INDIAN WEEKENDER

The Pulse of Kiwi-Indians Auckland • Christchurch • Wellington • Hamilton • Palmerston North • Hastings • Invercargill

31 July, 2015 | Vol. 7 Issue 19 | www.iwk.co.nz

New Zealand’s first Kiwi-Indian weekly newspaper

SALAAM KALAM:Bidding farewell to

the people’s president

INDIATRADE ALLIANCEBRIDGINGTHE GAP

HOW SAFE ARE YOU:COMMUNITY SPEAKS

31 July 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz

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www.iwk.co.nz | 31 July 2015

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3EXCLUSIVE

How safe are you? Talking incidents in our community¡¡ Kumar SureSh and

rizwan mohammad

Last week we initiated a discussion around how safe does everyone

feel in our beautiful city called Auckland. This has given rise to many a discussion and people coming forward with their stories. This week we bring you several stories of what has actually happened to some of our people. A few people who were willing to share their stories wish to remain anonymous but were still willing to share nonetheless. There seem to be some trends that seem to come through. In a lot of the instances there seems to be a hesitation in reporting an incident, in others there have been reports and perceived inaction on the part of the Police. We bring these stories to you not because they make interesting reads but so that we can all learn from them and be more aware of the times we live in.

While awareness can be a great contributor to your personal and property safety there are other resources, online and in the community that can be tapped into. The consistent messaging from the Police is that at the end of the day, your personal safety is in your own hands and in the face of a high risk situation, fore warned is fore armed.

We came across a wealth of information being shared by Neighbourhood Support in how you and your neighbours can help Police by providing a good description of anyone you see acting suspiciously or committing a crime.

If you see someone acting suspiciously write down what you see as soon as possible. Make a note of the most obvious features by which this person can be identified.

If you do see a crime being committed, dial 111 immediately and ask for Police. Keep calm,

give your name, address and telephone number. Report where and what is happening. Stay on the phone and, if you can safely, keep watching and write down any further description.

It’s important to try and build up a complete picture of a person from head to toe. Were they carrying anything e.g. a weapon? Were they smoking? Were there any other characteristics of note about the person? If you heard them speak, did they have an accent or speech impediment? What did they say?

If a vehicle is involved, write down the registration number, colour, make and model. Observe if it was damaged or rusty. Did it have any writing on it? Which way did it leave the area?

Also remember to keep a record of the time and date of your observations. These details can be very useful when giving a statement to Police and can help piece together the chain of events.

It is important to report incidents for the sake of your own safety and the safety of the community.

We hope reading the stories that follow help you to ask your own questions or help you prepare

better for your safety at all times. We will take these stories back to the Police to get some advice when faced with situations such as these and bring these back to you in the final and concluding part in our next issue.

15 May 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz

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8 NEW ZEALAND

30-year-old dairy shop shuts after robbery & assault¡¡ RIZWAN MOHAMMAD

A jit Singh Sagoo, owner of the Ulster Street Dairy Shop, celebrated

the store’s 30th anniversary in January this year, but fate took a drastic turn after a recent robbery prompted the family to shut the dairy and put it up for lease.

In 1985, Ajit Singh Sagoo—one of the first few diary shop owners during the time—started the Ulster Street Dairy in Hamilton. He migrated from England to Hamilton in 1975 with his family and worked as a professor of Physics, Applied Mathematics and Calculus at the Fairfield College. 10 years later, he established the first dairy shop of Hamilton.

On Friday, 11 April, around 7.30 pm, Mr Ajit was at his shop when a masked man stormed into the store, pointed a gun to his head and demanded for money from the counter. After initial resistance, the man assaulted Mr Ajit, who sustained chest and neck injuries and had his jaws dislocated.

“He hurt my neck and when the man pushed me, I hurt the back of my head. His fist punch left a sore on my chest, which is less painful now, and the right side of my face is still a little swollen,” said Mr Ajit.

After pushing Mr Ajit into the shelves behind him, the burglar snatched all the cash from the drawer, broke the glass panes of the store and ran towards the school behind the store. Mr Ajit

ran towards the gate and called the police. As the offender’s face was covered with a balaclava, the police have not been able to identify the man even after extensively going through the CCTV footage from the store. The footage has revealed that a fake gun was used in the burglary .

The cops sealed the shop and an ambulance took Mr Ajit to Waikato Hospital to check for injuries and internal bleeding. Mr Ajit’s son, who is the president of the Motel Association of Waikato, was away for a function that evening.

The news of assault spread quickly to the community and the people living in that area.

“There has been immense support from the community. People have been sending their kind messages and flowers ever since,” added Mr Ajit.

79-year-old Ajit, who hails from Punjab, lives with his three sons and seven grandchildren in the house he built alongside the Ulster Street Motel. The incident has not only cost an estimated $1,000 in cash but also traumatised the whole family to such an extent that they have decided to shut shop.

Mr Ajit is a highly respected individual and well known in the community for his down to earth nature. He is also a Justice of Peace.

“The robbery was a big blow to me and my family since such an incident has never happened in my 30 years of residing in this area. Every time I think about the attack, it brings back the horror from that evening,” said Mr. Ajit.

Interest-free home loans... possible?¡¡ RIZWAN MOHAMMAD

The Muslim community’s belief of not taking and giving interest, as it

creates an imbalance in the society with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, has given rise to a dilemma for Muslims living in New Zealand. Should they compromise on their faith and opt for home loans on interest from national banks or should they not buy a home at all? Sara Jawaad has been living in New Zealand for the past 10 years. A former dental therapist and hygienist by profession in Pukekohe, she is currently teaching alternative education in college and resides in Manukau.

Sara, who has a big family comprising of her husband, two kids, sister and parents, is struggling to find an avenue that will provide her with an interest-free home loan so that she does not have to

compromise on her faith. The only option open to her is if the bank buys the house on, so they own the house and resell it again on profit. In this scenario, the bulk payment is subtracted from the original selling price and the balance can be paid in regular instalments.

This scheme of buying house and using the profit as interest is not prevalent in New Zealand but

is practised in Australia, the US and UK. In her research Sara found that this finance model was practiced in New Zealand by few small firms in 2006 and 2007 but none could survive the global recession.

The couple is looking for a similar alternate medium of getting finance. They have put forth their application in BNZ, ASB and Westpac hoping for an authorisation of the finance model, but they haven’t received a response from any bank yet.

“It has almost been a year since I started applying but whoever I speak to would refer me to the next person.”

They also came across the Amanah Saver Scheme that was recently introduced in New Zealand mostly for the Muslim community.

“In Amanah, the money is invested in halal trade and it grows, so they are considering of providing options to buy houses for Muslims. But they need to grow their business with Kiwi Saver first, so they need

more people to join in Kiwi Saver, invest in their money and that will generate an income that will provide a base to buy houses and sell it to the Muslim community. But that is a long-term proposal and it will need a lot of commitment from the community to change their Kiwi Saver and there is a long wait,” says Sara.

Sara further mentions that she knows many others from her community who have taken house loans on interest because they were left with no choice. She is seeking an option where she doesn’t have to choose between her faith and financial stability.

There are different models that can be applied such as a trust where everyone contributes and a house is purchased. One family occupies the house and their contribution gives them their share of the house. The rest is owned by the remaining members of the trust. The occupant family pays the rent and eventually

when the full value of the property is paid, the ownership is transferred to the occupant and the money collected can be used to fund another house.

“It is like renting your own house for some time until the full value of the house is paid and then the house belongs to you,” says Sara.

“We are using examples from around the world. We have lawyers, accountants and financial advisors and we are trying to formulate something so that families such as mine can afford to buy house in the future with different schemes and not just on loans with interest. The important thing to consider is that the Muslim population is increasing and they will have to own a house eventually, so why not adopt or introduce a method to cater to their needs? After all, they too are paying their taxes in due time and they are as much citizen of this nation as anyone else,” concluded Sara.

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Indian student found dead at Mission BayA 22-year-old native of

Karnal, Manjit Singh, was found dead under

suspicious circumstances at Mission Bay, Auckland.

A local woman saw the body at around 6.30am on Wednesday (13 May) while walking her dog.

Manjit was scheduled to get a management degree on June 20 and his parents were planning to visit New Zealand to celebrate the occasion.

However, the family received a telephone call from Auckland in the wee hours of Wednesday that Manjit was found dead with injury marks on his face.

Deceased’s father Jeet Singh and others met the local deputy commissioner to get back the body at the earliest for the last rites.

“My nephew Navneet Singh called me at around 4am today about this tragic incident. Manjit called us yesterday to inform that he was leaving to meet a relative in the vicinity. But he never reached there and his body was found nearly 40km away from his apartment,” said Jeet Singh while suspecting that his son was

killed by someone due to ulterior motive.

“Manjit had been studying at International College of Auckland for the past two years and never faced any problem. Some of our close relatives are settled in Auckland and Manjit never complained of any issue with anyone,” he said.

He said that a woman while strolling on the sea beach spotted the body and informed the police about it.

Following verification of official documents recovered from the body, the Auckland police identified Manjit and informed his local contacts about his death.

Meanwhile, the deceased’s father said that he was told that the police had spotted two suspects on the basis of CCTV footage, who were taking meals separately at the restaurant where Manjit was also seen.

“We have been informed that body may be brought back about after 12 days. But I only want the body flown back at the earliest to enable us perform the last rites,” he said.

www.iwk.co.nz | 12 June 2015

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Another broad daylight burglary perplexes residents¡¡ RIZWAN MOHAMMAD

A broad day light burglary has again raised concerns for the safety and security of residents in Auckland.

Ajay has been working at a convenience store in Mt Roskill and stays in a rented house on Fruitvale Road in New Lynn.

Ajay lives with his wife, eight year old daughter and a young working male. This is the second time since December that this address has been targeted. It was on the 4th of June, Thursday between 1 pm and 3 pm, that this theft is reported to have taken place. The burglars entered the house by breaking the door lock, took a laptop placed in the dining room, entered the bedroom and opened every possible cabinet and sifted through suitcases.

The items reported missing were gold jewellery worth $1000 to $1200, $1200 cash in Indian currency, some household items and boxes from the bedroom.

“None of the suitcases are now usable since the burglars broke opened and tore them from inside too” says Ajay.

When Ajay’s wife arrived home after picking her daughter from school, she saw the door open and the whole house ravaged.

“The whole bedroom was trampled like anything, cupboard and drawers wide open, the suitcases upside down, clothes thrown, documents lying on the floor, the whole house was in a mess,” added Ajay’s wife.

After listening to the news Ajay drove back to his house from the store and called the police. The reponse he received from 111 was that there was no one around to respond to the report immediately and they could log a complaint. “There was no prompt action taken by the police, no one from the authorities came to the scene and the complaint number too was given the next day when I called up and asked for an update” added Ajay.

“I am not satisfied by the way the police reacted. We work so hard day and night, trying to save every penny, but when such things happen and the delay in action really is really upsetting.” mentions Ajay’s wife.

A month back Ajay’s car was stolen from his drive way but was found in Mt Roskill 3 days later, after he paid $300 to get it back from Otahuhu yard.

Two weeks back two similar burglaries were reported in Rimu Street and Maioro Street. The residents are worried about their safety with the rise in the number of thefts in the central areas of Auckland. Most of these houses are rented and do not have any alarms or security doors.

A month ago two thefts were reported in two convenience stores in Henderson and in Mt. Roskill, that were covered by Indian Weekender, issue dated May 22, 2015. No progress has been updated by the police yet in either of the two cases.

NEW ZEALAND22 May 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz

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6 NEW ZEALAND

Kiwi-Indian girl, Parie Malhotra, qualifies for Robotics World ChampionshipsParie Malhotra is a member

of and the team manager for Robotics at Mount Albert

Grammar School (MAGS). One of MAGS’ two Robotics teams has qualified to represent New Zealand at the World Robotics Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, in April 2015.

Mount Albert Grammar School has Robotics as a co-curricular activity since 2008. Students meet every Tuesday after school for about 2 hours and learn to make robots. However, once students get involved, it is very common for the team members to meet not only during lunch breaks, but also on weekends at their houses. Despite robot parts being quite expensive, the membership is under $100 per year in order to encourage more and more students to join.

Parie is the only girl member of the MAGS Robotics team. Traditionally, this field has been male dominated however girls are beginning to make their mark. Parie has always been interested in science and has been encouraged and supported by her family.

Her hobbies not only include building robots, LEGO, star gazing and helping her dad with DIY projects but also doing orienteering, playing lacrosse, squash, debating, camping, tramping and girl guiding. Despite all the co-curricular activities, she also actively participates in serving the community. She is fascinated by the “problem solving” knack, and plans to become an aerospace engineer one day!

Worldwide Robotics competition is held annually by an American Company named VEX since 2007. The game project is declared each year, this year’s being “Skyrise”. Participants are to make robots that play the game fast, accurately and get high scores.

MAGS team is made up of Parie Malhotra (year 12), Harry Duncan (year 13) and Alex Boyd (year 13). They and the other MAGS team spent the weekend of 28 February - 1 March at the National Championships at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau.

Nearly 70 teams competed. Both MAGS teams were placed in the top 10 in their divisions and made it to

the semi-finals. Although the second team was

eliminated at that stage, Parie, Harry and Alex won the National Design Award, qualifying them for

the World Championships. They are one of seven teams to qualify from New Zealand.

In winning the Design Award the judges commented on the

professional presentation of the team’s 100-page document, and their interview. The team was also shortlisted for the overall Excellence Award.

Parie as a team manager is responsible for liaison and communication, with the school as well as the national organization - Kiwibots New Zealand, who oversee Robotics in New Zealand.

This is the second time MAGS has qualified for the World Robotics Championships - in 2010 the school won the National Championships. The 2015 team would be heading to Kentucky for participating in the competition from 15 to 18 April. Their trip is partly sponsored by The Royal Society of New Zealand and the rest is to be raised by students.

The team is going to compete for design as well as for the robots. Currently they are making necessary changes to their robots and busy fundraising.

Your contribution, made through the “Givealittle” page, would be highly appreciated. The link is http://givealittle.co.nz/cause/magsroarbotix.

Parie Malhotra (year 12), Harry Duncan (center- year 13) and Alex Boyd (year 13).

Indian born in NZ wins competition against racismAn India-born teen’s

prescription to combat racism has earned her

the title in the national Race Unity Speech Competition in New Zealand.

Kimberly D’Mello, a class 12 student at Tauranga’s Aquinas College, in the North Island, won the competition at Te Mahurehure Marae in Pt Chevalier, Auckland on Saturday night, the online Stuff reported .

D’Mello, who was born in India but raised in New Zealand, made it through regional finals, heats and then the final eight at the speech competition to win NZ$1,000 for her school and NZ$1,000 for herself.

“Do not wait for someone else. Do it yourself. Do not get someone else to fix the problem. Do it yourself and don’t rely on the Aussies,” she told the crowd during her seven-minute speech. Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy, who was one of the judges, said D’Mello had “captured the fundamental essence of human rights”.

“We are all responsible for the kind of country and community we

live in,” she said.D’Mello, speaking from her home

in Tauranga on Sunday, admitted to some nerves on the night but said it was good to perform in front of such a large audience.

The student said she had not experienced racism herself but she had seen a lot of it. The theme of the night, however, was about bringing people together, so that is what she focussed on, she said.

Two thefts in a week raises questions on safety in Auckland¡¡ RIZWAN MOHAMMAD

A variety shop owner in Auckland reported two thefts in a matter of one

week in two of his five stores in Auckland.

Stop n Shop, a chain of variety stores in Auckland owned by Mr Varun Makol has been broke-in twice in a week at different locations. The owner estimated the theft to be around $1000 in cash and an estimated $2000 in goods from each store apart from broken glasses at the entrance and inside the stores.

On the night of Saturday 9th May 2015 between 2 am and 3 am the first theft occurred at the Henderson branch of the shop. The burglar appearing to be an islander between the age of 15 and 20 broke the entrance glass of the store, opened the cash counter taking all the cash and expensive goods from the store.

Though the alarm was triggered, the security rang the owners and asked if they need to report at the store. The store had previous instances of false alarm going off, the owner who was not in town asked his manager to report to the store and shut the alarm. The manager on arrival discovered that it was a theft and called the police in the wee hours of the morning.

The police reported the incident and also took the footage from the CCTV installed in the store.

Again on Wednesday morning between 2.30 am to 3 am, the

alarm at the Glen Eden store went off, by the time the owner reached the store along with the security company, the intruders had already left the premises leaving the cash counter empty and $1500- $2000 worth goods missing.

Varun Makol who again gave the CCTV footage of the store to the police reported his dissatisfaction with the attitude of the authorities. He mentions police have not been able to ascertain any information about the intruders although they have some evidence and image of the thief via CCTV. No one has been arrested on this case yet.

“The way the thefts have happened in both stores, I am pretty sure it is the work of one group because they have taken the same expensive goods from both shops and broke in the same way and around same time of the night”

Varun recalls that the police instead of reporting the theft blamed him for keeping expensive goods at his store and mentions

that they have been delaying their investigation.

“When I called the police and reported the theft they asked me unnecessary questions about the store instead of coming here at once. Then person on 111 asked me if I have an insurance, when I said yes he said don’t worry insurance will pay your damages”

“They don’t know that the insurance only pays limited amount and has extensive rules on that too, plus damage caused to the property is not covered by the insurance. How can they take it so lightly?” said Mr Varun.

Mr Varun added that the total damage taking into account the cash, goods and properties broken is estimated to be around $10000 and will take months to compensate it back into business.

Mr Varun concluded that he was not happy with the way the police were investigating since there were no developments in the case yet and nothing positive has across him by the police in the last 2 weeks.

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4 EXCLUSIVE

Tanu, Proprietor, South Auckland

I have been managing this business for many years, and in my experience, I have

realised that this place is safer compared to others. I have often heard stories

of thefts and mugging from the community and friends. There have been times

when we were intimidated by groups of teenagers roaming around under the influence

of alcohol. On many occasions when we sense trouble, we shut our shop early.

Last month, a teenage girl stopped by our shop and offered a $300 dress for $200.

You could make out clearly that she was drunk. We sent her away by politely saying

that we bought garments only from our supplier and that we didn’t deal in western

apparel. She returned after some time and pretended to look around the store. And

right in front of our eyes, she picked up stuff from our shop. We felt helpless and did

not know how to react. We only had lady staff present that day and, therefore, asked

help from our neighbours. But by then, the girl had left the store. I was afraid to report

the incident to the police, as I had seen the girl many times in and around the area and

didn’t want more trouble from her or her friends.

Anonymous Student, Central Auckland

Last year my $150 bike along with accessories worth $100 was stolen from Hamilton CBD. The bike was locked at the cycle stand in front of ANZ Bank ATM terminal in the city. I lodged a complaint with the police that evening. Since that was my only mode of commutation around the city, I had to buy a new bike the next morning. I parked my second bike in the Wintec campus and went for my classes. I returned after 2 hours and found the second bike was stolen too. I bought a third bike the next day and after three months that was stolen too, once again from the Wintec campus. In all the three cases, the cameras installed nearby would have caught the burglar, but the police made no progress with the case.Since I had student insurance from India, I claimed $500 for the bikes and the accessories, but I received only $22. The insurance company sighted some rules and denied anything more than $22 in return. Few months later, when I was walking past the campus, a man hit me slightly on the head from behind. When I turned back, he gave me a stern look, came close, showed me the middle finger and left. I did not respond to him but complained to the security officer of the campus. I was asked to complain to the police if the incident occurred again.

Anonymous Student, West Auckland

It was eight in the evening. I was on my way back home from college when

I realised that six well-built teenagers had been following me. Soon, they

surrounded me and questioned about my ethnicity and my purpose of moving

to New Zealand. They abused me and accused me of stealing their jobs. They asked

me for money. As I handed them a couple of coins, I thought they would let me

go. But they didn’t. One of the boys pulled down his trousers and started making

vulgar and obscene gestures. The two girls from the group snatched my bag. The

remaining continued to abuse me. They seemed drunk. I somehow managed to

break free and ran for almost 10 minutes without looking back. I got to a bus stop

and boarded one to Britomart.

When I took the incidence to my college administrators, I was asked to not

approach the police. They changed the timings of my classes and advised all the

students to move in groups after dark.

AnonymousJewellery shop owner, South AucklandA couple of years ago, a family friend, who also owns a jewellery store, had a burglary at his stop. A customer had just left the shop when two armed men entered the store. The customer, sensing something was wrong, called the cops. The police, instead of acting quickly, asked unnecessary questions such as the appearance of the men and what they were wearing. The men were in the shop for six minutes. The police turned up 12 minutes after the thieves had left the scene. A person on the road even followed the burglars in his car and reported about their whereabouts, but the police did not show any interest in the information. Instead, they took the shop owner and the staff to the police station and questioned them for more than three hours.

They were only concerned about whether the store was insured. Once the owner confirmed, the situation was not dealt with any seriousness. We know how insurance companies work. The maximum they pay is 40% of the claimed money and at times, it feels as if the insurance is also a scam.We run our business with fear. We even tell people that the jewels at our store are imitations. As a method of precaution, we do not keep the store open after 6 pm. Police is hardly a force to reply on.


Red Black Orange

5EXCLUSIVE

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Ramanjit Singh Works at liquor store, Central Auckland

I have been assaulted four times in three years. Two of the four attacks were

extremely scary. Earlier when I was working in Otahuhu, I was hit by a rod

on my back as I tried stopping theft at the liquor shop where I worked. I went

behind the person to get everything he had stolen, which led to a fist fight.

The second time, I was held at gunpoint. Although the police caught the culprits

within two to three days, one of them was left off, as he was a juvenile. The other one

was sentenced to five years in prison.

When I look back at these incidents, I feel that Auckland is not a safe city,

especially for the ones working in dairy and liquor shops that are open till late.

Often my friends have shared stories of how they have been assaulted and mugged.

The police usually advise us not to get into a fight and to back off in case of danger.

But when your personal safety is under threat, things can turn ugly. The only

message that I can give is to be brave because the weaker you are, the stronger the

criminals get.

Anonymous Student, West Auckland

One day after college, when I was waiting at the bus stop, four teenage boys joined me. They were shouting, singing and abusing at each other. After a while, they came up to me and tried selling drugs. When I politely declined, they sat next to me. One of them started a conversation with me while the other started to go through my bag. When I saw a bus approaching, they did not let me board it. One of the boys pulled out a knife and started to play with it. Although their tone was friendly, their actions were not. This continued for 10 minutes until they took away some money from my bag and left.

When I shared the story with my friends, I was advised to not report the incidence to the police, as they thought I could be falsely accused of drug abuse. My father has taken a loan to send me to New Zealand. I couldn’t risk everything he has done for me. If I would be accused or framed for using illegal drugs, it would ruin my career and my permit to stay in the country could be revoked.

Continued on Page 6


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Anonymous South Auckland

I leave from work every evening at six and every other day, there is a car parked

right outside the parking place, which makes it impossible for me to take my

car out on the road. One day, I saw a group of people standing next to the car. I

approached them and asked if any of them was the owner. When they replied saying

no, I waited for nearly half an hour before one of the men from the group entered

the car and drove away! The next day, when the same incident repeated, I called the

police station, which is just a couple of blocks away, but they hung up three times

before I could tell them about my problem. By that time, the car owner had left with

his car and so the police asked me to call them back if I faced the problem again.

But after that incident, I don’t trust the police anymore and so have changed my

parking arrangements.

Ajay Sharma West Auckland

I live in New Lynn and I have had my car stolen and house broken into on two separate occasions. I filed a complaint with the police and the investigation went on for a couple of weeks. After some time, the police told me that the case would

be closed, as they were unable to trace the culprit.In a similar kind of incident, a burglary took place at my friend’s shop, and the

police still couldn’t nab the thieves in spite of having CCTV footage of the crime to work with. The police failed again. I feel that in Auckland, no one can depend on the police for safety.

Anonymous Nurse, North Shore

Once, after I had finished my shift at the hospital, I stopped by a store to buy groceries. When I was about to enter my car parked in the parking lot, a few well-built men came up to me and started a conversation. I tried to avoid them, but one of them asked if I worked as a nurse in a hospital. I wasn’t wearing my uniform and so was taken aback by the question. Looking back now, I feel that they had followed me. They questioned about my ethnicity and asked if I had any drugs with me. Their tone was intimidating. When they asked me for money, I pulled out a $20 note, handed it to them and drove away. The police were not helpful when I reported the incident. Now I just make sure that when it is dark, I don’t stop for any reason until I reach home.

Anonymous Pizza delivery boy, South Auckland

Students often work as pizza delivery boys. We have faced many cases where our boys have been assaulted in the middle of empty roads or at poorly lit parking lots. They have been beaten up and robbed off the money they have. Recently, we stopped delivery to places where such incidents take place. But the miscreants have devised new methods of harassment. They ask for delivery at a new place, where they wait for the pizza boy. Fast food joints do not report such incidents, as it can spoil the brand reputation, and also because they fear a backlash from troublemakers. The police are aware about the situation but have done nothing to put an end to this problem.

Karan Verma Works at a liquor store, Central Auckland

I feel that Auckland as a whole is safe. It is a bit of bad luck if you or anyone you know has been a victim of mugging or burglary, as it can happen to anyone, anywhere in the world. I work for a liquor store and contrary to the belief, I have always felt safe at work. At the restaurant I was previously working, which is considered to be a safer environment, my colleagues were mugged at parking lots on multiple occasions.At times, I feel that it also depends on which part of Auckland you live in. For example, I feel it is a lot safer in CBD compared to other places in south and west Auckland. The only disappointing thing is the way police handles the case. They question the victims as if it was their mistake to be at the wrong place at wrong time. If the police buckle up, the crime rate would fall drastically in our city.


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Dairy With Lotto In Central Auckland With Accommodation Weekly Sales $15,500 Approx Asking $139,000 +Stock Ref 44797 (UNDER CONTRACT)Dairy With 3 Bedroom Accommodation In East Auckland Asking $195,000+Stock Ref 44838Dairy with Lotto in Central AucklandWeekly Sales $15,500 (incl Lotto) Asking $149,000+Stock Ref 44951 Dairy/Takeaway With 3 Bedroom Accommodation In Pukekohe Weekly Sales $7,000 Approx Asking $85,000 + Stock Ref 44634Dairy In Manukau Weekly Sales $7,000 Approx Asking $45,000 + Stock 44867 (UNCONDITIONAL) Dairy In Prime Location In Double Grammar School Zone Weekly Sales $6,000 Approx Asking $45,000 + Stock Ref 45000

Dairy and Grocery Store in South Auckland Weekly Sales $8,000 Approx Asking $59,000 + Stock Ref 44990 Dairy with 3 Bedroom Accommodation in North Shore Weekly Sales $8,000 Approx Asking $85,000 + Stock Ref 44999 (UNDER CONTRACT)Dairy in Auckland Weekly Sales $9,000 Approx Asking $40,000 + Stock Ref 45048Dairy & Fruit & Vege Shop in West Auckland Weekly Sales $8,000 Approx Asking $59,000 + Stock Ref 45026 Fruit & Vege Shop in North Shore Weekly Sales $7,000 Approx Asking $59,000 + Stock Ref 45001 Freehold Option AvailableDairy With Accommodation in Hawkes Bay Weekly Sales $40,000 Approx Asking $490,000 +Stock Ref 45049 Freehold Option Available

Dairy in Hamilton Weekly Sales $14,000 Approx Asking $195,000 +Stock Ref 45025Dairy in Whanganui, Same Vendor for past 9 years Weekly Sales $12,000 Approx Asking $160,000+Stock Ref 44929Dairy in Auckland Weekly Sales $14,000 Approx Asking $149,000+Stock Ref 45077 Dairy in East Auckland Weekly Sales $9,000 Approx Asking $99,000 + Stock Ref 45087Dairy in Auckland Cheap Rent $173 Per Week Weekly Sales $7,500 Approx Asking $80,000 + Stock Ref 45075Fruit & Vege In West Auckland Weekly Sales $17,000 Approx Asking $180,000+Stock Ref 44467Fruit & Vege In Auckland Weekly Sales $20,000 Approx Asking $150,000 + Stock 44835

Subway Franchise in Auckland Asking $280,000+Stock Ref 45091 Subway Franchise in Auckland CBD Asking $180,000+Stock Ref 44741 (UNDER CONTRACT)Subway Franchise in Auckland Asking $250,000+Stock Ref 45092Fast Food Nandos Franchise for Sale in Auckland Asking $149,000+Stock Ref 44876Habitual Fix Franchise for Sale in Auckland Asking $110,000+Stock Ref 45006Franchise 5 Days Cafe in Auckland CBD Weekly Sales $12,000 Approx Asking $159,000 + Stock 44959Liquor Shop In Prime Location Weekly Sales $25,000 Approx Asking $399,000+Stock Ref 44733

Need Asia, but not Asians¡¡ Kumar SureSh

New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland, Rt Hon Winston

Peters in a recent statement said that the government’s immigration policy will limit the chances of New Zealanders finding jobs and finding rental places to live. He was referring to the rules that allow students a grace period post their studies to find job in New Zealand. He also went on to say that it is becoming more difficult for youths of this country, who now have to compete with foreign students staying back after studies for work.

This statement, coming just a week after Labour party’s research and finding of the magical figure of 39.5% relating to Chinese investment in Auckland real estate, one is forced to imagine if this is just the beginning of finding and pinning scapegoats for the spite of the economics in the country.

The major immigrants in New Zealand in the last couple of years have been Indians and Chinese. With many from Asian countries coming to pursue studies in New Zealand, one sector that is really doing well in these tough economic times is the education sector. So this is to imply that, while the investment in the education sector in the country by immigrants is welcome, they themselves are not, once they finish their studies.

One also wonders if the anger that one can so obviously see in these words, is the frustration towards their helplessness and the lack of control on the economic situation in China, which has seen fluctuations in the last six months. Over dependence on China as the main exporter and fall in the currency

prices have just meant that the country is in economic situation from where the relief and respite seems a long time and distance ahead.

One just has to wonder what kind of economic cloud we would be in if not for the IT industry, which most of students from India aspire to work for or for that matter where the dairy industry would be without China, where majority of our milk products is exported.

For a dismal year for air operations in New Zealand, where one saw many changes in tariff and operations even in the state owned Air New Zealand, only saving grace was the report in the increase air traffic and a record 7.2% increase in international passengers at Auckland airport. Even the tourism industry, which is thriving in the country, has been built on the back of good number of Asian tourists flocking the country.

One just needs to give cursory glance at the stats and records to find out the amount of money that is flowing into the country through foreign exchange from Asia. Even the Indian community which make up 5% of New Zealand population, contribute as much as 8% to the GDP growth of the country. To say that the people from countries, which form the backbone of the economy of New Zealand, are not welcome in New Zealand would mean taking forward the west’s colonial mind-set of the past, to the future.


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India Trade Alliance – the need of the hour¡¡ dr richard worth

As India sits on the cusp of taking the next step on the world stage

headed by a visionary, it is timely that New Zealand trade relations with India take a step forward as well. To bridge the existing gap in the Indo – Kiwi trade relations at a time when the markets in China, which is currently our biggest trade partner, seem to be on shaky ground – the launch of the India Trade Alliance is not just timely but is also the need of the hour.

The launch took place with a meeting of its founding members along with elections of a part of the executive committee. The committee currently consists of Giri Gupta QSM, an entrepreneur with business interests in real estate, travel and tourism, hospitality and media as Chairman, Dr Don Brash, Economic and Financial Policy Adviser, Ex Governor of the New Zealand Reserve Bank, Ex leader of the National Party along with myself (Hon

Dr Richard Worth, Monaco’s honorary consul to New Zealand)as Deputy Chairmen and Mr Vijay Goel as Treasurer and Gawan Bakshi as Assisstant Secretary. The current Executive Committee would appoint the balance of the Committee.

Amongst the other heavyweights who make up the founding membership of the alliance are Denis Mcnamara, honorary consul of Mexico and Chairman of New Zealand Committee of the Pacific Economic Co-Operation Council, Alistair Bell, Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister and Board Member of the National Party, Alan Towers, Northern Region Chair, National Party and Mahesh Bindra, Member of Parliament, NZ First.

India Trade Alliance has an India Chapter that is being spearheaded by the luminary Uday Madhav Chitale, Senior Partner at MP Chitale and Co. at Mumbai, Director – ICICI Securities, ICICI Prudential Pension Funds Management amongst many others.

Memberships to India Trade Alliance will shortly

be invited. Although the full details about the aims, objectives and other activities

are yet to be made available, the commitment and passion of its founding members towards

bridging the Indo-Kiwi trade gap was apparent from the inaugural meeting.

Chairman: Giri Gupta, QSM

Treasurer: Vijay Goel

Deputy Chairman: Dr Don Brash

Assistant Secretary: Gawan Bakshi

Deputy Chairman: Hon Dr Richard Worth

Chairman & Convener India Chapter: Uday Madhav Chitale


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Is NZ heading towards recession?¡¡ Kumar SureSh

In the coming weeks, many New Zealand companies are going to announce their

quarterly financial performance.At a time when the New Zealand dollar is standing at all-time low since 2009, it will be a time for a lot of introspection, hard-core analysis of what has gone wrong and importantly, the projection of the annual GDP growth. Coming weeks will give us a peek into the economic whereabouts of the country which is in a tangle over issues related to Greece crisis, hiccups in Chinese economy, interest rate cuts, dairy exports, etc. Many economists have already predicted the annual GDP of no more than 2.0% this year. On the back of New Zealand dollar falling appreciably against USD and AUD, the importers might see their margins falling dramatically and the exporters gaining but, nothing to suggest country’s economy is getting better any time soon.

Dairy prices since March have been down by 40% and the industry, which measures 30% of the country’s exports, is suffering the brunt. Further, things are not looking any bright as the 40% of all the dairy exports from New Zealand, which is going to China has fallen by more than 60% as the Asian Giant itself is reeling

under its own economic slowdown since the start of 2015. The revival of the industry unfortunately seems uncertain at this point of time with first signs of fallout starting to show in the form of job cuts. Dairy giant Fonterra, with an employment base of over 16,000 in the country, is downsizing and has announced its plans of 500 job cuts already.

One of the bright spots in recent times economically, has been the re-building phase of Christchurch, but with the new reports from the banking sectors is that the re-building phase has hit the peak, it will be hard to assume that the earthquake reconstruction phase will have a positive impact on the economic growth like in previous years. The peak that the construction industry has attained will remain for no more than a year or two and it will be wrong to expect it to help bail out the country in this economic crisis.

Another factor that economy would love to hold on to is the Real

estate bubble created in Auckland. This small bubble though, is waiting to explode as the current scenario is precariously holding on to the fact that the job market is healthy and foreign investment is at all-time high. Currently the mortgage on a house is almost 8-10 times that of the average annual income of an Aucklander. Any further change or fall in economy of China or the world will mean doom to people who will end up paying more than the actual cost of the house post the crash in the market.

IT sector, tourism and other industries though are showing good signs, it will be hard to believe that they will in itself be able to stand up and account for a revival of country’s economy. The reserve bank has a big roles to play in coming days and it will be interesting to note if there will be any cuts in the interest rates. For now though, one can only wait and watch and hope that we are not heading to a recession.

Aiming for excellence? It’s still not too lateDo you feel that your

children are struggling with their preparation

for the end of year exams as well as internals?

“It is still not too late!” says Raji Chacko, the director of Brilliance Educare Centre, which is located at 20 Frost Road, Mt Roskill.

“If you haven’t already started, this is the right time to start tuition as most schools concentrate on externals in term 3”.

Started in 2008 by the Husband and wife duo, Brilliance is the first comprehensive afterschool tuition centre in Auckland offering tuitions for most of the school subjects in all 3 streams-NCEA, Cambridge and IB- right from year 1 to 13.

Recently, 25 of their past students graduated from Auckland University and AUT. They have their past students in leading Universities around the globe including the prestigious CALTECH and Bond University

“Almost all our past students have secured University admission in a course of their choice, some of them with full scholarship,” says Lotus Raji.

“With the increased level of competion for University admissions it is always better

to get that ‘extra help’ which unfortunately is lacking in schools.

Many top scholars of most neighbouring schools are students of Brilliance.”

Brilliance have students from different countries and more than 25 schools in and around Auckland, including leading private schools such as ACG, St Kent and Cuthbert’s.

Students travel from West gate, North shore and even Howick to Roskill to attend the classes.

There are exclusive batches for schools such as MRGS, Lynnfield College, AGS, and St Peter’s College.

Brilliance is a proud sponsor of St Peter’s College football and supports Starship, Kids Can and the St Vincent de Paul Society.

For more information visit: www.brillianceducare.co.nz or call 6240829 / 6204690 /

02102405015

Raji Chacko and Lotus Raji


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Agency sought to help reduce cyberbullyingThe search is underway

for an Approved Agency where victims

of cyberbullying can turn to for help, Justice Minister Amy Adams announced this week.

The Agency will be required to work with victims and the offending party to resolve complaints about cyberbullying in a quick and efficient way. It’s a core part of the Harmful Digital Communications Act, which passed through Parliament last month.

“The agency will help victims of harassment or cyberbullying to resolve complaints as quickly and painlessly as possible. It will work with parties to help get objectionable content off the internet and provide advice on other possible remedies,” Ms Adams says.

Ms Adams said the Approved Agency would also have a role reducing harassment or bullying

by advising on policies and educating people in appropriate online behaviour.

“The establishment of an agency to consider complaints about harmful digital communications will set a new benchmark for curbing online harassment and intimidation that cause serious emotional distress,” Ms Adams

says. People or organisations interested in becoming the Approved Agency should register their interest online: www.gets.govt.nz/ExternalIndex.htm.

Ms Adams said the information received during the ROI process would guide the next steps in selecting the Approved Agency.

Clinicians asked to showcase IT ideasHealth Minister Jonathan

Coleman is encouraging clinicians to submit

their innovative ideas to improve health services.

“Each year the Clinicians’ Challenge generates a whole raft of innovative ideas that have exciting potential to improve patient care,” says Dr Coleman.

“The Clinicians’ Challenge encourages health professionals to find ways technology can solve problems they face in their day to day practice, as well as making a difference to the health of New Zealanders.

“Effective use of information and technology solutions can also enable patients to be more involved in their own healthcare, and can ensure clinicians have access to a fuller range of information, helping to improve patient care.”

Last year’s winners of the Clinicians’ Challenge were a team from Nelson Marlborough DHB who developed Emergency Department at a Glance - a dashboard system with real-time information for managing a patients’ journey through an ED.

This year’s Clinicians’

Challenge has two categories - for a new idea yet to be developed, and an innovative system or application already developed that is having a positive impact on patient care.

The winner in each category will receive a grant of $8,000. The results will be announced at the 2015 Health Informatics New Zealand conference in October.

The Clinicians’ Challenge is a joint initiative by the National Health IT Board and Health Informatics New Zealand. Entries can be submitted atwww.hinz.org.nz until 14 September.

Flag the referendum if 50% or more don’t voteLabour has moved to

have the second flag referendum canned

if the first attracts fewer than half the eligible number of voters, Opposition Leader Andrew Little says.

“John Key has already wasted more than $8 million on his vanity project at a time when New Zealand can least afford it.

“He has committed the country to spending another $10 million on the first referendum in November and refused to put a simple “yes or no” question into the mix.

“We have added two Supplementary Order Papers to the flag referendum bill, one seeking to defer the referendum

for five years and the second to stop the final referendum if voter apathy continues at its current level.

“New Zealanders all around the country have told us now is not the right time to change the flag. Almost no one turned up at public

events to promote it, millions of dollars were wasted on websites and postcards and a celebrity panel of experts. And now John Key is continuing to push his pet project through despite overwhelming opposition.

“Even those who want to change the flag are appalled at the process that has been used.

“These SOPs offer a final chance to save some of the millions of dollars being spent by a Government out of touch with public opinion.

“If fewer than half of the country turns out to vote in John Key’s referendum in November, then even he must admit it is an abject failure,” Andrew Little says.

PM to attend Cook Islands’ 50th celebrations P rime Minister John Key

will lead a delegation to Rarotonga next week

to celebrate the Cook Islands’ 50th anniversary of self-government in free association with New Zealand.

“Fifty years ago, New Zealand and the Cook Islands entered into a unique bilateral relationship,” says Mr Key.

“We welcome the opportunity to celebrate that and to reflect on an important partnership that is based on our shared values, history, and the positive contribution that Cook Islanders make to New Zealand.”

Mr Key will meet with Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna and take part in the official Constitution Day Ceremony which will feature a traditional welcome and flag raising ceremony.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by Pacific Peoples Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga, Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs Todd McClay, Maori Development

Minister Te Ururoa Flavell and Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne.

Also in the official party are Opposition Leader Andrew Little, New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters, and a number of MPs from National, Labour and the Green party.

The delegation will depart on the morning of August 4, returning the evening of August 5.

Improved access to up-to-date cancer infoHealth Minister

Jonathan Coleman says a new national

cancer information strategy will benefit patients, clinicians and researchers.

“Access to high quality and reliable cancer information is important,” says Dr Coleman.

“Currently information is collected and stored by a range of health professionals which makes it challenging to get a comprehensive view of a patient.

“While progress has been made in joining information across DHBs, until now there has been no national approach.”

The New Zealand Cancer Health Information Strategy provides a five-year framework for changes to the way cancer clinical data and patient information is collected and stored.

Released this week, the strategy will ensure information is consistent and accessible across the country and help to inform

future investment in cancer health information-based initiatives.

“Delivering better cancer services is a priority for the Government. We have made significant progress since 2008 and patients are getting better faster cancer care,” says Dr Coleman.

“This strategy will help support the faster cancer treatment programme which the Government has invested $63 million. It is also linked to the NZ Cancer Plan which sets out the activities that need to happen over the next three years to ensure patients receive even better faster care.”

The strategy has been developed by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with cancer care clinicians and patients.

It will be implemented gradually with the initial focus on improving cancer information around ethnicity and multi-disciplinary meetings.

facebook/indianweekender


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11NEW ZEALAND

The wait for Auckland’s best

vegetarian experience will soon be over

The wait for Auckland’s best

vegetarian experience will soon be over

OPENING SOON AT905 DOMINION ROAD, AUCKLAND


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12

Kanwaljit BakshiNational List MP

NEW ZEALAND

David ShearerLabour MP

Barry CoatesGreen Party

Supporting Kiwi children to get the best start to life

Children are getting the best start to life under this National-led

Government. We are supporting our kids before and right through school, ensuring they are healthy and well-fed, which is leading them to achieve strong academic results in their teens.

Latest figures show a record number of eligible four-year-

olds are receiving a free B4 School Check, meaning most children are getting their hearing, eyesight, height, weight, and oral health assessments, as well as comprehensive health and development checks.

These checks help to give children the best start at school by identifying and addressing any potential health or developmental problems at an early stage. This year, 92 per cent of four-year-olds received this free comprehensive health and development check.

That’s up from 91 per cent last year, and means over 58,600 children and their families have

benefitted from this free service in the last year. The check helps families to connect with any additional support services they might need before their child starts school.

Ensuring children are healthy and focused is important to help them achieve at school.

That’s why we’ve also invested $9.5 million in the KickStart Breakfast programme. This investment expanded the programme from two to five mornings per week and to include all primary and secondary schools that want or need it, regardless of decile.

KickStart has now served five million breakfasts across the country since the Government expanded the programme in 2013.

Schools say through KickStart they are seeing improvements in the health and wellbeing, concentration, and behaviour of students. It is helping keep New Zealand children healthy and ready to learn.

This is translating into good outcomes in our classrooms. Public Achievement Information released for 2014 shows primary school achievement in writing and mathematics has increased in 15 of New Zealand’s 16 local body

regions since 2011.The proportion of 18-year-olds

with NCEA Level 2 has also risen in every region. The breakdown shows that between 2011 and 2014 the percentage of 18-year-olds with NCEA Level 2 rose by between 3.8 per cent and 18.4 per cent on a regional basis.

This is setting our kids up to go on to achieve in tertiary education and the workplace.

National is committed to supporting families through our public services, to ensure all young New Zealanders have the best opportunity for success in their lives.

Mismanagement at a cost

There have been many headlines this week about violence in our prisons. It

would be easy to forget that they started with the death of a young man – someone’s son.

Although Nick Evans had committed a crime serious enough for a prison sentence, he still had the right to physical safety and his

family still had the right to expect him to return home after serving his time.

Tragically, now they will never know the contribution he might have made to society after his release.

The 25-year-old died after injuries, including a ruptured lung, were inflicted in Mt Eden prison. People are sent to prison to be punished and hopefully, rehabilitated – not “dropped”, beaten or killed.

The fact we’ve had extreme violence and understaffing at Mt Eden prison is inexcusable in a

modern society like ours. Labour’s Kelvin Davis told

Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga about the violence a month ago. A competent minister would have gathered the facts and acted immediately. Safety in our prisons is one of his most basic responsibilities.

Instead, Mr Lotu-Iiga ignored the warnings and failed to act.

Only media coverage forced him from his inertia. Facing reporters, he didn’t know crucial information, his story kept changing – it was unclear whether he was covering something

up, or just not quite up to the responsibilities of his job.

Meanwhile, new cases are emerging of young men suffering serious injuries through violence at Mt Eden prison.

This is not the high-quality prison system New Zealanders should be able to rely on. Serco has a $300million, 10-year contract to run the prison. For that money, the taxpayers of New Zealand should be able to

expect excellence.

Privatisation driven by ideology

The government’s agenda for privatising public services in New Zealand is

in disarray. The latest revelations from Mt Eden prison, run by the company Serco, include riots, assaults, fight clubs, manufacturing of contraband, injuries from violence and allegations around the death of a prisoner. Last year the Mt Eden prison had more cases of assaults than any other jail, and there are constant reports of understaffing. This follows reports of serious mismanagement in other Serco-run services in the

UK and Australia. But despite all of these problems, and at least six Performance Notices in the last three years, Serco’s contract has still not been terminated.

These problems raise serious questions about the government’s private sector approach to prisons. The role of corrections should be to ensure that those in their care are denied their freedom, not their human rights.

It should also be to create an environment in which inmates are able to develop the skills and mentality to make a positive contribution to society upon their release.

These responsibilities do not sit easily within a profit making model.

There are also problems with a private sector approach to education. At a time when international reviews point out that our school system is failing

children in poorer districts, the government has diverted much needed funds to set up private sector schools (‘charter schools’). Despite giving them preferential treatment, there have been major problems at a number of the charter schools, including financial mismanagement, poor teaching and an unsafe environment for students. This is not surprising.

The introduction of charter schools was driven by ideology, not by evidence. The charter school model has had, at best, mixed results in other countries.

The government should be focused on making the state school system work well instead of diverting funds and management attention to pursue an ideologically-driven model of education.

The government has also been pursuing the sell-off of state

houses. The original idea was that these might be sold to housing providers, but organisations like the Salvation Army declined. Now the government has opened the door to selling off state houses to overseas companies.

This is the wrong approach. With Auckland house prices

hitting new highs, rents have become unaffordable for working families as well as beneficiaries. The Green Party has been calling for more affordable housing, especially in Auckland, not less.

Now there is a push for new deals with corporate contractors. The government has said that they will force local Councils to contract out regulatory functions. But profit-driven companies should not be authorised to undertake functions like environmental regulation and resource consent decisions. It is inevitable that public accountability will be

sacrificed along with protection of the environment.

It is clear that there is deep public concern over the government’s privatisation agenda. It is only 18 months since more than two thirds of New Zealanders said no in the referendum on selling off shares in electricity utilities and Air New Zealand. But the government went ahead anyway.

Democracy was swept aside and our valuable assets were sold. We now see the costs of privatisation mounting, in terms of people’s lives as well as financial costs. The Green Party opposes the government’s ideologically-driven agenda of privatisation. We need your support. www.greens.org.nz.

Barry Coates was a candidate for the Green Party at

the last election.


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A modern twist on Maori history on a mobile app Auckland Transport’s gone high tech

to help youngsters learn the Māori history of Tāmaki Makaurau.

As part of Māori Language Week, Auckland Transport, COMET (an Auckland Council educational department) and Kiwa Digital have produced a bilingual app that showcases historic Auckland. The App features the story of a family trip by train from Pukekohe to Eden Park for a day at the Dick Smith Auckland NRL Nines. Along the way the family shares stories about sites of significance such as maunga, traditional names for landmarks and some family history.

The original idea came from Tui Gilling, Senior Māori Policy and Engagement Advisor at Auckland Transport. The App was co-authored by Tui and Nikora

Wharerau with illustrations by Moanaroa Te Whata. The interactive book is voiced story is acted by children from Te Raki o Pukekohe/Pukekohe North School. The children also helped develop the characters.

“As far as we know this is the first App to introduce Māori history in an interactive way,” says Tui Gilling. “You can choose English or Māori and then swipe to read, double tap to spell or just listen to get the correct pronunciation.”

Other interactive features let users record their own voice for the story, paint the pictures and learn more about the history of landmarks on the journey.

The App’s primary target is children aged 9 to 13 in rumaki reo or Kura Kaupapa Māori but it is also likely to appeal to a wider audience.

The App covers the Māori cultural heritage of Tāmaki Makaurau in a general way, taken from published sources, books and treaty settlement material.

The mobile App is available free for download to Android and IOS devices from Google Play Store and iTunes (search: whanau tereina).

A positive step for street trading Auckland Council recently introduced

a new bylaw to manage commercial operations in public places, including outdoor dining at restaurants, bars and cafés.

The Trading and Events in Public Places Bylaw is designed to ensure that outdoor dining, mobile vendors, markets, filming and events all positively contribute to Auckland’s vibrancy.

An important aspect of the bylaw – which we received public feedback on – is that when using shared outdoor spaces, pedestrian access is clear for people of all abilities or with prams, and there is clear access for emergency services.

Under the new bylaw, businesses trading in public places are licenced for exclusive use of certain public places, for example outdoor dining on the street frontage of a café or a mobile food truck on a road.

Otahuhu recreation precinct opening soon After years of anticipation, Ōtāhuhu’s

new recreational precinct, Tōia (pronounced ‘taw-wee-a’), will open on 8 August.

Tōia is a $30.9 million project that incorporates the new Ōtāhuhu Library, aquatic and leisure centre, new playground and outdoor recreational and community spaces.

“The community is so excited to finally have this facility opening – something they have wanted and talked about for more than 10 years,” says Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board Chair Lemauga Lydia Sosene.

“It’s going to be a great place for them to gather, relax, get fit and learn.”

Opening day festivities start with a dawn blessing at 6am, followed by a civic opening from 10am-11am and entertainment, performances and activities from 11am-2pm.

An artist’s impression of Tia

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News source: Fiji Sun

Indian origin girl to represent Australia in ‘Miss Universal’F iji-born Indian model

Pooja Priyanka has been selected to represent

Australia in the 2015 edition of “Miss Universal Peace and Humanity” pageant to be held in Dubai from August 18 to 30, a media report said.

“I am both humbled and honoured to be representing my country Australia in the annual pageant in Dubai this 2015,” Priyanka posted on Facebook, the Fiji Times reported.

“I am looking forward to meet all the beautiful contestants from over 80 countries and can’t wait to work with all of them to take on challenges we face in our world

today,” said Priyanka, who is also a dancer and actor.

She was second runner-up in “Miss Face of Beauty” international

pageant 2014. “Miss Universal Peace and Humanity 2015” is an international beauty contest founded by the World Peace Mission Organisation under the patronage of the International Human Rights Commission (IGO).

“The aim is to awaken, through the theme of peace, the peoples of all countries to create a peaceable, fraternal and harmonious world community,” says the organisation’s website.

India-born model-turned-actress Ruhi Singh was crowned “Miss Universal Peace and Humanity” in the 2014 edition of the charity event.

Fiji gets a Bollywood connectionNoted producer-

distributor Shyam Shroff has been appointed

as the Consulate General of Fiji by the Fiji Government for their new consulate in Mumbai. The new role, says Shroff, is a great honour and also comes with a lot of responsibility.

“I am happy and honoured that I was chosen for this job. I definitely hope that we can help put Fiji high on the wish-list of tourism as well as for investors here,” says the senior filmmaker, adding, “It’s an island nation of 330 islands and among several of them each island is a resort. In fact many celebrities own resorts there.”

Shroff also hopes that the beautiful country will gradually become a hotspot for the Indian filmmakers too.

“As for Indian filmmakers, we get as much as 30 per cent rebate when shooting there, but we hope that they make some more

dynamic policies that will make it more accessible technically.

A few films have been shot there, but largely it is still unexplored in Bollywood. So, that will be something I am looking forward to working on. I hope to streamline the process and help guide them with the right methods so that there is a good working relationship that can be built between us. It will work for Fiji as well as our filmmakers in a big way,” adds the filmmaker, who had also produced the National award winning film Filmistaan.Hazelman seals spot in pageant

B rittany Hazelman, 24, was crowned Miss World Fiji at the Pearl South

Pacific Resort in Pacific Harbour last week.

Miss Hazelman, who was the favourite, will represent Fiji at the Miss World Pageant which will be held in Shanghai, China on December 9. Miss World Fiji managing director Lara Chung said the show was a success.

“The show was sold out and we had people still wanting to buy tickets and we didn’t have any space during the show,” Ms Chung said.

She said the contestants were impressive and the public could not believe the transformation they had undergone from day one until the crowning night.

“We are all happy about the winner. She will be able to compete on an international stage,” she said.

Ms Chung said Hazelman was a good representative for

the Fijian people and asked the public to support her to the Miss World Pageant. Unfortunately there will be no rest for Hazelman as the preparation for the road to China begins today. She will have her four-hour make-up tutorial with make-up artist from

Australia, Anselyn Wright at the FNU School of Hairdressing at Garden City, Raiwai. Hazelman beat nine other contestants for the prestigious title. Varea Romanu was crowned the first Princess, while Anshuka Kumar was crowned the second Princess.

Government optimistic of film sectorMusic, dance, theatre

and film are celebration of nation’s

identity, transition and self-confidence in terms of expressing itself, says Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum made the comment as chief guest at the HFC Bank Kula Film Awards night at Civic Centre in Suva last week.

“Film industry is one of those

mediums that in Fiji needs to be developed,” he said.

“I know that in the movies tonight you will see a wide range of views, ideas and representations of how youth see Fiji. The issues they think are important with Fiji and indeed the showc ase of their talent of their ability to communicate with you through big screen.” He said Government was committed, as the chair of Fiji Film highlighted, in branding Fiji

further.“Those of you may know

before, for example, they used to have Fiji Visitors Bureau today it is called Tourism Fiji. We said Air Pacific today it’s called Fiji Airways, we had Fiji Investment Trade Bureau today it’s called Investment Fiji and then we had Fiji Audio Commission and today it’s called Film Fiji. In all of this is the promotion of brand Fiji,” the A-G said.

Pooja Priyanka

Shyam Shroff

Brittany Hazelman (centre) wins Miss World Fiji crown. She will represent Fiji at the Miss World pageant which will be held in Shanghai, China. Varea Rommanu (right) was crowned the first princess and Anshuka Kumar (left) was crowned the second Princess.

Karan is Fiji’s first ambassador to BhutanF iji’s High Commissioner

to India, Yogesh Karan is the country’s first

ambassador to Bhutan. Mr Karan has presented his credentials to the King of Bhutan, Jigme K. Namgyel Wangchuck.

A statement from the Fiji High Commission in New Delhi said Mr Karan conveyed Fiji’s message on behalf of the President, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau. Mr Karan said Fiji was keen to work closely with Bhutan since the two countries had many similarities. He met with the

Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay and discussed climate change and the possibility of Bhutanese students studying in Fiji.

EI to award Krishna Datt

K rishna Datt is set to receive a distinguished award at the 7th

Education International (EI) World Congress.

EI represents organisations of teachers and other education employees across the globe. It is the world’s largest federation of unions, representing 30 million teachers and education workers through some 400 organisations from 172 countries and territories.

Mr Datt had been invited by the general secretary of EI to receive the Distinguished Associate Award for his service to EI and to the teaching profession. He will also participate in the congress as a guest. Mr Datt began his career in education as a

teacher at Labasa College in 1969. He served as senior education officer before taking up positions as assistant principal, vice-principal and ultimately as the principal of Suva Grammar School from where he moved on to active politics and became the founder general secretary of the Fiji Labour Party in 1985. At the 25th Anniversary of the Council of Pacific Education in 2010 he was given a special award for meritorious service to education. In 2013, the council renamed the award after him and called it “The Krishna Datt Award for Meritorious Services to Pacific Unions.” He continues to maintain his association with the trade union movement particularly with the teacher organisations.

Fiji’s High Commissioner to India, Yogesh Karan presents his credentials to the King of Bhutan, Jigme K. Namgyel Wangchuck at the Royal Palace in Bhutan.


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Best actress surprised

Janhvi Kant said she could not believe she won the Best Actress at the HFC Bank Kula Film Awards in

Suva last night.Ms Kant, a student of Xavier College,

said she always wanted to be an actress.“I have been watching a lot of movies

since my childhood. And it’s very easy for me to do any role,” she said. She played a negative character in their movie, Prank.

“I am very excited to receive the award,” she said.

Last of Fiji Police officers in Liberia pulled out

The final unit of Fiji police working in the UN Peacekeeping mission in Liberia has been pulled out and

is awaiting reassignment possibly to Haiti.Fiji’s police commissioner Ben

Groenewald says the withdrawal began earlier in the year at the height of the Ebola epidemic but says all his officers who were in Liberia are now safely home awaiting redeployment.

Mr Groenewald is part of a ministerial delegation visiting Fiji defence force troops and police officers this week in various UN Peacekeeping missions around the world.

He says so far he is satisfied with the conditions and support being provided to Fijian police officers overseas.

“It is deployments from United Nations countries up to 100 I think 138 countries plus are involved in the Peacekeeping missions. And I think it is a good learning curve for our officers to be deployed in peace keeping missions.” Fiji Police Commissioner Ben Groenewald said.

$29m upgrade

The Fiji National University Council has approved $29million worth of resources to go into the upgrade

and refurbishment of various facilities this year. Of this amount, about $500,000 to $700,000 has been set aside for the upgrade of the university’s Raiwai campus. FNU acting vice-chancellor Professor Ian Rouse said the council had approved the funding a month ago for developments across the board.

The plans for the uplift at Raiwai was a timely boost following this week’s Fiji Film Festival 2015 organised by the institution in collaboration with the US and Republic of China embassies, and high commissions of Australia and India.

PM RAISES kEY ISSUES WITH CHINESE PREMIER IN BEIJINGPrime Minister, Voreqe

Bainimarama has raised some key issues regarding

trade, aid and aviation in his meeting with Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang (Ker-jhang) in Beijing.

Bainimarama says Fiji is extremely concerned about the imbalance of the trading relationship with China and the obstacles faced in getting reasonable access to the Chinese market for our goods and services especially compared to our neighbouring countries. Trade between the two countries has increased from $86M in 2005 to

$987M last year. This is because Fiji is importing a lot more from China than it is exporting. Bainimarama says for every dollar of exports to China, Fiji imports $5.60 worth of Chinese products.

The Prime Minister says a large part of this imbalance is due to the fact that Fiji’s ability to export to China is being severely hampered by the tariffs that are being imposed on Fijian products. He says these tariffs are not being applied to some of the countries such as Samoa. Bainimarama told the Chinese Premier that resources such as fisheries face import

duties of an average of 14% while exports from the ASEAN countries are duty free. He says this means we have a situation where an Indonesian fishing vessel can fish in Fijian waters and export fish to the Chinese market duty free but the catch of a Fijian vessel from the same waters entering China attracts duty.

Bainimarama also asked China to consider the fact that Australia has given Fiji and other Non Least Developed Pacific countries non-reciprocal duty free access into their markets based on the uniqueness of our development

challenges. He says this is a nation that is not as close a friend to Fiji as China has been of late.

The Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has also informed the Chinese Premier that Fiji

cannot agree to China’s proposal that would have the effect of steering business away from Fiji Airways. The Chinese Civil Aviation Administration is proposing that the agreement should allow flights from anywhere in China to Nadi, and also added a provision allowing Chinese airlines to make at least three intermediate stops along the way, as well as points beyond. Bainimarama says China’s huge passenger capacity and its ability to undercut the fares of Fiji Airways would lure fliers away from Fiji Airways and cause a negative effect on the airline.

Xi Jinping meets with Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama of Fiji.

Editorial

Indian Weekender : Volume 7 Issue 19Publisher: Kiwi Media Group Limited Managing Editor: Giri Gupta | [email protected] Editor: Annu Sharma | [email protected] Chief Reporter: Swati Sharma | [email protected] Reporter: Rizwan Mohammad | [email protected]: Esha Chanda | [email protected]: Kumar Suresh | [email protected] Columnist: Paula Ray | [email protected] Technical Officer: Rohan Desouza | [email protected] Graphic & Layout Designer: Mahesh Kumar | [email protected] Designer: Yashmin Chand | [email protected] Accounts and Admin.: Farah Khan | [email protected] Sales and Marketing: 021 1507950 / 09-2137335 | [email protected]

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, 98 Great South Road, AucklandPrinted at Horton Media, AucklandCopyright 2015. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

— Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

Anything but funny

Thought of the week Dream, Dream, Dream. Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action.

From the desk of the Managing Editor

“Nations consist of people. And with their effort a nation can accomplish all it could ever want. Motivating India’s people, and its youth especially, is the central theme of Ignited Minds. I have chosen to write about this subject of

igniting young minds so that India turns into a developed nation by the year 2020 because all through my career in the field of technology and its management, I relied on the power and potential of youth. My strength has been my young teams who never let me down. And what satisfaction there was in working with them on some of the most complex projects in some of the most challenging situations! Given the freedom to achieve and guided properly, I am convinced the young of India can accomplish far more.” - APJ Abdul Kalam

India bids farewell to a true jewel. Amidst messages, thoughts and prayers from around the world, the “People’s President” undertakes his final journey.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was born in India on October 15, 1931. A lifelong scientist who studied physics and aerospace engineering, Kalam’s prominent role in India’s 1998 nuclear weapons tests established him as a national hero. Among his many accolades, including honorary doctorates from 40 universities, he was granted the Padma Bhushan (1981), the Padma Vibhushan (1990), and the Bharat Ratna (1997) — India’s highest civilian awards — for his contributions in modernizing government defense technology. Dr. Kalam became the 11th President of India on 25th July 2002, with his focus on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020.

Known as the People’s President, Kalam was so popular that MTV nominated him for a Youth Icon of the Year award in 2003 and 2006.

His passion and spirit touched every single person who even remotely interacted with him. A man who believed that the most important thing to do was to become a good human being and had great dreams and vision for India and its youth, putting his heart into everything he did. He said “Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.”

“To become ‘unique’ the challenge is to fight the hardest battle which anyone can imagine, until you reach your destination,” said Dr Kalam and unique he was. The entire team at the Indian Weekender joins India in mourning its fallen hero. With a heavy heart we have put together a special feature on Dr Kalam and we hope everyone will take a minute from their busy schedules to think of the great life of Dr Kalam.

Sharing with a group of youth, his life experience from how keen he was to fly from his childhood, to being an aeronautical engineer, making missiles and satellites, and being the president of India, he said, «If four things are followed-having a great aim, acquiring knowledge, hard work and perseverance then anything can be achieved.»

He said “Wings to fly- believe that I am born with potential, goodness and trust, idea and dreams, greatness and confidence. And I am not meant for crawling because I have wings and I will fly.”

Farewell Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, farewell the People’s President, farewell India’s Missile Man as you take on your final flight be rest assured that you will live in the hearts of the people forever more!

Until next time,

Giri Gupta

Pick of the week

When moving homes, pack a box with toilet paper, paper towels, and everything you need to cook a meal. Label this “BOX 1” and take it in your car with you.

When working with your boss or supervisor, never ask “Can you do this for me?”, always ask “Can you show me how to do this?”

Tip from the trenches

Harshaali Malhotra who played Munni in Salman Khan’s blockbuster Bajarangi Bhaijaan has been making waves for the effortless portrayal and innocense which endeared her to every cinegoer

The stunning photo taken in Tauranga, by Kiwi Indian photographer Amit Kamble was chosen as NASA’s coveted Astronomy Picture of the Day


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Reuse the refuse; make lifestyle choicesWe want to voice what affects us; we want to be heard. This is our platform to stand united against all odds.¡¡ Paula ray

L ike every year, this year too Auckland Council organised for the Trash

to Fashion Awards among school children. Their mantra: “We’re on a mission to prove that fashion and art can be a fun, powerful and educational tool to raise awareness about waste and recycling.”

Yes, indeed. The trashes that were put together to create the

clothes and accessories were commendable, to say the least. Children from year 1 to year 13, approximately from 6 years of age to 18 years of age, showcased their talent at various venues across the city. From among the few hundreds who participated, about a hundred participants will make it to the final round – scheduled to be announced next week.

Touted to be a magnificent “theatrical production”, every single ensemble presented by the students is made from trash and reusable elements. In fact, students had to explain what they sourced their design from. Schools’ Trash to Fashion Awards, referred to as ST2F, includes not just school-going but also home-

schooled students to participate as individuals or in groups.

Some of the most striking materials used were broken umbrellas and vegetable net bags. While one model

sported a broken umbrella material as an off-shoulder poncho, another model wore the umbrella frame as a skirt that was embellished with tin foil patterns. The diversity of designs and materials, not to mention the age of the models, reflected the dedication of the school and students themselves in thinking of constructive ways in which one can recycle waste.

New Zealand is one nation that does take recycling its waste seriously. So much so that primary school students are

taken to recycling plants around the city to teach the importance of segregating and reusing wastes. The onus for this is also shared by Auckland Council. If the Council was not proactive enough to push its mission forward, it would perhaps not have motivated young minds to engage in such eco-friendly activities.

This mission of Auckland Council fits in perfectly with the ‘100 % Pure New Zealand’ campaign undertaken by the tourism industry to promote the nation. It also fits in with the government’s pedantic efforts to dispose of waste in a way that is environmentally friendly and supports recycling. Encouraging dress-up parties and charity shop purchases – not only of clothes, but also furniture and other household utilities – shows the general culture of the Kiwi people to reduce wastage.

A vegan Kiwi friend of mine had once claimed that she does not support killing of animals for leather accessories. So she only uses leather bags from op-shops. I had tried in vain to understand her skewered logic. In hindsight, it does make sense. She meant to say perhaps that she reuses somebody’s discarded accessories instead of being a direct consumer of the animal product. By buying it at op-shops, she also supports a charitable cause. This is how evolved the recycling culture is.

I wonder how many countries in the world promote recycling of waste at an age as early as 6! That is how young some of the participants were at the ST2F show. Their creations were invariably based on fairy tale characters and that’s perhaps the best way to appeal to such a young clientele.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced Swachh Bharat campaign right at the beginning of his tenure and urged every citizen of the country to engage in the act, including senior politicians who were spotted wielding the broom. Perhaps Modi would have done a better job had he introduced the measure as a compulsory activity for every school-going child, irrespective of the social strata they come from. That would have, by default, involved the parents in the act.

Igniting young minds was the success mantra expounded by Swami Vivekananda. Being an ardent follower of Swamiji, Modi often quotes him in his public speeches. Following the philosophy, instead of simply preaching it could have had a better fate for the Swachh Bharat campaign.

A cause worth a pause, and rethink?

OPINION / EDITORIAL

In this column, I share my experiences that would perhaps be familiar to you too.

If you can relate to them, please share your thoughts or similar experiences.

10 years: 1,303 death sentences, 3 executions¡¡ chaitanya mallaPur &

devaniK Saha

A death sentence – such as the one handed to Yakub Memon, lone

convict of the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings – is common in India, with 1,303 such verdicts between 2004 and 2013, according to this National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) prison statistics report.

However, only three convicts were executed over this period, one each in West Bengal (2004), Maharashtra (2012) and Delhi (2013). India saw an execution-free period of seven years between 2004 and 2012.

On August 14 2004, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged at Alipore Central Jail in West Bengal on his 42nd birthday, convicted for the rape and murder of a teenage girl.

On November 21 2012, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab the only terrorist to have survived the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, was hanged in Pune’s Yerwada Jail.

On February 9, 2013, Mohammed Afzal Guru, a convict

in the 2001 parliament attack case, was hanged inside Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

In addition, 3,751 death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment during this period.

Former chartered accountant Memon is set to be hanged on July 30 2015, the day he turns 53. A debate has now broken out over the verdict against him and the death sentence in general.

In July 2007, Yakub and 11 others were convicted and sentenced to death by a special court for planning or carrying out the 1993 Mumbai bombings that killed nearly 260 people and injured 700.

In March 2013, the Supreme Court upheld Memon’s death sentence, while commuting the death sentence of 10 others (one died later) to life imprisonment.

On social media, a raging debate with dubious data

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy – reacting to assertions that only Muslims were being hanged – recently said that 170 people have been hanged in India after 1947

with only 15 of them Muslims, according to Asian News International (ANI).

Since independence, at least 60 Muslim (according to their surnames) convicts were hanged, according to the Death Penalty Research Report by National Law University, Delhi.

The report compiled data from central prisons but is not an exhaustive list because many states did not provide complete information. Some states provided such reasons: the Kerala and Andhra Pradesh authorities said termites destroyed records.

The 35th Law Commission report, released in 1967, said more than 1,400 prisoners were executed from

1953 to 1963 but does not give religion-wise details of hanged convicts.

2007: Year of death sentencesThe most death sentences

were awarded in 2007 (186), followed by 164 in 2005. That year—2005—1,241 death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment, the most ever.

Uttar Pradesh awarded the most death sentences (318) over the last 10 years. Maharashtra was second with 108, followed by Karnataka (107), Bihar (105) and Madhya Pradesh (104).

These top five states comprise almost 57 percent of all capital punishments awarded in the country between 2004 and 2013.

In Delhi, 2,465 prisoners had death sentences commuted to life imprisonment (between 2004 and 2013). Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh were second with 303 death sentences commuted to life imprisonment, followed by Bihar (157) and West Bengal (104).

Delhi alone accounted for nearly 66 percent of all prisoners whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment

between 2004 and 2013.Death sentence abandoned by

160 countries – not India, China, the US and Japan

About 160 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice while 98 have abolished it altogether, according to a United Nations report.

In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution towards the abolition of capital punishment and the protection of human rights when it endorsed a call for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty.

Apart from India, other prominent countries that opposed the resolution included China, Japan and the United States.

In 2013, nearly 778 executions were reported in 22 countries, a 14 percent growth over 682 executions in 2012.

On Monday, Pakistan executed two murder convicts following a one-month break during the holy month of Ramadan. This adds to 176 executions since December 2014, after a six-year moratorium on the death penalty.


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18 INDIA INDIA INDIA

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PM Modi talks about road safety, sanitation and social issues¡¡ iwK Bureau

In his tenth edition of Mann ki Baat, the Prime Minister of Indian Narendra Modi talked

about a range of issues — from road safety to sanitation facilities — and the need for more focus on north-eastern States.

Modi said that the government would be bringing a Road Transport and Safety Bill soon and will also launch cashless treatment for accident victims.

In his 15-minute address, he paid tributes to the farming community, praised scientists and also hailed the armed forces. He also mentioned that a team of officials will pay a week-long visit to the north-eastern States to address the problems of the region.

“Several people have been writing to me that I should speak on road safety to create awareness about it. When we see the figures, we notice that in India, an accident takes place every minute and a death due to these takes place every four minutes. Among the victims, one-third is in the age group of 15-25 years,” the Prime Minister said.

He added that the government is also planning other important measures like putting a National Road Safety Policy and Road Safety Action Plan in place. A project under which cashless

treatment will be given to accident victims, wherein the victim does not have to worry for the first 50 hours as to who pays the money for treatment, will also be launched soon, he said.

He also invited people’s suggestions for his Independence Day speech.

While talking about various social issues, he avoided politics at a time when Parliament is unable to function due to a deadlock with the Opposition.

Highlights of the 10th Mann

Ki Baat

1. Shocked to know statistics about road accidents; every minute one accident takes place; every 4 minute one person dies in road accidents.

2. Another important initiative of government is cashless treatment policy for victims of road accidents.

3. Harda district of MP gives inspiration. Under ‘Brother No 1’ drive, youth are inspired to gift toilets to sisters on

Raksha Bandhan.4. We are working towards 24*7

electricity in villages.5. People of Kesla village of

Chhattisgarh constructed toilets for each family of the village, making the village open defecation free.

6. India launched 5 heavy satellites of the U.K., through PSLV C 28. These are heaviest satellites launched by India so far.

7. Science & Technology is DNA of development, says PM. He says the HRD Ministry has launched a scheme to promote scientific innovation called Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan.

8. The produce of pulses and oil seeds increased by 50% & 33% respectively, a matter of great joy.

9. It was decided that the officers of Ministry will camp for seven days at various places in the North Eastern States.

10. We have separate Ministry for the North East

Region at Centre. It was thought we cannot solve problems of North East People sitting in Delhi


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19INDIAINDIAINDIA

Punjab attack ends after 11hrs, three terrorists among 10 killed¡¡ JaideeP Sarin

Three civilians and four security personnel, including a

superintendent of police, were killed Monday this week when three heavily-armed terrorists said to be from Pakistan went on a killing spree here, shattering two decades of calm in Punjab and sparking an 11-hour gun battle that left all three attackers dead.

It took several hours for Punjab Police commandos to eliminate the terrorists who, in military fatigues, stormed a police station complex in Dinanagar town in Gurdaspur district, once a hotbed of militancy and adjoining Pakistan, taking security forces by surprise. Dinanagar is located barely 15 km from the Pakistan border. Punjab Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini told the media: “We (Punjab Police) engaged them and killed all three terrorists. We lost four security personnel. The terrorists were well armed with good firearms and good ammunition and were carrying GPS sets.”

Asked if there was a Pakistani hand in the mayhem, he said: “It is too early to say from where they have come.”

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said: “If we are hit, we will give

a befitting reply. We want peace with Pakistan but not at the cost of national honour.”

This was the first major terror attack in Punjab after the assassination of then chief minister Beant Singh on August 31, 1995 in Chandigarh, joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.

The bloody saga began at 5.30 a.m. and ended by 4.30 p.m. when the police took back the entire police complex, which included the police station and residential quarters which were quickly emptied once the attack started.

The final assault by the SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team of Punjab Police on the complex ended with intermittent firing and grenade attacks from both sides. A Home Guard jawan survived the 11-hour ordeal and

ran out of one of the complex when the operation ended.

When journalists and police personnel finally entered the residential quarters, they were pock-marked with bullets fired from automatic weapons and light machine guns. In an emotional outburst, locals raised slogans hailing the Punjab Police.

Superintendent of Police Baljit Singh succumbed to injuries suffered in the gun battle between security forces and terrorists who were holed up in the complex, officials said.

The dead included three civilians, one of whom was shot dead in a bus stand and two others who were killed in a hospital near the police complex. Three Home Guards in the complex were also killed. Police officials admitted the

complex was a soft target. “We were hit by a burst of gunfire. I was hit on the shoulder,” said a police sub-inspector in the morning as he was taken to a hospital. “They are firing indiscriminately every five minutes.”

The clearly well-planned attack took the small town of Dinanagar by surprise. Gurdaspur district borders Pakistan on one side and Jammu and Kashmir on the other.

In New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon went into a huddle with senior ministers.

As panic gripped Dinanagar, police and troops from a nearby

army unit quickly surrounded the complex. But police officials said that it was the Punjab Police which battled the terrorists.

The army’s Special Forces and the National Security Guard provided the second ring of security. Television crews were told not to provide live footage of the fighting.

That the terror attack was multi-pronged was evident from the recovery of five live bombs on the Amritsar-Pathankot rail track. The discovery took place minutes before a passenger train was to cross the section.

“I am busy, call me later,’ police officer’s last words

I am busy, call me later.” These were the last words Punjab’s Superintendent of Police Baljit Singh told his eldest daughter Ravinder Kaur before terrorists killed him in Gurdaspur district.

Singh, 48, died while fighting the three terrorists holed up in the police station complex in Dinanagar town, about 15 km from the Pakistan border.

“I called my father on his mobile at around 9.30 in the morning when we came to know that an encounter is going on. ‘I

am busy, call me later’ was his only reply,” Ravinder Kaur told reporters.

Singh, who headed the detective branch of police in Gurdaspur, suffered bullet wounds and died in a hospital.

Yakub Memon hanged till death in Nagpur jailYakub Memon, convicted

in the March 12, 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts,

was hanged till death at the Nagpur Central Jail in Maharashtra on Thursday morning, officials said.

He was sent to the gallows -- on his 54th birthday on Thursday -- after several of his court appeals and clemency petitions were rejected by various courts, including the Bombay High Court, the Supreme Court, the Maharashtra governor and the president of India.

Memon was hanged at 6.35 am IST (1:05 pm NZDT). A medical team at the jail pronounced him dead a short while later. His body was sent for an autopsy by a medical team from a Nagpur government hospital, before being cleared for the last rites.

The last of the legal procedures continued till barely a couple of hours before the execution on Thursday morning before sunrise.

In an unprecedented hearing

held at the Supreme Court at 3 a.m. IST on Thursday, the court rejected Memon’s plea seeking postponement of his hanging by 14 days.

The apex court bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Prafulla C. Pant and Justice Amitava Roy post-midnight rejected Memon’s plea seeking 14 days’ time before the execution of his death sentence is carried out.

The court said that “the petitioner did not raise any question when earlier, the mercy

petition by his brother was rejected by the president in 2014”.

Memon had challenged the rejection of his mercy petition by the president.

His mercy petition was earlier rejected by the president on Wednesday this week, wherein, he raised fresh grounds for clemency -- commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment.

The apex court bench, while rejecting Memon’s latest plea, observed that there was nothing new in the new petition as it was a repetition of the same argument that was advanced on Wednesday.

“Same thing was there in yesterday’s (Wednesday) petition. There is nothing new in the new petition,” said Justice Misra in the course of the hearing.

Saying that Memon was given “ample opportunity” to present his case before the apex court, the bench said that he was heard for 10 days in the course of the hearing of his review petition

while law mandates per half an hour hearing.

Addressing the court, senior counsel Anand Grover said that Memon should get 14 days’ time after the rejection of his mercy petition, which was a matter of right given by the court in the well-known Shatrughan Chauhan case.

The court was told that Memon wanted to challenge the president’s decision to reject his mercy petition in which he has raised fresh grounds including his mental health related to his schizophrenia. Grover said that his client did not even get time to execute his will.

Contesting Memon’s plea, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that this way there would be a mercy petition every day and repeated mercy petition was bad for the system.

Contending that Memon has exhausted all the legal avenues, the attorney general said that the

mercy petition should have been filed before the issuance of the death warrant.

Memon was the first -- and only convict out of 100 in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts case -- whose hanging was upheld by the Supreme Court. The death sentence of 11 others was commuted to life. A Mumbai Special Court had sentenced him to death in July 2007.

The death warrant was issued by a Special TADA Court judge on April 29, scheduling the execution for July 30. Maharashtra had started preparations for the noose for Memon almost three weeks ago.

Memon filed a fresh appeal in the Supreme Court, followed by a clemency plea with the Maharashtra governor, again a fresh plea in the apex court and a final appeal with the president of India. He got no relief from any quarters, paving the way for his execution.


Red Black Orange

20 TRIBUTE

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam: India’s missile man, an indomitable spiritD r APJ Abdul Kalam,

who rose from humble beginnings to become

one of India’s leading scientists and later a hugely popular president, died in Shillong on 27 July evening after collapsing during a lecture at the IIM-Shillong, plunging the entire country in mourning.

Kalam, who occupied Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2002-07 as India’s 11 president, breathed his last at 7.45 p.m. at the Bethany Hospital where he was rushed to from the IIM where he was delivering a lecture on “liveable planet”, officials at the premier institute said.

“Kalam must have barely spoken for five minutes when he suddenly collapsed,” IIM-Shillong director Amitabha De said, recalling the tragedy. “We rushed him to the hospital by 7 p.m. where he passed away.”

Doctors at the hospital said Kalam was brought “almost dead” after suffering a cardiac arrest. Hospital director John Sailo Ryntathiang said they did their best to revive him. But he could not be saved.

The Indian government announced a seven-day state mourning, till August 2, during which the national flag will fly at half-mast and there will be no official entertainment.

An enthusiast till the last for sharing ideas with students and youth, it was not surprising that former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was delivering a lecture at the IIM-Shillong when he collapsed and died in a hospital shortly afterwards.

His last tweet on Monday sounded enthusiastic “Going to Shillong.. to take course on Livable Planet earth at IIM.” His handle @APJAbdulKalam, described him as “Scientist, teacher, learner and writer. Served as the 11th President of India (2002-07). Working for an economically developed nation by 2020.”

Popularly known as India’s “Missile Man”, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam crowned a illustrious scientific career with a term as India’s first citizen after the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government put forward his name as K.R. Narayanan’s successor. He was recipient of India’s highest civilian honour - the Bharat Ratna - in 1997.

One of India’s best known scientists, Kalam was full of ideas on how to solve India’s problems - on bridging the rural-urban divide through his pet concept of PURA or “Providing Urban amenities in Rural Areasa - for empowering villages, and also to use solar power in a big way to tide over India’s energy needs.

“I believe that connectivity is the key to bridging the rural-urban divide. The core-competence of the village will enable the production of competitive products for national and international markets.

This will lead to rural enterprises which will create jobs in villages and lead to a vibrant economy in India’s hinterland. That is how prosperity will emerge in the rural environment,” he said in an interview to Wharton in 2008.

He enumerated five traits that a leader, especially the president of India, must have. “The leader must have vision. Without vision, you cannot be a leader. Second, the leader must be able to travel into an unexplored path. Normally the tendency is for people to travel along well-laid out ways. Third, the leader must know how to manage success, and even more importantly, failure.

“The fourth trait is that the leader should have the courage to make decisions. Fifth, the leader should have nobility in management. Every action of the leader should be transparent. And finally, the leader should work with integrity and succeed with integrity,” he said.

Kalam had also drawn up an elaborate plan to power Rashtrapati Bhavan with solar power, but his term ended before he could implement it.

He believed that besides solar, India should also go in for nuclear energy and also bio fuels from jatropha plant and algae.

Life Journey

Born on October 15, 1931 at the Hindu pilgrim town of Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, Kalam specialized in aeronautical engineering from Madras Institute of Technology and in 1958, joined the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

He moved to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),

where he was project director of India’s first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III), which successfully injected the Rohini satellite in the near earth orbit in July 1980 and made India a member of the exclusive Space Club.

In his two-decade stint in the space agency, he was responsible for the evolution of ISRO’s launch vehicle programme, particularly

the PSLV configuration. He rejoined DRDO in 1982,

and planned the programme that produced a number of successful missiles, earning him the “Missile Man” nickname. He took up the responsibility of developing indigenous weapons as the chief executive of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

He was responsible for the development and operationalisation of Agni and Prithvi missiles.

From 1992 to 1997, Kalam was scientific adviser to the defence minister, and later served as principal scientific adviser (1999-2001) to the government with the rank of cabinet minister. He played a prominent role in the country’s 1998 nuclear weapons tests, Pokhran-II, which established Kalam as a national hero. He also gave thrust to self-reliance in defence systems by progressing multiple development tasks and mission projects such as Light Combat Aircraft.

In 1998, Kalam put forward a countrywide plan called Technology Vision 2020, which he described as a road map for transforming India from a less-developed to a developed society in 20 years, and called for, among other measures, increasing agricultural productivity, technology as a vehicle for economic growth, and widening access to health care and education.

From November 2001, Kalam was professor, technology and societal transformation at Anna University, Chennai.

He wrote four books - “Wings of Fire”, “India 2020 - A Vision for the New Millennium”, “My Journey” and “Ignited Minds - Unleashing the power within India”.

One of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions, he was was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1981, and Padma Vibhushan in 1990 before the Bharat Ratna.

Not many known that he was a poet too. His favourite poem was “The Vision”, which he also recited in parliament.

On July 22, Kalam tweeted: “An indomitable spirit stands on two feet.. vision and firm thought”. It could serve as an apt description for him.

Dr Kalam with Friends. Image: pinterest

SLV ñ III Review meeting, with presence of Sathish Dhawan. Image: www.jagran.com

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam1931 - 2015

INDIA’SMISSILE MAN

“The leader must have vision. Without vision, you cannot be a leader. Second, the leader must be able to travel into an unexplored path. Normally the tendency is for people to travel along well-laid out ways.


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21TRIBUTE

Veer KharPresident, Manukau Indian Association

Abdul Kalam will always be remembered as the person of integrity, conviction and clarity of purpose. His role in putting India on the lead map of modern technology will always be remembered by one and all. With his sad demise, India has lost a great patriot.

Jeet Suchdev, QSM, JPChairperson, Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust

We have lost a transformer of the Nation, ‘Missile Man of India’. It is a major loss of the nation. We sincerely value his advanced knowledge bank and him as a personality of grace. Abdul Kalam was a true patriot, a nationalist to the core, a visionary, a statesman, a builder, a reformer and, without doubt, professor, a researcher, a scientist, knowledge spreader. He was a unique phenomenon in Indian politics and science. On behalf of everyone at Bhartiya Samaj Auckland we offer sincere condolences and deepest sympathies to the family of great human, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.We join the nation ‘India’ in paying tribute to his departed soul.

REMEMBERING PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT

Mahesh BindraNZ First MP

New Zealand First wishes to express its sympathy to the Kiwi Indian community on the passing of the People’s President, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. New Zealand First wishes to acknowledge Kalam’s contribution to India while he was President and since. Kalam was the 11thPresident of India from 2002 to 2007 and was the first scientist and bachelor to occupy Rashtrapati Bhawan. Please accept our condolences at the loss of one of the well-liked Presidents of India.

Dr Parmjeet ParmarNational MP

I express condolences at the passing of APJ Abdul Kalam.Dr Kalam was a great servant for the Indian community both in the fields of science and politics. He was very well respected for the excellence he achieved as an academic and scientist in the fields of defence and space research. I stand with the New Zealand Indian community in celebrating his achievements, and send my condolences to his family.

Kanwaljit Singh BakshiNational MP

It was indeed a sad day for Indians in India and across the globe. Three militants disguised in Army uniforms opened fire at a moving bus and forcefully entered a local police station in the state of Punjab, India. Indians also had to bear the loss of their much loved former President of the country Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the renowned scientist who is credited with India’s nuclear programme.This act of terrorism and irreparable loss of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam would have without doubt been hurtful to all of us. Dr Kalam was an inspirational mind, an excellent scientist and a great President yet he was the simplest human being one. He has left a void that can never be filled. May his soul rest in peace.

Phill GoffLabour MP

It is with great sadness that I learned of the death of former Indian President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. On behalf of Labour, I would like to express my condolence and sympathies to the family of Dr Kalam, the people of India and to the Indian communities in New Zealand.Dr Abdul Kalam served as India’s President from 2002 to 2007 and was known to be one of the country’s most popular Presidents. Dr Kalam was greatly admired for his intellect, his vision for India’s development and for his warmth and humility. He spoke and wrote extensively of the role of youth in India’s development, and was a role model for many young Indians.

“You cannot change your future. But, you can change your habits. And surely your habits will change your future.”


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22 INDIA ABROAD

Lord Venkateswara Temple to be built in US city

A state-of-the-art Sri Venkateswara Temple with an eight-feet granite

statue of Lord Venkateswara will be constructed in the US city of Columbus in Ohio state, a media report said.

It will be the second temple after the Bharatiya Hindu Temple that opened in the area in 1994, the Columbus Dispatch daily reported. It will be “a state of the art temple, spread over at least 20,000 square feet with a capacity to accommodate at least 1,000 worshippers”, said Ganesh Vathyam, a spokesperson of the temple committee.

It will include an ornate, colourful towering entrance

called “gopuram” and a brass or copper covered flagstaff called a “dwajasthambam”, he added.

The committee is also planning to bring sculptors from India to build the temple and early projections put the cost at about $3million.

“Our goal is to introduce this culture not only to our kids – because the reason we build temples is to let our future generations know the significance of the temple and the heritage – but also to introduce it to the other side of the world,” Vathyam said. The temple plans a four-day grand opening ceremony from July 30 to August 2 to enshrine Lord Venkateswara.

Indian American wins junior title

Indian-American Amitoj Chhabra lifted 628 kg at the US Powerlifting Association

National Championships in Las Vegas last week to win the junior title, the media reported.

Chhabra, 20, who is based in Nevada and competed in the 198-pound (90kg) weight category, also set a state record. The tournament was held at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas and the final took place on July 11, the Reno Gazetta-Journal reported. Chhabra, who began powerlifting in December 2013 and started competing in May 2014, is training with Adam Lauritzen of Silverback Strength and Conditioning in Reno.

Son of a Punjabi father and a Nepalese mother, Chhabra credits his parents for his strength.

“Both sides have warriors genetics, so I have the warrior drive. I really like powerlifting. I was always strong, I always had strength, but I didn’t know anything about powerlifting,” said Chhabra, who works part time at the United Parcel Service.

India-born engineer’s roti maker gets $11.5m investmentAn Indian-origin engineer

in Singapore who invented an automatic

one-minute roti maker machine seven years back has now fetched a second round of investment of $11.5 million from venture firms, a media report said.

Pranoti Nagarkar-Israni, a mechanical engineer from the National University of Singapore, came up with a prototype for an automatic roti maker which won her the “Start-Up Singapore” competition in 2009.

She later floated a product design company called Zimplistic with her husband to promote the roti maker brand called Rotimatic.

Zimplistic has now announced an investment of $11.5 million from Southeast Asia-based NSI Ventures and Germany-based Robert Bosch Venture Capital, web portal TechinAsia.com reported.

“It has been an amazing year for us and these new partnerships will only help to improve what we see as a revolutionary product that enables families to eat healthier,” Rishi Israni, Pranoti’s husband and CEO of Zimplistic, was quoted as saying. The automatic roti maker is smart enough to

use its 15 sensors to figure out the ingredients put in it and the measures in which to combine them. The user needs to put in the ingredients in the given containers and press a button.

Within a minute, a flat, circular roti slides out of the machine - much like a sheet of paper that

comes out of a photocopier.The machine also allows its

users to customise the doughballs and flour discs.

Within a week of the launch of its beta version last year, $5 million worth of roti makers priced at $999 each were sold and Zimplistic had to close pre-orders.

Today, there is a huge waiting list for roti makers and over 5,000 requests for distribution partnerships from around the world are pending with the firm.

“With this funding, Zimplistic plans to finish the Rotimatic beta, accelerate manufacturing rollout and set up operations in international markets to fulfil the big demand,” Israni said.

This new round of funding has been secured just few months after raising the first round of investment worth more than $1 million from NSI Ventures.

Three Indian-origin scholars among 2015 Asia Studies Fellows

The East-West Center has announced the appointment of six scholars,

including three of Indian-origin as 2015 Asia Studies Fellows. The East-West Center is an education and research organisation in the US. The fellowship provides residence at the East-West Centre in Washington to scholars and analysts who wish to undertake policy-relevant research and writing on topics of relevance to contemporary US-Asia policy, the Americanbazaar.com website reported. While Surupa Gupta and Vibhanshu Shekhar are Indian Americans, Rahul Mishra is an Indian scholar based in

New Delhi. Gupta is an associate professor at the University of Mary Washington in the department of political science and international affairs while Shekhar is a scholar-in-residence at the ASEAN Studies Center at American University.

Rahul Mishra is a research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs in New Delhi.

The fellows are offered round-trip travel to Washington and are supported through residence at the East-West Centre complex.

In addition to a publication of an article or monograph on their research topic, the fellows are required to give one public seminar during their residency.

‘Sikh kitchens turning new food banks in Britain’The homeless in Britain

are turning to Sikh community kitchens at

gurdwaras for hot meals as the demand for food banks rises, a media report said.

Nearly, 5,000 meals are being served to non-Sikhs each week by Britain’s 250 gurdwaras and efforts are being made to take “langar” out of gurdwaras to fulfill its core objective of serving the whole community, according to Britain-based The Conversation website.

“British Sikhs have established food relief organisations in

cities across Britain. The Midland Langar Seva Society in Birmingham, the Kirpa Food Bank in Wolverhampton, Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen based in Doncaster and Edinburgh, the Bedford Langar project, the Sikh Welfare and Awareness Team (SWAT) based in London and Nishkam Help based in Birmingham and Leeds are some examples,” Jasjit Singh, postdoctoral research and impact fellow at University of Leeds was quoted as saying.

In these community kitchens, meals are offered for free and everything from the buying of

the food to the preparation of the meals is based on donations. The trend is not just confined to Britain, according to Singh who is carrying out a research on the religious lives of young Sikhs in Britain.

“In Canada, the Seva Food Bank serves food to low-income families. In Los Angeles, the Khalsa Food Pantry and Khalsa Peace Corps provide meals to the destitute, while the Sikhcess project provides food and clothing to the homeless in a number of local communities across the US,” Singh said.

INDIAN-AMERICAN TO REPRESENT WASHINGTON IN US PAGEANTIndian-American Priya

Gopal-Walker, a survivor of child abuse, will represent

Washington in the 2015 Miss Teen USA Pageant to be held in Bahamas. Gopal-Walker, 17, will compete with contestants from all over from the US at the pageant on August 21-22. She made her entry to the pageant after winning the Miss Washington Teen USA crown, India West portal reported.

Gopal-Walker, who is of half Indian and half American heritage, is a student at the Academy of Arts and Sciences in Seattle. She was to

compete in 2012, but had to pull out of the competition as she was facing physical and emotional abuse, the report said. The beauty queen said she would like to use

her title to spread awareness on domestic violence.

“I knew I needed time to emotionally heal from what I had gone through,” Gopal-Walker was quoted as saying by the portal.

“Taking the time to get my life restored, I believe, is part of the reason I won this year. I have a strong message of hope for those children who may feel there is no hope or way to get out of their fearful situation,” she said.

“I now live with foster parents who love me as though I am their own,” Gopal-Walker added.

Priya Gopal-Walker

Pranoti Nagarkar-Israni Automatic one-minute roti maker


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23

Answers to last weeks Geography word scramble1. Land, 2. Urban, 3. Environment, 4. Climate, 5. Soil, 6. Volcano, 7. Economy, 8. Rural, 9. Navigation, 10. Water, 11. Erosion, 12. Explore, 13. Weather, 14. Coast, 15. Galcier, 16. Culture, 17. Population, 18. Tourism, 19. Map, 20. Earthquare.

KIDS ZONE

Send us stories, drawings,poems and other contributions by your little

ones along with their photographs for this page. Email us at

[email protected]

The hare with many friendsA Hare was very popular with the other beasts who all claimed to be her friends. But one day she heard the hounds approaching and hoped to escape them by the aid of her many Friends.

So, she went to the horse, and asked him to carry her away from the hounds on his back. But he declined, stating that he had important work to do for his master. He felt sure, he said, that all her other friends would come to her assistance.

She then applied to the bull, and hoped that he would repeal the hounds with his horns. The bull replied: I am very sorry, but I have an appointment with a lady; but I feel sure that our friend the goat will do what you want.

The goat, however, feared that his back might do her some harm if he took her upon it. The ram, he felt sure, was the proper friend to apply to. So she went to the ram and told him the case. The ram replied: Another time, my dear friend. I do not like to interfere on the present occasion, as hounds have been known to eat sheep as well as hares. The Hare then applied, as a last hope, to the calf, who regretted that he was unable to help her, as he did not like to take the responsibility upon himself, as so many older persons than himself had declined the task. By this time the hounds were quite near, and the Hare took to her heels and luckily escaped. Moral: He that has many friends, has no friends.


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24 KIDS ZONE

Literary jewelsThe world of literature has seen many women voice their deepest emotions through the power of words. We take a look at some of their illustrious careers.¡¡ eSha chanda

Jane Austen

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single young man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. — Pride and Prejudice

This first line from Austen’s most famous novel Pride and Prejudice, which celebrated 200 years in 2013, is widely recognised not only by Austen fans.

In her 30s, she anonymously published Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma. Unlike contemporary women writers, Austen, a Gregorian era author, did not receive the same fame. One of the greatest writers in English literary history, her timeless works have been adapted into plays, television series and movies that include popular sequels and spinoffs.

Harper Lee

Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t mess in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. — To Kill a Mockingbird

Best known for writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960, American novelist Harper Lee rose to fame after the publication of her first book. The story—that deals with the racism then observed by young Lee as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama—was later adapted to be released on the screen in 1962.

Although the first novel was an international bestseller, Lee did not continue her career as a writer. It was only recently, when her lawyer Tonja Carter discovered an unpublished manuscript, which was thought to be lost, in a safe deposit box. Lee announced the release of Go Set a Watchman—a novel written before Mockingbird that features the main character, Scout.

Maya Angelou

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. — I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou has been credited with many inspirational works in her lifetime. She started her career as a performer in the mid-1950s when she landed a role in a touring production of Pordgy and Bees. Her later performances included off-Broadway production Calypso Heat Wave and The Blacks. But it wasn’t until she returned to the United States when Angelou was urged by her friend to pen down her life experiences, which culminated into the highly successful I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

The poignant memoir achieved international acclaim and was the first non-fiction bestseller by an African-American woman. Angelou continued breaking records and become the first African-American woman to write a screenplay that was produced. Other publications include collections of poetry such as Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Die, which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

JK Rowling

It is our choices, Harry that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. — Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

British author JK Rowling, who penned a spellbinding page-turner, is one of the most celebrated contemporary fiction authors. Her magical world filled with wizards and witches cast a spell not only on children but also adults.

The increasingly dark tones in the series following the adventures of an 11-year-old bespectacled boy were inspired from the author’s life experiences. Her struggle with depression in her 20s gave form to the Dementors that we see in the third instalment. The series had a rough start when the draft was rejected by more than a dozen publishing houses in Britain before Bloomsbury agreed to publish the first book.

Even after the completion of the series, Rowling continues to capture the hearts of her readers by revealing the back story of characters in the magical world.

Jhumpa Lahiri

That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet. — The Namesake

The poignancy in her prose that explored the experiences of South Asian immigrants in the United States won her the Pulitzer Prize in 2000. Jhumpa Lahiri’s debut Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of short stories that give a fresh insight into the lives of immigrants. Her following novel The Namesake that was published in 2003 expanded on the same theme and was later adapted into a film directed by Mira Nair.

From the desk of

Guru- your personal tutor ¡¡ ravinder Grover

Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheswara Gurur Sakshat Para Brahma, Thasmai Sri Gurave Namaha.

Vyasa Purnima is observed on the full Moon day in the Hindu

month Ashada (July-August) in memory and expression of the gratitude to the great sage Maharishi Vyasa. He was born, codified and written the four Vedas and eighteen Mahapuranas on this very day. Owing to the passage of time, Vyasa Purnima came to be called Guru Purnima.

Guru (‘Gu’-darkness, ‘Ru’-who dispels the darkness) means the preceptor who dispels the darkness of ignorance.

The above Sanskrit stanza hails the Guru as Brahma (creator), Vishnu (sustainer), Maheswara (destroyer) and Parabrahman (Highest God)

is misinterpreted. The right approach is to consider Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswara as the Guru. These are symbolised by the three Gunas (attributes); Brahma is Rajaswic (activity), Vishnu is Sathwic (serenity) and Maheswara is Tamasic (inertia).

The whole cosmos is constituted by these three qualities which are also present in human being. ‘Gu’ signifies one who transcends all Gunas (attributes); ‘Ru’ signifies one who has no Rupa (form), hence means ‘one who is beyond attributes and forms’, namely the Brahman (Supreme Self). Hence only God is the true Guru.

Purnima means Full Moon with all its sixteen aspects being illumined by the Sun, referring to sixteen black spots in human beings, i.e., the six inner enemies (Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Ego and Jealousy), two Gunas (Tamasic and Rajaswic) and eight type of Mada (conceit) based on Lineage, Scholarship,

Wealth, Youth, Pride, Beauty, Position and Penance.

It is only when man gets rid of these sixteen evil traits then he would be able to get to the state of Poornatva (fullness) and realise oneness with Divine. The term Guru is often loosely used to describe anyone who gives out spiritual advice, but the word has a much more restricted definition. It’s a sacred word, generally used with its suffix, Deva (bright being), is called Gurudeva

Guru is someone who has realized the Self, who teaches by example, is egoless, has good conduct, mental discipline and sense of duty. He uses his power to assist others towards the goal of Self Realization. He is the one who reveals the Guri (Atmic Principle – one in all) to the aspirant. Guru is not a physical being, but a tradition; he is a stream of knowledge that goes through many channels.

Search for a Guru within

first. Analyze your inner conditions, work with yourself, don’t grumble but ask yourself whether you deserve one and are capable of attracting a Guru? Are you prepared to be guided? Scriptures say, “When the disciple is prepared, the Guru appears” otherwise Guru would be still there but you won’t notice or Guru won’t respond.

The spiritual aspirant goes to the Guru and offers a bundle of dry sticks, signifying he is surrendering himself to Guru with all his thoughts, words and deeds with a single desire to attain the highest wisdom. Then the Guru burns those sticks signifying he would guide and protect the aspirant, initiates him on various levels of spiritual sadhana and gives him the disciplines to practice.

Guru’s ways of teaching could be mysterious. The Guru is both external and internal. From the exterior he pushes spiritual aspirant’s mind to turn inwards

and from the interior, he pulls the mind towards Self.

Genuine Guru does not want anything in return as Selfless Service and Selfless Love are his very nature. He radiates his unconditional love to one and all.

Take Guru Purnima as the opportunity to remember the purpose of your existence, that is, to become complete and to attain liberation. Regard this very day as the beginning of the Spiritual New Year. Introspect impartially your deeds performed in the last year. Determine to come over the spiritual shortcomings. As Purnima is, when the Moon reflects the maximum light of Sun onto Earth, similarly make a vow to Reflect Guru’s teaching through thoughts, words and deeds hereafter.

God resides within as ‘Sanatan Sarathi’ (Eternal Charioteer). Search for this within yourself and anyone who leads you to your inner Self is your true Guru.

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25FEATURES

“Honesty and sincerity will surely bear fruits of success”¡¡ Kumar SureSh

Swami Vivekananda once said - Take up one idea. Make that one idea your

life - think of it, dream of it and live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.

Though the lines make for good reading, we being mere mortals, find it real tough to follow these simple but yet difficult path to success. But when an ordinary man does take it upon himself to pursue what he really wants do in his life, it is hard to believe how easy he makes it look for others to follow suit.

One such person is Munish Seth, who by sheer hard work and dedication has defined the path to success to many around him. He has proved that

however difficult the goal, the right tool for success is always hard work and sincerity.

Munish Seth shares his story with Indian Weekender

“First time I set my foot in this beautiful country was in 2002, when I arrived here on a work visa for six months. I was so hooked to this country and its people that I had to come back in 2003 with a permanent residential visa. As expected in

any new place one moves to, it is hard at the beginning but I was ready for the grind.

Those days there was a large and new influx of migrants from India and everyone I knew was trying to make a life in this country. Some failed and some succeeded but one good thing about the experience and the journey were the good and honest friends we had on each other’s side all the time. We worked for long hours doing menial jobs at multiple places to make our ends meet.

My first real job was at a warehouse where I had to take care of goods moving in and out. I was sure I was destined to do something big and I was just patiently waiting for the right opportunity. Six months after coming to New Zealand, I got into real estate business as an agent and since then, there has been no looking back. I think it

took me around 18 months to safely assume that I had my foot settled firmly over what I was doing in my life in New Zealand.

My hard work and perseverance paid off as I got a job in Barfoot and Thompson as a real estate agent and before I even knew, I was their top agent. I was the face of the company for two years and figured in their top 25 agents for many years, straight. I think I was the only Indian in that list for a long time. Even during recession in 2008-2009 I was one amongst very few who did well in real estate business. Since last three months, I have been handling Harcourt in Botany, Auckland.

I believe all this could only be possible only with the support of my community and I always try to give back whatever way I can, back to the community. Also, I will be doing great injustice if I don’t mention my wife’s name

here. She was one big support and has stood by me during thick and thin. She has been working as a real estate agent for last seven years as well.

At the end of the day when I go back home from work, I am filled with joy as I see my wonderful family, happy. My mother, wife and our two children are thankful for the life that this country has given to us. The quality of life in New Zealand along with freedom, happiness and not to forget wonderful friends are the real treasures to cherish for the rest of my life.

When someone asks me the secret of my success in life, I tell them the only mantra to achieve glory in any field in this country is hard work and never to look for shortcuts. Tree with its roots of honesty and sincerity will surely bear fruits of success.”


Red Black Orange

26 FEATURES

HappyBirthday

CMJ

New Zealand Herald reported the wild scramble for invitations to the “Party of the Year’, the Bollywood themed birthday bash was every bit in true Collin style.

The guests dressed in loud and vivacious Bollywood fashion, food, music and performances were all A-listers! Indian Weekender re-ports directly from the Bash….


Red Black Orange

27ENTERTAINMENT

Film industry helped me evolve: Manish¡¡ nivedita

He entered the film industry as a costume

designer when the concept of “costume designing” was alien to many. D e s i g n e r M a n i s h Malhotra, who has enjoyed a successful run of 25 years in Bollywood, says the industry helped him evolve and gave him a platform to explore and experiment with his creativity.

“My journey has been unconventional; instead of mainstream designing,

I started my career with film costume. The journey

has been phenomenal, I have received tremendous response,” Malhotra said.

Talking about the evolution of Bollywood over the years, he said:

“I came into an industry where the concept of costume design did not exist, but now it has become a very

important part. Costume, in any Bollywood story, has

always helped the director

c r e a t e

characters visually, which with time, in its own way, has become an integral part of the film industry.” The celebrated designer, whose tryst with designing for films began with Juhi Chawla starrer ‘Swarg’, says his journey comprised great experiences.

“Since the beginning, I was fond of watching Hindi films and was fascinated with the costumes worn by Bollywood actors. The film industry helped me evolve and gave me a platform to explore and experiment - I learned my craft, travelled and met some great people across the globe,” he said.

Malhotra redefined and modernised costumes in films like ‘Rangeela’, ‘Raja Hindustani’, ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai’, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, ‘Mohabbatein’, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ and many more, giving some of Bollywood’s leading actresses makeovers that changed their fate in showbiz.

From Kajol, Karisma Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Rani Mukerji, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Preity Zinta -- dressing up such beauties and more earned him the tag of Bollywood’s favourite designer. And he rightfully credits each of them for their support.

“I would credit each and every person in Bollywood -- from Sridevi to Rekha to Priyanka Chopra to Kareena Kapoor Khan to Parineeti Chopra to now dressing Mira Rajput (Shahid Kapoor’s wife) and many more. All have helped and supported me for so long...I would like to give credit to all

actors for embracing the costumes I created for them,î he said.

To this end, Malhotra will have former beauty queen Aishwarya as the showstopper for his finale show at the Amazon India Couture Week (AICW) 2015, where he will bring a preview of his limited edition London label. At an offsite show at The Leela here on August 2, he will present ‘Couture Soirèe’ in the form of an intimate evening with a 1950s’ vibe to it.

“Aishwarya will return to the runway after five years as the showstopper for my show...When it comes to doing limited edition and new beginning, there is no one more global than Aishwarya.

“She is a true Indian beauty and known across the globe,” said Malhotra, who is also styling the actress for Karan Johar’s next directorial called “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” apart from a few other projects. I’m currently working on ‘Dilwale’ where I’m styling Kajol, ‘Ka & Ki’ for Kareena Kapoor Khan and Arjun Kapoor,” he said.

Manish, who says 2015 is an important year for him as it marks his silver jubilee in the film industry as well as a decade of his label ‘Manish Malhotra’, plans to continue the successful journey with the launch of his London and Dubai store in spring 2016.

He also plans to launch in November an exclusive menswear store in Delhi, where he already has a fancy flagship store.

Never imagined I’ll be around for so long: JuhiActress Juhi Chawla, who has

completed more than 25 years in the industry, says that when

at the beginning of her career, she never imagined that she’ll have such a long innings in Bollywood.

Talking to media, Juhi said: “My journey has been wonderfully long! And I am today amazed that I am still around, relevant and visible, which I never even imagined 25 years ago. I just had no clue that I would be around for so long!

“I am really grateful and happy for this. So overall, my journey has been very eventful, and I am very glad that I have been in the movies!

“I mean once one has worked here, the highs, the lows, laughter, tears, insecurities, self-centeredness, fame, adulation, heartache, hardwork, and just everything has been fantastic! It has all been a great lesson in life.”

The manner in which Juhi has managed her film commitments and business endeavours while taking care of her family has been commendable.

“Well, sometimes it’s been a little overwhelming, but now I make sure to just take one thing at a time.

“I try not to overcrowd my whole schedule, so that’s why I pick and choose what I do.”

Her performance in a negative role in “Gulaab Gang” was appreciated with Juhi

even being nominated for Filmfare best supporting actor. She will now be seen as a teacher in upcoming educational drama “Chalk N Duster”.

‘Actors think 100 times before working with independent filmmakers’“Umrao Jaan” director Muzaffar Ali,

who is coming up with his new film “Jaanisaar”, says actors are nowadays

unsure about working with independent filmmakers as they are more inclined towards big budget and mainstream cinema.

At a media interaction for “Jaanisaar”, Ali spoke about the current mindset among actors, and shared: “In India, there are several actors.

“Whenever they feel that something positive is going to happen in their life, they get inclined towards multi-starrer, big banner and studio films. And before working with independent filmmakers, they think 100 times, eventually getting into a dilemma of which one to go for.

“In cinema, both good and bad things always happen. Artists are born and are finished regularly.

“There are actors who don’t compromise and there are some who do compromise. More the number of mouths, more the talks.

“What is the way you want to move forward with, how you want to live and what you want to say, is eventually what your journey is.”

However, Imran Abbas, who plays the male lead in “Jaanisaar”, didn’t have

any apprehensions about taking up a role in the movie.

“According to the demand of the script, we needed a boy like Imran. He had the guts to say ‘yes’ to me.

“It’s a big thing that he came forward during such a period,” added the filmmaker, who is also an accomplished fashion designer.

“Jaanisaar” is slated to release on August 7. It marks the debut of stylist Pernia Qureshi.

Juhi Chawla

Imran Abbas

“My journey has been unconventional; instead of

mainstream designing, I started my career with film costume. The journey has been phenomenal


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28 ENTERTAINMENT

Sunny Leone wants to don superhero’s avatar

Actress Sunny Leone has expressed her desire to play a superhero in a

movie. The former Indo-Canadian adult film star was asked by one of her fans on Twitter about her dream role. The user asked: “Sunny which is your dream role in your career? Playing a superwoman’s character #EqualPartnerships.”

To which Sunny replied: “Yes i want to play a superhero.”

Sunny is known for her bold image in the industry thanks to movies like Jism 2 and Ragini MMS 2. She was also seen in Ek Paheli Leela, a thriller drama film. She will be soon seen in the upcoming sex comedy film Mastizaade.

Bangistan deserves a fair chance: Riteish Deshmukh

As Baahubali - The Beginning and Bajrangi Bhaijaan continue

to garner enormous response at the box office, actor Riteish Deshmukh says it’s the “right call by the producers” to postpone the

release date of his forthcoming comedy Bangistan to August 7, as the film “should get a fair chance”.

“The fact is that Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan are doing great business at the box office. I think it was the right call by the producers.

A film should get a fair chance. If it is better for the film, then why not? I feel that by postponing the film by one week, probably we’ll have a better showcasing,” Riteish said.

While S S Rajamouli’s magnum opus Baahubali - The Beginning has already broken several records at the box office, Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan too collected Rs.197.77 crore in just eight days since its release on July 17 and is expected to cross the Rs.200 crore mark this week.

Directed by Karan Anshuman, Bangistan, which was mostly shot in Poland and Ladakh, is about two suicide bombers, Hafeez Bin Ali Ishwarchand Sharma (Riteish) and Allah Rakha Khan Praveen Chaturvedi (Pulkit), who have been brainwashed into an explosive mission but eventually realise the death wish is futile exercise.

Anushka to take strict measures online

Actress Anushka Sharma says she will ‘block’ people who

write nonsense on the micro-

blogging site Twitter. Some of the celebrities, including veteran actor Rishi Kapoor and filmmaker Karan Johar, have fallen victim to cyber bullying. Anushka, who mostly uses the digital platform to share her opinion on various subjects, has now warned people to behave or else get blocked.

“Trying to keep my Twitter positive (well as positive as possible) so will BLOCK people who rant nonsense with no sense of responsibility,” Anushka tweeted.

Anybody would be lucky to have Katrina as girlfriend: Saif

Saif Ali Khan, who will again be seen onscreen with Katrina Kaif in Phantom,

said he is very fond of his co-star and that any person would be

lucky to have her as a girlfriend, fiancee or more.

“I think Katrina is one of the most lovely girls I’ve worked with. And anybody would be lucky to have her as girlfriend, fiancee or in the future something more,” he told reporters at the trailer launch of their upcoming action film directed by Kabir Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala

Saif, who also did Race with Katrina, termed her: “One of the most beautiful and biggest stars in Bollywood.”

“I’ve known Katrina for a while. I’ve watched her from being a relatively new actor in Race to becoming one of the biggest stars in the country, working very hard and becoming an amazing personality on screen. It’s always nice to spend time with her. She is extremely relaxed and is someone who I’ve enjoyed talking to and working with. I think we had an easy equation, “ he said.

Saif is returning to action two years after “Bullet Raja” and according to him, it is a dream situation to feature in a film like Phantom.

“I love this kind of movies. To get a chance to work with Kabir and having Sajid as producer has given me a dream situation.” The film, based on the theme of terrorism, is gearing up for release on August 28.

Not engaged, no marriage plans for now, says Katrina

Actress Katrina Kaif sought to dispel rumours that she had got engaged

to Ranbir Kapoor and said she had no marriage plans for now.

“I’m glad you asked that but I’m definitely not engaged. I know you guys are so sweet and you seem to want me to get married but there are no such plans now. So please bear with me being not married for some more time,” said Katrina, who was making a public

appearance after a long time at the trailer launch of Phantom.

She was responding to queries about if she had got engaged.

All engagement rumours were sparked on the occasion of Katrina’s birthday on July 16 when reportedly she and Ranbir had set off to Alibaug to celebrate, and it was there that Ranbir proposed to her and gifted her a platinum and diamond eternity band.

There have been numerous rumours of their alleged engagement or break-up over the years. Ranbir and Katrina are said to have got close during shooting of their romantic comedy, Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani in 2009.

Word of mouth boosts ‘Masaan’ ticket sales

Tagged as “one of the finest Hindi films” and “technically brilliant”,

Masaan witnessed a strong fillip in ticket sales last weekend, thanks to the strong and reliable word of mouth.

Produced jointly by Drishyam Films, Phantom Films, Macassar Productions and Sikhya Entertainment, Masaan hit the Indian screens on 24 July.

“In major cinema chains like PVR, Cinemax the film opened on Friday morning with an average occupancy of 17.5 to 18 per cent. By Friday night, it rose to around 24 per cent and by Saturday the average occupancy was 37.4 per cent,” Shiladitya Bora, CEO of Drishyam Films, said in a statement.

The film, which has opened in around 250 screens in the country, is looking stable to go in the second week with more shows.

Vikramaditya Motwane of Phantom Films shared that the strong word of mouth and the “super reviews have added to the buzz around the film, and the ticket sales went up by almost double on next day of release”.

The story of debut directorial of Neeraj Ghaywan revolves around four lives which intersect along the Ganga ghats in Benares: a

low-caste boy falling hopelessly in love, a daughter ridden with guilt of a sexual encounter ending in a tragedy, a hapless father with fading morality, and a spirited child yearning for a family, long to escape the moral constructs of a small town.

Wait for Shaandaar worth it: Alia

Actress Alia Bhatt, who will be seen in Shaandaar, has shared

with the Twitterati that the wait for her forthcoming film will hopefully be worth it.

“Heheh woke up to #ShaandaarWaitIsKillingUs!! Coming up veryyyyyy soon guys..sorry for the wait but hopefully it’ll be fully worth it!!!!,” Alia tweeted last week. In response to her tweet, Karan Johar, one of the producers of the film, wrote “#ShaandaarWaitKillingUs is trending!!! Well not for long...coming up really soon!!! @aliaa08 @shahidkapoor”. Shaandaar is a romantic comedy film, directed by Vikas Bahl. It also features Shahid Kapoor, Pankaj Kapur and Sanjay Kapoor.

BMW India Bridal Fashion Week to be held in Delhi August 7-11

Designers like Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Anita Dongre, Ashima Leena,

Falguni Shane Peacock, Gauri Nainika and Tarun Tahiliani will showcase their creative excellence in bridal couture in New Delhi from August 7-11.

Other names who will showcase their works include JJ Valaya, Jyotsna Tiwari, Rina Dhaka, Shantanu Nikhil and Suneet Varma, said a statement.

Sponsored by BMW with Swarovski as the Fashion Partner, the event will be held at DLF Emporio in New Delhi.

It promises to bring alive the latest trends and designs in bridal couture.


Red Black Orange

29ENTERTAINMENT

Through Ticket from New Zealand to IndiaFly via Sydney/Melbourne to India with Qantas-Air India, Virgin Australia-Air India or Air New Zealand-Air India

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Delhi and any one of eleven Indian cities : Bangalore, Mumbai, Kozhikode, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Trivandrum, Vishakhapatnam. Onward domestic connections at a nominal cost

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Fly onward at $ 25 (one way)/ ($ 50 return) between Delhi and any one of twenty eight Indian cities: Agra, Bhubaneswar, Vadodara, Bhopal, Guwahati, Gaya, Goa, Khajuraho, Indore, Imphal, Mangalore, Lilabari, Jammu, Leh, Ranchi, Aurangabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Srinagar, Tirupati, Udaipur, Vijayawada, Varanasi. Fly onward at $ 50 (one way)/ ($ 100 return) between Delhi and any one of two Indian cities: Ahmedabad and Amritsar. Fly onward at $ 80 (one way)/ ($ 160 return) between Delhi and any one of ten Indian cities: Agatti, Dehra Dun, Dharamsala, Allahabad, Pathankot, Jabalpur, Kanpur, Kulu, Ludhiana and Surat

*Offer ends on 31st August 2015 unless sold out prior. Advertised fares are all inclusive for travel on the route Auckland-Hyderabad-Auckland via Delhi and Sydney/Melbourne, priced as on 27th July 2015 for outbound travel on 20th Aug 2015 and inbound travel on 20th Sep 2015, with 8 kg carry-on luggage and 30 kg check-in baggage. Travel between New Zealand and Australia permitted on our interline partners Virgin Australia (VA), Qantas Airways (QF) and Air New Zealand (NZ). Prices are correct as on 27th July 2015 and small variations in prices may occur as a result of changes in airport taxes or currency fluctuations. Offer is subject to availability and fares are valid on Air India/Virgin Australia/Qantas/Air New Zealand operated flights only. Cancellation penalty/no-show fees apply. For full terms and conditions contact your local travel agent or call Air India on (03) 90218720 / 92833370.

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Red Black Orange

30 FEATURES

Nirmita Santanu Ghosh

Creating the balance¡¡ Swati Sharma

L ife throws different challenges every day and they are supposed

to help you discover who you really are. The one who accepts those challenges with a positive outlook stands out in the crowd. Nirmita Santanu Ghosh shares how she accepted these challenges and how it has helped her grow.

Tell us something about you.

I am a housewife and mother of two. I have an 11-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son. I work as a librarian and a teacher-aid. I love working with special aid children. It is something very close to my heart. I enjoy being in their company and spending time with them.

I also organise and choreograph drama and dance shows for children and elders. I am running a business for creative fields through which we provide props and sets for plays, musical or dance shows and events.

How did the idea of taking part in the Mrs India New Zealand contest come to you?

I was approached with this idea. I always love to try new things. I was a part of a theatrical drama recently and have been doing

dance shows from a long time. So I thought that it would be a good experience to try something new and interesting.

How are you preparing yourself for the pageant?

There’s isn’t much to prepare for. I just need to present my true self. The only bit of preparation

that I am doing is shopping for new and good dresses and jewellery. And I am loving it!

The contest has five rounds: talent round, traditional wear round, beachwear round, evening gown round and then a final interview. We will be preparing for those rounds on the day of the event itself.

Have been into modelling before?

No, this is my first experience in modelling. Although I have been part of creative professions such as dancing and acting, this is a first, and I am quite excited about it.

What do you think makes you different from others in the contest?

I have always tried to promote Indian and Bengali culture through various cultural activities. Currently, I have 3–4 cultural events lined up. I have always tried to stay connected with my roots and have been working towards making our new generation understand their culture, language and traditions too.

I have a master’s degree in commerce, but I chose a profession that is close to my heart, which is being with children. That is why I started working as a teacher aid for children with special needs. If I can do something for our younger generation, I am on for it.

I think this is what makes me different from others. I have to balance everything at the same time, my family, job, hobbies and passion, and I have been successful in doing that so far. And I hope to maintain the same balance in future as well.

Say if you win the contest, what after that?

This contest is definitely going to be a completely different experience from what I have done till now. I am thrilled about the contest and then what comes my way next. I have never learnt to quit so I am sure that I will definitely be doing something new, challenging and exciting after this contest.

India Independence DayDate: Saturday 15 August 2015Time: starts at 10:30am with flag raisingVenue: The Mahatma Gandhi Centre, 145 New North Road, Eden Terrace, Auckland.Let us honour, salute and be proud. Auckland Indian Association and NZICA is celebrating 68th Indian Independence Day and inviting all individuals and groups interested in participating to showcase their talent by performing a patriotic themed item, song, dance or play. Register your interest ASAP so you do not miss out. Contact Baldevbhai (billy) Bhaga at 027 535 8438 or email at [email protected]

Workshop by HOTA ForumDate: Sunday 16 August 2015 Time: 1pm to 2pmVenue: Chinmaya Mission NZ, 63 McKenzie Road, MangereHOTA Forum presents a free workshop on “Why are we CREATED?” In this workshop, Br. Adarsh Chaitanya from Chinmaya Mission New Zealand will share with us the ancient wisdom on popular questions like: Is there a purpose to creation, why do I exist, why creation? You will also get an opportunity to interact with Br. Adarsh Chaitanya during the workshop to clarify any specific questions on this topic.

CAB Workshop on NZ Tax SystemDate: Saturday, 15 August 2015Time: 9:30am to 1:30 pmVenue: CAB New Lynn, New Lynn Library Building, 3 Memorial Drive, New LynnCAB New Lynn will hold a free workshop on “New Zealand Tax System” and “Making a Will and appoint a Power of Attorney”. Come and join us at our FREE workshop with Adon Kumar and a speaker from the Public Trust and learnt about: Personal Tax, Kiwisaver,

Wills and Power of Attorney. Refreshments and Light lunch will be provided. To register, please email at [email protected] or call 8274731 / 8277830

Immigration information workshop for migrants Date: Thursday, 13 August 2014Time: 9am to 1pmVenue: 532 Mt Albert Road in Three Kings Plaza, Three Kings.Auckland Regional Migrant Services (ARMS) is holding an immigration information workshop for migrants in partnership with the Auckland Community Law Centre. The workshop is an ideal opportunity for migrants to learn about the rights and obligations of holding a residence visa, the visa options and restrictions, and visa expiry and unlawful stay in NZ. Auckland Community Law Centre will also explain how Immigration New Zealand decides immigration applications, where to find further immigration help and information and the costs involved, and the role of other immigration bodies including the Immigration Protection Tribunal and the High Court.To register or for more information contact ARMS on 09 625 2440 or email [email protected]

Maisuria Samaj NZ General MeetingDate: Saturday 24 October 2015Time: 6 pm onwardsVenue: New Lynn Community Centre Totara Ave, New Lynn Auckland.Maisuria Samaj of New Zealand is organising its first General Meeting .All Maisuria Families are invited to attend. PLEASE NOTE DATES HAVE CHANGED FROM 15th August to 24th October 2015.


Red Black Orange

31FEATURES

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