Posts by Neena Bhandari

From Kannada rock to Sufi gospel: India puts its soft power on show in Australia

0 Comments read Arts, Entertainment & Lifestyle, Features

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 08.11.2016 (Scroll.in): Cultural diplomacy is putting a positive spin to the India-Australia bilateral relationship and also enriching the Australian economy.

The first ever Confluence Festival of India in Australia, touted as one of the largest ever foreign cultural festivals to be organised in the continent country, rolled out 25 productions showcased over 70 different events at iconic landmarks across seven cities.

For decades, India’s soft power potential has remained largely untapped, but the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government has been focusing on raising India’s profile in the international arena through cultural diplomacy. Indian High Commissioner to Australia, Mr Navdeep Suri, strongly believes that “India is a super power when it comes to soft power and Prime Minister Modi has been adroit in recognising the potential of yoga and cultural diplomacy in raising India’s profile around the world”.

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Joining the dots

1 Comment read Indigenous, Travel
Anangu Aboriginal artist Sarah Dalby. Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

The colours and lines of Aboriginal art in Australia’s outback take the author back to the deserts of her birthplace in Rajasthan.

Uluru (Australia), 15 October 2016 (The Hindu): In the grainy red sand, Anangu Aboriginal artist Sarah Dalby, 42, glides her fingers to draw a collection of symbols to demonstrate how the Aborigines have been passing knowledge about their land, culture and traditions from one generation to the next. It is a warm spring afternoon in Yulara, the resort town in Australia’s Red Centre desert, and I am in the town square for a 90-minute Maruku Arts dot painting workshop.

Dalby draws concentric circles, linking them with lines to depict a journey from one place to another. She then etches crescent-like shapes, representing men and women squatting on the ground, and envelopes them with more symbols that embody desert flora and fauna. Continue reading →

Cancer Immunotherapy offers hope, when prognosis is grim

0 Comments read Cancer, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Melbourne, 09.10.2016 (The Week): Melissa Baker, 41, had been feeling itchy for a few months and then one evening she felt a lump in her neck. She went to see her doctor and by the end of the week, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She was told it was a “good cancer” and that she would be cured with six months of treatment.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. When the first line treatment failed, she underwent a stem cell transplant and nearly died from pneumonia in the lead up to it. The transplant also failed. This was followed by treatment with an expensive targeted chemotherapy drug. After an initial good response, Melissa’s lymphoma started progressing again.

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