No spicy acts for Indian, Australian divas in Nepal

Australian News.Net
Saturday 12th September, 2009 (IANS)

Though former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell aka Ginger Spice kicked up a furore in Nepal by hugging and kissing Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal in public, Indian and Australian singing divas, who too are currently touring the Himalayan republic for a good cause, are not spicing up their acts with similar encores.

Bollywood sensation Sunidhi Chauhan and Australian pop singer Kate Miller-Heidke are taking part in the MTV End Exploitation and Trafficking (MTV EXIT) campaign, sponsored by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and London-based charity MTV Europe Foundation to raise awareness about domestic and cross-border human trafficking through a series of concerts that end Sep 19.

However, despite the thunderous ovation and the media limelight they have received, the two divas have chosen to remain extremely decorous.

On Monday, the crowds at the Jawalakhel grounds went wild as the husky Sunidhi crooned the numbers that have made her a show-stopper: 'Dhoom machale', 'Jhoom barabar' and 'You're my mind blowing mahiya'.

However, while the audience began taking off their clothes and throwing them in the air amidst wild gyrations, Sunidhi remained decorous in her black full-sleeved top and trousers.

Kate, though not as well known as Kylie Minogue in Asia but a celeb in her own right in Australia, visited the Jyoti Rojgar Kendra in Pokhara city Friday.

The centre is a shelter for rape and trafficking victims as well as street children.

The Australian pop star wore a demure knee-length dress, black stockings and red pumps without heels.

The tour by the two divas, which focuses on the four concerts, has been a sharp contrast to Geri's visit to Nepal as ambassador for the UN Population Fund to raise awareness about violence against women, maternal mortality and other health issues.

The 36-year-old British pop star created a sensation when at a public programme this week, also attended by Nepal's prime minister, she hugged and kissed him and posed for the cameras with her hand on his shoulder.

It triggered a debate in conservative Nepal, with some calling it a blow to the dignity of the prime minister but others defended it as a warm-hearted, progressive gesture.

The man in the eye of the storm, however, took no chances when invited to attend another public function Friday.

On Wednesday, the prime minister had saved the life of a 20-year-old woman by flying her from remote Rukum district to Kathmandu after he was told she was haemorrhaging following childbirth and would die unless given adequate medical care within four hours.

Nepal asked for his helicopter to be diverted so that she could be brought to Kathmandu for treatment.

Felicitated for the thoughtful act Friday, the 56-year-old decided to stay away from controversy.

While the organisers put a red tika on his forehead and garlanded him in a traditional ceremony, he refrained from hugging, kissing or even shaking hands, simply smiling at them.

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