Sometimes one wonders how God can give similar voices to two people who are not related at all. If someone were to complete unfinished songs of Hemant Kumar, then one didn’t have to go any farther. Avijit Sarkar, the renowned singer, musician, painter and poet of Sydney possesses the closest voice of Hemant Kumar.

It was the 88^th Birth Anniversary of Hemant Kumar Mukhopadyay on the 16^th June, 2008 and the Natraj Academy that Avijit runs in Sydney thought it to be appropriate to celebrate the anniversary as an evening dedicated to the great singer. To make this evening more memorable, Kumud Merani, the popular voice on the SBS Radio joined in with well researched script on the Hemantda filled with some nostalgic inputs from Avijit himself whose mother was closely associated with the singer. The script was aided by the clippings from various films and syncronised well with narration.

In fact the programme started with the clip of Kabuliwala song ‘Ganga aaye kahan se’ and one expected Avijit to pick up from one of the stanzas after the curtain rose to give the effect of a natural flow but instead he gave the audience a fresh treat.

Avijit sang most of the popular songs of Hemantda. Kumud informed the audience that Hemantda sang nearly 20 songs for Dev Anand and that there is uncanny commonality between the two. Dev Anand celebrates his birthday on 26^th September and unfortunately Dada died on that day in 1989. However, nearly all the songs Hemantda sang for Dev had been hit.

The second song was a Bidaai song as Kumud described it was from movie Ek hi Raasta picturised on Meena Kumari and an actor. Avijit picked up from dance sequence as shown on the screen.

Hemant Kumar gave up his Engineering studies to concentrate on music much against the wishes of his parents and as Kumud told us, it was a little known fact that he had his training in classical music under the tutelage of Ustaad Faiyaz Khan. But his mentor was Sailesh Duttagupta. Hemanta cut his first gramophone disc under the Columbia label. The songs (non-film) on this disc were janite jadi go tumi and balo go balo more whose lyrics were by Naresh Bhattacharya and music was composed by Sailesh Duttagupta. Thereafter, every year Hemanta continued to record non-film discs for the Gramophone Company of India (GCI) till 1984. His first Hindi songs were kitana dukh bhulaya tumne and o preet nibhabewali, released in 1940 under GCI’s Columbia label. Music for these songs were composed by Kamal Dasgupta, lyrics were by Faiyaz Hashmi.

Hemanta’s first film song was in the Bengali film Nimai Sanyas released in 1941. Music for this film was scored by Hariprasanna Das. Hemanta’s first compositions for himself were the Bengali non-film songs katha kayonako shudhu shono and amar biraha akashe priya in 1944. Lyrics of these two songs were by Amiya Bagchi. His first Hindi film songs were in Irada in 1944 under Pt. Amarnath’s music direction. Lyrics were by Aziz Kashmiri.

Kumud narrated very interesting incident Hemantda encountered at the All India Radio where he used to go for song recordings. There was a group of girls who were doing rehearsals and the musicians wanted the studio to be vacated for a male singer. The girls wondered who this singer was. Hemantda was affectionately called ‘baro khoka’ meaning big boy. One day the girls decided to wait and see the singer. When Hemantda arrived all the girls looked at him and started laughing and giggling. The shy Hemantda complained about it. Among these girls was one singer Bela Mukherjee who eventually became his wife. Kumud was thus giving us the romantic side of an otherwise ‘serious’ Hemantda.

Avijit, who too looks equally serious narrated an anecdote from his romantic life. As he was about to sing ‘Na tum hame jaano, na hum tumhein jaane, mera humdum mil gayaa’ from ‘Baat Ek Raat ki’, he said this was the first song his wife heard him singing and she is still with him despite the late nights a musician has work. He was also all praise for his daughter who he revealed was fond of old movie songs. Both of them can be seen at all the concerts where Avijit is participating. This song was followed, as if completing a love story, by a song from Kohra ‘Bekarar kar ke hamein yoon na jaayiye’ and later ‘Shart’ ‘ Na ye chhand hogaa na taare raheinge, magar hum hamesha tumhaare raheinge’.

If Avijit is Hemant Kumar of Sydney then Pushpa Jagadish is city’s Lata Mangeshkar. So, who else could be complementing Avijit for the memorable evening! Pushpa rendered the solo from Bees saal baad, movie produced by Hemant Kumar under his production banner ‘Geetanjali’. Incidentally, it was Filmistan studio where Hemantda got his first break in Hindi movies with the help of S. Mukherjee. Hemant Kumar first produced movies under Filmistan banner but later changed to Geetanjali Pictures. His bungalow in Khar, Mumbai was also named Geetanjali.

After the seriously romantic songs in the first half, Avijit switched to some ‘masti bhare’ and lively songs like hai apna dil to awaara and zarra nazron se keh do ji.

Kumud’s couplets in Urdu as a prelude to a song gelled very well. She ended the narration by liking the Avijit-Pushpa rendition as ‘Shahed mein mishri gholna’. She said this phrase just came to her mind as she was thinking of something opposite of ‘ek to karela ooper se neem chadha’. Good thinking.

And, last but not the least, the programme would not have been as memorable but for the contribution by the doctors-turned –musicians. All but one are practicing doctors — Dr. Rajesh Dinakar – keyboards, Sadiq Rehmani – Guitar, Abhijit Daan – Tablas Aziz Tejani – Electronic Drums
Dr. Nalin Bhatt – Side-effects. Abhijit had just arrived from Kolkatta and displayed very high tabla skills.

In all Avijit sang 21 songs both solo and duets and Pushpa had one solo ‘kahin deep jale kahin dil.’ We learnt from Kumud that Lata Mangeshkar was very sick before she sang this song. After the final rehearsal she asked Hemantda lets do the take. Hemantda told her the final rehearsal was so perfect that there is no need for the take. Pushpa just emulated Lataji this evening.

Prince Charles has appealed to Asian billionaires including steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Tata chief Ratan Tata to help him protect the environment, preserve historic buildings and support the young unemployed throughout the Indian subcontinent. 

Prince Charles has invited some of India’s richest tycoons to see his Prince’s Trust in action in the East end of London, and to a series of working lunches and formal dinners at Clarence House and Kensington Palace next month, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday.

His guest list includes Mukesh Ambani, whose 21 billion pounds wealth is thought to make him the richest Indian, Ratan Tata, who recently bought Jaguar, K P Singh, the world’s wealthiest property developer, worth about 15 billion pounds and Lakshmi Mittal, Britain’s richest man.

Their support could give the prince’s new project more financial muscle than almost any other charity.

Sources close to the prince said his British Asian Trust would stage concerts, sporting events and fashion shows and invest in local charities and communities to help them to help themselves. – PTI

One wondered why Rajeev Khandelwal was indulging in ‘desperate’ self-promotion after the completion of Aamir. You won’t blame him when you see the film.

Like a seasoned actor, this newcomer, Rajeev Khandelwal displays the frustration a man goes through when his family is kidnapped and the ransom he has to pay is to become a terrorist. The frustration grows as the film progresses.

About four decades ago, Sunil Dutt made song-less Yaadein, in which he was the only actor. Another such film was Achaanak starring Vinod Khanna. In 2008, we have this gripping and practically one-actor film Aamir, meaning leader.

The first-timer Raj Kumar Gupta handled the project very well which is based on a Filipino movie Cavite. But the topic is hot and current and better suited in the Indian context. However, the one-and-a half-hour movie made on shoe-string budget  salutes the sacrificing secular spirit – not always convincingly but the climax, is likely to stir the social conscience of every viewer.

All this was made possible by some brilliant cinematography by Alphonse Roy – reportedly executed with hidden cameras. Street shots, head-on walks through Mumbai’s mean streets and mohallas are lensed with extraordinary stealth. Inside sources reveal there were two factors that made Aamir the Aamir— the girl discussing her marriage plans with her boyfriend and toddler in his mother’s lap in the bus. Editor Aarti Bajaj’s precise work retained only one — the child and made a passing reference to the girl.

Rajkumar Gupta wades through the streets of Mumbai which no other film has ever done — all actual streets and no expensive sets were used. The plot: it’s about an England-returned doctor (Rajeev Khandelwal), who on landing in Mumbai, is threatened to follow instructions over a cell phone.  And then, what next? Gupta keeps you guessing.  The source, like it or not, is a Gratifyingly, Rajeev Khandelwal affirms that he’s a first-rate actor. A born natural, he’s a welcome addition to the quality conscious Actors’ Club.

The finals again proved to be India’s Waterloo. After the Kitply Cup its now the prestigious Asia Cup wich India has won four times since its inception in 1983. Sri Lanka now has equalled that score with successfully defending  the Asia Cup title on Sunday in Karachi by mauling India by 100 runs
in the ninth edition of the Cup. All but two finals have featured India and Sri Lanka with one being won by Pakistan. More importantly, India has not won Asia Cup since Jayasurya has been at the top.

Sri Lanka owed their victory to the sensational spinner Ajantha Mendis who took six wickets for just 13 runs to help Sri Lanka overcome a strong India batting line-up. The 23-year-old spinner mesmerised the Indian batsmen with career-best figures to cause a slump which saw India lose nine wickets for 97 runs and were bowled out for 173 in 39.3 overs. In the previous match, India overhauled Sri Lanka’s 308 with much ease but this rather smaller target proved to be Herculean task for Dhoni and his young brigade.

Sanath Jayasuriya hit a fighting 125 to help Sri Lanka post a decent 273 in their 50 overs on a flat National Stadium pitch Mendis, playing for the first time against India since making his debut in April this year, bowled eight overs of beguiling spin to beat his previous best of 5/22 against United Arab Emirates in the first round last week.

He also bettered the best bowling figures in Asia Cup history, erasing the 5/19 record set by Aaqib Javed for Pakistan against India at Sharjah in 1995.

The spinner from Moratuwa finished with 17 wickets in the batsman-dominated tournament. India got off to a rapid start, reaching 36 by the fifth over when Gautum Gambhir (6) was caught in the covers of Chaminda Vaas.

Mendis came into bowl the 10th over with Sehwag (60) dealing only in boundaries. Off his second ball, Mendis lured the Indian opener and had him stumped. Sehwag hit 12 boundaries during his 36-ball knock. Two balls later, Mendis beguiled Yuvraj Singh with a straighter delivery to bowl him without scoring and in his third over bowled Suresh Raina (16) with another peach to leave India at 93-4.

In his fourth over, Mendis trapped Rohit Sharma (three) with another one that skidded before spinning partner Muttiah Muralitharan ended a resolute 35-run stand between Dhoni and Robin Uthappa (20).

Mendis returned for his second spell to remove Irfan Pathan (two) and Rudra Pratap Singh (nought) off successive deliveries before Vaas returned for his third spell to dismiss Dhoni’s resistance packed 74-ball deliveries.

Earlier, Jayasuriya hit his 27th One-day hundred to become the second highest century-maker in One-day cricket behind India’s Sachin Tendulkar, who has 42. The 39-year-old added an invaluable 131 runs for the fifth wicket with Tillakaratne Dilshan (56) after paceman Ishant Sharma made early inroads.

The 19-year-old Sharma dismissed Mahela Jayawardene (11), Chamara Kapugedera (five) and Chamara Silva (0) in an incisive seven over spell after Sri Lanka lost opener Kumar Sangakkara run out for four in only the second over Jayasuriya took up the fight, with impressive hitting that included nine boundaries and five sixes during his 114-ball knock.

He clouted Sharma over mid-wicket boundary to bring up his half-century off 43 balls and then cut loose, hitting paceman Rudra Pratap Singh for three sixes and two boundaries to take 26 in an over.

He flicked off-spinner Virender Sehwag for a single to reach 100 off 79-balls. He was finally dismissed after sweeping Sehwag straight into the hands of the mid-wicket fielder.

Dilshan smashed all of his three boundaries in one Irfan Pathan over before the paceman dismissed him in the 39th over. Sharma finished with 3/52 while Singh took 3/67 — The IST and agencies

A growing number of companies are designing marketing campaigns that tap into Australia’s culturally diverse community, Minister Assisting on Citizenship Barbara Perry said while launching the 2008 National Multicultural Marketing Awards on Wednesday 4 June 2008, according  to a media release from the Minister’s office.

It’s these culturally-aware companies from around Australia that are being encouraged to enter the awards, she said.

With 223 different nationalities living in NSW, businesses can benefit from making their products and services accessible to the greatest audience possible, Ms Perry said.

“These annual awards recognise the creative and culturally specific marketing efforts being made by companies as they get in tune with a very diverse and rapidly changing cultural landscape,” Ms Perry said.

“Marketing a product or service to a specific cultural group should go far beyond simply translating a mainstream campaign into a different language. It should be culturally relevant and unique to that community.

“These awards acknowledge companies who are meeting the needs of our multicultural community by considering ethnicity, culture and language.”

Past winners of the National Multicultural Marketing awards include:

• eTranslate: an Australian company that has secured the contract for the Beijing Olympics global ticketing system. This system allows for different language and purchasing trends of diverse communities.

• AFL: for an innovative program designed to boost participation in the sport among migrant communities.

• Lismore City Library: for their innovative Living Library Project where instead of borrowing a book, people could ‘borrow’ a person, listening to their knowledge and expertise on a broad range of subjects.

Nominations for the 2008 National Multicultural Marketing Awards close on August 29. Online nomination forms are available on the Community Relations Commission website at www.crc.nsw.gov.au

CBA Support hailed: The Chair of the Community Relations Commission For a multicultural NSW, Stepan Kerkyasharian, today welcomed a new major sponsor for the National Multicultural Marketing Awards with the question:

“Which Bank in the Fifties and Sixties was synonymous with migration advisory services across the country, at the time of a heavy influx of new arrivals from Europe?”

Mr Kerkyasharian  was speaking at the launch of the 2008 nation-wide quest for excellence in multicultural marketing, by the Minister for Juvenile Justice and Western Sydney and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship, Barbara Perry, at the Westin Hotel, Sydney.

“The Commonwealth Bank has decided to revive its close public connection with immigration by now helping to promote the economic benefits of the cultural diversity that resulted from it, through sponsorship of the National Multicultural Marketing Awards

“Of course, the Commonwealth has continued its support for migrants since those early days in many ways, including the introduction of Commonwealth Bank International Customer Services, whereby migrants can now set up their banking needs long before they arrive here.

“I am delighted to welcome the support from the Commonwealth which, as the nation’s biggest bank, is very well placed to reap the benefits of cultural diversity. Its sponsorship sends a very powerful message that multicultural marketing is something of great value”, Mr Kerkyasharian said.

The existing sponsors are the NSW Government, the Australian Newspaper, Qantas, Integral Energy, CMC Markets, the Westin Hotel and Yellow Tail Wines.

The National Multicultural Marketing Awards have been conducted by the CRC for nineteen years.

Last year’s winners included the NRMA, Heinz Foods, Travelex, Bollywood Dreams and E-translate.

Calling for marketers in the public, private and community sectors to enter the 2008 Awards, Mr Kerkyasharian said today: “Why not show us this year what you have done in the last twelve months to benefit your organisation and benefit our nation through clever multicultural marketing? ”

According to a CBA media release,  The Commonwealth Bank is proud to be a major sponsor of the 2008 National Multicultural Marketing Awards and congratulates all the nominees and winners on their success.

The Bank is committed to providing our nation’s multicultural communities with the best service possible by ensuring all their banking needs are met.

To provide these communities with the support they deserve, the Bank has teams of dedicated specialists established specifically our Asian communities and new arrivals.

Asian Banking – Personal and Corporate Banking

To provide additional support, the Commonwealth Bank recently established Asian Banking teams, which include specialists to assist the Chinese, Vietnamese and Indian communities.

The service these teams provide ensure our multicultural communities are comfortable in dealing with a Bank that understands their financial needs and cultural differences.

We are also making it easier for our customers by translating our key product brochures into six languages as well as ensuring we have multi-lingual staff within our branches.

CMC support

CMC Markets, the largest Contract for Difference (CFD) provider in Australia, has renewed its support for the annual National Multicultural Awards, which is being run under the auspices of the New South Wales (NSW) Community Relations Commission (CRC).

For its second year as a major sponsor, CMC Markets emphasizes the importance of the award in building and nurturing a harmonious and productive work environment populated by professionals from various countries.

“CMC Markets is a typical company that thrives on the skills of its multicultural employees,” said Luci Ozcan, Head of Asia Desk Australia for CMC Markets. “This is our second year of sponsorship for this award and we will continue to support it because we believe it encourages a positive and harmonious environment amongst various nationalities.”

“We have a strong representation of skills and talents from various countries which enable us to reach to an international audience.  At the same time the combination of these skills, talents and culture makes CMC Markets a vibrant and dynamic work environment,” Mrs Ozcan added.

Integral Energy Community Award: Meanwhile, through its sponsorship of the Community Award, Integral Energy is providing the opportunity for any community or cultural organisation in Australia to gain recognition for their outstanding multicultural marketing campaign.

Integral Energy’s Acting General Manager of Retail and Customer Services, Tamara Hitchcock, said the corporation is again proud to support the annual awards, which are an initiative of the NSW Community Relations Commission.

“The Integral Energy Community Award provides a great way for community-based organisations to get the recognition they deserve for their efforts to reach many different groups within our multicultural society,” Ms Hitchcock said.

“We’d like to encourage like-minded organisations which value cultural diversity and are actively engaged in multicultural marketing to enter the Community Award this year.

“Community and cultural organisations which have effectively marketed themselves either through a fundraising program, community welfare project, community festival or campaign that makes a positive difference to the community, should consider nominating for the award.

“Multicultural marketing is important because it provides equitable access to information and helps organisations better understand their customers, and vice-versa.

“In their submissions, organisations should demonstrate how their creative marketing program has been clearly targeted with specific objectives and measurable achievements, taking into account cultural sensitivity,” she said.

The Integral Energy Community Award is one of eight awards that will be presented to winners at a Gala Dinner in Sydney on Tuesday 25 November 2008.

Describing India as a fantastic market for major companies, the United States India Business Council Chairperson and Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi said doing business in the country is relatively easy.

India-born Nooyi said that not only Pepsico likes to do business in India but also chief executives of other big corporations with whom she has spoken to, feel the same way.

“India has been a fantastic market. Doing business with India has been relatively easy,” Nooyi said at a press interaction during the 33rd Anniversary celebrations of the USIBC in Washington DC on Thursday.

Pointing out that major corporations have been growing at a rate of 20 to 30 per cent, she added that doing business is relative.

” It’s all relative, because it’s relative to other developing and emerging markets, who all have their issues,” Nooyi noted.

According to her, India is one of the most important markets for Pepsico and the firm likes to do business in the country.

” We actually like doing business in India and all the other CEOs I talk to, feel exactly the same way… India is one of our most important markets. We have discussions going on a bilateral investment trade agreement,” the Chairperson of USIBC said.

Queried on her biggest worry about India, Nooyi asserted that soaring oil prices is something the country has to cope with and the same is worrying everyone today.

“India, to fuel its growth needs oil and the government provides subsidies so that the economy can keep humming. But if the price of oil goes up too much, how much can the government put out in terms of subsidies,” she remarked.

However, Nooyi added that one should take into account the impact on the economy if the subsidies are taken away.

Further, she said that rising oil prices is not just an issue for India but across the world. “I think worldwide one of the biggest issues we are all confronting is where is the price of oil going to go and how do you cope with not just escalating but just exploding energy costs.”

On the Indo-US nuclear deal, Nooyi said it would be critical for India and refused to term it as a lost cause, saying that it is a not a failure yet.

“This is needed for India – for its own energy sufficiency, for its own security… This was something that was proposed in good faith by the US government…

I think it is critical for India and my hope – I am still holding out hope – is that between now and the end of the terms of the US presidency or the Indian government, whichever turns over first something will actually get negotiated. That’s my hope,” she said.

Responding to a query on whether she would serve in a future American administration, Nooyi shot back, “If the Chairmanship and CEO of PepsiCo has a cabinet position, I’d be delighted to carry that.” — PTI

By Roseline Deleu – Feng Shui Master & Author www.fengshuisteps.com
 
Creating a vacuum offers you the opportunity to welcome something new into your life. We already know that the important procedure of de-cluttering is the key number 1 in Feng Shui. The process of emptying cupboards of non-used items, discarding stagnant items in the ever shrinking garage space and clearing out our old fashioned clothes, allows us to look at life differently.
Since I migrated to Australia 10 years ago, the Universe encouraged me to move house 15 times! The various locations and sites have helped me to learn so much about Feng Shui. I have hardly any item that belonged to the time when we arrived in our new country. With the various moves, clothes, bedding and furniture have changed as we were evolving in life… the pictures that we display around the house have been replaced by new ones. My Feng Shui passion has evolved tremendously and become amazingly powerful.
Update for Harmony
It is essential to update displayed photographs with the most recent ones – having pictures of young children in their teenager bedroom could bring challenges in your family life as they could sometimes act like ‘babies’ or… you could still consider them as younger than they truly are, if you wish, you can keep the frames that you already have and simply insert your latest printouts.
Dispose for Health
Go through your pharmacy and discard all the out-of-date medication. Dispose of the never-to-be-used samples of soap and creams. Keep your side of the vanity as bare as possible and colour-coordinate your soap, shampoo and towels.
Empty for Love – IF YOU ARE SINGLE
In your master bedroom, make sure that you have two similar bedside tables. To welcome a potential partner in your life, empty the second bedside table, ensure they are located symmetrically on each side of the bed and the bed itself has equal space on each side allowing equal opportunities for both partners.
In your wardrobe, empty one shelf and keep a few empty coat hangers in your hanging space.
In your bathroom or en-suite: keep one vanity draw empty and display your personal items on one side of the basin only, freeing some space for someone special.
Going back to basics, we realise that we do not need much to live and be happy. It is better to own and tastefully display one or two beautiful pieces of art (sculptures or paintings) with a unique lighting that will make you feel special every day.
 
For the 7th year, Roseline Deleu is hosting the Annual Australian FENG SHUI Conference on Sunday 12 Oct 08 – Visit www.fengshuisteps.com for full details

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again proved the importance of  younger players in one  and T20 matches when the  Team India with an average age of nearly 24 thumped Pakistan by a record margin of 140 runs in the Kitply Trangular Trophy being played in Bangladesh. The 21-year-old Praveen Kumar continued from where he finished in the CBA series in Australia to impress with the new ball in Dhaka.

This was India’s biggest margin of victory by runs against Pakistan. Though it was a team effort, India owes the victory mainly to five players. Virender Sehwag(89), Gautam Gambhir(62), Yuvraj Singh(55), Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla.

Pakistan, chasing 331, were undone by Praveen’s opening spell of four for 42, slipping to 81 for four by the 13th over. They were bowled out for 190 in only 35.4 overs, with leg-spinner Piyush Chawla (4 for 40) running through the tail.

The Indian bowlers were ably supported by their fielders. The first wicket, of Salman Butt, fell after Rohit Sharma pulled off a brilliant catch at short point.

Rohit’s effort was yet another example of the importance of having fresh legs in the outfield.

Earlier, Delhi mates Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir  put on a century partnership of 155 in 21.3 overs to lay the foundation of a massive total.

Man of the match Sehwag, the oldest of the lot at 29 years and 265 days, (89, 76b, 13×4, 1×6) was cautious to begin with, allowing the in-form Gambhir (62, 62b, 6×4) to dictate.

Gambhir was dropped twice by Younis Khan at slip, on 4 and 29. At the other end, boundaries poured at Sehwag’s will.

Pakistan’s choice of four medium-pacers, adding Rao Iftikhar to their attack at left-arm spinner Fawad Alam’s expense, bore no fruit.

Sehwag, too, was lucky when Kamran Akmal floored an outside edge off Iftikhar when he was on 43.

Unperturbed, Sehwag carried on with the carnage. Left-arm medium-pacer Wahab Riaz, who impressed against Bangladesh two nights ago, could do precious little after breaking the opening partnership, removing Gambhir and Sehwag off successive overs, bounce doing the trick.

 Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir made the most of some sloppy catching, getting within four runs of India’s highest opening stand against Pakistan, before Yuvraj Singh raised visions of a 375-plus total. They settled for 330 but that didn’t matter in the final analysis. Once Pakistan crumbled to 26 for 3, it was only a case of picking up the pieces.

A run-rate of 6.6 is impressive in all conditions but the fact that India kept it up on a sluggish pitch that offered some assistance to the medium-pacers added more gloss to the effort. Their fifty came up as early as the seventh over but Pakistan’s four-pronged pace attack didn’t start as badly as the run-rate suggested. They troubled the batsmen with swing and seam and even managed the edge on a few occasions but they were let down by poor fielding. Younis Khan allowed Gambhir two lives – on 4 and 29 – with identical edges flying past him at second slip and Kamran Akmal let off Sehwag on 43 when he lost control of the ball after appearing to have snared an edge to his right.

Sehwag, who walked all the way back to the boundary before returning, made the most of his good fortune, racing to his first fifty in a year. He was dropped for the final stages of India’s CB Series but an injury to Sachin Tendulkar allowed him another chance. He wasn’t his customary buccaneering self, and that was probably because of the nature of the surface, but he continuously peppered the region behind square. Preferring to use the pace of the bowlers, he walked across and whipped a few off his pads while settling for the judicious glide on other occasions.

It was Riaz again who was the centre of attention at the death when he was removed from the attack for bowling his second full toss above the waist.

It was not understandable why Yusuf Pathan was sent at number four when more reputed batsmen were waiting in the dressing room. The momentum was lost for a brief period as the debutant half-brother of Irfan Pathan, making it a rare case of brothers playing in the same ODI for India, looked lost in his maiden visit at this level. He did not last long either as did Rohit Sharma before Yuvraj Singh’s swashbuckling 54-ball 55 (3×4, 3×6) and Dhoni’s cameo brought India back on track.

         By Ashok Kumar

Sydney: There could be a coincidence but what Indian Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mr. Priya Ranjan DasMunshi said in Sydney and Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith told Indian Journalists, the sale of Uranium to India is not far once the 123 deal with US is through.

Mr. DasMunshi told the select gathering at a reception in his honour in Strathfield  organized by the New South Wales Bengali Association that although the Australian Government has taken a tough stand, talks were still on for finding ways to sell Uranium to India.

In a significant softening of Labour’s position, Mr. Smith, according to media reports, said although the Government has a strong policy of not exporting Uranium to non-Nuclear Proliferation Treaty signatory countries, the ban could be overturned if the long awaited 123 agreement between India and US was finalised. “If the agreement is passed, we could join the consensus. We will wait for the agreement and then make a judgment. In the agreement, a reference to the section 123 of US Atomic Energy Act of 1954 allows the US and other countries to supply nuclear technology and fuel to India even though it is not a signatory to the NPT.”

Mr. DasMunshi, who was in Sydney to participate in a FIFA meeting spoke on an array of subjects and displayed his oration skills for  which he recently won the Best Parliamentarian Award.  Mr. DasMunshi, who had first been to Australia in 1988 when Mr. Bob Hawke was the Prime Minister, said there is lot of commonality between Australia and India apart from democracy and cricket and there are lots of areas where both the countries can work together like global warming. Both India and Australia practice multicultural way of life and value tolerance, he said.

The youngest Parliamentarian ever in India, Mr. DasMunshi lauded the role of Bengalis wherever they are living and greatly contributing to the community.

Expectedly, he was asked several questions about the sorry state of Indian football. He strongly defended the onslaught by saying the professional level football in India has started only five years ago and just wait we will soon get there. “The professional culture in soccer back home is in a nascent stage but our journey is to the moon. It naturally will take time, but rest assured we will get there,” he remarked. The IPL has certainly changed the dynamics of sports in India but we cannot have football on that model since cricket is being played by 14 nations and football by nearly 150 countries. However, we are soon going to have a partnership with the telecom giant Airtel to push the game in a big way.
Replying to question on preparations for the Commonwealth Games, he said things were going right on target and New Delhi will be all geared up by March 2009. The Pune which will host the youth games is ready to roll out the red carpet, he added.

Answering questions on his Ministry, he revealed that Australia is ahead in many fields but there one thing where India has beaten Australia.  He proudly announced that India has 350 TV channels and by the end of year the number will rise to 450. Nearly 40% of these channels are with foreign collaboration. So, whether cricket is played in New Delhi or Adelaide or Sydney, the matches featuring India will be shown live and free to the Indian public on the Doordarshan.

Commencing his official career in public service in 1970 as a member of AICC he has served in many ministerial and other capacities since and currently he is the Information and Broadcasting Minister of India.

 He has been  also holding the position of AIFF president for the last 20 years.

 His career demonstrates exemplary leadership.

 Leadership is about having the ability to inspire people, to fire their imagination to attain the unattainable.

 Leadership is about the ability to have vision to see beyond the immediate.

 One area where leaders of both India and Australia have shown exemplary leadership is celebration of “Multiculturalism” and “Unity in diversity”.

 Australia acknowledges itself as a community of communities. It means the Govt actively believes that culture and tradition of each community can and does influence the prosperity and social harmony of Australia.

 Supporting this statement the Govt of New South Wales approved the first ever exterior illumination of a Parliament House in the Western World for celebrating Deepavali, the festival of lights, in 2003. It is an annual event now.

 Acknowledging the contribution of the people of India and Indian Subcontinent in Nation building, in 2007,  the Govt of NSW approved “Erection of a plaque  in the roof garden of the Parliament House, to commemorate the  achievements of Australians of  Indian Sub-Continental heritage, the Parliament and Govt  of NSW, in promoting community harmony and mutual respect in Australia.”

 This has been only the 2^nd such acknowledgement by the Govt to a community in Australia.

 The Bengalee community in NSW,  has been working hand in hand with not only other Indian and Indian Sub-continental communities but also with the broader Australian community to promote Social Justice, Equity and Social Integration in Australia..   

From what we get for what we do, we can make a living. But what we give back to the community, can make lives , can fire imaginations inspiring to attain the unattainable.

 In Australia , a country acknowledged as a community of communities, Bengali Association plays a vital role by preserving and inculcating moral values and lessons we inherited as Bengalees and Indians.

 We believe armed with these inherited traditional values and Australian academic achievements we and our future generations will continue to “Advance Australia Fair” .

———

Some of us have been in Australia for over 40 years, some for 20 years and others have arrived more recently.

 Regardless of how long we might have been abroad for, we take as much pride as any one else in the following facts:

• World’s first university was built in Takshila, India in 700 BC.
  
  
•  Zero, was invented in India by Aryabhatta . For which Einstein’s told that the world owes a lot to the Indians /.
  
  

·         Mark Twain once said: India is the cradle of human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history , the grandmother of legend and great grand mother of tradition.

·         In 1600 when East India Company was founded, Britain was generating 1.8% of world’s GDP, while India was producing 22.5%.

It was the European colonialism and its cannon power, commencing in the  16^{th century}, particularly in the eighteenth century that slowly wrecked the old trading network and world dominance of India.

 As Indian Australians we  take as much pride as anyone else in the forecast that by 2040 India will overtake the U.S. in terms of GDP.  That measured by purchasing power parity, India is already on the verge of overtaking Japan to become the third largest economy in the world.

Mr. Das Munsi, in today’s global village,  Australia presents

great potential for partnership with India and India offers the same for

Australia.

And I know many community and business leaders in these two countries are

taking advantage of these opportunities.

We as Indian Australians wish the best to both countries and

would be happy as individuals or as a community to help facilitate promotion

of the bilateral relationship in any reasonable way we can.

The Minister for Trade, Simon Crean, met on May 20, 2008 with Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry, Kamal Nath, in Melbourne for annual bilateral trade discussions, says a Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry media release.

India is the world’s second fastest growing major economy, with growth rates around 8-9 per cent per annum.

“Australia has an historic opportunity to build a stronger relationship with this emerging power in our region,” said Mr Crean.

India is Australia’s fastest growing major export market for both goods and services – increasing at over 30 percent annually over the last five years.

“While India is already Australia’s sixth largest merchandise export market and eighth largest services market there is potential to do much more together,” said Mr Crean.

“Our economies have striking economic complementarities and are natural trade and investment partners. I am committed to taking the bilateral relationship with India to a higher level.”

This is the third time Mr Crean has met Mr Nath, including in India during one of his first overseas visits in government. He is keen to ensure that Australia is best positioned to capitalise on the potential of the relationship, particularly in the resources and energy sectors, but also from Australia’s competencies in services, manufactures, biotechnology and agriculture.

He said the discussions covered our broad cooperation in multilateral, regional economic fora and our bilateral trade ties.

“We reaffirmed our common commitment to a successful conclusion to the Doha Round this year and our willingness to contribute to efforts to bring that about,” said Mr Crean.

“We also welcomed the release overnight in Geneva of the revised negotiating texts on agriculture and industrial goods. This shows there’s been a significant narrowing of gaps in a number of areas, reflecting the good progress that has been made in recent weeks and months.”

The two countries are partners in the East Asia Summit and Australia supports India’s membership of APEC when the moratorium expires.

“We also welcomed the good momentum established in the joint FTA feasibility study and committed to adopting a bold and ambitious approach to the study,” said Mr Crean.

The two ministers agreed the report of the study should be presented to Government by the end of 2008.

Mr Crean also discussed Australia’s market access requests with Mr Nath, as well as Australia’s concerns about India’s sugar export subsidies. He reiterated that Australia sought an end to the subsidies.

“It is in Australia’s national interests that our economic links with India continue to broaden,” he said. “Our two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on intellectual property cooperation and have also begun new dialogues and exchanges on economic policy, water management issues and competition policy.

“Our people-to-people links are helping cement India as a key economic partner for Australia,” said Mr Crean.

“This current financial year India has become the largest source of skilled migrants to Australia. It is also the second largest source of business and student visas. These links will ensure our economic relationship endures and continues to mature.”

Mr Nath was accompanied by a large Indian business delegation, highlighting the growing diversity and strength of the business to business relationship.