19AUG2016

Vol. 8 Issue 22

NZs only Kiwi-Indian weekly

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

SAKSHI ENDS
INDIAS MEDAL
DRAUGHT

The Pulse of Kiwi-Indians since 2009

THE SPIRIT
OF INDIAN
INDEPENDENCE
IN NZ

NEW ZEALAND
PLANNING REACHES
A NEW MILESTONE
SATINDER SARTAAJ

MESMERISES AUCKLAND

www.iwk.co.nz

MELBOURNE
WORLDS MOST
LIVEABLE CITY

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

NEW ZEALAND

Future of Auckland unveiled

Auckland Council passes plan to build the worlds most liveable city

The Unitary Plan

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

Esha Chanda

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

Unitary plan explained

ts been in the news for a

while and everyone is talking
about it. But for the ones who
are still wondering what the fuss
is all about, here is what the
Auckland Unitary Plan means. In

simple terms, it is the planning

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

city have effects on others. With

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

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few years and expected in the

following years.

History of the Unitary Plan

fter the Auckland Council

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

Council prepared the first draft

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

NEW ZEALAND

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

on the councils website on July 27. After

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

TIMELINE
2010

Eight councils are amalgamated to form Auckland Council. The government

passes a special legislation that requires the council to formulate a plan and
develop a set of new rules.
MarchMay 2013

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

Government appoints an Independent Hearings Panel, chaired by Judge

David Kirkpatrick, to hear the submissions on the proposed Unitary Plan
July 22, 2016

The Independent Hearings Panel presents its recommendations to

Auckland Council
July 27, 2016

The recommendations are made public

August 1015, 2016

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

A big step towards building a

better Auckland

Aucklanders, its your chance

to appeal

The final decision is made public

August 19September 16, 2016

lthough may Aucklanders fear that

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

Limited appeals allowed for a period of 20 working days on the

councils decisions

This plan eases

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

400,000 properties it allows for is about

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

that allows two houses with up to two

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

fter the Auckland Council notifies

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

GET INVOLVED GET NOTICED

Send us information and photographs about your

community events and get featured in Indian Weekender.
Email at swati@indianweekender.co.nz or
Call Swati at 020-40081234

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

Indian community calls on govt

for a Hindi Language Week in NZ

IWK BUREAU

dding to the diversity in New

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

Suuny Kaushal

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

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BSCT celebrates Indian I-Day with patriotic fervour

Rizwan Mohammad

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

The event attended by almost

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

by toddlers assisted by their

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

SIT celebrates I-Day

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

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NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

NZ CELEBRATES THE SPIRIT OF INDEPENDENCE

Kiwi-Indians celebrated Indian Independence Day at Bharat Bhavan

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

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NEW ZEALAND

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

SOUTH LINE

News-in-brief
from South Island

Celebrating the tricolour in Canterbury

Gaurav Sharma

At the stroke of the midnight

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

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

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

While nothing can replace

celebrating Independence Day
back home with friends and
family, celebrations [such as]
these bring back those memories
even if it is for a sole evening.
We won our freedom after a
hard-fought struggle spread over
a century. Its important that
our young generation doesnt
forget this.
Christchurch City Councillor,
Jimmy Chen, who was the chief
guest at the event, congratulated
the
gathering
on
Indias
Independence Day and thanked

them for making the city a vibrant

place full of colours.

Indian Social and

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

But the highlight of the evening

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

Indianz Canterbury on Friday.

The club also organised a special
tricolour hoisting ceremony on
August 15, at 7:30 a.m. in Latimer
Square in the citys CBD. The
event ended with the gathering
singing Indias national anthem.

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

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

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

India @70: a story of billion images

Sandeep Singh

nvitation to write anything

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

cool thing of this time and age.

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

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

me, and, it might surprise many.

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

distinct way of relating with the

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

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10

NEW ZEALAND

building that provided everyone

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

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indians share their thoughts on I-Day

Kelvin,

Arvinder

The first thing

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

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

Ankit

Aucklnd

Sid,

All I remember
is that we used
to fly kites on
Independence
Day. I just miss
doing all that...
Thats
what
I feel.

Auckland

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

Coline,

Auckland

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

Asif,
Auckland

Aucklnd

Auckland

Johnson,
Auckland

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

Saumitra,

New Delhi

It is important that our kids and coming

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

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

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

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

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

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

11

Now pay less with AT HOPs new fare system

T
Swati Sharma

ravelling around Auckland

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

Waiwera

Hatfields
Beach

Orewa

Maygrove

Millwater

Red
Beach

Hilltop

Stanmore
Bay

Silverdale

Matakatia
Bay

Whangaparaoa

Stillwater

Gulf
Harbour

Manly

Arkles
Bay

Hibiscus Coast

Dairy
Flat
Helensville

Helensville

Long
Bay
Torbay

Upper North Shore

Oteha

Browns
Bay

Albany
Albany

Mairangi
Bay

Pinehill
Rosedale

Campbells
Bay

Huapai

Constellation

Huapai
Waimauku

Herald
Island

Kumeu

Wairau
Valley

Greenhithe
Bayview

Hobsonville

Massey
North
Massey
West

Northcote

Highbury

Westgate
Massey
East

Waitemata
Harbour

Waitakere

Waterview

Henderson

St Lukes

Owairaka

Sunnyvale
Kelston
Glen Eden

New
Windsor
New Lynn

Wesley

Epsom

Green
Bay
Titirangi

Blockhouse
Bay
Lynfield

Meadowbank

Hillsborough

Panmure
Panmure

Ellerslie

Penrose

Royal Oak
Onehunga

Woodlands
Park

Waitakere
Ranges

Pakuranga

Botany
Dannemora

Highbrook

East Tamaki Heights

Otahuhu

Manukau North

Favona

Ascot
Industrial

Shelly
Park

Burswood

Westfield

Mangere

Laingholm

Maraetai

Beachlands

Cockle Bay

Botany
Downs

Te Papapa

Waikowhai

Mangere
Bridge

Omana
Beachlands

Howick
Highland
Park

Sunnyhills

Sylvia
Park

Mellons
Bay

Farm Cove

Mt Wellington

Oranga

Waima
Wood
Bay

Half Moon
Bay

Pt England

Stonefields

One Tree
Hill

Three Kings

Bucklands
Beach
Eastern
Beach

Glen
Innes

St Johns

Remuera

Greenlane

Isthmus
Mt
Roskill

Oratia

Glendowie

Newmarket

Balmoral

Sandringham

Avondale

St Heliers

Kohimarama

Orakei

Grafton

Mt Eden

Mt Albert

Glendene

Mission Bay

City

Westmere

Eden
Terrace
Western Kingsland
Springs

Te Atatu
South

Henderson
Valley

Narrow
Neck
Devonport

Britomart
Herne
Bay

Pt Chevalier

Ranui
Swanson

Bayswater
Stanley
Bay

Te Atatu
Peninsula

Waiheke
Island

Waiheke

Belmont

Birkenhead

Chatswood

Royal
Heights

Rangitoto
Island

Takapuna
Akoranga
Hauraki

Birkdale

West
Harbour

Waitakere

Hauraki Gulf

Lower North Shore

Smales Farm

Glenfield

Beach
Haven

Whenuapai

Sunnynook
Castor
Bay
Forrest
Hill
Milford

East
Tamaki

Otara

Whitford

Mission
Heights

Mangere
East

Flat
Bush
Chapel
Downs

Papatoetoe
Puhinui

Manukau
Heights

Manukau
Totara
Heights

Wiri

Airport

Manukau
Harbour

The
Gardens

Hill Park

Homai

Manurewa
East

Manurewa

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

Manukau South

Clendon
Takanini
Weymouth
Wattle
Downs

Conifer
Grove
Papakura
Pahurehure
Hingaia

Red Hill

Rosehill
Opaheke

Drury

Franklin
Paerata

Pukekohe

Legend
Zone overlap:
Stops or stations
in two zones

To Tuakau & Port Waikato

Waiuku

So he hops on a bus on K-road

and gets down at Hobson Street.
After 15 minutes, he takes a bus
to Victoria Street, gets down for a

coffee with his other friend. After

20 minutes, he finally takes a bus
to Britomart. Although he tagged
on and off three times, he pays only

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$1.80 because he travelled within

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

its website to make it easier for

people to work out what their
journey will cost. Travellers will
need to add up the number of
zones and check the fare table to
calculate the fare.
AT Metro app will make the
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12

NEW ZEALAND

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Sufi maestro Sartaaj creates magic in Auckland

Swati Sharma

n his fourth tour

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

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

Sartaajs songs about the

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

ADVERTORIAL

Off-the-wall designs
by kids attracts many

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

Caption

turned into two, 30m walls plus a

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

Photos (including cover) courtesy:

Davinder Singh Photography

Educating young minds on leadership day

Rizwan Mohammad

ducating young leaders

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

Top: Organisers of the Leadership

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

Naidoo from a Hindu perspective.

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

on to a worksheet. The aim

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

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

POWER COLUMN

Celebrating being Indian

Phil Goff
Labour MP

his week, the 70th Independence

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

We remember, too, the leadership of

Indias first Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru, who raised the Indian national flag
for the first time above the Lahore Gate of
the Red Fort in Delhi.
On Independence Day, we celebrate that
India became and has remained the worlds
largest democracy. While democracy has
crumbled in some other countries, India
has steadfastly maintained its democracy.
The best way to honour the struggle
and sacrifice of those who strove for
independence is to take advantage of the
rights and freedoms that they won for
future generations.
Too many of us dont take advantage of
the right to vote that was so hard-won. I

Electorate Office:
7 Fulton Cres, Otara
09 274 9231 or 09 278 9972
jenny.salesa@parliament.govt.nz
Papatoetoe:
YouthLine Building,
145 St George Street,
Friday mornings
9.30am to 12pm
Otahuhu:
Otahuhu Town Hall,
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Monday mornings
9am to 12pm
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06/10/15 11:24

hope that members of our communities

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

NEW ZEALAND

13

their culture. They are proud Kiwis but

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

14

NEW ZEALAND

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Helping our children to succeed

John Key
Prime Minister

ver since I became Prime Minister,

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

of our 18-year-olds achieving a minimum

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

96.6%, which is great news. New Zealand

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

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

Law and order a priority for National govt

Kanwaljit Bakshi
National List MP

n the last few weeks, I have participated

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

reduction in youth offending, both as part

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

properly holding offenders to account

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

The Prime Minister has said the

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

Celebrating New Zealands diversity

James Shaw
Green Party Co-leader

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

As many people celebrated

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

official support for the Hindi

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

Indian Association receiving

more funding to refurbish their
Papatoetoe community centre.
We think its crucial that the
government support community
initiatives such as this, which
make a positive contribution to the

well-being of local communities

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

Check out www.indianweekender.co.nz and subscribe

to our weekly newsletter with latest news and updates

t
v
o
g

NEW ZEALAND

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

FROM THE BEEHIVE

New ethnic community funding round opens

inister for Ethnic Communities

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

and participation in New Zealand,

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

Creating safe
environments
for older people

Minister for Ethnic Commincaties Peseta Sam

Lotu-Iiga

Accredited Agent

ssociate Health Minister Peseta

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

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From January to June, Customs made
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types of class A, B and C drugs including
almost 143kg of methamphetamine, and
575kg of its precursor ephedrine, Ms
Wagner says.
Drugs can be sourced cheaply in some
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Zealand make us an attractive market.
Criminals attempt to smuggle drugs into
the country using any way they can think
of. The fact that Customs is making drugs
seizures of all sizes, on a daily basis,
suggests the many systems that are in place
to protect our border are working well.

strategiesthe New Zealand Migrant

Settlement and Integration Strategy and
the Refugee Resettlement Strategy.
The funding round opened on August 15
and closes on September 27. Any not-forprofit group can apply.
For more information on Ethnic
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Thought of the week

I am not what happened to me, I am what I

choose to become.
Carl Jung

Editorial
City of the future

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

Pick of the week

*******

Wise call, Frank

he announcement by Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama that they

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

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

Indian Weekender : Volume 8 Issue 22

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

Mori Phrase: Ka pai hoki koe!

English translation: Good on yout!

Tip from the trenches

Blogging for
beginners

Its all about the content. The more

you write, the better youll get
Stick to one theme. Do not write about too
many subjects.
Use plug-ins such as All in One
SEO, Tweet Suite and Socialble
for WordPress to enhance the user
experience
Reply to comments to intereact with
your readers
Have a featured guest blog. Get people
on board.

OPINION/EDITORIAL

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

17

India yet to realise its economic freedom

Amit Kapoor

t has been just over 69 years

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

people sending their children to

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

high school fees that people often

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

shrunk and has faced competition

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

competition in sectors, which can

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

Facing up to the threat within

Amulya Ganguli

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

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi

discomfiture. If the BJP did not

suffer a serious rupture after the
Babri masjid demolition, it may
do so now because Modi is taking
a position that runs counter to
one of the saffron camps basic
tenets such as reverence for the
cow. By calling the gau rakshaks
anti-social, Modi has touched a
raw nerve where the parivar is
concerned. Little wonder that
the VHPs vice-president in Uttar
Pradesh, Sunil Parashar, has said
that Modis statement is an insult
to all those who have sacrificed
their lives for cow protection.
If Modi adheres to this line, it
can lead to a major shake-up of
the parivars ideology, moving
it into the 21st century from its
medieval moorings.
As the Hindu Mahasabha has
said, Modi has gone back on

everything from Ram temple to

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

of the Congress and some of

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

of the lawlessness of the gau

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

18

FIJI

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

FIJI

Its party time as Fiji celebrates Olympic gold

iji is bracing for the

celebration of a lifetime
as the island nation
awaits the return of
its victorious sevens team after
winning gold at the Rio Olympics.
It is the countrys first gold
medal ever, which the sevens
team secured after thumping
Great Britain 437 in the final.
But before the party proper
in the capital Suva, the western
division will get the first chance to
welcome the heroes as they arrive
in Nadi on Sunday, August 21.
For Fijians in the west who
might be thinking that they would
be left out of the celebrations
if everything would be done in
the Capital City, Sports Minister
Tuitubou confirmed that they had
a programme planned for them.
With all to be confirmed
tomorrow, yes, we have something
for the west, celebrations in the
west could be held at Prince
Charles Park on Sunday when the
team arrives, Tuitubou said.
The final programme for
the celebrations on Monday,
August 22, for the Fiji mens 7s
team gold medal win should be
finalised soon. Tuitubou said
they were still making changes
to the programme to welcome
Fijis golden boys. But the golden
Olympic medal public holiday

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

and the official celebration in

Suva would be held on Monday.
This is all in the tentative
programme to see the smooth
transferring of Fijis heroes
otherwise they would have to
go through another 10 hours
drive in a usual three-hour
drive to get to Suva as was the
case in Ben Ryans first HSBC
World Rugby 7s series win in the
201415 series.
Fijis sevens Olympic gold
medal performance won praise
from all over the world for the
clinical manner in which they
demolished all their opponents,

Flag to be retained

he Fiji Government has

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

While I remain convinced

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

including nemesis New Zealand,

to emerge victors.
Sports commentators labelled
it Fiji playing sevens at its best,
and the way it should be played.
Meanwhile,

the
end
of
Englishman Ben Ryans term
as the Fiji 7s coach is fast
catching on the heels of the gold
medal triumph.
Now as Fijians await him
on Sunday for a nationwide
celebration on Monday to thank
him and the players, theres
headache and heartache already
brewing as his three-year term as
Fijis mentor comes to an end.

He is the talk of the world and

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

Catholic women raise a

record $200K in conference

atholic Womens League

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

She owed this to a strict control

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

India to help 200 homes with solar panels

he Indian government will

soon donate solar panels
to about 200 households

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

He said women solar engineers

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

his revelation that Fiji and its

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

India is popular
for Fijians seeking
medical treatment

ndias High Commissioner to

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

INDIA

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

19

INDIA

PM Modis I-Day address highlights the

growth of Indian economy

Mohd Asim Khan

thousand hearts beating

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

Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets sang

the national anthem as the crowds,
standing at attention, too joined in
the chorus.

Indian economy highlights

from Modis I-Day address

Prime MIinister Narendra Modi addressing the gathering at Red Fort on Indias 70th
Independence Day

years ago when Modi delivered

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

oratory on occasion, as when he

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

From Nehru till today, Kashmir is

Indias mistake: Mehbooba

hief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on

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

Modi made major comments

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

Earlier

village roads were

constructed at the rate of 7075
km per day. Now we construct
100 km in a day
Public
sector
companies
were always seen as ones that
make losses. My government
succeeded in bringing Air India
back to a situation where it is
logging operational profits.
BSNL has also managed to
report an operational profit.
The impossible was made
possible by adding 21 crore
people in the Jan Dhan Yojana
The government was trying to
link all government schemes
with Aadhaar to avoid leakage
Post offices will be converted
into payment banks. With the
advent of technology, post
offices are becoming irrelevant
and the government is focusing
on keeping them relevant.
The government had decided to
complete around 118 projects
worth Rs 7.5 lakh crore of
previous government which
were pending for years
Pension for our freedom
fighters will be increased
by 20%. So those who are
receiving Rs 25,000 will now
get Rs 30,000.

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Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti

urged the two nations to come together and

solve the Kashmir problem jointly. So much
blood has flown in the Jhelum River and it
has no capacity to bear further bloodshed,
she said.
The Kashmir Valley has been on the boil
since the July 8 killing of a popular rebel
commander that sparked a widespread
unrest leaving 56 people dead and
thousands injured.
The CM urged people to denounce
violence and said, If we cant find our
solution in the worlds biggest democracy,
we wont find it anywhere else. We hope
that the effort that was incomplete in
Atal Bihari Vajpayees time would now be
completed under Narendra Modi.
The CM faced some embarrassment as
she hoisted the tricolor that fell off the post
while being unfurled.
Witnesses said when she pulled the string,
the flag landed on the ground. Two security
personnel later held the flag in their hands
as Mehbooba gave the ceremonial salute to
the tricolor. The flag was later set right and
hoisted atop the post.
The CM has ordered state police chief to
suspend those responsible for the incident.

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20

INDIA

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

India, China discuss NSG membership

fter China blocked

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

said. The issue of China

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

Influx of foreign funds to keep rupee on

steady trajectory

healthy influx of foreign

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

to trade firm against British

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

from its previous close of 66.78

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

G20, East Asia and BRICS

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

Infosys to sack 3,000

techies as Scottish bank
cancels deal

lobal software major

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

for the divestment of its business.

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

Gujarat government will be taught a lesson: Kejriwal

elhi Chief Minister

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

a day after some Dalits, returning

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

they will remember for a long

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

the spiritual guru and head

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

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

INDIA ABROAD

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

21

INDIA ABROAD

Indo-Australians green steel could be

game-changer for India

Amit Dasgupta

he Guardian newspaper profiled

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

Professor Veena Sahajwalla

is a Scientia Professor at the Centre for

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

research can have a global impact and

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

steel and the reform of waste. Excited at

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

Indian-American official leads drive against police brutality

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

Vanita Gupta is the most prominent of several

Indian-Americans working in civil liberties arena

nations of human rights violations and

brutality against minorities, the Baltimore

report and Guptas actions against several

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

the improper use of violence, the report

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

NEW ZEALAND FIRST LIST MP

MAHESH
BINDRA
BASED IN AUCKLAND

Contact
Auckland Office

Level 1, 21 East Tamaki Rd, Papatoetoe, Auckland 2025

Ph: 0800 BINDRA (246372)
mahesh.bindra@parliament.govt.nz

Authorised by Mahesh Bindra,

Parliament Buildings, Wellington

22

SPORTS

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

SPORTS

Rio round-up August 1218

ith Rio Olympics going on

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

stop Sindhu. The match witnessed a lot of

long rallies with both players displaying
plenty of skills, excellent court coverage
and a superb sense of placement.

Dipa misses medal at Rio

but wins millions
of hearts

Spirited Sakshi ends

Indias medal drought at
Olympics with bronze

diminutive 23-year-old Sakshi

Malik touched glory at the Rio
Olympics on Wednesday, August
17 by reaching out and grabbing the only
medal India has been able to win at the 31st
Olympiad. Whats even more astonishing is
that she is the only women wrestler from

To those who told me I am a girl and I

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

ce gymnast Dipa Karmakar

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

Murray keeps Olympic

tennis title, wins second
consecutive gold

Shuttler Sindhu enters

Olympic semis

ndian shuttler P.V. Sindhu caused a huge

upset, stunning World No.2 Wang Yihan
of China in straight games to enter the
semi-finals of the womens singles category
at the ongoing Rio Olympics.
Faced with a much higher rated
opponent, the 21-year-old from Hyderabad

Mokhra village near Rohtak in Haryana,

the village which has produced several
achievers in the field.
Sakshi brought an end to Indias long
medal wait. She clinched the bronze in the
Womens Freestyle 58kg category with a
spirited comeback victory over Aisuluu
Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan.
The young wrestler overturned a 05
deficit in a hectic second round to script
an 85 victory in the medal bout at the
Carioca Arena 2 in Rio de Janerio.
I have stood up to the hopes of the
country for the first medal. I was confident
that I can win in the end even being down.
The last two hours were the most difficult
for me thinking whether the medal will
come or not, she said in her initial
comments soon after winning.
This is the first time that a medal has
come for women. Its a success of my 12
years of dedication. My hard work has
succeeded, Sakshi said.
It was a rousing display of fighting spirit
and never-say-die attitude from the Indian.
Aisuluu was clearly the superior wrestler
in the totally one-sided opening round,
displaying impressive strength and
technique to take five points and open up a
formidable lead.
But Sakshiwho has previously shown a
knack of staging strong comebackswas a
totally transformed grappler in the second
round, taking eight consecutive points to
send the sizable number of Indian fans in
the stands into wild delirium.

Bolts target of repeating his 100m, 200m

and 4x100m victories at the Beijing 2008
and London 2012 Games.

at the Olympics was in 1964, but there

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

ritains Andy Murray became the

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

Bolt creates athletics

history at Rio Olympics

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

tar Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt

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

a chance to pick off the Scotsman, fought

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

KIDS ZONE

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

Good morning
T he suns rays scatter across the sky
Majestic light touches me
It feels so warm
And happy
Good morning world
Have a happy day !

Fun Facts
A group of rattlesnakes is called a rhumba

Sanskriti Prabhakar

Danger for all

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

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

Every cow has a unique pattern of spots

Hens lay, on an average, 300 eggs a year

A baby giraffe is called a calf and weighs 220

pounds

Sport 5 Differences

Send us stories, drawings, poems and other contributions by

your little ones along with their photographs for this page.
E-mail us at editor@indianweekender.co.nz

23

24

FEATURES

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Camera essentials

Jeffery Chan

e all start our photography

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

Tripod

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

here will be times when a tripod

becomes handy and you wish you
had one with you. I am in the same boat
as I dont usually carry my tripod with me.
There are cheap tripods available and you
might be tempted to just get that since
you only use it occasionally. However, the
cost of dropping your camera will justify
getting a better quality tripod. Especially if
it happens to drop into the water!
When getting a tripod, invest in a good
sturdy one and it will last you a long time.
Just like a lens, you get what you pay for.
I have used Manfrotto and still use them
until today.

Lens filter

Camera cleaning kit

Camera bag

camera bag will be the first of your

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

Lens

epending on what kind of photography

you are into, theres a specific lens
for that type of photography. You cant go

ens filter is a filter that sits at the

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

our camera will naturally get dirty,

and you will need a cleaning kit
to remove the dirt. Theres a variety of
cleaning solutions ranging from dry to

wet, depending on how much abuse your

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

Jeffery is the owner and photographer

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

By Manisha Koushik

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

WEEKLY FORECAST: AUGUST 19 TO AUGUST 25

Aries (Mar 21-Apr 20)
Taking a break from your hectic
schedule seems difficult, but you will
need to take time out. Dont leave
anything to chance, especially in
exams or competition. You may be
invited over by someone you only had
a passing acquaintance, so take your
call. Chance of settling down in holy
matrimony is possible for the eligible.
Engineers and architects are likely to
win a prestigious project. Your busy
schedule will keep you on your toes,
but keep you fit!
Lucky No.: 3
Lucky colour: Lemon

Taurus (Apr 21-May 20)

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

Gemini (May 21-Jun 21)

Your professional competence is
certain to impress all and get you
a lot of lucrative opportunities.
Dont become overconfident on the
academic front, as there are many

a slip between the cup and the lip!

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

Cancer (Jun 22-Jul 20)

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

Leo (Jul 23-Aug 11)

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

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

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

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

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

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

Changes on the work front may
commence and may make you
apprehensive. After you have
convinced yourself, it is best not to
delay signing a financial document.
Marketing and business development

personnel will find the week

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

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 11)

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

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 21)

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

Aquarius (Jan 22-Feb 19)

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

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

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

FEATURES

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

25

EDUCATION

17-year-old aims to inspire future

technologists

ear 13 Chilton Saint

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

engineering workshop invited

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

Lucy Chen

importance to society. Held in

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

in order to end up where they

were today.
All the speakers offered
valuable advice to the audience,
such as the importance of
adaptability and keeping an open
mind when it comes to decisions
around careers. They also got
the audience excited about new
technology and opportunities, as
well as destroying some common
myths around geeks. The
common theme for the night was
one of following your passions
and developing the ability to
learn and adapt as the world
continues to change around us at
an unprecedented rate.
Organiser Lucy Chen was
inspired to organise the day
after attending the Rotary
National Science and Technology
Forum over the 20152016

summer break. Before the forum,

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

Campaign launched to reverse school Lower Hutt students line up

for environmental summit
funding freeze

ZEI Te Riu Roa will

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

NZEI has launched a nationwide campaign to reverse the governments freeze on

school operations funding for support staff

per-student ops grant funding

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

like teachers are, so they are not

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

ower Hutts young people

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

Hidden World. Students focussed

on parts of the environment we
cant or dont usually see, such
as electricity and microscopic
organisms that live underground.
Kids Connect included a
strong arts component. With
the support of Creative New
Zealands Creative Communities
Scheme, three artists will work
with students to develop waiata,
a short film and a mural that
explored sustainability themes.
Other supporters included
The Dowse Art Museum, GNS
Science, Hutt Science, Wellington
Water and Zealandia.

SUBSCRIBE AND READ ONLINE AT

issuu.com/indianweekender

26

FEATURES

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Shreya Ghosal promises a show to remember

CFI events, the team managing Shreya Goshals upcoming concert, talks about the concert and what sets it apart from the previous shows.

About the show

ts a live concert and Shreya

Goshal is with her team of
musicians and sound/light
technicians. She will be paying
tributes to the stalwarts of
yesteryears and since the show is
in the same week as Indias 70th
Independence Day, she will be
singing some patriotic songs as
well along with her latest and hits
from the past.

at the Michael Fowler Centre,

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

What sets a Shreya

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

as per what was sent to us. The

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

A little about her

previous shows
in NZ

his is her third visit

NZ and this time she
kick-starting the tour
Wellington on Friday, August

to
is
in
19

s mentioned earlier, this

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

Simple brain scan could help

improve Parkinsons treatment

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

The researchers used functional

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

The show not to be

missed!
www.ecotravels.co.nz
PRESENTS

EK
E
W
L
A
N
FI
EING
B
BEFORE OUT

Mika Singh, Atif Aslam, Roop

Kumar and Sonali Rathod, Late
Jagjit Singh and Pankaj Udhas
followed by Paresh Ravals Hindi
play and Siddharth Randerias
Gujarati plays

TICKETS ON SALE
at www.eventfinda.co.nz

Phone Sales:0800 BUY TIX (289 849)

SOLD

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

Tell us a little about

your work and
experience

FI Events have been

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

our formative years. But post

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

re

How are the tickets

selling and where
can it be purchase?

ickets are selling fast since

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

Lack of access to fresh food may

lead to early heart disease

ack of access to nearby

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

how the limited availability of

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

in a more rapid progression

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

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

Stay mobile, stay productive

@MaheshK

various levels of customisation to

suit your business and tracking
abilities. Pricing varies.

Abukai Expenses

StayFocusd

buja Expenses is a musthave app if you are often on

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

Microsoft One Drive

oogle Drive is an excellent

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

Mobile devices have made

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

Podio

odio is an online project

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

n todays busy life, it is pretty

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

CamScanner

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

Zip Schedules

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

TripIt

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

Auckland music lovers cant

wait for Mumbai Unplugged
IWK Bureau

your mobile and lets you use your

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

worldwide and is listened to with much

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

trumpet, piano, drums, bass, electric

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

re you one of those executives

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

FEATURES

27

to create, manage, and view your

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

Trello

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

28

ENTERTAINMENT

I have a certain syntax

as director: Karan

aran Johar has been experimental

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

Badshahs new song a

reflection of his life

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

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

I dont have a script

for Salman: Farah

ctor Akshay Kumar on Monday,

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

now and can join the team soon, a source

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

Tiger Shroff to star in

Student of the Year 2

ilm-maker Karan Johar on

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

the Enthiran actor is rumoured to have

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

Big B looks back at

Sholay moments

arah Khan, who has choreographed

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

Akshay collaborates
with Neeraj Pandey
for Crack

opular rapper Badshah, who

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

2017, Im collaborating with Neeraj

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

Tiger, who is awaiting the release of his

superhero film A Flying Jatt, is excited
to be part of the project. Tiger tweeted:
Wound up and charged sir! Yahoo
Karan Johar, Punit Malhotra, Student
of the Year 2. Student of the Year is a
coming-of-age romantic comedy, which
was produced by Hiroo Yash Johar under
the banner of Dharma Productions and
in collaboration with superstar Shah
Rukh Khans production banner Red
Chillies Entertainment.
Directed by Karan, the film marked the
debut of actors Sidharth Malhotra, Alia
Bhatt and Varun Dhawan.
And Sidharth shared that he cant wait
to watch the second part of the hit film.
He tweeted: Sounds exciting Karan
Johar cant wait to watch it best of luck
Punit Malhotra and Tiger Shroff.

Rajinikanth to start
shooting for 2.o
this month

uperstar Rajinikanth, who was

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

s Bollywoods timeless classic

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

ENTERTAINMENT

www.iwk.co.nz | 19 August 2016

29

U. Prashanth Nayak

ts the year of white-washes.

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

n Mumbai filmdom, the biggest

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

off by an enraged husband rocked

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

underpinned this sordid tale.

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

Alas, Gowarikars most recent

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

humour, but here, looming over

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

Rating : 2/5

Director: Tinu Suresh Desai

The story of hero Sarmaan,

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

have laid, cracking

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

Rating: 2/5

Director: Ashutosh Gowariker

30

FEATURES

19 August 2016 | www.iwk.co.nz

Anands Feeling Lucky again

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

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

Anand Naidu, actor

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

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

Paryushan

Date: Monday, August 29 to

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

Pakuranga
Toastmasters

Date: Monday, August 22, and

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

Anand: As a Kiwi-Indian, the

two different cultures give
me a wider perspective of
how to adapt and manage
the
changing
global
environment as well as
influence the shape of the
future of NZ.

budgeting, and a little bit of

directing. The thing I most enjoy
is being in front of the camera.
This is where I want to be in
the future.

IWK: What are your

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

environment for people of all

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

Oresete

Date: From Saturday, August 20 to

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

desperate search for sanity in a

world built on fear; a bitter struggle
between destiny and desire.

Islam Open Day

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

Auckland to New Delhi

from $1180 return*

*Selling Period: 1 August 30 September

ASB showgrounds
Greenlane, Auckland

Westgate out let shopping Center

Westgate drive Massey

Call 0274 742 743 / 09 838 20 30

SALE ON NOW
9.30AM - 5.30PM

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E
E
S
AS N TV
O

WHAT A BARGAIN! UP TO 80% OFF

BE QUICK, SALES MUST FINISH THIS SUNDAY