The Indian Weekender, 04 June 2021

04 JUNE2021 • VOL 13 ISSUE 12 

www.iwk.co.nz /indianweekender /indianweekender 

VICTORIA 

TRAVEL 

BUBBLE 

PAUSED: 

Govt to allow some 

Kiwis to travel home 

without going into 

managed isolation 

Contact 

Rachna Dave 

Financial Adviser 

0800RACHNA 

or 

02102290344 

rachna.dave@0800rachna.co.nz

2 NEW ZEALAND 

Friday, June 4, 2021 

The Indian Weekender 

Community supporters turn up in 

hundreds at Shakti musical fundraiser 

IWK BUREAU 

More than 400 people gathered to 

attend ‘Ragas Of Devi Presents: 

Shakti’, a musical fundraiser 

in aid of Shakti Community Council Inc. 

held on Saturday, May 29 at Mt Eden War 

Memorial Hall. 

The event organized by survivor and 

musician Devi Sobhana, alongside professional 

and self-trained musicians showcased how 

ragas or classical tunes could bring together not 

only different musical genres but also diverse 

communities to promote the cause of ending 

family violence. 

Event organizer Sobhana worked with a large 

team of community volunteers to host the event 

and had several multi-ethnic performers and 

trained classical Indian dancers. 

She said that her aim was to express her 

appreciation for Shakti who supported her as a 

survivor of family violence, and to encourage 

others to ask for help. 

“It is beyond words how appreciative I felt 

for Shakti. The event definitely exceeded my 

expectations,” Sobhana said. 

“I just wanted to say thank you to Shakti 

and be loud and proud about it. I didn’t expect 

to have such a large turnout. I expected 200 

people maybe through pre-event ticket sales, 

but on the day of the event we suddenly saw 

twice the number of people filling up the hall.” 

The former client of Shakti shared that she 

will never forget the support she received while 

going through her own journey leaving an 

abusive relationship. 

“I felt that the work Shakti does is about 

dealing with people’s emotions, not just 

processes. It is a highly stressful job am sure 

for Shakti staff, but they get results, and they 

are focused on helping clients. I became more 

confident after I moved on. Shakti has changed 

my life and this is how I wish to pay my respect 

for Shakti. This is what the organization has 

done to help me, and I am sure hundreds in the 

community”. 

Guests for the evening included Minister for 

Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities 

Priyanca Radhakrishnan and Honorary Consul 

of India Bhav Dillon who spoke to a packedhall 

audience in support of the cause and 

recognize Shakti’s work within New Zealand 

migrant and refugee communities. 

Immigration New Zealand hires 

100 as Beijing office shuts 

“One of the issues that led me to stand for 

Parliament in the first place was family violence 

intervention and prevention largely because of 

the years I spent working with Shakti,” said Ms. 

Radhakrishnan. 

“There is a lot to credit the organization for.” 

Radhakrishnan also acknowledged how 

domestic violence manifests differently in 

ethnic communities. She cited findings from the 

government’s 2020 Report on Family Violence 

Death Review Committee: “14% of men who 

used violence in intimate-partner related deaths 

between 2009 and 2017 were of South Asian 

origin. [That] is the third most frequently 

recorded ethnic grouping in the data sets and 

Asian women seek help at a lower rate than 

other women as well.” 

“There is a lot of work that we need to do 

to support women and children to stay safe… 

culturally-appropriate support that they can 

access and attitudes to change in our community 

as well.” 

Dhillon also spoke on the importance of 

women’s empowerment and the need to support 

such efforts in immigrant communities. 

“It is organisations like Shakti that unlock 

the potential of migrant wahine who come 

from so far away and get caught in an untoward 

situation.” 

Shakti means “strength” in Sanskrit and 

various Asian languages. Shakti is a national 

non-profit community organization that 

specializes in advocacy and family violence 

intervention services for migrant and refugee 

communities of Asian, African and Middle 

Eastern origins. 

It has 12 centres in New Zealand and 

commemorated its 25 years of service in 2020. 

Victims of domestic violence can call Shakti’s 

24hours/7 days a week crisis line for support on 

0800 SHAKTI 

RNZ 

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has taken 

on 100 staff and is recruiting more as it 

prepares to close its Beijing office. 

INZ shed more than 300 jobs overseas as 

it shut branches in the wake of the Covid-19 

pandemic, but recruitment had been on hold 

due to financial constraints. 

It today announced its Beijing visa processing 

office would shut by the end of July, joining 

closures in Mumbai, Manila and Pretoria earlier 

this year. 

Before Covid-19 struck, the Beijing 

office decided half of all New Zealand’s 

temporary visas. 

One overseas visa processing office will 

remain - in Samoa - when the branch in China 

closes, although risk and verification staff will 

continue to work in other offshore locations. 

“This is a continuation of INZ’s adaptation to 

the impact of Covid-19,” a spokesperson said. 

“INZ is taking this opportunity to reduce 

costs, introduce advanced technology to 

improve efficiency, manage offshore risk 

more effectively and move visa processing 

activities onshore.” 

Some of the newly recruited staff in New 

Zealand are understood to have been taken on 

to process residence applications. 

The government asked for 50,000 to 60,000 

new residents to be approved in the last 18 

months under the residence programme 

(NZRP). The NZRP is the framework for 

granting residence to skilled, family and 

humanitarian migrants. With one month left 

before the NZRP expires, it is 3500 away from 

the lowest end of that range. 

In a statement, INZ said that from January 

2020 to last month it had approved 46,562 

people for residence. 

“INZ continues to ensure that resourcing for 

the processing of skilled residence applications 

remains in line with the levels agreed to under 

the previous NZRP, as agreed with the previous 

Minister of Immigration,” INZ border and visa 

operations general manager Nicola Hogg said. 

“Skilled residence applications are processed 

in INZ’s Manukau office. As at 21 May 2021, 

85 immigration officers are responsible for 

processing skilled residence applications. 

Residence applications take time to process 

given how much there is at stake and the level 

of scrutiny required for each application. 

“Recruitment throughout Immigration New 

Zealand’s onshore visa processing network is 

under way, with 100 vacancies recently being 

filled. This recruitment will allow INZ to 

increase its onshore visa processing capacity.” 

The government is reviewing how it will 

draw up residence targets in future, alongside 

policy work on the skilled migrant category. 

" 

Recruitment 

throughout 

Immigration New 

Zealand’s onshore visa 

processing network is 

under way, with 100 

vacancies recently being 

filled. This recruitment 

will allow INZ to 

increase its onshore visa 

processing capacity 

Among skilled migrant residence visas, the 

number of residents decided last month fell to 

658, down from a high of 1925 in November. 

Rejection rates increased from 7 percent to 21 

percent over the same period. 

A quarter of applicants have been waiting 

two years for a decision. 

For the past two months since March 2021, 

INZ has been working on applications made in 

August 2019.

The Indian Weekender Friday, June 4, 2021 

NEW ZEALAND 3 

Victoria travel bubble paused: 

Govt to allow some Kiwis to travel 

home without going into managed isolation 

SANDEEP SINGH 

The Government has extended the pause 

on Victoria travel bubble by another six 

days till Wednesday, June 9. 

An announcement in this regard was made 

by the Covid-19 response Minister Chris 

Hipkins on Thursday, June 3 afternoon after 

receiving the official advice from the public 

health officials. 

The government will however allow some 

Kiwis to travel home without going into 

managed isolation provided they meet strict 

eligibility criteria. 

It is likely that barring any future changes, 

the plans for green-zone flights from Melbourne 

to New Zealand will commence from 

Tuesday, June 8. 

Travel on such flights will be limited to 

New Zealand citizens, Australian citizens 

normally resident in New Zealand, people with 

humanitarian exemptions and critical workers 

who are stranded in Victoria. 

Hipkins said those returning on flights to 

New Zealand would need to have negative tests 

returned within 72 hours of the flight. 

He acknowledged it was a 

further inconvenience. 

New Zealand was working with the Victorian 

government to make sure people could travel 

to get tests and flights home despite travel 

restrictions in the state. 

Hipkins said those in Victoria now but not 

" 

The feedback we 

have had is they 

[Victorian authorities] 

are handling it very 

well and they are 

doing everything that 

we would do 

in greater Melbourne could travel to another 

state - if they could - and travel to New Zealand 

providing they had a negative test result. 

People coming back after isolating in 

Melbourne and getting a negative test would 

not have to isolate on return to New Zealand, 

Hipkins said. 

“One of the things we have ascertained... is 

that people will be able to get those tests on the 

24-48 hour window before they leave.” 

The 72-hour rule should be enough to have a 

test turned around, he said. 

Hipkins said one of the things giving 

the government confidence was the 

Victoria lockdown. 

“By the end of that time, with negative 

tests, we can be confident that the risk of them 

coming back with Covid-19 is low.” 

“The feedback we have had is they [Victorian 

authorities] are handling it very well and they 

are doing everything that we would do.” 

The government was following a cautious 

approach to returning people home, he 

said. There was a degree of goodwill in the 

arrangement for New Zealand residents to 

travel to leave Victoria, Hipkins said. 

Victoria today recorded two new local 

coronavirus cases, taking the state’s outbreak 

to 63. Subject to public health advice, regional 

Victoria is set to ease restrictions after 11.59pm 

tonight, while metropolitan Melbourne will 

remain in lockdown for another week. 

Contact tracers are still trying to identify 

transmission points in the outbreak. 

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4 NEW ZEALAND 



SANDEEP SINGH 

The much anticipated Second languages 

bill that promised hope to many for 

realising a long-held dream of bringing 

multiple languages in a list of 10 priority 

languages that can give children the opportunity 

to learn a second language in primary and 

intermediate schools is all set to fail in the 

second reading of the bill in parliament. 

The Labour-led parliamentary committee 

examining the bill, originally proposed by ex- 

National MP Nikki Kaye, has shown apathy 

towards the idea of making 10 languages a 

priority saying that only te reo Māori and sign 

language should be the priority languages 

because they are both official languages. 

The committee has further said that 

Cook Island Māori, Niuean and Tokelauan 

and other Pacific languages needed to be 

valued and taught. 

National Party has blasted 

Labour Party for killing the bill. 

Labour’s move to kill a National Member’s 

Bill to give primary and intermediate schools 

the tools to teach a second language is narrowminded 

and misses a golden opportunity to 

equip our kids with greater language skills, 

National’s Education spokesperson Paul 

Goldsmith says. 

Labour had previously supported National’s 

second language learning bill that would enable 

Second languages bill likely to not 

survive second reading in parliament 

as Labour Party shows no interest 

primary and intermediate schools to offer a 

second language from a list of 10, which must 

include te reo and New Zealand Sign Language. 

“Labour’s problem with the Bill is that 

it offers choice, when they believe there 

should only be one choice for the second 

language – te reo. 

“One minute Labour MPs are celebrating 

Samoan language week in Parliament, next 

minute they are killing a piece of legislation that 

would better equip schools to teach Samoan – 

or Hindi, or Mandarin, or Tongan, or Punjabi 

or any number of languages widely spoken in 

communities around New Zealand. 

“They appear to have agreed with the 

Ministry of Education’s assertion that allowing 

choice would be a breach of the Treaty. 

“A Ministry official told the Select Committee 

that if the legislation passed ‘schools would 

have an open-ended choice, rather than a 

guided choice’. Guided choice seems to be 

departmental speak for ‘no choice’, it is te reo 

or nothing. 

“This is nonsense. Te reo was always going 

to be included in the priority list of languages, 

and the legislation doesn’t remove the existing 

requirement for school boards to make teaching 

available in tikanga Māori and te reo Māori. 

“But not all kids will want to study te reo in 

depth. 

One minute Labour MPs 

are celebrating Samoan 

language week in Parliament, 

next minute they are killing 

a piece of legislation that 

would better equip schools 

to teach Samoan – or Hindi, 

or Mandarin, or Tongan, or 

Punjabi or any number of 

languages widely spoken in 

communities around New 

Zealand 

“National doesn’t believe in forcing kids 

to learn one specific language. Motivation to 

learn a language is essential, so giving children 

options to make that choice themselves is a 

much better way to do it. 

“It was clear in the submissions to the 

legislation that there is a keen interest in a 

wide variety of languages in this country. 

Implementing this law would’ve been a 

significant first step towards creating smarter, 

more culturally aware Kiwis.” 

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NEW ZEALAND 5 

Absent homeowners 

warned over brightline 

taxes 

RNZ 

Homeowners who do not live in their 

house for a significant period may 

be caught by new tax rules aimed 

at property investors and may end up facing 

a large tax bill, according to the national 

accountant’s body. 

The government has tightened the brightline 

property rule, which will hit people selling 

houses, other than their main home, within 10 

years of purchasing. 

The net gains made on the sale of the house 

within that period is added to the person’s 

income and taxed at their top rate. 

Chartered Accountants Australia and 

New Zealand (CAANZ) said the fine print 

of the law contained traps for owners with 

changing circumstances. 

CAANZ New Zealand tax leader John 

Cuthbertson said people who were away from 

their main home for considerable periods 

might be caught by the bright-line test and 

would have to pay tax if they sold within the 

10-year period. 

“Homeowners should not assume that the 

main home exclusion will automatically apply 

to them for the full period that the property is 

owned.” A ‘safe harbour’ provision allowed 

homeowners to be away from their main 

home for a continuous period up to 365 days 

(12 months), which Cuthbertson said was too 

short to protect main homeowners in some 

circumstances. 

“This coupled with a new change of use rule 

will result in more homeowners having to pay 

tax on a portion of their gain from their main 

Homeowners should not assume 

that the main home exclusion 

will automatically apply to 

them for the full period that the 

property is owned. 

home if sold within 10 years. 

“If you fall outside the main home safe 

harbour, lots of paperwork and a potential tax 

bill lie in wait,” Cuthbertson said. 

“Examples of where the main home exclusion 

doesn’t apply won’t be rare and thanks to high 

house prices, the tax bills won’t be small.” 

He said people seconded by their employer 

to another part of the country for more than a 

year could be caught by the provision, as could 

people planning to build their own home. 

“Taking more than a year from buying a 

section to actually moving into the newly built 

home could see homeowners caught by the 

rules for that initial period before they move in 

and if they ultimately sell within 10 years.” 

Cuthbertson said people expecting to be 

away from their home for more than 12 months 

should be keeping records of how many days 

they were living away from the property, as well 

as records of any capital improvements made 

which could be claimed against a property’s 

sale proceeds. 

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NEW ZEALAND 7 

Rib-tickler Boom Shankar 

to stage again this month 

DEV NADKARNI 

Boom Shankar, a two-character ribtickling 

comedy, will stage in downtown 

Auckland June 8-12 at the Basement 

Theatre. 

Originally a five-minute piece in the wellreceived 

anthology show First World Problems 

2.0 staged in 2019, writers Aman Bajaj and Bala 

Murali Shingade have now expanded Boom 

Shankar to an hour-long standalone show. It 

was staged at the NZ International Comedy 

Festival where it had a sold out season. 

Boom Shankar tells the hilarious tale of 

Shankar Shinde, star graduate of BDSM or the 

Bomb Defusal School of Manukau (acronyms 

can stand for different things, you see), as he 

navigates his high-pressure job of defusing live 

bombs. Shankar’s journey explores love, life, 

and the importance of selecting the right type 

of dahi (yoghurt). 

He is forced to tap into all his training, 

unconventional coping mechanisms, divine 

intervention, and sheer dumb luck in an effort 

to make it through alive. 

Speaking to The Indian Weekender about 

how Boom Shankar came to be, co-writer 

and actor Aman Bajaj said, “The five-minute 

snippet [in First World Problems 2.0] was 

extremely well received and audience members 

and critics alike saw the potential of it being 

developed as a full-length show which got us 

thinking of developing it further. 

“Originally a monologue, we set ourselves 

the challenge of crafting it as a two-hander 

NZ Police urges public to plan ahead to 

keep safe over Queen’s Birthday weekend 

IWK BUREAU 

Police has partnered with Z Energy and 

250 bottle stores to encourage drivers 

and drinkers to plan ahead to keep safe 

over Queen’s Birthday weekend. 

“As a Road to Zero strategy partner, we are 

committed to reducing death and injury on 

our roads, and we work alongside partners to 

do this,” says Superintendent Steve Greally, 

Director National Road Policing Centre. Z 

Energy and bottle stores have come onboard 

to help share our road safety messages to their 

customers. 

“Z Energy is committed to supporting the 

Road to Zero initiative and proud to partner 

with Police on encouraging all motorists to 

stay safe on the road as they travel around 

Aotearoa,” says Z Energy’s Head of Safety and 

Wellbeing, Andrew Shand. 

“We have a number of our team on the 

road on any given day, including fuel delivery 

drivers, and we want to ensure that they, along 

with any other motorist, can return home 

safely at the end of each day.” Z Energy will 

be putting road safety messages on their coffee 

cup covers and 250 bottle stores throughout 

the country will have posters in store asking 

customers to think about how they are going to 

get home safely after their night out. The three 

Z Energy messages are - Always wear your 

seatbelt, Slow Down Arrive Alive, and Drive 

without distraction. 

The bottle store poster messages include ‘Get 

a ride from your mate’s mum, probably in her 

PJs’ and ‘Plan your ride home before you head 

out’. 

“These partnerships allow Police to reach 

drivers and drinkers in a new way, allowing our 

road safety messages to get right to the ones 

comedy play with a narrative that gave us the 

liberty of exploring a range of topics.” 

Bajaj and Shingade have always wanted to 

collaborate on a show together and co-wrote 

and Boom Shankar. 

They both also play the only two roles in it. 

Well known theatre director and performer Ahi 

Karunaharan was the dramaturge and mentor 

who helped in the development of the show for 

the NZ International Comedy Festival. 

Asked whether the play would appeal 

primarily to the Indian/South Asian sensibility 

Bajaj said, “As Kiwi Indian creatives, we 

definitely want to showcase our unique 

perspective and celebrate our communities, 

but at the same time, our show will definitely 

resonate with all audiences. 

we are targeting,” says Greally. Before you get 

behind the wheel make sure you are well rested, 

have eaten and hydrated. 

Plan your journey to avoid 

congestion. 

There will be a lot of traffic on the roads so 

be patient and keep a safe following distance. 

“Travellers may also hear our radio and 

Spotify adverts asking drivers to drive safe and 

have a good one. How you behave on the road 

affects you, your passengers, and everyone 

around you, so stay within the speed limit, make 

sure everyone is wearing their seatbelt, put the 

phone down and drive sober to arrive alive.” 

Police may also pop into a Z Energy station to 

remind drivers to make good driving decisions 

and into bottle stores to ask if customers have 

planned their way home. 

“Getting out in the community sharing 

prevention messages is a great way of 

minimising harm on the roads.” 

Aligned with our road safety Partner Waka 

Kotahi, who is sharing road safety messages in 

over 150 sports clubrooms and provincial pubs, 

Police wants everyone to have a good weekend 

and enjoy their Queen’s Birthday plans with 

friends and whanau wherever you are, and of 

course to be safe. 

“Police has no issue with people drinking 

responsibly. 

What we want is for you to have a plan sorted 

to get home safely ahead of time so that you 

don’t make a bad decision later on and drive,” 

says Greally. 

“Organising a sober driver, having money 

put aside for a taxi or uber, knowing what time 

your bus or train is, or arranging for mum/dad/a 

friend/your partner to pick you up later are all 

great ways to ensure you can enjoy your night 

and get home safely.” 

“Though we do have a couple of jokes that 

are for specific audiences, the show’s story, 

characters and ideas are accessible to everyone, 

no matter their ethnicity, age or gender. Our aim 

is to make sure that everyone has a good time 

as we can all certainly do with a laugh given the 

challenging times that we are living in.” 

Given that Boom Shankar was extremely 

well received in its run at the New Zealand 

International Comedy Festival too, where it 

was described as ‘hilarious’, ‘phenomenal’, 

‘heart-warming’, ‘amazing’, its second run this 

month gives another opportunity for theatre 

lovers to have their funny bone tickled with 

refreshingly original humour delivered by an 

extremely talented duo. 

Actor-writer-director Bajaj has worked in 

theatre and on screen since starting his journey 

as a writer and performer for Tom Sainsbury 

‘s The Foreign Monologues in 2011. His short 

play, Dhoti Baba, won the Best Comedy Script 

award at the 2015 Short + Sweet Festival in 

Auckland. 

He next wrote ‘AI East’ directed by Tom 

Sainsbury which won the Emerging Artist 

award at the 2016 Short + Sweet Festival. His 

most recent writing credit was for the short play, 

‘Manpreet’s Degustation Menu’ which was a 

finalist at the 2019 Short + Sweet Festival and 

was also a writer and host for the youth current 

affairs web series, ‘DBrief’, that was funded by 

Radio New Zealand for The Wireless. Aman 

also directed ‘Guards at Taj’ and ‘Know the 

Truth’ that were presented as part of the 2020 

Prayas production Yatra. 

Shingade has an MA in Screen Production, 

and is a writer, director and actor in film and 

theatre. Recent screen credits as a director 

include 800 Lunches and Perianayaki, both 

funded short films. 

He has also written and directed 

several pieces of short form theatre. Acting 

credits include a number of shows with Prayas 

Theatre, such as Dara, Yātrā and A Fine 

Balance. In 2020, Bala was one of six recipients 

of the Arts Foundation’s inaugural Springboard 

award, which recognises emerging artists with 

outstanding potential in their fields. 

Boom Shankar runs for 5 nights from 8th- 

12th of June at The Basement Theatre: 

https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2021/ 

jun/boom-shankar

8 NEW ZEALAND 



YOGI DIVINE SOCIETY NZ avows 

‘serving humanity with compassion’ 

PAULA RAY 

Yogi Divine Society New Zealand’s 

Auckland fellowship gathered on 

Friday, May 21 to celebrate the 

88th birthday of their spiritual master HDH 

Hariprasad Swamiji Maharaj. 

A range of speakers from within the 

group and special invited guests 

affirmed the key message 

of the Society’s spiritual 

master Hariprasad 

Swamiji Maharaj of 

“serving humanity 

with compassion,” 

especially 

in current 

Covid ravaged 

environment 

affecting a 

vast section of 

humanity. 

Over 500 delegates 

were welcomed to the 

event, with devotional 

prayers and bhajans, followed 

by religious discourses on courage 

through spirituality. 

The speakers included Kiranbhai Vaghela 

and Ravibhai Maisuria. 

Nirav Savaliya, the Youth Mentor at 

Yogi Divine Society NZ Inc told the Indian 

Weekender that the organisation has been 

working actively in New Zealand for the last 32 

years for the betterment of youth. 

“Our community-based activities have 

contributed in transformations of many youths 

over the past two decades,” Savaliya said. 

“YDS endeavours to promote love and 

harmony via frameworks of mentorship and 

sense of service to humanity. Service towards 

humanity is service towards the almighty,” 

Savaliya said. 

A comprehensive presentation on COVID-19 

relief contributions by the Society was delivered 

by Chirayubhai Bhatt and Manthanbhai Dave. 

Ashok bhai Patel, international secretary to 

Hariprasad Swamiji Maharaj, joined the event 

online from Gujarat where the Soceity’s main 

ashram is based and shared his knowledge 

with the members of the Society on Atmiyata 

(spiritual harmony) and how to integrate it into 

daily lives. 

Among other invited guests and speakers 

key was Arun Jacob from AJV Global who 

elaborated on the importance of community 

infrastructure and contribution for the wellness 

and prosperity of migrants. 

This community-based initiative was well 

received by the delegates and well-wishers of 

Yogi Divine Society, NZ. 

Kerala Cultural Forum: Celebrating 

diversity of faiths in Christchurch 

PAULA RAY 

Kerala Cultural Forum celebrated 

diverse festivals of Easter and 

Vishu in Christchurch in April 

earlier this year as per the commitment for 

celebrating diverse festivals from the home 

state of Kerala, India. 

Syam Dev, Treasurer, Kerala Cultural 

Forum, told the Indian Weekender that 

the organisation was set up in 2010 to 

serve Malayali speaking people in the 

Christchurch region and since then have 

been working diligently to celebrate many 

festivals of the region. 

“The organisation’s aim is to foster 

friendships within the community, provide 

a platform for networking and promote 

the well-being of the community, and 

this is done by organising cultural, social, 

educational and sporting activities,” Syam 

said. 

The Forum also cherishes the heritage 

and traditions of the community and hopes 

the younger generation will carry forward 

the legacy even while integrating with the 

Kiwi culture. With this objective, KCF 

organises events that promote the diversity 

of their homeland. 

" 

The organisation’s 

aim is to foster 

friendships within 

the community, 

provide a platform 

for networking and 

promote the well-being 

of the community, 

and this is done by 

organising cultural, 

social, educational and 

sporting activities" 

Earlier this year in April, they celebrated 

Easter and Vishu at the same event to bring 

Malayalees across faiths together. 

The event witnessed many cultural 

performances, including dances, songs, 

interspersed with motivational speeches 

with religious fervour, such as Father Shino 

Zam, which kept more than 200 strong 

crowds glued to their seats throughout 

the event. 

Towards the end of the event, dinner was 

served to all attendees. 

The event organisers expressed their 

gratitude to all sponsors, including Solidity 

insurance, Ray & White, SKM Mortgage), 

Eco Travels and Spice Bazaar, for making 

the event successful. 

" 

YDS endeavours 

to promote love 

and harmony via 

frameworks of 

mentorship and 

sense of service to 

humanity. Service 

towards humanity is 

service towards the 

almighty"


NEW ZEALAND 9 

New Bollywood band buoyed on 

full-house crowd at the inaugural launch night 

SANDEEP SINGH 

729 The Band is the new addition to 

a growing list of Bollywood bands 

in Auckland circuit and was warmly 

received by patron on their inaugural launch 

night on Saturday, May 22, at Glass Goose pub 

& restaurant in Auckland. 

Prince Rajput, one of the seven members 

of the band told the Indian Weekender that 

they were absolutely delighted with the fullhouse 

turnout and the love of the highly 

supporting audience. 

“We are so encouraged with the love and 

support of our patrons that we have started 

thinking of making it a regular event playing in 

the Auckland circuit and eventually tours to the 

other regions,” Prince said. 

The launch night was filled with nostalgic 

tunes, groovy beats, and melodies as 729 

The Band played to a sold-out crowd at the 

Glass Goose. 

From modern contemporary hits like Ae 

Dil Hai Mushkil, College hits such as Aadat, 

to classics such as Gulabi Aankein and Mere 

Mehboob, the crowd did not miss a beat – 

singing along with the band. 

Two years ago, seven friends got together 

through their mutual love for music and 729 

The Band was born. They wanted to play songs 

that they grew up with as well as modern songs 

that both the audiences and the band loved. 

“The aim of the band is to spread the joy that 

they felt while playing music to the audience, 

whether it took them to a place of reminiscence 

or a joyful life event – the connection with the 

audience was crucial,” Prince said. 

Explaining the story behind the seemingly 

unique name Avelin Chetty, another member 

of the band said, “We have given significant 

thought behind this special name for the band.” 

“The 7 represents the band members; the 

2 for the audience and music; the 9 is the 

representation of both the band, audience, 

and music as one entity. Thereby, giving 729 

The Band its name and founding philosophy,” 

Avelin said. 

“Coincidently, most of the practice 

sessions were held between 7-9pm,” Avelin 

further added. 

The aim of the band is to 

spread the joy that they 

felt while playing music to the 

audience, whether it took them 

to a place of reminiscence 

or a joyful life event – the 

connection with the audience 

was crucial 

Given, the digital age and rise of technology, 

the band also wants to inspire the next 

generation of Indian children to continue our 

Indian music heritage. 

The band members collectively have over 

half a decade of musical experience and have 

experienced the evolution of Indian Music from 

the days of R.D Burman to AR Rahman. 

729 The Band also pays their respect to these 

inspirational figures in Indian Music and the 

evolution of this journey. 

With these guiding philosophies in mind, the 

band had aimed to get these events underway 

much earlier. 

However, the turbulent events of last year 

had put these plans on hold. As such, a lot of 

hard work and preparation was put into making 

this event extra special. 

“The band would also like to thank the 

sponsors without whom the event would not 

have been possible – Dev Dhingra (CEO of 

Fundmasters), Param Randhawa (Barfoot 

& Thompson), Victor Immigration & Study 

Abroad, Events and Beyond, DJ Kaz Events, 

Radio Tarana, Indian Weekender, Behki 

Baatein, Smoksha,” Prince said. 

Most importantly to their families who 

support and encourage their passion for music 

and the love and support from the Indian 

Community in New Zealand. 

The Band has ambitious plans for the future 

and is looking forward to perform regularly in 

Auckland and other cities in New Zealand, and 

hopefully in future to neighbouring markets of 

Australia and Fiji. 

729 The Band is comprised of Avelin Chetty, 

Avi Pranish, Joscel Alexander, Kunal Krishneel, 

Nikhil Singh, Prince Rajput and Sachin Kumar. 

They were supported by their friends Ishan 

Bhatt and Neel Patel at their launch party. 

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10 NEW ZEALAND 



Are government measures 

to cool housing working? 

Policies announced by the 

Government to control the 

housing crisis have started 

showing results, but Kalkine Chief 

Executive Kunal Sawhney says more 

needs to be done. 

Real Estate Institute of New 

Zealand (REINZ) data saw house 

sales in April drop compared to 

March while the total number of 

properties sold declined by 28%. 

Prices also showed signs of easing 

with the national median selling 

price down by 1.8% as compared to 

March at $810,000. 

However, prices varied between 

one region and the other, with 

some regions experiencing 

an increase. Are these early signs that 

investors’ interest is falling away and 

making way for first home buyers? 

Not necessarily. Even though April 

data shows a drop in sales compared 

to March, they were still the highest 

for April in the last five years. March 

is typically the busiest time for 

buying a house and after the winter 

starts setting in the sales drop. 

According to analysts, it’s too 

early to say anything. They say there 

should be a wait-and-watch approach 

to see whether the early signs of 

LVRs and tax changes are having an 

impact on the housing market. 

“There is no silver bullet to 

housing crisis,” Prime Minister 

CERT NZ’s latest report 

shows Kiwis reported more 

than 1,400 cyber security 

incidents from 1 January to 31 March 

2021, which is a 25% increase on the 

same time period last year. 

" 

As we increasingly 

spend more of our 

lives online, attackers 

are constantly 

developing new and 

more sophisticated 

campaigns. That’s why 

it’s really important to 

maintain good cyber 

habits. This can be as 

simple as implementing 

updates, having a 

long, strong password 

and using two-factor 

authentication. 

Phishing and credential harvesting 

Jacinda Ardern says. The crisis 

will take some time to turn 

around completely. 

The Government has been alarmed 

and taken several steps to curb the 

rising house prices on both the 

demand and supply sides. 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern 

says the last thing New Zealand’s 

economy and homeowners need 

is a dangerous housing bubble, 

but several indicators point 

towards that risk. 

Even the Treasury in its Economic 

Outlook in the Budget 2021 

mentioned the impact of the housing 

crisis and forecast that the annual 

house prices will fall to 0.9% by June 

2022 quarter. 

Finance Minister Grant Robertson 

expressed concern in his Budget 

speech that the Government was 

under pressure to arrest the “runaway 

remained the most reported incident 

category, followed by scams and 

fraud, then malware. 

"Almost a quarter (23%) of reports 

Need For 

More Water 

Investment 

Made Clear 

Water New Zealand says 

new evidence just 

released shows the extent 

of the challenges facing the three 

waters sector. The Department of 

Internal Affairs has just released 

a series of reports which look at 

the need for reform and addresses 

some of the key issues raised during 

consultations with the sector. 

Water New Zealand chief executive 

Gillian Blythe says New Zealanders 

have made it clear that safe drinking 

water and healthy environmental 

outcomes are a priority, but there will 

be a need to achieve this in the most 

affordable and effective way. 

The latest Water Industry 

Commission for Scotland (WICS) 

report released today, estimates that 

we need to invest between $120-b 

and $185-b over the next 30 years to 

comply with quality standards. 

“We all want to swim in beaches 

and rivers that are clean and to be 

able to turn on the tap anywhere in 

the country and have safe drinking 

water but achieving this will come at 

a big cost." 

She says there has been 

significant under investment in 

water infrastructure for many years. 

powered by Rubicon Project 

The Deloitte report, on the 

economic impact of the reforms and 

implications, forecasts that every 

region would be expected to be 

positively impacted in terms of GDP 

and employment growth. 

The report says the reforms would 

result in an extra 5,800 to 9,300 

new jobs between 2022 and 2051. 

It predicts growth rates of up to 80 

percent in the water sector workforce 

and says this will present significant 

opportunities for employment 

growth, specialisation and increased 

career opportunities. 

“However, councils and utilities 

are already finding it difficult to 

fill current vacancies. This has 

been recognised for some time. 

For instance, Water New Zealand’s 

latest National Performance Review 

revealed an eight percent vacancy 

rate across the country in 2019/2020. 

“That is why Water New Zealand 

has begun working with Connexis, 

Taumata Arowai and the Department 

of Internal Affairs on a long-term 

strategy to develop a workforce today 

to meet the needs of tomorrow.” 

Best and worst power companies revealed in Consumer NZ Survey 

Contact Energy has been rated as the worst performer in 

Consumer NZ’s latest electricity satisfaction survey. 

Its website boasts making "electricity easy and 

efficient, with competitive rates, friendly local service and 

flexible payment options”, but with a satisfaction score of just 

42%, their customers were less enthusiastic about the company’s 

performance. Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said 

its annual survey found Contact also rated below average for 

competitive pricing, helping customers save energy and value 

for money. 

“Contact’s rating was considerably lower than the industry 

average of 52%. It’s the worst score for the company in the past 

four years,” Duffy said. Trustpower was the other big player to 

P 

rime Minister 

Jacinda Ardern 

says the last thing New 

Zealand’s economy 

and homeowners 

need is a dangerous 

housing bubble, but 

several indicators point 

towards that risk. 

housing market.” 

On the supply side, the Government 

announced a new NZ$3.8 billion 

fund to accelerate both the pace as 

well as the number of houses to be 

built. The demand-supply gap is very 

big – as of March, demand was at 

26% while supply fell by 9%. 

The Government’s steps to bridge 

supply and demand have started 

paying off. New Zealand recently 

saw the most houses approved in 

made to CERT NZ during this time 

period resulted in some form of 

direct financial loss, totalling $3 

million. 

score below average for value for money (29%). It was also the 

lowest rated for competitive pricing (28%) and the lowest equal 

with value for money (29%). In Consumer NZ’s 2020 survey, it 

was the lowest-rated retailer with an overall satisfaction score of 

just 43 percent. Top performers this year were Powershop (77%) 

and Electric Kiwi (70%). Customers rated these companies 

above average for competitive pricing, helping them save energy 

and being value for money. 

For one in four Kiwis, household power costs remain a major 

concern. Consumer NZ’s survey found 18% had trouble paying 

their monthly power bills in the past year. 

“As the temperature drops, we’re seeing energy prices rising. 

Low hydro lake levels are driving up prices on the wholesale 

history. Stats NZ reported in early 

May that 41,028 new homes were 

consented in the year to March 2021, 

overshadowing February 1974’s 

previous record of 40,225. 

What more can be done? 

On the supply side, while the new 

$3.8 Billion Housing Acceleration 

fund will help address short to 

medium-term housing, in the longterm 

it needs to be integrated with 

other sequenced projects, as well. 

Secondly, Housing Minister 

Megan Woods says the package of 

measures will help the first home 

buyers into the market and boost 

activity, however the Home-Start 

grant needs to be updated and made 

suitable for first-time owners. 

As the prices rose, fewer and fewer 

first home buyers could afford them. 

The Government needs to make it 

more affordable and within the range 

of first home buyers. 

To discourage investors, more 

steps might be on the way from the 

Reserve Bank. One step that has 

already proved significant was the 

removal of interest deductibility. 

Not only has this discouraged 

investors from buying new properties, 

it has also propelled the existing 

ones to sell. For a bigger impact, the 

Reserve Bank may announce a slew 

of new measures. 

Cyber security incidents continue to rise 

“Our data shows that year-on-year 

cyber security incidents are on the 

rise and they can be costly to recover 

from,” says CERT NZ Director, 

Rob Pope. 

“As we increasingly spend more 

of our lives online, attackers are 

constantly developing new and more 

sophisticated campaigns. 

"That’s why it’s really important 

to maintain good cyber habits. This 

can be as simple as implementing 

updates, having a long, strong 

password and using two-factor 

authentication.” 

There’s lots of practical advice 

and information on the CERT NZ 

website about how both individuals 

and businesses can stay safe online. 

If you or your organisation 

experiences a cyber security incident 

contact CERT NZ at www.cert.govt. 

nz or call 0800 CERT NZ, Monday 

to Friday, 7am – 7pm. 

electricity market. In the year to March, wholesale prices for 

electricity generation spiked a sizable 29%,” Duffy said. 

Consumer NZ encourages households to use its free 

Powerswitch website to compare plans and check if they can get 

a better deal. 

“Our analysis found that households using Powerswitch last 

winter could save $388 on average by switching to the cheapest 

plan. With one in five consumers saying they’ve been on the 

receiving end of poor service, it doesn’t pay to be loyal.” 

Powershop, Electric Kiwi and Flick Electric received 

Consumer NZ People’s Choice awards. These are awarded to 

providers that stand out for customer service and meet Consumer 

NZ’s other criteria.

2021 

Wednesday, June 16, 2021 

Friday, CORDIS, August Auckland 14, 2020 

Friday, CORDIS, August Auckland 

Hosted by 14, 2020 

CORDIS, Auckland 

Supported by 

Supported by

Thought of the week 

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion 

to their commitment to excellence, regardless of 

their chosen field of endeavor.” — Vince Lombardi 

Editorial 

Can India play pivotal role 

in Afghanistan’s stability 

after US withdrawal? 

As the United States prepares to pull out the entirety of its remaining 2,500 troops from 

Afghanistan– a move fast being followed by NATO allies in the war-tattered nation – the 

onus for security and stability will fall on the region’s neighbours. 

However, this is a window of opportunity in which India can lead the way, if it chooses to do so. 

It will not be an easy or simple process. As the Taliban become increasingly assertive in the 

ongoing peace talks and potentially set to govern the country again someday, it is vital that New 

Delhi carves a channel for diplomatic dealings. 

So far there have been some evident efforts in that direction. Indian officials are taking an 

increasingly visible role in the various meetings concerning Afghanistan’s future, of which Taliban 

members have been party. New Delhi will attend the ten-day Istanbul conference starting this week 

Of course, India’s history with the Taliban – for instance when it was poised at the Kabul helm 

from 1996 to 2001 – has been a turbulent one. This is not surprising given the Taliban’s protracted 

policy of directly and indirectly supporting Pakistani terrorist groups, a policy which has resulted 

among other things in various skirmishes in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Moreover, it is hard to forget the painful hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight in 1999 by five 

Taliban gunmen, resulting in one passenger being fatally stabbed and 17 being wounded (Joshi, 

2020). Allegations of involvement by the Pakistani ISI inflamed the aftermath. 

And certainly, the Taliban’s perchance for violence and the ruthless targeting of both Afghan 

forces and civilians in recent years reminds all the sobering reality that their overarching tactical 

approach remains unchanged. Furthermore and of course, India’s leaders cannot enthusiastically 

align with a political faction that ideologically limits the education and vocational opportunities for 

women and endorses extremist values that amount to violence and terrorism. 

The diplomatic dance with the Taliban must therefore be delicate, but not dismissive. 

Uncomfortable facts are facts nonetheless, and India will need to work with the reality on the 

ground if – or when – the Taliban resume a potent palace position. 

On the plus side, the Taliban’s top brass has not – for some two decades – made explicit anti-New 

Delhi threats. They were swift to release, following quiet negotiations, the seven captured Indian 

engineers working in Afghanistan three years ago. 

The organisation has also refrained from sabotaging or attacking India-backed development 

projects in Afghanistan – all of which should be perceived as positive tools for the communications 

arsenal. The success in this area may have stemmed in large part from New Delhi’s non-militarized 

Afghan strategy. Rather than bolstering Kabul’s security endeavours with boots on the ground, 

India’s lawmakers instead opted for a “soft power” approach – focusing its support spending on 

economic and infrastructure projects, as well as community-centric development and humanitarian 

aid. The war-splattered nation is the second-largest beneficiary of Indian assistance shoring up a 

positive perception of India among much of the Afghan citizenry – a critical puzzle piece for future 

influence in the embattled nation. 

Indeed, India has built up a robust portfolio of strategic interests in Afghanistan – despite its 

conflicts and volatility. 

A good example is the $100 million enlargement of the Chabahar to serve as an import-export 

core between Central Asia and Afghanistan. 

By opting to play a more pervasive part in Afghanistan, India also stands to secure even 

closer strategic ties to the United States. Washington has vowed to maintain its diplomatic and 

humanitarian endeavours in Afghanistan after the military exit, and President Biden has expressed 

a desire to see neighbouring nations play more prominent roles. 

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price announced this month that Secretary Tony Blinken 

and his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar would work together in advocating Afghanistan cohesion. 

This of course constitutes the outgrowth of a long and trusting affinity. 

India can also coordinate its strategy and act as something of an interlocutor for all countries 

directly impacted by security affairs in Afghanistan – China, Russia, Pakistan, Turkey, 

Qatar and beyond. 

Moreover, the likes of ISIS-K, the Da’esh outfit operating on Afghan terrain, appears relatively 

small at this stage; there are an estimated 19 other terrorist outfits thought to have a footprint inside 

the country. The Taliban may, in the end, turn out to be a necessary bastion against groups that pose 

threats both within and outside of Afghanistan’s borders. 

However, when assuming responsibilities, India must also be mindful of maintaining a healthy 

distance from Kabul’s internal security affairs – ramping up developmental support with the goal of 

long-term stability while giving space for Afghanistan to grow and take shape on its own. 

And even though it remains to be seen whether the Taliban takes an increased focus on the 

contentious Kashmir issue, Suhail Shaheen – a representative for the Taliban’s political wing in 

Afghanistan – has previously taken to Twitter to espouse that in their policy it “is clear that it does 

not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.” 

For its part, another spokesperson for the Taliban’s political wing – officially termed the Islamic 

Emirate – also pledged this past week that its foreign policy would “seek positive relations with all 

its neighbours” on the basic principles of “respect and interaction”. 

The Islamic Emirate does not allow anyone to use the soil of Afghanistan against another country, 

group or individual. It should also be made clear that the Islamic Emirate will never allow anyone to 

turn the soil of Afghanistan into an arena of proxy conflicts and disputes while also doubling down 

that they do not intend to interfere in any cross-border disputes, including those involving Pakistan. 

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls on all to assist the Afghan people in achieving 

independence and freedom, in the light of the values of the people, in the establishment of an 

independent Islamic system and the reconstruction of the country. 

Indian Weekender : Volume 13 Issue 12 

Publisher: Kiwi Media Publishing Limited 

Content Editor: Sandeep Singh | sandeep@indianweekender.co.nz 

Chief Technical Officer: Rohan deSouza | rohan@indianweekender.co.nz 

Graphic Designer: Yashmin Chand | design@indianweekender.co.nz 

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Editor at Large: Dev Nadkarni | dev@indianweekender.co.nz 

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 

Kiwi Media Publishing Limited - 133A, Level 1, Onehunga Mall, Onehunga, Auckland. 

Printed at Horton Media, Auckland 

4 June – 10 June 2021 

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed Thu 

On-and-off 

rain and 

drizzle 

22° 

15° 

On-and-off 

rain and 

drizzle 

19° 

13° 

Clouds 

and 

sun 

19° 

14° 

Clouds 

and 

sun 

20° 

14° 

Clouds 

and 

showers 

This week in New Zealand’s history 

20° 

14° 

Copyright 2020. Kiwi Media Publishing Limited. All Rights Reserved. 

A few 

morning 

showers 

21° 

15° 

6 June 1996 

New Zealand’s first wind farm becomes operational 

A few 

morning 

showers 

26° 

17° 

Commissioned by Genesis Energy, New Zealand’s first commercial wind farm opened in 

the windy hills of Wairarapa. Named Hau Nui Farm, meaning Big Wind, its location was 

chosen because of the wind currents that are funnelled and accelerated by nearby Cook Strait 

and the Remutaka Range. 


First Rotary club in New Zealand founded 

A 

local Rotary club was established at a luncheon in Wellington’s YMCA, with Alexander 

Roberts elected as the first president. An Auckland branch was formed six days later, with 

former Liberal Cabinet minister George Fowlds as president. 


McDonald's arrives in New Zealand 

The golden arches appeared for the first time in New Zealand at Cobham Court, Porirua. Big 

Macs were priced at 75 cents (equivalent to $6.40 in 2020), cheeseburgers 40 cents and 

hamburgers 30 cents. 


New Zealand goes nuclear-free 

The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act was passed into 

law, establishing this country as a nuclear and biological weapon-free zone. 


Public Trust Office building opens 

On 9 June 1909, Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward opened the Public Trust Office Building 

on Lambton Quay, Wellington. The Minister in Charge of the Public Trust, Apirana Ngata, 

invited members of both Houses of Parliament and prominent Wellington citizens and their 

wives to the opening ceremony – a lunchtime banquet, with a concert and dance in the evening. 


Eruption of Mt Tarawera 

The eruption lasted six hours and caused massive destruction. It destroyed several 

villages, along with the famous silica hot springs known as the Pink and White Terraces. 

Approximately 120 people, nearly all Māori, died. 


First kindergartens 

Public concern about rowdy street kids, ‘gutter children’ or ‘waifs and strays’, as they were 

known, was a key factor in the establishment of the first kindergarten in New Zealand.

The Indian Weekender Friday, June 4, 2021 FIJI 13 

Fiji fighting Delta Plus variant 

The variant affecting Fiji during this 

epidemiological update, it says the Western 

second wave of COVID-19 infections 

Pacific, which includes Fiji, reported over 139 

will now be referred to as Delta Plus. 

000 new cases, which is a six percent increase 

The World Health Organization has 

compared to the previous week and just under 

introduced this new name labels for all 

coronavirus variants, to avoid stigmatization 

and victimization of any nation where the 

variant and its mutant strains was first identified. 

Up until now, the second wave variant in 

Fiji has been referred to as the Indian variant. 

Delta is the new name for B.1.617.2, the double 

mutant strain that was first identified in India 

last October. 

The variant affecting us at the moment does 

not have a further specification of lineage at this 

time and hence it named Delta Plus. 

There are 11 other nations who fall in this 

category. Meanwhile, in the latest WHO 

2100 new deaths, a similar number to the 

previous week. 

The numbers of both cases and deaths 

remain at the highest levels since the beginning 

of the pandemic. 

Overall the number of new COVID-19 cases 

and deaths continues to decrease, with over 

3.5 million new cases and 78 000 new deaths 

reported globally in the past week¬, a 15% 

and 7% decrease respectively, compared to the 

previous week. 

500,000 doses of 

COVID-19 vaccines 

donated by NZ 

expected to arrive 

in 3 months 

NZ to also give close to $3m to support 

vaccine rollout. The 500,000 doses of 

the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines 

provided by New Zealand is expected to arrive 

within the next three months. 

New Zealand will also be donating around 

$3 million to support vaccine preparedness 

and rollout. This was highlighted by the New 

Zealand Minister of State for Trade and Export 

Growth Phil Twyford during the NZ-Fiji 

Business Council Meeting. 

Twyford says in the last few weeks New 

Zealand has provided emergency assistance 

worth over NZ$500,000 to support Fiji 

in containing the immediate effects of 

the outbreak. 

The New Zealand Government has also 

offered a grant contribution of approximately 

$60 million in budget support and Twyford says 

they are well aware that more must be done to 

support Fiji. 

He adds as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern 

has indicated, they will be in a position to begin 

conversations with other Pacific neighbours 

including Fiji on quarantine-free travel 

arrangements when the time is right. 

Twyford says whatever the timeframe for 

reopening, their priority will always be keeping 

the New Zealand and Pacific people safe. 

267 active 

cases in Fiji 

as of last 

night 

There were a total of 38 COVID-19 

cases between Sunday and yesterday 

evening, taking the total number of 

active cases to 267. 

With nine infections announced last night, 

yesterday’s total was 32 after the 23 earlier 

announced infections. 

This was apart from the six from Sunday 

night. The cases yesterday were two from the 

Narere cluster, three are from the Waila cluster, 

13 are linked to Nawaka in Nadi cluster and 15 

are from the Navy and five from Muanikoso, 

Nasinu cluster. 

Fiji now has 267 active cases with 252 of 

these cases from the Lami-Suva containment 

zone, and 15 cases from Nadi. 

The Health Ministry says two of the active 

cases in Suva are considered to be severe cases. 

Fiji has had 438 cases in total since our first 

case was reported in March 2020, with 167 

recoveries and 4 deaths. 

There have been 368 cases since this outbreak 

started in April 2021. 

65,877 COVID-19 laboratory tests have 

been conducted during this current outbreak, 

with 108,738 conducted in total since testing 

started in early 2020. This does not yet include 

the 11,000 samples recently tested in Australia. 

A total of 2475 samples were tested yesterday. 

The daily average of testing over the last seven 

days is 2630 tests per day. 

At the national level, an average of three tests 

per 1000 population has been conducted over 

the last seven days. 

The seven- day average daily test positivity 

is now 1.1%. 

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NEW ZEALAND 

Over a ton of colour to be used at 

Krishna Holi 2021 event in Kumeu 

The Indian Weekender Friday, February 12, 2021 11 

RIZWAN MOHAMMAD 

T 

he biggest Holi event in the country 

on Sunday, February 14 at ISKCON 

Temple in Kumeu will put over one 

ton of colours for 10,000 visitors to play with 

celebrating the annual Hindu festival. 

Holi is one of the most popular and widely 

celebrated festivals for the Indian community 

after Diwali that is celebrated by the diaspora 

and the adjoining communities across the globe. 

The annual festival of colour falls on March 

28-29 this year, and the religious element of the 

festival signifies the triumph of good over evil. 

It is observed a the end of winter and advent of 

spring month (in the Indian subcontinent), and 

spiritual part of the festival starts with Holika 

Dahan (burning demon Holika) also known as 

Chhoti Holi and the following day as Holi. 

In its 9th year, Krishna Holi event at the 

iconic Hare Krishna Temple in Kumeu, West 

Auckland attracts thousands of people from all 

walks of life, different ethnicities and faiths to 

be a part of a colourful and joyous event. 

Speaking with the Indian Weekender, 

Krishna Chandra from the temple said they are 

excited to see the festive season of Holi back 

after a gloomy year of Covid-19 in the country. 

“Holi at the Krishna Temple is one of the 

most vibrant events in our calendar- we see 

families dressed white clothing visi the temple 

and then dance and drench in dry and wet 

colours from noon till early evening,” Krishna 

Chandra, secretary and spokesperson of Hare 

Krishna Temple said. 

The temple spread over 100 acres start the 

free event at 11 a.m. and will have stalls that 

distribute at least ten to 12 colours, and there 

will also be watercolours for the visitors. 

A giant LED screen is also installed on the 

stage with a DJ and live music for the attendees 

to dance and have fun. 

“It’s a family-friendly- tobacco and alcoholfree 

event. People of all ages can have fun as 

there will be colour stalls, water stations, food 

stalls, changing rooms, showering stations for 

people drenched in colour,” Mr Chandra said. 

He added tha the temple stocks colours to be sanitisers are in place for people, arrangements 

used at the festival at least 2-3 years at a time. for children activities, so that everyone gets to 

The temple will be used over a ton of colour at enjoy the even to its fullest. 

the event both in its dry form and with water. “We have volunteers, security to usher 

“We have given 200 kgs of colour to fire vehicles to park in the appropriate places, 

brigade who will mix it in their water tank manage the oncoming and returning traffic, 

and then splash it on the visitors at different and make sure visitors feel comfortable at the 

intervals. 

event,” Mr Chandra added. 

“Since this year’s event coincides with The event organisers have appealed the 

Valentine’s Day, we have kept valentine theme visitors to come in white dress as colours tend event like previous years will be high octane, 

gifts and gift station too at the venue for the to exhibit its vibrancy on white clothing, get full of energy and good vibes,” Mr Chandra 

public to celebrate the occasion there,” Mr spare clothing to change after playing with added. 

Chandra added. 

colour and food and water arrangements have ISKCON Temple is located on 1229 

Mr Chandra says all arrangements in been made a the venue. 

Coatesville-Riverhead Highway, Kumeu, West 

terms of Covid QR Code scanning and hand “Hol is always a fun event and Krishna Holi Auckland, and the event starts at noon to 5 p.m. 

Hare Krishna temple to host ‘Saatvik food festival’ 

RIZWAN MOHAMMAD 

T 

he Hare Krishna Temple in Kumeu, West Auckland 

is hosting its annual food festival event on Saturday, 

February 13, for the community. 

More than 3000 people are expected to attend the event 

where they will be served saatvik vegetarian food, tour the 

temple premises and have a relaxing family-fun day. 

“Our Hare Krishna Food Festival is very popular amongs the 

wider Kiwi community in Auckland, people from all faiths and 

ethnicities come to the temple, take a tour of the place knowing 

about the deities, the ISKCON establishment, its works for the 

community and have snacks and food during the day,” Krishna 

Chandra, secretary and spokesperson for Hare Krishna temple 

told the Indian Weekender. 

The event is said to be quiet, and exhibit a relaxing 

environment where people get to meet new people, make 

friends, experience the calmness being with nature, have 

Saatvik (pure) vegetarian food and have good family day. 

“This event is happening just one day before our most 

popular Krishna Holi event which is will be loud, full of energy, 

playfulness, music and dance,” Mr Chandra added. 

The events will start at 2 p.m. and end at seven in the evening. 

Besides the food festival, Krishna Temple organises lunch 

event every Sunday at its premises where 300-400 people 

come, chant mantras, meditate, spend some time with nature 

and dine with the community members. 

“It is a soothing atmosphere at the temple, chanting mantras 

with the community, knowing more about the religion, what 

can they do a the temple and how can they make a difference in 

the community by serving others and the less privileged. 

“There are also children’s activities 

organised so that they engage themselves 

and also have a good time at the temple,” Mr 

Chandra said.

14 

INDIA 

Friday, June 4, 2021 The Indian Weekender 

NEWS in BRIEF 

Cancelling Class 12 exams a big relief: 

Kejriwal 

After Prime Minister 

Narendra Modi 

announced that Class 

12 board exams will not 

take place this year for 

the CBSE and CISCE 

students, Delhi Chief 

Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been pushing for cancelling 

board exams, termed the decision "a big relief". 

After chairing a high-level meeting on Tuesday evening, PM 

Modi said: "Government of India has decided to cancel the 

Class XII CBSE Board Exams. After extensive consultations, 

we have taken a decision that is student-friendly, one that 

safeguards the health as well as future of our youth." 

Reacting to the development, Kejriwal wrote on Twitter: 

"I am glad that Class 12 exams have been cancelled. All of 

us were very worried about the health of our children. A big 

relief." Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted: 

"The insistence on conducting the examination was taking a 

toll on the safety of the children." 

Over 60% feel India's foreign relations 

improved under Modi 

More than 60 per 

cent people 

believe that India's 

relations with different 

countries of the world 

improved under Prime 

Minister 

Narendra 

Modi, as per the ABP-C Voter Modi 2.0 Report Card. The 

ABP-C Voter survey found that 62.3 per cent of the respondents 

feel that the country's relations with different nations of the 

world have improved during the current tenure of the Modiled 

government which is into its second term. The survey was 

carried out between May 23 and May 27 on 12,070 people 

across the country. 

About 16.9 per cent respondents believe that India's relations 

with other countries have worsened and 17.1 per cent feel that 

the country's relations with other nations have remained the 

same. About 3.7 per cent were unable to say anything. 

The survey found that 77.5 per cent urban and 55.8 per cent 

rural respondents feel that India's relations with other countries 

of the world improved under Prime Minister Modi. 

Nearly 600 doctors died of Covid-19 in 

India’s deadly second wave 

Nearly 600 doctors 

across India have 

died of the coronavirus 

disease (Covid-19) during 

the second wave of the 

pandemic, according to 

data compiled by the 

Indian Medical Association (IMA). Over a sixth of the total 

594 deaths so far have happened in Delhi, which experienced 

one of the worst surges of the viral infection with as many 

as 28,000 cases being reported in a day at the peak of the 

second wave. 

The toll has increased by 174 in two weeks to a total of 594 

till Tuesday. 

This, despite 89% of the healthcare workers receiving at least 

one shot of the vaccine against Covid-19 so far. In the last wave 

of the pandemic, 753 doctors had lost their lives, according to 

the registry maintained by IMA. The highest number of deaths 

among doctors has been reported in Delhi-NCR, where 107 

doctors have succumbed to the infection. 

India has administered 218 million Covid 

vaccine doses till now 

Even as India continues to recover from a second wave 

of Covid-19 with a decline in fresh infections reported 

daily, deaths continue to be an area of concern for the 

government and health experts 

India had administered over 218 million coronavirus vaccine 

doses by Tuesday, June 1, the day the Centre decided to scrap 

CBSE class 12 examinations, and CISCE followed suit, 

ending months of uncertainty for millions of students across 

the country. 

Elsewhere, the Delhi high court told the Centre to prioritise 

younger people over older ones to be given Amphotericin-B, 

the drug used to treat mucormycosis or black fungus what is in 

shortage due to a spike in cases. 

White fungus': Drugresistant 

fungal infections 

pose threat to India patients 

In May, a middle-aged-man suffering 

from Covid-19 was admitted in an 

intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital 

in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. 

As his condition deteriorated, the 

patient was put on a ventilator. He was 

administered steroids, a life-saving 

treatment for severe and critically ill 

Covid-19 patients. But experts say the 

drug also reduces immunity and pushes 

up blood sugar levels in patients. 

After a prolonged stay in the ICU, the 

patient had recovered and was ready to go 

home when doctors found he was infected 

with a deadly, drug-resistant fungus. 

Candida auris (C. auris), discovered 

a little over a decade ago, is one of the 

world's most feared hospital microbes. 

This bloodstream infection is the most 

frequently detected germ in critical-care 

units around the world and has a mortality 

rate of around 70%. 

"We are seeing an increased number 

of patients with the infection during the 

second wave of Covid-19. There are a 

lot of sick people in the ICUs and many 

of them are on high steroid doses. That 

could be the reason," Dr Om Srivastava, 

a Mumbai-based infectious diseases 

specialist, said. 

The Aspergillus fungus affects the lungs, and it can also be fatal 

What are the fungal 

infections on the rise? 

As the second wave washes over India 

and severely ill patients clog the ICUs, 

doctors are seeing an uptick in a host of 

dangerous fungal infections. 

First, there was an outbreak 

of mucormycosis or the black-fungus, 

a rare but dangerous infection, which 

affects the nose, eye and sometimes the 

brain. Some 12,000 cases and more than 

200 deaths from the disease have been 

already recorded. 

Now doctors are reporting a rise in 

other deadly fungal infections in Covid-19 

patients, mostly after a week or 10 days of 

stay in the ICU. 

There are two species of Candida fungi 

- auris and albicans - and they can be fatal 

for human beings. Aspergillus, which is 

another kind of fungi group, affects the 

lungs, and it can also be fatal. 

Of the more than five million types of 

fungi, Candida and Aspergillus are the 

two major groups which cause a lot of 

human deaths. 

Candida is a germ that can be present 

on many surfaces, like shower curtains, 

computer screens, doctor's stethoscopes 

and railings of railway carriages. 

Doctors say C. auris frequently causes 

bloodstream infections, but can also 

infect the respiratory system, the central 

Candida auris causes serious multidrug-resistant infections in hospitalisd patients 

nervous system and internal organs, as 

well as the skin. 

Aspergillus also remains in the 

environment and is often found in heating 

or air conditioning systems. Normally our 

immunity helps prevent the entry of the 

fungal spores in the respiratory tract. 

But in patients suffering from Covid-19, 

the fungus, helped by the damage done 

to the skin, blood vessel walls and other 

linings of the airway by the coronavirus, 

manages to enter the respiratory tract. 

This infection affects about 20% to 

30% of the severely ill, mechanically 

ventilated Covid-19 patients, according 

to Dr SP Kalantri, medical superintendent 

of the 1,000-bed non-profit Kasturba 

Hospital in Wardha, Maharashtra state. 

What are the symptoms of 

the infections? 

Symptoms of some fungal diseases can 

be similar to those of Covid-19, including 

fever, cough, and shortness of breath. 

For superficial Candida infections, 

symptoms include a white coloured 

thrush - hence sometimes it is called the 

"white fungus" - in nose, mouth, lungs 

and stomach or nail beds. 

For a more invasive form of infection 

- when the bug travels into the blood - 

the symptoms are often a fall in blood 

pressure, fever, abdominal pain and 

urinary tract infections. 

Why are these infections 

happening? 

At least 5% of Covid-19 patients 

become critically ill and require 

intensive-care treatment, sometimes for 

a long period. 

Experts say that those who are put 

on mechanical ventilation are always at 

greater risk of developing bacterial or 

fungal infections. 

Lowered infection control in crowded 

intensive-care units during the pandemic 

is a major reason, say doctors. 

Overworked staff in clunky protective 

gear, increased use of major fluid 

tubes, decrease in hand washing 

compliance and changes in cleaning and 

disinfection practices contribute to lower 

infection control. 

"With a prolonged pandemic, 

complacency and fatigue has set in 

among healthcare workers. Infection 

control practices have gone down. That 

is the major cause," says Dr Arunaloke 

Chakrabarti, president of the International 

Society of Human and Animal Mycology. 

There are other reasons too. 

Overuse of steroids and other drugs, 

which weaken the body's immune 

system, and underlying conditions make 

Covid-19 patients in critical care more 

prone to such infections. 

" 

It is very worrying 

and frustrating for the 

doctors treating these 

infections. It is a triple 

whammy - the patient's 

lungs are already 

damaged by Covid-19, 

they have bacterial 

infections and now the 

fungal infections." 

"These fungi typically cause infections 

after the body's immune system is 

suppressed significantly. They are also 

known as opportunistic infections," says 

Dr Zachary Rubin, an immunologist. 

Dr Rubin says patients with HIV/ 

Aids have a significantly increased 

risk of getting sick with such fungi. 

"These fungal diseases are normally 

rare in association with Covid-19, 

but are becoming increasingly more 

common in India." 

Diagnosis is not easy - testing typically 

requires a specimen from deep in the 

lungs. And the drugs are expensive. 

"It is very worrying and frustrating for 

the doctors treating these infections. It is 

a triple whammy - the patient's lungs are 

already damaged by Covid-19, they have 

bacterial infections and now the fungal 

infections," says Dr Kalantri. 

"It is almost like fighting a 

losing battle."


WORLD 15 

WHO announces naming 

system for COVID-19 variants 

The World Health Organisation has and the Indian as Delta. 

the "Indian variant", though the WHO had 

announced a new naming system The WHO said this was to simplify never officially labelled it as such. 

for variants of COVID-19. discussions but also to help remove some Letters will refer to both variants of 

From now on the WHO will use Greek 

letters to refer to variants first detected 

in countries like the UK, South Africa 

and India. The UK variant for instance is 

labelled as Alpha, the South African Beta, 

stigma from the names. 

BBC News reports earlier this month 

the Indian government criticised the 

naming of variant B.1.617.2 - first 

detected in the country last October - as 

concern, and variants of interest. 

A full list of names has been published 

on the WHO website. 

These Greek letters will not replace 

existing scientific names. 

China's Sinovac 

vaccine gets 

WHO emergency 

approval 

The World Health Organisation 

has approved China's Sinovac 

COVID-19 vaccine for 

emergency use. 

It is the second Chinese vaccine to 

receive the green light from the WHO, 

after Sinopharm. 

It opens the door for the jab to be used 

in the Covax programme, which aims to 

ensure fair access to vaccines. 

BBC News reports the vaccine, which 

has already been used in several countries, 

has been recommended for over 18s, with 

a second dose two to four weeks later. 

The WHO said the emergency approval 

means the vaccine "meets international 

standards for safety, efficacy and 

manufacturing". 

According to the WHO, studies 

showed that Sinovac prevented 

symptomatic disease in more than half 

of those vaccinated and prevented severe 

symptoms and hospitalisation in 100% of 

those studied. 

It is hoped that the decision to list the 

Chinese vaccine for emergency use will 

give a boost to the Covax initiative, which 

has been struggling with supply problems. 

One of Sinovac's main advantages 

is that it can be stored in a standard 

refrigerator at 2-8 degrees Celsius. 

This means Sinovac is a lot more useful 

to developing countries that might not be 

able to store large amounts of vaccine at 

low temperatures. 

Tulsa Race Massacre: President Biden 

commemorates 100-year anniversary 

Joe Biden has become the first 

sitting president to commemorate 

the 1921 Tulsa Massacre - one 

of the worst incidents of racial violence 

in US history. Mr Biden flew to Tulsa, 

Oklahoma, to mark the 100th anniversary 

of the attack, which claimed some 300 

African-American lives. The two days of 

violence, sparked by a white mob, were 

largely erased from history for decades. 

It re-entered the national discourse 

amid racial justice protests last year. 

On 31 May 1921, a group of white 

Americans razed the affluent and 

predominantly black neighbourhood of 

Greenwood in Tulsa. 

The community - known by the 

moniker of "Black Wall Street" - was the 

country's wealthiest African-American 

neighbourhood until its many homes and 

businesses were burned down in the riot. 

In addition to the lives lost, many 

more black Americans were left injured 

or homeless. In the years following the 

incident, many official records were lost 

or destroyed, and schools did not teach 

about the massacre. 

Speaking in Tulsa on Tuesday, Mr 

Biden said: "For much too long, the 

history of what took place here was told 

in silence, cloaked in darkness." 

"My fellow Americans, this was not 

a riot. This was a massacre, and among 

the worst in our history. But not the only 

one." Less than two years after 

the Tulsa massacre, a white 

mob destroyed the black 

town of Rosewood in 

rural Florida. On 31 

May, Mr Biden issued 

a proclamation for a 

day of remembrance. 

"We honour 

the legacy of the 

"We 

honour the 

legacy of the Greenwood 

community and of Black 

Wall Street by reaffirming our 

commitment to advance racial 

justice through the whole of our 

government, and working to root out 

systemic racism from our laws, our 

policies, and our hearts 

Greenwood community and of Black Wall 

Street by reaffirming our commitment to 

advance racial justice through the whole 

of our government, and working to root 

out systemic racism from our laws, our 

policies, and our hearts," read a statement 

from the White House. Only three 

survivors of the massacre - currently aged 

between 101 and 107 - are still alive. Mr 

Biden is expected to meet them during 

his trip. The president began his visit 

on Tuesday with a tour of the Hall of 

Survivors, an exhibit about the massacre 

at the Greenwood Cultural Center. 

Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum posted an 

apology on behalf of the city government 

for its failure to protect the community 

and "to do right by the victims". 

"While no municipal elected official 

in Tulsa today was alive in 1921, we are 

the stewards of the same government and 

an apology for those failures is ours to 

deliver," he wrote on Facebook. 

"The victims - men, women, 

young children - deserved 

better from their city, and 

I am sorry they didn't 

receive it." 

Greenwood was a 

unique sight in precivil 

rights America: a 

prosperous community 

where predominantly black citizens 

thrived at a time of racial discrimination 

and segregation.The actions of rioters 

reportedly erased decades of black wealth 

and wealth creation. Testifying before 

Congress last month, one survivor - 

107-year-old Viola Fletcher - said: "We 

lost everything that day... Greenwood 

represented all the best of what was 

possible for black people in America." 

At the start of his presidency, Mr Biden 

said racial justice would be one of his top 

causes in office. As part of his visit to 

Tulsa, he is expected to tout several new 

housing and small business programmes 

the White House hopes can narrow the 

wealth gap between black and white 

Americans. 

What are the programmes 

Biden is proposing? 

The Biden administration says it will 

address racial discrimination in the 

housing market by issuing new rules 

on fair housing practices and curbing 

inequities in the home appraisal process. 

Another programme involves 

increasing federal contracts with small, 

minority-owned, businesses by 50% over 

the next five years. 

In addition, Mr Biden's proposed 

infrastructure package includes new 

initiatives aimed at expanding economic 

opportunities for minority Americans. 

This includes a $10bn (£7bn) 

community revitalisation fund, which 

would send money to underserved 

neighbourhoods like Greenwood. 

The plan also proposes putting $31bn 

toward increasing access to capital and 

technical assistance for small business 

initiatives, with a focus on "socially and 

economically disadvantaged" firms. It 

also calls for a new tax credit for private 

investments in affordable housing. 

NEWS in BRIEF 

Biden Assigns Harris Another Difficult 

Role: Protecting Voting Rights 

President 

Biden 

said that he had 

directed Vice President 

Kamala Harris to 

lead Democrats in a 

sweeping 

legislative 

effort to protect voting 

rights, an issue that is 

critical to his legacy but one that faces increasingly daunting 

odds in a divided Senate. 

“Today, I’m asking Vice President Harris to help 

these efforts, and lead them, among her many other 

responsibilities,” Mr. Biden said during a trip to Tulsa, 

Okla. “With her leadership and your support, we’re going 

to overcome again, I promise you, but it’s going to take a 

hell of a lot of work.” The president was in Oklahoma to 

commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa massacre, 

when a white mob destroyed a vibrant Black business district 

and killed as many as 300 people. The massacre was one of 

the worst outbreaks of racist violence in American history, 

and it has gone largely ignored in history books. 

JBS: World's largest meat supplier hit by 

cyber-attack 

The world's largest meat processing company has been 

targeted by a sophisticated cyber-attack. 

Computer networks at JBS were hacked, causing some 

operations in Australia, Canada and the US to temporarily 

shut down, affecting thousands of workers. 

The company believes the ransomware attack originated 

from a criminal group likely based in Russia, the White 

House said. The attack could lead to shortages of meat or 

raise prices for consumers. In a ransomware attack, hackers 

get into a computer network and threaten to cause disruption 

or delete files unless a ransom is paid. The White House says 

the FBI is investigating the attack. 

"JBS notified [the White House] that the ransom demand 

came from a criminal organisation likely based in Russia," 

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. 

'Low vaccination rates in some countries 

dangerous for everyone' 

Vaccinating the world is the most effective way to boost 

global output in the near term, International Monetary 

Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said, 

warning that low vaccination rates in some countries is 

"dangerous" for everyone. 

"It is now increasingly clear to leaders everywhere and 

to ordinary people that we are not going to succeed in 

overcoming the economic crisis this pandemic triggered, 

unless we bring the pandemic to a durable end," Georgieva 

said. The IMF chief participated in the joint press conference 

together with the heads of the World Bank Group, the 

World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Trade 

Organization (WTO), with a focus on a new joint call on 

scaling up equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. 

Next-gen Covid shots: Cheaper, effective 

against more viruses 

Scientists 

created 

safe and effective 

vaccines against 

Covid-19 at an 

unprecedented speed. 

But, according to 

industry leaders, the 

next generation of 

Covid shots will be low in cost, easier to deliver and preserve 

and effective against more viruses, media reports said. 

The pharma companies aim to develop shots that will be 

more effective against certain variants of the SARS-CoV-2 

virus, that causes Covid-19, or even cover all viruses in the 

larger coronavirus family, the USA Today reported. 

The new vaccines, currently being tested, will be of a 

single dose, do not require to be kept cold, have fewer 

side effects, can be produced more efficiently, and can be 

delivered without needles. This will enable it to be provided 

in rural areas and the developing world. 

"There's a long history within vaccinology of secondgeneration 

vaccines being multiply improved over firstgeneration 

vaccines. That's just the way things go," Scot 

Roberts, chief scientific officer of Altimmune, a biotech 

company based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, that is developing 

an inhaled vaccine, was quoted as saying.

16 ENTERTAINMENT 

Friday, June 4, 2021 The Indian Weekender 

Sonu Sood meets scores of people in 

need of help, offers aid to aspiring actor 

Actor Sonu Sood on Monday met with scores of people 

wanting help amid the coronavirus pandemic. The actor 

has been aiding those in need of medical assistance and 

other essential services. 

A video of Sonu, interacting with people outside his 

residence, has been shared online. The video shows the actor, 

wearing a T-shirt and a mask, speaking with several individuals 

and assuring them that he will provide them with assistance. 

Sonu was heard telling a woman that she has nothing to 

worry about, and that whoever moves to Mumbai 

should be strong-willed. "10-15 mein sab theek 

ho jaate hain (Everyone gets better in 10-15 

days)," he could be heard saying. "Apne aap 

ko andar se mazboot rakhna zaroori hai 

(One must stay strong)," the actor said. 

He asked another man if he can act. The 

man nodded. "Tu apna naam aur number 

likh ke dena (Give me your name and 

number). Abhi shuru hone de, main milwa 

dunga tujhe (Let things start, I'll introduce you 

to some people)," Sonu told him. 

Another person came from Haryana to give Sonu a 

message, written in Hindi. The actor read the note and offered 

to pose for a photograph with the man. 

A woman asking for financial help was turned down by the 

actor, who said, "Koi bhi trust aapko financially waise madad 

nahi karega. 

Aapko taklif hogi toh aapki madad karega, financially madad 

nahi karega (We can't give you financial aid, but if you need 

medical assistance, we can help)." The actor said that he cannot 

The Nargis and Sunil 

Dutt love story: When 

he saved her from fire 

and she found the love of her life 

Actor Nargis is one of the most 

remarkable actors to grace the Indian 

screen. Her talent, beauty and grace 

made her stand tall among her contemporaries. 

She could play an ageing mother (Mother 

India) and a spoilt city brat (Andaz, 1949) with 

equal ease. She went on to work in a number of 

films and many of her films with Raj Kapoor 

are counted among Hindi cinema classics. Yet 

her personal life was always in turmoil. She 

was in a long relationship with Raj which did 

not end well. 

For years to come, Raj and Nargis' love story 

would be part of annals of Hindi cinema just as 

their films. However, her true love in life was 

the man she would eventually marry - Sunil 

Dutt. On her 92nd birth anniversary, here's a 

fresh look at their romance and marriage. 

As per Darlingji- the True Love Story of 

Nargis and Sunil Dutt, a book by Kishwer 

Desai, when Sunil entered Nargis' live in 1957, 

she was so broken that suicide was on her mind. 

Caught between a fruitless relationship and a 

family that hardly understood her, Nargis had 

reached a breaking point. It is well known now 

how Sunil entered the sets of Mother India, 

which had caught fire, to save Nargis. Love 

really blossomed when the duo was recovering 

from injury. Sunil had been more grievously 

injured. It was while caring for him that Nargis 

had shared every detail of her life with him and 

fallen in love with Sunil. 

Sunil Dutt played his wife Nargis’ son in the 

film Mother India, which was also nominated 

for the Academy Award for Best Foreign 

Language Film. 

Kishwer's book, which was pieced together 

from the personal diaries of Nargis, reveals 

how she had believed that had Sunil not entered 

“Losing 

a patient u have 

been trying to save, is 

nothing less than losing your 

own. It is so hard to face the 

family whose loved one u had 

promised to save. Today I lost a 

few. The families u were in touch 

with atleast 10 times a day will 

lose touch forever. Feel 

helpless, 

help her if she wants him to pay for her EMIs 

or her electricity bill, or if she wants to buy a 

house. 

Also read: Sonu Sood got ‘rejected’ when he once 

auditioned for a magazine shoot, he is now on its cover 

Last week, Sonu talked about the ‘helpless’ feeling he gets 

when he has been unable to save someone, despite his best 

efforts. “Losing a patient u have been trying to save, is nothing 

less than losing your own. It is so hard to face the family whose 

loved one u had promised to save. Today I lost a few. The 

families u were in touch with atleast 10 times a day will lose 

touch forever. Feel helpless,” he wrote on Twitter. 

her life, she would have been dead by March 

8. "If it were not for him, perhaps I would have 

ended my life before the 8th of March. 

For I alone know the turmoil that was going 

through me. 'I want you to live,' he said and I 

felt I had to live. Begin all over again," Kishwer 

quoted Nargis from her personal diary as 

saying, written after the accident. 

What drew Nargis to Sunil was the fact that 

he was perhaps the first man in a long time who 

did something for her. 

She had been the person who would do 

things either for her family or for Raj. Kishwer 

writes: "As she sat by his bedside, she realized 

that his courage in pulling her out of the fire 

had impressed her. It was a long time since 

someone had sacrificed anything for her. She 

was the one who always did things for others, 

whether it was for her family or Raj...." 

In the course of her nine years of relationship 

with Raj, Nargis realised that Raj was not 

willing to leave his family for her. 

Her own family thought of her as a mere 

'money-making machine". Sunil was the first 

person who treated her like a 'normal human 

being', enough for her to lay her past threadbare 

in front of him. 

" 

Sunil's shy and gentle 

style, quite unlike Raj's 

flirtatiousness was like a balm 

to her. Unusually, she was 

spending time with a man 

who treated her like a normal 

human being." 

"She said she was 'shameless' in discussing 

every detail of her life, and was not worried 

because she knew 'that his shoulders were 

always there for me to cry on - and I also knew 

that his garments will absorb my tears and not 

scatter them out for people to make fun of me'," 

the book quotes her diary. 

According to Kishwer, "Raj had come 

into her life when she was 19 and ready for a 

relationship. If it hadn't been Raj, it would have 

been someone else; he just happened to be her 

first boyfriend." 

Eventually, she realized that she was clinging 

on to a one-sided relationship and that despite 

showing his inclination towards her, Raj was 

not meant for her as a married man. "She 

confessed to Sunil that her relations with Raj 

had been on a 'razor's edge' and that she had 

been desperately trying to cling to him without 

SHILPA SHETTY: 

This too shall pass 

Actress Shilpa Shetty 

Kundra took to 

Instagram to share 

a motivational post for fans, 

urging them not to lose hope 

amidst the tough times of 

pandemic. 

The actress posted a picture 

of herself doing a yoga asana, 

which said: "What you think, 

you become. What you feel, you 

attract. What you imagine, you 

create -- Buddha" 

"We have a lot of unsettling 

things happening all around 

us. All of these can have a very 

adverse effect on our thought process. That's when it's most important 

to keep a check on your thoughts and emotions. You can manifest a 

world of change and positivity simply through your thoughts. So, no 

matter how testing the situation may be, always remember... this too 

shall pass. Keep your spirits high, chin up, breathe deeply, and stay 

mentally & emotionally positive!" she added. 

The actress has been doing her bit in keeping her fans motivated 

and healthy through her posts on Instagram. She often posts pictures 

of yoga asanas too, explaining their significance. 

Meanwhile, the actress' family recovered from Covid 19 recently 

and she resumed her position as a judge on the reality show "Super 

Dancer: Chapter 4". She is also set to return to the big screen for the 

first time in 17 years with the films "Nikamma" and "Hungama 2". 

any response. She told him that Raj 'had started 

making me feel disgusting even to myself' and 

that before she met Sunil, she had 'no reason to 

be living'," Kishwer writes in her book. 

For Sunil, Nargis was not an easy woman to 

love - first, she was a huge star while he was 

struggling to find his feet in the Hindi film 

industry. Second, her relationship with Raj was 

a rather complex matter to resolve. To make 

matter worse, the gossip columns of the day 

would not help him deal with his insecurities. 

When Mother India was being made, Nargis 

was a screen goddess and huge star. 

"Sunil was a victim of a callous filmindustry....He 

was both an object of envy - for 

being involved with the glamorous screen siren 

Nargis- and scorn because people thought he 

was trying to use her to push his own career 

forward", says the author, who has drawn 

heavily from the diaries and letters of the 

Dutt family. 

"And then of course, there was the niggling 

issue of Raj: Nargis was not an easy woman to 

love, she came with too much baggage, and at 

times he could not cope with it," she adds. 

There was no doubt that Raj had been her 

love, before Sunil's entry. 

But it was Sunil who gave her the dignity 

and respect she was worthy of. So involved was 

she with Raj that at one time she had stopped 

working outside RK Films banner, much to her 

family's anxiety. 

"Sunil's shy and gentle style, quite unlike 

Raj's flirtatiousness was like a balm to her. 

Unusually, she was spending time with a man 

who treated her like a normal human being", 

writes Kishwer. 

Nargis died of pancreatic cancer in 1981, 

aged only 51. She and Sunil were parents to 

Sanjay Dutt, Priya Dutt and Namrata Dutt.


FEATURES 17 

Healthy cooking every day 

A 

collection of recipes from Gujarati cuisine that are not just easy but also delicious 

to cook and eat. If you are a lover of Gujarati food but don't know how to cook the 

cuisine, try out recipes from this amazing list. Gujarati recipes are known for its 

hearty and flavourful breakfast recipes. 

Gujrati Recipes 

Lighter Takes 

& Easy Tips 

Saragva nu lot valu shaak 

(Drumsticks cooked in curd curry) 

Batata Nu Rasa Valu Shaak is a traditional 

Gujarati style potato curry often 

paired with a Gujarati meal. It is a popular 

accompaniment to rice, roti and puris. 

INGREDIENTS 

• 2 Drumstick, cut into pieces and steamed 

• 1 tablespoon oil 

• 3 Curry leaves 

• 1/2 teaspoon Sesame seeds / Til seeds 

• 1/4 teaspoon Cumin seeds / jeera 

• 1/4 teaspoon Mustard seeds / rai 

• 1/2 teaspoon Red chilli powder 

• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder 

• 1/4 teaspoon Asafoetida (hing) 

• 1/2 cup Curd 

• 1/2 cup besan / gram flour 

Khaman Dhokla 

Dhokla is one of the specialities of 

Gujarati cuisine and is enjoyed as 

a snack. This is an easy-to-make snack 

recipe that can be prepared anytime 

and is best enjoyed with tempered or 

pan-fried green chillies. 

Ingredients 

• 1 cup gram flour (besan) 

• 1 teaspoon sugar 

• 1 teaspoon salt 

• 1 tablespoon refined oil 

• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds 

• 11/2 cup water 

• 1 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice 

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 

• 15 curry leaves 

• 1 teaspoon coconut powder 

• For Garnishing 

• 4 sliced green chilli 

• 1 handful coriander leaves 

Method 

• To prepare this delicious Khaman Dhokla 

recipe, take a glass bowl and add gram 

flour, salt, water, lemon juice and baking 

soda in it. 

• Mix well all these ingredients. 

• Allow the batter to ferment for 1-2 hours. 

In the meantime, pour boiled water in a 

steamer and grease the utensil with oil. 

• Pour the dhokla batter in the utensil and 

cook on low flame for 15-20 minutes. Check 

with knife after 15 minutes by inserting it 

inside the dhokla. 

• If the knife comes out clean, remove it from 

the stove. Allow the dish to cool and then 

• Salt to taste 

Method 

• Make yogurt paste by combining yogurt 

with gram flour, turmeric, asafoetida, red 

chili powder and salt. Add 1.5 cup water and 

beat until thick lumpfree batter is prepared. 

• Heat little oil and roast yogurt mixture. Stir 

till mixture thickens. 

• Add steamed drumsticks to mixture. Cover 

and cook for few minutes. Adjust taste with 

salt. 

• Stir. Add seasoning / tadka made of hot 

oil and fried mustard seeds, cumin seeds, 

sesame seeds and curry leaves. 

• Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve 

Saragva (Shing) Nu Lotvalu Shaak along 

with Phulka. 

cut into pieces. 

• For the tempering, heat another pan with oil 

in it over moderate flame. 

• Once the oil is sufficiently hot, add mustard 

seeds, curry leaves and vertically sliced 

green chilli. Add 1/2 cup of water in the pan 

and allow it to boil. 

• On 2-3 boils, squeeze 1/2 lemon, add sugar 

and green coriander leaves. If you are 

someone who likes it spicy you can add 

some finely chopped green chilies to the top 

coating. 

• You can also make Dhokla sandwich by 

layer Dhokla and adding your favourite 

sauce to it. 

• Turn off the heat and pour the tempering on 

the dhokla. 

• Transfer the dish to a serving bowl and serve 

it with green coriander chutney. 

• Khaman Dhokla is best enjoyed when paired 

with Faafda and Jalebi. Try this delicious 

snack recipe at home with your family and 

friends. 

Methi Ka Thepla 

How Flour kneaded with methi, ginger, 

chilies, herbs and yogurt and made into 

crisp paranthas. 

Ingredients 

• 2 Cups Atta 

• 2 Tbsp Oil 

• 1 Tbsp Dried Methi 

• 2 tsp Salt 

• 2 tsp Ginger and Green Chillies (make paste) 

• 1 tsp Garlic 

• 2 tsp Coriander Powder 

Trevti Dal 

Ingredients 

• 1 cup chana dal 

• 1 cup toor daal 

• salt as required 

• refined oil as required 

• 1 cup finely chopped tomato 

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic paste 

• 1/2 teaspoon lime juice 

• 1 1/2 dry red chili 

• 1 cup moong dal 

• 3 cup water 

• 1/2 teaspoon powdered turmeric 

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 

• 1/4 teaspoon ginger paste 

• 12 pinch asafoetida 

• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder 

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander 

leaves 

Method 

• To make this recipe, take a bowl and add 

chana dal, moong dal, toor dal. Wash them 

well and soak for one hour. Once done, 

drain the water and transfer the lentils in a 

pressure cooker. 

• Add turmeric powder and required amount 

of water. 

• Pressure cook the dal for 5-7 whistles or 

until they becomes tender. Then, mash the 

lentil. Now, take a pan over medium flame 

Rice flour khichu 

Craving for a lip-smacking recipe? Try 

out Rice Flour Khichu, made with 

boiled rice flour, green chilies, cumin 

seeds and sesame seeds to give you a brilliant 

combination of amazing flavors. 

Ingredients 

• 2 tablespoon peanut oil 

• 2 1/4 cup rice flour 

• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds 

• 2 teaspoon finely chopped green chillies 

• 1 ounce finely chopped spring onions 

• salt as required 

• 1/7 teaspoon baking soda 

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 

• 3 1/3 cup water 

How to make Rice Flour Khichu 

• To prepare this recipe, take a pan and place 

it on medium flame. Add enough water 

along with sesame seeds, cumin seeds, 

chopped green chilies, baking soda and 

• 1 tsp Sugar 

• To knead Yogurt 

• As needed Water 

Method 

• Take all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. 

• Knead the ingredients well with yogurt and 

some water. 

• Make thin paranthas out of the dough. 

• Cook the paranthas from both sides, over 

high flame till greenish brown. 

• Serve hot. 

and heat oil in it. 

• Once heated, add cumin seeds, when it 

starts crackling add dry red chilli, asafoetida 

powder, ginger and garlic paste. Saute them 

for few seconds. 

• Next, add chopped tomatoes and stir the 

mixture. 

• Add red chili powder and saute again for 

another 3-4 minutes or until the tomatoes 

becomes soft. Once done, transfer the 

cooked lentils in the mixture along with 

water and salt. Mix them well and simmered 

for 7 minutes. 

• Add lime juice and chopped coriander 

leaves. Stir for another few minutes and turn 

off the flame. 

• Your Trevti Dal is ready. 

• Serve hot with pulao or chapati. 

salt according to your taste and boil the 

mixture for the next 10-12 minutes. 

• Now, add the rice flour and stir, as to 

prevent any lumps. Cover the mixture 

with a lid and let cook for another two 

minutes. Add peanut oil and keep stirring 

occasionally. 

• Transfer Rice Flour Khichu in a serving 

dish and enjoy. Normally, Khichu is 

prepared with these simple ingredient 

mentioned above but you can even add 

vegetables and cashews as per your choice.

18 

TIME OUT 

Friday, June 4, 2020 The Indian Weekender 

CROSSWORD FreeDailyCrosswords.com 

NO: 71 

ACROSS------------, 

I) Large school of fish 39) Impel 

6) Emulate a picador 40) Throw, as a coin 

10) Pastrami source 

41) In other words, in Ovid's 

14) Bay of Naples isle 

words 

15) Account of incidents or 42) It gets hot in a bag 

events 

43) Quick gait 

16) Very big birds 

44) Historical leader? 

17) It comes monthly 45) Word of respect to a woman 

20) "No" in France 

46) Bacterium 

21) Coin introduced on 1/1/99 50) Backward, upon the waters 

22) Baby's diversion 

53) Cash in Cancun 

23) Makes certain 

54) Snapshot, in slang 

25) Continuity problems 55) Change you shouldn't take 

26) Smidge 

if offered 

27) Man who hit 660 homeruns 58) Forget to include 

28) Common title word 59) Pastoral woodwind 

31) To remain in abeyance 60) Machete kin 

34) Tourist's entry permit 61) They have kids 

35) Relative of 16-Across 62) Plant parasite 

36) They know their cues? 63) Ream unit 

WHATS HIS NAME? 

14 

17 

2 3 4 5 

18 

6 7 

15 

8 9 

19 

B Carl Cranb 

10 11 12 13 

16 

May 1st 

DOWN 

I) Vista 

2) Fire extinguishing gas 

3) Begins the bidding 

4) Compass line 

5) Book review types 

6) Agitates 

7) Cinco de Mayo snack 

8) "Sting like a bee" athlete 

9) Breach of trust 

10) Financial burdens 

11) Put off 

12) Calm in a storm 

13) Lighthouse locale 

18) Kicked oneself for 

19) Sharp barks 

24) Affording benefit 

25) Struggles for air 

27) In the_ of (among) 

28) "God shed His grace on_" 

29) Term on terrycloth 

30) Division for Orioles 

31) Touch borders with 

32) Covert transmitting device 

33) Pond organism 

34) Sound of acceleration 

35) Actress Winona 

37) Haphazardly 

38) Anny branch until July 1947 

43) Truck weight without fuel or load 

44) Galileo's birthplace 

45) Track & field get-togethers 

46) Donnybrook 

4 7) Editorialize 

48) Place for stagnant water 

49) Showy success 

50) Physicist's study 

51) Foolish oaf (Variant spelling) 

52) Barbershop request 

53) Conspiracy 

56) Kimono belt 

57) Ebenezer's exclamation 

ANSWERS CROSSWORD NO: 71 

FreeDailyCrosswords.com 

ACROSS------------, 

May 1st 

DOWN 

I) Large school of fish 39) Impel 

I) Vista 

6) Emulate a picador 40) Throw, as a coin 

2) Fire extinguishing gas 

10) Pastrami source 

41) In other words, in Ovid's 3) Begins the bidding 

14) Bay of Naples isle 

words 

4) Compass line 

15) Account of incidents or 42) It gets hot in a bag 

5) Book review types 

events 

43) Quick gait 

6) Agitates 

16) Very big birds 

44) Historical leader? 

7) Cinco de Mayo snack 

17) It comes monthly 45) Word of respect to a woman 8) "Sting like a bee" athlete 

20) "No" in France 

46) Bacterium 

9) Breach of trust 

21) Coin introduced on 1/1/99 50) Backward, upon the waters 10) Financial burdens 

22) Baby's diversion 

53) Cash in Cancun 

11) Put off 

23) Makes certain 

54) Snapshot, in slang 

12) Calm in a storm 

25) Continuity problems 55) Change you shouldn't take 13) Lighthouse locale 

26) Smidge 

if offered 

18) Kicked oneself for 

27) Man who hit 660 homeruns 58) Forget to include 

19) Sharp barks 

28) Common title word 59) Pastoral woodwind 

24) Affording benefit 

31) To remain in abeyance 60) Machete kin 

25) Struggles for air 

34) Tourist's entry permit 61) They have kids 

27) In the_ of (among) 

35) Relative of 16-Across 62) Plant parasite 

28) "God shed His grace on_" 

36) They know their cues? 63) Ream unit 

29) Term on terrycloth 

30) Division for Orioles 

31) Touch borders with 

32) Covert transmitting device 

33) Pond organism 

WHATS HIS NAME? 

B Carl Cranb 34) Sound of acceleration 

1 2 s H 3 S 0 4A L 6 S1 1 1 1 s 7T A 9B b E l 31 35) Actress Winona 

37) Haphazardly 

1 1 1 

c A p R I 

;- 

A L E 38) Anny branch until July 1947 

M u s 

1 

1 1 43) Truck weight without fuel or load 

L E C T k I C I T v B I L L 44) Galileo's birthplace 

2 45) Track & field get-togethers 

0 E u A T L E 46) Donnybrook 

47) Editorialize 

48) Place for stagnant water 

AV 

49) Showy success 

50) Physicist's study 

ISA 3R EA 51) Foolish oaf (Variant spelling) 

52) Barbershop request 

-------- DPL3hYERS 53) Conspiracy 

s D 

56) Kimono belt 

57) Ebenezer's exclamation 

5 AAM I 

5 5 TERN 5t> s 

---+-----,l---+-- 

5 

THREE D tl LL AR 1i I LL 

bMI T 5 

bBOE 1>ANGA 

6nilOMS 6f.111 TE 6 sHEE T 

HITORI NO: 71 

Eliminate numbers until there are no duplicates in any row or 

column. Eliminate numbers by marking them in Black. You are 

not allowed to have two Black squares touching horizontally or 

vertically (diagonally is ok). Any White square can be reached 

from any other (i.e. they are connected). 

SUDOKU SOLUSIONS AND ANSWERS NO: 71 

50 51 52 

55 

56 

57 

58 

60 

61 

63 

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE 

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 

1. What country has the longest coastline in the world? 

2. What is the capital of Malta? 

3. What country is the newest in the world to be recognised 

by the UN? 

4. In which UK city would you find the river Clyde? 

5. What is the oldest recorded town in the UK? 

6. If you travelled to the city of Volgograd, which country 

would be in? 

7. What is the name of the largest river to flow through 

Paris? 

8. What did Ceylon change its name to in 1972? 

9. What is the most populous city in the US state of 

Illinois? 

10. What is the highest mountain in Britain? 

11. The world’s first national park was established in 1872 

in which country? A bonus point for the name of the 

park… 

12. What is the capital of Peru? 

13. Mount Vesuvius casts a shadow over which modern 

Italian city? 

14. There are three US states with just four letters in their 

name: can you name them? 

15. What is the currency of Sweden? 

16. To what country to the Canary Islands belong? 

17. What is the capital of Canada? 

18. How many states are there in Australia? 

19. What African country has the largest population? 

20. Constantinople and Byzantium are former names of 

which major city? 

Answers: 1.Canada, 2.Valetta, 3.South Sudan (2011), 4.Glasgow, 

5.Colchester, 6.Russia, 7.The Seine, 8.Sri Lanka, 9.Chicago, 10.Ben Nevis, 

11. USA, Yellowstone, 12.Lima, 13.Naples, 14.Utah, Iowa, Ohio, 

15.Swedish Krona, 16.Spain, 17.Ottawa, 18.Six – New South Wales, 

Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania, South Australia, 

19.Nigeria (190 million), 20.Istanbul 

4 June to 10 June 2021 | By Manisha Koushik 

ARIES (MAR 21-APR 20) 

Your style of working in an unobtrusive manner 

is likely to come in for praise from superiors. 

A much anticipated function is likely to prove 

most entertaining. Your pleasing manners and a 

balanced approach to problems will endear you 

to someone important on the academic front. 

Past investments are likely to give handsome 

returns. Those new to an exercise regime will be able to gain 

immense benefits. You are likely to win lover’s sympathy over an 

issue. Lucky No.:8 / Lucky Colour: Violet 

TAURUS (APR 21-MAY 20) 

You may find yourself off mood in this week, 

but don’t let it make you get on the wrong 

side of people who matter under any pretext. 

A misunderstanding over a trivial issue will 

be clarified, before it spoils the domestic 

environment. Newlyweds or those newly in 

love will get a chance to enjoy total bliss. You 

will need to keep expenses within limits in a new project. This is a 

good week for youngsters to organise a trip. Lucky No.:1 / Lucky 

Colour: Light Green 

GEMINI (MAY 21-JUN 21) 

Luck is likely to shine for those who have applied 

for a house or a plot. Those ailing for sometime 

will show positive signs of recovery. Dark clouds 

gathering on the academic front for some will 

dissipate soon without causing much damage. 

An overseas deal promises to bring some great 

opportunities. Payment awaited is likely to be 

released soon. Space out your meetings with partner to keep the 

flames of passion alive. You may plan on an overseas journey. 

Lucky No.:4 / Lucky Colour: White 

CANCER (JUN 22-JUL 20) 

Lover may appear most unaccommodating and 

may not even do your bidding, so find out why. 

Home finances may need to be dealt with a firm 

hand. Planning something for the house may get 

you and spouse totally involved. Paying back 

a loan may become a priority, so start cutting 

corners. Some of you may enjoy a night out with friend or lover. 

Dealing with rumours at work will be important. Health needs all 

your attention in this week. Lucky No.:5 / Lucky Colour: Peach 

Manisha Koushik is a practicing astrologer, tarot card reader, numerologist, vastu and 

fengshui consultant based in India with a global presence through the online channels. She is 

available for consultations online as well. E-mail her at support@askmanisha.com or contact 

at +91-11-26449898 Mobile/Whatsapp: +91-9716145644 • www.askmanisha.com 

LEO (JUL21-AUG 20) 

A lot of enjoyment is in store for those planning 

a vacation. A financial boon is expected and may 

bring you into big money. You will be able to relax 

and let your hair down in this week. Those worried 

about the outcome of something important should 

bury their fears, as luck is on their side. You 

will maintain good health by eating right and remaining active. 

An exclusive evening out with lover will prove most enthralling! 

Lucky No.:7 / Lucky Colour: Green 

VIRGO (AUG 23-SEP 23) 

Getting a pat on the back for good performance 

at work is possible and will motivate you to give 

in your best. Someone you like on the romantic 

front is likely to give positive signals. Those in 

marketing and retail will manage to easily achieve 

their targets. A new colleague may give you good 

advice on investment. Help from a stranger may save you from a 

tight spot. Buying an expensive item or jewellery at bargain price is 

possible. Lucky No.:8 / Lucky Colour: Maroon 

LIBRA (SEP 24-OCT 23) 

There is no need to be impulsive in a matter 

that is not urgent. An average week is foreseen. 

Efforts to achieve much at work seem difficult 

due to some unforeseen circumstances. Don’t be 

callous on the financial front as incurring loss 

cannot be ruled out. Your tendency for impulse 

buying needs to be curbed. Getting ticked off by a parent or family 

elder can spoil your mood. Something you have eaten may not 

agree with your system. Lucky Number:3 / Lucky Colour: Pink 

SCORPIO (OCT 24-NOV 22) 

This week turns out well, but may become 

tiresome in the end, due to non-cooperation 

of people at work. Those new in their jobs 

may have to strive harder to make their 

mark. Arrears you had been waiting for long 

are likely to be received. For those desiring 

changes on the home front may have to take 

the initiative themselves. A break from the routine is indicated, 

but it will be in some official capacity. Lucky No.:11 / Lucky 

Colour: Violet 

SAGITTARIUS (NOV 23-DEC 21) 

Your persuasive powers will compel all to get into 

the spirit of the moment in something you have 

planned on the social front. Fun time is foreseen 

for those spending time with friends. Those 

experiencing a cash crunch can heave a sigh of 

relief, as money flows in soon. This is the week 

when you can venture forth to ask for a personal favour from higher 

ups at work. An excellent week is indicated for students. Lucky 

No.:4 / Lucky Colour: Purple 

CAPRICORN (DEC 22-JAN 21) 

Those facing a cash crunch may end up depleting 

their savings. Your success in an independent 

project may be short-lived, as it may fail to meet 

the quality or some other criteria. Domestic front 

may experience turbulence, as spouse or woman 

of the house may not be in the best of moods. 

Staying the night out without adequate reason 

can get some youngsters in trouble. Ego clash with lover is likely 

and threatens to turn the relationship sour. Lucky No.:6 / Lucky 

Colour: Chocolate 

AQUARIUS (JAN 22-FEB 19) 

Starting something new on the professional or 

business front bodes well for you. There will be 

ample opportunity for bettering your grade on 

the academic front. Those feeling depressed are 

likely to find positivity entering their lives once 

again. Fear hanging over you like the Damocles 

sword regarding monetary situation is likely to 

evaporate, as money comes from unexpected sources. Family will 

be supportive and do much to keep you entertained. A leisure trip is 

indicated. Lucky No.:5 / Lucky Colour: Sea Green 

PISCES (FEB 20-MAR 20) 

The magic of thinking big can do wonders for 

your current professional situation, so start the 

process of getting into the good books of superiors 

by working smart. Encouraging words from the 

family will be a big morale booster in achieving 

something difficult on the academic front. On 

the financial front, you may find yourself quite 

lucky in this week. Relationship gets a boost, as lover seems extra 

lovey-dovey! You may enjoy perfect health by remaining regular in 

workouts. Lucky No.: 2 / Lucky Colour: Electric Blue


FEATURES 19 

Top yoga poses to practice every day 

Crescent Pose, aka High Lunge 

I 

can’t imagine a yoga 

practice without 

this perfect standing 

pose. Crescent Lunge my 

go-to for opening my hips 

and psoas, encouraging 

space in my chest, and 

feeling powerful on my feet. 

Beginner 

You’ll see newer students 

struggling for balance in 

this pose. Easy fix. Look 

down. Odds are your feet 

are too narrow. Make sure 

your front and back foot 

are hip-width apart. This 

will widen the stance and 

allow you to balance. 

Intermediate 

There’s a tendency to lean 

forward in this pose which is 

often caused by pitching in 

your lower back or tightness 

in the psoas connected to your 

back leg. Bend your back knee 

as much as you need to for 

mobility in your pelvis. Draw 

the front crest of your pelvis 

up to neutral (like a bowl full 

of kombucha that you don’t 

want to spill) and gently draw 

your back leg toward straight. 

It may not fully straighten, 

but this is a stronger posture. 

Advanced 

Try adding the element of 

a backbend/dropback in your 

upper body. Follow the rules 

you’ve read so far and then 

reach your arms overhead 

interlacing all the fingers 

except for your thumb and 

index. Keep the base of the 

neck relaxed as you lift your 

heart up and curl your upper 

chest. Draw an imaginary line 

along the ceiling going up and 

back. 

Garland Pose 

Four-Limbed Staff Pose 

Chaturanga Dandasana 

Chaturanga is one of the 

most common postures 

in Vinyasa yoga—but also 

one of the most abused. 

Students tend to rush this 

pose, cheating its alignment, 

which with repetition can 

lead to injury. Check out my 

pointers below to revisit this 

foundational posture and 

begin treating it as its own 

pose instead of a transition. 

Beginner 

Many people don’t have 

the strength and/or body 

awareness to perform this 

posture with good alignment. 

I recommend most students 

learn this pose with their 

knees down. Focus on 

drawing the lower belly up 

to prevent dumping in the 

lower back. Keep your elbows 

Malasana 

This beautiful squat is one of my all-time 

favorite poses. Malasana releases the lower 

back, opens the hips, and turns the practitioner into 

a cute little nugget. Explore variations and tips on 

how to make this pose easier or how to go deeper. 

Beginner 

It’s common for beginners to struggle with 

dropping their heels to the ground. Make sure 

in tight to your ribcage and 

stacked above your wrists. 

Intermediate 

Have the eye of the tiger! 

Gaze forward the entire time to 

prevent rounding in the upper 

back (we always want to look 

down here, look forward!) 

Draw the shoulder heads 

back and focus on extending 

your heart as you lower so the 

elbows stay over the wrists 

instead of falling behind the 

heels of your hands. 

Advanced 

Use full breath! People 

love to fly through this pose. 

Take a full inhale in Plank 

and a full exhale to come into 

Chaturanga. Don’t transition 

out of it until your exhale is 

complete. 

to spin your heels in and toes out, as well as to 

widen your stance. If it irritates your knees to 

drop into a full squat, sit on one or more blocks. 

Intermediate 

Step up the hip-opening element of this pose 

by incorporating your arms. Lean forward to 

wiggle your upper arms to the inside of your 

legs. Draw your palms together in front of your 

heart and push your heart into your thumbs. 

This will naturally encourage external 

Extended Triangle Pose 

Utthita Trikonasana 

Trikonasana. Such a 

classic standing pose! We 

live in a world where standing 

poses are often ignored, but 

this one is part of my regular 

practice come rain or shine. 

It is a glorious way to release 

your lower back, strengthen 

your core, and expand your 

body (and mind). 

Beginner 

Students tend to collapse 

their lower body trying to 

get their hand or palm to the 

ground. Skip that step and 

place your palm either on a 

block outside of your shin or 

on your shin below your knee. 

This enables you to even out 

through both sides of your 

ribcage creating even length 

in the trunk of your body. 

Intermediate 

It’s so easy to get sassy in 

this pose! Most people stick 

out their butts (pitch in their 

lower backs) and puff their 

ribs. Focus on corseting your 

ribcage in (wrapping the 

bones towards your midline) 

and keeping your lower belly 

engaged and lifted to create 

space in your lower back. 

Advanced 

The final step is taking 

both of these tips and looking 

down. You want to line your 

torso up with your front leg 

(most students lean toward 

the inside). Can you keep both 

sides of your waist even, ribs 

in, belly engaged and lower 

back long as you lean back? 

rotation and give you that extra ahhhh moment. 

Advanced 

Full Malasana is traditionally performed with 

the feet together, knees wide, and the torso in a 

forward fold with either the arms extending or 

wrapped behind the heels. You typically see this 

pose done with feet wider than the hips (which is 

still my personal favorite to release my back and 

hips after a long day). 

• To be Continued Next week

The Indian Weekender, 04 June 2021

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