Indian Weekender 19 August 2016 by Indian Weekender

19AUG2016 Vol. 8 • Issue 22

NZ’s only Kiwi-Indian weekly

SAKSHI ENDS INDIA’S MEDAL DRAUGHT

The Pulse of Kiwi-Indians since 2009

THE SPIRIT OF INDIAN INDEPENDENCE IN NZ

NEW ZEALAND PLANNING REACHES A NEW MILESTONE SATINDER SARTAAJ

MESMERISES AUCKLAND

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MELBOURNE WORLDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MOST LIVEABLE CITY

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www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

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Future of Auckland unveiled Auckland Council passes plan to build the world’s most liveable city

The Unitary Plan provides the city with a plan to deal with the growth seen in the past few years and expected in the following years.

¡¡ Esha Chanda

ne governing body, a 7000-page document and four days of heated discussions culminated into a historic moment for New Zealand planning. A new landmark for Auckland’s future was reached on August 15 when the council’s governing body made its decisions on the recommendations from the Independent Hearings Panel. The four-year-long process that saw public consultations, hearings, evidence review, and decision-making will now provide Auckland with a new single set of planning rules to manage the future growth of the city. The council’s decision will be made public on the Auckland Council website on Friday, August 19.

Unitary plan explained

t’s been in the news for a while and everyone is talking about it. But for the ones who are still wondering what the fuss is all about, here is what the Auckland Unitary Plan means. In

simple terms, it is the planning rulebook for the city that provides a set of rules for what you can build where. It replaces the Regional Policy Statement and 13 different district and regional plans, each with a different direction plan. Changes that are made in one part of the

city have effects on others. With the growth seen over the past couple of years in Auckland, the city was in need of a framework that was more consistent, long-term, and sustainable. The Unitary Plan provides the city with a plan to deal with the growth seen in the past

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few years and expected in the following years.

History of the Unitary Plan

fter the Auckland Council was formed in 2010, the government asked the council to develop a set of planning rules. In March 2013, Auckland

Council prepared the first draft of the Unitary Plan. More than 200 public meetings were held and the council received 21,000 pieces of written feedback that can be viewed on the Auckland Council website. Following this, the government appointed an Independent Hearings Panel in 2014 to hear the submissions on the proposed Unitary Plan and recommend a plan moving forward. After holding hearings, reviewing 10,000 pieces of evidence, and 13,364 submissions, the panel presented the council with its recommendations on July 22, 2016, which was published

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19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

on the council’s website on July 27. After rounds of debates and decision-making, the council finally passed the Auckland Unitary Plan on August 15. The council’s blueprint is based on an estimated future demand. It forecasts one million residents in Auckland by 2040, which means more than 400,000 new homes need to be built in the next two to three decades to meet the requirements of the growing city. The passing of the plan will help in realising the dream for a compact city: more homes that use less space, more housing choices, and efficient public transport. Some of the key decisions made by the council let the Auckland Unitary Plan to provide for: ¡¡ More than 400,000 residential homes to meet the demands of the growing city ¡¡ A more compact city to build up to six stories near town centres and transport hubs ¡¡ Focussing on high-quality urban design that rehashes the traditional approach of one house on a section ¡¡ Protection of the city’s historic heritage and 74 volcanic view shafts ¡¡ Managing rural areas to ensure that that the primary focus is on rural activities

TIMELINE 2010

Eight councils are amalgamated to form Auckland Council. The government passes a special legislation that requires the council to formulate a plan and develop a set of new rules. March–May 2013

249 public meetings are held; Council receives 21,000 pieces of written feedback and a draft of the unitary plan is prepared April 2014–May 2016

Government appoints an Independent Hearings Panel, chaired by Judge David Kirkpatrick, to hear the submissions on the proposed Unitary Plan July 22, 2016

The Independent Hearings Panel presents its recommendations to Auckland Council July 27, 2016

The recommendations are made public August 10–15, 2016

After four days of hearings and decisions made in meetings open to public, the Auckland Unitary Plan is passed August 19, 2016

A big step towards building a better Auckland

Aucklanders, it’s your chance to appeal

The final decision is made public August 19–September 16, 2016

lthough may Aucklanders fear that the plan will leave them with towering apartment buildings and would take away the city’s green space, the council’s vision lies on the other end of the spectrum. The Unitary Plan gives a new plan to address Auckland’s housing crisis. It has drawn much criticism from the public and media houses, putting pressure on the government to come up with faster and improved ways to deal with the problem. One of the many changes the plan proposes to make is on the types of houses built in different areas. It increases the area zoned as Mixed Housing Suburban—

Limited appeals allowed for a period of 20 working days on the council’s decisions

“

This plan eases zoning regulations and the more than 400,000 properties it allows for is about double that of the plan, which was notified by the council in 2013

400,000 properties it allows for is about double that of the plan, which was notified by the council in 2013. “The government has always said that council rules, which have blocked new housing development, are at the core of the city’s housing problems and so this new plan is at the heart of the long-term solution to Auckland’s housing problems,” Smith said, as quoted by Stuff. co.nz. Talking about the decision to pass the Unitary Plan, Auckland Council Mayor Len Brown applauded the council’s efforts. “We now have a very finely balanced plan, which will ultimately deliver for the benefit of Auckland. I also salute the outstanding professionalism of council staff,” he said. Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Auckland Development Committee Penny Hulse, who led the unitary plan process, said, “Without a doubt, this is the biggest exercise undertaken by Auckland Council since its inception and it simply couldn’t have happened without the drive and passion from everyone involved. “Without them, we would not have the plan we have today—a plan that will help grow and shape our incredible city in decades to come.”

that allows two houses with up to two storeys per section—by five per cent. The Mixed Housing Urban category, which allows constructions of two houses with up to three storeys, also increased by 48%. There will be a 25% growth in town houses and apartments with up to four to five storeys. Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith said the government had welcomed the passing of the plan. “This plan eases zoning regulations and the more than

fter the Auckland Council notifies the public with its final decision on its website, Aucklanders can review the decisions and file an appeal. Limited appeals are allowed under the law until September 16 to the Environment Court. You can search for your property address to find out the implications of the recommendations made on unitaryplanmaps.aucklandcouncil.govt. nz/UPRecommendation. Future details on the history of the plan, the modifications made and daily updates from the four-day decisions made by the governing body can be found on Auckland Council’s official website: www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.

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www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

Indian community calls on govt for a Hindi Language Week in NZ

¡¡ IWK BUREAU

dding to the diversity in New Zealand and recognition for one of the most spoken languages in the country, the Indian community has urged the NZ government to dedicate and support one week in a year as Hindi Language Week. Speaking at the 70th India Independence Day celebration in Auckland, Kiwi-Indian community representative Sunny Kaushal said, “Indian population in NZ is the fastest growing ethnic group comprising about 200,000 people, and Hindi is now the third most spoken language in NZ. The government should consider the week of August 15 every year as Hindi Language week in NZ [to coincide] with Indian independence celebrations.” Kaushal urged the Office of Race Relations Commissioner to support the week the same way it has supported a series of other language weeks in conjunction with community groups and government agencies. He was speaking in the presence of Minister for Ethnic Communities Hon. Sam Lotu-Iiga, Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy, Labour Leader Andrew Little, a number of other Members of Parliament, community and business leaders and members of the wider community. He has also written to the concerned Ministry for Ethnic Communities as well as Race Relations Commissioner emphasising on the need.

Suuny Kaushal

“Similar to the valued Pacific communities, this would [be] a great step towards recognition of a strong Indian community and a significant role that Indians [have] played over the last 108 years in New Zealand,” he said. “While [an] understanding of the community languages contributes to an inclusive society positively, it also holds high importance for communities [such as] Kiwi-Indians in maintaining their cultural identity, values, and passing it on to next generations.” Kaushal confirmed his plans to advocate for the top 10 languages in NZ to be given due importance and celebrated as respective languages week. According to him, besides mentioning Hindi-speaking population, Statistics NZ has also listed a number of sub-languages and India’s regional languages such as Gujarati, Marathi and Punjabi separately, whereas most of them speak Hindi as a common language.

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19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

BSCT celebrates Indian I-Day with patriotic fervour

¡¡ Rizwan Mohammad

undreds thronged to Sai Temple in Onehunga on August 13 to celebrate India’s 70th Independence Day. Organised by Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust Chairman Jeet Suchdev and Roopa Aur Aap Chairwoman Roopa Suchdev, the celebrations reached a new patriotic high with more than 700 people turning up for the gala. The cultural programme lined up for the day included performances from every age group and every state of India. India’s unity in diversity was clearly visible when individuals and groups from different subcultures of India, clad in their best outfits, climbed the stage and danced to Bollywood and regional patriotic numbers.

The event attended by almost every prominent face of Auckland brought an extra charm to the festivity. The day commenced with hoisting the Indian tricolour followed by the national anthem. A frolic atmosphere enveloped the hall with hoots and dance. Almost every individual in the hall joined the fete by dancing to retro and bhangra songs that flagged an essence of nationalism among the visitors. Present at the event were Auckland Mayor Len Brown, Labour Party Leader Andrew Little, Minister of Ethnic Communities Peseta Sam LotuIiga, MPs Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Mahesh Bindra and Parmjeet Parmar, Labour candidates Sunny Kaushal and Michael Wood, Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy, and community organisation leaders. The crowd showered a thunder of applause at the performance

by toddlers assisted by their mothers and burst into laughter and joy with the stirring dance performance by the senior citizen group. Students from Auckland University and schoolgoing children gave one of the best performances for the day with bright freedom fighter costumes and flags and props on the other hand. Clockwise from above: Parmjeet Parmar, Sam Lotu-Iiga, Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Jeet Suchdev and Roopa Suchdev awarding a performer; Jeet Suchdev addressing the audience; Mayor Len Brown speaks with the audience; Andrew Little with Labour Party members, children performing at the event

SIT celebrates I-Day

Members of the Indian community, Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) students and staff celebrated Indian Independence day on Monday, August 15 with a flag raising ceremony and morning tea.Graduate Diploma in Screen Arts (Digital Film-making) student Ketan Kumawat spoke to guests about the meaning of Independence Day and some cultural significances that are important to India. This was followed by the singing of the Indian national anthem and raising of the flag.

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NZ CELEBRATES THE SPIRIT OF INDEPENDENCE

Kiwi-Indians celebrated Indian Independence Day at Bharat Bhavan in Wellington on August 15, where the Indian High Commissioner HE Sanjiv Kohli hoisted the flag and read out the address of the Indian President Pranab Mukherjee. Auckland Indian Association and Manukau Indian Association also celebrated Independence Day on Monday, August 15 in Auckland in the presence of dignitaries and community leaders.

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SOUTH LINE

News-in-brief from South Island

Celebrating the tricolour in Canterbury

“

¡¡ Gaurav Sharma

At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.” Those were words of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru when he addressed the nation on August 15, 1947. Since then, we have come a long way. While no one can disagree that we still have a long way to go before India attains its rightful place in the world as a “civilizational powerhouse”, the country—home to one-sixth of humanity, and world’s third largest economy as well as the largest democracy— has taken giant strides towards that goal in the past 70 years. These sentiments above were in full flow the past weekend in Christchurch and nearby areas, as the Indian community in Canterbury celebrated Independence Day with patriotic vigour. “The Indian diaspora, always a large and dynamic entity all around the world, is composed of two main divisions. First is, people like me, first generation immigrants, who have lived a part of their lives in India and are familiar with what Independence Day means back home. [The] other section is the second and third generation immigrants who have not actually lived in India and may be unfamiliar with the emotions associated with August 15. So such celebrations are an effort on our part to remember our home country as well as share our history with Kiwi-Indians and the wider community,” said Deepak Sharma, a volunteer with the city-based Indian Social and Cultural Club that was instrumental in organising the Club’s mid-winter Ekta festival on August 13, part of Independence Day celebrations in Christchurch.

Anti clockwise from above: Brent Archer (left), with Shirish (right), and HR Head Mandy photographed outsie AuCom’s office; Indian Independence Day celebrations by ICG; flag hoisting ceremony on August 15 in Latimer Square in Christchurch; National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi (middle) addressing the gathering with Jo Hayes and Natu Rama (left); Christchurch City Councillor Jimmy Chen was the chief guest at the ICG event; performance on Subhdra Kumari Chauhan’s famous poem on Rani Laxmibai

Indian Cultural Group (ICG) The weekend-long celebrations started with a potluck dinner and a special quiz night organised by ICG on August 12 at the TeHapuaHalswell Centre. The quiz master was Dr Krishna Badami, an oncologist at Christchurch Hospital, and the host was Dr Kishore Malhotra from Sydney. In line with the patriotic feel of the evening, there were few dance and song performances as well. Paayal Sharma, a journalist who has recently moved to Christchurch from India and is still adjusting to the life in New Zealand, was overwhelmed with emotions while listening to the patriotic songs being played throughout the evening.

“While nothing can replace celebrating Independence Day back home with friends and family, celebrations [such as] these bring back those memories even if it is for a sole evening. We won our freedom after a hard-fought struggle spread over a century. It’s important that our young generation doesn’t forget this.” Christchurch City Councillor, Jimmy Chen, who was the chief guest at the event, congratulated the gathering on India’s Independence Day and thanked

them for making the city a vibrant place full of colours.

Indian Social and Cultural Club The Indian Social and Cultural Club’s organised Ekta festival on Saturday, August 13. The concert-style threehour-long celebration saw 21 performances from almost 135 participants. These included the Bollywood Dreams company, the Bharatnatyam Group of Christchurch, Nirosha and Group, Jalsa Hip Hop, and Laasya Kerela.

But the highlight of the evening was the part rendition of Subhadra Kumari Chauhan’s famous poem on one of India’s greatest women freedom fighters, Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi. “We had around 650 people attending the festival, which shows the strong connection Indian diaspora in Christchurch feels towards Indian history and culture,” said Natu Rama, President of the Club, whose family moved to New Zealand from Gujarat 100 years back. Rama, in his speech, spoke about Christchurch’s connection with India and shared the story of how the Cashmere area in Christchurch got its name after India’s Kashmir (the story was covered in Indian Weekender’s April 22, 2016 issue). Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, National List MP based in Manukau East, and Jo Hayes, National List MP based in Christchurch East, were the chief guests during the event. “In the last eight years that I have been in the Parliament, I have seen the contribution of the Indian community grow leaps and bounds in New Zealand’s success. This is a testimony to our shared ethos, and commitment to human democratic values,” noted Bakshi, while inviting the gathering to the opening ceremony of Global

Indianz Canterbury on Friday. The club also organised a special tricolour hoisting ceremony on August 15, at 7:30 a.m. in Latimer Square in the city’s CBD. The event ended with the gathering singing India’s national anthem.

Corporate world The city’s corporate world was also not far behind in recognising and honouring India’s freedom struggle. “Our company, AuCom Electronics, which is one of the firms in Christchurch with the most diverse workforce, will be flying the tricolour throughout this week to mark the Indian Independence Day,” said Shirish Paranjape, the International Sales Manager of the company who moved to Christchurch from Mumbai in 2002. Brent Archer, CEO of AuCom added, “This has been the tradition in our company over the last 15 years, and our small way of honouring what Indians achieved.”

Timaru The South Canterbury Indian Cultural Society, a non-profit based in Timaru, also organised a Disco Night on August 13, to mark the Indian independence, as well as provide an opportunity to new immigrants from India to get to know the local community.

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

India @70: a story of billion images

¡¡ Sandeep Singh

nvitation to write anything about India’s Independence Day is always a privilege that I have enjoyed over the years. Seldom I have to stress enough on what to write and which issue to focus! The story about India is a story in making and has numerous aspects to emphasise. On most previous occasions, my mind almost instinctively started working in an auto-pilot mode, churning out ideas after ideas and leaving my readers inundated with thoughts that were essentially mine. This time, it did not happen that way. Maybe Sunday’s sunny weather in Auckland winter had a disruptive effect on me. I became itchy, more than ever before, to know what other fellow Indians or people of Indian origin think about India’s Independence Day. Do they think about it at all? What memories do they have around it? How do Kiwi-Indians relate to India’s Independence Day? It was while juggling these questions in my mind that I found myself checking messages on my smartphone. Almost then, a lightning struck in my mind, to seek answers to the above questions from the smartphone itself—the most

“cool” thing of this time and age. I choose to invade the ordinary person’s personal virtual space with questions related to India. Mind you, many experts consider concepts such as nation as abstract or pedantic that does not offer much meaning to ordinary people. An intrusion in people’s much treasured virtual social space with such vague, pedantic issues was going to be a risky affair, inviting anything from reluctant disinterest to an outright disdain. On the contrary what happened next surprised

I noticed that everyone has a distinct way of relating with the country’s independence day. For some, it was a medium to connect with their roots, history, language, religion, or culture

me, and, it might surprise many. The reason why I say that is because, when seen individually, a lot of people complained about a perceived sense of apathy towards the nation. But when seen collectively, I found it to be otherwise. I found old friends, common acquaintances, and acquaintances of acquaintances, with whom I chose to initiate a dialogue. They had a viewpoint, often a strong and passionate one, about India and its Independence Day. I noticed that everyone has a

distinct way of relating with the country’s Independence Day. For some, it was a medium to connect with their roots, history, language, religion, or culture. For others, it was an opportunity to relate with the civic sense of nationalism. Either way, there was a sense of emotional connectivity with India’s Independence Day. There was indeed a variance in the individual thought process about ways of relating to the event, yet such differences were not a product of their respective demography and geography. It was just their personal way of thinking. A classic example of what a modern, liberal, nation should constitute of—a willingness of accommodating differing opinions. What follows is a narrative of all those views of ordinary people, who often deceptively appear as disinterested citizens. To start with, everyone has a crystal clear memory of India’s Independence Day from their childhood, which they relate to. Strikingly, these individual early memories appeared to be cognitively wired with a sense of “not doing enough” for the nation, usually by others. For me, probably this was more an outcome of lack of community

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building that provided everyone equal opportunities to express their views about the nation they belong to, rather than anything else. This obviously validates my current effort, more than ever, in inviting people to express their views on independence and then drawing a narrative from that rather than other way round. Another interesting observance was an individual sense of pride in relating with Independence Day and in transferring that to their next generation. Again, I found that a sense of pride was equally distributed within Indians in India, Indians in New Zealand, or anywhere else in the world. It is another matter, that like most other societies of the world, we fail to consolidate that sense of pride towards one’s nation, present so abundantly at an individual and collective level for an extended period of time. In general, those societies who have been able to manage that, without much ado, have been the one who have progressed materially and flourished culturally in the history. It is on this positive note that I chose to end my unconventional write-up on India’s Independence Day, acknowledging the fact that a lot has changed since India got independence in 1947 and India of today and the Indian people themselves. Today, more and more Indians are living globally in their adopted countries, like we do in New Zealand, and are developing new loyalties with their respective host countries without necessarily surrendering their past loyalties to their motherland. Therefore, it is absolutely meaningless to write about India’s Independence Day in the same old fashion and expect everyone else to relate with that. It is here that the new age leadership, the leadership of the Kiwi-Indian community in our case, has to step up and consolidate a sense of community building, so as to bind us together as a “one nation” who have same collective aspirations like everyone else.

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indians share their thoughts on I-Day Kelvin,

Arvinder

“The first thing that comes to my mind is that India freed itself from the clutches of the British Raj and went ahead preparing its own constitution. It was a moment of victory after 200 years because of our freedom fighters. It is a sense of pride that all Indians have in their heart and minds. It reminds me of my time as a schoolboy, getting up early and attending the flag hoisting ceremony at our school. Also, watching the parade on Doordharsan. Being a Kiwi-Indian, I wish to promote my country and its people. I also wish that all the Indians across the globe prosper in whatever they do and make India’s name prosperous.”

“Being from a Sikh family, I feel so proud how my community has contributed towards India’s independence. During the freedom movement, out of 121 patriots hanged, 93 were Sikhs. Of the 2,626 awarded life-imprisonment, 2,147 were Sikhs. Of the 1,300 martyred in Jallianwala Bagh, 799 were Sikhs. Considering that the Sikhs were hardly 1.5 per cent of the total population of India at the time, their sacrifices amounted to 90 per cent. I feel grateful for being able to walk freely, communicate freely, and so many others things that we are free to do because of our country.”

Ankit

Aucklnd

Sid,

“All I remember is that we used to fly kites on Independence Day. I just miss doing all that... That’s what I feel.”

Auckland

“This was the day when waking up early and getting ready for school didn’t seem painful, as regular classes were not held. We used to be well-dressed in uniforms and show up on time for flag hoisting. The act of unfurling of the national flag by the chief guest accompanied by the national anthem used to fill our hearts with a sense of patriotism. “Independence Day is about the feeling of loyalty towards the nation, the essence of being independent that lasts forever.”

Coline,

Auckland

“ I n d i a ’ s Independence Day means a lot to me. We should never forget that it came at a price. It is because of the sacrifices of innumerable people that we were able to be free and independent. However, we have lost the value of that independence somewhere and have become slaves to corruption, indifference and the chalta hai approach. As Kiwi-Indians, we surely miss the excitement of India’s Independence Day. Although we cannot find the excitement in the atmosphere here in NZ, it is good to know that it is being celebrated by various organisations.

Asif, Auckland

Aucklnd

Auckland

Johnson, Auckland

I lived in a community where people were involved d u r i n g Independence D a y celebrations. Our community used to come together to hoist the flag, play games and enjoy the special day. I loved going to school to hear the patriotic songs and always wondered why people played it on Independence Day. I wish we value life more than anything, we have freedom now but people lack freedom to live their religions. People are subjected to social, caste and other aspects of life that are not important. I long for the day where every one in the country can have the respect based on the fact that we are all equal.”

Saumitra,

New Delhi

“It is important that our kids and coming generations are taught the importance of our freedom struggle and also about our glorious ancient past. Thousands gave up their lives so that we can breathe in independent India; never forget their sacrifice. Let their sacrifice be the building stone for our future.”

“Whether I am home or abroad, Independence Day is a day of pride for me. My memories of celebrating Independence Day go back to my schooldays where we sang freedom songs, had fancy dress competitions where we had to dress up like our leaders, and of course, the day off from school.”

Dipesh, Auckland I don’t think that everyone understands the importance of our freedom fighters. Their selfless act is highly commendable. This is rare these days. Whatever we are doing right now, the opportunities that we are getting right now would not have been possible without their hard work. “As a child I use to attend flag hoisting ceremony near our apartment and sing national anthem. “I feel that there are a lot of problems in every country. We are trying to solve our problems but coming outside of India gives us an opportunity to see ourselves as an Indian first, and then a Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, etc. This is how I feel as a Kiwi-Indian.”

Abhijeet, Bangalore “It is an awesome feeling to salute the flag and sing national anthem in a group. I do not watch the news or debates on TV, as I believe that it is repetitive of what we hear every year and no new insights to how to build upon what we have achieved so far.”

Ruchir, Toronto “Yesterday I watched the movie Gandhi with my son and gave him some history lessons. “I have watched the movie numerous times when I was a child. However, as I am becoming wiser with age, I see it differently every time. Never before did I truly understand why Gandhi was so different than others. He understood that the change would need to come from within. So he changed himself, his thoughts, his conduct and gradually everything changed around him.”

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

Now pay less with AT HOP’s new fare system T ¡¡ Swati Sharma

ravelling around Auckland has now become simpler with AT HOP’s new fare system and an updated smartphone app, AT Metro, in place. The system is expected to be in line with the international standards, where your fare would be calculated according to the number of zones travelled. This means that during your entire journey, you can travel by bus, train or both and can change your mode of transport up to five times with maximum 30 minutes of transfer time between each trip. The city has been divided into 13 fare zones as follows: ¡¡ Hibiscus Coast, Upper North Shore and Lower North Shore in North Auckland ¡¡ Helensville, Huapai, and Waitakere in West Auckland ¡¡ City, Isthmus, and Waiheke in Central Auckland ¡¡ Beachlands in East Auckland ¡¡ Manukau North, Manukau South, and Franklin in South Auckland Let’s take the following example to understand the new fair system. Jack lives on K-road in Auckland CBD. He wants to go to Britomart, but wishes to meet two friends on his way—one on Hobson Street and the other on Victoria Street.

Waiwera

Hatfields Beach

Orewa

Maygrove

Millwater

Red Beach

Hilltop

Stanmore Bay

Silverdale

Matakatia Bay

Whangaparaoa

Stillwater

Gulf Harbour

Manly

Arkles Bay

Hibiscus Coast

Dairy Flat Helensville

Helensville

Long Bay Torbay

Upper North Shore Oteha

Browns Bay

Albany Albany

Mairangi Bay

Pinehill Rosedale

Campbells Bay

Huapai

Constellation

Huapai Waimauku

Herald Island

Kumeu

Wairau Valley

Greenhithe Bayview

Hobsonville

Massey North Massey West

Northcote

Highbury

Westgate Massey East

Waitemata Harbour

Waitakere

Waterview

Henderson

St Lukes

Owairaka

Sunnyvale Kelston Glen Eden

New Windsor New Lynn

Wesley

Epsom

Green Bay Titirangi

Blockhouse Bay Lynfield

Meadowbank

Hillsborough

Panmure Panmure

Ellerslie

Penrose

Royal Oak Onehunga

Woodlands Park

Waitakere Ranges

Pakuranga

Botany Dannemora

Highbrook

East Tamaki Heights

Otahuhu

Manukau North

Favona

Ascot Industrial

Shelly Park

Burswood

Westfield

Mangere

Laingholm

Maraetai

Beachlands

Cockle Bay

Botany Downs

Te Papapa

Waikowhai

Mangere Bridge

Omana Beachlands

Howick Highland Park

Sunnyhills

Sylvia Park

Mellons Bay

Farm Cove

Mt Wellington

Oranga

Waima Wood Bay

Half Moon Bay

Pt England

Stonefields

One Tree Hill

Three Kings

Bucklands Beach Eastern Beach

Glen Innes

St Johns

Remuera

Greenlane

Isthmus Mt Roskill

Oratia

Glendowie

Newmarket

Balmoral

Sandringham

Avondale

St Heliers

Kohimarama

Orakei

Grafton

Mt Eden

Mt Albert

Glendene

Mission Bay

City

Westmere

Eden Terrace Western Kingsland Springs

Te Atatu South

Henderson Valley

Narrow Neck Devonport

Britomart Herne Bay

Pt Chevalier

Ranui Swanson

Bayswater Stanley Bay

Te Atatu Peninsula

Waiheke Island

Waiheke

Belmont

Birkenhead

Chatswood

Royal Heights

Rangitoto Island

Takapuna Akoranga Hauraki

Birkdale

West Harbour

Waitakere

Hauraki Gulf

Lower North Shore

Smales Farm

Glenfield

Beach Haven

Whenuapai

Sunnynook Castor Bay Forrest Hill Milford

East Tamaki

Otara

Whitford

Mission Heights

Mangere East

Flat Bush Chapel Downs

Papatoetoe Puhinui

Manukau Heights

Manukau Totara Heights

Wiri

Airport

Manukau Harbour

The Gardens

Hill Park

Homai

Manurewa East

Manurewa

The system is expected to be in line with the international standards, where your fare would be calculated according to the number of zones travelled

Manukau South

Clendon Takanini Weymouth Wattle Downs

Conifer Grove Papakura Pahurehure Hingaia

Red Hill

Rosehill Opaheke

Drury

Franklin Paerata

Pukekohe

Legend Zone overlap: Stops or stations in two zones

To Tuakau & Port Waikato Waiuku

So he hops on a bus on K-road and gets down at Hobson Street. After 15 minutes, he takes a bus to Victoria Street, gets down for a

coffee with his other friend. After 20 minutes, he finally takes a bus to Britomart. Although he tagged on and off three times, he pays only

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$1.80 because he travelled within one zone. Jack will still need to tag on and off every time he boards on or off a bus. But the charge will be calculated only according to the number of zones travelled, even if he switches from one mode of transport to another during his journey. Auckland Transport has colour-coded the travel zones on

its website to make it easier for people to work out what their journey will cost. Travellers will need to add up the number of zones and check the fare table to calculate the fare. AT Metro app will make the journey planning easier for smartphone users, as they will be able to track their buses/trains in real time with the ‘Find My Stop’ feature. The new fare system became operational on August 14. It does not include SkyBus services.

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19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Sufi maestro Sartaaj creates magic in Auckland

¡¡ Swati Sharma

n his fourth tour to New Zealand, Punjabi Sufi singer Dr Satinder Sartaaj once again touched the heart with his soulful performance. A packed auditorium at the Vodafone Events Centre on Friday, August 12, spoke of his popularity among the Punjabi audience in Auckland. The mehfil-style concert was a family event with the audience ranging from youngsters to the senior citizens. A singer, songwriter, poet, and actor, Sartaaj was a pleasure to listen and watch as he performed on various numbers including his latest hit Hazaarey Wala Munda. Sartaaj sat with a notebook in front of him along with various instruments around him, including the harmonium, chimta, and daffli that he played occasionally. The ambiance on the stage was so charismatic that the crowd readily followed his lead and accompanied him with claps. Referring to New Zealand as a paradise, Sartaaj said that he had a soft spot for the country. The audience, who was in awe of his voice and melodies, kept asking for more. Veena from the audience shared her experience with us: “I loved him. He was fabulous — not only his voice but also his songs, and they were spot on with the reality of a Punjabi’s life and our general life these days. One of my favourites of his songs was Sai. This was certainly one of the best concerts I have ever been to.”

A singer, songwriter, poet, and actor, Sartaaj was a pleasure to listen and watch as he performed on various numbers including his latest hit Hazaarey Wala Munda

Sartaaj’s songs about the struggle that migrants or students face in foreign countries brought the emotional feel among the audience. More than 800 people present at the concert gave him a standing ovation in the end of the four-hour-long musical extravaganza. Sartaaj rose to fame with his popular composition Sai that was launched in 2010. He went on to give several hit numbers such as Jalsa, Rangrez, Sajjan Raazi, Mushtaaq and his latest chartbuster Whats app. At the end of the show, Sartaaj also launched the poster of an upcoming musical project Geetkaariyan by Sandeep Bath of Auckland that features singer Gurshabd from Punjab and Satta Vairowalia from Auckland. Dr Satinder Sartaaj will next be seen playing the lead role in an upcoming Hollywood project The Black Prince, a film based on the life of the last king of Punjab Maharaja Duleep Singh. The film also stars actors Shabana Azmi, Jason Flemyng, Amanda Root, Jack Gover and is expected to release later this year.

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undred of kids from four local schools and community created lasting memories during the July school holidays at Hunters Plaza. What was supposed to be one community wall in the centre made up of tiles with artwork,

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turned into two, 30m walls plus a parents’ room. The kids designed more than 700 tiles. Marketing Manager Monya van Wyk says, “ This project will give children a story to tell to their kids one day and has created an opportunity to show off their skill and inspire others.” The winning school was Bairds Mainfreight with their bright colour and bold designs. They walked away with a $500 Bunnings voucher. Hunters Plaza is extending an invitation to everyone to see for themselves the amazing artwork from the community kids.

Photos (including cover) courtesy: Davinder Singh Photography

Educating young minds on leadership day

¡¡ Rizwan Mohammad

ducating young leaders was the focus of the Leadership Diversity Day held in Auckland last week. The Auckland Interfaith Council, in association with Unitec Chaplaincy and Multi-Faith Team, organised a day of learning and interaction with young minds of different faiths at the Unitec Campus on August 10. The day focused on educating Year 12 students from different participating schools to understand world religions and its values. Student representatives from different faiths came forward to discuss what their religion stood for, and what values were imparted by their respective faiths, and how one could grow peacefully together in the multicultural society of New Zealand. The country hosts a wide spectrum of religions of which 59.6% are believers or followers of a religion. Another important discussion on the table was the hot topic of controlling climate change and how a school-level student could contribute in educating and bringing a constructive change in the environment. The presentations after a brief breakfast were done by Neeson

Top: Organisers of the Leadership Diversity Day along with students Above: Student representatives from different faith groups at the event Right: A student representative addressing the audeince

Naidoo from a Hindu perspective. Samaah Hussein presented from a Muslim perspective and Gurnoor Kaur from a Sikh point of view. The discussion on world religions and climate change was continued post-lunch from Jewish, Buddhist, and Christian perspectives. The presentations at the Unitec Marae Hall gave an opportunity to students from different faith groups to sit in groups, discuss the idea and put their thoughts

on to a worksheet. The aim of the event was to educate young minds to live peacefully in the multicultural society of Aotearoa New Zealand, as they are the leaders of tomorrow and carriers of the baton of multiculturalism.

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

POWER COLUMN

Celebrating being Indian

Phil Goff Labour MP

his week, the 70th Independence Day of India was celebrated in India, New Zealand and around the world. Indians commemorated with pride the courage and determination of those who led their country to independence from colonial rule on August 15, 1947. It was a struggle that had begun 190 years earlier by people who rejected the right of a foreign power to determine the future of their country. The struggle through the 20th century for independence is remembered for the inspirational leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, who promoted the principle of non-violent protest including boycotts, protest marches, and fasting. He was, for me, one of the real heroes of the last century. He is respected for his profound spirituality, his belief in social justice and his efforts to prevent the bloodshed, which erupted during the Partition. Tragically, within six months of independence, the man who had spent his life practising non-violence met his death at the hands of an assassin.

We remember, too, the leadership of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who raised the Indian national flag for the first time above the Lahore Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi. On Independence Day, we celebrate that India became and has remained the world’s largest democracy. While democracy has crumbled in some other countries, India has steadfastly maintained its democracy. The best way to honour the struggle and sacrifice of those who strove for independence is to take advantage of the rights and freedoms that they won for future generations. Too many of us don’t take advantage of the right to vote that was so hard-won. I

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hope that members of our communities in New Zealand will use their vote this September to determine who will lead their city in our local government elections and help to shape their city’s future. Independence Day was also an occasion to celebrate the enormous progress that India has made since 1947. India, today, is an influential and powerful country in the modern world with the ability to help shape a better, more prosperous, and peaceful world. On Indian Independence Day, we take the time to celebrate the contribution of Indian Kiwis to our nation. At the functions I attend around the city, it’s great to see young Kiwis of Indian origin celebrating

NEW ZEALAND

their culture. They are proud Kiwis but also proud of the heritage passed on to them from their parents. What is really good about New Zealand is that there is no requirement to choose between being a Kiwi and having to give up being proud of where your family came from. The vision I have for Auckland is a city that is multicultural and inclusive, where we see diversity as something that enriches our community and doesn’t divide it. We can’t be complacent about that. The phenomenon of Donald Trump in the US, of Pauline Hansen in Australia and Nigel Farage in the United Kingdom shows that it is all too easy for populist politicians to blame a country’s problems on minority ethnic or religious groups. From time to time we have seen that happen in New Zealand with people, for example, suggesting that our former Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand was “not a New Zealander” and that young Muslims should not be allowed to fly on planes! The suggestions are nonsense, and it was good to see a wide cross-section of New Zealander rally around our ethnic communities and rubbish those who made the comments. To all members of the Indian community in New Zealand, congratulations on the 70th anniversary of independence. Jai Hind!

NEW ZEALAND

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Helping our children to succeed

John Key Prime Minister

ver since I became Prime Minister, I’ve been focused on ensuring every child gets a great education, and the best opportunities to succeed in school and life. That’s why, under a National-led government, we’ve more than doubled investment into early childhood education since we were elected and introduced national standards so parents have a clear picture of how their child is doing at school. Back in 2012, we also set an ambitious target to increase educational success over five years. Our goal is to have at least 85%

of our 18-year-olds achieving a minimum qualification of NCEA Level 2 by the end of next year. New data released last week shows we are well on our way to achieving this goal, with more than 51,000 18-year-olds (83.3%) achieving NCEA Level 2 last year. To put that in perspective, that’s around 38,000 more students achieving this qualification than if the achievement rate had remained at the level it was when we came into government in 2008. This means more young people are leaving school with skills they need to succeed and have much brighter prospects. The data released also showed that last year more school-leavers undertook tertiary study than those who did not, and that participation in early childhood education has risen to a record level of

96.6%, which is great news. New Zealand has a world-class education system. As we look forward, the National-led government wants to ensure our schools can continue to provide the best education for every young person and prepare them for the digital world. That’s why last month we announced we’re introducing digital technology to the New Zealand curriculum so children can develop the skills they need to succeed in today’s modern world. It’s also why we’re investing in faster, unlimited broadband for our schools so they can better connect to the rest of New Zealand and the world. Last week we gave the latest update on our overall $2 billion broadband programme, with 2.4 million New

Zealanders now having access to ultrafast broadband. We’ve built fibre in almost every school and health centre and 90 % of our businesses. There are now more than 830 new households and businesses connected every working day—more than one every minute. The ultra-fast broadband programme is ahead of schedule, within budget, and it’s delivering economic and social benefits to hundreds of thousands of households, schools, and businesses. This is all great progress, but there is still more to be done. This National-led government will continue to work hard to help our young New Zealanders succeed and get ahead in life.

Law and order a priority for National govt

Kanwaljit Bakshi National List MP

n the last few weeks, I have participated in a number of discussions with the community on the law and order situation. Law and order are a priority for this National-led government. There is strong evidence that since 2008 we have seen a reduction in youth offending. The total crime rate is down 16% since June 2011, and there has been a 38%

reduction in youth offending, both as part of our Better Public Service targets. This government wants to stop young offenders from the outset. We are already seeing strong results through programmes such as the Rangatahi Courts in helping to prevent future crime from occurring. Early results have shown reoffending rates of young people who have attended Rangatahi Courts committed 14% fewer offences and were 11% less likely to commit a new, serious offence in the following year than comparable youth. It is important that our Youth Justice System is effective at stopping young people offending. The government is working to ensure the system stays focussed on

properly holding offenders to account and reducing the likelihood of them offending again. Justice Minister Amy Adams is now considering proposals around self-defence as part of her family violence law review. The use of self-defence is an important guard against violent offenders, whether they are close family members, members of the public or business owners. Police in our communities continue to do a fantastic job. There is no doubt that demand for police services has increased in recent years, and of course, the population has also increased. The government is aware of this and listens to what the public have to say.

The Prime Minister has said the government is looking into the possibility of increasing the number of police. While instances of burglary are becoming more widely reported throughout the media, police remains committed to improving burglary resolution rates and reducing the number of burglaries. From next month, police will also raise the priority level of house break-ins, moving it from volume crime category to priority offence category. Police are very aware of the increase in victimisation and are working hard to address this. I request my fellow citizens to continue to support good work of our police and for the benefit of all, follow the police parameters.

Celebrating New Zealand’s diversity

James Shaw Green Party Co-leader

his weekend I’m excited to attend my first ever Festival of India celebration in Auckland, in my capacity as Co-leader of the Green Party. Occasions such as these are an awesome opportunity to celebrate the rich diversity of New Zealand and Auckland in particular. I’m looking forward to meeting some Indian Weekender readers, watching some exciting cultural performances and hopefully shaking hands with the real guest of honour Tusshar Kapoor. We are lucky that Indian community organisations are able and willing to put on big events such as this that are a great introduction to Indian culture and heritage.

As many people celebrated the 70th India Independence Day celebration this week, we heard the call for the government to do more in supporting Indian culture and language. I would be thrilled to see more

official support for the Hindi language, which is being spoken across New Zealand in ever increasing numbers as the Indian community grows. Recently, the Green Party wrote in support of the Manukau

Indian Association receiving more funding to refurbish their Papatoetoe community centre. We think it’s crucial that the government support community initiatives such as this, which make a positive contribution to the

well-being of local communities by providing a space for sharing and celebrating different cultures. Over the past week, we have also seen a lot of discussion about the changing face of Auckland, some of which has descended into ugly stereotypes about ethnic communities in New Zealand. There are some significant issues with housing and other infrastructure issues in Auckland, which the government urgently needs to address. But there should be no room for racism or xenophobia in public life. The Indian community recently celebrated 125 years of settlement in New Zealand and are as much a part of the Kiwi life as any other group. Our country has changed a great deal in the past century, but one that has remained consistent is the tenacity and vibrancy of Kiwi-Indians who have settled here and who now call New Zealand home.

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www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

FROM THE BEEHIVE New ethnic community funding round opens

inister for Ethnic Communities Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has announced the opening of the funding round for the new Ethnic Communities Development Fund (ECDF). “The new contestable fund provides $520,000 annually to enable ethnic communities to be stronger, more cohesive and resilient. It is important that all ethnic people have a sense of belonging

and participation in New Zealand,” Lotu-Iiga says. The priorities of the fund are to support leadership development, social cohesion, and cultural events. “The ECDF replaces the Settling In Fund and is designed to better support the ongoing needs of ethnic people,” Lotu-Iiga says. “The fund promotes diversity and inclusiveness through ethnic communities. It also supports two key government

Creating safe environments for older people

Minister for Ethnic Commincaties Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga

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ssociate Health Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga says there is now easier access to the latest and best approaches for building safe, secure, and stimulating care homes for people with dementia. “Older people with dementia need close and continued contact with the real world. Things that enrich their lives such as plants and animals. At the same time they need to be monitored and protected all the time,” Lotu-Iiga says. The Secure Dementia Care Home Design Information Resource released today gives dementia service providers a handbook to help design the right environment. “It includes simple ideas and fixes that combine stimulating environments with state-of-the-art monitoring and security features,” he added. In 2011, more than 48,000 New Zealanders had dementia. By 2026, it is estimated that figure will reach 78,000, an increase of more than 60%. Since July 2008, there have been 2,500 new beds in new aged care facilities and 1,800 more beds from the expansion of existing facilities.

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ustoms Minister Nicky Wagner says Customs’ six-month drugs seizure statistics are tracking towards another record year and show drug interception systems are working well. “From January to June, Customs made 1,634 seizures at the border of numerous types of class A, B and C drugs including almost 143kg of methamphetamine, and 575kg of its precursor ephedrine,” Ms Wagner says. “Drugs can be sourced cheaply in some countries and the high prices in New Zealand make us an attractive market. Criminals attempt to smuggle drugs into the country using any way they can think of. The fact that Customs is making drugs seizures of all sizes, on a daily basis, suggests the many systems that are in place to protect our border are working well.”

strategies—the New Zealand Migrant Settlement and Integration Strategy and the Refugee Resettlement Strategy.” The funding round opened on August 15 and closes on September 27. Any not-forprofit group can apply. For more information on Ethnic Communities Development Fund, including how to apply, visit the Community Matters website www.communitymatters. govt.nz or call 0800 824 824.

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Thought of the week

I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become. —Carl Jung

Editorial City of the future

any Kiwi-Indians own homes in Auckland and the Unitary Plan passed by Auckland Council this week is significant for the future of the city. The new planning rulebook for Auckland, which will significantly change the city skyline and landscape in years to come, will come into force between September 19 and September 29. The 7000-page document signals a new era of where and how Aucklanders will live, work, and play for the coming decades. The new rulebook to squeeze in a million more residents by 2041, which tells people what can be built, where and how high buildings can go, was passed by the council on Monday, August 15. If you have a “reasonable” patch of land in your front or back yard where you previously couldn’t build, things could change. The Unitary Plan will allow for the development of dense housing in areas where previously, the council would not approve of. Although, all is not set in concrete yet and there will be a submission period from the city’s residents. While the council will be holding its breath and hoping for a minimum number of appeals to the plan, appeals of a geographic or policy nature could lead to administrative and complex challenges. Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, is growing at three per cent and is still in catch-up mode and would not get on top of it without working with large developers, bankers, funders, and central government. The earliest the rulebook can be operative is the first working day after the period for appeals ends on September 16, which is Monday, September 19. The governing body is not scheduled to meet until September 29 but could hold an extraordinary meeting anytime from September 19.

Pick of the week

*******

Wise call, Frank

he announcement by Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama that they will retain the current flag is to be commended. He explained that the money, which would be used to fund changes to the flag, could be better used elsewhere, such as assisting victims of Cyclone Winston that devastated the country earlier this year. It also had to do with getting national priorities right, he said. Watching Fiji win gold at the Rio Olympics, and noticing how the current flag was embraced with sentiment and emotion, was also key in Bainimarama’s decision. The proposed flag change was first announced in 2013 with a national design competition held in 2015. Twenty-three final designs were selected by the National Flag Committee. New Zealand Prime Minister John Key recently allowed the spending of $25 million on a national referendum for a new flag, instead of spending it on more important issues affecting his people.

This picture of Usain Bolt, the fastest man on the Earth, was clicked by Cameron Spencer, a Sydneybased photographer with Getty Images, where he can be seen sparing a smile towards the camera midrun during 100m semifinal on August 14 in Rio. The picture, that he says was clicked by chance, has become viral on social media.

Indian Weekender : Volume 8 Issue 22 Publisher: Kiwi Media Group Limited Editor: Arvind Kumar | editor@indianweekender.co.nz Chief Reporter: Swati Sharma | reporter@indianweekender.co.nz Reporter: Rizwan Mohammad | iwk.rizwan@gmail.com Reporter: Esha Chanda | iwk.eshac@gmail.com Chief Reporter - South Island: Gaurav Sharma Chief Technical Officer: Rohan Desouza | rohan@indianweekender.co.nz Sr Graphics and Layout Designer: Mahesh Kumar | mahesh@indianweekender.co.nz Graphic Designer: Yashmin Chand | designer@indianweekender.co.nz Accounts and Admin.: accounts@indianweekender.co.nz Sales, Marketing & Distribution: 022 3251630 / mahesh.iwk@gmail.com Views expressed in the publication are not necessarily of the publisher and the publisher is not responsible for advertisers’ claims as appearing in the publication Views expressed in the articles are solely of the authors and do not in any way represent the views of the team at the Indian Weekender Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 711 Mt Albert Road, Auckland Printed at Horton Media, Auckland Copyright 2016. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

Māori Phrase: Ka pai hoki koe! English translation: Good on yout!

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OPINION/EDITORIAL

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

India yet to realise its economic freedom

¡¡ Amit Kapoor

t has been just over 69 years since the stroke of the midnight hour when India awoke to life and its freedom. Over the past 69 years, we have had many of the pledges realised not wholly or fully but quite substantially. Barring some time periods, our freedom as people has remained largely intact. It is thus important at this juncture to look at some critical aspects of what this freedom has come to mean to us Indians—particularly from an economic viewpoint and what has been the role of the state in helping India expand the freedom of its people. At a recent conference we were asked some basic questions on our personal preferences and choices. Since freedom in a fundamental sense is also related to the expansion of our life’s choices for realising one’s potential we list some of these questions here. There were questions such as the number of participants approaching the Indian legal system for sorting disputes, the number of people approaching a policeman for safety purposes, the number of people going to a private doctor, the number of

people sending their children to private schools, the number of people buying bottled water and the number of people with diesel generators at home. A large number of people were reluctant to take the first two questions and a large proportion of people, to questions three to six, talked about taking private alternatives and the failure of the state. While one may cite the sample size as well as the sample as a problem (since most of the participants were from the National Capital Region (NCR) and about 60 of us were in the room) these do, to an extent, reflect some basic realities pertaining to choices and preferences which people in India make. In places where the people are largely taking the public system, it is not due to their choice but the lack of viable and proper private sector alternatives at affordable prices. Now this is not to mean that private sector does not have its own set of problems in India. These include greed and incompetence, like in the healthcare system, which appears to be outside the ambit of most of India’s population, as well as

high school fees that people often complain about. In this fundamental sense, the Indian state has essentially been minimal (a specific term in political philosophy meaning a state performing only the basic function of maintaining law and order) but in a unique sense of being present in most sectors but not performing any duty properly, barring national defence (where India has a well trained and professional human resource pool) but it’s defence production and acquisitions too are less than satisfactory. The fundamental problem appears to be that of priorities and understanding the role of the state. The basic purpose of a nation state is security. Apart from that, essential elements include providing education and healthcare. Here the private sector in India is propped up, largely as the state system is inadequate, inherently inefficient and slow with resolving problems in primary education. The problems are similar in the public healthcare system. Post the 1980s, after India gave up the socialist model of development, the state has

shrunk and has faced competition from the private sector in these as well as other distinct sectors of the economy. The choice-set for people has expanded—largely not due to the state but in spite of it. We have more cars to choose from, more pharmaceutical companies, more power producers, more choice with respect to air travel, more choice for banking services including ATMs, more choice for digital and mobile phone connectivity and the like. All these sectors evolved and competition essentially took care of prices as well as quality better than the state was able to. The role of the state has been restricted to creating the conditions for free and fair competition, which was taken care of by setting up independent regulators. The state has, in that fundamental sense, allowed for its shrinkage and changed its role from providing goods and services to enabling their provision. This is a direction India should be taking ahead in the years to come. This is not to suggest to immediately move out of sectors but to make the state more efficient and accountable in where it is essential and to enable

competition in sectors, which can make the system more efficient. The citizens, too, have to demand less from the state in terms of goods and services and more in terms of setting up conditions that enable their provision of those goods and services. India, in our view, is still to realise its economic freedom as it celebrates its 70th year of independence, which is dependent conceptually on important elements such as protection of property rights, voluntary exchange and freedom to compete in markets. We hope in the years ahead, India realises this economic freedom and enables any citizen to be able to approach the legal system or 17 police without fear and favour. That is the yardstick by which the Indian state should measure its performance and enable India’s true tryst with destiny. (The article is co-authored with Sankalp Sharma, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Competitiveness, India. Amit Kapoor is Chair, Institute for Competitiveness & Editor of Thinkers. The views expressed are personal.)

Facing up to the threat within

¡¡ Amulya Ganguli

he Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has given its guarded approval to Narendra Modi’s criticism of the cow vigilantes. Notwithstanding the caveat that Modi should not have said that 80% of the gau rakshaks were fake, the endorsement marks a giant leap forward for the Hindu supremacist organisation since its note of consent can be interpreted as the sanctioning of a “pseudo-secular” position vis-avis the holy cow. Indeed, this is exactly how one of its affiliates, the more virulent Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has seen it, for it has said that Modi will pay for his stance in 2019. Another saffron outfit, which is not a part of the Sangh parivar, the Hindu Mahasabha, has accused Modi of becoming a “carbon copy” of the Congress. How the fratricidal bickering pans out over the weeks and months will be a matter of interest to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s friends and foes. But two aspects of this development involving the vigilantes are clear. The most crucial is that the BJP hasn’t faced a threat of this magnitude earlier. Moreover, the danger is from within and not from the opposition although the latter will gleefully watch the BJP’s

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi

discomfiture. If the BJP did not suffer a serious rupture after the Babri masjid demolition, it may do so now because Modi is taking a position that runs counter to one of the saffron camp’s basic tenets such as reverence for the cow. By calling the gau rakshaks anti-social, Modi has touched a raw nerve where the parivar is concerned. Little wonder that the VHP’s vice-president in Uttar Pradesh, Sunil Parashar, has said that “Modi’s statement is an insult to all those who have sacrificed their lives for cow protection”. If Modi adheres to this line, it can lead to a major shake-up of the parivar’s ideology, moving it into the 21st century from its medieval moorings. As the Hindu Mahasabha has said, Modi has “gone back on

everything from Ram temple to abrogating Article 370 and is now turning his back on cows”. Since the Mahasabha, which is on the fringe of the Hindu right, does not have to follow the politically convenient line of the RSS, it can afford to be more blunt. It has long been felt by some in the saffron brotherhood that the BJP can model itself on the Christian Democratic parties of Europe, which are right-wing and conservative, but not fascistic. It is the element of fascism in the BJP, with its animosity towards the Muslims and Brahminical disdain towards the Dalits, which kept it on the sidelines of Indian politics till the 1990s. It would have remained there but for the precipitous decline

of the Congress and some of the latter’s foolish pro-Muslim steps like negating the Supreme Court verdict on alimony for Muslim women. Although the BJP’s rise has been facilitated by the Congress’s fall, there is apparently a realisation in the BJP that despite its current dominance at the national level, the pursuit of a strident pro-Hindu agenda is not feasible in a multicultural country. So the party first clamped down on the ghar wapsi and love jehad campaigns and is now targeting the gau rakshaks. Although a primary motivation for the criticism of the latter may be a desire to woo the Dalits before the UP elections since several members of the community were flogged by the vigilantes in Gujarat, that objective does not detract from the BJP’s green signal for punishing the law-breakers. However, it is also true that the saffron camp was not unduly perturbed when a Muslim was lynched in a village near Delhi on the suspicion of eating beef—RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat called it a minor incident—and two Muslim cowherds were killed in Jharkhand. Even then, the latest show of outrage over the rampaging vigilantes will be widely welcomed. At the same time, the disapproval voiced by the RSS

of the lawlessness of the gau rakshaks may be a temporary instance of censure. It is difficult to believe that the Nagpur patriarchs will disown their cherished philosophy of Hindu rashtra, where the cow is the national animal, because of the BJP’s electoral compulsions. As it is, several affiliates of the RSS like the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) have been voicing their grievances about Modi’s pro-market policies, based on globalisation, which militates against the concept of self-reliance. While the SJM is opposing foreign investment, the BMS is against the Goods and Services Tax, saying that it favours the rich at the expense of the poor. It is not only on the issue of gau rakshaks, therefore, that Modi is having to contend with dissenting voices from inside the saffron camp. He is also up against both the orthodoxy of pro-Hindu elements and the insularity of the parivar’s economists and labour leaders. He can however take heart from the fact that large sections of the population are with him on the matter of freeing India from backward-looking religiosity and embracing a globalised economy. (Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. The views expressed are personal.)

FIJI

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

FIJI

It’s party time as Fiji celebrates Olympic gold

iji is bracing for the celebration of a lifetime as the island nation awaits the return of its victorious sevens team after winning gold at the Rio Olympics. It is the country’s first gold medal ever, which the sevens team secured after thumping Great Britain 43–7 in the final. But before the party proper in the capital Suva, the western division will get the first chance to welcome the heroes as they arrive in Nadi on Sunday, August 21. For Fijians in the west who might be thinking that they would be left out of the celebrations if everything would be done in the Capital City, Sports Minister Tuitubou confirmed that they had a programme planned for them. “With all to be confirmed tomorrow, yes, we have something for the west, celebrations in the west could be held at Prince Charles Park on Sunday when the team arrives,” Tuitubou said. The final programme for the celebrations on Monday, August 22, for the Fiji men’s 7s team gold medal win should be finalised soon. Tuitubou said they were still making changes to the programme to welcome Fiji’s golden boys. But the golden Olympic medal public holiday

Above: Fiji 7s team in action; Right: Captain Osea Kolinisau celebrating the win

and the official celebration in Suva would be held on Monday. This is all in the tentative programme to see the smooth transferring of Fiji’s heroes otherwise they would have to go through another 10 hours’ drive in a usual three-hour drive to get to Suva as was the case in Ben Ryan’s first HSBC World Rugby 7s series win in the 2014–15 series. Fiji’s sevens Olympic gold medal performance won praise from all over the world for the clinical manner in which they demolished all their opponents,

Flag to be retained

he Fiji Government has decided that Fiji will retain her current flag for the foreseeable future. And Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says it has been apparent to the Government since February that Fiji should keep her noble banner blue. He said it also had to do with setting national priorities explaining that any funds to be used for a flag change would be better spent on assisting Fijians in their continued recovery from Tropical Cyclone Winston. “It has been deeply moving for me as Prime Minister to witness the way Fijians have rallied around the national flag as our rugby sevens team brought home Olympic gold for Fiji. And I know this sentiment is shared by most Fijians,” Mr Bainimarama said.

“While I remain convinced personally that we need to replace some of the flag’s colonial symbols with a genuinely indigenous expression of our present and our future, it has been apparent to the Government since February that the flag should not be changed for the foreseeable future.” “I urge every Fijian to display our flag when our victorious sevens team returns to Fiji on Sunday and during our special national holiday on Monday. “It is a time to celebrate not only their remarkable achievement but our collective unity and national sense of purpose.” The proposed flag change was first announced in 2013 with a national design competition held in 2015. Twenty-three final designs were selected by the National Flag Committee.

including nemesis New Zealand, to emerge victors. Sports commentators labelled it “Fiji playing sevens at its best, and the way it should be played”. Meanwhile, the end of Englishman Ben Ryan’s term as the Fiji 7s coach is fast catching on the heels of the gold medal triumph. Now as Fijians await him on Sunday for a nationwide celebration on Monday to thank him and the players, there’s headache and heartache already brewing as his three-year term as Fiji’s mentor comes to an end.

He is the talk of the world and overseas cheque books are open to get his service as his value as coach shot sky high after Fiji became the first gold medal winner of Olympics rugby. Among those rewriting the equation to try and keep Ryan here is Fiji National Sports Commission chairman Peter Mazey. He said there could be a way to retain Ryan. “It is Ben’s (Ryan) decision at the end of the day,” he said. Ryan’s contract expires on September 3, and he’s not of a mind to renew it amidst

Catholic women raise a record $200K in conference

atholic Women’s League national president Selina Lee Wah has praised the Catholic women in Fiji following a record-breaking $200,000 collection during their annual conference in Lautoka. With that, Lee Wah has set her eyes on seeing the organisation clearing outstanding debts and focusing on investing in a building of their own. Lee Wah was among more than 1,200 Catholic women from around the country who gathered at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Lautoka for the annual conference. She said the highest amount previously collected by the League was just more than $100,000 and she was ecstatic. She said the financial status of the League had never been better.

She owed this to a strict control of funds and her dedicated team of office bearers who all hailed from the North, including herself. “It’s pleasant to see an increase in interest amongst the Catholic women and especially their participation in the workshops that have been organised,” she said. One of the highlights of the conference was the craft competition among the different parishes. Items such as scented oil, mats and hand fans were featured from around the country. “It was good to see the women economically-empowered from the sale of their craft,” she said. Lee Wah said her major aim was to see Catholic women have their own building.

India to help 200 homes with solar panels

he Indian government will soon donate solar panels to about 200 households

in Fiji. High Commissioner of India to Fiji, Shri Vishwas Sapkal, made the announcement yesterday during the third national Hindu conference at Studio 6 in Suva.

He said women solar engineers who went to India to attend a special training would be provided with a refresher course and would install the solar panels to the 200 households. The refresher course will take place in two weeks time. Source: Fiji Sun

his revelation that Fiji and its people helped restore his fire— on a personal and professional level—when England left him disillusioned after being their longest serving 7s coach from 2007 to 2013. Whether his next step is Super Rugby, England’s Premiership in a top club such as Bath, or another job on the 7s scene, it was clear that our tiny nation had made him and his wife Natalie happy in the three years. “I came to Fiji and I just got back to basics again. I stripped away all the other stuff that sometimes comes with these programmes, too many people, too many layers — I have simple leadership, we have a very simple framework of what we do. We set simple standards, everybody knows what’s going on, there’s no politics around our group of players or our management — and it works.”

“India is popular for Fijians seeking medical treatment”

ndia’s High Commissioner to Fiji says India is one of the most sought-after places now for Fijians seeking overseas medical treatment. Vishvas Sapkal made the remark at the ceremony in Suva to mark India’s 70 years of independence. Sapkal was speaking in relation to affordable and better medical facilities. “Right now there is a team of 10 doctors in Fiji operating surgery on small children,” he said. He said India also invested in education, offering scholarships every year and other cultural programmes in place. Another initiative that the Indian government is looking towards is in the agriculture sector. “We see ourselves as a development partner of Fiji; we do a lot of development assistance especially in the agriculture sector which is a prime sector for all of us. “The Indian government has just provided two tractors to the Ministry of Agriculture and they are looking forward to more co-operations especially in the coconut sector as Fiji grows a lot of it.”

INDIA

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

INDIA

PM Modi’s I-Day address highlights the growth of Indian economy

¡¡ Mohd Asim Khan

thousand hearts beating with pride, thousands of feet tapping to patriotic tunes—the sea of humanity in front of Delhi’s historic Red Fort was throbbing with patriotic fervour as the nation celebrated its 70th Independence Day. The crowd erupted with a joyous roar and schoolchildren stood on their toes to catch a glimpse as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cavalcade arrived at the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort around half past seven amid a fanfare. He was received by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, junior Defence Minister Subhash Bhamre and Defence Secretary G. Mohan Kumar. Since no vehicles—except for those with stickers issued by Defence Ministry—were allowed in a two km periphery of the venue for security reasons, the public had to walk a considerable distance to reach the Red Fort. But that did not diminish their enthusiasm. The crowd once again erupted as soon as Modi appeared on the ramparts, though it was muted as compared to the thunderous applause one witnessed two

Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets sang the national anthem as the crowds, standing at attention, too joined in the chorus.

Indian economy highlights from Modi’s I-Day address

Prime MIinister Narendra Modi addressing the gathering at Red Fort on India’s 70th Independence Day

years ago when Modi delivered his maiden Independence Day speech. As he unfurled the national flag from the ramparts, overlooking the historic Jain Mandir and Gurudwara Sisganj in the front and the Mughal era Jama Masjid on the left, the booming sound of the ceremonial 21-gun salute filled the air. The PM did not look his assertive self for the most part of his speech, which sounded repetitive for the most part. There were flashes of Modi’s free-flowing

oratory on occasion, as when he pointed to the analogy between the Upanishads and upagrahs (satellites) and ‘Chakradhari Mohan (Lord Krishna) and Charkhadhari Mohan (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi), or when he shamed Pakistan over glorifying terror and mentioned the greetings he received from the people of Balochistan and the Gilgit-Baltistan regions of Pakistan. As Modi finished his speech, schoolchildren and National

From Nehru till today, Kashmir is India’s mistake: Mehbooba

hief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday, August 15 blamed the central leadership from Jawaharlal Nehru to incumbent PM Narendra Modi for the mess in Jammu and Kashmir and asked India and Pakistan to join hands because only a dialogue—and not confrontation— will solve the problem. Mehbooba said people of her state were not to be faulted for the turmoil that has rocked the Kashmir Valley in the past five weeks. “Neither is our country India bad. In oneway or the other, the mistakes have been committed by the leadership from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru to today. The fault is theirs,” the Chief Minister said after unfurling the national flag at Srinagar’s Bakshi Stadium. “The biggest part of democracy is dialogue. We have resolved so many issues but why have we failed to take forward the dialogue process here?” she said, stressing on talks to resolve the problems. Referring to the 1987 rigged elections, she said contestants, including Syed Salahuddin of Hizbul Mujahideen who have now turned separatist leaders, were then looking for alternatives to the National Conference and Congress but “it was not allowed”. Mehbooba’s first Independence Day speech was in sharp contrast to Prime Minister Narendra Modi address in Delhi. Her PDP and Modi’s BJP govern the state in coalition. While Modi lashed out at Pakistan for supporting terror and openly supported freedom for Balochistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, his ally

Modi made major comments on the Indian economy during his address to the nation: ¡¡ Be it the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank or the World Economic Forum, they have all declared India to be the best destination for global capital. ¡¡ GST is one such tax reform that will help us bring financial stability. One nation, one grid and one price are what we have worked on. ¡¡ We are working with the RBI to bring inflation to the four per cent, plus-minus two per cent range. Under the previous government, the inflation level had crossed the 10% mark, but we did not let it rise above six per cent. ¡¡ The government had brought down the cost of a Rs 350 LED bulb to Rs 50. We want to distribute 77 crore more LED bulbs.

¡¡ Earlier

village roads were constructed at the rate of 70–75 km per day. Now we construct 100 km in a day ¡¡ Public sector companies were always seen as ones that make losses. My government succeeded in bringing Air India back to a situation where it is logging operational profits. BSNL has also managed to report an operational profit. ¡¡ The impossible was made possible by adding 21 crore people in the Jan Dhan Yojana ¡¡ The government was trying to link all government schemes with Aadhaar to avoid leakage ¡¡ Post offices will be converted into payment banks. With the advent of technology, post offices are becoming irrelevant and the government is focusing on keeping them relevant. ¡¡ The government had decided to complete around 118 projects worth Rs 7.5 lakh crore of previous government which were pending for years ¡¡ Pension for our freedom fighters will be increased by 20%. So those who are receiving Rs 25,000 will now get Rs 30,000.

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NEEDS YOU! Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti

urged the two nations to come together and solve the Kashmir problem jointly. “So much blood has flown in the Jhelum River and it has no capacity to bear further bloodshed,” she said. The Kashmir Valley has been on the boil since the July 8 killing of a popular rebel commander that sparked a widespread unrest leaving 56 people dead and thousands injured. The CM urged people to denounce violence and said, “If we can’t find our solution in the world’s biggest democracy, we won’t find it anywhere else. We hope that the effort that was incomplete in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s time would now be completed under Narendra Modi.” The CM faced some embarrassment as she hoisted the tricolor that fell off the post while being unfurled. Witnesses said when she pulled the string, the flag landed on the ground. Two security personnel later held the flag in their hands as Mehbooba gave the ceremonial salute to the tricolor. The flag was later set right and hoisted atop the post. The CM has ordered state police chief to suspend those responsible for the incident.

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India, China discuss NSG membership

fter China blocked India’s bid for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the two countries had a “lengthy discussion” on the issue in a bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday, August 13. “Lengthy discussion on India’s NSG membership,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said while briefing the media after the three-hour-long talks. “The External Affairs Minister outlined the importance of meeting our clean energy goals in the context of COP-21 (Conference of Parties climate summit held in Paris last year),” he said. Swarup said that India offered to discuss any technical issues China might have and it was agreed that the Directors General of Disarmament of the two countries would meet soon. At the NSG plenary held in Seoul in June this year, China blocked India’s bid for membership on the ground that a country joining

said. The issue of China vetoing India’s bid to put Pathankot airbase attack mastermind and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar on the UN terror list also came up for discussion. Swarup said that China was urged to revisit its technical hold in line with its own professed zero tolerance towards terrorism. Sushma Swaraj also conveyed to Wang India’s concerns on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. “The situation on the border was reviewed External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj meets Wang Yi, Foreign Minister of China in Moscow on April 18 and further steps to strengthen peace and positive, constructive and held in the 48-member group should tranquillity were discussed,” an open spirit. be a signatory to the nuclear Swarup said. He said progress in bilateral ties Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It was also agreed to set up a was reviewed, as also challenges Saturday’s talks also focused new mechanism at the level of on some recent issues. “Positive on other bilateral issues, regional Foreign Secretaries to discuss assessment of expanding and global developments and ties. Regional and international investments, more infrastructure India’s preparations to host the issues including the implications cooperation, easier visas, greater BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, of Britain’s exit from the tourism and expanded cultural, China, South Africa) Summit European Union, the situation in academic and civil society this year. According to Swarup, Korean Peninsula, UN Security interactions,” the spokesperson overall, the discussions were Council reforms and forthcoming

Influx of foreign funds to keep rupee on steady trajectory

healthy influx of foreign funds in domestic equities and debt markets is expected to keep the Indian rupee on a steady trajectory during the upcoming week. “RBI (Reserve Bank of India) may continue to intervene in the spot and futures market to prevent appreciation in the rupee against US Dollar. At the same time, inflows in debt and equity markets may continue to push the US Dollar downward,” Anindya Banerjee, Associate Vice President for Currency Derivatives with Kotak Securities, said. “The result of this fight can be a period of reduce volatility and base formation in USD/ INR. Indian rupee is expected

to trade firm against British Pound and Euro. However, against yen, rupee may remain under pressure.” The Indian rupee is predicted to range between 66.50 and 67.20 in the very near-term. In spite of healthy inflow of funds, the rupee depreciated last week. It weakened by 11 paise to 66.89 against US dollar

from its previous close of 66.78 to a greenback on August 6. Lately, the influx of foreign funds has aided the equity and currency markets to recover from lower levels. For last week, provisional figures from the stock exchanges showed a hefty influx of foreign funds worth Rs 3,524.96 crore. Figures from the National Securities Depository showed that FPIs were net buyers of equities worth Rs 2,466.14 crore, or $368.53 million, from August 8 to 12. According to Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, the pace of FIIs fund inflow into the Indian equity markets will be another key factor for the indices movements.

G20, East Asia and BRICS summits were also on the agenda. “[The] South China Sea was not brought up by China,” Swarup said. An international arbitration tribunal in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled on July 12 that China violated the Philippines’ rights in the South China Sea, one of the busiest commercial shipping routes in the world. The court accused China of interfering with the Philippines’ fishing and petroleum exploration, building artificial islands in the waters and failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone. The tribunal held that fishermen from the Philippines had traditional fishing rights in Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea and that China had interfered with these rights by restricting their access. The court held that Chinese law enforcement vessels unlawfully created a serious risk of collision when they physically obstructed Philippine vessels in the region. China is locked in disputes over the Spratly and Paracel groups of islands in the South China Sea with other countries of the region.

Infosys to sack 3,000 techies as Scottish bank cancels deal

lobal software major Infosys Ltd. will soon lay off about 3,000 techies since the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has cancelled the contract for setting up a new bank (Williams & Glyn). “Subsequent to this decision, we will carry out an orderly ramp-down of about 3,000 persons, primarily in India, over the next few months,” the Bengaluru-based IT major disclosed on its website but did not share details with the media The Edinburgh-based RBS announced last week that it would no longer pursue its plan to separate and list a new UK (British) standalone bank (W&G) and instead pursue other options

for the divestment of its business. “We have been a W&G programme technology partner for consulting, application delivery and testing services,” the IT outsourcing company said on its website. According to company sources in Bengaluru on Tuesday, August 16, RBS signed a five-year multi-million dollar contract with Infosys and the US-based software major IBM for providing IT services to its proposed W&G bank “As RBS has a key relationship for us, we look forward to strengthening our strategic partnership and working with it across other transformation programmes,” the company added.

Gujarat government will be taught a lesson: Kejriwal

elhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, August 16 warned that the Gujarat government will be taught a lesson in the assembly elections next year unless it ends violence against Dalits. Addressing the media in Ahmedabad, Kejriwal said that an environment of “suppression” was very much visible in Gujarat as Dalits were coming under attack repeatedly. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader spoke

a day after some Dalits, returning from a rally at Una, were attacked by some people. The Dalits alleged that police took no action against the aggressors. “Police again did nothing to save them. This proves that the attackers are goons sent by the Bharatiya Janata Party government,” Kejriwal said. “I want to warn the Gujarat government that if they do not refrain from doing such things, people will teach them a lesson in the assembly polls next year that

they will remember for a long time,” Kejriwal said. He said the BJP government first targeted the Patidar community and was now harassing the Dalit community. “It seems every community in the state is frustrated with the government and is raising its voice. There is ‘jungle raj’ (lawlessness) in Gujarat.” Kejriwal, who turned 48 on Tuesday, earlier flew into Ahmedabad and then reached Sarangpur to pay tributes to the late Pramukh Swami,

the spiritual guru and head of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Santha who breathed his last on August 13. At Sarangpur, Kejriwal said, “He was a divine soul. He dedicated his entire life for the betterment of humanity and to promote Hindu culture. He kept on serving people his entire life.” AAP is beginning to make inroads in Gujarat and is on a membership drive all across the state.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

INDIA ABROAD

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

INDIA ABROAD

Indo-Australian’s ‘green steel’ could be game-changer for India

¡¡ Amit Dasgupta

he Guardian newspaper profiled Professor Veena Sahajwalla as “the woman who loves garbage”. For Sahajwalla, ever since she can remember from her growing up days in Mumbai, there was something fascinating about waste because she saw it as a hidden resource waiting to be tapped into. Her pioneering work completely transformed the way the properties of carbon-bearing materials are understood, including discarded graphites, plastics and rubber tyres. She has received international acclaim for inventing ‘green steel’—an environmental-friendly technology for recycling unusable rubber tyres to replace coal and coke in high-quality steelmaking. The technology has already been put into use in the building construction industry in Australia. Green steel enjoys an Australian IP. Where we see waste and rubbish, Sahajwalla sees locked-in resources and energy that need to be released. She calls this shift in thinking “the reform of waste”. A graduate of IIT-Kanpur, Sahajwalla

Professor Veena Sahajwalla

is a Scientia Professor at the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia. The global impact of science can be felt, she says, when curiosity is combined with problem-driven research and the credibility that it can be done. She believes that international partnerships are the way to go, especially strong linkages with industry so that

research can have a global impact and contribute to global good. Sahajwalla is hoping for collaborations in India through a wide canvas. This includes getting PhD students in the area of materials research at SMaRT in UNSW Australia and collaborations with Indian institutions on joint research projects using cutting-edge technology. Additionally, she is hoping that Indian industry would see the benefits of green

steel and “the reform of waste”. Excited at the significant opportunities India offers, especially through the recent programmes announced by Prime Narendra Minister Narendra Modi, Sahajwalla believes that her work and that of other researchers in world-class academic institutions such as UNSW Australia, need to be harnessed as they could positively impact India’s core interests and concerns by offering sustainable solutions. Green steel could be a game changer for the Prime Minister’s Smart Cities initiative. Winner of the prestigious Pravasi Samman Award in 2012, Sahajwalla is passionate about collaborating with Indian research institutions and industry. Speaking recently at a meeting of the newly-constituted Niti Aayog, Modi emphasised the urgency in tackling India’s mammoth developmental challenges. Globally acclaimed innovations such as the one that Sahajwalla and her team have successfully brought about could make a significant contribution. Indeed, for India’s huge infrastructure and building industry requirements, green steel could be the answer.

Indian-American official leads drive against police brutality

n Indian-American official spearheading the Obama administration’s campaign against police brutality and mistreatment of minorities has issued a scathing indictment of the city of Baltimore, accusing its police force of violating the Constitution and federal anti-discrimination laws. The head of the federal Civil Rights Division, Vanita Gupta, who oversaw an inquiry into police brutality and excesses in the city, said that its African-American community “bore the brunt”. Speaking at a news conference to release a Department of Justice report from the inquiry, she said her agency had entered into an agreement with Baltimore to reform the police. Gupta, who is also the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, is the most prominent of several Indian-Americans working in the civil liberties arena. The federal inquiry was launched after riots broke out in Baltimore last year during protests against the death of an African-American man, Freddie Gray, while in police custody. All the six police officers charged in the case were either acquitted or had the charges withdrawn leading to outrage among African-Americans and civil liberties activists. The Baltimore incident came after the police shooting of an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, the previous year sparked massive riots and turned national attention to police killings of African-Americans. Several such incidents gave an impetus to the nationwide Black Live Matter movement against alleged police atrocities on African-Americans. While the US government routinely accuses other

Vanita Gupta is the most prominent of several Indian-Americans working in civil liberties arena

nations of human rights violations and brutality against minorities, the Baltimore

report and Gupta’s actions against several cities turn a rare government spotlight on what goes on within the US. Gupta said the inquiry found that 44% of the people stopped by police in Baltimore were in two small African American neighbourhoods that had only 11% of the city’s population. The report released by her said that complaints of misconduct were not properly investigated or followed up by officials and were often covered up. Besides

the improper use of violence, the report said police coerced sex from people. Gupta has been working to reform police across the country amid growing protests against discrimination. Among the cities, she has taken on are Chicago, Cleveland and Newark, New Jersey. Her broad portfolio includes discrimination in voting, housing, banking, education and employment against religious, ethnic and racial minorities, immigrants, gays and transgender people.

NEW ZEALAND FIRST LIST MP

MAHESH BINDRA BASED IN AUCKLAND

Contact Auckland Office

Level 1, 21 East Tamaki Rd, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025 Ph: 0800 BINDRA (246372) mahesh.bindra@parliament.govt.nz

Authorised by Mahesh Bindra, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

SPORTS

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

SPORTS

Rio round-up August 12–18

ith Rio Olympics going on in full swing, it has been a week of historic moments and medals amid heartbreak for athletes. Here are the highlights from the week that was at Rio.

stop Sindhu. The match witnessed a lot of long rallies with both players displaying plenty of skills, excellent court coverage and a superb sense of placement.

Dipa misses medal at Rio but wins millions of hearts

Spirited Sakshi ends India’s medal drought at Olympics with bronze

diminutive 23-year-old Sakshi Malik touched glory at the Rio Olympics on Wednesday, August 17 by reaching out and grabbing the only medal India has been able to win at the 31st Olympiad. What’s even more astonishing is that she is the only women wrestler from

“To those who told me I am a girl and I could not wrestle, I want to say please show some trust in girls, they can do everything,” she said. Later, at an impromptu press conference, Sakshi was asked if she was still feeling the pain from the battering during the match. “After the medal all the pain has gone. If I had missed the medal, all the aches would have shown up,” she said beaming

ce gymnast Dipa Karmakar narrowly missed the Rio Olympics gymnastics bronze on Sunday, Aucgust 14 but won the hearts of millions of Indians. In the final event, she averaged 15.066 points to finish fourth. Dipa is the first Indian gymnast to make the cut for the Olympics in 52 years. The last time Indians participated in gymnastics

Murray keeps Olympic tennis title, wins second consecutive gold

Shuttler Sindhu enters Olympic semis

ndian shuttler P.V. Sindhu caused a huge upset, stunning World No.2 Wang Yihan of China in straight games to enter the semi-finals of the women’s singles category at the ongoing Rio Olympics. Faced with a much higher rated opponent, the 21-year-old from Hyderabad

Mokhra village near Rohtak in Haryana, the village which has produced several achievers in the field. Sakshi brought an end to India’s long medal wait. She clinched the bronze in the Women’s Freestyle 58kg category with a spirited comeback victory over Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan. The young wrestler overturned a 0–5 deficit in a hectic second round to script an 8–5 victory in the medal bout at the Carioca Arena 2 in Rio de Janerio. “I have stood up to the hopes of the country for the first medal. I was confident that I can win in the end even being down. The last two hours were the most difficult for me thinking whether the medal will come or not,” she said in her initial comments soon after winning. “This is the first time that a medal has come for women. It’s a success of my 12 years of dedication. My hard work has succeeded,” Sakshi said. It was a rousing display of fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude from the Indian. Aisuluu was clearly the superior wrestler in the totally one-sided opening round, displaying impressive strength and technique to take five points and open up a formidable lead. But Sakshi—who has previously shown a knack of staging strong comebacks—was a totally transformed grappler in the second round, taking eight consecutive points to send the sizable number of Indian fans in the stands into wild delirium.

Bolt’s target of repeating his 100m, 200m and 4x100m victories at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games.

at the Olympics was in 1964, but there was no qualification system in place at that time. Six men competed at the 1964 Games in Tokyo in the artistic individual all-round category. Till date, 11 Indian men gymnasts have competed in the Olympics—two in 1952, three in 1956 and six in 1964.

ritain’s Andy Murray became the first player in history to win two consecutive gold medals in Olympic men’s singles, downing Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in a hard-fought match. The intense match lasted more than four hours on Sunday, August 14 with both players—who had also competed in the doubles tourney in Rio—becoming steadily more tired and committing assorted unforced errors during the fourth set, reports Efe. Murray went out in front by 4-1 in the first set on Sunday, but Del Potro, clearly the underdog but a real fighter and sensing

Bolt creates athletics history at Rio Olympics

S scripted a 22-20, 21-19 victory in 54 minutes over the former World No.1 at the Riocentro Pavilion 4 on Tuesday, August 16. Sindhu will face the winner of the allJapan quarter-final clash between Akane Yamaguchi and Nozomi Okuhara in the last-four stage. Wang, who had taken silver at the 2012 London Olympics, was expected to be the stronger of the two, but it was Sindhu who dominated most of the exchanges. The Indian won the majority of the long rallies and used her power-packed smashes and cross-court shots to good effect. Wang, whose weak back-hand caught her off-guard several times, came up with a tough fight, but could not do enough to

tar Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt wrote his name in the history books, winning his third consecutive Olympic title in the men’s 100-metre event at the Rio Games. The multiple Olympic champions powered to victory in 9.81 seconds in Rio on Sunday, August 14. It was, however, one of the tightest races that Bolt has run during his legendary career. American star Justin Gatlin—Bolt’s biggest rival in the competition—was the leader until the closing stages before the Jamaican started to pull away, and had to settle for the silver with an impressive 9.84 seconds. Andre de Grasse of Canada took bronze with a time of 9.91 seconds. Sunday’s result saw Bolt win his third successive Olympic gold in the iconic men’s 100m event following his triumphs at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 Games in London. It also cemented his status as one of the greatest sportsmen the world has ever seen. This is also the first step towards

a chance to pick off the Scotsman, fought back to 5-5, whereupon Murray held his serve and took the set. It was in the fourth set that both players truly began to feel the exhaustion taking over. Play stayed even, back and forth until it was 5-5, whereupon Murray managed to grab the final game after saving two break points. And finally, with the match in a tiebreak, Murray managed to win the second match point for the gold. The men’s singles final is the only match at the Olympics that can go to a gruelling five sets. Earlier on Sunday, Nishikori had knocked off Spain’s Rafael Nadal to garner the bronze medal.

KIDS ZONE

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

Good morning T he sunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rays scatter across the sky Majestic light touches me It feels so warm And happy Good morning world Have a happy day !

Fun Facts A group of rattlesnakes is called a rhumba

Sanskriti Prabhakar

Danger for all

t was pitch black. When it happened they escaped, maybe they would bring back trouble again. Then I heard it. I heard the banging and crashing. Now was my chance I could finally do it. I was creeping down the hallway trying not to make a sound. I had to turn on the torch to find the door keys. And suddenly I heard the banging and crashing again. I hurried to look for the door keys but finally I realised that they were hanging on the door. So I took the key and unlocked the door and hurried outside. There you are, you cheeky pups, I whispered calmly. Right at that moment strangers came, strangers that looked like kidnappers. And they tried to steal the pups but luckily I caught them. Right at that moment my parents came and called the police and the kidnappers were caught. And then we were told to go inside. You might be wondering what my name is.

If you turn a shark on its back, it goes into a trance

Every cow has a unique pattern of spots

Hens lay, on an average, 300 eggs a year

A baby giraffe is called a calf and weighs 220 pounds

Sport 5 Differences

Send us stories, drawings, poems and other contributions by your little ones along with their photographs for this page. E-mail us at editor@indianweekender.co.nz

FEATURES

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Camera essentials

¡¡ Jeffery Chan

e all start our photography journey from the basics. I started with a 35mm film camera, which pretty much just had a shutter button. With the introduction of digital photography, starting photography as a hobby these days is easier and less costly. As you explore and grow your photography skills, you will need to have some other essentials besides your camera.

Tripod

T wrong investing in a good lens but they are usually pricey. I would suggest that you set aside half your budget for the lens and the other half for the camera body. A good lens will outlast the lifespan of a camera body and will still have good resale value. Do your research on the lens before investing in one, and if you can, borrow from friends to try it first.

here will be times when a tripod becomes handy and you wish you had one with you. I am in the same boat as I don’t usually carry my tripod with me. There are cheap tripods available and you might be tempted to just get that since you only use it occasionally. However, the cost of dropping your camera will justify getting a better quality tripod. Especially if it happens to drop into the water! When getting a tripod, invest in a good sturdy one and it will last you a long time. Just like a lens, you get what you pay for. I have used Manfrotto and still use them until today.

Lens filter

Camera cleaning kit

Camera bag

camera bag will be the first of your essentials as you want to keep your gear protected. Things to look out are the paddings and the material of the bag. Make sure the paddings are all around and that the material is tough enough. I have used Lowepro since day one and have not had any issues. I have used ThinkTank as well and they are built to last. Over the years, I have purchased three bags ranging from small, medium and large, and they still get used depending on the need. I would suggest getting what fits your needs and be prepared to get a bigger bag once you start expanding your camera gear.

Lens

epending on what kind of photography you are into, there’s a specific lens for that type of photography. You can’t go

ens filter is a filter that sits at the end of your lens and serves different purposes. The list below is just a sample of the most common filters used.

our camera will naturally get dirty, and you will need a cleaning kit to remove the dirt. There’s a variety of cleaning solutions ranging from dry to

wet, depending on how much abuse your camera gets. Always have a lens cloth in your camera bag for cleaning your lens/ filter. A wind blower is also important for lens and camera. Sometimes you will get dirt on your sensor, and these will appear on the photo. A quick fix is to blow away the dirt is by using the blower and not blowing from your mouth! Always have the camera sensor facing downwards when blowing to allow the dirt to drop.

Jeffery is the owner and photographer at STUDIO81 photography, which is located in Newmarket and East Tamaki. STUDIO81 is one of Auckland’s leading portrait photography studios and specialises in modern glamour transformation. Jeffery is an award-winning photographer.

By Manisha Koushik

Manisha Koushik is the talented daughter and associate of world renowned celebrity astrologer Dr Prem Kumar Sharma. A practicing astrologer, tarot card reader, numerologist, vastu and fengshui consultant is based in India but maintains a global presence through the online channels. She is available for consultations online as well. Let her tarot cards do the magic and numbers make you understand which choices in life will be best for you! E-mail: support@askmanisha.com | Website: www.askmanisha.com Contact: +91-11-26449898 Mobile/Whatsapp: +919015607139

WEEKLY FORECAST: AUGUST 19 TO AUGUST 25 ¡¡Aries (Mar 21-Apr 20) Taking a break from your hectic schedule seems difficult, but you will need to take time out. Don’t leave anything to chance, especially in exams or competition. You may be invited over by someone you only had a passing acquaintance, so take your call. Chance of settling down in holy matrimony is possible for the eligible. Engineers and architects are likely to win a prestigious project. Your busy schedule will keep you on your toes, but keep you fit! Lucky No.: 3 Lucky colour: Lemon

¡¡Taurus (Apr 21-May 20) Be sensitive to the moods of people around you. Don’t take any action without consulting the right people. It is best not to discuss personal matters openly. Certain things are best ignored, especially in the area of love. You are likely to end up paying more money for something that could have been bought for much less. Improvement in the health of those ailing will be slow but steady. Practice will make you perfect on the academic front. Lucky No.: 8 Lucky colour: Brown

¡¡Gemini (May 21-Jun 21) Your professional competence is certain to impress all and get you a lot of lucrative opportunities. Don’t become overconfident on the academic front, as there are many

a slip between the cup and the lip! Time management will be essential at work. Playing the blame game will be detrimental to your love life. You may fail to get your true value for money in an item purchased. Mental tensions may give you a sleepless night. Lucky No.: 5 Lucky colour: Turquoise

¡¡Cancer (Jun 22-Jul 20) If you find things are not moving according to plans, don’t turn a blind eye. Someone requires a helping hand on the domestic front. On the romantic front, a stranger may have a mysterious attraction for you, but stars advice caution. A misunderstanding in money matters can create a rift, so be transparent in all your dealings. Desist from consuming exposed food and drinks to avoid misery. Planning an out of town journey is on the cards. Lucky No.: 4 Lucky colour: Dark slate grey

¡¡Leo (Jul 23-Aug 11) You will need to get a second opinion for a persistent ailment to get rid of it for good. On the work front, don’t get befooled by a colleague, who pretends what he or she is not. Thorough preparation will hold you in good stead in a competitive situation on the academic front. Selling a property or renting it out is indicated and will bring in a lot of money. You enjoy the week overall to the hilt. Lucky No.:22 Lucky colour: Orange

¡¡Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23) Becoming a bit harsh at work will be in order to prevent subordinates from taking you for a ride. Your originality will win this week for you on the academic front. Travelling to attend an important event is indicated. On the social front, avoid those you find difficult to get along with. The possibility of a rich relation calling on you bearing gifts cannot be ruled out. Body builders, boxers, wrestlers and the like are certain to excel. Lucky No.:6 Lucky colour: Crimson

¡¡Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23) There is little hope of getting a raise that you were so keen on but this should not deter you in pursuing the matter. Much depends on you for making things easy or difficult for yourself on the academic front. Don’t be arrogant in matters of love, as you may fall from your high horse. Conserving money by safe investments is important, so don’t attempt any risky financial venture. Carelessness in health may cost you dear. Lucky No.: 7 Lucky colour: Lemon

¡¡Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22) Changes on the work front may commence and may make you apprehensive. After you have convinced yourself, it is best not to delay signing a financial document. Marketing and business development

personnel will find the week favourable. Your attempts to impress lover will succeed and may result in a wave of excitement sweeping the romantic front! Those working hard to get back in shape may have to work still harder. Meeting distant family relations is indicated. Lucky No.: 9 Lucky colour: Magenta

¡¡Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 11) You may be kept waiting for an appointment with someone important this week. Anticipating a rival’s move will keep you a step ahead of his or her nefarious designs against you. You may long for a change, as daily routine appears most unexciting, so start planning a vacation. Read the market well before putting your money in it or you may burn your fingers. You manage to stick to your exercise regime, despite frequent interruptions. Lucky No.: 3 Lucky colour: Dark yellow

¡¡Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 21) This week, it will be fun spending time with someone close. You will manage to find a workable solution to a professional problem and get the nod from higher ups. There is a fair chance of a flat or a plot getting allotted to you. A commitment you are scared of making will seem no more threatening. Those feeling listless for the past few days may need to take things easy. Tensions prevailing in your life will simply disappear. Lucky No.: 18 | Lucky colour: Light grey

¡¡Aquarius (Jan 22-Feb 19) You may need to keep your distance from someone who is not too happy with your habits. A symptom may come as a warning to you to avoid excesses. Falling in love seems a distinct possibility for the lonely hearts. A long journey proves comfortable. You will be able to give your best to a task at hand. A delayed payment may finally be received. A lot of work on the domestic front may impinge on your personal time. Lucky No.: 6 Lucky colour: Peach

¡¡Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20) You will feel nice spending time with people you were recently acquainted with this week. Expect a few challenges on the academic front but will be up to it! Your gift of the gab will need to be substantiated with ground work to impress higher-ups. It is best to get a hint from the spouse before buying a gift, as he or she may have other ideas. Focussing on your own self will benefit health and keep you fit. Lucky No.: 1 Lucky colour: Golden brown

FEATURES

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

EDUCATION

17-year-old aims to inspire future technologists

ear 13 Chilton Saint James School student Lucy Chen wants to help promote engineering and technology among young students. After months of organising and planning, her project that consisted of two community events NextGen Tech and Tech Talks was successfully carried out. On July 30, more than 110 young, curious minds from all over Wellington assembled together at Chilton Saint James School for the NextGen Tech series of practical workshops. Four back-to-back sessions introduced attendees to coding, humanitarian engineering, robotics and artificial intelligence. In the robotics workshop, students learned how to programme microcontrollers to make music and moving motors. The coding workshop was based around Scratch, a programming language that introduced them to game making. The humanitarian

engineering workshop invited students to simulate countries to “buy” resources to make water filters, while the artificial intelligence (AI) workshop tied it all together with a discussion around the future AI. “It was pleasing to see a range of students attending, including a mix of boys and girls as well as those who had some previous knowledge of technology and those with no experience at all,” Lucy says. She received a lot of positive feedback from parents after the event. One parent said, “My son attended the NextGen Tech day on Saturday (July 30) and he loved it so much. As soon as he got home, he downloaded Scratch on his computer and has been further learning how to code since the day.” Following on from the workshops was the first Tech Talks event, consisting of a series of short interactive presentations to help people understand how technology is evolving and its

Lucy Chen

importance to society. Held in the Little Theatre besides the War Memorial Library in Lower Hutt, this public talk attracted students, teachers and parents from all around Wellington, with close to 200 attending. The five guest speakers included Melissa Clark-Reynolds (Tech Entrepreneur), Rob England (Director at Two Hills), Rohan Wakefield (Co-founder at Enspiral Dev Academy), Hannah Gray (Technical Group Lead at Xero), and Daniel Xu (CEO of Spark64). Each spoke on the journey they had undertaken

in order to end up where they were today. All the speakers offered valuable advice to the audience, such as the importance of adaptability and keeping an open mind when it comes to decisions around careers. They also got the audience excited about new technology and opportunities, as well as destroying some common myths around “geeks”. The common theme for the night was one of following your passions and developing the ability to learn and adapt as the world continues to change around us at an unprecedented rate. Organiser Lucy Chen was inspired to organise the day after attending the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum over the 2015–2016

summer break. “Before the forum, I had associated engineering with fixing cars and hands-on factory work, which did not appeal to me at all,” Lucy says. The robotics module, as well as several inspiring speakers, made her realise that engineering is all about combining practical, creative and intellectual skills to solve problems that can make a difference in the world. It was later found that many people still hold these misconceptions, therefore her project of combating those stereotypes particularly among intermediate and high school students was the main focus. Lucy says people are responding well to the message that technology is broader than the general perception.

Campaign launched to reverse school Lower Hutt students line up for environmental summit funding freeze

ZEI Te Riu Roa will launched a nationwide campaign on Monday, August 15, to reverse the government’s freeze on school operations funding in order to secure sustainable resourcing for school support staff. In its May Budget, the National government snuck through a freeze to the school operations grant that pays for support staff wages and all other essential school running costs. “This funding freeze is unprecedented. No government as far back as 1999 has ever frozen school funding before, so this will put already strained school budgets under more pressure,” said NZEI President Louise Green. “Research done by Infometrics shows this year’s budget freeze actually equates to a 0.5% per student cut in operational funding for schools next year because of roll growth. It’s an even bigger cut when you take inflation and other costs into account. “This cut will force schools to make trade-offs between support staff and other running costs. More pressure will go on parents to pay larger donations to cover the funding shortfall. While the government has put in a small amount of additional funding for the most disadvantaged children they have done this by cutting the

NZEI has launched a nationwide campaign to reverse the government’s freeze on school operations funding for support staff

per-student ops grant funding across all schools, creating winners and losers. “We support more funding for the most disadvantaged students, but it should be in addition to adequate funding levels for all schools. Support staff [such as] administration staff, teacher aides, technicians and others are most at risk of having their hours cut due to the funding freeze. “Support staff already suffer from poor pay and precarious hours of employment despite their crucial role supporting children’s learning. The funding freeze puts them under greater stress and threat. We need better operational funding for schools that allows them to meet children’s educational needs. We also want support staff to be paid centrally

like teachers are, so they are not competing with other costs and resourcing needs,” said Green. The support staff campaign is part of the wider Better Funding Better Learning campaign being run with the PPTA to respond to the government’s proposal to introduce global funding, which could result in fewer teachers and larger class sizes. “This funding freeze highlights the perils of bulk funding. We need to reject bulk funding for support staff and ensure it is not extended to include teaching staff,” said Green. Support staff started their campaign by launching an online petition on Monday calling for parents and communities to message the Education Minister to reverse the funding freeze.

ower Hutt’s young people continue to have a passion for sustainability, with more than 90 students from 20 schools attending Kids Connect 2016 on Thursday, August 18. The Kids Connect event was a mix of discussion and activities about sustainability and protecting the environment. The first event, held in 2012, was inspired by Hutt Intermediate School students who wanted to connect with students from other schools who were also keen to protect the environment. Hutt City Council and organisation Enviroschools, which promotes sustainability programmes in schools, hosted Kids Connect at Eastern Hutt School. Enviroschools Facilitator Micheline Evans says, “This is a fantastic opportunity for young people to learn more about the issues that are important to them and feel empowered to do something about them.” The 90 young sustainability leaders participated in a range of science and arts activities, under the theme of this year’s event ‘The

Hidden World’. Students focussed on parts of the environment we can’t or don’t usually see, such as electricity and microscopic organisms that live underground. Kids Connect included a strong arts component. With the support of Creative New Zealand’s Creative Communities Scheme, three artists will work with students to develop waiata, a short film and a mural that explored sustainability themes. Other supporters included The Dowse Art Museum, GNS Science, Hutt Science, Wellington Water and Zealandia.

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FEATURES

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Shreya Ghosal promises a show to remember CFI events, the team managing Shreya Goshal’s upcoming concert, talks about the concert and what sets it apart from the previous shows.

About the show

t’s a live concert and Shreya Goshal is with her team of musicians and sound/light technicians. She will be paying tributes to the stalwarts of yesteryears and since the show is in the same week as India’s 70th Independence Day, she will be singing some patriotic songs as well along with her latest and hits from the past.

at the Michael Fowler Centre, followed by Auckland on Saturday, August 20. Then she flies down under to Sydney for her last performance of this NZAU tour on Sunday, August 21. Her maiden tour in 2010 was a sell-out two weeks before the show day, while the 2013 one was a close to sell out and both events were held at the Vodafone Event Centre. The best part of Shreya’s show is that she is on the stage most of the time performing all her hits one after the other.

What sets a Shreya Ghoshal show apart from other shows? What can the audience look t is pretty much the same. You need to ensure that all forward to the requirements have been this year? met and contractors arranged

as per what was sent to us. The main reason is that the associate with whom we are working has made it easy for us since they have meticulously worked the arrangements and given us all the information well in advance so that everything has been set seamlessly. We are looking forward to a great evening of music.

A little about her previous shows in NZ

his is her third visit NZ and this time she kick-starting the tour Wellington on Friday, August

to is in 19

s mentioned earlier, this year, NZ is blessed or lucky, I should say, that she performs in the capital city Wellington for the first time followed by Auckland. We must thank the initiators for this Rock on Music Ltd Hitesh Vyas and Arvind Shetty who have worked hard to achieve this feat and for choosing the best possible venue for the star. The Auckland promoter has ensured that it is bigger than before and therefore chose the Trust Arena, which is huge and massive. After the Asha Bhonsle concert a few years back, this is the next one and who knows, it might be followed by others.

Simple brain scan could help improve Parkinson’s treatment

esearchers have discovered that tracking changes in five brain areas linked to movement and balance with a simple non-invasive imaging technique could help evaluate experimental treatment to slow or stop the progress of Parkinson’s. The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to reveal areas where Parkinson’s disease and related conditions cause a progressive decline in brain activity. While current treatments focus on controlling symptoms, biomarkers provide a quantifiable way to measure how medications address not just symptoms, but the neurological changes behind them. Previous studies have used imaging techniques that require the injection of a drug that crosses the blood-brain barrier. “Our technique does not rely upon the injection of a drug. Not only is it non-invasive, it’s much less expensive,” said the study’s senior author David Vaillancourt, Professor at the University of Florida.

The researchers used functional MRI to evaluate five areas of the brain that are key to movement and balance. A year after the baseline study, 46 Parkinson’s patients in the study showed declining function in two areas—the primary motor cortex and putamen. Some patients showed declines in all five areas. The brain activity of the 34 healthy control patients did not change. The finding, published in the journal Neurology, builds on a 2015 University of Florida study that was the first to document progressive deterioration from Parkinson’s via MRI, showing an increase in unconstrained fluid in an area of the brain called the substania nigra.

The show not to be missed! www.ecotravels.co.nz PRESENTS

EK E W L A N FI EING B BEFORE OUT

Mika Singh, Atif Aslam, Roop Kumar and Sonali Rathod, Late Jagjit Singh and Pankaj Udhas followed by Paresh Raval’s Hindi play and Siddharth Randeria’s Gujarati plays

TICKETS ON SALE at www.eventfinda.co.nz

Phone Sales:0800 BUY TIX (289 849)

SOLD

VVIP $175 VIP $150 & Gold $125 A Reserve $99 B Reserve $85 C Reserve $65 D Reserve $55 E Reserve $40 Media Partner

Tell us a little about your work and experience

FI Events have been managing events for a little more than 12 years now and feel passionate about it. We put our heart and soul into every production and treat each one of them as our own and take it very personally. We have done numerous Auckland Events in

our formative years. But post O the show in 2010 with Shreya Ghoshal—Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai— we have been a part of many prestigious events that have come to Auckland. CFI Events became a name attached to every event and perhaps it is our attention to detail that is the reason for our team’s success. We have been privileged to be a part of mega events such as Maestro Pritam, Sunidhi Chauhan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Shankar Ehsan Loy, m

How are the tickets selling and where can it be purchase?

ickets are selling fast since it is only a couple of days away. As always with every show in NZ, the audience have realised that they need to be art of this or they will miss out like the last time. Get your tickets online on www. eventfinda.co.nz. You can also purchase tickets at outlets such as All Eco Travels branches, Yogiji’s Food Mart, Mt Roskill, Auckland Indian Sweets, Otahuhu and Giriraj Foods, Avondale. Reach us on 021 529 982 or free to mobile 09 213 3868. We look forward to everyone’s support from both cities to make this a huge success so that we get you more quality events in the years to come.

Lack of access to fresh food may lead to early heart disease

ack of access to nearby stores selling fresh food may increase residents’ risk of developing signs of early heart disease, according to a new research. Greater access to healthier foods may have promoted healthier diets and, in turn, less coronary plaque formation suggested the study, published in the journal Circulation. “The lack of healthy food stores may help explain why people in these neighbourhoods have more heart disease,” said Jeffrey Wing, Assistant Professor at Grand Valley State University. Past studies have found that limited fresh food choices and numerous fast food restaurants in poorer neighbourhoods were linked to unhealthy diets and have a greater likelihood of early atherosclerosis—a disease that hardens arteries and underlies many types of heart disease. In this study conducted upon 5,950 adults, researchers explored

how the limited availability of recreational facilities, healthy food stores, neighbourhood walk ability, and social environments may contribute to the early stages of atherosclerosis. The participants underwent a CT scan to detect the amount of atherosclerosis in a person’s arteries. Of participants studied, 86 per cent had coronary artery calcium readings at three different times, with an average of 3.5 years between measurements. The data suggested that decreased access to heart-healthy food stores is the common thread

in a more rapid progression of coronary atherosclerosis in middle-aged and older individuals. “We found that healthy food stores within one mile of their home were the only significant factor that reduced or slowed the progression of calcium build up in coronary arteries. Our results point to a need for greater awareness of the potential health threat posed by the scarcity of healthy grocery options in certain neighbourhoods,” said Ella August, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan.

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

Stay mobile, stay productive ¡¡ @MaheshK

various levels of customisation to suit your business and tracking abilities. Pricing varies.

Abukai Expenses

StayFocusd

buja Expenses is a musthave app if you are often on the road and need to record your business expenses and present them in report forms. The app, which is available for iPhone and Android, lets you categorise, record expenses, and take pictures of your receipts. It has tons of customisation options and can be integrated to the backend of various financial systems. The app can be tried for 30 days for free.

Microsoft One Drive

oogle Drive is an excellent cloud service. But in case you are looking for an alternative, there is Microsoft One Drive. It lets you share, synchronise files between your devices. One Drive comes with 15GB of free storage (5GB for new users) and unlimited storage for Office 365 subscribers. The app is available for almost all mobile and desktop devices including for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. You can check it out for free.

Mobile devices have made life easy, but they have also created many distractions that sometimes make us miss our deadlines. How about using your mobile devices to help increase your productivity since they are always in your hands or pockets? This week let us look at some of the apps that will boost your productivity. Do write back with your suggestions and feedback to mahesh@ indianweekender.co.nz

Podio

odio is an online project management application with a difference. It is more flexible, open, and uses the concept of a social network. The app integrates a chat app and e-mail-like communication tools. Users can be assigned tasks and responsibilities along with deadlines. The app offers

n today’s busy life, it is pretty easy to get distracted and end up in a tangle of looming deadlines. StayFocusd app comes to the rescue. The app is essentially a time manager and helps you concentrate on your work on hand. The app is based on Comodoro concept and lets you breakdown work into smaller portions. The app also sets a break interval and notifies you when it is time to take a rest. You can organise your daily tasks with ‘Today’, ‘Tomorrow’, ‘Someday’ and ‘Upcoming’ tags. It also limits time on social networks that are the primary cause of distraction and procrastination these days.

CamScanner

n Saturday, August 20, Mumbai Unplugged presents a unique, first-of-its-kind concert in New Zealand at the Dorothy Winstone Centre at 6 p.m. It will feature a never-beforeheard repertoire of sounds and rhythms with exotic influences presented creatively. World leading percussion wizard Taufiq Qureshi and star sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee from Mumbai will join Auckland musicians Ben, Jo and Manjitin to create a unique musical tapestry like no other. Mumbai Unplugged will feature music and rhythms that transcend genres, with sounds and beats from many countries around the world, while yet being solidly rooted in tradition. There’s a bit of jazz and blues, a bit classic Bollywood, Indian classical and folk, world music influences, some techno and much more, but all with firm traditional roots. Mumbai Unplugged is being hosted under the auspices of the Mohan Nadkarni Foundation, the University of Auckland School of Music and Might-I. Mumbai Unplugged will commemorate the 50th anniversary of a unique and successful experiment in the history of India’s popular music. In 1967, legendary Bollywood music directors Shankar Jaikishan collaborated with a whole host of Jazz artistes of the time to produce the wildly successful vinyl album Raga Jazz Style. The album was an instant success

Zip Schedules

ip Schedules is another app that makes it easy for employees and managers to interact, communicate, and schedule in just a few clicks. Managers can create, approve, and communicate schedules for employees. Employees can interact with co-workers or managers about their availability, offer to swap shifts or just send messages. The app lets users create standard shifts for multiple employees across multiple sites. The app can also be tried for free.

TripIt

amScanner is a fairly common but powerful app. Essentially, it is a scanner on

Auckland music lovers can’t wait for Mumbai Unplugged ¡¡ IWK Bureau

your mobile and lets you use your device’s camera to digitise any physical document in a jiffy. The interface is fairly simple and easy to use. The app also lets you crop, edit, and create multi-page PDF documents. You can easily share, merge and even password protect the documents. The app has a free version and a paid version with more functionality.

worldwide and is listened to with much nostalgia to this day. It featured 11 tunes based on Indian traditional and classical music but played mainly with non-Indian instruments popular in jazz such as saxophone,

trumpet, piano, drums, bass, electric guitars and piccolo. The only traditional Indian instruments were tabla and sitar. Taufiq, Purbayan and the Auckland artistes will recreate some of these tracks at Mumbai Unplugged. Taufiq and Purbayan have been in Auckland since August 1 conducting workshops over three weeks for the students of the University of Auckland School of Music. Mumbai Unplugged comes at the end of the workshops. Tickets for Mumbai Unplugged are selling fast and at $30 and $25, are extremely reasonably priced. Visit iticket.co.nz or Yogiji’s Food Market to book and buy or call organiser on 021-1712777. Tickets will also be sold at the door prior to the show (if not already sold out).

re you one of those executives who spend most of their time in the airport lounges and flights? TripIt app makes it easy for you

FEATURES

to create, manage, and view your travel plans and itineraries. All you need to do is forward your booking confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and the app creates a master itinerary for your trips. The app also offers integration with your e-mail clients and calendar. It has a free and a premium version.

Trello

rello is a much-appreciated project management app. The app offers visual collaboration tools for planning tasks and projects. The app is highly popular among software developers and is based on kanban-style work process. Visual style makes it easy to use for the most basic of tasks and even for highly complex projects. Users can customise workflows, invite co-workers to collaborate, upload photos and videos, etc. The app has a free and a paid version.

ENTERTAINMENT

I have a certain syntax as director: Karan

aran Johar has been experimental as a film producer but not so much as a director. He says it’s because he functions according to a “certain syntax” and feels he isn’t capable of handling a film such as Kapoor & Sons. For the movie, Karan chose to rope in director Shakun Batra. Asked why he refrains from experimenting with genres as a director, Karan replied, “I don’t know how to direct a film like that. I am not as talented as Shakun Batra. I think I have a certain syntax and I think he has an outstanding talent... His energy is different.” “What he did in Kapoor & Sons, I am not capable of it.” Karan is currently judging the ninth season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. He has decided to be strict. Having judged India’s Got Talent, Karan does admit that one is brutally blunt in judgment on the talent hunt contestants as compared to celebrity contestants in Jhalak... “Jhalak... has celebrities and they are already sensitive to the fact that they are competing with each other. So you have to be a little sensitive in your judgment. You can’t be insensitive because they are already celebrities in real life. “But having said that, this particular year I have decided to be very strict.”

Badshah’s new song a reflection of his life

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

their style o f music, and MTV Spoken Word has made an honest attempt time and again to give the country a taste of legit desi hip-hop. “My latest number in MTV Spoken Word is a reflection of my own life. I have worked extremely hard to reach where I am today and hopefully, my story through my rap will broaden the spectrum for youngsters with a keen interest in desi hip-hop.” According to a source close to the singer, “the pure hip-hop track is everything his fans had wanted to know” about Badshah and its video is “full of swag and breathtaking locations”. MTV Spoken Word promises hip-hop music from popular artistes of the county. Badshah’s video will release on August 17.

I don’t have a script for Salman: Farah

ctor Akshay Kumar on Monday, August 15, shared that he is teaming up with director Neeraj Pandey for an upcoming movie Crack. The actor, who is earning accolades for his recent release Rustom, took to Twitter on Independence Day to share an update with his fans. He posted: “Friends, I’m happy to share with you that after Special 26 and Baby, in

now and can join the team soon,” a source close to the superstar said. Rajinikanth was on a month-long US trip with his daughter Aishwarya, and returned to India on July 24. As part of his vacation,

Tiger Shroff to star in Student of the Year 2

ilm-maker Karan Johar on Monday, August 15, announced the sequel of the 2012 film Student of the year (SOTY) with actor Tiger Shroff as the male lead. Karan took to Twitter to confirm the news that was doing the rounds about Tiger being roped in for Student of the Year 2. He posted: “It’s official...Directed by Punit Malhotra Student of the Year 2 (‘SOTY2’) with Tiger Shroff.”

the Enthiran actor is rumoured to have attended a detoxification programme. It is also reported that he underwent a surgery, but nothing is confirmed. The superstar spent some time in Satchidananda Ashram in Virginia. In film-maker S. Shankardirected 2.o, a sequel to 2010 blockbuster film Enthiran, he returns as scientist Vaseegaran. 2.o, which is being made on a budget of Rs.350 crore, also stars Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as the antagonist, apart from Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey and Adil Hussain.

Big B looks back at Sholay moments

arah Khan, who has choreographed songs such as Munni badnaam and Fevicol se for Salman Khan, says she has no script yet that can be offered to the superstar who, she feels, has become “larger than life” now. Farah has directed stars such as Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar earlier. Asked if she would direct Salman, Farah replied, “I don’t know. I don’t have a script for him. Right now, I have not written anything for him. “I love Salman and he is my friend. I know him for years and whenever we work together, that song always becomes a huge hit. I love watching him, but now he is larger than life.” Currently, Farah is judging the ninth season of dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. She feels the show has become better over the years. “I don’t know if you all remember I had done the first season of Jhalak... with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In fact, we were the pioneer judges of the show. It’s great to be back because the show has become bigger, better and more popular,” the 51-year-old added.

Akshay collaborates with Neeraj Pandey for Crack

opular rapper Badshah, who is on a roll with the runaway success of the recreated version of Kala chashma, will be releasing a new song for MTV Spoken Word. He says it is based on his journey to stardom. Commenting on the track, Badshah said in a statement, “Hip-hop lets one stay true to

2017, I’m collaborating with Neeraj Pandey once again. This time, we come together for Crack—A Neeraj Pandey film. Releases Independence Day weekend 2017. Need your love.” The duo had previously collaborated on Special 26, Baby, where Pandey was the director, and Rustom, which had the film-maker in the capacity of one of the producers. Teasing his fans and followers with what they should expect from Crack, Akshay also shared a poster of the movie. It showed spectacles with one glass cracked, and it read: “Akshay Kumar in and as CRACK with a caption—”Every storm has a rage, every rage has a story”.

Tiger, who is awaiting the release of his superhero film A Flying Jatt, is excited to be part of the project. Tiger tweeted: “Wound up and charged sir! Yahoo Karan Johar, Punit Malhotra, Student of the Year 2.” Student of the Year is a coming-of-age romantic comedy, which was produced by Hiroo Yash Johar under the banner of Dharma Productions and in collaboration with superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s production banner Red Chillies Entertainment. Directed by Karan, the film marked the debut of actors Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan. And Sidharth shared that he “can’t wait to watch” the second part of the hit film. He tweeted: “Sounds exciting Karan Johar can’t wait to watch it best of luck Punit Malhotra and Tiger Shroff.”

Rajinikanth to start shooting for 2.o this month

uperstar Rajinikanth, who was out of action for nearly two months, will be back on the sets of upcoming Tamil sci-fi action drama 2.o later this month. “Rajinikanth sir is fully fit and he plans to join the sets later this month. The producers had a courtesy meeting with him at his residence over the weekend. He had told them that he feels much better

s Bollywood’s timeless classic Sholay clocked 41 years of its release on Monday, August 15,megastar Amitabh Bachchan walked down memory lane and reminisced about the journey of his film. Ramesh Sippy’s directorial, Sholay is known for its evergreen dialogues, penned by former screenwriter duo Salim KhanJaved Akhtar. It narrates a heart warming story of love, friendship and revenge. “41 years of Sholay... Released on August 15”, Amitabh tweeted on Monday. Big B essayed the role of Jai in the movie. The film had a stellar star cast— Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini and Amjad Khan. Sholay is also known for it’s hit songs such as Yeh dosti, Koi haseena, Mehbooba mehbooba and Haan jab tak hain jaan.

ENTERTAINMENT

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

¡¡ U. Prashanth Nayak

t’s the year of white-washes. A few months ago, we were subjected to Azhar where the featured man was shown to ultimately become Saviour of the Nation no less. Now we have another, inspired by a real-life story, where a naval commander in his white uniform is further washed pristine with the milk of hidden human kindness. What’s next from these visionaries—a movie persuading us why Hitler should have been given a Nobel Peace Prize? If only the real-life Commander Nanavati in 1959 had been given a defence lawyer who had the same imagination as this film’s scriptwriter, Nanavati would not have gone to prison at all. Rustom, directed by Tinu Suresh Desai, is a technically smooth accomplishment no doubt, but it smacks of hypocrisy and a flat refusal to accept the ugly facets of life, nevermind whether it based on real-life or not. The story aside, the film’s bigger flaw is its artificial melodramatic narration, which may have been alright in the 1940s, but not for the present where crime movies of calibre have become far more mature and realistic Ram Gopal Varma did not exactly hit the ball out of the park with his Not A Love Story (2011) but that film gives a vastly better idea of the hell of adultery and its merciless complications. The real-life events that have inspired Rustom, transpired in 1959, when the chain of events set

n Mumbai filmdom, the biggest enemy of a meaningful script is the so-called “hero”. Once this Messiah is done with his proposed modifications to the script, there remains no actual need for a villain. Any semblance of the story becomes mere seasoning around the massive meat of the hero’s constant presence, with some lip-locks and fisticuffs rounding out the formula. When Mohenjo Daro, inspired by the illustrious subcontinental civilization of the same name that was established circa 2500 BCE, unspooled its initial reels, I was still curious to see that ancient world so rarely showcased, but by the time the hero Sarmaan (Hrithik Roshan) has dug his paws, claws and talons into the tapestry, Mohen-jodaro gayaa bhaad mein, this picture unquestionably morphs into ‘Sarmaan-naama Part I’ (with Part II lurking to finish off those who have stayed awake). If director Ashutosh Gowariker is not careful henceforth, he will become even more successful in undermining the exemplary work he did in Lagaan and Swades. Opening frames, instead of employing imagination to ingeniously introduce us to Mohenjo-daro, elects to maroon us in a ravine where some youngsters are trying to snag a notorious crocodile. This poorly directed fail-grade sequence has ear-piercing shouts

off by an enraged husband rocked national news, ended the presence of juries in Indian courts and propelled tabloid culture in the nation. K.M Nanavati belonged to a profession that does not lend itself to long hours of marital togetherness—the Navy. Upon the commander’s return to Mumbai, he learnt that his wife was having an affair. The lover was killed by bullets and the court had to assess whether his death was the result of a scuffle-’n’-accident, a ‘heat of the moment’ decision, or cold premeditated murder. Scriptwriter Vipul K Rawal’s spin on this story is to posit whether larger noble interests and a pathetically fake croc, showing how shoddy the graphics are. Any concerns of ecological preservation are murdered, to begin with. Storylines from Agneepath and Bahubali are liberally borrowed to fill up this one. Young brave Sarmaan itches to ditch his village and journey to the big bad city. A champion from the get-go, he rebels against the baddies and slowly gathers crowd support as he rises to challenge the evil Senate Chief ‘Maham’ (a convincing sinister turn by Kabir Bedi whose face resembles that of an ageing tiger). Along the way, he wins the heart of Chaani (Pooja Hegde), a young lass whose ridiculous head-gear is atoned for by her sweetly winsome appeal. The pic’s unique potential would have manifested, had it sported an expert sneak-peek at the details of Mohenjo-daro without making it look like a boring documentary, seamlessly blended with an engrossing story of individuals.

underpinned this sordid tale. When husband and wife come face to face after her betrayal is revealed, Ileana D’Cruz’s acting is far more moving than Akshay Kumar’s. Ileana was only three years old when Akshay debuted in films, and in Rustom, we see how this young actress is able to modulate her facial expressions much better than the veteran in these type of movies. In Rustom, his face is mostly frozen in its grimness. For all his character’s great morality, he seems more like a robot who cannot emote as fluidly as sentient humans. Akshay can be terrific in pulpfiction roles with stabs of

Alas, Gowarikar’s most recent opus falls short on both counts. Mohenjo-daro was a planned city of many architectural niceties. Moreover, it had an intriguing societal organisation, the details of which are still not clearly understood. But the town and its folks here lack the redolence of yore, with even the few authentic details snowed under by designer touches. Putting a disclaimer at the start of the picture amounts to weak defence.

humour, but here, looming over most of the movie, his dull act is a significant downer. The scene where he, as his own defence lawyer, interrogates his wife in the witness stand, could have been a beauty of delicate conflicting emotions, but what we see is only a flicker. The larger flaw lies in the storyline. Scriptwriter Rawal seeks to sway the sentiment with a secret the revelation of which is supposed to salvage his hero but he presumes his audience is filled with bumpkins who will throw hosannas when the real sacrifice is revealed. The extenuating circumstances shown here and the ham-fisted direction on display left me cold. The production design has spent money no doubt but the result looks all too artificial and prettified. I never got the sense of yesteryear Bombay. Sound design can lend a lot of natural appeal to a movie but in Rustom, any such realism is strangled by the hackneyed background music which commands you what to feel. Santosh Thundiyil’s camerawork is ceaselessly cosmetic, reminding me always that I was watching a carefully faked story. Rustom is a stellar example of why so many of Mumbai’s mainstream films end up being escapist. Pretty surface, cowardly core.

Rating : 2/5

Director: Tinu Suresh Desai

The story of hero Sarmaan, his darling Chaani and the evil Maham is a little more interesting but is ultimately a generic exercise that could be dreamed up by most teenagers. Hrithik is in his default hero mode, doing precious little to test the bounds of his acting. Even the peerless AR Rahman who has previously done great work for the same director is in limited form. I earnestly hope Gowariker will ditch Hrithik henceforth. After Jodaa Akbar, this is the second golden brocaded egg they

have laid, cracking open to reveal not much within. After watching Mohenjo Daro, does an Indian feel proud of having witnessed a cine-story of a glorious subcontinental civilisation that was one of the world’s earliest and best ones? No, simply because this picture is over-cosmeticised and obsessed with a focus on its movie stars, while showing little interest in gazing at its intrinsic milieu. In fact, a gullible kid might come away with the impression that Mohenjodaro was revived by a stud named Sarmaan who French-kissed his mehbooba, slew monsters and then built an Indian version of Noah’s ark. Left to the fertile imagination of Mumbai’s Tinseltown, its interpretation of “Bethlehem” would sport Jesus Christ heroically rising to kill Pilate and Tiberius and becoming the everlasting Roman Emperor while the crowds sob and cheer.

Rating: 2/5

Director: Ashutosh Gowariker

FEATURES

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Anand’s Feeling Lucky again

Anand Naidu loves the camera and the camera loves him. He stepped into the film industry armed with a background in theatre and a script for a movie in which he would later play the lead character. Curry Munchers released in New Zealand in 2011 and garnered positive reviews. Five years later, Naidu is back on the silver screen with Dreamz Productions’ Feeling Lucky. Indian Weekender spoke to this young actor and a qualified chartered accountant to know more about his passion for films. ¡¡ Esha Chanda IWK: What drives you to the film industry? Anand: I have always had a passion for theatre and drama from my schooldays. I performed in school plays and later in the university, I took part in dance drama and theatre performances. Eventually, I created a group called Hamari Pahechaan that performed theatre and dances at various Indian events. We did exceptionally well. To challenge ourselves, we wrote a script. Ten years later, after a lot of re-writes and a lot of training in acting with various institutions, I produced and played the lead in Curry Munchers aka Vindaloo Empire, which was released in more than six countries. What drives me to the industry is that film is a medium to communicate the feelings everyone goes through but may not be able to express. It is the only industry where one can provide people with an opportunity to reflect on life and connect with it. In this industry, I am able to express myself and connect with people. IWK: You’ve worked on feature films, short films, and documentaries. What challenges do you face as an actor while working on different formats? Anand: All formats require you to be true to that character. Feature films and short films work on the same level where the same scene could be shot four times through different angles. The intensity and performance need

IWK: As a Kiwi-Indian, how do you think the two different cultures influence your work?

Anand Naidu, actor to be the same every time. They can be challenging, as you need to deliver the same energy and performance every time to allow the director to cut between scenes. In documentaries, there are not many repeat shots. Also, feature and short films have a different look, feel, and pace compared to documentaries. IWK: Tell us a little about your upcoming movie Feeling Lucky. What do you think the audience will take away from the film? Anand: Feeling Lucky is a Dreamz Movie Production where I play one of the lead characters. The Dreamz team has done an amazing job in this film, and I am fortunate to be a part of it. It comes out in the theatre later this year and I would say it is going to rock the audience. IWK: You mentioned that you’re a professional chartered account. How do you manage to balance a full-time job with your passion for acting? Anand: I have been a qualified chartered accountant since 2004. I received a New Zealand government award from Helen Clark for my valued contribution for assisting developing country to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development in 2001. I was recognised as one of the rising

I am currently on the verge of signing a major deal as an actor with one of the biggest Bollywood production companies on a crossover film. This would be a major break. stars by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2006. In 2011, I was featured on the cover page of NZ Chartered Accountants’ monthly journal. For the last four years, I have been the CFO for Island Hotels Limited that owns two resorts: Edgewater Resort and Spa Ltd and Club Raro Resort in Rarotonga Cook Islands. I find that my passion for acting provides the yang to my yin, which is my role as a CFO for Island Hotels. IWK: Which directors would you like to work with? Anand: I would love to work with the director of Jab We Met Imtiaz Ali, M Night Shyamalan, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron and last but not least Peter Jackson.

Paryushan

Date: Monday, August 29 to September 5 Time: Time varies on each day Venue: 44F Portage Road, New Lynn Jain community members are invited to participate in the celebration of Paryushana Maha Parva that will see full-day programmes starting from August 29. For more details, call Parag Shah on 021 278 8912 or check the website nzjainsangh.org.

Pakuranga Toastmasters

Date: Monday, August 22, and September 5 and 19 Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Venue: Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, 13 Reeves Rd, Pakuranga Founded in 1975, Pakuranga Toastmaster provides a safe, friendly, welcoming and fun

Anand: As a Kiwi-Indian, the two different cultures give me a wider perspective of how to adapt and manage the changing global environment as well as influence the shape of the future of NZ.

budgeting, and a little bit of directing. The thing I most enjoy is being in front of the camera. This is where I want to be in the future.

IWK: What are your future plans? Anything in the pipeline? Anand: I am currently on the verge of signing a major deal as an actor with one of the biggest Bollywood production companies on a crossover film. This would be a major break. We are working out the details so I am not in a position to elaborate on this further. In a few months, I hope to be able to release the news. IWK: Would you like to venture into other aspects of film-making such as direction and scriptwriting? Anand: I have ventured into scriptwriting, p r o d u c t i o n , s c h e d u l i n g ,

environment for people of all walks of life to build confidence, leadership skills, and improve their communication and public speaking skills. Themes, props, and sense of humour are ingredients that allow participants to learn and grow in a fun environment. Admission is free.

Oresete

Date: From Saturday, August 20 to Sunday, August 21 Time: 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday Venue: Mercury Theatre, 9 Mercury Lane, Auckland CBD New Zealand’s freshest young opera talent performs alongside veterans of the stage to present a fiery tale of sacrifice, danger, and triumph. First performed in 1734 at the Covent Garden Theatre, Handel’s rarely performed baroque Oreste opera is a tightly woven exploration of love and lust; a

desperate search for sanity in a world built on fear; a bitter struggle between destiny and desire.

Islam Open Day 2016 Date: Saturday, August 27 and Sunday August 28, 2016 Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Venue: Aotea Square, Queen Street, Auckland Different sections of the exhibition include: Islamic Arts, Islam and Science, Islamic History, Islam and Society, Islamic Foundations, Culture. There will also be ethnic food, attire, activities, and all the cultural diversity you can absorb in one day. So bring your friends and family along and join for a fun day full of vibrant colours and an amazing atmosphere.

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