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Warrior Kid Surrey boy faces up to a life of pain with courage
MEDICINE MAN
Young award-winning pharmacist is one to watch
Yoga Queen
Reigning Miss India Canada spreads good vibes
the forgotten mahatma
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Features 08 Prez Briefing - UBC head speaks about various issues - including his Indian heritage 14 Warrior Kid - Surrey boy faces up to a life of pain with courage 20 Medicine Man - Young award-winning pharmacist is one to watch 24 Bollywood giants honored 26 “Home” boys in Delhi 28 Yoga Queen - Reigning Miss India Canada spreads good vibes 30 The kid’s a genius 32 My Genes and Memes 36 AAP tsunami routs BJP, Congress in Delhi; Hazare says it’s Modi’s defeat 38 Indian real estate market a developer’s dream: Indo-Canadian billionaire 40 The Forgotten Mahatma 42 Profile : Happy Boyal
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Style, Beauty & Culture 52 Khadi goes chic, turns money-spinner
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58 How to look good in a little black dress 60 Winter fashion: Match hairstyle with beard
PREZ BRIEFING UBC head speaks about various issues - including his Indian heritage
Food, Art, Entertainment 62 Creativity, novelty ruled the roost in Bollywood in 2014 64 Pakistan’s short, sweet stories dominated TV in 2014 66 From ‘The Lunchbox’ to ‘Homeland’ - Nimrat Kaur looks back 68 What drives actors to film production?
Life, Etc 70 72 74 76 78 79 80 82 82
Around Town Modi’s ‘I, me, myself’ style may have hurt BJP Love Skiing? Check out the best destinations Fun and Flavour on the roadside dhaba Experiments happening in every Indian kitchen: Chef Sanjeev Kapoor Working too long at office desk will turn you violent Better environment, quality teaching lures Indian students to foreign varsities ‘Two Women’ and More: A diva’s remarkable story Monotheism inevitable but wasn’t a break with antiquity
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Publisher’s Note
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It’s a little late, but since this is our first issue for 2015, and our first opportunity to do so, we’d like to wish our readers a Happy New Year. We hope you’ve had an excellent January and will continue to have an outstanding year ahead. We are excited to be back with our inaugural 2015 issue, which as usual is jam-packed with informative and entertaining stories, helpful lifestyle advice and lots of great art. It also marks the first step in what we hope to make an innovative year for Desi Today. More on that further below. If there’s one common theme that runs through our major local stories in this issue, it is the word “passion”. In our cover story, University of British Columbia President Professor Dr. Arvind Gupta points out in a wide-ranging interview that to be a success in life, one has to be passionate about the things you do. That is the gist of the advice the trailblazing head of UBC has for young people contemplating their future.
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Elsewhere, we profile award-winning and newly-graduated pharmacist Aaron Sihota. And it is Sihota’s passion for activism, especially on behalf of his chosen profession, that won him a prestigious national award within the pharmacist profession. And it is that passion to continue being an activist that marks him out as a young man to watch in the future. Passion also drives the reigning Miss India Canada, Annu Gaidhu of Mississauga, Ontario. Gaidhu, an expert yoga instructor and in the final year of her undergraduate studies at university, tells Desi Today that she is passionate about using the fame and opportunities provided by her title win to help motivate others, especially the young, to excel in whatever they do. Passion of a different kind is practised every day by the Terry and Deep Mann family of Surrey. Their middle son, Brayden, 11, has an extremely rare medical condition that requires daily and extensive wound and pain management. From the stoic, cheerful manner with which Brayden faces up to his constant ordeal, to the dedicated and businesslike labours that his parents undertake every day to keep their son safe and comfortable, to the support Brayden’s two brothers offer, there is plenty of gritty passion on display in the Mann household. Looking at the year ahead, we have some exciting plans in store - and we’d like to involve you in bringing them to fruition. We hope to encourage and expand feedback from you, the Desi Today community. We’re going to rely very much on your opinions on what works for you, and what doesn’t. Enjoy this issue. See you for the next one.
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Photo by Martin Dee courtesy of UBC
UBC head speaks about various issues - including his Indian heritage
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he number 13 is not normally associated with good things, but for Professor Dr. Arvind Gupta, it is a significant symbol of positive progress, both personally and for Canadian society in general. Gupta, a renowned expert in research and innovation, was appointed on July 1 and installed as the University of British Columbia’s 13thPresident on Sept. 12 last year for a five-year term –the first non-Caucasian to head the university in its 106-year history. In fact, 2014 marked exactly 100 years since the construction of the first building on UBC’s Point Grey campus. Gupta’s achievement is a major milestone for Canada’s South Asian community as UBC is one of the world’s leading institutions of higher learning, consistently occupying a very high position on regular world university rankings. Gupta comes from a family of high academic achievement. Both his parents were academics, his father a chemistry professor and his mother one of the first women to teach mathematics in India at a college in Uttar Pradesh. Originally from Lahore, now in Pakistan, the family moved to India’s Punjab during the Partition in 1947. Gupta was born in Jalandhar. When he was five, the family moved to Detroit, but within two years, they moved again to Timmins, Ontario. Gupta grew up in Canada. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. before earning a Masters and a Ph.D at the University of Toronto. Gupta spent 18 years in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University before being recruited by UBC in 2009 as a professor of computer science. In 2012, he joined the federal government’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council. From 2000 until his appointment as President of UBC, Gupta was CEO and scientific director of Mitacs Canada, a national non-profit that worked with government and industry to fund student researchers. As President, Gupta heads not just a world-class academic institution, but a huge facility in terms of budget and human resources. UBC has grown to more than 58,000 students and 15,000 faculty and staff, with an annual budget of $2.2 billion. It makes an estimated $12.7 billion annual contribution to the B.C. economy. Gupta is married to Dr. Michelle Pereira. They have three daughters, two of them current UBC students.
interview Desi Today (DT): You are now about seven months into your tenure as president of UBC. Has it been fun, is it everything you thought it would be? Professor Gupta (PG): Oh, it’s been really great. I’ll talk about two things that have impressed me very much. First, the passion that’s on campus for lots of different things going on and how much people believe in what they’re doing. What they’re looking for is encouragement, that we’re supportive of them. And I’ve really enjoyed learning about all the different initiatives going on on campus. When you’re a regular professor, you don’t know (about the) many fun, interesting and exciting things on campus that are really pushing the envelope. The other interesting thing for me is how supportive the external (non-UBC) community is of UBC, how many people on the outside are looking to contribute to the university and ensure its success. That’s been very heartening for me. What we have to do is to be good at articulating what it is that we want to accomplish, what are our aspirations. If we can link those two things together - the passion inside the university and the external support - there is a huge amount that we can do here at UBC. DT: Did you come in with a particular long-term vision you would like to see the university implement during your tenure? What is the direction you want the university to go? If so, are you succeeding in that? PG: Well, I have a couple of big goals. One is to really enhance the academic mission of the university - to focus on the excellence of the research that we do, to focus on whether we are making sure we are giving our students all the tools for lifetime successes. The second is to think about how we integrate the university with the outside community, how we make sure that the outside community sees UBC as a tool for their own aspirations, whether that’s through sports or artistic endeavour, or through academic programming or new kinds of research meeting the needs of the outside world, or engaging in civil debate. These are the two big pieces. And we have been having a pretty robust dialogue on campus on those two things, on what are the actions we need to take. Universities are not top-down structures. They really work on the energies of their people. The community here on the UBC campus embraces this way of thinking, and we can see the path forward to see some milestones accomplished.
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DT: You have a reputation for championing research and innovation. Is there something in particular in these areas that you would like to see done at UBC? PG: I think it is very critical for a university to link our students with research. The students are the main way we impact the world. And if we can make sure our students have this ability to think about new problems and to tackle new issues, we can have a very significant footprint on the outside world. We can really make sure the outside world has lots of resources to tackle new kinds of challenges that it sees. We are having a pretty good discussion on how to link our research and our students, how to support our students better. DT: So far, have you faced any challenges during your tenure? Have there been any sort of unexpected obstacles? PG: Well, I like to see every challenge as an opportunity for doing new things. UBC is a very large organization, so getting to know all of the university does take some time. Previously (as a teaching professor), I knew a piece of the university, and as I’ve discovered all the other parts, I’ve realized there’s so much more that we can do. Thinking through how all the pieces of the university fit into one picture of what we can accomplish has been what other people may call a challenge, but I call an opportunity to do much more. DT: You are the first South Asian Canadian head of one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious universities. What are your thoughts on that? PG: Well, I guess I think of a few things. I was born in India, so I’m definitely an immigrant to Canada. What’s great about Canada is that we Canadians work very hard to make sure that the best people move forward. People always ask me whether I faced a lot of discrimination in my life, and I say, well, everybody’s faced some kind of discrimination. Women face some kind of discrimination, short people face some kind of discrimination. But when you live in a society that encourages people to succeed and doesn’t put glass
ceilings in your way, that says that if you really strive for things and become accomplished, then there are ways that you can advance, it’s something very special. It’s interesting how people in some other parts of the world have said to me that maybe this is the kind of thing that can more easily happen in Canada than elsewhere. I think what is great about Canada is that we perpetually push everyone to do well. The other thing I wonder about sometimes is how do we make sure that UBC is accessible to groups that traditionally have not participated in university - we’re talking about aboriginal communities, we’re talking about certain immigrant communities - how do we really try to make UBC embrace the broader community. Education is so critical if we’re going to build advantages across all spectrums of society. We’ve been thinking quite a bit about our accessibility to the broader society, to underprivileged communities, to communities that traditionally wouldn’t think about coming to UBC, and even international communities. We have a lot of international students, but are we really reaching out to some countries that traditionally don’t send students to UBC? We have a very nice program at UBC where we bring about 100 African students to UBC. Africa hasn’t been a big draw for the Western world in terms of university participation. And yet we know if we want Africa to advance, we’re going to have to raise the quality of education there. So when people ask me this question about my South Asian heritage, it is difficult in my mind to separate that and what I believe as a human being is the right thing to do. DT: There’s a perception that foreign students, who usually end up paying double or more the university fees that Canadian students pay, are given preference in gaining places at UBC. Is that a fair assessment? PG: I think UBC and other Canadian universities should do a better job in communicating how we do our admissions. The reality is that for our domestic enrolment (Canadian stu-
Dr. Arvind Gupta (fifth from left) and other delegates of BC Premier Christy Clarke’s Trade Mission to India. FEB / MAR 2015 News With A Desi View
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COVER First Nations Welcoming Ceremony
dents), we get funding from the government. We get funding for about 32,000 domestic students. UBC has been very aggressive in this area, in that we try to take in more than the 32,000 domestic students that are funded. We have huge demand from Canadian students for UBC entry. So we’ve been taking hundreds of Canadian students beyond the numbers funded by the government. The international students are a separate pool. We don’t use our domestic seats for international enrolment. And we do expect international students to cover all their expenses. But they are not taking away any seats from the domestic students. One thing we have done to meet the huge
original access to post-secondary education. We only have about 750 aboriginal students at UBC. The total student population at this campus is just shy of 50,000, and in Kelowna, it is just over 8,000. The question is, how do we reach out to these communities, and make sure they have the tools to succeed when they come to university? We want to make sure that not only do they get access but that they succeed when they come here. We have to work with the high schools, we are looking at maybe we should create summer programs. It’s not an easy problem to tackle. Other universities have also tried to tackle this problem. I think we should work on this as a system
Installation Photo Credit Martin Dee
demand is to set up a second campus in the Okanagan, and that’s given us the capacity to make UBC more accessible. We have about 7,000 domestic students in that campus now. DT: Anecdotal evidence suggests that the number of South Asian Canadian students at UBC is far below what would be considered a reasonable proportion of the community’s size. If that’s true, why do you think that is the case? PG: This is a very complicated question. Simon Fraser University has a campus in Surrey, and we see a higher proportion of South Asians going to that campus. At the same time, there are a number of demographics, including South Asian, that have lower representation at UBC. The aboriginal communities are in a much worse position. We have very low ab-
(of universities). That of course doesn’t take away the onus on UBC to be looking for a solution. DT: You grew up in Canada. Do you still have connections with (your birthplace) Jalandhar? PG: Well, I have family in Jalandhar. A couple of years ago, my wife and I spent some time there. Lately, it’s becoming harder and harder to visit. Every time I go to India, my trips are getting shorter with more work to do on each trip. Since I’ve been appointed to this position, my life has got a lot busier. In Jalandhar, we have my uncle’s family and they have a house there. My dad was actually born in Lahore, and during the Partition his whole family moved to Punjab.
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My family says my appointment as UBC President was covered in all the local papers there. DT: Let’s say you’re talking to a group of young Canadians - seven, eight years old. What would be your advice to them on the kinds of jobs they should train for when they become adults? PG: Let me tell you a story. I was talking to a parent last night. She said her daughter was really good in science and maths, and that they (the parents) want her to go to UBC and become a doctor, but she wants to study English literature. The parents really don’t see a future for their daughter in English literature. I said to her that at some point, you have to tell people to follow their passion, and they’ll figure out what to do. If you pursue your passion, at some point you will understand what you want to do with the rest of your life. People who are passionate do very well in life, because when you are passionate about something, you can also become passionate about other things. But when your passions are subdued, everything becomes a business, something you do because you have to do it. You want to do things because you love doing them. You have to be open-minded to try things. And you can find other things you have a passion for. And you will eventually sort it out on what you want to do. Here’s the reality. Nobody knows what the job market will look like 20 years from now. But people who are passionate naturally morph into what society is looking for. I also believe that being creative is always a great route to success because creative people solve problems that are ahead of them, instead of looking backwards. So what I say to young people is, work
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COVER Dr. Gupta and his family at his installation.
extremely hard at your passions but keep an open mind to new things. Always try new things. Don’t worry if you fail somewhere. DT: Isn’t it also a challenge for universities to look 20 years ahead and tailor programs that will be relevant then? PG: We have to make sure the skills we give to our young people can easily be changed as society changes. Trying to read and guess what the job market looks 20 years from now is very, very difficult. But we know that people who communicate well, who are critical thinkers, who are analytical, who question things, who know how to take new challenges and solve those problems - we know that these kinds of skills are always going to be useful. It’s hard to imagine that these skills would ever go away because if these skills go away, then you don’t need human beings. So you’re right, we (the universities) have to be very reflective of society. The reason to have engagement with the wider community is to really gauge what’s happening in the community, but the reverse is also true - the community also needs to engage with us because young people will be the citizenry of tomorrow. The community can help us shape the young people we have so that they contribute the maximum possible to society. We know that the more different kinds of experiences young people gain in their lives, the better they will do. So whether it’s co-ops or volunteer work, or gaining international experiences, or doing research with somebody, the more experiences they can get, the better they will do. We are not going to create work opportunities on campus. We need the outside world to do that. So I think it is a real partnership between us and the broader community in shaping these young people that we have to become contributing citizens. We should all think together about how we can produce great Canadian citizens. It’s a multi-faceted effort. Many people say to me, oh, we need you to produce students who get great jobs so that they pay taxes. I say, absolutely. (But) we also need great students who will participate in democracy. We want them to question society and participate
in societal debate. We want them to volunteer their time or money or both for good causes. We want them to have kids and instill good values in their kids. DT: Would you say that computer and web technology will be a must-have skill in the future no matter what job you do? Even today, most jobs seem to require at least some skill in operating computers. PG: One thing I will tell you, all these young people on our campus are very technologically savvy! Yes, it’s become innate having a fluid understanding of technology. Technology is now so embedded in societies everywhere in the world that it’s understood that technology has an impact on everything we do. DT: We know what happened in Paris recently (the attack on the Charlie Hebdo sta), and it seems to relect what’s happening in the wider world. What are your views on what seems like a general resurgence in religion, on what sometimes appears to be people going backwards rather than forward? Millions of people around the world don’t seem to be headed towards a good future. PG: First of all, let’s look at the optimistic side. Throughout history, we’ve had large parts of humanity put into very unfortunate situations - in the big scheme of things, probably less today than in the past. We had times in our history where a third of the world was starving to death. So we have made progress in some
Dr. Gupta tips off a varsity basketball game.
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FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
areas. Unfortunately, around the issues of violence, there’s been a continuing challenge for us as humanity for many, many years. And we don’t seem to be able to bridge to an understanding that we’re all the same, and we have the same aspirations for our children. We all want to live in a safe world, we all want to have basic necessities of life. We really have a problem getting to that place. We are lucky in Canada that for the most part, we have a very respectful society, and we value and cherish the same fundamental beliefs in the freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion. We haven’t had the kind of clashes we see elsewhere. I think one of the questions we should be asking ourselves is, what can we do as a society to propagate this idea of fundamental human rights. That really means we have to step back and ask, where is the breakdown occurring in the conversation around the world? I don’t think there are any short-term fixes. I don’t think somebody will find a magic wand and solve things. But I do think education has been a huge facilitator in solving some of the past challenges humanity has faced. I think as the level of education rises, one sees a reduction in these kinds of conflicts occurring. Education is not the only thing, but education is one tool. Also, forms for respectful dialogue (are needed), and universities provide that. We at UBC very much encourage respectful dialogue. We encourage people to speak in ways that aren’t directed as hatred towards other groups. We’ve defended that vigorously at UBC. I’m really proud about what past university presidents have done to keep our campus open and accessible to all groups, but also make it clear that anything that’s violent and promotes hatred will not be tolerated on campus. We need to have places for those dialogues. I often wonder whether universities should be doing more to facilitate those conversations that might lead to some better understandings. When people are dying, whether in France or in Syria, I don’t think any of us can rest and say it’s not an issue for us. It’s an
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issue for all of us. DT: Another creeping, what some would call disaster, for the world is the degradation of the environment. It seems like it’s a losing battle. What are your views on this issue? PG: It is possible to address environmental issues, (but) it takes a lot of work. And it takes a little bit of not being too selfish to address this. The reality is we need to do the research to make the world more environmentally sustainable. We know that emissions of large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is not a sustainable way to build this planet for the future. So we need now new ways of addressing these issues. In our university, we’ve had a sustainability initiative going on now for more than 10 years, and we’ve met our Kyoto targets. We are one of the first universities in the world to do that. (UBC reached its Kyoto Protocol targets in 2007, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from academic buildings to six per cent below 1990 levels, despite a 35-per-cent growth in floor space and a 48-per-cent growth in student numbers.) We put a lot of energy into understanding how one develops the technologies, the policies, the frameworks to create more environmental sustainability. Every building we now put on this campus has to be a LEED gold or LEED platinum, meaning that it’s going to be very low in consumption of water and production of waste. (LEED certification is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. The LEED rating system - developed and run by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington D.C.based, non-profit coalition of building industry leaders - is designed to promote design and construction practices that reduce the negative environmental impacts of buildings.) So we’re putting a lot of work in. That’s the role of universities. We have to take the leadership on these big issues, and then we have to make sure that as we develop these new policy ideas, new technologies, new ways of doing things, we’re letting the world know about it. My personal view on the environment is that we shouldn’t just jump from one thing to another. We should actually do the hard work to find better solutions. And that’s why I’m very proud that UBC is putting so much energy into looking for solutions. We have to address this major issue of long-term environmental sustainability. What’s the solution for 100 years, 200 years from now? When I say we have to be a little selfless, it’s because most of us won’t be here 100 years from now. We have to think today about two, three, four generations from now. That takes a lot of heavy lifting. But I’m very optimistic that we’re doing it, that we’ll find better ways to do things.
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FEATURES Weekday mornings in a house with schoolgoing kids are usually a time of orderly (and sometimes disorderly) chaos. From the moment the first wake-up alarm rings until the last of the kids is deposited at school, it’s a constant whirl of activity as everybody gets dressed, fed and prepared to start the school and work day. But in the Terry and Deep Mann household in Surrey, the mornings are far more hectic – and far less joyful – than in your average multi-kid home. They too have three kids – all boys – ranging in age from just four to 15, but their middle child, Brayden, 11, requires extraordinary attention every morning. That’s because Brayden suffers from Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rarest of rare medical conditions. Essentially, when you have EB, you have extremely fragile skin. The slightest friction causes blisters, ranging from relatively small ones to wounds where whole swaths of skin are simply peeled off the body. Basically, Brayden’s parents wake up almost every morning to find their middle son injured – sometimes slightly, sometimes badly. Those who have children will understand how traumatic it is to have your child sustain an injury, especially a bad one. To know that you’re going to find your child injured every morning, 24/7, is beyond imagination. “Daily life is difficult, very difficult,” says Deep, Brayden’s mom. “Watching your son in pain every day is very hard.” What makes the pain – literal for Brayden, emotional for the rest of his family – even more unbearable is the knowledge that a
cure is nowhere in sight. “Not being able to do anything besides wound and pain management is really hard on all of us,” says Deep. And wound and pain management for Brayden is a much more complicated process than it would be for an ordinary person. A whole range of materials, including needles of various shapes and sizes, is required. “It takes two of us to do everything,” says Terry. “Any kind of minor friction, any kind of slight rubbing of the skin can either peel it right off or cause blisters. He can even get it when he’s sleeping. It can happen even if the clothes he wears rub his skin, depending on the type of clothes he wears. The clothes he’s wearing right now has fleece lining inside. We just try and buy special clothing for him. “The blisters are not like the blisters you and I get. His just grow and grow because the layers of skin don’t attach to each other,” says Deep. But adversity often brings the best out of people, and the Mann family has adopted a businesslike attitude to the situation they find themselves in. Brayden bears his neverending and excruciating pain with a stoic and even cheerful attitude for someone of such tender age, his parents go about their arduous daily task of cleaning up his blisters as just another part of their routine, while his brothers Tajan, 15, and little Akshay, 4, interact with their brother as normally as they can. But the effects of Brayden’s condition go far beyond the physical. The emotional and psychological toll is immense. “It’s important to understand that Brayden cannot do all the things a kid of his
What is EB? – A simple explanation
Most people, including doctors and specialists, are unaware about it and governments don’t fund any research. 14
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
Human skin has two layers, with the outer layer anchored firmly to the inner layer. However, in EB sufferers, due to a genetic mutation, the anchoring filaments are missing or damaged due to the absence of certain proteins. Thus, the outer layer of skin is essentially floating free above the inner layer – and any kind of friction peels it right off. The blisters that result from these injuries are described by doctors as being similar to 2nd or 3rd degree burns. There are three broad categories of EB (see chart), with progressive severity. There are numerous sub-categories within the three broad categories. EB oc-
curs in every racial and ethnic group, and affects both genders. It is not contagious and does not affect mental acuity. The condition occurs in one out of 17,000 people on average. In severe forms of EB, common occurrences include open wounds, disfiguring scars, musculoskeletal deformities, internal and external blistering, malnutrition and deterioration of eyes and teeth. EB can be disabling and life-threatening. Daily inspection of wounds is a requisite, with the high threat of infection. Bathing and bandaging are so agonizing that strong pain medication is often required.
www.desitoday.ca
BY BACHAN RAI
Surrey boy faces up to a life of pain with courage
Warrior Kid www.desitoday.ca
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EB ?
FEATURES
What is
A CONDITION THAT MAKES SKIN FRAGILE.
50%
Chance of passing on
Dominant One parent carries the gene for EB and is affected by the condition themselves.
3 MAIN TYPES SYMPTOMS
Simplex Dystrophic
25%
Chance of passing on
Recessive Both parents carry the gene but unaffected and usually don’t know.
Junctional How can I help?
Spontaneous Mutation Neither parent carries EB. Gene mutates spontaneously in either the sperm or the egg before conception.
age needs to do. He cannot play any kind of contact sports. If a soccer ball so much as brushes against his skin, it will peel off. He cannot indulge in horseplay with his brothers or his friends. To even show physical affection for him as a parent is extremely difficult,” says Deep. She describes how traumatic she and Terry felt when Brayden was just a baby, and even carrying him often left him wounded. “And at that time, we didn’t know what the problem was, which really made the situation worse for us,” she says. And neither is it easy for Brayden’s brothers. “I coach Tajan in soccer and hockey, and he wants nothing more than to have his brother playing with him,” says Terry. “It’s constant heartbreak for us whenever we see his injuries,” added Deep. Such are the needs of Brayden that Deep took extended leave of absence from her job a year and a half ago and is now full-time engaged not just in the care of Brayden, but in spreading awareness of EB as much as she can. And that’s because the family also has to deal with outsiders on a constant basis like any other set of parents. Brayden goes to school, and it’s no sur16
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
RARE
Blister
ANYONE
GENETIC
NOT CONTAGIOUS
NO CURE
1 : 17,000 One in seventeen thousand live births affected.
Any one of 16 EB proteins that bind the layers of skin is defective. Layer of blistering determines the Type of EB.
Epidermis Basement Layer Dermis
Breakdown
Epidermolysis Bullosa
Why?
Gentle skin contact causes blistering, open wounds, sores.
How is it passed on?
Outer Skin
Hereditary, but parents may not know they are carriers.
Diagnosis
Skin biopsy (examining a small skin sample under a microscope). Dermatologist identifies where skin separation occurs.
Equally affects Both Genders and Every Ethnic Group.
Being genetic, there is no risk of ‘catching’ EB.
yet ! But Research is hopeful. Current treatment is based on Wound Care and Pain Management.
Treatment
Blisters - have to be punctured, drained and dressed. Bandaging - to protect skin from friction and infection. In severe cases daily bandaging takes hours and is very painful. Oral Care - done meticulously by hand as oral cavities can be smaller than normal with blistering and fusing of internal skin.
Wide range of severity within different types of EB. More than 30 variants are known. With good wound and pain management, many EB sufferers lead fulfilling and reasonably unrestricted lives.
Blistering on Hands and Feet. Blistering all over body. Contraction of joints Fusion of fingers and toes Contraction of mouth membranes Narrowing of oesophagus. Possibility of skin cancer. Marking and damage to skin on face Internal blistering of oral tracts. Extensive blistering over the body. Blistering of membranes of internal organs Severe complications can often kill.
Possibility to develop Squamous cell carcinoma (Aggressive Skin Cancer) before age 35yrs.
LETHAL?
Children with severe forms of Junctional EB can die within the first 2 years due to malnutrition and anaemia caused by blistering of pharynx and oesophagus.
Spread the awareness of EB within your social groups.
70%
5% EB Types as frequency of overall EB
25%
SUPPORT RESEARCH
Research and clinical trials have achieved major advances in the understanding and treatment of EB. Eventual cures based on procedures such as Stem-cell or Gene Therapy seem promising but require ongoing funding. Rare diseases are low priority for Governments and pharmaceutical companies so research relies heavily on charitable fund-raising. Learn , get involved in local initiatives and make donations at:
www.debracanada.org prise that he’s been the target of unkind treatment of all sorts due to the extensive bandages he has to wear as protection against skin contact and as a curative device. “We had a real tough time last year because he didn’t want to be at school. He’s had issues with other children in the past. He was teased by another child where he wanted to commit suicide. He’s very self-conscious about it. We try to teach the kids at school about it, making people more aware about it. He wants to be normal and be like all the other kids,” says Deep. She says part of the reason outsiders – kids and adults – often react to Brayden in unacceptable ways is simply a lack of awareness about EB because it’s so rare. In fact, it is so rare that it took a few years for Brayden’s condition to be accurately diagnosed despite regular visits to the doctor. “The first year of his life, he was misdiagnosed several times. I even had a specialist tell me that Brayden’s condition was not painful at all and that he would grow out of it. And I asked him, if it was not painful, why is my child screaming? Imagine trying to pick up your little baby, and it peels his skin right off. “We had no idea at that time about what
This is an overview of EB, not to be used as a means of diagnosis. Severity and treatment options vary widely in individual cases. Contact your local health professionals if you suspect your child has EB. Designed by FIENDISH.com for DEBRA-International.
. Licensed under creative commons 2013 Free to print, distribute and display.
FIENDISH .COM
to do to take care of him,” says Deep. He was finally accurately diagnosed by Dr. Julie Prendivilleat of Children’s Hospital (of Vancouver), who at that time was the only specialist in western Canada that knew about this condition. But until today, knowledge about EB even among healthcare professionals is not that widespread. Brayden and his parents are regular visitors to Children’s Hospital, and Terry describes how at one time up to a dozen residents (doctor interns) would crowd into the room whenever Brayden was attended to by a regular doctor. “They (doctors) are also learning from us every time we go in. But it just got too much for Brayden (so many residents observing him). He felt like a guinea pig. So we requested that the number of residents watching him be kept at a less intrusive level,” he says. Brayden also sees a psychiatrist, a psychologist, pain management personnel, an occupational therapist, even a dental specialist. “We spend a lot of time at Children’s Hospital. Up to four times a week sometimes,” says Terry. Brayden also has to take various medications all the time to manage the pain. www.desitoday.ca
Brayden goes to school, and it’s no surprise that he’s been the target of unkind treatment of all sorts due to the extensive bandages he has to wear as protection against skin contact and as a curative device.
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“He takes regular painkillers like Tylenol and Advil. They (the doctors) are wanting to put him on morphine. Painkillers are going to be a lifelong thing for him. We are trying to avoid giving him opiates but that’s all you can do for pain management. He also takes medication for anxiety and to help him sleep,” says Deep. In addition, all kinds of non-medical adjustments have had to be made to accommodate him. “Even the couches in the house have blankets on them just to prevent skin friction on Brayden. We had to remove the carpets because when he fell on the carpets, his skin would peel right off. We put hardwood in,” says Terry. Which all adds up to huge expenses. Fortunately, Brayden’s medical and preventative needs are now covered by the government. “We were rejected for coverage for about seven or eight years. We had to buy his supplies on our own. But then, a new nurse came
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FEATURES to his case and she took it upon herself to press his case for coverage. Subsequently, BC’s home care program reread the file, they sent another person to come and look at him, and finally a few years ago, they started to cover the cost of all his medical supplies,” says Deep. Terry also has extended care benefits at work. Yet, even with the medical coverage, EB keeps extracting a high financial toll on the family, which is exacerbated by the fact that Terry is now the only bread winner in the family with Deep devoting full time to grappling with EB. The vehicle for spreading awareness about EB is the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association of Canada, or DEBRA for short. Deep is a director of the Ontariobased organization. “Board members and volunteers for DEBRA are all parents. We don’t know how many people have this condition across Canada, partly because there are those who don’t even know they have this condition. “I’m on so many social media spreading awareness about EB, and I keep discovering new people who have the same condition, or who only become aware after reading about it in the postings. In that way, we at DEBRA are also able to reach out to these people and offer whatever assistance we can,” says Deep. The condition is so rare that in the Lower
(From left) Tajan, Terry, Akshay, Deep and Brayden 18
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
Mainland, there are probably only about 10 families who have a member suffering from this condition, says Deep. There’s a little bit more awareness of EB in the US. “There’s DEBRA America, but also other organizations,” says Deep. There are also a number of celebrities who champion the fight against EB in the States. “Singer Eddie Vedder of the band Pearl Jam created a group called EB Research Partnership which raises millions of dollars, and Courtney Cox of TV’s Friends holds an annual fundraiser in California,” says Deep. DEBRA also helps EB sufferers materially where it can. “For instance, they helped us get a special bed – a soft-gel bed usually used for burn victims – for Brayden,” says Deep. But the ultimate solution – a cure for EB – remains out of reach for the near future. “There’s a doctor who works in the US who is really involved and doing a lot of research on it. But it’s going to take a long time. Among the things they are working on is gene therapy and gene editing. But it is still nowhere near finding any kind of cure,” says Deep. The Manns are just thankful for each day that they are able to successfully cope with Brayden’s condition, and remain optimistic and hopeful for the future. “In the long term, I don’t think it (Brayden’s condition) is going to get worse. But it’s hard to say. An infection could kill him,” says Terry.
EB FUNDRAISER The Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research Association of Canada (DEBRA) holds an annual fundraiser in B.C. This year’s event will be held on Feb. 26 on Grouse Mountain. To be called Bella’s Ball, it will be a “broomball” event – a game played on ice, but with participants wearing ordinary shoes, and using brooms in place of hockey sticks to manipulate a ball around the ice. “We supply the brooms, and participants bring their own helmets and regular shoes. The idea of wearing regular shoes on ice is to provide an indication of how difficult it is for many EB sufferers to move around easily,” says Deep Mann, a DEBRA director and organizer of the fundraiser. This is the third time the annual event will be held. The event usually highlights one or more children suffering from EB, and this year, the spotlight will be on Jonathan Pitre of Ottawa, and Kourtney Kajawa, another child suffering from EB. Jonathan was the subject of a major story on EB by CTV as well as by The Ottawa Citizen. More details and a video depicting Jonathan’s condition are available at http://ottawacitizen.com/news/localnews/butterfly-child-dreams-of-the-northern-lights (NOTE TO READERS: The video on the website contains graphic images of Jonathan’s EB-related wounds.) Deep says that during the first fundraiser, DEBRA raised $13,000. That increased dramatically to $40,000 last year. This year, the organization hopes to raise much more. “We’re now able to get sponsors, and that is a big help,” says Deep. Among the sponsors this year are the host Grouse Mountain, which will donate all money raised from lift tickets on that day to DEBRA, and Scotiabank. Deep has appealed to the public to donate to DEBRA and help battle EB. “Most people, including doctors and specialists, are unaware about it and governments don’t fund any research. DEBRA Canada provides support and medical assistance funding for people with EB. But we would like to grow and be able to fund research for a cure to be found. Without donations and sponsors, that is not possible. All donations are tax deductible and we are always looking for volunteers because we are a non-profit, voluntary organization. New ideas for fundraising are always welcome,” she says. More details on EB and how to donate or volunteer are available at the DEBRA website at http://debracanada.org You can also contact Deep Mann for more information at deep@debracanada.org www.desitoday.ca
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When we go to a pharmacy to fill a doctor’s prescription, the men and women – usually wearing white lab coats – behind the counter will duly take your prescription, ask you to come back a bit later, and hand over your medication in exchange for payment. Traditionally, not much more has generally been expected of them by most people. But it’s also become increasingly common in recent times for them to call you aside and have a brief conversation regarding the medication you’re getting. If important advice or caution needs to be given, they will give it That’s an indication of the changing role of pharmacists in our healthcare system. The pharmacist of the near future will increasingly become more than just a prescription filler. He or she will become an important adviser and source of help for many of your health and medical-related issues. In fact, Aaron Sihota sees a day when your local community pharmacist may be ACTUALLY prescribing medications, just like a doctor, for your minor ailments. “As we move forward, you’re going to see specialized roles within pharmacy. Right now, as a community pharmacist, you’re already doing many different things, but the need for a pain phar-
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MEDICINE MAN g n u o Y
g n i n n i W d r a w A t s i c a m r a h P h c t a w to
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is one
N BY BACHA
RAI
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FEATURES macist or a travel pharmacist, those kinds of specialities, you’ll see them grow quite a bit,” says Sihota. And as the pharmacist profession grows and develops in B.C. and Canada, you can bet Sihota will be out front and center in that process. The recent graduate from the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences has already made his mark as an activist leader within his chosen field and is all set to continue advocating for causes relevant to his profession. Sihota’s effective leadership role was recognized within the profession when he won the Commitment to Care & Service Award (CCSA) for Student Leadership last year. He was the only winner of the prestigious national award given out by Pharmacy Practice, the leading Canadian pharmacy publication. “I was recognized for my work as a pharmacy student, and especially within the leadership aspects of pharmacy. I was nominated for the award. There was only one such award, and it was a real honor for me to be recognized for the contributions I had the opportunity to make,” says Sihota, who is now a licensed pharmacist. Sihota was also a winner of the Future British Columbia Leader Award for 2014 given out by the British Columbia Pharmacy Association. Sihota’s activist nature meant that he took a leadership role in UBC while he was a student there, and the award was a recognition of his efforts on behalf of the 800-odd students in his faculty. Not only did he get elected as the head of his faculty’s student body, but he also served two consecutive one-year terms as an elected student member of the UBC Senate. The Senate is the highest academic governing body for UBC, and its 100-plus membership is a mix of academic and administrative staff, distinguished alumni, community representatives and
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Sihota (right) with (from left) Bob Nakagawa, Registrar of the College of Pharmacists; Bev Harris, college board vice-chair; and Doug Kipp, board chair.
student representatives for the various faculties. The B.C.-born and raised Sihota says he was involved in advocating for his fellow students and his future profession from the time he entered university. “I was really interested and involved with the issues on the academic side. When you have policies that affect the students, sometimes you feel your voice as a student is not really heard, so these kinds of things really interested me - how we can better put a student voice at the table. I ran on a platform of getting students really involved in the decision-making process,” he says. Sihota’s leadership activities for his profession were by no means limited solely to the university context. He also spoke at an international digital health conference in September 2014, about how technology can
help advance healthcare and “really enhance the patient-healthcare provider relationship.” And he also got the opportunity to speak to B.C.’s legislators about the industry when he was part of a team that visited the B.C. Legislature in Victoria for Pharmacy Day last year. He says his conversations with various MLAs revolved around pharmacy issues as well as general healthcare issues. Activism, it seems, is in Sihota’s blood. In high school, he was elected the Grade 12 representative to organize events for his high school year. And he was also involved when the City of Vancouver had an advisory committee on diversity issues. “I sat on that committee. We talked about how the city could reduce barriers to access for different communities - the ethnic communities, the LGBT community. I was probably the youngest person there,” he says.
Which naturally brings up the question: Is there a possibility of him running for political office sometime in the future? After all, any election, whether at school, university or for political office, requires good campaigning, and his successes so far seem to indicate that he’s an effective campaigner. Sihota is non-committal about any political plans. “If you’re passionate about an issue, it is a big help. And you also must have a good team for a successful campaign. I was blessed to be working with a strong team who supported me. It’s also about your ability to communicate ideas with people. I enjoy that, especially if I’m really passionate about the issue,” he says. Right now, Sihota’s passion continues to be his profession, and the role it can play in the overall healthcare system in the province. “I definitely will continue to be involved, hopefully in advocacy on behalf of our profession and healthcare in general. I think if you look at the provincial budget, every single dollar we spend, about 42% is spent on healthcare, which is staggering. “We have to create innovative solutions to make healthcare sustainable down the line, especially as the population ages. So I will absolutely want to be part of the debate and discussion around it, and I think that pharmacy is definitely going to be a big part of the solution to that problem. “I don’t know about politics, but it has to be something that must make you really passionate about being engaged. I definitely want to be engaged with the issues. I don’t know what that will translate into in future. Right now, my focus is totally on being a very good pharmacist, on understanding the issues that are facing our profession and our healthcare system in the province,” he says.
Sihota (third from right) poses with fellow winners and officials at the BCPHA Awards ceremony. Photo by Scott Brammer
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Sihota (right) at the BCPHA Award ceremony last year. With him are fellow winner Dawei Ji (left) and Paul Buxton of Apotex. Photo by Scott Brammer
One thing is certain. If Sihota does decide to throw his hat into the political arena, he will bring the kind of specialised expertise to the table that is so often missing among many whose political ambitions hang merely on being able to manipulate the candidate nomination process. Coming back to the pharmacy profession, Sihota says he would definitely encourage young people to work towards becoming pharmacists. “I say, very strongly consider it as a really good profession, and I absolutely encourage it. Some people say that in the Lower Mainland, there is presently an oversupply of pharmacists. But there is a shortage as you move further out to the island or to the north of the province. “There are so many opportunities. You generally think of pharmacists as associated with retail settings, but there are hospital pharmacists, military pharmacists, other things you could be involved in - teaching, leadership and advocacy, even on the government side,” he says. You need at least a minimum amount of undergraduate coursework before you can apply to do pharmacy at a university. “This is my second degree, and about 30% of each class has a degree before coming to pharmacy. It’s a professional program because you have to write a licensing exam after getting your degree and before you can practise in B.C. or anywhere else in the country, depending on where you write your exam,” he says. The pharmacist designation itself is changing. “The program is moving towards something called the Pharm D., or Doctor of Pharmacy. Starting September this year, we are moving to a new model where you have to have a minimum of two years of prior undergraduate coursework (NOTE: Presently, you need just one year of such work). And when you come out of the program, you’ll be designated a doctor. “This is already the case in the U.S.,” he says. Whatever direction he decides to take, it seems like we’re going to be hearing a lot more from and about Aaron Sihota in the future. www.desitoday.ca
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BOLLYWOOD GIANTS HONORED Dilip, Amitabh conferred Padma Vibhushan They were “kings” during widely-separated eras of Bollywood history, but popular stars Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan are both among the most recent recipients of India’s second-highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan. The two actors, generally regarded as the No. 1 stars in Bombay during their respective stints as leading men of Hindi cinema, were among the nine recipients of the awards this year. Also among the Padma Vibhushan confer24
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ees is long-time politician and often-controversial Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, whose name is synonymous with Punjab’s post-Independence political history. There probably aren’t too many people of South Asian origin around the world who are not familiar with Bachchan. Having first risen to the top of Bollywood as the swashbuckling hero of blockbuster movies such as Zanjeer, Kabhie Kabhie and Sholay, Bachchan has in recent years parlayed his Bollywood fame into a successful career as a politician and television
personality. In addition, he continues to make films as a character actor. If Bachchan was a recent Bollywood “king’, Dilip Kumar was the top star during the 1950s and 60s. Those were the years when Bollywood “conquered” the world, a hold which the Mumbai film industry hasn’t relinquished since. Together with films starring Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand, Dilip’s movies, such as Naya www.desitoday.ca
Daur, Madhumati, Mughal-e-Azam and Leader, spread Bollywood’s magical “masala” far and wide. The list of winners this year also includes former Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani, and the head of the international Ismaili community, Prince Aga Khan. The names of the award recipients were released on Jan. 25, the eve of India’s Republic Day. In addition to the nine Padma Vibhushans, 20 people were honored with the Padma Bhushan and 75 with the Padma Shri. Seventeen of the awardees are women. A number of architects of India’s space exploits, which include putting an orbiter around the planet Mars, were also honored. Space scientists S. Arunan - the project director for India’s Mars mission - and S.K. Shivkumar, director of the Indian Space Research Organisation Satellite Centre and who played a key role in building the deep space network (DSN) that was used in tracking the Chandrayaan and Mars Orbiter inter-planetary satellites, were awarded the Padma Shri. Also among the Padma Vibhushan awardees is senior nuclear scientist M.R. Srinivasan, 84, who had negotiated on behalf of India with Russia for the supply of reactors for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP). “I am happy to receive the award. It is the recognition for the people who worked with me,” said Srinivasan, who has nearly 60 years of experience in the Indian nuclear sector and has overseen the construction of most of the country’s atomic power plants. Other notable awardees for the various Padma awards include Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, journalists Swapan Dasgupta and Rajat Sharma, lawyer Harish Salve, filmmaker Jahnu Barua, former chief election commissioner N. Gopalaswami, wrestler-turned-coach Satpal, maths “Nobel Prize” winner Manjul Bhargava and Carnatic singer Sudha Raghunathan. The Padma awards are given in various disciplines and fields of activity such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service. The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order; and the Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. These awards are conferred by the Indian president at ceremonial functions around March or April every year. www.desitoday.ca
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“HOME” BOYS IN DELHI Ethnic Indians represent Canada, U.S.
In North American sports terminology, you could call it a home and “home” game. The two North American countries – Canada and the U.S. – are now represented in India by envoys who are themselves of Indian heritage. New Canadian High Commissioner to New Delhi, Nadir Patel, and new U.S. Ambassador to that country, Richard Rahul Verma, presented their credentials to Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Jan. 16. Both Patel and Verma are the first persons of Indian origin to represent their respective countries in their ancestral homeland. And naturally, both have impressive credentials and come with considerable diplomatic and administrative experience. The new Canadian envoy is the son of Gujarati immigrants. Speaking about his new role, 44-year-old Patel said: “I look forward to working with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government to further expand ties between Canada and India. “There are several areas where collaboration is already strong, and there is scope for even greater cooperation to enhance our mutual prosperity, security and people-topeople ties.” Incidentally, Modi himself is from Gujarat, and previously was Chief Minister of the state. Prior to his arrival in India, Patel served as Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial 26
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Officer for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. Before that, he held a series of high level government positions, including Chief of Staff to the National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister, and Secretary to the Cabinet. From 2009 to 2011, Patel was Canada’s Consul General in Shanghai. Patel was selected in 2012 by the Embassy newspaper as one of the 80 most inluential Canadians shaping Canada’s foreign policy, and in 2014, he was placed in the Top 100 list in the Power and Inluence magazine. In January 2011, he was profiled by The Globe and Mail newspaper as one of “45 Canadians Changing the World”. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the HEC Paris School of Management. Around 1.2 million Canadians are of Indian origin and are second only among Asian Canadians to the 1.5 million-strong ChineseCanadian community. Meanwhile, Verma, whose parents migrated from India to the U.S. in the 1960s, said he was looking forward to work with India on the shared goals of security, development and prosperity. Verma also acknowledged the contribution of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent to North America and vowed to “strive to live up to the high standards they have set”.
They “took a chance like my parents, who worked hard, who continue to pursue their dreams, and along the way have helped ensure India and the United States become the closest of friends and partners,” he said. His appointment came just days ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to India. Verma had served as assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs at the State Department in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2011. The New Delhi post had been vacant since the previous U.S. ambassador, Nancy Powell, quit last May after India-US ties hit a low following a major diplomatic spat over the December 2013 arrest and strip search of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York. www.desitoday.ca
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n e e u Q a g Yo
When yoga enthusiasts go for classes at “Bliss Yoga with Annu” at various locations in Mississauga, Ontario, they get more than the spiritual and physical renewal the ancient Indian art provides. They also get the opportunity for upclose and personal interaction with a reigning beauty queen. Their instructor is Annu Gaidhu, the current Miss India Canada. Gaidhu was crowned on August 16 last year at a glittering Toronto event. Yoga is one of the many passions of Mississauga resident Gaidhu, who is also in the final year of her bachelor’s degree at Ryerson University, majoring in Child and Youth Care. Desi Today caught up with Gaidhu to find out how winning the title has changed her life six months on.
1 It’s now almost six months since
you won the Miss India-Canada title. Tell us how winning the title has changed your life. Winning the title has changed my life in many ways that I’m grateful for. I’ve been provided a platform from which I can connect with my community as well as people all over the world to share experiences and to inspire others to create a truly successful and fulfilling life. Whether it is through social media, or newsmedia interviews, I am able to share with others what I consider the greatest gift - to love ourselves. Plus, winning a brand new car and a trip to India (as part of her prize) was not too bad either!
2 What were the positives of win-
ning the title? Were there any negatives?
Reigning Miss India Canada spreads good vibes
There have been many positives. To begin with, each and every day I’ve been able to learn something new about myself. And I’ve been able to do things I wouldn’t have been able to do if not for winning the title. These include hosting events, taking acting classes and modeling. The only negative, if you can call it that, is that not every woman in the world is able to experience and embrace my experiences. I really stepped out of my comfort zone when I entered the Miss India Canada pageant. I believe that by stepping out of your comfort zone, you can turn inwards and begin to discover things about yourself that you’ve never known.
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Yoga has been a healing tool for me mentally, physically and spiritually. This subtle sense of mental and physical contentment becomes so pervasive, so much a part of you that it carries over into the whole of your life. And in doing so, it helps clarify your deepest longings and motivations, which in turn restores hope and purpose in life. The beauty of yoga is that it can be practised pretty much anywhere. If anyone has any questions or simply wants to share their yoga journey and what has inspired them, I am always open to hearing it!
5 Finally, what is happening in your per-
sonal life? Are you planning to “settle down” soon, or are you totally focused on your career going forward? Do you have someone special in your life? We all can create truly fulfilling and successful lives, and it begins when we stop making life choices from a place of fear and learn to live in a world of love. Even though not every woman will be able to experience winning this title, I hope to provide value for women around the world. I invite them to draw out that imaginary crown that they already have.
3 Bring us up to date on your academic career. I’m completing the final year of my undergraduate degree at Ryerson University for Child and Youth Care. My passion is helping others and providing opportunities for them, and for me that begins with children. I am in the process of creating a yoga-based life skills program for youth that I hope to get integrated into the educational system one day. I believe in the strength and resilience of youth. By providing them tools and knowledge through yoga, I try to help them cultivate self awareness, emotional resilience and the importance of responding rather than reacting. These attributes provide opportunities for personal empowerment. I want to offer a program to young people to help them overcome obstacles positively, no matter what kind of experiences they’ve been through as children.
4 How is your yoga school doing? Did you
see a rise in enrolment after winning the title?
My business has tripled in the last few months. It has been fantastic! The satisfaction of having a rush of clients wanting to make changes in their lives has been remarkable. Winning the title has provided me a platform to create awareness about the great www.desitoday.ca
benefits of yoga. By connecting with people within my community and by being a role model, my goal as a yoga educator is to improve the physical, emotional and social development of those around me. I am in the process of creating my own YouTube channel and creating online videos that people can access through my website www.blissyogawithannu.com so people all over the world can access and learn first-hand the essentials of yoga through me. I hope this year I’ll get to connect with as many people as possible.
I am in love with human diversity and meeting new people, so any opportunity I have to connect with people, I embrace it. I have many special people in my life who nourish me mentally and physically. My life has been quite an exciting journey so far and I continue to look forward to see where it takes me and what opportunities arise. I think we all deserve the best that life has to offer, so I will never settle for anything less than a magnificent life, and I encourage everyone to do the same. We deserve it!
I am in love with human diversity and meeting new people, so any opportunity I have to connect with people, I embrace it. I have many special people in my life who nourish me mentally and physically. FEB / MAR 2015 News With A Desi View
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Thirteen-year-old Indian-American Shubham Banerjee from Santa Clara, California, who developed a low cost Braille printer called Braigo using the Lego robotics kit last year, has opened a full-ledged company to develop the machines for the masses. Banerjee’s start-up, Braigo Labs, has got funding from Intel Corporation, among others, said his website. The invention was featured at the first ever White House Maker Fair in June last year to “celebrate a nation of makers and help empower America’s students and entrepreneurs to invent the future”. Banerjee was invited to the White House for developing an accessible solution for blind and disadvantaged people across the globe. “Technology should help us to make our life easier and not become a burden due to high cost,” Banerjee posted on his website. “Our mission is to bring ‘Humanely Optimised’ technologies that are innovative, affordable, simple and catering to solving life’s problems,” he added. Born in Hasselt, Belgium, Banerjee has formed Braigo Labs in Palo Alto, California, and plans to start selling a more durable version of the printer. The eighth-grader from Champion School in San Jose, California, wants to finally develop a desktop Braille printer that brings the cost down to US$350 from the current US$2,000 for education, teaching and home use purposes. Banerjee came up with the idea of integrating his love of Lego and willingness to find an alternative way to help the visually impaired. It resulted in the invention of an open source cost-reduced “DIY braille printer”.
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Shubham Banerjee with his family. 30
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Shubham’s idea involved the clever use of a $350 Lego Mindstorms EV3 kit along with a few bucks worth of hardware from Home Depot. He took a basic, preexisting pattern for a printer and reworked it with new software and hardware enhancements to print out letters in braille. The result is called the Braigo. The Braigo’s controller is set up to scroll through the alphabet. You choose a letter and it prints it out with tactile bumps on a roll of calculator paper. The print head is actually a thumbtack, which Banerjee settled on after also testing a small drill bit and a mechanical pencil. The first prototype isn’t terribly fast, but it proves the concept works. Banerjee is working on improvements that will allow it to print full pages of text.
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He called it “Braigo v1.0” as a proof of concept. Currently, the company is working on different innovative ideas to bring to market alternative solutions to costly products currently available, starting with braille printing/ embossing technology. The feat has also earned him a place on the 2014 “Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 40 Under 40” list. From IANS
Shubham Banerjee with Dr Simon J Clemett from NASA www.desitoday.ca
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My Genes and Memes “The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.” — Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher, 6th century BC
My mom and dad, the foundation of my genes and memes, not only contributed to my organic structure, but they also fashioned my habits, my behaviour, my conscience and my spirituality. I believe I am exactly what they were and a little bit more, perhaps. They were kept deprived of any significant formal education; had not earned any certificates, degrees or diplomas that they could frame and display on their house walls to impress their visitors. They were a simple couple, who raised their children within the congesting and limiting boundaries of their limited ambitions. They were the kind of peo-
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ple who would say, “One plain slice of bread is far better in your own home town than two, buttered on both sides, in a far away foreign land.” When they were growing up, the boundaries between literacy and education were rather blurred, especially in the lower middle, even in middle class families. If daughters, especially daughters, could read Holy Scriptures, respond to letters, keep an account of dirty laundry handed to the washer man and count up to one hundred, they would be deemed educated. The emphasis was not on academics, but
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on developing housekeeping skills, managing household resources and serving and keeping the in-laws and husbands pleased. The only message that counted and that parents drilled into their heads every living moment of their unmarried childhood was, “One day you will get married. Do not let your in-laws find faults in your conduct and our parenting.” I believe the author of this message was the mythical sovereign of the earth, Manu, who dates back to the post-Vedic period. He laid down the fundamental codes of conduct for Indian men, women and castes in Manusmiti, the Laws of Manu. One of his laws that sets the standards of education was, “The nuptial ceremony stated to be the Vedic sacrament for women is equal to the initiation to their higher learning, serving the husband is equivalent to living in the house of the spiritual teacher (gurukul), and the household duties are equal to the daily worship of the sacred fire;” (the Laws of Manu; tanslated by Georg Buhler; Dover Pubication, Inc.; New York; Ch. II/67; pg. 42.) However, Manu could not be held exclusively responsible for depriving and confining women from upward mobility and to household chores. The purdah restraints, the Islamic gift to their womenfolk and to the conquered and subjugated subjects, also contributed to keeping Hindu women smothered behind veils, curtains and brick walls. Truth is, until Islam and Christianity and their laws overshadowed India, Indian culture was free from the yoke of purdah restraints. We expressed love freely. Sex was not a dirty word. The stone carvings of the Khajuraho temple (950 and 1050), Vatsayana’s Kama Sutra (400 BCE and 200 CE) and the Sun Temple of Konark (13th century) indicate the freedom men and women had to live their lives and perform their social and spiritual dharma, earning atha (wealth for household and charity), indulging in kama (love for procreation) and working for moksha (salvation). Mom grew up under the stern supervision of her mother during the period when social freedom was scarce. What women were not going through during Shah Reza Pahlavi’s time in Iran, Hindu women were going through thousands of miles away in India. I recall when I was a five-year-old boy, I used to see both Hindu and Muslim women going out cloaked head to toe accompanied by male escorts. Even their Tonga carriages used to be wrapped around with curtains for privacy. Following the traditions of the rulers, women www.desitoday.ca
Truth is, until Islam and Christianity and their laws overshadowed India, Indian culture was free from the yoke of purdah restraints. We expressed love freely. Sex was not a dirty word. The stone carvings of the Khajuraho temple, Vatsayana’s Kama Sutra and the Sun Temple of Konark indicate the freedom men and women had to live their lives and perform their social and spiritual dharma, earning artha (wealth for household and charity), indulging in kama (love for procreation) and working for moksha (salvation). could not step out of their homes unveiled and not wrapped in sheets and shawls. As someone who came along later, I have no recollection of the time when mom joined my grandfather’s family as their first daughter-in-law. I did not see her dressed up in silk bridal saris, wearing a big bangle-sized gold ring with white pearls in her nose and red ivory bangles on her wrists. I never had the opportunity to watch and listen to her converse with her male elder in-laws from behind her long veil, or through children. By the time I arrived, her age and financial circumstances had completely transformed her dress code: her silk saris into five-yard workperson’s cotton dhotis, her bangle-sized nose-ring into a small clove-shaped gold stud and her expensive tusk and gold bangles into glass bangles. I always saw her as a 24/7 mother and homemaker. If mom was a victim of Manu’s and Islamic directives, dad was a victim of my grandfather’s superstitions. Dad told me he had an older brother. One day, when he was 14, in Grade 8, he returned from school with burning fever. My grandfather did every thing to help him get better. But he never recovered. His death broke his father’s heart. He believed someone jealous of his son’s progress had put an evil eye on him, and to ensure his second son (my dad) a long life, he pulled him out of school after Grade 6. Mom and dad attempted to live their lives based on what they considered auspicious and virtuous (good and right), meritorious and sacred. They were strong believers in God, in His incarnations, in the concept of rebirth and in the outcome of one’s past and
present karma. That was their recipe to righteous living. Their definitions of heaven (swarga) and hell (naaka) were simple. Swarga was most certainly not a place where 75 diamondcoloured virgins await you after you die (after killing others), and naraka was not some specific region of burning fires and suffering where God sends sinners after death. Their heaven is, was and always will be a clean house, where God is worshipped, is blessed with food, clean water and clothes, where family lives in harmony, free of violence, where youngsters respect their elders, and the elders love and protect their children. On the other hand, a filthy house, not blessed with the basics of life, where God is seldom prayed to and thanked for his blessings, and where family members victimize each other is, was and always will be hell, right here on this planet. Watching them praying to God in different forms, day after day, I came to believe that devotees were like beggars. Just as beggars could not afford to be choosy about which door to knock at for alms and which to ignore, devotees, who beg God for His kindness, could not be fussy about selecting one specific version of His many forms. They have to accept Him and worship Him in every form He reveals and manifests Himself to have their prayers answered. Mom and dad believed in the personification of God as opposed to how God is described in Islam, uncompromisingly impersonal: “la ilah illa Allah; Muhammad asul Allah. (There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.)” People unable to FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
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confine themselves to this idea are considered kafir. Personification for mom and dad was a process to bring God closer to them. This made it easier for them to adore Him and try to translate His virtues into their own lives. As devotion was an expression of their personal love for Him, im-personalisation of it would be tantamount to distancing themselves from Him. This was one big reason why mom loved Sufis. They portrayed love for Him through their devotional songs. Devotion, love and music soften harsh human attitudes, she used to say. Though my parents were not familiar with the histories of the world’s religions, they seemed spiritual visionaries. They thought if every religion had portrayed God and His attributes in pictorial or sculptural forms, as we Hindus do and several ancient religions had done in the past, it was possible the world might not have faced destruction of their temples at the hands of Abrahamic religious zealots. The works of art and religious monuments might have survived their onslaughts. Millions of innocent lives would have been saved from forced conversions, and women from rapes. A few years ago, when my wife Tripta and I visited Catholic places of worship such as Kavala (Greece), the main port in the eastern region of Macedonia, and the place where the apostle Peter came for the first time to Greece; the monastery of St. John the Theologian in Chora (Patmos, Greece), and the impressive Basilica Notre Dame de la Garde in vibrant Marseille (France), we both experienced an unforgettable spiritual impact in the Basilica Notre Dame de la Garde. Our heads automatically bowed with our joint palms raised to our foreheads in reverence and words. “Catholics are not any lesser idol worshipers than we are,” came out of her mouth.
Cultures inluence cultures. As proof, shown is an old Indonesian 20,000 rupiah bill with an inscription of Lord Ganesha, even though Indonesia is a Muslim country that shelters 23% of the world’s Muslim population (204,847,000). There are also several grand sculptures depicting stories from the famous Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, throughout Jakarta. This, I would say is a perfect example of Muslim-Hindu interfaith harmony. Lately, the Yazidis of northern Iraq have been in the news. I notice they have unmistakable similarities with Hindus as well. Their temples have the same pyramid-shaped gopua as the Hindu temples have. The Yazidi religious symbol, a peacock with wings spread, is similar to the Hindu god Subrahmanya’s mount. Their temple at Lalish has a snake symbol at the entrance. Subrahmanya, the avatar of snakes, is worshipped very closely for all snake-related pujas such as Naga Panchami. The Yazidis use a symbol similar to the Hindu forehead custom of bindi or tilak during prayer. On the other hand, we have Indian history documenting the names of the Muslim
rulers who destroyed roughly 60,000 Hindu temples, looted their gold idols and built more than 3,000 mosques on those temple sites. That was illegal, immoral and unethical then, and would be construed as illegal, immoral and unethical today. A pictorial portrayal of the Prophet Mohammad is nothing compared to this plunder. Nevertheless, I say the portrayal of the Prophet is wrong, just as the destruction of Hindu temples was wrong then, is wrong today, and will be forever. Journalists have a responsibility not to provoke the faithful in the name of freedom of speech. I consider it an abuse of a right. If pictorial portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad is forbidden, then don’t do it; respect the rule. Looking at these lovely and harmonious images above, I believe the time is right for Al Qaida, ISIS, Boko Haram and the many other anti-interfaith Islamic groups, and the Islamic countries that support these bloodhound terrorists in the name of Islam, to redeem themselves from their current and past sins. I am confident that those who brought me into this world and raised me would agree that an expression of mutual love and respect is the most powerful medicine to heal all invisible wounds. Listen to the Holy Quran:
The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest.
By Dr Suresh Kurl Dr. Suresh Kurl is a former university professor; a retired Registrar of the BC Benefits Appeal Board and a former Member of the National Parole Board.
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AAP
(AAM AADMI PARTY)
tsunami routs BJP, Congress in Delhi; Hazare says it’s Modi’s defeat
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In one of the most stunning comebacks in Indian political history, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Arvind Kejriwal scored a landslide win in Delhi, delivering to the BJP its first electoral defeat since its historic Lok Sabha triumph and reducing the Congress, that had ruled the capital for 15 years till 2013, to a virtual nonentity. As thousands of AAP activists broke into celebrations all over the capital, election officials counting the votes polled Saturday said the party was tipped to end up with a staggering 67 of the 70 assembly seats -- the highest victory margin for any party in Delhi so far. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had led an aggressive campaign against Kejriwal and had called him an “anarchist” and had even compared his ideology to that of Maoist extremists, congratulated the AAP leader as it became clear that the BJP was headed for a humiliating rout, winning at best just four seats. Modi promised the central government’s full cooperation to the AAP government, which is expected to take the oath at the Ramlila Maidan Sunday -- exactly a year after Kejriwal quit after ruling the capital for 49 tumultuous days. An emotional Kejriwal, 46, who founded the AAP only in 2012, became teary eyed as his colleagues repeatedly hugged him and lifted him in the air at his house at Kaushambi in Ghazibad bordering Delhi. Outside, activists kept a steady chant of “Paanch Saal, Kejriwal!” Kejriwal later reached the AAP office in central Delhi where he told thousands of boisterous supporters waving party flags and brooms -- the AAP election symbol -- that the AAP sweep was “a victory for truth and honesty”. There were traffic jams in many parts of Delhi as AAP supporters, a majority of them young people, celebrated on the streets. So massive was the AAP sweep that even BJP veterans lost, including some household names in Delhi. The party’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi, who was personally picked by Modi and BJP president Amit Shah to lead the party’s charge -- a move that created deep fissures within the party -- lost Krishna Nagar, considered a safe seat. “This is incredible. We can’t believe it,” AAP leader and former Delhi minister Manish Sisodia told IANS. Senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav called it a victory of proverbial David over Goliath. Other party leaders cautioned AAP members not to go overboard. As expected, the AAP win created ripples across the country. In remarks clearly aimed at Modi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had asked people in Delhi to vote for the AAP, said it was a “big defeat for the arrogant” “This is a victory for the people and a big defeat for the arrogant and those who are doing political vendetta and spreading hate... The election is a turning point... The country needed this change.” Gandhian Anna Hazare added: “The result is www.desitoday.ca
a defeat for Narendra Modi. What did the BJP do in the past nine months? The BJP made promises to tackle corruption. Instead they took antipeople, anti-farmer decisions. They lost public confidence.” Hazare, who mentored Kejriwal when he launched an anti-corruption campaign here in 2011 that shook India, urged the AAP leader not to repeat the mistakes he committed during his earlier stint as chief minister. In Kerala, former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan called the vote for AAP a blow to “Modi’s arrogance”. Former Bihar chief minister and JD-U leader Nitish Kumar echoed him. The CPI-M hailed the people of Delhi for “decisively rejecting the BJP”. Aam Aadmi Party’s stupendous win in Delhi is a victory of “anti-BJPism”, RSS ideologue M G Vaidya said. “All anti-BJP parties and groups joined hands in support of AAP and this was the reason for the unexpected results,” he added. One after another, BJP leaders accepted defeat and congratulated the AAP and Kejriwal. “As the party’s Delhi leader, I accept moral responsibility for the defeat,” said Satish Upadhyay. “Clearly, we made a mistake in understanding the people’s mood.” Sonia Gandhi spoke to Kejriwal and congratulated him on the party’s victory, the Congress’ twitter handle said. Rahul Gandhi said in a statement: “My congratulations to Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on their victory. The people of Delhi have chosen the Aam Aadmi Party and we respect that. I wish Kejriwal and his team the very best.” “Kejriwal is teary eyed,” AAP leader Pankaj Gupta told IANS. “None of us could sleep properly last night because we were tense. Now, we just cannot believe these unbelievable results.”
Don’t become arrogant: Kejriwal In his first public comments after the election results showed the AAP heading for a landslide in Delhi’s assembly elections, Kejriwal described it as “a victory for truth and honesty”. “This is a victory of people... This is a victory of truth and honesty,” Kejriwal said as supporters shouted “Panch Saal Kejriwal” (Kejriwal for five years). “When you walk on the path of truth, powers of the universe help you,” said Kejriwal. Addressing thousands of cheering supporters at the AAP office in central Delhi, Kejriwal said an Aam Aadmi Party government would work “in a manner that both the poor and the rich would be proud of Delhi”. The 46-year-old then introduced his wife Sunita to the frenzied crowds chanting “Paanch Saal Kejriwal!” slogans and waving hundreds of party flags and brooms -- the AAP election symbol. “This is my wife,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. And as she folded her hands in greeting triggering a roar, he added: “I www.desitoday.ca
would have never been able to work if she had not supported me.” He warned the supporters against becoming arrogant. “The defeat that BJP is facing is because of their arrogance,” said Kerjiwal. “If we become arrogant, people will teach us the same lesson,” he warned party members. He also sought the support of the people of Delhi. “I cannot do anything alone, I am a little man. If two crore people of Delhi work together, we can make Delhi a city of which both rich and poor will be proud of,” he said.
‘AAP aaye bahaar aayi’: B-Town celebrates Kejriwal’s win The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Bollywood star power was at its jubiliant best on Twitter to celebrate the party’s landslide victory in the Delhi assembly polls. “This is what happens when crooked, powerful politicians challenge a common man. Let this be a lesson to all indian politicians,” tweeted “Roadies” fame Raghu Ram, who actively campaigned for the AAP. Music composer Vishal Dadlani, a strong supporter of AAP and composer of “Panch saal Kejriwal”, tweeted: “Happy Birthday to @DrKumarVishwas. Don’t think you could have got a better gift, bhai! Jai Hind! Boarding my flight for Delhi. Gonna thank every single person that I meet there! What a morning.” Actor Jaaved Jaaferi, who had joined AAP last year, shared his excitement, and posted: “VIVA AAP!!! 4 for AAP in LS and now 4 for BJP in Delhi... This is like a Bollywood style vindication.” Several Bollywood celebrities took to Twitter to celebrate the win of Kejriwal’s AAP. Pritish Nandy: AAP wins one of the biggest electoral victories in Indian history. BJP’s hubris defeated. Kiran Bedi trailing. Shekhar Kapur: It’s time to accept the young Indian voter is far more sophisticated Individual who thinks clearly about local n national issues #KiskiDilli. Kamaal R Khan: It’s historical n biggest ever win of any party since independence n it’s proof of popularity of @ArvindKejriwal n #AAP #DelhiElections Neha Dhupia: Congratulations @ArvindKejriwal and @AamAadmiParty for this historic win! Now Pls don’t let the voters down! Make #Delhi a better place. Sudhir Mishra: Amazing, the Indian voter. Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!
End of political road for Kiran Bedi? “It is not my defeat, it is a defeat of the BJP.” With this telling statement following her humiliating defeat in the Delhi assembly election,
the decorated police officer-turned-political debutante may well have written off her shortlived political flirtation - and probably burnt her political boats - that saw her being pitchforked surprisingly as the leader of the party’s campaign in Delhi to being roundly rejected by the people of the capital - all in the space of a heady fortnight. In a career spanning over three decades in policing, India’s first woman Indian Police Service officer Kiran Bedi faced many challenging tasks. But in her new political avatar of leading the country’s ruling party in the Delhi polls, she faced probably her life’s toughest test with the BJP banking on her ‘tough taskmaster’ image to win power in the capital that witnessed arguably the most interesting electoral battle since its first assembly election in 1993.
But Bedi’s defeat has been all the more humiliating especially in her losing the BJP’s bastion of Krishna Nagar, considered a safe seat. The seat has been represented by Harsh Vardhan, who is now a union minister, since 1993. Bedi, 65, was viewed as an “outsider” in the party having never risen from the ranks. The election rallies by Bedi, known for her unconventional and outspoken ways, were mostly lacklustre events though the BJP top brass including Prime Minister Narendra Modi canvassed for her. Bedi, known for her no-nonsense ways as a top cop in New Delhi in the 1980s and 1990s, was called Delhi’s Iron Lady and Crane Bedi, for having reportedly towed away former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s car parked outside a shop in Connaught Circus on Aug 5, 1982. But doubts were cast on her having actually towed away Gandhi’s car. In a recent TV interview she clarified that a “DCP never tows a vehicle.” Bedi, who was a key member of Team Anna during the Lokpal movement and worked closely with AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal, described her former colleague as a “liar” and as someone whose influence was “toxic”. After she joined the BJP, social media retweeted her previous critical comments against the BJP and especially about Modi over the 2002 Godhra riots. FEB / MAR 2015 News With A Desi View
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FEATURES Having made his millions in the Canadian real estate market, Canada’s first Sikh billionaire, Bob Dhillon, feels India’s real estate market has a lot of potential if the government makes the right moves. “The Indian real estate market is a developer’s dream. It is fascinating. It can be the No.1 market for growth,” Dhillon, who has charted an amazing success story for himself by becoming the biggest landlord in Canada with nearly 10,000 properties, told IANS here. “Technology is the key in real estate. You guys (In India) have not gone vertical so far. With the kind of demand and urbanization, you need to go vertical like Manhattan, Shanghai or Toronto. “That requires technology. There is a lot of catch-up to do,” said Dhillon, who is based in Calgary and whose assets are pegged at Canadian dollars 1.2 billion. Dhillon, who loves to talk about his success, feels that certain policies, including ownership rights, land acquisition and others, make the Indian real estate market “uncompetitive” for investors from other countries. “The policy on acquisition of land is non-competitive. The negatives here include issues like ownership rights, landlord tenancy rights, politics of the business, repatriation of capital, lack of technology... “Securitization of the real estate market is also required. The real estate GDP here is extremely low,” said Dhillon, the president and CEO of Mainstreet Equity Corp in Canada. Mainstreet Equity, which went public in Canada in 2000, has been listed as the highest performing company on the Toronto Stock Exchange with overall returns of 1,270 percent over the last 10 years, Dhillon pointed out with a sense of pride. Having visited India as part of the delegation of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and others in recent years, Dhillon says the new Narendra Modi government was making the right moves but a lot needed to be done. “India needs trillions of dollars for infrastructure. Modi is making all the right moves but unfortunately execution goes at the state level. “Sometimes, that is extremely challenging. If you really bring in free market, create proper governance and allow repatriation of capital, the inlux of capital will begin. If you want to have a ‘Make in India’ policy, which is a great strategy, real estate has to play a key role in this,” Dhillon said. “Black money is making the values artificially high. Real estate prices in 38
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
India, based on world standards, are too high. It is artificial wealth. It’s beyond me why the Indian government won’t be wooing people like us to invest. Real estate market in India is neither free nor controlled market. You have to decide either way,” he said. Dhillon, whose real name is Navjeet Singh Dhillon, belongs to Tallewal village near Barnala in Punjab. Born in Japan in 1965, where his grandfather had moved from Punjab to get into shipping business, Dhillon’s family lived in Hong Kong, Japan and Liberia. Having lost everything in Liberia’s civil war, the family moved to Canada in the 1970s to begin from scratch. “For me, it has been an unbelievable journey. I never had an easy break, to be honest. Our Punjabi DNA is to own real estate. At least I am in the game. I am 100 percent self made. “I have believed in diversification. I own an island in Belize, have a credit card processing company, merchant process companies and other businesses. These are pretty diverse things I do. But I have very strong roots with Punjab and India,” said Dhillon, who holds a MBA degree from Richard Ivey School of Business. Dhillon started his real estate journey at age 19 by buying two old houses. He renovated and sold them. “I made 17,000 dollars from these. First thing I did was to go and buy a Mercedes. The only game in Calgary was real estate and manufacturing. Grew up seeing icons like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Donald Trump and Steve Jobs. “I got into real estate and became a millionaire very early. I never had a job in my whole life. All I did was buy, develop, re-develop every type of real estate till I took my portfolio public,” said Dhillon, who studied in Shimla’s Bishop Cotton School from kindergarten till he was a teenager. Dhillon, who has business interests in three continents, has written a book on Belize. “It’s a reference book on how (to) retire and do business in Belize,” he said.
Indian real estate market a developer’s dream: Indo-Canadian billionaire
By Jaideep Sari, IANS
Bob Dhillon receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal from Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor Donald S Ethell www.desitoday.ca
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FEATURES
Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man. - Gandhi
the forgotten mahatma 40
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TIME LINE
We remember Mahatma Gandhi only on October 2 and January 30. The symbolic spinning of the charkha, recital of bhajans and selling khadi at a discount are the only activities that remind us of him. For the rest of the year, Gandhi remains a forgotten Mahatma, deified like one of our numerous gods and his teachings reduced to mundane rituals. Long back, Albert Einstein had said that the coming generation would scarcely believe that a man like him had ever walked the planet earth. Einstein was probably thinking of the very distant future when people might raise their eyebrows in sheer disbelief and ask: “Was there a man like Gandhi in lesh and blood?? Less than 70 years after his death, Gandhi, who preached the gospel of truth and non-violence all his life and strove to liberate India, has become, in his own country and among his own people, a legend and a myth. What Gandhi said or did is mostly forgotten and we are stuck up with symbols like the charkha and khadi. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known as the “Frontier Gandhi” caustically remarked when he visited India in 1969 on the occasion of Gandhi’s birth centenary celebrations: “I have come to remind the people of India that they have forgotten the Mahatma.” Horace Alexender rightly asked us to bring Gandhi “down to earth again as a living man among his men, which is what he wanted to be”, to strip him of his mahatmaship and look at him, if we can, as plain Mr. Gandhi.” Unlike most leaders anywhere in the world, Gandhi knew how to risk his popularity. Ram Manohar Lohia wrote about Gandhi: “He had a calf, the child of a sacred cow, injected to death in a certain situation; he had a monkey shot, he took Harijans into temples, he refused to attend weddings unless they were inter-caste; he sanctioned divorce, he had a large sum of Rs.55 crore and more given to Pakistan at a time when Hindus held that treasonable; he acted and not alone spoke against property; in brief, he hardly ever missed doing anything that brought danger and calumny to him.” The reason why we, as a nation are still struggling hopelessly is that we have shown more interest in aping the West and adopting Western growth models. The result inevitably is that while we have created “islands of prosperity”, the masses continue to exist in vast areas of darkness. Hypocrisy has become our new religion and falsehood our way of life. We have fatal doses of these in all spheres of our life. Fat pundits stooge on gullible masses; pseudoleftists and chauvinistic scoundrels run the circus that is our politics. Public and private monopolies sustain the “functioning anarchy” that is our economy. Gandhi had warned
1869 : Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2nd October, in Porbandar. 1883 : He was married to Kasturba. 1885 : His father Karamchand passed away. 1888 : He traveled to England to study law. 1893-1914 : Civil rights movement in South Africa. 1894 : He founded Natal Indian Congress in South Africa. 1915 : Returned from South Africa. 1918 : Champaran and Kheda Satyagraha. 1921 : Non-Cooperation movement was led by Mahatma Gandhi. 1930 : Dandi march and Satyagraha against tax on salt. 1931 : Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed in March. 1939 : World War II began. 1942 : Gandhi was arrested and held in Aga Khan Palace, Pune. 1944 : Kasturba Gandhi passed away. 1947 : Indo-Pakistan war, partition of India. 1948 : Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse.
us of an ennui that will have overtaken us but we never bothered to create conditions in which life will have some mission and purpose. Little wonder we are overwhelmed by rank passivity and continue to wait for a messiah for our deliverance. The relevance of Gandhi is now being realized the world over as mankind grapples with one vast problem after another. The schizophrenic despair resulting from obesity in afluent societies and the pangs of chill penury in the underdeveloped countries calls for fresh thinking on Gandhian lines. The poor countries of the world particularly cannot do without Gandhi, who lit the torch of freedom in the hearts of millions of people all over the world. His understanding of socio-economic problems and his deep insight into human psychology were aimed at liberating the downtrodden from their difficulties. He made a valuable contribution to poli-
tics by his practical application of the nonviolent weapons of satyagraha, fasts and strikes, demonstrating how vulnerable modern states which depend on the ‘Big Lie’ are. It is a pity that the scope of non-violent movements or peaceful resistance against totalitarian or fascist regimes has not been enlarged. In fact, there has been no fresh thinking on these subjects, although there has been a large-scale proliferation of Gandhian institutes. Unfortunately an impression has gained ground that the real prestige of a nation is measured not in terms of the wellbeing and prosperity of the people but in relation to the armed might of the state. This is a fallacious argument which needs to be countered. Unless the people of a nation are healthy in mind and body, any amount of stockpiling of arms will not boost its image. By Brij Khandelwal
Mahatma Gandhi with mill workers in Darwen, Lancashire during a 1931 visit to Britain FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
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I DESI TODAY PROFILE
t’s very difficult to lose weight. That’s something that either you would have experienced yourself, or you would have been told by people trying to shed pounds. The difficulty actually comes in two stages. The first stage is of course the process of trying to lose weight itself. There are countless diets and weight-loss plans floating around out there which promise all kinds of “miracle” weight loss. But there are no miraculous ways to lose weight. You need discipline and motivation to succeed. But even if you do manage to lose weight and achieve your target, a bigger problem very often leads to ultimate failure - the inability to maintain your new weight. Most people who lose weight on various diets usually end up regaining it. But an innovative program, called Easy Slim, that has been running at a local Pharmasave pharmacy for the last 10 months has been achieving remarkable success in not just getting those on it to shed the pounds, but also to keep them off. The secret to continuing success of this diet-based plan, according to program
“I Lost 50 lb IN 12 WEEKS ”
Happy Boyal, Pharmasave Sullivan Square, Surrey
Hair & makeup by Gurpreet Lash Out Studio
it is not just about losing weight, but also about what kind of weight you lose. ”
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Happy Boyal before losing weight FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DESI View
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PROFILE administrator Happy Boyal, who is also the Front Store Manager for Pharmasave Sullivan Square & Pharmasave Newton in Surrey, is that clients get the chance every week to discuss their progress and other issues with her. “At these meetings, the clients and I not only monitor the progress they are making, but also discuss various issues that they want to talk about. We are thus able to adjust their program accordingly. It also gives us a chance to maintain focus on the goals. “And if necessary, if their determination is lagging, I can help motivate them and regain their determination,” says Boyal. When Boyal speaks to the clients, she speaks with complete credibility. That’s because Boyal, who says she was overweight and had tried numerous diets previously to lose weight, herself undertook the program before deciding to launch it in her pharmacy. “We launched this program last April, when we created the Easy Slim weight loss program, I decided to undertake the program myself to see whether it was effective before offering it at my store. “I said if I want to be a coach for this program, I want to understand for myself how it works. I want to see the results, and I want to feel how a dieter would feel on this program - what are the challenges, and how I would be able to help people overcome them,” she said. It turned out to be a huge success for Boyal - she lost more than 50 lbs. on the diet. In fact, she roped in her husband to also go on the same plan, and he lost more than 40 lbs.! One of the key components of the diet consists of consuming Protein based foods. This diet was originally developed more than 20 years ago in Europe by Dr. Tran Tien Chanh, MD, PhD. Boyal, who is now a Certified Easy Slim Weight Loss Coach, says the Easy Slim diet is such a success because there are a number of differences between Easy Slim and other diets. “Firstly, many diets strictly limit what you can eat while you are on the program. But as humans, we have natural cravings for different kinds of foods. Easy Slim takes care of that by offering a tremendous amount of variety in its food packs,” said Boyal. She said we have more than 65 different choices for dieters to pick from. “Every taste and food texture you can think of is available among our food packs. We have chips, breakfast items, various kinds of shakes. There’s a lavour for every craving,” she said. “You can even have chocolate!” Boyal said it was also important to have this variety because most people are very busy and do not have the time to do all the diet planning that other diet plans often require people to do. “You have to do so much planning, meawww.desitoday.ca
surements, buying the right kinds of food these are the requirements of many other diets. But our foods are mostly ready to go, and they are partial meal replacements. A dieter is allowed to combine his or her own food with our products for their meals,” says Boyal. And this is the second strong feature of the Easy Slim diet, said Boyal. “When you are on a diet where you eat exclusively the products they provide, what are you going to do after the diet program is complete? Well, you are going to go back to your usual food, and since you’ve not been trained to incorporate your regular food in proper quantities into your diet plan, you will usually end up regaining all the pounds you lost,” she said. Boyal said this feature summed up the strength of the Easy Slim diet. “We not only help people lose weight, but during the course of this program, we also educate people about what they should eat to be able to maintain a healthy weight,” she said. That’s because to maintain healthy weight permanently, it is important to change your eating and lifestyle habits permanently instead of just losing the extra weight. “We also don’t believe in providing pills to suppress appetite as part of the Easy Slim program of weight reduction. That’s usually just a short-term solution. People need to understand how to modify and maintain their dietary habits for the long term in order to stay at an optimum weight,” she said. The long-term secret to the Easy Slim program is that people on the program are trained to adopt a balanced diet after they have lost their excess weight. Boyal explained that a medically managed diet is important,therefore the dieter’s progress is generally overlooked by our team of professionals which consists of Physicians, Pharmacists, and certified coaches. Remember “it is not just about losing weight, but also about what kind of weight you lose.” “You want to be losing fat, not muscle. Not everyone’s body composition is the same. So it’s important that the program should be tailored for each individual dieter’s needs,” said Boyal. As such, the first thing Boyal does with a new client is to find out detailed information about the person’s physical makeup. New clients have to fill a detailed Health Profile, which includes information on all aspects of their health and fitness. “If they have medical issues, we have to know about them, and what they are doing about those issues. And these also include psychological issues that may play a role in the success or failure of the diet program,” said Boyal. And it is based on this initial questionnaire that Boyal and the client design the program for the client.
“Every person’s needs are different - the amount of weight they need to lose, the kind of balance they need between the different food types - fats, proteins and carbs - they consume. I tailor the program for the individual after they have provided their information,” said Boyal. Clients are provided an initial package of supplements as well as a fixed number of protein food packs. They are also given a folder containing detailed instructions on how they can achieve the best results, as well as a DVD containing lots of useful materials. The instructions include details about suggested menus for all meals, and pointers on which food groups to eat and which ones to avoid. Subsequently, clients get to talk to Boyal on a weekly basis to discuss their progress. And that meeting is a very important part of the Easy Slim program. “Being on any kind of diet can be a challenging matter. All sorts of things happen in people’s lives that can have an effect on the diet plan, and I try to help the clients sort out these issues during our meetings,” she said. Boyal said she sometimes spends up to half an hour with a single client during these weekly meetings. “Easy Slim is a very effective program. But you have to remember that the success of any diet eventually depends on how disciplined and motivated the dieter is. If you are going to walk out of here and straight into a junk food outlet, even the best diet program in the world will not help you!” she said. And that is where Boyal’s weekly appointments with her clients provide Easy Slim the edge over other diets. Boyal also has an edge because she is multilingual. She speaks English, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu and Fijian. “So I have no problem communicating with people who only speak or understand one language or another of these,” she said. The support system for Easy Slim clients does not stop with the weekly meetings with Boyal. There is also a comprehensive website at www.pharmasavesullivansquare.com that offers access to a wealth of material, including video clips. Easy Slim has been a tremendous success so far. Boyal said more than 100 people had already successfully undertaken the program since it was launched. For further information about the Easy Slim program, contact Happy Boyal at:
604-303-6343
Email: happy@pharmasaveeasyslim.com Or you can personally drop by at: Pharmasave Sullivan Square #106, 15325 – 56 Avenue, Surrey. FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
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LOVE & RELATIONSHIP
SHAADI OR ? I D A A B R BA NRIs face
g post-weddin nightmares
At a time when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reaching out to the Indian diaspora, some NRIs are claiming they dread the idea of visiting the country of their origin because of what many of them call “demonic matrimonial laws”. From their passports being impounded to losing their jobs after being stuck in India due to the matrimonial laws, Indian men from across Australia, Europe and the US have now started support groups to counsel each other on how to tackle the issue. California-based techie Anindya Chatterjee, who runs one such group online, has urged amendments to the statute. “Once a case of 498A (of the Indian Penal Code relating to cruelty) is registered against an NRI, he is treated as a criminal by the police and Indian society in general, even though he has not been found guilty of anything. The law enforcers look at NRIs as easy meat and resort to indiscriminate action such as arrests, warrants, look-out notices or impounding of passports, which often result in the guy losing his job,” Chatterjee said from Los Angeles. Recently acquitted in a dowry case by a Kolkata court, Chatterjee said his frequent visits to India to attend the proceedings cost him his job with a reputed company and he had to settle for a low-paying job. Faced with similar ordeals, over 100 men from across Britain have joined Chatterjee’s “Justice2NRI.Org” to share their experiences and provide suggestions and advice to each other. Similar is the plight of London-based IT professional Hardik Mehta, who has now 44
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
been stuck in Mumbai for nearly a year after his wife filed a dowry case. “While the police are quick to take action even without verifying the veracity of the complaints, the courts, after taking a life time, often come to the conclusion that the complaints are baseless. The complaint against me was filed in 2008 but the court is still in the process of verifying it. I have lost my job in London and because of the social stigma attached, I am finding it difficult to cope here,” Mehta, who too runs a similar group, said. Many NRIs claim a broad consensus was growing against marrying Indian women. “The dread of demonic Indian laws such as the Domestic Violence Act or the Dowry Act can be judged from the fact that several embassies, including those of the US, Germany and Canada, have issued travel warnings,” said Satish Babu, a member of the Marital Justice group of British-based NRIs. “It’s heartening to see Prime Minister Modi reaching out to the Indian diaspora but he needs to look into the laws that have rendered even the thought of visiting India a dread for us,” said Melbourne-based chartered accountant Yogesh Gupta, who had to shell out Rs.10 lakh as surety to secure bail after he was arrested under the anti-dowry law. With the number of Australian NRIs facing prosecution steadily increasing, Deepa Bhatia, whose son is a “victim”, has written to Modi urging his intervention. “A lot of us now refrain from doing business with Indians to avoid travelling to the country which is so dear to us. While many
of us are eager to answer Modi’s call and contribute towards India’s development, he has to look into this issue,” Melbourne-based Bhatia, an entrepreneur, said. Citing the low conviction rate in section 498A cases, men’s rights activist Amit Gupta said it was imperative to make the marital laws gender-neutral to prevent their misuse. “The misuse of the provision is evident from the fact that the all-India conviction rate for 2013 stood at a mere 15 per cent while the police had prepared charge-sheets in almost 93 per cent of the cases,” the Delhibased Gupta said, citing an official statistical report. “The fact that every eight minutes a married man commits suicide in India relects the extent of the misuse of the marital laws,” said Gupta, convener of the Save India Family Foundation (SIFF), a platform of 50 men’s and family rights organisations that has launched an Android Application and toll free helpline for helping out “men in distress”. However, Ranjana Kumari, the director of the Centre for Social Research, was livid at the allegations of “misuse” of the anti-dowry laws. “How can people talk about the misuse of the laws when we still continue to have thousands of dowry deaths every year? Aren’t other laws misused? The Income Tax Act or the Companies Act are misused, have they been repealed?” she asked. “There may be genuine victims, but so long as the social evil of dowry exists and innocent lives succumb to it, the laws will have to be there,” she added. www.desitoday.ca
LOVE, RELATIONSHIP
A hug a day KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY Real Human Connection… What does that even mean? Have we lost touch with each other? Do we have real connections anymore? What about real honest relationships? Are we afaid to be the real us in pubic or around our friends? Do we hide behind labes, societies rules or our own fears? Are we waking down the street afaid to strike up a conversation with another person? How often are we completely surrounded by other people only to feel completely alone? Do we find ourselves feeing lonely and in the need of a big hug and no one is there to give us one?
Well, it may not be a far-fetched idea to replace apple a day with a hug as researchers have found that more frequent hugs protect stressed people from getting sick. The team from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) found that greater social support and more frequent hugs protected people from the increased susceptibility to infection associated with being stressed and resulted in less severe illness symptoms. “We know that people experiencing ongoing conlicts with others are less able to fight off cold viruses. We also know that people who report having social support are partly protected from the effects of stress on psychological states, such as depression and anxiety,” said Sheldon Cohen, the Robert E. Doherty University professor of psychology at CMU. Cohen and his team chose to study hugging as an example of social support because hugs are typically a marker of having a more intimate and close relationship with another person. They assessed the perceived social support and frequency of hugs in 404 healthy 46
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
adults by a questionnaire. The participants were then intentionally exposed to a common cold virus and monitored in quarantine to assess infection and signs of illness. The results showed that perceived social support reduced the risk of infection associated with experiencing conlicts. Hugs were responsible for one-third of
the protective effect of social support. “This suggests that being hugged by a trusted person may act as an effective means of conveying support and that increasing the frequency of hugs might be an effective means of reducing the deleterious effects of stress,” said Cohen. The research appeared in the journal Psychological Science. www.desitoday.ca
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HEALTTH & WELLNESS We all intend to exercise regularly. But when it comes to putting intention to practice, only about 10 percent are successful. Others happen to have numerous seemingly convincing excuses for not doing so. Here are some of the oftquoted “reasons”, and the reality behind them:
Reason 1: I just don’t have time.
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COMMON REASONS WHY WE
don’t EXERCISE
Facts: Everyone’s day is 24 hours. It’s all a question of priority. If you don’t find time to exercise, you will have to find time to visit a hospital. Choice is yours. Anyway, somebody who has time for a book, a movie, the idiot box or a gossip session can’t crib about time shortage, considering that one can exercise a lot even in half an hour.
Reason 2: I have no energy to do even household chores. How can I exercise? Facts: The more you procrastinate, the more your energy will dwindle. Make a small beginning and energy will get generated by and by. Learn from an infant in a cradle. He cannot stand or sit. Yet, he moves his limbs all the time. If he can do that, so can you, even if bed-ridden.
Reason 3: I started, but my aches and pains increased instead of vanishing. Facts: You have not done for years what you should have done all your life. Whenever you commence, some discomfort is inevitable. While these self-induced pains will go away in a few days, the aches and diseases that may come your way because of not exercising will haunt you for months and even years.
Reason 4: Do I do my job/business or spend time exercising? Facts: It’s not an either-or-situation. Have you ever left for office/business without wearing clothes because so much work was waiting for you that you had no time to dress? Going to
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FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
work without exercising is akin to going out without dressing.
Reason 5: I am too old to start now. Facts: You are too old NOT to start. In youth, you were fairly active throughout the day. Now that you are sedentary, you just cannot escape a workout. Not exercising then was inexcusable. Now it is sacrilege.
Reason 6: I have exercised like crazy during my school/college days. Facts: Basking in your college glory will be like not bathing/shaving/eating now just because you did enough of that in good old days.
Reason 7: Whenever I get time, I do go out for a walk/swim. Facts: Suppose you have to employ a person. He may be talented but what if he says: “I will come to work only when I have time.” Will you hire him?
Reason 8: I am sure once or twice a week is good enough. Facts: Not really. You can be off exercise only on those days when you are absolutely off food. You eat daily. So work out daily. OK, may be one weekly off, but no more.
Reason 9: My weekdays are hopelessly packed. But I make up through heavy exercise on weekends. Facts: That will do more harm than good. The body will be stiff due to four-five days of inactivity and the Sunday round of vigorous tennis or squash may cause a catch or muscle pull.
Reason 10: There is always a tomorrow. Facts: Of course there is. But it never comes. By Amar Chandel, IANS
www.desitoday.ca
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FEB / MAR 2015 News With A Desi View
49
HEALTTH & WELLNESS
EASY-TO-FOLLOWUP TIPS FOR
Healthy Skin Go natural The year 2015 is going to be all about going back to your roots. Women have started to embrace the makeup-free look and we are absolutely lapping it up. While it is alright to deck up once in a while for special occasions, avoid using too much makeup on your skin as it causes the skin to get oily and break out. It also causes blemishes which might end up giving you sleepless nights.
Step into your happy bubble more often
If
you’ve resolved to take care of your skin in 2015, adapt some easy-tofollow tips for achieving wonders.
Sangeeta Velaskar, vice president and head (Medical Services and Research and Development) at Kaya Skin Clinic, lays emphasis on proper sleep and drinking water regularly to stay fit and glowing, read a statement. Here’s what Velaskar suggests:
Sleep like you mean it When you are asleep, certain hormones go up in your blood, and those same hormones drive appetite. Besides, sleeping is the easiest way to reduce those dark circles that take away from your beauty. Become best friends with your pillow in 2015.
Load up on healthy foods While it’s going to be nothing short of painful to turn your back on those delicious pizzas and sumptuous burgers, you’re going to have to do it for the sake of attaining that coveted complexion. Stock up on leafy greens, berries, citrus fruits and other red, green and yellow items for a maximum antioxidant and nutrient boost. 50
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
Love your skin like it was your last day on Earth You can never love your skin enough. While it might not be feasible to indulge in a facial every second day, there are a few remedies you can follow to pamper your skin within the confines of your house. Honey is known as a natural cleanser which exfoliates your skin to bring out a radiant complexion. The citric acid present in lemon helps keep the skin clear by removing dead cells. Turmeric has excellent antiseptic and skin-lightening properties that help reduce scars.
We underestimate the effect of positivity on our skin. Being inwardly happy relects beautifully on your skin and is the most inexpensive way to look beautiful. Surround yourself with like-minded people, indulge in your favourite hobbies and strike a healthy worklife balance. Try to travel at least once in six months as meeting people from different cultures will open you up to broader opinions giving you a more optimistic view on life.
Do your fair bit of experimenting Listen to your skin and learn what it likes. Opt for new facials, but don’t get too adventurous or it might backfire. Instead, to minimise the risk, go for facials with natural peels. They will bring out the freshness in your skin.
There is a reason 60 percent of your body is made up of water There’s nothing better than water to improve your skin overnight. Come morning, your wrinkles will feel less pronounced and your body will work most effectively as the waste and toxins of the previous night are washed away. It will also help keep your weight in check, as dehydration triggers a false feeling of hunger making it easy to confuse thirst with hunger. Your daily intake of water should be no less than eight glasses every day. www.desitoday.ca
green tea
From achieving a spot-free look to getting smooth tresses -- using green tea in your daily life can help you become healthy and beautiful. Karpagam, national skin trainer at Naturals hair and beauty salon, has shared a few wonders of green tea, read a statement:
No-spot look: We all have faced the problem of acne at some point in our life. Some healed while a few left their mark behind. Use of umpteen creams, pills and face products unfortunately failed to make the marks fade away. With no further delay, grab a few bags of green tea and brew it in hot water, strain the water and leave it aside to cool. Now instead of cleansing your face with water each time, use this skin friendly solution. Do not wipe. Following this regime regularly will gradually aid in removing the marks and preventing acne and sudden outbreaks as well. In addition you can follow this routine with the application of a moisturiser; to reap the best benefits apply homemade green tea face moisturiser.
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Hair detoxifying treatment is the latest fad to catch up among people. Though using hair products with green tea as a key ingredient is beneficial but nothing is more rewarding than a home green tea treatment. After washing the hair with shampoo instead of hair conditioner, apply water extract of green tea for conditioning. A great stimulant for hair follicles, green tea promotes growth and nourishes the hair.
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CAREER & BUSINESS Khadi, once the dowdy sartorial symbol of India’s independence movement, is now trendy and makes the cash registers ring. Designers are rocking the ramp with khadi collections and brands are seeing profit by selling their range made from hand-woven cotton fabric. The khadi collection by Fabindia, a brand that retails handcrafted clothing and home furnishings, sells like hot cakes. “We have witnessed growth in khadi business in terms of the offering as well as
the customer base. In addition, the business has grown almost three times in the last five years. The market is definitely growing faster than the production capacities,” Anuradha Kumar, creative head, Women’s Wear, Fabindia, told IANS. She said that its classic khadi kurtas for men and women have always been one of the fast sellers. Many designers are endorsing the fabric. Designer Gaurang Shah, who showed his khadi line at the Berlin Fashion Week and the
New York Fashion Week in 2012, says that people’s perception towards the humble fabric has changed. “When I started working with weavers about 9-10 years back, they used to do simple bootis, very small border, which was not very appealing. It was those kinds of saris which 60 or 70 years old ladies used to wear. But now with the help of designers, weavers are trying new technique, designs and colours,” Shah told IANS. And there is a lot of variety too.
Khadi goes chic, turns money-spinner 52
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
www.desitoday.ca
“We did a lot of fusion in khadi with various contemporary designs. People’s mindset towards khadi has changed, especially when they get varieties in terms of western designs and cuts,” said the designer. If the fabric has become popular, Prime Minister Narendra Modi batting for khadi too has helped. “I was told that khadi sales increased by almost 125 percent. I urged people to purchase khadi last time. I never said become khadiwadi, but I said buy some khadi. There was increase in khadi (sales),” he said on the “Mann Ki Baat” programme on All India Radio. Shreya Bhattacharya, deputy Manager, Handlooms & Handicrafts, National Skills Foundation of India, told IANS: “With the hopes of the nation resting on the current government, it is a very welcome statement. Promotion of home industries like khadi shall ensure a robust economy and ensure development of the remotest corners of the country.” “Khadi and village industries are the major employers in the country, with khadi exports alone having reached the mark of Rs.770 million (Rs 77 crore),” she added. The fabric is attracting youngsters and Shah says the fabric is an alternative for georgette, chiffon and net. “One can not only make anarkali, ghagras, but also gowns. From tie-and-dye to embroidery, block printing, aztec, and indigo prints -- anything is possible on khadi. It is much cheaper and longer lasting compared to other fabrics,” he added. Other popular designers who are using handspun fabric are Wendell Rodricks, Ritu Kumar, Sabyasaachi Mukherjee, Rahul Mishra and Anand Kabra. Mishra says he showcased his “khadi collection in various forms like jumpsuits, skirts, tunics and trousers and, trust me, I can easily make lingerie and bustiers in khadi fabrics; so the designs are aplenty”. Khadi is not restricted to clothing; it has found space in other sectors too, like footwear. Designer Swati Mehrotra of the brand Swati Modo makes shoes with khadi. “We create textures on plain khadi-like weave. And then use in boots especially in menswear,” she said. Archana Shah, founder of Bandhej, known for using handcrafted fabric, told IANS: “Khadi is eco-friendly and can offer a sustainable livelihood to a large number of weavers.” A simple cotton khadi fabric is available between the price range of Rs.34 and Rs.82 per metre, but for a designer scarf one may have to shell out about Rs.4,000. By Nivedita, IANS www.desitoday.ca
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CAREER & BUSINESS
Buying an Unlocked Mobile Phone
Mobile phone unlocking is one of the most popular prerequisites for purchasing a mobile phone. Unlocking deivers a number of impotant advantages, though there are aso a number of disadvantages. Before a purchase is made, it is necessay to understand exactly what unlocking is, to know the differences between unlocking and jail breaking, and to know the pros and cons in detail. This guide is here to address the most impotant issues and answer the most impotant questions when purchasing an unlocked mobile phone. Before making a purchase decision, it is useful to understand the basics of unlocked phones: What Are Unlocked Mobile Phones? Most new mobiles purchased on ‘pay as you go’ or contract from a mobile network brand will be locked to that particular network. In other words, only that network’s SIM cards will work with the phone (different SIM cards from the same network are compatible in phones locked to that network), and the phone will be blocked from using SIM cards from other networks. Networks do this to keep hold of their customers and to discourage them from moving to other networks. In contrast, unlocked mobile phones are compatible with SIM cards from all of the different network providers. This means that all of the mobile’s network-specific functions, such as making and receiving calls and text messages, using data services, etc., will be freely available to use.
Unlocking, Unblocking and Jailbreaking When purchasing a mobile on contract, network providers usually stipulate that the phone cannot be unlocked until the contract has finished. While
Is it safe to keep your smartphone unlocked? Almost 30 percent of smartphone users leave their device unlocked as they do not believe they have any data worth protecting, a survey conducted by the University of California Berkeley and Google revealed. About a third of people with smartphones find locking their phones too much of a hassle and one-fourth of users believe no one would care about what is on their phone. The researchers asked smartphone owners detailed questions and also accessed data from a Google survey of more than 2,500 smartphone users, who answered questions related to security locks on their phones. They found that many failed to see the difference between security and privacy. Most of them locked their phones so that 54
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
friends and family did not snoop on their devices. Users also did not realise that they had sensitive information stored on the phone and the consequences if it were stolen, media reports said. Of those who chose not to lock their phones, many simply lacked the desire to do so in the first place. The most common explanation was lack of motivation as they simply had not gotten around to setting it up, but were not averse to it, the survey noted. Access to emails without passwords on smartphones was considered to be another lapse. Within their emails, three-quarters had their home addresses and half of them their birth dates. Also, 26 percent had their bank account numbers and 16 percent had stored their credit card numbers in their emails, the findings showed.
mobile unlocking is highly popular within the used mobile phone market, there are still many brandnew unlocked phones sold by manufacturers and mobile phone retailers. Jailbreaking is very different to unlocking. What jailbreaking does is change the firmware settings on the mobile to remove various restrictions that might be in place. Some operating systems prevent the deletion of certain files and the downloading of unofficial apps and generally inhibit other aspects of the phone’s potential, and jailbreaking is used to circumvent these limitations. Jailbreaking is a legal grey area but a very common practice. Unblocking is also very different to unlocking, and very much illegal. Networks will block phones that have been reportedly lost or stolen; unblocking a phone restores network operability.
Advantages Universal Network Compatibility The most beneficial aspect of an unlocked mobile phone is that SIM cards from all networks will work on the phone. More specifically, an unlocked phone will allow any GSM SIM card to be used and will be compatible with all GSM carriers, and SIM cards from different GSM networks can be freely switched with no issues. With the freedom to use any carrier, it is naturally easier to find the right SIM plan at a desired price-point. Different networks have their own extensive array of service plans which will benefit the needs and preferences of some more than others, so it is always beneficial to be able to have the biggest choice of carriers possible. An unlocked phone proves useful in lots of common situations in life thanks to universal network compatibility. If one phone runs out of battery and there is nowhere to charge the phone, an unlocked phone could be just the answer. It is easy to imagine just how important an unlocked phone could be in a difficult or emergency situation.
Changing Networks SIM-locking is primarily used by networks to protect their investment when issuing the phone on contract, because in this case the customer has yet to pay for the actual handset. But the contract might not end up being ideal, and the network might not offer exactly what is desired. With an unlocked phone, it is simple to choose another cheap SIM and use it for a better rate, and this is especially popular for gaining a cheaper 3G/4G data rate. The ability to mix and match accordingly is always a bonus, and with 4G becoming more and more popular and widespread, this benefit will continue on into the foreseeable future. Remember, however, that any original SIM contract must still be honoured, and there is no way to cancel mid-way through a contract without paying for the phone outright.
Roaming Capabilities Steep call charges and even steeper data roaming charges are two common drawbacks to using a native SIM in a foreign country. With an unlocked phone, however, it is possible to purchase a foreign GSM SIM for the country in question and take advantage of the much cheaper call and data rates. An unlocked phone does not guarantee 100 per cent that the phone will
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work in other countries; it also depends on which network frequencies the phone is compatible with, but this tends not to be an issue with modern mobiles and smartphones.
Higher Resale Value Unlocked mobile phones are highly sought after, and they naturally command a higher price than identical phones which are not unlocked.
Lock your kids’ smartphone if they ignore your call
Disadvantages Expense and Mark-Up Fees There are actually very few negatives involved with purchasing an unlocked mobile phone, and though there are negatives, these are very much outweighed by the advantages. The main con is the fact that unlocked phones are slightly more expensive than locked phones. There are many sellers that purchase locked phones, unlock them, and then increase the sale price, and though the increase in price is often minimal, in some cases the unlocking feature may be over-advertised and sold at unfair prices. Locked phones are generally cheaper than their unlocked counterparts when sold by the major carriers and retailers.
Mobile Phone Contracts and Warranty While it is not illegal to unlock a phone, doing so with a phone on a contract will almost certainly break the terms of the user agreement, especially if the phone has not yet been paid off. This may render any warranty on the mobile void, which will in-turn void any warranties. This is not an issue, however, when purchasing an unlocked phone outright as the phone will not be tied to any contract.
Parents, please note. If your kids ignore your calls, use this app to lock their smartphones immediately to get their attention back. Called “Ignore No More”, the app promises to help parents get control back over their child’s phone. Just install the app on your phones and your child’s phone. Tap the kid’s name and enter a four-digit code to lock their device. When the smartphone is locked, kids can’t “text, surf the internet, play games or look at Facebook”, Sharon Standifird, the Texas-based
app’s creator, was quoted as saying in media reports. “What they can do is call the parent back to get the password to unlock their phone,” she added. It is not about punishing the child -- it is a tool to try and correct the behaviour, Standifird noted. The app, already available for Android devices, will be available on iPhones from March, Herald Sun reported. Visit ignorenomoreapp.com for further information.
Unlocking Problems Anyone can unlock a mobile phone with the right know-how and/or the right piece of unlocking software. Some mobile phones can be unlocked for free in a simple set of stages, while others are more complicated to unlock and a professional unlocking service will be required. In the case of the latter, there are third-party software solutions available which can do the same job for free; however, such software often comes with its own potential issues. The software may not be genuine or may include viruses or malware, or it may change highly important firmware settings which affect the phones usability or cause the phone to break completely. To avoid these potential issues, purchase factory unlocked phones. A factory unlocked phone is a phone which has been unlocked professionally by the manufacturer, which insures that the proper unlocking procedures have been followed and the phone will work as intended.
Conclusion There are both advantages and disadvantages to purchasing an unlocked mobile phone, but in general the disadvantages are circumstantial and in any case far outweighed by the advantages. The extra cost involved with purchasing an unlocked phone is fairly small, and having a phone pre-unlocked is a much better option for the many mobile phone models which are difficult to self-unlock.
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A Free App to connect you with the blind A Danish team has developed a new iPhone app that lets sighted people help the blind on occasions they need it. Called Be My Eyes, the app connects the sighted with the blind users using video chat. The new app takes advantage of an iPhone feature called VoiceOver, which lets blind people use the device using synthetic speech. The blind person may get help from the sighted ones for tasks like checking the expiry date on a carton of milk or cross a street. For this, they simply need to tap their screen to find the first available sighted helper.
Once a helper accepts the request, the blind person points his rear camera at the problem and can get assistance by video chat. Over 13,000 helpers have signed up in just over a day to help around 1,145 blind people so far, with around 2,000 instances of aid given already, informs the app’s website. This lets people who are completely blind use the device using synthetic speech and a touch-based interface. The free to download app is currently available for iPhone 4S or above, running iOS 7. For more information check www.bemyeyes.org FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
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CAREER & BUSINESS Does your boss yell, ridicule or intimidate you at times? Just ignore him if you want to get equal. According to a new study, employees felt less like victims when they retaliated against their bad bosses and, as a result, experienced less psychological distress, more job satisfaction and more commitment to their employer. “Before we did this study, I thought there would be no upside to employees who retaliated against their bosses, but that’s not what we found,” said Bennett Tepper, professor of management and human resources at the Ohio State University in the US. If your boss is hostile, there appears to be benefits to reciprocating. “Employees felt better about themselves because they didn’t just sit back and take the abuse,” Tepper added. Employees who returned hostility did it by ignoring their boss, acting like they did not know what their bosses were talking about and giving just half-heated effot. The research, published online in the journal Personnel Psychology, involved data from two related studies that the researchers conducted. The first study asked paticipants to ate how often their supevisors did things like ridiculing them and telling them that their “thoughts and feelings are stupid”. Results showed that when bosses were hostile - but employees did not retaliate - the workers had higher levels of psychological distress, less satisfaction with their jobs and less commitment to their employer.
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b
hostile
ss
Give it right back
“However, those employees who returned the hostility didn’t see those negative consequences,” Tepper said. In the second study, researchers did an online suvey of 371 people. Results showed that employees who turned the hostility back on their bosses were less likely to identify themselves as victims. They were then less likely to repot psychological distress and more likely to be satisfied with and committed to their jobs.
Of course, fighting against your boss may seem like a risky career move. “But in our suvey, employees did not believe their actions hut their career,” said Tepper. The message should not be that employees should automatically retaliate against a horrible boss. “The real answer is to get rid of hostile bosses by using other coping stategies,” he said.
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STYLE, BEAUTY, CULTURE
How to
look good in a little black dress
The little black dress (LBD) is the musthave outfit for the party season but be careful while opting for the look. To look beautiful in the skimpy outfit, one should try for a bloat-free stomach or tactical exercising, says an expert. Nutritionist Jeannette Jackson shared some tips to achieve the perfect look this Christmas, reports femalefirst. co.uk.
Revitalised skin: Mangoes are your
secret to fresh skin. They’re packed with Vitamin A, which is crucial for healthy skin and they even have the ability to reduce dark spots and blemishes. So a mango smoothie is the pefect tonic on the day of your paty to leave your skin looking fresh and clear.
Bloat free:
Eat sushi or sashimi for lunch as protein helps to keep you feeling 58
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Energy boost: Avoid the pre-evening
slump when you can’t be bothered to stat getting ready and take a 1000mg fish oil capsule daily. This feeds the bain and gives the body quality energy to help boost memoy and concentation.
Tactical exercising: We all know
exercise is good for you but that doesn’t mean to say you can’t take advantage of that. Exercising increases the low of oxygenrich blood to your skin and it also helps to lush toxins out of your system more effectively, so if you exercise on the afternoon of your ‘do’ you’ll look fresher and more vibant.
Clever eating:
You don’t want to stave so eat leafy greens, in paticular kale, which is now being hailed as the ‘green bee’ of vegetables as it’s so packed with nutrients. It’s also low in calories, has zero fat and is high in fibre, so it will also help to reduce gas and bloating to help your LBD fit pefectly!
Glossy hair: Ty using rosemay sham-
poo, it’s a circulatoy stimulant and can help to improve scalp health, and nourishment of the roots to assist in shiny, strong healthy hair.
Party all night: Iron rich foods tans-
pot oxygen around the body and so improve energy and stamina to help you enjoy the paty without lagging near the end of the night. A few strips of beef on a bed of steamed kale with a fresh lemon coconut oil dressing is ideal for a pre-LBD paty lunch.
Avoid the hangover: Prepare for
the next morning and drink half a pint of water with a magnesium (150mg) tablet before bed. Magnesium has anti- inlammatoy propeties that may help to reduce a hangover, plus it’s a muscular relaxant so could help you to sleep more peacefully. The water will reduce puffy eyes the next morning too.
Eat: Tying to go all day with vey little
food before you put on your fabulous LBD is a big no no. You’ll eat more at dinner and potentially drink more (the alcohol will cetainly react more quickly for you). It’s the paty season and you want to shine... so all these tips will help you to look and feel amazing from the inside out.
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MATCH
HAIRSTYLE WITH BEARD
W I N T E R F A S H I O N
STYLE, BEAUTY, CULTURE
Experimentation is a pat of becoming a man. I mean haven’t you ever wondered what it would feel like to have those coarse wiy hairs dangling all over your lips or to have that ultimate symbol of manliness spread all over your face? Yes, growing a beard is a rite of passage for evey man. You should all know that whenever you decide to experiment with facial hair you are making a statement to the world, whether you realize it or not. Also those who took pat in Movember, an annual event involving the growing of moustaches to aise awareness about men’s health issues, can also grow their facial hair and match it with the right hairstyle. Winter is the pefect time to grow out a beard. From side fringe to long hair, celebrity hairstylist Asgar Saboo shares tips on how to match your hairstyle with beard...
Side fringe hairstyle with short and shaggy beard With Geek chic continuing to grow in popularity, a side fringe is the pefect hairstyle to accompany a shot shaggy beard. The beard will add a masculine touch to your side fringe hairstyle. In order to really make this look work, ensure that the sides of your hair are kept at a reasonable length and allow your fringe to grow to the point that it can be swept to the side effectively.
Short and slick hair with stubble beard For shot and slick hair, the person who always comes to mind is Ryan Gosling, whose hair suits his shot well-kept stubble pefectly. By having a smat hairstyle, the stubble adds a touch of masculinity and still maintains a casual look. Pefect for work and play.
The top knot hairstyle with trimmed and shaped beard This style for men’s hair really rocketed in 2014 with celebrities such as Colin Farrell and Badley Cooper showcasing the look. This look is pefect for those not wishing to spend too much time scrutinising their facial hair. Be sure to keep your facial hair trimmed and well-shaped, as this will ensure you maintain a relatively smat appeaance whilst retaining that on-trend edge.
Long hair with full long beard
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The long swept back hair has been brought to our attention after Chris Hemswoth showed off its full potential. When sweeping the hair back behind your ears, a full beard is recommended. The main issue with this look is that you can often look too casual, bordering on scruffy. By shaping your beard regularly and keeping your hair swept back neatly, this look will become diverse enough to match with a smat suit. www.desitoday.ca
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FOOD, ART, ENT
PK
Aamir Khan’s much anticipated comedy-drama “PK” stirred thought and discussion and struck gold at the box office too. Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, it earned over Rs 400 crore and is still counting. The film, which used an alien, played by Aamir, to highlight the ills of society was made at a budget of Rs.110 crore.
KICK
The action-thriller starring Salman Khan was a big Eid release. Directed by debutant Sajid Nadiadwala, the audience loved the superstar’s aggressive and in-your-face character in the film, which also featured Randeep Hooda, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Jacqueline Fernandez. The over Rs.100 crore movie minted close to Rs.211 crore.
CREATIVITY, NOVELTY RULED THE ROOST IN BOLLYWOOD IN 2014
HIGHWAY
Shot in places like Delhi, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, the road movie revolves around two people who are brought together by fate. What really clicked were the story line, its execution and performances by the lead actors - Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda. While Alia’s performance was fresh, Randeep took his acting skills to another level in the film. Directed by Imtiaz Ali, the film not only appealed to the critics but also entertained the viewers. Made on a budget of approximately Rs.25 crore, the movie grossed Rs.30 crore.
MARY KOM
Priyanka Chopra’s “Mary Kom” was about the heart-touching and motivational past of the Manipuri boxing champion with dignity and passion. The woman-oriented film became a big hit at the box office collecting Rs.54 crore. Directed by debutant Omung Kumar, the film was one of the most inspiring biopics to have ever reached the silver screen and was made at a budget of approximately Rs.50 crore.
CITYLIGHTS
Made at a budget of less than Rs.6 crore, it collected Rs.10 crore and was also appreciated for its unique story line and brilliant performance by lead actor Rajkummar Rao. Directed by Hansal Mehta, the film is about a couple with rustic innocence. How they try to survive in a big city forms rest of the story.
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FOOD, ART, ENT
MARDAANI
Set against the backdrop of child trafficking, the Rani Mukerji-starrer raised the issue with great perfection under Pradeep Sarkar’s direction. Made on a budget of around Rs. 30 crore, the film was praised for spreading awareness and also entertaining the masses. It minted Rs.40 crore at the box office.
QUEEN
Kangana Ranaut played an inspirational girl next door in this highly acclaimed film. Directed by Vikas Bahl, the comedy-drama presents the life of bride-to-be Rani who decides to go on her honeymoon alone. Apart from the well-written script and a standout performance by Kangana, the film’s other actors like Rajkummar Rao and Lisa Haydon also won many hearts. The Rs.25 crore film collected a whopping Rs.55 crore in India.
Although big-budget formula films kept hitting the box office on regular intervals, 2014 straddled much more on sleeper hits such as “Queen”, “Highway”, “Mary Kom” and “Haider”. As different as chalk and cheese in terms of genre, storyline and presentation, the success saga of these films established that viewers’ taste has changed and they would accept any story - if told well. IANS lists top 10 Hindi films of 2014.
BANG BANG!
Despite being tagged as “mindless”, “loud”, “dumb”, “pointless” and “exhausting” by the critics, the Hrithik Roshan-Katrina Kaif-starrer was one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, collecting Rs.145 crore. Made at a budget of more than Rs.100 crore, the Siddharth Anand directorial was prepared with ingredients like romance, jaw-dropping action sequences, peppy music and good looking actors.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Bollywood’s “Badshah” Shah Rukh Khan treated his fans to “Happy New Year” during Diwali. And like his other Diwali releases such as “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” and “Dil To Pagal Hai”, the Farah Khan directorial was a blockbuster. The movie, which also featured Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Boman Irani, Vivaan Shah and Sonu Sood, was made at a big budget of Rs.125 crore and minted Rs.188 crore at the domestic box office.
HAIDER
A modern-day adaptation of “Hamlet”, “Haider” was the comeback film of Shahid Kapoor to the A-listers of Bollywood. With Kashmir as its backdrop, the Vishal Bharadwaj directorial is a wondrous work of art. Also, thanks to the brilliant cast, which also included Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan Khan, the Rs.40-crore film earned Rs.50 crore.
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FOOD, ART, ENT
Pakistan’s short, sweet stories dominated TV in 2014 Typical saas-bahu sagas and runof-the-mill concepts outlived their popularity on the small screen. This was evident from the success of finite series like “Zindagi Gulzar Hai” and “Humsafar” from Pakistan, which not only captivated audiences but also topped the charts. The year saw megastar Amitabh Bachchan making his debut in fiction space on TV with “Yudh”. Coproduced by Amitabh’s production company Saraswati Creations and Endemol India, the show was appreciated for its concept but failed to make it big. Many new shows were launched, but hardly any one of them found viewership. It’s time for the TV to reinvent and bring new concepts. IANS lists out shows that clicked with the audience this year. Out of them some may have gone off air but have definitely left audiences wanting for more.
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Zindagi Gulzar Hai Coming from across the border, the Pakistani show struck a chord with its zeal and youthful romance between the lead characters - Zaroon Junaid and Kashaf Murtaza - who hate each other but eventually fall in love. A heart-warming story, it highlighted the intricacies of life. The show was instantly appreciated for its realistic approach and finite number of episodes. Aired on Zindagi channel, the show was launched in June and summed up on a happy note in July. Fawad Khan, who played the male lead, was also seen making his Bollywood debut with “Khoobsurat”.
Yeh Hai Mohabbatein The show is a perfect embodiment of Ekta Kapoor’s success formula with the right amount of love, drama and comedy. The story of a couple who come together for the sake of a child has been appreciated. With the main plot, the show also highlights intermingling of two cultures - South Indian and Punjabi in a humorous way. The Star Plus show was launched in December 2013.
Humsafar Another Pakistani marvel brought to India by Zindagi channel. “Humsafar”, which again starred Fawad Khan along with Mahira Khan in the lead roles, was about a couple who were forced into marriage. It’s not a love story where the eyes meet and the wind blows, but a gradual and slow buildingup of emotions. The show was started Oct 14 and concluded Nov 7. Now, Mahira is all set to enter Hindi filmdom with “Raees”, a film that stars Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
Crime Patrol The crime show has managed to retain its popularity after being launched in 2008. Based on true crime stories, it sees actor Anup Soni, who hosts the show, taking audiences to various parts of the country where the incidents take place. The show is credited with spreading awareness about evil incidents happening in the world and makes people more cautious.
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Devon ke Dev Mahadev The mythological serial on Life OK channel managed to give a taste of Lord Shiva’s life. The show captured the notion of good wins over evil. The male lead Mohit Raina has also amassed a massive fan following courtesy the show, which was launched in 2008 and went off the air in December this year. Be it his marriage or the ‘tandav’ dance, the show kept audiences on the edge of the seat with mesmerising performances.
Maat The Zindagi channel’s show focussed on sibling rivalry, where a girl is competing with her own sister. The title is also apt as it means checkmate. The makers portrayed things like materialism and ambitions without overdoing it. The show was launched in July and was wrapped up in August.
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Tumhari Paakhi Based on a novel “Naba Bidhan” by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the show about child marriage depicts how a girl waits for her prince charming, who moves on in life and settles down with a different woman in a hill station. The sizzling chemistry between the lead pair - Iqbal Khan and Shraddha Arya - was also applauded. The Life OK show was started with a great story but lost the plot mid-way and met an abrupt end in November.
Doli Armaanon Ki Another show that caught the Indian audiences’ attention was “Doli Armaanon Ki”, a show that talked about a small town girl and how her dreams about marriage get shattered thanks to her chauvinistic husband. While Neha Marda plays the lead, Mohit Malik is seen as her abusive, shorttempered and unfaithful husband. The show, which went on the air in 2013 December on Zee TV, has managed to remain interesting so far.
Ajeeb Daastaan Hai Ye The triangular love story launched actress Sonali Bendre in the fiction genre on television. She has hosted shows, but this was her first stint with the soap and the story has so far managed to entertain the audience. With Apoorva Agnihotri and Harsh Chhaya in the male leads, it was touted to be a finite series. This is a different show from Ekta Kapoor who is known for focussing on kitchen politics in her TV shows.
Aunn Zara Another show from the neighbouring country, which was comical in nature, appealed to the masses. The story revolves around Aunn and Zara. Aunn is the only son in his family who is pampered by everyone in his family and is treated as a child, while Zara is the only daughter of a single parent. Her father wants her join air force. Both get married as Aunn wants everyone to stop treating him as a child and as Zara want to live a family life which she can only get by getting married. Equally spoiled yet poles apart in both temperament and training, Aunn and Zara’s wedding leads the couple to a life definitely low on love but hilariously high on drama with a twist at every turn. FEB / MAR 2015 News With A Desi View
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From ‘The Lunchbox’ to ‘Homeland’ - Nimrat Kaur looks back Nimrat Kaur’s understated performance in Ritesh Batra’s “The Lunchbox” left viewers gasping for more. Now that the �ilm has been nominated for the prestigious British Academy Of Films and Television Arts (BAFTA), she says the project has been like a “Pandora’s Box” which keeps throwing up surprises. “The Lunchbox”, which also stars Irrfan Khan, is nominated in the ‘Best Film Not In The English Language’ category of BAFTA awards.
Post the 2013 �ilm, Nimrat also landed a role in the American series “Homeland”, in which she plays a Pakistani ISI agent. In a tete-a-tete, she has spoken about the success of “The Lunchbox” and her experiences with the “Homeland” team overseas.
EXCERPTS FROM THE INTERVIEW:
Q. How do you react to “The Lunchbox” being nominated for a BAFTA award? A. It feels very special to be nominated alongside such amazing films as “Ida”, “Levia66
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
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than”, “Trash” and “Two Days, One Night”. It’s a proud and grateful moment for the entire Lunchbox team. The film is a Pandora’s Box with unending surprises and the people’s ceaseless love for it.
Q. How was the experience of shooting for the American series “Homeland”? A. It was absolutely satisfying. It was such an honour to be a part of a cast featuring Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin, and I was given such amazing scenes to do. It was a truly enriching experience. Seeing how well the new season of “Homeland”, featuring me, has been accepted, I can can only say I am glad I got this opportunity.
Q. Did the “Homeland” crew know your work in “The Lunchbox”? A. Yes, of course. The writers of “Homeland” said something which I couldn’t understand -- “We saw ‘The Lunchbox’ and we thought you’d make a fantastic agent.” I wonder how they saw an ISI agent in a poor neglected and lonely housewife!
Q. What has the response been to your performance?
Q. How close are the happenings in “Homeland” to the terror situation in real life?
A. Everyone has noticed how different my roles in “The Lunchbox” and “Homeland” are. The change in my personality between the two films has been noticed. It’s awesome to be told, “We love to hate you in ‘Homeland’.” The reactions I’ve got for “Homeland” are very different from what I got for “The Lunchbox”. It made me realise how powerful the cinematic medium is. It changes people’s perception of you. They look at you very differently when you change from a housewife to an ISI agent.
A. Some of the events in our series are scarily close to reality. In fact, just the other day I read that a rocket attack had been carried out at a wedding in Afghanistan. That is what is shown in the first episode of our series. “Homeland” is very relevant to our times. Which is why it worked the way it did.
Q. How much preparation did you have to undergo before playing this agent in “Homeland”? A. I didn’t really have to go through any preparation. My character is not in a hand-tohand combat situation with her opponents. She’s more of a planner. She is the brains, not fists.
Q. There is terrorism all around us. How politically aware did this part make you?
Q. You worked with some terri�ic actors in “Homeland”? A. That was a very humbling experience. It was a healthy and friendly atmosphere. We were shooting the most intense scenes. But we’d be laughing between shots, so much so that it was difficult at times to control our laughter when we faced the camera.
Q. This sounds like a terri�ic experience? A. Well, so far I haven’t had any bad experiences. In fact I’ve had only two filmmaking experiences so far, both different from one another and yet memorable in their own right.
A. I am by nature a curious person. I am not politically inclined in real life. But I am aware of what is happening in the world. I keep my ears and eyes open. I feel one cannot afford to be unaware of what is going in the world. Whether it is the Peshawar school kids killings or any of the other terror attacks that happen, we cannot be immune to the brutal violence all around us. Ultimately, the plays that we perform and the films that we make, are relection of the times that we live.
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t a h W
s r o t c a s e driv
They have success, they have a fan following, they have stardom and yet Bollywood actors are craving for more. The quest for more led some top-notch actors to film production in 2014 - for a variety of reasons. If in the past, the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan turned to production business, 2014 saw more A-listers like Priyanka Chopra and Sonakshi Sinha jumping on to the bandwagon. Priyanka said that she took up the producer’s role to “make small movies and introduce new talent”, while for “Dabangg” fame actress Sonakshi Sinha, it’s all about family. For her maiden production venture “Madamji”, Priyanka has teamed up with National Award-winning director Madhur Bhandarkar. Sonakshi said that acting is what she knows best and so, she would like to concentrate on “what I know well”. But she knew that she would be directly or indirectly involved in film production because of the production house at her home called Shotgun Movies, but she had no immediate plans. In October, her brother Kussh shared on Twitter: “Sonakshi, Luv and I are happy to announce the formation of our production company - Kratos Entertainment.” Anushka Sharma, on the other hand, started shooting for her maiden production venture “NH10” early this year. The action thriller, directed by Navdeep Singh, revolves round a road trip that goes awry. While there is still time for their movies to see the light of day, “Dhadkan” star Shilpa Shetty’s first production venture “Dishkiyaaoon”, an action-mystery, released in March 2014. It wasn’t received well. The actress said at the time that she always “thought that if ever I make a film it 68
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
would be a comedy or a love story. But I loved the script of ‘Dishkiyaaoon’ so much that I wanted people to know the story”. Same was the case with Abhay Deol’s debut production “One By Two”. It hit the screens early this year, but couldn’t impress moviegoers. But he doesn’t want to quit. “Better equipped now”, the actor wants to produce more films. “Iqbal” fame actor Shreyas Talpade turned to production in 2008 with Marathi film “Sanai Chougade”. He coproduced it with Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts. This year he went solo and produced Marathi film “Poshter Boyz”, which struck gold at the box office. Seeing the trend of actors taking interest in the business of filmmaking, Shreyas told IANS: “It’s about the need to tell a story in your own way. It’s one of the reasons why anyone would want to produce a film and it can be in any language.” Asked if he would like to team up with another actor-producer, he said: “I would be completely game. No harm in doing it”. And if one goes by the rise of actors trying their hand at film production, there will be many out there who want to join hands with www.desitoday.ca
the “Golmaal” star. Former beauty queen Dia Mirza too turned producer in 2011 with “Love Breakups Zindagi”, simply because she fell in love with the industry. “Acting came my way at a very early age in my life. I grabbed the opportunity because it looked lucrative and exciting. But somewhere along the way, I realised how much I loved the craft of cinema and with every passing year my fascination for the craft and my desire to do more kept increasing,” the 33-year-old told IANS. “In early 2011, I decided that it was time for me to make cinema that I believed in, to convey stories that I felt I needed to tell, which is then I set out to make our first film ‘Love Breakups Zindagi’, which is a romantic-comedy,” added Dia, who co-owns Born Free Entertainment with her husband Sahil Sangha. When Saif Ali Khan joined hands with friend Dinesh Vijan to loat Illuminati Films
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and produced “Love Aaj Kal” in 2009, he said that he decided to turn producer because he wanted to “own the work that is done” and that he wanted to be more “creatively involved in a project apart from just acting in it and take the responsibility”. Old players are welcoming the actors with open arms. Tanuj Garg, CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, which has produced films like “Shootout at Lokhandwala” and “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai”, said that there’s no need to feel insecure. “The trend shows that there is growth in the industry. There is space for everyone. In fact, we would even like to partner with actor-turned producers. If there is any actor with a good script, we can work with him,” Garg told IANS. In a nutshell, the reasons why actors turn to production:
• • • •
Love for the caft of cinema. Urge to tell stories in their own way irrespective of language. Promote new talent. Take ownership of their own work.
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DESI
Around Town
The South Asian Business Association (SABA) welcomed federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s special advisors retired general Andrew Leslie, who will be a candidate in the federal election from Ottawa, and Bill Morneau, the former C.D. Howe Institute chair who will be a candidate from Toronto, at Surrey’s Grand Taj Banquet Hall with Surrey-Newton candidate Sukh Dhaliwal. Radio MediaWaves Communications CEO Ashiana Khan and talk show host Kuljit Kaur also greeted Leslie and Morneau
At Surrey-Newton MLA Harry Bains’ fundraiser at Surrey’s Riverside Signature Banquet Hall. The Panorama Ridge Thunder soccer team was honoured for winning the B.C. Triple A Boys Soccer Championship. Republic Day of India was celebrated at the Indian Consulate General downtown Vancouver with acting Consul General Amarjit Singh unfurling the Indian flag. Singh and Consul and Head of Chancery R. Chandramouli greeted the guests
Photos by Chandra Bodalia
At the annual holiday party of MacLure’s Cabs at Vancouver’s Fraserview Hall.
Premier Christy Clark was the guest of honour at a special luncheon meeting organized by the Canada-India Business Council. Consul General of India Ravi Shankar Aisola also participated.
At the hugely popular Kuri Mundey di Lohri by Trinjan - The Punjabi Folk at Surrey’s Dhaliwal Banquet Hall
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DESI
Around Town
Sanjha Vehra Women’s Association presented a cheque for $14,000 to Surrey Memorial Hospital at their monthly meeting. The funds raised through Sanjha Vehra Women’s Association’s Annual Breast Cancer Fundraiser are to be used to support the purchase of new and innovative medical equipment for the Breast Clinic at the Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre of the hospital. The association has now reached the half way mark ($25,000) of its goal ($50,000) within the last two years, say Saroj Ludhera (President) and Rani Mangat.
At the Desjardins Financial Security Independent Network annual awards ceremony hosted by Parminder Chohan at Surrey’s Dhaliwal Banquet Hall. Citizens’ Services Minister Amrik Virk also attended.
Canadian Eyesight Global, sponsored by Rotary Club of Surrey-Guildford and Rotary Club of Burnaby, held a successful free eye health clinic at the Khalsa Diwan Society, Vancouver, with more than 110 men, women and children being screened. Patients were provided with free eye drops. Retired Lieutenant-Colonel Harjit Singh Sajjan, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s blue-eyed boy who was basically parachuted into the Vancouver South riding when businessman Barj Dhahan was bullied into withdrawing from the nomination contest, was acclaimed at a brief nomination meeting at Vancouver’s Sunset Community Centre.
At the Open House Party by Raj Chouhan, MLA for Burnaby-Edmonds at his community office. Delhi-ites held a get-together to celebrate their common heritage at Vancouver’s Fraserview Hall
At the Black Top and Checker Cabs’ Christmas celebration at Vancouver’s Fraserview Hall. Minister of Justice and Attorney General Suzanne Anton also attended.
Vancouver’s Thandi Family’s annual gettogether & Christmas party at Vancouver’s Fraserview Hall
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Bhullar Wrestling Club celebrated its second annual Christmas party at which the club’s kids were presented medals for completion of their first year
This year during Fruiticana Lohri Shopping Festival 2015, Tony Singh, the owner of Fruiticana and Golden Tree Jewellers of Willowbrook Mall, Langley, gave away a gorgeous diamond ring on the day of Lohri. The lucky winner was Manrajvir Kaur
At the Deepak Binning Foundation’s 15th Annual “Celebration of Life” dinner and dance fundraiser at Vancouver’s South Hall. FEB / MAR 2015 News With A Desi View
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W
Modi’s
‘I, me, myself’ style may have hurt BJP
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hat the Delhi poll outcome has confirmed is that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can be stopped in its tracks by a determined opponent, even one not as wellentrenched as established regional parties like the AIADMK, the Biju Janata Dal or the Trinamool Congress were in their respective states in last year’s general election. In contrast to what happened in Tamil Nadu and the two other states, the BJP has been routed in Delhi by an adversary like the Aam Admi Party (AAP) which entered the fray with a lot of baggage - its hasty departure after 49 days in power in the capital last year, the boastful assertion of anarchist tendencies by its leader Arvind Kejriwal, and an economic outlook which ranged from being “Left of Left” to a claim of being sensitive to the concerns of traders since Kejriwal harked back to his ‘bania’ (trading community) background. Understandably, the BJP made full use of these deficiencies with Narendra Modi urging the AAP leader to join the Naxalites (Maoists) in the jungles since he is a self-proclaimed anarchist. Earlier, the prime minister had stressed the same point by designating Kejriwal as AK-49, the automatic rifle that is a favourite of insurgents. To buttress Modi’s offensive, the BJP threw in nearly all its central ministers, headed by Arun Jaitley, and as many as 120 MPs into the campaign, a classic case of a sledgehammer being used to swat a seeming fly. But the reason why none of it helped the ruling party at the centre will be palpable to any discerning observer. Ever since Modi’a assumption of power last summer on the basis of heady rhetoric, the ruling party has been all words and virtually no deeds. Apart from scrapping the Planning Commission, it has done precious little to fulfil its promises of a turnaround of the economy even if the initial signs are favourable considering that a seven percent growth is being forecast. However, as Delhi’s poll results show, the so-called aspirational middle class has not been satisfied. It is worth remembering that today’s generation is far more impatient than their forbears. They look for quick results and explanations that it takes time for the reforms to bear fruit are rejected as ineffectual quibbling. But an inability to show results on the economic front is not the only reason for the rebuff which the BJP has suffered after its triumph in the general election and the successive victories in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand with the possibility that it might form a government in Jammu and Kashmir as well with the People’s Democratic Front as a partner. One explanation for the voters’ snub to the BJP in Delhi lies in its Achilles heel of comwww.desitoday.ca
munalism, for large sections of the electorate must have been aghast that despite having come to power on the promise of development for all - sabka saath, sabka vikas - the BJP was letting the saffron extremists, including two of its MPs, Yogi Adityanath and Sakshi Maharaj, to run amok. Apart from their divisive campaigns, what has apparently hurt the BJP is Modi’s “dangerous silence”, as the New York Times called it, on these Hindu extremists. Since Modi is widely perceived as a “strong” leader, the silence has been considered strange. Even if he appears to have acted behind the scenes to rein in some of the hotheads, in addition to telling the party members not to cross the Lakshman rekha (a prescribed limit), the apprehension among the minorities have not gone away. There is little doubt that the AAP has been a major beneficiary of this unease not only among the Muslims, but also the Christians who have been perturbed by the recent spate of attacks on churches in Delhi. Since the Congress is virtually fading away from the electoral scene, it could not avail of the minority votes, which went to the AAP. The AAP also gained from the perception of its honesty. It’s worth recalling that the Indian voter has long been looking for a person of integrity at the top, whether it was Mr Clean, V.P. Singh, in 1989, or Mr Cleaner Rajiv Gandhi in the first three years of his reign. Now, the AAP fits the bill, especially in view of its success during its brief stint in power in curbing the police “practice” of collecting haftas or weekly allowances from petty traders and even threatening bigwigs - the Ambani brothers were named - if they insisted on high user charges on electricity and other amenities. All these assertions, made with a touch of hauteur, made the AAP a darling of the underclass. With the minorities, too, in their catchment area and the middle class disappointed with the slow progress on the economic front, the BJP was always fighting a losing battle. Besides, Modi’s “I, me, myself” style of governance may have begun to jar on the voter. The party may have to become a great deal more moderate if it has to succeed in the next round of elections, notably in Bihar. Modi’s call to Kejriwal for a tete-a-tete over tea - chai pe charcha - is probably a sign of the toning down of attitudes. As for the AAP, it is too early to say now how it will fare outside Delhi considering that its fielding of 432 candidates in the last general election was something of a disaster since it could win only four seats. But it may have learnt its lessons from that misadventure, especially that governance matters and not a display of belligerence against all and sundry. By Amulya Ganguli, IANS
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e v o L ? g n i i k S EST B E H T UT O K C E S CH N O I T A DESTIN
If you are an adventure junkie and snow excites you, how about planning a trip to the world’s best skiing destinations? Ty giding on snow at locations ike Aspen, Coloado in the US to Whislter Blackcomb and Fernie in Canada. Onine accommodation booking website Hotes.com has enisted exciting skiing destinations, which are marked by scenic surroundings, snowfilled ice caps and varied slopes, said a statement:
Whistler
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
These towering mountains provide the best skiing in North America, with the biggest vertical drop. It’s funny what a difference 30 years and $600 million can make. Whistler’s charming village offers everything snowboarders and skiers crave: cafes, international stores and over 100 restaurants. Food is key after partaking in the activities that really make Whistler legendary. Whistler quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the strongest contenders for the much disputed title of “World’s Greatest Ski Resort.” Over the past decade, Whistler was consistently voted “Best North American Ski Resort” by North Americans. The Japanese repeatedly rank it as their favorite international destination.
Aspen
COLORADO, US
Situated in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains’ Sawatch Range and Elk Mountains, Aspen runs along the Roaring Fork River at an elevation just below 8,000 feet (2,400 m) above sea level on the Western Slope. The Aspen Mountain is famous for its black-diamond terrain and offers a variety of glades, bumps and steeps to ensure an out-of-bounds experience. The great views and food at the Sundeck makes this resort one of America’s favourite.
Kitzbühel AUSTRIA
The small medieval town in Troy, Austria, Kitzbühel is home to big names, ski pioneers and the high society. It was named the ‘Best Ski Resort in the World’ for 2013.
Alyeska ALASKA, US
Alyeska, is a seaside ski resort where the bottom of the pistes finish just 100m above sea level. A combination of helicopters, snowcaps and ski-touring will ensure that you access the very best virgin slopes for extraordinary runs offering descents of between 500 and 1,700m. 74
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Kitzbühel AUSTRIA
The small medieval town in Troy, Austria, Kitzbühel is home to big names, ski pioneers and the high society. It was named the ‘Best Ski Resort in the World’ for 2013.
Fernie
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Fernie is a city tucked in the Elk Valley, the place where the dramatic Rocky Canadian Mountains surround the small, charismatic community and the stellar ski destination of Fernie Alpine Resort. This mountain town is not only known for its skiing and snowboarding but its lifestyle, inspiring beauty and varied activities and festivals even in summer.
Chamonix FRANCE
Chamonix is known as the ‘extreme adventure sport’ capital for European adventure junkies. The skier’s paradise is located in the Haute Savoie department of the Rhone-Alpes region of south-east France. With the pearly white flanks of the Mont Blanc massif as a sensational backdrop, the Chamonix Valley is the Alps at their most dramatic.
Cortina ITALY
The picturesque Cortina is truly Italy’s most fashionable resort. Just three hours from Venice, the town is nestled in a valley at approximately 4,000 ft and is surrounded on all sides by slopes. It is also the host of the 1956 Olympics and invites some serious skiers.
Mont-Tremblant QUEBEC
Winter or summer, there is nothing more enchanting than the Mont Tremblant, Quebec. The province is mostly dominated by the French-speaking and is the point where Europe meets North America. With a dazzling array of lakes and trails, gourmet restaurants, charming bistros, exclusive boutiques, nightclubs and casinos, this truly is an unforgettable retreat in the heart of Quebec.
SAFETY TIPS: Please consider the some of the following safety tips when you head out for a day of skiing or snowboarding: • • • • • • • • • •
Wear clothing appropriate to the weather and activity you are paticipating in. Always wear a helmet! Review a tail map. Ski each run according to your level. Respect the different levels and abilities of others on the slopes. Take a lesson. Be aware of other skiers and snowboarders and keep a safe distance between you and others. Stay focused and always concentate on your next move. Do not attempt another run if you are tired or injured. Stay hydated throughout the day and eat a light snack or meal before hitting the trails. Maintain your equipment regularly to ensure that it is functioning properly.
Zermatt
SWITZERLAND
While neighboring Gstaad is one of the world’s top resorts with its three five-star hotels and St. Moritz is more popular, most rank Zermatt as Switzerland’s top resort. A remarkably peaceful getaway, the village is peaceful thanks to its car-free environment. Amazingly picturesque, Zermatt holds the world’s second biggest lift-served vertical drop and receives huge snowfalls thanks to its altitude (and some help from snowmakers on the lower slopes). www.desitoday.ca
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LIFE ETC.
Lucky, Pappi, Kakke da... the lavish spread of Punjab’s dhaba names!
Fun & Flavour on the roadside dhaba Punjabi dhabas are known countrywide for their rich and finger-licking food on the roadside. But it is also the lavish spread of their interesting names that makes them stand out. From simple names like the typical ‘Punjabi Dhaba’, which one can find all over, to the once well-known ‘Puran Singh da Mashhoor dhaba’ in Ambala, to Chandigarh’s famous ‘Pal Dhaba’, to the uphill attraction of ‘Giani da Dhaba’ on the Chandigarh-Shimla highway, to modern ones like ‘Dhaba Express’ near Hoshiarpur - dhaba names do carry a unique identity about themselves.
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Dhabas - or roadside eateries - have been a popular attraction for decades, especially for those travelling along highways. Most of them are popular for serving hot, spicy food. The common names that are associated with dhabas are ‘Lucky da Dhaba’, ‘Kakke da Dhaba’, ‘Pappi da Dhaba’, ‘Sher-e-Punjab’ dhaba and others. Among the unique dhaba names that one comes across while travelling in northern India are ‘Ladoo ji da Dhaba’ near Jalandhar, ‘Pahalwan dhaba’, ‘Veerji dhaba’ and others. “Some of the best dhabas are on the highway to Punjab. We start our breakfast at Gulshan Dhaba in Murthal where we eat aaloo parantha with fresh homemade dahi and white butter. We stop for lunch at Puran Singh in Ambala for mutton curry and roti with farm fresh salad. A floating restaurant on the canal in a place called Sirhind when you go towards Amritsar serves lovely tea,” say Rocky Singh and Mayur Sharma, anchors of the TV show, Highway On My Plate, and authors of the book by the same name. “If you’re headed to Shimla, stop at Shaan-e-Himachal in Dharampur for tikkas and chutney,” they add. While most of the famous dhabas are on Delhi–Punjab Highway, there are some worth a try on oth-
ers, too. “On NH8 after Manesar, there is Old Rao Dhaba; their kulfi faluda and naans are good. On NH2, near Palwal,
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Here are some of the Dhabas that you must stop by if you are travelling on Punjab & Shimla highways:
Giani Da Dhaba, Kalka-Shimla Road, National Hwy 22
PM Harper ate at Deluxe Dhaba along with nearly 50 people, including Indian politicians, celebraties & bureaucrats.
there’s Pahlwan Dhaba. Dal tadka loaded with desi ghee is hot here,” says Piyush Acharya, organiser, Highway Dhaba walks. “Dhaba names are as much an eye-catcher and an attraction as is the food that they serve. While many of the dhaba names are common ones - those that you will find after every few kilometres - some are really unique,” Sunny Brar, a businessman from Ludhiana who keeps travelling, told IANS. While dhabas along highways are popular, at certain places even within city limits, some of the dhabas have acquired cult status. Though these city-based dhabas are more like casual restaurants rather than having the look of a rustic rural dhaba, they attract hundreds of dhaba-food hungry clients every day. Amritsar’s most famous dhabas are ‘Bharawan da Dhaba’ and ‘Kesar dhaba’. Ambala, 45 km from Chandigarh, had its ever-famous ‘Puran Singh da Mashhoor dhaba’. Jalandhar city had its popular ‘Vijay dhaba’ though other dhaba-style eateries along the JalandharLudhiana highway are now more frequented by people. The Delhi-Ambala portion of National Highway No. 1 (NH-1) has always been a popular destination for its ever-increasing list of dhabas. Here, the likes of ‘Sukhdev dhaba’, ‘Gulshan dhaba’ and ‘Zilmil dhaba complex’ and the more refined ones like ‘Haveli’ attract thousands of people every day. “Some of the dhabas along the Delhi highway not only provide good food at reasonable rates but also offer services like head and shoulder massage and foot massage. Some of the dhabas have interesting little shops selling things like music CDs and DVDs, ‘chooran’ and even fashion accessories,” Anuradha Khanna, a Chandigarh resident who often travels to Delhi by road for work, told IANS. A real-time high for dhabas was when visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper came calling at a dhaba in Chandigarh in November 2012 and even hosted a roadside dinner. “Dhabas are a popular phenomenon, especially for travellers. The very mention of dhaba food lightens up people’s eyes,” Bhagwant Singh, a leading horticulturist of Punjab, who recently opened ‘Dhaba Express’ near Hoshiarpur, told IANS. - with input from IANS
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1, this place serves authentic Punjabi cuisine. The rustic influence on the exterior and interior décor of the restaurant adds to the fame of the place and an amusement park for kids is yet another asset here.
More of a restaurant and less of a Dhaba…call it by any name; Giani is certainly a great food haunt in Dharampur, situated on Shimla- Kalka Road NH 22. A well maintain eatery with nice ambiance and great food, Giani is nothing short of treat on the way to awe-inspiring Shimla!
Grand Lassi Shop, Zirakpur-Patiala Road, National Hwy 21
Sukhdev Dhaba, G.T Road, Murthal National Hwy 1
You are going to love this place! Situated on the Zirakpur – Patiala Road, NH 21, Grand Lassi Shop offers some lipsmacking Lassi and heavenly Aaloo Parantha topped with semimelting butter, chana (Chick peas) and homemade yogurt. This place is 25kms away from Chandigarh and is quiet easy to find!
You just cannot ignore this classy place situated on GT Road, Murthal NH 1. Once a small shack catering to the appetite of truck drivers who ply on these roads, Sukhdev Dhaba or the Amrik Sukhdev Dhaba is now a serious affair. A tall, well-maintained AC building is what stands instead of the thatched-hay shack, serving sumptuous Indian as well as Chinese cuisine to the starving travellers who make sure to stop nowhere else but here. Amritsari Kulcha and aaloo paratha with tongue slurping white butter is the delight of Sukhdev… The taste and the feel are just unforgettable!
Puran Singh Da Dhaba, Near Ambala City, National Hwy 1 Get ready for some Punjabi Treat at Puran Singh Da Dhaba. Located on NH 1, somewhere near Ambala City, this place is an absolute delight. Don’t think about the ambiance once you are here or else you will miss out on a great place to eat in Punjab! Ty Keema Kaleji, Kabab, Chicken Curry and Mutton curry with ‘Kadak’ Tandoori Roti or you can even try the sumptuous Kadhi Chawal that attracts many vegetarians here.
Karnal Haveli, G.T Road, Karnal, National Hwy 1 No, I am not disoriented on my topic of this blog but when it comes to highway and food, you ought to include Karnal Haveli in the list. I would call it a ‘Dhaba Redefined’, Karnal Haveli has every reason to make it to the list of popular highway Dhabas that you must stop by. Situated on the GT Road, Karnal NH FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
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Experiments happening in every Indian kitchen - CHEF SANJEEV KAPOOR
The conventional dal-roti staple apart, every Indian kitchen is witnessing experiments galore. Whether it’s a desi twist to the Italian pasta or a tinge of the batata vada in a burger, Indians are trying food items and cuisines more than ever before, says veteran star chef Sanjeev Kapoor. The 50-year-old, best known for his apron-clad avatar behind the kitchen counter look in TV’s “Khana Khazana”, says he has witnessed a wave of change in the country’s culinary system in his over two-decade career. “A lot of change has come in India’s culinary system. By watching cookery shows, people have broadened their cooking skills. They have started making their own recipes. Now chefs don’t hesitate in trying out new recipes,” Kapoor told IANS during an interview here. “There was a time when people were happy being restricted to ‘dal-roti’, but now experiments are happening in every kitchen,” he added during a cookout session ahead of the new season of “MasterChef India”, where aspiring chefs worked on innovative vegetarian recipes. Kapoor, a judge on the Star Plus show, believes that it’s not just Indians’ affinity for international cuisines that has seen an upsurge. The country’s regional delights have also found several takers - for example, people in the north are hogging on dosas and idlis. “Food is no more divided amongst regions. Unlike times when dosa (fermented crepe made from rice batter) was only a favourite in southern states, it is now becoming popular in other regions too. “Due to various information sources like books, internet and TV, people’s curiosity for regional food recipes has increased. “Also, international cuisine has become a centre of attraction now. Earlier, it was considered a part-time meal. But now people are consuming it on a regular basis,” said Kapoor, who has authored many cookbooks, is a restaurant owner and consultant and has appeared in shows like “Sanjeev Kapoor Ke Kitchen Khiladi” and “MasterChef India” - and also launched the FoodFood channel. While he agrees that foreign food items are being lapped up by the new generation, he strongly feels that international cuisine in India always ends up getting a “totally different” twist. “Nowadays more of international foods like macaroni and pasta are becoming popular in India. But Indians are giving it a ‘desi’ touch by adding spices to it. So, it should be called Indian food not international,” he said. “The pasta and macaroni that people cook here are not similar to what you get abroad. Here (in India), there is no difference between a ‘batata vada’ and a burger,” he said. Therefore, he conjectured that at least for the next 10 to 20 years, it will be India’s regional food which will be in high demand in the country, no matter how much the availability of international cuisines increases. Kapoor’s own expertise in food can be tasted at his popular diners like Signature by Sanjeev Kapoor, Brooklyn Shuffle Diner, Options by Sanjeev Kapoor, Sura Vie, The Yellow Chilli and Khazana in various cities. He feels that while several restaurant owners are emphasising on their eatery’s ambience, design and dressing of the food “just to seek the attention of customers”, “taste of the food must also be kept in mind” to pull in long-term patrons. By Sandeep Sharma
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Working too long at office desk will turn you
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My psychotherapist says I have “revenge addiction”. I am SO going to get the @$%@*& for that. Meanwhile, I just noticed that pretty much all office cubicles in the world have padded cell walls, just like lunatic asylums. Mine are a soothing beige-grey in color. There’s a message there, right? One of my office neighbours says that people who sit at boring desks all day are actually the most dangerous folks in the world because cramping the human spirit eventually leads to violent outbursts - which she says appears to be the theme of a new Hollywood blockbuster, called “The Accountant”. I quickly added it to my list of Films Not To See. A web search revealed that in this movie, Ben Affleck appears as an office worker who has a dull job during the day but kills people in his spare time. Clearly a clever blend of the average office worker’s actual and imaginary lives, or at least mine. My colleague said she would be happy to watch Ben Affleck sitting in an office as long as he had his shirt ripped off. This would need a bit of creative licence - shirt-ripping-off doesn’t happen much in modern offices, except during end of year parties, when it becomes mandatory. Actually, thinking about it, the central character in “The Shawshank Redemption” is an office worker who actually performs “live accountancy” during the movie. “Look Who’s Talking”, so I read, is about an auditor whose newborn baby delivers wisecracks in the voice of Bruce Willis. I have not seen “Look Who’s Talking”, as it is clearly a deeply disturbing horror film. www.desitoday.ca
My colleague reminded me that the main character in “Moonstruck” is an accountant, played by Cher, an actress who gives me the creeps, as she does not have a single wrinkle despite being a succubus of well over 200 years of age. But why do filmmakers feel they have to give modern office workers secret lives to make us interesting? Our lives are already filled with tension and high drama. For example, consider the race against time when you have to shut down all your open internet windows in the few seconds before your boss reaches your desk. Clickclickclickclickclick - my fingers move so fast that time and space are warped over my keyboard. And if they want a good movie dialogue, they could just use standard office banter. I once had a boss who thought he was funny, and we had the following exchange over the office intranet system. Boss: “I need a laugh, can you send me a joke?” Me: “I’m doing some work.” Boss: “That’s not bad. Can you send me another?” And of course, there’s drama. Last month, a guy at a cubicle three metres away from me had a screaming tantrum, swore at the boss and resigned, slamming the door. Usually, if there’s a commotion, our heads float up like those of prairie dogs, but this was a show of human emotion so we sank deep into our cubicles, some of us probably right down to floor level. I was so shaken that I lost half a day’s work. Fortunately I do not have revenge addiction. But I might just get it anyway.
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Better environment, quality teaching
s e r u l
Indian students to foreign varsities
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FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
Unable to find a course of his choice at Delhi University, Ankit Khullar, 27, decided to pursue his graduation from the US. Armed with a degree in finance, he returned to India for his masters. But after “two wasteful years”, he returned to the US for further studies. “The primary reason (to go back to the US) was the low perceived quality of education offered in India and my interactions with graduates from various universities. The idea was not just to attain a degree, but to learn,” Khullar told IANS. He added that the courses being offered in the MBA programmes lay emphasis on subjects he had either already covered as a part of his bachelor’s degree or were “outdated” as compared to those offered in the US. Like him, many Indian students are opting to study at international varsities owing to better living environment, high-quality teaching and the opportunity to receive world class education. While the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Australia and Singapore are the most favoured destinations, Indian students are now also exploring other countries such as Sweden, Italy and Ireland. Apart from that, smaller countries too are trying to woo Indian students. Among them is Taiwan - which at any given time has 500-600 students studying. Despite a high rate of Indian students seeking education abroad, the government does not maintain a record of those studying abroad. Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Ram Shankar Katheria informed parliament that since studies abroad was a matter of individual will and choice, “information regarding the number of Indian students going abroad or the expenditure incurred thereon are not maintained by the ministry.” According to the European Union, India has the second highest number of internationally mobile students, after China, travelling abroad for tertiary level education. Between 2000 and 2009, the count of Indian students in Europe increased from 3,348 to 51,556. The total number of Indian students in the US shot up 28 percent to over 1.3 million, comprising the second largest foreign student body in America after China, according to a new report published last month by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security. As per the recent Assocham study “New overseas destination for Indians students”, more than 85,000 Indians went abroad in 2005 and the count shot up to 290,000 in 2013. This, according to Assocham estimates,
costs India a foreign exchange outflow of 15 to 20 billion dollars per annum. According to Richard Everitt, directoreducation, British Council, Indian students applying for undergraduate courses in the UK continue to grow owing to a “conducive environment” they get to study and live in. “Over 90 percent of postgraduate students in the UK rate the quality of teaching positively and the satisfaction rate for students has hit a 10-year high - with 86 percent saying they are satisfied overall with their course, as per National Student Survey (NSS),” Everitt told IANS. Madhulika Sen, principal, Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, told IANS that students demand education which is “intellectually stimulating”. “Also, look at the percentage needed to get into a good college here. So, is it not better to give Scholastic Assessment Test and other tests and get into top level universities abroad which give preference to a child’s cocurricular as well?” she asked. Another popular destination among students is Australia, which offers “high-quality teaching and support systems”. As of June 2014 there were almost 42,000 Indian student enrollments across Australia’s education and training providers. “The most popular courses for Indian students are in the field of management and commerce; food, hospitality and personal services; engineering and related technologies; and information technology. “It is also a significant international education destination for emerging careers in technology, digital, robotics, media and entertainment, scientific research and health,” an Australian High Commission spokesperson told IANS. Highlighting the benefits of studying in Australia, the spokesperson said Australian education focussed on meeting the needs of industry, providing quality training and connecting skills with job outcomes. Students keen on pursuing biotechnology, business/finance, ICT, and medtech related courses also opt for Ireland, which Damien English, Ireland’s minister of state at the departments of education and skills and jobs, enterprise, innovation, describes as “dynamic, lively and modern with a young population and a successful, technologically orientated economy”. He told IANS that most programmes cost in the range of Rs. 8 to 12 lakh with the cost of living per annum being a similar amount, adding that from a base of 850 Indian students choosing to study in Ireland in 2012, it has doubled to over 3,000 in the next three years. By Shweta Sharma, IANS
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Here are the top ten study abroad destinations of Indian students: The United Kingdom The UK is all time favourite for the Indian students. The country boasts of having the oldest and best universities in the world such as Oxford and Cambridge. The UK offers a range of courses- right from various undergraduate degrees to one year post graduate degrees. The United States of America The USA is one of the most sought after study abroad destinations of the Indian students. Look out for the liberal study experience in the USA along with multicultural experience. Australia After the UK and the USA, the most preferred study abroad destination for the Indian students is Australia. The Australian education system has earned good reputation globally and a number of Australian Universities feature in the top 100 in global university rankings. Canada Canada is an emerging study abroad destination as the country has witnessed manifold increase in the number of international students in the recent years. The students flock to Canada for various courses such as Engineering, Animation, Biotechnology and Hospitality. Russia Russia is one major destination for study abroad when it comes to courses like Medi-
cine, Engineering and Aviation. The country enjoys a distinct position in the global education scenario for its quality of education at a reasonable rate. Singapore The country is very much famous among the Indian students for the management courses. The top universities in the country are introducing various innovative programmes in management over the years to attract the international student community. New Zealand Another major emerging study abroad destination, New Zealand has witnessed 400 per cent increase in the number of Indian students in its Universities and institutes in the last five years. The Netherlands The Netherlands provides specialized courses with much credibility and quality. The Netherlands Universities are famous for the courses such as agriculture, architecture and sustainable energy. Germany Germany is one major study abroad destination in Europe. It provides quality education and with an increase of more than 70 per cent Indian student population, the country proved to be a hotspot of higher education. Italy With more than 100 renowned universities, Italy holds a position in the global education scenario. Italian Universities woo the Indian students with unique scholarship schemes. FEB / MAR 2015 News With A Desi View
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LIFE ETC.
Monotheism inevitable but wasn’t a break with antiquity
BOOK REVIEW
‘Two Women’ and More: A diva’s remarkable story Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow: My Life Author: Sophia Loren Publisher: Simon and Schuster UK It was a friendly and perceptive policeman who, seeing a confused teenager before him, may have helped launch a glorious career. It was Rome, 1951, and the girl, searching for a leading film production firm but finding the address she had been given was of a police station, was wondering if she had been duped. The policeman then told her the “Ponti-De Laurentiis place” was next door and put Sofia Lazzaro on the path that saw her become one of the world’s best-known and accomplished actresses. We know her as Sophia Loren. Born Sofia Villani Scicolone Sep 20, 1934, in a small town near Naples, Sophia Loren’s story is a Cinderella-like legend - from a childhood where deprivation and hunger were not far off to the glittering film career where she worked with household names and she tells of her life with candour, grace and characteristic aplomb in her first autobiography - coming at the age of 80. It makes no effort to hide her scarcely enviable childhood where living with her maternal grandparents (who she thought were her parents due to her absentee ‘father’) and the family teetering on the brink of impoverishment and danger as the Second World War raged up the Italian peninsula - she herself got hit by shrapnel in a bombing raid but a kindly American army surgeon made the scar disappear. At that time she gave no indication of the alluring woman she would become - getting nicknamed Toothpick at school due to her scrawny build and dark colour before blossoming out as a teenager. It was a tortuous way ahead - beauty pageants (with a homemade dress made out of the curtains), ‘fotoromanzis’ (the adored Italian photo-romances), uncredited film appearances (including “Quo Vadis” where director Mervyn LeRoy was impressed with her despite her naïve but enthusiastic “yes” to all questions including what her name was), till that fateful search for that production house of Carlo Ponti and Dino de Laurentiis. Then there was no looking back. During her career (which spans six-and-a-half decades of her total eight - and still shows no sign of ending), she has worked with the Who’s Who of the film industry and she gives insightful accounts of Ponti (who despite being two decades older became her husband), Cary Grant (who wanted to marry her), director Vittorio De Sica, Marcello Mastroianni, Frank Sinatra, Clark Gable, Gregory Peck, Jayne Mansfield (who suffered a “wardrobe malfunction” next to her at one Hollywood bash), Charles “Charlie” Chaplin, Richard Burton, Peter O’Toole, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Omar Sharif (their mothers held an eggplant cooking contest), Audrey Hepburn (whose ‘lunch’ explains how she maintained the famous waif-like figure) and many more. There may be nothing in this book which may not be known or seem a revelation, but the way Sophia Loren tells it - as a Christmas Eve evocation of memories on finding a box of old photos and letters - makes it seem a conversation carried out with the reader. Film stars have so much written about them that their lives are virtually public knowledge. But how far trusty are these reports about those experienced in working in a make-believe world, donning a range of personas and moreover enjoying services of an extensive publicity machine. It is then we wait for their memoirs, hoping to get a glimpse of the person once the makeup is off. This is one such work. By Vikas Datta, IANS
82
FEB / MAR 2015 News With A DEsi View
Monotheism, which rose in the Middle East in the first century after Christ, was a “decisive moral and ethical” revolution that transformed the world and was almost an inevitable stage in human history. But, it did not represent a break with the classical era, say experts. However, India was an exception to this development, said noted historian Tom Holland at a session “The End of Antiquity and the Rise of Monotheism” at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2015. “India is suited for this discussion as it is a place where the old gods were not banished.” “We read the ‘Iliad’ and about the deities like Apollo and Athena but not for any spiritual insight unlike Krishna in the ‘Mahabharat’,” said Holland, adding that west of Jaisalmer, there is nowhere you find a multiplicity of gods till the temple of Aryan war goddess Anahita in Iran, which is abandoned. “In Damascus, a pagan temple was made a church and then a mosque, and also in Athens, the Parthenon, a shrine to the goddess Athena, became a church, then a mosque and now a sterile monument. Likewise the Pantheon in Rome,” he said. What accomplished this “millennial change” was the rise of Christianity, Rabbinical Judaism and then Islam, said Holland, who has written about the period in “Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom”, and “In the Shadow of the Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World”. “It was a decisive moral and ethical revolution in human history,” he said, adding historians sought to know how this came about as they cannot believe the religious reason that it was what the deity had ordained. “There is a Darwinian explanation - it (monotheism) worked and offered the people what they wanted. For example, Christianity offered dignity to the lower classes, the slaves... a sense of universal brotherhood,” said Holland. “It gave a sense of identity, underpinned the fundamental basics of daily life and the church was the essence of the welfare state, while the networks that were formed were those that emperors could also respect,” he said, adding this was the reason why Roman Emperor Constantine made it the state religion and his successors followed the policy. “Even when Julian the Apostate tried to reintroduce polytheism, he had to ensure these attributes were replicated,” he said. Holland contended that the new religion was not only for the poor masses but also for the elite since the “identification with an universal god, meant they could also be universal autocrats”. But Christianity was actually many Christianities, “not a single construct but rather points on a bandwidth” and it was actually fashioned as a single orthodoxy by emperors between the fourth and sixth centuries. “This also had an effect on Judaism. There is a tendency to see Christianity as the daughter of Judaism but they were more like rival siblings. Judaism now acquired a written law to set the boundaries of the religion with rabbis terming it the inheritance of scriptures from the law of Moses,” he said. It was in the sixth century that the two religions became exclusively separate and when Islam rose, there is a problem for historians to see it as a continuit, he added. Barry Flood, a professor at the New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, said the period of the rise of Islam is “complicated” as there is a lack of sources and the available material evidence and texts offer a range of interpretations. “There is a big problem with determining Islam’s relation with Judaism and Christianity. 30-40 years back, scholars saw late antiquity ending with the coming of Islam but now experts see it as a continuum,” he said. Holland attributed the monotheistic religions’ success to the way they evolved though their adherents say they were “eternal”. “Religions are not abstract identities but a dialogue between people and a range of text and beliefs,” he said. By Vikas Datta, IANS
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