 2 3 0 Pune Warriors 5 2 3 0 Delhi Daredevils 5 2 3 0 Deccan Chargers 6 2 4 0

N/R 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Points 10 7 6 6 6 6 5 4 4 4

Net RR +0.707 -0.357 +0.393 +0.095 -0.095 -0.347 -0.391 +0.248 -0.231 -0.251

IPL fireworks thrill cricket lovers

By Premen Addy The IPL thrills last week were something to savour.

First, West Indian star Chris Gayle, out of sorts with his cricket bosses back home in the Caribbean, appeared in the colours of the Royal Challengers, and took out his frustration on the hapless bowlers of the Kolkata Night Riders before a packed Eden Gardens stadium of some 100,000 souls eager and willing their side to victory.

Instead, they witnessed a cyclone in human form, as the massive Gayle tore the local attack to shreds, scoring an unbeaten 102 from 55 balls with seven sixes and ten fours in a comprehensive 8-wicket victory for the visitors.

Gautam Gambhir, the Kolkata captain, who scored a scintillating 46, accepted that in the face of the gale-force of Chris Gayle there was nothing he or his team or any other side could have done to halt the West Indies mae-

stro's bolts of lightening and thunder.

Elsewhere, in Mumbai and Hyderabad respectively, Rohit Sharma, appearing for the Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians, held centre stage in two back-to-back encounters which the Indians would surely have lost without his superlative contributions with the bat.

The Chennai Superkings were taken apart by Sharma's ferocious 87, compiled from 48 balls, which gave his side a chance to redeem themselves, which they assuredly did with a winning bowling and fielding display.

Sharma followed this with a glorious unbeaten 56 in company with the robust Andrew Symonds (44 not out), the pair putting together 102 runs, the last 41 of which came in the two final overs. To have pulled out two such innings in such dire circumstances was a singular triumph of mind and matter. Sharma is a young man of extraordinary gifts

Rohit Sharma

who is surely destined to tour England this summer with the Indians.

Virat Kohli is another proven member of India's youthful generation together with Ambati Rayudu. At least two of the princely trio should turn up on these shores with the national side. Among the country's bowling riches, note the names of pacemen Praveen Kumar and Varun Aaron, and spinners Amit Mishra and Rahul Sharma, both purveyors of leg-breaks and googlies.

There were one or two others in either category who caught the eye and might

find favour with the selectors as they move from ground to ground in search of gold.

The Sri Lankan speedster Lasith Malinga, who has announced his retirement from Test cricket, has given the Mumbai Indians an attacking option with the ball that no IPL side has remotely been able to match. Virender Sehwag's 77-run blitz off 35 balls for the Delhi Daredevils was a sign that he is warming up nicely for England.

How strange that the Daily Telegraph's Steve James should have turned his nose up at the standard of IPL play. The sight of the English county batsmen pushing and prodding their way through Twenty/20 matches in front of a few pensioners in deck chairs, with dogs and stray sheep for company, tells all there is to know on the current state of the English game in its shorter format. Mr James would be well advised to hold his peace. Better that than making a fool of oneself.

SPoRt worLd

Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011

Mahendra Singh Dhoni more influential than Barack Obama: Time magazine

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who inspired the country to its first World Cup title in 28 years, found himself ranked above global football icon Lionel Messi and US President Barack Obama in the Time' magazine's list of 100 most influential people in the world for the year 2010.

Dhoni, ranked 52nd in the chart, was the only Indian sportsperson to make the list which also included four other Indians Mukesh Ambani (61), V S Ramachandran (79), Azim Premji (88) and Aruna Roy (89).

Dhoni found himself way above Messi who was just below Obama at the 87th spot in a list topped

by Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who became the "Spokesman for a Revolution" in Egypt.

The 29-year-old Dhoni, who has 2,925 runs in 54 Tests and 6,049 runs in 186 one-dayers, is the most successful Indian cricket captain, under whom the team also won the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in 2007.

The magazine described Dhoni as captain fantastic.

"Dhoni is now universally acknowledged as India's best captain ever.

He's also its most likable, exuding both cool confidence and down-to-earth humility. "As astonishing as Dhoni's talent is his background. Indian suc-

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

cess stories are usually associated with pedigree, connections and power.

Dhoni, from a small-town family of modest means, had none of these, but he's shown India that you can make it with only one thing: excellence," read the

Sri Lankan players allowed to play in IPL till May 18 Faced with intense pressure from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the Sri Lankan cricket board (SLC) allowed its players to play in the Indian Premier League till May 18.

Lankan sports minister M a h i n d a n a n d a Aluthgamage announced this after meeting key SLC members and the selectors in Colombo.

The minister had earlier given Lankan cricketers a May 5 deadline. “We had a chat with SLC officials and the selection committee and considered the BCCI’s request,” Aluthgamage said “It was decided to allow the Lankan cricketers to play their IPL matches till May 18. They will have to report to their national

team on May 19 in England to play the second practice match.” BCCI was thinking of blocking the IPL fees of the Lankan cricketers and refusing to pay SLC its share of 10% of the players’ earnings.

Sources said top Lankan cricketers also expressed their wish to stay on and play their IPL matches before joining their national team for the England series.

But the Lankan sports minister dismissed such threats and even claimed that his country didn’t bow to Indian pressure. “It wasn’t a government issue,” he said. “Based on the request of BCCI, we decided to allow our cricketers to fulfil their IPL commitments. Don’t forget, we share a good rap-

port with both BCCI and the Indian government.”

Aluthgamage, however, admitted that monetary assistance from the Indian board to its Lankan counterpart was one of the reasons behind avoiding a showdown. “From time to time, the BCCI has been helping SLC with finances and we have high regard for the BCCI,” he said.

The Lankan series in England starts on May 14 with a practice match against Middlesex, followed by another warm-up game against England Lions on May 19. “We will manage the first match with some of the newcomers in the Lankan team, but the players will have to be in England on May 19 for the second match.

Aluthgamage said.

Malinga retires from test cricket

Injury-prone Sri Lanka paceman Lasith Malinga on Friday quit test cricket in a bid to prolong his career in one-day internationals and Twenty20 matches.

Malinga is playing for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League and had recently made himself unavailable for Sri Lanka's tour of England, attracting criticism that he had chosen to play for club over country.

"In January this year I wrote a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket and released a statement to the media confirming that I planned

Lasith Malinga

to reassess my Test future after the World Cup," he said in a statement.

"I decided that I needed to make myself unavailable for test cricket in an effort to prolong my career as a national cricketer for Sri Lanka. Although I am sufficiently fit to play both

ODI and T20 cricket, I have a long-standing degenerative condition in my right knee that needs to be carefully managed."

The 27-year-old Malinga, known for bowling accurate yorkers, bagged 101 wickets in 30 tests with his slinging action since making his debut against Australia in Darwin in 2004.

He took a three-year break from test cricket until coming back to the format when he figured in a home series against India in 2010. He has three five-wicket hauls in a test innings to his credit.

accompanying profile penned by author Chetan Bhagat.

"Dhoni doesn't just lead a cricket team; he's also India's captain of hope. And he didn't just win India the World Cup; he also taught India how to win." Dhoni, the highest-ranked Indian in the latest 'Time' Magazine 100, is only the second Indian sportsman after Sachin Tendulkar to make the prestigious list. The others global celebrities included in the list are US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is incidentally ranked higher than Obama at 43rd, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (6), and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange (9).

I was forced to join IPL: Gayle

Chris Gayle

Former West Indies captain Chris Gayle who gave a miss to the entire home series against Pakistan for the lucrative IPL, said that he was left with little choice after being ignored for the ODIs and a T20 international by the national selectors.

The explosive opening batsman, who joined the Royal Challengers Bangalore after Dirk Nannes was ruled out with an injury, said an uncertain future forced him to accept the Indian Premier League franchise’s offer.

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) had reacted angrily to Gayle’s decision, saying that the move was unacceptable and disappointing.

The 31-year-old Jamaican was critical of the remarks and said, “I was actually forced to make this decision based on what was happening around me and based on what has happened to players - (Ramnaresh) Sarwan and (Shivnaraine) Chanderpaul.”

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Becks top Forbes rich-list; Man-U the richest team David Beckham has been declared the highest-paid player owing to his recent endorsement deals with Pepsi and Electronic Arts.

His earnings in 2010 were estimated at 24 million pounds, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 23 million pounds and Lionel Messi’s 19 million pounds.

Manchester United, on the other hand has been ranked the most valuable team at 1.12 billion pounds, ahead of Real Madrid (900 million pounds) and Arsenal (700 m pounds).

This is for the seventh consecutive year that United have topped the Forbes list beating Real Madrid and Arsenal at second and third posi-

David Beckham

tions respectively.

Club Barcelona has dropped to fifth place with German side Bayern Munich leapfrogging the Catalan team.

AC Milan is the highest-placed Italian side on the list falling in sixth place with Juventus in eighth and Inter Milan at 10th spot.

Rafa reigns supreme on clay Rafael Nadal underlined his crushing dominance on clay when he overwhelmed Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 6-2 6-4 to win a sixth Barcelona Open title in seven years on Sunday.

The world number one followed up his victory over Ferrer in last week’s Monte Carlo Masters final with a display of brutal hitting and near-impeccable defence to become the first player in the Open era to win two tournaments at least six times.

His run in Barcelona, where he beat Ferrer in the 2008 and 2009 title matches, was interrupted by his withdrawal last year due to injury, while his triumph in Monaco was his seventh straight title at the event.

“It’s incredible to

come back here to my tournament and my fans after not being able to play last year,” Nadal said in an interview with Spanish television, before hoisting aloft the huge Conde de Godo trophy. “I am very, very happy for the win and sorry for David, who is having a fantastic year and deserves a title. It’s bad luck for him having to play me in three finals but it’s my sixth title here and it’s a huge delight,” he added.

Nadal’s latest success on the red dust was the 24-year-old Mallorcan’s 31st clay title, putting him one clear of Bjorn Borg and Manuel Orantes on the all-time winners list and third behind Guillermo Vilas (45) and Thomas Muster (40).

Bob Houghton quits as Indian football coach

Experienced Englishman Bob Houghton's tumultuous yet productive fiveyear stint as Indian football coach came to an end in controversial circumstances after a bitter stand-off with the AIFF, which had charged him for racially abusing an Indian referee.

A release from the AIFF said that the racial abuse charges against Houghton has been dropped in the absence of evidence while the coach has decided to quit due to personal reasons.

"The AIFF has perused the reply filed by

Robert Douglas Houghton to the show cause notice issued to him. It has also conducted internal investigations through an inquiry committee and a report has been submitted to the AIFF. "Based on the report of the inquiry committee, the AIFF feels that in the absence of any definitive and concrete evidence the allegations against Houghton cannot be sustained and therefore the AIFF agrees to withdraw all charges and allegations made against him," the AIFF release said.

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Asian Voice - Saturday 30th April 2011