Mr Stevenson is theANZ Banks chief financial officer for the Asia Pacificregion

If they arent prepared for that, theydont understand the cultural norms, theyre notprepared or able to speak some of the languages, they aregoing to be increasingly irrelevant in thatcontext. His words were echoed by Andrew Blair. IfAustralian young people are not immersed in Asian cultureand language then we are at risk of creating a generationthat will not be competitive in a global economy. TheInsight documentary Studying Asia by Gael Woods wasbroadcast on National Radio on Rosetta Stone outlet August 20. Diwalibursts into light in Auckland, Wellington Asia:NZ inpartnership with Auckland City and the Wellington CityCouncil have put together another wonderful line-up offamily entertainment at the forthcoming Diwali Festivals ofLights.There'll be dancing, Indian food, crafts andspectacular lights and decorations. The festivals have beena popular success in past years, entry is free and istargeted at families. The Diwali Festival in Aucklandwill be held at Britomart East with free concert nights onThursday October 12 and Friday October 13 from 6pm to 9pm.Festival days will be Saturday, October 14 and Sunday,October 15 from 11am to 10pm.The Wellington events willbegin with the Bollywood dance competition on Friday,October 20 at the Michael Fowler Centre, followed by theDiwali Festival on Sunday, October 22 at the Wellington TownHall, Civic Square and Michael Fowler Centre from 3pm to10.30pm.Juggling legend a Diwali highlight One ofIndias most famous jugglers will be one of the starattractions at the Diwali Festival of Lights in Auckland andWellington.Abhoy Pada Mitra, a veteran entertainer fromWest Bengal, gained renown for his dagger-throwing feats inthe 1959 film Joy Baba Felunath (The Elephant God) by Rosetta Stone Spanish Spain thelegendary Indian film director Satyajit Ray.Mitra will bevisiting New Zealand together with his Abhoy Pada Mitrajuggling troupe, thanks to the support of the Indian Councilfor Cultural Relations and the Indian High Commission.The67-year-old performer now runs two juggling academies forchildren and has carried out over 50 tours in India andoverseas. He is proud to say that Mother Teresa gave him thetitle Great Entertainer of Children .The jugglingacts include sword balancing, hammer, plate and balljuggling, ribbon dancing and - best of all - firejuggling.Festivals to showcase rare Indian art formOne of the highlights at the Diwali Festivals of Light inAuckland and Wellington is an art form that is teetering onthe brink of extinction.The folk art Indian craft ofscroll painting is also an ancient form of story tellingthat dates back for centuries and this year Asia:NZ will bebringing a renown artist, Monimala Chitrakar, to be part ofthe festivals.Her surname indicates that MonimalaChitrakar is descended from a long line of traditionalartists and storytellers from village communities in aregion of West Bengal where most people are named Chitrakar.While the surname means a maker of pictures, the peoplewho practise this increasingly rare storytelling art areknown asPatidars. The scroll painting they areexponents of consists of narratives based on Hindu mythologyand social and topical issues. Such storytelling andpainting is Rosetta Stone Spanish V3 traditionally passed from generation togeneration. But the art form has fallen into a steepdecline, due mainly to the popularity of cinema, radio andtelevision.As a result, thePatidar community isdwindling as new generations are attracted to new ways ofliving. While the Indian government tries to keep the artalive, Ms Chitrakar is one of a handful of remaining scrollpainting artists.