Not quite Harry Potter, but Jodhpur’s broom-makers have tales of their own

0 Comments read Gender
Sunder Devi sorting moonjh (Saccharum munja) Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Jodhpur (Rajasthan, India), 26.09.2011 (WFS): Lifting her translucent red tie and dye cotton veil, Sunder Devi, 45, dexterously sorts moonjh (Saccharum munja). Nearby her 14-year-old daughter, Kiran, niftily assembles them into brooms. Theirs is one of the 150 families in Jodhpur’s Banjara colony, whose livelihood depends on the humble broom.

Rural women in this western Indian state of Rajasthan have been making brooms from locally available materials to suit their own needs and also for commercial sale. Every three months, Sunder Devi’s husband, Gopal Bhai, goes to Alwar and Etah in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh to buy moonjh.

Continue reading →

Australian Universities reach out to India

0 Comments read Education, Features
University of Sydney Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 23.09.2011 (Business Standard): Attacks on Indians in Australia, and a subsequent steep drop in Indian student enrollment, have pressed Australian universities to engage more with India. As the dust settles on the furore surrounding attacks on Indian students, which has strained bilateral relations and threatened Australia’s multi-billion-dollar education export sector, Australian universities are going all out to engage with Indian educational institutions.

This isn’t all that surprising considering that the number of offshore applicants from India fell from 18,514 in the 2009-10 financial year to just 6,875 in 2010-11, a drop of 63 per cent. From setting up joint academic and research collaborations to offering scholarships and exchanges, universities are keen to re-build Australia’s reputation as a convivial and safe study destination.

Continue reading →

Punjab National Bank opens office in Sydney

0 Comments read Business and Trade

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 17.09.2011 (IANS): Punjab National Bank (PNB), the second largest government-owned bank in India, opened a representative office in the heart of the central business district here on Thursday, becoming the fourth Indian bank to establish a presence in Australia.

“We are hoping to get regulatory approval from authorities in both countries to upgrade this representative office into a full-fledged branch within a year,” said chairman and managing director K R Kamath.

Continue reading →