FEB. - MARCH 2016
TROPICAL CYCLONE WINSTON’S DEVASTATION IN FIJI COVER PICTURE
A CYCLONE AFFECTED SCENE IN NAILAQA, BA—FIJI PHOTO TAKEN BY KRISH PRASAD
INDIA FIJI TODAY AN ONLINE MAGAZINE
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FIJI COMMUNITY IN AMERICA COMMUNITY NEWS FROM FIJI COMMUNITY LIVING ABROAD...
A Proud Moment for NARENDRA NARAYAN CEO - INNOVATIVE CIRCUITS ENGINEERING, INC. San Jose, California - USA Formerly of Wailailai, Ba—Fiji I.C.E. CELEBRATES 25th ANNIVERSARY
NARENDRA WITH HIS GRANDDAUGHTER AT THE CELEBRATION
READ WRITE – UP INSIDE
PUBLISHER’S PROFILE PAST CO CHAIRMAN CALIFORNIA BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL CALIFORNIA JAYCEES AND JAYCEES INTERNATIONAL SENATOR PAST NATIONAL PRESIDENT FIJI JAYCEES FORMER SCHOOLTEACHER—FIJI ARUN MAHARAJ PUBLISHER / EDITOR
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FIJI TODAY A KADAVU PARENTS’ LOVE FOR THEIR LOST SON— SON’S GRAVE INSIDE THEIR HOME… Love knows no limits, whether it is romantic or love for children, parents, friends or even pets. It is extremely powerful in mental strength and can go to great lengths. A family living in Kadavu, an outer island in Fiji seems to have gone too far with the obsession of love for their lost son. It is believed their only son was a member of a military group abroad and was returning home after serving there for a few years, when he met an accident in the Western Division in Fiji and passed away. Anxiously waiting for his return, the parents were traumatized upon learning about their son’s death. The parents could not part with their child and eventually the child was buried inside their home. It is not a common practice but love can go to any limits. There may be other cases where love has exceeded the norm of the society. Even sometimes with the deaths of pets, people grieve greatly. Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world came about as a result of romantic love. Source—Online Fiji Times
OBITUARY THE PASSING AWAY OF A PROMINENT FIJI PERSONALITY
MR. RAGHO NAND With great sadness and dismay I learnt the death of my close friend and former teacher colleague, Mr. Ragho Nand. His passing away has left lots of his friends, former colleagues and former students in in a state of grief. Late Mr. Nand taught at Vunimono High School, in Nausori in late seventies and eighties. He made Nausori his home after leaving his home LATE MR. RAGHO NAND town Labasa. As a true and dedicated service to the community, he took active part in religious and community affairs. He went into politics after retiring from his teaching career and twice became a member of Fiji Parliament. He was a Minister in Fiji Government. A humble and jovial man with lot to give to the community, finally would be put to rest forever. He will be greatly missed by the people of Nausori among whom he lived and served for many years. At the time this article is being written he would be going through the final rites in Fiji. MAY HIS SOUL REST IN PEACE FOREVER! 2
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FIJI TODAY
PEOPLE IN FIJI COMMUNITY IN FIJI AND ABROAD
RELIEF WORK AFTER THE TROPICAL CYCLONE WINSTON’S DEVASTATION OF PARTS OF FIJI Local people particularly from the Central Division, seem to be involved in relief work in the cyclone stricken areas in Fiji. Food, clothing and necessary household basic items are being distributed in parts of Fiji, particularly in the Western Division which is believed to be the most affected. According to Krish Prasad of Nasinu, a truck load of items collected and donated by his family, relatives and friends had been RELIEF distributed WORK in an affected area in IN Ba. Such BA assistance is being providing by many other people and organizations in parts of PHOTOS BY THE COURTESY OF KRISH Fiji.
MAVIS SINGH
MAVIS SINGH JP Auckland, New Zealand Mavis Singh is originally from Nausori. While n Fiji, she was a teacher at Rishikul Sanatan College. She migrated to New Zealand with her family and resides in Auckland, where she is a ‘technology teacher’ in a secondary school. Mrs. Singh is involved in religious and social work and is the pioneer president of ‘NZ Sanatan Naari Sabha’. She was nominated as Ambassador of Peace NZ. Mavis Singh is a Justice of Peace - New Zealand, serving the community of Auckland. ‘INDIA FIJI TODAY WISHES HER FURTHER SUCCESS IN LIFE’
PRASAD OF NASINU
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FIJI COMMUNITY IN AMERICA
A Proud Moment for Narendra Narayan, Formerly of Wailailai, Ba On December 11, 2015, customers, employees, family and friends got together at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Innovative Circuits Engineering, Inc (I.C.E.). An Electronics Testing Lab, I.C.E. started operations in 1990 and is based in the heart of Silicon Valley at 2310 Lundy Avenue in San Jose. Narendra Narayan (President/CEO), who holds majority ownership, hails from Wailailai, Ba. India Fiji Today spoke to Narendra about the exemplary achievement and got some details about him and his company. NARENDRA WITH STAFF AND FAMILY th He explained that the 25 Anniversary was a very proud moment for him and his company, and the anniversary party was held to thank the stakeholders (customers, vendors and employees) for their contribution to the company’s growth and progress. Twenty-Five years of existence is a major milestone for a service company that operates in a tough electronics business. He explained that service companies are presented with the consistent challenge of delivering high quality service, and for his company to be around for 25 years is a matter of great satisfaction and pride. Narendra left Fiji in 1975 after completing high school and joined his older brother, Satya Narayan, in San Jose. Finding himself in the heart of Silicon Valley, he determined that his future lay in electronics, and that was the path he followed. For over 15 years, he worked for some major companies, including DCA Labs, Honeywell, Synertek and LSI Logic and accumulated varied engineering/managerial experience. With the benefit of this experience, he felt equipped and prepared to take on some more challenges in life. Given the growing demand for electronic services in the Silicon Valley, Narendra determined that it was the right time and place for a pioneering business venture. However, the decision on starting a business was not easy. It meant giving up a lucrative job and a life of comfort to move to an un chartered territory, with all the inherent risks and uncertainties. In 1990, despite some initial ambivalence, he decided to take the risk to pursue his vision to set up a full-scale IC Reliability Testing Lab. This was origin of Innovative Circuits Engineering, Inc (I.C.E). Cont. on Page 7 5
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Cont. from p.5 - A Proud Moment for Narendra Narayan, Formerly of Wailailai, Ba
In the first 2 years, the Company was involved mainly in PCB (Printed Circuit Board) design, assembly and testing. In 1993, it started providing Reliability Engineering Services, and moved through various stages to the current position where, today, it stands in a unique position to serve the needs of its customers in various service areas, including IC Qualification Services, Burn-in, HAST, Temp Cycle and many other IC Reliability and Environmental Tests. I.C.E. also established a state–of the- art ESD & Latch-Up Lab, and a Failure Analysis EngiSTAFF AND GUESTS AT THE FUNCTION neering Lab. More recently, it has also added RF Burn-in, LED Life Testing and Automotive Reliability Testing. I.C.E.’s customers include companies that design or manufacture Integrated Circuits, LED’s, or Solar Panels in Northern and Southern California, as well as other areas extending to the East Coast, and Canada. Narendra explained that his core business was reliability testing of Integrated Circuits (IC’s or chips as they are commonly called). These chips may be designed and manufactured for use in a host of devices, including cell phones, computers, entertainment media, automobiles, household appliances, solar panels, military devices , and indeed, in uncountable things. Before the chips are released for commercial use, they have to be tested to prove they will operate, as intended, in real life situations. He said reliability tests of the type his company performs are intended to simulate actual real-life operation of the device at elevated conditions (temperature, humidity and other environmental conditions, to name a few). I.C.E. operations occupy an area of about 30,000 square feet in a building which is owned largely by Narendra. The company has over 40 employees, most with long service. Employees are the company’s greatest asset, said Narendra, and we reward them well with competitive pay and benefits, including, fully paid medical and dental insurance, annual profit-sharing contribution, generous 401k Match, along with customary benefits like paid vacation, sick pay and paid holidays. Narendra is confident that I.C.E. will be around for many years to come. He thanked his partners, customers, employees and vendors, past and present, for their contribution to the historic milestone of 25 years. 7
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FIJI FEATURE ORPHANAGES AND CARE - HOMES PROVIDING SELFLESS SERVICE... Living your life for the happiness and well-being of others can be nothing but a true service to the almighty. We all live for ourselves, even the animals do but is it an achievement in itself or simply survival. Living for others, particularly needy children is a true and ultimate achievement of our lives. The ‘Care Homes’ have been serving the needy children for decades. The staff and volunteers provide selfless service to cater for the needs of the children who live there as one big family. Little support of any sort can be beneficial to the children of the ‘Care Homes.’ Fiji had the Some Children with Staff of ‘Saint services of many voluntary, Christopher’s Home’ in Nasinu service organizations in the past which greatly assisted in providing services to the needy. Not all of those organizations are in existence today.
FIJI 9
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A LOOK AT FIJI’S PAST TAKING A JOURNEY BACK TO THE DAYS OF ...
Fiji’s Politicians of the Past! During the last over forty - years of Fiji’s independence from the British Empire, the country has seen numerous politicians and they are remembered for their actions and contributions. During the era of ‘The Alliance Party’ and the ‘National Federation Party’ which existed for about two decades many politicians outshined on communal levels and some on national level. The first and the foremost, was Fiji’s first prime minister, Ratu Sir K. Mara, who ruled Fiji from 1970—1987, when his ‘Alliance Government’ lost to the ‘NFP—Labor—Coalition Government’ and that saw the end of the ‘Alliance Government’ and its politicians. The Alliance Party also saw veteran leaders like Ratu Sir George Cakobau who was the first Governor General of Fiji after the independence and Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau became the first president of Fiji. On the ‘National Federation Party’ front, A. D. Patel stands out as the oldest leader followed by S. M. Koya, K. C. Ramrakkha, Irene J. Narayan, Harish Sharm, Jai Ram Reddy and others. Along with these notable leaders of both the parties there were FIJI’S OLD PARLIAMENT many other politicians from both HOUSE—NASESE, SUVA the parties who provided selfless service to their communities and went away and are remembered, like artists who put up their acts on stage and go away forever . There was also one politician who will go down in the history of Fiji politics, who was neither in the Alliance Party nor in the National Federation Party but was one of the most popular politicians of his time. He was Mr. Butadroka, the leader of the Nationalist Party who was widely known and extremely popular for his nationalist views. The Fiji Labor Party and the SVT which were in prominence in recent past are not in representation in the Fiji parliament today. As Fiji has gone away from communal voting system, it may be wise to pay tribute to the ‘politicians of the past’ whose actions and contributions may have contributed to the development and well—being of Fiji’s past. 11
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INDIAN CINEMA T.V INDUSTRY AND THE MOVIE STARS OF THE PAST... ‘Indian Television Serials’ seem to be watched by the Indians and ‘people of Indian origin’ worldwide on a widely basis. There are numerous serials being telecasted on daily basis on many channels. T.V. Stars have their own identity and community different from the movie stars community and the Indian Film Industry. However, there are some artists who have been equally enagaged in both the industries, the t.v. and the film industry. The trend wihich is being seen now is, the movie stars of the recent past who may not be very actively enagaged in the film industry now, are making their way to the ‘t.v. industry’. There JUHU BEACH are stars, some of MUMBAI, INDIA whom have been successful artists of their time and have have very popular during their active ‘film days’ are seen in t.v. serials now. It seems the t.v. industry provides a long term enagagement unlike the film industry which is short term based on film by film basis. The continuing trend may provide the viewers the opportunity of seeing more of the film artists of the recent past on their tv screens reminding the viewers of the artists film industry era. 13
INDIA TRAVEL Sugar Cane Farming in Uttar Pradesh Being basically an agricultural country farms are seen in most parts of India. This is a flourishing cane farm along roadside in remote Uttar Pradesh—largest Indian state.
ChandigarhPunjab and Hariyana Capital The city of Chandigarh houses the capital of Punjab and Hariyana states. The city with modern structure portrays a modern lifestyle. The picture below speaks about the lifestyle there. 14
INDIA FEATURE LIFE IN A VILLAGE IN INDIA Life in a small village is far from the sophisticated lifestyle of the busy cities like Delhi and Mumbai. There are many thousands of villages in India’s cast land and one of the things common to them is that their lifestyle has not changed much, unlike the large cities. Villagers share unique lifestyle, totally natural and simple living style. It seems life has remained the same for the past decades. Change is not something of their choice and moving out of the village and settling in cities is not appreciated by the families and fellow villages. Apart from the social differences to the modern cities, the A VILLAGE SCENE—NORTH INDIA village has a lot to offer. The village surrounding fill the atmosphere with ‘ peace’ as everything seems so natural as if nature is at its best showering its blessings on the people as they go along with their daily lives. Life goes on and on as generation after generation India’s villages remain much unchanged except supply of tap water and electricity which in some cases have been made available to villages.
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INDIA TRAVEL Downtown Mumbai The Film City The most populous city of India with a population of around twenty million it is one of the most populous cities of the world. The Film industry there makes it most popular city in India.
Sri Guru Gobind Singh College The college in Chandigarh was a popular choice of Fiji students studying abroad during the seventies. A lot of students graduated from this institute during that period.
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OBJECTIVES OF ‘INDIA FIJI TODAY’ ‘To highlight the activities within the Fiji Community in America and abroad’ ‘To give review on major happenings in Fiji—An opinion only’‘ - FIJI TODAY—To enlighten issues on Fiji—past & present’ ‘To entertain people by pictures of Fiji’ ‘Inform and entertain Fiji Community about India through articles and pictures’ ‘To recognize people in Fiji Community’
Disclaimer—Fiji Today/Fiji Feature FIJI TODAYis the editor’s REVIEW on the major happenings back in Fiji based on the information from - Online Fiji Times; Fiji Live, Fiji Village, Fiji Sun; visitors to and from Fiji and other Fiji publications. These are editor’s own views based on the information from those sources. FIJI COMMUNITY articles are news items created and compiled by the editor. Any error/s and or misinterpretation are regretted and the editor / publisher is not responsible for any such error/s and or further discussions and or any liability. India Feature is the sharing of the editor’s own experience on visits to India. INDIAN FILM WORLD is a researched article .The Publisher/Editor of India Fiji Today will not accept any LIABILITY, CRITICISM, ANNOYANCE or ADVERSE REACTION what so ever, to the contrary of its intention caused by any misinterpretation, miss-understanding or non-acceptance of the same.—Advertisements The claims made by the advertisers are entirely their own and the editor / publisher does not necessarily support or endorse these claims.
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