By Videsh Singh
The third edition of Bacho Ka Jalwa (Children’s Talent) Show was a smashing success. This is according to the organizers, the artistes and most of all the sold out audience at the York Woods Performing Arts Theatre. I have been following this show since its inception three years ago and every year I am more and more amazed by the incredible talent gracing the stage at Bacho Ka Jalwa. The show always starts on time, which in itself is a rare feat, but this is because the numerous artistes and the organizers insist on punctuality.
This year, the artistes were accompanied on stage by Maestro Harold Boodoo on the synthesizer and the versatile Devin Ramoutar on percussion. There were some sterling renditions imitating India’s most prolific singers.
Nathan Khan did justice to the legendary Manna Dey’s "Laga Chunari Me Dag" and "Ay Meri Zohra Jabeen." Kevin Dhar had the crowd spellbound with Kishore Kumar’s popular "Mere Sapno ki Rani" and "Yamala Pagla Deewana." Mohammed Rafi would have been proud of Dylan Harpal’s rendition of the popular "Suhani Raat" which he followed up with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s "Akhiya Udeek Diya," in Qawali style, to the crowd’s delight. Narain Ramduwar was absolutely marvelous with two of Kishore Kumar’s selections.
Many Indians from the subcontinent who were in the crowd stood up as Amanda Singh gave a spine-chilling performance of the patriotic hit "Ai Mere Vatan Ke Logo" originally done by Lata Mangeshkar Ji. Nalini Chaitan brought down the house with stunning renditions of "Tumko Dekha To Yeh Khayal", "Teri Ankhon Ke Siva Duniya" and had the crowd in a frenzy with "Ab Ke Baras Bada Zulma Hua."
The show was into its fifth hour as the packed house was mesmerized with special guest artiste Palak Bhatt Gandhi of India. She did the immortal hits "Aap Ki Nazaro Ki Samjha", "Lag Ja Gale" and ended the show with the unforgettable rendition of "Satyam Shivam Sundaram."
The dancers were at their absolute best. Charming seven-year old Saakshavi Thileepan, making her first appearance at Bacho Ka Jalwa, wowed the crowd with a traditional Bharatnatyam dance. The angelic Sitara Sisavang stole the hearts of the crowd with a graceful Bollywood dance. Sansita Malhotra opened the show with a beautiful Bharatnatyam dance, an invocation to Shri Ganesh Bhagawan; 2016 Diwali Queen Stephanie Jodhan made her presence felt with a fabulous dance that had the crowd truly engaged. Gracing the Bacho Ka Jalwa stage for her third consecutive year, Kimmi Budhu gave outstanding performances with two sensational Bollywood dances.
There were other great performances, including the little magician on the table Ravi Ari Singh who had the energetic crowd clapping and cheering throughout his solo performance. Anjali Sinanan did two inspiring renditions of "Tum Asha" and "Mohe Panghat Pe." Bimurto Islam uplifted the crowd with her soulful performance of the Canadian National Anthem and also brought a difference to the show with a Bangladeshi song. Anisa Dhar did an amazing rendering of "Salaam-E-Ishq" and "Na Baba Na Baba". Singer Kyle Haripersaud, accompanied by Brian Ragubhir on Tabla, did two wonderful renditions. Neetu and Soni Rambarack, as they always do, gave outstanding performances while Diane Harpal was joined by her brother Dylan Harpal on the keyboard and Natesh Persaud on Tabla to showcase their superb talent.
Niel Singh accompanied by Devin Ramdin on Tabla gave a great start to the show by doing a Ganesh Bhagawan Bhajan. The younger sister of Devin Ramoutar, Priya Ramoutar, surely made her brother and parents proud with a tremendous performance. Nidhi Subrahmanya showed her versatility in a Bharatnatyam dance and later sang in karaoke style. The youthful Allana Singh did the popular "Man Dole Mera" effortlessly and her cousin Aaron Singh had the crowd moving with a taan selection. St Lucia-born Darnella Devito making her second appearance at Bacho Ka Jalwa did not disappoint the animated crowd with the popular "Payal Ki Jhankar." Snigdha Malhotra did a touching poem about Mother India on its 70th Independence Anniversary.
Sound engineer Justin Samlal did a remarkable job throughout the evening as did Sayyid Hassan with his lighting touch. Alif Munim did the popular Pick-A-Pan masterfully.
Special tribute must be paid to the two Masters of Ceremonies, the enchanting Aneesa Ramdin and the youthful Mahesh Singh. They were funny, engaging but most of all had the five-hour long show moving seamlessly.
This year’s appreciation award went to Mr. Shiam Tripathi.
By show's end, most of the crowd were already inquiring about Canada’s highly regarded Bacho Ka Jalwa Children’s Talent Show’s next edition.

Members of the overseas Indian community in Canada are attempting to counter the political campaign by separatist elements espousing the pro-Khalistan viewpoint and prevent Canadian politicians from adopting these views.
The effort, both at the federal and provincial levels, marks the first time that the broader Indian community is trying to make its presence felt in the nation’s politics.
This initiative has been precipitated by a number of developments in recent months, including the passage of a resolution in the Ontario Assembly this April, which termed the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in India a ‘genocide’. With elections in Ontario due next year, the initiative will provide an opportunity to try and counter politicians and parties who have fostered the Khalistani narrative.
Ajit Someshwar, one of the prominent figures behind this effort, said, “We are going to, during the provincial elections, single out those active anti-India campaigners and support their opponents regardless of party,” referring to the Ontario elections.
Someshwar, who is also the chair of the Canada India Foundation (CIF), said, “We have decided, at least for the short term, not to promote politicians who are active in this effort to pass the genocide provincially and also their backers federally.”
A spate of measures in this regard, include funding for candidates who do not support separatists and withdrawing funds from those that do, has been planned. The preferred candidates, regardless of political party, may also be assisted in other ways, including help with staffing campaigns.
The people backing these efforts claimed that they are working on a volunteer basis, and neither the Indian government or its official representatives are involved. Also on the agenda is informing the Indian community about these issues, which may include a mail blitz aimed at the voters of Indian origin.
This is the first time such an endeavour is being witnessed in Canada, as the Indian community attempts to broaden the base of participation in politics in the country, which has often been held hostage to an extremist fringe.
As Someshwar said, “It is not our role to get behind any one party. Our role is to create the right kind of environment for good public policy advocacy, that leads to the betterment of India and Canada relations. In that role, we will be supporting and encouraging more young people from our community to come forward and engage in the political process. For sure, we will be encouraging that with money and we will be encouraging that with access.”
In 2012, the Indian government issued a pointed and public warning to then Prime Minister Stephen Harper about what they see as alarming evidence of Sikh extremism on Canadian soil.
The issue of internal extremism has been one that has shaken India to the core over the past several decades – former prime minister Indira Gandhi was murdered by her own Sikh bodyguards after a string of events sparked by fundamentalists seeking their own separate, fundamentalist nation they would call Khalistan.
Canada too has been rocked by related terrorism. Police believe the bombing of a 1985 Air India flight that killed 331 people was orchestrated by Sikh extremists based in Canada.
Pockets of pro-Khalistan support are still visible in the Indo-Canadian community, after years of dormancy.
Last month, the Canadian government told India that there is no threat to Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and has concluded its investigation into the matter.
In a communication to the Indian authorities, Canada’s department of foreign affairs, trade and development has stated that the investigation had been conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Sources in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) in New Delhi told IANS that Canadian authorities, in the communication, has said that the RCMP investigation has determined that there is no evidence of direct physical threat made towards Amarinder Singh.
It further stated that there was “not sufficient evidence” to file criminal charges or proceed against anyone. The Canadian government said that in view of the findings, the investigation had been concluded.
The Indian high commission in Canada had lodged a “formal complaint” to Global Affairs-Canada (Canada’s foreign office) in April following a threat publicly issued to the Punjab chief minister by pro-Khalistan elements during a Vaisakhi Day event in British Columbia’s Surrey city.
The threat was part of the hate speeches made by Sikh radicals operating out of Canada. Videos of the Vaisakhi Parade in Surrey on April 22 were sent to the Canadian foreign ministry as proof.
Indian authorities had also objected to the public display of Khalistan floats with images of slain separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other terrorists, pictures of AK-47s and photographs of former and serving army and police officers who are on the hit-list of Sikh radicals.
The Amarinder Singh government had, in April, cold-shouldered visiting Canadian defence minister of Indian-origin Harjit Singh Sajjan as he travelled to various places in Punjab.
He had refused to meet Sajjan, the first Sikh to be the defence minister of a Western country, accusing him and other ministers of Punjab origin in the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of links to radical elements demanding a separate Sikh state of Khalistan.

Canadian Immigrant magazine has announced a Career, Education and Settlement Immigrant Fair in the Greater Toronto Area for 2017 at the Living Arts Centre on Friday, December 8, 2017, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The fair is for immigrants who are looking for information relating to jobs, school and settlement in their new home. Admission id free.
This fair in the new Mississauga venue will include:
• diverse exhibitors, including employers, education institutes and social service agencies
• interactive activities like a resumé clinic and networking opportunities
• inspirational speakers’ lineup
• and more to be announced later

Come celebrate the Cinderella County's Essequibo Day on Saturday August 26 at Wildwood Pk , Area A, 3430 Derry Rd, Malton. Great fun in store with foods, games, music and solid entertainment. Meet old and new friends. Call John Persaud at 416-239-2863.

The Enmore Association celebrates it's 10th anniversary picnic on Saturday August 19th at Wildwood Pk , Area A, 3430 Derry Rd, Malton. Main event is live music by Fusion Frontline Band featuring a number of local artistes. Contacts are Bibi 905-567-9719, Ochi 416-456-7995, Jeno 416-857-2747, or visit website: www.enmoretoronto.com.

Academic Session 2017-18
The Government of India launched a scheme called “Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children” (SPDC), in the academic year 2006-2007, for the children of Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to assist them in pursuing Undergraduate courses in Indian Universities/Institutes. SPDC is awarded to the following four categories:
(i) Children of Person of Indian Origin (ii) Children of Non-Resident Indian (iii) Children of Indian Workers in ECR countries studying outside India (iv) Children of Indian Workers in ECR countries studying in India
Under the SPDC scheme financial assistance for specific undergraduate courses in Professional and Non-Professional courses (except Medical and related courses) is provided towards tuition fee, admission fee and post admission services. The scheme is applicable to NRIs and PIOs from 66 select countries as listed.
The SPDC is open to applicants in the age group of 17 to 21 years as on 1st October 2017. Applicants born on or after 1st October, 1996 and before 1st October, 2000 are eligible to apply. Date of birth as recorded in the Secondary Education Board/University Certificate of Class 10th or equivalent, or as mentioned in a certificate for this purpose issued by the appropriate Government authorities of the respective countries will be taken as authentic for this purpose.
Last date for submission of Completed Application Form Online on SPDC portal (http://spdcindia.gov.in) is 30th September, 2017.
Applicant shall submit Application Form Online on the SPDC Portal (http://spdcindia.gov.in) and upload the required documents on the portal itself. Only online application forms will be accepted.

Do you know any South Asian heart
attack or stroke survivors?
If so, please ask them to join Heart & Stroke’s South Asian Survivor Network!

At Heart & Stroke, we want to increase our knowledge and understanding of stroke and heart disease recovery and be better informed of our future direction in the creation of recovery-based resources, programs and services for our heart disease and stroke survivors. In order for us to be survivor-centric – we will soon begin first phase of engagement with South Asian survivors and their care givers/partners.
While survivors face many barriers and challenges in coping with the disease and better managing their lives after a heart attack or stroke – we are interested in hearing their stories and wanting to confirm what the literature is telling us: that the psychosocial support an individual receives is co-related to their ability to recover and self-manage their condition.
For this we need your help! We need you to connect us to South Asian survivors and their care-givers/partners in your communities and have them join our South Asian Survivor Network and have them participate in one of our survivor focus groups to be held in the GTA this summer. Results from these focus groups will be shared with all of you and also help inform Heart & Stroke’s Promote Recovery Strategy.
Please help us recruit South Asian heart disease and stroke survivors and their care givers/partners to start engaging them on this important dialogue.
YOU connecting us to them would take us a step forward in understanding and listening to what OUR SURVIVORS truly need and help them RECOVER and self-manage their health!
Contact: FIRDAUS ALI,
South Asian Cultural Specialist, Ontario, Heart & Stroke
C: 416-629-1689 firdaus.ali@heartandstroke.ca

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