A Magazine About Fiji and India Lifestyles Published in USA by Arun Maharaj
‘Fiji Community in America’ Greets Fiji Prime Minister During his Recent Visit to San Francisco Fiji’s Prime Minister—Rear Admiral (Ret) Voreqe Bainimarama’s visit to San Francisco Bay area early this month was well received by the Fiji Community here. Functions were held to welcome the guest in South San Francisco and Hayward. News of his expected arrival to the Bay Area went through the Fiji Community and people turned out in good numbers to meet and greet Fiji’s Prime Minister. During a question and answer session the Prime Minister was seen to be very friendly with the audience. Fiji is waiting for its first general Rear Admiral (Ret) election in eight years, due to be held in September of this year. The current Fiji’s Admin- Voreqe Bainimarama istration is in place since 2006 when it took over from the Qarase Government.
Published and Edited by Arun Maharaj—Hayward, California—USA- 510—875 0568— indiafijitoday@gmail.com
Late Jagdish Singh
THIS ISSUE IS DEDICATED TO LATE JAGDISH SINGH—FORMER ‘RISHIKUL SANATAN COLLEGE’ V.P. WHO PASSED AWAY IN SYDNEY RECENTLY
RETIREMENT PLANNING SERVICES TANFORAN PROFESSIONAL CENTER 140 HUNTINGTON AVE., STE. 140 SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CA 94080
MANAGING GENERAL AGENT
Supplement Your Social Security Income with Opening up Your Personal Retirement Plan FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Contact—RAM A MAHARAJ INSURANCE & RETIREMENT SPECIALIST RAM A MAHARAJ MANAGING GENERAL AGENT
RAM A.MAHARAJ 650—580 6254 - 650 872 7004
Insurance Specialist
India Fiji Today Arun Maharaj
Publisher & Editor - Hayward, California—USA 510 : 875 0568 - indiafijitoday@gmail.com
Publisher’s Profile Past Co-Chairman—California Business Advisory Council California Jaycees and Jaycees International Senator Past National President Fiji Jaycees Former School Teacher in Fiji
1
BULA BODY SHOP 1692 Tacoma Way # 7 Redwood City CA 94063
Web—WWW.Bulabodyshop.com Email—Bulabodyshop@global.net RELIABLE SERVICE GUARANTEED
CONTACT—Narend Singh 650—346 7172
BULA BODY SHOP 2
People IN FIJI COMMUNITY IN AMERICA—FIJI AND ABROAD Passing Away of Jagdish Singh in Sydney— A Former Vice Principal of Rishikul Sanatan College—Nasinu—Fiji The passing away of Jagdish Singh in Sydney, a former teacher in Fiji and Sydney has saddened and shocked the Fiji teaching community in Sydney. Sydney hosts a huge number of former Fiji teachers who are part of the teaching profession there and Jagdish Singh was one of them. As expressed by Mr. Dhani Lal and Mr. Indar Nair, colleagues of late Mr. Singh, his sudden demise has Late Mr. Jagdish Singh created vacuum among the former Fiji teachers’ community in Sydney. As a former colleague of late Mr. Singh, I also join in the mourning of a good friend. May His Soul Rest in Peace!!!
It’s America’s Students Graduation Time... Simran Sharma’s Graduation..
Simran Sharma
Students graduate from Kindergarten to University at this time of the year, here in USA every year. Simran Sharma of Hayward, California graduated from South Gate Elementary School and is all excited to attend the Junior High School during the next school year in August. India Fiji Today congratulates her and wishes her further success.
3
ISO9001 Certified ISO17025 Accredited DSCC Certified Energy Star Certified
ESTABLISHED IN 1991 ONE OF THE LARGEST ELECTRONICS TEST LABS IN SILICON VALLEY SERVING SEMICONDUCTOR COMPANIES FOR OVER 20 YEARS NOW ALSO OFFERING ENERGY STAR LED LIFE TESTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH LM-80-08
Registered under ISO 9001-2008 (International Organization for Standardization) to do business internationally, and DSCC (Defense Supply Center Columbus) certified to perform reliability tests on military products.
Services include: Electrical & Environmental tests of integrated circuits (chips). Failure analysis of microelectronic devices. Electrostatic discharge tests (ESD) Printed Circuit Board design and assembly. LED Life Testing (LM-80-08)
Welcome to www.icenginc.com or call 408 955— 9505 for your semiconductor testing requirements
Narendra Narayan—President/CEO
4
A Scene at Nausori Market
5
Roop Kala Jewelers 631 San Mateo Ave., San Bruno CA 94066
650 : 871 5611
CONTACT—Chandra Kant / Gulab Ben CELL : 650 : 808 0859—CASH FOR GOLD 6
Volume 1, Issue 1
A Unique Temple on the HillSide in Raralevu—Nausori A Unique temple founded not too long ago is a fascinating site to visit. It is believed to be the site of an old and abandoned temple which existed there decades ago during the ‘indenture system.’ Newly set—up, the temple has many small statues and small temples scattered in a wide area going down and upwards many steps. It is a full pilgrimage type set—up which is extremely unique in its structure. The only temple of the nature in Fiji, is worth visiting. Tremendous satisfaction and peace is felt as it provides you an atmosphere of undisturbed nature.
7
KASH FABRICS FABRICS 29576 Mission Blvd., CA 94544
510— 538 1138
DESIGNER SAREES WITH DESIGNER READYMADE BLOUSE
Email—kashfabrics @gmail.com
Exclusive Salwar Kameej
Fax— 510—538 4737
KASH FABRICS 510— 538 1138 8
A Perspective By Arun Maharaj—Hayward California-USA In Acquiring Physical Happiness, Many Times Peace is Ignored but it is Peace That we are all Looking for in Life... We live in competition, to better our lives, in terms of practical point of view, something that will give us physical satisfaction. This is a common characteristic of human beings to look for physical satisfaction but whether this gives peace to us is a concept that is generally ignored. Being practical in this competitive world is acceptable as this will lead us to achieve our goals in life, that will provide us immense satisfaction with wealth, fame and whatever but the happiness may be limited to material things only. Material acquisition is sometimes temporary even though we may have Arun Maharaj to spend our lives acquiring it. As migrants our thoughts, may have unintentionally, changed over things, particularly relationships, as we may be looking at life from a practical point of view as we try to blend with a lifestyle which may be completely alien to some of us. In doing so we may have become practical only and this may affect our relationships with people and things that we were close to, back in our former homes. Peace is attained by having positive emotion which is a rare quality found in us, some have more and some have less. Even by being practical in our daily lives we can always have some emotions connected with it. Positive emotion is an ingredient of a happy life! Back in our former home Fiji, we may have been more emotional as we looked at things from a different perspective. It is generally believed that things that are material are not the real things, they will not get us closer to peace but may give us temporary happiness. . Peace is something that can only be felt within us and can not be seen and can never be bought like material things.
9
Runnveer Singh Inside Jyoti Supermarket—Hayward
510 : 755 9156 INSURANCE SPECIALIST Insurance—Can you see your and your children’s financial future?
510 : 755 9156
INSURANCE SPECIALIST 10
The Glory Days of Voluntary ‘Service Organizations’ in Fiji... Fiji was once blessed with many service organizations that operated voluntarily throughout the country. Many needy people and organizations benefited from the contributions of these organizations. The organizations such as The Lions Club, The Rotary Club, The Fiji Jaycees, The Apex Club and others, flourished with various community projects throughout the country and were in news most of the time. Soon after the 1987 political happenings of the country many of these organizations ceased to operate or operated with minimal activities as many active people with leadership skills who controlled these organizations left the country to settle abroad.
‘FIJI NIGHT’ Celebration by Fiji Jaycees in Jaycees World Congress in Japan—1986. The then National President of Fiji Jaycees— Arun Maharaj is seated in the middle with delegates from Mauricious Jaycees, Jaycees International and Kenya Jaycees—
11
FUT5AL REPUBLIC 21615 Hesperian Blvd., Hayward, CA 94541 510—695 6411 www.futsalrepublic.com 12
A Dhaba in U.P. Dhabas are common sites along the road sides for the travelers. Dhabas serve as Mini— restaurants
Juhu BeachMumbai One of the Major centers in Mumbai Juhu Beach is often crowded with locals and foreigners. Film shootings also takes place on the beautiful beach.
13
Traveling Across ‘Bihar’ in the Eastern State The Eastern State of Bihar is far from the capital Delhi. While traveling in the interior by car you will come across difficult road conditions. The houses on the road side can be seen in the picture as village type. The state is on the far East of India with a population of 103 million and third largest in terms of population and Patna being the capital.
14
Indian Film World The Fate of ‘Aashirwad’ Late Rajesh Khanna’s Former Home
Like people, other material things could also have certain fate and an ultimate destiny. ‘Aashirwad’ on Carter Road in Bandra, Mumbai had the privilege of housing Rajesh Khanna for many years. The first superstar of Indian Cinema, Rajesh Khanna saw the stardom and the height of popularity that no actor has ever seen in the Indian Film Industry. ‘Aashirwad’ is believed to have been an abandoned house until actor Rajendra Kumar bought it and named it ‘Dimple.’ Later the house was bought by Rajesh Khanna who named it ‘Aashirwad’. It is the house where superstar Rajesh Khanna and young actress Dimple Kapadia lived after their marriage and had a family. The building had the privilege of seeing the superstar at his highest level of stardom where people, particularly girls, are believed to have lined up in front of the building for hours just to have a glimpse of the star in his house. The craze of Rajesh Khanna in those days was do intense that is difficult to comprehend in today’s period of the Indian Film Industry. His hits after hits with particularly Mumtaz and Sharmila Tagore dominated the Indian Film Industry then. He became a phenomenon and industry by himself. Then came the time when his stardom started to dwindle and he faced separation from his wife and family. The very ‘house’ which had seen unimaginable fame and success of the star, started witnessing decline in its visitors. Eventually a time came when ‘Aashirwad’ had to bid farewell to its celebrity occupant as Rajesh Khanna past away there in 2012. Today ‘Aashirwad’ stands as a building without its celebrity occupant. source-timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news-interviews/Rajesh-Khannas-bungalow-Aashirwad
15
Visiting ‘Ayodhya’ - the Birth Place of ‘Lord Rama’ The holy city of ‘Ayodhya’ in the Uttar Pradesh is the site of worship and pilgrimage for the Hindus in India and worldwide. People visit the city in large numbers as it is the place of the birth of ‘Lord Rama.’ The Summer heat is sometimes unbearable but the Winter is be very comfortable.
Entrance to the Birth Place of Lord Rama
16
A Suva Market Scene
17
18
A Scene in Central Suva
19
MISSION & TENNYSON 76 510 : 582 3995
Biru —Ser vice Manag er
PROPANE SOLD AT BEAT ANY PRICE
TUNE-UPS—BREAK SERVICE—OIL CHANGE– GENERAL MAINTENANCE
Smog Specialist
510—582 3995
MISSION & TENNYSON 76 20
A Scene at Ba Bus Station
21
Rishikul College, Nasinu
22
Ba Bus Station
23
Prime Properties of California REAL ESTATE SALES & LOANS
26250 INDUSTRIAL BLVD., SUITE 26 HAYWARD CA 94545
NICK KHELAWAN—BROKER/OWNER
510 : 755 4663 WWW.MyPrimeHome.com Email—nkhome4me@aol.com
Prime Properties of California 24
A Scene in Central Suva
25
VISIT INDIA FOR RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION- ACCOMODATION TOUR GUIDE IN INDIA
CALL MAHESH BHARADWAJ DELHI - INDIA Phone : 011 919213230423
MAYA’S COMFORT INN & SUITES NADI TOWN BACK ROAD—FIJI ISLANDS
26
SHAKTI HEALING Intergrated Ancient & Eastern Traditions
LALI SHAKUNTALA SINGH
430 Peninsula Ave., St. 5 SAN MATEO CA 94401
Describe your location by landmark or area of town.
By APPOINTMENT Spiritual & energetic Healer
650—430 8332 Shaktihealing@yahoo.com
SHAKTI HEALING 27
Going Down the Memory Lane…. Rishikul Sanatan College Student Council 1988 ‘THIS COLUMN IS DEDICATED TO LATE JAGDISH SINGH— FORMER ‘RISHIKUL SANATAN COLLEGE’ V.P. WHO PASSED AWAY IN SYDNEY RECENTLY’
This picture was taken during the school’s Annual Day in 1988—Seated in the middle from—r– l—facing the camera—Late Jagdish Singh—Assistant Pricipal, Dhani Lal—Principal, Arun Maharaj—Council Advisor, Indar Nair—Vice Principal If you have old pictures about Fiji / ‘Fiji Community abroad’ and if it can be included in this column , please send it, with a note about the picture, to the editor and you will be recognized in this column.— Editor– indiafijitoday@gmail.com
Objectives- To Create an awareness about specific happenings in Fiji Community in America and abroad—To inform about the current happenings in Fiji in review form – ‘Fiji Review’—To enlighten issues on Fiji by ‘Fiji Feature’ — To provide reading material on Fiji’s past happenings by articles on ‘Fiji Flashback’—To recognize people in Fiji Community in Fiji, USA and abroad— Inform and entertain Fiji Community about India through articles and pictures—To share perspectives on philosophical aspects Disclaimer—Fiji Today/Fiji Feature Fiji Today/Fiji Feature/Fiji Highlight is the editor’s view 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. Contributing articles are the writers’ views and opinion only and 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. 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 nonacceptance 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.
28
Pathfinder Travel Owner and President
KAMAL SINGH
Travel Consultant—Anand Kumar and Aveen Maharaj
Where in the world you want to go ? LARGEST WHOLESALER/RETAILER FOR SOUTH PACIFIC EXPERIENCED AGENTS AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Airline Tickets Cruise—Vacation and Honeymoon Packages
Will Guarantee Lowest Fares!!!
email pathfindertravel@sbcglobal.net
338 Jackson St. Suite 1 Hayward CA 94544
510—247 0670
PATHFINDER TRAVEL
Corporate Office
Sacramento Office
2142 University Avenue East Palo Alto CA 94303 Phone : 650—326 7516 650—688 1881 Fax : 650—688 1939 Jack Cell– 650 465 0288 650—465 3415 Email—info@e-zhomesinc.com
8449 Florin Road Sacramento CA 95828 Phone : 916—613 9941 916—381 9139 Fax : 916—381 9139 Jonathan Cell—916—613 9941 916—381 9139 Web—www.e-zhomesinc.com
PRESIDENT/BROKER/CEO
Jagdish C. ‘Jack’ Sharma
NOTARY PUBLIC Cell—(650) 465 0288 Agents
Rajendra ‘Raj’ Prasad 650—867 8321 Amrit “Mike’ Singh 650—376 8096 Irene Z. Sahib 650—679 5319 Ishwar C. Sharma 415—722 8301 Robert P. Singh 510—931 8725 Robin C. Sharma 650—814 8717 Jason A. Auzenne 650—630 0442 Glanmaria Mussio 415—425 7071 Julie H. Bharwani 510—364 2065 Mira Singh 650—834 1781 Melvin M. Prasad 650—477 4461
Shareeta Singh—NOTARY PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES 650—575 9084 Reena Singh—NOTARY PUBLIC Victor Valencia PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT 650—714 9035 650—326 7516 MORTGAGE LOANS Rita Sharma—NOTARY Robert Singh—LOANS OFFICER PUBLIC 510—931 8725 MARKETING AGENT SACRAMENTO OFFICE 650—326 7516 Shyam Kaliappan Vesh Sharma OFFICE MANAGER FINANCE EXECUTIVE 916—613 9941 650—326 7516 Ajay R. Maharaj OTHER AGENY SERVICES 916—813 9393 Mortgage Loans Bhovinder Singh New Purchase -Refinancing 916—812 9094 Line of Credit Jonatahan Kaliappan LIFE INSURANCE 916—613 9941 Representing Primerica Mohireen M. Lata– NOTARY PUBFinancial Services LIC SECURITY INVESTMENTS Signing Agent 916—381 9139 Representing Primerica Financial Services We are Members of E-Z WORLD TRAVEL Silicon Valley Ass. of Realtors ReA full service agency Infolink Air—Land—Sea Multiple Listing Services Bay East Domestic/International Assn. of Realtors Paragon Multiple Listing NOTARY SERVICES CORPORATE & Service SACRAMENTO OFFICE Metrolist Multiple Listing Services