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Driverless cars are coming

By
LP Ayer
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0
Reading Time: 3 minutes

…But they may drive us mad!

Driverless cars.Indian Link
In the past few years, every time the ‘Most liveable city in the world’ survey comes out, marvellous Melbourne pips affable Adelaide at the post. But it may not be for long. Next time Adelaide will zoom past its eastern rival by a country mile. What driving force will crank up this southern laggard to leap frog?  Driverless cars! Yes, automobiles that will soon become actually automatic. And it is Adelaide that has been chosen in the entire southern hemisphere to trial driverless cars this November.
Why Adelaide of all places? It was the only city with a one-way expressway connecting its southern suburbs to the city.  An earlier cost-conscious government hit upon the idea of an expressway where traffic would flow in one direction towards the city in the morning and the opposite direction in the evening to cope at peak-hours. You may think it is the best way to drive the tax dollar further. But not the Adelaideans. They let out a stream of crappy jokes in cruise control mode. Shock jocks jumped on the bandwagon to mock the ‘one direction’ road show. Taking out more loans to add more lanes, the current rulers have made it a dual carriageway giving it the right to push auto technology to a higher gear, trialling driverless Volvos.

The moment this plan was announced, it opened the doors for talk-back radio titans to have a tilt at the state of affairs saying “Driverless cars are a perfect fit for a government without direction”. The dawn of driverless cars can bring a number of benefits and, on the flip side, an equal number of unintended consequences.

Firstly, no more road rages, side-swipes or rear-end collisions. No need to fork out for drivers’ licences. An enormous saving of time for everyone – on the way to work, keyboard warriors can tap on their tablets, women can put on their make-up, blokes can trim their beards and tradies can tweet their mates – with no worries about being pinged by police. The hospitality industry will hit the jackpot with pubs pulling in lot more customers to booze up without fear of copping drink driving fines. Cops will be confounded as to who to issue a notice – man or machine? And no more carping comments on my driving from the back-seat driver. The benefits are boundless.
Driverless cars.Indian Link
Don’t let your imagination go on a joy ride, though. If accidents are totally eliminated, the first industry to crash will be the crash repair industry. But motor mechanics, take heart. Even during the limited trials in California some accidents have happened. It will become a battle of blame shifting between insurance companies when two driverless cars collide. Lawyers’ picnics loom large. With disappearing driving licence fees and dwindling traffic fines, the State treasury may run dry.
They may work wonders world-wide, but one country where driverless cars won’t be a sound success is India where only non-stop honking gets your car inches ahead. No driver, no honking, no move forward. Besides, those cars can’t read the sign “Please sound horn,” on the back of every truck. The worst challenge for those computer-controlled cars is not bugs, but bovine bollards. How can they comprehend the unmo(o)ving cows on Indian roads?  If they can’t tackle animals standing still, what chances do these cars have of not hitting hopping kangaroos on Australia’s outback roads?
The driverless concept will have dire consequences for the new Indian migrants who, for want of opportunities, take up taxi driving until they land a job in their professional area. Another door slammed shut.
Honda hopes to have driverless cars on the road by around 2030, but Volvo visualises it sooner. So I need to start planning what brand to buy for Diwali then. A Volvo?  No chance for anyone to sneer at.
With all the software giants racing ahead with their models, I am inclined towards a Google ‘gadi’ since its search engine is considered the best.  Will I have a soft corner for Microsoft if it makes one? Umm… It may have too many Windows and require frequent updating.  An Apple auto seems apt, as an Apple a day may keep an accident away. And when it gets very old, no one can call it a lemon.
Regardless of whatever brand I select, there will be one nagging worry. As these vehicles will be run by computers, sudden crashes cannot be ruled out. In an emergency, if I need to shut down the engine, do I have to start as with computers? Can’t imagine the consequences. The mind boggles. Driverless they may be, but they are sure to drive us mad.
 

Unlocking the secrets of happiness

By
Grahak Cunningham
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0
Reading Time: 3 minutes

According to Kailash Beyer, humour and humility, meditation and fitness could be the key to a stress-free life

Kailash Beyer.Indian Link
A resurgent and deepening interest in all aspects of health – mental, physical, spiritual – is currently evident across the globe and clearly seen in the widening, mainstream popularity of hatha yoga, mindfulness meditation, the benefits of vegetarian nutrition, fitness regimes and corporate health programs. A response to the worldwide problems of stressful urban lifestyles and a pandemic of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancer and heart disease, health education and wellbeing are now among an incoming tide of awareness in the challenge to seriously confront these issues.
Swiss psychologist Kailash Beyer has been challenging these issues for a long time. Beyer is a very popular and sought after meditation teacher who studied under the late Indian master Sri Chinmoy. He is visiting Australia and New Zealand in November and will come to Perth for two free seminars.  I once attended one of his seminars overseas and came away feeling really inspired about my personal wellbeing and the world in general, perhaps because Beyer has had such an interesting life.
Kailash Beyer.Indian Link
Beyer has been a monk for the past 40 years – he runs marathons, climbs mountains and has been very successful in his business ventures. Kailash Beyer was thinking about healthy diets and lifestyle in the early 1980s when it wasn’t really a social topic. He pioneered the world-famous lemon tree syrup diet long before it was trendy to detox. I’ve tried it. You spend a week or so just consuming the syrup with a combination of lemon and cayenne. After giving up my sweet tooth and junk filled diet for seven days I must admit I felt great.
So did many others and today the product is very successful. Beyer was able to expand under the Madal Bal brand and now employs thousands of people, mainly in the health and service industries. Beyer has opened cafes, health food stores, vegetarian restaurants and gift shops across Europe. Yet, underlying his busy commitments, through meditation he has consciously cultivated the qualities that have built a happy and fulfilling life, full of fitness and balance. His latest activities have included ultra-triathlons and leading a touring a cappella musical group which has performed thousands of songs throughout dozens of countries including Iceland, Scotland, New Zealand and America.
Kailash Beyer.Indian Link
“Kailash is a very knowledgeable and authoritative speaker and immensely popular in Europe,” says Australasian organiser Dr Toshala Elliott. “He combines humour and humility, deep insights into the secrets of happiness and meditation, and spent many years in the company of one of India’s greatest luminaries. This is a rare opportunity for anyone interested in advancing further along the road of self-discovery and in leading a happier life. We are hugely fortunate to have such an inspirational and sought after speaker coming this way, and to freely share his insights with us.”
‘The Secrets of Happiness’ seminars will share Kailash Beyer’s knowledge of meditation and other lifestyle positives with anyone keen to explore a spiritually and more balanced life. It should be a very memorable evening.
The free seminars will be in the Boulevard Centre at Floreat Forum on 23 and 24 November at 7.30pm. Organisers require registration on 9242 7304 and encourage those interested to attend both evenings to gain the most benefit.

How to do a Diwali party

By
Pawan Luthra
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0
Reading Time: 5 minutes

Join us as we go party hopping this festive season

CommBank Diwali.Indian Link
Sydney has been awash with Diwali parties since late October. Diwali may have passed, but even as we go to print, there are events still on for the rest of the month. While many private Diwali get-togethers are for family and friends, others are grand affairs with glitz and glamour to celebrate the festivity of the season.
The NSW Government weighed in with its Diwali celebrations at the Parliament House and then its blessings for the lighting of the Opera House with the colours of Diwali. Premier Mike Baird was on script with his knowledge of all things linked to Diwali. Even the newly appointed Minister for Multiculturalism John Ajaka learned quite well the difference between the terms ‘Diwali’ and ‘Deepavali’.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge decided to join the party with its own Diwali celebrations on the top of its summit. With the dancers harnessed to the Bridge railings, Diwali was ushered in about 134 metres above the Harbour.
Three of our big banks Westpac, NAB and Commonwealth Bank also showed their support for the Indian community with special Diwali functions for their clients.
 

Grace and elegance: Westpac Diwali

Diwali at Westpac has become an annual event and is held in the Parramatta area where the community is the fastest growing. This year again, creative as ever, Westpac took over the India Tourism Pavilion at Parramasala to bring their selected clients and well-wishers together for Diwali. With its low-cushioned seating, posters of India Tourism and the giant Taj Mahal replica in the centre, it indeed was a wonderful venue to usher in the Diwali season.
westpac Diwali.Indian Link
Speaking on the occasion, NSW State General Manager Westpac Retail, Jason Stephens spoke of the proud links that Westpac has with the Indian community in Australia.
“Our ties with India go back almost 200 years when in 1817, the Bank of NSW, now known as Westpac Bank was established by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. It is believed that he acquired his taste for banking during the time he spent in India before he become the Governor of the new colony in 1810.”
Ross Watts, Regional General Manager, Western Sydney also stressed the strong links with the community. “Westpac started working with the Indian community in 1997 in Liverpool and now we have over 65 branches serving the community,” he said. “We are proud of our multilingual bankers.”
He also spoke of how Westpac gives back to the community through their various sponsorships of Indian events.
With about 80 guests mingling with its senior management, the elegance and grace of the evening exemplified the spirit of Diwali as the bank promised to work harder and more closely with the Indian Australian community.
 

Diwali debut: NAB

For NAB this was the first-ever attempt to reach out to the Indian community and celebrate Diwali. The Saturday afternoon venue was Aki’s restaurant in Woolloomooloo. With over 100 guests and their families in attendance, it was an afternoon for the bankers to catch up with their clients, both existing and prospective. The expected Bollywood entertainment had a few passers-by stop and try a few steps themselves.
 

Sheer extravaganza: CBA Diwali

The grand affair this year was the Diwali party hosted by the Commonwealth Bank. For sheer extravaganza, this party was the place to be seen. The grand ballroom of one of Sydney’s premier hotels The Westin was filled with over 700 guests as the centre of Sydney came alive with the CBA Diwali function. With giant screens descending from the ceiling, the guests were treated to an evening of high energy Diwali celebrations.
CommBank Diwali.Indian Link
Annette Pinder, Executive Manager for Migrant Financial Services, told the attendees of the strong emphasis CBA places on the multicultural diversity of Australia and how, at the bank, there is a strong emphasis to take care of all customers from different backgrounds.
“The bank’s mosaic program of multicultural diversity recognises that a culturally diverse work force will result in improved services for our customers,” she told the gathering.
CommBank Diwali.Indian Link
Other than the formal part, with entertainment from the Shiamak Dawar group and state of the art catering by Manjit’s, it was a memorable evening of high energy fun. With the music pumping, the Westin Ballroom dance floor was alive with Bollywood music and revellers danced late into the night.
 

And a drumbeat for charity: Manjit’s Diwali Ball

Within the community, the Diwali Ball hosted by Manjit Gujral is the one that tops the list. Hosted at the Four Seasons Ballroom, guests are greeted with traditional gifts of necklaces for the women and silk handkerchiefs for the men as they enter. Giant ice carvings of the gods of the season adorn the entrance to the Ballroom.
Manjit's Diwali.Indian Link
This year, with over 200 guests in attendance, Manjit and his team were in their element as they had a team of entertainers from around the country to ensure a fun-filled night. MCs Preeti Thadani and Rashi Minocha coordinated the evening as they introduced the various acts of the evening. Hula hoop artist Angela Skinner showed off her amazing skills. The high-pulsating drum group Drum Beats Team Building activities transformed the evening as the audiences followed the lead rhythm beat for beat! With a drum for each participant, guests were led on an exhilarating rhythmic adventure. Within minutes energy levels were heightened as all discovered their rhythm. Before this, Ruchi Sanghi’s dancers enthralled with their graceful swirls and twirls.

The grand finale was the exhilarating performance from Soul Mystique, described as “the world’s slickest and most innovative magical dance transformation act”. This art of quick change costume transformation is a very specialised branch of magic that dates back as far as the 15th century. It is the art of changing costumes at lighting speed in front of an audience within seconds – leaving no trace of how, when, and where each set of clothes disappear each time. A mesmerising finale, it left many totally stunned.
Manjit's Diwali.Indian Link
And what would a function at Manjit’s be without the lavish food offerings. The menu prepared by son Varun, who has just launched the family’s latest venture, Manjit’s@The Wharf, at King St Wharf, was a wonderful presentation of fine Indian food. As is also tradition at Manjit’s Diwali, part of the evening is devoted to raising money for charity. Cara Care is a charity which provides innovative and unique group work programs for children who have been abused. With generous donations at the auctions and a large contribution from Manjit himself, the evening raised over $65,000 to help those caring for abused children.
A wonderful way to celebrate Diwali.
 

And another two MIMAs!

By
Rajni Anand Luthra
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0
Reading Time: 6 minutes

Indian Link brings home two more awards from the fourth annual Multicultural and Indigenous Media Awards (MIMA)

MIMA.Indian Link

Best Photograph: SACHIN WAKHARE
Indian Link’s contributing photographer Sachin Wakhare won the Best Photograph award for the year 2015.
The winning photograph was from Diwali 2014, when the Sydney Opera House was lit up for the Hindu Festival of Lights for the first time.
MIMA .Indian Link
One of Indian Link’s most memorable images from last year, this photograph has not only become a keepsake for many in Australia’s Indian community, it was also immediately picked up by one of India’s leading dailies and splashed across its front page.
The image reached more than 6,000,000 people almost immediately after it was given prime position in India’s Hindustan Times, with the event being described as a sign of strengthening ties between our two countries. Affiliate newspapers in every major Indian city, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Nagpur ran the photograph with due credit to Indian Link and Sachin as photographer.
It has since been shared countless times on social media, bringing joy to many in their new identity as both Indian and Australian.
By a wonderful coincidence, Sachin collected his award on Diwali night 2015!
Perhaps it was prescient that the award would come home with us, given its theme and the date of the event, but Sachin himself claims it was a pleasant surprise.
“Just being nominated was reward enough for me,” he said later, with characteristic humility.
Yet he recalled vividly the moment he captured the scene.
“It was an important day for the community, and I was looking for a significant image. I chose my location, McMahon’s Point, carefully, and fixed the two big icons in my sight, the Bridge and the Opera House. I had kind of framed the shot already inside my head before I got there!”
He added, “Yes, when I saw my pictures later, I knew they were good, or at least, above average!”
MIMA Sachin Wakhare Diwali.Indian Link
The image is particularly striking as the composition sees the illuminated Opera House, bathed in a warm glow, framed by the cool steel beams of the Bridge. The long-exposure captures the lights of a passing ferry, offset by the twinkling lights of the foreshore and the high-rise buildings in the background.
The image took off after Hindustan Times (HT) gave it prime position.
“I would never have thought of sending it to India,” Sachin admitted, adding, “You guys did it! For a few days after, I had relos sending me images of the HT page from cities across India. It certainly got a lot of attention! One cousin even posted me a copy.”
The photograph captured the excitement for Indian Australians ahead of Diwali. The NSW Government’s decision to light up the Opera House in Diwali colours looks set to be an annual affair now. It is a public acknowledgment of the contributions made by the Indian community in their adopted homeland.
Sachin Wakhare’s early involvement with Indian Link began when he regularly sent in photos from family events for inclusion in our People Parties Places page. An architect by background, photography was clearly a serious hobby and a craft he excelled at. In 2011, we featured a double-page spread of his shots of Sydney architecture, a particular passion of his. By then he had set up Sachin Wakhare Photography, specialising in photography of both the built and natural environments.
With this award, there will be no stopping him now.
And of course the tradition continues in his own family. Just as he learnt the art by watching his father, a keen photographer, he has similarly guided his young daughter Ananya, now ten and already an award-winning photographer.
“She beat me to it, yes,” Sachin laughed. “We both entered a contest held by the Marrickville Council last year, based on images from the area. My entry was short-listed and hung as part of the final exhibition, but Ananya won the top prize in the kids’ category!”
 
News Reporting: NAMO-STE AUSTRALIA!
Indian Link’s extensive coverage of the Australian visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 won the News Reporting award for the year 2015.
It was a historic visit when Indian PM Narendra Modi came down under in November 2014. For the Indian community in Australia it was truly momentous, destined to go down as a “what-were-you-doing-when-Modi-visited” memory.
MIMA.Indian Link
Decidedly the community’s ‘Event of the Year’, it formed the bulk of the Nov-2 2014 edition of Indian Link, with no less than 23 of the total 52 pages devoted to it.
The first official Indian prime ministerial visit in 28 years, Indian Link was there to record every aspect of his four-day four-city tour.
Our team members in Brisbane (Tasneem Zavery, Mohan Thite), Sydney (Pawan Luthra, Kira Spucys-Tahar, Usha Arvind, Deeksha Chopra, Raka Mitra) and Melbourne (Preeti Jabbal, Ashish Chawla) reported on the tour for Indian Link newspaper.
On Indian Link Radio, reports were filed by Neelam Vasudevan, Sagar Mehrotra, Raghu Kamath and Kashif Harrison. One radio program was recorded live for Indian television viewers of CNN-IBN and IBN-7, even as listeners rang in from Sydney and Melbourne in the lead up to a major community reception for the visiting PM.
modi cover.Indian Link
The highlight event in Sydney was the community’s “big night out”, as some 15,000 people descended on Allphones Arena from far and wide, some famously on a train from Melbourne, to hear the ever-popular Modi deliver his magic oratory. Well, he blew them all away with his particular style of rhetoric, which even Australian leaders in the audience found incredible, and which had the press referring to him as a “rock star”.
Also momentous was Modi’s speech in Parliament to a joint sitting of both houses.
Our coverage included:

  • Analyses of Modi’s meetings at the G-20 summit
  • His unveiling of the Gandhi statue in Brisbane
  • His meeting with the Indian community in Brisbane
  • Modi’s bilateral meetings with his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott and the resulting camaraderie between the two, and the new footing on which this brought the wider national relationship the preparations in the community ahead of the visit
  • the not-for-profit India Australia Community Foundation that organised the community reception
  • the views of Indian-Australian youth,
  • the lucky few members of the community that Modi singled out for some personal attention
  • views afterwards of leading members of the Indian and Australian communities who met with Modi
  • one writer’s descriptions of Modi’s personal style and work ethic as he got to observe him from close quarters
  • and, a ‘Media Watch’ style analysis of how media from India reported on the event, contrasting it with their over-the-top reportage of the Indian international students’ crisis of 2009-2010.

Indian Link’s coverage of the Indian PM’s visit to Australia was exhaustive and comprehensive, giving our readers across the country a full feel of the tour and covering every aspect of the historic visit.
Our reportage accomplished many things.

  • It sent the message out clearly that the relationship between the two countries was back on track after it had stalled somewhat
  • It demonstrated to the wider Australian community the regard the Indian diaspora has for the leader and the hopes they are laying at his feet to raise the country out of poverty and launch it on the world stage
  • It showcased to the Indian community here that the government in India holds its scattered diaspora dear and would like it to be part of its new paths to development
  • It brought out loud and clear that India is worth engaging with, not just economically, but also in terms of people-to-people contacts
  • Most significantly, in terms of our duty as a news organisation, we brought to our audience, extensive coverage of an event that was of direct significance to them, and with details they would not have found in the mainstream media
  • Equally significant was our timing of it all, as our reports came out 48 hours after the PM’s tour concluded, as opposed to similar platforms whose coverage came weeks after the event. This made our reportage widely read and appreciated by the community towards which it was aimed.

Voices of reason

By
Pawan Luthra
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0
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Paris sails Sydney Opera House.Indian Link
It is often in the darkest hours that true leadership emerges.
Equally, in the most terrible of times, you also have those who are unable to look at a more rational picture and, thanks to ignorance or insecurity or the pure need to exploit the vulnerable, bring forth ideas of hate which divide and cause fear and panic.
The response to the Paris terrorist attacks have demonstrated how desperately we need a voice of reason to bring the public together, to understand that the terror attacks do not reflect the views of the large majority of a particular religion.
The Paris attacks hit us all hard, not unlike the 9/11 attacks in New York or the Lindt Café siege in Sydney less than a year ago. These attacks were all random, aimed at hurting innocents as they went about their daily activities. Premeditated and planned to inflict maximum damage, the terrorists hope to spread fear amongst the population by sowing seeds of distrust and division. As such, the perpetrators cannot be called followers of any religious thought.
This was wonderfully articulated by media commentator Waleed Aly. In his now viral editorial speech on Channel Ten show The Project, Aly was able to offer an argument making sense of the Paris tragedy, like no politician or community leader could. His was a passionate plea for us not to give in to hate or fear, as by doing that ISIS would end up accomplishing its ultimate aim. “ISIS wants to split the world into two camps, starting a war between Muslims and everyone else. They want a country like ours to turn against their Muslims and vilify them,” he said.
WALEED ALY.Indian Link
The terrorists will be aware that their actions would cause a backlash not only against Muslims, but also those with a different name or wearing different clothes or with a skin colour different to theirs. Scapegoats will be found for anything going wrong in their lives and blame laid on them, further creating divisions in our society.
Compare Aly’s impassioned plea to the shallow and thoughtless comments made by Australian Senator Jacqui Lambie. According to her, all the 12,000 Syrian refugees coming to Australia should have electronic bracelets put on them.
Another TV clip which was trending after the Paris attacks was a Sept 2014 interview by CNN in which US Muslim scholar Reza Aslan spoke out about about anti Islam statements made by commentators such as Bill Maher. Aslan was articulate in drawing the line between Islam and violence.
“Islam is a religion and, like any religion in the world, it depends what you bring to it. If you are a violent person (yourself), your Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism or Buddhism is going to have violence to it,” Aslan explained.
Both Aly and Aslan did well in differentiating the religion from the people that profess to act on its behalf.
The important thing is to condemn those individuals or cults who bring this violence to our largely secular world. Tolerance should be our default behaviour and that means standing shoulder to shoulder with all those willing to speak out against the politics of fear.

First Diwali for Sydney Harbour Bridge

By
Pawan Luthra
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0
First Diwali for Sydney Harbour Bridge
Reading Time: 3 minutes

The iconic Australian landmark celebrates the Hindu Festival of Lights with a BridgeClimb

A Bollywood-style dance on top of the Harbour Bridge?
No, surely not!
Well, yes, actually.
Diwali this year saw a wonderful first for BridgeClimb. In a special limited edition Climb, the organisation hosted a small band of Diwali revellers who were taken to the top of the coat-hanger to celebrate the Hindu Festival of Lights.
A Hindu Council of Australia and BridgeClimb collaboration, it was the first ever Diwali on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
And so the iconic Sydney landmark joined its close friend the Sydney Opera House in marking an ancient Hindu tradition.
Charli Beale from BridgeClimb told Indian Link, “We’ve been wanting to connect with international events which we could organise on the summit of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We thought about how to reach out to Indian events. Diwali came to mind and the more I thought about it, the more exciting the idea became.”
A traditional Indian dance on the top of the bridge with the Sydney Opera House in the background and the lights of the city illuminating the horizon – now that would be a Diwali! The idea was presented to management, who agreed instantly.

Harbour Bridge Diwali
Source: Supplied

And so it came to pass, 48 hours before Diwali, Australia celebrated the Festival of Lights on top of the Bridge with a simple prayer, lighted dandiyas sparkling in the dusk, and five dancers swaying to traditional Bollywood tunes.
Of course, the dancers remained safely harnessed throughout their little recital 134 metres above ground!
Their little performance symbolised an invocation to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Prosperity, and to Ganesh, the God of Good Beginnings, as a form of New Year greeting and a prayer for overall good fortune.
The traditional ceremony was planned for sunset so the best effect could be had. HCA invited 10 guests, along with photographers and videographers. The equipment as well had special harnesses.
Prof Nihal Agar, the Chairman off HCA, climbed the 1,332 steps with remarkable agility.

Diwali bridge climb
Source: Supplied

After an official welcome from the climb leader, Prof Agar thanked the organisers for this opportunity to celebrate the Festival of Lights atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Down below, it was almost as if our adopted city had heard Prof Agar’s call, as the lights began to come on and dispel the darkness.
As if to applaud, the five dancers from the Holiya Dance Group and Sydney Sanskrit School, erupted in joy. Wearing colourful traditional headwear contrasting beautifully with their grey BridgeClimb suits, they performed two numbers with the Sydney Opera House illuminated in the background.
Guests became a part of the ‘Festival of Light’ themselves, wearing special BridgeClimb vests fitted with flashing lights as they enjoyed the uninterrupted 360 degree view from the summit.
A first, this has to be one of the landmark moments for the Indian community in NSW.
“The unique combination of colourful Diwali celebrations combined with stunning views atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge is breathtaking, making it one of the best locations to celebrate this special time,” said Balesh Dhankhar, one of the Climbers representing Hindu Council on the occasion. “I am sure this will inspire a number of people to come and celebrate Diwali here next year.”
For those special few gathered up top, it was indeed a Diwali they will remember for many years to come.
Diwali now stands added to the list of BridgeClimb’s special occasion Climbs organised for local and international festivals and celebrations including Chinese New Year, Chinese Moon Festival, Valentine’s Day, Vivid Sydney and Mardi Gras Sydney.

Celebrating 100 years of relativity

By
Sydney Srinivas
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0
Reading Time: 5 minutes

A tribute to Albert Einstein’s theory regarding gravitational phenomena

Einstein theory relativity.Indian Link
This year is a special one for science as it marks the 100th anniversary of the year Einstein discovered general relativity. In 1915, Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was celebrating the success of his era defining papers, published in 1905. Being only 26, and an officer in the Patent office in Berne, he had come out with five brilliant papers within the span of a year. These included one on Photoelectric Effect which later fetched him the Nobel Prize, one on the Special Theory of Relativity and the most famous paper on that equation e = mc2
e=mc2.Indian Link
It was Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity that challenged the traditional views about space and time. This theory made Europe recognise the genius of Einstein. Slowly he climbed the academic ladder and became a professor. In 1914, he was invited to occupy the chair of the Prussia Academy and become a professor in Berlin.
About 50 scientists met every week in the State Library of Berlin to discuss their advances in science.  To this audience, Einstein gave four talks in November 1915 about his latest research entitled ‘On the Field Equations of Gravity’. On hearing these talks, the audience was clean bowled. The presentation contained his General Theory of Relativity, later published in a scientific journal.
Scientists were amazed as to how Einstein conceived this theory. This year forms the centenary of this event. Symposiums, exhibitions and lectures have been organised all over the globe to celebrate this phenomenal finding, and 2015 has even been called ‘The International Year of Light’.
year of light.Indian Link

The theory of General Relativity

The notion of gravity had attracted the attention of Galileo as well as Sir Isaac Newton more than 400 years earlier. It is well known that the latter completed pioneering work on the subject. Newton discovered that an apple falls down because the earth attracts it with its gravitational force. He went further and found that the moon holds its orbit around the earth because of gravity and the centripetal force due to rotation; these have to balance each other. This is true for planets going around the sun as well. Newton generalised gravity when he said that everybody in this universe attracts every other body with a force that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two. This is the celebrated Newton’s Law of Gravitation. There was a universal acceptance of this and it ruled science for more than 200 years.
Einstein had something different to say. His explanation is based on mathematics. He envisaged a four dimensional space-time continuum (x,y,z,t). It is easy to conceptualise a three dimensional space. But a four-dimensional space is tough to comprehend. However, mathematics has no such limitation. Any number of dimensions can be incorporated.
What was gravity then? The four dimensional continuum can be compared to a mattress. Whenever an object is placed on this mattress, the surrounding area gets deformed. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the distortion. This distortion of the space-time continuum is gravity, claimed Einstein. When a foreign object enters the distorted region, its path is guided by the distortion. When the apple enters the distortion around the earth, it simply falls down. It has no alternative. The moon too responds to the earth’s distortion or gravity. Similarly, every person creates a distortion around themselves. But we don’t rush towards each other due to gravity, because it is tiny compared to that of the earth.
theory of relativity.Indian Link
Newton saw gravity as a force of attraction between two objects, but Einstein said two objects were not required. Every object creates its gravity or a gravitational field by itself. In his Special Theory of Relativity, Einstein had limited himself to systems in uniform motion. His new theory extended his thoughts to systems undergoing acceleration.
Scientists stood in awe when they heard and read about his theory of General Relativity. How could someone conceive all this? There must be something special in his brain! It is said that only a handful of people understood the theory in those days.
 

The verification process

A theory, however grand, is only a theory until it is experimentally verified. Theory guides and experiment decides. Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity had to be tested and proven. This came about in 1919 when the leading English astronomer Sir Arthur Edington undertook this task. According to the theory, a ray of light should bend in a gravitational field. Our sun has a very strong gravitational field around it because of its mass. So light from a distant star should bend as it passes close to the sun. There was a difficulty, however. The sun being too bright would prevent any observation. The remedy was to wait for a total solar eclipse when the light from the sun would be blocked. Nature did give mankind a chance and a total solar eclipse took place in Portugal in May 1919. Edington went there with his camera and other equipment and took pictures. It was proved beyond doubt that Einstein’s theory was correct.
Theory of General Relativity.Indian Link
This was a well-deserved boost to Einstein. He was in newspapers and magazines all over the world. The media claimed: ‘Another Newton is born’. He came out of the ivory towers of science and became a celebrity, hobnobbing with kings, queens and actors. People paid for his autograph and for a picture with him.
Over the past one hundred years, his theory of relativity has been tested with increasingly sophisticated equipment and every time Einstein has been proved right.
 

Further consequences

The General Theory of Relativity led to many consequences. One of them is Cosmology with which Einstein himself had a hand. This subject covers not just our solar system but includes all the existing solar systems and galaxies. Einstein found that the universe is expanding; it is not static. If it is expanding, it must have been smaller yesterday. If we continue to go back like this, there must have been a time when the universe was a just a point in size. This was true, 13.7 billion years ago. It was then our universe started with a bang (the Big Bang Theory) and suggests how our universe may have begun.
The Black Hole is the other consequence. Consider our sun. Large scale nuclear reactions take place within it giving us light and heat. At the same time, there is an enormous gravity act balancing it. With time, the nuclear reaction slows down and will stop. When this happens, gravity alone acts on the sun and its size shrinks. Now if any object enters the sun, it cannot get out. Even a ray of light is absorbed. This state of any star is the well-known Black Hole.
general relativity.Indian Link
Einstein achieved all this by questioning, questioning some more and then questioning again. He challenged common sense. He never accepted anything that was merely told or because it was traditional or an accepted theory. Truly the epitome of scientific temperament.

Transcendence

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Indian Link
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Reading Time: 3 minutes

It’s an interesting confluence of science and spirituality in APJ Abdul Kalam’s last book, writes BHAVIN RAVAL

APJ Kalam.Indian Link
God
and I have become
like two giant fat people living
in a tiny
boat.
We
keep bumping into
each other
and laughing
– Hafiz
Krushna and Arjun. Ram and Hanuman. Gautam Buddha and Anand. One often wonders what may be transpiring, what may be radiating when these duos are together…
Dawn, dusk?
Nesting, migrating?
Silence, solitude?
Symphony, alchemy?
Duet, solo, chorus?
Halo, moonlight?
Shrining, enshrining?
Eternity, subtlety?
Uniqueness, oneness?
Submerging, floating?
Spring, autumn?
Joyfulness, bliss?
Peace, ecstasy?
Ellipsis, allegory?
Permanence, impermanence?
Ethereal, infinite?
Encompassing, releasing?
Let us ruminate further. Many of us have heard and chanted the following shlok:
Om Purnamadah Purnamidam Purnat Purnamudachyate
Purnasya Purnamadaya Purnamevavashisyate II
Om Shantihi Shantihi Shantihi II
This shlok is shrouded in some mystical divinity, some divine intrigue. It can be translated verbatim in any language. But what could be the archetype of this shlok?
We now have a response to the above mentioned intrigues in Transcendence, where Dr APJ Abdul Kalam awls the reader’s heart. And soul. Indelibly. Intricately. Succinctly. Divinely. He takes the reader on the pilgrimage of the numinous aura that reigns and realms between him and his Guru, Pramukh Swami.
If one could find a book written by Radha about Krushna, in terms of tenor and tenets, it would be a mirror image of Transcendence. This is the core premise and core promise of the book.
APJ Kalam.Indian Link
Transcendence is a prose poetry of Meera’s kirtans, albeit with a contemporary membrane. Dr Kalam has written the book ornately and exceptionally. He has narrated how he came into contact with Pramukh Swami, how the bond was nurtured and how it became umbilical, spiritually. The most appealing aspect of the book is how and why wisdom, consecrations and aura of Pramukh Swami illuminated and sheltered Dr Kalam since their first meeting.
Dr Kalam, consciously, subconsciously and even unconsciously, takes decisions in the context of Pramukh Swami’s teachings. The book has many examples of guru shishya samvaad without being preachy or wordy. Some books about spirituality often profess abstractly and, in the process, fail to sustain the reader’s interests and/or pursuits. Transcendence is a trend setter. It is a book that the beginner as well as the enlightened on the path of spirituality will find sacrosanct, absorbing, relatable, learnable and adaptable.
Something more about the book’s vistas. For a starter, there is always a benefit when a scientist undertakes to do anything. The paradigms are an analytical approach to defining questions; the design of testable hypotheses; broad-based knowledge acquisition; interpretation and analysis of data.
Dr Kalam must have taken the above mentioned steps numerous times in his great career as an ace scientist. His approach in the field of spirituality is no different. He takes a step, carves out a theorem, tests, relates, corroborates, concludes and documents.
For corroboration, Dr Kalam casts a wide net and assesses the assertions of other faiths, eras, luminaries and expanses. It is as if he stands in the centre of a utopia of knowledge. And he strides towards the horizon where philosophy, religion, scientists, astronomers, mystics, poets beckon. And he collects nectar from them and ricochets to the utopian centre and repeats the process again. He completes a 360 degree circle and enhances the reader’s quest for corroboration. He treats the reader with nectar collected from all directions. This is the nectar of life. And of beyond life. He divides the book into four parts, each having eight chapters. The confluence of science and spirituality is uplifting, fulfilling and stays with the reader like fragrances from a beloved land.
Dr Kalam also dwells upon Bhagwan Swaminarayan, Akshar Brahma Gunatitanand Swami and the lineage of Gunatit Parampara. He also briefly explains the origins, history, spirit, spread and impact of activities of BAPS, an organisation that Pramukh Swami leads.
As a result, the book becomes a lesson in eternity, a seeker’s almanac. In ancient times, there was said to be a ‘Kalpavruksha’. This book is a ‘Kalpapustak’. The book is also a promenade. To yourself within Thyself. To Thyself within yourself.

Eat your veggies…

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Indian Link
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Reading Time: 3 minutes

before they eat you!

vegetarian cartoon.Indian Link
This “The Guy Way” to prepare a healthy, raw vegetable dinner. 1) Take raw vegetables from fridge. 2) Throw them in the bin. 3) Go out for a steak.
But be warned: some of the guy-est guy foods are in danger. Meats are going through “the zombie barrier” according to a reader who asks only to be identified as Riki. He showed me a viral video circulating in the past few days showing a piece of raw beef throbbing and pulsating – despite being on a kitchen counter, ready for the pan.
It was linked to another viral video showing a beheaded cuttlefish rising from a seafood salad and dancing, despite not having a brain. (In this sense, cuttlefish are like human males, who also only dance when they have used a powerful chemical – Carlsberg Special Brew – to cause temporary lobotomies, a Latin-derived medical term meaning “surgical removal of the part of the head that prevents men behaving like bottoms”).
Riki’s theory is that food is now so full of chemicals – especially in China, where the beef video came from – that you cannot kill it. It is “undead”. You can tear it to shreds but it will keep creeping back to life with terrifying relentlessness, a bit like Britney Spears’ career.
The video of the throbbing beef, filmed by “Mrs Cheng of Shandong” and spread by China’s CCTV, was fake, said a butcher quoted on Australia’s Channel 9 news. He’s wrong.
In the interests of science, this columnist bought a zombie steak from a nearby wet market (it looked dead at first, but the butcher hit it with the back of his chopper to make it start pulsating), and it WAS pretty upsetting. “Shh! It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” I found myself lying to the plastic bag.
By the time I got home, it had stopped moving, and I wasn’t sure whether to mince it for burgers or organise a funeral with a choir and a selection of tasteful inter-faith readings.
vegetarian.Indian Link
Becoming a vegetarian may not be a complete answer. A reader who is a passionate vegan (“emotional person behaving as if she comes from the planet Vega”) forwarded a recent article from Britain about farm vegetables showing curious behaviour, with some “singing” audibly. Cauliflowers are creaking and squeaking, while rhubarb is making a fizzing, popping noise. Scientists say it might be related to climate change.
She shared with me her puzzlement over how to be kind to vegetables. “If you cook vegetables before you eat them, you’re boiling them alive – but if you consume them raw, you’re eating them alive,” she said. “Which is worse?” I left her apologising to a head of lettuce as she viciously tore off its leaves.
The only possible answer is to drop both meats and plants. That leaves us with an all-salt diet, which could get kind of boring after the first 30 seconds or so.
I opted for pasta. Here’s a useful note on “The Guy Way of Estimating The Right Amount of Pasta to Cook.” 1) Guess the right amount of pasta to put into boiling water. 2) Wait for it to cook. 3) You were wrong.
Bon appetit!
 

Goooooaaaaaaaallllllll!

By
Frankey Gerard Fernandes
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1
Reading Time: 5 minutes

The Indian Super League has many keen fans in Australia, especially from the Goan community

Indian Super League.Indian Link
Imagine staying up till 2am to watch Indian soccer and then waking up at 7am to get to school. It may not be an ideal situation, but for a dedicated group of youngsters in Australia, it’s a sacrifice they are willing to endure for the Indian Super League (ISL) 2015 underway in far-away India.
A growing number of Goans and other Indians here have been faithfully following the second edition of ISL either on Fox Sports TV or Live TV with intensity and enthusiasm, even if it means going to bed in the wee hours and waking up a few hours later.
Hero Indian Super League is India’s unrivalled football championship played during the fourth quarter of the calendar year. It is co-promoted by IMG-Reliance (the joint venture between IMG and Reliance Industries), Star India and supported by All India Football Federation (AIFF).
India’s leading industrialists and celebrities from sports as well as the Indian film industry have invested in owning the Indian Super League’s eight franchises. These are based out of Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

Indian Super League.Indian Link
Soccer fan, Samson Fernandes

For the first time in Indian football, globally renowned footballers have been playing alongside the best Indian talent. With a mission to revolutionise the sport, Hero Indian Super League is positioned as a high quality and dynamic league that promises to elevate Indian football to an international level.
Eight teams including Atlético de Kolkata, Chennaiyin FC, Delhi Dynamos FC, FC Goa, FC Pune City, Kerala Blasters FC, Mumbai City FC, NorthEast United FC are participating in the championship.
“It’s a soccer treat that comes just once every year and why would I miss this one,” justifies Samson Fernandes (14) from Adelaide in South Australia.
Samson still cherishes watching some matches involving FC Goa during the inaugural edition of ISL from the stands at Fatorda stadium in Goa and also meeting his icon, Romeo Fernandes.
Indian Super League.Indian Link
Shaun Roswan

Considering that Adelaide is five hours ahead of Indian Standard Time, ISL matches are watched on television from midnight for the next couple of hours. But Samson, his brother Shane and their mates here are prepared for the sacrifice till mid-December.
An ardent Chelsea fan in the Barclays Premier League, Samson feels FC Goa has a much better chance to clinch the title this year and hopes to make the trip down to Goa, should FC Goa continue with its winning ways.
“It’s going to be a treat to watch FC Goa play in the finals, considering that the finals are slated to be played at the Fatorda stadium,” says Samson.
Indian Super League.Indian Link
Shane Fernandes

The colourful atmosphere, the chanting of “let’s football” or “Viva FC Goa” accompanied by blaring music from the stands, the carnival-like atmosphere and the large crowds are some of the many memories that Samson and Shane have from the last edition of ISL.
But the icing on the cake was meeting in person the many stars like Brazilian coach Zico, Robert Pires, former Sydney FC player Tolgay Özbey and Goan duo of Romeo Fernandes and Mandar Rao.
“My FC Goa edits on Facebook page or Instagram tweets have been “liked” by many soccer players from FC Goa,” states an elated Samson, who along with his mates in Adelaide spends the weekends discussing reviews of the matches.
Adds Glen D’Souza from Brisbane, “The ISL has brought Indian soccer to homes in Australia. Sitting in the comfort of our lounges in Australia, it is great to be able to follow all the matches played, with many of them shown live. The big expatriate Indian population is being able to watch the tournament with avid interest.”
Indian Super League.Indian Link
Elijah D’Souza

“As keen FC Goa supporters, our household watches all the matches played by Goa with keen interest. My son Elijah wears his FC Goa jersey with a lot of pride. When Goa plays, he will even go to bed in it.”
According to D’Souza, the popularity of the Brazilian team in Goa is no secret. “With Zico at the helm at FC Goa, it adds a new dimension to seeing our youngsters rub shoulders with some big names,” he says.
He adds, “To see India draw some big names, albeit many brought back from retirement, is a pleasure. Players might get old, but their tricks will never disappear. To see more and more big names join this year is impressive and proof of where Indian football has reached. Hence, it is no surprise that Fox Sports is streaming most of the matches live due to the popularity of the sport here.”
In Adelaide, the FC Goa Fan team comprising Alister Rodrigues (18), Kris Fernandes (17), Karrell Vaz (16), Samson Fernandes (14), Shaun Roswan (10), Kyrel Vaz (10), Leon Fernandes (10), Shane Fernandes (9) and Brisbane-based Elijah D’Souza (9) have a plan to make FC Goa a popular brand. And how do they intend to go about it, over 7000 kms away in Australia?
Indian Super League.Indian Link
Leon Fernandes

“If a Manchester United, Chelsea or an Arsenal fan in remote India can popularise the English Premier league, why can’t we do the same for FC Goa and ISL from our new home,” reasons out Samson, who plans to wear the FC Goa colours during his social gatherings.
Even as the second edition of ISL is nearing halfway and the teams are getting a feel of the matches, the young FC Goa fans in Australia have already predicted a final clash: FC Goa versus FC Pune.
Many may say it’s too early to draw a conclusion on the finalists at the second edition of ISL, but FC Goa playing on home turf in the finals would be a mouth-watering match for the young FC Goa fans, who have been staying up way after bedtime here in Australia.

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