Zia Zahira’s mission is to create unique, luxurious kaftans, beachwear and resort wear, inspired by the rich colours and culture of the exotic east. Using only natural fibres such as silks and cottons, Zia Zahira’s kaftans, tunics and cover-ups are hand embellished by artisans with over 50 years of collective experience.

‘Being of Lebanese descent, it was important for me to incorporate colours, styles and traditions of the east when creating the 2010 collection, which is named after famous regions in Lebanon and the Middle East’. ‘Creating a fusion between eastern influences and western styles is very important, ensuring the collection is not overbearingly one sided’. ‘My manufacturer in India was able to envision my dream and understand the need for quality construction, which is why I have chosen not to source materials from other areas in Asia, which could have positively impacted my bottom line. Quality is key!’

When in business with Indian service providers, one of the most important factors is communication. The ability to visit when required, receive replies to important emails and return phone calls at all hours is vital in business. ‘Having visited multiple factories in India, I realised that there are vast differences between mass manufactures and those that produce items in small quantities. I am extremely happy and satisfied to have found a wonderful business partner in India’.

Zia Zahira Kaftans are currently available in boutiques in California and Florida USA; Toronto,Canada;Jamaica,West Indies and Venezuela,South America. For more information, please visit www.ziazahira.com

According to Vaishnava Theology, Hiranyakashipu is the king of demons, and he had been granted a boon by Brahma, which made it almost impossible for him to be killed. The boon was due to his long penance, after which he had demanded that he not be killed “during day or night; inside the home or outside, not on earth or on sky; neither by a man nor an animal; neither by astra nor by shastra“. Consequently, he grew arrogant, and attacked the Heavens and the Earth. He demanded that people stop worshipping gods and start praying to him.

Despite this, Hiranyakashipu’s own son, (Prahlada), was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. In spite of several threats from Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada continued offering prayers to Lord Vishnu. He was poisoned but the poison turned to nectar in his mouth. He was ordered to be trampled by elephants yet remained unharmed. He was put in a room with hungry, poisonous snakes and survived. All of Hiranyakashipu’s attempts to kill his son failed. Finally, he ordered young Prahlada to sit on a pyre on the lap of his sister, Holika, who could not die by fire by virtue of a shawl which would prevent fire affecting the person wearing it. Prahlada readily accepted his father’s orders, and prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as the shawl flew from Holika, who then was burnt to death, while Prahlada survived unharmed, after the shawl moved to cover him. The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi.

So this is story about Holi. But now we are in Australia for away from our home and country. Last week I spoke to some of my friends and other people from Asian countries about how they use celebrate Holi in their own country and what are there plan for this Holi in Australia.

Arunima who lives in Concord west, has been in Australia for 30 years. Basically she is from Mumbai (Maharashtra), she has very sweet memories with Holi. She told me that Holi is mainly associated with the burning of Holika. Holi Purnima is also celebrated as Shimga. A week before the festival, youngsters go around the locality, collecting firewood and money. On the day of Holi, the firewood is arranged in a huge pile at a clearing in the locality. In the evening, the fire is lit. Every household makes an offering of sweets and a complete meal to the fire god. Puran Poli is the main delicacy and children shout “Holi re Holi puranachi poli “. Shimga is associated with the elimination of all evil. In evening they eat Gujia, Gulab Jamun etc as sweet. They also use to have a big dinner party in the evening. Here she is always busy but she always tries to perform pooja and make some sweets at home for her children and husband.

 Ina Pandit who lives in West ryde is from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, She told me that they make a sweet dish which is made of many grains and in the morning they offer that dish to cow. Bonfire is also lit in the main squares of the villages, localities and colonies. People collect at the time of bonfire and celebrate the event, which is symbolic of the victory of good over evil by singing and dancing. Tribals of Gujarat celebrate Holi in great enthusiasm and dance around the fire. This is the place to be at the time of Holi. And after playing Holi during the daytime in which they throw colours to each other and in the evening they have big dinner Party in which they make all traditional food like dhokala, thepala, and variety of sweets. Here her plan is go to Temple in the morning and will make a proper traditional food in the evening.

Amit Singh who lives in Concord and is from Varanasi. He told me that the famous Lath mar Holi is played in the sprawling compound of the Radha Rani temple. Thousands gather to witness the Lath Mar Holi when women beat up men with sticks as those on the sidelines become hysterical, sing Holi Songs and shout Sri Radhey or Sri Krishna. The Holi songs of Braj mandal are sung in pure Braj Bhasha.Males also sing provocative songs in a bid to invite the attention of women. In Mathura, the birth place of Lord Krishna and in Vrindavan this day is celebrated with special puja and the traditional custom of worshipping Lord.

Suresh Mishra lives in merrylands and he is from Patna in Bihar he said that Holi is celebrated with the same joy and charm in Bihar as in rest of north India. It is known as Phagwa in the local Bhojpuri dialect. From the morning we start playing all the bhojpuri Holi songs along with popular bollywood songs like “rang barse bheegey chunar wali” . On the eve of Phalgun Poornima, people light bonfires. They put cow dung cakes, wood of Araad or Redi tree and Holika tree, grains from the fresh harvest and unwanted wood leaves in the bonfire. Following the tradition people also clean their houses for the day.

At the time of Holika people assemble near the fire. The eldest member like Dada ji         and dadi ji or a purohit initiates the lighting. He then smears others with colour as a mark of greeting. Next day the festival is celebrated with colours and lot of frolic. Children and the youth take extreme delight in the festival. Though the festival is usually played with colors at some places people also enjoy playing holi with mud. Folk songs are sung at high pitch and people dance to the tune of dholak and the spirit of Holi. Intoxicating bhang is consumed with a variety of mouth watering delicacies such as pakoras and thandai to enhance the mood of the festival.

Kriti Gupta is studying in Tafe at medowbank . She is from mandi ( Himanchal Pradesh.)

This is her first Holi and she is also missing her family members. She told me that holi is her favorite festival. On this Holi she will go to the temple and make some sweets at home.

 In the end, I want to wish all Happy Holi. Enjoy your Holi with a lot of colours as they bring happiness in your life. Have a safe Holi.

India and Pakistan have resumed yet another channel of communication in wake of increase in terror activities from across the border. But does this give us a cause for optimism?

Pakistani forward line expert Hassan Sardar’s onslaught on the Indian Hockey team in the 1982 Asian Games was humiliating. After 28 years, even though a bit late, Hockey India returned with equal magic on the same fields with a scintillating win over Pakistan. On the very first day of the Hockey World Cup in New Delhi, the hosts bombarded goals with a swooning crowd and took the match 4-1. From darkness to bright light, the penalty corners worked wonders for India. So, did India convert all the penalty corners to its advantage? Perhaps Indian hockey players did manage successfully; the Indian Government however has lost yet another opportunity.

Less than a week before this match which saw surcharged emotions, New Delhi also witnessed foreign secretaries of India Nirupama Rao and her counterpart from Pakistan Salman Bashir shake hands for the press at Hyderabad House, not so far from the venue of this match at National Stadium.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries which had begun during the Musharraf reign froze after the Mumbai attack. India resumed talks with Pakistan under media limelight after a long hiatus of two years. Without any predefined agenda or consensus the talks have begun in a mere rush. Is it necessary to engage in such futile exercises with Pakistan at a time when it faces internal strife and the administration is almost under puppet control of the military? Bomb blasts on the streets of Pakistan are as common as encounters in the Kashmir valley today.

The current evolving process of dialogue hasn’t come as shocker for observers and analysts closely studying the relations between the two countries. The media are playing a critical role in shaping popular perceptions. Sentimentalism in sections of our media about ‘Aman Ki Asha’ (Hope for Peace), disregards realities about public anguish and anger at the continuous Pakistan sponsored terrorism. In February, a gang of stone-pelters attacked an eleven day old infant Irfan in Baramulla, which led to his brutal killing. The security forces and outsiders are not the lone targets of these brainwashed youth. As expected, the frontline separatist outfits, who otherwise are in the forefront with their anti-India rhetoric, didn’t condemn this inhuman act. The same month Pune for the first time rocked with a bomb blast resulting in gruesome killing of 17 innocents at a popular German Bakery.

Pakistan’s history of using Kalashnikovs and attacks such as these to terrorize and enforce its right on Jammu and Kashmir has taken a toll now on the entire country. Almost two decades ago, Pakistan gave arms training to Kashmiri Muslim youth who crossed over to POK. Today not just J&K, but all major cities in India are under terror radar of sleeper cells killing people out of ‘lust for blood’.

Ambassador Harriet Isom quoted recently through a study by an NGO that 3/4^th of people in Pakistan of all shades and grades believe that they first are Muslims and only second feel as Pakistanis. She further observed that this makes it easy for the Islamic organizations involved in hard-line terrorist and Jihadi activities in Pakistan to attract the support on all levels. We all know how Muslims have been recruited from various parts of Islamic World to be trained and transported to Afghanistan and Kashmir as non-state actors but with a covert support of established Pakistani Institutions like ISI and Military. Now that it has started biting Pakistan, they are now crying foul against these players in a new brand name of non-state actors (a crude lie) and Pakistan is attempting to wash their hands off this murky trade. Pakistan brands them as foreign terrorists beyond their control. Can a civilized society and world accept such lame excuses?

The statements of Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir didn’t go too well during his India visit. Among other things, he declared that the evidence that India had presented in the dossier against Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, the head of the dreaded Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group, was ‘literature not evidence.’ With the return of foreign secretary to Pakistan, renewed terror threats continue to pour in openly from across the border. Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai carnage yet again called for a ‘Jihad in Kashmir’, also asking Pakistan to go on a war against India if required, speaking to a local news channel.

In such an atmosphere, talks are nothing but eyewash to build further tension. While India stresses on ‘terrorism’ on the dialogue table, Pakistan has been pushing for Kashmir.

Meanwhile the Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram is planning to facilitate the return of Kashmiri youth who crossed over to Pak-Occupied-Kashmir. This plan is laden with a huge security risk to our nation. While we should support all steps to bring normalcy in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and strongly take steps for complete integration of the state to the Republic of India, compromising the security of the nation is not a price that should be paid for such efforts. It would be hara-kiri to create a safe passage for them to come back and spread more hatred. Moreover, there is no record of the youth who actually belong to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It will not be possible for anybody to differentiate the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, from those of POK or other adjacent parts. Hence, allowing Kashmiri youth to come from POK to India, would be opening an official channel for more terrorists to enter our country and bring in more bloodshed and cause even greater havoc than what we have witnessed in the last two decades.

The Home Minister who is scheduled to visit Pakistan on the sidelines of the SAARC summit may like to instead remind our neighbors of their commitment ‘against terrorism’ and need for action against its basic infrastructure.

It is understandable that India is under pressure from United States for talks. At the same time it is opening the channels of communication to demonstrate to the world its openness to peace while the constant rigidity from the other side; even though India has miserably failed to capitalize on this opportunity. The need of the hour is for Pakistan to establish its sincerity. It has to stop living in this denial mode for things to move further in a positive direction. Peace cannot be achieved merely by civil society debates, media campaigns and ignorance towards the ‘root cause’. India has to demand vocally for Pakistan to dismantle its infrastructure of terrorism before the dialogue process can be taken ahead, if at all.

An excellent function to commemorate International Women’s day was organized by United Indian Associations (UIA) at Parravilla Function Center in Parramatta on 06 March 2010. Attended by senior female members of the Australian Parliament and NSW legislative assembly the forum acted as a reminder to everyone assembled on the progress made by women in contributing to workforce, community, and nation building activities since the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Addressing the forum, President of UIA Ms Aruna Chandrala mentioned that the forum has been organized by Women’s Steering Committee of the UIA on a regular basis and aims to deliver relevant and timely information to Indian community about support available from Australian and NSW Government for their growth and development.

Chairperson of the UIA Women’s Steering Committee Ms Sumati Advani highlighted that the aims and objectives of the Committee are to explore matters relating to issues of Indian women and provide support to Australian Indian women, especially newly arrived migrant women, who find themselves isolated in a new country due to their cultural differences and language barriers or difficulties in understanding the Australian accent. She also mentioned that to achieve this end, UIA has established a Women’s Helpline on its website, i.e. www.uia.org.au. UIA website also has a directory of Women’s Support Services, agencies and Resource Centers that provide welfare and community services for women.

The distinguished speakers on the Forum were Minister Barbara Perry, MP; Hon Amanda Fazio, MLC and President of the Legislative Council of NSW; Ms Michelle Rowland – candidate for Greenway; Ms Aurelia Rehman and Ms Shantha Vishwanathan of the Hills Holroyd Parramatta Migrant Resource Center; Ms Tania from Beyond Blue Organization; and representatives from NSW Department of Health. 

In her address to the assembly Hon Amanda Fazio mentioned the strong contributions of women to Australian society and highlighted that women like Hon Julia Gillard, Hon Anna Bligh – Premier of Queensland, Hon Kristina Keneally – Premier of NSW are now holding high posts in government and politics. She concluded by mentioning that successful women should take the onus of mentoring and helping other women to be successful and high achievers. 

Ms Aurelia Rehman and Ms Shantha Vishwanathan highlighted the different programs available from Hills Holroyd Parramatta Migrant Resource Center to help new migrants to integrate within Australian society, cope and tackle domestic violence, and increase their employability skills. They emphasized that help from the Center is available to persons with diverse ethnicities like Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, Afghani, Chinese, Africans. During their presentation it was highlighted that help is available from NSW government to skilled migrants facing difficulty in obtaining job in Australian Job Market under the Skill Max Program. Skill Max program helps skilled migrants gain Australian work experience and learn job search skills to find a job of their choice in the marketplace. Within this program the NSW Government facilitates a minimum of 2 week work experience for the migrants which can extend to a larger duration in some cases. 

Representatives from NSW Health highlighted the services available under the NSW “Get Healthy” program to all residents of NSW to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Under this program free, confidential telephone and web-based support is available to people interested in making healthy changes to their lifestyle. The Service provides users with specific information regarding healthy eating and physical activity and provides users with an option of taking part in an ongoing behavior change coaching process. They also mentioned about the NSW Multicultural Health Community Service program (http://www.mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au) where latest information in 45 languages is available to public. 

 Ms Tania from BeyondBlue organization talked about Depression and Anxiety problems faced by women and facilities available to address these issues. She talked of the collaborative approach between GP’s, Psychologists, Counselors and Psychiatrists to tackle mental health issues and material available from BeyondBlue organization to sensitize and inform public about these illnesses. 

 A nice presentation on assertiveness skills was given by Ms Dipti Zachariah. She mentioned that assertiveness is middle zone between passive to aggressive behaviour continuum. Assertive people tend to be happy and more successful at work then passive or aggressive people. These skills can be self-taught or through the help of psychologists and counselors. Assertiveness training people to achieve a better work life balance and be successful at their careers. Finally the vote of thanks was delivered by Ms Bhagya Shankar.

The recent tragic death of 3 year old Gurshan Singh Channa in Melbourne has served as a gruesome warning to young families in Australia about the dangers that are present in the bowels of the community. It is the sort of crime that absolutely distresses everyone.  The boy’s parents  had arrived in Australia from India just two months back and were about to leave for India in a week when the tragedy stuck.

The death was surrounded by mystery initially and with no apparent clue for the motive coming up in initial investigations some people had begun to link it to racial tensions. Murder or disappearance of any toddler in our community attracts rightful public attention and the tragic death of Gurshan Singh has bought the Australian Indian community back into media focus. The tragedy has also bought to fore many issues and lessons.

The case has again bought into focus the communal living style of some Indians who tend to stay in larger groups within their homes. This home at Melbourne suburb of Lalor was accessed by 20 different people with 4 families staying together. The allegations that the accused Gursewak Dhillon, a part time taxi driver in Australia was here on a false passport have not helped as well.

However the outpouring of support from the mainstream community has been very reassuring. People from all walks of life came forward to offer their help to the family. 

If you look at the past incidents of violence against Indian students in Melbourne, there were many clear patterns emerging.

After every attack, Indian students would converge for a few days and appear for a few minutes on National media and then forgotten.
After every attack, Indian media especially the electronic media went hammer and tongs over Australian establishment accusing them of racist attitudes.
After every attack, Australian police would claim the incident was not a racist attack and was instead an opportunistic attack.

It now seems apparent that all the stakeholders had learnt their lessons from the past episodes and behaved rationally after this incident.

As soon as the police were notified of the missing child, a massive search was started with 1 hour and police intensified the search  with 15 police units which included police dog squad and air wing. Supported by 50 SES volunteers they conducted a  massive search of the Lalor area.

This time the Victorian Police Commissioner Simon Overland, was thankfully not fronting the media and Deputy Commissioner Sir Ken Jones did a fantastic job of managing the media and reassuring everyone that they were on top of it. He said, “The message to all communities is the Victoria police, we stand ready to take on these sorts of investigations. Any missing child, any suspicious death of a child, we will investigate to the absolute of our potential. Beyond that I would say to the Indian community and to India, they can take my assurances on that that anything and everything that can be done will be done.” This time Victorian police was just using the right language which was so reassuring.

The Indian media reporting on this issue was free of the hyperbole this time and they did report objectively without casting racist aspersions on the wider Australian society. They were generally supportive of the way Australian police was handling the case and did not link this with the student violence issue.

Victorian Premier John Brumby who has committed lot of gaffes in the past was briefed several times on the investigation as were Diplomats and federal ministers. For the first time it appeared that Australian authorities were keeping in mind the political sensitivities needed for handling this case. John Brumby also spoke to Indian High Commissioner Sujatha Singh and advised her that “no stone will be left unturned” in the murder investigation and informed her that Victoria Police would draw on Commonwealth resources if necessary to solve this case.

A visibly shocked Kevin Rudd offered condolences to the family and said he wanted to know of the facts about this case. Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna’s statement in the Rajya Sabha was very balanced and he said the police responded immediately when notified of this case.

Keeping in mind Indian traditions, the homicide detectives, removed their shoes at the front door on entering the home and left shaking hands with those who escorted them.

This sad incident has taught everyone valuable lessons and the best tribute we can offer to Gurshan Singh, is to work in the same manner in the future, if there is any unfortunate tragedy.

 Date and Time

Feb 13, 2010

10 am – 1 pm

 Venue

Parramatta Town Hall

182, Church Street Mall,

Parramatta, NSW

 You are unhappy because of double unhappiness

Sirshree

 Why is man unhappy?   The answer could be that man is unhappy because of double unhappiness. Because of his habit of double unhappiness. Suppose you are troubled by something… supposing your body is under pain – then this is the first unhappiness.

 But on that unhappiness the mind becomes unhappy, “Why this pain? Why me? When would this pain go away?” Then the unhappiness of the body increases many times over. 

The body is in pain. The body is curing it too. Nature has its own way of healing. But the mind made it “my pain”, “my unhappiness”. 

Instead of working on curing yourself of unhappiness, work on curing yourself of double unhappiness. Children get angry. But you also see them playing peacefully the very next moment. 

Now compare that to an instance where you have gotten angry. You got angry. It does not trouble you as such. The episode is over. But you are thinking, about it. 

Even after the incident has passed, what you think gives you trouble. This means you get angry over anger and this troubles the mind. 

As your understanding increases, you get rid of this double unhappiness. Unhappiness alone cannot trouble you. Unhappiness in and of itself does not possess the capacity to trouble you. 

Non- acceptance of unhappiness is the point where double unhappiness begins. That is where there is unhappiness over unhappiness as to why you are unhappy. 

When there is acceptance of this unhappiness, then unhappiness over that unhappiness doesn’t happen. Depression doesn’t occur. 

The understanding will arise that it is only non-acceptance that is unhappiness and that it is only acceptance that is happiness. 

Accept moments of unhappiness and let it go. How do you let them go? You let unhappiness go without resisting it by asking a simple question, “Can i accept this?” 

This question propels the release of unhappiness. In most cases, the answer you shall receive within is that you can accept this. 

You immediately release your unhappiness and change your focus. What if you cannot accept your unhappiness? What if the answer to the question, “Can i accept this?” is a ‘no’? 

Then, ask yourself a second question, “Can i accept that i cannot accept this unhappiness?” Be alright with your non-acceptance. Do not become unhappy over not being able to accept. 

Then you are not accepting non- acceptance. Accept the non-acceptance and you shall be able to release your level of happiness instantly. What is true at one level is true at all levels. 

As in small, so in big. As in the microcosm, so in the macrocosm. When you answer “Yes” to the “Can i accept this?” question, then you have let go of negative feelings associated with it. 

You may think that this is just a small step. But when you do so, it causes a giant shift in your consciousness. At that very moment, a lot of other unrelated things open up for you and you begin to attract more positive things. 

The smallest letting-go action helps us in every facet of our life. Not only do you become mentally free, but it affects you at the physical, emotional, social and financial levels, setting off a chain reaction that reverberates through your entire being and leaves you in quite a different place than you were before. 

 For more information about Tej Gyan Foundation, please visit www.tejgyan.org or email us on asiapac@tejgyan.com

Boria Majumdar 

He is the man of the season. While some say he has redefined the art of batsmanship, others have gone a step further in asserting that there are now two coaching manuals in cricket, the first is the conventional, known to us all, MCC manual and the second is what has been decreed the Virender Sehwag manual of batting. While this might be taking things a bit too far, there is little doubt that 2009 was Virender Sehwag’s year. Here’s Sehwag in a freewheeling conversation with Boria Majumdar about his resolutions for 2010, his batting and his predictions for team India.

 Boria- Viru, 2009 is the best year you have had in your career isn’t it? Fantastic series in New Zealand to start with, a 293 in the last Test of the year followed by a 146 in the one dayer at Rajkot, you are being credited with redefining the art of batsmanship?

Sehwag- I am batting really well. I have always played well in Test cricket except when I had a lean patch in 2007. But yes, this year has been special. I am looking to dominate, playing my shots and getting the big scores. I have always said to Gautam that getting a 100 is not enough. Get double or even triple hundreds. That’s how you can create fear in the minds of the opposition bowlers. Unless they are in awe, they will not show you the respect you deserve.

Now that you are getting these big scores with regularity people have started expecting miracles from you. Are you feeling any extra pressure?

Sehwag- No. I try and negotiate pressure in my own way. Of course there’s pressure but you have to come to terms with it and carry on. For example when I scored 293, I was continuously singing bhajans out there in the middle. New songs, old songs, everything. Whatever I listened to in our dressing room I was humming out in the middle. You can ask Tendulkar, he will tell you that I always do this—sing bhajans while batting. That way I can continue doing what is expected of me.

Boria- Amazing! So are you in that zone where your confidence is sky high?

Sehwag- I don’t want to sound pompous. But l can surely tell you that once I get to 60 or 70 there’s no bowler in the world who can get Virender Sehwag out. Only Virender Sehwag can get Sehwag out at moments when I am batting the way I am currently. My philosophy has always been to make the most of the situation when you are in form. So when I go out there, I identify a bowler and get after him. If he is the best bowler in the opposition, your job becomes much easier.

Boria- But scoring 280 not out in Test match cricket is phenomenal—is it a plan or did it just happen?

Sehwag- Look there are no conscious plans like this in place. I have made it very simple for myself. There are 90 overs to be played in a day. If I am able to hit a boundary in 80 of these I can get to a triple hundred by the end of the days play and set a match up for my team. Gavaskar and Srikkanth have told me that I should just hold off for the first 15 minutes or the first four of five overs. Once the initial 15 minutes are over, I can get to many more hundreds. That’s exactly what I am doing.

Boria- That was my next question. Have you changed your approach to batting a bit? It was evident to us in Mumbai that you were consciously playing out the first few overs?

Sehwag- Yes I have. I was going for shots a bit too early I think. Once the first 15 minutes are over I am in complete control of the innings and can start to play shots at will. This approach, I am confident, will get me many more hundreds in 2010.

Boria- Big year coming up for Indian cricket, marquee series against South Africa and then the T-20 world cup. Your thoughts?

Sehwag- It will be a great series against South Africa. They are a very good side but with the kind of form we are in we can beat them. At home we should look to dominate against all opposition. I am looking forward to playing against them. Coming to the T-20 world cup, we have a very good side. I was out injured in the last edition in England and am looking forward to contributing to the team’s cause in the West Indies. I firmly believe that if we can play to potential we can win back the cup we won in 2007. With the kind of talent we have in our team, there’s no doubt that we have a good chance. It is important to have our full team for the tournament though.

Boria- Any special resolution for 2010?

Sehwag- Keep scoring heavily. We aren’t playing too many Tests but in the limited number of tests we are playing I want to get a 1000 runs. My ambition is to get 1500 or even 2000 runs in a year in Test matches. I am physically okay, can bat long, bowl long and want to make the most of this phase.

Boria With the 2011 world cup coming up, we need you to be in proper physical shape.

Sehwag- The 2011 world cup is a huge tournament for us. I want to win the tournament for Tendulkar. All of us are determined to do our best for him. He has served Indian cricket for long and this is his only unfulfilled wish. We will do our best to win the 2011 world cup for him.

Boria- You have opened with both Tendulkar and Gambhir for a while. While the former is the best the world has seen, the other is currently the best in the ICC rankings. Talk about batting with both of them.

Sehwag- They are different players. When I am batting with Tendulkar I am under no pressure because everyone is focussed on him. When I am batting with Gautam we take a lot more risks. You will see us run a lot more singles. We have been playing for years and have a great understanding and we take a lot of risky singles when batting together. When batting with Tendulkar he doesn’t run risky singles. He always tells me it is not worth risking your wicket for a single. Both are great for Indian cricket and it has been fantastic to be able to bat with both of them for a period of time.

Boria- Final question-what is the reaction in the dressing room like when you are batting the way you are now?

Sehwag- Each of my teammates keep urging me to keep going. They know that if i can bat through a day the team will get a score of 400 plus and that way our bowlers will have maximum time to bowl the opposition out. Accordingly, they always encourage me to keep going and bat for the maximum number of overs.

I write this not in a state of anger but in a state of disbelief. Much is being written about what will happen to the fate of Ferozshah Kotla as an international venue, whether or not Delhi will lose its rights to host World Cup 2011 and whether Delhi Daredevils will use the Kotla as their home base come March 2010 when IPL returns home.

 Not once is it being said that these pitches are a regular reality in our domestic fixtures. Sri Lanka being a heavyweight international side had the guts to protest and walk out of the game. It was fantastic to see Mahendra Singh Dhoni agreeing with Kumar Sangakkara and going ahead with the abandonment of the fixture. However, had it been a domestic game, it can easily be conjectured what would have happened. Play would have gone on unabated, no one would have been pulled up and the players, or more importantly Indian cricket, would have lost out. Even if players suffered injuries, thanks to the pitch, not one of us would have known because the cricket fraternity hardly cares about what’s happening to our domestic game.

  An unworthy bowler, thanks to a fantastic performance on a track like this, would have forced himself into national reckoning and a quality batsman would have lost out due to a poor score on an unplayable wicket. By not looking into the root of the problem, the BCCI, and in this case the DDCA, is only contributing to the weakening of the edifice of the game in India.

 It started at Indore on 25 December 1997. It continued at Kanpur against South Africa in April last year with the match getting over in 3 days. And it continues to torment us at the end of 2009 at Delhi.. In the last 12 years India has progressed to becoming the financial powerhouse of the world game, we have now wrested the mantle of the world’s number 1 Test side from Australia and South Africa and we are perilously close to becoming the world’s number 1 team in the one-day fifty over format as well. Yet, we can’t get our basics right at our national capital and continue to portray ourselves as inept, inefficient, power hungry men unable to assume responsibility of being the world’s premier cricket nation.

It may well be that the ICC refuses to ban DDCA.. India’s financial clout can surely do the trick yet again and impose serious constraints on the ICC. But the truth is our own game will continue to suffer and real talent will be lost in the process.

The abandonment of the Delhi fixture isn’t a shame for the DDCA alone. Rather, it draws attention to something much more significant—it draws attention, finally, to the rotten underbelly of Indian cricket, where ineptitude can still pass thanks to our growing financial clout.

It was impressive to see the BCCI assume immediate responsibility and disband the pitches and grounds committee. Just days earlier had the BCCI doubled the salaries of the committee members. That these men are accountable was perhaps the only silver lining in what has been a dark episode in the history of Indian cricket. While the BCCI deserves praise for being proactive, it was shocking to see the DDCA pass the buck. Just days earlier Chetan Chauhan was on television suggesting that the pitch will play true and had been rolled for 10 days with a 1 ton roller. He was confident it was an excellent cricket wicket.. The same Chauhan, someone I have much respect for, looked extremely nervous at the post abandonment press conference where he tried to pass the buck upon the BCCI’s pitch committee. Frankly speaking, passing the buck won’t work on this occasion. Had this happened at Lords, Mick Hunt would surely have resigned. At Kolkata, Probir Mukherjee would have been in the line of fire. In Chauhan’s case, Daljit Singh and co can’t act as shields.  And only if they pay for their inefficiency will justice be done.

We, the ordinary cricket fan, have been wronged. It is our game and we need to set things right.

This is not an usual column. Rather, it is a statement that should have been made months earlier by anyone interested in Indian sport. Just days earlier a report shocked the sports fraternity of the country by announcing to us all that our hockey players are on strike. They hadn’t received salaries for a while and hence had refused to train at the national camp in Pune with less than a month and a half to go for the world cup in Delhi. As our media made common cause with our players, a section of the press and some experts suggested a strange comparison. It was widely reported that while our cricketers are millionaires, our hockey players are forced to beg for pennies from the establishment. A well known former player even defended this dismal state of affairs suggesting our performance in hockey has been downhill and hence the players have no right to ask for monies when training for the world cup.

First things first- the BCCI is an autonomous body and isn’t dependant on the government or the sports ministry for support. It has gone out and corporatized the game, sought out sponsors, created stars out of the performers, injected value into the game and has converted Indian cricket into a multi-million dollar industry. It is solely to the BCCI’s credit in being able to do so over the last decade and a half. For the record, the Board’s balance sheet at the end of the fiscal year in 1992 showed a deficit of 62 lakh rupees. The opulence we now know and take for granted is a product of the last 17 years.

To blame cricket for the sad plight of hockey is to miss the woods for the trees. Such a comparison is a non starter and by doing so we are actually trivializing the issue and compromising our players even more. If the Kotla fiasco was a national shame, the hockey revolt, which has now been doused by Hockey India officials, is an even greater shame. For our national sport to reach such a nadir is a condition that the entire country should be ashamed of, especially when it comes at a time when we are bracing ourselves to host the Commonwealth Games and the hockey world cup.

The solution is simple. Keep cricket out of the equation for cricket or the cricket administrators have no role to play in this. Rather, do what Pankaj Advani has suggested, follow the cricket model in trying to corporatize your own sport and make money for the protagonists. Hockey India will do well to resuscitate the PHL, which did much for the players for 2 years before it was forced to shut down for want of funds. They will do well to sort out the imbroglio over Hockey Punjab, which clearly smells of politics at a time when the team led by Rajpal Singh is preparing for the world cup.

In fact, it is time for Hockey India to go a step further. Perhaps introduce graded payments like there is in cricket or announce cash incentives that will inspire the players to go that extra yard. Or more interestingly, try and take the radical step and privatise the sport of hockey. There are many entrepreneurs waiting to pick up the baton and run with it—it is time we use their services. Indian hockey deserves much better than what it is getting at the moment.

May be its time for the BCCI to act as well. If it can pay the AIFF 25 crores in trying to give the sport a fillip, it is time to do so for hockey, more because we still nurture a realistic chance of making the podium in hockey, a chance non-existent in football.