The Indian Weekender, 11 June 2021

11 JUNE2021 • VOL 13 ISSUE 13
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2 NEW ZEALAND
MIGRANT PROTEST
HELD IN AUCKLAND:
Calls to fix 'broken
immigration system'
Friday, June 11, 2021
The Indian Weekender
PAULA RAY
More than 400 migrant workers marched on
Queen Street to Aotea Square in Auckland
CBD on Saturday, June 5 to protest and
demand an immediate fixing of the “broken immigration
system”.
This was fourth such protest held in recent months
with multiple demands for several categories of
temporary migrant workers facing an archaic and
shambolic immigration system.
The protest witnessed participation from migrants
from regions far and wide such as Tauranga, Rotorua,
Wellington and Christchurch.
Anu Kaloti, president of the Migrant Workers
Association, present at the march, said, “These
departments [Immigration NZ] need to be more
humane and less bureaucratic.” Migrants were
suffering because of the government decisions
and policies. The government needs to look after those
who are stranded in New Zealand. “It’s about looking
after people who are already here,” she said.
The event was organised by The Federation of
Aotearoa Migrants, who have been holding vigilant
activities to generate awareness on this issue across the
country, including the Parliament.
Migrant workers have been invited by the government
to work in certain industries where there is labour
shortage. These workers should be allowed to return
to their country with dignity, pleaded the Greens MP
Ricardo Menéndez March. It was “unacceptable” that
the NZ government was keeping these migrants waiting
on their residency application endlessly.
Mike Treen, advocate for the Unite Union, also
joined the protest march and called for a solution to
the adversity migrants are faced with as the need of
the hour. It is of “urgent necessity”, he said, for the
NZ government to resolve the crisis situation. Over
the years, these migrants have made New Zealand
their home. Asking them to leave now will make
them homeless.
“
The migrant community’s
proposals will also radically
reduce migrant worker exploitation
that has been a scourge in our
community that has been tolerated
for far too long, and that will lift the
situation for all workers
“The migrant community’s proposals will also
radically reduce migrant worker exploitation that has
been a scourge in our community that has been tolerated
for far too long, and that will lift the situation for all
workers,” Treen said.
The process of attaching visas to employers
has only made it easier for employers to exploit
migrant workers.
It seems that despite the government’s stated
intention to reset immigration policies, the actions
and announcement suggests that the government
is choosing “status quo” and inaction over any
radical action.
More to come soon).

The Indian Weekender Friday, June 11, 2021
NEW ZEALAND 3
Two Kiwi-Indians honoured in
SANDEEP SINGH
Business leader Sameer Handa
and Sergeant Gurpreet Singh
Arora of NZ Police are the two
prominent Kiwi-Indians honoured in
Queen’s Birthday Honour list 2021 released
early this morning.
Sergeant Gurpreet Singh Arora has
been honoured as a Member of the New
Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for
services to the New Zealand Police and
ethnic communities.
Sameer Handa, an influential business leader
and the chair of India New Zealand Business
Council (INZBC) has been honoured as the
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
(MNZM) for services to business and New
Zealand-India relations.
Sergeant Gurpreet Arora has had more
than 15 years’ frontline and ethnic services
experience with the New Zealand Police and
is currently employed with Counties Manukau
District Police.
Sergeant Arora was appointed to the posts
of Ethnic Services Liaison and Coordinator
within Counties Manukau, where he
became a significant point of contact to the
South Asian community.
He initiated ‘Operation Dukan,’ a project
in 2008/2009 educating retailers to adopt
simple methods to improve their safety, which
was expanded across two other Auckland
Police districts.
He has been involved in setting up and
expanding Gandhi Nivas in Auckland, a
Queen’s Birthday Honour list 2021
perpetrator-oriented project to reduce family
harm, and is currently working as Family Harm
Partnership Liaison Officer for Gandhi Nivas.
He has worked closely with Hindu, Muslim,
Christian, Sikh and other groups within
South Asian communities to ensure their
proper representation in the District and Area
South Asian Advisory Boards of Counties
Manukau Police.
He initiated the practice of observing
religious and cultural occasions of
significance at the Manukau Police Station,
including Ramadan Iftar, Eid festivities,
and Diwali.
He has worked on a New
to New Zealand initiative for
international students.
Sergeant Arora has utilised ethnic media
channels and community partnerships
to promote personal and public safety
messages and neighbourhood crime
prevention programmes.
Earlier in November last year, St Gurpreet
Arora was honoured with a Police Medal for
completion of 14 long and illustrious years in
NZ Police.
The medal was presented to him by Police
Commissioner Andrew Coster at the Tamaki
Makaurau Awards Ceremony under the Long
Service and Good Conducts category hosted by
New Zealand Police.
Sameer Handa, a prominent business
leader has been playing an influential role
in advancing NZ-India bilateral trade and
overall relations.
As the Chair of INZBC - a leading body in
promoting NZ-India bilateral trade, Handa has
been a great advocate of shifting the obsession
from signing of a Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) between the two countries and instead
strengthening already growing trade relations
between the two countries.
He sits on multiple boards, including being
the board member of Bank of India (New
Zealand) Ltd since 2013 and shares his business
acumen about different markets, particularly
NZ, India, Australia & Fiji and had been part of
multiple Ministerial delegations.
He has been part of multiple Ministerial
Trade delegations to India, Thailand, Philipines
and Sri Lanka since 2010.
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4 NEW ZEALAND
Friday, June 11, 2021
The Indian Weekender
Yoga event organised at NZ parliament grounds
in build up to International Day of Yoga 2021
SANDEEP SINGH
The High Commission of India organised
a Yoga event at the New Zealand
Parliament grounds on Monday, June 7
to generate anticipation in the build up to the
upcoming International Day of Yoga 2021 later
this month on June 21.
A group of Yoga teachers along with
Bharatanatyam students of Natraj School of
Dance performed Yoga and Dance fusion
postures to connect Indian classical dance with
Yoga techniques.
Yoga postures were led by Ravi Mistry of The
Art of Living and Bharatanatyam postures were
led by Prabha Ravi, Founder, Natraj School
of Dance. The Indian High Commission was
represented by Durga Das, Second Secretary
(Press, Info & Culture) and other staff members.
Speaking about this Yoga event in NZ
parliament, which was more a precursor of
range of Yoga events planned throughout the
country in coming weeks to mark the occasion
of International Day of Yoga, the High
Commissioner of India, Muktesh Pardeshi
said, “The event was a success as there was
huge interest amongst the curious onlookers
on the day.”
“It was an innovative concept of fusion of
two traditional forms of art and health practice
which traditionally traces their origin from
India,” Mr Pardeshi said.
Yoga and Bharatanatyam both represent
India’s ancient art form and health practices,
with former involving a series of movements
designed to increase strength and flexibility,
and breathing, while the latter being a major
form of Indian classical dance that originated
in Tamil Nadu.
“We are envisaging a lot of Yoga events
throughout the length and breadth of the
"
It was an innovative
concept of fusion of two
traditional forms of art
and health practice which
traditionally traces their
origin from India."
country to mark the occasion of International
Day of Yoga in couple of weeks” Mr
Pardeshi said.
Notably, for quite some time, the world
has looked towards Yoga as an accepted form
of mental and physical fitness, however, ever
since United Nations General Assembly
adopting a Resolution on December 11, 2014,
making June 21 as the International Yoga Day,
there has been a considerable increase in yoga’s
global acceptability.

The Indian Weekender Friday, June 11, 2021
NEW ZEALAND 5
India’s fight against Covid: Kiwi-Indian philanthropist
donates 380 oxygen concentrators and 5 generators
SANDEEP SINGH
The Indian diaspora in New Zealand continues to chip in
India’s fight against the deadly second wave of Covid,
with the latest case of a philanthropist donating 380
oxygen concentrators and five generators worth a few million
New Zealand Dollars.
Dr S Gurushankar – a health administrator who has been
a resident in the country for a few years and the President &
Managing Trustee of Meenakshi Mission Hospital & Research
Centre in India – donated procured oxygen concentrators in New
Zealand and donated 50 of them to the Government of Tamil
Nadu and 25 to the Government of Bihar.
The office of the Indian High Commission acknowledged the
gesture in a social media post on Monday, June 7, “We deeply
appreciate the noble gesture of Dr S Gurushankar.”
Speaking with the Indian Weekender, Dr Gurushankar said, “I
was deeply moved by the covid situation in the capital and other
parts of India.
“Being in the health sector for more than three decades, I knew
that sooner or later that wave will reach my home state of Tamil
Nadu and therefore felt the desire to do something.
“We have a big hospital chain back in Madurai and Tanjore
Meenakshi Mission Hospital & Research Centre, which is
already at the forefront of providing health care amidst Covid.”
“We managed to purchase 380 oxygen concentrators from New
Zealand and sent it back while purchasing five oxygen generators
locally in India for our Madurai & Tanjore operations.”
Madurai’s Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre
(MMHRC) is the biggest multi super-speciality hospital in Tamil
Nadu outside of Chennai.
On being probed further about the total dollar value of
the medical help generated through his personal funds, Dr
Gurushankar reluctantly told the Indian Weekender that it was
a few million dollars as the Oxygen Concentrators were bigticket
items that are desperately required at medical facilities
back in India.
Notably, the Indian diaspora in New Zealand, along with many
other local businesses
and charitable
organisations, has been
running a sustained
campaign to generate
funds that can be used
to send help to India in
its fights against Covid.
Earlier last month,
Indian diaspora
organisations of New
Zealand have come together to raise more than $300,000 to
send around 150 oxygen concentrators in two separate baches.
Additionally, several other diaspora organisations and individual
members of the Kiwi-Indian community have been fundraising
and sending money to help India fight the deadly second wave
of the Covid pandemic. The funds are largely being channelled
through various agencies on the ground, primarily to provide
oxygen concentrators and oxygen generators wherever required.
For the uninitiated, Oxygen generators are completely
different from medical oxygen concentrators; while the latter are
used in hospitals or at home to concentrate oxygen for patients,
the former is used in producing industry-grade medical oxygen.
Indian High Commission acknowledges support
from people of NZ
Meanwhile, in another social media post, the office of the
Indian High Commission has acknowledged all support – private,
public and govt to govt – in India’s fight against Covid and
humbly requested that now there was no need for any assistance.
“High Commission of India, Wellington gratefully
acknowledges NZ $1 million provided by the government of
New Zealand to Red Cross for mobilising medical supplies and
equipment in India during the exceptionally severe second wave
of the Covid-pandemic in India.”
"
Being in the health sector for more than
three decades, I knew that sooner or
later that wave will reach my home state
of Tamil Nadu and therefore felt the desire
to do something.
“It also deeply appreciates the contributions of Indian
Associations and the people of New Zealand for sending Oxygen
concentrators and other essential supplies that saved many
precious lives.”
“There has been a continuous scaling up of our domestic
capacities and the case load has been a sharp and continuous
decline in the last few weeks,”
“The High Commission of India would like to convey
that India does not have any further need for Government to
Government or Private to Government assistance. However,
private assistance offered through the Indian Red Cross Society
will continue till August 31, 2021,” the office of Indian High
Commission said on a social media post.
Changes to onshore visas to provide
certainty to employers and visa holders
IWK BUREAU
Changes to onshore visas will
provide employers and visa
holders with more certainty,
Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi has
announced.
Around 10,000 Working Holiday
visas and Supplementary Seasonal
Employment (SSE) work visas due to
expire between 21 June 2021 and 31
December 2021 will be extended for
another six months to help manage
ongoing labour shortages while
New Zealand’s COVID-19 border
restrictions remain in place.
SSE visa holders will also be given
open work rights, allowing them to
work in any sector.
“This will provide employers with
an assurance that they can continue to
access the current onshore workforce
to help fill roles.
“It will also put the minds of visa
holders at ease knowing they can
stay and work in New Zealand for the
foreseeable future,” Kris Faafoi said.
“We will continue to monitor
the border and labour market
situations and will extend these visas
again if necessary.”
Essential Skills work visas will not
be extended again, but the duration
of Essential Skills visas for jobs paid
below the median wage will increase
from six to 12 months taking them
back to pre-COVID settings.
The implementation of the standdown
period for these jobs will also
be further postponed until July 2022.
“These changes will provide
more certainty to workers and their
employers that workers whose skills
are still needed can remain in New
Zealand, subject to labour market
testing to prove there are no New
Zealanders available to fill the role if
an employer wants to support a work
visa application,” Kris Faafoi said.
“The visa extensions and deferral
of the stand-down period are
temporary measures and reflect
the Government’s commitment to
support employers and sectors facing
workforce shortages while our border
restrictions remain in place.
“This approach is in line with the
overall objective of new temporary
work visa reforms that are designed
to ensure New Zealanders are
prioritised for work opportunities.”
Alongside these changes to
Essential Skills work visas, from
19 July, visa applications will be
assessed against the updated median
hourly wage rate of $27. This pay
rate will determine whether jobs are
treated as higher or lower paid.
The wage rate was set following
public consultation.
Employers paying under the
median wage can still access migrant
workers but will need to check with
the Ministry of Social Development
to see whether a registered job
seeker is available.
“The Government recently
outlined our long-term vision
for New Zealand’s immigration
system which will involve sectors
making a managed transition to
new ways of attracting, training
These changes will provide more certainty
to workers and their employers that workers
whose skills are still needed can remain in New
Zealand, subject to labour market testing to
prove there are no New Zealanders available to
fill the role if an employer wants to support a
work visa application.
and upskilling Kiwis into jobs and
investing in productivity measures
that will support New Zealand’s
COVID-19 recovery.
“We encourage sectors and
employers to think about how to
make this shift and look for ways
to recruit New Zealanders before
turning to temporary migrant
workers,” Kris Faafoi said.
Immigration New Zealand will
contact all visa holders eligible for
the Working Holiday or SSE visa
extension by 25 June 2021.

6 NEW ZEALAND
Friday, June 11, 2021
The Indian Weekender
BRYCE EDWARDS: Political
Roundup – Jacinda Ardern’s
opaque government by PR
DR BRYCE EDWARDS
One of the most important, and scathing, critiques of
Jacinda Ardern’s Government was published this
week by senior political journalist Andrea Vance. She
reveals how the current administration has become adept and
determined at keeping information secret and the public in the
dark about crucial issues. You can read her piece here: This
Government promised to be open and transparent, but it is an
artfully-crafted mirage.
The gist of Vance’s column is that this Government portrays
itself as open, and has promised much more transparency, but in
reality is doing its upmost to prevent the media and public from
having access to information and scrutinising what it is doing. She
says, “In my 20-year plus time as a journalist, this Government
is one of the most
thin-skinned
and secretive I have
experienced.”
Vance
points to
ministers such as Nanaia Mahuta who won’t give interviews
on important topics (except for exclusives with “cherry
picked” journalists) and the refusal to reform the Official
Information Act. She also says the Government feeds journalists
with virtually meaningless press conferences that do not
serve the public interest and are distractions from what is
actually important.
Her column follows on from several other highly-critical
columns by Vance over the last year or so, in which she has
challenged the popular narrative about the Government’s
communication techniques.
For instance, during the Covid crisis last year, while many were
in thrall to the Prime Minister’s use of daily press conferences
to convey information to the public, Vance pointed out how
unsatisfactory the media events were for journalists who actually
needed much more information, arguing that Ardern’s forums
left many questions unanswered – see: How Jacinda Ardern is
using soft propaganda to beat Covid-19.
More recently, in March Vance criticised the Government’s
communications about the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, arguing “the
flow of information about the programme is tightly controlled, and
heavily politicised” – see: Covid-19 vaccine rollout is a secretive,
sluggish spin-fest.
In her latest column, Vance identifies a big part of the problem
as being the increased number of communications staff hired
by government to massage the media and produce good public
relations: “We are up against an army of well-paid spin doctors.
Since the current Government took office, the number of
communications specialists have ballooned. Each minister
has at least two press secretaries. (Ardern has four). In the
year Labour took office, the Ministry for the Environment had
10 PR staff.
"They now have 18. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and
Trade more than doubled their staff – up to 25. MBIE blew
out from 48 staff to 64.” She points out that the rebranded NZ
Transport Agency, now Waka Kotahi, has increased its PR staff
from 26 to 72.
Vance’s column parallels my own column for the Guardian,
published about 18 months ago, in which I suggested that
politicians on both sides of the divide had become too dependent
on their spin doctors – see: New Zealand’s year of style
over substance.
I pointed to the rise of PR and communications as an industry
that is overshadowing journalism: “New Zealand now has many
more public relations practitioners than journalists.
The latest census results show about 8000 people work in PR,
greatly overshadowing the roughly 1600 journalists working in
print and broadcasting. Other calculations have put the ratio of
PR-to-journalists at 10:1. Many of the PR professionals work
directly for the politicians, government departments, or local
government authorities.”
For more on the general increase in consultants and contractors
in government agencies see Phil Pennington’s Police, Defence
Force and Transport Agency contractor spending up by at least
15%. According to this, “Oranga Tamariki’s review shows its
communications team exploded, from 16 staff to 35, with the
salary bill doubling to $3.6m.”
Ministry of Health public relations
The Ministry of Health provides an excellent case study in how
government departments deal with the provision of information
to the public. Vance writes that communications
staff in Health are “notorious for stymieing even
the simplest requests. Health’s information
gatekeepers are so allergic to journalists they
refuse to take phone calls, responding only
(and sporadically) to emails.”
This week has seen the Ministry of Health
told off by Public Service Commissioner
Peter Hughes for damaging the department’s
public reputation in its handling of a report on
mental health.
Communications staff had removed important
information from the report, and significantly delayed its release
– see Henry Cooke’s Public service watchdog won’t hold inquiry
into mental health report, but criticises Ministry of Health for
harming public confidence.
This followed on from media investigations that revealed the
quite extraordinary story of how senior officials battled for two
years to remove data from a report on mental health, seemingly
because it made the government look bad.
You can see the original article by Henry Cooke here: ‘A lot
of data and negative statistics’: Inside the battle behind dramatic
edits and huge delays to a Government mental health report.
The restructuring of the health system means there is a greater
need for information and debate. But current members of district
health boards probably won’t be participating, as they have
been gagged by the Public Service Commission (previously
the State Services Commission), which has implemented a new
code of conduct to prevent health board members from making
“political comment” – see Cate Broughton’s Ban on DHB
members making political comment may prevent criticism of
health reforms.
Blogger No Right Turn has hit out at the ban, pointing to the
fact that most of the board members are elected: “so political
comment is literally their job, just as it is for local authority
members.
And this sort of gag order is simply completely inappropriate.
It’s like trying to gag MP’s. But then, control-freak Labour is so
afraid of criticism they’d probably try that if they thought they
could get away with it” – see: An inappropriate gag.
The Ministry of Health is also criticised by the Otago Daily
Times’ Elspeth McLean, who at the end of last year, shared
some of her experiences in trying to get information from the
communications staff there, which she sums up like this: “the
Ministry of Health has long been intent on playing down anything
controversial, dragging out any response to any questions
delving under the surface as long as it can” – see: Public deserves
openness, respect.
Arguments against Andrea Vance
Not everyone is pleased with Andrea Vance’s column this
week. Labour Party activists and supporters have taken issue
with her critique of Ardern’s opaqueness, arguing it’s not as bad
as she suggests.
Writing on the Labour-friendly blog The Standard, Greg
Presland chides Vance for not putting all the positive things about
the Government’s record in her column, concluding “attacks on
the Government without providing very important context is not
something an independent media engages in” – see: Openness
and transparency.
On issues such as Nanaia Mahuta not giving interviews about
China, Presland argues: Vance “did not seem to comprehend that
the same week that Mahuta was planning to release reports on
the future of the country’s drinking water may not have been a
great time to seek time for an interview about China. I suspect
it was not planned. It was just that Mahuta did not have enough
hours in the day to contemplate an interview.”
An even more hostile account is put forward by activist
Gerard Otto, who concludes: “Vance wrote a lazy article for lazy
minds who do not think critically and who are easily mislead
by any old opinion from a bitter, twisted and vengeful media” –
see: Andrea’s artfully crafted mirage.
As well as putting forward several justifications for why
the Labour Government might not want or be able to be fully
transparent, Otto provides some useful counter-evidence about
compliance with Official Information Act: “Did you know that
by the 2nd half of 2018 – 95% of all Official Information Act
requests were completed on time under Labour, compared with
only 91% in 2015/2016 under National?”
Finally, about a year ago, Stuff put together a useful article
of who are the powerful comms staff behind the politicians in
the Beehive – see: Inside the spin-room: Who is who in the
Government’s PR team.
Dr Bryce Edwards is Political Analyst in Residence at
Victoria University of Wellington. He is the director of the
Democracy Project.

The Indian Weekender Friday, June 11, 2021
NEW ZEALAND 7
Border exemptions: Wgtn bureaucrats chose
film crews and nannies over farm managers
RNZ
New documents show tensions arose
between government departments over
who should get border exemptions,
and how the dairy industry lost out in favour of
space and film projects.
The Ministry for Primary Industries
(MPI) pushed back hard on proposals by
the Ministry for Business, Innovation and
Employment (MBIE), saying they seemed
‘arbitrarily limited to certain sectors’ and
appeared ‘MBIE-centric’.
Several of the projects that received approval
for exemptions, such as workers on space and
scientific research programmes, fall under
MBIE, as does Immigration New Zealand.
DairyNZ had its border request rejected in
the run-up to calving last year, having asked
for farm or herd managers already employed in
New Zealand, who were overseas on holidays
when the pandemic struck.
It said it was concerned the decision may
have been pre-determined, and said the the
logic didn’t stack up, including why fishing was
favoured over dairy.
One email summary on agriculture stated:
“Make sure the clear distinction between
fishing ‘yes’, and dairy, ‘no’.”
Its chief executive Tim Mackle described
the assertion in the documents that the industry
could source New Zealanders for the jobs as a
“pipedream”, as herd and farm managers were
specialist staff with many years of experience.
“We’ve got a sector here that’s New
Zealand’s largest, a $20 billion export sector,
which is going to be critical to New Zealand’s
recovery and we couldn’t get 40 or 50 people
through that system,” he said. “That was very
frustrating and farmers felt that keenly.”
Correspondence between MBIE and MPI is
shown in OIA documents requested by RNZ in
June last year, and released last week.
The news comes as the Government
announces 200 dairy farm workers and 50
vets will be allowed into the country under new
border exceptions.
That includes up to 150 dairy farm workers
in management roles on farms, 50 workers
in dairy assistant roles, and up to 50 general
practice vets, along with their partners and
dependent children.
Emails, drafts and reports among the 600
pages of documents from May last year show
repeated specific mentions of dairy being
excluded from the exemption criteria.
MPI said some of the proposals were “overly
restrictive and will ultimately be unworkable”
and failed to recognise the benefit of the dairy
industry to regions and the country as a whole.
An earlier phone call between MPI and an
immigration policy staff member showed it
was concerned the effect of the criteria might
be particularly favourable for MBIE projects –
even though that was not the aim – and that it
differed little from the exemption system being
run under level 4.
MBIE asked for more feedback, saying it was
open to how criteria were applied or framing
could be improved, noting “it is definitely not
our intention to make it MBIE-centric”.
MPI’s concerns included that the new criteria
was “too narrow; appeared arbitrarily limited
to certain sectors; or appeared skewed to small
sectors where a small project/firm may have a
disproportionate effect on the sector.
A particular example was dairy herd
managers, where DairyNZ has asserted that
approximately 100 herd managers are needed
in time for the upcoming calving season.”
Responding to a draft, it said: “The paper
fails to recognise the critical importance of the
primary industries – which include many small
to medium enterprises – to New Zealand’s
national recovery.
“The success of these enterprises, and
therefore the primary sector’s contribution to
the economy, must include consideration of the
need for essential animal health and welfare
services, which have additional implications for
biosecurity, food safety and our international
reputation as a trading nation.
“The criteria around the delivery of timecritical
projects or programmes are too narrow
and fail to recognise the time critical nature of
some activities (eg winter planting for forest
establishment, calving on dairy farms)” and
“fail to recognise the urgency of the issue.
Calving which begins in July is a very stressful
time and dairy farms need skilled people who
have been caught on the wrong side of the
border urgently.”
It noted inconsistencies, that exemptions
could not be granted for “key staff that many
businesses may view as ‘critical’ for their
operations” – but the criteria would nevertheless
allow workers from three (unnamed) companies
to qualify. However, when MPI set out its
concerns – including animal welfare issues
and the effect on the economy because of the
size of the dairy industry – MBIE’s internal
notes said its “leaders remained unconvinced”.
Government projects were heavily represented
in the final list.
“The proposed exceptions would not enable
the dairy industry to expect approval for herd
managers, as the skills for those roles would
not meet the criteria for highly specialist or
technical,” said one draft Cabinet paper.
“It would be expected that the industry could
source such staff from within New Zealand at
this time or manage until it was safe to reopen
the border.”
But in another document, the job’s high skill
level seemed to concern policy-makers as they
could not then use the skill classification to
exclude farm managers. Nowhere is there an
email or report detailing why dairy managers
were specifically excluded from exemptions.
DairyNZ had its border request rejected in
the run-up to calving last year, having asked
for farm or herd managers already employed in
New Zealand, who were overseas on holidays
when the pandemic struck.
It said it was concerned the decision may
have been pre-determined, and said the the
logic didn’t stack up, including why fishing was
favoured over dairy.
One email summary on agriculture stated:
“Make sure the clear distinction between
fishing ‘yes’, and dairy, ‘no’.”
Its chief executive Tim Mackle described
the assertion in the documents that the industry
could source New Zealanders for the jobs as a
“pipedream”, as herd and farm managers were
specialist staff with many years of experience.
“We’ve got a sector here that’s New
Zealand’s largest, a $20 billion export sector,
which is going to be critical to New Zealand’s
recovery and we couldn’t get 40 or 50 people
through that system,” he said. “That was very
frustrating and farmers felt that keenly.”
Correspondence between MBIE and MPI is
shown in OIA documents requested by RNZ in
June last year, and released last week.
The news comes as the Government
announces 200 dairy farm workers and 50
vets will be allowed into the country under new
border exceptions.
That includes up to 150 dairy farm workers
in management roles on farms, 50 workers
in dairy assistant roles, and up to 50 general
practice vets, along with their partners and
dependent children.
Emails, drafts and reports among the 600
pages of documents from May last year show
repeated specific mentions of dairy being
excluded from the exemption criteria.
MPI said some of the proposals were “overly
restrictive and will ultimately be unworkable”
and failed to recognise the benefit of the dairy
industry to regions and the country as a whole.
An earlier phone call between MPI and an
immigration policy staff member showed it
was concerned the effect of the criteria might
be particularly favourable for MBIE projects –
even though that was not the aim – and that it
differed little from the exemption system being
run under level 4.
MBIE asked for more feedback, saying it was
open to how criteria were applied or framing
could be improved, noting “it is definitely not
our intention to make it MBIE-centric”.
MPI’s concerns included that the new criteria
was “too narrow; appeared arbitrarily limited
to certain sectors; or appeared skewed to small
sectors where a small project/firm may have a
disproportionate effect on the sector.
A particular example was dairy herd
managers, where DairyNZ has asserted that
approximately 100 herd managers are needed
in time for the upcoming calving season.”
Responding to a draft, it said: “The paper
fails to recognise the critical importance of the
primary industries – which include many small
to medium enterprises – to New Zealand’s
national recovery.
“The success of these enterprises, and
therefore the primary sector’s contribution to
the economy, must include consideration of the
need for essential animal health and welfare
services, which have additional implications for
biosecurity, food safety and our international
reputation as a trading nation.
“The criteria around the delivery of timecritical
projects or programmes are too narrow
and fail to recognise the time critical nature of
some activities (eg winter planting for forest
establishment, calving on dairy farms)” and
“fail to recognise the urgency of the issue.
Calving which begins in July is a very stressful
time and dairy farms need skilled people who
have been caught on the wrong side of the
border urgently.”
It noted inconsistencies, that exemptions
could not be granted for “key staff that many
businesses may view as ‘critical’ for their
operations” – but the criteria would nevertheless
allow workers from three (unnamed) companies
to qualify.

8 NEW ZEALAND
Friday, June 11, 2021 The Indian Weekender
'Disbelief, shock, and relief': A Kiwi
journey back home amidst flight ba
PAULA RAY
Never before a resident in this country had left the shores
with an iota of doubt in their minds that their entry back
into the country could be jeopardised except if you
were caught-up in India during the deadly second wave of Covid
pandemic in late March-April that led New Zealand government
announce historic flight ban from India.
After the initial decision of banning all flights from India and
restricting citizens and residents right to return to the country, the
government continued the ban on the flights but allowed citizens
to return directly, if they could find travel-routes, while imposing
a requirement on residents to live in a third country for 14 days
before producing a no-Covid certificate.
Shruthi Nair was one such resident who first travelled to
India in distress in mid-March to meet her ailing mother and
then embark on an uncertain journey to a third country before
eventually landing back home in late May.
The Indian Weekender spoke with Shruthi Nair to capture
her experience and emotional upheaval during this long
uncertain journey.
IWK: Why did you travel to India at the first place
during the middle of a global pandemic?
Shruthi: I travelled for personal reasons - to visit my
terminally ill mother, as soon as the doctors informed us that her
life expectancy was a matter of days.
Planning the trip was very stressful, especially booking an
MIQ spot and matching flight dates to the same. I was satisfied
with my planning, but had a lot of uncertainties on the whole
travel situation due to COVID.
All I knew at the time was my desperate need to visit my sick
mother and I wasn’t thinking of what would happen after. Never
imagined that things would get this bad.
Soon after reaching India, I contracted COVID-19 and had to
deal with the physical and mental stress of recovering, so I could
produce a negative report and travel back to NZ.
IWK: What did you do when the NZ government
banned flights from India?
Shruthi: I was shocked and went into serious panic mode. I
was not anticipating it at all. At the most, I was expecting reduced
flight schedules, but not an entire travel ban.
Instantly, I looked for a new MIQ date after the travel ban
would be lifted and rescheduled my flight. But, eventually, this
process had to be repeated several times due to the constant
extension of the ban.
Not to mention the fact that I kept paying for every time I
changed the flight tickets.
The travel plan also depended on Dubai’s ban of flights from
India, as it was the main junction through which the Emirates
flights would reach Auckland.
A PR-holder could only fly Emirates, as no visa was required
to transit Dubai. NZ citizens had the option of flying Qatar
Airways which had a stopover in Brisbane.
IWK: How did you plan your way back to NZ?
Soon after reaching India, I contracted
COVID-19 and had to deal with the
physical and mental stress of recovering,
so I could produce a negative report and
travel back to NZ.
Shruthi: After NZ partially lifted the ban, the new condition
was that all residents had to stay a minimum of 14 days in a nonhigh-risk
country, before flying into NZ. So I started my intense
research into every country on the globe that I could visit for the
14 days prior to entering NZ.
I had a valid visitor visa to the US and so that came up as an
option for a ‘safe country’ to travel through. I almost finalised
tickets to the US, but the next day the US announced their travel
ban. This set me back on my planning.
Ultimately, I looked into Maldives as the closest country
allowing Indian citizens to enter their private islands without
any visa requirement. This seemed to be my only option for a
‘safe country’.
I had to also keep in mind that I was travelling by myself and
so my personal safety was of utmost importance. My family back
in India as well as in NZ were very concerned about my safety.
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The Indian Weekender Friday, June 11, 2021
NEW ZEALAND 9
-Indian resident’s
n from India
The Maldives plan worked out at the last
moment. It literally happened in 24 hours,
with me flying out the next day. This was an
extremely difficult decision for me to leave my
ailing mum in the state she was in. I set on my
journey, with no guarantee of returning to NZ..
IWK: Tell us more about this plan, how
did it go?
Shruthi: I stayed in a luxury resort on
a private island for 15 days. It was a very
expensive stay but had no other alternatives.
There were no supermarkets or convenience
stores on the island. Food had to be bought from
the resort restaurants only, where a sandwich
would cost USD 30.
There were no other options to stay because
Indian tourists were not allowed on the main
island, where there would be other options
for affordable food. So I had to stay on this
expensive private island.
What added to my misery was the loss of my
mother while I was isolated on that island. I had
no friends or family to turn to, except for the
video calls.
As if this wasn’t enough, at the end of my 15
days stay; I was traumatised by the Maldives
immigration. They wanted me to return to India,
and refused me to board the flight to Dubai,
as they were not convinced of my reason to
return to NZ.
They appeared to be not clear on the 14
day rule set by the NZ government, and I was
interrogated by a senior immigration official.
He was not convinced of my genuine motives to
go back to NZ and the purpose of my solo trip
of going to India and then heading to Maldives.
After an hour-long drilling session, where
I was made to wait endlessly and then
interrogated repeatedly, I was finally allowed to
board the plane just in time before it took off.
IWK: How was the MIQ experience?
Shruthi: The MIQ was quite well-managed,
though the quality of food could have been
better. One thing that really was inconvenient
was the fact that I couldn’t heat the food as the
rooms were not equipped with a microwave.
This was perhaps the only downside.
The safety precautions were quite stringent,
as it should be.
This was reassuring and kind of made up for
all that I had gone through until then. I did feel
I was back in a safe country.
The day I left the MIQ, It felt like I was
released from prison because I was mainly
stuck in a room for 14 days with a daily dose
of 30 minutes of fresh air in a controlled setup.
Once I was out of the facility, the first thing
I did was go to Cornwall Park for a long walk
and to breathe in the fresh cold air. It was such
a sigh of relief.
One million more Pfizer
doses to arrive in July
Pfizer has scheduled delivery of an
estimated 1 million doses of vaccine to
New Zealand during July, COVID1-9
Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today.
“These consignments will double the total
number of Pfizer doses we have received
this year to more than 1,900,000 – enough to
fully vaccinate almost 1 million Kiwis,” Chris
Hipkins said.
“This is great news and reassuring to see
our vaccine supply ramping up. It shows our
plan for what is the biggest and most complex
logistical undertaking ever by the health system
is on track.
“The doses will arrive in weekly drops,
ramping up in quantity from mid July as we
start to move to the wider population roll out.
“The drops will enable us to continue
vaccinating Groups 1,2, and 3, while giving
us the certainty needed to start the general
population rollout as planned.
“The supplies means DHBs can keep
delivering to their plans and start accelerating
their way through Group 3 from mid July –
which is everyone over the age of 65 and people
with disabilities and some underlying health
conditions. It’s a group of more than 1 million
people and will take time to work through. As
we start Group 4, we will significantly ramp up
our vaccination efforts.”
Chris Hipkins said around 20,000 doses a
day were currently being administered and the
Pfizer deliveries throughout July will enable
this to increase significantly. At the peak of the
programme in August and September we expect
to be administering 50,000 doses per day.
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10 NEW ZEALAND
Friday, June 11, 2021
The Indian Weekender
Bharatanatyam Dance drama marks completion of
glorious 25 years of Anuradha School of Dances
PAULA RAY
Anuradha’s School of Indian
Dances, led by Anuradha
Ramkumar, completed 25
years of its existence and celebrated
the occasion with a scintillating
Bharatanatyam dance drama on
Saturday June 5 at Dorothy Winston
Centre.
Titled ‘Maha Yugas - Four Epochs
of Time’, the dance drama portrayed
the process of self-realisation by
depicting the four great epochs in
Hindu philosophy – Satya Yuga,
Treta Yuga, Dvapar Yuga, Kali Yuga,
with fluid movements of the dancers’
feet and arms.
Set in Bharatnatyam dance
form, the production showcased
colourful costumes, elaborate
headgears, exquisite props and
splendid choreography.
The two-and-a-half-hour
extravaganza was embellished by
splendid choreography, colourful
costumes, props against a digital
backdrop with over 100 students
(performers) from diverse ethnic
groups, each trained by the maestro
Anuradha Ramkumar.
Speaking to the Indian Weekender,
Mrs Ramkumar said, “This magnum
opus Maha Yugas was in essence,
a tribute to the innate talent of the
younger members of our society who
will in future be a source of pride and
act as ambassadors of Indian culture
and tradition,”
Mrs Ramkumar expressed
satisfaction with the immaculate
performances of her students that had
left the full house audiences almost
speechless and wanting for more at
the end of the almost three-hour-long
show.
Anuradha Ramkumar is a leading
and revered Dance Guru who has
trained a large number of dance
enthusiasts within the Kiwi-Indian
community and beyond in her more
than three decades journey of being
a seasoned dance teacher.
Elaborating further on
the ancient Hindu philosophy,
which also acts as a source of
spiritual inspiration to most of the
classical dance forms emanating
from India, including Bharatnatyam,
Mrs Ramkumar said, “This dance
production was essentially a
portrayal of the perceived decline of
dharma from Satyug to Kalyug.”
“I think our students did
"This
magnum
opus Maha Yugas
was in essence, a tribute
to the innate talent of the
younger members of our
society who will in future
be a source of pride and
act as ambassadors of
Indian culture and
marvellous
work and
the success
of the
show is a
result of their
dedication and
tradition"
hard work,” Mrs
Ramkumar said.
She also elaborated her dream of
expanding the branches of Anuradha
School of Dances from Auckland
to other major cities of New
Zealand, particularly Wellington and
Hamilton.
The full house show has several
key attendees, including Honorary
Consul of India, Bhav Dhillon.
Speaking on occasion, he reflected
what could essentially be views of
most of the guests at the evening
about the magnificent production
standards of the show.
“The production quality of this
show was right at the top of very high
standards,” Mr Dhillon said.
“Such dance show upholds our
traditions and keep our cultural ties
alive among younger generations.
“It connects the diaspora with our
roots,” Mr Dhillon said.
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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.

2021
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Friday, CORDIS, August Auckland 14, 2020
Friday, CORDIS, August Auckland
Hosted by 14, 2020
CORDIS, Auckland
Supported by
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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
The sun finally shines
on Indian women’s
cricket
Women have been playing cricket since 1745. Unfortunately, the gentlemen of the game
never gave women’s cricket prominence and importance, and so it remained a village
entertainment. In the late 19th and early 20th century in England, Australia, New Zealand
and South Africa, there emerged a movement to establish women’s cricket.
In 1926, a women’s cricket association was founded. It was only in 1958 that the International
Women’s Cricket Council was formed to coordinate cricket around the world.
In India, the efforts of just one man who selflessly pioneered the formation of the Women’s
Cricket Association of India in 1973 has now borne fruit because of his vision and belief. Mahendra
Kumar Sharma, a young cricket enthusiast from Lucknow, finally put women’s cricket on the Indian
map. He conducted the first ever national tournament amongst only three teams -- Maharashtra,
Mumbai, and Uttar Pradesh -- in Pune.
Preceding that his marketing efforts to get 200 spectators to watch the games in Lucknow and
also his efforts in popularising women’s cricket should be recognised in the annals of Indian cricket
history. With very limited financial resources at his beck and call, he went around the streets of
Lucknow in a cycle rickshaw broadcasting the first ever match to be played by women at the
Queen’s Anglo Sanskrit College. Sharma’s efforts bore fruit as women from other associations also
joined in taking the game to several parts of the country.
The first national camp at National Institute of Sports for women was held in Patiala. Legendary
cricketer Lala Amarnath took the onus of supervising it. The women could not have had a better
coach and mentor than him. Amarnath’s immense knowledge of the game and his strict regime
turned the girls into a cricketing unit. He taught them the nuances of the game and the seed that he
sowed has now blossomed into a fruitful entity.
It was only in 2006, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) finally accepted
to recognise women’s cricket. Until then they had several ups and downs. Finance was always a
constraint and so they depended on the generosity of well-wishers and corporate sponsorships. The
Indian Railway, public limited banks, and Indian Airlines played a major part in encouraging and
boosting women’s cricket. The railway, however, is still the major supporter of the women’s game.
The sunshine days of women’s cricket have finally come to roost. A tour to England next month
followed by a visit to Australia was just a dream come true for them. Having just played 36 Test
matches in all these years, playing another in Bristol, England, from June 16 and a day-night Test
from September 30 in Sydney will be a challenge.
India last played a Test match way back in 2014 against England in Wormsley and beat the host.
India were led astutely by Mithali Raj, who is still at the helm when India play England next month.
Unfortunately, women’s Test cricket has not been the prime agenda of the ICC. The format is not,
according to them, a commercially viable option and so the ODIs and the T20s are what they have
focused on. The conventional form of cricket needs to be encouraged. If money is the be-all and
end-all of keeping a sport alive, then men’s Test matches may also become unimportant.
The Indian women’s team is a bunch of very talented cricketers. They seem to have gone astray
more with infighting and jealousy rather than their cricket. There has been more chopping and
changing of their coaches rather than the players. One gathers from several articles published that
the senior players are warring amongst each other and their unhappiness with a coach is all it
takes to replace him. Ramesh Powar, the recently appointed coach, has already had an open tiff
with Mithali Raj, who will lead India in the only Test and the three ODIs in England. Both are
professionals and so a truce, we hope, will soon be in the offing. However, the past could catch up if
things do not go their way. Powar’s first task would be to get the captain and her teammates together
believing in the one word that is so important to get harmony -- trust.
The Indian women’s team reminds one of the Indian men’s team of the early 2000s. The stylish
Smriti Mandhana is as graceful as Rohit Sharma and a hard hitter like Yuvraj Singh. Young Shafali
Verma is in the same mould as Virender Sehwag while Jemimah Rodrigues and Poonam Raut have
the ability to play their game in the way Rahul Dravid approached it.
Mithali has proven to be the Sachin Tendulkar of women’s cricket. Since she is close to the end
of her career, she can be the aspiring star for young women cricketers. The cricketing brilliance of
Harmanpreet Kaur puts her as the most destructive batter in the team. The unbeaten 171-run innings
that she played in a World Cup semi-final match against Australia in 2017 will be remembered
as the best innings ever played by an Indian woman. She along with Deepti Sharma are the allrounders
that India will depend on immensely.
Tania Bhatia, back as the wicketkeeper, is a live wire behind the sticks and with the evergreen
Jhulam Goswami to spearhead the pace bowling, the duo should complement one another in the
pace friendly English conditions that most likely will prevail.
Spin bowling is an area that the Indian team needs to take a relook at, especially the leg-spin of
Poonam Yadav. Teams have analysed her to a fair degree and, therefore, she will need to mix her
deliveries to surprise her opponent.
The two weakest links in Indian women’s cricket is the fielding and their mental state when put
against the wall. Fitness, agility, and a safe pair of hands are the areas that they can practice in the
bio-secure bubble, however, they need to get not just physically fit, but also mentally.
With both the men’s and the women’s team in the bubble, some good interaction between the two
squads would be extremely helpful, especially to the women, to build and learn how to approach
the highs and lows of the game.
Embarking on a cricket journey to two of the top playing countries is sunshine for women’s
cricket. One can already see a wonderful rainbow at the end of it. All the best to women in blue!
Indian Weekender : Volume 13 Issue 13
Publisher: Kiwi Media Publishing Limited
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Printed at Horton Media, Auckland
11 June – 17 June 2021
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed Thu
On-and-off
rain and
drizzle
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rain and
drizzle
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and
sun
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Clouds
and
sun
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and
showers
This week in New Zealand’s history
11 June 1901
Cornwall Park gifted to Auckland
20°
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Copyright 2020. Kiwi Media Publishing Limited. All Rights Reserved.
A few
morning
showers
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morning
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At a civic reception for the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, John Logan Campbell
handed over the deed to land around One Tree Hill/Maungakiekie. The new park was
named in honour of the royal couple.
12 June 1902|
New Zealand flag confirmed
Following the news of royal
assent to the New Zealand
Ensign Act 1901, the New Zealand
blue ensign that had been adopted
for use on government ships in
1869 (see 23 October 1869) was
proclaimed as ‘the recognised
flag of the colony for general use
on shore within the colony and
on all vessels belonging to the
Government of New Zealand’.
12 June 1942
First US troops arrive in Auckland
Over the following two years, about 100,000 American servicemen would spend time in
New Zealand, which became a rear base for the Allies’ counter-offensive against Japan.
This American ‘invasion’ led to a considerable clash of cultures
14 June 1984
Muldoon calls snap election
Prime Minister Robert Muldoon surprised many by announcing a ‘snap’ election to be
held in exactly one month’s time. He hoped to catch the opposition Labour Party underprepared,
but the gamble backfired and National suffered a heavy defeat.
15 June 1959
Chinese gooseberry becomes
kiwifruit
The prominent produce company Turners and
Growers announced that it would from now
on export Chinese gooseberries as ‘kiwifruit’.
Introduced to this country in 1904, kiwifruit are now
cultivated worldwide, with New Zealand-grown
fruit marketed as ‘Zespri’.

The Indian Weekender Friday, June 11, 2021 FIJI 13
Fiji Airways to operate
special flights from Sunday
Fiji Airways will operate a number of
Special Flights between this Sunday and
Wednesday the 30th of June, to enable
foreigners and approved persons to depart Fiji.
In a statement, the Fiji Airways says the
special flights are approved by the Ministry
of Health and Ministry of Civil Aviation, and
will replace previously scheduled international
passenger repatriation flights, that are now
cancelled.
It adds that passengers wishing to travel on
these flights to depart Fiji, are requested to check
flight availability and passenger requirements
for travel on the Fiji Airways website
Meanwhile, it says Fiji Link is working
through the requirements of the domestic
repatriation protocols by the Ministry of
Commerce, Trade, Tourism and Transport.
Fiji Airways says once these are finalized,
domestic repatriation flights in line with strict
Government protocols will be announced
publicly.
It adds that dedicated freighter services will
continue to ensure vital export and import
supply chains for Fiji remain intact.
New testing machines boost capacity
Three new testing machines at the Fiji
Centre for Disease Control (Fiji CDC),
means health officials can now run 16
tests per machine at once instead of four.
This allows for up to 1000 additional
tests per day and will become helpful in our
current crisis.
The Health Ministry says for the moment
these machines will be used for COVID-19
testing, but in the future, they can also support
testing for a range of other diseases, such as
influenza, tuberculosis and HIV testing.
The machines were procured by the World
Health Organization (WHO) with funding
support from the European Union (EU).
Minister of Health and Medical Services,
Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete, says the 16 module
Gene Xpert machine has come at the right time
boosting our testing capacity as we face the
current wave of new cases.
He adds the machines will further enhance
our ability to turn around testing results
Double digits
continue for
COVID-19
infections
Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James
Fong, who is in quarantine, says this is the
latest from the record-breaking surge over the
last several days.
Five cases are linked to the incident
management team, 18 are from the CWM
cluster, one from navy, one from Nawaka, Nadi,
and one case is linked to the Caubati cluster.
This also includes two police officers
from Nasinu.
Nine cases are currently under investigation.
Cases under investigation include two from
Lami, two from Valelevu, two in Koronivia,
Nausori, two from Nasinu, and one case from
Toorak, Suva.
Dr Fong says the double-digit daily case
numbers are unsettling news for many and they
should be as this is a highly transmissible and
deadly disease.
“There has never been a higher level of risk
in Lami-Nausori Containment Area than today.
Everyone needs to know it, and everyone
must act accordingly through the good health
practices we have advocated from day one of
this outbreak.”
He has warned Fijians that this is the
time when they should start taking the
warnings seriously.
The Permanent Secretary has urged Fijians to
stay home as much as possible.
He adds if you do leave, wear a mask and
make sure the careFIJI app is installed on your
phone and Bluetooth is switched on.
Two-meter distance needs to be maintained
and Fijians need to wash their hands.
He says people should not share
cigarettes or takis.
Head of Health Protection, Doctor
Aalisha Sahukhan has confirmed that 15
patients have recovered.
This means there are now 624 active cases
in isolation.
Doctor Sahukhan says a total of three
COVID-19 patients have died due to serious
medical conditions.
She adds the national seven day test positivity
average stands at 1.9 percent however, this is
increasing due to the influx of cases from the
Lami-Nausori containment zone.
“Total of 93,066 samples have been tested
since this outbreak started in April of this year
with 135,927 tests since testing began early
last year.3200 tests have so far been recorded
for June the 8th and this number is expected
to increase as we get more testing data
from the labs.”
Dr Sahukhan has urged Fijians to follow all
the COVID safe protocols to ensure their loved
ones are safe.
Fiji needs to brace for the worst: Dr Baker
A
renowned
New Zealand epidemiologist
says Fiji’s crisis has reached wide
spread transmission, which means
some tough decisions need to be made.
This comes as we have been hitting our
daily highs for the past few days and the Fijian
Health Ministry has further warned of more
cases to come.
Dr Michael Baker, the Professor of Public
Health at the University of Otago in Wellington,
New Zealand, says things are right now not
looking too flash.
quickly and make decisions on our public
health response.
Dr Waqainabete also thanked the EU
Ambassador, Sujiro Seam, and the Acting
WHO Representative to the South Pacific, Dr
Akeem Ali, for their continued support for the
country’s efforts to prepare for and respond to
COVID-19.
COVID-19: 'Severe outbreak' warning if Fijians are not 'extremely careful'
The Central Division is seeing the biggest
spikes in case numbers but if we are not
extremely careful we could see severe
outbreaks in many other parts of Fiji.
These were the remarks of Ministry of Health
and Medical Services permanent secretary
Dr James Fong last night as he announced
the 35 new cases recorded. He said they had
previously employed mobile screening teams
to great effect.
“But the scale of this outbreak now requires a
different approach,” Dr Fong said.
“We are guided by two objectives – keep
already infectious and potentially infectious
people safely away from the public, and provide
life-saving care to those who do develop a
severe case of COVID-19.”
Dr Fong said they would now maintain their
stationary screening clinics to save the mobile
teams to do contact tracing, screen areas of
concern, and deploy to homes that report
individuals with COVID-like symptoms.
He said if individuals tested positive, they
would be placed under home isolation – with
groceries and essential household items
provided. And if an individual developed a
severe illness, they will be transported to a
hospital.
We are guided by two
objectives – keep already
infectious and potentially
infectious people safely away
from the public, and provide
life-saving care to those who
do develop a severe case of
COVID-19
“So please, if you feel symptoms call us at
number 158. Get tested. Get protected with the
care you need now. Don’t muck around with
your health or the health of your loved ones,”
the PS said.
“I think this is really at the limit of what
they can manage, unfortunately I think they
are going to transition into wide spread
transmission and seeing a major wave
of infection and unfortunately all
the things that go with that.”
With the Delta variant
creating major chaos and our
second wave being more
severe than anticipated, Dr
Baker says Fiji should brace
for the worst.
“Well I think it is essentially that they will
follow the same path as other countries that
"I
think this
is really at the limit
of what they can manage,
unfortunately I think they are
going to transition into wide spread
transmission and seeing a major
wave of infection and unfortunately
all the things that go with that"
have lost control of the pandemic,
with large numbers of cases and
unfortunately a large number
of deaths as well.”
As Fiji battles its second
wave, there was over
three million new weekly
cases last week and over
73,000 new deaths.

14
INDIA
Friday, June 11, 2021 The Indian Weekender
NEWS in BRIEF
Cheetah: The world's fastest cat is returning
to India
If all goes well,
eight cheetahs
- five males and
three females - will
make the 8,405km
(5,222 miles) journey from South Africa to their new home in
a sprawling national park in India in November. The world's
fastest land animal will make a comeback in India, more than
half a century after it became extinct in the country.
"Finally we have the resources and the habitat to reintroduce
the cat," says Yadvendradev Jhala, dean of the Wildlife Institute
of India, and one of the experts tasked with the effort. This is
the first time in the world, he says, when a large carnivore will
be relocated from one continent to another for conservation.
With their black spotted coats and teardrop marks, the
cheetah is a sleek animal, racing across grasslands at speeds
touching 70 miles (112km) an hour to capture prey. The cat is
also a remarkably athletic animal, braking, ducking and diving
as it goes for the kill.
The vast majority of the 7,000 cheetahs in the world are now
found in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. The endangered
cat was reportedly last sighted in India in 1967-68, but their
numbers had vastly dwindled by 1900.
Coronavirus: The 'unknown' Covid-19
deaths in rural India
The second wave of Covid-19 ravaged India as hospitals
and then crematoriums ran out of space.
Families struggled to find beds, oxygen or even medicines
to save their loved ones. While cities were first hit, the second
wave soon reached rural parts of the country.
Hundreds died due to poor or no access to good healthcare.
Most of them were not even able to get a Covid test done.
Now experts believe that the number of deaths in rural India
is much higher than official statistics.
India's cumulative Covid-19 vaccine
coverage crosses 240 million-mark
The number of Covid-19
vaccine doses administered
in the country has crossed 24
crore, the Union Health Ministry
said. The ministry said that in
the 18-44 age group, 19,24,924
beneficiaries received the first
dose of vaccine and 86,450 got
the second dose on Wednesday.
So far, 3,38,08,845 people in the 18-44 age group have
received the first dose across states and union territories and
4,05,114 have got the second dose.
Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh
and West Bengal have administered the first dose to more
than 10 lakh beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group each, the
ministry said. The country has administered cumulatively
24,24,79,167 vaccine doses, according to a provisional report
at 7 pm on Wednesday.
Covaxin effective in neutralising Delta, Beta
variants of Covid-19: Study
Researchers at Pune’s
Indian Council of
Medical Research-National
Institute of Virology
(ICMR-NIV) found that
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin
is effective in neutralizing
the Delta (B.1.617.2) and
Beta (B.1.351) variants of SARS-CoV-2, which causes the
coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
The paper, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, is titled -
“Neutralization against B.1.351 and B.1.617.2 with sera of
COVID-19 recovered cases and vaccinees of BBV152”
- and has been authored by Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR), the ICMR-NIV and Bharat Biotech.
“The study demonstrated that despite a reduction in
neutralization titers with BBV152 vaccinees sera against
B.1.351 and B.1.617.2, its neutralization potential is well
established,” the study pointed out, claiming that the
vaccine developed by the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical
company is effective against these two variants which
caused widespread concern among doctors for its increased
severity.
VACCINATION
is important to protect
against a spreading variant first
identified in India, Fauci says
Dr. Anthony Fauci pleaded with the
public Tuesday to get vaccinated,
saying the Delta coronavirus
variant -- the B.1.617.2 variant first
identified in India -- accounts for more
than 6% of the sequenced viruses in the
United States.
The variant's spread and dominance
in the United Kingdom, which was first
hit hard by the Alpha variant -- B.1.1.7 --
could spell trouble for the United States if
people don't get vaccinated, Fauci said in
a White House Covid-19 briefing.
"We cannot let that happen in the United
States," Fauci said, adding it's "such a
powerful argument" to get vaccinated.
The Delta variant "may be associated
with an increased disease severity, such
as hospitalization risk, compared to (the
Alpha variant, B.1.1.7)," Fauci said.
The variant is susceptible to available
two-dose vaccines from Pfizer and
AstraZeneca, he said, but protection from
these vaccines requires following a twodose
schedule.
"There is reduced vaccine effectiveness
in the one dose," said Fauci, who is
the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases director. "Three
weeks after one dose, both vaccines, the
(AstraZeneca) and the Pfizer/BioNTech,
were only 33% effective against
symptomatic disease from Delta."
There is not yet a booster vaccine trial
underway specific to the Delta variant,
but variant-specific boosters may be on
the horizon, Fauci said.
A booster may focus on a specific
variant, or the type a person was originally
vaccinated against, he said.
"We are approaching both of those, but
the one thing that we are noticing that's
important is that the higher your degree of
immune response against the wild type,
the greater the secondary coverage you
have against a wide array of variants,"
he said. "You can boost against the wild
type, and still cover variants, including
617."
Vaccination numbers have
plummeted since April
Fauci's plea for Americans to get
vaccinated against Covid-19 comes as
vaccinations across the country have
slowed, leaving unvaccinated Americans
vulnerable to new variants and
threatening the chances of reaching
h e r d
immunity.
Over the last week, the US averaged
more than 1.07 million Covid-19 vaccine
shots administered per day -- well below
the peak seven-day average of 3.38
million shots per day reached on April
13, according to data from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
Mississippi is the state with the
lowest percentage of its population
fully vaccinated -- 27.5% as of Monday,
according to the CDC.
The state fell from 128,841 doses
administered during the week ending
March 27 down to 24,374 doses in the
week ending June 5.
Alabama has the second-lowest
percentage of fully vaccinated residents
among all states -- 29.4% as of Monday,
according to CDC data.
The state fell from 44,397 doses
administered April 8 down to 1,465 doses
on Saturday, according to the Alabama
Department of Public Health's Covid-19
dashboard.
Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee
and Wyoming also had less than 33% of
their populations fully vaccinated as of
Monday.
"I understand that in the short run
we may get away with it, having slow
vaccination rates," said Dr. Ashish Jha,
dean of the Brown University School of
Public Health.
"But those people really are vulnerable
– once we have more variants circulating
in the United States -- to get reinfected
and potentially get very sick."
Even those who've already had
coronavirus should get vaccinated
because research shows immunity
achieved through vaccination is better
than immunity through previous
infection, Fauci said.
"We need to get vaccinated because
vaccines are highly efficacious. They are
better than the traditional response you
get from natural infection," Fauci
said last month.
Lab research shows
those who previously
had Covid-19 and
received two doses of
an mRNA vaccine "had
interesting, increased
protection against
the variants of
concern," he said.
And those
relying on their
immunity from
previous infection
need to understand
the danger of new
variants, Jha said.
"This is a bit of a misunderstanding that
unfortunately a lot of people have ... this
idea that if you've been infected that you
have natural immunity that you don't need
to get vaccinated," Jha said.
"There is no doubt about it in my mind
that a vaccine-induced immunity is much
more durable and is going to hold up
much better against the variants."
Right now, the three vaccines used
in the US work well against known
variants of concern. But as coronavirus
keeps spreading and mutating among
unvaccinated people, "there may be future
variants for which we are not so lucky,"
said emergency physician Dr. Megan
Ranney, director of the Brown-Lifespan
Center for Digital Health.
Rare breakthrough infections
have milder outcomes
While the Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech
and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are
highly effective at preventing severe
Covid-19, they're not perfect at preventing
infection. But even those who get infected
down the road after getting vaccinated
will likely be less miserable than if they
hadn't gotten vaccinated at all.
CDC data published research showing
those who had rare "breakthrough"
infections after one or two doses of
vaccine had 40% less virus in their bodies
and were 58% less likely to have a fever.
They also spent two fewer days in bed
than unvaccinated Covid-19 patients,
according to the study.
"The only way to be protected is to be
fully vaccinated," Jha said.
For those taking the Pfizer/BioNTech
or Moderna vaccines, "This is why
everybody needs a second dose."
Moderna says data on
vaccines for 5-year-olds
likely available in early fall
Moderna anticipates it will have data
on the Covid-19 vaccine for children as
young as 5 in September or October.
"I think it's going to be early fall just
because we have to go down in age very
slowly and carefully," Moderna CEO
Stéphane Bancel said at an event Monday
hosted on the social media platform
Clubhouse.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has
already been approved for children as
young as 12. Moderna said it is testing its
vaccine on children as young as 6 months.
Bancel said the process will take time
as it determines the appropriate dosages
for small children. "We anticipate data
available in the September/October time
frame," he said.

The Indian Weekender Friday, June 11, 2021
WORLD 15
'BRIDGE-BUILDER':
UNSC backs Guterres, ensuring
second term as Secy General
The UN Security Council
recommended Antonio Guterres,
who is running unopposed, for
a second term as the Secretary General,
ensuring his re-election.
"He has proven worthy of the post,"
Council President Sven Jurgenson said
while announcing the decision after a
brief closed-door meeting of the UN
body which effectively has the final say
on the appointment. The recommendation
for another five-year term will now go
to the 193-member General Assembly
for a formal vote. India, which is a nonpermanent
member of the Security
Council, supports Guterres's re-election.
After a meeting with Guterres last
month, India's External Affairs Minister
S. Jaishankar tweeted that New Delhi
"values" his leadership and would
back his re-election. India's Permanent
Represenative T. S. Tirumurti tweeted that
"India welcomes" the Security Council
resolution recommending a second term
for Guterres.
Re-election of Guterres, who has not
antagonised the permanent members of
the Security Council, is seen only as a
formality as seven of his predecessors
sailed through to further terms in office.
Only Boutros Boutros Ghali, an
Egyptian, did not get re-elected because
of Washington's opposition.
Guterres was able to navigate the shoals
of UN polarisation that has sharpened
during his term, managing even the
reflexive opposition of then US President
Donald Trump to the UN and China's
aggressive diplomacy.
Jurgenson, who is from Estonia,
described Guterres as a "bridge-builder".
"He's able to speak to everybody, and
I think this is something that is expected
from the secretary-general," he said.
India's former Permanent
Representative Syed Akabaruddin
tweeted: "It augurs well for diplomacy,
when the world's top diplomat is amongst
the most affable too."
Guterres's main achievement is his
leadership of the world body during the
Covid-19 crisis, pleading for equitable
distribution of vaccines and other
resources, and promoting an agenda for
post-pandemic rebuilding while fighting
disinformation. The top item on his
agenda has been global warming, which
he has called an existential threat to
humanity.
Guterres, a former Prime Minister of
Portugal and a UN High Commissioner
for Refugees, was the surprise consensus
candidate in 2016. It had been expected
that a woman, likely from East Europe,
would get the job that had been held only
by men and never by a East European.
He received the essential approval of
the Security Council after six straw polls
in which he outlasted 12 candidates, seven
of them women.
But this time he had no official rivals
as the Security Council did not recognise
at least seven other self-nominated
candidates -- including Arora Akanksha,
a Canadian of Indian descent -- because
they did not have the backing of any
member states. The only one of them with
a shred of credibility was Rosalia Arteaga,
a former President of Ecuador.
Akanksha, 34, is an employee of the
UN Development Programme who made
a splashy campaign video pitching her
youth and the need for change at a UN
weighed down by a sclerotic bureaucracy.
Biden warns Russia it faces ‘robust’ response
for harmful actions as he begins European visit
President Joe Biden on Wednesday began his first
trip abroad since taking office by hailing America’s
unwavering commitment to the NATO alliance and
warning Russia it faced “robust and meaningful” consequences
if it engaged in harmful activities.
Biden, speaking to about 1,000 troops and their families at a
British air base, said he would deliver a clear message to Russian
President Vladimir Putin when they meet next week after separate
summits with NATO, G7 and European leaders.
“We’re not seeking conflict with Russia,” the Democratic
president said at the start of his eight-day visit to Europe. “We
want a stable and predictable relationship … but I’ve been clear:
The United States will respond in a robust and meaningful way if
the Russian government engages in harmful activities.”
Biden has said he is determined to rebuild trans-Atlantic ties
and reframe relations with Russia after four rocky years under
Republican former President Donald Trump, whose tariffs and
withdrawal from treaties strained relations with major allies.
“This is my first overseas trip as president of the United States.
I’m heading to the G7, then the NATO ministerial and then to
meet with Mr. Putin to let him know what I want him to know,”
Biden said, drawing cheers from the troops.
“At every point along the way, we’re going to make it clear
that the United States is back and democracies of the world are
standing together to tackle the toughest challenges, and the issues
that matter most to our future.”
Biden told reporters as he left for Europe that his goals were
“strengthening the alliance, making it clear to Putin and to China
that Europe and the United States are tight.”
His summit with Putin on June 16 in Geneva is the capstone
of the trip, an opportunity to raise U.S. concerns directly with the
Russian leader about ransomware attacks emanating from Russia,
Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine and a host of other issues.In
a development further straining U.S.-Russia ties, a Russian court
on Wednesday outlawed groups linked to jailed Kremlin critic
Alexei Navalny, after declaring them “extremist.” rCondemning
the decision, the U.S. State Department said it “effectively
criminalized one of the country’s few remaining independent
political movements.”
Speaking to U.S. troops based at Royal Air Force Mildenhall
base, a huge American flag behind him, Biden underscored the
U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance but said it needed to
modernize and expand its cyber capabilities.
Biden also comes to Europe with a goodwill gesture, the planned
announcement that the United States will buy and donate 500
million Pfizer Inc/BioNTech (PFE.N), (22UAy.DE) coronavirus
vaccine doses to about 100 countries over the next two years,
three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Biden is expected to announce the deal on Thursday. The
United States has faced criticism over securing access to much of
the initial stockpile of the most promising vaccines.
G7 SUMMIT, MEETING WITH JOHNSON
Biden will make his first stop of the trip at the seaside village of
St. Ives in Cornwall where he will participate in the G7 summit.
The meeting is expected to be dominated by vaccine diplomacy,
trade, climate and an initiative for rebuilding infrastructure in
the developing world. U.S. officials see that effort as a way to
counter China’s growing influence.
His push for a global minimum tax on multinational
corporations faces opposition at home. G7 finance ministers
agreed before the summit to pursue a global minimum tax rate
of at least 15% and to allow market countries to tax up to 20%
of the excess profits – above a 10% margin – generated by about
100 large, high-profit companies.
Republicans came out against the plan this week, potentially
complicating the U.S. ability to implement a broader global
agreement.
NEWS in BRIEF
Japan minister says aims to raise security
ties with Australia to new levels
Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on
Wednesday he aimed to hold talks with Australia’s
foreign and defence ministers on strengthening bilateral
cooperation to raise the two countries’ security ties to new
levels. Motegi made the comment at the start of a meeting, via
video conferencing, between foreign and defence ministers
from Japan and Australia.
Pandemic propels Auckland to top of EIU’s
most liveable cities ranking
COVID-19 has shaken up the Economist Intelligence
Unit’s annual ranking of most liveable cities, propelling
Auckland to first place, replacing Vienna, which crashed out
of the top 10 as the island nations of New Zealand, Australia
and Japan fared best. The Austrian capital had led the list
since 2018 and for years ran neck and neck with Melbourne
at the top of the survey of 140 urban centres. New Zealand’s
elimination of COVID-19 within its borders through
lockdown measures helped by its geographic isolation,
however, gave its cities a big boost.
“New Zealand’s tough lockdown allowed their society
to reopen and enabled citizens of cities like Auckland and
Wellington to enjoy a lifestyle that looked similar to prepandemic
life,” the EIU said in a statement.
The EIU generally does not make the full ranking public.
The last time Auckland was in the top 10 was in 2017, when
it came eighth, a position Melbourne shared with Geneva this
year. Vienna fell to 12th.
Australia’s Melbourne looks set to lift
COVID-19 lockdown after low cases
Australia’s Victoria state reported its lowest rise in new
locally acquired COVID-19 cases in more than two
weeks as authorities look set to lift a hard lockdown in the
state capital Melbourne, as planned on Thursday night.
Victorian officials said plans to ease curbs in Melbourne
remained “on track” barring any spike in cases after daily
infections remained in single digits on most days and were
linked to existing virus clusters.
US has bought and will donate 500 million
doses of Pfizer's vaccine worldwide
The US has purchased and
will donate 500 million
doses of Pfizer's Covid-19
vaccine worldwide as it seeks
to be a key player in getting
other nations vaccinated, a
person familiar with the move told the media.
President Joe Biden will announce the news at the G7
summit in Cornwall, England, this week, the person said.
Around 200 million doses will go out in 2021 and 300
million will be distributed in the first half of 2022. Biden's
top Covid adviser, Jeff Zients, has been working on the deal
for the last month, a person familiar said. All doses will go
through COVAX, the international vaccine initiative, and
will go to 92 low- and lower-income countries, in addition
to the African Union.
Scientists confirm discovery of Australia's
largest dinosaur, two stories tall and a
basketball court long
A new
species
of dinosaur discovered in
Australia has been confirmed
as the largest ever found in
the country, and one of the
biggest in the world.
The fossilized skeleton,
nicknamed "Cooper," was found in southwest Queensland
in 2007, at Cooper Creek in the Eromanga Basin. But the
skeleton remained a mystery for years, and has only now
been scientifically described and named by paleontologists.
Researchers at the Eromanga Natural History Museum
(ENHM) and the Queensland Museum published their
findings in the PeerJ scientific journal on Monday.
"Cooper," whose scientific name is Australotitan
cooperensis, is estimated to have walked the Earth over 90
million years ago. It was a titanosaur -- a plant-eating species
belonging to the family of long-necked sauropods, the largest
of the dinosaur species. The dinosaur is estimated to have
reached a height of 5 to 6.5 meters (16.4 to 21.3 feet) at
the hip, and a length of 25 to 30 meters (82 to 98.4 feet)
-- making it as long as a basketball court and as tall as a twostory
building, the ENHM said.

16 ENTERTAINMENT
Friday, June 11, 2021 The Indian Weekender
AJAY DEVGN: Not sufficient
to play Bhagat Singhji once
in your lifetime
Bollywood star Ajay Devgn posted an
Instagram note to celebrate the release of
his film "The Legend Of Bhagat Singh" 19
years ago. The film hit theatres on June 7, 2002.
"It is not sufficient to play a revolutionary like
Bhagat Singhji, once in your lifetime & career.
You need to keep him there constantly... After
all, these are those who wrote history with their
(blood). #19YearsOfTheLegendOfBhagatSingh
#RajkumarSantoshi," wrote Ajay, with a
photograph that shows him dressed as Shaheed
Bhagat Singh.
Ajay won a National Award as Best Actor for
his starring role, while the Rajkumar Santoshi
directorial also bagged a National Award as Best
Feature Film in Hindi.
The historical drama also featured Sushant
Singh as Sukhdev, D. Santosh as Rajguru and
Akhilendra Mishra as Chandrashekhar Azad,
besides Raj Babbar and Amrita Rao.
Ajay's upcoming projects are "Maidaan", "Bhuj:
The Pride of India", "RRR" and his directorial film
"Mayday", and he also appears in "Sooryavanshi"
and "Gangubai Kathiawadi".
Actor Tusshar Kapoor claims the
audience maintains a double
standard for star kids and outsiders.
The actor, who is the son of veteran actor
Jeetendra, says he has learnt from his father's
mistakes.
"Coming from the film industry, you get
the first film much easily. There have been
some pluses. Being the son of an actor I
have learnt from his mistakes and success
and failures. But I also believe that industry
kids are probably judged from different
barometers than others from the outside, and
no matter what we do the glass will always
be half empty.
"For those who are from outside, the glass
is always half full irrespective of how many
mistakes they make. It's unfair in that sense.
But eventually, it balances out," he said.
However, he feels that the audience has
always given him his due.
"I have got my due where the audiences
are concerned, with their love. They have
recognised my hard work and given my due
with their love. That is why I want to be part
of the industry," he says.
The actor adds that he has learnt to deal
with disappointments along the way.
"There were some disappointments
besides the success. Initially, I used to feel
a bit dull. But over a period of time, I have
learnt to take everything that this industry
throws at me in my stride. That is called
growing up. I do believe that I have grown up
here and I am able to cope with success and
failures much better now. I used to feel a bit
disappointed but I didn't get bogged down.
I stood up and moved on like a warrior," he
declares.
Cinema of Satyajit Ray in the time of pandemic
When "Ray", a four-story anthology based on stories
by late Satyajit Ray, drops on OTT later this month,
it will be an interesting attempt by a set of newage
artistes and filmmakers at exploring the thought process
of an auteur who passed away nearly three decades ago, but
who continues to topline any discussion on world cinema if it
involves India.
For the record, the anthology has two films directed by
Srijit Mukherji, and one each by Abhishek Chaubey and Vasan
Bala. These are filmmakers who've garnered enough plaudits
for displaying finer aesthetics in their works. Still, it could be
a challenge bringing to life the writings of Ray -- legions of
admirers would settle for nothing less than flawless, and that's
something even the maestro's son, the undeniably gifted Sandeep
Ray, would vouch for from experience.
Yet, at one level, the essence of Ray doesn't seem like something
that is detached from contemporary realities. His cinema actually
highlights many 'isms' that occupy the mindspace of the world
today, long before it became socially fashionable to discuss these
topics. Many conversations that have opened up now have found
resonance in Ray's cinema, directly or indirectly.
We look at a few raging points of discussions in the world
today, and how the cinema of Satyajit Ray touched upon these
ideas in his era.
THE PANDEMIC
Ray couldn't have possibly foreseen what the world is going
through currently, as there was no virus outbreak of the proportion
of Covid between 1955 and 1992, the time span when he made
29 feature films, five documentaries, and two short films.
Yet, two films resonate the idea, in different ways. His 1973
film "Ashani Sanket" is a fiction based on the Bengal Famine
of 1943, when an estimated two to three million died of disease
and starvation, even as World War II raged on in the West. While
the film's premise is war-induced famine in British India, the
horrors it portrays are not far from newspaper images and news
TV vignettes that have dominated over the past year.
The second film is "Ganashatru", his 1990 release adapted
from Henrik Ibsen's 1882 play "An Enemy of the People".
Ray's Indianised plot is set in a small town, where the major
draw is a temple that attracts local devotees and tourists alike.
A doctor discovers that the rise in jaundice cases in the town
could be linked to the contaminated water being distributed as
the 'charanamrita' (holy water) that devotees consume.
The film links the perils of blind faith with mass spread of
disease, even as temple and civic authorities prefer to stay quiet
because acknowledging the peril could dent the image -- hence,
commercial prospects -- of tourist attraction. The attention is
deftly diverted, the doctor is blamed, and the frenzy continues.
One finds a likeness in the Covid era. Many incidents of religious
and mass hysteria were allowed to go on for commercial gains, at
the cost of the pandemic situation worsening.
FASCISM
At a time when many nations are run by right wing
governments, and the shadow of dictatorship keeps rearing its
ugly head, Ray's 1980 film "Hirak Rajar Deshe" could make for
an interesting watch. Billed primarily as a family entertainer, the
sequel to the 1969 release "Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne" actually
unfolds a layered narrative about a fictional dystopian world.
This is a world where fascism – portrayed by a mighty king
-- uses science (symbolised by a scientist who invents a machine
that can brainwash people) to bring the masses under his control.
Everyone speaks in rhyme, symbolising that thought process is
curbed to sound nice and politically correct, except the teacher,
who represents education that sets off free will and, hence, free
speech. Goopy the singer and Bagha the drummer represent the
power of art, which ultimately joins forces with science and
Tusshar Kapoor: Industry kids are judged
with different barometers than outsiders
Adil Hussain: No person in their right mind would use the Covid situation for any advantage, it’s inhuman
Actor Adil Hussain talks about the
hoarding of medicines and essentials
by some people in the current crisis.
Black marketing and hoarding of essentials
and medicines during the second wave of the
Covid pandemic has been highlighted and
condemned by many.
Social media, apart from SOS requests,
was also full of people claiming they were
defrauded on various grounds.
Actor Adil Hussain, who has been using
his social media accounts to amplify request
by people in “genuine need”, upon reading
all this, was pretty upset. “If all that was true,
it’s very inhuman. This is not to be done. No
person in their right mind would ever do this,
for any advantage, greed of money,” he says,
posing a pertinent question.
“Haven’t we learnt our lessons yet?” he asks,
and adds, “I think this second wave hopefully
will make more people learn and understand,
which they haven’t yet from the previous one.”
However, Hussain, 57, would like to believe
that it’s just a handful of people who act
this way.
“Not just for people who are hoarding
things, each and every individual has to learn.
We have fingers to be pointed at things we have
within, we have to point them at ourselves
first,” he insists.
education to bring down fascism.
WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT
Every female protagonist that Ray portrayed in his stories was
a celebration of empowerment, long before cinema seriously
trained its lens on the trait. We could look at three prominent
examples. The first would be Karuna Banerjee as Apu's mother
Sarbojaya in "Pather Panchali" (1955) and its sequel "Aparajito"
(1956). She holds her family together against every storm, and
is a classic template of the quintessential mother who cares and
protects.
Sarbojaya strikes a contrast to Ray's most unforgettable female
protagonist -- Madhabi Mukherji as the titular "Charulata" in the
filmmaker's 1964 gem of the same name.
Based on a Rabindranath Tagore story titled "Nashtanir",
"Charulata" highlights a traditional housewife of a conservative,
upper-class Bengali household in pre-Independent India, whose
desire to break free the shackles of her mind and existence is
triggered when the young, handsome cousin of her husband comes
visiting. The film was ahead of its time, and the poignancy with
which Ray sketched Charulata on screen remains unparalleled.
Madhabi Mukherjee also stars as the remarkable Arati in
Ray's 1963 film "Mahanagar". Widely acknowledged as a
celebration of feminism, the film narrates the story of a middleclass
Kolkata couple. Arati takes up a job and her husband
agrees, mainly because they could do with the money to meet
burgeoning expenses.
Things get complicated when he loses his job. The film was
outstanding in its understanding of a woman's sense of freedom
as an entity that's equivalent to that of a man's, at a time when
the idea of women going out to earn was not wholly permissible
in society.
You could write books about the women in Ray's cinema and
empowerment, each female character would merit her chapters.
Random recall would highlight Sharmila Tagore as Dayamoyee
in "Devi" (1960) or Tutul in "Seemabaddha" (1971), as well as
Swatilekha Chatterjee as Bimala in "Ghare Baire" (1984), among
others. The truth is that the work of a genius will always echo in
every coming generation, which is why such efforts stand the
test of time. It is a reason Ray's cinema quite simply relates to
the cerebral audience even today. It is also something that made
Japanese legend Akira Kurosawa famously say: "Not to have
seen the cinema of Satyajit Ray means existing in the world
without seeing the sun or the moon."

The Indian Weekender Friday, June 11, 2021
FEATURES 17
SWEET CARROT RICE
INGREDIENTS:
• 1cup - rice
• 3tbsp - clarified butter
• 400gm grated carrot
• 1tbsp - raisins
• 1tbsp - dry coconut flakes
• 1/3cup - caster sugar (you can also add 1 cup)
• 1tsp - green cardamom powder
• Sliced almond for garnishing
METHOD:
• Rinse rice for 2-3 times until the water runs
clear.
• Soak the rise in enough water for 20 minutes.
• Heat 3 cups of water in a heavy base sauce pan
over medium flame, then add 1 tablespoon of
clarified butter and mix.
• Add drained rice to the water and let cook until
the rise is half done then drain them and set
aside for later use.
• In a heavy base sauce pan heat 1 tablespoon of
butter over low flame.
• Add raisins and coconut flakes and sauté for
1-2 minutes or until they change their colour,
then transfer them onto a plate. Set aside for
later use.
• In the same sauce pan heat another 1 tablespoon
of clarified butter over medium flame.
• Add grated carrots and sauté until extra water
evaporates and they are slightly soft.
• Add half cooked rise to the carrots, followed by
sugar and mix well with a spatula.
• Add raisins, coconut and green cardamom
powder and mix well again.
• Cover the sauce pan and cook over low flame
for 4-5 minutes, then remove the lid and check
if their is any water at the base.
• If their is water then increase the flame to
medium and cook the rice without the cover
until the water evaporates and the rice are dry
and fluffy.
• Garnish with sliced almonds or any nuts of
your choice.
• Serve warm. Serves - 2-3
Sweet Rice Dessert
Sweet Rice Desserts
Sweeting endings are a must for all Indian meals. Here is an array of easy rice based
sweet dishes to end your meals. This will be a sure hit amongst all, young and old as
with the different garnishing they will look amazing on any dinner table.
GUR WALE CHAWAL
INGREDIENTS:
• 1cup - rice (preferably long and thick)
• 3/4cup - jaggery (cut into pieces)
• 21/2cups - warm water
• 2tbsp - almond flakes
• 2tbsp - cashews, chopped
• 2tbsp - dry coconut flakes
• 1tsp - green cardamom powder
• 3tbsp - clarified butter (ghee)
• Few almond flakes and desiccated
coconut for garnishing
METHOD:
• Rinse rice for 2-3 times until the water
runs clear.
• Transfer rice into a large bowl and add
enough water to cover the rice.
• Cover and set aside for 15-20 minutes for
the rice to soak.
• Add jaggery to a large bowl followed by
warm water, mix, cover and set aside for
the jaggery to melt.
• Heat clarified butter in a large heavy base
non-stick saucepan over medium flame.
• Lower the flame and then add almond
flakes, cashews and coconut flakes, sauté
for a minute or until they are light brown
in colour.
• Sieve jaggery into the saucepan (it is
good to sieve; if their is any small debris
in the jaggery it will be discarded and
also make sure to leave 1-2 tablespoons
of jaggery liquid at bottom to discard
impurities if their are any).
• Add cardamom powder.
• Add rice (discard water), mix slightly.
• Cover and let cook for 8-10 minutes
or until the rice are done (do not forget
to check in between by lifting the rice
slightly from one side as jaggery can get
burnt easily. Lower the flame if you see
any sign of it).
• Garnish with almond flakes and
desiccated coconut.
• Serve as a dessert or with the afternoon
tea.
• TIP: Preferably use non - stick pan for
this recipe.
• Always soak the rise for good result.
• Clarified butter make this recipe much
better then oil.
• You can use shakkar instead of gur.
Serves - 4
INGREDIENTS:
• 2cups - rice
• 1tbsp - clarified butter
• 1tbsp - almonds, chopped
• 1tbsp - cashews, chopped
• 2tbsp - pistachios, chopped
• 1tbsp - raisins
• 2tbsp - clarified butter
• 6 - green cardamom pods
• 3-4 - cloves
• 4cups - water
• 1tsp - yellow food colour
• 1/2tsp - saffron
• 11/2cups - sugar (caster sugar)
Almond flakes for garnishing
METHOD:
• Wash the rice for 2-3 times till the water runs clear and then
drain them.
• Soak the rice in a medium size bowl with enough water that
can cover the rice and set aside for 30 minutes.
• In a large heavy base sauce pan heat 1 tablespoon of clarified
butter over medium flame.
• Then lower the flame and add the chopped nuts, coconut and
raisins, sauté till they are slightly brown in colour.
• Transfer the everything into a plate and set aside for latter use.
• In the same sauce heat 2 tablespoons of clarified butter over
medium flame.
• Add cardamom pods and cloves and sauté for a minute or until
aromatic.
• Slowly add water, followed by yellow food colour and saffron,
mix well (make sure the colour is mixed well).
• Add the rice (drained) and slightly stir it.
• Cover and let cook for 6-8 minutes (half done).
• Remove the lid and add all the nuts, raisins and sugar;
carefully stir the rice to mix in everything, preferably with the
help of slotted spoon (be careful not to break the rice by over
mixing it).
• Cover and cook the rice for another few more minutes until
done.
• Remove the lid and check the rice; if the rice is cooked and
their is water at the base then let it cook over medium flame
without the lid, till the rice is dry and fluffy.
• Remove the pan from the flame and leave it to rest in its own
steam for 6-8 minutes
• Garnish with almond flakes.
• Serve as a dessert. Serves - 6
TIP: Always roast nuts and raisins on a low flame to prevent
them form burning.
To make sweet chawal leftover rise can also be used. You can
add any nuts that you like and can also add pumpkin or melon
seeds.
CASTOR OIL DIY REMEDIES: Unlock the magical secret to healthy, nourished and damage free hair
From curbing hair fall to bidding a welldeserved
goodbye to hair damage, let
castor oil play a natural and safe bet for
your hair.
Healthy hair needn’t be a dream alone
when you know it is attainable with timetested
ingredients and products. Hair that
belongs to the dry club needs a hefty soak
of nourishment and this doesn’t apply to the
hair alone disregarding your scalp. All that
you use to power up your hair depends on the
attention you give to your scalp as well. When
you promise to care for your scalp, you know
you’re nixing hair ailments like hair loss, and
dandruff. Here’s one such oil though slimy,
that will provide you fail-safe ailments when
used religiously.
Often I receive compliments for my thick
eyebrows with a question that follows, “Have
you used castor oil to grow your eyebrows?”
Although the answer isn’t a yes, castor oil is
coveted for ages as a natural game-changer
that can improve the health of your hair.
This oil is extracted from the seeds (castor
seeds) of the Ricinus communis plant that is
a powerhouse of antioxidants, vitamins, and
ricinoleic acid - a vital source of fatty acid that
helps amp up nourishment. Consider this oil
your RSVP to healthy locks that help enhance
hair growth, fight hair damage, tame frizz and
prevent dryness. Always dilute the oil before
usage with carrier oils and try a patch test.
For dandruff
1. Blend castor oil, 2 tbsp aloe vera gel, and 2
drops of tea tree essential oil.
2. Apply this mixture onto your scalp and
massage for 5 minutes.
3. Leave it on for 1 hour and shampoo well.
For hair growth
1. Take 2 tbsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp castor oil,
and 1 tbsp onion juice.
2. Apply the elixir onto your scalp.
3. Wash it after 1 hour with a gentle shampoo.
For nourishment
1. Scoop out 1 avocado and mash it, 1 tsp
castor oil, and 1 tbsp aloe vera gel.
2. Combine all the ingredients to make a
hydrating hair mask.
3. Keep it on for 1 hour and cleanse it with a
gentle shampoo.

18
TIME OUT
Friday, June 11, 2020 The Indian Weekender
CROSSWORD FreeDailyCrosswords.com
NO: 72
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: 72
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: 72
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: 72
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
11 June to 17 June 2021 | By Manisha Koushik
ARIES (MAR 21-APR 20)
You may be made to slog at work, but you will
turn it into a learning experience. In certain
aspects this week will turn out to be a fine
one. You succeed in making good progress in
whatever you take up in this week. Problems
at work will be easily solved, without wasting
much time. An ugly situation between someone
on the social front will be diplomatically tackled by you. It is best
to conserve money, as of now. Lucky No.:11 / Lucky Colour:
Orange
TAURUS (APR 21-MAY 20)
You may find love where you least expect it, so
rejoice! A good week faces you at work, as work
progresses smoothly. The glow in your heart of
doing a good deed for someone will remain for
long. You can get serious about a proposal on the
marital front. Those who have gone overboard in
splurging will find this little indulgence worth it.
An investment opportunity is best seized, as it appears to be good.
Lucky No.: 8 / Lucky Colour: Lavender
GEMINI (MAY 21-JUN 21)
Achieving something that you considered
impossible will help restore your self-esteem.
You will prove your mettle on the professional
front. Tackling a complex problem at work will
be like cakewalk. Freelancers are likely to find
a well paying assignment soon. A gift is likely to
be received from a secret admirer. Family gettogether
will give you a chance to mingle with cousins and other
relatives. An old ailment may cause problems, if you are not careful.
Lucky No.:18 / Lucky Colour: Rose
CANCER (JUN 22-JUL 20)
An opportunity awaits some on the academic
front. You only need to wait and your chance of
achieving something big will come. Understand
the monetary terms and conditions before signing
an agreement. Paperwork can bog some down
at work. A changed programme can prevent you
from meeting lover. Domestic work is likely to be
shared by the family members. You manage to remain in shape by
eating wisely. Nostalgic memories of years gone by will keep some
pleasantly engaged. Lucky No.:5 / Lucky Colour: Sea Green
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)
Someone at work may keep a close tab on your
official expenses. You can get hurt by someone
not understanding your point of view. Poor
performance in academics will compel some to
tighten their belts. Unprofessional handling of an
issue at work can get you in all sorts of trouble.
Homemakers may find the daily grind boring and
may long for change. Romance may not be on lover’s mind at this
juncture. You gel well with a new acquaintance. Lucky No.: 6 /
Lucky Colour: White
VIRGO (AUG 23-SEP 23)
You may need to make up your mind on something
and then proceed, rather than blundering ahead. A
nice vacation can find you in a highly excited state.
Your work profile is likely to get you bracketed
amongst top achievers. Unconditional love can be
showered upon you by family. Romance for some
may just be a phone call away! Good monetary situation will help
you buy what you had always desired. Your dynamism at work will
be infectious. Lucky No.:17 / Lucky Colour: Light Grey
LIBRA (SEP 24-OCT 23)
You may have to give someone his or her due,
even if you are not feeling up to it. Overstaying
your welcome at someone’s place is best avoided.
There is much happening on the professional
front, but you are likely to miss out on them
due to unconnected trivial pursuits. You can
be hauled up for spending beyond your means.
Those separated may yearn to join the family. Timely advice of
an elder is likely to save your relationship. Lucky No.:9 / Lucky
Colour: Brown
SCORPIO (OCT 24-NOV 22)
Your buddies will support you only to a limit,
so don’t burden them unnecessarily. Don’t get
involved in anything that you may regret later.
An extended vacation may start appearing a trifle
boring. Distractions can make you lose focus on
the academic front. A workplace senior expects
more from you, so deliver. There are chances of
getting disheartened on the love front. Bad health is to be guarded
against. Someone may seem rather too inquisitive in your personal
affairs. Lucky No.: 6 Lucky Colour: Rose
SAGITTARIUS (NOV 23-DEC 21)
You are likely to remain in a highly excited state,
as things move favourably. This is the time to
consolidate your position on the professional
front. Your generosity towards someone will be
fully reciprocated. An enjoyable time is foreseen
in the company of your near and dear ones. Those
wanting to see new places are likely to welcome a break. Bedroom
eyes of partner will be cue enough to take your romance to the next
level! Lucky No.:1 / Lucky Colour: Magenta
CAPRICORN (DEC 22-JAN 21)
You will need to take the initiative at your end,
if you want to get things moving. Neglect can
cause you to become unwell. Colleagues at work
may approach you to resolve their professional
problems. Family is likely to go out of its way
to ensure your comfort. Your independent ways
can put a strain on romantic relationship. You
are likely to share some extra burden in an outing with friends.
Start saving for renovating an old house. Lucky No.: 18 / Lucky
Colour: Green
AQUARIUS (JAN 22-FEB 19)
This week may prove challenging, as you may
be forced into untested waters. You are likely
to get fed up of a current assignment and may
even be tempted to leave it half-way. Saving
money can be on the top of your list at present.
Expected arrears are likely to take their own
sweet time to materialise. Arranging the house
for a party may keep some happily engaged.
Some good news can be expected on the property front. Lucky No.:
7 / Lucky Colour: White
PISCES (FEB 20-MAR 20)
You are likely to play a perfect host to someone
who has travelled a long distance to meet you.
Discuss matters, if you feel pressurised to do
something that you think is not right. A function
or a show can bring you into the limelight, only
if you get rid of your shy nature and get into
the groove of things. You manage to impress
someone from the opposite camp to kick start a budding romance.
Lucky No.:2 / Lucky Colour: Peach

The Indian Weekender Friday, June 11, 2021
FEATURES 19
The importance of
breathing in YOGA
RUBY DHILLON
PRANAYAMA:
Breath awareness is called pranayama. In Sanskrit “prana”
means life energy and “yama” means control. It is the
ancient practice of controlling your breath.
In yoga, pranayama is used with other practices like physical
postures (asanas) and meditation (dhyana).
The goal of pranayama is to connect your body and mind.
One can practice as many yoga poses as they like but if the
deep breathing is not occurring, the practice will not benefit
the body.
Breathing is what causes the movement of energy and helps
the body to relax. Daily stress, tension and physical habit can
create physical and energetic obstacles in our body and without
even noticing, our breathing gradually becomes more shallow
or stilted. Unconsciously, breathing patterns restrict the flow of
breath and energy.
As this practice helps to control the breathing, it has the
effect of energising and relaxing, making everything fall into
place. It is meant to provide healing physiological benefits.
Breathing awareness can eliminate joint compression and other
imbalances from one’s postures and attitude. With practice our
breathing is improved, our bodies function better and our mind
is calm and clear.
Breathing deeply in yoga also helps in avoiding injuries and
supplies our body with oxygen while removing toxins.
To experience the real benefits of pranayama you need to
develop a regular practice and with 20-30 minutes a day you
will feel more alive, alert and balanced!
DO THESE 3 PRANAYAMA’S IN THE MORNING
PRACTICE THEM ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.
5. Take 20 such breaths (later you can increase it to 50 -60
breaths of 3 rounds) to complete one round of kapalbhati
pranayama.
6. Do 2 more rounds of kapalbhati pranayama.
7. After completing the rounds, relax with your eyes closed and
breath normally for 1-2 minutes.
WHEN YOU ARE DOING KAPALBHATI PRANAYAMA
KEEP YOUR AWARENESS ON THE EXHALE.
BENEFITS OF KAPALBHATI PRANAYAMA:
Kapalbhati helps in increase metabolism and aids in weight
loss.
Extremely useful to those with diabetes.
Improves blood circulation and digestion.
Energises the nervous system; calms and uplifts the mind.
DO NOT DO IF:
You are pregnant, have an artificial pacemaker or stent,
epilepsy, hernia, backache due to slip disc, or have recently
undergone abdominal surgery.
your thighs, breathing normally.
6. Do 2 more rounds, with a total 3 rounds of bhastrika.
7. if you start to feel dizzy then increase the duration of the
breaks.
BENEFITS OF BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA
Bhastrika pranayama helps with sinus, bronchitis and other
respiratory issues.
It helps in energising the body and mind, removes toxins and
impurities.
Helps in cleaning the breathing pathways.
DO NOT DO IF:
You’re pregnant or suffer from panic disorders.
KAPALBHATI KRIYA
It is also known as ‘skull shining breath’; ‘kapala’ means
skull and ‘bhati’ means light.
The emphasis of this pranayama is on the exhalation, through
strong, fast abdominal contractions.
1. Sit comfortably with your spine straight in a cross-legged
position ( sukhasana ) with your chest out and shoulders
relaxed. For a minute stay calm and get connected to
yourself, feeling the natural flow of your breath.
2. Place both your hands in the gyan mudra (with both your
hands on the knees with your thumb and index finger gently
touching at the tips).
3. Take a deep breath in ( inhale and expand your stomach ).
4. Forcefully exhale by pulling your stomach in, pulling your
navel in back towards the spine ( at this point the inhale
follows naturally after the strong exhale ).
BHASTRIKA PRANAYAMA
This is a chest breathing pranayama, where one inhales and
exhales equally.
1. Sit comfortable in a sukhasana ( cross-legged position ).
2. Make a fist of both your hands with your thumb inside, fold
your arms, place them near your shoulders.
3. Inhale deeply while raising your hands straight up and open
your fists ( your hand opened with your fingers stretched ).
4. Exhale slightly forcefully, bring your arms down next to
your shoulders and close your fists.
5. Continue for 20 breaths and then relax with your palms on
ANULOM VILOM
Its also known as NADI SHODHAN PRANAYAMA
1. Sit comfortable in a sukhasana ( cross-legged position ).
2. Place your left hand on the left knee facing upwards, with
your thumb and index finger gently touching at the tips (
gyan mudra ).
3. Fold index finger and middle finger of your right hand; place
your ring finger and little finger on the left nostril, and the
thumb on the right nostril. We will use the ring finger and
little finger to open or close the left nostril and thumb for the
right nostril.
4. Press your thumb down on the right nostril and breathe in
gently through the left nostril and then press the left nostril
gently with the ring finger and little finger removing the
right thumb from the right nostril, breathe out from the right;
breathe in from the right nostril and exhale from the left. You
have now completed one round of Nadi Shodhan pranayama.
5. Continue inhaling and exhaling from alternate nostrils.
6. After every exhalation, remember to breathe in from the
same nostril from which you exhaled. Keep your eyes closed
throughout and continue taking long, deep, smooth breaths
without any force or effort.
7. Do at least for 8-10 minutes ( slowly increase it ).
BENEFITS OF ANULOM VILOM:
Helps with migraine and headaches.
It’s an excellent breathing technique for relaxation and it
maintains body temperature.
It releases accumulated stress in the mind and body.