Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Megha Rajdootham - August 2003

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.


Cover Page of Megha Rajdootam, August 2003
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 Rajdootam2
Vision for 2020Dr A.P.J. Kalam3-4
Ever-Evolving Canvas of IndiaA.B. Vajpayee6-7
India and the DiasporaYashwant Sinha8-9
Kailash - the Ultimate Himalayan PilgrimageT.S. Tirumurti10-11
First Ascent of Mt. EverestA.B. Vajpayee12
Welcome to India, Sir Edmund!13
Celebrating Indian Marriage14
At 'Home' among Friends15
India, More I Seek, More I FindVinod Khanna16-17
Truth - a Tangled WebShiv K. Kumar18-19
Punjab - Discovering Faith in HistoryW.H. McLeod, D.Litt.20-21
Garden of Delights - LucknowProf. Theo Roy22-23
Reflections on India's IndependenceAnand Satyanand24
Independence Day, 200225
Events in Pictures26
Glimpses of Indian Cricket Stars27
Meetings - Exploring more Co-operation with India28
In the Shadow of a SuperpowerManu Joseph & Sandipan Deb29-30
Devdas - Mystique of Tragic LoveB.M. Malhotra31-33
Esteemed Readers Write34-35
Books in a Nut-Shell36-37
Twinning of ArtHemant Sareen38
The Pathfinders39
Institutions of the Community40
Export-Import Policy 2003-4Arun Jaitley41-42
New Zealand Seismic Technology for India43
Tender NotesChild Poets44
Hindi Section
Indians Abroad; प्राक्कथनJ.C. Sharma; जे.सी. शर्मा45
Everest - An Eternal Challenge; कई ग्लेशियरों से उभरता विशाल पिरामिडीय आकार एवरेस्ट को अव्दितीय भव्यता प्रदान करता हैSuman Dubey; सुमन दुबे46
Let's Lit the Lamps Again; अटल जी की काव्य वानगीA.B. Vajpayee; अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी47
The Buddhist Heritage of Indian Art; भारतीय कला के प्रेरणा पुरुषJ. Chandrikesh; जगदीश चंद्रिकेश48-49
Earth, How Beautiful! इतनी तो प्यारी लगती है धरतीR.S. Prajapati; रविंद्र स्वप्निल प्रजापति50
Epitome of a Folk Song; एक लोकगीत का उपसंहारPrakash Manu; प्रकाश मनु51
A Distant Dawn - Poetry of Sahir Ludhianvi; सुबह का इंतजार कौन करे - साहिर लुधयानवी की शायरीR.S. Tiwari; राधेश्याम तिवारी 52




No comments: