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Ganesh Chaturthi brings thousands of worshippers together in Brisbane

Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival celebrated with great pomp and splendour in the western and southern states of India including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Historically the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi witnessed a significant resurgence in Maharasthra due to the efforts of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak who mobilised massive public support to unite people against the colonial British rule as part of the freedom struggle.
In modern India, the festival is still celebrated with enthusiasm as it heralds a festive season which includes Deepawali and Dusherra.
In September, the Selva Vinayaka Temple in South McLean organised the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations which were attended by thousands of people from all over Brisbane.
The early morning rain and cloudy overcast sky did not dampen the spirits of the multitude of people who assembled to welcome the birth of Lord Ganesha.
Ganesha is revered as the God of wisdom and prosperity in Indian culture and according to Hindu mythology is considered the elder son of Shiva and Parvati.
His favourite food is the modak (sweet known as laddoo) and the mooshak (mouse) is his vehicle.
Lord Ganesha is considered very auspicious as he is also known as a remover of all obstacles and in the Indian culture new ventures are usually started with a prayer to Lord Ganesha.
The Ganesh Chaturthi ceremony started with vedic rituals, known as Sankalpam, Kumbha Puja and Homam, in the afternoon.

This was followed by Maha Poornahuthi and Abhisekham and prayers were offered in the renovated main chamber which houses the Ganesha idol.
The main hall was packed with devotees; it presented a visual delight with arrays of lights in the roof shining brightly on a brilliant panorama of carved deities depicting scenes from Hindu mythology.
The highlight of the evening was the procession of the Ganesha idol around the temple in a chariot which was pulled by all the devotees present.
The temple walls resounded with sacred Vedic hymns and the sounds of musical instruments such as the mridangam (drum) and trumpets added to the vibrant atmosphere.
The spectacular event culminated in a delicious feast which was prepared by volunteers and served with friendly smiles to all the devotees.
Despite the huge turnout, everything went smoothly and a credit goes to the organisers and volunteers who took care of traffic control, parking, information and distribution of food at the event.
“Selva Vinayaka Templeserves as a centre for various cultural and educational activities,” President of the Hindu Ahalya Sangam Queensland Inc, Mr Ratnam Wimalchandran, told Indian Link.
Religious classes, music and dance programs for children are organised on a regular basis.

Devotees are addressed by scholars and religious leaders on special occasions and library facilities are present near the entrance to the hall.
Hindu Ahalya Sangam Queensland Inc also provides relief and support for people affected by disasters all over the world.
This is an example of how multicultural organisations can reach out not just to the local community, but to the entire worldwide family.
According to Hindu philosophy, temple worship is one of the four stages of reaching God. Hinduism preaches that God is within ourselves and we have to find peace with ourselves.
To find God in ourselves the environment must be conducive and as a saying goes:

“If there is righteousness in the heart there will be beauty in the character. If there is beauty in character there will be harmony in the home. When there is harmony in the home there will be order in the nation. When there is order in the nation peace will prevail in the world.”

Typically Ganesha Utsav lasts for ten days and, in many Indian states, on the eleventh day the idol is submerged in a river or a sea.
The day when the Ganesha idol is submerged is called Anant Ekadashi and 27 September marked the end of the resplendent celebration in Brisbane and many other parts of the world.

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The launch of the Australian-Indian Aged Care Support Holistic Association

Ageing is inevitable – a fate that awaits us all. As our hair greys, life can show us a different perspective. We often hear how younger and healthier minds ignore or shun the efforts of older people. Do we empathise with these old folks who may withdraw into their shell? Do we really understand how and why their physical and mental health deteriorates?
Society has plenty of stories to tell of aged people craving acceptance and needing greater care.
With a view to offer assistance to families and clients from the Indian subcontinent, particularly those identified with dementia, the Australian-Indian Aged Care Support Holistic Association (AASHA) – a forum on mental health was recently launched at Pennant Hills Community Centre.
AASHA is an initiative spawned under the aegis of the Australian Hindi Indian Association (AHIA) – a non-profit, non-political and non-religious organisation. This group of good samaritans hopes to provide retirement services for seniors of Indian and South Asian origin, an integral part of which will include Dementia Day Care. Emotional and cultural support will also be extended to families whose loved ones are suffering from dementia and age-related health problems, with ASSHA assessing patients and placing them appropriately.
“Our objective is to assist in a smooth transition and bridge the gap between NSW Health Services and senior citizens of Indian and Asian background,” said Bijinder Dugal, director-coordinator AASHA and vice president, AHIA.
Bijender, an Aussie-Indian, is passionate about facilitating culturally appropriate age care services and raising cultural awareness with NSW health providers for the Indian and sub-continent community.
“Through AASHA we aim to reach out to the Indian community in New South Wales with a view to educating them about the health services available and how they can be accessed,” she added.
The forum was declared open by a cutting of the ribbon to launch the AASHA program by Vimla Luthra, a highly respected AHIA member.
AASHA aims to create awareness in the community about dementia and social wellbeing in the elderly, to provide educational resources, and to establish a community contact group for seniors of Indian origin.
Dr Parminder Sachdev, Professor of Neuropsychiatry and Director of the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Clinical Director of the Neuropsychiatric Institute (NPI) at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney addressed the forum and spoke at length about dementia and its causes. He also highlighted some of the symptoms of dementia that can go undetected.
“Demystifying dementia and talking to your loved ones about their problems will help and prevent them from getting worse,” he said.
AASHA will endorse health messages in the community and highlight the need for establishing community partnerships to improve the social integration of people living with dementia, mental health disorders and other social issues.
Dr Manjula O’Connor, consultant psychiatrist and founding director of Australasian Centre for Human Rights and Health, delivered the keynote address where she raised awareness about aged care. She used case examples and presented workable solutions to the problem of domestic violence for migrant communities.
Over 250 community members, mostly senior citizens, attended the forum and shared their views on various topics that were discussed. Other guest speakers included Sue Tolhurst of the Dementia Advisory Services at Westmead Hospital, Sevinc lzmirli, coordinator of PICAC NSW / ACT and Stephania Bejma, coordinator for Leisure & Life Style Sydney West Uniting age Care.
Dr Hugh Mc Dermott, Labor MP for Prospect and Daniel Mookhey MLC, David Clarke MLC, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice and Philip Ruddock, Federal Member for Berowra, were also in attendance.
The audience were entertained with Hindi songs rendered by Vinod Rajput and his ensemble. Dr Pradnya Dugal, Specialist Radiologist and founder of Bollywood Monsuun Dance group performed a classical Indian dance that left all spellbound.
Dr Tilak Kalra, President, AHIA who proposed the vote of thanks hailed the launch as a rewarding moment for the Indian community to be recognised in the nation’s health system. He urged all to further help in mobilising AASHA’s objectives.
“AASHA calls upon everybody to help raise awareness and spread the message among New South Wales health services, health professionals and multicultural health services to recognise the needs of the Indian community and importantly, the need for culturally based facilities in New South Wales,” he said.

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There’s a new elephant (God) in town!

It might be very normal to see an elephant at the zoo, but a statue of an elephant headed Hindu God to be found at a zoo in Adelaide was very unusual.
When Munish Sarda visited Adelaide Zoo last year, he found this statue sitting next to the old elephant enclosure.
“I was devastated seeing Lord Ganesha in that condition,” he told Indian Link.

Mr Sarda then contacted various Hindu communities in Adelaide to ensure that the Lord would receive due respect.  Finally, this Ganesh Chaturthi, the statue was provided with due honour along with a special makeshift temple at Adelaide Zoo, in a ceremony with full Hindu rituals.
Chirag Trivedi of the Hindu Social and Welfare Council of SA took it upon his shoulders to connect with the archaeology department.
“When I approached the archaeology Department of Flinders University of South Australia, I was surprised at the findings,” he said. “The idol that was left neglected was a contemporary Balinese copy of Javanese ingasari / Majapahit period, probably of a well-known 13th century Javanese Boro Ganesa statute in Blitar, East Java. It was a serious matter now, not just about faith and religion, but also about history,” Trivedi continued.

Gagan Sharma, President of the Hindu Society of Australia took this up with Zoo authorities and local government ministers.
“We had no idea that this idol is so important to Hindus. We have no idea how it came here. I have been working at this zoo for over 35 years and it (the idol of Lord Ganesha) could be around 40-50 years old,” said Jeff Lugg, General Manager, Operations, Adelaide Zoo.

“We appreciate the support from the Adelaide Zoo authorities,” said Nihal Agar, President of the Hindu Council of Australia, who flew to Adelaide from Sydney especially to attend this ceremony.  “We are performing some Hindu rituals to celebrate the occasion of the Lord’s birth anniversary that happens to be on 17 September, according to the English calendar. We need the support of the community now to show our affection towards Lord Ganesha.”
So if you are in Adelaide and take a trip to the zoo, make sure to go and get a blessing from the auspicious Ganesha of Adelaide Zoo.

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Dishing up a culinary course for the disabled with the Annalakshmi Culinary Science Program

A recent video post on Facebook piqued my curiosity. The video showed Mallika Jegasothy, coordinator of Annalakshmi Culinary Science Program in Perth, holding a cooking class for a group of people.

A cooking class – nothing out of the ordinary, one would think. Except that this group of students was special.
The first clue was the presence of guide dogs lying down near the feet of some of the students. Not something one normally encounters in a cooking class.
Many of us struggle to cook a healthy and tasty dish at home, but how challenging would it be for a group of disabled people to learn cooking? And also, how challenging for the teacher to conduct a class for this group?
I decided to have a chat with Mallika Jegasothy, who heads up the Annalakshmi Culinary Science Program in Perth, to find out more.
 
Why did she start the culinary science program?
She brings up the vision of her guru and the muse behind Annalakshmi, SMV and TFA, Shantanand Saraswati.
Her guru’s last instructions to her were to, “Setup vegetarian cooking at a university level”.
As she jokingly says, “If the guru were alive, we could debate the logic, but the guru’s last words are more binding than anything.”
To make this vision a reality, she started offering culinary courses in Indian and Asian vegetarian cooking at Annalakshmi.
Her occupational background is in physiotherapy and rehabilitation and she retired from this in 2014.
She spoke about the 35 years that she had put into her job, mainly working in the rehabilitation of young people with brain injuries.
This context of working in rehabilitation makes her passionate about taking her culinary science program to disabled people.
She believes that cooking is a life skill and can help in preventing the weight gain issues that she has seen in her patients over the long term.
 
What sort of challenges did she face in conducting a cooking course for visually impaired students?
Safety is her number one concern. The layout of the kitchen is kept static as far as possible, because the participants rely on memory to move around safely.
From her history of working in rehabilitation, Mallika believes that the focus for disabled people should be on what they “can” do and to enhance those abilities.
“Listen to the sound of the boiling water, smell the aroma of the cooked spices,” she tells her students.

How much does she charge for the program?
Mallika says she charges no fees at all for the 11-week Access course for the disabled. With the help of the Mithra Foundation, Mallika is able to cover the costs of the course and provide it as a free service.
She says that costs exceed what the Mithra Foundation can sponsor, but “we have run it on donations from within our group”.
 
How do the participants feel about the program?
One of the participants in her program was Shanthi Fielding, a young girl with Down’s syndrome.
Her mother had this to say on the post: “I want to thank Mallika Jegasothy and her wonderful team of volunteers who not only taught Shanthi, but also sourced kitchen aids that would help reduce some of the difficulties faced to enable her to cook independently. She had such a great time and is looking forward to future programs.”
Penny Rogers, one of the visually impaired participants, feels the course is a “great self-esteem builder” and that “(the course) expanded my knowledge about food and trying to cook Indian food authentically (a work in progress). I met wonderful and interesting people – my class mates as well as the instructors and volunteers”.
Would she endorse the course to others who are visually impaired? Penny says she would definitely recommend this course to others, “even those without a disability”.
 
What is the future for the Access culinary course?
Though Mallika has trained a number of such groups since the inception of the program in 2013, she has now had to suspend the program.
She has lost the venue she had at Mint Street, Perth and is finding it difficult to arrange a site where she can conduct her cooking class in a safe and secure manner.
“I had students registered for the course, and the biggest heartache is that I had to tell my students ‘no’ and turn them down,” she says. One of the applicants who was turned down was an ex-army/navy chef who suffers from visual impairment and is in his seventies.
Mallika is looking for support in her search for a “kitchen space” where she can conduct her culinary sciences program for visually impaired/disabled people.
For the program to be viable, she needs access to the space at no cost and be allowed to store some equipment.
 
Mallika can be reached at mallika.jegasothy@smv.org.au by anyone who is able to help her in this quest.

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A fundraising event is being held in Perth to help the disadvantaged in southern India, writes CATE WILLIAMS

The link between an upcoming Bollywood Extravaganza in Perth and the Rural Agency for Social and Technological Advancement (RASTA) in India is not immediately apparent.
RASTA, a not-for-profit organisation, was established in 1987 in Wayanad, a poor district of Kerala where 17 per cent of the community are tribal people. The driving force behind the organisation is Omana T.K., a passionate and dynamic advocate for women’s empowerment.

Since its inception, RASTA has been committed to empowering tribes, dalits, economically and socially disadvantaged women and marginalised farmers, as well as preserving the unique natural environment of southern India.
Over eighty projects have been completed on matters relating to education, housing, sanitation, tribal development, farming, environmental protection and waste management.
Omana is now encouraging local women to train in solar technology, and so far solar lights have been installed in 145 village homes.
Regrettably, due to the global financial crisis and aid agencies withdrawing from Kerala, funding to RASTA has dried up and this innovative and prolific organisation is struggling financially.
Far from giving up, Omana is looking at creative ways to develop financial sustainability so that RASTA can continue to help the disadvantaged local community.

Wayanad is situated in the Western Ghats of Kerala – a beautiful, unpolluted region of India with many natural attractions.
Tourists who visit the area usually stay in resorts or hotels in the nearby town of Kalpetta, but Omana wants to increase their options and open a homestay and eco-tourism business at RASTA.
Eco-tours could be organised to tribal hamlets, farms, women’s organisations, local schools and temples, allowing visitors to participate in local life and learn from the culture while supporting a grassroots organisation.

Increasing the number of guests who stay at RASTA will also provide employment for the local community, as more staff will be needed to look after the visitors.
Currently, the available accommodation at RASTA consists of five individual rooms (several with ensuites) and two dormitories.
These need to be decorated and furnished to a standard suitable for paying guests. There is also a large, round, half-finished structure, which is central to Omana’s vision.
Once completed, this building will provide an additional seven bedrooms plus a relaxation area for yoga, meditation and Ayurveda treatments.
Volunteers are required for the construction and renovation phase of the venture, creating an opportunity for people to help a worthy cause while experiencing this beautiful part of rural Kerala and the hospitality of RASTA.
There’s nothing like volunteering overseas for expanding your comfort zone and fast tracking personal growth!
My partner, Ian, and I volunteered at RASTA last year and can highly recommend it.
We stayed in one of the basic rooms on site. All meals were provided and consisted of simple, but delicious, south Indian vegetarian fare, made with locally grown organic produce.

Our tasks included writing promotional material to attract more volunteers and funding, painting rooms and clearing a vegetable patch for planting.
In our spare time, we walked around the area, marvelling at the peaceful lanes, the simplicity of village life and the friendliness of the locals.
Omana took us to visit some of the local tribal people whose sturdy homes had been built as part of RASTA-funded projects.
Although their dwellings were very simple, they were a vast improvement on the huts they had been living in before.

We were humbled by the generosity of the households we visited; they all brought us drinks and snacks despite having so little for themselves. One family even cooked a yam for us on a fire in the middle of the room.
The villagers also gave us a tour of their thriving vegetable plots, which had been established using seed and farming expertise provided by RASTA.
Besides volunteers, money is also required for the completion of the homestay project.
When we saw first-hand how much RASTA has helped the local community, we offered to organise a fundraiser in Australia.
We decided on the Bollywood-theme because we are both keen Bollywood dancers and the dance style has its roots in India.
The ‘Bollywood Extravaganza for RASTA’ will be held at the Hilton Park Bowling Club in Beaconsfield, Perth on 28 November.
Participants are encouraged to wear Indian-style clothing and there will be Bollywood dancing performances, live music, a raffle and possibly an auction.
All profits from the event will be donated to RASTA.
Tickets are $25 and if you purchase 8 tickets you can reserve a table for your group. To buy tickets or to donate a prize or money to RASTA, please call Ian on 0414 870 570 or email Cate at lizu.uk@gmail.com
More information about RASTA can be found at http://rastaindia.org/
To enquire about volunteering opportunities, contact Omana: t.k.omana@gmail.com