Indian Weekender 28 November 2014

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

28 November, 2014 Vol. 6 Issue 19 | www.iwk.co.nz

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28 November 20143

lSAARC SUMMIT: HOPE OF SOUTH ASIA W ith all eyes on Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi’s take on the future ofSouth Asia, the 18th Saarc Summit commencedin Kathmandu, Nepal this Wednesday.

Apart from host Nepal, all seven heads ofstate and government are in Kathmandu toattend the summit. As chair of Saarc, MaldivianPresident Abdulla Yameen Abdul opened thesummit and handed over the responsibility ofthe chair of the regional bloc to Nepal’s PrimeMinister Sushil Koirala.

This is the third time Nepal is organising thesummit -- rst in 1987 and then again in 2002.

Ahead of the summit, three meetings atforeign ministers’, foreign secretaries’ and jointsecretaries’ levels decided to scrap three Saarcregional centres and merge four others into one.

It also decided to improve agriculturalproductivity, food and nutritional security,enhance cooperation on trade, economy,nance, investment, energy, connectivity,health, education and agriculture and bringabout project-based engagement of the Saarcobservers.

It decided to accord body status to theSouth Asian Women’s Development Forumand upgrade the Saarc Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS Centre laboratory to a SupranationalLaboratory as the agenda for the summit.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa,Afghanistan President Mohammad AshrafGhani, Bangladesh Prime Minister SheikhHasina, Maldivian President Abdulla YameenAbdul and Bhutanese Prime MinisterLyonchhen Tshering Tobgay are attending thesummit.

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SAARC SUMMIT

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Collective efforts more importantin Saarc region: ModiN owhere in the world are collective efforts more

important than in south Asia, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said at the South Asian Association forRegional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit in Kathmandu thisWednesday.

“Nowhere in the world are collective efforts moreurgent than in South Asia; and, nowhere else is it somodest: PM @narendramodi” ministry of external affairsspokesman Syed Akbaruddin quoted Modi in a tweet.

“How much have we done in Saarc to turn our naturalwealth into shared prosperity” Modi asked.

He, however, reassured the summit that south Asia isslowly coming together.

The prime minister also said that the future he dreamtfor India was the future that he wished for the entire Saarc

region.“The future I dream for India is the future I wish for

our entire region...I have traveled the world from themiddle of the Paci c to the Atlantic and I see a rising tideof integration...”

Modi added that there was “much to learn from eachother, even more - to do together”.

“I know India has to lead and we will do our part..hope, each of you will, too,” he added.

Established in 1985 in Bangladesh, the Saarc is aregional association of eight south Asian countries, namelyAfghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives,

Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined Saarcas its eighth member state in 2007.

Modi Speak @ SaarcIndia to give business visa for 3-5 years for SaarcIndia will give business visa for three to ve years for Saarc countries

and called for making procedures simple and facilities better.“I also believe that if we can light up each other’s towns and villages,

we can build a brighter tomorrow for our region,” Modi said.He noted: “India has huge trade surplus with Saarc countries. I believe

that this is neither right nor sustainable.”“Let’s all make our procedures simple, our facilities better, our

standards common and our paper work less burdensome.”

India can connect Saarc studentsthrough e-librariesIndia is prepared to connect students in the south Asian region through

e-libraries.“IT has removed all barriers to quality education. India is prepared to

connect our south Asian students through online course and e-libraries,”Modi said. He also highlighted the need to use the strength of sharedheritage and diversity.

“We should use strength of shared heritage and our diversity toencourage tourism within our region and present south Asia to theworld,” he said.

Set up in 1985, the Saarc is a regional association of eight south

Asian countries -- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan joined the grouping as itseighth member state in 2007.

Indian satellite for Saarc in 2016 N arendra Modi announced the launch of a satellite for the Saarc

region in 2016.“We plan to launch our satellite for the Saarc region by the Saarc Day

in 2016,” external affairs ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin tweeted,citing Modi.

“We must work with compassion of our hearts, but also with the power of science,” said the prime minister.

Modi said India’s gift of a satellite for the Saarc region “will bene tus”.



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SAARC SUMMIT

India -Nepal ink nine dealsN epal’s happiness “gives us joy”, said

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on hissecond visit to the Himalayan country in 100days as both sides inked nine agreements,further cementing their close ties.

Modi, who in his departure statement saidthe fact that he was visiting Nepal twice inthe six months since he took over “re ects theimportance we attach to our unique and specialrelations with Nepal”, also held delegation-level talks with his Nepali counterpart SushilKoirala.

Modi, who is in Kathmandu to attend the18th SAARC Summit, urged Nepal to frameits much-awaited constitution early and on thebasis of consensus.

Addressing a gathering during handing overof a 200-bed trauma centre built by India, Modisaid writing the constitution was “taking toomuch time” and urged Nepal to nish the workon the basis of consensus and not majority.

He said the constitution should be like abouquet, with each ower representing eachstrata of the Nepali society - the Madhesis, theMaoists and Pahadis - providing them rights.

Modi said India will not interfere and hasnever interfered in Nepal’s affairs, but addedthat “Nepal’s happiness is reason for us tosmile, so write it fast”.

Political parties have set Jan 22 as thedeadline to draft the constitution.

The trauma centre has been built by India ata cost of Rs.1.5 billion in the city’s Bir Hospital,the oldest medical facility in the country.

Among the dozen agreements inked was onefor project development agreement (PDA) forthe Arun III Hydropower project.

Both sides also kicked off a Kathmandu-Delhi bus service being run by the DelhiTransport Corporation (DTC).

Modi also handed over the keys of a DhruvAdvanced Light Helicopter to the Nepali armyand a mobile soil testing laboratory to thecountry.

He said a “lot of trust” has been put into

their bilateral relations.A “big horsepower engine” of trust has been

tted into their relations in the 100 days sincehis last visit to Nepal in August, he said.

Referring to his decision not to visitLumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, aswell as Janakpur and Muktinath, which bothHindus and Buddhists hold as sacred, Modisaid it was due to paucity of time.”This time, Iwas keen to go by road because I wanted to seethe dif culties the people of Nepal and Indianson that side face and help mend matters. Butdue to shortage of time, I could not do it,” hesaid.

The prime minister said he was aware of thedisappointment of the people in the three placesand assured them that he will visit them in thenear future.

He said the bilateral decisions that were

stuck for the past 25 years were now being pushed forward.”Between my rst visit, and mysecond, decisions have been taken to changelives in Nepal, and give happiness to India,” the

prime minister said.Modi said the hydropower projects -

Pancheshwor, Upper Karnali and Arun III - thatwere stuck for many years have been pushedforward and that all the Nepal parties haveshown farsightedness in backing the projectswith India.

He said a new electricity transmission linewas being set up between the two countries.

“One new transmission line of 1,000 MW

is being installed, and Nepal will light up,” hesaid.

Modi said the $1 billion line of credit whichhe had announced during his last visit was

being nalised.Both countries also inked the Motor

Vehicles Act that would allow regular busservice between the two nations.

The other agreements and memoranda ofunderstanding (MoUs) inked include on settingup of a Nepal Police Academy, on tourism andtraditional medicines, Sister City Agreements

between Janakpur and Ayodhya, Kathmanduand Vanarasi, and Lumbini and Bodhgaya.

Modi later called on President Ram BaranYadav at his of ce in Sheetal Niwas.

The Indian prime minister also held ameeting with leaders of the largest party NepaliCongress at Soaltee Hotel, where he is staying,as well as with members of other political

parties.

Modi inaugurates trauma centre in Kathmanduand bus service between Kathmandu & Delhi



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NEW ZEALAND

Words that move world leadersSwami Suhitanandaji Maharaj, General Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission at Belur Math in Kolkata, India, stopped by Auckland last weekend,on his way to Fiji. He spoke to Indian Weekender about how the saint’s teachings are oft quoted by the likes of Obama and Modi

¡ Paula Ray

Instead of succumbing to division, youhave shown that the strength of India — thevery idea of India — is its embrace of all

colors, castes and creeds. It’s the diversityrepresented in this chamber today. It’s therichness of faiths celebrated by a visitor tomy hometown of Chicago more than a centuryago — the renowned Swami Vivekananda. Hesaid that, “holiness, purity and charity are notthe exclusive possessions of any church in theworld, and that every system has produced menand women of the most exalted character.”

US President Barack Obama,the Parliament in New Delhi, 2010

“India must conquer the World and nothingless than that is my ideal,” Swamiji famouslysaid. He had a very strong vision for our nationand it is incumbent upon us to realize thosedreams of Swamiji by making his Vision forIndia a reality!

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, 2014

In fact, during Modi’s Washington visit,President Barack Obama gifted him a copy ofthe rare book, The World’s Congress: Religionsat the World’s Columbian Exposition. It isabout the 1893 summit of world religions whereSwami Vivekananda made his presence felt.Later, Modi tweeted that it was a gift he wouldcherish forever. Modi and Swami Vivekanandashare their rst names – the latter being namedat birth Narendra Nath – and this was highlypublicised during BJP’s party campaigns.

The campaigners would often draw parallel’s between the two Narendras parted by a century, both upholding similar ideals.

HIS MASTER’S VOICE

Last weekend Swami SuhitanandajiMaharaj, General Secretary of RamakrishnaMission at Belur Math, Howrah, near Kolkata,India, stopped by Auckland. He was on his wayto Fiji, to inaugurate the universal meditationcentre at the Ramakrishna Mission in Nadi.

Indian Weekender was fortunate enough tomeet him and ask a few questions:

What are the ideals and beliefs on whichRamakrishna Mission is based?

The mission is a philanthropic organisationfounded by Ramakrishna Paramhansa’s chiefdisciple Vivekananda in early 1900s. The saintresearched all religions and found that all ofthem believe in truth. So there is no religionsuperior to the other; there is no difference

between them. Vivekananda took it uponhimself to spread the words of his guruji andhence, set up the Missions.

The mission conducts extensive work inhealth care, disaster relief, rural management,tribal welfare, elementary and higher educationand culture. It uses the combined efforts ofhundreds of ordered monks and thousands ofhouseholder disciples. The mission bases itswork on the principles of karma yoga, whichleads to gradual development of body, mindand intellect.

The mission is headquartered at BelurMath and is committed to bringing about amityamong all religious beliefs. Ramakrishna hadsaid: “I don’t belong to any nation. I belong to

the world.”The saint also believed that men should not

decide what is right for women and that womenshould take their own decisions and run theirown monastery. Hence, Sarada Math was setup after his wife Sarada Devi for women’sdevelopment and they have their own aims andobjectives.

There are about 171 centres around theworld that are af liated to the central body inBelur. Of them, tere are 128 in India, 13 inthe USA, 12 in Bangladesh, 2 in Russia, andone each in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Fiji,France, Germany, japan, Malaysia, Mauritius,

the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, SriLanka, Switzerland and the UK.

Ramakrishna Mission is a good platform toexecute the saint’s goals ofpPeace, tolerance

and acceptance.Are Ramakrishna Paramhansa’s teachingsrelevant in contemporary world?

Ramakrishna Mission is non-political, non-sectarian and believes in one’s own salvationand for the welfare of the world.

Humans exploit resources to create wealthand live a healthy life. But they cannot live

by bread alone. This wealth can give physicalcomfort, but can it bring mental peace? Canwealth remove misfortune?

Ramakrishna teaches to compensate thede ciency of wealth. Science forms whatreligion reforms. Science does not bringrevolution, religion does. But what is religion?It is a philosophy that teaches one to lead acertain pattern of life. What sort of life? If a

man with an ideal commits one error, withoutan ideal he will commit a thousand errors.

How did you nd the Ramakrishna VedantaCentre in Auckland?

The Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre has an all-inclusive approach and not one or two peoplerunning it. There is involvement of people,making it a democratic setup. It is doingwell. Our Math has accepted the functioningof the Vedanta Centre. We have decided tosend a Maharaj (saint) from India to head theinstitution.

How does a centre af iliated to RamakrishnaMission differ from the Vedanta Centre inAuckland? Suppose there is a dispute over the

Swami Suhitanandaji Maharaj

(Below and right): Cultural evening organised by Ramkrishna Vedanta Centre; (bottom) Swami ji withthe Indian High Commissioner



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management of the centre and the concernedpeople call up the central of ce at BelurMath for a solution, we will say: ‘Do whatyou think is right.’ Whereas, if the Missionhas our af liation and the management asksfor intervention over a dispute, we tell them:‘Please give us a few days and we will get backto you with a solution.’”

We hear Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi is an ardent follower of SwamiVivekananda. Can you enlighten us on it?

Yes, Narendra Modi is a follower of SwamiVivekananda. When he was 17 years old, hehad wanted to become a monk. But the saint in-charge of the Ahmedabad Mission rejected himand asked him to go back to studies. But Modiwent back to him after a few years. This timethe saint told him that he was destined to servethe people in other ways.

Modi today is translating Vivekanada’sconcept for India, that the country will rise.Modi has been quoted as saying:

“I was greatly in uenced by SwamiVivekananda. ...That was another world whichI have loved. ...I am sure the youth is deeplyinspired by Swami Vivekananda and will carryforward his ideals for India’s growth.”

In fact, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee,though not a disciple, is a follower ofRamakrishna and has made generous donationsfor the Mission’s many causes.

RAMAKRISHNA VEDANTA CENTRE,AUCKLAND

RKVC, as it is popularly called, was set upin 2005 in Auckland. They engage in a lot ofactivities, the latest being a cultural evening forSwami Suhitanandaji Maharaj last weekend.If you would like to partake in their activities,

please refer to the following details.

Address: Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre of New Zealand, 27 Arawa Street, New Lynn,Auckland, New Zealand.Contact: Harish Sundarji, President09 627 0499/ 021 733 468; Monnay Kumar,Secretary 09 576 3103/ 021 167 5134For further details: http://www.rkvc.org.nz/



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NEW ZEALAND

Lorde reigns supreme at 2014 VNZMAs ¡ IWK Bureau

Following a hugely successful year locallyand internationally, Lorde has done it again

taking out no less than six Tuis (awards) at the49th annual Vodafone New Zealand MusicAwards.

Almost half a million Kiwis tuned into FOUR

last week for LIVE coverage of the VodafoneNew Zealand Music Awards (VNZMAs) andthe Mentos Red Carpet Special, reaching thebiggest television audience in VNZMA history.

The North Shore teen takes out two of themost coveted awards - the Mentos Album ofthe Year for ‘Pure Heroine’ and the VodafoneSingle of the Year Tui for ‘Team’. Lorde alsocollects Tuis for Best Female Solo Artist, TheEdge Best Pop Album, Vodafone HighestSelling Single for ‘Royals’ and the InternationalAchievement Award.

Lorde’s rapidly growing awards collectionnow includes four Tuis from the 2013VNZMAs, an APRA Silver Scroll, The TaiteMusic Prize, two Grammys, a Brit Award anda MTV Video Music Award.

South Auckland’s David Dallas rounds outa successful 2014 with two Tuis for Best MaleSolo Artist and Best Urban / Hip Hop Albumfor ‘Falling Into Place’ after opening for globalrap sensation Eminem.

Stan Walker, star of the upcominginternational hip-hop lm ‘Born To Dance’,also claims two Tuis; taking home the NZ OnAir Radio Airplay award for ‘Bulletproof’ andVodafone People’s Choice.

Broods, the hugely popular sibling duo fromNelson - and newcomers to the Vodafone NewZealand Music Awards - take home their rst-ever Tui for Breakthrough Artist of the Year.

The winners have been announced tonight

(November 20) at the Vodafone New ZealandMusic Awards ceremony, held at Auckland’sVector Arena.

Other winners include previous Critics’Choice nominees The Naked And Famous,who take home the Tui for Steinlager Pure BestGroup. Best Rock Album goes to Blacklistt;

while the Tui for Best Alternative Album goesto solo-act turned band Tiny Ruins.Fresh off the back of shows in the US and

UK, family opera trio Sol3 Mio add to theirTui collection taking out the award for FOURHighest Selling Album. The group picked upthe Best Paci c Album Tui earlier this year (8May). Tama Waipara takes home the Tui forBest Roots Album for ‘Fill Up The Silence’and Best Electronica Album is awardedto Opiuo for ‘Meraki’.

Campbell Hooper claims his Tui for NZ OnAir Best Music Video for his work on The NakedAnd Famous’ ‘Hearts Like Ours’ while the BestMaori Album goes to Rob Ruha for ‘Tiki Tapu’.The Tui for Best Gospel / Christian Album goesto Mosaic Music for ‘You Surround’ and Best

Classical Album goes to Jack Body for ‘Poemsof Love and War’.Recorded Music New Zealand Chief

Executive Damian Vaughan says he’s blownaway at the quality of all this year’s nalistsand winners.

“As always, the show itself has beenoutstanding and the performances amazing.Congratulations to all the nalists andwinners – and a special congrats once again toSupergroove as the NZ Herald Legacy Awardrecipients and inductees into the NZ MusicHall of Fame. Guests at the event, hosted byShannon Ryan and comedian Dai Henwood,were treated to live performances by some

of the biggest names in New Zealand musicincluding Benny Tipene, Blacklistt, Broods,David Dallas, Sol3 Mio and Tiny Ruins.

Perhaps the biggest crowd pleaser on thenight was a tribute performance in honour ofthe 2014 NZ Herald Legacy Award recipients

–Supergroove – performed by female music powerhouses Hollie Smith, Iva Lamkum, RiaHall and Tali. They were accompanied by TheLevites under the music direction of Jacob

Nansen. The NZ Herald Legacy Award was presented to Supergroove on the night by Slaveand Otis.

Tui recipients who have received theirawards during the year are:

• Best Jazz Album – Nathan Haines for‘Vermillion Skies’

• Best Folk Album – Tattletale Saints for‘How Red is the Blood’

• Best Paci c Music Album – Sol3 Mio for‘Sol3 Mio’

• Best Country Music Album – Kaylee Bellfor ‘Heart First’

• Best Album Cover – Anna Taylor & KenClark – ‘The Nihilist’ (Liam Finn)

• Best Engineer – Joel Little – ‘PureHeroine’ (Lorde)

• Best Producer – Joel Little – ‘PureHeroine’ (Lorde)

• Best Children’s Music Album –Anika Moa ‘Songs for Bubbas’

NZ On Air 2014 Critics’ Choice Prize –Randa



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NEW ZEALAND

“Any member who has either donated an amount $100.00 or more orhave paid an amount of $100.00 or more towards future membershipfees; will be awarded permanent Financial membership of the

Association”

Please join as members of the association by:

1. Pay $100 (life nancial membership) or $10 (for yearly membership)into the account number given on the attached form

2. Scan and send the completed form (attached) [email protected]

As a member you are:

1. A part of the team that decides associations agendas andactivities

2. Invited to various community functions and discussion forums

3. Able to seek assistance in matters related to government of NewZealand (e.g. immigration, social welfare, human rights etc)

4. Able to seek assistance in matters related to government ofIndia (e.g. high commission services, trade, travel info etc)

5. Can voice concerns regarding issues (e.g. law and order,women atrocities, discrimination at work place etc)

6. Able to get yourself and your children to participate in thecultural programs and other social events

Most Importantly: By becoming a member, you are a part of the changethat you want to bring about.

Please join and encourage others.

Historic Move by Manukau Indian Association

IT programme – nocost blowoutFollowing discussion of an update on

Auckland Council’s Information ServicesTransformational Programme at Finance andPerformance Committee, council has releasedthe report publicly.

Committee agenda item sought to bringforward $24m to be spent in the earlier stages ofthe project, enabling ef ciencies to be achieved

later on.The report (attached) covers the

consolidation of core council informationtechnology systems and addresses thereprioritisation of the programme to optimiseoutcomes, and the extension and enhancementof the testing programme.

Chief Operating Of cer Dean Kimpton saysthere is no ‹cost blowout› and rigorous riskmanagement processes are being applied to theprogramme.

“There is no change to our overall IT budgetand no increase in funding required; however,the NewCore component of the overallprogramme has increased in cost and willrequire an additional year to complete.

«We want to simplify our processes so

Aucklanders have systems that are customer-friendly and easy to use, at their ngertips.Building consents, resource consents, rating,dog licensing and the booking of communityfacilities are some of the areas that will bene tfrom more customer-friendly online and ITsystems,” Mr Kimpton says.

An independent chief information of cer(CIO) reference group, made up of CIOsfrom a range of public sector and corporateorganisations, has brought strong governanceoversight to the council’s IT transformationprogramme, and has endorsed the approachtaken.

Rating valuationobjection periodextendedThe period for people to object to their

2014 rating valuation has been extendeduntil 5pm Tuesday 23 December 2014.

Acting CFO Kevin Ramsay says websiteissues have meant some people had dif cultyaccessing new values online when they were

made available on Monday 10 November 2014.“Early in the week

we had unprecedenteddemand on ourwebsite, which meantthere was intermittentservice for userstrying to access newvalues.”

“We were ableto help many peopleover the phone to ndout their value and weare still encouraging people to call 0508 000021 for assistance”.

By now most property owners should havereceived their new values in the mail.

Council property valuations – key factsValuations, which are completed every three

years, will be used to help determine the shareof rates for each property for year beginning 1July 2015, but have no impact on the amount ofrates council collects overall.

This year’s property revaluation showed anaverage capital value increase of 29 per centsince 2011.

The average residential capital valueincrease was 34.8 per cent.

Seasonal set net banto protect publicsafety Set netting will be banned in Army Bay and

Te Haruhi Bay within Shakespear RegionalPark during summer from this year in an effortto reduce public safety concerns at the popularswimming beaches.

Auckland Council’s Regulatory and BylawsCommittee has approved a control that will

prevent set nets being laid at these bays between20 December and 31 March every year.The prohibited area extends 200m offshore.

“Shakespear is one of most popular regional parks, with thousands ocking there to swimand take part in a range of water-relatedactivities in summer, including set netting –which is causing a con ict and of more concern,a risk to public safety,” says committee chair,Councillor Calum Penrose.

“Unfortunately, swimming, boating and setnetting do not mix and council is concernedabout the safety of all beach users. The seasonal

ban only applies to Army Bay and Te Haruhi

Bay.”He says park rangers get dozens of

complaints every year about the nets causing anobstruction for people and water craft gettingtangled up in the nets.

Set netting will still be permitted atOkoromai Bay and other shing practices arealso allowed in all bays.

The committee also directed staff to monitorset net activity on Hat eld, Omaha and BrownsBay beaches this summer in light of similarconcerns raised by local residents and theHibiscus and Bays and Rodney local boards.

MAYORAL DRIVENews f rom the Counci l

Council nalist inInternational UrbanInnovation AwardChristchurch City Council’s ‘Christchurch:

Our Ever Evolving City’ initiative has beenshortlisted for a prestigious urban innovationaward.

It is one of 15 initiatives shortlisted forGuangzhou International Award for Urban

Innovation (Guangzhou Award) from a totalof 209 initiativeswere submitted from159 cities and 55countries.

“I’m absolutelydelighted that wehave been selectedas a nalist for this

particular award.Being innovative andtrying new ways ofdoing things is whatthe Council strivesfor,” says Mayor

Lianne Dalziel.Mayor Dalziel says being shortlisted in a

competitive eld re ects the high calibre andstandard of work and commitment of Councilstaff.

The Guangzhou Award aims to rewardinnovations to improve the socio-economicenvironments in cities and regions, promotesustainability and advance the livelihood oftheir citizens. Presented biennially, the awardwill encourage and recognise outstandinginnovative projects and practices in the publicsector.

The Guangzhou Award Ceremony will be held on Friday 28 November 2014 inGuangzhou, China.





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Niche needs for ethnic media ¡ Susan Nemec

W hat is ethnic media and what potentialdoes it hold in the future for communities,

inter-ethnic communication and advertisers?Questions such as these underpinned many ofthe topics discussed by a number of panelistsat the recently held Forum on Ethnic Mediaat the Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae in Mt

Albert’s Unitec. Hosted by the Departmentof Communications the forum emerged as aresponse to the inadequacies of mainstreammedia to address the communication needs ofAuckland’s vastly changing demographic thatis more culturally diversity than London.

Ethnic media can provide a variety offunctions in terms of creating both an imaginedand a real community for its audience to creatingeconomic opportunities for both small businessadvertisers and providing a portal for NewZealand industry and government initiativesand interventions. Fezeela Raza from theEEO Trust made the point that ethnic mediashould be considered as uid and dynamic andnot necessarily representing an homogeneousgroup but rather representing an opportunityfor the various voices within an ethnic group tohave a civic presence.

With this in mind ethnic media can provideentertainment and information and reduce asense of isolation for the many individualswithin a community.

Ethnic media channels can also expectto prosper if they produce a high quality,cost-effective and measurable product thatconvinces advertising agencies, businesses andgovernement and ad hoc agencies to allocatea bigger share of their advertising budgets.Niche Media’s General Manager Paul Doylesays a number of communications executives

are astounded by the growing size and buying power within the various niche markets of NewZealand’s ethnic groups.

Doyle is convinced in the business potentialof ethnic media. “We’ve been advocating on

behalf of ‘ethnic’, or as I prefer ‘niche’, mediaorganisations for some 13 years now to buildthe sector’s reputation and viability.

It hasn’t been easy to compete withmainstream media which attracts nearly alladvertising revenue, leaving ethnic media with

less than 1%. The research we’ve invested in isstarting to pay dividends for the ethnic sector

but we have a long way to go to reach funding parity for 46% of the Auckland populationwhich is Asian, Maori and Paci c”.

Social media has also dramatically increasedthe potential for audiences consuming ethnicmedia. Roshila Prasad, Chief Executive ofRadio Humm says when the station rststarted having an on-line presence linkingtransnational Indian groups around the worldthere were at rst 178000 hits a month. Thishas steadily grown to 9.5 million hits a monthand is still growing. Bernie O’Donnell fromthe indigenous radio station, Radio Waatea,

con rms that audience hits from Waatea’swebsite are tangible evidence to funders andadvertisers of a growing audience.

Many panelists spoke of the potential forethnic media to build cultural bridges betweentheir own communities with both mainstreammedia and Maori. Dr Camille Nakhid from

Auckland University of Technology challengesethnic media to tell mainstream more aboutthemselves and relate more to Maori issuesand concerns. Prasad, from Radio Humm,

points out that her station tries to provide aculturalbalance of social and political issues

between the local Indian community and thoseof their adopted country of NZ.

For example Maori language week is promoted by Radio Humm and nationalcelebrations such as Anzac Day and WaitangiDay are also given air time.

O’Donnell reminded the audience thatMaori media, which has the potential to providemigrants with a window into the life of Maoriin New Zealand, wants to make connectionswith other cultures in order that different ethnicgroups may understand a Maori world view, itsculture and language.

This is important to understand as Maori provided the framework for the signing of NewZealand’s founding document with the British,the Treaty of Waitangi. Maori have a differentway of looking at the world and it bene cial toall groups in New Zealand that migrants have

the opportunity to nd connections with NewZealand’s original people.

Susan Nemec, PhD candidate at Universityof Auckland, is researching on the extent towhich Maori Television helps to build culturalbridges between Maori and migrants. Readersare invited to participate in this survey for whichthey will have the opportunity of entering adraw to win an iPad. Participants of the on-line

survey do NOT have to watch Maori Televisionto be involved at this stage. The survey canbe found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/

s/6F66Z8C and should be completed no laterthan December 5th, 2014.



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White Ribbon Day - Say NO toviolence against women ¡ IWK Bureau

W hite Ribbon Day is the international dayfor the elimination of violence against

women and occurs each year on 25 November.Family violence is a growing concern for

the Indian Community with more and more

instances of such acts coming to fore. Webelieve that domestic violence amongst theSouth Asian community has always existed,but due to initiatives to educate and empowerwomen along with more awareness these arenow being reported.

VIOLENCE TOWARDS WOMEN ISNEVER ACCEPTABLE

• It’s OK to ask for or offer help• No violence is tolerable. If you know

someone who is being frightened orintimidated by the behaviour of someoneelse, it is not OK.

• Violence isn’t just physical. It’s alsoemotional or verbal behaviour used tocontrol someone through fear.

VIOLENCE IS NOT JUST PHYSICAL

Psychological/emotional violence is a verycommon form of violence experienced bywomen and children. Many women say it is the

worst kind of abuse. Psychological/emotionalabuse is about manipulation and coercion, andaffects your emotions and personality, ratherthan your body. Victims of emotional abusecan feel like they are going mad, are veryfrightened, and feel like they have no choicesand are often made to feel like it’s their fault.This form of abuse is often underestimated. It’snot recognised by many people because it can besubtle and hidden. Survivors say psychologicalabuse attacks their spirit and self-esteem and itseffects can last the longest.

MEN ARE PART OF THE SOLUTION

Whether you are a husband, father, son, brother, uncle or granddad – we all have womenin our lives that we love and wouldn’t want tosee subjected to violence. The campaign aimsto change men’s attitudes and behaviours,

predominantly through men talking to men.Men are role models for our children. We needto nurture a culture that encourages respectand rejects violence. Like our White RibbonAmbassador, Ruben Wiki, we can play sportsand engage in physical activities with controlledaggression, but we must not bring violence intoour homes.

By wearing a White Ribbon, you can make

it clear to other men that you do not tolerateviolence towards women. White Ribbon Day isthe international day when people, particularlymen, wear a White Ribbon to show theywon’t tolerate, condone or remain silent aboutviolence towards women.

You can also make sure your home, business,sports club is a safe environment where abusive

behaviour is not tolerated.You can break the silence around domestic

violence by challenging comments, statementand actions that are abusive, and supportingthose who wish to change their abusive

behaviour.

YOU CAN HELP FIX THIS PROBLEM

Check that your actions and those of yourmates are OK. Be man enough to make a callon inappropriate behaviour.

Make sure the women you know are OK. Ifnot, start a conversation with them, with their

partners, or with someone who can help.For advice, call the helplines It’s Not Ok

0800 456 450 or Women’s Refuge 0800 733843 or visit www.nnsvs.org.nz

Wear a white ribbon every day, join a WhiteRibbon project or activity and show yoursupport!

25th November

White Ribbon Ride 2014The 2014 Ride 18-29 NOVEMBER

The White Ribbon Ride is New Zealand’smost exciting initiative to tackling this

country’s crippling domestic violence record.Violence destroys families, sets our childrenon a destructive journey and affects one inthree women. This week-long motorcycle tour

happens every November – White RibbonMonth, and is a powerful and inspirationalvoyage for all involved. In 2013 the ride wasfeatured at the International White RibbonConference.

A lead group of riders steer convoys throughtowns in the North and South Islands, pickingup support riders in every region along theway. In many regions local riders will lead theWhite Ribbon into their town. Please contactus if you would like to support the kaupapa

by leading the riders in your local region.Events are organised in every town, rangingfrom school visits, marches and breakfasts,to fashion parades, quiz nights and Dads andLads days. Every event is an opportunity to

bring this issue into the open and ge t people

talking. In 2013, thousands came out to meetthe riders and hear their important messages.

Joining the Ride is free and easy (though ifyou are taking part for more than a day trip youmay wish to eat and sleep with the Riders).

For more details, visit: http://whiteribbon.org.nz

From the desk of I am Woman

Men need to playleadership roleA cross New Zealand White Ribbon

Day was celebrated in a wide rangeof diverse ways from marches, lighting upthe Sky Tower, handing out White Ribbons,events with the White Ribbon (motorcycle)Riders, and even an activity where menwore women’s shoes to show their supportforending men’s violence towards women.

“These events all helped to raise the issueof men’s violence,” says Judge Boshier,Chair of the White Ribbon Committee.

“There is a role for government, thereis a role for councils and other regulatory

bodies, but today on White Ribbon Day, Iwant to acknowledge the role men have.”

This year White Ribbon is asking mento visit whiteribbon.org.nz and take ThePledge ‘to never commit condone or r emainsilent about violence towards women’.

“It’s a simple concept,” says JudgeBoshier. “Men have the ability to in uenceother men and we are asking men to step up,and speak up. Whether it’s in the workplace,at social events or in your own family –staying silent is no longer acceptable.

“We must and we can turn this around.But we can only do this if men are willing to

play a leadership role.



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Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi encourages men totake the White Ribbon Pledge

Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi attended theWhite Ribbon Dinner in Greenlane on 27th

November 2014“I am proud to af rm The Pledge I have

taken to never commit, condone or remainsilent about violence towards women,”Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi said

“I encourage all the men in our communityto do the same. Sons, fathers, brothers, and

husbands, should all join together and standagainst this cowardly violence.

“We know that while our nation isexperiencing its lowest crime rate in 35 years,violent crime is not falling as fast. About halfof all homicides in New Zealand are a resultof family violence. This is unacceptable,”

Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi said.“On average 14 women are killed every

year by their partners or ex-partners.“This has to stop. The National-led

Government has introduced a cross-Government package to help address familyviolence. We want Kiwi homes to be safe

places for women and children, and to ensurevictims are not re-victimised.

“But laws and governments alone cannotchange behaviour. I want to see moremen getting involved with the campaignand saying no to violence against women.Signing up to the pledge is the rst step.”

Support for Men on White Ribbon Day N ew Zealand First Spokesperson for

Women’s Affairs Tracey Martinwould like to acknowledge the men across

New Zealand who today make a pledgenot to commit violence against women and

children.“As more and more men campaignto raise awareness of this physically andemotionally damaging behaviour they

become a powerful part of the solution toending violence against women.

“If the violence is to stop, and it must,

then it is vital that men are part of the change by taking responsibility for their role in putting an end to it.

“These men give a voice to highlightingthe unacceptable actions of those who would

condone, remain silent or raise their stsagainst women across Aotearoa who are bashed behind closed doors.

“Making this a joint gender issue goeshand in hand with speaking out as the rststep towards solving this problem,” says MsMartin.

Walk a Mile In Her Shoes ®

This year White Ribbon are introducing the global event Walk a Mile In Her Shoes®.

The mile walk consists of two unique components, the physical walk where men areexpected to wear heels (or footwear that is not their everyday shoes); and the opportunityto highlight and discuss the issue and rami cations of sexual, physical and emotional abusetoward women. It also enables you to nd people to sponsor your walk to raise funds for WhiteRibbon.

ONE STOP SHOP TO YOUR QUERIES

Discover yourself and live your life to full potential with Spiritual Awareness throughscientific application of Vedic Astrology and other Occult Sciences. If you need help with

l Positive Direction to Lifel Personal Image & Self Analysisl Money & Finance Mattersl Medical Astrology & Speci cHealth Issues l Education and Potential l Love, Romanceand Relationships l Marriage and couple compatibilityl Career Planning l Business issues l Legal problemsl Past Life/Karmic Astrologyl Appropriate Astrologicalremedies to solve speci c problems and much more.....

Contact for con dential reading:

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Tel/Fax: +64 9 815 1670Mob: +64 21 774 724Email: [email protected]

• Starts Saturday 29th November 2014• Entry $10 per walker- do it yourself or grab

some mates• A fun way to support serious cause!• For more details, visit www.whiteribbon.org.nz



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28 November 201414

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POWER COLUMN

New faces, wise headsLabour Leader Andrew Little todayannounced a bold new caucus line up

which brings forward new talent and draws onthe party’s depth of experience.

“Labour has many new and highly capableMPs who will have the opportunity to provetheir ability. At the same time our senior handswill be on deck to take the ght to the National-led Government and support our upcomingstars,” Andrew Little says.

“I am pleased to announce Annette Kingwill be my deputy for the coming year. In recentweeks she has shown how crucial her wisdomand strength is to Labour.

“Grant Robertson will be my Financespokesperson and number three. He is one ofthe best performers in Parliament and is morethan a match for Bill English.

“Nanaia Mahuta’s lead role in Labourregaining the Māori seats is recognised in hernumber four position and her reappointment asMāori Development spokesperson.

“Talented up and comers Carmel Sepuloni,Kelvin Davis and David Clark are taking onkey roles and will be important members of myfront bench.

“These roles will be reviewed in a year toensure Labour has the strongest possible teamto head into the 2017 election.

“This is an exciting new line up and I’mlooking forward to getting down to business,”said Andrew Little.

A vibrant and independent Third Sector

Beneath the surface of the of cial levelsof our government and business sector,

there is another world – the ‘Third Sector’ populated by dedicated volunteers and over-worked staff in thousands of community-

based organisations, Non-GovernmentalOrganisations, membership associations andtrade unions, social services providers, andsupport networks. The Third Sector is, in manyways, part of our DNA as a society.

In many countries, the Third Sector isthe lifeline for ensuring that those who need

support are not neglected. It is often the onlyeffective way to get food to marginalisedcommunities, to supply clean drinkingwater, support agriculture or to ensure that

entitlements get through to the poorest people.Through my career, most recently as CEO ofOxfam New Zealand, I have been privilegedto see the vibrancy and dynamism of the ThirdSector in many countries, and particularly inIndia, where millions of dedicated volunteersand workers provide help with basic needs andsupport for people’s rights.

It is therefore disturbing to see the ndingsof a recent report by Victoria University ‘Fears,constraints and contracts’ which documentsthe ways in which New Zealand governmentshave sti ed critical comments, interferedinappropriately and instituted a contractual

culture of compliance and measurement thatgets in the way of effective work. There needsto be more respect from the government, notonly National-led government, but Labour-led

government as well, for the independence ofthe Third Sector and its role in building andmaintaining a dynamic democracy. There needsto be space for the Third Sector to criticise whenthings are going wrong, but also to partner withgovernment to achieve mutually-agreed aims ina spirit of partnership.

A new approach is needed. The Green Party believes that a well-resourced and accountableThird Sector is crucial in reducing child poverty,intervening early to help young people a risk,helping new migrants to settle in New Zealand,

protecting and restoring our environmentand supporting vulnerable members of our

communities. The relationships should berespectful of the independence of the ThirdSector and their contribution to democracy,

but also strong on forging effective and

accountable partnerships for delivering agreedoutcomes. We can more harness the energy andenthusiasm of the Third Sector to build a fairer,cleaner and smarter society.

Barry Coates was a Green Party candidate for Mt Roskill and narrowly missed out on

becoming an MP. He has lengthy experiencein the Third Sector, most recently as Executive

Director of Oxfam New Zealand 2003-2014. Hehas a Masters degree in management

from Yale University.

Broadband improving access for our communities

Under National, more of our schools,hospitals, businesses, and rural

communities are getting better access to fasterbroadband.

Faster and more reliable broadband ismaking a difference to the way rms dobusiness, the way kids learn, and the way healthservices are delivered to patients.

Connections to broadband have increased

by nearly forty per cent over the pas t quarter,meaning more households, hospitals,

businesses, and schools have joined the brenetwork.

Here in Auckland 5100 more usersconnected to Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) inthe past quarter. That’s a 39 per cent increase.

National is committed to building world-class bre infrastructure, because we recognisethe long-term gains it will bring.

Faster broadband is critical to growing theeconomy, driving innovation, and improvingoutcomes in education, health, and the not-for-

pro t sector.

More than half a million households, businesses, schools and health centres are nowable to connect to the Government’s Ultra-FastBroadband network, which continues to rolloutahead of schedule.

The UFB rollout will deliver bre capableof peak speeds of at least 100 Mbps to Kiwiswhere they live, work, and study. The latestquarterly gures on the UFB rollout show about536,000 end users are now able to connect toUFB around the country, and a total of 55,000users are connected, an increase of 39 per centon the last quarter.

As bre is rolled out across towns and

regions all over the country, we’re seeing moreand more Kiwis taking up connections and the

bene ts of increased speeds and reliability thatbre provides.

Faster broadband is a key part of National’s plan to build a stronger economy, lift wages,and provide the world-class services familiesneed.

Our next step is extending our UFB targetfrom 75 per cent to 80 per cent of NewZealanders having access to world-classconnectivity, enabling Kiwis to have access tothe best technology they can as they competeon the world stage.

Kanwaljit Singh BakshiNational List MP

Barry CoatesGreen Party

Labour Party Caucus 24 November 20141 Andrew Little Leader of the Opposition, Security and Intelligence2 Annette King Deputy Leader, Health3 Grant Robertson Finance4 Nanaia Mahuta Maori Development5 Phil Twyford Housing, Transport

6 Chris Hipkins Shadow Leader of the House, Senior Whip, Education, EarlyChildhood Education

7 Carmel Sepuloni Social Development, Junior Whip

8 Kelvin DavisPolice, Corrections, Associate Justice (Sexual & DomesticViolence), Associate Education (Maori Education), AssociateRegional Development

9 Jacinda Ardern Justice, Children, Small Business, Arts, Culture, Heritage

10 David Clark Economic Development, Associate Finance, Associate Health(Mental Health)



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28 November 201415

lThe great Punjabi extravaganzaPunjabi community in Auckland witnessed

one of the largest event in Auckland lastweekend. Saanjh Cup 2014 was the 2nd annual‘Bhangra’ and ‘Gidda’ competition held inManukau, Auckland with 13 teams pa rticipatingfrom different parts of the north island.

With more than 100 performers and anenthusiastic crowd turnout of close to 2000

people, the event was a ne example of talentedyoung dancers and the presence of a strongPunjabi community in New Zealand.

The full packed event was supported by23 sponsors, organised by Saanjh Sports &Cultural Club and managed by Pal Productions.

Besides the performance, the event centrealso had lip smacking food items arranged forthe audience. The menu included samosas,kachori, gulab jamoon, pakora and soft drinks.The event was completely smoke and alcoholfree, and was very well organised by the Saanjhgroup.

The dance groups have been practicing morethan 4 months for the competition, coordinatingevery day to make time for rehearsals. Theperforming groups belonged to different par tsof the north island, like the Anak Punjab Digroup from Takanini, Papatoetoe, Mangere,Manurewa, Manukau etc.

The performing groups were judged on thebasis of opening steps, costume, make up, propsused on stage, transition and steps, expressions,co-ordination, ending the performance andoriginality of choreography.

The enthusiasm among the audiencewas phenomenal and the performers wereencouraged with hooting, applause andwhistling.

Winners were declared as follows:Best Female Gidda Performer: Asthi

Chauhan (Virasat Foundation)Best Female Bhangra Performer: Labpreet

Sindhu (APD Girls)Best Male Bhangra Performer: Gurinder

Singh“We are promoting the Punjabi core

cultural dance and that includes real lifescenarios and dialogues in our performance.We have been practicing for the last 2 monthsmostly weekends trying to bring the realPunjabi culture in our gidda performance”mentioned one of the performers of the VirasatFoundation, the winners of both Bhangra andGidda performance.

The Saanjh Cup 2014 was a ne examplethat even overseas how deep rooted are thepeople of Punjab to its culture and traditions,and the unity of the community in New Zealand.

Compiled by Rizwan Mohammad

NEW ZEALAND

Singapore Airlines Special Fares for Indian Sub Continentstarting from $1410*( inclusive all taxes)*Travel dates ex Auckland : 5th Mar to 13th Sep 2015*Travel dates ex Christchurch : 20th Apr to 13th Sep 2015*Sales Expiry : 1st Dec 2014 @ 4:00 PM.

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Audience,performers and

winners atSaanjh Cup

2014



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28 November 201416

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¡ Maya Shivam

In the six months he has ruled India, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi has demonstrated

a new style of governance, of a “taskmaster”in his own words, peppered with some out-of-

the-box thinking that has won him admirers andraised hopes among the people at a level unseenin recent years.

This is the overall assessment of the64-year-old master communicator, who is seenheading the most powerful Prime Minister’sOf ce (PMO) after the Indira Gandhi era deftlymerging the needs of modern India with subtletouches of Hindutva politics.

Having decimated the Congress, he has promised to improve governance, create new jobs, boost infrastructure and clean up India,among a host of other initiatives, while chartinga fresh path to improve the country’s ties with ahost of nations from West to the East.

After taking of ce May 26, he has sought

to remove sloth from of cialdom and to make

the government target-driven and decisive.The former Gujarat chief minister, now theBharatiya Janata Party’s tallest leader, alsofavours rules and processes that are peoplefriendly.

Former cabinet secretary Prabhat Kumarcalls Modi a decisive leader who has takensome major initiatives but said it was too earlyto judge his government’s performance.”In thelast 25 years, I have not seen a prime ministeras decisive as him. The way he looks at theIndia of future, he has a dream,” Kumar said.“He appears very authentic.”

Kumar thinks that the next annual budget,expected in February 2015, would be a major

policy document. “Thereafter, the results willhave to be shown (on the ground).”

For now, what has generated nationwideinterest is the Clean India campaign Modiannounced from the Red Fort in his rstIndependence Day address.

The other major initiatives of the BJP-

led government include Jan Dhan Yojana,

Governance, Governance, Governance

Modi wins with absolute majority

The swearing-in ceremony

Successful launch of India’s Mars Mission

Launch of Make in India Initiative

Japan visit

Bhutan visit BRICS summit

SPECIAL FEATURE



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Sharamev Jayate, Saansad Adarsh GramYojana, Pandit Deen Dayal UpadhyayaGrameen Kaushalya Yojana, Sardar Patel AwasYojana and Jeevan Praman.

Modi’s critics, however, accuse him ofcentralising all authority in his hands - a laIndira Gandhi.

Chennai-based political analyst M.R.Venkatesh said that there was almost nocorruption now at the top level in thegovernment. “Modi should now start xingtargets for the bureaucracy. Modi is the singlepoint in the central government, and that is alsothe weakness.”

Politically, Modi has kept up the BJP’swinning momentum in Haryana where the partyhas taken power on its own for the rst timeand, more important, in Maharashtra, albeit byrunning foul of the Shiv Sena.

Unlike any other prime minister, Modiaddressed the nation on the radio regularly.

Modi also makes extensive use of the social

media and at the same time welcomes feedbackand suggestions.

Modi has been personally involved with theinitiatives of the government, setting targetsand pushing of cials to squeeze timelines.

The prime minister is also determined toclean up the polluted Ganga, the holiest of riversfor millions of Hindus. But there are enormouschallenges. The millions who voted for theBJP after Modi’s election promise of providing“achche din” (good days) want quick answers tothe many problems that confront India.

The most important however is the upward path that Modi has paved for the IndianDiaspora all over the world. He is beingheralded as the “Roackstar” Prime Ministerwho has ruled the media in all countries he hasvisited. He has most number of fans followinghim on Facebook and Twitter. While he remainsthe top contender for the Times Magazine –Person of the year, for us he is already the Man

of the Decade!

Diwali at Siachen Glacier

Australia visit

On board INS Vikramaditya

At the White House

Fiji tour

Saarc summit in NepalMadison Square Garden address

SPECIAL FEATURE



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Editorial

Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, AucklandPrinted at Guardian Print, AshburtonCopyright 2014. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

Indian Weekender Volume 6 Issue 19Publisher: Kiwi Media Group LimitedManaging Editor: Giri Gupta | [email protected] Editor: Paula Ray | [email protected] Editor: Maya Shivam | [email protected]: Swati Sharma | [email protected] Technical Of cer: Rohan Desouza | [email protected] Design and Layout: IWK Design team | designer@ indianweekender.co.nzAdvertising & Business Development Manager:Gaurav Gupta - M: 021 292 4519 | [email protected] and Marketing Manager: Leena Pal - M: 022 015 1971 | [email protected] and Admin.: Farah Khan - P: 520 0922 | [email protected] and Admin Support : Alpana Gupta | [email protected]

Views expressed in the publication are not necessarily of the publisher and the publisheris not responsible for advertisers’ claims as appearing in the publication

From the desk of theManaging Editor M odi Government completes six months in power and Indian Weekender has followed

Mr Modi, its charismatic leader, every step of the way. Our very own “India Modi- ed”started as an ode to India’s rising hope. Today, six months later, India stands tall because of thenumerous initiatives undertaken by the Government., and its growing foreign relationships.Mr Modi’s visits to Japan, the United States, Australia, Fiji, the BRIC conference, the G20Summit and now SAARC, have left a glowing footprint of India’s inevitable shining futureif this trend is to continue. Amongst all this, let’s not forget the country’s footprint on Mars,and our bold plans to further conquer the “ nal frontier”.

As Mr Modi continues to take bigger and bigger strides in improving our Nation andits image across the globe, we need to reciprocate with our individual responsibilities andensure that we do nothing that brings disrepute to the name of our Country of birth. Let usremain conscious at all times, of our actions and the direct effect they have on the image ofour country. Within us lies great ability to be recognised as a strong workforce, and we need

to bring forth that potential to shine through unity. In the words of Mr Modi “may the force be with you”.

November 25th is White Ribbon Day – it’s a day to say NO to violence against women.It’s a day for men to take a pledge to never commit, condone or remain silent about violencetowards women. Domestic violence is a big part of the total number of crimes that arecommitted in New Zealand. On an average 14 women are killed every year by their partnersor ex partners in New Zealand. This is not a cceptable. What is so manly about hurting another

person? It is imperative then a s a community, we take up this cause and say NO to violenceagainst women.

Our favourite “high”- cricket, is slowly taking over. With the trophy doing the rounds, onecannot but help envision the excitement and fervour when the Indian Cricket team actuallyarrives and we are able to see the masters in action.

Also, as another round of the festivities season approaches, we have to remain mindfulof the change in alcohol limits effective from 01December, before we take our place behindthe steering wheel.

In our current issue, we serve up another serving of ‘Modi- mania’, as he completes six

glorious months in of ce as Prime Minister. We also bring to you updates on all the localhappenings and everything that has made news. We hope all our readers enjoy our publicationas much as we enjoy putting news together for you. We are remaining true to our promise andadding more and more value to it. Please not the inclusion of “Kiwiana” that brings for youa new Kiwi word every week and keeps up with our embracing the culture of the Countrywe have chosen to call home. Also included is a Careers column, that brings you new ideaswhen stepping out to join the work force or when you nd yourself in between jobs. Wewill continue to keep this endeavour going, and with your support improve your readingexperience with every issue.

I sign off by expressing my excitement and pride at the news of President Obama of theUS of A consenting to attend the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi as the Chief Guest. Thiswill be a big leap forward for India.

Giri Gupta

“You get in life what you have the courage to ask for ”

- Oprah Winfrey

Kai Pronounced: Kaai

Maori word for ‘food’ (can be used as verb or noun)

Usage: ‘There was plenty of kai on the table.’

Pick of the week

• As the sun set, a New Zealand skydiving record was made on Sunday 23 November, breaking a decade old NZ skydiving record!

• 3 planes and 35 sporties took to the skies to make the last dock as 35 people formeda ‘snow ake’ in the sky over Lake Taupo, beating a NZ record set in 1992 when30 skydivers formed a “big way formation”.

Hammock camping No need to worry about uneven, rocky, wet, muddy,

bug-infested ground. Look for sturdy trees; attachwide webbing straps around the trunks (to protect the

bark) to create attachment points; loop the hammockrope through the straps; keep the hammock aboutchair height; add a tarp for rain and wind protection.

Courtesy of hammockforums.net

Tip from the trenches



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28 November 201419

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OPINION / EDITORIAL

Modi’s six months: Pursuing his own line and pace ¡ Amulya Gan uli

Looked at from one angle, the six monthsof Narendra Modi’s tenure may be a cause

of disappointment for some. For the corporatesector, for instance, the absence of “big ticket”reforms is bound to detract from the primeminister’s go-getter image. The business housesmay not have said anything as yet about their

dissatisfaction, but it is clear by now that Modiis not an ideologically-driven right-winger likeRonald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher.

Instead, he evidently likes to pursue hisown line and at his own pace. He will not behustled, therefore, into drafting a hire-and-re labour reforms policy which is favouredby industrialists, nor into a return to landacquisition laws reminiscent of the 1894 ruleswhich have now been scrapped.

What is more likely is that he will tweakthese laws, including those on environment,and not opt for drastic changes. In this respect,Modi is a reformer, not a radical.

Any expectation, therefore, that his party’smajority in the Lok Sabha will make himride roughshod over the existing rules and

regulations will not be ful lled.One reason why such dramatic changes

have been expected since Modi appeared onthe scene like a “rock star”, as even the foreignmedia describe him, is the pent-up frustrationin the last years of the previous governmentamong both businessmen and ordinary peoplecaused by the stalled reforms and policy

paralysis. I t was hoped, there fore, that Modi’schanges would be in the nature of a no-holds-

barred recourses to a fast-growth path.Since this hasn’t been the case, the belief is

that he is as much of a pragmatist as any other politician who will not like to unnecessarilyoverturn the apple cart.

As a result, while avoiding major changes,

the prime minister is currently focussing onwhat can be deemed small things, such astoilets, cleanliness, e-governance, encouragingthe underprivileged to open bank accounts andthe celebrities as well as the MPs to “adopt”villages. The last venture has even persuaded awell-known Communist economist to mock the

projects as being aimed at turning the peopleinto “mendicants”.

There is also another kind of disappointmentfor some people with Modi. It is the result ofthe fact that there hasn’t yet been what ManiShankar Aiyar called the “Godhra moment”.According to the former Congress MP, Modiis waiting for such an outbreak of communalviolence to reveal his real self just as Hitlerused the Reichstag re to impose one-party rule

on Germany.Although the recent riots in Trilokpuriand the communal tension in Bawana on theoutskirts of Delhi have been seen as examplesof the local foot-soldiers of the saffron brigadeshing in troubled waters, especially withnext year’s elections to the Delhi assembly inmind, there haven’t, mercifully, been any major

incident.What is more, the likes of Yogi Adityanath

and Sakshi Maharaj have not only fallen silent,they have desisted - or have been prevented- from carrying on their earlier vicious

propaganda on “love jehad” in Maharashtraon the eve of the polls as their followers hadthreatened to do. It is not impossible that Modi

is more serious about his proposed 10-yearmoratorium on sectarian animosity than whathis hotheaded followers had assumed.

It is noteworthy that the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief, MohanBhagwat, did not mention the phrase, “love

jehad”, in his customary Vijaya Dashamispeech as he did on earlier occasions. Nor didhe set any deadline for the construction of theRam temple, or say that all Indians are Hindus.

Interestingly, the BJP has indicated that itwill go soft on the question of scrapping Article370 of the Constitution which confers a specialstatus on Jammu and Kashmir. Evidently, thehopes which the party entertains of scoring anunlikely victory in the impending assemblyelections in Jammu and Kashmir have

persuaded it to dilute one of the key items onits pro-Hindu agenda. Not only that, the BJPhas even said that “Islam will prosper” underits rule, a claim which is likely to baf e bothHindus and Muslims, especially the bigotedamong them.

There is little doubt, therefore, that Modi hasdecided to follow a path of moderation which

cannot but have a calming effect on the saffron brotherhood. From the standpoint of at leastcurbing, if not ridding society of any innatecommunal poison, this evidence of sobriety can

be considered to be one of the major features ofhis rst six months in of ce. Its value is muchhigher than any achievement, or lack of it, inthe economic eld.

That the country is advancing even in theeconomic sector is however evident from the projection of a 6.3 percent growth rate nextyear by Morgan Stanley. If the trend continues,then Modi can further consolidate his positionat the national level even if there are setbackslike the possibility that the BJP may ounderin Maharashtra because of its failure to get amajority in the state legislature.

One reason why Modi’s rst six months inof ce have been relatively trouble free is thatthe Congress not only continues to remain in thedoldrums but also that its “internal tensions”,as Rahul Gandhi once said, have not subsided,as was evident from the virtual boycott ofthe party’s observance of Jawaharlal Nehru’s125th birth anniversary by party stalwarts like

A.K. Antony, P. Chidambaram, Sushil KumarShinde, Kamal Nath, Ghulam Nabi Azad andothers.

Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst.The views expressed are personal. He can be

reached at [email protected]

Modi visit brought renewed con denceabout India: ExpertsThe “G20’s rock star” is h ow a Western daily

described him. Prime Minister NarendraModi in his 10-day three-nation blitz was ona diplomatic overdrive, attending multilateralgatherings, meeting world leaders, businesshonchos and also addressing the diaspora - allof which helped bring a “renewed con denceabout India”, say experts.

Modi, who returned Thursday aftervisiting Myanmar, Australia and Fiji, met over40 world leaders and heads of internationalorganisations during the Asean-India, EastAsia Summit, the G20 and the India-SouthPaci c Island nations meet.

He also spoke at length at each fora,reassuring the world and regional leadersabout the ease of doing business in India andthe change in policies under his government.

“I would say that Prime Minister Modihas arrived on the regional and internationalpolitical arena. In a way, he has been able toestablish his credibility and along with thatthere is renewed con dence about India,”leading strategic expert C. Uday Bhaskar said.

But Bhaskar, director of think tank Societyfor Policy Studies (SPS), added that alongwiththe renewed con dence about India in thespheres of economy and trade and politics,“now expectations are aroused that India willbe able to de liver”.

He said the Indian system will “have todeliver, and the commitments made will be ontest”.

“It was a successful visit. But now ourability to deliver is something that needs tobe demons trated, th at is the real challenge forModi,” he added.

According to Bhaskar, the rst time meetwith the 14 Paci c Islands in Fiji holds a lot of

strategic importance.“India has engaged for the rst time with the

South Paci c as a community. There is a lot ofstrategic signi cance in that, as for a long timeChina has been making consistent attempts toincrease its footprints in the region.”

He said the 14 Paci c Island nations havean important element for voting in the UN,where each nation carries one vote, but “manyof them look up to India for critical subjectslike health, and IT”.

Bhaskar feels the Nov 19 visit to Fiji, therst by an Indian prime minister in 33 years,and the meeting with the Paci c Island nationswas strategically the most important of Modi’sengagements this time.

According to former Indian envoy SheelKant Sharma, Modi’s visit to Australia, duringwhich the G20 endorsed India’s concernsabout black money and tax avoidance after anintervention by the prime minister was verysigni cant.

“The point was important at the G20, tohave transparency and automatic sharing oninformation in transfer of money that underlieremittances. We get a clear idea of what we get,and also about black money, of unauthorisedtransactions and tax havens. They need nothave the insularity they have enjoyed all thiswhile. That point was duly adopted by theG20,” Sharma told IANS.

He feels Modi’s intervention was “a

success. What he said was not airy fairy. It wasout of substantive points, out of preparation.He made substantive points without anysuper ciality”.

The former envoy, who has served as Saarcsecretary general, said the Fiji visit “wasoverdue and timely” though the number ofIndian diaspora there are small compared toAustralia.

“Chinese President Xi Jinping is visitingFiji tomorrow (Nov 21). There can be nocomparison between India and China andthe Chinese ability to dole out money. Chinahas been on a binge in the ability to dole outmoney to get the South Paci c islands on theirside,” he said.

He said that according to some articles,there were a large number of Chineseexpatriates living in some of the islands there,

but not in Fiji.Sharma said the South Paci c Island

nations are “favourably disposed towardsIndia”.

“Modi met the leaders there, that is anothervery good diplomatic initiative. It is the rsttime our prime minister has gone down Southfor such a long time.”

He said the Myanmar visit emphasised thatthe government’s policy was “not just ‘LookEast’ but ‘Act East’. The two summits were

both successful for him. The target for tradefor Asean is $100 billion, and we are thinkingof bigger investment,” he added.

The Guardian in an article titled “Frominternational pariah to the G20 as politicalrock star”, described Modi as “one of the most

popular gures at this G20. A leader otherswant to see, and be seen with”.



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FIJI

India to play role of ‘Vishvaguru’: ModiP rime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday

said India will once again play the role of“Vishvaguru” or teacher to the world.

In an interaction with representatives ofcivil society at the Fiji Technical Universityhere, Modi said India would use the strengthsof its democracy and young population for the

bene t of mankind.Stating that the coming age would be the age

of knowledge and technology, Modi said it wasessential to keep adding to the knowledge base,and to keep up the pace of new discoveries andinventions.

Remarking that India’s ancient sages hadspoken about India’s global responsibility,he said India would play a pivotal role in thecoming “Gyan Yug” playing the role of a“Vishvaguru”.

The prime minister said the Indiangovernment was giving priority to skilldevelopment so that these strengths could beleveraged for the bene t of the whole world.He also talked about ending the digital divide,

saying “we have to prepare for the future tohelp the world”. The prime minister, who was in Fiji on the

last leg of his 10-day three-nation tour, said

India and the Paci c island nation had manyshared values, and it was the responsibility of

both sides to strengthen these values.Ethnic Indians comprise 37 percent of Fiji’s

population of nearly 900,000.Most of them are descendants of indentured

labourers who were brought in by British rulers

from India between 1879 and 1916 to work inthe country’s sugarcane plantations.

Observing that Fiji had chosen the path ofdemocracy to move forward, the pr ime ministersaid this had set an example that would exerta positive in uence in the wider Paci c regionas well.

The prime minister also spoke of theinitiatives that he had announced earlier inthe day after landing in Fiji. These includevisa on arrival for Fiji and other Paci c islandnations, a line of credit of $70 million for a co-generation power plant, doubling the number ofscholarships and training slots in India for Fijiand setting up of a special adaptation fund of$1 million to provide technical assistance and

training for capacity building to Paci c islandnations on the issue of global warming.

IndianPrime MinisterNarendra Modiduring his Fiji

tour



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28 November 201421

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FIJI

Apollo Hospitals, FijiUniversity sign MoU

A pollo Hospitals and Fiji NationalUniversity have signed a memorandum

of understanding (MoU) for healthcarecollaboration.

The MoU was signed by Sangita Reddy,Joint Managing Director of Apollo Group ofHospitals, and Ganesh Chand, vice chancellorof Fiji National University, on the eve PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s visit to the university.

The MoU entails initiatives like enhancementof the healthcare infrastructure in Fiji, enablingbetter access to high quality care for the peopleof Fiji with telemedicine and referral to ApolloHospitals for advance ailments.

Besides, establishment of a clinic withoutpatient specialist consultation services,state-of-the-art diagnostic services, 24X7

emergency care access, diabetes managementservices and sharing of content on medicaleducation and training programmes, includinge-learning portfolio.

“Apollo Hospitals has created a new model ofhealthcare which delivers the highest standardsof medical care in a cost effective manner. We

believe that this model is appropriate for mostof the developing geographies in the world,”said Sangita Reddy in a statement.

Modi, his Fijian counterpart FrankBainimarama and Fiji’s Health MinisterJone Usamate welcomed this initiative andopined that this is the beginning of a longand substantive engagement between ApolloHospitals and Fiji.

India, Fiji ink three MoUs duringModi visitIndia inked three MoUs with Fiji, including

on earmarking land for diplomatic mission buildings in each other’s capitals, duringModi’s visit to Fiji.

The rst MoU was for training programmesfor diplomats, signed between the ForeignService Institute of India and the ministry offoreign affairs of Fiji.

This will foster closer exchanges betweenIndia and Fiji, as well as the Paci c region, anof cial statement said.

The second MoU was on earmarking landin New Delhi and Suva for the construction oftheir diplomatic missions. This will provide

a permanent location for the conduct of ourrelations and will be an iconic presence inSuva, it said.

The third MoU was for extending a $70mline of credit for establishing a co-generation

plant at Rarawai Sugar Mills in Fiji.This will expand the scope of bilateral

cooperation in the sugar sector by enhancingvalue addition and addressing climate changeconcerns.

India had earlier provided assistance forupgradation and product development at threeof Fiji’s major sugar mills, it said.

2015 Budget: Summaryof revenue policies

INCOME TAX ACT (ITA)Disaster Relief for Farmers• 200% tax deduction for voluntary

contribution of cash donation by taxpayerstowards a Farmers Emergency FundAccount for disaster relief, with minimumcontribution of $10,000.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s)Incentives

• The scope of SME Income Tax Incentivewill be extended to cover the entireAgriculture sector.

Commercial Agriculture and AgroProcessing Incentives

• The minimum initial level of investmentwill be reduced from $2m to $250,000 to

be aligned with the TFR thresholds:$250,000 - $1,000,000 Capital Investment –

5 years tax holiday$1,000,000 - $2,000,000 Capital Investment

– 7 years tax holiday$2,000,000 and above Capital Investment –

13 years tax holiday• The incentive will be extended to 31

December 2018.ICT Incentives• The scope of the ICT incentives will be

extended to include setting up of ICTaccredited training institutions and ICTstart-ups involved in the application designand software development.

The bene ts will include:• 150% deduction for all ICT start-up

costs (no conditions such employmentrequirements attached).

• Duty-free and VAT exemption on allitems imported which is required for the

establishment.Export Income Deduction• Export Income Deduction rate will be

increased from 40% to 50%.Eleventh Schedule Incentives• The de nition of “project” under the

Hotel Investment Tax Incentive (EleventhSchedule of the Income Tax Act) will beexpanded to include the buying and sellingof residential units in hotel and integratedtourism developments.

• The current Short Life InvestmentPackage incentives (Eleventh Scheduleof the Income Tax Act) will be expandedto include new apartments provided thelength of stay is not more than 6 months.

Accelerated Depreciation• The Accelerated Depreciation Allowance

for buildings, Plants and Machineries will

be extended to 31 December 2018.Bio-Fuel Production Incentive• Bio-Fuel Production incentives (10-

year tax holiday) will be extended to 31December 2018.

Savings for those earning $16,000 or below• Individuals earning $16,000 and below

will be exempt from paying residentinterest withholding tax on any interestearned from savings.

Tax Administration Decree (TAD)• The TAD will be amended to change the

Chairmanship of the Tax Agents Board tothe Permanent Secretary for Finance or hisappointed representative.

CAPITAL GAINS TAXCGT on Transfers on Love and Affection• CGT will be exempt on Love and affection

transfers:¨ parents to children and vice versa¨ within siblings and;¨ between spouses;¨ between grandchildren and grandparents

and vice-versa.CGT Valuation• The current practice of independent

valuation by Solicitor General will remain.From 2015, Solicitor General will pay theValuers.

• CGT on gain made from sale of shares forcompanies listed in the South Paci c StockExchange

- CGT legislation will be aligned with theIncome Tax Act to exempt CGT on gains madefrom sale of shares arising from reorganization,restructure and amalgamation of privatecompany for purpose of listing on the South

Paci c Stock Exchange.FRINGE BENEFIT TAXFBT on Accommodation Provided to Hotel

Executives.• FBT levied will be extended to include

all accommodation provided to hotelexecutive managers, irrespective of thelocation of the hotel.

Apportionment of FBT charged on Motorvehicle if the bene t given to the employee isalso used for business purposes.

• The value of the bene t from motor vehicleis reduced by 50% and leftover 50% will

be charged FBT. This will provide clarityand will not require keeping of log books.

Non-Deductibility of FBT

• Consequential amendment will be doneto Section 19 of the Income Tax Act toformalize the non-deductibility of FBT.



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28 November 201422

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INDIA

Murli Deora: Congress’s long-time Mumbai strongmanbreathes his lastA round 12 years ago, when industrialist

tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani was battling forlife in a Mumbai hospital, close family friendand Congress leader Murli Deora virtuallyserved as a one-man army, keeping the pryingmedia and politicians at bay.

The Ambani family almost seemeddependent on Deora as he handled all mediaqueries and calls from industry czars. Hemanaged it with his nesse, rmness andcourtesy for several days.

Ambani’s sons - now industrial tycoonsMukesh and Anil - regarded and addressedDeora as ‘uncle’, so deep was their respect forhim.

Deora, 77, breathed his last Mondaymorning after a prolonged illness, bringing toan end an era in which business, politics andglamour mixed headily for everybody’s mutualbene t.

Starting his political career as a Congressmunicipal corporator in the mid-1960s fortwo terms, and later a term as a member ofthe legislative council in Maharashtra, Deoraquickly drew attention of his party bosses andwent on to become a four-time Lok Sabhamember and three-term Rajya Sabha member.

In between, he became the country’spetroleum minister, serving with aplomb and atenure which is remembered even today.

Deora became close to three generationsof the Gandhi family, starting with late prime

minister Indira Gandhi.He subsequently became one of the key

con dants and advisors of her son, late RajivGandhi, followed by his widow Sonia Gandhiand their son Rahul Gandhi.

In his political career spanning nearly vedecades, Deora served as the president of theMumbai Regional Congress Committee for awhopping 22 years.

Known for his fund-raising abilities, Deorahad on one occasion harboured an ambition to

become the treasurer of the All India CongressCommittee, but his moves were nulli ed by lateSitaram Kesri with whom he locked horns.

His tenure as MRCC chief is credited withsuccessfully checking the growth and in uenceof the rival Shiv Sena in the commercial capital,though the latter, in alliance with the BJP,managed to control the Municipal Corporationof Greater Mumbai.

As a key party functionary, ‘Murli bhai’,as he was known, was on back-slapping terms

with top corporate heads, media barons, leadersof rival political parties and celebrities.

One of the few politicians who realised thein uence of the media, Deora respected all

journalists.Besides the corporate and the media, he also

maintained excellent relations in diplomaticcircles and personally knew many globalleaders.

At the international level, he was active invarious fora, including serving as international

president of the Parliamentarians for GlobalAction in 1995-96 and later as India chief in2002-2004, and the following year as vice

president of the International Federation of RedCross and Red Crescent Societies.

The Congress rewarded him with a berth inthe union cabinet in 2006, as the petroleum andnatural gas minister.

Later, he was assigned corporate affairsfor a year, even as his son Milind, a suave andyoung Gen-Next politician, started to get intohis father’s shoes.

Deora also served in various state andcentral committees, and in organisations likeLife Insurance Corporation (LIC) as director.

Deora, survived by his wife Hema, sonsMilind and Mukund, was cremated with statehonours at the Chandanwadi crematoriumMonday in the presence of a huge crowd ofmourners and admirers.

Apex court directs CBI chiefto step aside from 2G caseSuspecting the conduct of Central Bureau of

Investigation (CBI) chief Ranjit Sinha, theSupreme Court Thursday asked him to withdrawfrom the 2G telecom spectrum allocation case,but also said this was not a stricture against thepremier probe agency.

An apex court bench of Chief Justice H.L.Dattu, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice A.K.Sikri said the senior-most of cer heading theinvestigating team in the 2G case must nowtake over the probe into the alleged scam in theallocation of 2G telecom spectrum.

Holding as credible the allegations ofinterference and scuttling of probe by Sinhain the cases, the court recalled its Sep 15 orderdirecting the petitioner, the non-pro t Centre for

Public Interest Litigation, to reveal the identityof the whistleblower who gave information onSinha’s alleged interference.

The court, while not passing a detailed orderwith reasons, said it was delivering this orderas it felt it would otherwise affect and hurt theimage of the country’s premier probe agency.

“We are not purporting to pass an elaborateorder. Prima facie, this (allegation againstSinha) appears to be credible and it requires tobe accepted. We reiterate we do not intend tospoil the reputation of the institution by passinga detailed order,” the court said.

“We suspect your (Sinha’s) actions.The suspicion is substantiated by specialpublic prosecutor Anand Grover, who is our

representative, who has gone through therecords. He has given synopsis of the lenoting,” the court observed.

“Prima facie it appears that things are notwell. It inspires no con dence and wouldamount to derailing the trial. You can’t brushaside their (the petitioners’) statements as falseand malicious,” the court added during the

course of the hearing.“When it appears to us that things are not

well, somebody may take over and proceed. Wedon’t want to pass an order casting aspersionson the investigation,” the court told seniorcounsel Vikas Singh, who appeared for Sinha,while directing his client to recuse himself fromthe investigation.

Acknowledging that Sinha’s conduct inhandling related cases of Dayanidhi Maran,Reliance Telecom and others did not inspirethe court’s con dence, Vikas Singh sought toestablish the bona des of the CBI director by

seeking a look at the les placed as evidence .He said the view taken by Sinha in theDayanidhi Maran-Maxis-Aircel case andReliance Telecom case, among others couldhave different interpretations. But if Sinha’sactions and opinions are suspected, thennothing remains to be said, Vikas Singh told thecourt, defending his client’s position.

Government con dent ofpassing insurance bill The Narendra Modi government expressed

con dence at getting the insurance bill,which seeks to raise the cap on foreign equityin the sector from 26 percent to 49 percent,through parliament even as some opposition

parties ap peared allied against the measure.“We are committed. We want insurance

reforms at the earliest and I am con dentof getting the support of major opposition

parties as they have all given a commitment,”Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah

Naidu said.Sources said government is trying to bring

together parties which may support it in theupper house where it is in a minority.

The insurance bill, which is presently witha select committee of Rajya Sabha, is likelyto be tabled in the upper house as per thecommittee’s mandate.

The BJP-led government is in minorityin this house, while parties like TrinamoolCongress, Left parties, and the newly formed

block of former Janata Dal parties includingRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party(SP) and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) haveopenly opposed the bill.

Sources said government is trying to seeksupport from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) andBiju Janata Dal (BJD) to ensure numbers.

The main opposition party in the upperhouse, the Congress has kept its cards toitself, with party leader Kamal Nath saying

a decision will be taken only after seeing thereport of the select committee.

“We will take a call on the insurance bill after the report of the select committeecomes,” Kamal Nath told the media in the

parliament co mplex.The bill was sent to a select committee of

the Rajya Sabha during the last parliamentsession. The report is supposed to be tabled

Nov 28.Kamal Nath said the Congress will

“cooperate with the government in the passageof key bills” and “will play a constructive rolein parliament”.

“There has to be a discussion on contentiou sissues before taking a nal decision,” he saidon the bill. “We will consult other opposition

parties and form an opin ion,” he ad ded.However, in a surprise turn, BSP supremo

Mayawati Monday said there was no reasonfor her party to oppose the insurance bill if theselect committee accepts its suggestions.

“The select committee hasn’t takena decision on insurance bill yet, if oursuggestions are accepted why would weoppose it,” she asked while speaking to themedia outside parliament.

The Trinamool, which has been opposingthe bill, said they will not let it pass. “Thereis no question of passing the bill. First let it

be taken up, clause by clause, in the selectcommittee,” party leader Derek O’Brien said.

JD-U leader K.C. Tyagi had Sunday saidtheir newly formed block with SP and RJD,

along with other parties will stop the bill from being passed.

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28 November 201423

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INDIA

NEWS in BRIEF

Cabinet approves 3 major power projectsThe Union cabinet approved three major projects for the power sector, the power ministry

said in a statement.

The projects are the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Integrated PowerDevelopment Scheme and the North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project.

The North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project aims to strengthen the intra-state transmission and distribution system at a projected cost of Rs. 5,111 crore, including acapacity-building expenditure of Rs. 89 crore, the statement said.

The scheme is to be implemented with World Bank assistance, it added. The IntegratedPower Development Scheme is designed for urban areas and entails an expenditure of Rs.32,612 crore.

The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana is targeted at the rural areas. The schemeentails a total investment of Rs. 43,033 cro re, while for 2014-15, the go vernment has allocatedRs. 500 crore.

The cabinet had earlier approved Rs. 39,275 crore for the scheme, which includes budgetarysupport of Rs. 35,447 crore under the earlier Rajiv Gandhi Gram Vidyutikaran Yojana. Thisoutlay will be carried forward to the new scheme, in addition to the outlay of Rs. 43,033 crore.

TAPI countries agree to start pipelineproject by 2015T aking another step towards realising the ambitious TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-

Pakistan-India) natural gas pipeline project, petroleum ministers of the four countries metin Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and agreed that steps will be taken to start the project by 2015.

“It was decided that the next meeting of the steering committee will be held in February2015 in Islamabad,” the petroleum ministry said in a statement on the 19th round of TAPIsteering committee meeting attended by Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Pradhan had a separate meeting with Pakistan’s Minister of State for Petroleum Jam KamalKhan in Ashgabat, the statement said.

“The two ministers discussed various issues of mutual interest including expediting theTAPI project and possibility of supply of LNG to Pakistan from India,” it added.

The TAPI pipeline will export up to 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per annum fromTurkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India over a period of 30 years. It will enablelandlocked Turkmenistan, which has the world’s fourth largest proven gas reserves , to expandits gas export market to the southeast.

Last week, state-run gas utility GAIL India, along with state gas companies of Turkmenistan,Afghanistan and Pakistan set up a company that will build, own and operate the 1,800-km gas

pipeline across the four countries. The national companies will own equal stake in the TAPIPipeline Co.

The company has been incorporated as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in the Isle of Man,a British Crown dependency in the Irish sea.

The pipeline is expected to carry 90 million metric standard cubic metres of gas daily,of which India and Pakistan would get 38 mmscmd each. Afghanistan’s share would be 14mmscmd but the country has indicated that it may take only 1.5-4 mmscmd, which will resultin the balance being shared equally by India and Pakistan.

Use of technology has become gamechanger for polls: ECA ppropriate use of technology has bec ome a “game changer” in elections and c an help in

meeting many challenges, Election Commissioner HS Brahma said.During an interaction with a delegation of MPs from Bangladesh, Brahma underscored the

need for increased voter enrollment and encoura ging the registered voters to come out to vote,a release said.

The delegation of ten MPs from Bangladesh was led by Muhammad Faruk Khan. BesidesBrahma, they also met Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi.

Zaidi briefed the delegation about election expenditure issues related to political partiesand candidates in India. He described the role of the expenditure observers and monitoringteam in the expenditure monitoring of elections, the release said.

Akash missiles hit targetIndia test red two Akash surface-to -air missiles successfully from a base in Odisha.

The two missiles were simultaneously launched from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) atChandipur in Balasore district against two ying targets.

“The test was successful. The missiles intercepted moving unmanned aerial vehicles(UAV),” Chandipur ITR director M.V.K.V. Prasad told media.

The exercise of launching the missiles was carried out by Indian Air Force personnel as part of their user training.

The medium range missile, developed by the Defence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO), is a medium-range surface-to-air anti-aircraft defence system with astrike range of 25 km.

While it can carry a warhead of 60 kg, it has the capability to target aircraft up to 30 kmaway and is packed with a battery that can track and attack several targets simultaneously.

Varsities should adopt strategyto perform better: PresidentP resident Pranab Mukherjee Thursday

said Indian universities should adopt aneffective strategy to achieve higher rankings inthe list of best global institutions.

“Though in ancient India, there wereglobally-famed seats of learning like Nalanda,

Takshashila and others, the scenario todayis starkly different. Our institutions lag ininternational rankings brought out by reputedagencies.

Few of our leading institutions deserve a better position though. They need to a dopt aneffective strategy to project their achievements,”Mukherjee said at the 12th convocation ofTezpur University in Assam.

Mukherjee said only change can lead to progress.

“Faculty shortage has to be mitigatedthrough expeditious recruitment of talentedscholars. Faculty development need to be

promoted through regular conduct of facultyrecharge programmes and teaching as a careerneeds to be made appealing.

“Also the industry engaged throughinstitutional mechanisms needs to beincorporated to train students,” he said.

“Each central university ought to setup an Industry Interface Cell, comprisingrepresentatives of the local industry, industryassociations, alumni and faculty.

“The cell would draw up a calendar towardsvarious collaborative activities like jointresearch, faculty exchange, and sponsoring ofchairs and endowments. Success of initiativeslike ‘Make in India’ hinges on manufacturingquality industrial products where academia-industry interface would play a very crucial

role,” he said.Emphasising on research work, Mukherjee

said that as a developing nation, Indianuniversities have to search for solutions toissues like renewable energy, climate changes,drinking water, sanitation and urbanisation.

“Our universities have to be the breedingground for creative quests and cutting-edgetechnological developments. They have toencourage their students to satiate their curiosityand chase their creativity. They have to imbibein these young minds a scienti c temperamentand a spirit of inquiry,” he said.



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INDIA ABROAD

NEWS in BRIEF

Indian-origin legendary hotel doormandies

K ottarapattu Chattu Kuttan, the legendary doorman at the Galle Face Hotel here, whoserved dignitaries like Lord Mountbatten, Princess Elizabeth, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,

Mahatma Gandhi, Yuri Gagarin and Arthur C. Clarke, has passed away, media reported.Kuttan left his village in Kerala when he was 17 years old and reached Sri Lanka in 1938

looking for a job. He joined the hotel as a bell boy-cum-waiter in 1942, where he continued toserve until his death, the Daily Mirror reported.

He was 91 years old. Kuttan virtually became the trade mark of Sri Lanka’s hospitalityindustry as well as the Galle Face Hotel.

Indo-American press club inaugurated inNew Jersey An Indo-American Press Club (IAPC) has been inaugurated in New Jersey to be the voice

of those who are working in the media world and strive to be the conscience of the largersociety.

The new club was inaugurated Saturday at the Homewood Suites of Hilton, East Rutherford,

New Jersey on Saturday with the lighting of the traditional lamp at an event attended by nearly200 media persons, corporate and community leaders and sponsorsIn his inaugural address, Suneel Hali, founder and publisher of Cinemaya Media emphasised

the key role being played by the media.“Journalists are extraordinary people dedicating their lives to an extraordinary mission to

serve the humanity, and to be the conscience of the society,” he said.In his presidential address, Ajay Ghosh, said “IAPC was formed with the lofty ideal of

providing a common platform to journalists of Indian origin living in the US, while fosteringcloser bonds and cooperation among an extensive network of journalists across the nation.”

Ginsmon Zacharia, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said, “While striving to havegreater coordination and networking among journalists, our motto is to be the voice of thecommunity of Indian American journalists.”

Lone Indian Americanlawmaker Ami-Bera stagescomeback win Amiresh ‘Ami’ Bera, the lone Indian

American lawmaker in the US House ofRepresentatives, repeated history as he edged

out his Republican opponent in a Californiarace two weeks after the elections.

Bera, who had won in a similar fashion in2012, trailed Republican Doug Ose by morethan 3,000 votes at the close of election nightand steadily closed the gap as election of cialstallied tens of thousands of remaining ballots.

He led Doug, who had served in Congressfrom 1999 to 2005, by 1,432 votes with nearlyall ballots counted in the seat covering suburbanSacramento county, media reported.

Bera, the third Indian American Housemember after Dalip Singh Saund and currentLouisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, had oustedthen sitting Republican House member DanLungren in 2012.

“It’s been my honour serving this community

as a doctor for the last 19 years and I amgrateful I will have the opportunity to continueserving as the representative for California’s7th Congressional District in Congress,” Berasaid in a statement.

“If you remember in the contest in 2012, wewere tied and after the ballots were counted,we won by over 9,000 votes,” Bera, who wasattending Congressional Diwali celebrations onCapitol Hill in Washington, said.

Ose congratulated Bera on the hard foughtwin saying he “celebrates the fact that ourinstitutions and our laws provide us a systemwhereby elections can be peacefully resolved”.

The race was deemed the most expensiveone with both candidates spending at least$19.6 million in the campaign, according to the

Centre for Responsive Politics.Former US president Bill Clinton too had

come to rally support for the embattled Bera.Two other Indian American aspirants for the

House were defeated in the mid-term election.In the battle for Silicon Valley, Indian-

American Rohit ‘Ro’ Khanna conceded defeatafter giving seven-term incumbent MikeHonda the toughest ght of his life and inPennsylvania, Manan Trivedi failed to make iteven in his third attempt.

In Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu-American, was re-elected for a second termafter brie y eyeing a vacant Senate seat.





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28 November 201426

l

CAREER

Two bedrooms, one bathroom,large lounge and separate kitchen.

Located within easy walking distance to Newmarket, bus stop,

train station, supermarket and medical facilities.Situated within the Grammar Zone and Epsom Girls Zone.Rent $500/week includes water and power.

96 Great South Road, Epsom. Contact 021-915361

Accepting equation withboss, key to excelling in jobInstead of faking it, coming to terms with the

actual equation you share with your boss mayhelp you perform better, a study shows.

Workers are more motivated if they andtheir supervisors see eye-to-eye about a badrelationship than if they have different viewsabout their relationship, the ndings showed.

“Seeing eye-to-eye about the employee-supervisor relationship is equally if notmore important thanthe actual quality of therelationship,” said FadelMatta, lead investigatorand management researcherat the Michigan StateUniversity in the US.

Past research suggestsworkers and their bossesoften have differing viewsabout the quality of theirrelationship.

The new study involving280 employees and their

bosses showed that motivation suffered whenan employee believed he or she had a goodrelationship with the boss but the boss saw itdifferently.

The nding also held true even when the

boss believed the relationship was good but thesubordinate did not.

The two were surveyed separately, meaningthe boss did not necessarily know how theemployee felt about him or her, and vice versa.

Interestingly, employee motivation washigher - and the employee was more apt to goabove and beyond his or her basic job duties -when the worker and supervisor saw eye-to-eye

about the relationship, even when it was poor. The study examined a wide range of

employees - from cashiers to senior managers- in a host of industries, including automotive,retail and nancial services.

Tips to answer questionsat job interviews

It’s the centre of a job seeker’s worstnightmares – being in an interview for their

dream job and not being able to answer a

question they’ve just been asked. Many peopletalk to a professional job interview coachbecause they have a real fear of tripping upover one of the questions they’re asked duringan interview. Such thoughts can ll job seekerswith dread, and make them anxious whenfacing into an interview. However, there aresome strategies you can use to make sure thatthis nightmare doesn’t happen in an interviewfor your dream job.

DON’T FORGET TO LISTEN

Interviews can be nerve-rackingexperiences, and it’s easy for an interviewee toget lost for a moment in the anxiety and tension.It’s important, however, that job seekers keeptheir focus and listen to the interviewers whenthey’re asking questions. Seeming distractedwill not make a good impression on potentialemployers. One way to help keep focused isto keep eye contact with whoever is speakingduring the interview. It will help convey interestand project a sense of con dence.

MAINTAIN POSITIVITY

Interviewers can often ask awkwardquestions, or sometimes interviewees can tripup trying to answer a simple question. Oneway to face awkward questions and avoidtripping up is for job seekers to keep a positivetheme running through their answers. Potentialemployers don’t want to employ someonewho’s leaving their current job because theycan’t stand their boss or their work colleagues.Focusing on the positive aspects of a new job –such as fresh challenges and new opportunities– gives a better impression to interviewers, andhelps them picture the interviewee as a positive

person who would t in well with their team.

EMERGENCY STRATEGY

In his book Winning Job Interviews, Dr PaulPower gives a handy formula for answeringquestions that job seekers might otherwisestruggle to answer. He recommends that the failsafe answer to any question can be summed upin an easily remembered formula: Experience+ Knowledge + Personal Characteristics =Fail Safe Answer. Highlighting knowledgeand experience allows a job seeker toshowcase their achievements to interviewers.Highlighting personal characteristics enablesthe job seeker to show what they uniquely bringto the table, and how well they can function

both independently and as part of a team.

KISS

Keep it short and simple! Some job seekerscan get overwhelmed and give over elaborateanswers during an interview. It’s best to keepanswers simple and not to go over one or twomintues. One of our job interview coacheshere always says; “Keep your answers simpleand to the point. Interviewers don’t want to beoverloaded with too much information. Theywant to know that you can communicate yourideas in a way that isn’t off putting.”

Interviews can be stressful for job seekers, but they don’t have to be the stuff of nightmares.Following simple strategies can help to turninterviews into a positive experience for jobseekers. Some people choose to solicit thehelp of job interview coaches to help developstrategies to take the edge off answering jobinterview questions.

Arthur Parker-Ramani is a professional CVwriter & interview coach at King of CVin Auckland and can be reached for any

questions at [email protected]

Tough jobs may protectmemory If you hate your job because it requires

complex work with other people or data,you may now discard the negative thoughts asresearchers have found that complex jobs help

people retain their memory and thinking skillseven after retirement.

The study found that people who held jobswith higher levels of complexity with data and

people, such as management and teaching, had better scores on memory and thinking tests.

“These results suggest that more stimulatingwork environments may help people retain theirthinking skills, and that this might be observedyears after they have retired,” said study authorAlan Gow from Heriot-Watt University inEdinburgh, Scotland.

“Our ndings have helped to identify thekinds of job demands that preserve memory andthinking later on,” Gow added.

For the study, the researchers tested memoryand thinking abilities of 1,066 Scottish peoplewith an average age of 70. The tests looked atmemory, processing speed and general thinking

ability.Researchers also gathered information about

the jobs participants held. The job titles wereassigned scores for the complexity of work with

people, data and things.For example, complex jobs might involve

coordinating or synthesizing data, whileless complex jobs might involve copying orcomparing data.

In terms of working with others, morecomplex roles might involve instructing,negotiating or mentoring, while less complex

jobs might involve taking instructions orhelping.

The analysis used levels of complexityaccording to the Dictionary of OccupationalTitles.

Examples of jobs that score highly for thecomplexity of work with people are: lawyer,social worker, surgeon.

Examples of jobs that score highly for thecomplexity of work with data are: architect,civil engineer, graphic designer or musician.



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SPORTS / EDUCATION

International sporting stars to study at SIT A fter conquering 6 of the 7 peaks of theworld Indian twins Tashi and Nungshi

Malik are set to take on their next adventure.The Malik twins have each been awarded a

New Zealand India Sports Scholarship (NZISS)to study the Graduate Diploma in Sport andExercise at the Southern Ins titute of Technology(SIT) in Invercargill in 2015.

Before coming to study in New Zealand thesisters have a goal of climbing the nal of the7 peaks, Mt Vinson in Antarctica December2014. This will make the Malik twins the rstsiblings and rst twins to successfully climb all7 peaks of the world.

This is part of mission #2 for 7 which was“born out of the juxtaposition of our love formountaineering and our desire to ght for thecause of Indian girl child. Coming from a placewith female feticide and increasing violenceagainst the girl child, we want to stand for heras she climbs mountains through life’s journey.Using our mountaineering as a metaphor forlife’s climbs and breaking gender stereotypes,we want to show her that she can conquer everyobstacle that’s thrown her way.”

The New Zealand India Sports Scholarshipis funded by the New Zealand government willcover all 2015 tuition fees to study at SIT forTashi and Nungshi plus a contribution to theirliving costs.

Ten lucky scholars from India were awardeda NZISS to study at institutions in NewZealand. SIT secured the highest number ofawardees with three of the ten scholarshipscoming to study the Graduate Diploma in Sportand Exercise in 2015. Yogesh Sharma joins thetwins as SIT’s third NZISS awardee.

Yogesh is a physiotherapist by professionand is actively involved with private CricketAcademies in Delhi (North India) giving

young cricketer’s physical training and cricketcoaching. He was a local physician/trainer forthe Canadian National Cricket Team whenthey were in India for the Cricket World Cupwarm-up games. Sharma has also assisted theRajasthan Royals (Indian Premier League)team on various occasions.

The scholarship winners were delighted toreceive their awards from Stephen Fleming- Former Black Caps captain and PrimaryIndustries Minister Nathan Guy in New Delhiat a special celebration to kick off the 2015World Cricket Cup (to be held in New Zealandand Australia).

SIT, CE Penny Simmonds said she wasdelighted that SIT had secured the mostscholarships of any Tertiary Institute andhaving meet Tashi and Nungshi Malik she issure they and Yogesh Sharma will be real assetsto the Southland community while they are atSIT next year. Ms Simmonds said she hopedcommunity organisations would make the most

of having three high pro le Indian spor ts peoplein our midst by asking them to speak and take

part in community activities.

New Zealand bat maker’s India connect: Tendulkar,Dravid and more

¡ Radhika Bhirani

N estled in Waipawa, a small town inHawke’s Bay in North Island, a region

famous for its wines, James Laver has beencarving many a cricketing dream - literally!

With two decades’ experience in makingcustomised bats and a clientele of greats likeSachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and BrianLara, the master craftsman says almost 60percent of his customers are Indian.

This, considering that India itself is one ofthe leading manufacturers of cricket bats inthe world. But Laver offers an edge over mostunder his brand Laver & Wood.

He agrees that quality of manufacture inmass production of cricket bats has changeddramatically over the past 20 years, but saidthat a customised bat ensures a cricketer getssomething suitable.

Laver, an expert in shaving and shaping theblade of a bat, himself hand-crafts each pieceindividually to suit a customer’s speci cations

after carefully understanding and reviewing therequirements laid down.

What’s more, this can be done by phone,email or even over a Facebook chat.

Months ahead of the 2015 ICC World Cup,the man with a towering personality stands tallat 6’ 5” for a walk and talk at the sprawling TeAwanga, where amidst multiple hectares liegreen pastures, mountains, sheep and cattle, isa uniquely situated and awe-inspiring cricketpitch for members of a Clifton County CricketClub.

“Most customers of my bats, say 60 percentof them, would be from India...actually fromIndians across the world. Apart from quite a

few in India, there are a lot of Indian expatstoo,” Laver, who once visited India as ateenager said.

“I’d love to visit the country again. I have afew bats from India as I’ve some friends whosend them for me to test. Iíve always liked thetechniques of how bats are made in India.

“But some Indian bat makers send them tome to check what’s right or wrong about them.So, we do some consultancy on bats as well,”the 42-year-old said during the tete-a-tete on

a bright, sunny and windy afternoon here, justdays after the World Cup trophy toured Napier,one of the cities which will host matches herenext year.

Laver’s clients range from those who playsocial cricket to those who play in good leaguesand of course those who play rst-class cricket.And Indians apart, cricket lovers in Australia,

New Zealand, Malaysia, Brazil and Hong Kongare also a good market for the bat-maker.

But as he rightly describes it, it’s “people

who want something a little more special and personalised”.

“In the past, I’ve done bats for Brian Lara,(Sachin) Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and a lot ofSri Lankan players. Sachin has used my bats

for the past few years. Sanath Jayasuriya has been a very good customer of ours, apart f romMahela Jayawardene,” he said.

In fact, Jayasuriya scored a double ton ina 1998 England-Sri Lanka match with a batcrafted by Laver.

“It was the rst bat I made for him. Hestill has that bat and always had me make thesame bat speci cations until his retirement,” herecollected.

Laver is de nite about ending up with “alot of trade” during the upcoming World Cup,courtesy the players’ last minute rush - which

by now he’s quite used to.He estimates he would have hand-crafted

nearly 40,000 bats in his 20-year love storywith bat making, before which he was inclined

towards carving furniture and random itemsusing wood.A quali ed construction engineer, Laver,

who was brought up in Kenya and brie y inthe Solomon Islands, took up a related job in1990 in Britain. But when recession struck, hechanged track to start a new career in 1991 as a

bat maker. He worked as an apprentice with batmaker Millichamp and Hall in Somerset, beforemoving to New Zealand in 1998 to set up Laver& Wood in 1999.

Britain is from where he gets his supply ofquality English willow, using which he makesover 1,500 bats a year. This year, he’s hoping toscore about 1,800.

SIT initiates furtherpartnerships withChina

The Southern Institute of Technology (SIT)hosted delegates from GuangDong PuNing

city representing government, investors andthe GuangDong Puning Vocational School onFriday 14 November.

The purpose of the visit was to evaluate the possibility of a partnership between SIT and theGuangDong PuNing Vocational School. Therelationship between the two institutions wasinitiated by former Invercargill MP Eric Roywho introduced Guangdong Puning Vocational

School to SIT.The Chinese delegation led by Mr Huanhua

Hu President Puning Municipal People’sGovernment met with SIT Chairwoman SarahBrown, SIT Deputy CE Corporate BharatGuha, His Worship the Mayor of InvercargillTim Shadbolt, Invercargill MP Sarah Dowieand Invercargill City Council Chief ExecutiveRichard King.

Ms. Ping Chen, Immigration lawyer whoaccompanied the delegation stated that “Thedelegation want to build our friendship withSIT and Invercargill closer. We have a lot incommon as we are both vocational institutes,we are both public institutes and we both wantto provide the best for our students.

The delegation formally invited SITrepresentatives, Invercargill MP Sarah Dowieand His Worship the Mayor of Invercargill TimShadbolt to visit Puning and the GuangdongPuning Vocational College.



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28 November 201428

lOn top of the worldPaul Ross, founder of Paci c Kids, climbed to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro last weekend to raise fundsfor his orphanage in Fiji, Loloma Homes. In this part, we talk about his journey to become the personhe is today

¡ Paula Ray

In June 2004, Paul Ross received some newsthat changed his life forever. His mother and

he were diagnosed with cancer on the same day.Unfortunately, she passed away seven weekslater. But Ross continued with his struggle andnally overcame the illness.

Ross remembers, “My mother was my bestfriend and having been raised with four brothersand a sister with me being the youngest by 11years, they left home when I was very young.So it was basically mum and I. My step dadhad passed away in 2003 and my mum had losther will to live, which was very hard for meto accept. Having said that when we were bothdiagnosed on the 14th June 2004, I was purelyfocussed on my survival as my biggest fea r wasnot giving my then six- month-old daughteraway on her wedding day. This was my driver

and I never looked back – this has taught methe value of life: live each day, hear the birdsin the trees and be both present and live eachmoment.”

During this time, he spent a lot of time in ahospice and was very touched by the support andcomfort he received there. All of the caregiversin the hospice were volunteers and each hadtheir own stories to tell of how they lost lovedones. These experiences touched him in such away that he felt it was his respons ibility to ‘giveback’ and make a difference to someone elsein need.

GIVING BACK

In January 2010, one of his senior employeesat Power Marketing, Leith Gray was killed ina car accident leaving behind his partner andeight- month-old baby. This was Ross’s rstopportunity to ‘give back’. “I set up a trustfund for baby Eden to ensure she would beok nancially in years to come,” says Ross.Between his staff and himself, they raisedenough funds to support Leith’s family. “Infact, on January 14, I transferred $8,500 to anaccount for Eden’s schooling,” adds Ross.

The next opportunity to ‘give back’ camefrom a family vacation to Fiji. A family friendof offered to take Ross’s daughter, Estella andsome of her friends to visit an orphanage whereshe does a lot voluntary work when she visitsFiji.

The girls were very moved by this experienceand loved playing with the children. They camehome with many stories and a huge realisationthat the lives of these children were so verydifferent from their own. That night whenEstella went to bed, she was very emotional.

“When I asked her what was wrong shebroke down into tears. I have never seen her crylike this before and she explained that she reallywanted to help these kids,” says Ross.

Estella asked, “Can we adopt one of thelittle girls because she doesn’t have a Mummyor Daddy.” The following day Estella and herfriends walked around the pool at the HiltonFiji and asked adults to donate money to theOrphanage. They got $264 and purchased someof the items on the Orphanage’s “basic wishlist” and delivered them on their next visit.

Upon their return, my wife Leysa& I satdown with Estella to form a plan to help ourPaci c children and ‘give back’.

Ross says, “This journey started fromEstella’s vision as a seven-year-old and thishas touched her like nothing else. In Septemberthis year, her class of 15 students from Year 6at Kohia Terrace school, visited the home fora week where we built gardens, sandpits and

erected a trampoline.” Ross’s “ultimate” dream“is to be across the Paci c in ve years and toestablish a home aptly named ‘Estella’s hom’.

After they started with their work, theemployees were asked if they would be happyto donate from their pay each week to go intoa fund. “All of my staff said yes and theycontribute $2 to $20 per week,” says a proudRoss.

“Although I am the driver behind thisinitiative, I am only one of many comingtogether to make this possible. The aim of our

foundation is to help families and the childrenwho are less fortunate and the motivation is tosimply ‘give back’,” says Ross. “Together wecan ‘make a difference’. I have had the last 3.5years working with so many wonderful peopleand thank you sincerely from the bottom of myheart.”

He adds, “The joys of having a supportivewife as Leysa lets me follow my goals andaspirations. I know without her support and

blessing, this simply wouldn’t be possible andit’s that simple.”

FEATURE

(R to L from above): Paul Ross with children atLoloma Home; Estella with her friends at theHome; Ross atop Mt Kilimanjaro; with his family

Indian Weekender Exclusive



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ENTERTAINMENT

Harry Baweja happywith reactions to‘Chaar Sahibzaade’

F ilmmaker Harry Baweja says he is happywith the reactions he has been getting to his

animated lm “Chaar Sahibzaade”.“I am extremely happy with the reaction

that I am getting from my audience and fromthe industry people. It has been great so far, Ifeel blessed,” said Baweja who has directed thelm.

“Chaar Sahibzaade”, that released Nov 6,deals with the story behind the reverence forGuru Gobind Singh.

Baweja says it was a time consumingprocess to make this animation lm.

“It was a tedious job to make an animationlm. I had no choice but to make it in animation.I hope we make more animation lms in India.It took close to three years for me to make thislm,” he said.

Karan Johar wantsto make lms likeHirani

K aran Johar has been wowing the audience

with his breezy entertainers since 1998,but the lmmaker says he doesn’t have the“ability” to make lms like Rajkumar Hirani.

Hirani’s directorials like “3 Idiots” and“Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.” are entertaining, andyet convey a strong message. And Karan Joharsays he is envious of him.

“I’ve been pitted against everyone and I feelenvious, not jealous. I am envious of Hirani.I’ve never managed to do what he does. Hismovies have genious ideas. I don’t have theability perhaps. I would love to make thosekind of movies. Hirani has strong screenplays. Ihope I get such screenplays,” Karan Johar saidduring a session titled “An afternoon at FilmBazaar with Rajeev Masand” on the nal dayof Film Bazaar here Monday.

Hirani’s next movie titled “PK” which starsAamir Khan will soon hit the theatres.

Salman’s ‘Kick’ to geta sequel soon?

Salman Khan has never done a sequel to hislms, except for “Dabangg”, but that might

change soon with a sequel of the superstar ’s lastreleased lm “Kick”.

According to sources close to the project,

“Kick”, directed by Sajid Nadiadwala, which isSalman’s highest grosser to date, may write outits sequel sooner than expected.

‘Kick’ has become the highest grosser ofSalman’s career. It has so far accrued a total

box-of ce collection of Rs.234 crore. That beats the earlier Salman starrer ‘Ek Tha Tiger’which netted Rs.188 crore worldwide.

“Sajid is now being told by his distributorsand friends to carry the story forward intoa sequel because it makes a lot of businesssense,” a source said.

Nadiadwala, however, is in two minds as hehas his hands full as a producer.

‘Ungli’ not a typicalBollywood lm:Emraan HashmiA ctor Emraan Hashmi says his forthcoming

movie “Ungli” is not a typical Bollywoodlm, but he admits that some elements have

been added to it to make it more mainstream.“It (‘Ungli’) is not a typical Bollywood

lm,” the 35-year-old said in an interview.“(It is) A lm having social relevance, along

with other elements of society like corruption,where the common man is not able to raisehis voice against corrupt powers and injusticehappening to him and a gang, whose extrememeasure is to ght injustice, comes to helphim. I think this has rarely happened in ourBollywood lms,” he added.

Directed by Rensil D’Silva, “Ungli” is afun take on the angst of today’s youth andchronicles the story of ve friends, who actas vigilantes against the corrupt powers andinjustice.

“Ungli” also stars Kangana Ranaut, SanjayDutt, Randeep Hooda, Neha Dhupia and NeilBhoopalam. It will hit the theatres Friday.

Will make stupid flmsif don’t watch worldcinema: Vidhu VinodChopraF ilm maker-producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Friday said Indian lm-makers need towatch world cinema to grow or else the industrywill keep making stupid movies.

“I come from a small village in Kashmir andI have seen only Hindi movies. Unless we seeworld cinema how will we grow? If we don’twatch world cinema we will keep makingstupid lms. Today I met two to three lmmakers and I felt great that people take out timeand come here to watch movies,” Chopra toldreporters at the 16th MAMI lm festival.

Film-maker Anurag Kashyap presented oneof Chopra’s most successful lms “Parinda” inthe presence of its lead actors Anil Kapoor andJackie Shroff.

The lm also had Madhuri Dixit and NanaPatekar in lead roles.

While this year the MAMI lm festival sawmany celebrities being part of it, Chopra says

star power helps the festival.The 16th MAMI lm festival will continue

till Oct 21.

Priyanka Chopra picks garbage forClean India campaign A ctress Priyanka Chopra took it upon

herself to clean up a garbage-strewnneighbourhood in Mumbai as part of her effortstowards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s CleanIndia campaign.

“Gandhiji said ‘Be the change you want tosee’ - thank you @narendramodi for remindingme of that! #MyCleanIndia can happen!#ChangingMindsets,” Priyanka posted onTwitter Monday after sharing a video link.

The 11-minute video chronicles how theefforts began, how Priyanka herself picked upthe garbage, how the place was beauti ed, andhow happy the residents were over the 16-dayeffort, which saw Priyanka along with her teamcleaning up an area in Versova here.

In the video, Priyanka also shared her ideaof contributing to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyanthis way.

“It took me a little longer than I wanted, butwhen the prime minister asked me to be one ofhis ‘navratnas’, I was very excited. But I wantedit to be something that could be sustained,” shesaid.

Priyanka chose a place in Versova which

she had visited during the shooting of her lm“Agneepath”.Her idea was not to just clean up the place,

but rehabilitate it.“That’s the best we can do and eventually

then it’s up to them (the residents) to sustainit. I think the idea of doing this is to createsomething which is long lasting. And I hope for

the best, and that it stays this way (clean),” shesaid.

Priyanka, who believes a change in mindsetis the need of the hour for a clean and greenIndia, is seen slipping her hands into a pair of

pink gloves to pick garbage herself, and sheseeks the help of the neighbourhood’s childrenfor the activity.

At the end of it all, the place looks clean and

colourful with some graf ti and some plants.She said: “I wanted to do a bit more that justcleaning a few piles of garbage.”

Her effort was lauded by Modi in atweet saying: “An innovative effort by @

priyankachopra. It is a wonderful way to bring people together to create a Swachh Bharat.Kudos! #MyCleanIndia.”

Punjabi cinema not justabout ‘balle balle’Punjabi lmmaker Manjeet Mann, who co-

produced National Award-winning lm“Shaheed-e-Mohabbat Boota Singh”, saysthere are movies from her state that are rich incontent too.

During a session titled “Cinemas of India- Punjabi cinema” at the Film Bazaar, which

concluded here Monday, she talked about thecommon misconception when it comes toPunjabi movies.

“Punjabi cinema is not just about ‘balle balle’. I like to make lms on true stories andmost of them are tragedies,” said the director of“Sukhmani - Hope for Life”.

Anurag Singh, who has directed hit Punjabilms like “Jatt and Juliet” and “Punjab 1984”,agreed with her, but said the majority is just“slapstick comedy”.

“This year around 42 lms released and 80 percent of those lms are similar. They are allcomedies, that too slapstick. So, the audiencewill ultimately get bored of it. We need to makemore movies with strong content to make theindustry grow,” he said.

Distributor Munish Sahni, who was also oneof the panelists, believes the “technicians needto be more professional”.

“The Punjabi lm industry is unorganised.Many people assume distribution is just a parttime job, but it’s not,” he said.

The other challenge Punjabi lmmakersface is getting satellite rights.

“There are hardly 4-5 local channels that play more of Punjabi songs than movies.So, there is not much support from satellite.Music companies also don’t pay us as they say

physical sale of music doesn’t take place. That

is not true because you can’t run a company ifyou are not earning pro t,” said Anurag Singh.They, however, said they get good business

from overseas.“At least 50 percent of the money is

recovered from overseas,” Sahni said, addingthat Canada is a strong market for Punjabicinema.



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ADVERTORIAL

WHAT’S OnChakravyuh- LethalCirclesDate: Tuesday 2 nd Dec 2014Time: 11 am

Venue: Hollywood cinemas, Avondale The rst NZ made Hindi lm Chakravy uhlethal circles is running for an additionalshow. This is after all four shows in HoytsSylvia park were appreciated by audiencesand the lm back for one more show thisDecember, as per public demand.

Rath Yatra Festivals2014Date, time and Venue: 29 Nov 2014 10:30am Santa Parade, Manurewa29 Nov 2014 6:00 pm Santa Parade, Otara30th Nov 2014 3:00 pm Sanata Parade,Howick.Check in at assembly point at least 30minutes before parade starts. Rath Yatrawill be followed by Picnic and Prasadam atMission Bay.

Christmas Parades,Carols and FestivalsGet into the festive spirit by taking part inthese local events to celebrate Christmas.Following are a few event that you can jointhis weekend.

Farmers Santa Paradeand Santa’s PartyWhen: Sunday 30 November, Parade2pm, Santa’s Party 3.15pm-5.30pm (raindate: 7 December)

Parade route: Mayoral Drive, QueenStreet, Customs Street West and AlbertStreet

The Christmas cheer contin ues straightafter the parade at Santa’s Party - a partyfor everyone. There will be a whole line-up of family entertainment with singing,dancing, character costumes and Santahimself. For more than 80 years, theFarmers Santa Parade has brought joy tothe children of Auckland and this year isno exception.

Warkworth SantaParadeWhen: Saturday 29 November, noon-3pmParade route: Parade begins from AlnwickStreet, turns onto Neville Street, alongQueen Street, up Mill Lane, then backdown Neville Street for a second lapContact: Call Nicola Jones on 021 645129 or [email protected] listing: Warkworth Santa Parade

Mairangi Bay ChristmasParadeWhen: Saturday 29 November, noon-1.30pmParade route: Starts at Mairangi Bay Park,proceeds down Ramsgate Terrace toBeach Road and Montrose TerraceContact: Call Dick Mogridge on 021 802705 or email dmogridge@pbsea_tow.com

Wellsford ChristmasParade

When: Saturday 29 November, 11.30am-12.30pmParade route: Station Road, OympusRoad, Matheson Road, Rodney Road(SH1), Harrison Street an d back ontoStation RoadContact: Call Tony Sowden on 0 27 4752975 or email [email protected] listing: Wellsford Santa Parade

Great New ZealandSanta RunWhen: Wednesday 4 December, 6.30pm-7.30pmWhere: Albany Lakes, Albany Contact: Call Shaun Collins on 021 508980 or email [email protected] information: A 2.5km fun run orwalk for dressed-up Santas. The mainpurpose of the event is to raise funds forthe KidsCan charity

Manurewa Santa ParadeWhen: Saturday 29 November, 10.30am-11.30amParade route: Start at the Station Roadcarpark, right on to Northcrest Way,right on to Great South Road, right on toWeymouth Road, right on to Selwyn Road,right on to Station Road, left into Station

Road carpark Contact: Call Johnathan Smith on 027 2225516 or ema il [email protected]

Otara Christmas ParadeWhen: Saturday 29 November, 6pm-7pmParade route: Bairds Road Otara

Contact: Call Ruanna Letalu on021 254 5486 or [email protected]

Howick Santa ParadeWhen: Sunday 30 November, 1pm-4.30pmParade route: Starting on Fencible Drive,turn right onto Wellington Street, turn rightonto Picton Street and nish on CookStreetContact: Call Emma Smith on 09 2718084 or email [email protected]

Mangere Bridge SantaParadeWhen: Thursday 4 December, 6.30pm-8.30pmParade route: Start on Domain Road,left onto Coronation heading north, headsouth onto Coronation back onto DomainRoadContact: Call Kate Adams o n 021776139

Great New ZealandSanta RunWhen: Wednesday 4 December, 6.30pm-7.30pmWhere: Harbourview Reserve, Te Atatu

PeninsulaContact: Call Shaun Collins on 021 508980 or email [email protected] information: A 2.5km fun run orwalk for dressed-up Santas. The mainpurpose of the event is to raise funds forthe KidsCan charity

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www.iwk.co.nz

28 November 201431

l

FEATURE

Blogger’s Park

NZ Fashion Tech students, on an exchange study programme,blog from Sathyamangalam, Tamil Nadu

¡ Erin Wellin ton

W hen we arrived in India we were greetedat the airport by a team from the Bannari

Amman Institute of Technology with owers.On Sunday we got to visit two temples. TheBannari Amman temple was beautiful andpainted with such bright colours. Learning aboutthe culture and religion has been an amazingexperience. The temple was so populated andwas our rst experience of the Hindu culture.

Monday was orientation day and we metwith the faculty, then the students. We had ourrst textile class here.

I started doing yoga on Tuesday morningand I nd it not only relaxing on my body buton my mind also. It de nitely helps with myhomesick heart. We have been learning spinningand weaving this week, with a few classes andindustry visits. The manufacturing factoriesare such a large scale. I love the importanceof fashion and textiles here in India. I nd itempowering to my passions.

We also visited a manufacturer that makeshome wares. We bought some things wholesale,I got a little apron with a giraffe on it for mynephew, and some beautiful towels.

The weekend was for shopping. We wentto Brook elds on Saturday and Texvalley onSunday. I bought three sarees, some dressesand ve scarves. The fabrics and patterns are sointricate and beautiful. I bought some beautifulbangles and a marble chess set for my mum andsister.

The food here is amazing. We have eatenat 3 restaurants and each time it’s so different.I thought I wouldn’t be able to handle thespice, but I’m de nitely managing. I also hadMcDonald’s at the mall and I love how manyvegetarian options there are. I wish it was like

this in NZ!

¡ Te Aroha Goodwin

W hen I boarded the plane in New Zealand,I really did not know what to expect

from our stay in India. In one week we haveseen, heard, tasted and experienced so muchalready, that I think anything is possible andthere is still so much more to come!

In 7 days we have visited 2 temples inBannari Amman, seen spinning, weaving andmanufacturing mills around the region, eaten at4 star restaurants and visited very large malls.

But before I go into that I need to mentionthe sarees and the traditional dresses. I havenever seen so much bright beautiful colours and

patterns in my life - so many different bres andpatterns. The women all look beautiful and theydress with pride.

The temples are so beautiful: Old and full ofhistory. We were fortunate enough to be a part

of the rituals and witness others.The spinning and weaving mills blew me

away. The amount of yarn and fabric that ismade here is incredible! At the Manufacturingmill it was really interesting to see what wehave practiced for so long, done on a largerscale. Such hard workers. And then we had achance to shop! We went to Brook eld mallwhich is a 5 story city mall. It reminded me ofa cruise.

BIT is a beautiful institution. Surrounded byforest and coconut trees, it is a haven. Althoughthere are two types of heat we have to get usedto: The food has been a test for everyone. Ithought it would be spicy, and that it is. It issoooo yummy though, and our lovely chefsare continuously trying to come up with waysto change things up and accommodate to ourneeds. The hard part of this is learning thenames of all the different foods! And secondly,the temperature here is often hotter than NZsummer. I think today, at 11:30 this morning, itwas approx 28 degrees. The locals tell us this istheir cold season. Haha!!

¡ Tin Yu

V ery hot...!The India trip has been such a fantastic

experience so far. We have been looked after sowell here by the locals. Our chef Udhayakumaris one of the nicest person I›ve ever met. Healways tries his best to cook the food weenjoy. He made us French toast this morningfor the rst time, and he calls it bread omelette.The house we stay in is so nice and clean. Our

bed sheets and pillow cases get changed everythird day and our house gets cleaned every day.

They do everything they could to make us feelwelcome and at home.The staff at BIT is so nice to us, especially

Professor Shyamala and Assistant ProfessorAyeshvaryaa look after us. They come to visitus after dinner and chat with us. We talk aboutall sorts of things, from our traditions to ourlives and of course, shopping.

The factories are quite far away from theBIT campus so it takes from one and half hoursto three hours to get there. It was fantastic

because we got to see the rural side of India,lots of coconut trees, banana trees and housesmade from coconut tree leaves.

We put our palms together and say‹Namaste› to greet each other. Most peoplethink ‹Namaste› means ‹Hello›. But the truemeaning of the word is absolutely beautiful.

It means “I honour the place in you in whichthe entire universe dwells. I honour the placein you which is of love, of truth, of light and of

peace. When you are in that place in you and Iam in that place in me. We are one.”



Indian Weekender 28 November 2014

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