Indian Weekender 26 August 2016

26AUG2016 Vol. 8 • Issue 23

NZ’s only Kiwi-Indian weekly

Auckland | Christchurch | Wellington | Hamilton | Palmerston North | Hastings | Invercargill

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CONTENTS

26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Pg

4

Pg

New Zealand

17

New Zealand

Pg Rising crime worries community

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Wellington chapter of Islam Awareness Week launched

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Pg

21

Opinion/Editorial

India Abroad

Legal hiccups hinder Uber’s smooth ride

Indo-Canadian Sikh MP first woman leader of house

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26

Pg

Sandy keeps listeners ‘driven’

Postcard from Kasol

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NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

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NEW ZEALAND

NSG ON AGENDA AS INDIA LOOKS TO INVITE KEY

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ndia is reportedly in talks for a visit by Prime Minister John Key, possibly in early October, with an eye on securing support for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group ahead of his Vienna meeting in November.

New Zealand, an NSG member, had raised questions about India’s entry into the exclusive club, based on its stand that only signatories of the Nuclear Non-­ Proliferation Treaty are eligible to join the group, the Economic Times reported this week. But the PM’s Office in Wellington has not confirmed whether Key had been invited to visit New Delhi.

India hasn’t signed the NPT treaty. The primary objective of hosting Key is to elicit his country’s support for NSG membership, people familiar with the development told ET. While China blocked India’s entry into the NSG at the Seoul plenary meeting in June, New Zealand raised questions about India’s bid, citing non­proliferation concerns.

Although it did not take sides with China, Wellington expressed concern over admitting India would adversely affect the non­proliferation regime.

While NZ is a close US ally, the Obama administration, which lobbied for India’s case among NSG members, could not fully influence Wellington

While New Zealand is a close US ally, the Obama administration, which lobbied for India’s case among NSG members, could not fully influence Wellington.

Australia, another strong proponent of India’s entry into NSG, had also moved its neighbour on the issue.

Prime MInister John Key

India wants membership of the NSG to get enhanced and uninterrupted access to nuclear technology, fuel and materials needed to expand its expanding

civil nuclear programme.

Decisions by the group are taken by consensus. After the Seoul plenary, New Zealand High Commissioner to India Grahame

Morton said his country only wanted norms to be fixed to admit non­NPT states into the 48­nation NSG, which controls global trade in nuclear technology.

Morton said the NSG’s doors for India were not closed and constructive discussion would lead to a solution.

“It is a process and talks will continue,” he said. It is understood that while the top Kiwi political leadership is favourably disposed to India’s entry, the New Zealand foreign ministry has been dragging its feet on the matter because of India’s non­ NPT status. India is hoping Key’s visit would help bridge that gap, people familiar with the issue said.

New Zealand is a member of a group of NPT parties called the New Agenda Coalition, which focuses on identifying and advocating practical steps on nuclear disarmament. The other members are Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico and South Africa.

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26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Safer communities together

New Zealand Police works with the community to make New Zealand safe and secure for its citizens. We seek to prevent crime, improve public security and detect offenders. The unwavering commitment of NZ police officers to provide service to the New Zealand public helps in maintaining the law and order in the country. As a part of the NZ Police force, we are actively involved with the community to ensure that we address the grievances of the citizens. Below are two incidents that took place last week in Auckland where NZ police officers successfully nabbed the offenders.

¡¡ Sergeant Gurpreet Arora District Ethnic Services Coordinator, Counties Manukau

Police in action

¡¡ At about 1:45 a.m. on Monday,

August 15, three men drove to a service station in East Tamaki. There was one person working alone in the store. The men smashed the Night Pay window and gained access to the inside of the service station.

The victim ran to the rear of the building and closed the door behind him. The men stole cigarettes from the store, exited via the broken window and left in a vehicle. A few minutes later, they swapped their vehicle with another vehicle, which was spotted by the police

responding to the incident. A police pursuit was initiated and the offenders eventually dumped the car and left on foot. Subsequent enquiries and searches by Police Dog Unit resulted in one man being located, arrested and charged with aggravated robbery and unlawfully gets into the motor vehicle. Enquiries are ongoing to find other offenders.

¡¡ Just after 10 p.m. on Saturday,

August 20, three men entered a liquor store in Papatoetoe.

At this time, two people were working inside the store. One of the men pointed a weapon at the victims. The victims rushed to the rear of the store. One of the victims was forced to open the cash register. Money was stolen from the cash register and cigarettes were stolen from

NZ Police urges residents to safeguard their house from burglaries by getting a home safe installed

the cabinet. All three offenders left the store with the stolen goods. Police are currently investigating the matter.

¡¡ Attended

and hosted the international students meeting at Manukau police station attended by 45 key community representatives from across Auckland and 10 government officials including the head of Ministry of Education for Auckland and senior board member for Education NZ. Meeting coordinated by Human Rights Commission.

Police in community

I

n an endeavour to improve community engagement and also make it easy and open to members of the community to approach and speak to the police, officers are regularly engaged in attending community events.

Police officers recently attended two events and interacted with the community. ¡¡ Attended community event organised by Radio Tarana at Vodafone Events Centre on Saturday, August 20

Prevention tips

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t is all about safety in the community and therefore we wish to share some prevention tips regularly with our readers to ensure they are more aware and informed, which directly relates to their safety.

Below is a message from Constable Christiane Pukeiti.

“A lavishly adorned bride, a proud mother and wife, a daughter excited about her engagement— what would all these situations be without beautiful handcrafted gold jewellery? It takes the family years of work and financial discipline to be able to provide for the ladies.

“How terrible then, if a stranger comes into your house and steals the jewellery—your savings, your daughter’s future, your wife’s precious possessions.

“Please, do not put it in your drawers, your wardrobes or on the dresser.

“Take photos of it! Register it on www.snap.org.nz. Get a home safe installed. Mark your property using SelectaDNA, a unique invisible marking system.

Check out www.selectadna.co.nz for more info.

“Talk to us, the New Zealand Police. We are here to keep you and your belongings safe, but we do need your help!”

You can contact Sergeant Gurpreet Arora on 021 191 0461

Rising crime continues to worry community

T

¡¡ Swati Sharma

he crime rate has gone up in New Zealand.

According to the latest crime statistics, there has been an increase of 3.1% for the year ended June 30, 2016.

Burglaries have gone up by 13% and robberies by 12%. Indian Weekender takes a look at the recent incidents in the community, some of which raises questions over the concerned authorities’ approach to bringing justice to the grieved citizens.

A dairy on Christchurch’s Ferry Road was robbed during the early hours of Saturday, August 20, where three men barged in at about 3:30 a.m. with a gun barrel, The Press reported.

The three robbers were wearing hoods, scarves, and hats to cover their faces and threatened the staff member as they took away the dairy’s overnight earning of $500–600 along with packets of cigarettes.

The manager of the dairy, Jaskaran Singh, said that this was the most serious robbery at the Dairy as the earlier ones were minor where robbers didn’t have any firearms.

He stated that his staff member was “pretty scared” after the trio pointed the gun at him asking him to open the till.

“I will let him rest for the night, or two nights,” Singh was quoted as saying.

There has been an increase of 3.1% for the year ended June 30, 2016. Burglaries have gone up by 13% and robberies by 12%.

In past few months, Ferry Road has become a hub for such incidents. On August 15, two Christchurch pubs were targeted, as armed robbers stole about $20,000 from one of the pubs.

On August 9, at about 2:40 a.m., three balaclava-clad people armed with a hammer, rifle, and a bat robbed 24/7 Buns Bakery, which had been robbed three weeks before by a group of men armed with screwdrivers and knives. In the latest development of the event, the police had arrested a teenager in connection with both robberies at the bakery.

In the Canterbury police district, the robberies have risen by 32%, up from 252 to 333 in this year.

In a burglary incident, a house in Auckland was attacked on August 14. A woman, who was caught on the CCTV camera,

entered the house through a window and stole valuables.

The offender was later arrested, and the victims got some of their possessions back. However, she was soon let out on bail. The victim, Nisha Nazareth, says that the police didn’t take any serious action against the robber and “it makes me angry that the girls just walked away scot-free.”

Justice delayed is justice denied

M

t Roskill residents Kumuda and Sasikanth Kandalam’s house was broken into on June 21, and they are still awaiting justice.

Talking to Indian Weekender about the fateful day, Kumuda said, “We had gone for our citizenship ceremony that day.

We came back home at about

2:15 p.m. and saw that our garden lights were crushed, and the main door was broken. My husband went in to check if it was safe for the kids and me to enter the house. Two rooms were completely ransacked. All the drawers were taken out on the bed. We had a backpack with all our jewellery, cash, and kids’ passports; it was all gone.

Our clothes and other artificial jewellery were lying on the bed.”

The couple lost $1500 cash, gold jewellery worth $70,000, and some silverware.

Sasikanth called the police immediately and gave them details of the incident. A lady from the forensic team visited their house the following evening to take fingerprints.

“The front door was broken, and we had to get it fixed, so the forensic lady found no prints on the door. She didn’t even come inside. The police told us to upload any evidence we had on the police website. We got the CCTV footage from the house in front of ours and uploaded it on the website,” Kumuda adds.

It’s been more than two months, but the couple is still waiting to hear back from the police.

“They never called us to give any update. We called the police two or three times but still nothing.”

Kumuda says that she is afraid in her house as a couple of days ago, they spotted a group of men

checking out their house from the backyard. When her husband approached them, they ran away in the car making an obscene gesture. She says that they have lost trust in police.

“When I asked my husband to inform the police about this recent incident, he said ‘What will the police do?’ and didn’t bother to inform them. But I thought it was my responsibility to inform the police, so I called them the next day.”

Kumuda says that it is disappointing that the police is unable to ensure the safety of people.

Incidents such as this raise questions not only about the capability of the police but also if New Zealand has enough number of police officers. Recent statistics show that the ratio of police officers to the population went down from 1:488 in 2008–09 to 1:503 in 2014–15.

PM John Key recently admitted that a boost in the number of police officers was likely.

“Law and order is an area that the government cares a lot about; we’ve been investing heavily in that area. We’re not ruling out that there’ll be more police, but it won’t be because Winston Peters wants them. It’s because it’s appropriate as our population grows there will likely be an increase in the number of constabulary forces that we have,” the PM said.

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

ISIS tag shocks community leader

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¡¡ Rizwan Mohammad

NEW RELEASE

DUAL KEYS 9 UNDER CONTRACT IN 3 WEEKS

Sikh community leader is distraught after being linked to terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and

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R DE CT UN TRA N

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has had his campaign poster for council election defaced.

Yugraj Singh Mahil has been serving the

spray-painted with the word ISIS by an anonymous miscreant. This hateful gesture by an individual or group has shocked the community and Mahil’s family is now living under the stress of being targeted.

Mahil arrived in New Zealand from India in 1998 and said this was the first time he had come across such racial abuse.

“I am shocked that such act of hate is being carried out in the most peaceful nations

of

the

world,”

Mahil

told

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media that his campaign poster had been

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one of the candidates for the councillor’s

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Mahil, a chartered accountant, lives with his family in East Hamilton and is

He has been getting messages of support and sympathy from community members and his colleagues through Facebook, calls, e-mails and in-person.

Mahil believes that his campaign may be affected by this incidentbut is looking forward to the city council elections in October. ISIS is a terrorist organisation and is responsible for senseless killings and massacre around the world.

Mahil, a Sikh, sports a turban and beard as his religion requires, and he believes that is the reason he was mistaken for a terrorist.

“Any individual sporting a beard and a turban or a cap, irrespective of their religion, does not represent the heinous group that has terrorised the whole world,” Mahil said.

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defaced earlier this week.

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NEW ZEALAND

26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

On her third tour to New Zealand, the lively Shreya was an absolute pleasure to watch as she interacted with the audience during the concert and made them hum along and even shake a leg.

She came, she sang, she conquered

L

Shreya Ghoshal during her concert in Auckland on August 20

¡¡ Swati Sharma

ast week, Bollywood singing sensation Shreya Ghoshal enthralled Aucklanders with her performance at The Trusts Arena.

More than a thousand people went through a three-hour musical journey of the best of Bollywood; from the ’80s and ’90s to super hits of A. R. Rahman and the best of Shreya.

On her third tour to New Zealand on August 20, the lively Shreya was an absolute pleasure to watch as she interacted with the audience during the concert and made them hum along and even shake a leg.

After a successful show in Wellington on August 12, she entertained Aucklanders with her charm and great stage presence.

Accompanied by Hrishikesh Ranade, the queen of melodies took the crowd’s energy a notch higher with her opening

number—Mohe rang do laal—from the latest blockbuster Bajirao Mastani. She went on to sing her other popular hits such as Saans, Agar tum mil jao and Barso re.

In a special tribute to the legendry music composer A.R. Rahman, she sang some of his best songs that many of us grew up listening to. Melodies such as Roza, Jiya jale, Kaise mujhe tum mil gaye were a delight for the audience.

The crowd broke into applause when Shreya sang the oldies from the golden era of the ’70s and ’80s. Lag ja gale, Ab to hai tumse, Aa jaane jaan, Piyaa tu ab to aaja, and the epic Dum maaro dum were some of the numbers that made everyone present in the auditorium, nostalgic. Shreya has won four national film awards and has

sung in various languages. A diehard fan and admirer of India’s nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, Shreya started learning music at the age of six.

She rose to fame after winning the music reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 2000, which was followed by her Bollywood debut with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdaas in 2002.

Today, she performs in the concerts all around the world and is one of the leading playback singers of Indian cinema.

It was a night to remember and a total paisa-vasool show where the audience was left asking for more. The show was presented by Eco Travels and managed by CLF Events.

Push for Hindi week continues

I

¡¡ Esha Chanda

ndians form a significant part of New Zealand.

They are the fastest growing ethnic group in the country, and so it seems only natural for the community to urge the New Zealand government to dedicate one week in a year as Hindi Language Week.

Last week, Indian Weekender reported that Sunny Kaushal, in his speech during the 70th Indian Independence Day celebration in Auckland, said that the government should consider the week of August 15 (Indian Independence Day) every year as Hindi Language Week.

Kaushal is one of the senior activists and an active member in Kiwi-Indian community. He was the Labour Party Candidate in General Election 2011 and 2014.

Since 2011, Hindi Language Culture Trust of NZ has been celebrating Hindi Language Week around September 14 (Hindi Divas).

Every year, they approach schools nationwide for three programmes conducted during the week that includes Hindi speech competition and cultural evenings. Their aim is to include Hindi curriculum through

school-based programmes.

It started off as a one-day celebration in 2011, and since 2012, it has been celebrated for a week. Trust president and chief executive Satya Dutt criticised Kaushal’s proposal to celebrate Hindi Language Week in August.

“We do not agree with him, as we have been celebrating National Week in the same week as September 14, which is declared as World Hindi Day,” Dutt said.

“We have already created a profile in accordance to [the] universal declaration and do no support Hindi Language Week to be celebrated around India’s Independence Day.” The aim of the week-long celebration, according to Dutt, is to promote teaching and learning in Hindi and to urge the government to recognise and support the language.

The trust has already reached out to schools for this year’s celebrations (September 12–16) and around 15 to 20 students have already signed up for the different competitions.

Dutt added that the Office of Ethnic Communities is recognising their efforts.

Kaushal told Indian Weekender he would be happy to celebrate the day in any

month. “But the week falling during Hindi Day is already reserved by Chinese community as the Chinese Language Week in New Zealand (September 12–18).

“We would achieve nothing by organising Hindi Language Week during the same week.

The bigger picture is to get recognition to the language in New Zealand, which needs to be done differently and with harmony with other communities.”

Since August is a patriotic month for Indians, Kaushal feels that it would be ideal to observe the week in the same month. While the final date might continue to be a debate, both Dutt and Kaushal agree that the Department of Ethnic Affairs should be involved.

“The Ministry of Ethnic Affairs is recognising our efforts,” Dutt said. “We are working hard to have our language supported by the ministry as it does for the other 12 languages; Chinese, Japanese, Tongan French, Niuean, Tokelauan, Cook Island Maori, Spanish, Maori, German, Samoan, Korean are fully supported by the government in terms of providing resources and teacher development and so why not our Hindi?”

Wellingtonians asked to be vigilant about fake notes

F

¡¡ Esha Chanda

ollowing the police bust earlier this month, Wellingtonians have been asked to stay cautious while dealing with notes during transactions, as the police fear that fakes notes might still be in circulation.

After several complaints from six retailers who came across counterfeit notes, the police raided a Hutt Valey property where they seized several printers and arrested three. The people caught are being charged with forged documents.

“This is just an opportunity where the offenders have used high-tech printers and have been able to produce a bank note that gives the appearance of being legitimate,” said Area Commander Chris Bensemann, as quoted by NZ Herald. Bensemann said that he was most concerned about $50 notes.

The Reserve Bank recently introduced new notes with upgraded features into circulation. However, since the old ones are still being used, there are chances that retailers might come across a fake $50 note.

Bensemann added that it was “best not to rely on the feel of the notes”.

“Real notes are made out of polymer and can’t be ripped whereas the counterfeit notes that are being presented are made out of paper.

“In essence, if you can rip the bank note, then it’s definitely counterfeit money,” he said.

Detective Senior Sergeant Warwick McKee has asked people to be vigilant about the fake notes circulating and has asked suspicious retailers to contact the police immediately. He has advised them to either refuse to accept the note or record the description of the person offering it. For retailers who have already received fake notes, the Sergeant has advised to put it aside in an envelope and inform the police.

How to identify a fake $50 note (old)

• It is made out of paper and not polymer and so can be easily torn • The fern on the left lacks intricate detailing • Watermark of Elizabeth II is missing on the right side

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

Islam week calls for peaceful co-existence Giri Gupta

I

¡¡ Rizwan Mohammad

Dialogue and peaceful coexistence was the theme of the Islam Awareness Week launched in Wellington this week.

Islam Awareness Week is an annual event that gives an opportunity to New Zealanders to know more about Islam, its teachings, its rich history and its artefacts.

During this week most of the mosques around the nation are kept open all day welcoming people from different faiths to interact with the members of the Islamic faith.

The week was launched

by Hazim Arafeh, president of Federation of Islamic Association of NZ on Monday, August 22, at Kilbirnie Masjid in Wellington.

Present at the launch ceremony were interfaith community leaders, Consulate General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ahmed N. D. H. Al Johani, Race Relations representative Rakesh Naidoo, head of the board of Ulema, Sheikh Mohammed Amir, and head of Dawah committee Dr Mustafa Farouk.

The ceremony included speeches delivered from

interfaith community leaders and some of the attendees were gifted a copy of the Holy Quran.

In Auckland, one of the main activities of the Islam Awareness Week is the two-day exhibition called “Islam Open Day” at Aotea Square in the city during the weekend, Saturday, August 27, and Sunday, August 28, from 10 am to 4 pm.

The event centre will exhibit artefacts such as a replica of the Holy Kaaba, life-size camel and posters in different sections such as Islamic arts, science, Islamic Foundations and Islamic culture. Ethnic food stalls, dress stalls, and fun activities will be arranged for the children as well.

The event aims to attract as many individuals from different faiths spreading the message of peace and educate individuals the values Islam inculcates in the world.

Mosques across Auckland will have their doors open through the day until sunset and have activity arrangements made for kids, women and a dialogue session with the visitors, refreshments will be made available for the visitors at some mosques.

bids adieu

A

fter being with the Indian Weekender for more than seven years, shareholder and director Giri Gupta has decided to retire.

Citing personal reasons, Mr Gupta, 72, has finally decided to hang his boots and spend more time with his family.

Apart from being the chairman of India Trade Alliance, Mr Gupta has interests in motels and property development and he intends to continue in these roles.

The team at Indian Weekender bids him adieu as they look forward to the next chapter in this publication’s history.

Indian Weekender is now under new management and will now be published by the Kiwi Media Publishing Limited, at its new office at 711 Mt Albert Rd, Royal Oak, Auckland.

Top: Peter Wood and Glenis Wood with Dr Mustafa Farouk and Hazim Arafeh-FIANZ President, Sultan Eusoff Above: President of FIANZ Hazim Arafeh, Consul-General of KSA HE Ambassador Ahmed Al-Johani and Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown (seated), along with other attendees at the event

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SOUTH LINE

Christchurch Mayor honours Indian scholars

News-in-brief from South Island

The city wants students from all parts of India

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¡¡ Gaurav Sharma

ix international students from India, who are the latest recipients of the Christchurch Educated India Skills Programme, were presented their scholarship certificates by Lianne Dalziel, Mayor of Christchurch, on August 17.

Among them was Madhav Chandarana, who comes from Chennai in India, and arrived in Christchurch six weeks back to study Horticulture Sciences in the Lincoln University.

“To meet the Mayor, who essentially is the first citizen of the city is a great honour. I am looking forward to my stay in New Zealand,” he said.

Another was Dhyanom Gala from Pune. Visibly excited, he pointed to the responsibility the scholars have to help in the rebuild of the city, which has provided them with an opportunity to enhance and upgrade their skills-set.

Deepti Shah from Mumbai, who is studying Engineering

Studies, and Saravdeep Singh, who is studying Computer Aided Design at the newly-formed Ara Institute of Canterbury (formerly Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology), were of similar opinion.

The Mayor, too, welcomed the students from India to the Garden City.

“

Christchurch in recent times have become so much more diverse and vibrant, and I thank you for that. I hope after your studies all of you decide to stay in New Zealand and contribute towards making this great city even greater

“

“Christchurch in recent times have become so much more diverse and vibrant, and I thank you for that. I hope after your studies all of you decide to stay in New Zealand and contribute

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towards making this great city even greater,” she said.

Representatives from Christchurch Educated also shared their aim of getting more students from India to study and eventually work in New Zealand.

“While students from Punjab have always found us to be an attractive place, we want more and more students from other parts of India—the Southern states, Maharashtra and nearby regions—to also consider New Zealand as a wonderful study option,” said Mike Hadley, Chair of Christchurch Educated.

“India, with its demographic advantage of having more than 70% of the population below 35 years, has a huge requirement for educating its citizens. And we want to contribute towards that,” he added.

Christchurch hosts a desi rockstar

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¡¡ Gaurav Sharma

ith more than 600 people attending, the weekend desi rock star extravaganza, held at The Foundry in Christchurch, was a great success.

With melodious songs sung by the Punjabi sensation Gippy Grewal, the event was also an opportunity for the local talent to showcase their skills. These included Gurinder Maan, Paras Sahdev, and Jugraj Mangat.

A Melbourne-based Punjabi musician Jaggi Jagjit also participated.

To top it all was comedianturned-politician Gurpreet Guggi, who entertained the crowds for almost half-an-hour with his jokes and light-hearted comedy skits.

A brainchild of Manish Bansal and Amit Kumar from the city-based event management company Apna Virsa Entertainment, and ably

From left: Jitender Sahi, Jo Hayes, Gippy Grewal, Manish Bansal and Harjit Singh

supported by Hitesh Sharma of Revel Events and Jitender Sahi, the entire event went on for over for hours.

Lending her support to the Indian community was National List Member of Parliament from Christchurch East, Jo Hayes, who was the chief guest of the show.

The organisers also came up with a unique way of getting the crowd involved by organising a dance competition on the sides.

“The highlight of the evening was when Gippy sang his latest hit numbers including Oscar and Phulkari. We wanted to treat Christchurch to a fun-filled family-oriented musical evening.

The team is glad we have been successful in achieving that,” noted Bansal.

“Adding to the flavour was the special occasion of Indian Independence Day. “Guggi, who will be one of the main candidates in the upcoming state assembly elections in Punjab, gave a rousing speech to remind all of us, who are living out of India, of our duties towards our motherland.”

“With the Indian community steadily increasing in Canterbury in recent times, we plan to bring more such shows to the city in immediate future,” concluded Bansal.

About the programme The Christchurch Educated Skills Scholarship programme is supported by Education New Zealand, the Canterbury Development Corporation, and Christchurch Educated.

It is targeted at Indian graduates wishing to study at post graduate level in Christchurch in specific disciplines aligned to identify skill shortage areas associated with the rebuild programme including construction, engineering, ICT, and science.

While Christchurch Educated

is a collaboration of education providers based in Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region, members span all parts of the education sector from primary schools to universities and include public institutions and privately owned and operated businesses.

The collaboration also runs a website askchched.co.nz providing one-stop-information-shop for potential and newly-arrived international students.

Fiji Association organises Krishna Janmashtami

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¡¡ Gaurav Sharma

he Christchurch Fiji Association had organised a week-long Krishna Janmashtami celebration in the city that ended on Thursday, August 25, with devotees marking the birth of Lord Krishna on the last day.

More than 300 people from FijiIndian and the wider community attended the celebrations.

“There have been around eight such organisations of the Janmashtami across the city during the past week. People sing Krishna bhajans, offer

prayers and share stories from the Lord’s life, which are a lesson for everybody.

“His defeating his uncle Kansh at a young age is a lesson on courage and fighting adversity.

His dealings with Sudama are a lesson on friendship,” noted Vineesh Prakash, Secretary of the Fiji Association.

For Krishna devotees in the city, one more celebration to look forward to is the Indian Cultural Group’s Janmashtami event on Saturday, August 25, which will also be incorporating Dandiya Ras.

Christchurch Fiji Association President Jagat Singh performing the Krishna Janmashtami puja

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

Mumbai Unplugged enthrals with never-before-heard fare

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¡¡ Dev Nadkarni

usion of a melodically successful kind was at play at the Dorothy Winston theatre at the much-awaited Mumbai Unplugged show in Auckland on Saturday, August 20. The audience’s exhilaration was clearly evident with repeated and long rounds of applause at the virtuosity of the music masters from Mumbai.

A full house heralded the overture of traditional Indian music, with Taufiq Qureshi who is rightly hailed as a daringly creative percussionist, exploring novel sounds and rhythms and Purbayan Chatterjee working his magic on sitar. The celebrated duo was joined by Auckland’s own Ben Fernandez on keyboards, Manjit Singh on tabla and Jo Shum on bass.

Rich, plangent and infinitely melodic, Chatterjee’s rendering provided a beautiful illustration of the instrument’s potential.

Close your eyes and it could play either way, as an independent epic of notes, or even as a single instrument providing comprehensive background

music to the gamut of moods in your mind. Chatterjee would go on to delight the audience with his sitar doffing a roving hat to everything from the famous 007 Bond music to popular numbers from Mumbai’s Tinseltown.

Qureshi focused on the African djembe along with a conventional drum kit. He displayed his incredible virtuosity holding the audience spellbound with his sheer wizardry and mastery over rhythm.

He reprised his famous simulation of a train’s sonic rhythm and then ditched tangible instruments altogether to rely exclusively on his own throat and mouth to produce vocal beats-’n’-tunes that remind us how creativity can synthesise everything from nothing.

Qureshi, the youngest son of tabla doyen Ustad Alla Rakha and brother of the legend Ustad Zakir Hussain, has introduced many innovations on the Indian musical stage, one of them being bringing the djembe as an accompaniment on the concert stage. The successful transition of the traditional African from Africa to the classical stage in

Above: Taufiq Qureshi holds the audience spellbound with his rhythmic wizardry at Mumbai Unplugged Left: Purbayan Chatterjee weaves magical melodies with his sitar

India was evident at Mumbai Unplugged.

Peppering the concert with their one-liners, the artistes commanded the audience’s attention throughout the show. Qureshi liberally sprinkled verbal cymbal-clashes,

remarking towards the show’s coda that the audience, which might seek a restaurant supper afterwards, might not have much luck considering New Zealand’s habit of closing shop earlier in the evening. The audience was

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quick to chuckle in agreement.

Mumbai Unplugged clearly exceeded the expectations of the audience with their presentation of about a dozen melodies. Many who attended posted superlative reactions on the concert’s social media pages. Several said it was the “best concert they had attended” in a long time. At the concert itself, many shouted for the show to carry on after the concluding piece.

Earlier Qureshi and Chatterjee spent three weeks workshopping with students of the University of Auckland School of Music.

Mumbai Unplugged was hosted by the Mohan Nadkarni Foundation in association with Might-I supported by the University of Auckland School of Music.

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26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Child injured in hit and run case in Auckland

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n August 18, four-yearold Karamveer Singh, who was crossing Baverstock Rd in Flat Bush with his mother, Mandeep Kaur, at around 8 a.m. was hit by a white sedan, breaking the bone in his right leg.

Mandeep, who is 37 weeks pregnant, was on her way to the preschool with her son and his cousin Manraj Singh, when she saw a white sedan far away.

The car was far away, but when Mandeep saw it approaching quickly towards them, she pulled back the boys. However, Karamveer had taken a step forward and was hit by the fast-moving car.

The driver did not stop and was seen taking a left on Chapel Road.

The police is currently looking into the matter.

Although

CCTV footage showing the white sedan that hit four-year-old Karamveer Singh in Flat Bush, Auckland

the CCTV footage shows the vehicle, the registration number is not visible. The police is seeking help from the public and has requested anyone who can help them identify the owner to come forward.

If you have any details or information about this incident, you can contact Senior Sergeant Jono Chappell on 09 261 1300 or call 0800 555 111 and provide information anonymously and confidentially.

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Obituary Community leader’s death loss to our community

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ardar Ganges Singh, a personal and dear friend and a mentor passed away last Sunday.

Singh was a hard working person, who through his actions, contributed for the betterment of his local community in Pukekohe.

Singh was also a life member of New Zealand multicultural council. Through his membership, he advocated for multicultural New Zealand.

Singh was a Justice of the Peace and also a marriage celebrant; he conducted 450 marriages voluntarily for the community. He was awarded the Queens Service Medal for his unrelenting commitment to community service. He will be sadly missed by the Indian and Sikh community in New Zealand. Kia Kaha to family and friends of Sardar Ganges Singh.

Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi

Humm FM launches its interactive app with a bang

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umm FM, Auckland’s only Hindi FM station, has taken a technological leap with its next generation interactive APP. Roshila Prasad, MD Humm FM says, “Humm FM celebrated its fifth birthday in March this year. And we decided that it was time to move the platform to the next level and serve the community better. A vast majority of our listeners are consuming media on digital devices such as tablets, mobile phones, and laptops.”

What’s in it for the community?

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t’s all about building communities; users will have access to interactive content and song playlists through the app. They can also connect to the RJs in real time, share their activity with their friends, vote, comment, and make special online dedications. Users can also take part in quizzes and contests through the app and can upload photos through the Open Chat feature.

Ajay Vasisht, Director Strategy & Marketing, and IT Specialist Sevei Singh shared the trend-setting station’s vision, “Radio has become a unique two-way channel with the introduction of Humm FM’s D3 (Digital Device Driven) App. The new app allows its user to control their daily entertainment, get access to information and stay connected; to the station as well as to the community.”

Leena Pal, Marketing Specialist Humm FM, reaches out to the business community, “Don’t limit the scope of your business growth or event. Humm FM, with the latest from Bollywood or Hollywood, Auckland and abroad, and now with this amazingly interactive app, is the competitive edge you need to achieve the results you deserve.”

HUMM FM’s app is available on App Store for both iOs and Android devices, mobile phones. Users who download the

app go into a draw to win a $10,000* Grand holiday package; to Paradise Resort Taveuni, Fiji.

About HummFM

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umm 106.2 FM a vibrant broadcaster to New Zealand’s Indian community. It is gaining popularity with a strong following of their on-air programming not only in New Zealand but across the world.

Humm FM delivers the best coverage, live interviews, reports, and commentaries.

Why Humm FM has launched their next generation D3 App

¡¡ Setting the trend and serving the online community

¡¡ Humm FM’s new App was developed

with a 360 social focus and surpasses anything else on the NZ radio landscape. ¡¡ With crystal clear FM sound, Humm FM’s digital platform needed to be top notch. ¡¡ Humm FM has a youthful Kiwi-Indian audience and devices rule supreme.

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

Another climate change milestone for Auckland

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uckland has reached another climate change milestone by meeting international reporting standards for greenhouse gas emissions.

The Carbon Disclosure Project has published Auckland’s emissions inventory, which shows the city has managed to minimise emissions increases despite its increasing population.

“This is a small but very significant achievement for us because you would expect a rapidly growing city to experience increased emissions and it’s just the opposite,” says Mayor Len Brown.

“We are beginning to make progress on this immense challenge but of course, there is much more to do.”

The inventory shows Auckland’s emissions rose 0.9% between 2009 and 2013 at the same time its population grew by five per cent. This is a per capita decrease, from 7.6 tonnes to 7.3 tonnes of emissions per person. GDP grew by 8.4% in the same period

Auckland reaches climate change milestone by meeting international reporting standards for greenhouse gases

meaning the emissions intensity of economic activity also decreased.

Publication of the results comes on the same day the government announced its decision to ratify the Paris Agreement on Climate Change by the end of the year.

The Mayor welcomes that decision as an important step saying he looks forward to all of New Zealand accelerating the actions that will make our national commitment a reality.

Auckland Council’s target is for a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and has already

achieved significant reductions as a result of the electrification of rail and in its wastewater and solid waste management.

A council scientist is heading to London next week, funded by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, which Auckland is a member of, to be part of a technical working group on greenhouse gas measurement.

The group will be developing new measurement tools and guidelines for understanding the climate change implications of city policies and projects.

Board disappointed at the sale of alcohol to minors

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he MāngereŌtāhuhu Local Board has expressed its disappointment at a local liquor store caught selling to minors just six months after getting its licence.

In a decision by the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority Thirsty Liquor Wickman Way in Māngere was found to have failed a controlled purchase operation (CPO) by selling alcohol to minors. As a result, its off-licence was suspended for 48 hours from Saturday, August 20, and the owner’s manager’s certificate has been suspended for 30 days from Monday, August 22.

Local board chair Lemauga Lydia Sosene says it is disappointing to see this outlet selling to minors, just six months after having its licence granted.

“While it’s good to see police are carrying out these operations to ensure licensees are following the rules; sadly there are too many in the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu area, that are not.” The local board supported its community’s objection to the business getting a licence, particularly its location near a school. A condition of

A liquor store was caught selling to minors

the licence is that it had to close between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.

“This decision shows the store is failing to protect our youth from the negative effects of alcohol,” says Sosene.

The local board have been strong advocates on the issue of liquor licensing—concerned at the impacts of alcohol-related harm on the people of its community.

Along with the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board, last year it made a submission on a review of the structure of District Licensing Committees, calling for fairer and more transparent decisions that reduced the negative impacts of alcohol on the community.

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26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

A strong economy under National

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John Key Prime Minister

nsuring we have a strong, growing economy remains front and centre of the National-led government’s busy work programme.

That’s because we need a strong economy to support the new jobs and higher incomes our country needs. We also need a strong economy to be able to provide for the ongoing funding of worldclass essential public services, including

schools, institutions of higher education, and hospitals. I’m pleased to say our economic programme is working for New Zealanders and their families. We are now among the 10 fastest-growing economies in the developed world.

Within the last few weeks, a range of new indicators has confirmed we’re heading in the right direction.

For example, official employment statistics released last week showed strong job growth with 56,000 more people in employment over the last quarter and unemployment falling to 5.1%.

That means more than 250,000 more jobs have been created in the past three years. Our employment rate—the

proportion of all people 16 or older in work—is now the second highest in the OECD. Unemployment in Auckland is also at its lowest level since 2008.

This is reinforced by job advertising website SEEK recently reporting its job ads across New Zealand have increased by 4.8% over the past year. Similarly, ANZ reports job advertisements lifted 1.4% in July—the sixth successive monthly lift in a row—and are running 9.8% higher than a year ago. Some other pleasing results were retail spending rose 2.3% in the June quarter—the largest quarterly rise since 2006. The Reserve Bank expects this trend to continue. Its latest set of forecasts shows economic growth of 3.4% in each

of the next two years. It’s also forecasting unemployment to continue falling to 4.5% by 2019 and for inflation to remain subdued. Mortgage interest rates are also at near record lows. That means a family with a $300,000 floating-rate mortgage is now paying almost $300 a week less in interest than when we were elected.

Under the National-led government, the average annual wage has increased by 25%, or $11,000, since we were elected, double the rate of inflation.

By any measure, these are good social and economic numbers. But we have more to do. I can assure you the National-led government will continue working hard every day to build on this good momentum.

Building our teaching workforce for Kiwi kids

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Kanwaljit Bakshi National List MP

e all remember our favourite teacher, and I think most people can think of a story about a moment that the teacher had an impact on their lives.

Teachers are a vital part of not only education but also often in helping to shape someone’s outlook. National wants to support Kiwi teachers, as we recognise

the important role they play in our children’s lives.

Right now we have enough teachers overall, but they are not necessarily in the areas or subjects we need them in. So we’re investing more than $9 million over four years to address teacher supply pressures.

The government will offer an extra 100 Teach NZ Scholarships worth $1.8 million per year for science, technology, and maths (STM) subjects to lift the number of graduates in these areas by the end of 2017.

We know these scholarships have a proven record of quickly boosting supply in particular teaching areas. We will also invest nearly $1 million in an

Auckland programme to employ 40 new teachers through to full registration. The programme, developed with the Auckland Primary Principals’ Association, will help ensure new teacher graduates are employed in the profession and stay in the profession.

We’ve been working with principals and sector groups to figure out solutions to teacher supply together.

One of these solutions is expanding both national and international recruitment options. We are going to increase our investment in these recruitment campaigns from $220,000 to about $1 million, and we’re launching a new recruitment campaign focused on bringing

Kiwi teachers back home. To support our recruitment of STM teachers we’re going to invest in promoting teaching as a career to tertiary STM students. This will begin now so that people finishing their qualifications this year can consider it as one of their options.

Working with the sector, we are focused on ensuring we have the teachers our students need and the support to keep both engaged. Ensuring every child gets a good education is one of the most important things National can do to raise living standards, and build a more competitive and productive economy.

High-energy leaders needed for Auckland

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David Shearer Labour MP

he hoardings have been installed and all the candidates nominated for Auckland’s local body elections coming up this October.

While it’s always important to have the right mayor and council running our largest city, there’s more riding on this year’s election than any I can remember.

Auckland faces serious challenges: soaring house prices, a retro transport system struggling under the increasing

pressure of 700 new cars a week, and vocal opposition to the unitary plan.

Decisions made by the people we elect now will determine the way Auckland looks and functions for generations to come.

I’m hoping Auckland will elect high quality, high-energy leaders, who will listen carefully to our young people because a lot of the best ideas and vision for our city are coming from them.

Generation Zero—run by smart Aucklanders in their 20s and 30s—really pushed the plan for a pedestrian and cycle path on the Auckland Harbour Bridge, saw it through to council approval, and now we’ll be able to walk from one side of our magnificent harbour to the other.

It was young people who articulated the need for higher-density housing at

the Unitary Plan’s Independent Hearings Panel in February. They’ve stepped up, and good on them—they’re the ones being priced out of their own city.

With greater housing density now planned for Auckland, we need to provide shared open spaces and parks and make better use of the ones we already have: from our volcanic cones and waterways to our harbours and green spaces. We’re spoiled for choice in this beautiful city.

In my neighbourhood I’ve advocated a wide green-belt and cycleway from Mt Owairaka, through Chamberlain Park and Western Springs to the volcanic lava flow at Meola Reef: an environmental treasure Aucklanders could enjoy, on foot or bike, from one end to the other. When I talk to young people in my electorate, they tell me

they want affordable apartments near work, entertainment, parks and public transport.

They’re calling for a European-quality cycle network, sleek public transport, and investment in our parks, ecologies and streams.

Their hopes and expectations align more with the great international cities than the Auckland of the past. They’ve travelled the world, and they know how great highdensity cities can be.

So, this year’s election will be critical. We need high-energy people who want a city that’s beautiful, runs smoothly and is built to last.

We need leaders who will listen to the ideas of our young: after all they’ll be living the longest with the planning decisions made today.

Govt to ratify Paris agreement this year Dr Parmjeet Parmar

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National List MP

he government has taken a significant step in its commitment to addressing climate change by driving forward with New Zealand’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s more important than ever for New Zealand to adapt to a changing world and transitions to a low carbon economy, which

is why the government is ratifying the Paris agreement on climate change before the end of the year. This will formalise New Zealand’s target to reduce its emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030, and sends a strong message that New Zealand is eager to support worldwide momentum to lowering global emissions.

Achieving the ambitious target will require a team effort across the entire country, from the central and local government, through to businesses, iwi, and communities. However, it’s a challenge New Zealanders are up for, and we can start reducing emissions while still growing the economy and supporting job creation.

We have a record to be proud of when it comes to addressing climate change, and our emissions target builds on a long list of climate-related government achievements since National took office.

We are world leaders in agricultural research, and invest millions of dollars each year to help the primary sector become more efficient and less emissions-intensive.

We are also one of the first countries to have a comprehensive emissions trading scheme, which has been strengthened to make it fit for purpose for today’s economy.

This government is investing a record $1.2 billion over three years in public transport. We’ve got an ambitious package

of measures to increase the uptake of electric vehicles, and we’re delivering a $333 million urban cycleways programme throughout New Zealand. Furthermore, more than 80% of our electricity comes from renewable generation.

We’re also setting up advisory groups to ensure we have the right information to help ensure we’re on track to reduce emissions and meet our ambitious target.

Formalising our emissions reduction target is the latest component of the government’s long-term plan to reduce emissions. It’s also a crucial step towards adapting to an evolving world and driving forward into a changing global economy.

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

Ignored warnings will end with human tragedy

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Winston Peters NZ First leader

othing is being done to prevent a looming tragedy as substandard steel is imported from China.

The government is ignoring this despite proof on numerous projects such as the Huntly bypass and sewage digester on the edge of Manukau Harbour, where test certificates for China imported

steel proved to be worthless. Australia has learned from similar experiences with substandard steel from China and now has tougher regulations.

Radio NZ also aired warnings from Stewart Askey, who has worked in China and Australia on giant steel projects for more than 30 years. Askey makes it clear New Zealand must improve its oversight on importations. He said: ¡¡ New Zealand importers must have an on-ground expert Kiwi in China to oversee the testing of the steel to be exported to New Zealand. Sending experts to China is costly, and it is made worse by China issuing short-stay visas of just 30 days. ¡¡ If New Zealand buys steel without doing

the testing ourselves, we are doomed to get shipments of low quality. ¡¡ Anything from China that is cheap means the product is less than perfect. ¡¡ If testing requirements are left out of contracts, we are exposed to risk. ¡¡ Any New Zealand company that says they have sorted problems, without putting a Kiwi expert in China, has failed and will have the same trouble again. ¡¡ The Chinese culture makes it crucial for any company buying from China to be there to supervise. If not in that country, and conducting business from afar, we won’t get any respect from the testing regimes there.

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¡¡ An

example of culture overriding performance—if a Chinese inspector oversees a welder who is older than him, the inspector will not be able to find fault with the older man. Respect for age matters.

Askey further warns that bolts and nuts that largely come from China are also a potential risk.

Quality steel will mean nothing if held up by low-quality fasteners. The warning signs are clear.

Sidestepping recommendations and cost cutting will prove disastrous in the end, and New Zealanders could pay with their lives if any building, bridge or other infrastructure collapses.

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26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

FROM THE BEEHIVE

NZ working to fight online child sex abuse crimes

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he Ministers of Police, Customs, and Internal Affairs have congratulated their departments for their efforts in fighting online child sexual abuse.

The Ministers say identification and rescue of victims, both within New Zealand and internationally, will continue to be a priority of their departments’ work.

Police, Customs and Internal Affairs recently worked together to create a national database of images to assist in the assessment of child abuse material and victim identification.

“Police have been leading large international operations that have resulted in multiple offenders being arrested and a number of children being rescued from abuse. One such example was an operation this year which saw 11 offenders from around the world arrested and 19 vulnerable children rescued,” Judith Collins

Police, Customs and Internal Affairs worked together to create a national database of images to assist in the assessment of child abuse material and victim identification

says. “In the past financial year, Customs prosecuted six individuals caught either travelling with objectionable material or sharing it through the internet. Forensic examination of their computers and phones located 537,636 images and

videos,” Wagner says. “Behind each image or video is a child, often suffering horrendous and unimaginable abuse. People who keep or share these publications make the victims’ suffering worse.” Recent NZ investigations led to the identification of an

offender in Houston, Texas, who was subsequently jailed for 60 years for continuous sexual abuse of a child, the detection of a United Kingdom offender distributing child sexual abuse images online and, in a joint Customs-Internal Affairs operation, the recent prosecution and jailing of a New Plymouth man for possessing and exporting objectionable images.

“A recent letter from Interpol, the international criminal police organisation, says NZ is an example to the rest of the world in how online child exploitation is dealt with, especially the working relationship between Internal Affairs, Police and Customs,” says Peter Dunne.

The Ministers commended their departments’ commitment to exploring opportunities for closer cooperation, pooling their resources and expertise to foster an even more connected New Zealand Inc approach.

Biggest update to education in 27 years

T

he most significant update to education in New Zealand in nearly 30 years was introduced in Parliament on August 22 by Education Minister Hekia Parata.

“The Education (Update) Amendment Bill is about enabling schools to provide a flexible 21stcentury education focussed on the achievement of every young New Zealander,” says Parata.

“The overall approach of the Bill is to enable choices that ensure parents and whanau have options

Education Minister Hekia Parata

for their children’s education; early learning providers, schools and kura have [the] flexibility to

Further investment in new Defence capabilities

D

efence Minister Gerry Brownlee welcomed the signing of a contract to upgrade the Royal New Zealand Air Force Underwater, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capability on our six Orion aircraft with Boeing for a total of $36 million.

Brownlee says having an underwater surveillance capability deters interference with the sea lines of communication that New Zealand and many of its friends rely on for trade purposes.

“Knowing what is happening underwater is integral to monitoring submarine activity,” he says.

“This is particularly important in the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to two-thirds of the world’s submarines. The current

Orion systems are old and have become less reliable. I am pleased that New Zealand businesses Safe Air, Beca and Marops Limited will also be involved in supporting this acquisition through its life, with around 25% of the value of the contract being spent with these companies.”

The 2016 Defence White Paper confirmed the importance of the New Zealand Defence Force having capabilities to cope with the realities of a complex and changing strategic environment, and to enable it to operate across a broad spectrum of geographic and operating environments.

Work is already underway within Defence on the Future Air Surveillance Capability project, which will select a replacement for the Orion aircraft.

meet the particular needs of their students; and that those students are getting real results.”

The Bill provides for a government statement, the National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP), setting out its objectives for education. For the first time early childhood education providers, schools and kura will have clear objectives set, through the NELP that this Bill proposes.

“The purpose of the NELP is to move to a system that is not just about delivering education, but

about student achievement, with clear accountabilities for ECEs and schools,” says Parata.

“With this legislative change, we’re making it clearer to our educators what success for students looks like.

“We’re also enabling them to be innovative and creative with how they deliver education in this digital age.”

One of the proposals in the Bill is to modernise online learning through the establishment of Communities of Online Learning (COOLs).

Women underrepresented in STEM

A

lthough women are participating in the workforce in greater numbers than ever before, they remain under-represented in science, technology and engineering, Minister for Women Louise Upston said.

Upston made the comments at a meeting of women scientists and engineers from the Asia Pacific region.

Every year, women with an interest in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) gather to promote the interests of women in STEM and discuss gender issues unique to the region.

Upston said job opportunities based on STEM skills are broadening in New Zealand and internationally, and this is expected to continue.

“We need to encourage more women and girls to be educated and trained in areas that match employment growth.

“By matching skills with opportunity women can achieve greater economic independence, which is better for their families, their communities and for New Zealand.”

STEM subjects are increasingly important for growing and sustaining New Zealand’s economic competitiveness.

They underpin the development of innovative technologies and high-value products, and can lead to a range of rewarding careers, Upston said.

CERT establishment advisory board appointed

A

highly skilled group of people from the private sector have been named as the CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) Establishment Advisory Board by Communications Minister Amy Adams.

The Board will provide advice to the Minister for Communications and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on the establishment of the national CERT. “The national CERT will sit at the centre of New Zealand’s cyber security response. It will be the first point of call for all cyber security incidents,” says Adams.

“The CERT will receive cyber incident reports, track and monitor cyber security incidents, and provide advice

Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams

and alerts on how to respond and prevent further events. The CERT will work closely with international counterparts to prevent and respond to global cybersecurity incidents.

“I am pleased to announce a group of such accomplished professionals have come together to provide advice in standing up the CERT. The combined expertise and experiences of

the Board members will be instrumental in ensuring the CERT is established next year, with the key elements for success, security and credibility in place.”

The nine Board members have extensive careers in cyber security and related fields, in both the public and private sectors, and have been appointed for a term of 18 months.

“We received a number of applications from high-calibre New Zealanders, and I would like to thank them for their interest in this vital Board,” says Adams.

The Board will enable private and non-government sector involvement to deliver a responsive, economywide service that supports businesses, organisations and individuals alike.

FIJI

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

FIJI

15

Thousands welcome Olympic medal

HEROES

F

ans turned out in their thousands to welcome their Olympics sevens golden heroes back in the country this week.

The Fiji sevens team, who won gold after thrashing Great Britain 43–7 in the Rio Olympics final, returned to the country last Sunday (August 21), and were welcomed by a huge crowd at Prince Charles Park in Nadi. The government had declared Monday (August 22) a holiday in honour of the country’s first Olympics, and a bit of rain did not dampen the spirits of the thousands who turned out to welcome the victorious players. Beginning at the Suva Flea Market, the players led a float procession to the ANZ Stadium and was followed by a sea of blue as proud supporters marched beside the team.

A drizzle turned into a downpour later, but the fan numbers grew once the processions made its way down Laucala Bay Rd. Coach Ben Ryan led the boys out onto the field one at a time for a victory walk around the stadium and was met by the chanting and cheers of the nation. The team was accorded an inter-faith service and traditional welcome by the people of the Vanua O Raralevu-Nakelo, Tailevu after which there were speeches by the winning coach and captain.

The ANZ Stadium erupted into louder cheering and fans began beating on the fences as the final match between Fiji and Great Britain at the Rio Olympic Games was replayed on the big screen, allowing the gold medallists the chance to witness the atmosphere that enveloped Fiji on Friday, August 5, the day the island nation made headlines around the world. People from as far as the interior of Naitasiri journeyed to the capital city to be a part of the celebrations.

Honoured coach to leave Fiji

J

“But this day is not about me...let’s talk about Oscar, let’s talk about the rest of the boys” —Coach Ryan

ubilant coach Ben Ryan has received Fiji’s highest honour—the Companion of the Order of Fiji. That is the title Ryan will carry for the rest of his life— being awarded the honour during the gold medal celebrations by Chancellor of the Order and President of Fiji Jioji Konrote.

Ryan has announced that will be returning to England, his home country. The Order of Fiji is the highest honour in the Fijian Honours system, of which Companion is the most senior, followed by Officer of the Order of Fiji—awarded to the players and the remaining coaching staff members.

For three years, Ryan has been the perfect companion for Fiji and Fiji rugby, delivering two back-to-back World Rugby Sevens Series titles through difficulties that included working four months unpaid, problems with cash flow for the team and uncertainty at Rugby House. “But this

Top: Fiji Sevens team with Retired Major-General of the Fiji Military and President George Konrote and his wife Above: The float procession on its way to ANZ Stadium Left: Fiji Sevens coach Ben Ryan addressing the crowd

“Bula vinaka, I am Peni Rayani,” his first words in Nadi on Sunday when Team Fiji was welcomed by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama at Prince Charles Park. At the Suva celebrations under rain and cloudy conditions, he shed tears trying to absorb the happiness shown by Fijians in the last two days. He was accorded traditional ceremonies fit for paramount chiefs and VIPs—almost made him speechless. “Vinaka vakalevu na veivakaturagataki,” he uttered when he was presented the tabua (whale’s tooth) for the i-qaloqalovi (welcome).

He sat beside the President and even sat down on the floor and clapped in cupped hands (cobo), a tradition for Fijians, when he was handed his $30,000 cheque after he was awarded the Companion of the Order of Fiji.

THE INDUSTRIAL LONE WOLF OF MILFORD 29 SHAKESPEARE ROAD, MILFORD, AUCKLAND

day is not about me,” he said in post-match interviews, adding “let’s talk about Oscar, let’s talk about the rest of the boys.”

He heaped praise on those who made their gold medal journey possible. Ryan thanked the Fiji Sports Council for their Road to Rio fundraising campaign, international donors, Southbay Davui who provided much-needed equipment and the members of the Fiji team who did not make it to Rio. Eminoni Nasilasila, Isake Katonibau, Pio Tuwai, Sevuloni Mocenacagi, Alifereti Veitokani, Josua Vici, Emosi Mulevoro, Nemani Nagusa, Waisea Nayacalevu and Jarryd Hayne all received honourable mentions from Ryan on Monday. Ryan’s departure will be a loss to Fiji Rugby, says Vodafone Flying Fijians head coach John McKee. He said this as Ryan, the first coach to win any Olympic Games 7s rugby gold medal, announced he would not continue with Fiji when his contract expires next month. “Ben Ryan has done a fantastic job and will be great if he can proceed to keep the consistency in 7s and development,” McKee said last week. “It will be a loss to Fiji when he leaves. The FRU will be keen to secure his service, but that is on the management.”

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Thought of the week

Editorial Crime stats a worry

A

recent survey shows almost 65% of Chinese living in New Zealand feeling unsafe.

The survey showed 64% of respondents feeling unsafe and 95% thought criminal punishment wasn’t harsh enough. The director of the market research company said the results gave him a “shock”. If the rising spate of crime statistics is anything to go by, Indians in the community have good reason to be worried as well.

In an article in this edition, we mention that there has been an increase of 3.1% for the year ended June 30, 2016. Burglaries have gone up by 13% and robberies by 12%.

Dairy robberies have become such a common occurrence, and the fact that the bulk of these convenience outlets are owned by members of this community, is alarming.

Previous dairy robberies have resulted in lost lives, and thankfully, this was not the case when the Ferry Rd dairy in Christchurch was robbed just about a week ago.

More and more of these thugs, armed with guns and knives, are now looting dairies, and the looming threat of danger and potential loss of life is a constant fear.

“Police work closely with all of our diverse communities to address any concerns they may have and we have specialised officers who are more than happy to meet with any ethnic groups to discuss their specific concerns,” North Shore area commander Inspector Shanan said.

The robberies highlighted again raise the age-old question whether the country has enough police to be able to adequately protect its people. Recent statistics show that the ratio of police officers to the population went down from 1:488 in 2008–09 to 1:503 in 2014–15.

But it is heartening to note that Prime Minister John Key signalling that a boost in the number of police officers was likely.

Quite rightly, the Prime Minister points out that an increase in the number of constabulary will go hand-in-hand with a consistent growth in the country’s population, especially Auckland.

Let’s hope the rising crime statistics do go down as the number of police officers increase.

Understanding differences

T

he recent defacing of a Hamilton Sikh leader’s election campaign billboard with the word “ISIS” must be condemned.

Yugraj Singh Mahil says he and his family are shocked and disgusted with the link to terrorist group ISIS the billboard graffiti perpetrators have tried to portray.

More than anything, it is pure ignorance on the part of the uniformed few who have acted so insensitively in linking a peace-loving, law-abiding family to a terrorist organisation simply because of a turban and beard.

The turban and beard are part of a religious and cultural attire of a Sikh. The incident has instilled fear into Mahil’s family who are too scared to venture out.

Community leaders would do well to educate and inform the rest of the community of the differences that exist in a multiracial and multi-cultural society that is New Zealand.

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.

— John Lennon

WHAT DO YOU THINK ?

Auckland Unitary Plan : Good or bad ?

Ashwini Arora,

Business Owner, Papatoetoe I think I know much about AUP as I have read and heard over the last few weeks. The council has done some modification to accommodate more houses and there have been some other decent changes. I hope it works, as it has intelligently divided the city into different zones. I think this is the need of the hour and potentially a positive move for the city.

Sanjay Gujarathi,

Property Dealer, Ponsonby

It’s the first time Auckland is getting a unified plan.

The changes are from eight different city plans to one single plan for the whole city and will be seen in the Special Housing Areas. I believe it’s an excellent move; the website makes following and researching each property much easier.

Sanjay Vazirani,

Real Estate, Commercial, Manukau I know about the Auckland Unitary Plan but not much as I have heard and read through different media. I am happy with the plans as I see growth for Auckland with more affordable housing, more urban style homes that will give Auckland a new look. Also, with the new city rail project, connectivity would become much easier.

Prem Rajdeep,

Businessman, Papatoetoe I, and people like me, will not pay much attention to AUP until we are planning to buy a land or a house. I want to know what exactly is the design planned for the city and not just the changes I will get to see in the near future.

Making two- or three-storey building in a mixed-urban and suburban areas is a bad idea because the value of the land goes up and not the house. In years to come, the houses built on one plot will depreciate and yet will be highly priced as per market inflation.

Indian Weekender : Volume 8 Issue 23 Publisher: Kiwi Media Group Limited Editor: Arvind Kumar | editor@indianweekender.co.nz Chief Reporter: Swati Sharma | swati@indianweekender.co.nz Reporter: Rizwan Mohammad | rizwan@indianweekender.co.nz Reporter: Esha Chanda | esha@indianweekender.co.nz Chief Reporter—South Island: Gaurav Sharma Chief Technical Officer: Rohan Desouza | rohan@indianweekender.co.nz Sr Graphics and Layout Designer: Mahesh Kumar | mahesh@indianweekender.co.nz Graphic Designer: Yashmin Chand | design@indianweekender.co.nz Accounts and Admin.: accounts@indianweekender.co.nz Sales, Marketing & Distribution: 022 3251630/sales@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 Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 711 Mt Albert Road, Auckland Printed at Horton Media, Auckland Copyright 2016. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

Māori Phrase: Ka kino ke a!

English translation: ...is too much!

Tip from the trenches

Tips to avoid stress 1. Eat a healthy, well-balance diet

2. Reduce your caffeine and sugar intake 3. Get a good night’s sleep

4. Listen to music, read a book, or watch a movie 5. Write down your thoughts

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Legal hiccups hinder Uber’s smooth ride

17

The app that changed the way you ride has been in the news for flouting New Zealand laws. With the government’s warning that Uber might face potential ban across the country, is the ride-sharing company heading towards its doomsday by stubbornly refusing to abide by the law? We find out. ¡¡ Esha Chanda

U

ber could be headed into trouble.

For a company that is much-admired as one of the most successful start-ups in Silicon Valley, it has been plagued by several serious allegations.

In the United States, Uber faced two class-action lawsuits: O’Connor in California and Yucesoy in Massachusetts.

Drivers were unhappy with being labelled and treated as ‘independent contractors’, which meant that they did not have access to full-time employment benefits—a decision that has acted as an incentive to Uber’s growing business model.

However, Uber drivers criticised the policy saying that they should be entitled to full-time employee benefits such as reimbursement for expenses such as vehicle maintenance and gasoline. In April 2016, Uber issued a statement saying that they had settled the two cases, which meant that drivers would remain as independent contractors. As compensation, the company had to give $100 million to the 385,000 drivers across the two states.

But it was still too early for Uber to celebrate. Less than a month later, the company ran into legal trouble again; this time, it was a nation-wide lawsuit covering drivers from across the U.S., except California and Massachusetts. It’s the biggest legal threat the tech start-up faces.

And if this wasn’t enough for the Uber management to lose its good night sleep, problems popped up in other countries. In India, the company faced sexual assault allegations that led to the introduction of the SOS button in the app to let riders immediately connect with local police in case of an emergency. Other countries such as South Korea are delaying their decisions on allowing Uber to operate. Cape Town in South Africa impounded 34 Uber vehicles early last year when drivers were caught breaking the law for operating the service without valid permits for metered taxis.

Coming back to New Zealand, Uber has locked horns with the government—not quite a smart move. In April this year, they updated their license regulation policy where it conveniently dropped its requirements for drivers to acquire an NZTA (New Zealand Transport Agency)-sanctioned P (passenger) endorsement on their license. When NZTA got the whiff of it, it issued notices to several Uber drivers.

When Indian Weekender brought up the issue again with Bridges, the Minister said, “The government supports innovation in this sector, but the basic safety requirements around the P Uber fails to follow New endorsements are Zealand rules. Should it non-negotiable. be allowed to play the game?

It started off when Uber extended its operations in New Zealand to include Christchurch in March. Back then, they informed their drivers that they could do away with the P endorsement to start working with the company. The following month, the policy was rolled out in Auckland and Wellington.

What does the P endorsement mean? It’s an approval that you get from NZTA when you start driving a small passenger service vehicle such as taxis. P endorsement is approved for applicants, who have held a full New Zealand class 1 driver licence for at least two years and who provide a certificate showing that they have completed an approved P endorsement course, which can take up to eight weeks. The driver’s application also undergoes a ‘fit and proper person’ check by NZTA to ensure they haven’t committed criminal or transport-related offences.

Under New Zealand law, drivers cannot operate a small passenger service unless they obtain the necessary certificates.

And that’s precisely where Uber went wrong in New Zealand when it introduced its new security screening process earlier this year.

U

ber’s policy change meant that any person could become an Uber driver till they cleared the screening test set by the company. The process was completed in less than a week and would cost a mere $20 compared to the P endorsement required, which takes several months and can cost up to $2000.

Transport Minister Simon Bridges had said that Uber’s change in policy was illegal in New Zealand. He was recently quoted as saying by that if Uber refused to follow the law, the government would have to take its drivers off the road. “The government has zero tolerance for illegal behaviour.”

As opposed to Bridges, ACT Party Leader David Seymour considers the government’s proposal to ban Uber in New Zealand as “absolutely wrong”.

“The government should be creating an environment where New Zealanders access the best technology in the world, not banning it.”

He added that the government should make the P endorsement process simpler and cheaper. “$2000 is a ridiculous price... the Minister has admitted in the parliament that people who have injured and killed others while driving drunk can get

one (P endorsement). The only reason the government should be involved is that it has access to sensitive information about criminal convictions and traffic infringements; its role should be limited to providing a check against data on these questions, which should take a matter of moments.”

When Indian Weekender brought up the issue again with Bridges, the Minister said, “The government supports innovation in this sector, but the basic safety requirements around the P endorsements are non-negotiable.

We have made it clear that all players including Uber are expected to follow the law and for the New Zealand Transport Agency, as the regulator, to enforce the law. The government is working on significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to get a P endorsement as well as cutting the cost to get them by about a third.”

In response to the government’s statement, Uber’s Australasian policy director said, as quoted

by RNZ, has said, “The last time I checked there was no problem with sharing a ride in your own vehicle and that’s exactly what people are doing... We think that it would be unacceptable if the government thought to punish people for providing safe and reliable transport.”

But is it really safe? Passengers have in the past notified Uber on several occasions about sexual advances and improper behaviour from the drivers. In March this year, a Wellington Uber driver had reportedly “hit on” a 15-yearold year. After dropping her off to her destination, he asked for the girl’s number and said that they should hang out after he finishes work. When the girl’s friend posted about the incident on Facebook, it caught the attention

of the media and also generated replies from four women who had been at the receiving end. While apart from the Wellington case, no case has been publicly reported in New Zealand, Uber has faced several sexual harassment allegations internationally with cases reported in cities such as Los Angeles, Boston, London and Delhi. It has been a PR’s nightmare.

“The process of P endorsement can get quite tedious and it does cost a lot of money, but the safety of passengers cannot be ignored,” says Baljit Dhaliwal, an Uber driver in New Zealand.

He obtained a P endorsement 17 on his license when he started off and says that it helps drivers get a better knowledge about the rules governing New Zealand transport.

When Uber flouts New Zealand law, concerns over safety will be raised. In the midst of whether Uber drivers should obtain a P endorsement on their license or not, passenger safety comes under threat, especially when it’s widely known now that there are drivers in New Zealand who have opted for the cheaper route to obtain a clearance.

Till the Uber case is solved, with increasing number of new Uber drivers on New Zealand roads, Bridges recommends passengers concerned about their safety to “report any concerns about their Uber drivers to the New Zealand Transport Agency or the police”.

Uber’s history

U

ber’s beginning reads like the start of a fairytale; “On a snowy Paris evening in 2008...” the company website reads. But like every fairytale, Uber has met with its ferocious dragon that is breathing fire down its neck. Unlike Grimm Brothers’ stories, Uber called upon this dragon by relaxing its policies, as seen in the case of New Zealand.

The company wants to be the byword for not only passenger delivery but also transporting goods such as purchases from a website from one place to another. And their interest goes beyond human drivers.

Uber will be rolling out selfdriving cars in Pittsburg in the United States in the coming weeks. But before the company goes further ahead on the road to make its brand ubiquitous, it needs to remove itself from the legal web.

Let’s hope, Uber does have its fairytale ending where everyone, the company, the drivers, the passengers and the government lives happily ever after.

18

INDIA

26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

INDIA

Sensitive data on India’s Scorpene submarines leaked

S

ensitive data related to India’s Scorpene submarines has been leaked, with French shipbuilder DCNS which designed the submarine facing a leak of documents spreading over 22,000 pages, a report in Australian media revealed on Tuesday, August 23.

According to a report in The Australian, DCNS, which recently won a contract to design 12 submarines for Australia, includes details of submarine’s underwater sensors, above-water sensors, combat management system, torpedo launch system and specifications, communications system and navigation systems.

Variants of Scorpene submarines are also used by Malaysia and Chile with Brazil to join the club soon.

First of the Scorpene class submarines being built in India Kalvari went for sea trials in May, 2016 and is expected to be inducted in the Indian Navy soon.

Indian Navy officials have said the six submarines, once inducted, would form the core of the Navy’s submarine arm for the next two

Indian Navy’s first Scorpene submarine of project 75 is seen after being undocked from Mazagon Docks Ltd, a naval vessel ship building yard, in Mumbai.

decades. According to the report, DCNS has said that such a leak of technical data could not happen with its proposed submarine for Australia. The DCNS also implied that the leak might have occurred at India’s end, rather than from France.

“Uncontrolled technical data is not possible in the Australian Aarrangements,” the company said as per the report in The Australian.

“Multiple and independent controls exist within DCNS to prevent unauthorised access to data and all data movements are encrypted and recorded. In

the case of India, where a DCNS design is built by a local company, DCNS is the provider and not the controller of technical data,” it said. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has sought a report from the navy on the alleged leak of the data.

“The first step is to identify if it relates to us,” Parrikar told reporters in New Delhi.

“The Navy Chief (Admiral Sunil Lanba) has been asked to analyse what exactly has been leaked,” the minister said, adding his first assessment was that it was an act of hacking and not a 100% leak.

Delhi assembly passes luxury tax amendment bill

T

he Delhi Assembly, on Tuesday, August 23, passed the Delhi Tax on Luxuries (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which is aimed at reducing the burden on tourists and citizens and offering small hotels relief from luxury tax.

The bill, introduced by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the assembly on Monday, August 22, seeks to double the threshold limit of luxury tax from a room costing Rs 750 per day to Rs 1,500 by amending Sections 2 and 8 of the existing 1996 act. Speaking in the assembly during the discussion on Tuesday, Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, said that it will benefit the common man who searches for budget hotels.

“Not only tourists but several other people come to the city because of various works and they opt for choosing budget hotel which comes under the range of Rs 1,000. Earlier people had to pay luxury tax if they take any room on rent above Rs 750 but now with this move, they will not have to shell out extra money from their pocket,” he said.

Home Minister assures NSG of upgrading infrastructure

U

nion Home Minister Rajnath Singh, on Tuesday, August 22, assured the National Security Guard (NSG) of upgrading their infrastructure and training.

Inaugurating the Composite Building complex of 52 Special Action Group in New Delhi, he also stressed that the NSG should conduct regular exercises with counterparts from friendly countries.

“Today no developed country can claim immunity from terrorist strikes. All progressive societies have to stand up against terrorism,” he said. Noting that 19 NSG personnel have laid down their lives in the service of the nation since the force was set up in 1984, Rajnath Singh laid stress on bringing out illustrated booklets containing their biographies as an inspiration for the youth.

He added that NSG must commemorate their martyrdom day with at least one officer visiting their families and organising programmes at their homes by involving the community.

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www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

Embracing Cloud can help India master digital era: Oracle

I

¡¡ Nishant Arora

ndia is poised to become the world’s leading market for Cloud, and for US software major Oracle, Cloud is a force-multiplier that the country must embrace to leapfrog into the digital era, a top company executive has said.

India is uniquely positioned to benefit from Cloud-based solutions for three reasons. First, there are more than 200 million connected mobile users—with 100 million on social media—in the country; this is an essential building block for a shift to Cloud.

“Secondly, the e-commerce willingness in this market. Lastly, India has the largest IT service businesses in the world across SIs (systems integrators), and they are now looking at adjacent revenue streams like the Cloud to take cost out,” Shailender Kumar, Managing Director, Oracle India, said.

“The government’s ‘Digital India’ initiative can only be successful if Cloud plays a key role. This makes the opportunity huge,” Kumar added.

Cloud computing accounted for about 33% of the total IT expenditure in 2015 across the world. In India, the overall Cloud computing market reached $1.08 billion by the end of last year and IT/ITeS, telecom, manufacturing and government sectors accounted for a bulk of this.

Among one of the first MNCs to invest in the country nearly 25 years back, Oracle is bullish on Cloud. “We are witnessing a

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Revenue Secretary reviews IT preparedness of RBI, CBEC for GST

R Oracle’s miss in quarterly sales amplified questions about the company’s clout in an industry moving rapidly toward cheaper internet-based rivals

strong demand for our Cloud solutions here. Oracle’s Software as a Service (SaaS) business is witnessing the fastest adoption rate with three segments that have the highest growth—Human Capital Management (HCM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Experience led by marketing cloud, service cloud, etc. Platform as a Service (Paas) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) are fast catching up,” Kumar noted.

In April, Oracle CEO Safra Catz announced $400 million of investment in a technology hub Bengaluru, with the opening of the first “Oracle Startup Cloud Accelerator” in India’s Silicon Valley. Several more such centres are slated to be launched later in Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Noida, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram and Vijayawada. While there are a few

regulated industries that require data centres in India, there are also customers who are more focused on choosing the right applications and platforms as opposed to where the data centre lies. To alleviate data security fears, the company recently announced the “Oracle Cloud at Customer” solution.

“The announcement strengthens our play in the market because companies (including those bound by regulatory pressures), can now leverage the Cloud and speed up their business transformation with complete control over their data,” Kumar said.

Oracle Cloud at Customer equips organisations to reap all of the benefits of the Cloud—agility, simplicity and subscription pricing—at their data centres and behind their firewall, providing access to the latest Cloud innovations.

Black money: Government mulling banning cash transactions above Rs 3 lakh o crack down further on black money, the government is considering the recommendation of Special Investigation Team (SIT) to ban cash transactions above Rs 3 lakh, a top finance ministry official said on Tuesday, August 22.

“The SIT recommendations are under consideration... Rs three lakh and above (limit on cash transactions) is under consideration,” Rani Singh Nair, Chairperson, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said at an international tax conference organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

“We have put a one per cent TCS (Tax Collected at Source) on cash transactions; we have made PAN (Permanent Account Number) quoting mandatory.

All these aspects are also part of the SIT recommendations to stop the use of (illegal) cash in the economy,” she said.

Regarding the tax treaties with other countries, Nair said the government is holding discussions on the renegotiated India-Singapore tax treaty.

“India has renegotiated tax treaty with Mauritius while the one with Singapore is under discussion,” she said.

“We are discussing it; we hope we will soon have a discussion with them (Singapore) as this is a bilateral treaty.

We have to take the concerns of both the countries and then we will sign,” Nair said.

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On the issue of advancing the date of general budget presentation to January, she said that it would bring in more

efficiency in the budget-making as twothree months of the financial year will not be lost in the process.

evenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia in New Delhi on August 22 reviewed the IT preparedness of the various stakeholders, including Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banks and Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC), for the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

“A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia to review the IT preparedness of the various stakeholders for smooth roll-out of GST,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

“Representatives of RBI, CBEC, heads of government business and IT heads of 29 banks and Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) took part in the meeting,” the statement said.

The review comes as only about seven months are remaining from the targeted date of April 1 for the roll-out of GST, which will subsume all central indirect levies like excise duty, countervailing duty and service tax, as also state taxes such as value-added tax, entry tax and luxury tax, to create a single, pan-India market.

Realising the criticality of IT preparedness of various stakeholders, the status of preparation of software along with details of the protocol of information interchange were discussed, the statement said.

“All authorised banks were directed to ensure that their IT systems are in place for networking with RBI, GSTN and the accounting authorities of central and state government authorities, latest by September 30, 2016,” it said.

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

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INDIA

26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Why India wins only a few Olympic medals

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¡¡ Amulya Ganguli

he joy felt by Indians over the successes of P.V. Sindhu in badminton, Sakshi Malik in wrestling and Dipa Karmakar in gymnastics is understandable.

At the same time, the question of why India, a nation of 1.2 billion people, second only to China in population, could win only two medals, which is one of its worst performances in recent years needs to be asked. India won six medals at the 2012 Olympics and three in 2008.

The usual explanation for such a dismal record is known—poor infrastructure, poor physique, poor diet and the lack of the so-called killer instinct.

Our sportsmen and women are rarely up to the mark compared to their better-prepared opponents who have had the advantages of state-of-the-art training facilities and dedicated coaches, along with a balanced diet regimen.

Some of them are also selected at an early age by talent-spotters who instil in them a desire to win at major events. Where Indians are concerned, cricket is the only game where they routinely do well, as in hockey earlier.

But cricket does not require as intense a schedule of training as do disciplines such as athletics or swimming and does not have the kind of global competition that others sports have as its

India’s P.V. Sindhu won silver medal in badminton (women’s singles) at Rio Olympics 2016 on August 19

playing is limited to a handful of largely Commonwealth countries.

One possible reason why India lags behind is that it has always relied more on individual talent as in the cases of Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar than on organisations devoted to nurturing potential winners.

This is true of cricket where the team is heavily dependent on a single player for success— whether it is Kohli or Tendulkar.

Diet is another factor why India’s deficiencies show up.

As Kapil Dev once said, Indians cannot be top-grade pace bowlers because they eat too much fried food. Besides, it is undeniable that virtually all the winners from European, American, African and even Asian countries such as China are meat-eaters, including beef.

Vegetarianism, which

often leads to protein deficiency, is not exactly the road to sporting success.

The inadequacy of food habits is compounded by the slight build of the Indians as well as the lack of stamina which is why they are nowhere near the top in, say, football, let alone rugby.

An improvement in training facilities may bring in a few more medals, but the numbers are likely to remain in the single digits in the foreseeable future.

Since sports do not rank as high in the priorities of most families as studies, children regard playing games as a spare-time activity rather than as a prime objective such as coming first in class. As the Chinese media has patronisingly pointed out, the insistence of Indian parents on making their children doctors and

Next RBI Governor Urjit Patel should be able to contain inflation: Government

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elcoming the appointment of RBI Deputy Governor Urjit R. Patel as the next Governor of the central bank, the government, on Monday, August 22, said that he should be able to contain inflation within the target of four per cent, plus or minus two percentage points.

“His (Patel) appointment is the right decision and is in the interest of the country. Considering he has good experience in monetary policies and other areas, he should be able to contain inflation as per the amendments in the RBI Act,” Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said.

“He has to maintain a balance in growth and monetary policy, hope he will be successful in controlling inflation,” Meghwal said. Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das also welcomed Patel’s appointment: “With his background in monetary economics, policies and other fields, I am sure he will rise up to the occasion and keep in mind the monetary policy and the inflation target that has now been laid out in the RBI Act. “...he will also balance the requirement of growth which is mandatory according to the amendments in the RBI Act.”

RBI Deputy Governor Urjit R. Patel

Patel is said to have been picked for his expertise in inflationcontrol, which has become the main task of the central bank, ever since the government, under the statute, set it a target of four per cent, plus or minus two percentage points, based on the consumer price index.

Das also said that the job of the RBI Governor is not only constrained to the monetary policy as he is also the regulator of banks and NBFCs (non-banking financial companies).

“In that role, he has to ensure the functioning of the entire financial system and also look into the flow of credit to all sectors of [the] economy, in particular, the requirements of agriculture and MSME (Micro, Small and

Medium Enterprise) sector,” Das said. The government on August 20 named Patel the next Governor of RBI to succeed Raghuram R. Rajan, whose three-year term comes to an end on September 3.

Patel, 52, a Deputy Governor since January 2013 and on a further three-year term since January this year, will take over as chief of India’s central bank on September 4.

Patel, who has a PhD in economics from Yale and M.Phil from Oxford, has had a mix of stints with multilateral institutions, bureaucracy, the central bank, global consultancies and even private companies.

He has previously served the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the US, India, Bahamas and Myanmar. He was also a consultant to India’s Finance Ministry, in the Department of Economic Affairs, and an advisor at The Boston Consulting Group. He has been a nonresident Senior Fellow of The Brookings Institution.

Patel worked closely with several central and state government committees, especially those on direct taxes, market studies, anti-trust laws, Prime Minister’s Task Force on Infrastructure and sectors such as telecom, aviation, power and pensions.

engineers is one of the reasons why India does not produce world class sportspersons.

Among other reasons mentioned by the media are poverty and girls not being allowed into sports. For instance, Sakshi Malik’s parents were ridiculed in Rohtak for allowing their girl to become a wrestler, supposedly a men’s sport.

Ironically, the emphasis on studies does not fetch us too many Nobel prizes either. Evidently, the intellectual faculties of Indians remain as undeveloped as their sporting skills.

The explanations for the deficiencies in both mind and body are the same—diet and infrastructure. It is not recognised that studying hard requires as much stamina and concentration as playing games.

Not surprisingly, chess players such as Bobby Fisher kept themselves physically fit through regular exercises. The mind cannot be at its peak if the body is weak. If the sporting infrastructure is rudimentary, as television pictures of Dipa Karmakar’s “gymnasium” in Agartala showed, the groves of academe are no better. From primary schools with their absentee teachers and lack of toilets to colleges that are seen by most students as unavoidable waiting rooms till they get a job, the education system is in a shambles. Its dismal

condition can be gauged from the observation of the Nobel Laureate, Venkataraman Ramakrishnan, that the last science congress was a “circus”. Bharat Ratna recipient C.N.R. Rao has also described the education scene as depressing.

More than any other sporting occasion, the Olympics denote a country’s progress or the lack of it. It isn’t only the swanky stadia or the crystal-clear, blue water bodies designated for boating, water polo and other games which show the level of economic advancement but also the upscale cities where major events such as cycling take place.

India organised the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982, the Afro-Asian Games in 2003 and the Commonwealth Games in 2010. But these could not match the razzmatazz of the Olympics.

Unless a country can hold the Olympics, it will be seen as lagging behind. Like the bullet train, the hosting of more than 200 countries in a sporting extravaganza has become a symbol of development.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of modernising India will not be achieved if the country remains embroiled in cow politics and ministers splurge taxpayers’ money on junkets.

Instead, the focus should be on enabling more Sindhus, Sakshi Maliks and Dipa Karmakars to come to the fore.

Civil society calls for changes in Transgender Bill

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embers of civil society groups urged the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to address the many “shortcomings” of the Transgender Bill, before passing it. Members of ‘Sangama’ and ‘Reach Law’, two Bangalore-based minority rights group, presented a chapter wise review of ‘The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill’, 2016, introduced in Lok Sabha on August 2, to bring to notice the Bill’s flaws and gaps with respect to transgenders’ abuse, rehabilitation, education, and equal status in the society.

Among its many shortcomings discussed, they strongly opposed the use of ‘biological test’ to pronounce a person as transgender as proposed in the draft bill and advocated for the use of ‘psychological test’ instead.

They also recommended to the ministry to extend reservation in educational institutes and for public appointments to transgender persons.

They also demanded the removal of the derogatory words and the removal of the term ‘third gender’ to refer to transgenders as they’re discriminatory.

B.T. Venkatesh, former public prosecutor, Karnataka High Court, and a lawyer with

Reach Law, said that the term ‘third gender’ is discriminatory and has emerged from a patriarchal mindset.

“Third to what? who are first and second?”, he said.

“The proposed Bill is far from inclusive and there many flaws in it. The government must make changes in the corresponding laws as well to make to wholly applicable and inclusive,” he said.

“Section 377 needs to be abolished. It’s in contradiction to what we are trying to do with the Bill. Who will identify as a transgender as long as 377 is there.. same needs to be done with domestic violence law, which recognises only wife as the one who can seek redressal,” he continued.

INDIA ABROAD

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

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INDIA ABROAD

Indian-origin team brings hope for wireless implanted devices

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aking us one step closer to internetconnected wireless implanted devices, a team of Indian-origin engineers have introduced a new way of communication that allows devices to talk to smartphones and watches.

Such devices include brain implants, contact lenses, credit cards and smaller wearable electronics.

This new “interscatter communication” developed by the team from the University of Washington in Seattle works by converting Bluetooth signals into Wi-Fi transmissions over the air.

Using only reflections, an interscatter device such as a smart contact lens converts Bluetooth signals from a smartwatch, for example, into Wi-Fi transmissions that can be picked up by a smartphone.

“Wireless connectivity for implanted devices can transform

'Interscatter communication' developed by the team from University of Washington.

how we manage chronic diseases,” said co-author Vikram Iyer, electrical engineering doctoral student.

“For example, a contact lens could monitor a diabetics blood sugar level in tears and send notifications to the phone when the blood sugar level goes down,” Iyer said.

Due to their size and location within the body, these

smart contact lenses are too constrained by power demands to send data using conventional wireless transmissions.

The team demonstrated for the first time that these types of power-limited devices can “talk” to others using standard Wi-Fi communication.

Their system requires no specialised equipment, relying solely on mobile devices

Indian origin student’s device to keep disaster-hit areas connected

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isruptions in phone connectivity in disasterhit areas could soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a device developed by an Indian-origin student at Britain’s Staffordshire University.

The new device, known as Exigency, was designed by Luqmaan Patel, a university statement said.

The device developed by 21-year-old Patel uses Ad-Hoc Network that receives satellite data and transmits it as cellular data to ensure that everyone within 2.5 km radius has access to basic phone communications.

Although his design is only a temporary solution, Patel hopes that it will make people think about a more efficient solution for overcoming communication difficulties experienced during natural disasters and ensure that communications are reliable and accessible for everyone in the affected zones.

During the time of a disaster, communication can collapse

The new device known as Exigency was designed by Luqmaan Patel

completely and transmit nothing for at least three days thus leaving everyone stranded. Patel felt this was an issue he had to address.

“I felt that it was a very long time for a victim to inform anyone about their wellbeing or to call for help,” he stated in the statement.

Through further research, he found that if you reduced the initial impact stage of up to three days by one single day, it would reduce the overall recovery of the country by a thousand days.

It would help organisations to

connect with one another more efficiently and share relevant data, all the while making the recovery swift and efficient.

These were few of the factors that came to Patel’s mind and inspired him to come up with an effective solution to the issue of creating effective communication service. He felt that his device should bring a focus to communications and clear the communication infrastructure in the horrible event of a natural disaster.

commonly found with users to generate Wi-Fi signals using 10,000 times less energy than conventional methods.

“Instead of generating WiFi signals on your own, our technology creates Wi-Fi by using Bluetooth transmissions from nearby mobile devices such as smartwatches,” said study coauthor Vamsi Talla.

The team’s process relies on a communication technique called backscatter, which allows devices to exchange information simply by reflecting existing signals.

Because the new technique enables inter-technology communication by using Bluetooth signals to create Wi-Fi transmissions, the team calls it “interscattering.”

Interscatter communication uses Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or ZigBee radios embedded in mobile devices such as smartphones, watches, laptops, tablets and headsets, to serve as both

sources and receivers for these reflected signals.

“Bluetooth devices randomise data transmissions using a process called scrambling,” noted Shyam Gollakota, assistant professor of computer science and engineering.

Beyond implanted devices, the researchers have also shown that their technology can be applied to other applications such as smart credit cards.

This opens up possibilities for smart credit cards that can communicate directly with other cards and enable applications where users can split the bill by just tapping their credit cards together.

The new technique was described in a paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Data Communication (SIGCOMM 2016) in Brazil on August 22.

Indo-Canadian Sikh MP is first woman Leader of House

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n Indo-Canadian Sikh Cabinet Minister, Bardish Chagger, was sworn in as the new leader of the government in the House of Commons, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the Canadian parliament, the media reported.

“This is a tremendous opportunity. I have been involved in the political process for basically my whole life,” Chagger was quoted as saying, after her swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, by cbc.ca on August 19.

Chagger, 36, replaces House leader Dominic LeBlanc.

“I know what democracy should look like. Democracy should be engaging Canadians.

“That is the leadership of our Prime Minister,” Chagger added.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his confidence that Chagger will be “a worthy successor.” Chagger, who is a rookie MP and is one of the four Sikhs—Harjit Sajjan, Navdeep Bains, and Amarjeet Sohi being the other three— elected to Trudeau’s cabinet in 2015, in a move that drew worldwide attention. Chagger had a brief and unremarkable

Bardish Chagger had a brief and unremarkable stint as small business and tourism minister

stint as small business and tourism minister. She will retain that portfolio in addition to her new position.

Chagger was born and raised in the Waterloo region, where she attended the University of Waterloo where she was the president of the Young Liberals.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Science, she worked as an assistant to former KitchenerWaterloo MP Andrew Telegdi for four years before becoming a community organiser in 2009.

Chagger also worked as a volunteer on Trudeau’s leadership campaign in 2013.

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SPORTS

26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

SPORTS

Meet the Olympic heroes ¡¡ IWK Bureau

Sakshi Malik and PV Sindhu—the two names on every Indian’s lips.

They made the country proud by clinching the only two medals for Indians at the Olympics this year. We take a look at these two women who made the country proud at Rio.

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he 31st Olympic Games—the first in South Africa—drew to a close on Sunday, August 22 at the three-hour-long celebration at the historic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. India did not fare well this year.

With three medals in 2008 and six in 2012, this year did not favour our athletes. After days of disappointments, India finally had a reason to celebrate when 23-year-old Sakshi Malik clinched the first win for the country.

Two days later, shuttler PV Sindhu won the silver, adding to country’s jubilations.

The two wins brought a silver lining to the otherwise dark clouds looming over Indian athletes.

As Rio prepared the wrap up the Olympics and passed on the torch to Tokyo, back home, it was a different sense of excitement as the country proudly and eagerly waited for the return of their medal winners. Admirers, officials, and well-wishers gathered at airports in Agartala and Hyderabad to receive the two athletes.

Let’s meet the heroes of Rio Olympics.

PV Sindhu

P

usarla Venkata Sindhu was born in Hyderabad to former volleyball players PV Ramana and P Vijaya.

But young Sindhu drew inspiration from the success of Pullela Gopichand who won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001. She started playing badminton at the age of eight, and soon after, she joined Gopichand’s badminton academy.

Sindhu has several titles under her belt.

She won the fifth Servo All India ranking championship in the doubles category in the under-10 years category. In the under-13 years category, she won several titles that included Krishna Khaitan All India Tournaments and Sub-Juniors Nationals in Pune. At the National School Games in India, she scored a gold medal in the under-14 team.

Sindhu maintained her performance in the international world of sports as well.

She won the bronze medal at the SubJunior Asian Badminton Championships in Colombo and the silver medal in the singles category at Iran Fajr International Badminton Challenge in 2010.

In 2012, Sindhu defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okhura and won the Asia Youth Under 19 Championship. At the 2012 Li Ning China Masters Super Series tournament, she beat Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui of China to make it to the semi-finals. Sindhu also won three consecutive titles at Macau Open (2013, 2014 and 2015).

Before Rio Olympics this year, she won the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold

women’s singles title, a tournament she had won three years ago in 2013. And at Rio, Sindhu made the country and her coach, Gopichand, proud after beating Spain’s Carolina Martin in the finals. She became the first woman to bag an Olympic Silver medal.

Talking about Sindhu’s win, her coach told reporters in Rio that her success at the Olympics was only a glimpse of what she is capable of. “I believe she has more potential. I am waiting for her to realise this. It might take time. We need to be patient, and we need to understand results may not come as consistently as we want them,” he said.

His advice to the star shuttler: get physically stronger, technically better and mentally rock solid.

Sakshi Malik

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his spirited 23-year-old ended India’s medal drought at the Olympics with her bronze medal win. The only woman wrestler from the Mokhra village near Rohtak in Haryana, Malik created a new example for women in wrestling—a sport often seen reserved only for men.

A young Malik took inspiration from her grandfather Badhlu Ram, a wrestler. She

started training when she was 12 under the guidance of Ishwar Dahiya; both were criticised by locals who believed wrestling was not a sport for girls.

But she would soon be silencing them all. Her first success came at the 2010 Junior World Championships where she won the bronze medal in the 58kg freestyle category. Four years later, she won gold in the 60kg category at Dave Schultz International Tournament.

The same year, she made it to the finals at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games but lost to Aminat Adeniyi in a closely contested fight.

In 2015, she claimed the bronze medal at the Asian Championships in Doha where she contested in five rounds in the 60kg category. And then came Rio where Malik clinched the bronze in the Women’s Freestyle 58kg category with a spirited comeback victory over Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan.

“This is the first time that a medal has come for women. It’s a success of my 12 years of dedication,” Malik said after the win.

Malik along with Sindhu will be receiving the Khel Ratna award—the country’s highest sporting honour.

Malik was also the flag bearer at Rio Olympic’s closing ceremony.

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

KIDS ZONE

Colouring

Colouring

Join the dots

Soduku Find the path

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

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FEATURES

26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

By Manisha Koushik

Manisha Koushik is the talented daughter and associate of world renowned celebrity astrologer Dr Prem Kumar Sharma.

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

WEEKLY FORECAST: AUGUST 26 TO SEPTEMBER 1 ¡¡Aries (Mar 21-Apr 20) A major purchase is on the anvil, so go all out for it. You are an outright extrovert and take immense pleasure in making people sit up and take note.

This trait comes in handy at work to impress higher ups! Moodiness of lover may put paid to your romantic aspirations. It is good to show off to friends, but don’t loosen the purse strings too much. Students can expect a little tough but satisfying week.

Lucky no.: 11 / Lucky colour: Pink

¡¡Taurus (Apr 21-May 20) You may have to motivate someone to take your side through inducements.

A deadline looms on the horizon, so tighten your belt to meet it. Some professionals may feel stagnated and may not derive satisfaction in their present circumstances. Don’t repose too much faith on a workplace colleague or you may be let down. This excellent week for romance can encourage you to pop the question. Regular workout with friends is likely to make exercising fun.

Lucky no.: 4 / Lucky colour: Blue

¡¡Gemini (May 21-Jun 21) If you keep up the efforts, it will not be too difficult to persuade someone to join you. Both businesspersons and the salaried will find the week monetarily favourable. Your close associates may seek your advice, before starting a

new venture. Don’t let paucity of time deter you from continuing something that you have started. A marriage proposal for the eligible may need to be weighed carefully. Give a serious thought to getting back in shape.

Lucky no.: 2 / Lucky colour: Peach

¡¡Cancer (Jun 22-Jul 20) You will manage to build up on savings by becoming frugal in your spending. Don’t let anyone dictate to you at work or you may become a victim of those pulling the strings at work. You will find the going easy on the academic front. Find time to learn a new skill or hone your talents.

You may not be able to recover the full amount in a transaction.

Homemakers will take steps to make the home environment cheerful.

Lucky no.:9 / Lucky colour: Dark red

¡¡Leo (Jul 23-Aug 11) An issue regarding property may be taken up by you once again in the right earnest. Those in the rat race at work may pip the rivals at the post to better their prospects.

A new position in the organisation may be given to you with additional responsibilities. Opting for a healthy diet will be a step in the right direction.

Your extrovert nature can click with an opposite number. Get ready to organise a function or a wedding.

Lucky no.: 18 / Lucky colour: Purple

¡¡Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23) Your calculated moves will keep your nose above the water in both personal and professional situations. A letter of appreciation for a job well done will give due recognition to your efforts.

Your longing for lover this week will be fully rewarded with a surprise. A wise investment done previously promises rich returns. Good news about a sick family member will let you heave a big sigh of relief. A religious ceremony connected with a wedding or otherwise may be conducted.

Lucky no: 15 /Lucky colour: Chocolate

¡¡Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23) You may need to rework your personal equation with those who have come to loathe you. Those with additional skills can hope to get a good break.

A good grip of the situation will make you an automatic leader at work.

Follow the advice of someone clued up financially to remain on the safe wicket.

Domestic front will be most peaceful and family most accommodating.

You will manage to overcome fatigue by adopting fitness techniques and taking herbal alternatives.

Lucky no.: 6 / Lucky colour: Turquoise

¡¡Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22) Your timing in getting something completed on the home front will prove right. Control your stubborn streak, as it can spell disaster in both

personal and professional spheres.

Keep your ego under control at work, especially while dealing with seniors.

Guard against dubious investments, as a loss is foreseen. Your academic aspirations will get fulfilled only through legitimate means, so don’t even think of shortcuts. Follow a routine to stay healthy. This week, you may meet someone you like.

Lucky no: 17/Lucky colour: Light grey

¡¡Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 11) You may need to curtail wasteful expenditure if you want to go in for something big. At work, as an issue about an official document is likely to rake a lot of dirt. You will need to put extra hours on the academic front to catch up with others. Lover’s sweet nothings are likely to prove a balm to your jagged nerves. Irregular timings and junk food may play havoc with your daily routine and threaten health.

Lucky no.: 18 / Lucky colour: Yellow

¡¡Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 21) You may walk the tightrope in not offending someone and also doing your own thing! Getting praised at the workplace may come as a solid morale booster and motivate you to give your best. A loan given in good faith will take some more time in being returned despite promises.

Lover is likely to stick to his or her

word and make you happy. Good focus and concentration will contribute towards good performance on the academic front.

Lucky no.: 7 / Lucky colour: Green

¡¡Aquarius (Jan 22-Feb 19) Convey your ideas clearly, if you want people to listen to you. Your ideas are likely to click towards mid of the week on the professional front. Your emotional support and a sympathetic ear to someone distressed will prove a healing balm to him or her. Those seeking employment are likely to get a call soon. A product purchased recently will help to make life easier.

Home remedies come in real handy in curing a minor ailment. You may attend a gathering towards the weekend.

Lucky no: 3/Lucky colour: Dark yellow

¡¡Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20) Someone’s attitude may puzzle you and even seem selfish, but this is not the case, so don’t overreact. This week, you are blessed with the Midas touch and turn everything you touch to gold!

Solid returns may be expected in a real estate deal. Jewellers or those dealing in gold and precious stones are likely to hit it big. Your excellent contribution to a project or an assignment can put you in a special category at work.

Lucky no.: 11 / Lucky colour: Saffron

Rules to follow for a healthy food diet while ordering in

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eading dietician’s 4 simple food rules to follow when ordering home delivery From high-protein to more vegetables, Kiwis are being bombarded with numerous messages about nutrition and healthy eating but with our growing love of ordering in, how can we know for sure that we are eating well if we aren’t involved in the preparation? To cut through the clutter, leading accredited practising dietitian and nutritionist Geraldine Georgeou has developed four simple food rules to follow when ordering in and has applied these rules across New Zealand’s biggest food home delivery platform—Menulog—to reveal the dishes that deliver.

Must contain adequate nutrients. The simplest way to ensure this is to order meals that include at least three of the five major food groups: vegetables, legumes/beans and lean protein, fruit, grains, and dairy (or another calcium source).

1. Must be balanced: Each meal should contain a lean protein, low-GI carb and good fat.

2. Follow controlled portion sizes: a palm-sized amount of lean protein, 1–2 cups of vegetables, ½–1 cup of carbs, and about one tbsp. of fat.

3. Must be enjoyable: Flavoursome and enjoyable meals increase satiety.

“People have a tendency to buy into diet trends and food myths, often feeling burdened with guilt that they are not spending

enough time and money on food preparation, and at the same time, more and more of us are ordering in,” says Georgeou.

“Many takeaway meals already sit comfortably within the four food rules, and their nutrition can be improved further with a few simple additions such as adding lean protein, good fats, opting for low GI carbs, and, of course, adding extra veggies or a side salad,” says Georgeou.

RULES EXPLAINED

Rule 1: Nourishing

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nourishing meal is one that contributes to consuming all five food groups across the day to ensure you are meeting your nutritional requirements: fibre (RDI 5g), vitamins and minerals, especially iron and vitamin C, and antioxidants. The easiest way to follow this rule when you order in is to ensure each meal contains at least three of the five food groups and a different food group each time.

Make sure you are also eating different coloured vegetables across the day. You might order a Greek salad side with one meal (green and red vegetables) and a roasted vegetable side with carrot and sweet potato (orange vegetables) in another dish.

Rule 2: Balanced

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hoose meals that comprise around 40% lean protein, 40% low-GI carb (including vegetables) and

20% good fats. There are proven scientific nutritional and health benefits in this type of meal structure.

The good news is that an increasing number of meal choices on Menulog contain a great source of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. For instance, choosing a lovely lean beef stirfry with extra veggies and a small portion of rice is a wellbalanced meal choice. This rule helps ensure you don’t go over your daily energy consumption requirements. It is a little bit like portion control (Rule 3) in ensuring that each meal contains balanced macro nutrients.

Rule 3: Controlled portion size

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uantity is crucial.

Aim for these amounts of each component of your meals: Lean protein: 100– 150g serve (palm size) of lean protein such as lean red meat, fresh fish, tofu or one cup of cooked legumes. Tandoori chicken, or a tofu stir fry, and even a daal curry contains the right amount of protein.

Veggies: 1–2 cups of fresh or cooked vegetables.

Adding an extra side of steamed veggies or a side salad to your takeaway

meal will ensure you boost your intake.

Carbs: One serve of carbohydrates such as ½–1 cup of cooked rice such as basmati or brown rice, ½–1 cup of cooked noodles or pasta. Ensure you control your portion of rice to ½ cup of cooked rice, or ask for an entrée portion of pasta, as often they can be double your portion size.

Fats: One serve of good fats such as one tbsp. of olive oil, nuts, avocado or feta cheese. If in doubt, ask the restaurant what they cook with, or choose grilled or steamed dishes.

Rule 4: Satisfying

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tudies have shown that the meals we enjoy—the ones that have a great taste, smell, and texture—and which are high in protein and carbohydrates increase satiety, which in turn, ensures we don’t overeat.

Following rules one to three will ensure you get the right amount of the right types of carbs and protein. But this rule is really about choosing meals we will enjoy. For many of us, if we pick a bland option, we are more likely to seek flavour in unhealthy snacks.

If you are looking for healthy takeaway options on Menulog, Georgeou has given the following Kiwi favourites a healthy twist:

Give them an opportunity to realise their

Dreams Let us sacrice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow- A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

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n its 70 year of independence, India is continuing to make its mark globally.

The country's growth in areas of s e r v i c e s e c t o r, i n f r a s t r u c t u r a l developments, and scientic breakthroughs are a testimony to its accomplishments. Yet, almost seven decades after India won its freedom, millions of children are anything but free and for them education still remains a distant dream. 1 in every 4 children in the country is out of school and only 33 out of every 100 children nish their class 12th.

With lack of access to education, many children cannot even write their own names. The reasons for children being deprived of their right to education include no schools nearby, gender discrimination, early marriage, forced into labour and many more. th

When a child is able to go to school, it sets off a cycle of positive change. An educated child stays away from an early marriage and is empowered to stand up against exploitation. As children grow, they are able to make better choices for themselves and inuence the communities they live in. This transforms their present life and ensures a secure future for them.

In over 3,118 villages and slums across 142 districts in 23 states, CRY – Child Rights and You, an Indian NGO working for children's rights in India has witnessed major transformation. They have seen children dream big and overcome insurmountable social, economic obstacles through sheer courage and determination to

change the world they live in. All they need is an opportunity to realise their dream, communities becoming aware of their rights and coming together to ensure them. Not just by enrolling children in schools but by addressing the root causes that keep them malnourished, illiterate, exploited and abused - causes like gender, caste, livelihoods, displacement and governance.

Take the example of Naveen hailing from the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

His father's meagre income was not enough to sustain their day to day life and the young boy had to drop out of school to start work at a tea stall. The team at CRYsupported project People's Organisation for Rural Development on gaining knowledge of his plight immediately started convincing his family to send him back to school. The journey was slow and tedious but with the help and intervention of village authorities, Naveen was enrolled back into school.

Going to school again helped his condence and leadership qualities shine through- and cultivated his latent ability of a budding engineer. Naveen noticed that there was a lot of pollution around his school from cooking res and he began work on nding a solution. His invention of nding an eco friendly, cost effective, zero pollution way to cook won him recognition and awards not only at the district level but nationally as well. Many of the schools nearby, including his own started adopting this method to cook midday meals. Today, Naveen is set on his dream of becoming an engineer and helping children like him also nd a way to improve their skills.

In 2015-16, CRY impacted the lives of 6,45,000 children and their families.

9,581 children in the age group of 6-18 years who had dropped out of school were re-enrolled across the project interventions in India. Along with grassroots partners, CRY prevented closure of 52 government schools, ensured 29 schools were upgraded and with education bodies aided in 11 new schools starting. Their approach involves working with the local authorities, ensuring on-ground implementation, working on behavioural and attitude shift of communities and mobilising them to lead change.

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RY's nationwide campaign – 'School the Spark' aims at strengthening its efforts in addressing challenges that children face to access their basic right to education by ensuring children do not drop out of school and explore the potential of their abilities which remains unexplored. Join the campaign at www.cry.org/school-thespark and support their mission to ensure a happy and healthy childhood for India's children.

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FEATURES

26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Chungking Mansions, where nationalities, continents merge I ¡¡ Jaideep Sarin

t’s a 17-storey building on one of Hong Kong’s busiest streets that brings together the business of commerce and hospitality under one roof as also citizens from all the habitable continents of the world. Welcome to the world of Chungking Mansions.

Located at Nathan Road, the ever-busy Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district on Kowloon Island, the Chungking Mansions building is right in the middle of high-end and mid-range shopping areas. But that is where the comparison ends.

The building, completed in 1961, is no great shakes either from the outside or inside but occupies a prominent place in the centre of Kowloon’s commercially busy Golden Mile. Big time addresses on and around the street include the majestic and historic highend Peninsula Hotel, the I-Square Mall and Sheraton Hotel.

As one approaches its entrance, one can straightaway feel the

Chungking Mansions

difference. Scores of young men, mostly Indians and Pakistanis, armed with leaflets of budget hotels and guesthouses and of eating joints virtually hit you with offers for rooms and food the moment you give the slightest inkling that you are an outsider or a tourist. Inside the building is a world of trade, food, accommodation vying with each other to attract clients

amidst a near chaotic and stinky atmosphere, glitzy LED lights breaking the otherwise virtually dark interiors bereft of any natural lighting and even more sales guys and shop owners trying to woo customers.

At the entrance of the building, there are several Forex (foreign exchange) shops that easily offer the best exchange rates in Hong Kong for most currencies in the

world. For the most part of the day, the entrance of the building is swarming with people from various nationalities that are sending or receiving money or simply getting it changed. At any given point of time, one can easily spot Indians, Pakistanis, Chinese, Nepalese, Filipinos, Koreans, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, budget travellers from Europe and the United States, people from the African continent, Australians and many other nationalities under the same roof. It is believed that people from nearly 130 nationalities visit the building annually; 50 to 60 nationalities can be found in the building on any given day.

A lot of trading, from electronic goods and mobiles to textiles to toys, happens here. Chungking Mansions is quite famous for the cheapest accommodation anywhere in Hong Kong.

There are scores of low-budget hotels and guest houses on various floors. From the relatively clean ones to the smelly, cramped and window-less, rooms are

Experience the silence and solace of nature

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¡¡ Vivek Singh Chauhan

reak the monotony and get out of your hectic city life to explore the silence and solace of nature amid glorious mountain peaks. In the land of the Himalayas, there are many places to rid yourself of stress and truly search for peace.

Kasol, located 42 km east of Kullu district between Bhuntar and Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh is a beautiful remote village situated in the Parvati Valley, some 230 km from state capital Shimla.

The mesmerising view of the valley, complete with beautiful mountain peaks, pine trees, colourful flowers and the breezy wind gave me goosebumps once I touched base at Kasol. The snowclad mountain peaks looked calm and peaceful.

Kasol has many things to offer, from trekking to camping to different types of cuisine, as well as shopping from the local market. Apart from its scenic beauty the local people of Kasol are also warm and welcoming to visitors.

Kasol is also famous as the ‘Mini Israel’ of India because of the large number of tourists from the West Asian country. The locals say they come to Kasol to unwind after finishing their compulsory military service in Israel.

This influx has seen an explosion of restaurants and

The bridge crossing from Kasol to Challal The beautiful Prashar Lake in Kullu

Parvati River

The winding valleys of Kheerganga

shops catering to their needs.

Thus, one can easily get a variety of Israeli foods in Kasol.

To check this out, I ventured into the Sasi restaurant, situated on the banks of River Parvati. I glanced through the menu and ordered Shakshouka—an Israeli dish made of poached eggs in tangy tomato gravy along with hummus and pita bread served with a glass of fresh watermelon

small population, the village can be explored within a day. It also provides a 360-degree view of the Parvati Valley and one can sit back and enjoy the beautiful view and sunset. It was even more vibrant than a smoky party.

Another trek is from Tosh to Kheerganga, 2,960 meters above sea level. This is a moderate trek of 14 km and takes fit and regular Kasol is travellers Waterfall in Tosh also famous about six juice.

Quite a to seven as the ‘Mini treat! Apart from h o u r s .

Israel’ of the amazing The place India because of hospitality, Kasol the large number sr enmoa iwn sis also trending of tourists from on social media covered the West Asian during whole sites for its long country and short distance winters. At the trekking options for highest point, casual walkers and the there is a little pool hardcore ones. with natural hot spring water.

There is, for instance, Tosh, a According to the locals, it is village on the slope of a mountain believed to be “holy” and also 18 km from Kasol, that involves has healing powers. The pool a 16 km walk on a bumpy trail is divided into two sub-pools and a two km hike. With its separately for men and women.

available to suit the budget of all kinds of travellers.

Indian and Pakistani curry restaurants are the hot favourites inside this building even though food from other countries and cultures, including the Middle East and Africa, is also available.

At many shops, tourists can find dishes such as samosa, jalebis, pakoras and biryani, a tourist said, adding that it was difficult to miss the atmosphere the an Indian or Pakistan city.

Besides the main commercial centre, Chungking Mansions also houses two malls—the Cke Shopping Mall and Wood House.

In his book, Ghetto at the Center of the World, Gordon Mathews, an anthropologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), gives a colourful and factual depiction of Chungking Mansions and what all—legal and illegal—goes on inside. The building has been featured in films and by National Geographic and was named the “Best Example of Globalization in Action”.

On the way to Kheerganga, the village of Nakthan and the Temple of Rudra Nag are ideal places to take short breaks. The sunrise and sunset are a must watch in the mountains.

The sound of chirping and giggling birds, the silence of the valley and the majestic view of those snow covered peaks will surely rejuvenate you.

Then, a short distance night trek to Chalal after dinner is a must do for all those travelling to Kasol. It takes around 20 to 30 minutes, and it is advisable to carry a torch for a better view and safety on the road. Unlike other popular hill stations that offer equally majestic views, Kasol appears to be much more serene and tranquil. So, get your bags packed and start exploring Kasol and the region around it. You will surely not regret doing so.

How to reach: Alight at Bhuntar, which is well connected from Delhi and Chandigarh by bus. You can take bus or taxi from Bhuntar to Kasol. There is also a flight from Delhi to Bhuntar.

Places to visit: Camping near Parvati river, treks to Chalal, Tosh, and Kheerganga.

Where to stay: From budget home-stays to costly hotels and resorts, you easily find various options to stay in Kasol in the Rs 300 to Rs 4,000 price ban.

Best time to visit: Summer

ENTERTAINMENT

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

Kamal Haasan to be conferred French award

cinema,” Vinay said. I don’t think there are too many small films which didn’t even see the light of the day, but they got critical acclaim,” he added.

Island City marks the directorial debut of Ruchika Oberoi, and it had its world premiere at the 72nd Venice Film Festival 2015. Vinay gives all the credit to Oberoi for making this film. He said, “It’s a wonderful film, to begin with. It’s a film Ruchika (Oberoi) has written herself and the script made the heads turn many years ago...

“All credit goes to the director for putting things together and making this film,” he added. The movie also features Tannishtha Chatterjee, Amruta Subhash and Chandan Roy Sanyal and is set for September 2 release.

Don’t like portraying myself on screen: Neil Nitin Mukesh

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ctor-film-maker Kamal Haasan is all set to be awarded the Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Letters (The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government, as part of France’s premiere award.

“The distinction, which is yet another laurel for the actor, is in recognition of his high level of artistic excellence and his distinguished career achievements. The award will be conferred on Kamal Haasan at a special ceremony,” read a statement from Haasan. The award is presented “to recognise eminent artists and writers, as well as people who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world.”

Other Indian recipients of the award include late Tamil actor Sivaji Ganeshan, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nandita Das and Shah Rukh Khan.

Small films struggle to get a release: Vinay Pathak

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ersatile actor Vinay Pathak, who will be seen in a critically acclaimed film Island City, says that most small films struggle to get a release date in theatres.

“Most small films struggle to get released, and when they get released, they don’t get viewing. In our country we make good cinema and then we struggle to release it because the majority of the masses and their theatre literacy lies with mainstream

celebrate the film lover in a movie that declares the registrations to the festival open. The campaign film, shot by Avinash Arun, edited by Nitin Baid and written by Varun Grover, captures the multitude of emotions that people feel while watching movies. Bala, known for his movie Peddlers and who has worked closely with Anurag Kashyap on various critically acclaimed projects, said in a statement, “Be it a Werner Herzog (German director) audience or an Innaritu (Mexican director Alejandro González Innaritu) audience or a Manmohan Desai audience, the viewer watches and immerses herself or

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Farhan Akhtar gives voice to MAMI’s campaign film

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ctor Farhan Akhtar has lent his voice to a campaign film conceptualised and directed

by Vasan Bala for the Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival. They

film is Happy Baag Jayegi. He says he is happy with the audience’s response.

“It’s a very light-hearted film. I am pleased that the audience has liked the film. As an actor, it’s important for me to

do sensible films and this is a sensible film.

“Being an outsider in the film industry, I feel there is a huge struggle, but I am getting quite a decent amount of work.”

Ali also starred in Hollywood film Furious 7.

n his nine-year journey in Bollywood, Neil Nitin Mukesh, who is popular for his charming looks and disarming smile, has mostly essayed characters with shades. The actor feels that he undergoes major learning process while portraying negative characters.

Asked what attracts him towards negative characters, Neil said, “I think there is flip to every person...There is always that alternate characteristic about a person that he is hiding within himself and what I am

in person...I don’t like portraying myself on screen because it is the easiest thing to do...

So, that challenges me as an actor.”

The 34-year-old actor shared that when he ventured into tinsel town, many told him to make his debut with a “love story”.

“I chose Johnny Gaddar because first of all everyone doubted that I could be an actor. Everyone thought that Mukesh’s grandson, Nitin Mukesh’s son should be a singer. So, just to prove them wrong because what I believed in, not just being rebellious, I wanted to prove them wrong,” he said. The star says portraying negative roles challenges him and “sharpens my axe slightly more”. They are multi-layered, there are so many nuances, there are so many details into these characters that you get to study and understand. And every time you portray a grey shade or any character. It’s just another layer that comes up. So it’s a learning process,” added Neil.

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Dia ‘dissatisfied’ with scripts offered to her

himself in a way which is very intimate and unique to that viewer. The campaign film features diehard film buffs as the stars of the movie who were filmed watching various film clips with their emotions and reactions being caught live and unfiltered.

It will be released across multiple platforms and will be screened in PVR Cinemas across the country.

The campaign film’s writer Varun Grover said, “No film is complete without viewers finally watching it. The campaign Film Lovers First aims to bring the most essential part of a film—its viewer—in the limelight and celebrate the human emotions this relationship facilitates.

“MAMI is our annual adda of film lovers; in fact the only ‘festival’ that I celebrate and wait for.” Organised by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), the Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival with Star will be held from October 20 to 27.

Ali Fazal hopes his new Hollywood film is Oscar-worthy

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ctor Ali Fazal, who will work with veteran British actor Judi Dench in Stephen Frears’ next movie, hopes it turns out to be an Oscar-winning project.

Ali said, “I just hope this film will be an Oscar-worthy film. I am not thinking of awards as such, but I am more than happy to bag this role. I will start shooting for this film soon. I can’t wait to work with Judi.”

The film is based on Shrabani Basu’s book Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closet Confidant, telling the true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria’s long rule.

According to deadline.com, Ali has taken on the role of Abdul Karim, the young servant from India who became an unlikely confidant and teacher to Queen Victoria (Dench). Ali’s latest Bollywood

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ia Mirza is not so active anymore as an actress. The reason? She is not happy with the sort of scripts that are coming her way and is, therefore, busy producing the movies she believes in.

“As a producer, I am very excited about some of the scripts that have come our way, and we are looking forward to making these films. As an actor, I am dissatisfied,” she said. “But I am grateful that instead of moping about the lack of good opportunities to be in good films, I create opportunities by making the films I believe in.” Dia believes there is a need for India to have more theatres, as she feels the

lack of screens is a threat to the country’s film industry.

“Our biggest threat is the taxation policy as well as the lack of a sufficient number of movie screens. Both the issues need to be addressed urgently. The economics of making and releasing a film are getting increasingly difficult, add to that the advent of access to digital content, and at large, producers/studios have their work cut out for them,” said the former beauty queen.

However, Dia is happy with growth in acceptance of regional cinema as well as English cinema in India.

“As long as the screen count increases and better policies are ushered in for the movie industry, we will be able to celebrate the success of all stories that are well-told, irrespective of language,” she said.

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ENTERTAINMENT

26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

In India it’s hard to dabble between TV, films: Prachi

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he started her career in 2006 with the television show Kasamh Se and later made a transition to the film industry in 2008 with Rock On!!. Actress Prachi Desai says for an artiste in India, it is difficult to juggle between TV and the silver screen.

“Unfortunately, in Bollywood or in the Indian film industry you really don’t have that liberty of sort of dabbling in the television industry as well as film industry if you are a mainstream actor, unlike the west. “Here, there is a drastic difference between films and television shows,” Prachi said.

The Azhar actress says people like to believe that TV shows are “extremely relatable”, whereas films or film actors have to be “unattainable and aspirational. I don’t see a match or a link between these two (films and TV), which is why in the Indian film industry we cannot really dabble with both,” Prachi added.

The 27-year-old actress, who has also contributed to TV shows

like Kasautii Zindagii Kay and films like Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, says an actor has to choose between the two mediums because it’s the image they have to pick.

She feels that either a celebrity can choose to be a “household name” or be someone who is “aspirational”.

“Besides that, I think we don’t have that many finite series on TV. It’s amazing that we have had Mr Amitabh Bachchan and Mr Anil Kapoor do some of the most amazing shows.

If there are things like that, then I am sure, actors can take a lot of liberty provided they have the time.

“Other than that, I don’t see that (film actors taking on infinite series on TV) happening because our shows go on forever,”she said.

Deepika named brand ambassador of airline company

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ollywood actress Deepika Padukone has been roped in as the new brand ambassador of domestic airline company Vistara.

A new multimedia brand campaign of Vistara along with its first TV commercial (TVC) was launched on August 22.

The campaign reinterprets and delivers on the brand promise of “Fly the new feeling”, through the eyes of Deepika.

The concept of the TVC revolves around how Deepika Padukone feels the same wonder and joy every time she flies Vistara, as she felt when flying for the first time The campaign intends to elaborate on the core interpretation of the brand promise which is about the feeling of looking forward to flying again.

“It is a matter of great pride for me to be associated with Vistara, a brand that is reliable, warm and friendly; a brand that carries the lineage of Tata and Singapore Airlines...The new TVC aims to capture that feeling in a charming and evocative manner,” Deepika said in a statement.

The airline has been giving a sneak peek to its customers through its ongoing teaser campaign #WhichStar running on various platforms, that has captured the imagination of millions of people already.

The integrated campaign will be deployed across multiple platforms including TV, Digital, Print, Outdoor, Cinema and Airports.

Saif finds Kareena very sexy in Yeh Mera Dil song

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or Kareena Kapoor Khan “the best compliment” till date by her actorproducer husband Saif Ali Khan is for her remix song Yeh Mera Dil in the 2006-released Shahrukh Khan starrer Don. Saif finds her sexy in the song.

“The hairstyle for the song Yeh Mera Dil was very sexy. And my husband always tells me even though you’re overweight (in the song) you looked very sexy,” says Kareena.

“That’s the best compliment for me,” said Kareena at an event organised by Adhuna Bhabani’s hair salon Bblunt. The Heroine actress is paranoid about cutting her hair and thinks hair plays an important part for an actress to portray a role.

“The entire softness of Rosy in Taalash came out because of her hairstyle. Hair plays an important part in building a character,” she said. The mom-to-be said her pregnancy does not affect

her hectic work schedules or her career. “Well I will definitely go on with my normal life. I am a working-woman and there is absolutely nothing wrong in that.

I love my job and am passionate about my work. I have wanted to become an actress ever since I was in my mother’s womb. So I will continue acting all my life until I am 80.”

Talking about Rohit Shetty’s comment on missing Kareena in Golmaal 4, the 35-year-old actress quipped, “Those who have a role for me will come to me, irrespective of me being pregnant or not. Whichever role I do, I am not going to camouflage it on screen. I am proud of this phase (being pregnant) that I am in and there is nothing to hide about it.

Whichever film I choose to do you will see me the way I am.

Right now, I am working on dates so it all depends on how I feel,” she added.

Ileana D’Cruz’s monsoon skin ritual

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ctress Ileana D’Cruz says her monsoon beauty mantra involves a good cleanse ritual and use of the right moisturiser.

Ileana, the face of Pond’s White Beauty, has a special skincare ritual for the monsoon. She has shared it for her fans: Cleansing: “While we all love the rains, we often underestimate the damage this sticky weather can do to our skin. I ditch my regular cleansers for a light gel-based face wash. It removes the dead cells, unclogs pores and helps retain the skin’s natural glow. Cleanse at least two to three times a day and use a soft cloth in place of a towel to dab dry your face. This will avoid stripping off essential oils.”

Moisturising: “Even though it is sticky and humid outside, your skin still needs a light moisturiser to keep it naturally

radiant and hydrated. Using moisturisers that come with ProVitamin B3 has also helped me combat dark spots and reduced dark circles. Even though there is water pouring around, make sure there’s enough going into your system. I double my intake of water to make sure my skin is hydrated. This also strengthens your immunity from skin infections the monsoon brings in.”

ENTERTAINMENT

www.iwk.co.nz | 26 August 2016

Hugh Jackman shaves sideburns as The Wolverine 3 filming wraps

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ctor Hugh Jackman has shaved his famous sideburns, which he had been donning for his role as Marvel character Wolverine after the filming for The Wolverine 3 wrapped up.

After wrapping the shoot of The Wolverine 3, which marks his final appearance as the clawed mutant, Jackman took to Twitter to share a video featuring him shaving off his beard, reports aceshowbiz.com. In the eightsecond-long video, Jackman can be seen staring into the mirror while using an electric razor to remove his iconic sideburns.

“Goodbye. My wife is going to be very happy. Goodbye chops, The Debs,” the 47-year-old actor captioned the image which he shared on his Instagram account.

Jackman had confirmed his final appearance as the clawed mutant in May last year.

“This will be my last one. It is my last time. It felt like it was the right time to do it. Seventeen years, I never thought in a million years it would last this long,” he said. The Wolverine 3 film also sees the return of actor Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier.

The film also stars Boyd Holbrook, Richard E. Grant, Stephen Merchant and Elise Neal.

Directed by James Mangold from a screenplay written

by Michael Green, the final Wolverine solo film will be set in the future, where super villains have taken control over the world.

Paul McCartney’s vegetarian vow for The Simpsons

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eatles legend Paul McCartney persuaded makers of popular animated sitcom The Simpsons to make one of its characters Lisa a vegetarian in exchange for a guest spot.

The Huffington Post reported that the makers of The Simpsons agreed to make Lisa, the family’s

sets in brown and black, which will include a gel pot, eyeliner and brush, to her e-store on August 23, has shared she is “obsessed” with the pink cheeky powder, especially British make-up artist and beauty mogul Charlotte Tilbury’s two-part palette in her Cheek to Chic Swish and Pop cosmetic line.

BUZZ iconic daughter, a vegetarian in exchange for the former Beatle’s agreement to play himself on a 1995 episode called—Lisa The Vegetarian.

Actor Hank Azaria, who has voiced several characters over the course of the show’s 27-series run, told the blog: “I can tell you, over the years, they were tempted a bunch of times to have Lisa break her vegetarian vow.”

He added that they “probably have not because they made that vow to Paul. No, you don’t break a knight’s vow. As we’ve learned from Game Of Thrones, you do that at your own risk.”

The Birdcage actor features in the episode alongside the rock legend, playing Apu, an Indian immigrant character who was a fixture on the programme.

Benedict Cumberbatch to join Thor: Ragnarok gang

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ritish actor Benedict Cumberbatch is expected to make an appearance in Thor: Ragnarok, the third instalment in the Thor film series starring Chris Hemsworth.

There are hints that the Sherlock fame star might join Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Ruffalo in the film as Dr Stephen Strange, a fictional character from forthcoming film Doctor Strange.

A photograph from the Australian set of the film gave hints about his appearance.

The images show Hemsworth in civilian clothes, and holding a business card with a handwritten address on it. It reads: “177A Bleecker St”, reports express. co.uk.

It is the New York address of Dr Stephen Strange. The photographs were uploaded by a fan and later retweeted by the film’s director Taika Waititi.

There isn’t an official confirmation yet on Cumberbatch making an appearance in Thor: Ragnarok. There were also reports that actor Robert Downey Jr might make an appearance in the film as Iron Man. In addition to Hiddleston and Hemsworth, the film stars Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, and Karl Urban.

Thor: Ragnarok will release on November 3, 2017, and Doctor Strange will release in New Zealand on the October 20 this year.

29

Kim Kardashian spotted without wedding ring

A happy ending,” Harington said before having the script.

“If there’s any sort of win or heroic moment for Jon and everyone else. I think it’s going to get very dark before it gets better.

“I think what we might see this season is those White Walkers and that Army of the Dead really come into force. So that’s going to be exciting to see. I don’t know what it means. I think with the whole ‘winter is finally here’ business, it means everyone is going to have a really bad time,” Harington added.

mid rumours that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are heading for divorce, the reality TV star has been seen ditching her wedding ring several times during her vacation in Mexico.

Kylie Jenner wants to release foundations, blushers

Khal Drogo back in Game of Thrones?

T

he character Khal Drogo might just be back in Season 7 of popular fantasy drama TV series Game Of Thrones after a brief stint in the series’ first season, if rumours are anything to go by.

It is being speculated that Jason Momoa—who essayed Drogo in Season 1 of the series and briefly during a vision in the second season—before being killed off, is set to reprise his role as he was seen hanging out with Game of Thrones show runners David Benioff and Dan Weiss in Ireland where the filming is taking place, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Actress Maisie Williams, who essays the role of Arya Stark, took to her Twitter handle and posted: “Just finished reading Season 7.

S**t gets real. I’d start preparing yourselves now. Scratch that, nothing will prepare you for this.

Holy Ba**s.”

Actor Kit Harington, who plays the role of Jon Snow, also shared what to expect from the next season. “I think it’s going to get very bleak before if there is a

R

eality TV personality Kylie Jenner wants to release foundations, blushers, concealers and bronzers under Kylie Cosmetics.

She shared her aspirations for this year on her website thekyliejenner.com, reports femalefirst.co.uk. She wrote: “I can’t believe I’m 19!!! When I look back at the past year and all that has happened, it’s seriously crazy. I can’t even imagine what this next year will bring—not only for me, but for my friends and family too! Check out some of my hopes and dreams for my 19th year! Kylie Cosmetics dream achievement: I want to release foundations, concealers, blushes and bronzers!” Kylie, who launched two new eye liner

Kim was spotted without the band when she was walking on the beach with her two children, son Saint and daughter North, reports aceshowbiz.com.

The 35-year-old also showed her ring-less finger in some of her latest Instagram images, including one that was taken on a yacht.

There have been numerous reports about Kim and Kanye’s alleged troubled marriage. One of the rumours claims that Kim “is making a statement” by appearing without her wedding ring in front of paparazzi.

Kim has indeed been enjoying her holiday in Mexico sans Kanye, who is currently preparing himself to kick off his Saint Pablo tour, which comes in support of his latest album, The Life of Pablo.

30

FEATURES

26 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Sandy keeps listeners ‘driven’ Sandy Sekhon requires no introduction to most Kiwi-Indians who listen to the radio. Her popular evening show ‘Drive’ on Humm FM might be your constant companion while driving back home from work in Auckland. You’ve heard her voice; now it is time to meet the face behind one of the most popular radio shows. Indian Weekender spoke to Sekhon to find out more about her passion for the broadcast industry and what glues her audience to her shows. ¡¡ Esha Chanda

did for 30 hours) for encouraging listeners to bring Christmas gifts for underprivileged kids through Auckland City Mission.

In those hours, we went through different phases—we laughed, played games on air, and heard emotional stories of various people. Kids saved their pocket money to donate gifts; senior citizens wanted to come and drop off gifts themselves in spite of their health concerns.

IWK: What inspired you to get into the radio industry?

Sandy Sekhon, RJ

Sandy: I have always been a movie buff and music is my lifeline.

Few get to do the job they love doing. Radio is a medium through which you can talk to many people.

I love sharing thoughts, views and opinions with people from different walks of life, and in turn, find great friends in my listeners. Another thing that interests me is being creative, as the industry demands to be creative in the stipulated time you have on-air. I don’t think any other job throws this challenge of proving your creativity in such a short span of time.

It’s critical to understand your listeners and to gauge their interest and then, of course, sustain it through the medium of audio.

IWK: Why did you decide to move to New Zealand?

Sandy: New Zealand, as they say in true love, is easy to fall for and difficult to get over. It is one of most beautiful and serene country everyone would want to settle in. It is a country that is home to glaciers, volcanoes, geothermal pools, white sand beaches, caves illuminated by glowworms, waterfalls, mountains, and most importantly, it offers work life balance.

IWK: What has been the highlight of your career?

Sandy: At Humm FM, I have covered inspirational, funny and even emotional stories. At times, listeners call and share stories that touch your heart. I remember one lady who called me and told that

her only friend is the radio box with whom she laughs and talks.

I would say that the highlight of my career was when we were preparing the India Independence Day documentary where we covered freedom fighters and prominent Indians personalities.

Through this, I came across a lot of lesser-known facts from history books. Another highlight includes

Indian Women Expo

Date: Saturday, August 27 Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Venue: Cantebury Horticulture Centre, 57 Riccartan Avenue Indian Women expo will see 40 stalls for fashion, beauty, house, art and culture, business, taste, health and education and have raffle prizes to be won. Admission is free for all. For more details, contact Archna Tandon on 021 032 0915 or archnatandon13@gmail.com.

Paryushan

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

Radiothon, Appeal for Fiji Cyclone Relief Fund and celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema. It was also a privilege to be part of first-ever Bollywood Movie in the Park by Humm FM. IWK: Humm FM’s Radiothon caught a lot of attention from its listeners. Tell us a little about the initiative.

Sandy: The Radiothon experience was overwhelming. It was one of the best experiences in my life to be a part of a 54-hour Radiothon (I

CAB Manurewa session on employment Date: Saturday, 3 September 2016 Time: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Venue: Manurewa Library Community Room, 7 Hill Road, Manurewa

Participants at the session can find out about how to search for work, develop your CV and gain knowledge about their employment rights. For more information, call Patricia Pera at 0211222014 or Armmajit Kaur at 0211421855 or e-mail at settlement.manurewa@cab.org.nz

Pakuranga Toastmasters

Date: Monday, September 5 and 19 Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Venue: Te Tuhi Centre for the Arts, 13 Reeves Rd, Pakuranga Founded in 1975, Pakuranga Toastmaster provides a safe, friendly, welcoming and fun environment for people of all walks of life to build confidence, leadership skills, and improve their communication and

Hearing inspiring stories and meeting people from different walks of life, was a whole new experience. There were scores of gifts given away that ranged from small toys, large, stuffed toys to bicycles. Aucklanders donated a majority of them, but some came from Wellington and as far as from Melbourne in Australia too. During the 54-hour Radiothon, Humm FM received a total of 1,861 gifts that were handed over to Auckland City

public speaking skills. Themes, props, and sense of humour are ingredients that allow participants to learn and grow in a fun environment. Admission is free.

CAB Workshops

Parenting workshop in English and Chinese Date: English groups on Monday, August 29, September 5, 12, 19 and on Friday, September 2, 9, 16, 23 Time: 10 a.m. to noon Venue: Manaia Room, Pakuranga Library Building, 7 Aylesbury St Pakuranga Citizens Advice Bureau CAB will be holding a free parenting workshop for all families with children up to 12 years old, living in Counties Manukau. Participants can learn to deal with difficult parenting issues by observing, discussing, and practicing positive parenting strategies. Workbooks and tip sheets will be provided. Register by calling 021459520 or drop an e-mail at settlement.pakuranga@cab.org.nz.

Mission for distribution before Christmas Day. IWK: Tell us a little about your show Humm FM Drive.

Sandy: I do the show with my co-host Dev from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. It is a daily dosage of unlimited fun and entertainment along with updates on what’s happening in the city. From current hit songs of Bollywood, celeb interviews, celluloid world news, interactive storytelling to Bheja Fry questions (fun, logical questions and riddles), we love entertaining and engaging listeners who are driving back home from work through our Power Drive.

IWK: What do you think glues audiences to certain shows and presenters?

Sandy: It’s critical to understand your listeners and to gauge their interest and then, of course, sustain it through the medium of audio.

There is an on-going chase between creativity and time. Listeners have varied interest areas, and the best way to connect with them is through our humour and hot topics to drive more engagement, healthy debates, and by taking active feedback.

IWK: What would you suggest to the ones who are starting out in the industry?

Sandy: Don’t be superficial; just be yourself because this helps in connecting with the listeners.

If you have a passion for radio and love for music, nothing can stop you.

Thursday late nights at Hunters Plaza

Date: Thursday, August 18 to 27 Time: August 18 to September 5, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

August 27, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

September 3 at noon September 8 at 7 p.m.

Venue: 217 Great South Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland To celebrate Hunter Plaza’s $20,000 Home Makeover Shop to Win, they will be holding entertainment evening for families on Thursday night leading up to a prize draw. Attend Mr Higgins cookie tasting and participate in face painting from August 18 to September 2 or view performances on August 27.

There is also a performance from Storm Dance Troupe on September 3, which will be followed by the lucky prize draw on September 8. There are also Interior Design Workshops with Coopers Interiors on Thursday, August 25 at 6:30 p.m.

Shelter Realty

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3101-, 3103 Great North Rd, New Lynn, Auckland 0600 T. 09 825 1000 F. 09 826 3095 E. newlynn@harcourts.co.nz | www.shelterrealty.nz

52 Rosebank Road, Avondale, Auckland 06 T. 09 820 0024 F. 09 828 1346 E. avondale@harcourts.co.nz | www.shelterrealty.nz

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