The following magazine, Megha Rajdootam - मेघ राजदूतम् - The Cloud Envoy, Vol. 2 No. 1, was published for the High Commission of India in New Zealand in August 2003.
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| Cover Page of Megha Rajdootam, August 2003 |
Message from the High Commissioner
On Anniversary of Megha Rajdootam (August 2003)
It was with so much of circumspection verging on trepidation that this High Commission had ventured, on the last Independence Day Function, to bring out its maiden publication, Megha Rajdootam. The appreciative responses of esteemed readers have convinced us that the effort was worth undertaking.
The issue in your hands further dwells on the 'high' theme of the Himalaya to mark the Golden Jubilee of the First Ascent to Everest. The official visit of friendship to India by Sir Edmund and Lady June Hillary from May 20-22, 2003 indeed occasioned a festival of Himalayas.
The First Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in New Delhi on January 9-11, 2003 dealt with all aspects of the linkages of Indians abroad with Mother India. The material on this seminal subject would be of great interest to the Indian community, in the context of the institutionalization of the Divas as an annual event.
Recalling the activities of India-New Zealand friendship, I am glad to mention that Te Papa, National Museum of New Zealand, with fulsome involvement of the Indian Community, has put up a high quality exhibition, 'Indian Wedding'. We are privileged to devote a page in colour to this special event. Similarly, the Asia 2000 Foundation has adopted the festival of Diwali to be celebrated on a national scale. As if in a logical sequence, Ram Lila troupe of Shri Ram Bharatiya Kala Kendra, New Delhi is performing the epic drama in New Zealand this August/September.
A delegation of 23 members of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council/Assembly, led by Hon'ble K.N. Tripathi, Speaker visited New Zealand in October 2002. Admiral Madhavendra Singh, Chief of Indian Navy, was in New Zealand in November 2002. Hon'ble K.R. Rana, Minister of Textiles paid official visit to New Zealand in April 2003. There have been important visits from New Zealand also including that of Hon'ble Peter Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Forestry. Though the performance of the Indian cricket team in New Zealand turned out to be grossly below expectations, the Indian Tigers fought back and roared in the World Cup of this game of glorious uncertainties.
New Zealand has become a popular destination for location shooting by Bollywood film makers. Christchurch, Queenstown and the scenic places of South Island have become familiar to millions of Indian cine-goers. We are sure to hear soon about possible joint ventures among the global dream merchants like Peter Jackson and Sanjay Leela Bhansali!
To quote figures, India and New Zealand interestingly settled on a balanced trade figure for the first time ever at $192 million each between July 2001 and June 2002. India has emerged as an important resource country of skilled professionals for New Zealand. The sector of Information Technology holds promise for both sides. More Indian students are choosing New Zealand for quality education.
I have enjoyed my innings of 64 'over-weeks' to contribute to the scoreboard of India-New Zealand cooperation. I thank my colleagues for their valuable support towards realizing the goals of the High Commission.
Finally, in the context of this issue, I place on record my gratefulness to my distinguished friends - Judge Anand Satyanand, Prof. W.H. McLeod and Prof. Theo Roy - for their contribution of articles. The High Commission is grateful to the prestigious Indian weeklies 'India Today' and 'Outlook' for the permission to utilize their material and photographs. Similarly, thanks are due to the Hindi monthly 'Aajkal'. To Sir Edmund Hillary, words would not suffice to fathom our deepest gratitude, 'highest' inspiration and fullest access to photos from 'A View from the Summit'. I thank Indian Mountaineering Foundation for photos of Sir Edmund Hillary's latest visit to India. Thanks are, of course, due to M/s Thames Publications Ltd,. for quality and timely printing of this third issue of Megha Rajdootam, under the usual stresses and strains that go with the realization of such a creative endeavour.
Bal Anand
High Commissioner of India to New Zealand
Concurrently accredited to Samoa, Nauru and Kiribati
Megha Rajdootam, August 2003 - Table of Contents
| Contents | ||
| More on Megha Rajdootam | 2 | |
| Vision for 2020 | Dr A.P.J. Kalam | 3-4 |
| Ever-Evolving Canvas of India | A.B. Vajpayee | 6-7 |
| India and the Diaspora | Yashwant Sinha | 8-9 |
| Kailash - the Ultimate Himalayan Pilgrimage | T.S. Tirumurti | 10-11 |
| First Ascent of Mt. Everest | A.B. Vajpayee | 12 |
| Welcome to India, Sir Edmund! | 13 | |
| Celebrating Indian Marriage | 14 | |
| At 'Home' among Friends | 15 | |
| India, More I Seek, More I Find | Vinod Khanna | 16-17 |
| Truth - a Tangled Web | Shiv K. Kumar | 18-19 |
| Punjab - Discovering Faith in History | W.H. McLeod, D.Litt. | 20-21 |
| Garden of Delights - Lucknow | Prof. Theo Roy | 22-23 |
| Reflections on India's Independence | Anand Satyanand | 24 |
| Independence Day, 2002 | 25 | |
| Events in Pictures | 26 | |
| Glimpses of Indian Cricket Stars | 27 | |
| Meetings - Exploring more Co-operation with India | 28 | |
| In the Shadow of a Superpower | Manu Joseph & Sandipan Deb | 29-30 |
| Devdas - Mystique of Tragic Love | B.M. Malhotra | 31-33 |
| Esteemed Readers Write | 34-35 | |
| Books in a Nut-Shell | 36-37 | |
| Twinning of Art | Hemant Sareen | 38 |
| The Pathfinders | 39 | |
| Institutions of the Community | 40 | |
| Export-Import Policy 2003-4 | Arun Jaitley | 41-42 |
| New Zealand Seismic Technology for India | 43 | |
| Tender Notes | Child Poets | 44 |
| Hindi Section | ||
| Indians Abroad; प्राक्कथन | J.C. Sharma; जे.सी. शर्मा | 45 |
| Everest - An Eternal Challenge; कई ग्लेशियरों से उभरता विशाल पिरामिडीय आकार एवरेस्ट को अव्दितीय भव्यता प्रदान करता है | Suman Dubey; सुमन दुबे | 46 |
| Let's Lit the Lamps Again; अटल जी की काव्य वानगी | A.B. Vajpayee; अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी | 47 |
| The Buddhist Heritage of Indian Art; भारतीय कला के प्रेरणा पुरुष | J. Chandrikesh; जगदीश चंद्रिकेश | 48-49 |
| Earth, How Beautiful! इतनी तो प्यारी लगती है धरती | R.S. Prajapati; रविंद्र स्वप्निल प्रजापति | 50 |
| Epitome of a Folk Song; एक लोकगीत का उपसंहार | Prakash Manu; प्रकाश मनु | 51 |
| A Distant Dawn - Poetry of Sahir Ludhianvi; सुबह का इंतजार कौन करे - साहिर लुधयानवी की शायरी | R.S. Tiwari; राधेश्याम तिवारी | 52 |
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