Indian

Indian Log on to www.iwk.co.nz

April 16, 2010
Volume 2, No. 2
New Zealand’s first Indian weekend magazine
For free distribution

Bollywood | 48 New Zealand | 8 Heritage | 58

Tete a tete with From the 7 great things
Rahul Bose Police files about India

At a glance
Kishore’s unsong song
A song composed by the
legendary Kishore Kumar in
the 1960s will for the first time
see the light of day in Auckland
next month – through his son
Amit Kumar.

Page 30

Law changes Suva’s nightlife

Two months after a new anti-
prostitution law took effect
in Fiji, taxi driver Shiu Kumar
says he sees fewer sex work-
ers along Victoria Parade, the
centre of Suva’s nightlife.
Page 22

Want to SAVE thousands of DOLLARS in unnecessary

interest on your mortgage & insurance premium
Ajay Kumar: F.Fin, CAIIB, M.Sc - Director
Phone: 09 255 5500, Fax: 09 255 5588
Email: ajay@globalfinance.co.nz
We deal with all the leading Banks & Insurance Companies Free disclosure statement is available on request

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 1

Indian

A big thank you, dear readers

Indian Weekender humbly dedicates this first anniversary
issue to our readers from the Kiwi Indian community as
well as our growing mainstream Kiwi readers.
We gratefully acknowledge the trust and faith you have
reposed in us and for working with us in helping bring to
the community the latest in news, information, entertain-
ment, and analyses from all over the world.
We would also like to thank our advertisers who believed
in us and stuck with us especially in the early weeks and
months when it was easy for those already
in the business to say that we would not
be able to sustain our effort beyond a few
issues. Your support has been invaluable
and will never be forgotten.
As well as our own creative, journalis-
tic and technological efforts to create a
ethnic multimedia news organisation with
multiple delivery channels in just one year,
and that too in the most trying of times,
it is our readers and advertisers who too
have a big part in making us the fastest
growing and most visible Kiwi Indian news
medium.
Today, Indian Weekender prints 10,000
copies* on good stock of paper, certainly
heavier than what most other ethnic news-
papers use. It is published regularly on
every other Friday except in the Christmas
period and some special occasions. It is
distributed free from over 150 outlets* in
greater Auckland and several other cities
around New Zealand. It is also distributed
through the NZICA branch network.
The articles on the website are individually
viewed more than 50,000* times every
month and the number of visitors is many
times more than that. The access rate of
the smart phone version of the website
is doubling every couple of months. The
weekly newsletter has become so popular
that subscriptions have grown 400% in six
months.
None of this would have been possible
without support from you, the reader, who
indeed is the raison d’etre of our existence.
With your support we look forward to
building our content offering over the
coming months to include ever engaging articles, graphics and multi-
media as also business opportunities for Indian businesses, which we
shall announce as we roll them out. We do hope you enjoy reading
this special issue as much as we did putting it together. We value your
feedback, so do write back to us at editor@indianweekender.co.nz.
Best wishes,
Team Indian Weekender

*All these are verifiable and we will be pleased to share details with advertisers who would be interested in reaching the Indian diaspora both here in New Zealand and in the Oceania region besides other countries.
All you need to do is send us an email.

2 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

 Indian
Indian Log on to www.iwk.co.nz
April 16, 2010
Volume 2, No. 2
New Zealand’s first Indian weekend magazine
For free distribution

Bollywood | 48 New Zealand | 8 Heritage | 58

Tete a tete with From the 7 great things
Rahul Bose Police files about India

At a glance
Kishore’s unsong song
A song composed by the
legendary Kishore Kumar in
the 1960s will for the first time
see the light of day in Auckland
next month – through his son
Amit Kumar.

Page 30

Law changes Suva’s nightlife

Two months after a new anti-
prostitution law took effect
in Fiji, taxi driver Shiu Kumar
says he sees fewer sex work-
ers along Victoria Parade, the
centre of Suva’s nightlife.
Page 22

Want to SAVE thousands of DOLLARS in unnecessary

interest on your mortgage & insurance premium
Ajay Kumar: F.Fin, CAIIB, M.Sc - Director
Phone: 09 255 5500, Fax: 09 255 5588
Email: ajay@globalfinance.co.nz
We deal with all the leading Banks & Insurance Companies Free disclosure statement is available on request

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 3

Indian
Meet the Iron-willed Kiwi Indian
Dev Nadkarni
v vv v story is a celebration of the triumph of the spirit. It’s a
classic story of complete transformation propelled by little more
than a consuming desire and an iron will to overcome the many
limits we set for ourselves in our own minds during the course of
our daily lives. It’s a saga of what sheer determination and grit
can achieve.
Just about a couple of years ago, Gaurang was a typical young
man with a comfortable family background, well ensconced on the
steady and sure road to professional success but, like many of his
ethnic South Asian compatriots, paid little attention to physical
fitness.
“At 93kg, I was obese for my height. My family suffers from
heart disease and diabetes. One day I just decided I was going to
change all that. I set out on a path making a promise to myself to
never look like that again and to become fitter and healthier. I swore
not to ever fall victim to either of these diseases,” Gaurang told
Indian Weekender.
Early this year, Gaurang, who had never known how to swim
even as late as last year or for that matter had never run anything
more than a short distance let alone a Marathon and never cycled
much longer than to the corner dairy achieved something that only
three Indians in the whole world have.
Today Gaurang is one of only three Indians ever to have suc-
ceeded in completing the gruelling Ironman routine.
To give a little background, Ironman is a triathlon: A swim, a
bike ride and a run. If that sounds simple, take a look at the length of
each of these and the time limits a person must complete the routine
in: the ultra distance triathlon comprises a 3.8km swim, a 180km
bike and a 42.2km run to finish – which has to be finished back to
back with in under 17 hours.
Ironman is an international race and takes place in many coun-
tries across the globe, New Zealand being one of them. The first
Indian to complete Ironman was actually a woman – Anuradha
Vaidyanathan, who did her first Ironman in China. Since then she
has completed NZ Ironman also among others around the world.
This year along with Gaurang another man of Indian origin –
Abhijeet Joshi, an American resident – competed in NZ Ironman.
4 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
These are the only three Indians to have completed Ironman, says
Gaurang.
Gaurang completed Ironman in 16 hours and 44 minutes, which
is not among the fastest, timing wise but is well within the time limit
allowed for the challenge. “No, I don’t think I am the fastest Indian
Ironman in the world, and quite frankly it does not bother me. A race
like Ironman is not really a race when you are dealing with insane
distances like this race presents. It is more a ‘challenge’ than a race,
it is a testimony to human determination,” Gaurang said.
Overcoming huge odds
The soft spoken and self-effacing Gaurang is both humble and re-
alistic about his achievement. “To put my time into perspective; the
winner Cameron Brown finished it in just 8 hours and 20 minutes
but then he has completed over 25 Ironman races in his profes-
sional career as a Triathlete,” Gaurang said.
“He did not have to learn how to swim from scratch, neither did
he have to worry about going to work at 8am in the morning. He also
did not have to worry about who would cook his meals after training
or who would go rescue him after he had crashed off his bike about
100km away from home in the middle of nowhere.
“He also does not have a ‘proper day job’, Ironman is his job,
he gets paid by sponsors to do it. Which is why a race like Ironman
for a regular guy like me with a fulltime job, who cooks his own
meals, pays his own way through training and finds his own way
back home after crashing off his bike, is not a race it is a challenge.”
Two years ago, Gaurang did not know what the Ironman chal-
lenge was. Last year he could not swim – at all. “I couldn’t even float
in water. I did not understand what it felt like to lose ground under
my feet in water,” Gaurang said.
But that was not the only obstacle in his path. Gaurang lives in
Taupo, away from the safety, comfort and love of his family based in
Auckland and he had to pretty much contend with the challenge all
by himself, once he decided to take it up.
“Apart from learning how to swim I faced several obstacles. I fell
sick with glandular fever and suffered from chronic fatigue for three
months, two of which I did no training at all,” he said.
And of course, he fell victim to New Zealand’s alarmingly
New Zealand
growing malaise – theft: “I got robbed
while I was out doing an open water
swim with my training mates. My
car was parked in the car park by the
lakefront in Taupo, and while we were
away it got stolen and it had my bicycle
in it, the one I was going to use at the
Ironman.
“This happened only 4 weeks out of the
event in late January. Despite these obstacles
I have managed to live my dream of becom-
ing an Ironman and I am proud to say today
that I am an Ironman, it took me a little longer
than expected but I have finished it neverthe-
less within the allowed time.”
More than anything else, he is happy that he
has been able to prove a point to other regular
people around him that nothing is impos-
sible. “So long as you make up your mind to
do something, you can do it. I hope that makes
sense,” he said.
Gaurang may not be the world’s fastest
Indian and is self-admittedly none the worse for
it but he is certainly among the more decorated and
awarded one among other participants in the Ironman challenge.
For instance, he is the first Indian in New Zealand to receive the
Cameron Brown Award.
This award is given to any person who completes the follow-
ing events in one sporting season: Taupo half Marathon (21km run),
Round the Lake cycle challenge (160km bike ride), Kinloch Tri-
athlon (1.5km swim, 40km ride, 10km run), Across the Lake swim
(4.2km swim) and NZ Ironman. Gaurang completed all of that in a
single sporting season.
Gruelling routine
Training for an Ironman is hard, especially when you have a life
and a job to manage alongside, Gaurang said. “I trained anywhere
between 18 - 25 hours a week. So it was pretty much like this, wake
Indian
up in the morning, work, eat, work, eat,
work, eat, train, eat, train, relax, sleep
and do it all over again if you get my drift.
I trained nearly 6 days a week 2 - 3 hours a day.
“I’d either do bike-runs where I’d go for a
30-40km bike ride during the week and after work
and then go do a 7-12km run after that. Morn-
ings would be a swim. I’d try to do as much open
water swimming as I could in Lake Taupo so I’d
get comfortable with swimming as that was my
weakness.
“Then Saturdays I’d meet up with my training
group and we’d do a ‘brick session’ starting with
a pool swim for about an hour and a half, which
included a lot of drills and a lot of laps of a 25m
pool with our coach Patrick overseeing us. Then
we’d follow that with a bike ride of about 35-50km
and a 15-21km run. This would be a 5-6 hours a day
in terms of being outside.
“Then Sundays would be a long ride. We were
expected to do anywhere between 90Km (shortest
ride) – 180km (longest ride), this would normally be
a pretty big day. On average at least 6 hours. We did
this week after, week after, week. It takes its toll after
a while especially when you are not used to such high
volume of work so soon. Because Ironman training is so
intense and demanding, keeping body fat on was becom-
ing a challenge for Gaurang.
“I got to a point where I was down to about 72Kg and 10-12%
body fat while training which is very low. But because I was about
93kg the year before, a sudden drop in weight was not welcomed by
my body. During this time, I was on a high carb low fat and very
little protein diet. I also noticed I wasn’t building muscle which
means I was ‘wasting away’ and eventually my performance started
to drop even though I was so light which is a good thing when you
are a triathlete.
“I fell gravely ill with glandular fever which is a viral illness
caused by the EBV virus. Most people have it in their system but
it lays dormant until you are really rundown and low and then it
attacks. A worse case symptom of this illness is chronic fatigue. You
are always tired, and your muscles are always hurting for no reason.
I was doing no training whilst I was sick, so I did not have a reason
to be so sore, but I was.
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“Eventually I started to get better as I started identifying holes
in my eating habits and started changing them. A full recovery for
this illness takes anywhere between 8 months to 2 years especially
when you are in chronic fatigue mode. I was back into training after
2 months. I was not fully recovered but I just had to get back as
failing to achieve my goal of finishing the events I had in mind was
not an option.
“I had to be very careful though with my training, getting
enough rest and eating the right things. In the end I pinned it down
to my eating habits and the way I was raised. As Indians our diets
tend to be very high in carbs and fat but not enough protein. I was
raised a vegetarian, but I had to make a choice and this is when I
started eating chicken.
“I never looked back since I included chicken into my diet. It was
very hard in the beginning as I had to battle a lot of morality but you
Accredited member of
New Zealand
have no option its either do or die. I chose to do, not die! I still have
an aversion to red meat though. I don’t think it is necessary to eat red
meat. My diet from here on comprised a lot of protein, fat and some
carbs. I was a different picture from here on.”
Family support
When he first told his mother Pratibha he was planning to do an
Ironman, she gave him a blank expression, not knowing what was
involved. In the following months, he remembers his mother say
several times, “bas kar bhai” because she felt he was “ruining” his
body. But as time went on, his parents started asking him more and
more questions about how his training was going. ‘They stood by
me and encouraged me throughout. I felt that they really under-
stood and supported what I was doing. It makes a huge difference
when family gets in behind you especially when you are training
for an Ironman, which is a long, hard and lonely journey.”
His larger family from India joined his parents from Auckland
to cheer him and complete the Ironman challenge.
The last name of this brave design engineer who works on
geothermal fluid conveyance systems for a Taupo based firm in the
geothermal sector, would ring many a bell not just for Indians but
for people all over the world.
Yes, Gaurang is part of India’s famous Ambani family, which
controls India’s largest business empire with interests in everything
from petrochemicals and textiles to education healthcare, finance
and investment to mobile phone networks and IT.
“My uncle Vinod Ambani who is the President of Reliance In-
dustries in India was here to see me perform. I was very pleased,”
Gaurang said. “I view him as a close family mentor.” By way of
advice to fellow Kiwi Indians Gaurang said, “I would encourage
Indians in New Zealand to become more active and participate
with the community at large. Triathlons is a very ‘white’ sport,
you will not see many Indians or even people of other nationalities
participate in this sport. This was the comment I heard over and
over again from all my Kiwi friends not in an offensive way at all
but more as congratulatory.
“Many have said we have never seen an Indian compete in
Triathlons before in NZ but good on you for doing it! For that I am
very proud. Simply put, IF I CAN SO CAN YOU! You can do any-
thing so long as you make up your mind to do it. The point is to be
involved in the larger community and be active and make a positive
difference to your life, which will flow on to others in your life.”
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Ravi Mehta Rohit Takyar
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5
Indian
Minister invites Kiwis to tap India’s huge
healthcare, education potential
Dev Nadkarni
India’s Minister for Human Resources, Education
and Science and Technology Kapil Sibal has urged
New Zealand businesses and investors to take a
serious look at the country’s two high growth sectors
– healthcare and education.
Outlining the scale of the opportunity, the minis-
ter said the entire healthcare system for a whopping
1.2 billion people in India was up for grabs in an
economic environment that has been fuelled by near
double-digit growth for nearly a decade.
Speaking to businesspeople under the aegis of the
India New Zealand Business Council in Auckland on
Monday, Mr Sibal eloquently traced the spectacular
growth in the Indian economy over the past ten years.
The country even registered 8% growth when the
world was reeling under the financial crisis and was
looking to even faster growth as the markets recov-
ered in the near to medium term, he said.
India has a sizable and growing technically com-
petent, English-speaking workforce that gives a great
advantage to foreign companies looking at investing
in the healthcare sector, particularly in the field of
high technology based diagnostic equipment, he said.
The economies of scale achieved owing to a com-
bination of this technically competent work force, low
operating and labour costs and the huge volume of a
hitherto untapped market provide could provide huge
profits for investors, he pointed out.
It was this low installed base that was ensuring
rapid growth in several sectors of the
economy and would continue
to do so for years because
of the size of the popula-
tion. In contrast, western
markets registered
comparatively slower
growth in their econo-
mies because they
were saturated, Mr
Sibal said.
He revealed that
India had the largest
communications
satellite system
in the world
Indo-Australia Education Council to be constituted
New Delhi: A landmark initiative to constitute the
India-Australia Education Council has been agreed
on by India and Australia, said a government release
on Friday.
A first of its kind, this Council will bring togeth-
er government, academia, business and industry of
both the countries to further bilateral collaboration in
the education sector.
Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resource
Development, and Julia Gillard, Deputy Prime Min-
ister and Minister of Education, Employment and
Workplace Relations, Australia decided upon this in
a meeting held yesterday in Melbourne, Australia, in
recognition of the fact that education is central to sus-
tained, inclusive and equitable growth.
Two other landmark initiatives agreed by the
Ministers include setting up a Joint Faculty Develop-
ment Programme as also the organisation of a bilat-
eral Inter University Convention of Vice Chancellors.
6 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
and innovators were constantly finding ways and
means to put this infrastructure to use for the benefit
of common people. For instance, there have been
several working examples of telemedicine already in
successful operation in many parts of India.
Detection of eye diseases like glaucoma as well
as monitoring the physiological condition of patients
was being done remotely with the use of the growing
mobile phone and satellite communication infra-
structure in the country, he said.
The government was in the process of putting
together legislation as well as standards in place for
medical testing and diagnostic equipment in the
country to bring it up to speed with standards in the
developed world.
That would open opportunities for both invest-
ment in the sector and help the spread of affordable
technical equipment not only across India but also
other parts of the developing world.
“The idea is to build the best possible product for
the best possible price,” he said.
Turning to education, the Harvard Law School
educated former high profile lawyer and Solicitor
General of India turned politician said the sector –
particularly primary and secondary education – was
bound to take off in a big way a big boost following
the legislation of the right to education this year.
The right, now enshrined in the Indian Constitu-
tion, makes it imperative for the state to provide free
education to children up to year 12. It was a market of
over 220 million children, he said. He hoped it would
go some way in addressing the school drop out rate,
which was as high as 42%.
To a question by Indian Weekender about where
the money to educate such a large population would
come from, Mr Sibal said education, being the re-
sponsibility of both the central and individual state
governments, would be funded by both govern-
ments. A major share (55%) would be picked up by
the national government while the states would pick
up the other 45%. This would come from the states’
revenues in their budgets, he said.
He also said that unlike in past years, states had
healthy balance sheets and had enough funds to be
allocated to primary and secondary education.
Education was now an issue important enough to
make or break governments at elections and no state
government would renege on the commitment to
setting aside funds for education.
With an estimated 330 million English speakers
in the country – now regarded by some as the world’s
largest English-speaking nation – the potential for
modernising educational content is huge. The content
available at present was dated and “uninteresting” for
children, Mr Sibal said.
He urged content providers to go to India and
work with local creative talent to produce more en-
gaging and modernised educational and instructional
content.
Speaking exclusively to Indian Weekender after
his address, Mr Sibal said he had a successful ex-
change with his counterpart in Australia. His meeting
with Education Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
Julia Gillard was “very positive” he said.
These initiatives, together with the expansion
of the existing Education Exchange Programme to
include all levels of education, are aimed at greater
cooperation in the education sector between the two
countries.
The discussion between the two ministers also
explored various ways to further the strategic part-
nership between India and Australia.
Issues relating to the safety and wellbeing of
Indian students in Australia and other related matters
were also discussed.
More than 100 cases of attacks on Indians were
reported last year in Australia, including the murder
of 21-year-old Nitin Garg, straining ties between the
two countries. They also led to the Indian government
issuing a travel advisory asking students to exercise
caution while in Australia, and were followed by a
flurry of high-profile visits by Australian dignitaries,
including Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, to India.
There were several confidence building and secu-
rity measures planned to address the situation created
by the spate of attacks on Indian students in that
country over the past year, he said (see accompanying
report on the minister’s Australia visit).
“But I told them to come to India and set up
their campuses there – because they would get both
volumes and the right kind of students who they could
train and then pave the way for their work and settle-
ment in Australia. I think that makes a lot more sense
and would be practical for both countries. And I’ve
said the same thing here in New Zealand,” he said.
You need $$$ to meet
visiting Indian dignitaries
Why should members of the Indian diaspora
have to contend with financial barriers if they
wish to meet a visiting minister, politician or
dignitary from their country of birth?
That is the question topmost in the minds of
a number of Kiwi Indians including community
leaders.
At the reception organised by the NZ chapter
of the Global Organisation of Persons of Indian
Origin (GOPIO), one had to pay up to $40 per
person to meet and mingle with the visiting senior
Indian minister Kapil Sibal and his entourage.
There was no other public function that was or-
ganised for the Indian community to meet with the
dignitary.
Auckland Indian Association (AIA) President
and newly elected New Zealand Indian Central As-
sociation (NZICA) Vice Presdient Harshad Patel
said it was unacceptable that anyone should have
to pay to meet visiting dignitaries. “If venue was
the problem, they could have asked us at AIA – we
would have gladly made the premises available
free for a public meeting. But nobody asked us,”
he said.
Former Labour Party list member and NZICA
General Secretary Raj Thandi, also newly elected,
said he heard of the meeting only two hours before
and so could not attend because he was committed
elsewhere. He also said it was unfair to charge for
such meetings and that these should be free for ev-
eryone, adding that it was his personal opinion and
not that of NZICA.
But he said, “If the meeting was under NZICA’s
aegis, there would absolutely have been no charges
for entry. This sort of charging defeats the very
purpose of public interaction with important dig-
nitaries.”
“The right thing would have been for an or-
ganisation like the Indian High Commission to
facilitate a reception such as this one on its own
where anyone can meet the visiting entourage at
The impact of the attacks was visible as the
number of Indians seeking admissions to Australian
institutes plummeted last year, from 6303 to 3761, a
40 per cent decline as compared to the previous year.
The federal education department also revealed
recently that international student numbers were
down nationally three per cent and 12 per cent in
Victoria.
“For an Indian family that sends a young person
to this country a long way from home, they want to
know that their young person is going to be safe, get a
good experience, a great education and they’re going
to be able to go back home and use those skills,”
Gillard said, assuring Sibal of action.
The two Ministers emphasised that people-to-
people contacts, including student interactions, are
at the heart of the bilateral relationship, in building
bridges of friendship and understanding and acting
as a significant resource for future development of
New Zealand
National MP Kanwaljit Bakshi later told Indian
Weekender Mr Sibal renewed an agreement with
Education Minister Anne Tolley in Wellington to
strengthen and broaden New Zealand’s education en-
gagement with India.
Concluding his impressive address, the well-
spoken senior Indian parliamentarian said the key
to business success in today’s environment was not
competition but “collaborative leveraging.” He said
only those joint ventures would be financially suc-
cessful, which complement each other’s strengths
while delivering value to their customers.
what ought to be a proper public function with free
entry,” former general secretary of the NZICA,
Veer Khar told Indian Weekender.
“This sort of thing is totally unacceptable.
NZICA is the largest Indian organisation and it
looks like it is being ignored for whatever reason,”
he added.
Mr Thandi also said the organisation wanted
to take up this matter seriously at the appropriate
levels soon involving all NZICA member organisa-
tions, which truly represented different communi-
ties of Indian origin in NZ.
“An Indian community organisation, especial-
ly one that claims to be global in scope, putting up
financial barriers by charging people for meeting
a visiting Indian ministerial delegation lacks grace
and is in poor taste,” one prominent businessman
said requesting anonymity.
GOPIO office bearer Manjit Singh who is also
NZICA Treasurer said he did not attend the dinner
on a matter of principle: “I thought it was simply
unfair to charge,” he said.
National List MP Kanwaljit Bakshi said it was
desirable to facilitate the meeting of anyone of
Indian origin who wished to meet visiting digni-
taries without any strings attached. He said, “no
comment” when asked what he felt about oirgani-
sations charging for such meetings.
Despite Indian Weekender being a leading
media outlet catering to Kiwi Indians and the
larger Indian diaspora, the publication received
no invitation to cover the event in the capacity of
a media organisation. Hence there is no coverage
of the proceedings of that meeting in this edition.
This paper, though, was duly invited by the
New Zealand India Business Council (see report
alongside) for an interaction with the minister and
his entourage along with a huge group of Kiwi
businesspeople.
And there was no entrance fee for that meeting.
the relationship.
Later in the day, Sibal discussed with Premier
Brumby, the steps taken so far by the Victorian gov-
ernment to address the concerns of international
students. In this meeting, Sibal expressed his deep
concern on the continued incidents of assaults on
Indian students and requested Premier Brumby for
credible data on the incidents that have taken place
over the past one year as also information relating to
the status of the trials, the charges framed and con-
victions.
He stressed the importance of setting up an in-
stitutional mechanism for sharing such information.
He also requested the Premier of Victoria about
extending transport concession to international stu-
dents and increase in accommodation facilities for
international students.
Indian
New Zealand
Gyan Arora takes over as New
India Assurance head in NZ
One of India’s largest insurance providers,
New India Assurance, which has been in New
Zealand since 2005, has a new manager based
in its Auckland office. Mr Gyan Arora has taken
charge as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement was made at a cock-
tail function to farewell the outgoing manager
Vinod Kumar Jain and welcome Mr Arora. Mr
Jain had been in New Zealand since the incep-
tion of its office in the country.
Speaking at the event, Mr Jain thanked the Gyan Arora and Vinod Kumar Jain
New Zealand insurance community and the
Indian diaspora for their support and requested The insurance provider is wholly owned
co-operation for his successor. He said he was by the Government of India, and is backed an
satisfied with the achievements of the company A-Excellent Rating by the Leading Insurance
during his tenure. Rating Agency AM Best.
Mr Arora told Indian Weekender he was Founded in 1919 by Sir Dorab Tata, New
excited about building on the work done by his India Assurance Company is the first ever indig-
predecessors and that he was looking forward to enously-owned insurance company in India. In
serving the Indian community’s needs. recent years, the company has not only emerged
New India Assurance provides a wide as the largest non-life insurance company in
range of innovative products to suit individual India (with service network of 1123 offices and
customer needs often tailoring to customers’ 24,000 employees), but is also one of the leading
requirements and has formed long lasting re- insurers in the entire Afro-Asian region with 29
lationships with a large number of brokers and overseas offices.
intermediaries. It has established its identity as Besides New Zealand, in the Pacific region it
a reputed insurer offering excellent services. also has operations in Fiji.

‘Superstar’ Kavinesh to
record track in India
Never in his wildest dreams had Kavinesh Kumar
ever thought that one day he would be called a “Su-
perstar”.

Auckland academic
But the 20-year-old reigning superstar of the
Kaun Banega Superstar series is just that and more
as he now prepares to enjoy the fruits of his labour

gets top Indian honour

for winning the popular TV singing competition last
year.
Fiji-born Kavinesh, of Lautoka, is off to India
on Sunday (April 18) for the experience of a life-
time, spending a week with top music director Rajiv
Mehra and also to record a song.
Given that Kavinesh has never had any training More than thir ty years afte
r leaving Government ministers.
or guidance as far his singing is concerned, he is one Calcutta, a Universit y of Auc
kland “I was ver y humbled to rec
of a few from Fiji to have been able to gain a glimpse BAN GAYA SUPERSTAR: Kavinesh Professor of Mechanical Eng
ineering eive this
has received two of India’s award. There are millions
into the competitive musical industry in India. holding his trophy picturerd with his with highest of Indians
Kavinesh, who plays many musical instruments honours for ex-residents. living around the world so
family, from left: Dad Kamlesh Kumar, to have
including the harmonium and the keyboard, last year Faculty of Engineering Pro been selected is a great hon
Kavinesh, Mum Kanta and younger fessor our. The
won the Kaun Banega Superstar Season 2, beating Debes Bhattachar yya has Hind Rat tan is usually dom
brother Kristifer. been inated by
off more than 20 talented contestants from around awarded the Hind Rat tan Indian’s living in the US, and
(jewel of it is quite
New Zealand. India) for his significant pro rare for it to be awarded to
fessional an engi-
“I’m feeling “I’m really excited about the trip to India and I’m contributions, and in a sep neer. In fact, at first I though
arate t it was a
proud to be from sure something worthwhile is going to come out of it. hoa x until my family convin
event, the Glory of Bengal ced me it
Fiji and to have “It feels good to come from a small island like , for out- was authentic,” he says.
standing contributions by
been able to Fiji and to make a mark on the music scene in New a person of The Glory of Bengal, award
gain honour Zealand and now to do a bit in India. Bengali origin. ed in
Professor Bhattachar yya Doha, Qatar, is given to abo
from such a “From what I gather I will get to see playback established ut 12
and leads a major research Bengalis living around the
prestigious singers perform, which will be a huge experience in centre world, and
which develops composite among doctors and engine
TV show,” itself.” materials. ers, it is
K av i n e s h Kavinesh first developed an interest in music Composites are engineere also commonly awarded to
d light- singers
told Indian at an early age when he accompanied the family to weight materials with sup and actors.
erior quali- Professor Bhattachar yya
Weekend- church in Lautoka, where his dad Kamlesh played ties, used by industry to dev attended
er. the harmonium. elop new both award ceremonies ear
products and technologies lier in the
The first break for 18-year-old Kavinesh came . year.
The Centre for Advanced
two years ago when he rang up radio station Apna Composites Professor Bhattachar yya
Materials operates from a was born in
990 to take part in an on-air singing competition, purpose Calcutta, attending the Un
built facility at the Universit iversit y of
which he won. The presenter then encouraged him to y’s Tamaki Calcutta before relocating
campus. It has engineere to Western
enter the Kaun Banega Superstar competition, and in d new mate- Australia, and then Auckla
the first year, he placed among the top 12. rials for everything from foo nd. He
d packag- joined The Universit y of Auc
As a result, he gained direct entry into last year’s ing to aircraft and medical kland in
devices, 1980.
competition, and the rest is history. collaborating with many Ne
w Zealand Earlier this month he was
When Indian Weekender visited Kavinesh at his and international compan made a Dis-
ies. tinguished Fellow, the hig
Papatoetoe home recently, the lad did not hesitate Professor Bhattachar yya hest award,
is only the of the Institution of Profes
to give a “live performance” there and then for the second New Zealander to
receive a sional En-
benefit of this journalist. Hind Rat tan. About 30 of gineers New Zealand (IPE
the awards NZ ). He is
Listening to Kavinesh sing a Sonu Nigam are giving annually in New also a Fellow of the Royal
Delhi by Society NZ,
number on the keyboard, it is not surprising at all the NRI Welfare Society of a rare honour for an engine
India, at er.
why he was selected “superstar” last year. an elaborate ceremony atte
New Zealand hasn’t heard the last from this nded by – Universit y of Auckland we
young man who isn’t afraid to tackle the odds. bsite
Watch this space.
- Arvind Kumar

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 7

Indian
A year of nightmarish crime
Indian Weekender Online editor Arvind Kumar speaks with NZ Police sources to take stock of the progress in
the investigation of violent crime against Kiwi Indians in the past year
Queen Elizabeth termed the year 1992 “annus
horribilis” in what was one of the most depress-
ing years for the Royal family.
The same could be said for Indians in New
Zealand for the past one year (or two) as numer-
ous members of the community became crime
statistics – in some cases – violently, ending with
their deaths.
Murder, unsolved disappearance, road rage,
stabbing and shooting incidents horrified the
community; even more shocking was the justice
meted out to some in the instances they were
caught by New Zealand police and hauled before
the courts.
Almost exactly a year ago, just as the first
issue of the Indian Weekender rolled off the
press, journalists from this newspaper were in-
formed of a grim situation: a 78-year-old man had
been severely beaten following a road rage inci-
dent in Auckland.
Jastmatbhai Patel, of West Auckland, later
died in hospital as a result of the injuries he suf-
fered in the beating. The man convicted of Mr
Patel’s manslaughter was jailed for three years.
In late January his year, a father of two young
children, Hiren Mohini, was stabbed to death in
his taxi in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden by an
unknown person; the killer is still at large, be-
lieved to have fled the country.
Auckland student Srikanth Rayadurgam, 23,
went missing in October. He is yet to be found;
although many of his belongings were found
strewn near Westhaven Marina soon after he was
reported missing (Indian Weekender could not
contact Srikanth’s family for an update).
1st CONGRATULATIONS
Anniversary
With compliments from
New Zealand
Prashant Balvekar
Migrant Heritage Charitable
Trust Inc (regd)
P O Box 251579
Pakuranga, Manukau 2140
www.might-i.org
Growing from
Email: info@might-i.org
Strength to Strength
tel: +64 9 5348000
8 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Navtej Singh was shot dead in his liquor store
in June 2008. Last month, only one man, out of
six, was found guilty of his murder. The rest were
found guilty on lesser charges.
Sixteen-year-old Sai Krishna Naidu was
stabbed to death in Manurewa in 2008 while
helping out in a family member’s dairy.
These are just some of the cases of crimes
against members of the Indian community which
made headlines in the daily newspapers and on
TV.
However, New Zealand police do not believe
that Indians are being targeted as a commu-
nity, says NZ Police Communications Manager
Noreen Hegarty.
“As police do not collect victim ethnicity data,
I’m unable to say one way or the other whether
there’s been an increase in offences against
members of Indian communities,” Ms Hegarty
told the Indian Weekender.
“However, what we can say is that many
Indian people are employed in service roles
where cash is used – taxi driving, bank tellers,
liquor store ownership, dairies, service station at-
tendants.
“It’s our experience that it’s the role rather
than the ethnicity of the person working in it
that is vulnerable to opportunist offenders who
often seek to obtain quick cash through robbery/
assault/theft,” Ms Hegarty said.
On missing student Srikanth Rayadurgam:
“The investigation was scaled down after
several months of inquiries into his whereabouts.
The missing person file is still open and if anyone
has any information about what has happened to
On your 1st anniversary of
reaching out to
the Indian
community in
You have pulse of
the nation at your
pen-tip
him or where he is, they should contact Avon-
dale CIB or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111,” Ms
Hegarty said.
Here’s a police account of investigations sur-
rounding Srikanth’s disappearance:
Srikanth’s brother-in-law rang 111 at ap-
proximately 1 am on Friday 2 October 2009, con-
cerned that his brother-in-law had not returned
home. He was advised to report Srikanth missing
at his nearest police station the next morning if he
had still not returned home by then. He reported
him missing at the Avondale Police station at 8.45
on the morning of Friday, October 2.
On Friday October 2, Srikanth’s property (a
wallet) was located by a cyclist who then contact-
ed AUT who in turn contacted his family directly
Victims of mindless violence:
Hiren Mohini (above); the funeral of senior
citizen Jasmatbhai Patel and murdered
liquor store owner Navtej Singh
(not police). Police were notified by Srikanth’s
sister and brother-in-law later that afternoon that
they were at Westhaven where they had recov-
ered some property. They did not notify Police
that they had recovered Srikanth’s wallet from
the cyclist until the following day - October 3.
In the meantime, Police conducted aerial and
sea searches that day – i.e. October 2.
A similar air and sea search was conducted on
Saturday October 3 and another sea search was
carried out on Sunday October 4.
Both the Police Maritime Support and Air
Support Units have been requested to - when on
the water or in the air since then - remain vigilant
in an effort to locate a body.
Police have spent hundreds of hours viewing
CCTV footage throughout the Auckland and Ka-
rangahape Rd area. Srikanth was seen on K Rd
at 8.07pm before disappearing out of sight in Ed-
inburgh St for 20 minutes - an area frequented by
prostitutes and transvestites. He is later seen in K
Rd before going out of sight.
At 9.49 pm he is seen getting out of a taxi near
the corner of Customs and Queen Sts. He walks
across the road heading towards Quay St and dis-
appears for approximately 10 minutes before he
is seen walking up Queen St, across into Darby St
before walking back across Queen St and getting
into a taxi at approximately 10.09 pm, which took
him to a taxi stand on Ponsonby Rd.
Inquiries to date have been hampered by the
fact that Police were not advised that Srikanth
had a laptop until 10 days after he went missing.
Very early on in the inquiry, Police requested
access to any laptop Srikanth might have owned
but were told by his brother-in-law that he did not
have one.
Once Police located the laptop, we discov-
ered the activity history had been erased by an
unknown person in the days after Srikanth’s dis-
appearance. In order to be able to try and recover
some of the deleted material, the Police Electron-
ic Crime Lab has carried out an extensive time-
New Zealand
consuming examination of the laptop.
Police have also established from examin-
ing text messages that, at times, there was some
tension in the house between Srikranth and his
family.
Police inquiries have established that Sri-
kranth had not been succeeding in a number of
papers he was sitting at AUT and had been not
attending classes regularly in the second semes-
ter. For Srikranth to be able to re-sit these papers
would have been an expensive exercise.
In order to further the investigation into Sri-
kanth’s disappearance, a senior New Zealand
Police Officer (Superintendent) based in Bangkok
travelled to India to make inquiries there with
Srikanth’s family and friends. He was told that
Srikanth had communicated with a female friend
there that he was unhappy and he missed his life
back in India. Srikanth’s friend advised she feared
for his safety and that he might harm himself.
She got a text from Srikranth just prior to
him going missing on about September 30 - the
day before he went missing - in which he said he
wanted to talk to her one more time.
On the matter of the Hiren Mohini homicide
investigation:
“This is an ongoing and active investiga-
tion and, while Police have identified a suspect
and have a Court-issued warrant for his arrest,
he is believed to be in another country. We are
working with the appropriate agencies and gov-
ernment representatives to locate him.”
On the matter of the High Court jury trial
outcome for the Navtej Singh homicide:
“Police and the Crown brought the prosecu-
tion to Court and the jury considered all the facts
before them to arrive at the verdicts they did.
Police are unable to comment on the outcome
other than to say it was a robust and comprehen-
sive investigation and prosecution.”
On the matter of personal/staff safety in vul-
nerable service roles the generic advice is:
Where possible, ensure there is an up-to-date
and operating video surveillance system installed
in any business premise which may be vulner-
able.
Ensure staff are well trained in how to deal
with intimidation/threat - never sacrifice life for
the sake of a few dollars.
Where possible, ensure your colleagues know
where you are when driving taxis - log into a
central system.
Ensure the interiors of shops/dairies are able
to be viewed from the outside by passersby – i.e.
don’t clutter windows with posters/advertising as
this provides “cover” for opportunist criminals.
Install emergency alarm systems.
Indian

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Indian
New Zealand

Indian taxi drivers skeptical about in-cab cameras

Dev Nadkarni
Though Taxi Federation executive director Tim
Reddish has been quoted as being “delighted”
by Transport Minister Steven Joyce’s move to
get taxis to install cameras in them, the wider
community of taxi drivers is not unanimous in
the acceptance of the initiative.
Last week Mr Joyce said that following
talks with officials and a industry reference
group, he would recommend to Cabinet that
taxi companies be required to fit cameras in the
larger cities across the country. The Minister
will take proposals to Cabinet in May.
“While there are a number of issues to be
considered all parties agree that many taxi
drivers no longer enjoy safe working environ-
ments – particularly at night and particularly in
our main centres,” Mr Joyce said.
“While I do not want to pre-empt discus-
sions with my Cabinet colleagues, it seems
that mandating for taxi cameras in our largest
centres would bring the greatest benefits and
would be widely supported by the industry.”
The officials advising the minister have Though taxi drivers have wanted safety
reportedly quoted research from across the measures for a long time, the issue assumed
Tasman that installing cameras have caused as urgency earlier this year following the brutal
much as a 70 per cent decline in violence di- murder of Indian taxi driver Hiren Mohini in
rected at taxi drivers. Auckland on the night of January 31. This was
But some taxi drivers Indian Weekender the second incident in just over a year when
spoke to were not convinced that the move another migrant taxi driver Abdul Rahman
would provide any increased security. One Ikhtiari was murdered in Christchurch.
driver working for Corporate Cabs, one of the “We are very concerned about the safety
more up-market taxi companies, who did not and security of taxi drivers. There has been, as
wish to be named, said these measures were we know, two tragic incidents of taxi drivers
inadequate. being murdered in recent times. There has also
“Unless there are changes in the law and been other assaults and … a number that aren’t
strong deterrent punishment for violent crime, reported and we’re at the point, I think, where
these things are bound to continue. Lenient the importance of taxi driver safety must result
sentencing is the biggest problem here. Violent in this change,” Stuff.co.nz quoted the minis-
criminals know they can get away with light ter.
sentences. That is what must be tackled. Mea- Even since the Mohini murder, attacks on
sures like cameras and shields are expensive taxi drivers don’t seem to have abated. Last
band aid measures,” he said. month alone there have been three violent in-
Another South Asian driver with a low cost cidents on taxi drivers in the city of Tauranga
taxi company, also requesting anonymity said alone, including the attack on a 55-year-old
the cameras were no guarantee of safety espe- driver who had serious facial and head injuries.
cially when a passenger is under the influence “The costs of installing and operating the
of alcohol or drugs. “The camera will make cameras would be met by industry,” the min-
no difference in defending the driver. It may ister said. He indicated that the cameras would
help catch the culprit but there is no way the cost between $1000-1500 apiece. This would dealing with the problem: Transport Minister Steven Joyce with members of the
driver’s safety or life can be guaranteed by a inevitably result in a fare hike of about 30c a taxi driver community in Auckland. Also in the picture is National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi.
mere camera,” he said. trip, according to some sources.

Ethnic and mainstream Moa helps turn your iPhone

media exchange notes into a powerful business tool Before Apple released the iPhone, few saw the
Indian Weekender was privileged to be part of the ethnic media forum organized by the potential of mobile as a mature computing plat-
Office of Ethnic Affairs in Christchurch on March 27. form. There was a wide array of devices, op-
As an important part of its engagement with ethnic communities, the Office of Ethic erating systems and builds too
Affairs got together media practitioners from both ethnic and mainstream media at the event. numerous to keep track of.
The forum provided a platform for journalists, reporters, media workers and journalism This created a restricted eco-
students from ethnic sectors to exchange ideas and gain knowledge on the ethics and stan- system and apps had to be made
dards of journalism, broadcasting and advertising besides other practice codes. The overall for a particular device. There
aim was to gain a better understanding on how to operate in the media world in the current wasn’t any serious development
New Zealand context. for the mobile with a view to it
It proved to be a worthwhile opportunity for ethnic and mainstream media to have a face- being a full fledged computing
to-face open dialogue to discuss different perspectives of journalism, exchange working ex- platform of its own.
periences, share thoughts on what news meant to them, what parameters they chose to select The advent of the iPhone
news and the standards they follow in reporting as also maintaining objectivity and balance. was a paradigm shift for mobile
Noted media academic and journalist, Prof. Jim Tully, Head of the School of Social Politi- computing, its array sensors
cal and Communication at the University of Canterbury in his keynote address, said New and technologies that were in-
Zealand’s ethnic media was vibrant and tended to concentrate on a mix of migrant issues, troduced set it apart from the
copious amounts of news and views and content about assimilating in the new country. devices on the market with
Dominic Sheehan, Chief Executive of the Wellington-based Broadcasting Standards Au- technologies 5 years ahead of its
thority gave an excellent presentation on how the Authority works, the complaints process competitors at the time.
and answered a number of questions from the audience. The success of the already
Other participants included Helena Wang (from the Chinese paper titled New Zealand dominant iPod and an already
Messenger), Dr. Ted Zhang (a columnist), Yoon Ha Park (youth leader representative of the established iTunes store further
Korean community), Coen Lammers, deputy editor of the Christchurch-based Press, Nicki boosted the availability of soft-
Reece (Plains FM96.9), Dr. David Robie (Associate Professor at AUT University) and Indian ware for the iPhone and gave it a huge leapfrog
Weekender editor-in-chief Dev Nadkarni. ahead of competition.
Deborah Lam, National Operations Manager of the Office of Ethnic Affairs and the or- Moa Creative an Auckland based team of de-
ganisation’s Ethnic Affairs Adviser Claire Phillips also spoke at the forum. signers and developers spotted the potential and
maturity of the Apple’s iPhone as a platform and
decided to set a goal towards creating some of
the best iPhone apps. Moa Creative is also ex-
ploring the potential of other mobile platforms
including Android and Windows
7.
“What gives Moa Creative
it’s edge and set it apart was it’s
dedication to create a company
solely focused toward build-
ing mobile apps,” says director
Rohan DeSouza, who also built
all versions of the www.iwk.
co.nz website (the full, mobile
and iPad versions).
The Moa team also has a vast
array of skills and experience
available at it’s disposal. From
developers with early mobile
software experience through
to development of incredibly
complex 3D games, web appli-
cation and interface design Moa
Creative has begun to set a stan-
dard of apps that few can hope to
compete with.
For more visit www.moacreative.com or
email Rohan at rohan@moacreative.com
- Indian Weekender news desk

10 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

In a perfect
world, everyone
would speak
your language.
In the meantime, we’ll do our
best to make New Zealand
feel like home.

And no one’s more at home in the New Zealand market than us. With 170 years of
experience in this country, we know it well. We also know that not everyone has been
in New Zealand quite as long as us. Which is why, as much as we understand the Kiwi
culture, we’re dedicated to getting to know yours. Because we value you and want to
ensure your needs are always met, we have Indian staff throughout our New Zealand
branches. Some of them know what it’s like to have moved from another country so
they’re always willing to give a helping hand. We also support Indian festivals like
Diwali, Holi and other celebrations. Why do we do all this? Because we know banking
is hard enough without having to deal with cultural barriers. To chat to a familiar face,
call 0800 744 485 or email indianbanking@anz.com

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Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 11

Indian
India

Obama backs India’s Tata Tea, Pepsico sign MoU

Headley access request for health beverages
Washington: US President Barack Obama has
assured Indian PM Manmohan Singh that he
is “fully supportive” of India’s request to seek
access to Lashkar-e-Taiba operative, David
Coleman Headley, media reports said.
Headley, who is currently being held by US
authorities, has admitted his connection with the
26/11 Mumbai terror attack in 2008 that killed
more than 160 persons.
According to reports, Obama, however, said
that legal issues had to be taken care of first. This
suggests that is still not clear when and under
what circumstances, Indian investigators would
get to question Headley.
“President Obama is sensitive to India’s
need to question David Coleman Headley. They
are working through their legal system,” said
foreign secretary Nirupama Rao.
that Pakistan must act against 26/11 attackers
and action must be taken against Lashkar-e-Tai-
ba, which orchestrated the Mumbai attack.
Mumbai: PepsiCo and Tata Tea Limited Friday signed a non binding Memorandum of Understand-
ing (MoU), with the intention of exploring the formation of a joint venture in the area of non-
carbonated ready-to-drink beverages, focused on health and enhanced wellness.
More details will only be available once the definitive agreements for the joint venture are final-
ized and executed, which is expected to be done over the next few months.
The transaction will be subject to corporate and statutory approvals as may be required.
The proposed joint venture is not intended to conflict with any existing arrangements of either
party.
Tata Tea is a leading player in the global beverages market with significant presence in over
40 countries. It has begun its journey of transformation into the ‘good for you’ liquid beverages
company with the launch of Himalayan, natural mineral water and T!ON an active refreshing drink
made from fruit juice, tea extracts and ginseng.
PepsiCo entered India in 1989 and has grown to become the country’s largest selling food and
beverage business. The group has built an expansive beverage, snack food and exports business and
to support the operations are the group’s 41 beverage bottling plants in India and 3 Foods plants.

Suspects in German
Obama also acknowledged India’s concerns
During his one-to-one meeting with Singh, about Pakistan misusing military aid, reports
Obama reportedly agreed with Indian’s stand added.

Swiss hotel giant forays Bakery blast identified

Mumbai: The two main suspects in Pune’s Indian Mujahideen (IM).

into India
German Bakery blast have been identi-
fied and will soon face arrest, Maharashtra
Home minister RR Patil said Thursday.
The Maharashtra Anti Terror Squad
(ATS) has identified the two suspects, with
at least one hailing from south India, Patil
said in a statement in the state Assembly.
One of the suspects is believed to be a
relative of Riyaz Bhatkal, the founder of the
IM.
Patil added that the ATS has collected
vital clues and the blast conspiracy was
hatched by the Laskar-e Toiba (LeT) and
He, however, did not reveal further
details of the report.
The ATS report on the German bakery
case was submitted on Wednesday to the
state government by newly-appointed ATS
chief Rakesh Maria. The report has been
forwarded to the Centre.
The German bakery was targeted on
February 13, which left 17 dead and several
others injured. It was suspected to have
been targeted because of its popularity with
foreign tourists.

DD claims ‘Karm Yudh’

Kolkata: The curtains were raised on Thursday
night for Kolkata’s first 5-Star Deluxe hotel in
around 8 years, Swissôtel Kolkata - Neotia Vista, a
plush new property at Rajarhat, attached to the City
Centre 2 shopping mall, here.
The hotel, constructed by Harshavardhan Neo-
tia’s Ambuja Realty Group, will be operated by
Swissôtel Hotels and Resorts, a subsidiary of Fair-
mont Raffles Hotels International Inc. which is
owned by Kingdom Holdings and Colony Capital,
LLC.
Strategically placed at only three kilometres
from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Internation-
al Airport, the hotel cuts the distance to the airport
at just a few minutes.
Neotia says, “The location for the Hotel is pretty
unrivalled; being this close to the NSCB Interna-
tional Airport it will provide tremendous conve-
nience to the business travellers.”
“Also this is probably the first time in eastern
India that a hotel is attached to a shopping mall, this
is the latest trend and it provides a great advantage
to the guests, especially to the guilty travellers who
need to take back presents to their homes,” he says.
Siding away from the recession song, Neotia
says, “Ambuja is deeply committed to the people of
Bengal and despite the economic slowdown we are
pushing to reaffirm the faith in our economy.”
According to Neotia, the project, took an invest-
ment of around 150 Cr. INR (34 million USD) and
approximately 3 years to complete.
The 10-year management contract was signed
in September 2009 between Swissôtel Hotel &
Resorts and Bengal Ambuja Housing Develop-
ment Limited Pvt. Ltd. (BAHDL) which is part of
the Ambuja Realty Group in India belonging to the
Neotia family.
Worldwide, Swissôtel operates hotels between
120 and 1200 rooms; In Kolkata they will have 147
as its blockbuster
rooms, ranging between Classic, Swiss Business
Advantage, Swiss Executive Club and Suites.
Their tariffs begin at around 7500 INR (170
USD) per night for the Classic rooms and go up
to around 14000 INR (320 USD) per night for the
Suites, which they have nine.
The hotel will also house four restaurants and
bars, advanced business solutions in 17,023 square
feet (1,581 square meters) of meeting and banquet
space, equipped with high-speed elevators and a re-
juvenating Spa & Fitness Centre.
One of the prime attractions of the hotel will
be a unique rooftop swimming pool with an unob-
structed view of the skyline overlooking the airport
runway.
The hotel is designed by architects Kapil and
Jayashree Bhalla and their team at Studio for Envi-
ronment and Architecture (SEARCH), as part of a
project including the mall and an adjacent residential
complex.
The design of Swissôtel takes its inspiration
from the Sunderbans, one the most unique ecosys-
tems in the world.
Apart from Asia, Swissôtel, which already oper-
ates four hotels in China and one that is coming up,
says Eastern Europe and the Middle East are other
areas that are looking up.
Swissôtel operates in a model where the hotel is Mumbai: Doordarshan is all set to air one of its same values, virtues and a love for idealism
developed by a local developer and they take care biggest serials ‘Karam Yudh’, said the channel where they also fall in love and get married.
of the management and daily operations; Huck says, on Sunday. Till now they have quite nicely balanced
“It’s a practical model and works great for us.” The serial, to be aired April 15 onwards, is their respective responsibilities, yashwant as a
Swissôtel Hotel & Resorts was founded in 1980 being shot in Mumbai’s Future Studio. husband, father and a politician and Shivangi as
by Swissair and Nestlé and in April 2001, was pur- Deputy Home Minister Yashwant Chauhan a wife, mother and a responsible police officer.
chased by Raffles Holdings Limited. (Harsh Chhaya) and his wife DCP Shivangi Their family consists of three more members,
The hotel is likely to be launched in the second Chauhan (Vaishnavi) are well known for their son Rohit, daughter Pallavi and most important-
week of May, after Swissôtel authorities have per- honesty, idealistic values and untainted careers. ly, Head of the family and decision maker-Maa
formed their quality checks. They meet in college, where they share the Saa (Rohini Hattangadi).

12 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

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Special for April 16 - April 18
(Friday to Sunday ) while stock last
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 13
Indian
C’wealth Games work
completion on time: Gill
Kolkata: Union Sports Minister MS Gill on
Wednesday said preparations for the Common-
wealth Games (CWG) in October in New Delhi
are going on in full swing ‘satisfactorily’.
He said, barring the main Jawaharlal Nehru
stadium, where the ceremony will be held on
October 3, all other stadiums are to be completed
by the end of April.
The main stadium,
where football and other
events will also be held, is
expected to be completed in
another two months time,
by June end, he added.
“Though the sum sounds hefty for a poor
country like India, the government prioritized
the security aspect to ensure safety of its people
and delegates from other countries,” said the
sports minister.
He said the government had already tested
the security system during the recently-conclud-
ed four international events
which include World Cup
field hockey, Commonwealth
shooting and Commonwealth
boxing.
On India’s performance
in the World Cup hockey, Gill
India
Sachin’s Gwalior double-hundred
celebrated by Wisden Cricketer
London: Sachin Tedulkar’s historic double-hundred against South Africa in Gwalior has been cel-
ebrated by a front cover tribute from The Wisden Cricketer magazine.
The world’s best-selling specialist cricket title made a late decision to change its original cover
image to commemorate Sachin’s landmark innings.
Magazine editor John Stern explains: “This was a defining innings both in terms of it being the
first double hundred after forty years of one-day international cricket, but also because it confirmed
Sachin’s unmatched skill, endurance and appetite for the game after 20 years as an international
cricketer. An astonishing performance by one of the game’s true greats. “
In the accompanying story, by Indian writer Dileep Premachandran, the magazine reveals Ten-
dulkar had told Virender Sehwag that he felt the achievement was possible after his unbeaten 163
in New Zealand last year.
“It will eventually happen if I am destined to do it,” he told his opening partner.
After the peak had been scaled in Gwalior Sachin returned to the dressing room and told
Sehwag: “I got what was destined.”

Rekha receives Padma Shri

Gill was addressing said the country stood eighth
sportspersons at the Netaji despite the government’s all
Indoor Stadium here, where out effort for improving the
he also opened the 3rd standard of games includ-
Indo-Bangladesh Bangla ing hiring chief coach from
Games in which some 400 abroad.
athletics from Bengal and Gill, however, stressed
Bangladesh will vie for on unity among the players
medals in ten disciplines in and officials required for im-
ten venues in the next three provement in the standard
days. of hockey. He said groupism
He said the hockey would only harm the reputa-
stadium was an ‘outstand- tion of India and doom the
ing architecture’, which prospect of the game.
was appreciated by the Regarding two new
participating nations in the recently-concluded franchises of IPL T20, Gill said he would not
World Cup for field hockey. comment on cricket now.
On security aspects during the Common- Gill also assured to look into grievances of
wealth Games between October 3-14, Gill said Archeri Association of India regarding inad-
the government already spent about Rs 350 crore equate equipment despite sanctioning of Rs 2
for setting up close circuit cameras in the nation- crore for buying gadgets.
al capital to watch movement of people or any Earlier in the day, Gill formally opened an
suspect. astro turf for hockey at SAI complex at Salt Lake.

IPL crosses over 100 million

viewers in 14 matches
MUMBAI: The third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has managed a cumulative reach
of 108 million viewers in just 14 matches, demonstrating that the T20 league is fast replacing other
cricketing content as the hottest property.
The IPL in its inaugural edition had reached 77 million viewers in 14 matches, and then gone on
to amass 96 million viewers in its second season.
The third edition of the IPL, currently on display, took 10 matches to reach 100 million viewers
compared with 51 matches in the first season and 23 matches in the second season, signaling the
growing popularity of the T20 format for TV viewers.
Tam data, in fact, shows people are tuning in to the games even on weekdays and not just on
weekends or holidays. Interestingly, the top-rated match this year was recorded on a Wednesday as New Delhi: Actor Rekha was conferred Padma
the contest between Mumbai and Delhi earned a TVR of 6.24 on 17 March. Shri award by President Pratibha Patil at the
The average TVR this year is 4.69, which is slightly lower than the TVR of 4.97 in the first year. Civil Investiture Ceremony-II, at Rashtrapati
In the second year, the TVR was 4.52. Bhavan here on Wednesday.
It is somewhat surprising that 40 per cent of the IPL’s viewership is coming from the 35+ TG. Actor Saif Ali Khan, boxer Vijender Singh,
The SEC split is relatively even, as indicated by the Tam data. sound technician and Oscar award winner Resul
- Indiantelevision.com Team Pookutty and ace car racer Narain Karthikeyan
were also conferred the Padma Shri, while NRI
hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, music composer
Ilaiyaraaja and top businessman Vindi Banga re-
ceived Padma Bhushan.
Mrudangam exponent Umayalpuram K Si-
varaman, former RBI Governor Y V Reddy and
nonagenarian artiste Zohra Sehgal were hon-
oured with the Padma Vibhushan.
Other Padma Bhushan awardees included
cardiologist B M Hegde, nuclear scientist Bikash
Sinha, historian Bipin Chandra, kathak expo-
nent Kumudini Lakhia, panchavadya exponent
Kuzhur Narayana Marar, versatile artiste Mallika
Sarabhai, banker N Vaghul, eye specialist Noshir
Minoo Shroff, music composer Shrinivas Khale,
sarangi player Ustad Sultan Khan and Ayurveda
practitioner E T Narayanan Mooss.
Sculptor Arjun Prajapati, versatile Assamese
dramatist Arun Sarma, liver transplant special-
ist Arvinder Singh Soin, social worker Deep
Chandra Joshi, businessman Deepak Puri, Mani-
puri Ras exponent Haobam Ongbi Ngangbi Devi
and noted Indologist of German origin Hermann
Kulke, were among the Padma Shri recipients.
The first set of the Padma awards were pre-
sented on March 31, where actor Aamir Khan
and musician AR Rahman were conferred
Padma Bhushan.
Meanwhile, from sports, Saina Nehwal,
Narain Karthikeyan and Virendra Sehwag were
given Padma Shri awards.
Padma Awards, the country’s highest civil-
ian awards, are conferred in three categories,
namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and
Padma Shri.
The awards are given in all disciplines/ fields
of activities, viz. art, social work, public affairs,
science and engineering, trade and industry,
medicine, literature and education, sports, civil
service, etc.
‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exception-
al and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’
for distinguished service of high order and
‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any
field.
The awards are announced on the occasion of
Republic Day every year.
This year the President approved 130 awards
including 13 in the category of Foreigners/ NRIs/
PIOs.
These comprise 6 Padma Vibhushan, 43
Padma Bhushan and 81 Padma Shri awards.
There are 17 women among the awardees.
- Indian Weekender news desk

14 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 15

Indian
India Business
Mercedes launches E-Class Coupe in India
Mumbai: Mercedes-Benz India on Wednes-
day unveiled new Mercedes E-Class Coupé in
India in the premium automobiles segment.
Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director and
CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, said: “The
E-Class Coupé makes an unambiguous state-
ment about a lifestyle characterized by beauty
and sophistication.
“With its expressive styling, premium
equipment, state-of-the-art technology and high
safety standards, the New E- Coupé meets the
needs of young individuals looking for a car that
is athletic, striking and passionate. The vehicle
rounds off the automotive product range and
targets a clientele for whom style and individu-
ality is of significant importance”.
The new petrol engine combines efficiency
and effortless power delivery with its 3.5 litre
engine V6 engine offering 272hp at 6000rpm.
With a drag coefficient of just 0.24, this is
the world’s most aerodynamically efficient se-
ries-production car, claimed the company.
Priced at Rs. 54.83 Lakhs (Ex-Showroom
Mumbai), the new E- Coupé will be retailed
through Mercedes-Benz Dealerships across the
country.

Vodafone rings 100 mn Samsung launches

subscribers in India
Kolkata: Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading
cellular service providers, on Thursdsay an-
nounced that it has crossed the landmark of 100
million subscribers in India.
With this achievement, Vodafone Essar
becomes world’s 5th operator with 100 million
customers in a single country.
Vodafone has also increased its market
share to strengthen its position as India’s second
largest operator in terms of revenue.
“This is a significant achievement for us and
reflects the trust customers have bestowed on
the company,” said Marten Pieters, Managing
Director and CEO, Vodafone Essar.
“In the past three years, we have invested
over Rs. 20,000 crores to expand our operations
to service customers in India. We will utilize
our global and Indian experience to deliver the
best products and services to our customers.”
Starting with about 28 million subscribers
across 16 circles in May 2007, Vodafone Essar
today has 100 million customers and its foot-
print has extended to all the 23 circles in the
country.
“In addition to voice and text, Vodafone
will also work on investing in platforms that
will enable the delivery of internet and data ser-
vices to a large part of the country. Vodafone
will also continue to increase investments in
new business areas like enterprise and carriers
business,” Pieters added.
Around 60% of the company’s customer ad-
ditions now come from upcountry areas. Voda-
fone has a distribution reach of about 1.2 million
outlets.
‘Frrrunch’ refrigerators
Kolkata: Electronics major Samsung India on
Wednesday announced the launch of its 2010
5-Star rated ‘Frrrunch’ range of refrigerators
comprising of 19new Direct Cool and 43 new
Frost free models.
Aptly titled ‘Frrrunch’, as the refrigera-
tors offer the advantage of ‘fresh and crunchy’
fruits and vegetables through optimum mois-
ture control that enables them to stay fresh for
a longer period of time, claimed the company.
Announcing the launch of the new 2010
Frrrunch range of refrigerators, R. Zutshi,
Dy Managing Director, Samsung India said,
“At Samsung, it is our continuous endeavor to
enrich the lives of our customers by introduc-
ing innovative features in our products as in
the case of the Frrrunch range which seeks to
ensure longer lasting freshness in stored fruits
and vegetables.”
According to the company, the most energy
efficient refrigerator range in the country today,
with a 5 Star BEE rating, the Samsung Frrrunch
Refrigerators come fitted with the LED Light
System, which is energy efficient and saves
power.

expor ts go up by 34.8%
India’s
exports for
New Delhi: India’s
or ded a 34.8
Februa ry 2010 rec
US $ 16 091
percent increase at
are d to February 20 09
million as comp
for February
whereas the imports
th of 66.4 percent
2010 showed a grow
n as compared to
at US $ 25057 millio
February 20 09.
g February, 2010
India’s exports durin
$ 16 091 million (Rs.
were valued at US
was 34.8 per cent
74547 crore) which
ms (26.7 per cent
higher in dollar ter
n the level of US $
in Rupee terms) tha
58822 crore) durin
11941 million (Rs. lue
mu lat ive va
February, 20 09. Cu
riod April-20 09
of exports for the pe
s US $ 152983
to February-2010 wa
crore) as against
million (Rs 727345
llio n (Rs. 774585
US $ 172379 mi
ist eri ng a ne gative grow th
crore) reg
Do r terms and
lla
of 11.3 per cent in
pe e terms over the
6.1 per cent in Ru
ar.
same period last ye
India’s imports durin
g February, 2010
$ 25057 million
were valued at US
representing a
(Rs.116 082 crore)
r cent in dollar
grow th of 66.4 pe
r ce nt in Rupee terms)
terms (56.4 pe
ports valued at US
over the level of im
. 74198 crore) in
$ 15062 million ( Rs
mu lative value of
February, 20 09 . Cu
d April, 20 09 - From the very first issue the Indian weekender has
imports for the perio
s US $ 248401 always been sought after reading in my household,
February, 2010 wa
4 crore) as against amongst my friends and clients. It is always very
million (Rs. 1180 12
n (Rs. 1289412 When I first arrived satisfying when you receive feedback not only
US $ 2870 99 millio in New Zealand four
negative grow th ago I was very disap years from clients but others that I come across, that
crore) registering a pointed to see the sta
Do llar terms and Indian diaspora news
papers here. Being a
te of the there have been following my articles. Therefore
of 13.5 per cent in journalist one alway senior as an advertiser and contributor I congratulate the
e terms over the s loo
g 8.5 per cent in Rupe critical eye. The Indian ks at a newspaper with a Editor and his team for having put together a news-
ar. Weekender is in a dif
same period last ye league. From the first ferent paper, which is well read and has so many diverse
for April 20 09 - issue itself the comm
Th e tra de de fic it ment and professiona it- and informative topics. Well done and I look
s estimated at US lism of the editorial sta
February, 2010 wa were evident in the ch ff forward to my continued association both with the
ich was lower than oic
and editorial treatmen e of stories, in the layout
$ 95418 million wh t. The desire to constan Indian weekender and its readers.
114721 million - Oliver Pereira, insurance adviser,
the deficit of US $ improve is also appa
rent. The Indian Week tly
08 -Februar y, 20 09. a real newspaper not ender is columnist and advertiser, Auckland
during April 20 a vehicle to print retail
tisements. Happy Fir adver-
st Birthday, Indian W
er – and wishing you eekend-
many more to come.
- Roy Subir Kaunds,
Auckland

16 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian
India Business

Volkswagen brings Godrej to acquire Indonesia’s

Passat to India
New Delhi: Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car
maker, on Wednesday announced the launch
of the Passat TSI and Jetta common rail diesel
engine.
The Passat will now come with the world
renowned TSI Petrol Engine. This engine from
Volkswagen is known for Maximum power
with minimum fuel consumption.
TSI engines are compact, high-powered and
use less fuel thereby offering an enjoyable and
involving drive, while cutting fuel consumption
and CO2 emissions.
Neeraj Garg, Member of Board and Direc-
tor, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen
Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd said “The Passat TSI
and the Jetta common rail diesel engines are so
well refined that not only will they provide su-
perior driving experience but also decrease fuel
consumption and lower emissions.”
The Passat 1.8 L TSI is priced at Rs 19.20
lakhs, ex showroom New Delhi. The Jetta 2.0 L
diesel Comfortline is priced at Rs. 15.92 lakhs
ex showroom, New Delhi.
Megasari Group
Kolkata, April 6 (IBNS) Godrej Consumer
Products Ltd (GCPL) on Tuesday announced
focused approach to identifying acquisitions
that represent a strong fit with our business,
that it has entered into an agreement to acquire both strategically and operationally.
PT. Megasari Makmur Group and its distribu- “We have also developed strong processes
tion company in Indonesia. to manage and integrate these acquisitions. We
Megasari Group manufactures and distrib- look forward to working with the Megasari team
utes a wide range of household products to take the company to the next level along
including household insecti- with creating a platform for other
cides, wet tissues and air Godrej products in Indonesia.”
fresheners. Megasari Group’s prod-
Commenting ucts are market leaders
on the acquisition, in Indonesia in most of
Adi Godrej, Chair- the categories that the
man, GCPL, said: company participates
“Megasari Group in. With a market size of
provides us a strong around US$345 million,
platform to establish a it’s the fourth largest House-
significant foothold in Indo- hold Insecticides amongst the
nesia, which is among the largest emerging markets, after China, India
consumer markets in Asia. Given Megasari and Brazil.
Group’s leading position in household product The acquisition will enable Godrej to lever-
categories in Indonesia and the Godrej Group’s age its strengths in the Insecticides and Aircare
strong presence in this category in India, we market.
believe this acquisition will provide significant The per capita spend on Household Insecti-
synergies and create value for shareholders.” cides in Indonesia is almost thrice that of India,
He further said: “As an emerging market with larger share of growth from formats like
multinational, this acquisition is an important Electricals and Aerosols and modern trade
step in our global 3 by 3 strategy – presence in being the dominant channel.
3 continents – Asia, Africa and Latin America Hence, the deal will provide platform for
through 3 core categories - home care, personal launching other Godrej home care and personal

Rolls-Royce, L&T tie up

wash and hair care. Over the last few years, care products in Indonesia.
we have been following a very disciplined and

for N-power I si nc

in
er

gi
el

ng
y

In
co

do
ng

-K
ary and its succ
iw
Weekender for
ratulate Indian sful journey in
es
its first annivers i cultures together to the Kiw
se r and a read
i
er
br
A s an In dian event organi y to sh ar e
Indians. and priorit I think the Indian Weekende
ally ap prec ia te your efforts re ad er s. IW ’s r is one of the best
I re w ith periodicals focussing on the
cultural events ive larger Indian Com-
the pre and post also interesting and informat munity we have here in NZ
he r fe at ur es ar e th e new sp ap er is - it is newsy, topical
ot of and has something for eve
The web edition ere efforts. I wish rybody. In a very short
to the readers. or y of yo ur sinc time, it has probably becom
s st e a “must to read” for
another succes st for a bright most of us.
er all the very be
Indian Weekend adership in the coming years.
re
future and huge - Ashok and Pratiti Bhat,
ic Magic Group Auckland
  allela, SB Mus
- Govardhan M

on your
dia n W eekender plauds
the In et ap
lations to dge Bask
Congratu ary! The Knowle ard to working
ers
1st anniv vour and looks forw archival partner in
a h
your e e h you as a researc ork.
nd
gethe r w it e g rea t w
to
re. K eep up th rn,
the futu Winterbu
e K ee t a nd Lindy Basket NZ
- Dav Knowled
ge

Mumbai: Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), sive nuclear capability over the last 34 years
India’s leading engineering and construction which rivals that of any country. India is a key It is i
company, and Rolls-Royce, the global power strategic market for Rolls-Royce and I am very mend ndeed a d
systems company, have signed a Memorandum pleased that we are working with Larsen & the b ation to elight to
i c p
of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation to ef- Toubro, one of the country’s most pre-eminent to De rth of Th elebrate en a few
fectively address the projected need for light engineering companies. v N e In th
dian e first a words of
to th adka
i r W n
water reactors (LWR) in India and internation- “Our skills and capabilities are comple- and a s fine pub ni and th eekend niversar com-
s li e er. C y
ally. mentary and I am confident that we can forge us th a w eb p c ation, t ea m fo redit of
e w
LWR technology is in use in over sixty per a strong and mutually beneficial relationship.” with scope to age. This hich ca r introduc goes
i n
cent of civil nuclear power plants operating M V Kotwal, Senior Executive Vice-Presi- Wee n New Z be conn publicati be read ing us
kend ealan ected o in
worldwide, said the company on Thursday. dent and board member, L&T, said: “The agree- cles a er is
p d and with n has giv print
The two companies have agreed to collabo- ment brings together rich experience and will that s nd intere acked w with In each oth en
d
rate on areas including nuclear instrumentation effectively leverage the strengths of both the the W o many o sting vid ith news, ia. The I er,
e e f u e o clips. nforma ndian
i
and controls, engineered products and systems, companies to tap rapidly emerging opportuni- scree kende s look It tiv
n. W r f
reactor components, engineering services, in- ties in India, UK and rest of world. We welcome ell do appears orward t is not sur e arti-
- Vas n e ,I o n th o th e prisi
service reactor support and waste management. this opportunity to work together with Rolls- u Ha ndian W e shelf or day whe ng
The cooperation with L&T for instrumenta- Royce, a highly-reputed, technology-driven tang
adi,
eeke
n o n you n
New der!   r PC
tion and controls will form the first operational company.” mark
et, A
phase of this relationship to bridge the gap in The agreement between Rolls-Royce and uckla
L&T follows the recent bilateral Civil Nuclear nd
the existing supply chain in support of India’s
ambitious new build program. Cooperation Declaration by the Indian and UK
Lawrie Haynes, Rolls-Royce, President - Governments, which enables UK and Indian
Nuclear, said: “India has developed an impres- industries to engage in civil nuclear commerce.

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 17

Indian
Ever since I first visited India in the early 1980s,
and found a plethora of English language newspa-
pers and cheap paperbacks, I have admired Indian
journalists and journalism.
I understand the media business in India has ex-
panded vastly since then and the standard of the
newspapers, judging by their websites, has done so
as well.
Indian Weekender follows in this fine tradition,
though its stick-to-the-facts Kiwi style uses far less
colourful English. It unashamedly contains much
news and backgrounders about India, about which
there is little in the New Zealand media, as well as
local interest stories. Some of these are unafraid to
raise controversial issues.
Indian Weekender operates in a highly competitive
environment, thus giving readers plenty of variety
and choice. I admire editor Dev Nadkarni’s deep
knowledge of Pacific and wider Asian affairs. My
best wishes to them both for the next year.
- Nevil Gibson, editor in chief, The National
Business Review
Namastey to the readers and staff of the Indian
Weekender. Congratulations on behalf of the
citizens of Auckland City for completing your first
year of publication – well done! You have not only
survived but thrived in what have been very tough
economic times. This is a credit to the manage-
ment, editors, reporters and all other staff. The
Indian Weekender offers the Indian community
around Greater Auckland a wonderful service, in
particular through your website. The coverage of
events affecting your people, such as the Mohini
inquiry and Fijian and Indian political stories
has to be commended. Can I wish you all the best
for the many more years ahead. Thank you and
Dhanyawad.
- John Banks, Mayor of Auckland City
It is with great pleasure that I congratulate the
Indian Weekender on reaching it’s first birthday! It
is testament to the dedication and hard work of all
associated with its publication that in its short life,
the Indian Weekender has carved out a firm niche
for itself amongst the ethnic media. Of course, all
the hard work in the world has to be coupled with
contemporary and interesting content from across
a broad range of news categories. This assists in
the attraction of a wider audience, but also gives
a fuller and rounder picture of India to those from
outside the Indian community. Furthermore, the
format of reporting - punchy news bites - dis-
tributed via the internet has also contributed to its
rapid growth. In all these respects the Indian Week-
ender has excelled.
As the Chief Executive of Waitakere City, I have
been directly involved in assisting the City’s resi-
dents connect with both our resident Indian com-
munity, as well as directly with India. In the latter
case, and as an Indian Kiwi, I am very aware of
the significant opportunities for NZ businesses as
the Indian economy continues to grow at around
8.5%. We have already seen the recent and sig-
nificant increase in trade between NZ and China
as a result of the China/New Zealand Free Trade
Agreement (FTA). It is now pretty common knowl-
edge that NZ would also stand to benefit in a
similar fashion through focussing on Asia’s other
economic powerhouse - India. Indeed, I’m heart-
ened to see that the NZ and Indian governments are
working assiduously towards this end.
- Vijaya Vaidyanath
Chief Executive of Waitakere City
Today’s media climate is not an easy one in which
to start a new newspaper. It is a tribute to the
vision, energy and media, business and technical
skills of the team that the Indian Weekender has
taken off and stayed in flight. It fills a real need
in New Zealand for quality journalism on issues
of interest to the growing Indian community and
their friends and associates. Congratulations and
happy anniversary to the whole team.
- Joris de Bres,
NZ Race Relations Commissioner
18
I would like to congratulate you on a job well done
and wish you a very Happy First Anniversary.
Your paper has been a joy to read. I wish you the
best of luck in the many years to come.
- Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, National List MP
Namaste and badhai! Congratulations on a suc-
cessful year, and all the best for the many years
ahead. It’s wonderful to see small businesses run
by Indians do well in New Zealand, and to see the
community grow and prosper with it.
Aaron Bhatnagar, Auckland City Councillor, (Im-
migrated to Auckland in 1980 with family)
- Aaron Bhatnagar, Auckland City Councillor,
(Immigrated to Auckland in 1980 with family)
Our heartiest congratulations to the Indian
Weekender team for coming up with this excellent
product rich with information, good and positive
reporting and excellent commentary. I am sure it
will go a long way in projecting our Indian com-
munity in a positive light in New Zealand.
- Prithipal Singh Basra,
Community Leader
I have seen Indian Weekender grow from the first
edition and I am pleased at the way they have
put their wholehearted efforts to bring this richly
deserved success. It is positive in projecting the
migrant perspective and always there to cover
and encourage community events. I congratulate
their efforts and wish them every success as they
complete their first year.
- Roshan Lal Nauhria
Congratulations on your one year anniver-
sary!  We have found the Indian Weekender a
very useful medium to convey our messages to the
Indian communities right across New Zealand.  It
has been wonderful to see you growing so rapidly
despite launching during the economic down-
turn.  The huge range of articles available on
your website is impressive, and we enjoy receiving
the regular email newsletters. All the best for the
future from the Southern Institute of Technology.
- Haley Hughes, Southern Institute
of Technology, Invercargill
Dear Dev,
Congratulations on the first anniversary of Indian
Weekender and a special issue for celebrating
this remarkable milestone you and your staff
have fulfilled. As one of New Zealand’s most
well-known and successful Indian newspaper
and online media, this letter is true recognition
of your achievements both personally and on
behalf of the Office of Ethnic Affairs for your
hard work and contributions made through the
paper in the past one year. I understand you have
developed not only a successful Indian newspaper
in New Zealand, but it is considered one of the
most popular ethnic newspapers in the country.
Business success such as yours not only helps
contribute to New Zealand society’s prosperity
as a whole, it also helps other New Zealanders
understand that there are diverse ways of doing
business and serves as an inspiration for young
ethnic New Zealanders, in particular young
Indian journalist students. The work you and
your staff undertake , is of great value to the local
Indian community of Auckland, but also contrib-
utes to the development of ethnic media; helping
New Zealand ethnic media to become more glob-
ally aware and more accepting of diverse ways of
doing things. I would personally like to thank you
for the valuable work you do and to acknowledge
that work as an integral part of New Zealand‘s
increasing involvement in the ethnic sector.
Well done and kind regards
Deborah Lam
National Operations Manager
Office of Ethnic Affairs
Messages
I was impressed by the journalistic and design quality of Indian Weekender when I visited
New Zealand last year. I have been following up now and then reading their web edition.
Their progress has been excellent and I congratulate them on the occasion of their first an-
niversary.
Manohar Singh Gill, Minister for Sports, Govt of India
We congratulate the Indian Weekender team on completing first year of its publication and
wish them a long and successful venture in media. Ethnic publications play important role
in bridging ideas between countries of origin and countries of residence and Indian Week-
ender has been playing that role successfully. Best wishes.
Praneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs, Govt of India
Our heartiest congratulations to Indian Weekender for first anniversary. Keep up the good
work of bringing India and New Zealand relations closer.
Sukhbir Badal - Deputy Chief Minister, State of Punjab
Congratulations to Indian Weekender from the people of the state of Haryana. We wish you
success in creating understanding between the people of India and New Zealand and helping
in exploration of the business opportunites in both the countries
Bhupinder Hooda – Chief Minister, State of Haryana
Felicitations on reaching an important milestone in a difficult year. Indian Weekender must
help bring our diaspora’s talent and investment back here in India to participate in the
spectacular growth of our economy. There is much that our diaspora and the countries they
live in can do in helping our economy develop faster and meaningfully raise the standard of
living among our people.
Sheila Dixit, Chief Minister, Delhi
Weekender is committed to excellence, quality
As a strong supporter of the growing Indian and attention to detail. Your team is profes-
contribution to this country I did not doubt sionally creative, and has the ability to print
that there was a place for a further quality matter that would catch a reader’s eye; has a
community newspaper. So it has proved to be clear understanding of the importance of every
with 12 months of professional journalism and advertiser and reader; has the willingness
a growing readership. The publishers have to work in partnership with others especially
shown skill and innovation with a focus on treating the client with respect and listening
timely news, a range of writers, and eclectic to their needs; and last but not the least; is
content leavened by Bollywood legend. The approachable, has a sense of fun and humour
last issue illustrates a broad spread of adver- rather than the “my way or the highway”
tising support from suppliers, financial houses approach. We at CFI Ltd look forward to be
and educational institutions.The decision to associated with Indian Weekender in the long
produce an online issue gives a significantly run and our best wishes are always with them
greater reach to the paper.
Sometimes we overlook the influence of the – Ram Iyer Director CFI Ltd, Auckland
press in shaping public views. I certainly
believe that Indian weekender will make a
lasting and beneficial impact on its readership The New Zealand Vedanta Education Society
and the community at large. Messrs Gupta Inc, with its President, committee members,
and Dhillon are to be truly praised for their including supporters and well-wishers
efforts.” congratulate and thank your paper on its
  first anniversary celebrations. May you grow
– Dr Richard Worth, former magnanimously in strength and wisdom in
Member of Parliament enlightening the world.
- Shanta Naidu (President, New Zealand
On behalf of everyone here at SPROUT, we Vedanta Education Society Inc.)
would like to sincerely congratulate you
on your recent completion of one year as a
community newspaper. We commend each of Kudos! The Indian Weekender has been a very
you for your dedication and hard work. You readable mag right from the very outset. In
deserve to be proud of your achievement. You sharp contrast to many other publications,
have proven the skeptics wrong and accom- one rather looks forward to each issue, and
plished what most said was impossible. It takes one is not disappointed. There seems to be
special dedication and perseverance to get something for everyone, be it recipes, a section
through such a demanding job every fortnight. for children, regional news, Bollywood gossip,
We see lot of similarities between SPROUT sports, etc. An incisive editorial section rounds
and Indian Weekender, as both the organisa- off a fine newspaper. The vibrant colours make
tions are community oriented, apolitical and the paper attractive and the tri-colour of the
born out of passion. There is no doubt that Indian flag emphasises the fact that the news
your achievements will be spoken of for some published is of a secular nature and ties up
time to come and that the admiration for your very neatly with the paper’s name and image.
accomplishments is felt by all of us within
Indian community as well as the general - Nilima Kalambi
public. We once again congratulate you and
wish you the best as you embark on your next
exciting adventure. Your achievement is an Congratulations to the publishers, editor and
example to us all. Keep it up! the team of Indian Weekender on the first
- Team SPROUT anniversary of the newspaper. It has been an
honour and privilege to be making my feelings
heard to the public on issues concerning the
First of all a toast to Indian Weekender on Indians through this newspaper. The newspa-
your first anniversary to the good times you per has been well appreciated by the Indian
have had and the ones you are yet to make. Community for its quality of contents and
Cultural Forum of India Ltd, an event manage- professional presentation. I wish to extend my
ment company operating out of Auckland, good wishes to the team for the future.
is delighted to be associated with the Indian
Weekender as a reader and advertiser. Indian - Ram Rai, Auckland
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Indian

o n e ! ! ! Team Indian Weekender

e l l D
W
u r a n c e
i f e I ns
L
u r a n c e
l t h I ns
Hea t i o n
P r o t e c
r t g ag e
M o
t e c t i on
m e P ro
Inco o v e r
n e s s C
a l I l l
Cr i t i c

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 19

Indian
Fiji media in turmoil
The Fiji Times Limited will not immediately
comment on the contents of the draft Media Industry
Development Decree, which is asking for radical re-
strictions on the freedom of the media in the country.
Managing director Anne Fussell said: “It would
be premature to make any comment on what action
Fiji Times Ltd will be taking in response to the pro-
posals in the draft Media Industry Development
Decree particularly as we have been informed that all
the points raised at the meeting by the various people
and organisations who attended will now be taken
into consideration.
“The document raised some critical commercial
issues for us that need very
careful consideration. Today
(yesterday), at the discus- Media outlets could be
sions, we made representa-
tion on some of those issues fined up to $F500,000
and offered alternatives. We
hope those proposed changes
($344,000) and indi-
will be adopted,” she said.
“Our company has had a
vidual journalists up to
very long association with Fiji $F100,000 ($69,000)
and we remain 100 per cent
behind the country and its and be jailed for up to
people.”
In New Zealand, acting five years if they failed
Prime Minister Bill English
said the Government would
to comply with the
be concerned if there was
a crackdown on the Fijian
decree’s dictates.
media and was seeking more
information.
Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama yes-
terday issued a new media decree which Newspaper
Publishers’ Association chief executive and New
Zealand Media Freedom Committee secretary Tim
Pankhurst described as “highly oppressive”.
It was clearly aimed at totally muzzling an
already repressed media, he told the New Zealand
Herald.
“We would be concerned about a media crack-
down in Fiji... it does look a bit consistent with how
the regime does business, but we would like to get a
clearer idea of what they have actually decided before
we make too much more comment,” Mr English said.
Mr Pankhurst said the regime was cementing in
place emergency regulations imposed a year ago that
have seen censors installed in newsrooms.
Media call to soften penalties in
proposed Media Decree
Suva: The Fiji Broadcasting Corporation’s
(FBC) News director says proposed fines in the
draft Media Decree could put most media or-
ganisations in the country out of business.
The breaching of proposed content regula-
tions could lead to organisations being fined
up to half a million Fiji dollars or fines of up to
$100,000 (US$52,000) and up to five years in
jail for publishers, editors or journalists.
Stanley Simpson said they are urging the
government to make the fines and imprisonment
provisions less harsh.
Games plan still on track for Fiji
Suva: Preparations put into training for the
Common-wealth Games will not go to waste,
the Fiji Times reports.
Fiji Association of Sports and National
Olympic Committee president Vidhya Lakhan
told Fiji Times there was the 2011 Pacific Games
in Noumea to work towards.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport had rein-
forced Fiji’s ban from the 2010 New Delhi Com-
monwealth Games in October after dismissing
its appeal.
The CAS ruling against the FASANOC was
announced a fortnight ago.
The Commonwealth Games Federation
banned Fiji when its membership in the Com-
monwealth was suspended.
However, Lakhan, who has been fighting
hard to get Fiji to compete in India, said there
20
Media outlets could be fined up to $F500,000 (
$344,000) and individual journalists up to $F100,000
($69,000) and be jailed for up to five years if they
failed to comply with the decree’s dictates.
Offences included such “crimes” as criticising
the government and even failing to run bylines, Mr
Pankhurst said. Foreign media ownership was also
restricted.
Officers were empowered to enter newsrooms
and seize any notes, documents, or equipment.
“Soldiers overseeing the media is a characteristic
of a dictatorship,” Mr Pankhurst said.
“There doesn’t seem to be any reasoning with
an increasingly unsavoury
regime that deserves to be
isolated and condemned.
“Far from restoring de-
mocracy, it is heading in the
opposite direction.”
Mr Pankhurst said the
Media Freedom Committee
would continue to offer what-
ever support it could to col-
leagues working in increas-
ingly difficult circumstances.
The Fiji Times reported
that the head of the Fijian
justice and communication
ministries Aiyaz Sayed-
Khaiyum said censorship of
the media would end once
the Media Industry Devel-
opment Decree 2010 was in place, though a former
publisher of the Fiji Sun newspaper said the media
decree was worse than expected.
Russell Hunter, the first of three Australian pub-
lishers to be deported in 2008, said Fiji’s media had
already suffered in the past year from the censorship
rules imposed under the public emergency regula-
tions.
He said the industry would not survive if the
planned Media Industry Development Authority
went ahead.
“There is no possibility whereby journalists can
dispute or challenge decisions of this body. It is very
clear that is cannot be challenged in court, criminal
or civil.”
–Fiji Times, NZ Herald, IW Online
He said they’ve made it clear to the Attorney
General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum their concern
that the Decree’s provisions could be misused
against media outlets in future.
“They may be well intentioned now but what
will it be like in the future in an environment
where there are political parties involved? How
it could be used by governments or opposition
parties at the time to get at the media and basi-
cally frustrate us or divert us from reporting in
the public interests.
-PNS
were still a number of possibilities to look at.
“Our preparations for Delhi are continuing
until we have the opportunity to study the CAS
decision in detail,” Lakhan said.
“In the event the Delhi Games door is closed,
then the preparations for Delhi, I am hoping,
will be rolled over to preparations for Noumea
2011, where our contingent will number close to
500 in 27 sports.
“As yet we have not received any reasons
from CAS which according to them will be for-
warded to us in due course,” he said.
“Once the detailed decision is received, we
will study it and then decide what other avenues
are available for our athletes.”
- Pacificbusinessonline.com
Fiji
‘Fiji coup leaders think
they are above the law’
Suva: The president of the Fiji Law Society says a government decree giving coup leaders immunity
from prosecution shows those in power think they’re above the law, reports Radio New Zealand
International.
The decree gives total immunity to all involved with the coups in 2000 and 2006.
The head of the Fiji Law Society, Dorsami Naidu, says it could be in response to a failed bid by
the military to challenge a court decision awarding compensation to a man who was tortured during
the coup in 2000.
“This decree basically does away with all actions, or all events that may have oocured, or that
may be before a court or a tribunal or any body which would be seeking any form of damages, com-
pensation, or any claim against the present regime.”
Mr Naidu said the decree makes a mockery of the regime’s claim that the judiciary is independent
Meanwhile, Samoa’s prime minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has criticised the Fijian ad-
ministration for it passing a decree granting itself immunity from prosecution.
Mr Tuilaepa has told the Savali newspaper that the move by the administration d by Commodore
Frank Bainimaram is an admission of guilt and is straight out of an aspiring dictator’s rulebook.
The Fiji immunity decree applies to a list of so-called political events of the last decade, includ-
ing the coups of 2000 and 2006 and the incomplete probe of the extra-judicial killings in the after-
math of the 2000 mutiny.
Mr Tuilaepa said the decree was predictable as the regime is digging in for the long haul after it
did away with the constitution and sacked the judiciary.
Leaders give themselves immunity
Suva: Fiji’s President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, It said the immunity will apply to a list
has issued a decree giving full immunity of prescribed political events, starting with
to those involved with the 2006 coup, and what it calls the purported civilian takeover
also for the coup in 2000 and the attempted of the government in May in 2000 and the at-
mutiny at the Fiji army barracks that year. tempted mutiny at the Queen Elizabeth bar-
The decree, dated 22 March, states that racks later that year.
absolute and unconditional immunity will be It said the immunity will also cover the
irrevocably granted to government take-over in 2006, and the abro-
Fiji’s leader Commodore Frank Baini- gation of the constitution.
marama, his predecessor, Jona Senilagakali, The 2000 coup perpetrators, led by
and a former president Ratu Josefa Iloilo, George Speight, also gave themselves im-
who last year abrogated the 1997 constitu- munity for their actions but Commodore
tion. Bainimarama later reneged on the deal and
It extends the immunity from criminal had them arrested.
or civil prosecution to members of the mili- The 1987 coup leader, Sitiveni Rabuka,
tary, police and prison service, and all others had his immunity enshrined in the constitu-
acting under official orders. tion.
The decree said, however, that those who Pacnews/ Radio New Zealand Interna-
have already been found guilty of crimes tional
will not be given immunity.
Fiji’s administration to strangle
press freedom: DFAT
Canberra: Fiji’s administration have unveiled plans media freedom by Fiji administration , which took
for a crackdown on the media in which journalists power in a 2006 coup, is a matter of concern.
could be jailed for five years and newspapers fined “We are concerned with reports that . . . the
$F500,000 (US$259,000) for inaccurately report- interim government is attempting to censor media
ing news an Australian government agency says organisations . . . that prohibit reporting that is
offends “good taste and decency”. against the public or national interest,” a DFAT
Draft rules unveiled this week would estab- spokesman said.
lish a powerful new agency Australian Press
that could seize any docu-
ments from the media,
Australian Press Coun- Council executive secre-
tary Jack Herman said the
cil executive secretary
force editors and journal- decree marked another step
ists to disclose confidential by the Fijian administration
sources, and force the media Jack Herman said the to inhibit the freedom of
to publish statements dic- Fiji’s journalists.
tated by the agency. decree marked another Through this decree,
Disputes involving the and by putting soldiers in
agency’s powers would be step by the Fijian ad- newsrooms, it was attempt-
diverted from Fiji’s courts
to a special tribunal where
ministration to inhibit ing to control the news by
intimidation, he said.
normal rules of evidence
would not apply.
the freedom of Fiji’s Opposition foreign
affairs spokeswoman Julie
The scheme is contained journalists. Bishop said the decree
in a draft media industry was designed to crush free
development decree that speech and entrench the
would also prevent foreign media companies such regime. “I would expect the Rudd government to
as News Limited (publisher of The Australian) step up its calls for Fiji to hold elections without
from owning more than 10 per cent of individual delay.”
media organisations. Press freedom organisation Reporters Without
News Limited’s Fiji Times newspaper is facing Borders said the decree was “an authoritarian
closure under the new rules. imposition by a regime with no democratic legiti-
According to Australia’s Department of macy”.
Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the erosion of - Pacificbusinessonlione.com
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Indian

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Indian
Fiji Special Report
Prostitution law changes Fiji’s night life
By Shailendra Singh
Two months after a new anti-prostitution law took
effect in Fiji, taxi driver Shiu Kumar says he sees
fewer sex workers along Victoria Parade, the centre
of Suva’s nightlife. But while this has had a negative
effect on his nighttime fares, he is nevertheless happy
about the law.
“This is a good law,” he says, adding that over the
years he has been disturbed by the sight of more and
more young women taking to the streets.
It is not a view shared by everyone, though. Critics
of the decree say that at best it is a stopgap measure
and at worst it could increase the risk of contracting
sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, and of
violence against sex workers.
“Prostitution is a social redistribution mechanism
and to try and forcefully stop it can lead to some
dire consequences,” says Dr Sunil Kumar, a senior
lecturer in economics at the University of the South
Pacific in Suva.
Kumar is not wholly convinced by the 2009
Crimes Decree that government officials say is
aimed at modernising Fiji’s criminal justice system
to make it compliant with the Rome Statute on sexual
enslavement, the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In announcing changes in laws on sex work, At-
torney General and Justice Minister Aiyaz Sayed-
Khaiyum had said in January: “As the laws stand
now, it is only the prostitute that gets charged but
the person procuring those services does not (so) the
males get away while the females get locked up.”
“This (decree) brings about gender equality in our
criminal justice system,” he had added.
For sure, the new decree now targets people who
hire sex workers and all those who benefit financially
from the trade, such as brothel operators and pimps.
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Downtown Suva’s streets such as this one have been
favourite haunts of sex workers after dark for years
Even those living with sex workers are now liable
under the new law, which took effect on Feb. 1.
Section 230 of the law’s prostitution offences says
that a person living on sex-work earnings or persis-
tently soliciting faces a jail term of up to six months.
Previously, this offence was a mere misdemeanor,
with imprisonment and the possibility of corporal
punishment (for males) for subsequent offenders.
“Selling or buying” minors under the age of 18
years for immoral purposes is now punishable by 12
years’ imprisonment. Previously, these fetched a two-
year jail term, with or without corporal punishment.
Brothel keepers face five years of imprisonment
as well, or a fine of $F10,000, or both. This used to be
a misdemeanor too.
Although statistics are hard to come by, a recent
survey by the Fiji police yielded a tally of 116 sex
workers in Suva and in surrounding areas. But this
figure leaves out the foreigners in the local sex indus-
try.
Police records show that between 2003 and 2008,
only 11 cases of prostitution were brought to court.
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prostitution -- especially when it comes to foreign
nationals, police say.
In February, the Fiji police conducted raids and
arrested nine Chinese nationals with invalid travel
documents. Among those caught were seven women
who were engaged in sex work, officials say.
Fiji police spokesman Inspector Atunaisa So-
komuri says that it is usually harder to arrest and
charge foreign nationals as they have “fixed clients”
and usually operate from inside nightclubs, bars, and
private premises. “It is well- organised,” he said. “It
is a racket.”
Those caught often produce valid papers for
being in the country, Sokomuri added.
But Peni Moore, spokeswoman for Women’s
Action for Change, says that the law has only crimi-
nalised prostitution and forced it to go underground.
This means sex workers would be even less willing
to seek medical care, adding to the health risks they
face.
Increased policing, harassment and exploita-
tion of street-based sex workers are other pos-
sible unwanted side effects of criminalising the sex
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Fiji
trade, Moore adds. Although the new law may help
“ease the problem”, the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre
(FWCC) says that sex work is more than just a police
matter and needs a “more sustainable” approach.
Those who go into sex work often do so because of
poverty and lack of access to education, adequate
housing and job opportunities, activists say.
“Prostitution becomes a means of survival,” says
FWCC coordinator Shamima Ali. “To be able to curb
prostitution, we need sound economic policies which
offer better opportunities for women.”
Poverty is the major cause of prostitution, Ali
asserts, and prostitution will exist as long as poverty
exists.
Economics lecturer Dr Kumar puts it this way:
“While prostitution is looked down on by society,
there are some positive outcomes from it that cannot
be denied.” He cites the example of single mothers
who do not earn enough from regular work, or those
who do not receive state social support. Some of them
turn to sex work to feed and educate their children,
he says.
Perhaps people are being too judgmental, Moore
points out. “They do not consider the fact that some
people are willing to work in the sex industry (and)
they would like to receive the same conditions of em-
ployment other people do. They do not always want
to be rehabilitated or saved.”
Moore says her group supports what sex workers
in Fiji want - safe working conditions and the decrim-
inalisation of the industry.
Adds Dr Kumar adds that while the new law is
not an entirely negative development because it will
act as a deterrent and protect minors, more needs to
be done to address the root causes of prostitution,
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Indian
Community

NZICA elects new Bollywood dance fest on again

committee for 2010-11
Indian Weekender honoured at AGM
Delegates, life members and observers from
all over New Zealand attended the 84th annual
general meeting of the New Zealand Central
Indian Association (NZICA) on March 27
at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre in Auckland.
NZICA is the largest and oldest Indian organi-
sation in New Zealand.
The day long meeting also hosted Prime
Minister John Key, the Leader of the Opposi-
tion, Phil Goff, Auckland Mayor, John Banks,
Members of Parliament Kanwaljit Singh
Bakshi and Dr Jackie Blue as also Labour MPs
Chris Carter and Dr Rajen Prasad.
Indian High commissioner, His Excellency
Admiral (Retd.) Sureesh Mehta, attended the
afternoon session and addressed the confer-
ence.
The annual general meeting concluded
with the election of office bearers for 2010-
2011. Cambridge resident Paul Singh Bains,
JP, was elected President; Harshadbhai Patel
Giri Gupta accepted the honour on behalf of
Indian Weekender.
Earlier, Prime Minister John Key com-
mended the Indian diaspora for its hard work,
dedication and the importance it lays on educa-
tion, saying that the community has contrib-
uted to the country’s development for over a
century.
He said there was anticipation about the
proposed free trade agreement between the
two countries, on which negotiations are ex-
pected to start later this year. Meanwhile New
Zealand’s exports to India have tripled in the
past decade.
Labour’s Mt Roskill MP and Opposition
Leader Phil Goff said he was proud of Kiwi
Indians’ talents, which needed encouragement.
Auckland Mayor and Supercity mayoral candi-
date John Banks also addressed the gathering.
Among others who were elected to NZICA’s
various committees for the current annual term
A total $15,000 will be up for grabs at this
year’s annual Bollywood High School Dance
Competition to be held in Auckland in August.
This year’s event, named “Fusion 2010”,
will be held on August 7 at the Logan Camp-
bell Centre – the 12th year for the high school
dance bonanza.
And, as every year, it will be an exciting
and new venture for students to participate in
and the organizers expect record entries this
time.
“Every year, we come up with a theme
name and students are encouraged to choreo-
graph their dance moves to the theme chosen,”
one of the main organizers, Deepa, said.
“Our rules and regulations have changed
this year which gives more students to partici-
pate and which will also, encourages students
to put in that little extra effort to make this
competition much bigger and harder for the
judges and audiences to judge.”
The high school dance competition has
been held annually and has been the most suc-
cessful and the most wanted show over the
past decade. This show is the only Bollywood
event which has been successfully held in New
Zealand over the past decade attracting 30,000
people plus at the Logan Campbell Centre.
“This year we are celebrating the 12th
Annual Bollywood High School Dance Com-
petition in a much bigger and exciting way to
mark the successful event held over the past
decade,” said Deepa, who is a key member of
the musical family behind the show.
“This music and dance festival is to ensure
that the people of New Zealand and all multi-
cultural ethnic groups join hands, understand,
foster, human rights, become a good citizen,
promote and respect each other religion,
culture, and businesses for a ‘united’ New
Zealand in this Western world for the better-
ment for our young ones.”
The dance competition is open to stu-
dents of all ethnicities in high schools in New
Zealand.
“Each year there is an increase in cash prize
and so to mark the celebration and to make this
the most memorable event for the family and
friends and not forgetting all the students and
teachers, we are giving away cash prizes of
$15,000 in total at stake and up to $300 each
for the preparation of the show.
“This is going to be the biggest and the best
ever show to date. The best ever show for the
third decade.”
The competition takes place with around 30
High Schools from all around Auckland. This
consists of a total of 350 students participat-
ing in conjunction with 3000 plus rocking fans
each year.
The hand behind the success of the Bol-
lywood High School Dance Competitions is
Binesh Sumer, who knows just the right ingre-
dients to turn every event into a memorable
one.
The managing director of Desi Interna-
tional Showbiz, and guitarist for “His Masters
Orchestra” has been in the showbiz for over 34
years.
With a history in music and a family of
musicians daughters Deepa, Neera and son
Shivnesh who have been entertaining the
crowd with their voices, area trio sensation of
the South Pacific.
Having organized the competition for 11
years in a row now, Sumer knows just how to
get the crowd rocking. Thirty different High
Schools from all around New Zealand look
forward to this event to showcase their talent.
Schools and Colleges encourage their stu-
dents to participate in an event that promotes
a better understanding for different cultures.
This competition is open to all people of all
ethnicities.
Apart from the culture events, Binesh has
successfully organized International Film
Stars Nites attracting top celebrities from Bol-
lywood industry to perform in New Zealand,
Australia and Fiji.
Desi International Showbiz has given plat-
form to over 30 different high schools, 3000
students and witness by some 3000 rocking
fans for the past 11 years in total.
This show has also been viewed by more
than 1.3 million audience on Mirchee TV over
the past six years.
- Indian Weekender news desk

Mr Giri Gupta after receiving the honour on behalf of Indian

Weekender. New office bearers of NZICA after the election:
Ratilal Champaneri (past President); Raj Bedi (Assistant Secretary); Rajeev (Raj)
Singh Thandi (General Secretary); Paul Singh Bains (President); Harshad Patel (Vice
President); and Manjit Singh (Treasurer).
(Vice President); Rajeev (Raj) Singh Thandi JP were: Amritbhai Vasan (Constitution & Legal
(General Secretary); Raj Bedi (Assistant Sec- Advice); Ashok Darji (Law & Order-Crime
retary); and Manjit Singh (Treasurer). Prevention); Ashwin Gulab (Wider Repre-
Ratilal Champaneri (past president) was sentation-Social and Cultural); Ganges Singh
Ne wspapers ca y showed that
granted life membership for his services to the (Honours, Awards & Life Membership); n be friendly, an You have certainl
NZICA. Gurpreet Kaur (Women’s Forum), Kaushal oriented as pr d community- Cong ratulations. op po rtunities and
oved by your pa one may seek
Weekender in per The Indian in dif ficult times ty of interna-
The relationship between New Zealand and Dhar (website co-ordination); Madanjeet the past one ye pudding.  The varie
India is fundamental to New Zealand’s future Singh Bange (Health and Welfare, Human focussing mor ar. Thank you the proof is in the an d the local mix
e on positive co for m Fiji to India
amazed with th mmunity ne ws tional stories fro or mation tool
and economic wellbeing. The growing com- Rights and Race Relations); Prithipal Singh e speed you ha . I am de it a valuable inf
munity of Indian New Zealanders highlights Basra (Immigration); Ratilal Champaneri articles on your ve published ne of content have ma y is also a superb
on-line ne wspa ws -line director
the importance of bilateral trade and invest- (Funding, Planning & Budgets); and Tarun to share the in per. It also help for many.   Your on tio n. We co uld do more
formation to wi ed us e infor ma
ment between India and New Zealand, Mr Raj Pragji (Youth Forum). giving the link der community int roduction to fre nd lac k of oppor-
rather than se , just by s especially arou
team is doing nd in g full article. Yo for social concern to immigrant
Thandi, the new General Secretary said. The meeting concluded with dinner excellent work ur ent, and education
The NZICA honoured Indian Weekender and entertainment provided by impromptu – keep it up. tunities for employm de r mu st become a
Indian Weeken
populations.  The rk upon con-
during the AGM proceedings for the publica- performances from members and friends rnalism and emba
tion and website’s positive reporting of Indians besides youngsters from the community. – Dr Guna Mag leader in great jou s. My best wishes
esan, JP, our communitie
Senior Scientist
, Scion, Rotoru cerns that affect ure.
and Indian events in New Zealand. Publisher - Indian Weekender news desk a ess and a bright fut
for continued succ – An n Pala

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 23

Indian
Hanuman Jayanti celebrated with fervour
The Guru Raghavendra Bhakti Prachara Peeta’
of Auckland, organised Sri Hanuman Jayanthi
on March 30 at the Mount Roskill War Memo-
rial hall.
The function started at 7:00pm with ‘Sank-
alpa’ by R. Satyanarayanji. He also performed
the special pooja and blessings were given to
the secretary of the Peeta Srikant Kolli and the
Bhajana mandali members on the commence-
ment of their first monthly Guru Bhajans.
The chairman of the Peeta gave an introduc-
tion of Peeta’s objectives to the public and also
the importance of holding the function.
The four part programme consisting of
various poojas, chanting and singing con-
cluded with the felicitation of elderly devotees
by Peeta members as a token of their invalu-
able services to the community. They were Sri.
R.Satyanarayana, Sri Gangadhar Salimath and
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The Peeta appreciated the voluntary services
offered by all the devotees in making the func-
tion a very successful one.
The day ended with Maha Mangalarati and
Prasadam.
- Bhuvanendra Bhupala
(Under Special Conditions)
Contact: Raymond Yim - IRD Tax Agent
Mob: (021) 683 450
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Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Community
Slain taxi driver’s family gets NZ citizenship
Slain Indian taxi driver Hiren Mohini’s wife
Falguni Mohini and daughters Yashvi and Hetvi
have been presented with their citizenship certifi-
cates in Auckland on March 26.
The certificates were presented at a specially
organised ceremony at the offices of National
Member of Parliament Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi
last Friday.
Hiren Mohini died of injuries inflicted on him
by his killer passenger in the early hours of Febru-
ary 1. He was tearfully farewelled on February 4
at West Auckland’s Waikumete cemetery and cre-
matorium by family members who were joined by
hundreds of colleagues, friends and neighbours.
Nearly two months after the brutal killing of
Hiren, the killer still remains at large and is be-
lieved to have fled the country. Media reports
have said the police have identified the killer and
have investigated his residence and questioned
flatmates.
The police department is believed to be fol-
lowing up leads with their counterparts in China
where the alleged killer is believed to have fled.
Meanwhile another Indian taxi driver has
been robbed at knife point and pushed out of his
vehicle in Auckland last Saturday. The police are
still investigating. The taxi drivers and transport
ministry officials are meeting again this week to
propose new measures for the safety of drivers
on the job to be presented to Parliament after the
Easter holiday break.
In the months since Mr Mohini’s brutal killing,
two other taxi drivers have been reportedly been
involved in violent incidents at the hands of their
passengers in the city of Tauranga.
- Indian Weekender news desk
Indian
Kaun banega next superstar?
After the huge success of Kaun Banega Su-
perstar 2009 (Season 2), Dreamz Productions
proudly announces Season 3 of New Zealand’s
popular and the biggest Indian singing chal-
lenge.
Auditions are on again for the singing
bonanza, which promises to be a fun filled en-
tertaining TV show combining a masala of great
music and eager contestants.
This year again, the NCBT Kaun Banega
Superstar will be a launching pad for many
wannabe and trained singers who can sure see
themselves on the big screen and win some
prizes.
As in previous years, NCBT and Dreamz
Productions will again surprise the winning Su-
perstar with an awesome prize to cherish.
“It’s not just about producing a locally-made
product to expand our repertoire,” Dreamz ex-
ecutive Dr Rachel Singh said.
“For Dreamz, we have a vision that goes
far beyond simply providing a singing com-
petition. We have a genuine desire combined
with a golden opportunity to bring a commu-
nity together. NCBT Kaun Banega Superstar is
nothing short of an ambitious community out-
reach programme that will provide a forum for
community interaction.”
Dr Singh said community interaction was an
essential component of any healthy society and
by producing this show, Dreamz gives the local
community a focal point to rally around.
“We provide the potential for people within
that community to come to the forefront, armed
with only their singing talent. It is our belief that
when a community sees that some of their own
can ‘make it’, they rally around them and give
support.
“They do that because those people provide
an inspiration for them. And for a community,
inspiration can be a powerful force for bring-
Community
ASB’s insurance campaign spreads awareness
ing them together and helping to either form or
cement an identity for themselves. And having
established that, the community can and will
have more confidence in itself to forge new
pathways.
“Our last season of Kaun Banega Super-
star has succeeded by bringing two groups to-
gether. With the combination of older songs, it
brings in the parents and older viewers, but the
young contestants on the shows have enticed the
younger viewers to make such shows extremely
popular with families.
“These are one of the few shows that can
successfully bridge the generation gap. With
NCBT Kaun Banega Superstar, we aim to
bridge together not only the young and older
population of the Indian community, but also
to help preserve the rich heritage and song-tra-
dition that has always been an integral part of
Indian culture.
“Being a long way from India, we hope that
our show will provide a much-needed and en-
tertaining slice-of-home for all New Zealand
Indians, from those who are recent arrivals to
those who have been here many generations.”
Dr Singh said NCBT Kaun Banega Super-
star would provide stability for the Indian com-
munity in New Zealand to rally around and
indulge in a piece of home.
The show is open to anyone who can sing in
Hindi and Bollywood Indian songs will be the
range on which they will be judged on.
“Once we get into the semi-finals, the show
will involve viewer-voting where the audience
at home will have an important say. The con- Felix Lee, Head of Migrant Banking at ASB Bank and community
testants will be competing for fantastic prizes leader Pirthipal Singh Basra launching the campaign.
as always.”
Auditions for NCBT Kaun Banega Superstar An Insurance Awareness campaign was making sure that the community is well protect-
commence from May 2010 and the show will launched by ASB Bank in the community ed with the right kind of policy options.
run weekly until the Grand Finale. temple at Kolmar Road, Papatoetoe on March The campaign, which was co-ordinated
- Indian Weekender news desk 21. from various places of worship ran from March
Felix Lee, Head of Migrant Banking at ASB 21 to April 11.
Bank and community leader Pirthipal Singh Mr. Lee said ASB bank was always been

Unity the message in family day

Dynamic young people from India, South
Africa, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Fiji, Sri Lanka and
New Zealand came together to organise Family
Fun event which was free for community (all
youth and their families) to participate.
The youth were either at high school, tertiary
institute or have recently graduated; they belong
to at least three different faith groups.
Hindu Youth Foundation (HYF) and the
New Zealand Hindu Students Forum (NZHSF)
jointly celebrated Race Relations Day with fun,
games and Holi (Hindu festival of colours) on
Sunday, March 21, at the Hindu Heritage Centre
in Mangere, Auckland.
Participants of all ages, nationalities and
background enjoyed the day. Chief guest
Andrew Pragnell, an advisor with the Human
Rights Commission, shared some insight into
what Race Relations Day is and spoke of its
origin. Andrew has 15 years’ experience of
working on race issues around the Asia Pacific
region and he shared some personal insight into
race relations with people present at the official
opening.
Bevan Chuang, Settlement Support Co-
ordinator for the Auckland Regional Migrant
Services, shared her experience of being a 1.5
generation New Zealander.
Not first generation who migrated from
Hong Kong nor born locally to be second gener-
ation, a situation that most young people identi-
fy themselves with in. She went on to commend
on the use of the Hindu Heritage Centre premis-
es for conducting church sessions as the perfect
example of building race and faith relations.
Kicking of the day, Andrew, a keen sports
enthusiast, played a game of soccer making sure
he participated in the fun activities organized
for the day, affirming his strong thoughts and
support for the use of sports as a development
tool for communities and individuals. Such was
the organization that no one was turned away
disappointed.
The sports day was a success with teams
registering for soccer, netball, cricket and vol-
leyball. In addition to this, carom board and
table tennis continued to be occupied with par-
ticipants waiting for their turns throughout the
day. The kids were equally entertained with
giant park games and bouncy castles while
adults also joined in the fun to have their face
painted.
Concluding the day with Holi, the day’s cel-
ebration was rounded up in the colours of Holi
to celebrate unity and brotherhood with every-
one sprinkling colour and water on everyone. It
provided an opportunity to forget all differences
and indulge in fun.
It is one occasion when sprinkling coloured
powder or coloured water on each other breaks
all barriers of discrimination so that everyone
looks the same and universal brotherhood is re-
affirmed. Everyone present on the day joined in
the fun and celebration of the occasion to con-
clude the day on a high note.
Success of the HYF Race Relations Day
Celebrations has been crowned to the organis-
ing committee of young volunteers who dem-
onstrated sheer dedication and commitment to
this event despite family commitments, studies,
religious celebrations and even pre-planned va-
cations.
The team was a true mix of Aucklanders
from North Shore, West Auckland, Central and
South Auckland. While the team is taking a
break to relax, event coordinator, Kedar Vakde
commented that “this is only the beginning”.
Hindu Youth Foundation is committed to
making Race Relations Day an annual event for
their calendar.
HYF thanks all sporting teams for their par-
ticipation and cheerful spirit of fun & games;
all members of community who participated, all
stall holders and generous donors from commu-
nity, sport associations and gives special thanks
to the Sangam Association and the Hindu
Temple Society for supporting the young team
and a very special thanks to the Hindu Council
of New Zealand.
- Indian Weekender news desk
Basra launched the campaign.
Dev Dhingra, the bank’s Business Devel-
opment Executive introduced the campaign to
the Gurudwara sangat and outlined the fact that
insurance is very important and should be con-
stantly reviewed in light of circumstances.
This campaign has proved successful as a fa-
cility for the Indian community to know about
the importance of insurance and avail of it. Dev
Dhingra and Insurance manager Jas Talwar
provided their expertise and their experience in
Akash Rampal selected Youth MP
National MP Kan-
wal Bakshi has
selected Papa-
toetoe resident,
Akash Rampal
as his Youth MP.
Akash attended
Papatoetoe High
School, and is
now studying for a
Bachelor of Engineering at the Univer-
sity of Auckland.
Akash will take up Bakshi’s seat
when Youth Parliament sits on July 6
and 7, 2010. “Akash is an outstanding
candidate who is confident, ambitious,
and extremely bright. He is interested in
environmental issues and has a splen-
did list of achievements for a young
man his age. He will bring many talents
to his role as my Youth MP.” Mr Bakshi
said.
Two of Mr Bakshi’s colleagues have
also picked Youth MP’s of Indian origin.
Waitakere MP and Cabinet Minister Hon
Paula Bennett has chosen Waitakere
resident Sunil Sharma as her Youth MP.
“I had the pleasure of interviewing Sunil
there for communities and will always strive
to make banking easier. This campaign was
launched not for sales but to make sure that the
community is well protected, he added.
Mr. Basra said ASB bank had been reliably
working for the community for a long time. He
also urged the community to get your insur-
ances reviewed, as insurance is an extremely
important aspect of life.
- Indian Weekender news desk
as he had also applied to be my Youth
MP and I know that Paula has picked
a great candidate to represent her.” Mr
Bakshi said.
Maungakiekie MP Peseta Sam Lotu-
Iiga has chosen Onehunga High School
student Monisha Singh. “Monisha is a
bright young girl and I am sure she will
represent Sam and Maungakiekie well,”
Mr Bakshi added.
Youth Parliament 2010 is an oppor-
tunity for young New Zealanders (16–18
years) to learn about New Zealand’s
democratic process and participate in
public decision-making. During Youth
Parliament, Youth MPs debate legisla-
tion, sit on select committees and ask
parliamentary questions of Cabinet
Ministers.
Meanwhile, their Youth Press Gallery
colleagues report on their activities and
make sure they are held accountable to
the public. In May 2010, the Minister of
Youth Affairs, Hon Paula Bennett, will
announce the Youth Parliament 2010
Bill to be considered.
- Indian Weekender news desk

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 25

Indian
Ek Sham Ghazal Ke Naam Health magazine for
hit with the audience South Asians launched
Ek Sham Ghazal Ke Naam, the first ever Ghazal
concert lived upto its expectations, at the Dorothy
Winston Theatre in Auckland on Saturday 10th
April. It was the culmination of nearly six months
of efforts by Ghazal enthusiast Nasir Mirza, with
the support Sangam School of Music.
The evening started off with Mirzaji reciting the
holy verses to invoke the blessing of the almighty
and set the tone for the evening. Prof S D Madhur
then rendered a couple of Ghazals with ease and
pathos that had the audiences in mood for more.
It was wonderful listening to Prof Madhur and
his renditions of ghazals like ‘Kahan aake ..’. This
was followed by Shobha Pathak rendering the ever
popular ‘Aaj Jaane ki Jid na karo’ perhaps indicat-
ing to the audience that the concert was going to be
a long one and that they should not even think about
leaving the seats for the next couple of hours!
Sandhya Rao’s rendition of the Ghazal maestro,
Mehdi Hassan’s ‘Ranjish hi sahi’ was a treat to the
audience’s ears. Mehdi Hassan is known to sticking
to classical singing while rendering his Ghazals and
Sandhyaji’s classical training was in ample evidence
when she rendered this Ghazal with ease! She was
equally at ease with her other ghazal ‘Game firaq
ke kisse’.
Kanika Deish was not only soulful but very me-
lodious with her presentation of ‘Mujshe tum nazar
gira to rahe ho’ as well as ‘Apko bhul jaye’. She put
her smooth voice to excellent use while creating the
longing potrayed in the song and the evening was
set to be a hit.
Mirzaji, had the audience tapping when he sang
the evergreen ‘Mehfil mein bar bar’ by Ghulam Ali.
He has an understanding of the language which
helps him to apply the proper weight on every word
that is sung as well as taking the right amount of
pauses, to create an immediate impact on the audi-
ence. He sang his Ghazals with a great panache and
the audiences responded immediately.
Arun Khotkar’s rendition of ‘Phir chidi raat,
baat phoolon ki’ along with Sandhya Rao brought
back memories of the film Bazaar for which it was
rendered by Talat Aziz for the legendary composer
Khayyam. The poet Moinuddin Maqhdoom had
penned this wonderful Ghazal which sounds har-
monious even today!
Nida Fazli gave us the wonderful Ghazal ‘Apni
marji se kahan jaye hum’ sung by the evergreen
26
Community
Community and charity organisation SPROUT, munity; to raise awareness
which is known in Auckland for the BollyworX of health risks affecting
classes it runs for the Indian community has South Asian community
launched HealthGuru, a magazine directed at and to advertise oppor-
the South Asian community. tunities for indoor and
The “healthy lifestyle” magazine was outdoor activities that
launched on World Health day, April 7. “Health- promote physical well-
Guru is all about Healthy living, healthy activ- being, says a media
ity and healthy eating and is published quarter- release from the pub-
ly,” editor Ram Lingam said.
Ranjna Patel (QSM), executive trustee of
East Tamaki Health care inaugurated the maga-
zine before an audience of distinguished guests.
“With this HealthGuru magazine, SPROUT
hopes to create community-wide health aware-
ness and make a targeted impact in those com-
munities.
“Going by what District Health boards tell
us, its bad news on the health front for the South
Asian community with our high levels of car-
diovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.
“SPROUT sincerely hopes this magazine
will go a long way in creating health conscious-
ness among Indian and other South Asian com- Ranjana Patel WITH THE FIRST
munities,” Mr Ram Lingam, who is also an
ISSUE OF HEALTH GURU
Indian Weekender columnist, said.
The purpose of this magazine is to create lishers.
health awareness in the South Asian commu- This quarterly magazine will be distributed
nity; to promote practices that include physical through leading retail outlets and also avail-
activity as a means to achieve better health out- able online in a webzine format on SPROUT’s
comes; to promote active and healthy lifestyles website www.sprout.net.nz/HealthGuru.
among all age groups through physical activities - Indian Weekender news desk
and outdoor pursuits to the South Asian com-
Jagjit Singh for the TV serial ‘Sailab’. Viraj Maki’s
execution of this Ghazal can only be termed as ‘ex-
ceptional’. Not only did he sing it to perfection, but
also did full justice to the essence, of the mood, of
the song. Harish Khatnaur, is a name synonymous
with Ghazals in Auckland and he did not disappoint
his followers with the ghazals ‘Diwaron se milkar’
and ‘mehfil mein rang’. He is an old hand at judging
the pulse of the audience and made sure that the PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
‘ethos’ of the evening is maintained. We offer you a full package management service, from finding new tenants, to
Credit must be given to the musicians, Basant
Madhur on Tabla, Hemant Thakar on Keyboards, dealing with contractors.
Shivam on Base guitar, Surbhi Sharma on Violin
and ample support from Prof Madhur and Arun
Khotkar on Harmonium. They switched gears and
tempo to match the singing with ease and never LANDLORDS
once did any one of them let the tenet go haywire. With our innovative online system you have access from anywhere in the world to
It is worth noting that the set design by Mirzaji was all your rental statements and more with it just being a click away.
wonderful and the backdrop he created gave a feel
of real ‘Ghazal ‘ evening happening somewhere in
the Indian Subcontinent.
Perhaps the evening belonged to the young star COMMITTMENT
of Ghazal singing in Auckland, Roshan. The way Something you don’t hear too often now days,but we give you ours! To maintain
he sang ‘Chand angdayin le raha hai’ was proof that
we are blessed with an upcoming artist who will service levels, return calls, emails etc...
shine in the coming years and we are lucky to have
him amongst us. Rest assured that the Ghazal scene
will be incomplete without him in future. The
Artists were honoured with a traditional Shawl for SERVICES
gracing the evening which also had the presence of Find new tenants, Maintain existing, maintenance, dealing with contractors,
the Indian High Commissioner H.E Admiral (retd)
Sureesh Mehta among the audience. reference checks, property inspections and much much more...
The clock was moving fast and nobody re-
alised that it was well past 11 pm when the curtain
had to be drawn on a wonderful evening, but not
before Arun had the audience spell bound with
Jagjit singhs ‘Shola hun bhadkane ke gujarish
nahin karta’. This Muzzafar Warsi’s ghazal aptly
describes the internal conflict of one’s mind and
the conflict facing Mirzaji of ending the program
with so many songs yet to be sung! Guess, it will
be some other ‘Sham’ when we can hear more from Please contact
these artists. Till then the memories of this ‘Sham’ Naveet Prasad - Partner
with remain with you – as the couplet goes;
kabhi khamosh baithoge, kabhi kuchh gungu- +64 21 489 269
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Indian

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Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 27
Indian
The management and staff of Radio Apna
would like to wish Indian Weekender happy
first anniversary you have taken the market by
storm and wish you all the best for the excellent
work done so far. Keep up Indian weekender !
Shaiyaz Mohammed, General Manager,
Radio Apna
I am really pleased that Indian Weekender has
completed one year with a high note. It has
gained a dominant position in the minds of
Auckland Indians and emails of so many indi-
viduals. Your newspaper has played a very im-
portant role in promoting our community to the
wider audience. We wish you all the success for
the years to come
Ilango Krishnamoorthy, President, Muthtamil
Sangam Inc.
I am very happy that Indian Weekender has
completed a very successful first year.
Your newspaper has played a very important
role in our Indian Community. We wish you all
the success in the coming years
Vai Ravindran, President, New Zealand Hindu
Temple Society
Congratulations to you, your whole team and
Indian Weekender to celebrate the first anni-
versary of the publications. Your Indian Week-
ender was and will be a great newspaper. The
quality, layout, variety and the contents were
superb. I enjoyed working with you and you
have provided a great service to our association.
On behalf of the Auckland Indian Association
We are an Indian based financial consultancy
Level 8 Outsource IT Tower, 44 Khyber Pass Road, Grafton, Auckland
28
Ph: 09 377 42 38, Fax: 09 309 5598, Web: www.patelpike.co.nz
Inc I would like to wish you and your team a
good luck for the future.
Dhiru M Patel, Public Relations Officer, Auck-
land Indian Association Inc
Congratulations on reaching this important
milestone. We wish you the very best in your
pursuit of excellence in journalism and new
techniques of digitally delivering content.
Laisa Taga, Editor-in-chief, Islands Business
International, Suva, Fiji
Kindly do accept my Heartiest Congratula-
tions for highly esteemed Newspaper in New
Zealand. Blessings.
– M Iqbal, community elder, Auckland
Indian Weekender has blazed an amazing
trail in a year that had little hope for any new
venture. It is testimony to the team’s commit-
ment to editorial and creative work as well as its
business acumen. Logical systems wishes the
Indian Weekender team the very best and a long
and successful publishing life.
- Daven Naidu, Logical Systems,
Eden Terrace, Auckland
Congratulations for celebrating first anniversa-
ry – you have grown so fast in one year. Thank
you for supporting all the Indian communities
and representing our community in particular.
- S Subbiah, Muthamil Sangam
OUR
VALUES
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Indian Weekender is providing an important
service to the Indian Community, not just in
NZ but beyond. It is an excellent product. The
selection of stories is great. It is a must read for
me. It is amazing how far Indian Weekender has
come in just one year. Congratulations on a job
well done.
- Shailendra Singh, Head Journalism
Programme, University of the South
Pacific,Suva, Fiji
The Auckland Marathi Association congratu-
lates Indian Weekender on the completion of
if its first year. It’s a fantastic achievement es-
pecially as it achieved this landmark in a very
difficult year, in tough market conditions. Best
wishes for a long a successful publishing life.
Do keep up your good work that has already
achieved a lot of goodwill in the community,
particularly the timely interesting weekly news-
letters and the regularly updated website.
- Auckland Marathi Association Inc.,
P.O. Box 64369, Botany Town Centre, East
Tamaki, Auckland
While Auckland now has several local newspa-
pers to serve the public, and act as an indicator
of public opinion, on this occasion, it makes me
very proud that the Indian Weekender is not only
a newspaper which is the brainchild of the new
wave of Indian migrants but is also one backed
by experienced professionals in the mass media.
This newspaper is very significant as it provides
analysis of the news, articles and opinions, in
depth reports, as well as several interesting mag-
azine style columns and features besides news. I
congratulate the Weekender Team.
- Aaron Kashyap
Barrister and solicitor
H - Honesty
A - Authenticity
R - Reliability
L - Leadership
E - Ethical
Messages
What a breathe of fresh air Indian Weekend-
er has been! We thoroughly enjoy the posi-
tive tone of this newspaper and the manner in
which it projects our community in really good
light. The user-friendly format of the newspa-
per makes it all the more endearing. We wish
many more editions of this fun filled informa-
tive newspaper, which is, enjoyed by our entire
family. And all the very best on its first anni-
versary.
- Anuradha Ramkumar, Creative Director
Anuradha’s School of Indian Dances.
East Tamaki Healthcare congratulates Indian
Weekender for successfully completing its first
year of publication! We congratulate the man-
agement and staff for bringing to us quality
news updates from within and outside New
Zealand. The potpourri of news from Indian
subcontinent has been a delight to read and
must say that the content and design teams have
done a great job during this first year of publi-
cation. Keep it up! Indian Weekender’s prompt
and periodic electronic circulation is very in-
formative and attractive and it brings to our
computer screens, the latest news and popular
events in beautiful words and illustrations.
Indian Weekender has distinctively created a
niche for itself amidst numerous newspapers
publications of the region and has reached out to
every Indian in New Zealand both through print
and electronic media. We wish you success for
your future publications! Yours sincerely
- Ranjna Patel, Director- East Tamaki Health-
care Group of Companies
Indian
Community
Swaminarayan Temple celebrates second anniversary
The ISSO Swaminarayan Temple at Papatoetoe
celebrated its second anniversary from Friday
April 2 to Sunday April 4. The campus has already
become a landmark and is frequently visited by
people of Indian origin for a variety of activities
carried out here. ISSO organises cultural classes
for the young, health awareness programs, gar-
dening for healthy eating, weddings, discourses
and many other community and religious pro-
grammes.
On the first day, cultural evening was orga-
nized. It began with melodious bhajans led by
Swami Bhajanprakashdasji and many other devo-
tees. The whole environment became serene and
pious. It was followed by a play named “Hriday
Parivartan” – change of heart.
The story depicted how the poet Ladudanji,
who loved material possessions, was transformed
to the divine Saint Brahmanand Swami by Lord
Swaminarayan in the early Nineteenth century
Gujarat. The play was performed by devotees and
was directed by the priest Ravibhai Shastri. It was
praised by one and all in the audience. Evening
concluded with prasadam. Over 500 people at-
tended the evening.
On Sunday 4th April, the day started early the completion of 2 years of the temple.
with the Abhishek “pious bathing” of the idols Dr. Kanti Patel, Chairman of the trust, thanked
at the temple. The Saints of the temple – Swami all the volunteers and presented a Certificate in
Ramkrushnadasji, Swami Bhajanprakashdasji recognition of services to Mr. Suresh Amin, who
and others joined in the ceremony. After the ab- is a dedicated volunteer. Swami Ramkrushnadasji
hishek, the idols were decorated and the Annakut blessed the gathering and spoke about the impor-
– Mountain of food – was offered to the deities. tance of temples as a place for eternal solace and
Annakut included lots of varieties of savories and mental peace.
sweets made in the temple and also brought by Acharya Maharajshree Koshalendraprasadji
devotees. The idols and the whole temple premis- was scheduled to be the Guest of honor during
es were decorated and wore a very attractive look. this whole celebration and many devotees were
Guests from Australia, USA, UK and other eagerly awaiting his arrival. Circumstances pre-
parts of New Zealand along with a large number vented his arrival but he sent a video recording
of Auckland devotees attended the events. At the which was shown to the audience. After the Arati,
time of Annakut arati, K. S. Baxi, Rajen Prasad – everyone took the Mahaprasad. Over 1000 people
Members of Parliament gave their best wishes on attended on Sunday.

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Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 29
Indian
A rare Kishore Kumar classic comes to NZ
A song composed by the legendary Kishore Kumar
in the 1960s will for the first time see the light of
day in Auckland next month – through his son
Amit Kumar.
Amit Kumar will be in New Zealand on May 1
for a one-off show, “Yeh Zameen Ga Rahi Hai – a
tribute to Kishore Kumar and R D Burman”, at the
Logan Campbell Centre, and he has chosen the oc-
casion for the world release of his latest album Ley
Chalo.
The title song of the album, “Ley Chalo …”
was originally composed by Kishore Kumar in his
heyday in the 1960s.
Ley Chalo has been mostly a family affair
with lyrics by Kishore Kumar’s wife Leena Chan-
dawarkar, with composition and direction by Amit
Kumar and his brother Sumeet.
Singers are Amit Kumar, Reema and Ma-
karand Patankar and music by Richards, Kashi and
Jitendra Kulkarni.
Local radio personality Gopal Bhatia, the man
behind Amit Kumar’s Auckland gig, said the singer
was keen to launch his album in New Zealand.
Gopal was in Mumbai recently to finalise arrange-
ments for Amit Kumar’s visit to Auckland.
Gopal also had the opportunity to visit Gouri
Kunj, the home of Kishore Kumar, where legend
made his music.
Here, Gopal relates his experience of his visit to
Kishore Kumar’s bungalow to meet the Ganguly
family:
1. Why did he choose New Zealand to
launch the album?
When I was discussing and interviewing him he
mentioned about this album, so I thought I would
request the producer Makarand Patankar and
Amitji if it can be launched in Auckland during his
live concert on the May 1, and both of them agreed
to it.
After meeting him in India recently, surely you
must know the popular numbers he will be singing
. . . Main ekh panchhi matwala re . . . Will he be
taking requests from audience?
After meeting Amitji I got to know that he likes
to interact with audience and I am sure looking
at the response he would love to sing what people
want to listen. For sure I know he is going to sing
Yeh Zameen Ga Rahi Hai and Bade Acche Lagte
Hain.
What is Amit Kumar like – his personality,
“More people opening up to spirituality”
Meera Naganadan, head of the Brahmakumari
World Spirituality University, says more and
more people were increasingly becoming fed up
of materialism in this world.
Ms Naganadan, head of the Brahmakumari
mission in Malaysia, was in the country recent-
ly as part of a lecture tour of New Zealand and
Australia.
“People are now more receptive to spiritual-
ity compared with in the past,” said Ms Nagana-
dan adding that more people should take advan-
tage of the Brahmakumari mission’s services to
enhance their lives.
The Brahmakumari World Spirituality Uni-
versity started in 1936 in India and today has
8500 branches in 120 countries – with a total
900,000 members worldwide.
The Brahmakumari service was based on
four basic principles, explained Ms Naganadan.
• Spiritual knowledge;
• Rajayoga meditation;
• Values;
• Service to humanity.
The practice of Rajyoga helps people live
a peaceful existence, which sits well with the
aims of the movement : to bring world peace
with of mind.
“Our works and services is not a religion, but
is totally non-profitable, non-governmental and
non-political,” Ms Naganadan said.
“It is open to people from all walks of life
who want to improve their lives and their very
existence.”
30
music in the air: Gopal Bhatia, the
man behind Amit Kumar’s Auckland gig with
Amit Kumar at the Kishore Kumar Bunglow
his family…
Amitji is very humble and very kind and he sounds
and talks like a born artiste and is very passion-
ate about his music and Baba’s music (Amitji ad-
dressed Kishore da as Baba) and feels great and
blessed that he is the son of legendary Kishore
Kumar. I met Leenaji, who is also great personality
and told me many stories of her experience of being
Kishore da’s wife and I felt very much touched with
some of the anecdotes she shared with me.
Will Leena ji be accompanying him on
show to New Zealand? Who would be the
female vocalist sing in this show? Will his
show be backed by his own orchestra or
with local musicians?
Leenaji asked me if I would call her for my next
tribute show to Kishore da and I said yes I would
love to have her and Sumeet. We will be having local
female singers of high calibre - along which Shweta,
Manju and Vidya, and myself, Makarand and of
course Amitji would be singing and we are having
Bollywood music industry’s top class musicians
who have performed with Kishore Kumar, Lataji,
World Spirituality: Bhavna Shukla,
left, co-ordinator of the Brahmakumari opera-
tions in New Zealand, with Meera Nagananda,
head of the operations in Malaysia, pictured in
Auckland this week.
In New Zealand, there are more than 350
members based in Auckland, Wellington,
Christchurch and Dunedin.
The New Zealand centres offer free medita-
tion classes for the community for an hour seven
days a week. Voluntary contributions keep the
organization running smoothly.
Their motto: “When I change, the world
changes.”
Those wishing to take advantage of the ser-
vices offered by the organization should contact
Bhavna Shukla on 09 579 5646, or email:
brahma@nz.bkwsu.org or contact Sushila Dass
on 09 525 7649.
- Indian Weekender news desk
Ashaji
and many more music di-
rectors of the industry.
Being a Kishore Kumar / R D Burman
“bhakt” for so long, what does the show
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mean to you?
I have been supported by the audience that has
been appreciating my work and my presentations,
which has inspired me to bring Amit Kumar live to
them. This would be another tribute to Kishore da
and Pancham da but it has different flavor because
this time it is Kishore da’s own son and I have great
pleasure and privilege to present this to Auckland
music lovers.
Where are tickets available and what do
they cost?
The tickets are selling very fast (thanks to all media
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an international show at local price. We still have
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people with big groups and individuals can still buy
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Indian
Government by Greed
Qarase stuck with coup debts
Subhash Appana
In my last article, focus fell on Qarase’s infamous
Agricultural Scam that drained Fiji of some $25m
at a time when 40% of the population lived below
the poverty threshold amid a slumping economy.
The aim of the man and his advisors was to con-
tinue his hold on government, this time through
the ballot box, no matter what it took.
Numerous complaints arose regarding the va-
lidity of the 2001 elections. An FLP press release
noted, “the long delays in beginning the count,
particularly in the Central Division, the bringing in
of unverified postal ballots part way into the count,
the extremely high number of invalid votes and the
uniformity of ticks on ballot papers.” Doubts were
also raised about the “conduct of the election and
the neutrality of electoral officials/clerks.’’
To substantiate this, three cases were high-
lighted. In the tight Suva City Open Constituency,
the number of votes posted by the District Officer
at the beginning of count was 10,765. The actual
number of ballot papers found inside was 12,261.
Nobody was able to account for the additional
1496 votes. This was the constituency where Dr.
Tupeni Baba’s New Labour Unity Party had been
attracting record crowds and polls predicted a
NLUP victory.
In the Tailevu North/Ovalau Open Constitu-
ency, officials declared over 10,000 votes at the
beginning of count on Monday. On Tuesday,
“while the count was in progress, more boxes were
brought in with (the count being) revised by offi-
cials to over 14,000’’. That was 4,000 votes over
the initial mark!
Focus also fell on the administration of postal
ballots. Standard practice was to verify all ballot
boxes at the beginning of count so that no addi-
tions could be made as counting progressed.
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Reports at the time clearly stated that postal ballots
were brought in towards the end of count in several
cases – often not in sealed boxes but in brown
paper parcels. Was this being done in response to
signals from progressive counts?
In a third baffling outcome, incumbent Labour
stalwart, Lavinia Padarath, narrowly lost the
Nausori/Naitasiri Open Constituency. When
postal ballots were first verified in this case, there
were only 89. However, when they were later
brought in for counting, the box contained 511
unverified postal ballots which had already been
opened! Lavinia couldn’t hide her disgust when I
talked to her about this.
SVT leader Filipe Bole also mentioned process
discrepancies and, in particular, the inordinate 3
day delay in commencing counting. Why did we
need this delay anyway? Complaints aside, Qarase
became elected PM in September 2001, but only
with the support of the coup-spawned CAMV.
This immediately saddled him with a whole lot of
IOUs and secret undertakings to fulfill and deliver
on.
Coup Trials
The very first problem Qarase encountered
was how to handle the perpetrators of the 2000
coup. A total of 34 travel black-listed coup-people
had contested the 2001 elections. And they had all
supported Qarase for PM. George Speight’s trial
came first in February 2002. In this first batch
were Timoci Silatolu, Josefa Nata and a number of
CRW renegades. Speight’s trail to court had been
long and full of intrigue.
On 27/7/2000 he was finally arrested as he
tried again to defy an army check-point. On
4/9/00 he appeared in court fully expecting to be
released; magistrate Salesi Temo sent him back.
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Then amidst intense lobbying, Speight pleaded
guilty to treason and was sentenced to death on
18/2/2002. This was immediately commuted to
life imprisonment by the virtually never-changing
never-elected Attorney General, Qoriniasi Bale.
While the lobbying and power-bargaining
was being played out, Speight’s surroundings on
the converted island of Nukulau had been made
totally un-prisonlike by Qarase’s interim govern-
ment. For the purposes of this series, we need to
look at Nukulau Prison to understand Qarase’s
sympathies and the role Speight and his men
played in his ambitions.
Nukulau Prison
Nukulau Island lies less than 10km off the
coast of Suva and was for a long time a favourite
picnic spot for the more sea-loving folk of that
capital city. Steeped in history, the island was curi-
ously chosen by the Qarase government to house
the coup perpetrators of 2000. Many at the time
thought it a good choice as it was separated from
the main land.
Few realized that it was chosen for more
obvious reasons – it was idyllic for hiding a group
of public outcasts while rewarding them out of the
public eye – a Fijian version of the biblical purga-
tory. Speight & Co. plus their misguided CRW
goons were thus put on holiday on Nukulau under
the guise of imprisonment.
Accommodation comprised cool newly-built
Fijian bures under coconut palm trees. There was
TV, internet access, modern toilet and sanitary
facilities, white sandy beaches for strolls, warm
blue seas for leisurely swims, access to fishing,
etc. And no work! Food, laundry, etc. was all taken
care of by the prison system. After all, these guys
had to have prisoner rights as well. And these
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Comment
rights didn’t end there.
There were afternoon volleyball matches on
sand followed by kava and card sessions. And on
Saturdays, loved ones were transported on gov-
ernment vehicles to provide the missing dimen-
sions of home comfort. One can only contrast
this with South Africa’s use of Robben Island as a
penal colony for dangerous prisoners and political
subversives during apartheid.
Many innovative attempts were made to ratio-
nalize away the fact that the tragic heroes of Fiji
were not really being kept away. This had to be
done to appease coup-supporters and ward off
negativity towards Qarase’s government which
had effectively ridden to power on the back of
Speight’s coup and the demise of his men.
One intriguing story being spun was that Major
Ilisoni Ligairi (a Cakaudrove man) could leave the
island at any time on assessment missions on the
back of a shark! The province of Cakaudrove has
a special affinity with the shark which is revered
and traditionally seen as a totem God. There were
many other spinnings of this sort.
This is how Qarase allowed/arranged punish-
ment for the thugs who violated Fiji in 2000. Those
who supported these men saw this sojourn as both
a test and a reward for their bravery and patriotism.
And the tropical holiday lasted more than 5 years
until the Bainimarama coup of December 2006.
More will follow.
- Subhash Appana is an academic and politi-
cal commentator. The opinions contained in this
article are entirely his and not necessarily shared
by any organizations he may be associated with
both in Fiji and abroad.
Email subhasha@ais.ac.nz
33
 Indian
Indian
From the Editor
It’s time we put paid to the Indian rope trick
One of the many characteristics that define Indian-ness no matter where in the world is
the tendency of large numbers of people to believe in the supernatural.
The sheer range of the belief systems prevalent in India and now being exported all
over the world thanks to easier travel links and instant communication technologies is
bewildering, to say the least.
From astrologers and charmed talisman vendors to jet setting yogis and gurus,
there is an unending stream of the purveyors of esoteric “sciences”, charms, “redis-
covered” secret knowledge systems and formulas for spiritual uplift, to list only a few,
emerging out of India and travelling the world.
And like anywhere else in the world, the temporal world is never far from the highly
rarefied spiritual one – especially so in matters of pursuing fame, the trappings of
wealth and a fierce desire to spread influence not so much in an evangelical fashion as
much as in a style redolent of a multinational corporate, complete with trained franchi-
sees offering packaged nirvana in a range of flavours and courses. All for a cascading
range of prices, directed at different classes of clientele.
Levels of education have nothing to do with beliefs. It is only the degree of the fear
of the unknown within the individual that mostly drives this. The examples of Indian
celebrities, politicians and common people alike who have added an extra alphabet like
an ‘e’, ‘ k’, ‘r’ or ‘a’ in their names to “improve” their luck factor after advice from such
practitioners are legion.
It gets even more temporal. In an increasingly competitive spiritual world it
becomes imperative for these players to stand out, position themselves differently from
one another, hire public relations agencies and spin doctors to place themselves in
editorials and take out advertisements in the media with all kinds of inducements and
promises.
In fact that is exactly what has been happening in ethnic Indian media outlets in
New Zealand. Huge advertisements of gurus, babas, astrologers, yogis and tantriks fill
a substantial volume of the advertisement space in publications catering to Indians and
people of South Asian stock in New Zealand, Indian Weekender included.
It is not that such beliefs do not persist in other cultures – sure, there are ads
for clairvoyants, palm readers and soothsayers even in the mainstream New Zealand
media. But it is just that they are far more pronounced in South Asian culture, which is
what makes this whole business stand out so prominently and at times embarrassingly
when these agents of the spiritual world try to outdo each other with promises that are
plainly ludicrous.
This problem became so serious in India in the early 1950s, that the nascent Indian
Parliament passed an act to legally curb ads that promised magical remedies. It is
called the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954. Prom-
ising magical remedies, therefore, is prosecutable under Indian law. Even so, people
find creative ways of circumventing the law and the Indian media is awash with such
ads.
In any case, there is no recourse to such a law here and so astrologers and tantriks,
mostly those visiting here from the Indian subcontinent, have a free rein to promise the
moon (and alter your stars). For publications like ours, there is no case for legally re-
fusing paid ads so long as they do not outrage public decency or cause public disorder.
They are like any other advertiser since they are paying for the space they hire.
The embarrassingly overpromising nature and tacky quality of these ads that have
been appearing here even prompted Indian High Commissioner Admiral (Retd) Sureesh
Mehta to publicly state at a function in Auckland last month that Indian papers must
eschew carrying such ads, even offering to subsidise the publications to compensate
for lost revenue.
A week later, a mainstream television news channel carried out a sting operation
catching some of these so-called astrologers and tantriks on camera doling out highly
questionable remedies to the programme’s actors.
Subsidy or not, Indian Weekender, starting this anniversary issue, has now taken a
decision not to accept for publication ads that make magical promises and remedies,
using guidelines under the Indian Drugs and Magic Remedies Act for reference.
– Dev Nadkarni
Indian Weekender Volume 2 No 2
Publisher: Kiwi Media Group Limited
Group editor-in-chief: Dev Nadkarni dev@indianweekender.co.nz
Online editor: Arvind Kumar arvind@indianweekender.co.nz
India Correspondent: Shobha Rao shobha@indianweekender.co.nz
Chief Technical Officer: Rohan Desouza rohan@ indianweekender.co.nz
Design: Tanmay Desai desaidesign@gmail.com / www.desaign.co.nz
Advertising: Giri Gupta - Ph: 520 0922, Mob: 021 221 1131. Email - girigupta@xtra.co.nz
Please email original editorial contributions, community notices and pictures to
editor@indianweekender.co.nz
Views expressed in the publication are not necessarily of the publisher and the publisher
is not responsible for advertisers’ claims as appearingv in the publication
Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, New Market
and printed at APN Print, Ellerslie, Auckland
Copyright 2010. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.
34
Letters
The Intellectual dishonesty of Indias’ pseudo secularists
We received over 40 letters in response to this article. Here is a selection:
I am really impressed by the clear and concise manner the writer has put his point across. I do not
find this honesty in the journalists of the day, whether in India or away.
– Jeevan Vidyarthi
You have articulated brilliantly the views of a majority of Indians. A couple of editors of well known
journals have written how Hussain has been subject to harassment and threats and why he has
chosen to leave India for a ‘secular’ Qatar.
– Anand Sirur
Very well articulated. It’s seldom to find honesty in writing these days, everything’s all so politi-
cally correct and dishonest. I hope there are more articles like this in the future.
– Sundar Rajan
You couldn’t have put it better. I only wish you had also mentioned that it is not only the politicians
and power mongers but even some highly respected intellectuals – some of them Padma award
winners – act as votaries of such scum.
– Gourang Kodical
India is a multicultural,multi-ethic and multi-religous nation.Though dominantly Hindu the idea
of genuine secularism is critical for the country to survive and thrive and bring back the glory
the country has lost over the last five centuries. While the issue may seem small and of little
consequence,I agree that these Pseudo-secular views are not good for the country.We as Indians
should have the courage to stamp this behaviour out and concentrate on nation building in earnest.
– Sanjay
It is essential that the same yard stick be applied to M.F. Hussain, Salman Rushdie,Taslima
Nasreen,and the Danish Cartoonist The peudo secularists keep harping on the artistic freedom of
M.F.Hussain alone, for whom money is the sole consideration, irrespective of the insult and harm
he is causing to the harmony , among the people of India.
– Rabindra Nath
Excellently written. Silent majority of Hindus in India ask these questions,but pseudo secular multi
media won’t project their views, becuse they will not be favoured with Govt. advertisements.
– R. Venkatesan
Rotorua celebrates Race Relations Day with soccerfest
Congratulations to organizers of this event, this definitely will help harmony among all New Zea-
landers, remembering and feel proud of their own identities while respecting others.
Subra M Subramaniam
Didn’t even know a day like this existed. We need more initiatives like this to promote racial
harmony.
R Gupta
Rotorua scientist among top 100 Indians in the world
We received hundreds of letters in response to this article. Here is a selection:
We congratulate you on your selection as one of the distinguished 100 Indians, who serve as bridge
between the world communities non politically, let your service continue by the grace of Lord
Buddha.
– Ven.Dr.Bhikkhu Bodhipala
I’m a resident of Canberra,Australia and a Tamil speaking person who grew up in Mumbai. Con-
gratulations on the honour bestowed on you.
– Chandra Rangnath
Can National chew all that it has bitten off
National has taken cautious steps in its first term, understandibly so. It understands the difficulties
in a sudden change in policy of 9 previous years. Fundamentally the economic, social, political
policies of National have been in the right direction, but “Is it enough?” will be the question in
voters (read national supporters) mind when they vote next year. Labour supporters on the other
hand would be intact but a bit unhappy that their leaders have been weak opposition, but do they
have a choice.
– Sanjay
The burden of love
I dont think there are many city bred men that would even part take in this ritual - too soft and
havent been taught to appreciate a village bred girl. This love will definitely last a life-time. Well
done.
– Marissa
Wellingtonian is IW message Contest winner
Last week we ran a contest in the Indian Weekender weekly e-newsletter in which readers were
invited to send messages on the occasion of Indian Weekender’s first anniversary. It was tough
choosing the best from the 243 responses received in less than a week because so many of them were
so good. But we had to zero in on one and our in house panel has selected Christine Gounder of
Wellington as the winner. Christine wins a Westfield Gift Voucher, which will be delivered to her
shortly. Here is her winning message:
“Indian Weekender has made a mark in one year that most newspapers and businesses find hard
to do in the first 12 months. This in itself shows how popular and dependent readers are on the
Indian Weekender. I myself would not be kept up to date with what is happening in our Indian com-
munity, not only in terms of hard news but entertainment, politics and fun. The dedication that has
gone into this project has been worth it, keep up the good work, dear IW team.”
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Indian
What an amazing first year it has been
DEV NADKARNI
At the very beginning of my career in journal-
ism, my boss, editor Anant Pai – known to mil-
lions of Indians growing up anywhere in the
1970s and 1980s as the legendary ‘Uncle Pai’,
the father of Indian comics who created the im-
mortal Amar Chitra Katha series and Tinkle
magazine – gave me some sage advice.
“Young man,” he said. “At some point in your
life you will be consumed with the ambition of
starting your own publication. Remember, when
God wants to destroy you, He will appear in
your dreams and ask you to start a magazine.”
That quote came to my lips instantly when
Giri Gupta first spoke to me about his dream
of starting a new publication for Indians in
New Zealand. When I repeated Mr Pai’s wise
words Giri said, “But I think if we are sincere
of purpose and hardworking we can persuade,
convince and win over God to our side, to bless
us and help us achieve this dream.”
It was hard not to be enthused by his opti-
mism and strength of purpose that had a strong
undercurrent of practicality and business nous.
Over several meetings, which also saw useful
inputs from his friend and business associ-
ate Bhav Dhillon, a game plan for publishing
company Kiwi Media Group and Indian Week-
ender was launched in late 2008.
The two men left the planning of the design
and content mix entirely to the creative team
that rapidly fell in place soon afterward. But
they had one guiding principle that they wanted
everyone in the team to be mindful of: make a
conscious effort in projecting the positive side
of things especially in matters relating to Kiwi
The Taliban of Untouchability
Rakesh Krishnan Simha
The petty blacklisting of actor Amitabh Bachchan for being the brand ambassador of Gujarat exposes India’s
pseudo secularists for what they really are – a bunch of intolerant demagogues.
It’s a full-time job staying abreast of the colourful
epithets that come spinning out of India’s political
landscape. The latest one, “Taliban of untouchabil-
ity”, coined by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra
Modi, is interesting in its sweep.
The term is the perfect label for India’s pseudo
secularists who are trying to brand Modi –plus
anyone and everyone associated with him – into
a political untouchable for his alleged failure to
prevent the retaliatory killings of Muslims in 2002
following the murder of 57 Hindu pilgrims in
Godhra, Gujarat.
This gaggle of pseudo secularists comprises
sundry communists, Congress leaders, fringe aca-
demics, Muslim activists and sections of the media.
The pressure exerted by this group has been so suc-
cessful that Modi has become a four letter word for
some of India’s liberals.
And in tandem with Christian fundamental-
ist senators in the United States, this group has
even managed to influence Washington to ban the
democratically elected Indian leader from entering
America. (It’s another matter that America really
has no locus standi here, as it is an entirely domestic
Indian issue.)
The latest salvo by the anti-Modi nexus has
been fired at veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan,
whose only ‘fault’ was endorsing Gujarat tourism.
The Congress, in a 21 century reprise of McCarthy-
ism, has gone after the 67 year old actor, demanding
that Bachchan clarify what he thinks of Modi’s role
in the 2002 riots.
Even by the low standards of political dis-
course in India, the Congress’ malice pushes the
boundaries of generally accepted conduct. By their
rulebook, anyone and anything associated with
Modi is considered polluted. As the indefatigable
BJP leader said, “Next they’ll ban Amul butter and
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Indians.
While little about migrants appears in the
mainstream media in New Zealand or for that
matter in any country where immigrants are a
comparatively new phenomenon, when it does
it tends to be in a less than complimentary light.
In fact, that was a subject of animated dis-
cussion at a forum that brought
mainstream and ethnic
media together
in Christchurch
last month in
which Indian
Weekender par-
ticipated.
It was impor-
tant to enhance
the feel good
factor of living in
a country far from
home, to celebrate
life as a migrant
and helping in
whatever small
way in the process
of assimilation.
This was not always
happening in the
media outlets ca-
tering to Indians in
New Zealand. There
seemed to be a preponderance of negative re-
porting in our ethnic media, which needed to be
countered – that was the general consensus with
which Indian Weekender began. And a year
denim because they are both made in Gujarat.”
That remark was not far off the mark. The
Congress shouting brigade objected to Bachchan’s
presence at a government function in Mumbai, and
party workers ripped off posters of his actor son
Abhishek. The controversy is likely to erupt again
on May 1 when Gujarat observes its golden jubilee.
Bachchan will be taking part in the lavish celebra-
tions that the state government has planned, and
the Congress has warned the star’s presence in the
celebrations will again bring him in the line of fire.
Shrill sloganeering was a hallmark of Congress
politics even during M.K. Gandhi’s days, but now
it is totally replacing informed debate. The party
apparently is so frustrated at Modi’s popularity in
Gujarat that it is willing to blacklist the entire state.
In the eyes of India’s pseudo secularists, India’s
most prosperous and peaceful state is a rogue. In
fact, the Congress has declared it will be boycotting
the jubilee celebrations.
Lost in this haze of McCarthyism and out-
right lies is the real picture. Take the number of
those killed in the riots. Initially, the pseudo secu-
larists claimed 2000 Muslims were killed. Of late
the figure has been inflated to 3000. Who knows,
20 years from now it could snowball to a fantastic
number.
But facts tell a different story:
* In its issue dated 20 May 2002, India Today
weekly reported the Gujarat toll at 972. In this, India
Today included the 57 Hindus killed in Godhra.
* In May 2002, Nagpur’s The Hitavada reported
936 people killed – nearly identical to India Today’s
tally if you remove the Godhra figure.
* In a news item dated 11 May 2005, the Indian
Express quoted Congress leader and Minister of
State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal’s statement
before Parliament that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus
later, it has stuck by that dictum and has been
widely appreciated by the community – and
even honoured by the most important Indian or-
ganisation in New Zealand – for it.
The economic and business analyst pundits
told us that the timing for launch could not have
been worse. “Wait for a year,” one said. “Just
hold on till things begin to look up,” was
the general refrain, owing to the
dark clouds of the global
financial meltdown
that had gathered
menacingly all the
way to the horizon
with all their grim
foreboding.
But the eternal op-
timists at Kiwi Media
Group rightly surmised
that the only direction
to go in the worst period
in a recession is up – you
can’t go any lower. The
examples of successful
products launched during
an economic recession are
legion, the legendary iPod
included. So we soldiered on
regardless and here we are one
year later, having survived the
storm and now riding the slowly
rising wave of the economic recovery.
Like all start-ups the early days were fraught:
hard to convince advertisers who were constant-
ly warned by competitors not to waste money
were killed in the riots.
How many times have you read that Hindus too
were killed in the Gujarat riots? Has there been one
– just one – story, among the thousands, about some
NGO setting up a camp for the families of the 254
Hindus killed? At least I haven’t.
And that’s the crux of the matter. India’s secu-
larists will be out of a job if they reveal that Hindus
were killed as well. For them, the riots were a
pogrom, no less. For that reason they keep talking
about Muslim deaths alone.
To be sure, the killing of Muslims is to be con-
demned. Muslims are equal citizens of India – no
more, no less. However, because of the pseudo
secularists’ communal tilt, the killing of Hindu
pilgrims in Godhra is being airbrushed out of the
picture. If at all Godhra is mentioned, the purvey-
ors of lies coldly dismiss it as a Muslim backlash
against Hindutva. The same yardstick is not applied
to the Gujarat riots. Hindu fundamentalism, rather
than Hindu anger at Godhra, is to be blamed as per
the handbook of our warped secularists.
The same bunch applauding the Special Investi-
gation Team (SIT) for its marathon 10-hour grilling
of Modi is ignoring the fact that the agency had in
2009 censured NGOs and foaming-at-the-mouth
activist Teesta Setalvad who campaigned for the
riot victims. The SIT told the Supreme Court that
Setalvad invented macabre tales of wanton killings.
Indeed, many incidents of killings and violence
were cooked up, false charges were levelled against
then police chief P.C. Pandey and false witnesses
were tutored to give evidence about imaginary in-
cidents, the SIT said. It also found no truth in the
following incidents widely publicised by the NGOs
and repeated ad nauseam by the media:
* A pregnant Muslim woman Kausar Banu
was gangraped by a mob, who then gouged out the
Comment
in a new publication that wouldn’t last beyond
a couple of issues; logistical and administrative
issues; the economic recession … the list was
endless.
But the wise move of quickly adding digital
offerings paid off well. A full blown website
followed rapidly by an iPhone, smart phone
and now an iPad version, the addition of a sub-
scriber newsletter and a state of the art free web
business directory for Indian businesses went a
long way in establishing the brand and making
Indian Weekender the most visible and accessed
Kiwi Indian multimedia brand – complete with
text, graphics, audio, video and a growing list
of e-business options available for delivery on a
range of devices.
This, accompanied by compelling content, is
what has catapulted the Indian Weekender brand
beyond Auckland and New Zealand. Readers
in India, Fiji, Australia, the US, the UK, the
Middle East and some 33 countries access our
digital offering in substantial numbers that have
doubled every three months since launch.
None of this would have been possible
without the co-operation, positive response,
encouragement and the loyalty of our valued
readers and advertisers, to whom our deepest
thanks are due.
Standing on the threshold of our second year,
we would like to think God has been on our side.
I haven’t the heart to call my visionary former
boss Mr Pai – now living in graceful retirement
in Mumbai – and tell him that his advice can
sometimes be proved wrong. Not that my fine
one-time mentor won’t be happy.
foetus with sharp weapons. The media has not both-
ered to question Setalvad for this horrendous lie.
* Dumping of dead bodies into a well by rioters
at Naroda Patiya.
* Killing of foreign nationals who were on a
visit to Gujarat and got caught in the riots.
But the Goebbelsian propaganda has worked.
Many middle class Hindus were overcome with
revulsion after hearing stories of the riots, espe-
cially the fictitious one about the pregnant woman.
The liberal elite continue to associate Modi and the
Hindu parties with genocide and murderous acts
they never committed.
Such utter disregard for the truth is having ex-
tremely dangerous consequences. Several terror-
ists apprehended by the police have revealed they
were motivated to create terror cells and blow up
innocent people after reading about the so-called
pogroms.
May 1 will reveal how far the Congress will
go in baiting Modi. For all you know, the Congress
coterie might well slap a ban on Amul butter. After
all, in 1975 the same party got Kishore Kumar
songs unofficially banned from All India Radio
because the singer refused to perform at a Youth
Congress rally.
Isn’t it bizarre that we are living in an age when
India’s greatest actor is treated like an untouchable
for becoming the Brand Ambassador of an Indian
state, while another actor Shahrukh Khan is feted
for saying “Pakistan is a wonderful neighbour to
have”?
- Rakesh Krishnan Simha is a features writer at
Fairfax New Zealand. He has previously worked
with Businessworld, India Today and Hindustan
Times, and was news editor with
the Financial Express.
35
WHAT MAKES INDIAN
Indian
It is dedicated teamwork that has made Indian Weekender what it is today. As well as the fiercely committed core team that conceived the idea
and continues to inspire and propel the enterprise, IW owes its popularity to an equally dedicated set of contributors, media partners – and
of course the acceptance of our growing numbers of readers like you. On these pages we introduce you to the team that not just makes IW
possible – but also makes it the No 1 Kiwi Indian multimedia publication in New Zealand.
The silver haired bespectacled man, Giri Gupta,
started it all. Merely harbouring a dream can never
achieve anything. Turning it into reality by build-
ing a team and putting in place the right kind of
environment to make it possible is key. Giri, who
had for long dreamed of a positive, feel-good, cel-
ebratory newspaper for the Indian community here
in New Zealand waited patiently for years to build
a team. And when it came together, his drive and
commitment saw to it that the dream turned to
reality in just a matter of months.
At the centre is Bhav Dhillon, whose energy,
vision, entrepreneurial nous and sheer tireless
drive not only put together the building blocks of
the fledgling enterprise but carefully plotted the
road ahead. His speed and forward planning often
leaves the team out of breath. While the rest of the
team deals with the nitty gritty of the next story
or the next issue, Bhav is planning what the enter-
prise will look like six months down the line. His
Farida Master
Farida started her career
as a cub reporter with
Stardust, and then was
editor of the largest selling
Bollywood magazine.
She then launched a city
magazine titled `Citadel’ in
Pune – the longest surviv-
ing city magazine in India.
Farida was next asked to launch the glossy `Society
Fashion’ and host the Ford Super Model of the
World contest, India, that discovered the sizzling
model-actress, Bipasha Basu. Farida then moved
on to editing the eight page daily supplement of
Times of India’s Pune edition. She has also written
an iconic doctor who built a state-of-the-art hospi-
tal in India. Currently, she is the Features Editor of
`The Aucklander,’ a community newspaper with
The New Zealand Herald.
Oliver Pereira
Oliver is one who has jour-
neyed across the world
from India and finally
arrived in Auckland in
1996. Though qualified
as a mechanical engineer
and with a master’s in
marketing management he
realised very early that his
career was that of a solution provider. So started his
career in sales and he has never ever looked back
after that. Over a period of twenty years his sales
career took him through the engineering, leasing,
asset finance and banking industry. Getting finally
into the insurance field was his true calling and
his business has largely grown through word of
mouth. The Professional Advisers association of
New Zealand nominated him for the Adviser of the
year 2008/2009. His regular columns have been
deeply appreciated and he has a growing number
of readers following them.
Padmini Gaunder
Padmini Gaunder who
was born in India got
her MA (Madras Chris-
tian College) in 1965
and became a lecturer at
Queen Mary’s College,
Chennai (Madras). After
her marriage in 1966 she
came to Fiji. From 1967 to
1998 she taught in high schools in Fiji. The major
part of it was at Jasper Williams High School in
Lautoka. Her book, ‘Education and Race Rela-
tions in Fiji, 1835 to 1998’ was published in 1999.
She has been living in New Zealand since 2000.
36
management expertise, ability to build meaningful
associations everywhere and can do attitude have
kept the team charged up to face the challenges of
the crucial first year.
Editor-in-chief Dev Nadkarni (top right) has
worked in a range of media as a journalist, editor,
cartoonist, teacher and much else on three conti-
nents. His experience and skills in writing, pho-
tography, editing, multimedia content creation and
leveraging content have been invaluable in turning
IW into a successful multimedia entity. Dev also
writes for mainstream NZ media including the Na-
tional Business Review (NBR), the New Zealand
Herald and publications and websites in Australia,
across the Pacific region and the European Union
on Pacific and South Asian matters. He is also a
frequent commentator on television and a consul-
tant on Pacific regional projects of organisations
like the United Nations, besides others.
The editorial leadership on IW online comes
Padmini got her M.Phil from Waikato University
in 2006. Her second book, ‘An Elusive Dream:
Multiracial Harmony in Fiji, 1970-2000’ was pub-
lished as an online publication by VDM Verlag,
Germany. Fijian Studies Journal has been publish-
ing her papers in its recent issues. Her articles for
the Indian Weekender are based on her research
and experiences.’
Prashant Belwalkar
Prashant is a professional
with a high creative capa-
bility. A computer engi-
neer by profession, he is
actively involved in com-
munity work, through the
Migrant Heritage Chari-
table Trust Inc (MigHT-i).
He is also a keen sports
enthusiast, an avid traveller and a theatre personal-
ity and is passionate about Indian culture and roots.
Prashant has been contributing to Indian Weekend-
er since inception mainly through the sports and
community pages. Prashant also presents regular
radio programmes on Planet FM and has per-
formed and organised several plays in Auckland.
He has always been interested in public speaking
and presenting and Indian Weekender has given
him an opportunity to explore his talents further,
he says. Working for the government in promoting
the exporting companies has given him the oppor-
tunity to contribute meaningfully not only to the
social sector but also to the commercial one.
Rām Lingam:
Rām is from Mumbai,
India and has been in
New Zealand for more
than decade. He is a keen
Indology enthusiast and
has specific interest in the
wisdom traditions of India.
Despite his awe and love
for India’s antiquity he is
a realist and likes to bring relevance to historical
facts only to become self aware about our identity.
Rām has been long associated with the Chinmaya
Mission where his passion for the sacred study of
‘Vedanta’ and related interests like Indology got
nurtured. He believes that much of our wellbeing
lies in our wisdom and understanding of the world
inside and outside ourselves. Rām also voluntarily
manages some community projects promoting
health and wellbeing in the South Asian and Indian
communities. In his professional life he is a learn-
ing designer.
from online editor Arvind Kumar (to Dev’s right)
who has long and rich experience in journalism
with the Fiji Times, Fiji Sun, Waikato Times, New
Zealand Herald and several Fairfax Media publica-
tions. He is now chief sub-editor at NZ Rural Press.
Arvind’s grassroots contacts in both the Indian and
Fijian Indian community in NZ are invaluable and
his reporting of sports and community events on
IW and IW online have brought a unique local
flavour that readers always look forward to.
Below him is IW’s resident tech whiz Rohan
DeSouza. As IW’s chief technology officer, Rohan
has spearheaded the design and implementation of
a mind-boggling range of interactive features on
our digital services and the adaptation of digital
content to smart phones, the iPad and our archi-
val content on the Knowledge Basket NZ database
that is accessed by NZ’s most prestigious organi-
sations. The man who web mastered the TV3
website is now engaged with developing a number
Rashmi Shenoy
Rashmi writes for IWK
in her spare time. She
was born and brought
up in Bangalore and has
been in Auckland, since
2001. She enjoys travel,
movies, reading, writing,
good music, single malts
& Margaritas and good
company of course. Her most recent travel destina-
tion has been the Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers
in the South Island of NZ. Rashmi believes in pro-
moting women entrepreneurs and believes very
strongly against cruelty toward animals. While
talking about women she says “A woman has to
work twice as hard as a man to get half the recogni-
tion he gets… luckily it’s not very hard.”
Ravi Mehta
Ravi Mehta is direc-
tor, Professional Finan-
cial Solutions Limited, a
company set up in April
2003, which provides
various financial services
under one roof. Originally
from Ludhiana in India,
where he was a practic-
ing Chartered Accountant, he migrated to New
Zealand in 2002. PFSL offers mortgage broking
services, insurance broking services, accounting
and taxation services, financial advisory services
including KiwiSaver, business planning, and per-
sonal financial planning.
Ravi has passed various taxation and business laws
exams in NZ and strives to keep my knowledge up
to date, which he also shares with Indian Week-
ender readers in every issue. “During last one year
I have made an honest attempt to share my knowl-
edge and opinions on a range of personal financial
issues. I hope readers have benefited from those,”
he says.
Rakesh Krishnan
Rakesh Krishnan Simha
is a journalist with 15
years experience. He
started his career with
New Delhi-based Busi-
nessWorld magazine, and
later worked in a string of
positions at other leading
media houses such as
India Today, Hindustan Times, Business Standard
and the Financial Express, where he was the news
editor. He has also written for development agency
OneWorld South Asia, Indian website eSamskriti.
com, NRI magazine India Empire, and US news
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
of ebiz and ecom options on our digital offerings
to bring value to our readers and advertisers never
before seen in the Kiwi Indian marketplace. Watch
this space!
To Bhav’s left is Tanmay Desai, the baby of
the team but a designer par excellence. His formal
graphic design training and experience in working
with leading New Zealand media is what has
brought all the design sophistication, colourful
outlook and snazzy layout to IW, which has been
so greatly appreciated by readers.
Below Tanmay is Zulfikarali Thrikannur, our
logistic expert without whom IW cannot reach the
160+ points of distribution in greater Auckland
and many more across New Zealand. To his right is
Amanjyot Singh, the newest member in our graph-
ics team.
And below, we are proud to present our valued
contributors.
portal Oped News. It’s a measure of his standing in
journalism that his stories have been used as refer-
ence at Canadian think tank Global Research and
by the anthropology department at the National
University of Ireland, Maynooth. In 2007, Simha
joined Fairfax New Zealand as a features writer.
Ruby Dhillon
Ruby has been consis-
tently writing simple and
easy recipes from our first
issue through her popular
cuisine column. Since
she is not a professional
chef, her simple style goes
down well with readers
who find the instructions
easy to follow and the ingredients easily available.
The feedback from our readers has been awesome
– many have begun scrapbooks, cutting out the
recipes for easy reference. Ruby also is deeply
passionate about working with young children to
improve their basic numeracy and literacy skills.
She volunteers for this cause and has started a pro-
gramme aimed at young children who need help
and support during their early, formative years.
She is currently working on forming a charitable
trust where she can harness support from the wider
community to scale up the effort to help young
New Zealanders. She is a proud mother to Abheet
(6) and Aksheen (9), who along with their dad
provide her with the inspiration and drive to go out
and work with young children. She can be contact-
ed by email at ruby.dhillon@xtra.co.nz
Subhash Apanna
Subhash Appana is an
academic and political
commentator who began
writing columns way
back in 1991 when he
joined the University of
the South Pacific as a
lecturer in management
and business studies. His
focus has largely been on
Fiji even though he has on occasion written about
Japan where he spent close to 6 years studying, re-
searching and working. His research has led to the
presentation of a number of papers at international
conferences in Fiji, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne,
London, Hanoi and Singapore. This has inevita-
bly resulted in publications in respected interna-
tional journals. Subhash began writing from the
very second edition of the Indian Weekender and
continues to contribute regularly to an established
readership.
N WEEKENDER No. 1
Indian

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 37

Indian
In tune with the universe
From being down in the dumps, personally and professionally to soaring high in every sphere of her life, Angelique Jurd talks
about her enlightening journey that turned her life by 360 degrees. The Publications Editor, Times House Publishing shares her
happiness mantra with Farida Master.
Angelique Jurd couldn’t believe her eyes as she
saw the car speeding on the opposite side of the
road swerve through the yellow line at breakneck
speed.
It happened so quickly. The collision of cars
on the wrong side of the road. The other car in
front turned 180 degrees and came hurtling
towards them. For a few moments all the four
passengers in the car stopped breathing.
When she finally opened her eyes, she saw
that both her children in the back seat and her
partner who was in the driver’s seat --- were ab-
solutely safe, without a scratch! Though all the
passengers in the other two cars were in a very
critical state.
When her daughter who was travelling with
Angelique’s parents a couple of cars behind,
walked up to her mother, she just collapsed out
of shock!
Something had miraculously saved them.
Even the serious crash unit, the police and the
fire brigade found it difficult to believe that they
were the victims in the car that had been com-
pletely battered.
Angelique says it was chanting.
Just moments ago all of them had been chant-
ing in the car and the proud mother of three had
put her chanting beads beside her when her life
passed by in a flash.
Cut to the beginning of the fascinating story
how Angelique’s life took a ‘dramatic turn
mainly because of the practice. The Publications
Editor, Times House Publising says she discov-
ered chanting quite by chance.
It was on her American friend Linda’s recom-
mendation that Angel whose life was a complete
38
mess, took up chanting.
However, three month later she had a little
crisis of faith.
“I am the kind of person who needs to see
results,’’ she openly admits.
“So I told myself that I wanted a sign in the
next one hour. It’s funny that I
wanted proof not in a month’s
time but in just sixty minutes.
I remember I was in a particu-
larly bad mood that morning.
At exactly five minutes to an
hour, my mobile rang. It was
Laura Louise calling from
Howick. She wanted to know
if I needed any guidance or in-
formation. Apparently, Linda
had called her from America.
I couldn’t believe that I was
looking for a sign and I got it. If
she’d called ten minutes later,
my life probably would have
been different, ” she concedes.
That’s how she discovered
the practice seven years ago!
But it wasn’t as if every thing
was hunky- dory right from the
start. “The more I chanted for
my husband and I to be happy,
the worse it got,” she comes clean about being
stuck in a bad marriage.
Till one day she happened to be at a Bruce
Springsteen show. Caught in the middle of the
pouring rain she had a moment. “It struck me that
I was really miserable. My life was a complete
mess. I had a job I hated and a marriage that just
wasn’t working,” expounds the die-hard Bruce
Springsteen fan. So she went home and took
control. She simply told her husband, ‘I can’t do
this anymore.’ He said ‘ok.’ They parted!
Angelique was left with a debt, three kids,
cats, dogs, a collection of 300 cds of her favourite
American singer-songwriter
and chanting. To add to the
chaos in her life, she got fired
from her job.
Though on hindsight she
thinks that’s the best thing
that happened to her. It
helped her to take stock of
her life.
“If there was one thing I
always wanted to do since I
was twelve years old, it was
paint pictures in the mind,
like Bruce Springsteen did.
I always wanted to be a
writer,” she traces the very
raison d’ etre of her exis-
tence.
On most days she chanted
`Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo’
half an hour in the morning
and half an hour in the
evening. Soon, she was very
purposefully creating her own destiny.
She met a new man she could easily connect
with. His marriage had broken down as well
and cupid played its part to the hilt. Now Angel
can’t stop smiling as she looks at her beautiful
amethyst engagement ring that her fiancé has just
slipped on her finger.
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Personality
The lady who is at complete peace with herself
says that her seventeen-year-old son chants out of
choice, and funnily enough some of his friends
also request him to chant for them. Neither is she
a stranger to her colleagues occasionally popping
into her cabin and happily asking her to chant for
some special results!
On a more serious note, she explains that the
core of SGI Buddhist philosophy is the potential
of every individual to lead a happy life.
“Chanting is about being in tune with the
universe. Whether you chant, meditate, pray, it
is about having a spiritual compass and being
true to yourself. It’s like devoting yourself to the
laws of cause and effect through sound,” she says
shedding some light on the laws of the universe.
Talking about her enlightening spiritual
journey she says, “Often I’d make a list of things
we wanted and then chant as a family. A classic
example was of our house. With three kids, cats
and dogs, we needed at least four bedrooms, two
lounges, two bathrooms, a swimming pool, a spa
and a good school zone of course! Soon enough
we got a house that fitted all our requirements.
The same went with my job. I made a list of all
the things I wanted in an ideal job and six months
ago I looked at the list and realised I have it all!
“Of course this doesn’t mean that chanting is
like a magic wand,” she points out. “In fact in
Buddhism we believe that every obstacle should
be seen as an opportunity to make your life
better.
“To be honest, it doesn’t matter which path
you take as long as you have faith and take a path.
A change in a single person can change the whole
nation,” she concludes.
Indian

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 39

Indian
Shahrukh Khan’s theatre of the absurd
Shahrukh Khan has developed a penchant for hurting Indian sensibilities. Now, by describing Pakistan as a good
neighbour, the actor has hit a new low.
Shahrukh Khan is among the most famous
people in India. His popularity and influence
now extend well beyond the reel world. As the
owner of the IPL cricket team, Kolkata Knight
Riders, he has become a power player in the
high-octane world of Twenty/20, which is fol-
lowed by hundreds of millions of people world-
wide. The likes of Brendon McCullum and
John Buchanan, both cricketers are known to
genuflect at a mere signal from him. Congress
politicians and their children queue up to get his
autographs. Clearly, Shahrukh wields power.
With power comes responsibility. Celebri-
ties from minority communities have an even
bigger responsibility because they – often un-
wittingly – become the face of the community.
This is something the late Feroz Khan under-
stood.
Four years ago, responding to a provoca-
tive Pakistani TV anchor, the legendary actor
said, “India is a secular country where a Sikh
Prime Minister and a Muslim President are the
pride of the nation, unlike Pakistan which was
created for Muslims but where Muslims are
killing each other.”
Feroz Khan’s statement mattered because
it went a big way in reinforcing in the Indian
Muslim’s mind that Pakistan is indeed a disas-
ter. Coming from a popular Indian Muslim, it
drilled home the message that Indian Muslims
should not look at Pakistan as some sort of
promised Islamic land west of the border.
To be sure, the statement did send the
Muslims of Pakistan into a tizzy. Ever since the
creation of Pakistan, the people of that country
have believed – more in hope than faith – that
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40
Anniversary Special
the Indian Muslims are a fifth column within from the jehadis of 26/11. cricket,” he said in a press conference. Anyone
India who will one day overthrow the Hindus To the neutral observer Shahrukh seems to who has seen Ganguly and Dravid bat in 2010
and complete the ultimate aim of Pakistan, be saying that it’s okay to live with Pakistan tor- would think Buchanan is mad. Shahrukh did
which is to recover the lost ‘glory’ of Hindu- menting us at will. For people like him, a can- not reprimand Buchanan for snubbing Indian
stani Muslims. So when Feroz Khan rubbished dlelight vigil, a minute’s silence, the odd rant on players.
Pakistan, there was a great deal of heartburn, Facebook is more than enough secularism for In fact, in a series of leaks during IPL 2009,
bewilderment and anger among sections of the the week in question. someone claiming to be a Kolkata Knight
Pakistani elite -- from As R. Vaidyanathan, Riders team member said the Australian coach
the (now grounded) analyst and professor of and trainers regularly abused the Indian players.
rocket scientist down Things haven’t gotten any better finance, Indian Insti- Wanting to sideline Ganguly, Buchanan spun
to the humble talk tute of Management- an elaborate theory of multiple captains, which
show host.
in 2010. Shahrukh is the only team Bangalore, wrote after was promptly forgotten once Ganguly was fired
However, by shoot- owner in the IPL who publicly – es- the Mumbai attacks as captain. You’d be excused for thinking this
ing off his mouth, in 2008, our pseudo was some Australian tournament. Not surpris-
Shahrukh is undoing
pecially on Twitter – flogs his dis- secular elite has got it ingly, the team finished at the bottom of the
all the good work satisfaction with his team’s and even all wrong. According table.
Things haven’t gotten any better in 2010.
achieved by Feroz
Khan and other truly
indi- vidual cricketers’ performances. to him, the attitude of
this class is that “if we Shahrukh is the only team owner in the IPL
secular Muslims like He has been reduced to a farce. are slapped on both the who publicly – especially on Twitter – flogs his
him. In fact, he has cheeks we should feel dissatisfaction with his team’s and even indi-
developed a penchant bad that we do not have vidual cricketers’ performances. He has been
for making absurd statements such as “Pakistan a third cheek to show. reduced to a farce.
is a good neighbour to have”. No sane person “Such is our strategic thinking in this Shahrukh Khan must keep his mouth shut
would say something as outrageous as that. complex world since … the elite don’t think if he cannot say something useful. Sure, as a
One doesn’t have to reel off statistics to prove through issues. Better to be simple in our talks movie star, publicity is his oxygen – after all,
that Pakistan is by no means a good neighbour and vicious in our actions rather than the other there’s no such thing as bad publicity – and
to have. Nearly every bomb blast in India – and way.” controversies magically transform his tired
increasingly worldwide – can be traced back The actor’s record in hurting Indian sensi- tearjerkers into hits. That’s his prerogative. But
to Pakistan. In fact, after the murderous attack bilities remains consistent. Last year, when the he should stop insulting the memory of Indians
on Mumbai by Pakistani terrorists who killed IPL cricket tournament was temporarily moved who are victims of violence abetted and encour-
173 people, including 54 Muslims, there is no to South Africa, he replaced the highly popular aged by Pakistan.
reason to treat Pakistan with kid gloves. With Sourav Ganguly as skipper and foisted McCul- Dancing at weddings may be a handy source
his sweeping statements, Shahrukh is insulting lum on his team. of income, but Shahrukh must not forget that he
the memory of the innocent civilians who were Buchanan, his Australian coach, publicly owes his wealth, fame and adulation to India,
brutally killed and the commandos and police- insulted Indian players. “Sourav, Dravid and where millions love his movies.
men who died in their attempt to free Mumbai Laxman have reached the twilight in T20 - Rakesh Krishnan
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Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Indian

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Indian
Anniversary Special

Indians can make whatever they want of NZ

Michael Field
A long time back in Samoa, there were legendary the way in which the Samoa relationship with this power of the belief in culture and art that those in yet I know a Blockhouse Bay intermediate school
stories of people leaving for New Zealand. Every- country has so radically changed. Prayas hold close to them. No, its not a patronising Mumbai born kid who I would swear is set some
one knew the merits of moving off to a new land, Prayas’ ideological head, Amit Ohdedar, wrote admiration, rather it’s a recognition, born in part day to be a prime minister of New Zealand, or a
indisputably colder than Samoa and a good deal an interesting play last year, Khoj, which managed of a long experience of the New Zealand way, that Nobel Prize scientist. Maybe both, she has that kind
younger, filled by palagi, or white people, with little to discuss the Indian New Zealand experience in Indians in the longer run, will be as important to of talent.
culture but insufferably arrogant. terms of how a chap approaches the toilet. this country as anybody else – and certainly as im- And she’ll bring a millennium or two of Bharat
Leaving was such a wrench, accompanied with While the general topic gives me pause to smile portant and perhaps greater than my Irish/English culture with her, and she will be as Kiwi as Jonah
many tears and (on a train to Delhi, I photographed that amusing forebears. Lomu.
much grief at Faleolo airport. Go there now, sign “Gentleman will lift the seat” in Indian Rail It is hard to understand Indians who complain
and you would swear it was just an extension of the toilet), I was uneasy over Khoj. about New Zealand and its attitudes toward them. In - Michael Field is a senior journalist with
Auckland bus service. People now come and go Not from an Indian perspective, but knowing the short term, I can see the point; the job discrimi- Fairfax Media. A long time India lover, he has
between Auckland and Apia as a matter of weekly that the white New Zealander, might see in it a justi- nation infuriates me and the occasional outbursts of been visiting the country frequently indulging in
routine. fication of their own superiority. crude racism are outrageous. his passion of travelling in trains and writing and
“Tofa,” some one calls, “see you next week… A good review in The Listener – the indisput- Yet, there is another side. This country, perhaps photographing his travels. His latest book, Swim-
“Or the week after and who knows where, but, hey able White Man’s cultural totem – suggests my fears the planet’s last, is the classic tabula rasa. Indians ming with Sharks, an account of covering the South
man, whatever.” were wrong. can make of this country whatever they want. Pacific, will be published by Penguin in August.
Samoans, occupied by Germans and New Zea- Others in Prayas bring a passion for the culture We make of it what we can; no matter the origin
landers in the colonial era, are now busy colonising of Mother India, a kind of missionary zeal trying to or the race. No, the Southern Alps will
New Zealand. I’ll concede it hasn’t been a painless overcome the poor New Zealander lost in a set of neve r overshadow the Himalayas
process. For all that though, it is striking that New beliefs which says this is god’s own country.
Zealand is a nation where we give all races, in the I am mostly left in awe at the
end, a go.
No, it is not perfect. I’ve seen at close quarters the
aching, ridiculous discrimination against Indians
when it comes to seeking employment. Each time I
see an Indian taxi driver, or an Indian security guard
I curse the stupidity of the nation of my birth for the
wasted opportunity that each represents. We never
quite seem to learn not to repeat the wastage with
each new migrant.
Isolation, the central dominating reality of life
here, blinds many to the opportunities that the latest
band of migrants brings to New Zealand. In other
words, I know why Indians have such a hard time
getting jobs. So did others before them; it is the result
of a stupid, blind, irritating feature of the secret su-
periority of the soul of white New Zealanders.
I admire people like Prayas, the Auckland
Indian theatre group trying to reach and change that
insular heart of New Zealand. It is a hard slog, but
far from an impossible one if you were to reflect on The cast of Khoj

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42 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian

APN Print congratulates the Indian Weekender on its first anniversary

and is proud to be the printer of this great paper.
APN Print wishes Giri and all associated with the Indian Weekender
a prosperous next 12 months.

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Customer priority
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“Our seven New Zealand sites — which combined provide a contingency unbeatable by any other printing company — each has a dedicated customer
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Highest standards
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Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 43

Indian
What makes a columnist?
Subhash Appana’s take on the joys and aches of being a commentator
I take this opportunity to answer a question
that almost every columnist has had to field at
some stage in their lives. As one writes, readers
take notice and the more regular the writing, the
greater the interest in knowing about the col-
umnist as well as what makes him/her tick. In
this anniversary column I attempt to share with
readers what triggered my interest and contin-
ues to make me tick as a columnist.
I realised way back when I was a little boy in
Taveuni that I liked listening to stories from my
mother who was an avid reader of Hindi novels.
Every time my father made a trip to Suva, one
of the must-get items was books for my mother
from Desai Bookshops. Little did she know
that her pleasure was far surpassed by my own
because I knew that sooner or later she’d tell us
those stories.
Then I came across Phantom comics at my
paternal great-grandmother’s house and it was
one of the highlights of my almost regular visits
there. There came a stage when I used to disap-
pear with Phantom, Hero and Devil for hours in
the huge wooden building that housed Nani and
her youngest son.
After that, reading became a hobby, and it
was therefore, only natural that I’d start writing.
At school my essays always invoked praise
from teachers. This fondness for reading and
writing followed me into university where I won
the Pacific Writers’ Forum’s inaugural short-
story competition in 1985. After that, I wrote
a number of short stories that remained in my
room.
At that time, the fallout from the 1981 Spring-
bok tour of New Zealand was still an issue for
heated debate. A Solomon Island student by the
Nation Building must be inclusive and on firm ground
Gopinath Mavinkurve
The Maoist movement has reached menac-
ing proportions in India. Last week, militants
killed over 70 police personnel prompting the
Home Minister to resign – something that
was not accepted by the Prime Minister. But
the Maoist movement is gaining ground. And
no indigenous movement can gain ground
without some form of grassroot support. It
has long been known that these militants draw
sustenance from the dispossessed millions
in India’s remote rural and forest areas, who
have been left out of the spoils of India’s near
double digit growth. This article by no means
provides the answers – but looks at how greater
inlusiveness in policy could help.
Whenever an urbanite like me, who has
been making a living in the city of Mumbai,
takes a vacation to visit Goa with its pristine
beaches or the serene Hill-stations of Himach-
al Pradesh in the northern India, or wildlife
parks of Gujarat one wonders how long would
it be that future generations would be able to
enjoy the pleasures of unspoiled nature? In
our quest to make a decent living, we have put
up with cramped apartments in a cluster of
high-rises and traversed congested roads that
cities call “highways”, perhaps to retain that
sense of humour in public life.
We are all ambitious. We want to grow –
and fast! Our GDP needs to run, if we want to
be in the race with the neighbouring dragon
country. Our measure of progress is linked to
this magical figure that the government pub-
lishes after ensuring that all our citizens are
‘economically active’ producing things that we
ought to consume – consumer electronic prod-
ucts, white goods, packaged foods, soft drinks
and of course watch movies, IPL cricket
matches at grounds across the country.
We also want global investors to come in
and set up their industries in our vast country
so that our teeming millions have jobs to pay
for the goods we want to sell them. Though
44
It is a labour of love that comes from an internal
drive to make a difference. My journey as a
columnist continues, and if in some humble way it
opens up new avenues of thinking, the effort will
not have been wasted.
name of John Ipo wrote a strong piece in the
Pacific Beat against sporting engagements with
the pariah apartheid state of South Africa. And
I engaged him in a prolonged debate in the same
university publication.
I guess that was the beginning of my writing
opinion columns. At about the same time, I used
to write short pieces for the Letter-to-the-Editor
column of the Fiji Times whenever I felt strong-
ly about something. These however, were not
columns by any stretch of the imagination.
My passion for writing opinion columns in
earnest was aroused while I was pursuing my
MA at Sophia University in Japan. An avid
fan of famed Chicago Tribune columnist Mike
Royko, I got into a public debate in the Japan
Times after criticizing a Royko column that
over-dramatized the ‘hegemonic peril” posed
by Japan’s economic success at the time.
This made for some interesting comments
and discussions with my colleagues at univer-
sity. At one stage, the redoubtable Professor
Robert Ballon commented in class, “I can see
some of us are getting into the papers with our
the financial sector liberalisation did begin in
the early 1990s, ironically when the foreign
exchange reserves dipped to an all time low
of a few weeks’ needs, the thrust needed to
give a boost to the manufacturing sector by
way of a giant leap, came about at the turn of
the century, in the year 1999, when the idea
of Special Economic Zones, was conceived by
the Indian government, and with the hope that
it would prove to be an “engine for growth”.
The idea was simple – all the existing
export processing zones (then) were set up by
the central government and at that juncture,
the government had no intention to invest any
further in new zones, nor did it really wish to
maintain existing ones forever. The govern-
ment was already convinced by the argument
put forth by industry bodies that it running
businesses or industries was not their domain
and it was best left to specialists in their re-
spective fields. There was no provision in the
law to allow private participation in setting
up such zones – the SEZs allowed them to
participate in the growth of this sector. This
Anniversary Special
opinions”. That, to me, was a vote of approval
from what was the highest authority in my life at
the time and I never looked back. “Have opinion
- Will write” became my motto.
When I returned to Fiji and joined USP
in 1991, writing took a back seat until I was
again goaded to write – this time about the
“Iraq Problem” and its link to US oil interests.
After that, a number of USP colleagues simply
“pushed” me to continue writing.
In those days life at USP involved drinking/
eating parties that began on Fridays and almost
invariably dragged into Sundays. There were so
many chickens, ducks and goats that fell prey to
our group of competitive carnivores. We would
engage in unending debates that inevitably got
heated at a certain stage – before the singing.
The seeds for my columns usually came from
there.
After the coup of 2000, I began writing with
renewed vigour and that has now spilled over
into my pieces in the Indian Weekender. Many
have asked me why I continue to target ousted
PM Laisenia Qarase and why I hate him so
presented an enormous opportunity for devel-
opers and builders to jump into the fray, which
they did aided primarily by the dangling carrot
of corporate tax exemption for 15-years for
newly set up SEZs!
After a flurry of activity in the years fol-
lowing the opening up of this sector to private
participation, over 300 SEZ projects were ap-
proved by the government spread all over the
country! The booster shot had indeed worked
and it was soon time to experience the side-
effects of the industrial Viagra – reports of
farmer protests, land-grabbing, exploita-
tion, unfair means, local strong-arm tactics
to evacuate marginal land owners, politicians
and activists leading big time showdowns (like
Nandigram) ruled media headlines. The SEZ
policy came under fire.
But was the policy really flawed? In my
humble opinion, it isn’t. In fact, SEZ or no
SEZ, the rehabilitation policy for project af-
fected persons (PAP) has not been addressed
at all for any industrial or infrastructural de-
velopment of states. State governments have
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
much. Some have commented that I appear to
be a supporter of the Bainimarama coup or at
least an apologist for it.
All of these are way off the mark. I have
never hated anyone in my life even though I
have referred to Qarase as Darth Vader of Star
Wars fame. That’s because his moustache, voice
and upper-body profile have reminded me of
that dark knight. More to the point, Qarase was
doing a lot of bad things for the long-term stabil-
ity of Fiji.
I continue to be against the rearrangement,
abuse and circumventing of established systems
of governance in Fiji by the Qarase regime. He
was steadily institutionalizing a complex system
of plunder in the name of “Fijian interests” by a
cabal of connected individuals. Every institu-
tion that he touched was used to siphon funds to
a small group of individuals in the name of the
larger Fijian community.
And there he was, presiding over the country
as PM despite a track record littered with finan-
cial shambles and failures. My Greed columns
are aimed at identifying, analyzing and reveal-
ing to the public how this sophisticated system
of plunder was made to work. A large part of
my academic training and research provides the
tools needed for this.
To those who have written to me with en-
couragement, there is no greater reward for a
columnist than when a reader acknowledges his
writing. It is a labour of love that comes from an
internal drive to make a difference. My journey
as a columnist continues, and if in some humble
way it opens up new avenues of thinking, the
effort will not have been wasted. That’s what
drives me as a columnist. Stay tuned!
been in deep slumber over how to be fair to the
displaced inhabitants of the land, where the
country needs to set up a dam or an airport,
or a mining company! Tribal populations are
facing displacement because of some natural
resources that lie under the earth upon which
they grow their vegetation and subsist on
meagre means that nature provides.
But we have a dilemma here – if industri-
alisation has to progress and large investments
in steel/mining companies that global indus-
trialists like Lakshmi Mittal dream to set up,
have to become a reality, we need to address
this issue. We cannot wish away the original
inhabitants of these interiors, the tribals or just
drive them away. Bloodshed can be avoided by
sitting down together with them and resolv-
ing these issues. Unfortunately, we cannot
produce more land – nor can we produce more
Mahatmas like Mahatma Gandhi! So what’s
the way ahead? I guess it is for the industry
heads to work along with the central and state
governments to work toward an amicable so-
lution by way of a good rehabilitation policy,
so that we can have those new industries up
and running, providing jobs and producing all
those goods, that we urbanites are used to and
simply cannot give up.
This is that “inclusive growth” that is es-
sential right now. So when industrialists roll
out the red carpet for their guests at the in-
augural function of their plants, we can hope
that the carpet has not been reddened with the
blood spills of the sacrifices of the original
inhabitants of the land on which we build our
future.
- Gopinath Mavinkurve is a manage-
ment professional, specialising in Foreign
Trade Policy, Export Incentives, setting up of
Export Oriented Units and Special Economic
Zones in India. He works for a multinational
electronic manufacturing services company
in Mumbai.
Indian

ForÊMoreÊinformationÊContact
Dr. Mohinder Paul
021-1664791, mohinder@nzstt.com
or
Vivek Varma
021 818022, vivek@nzstt.com
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 45
 Indian
Milestones of year one
Indian W eek en de r
ma k es its de bu t Bennett launches new Indian paper

David Robie
po -
more recently,
ith bo th ec on omically, and
w
rongly in New ainly because
of
m ed ia ol d ha nds feat ure st kly newspa- litically. en possible m genuity, hard
Fiji l In di an w ee “T ha t ha s be in
nationa r propensity for
Zealand’s new Social Development Ministe Indians’ great ltu ral values
and
la un ch ed by iv al in A uc k- e to th ei r cu re
per ol i M el a fe st or k, ad he re nc to an y cu ltu
at the H w assimilate in
Paula Ben nett e in na te ab ili ty to
entit y.
land today. an Week- th ng their ow n id
r D ev N ad ka rni of the Indi r at the while yet preser vi ibutes of Indians in New
Edito coordinato tr
“It is these at ans – that we at the Indian
er jour nalism -
ender is a form South Pacific and chief report al an d – K iw i Indi
e ly Ze h to celebrate.” com munity to
University of th Singh is a former Fiji Dai Weekender wis
T ha ku r R an jit m ni st fo r th e ap pealed to the “interac-
er
is he r an d cu rrently a colu Nad karni th e paper with an
Post publ come in vo lv ed in
Fiji Times. by K iwi be
32 -p ag e pa per, published fo r th e tiv e discou rse”. feat ured a st ri
king layout
The of 80 00 ed iti on om
had a pr int ru n The fir st , a graduate fr Editor Dev Nad karni says the pape
Media Group, ai m ed at an increasingly ar t di re ct or Tanmay Desai or ke d as a de- trying to give well-rounded content
r is come by.
d is in by previously w pro-
first edition an t of about 120,000 Indians AUT U ni ve rs ity w ho
ald. duced for the people who live away “But our management saw that
it
competitive m
arke ew Zealand Her t from is probably the best time - we are
al an d. ar ke t in - signer for the N focused on the Indian cr icke their original home.
bottom and we can only go up.”
at the
New Ze an d th e m fr on t pa ge an d on its “There are columns writ ten by expe
uckland The
dealing to New
Zeal
Most live in A ijian com munity. am – cu rrently ood with the NZ success of on IT needs for businesses, taxa
rts Another challenge to compete with
st ro ng In do -F in g th e te tion, is another long–established newspap
cludes a r will be ch
alleng ly w
tour – and Bol Millionaire feat ured in a stor
y mor tgages and all the valuable info er,
The new pape an Newslin k newspaper, e fil m Sl um dog m er on fir e”. tion that Indian experts living in NZ
rma- Indian Newslink, which is distr
ibuted
d In di th iwi su m need.
long-establishe “Set ting the K local fortnightly around New Zealand and
r fo rt ni gh tly. ci fic M ed ia headlined on included national news, “For women, child ren and youn
g a circulation of 65,000, according
has
an ot he
G up ta to ld th e Pa T he ed iti ne w s, bu si ness, people, we have separate sections to its
Publisher Gir i nd er ai m ed to do a “t ra ditio n” , Indian hu m ou r, the first time in the newspaper here
. For website.
dian Weeke news, ity news,
Centre the In g th e “m an y untold positive finance, opinion, com mun two-page spread have two pages dedicated to child ren
, we It also has similar objectives, aimi
ng
nnin
better job in ru an com munity successes. events, a only. to be a platform for Indian com mun
ctivity”, rasoi, ges of Bolly wood news These talk about Indian values. ity
stor ies” about
Indi re op po rt u- “produ se ve n pa issues and to raise the profile of the
ans have th at ra of Fiji news an d “sexiest luck y “There are also comics and illustra- com-
“We K iwi Indi of both worlds and most of a fu ll pa ge devoted to the tions for child ren,” he says. munity.
e best with f.
nity to have th rt unity too,” ess Kat rina Kai
m ad e th e be st of that oppo
. mascot” – actr Star ting the newspaper during
the
us have editorial Centre global economic dow ntur n is a chal - Violet Cho, from Burma,
Nad karni told
readers in the
a hund red coun
- - Pacific Media lenge is the 2009 Asian Journalism Fellow
s, as in ov er for the group, says Nad karni.
“Over the year ld, people of ethnic Indian “A lot of people say it’s probably and on the Asia-Pacific Journalism
e wor rce to reckon the
tr ies around th ow n to be a fo worst time to launch the newspaper. course at AUT Universit y.
tio n ha ve gr Ev- Violet Cho on the Karen website
extrac erybody talks about the economic
dow n-
turn, which makes advertising hard Kwekalu.net
to

Editor lifts bar for NZ ethnic media

The chief editor of a new community news- lection and community coverage along with and is a
paper catering for the Indo-Fijian and Indian co-director of the Knowledge Basket
“cricket and Bollywood”. Pacific database.
diaspora in New Zealand has vowed to raise The Indian Weekender has captured a
the bar in ethnic publishing. Nadkarni said it had been especially
claimed third of the readership in the Indian challen
Speaking at a national Diversity Forum ging launching a newspaper in New
diaspora of 110,0000 people – catering for Zealand
seminar in Wellington today (August 24, amid a recession.
readers with cultural roots from Fiji, India, “People said we were either fools or abso-
2009) on the new Asian media, Dev Nadkarni South Africa and the Indian subcontinent lute brave
of the Indian Weekender challenged main- hearts,” he said, but the newspaper
countr ies of Bangladash, Nepal, Pakistan and was rapidly
stream media to make better use of skilled but becoming consolidated.
Sri Lanka. “We aim to feel the pulse of the Kiwi
marginalised ethnic minority journalists. The newspaper has also added a website Indian,” and
“Good and experienced ethnic journalists engage with the wider commu-
www.iwk.co.nz and this week added a mobile nity.
are languishing as bus drivers, supermarket phone-based edition.
shelvers - or at the best, subeditors,” said Nad- Other speakers in the annual forum,
Nadkarni, a former coordinator of the hosted by the
karni at Wellington’s Te Papa museum. Human Rights Commission and
University of the South Pacific journalism markin
His newspaper has been able to tap into g the fifth year of the NZ Diversity
programme and a journalist from Mumbai, Action
Indian journalism talent neglected by the Programme, included Chinese media
has carved out an innovative publishing niche editors
mainst ream media when the newspaper was and a researcher.
since he migrated to New Zealand.
launched in Auckland in March. He founded Pacific Business Online,
Twelve editions later the paper has already -David Robie is an Associate Professor
played a key role in developing the web-based at Auckla
impressed with bold layout, strong news se- nd University of Technology and the
edition of Islands Business news magazine,
Director of Pacific Media Centre

June 1 , 2009 August 1 , 2009 September 1, 2009

March 20, 2009 July 15 , 2009 August 24, 2009

Indian indianweekender.co.nz Weekly e-newsletter Mobile smartphone IW participates in September 1, 2009

Weekender website launched launched version with short Ethnic Media Forum, IW signs up with NZ
launched url www.iwk.co.nz Wellington database.
launched

46 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz

Indian
Milestones of year one

Master blaster Virender

Sehwag and the world’s
greatest batsman Sachin
Tendulkar sign on Indian
Weekender memorabilia
in Wellington.

Indian High Commissioner

Admiral (Retd) Sureesh
Mehta with the Indian
Weekender team at a
reception in Auckland.

Ethnic Affairs Minister

Pansy Wong at the Indian
Weekender booth during

Indian Weekender
the Migrant Expo

launches online ed
Media and dive
ition
rsity
Monday, June network, NZ Human R ights
15th, 2009 Com mission
New Zealand’
edition w w w.in s newest Indian pr int fort ni
dianw ghtly has laun
Editor Dev Nad eekender.co.nz ched its online
paper’s editori karni says this
al team w rote w as a re sp onse to reader
shoving ou r pr in its s’ re
int content onto June 12 edition that “Rathe quest. The
aim is to both the web as mos r th
complement an
d supplement t publishers te an merely
component.” ou r pr int effort nd to do, ou r
“Many of ou r pr with an online
with video and int stor ies will
au have the added
balance betwee dio versions. We hope to gr dimension of multimedia,
n form and func ow the online
Mr Nad karni tionalit y.” edition into a
sibilit y of includ said he is also discussing with
in mainstream m
readers in both g some of its news stor ies th edia the pos-
its pr int and on at may be of in
line editions. terest to Indian

January 22, 2010 February 1, 2010 April 16, 2010

October 27 , 2009 March 27, 2010 April 12, 2010

IW presents cheque IW holds first IW is felicitated by IW launches Business iPad edition of IW’s first
for Samoa Tsunami public engagement NZICA during 84th Directory www.iwk.co.nz anniversary issue
Fund to Samoan Prime in Auckland for AGM in Auckland launched
Minister in Apia on new Indian High
behalf of Auckland Commissioner
Indian Community

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 47

Indian
‘I dream in English’
Rahul Bose is someone who gives more importance to cerebral roles than six-pack abs. An
actor, rugby player, singer, social worker…he is a ‘hero’ in truest sense. He chats up with
Sreya Basu on his new film The Japanese Wife.
You seem really excited about The
Japanese Wife. What is it all about?
This is the story of a school teacher Snehmoy
and his Japanese pen-friend Miyage (Ch-
ingusa Takaku).  They exchange marriage
vows through letters and they nurture their
relationship for 17 years and that too without
meeting each other once.  The film is based
on their love, happiness, misery…basically
it’s a lind of love poem put into celluloid.
We have mostly seen you represent
the urban male. Do you think the
viewers will accept you as a village
school teacher?
The first time Aparna told Konkona (Sen
Sharma; daughter) that I am going to play
this role, she said: ‘Look, this guy is from
a Bengali village. He speaks in a rural
Bengali village dialect. Then he speaks
to his Japanese wife in a rural, Bengali,
village dialect in English. There’s no
way! Then guy’s characterization is very
shy, very introverted, extremely invisible
and Rahul! He won’t be able to do it!’
Three weeks ago Konkona saw the film and
called me up and said wonderful things.
So I have got the ‘pass’ remarks from the
filmmaker’s daughter, and there’s nothing
left; the film has to be a superhit. As it is the
film is going to 55 countries across the world.
Deepika is the face of
Sony Cyber-shot
Mumbai: Actress Deepika Padukone last
week was appointed as the brand ambassador
of Sony Cyber-shot cameras.
The same day (Wednesday), Sony India
announced the launch of its Cyber-shot
‘Super wide shot Supermodel Campaign’,
while introducing Deepika as the Brand Am-
bassador for the category.
Great synergy will be witnessed between
Deepika Padukone and Cyber-shot cameras
as both are like ‘Super models’ being cool,
dynamic and highly fashionable. Hence, the
campaign has been named ‘Super wide
shot Supermodel’ campaign,
said a company spokesper-
son.
Masaru Tamagawa,
Managing Director, Sony
India, said, “We were
looking for a Brand Am-
bassador whose person-
ality could mirror this
experience and give it a
materialistic form. Deepika
is a free spirited, bubbly,
young girl who at the same
time is extremely talent-
ed and a profession-
al. The associa-
tion seemed
obvious
48
You are too choosy when it comes to
signing a film. What convinced you to
do this one?
The Japanese Wife is twice a love story.
Forget me being in it; just feeling the script
will be sufficient. It talks about a part in
all of us that is innocent, where people still
believes that there will be no corruption; if
a person says he will call you tomorrow, he
with so many common factors between Cy-
ber-shot and Deepika which appeal to the
youth instantly.”
The year-long contract will see the ace
actress promote the ultra cool & trendy range
of Cyber-shot cameras.
“It is a matter of great pride for me to be
associated with a cult brand like Sony. Cy-
ber-shot comes in ultra cool, stylish design
and classy colours, which is a perfect match
to my personality. I am totally enthralled
by the technologically superior features. I
eagerly look forward to make a
positive contribution to the
brand imagery of Cyber-
shot cameras and fulfill
the expectations from
this association,” said
Deepika.
Sony will make
an investment of Rs
50 crores towards
marketing activi-
ties with Deepika
Padukone which will
include Television
commercials, print
campaigns,
outdoor and
shop-front
display.
I think and dream in English…have got my
training in English. But I believe when you
are an actor and doing films then language
should not matter. A taxi driver must know
how to drive a taxi.
How do you rate yourself as an actor?
Satisfaction comes a little higher than your
performance. I have a ‘sleep peacefully at
night’ yardstick to rate my performance.
There are nights when I can sleep peacefully,
there are two-three nights when I get
nightmares.
You are into so many things-films,
sports, social service-what exactly
are your expectations from life?
will do so. It goes into the centre of innocence
that is still left in us. I believe this film is My expectation from life is that every
the last test of the Indian audience…to see day I spent on this earth should be full of
if they have become completely bloated with satisfaction. And my satisfaction comes
the PR madness that we call cinema. from giving my 100% in what I love,
whether people around appreciate that or
Talking about your kind of cinema, not. Of course, it feels great if people praise
what kind of films do you enjoy and appreciate your efforts.
doing? You seem more comfortable in
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Indian
Govinda shakes leg with Mithun Not scared of horror films: Ehsaas
Mumbai: It was time for some “mauj masti” on
the sets of Zee TV’s Dance India Dance with
the baap of comedy and dance, Govinda paying
a visit!
The superstar is reported to have left the au-
dience holding on to their bellies with his witty
wisecracks and the house was flooded with
seetis each time Chi Chi took to the floor.
Not the sort to pass up a golden opportunity,
the judges Remo, Terence & Geeta insisted that
Grand Master Mithun Chakraborty shakes a leg
with Govinda.
Without the slightest nakhra, Chi Chi broke
into a lively street dance to his evergreen hit
‘Main Toh raste se Jaa Raha Tha’ and Mithun
Arshad-Dia promote ‘Hum Tum Aur Ghost’
Mumbai, Mar 30 (IBNS) Actors Arshad Warsi and Dia Mirza
recently came together to promote their forthcoming
film ‘Hum Tum Aur Ghost’ at PVR Select City Walk,
Saket. The movie is directed by Kabeer Kaushik and
produced by Arshad Warsi and Maria Goretti. The
movie released all over India.
Anupam Kher auditions
Ahmedabad for Actor Prepares
Ahmedabad: Actor-director Anupam Kher re-
cently interviewed candidates seeking entry to
his acting school ‘Actor Prepares’ in Ahmed-
abad.
The interviews and auditions were held at
Cambay Grand, the centrally-located 5-star
hotel of the Cambay hospitality group.
“I believe that acting, like any craft, can be
taught, learnt and perfected,” said Kher, who
has won innumerable awards in a career span-
ning 25 years encompassing almost 400 films.
‘Actor Prepares’ opened last year in the city
after establishing a presence in Mumbai, Chan-
digarh and London.
Two batches of students have already passed
out after completing the three-month fulltime
course.
50
Da sportingly followed suit.
As if this wasn’t enough, Govinda made
a special demand saying, “I have forever seen
Terence Lewis give detailed comments after
every dance act but never had the chance to see
him live in action. Terence, I want you to show
us your moves.”
Unable to refuse his favorite Govinda,
Terence brought the house down with a jazzed
up street-style dance to ‘Kya Kare Kya Na Kare’
from Rangeela.
On public demand, Govinda joined him on
stage and together the duo danced to the actor’s
popular dance hit ‘Kisi Disco mein Jaayein’ …!
Apart from the fulltime acting programme,
‘Actor Prepares’ in Ahmedabad has also been
conducting workshops for teachers, dancers and
teenagers.
Kher will be taking classes when the course
commences.
Apart from Kher, the school has a trained
full-time faculty of teachers to teach the craft
of Acting. Other subjects, which will be taught,
reflecting the holistic approach of the Actor
Prepares programme, are Yoga, Dance, Martial
Arts, Voice and Diction etc.
Actor Prepares Ahmedabad is sited on a
landscaped 2.5 acre campus on the Ahmed-
abad-Gandhinagar highway opposite Nirma
University.
Bollywood
Mumbai: Children are generally found scared
of watching horror films, and child Artist
Ehsaas Channa was no exception.
But she does not find horror films scary
anymore! Why?
Simply, because she is one of the few child
actors to have worked in maximum number of
horror films.
“Earlier I was scared of watching horror
films, but after having acted in few I do not
fear anymore” says the brave girl.
Ehsaas, who had worked in various horror
films like Vaastu Shashtra and Phoonk, is
now set to be to be possessed again by the evil
spirit in Ram Gopal Varma’s Phoonk 2, slated
for April 16, release.
Phoonk 2 also stars Sudeep, Amruta
Khanvilkar, Ashwini Kalsekar, Neeru Bajwa,
Amit sadh and Rishabh Jain.
The film is directed and written by Milind
Gadagkar.
Dancing kids gherao Remo’s car
Mumbai: At the recent Mumbai auditions of its Chandigarh, Lucknow, Indore, Baroda & Jaipur.
dance reality show for kids- DID Li’l Masters, In Mumbai, the frenzy knew no bounds, what
Zee TV decided to delight the 9000 children & with as many as 500 fami- lies
their parents who had queued up outside a school landing up the previous
in Kandivli with a surprise visit by their favorite evening from neigh-
dance master Remo D’souza. boring towns with
Little did the channel know that this would “gaddas”, food,
result in a scenario where Remo’s car would be water - all set for
frozen at one spot, unable to budge for over an a night-cap on the
hour with kids flocking all around it, dying to road outside the
show Remo their much-rehearsed moves. audition venue!
Remo was completely overwhelmed by the
accuracy with which little children were aping
the moves they had seen in the 2 seasons of Lux
Dance India Dance. He couldn’t believe his eyes
when a couple of kids began performing the ex-
tremely difficult stunt dance “B-boying” in front
of his car, standing on their hands and kicking
away vigorously.
Special security had to be called for at every
school where DID Lil Masters conducted its au-
ditions in Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Nagpur,
Ranvir goes underwater
despite phobia
Mumbai: Youngistaan’s heartthrob Ranbir phobia, Ranbir performed an entire underwater
Kapoor has played many different characters sequence, which took over 4-hours to shoot,
starting from a lover-boy to a Casanova to an with ease and like a true professional. In fact, he
honest salesman; but for the first time ever he did not even let the production crew know about
will be seen in a fantasy-adventure act in Pepsi his phobia till after the sequence was completed.
The Game’s Level I that goes on air this week on While performing yet another tough se-
TV (March 31 onwards). quence of climbing a high wall to pull out a few
In an industry where it is easy for stars daggers, Ranbir hurt his hand.
to demand for body doubles, Ranbir chose to But with the famous Kapoor blood in his
perform his own stunts, something that he has veins and with his will and determination, he
never done before. went ahead and completed the shot!
Sources reveal that in spite of having a water
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
 Indian
‘We just want to make money’
Rajat Kapoor has become an expert at wearing too many hats at a time. An actor, director, writer, model, anchor…
he speaks to Sreya Basu in Kolkata on how films compromise with quality for making money.
Photos by Avishek Mitra/IBNS
Your play The Blue Mug is getting huge
response in every city where it is being
staged…
Yes…the response is overwhelming. It feels great to
see the audience being able to connect to the play.
Ballentine’s Leave An Impression has arranged
for a seven-city tour for The Blue Mug. We have
already staged shows in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune
and Kolkata; next are Chandigarh, Delhi and Ban-
galore.
This play is all about memories?
In this play there are memories that have left a deep
impact on you, as well as those which are mundane.
Like, my father had a printing press and I still re-
COLENSO1967F
Offer ends 30th June 2010. See vodafone.co.nz for details.
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
member the telephone number of the place even
after 30 years though I never need that number or
call at that number.  Similarly, Blue Mug is also a
concept that is printed inside someone’s head.
As far as we know, all of you (Vinay Pathak,
Sheeba Chadha, Munish Bharadwaj and you)
are playing yourselves, while Ranvir Shorey
and Konkona Sen Sharma are playing patient
and doctor. So how have you woven the script?
Ranvir is playing a guy who has lost his memory.
And in his contrast, we are playing ourselves. Like,
I am playing Rajat Kapoor…what are the memories
he is made up of…small incidents, big events…he
is a part of all of that. And we are presenting our
personal memories to the audience.
 
And does this spontaneity come naturally?
No…it comes through practice, rehearsals. Nothing
is spontaneous…you have to practice it. It is an act
that you achieve only after you rehearse for long
hours. Spontaneity, improvisations start after that.  go. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t understand
Okay, given a chance, what are the memo-
ries you would like to forget?
I think every man should forget all the memories
that make him sad, bitter…create hatred inside him.
This is the only way to be happy and have a better
life.
Theatre has always been seen as some-
thing exclusively for the elite mass...
...Do you agree?
It depends you know. Because it villages also you
have folk theatre, you will find them if you go to
small towns of south of India. Even in Bengal there’s
jatra. Is it not for the common people? Theatre is for
everyone…be it the so-called common people or
the elite class; but in different forms. But yes, the
kind theatre we do…the Proscenium theatre…that
of course, only a certain section of the society can
afford to come and watch.
 So your theatre is for elite people?
I don’t think so. It’s all about the habit of going to
theatre; not necessarily the elite. Looking at a form
of art like that is a bit problematic. It’s like saying
classical music is for elite people. Is it? If you have,
for example, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi coming to
perform, probably you will go, people of your class
will go, I will go…may be a common man will not
Bhimsen Joshi; because when he listens to that he
responds. It is part of his tradition as much as it is
yours…may be more! In South India the common
men are trained in classical music. In a Kerala
village when there’s a kathakali performance it’s
common man who will probably respond to the per-
formance more than you and I. Because for him it is
part of their worship…ritual…life.
 
You are into both films and theatres. How
different are the two mediums?
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Bollywood
Very different. In a film it’s the camera and script
that’s doing everything…you just have to ‘be’
(there). The camera captures you. In a theatre you
perform. It’s such a great joy to be on stage, to direct
a play, to see it happen…it’s a different high.
In today’s time, don’t you think people
are more comfortable in walking into a mul-
tiplex to watch a movie than go for a play?
Cinema is a form that aims to reach a large number
of people; and it’s not only in India, it’s anywhere in
the world. Also because theatre limits itself by its
very presence. You can make 700 prints of a film,
but we can’t make 700 prints of this play (The Blue
Mug). We have to go city to city to perform.
 
But in reaching out to larger number, don’t
films compromise with quality?
It does compromise. That’s why we have so many
craps everyday. But then, there are very crappy the-
atres also. So even though we don’t have to suffer
from economically, we make such bad films. Why
do we do that? Because we are mediocre people. We
don’t want to work, we just want to make money.
And that’s why we churn trash and we subject
people to watch these trash.
 There are takers for these ‘trash’…
Yes, but that’s a vicious circle. We always say we
make films because audience wants to see these.
But we never gave them a choice. So how do we
know they want to see these (films)?
51
Indian
Ranvir Shorey turns Punjabi doctor Kissing not new for me: Aruna
Mumbai/Kolkata: Actor Ranvir Shorey will be seen
playing a Punjabi doctor in his next film ‘Tina Ki
Chaabi’.
Produced by Kosmik Films Pvt, ‘Tina Ki
Chaabi’ is written and directed by Amit Saxena of
‘Jism’ fame.
Newcomer Geetanjali Thapa will be seen as
Ranvir’s leading lady in the film.
This comic caper has been shot at Tangra in
Kolkata’s China Town, apart from Bangkok and
Mumbai.
Recently Ravir and Geetanjali were seen having
a gala time at the publicity shoot of the film, while
photographer Amit Asher went on clicking the duo.
Ranvir plays Dr. JagPrag Singh, a Punjabi doctor
armed with stethoscope and doctor’s bag.
The film tells the story of a group of people
who find themselves in situations that threaten their
survival, and as they try to get out of their respective
messes, greed and karma take over, hurling them to-
gether into situations that border on the ridiculous in
this caper comedy.
It all starts when “Cochin Hanifa” a Bangkok-
based Indian gangster, sends his reluctant gangster
son – “Junior Hanifa” to collect unpaid dues from
various people in Kolkata (India) while at the same
time, a young woman, Tina, gets news of her father
Michael’s untimely death while in hiding overseas.
Michael has left Tina an inheritance: 50million
rupees, in the form of raw diamonds, in a train station
locker in Bangkok.
These two seemingly unrelated events act as
catalyst and set in motion a series of events that will
ultimately change the lives of all the characters. Of
course, Tina is a gambler and also owes money to the
Hanifa.
Set in Tangra (Kolkata) the only true ‘China
Town’ in India, three people, namely – Tina, Basu &
Teddy will soon discover that when you owe money
to Hanifa, you can run but you cannot hide.
And when ‘Junior’ comes calling, the wily Basu
and Teddy, back-stabbing ex-employees of Tina’s
father, Michael, know that there is up and that they
better have the money or else!
Tony, a small time crook and gangland “inform-
er” par excellence, informs the dos of Tina’s inheri-
tance and both Basu and Teddy realize that the key
to all their problems lies with Tina and the key to the
locker!
And thus begins the quest for Tina’s key.
An innocent doctor, Jag Prag Singh, a man
seeking answers to add meaning to his otherwise
empty life, also gets pulled into the rollercoaster ride
and in this riotous and hilarious journey. Tina and
Prag’s paths collide.
They find themselves working as a team due to
circumstances, dodging not only Teddy and Basu but
also the ultimate villain Hanifa to get her inheritance.
As well as finding answers to their questions on life
in general.
And just when it seems that things could not
get any worst, ‘Junior’ is accidentally killed and the
events spiral out of everyone’s control, in a cascad-
ing series of darkly hilarious encounters.The film is
slated for release in June.
Bollywood
Mumbai: The slinky femme fatale
of Hindi film ‘Prince’, Aruna
Shields, is yet another British Indian
lassie to set foot in Bollywood.
The actress is increasingly
gaining popularity for her provoca-
tive kissing scene with the “Prince”
aka Vivek Oberoi.
Aruna is the first lady to make
Vivek’s cheeks turn red in reel life
with her confident approach while
shooting for the scene. The kissing
scene is apparently Vivek’s first kiss
in films.
On asking Aruna about her
confident kiss scene, the gorgeous
lady replied, “It was not something
new for me; I had done such scenes
earlier as well so the experience
counts.”
In the action thriller Prince,
she is tough espionage agent Maya
who performs all her own stunts
including bike bungee jumps and
free falls.
Bold and fearless stunts by
Aruna made the whole cast and
crew go ga-ga over her daring at-
titude. Aruna is qualified in stunts
like Fire-Arms, Martial Arts,
Cable, Bikes & Cars, Scuba diving,
sky riding and gymnastics.
Not only adventure sports,
Aruna has got her feminine side
intact too with dancing skills like
belly dancing, dancing with snakes,
Flamenco.
Kumar Taurani’s film ‘Prince’
stars Vivek Oberoi, Aruna Shields,
Nandana Sen and Neeru Bajwa.

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52 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Indian
Tanushree Dutta: Being blunt
Chaitanya Padukone
“Honestly, I don’t follow the game of cricket,” admits a
‘blunt’ Tanushree Dutta who feels she has ‘scored’ well
in her upcoming psycho-thriller ‘Apartment’ directed by
Jagmohan ‘Jags’ Mundra.
Even as the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, Shilpa
Shetty and Preity Zinta are actively patronizing
IPL cricket-teams there are those showbiz celebs
who don’t connect with the intricacies of the
batting game. Former ‘Miss India’- Universe’ Ta-
nushree Dutta , known for her outspoken nature
belongs to that league. “Honestly, I don’t techni-
cally follow the cricket-game, which is such a
massive international mania. So I hardly watch
the televised matches. But I do recognize and
respect the celeb-cricketers,” shrugs the Bolly-
wood heroine, who recently celebrated her birth-
day (19th March).
Until recently, the dusky Dutta was seen in
her short-crop blunt cut hair-style which she has
flaunted in media magnate producer Nari Hira’s
upcoming psycho-thriller ‘Apartment’. This time
too, Tanushree who was appreciated for her intense
performance in the recent horror flick ‘Rokkk’ has
a blunt reaction. “Eminent UK based hair-stylist
Guy Kremmer whilst in Kolkata insisted that he
would experiment with my hair-style and give me
a new short crop look. Since I was to play an air-
hostess who gets victimized in ‘Apartment’ I felt
it would go with my chic character, I agreed to it.
Even ‘Apartment’ director Jagmohan Mundhra (
of ‘Provoked’ movie fame) instantly approved of it
when he met me, much later.
It was by sheer coincidence that I merited this
different look,” she chuckles. Not many are aware
that the same Tanushree has played Deepika Padu-
kone’s ‘remixed’ character in the Tamil version of
the Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Bachna Ae Haseenon’
Vindu turns ‘Funk-Key’
for Pepsi
Mumbai: One has seen Vindu Dara Singh in
many avatars, ranging from Lord Hanuman to
the winner of Bigg Boss but no one expected the
well-built man to play a tiny gaming character.
In the second level of Pepsi The Game that
breaks on TV on Thursday (April 8), the tall and
muscular Vindu will don a never seen before
look… that of a 1-foot tall gaming character –
‘Funk-Key’!
Vindu aka Funk-Key will pose the second
challenge to Youngistaan’s heartthrob, Ranbir
Kapoor.
In the first level of Pepsi The Game, Ranbir
gets stuck under water and in the second level,
Sanjay Dutt - the Game Master sends his under-
sized champ, Funk-Key to stop Ranbir from
getting closer to his Pepsi.
While Ranbir doesn’t find tiny Funk-Key
a threat initially, wait and watch what happens
when hundreds of Funk-Keys appear in front of
him.
Speaking about his look in Pepsi The Game
Level 2 and the shooting experience, Vindu
said, “When Pepsi guys approached me with the
concept and a sketch of the look, I asked them if
they’re making the Indian version of Star Wars!
I had to wear a funky orange, silver and green
costume, which was quite heavy and I had to fly
wearing the same in one of the sequences using
harness… so, it was tough but lots of fun”.
“Pepsi The Game is a big-budget, high-
value production with a lot of special effects
to make me look much smaller and create
hundreds of clones. I am glad all the hard
work has resulted in a great looking and
entertaining concept that has never
been seen on the Indian television
screen. So watch out for me
as Funk-Key in Level 2 of
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Bollywood
Things you need to
KNOW
About us
Best of
titled ‘ Theeratha Vilaiyattu Pillai’ But the Dutta
damsel is defensive. “Its not a complete remake
INDIAN
of ‘Bachna…’.But among the similarities is the
Casanova hero (Vishal ) who simultaneously flirts
with three nubile girls of different backgrounds.
My lead character is not a female NRI cabbie
125
but an athletic ethnic Tamilian sports-girl who
ENTERTAINMENT
belongs to a poor family.
There were lots of Southside offers when this
$
movie released a few weeks ago. But I have still
not finalized any of them,”claims the sensitive
Bong bombshell who is unlike those who latch on
to some celeb, just to snatch media focus. “For me
the guy has to be someone who turns-me-on, not
*
just by his hot looks, but also by his sense of witty
humour, savvy intellect and his caring concern
for me. Unless there is the right chemistry I don’t
think I will emotionally connect with a male
buddy. As of now, I am comfortable with my own
‘single’ company,” she shrugs Meanwhile the
glib Dutta is aghast over media speculation there
is a “lesbian undercurrent” with her flat-mate co-
actor Neetu Chandra in ‘Apartment’. “ For heav-
only
en’s sake it’s an apartment with multiple bedrooms
and we are literally ‘apart’. Rather I am shown
going cosy with co-star Ronit Roy. There is even a
drenched romantic song in the rains. Ever since I
started my acting career with ‘Aashiq Banaaya…’
, a ‘rainy’ song was perhaps the only missing link
in my spectrum of scenes. Now I guess, I am a
full-fledged Bollywood heroine,” chuckles Ta-
nushree with this jestful repartee.
2nd Decoder
32
$
Only *
for
Pepsi The Game,” he added.
Sources reveal that it was Vindu who named
his character ‘Funk-Key’ as he found the look
extremely funky and he is shown guarding a
key that Ranbir has to find to reach his Pepsi
and the hot WOW girl, Jacqueline
Fernandez.
- Indian Weekender
Bollywood Correspondent
Zee Punjabi
9
$ 95
Add *
on
53
Indian

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Indian
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Indian
Has cricket hit all other sports for a six?
IPL seems to have sounded their death knell
Prashant Belwalkar
India has a proud history in Hockey winning the
Olympic gold six times in a row (8 overall) since 1908
when hockey was included in the Olympics for the
first at London. The Indian football team too had a
golden run since Independence when they won the
gold in Asian Games in New Delhi and Jakarta and
in between also managed to reach the semi-finals in
Olympics held at Melbourne in 1956. Yet, it is the
Indian Cricket team that is the toast of the nation as
it sits on top of the Test rankings and is in the top 3 of
the ODI rankings while winning the inaugural T20
world championship.
BCCI is now accused of killing other sports at the
expense of cricket with its introduction of IPL, a fun
filled jamboree of T20 cricket based loosely on the
English Premier League (soccer). Has IPL managed
to snuff out all other sports in India? Or is it a tempo-
rary phenomenon?
Let us first understand the origin of these games
in India before we start making a judgment on the
state of affairs. The British officers as a part of their
pastime in the colonies spread the game of cricket,
hockey and football (soccer) throughout the world.
Kolkata was the headquarters of the British rule and it
is no wonder that all the three forms of the games have
its origin in this city. Kolkata was the
place where first field hockey
tournament was held in
1895 (Beighton Cup),
the first football club
was formed (Mohan
Bagan, 1889)
and the first cricket match
between Madras and Kolkata (1864) was also there!
In fact the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club is
known to have been in existence since 1792! Given
that all the three started at the same time why it is
that today cricket is far ahead of others and despite
winning the hockey gold six times and being declared
the national sport, hockey and football continue to
flounder? The reasons can be traced on several fronts.
All the sports have been in an amateur form
in India, be it cricket, hockey, football or badmin-
ton. The government has often encouraged sports
through employment quota based on sporting ability
as well as promoting teams. The armed services have
encouraged sports. Railways, Port Trusts and several
government enterprises have sporting teams wherein
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
the players are employees of the respective organisa-
tions. Later, some of the corporates joined the band-
wagon in forming sporting clubs and employing
people on the sporting ability, yet sports have always
remained an amateur field until the advent of IPL.
Credit to BCCI
The credit for bringing money in sports must go
to BCCI. Till the late 1970s even cricket was in no
better shape than hockey or football in India. Crick-
ets were paid daily allowance for appearing in Test
Cricket (ODIs had just began and were not played
in any structured form in India till 1980). The only
bonuses these players got were paid leave from the
respective employers for appearing in Ranji trophy
matches or Test matches. Kerry Packer changed all
that when he introduced the World Series of Cricket
in Australia and roped in top cricketers to play in co-
loured clothing, white ball and play under lights! Sud-
denly cricket elevated from a 5 day tedious spectacle
to a 1 day entertainment sport! Not only did the au-
dience love it, TV channels across the cricket loving
countries also loved it! The ICC quickly stepped in
and Kerry Packer was made to back track for a sig-
nificant share of the TV spoils, but it sowed the seeds
of commercialisation of cricket faster than anybody
had imagined. BCCI was quick
to see the poten- tial
and joined the
bandwagon of making money. Sunny Gavaskar had
earlier made sure that the spoils of the cricketing vic-
tories are shared with the players. Winning the world
cup of 1983 only triggered the appetite of BCCI and
the Champions Trophy victory in 1985 further con-
firmed the interest of BCCI that it was backing a
winning horse.
India was undergoing a sea change in 1985, and
for the first time, corporate sponsorship was not a
pariah. Reliance quickly joined the bandwagon and
the first World Cup outside England was hosted in
India under the sponsorship of Reliance Industries.
The airwaves in India were also opened up in 1991
and the economic boom that started since 1992 only
added more wealth in to the sporting world and more
TV channels to the air. Marketing companies were
looking at avenues where they could reach out to
the people and branding or rather celebrity endorse-
ment took root in India. What were football associa-
tions, hockey associations, badminton association,
and tennis associations doing during this period?
Why were they not in the race to grab a share of the
spoils? Despite producing world champions in bil-
liards (Michael Ferreira, Geet Sethi to name a few),
badminton (Prakash Padukone, Syed Modi), tennis
(Amritraj Brothers, the Krishnans), Hockey (pargat
singh and others), football, the respective associations
never had the visionary people to take advantage of
the changing situation. How many astro turfs have
we invested in since the game of hockey changed?
How many football clubs boast world class pitches?
Why has there been no investment in infrastructure
as BCCI has done?
No champion for other sport
Sadly, there was no Gavaskar amongst the foot-
ballers or hockey players who would fight for the
right of players to enjoy the spoils. For Corporates it
is always an ‘economic’ decision to promote brands
through sports and they quickly found that the foot-
ball, hockey, badminton had no formal structure
in place to take advantage of the money coming in
sports. Hockey, despite being branded the national
sport (though that was only because we had won 6
golds and not because it originated in India), was in
tatters due to infighting and overindulgence of offi-
cials who had no interest in taking the game further.
Despite football being the most popular sport in
the world, in India it sadly never took off as the na-
tional structure was in tatter and despite hosting the
third oldest tournament in the world since late 1800s
(Durand Cup), football never enjoyed the structure
that cricket did. Again, the excessive meddling of
non-playing administrators killed the promotion of
sports.
On the other hand BCCI, had enough cricketers
amongst its ranks and astute businessmen to support
it and making sure that the structure and national
team selection was done on a more concrete basis.
One may find fault with the quota system and rota-
tional system of BCCI, but it least ensured that all
the states, regions have a representation and hence
cricket took off as a national sport and was played
in every street corner. BCCI took advantage of this
and though it was a reluctant member of the first T20
world cup, the victory in South Africa only increased
its appetite for more. Then the formation of ICL only
fuelled its ambition to create IPL. Thus was born the
Sport
fun-packed jamboree!
It is not that corporates have not supported hockey
or football; take a look at what Tata’s tried to do with
super soccer in late 1980s or Sahara did with hockey
in late 1990s. But the lack of administrative struc-
ture, apathy of players and self-indulgence has been
the cause of the state of affairs for these sports. It is
not the IPL or cricket that has driven them to state
of despair but its own doings that have contributed to
the sorry state.
It’s all up to the sports bodies
Unless the sporting bodies themselves don’t
create a structure and succession planning for the
sport and a feel good factor for the sponsors, it is not
going to be easy. Take the case of West Indies cricket.
The once famed cricketing isles are today suffering
due lack of structure, infighting and general apathy.
Take New Zealand’s own example, the Olympic
teams have been winning golds in several events, yet
they are not sure of sending a bigger team next time as
they are lacking funds. How easy it is for them to crib
about Rugby getting all the spoils (and rightly so!)
Yet, they are looking at their own structure and
promotion before blaming anybody. Hockey India
and India Football Association also need to take a
closer look at themselves before pointing finger at
Cricket. It does not help when your sports minister
also joins the bandwagon of cricket bashing, when he
himself was at the helm of Hockey and contributed
to its downfall.
FIH (International Hockey Federation) is on the
record stating that the recently concluded hockey
world cup was the most ‘commercially’ success-
ful tournament in its history and they would like
to involve India in all future programmes. But is
Hockey India listening and ready to take advantage
of this? The often repeated accusation that cricket has
all the money is a myth as the ‘commercial’ success
of Hockey world cup has proven.
So, to round up, if other sporting bodies take a cue
from BCCI, and instead of just thinking that the asso-
ciations are fiefdom of power, start actually creating
a formal structure for the growth of the games, there
are enough youngsters interested, but is anybody
willing to give it a go? Or are we still going to debate
till death on national TV and keep procrastinating
about cricket’s influence? It’s a commercial world;
wake up before it’s too late! Till then enjoy the spec-
tacle of IPL3!
57
Indian
Seven amazing facts we
could tell our kids about India
India, it is often said, is not a country but a
continent. From north to south and east to
west, the people are different, the languages
are different, and the country is different.
India is so complex that it baffles anybody
who tries to define it in a few words or even
pages. It becomes increasingly difficult
talking about India and put it all in some 800
words, especially with NRI kids and NRI
teens who are born or brought up overseas
and who know India mainly through media.
“What makes a nation, is the past, what
justifies one nation against others is the past”,
says the noted historian Eric Hobsbawm.
Hence, when talking of a nation, it becomes
very imperative that the past should also be
talked about as much of India’s glory lies in
the past. The past of India is as fascinating
and interesting as among countries and civi-
lizations, India is perhaps the oldest and the
most ancient.
The heritage of the past plaited with the
contemporary dynamism of India has left ev-
eryone spellbound despite her alluring con-
trasts and striking features. Here are seven
things we could tell our kids about India’s
past and present.
“India is an ancient civilization with a
rich heritage. It has a vast storehouse of
knowledge in various fields, but general
awareness of much of it is inadequate.”
1. India has a continuous, living civilisa-
tion - India is a tens of thousands of years
old country with a rich heritage, legend and
history. One website claims India to be 34000
years old. The people of India have had a con-
tinuous civilisation since 2500 BCE going by
the Indus valley civilisation. The city of Va-
ranasi (Benares) is one of the world’s oldest
and continuously inhabited cities.
2. Ancient India – Land of wisdom Aware-
ness about ancient India being a knowledge
society, the university being an Indian inven-
tion and the different knowledge streams is
just the tip of the iceberg as far as the knowl-
edge tradition of India goes. Adding on to
this, Swami Vivekananda remarks “In phi-
losophy we are even now head and shoulders
above any other nation, as Schopenhauer, the
great German philosopher has confessed. In
music India gave to the world her system of
notation, with the seven cardinal notes and
the diatonic scale, all of which we enjoyed as
early as 350 BCE, while it came to Europe
only in the 11th century. In philology, our
Sanskrit language is now universally ac-
knowledged to be the foundation of all Euro-
pean languages….”
3. Ancient India – a knowledge society. India
was a knowledge superpower. In 2001, a stra-
tegic taskforce report was published by the
Planning Commission of India titled “India as
a knowledge superpower”. In the foreword to
the report, the Deputy Chairman of the Plan-
ning Commission of India mentioned that
“India is an ancient civilization with a rich
heritage. It has a vast storehouse of knowl-
edge in various fields, but general aware-
ness of much of it is inadequate.” Another
member of the same planning commission
who later on became the President of India
– Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalām – elaborated in his
58 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Heritage
book ‘Ignited Minds’that “Ancient India was
a knowledge society and a leader in many in-
tellectual pursuits, particularly in the fields
of mathematics, medicine and astronomy.”
So what if India had a glorious past? What
now? In response to such relevant questions,
Dr. Kalam offers wonderful advice to create
a knowledge society in India and calls for
using our ancient scriptures with the modern
scientific methods to create a new source of
knowledge that is useful for the generations
to come.
4. India has the biggest democracy in the
world – Spanning an area of 3,287,263 square
kilometers, India is a vast country and in-
cludes dry desert areas, evergreen forests,
snowy Himalayas, a long coast, and fertile
plains. With a billion people, the Republic of
India is the world’s largest democracy. Over
a fifth of the world’s population is crammed
into a subcontinent. A Wikipedia article even
says that ‘A serious claim for early demo-
cratic institutions comes from the indepen-
dent “republics” of India, sanghas and ganas,
which existed as early as the sixth century
BCE and persisted in some areas until the
fourth century CE.
- Indian Planning
Commission report 2001
5. Culturally rich and economically power-
ful. India is blessed with a rich culture and
heritage. Take a tour to India and you will
find how the rich history, languages, religion,
arts and crafts, performing arts and cuisine
play a key role in forming its rich culture and
traditions. These days India is economically
powerful too.
6. Diversity – There are many Indias within
India. India has diversity not only in people
but also in religion, languages, cloth-
ing, music, arts, dance, architecture, food
habits, customs and culture. Virtually every
major religion has a strong connection with
India. Buddhism was born in India, so were
Sikhism, Jainism, and of course Hinduism.
The Zoroastrians, the Jews (living in India
since 600 B.C.), the Muslims, the people of
the Baha’i faith, all are found in India in sub-
stantial numbers.
7. Land of many races- India is truly a
complex nation and composite of cultures
and races – that’s why it is often referred
to as a subcontinent. First, there is a differ-
ence between ‘race’ and ‘ethnic group’. Race
is used to denote people that share common
physical and genetic traits. Whereas ethnic
group denotes people who have common cul-
tural, behavioral, linguistic, ritualistic, or re-
ligious traits. There are 2000 or more ethnic
groups in India and according to anthropo-
logical records has more than 6 or 7 races.
India and her culture is thus rich and
diverse and as a result unique in its very own
way. What else could we tell our kids about
India?
To make your comments about what else
you would tell our kids, please go online and
add them at the end of this article in www.
indianweekender.co.nz.
Indian
Why do we need a personal financial plan?
RAVI MEHTA
We all know that future is uncertain. If we look at present economic conditions prevailing around globe, this
statement looks even truer. Majority of people were not prepared for the crisis, and have faced consequences.
Financial planning is important for every one of
us. But some of us wrongly think that financial
planning is only for wealthy individuals who
have lots of income to spare. The reality is the
fact that financial success does not only depend
on great income, but also on sound financial
planning.
Financial planning gives us direction for
future so that we can avoid costly mistakes such
as incurring too much debt, wrong debt struc-
ture, ignoring retirement opportunities provided
by an employer, not having enough liquid funds
when we need it, or having inadequate insur-
ance . Knowledge and proper guidance greatly
enhance our chances of financial success.
All of us want our future to be secure, want
our money work for us, and for this reason, finan-
cial planning is very important.
There are many aspects which are covered
in a financial plan, the first one being Financial
Management. We must prepare ourselves for
various stages of life, marriage, having a family,
buying a home, retirement etc. A financial plan
will start with budgeting. A budget allows us to
decide how much we can spend and how much
we can save. We should always strive to save
some money for future. We should think care-
fully while buying big ticket items. Getting into
debt should normally be avoided. If necessary,
debt should be considered only for those items
which grow in value over time like houses. Or
the debt should be used for education as educa-
tion normally increases our income earning ca-
pacity. Similarly if we need a car to commute to
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
work, we can buy car on hire purchase if neces- management, some people call it insurance plan-
sary. For other items, taking debt is a bad idea. ning. In risk management we decide as to how
We should postpone our decisions of buying much risk we are capable of absorbing and how
other big ticket items like expensive TVs till we much should be passed on to others. There are
have enough cash to buy those. The finance com- two types of insurance planning, General and
panies make very clever moves convincing us to personal. In general, we decide on protecting our
go for debt. The items bought using debt cost us a valuables and in personal, our income earning
lot more than their cash capacity. Careful plan-
value. Normally by the ning is needed in de-
time the debt is paid
off, these items become If necessary, debt ciding about what type
of insurance covers we
worthless in value.
Even for necessary should be considered should have. We should
not be over insured as it
items where we do take
debt, we should try to only for those items is waste of money. But
we should not be under
retire debt at the earli- insured as well, as it
est. All extra savings which grow in value is a big risk which we
should be diverted to will be carrying. The
pay off debt unless over time like houses. concept of insurance
we can earn an after is very simple, differ-
tax return on the extra ent people contribute
savings which is more towards a common pool
than the interest paying on debt. The extra risk of funds. Those who contribute only and do not
we are taking should also be taken into consider- receive any claims are fortunate ones and those
ation while deciding whether to use extra money who take claims are unfortunate. So we should
to invest or to retire debt. never consider the premium paid by us as waste
Similarly for making investments, taking of money rather we should thank our stars.
debt may be a good idea as long as you are confi- The third and fourth aspect covered in a fi-
dent of making more than what you pay in terms nancial plan is Retirement Planning and Invest-
of interest. This is the concept of using other’s ment Planning. We all are to retire someday. It is
money for your own gain. How much debt one wrong to assume that state will fund our retire-
should take and debt structure should be care- ment needs. In New Zealand, dependency ratio
fully planned with the help of a financial advisor. (ratio of retirees to tax payers) is on the rise. In
The second aspect that is covered is Risk future, how much Government will be able to
Column
pay to retirees is uncertain. We must prepare
ourselves for our retirement. What sort of invest-
ments, we should put our money into depends on
our goals and risk profile. Knowledge and Guid-
ance can help us to achieve our long term goals.
The fifth aspect covered in a Financial Plan
is Estate and Tax Planning. We should plan our
affairs in most tax efficient manner. Tax evasion
is illegal but tax minimization by planning and
structuring our affairs is no way a crime. Simi-
larly we are to leave this world one day and pass
our legacy to our children. Trust, wills, enduring
power of attorney, what we should have and are
those adequate is covered in a personal financial
plan.
Everyone has got unique circumstances.
There cannot be any general rule which can
be applicable to all. A personal financial plan
is indeed a personal one and is based on one’s
present financial position, age, future earning
capacity, goals etc. It helps one to accomplish
various milestones of life.
One of most important steps in successful fi-
nancial planning is getting started. If started at
early age, it can help to give our life, focus and
goals which we are to achieve in our life.
- Ravi Mehta is an Auckland based Finan-
cial Advisor and can be contacted on ravi.
mehta@pfsl.co.nz. A disclosure statement as
required under Securities Act 1988 is freely
available on request.
59
Indian
MigHTi continues its journey
Migrant Heritage Charitable Trust Inc (regd)
also known as MigHT-I shares a theme
common with this esteemed paper. It cel-
ebrates its anniversary with Indian Week-
ender. Nearly a year ago MigHT-I started
its public involvement through its inaugural
programme ‘Samaa’. The journey has con-
tinued since then with several wonderful
programmes and workshops.
In the year that went by, MigHT-I was
lucky to receive tremendous support from
like-minded patrons in the community for
which it is extremely grateful. MigHT-I
successfully hosted the first ever meeting
of Hindustani & Carnatic music in the
programme ‘Naadbrahma’ which was fol-
lowed by ‘Sharadache Chandane’, a musical
journey of Marathi Natyasangeet performed
by the eminent ‘samvadini’ artist Shri Jayant
Bhalodkar. It followed this with an im-
mensely successful programme; ‘Sangam’
featuring the renowned Benares Gharana
maestro, Pandit Vikash Maharaj and his son
Prabash Maharaj.
In between, MigHT-I also hosted radio
play ‘Suryachee Pille’ and conducted work-
shops across the region involving Indian
Music, youth and senior citizens. MigHT-I
theatre also participated with its own pro-
duction ‘Mrs Maniben R Patel’ in the first
ever ‘Short + Sweet’ festival in Auckland.
It continues to host the bi-weekly radio
programme ‘Nabhovani’ for the benefit of
community. All this has been possible in a
short span of time due to the dedication of
the artists and the continued support from
the community.
MigHT-I is glad to inform that its vision
of spreading the rich Indian Heritage will
p e n
O ys
Da
60
Community WEEKENDCUISINE
DAHI KEEMA
continue in the coming year through several
programmes lined up this year. We will kick
off with the popular ‘Nadbrahma 2010’ in Recipe by Ruby Dhillon
its new edition. This will feature noted artist
from both, the Hindustani as well as Car- Ingredients:
natic music. This will be followed by a clas-
Method:
sical vocal concert ‘Swar Ninad’, a first in • 1kg- Lamb/Mutton mince • Whisk curd in a bowl with cinnamon and
New Zealand featuring renowned vocalist
Pt. Ganapati Bhat, a disciple of Shri Basa-
• 2- Onions chopped clove powder.
varaj Rajguru in August. Keep a watch for • 4tsp- Ginger paste • Heat oil in a wok add onion, sauté until
details. The annual ‘Sharad Punam’ festival
will see a programme ‘Chandane Shimpit
• 4tsp- Garlic paste brown, add the ginger and garlic paste.
Ja’ featuring local artists to celebrate the • 1cup- Curd • Stir for 30 seconds then add green chillis
evening!
We plan to host the first ever ‘Basant’
• 1cup- Water and stir.
festival aptly titled ‘Rang Basant’ in No- • 4 to 5- Green chillies chopped • Add all the remaining powders/masalas
vember, where we hope to bring all the
Indian artists under one roof for an evening
• 1/2tsp Cinnamon powder to the onions and fry until its dry and the
of classical Indian music. MigHT-I theatre • 1/3tsp- Clove powder liquid has evaporated.
will also host a HINDI play at the Festival of • 1tsp- Red chilli powder • Now add the whisked curd, and bring to
Arts in October. It will continue its commu-
nity involvement through the radio channel • 1tsp- Garam masala a boil.
‘NABHOVANI’. • 1/2cup – frozen peas • Add mince, frozen peas with water and
The start of the year 2011 will see 2 more
popular programmes, ‘Samaa 2011’ featur- • 1/2cup- Coriander chopped bring it to a boil, cover and simmer until
ing classical Indian Dance forms presented
by various dancing schools in the region
• 2 hard boiled eggs the lamb is cooked and dry.
which will be followed by ‘Sangam 2011’ • Salt according to taste • Serve with the hard boiled eggs cut into
featuring Pt Vikash Maharaj once again.
We are keen to get the public involved in
two along with chopped coriander.
all the programmes and they can contribute
towards the success of these programmes in
a variety of ways. For details keep in touch
via email: info@might-i.org or check our
website www.might-i.org.
Check out the radio programme on
planet FM. Frequency : 104.60 Wed: 9.25
pm and Sunday: 11.00 am.
(Fully Licenced Restaurant)
Dine In - Takeaway
Dinner: 5.00pm till late
Lunch: 11.30 to 2.30 Thur-Fri
D/317 Ti Rakau Drive
(next to Thai Flame)
Ph: 09 273 5002
Ph-Fax: 09 273 6009
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Indian

Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz 61

Indian

Long Necklaces
Half Necklaces
Pendant Sets
Single Naka Pendant Sets
Double Naka Pendant

Mon - Fri: 10.00am - 5.00pm Sat: 10.00am - 4.00pm

Sun: 11.00am - 4.00pm
62 Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
Indian
At the time when the country’s newest and
favourite news and entertainment magazine for
Kiwi Indians was being conceived a year ago,
plans for a different form of news dissemination
were also gaining ground.
The Indian Weekender print edition came
into existence a year ago – bringing with it a
unique f lair of news presentation which “has
been like a breath of fresh air” in a commu-
nity which has been subjected to a regurgita-
tion of tired news from some of the existing
media.
While the print version of the Weekender
made instant impact, its online edition (then
known as www.sandesh.co.nz) had taken its
first steps and was crying out for attention
with its bold approach to gathering and pre-
senting news and entertainment to the bur-
geoning and news-hungry Indian community.
The newspaper gave New Zealand Indians
thought provoking features, entertainment
and news analysis far removed from the or-
dinary trail while the online version concen-
trated its efforts on giving its readers fresh
community news items to read every day – a
concept never utilised before in the commu-
nity.
It wasn’t too long after that the print and
online versions eyed each other, courted for
a while and decided to marry – an alliance
which is today seen as the most formidable
force in the Indian media market in New
Zealand.
Since then, the online version of Indian
Weekender, also featured as www.iwk.co.nz,
has been at the forefront of breaking big news
items to the Indian community.
A recent case that comes to mind is the
January 31 killing of Auckland taxi driver
Hiren Mohini, who was stabbed to death in
the Mt Eden suburb. The news item, picked
up and loaded online by Indian Weekender
group editor-in-chief Dev Nadkarni, spread
like wildfire and was picked up by several
major news organisations from around the
world.
It is this sort of promptness and “go-get-
ter” attitude, coupled with the innovative fea-
tures and archives that have made the Week-
ender’s online site a one-stop shop.
The latest launch by the Weekender team is
Indian Weekender | April 16, 2010 | www.iwk.co.nz
its online Business Directory – complement-
ing its free Classifieds and Events section and
daily news– making it the complete package –
all this while maintaining a close connection
with the community.
Not to mention its growing list of sub-
scribers to its daily and weekly e-newsletters.
“In this day and age of a growing internet
savvy generation, a fresh approach to dissem-
ination of news to the community is the most
The making of
a complete digital
news media
powerhouse
logical option,” says Arvind Kumar, online
editor of www.indianweekender.co.nz
“We’re proud to have taken the lead as
far as the online Indian news media in New
Zealand is concerned.”
Says Dev Nadkarni, Weekender group
editor-in-chief: Today’s content consumer
demands information and entertainment
through a plethora of media channels, most of
them digital. It was therefore imperative for
Anniversary Special
the young publication to quickly foray into
alternative content delivery systems other
than print. And so the right investments in
time, effort and finances were made to come
up with a state-of-art multimedia website fol-
lowed up by smartphone and iPad versions –
all that in the space of less than a year.”
The technical force behind the online
version of Indian Weekender is Rohan deSouza,
who is continuously upgrading and enhanc-
ing features
on the
website for
it to remain
m a r k e t
leaders.
“Indian
We e k e n d e r
online is
not only the
best news
service that
taps into the Pulse of the Kiwi Indian but
also a community portal for everything the
community wants,” Rohan says. “It features
an Indian events calendar that gives you all
details about local events and even helps you
find your way to your destination with it’s in-
formative Google maps and street view. It’s
classifieds and jobs aimed at the Indian com-
munity allow users to use a free service to
get their classifieds and jobs out to the wider
community and noticed.”
The introduction of a video channel into
the website brought in the best world and
local content for Indians through hand picked
videos aim to entertain and inform. With
the introduction of the Business Directory
the Indian Weekender online has now made
it very easy for businesses to get noticed
through to the wider Kiwi Indian community
and also world wide attention. Its basic listing
is a completely free service to the community.
The website has had received accolades
for it’s excellent design and presentation.
It has grown from a modest beginning to
become the most viewed websites online
with its online viewership more than tripling.
The mobile website
has gained a substan-
tial viewership making
it one of the the most
viewed ethnic website
on a mobile device. To
add a feather to it’s cap it
is now a regular Google
news and Google mobile news provider
giving it a world wide presence.
The website will continue to grow and
evolve and give Kiwi Indians the best in En-
tertainment, Information and Business for the
future.
The team at Indian Weekender believes
the online version complementing the print
edition is the way forward.
In the coming months, a whole new range
of ebusiness and ecommerce services will
be launched tailored for Indian businesses
in New Zealand where they will be able to
partner with a versatile news medium like the
Indian Weekender print and digital editions
and leverage its immense popularity that is
growing by the week.
Indian Weekender is planning a range of
digital products and services to give innova-
tive options to Indian businesses never before
seen in the Kiwi Indian market place.
Watch this space and stay tuned.
63
Indian

Indian

Celebrating 1 year of
being the pulse of the
Kiwi Indian community
Indian Indian Indian
Indian www.indianweekender.co.nz
May 1, 2009 Indian www.indianweekender.co.nz
May 15, 2009 Indian www.indianweekender.co.nz
May 29, 2009
Volume 1, No. 4 Volume 1, No. 5 Volume 1, No. 6
New Zealand’s first Indian weekend magazine New Zealand’s first Indian weekend magazine New Zealand’s first Indian weekend magazine
FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION FoR FRee dIStRIbutIoN

Indian Election Special | 10-11 Bollywood | 21 - 25 IPL2 | 11 Bula Fiji | 12 Bollywood | 32 Business | 5 Fiji | 12 Bollywood | 16-20
The complete picture of the rough and Dino, Bipasha, Bowlers shine, stars Reinventing Fiji tourism’s Preity Zinta NZ firm ties up with Sugar turns bitter as Priyanka, Shaan
tumble of the world’s biggest election Malaika and Kareena fade: the complete magic mantra Ambani Group EU cancels allocation & John
IPL report

At a glance
WHEN INDIANS FOUGHT At a glance At a glance
Ramdevji’s herbals in NZ
ALONGSIDE KIWIS Building bridges with India NZ-India Business

AND AUSSIES - Pg 6
Renowned Yog ex- A Kiwi company is leading the An Indian delegation of business-
ponent Swami Ram- brigade in forging ties with Indian people meets with New Zealand
dev’s range of herbal companies as both countries get government officials for informal dis-
range of products serious about the FTA. cussions in the lead up to the FTA
will now be available Page 2 Page 4
in New Zealand.
Page 2

Neighbourhood community Tension in Jalandhar

Swine Flu - What to do

OBAMA’S
We begin our new series on com- Punjab and some parts of North
Its the new scare thats gripping the munity centres with the 30-year-old India were gripped by protests and

DESI BRIGADE
world. We look at its hows and whys centre at Sandringam and meet with violence after the killing of a Sikh
and find out what should and should its dedicated members. religious leader in Austria
not be done to keep it away. Page 24 Page 7
Page 2 Pg 27
Know your rights Unique commnity initiative
Fiji has it; India doesn’t
What are your rights when you are A community project aims to
Fiji Hindi unites Fiji Indians irre- questioned by the police? Our new provide free funeral services for
spective of region or religion. India legal columnist answers your its members and their families in
can’t claim such a single, unifying questions. Auckland
language. Page 26 Page 23
Page 13

Shaadi-Byah Land a job in recession

Interest rate: to fix or
Arranged love or lovingly arranged? Expert advice on how to find a job in
Indian Weekender’s personal Heritage columnist Ram Lingam this bleak recessionary times. Don’t
finance columnist weighs various takes a close look at the workings of miss the interesting case study.
options of fixing mortgage interest the Indian marriage. Page 27
rates. Page 31
Page 26

Today’s Exchange Rates Today’s Exchange Rates Today’s Exchange Rates

1 NZD = 1 NZD = 1 NZD =
USD 0.56 USD 0.59 USD 0.61
INR 28.18 INR 29.3 INR 29.4
FJD 1.24 FJD 1.26 FJD 1.30
EURO 0.42 EURO 0.43 EURO 0.44

Weekend Weather
FRIDAY
DRIVING NIRVANA Weekend Weather Weekend Weather

FOR THE SOUL - Pg 32

Fine 18 C 10 C FRIDAY Fine 17 C 12 C FRIDAY Fine 15 C 8C
SATURDAY Fine 17 C 10 C SATURDAY Fine 18 C 13 C SATURDAY Showers 16 C 8C
SUNDAY Fine 17 C 10 C SUNDAY Fine 18 C 11 C SUNDAY Showers 15 C 9C

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Indian Indian
Indian July 24, 2009 Indian August 21, 2009
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Business | 3
Busi Making new records | 144 Finance | 26
Fin Fiji | 13 Event | 20 Festivity | 31
The billion dollar man Sumeet Tappoo Rea all about
Read Peter Foster’s Waitakere goes Ganesh
sav
saving for your bomb Bollywood comes home
retirement
retirement

At a glance At a glance
India in nuke sub club IW now in Wellington
With the launch of India’s first
Your favourite magazine is now
nuclear submarine the country joins
available in the capital. Global Vil-
an elite club of just six nations. The
lage Unlimited will represent Indian
latest acquisition will have an effect
on the balance of power in South Weekender for its Wellington based
Asia. Page 7 content, distribution and advertising.
Page 4.

Time for Fiji nationalism Rasalingam, Khoury honoured

If, at the time of independence, The handsome contribution of two
multiracialism was considered the Auckland men to ethnic affairs in
answer to integrating the different New Zealand was recognised and
ethnic groups in Fiji, today after celebrated at a special function in
four coups that have led to a coup the city this week.
culture, the answer perhaps is Fiji Page 7
nationalism. Page 11
Here comes colonialism 2.0
A new Bachchan coming up?
The industrialised east was colo-
There are rumours once again of the nised by the nations of pre-industrial
stork visiting Abhishek and Aish- Europe. So is it unreasonable to
warya Bachchan. And this time the expect a backlash from the west now
know-alls say it’s not just hearsay. that wealth and power are surging
Ash is not only swelling up with back to India and China?
pride but has a little bump on her Page 14
belly too.Page 25

Are ETFs right for you?

7 steps to better trading
If you find the tasks of analysing
To turn trading from a hobby into an and picking stocks a little daunt-
income-producing exercise requires ing, exchange-traded Funds (ETFs)
a plan that sets objectives and may be right for you. Our personal
employs strategies to achieve them. finance expert explains.
Indian Weekender finance columnist Page 25
explains how in easy-to-follow steps.
Page 27

Today’s Exchange Rates Today’s Exchange Rates

1 NZD = 1 NZD =
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INR 31.98
INR 31.97
FJD 1.35
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EURO 0.46
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Indian
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Log on to www.iwk.co.nz Volume 1, No. 16
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DDomestic violence | 3 In Focus | 24 Bollywood | 31

More Indian families Mahatma Gandhi Ranbir Kapoor
involved Centre

At a glance
Concern for Srikanth
It’s a fortnight since AUT student Sri-
kanth Rayadurgam went missing under
mysterious circumstances. Despite a
community wide awareness campaign
and searches, the investigators have
drawn a blank so far. Page 2

Fiji artists in Auckland

Five contemporary artists from Fiji came
together for an exhibition in response to
Fiji Day, 10 October. Well aware of the
turbulent events happening at home,
the exhibition is a personal response to
current issues facing the country.
Page 10

The magic of the sari

It can either ingeniously conceal the ex-
tra flab, or it can accentuate the curves
of the female form – the humble sari has
remained a traditional icon of Indian
feminity. But, is the world mourning the
dying art of the sari? Page 12

Golden opportunity lost

Tipped as the energy secretary in
Barack Obama’s Cabinet, Sonal Shah
was about to become the crown jewel
of the Indian diaspora. But a vicious
smear campaign, a 21st century version
of McCarthyism, by desi fringe academ-
ics and bigots stalled a stellar career.
Page 15

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1 NZD =
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Business Loans, Commercial Loans & Insurance Needs Ph: 09 255 5500, Fax: 09 255 5588
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Indian Indian
Indian February 12, 2010 Indian Log on to www.iwk.co.nz
April 16, 2010
Log on to www.iwk.co.nz Volume 2, No. 2
Volume 1, No. 23
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Trade | 6 Mus 13
Music| Bollywood | 20
India-NZ FTA Saro duo
Sarod Amruta Patki
Bollywood | 48 New Zealand | 8 Heritage | 58
progresses regale NZ
regal Tete a tete with From the 7 great things
Rahul Bose Police files about India

At a glance
Kishore’s unsong song
Indian Weekender A song composed by the
launches FREE legendary Kishore Kumar in
the 1960s will for the first time
online business see the light of day in Auckland
next month – through his son
directory... Amit Kumar.

Let customers find you Page 30

through their computers
and their mobiles – FREE! Law changes Suva’s nightlife
Two months after a new anti-
Visit prostitution law took effect
www.iwk.co.nz in Fiji, taxi driver Shiu Kumar
says he sees fewer sex work-
for details ers along Victoria Parade, the
centre of Suva’s nightlife.
Read more on page 5
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