Indian Weekender 20 May 2016 by Indian Weekender

20 May, 2016 • Vol. 8 Issue 9 • www.iwk.co.nz

NZ’s first Kiwi-Indian weekly newspaper

The pulse of Kiwi-Indians

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CONTENTS

20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

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New Zealand

Tighter regulation of overseas education agents needed Pg

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Opinion/ Editorial Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s e-commerce tripples in five years

India Abroad

Sports

Indian-American wins Young Scientist Award

IPL: Kohli, de Villiers help RCB win

Entertainment

Techmate

Movie Review- Azhar

Highlights from Google I/O 2016

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www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

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The chosen ones Esha Chanda

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our years ago, Indian Weekender introduced the Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame—an initiative to honour individuals who through their work and achievements make the community proud. In the inaugural year, MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his contribution to the Indian community in New Zealand as the first Kiwi-Indian Member of Parliament. Next year, the title was conferred upon Auckland District Court judge Dr Ajit Swaran Singh—the first Fiji-born Indian to be appointed to the District Court Bench in the country. Last year’s recipient was Dr Kantilal Naranji Patel for his extensive work for the community through East Tamaki Healthcare and Nirvana Health Group.

Unsung Hero of the Year

mong the individuals who make the community proud, there are those who work behind the scenes. They do not work for name, money or any personal gain; they work regardless of those aspects. They dedicate their time and efforts to serve the community, thus enriching the lives of thousands. Through Kiwi-Indian Unsung Hero of the Year, Indian Weekender wants to reward the accomplishments of such jewels in the community. The publication is looking for individuals who work for the betterment of the society but have not been recognised for their efforts. Introduced last year, the award was conferred upon Pravin Patel for his immense contribution towards the Indian community in the country.

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2015

Established 2013

Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame

ndians have been living in New Zealand for more than 150 years. Although a small community, their contribution towards the growth and development of their adopted homeland has been immense in every field, be it business, politics, art or culture. In 2013, Indian Weekender announced the launch of its prestigious award to celebrate the accomplishments of Kiwi-Indians, and today, it is the most coveted event in the Indian community.

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Last year during KiwiIndian Hall of Fame, Indian Weekender introduced two new awards: Kiwi-Indian Unsung Hero of the Year and Kiwi-Indian Young Achiever of the Year. The nominations for this year are closed, but here’s a look at the awards and the recipients of the past three years.

Young Achiever of the Year

he Kiwi-Indian Young Achiever award aims to encourage young KiwiIndians and support their endeavours. The younger generation plays an important role in the community. Their talent, contribution and ingenious ideas help the society to progress forward. They are a force to reckon with. The award acknowledges and promotes the achievements of young Indians, between the age of 16 and 35, living in New Zealand. It is a way to celebrate the transformational work done by youngsters and to motivate them to scale greater heights. In its first year, the award was bestowed upon the talented Prerna Sinha, who also goes by the name of DJ Charlie, for her achievements in the field of music at the young age of 27 years.

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New programme to support migrant women goes live in Papakura next month

Global Finance appoints industry business expert to board

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IWK bureau

lobal Financial Services (GFS) last week announced the appointment of Mike Skilling to the GFS board. Mr Skilling is a well-regarded professional director currently serving on several company boards in New Zealand including SBS Bank. He has held a number of executive roles at BNZ including the General Manager of Business and Rural Banking. He has also held the role of General Manager Customer Service at PGC Wrightson—one of New Zealand’s leading providers to the agricultural sector. He was a founding director of The ICEHOUSE and Board Member and Trustee for eight years. He has been a judge of the Auckland Business Awards through the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development) as well as the Indian Business Awards. He is a Fellow of Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) and a Chartered Member of the NZ Institute of Directors. “Mike’s appointment follows nine months of intensive organisational development work

IWK Bureau

Mr Skilling joins another well-known industry professional, Darrin Franks, on the board making for a solid level and broad range of financial service expertise to help guide GFS on the next stage of its strategic development at GFS and the timing is excellent as we look to springboard off this work in the 2016 financial year,” says GFS Managing Director Ajay Kumar. “The depth and

Mike Skilling with GFS Managing Director Ajay Kumar

breadth of experience Mike has across retail, private, rural and business banking sectors, together with insurance, managed funds and finance companies means his contribution to the governance of GFS will be immense and we are very pleased to have him as part of our team.” Mr Skilling joins another wellknown industry professional, Darrin Franks, on the board making for a solid level and broad range of financial service expertise to help guide GFS on the next stage of its strategic development. Mr Franks has been providing management and strategy consultancy to GFS since August 2015.

unique programme to support and enable migrant women to become fully connected and participatory in their local communities is being organised by the Auckland Regional Migrant Services (ARMS) in partnership with Community Expression. Social change advocate Dheepa Nedungat, founder of Community Expression, will hold three sessions for a small group of women who have found it difficult to settle into their new lives. The ‘Finding Our Voice and Identity’ programme, partly funded by the Papakura Local Board, will see the group explore barriers to self-expression to becoming empowered and connected to their communities, while also building new relationships with other migrant women. During the three sessions, women will explore their identities through sharing stories, identify their challenges, design strategies and actions to address those challenges and share their experiences of addressing those challenges, while setting up process to continue to support

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each other. The programme will be in English and will be on Wednesdays, June 8, 15 and 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the main room of the Papakura Old Central School at 57 Wood Street, Papakura. Nedungat, the founder of the Centre for Community Expression, an experiential education provider, is an experienced facilitator and mentor. She says, “Women’s discussion groups offer a truly transformative medium where women can feel companioned in their quest toward self-expression.” ARMS Regional Communications Manager Chinwe Akomah, who has organised the workshop with Nedungat, adds, “One of the key things, we at ARMS are trying to address, is the social and emotional isolation of women. Isolated migrant women often experience extreme loneliness, face cultural barriers and are coping with a host of other issues as both a result and a cause of isolation. We hope this workshop will support migrant women in overcoming these barriers and feel more integrated, empowered and secure in Auckland.”

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www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

Tighter regulation of overseas education agents needed

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ITA Media Desk

he recent TV3 investigation into the fraudulent applications being submitted to the Mumbai Immigration office has revealed the dark side of some of the agents in India who use false documentation to come to New Zealand. However, it is heartening to know that the government agencies, Immigration NZ/ NZQA, and other institutions are doing what is necessary to address this issue. The very fact that so many fraudulent applications have been detected is a positive sign that the measures to detect fraud are working. The education sector is worth $3 billion with close to 30,000 jobs nationwide. The issue, therefore, needs to be approached cautiously with wellconsidered steps towards correction rather than sensational sabre-rattling, especially in the media. The responsibility lies with all stakeholders of the industry beginning with students, providers, and government agencies such as ENZ, NZQA, and INZ to identify and report any activity or entity

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• • • • • that even remotely seems fraudulent. An approach of information sharing, collective ownership and responsibility is required than accusatory finger pointing. The approach should be to establish a well-thought-out, long-term solution in the form of education and regulation of agents, applied in a culture specific context i.e. not a Kiwi solution to a problem in India. India Trade Alliance as a bilateral business association with education as one of the key focus areas, can offer support to the government and industry stakeholders as a connector, enabler, and advocator.

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Auckland Writers Festival 2016 breaks all records IWK Bureau

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IWK Bureau

he City of Sails placed itself at the heart of the written world this week as the Auckland Writers Festival broke its own record, with 63,000 seats filled. People young and old flocked to the festival, which is celebrating its 16th year, to see more than 150 novelists, playwrights, song writers, scientists, historians, children’s writers, critics, editors, illustrators and poets from New Zealand and around the world. Auckland Writers Festival director Anne O’Brien says the enormous enthusiasm and increasing attendance is testament to people’s hunger for more substantive conversations and deeper engagement with the world and each other. “We know that literate citizens live better lives and build better worlds and we’re delighted to have played our part in cultivating literacy in the country over the last six days. This has been the most astonishing six days. The laughter, energy, ideas, conversations, tears and joy from audience and writers alike has been remarkable. “People travelled from around the country and across the world, and left inspired with stories of change, hope and a deeper understanding of the role they, as individuals, can play in the world.” Headline star and iconic feminist, Gloria Steinem, sent her sold out audience home with messages of empowerment and wisdom. John Boyne, Hanya Yanagihara, Jeanette Winterson, Susie Orbach and Michel Faber moved their audiences to

20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

C tears. Omar Musa and King Kapisi brought the house down and The Emergency Poet ran out of poemcetocol. More than 5,000 students poured into the Town Hall for inspiring sessions with writers from Britain, the US, Australia and New Zealand. “Fostering a love of reading and books, and a belief in all young people that they, too, can write their stories is hugely important to us,” says Ms O’Brien. The cream of this country’s writers received honours at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards—New Zealand’s premier literary awards—which were hosted by the festival for the first time this year. Stephen Daisley was presented with the inaugural $50,000 Acorn Foundation Literary Prize. Vincent O’Sullivan was honoured for his life’s work in writing with a pounamu paper knife created by Coromandel artist Chris Charteris as the festival’s 2015 Honoured New Zealand Writer and this year’s Sarah Broom Poetry Prize went to Elizabeth Smither.

ommunity leaders met with Hon. Judith Collins on Wednesday, May 18, at her office in Papakura to express their concerns with regards to the growing violence in South Auckland. The leadership was unanimous in stating that the police do an excellent job at the crime incident, but at this stage, they were not happy with the police reaching the crime scene. The Minister was informed of the low confidence level of small businesses and requested for increasing the police numbers even if that meant additional recruitment. The leaders stated that they would be running a petition for harsher penalties for lower age offenders— the ones who are leading the crime stats currently. While the minister acknowledged the issues at hand, she advised the attendees that further measures are being taken to handle the situation better. Calum Penrose shared the concerns and expressed his desire for a continued dialogue. Mr Bakshi advised that the government is coming down heavy on

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the gangs—the root cause of many of these crimes. The community leaders hailed the minister for her tough stances in the past and also requested that some laws be imposed to stop operation of dairies

and liquor stores beyond 7 p.m. and with minimal operation hours on weekends. The community will be canvassing for a nationwide support to seek commensurate justice. A national meeting is being organised on June 11 in South Auckland. The meeting was attended by MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, Councillor Calum Penrose, senior community leader Prithipal Singh, NZICA President Bhiku Bhana, community leaders/retailers Beant Singh and Mohanpal, Global Indians President Jasbir Singh Dhillon, community activist and business owner Anita Badwal and Manukau Indian Association President Veer Khar.

www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

Entries open for the 2016 Children’s Music Awards

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IWK Bureau

ntries are now open for the most colourful music awards in New Zealand—the Children’s Music Awards. The Children’s Music Awards champion the music of home-grown songwriting heroes—those crazy, cool (and occasionally piratical) cats that write music for our youngest music fans. Entries are now open in the following categories: • APRA Best Children’s Music Song • Recorded Music NZ Best Children’s Music Album • What Now Best Children’s Music Video The winner of the APRA Best Children’s Music Song Award takes home a $1,000 cash prize and a $10,000 grant to go towards the production of a song and a music video, courtesy of NZ On Air. “It’s a wonderful thing to be able to engage, teach, inspire and amuse children through music” says Victoria Kelly, APRA AMCOS’ Director of NZ Member Services. “It’s also a rare talent to be able to shape songs with such universal appeal that they get our kids’ knees jerking and their little feet tapping. We feel very lucky to be able to support these extremely talented writers through the New Zealand Children’s Music Awards.” To coincide with the Children’s Music Awards, APRA AMCOS will be releasing the fourth instalment of Music Box—a promotional album featuring the top entries to the awards. Music Box 2016 will

be distributed free to libraries and childfriendly organisations across the country and will be available as a free download from the APRA AMCOS website. Keep an eye on www.apraamcos.co.nz during August for details. All awards will be presented in August. Entry forms are available through the APRA AMCOS website: www.apraamcos. co.nz. Entries close at midnight on Sunday, June 12.

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20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

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Lord Buddha’s birthday celebrations in Christchurch Gaurav Sharma

FoGuang Shan and BLIA

idely known as Buddha Jayanti or Buddha Purnima in India, the festival—one of the most sacred in Buddhism—falls on May 21 this year and celebrates the birth, along with commemorating the enlightenment and death of Lord Buddha. Co-organised by the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) South Island NZ and FoGuang Shan Buddhist Temple (FGSBT) South Island, the residents of Christchurch were introduced to the ideals of Humanistic Buddhism at the Buddha’s Birthday Festival Future & Hope Prayer Ceremony at FGSBT on May 14. Whether it was the Prayer of Many Faiths—in which representatives of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism recited prayers in praise of god—or Consul General of China in Christchurch Jin Zhijian praising BLIA’s efforts in promoting the Chinese and Buddhist culture, it was a day of celebrating a life whose values and truths surpass religion, race or political differences. “If you look at our founder, Master Hsing Yun’s work in China in just over the last year, whether it was at the World Buddhist Forum in Wuxi or at Boao Asian Forum or at the Vegetarian Expo, you

Left: Venerable Man Shin, Abbess of Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple NZ, addressing the gathering Right: Rakesh Naidoo, Strategic Advisor of Human Rights Commission, at Buddha’s birthday celebrations

will find that BLIA has always tried to build bridges between humanity,” said See Shen Lee, President, BLIA South Island. “This is exactly what Buddha taught us. That’s why it doesn’t matter whether you are from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau, Buddhism is always a common thread everyone agrees on,” added Zhijian. Explaining the concept of humanistic Buddhism further, Venerable Man Shin, Abbess of FGSBT NZ noted, “It is cultivating one’s compassion through daily practice. When we actualise altruism, joyfulness, and universality, we are practising the fundamental concepts of

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humanistic Buddhism.” Similar sentiments were expressed by Inspector Rakesh Naidoo, Strategic Advisor of Human Rights Commission, who added, “The inter-faith ceremony that we witnessed here is indicative of New Zealand, which encompasses a diverse range of culture and religion. And we, at Human Rights Commission, are always at hand to play an enabling role in this regard.” The celebrations for Buddha’s birthday included tea meditation, multicultural performances, vegetarian stalls, baby blessing ceremony, sutra transcription, and bathing the Buddha depiction.

rand Master Hsing Yun is the founder of the FoGuang Shan International Buddhist Order, which promotes Humanistic Buddhism. Born in 1927 in Jiangsu in China, Yun moved to Taiwan during the Cultural Revolution where he started the Order. He also founded Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) in 1992.

Siddartha—the Musical

o mark Lord Buddha’s birthday as well as reopening of FoGuang Shan Buddhist temple in Christchurch after three years of repairs, Siddhartha–the Musical was performed at Isaac Theatre Royal on May 10. Adapted from the book, The Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha, written by Venerable Master Hsing Yun in 1950, the musical depicts the life of Buddha, from his birth to enlightenment.

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www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

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Shri Swaminarayan Jayanti observed

Gaurav Sharma

he Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) organised Shri Swaminarayan

Shri Swaminarayan Jayanti celebrations in Christchurch

Jayanti in the Swaminarayan temple in Christchurch recently. Sanjay Patel, secretary of BAPS in Christchurch, informed, “We had a gathering of about 180 people, who participated in bhajankirtans. Some dance acts depicting the life story of Bhagwaan Swaminarayan were also performed.”

Strengthening relations within the community

stablished in 1997, the Indian Social and Cultural Club (ISCC) in Christchurch organised ISCC Connects 2016 on May 14. It was a fun-filled evening with games such as Antakshari played, which was followed by dinner. Thomas Shaji Kurian, treasurer of ISCC informed, “We are launching our new

Fiji Association pledges support for Winston victims

ISCC Connects—Hum Saath Saath Hain programme organised by the Indian Social and Cultural Club in Christchurch

website today—iscc.org.nz. It will be a great step in connecting the Indian community across Christchurch and in New Zealand.” Visibly pleased with the turnout of more than a 100, Natu Rama, President of ISCC added, “Apart from organising a bigger and better Diwali this year, we aim to be able to provide the members of ISCC a permanent home in Christchurch soon.”

he Christchurch Fiji Association held its Annual General Meeting on May 15 with Jagat Singh re-elected as president, Suresh Mudliar as vice-president and Vinesh Prakash as the secretary. “This year, our focus is to ensure the proper delivery of relief materials and funds collected from Christchurch towards the Cyclone Winston victims. One of our trustee[s] will be going to Fiji soon to sort out the logistics,” said Prakash.

CMC re-elects KiwiIndian as president

hristchurch Multicultural Council (CMC) had its Annual General Meeting on May 12. Surinder Tandon

Christchurch Multicultural Council’s executive committee members

was re-elected as president and Tandon and Shirish Paranjape was elected as the vice-president. Other Kiwi-Indians on the council’s new executive committee include Manish Pandey, Dhruva Khanal, Churchill Bhardwaj, Ram Kodukula and Archna Tandon. “Christchurch Multicultural Council along with our national office, Multicultural NZ, has been campaigning for greater representation of ethnic communities on the School Board of Trustees. “We encourage members to consider standing in this June’s elections for schools’ Board of Trustees,” said Tandon, detailing CMC’s vision for the coming year.

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ndia is often known as the diabetes capital of the world with as many as 50 million people suffering from type-2 diabetes. “And even when we leave the country, we are still prone to the condition, which can be due to our eating habits or lifestyle choices. That’s why Indian Cultural Group (ICG) has organised a free Diabetes Conversation map on May 23 at the Upper Riccarton library in Christchurch. Members of the community can learn about the help and facilities available in the city as well as information on individual diabetes treatment plan and lifestyle,” said Sandeep Sachdev, president of ICG. The group plans to organise a follow-up session within a month, he added.

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Prime Minister’s Business Scholarships open

ntries for the 2016 Prime Minister’s Business Scholarships, which offer New Zealand executives the opportunity to improve their skills at the world’s best business schools, opened on Monday, May 16. Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce says the scholarships are designed for senior managers, executives and business owners looking to expand their expertise by studying internationally. “These scholarships enable businesspeople to develop their

management and international business leadership skills, in order to make their firms at home more internationally competitive,” Mr Joyce says. “Having our business leaders study overseas brings tangible benefits to New Zealand businesses and helps to grow the economy. If we increase the number of business leaders with a global mind-set, our businesses are better able to operate to international best practices. “The scholarships also support New Zealand businesspeople to develop valuable

networks and overcome the challenges that our small economy and distance from overseas markets can pose.” The scholarships cover up to half of the course-related costs of attending an international learning institution. Last year’s scholarships saw 13 successful recipients enrol at prestigious international institutions such as Harvard, Wharton and Columbia Business Schools, Stanford University, and the London School of Economics. Applications for the scholarships close on June 27.

as a gateway for our exports into mainland China. “Its plan to operate services direct to Auckland shows that Hong Kong Airlines sees our strong relationship continuing to grow.

“This proposal is the 19th new air route confirmed over the last year—showing the government’s liberal air services policy is making it easier for New Zealanders to travel and trade,” Mr Bridges says.

Govt welcomes Hong Kong Airlines’ announcement

ransport Minister Simon Bridges has welcomed Hong Kong Airlines’ announcement that it intends to operate daily flights between Hong Kong and Auckland from November this year. “This announcement further strengthens the flourishing tourism and trade between New Zealand, Hong Kong and mainland China,” Mr Bridges says. “Hong Kong is small but densely populated, with a population of 6.5 million. Nearly 40,000 Hong Kong residents visited New Zealand in the past 12 months, and [more than] 17,000 New Zealanders chose Hong Kong as their main travel destination. “Hong Kong is an important trading partner for us in its own right but also acts

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Cycle trail funding boosts regions

udget 2016 will provide $25 million in additional funding over the next four years to ensure the New Zealand Cycle Trail, Nga Haerenga, continues to offer a world-class visitor experience, Prime Minister and Tourism Minister John Key announced. The investment is part of a $45 million tourism package to further support tourism’s contribution to economic and job growth in regions across New Zealand. “The New Zealand Cycle Trail has already been extremely successful in attracting high-value visitors to the regions and getting them to stay longer, with regional economies experiencing positive spinoffs such as a growth in jobs,” says Mr Key. He also announced details of how the new funding will be used to link trails in the Central Otago region, where there are four existing Great Rides. “The proposal to create a 536 km continuous cycle trail network by linking four existing Central Otago Great Rides—the Queenstown Trail, the Otago Central Rail Trail, the Roxburgh Gorge Trail and the Clutha Gold Trail—is the type of enhancement to the Great Rides we want to encourage.” Other regions interested in connecting or expanding existing Great Rides will be able to apply for funding, with communities and local councils required to co-fund local projects.

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Auckland Botanic Gardens opens doors across Australasia

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n Sunday, May 29, Auckland Council’s Botanic Gardens will join 72 other botanic gardens, arboreta and public gardens across Australia and New Zealand in a world-first mass open day. Jack Hobbs, event ambassador and Manager of Auckland Botanic Gardens, says the open day, designed to celebrate botanic gardens, gives all Australians and New Zealanders a chance to see how these important public gardens conserve plants. “We depend on plants to enhance our environment and our lives,” he says. “At Auckland Botanic Gardens we hold a huge collection of more than 10,000 plants that thrive in our local conditions. “These are the best kinds of plants for Aucklanders to come and see before choosing plants for their own gardens.” Special events are planned for the open day in Manurewa, including guided walks with tree expert Mike Wilcox, and workshops on choosing trees, hosted by Jack. “Every tree has its own story, from the hardy liquid amber that displays brilliant red, orange and purple leaves in the autumn, to the aromatic lemon myrtle—a gift from our friends across the Tasman,” says Jack. Curator Bec Stanley will lead a walk at 1:30 p.m., sharing fascinating insights into

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the world of epiphytes—plants that grow up trees. Auckland Council’s Biodiversity team will also be on hand to give free, expert advice on how to build biodiversity in home gardens. “Children particularly enjoy a day out in the gardens, so we’ll have fun treetrail scavenger hunts and tree-themed art activities throughout the day, just for them,” says Jack. Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand Open Day is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is free to attend.

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$15m to boost Kiwi hi-tech Kanwaljit Bakshi National List MP

udget 2016 is investing an additional $15 million over four years for two schemes that speed up the commercialisation of clever hitech ideas developed by scientists and entrepreneurs around New Zealand. Funding for the Pre-Seed Accelerator Fund will increase by $12 million over four years, taking the government’s total

investment through the scheme to $8.3 million a year. Funding for the development of new accelerator programmes will be extended following the scheme’s initial three-year pilot, with new investment of $3 million over the next four years. Building Innovation and supporting the development of export-oriented high-tech businesses is a key pillar of this National-led Government’s Business Growth Agenda. The Pre-Seed Accelerator Fund supports innovative scientists to turn the results of their cutting-edge research into commercially viable products and businesses. Pre-Seed projects have so far generated $188.2 million in revenue, have resulted in many new companies being formed,

and have the potential to generate export revenues of up to $3 billion. Callaghan Innovation’s Accelerator Programme is in a suite of services to support start-up companies to be investment ready. The pilot programme has supported the rapid formation of early stage digital technology start-ups and is typically run over three months. Of the 38 teams that completed the first four Accelerator programmes, run by Lightning Lab, 18 have so far secured a total of more than $8 million in private investment. The New Zealand economy is rapidly becoming more diverse and more focused on hi-tech innovation. Our software and software services industry, for example, is growing at the

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rate of nine per cent a year, with exports growing at 14 per cent annually. Last month Statistics New Zealand released their 2015 Business Operations Survey, showing that business spending on R&D grew by more than 15 per cent in one year, from $1.25 billion in 2014 to $1.44 billion last year. Also last month, the Angel Association reported that angel investors had invested a record $61.2 million into 94 New Zealand start-ups in 2015—a nine per cent increase on the previous record set in 2014. More information on government’s investment in Kiwi hi-tech innovation can be accessed on www.beehive.govt.nz/ release/budget-2016-15m-commercialisenew-kiwi-hi-tech

London’s Mayoral elections offer a sense of hope David Shearer Labour MP

his month in Britain, Sadiq Khan was elected to be the Mayor of London. It’s heart-warming to see someone from such a humble family background—a bus-driver father and a seamstress mother—be elected to such a prestigious position. To win, he rose above what many people have described as a dirty campaign, where various insinuations were made about him, some linked to connections through his

Muslim faith. Fortunately, those tactics failed, with the majority of Londoners seeing them for what they actually were— unethical. His election has highlighted how things are changing. Two anecdotes show this, one for the better and sadly one for the worse. When Khan was appointed to the Privy Council, Buckingham Palace rang: “You’re going to be sworn in before the Queen, what sort of Bible would you like?’ I said: ‘I swear on the Quran, I’m a Muslim’. They said: ‘We haven’t got a Quran, can you bring your own?’ So I went to Buckingham Palace with my Quran and afterwards they returned it and I said: ‘No, can I leave it here for the next person.’” This lovely story shows that the definition of what it means to be British is

coming of age. The diversity of Britain’s population is being recognised and appreciated. Auckland is now the second most diverse city in the world. I like to think we are ahead of London in recognising and appreciating our diversity. The second anecdote concerns Sadiq Khan’s recent engagement with Donald Trump and is in complete contrast. Khan stated after his election that he might have to visit the United States before January just in case Donald Trump was elected president because Trump has said he would ban all Muslims from entering the US, which would effectively bar Khan from the country. On hearing of Khan’s election to mayor, Trump promised to make an exception for Khan.

But Khan stated he doesn’t want to be an exception, saying, “This isn’t just about me; it’s about my friends, my family and everyone who comes from a background similar to mine, anywhere in the world.” The exchange reminds me of South Africa’s apartheid policy and those bleak years when Maori were made “honorary whites”—an exception—in order to travel to South Africa for rugby. It seems Trump would like to take us back to those dark days, a time when even as Kiwis we forgot our principles and values. Meanwhile, congratulations to Sadiq Khan and the sense of hope he represents for the people of London who voted him in.

Budget 2016: investing in our growing economy Parmjeet Parmar

National List MP

he government will publish its budget in coming week on Thursday, May 26.

In a pre-budget speech, Finance Minister Bill English indicated his eighth budget will have a strong focus on investing in our growing economy. It will advance the Business Growth Agenda put in place over recent years to facilitate a more productive, innovative and competitive economy. It will include another significant expansion in investment on essential social services to meet the needs of our

growing population while offering more direct support for the most vulnerable New Zealanders. Highlights of Budget 2016 include: • $124million extra funding for Pharmac so that it can fund more lifesaving drugs for more New Zealanders, including treatments for advanced melanoma and Hepatitis C • $15 million for more teacher aides for special needs children in schools • $46 million to support victims and prevent sexual violence with new frontline crisis response services for victims and rehabilitation programmes for offenders • $41million for 3,000 emergency housing placements a year across the country so people have access to a roof over their head when they need it the most and sets aside • $187million for an important small business tax package which, among other things, will reform provisional tax to give 110,000 small businesses a pay-as-you-go option from April 1, 2018 • $97 million for health research funding, and increase of 56% over previous years Ensuring New Zealand stays on track for sustained employment and economic

growth was top-of-mind as ministers finalised the content of Budget 2016. We had to be confident our choices would strengthen the economy’s engine room, at the same time as we address a social need. The economic outlook is for solid, sustained growth over the next few years. That means New Zealand’s economic outlook has strengthened since Treasury’s last forecasts published before Christmas, even as there’s been a downgrading of the overall international economic outlook. But we must never be complacent. While New Zealand’s economy is outperforming many others, and while our public finances are significantly stronger than many others, the National-led government is committed to a prudent fiscal management approach. The government is focused on reducing the Crown’s debt burden. At this point, National has prioritised additional Crown debt-repayment in 2017 ahead of setting aside money in next year’s budget for tax cuts. Our focus is on New Zealand’s longterm interests in an uncertain international economic environment. As the party committed to cutting personal taxes over time, New Zealanders can look forward to National delivering tax cuts as the fiscal situation further strengthens in the future.

FIJI

www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

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President joins 137th Girmit Day celebrations The rich culture of the Girmit era was celebrated in style

large crowd of people from different cultural backgrounds attended the 137th Girmit Day celebrations at Syria Park in Nausori last week. Chief guest for the event, President Major-General (Ret’d) Jioji Konrote, and the Minister for Education, Mahendra Reddy, were garlanded and then taken for a tour around the park to visit the tents of various groups showcasing the history of the Girmitiyas. President Konrote said we all had benefitted from the labour and sacrifice of those first indentured labourers who arrived into Fiji. “I must say that Fiji has progressed significantly since the arrival of the Grimitiyas. “The vision to make a better living, to pursue better opportunities, to provide educational opportunities for their children at that time were some of the significant strides they made to make things better, not only for themselves, but for the nation as a whole,” President Konrote said. Minister Reddy said it was an honour to see how our youth were taking an interest in the history

Girmit Day celebrations at Syria Park in Fiji

of our nation. “In this era of technology, it is so good to see the young children taking out their time to attend this celebration today and to know more about how our ancestors arrived and survived in Fiji,” Mr Reddy said. Indian High Commission’s first secretary JJ Varma said it was important to know how their ancestors came to Fiji and the struggles they faced. “This is the spirit the Girmitiyas brought to the country and they have contributed strongly in building Fiji to what it is today. “There is a need for us, who are descendants of the Girmitiyas, to remember their sacrifice and recognise them,” Mr Varma said. He also emphasised on the growth of facilities and technology orientation towards modern things but that should not stop anyone from remembering

Indian labourers sent to Fiji

Hard work paid in the end with a distinct IndoFijian culture

Girmitiya forebears had a simple life but had a vision for their children

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Sneha wants to know her origin

neha Sharma of Pundit Shreedhar Maharaj College in Wainibokasi, Nausori wants to know which part of India her ancestors came from. “I came here after learning about the National Archives’ new programme through which I can know which part of India my ancestors were from,” Sneha said. She said she thanked her ancestors’ efforts, sacrifice and contribution to make their future better. “The Girmitiyas sacrificed their families, their friends back in India to come and make a better future here for themselves; they also helped our country to progress,” she said. Students

their ancestors. The first Girmitiyas arrived in Fiji in the ship named Leonidas on May 14, 1879. And more than 61,000 people from India were brought to Fiji to work on the sugar cane plantations under the ‘Girmit’ or ‘Indentured Labour’ system between 1879 and 1926. The Girmitiyas were brought to Fiji on a contract for five years and

From left to right: Angeline Naicker, Sneha Sharma, and Shayal Prasad—students of Pandit Shreedhar Maharaj College

of the Wainibokasi school performed a musical drama on the Girmitiyas at Syria Park. Year 10 student Angeline Naicker said she grew up listening to the history of Girmitiyas (Indentured labourers) from her grandparents. “I always had an interest in knowing how my ancestors came to Fiji and how they lived when they were brought to Fiji,” she said. upon completion were given a choice to either return to India at their own expense or stay in Fiji. The majority opted to stay and they and their descendants have become major contributors to the economic, social and political development of Fiji. lMore stories on Page 14 and 15

FIJI

20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

10 facts about Girmitiyas

ay 14 is marked as Indian Arrival Day in Fiji as well as Girmit Day. On May 14, 1879, the ship called the Leonidas arrived in Fiji carrying the first wave of indentured labourers from India. The system of bringing people as indentured labourers came to be widely known as ‘Girmit’, which is actually a mispronunciation of the word ‘agreement’ by the non-English speaking Indian labourers. Here are 10 facts about Girmitiyas in Fiji: • The people who were brought as indentured labourers had to struggle a lot in their initial days. They were not only made to work in the plantations

but also tortured and the confounding fact is that there is no acknowledgement of their struggles and life in the history of Girmitiyas. • Life was so hard for them; even the food was rationed for them as they had to face corporal punishment and even imprisonment in case of failure to complete allotted tasks. • Eventually, after working for five years as indentured labourers or free labourers, they were given the choice to return to India but at their own expenses. Majority of people had to stay as they could not afford the expenses for the journey. • After their agreements or Girmits got expired, they developed their own small

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businesses in the towns and gradually began to spring up. • They developed a koiné language (also known as Fiji Hindi) formed from different languages and dialects of India and further many Fijian and English words were included. This language is now spoken by Fiji Indians and also in different communities of Fiji where there is majority of Indians. • The Arya Samaj in Fiji founded the Fiji Samachar in 1923 in order to spread their views. It influenced girls’ education and advocated Hinduism. • One thing which is good about Fiji Hindus is that they lack caste system. This might have happened because they all worked together as indentured

From left to right: British High Commissioner to Fiji Roderick Drummond, Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto and Fijian High Commissioner to the UK Jitoko Tikolevu

Commander to inform the Chief of Defence Staff of the progress regarding Fiji’s rehabilitation efforts post Cyclone Winston

and the assistance received from other development partners. The courtesy call to the Chief of Defence Staff was the first official visit by Rear Admiral Naupoto in his capacity as the Commander of RFMF. The Commander was accompanied by Fijian High Commissioner to the UK Jitoko Tikolevu. The British High Commissioner to Fiji Roderick Drummond was also there at Whitehall to greet the delegation. Sir Nicholas Houghton as the CDS is the

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The Sri Siva Subramaniya temple is a Hindu temple in Nadi, Fiji

labourers in plantations and everyone’s profession was revolving around farming. • Being rooted to their culture, Indo-Fijians celebrate festivals like Holi, Ram Navami and Diwali out of which Diwali is a public holiday. • Fiji Hindus have been building

Fiji, UK to strengthen defence co-operation

ommander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto paid a courtesy visit to the United Kingdom Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Sir Nicholas Houghton at the Ministry of Defence headquarters in London. Discussions focused on how best Fiji and the UK could strengthen current defence co-operation initiatives including capacity development opportunities for the RFMF. It was also an opportunity for the

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professional head of the British Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the Prime Minister. The Chief of the Defence Staff is based at the Ministry of Defence and works alongside the Permanent Under Secretary, the Ministry’s senior civil servant. Commander Naupoto will also be in London for the Queen’s Birthday pageant that includes the performance of the 45-member RFMF band that had arrived in London last week.

temples since they arrived and these temples are served as venues for important cultural events. • In addition to temples, various schools and community centres were also developed by Hindus to improve the social and educational opportunities.

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iji Airways has acquired a bestin-class A330 Multi-Function Training Device (MFTD) which will be used for A330 pilot training at its Head Office in Nadi. This investment of FJ$1 million is a first of its kind for the region and will reduce the airline’s training costs significantly. The Multi-Function Training Device has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji and an approval certificate was officially presented to Fiji Airways. The Multi-Function Training Device will be used as the initial stage for A330 pilot training before progressing to full simulator training, which is conducted at overseas

Awards programme launched

ilm Fiji launched 2016 Kula Award Programme last week. This year marks the 11th year of the awards, which was established in 2006 to provide a development ground for high school students for the audio/visual industry. The Kula Films this year will continue in its three streams of creative arts, film, dance and art. Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism Faiyaz Koya said, “Film Fiji through Kula Film Award has been showcasing Fiji’s best talents specifically for the younger generation. “Over the years we have seen an increase in quality of films and dance performance and art. It’s bigger and better every year. “The audio/visual industry is very important to the Fijian economy because it brings in direct foreign investment,” he said. Mr Koya said the money spent on productions was mainly for goods and

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06/10/15 11:24

training facilities. Fiji Airways says having this facility in-house will thus result in the acceleration of pilot training time. It will be utilised for mainly procedures training, replicating aspects of the cockpit. Fiji Airways Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Andre Viljoen says they are proud and excited about this new acquisition, which will greatly benefit not only their pilots, but also their airline as a whole.

From left to right: Film Fiji chief executive officer Dallas Foon, Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Faiyaz Koya, Film Fiji Chairperson Shaenaz Voss, and Embassy of France, Cultural Officer Fanny Louvel during the launch of the 2016 Kula Awards

services purchased in Fiji, helping Fijian businesses and providing employment for Fijians. “Successful audio/visual markets have people who are qualified and experienced in this industry. The Kula Awards is an avenue for high school students to gain exposure to it and grow the resources and skill base for the industry,” he said. Film Fiji chief executive officer Dallas Foon said, “Entries for all three streams submitted in the past have been of the highest quality.

FIJI

www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

A motivational speech to mark Girmit Day

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tudents of Visama Sanatan Primary School were motivated by the Girmitiyas story during their Girmit Day celebrations on Friday, May 13. Sharkshi Singh, a Year 8 student, gave a brief speech on the Girmit Divas focusing on their journey from India to Fiji and their hard work in the sugar industry. “I feel fortunate of knowing where our ancestors came from, how their journey was, although many died at sea while travelling to Fiji, and how they laboured in Fiji,” she said.

Lascas first, Girmit later

any people believe that the first Indians who arrived in Fiji came under the indentured system or Girmit. However they are mistaken. The Fiji Times report says that the forefathers who arrived in Fiji on May 14, 1879, under the indentured system were not the first Indians to set foot on this land. Records revealed that Indians set foot in Fiji about 70 years before the arrival of the first group of indentured labourers from India. It was during the sandalwood trading era, which saw ships from various countries coming to Fiji to trade. According to the Fiji Museum’s 1984’s edition of its quarterly journal, the Domodomo—Fiji’s first Indian settlers were the lascars. One of the lascars was reported to have hired himself out to various chiefs as a mercenary during the inter-tribal wars in the early 1800s. Lascars are partPortuguese Indian sailors drawn from seafaring communities along the Malabar Coast, which is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shoreline of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Fergus Clunie in his article Fiji first Indians settlers in the Domodomo wrote “Indeed these forgotten Indians, whose unwitting descendants are no doubt submerged within today’s Indigenous Fijian population, were among the earliest foreigners to jump ship in Fiji during the sandalwood trading boom of the early 1800s.” “They maybe our friends, neighbours, workmates, family members or even someone we met on a daily basis like the taxidriver, busdriver or even the market vendor. Today, 137 years later, we remember the Girmitiyas—their life, struggle and torture in Fiji. These stories have been deliberately hidden from the world and from the books of history. “In Fiji’s primary and secondary schools, we learnt about early history of indigenous Fijians, we also learnt about the prowess and courage of various European explorers and seamen, the history of the British Royal Family, contributions of the British and Commonwealth in developing the earth, and about the glory of the white men. “However, as far as Fiji’s history is concerned, there is almost no acknowledgment of the contributions of the Girmitiya to its development. “It is because of this legacy that today, more than 90 per cent of Fiji’s students go to non-government schools and it is because of such vision that today’s third and fourth generation of Girmitiya children are sought after professionals and skilled people in Fiji, New Zealand, Canada, USA and Australia and other parts of the world. But how have we repaid this debt?” Source: Fiji Sun

The Girmitiyas came from different regions and backgrounds from India in 1879. Many stayed back in Fiji while a few decided to return after their five-year contract expired. Year Six student Shyrin Prasad said she was keen to know where her ancestors came from. “I want to know where my great grandparents are originally from in India before they came to Fiji during the Girmit indentured labour system,” she said. Shyrin was portraying an old women in the drama about ‘Girmityas’ of how

they came to Fiji in the Leonidas ship and their life while working on the sugar cane farms. “Thanks to my teacher who conducted the drama, I have come to know the torture our greatgrandparents suffered by the British officers.” Shyrin said.

From left to right: Visama Sanatan Primary school students Shahil Sundar, Shakshi Prasad, Vanshika Prasad and Shyrin Prasad during drama to depicting 137 years of Girmit day

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Thought of the week

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Editorial

From the desk of the Managing Editor

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Do you think what happened to you in this example ever happens to supercompetitors like Michael Jordan, Chris Evert, Wayne Gretzky, and Jimmy Connors? Do you think they always show up for the game feeling motivated, excited, eager, and confident? If you’re not sure of the answer, let me give it to you. The super-competitors are just like you and me—they get tired, burned out, sick, and sore just like everybody else. So how do they do it? How do they mobilize their Performance Selves and bring to life the emotions that empower them? By what miraculous means do great competitors transform fear into confidence, tiredness into energy, boredom into fun? Here’s how: they learn exceptional performer skills.” ~James E. Loehr from The New Toughness Training for Sports We all know that whenever there is a competition or a performance that we are to be a part of, there’s a certain build up of chemicals and emotions in our bodies. These are really good because these are exactly what take us through to give our best shot. Here’s how Loehr puts it: “And how does this all relate to competitive toughness? The answer is simply this: great competitors are great actors. They have learned to move their body chemistry in the desired directions just as actors do. But for competitors, the script is always the same. Great competitors have learned to bring to life feelings of confidence, high energy, relaxation, fun, and challenge no matter how they really feel.” This is awesome. Even if we don’t step into an arena to perform, we can still practice acting the way we’d like to perform, so we can enter our ideal performance state at will. This means that wherever we are, we are able to be our best-performing selves. Thus we can deal with everything that comes our way in the most efficient and effective way. The Women Economic Forum has now opened in India and more than a thousand women from 109 countries across the world have gathered in New Delhi to attend this conference. We will be bringing you a detailed report from it in our forthcoming issues. At Indian Weekender, we are preparing for the Kiwi Indian Hall of Fame, which will take place on June 23, so it is all hands on deck The Hall of Fame, which is in its fourth year, honours trailblazers in their field at a signature gala attended by the who’s who of the Kiwi-Indian community. We will bring you the stage by stage build up towards this. May 14 is marked as Indian Arrival Day in Fiji as well as Girmit Day. On May 14, 1879, the ship called the Leonidas arrived in Fiji carrying the first wave of indentured labourers from India. The system of bringing people as indentured labourers came to be widely known as ‘Girmit’—a mispronunciation of the word ‘agreement’ by the non-English speaking Indian labourers. Thus began the struggle of working under difficult circumstances. This day is also celebrated in New Zealand, given the large number of Kiwi-Indian population. We bring you some related stories from Fiji. Until next time.

Aishwarya Rai’s purple pout at the Cannes red carpet turned a lot of heads. Wearing an off-shoulder gown from designer Rami Kadi’s capsule collection ‘May Blossom’, the former Miss World pulled off the bold look with panache.

Giri Gupta

Indian Weekender : Volume 8 Issue 9 Publisher: Kiwi Media Group Limited Managing Editor: Giri Gupta | girigupta@xtra.co.nz Editor: Annu Sharma | 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 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.: Farah Khan | accounts@indianweekender.co.nz Sales, Marketing & Distribution: 022 3251630 / mahesh@indianweekender.co.nz 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 Published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, Auckland • T. +64 09 213 7335 Printed at Horton Media, Auckland Copyright 2016. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

Pick of the week

Word: Prang Meaning: An accident involving a motor vehicle, typically minor and without casualties Usage: I had a prang in my car yesterday. Luckily there was only a small amount of damage.

Tip from the trenches Remedies to cure the common cold • Grate some fresh ginger root and make a cup of hot ginger tea • Load up on vitamin C • Gargle with salt water to relieve a sore throat • Drink hot liquids • Inhale steam to get rid of a blocked nose

OPINION/EDITORIAL

www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

India’s e-commerce triples in five years

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India’s e-commerce giants battle a survival of the fittest

Chaitanya Mallapur

lthough India’s use of the internet is lower than many poorer countries, the country’s e-commerce sector tripled, or grew by 209 per cent over the last five years from $4.4 billion (Rs.20,020 crore) in 2010 to $13.6 billion (Rs.83,096 crore) in 2014.This data was contained in a reply given to the Lok Sabha in March. India’s e-commerce market is likely to reach $38 billion (Rs.252,700 crore) in 2016, according to an Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham) report released in January. The online retail sector in India is expected to be a $1 trillion (Rs.660,000 crore) market by 2020, according to a recent report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Deloitte, a consultancy. The study indicates that more e-commerce will trigger big innovations in India. The Goods and Services Tax, once implemented, is expected to boost the growth of e-commerce by simplifying taxation and logistics, said the CII-Deloitte report. Internet penetration across the country is rising with as many as 354 million users reported as of September 2015. Online shoppers in India have increased from 20 million in 2013 to 39 million in 2015, an increase of 95 per cent over three years.

India’s e-commerce market rises despite low net use

But India’s internet penetration—the percentage of Indians who use the net—is low; 19 per cent in 2014, as IndiaSpend reported earlier. Compare this with

The Goods and Services Tax, once implemented, is expected to boost the growth of e-commerce by simplifying taxation and logistics, said the CIIDeloitte report. Australia (90 per cent), the US (87 per cent), Japan (86 per cent), Brazil (53 per cent) and China (46 per cent). In 2014, only 18 of 100 Indians used the internet, against 49.3 for China and 48.3 for Vietnam. Even poorer countries such as Ghana had greater internet penetration—18.9 users per 100 people, according to a Mint report. Similarly, mobile subscriptions in India were 74 per

100 people in 2014, lower than Bangladesh (80), China (92), Indonesia (129) and Vietnam (147). Mobile internet spend has increased from 54 per cent to 64 per cent from 2014 to 2015, attributed to high-speed 3G and 4G internet connectivity at some of the world’s lowest prices, fuelling e-commerce growth. Despite the rise in broadband and mobile internet users, speed remains a major constraint. The average broadband speed in India is 2 mega bits per second (mbps), ranking 115 globally, IndiaSpend has reported. Similarly, the average mobile internet speed is 1.7 mbps, ranking below Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. In March this year, the government allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment in online retail marketplaces— electronic platforms that connect buyers and sellers.

As competition grows and international competitors step in, domestic online retailers will struggle, experts predict. US retailer Amazon became the secondlargest online marketplace by shipments in India last month, after domestic rival Flipkart, pushing former number two, Snapdeal, to third place. Flipkart’s growth has virtually stalled since the middle of last year and the leadership team hasn’t figured out a way to kick-start sales, according to India Value Fund Advisors partner Haresh Chawla. “Its gross merchandise volume (GMV)— sales or revenue in online retailing—sold over a given period of time has not grown substantially, which had grown by [more than] 200 per cent per annum for the past three years,” Chawla added. Similarly in the taxi business, multinational Uber is in race with India’s Ola, the current domestic-market leader. Last month, Uber claimed it would overtake Ola by market share within 30 days. Jabong, an online fashion portal, reported a drop in sales and cut losses in 2015 and is now struggling to find a buyer. “Consumer internet start-ups find it difficult to navigate slowdowns,” said Chawla. “Traditional companies usually recover from these cycles. But technologyled companies simply go bust. They have very little consumer loyalty to start with. Most bribe consumers to grow rapidly and cutback (on profits), causing them to implode.”

films and changes to the particular Act with the incorporation of penal provisions. For future scope, the policy aims to look at the issues of intersection with the Competition Act and protection of trade secrets. All these are beneficial and visionary steps because the policy seems to foresee significant challenges that may arise in due course of time. Fourth, the policy looks towards strengthening service-oriented IPR administration. The policy here seeks to examine in parallel the twin goals of making operations efficient, streamlined and cost-effective and also enhancing user friendliness and providing value-added services to users. Along with this, another significant change is bringing the administration of the Copyright Act and Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). Also, the policy proposes the creation of a Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) under DIPP. Also with this, there is an overall focus on increasing cooperation and coordination between various offices and authorities administering IP in India. Fifth, the policy aims at realising the value of IPRs through commercialisation. The view here is to promote entrepreneurship and finding effective ways of synergising IP facilitation centres with industry. The policy also tries to leverage commercialisation by building a database of IPRs for connecting potential users, buyers and funding institutions.

The sixth objective deals with the adjudicating and enforcement mechanisms for combining IPR infringements. Here the policy lays stress on an aspect of adjudication through specialised IP courts and alternative dispute settlement mechanisms. Also, the policy talks about checking counterfeiting and piracy through various measures. Here, capacity building of judicial officers and other people dealing with enforcement is to be looked at and improved. This leads us to the final objective of strengthening and expanding human institutions and capacities for teaching, training, research and skill building in IPRs. Here, the focus is on doing public policy research and improving the functioning of the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (RGNIIPM), Nagpur, as well as the introduction of multidisciplinary courses in IP at various levels. Overall, the first National IP rights policy looks comprehensive in scope and intent. The policy may help improve India’s image on ease of doing business and competitiveness constructs. However much will depend on implementation. Under the implementation aspect, the policy recognises the need for a coordinated and integrated development of the IP system in India. The policy has also done well to identify and bestow the responsibility of IP largely on a single department, namely, DIPP. Over the next few decades, the implementation of the policy will decide the standing of India’s IP regime globally.

India’s IP policy: a positive first step for economic development Amit Kapoor and Sankalp Sharma

ndia’s first and recently initiated national IPR policy is a culmination of the ongoing process of improving India’s IP regime globally. The national IP policy underscores the need to promote creativity and innovation and protect IP. There are seven broad objectives that the policy enumerates for stimulating a “dynamic, vibrant and balanced intellectual property rights system” in India. The objectives can also be looked at from the perspective of a lifecycle approach to IP. It starts from IP awareness and ends with the implementation of the policy. Following are the primary objectives of the IP policy: First, to create public awareness (economic, social and cultural benefits) of IPRs among all sections of society. The policy plans to do so with the adoption of the slogan “Creative India; Innovative India”. The policy also enumerates how to create awareness and promotion of strengths by conveying to all stakeholders the value and benefits of IP. It is to be pursued through various measures some of which include specific programmes for MSME sector, engaging with media, helping develop school curriculum, etc. The objective of creating public awareness seems well thought through. Second, to stimulate the generation of IPRs. For this, the policy seems to focus on undertaking studies as well as encouraging individual innovators, researchers,

The policy may help improve India’s image on ease of doing business and competitiveness constructs

universities, national labs, corporations and other organisations for filing IP. At present, India is one of the top filers of trademarks. In this context, the finance minister at the press conference on the release of policy also mentioned the need to reduce the time to a month from the date of filing of the trademark in India by 2017. Third, the policy aims at strong and effective IPR laws, which balance the interests of rights’ owners with larger public interest. The policy proposes to do this by a consensus-driven approach to protecting Traditional Knowledge (TK), Genetic Resources (GR) and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCE). The policy also touches on the issue of illegal duplication of

INDIA

20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

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Railways to form three JVs with Karnataka for projects

ndian Railways will set up three joint ventures with the Karnataka government to build infrastructure projects in the state, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Sunday, May 15. “We will form a JV with the state government and operationalise it in the next three months for infrastructure projects [such as] doubling tracks, extending present rail lines and surveys for new lines across the state,” Prabhu said at a railway function in Bengaluru. The other two JVs will be to operate a suburban train service across Bengaluru and develop one of its stations into a model station under the public-private participation mode. “Infrastructure development will transform Karnataka into an engine of growth. The equity for the first JV will be from our resources and the state government, which would not come under its Fiscal Responsibility Act,” Prabhu said after laying stone for three doubling projects in the state. Noting that railways was a strategic national asset, the minister said the government could afford to allow it to languish and cited Prime Minister

From left to right: Anath Kumar, Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda during a programme organised to lay the foundation stone for new railways doubling projects and rechristening of Bengaluru City Railway Station as Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station on May 15

Narendra Modi’s keen interest to transform it. “The Railways and the state government will work as partners. We have invested more in Karnataka during the last two years, allocating Rs.2,567 crore in this fiscal budget as against Rs.1,839 crore in 2015–16, Rs.1,305 crore in 2014–15 and Rs.1,124 crore in 2013–14,” he said. The doubling projects are between Yelahanka in north Bengaluru and Penukonda in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh (120km), Arsikere-Tumakuru

(96km) and Hubbali-Chikjajur (190 km) at a combined cost of Rs. 2,578 crore. The two projects in the state will enable South Western Railway to run semi-high speed inter-city trains between Bengaluru and Hubbali, covering about 460km in four-five hours as against six-seven hours presently. All the three projects are expected to be completed by 2019–20. Prabhu also commissioned a road over bridge at Davangere and laid the foundation stone for another one at Koppal.

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World Bank nod for $625m loan to Indian solar programme

n Monday, May 16, the World Bank said that it has approved a $625 million loan to support India’s grid connected rooftop solar programme to generate clean energy. “The project will finance the installation of at least 400 MW of grid connected rooftop solar photovoltaic (GRPV) across India,” the multilateral lender said. The World Bank Board has also approved a co-financing loan of $120 million on concessional terms and a $5 million grant from Climate Investment Fund’s (CIF) Clean Technology Fund, it added. “India is endowed with huge solar energy potential, and the World Bank is strongly supportive of the government’s plans to harness this potential and increase India’s solar PV capacity to 100 GW,” said World Bank country director in India Onno Ruhl. “This project will support this target, by providing financing to some of the 40 GW of solar PV, which will be placed on rooftops,” he added. The project will be implemented by the State Bank of India (SBI), which will on-lend funds to solar PV developers, aggregators and end-users, who wish to invest in mainly commercial and industrial rooftop PV systems. Financing will be provided to those with sound technical capacity, relevant experience, and creditworthiness as per SBI standards. The World Bank loan has a 19.5-year grace period, and a maturity of 20 years. The loan from CIF’s Clean Technology Fund has a 10-year grace period, and a maturity of 40 years. The overall potential demand for rooftop solar is estimated at about 124,000 MW, the release said.

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www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

Indian manufacturing likely to slow down in first quarter: Ficci

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ndia’s manufacturing sector growth may slow down during the first quarter of 2016–17 ending June owing to factors such as bleak export outlook, poor demand and high cost of borrowing, industry chamber Ficci said on the basis of its latest survey. “The survey had earlier indicated revival in the manufacturing activity in Q4 of 2015– 16, which seems to be slowing down in Q1 now,” the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said of its previous survey. The percentage of respondents expecting higher growth in Q1 2016–17 has gone down to 53 per cent as compared to 60 per cent for Q4 (January–March 2015– 16). The percentage was 55 per cent for Q3 2015–16,” it said, citing the present survey. “While the bleak export outlook is responsible for this less optimistic outlook for manufacturing production in first quarter of the current financial year, there have been several other factors that have contributed [such as] poor demand conditions, unstable roadmap for various sectors leading to uncertainty [and] high interest cost” it added. Moreover, only 38 per cent respondents have reported higher order books for the April–June quarter, which is less compared to the 44 per cent reporting similarly in the previous quarter. The quarterly survey gauges expectations of manufacturers for April–June for 13 major sectors namely textiles, capital goods, metals, chemicals, cement and ceramics, electronics, auto,

The survey noted that capacity utilisation has improved in cement, food, capital goods and electronics sector, though in chemicals, textiles machinery and tyres, it has remained same

leather and footwear, machine tools, food, tyre, paper and textiles machinery. The hiring outlook also looks unpromising as more than 80 per cent of survey respondents said they are unlikely to hire in the said quarter, Ficci said. The proportion of respondents expecting higher exports in the first quarter of 2016– 17 is 36 per cent which is much lower than 41 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015–16, the survey said. Official data showed India’s merchandise exports in April were valued at $20.57 billion—down 6.74 per cent in dollar terms against $22.05 billion in the like month of last year, signalling a decline for the 17th straight month. In terms of investment in the current quarter, 75 per cent respondents, as against 68 in the previous quarter, reported that they have no plans for capacity additions for

the next six months, signifying a continuing slowdown in private sector investment. The survey noted that capacity utilisation has improved in cement, food, capital goods and electronics sector, though in chemicals, textiles machinery and tyres, it has remained same. On interest rates, it said: “Interest rate paid by the manufacturers seems to have moderated in the last few months, however it still remains high. “The interest rate ranges from six per cent to 15 per cent with average rates being around 11.4 per cent per annum compared to 11.8 per cent in the previous survey.” Data released on Thursday, May 12 showed growth of India’s manufacturing, which has the maximum weight in the overall index of industrial production (IIP), actually fell by 1.2 per cent in March after rising during the month before.

Rahul Gandhi recuperating from viral, PM wishes speedy recovery

ongress V i c e President Rahul Gandhi is recuperating from viral fever and is expected to continue resting for the next few days, party sources said Congress Vice President this week. Prime Rahul Gandhi Minister Narendra Modi wished him speedy recovery. The sources said that Gandhi does not have any major public engagements till the results of assembly polls in five states are declared on May 19 and would continue rest to regain his health. Sources said he has been meeting people at his residence but has not ventured out. “Doctors have said that he will be fine soon,” said a Congress functionary privy to his health condition. Rahul Gandhi had conveyed that he was suffering from fever in a tweet on May 9. “Unfortunately I have been down with high fever since Sunday and the doctor has advised rest for the next two days,” he had tweeted. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union Health Minister J.P. Nadda had wished a speedy recovery to Gandhi.

INDIA

20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

All-out efforts to unearth black money, says Jaitley

inance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday, May 16 that the government is making “all-out efforts” to unearth black money stashed away in offshore accounts. Speaking at the India TV’s Samvaad conclave, he also warned that those who have not utilized the “compliance window” to declare their black money will face sleepless nights. “We framed the anti-black money law and asked people to disclose their black money and pay 60 percent tax instead of 30 percent plus penalty. In HSBC accounts details, while the UPA government did nothing, we assessed the accounts and filed criminal prosecution against each person. We also assessed and filed prosecutions against holders of Liechtenstein accounts,” Jaitley said. “In Panama (Papers), there are two kinds of people. Few people have kept money outside the country with RBI’s consent and few without it. Notices have been sent to all illegal account holders and inquiries are on,” he added. He said that during the year, the government detected Rs 71,000 crore domestic tax evasion. “In our budget, I had announced that starting June 1 this year, whoever has domestic unassessed income, should pay tax with penalty and declare it. Till date, no government took such steps, you can say all-

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Air India Express now flying DelhiDubai direct, daily

ir India Express on Sunday, May 15, started direct services from the national capital to the UAE, with the first flight to Dubai being flagged off by chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani. “The inaugural flight to Dubai, IX 141, took off with 166 passengers from New Delhi at 9.05 a.m. on Sunday. The daily flight to Abu Dhabi will be effective [from] Monday,” Air India Express said. The airline’s direct flight from Delhi to the capital city, Abu Dhabi began from Monday, May 16. Kochi-headquartered Air India Express will operate the two direct flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi daily. New Boeing 737-800 aircraft with capacity to carry 189 passengers are being deployed.

Heat toll in Telangana mounts to 300

T Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

out efforts are being made to unearth black money,” he said, also challenging the Congress to disclose what steps they had taken to tackle the black money issue. “I challenge my Congress and UPA friends to tell me what they have done compared to our two-year tenure to bring back black money. We are bringing back money through these steps and those who are not declaring through compliance window, will face the sleepless night,” he said. Jaitley claimed the direction in which government is moving

is good for the economy and the country. On the AgustaWestland issue, he said, “The bribe in the deal is clear cut. This is the first case in the world where the bribe-takers are behind the bars, the middleman has been identified but the person who received the bribe is yet to be identified.” Jaitley also said that his government will not compromise with Congress on the issue of corruption in order to get GST Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha where the government lacks majority.

World’s biggest rooftop solar plant inaugurated in Punjab

outed to be the biggest one of its kind in the world, the 11.5 MW rooftop solar energy plant was inaugurated on Tuesday, May 17, by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at the Radha Soami sect headquarters. Spread in an area of over 82 acres, the solar plant has been built at a cost of Rs.139 crore by the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) in this town, 45 km from Amritsar. With emphasis on green technology, it will generate nearly 150 lakh units annually and is expected to offset 19,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. Chief Minister Badal lauded the sect management for setting up the rooftop solar plant, while state New and Renewable Energy Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said that the Punjab government was focussing on setting up of solar energy plants across the state. The Punjab government had recently claimed that the state had set a national benchmark in

NEWS in BRIEF

he death toll due to heat wave in Telangana rose to 300 this season, officials said on Monday, May 16. According to disaster management department, 15 more deaths were reported from various parts of the state during last two days, taking the Women cover their faces to avoid direct contact with sun on a toll to 300. Nalgonda hot day district bore the brunt with maximum heat wave deaths (90) followed by Mahabubnagar (44). Meanwhile, the met office said there was a marked fall in maximum temperatures at one or two places in the state. According to Hyderabad Meteorological Centre, the maximum temperatures at one or two places were appreciably below average. Ramagundam was the hottest place in the state with mercury soaring to 44 degrees Celsius. The met office has forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers at isolated places the over next four days (till May 20). It also issued a warning that thunderstorm accompanied with squall is likely to occur at isolated places.

Those in Lutyen’s Zone can’t feel achhe din, says Amit Shah

JP president Amit Shah has said that those in Lutyen’s Zone (the seat of power in the centre of the national capital) can’t feel the achhe din (good days) ushered in by the Narendra Modi government. “Those in Lutyen’s zone can’t feel achhe din. Go and ask those who have got free LPG gas connections and got rid from smoky chimneys. Achhe din have come for those five crore mothers,” Shah said in India TV conclave Samvad. Rufuting Congress allegation of government action in the 2008 Malegaon blast case to give “clean chits” to accused associated with the RSS-BJP, the Bharatiya Janata Party chief said those having doubts are free to move higher courts. He also took on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for his silence over rape and murder of a Dalit law student in Kerala. On liquor ban in Bihar, he said that BJP-ruled states will also try to consider it but “Nitish Kumar should also stop murders in the state”.

New Education Policy to be made public by May 26: Irani

U Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal

solar power generation with a 172 times increase in just three years. Investment in the solar power sector increased from a small Rs.70 crore to more than Rs.12,000 crore in 2015. From farmers having land holding of just four acres to

MNCs, Punjab is seeing a solar revolution of sorts. Investors include NRIs, big corporates and foreign investors. To promote solar plants, the Punjab government has already announced incentives for this sector to attract more investment.

nion Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Smriti Irani on Monday, May 16, announced that the Narendra Modi government will bring a new education policy by May 26. “Under the new education policy, NCERT will address all those challenges facing the education system, as even students tell me, we know more about Renaissance but not about Maharana Pratap,” Irani said while speaking at the Samvaad Conclave organised by India TV to assess the performance of two years of Modi government. Underlining the need to spread technical education, Irani said under the government’s Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan, the IITs, IIMs and central universities have adopted five villages in 90 districts across the country to boost education and technical know-how. She also appealed to private institutes to emulate the government’s initiative. The minister also said that though the allegations of saffronisation of education keeps coming up, the national curriculum frame, which was devised in 2005 has not been changed.

INDIA ABROAD

www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

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Indian-American wins Intel Young Scientist Award

yamantak Payra, a 15-year-old Texas resident, was awarded the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award on May 13 for developing a low-cost electronically-aided knee brace. The top winner was Austin Wang, 18, from Canada. Kathy Liu, 17, from Salt Lake City, Utah was placed second along with Payra. The awards were presented at Intel International Science and Engineering Fair—the world’s largest high school science research competition. Payra received the award of US$50,000. The device developed by him allows people with weak legs to be able to walk better. Payra beat more than 1,700 young scientists chosen from 419 fairs in 77 countries. “Intel congratulates this year’s winners and hopes that their work will inspire other young innovators to apply their curiosity and ingenuity to today’s global challenges,” said Rosalind Hudnell, vice president in

From left to right: Kathy Liu, Austin Wang and Syamantak Payra, the top three winners of the Intel Young Scientist Award

Human Resources, director of Corporate Affairs at Intel Corporation, and president of the Intel Foundation.

“This international science and engineering exhibition is an excellent example of what can be achieved when

students from different backgrounds, perspectives and geographies come together to share ideas and solutions.” “Our top winners this year—Austin, Syamantak and Kathy—clearly demonstrate that age has no bearing on your ability to conduct research and come up with solutions to important problems,” said Maya Ajmera, president and CEO of Society for Science & the Public. “We congratulate them not only for their success but on their dedication and hard work. “They and the rest of the Intel ISEF finalists are the rising stars of science, technology, engineering and math, and we look forward to watching them pursue their passions and in turn make the world a better place for future generations.” Five Indian-Americans were also a part of the 22 Best of Category winners, each of whom received a US$5,000 prize.

Anjali Chandrashekar wins award at UN poster contest

ew York-based designer Anjali Chandrashekar’s entry in the UN poster contest on peace and nuclear disarmament was awarded the third prize on May 3. Twenty-two-year-old Chandrashekar, who is originally from Chennai, won US$1,000 for her poster titled Cutting Barriers through Peace that depicts a peace dove slicing through a nuclear weapon. “Young people did not create nuclear weapons, but it may be their task to eliminate them once and for all,” SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon said at the award

ceremony held at the UN Headquarters in New York. “At a time of many global needs, it is important that young people are aware of the threat posed by nuclear weapons, and the vital importance of disarmament,” he added. The Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA) launched the poster competition to increase the awareness of the need for nuclear disarmament. The first prize was awarded to 38-yearold- Ivan Ciro Palomino Huamani from Peru for his Spinning Peace poster and

Third prize winner New York-based designer and artist Anjali Chandrashekar speaks during the award ceremony for the United Nations Poster for Peace Contest, at the UN headquarters in New York

the second prize was awarded to 15-yearold Michelle Li for her Peace in our Hands poster. Chandrashekar was chosen from among 4,100 entries from 123 countries. “Nuclear disarmament is usually spoken about on such a high level, and I believe that art has the power to humanise some of the most pressing issues that the world faces today,” Chandrashekar told the UN News Centre. “It also transcends barriers of age, language and literacy so I thought this was a great opportunity for me to show that a brush can be mightier than arms.”

Indian-American scientist gets medal of science from President Obama

ixty-five-year-old Indian-American Dr Rakesh K Jain received the National Medal of Science from President Barack Obama this week, the White House has announced. The National Medal of Science was introduced in 1959 and is awarded annually to recognise individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering. Dr Jain, a professor of tumour biology at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Harvard Medical School, was initially going to receive the award on January 22 along with 16 other recipients. However, the ceremony was postponed due to a snow storm and it took place on May 19. “Science and technology are fundamental to solving some of our Nation’s biggest challenges,” President Obama said. “The knowledge produced by these Americans today will carry our country’s legacy of innovation forward and continue to help countless others around the world. Their work is a testament to American ingenuity.”

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

20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

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Kohli, de Villiers help RCB win by nine wickets against KKR

irat Kohli and A.B. de Villiers once again delivered the goods with their bats as their Royal Challengers Bangalore romped home with nine wickets to spare against Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday, May 16. Kohli and de Villiers remained not out on 75 and 59 respectively while Chris Gayle contributed with a 31-ball 49. The Kohli-de Villiers partnership yielded 115 runs for the men in red and black. With the win, Bangalore stay alive in the competition with six wins from 12 games. Chasing Kolkata’s 183/5, they got off to a flyer as Gayle, who had been in slumber for much of this season, smashed the ball to all parts of the ground. The burly Jamaican first took on Andre Russell hitting him for 17 in the third over and then clubbed

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli (right) and AB de Villiers (left) during an IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore

Sunil Narine for two consecutive fours in the fifth. After six overs, Bangalore were cruising at 63 for no loss but then Gayle was adjudged leg-before-

wicket off a Narine delivery. It was difficult to understand who the home team were as chants of ‘Kohli, Kohli’ went up time and again around the packed stadium

Sunrisers thrash Kings XI, move closer to play-offs

unrisers Hyderabad strengthened t h e i r position at the top of the points table with a seven-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab on Sunday, May 15. Chasing a challenging 180-run target, Hyderabad clinched victory with two balls to spare thanks to some late display of power hitting by Yuvraj Singh and Ben Cutting. Coming together with four overs to go and the visitors still needing 41 runs, the duo exploited some poor bowling by Punjab pacers Sandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma as Hyderabad finished at 180/3 in 19.4 overs. Yuvraj remained unbeaten on 42 runs off 24 balls with three boundaries and an equal number of sixes. Cutting, who hit the winning runs, was not out on 18 off 11 balls. Sunday’s result saw Hyderabad take a two-point lead over secondplaced Kolkata Knight Riders with 16 points from 12 matches. Punjab, meanwhile, virtually kissed goodbye to their chances of making it to the play-offs as they remained second from bottom with eight points from 12 matches. The visitors had seen their chase get off to a promising start with opener David Warner going great guns. His fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan seemed to be

in good touch with 22-ball 25 which included four hits to the ropes before being run out due to a superb piece of fielding by Mohit Sharma. But Deepak Hooda (34 off 22) continued to give Warner good support from the other end as the Australian continued to go after the Punjab bowling. B u t Warner’s habit of

standing deep inside the crease cost him dearly when he attempted to flick an Axar Patel delivery off his pads but his back foot hit the wicket, dislodging the bails in the process. Warner scored 52 runs off 41 deliveries with five boundaries and a six. The Australian’s departure saw Yuvraj Singh stride out to the middle and the local lad used his knowledge of the conditions to good effect and led the visitors to victory. Patel (1/26) and Sandeep Sharma (1/35) were the only Punjab bowlers to earn a wicket. Hashim Amla in action during an IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad

as the Bangalore captain came in, and it continued as he picked the boundaries at regular intervals. However, Kohli was dropped at 32 by his opposite number Gautam Gambhir. The miss proved costly as Kohli got to yet another halfcentury, while his partner at the other end, de Villiers, started clobbering them too. Before long, the visitors were in touching distance of the total and the duo did the needful with eight balls to spare. Earlier, twin 50s from Gambhir (51) and Manish Pandey (50) aided by Russell’s late blitz of 19ball 39 helped Kolkata get to a fighting total. Even though the hosts lost Robin Uthappa (2) early, Gambhir managed to pick the gaps along with Pandey. By the end of the powerplay, the team was 51/1. The onslaught continued in the

next over as legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal was carved for 16. Bangalore then pulled things back a little thereafter and also grabbed the vital wicket of Gambhir who got run-out shortly after getting to his 50. Thereafter, new man Yusuf Pathan and the already set Pandey failed to pierce the gaps. Runs dried down and Pandey was holed out in the deep trying to up the run-rate. Yusuf (6) too was out stumped. Next to perish was Suryakumar Yadav (5) who was caught at long on by Iqbal Abdulla. The flurry of wickets also put a brake on the scoring rate much to the relief of Bangalore. But Shakib Al Hasan and Russell enthralled the strong Eden crowd with some powerhitting to propel Kolkata to such a score. The last three overs yielded 38 runs for the home side.

Suarez wins his second Golden Shoe

a Liga 2015-2016’s top scorer, Uruguayan Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona, won his second Golden Shoe award given to the top scorer in the European football leagues. The Uruguayan attacker got 40 goals, four more than Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain and five more than Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), previous winner of this award. The first time Suarez won the Golden Shoe was two years ago with Liverpool, sharing it then with the Real Madrid striker, both scoring 31 goals. Brazilian Jonas Goncalves, top scorer of

The first time Suarez won the Golden Shoe was two years ago

the Primeira Liga with Benfica, finished fourth with 32, just ahead of Poland’s Robert Lewandowski (30), who was crowned with the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and Swedish Zlatan Ibrahimovic, ‘king’ of Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Bayern celebrate 26th Bundesliga title with fans

ayern celebrated their fourth straight Bundesliga title on the balcony of the New Town Hall in front of their supporters in Munich on Sunday, May 15. More than 15,000 supporters of the German record champions anticipated the arrival of the Bundesliga trophy and Bayern players, who always celebrate the title with their fans on the balcony of the New Town Hall on the Marienplatz. The “Bavarians” feasted their 26th Bundesliga title overall under the slogan “We are the Champions”. Bayern’s women’s team celebrated on the balcony as

well, as they also wrapped up the title in the women’s competition. “I love this city and I will come back. That’s for sure,” outgoing Bayern head coach Josep Guardiola told the supporters. The Catalan, who will leave the club after three years this summer, still has the chance to seal the German domestic double with Bayern for the second time, as they encounter Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup final on May 21 in Berlin. “In case we are lucky enough to win the German Cup in Berlin, we would like to come back next Sunday,” Bayern chairman KarlHeinz Rummenigge said.

KIDS ZONE

www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

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Up in the Sky

Up in the sky I sometimes wonder If I could fly like a bird If I could fly to place where my heart shall rest For once I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to worry but just be

Fun with knowledge

Save endangered species Sanskriti Prabhakar (Sansy)

o you know that Red Pandas are getting endangered? Why are

some people so mean and cruel? Do they just have to kill them?

think that poaching or killing of animals should be banned in each

and every country. If you are the people poaching or killing them, please stop it right now as they don't hurt you.

Change Twelve letters Puzzles

Can you work your way around the circle, solving the clues and changing one letter each time until you come back to the beginning?

Quote Don't just read the easy stuff. You may be entertained by it, but you will never grow from it. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jim Rohn

ll they want to do is to survive; they wanna live. They also want

a happy ending that is natural death for themselves, so does everyone. Just don't hurt them for their mere skin or just to pursue their hunting skills please. They have to live a great life and so do you.

ove animals and they will love you!

Solution to last week's Soduko

Solution to last week's Animal Crossword 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

24 Highlights from Google I/O 2016 SCIENCE AND TECH

20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

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Mahesh K

hen Sundar Pichai took the stage on May 18 during the Google I/O event at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California, the excitement in the crowd was palpable. There was a buzz in the tech community that the Google CEO would make some major announcements revolving around machine learning and speciality virtual reality. While some of these rumours did not translate into reality, the event was a great success with many new launches and exciting product announcements and a strong emphasis towards artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Here are some of the highlights of the Google I/O keynote:

emoji, custom stickers and photo integration. Allo also integrates chatbots such as OpenTable to book restaurant table from inside the chat app. With this app, Google hopes to become the preferred chat client competing with rivals such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

it will bring a common standard for all VR developers. Daydream Home gives access to all your VR contents, which will include VRbased games and movies. Google Cardboard was the catalyst that brought momentum to VR for common users and now it seems that every major player wants to jump into the fray.

Google Daydream: New VR platform

Android N

Google Assistant

oogle Assistant is the next generation of Google Search, which supports conversational style search abilities. It makes search more natural and obviously voice-based. You can have a two-way dialogue with Google understanding the context. So you ask Google “Who’s Justin Bieber?” followed by “Play his latest song”, Google servers will understand that ‘his’ stands for Justin since you asked about him last.

Sundar Pichai

stream before accepting the video call so you can see who is calling and what they are doing. This app will be available soon for iOS and Android platforms.

Google Home Speaker

Google Allo

oogle Allo is Google’s new messaging app that also draws from artificial intelligence. This app for mobile devices can connect to your Google account and has some great features such as end-to-end encryption, incognito mode, Smart replies,

Google Duo

oogle Duo is Google’s dedicated app for video calling like Apple’s FaceTime app. Duo has an interesting feature called Knock-Knock, which lets you view the caller’s

Scientists genetically engineer Zika virus clone

team of researchers has, in a pioneering effort, genetically engineered a clone of the Zika virus strain. Cloning the virus can help in developing the counter-measures and exploring how or whether the Zika virus has evolved to spread more quickly and cause more severe diseases in people, the researchers said. “The Zika clone, together with mosquito infection models and the Zika mouse model, represent a major advance towards deciphering why the virus is tied to serious diseases,” said lead author Pei-Yong Shi, professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch, US. “The new clone is also a critical step in developing a vaccine and antiviral drug against Zika,” Shi added in a paper published in journal ‘Cell Host and Microbe’.

In the study, the team first individually cloned five genome fragments and then assembled them together to form the Zika virus clone.

The researchers then used the Zika mouse model to demonstrate that the cloned virus infected the mice and gave them neurological disease. The team fed Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, one of the mosquito types known to transmit Zika, with human blood infected with either the parental Zika virus or the “man-made” Zika virus and found that the number of infected mosquitoes was similar.

oogle Home is a voicecontrolled smart digital assistant à la Amazon Echo. The device lets you interact via voice commands and can not only answer your query and play music but it also lets you control your smart home devices. This device, which is built on the Chromecast standard, leverages Google’s artificial intelligence prowess. Google Home is coming soon.

Google Home

Google Daydream

hile everyone was expecting Google to release their own VR headset, it went a step further and announced a brand new VR platform called Daydream. It is built on Android N and brings a standard immersive VR experience. Google also released reference designs for hardware and software to design Daydreamenabled VR experiences. With this announcement, Google seems to be going towards building an entire VR ecosystem. So instead of becoming one of the headset makers, Google wants to own the operating system for VR headset. In a way, it is good since

he next iteration of Google’s Android brings various new features to the much loved mobile operating system. Android N has split-screen multitasking, a new set of emoji, a picturein-picture mode, better battery optimisation and more. Android N also provides for smoother and better graphic performance and security enhancements.

Android Wear 2.0

ndroid Wear system has evolved to 2.0 and now you can get any data (such as weather and notifications) to be displayed on any watch face. The platform also provides for tighter integration between various apps such as fitness related apps where your phone does not need to be turned on. The standalone apps make the watch platform much more exciting.

Three new Earth-like planets found, could sustain life

ichael Gillon and the team from the University of Liege started their research project five years ago. Only in September last year they discovered three planets orbiting around a nearby dwarf star known as Trappist 1. As the size and temperatures of these three “red worlds” were comparable to the Earth and other planets from our solar system, it could be the best place for finding life, Xinhua news agency quoted Belgian scientists as saying. “We are looking for planets that could have on their surfaces the conditions like on Earth and maybe host life,” said Michael Gillon, a researcher. The study showed two of the researched planets have orbital periods of about 1.5 days and 2.4 days respectively. Orbiting time of the third one is around 10 days,

Gillon said. “We are already preparing the next phase which will be the most interesting. It is the James Webb space telescope, which is a very big space telescope that will be launching in 2018, so two years from now and with this telescope we will be able to study atmosphere. So, currently we are trying to measure the masses of the planet,” he said. Scientists from Belgium cooperate with international researchers from the US and Britain. They mainly work through the internet system connected to one of the prototype telescope based in Chile. To detect potentially habitable planets researchers use a socalled transit method. They observe specific stars and trying

to catch the planet that will pass in front of them. “We made this programme on our small robotic telescope Trappist which is in Chile as a prototype for our more ambitious project which is called Speculoos ... It will use bigger telescopes with more sensitive instruments to explore more,” he added. With current Trappist telescope scientists were able to observe only 60 targets. With Speculoos the scope will be wider, up to 500 objects.

HALL OF FAME

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20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

it’s yesterday once more in wondrous Wellywood Red

Radhika Bhirani

(now his wife) have come a long way, a guide told us. With childlike excitement, we began a guided tour down the Weta Cave and Workshop where the story of the creative process is told with the showcase of props, models and weapons. We also chanced upon some talented minds on the job, who were working on costumes of a new period drama (details were a secret), on prosthetics, props and more. The detailing and thought behind each piece of costume was awe-inspiring to say the least because on the silver screen, these may seem as just one teeny-weeny aspect, but singularly, they add a lot to an aura of a film. An Indian film, Shankar’s I, was also worked upon at Weta. Coming face to face with different departments—3D modelling, leather work,

metal shop, imaging, make-up, prosthetics and creatures, sculpting, weaponry, miniatures, model-making, moulding, and painting—showcased the synchronisation needed to produce award-winning material for movies. You can only see it all with amazement, and what’s more heart-warming is the preservation of the props. Yeah, don’t hesitate to ask which sword was held by Aragorn or Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings trilogy— they’re all there! As many as 100,000 visitors a year flock to take this 45-minute tour, during which they sample a lot of behind-the-scenes fun. And you can take a piece of it with you from the Weta Cave Shop, which houses collectible sculpture by the artists and

As I was approaching Chopta after a tiresome bus journey of almost seven hours, soft white flakes began falling. The road and the valley got a white makeover and the hills were enveloped in a white sheet. Within moments, the road and the adjacent area had turned into a white ornament and the hill range looked no less than a necklace. By the time snowfall stopped, the day had ended and the road to Chopta was blocked. Far in the distance, the sun bid adieu to the day, smashing the dull sky with a splash of red. Mother Nature mesmerised me with her art of creating an enchanting scenic view. It looked no less than a painting, where every stroke of brush defined how she played with colours with the sky serving as a canvas.

With a heavy heart, I settled for the night in a small village called Mandal, below Chopta, whose scenic charm hypnotised me the next morning. The mountain range was standing tall just across the window of my room, glittering as the first rays of the sun touched the snow-clad peaks. The pine, spruce and maple leaves blinked at the sun’s rays and danced to the tune of the cold breeze blowing across the village. Along with the whispering of the wind, the tinkling sound that a nearby tranquil stream made as it rushed over the stones on its bed, mingled into the atmosphere, accompanied by the chirping of birds to create a rapturous mood. The dead maple leaves lying on the wet road welcomed me as I crunched them below my feet while I was engulfed by the wondrous beauty of the village. I recollected a few lines from Robert Frost’s poem The Mountain: “When I walked forth at dawn to see new things/Were fields, a river, and beyond, more fields,” while I strolled across the tiny village early in the morning. Mandal village exudes a pristine charm. Away from the cacophony of city life, the village turned out to be the perfect gateway to sooth my soul. While I was returning from the village I remembered another Frost poem, The Road Not Taken: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I/I took the one less travelled by”. I could not take the road that leads to Chopta, but the picture perfect Mandal village was no less a surprise to me with its beauty.

A pristine village and a snowy affair Somrita Ghosh

he clouds kissed the mountain peaks; the sun played hide and seek, peeking out at times from behind those clouds, its rays cutting across the edges of spruce tree that stood tall on the valley, making their way to reach up to me. It kept raining while I was travelling to the hills, and then it snowed. Taking a break from my routine, I was heading for Chopta, a small town in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand. Located 8,790 feet above sea-level on NH 58, the picturesque town is surrounded by mountains that offer glimpses of the mighty Himalayan range. The road would bend and curve at every possible angle it could; the Ganga river was in its majestic colours, sometimes sea blue, sometimes robin and at times sky blue; sometimes calm and then ferocious as it wound its way down, my constant companion as I approached my destination from Rishikesh. On my way came three main confluences—Devprayag where the Alaknanda meets the Bhagirathi and takes the name of Ganga; ahead was Rudraprayag, the confluence of the Alaknanda and the Mandakini; and Karnaprayag, where the Alaknanda amalgamates with the Pindar. The weather became cold as it was raining, making for a damp and dull environment. It gradually turned cold, with the wind chilling me to the bone benumbing my body, but my travelling spirit was indomitable. Travelling in the local bus gave me a chance to assimilate the local culture of the Garhwal region in which Chopta falls. The pahari song being played in the bus and

some small talk with the locals provided some relief during the hectic journey. Although I thought I was successful in defeating the freezing climate, the demotivating rain and the sharp turns in the road were bearable but something heart-breaking was awaiting me.

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authentic prop replicas from the movies. From the Weta Workshop, we headed out straight to Park Road Post Production. Just to be at a spot occupied by master filmmaker Jackson was exhilarating in itself. Imagine the joy of sitting on the sofa spot that he occupies when he okays the sound for his projects. Sparkling clean and well-organised, the facility almost exuded the look of a hotel. A theatre within the property was like a fairyland. Moving on to the foley suite, editing room, fully automated digital audio mixing suites, and recording room, you could totally tell why the clarity of sound is as magical as it is when it has Jackson’s stamp on it. Overall, you walk out with a deeper understanding and, most of all, newfound respect for the talent that works day in and day out for months, sometimes years, to put together the larger-than-life spectacles for film buffs. And not before you finally board your flight to leave Wellington does the Weta experience leave you! You won’t just see an eery life-like installation of Smaug the Great Dragon, which catches your eye. But, hey, don’t miss Gandalf the wizard atop one of two Great Eagles, swooping down, before you say ‘Bye bye, Wellywood!’ Points to remember: • A standard tour to Weta Workshop would cost you NZ$25. • Online booking in advance is recommended, especially during peak season between October and April.

or a film aficionado, the overwhelming suspended sculpture of Gollum—the popular fictional character from The Lord Of The Rings trilogy—gives just the right vibe about the treasure trove of talent, creativity and imagination that Wellington, New Zealand’s largest film production hub, truly is. For someone curious about the behindthe-scenes action in visually stunning cinematic delights such as the The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit series... oh, and not to be missed Avatar, The Amazing Spiderman and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Wellywood, as the city is informally called, is a wonderland! A trip to the Miramar suburb of Wellington will take you to not just Academy Award-winning film-maker Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production—a world-class facility—but also to multiple Oscar awardee Richard Taylor’s Weta Workshop, which will stun you with the limitless possibilities of art and creativity. A stop at the film props and special effects company Weta Workshop, part of the greater Wellington-based creative community of Weta Digital, Park Road Post Production, and Stone Street Studios, will tell you why Taylor is a five-time Oscar winner. And, oh boy, the sight of his Oscar statuettes (the real ones!), glistening in gold, left me star-struck—well, only until I met the man himself at his workshop! From starting up in the backroom of their flat in 1987, Taylor and Tania Rodger

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HEALTH/ASTROLOGY

www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

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Proper food, exercise can prevent youth from hypertension

Cheers! Red wine can offset effects of high fat diet

ed wine lovers have a new reason to celebrate. Researchers have found that a compound in this drink could help counteract the negative impact of high fat/high sugar diets. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Physiology, point to the health benefit of resveratrol, which occurs naturally in blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, grape skins and consequently in red wine. In previous animal studies, resveratrol has already shown to increase the life span of mice and slow the onset of diabetes. In one study, it mirrored the positive effects of aerobic exercise in mice, which were fed a high fat/high sugar diet. For the current study, J.P. Hyatt, associate professor at Georgetown University and his team of researchers fed a control group of rhesus monkeys a healthy diet and another group a high fat/high sugar diet, half of which also received a resveratrol supplement and half of which did not. The researchers wanted

to know how different parts of the body responded to the benefits of resveratrol, specifically the muscles in the back of the leg. Three types of muscles were examined: a “slow” muscle, a “fast” muscle and a “mixed” muscle. The study showed that each muscle responded differently to the diet and to the addition of resveratrol. The soleus muscle, a large muscle spanning from the knee to the heel, is considered a “slow” muscle used extensively in standing and walking. Of the three lower hind leg muscles analysed for this study, the soleus was the most affected by the high fat/high sugar diet and also most affected by the resveratrol supplements. This may be partially

due to the fact that, on a daily basis, it is used much more than the other two muscles. The plantaris muscle, a 5–10 cm long muscle along the back of the calf, did not have a negative response to the high fat/ high sugar diet, but it did have a positive response to the addition of resveratrol. The third muscle was not affected by the diet or addition of resveratrol. While these results are encouraging, and there might be a temptation to continue eating a high fat/high sugar diet and simply add a glass of red wine or a cup of fruit to one’s daily consumption, the researchers stressed the importance of a healthy diet cannot be overemphasised.

ith 30 per cent of deaths in India attributed to hypertension and diseases triggered by it, health experts across the country have cautioned youngsters to regulate their eating habits and improve fitness. Due to the unorganised medical health system in India, youth were becoming victims of hypertension and other major health complications triggered by it including brain haemorrhage. “One in four individuals above 25 years in India has hypertension and it is increasing at an alarming pace. Reducing salt intake, stopping tobacco use, reducing stress by slowing down, yoga or meditation and increasing physical activity are some of the key strategies to reduce blood pressure,” said A. Muruganathan, president, Hypertension Society of India. Emphasising that one should get checked up for the condition early, he said that ignorance can lead to a stage where hypertension cannot be reversed. S.S. Das, head of critical care and cardiology at Kolkata-based Mercy Hospital, said, “The current scenario is such

that youngsters constantly are on working hours and hardly get time to exercise and proper diet. This leads them to get hypertension. Diabetes is found commonly among youths in the 20s and 30s age group. ” Asked if youth in other countries were also suffering from hypertension, he said, “The scenario in the world is the same, but as the medical system in Western and South Asian countries such as China is very much organised and focused, they are easily able to tackle the problem.” Kenneth Thorpe, Chairman, Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, said, “To efficiently tackle modern lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, we need to move from curative to preventive care. Regular health check-ups, reduction of salt, sugar intake, promoting physical activity, early detection and treatment are some of the possible ways to have a preventive approach towards such diseases.” According to him, more than 20 crore people are on the verge of stepping into the dangerous zone of hypertension.

By Manisha Koushik

Weekly forecast: May 20 to May 26

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

ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

CANCER

Find the right people and delegate the tasks to have productive results. Don’t let disagreements with family members affect your peace of mind. This is a temporary phase and you shall be able to deal with it courteously. Get an objective second opinion before making new financial commitments. Those looking for a job change should be open to relocate to another city.

This is the time to get into action and make your mark on the work front. Be it on a professional or personal level, you will be successful in winning the hearts of those around you. Those in teaching profession are likely to celebrate the performance of their wards. Be cautious when making decisions concerning finances.

Stop seeking everyone’s suggestion for your work. Don’t let anyone interfere in your project else you will lose the credibility of the project. Go ahead and break the ice with someone whom you have not interacted with on the social front. Dull routine is likely to prompt you for a change of scene. Money comes in steady stream and will not pose any problems.

Travelling with family to a tourist destination will prove immensely enjoyable. There will be no escaping an essential expenditure, but judicious spending will save money. Students appearing for examinations or competitions can heave a sigh of relief. A transfer or promotion that was on the cards can be delayed. You are likely to take a short break for rest and rejuvenation. Keep romance on hold for sometime as stars are not favourable.

Lucky No.: 5 / Lucky Colour: Green

Lucky No.: 3 / Lucky Colour: Brown

LIBRA

SCORPIO

Pressure of work that you had been feeling for the past few days is set to increase. Monetary position may take various swings, so don’t undertake anything involving money. Those in the creative fields will be hard put to find ready buyers. Take adequate measures to counter the season while travelling. Some of you can risk your health by eating out. Lucky No.: 18 / Lucky Colour: Saffron

You will need to keep a close tab on your employees or subordinates for a project entrusted to them. Decreased earning is indicated for some. Those forced to live away can face administrative difficulties. Travelling, especially by train, can prove hectic. Those seeking love need to be at their impressive best! A marriage or birth is likely to bring happiness on the domestic front. You will achieve perfect health through your own endeavours.

AQUARIUS

PISCES

You are about to be offered a lucrative deal, which will be hard to resist. A family trip overseas is on the cards for some. You will get ample opportunity to establish yourself in your field of expertise. Fulfilling a commitment for someone made long ago will be much appreciated. Your colleagues at work will be most supportive and will even share your burden in your absence. Health remains satisfactory. Lucky No.: 5 / Lucky Colour: Turquoise

You may feel all at sea regarding a financial matter; take somebody’s advice before you burn your fingers. Resolving a misunderstanding on the domestic front quickly can become important. You perform beyond your expectations in a competition. Several opportunities for furthering your career are likely to come your way, but you will have to seize them. You manage to catch the eye of the one you love. Dietary control will keep you fit. Lucky No.: 9 / Lucky Colour: Rose

(March 21-April 20)

(April 21-May 20)

Lucky No.: 7 / Lucky Colour: Maroon

Lucky No.: 9 / Lucky colour: Blue

LEO

VIRGO

You can face difficulties in bagging a lucrative assignment, but you will succeed in the end. Financial gains will take some more time to take shape. Getting quality time at home to concentrate on activities that appeal to you can be problematic. Purchase or development of property is on the cards for some. You may need to spike your romance with some excitement. Condition of those who have undergone surgery will improve quickly. Lucky No.: 6 / Lucky Colour: Chocolate

Interruptions on the domestic front are foreseen that will not allow you to do your own thing. Some of you can expect good professional advice from someone close. Your professional knowledge and business acumen will be much in demand at work. Regular medication will negate the affect of a lifestyle disease for those suffering from it. This is not an ideal time to spend with lover, so avoid meeting if possible.

SAGITTARIUS

CAPRICORN

You are likely to win this week on the professional front by your original ideas. Monetary gains from a transaction cannot be ruled out for some. You are set to enjoy the company of your near and dear ones. Real estate agents can expect a good commission from a deal. Good dietary control will find some coming back in shape. Time is ripe to approach the one you secretly love. Lucky No.: 2 / Lucky Colour: Violet

A profitable time for entrepreneurs is envisaged. Marketing people will be able to bring in good business. A family vacation is on the cards and will be prove a welcome change. Those needing loan will get it at the most nominal interest. Pursuing a field sport will keep you trim and fit. Time is ripe to pop the question to the one you intend to marry. Luck favours the brave, remember that!

(July 23-August 23)

(Nov 23-December 11)

(August 24-Sep 23)

(May 21-June 21)

(Sep 24-October 23)

Lucky No.: 15 / Lucky Colour: Peach

(Dec 22-January 21)

Lucky No.: 8 / Lucky Colour: Parrot green

(Jan 22-February 19)

(June 22-July 20)

(Oct 24-November 22)

Lucky No.: 3 / Lucky Colour: Magenta

(Feb 20-March 20)

CANNES COVERAGE

20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

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Cannes 2016:

Indian divas make heads turn with flowy gowns and bold lips IWK Bureau

he 69th edition of the coveted Canned Film Festival started on May 11. It’s quite possible that your social media feed is loaded with the pictures of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor among others, who have been rocking the red carpet. We bring you a quick Bollywood-round up of who wore what in past one week at #Cannes2016. Sonam Kapoor Sonam, who is representing the cosmetic giant L’Oréal Paris at the ongoing film fest, is earning kudos for her fashion statements at the red carpet. From her subtle yet effective white caped floor-sweeping gown, elegant champagne silk gown to a casual black dress, the fashionista of Hindi showbiz has been living up the tag and turning heads on the red carpet in French Riviera. She donned a mesmerising black and blue sculpted sari made of molten wires. Taking a break from subtle colours, Sonam added vintage glam to her appearance at the Chopard party with a custom-designed black strapless gown by Ralph and Russo topped up bright red lips and minimal eye make-up. Some of Sonam’s past appearances at Cannes have been criticised, but this year, she seems to be getting the look spot on so far. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan This year, the L’oreal Paris brand ambassador, Bollywood actor and former Miss World Aishwarya, began her series of appearances with a glittering gold cape dress, followed by a ravishing red Naeem Khan creation. She looked elegant in a flowing and dreamy Elie Saab creation and then she chose an ensemble by India’s veteran designer Rohit Bal. She ended up turning heads when she showed up sporting a purple pout, which took the focus away from her clothes, in another appearance. Overall, Aish did manage to stun with

her bold and atypical choice of make-up and attires.

Mallika Sherawat Bollywood actor Mallika Sherawat, whose film Time Raiders has been selected for the 69th Cannes Film Festival, stunned one and all at the red carpet of the gala’s opening ceremony. Mallika wore an offshoulder Georges Hobeika gown, which she paired with a diamond neck piece from Maison Mellerio for the opening ceremony held on May 11. The gown had golden embellishments with a blue-coloured trail. Freida Pinto The US-based Indian actress is yet to walk the red carpet at the 69th Cannes International Film Festival but her quirky sartorial sense didn’t go unnoticed when she attended the Cannes Film Festival official dinner on May 15. For the gala dinner, the Slumdog Millionaire actress chose a white Elie Saab couture dress and completed the look with a pair of earrings, a belt and orange tinged lips. At the ‘We Do It Together’ press conference and cocktail reception the same day, she wore a summery Prabal Gurung outfit teamed with Amarapali studs and an Audemar Piguet watch.

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ENTERTAINMENT

www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

I leave my character Red Black Orange on the set when I return home: Irrfan

No respect left in joining politics: Raveena

ctress Raveena Tandon, who has actively raised her voice against various social issues during her 25-year-long film career, says unlike her costars Govinda and Shatrughan Sinha, she is not interested in joining politics as “there is no respect left”. Raveena, who has wrapped up shooting for her upcoming film Maatr—The Mother, feels that politics in not a place for her to be in. “Politics? No, not right now. You know... Even when you want to make a difference to the world, unfortunately I think the good people get stopped all over,” Raveena said on the set of the Ashtar Sayyed directorial,

ith a special campaign—Te3n It Around—megastar Amitabh Bachchan has asked fans and audiences to join the journey of TE3N by coming up with innovative ideas for the promotion of the forthcoming film. The 73-year-old took the digital route to ask fans for suggestions. In a special video, the actor is seen saying, “This time we want to know how you want to promote the film and market it.” Set in Kolkata, the film is about a crime that affects its three principal characters. Amitabh plays John Biswas, a grandfather in relentless pursuit of justice for eight years, while Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays Father Martin Das, whose life was changed forever by the same crime that claimed the life of John’s granddaughter. Vidya Balan essays the role of a police officer named Sarita Sarkar, who swings into action when an identical crime happens eight years later. In the video,

Big B says, “We want you to take TE3N forward...how do you see it? What do you want to see next in a poster, song or a game? You can connect with us now in just three steps. Log on to www.te3nitaround. in, choose the activity you want to take

part in and then submit your entry. Come be a part of TE3N.” Produced by Kahaani director Sujoy Ghosh, the Ribhu Dasgupta directorial is set to release on June 10.

Nawazuddin gets roaring applause at Cannes

easoned actor Irrfan Khan says he never digs into his personal experiences to draw inspiration for his on-screen characters as he feels it can turn “dangerous”. Irrfan’s next movie Madaari features him as a father who loses his child. Being a father of two sons, did Irrfan dig into his own emotional reservoir to play the grieving father in Madaari? “Never! I never do that. Because if as an actor you begin to delve deep into your own personal emotions and experiences it can get very dangerous for you. I never draw connections between my own life and the characters I play. I leave my characters on the sets when I return home,” he said. There are media reports that Madaari is about vigilantism against corruption. But the actor says otherwise. Irrfan feels the reformist resonances of Madaari, directed by Nishikant Kamat, could have far-reaching ramifications. “It’s a very powerful subject in the thriller genre. But the drama and human emotions are not drowned in the thriller element. “While the narrative remains true to the genre, the human emotions get a lot of play in the script. This is what I like about this script.”

Big B asks fans to hop on TE3N express

which was wrapped up in Gurugram. Talking about why she is not interested in joining politics, Raveena, who played a politician in Satta, said, “Around 10 years ago, there was still respect for the higher authorities or officers. But today what you see on social media, the way top politicians are abusing each other openly... There is no respect left.” Maatr—The Mother, which features Slumdog Millionaire fame actor Madhur Mittal as antagonist, delves on the road to justice for women who are victims of violence and rape. A release date for the movie is yet to be finalised.

ctor Nawazuddin Siddiqui was welcomed with cheers and applause post the screening of his film Raman Raghav 2.0, which is based on Mumbai’s notorious serial killer Raman Raghav, at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. Film-maker Anurag Kashyap’s Raman Raghav 2.0, which narrates story of the serial killer, who went on murder spree in Mumbai in the 1960s, was screened at the film extravaganza at Cannes on Monday, May 16. In a clip shared by Nawazuddin’s team, the actor is seen entering the hall amid an unending cheer. Nawazuddin is a regular at the prestigious film festival. Raman Raghav 2.0 marks his eighth film at the film gala in four years. Earlier films to make it to the Cannes were The Lunchbox, Gangs of Wasseypur, Miss Lovely and Liar’s Dice to name a few. His seven films as an actor and one short film as a producer have gone to the film festival.

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ENTERTAINMENT

20 May 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Movie review:

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U. Prashanth Nayak

he following are statements from the real-life Mohammad Azharuddin: “When I heard about the movie, I was not convinced. But when director Tony D’Souza showed me the script, I gave him the go-ahead.” This laugh-worthy decision by the filmmakers was apparently to avoid the risk of litigation, so whether the real-life Azhar was a “safe” player or not, it certainly shows that director Tony D’Souza is a cautious batsman who will check with the bowler before deciding his stroke play. Azhar opens with a lengthy declaration that though it is based on the life of erstwhile Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin, it is not actually based on his life. Confused? Please don’t be. Some film-makers complicate their films with ambiguous moral shades. Azhar, directed by D’Souza and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Sony Pictures, can be absolved of any such crimes because while it may initially fox you with some googlies, it eventually finishes with a shining moral clarity that is rare in the India of today. Ladies, gentleman, and that muchtortured completely martyred animal who is the Indian cricket fan, I am not judging the real-life Mohammed Azharuddin (irrespective of litigation risk). For such verdicts, you may peruse the CBI records, file an RTI for more light and do some more snooping of your own. But this film, for all its technical polish, smacks of the kind of double standards that degrade the true value of cinema. The eponymous “hero”, in real life, made

a sparkling start in international cricket with three consecutive centuries and later went on to shoulder the gargantuan task of captaining the Indian cricket team. But in the later stages of his career, matchfixing allegations laid him low; his form was no great shakes either and eventually both the International Cricket Council and the national cricket board banned him from playing. A dozen years later, he was acquitted of the charges by Andhra Pradesh High Court. The on-screen Azhar dutifully follows a similar trajectory. But as we have Emraan Hashmi here, he marries his ‘serial kisser’ status with curricular demands by managing to French-kiss both Prachi Desai and Nargis Fakhri (Lara Dutta is spared, but she might not have been, had the picture been longer). There are romantic songs in place of drink

breaks, sympathy-evoking contrasts of adoring crowds before, and isolation and boycotting later. All his team-mates desert him when he needs them the most and he is treated like a bullied escort when somebody finally hires him for a celeb appearance. My heart would have bled had it not been already killed on the cricket pitch. Scriptwriter Rajat Arora had debuted with his dialogues for Bluffmaster; he should have given the same title to this movie. We are shown that at one point, Azhar has only Rs. 5,000 in his bank account and a bookie later comes along and offers him Rs. 1 crore. These sums are peanuts compared to the mind-boggling figures, which surfaced during the real investigations.

Avadhara Purushan: A Dance Musical

Date: 22 May 2016 Time: 4:30 p.m. onwards Venue: Dorothy Winstone Centre, Auckland Girls Grammer School, 16 Howe Street, Newton, Auckland. Sai Natyalaya Dance School proudly presents Avadhara Purushan in colla boration with Madurai R Muralidharan, a dance musical based on Kamba Ramayna. For tickets contact: 021739879, 0211308046, 021395404 or 0211374929.

Arahoe MudRun

Date: Sunday, 22 May 2016 Time: Registration at 9 a.m., race starts at 10 a.m. Venue: Arahoe Primary School, New Lynn Arahoe Primary School is opening up its grounds to the community to do just that. It’s all in the name of community and encouraging children to play outdoors, whilst also fundraising for Operation Outdoors, an initiative to boost outdoor learning facilities. The Arahoe MudRun will see participants traverse through the muddy wallow, climb mud Everest and slide down the double mudder all along the one kilometre course. Open to all ages. Go to lacticturkey.co.nz/ ArahoeMudRun for more information .

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Emraan Hashmi, for all his assiduous but underwhelming exertions, is a miscast. He would have better essayed Sachin Tendulkar while someone like Randeep Hooda could have been a more appropriate choice to enact the lanky, slightly cavalier Azhar. It is unlikely the real-life first wife of Azhar would have become a superstar by looks alone while his second wife Sangeeta Bijlani remains visually stunning as before. But the movie makes them both coiffed alabaster beauties. No wonder the poor stressed hero mistakes one for another. To further unify matters, both Prachi Desai (first wife) and Nargis Fakhri (the second one) emote in one-dimensional states of smiles, tears and anger that are seen more in school plays than in formidable dramas. But to its credit, the narrative never drags, and D’Souza in his directorial debut would have come across a fine director were he not saddled with peddling such ludicrous material. The ending is stunning, not in its narrative merit, but in asking us to believe what it reveals. Factual dishonesty flies in our face. A lawyer argues in an act of great epiphany that the CBI report was based on a sting operation when in fact it relied strongly on rigorous interrogations. If one didn’t want the movie to reflect real life, why bother calling it Azhar? Azhar does not want to hit sixers like how Stone’s JFK and Mehta’s Shahid did. It contently busies itself with innocuous plotting, little ambition, and “it all ends well, don’t worry” theme. Some happy endings are actually tragedies in disguise. Rating: 2/5

‘Education in New Zealand’ at CAB Hamilton

Date: Wednesday, 25 May 2016 Time: 6 pm to 8pm Venue: Waikato Migrant Resource Centre, 46G Claudelands, Hamilton CAB Hamilton will hold a free information session on ‘Education in New Zealand’. The topics will cover: overall education system in New Zealand, how best to enter into the system, over stayers, fees, sports, support services, NCEA, tertiary studies, International students—what happens when they finish their studies and volunteer work. Please confirm your place by Wednesday May 18 by phoning the CAB Office on 07 839 0808 or email hamilton@cab.org.nz

Free public lecture: Osteoporosis and Bone Disease

Date: Wednesday, 25 May 2016 Time: 7 p.m. onwards Venue: Auckland Medical School AMRF is holding a free public lecture on Wednesday 27 May at the Auckland Medical School. Distinguished Professor Ian Reid will discuss the impact and treatment of bone diseases, including osteoporosis and Paget’s disease. To register phone 923 1701 or email us at amrf@medicalresearch.org.nz

ENTERTAINMENT

www.iwk.co.nz | 20 May 2016

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