Jain Spirit 2004 10 No 20

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 21

GLOBAL NEWS 19
Going Back to Her Roots
Hemali Shah, a young Leicester Jain, journeys back to West India with the Channel 5 series Rooted.
country of origin of their parents or grandparents. It is a beautiful and inspiring series where each child discovers more about their cultural, familial and religious roots. Rooftop productions began their search for a young Jain last year and chose eleven year old Hemali Shah who lives in one of the Jain centres of the UK, Leicester
Hemali was born in the UK. Her father is from Gujarat, India and her mother is from Uganda. In true Bend it Like Beckham style, she wants to be a footballer when she grows up!
In Rooted she first travels to Mumbai with her mother, visiting her relatives and experiencing some typical 'India', such as getting lost in a taxi on the hunt for saris to take back to Leicester. She
then goes to a small village called Tarpal, | in Rajasthan, where she stays with a 10
year old girl called Heena and her family. Hemali's eyes are opened to the cold nights and outside school classrooms of Heena's life but takes it all in her stride. She finally gets some time to contemplate her visit with her mother at the breathtaking Jain temples of Ranakpur where she enjoyed seeing the carvings that inspired those she knows from her temple in her home town, Leicester.
Rooftop Productions was set up in 1997 to create popular entertaining programmes about the developing world and has received excellent feedback on the Rooted series, The Sunday Times stated "You learn more about non Anglo-Saxon Cultures from this one series for children than you are likely to from a year of peak time adult fare".
For more details on the series and Rooftop Productions you can visit: www.rooftop-productions.co.uk
Hemali at the Jain temple in Ranakpur.
Rooted is a 13 part children's series made by Rooftop Productions featured on FIVE TV in the UK. Each programme takes a child living in Britain back to the
Kalpana Sheth Passes the Olympic Torch
This August Greece hosted the 2004 Olympic Games. As always the Olympic flame started off the proceedings and was passed through all five continents for the first time. The Olympic Torch Relay took place in London on the 26th June. The theme of the day was "Pass the Flame, Unite the World' and Miss Kalpana Sheth, a 31 year old Chartered Accountant from Hertfordshire, UK, was both delighted and honoured to run with the Olympic Flame. London hosted a wonderful event, aiming to bring together people from different races, faiths, ages and abilities with Kalpana representing the Jain front. She was lucky enough to meet many famous successful sports people including Steve Redgrave, Roger Bannister, Roger Black, Sally Gunnell and ran with paralympic swimmer Christopher Holmes. All have and continue to inspire the long distance runner who has participated in many Great North Run half marathons and the West Midlands Cross Country Championships. The event ended with a pop concert at the Mall, concluding a day Kalpana will definitely remember!
To find out more about Kalpana's amazing experience you can email her at: kalpana7@LYCOS.CO.UK
Kalpana Sheth escorting the Olympic Flame through the streets of London