indian weekender 02 october 2015

The pulse of Kiwi-Indians

2 October, 2015 • Vol. 7 Issue 28 • www.iwk.co.nzNZ’s first Kiwi-Indian weekly newspaper

2 October 2015 | www.iwk.co.nz

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2 NEW ZEALAND

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To boldly go where no one has gone beforeIndian Weekender steps into the second year of its weekly publication with this issueMaya ShivaM

This issue heralds the start on a new year for us at Indian Weekender; it

is a new beginning. Exactly one year ago we took the big bold step of becoming the first weekly community publication. We have now run 52 successful issues, week after week and have continued to serve the community.

This journey over the last one year has not just meant an increased interaction with our readers, it has also meant an increased participation within the community, better news coverage and reporting and a better presence within the country at large. Indian Weekender has become synonymous with Indian media and today, the paper represents the community at multicultural events and platforms.

This sudden doubling of our forces has not just happened because the team have doubled their efforts; it has also been possible because of the support we receive from the entire

community, from our readership. The quality of our publication also means that it sits longer at people’s coffee tables and hence provides more and longer coverage for our advertisers.

The year gone by has also seen an increase in the number of new columns that have been introduced. Your favourite publication is presented to you neatly packaged with a wide array of columns to choose from. Whether it is business, trends, fashion, gadgets or the news on the social scene and networks, Indian Weekender brings you updates on a plethora of topics.

We are committed to continue to improve our service to the community. We hope that the community enjoys reading our publication as much as we enjoy putting it together. We would love to hear from you on areas that you would like to see us improving. We would also look forward to hearing from our readers on the other topics that they would like us to add. Here’s to another year of serving the community to the best of our ability.

www.iwk.co.nz

3 October 2014

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

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Christchurch celebrates Eid for the first timeGaurav SharMa

The city’s first-ever Eid celebration on September 27 was organised by

Christchurch-based non-profit Nawawi Centre, and attended by more than 2,500 Muslims and non-Muslims.

There were food stalls from more than 14 different ethnic groups: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Morocco, Egypt, Pakistan, Libya, Algeria, Turkish, Bangladesh, Somalia, Maldives, Palestine and India. The venue also had henna and calligraphy booths. Games and activities were organised for children. Dunedin’s An-Nur Kiwi Academy, a Muslim culture-based boys’ high school, and Amanah New Zealand, a Shari’ah compliant investment firm, were represented.

But the most important attractions were the walk-in cultural lounge depicting the rich and vast Islamic history, and an Islam-inspired treasure hunt called DeenQuest.

“While we have substantial Muslim population in and around Christchurch, somehow Eid, our biggest festival, remained a private affair. This time we have tried to change that,” said Zayid Jones, director of the Nawawi Centre.

“Our objective for organising the Canterbury Eid Festival

is two-folds. Firstly, we want Muslims— both Kiwi and of other nationalities living here—to feel proud of their Islamic identity and heritage. Secondly, and importantly, we want to help our non-Muslim friends in developing a better understanding of the Islamic faith. Islam, like every other religion, also teaches universal peace and brotherhood. But unfortunately, some cultural components confined to particular geographical areas are misunderstood as Islamic teachings, giving all Muslims a bad name. Hopefully, this Eid will usher in an era of better inter-faith respect,” he added.

His sentiments were shared by Patrick O’Connor, who is the director of PEETO—The Multi-Cultural Learning Centre in Christchurch. “In my 25 years of running the Centre, this is the first time I am seeing Eid being celebrated at this scale. This will be very helpful in integrating diverse ethnic communities in Christchurch, which sometimes is wrongly called ‘a White Christian City’, as we have almost 170 different communities living here now.”

Siham Alsalfiti, a tutor at PEETO who immigrated to New Zealand 15 years ago from Palestine, and Fouad Shah, a Pakistani who has lived here for eight years and is also

the Secretary of the Muslim Association of Marlborough in Blenheim, were delighted as well.

“We travel around the country a lot in order to raise funds for constructing an Islamic Centre in Blenheim, and this is by far the biggest Eid celebrations we have seen anywhere in the South Island,” noted Shah. Even for local Kiwi Muslims, the festival was a welcome development.

Suhaylah Richards, a teacher at the Hagley Community College and a Kiwi Muslim who converted to Islam 30 years ago, recalled, “Contrarily to Eid’s inherent idea of being a community festival, we have always celebrated it in

our homes individually. While a lot more work needs to be done to make the city more acceptable

of cultural diversity, I am happy that things are changing in Christchurch slowly but surely.”

Muslims and non-Muslims attending the Canterbury Eid Festival in Christchurch on September 27; (below) Henna station at the festival


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Auckland home build rate hits another highiWK Bureau

Latest figures from Statistics New Zealand show that the annual number of building consents

in Auckland have reached a eight-year high. The numbers follow the recent release of the latest Auckland Housing Accord Monitoring Report and the Natio nal Construction Pipeline report that indicated that a strong momentum is currently underway and further predicted in Auckland.

Dr Smith, Building and Housing Minister, said, “The rate of new house build in Auckland remains strong. The 8,615 consents issued in the year to August this year is the highest since 2007, while the 741 consents for the month of August is the highest number of consents issued in Auckland in any August since 2004.

“I am also encouraged by the finding from Statistics New Zealand that the trend for consents in Auckland is continuing upward—this month reaching its highest point since November 2004. The trend is an important indicator of growth and confirms that the pace of Auckland’s build rate has picked up rapidly—more than doubling between 2012 and now.”

Last month’s Monitoring Report showed the longest and strongest period of growth in consents ever in Auckland, while the Pipeline report projected 80,000 new homes for the city by 2020.

“The government’s focus remains on boosting the supply of new housing, to

improve affordability and ensure that more New Zealanders are able to own their own home. We have a wide programme of work underway, including freeing up more land faster through the Auckland Housing Accord and the seven other Accords we have agreed with councils across the country. We are also constraining building materials costs, reining in development contributions, cutting compliance costs and improving productivity in the building and construction sector. Our $435 million HomeStart scheme will assist 90,000 into home ownership over the next five years.

“The next steps include the new tax measures that come into effect tomorrow, the Reserve Bank’s new tax measures that come into effect on 1 November, and the reforms to the Resource Management Act and the Building Act to address the long-term issues affecting housing supply and affordability.”


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Kiwi-Indian Thought Series 2015ENTRY FORMEmail the completed form to [email protected] : From India to New Zealand Last Date: October 5 2015

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Indians have excelled in different fields in New Zealand. With the Kiwi Indian Thought Series, we want to showcase the talent pool that is constantly contributing to the growth and success of New Zealand. Whether it is an anecdote, a personal experience that changed your life, interesting ideas or innovative thoughts that you would like to share, we give you a platform to showcase what you have brought “From India to New Zealand.”

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What to do next?Fill in the details above and send this form along with a 50-100 words write-up outlining the presentation you wish to enter. Post it to Indian Weekender, 98, Great South Road, Epsom, Auckland or download the e-form from http://goo.gl/aI671H and send it to [email protected]

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“Be the change you want to see in the world”—GandhiKuMar SureSh

When I arrived at Bangalore’s airport, one thing that I noticed was a spot in a

corner unofficially meant for spitting. It was an international terminal and I was amazed. This terminal was mainly used by international travellers who were supposed to be educated, had travelled the world and knew what differentiated India from the rest of the world.

Just when I was thinking of all this, my co-traveller threw a used tissue paper towards a dustbin. It was clear that this man was no Abhinav Bindra because he missed the trash can by a good meter or so. I kept asking myself why is it that the same man who wouldn’t think of messing around in his house, teaches his kids about cleanliness, would not litter or spit in other countries, would do this in India?

So what is holding Indians back from keeping their cities clean? Is it ego, lack of rule enforcement or is it simply the attitude of people to be blamed?

When one reads the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi, one gets a clear idea as to how long this problem has existed in the Indian society. Gandhi mentions the unclean toilets in congress’ meets in early 1900s in his autobiography. He talks about how he himself had to clean toilets as none of the volunteers of the event would do it thinking it to be a job of lesser importance,

meant to be done by people from lower classes of the society.

Cleaning of roads in public by political leaders with brooms in hand, a trend that we see today in India, is actually the idea taken from Gandhi. He and his followers, armed with brooms, went out to the streets plagued with epidemics and made it liveable. He once famously said, “Everyone should be his own scavenger.” His initiatives to get women (including his

wife) from well-to-do families to reach out to slum dwellers to teach basic cleanliness were wonderful examples of how innovative his ideas were.

Today we see people expressing strong opinions about clean India and Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan but how many of them actually go out on roads to take on the pile of garbage? How many politicians and bureaucrats who pose for cameras with brooms actually mean good?

These steps were small but were visionary. What we can deduce from these is the fact that one can’t preach without being actually capable of doing it first. He taught us many things, but none he couldn’t do himself.

Today India is taking giant steps forward in the world, but we are leaving small things untouched. According to Gandhi, industrialisation without human prosperity is like a big tree with a termite-infested hollow trunk. Gandhigiri might be the only way out for us Indians towards a better life.

On the 146th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, one of

India’s most influential leaders, we revisit his ideology of

a clean India

Above: Mahatma Gandhi cleaning the rubbish on the street with a broom Right: Father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi


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8 NEW ZEALAND

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Shanti Niwas celebrates International Day for Older PersonsiWK Bureau

The International Day for Older Persons was celebrated on 26

September by Shanti Niwas Charitable Trust.

The United Nations International Day of Older Persons is celebrated annually on October 1 to recognise the contributions of older persons and to focus on the much-needed spotlight on the issue of ageing.

The International Day of Older Persons aims to raise awareness of the impact of an ageing population and the need to ensure that people can grow old with dignity and continue to participate in society as citizens with full rights.

The theme of the 2015 commemoration is ‘Sustainability and Age Inclusiveness in the Urban Environment’.

This year the focus will be not only on the impact of the new urban environment on older persons but also the impact of older persons on the new urban environment.

The event was attended by the Minister for Senior Citizens, Hon Maggie Berry, who was the

chief guest, Mr Kanwal Jeet Singh Bakshi, MP National, Ms Parmjeet Parmar, MP National, Ms Jenny Salesa, MP Labour, Mr Mahesh Bindra, MP NZ First, the Mayor of Auckland Mr Len Brown and other community leaders.

Project Manager, Nilima Venkat, MNZM, JP said, “Shanti Niwas has taken great strides towards becoming a premier organisation working for the elderly with a great track record of service delivery. Be it our Positive Ageing day programmes in Onehunga and North Shore, KHUSHI—our Elder Abuse and Neglect Prevention Service, or other support services are widely sought after. We have a strong philosophy of advocacy and I don’t hesitate to say we have touched many a life positively and will endeavour to continue through hard work and perseverance.”

A free musical concert was organised for the seniors by Shanti Niwas. The seniors were regaled by evergreen melodies of the bygone era by Mohammed Rafi Music Academy. More than 300 seniors and other members of the community attended and

enjoyed the event. Shanti Niwas Charitable Trust Inc, a non-profit organisation, has a long history of more than 21 years working with socially isolated senior citizens of Indian and South Asian origin living in the Auckland region.

The Mission of Shanti Niwas is to make visible signs of hope, empower those whom society has neglected, and celebrate change and diversity. Top: Nilima Venkat (fourth from right) of Shanti Niwas addresses the audience

Above: Dignitaries and audience at the event


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10 NEW ZEALAND

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Funding boost for emergency housing sector

More vulnerable New Zealanders will be able to access emergency housing when they need it, Social Housing Minister Paula Bennett says.

The government will invest $2 million in non-government organisations (NGOs) in Auckland for a short-term emergency housing response to help address the shortage of emergency housing places.

“Emergency housing is for people who urgently need somewhere to stay, and the sooner we get people housed the sooner we can work to move them into stable, long-term housing and address other needs they may have like employment or education,” says Mrs Bennett.

The announcement builds on a $500,000 cash injection for emergency housing providers and a wider review of the sector that was announced by Mrs Bennett in January 2015.

As part of the review, the government has been working

closely with NGOs and councils. The short-term response in Auckland is based on the government-funded emergency housing service in Christchurch that saw two NGOs contracted to provide short-term housing.

Run by specialist providers, up to an extra 120 emergency housing places a year will be available for families and individuals. They will be provided support to move into sustainable, independent housing.

The $2 million will be available for contributions towards the capital cost of refurbishing existing properties or new builds if required, as well as for ongoing operational costs such as accommodation and providing wraparound support services.

The Auckland short-term response will be implemented in partnership with Auckland Council, which has set aside $250,000 in each of the next two years for emergency housing providers.

More evidence of lowest crime levels in decadesThe government’s relentless

focus on reducing crime is delivering outstanding

results, with the number of people appearing in court continuing to fall.

Justice Minister Amy Adams welcomed two sets of Conviction and Sentencing statistics covering both adult and youth offenders for the year ending June 2015.

The figures show that the number of adults charged in court has decreased by 36 per cent since its peak in 2009–10, down five per cent in the last year.

This puts the number of adults in court at the lowest levels since records began in 1980–81.

“We’ve also recorded an impressive 61 per cent decrease in the number of children and young people who appeared in court since its peak in 2007–08, and by 13 per cent in the past year,” says Ms Adams.

“These statistics show our policies to drive down crime

and keep communities safer are working. These figures represent real people and lives changed. The fewer people in our criminal justice system, the better.

“Fewer people in court is clear evidence of less crime on our streets and a less congested court system. It’s saving taxpayer money, improving the long-term outcomes for vulnerable New Zealanders and keeping our communities safer.”

The statistics show a decrease across all genders, age and ethnic groups over the past year.

“These figures are in line with the trends we’re seeing in our Better Public Services results and the crime rate, which all show less crime and fewer victims.

“These statistics are testament to the government’s continued effort to reduce crime and make New Zealand a safer place for all who live here,” says Ms Adams.


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11NEW ZEALAND

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Exciting additions to Auckland CBD in the works

The old Nelson Street motorway off-ramp is in for a new look. Set to open later this year, the off-

ramp will be transformed into a must-see Auckland attraction with interactive lights, Māori carvings and a vibrant magenta surface.

A new bridge off Canada Street will connect the off-ramp to Upper Queen Street and will continue to Nelson Street where a separated cycleway is being built. The final design—that includes LED lights lining the safety barriers that interact and pulse as people pass and a strong shade of magenta on the surface that will fade out at the northern end in a Maori design—was

developed when Aucklanders called for it be modern and distinctly New Zealand in an online survey in June. The final design includes LED lights

Political urban design champion Councillor Chris Darby says, “This project shines a light on walking and cycling and offers an inspiring new way through a previously impenetrable spaghetti junction. It offers a seamless walk-across-the-rooftops connection into the city-centre, with sweeping views of the city and harbour.

“The innovative design catches the eye and captures the imagination, heralding the future of transport across Auckland.” The concept has been created by Monk

Mackenzie architects and LandLAB in association with artist Katz Maihi. Māori patterns and narrative form a core part of the designs, following discussions with iwi.

The path includes etched carvings at intervals along the length, with a six-metre pou at the entrance. The colour represents the heartwood of a freshly cut totara, with the red and pink shades strengthened to contrast with the surrounding motorway lanes.

Brett Gliddon, Transport Agency’s Auckland and Northland Highway Manager,

says, “It is great to see the beginning of our urban cycling future here in Auckland with a wonderful facility like this. It is helping to make cycling a safer and more attractive transport choice as well as leading the way in world-class cycling infrastructure.”

Barbara Cuthbert, Cycle Action Auckland chair, says “This cycleway will be the highlight of all the new projects we’ve seen in the city so far. It will be a beacon attracting people to walk, cycle and delight in the views—a new landmark for Auckland!”

Nelson street off-ramp mid-section


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12 NEW ZEALAND

Phil GoffLabour MP

Parmjeet ParmarNational List MP

Kanwaljit BakshiNational List MP

Would we survive a nuclear war?

A fter the detonation of nuclear bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki 70 years ago, the father of

the nuclear bomb, Albert Einstein, warned the world of the potentially catastrophic consequences of the new weapon he had helped invent.

“Splitting the atom changes everything except the way we think. Hence the world is drifting towards unparalleled catastrophe,” he told us.

Nuclear weapons mean that for the first time, we have the ability to annihilate humanity. The two bombs dropped in 1945 killed around 140,000 people, many immediately with the tremendous blast

and heat caused by the detonation and others more slowly from burns, injuries and radiation. These bombs were, however, tiny by today’s comparisons. There are some 16,000 nuclear weapons today, many with the destructive capacity a thousand times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Most worryingly, some 1,600 missiles are on what is called hair trigger alert. They can be fired at a few minutes notice.

Russia and the United States work from the basis that if they detect incoming missiles they need to retaliate by firing their own missiles immediately. This prevents an incoming strike decapitating their command and control launch systems and destroying missiles on the ground.

However, missiles on high alert create enormous risks. It takes just 15 minutes for a missile fired from a nuclear submarine to hit its targets, just 30 minutes for a missile to travel half way across the planet from one country to another. Decisions need to be taken in minutes, without time for a careful and rational decision-making process.

No time exists for verification that warnings of incoming missiles are accurate and not just a false alarm. There’s no time for dialogue between two opposing sides.

Cyber warfare has increased the risk of nuclear war. General James Cartwright, a four star Marine General and a former Head of Strategic Command and Deputy Joint Chief of Staff in the United States military, has warned that cyber warfare gave terrorist groups the potential to launch missiles by penetrating a country’s missile control systems. Should a war occur, hundreds of millions could be killed in the first hour. Hundreds of millions more would die in the following weeks from irradiation and injuries suffered that could not be treated because the country’s infrastructure would be destroyed. Within a year, a nuclear winter created by the millions of tonnes of smoke and dust thrown up in the atmosphere, could totally eliminate human life.

While a small country, New Zealand has often taken the lead in trying to reduce the risk posed by this threat. In the 1970s,

the Kirk Labour Government sent a frigate to protest at Mururoa and went to the International Court of Justice action to help achieve a ban on nuclear weapon testing. In the 1980s, the Lange Labour Government resisted great power pressure to stay under the ‘protection’ of a nuclear umbrella and instead legislated for New Zealand to be nuclear free.

Under the Clark Labour Government in the 21st century, as Minister for Disarmament I worked with other small countries to outlaw cluster munitions and to lead a resolution to take all nuclear weapons off high alert. That resolution is now supported by 166 out of 192 countries at the United Nations.

It’s time for New Zealand to show leadership again. We should be using our seat on the United Nations Security Council to press for all nuclear weapons to be taken off high alert, for nuclear missile numbers to be slashed and a Convention that would move towards total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Celebrating our elders

October 1 marks the 25th International Day of Older Persons.

Our Indian culture imbibes in us values of respect and care towards elders.

This John Key led National Party Government is committed to ensuring older New Zealanders have the security, wellbeing and respect they deserve.

They have worked hard and should be able to enjoy their retirement with dignity.

The government is committed to supporting older New Zealanders to lead active, secure and meaningful lives. National has increased superannuation far ahead of inflation. Since 2008 the married

rate is up by $249 a fortnight and the single rate up by $162 a fortnight.

We are committed to supporting seniors by keeping the Superannuation age at 65 and keeping the married rate of Super at or above 66 per cent of the after-tax average wage.

We have also increased funding for the off-peak SuperGold Card public transport

concession scheme for the 2015-16 financial year, bringing total funding to $28.1 million.

In the last year we have recruited 650 new businesses to the SuperGold card scheme, bringing the number of outlets offering discounts here to more than 12,000.

Despite tight financial times, we have also increased funding to aged residential care by $240 million and increased the funding for dementia care beds by 25

per cent since 2008. Budget 2015 provided $76.1 million over four years to provide more hospice and palliative care services and recruit 60 new nurse specialists.

We are building a safer New Zealand with the lowest crime rate since 1978. There are 600 more police on the front line around the New Zealand and introducing 33 Neighbourhood Policing Teams to

ensure a dedicated and strong police presence in New Zealand’s most vulnerable communities. Services for seniors continue to improve under National. We are running information campaigns on Enduring Power of Attorney to help prevent financial abuse and have made broadcast contention more accessible by increasing the amount of captioned content from 70 hours a week to 250 hours per week.

The Prime Minister and Minister for Senior Citizens recently launched SuperSeniors, the new, custom-made one stop shop website for information relevant to anyone over 50. The new website, newsletter and social media channels will ensure older people can get access to the information they need in one place. The government also funds 27 elder abuse and neglect prevention services around New Zealand, which offer assistance to older people and their families

There is always more to do, this National-led government will continue to listen closely to the needs of our communities.

Fixing the loopy rules

In May, I held a Rules Reduction Taskforce meeting at the Wesley Community Centre in Mount Roskill.

Members of the local community gave their examples of misguided, outdated or otherwise frustrating rules that affect them going about their business.

Now the taskforce has reported on its findings, including our local concerns. Requiring a bus depot without walls to have

exit signs is impractical. And if a farmer plants thousands of trees, that farmer should be able to harvest them.

Unachievable noise levels for a home have meant only a wardrobe complies—it sounds laughable but many ludicrous rules around the country are.

These are some of the variety of stories the Rules Reduction Taskforce has heard about in 50 public meetings around the country, and in thousands of submissions.

New Zealanders pointed out loopy rules in a wide range of areas including dog control, tree trimming, building and DIY work.

There is no doubt that out-of-date, petty and onerous rules are causing unnecessary costs, delays and annoyances.

Over the next few weeks Ministers will work with departments and agencies to progress the quick fixes.

Other solutions will take a bit longer, but we’ll continue to make announcements as this work progresses.

Most of the submissions were on rules that rest with the Resource Management Act and the Building Act.

We’ll work with government departments and local councils to make the changes needed.

Interestingly, some so-called rules are actually myths with no basis in legislation. They’ve just been repeated so many times they’ve become ingrained in people’s minds. Others have simply been misinterpreted year after year. A lot of the time people just don’t know what they are meant to

do because requirements are unclear and advice is incorrect. That is unacceptable.

Why has this been the case? These issues have persisted because the customer hasn’t come first, because of the interests of experts, and because of fears of the administrators.

Some of these experts have been accused of seeking to justify their own existence.

We’ve listened to thousands of stories about rules that are inconsistent, pointless, or frankly loopy. And now we’re going to do something about it.

It is not acceptable that these rules hold back New Zealanders and their businesses. That’s why we’re jumping at the chance to find practical solutions.


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13NEW ZEALAND

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Auckland public transport usage exceeds 80mAuckland’s annual public transport

usage has exceeded 80 million trips for the first time. The

August 2015 figures released by Auckland Transport (AT) show Aucklanders are flocking to use the new electric trains with annual rail patronage up 22.7 per cent to 14.4 million.

The figures are significant as this was the first period when the Western, Southern, Eastern and Onehunga lines were all using the electric trains.

In August, total rail patronage grew by more than 20 per cent compared to August the previous year and the Western line, the last to get the electric trains, saw a 12.9 per cent leap.

Mayor Len Brown says the patronage target, set by the government for funding of the City Rail Link (CRL), will be achieved three years ahead of schedule.

“There is no doubt that my vision to help solve Auckland’s traffic congestion by improving public transport services is working well but the growth will soon create problems which emphasise the urgent need to get cracking on building the CRL,” says Mayor Len Brown.

Len Brown says he is especially pleased with the increase of ferry services patronage,

up 10.2 per cent, while bus patronage is up 6.6 per cent annually.

The AT HOP card was also a winner being used on almost 74 per cent of journeys. Cycle trips in August 2015 were 7.3 per cent higher than in August 2014 across the nine key sites monitored by AT.

“Aucklanders made it clear they want to cycle but want to feel safer when doing so,” says Len Brown.

The government’s target was for 20 million passenger rail trips per year.

Tombs, tours and high tea at Auckland Heritage Festival 2015

Cycle the historic hoods in your Sunday best, spend quiet time among the forgotten souls in the

city’s cemeteries, take a rare glimpse inside the Roman Catholic Bishop’s palace or while away an afternoon at a high tea dance; these are just some of the offerings available at this year’s Auckland Heritage Festival.

The enthusiasm and energy of hundreds of volunteers and local organisations has made it possible for more than 180 free and low-cost events that will be showcasing Auckland’s diverse heritage across the region from 26 September to 11 October.

Mayor Len Brown says Auckland is marking some significant anniversaries this year and is encouraging Aucklanders to discover their heritage during the festival.

“In the year that Auckland marks its 175th anniversary, the centenary of Gallipoli and five years since the unification of Auckland, there’s no better time for Aucklanders to check out what the Heritage Festival has on offer, from Tales of Tāmaki at the Museum to a Soldiers’ Walk at Waikumete Cemetery and a documentary on the start of the restoration of the St James Theatre.”

Chair of Auckland Council’s Heritage Advisory Panel, Cllr Mike Lee, says, “The

growing popularity of the festival in recent years underscores the value Aucklanders place on their heritage, especially their built heritage. Whatever the theme, Heritage Festival events are well worth attending.”

Events in the festival include heritage walks, talks and tours, special events and exhibitions. They’re hosted by a range of knowledge specialists including architects, musicians, mana whenua, historians, scientists and filmmakers.

Auckland Heritage Festival is an annual event delivered by Auckland Council. For full programme and event details, visit http://www.heritagefestival.co.nz/


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14 FIJI

News source: Fiji Sun

More women being recruited in our civil service: BainimaramaMore women are being

recruited into Fiji’s public service, says Prime Minister

Voreqe Bainimarama. The message was relayed by Mr

Bainimarama when delivering his statement at the Global Leaders Meeting On Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment: A Commitment To Action at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

“In our public service, all appointments are on a transparent and merit-based system, which has resulted in the recruitment of more women,” he said.

He said he was also pleased to state that Fiji was currently leading the Pacific in the representation of women in Parliamentary.

“For the first time, Fiji has a female Speaker of Parliament. The secretary-general to Parliament and the secretary to Cabinet are also women and for the

first time in Fiji’s history all these three positions are simultaneously held by women.” In his government, he said, four women possessed significant ministerial portfolios. He said over the last seven years, his government had increased funding to the National Women’s Machinery, by some 320 per cent. The National Women’s Machinery will continue to be supported with adequate funding and human resources to strengthen their capacity to have a

strong gender database that can better influence policy. Government funding support to Small and Micro-Enterprises (SME) development to stimulate growth in the SME sector, he said, had increased substantially, and the criteria for project selection was based purely on the merit of the case.

Mr Bainimarama says that laws that once offered women almost no protection were now a vestige of the past.

‘Fiji is what I was looking for’Waking up every

morning to bomb blasts and terrorist

attacks by Taliban was the life Bahram Mahmoodi lived back in Kabul, Afghanistan.

He is one among the refugees in Fiji who are here to seek asylum from the government and is kept at an undisclosed safe house under the Immigration Department.

“Fiji is the place where I finally found what I was looking for after living [with] my family and friends back in Afghanistan in search for peace and a better life.

“I love Fiji because it is a peaceful country and not only that, the people are caring and kind. The people of Afghanistan have suffered a lot because of terrorist attacks. I have also lost some family members and to see people dying every day right in front of my eyes is terrifying and heartbreaking,” Mr Mahmoodi said.

Kabul is the capital city of Afghanistan. He said terrorist

attacks had been part of his childhood.

“Our right to having a good education and living a better civilised life has been taken away because of war which has also led to people fleeing Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan is nothing compared to Fiji because my country was a violent place and the thoughts of going back there is like going to get killed. The scene in my country was seeing dead

bodies lying on the streets nearly every day after a bomb blasts and it has affected me emotionally and mentality,” Mahmoodi said.

Trying to hold back his tears, the 20-year old said that if he had to return to Afghanistan then there were high risks.

“I have left all the memories about Afghanistan when I landed in Fiji and there are no plans to even think about going back there,” he said.

Arfaodi Mohamed (left) of Tunisia and Bahram Mahmoodi of Afghanistan in Suva

FIjI seeks InDIA’s help In AgrIculture sectOrThe Fiji-India Business

Council has sought technical assistance

from India to further develop Fiji’s agriculture sector, a media report said. “India leads in processed food exports and there

is a growing market for these products in Australia and New Zealand,” the Fiji Times quoted Fiji-India Business Council president Swani Maharaj as saying. “Processed food or downstream processing of fruit and vegetables

is a growth sector and markets for these products exist in many countries.

Unfortunately, we do not have the research capacity and we need to get universities involved in this area,” Maharaj was quoted

as saying. He said processing fruits into juices and canned products formed another viable market.

“We need to develop farm orchards to produce the best quality of fruit with consistency,” he added.

Indian-origin people in Fiji, an

archipelago of 332 islands in the

heart of Pacific Ocean, constitute

more than 35 per cent of the

country’s total population.

Vijay Singh returns for Fiji International golf tournament

V ijay Singh is returning to compete in next month’s Fiji International golf

tournament at Natadola Bay.The former world number one

finished in the top 10 at last year’s inaugural event and says he is pleased to be returning.

“I am pleased to be returning home to play in the Fiji International, which is building the profile of the sport that I love in the country that I love,” said Singh who finished in the top-10 last year.

“I enjoyed my time competing in the inaugural tournament, and this year I am motivated to try and win.”

The Chief Commercial Officer of the PGA of Australia, Stephen Ayles, says Singh is a hero in Fiji and inspires and interests people in golf, so it was important to get him back for another year.

“We would like to create a lasting legacy of golf in Fiji and

by having Vijay participate we are on the path to achieving both of these goals.”

The tournament is being held the week after The Presidents Cup in Korea, with world number 15 Matt Kuchar to compete after representing the United States of America.

The playing field has been increased to 132 with the prize purse worth A$1.125m.

Vijay Singh


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15

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News source: Fiji Sun

Hindus mark end of Ganesh festivalMore than 500 Hindu

devotees gathered at the Nasese foreshore in

Suva to mark the end of the Ganesh Utsav festival.

The Hindu festival is celebrated in honour of Lord Ganesh. This would last for 10 days where the celebration involves installing clay sculptures of Lord Ganesh in public pandals (temporary shrines) where devotees cab worship the idol. On the eleventh day, the idols are immersed in a body of water such as a lake, pond, river or sea. Pundit Durga

Prasad Maharaj of Surya Narayan Temple in Waidalice, Tailevu, said the festival marked a time of togetherness and peace for all.

“The festival is always meant to be full of happiness and peace for all devotees and when we farewell him in to the sea, it means he is taking all our sorrows with him and we will be left with peace in our heart,” he said.

Yash Patel of the Sri Shri Sai Mandir in Toorak said, “We go to the temple and seek for Lord Ganesh’s blessings as he is the first God we pray to before we start our day as he is our provider.

In taking Lord Ganesh’s idol to the sea means taking him back to his parents—Shiv Bhagwan and Mata Parvati and in doing this we are

showered with his blessings.”The Minister for Education,

Heritage and Arts, Mahendra Reddy, who was also part of the

festival, said the Ganesh Utsav festival gathered all Hindus from all over the world to take part and receive blessings from Lord Ganesh.

“Lord Ganesh is our very first deity we pray to before we start our day because he is an auspicious deity who blesses us with good fortunes and people look forward to this day so that they can receive his blessings,” he said.

President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau was invited to be part of the annual Hindu festival that was celebrated at the My Suva Park, Nasese.

Devotees carry the idol of Lord Ganesh during the Ganesh Utsav celebration at My Suva Park

Fiji skills shortage prompts increase in foreign labour

F iji is suffering a skills shortage, and this has meant importing workers from overseas and

increasing training and apprenticeships for its own young people.

Fiji Employers Federation CEO Nesbit Hazelman says the construction industry in particular is experiencing a boom, but many of the workers with the technical skills needed have migrated in recent years. Many went to New Zealand to participate in the rebuilding of Christchurch following the 2011 earthquake. Mr Hazelman says while efforts are underway to boost technical training for Fijians, for the moment the country needs to import foreign workers.

Hajj pilgrims safe: Khan

Seventy-seven Fijian Muslims are counting their lucky stars after they were still in transit in

Korea when a construction crane crashed through the roof of the Grand Mosque Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

They were travelling to Mecca for the Holy Pilgrimage (Hajj). The crane, one of many around the mosque for the expansion work, collapsed 10 days before the Hajj, after a strong thunderstorm hit Mecca, killing 107 people and injuring at least 238. The mosque is the largest in the world and surrounds Islam’s holiest site, the Kaaba shrine. Fiji Muslim League national president Hafizud Dean Khan said, “Our people are safe and we thank God for that.

“They were still in transit in Korea when the crane fell through the Mosque.”

Mr Khan said they would be returning home in two weeks. Toorak Masjid Imam, Maulana Faiyaz Ali Khan and his wife were among the lucky ones to have escaped the crash. Maulana Faiyaz’s father Irshad Ali of Nakasi said they were thankful to the Almighty for their lives.

“It was an unfortunate incident which occurred during the holy month,” Mr Ali said. The 70-year-old says Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in the lifetime of all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable.

“Hajj teaches a person patience, it also gives a person the chance to be absolved of his sins, to restart life.”

Editorial— Mahatma Gandhi

Thought of the weekA small body of determined spirits fired by an

unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.

From the desk of the Managing Editor

“To be a master, act like one. Assuming greatness is not phony; unworthiness is the imposter. You may have played small for a long time and fallen prey to the hallucination, “I can’t.” But behind every “can’t” is a “won’t.” When you reach

the chalk circle others have drawn around you, keep walking. The moment you look a monster in the eye and demand, “Show me what you really are,” the beast will shape-shift into an ally. Emerson proclaimed, “Do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain.” When dark and light are placed in the same room, light always wins. And because your nature is light, you will triumph over every limit you have learned.”

~Alan Cohen from Why Your Life Sucks

It is a fact that the only thing that limits us from reaching our fullest potential is us. It is the limitations that we put on ourselves that stand in the way. Oftentimes these perceptions stem from social conditioning or as a result of experiences that we might have had in the past. It is important therefore that we challenge ourselves to grab the bull by its horns and take things head on. It is often in these courageous moments that we prove, not just to the world but to ourselves, what we are made up of.

It was one such moment that we faced a year ago when we decided to step up to being the first Indian community publication to be published weekly. For us, it meant a giant step ahead. Naturally there were obstacles, fears and opinions that we faced, but the need of the moment was to look fear in the eye and carry on regardless. A year later we are proud of achieving this milestone. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the team, to our advertisers, friends and supporters and most importantly our readers. This could not have been possible without your support.

As you would notice the excitement for the Auckland Diwali festival is growing. At the same time, the Kiwi Indian Thought Series is also picking up momentum. So if you have some trailblazing ideas that you want to share with the community on a prestigious platform, you now only have a few days to send us your entries. Please refer to our advertisement in this issue.

We pay tribute to the father of the nation (India), Mahatma Gandhi, and the second Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries.

Although the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi is well known, not many know about Shastri, who lived his life with honesty and simplicity. The one thing that inspires me the most is the fact that he did not own a car even after becoming the Prime Minister. Being a simple person, he had only Rs. 7,000 in his bank account. A Fiat car cost Rs.12,000 those days. So he applied for a bank loan of Rs. 5,000. When he died, all he had in his bank account was the debt for the car.

It is exciting to note that The High Commission of India has announced that the Indian Men’s Hockey Team will be in New Zealand soon and will play several matches as per the following schedule: Oct 2, 1:00 p.m., India v/s New Zealand A at Auckland; Oct 3, 1:00 p.m., India v/s New Zealand A at Auckland; Oct 6, 7:00 p.m., India v/s New Zealand at Nelson; Oct 7, 7:00 p.m., India v/s New Zealand at Nelson; Oct 9, 8:00 p.m., India v/s New Zealand at Christchurch; Oct 11, 1:00 p.m., India v/s New Zealand at Christchurch. Let us support these matches and more importantly the Indian team.

There are several other interesting stories to add to your reading pleasure in this issue. We look forward to another great year of being of service to you every week.

Until next time.Giri Gupta

Tip from the trenches

Pick of the week

Planetary scientists detected hydrated salts on these slopes at Hale crater, corroborating their original hypothesis that the streaks are indeed formed by liquid water. The blue color seen upslope of the dark streaks are thought not to be related to their formation, but instead are from the presence of the mineral pyroxene. Photo Credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Courtesy : Shreyas Navare (facebook.com/dabsandjabs)

Fluffier whiter rice: Add a teaspoon of lemon juice to the boiling water before you put the rice in the pot.

Skinny shake that tastes like Wendy’s Frosty!3/4 cup almond milk, about 15 ice cubes, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1-2 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1/3 of a banana. Mix. Enjoy!

Indian Weekender : Volume 7 Issue 28Publisher: Kiwi Media Group Limited Managing Editor: Giri Gupta | [email protected] Editor: Annu Sharma | [email protected] Chief Reporter: Swati Sharma | [email protected] Reporter: Rizwan Mohammad | [email protected]: Esha Chanda | [email protected]: Kumar Suresh | [email protected] Technical Officer: Rohan Desouza | [email protected] Graphic & Layout Designer: Mahesh Kumar | [email protected] Designer: Yashmin Chand | [email protected] Accounts and Admin.: Farah Khan | [email protected] Sales & Marketing: 022 3251630 / 021 1507950 / 09-2137335 | [email protected]

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

Views expressed in the articles are solely of the authors and do not in any way represent the views of the team at the Indian Weekender

Indian Weekender is published by Kiwi Media Group, 98 Great South Road, AucklandPrinted at Horton Media, Auckland

Copyright 2015. Kiwi Media Group. All Rights Reserved.

Brassed OffPronounced: brassed off | Meaning: Disappointed/ annoyed

Usage: I am really brassed off with the way this party has turned out


Red Black Orange

17OPINION / EDITORIAL

Fostering innovation in IndiaaMit Kapoor

Innovation is central to economic development. In a country the size of India, it is imperative to look at innovation from an international as well as a state and level perspective. Two recent reports on innovation offer unique insights on fostering innovation in India from these two viewpoints. The first is the ‘Global Innovation Index 2015’ (GII 2015). The report ranks countries, placing India 81st among 141 countries. The report classifies India as an ‘Innovation outperformer’ due to India’s relatively low per capita income, high ‘global innovation score’ (GIS) among its peers and being consistently an ‘innovation achiever’ for the past three years.

European countries continue to dominate the GII rankings with countries such as Switzerland (1), Britain (2), Sweden (3) and the Netherlands (4) being in the top five. Only two non-European countries are among the top 10. Among the BRICS countries China (29), Russia (48), South Africa (60) and Brazil (70) are all ahead of India. However, in the Central and South Asian region, India is ranked the best economy for innovation.

Looking at the ‘Innovation efficiency ratio’, (a ratio of outputs of innovation to inputs of innovation), India is ranked 31st among the 141 countries. This means

that in comparison to innovation inputs, India’s outputs are significantly better than many countries. According to the findings of a survey done for the report, the top three priorities for Innovation in the Indian context are: providing large R&D infrastructure support, improvement of ICT infrastructure, and providing direct financial R&D support. This is understandable given India’s decrepit research infrastructure

and poor internet penetration rates. These findings are on expected lines since there are distinct strengths and weaknesses in the context of Innovation in India. The country’s strengths flow from good top-level universities and growth in the citation of publications. Apart from this, mobile networks, information technology, and broadband and good gross capital formation and market capitalisation have helped India in developing an innovation ecosystem. India’s innovation has faltered due to an inadequate growth of the small and medium sector enterprises, lack of coherent thought on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and problems pertaining to higher education.

The second report is titled ‘Understanding India’s Innovation Economics’ (UIIE). It is more focused towards the framework of innovation in India, sectoral concerns within India and the need to look at innovation from a state-level perspective rather than at the central level. The report mentions Karnataka in this context. The major findings suggest that most respondents perceive that consumer internet services (e-commerce platforms) followed by information technology and mobile technology as sectors seeing the greatest innovation.

Governance, infrastructure and healthcare are sectors that are in need of innovation.

Another major finding is that fostering an innovation ecosystem requires shapers (basic elements) and enablers (advanced elements) to work together. The critical shapers for innovation in Karnataka are infrastructure and the education, system while enablers include government industry synergy, cultural factors, the right talent, academic rigour to harness the talent and capital.

Another major finding is that most respondents think that Bengaluru is a city where the most innovation is taking place, followed by Pune/Mumbai and NCR at the city level. The three top factors for making Karnataka an innovative state, according to the report, are: availability of skilled talent, a supportive state government, and the presence of a supporting venture ecosystem. These findings again are on expected lines with those familiar with Indian innovation.

Overall these two reports offer rich insights at the international, national and sub-national levels in fostering innovation in India. Under the broad level framework entrepreneurship, research and development and intellectual property are the three broad pillars on which innovation studies rest within the Indian context. Over the next decade, India’s economic growth will depend on the gales of creative destruction that in turn will depend on fostering and building a creative economy.

New Australian PM: will Canberra-New Delhi relations change? reKha Bhattacharjee

While Australia’s Prime Minister changed in a dramatic leadership spat three weeks ago, it is believed that the elevation of Malcolm Turnbull as the 29th PM of Australia would not adversely impact the bilateral relationship between India and Australia.

After months of pulsating suspense over the imminent challenge by Malcolm Turnbull, the end of Tony Abbott’s reign as Prime Minister of Australia came rather swiftly on September 14.

Ironically, the former PM of Australia had rubbished the suggestions in the morning that a leadership challenge from Malcolm Turnbull was imminent.

“I’m just not going to chase all of these rabbits down all of the burrows that you’re inviting me to go down,” Abbott told reporters in the morning while dismissing the rumours or “Canberra games” as the former Prime Minister described those. Within 12 hours or so of making the statement, Abbott was defeated by Turnbull in the leadership spill.

Now as Turnbull has been elevated to the top position, the political commentators are busy analysing the implications of the ‘knifing’ of the previous Liberal Prime Minister.

In what has come to be known as the “revolving door” prime ministers, Australia has seen swearing in ceremony of no less than five Prime Ministers in just over five years.

What is bothering the antipodean political pundits is the fact that Australia

is beginning to be seen as politically dysfunctional all over the world. Although the majority of the political commentators see the quick changes at the top as an aberration, few sceptics are of the opinion that “revolving door” of Prime Ministers has become a new normal.

The change of tenant at 5 Adelaide Avenue in Deakin suburb of Canberra also leads to another question: would there be a change in the foreign policy under the new occupant of the Prime Ministerial abode (popularly called The Lodge)? Writing from an Indian perspective, the question which

comes to mind is whether there would be any significant change in the bilateral relations between India and Australia post aforementioned leadership fight.

Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb is quick to dismiss any suggestion of such a seismic shift in the bilateral relations under Turnbull. The new Prime Minister, according to Robb, remained extremely focussed on further developing the relationship with India.

“There is an enormous amount of upside in the relationship at so many levels including in trade, investment and in the deepening of business to business linkages,” the minister for trade said while speaking to this writer.

“We continue to work towards the conclusion of a bilateral economic cooperation agreement where Australian services, for example, have a lot to offer in terms of helping to build capacity in the Indian economy,” the Minister said.

“Deepening our economic relationship with India is important to Australia as we seek to aid the diversity of our economy in this post-mining boom period,” Robb added.

A few months back, the Trade Minister had expressed his optimism over the proposed Australia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). It is most likely that the negotiations would continue with the same vigour as under the Prime Ministership of Tony Abbott.

It would be pertinent to mention here that the business-friendly Turnbull has his eyes set firmly on the way the economic

reforms are being carried out under the leadership of Narendra Modi in India.

“Charismatic new leaders in the world’s two most populous nations, President Xi of China and Prime Minister Modi of India, are this year pressing ahead with ambitious economic and political reform plans,” Turnbull had said while opening an important lecture ‘Assessing the Future of the Asia-Pacific - US/Australia Dialogue’ earlier this year.

Indian High Commissioner to Australia Navdeep Suri shares the views expressed by Trade Minister Robb. He is also of the opinion that the ascension of Turnbull would not have any significant impact on the bilateral relations between the two Indian Ocean Rim countries.

“Ours is a mature relationship underpinned by strong institutional linkages. I am confident that the relationship will continue to grow under the new government as well,” Suri told this writer.

From the Indian perspective, Turnbull’s India policy would become apparent in the not too distant future when he makes a decision on the uranium sale to the power-hungry South Asian country.

A joint parliamentary standing committee on treaties had recently raised objections over the uranium sale to India—however a member said the committee had been satisfied all nuclear material in India could be easily accounted for and tracked.

Rekha Bhattacharjee is a Sydney-based senior journalist. The views

expressed are personal.


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Modi writes another success story with love fest in Americaarun KuMar

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up yet another hugely successful

visit to the US with a warm hug for President Barack Obama, a courtship with Silicon Valley and a love fest with the Indian diaspora.

As Obama said after an hour-long meeting in New York on Monday with “good friend” Modi, building on his “wonderful visit” to Delhi in January, “We’ve elevated our ties. We’ve committed ourselves to a new partnership between our two countries.”

Modi agreed they had “achieved significant progress in our bilateral cooperation and international partnership” and welcomed “the progress in giving shape to our joint strategic vision on Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region”.

As anticipated, Obama chose to focus on climate issues. India’s leadership at the Paris climate change conference in December, he believed, “will set the tone not just for today but for decades to come”. Obama said he was encouraged by “the aggressive nature” of Modi’s commitment to clean energy.

Modi said he and Obama “share an uncompromising commitment on climate change without affecting our ability to meet the development aspirations of humanity”.

But Modi also made it clear to Obama, French British Francois Hollande and British Prime Minister David Cameron, whom he met separately, that a negative approach of capping emissions or adding restrictions was not going to help. Instead a positive approach that includes help for

developing countries such as financing and technology transfer was needed, he said.

Modi also won renewed support from the big three for India getting a permanent seat in the Security Council and asked them to have the UN reform process completed within a “fixed time frame”.

Modi said after meeting with Obama “we have resolved to further deepen cooperation on counter-terrorism and radicalism”. But beyond the power meetings with Obama

and other world leaders, the real measure of Modi’s success was writ in his wooing the big business and winning over the tech titans of Silicon Valley.

From Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai, Indian-American chief executives of Microsoft and Google, to Apple’s Tim Cook and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, everyone seemed keen to get behind Modi’s digital dream.

If Pichai offered to bring wireless Internet or WiFi to 500 railway stations across India, Nadella outlined Microsoft’s plan

to help Indian government take low-cost broadband to half a million villages.

Qualcomm promised a 10 billion rupee fund for startups in India “to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy”.

It will also set up a number of ‘design houses’ for product innovation in India.

And selling his dream of turning India’s $8 trillion economy into a $20 trillion economy at a Facebook Townhall with a promise of four Ds—demography, democracy, demand and now de-regulation—he told investors, “Want to invest? I have an address—India.”

But it was the rock star-like reception he received in Silicon Valley reminiscent of the ‘Madison Square Garden moment’ on the eve of his summit with Obama last year that wowed them all.

Modi “wooed and wowed the tech crowd” and “conquered” Silicon Valley, as the influential New York Times put it.

Modi’s trip, according to The Washington Post, had made Silicon Valley “a must-see destination for world leaders” and “signals the rising influence and economic power wielded by this technology hotbed”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets people on his arrival in New York

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Modi’s visit to Silicon Valley: beyond the hype were clear goalsMayanK chhaya

A ll prime ministerial visits are calibrated for a specific goal, be it

economic, diplomatic, political or cultural. That is true of all Indian prime ministers but it is especially true of Narendra Modi. Once you get past his gushing, uncritical fan base, those goals become sharper.

A striking example of that is his visit to Silicon Valley in general and Tesla Energy headquarters and Facebook town hall meeting in particular. The prime minister’s choice of South African-born Canadian-American technology entrepreneur Elon Musk’s facility in Silicon Valley was significant for its potential whose details are not well known to many.

The name Tesla, of course, is Musk’s tribute to the Serbian-born American Nikola Tesla (July 10, 1856 to January 7, 1943), widely regarded as the father of the electrical age given his pioneering work in alternating current and induction motor in the late 19th and early 20th century. He was by a wide consensus a true-blue genius whose range of scientific vision stretched from presaging hand-held devices carrying data we now call smart phones to robotics and limitless free energy.

Perhaps the primary objective of the prime ministerial visit can be found in a backgrounder on the company’s website where it explains: “Tesla Powerwall is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery designed to store energy at a residential level for load shifting, backup power and self-consumption of solar power generation. Powerwall consists of Tesla’s lithium-ion battery pack, liquid thermal control system and software that receive dispatch commands from a solar inverter.

The unit mounts seamlessly on a wall and is integrated with the local grid to harness excess power

and give customers the flexibility to draw energy from their own reserve.”

What Powerwall does is remove the need for the hugely capital intensive power plants, environmental costs and damage and expensive distribution network because it stores power in the Powerwall generated from solar panels on the roof. What mobile phones are to telephony, Powerwall could potentially be to electricity. It makes electricity more personalised. If priced right, this can transform India’s energy needs as it can around the world.

Currently, Powerwall is priced at $3,500 for 10kWh and $3,000 for 7kWh units without the inverter and installation.

While a large number of Indians can afford this, if the eventual objective of the Modi government is to transform rural electrification then the price needs to come down significantly. It operates between the temperature range minus 4°F to 110°F/minus 20°C to 43°C.

While its efficiency under lower temperatures in India is of no consequence because it generally does not get that cold anywhere there, the higher numbers could be a bit tricky. Summer

temperatures do routinely rise to the top end of Powerwall’s range and even higher. It needs to be tested under those conditions.

Weighing 110 kilograms with dimensions of 51.2” x 33.9” x 7.1” this battery pack is a reasonably portable power source. As Musk explains, unlike other systems, Powerwall does not need a separate room for its storage because it can be mounted on any wall. Guaranteed for 10 years, Powerwall or an Indian version of it could be a revolutionary solution for the country where electricity shortages are chronic. The sun is unlikely to go off anytime soon and it bathes India with its energy.

It is not clear what specifically Musk and Modi might have discussed but it may not be a bad idea to consider a Tesla pilot project anywhere in India.

Given India’s relatively low and careful per capita power consumption (700 kWh per capita in 2012, according to the World Bank compared to 12,954 kWh in the United States) Powerwall or a cheaper version of it could be a potentially game- changing solution.

That explains the prime minister’s engagement with Musk, who is often jocularly

compared to the Marvel comic book superhero Iron Man also known as Tony Stark because of Musk’s varied entrepreneurial interests, including rocket science and space travel.

Modi’s town hall style meeting with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was perhaps closer to his larger socio-cultural and political goals of keeping his vast following on social media abreast of the goings-on in his government in the face of creeping doubts over its performance so far.

Being the first social media-savvy politician of India with a keen eye for what to let consumers enjoy, the prime minister was at home at Facebook’s headquarters.

He said many interesting things but what perhaps stood out from a political standpoint was his observation that social media had created an environment where instead of facing the electorate every five years, politicians now face it every five minutes with millions parsing every word and offering their snap judgment.

In yet another brilliant repackaging of the Manmohan Singh government’s ambitious plan to connect 600,000 villages and 250,000 panchayats the current prime minster has managed to successfully sell his “Digital India” vision, which draws on many of the same ideas.

Making broadband connectivity universal in India through optical fibre was a key feature of the last government’s plan, some of which was already in various stages of implementation when it lost the 2014 general election. It is to Modi’s credit though that he has generated remarkable enthusiasm about it to the extent that Facebook offered its users a way to add a semi-transparent screen on their profile pictures in the colours of the Indian flag.

It is part of Facebook’s “Support Digital India” campaign. Modi’s interaction with Zuckerberg was one more

instance of the prime minister’s ability to strike an instant rapport with his audience. What brought the house down was his emotional reference to the sacrifice that his 91-year-old mother made to raise him and his siblings. He broke down while reminiscing his childhood and its hardships. He was responding to a question from Zuckerberg about his parents and personal life.

In the 31-year-old Zuckerberg, the 65-year-old prime minister appears to have found a muse whose youth can only help Modi expand his global appeal.

Mayank Chhaya is a journalist and writer who ran

a media company in Silicon Valley. The views expressed

are personal.Ahimsa greatest religion: Modi’s message at Facebook wall

Modi left a special message on the Facebook headquarters

wall.Modi, who visited the Facebook headquarters for a townhall meeting, scrawled the message in Gujarati—Ahimsa paramo dharma, Satyamevajayatey— non-violence is the greatest religion, truth will remain victorious.

Surprise visitor: Bill Gates meets Modi at UN

Modi had a surprise visitor during his visit to US—

Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Gates, who missed the meeting that Modi had with technology leaders in San Jose, dropped in while Modi was meeting French president Francois Hollande at the UN. External affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted, “Look who dropped by! Missed in Silicon Valley, the original tech entrepreneur @BillGates says hello to PM & President”.

NRIs to save time and money with Chandigarh International Airport becoming operationaliWK Bureau

A new 305-acre civil air terminal at the Chandigarh

international Airport at Mohali was recently inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

All domestic flights operating to and from Chandigarh are likely to be shifted to the new terminal from October. The new terminal is equipped to handle international flights and passengers also.

An international flight, the first one from Chandigarh to Dubai is likely to begin later this

month, airport officials said. The new airport has been developed at a cost of Rs. 939 crore by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and is spread over 300 acres.

It will have 48 check-in counters, four conveyor belts and a capacity to accommodate 1,600 passengers at any given time.

Once fully functional, the Chandigarh international airport is expected to cater to the international passengers from Punjab, a state that sees a heavy traffic of international fliers to the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Right now, the Delhi international airport caters to this traffic but it could change if international airlines choose to fly directly from Chandigarh once the operational facilities of the new international airport are upgraded.

It is reliably learnt that Viswajeet Khanna, Secretary Civil Aviation, Punjab Government has been working on this project for many years, and it is good to see his efforts bear fruit and Chandigarh put on the international map. An aviation enthusiast himself, Viswajeet is well known in the

region to be a hard working result oriented senior bureaucrat, who has successfully overseen many such critically important projects

in the past. On behalf of the NRI community in New Zealand we thank him and hope that major airlines will connect Auckland with Chandigarh at the soonest.

John T. Chambers, Executive Chairman of Cisco, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, PM Narendra Modi, Executive Chairman of Qualcomm, Paul E. Jacobs and Google CEO Sundar Pichai during the Digital India and Digital Technology dinner function in San Jose

Above: Chandigarh International Airport Right:Viswajeet Khanna, Secretary Civil Aviation, Punjab Government

INDIAINDIAINDIA


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NASA finds flowing water on Mars

In the first-ever definitive signs of the presence of liquid water—and possibly life—on the Red Planet,

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has captured strong evidence for seasonal flows of liquid salty water on the Martian surface, scientists said. In a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, scientists looked at streaks that form on some slopes on Mars during warmer times of the year, having previously suspected they might be caused by flowing, salty water.

According to Alfred S. McEwen, professor of planetary geology at University of Arizona, the team has identified waterlogged molecules–salts of a type known as perchlorates–in readings from orbit.

“That’s a direct detection of water in the form of hydration of salts.

There pretty much has to have been liquid water recently present to produce the hydrated salt,” Dr McEwen noted. NASA also provided details of this major science during a news briefing at the James Webb Auditorium at NASA headquarters in Washington.

Nearly 4.5 billion years ago, Mars had six and a half times as much water as it does now and a thicker atmosphere. But most of this water has disappeared into space and the reason is that Mars no longer has global magnetic fields, like on the Earth.

The magnetic field protects the Earth’s atmosphere against degradation from energy rich particles from the Sun.

India gets its own space observatory, joins select groupIndia joined a select group of nations

owning space observatory with the successful launch of ASTROSAT by its

rocket on Monday, which also put into orbit six other foreign satellites.

With the successful launch of ASTROSAT, India gained an entry into the select club of nations having its own space observatory after the US, Japan, Russia and Europe. Exactly at 10 a.m. the 44.4 metres tall weighing around 320 ton polar satellite launch vehicle’s XL variant (PSLV-XL) blasted off the first launch pad at the rocket port in Sriharikota, around 80 km from Chennai, India.

The PSLV-XL rocket with seven satellites cumulatively weighing 1,631 kg climbed up steadily gathering speed amidst the cheers of Indian space agency officials and the media team assembled in Sriharikota. The expendable rocket carried Rs.180 crore ASTROSAT, India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory that will help in understanding the universe, and six other foreign satellites.

While ASTROSAT with a five-year life span weighed 1,513 kg, the six foreign satellites (four from the US and one each from Indonesia and Canada) together weighed 118 kg. Incidentally, this is the first time that an Indian rocket launched satellites from the US.

For the third time a PSLV rocket has launched seven satellites in a

single mission. In 2008, ISRO had launched 10 satellites in one go, including India’s Cartosate-2A satellite. Till date, India has launched 45 foreign satellites for a fee. However, it will not be right to call ASTROSAT as India’s ‘Hubble’.

The Hubble owned and launched by the US in 1990 is 10 times heavier than the ASTROSAT and is said to cost $2.5 billion. While the Hubble space telescope is still working now, India’s ASTROSAT’s life span is five years.

ASTROSAT, will observe the universe through optical, ultraviolet, low and high energy X-ray components of the electromagnetic spectrum, whereas most other scientific satellites are capable of observing through a narrow wavelength band.

VHP praises Hindu organisations of New Zealand

NZ First MP Mahesh Bindra recently was on an India trip to represent New Zealand and

Hindu Council of New Zealand at the 50th anniversary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

He also attended the Sinhashtha Kumbh Mela and the Sant Sammelan held on September 6 at Sadhu Gram in Nashik, Maharashtra under the stewardship of Dr Pravin Bhai Togadia, leader-Vishwa Hindu Parishad where Shankaracharya and sadhus from all prominent Akhadas were also present.

Dr Togadia praised him for the work Hindu Council of New Zealand, Hindu Swyamsewak Sangh and Hindu Organisations, Temples and Associations (HOTA) are doing.


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Indian-origin designer voted favourite at US fashion showThe audience at the Bellevue

Fashion Week in the US have voted an Indian-origin woman as

their favourite independent designer at the event’s inauguration ceremony.

The owner of VARSHA brand of “meticulously crafted” work wear for the “power women”, Varsha Agarwal, got the audience vote on September 23,

bellevuereporter.com said last week. “Every year after the show, you could hear people expressing who they would have chosen. It’s really important for the guests to come to feel like they’ve had a hand in the decision,” said Jennifer Leavitt, vice-president of marketing for the Kemper Development Company, which organises the annual event. Preceding their final presentation,

independent designers participating at the show get the opportunity to work with the world’s leading fashion experts for nine months.

Coming from a demanding business consulting background, Aggarwal’s brand aims to bring “style back to the workplace”, her website says. She also holds a degree in fashion design.

Indian-origin counsel named Singapore’s best dispute lawyer

Senior counsel Davinder Singh has been named Singapore’s best dispute lawyer at an

awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The 58-year-old lawyer, who heads Singapore-based law firm Drew & Napier, was honoured with the ‘Disputes Star of the Year’ award at the Asialaw Asia-Pacific (APAC) Dispute Resolution Awards, The Straits Times reported. His firm also won the ‘Law Firm of the Year’ award at the ceremony. The firm was also adjudged the best in Singapore for domestic arbitration, the daily said. Asialaw is a research organisation that has produced 20 annual editions of Asialaw Profiles, which provides a guide to leading domestic and regional law firms in the Asia-Pacific region. The awards recognises 12 practice areas across 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Each winner demonstrated his strengths in furthering and inspiring the growing field of dispute resolution around the region,” spokesperson for Asialaw Nickie Yeung was quoted as saying. Singh was among eight lawyers from local and international law firms who were nominated for the award. One of his recent high-profile cases involved Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in a defamation suit against blogger Roy Ngerng.

British-Indian ‘hero’ gets bravery awardA British-Indian delivery van driver

is the recipient of this year’s ‘Pride of Britain Award’ for risking his

life to prevent a road accident that could have resulted in multiple fatalities.

Dee Patel, being hailed a “hero”, received the award in the outstanding bravery category in a glittering ceremony at the Grosvenor House in London’s Park Lane on Monday night, the Mirror reported.

Patel, who works for Camberley town-based ventilation specialists Zehnder Group UK, was on a routine job on May 18 when he spotted a car ahead of him lose control on the M25 motorway.

The 48-year-old dad of two watched in horror as the car swerved into the central

barrier and bounced off it before coming back on to the carriageway at a high speed. The car hit the barrier a second time, before swerving across four lanes of traffic and on to the hard shoulder. Patel sprang into action after realising that the driver, a young woman, was unconscious and a high-speed pile-up seemed inevitable, according to the daily. “As she came back across she ended up right in front of me. I instantly saw what I needed to do—I had to slow her down,” Patel was quoted as saying.

“I had to make sure I hit her with my driver’s side to her passenger side, to force her into the central reservation. Otherwise it could flip over and cause an even worse accident.”

As the braveheart pushed the car against the crash barrier, it grinded to a screeching halt, finally slowing to a complete stop straddling the fast lane and the central reservation. Police later praised Patel’s courage, saying, “Instead of a multi-vehicle collision with potential serious injuries, it has ended up with no injuries and just damage to vehicles which can be repaired or replaced, thanks to your quick thinking.”

Founded in 1999, the ‘Pride of Britain Awards’ are presented to the country’s unsung heroes. The winners are decided by a panel of distinguished judges and is jointly supported by the Daily Mirror, Lidl, ITV, Daybreak and the Prince’s Trust. This year, the awards were handed out by Prince Charles.

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Choosing the right sunglasses could be a cumbersome

task but keeping in mind a few factors including your

face structure and the colour can help in finding

the right piece.

Jatiin Khurana, founder of eyewear brand Mango Pickles,

shares some tips while choosing the right sunglasses.

Colours and frames also need to be kept in consideration

ö Light people with warm undertones should go for warm-toned neutrals and more saturated shades such as umber, cypress and plum while cool undertones should avoid yellows, greens and ambers but should opt for dusk, cameo fade or blush. Pinks and blues tend to flatter them.

ö Medium people with warmer undertones should invest in greens, amber fade and tortoise shades, while people with a cooler tone should go for cherry shades, blues and reds.

ö Shades such as brindle fade or hemlock or metallic with granite compliments deep people with warm undertones. People with cooler undertones should go for purple and black, shades such as plum, cadet, and ochre look really good on them and they can even carry blue based and greens like forest.

Basic tips to choose the right sunglasses for a person is knowing your face-cut and then picking a frame for yourself.

ö Heart-shaped face can always opt for a retro square, cat-eye and sporty eye-wear. Frames that are wider on the top than they are on the bottom works well for a heart-shaped face.

ö Round-shaped faces should go for an oversized, rectangular and angular shaped frames which can be retro square, cat-eyed and basic squares.

ö People with an oval face shape can invest in frames that are neither too big nor too small. Buy an Aviator, an oversized and retro square frames to look glamorous.

ö There are people with a rectangular face shape who can opt for round, shield and aviator frames. Having a strong jaw and a wide forehead, they should always choose sunnies with soft lines or rimless edges.


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Salman Khan back as PremSuperstar Salman

Khan literally teased his fans

with an initial poster of his forthcoming collaboration with Sooraj Barjatya, Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo. Back as a character named Prem, the actor sports a truly desi look in tune for the film’s Diwali release.

“Good afternoon. Welcoming Sooraj Barjatya’s Prem again #PremRatanDhanPayo @Rajshri @foxstarhindi,” Salman posted on his Twitter page this week.

He shared this with a trailer poster of the film, which marks Salman’s reunion with Barjatya after 16 years.

Salman is seen with his back towards to the camera, but it’s easy to guess that the fit star looks suave in a royal blue kurta with a dhoti and a stole. Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo is likely to portray Salman’s “sincerity and innocence”, and perhaps a notch higher than his last bumper success Bajrangi Bhaijaan did.

The much-anticipated film will release on November 12, a day after the festival of Diwali.

Presented by Fox Star Studios, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo is produced By Rajshri Productions, with whom Salman has earlier worked in films such as Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Hum Saath-Saath Hain.

Aamir says I don’t fit into a mother’s role: MallikaActress Mallika Sherawat says she

had auditioned for Aamir Khan starrer Dangal but did not get the

role as he did not think the Haryanvi diva looked old enough to play mother of four teenaged girls.

“I had auditioned for the role of Aamir’s wife in Dangal. Aamir Khan and the film unit loved my auditions. But as my role would be a mother of four grown up girls, Aamir felt that regardless of whatever could be done; I might not look old enough to play a mother to four teenage daughters. That is the only reason why I did not get cast in the film,” said Mallika.

The role later went to Sakshi Tanwar, who shot to fame with Balaji soap Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, Dangal is a biographical sports drama, starring Aamir in the role of Mahavir Singh Phogat and is scheduled to release on December 23, 2016.

Known for her films such as Khwahish and Murder, Mallika also acted in romantic comedy Pyaar Ke Side Effects (2006), opposite Rahul Bose which won her much critical acclaim. She also received a nomination for Best Actress at the Zee Cine Awards for her bold performance in Murder, which went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year.


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Swara Bhaskar wins best actress title in China

Indian film talent Swara Bhaskar has won the Best Actress award at a film

festival in the capital city of Fujian province for playing a mother to a teenager in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s directorial Nil Battey Sannata (The New Classmate). The Raanjhanaa actress won the honour at the second Silk Road International Film Festival, which concluded last week, according to state-owned China Radio International. “Swara is an amazing actress. She had to put on eight kg for the role. She went to Agra and studied the local culture.

She had to take up two months of training. She’s not a mother and she plays one in the film. She had to calm down. She even went for meditation and yoga,” Tiwari had told media earlier.

Got better reviews than ever for Katti Batti: Imran Khan

Actor Imran Khan, who has returned to the silver screen after a gap

of almost two years with Katti Batti, says he has never got better reviews and feedback in his career than what he has received for this film.

“I have got better reviews and better feedback than I have ever got in my career before. Consistently everyone is telling me that this is the best work of my career. That is huge for me,” Imran said. Imran, whose last three films

Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai Dobaara! and Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola failed to create magic at the box office, said the unprecedented response to Katti Batti made him believe that “it is the best film I have ever worked on”.

Talking about his future film projects, Imran said he has not signed any project yet, putting a lot of faith in Katti Batti. Katti Batti, which also stars Kangana Ranaut, is a romantic comedy directed by Nikhil Advani and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur under the banner of UTV Motion Pictures.

Aishwarya a remarkable hands-on mother: Jazbaa director

F ilmmaker Sanjay Gupta feels Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

is good at balancing her work commitments along with her motherly duties. He says she is a “remarkable hands-on mother”, who smoothly juggles her work.

Aishwarya is making her comeback on the silver screen with Gupta’s film Jazbaa. Recalling an incident from the shooting of the crime thriller, the filmmaker said, “Once Aaradhya was unwell. I felt guilty shooting so I offered to cancel the shoot but Aishwarya insisted we carry on.

“We were shooting all night when at 3 a.m. her staff came running and said, ‘She’s just vomited’. When I inquired who had vomited, the staff said it’s Aaradhya.

That’s when we realised that Aaradhya had been in the van on location all through the shoot,” he said. Praising Aishwarya’s dedication as a parent, Gupta said, “She’s a remarkable hands-on mother, father, doctor, nanny, and nurse all rolled into one.” Produced by Zee Studios, Viiking Media and Entertainment and White Feather Films, Jazbaa, which also stars Irrfan Khan, is slated to release on October 9.

Aditya Chopra announces new directorial ‘Befikre’

Aditya Chopra is returning to film direction after seven years with

Befikre—and he chose his father and veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra’s 83rd birth anniversary on September 27 to make a formal announcement about the project.

He calls it his “riskiest” and “youngest” film. “With the blessings of my father, on his 83rd birth anniversary, I’m announcing my next directorial venture after seven years,” Aditya shared via an e-letter issued to the media on behalf of his home banner Yash Raj Films (YRF). Aditya, who last directed Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi in 2008, admits that his father always wanted him to direct the “biggest films of YRF” and this new project is “not that”.

He has also shared that Befikre will “probably not” have the potential to be as successful as his earlier films—including Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Mohabbatein—but has admitted that he absolutely loves it. “It’s my happiest film.

“My youngest film. My riskiest film.” And so, it doesn’t quite bother Aditya even if the movie may not make it to the Rs.100 crore or Rs.200 crore clubs of Bollywood. The film’s tagline reads - “Those who dare to love”, indicating that love will be a core element in Aditya’s new film.

I’m very protective about Akshara: Shruti Haasan

Actress Shruti Haasan says she’s “protective” about her younger sister Akshara, who made inroads into Bollywood with Shamitabh. “I’m very protective about Akshara and also very proud of her achievements. I can’t wait to see her do more and make us all proud,” Shruti said. Daughters of veteran actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika, both Shruti and Akshara are multi-faceted. While Shruti is also a singer-composer, Akshara was active

behind the cameras as an assistant director before facing the camera for the R. Balakrishnan directorial. Shruti, who has starred in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films, says acting was never on her mind initially. “I never planned to be an actress in Bollywood as I never felt I could look the part. I always wanted to get into music - I am particularly passionate about composing,” she shared. In the Hindi film industry, Shruti has done films such as Luck, Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji, D-Day, Gabbar is Back and Welcome Back; among Telugu films, she has been seen in Gabbar Singh, Ramayya Vasthavayya, Aagadu and Race Gurram; and in Tamil language, Shruti has starred in 3 and Poojai. She has five projects as of now. These a include projects such as Puli and Rocky Handsome. “With five films in the pipeline, I have been really busy with work and have not had the time to compose. I look forward to composing music next year,” she said, and added that she does not feel any different while acting in the southern world after Bollywood.

Priyanka Chopra reveals her Quantico identity

Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, while gearing up for the

premiere of Quantico, her debut international TV show, revealed the identity of her role of FBI officer Alex Parrish in the show with her fans on social media. Priyanka took to Twitter to share a photograph of her character’s identity card.

“A few things you should know about #AlexParrish, before tuning in to the @QuanticoTV premiere on ABC this Sunday,” she captioned the image. As per the information written on the card, Alex has the quality of instantly reading people’s mind and she “instinctually trusts few”. Also she is fiercely competitive and naturally gifted. Quantico, which went on air on Sunday, September 27, also stars actors Jake McLaughlin, Tate Ellington and Graham Rogers, who all play fellow recruits. The show will narrate their adventures and experiences as they train on Quantico

base in Virginia, and secrets of their past start to emerge. Priyanka, who is currently in Los Angeles, will have some “family love” by her side for the Quantico premiere. Her brother Siddharth Chopra and mother Madhu Chopra are with the Mary Kom star for the launch of the show. “One day to go..needed some family love! So happy to have @madhuchopra @Iamsidchopra with me on the eve of #Quantico,” she tweeted.

Kapil wasn’t expecting ‘such positive’ response to film debut

Comedian Kapil Sharma says he didn’t expect the overwhelming

response that he has received for his Bollywood debut Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon. “It feels good when your efforts are appreciated. I was not expecting such a positive response,” the Comedy Nights With Kapil hero said at a special screening of his debut film in Mumbai.

“Thanks to everybody for sending so much love and blessings. Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon commenced on a very good note and hopefully it will carry on a high note in coming weeks,” added Kapil, who has a fan following of the young and old alike. Directed by Abbas-Mustan, Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon also stars Arbaaz Khan, Elli Avram, Varun Sharma, Amrita Puri, Simran Kaur Mundi and Manjari Phadnis.

According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the film has grossed Rs.18.75 crore on its first two days. “Should have a Rs.30 cr [+/-] opening weekend in India, which is PHENOMENAL,” he conjectured on Twitter. Meanwhile, Kapil is also happy that Bollywood no longer stereotypes an actor. Talking about the changing facade of Hindi films, he said, “Gone are the days when there was a myth that a comedian cannot play a hero.

“Today actors want to portray diverse characters.

“They don’t want to get typecast as a romantic hero only and many actors nowadays like to play negative characters.” “So, the perception of people has changed and it’s a good thing.”


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Google’s tech goodiesMaheSh

I love this time of the year. Spring is at its best, the countdown to Christmas

has begun and in the midst of all this cheer, a range of new gadgets have been announced at two events that tech geeks eagerly wait for the entire year.

The Apple and Google events define the future of mobile technology and, of course, their inherent rivalry makes it more interesting to watch. This year, Apple came out, all guns blazing, with iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPad Pro, Apple TV and Apple Watch, and not to forget the cool new iOS 9.

Google normally holds their annual event, Google I/O, in May or June where they announce new developments across their product line. This year, the big reveal was Android Marshmallow—the new version of Android OS with various new features, a more polished Android Wear, Android Pay and few other new apps. Google holds a second event this time of the year to announce new hardware devices, especially the Nexus line of smartphones that define the new Android smartphone standards.

The event was held on September 29 in San Francisco, US, which saw the introduction of the new Nexus smartphone. The technology world was abuzz with rumours before the event about not one but two Nexus devices. While one of these devices, Nexus 6P, was being built by Huawei, other was an upgrade of LG’s 2013 Nexus 5, rechristened Nexus 5X. Other announcements were about the much-welcomed hardware update on Chromecast and a brand new Chromebook dubbed Pixel C where C stands for ‘convertible’. Let us take a look at these gorgeous new devices:

Nexus 6P

A top-of-the-line Nexus device built by Huawei, Nexus 6P is the first all-metal body Nexus phone crafted from aeronautical grade aluminium.

The phone packs a beautiful 5.7-inch 1440x2560 Quad HD AMOLED display with a mind-blowing 518 pixels per inch resolution.

The phone sports the latest and fastest 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor coupled with 3GB of RAM. According to Google, the camera on Nexus 6P has the best camera among all smartphones with a 12.3 MP Sony sensor and huge 1.55µm pixels. Theoretically, this should allow you take better pictures even in low light. Front camera is an eight-megapixel snapper. The phone also has a fingerprint sensor on the back, powered by Google’s new feature called Nexus Imprint. Another feature to look out for is the USB-C connector for faster charging and data transfer. This connector is also reversible. So no

more guessing which side of the plug is upside.

The phone comes in 32, 64 and 128 GB storage capacities. The phone is priced at US$499 onwards and it is already available for pre-order in select countries.

Nexus 5X

In 2015, Google launched Nexus 5 in association with LG, which proved to be a huge success. In 2016, Google partnered with Motorola and unveiled Nexus 6, which was a moderate success. LG Nexus 5 has risen again this year as Nexus 5X with upgraded

features. The phone has a 5.2-inch full HD screen with a pixel density of 424 ppi. Powered by 2GHz hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor and 2GB RAM, the phone has the same camera as 6P with similar fingerprint

scanner, Micro USB Type-C port. Nexus 5X starts at US$379. Of course both phones ship with Android Marshmallow out of the box.

Google Chromecast

Google rolled out Chromecast in 2013—an inexpensive video and pictures streaming dongle

priced at $35 that turned out to be huge success with 20 million units being sold over two years. This year, Google has redesigned

the device, added new features and launched a brand new Chromecast Audio. Chromecast connects to any TV with HDMI port. Once connected, you can stream contents from your mobile device to the TV via WiFi.

It is a simple, no-frill device. The refresh this year brings new colours and lets you even play games on your mobile device with your TV doubling as the display device.

Chromecast Audio plays a similar role and lets you stream audio from your mobile device to your Bluetooth-enabled speakers.

Pixel C

According to Google, Pixel C takes an entirely new approach to the tablet experience. Surprisingly it is supposed to be called a Chromebook but it runs Android OS. So it is essentially an Android tablet with a removable keyboard. It is a great looking all-aluminium laptop, which connects to the tablet with strong magnets. Pixel C is aimed at education segment and starts at US$499 for a 32GB version. The keyboard is priced separately. In my opinion, this seems to be the weakest device in an otherwise great product

line up.

Nexus 5X Nexus 6P

Chromecast 2015

Chromecast Audio

Pixel C

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